>> good evening, everyone. I will go ahead and call This meeting to order.
it is 7:04 p.m.
>> thank you everyone for Joining us this evening.
the purpose of the meeting Is to talk budget.
we're excited to have Both our school board.
and the most important Discussion topic, that Will be our combined funds
budget. We'll touch on the crp And regarding the city In the budget process.
before we actually do that, You all know, when you come To alexandria public
schools, we are a School division. I am a teacher, will always Be a teacher, so we will Have a teachable moment.
and I'm actually going To call on mr.â gregory Baldwin, who is going to
lead us into a Community circle. >> thank you so Much, madam chair.
I'm glad to be with you. My name is gregory baldwin I serve as restoretive Coordinator for alexandria
public schools. We have a framework and the Tier 1 practice of that is Called community circles.
although we're in a Rectangle, we are still Going to try to make this as effective as possible.
with that, I want to share About restoretive practice. Restoretive practice Is indigtive practice.
we want to acknowledge the First americans who steward This land we want to acknowledge our ancestor For their hard work And for their sacrifice.
restoretive practices Focuses on three things. Building relationships, Foster community and Repairing harm.
and with that, it works In concert with positive Behavioral interventions
and support and social and Emotional academic learning As we continue to meet all
the needs of all Of our students. We start with talking With circle agreements.
when we talk about circle Agreements, all the members Of the community have a
chance to share values Important to them. To save time, our wonderful Chair has selected three Norms we want to adhere to.
they are posted on Around the room. The first is stay engaged.
secondly, stay engaged And lastly, stay open.
and we want to encourage You to speak your truth.
while you're speaking from Your heart, while you're Sharing your truth, we will
listen to your truth. Trust you know what To say, share the air.
we want to make sure You enjoy yourself as you Build a community tonight.
we will start with a Contemplation activity.
this is called breath In and breath out. Real easy, okay. When we get to breath in, You will pretend that You're smelling a flower.
when we get to breath Out, you will pretend You're blowing a leaf. All right?
we will do that three times. I know you will have Had very busy days.
you haven't had a chance To catch your breath. As we engage in transition To the circle space, you Want to start with the
mindfulness activity. You will usually start With a song or poem. Since I didn't bring my Singing voice and I didn't Get a chance to ask my good
friend, ms. Ignacio, who Wanted to lead us with a Solo, I thought we start best with a Breathing activity.
on the count of three, We will actually breg In and breath out. We will do it Three times, okay.
one, twoe, three, breath in. Breath out. Breath in, breath out. Breath in.
breath out. Thank you. Nothing like a good Breathing activity right Before you engage in budget
work. All right. So we did move from the Contemplation activities To what we call a check-in
question. The purpose of the check-in Question is to find out how Everyone is doing; right?
this is the other thing. One of the things that we Used to use prior to the Pandemic, we used to use a
talking piece. The talking piece is Something that symbolize, Divides you as a community. We don't use the talking Piece now much we used a Phrase instead.
as we navigate through the Process, you will simply Say, I am complete.
that's what we will do, as We go through the rounds.
three rounds as they Represent the question.
thgs the first round. I will start with my Friend, councilman chapman.
it will go around the Rectangular circle. And until it Gets back to me.
everybody will is a Chance to be heard. We use it as a student We know, school board Representatives, for
students, we want to Make sure it's lifted.
we're working a lot Of time but keeping the Fidelity of the practice.
you will share your name And you will share one word That describes how you feel
right now in the moment, With no explanation. Okay? You will share your name You will share one word that Denotes how you feel right
now at this moment. No explanation >> I chair As a teacher so I want to Make sure I'm modeling wait
time. My name is gregory baldwin And I'm feeling good good.
I'm complete. >> I'm john taylor chapman.
I'm feeling hopeful. I'm complete >> name Is christopher harris.
I feel focused And I'm complete.
>> my name is kelly, And I feel ready and I am Complete >> I feel sleepy
and I'm complete >> Ashlee simpson baird.
tired and I am complete.
>> my name is sarah bagley. I feel curious And I am complete.
. >> my name is abel newby And I feel privilege, and I am complete >> my name is
michelle nunez. I am excited and I am complete.
>> my name is willy bailey. I feel, I guess happy And I am complete. >> my name is Aaliyah gascon.
I feel fantastic and I Am complete >> my name Is asensia greene.
I feel serene and I am complete.
>> my name is alderton and I Am tired but I am complete. >>.
>> my name is amy jackson.
I feel prepared And I am complete.
>> my name is tammy Ignacio, and I am at Peace and I am complete.
>> I want to thank all of You for sharing your truth.
we will move to The second round. This is the second Round question.
if you had a super power, What would that super power Be: if you had a super
power, what would That super power be?
and it time, I will Start with ms. Ignacio. We will give you about, 15 Seconds to process that and We'll go around this way.
if you had a super Power, what would That super power be.
and just simply share The super power, That you would have?
when you finish the Super power, just Say, I am complete.
>> I would bring peace to The ukraine and I am Complete >> I would have a
pot of money for Everyone to be complete And I would be complete.
>> and I would Not need sleep. And I'm complete.
>> mind control. And I am complete.
>> and I have the ability To silence people.
I am complete >> I would Make sure that everyone who Wants to live in alexandria
could afford to and I would Be totally complete >> Telepathy and I am complete
>> being able to understand Other people and where they Are coming from.
I'm complete >> I'll bring peace and Justice to the world.
I am complete >> I would Remove all the carbon From our environment.
I am complete >> I would Have the ability to know The future and I am
complete >> time travel.
I'm complete.
>>.
>> yeah, I would Say, time travel.
time travel. I am complete >> I would Also fly and be able To go through false. I am complete >> I would Have a truth detector.
I am complete >> I Would time travel. Complete >> thank you so Much >> and for the last Round, as we plan to close
the circle, in 30 seconds Or less, in 30 seconds or Less, share one thing you
would like to see Happen tonight. In 30 seconds or less, Share one thing as a result Of this joint city council
school board meeting, one Thing that you would like To see happen tonight, in
30 seconds or less. Will give you about 15 Seconds to process.
after you shared what you Would like to see happen, You would close by saying, I am complete.
councilman chapman?
>> I would like to See questions answered On both sides. Complete >> I would like Everyone to understand, We're one team, one unit.
we should be working Together for one cause. I am complete.
>> I would like to see these Two new elected bodies come Together and foster
colabration, listening Skills and being able to Answer questions and not
point fingers. I am complete.
>> finish on time, I am Complete >> I would like to See a strong foundation for
new work together. >> I am complete.
>> I would like a positive Meaningful dialogue. I am complete. >> I would like a meeting Where any alexandriian Watching tonight, as if
this is a worthwhile Exercise of the two elected Bodies and we learn more how we do the work amongst Ourselves and also anyone Watching at home or later.
I am complete. >> I would like to see us Have a meaningful dialogue, Where our common values and
shared goals are centered And at the heart of it and That we all, and we all
remember, we are here for The kids of alexandria and The members of alexandria.
>> similar to what we want To say, I realize, we have Shared values and this is
the young people in the City, giving us the best Education that we can.
>> I hope that we can Address some of the issues That are separated the two
bodies, where we have the Two disagreements in the Past, so we leave, you know,
more unified than We have been before. >> I hope that we remember To, whatever issues we have Or problems, between the
two bodies, that We remember it's All about our kids. I am complete.
>> I hope that we will Leverage the power of our Collective mindses, our
hearts and our creativity, In order to find the best Ways to invest in our kids.
>> I hope, for a productive Meeting so all minds are Clear, all questions are
answered so every city Council member, gets to A point, where they will
fully vote for the budget Put forth by the schools.
>> are you complete? >> I am very complete. Thank you.
>> I like what Ms. Green said. And I also hope for everyone In the room to be excited For the things we can do
for kids. I am complete. >> I hope that we will Tackle big issues.
I am complete.
>> I hope we find the Resolutions through common Bridge building and truth
and compromise tonight. I am complete.
>> my hope, we can put Political views aside, so We can make decisions that
are in the best interest Of our staff, our children And our community and I am
complete. >> thank you all for Sharing this circle.
the circle is now closed >> Thank you >> thank you, Mr.â baldwin, for doing the
exercise with us. And allowing everyone to get A glimpse of one small part Of the work that we do in
the alexandria Public schools. Also, just setting the Tone of probably moving Forward this evening.
with that said, our first Item on the agenda is to Take a look at our budget.
so I will be presenting The funds budget for Schools this evening.
if I could have ms. Nielson Present the presentation.
thank you. You could move to The next slide.
so, to give everyone a Glimpse in the school's Process for the budget.
one of the things we do Early on in the school year Is we look at our strategic
plan. You could see we have five Categories that we are Always focusing our work
in. That's systemic alignment, Student accessibility and Support, strategic resource
allocation and family and Community engagement.
the board works together With the staff to develop Focus areas and it allows
us to focus on budget. And we really have Focus our budget align To the strategic areas. And in the beginning Of the school year, with The beginning of systemic
alignment, we decided we Have to focus on the Special education structural
evaluation. That's a key component Of the strategic plan.
and shifting from the Superintendent's evaluation, Which we really focused on
during the last realm of The budget to the alignment Of the staff evaluations >>
how we can enhance K-2 literacy.
during the round, we Decided, we need to expand And how it impacts, k-4.
and how it could be Equitable, for black And hispanic students.
we also need to address, Chronic absenteeism. And some of these have Been carried from the Previous budget as well.
as you know, we don't fix Everything in one year.
there's things, to carry Over in the budget session.
and just to be clear, all Of the areas, were decided With the use of data.
we looked at the Data we have.
and social emotional Support for students. We're always talking about Co, you experienced the Community circle, which is
a tier 1 support: so our Budget is focused on Funding, the needs for
students in all Of the tiers. We want to expand access and Improve the quality of out Of school learning time.
so thinking about, what are The things we need to do For students after school
or we can continue to Carry over the work. Strategic resource Allocation, one of the Big things that we talked
about, I think for the Past, probably 3, going Into 4th year, this is the
ongoing process and Getting the stages Of getting it out.
this is really porp, because If we are going to look at The next category, family
encouragement engagement, To make sure families have Access to aus and reaching
the right people, so They can be served In a timely manner.
we developed a comprehensive Test plan and we also are Expanding our cultural
competency training so Shifting the work from the Staff and moving that buy
in to the communities With families. .
>> the board set a Mission, core values, that We espouse to in order to
achieve the goals. We want to insure success By inspiring students And removing barriers to
learning. That removing barriers to Learning is a key component And therefore, a key
component to Budget priorities. Inspiring our students To a changing world. And insuring our school is, Equity focus and we have Innovative actions and we're
results driven.
>> I'm not going To say next slide. The slidesâ -- hopefully, we Can get the slide back up.
you could also, if you want To log in, via your Computer, you could see the
presentation in esp. Our communication team juans To come up with a budget.
this year, the theme Is simply the best. So all of our work is geared Towards making alexandria City public schools, one of
the best school divisions, I would like to say, a Model for the nation.
so why do we do this work? Obviously, number one. The number one priority is To do it for our students.
we do it for our families And our community. We have a very diverse Community and that Requires, really, complex
thinking, really hard work And a lot of creativity. From socio economics, race And language and need.
acps is definitely A special place. We have to work really hard In order to make it the Best >> a glimpse of the
the acreditation journey, It ends in 2020, because as You know, we had a pandemic
we dealt with the Last school year.
however, we reached full Acreditation in november 20th, 2020 and we want to
continue to move in the Direction, and having a Solid budget aligned with
our priorities is A way to get there. Next slide.
>> what have some of Our victories been. I will start by saying, I Hope, if you didn't get a Chance to attend or watch
yesterday's state of the Schools, that is a great Place to start, to see all
that we have to Celebrate and all that We have accomplished.
it is a great way, to get Us to focus on our work. Some of the Victories we had.
we saw the all-time Highest graduation rate And lowest dropout rate.
and I will tell you later Of some of the work we're Doing that's in the budget
to continue in The trajectory. Throughout the pandemic, we Used that time to improve Our learning environments.
doing much needed upgrades And improving spaces in Order to have safer and we
always say, we want To have drive warm.
warm, safe and drive. Warm, safe and Dry facilities. We spent some time during The pandemic to get a lot Of the work done.
we took a small step To add a greener fleet.
we added five electric School buses, with The help of dominion.
that's very exciting. We served over 3 million Meals to help our families And one of the things
that's expanding, we Expanded the scholar program To all of the younger schools.
this is important work. We see, we have robust Priorities, for the talented And gifted program.
young scholars is a key Step to change the way we Look at identification.
next slide. So this is the wonderful Pie that we always show.
the budget totals, It's 3.8le in.
because the funding is Finite, we always strife to Be fiscal stewards of the
public's money. Our budget makes strategic Investment to enhance Learning and improve our
learning environments. We take every opportunity, To expand our resources Outside of this, by making
sure we're applying For grants, when They are available. For example, we secured 3 Million for h vak projects And we have been using our
federal funding to Improve infrastructure Throughout the division. Next slide.
>> we're talking A little bit about the Use of the fund balance.
our policy, requires Us to maintain a 3 Percent, fund balance.
that fund balance, will Not exceed 2 percent. We know that half percent May be used for our School board reserves.
this is for unforeseen Emergencies, revenue Shortfalls.
and relying on the fund Balance, we don't use That to support operating
expenses, because It's not sustainable. If it becomes completely Depleted, when we're trying To use it for operating
expenses, we have to think About the age old, you Don't pay your monthly
mortgage with rent with Your savings account. So this is just a piece of Our budget that is, you Know, we use our policy
d.a. About. To guide how much we Keep in order to keep Us in line and safe.
next slide. All right.
so we are continuing to Battle this pandemic.
we reached some milestones As of late, that I know a Lot of people are excited
about. But we have always known Since the pandemic started That this will be an
ongoing battle For years to come. And so, some of the things That we've always known, That we have to think about
are staff retention And recruitment. I actually ran into one of Our principals yesterday.
he was so excited to go to A job fair and hear that There were teachers who
were really excited About getting jobs this Coming school year.
and he was excited about That for good reason, Because there's a lot
that's happened throughout The pandemic that really has Shaken the profession, has
made a lot of people Question their dedication To the profession.
so we know that we have to Spend a lot of intentional Effort in making sure that
not only we're retaining The staff that we have but That we're continuing to get
out and charge and Continuing to take Advantage of recruitment
opportunities. I'm sure everyone has Heard about the teacher And bus driver shortages.
does anybodyâ -- okay.
I have a little thing here. Does anybody into Mobileâ -- moella. And does anyone seen The meme about pigeon Driving the bus.
the pigeon in the Story, he really wanted To drive the bus.
now everybody is saying, we Really need pigeon, because We need school buses.
we have to make sure, we're Being competitive, to Maintain who we have and
entice people to continue In the profession.
that means competitive pay. It's always work, to think About how we are going to Be competitive in the
market? Burnout is real. I can't even explain Don't have words any more To describe the level of
burnout in the profession. So, again, we have to do Intentional work, to make Sure we're recruiting and
maintaining high Quality staff. Also, we know, it's been a Lot of trauma for students.
this requires Additional social and Emotional supports.
we know there's been Academic loss, that Requires additional academic supports And our budget needs To reflect that.
with all challenges, Comes opportunities. We have really started to Think outside the box, of How we can provide robust
professional learning With our staff and really Support their career
growth. Also, enhancements And compensation. We are excited that we will Be proposing, essentially a Little over 5 percent
increase in salaries this Yearâ -- well, with the Combination of our market
rate adjustment and step, We can improve pay for all Of those, all of our staff.
all of our staff, at a Little over 5 percent.
we're actively seeking To continue that for the Following school year.
we're planning for that. Reimagining education.
we've really seen, that This pandemic is a strong Opportunity for us to
rethink how we do school. We have to did that, in Order to keep our educators Engaged and keep our
educators excited About learning.
next slide.
so at this point, I will Just tackle our budget as It relates to some of the strategic areas.
the first is social, Emotional and academic Learning you could see
here, that we are Using some funds for Very specific things.
looking at the impact that Covid-19 on our students, Using trauma and formed
practices and supports, Really making sure that we Have the reserve positions
that we need to have Available to adjust with Fluctuations instead in e.l.
programs that students Drop in and out of.
we never want to have any Left, having students wait For service because we have
not funded for that need. Redeveloping our resources To reach hispanic males and Funding the support through
k-4 literacy. One of the things I'll Say that's related To the next slide.
it came up last night. Someone brought up, it Looks like, we're actually Reducing the amount of
supports that we're Providing for seal work, And social and emotionle an
and work in particular. If you go to the next Slide, will you see, we're Not necessarily reducing.
it's that we are reducing The ester funds to support The social and emotional
work. You will see, in addition to The operating fund, we're Using eser funds to provide
over $50 million, for Use in the next three Years for seal supports.
next slide. So, we know that with a Strategic plan that's all About racial equity, that
we have to use our funds And focus on reaching our Most vulnerable students
some of the things We're investing is Bilingual liaison.
and our customer relation Management system. Our visitor Management system.
and also making sure We're using title 1 funds To provide supplemental
resources that are Title 1 schools.
we have done some work to Bolster our nutrition Programs so not only are we
providing nutrition in Our schools, but trying to Make sure the nutrition we
provide addresses the Needs of each school.
we have had over Identification of black Students having emotional
disabilities. This is a problem.
we have made strides in the Area, but we will have to Continue to focus our work,
so that we don't continue To slide that forward. There's funding we're using.
and if we're going to Communicate well, it's Time for website, and
rebranding. We've heard quite a Bit, our website is not User-friendlynd an it's
time to make changes there. Next slide.
I talked about recruitment And retention. This let's you Know where the average Teacher salary stands.
this is according to The washington area School boards; right?
is that the name? Washington area Boards of education.
thank you, dominique. That's why you should Be here next to me.
wavy. Yes, wavy. In order to maintain our Competitiveness, again, We're being looing at step
increases for our Eligible employees. That's a 2.6 percent and Adjustment of 2.5 percent.
also the thing that you Remember, that I would Repeat, the vast majority
of the combined budget Is for personnel. A lot of the money, is Making sure people maintain Their competitive salaries.
we also have the continued Commitment to salary Adjustments for specific
employer groups. For those of you who are new To council and if you don't Remember, last year, we
talked considerably how we Did market rate studies, For specific groups, so we
can start to target How we're dealing With maintaining our
competitiveness. We use the studies to Decide, which groups need More focus or particular
focus over others. We will continue to use Those studies and do more Market rate studies to see
how we will work To maintain our Competitiveness. Next slide.
>> so this allows everyone To see the salary Enhancement compareson across the school Divisions.
so take a look at that. You know, on your own time.
it allows you to see, who It's proposing the step.
who is proposing the cost of Living increase and target Market rate adjustments.
next slide. So we value our high Quality staff as I said.
there's 86 percent of The budget that's about Staff compensation.
but compensation is Only one component of How we value our staff.
we have consistently Heard from consultants That we have what will be
considered to be a platinum Health care package. So also in addition, We have two defined Retirement plans.
we have ars and Supplemental plan. And our employees funds, Or vrs retirement is 5 percent of the salary.
with supplemental plan With half of the salary.
it contributed to vrs, with All eligible employees.
we also offer a 2â 1/2 %â match for employees that Contribute more to their
retirement.
next slide. >> we know, in order to be Competitive, we have to be Committed to professional
learning. We have added components To the budget, that Have bolstered learning
opportunities For our staff. We are about quality Over quantity.
it's not how much p.d. We do, whether it's Effective, whether people Have bought in and whether
it's making a difference. So we also have our Very exciting grow It teacher program.
that's really to ignite A pipeline of teachers.
one of the things that I've Always talked about is the Difficulty of developing a
pipeline. So we know we've had Teachers who could continue To fill the positions.
and what better thing to Do, than to grow your own.
and so we invest in our Professionals, so they can Have pathways to become
pathway teachers, If they would like.
we also have paid Driver training.
also, executive coaching Opportunities for our school Leaders, which is really
important. Next slide. All right.
this is a lot of Stuff, isn't it? Well, right.
it should be. Mr.â mcprice said $250 million.
it should be. Yes, you're correct.
how about our learning Environments? So, again, we used this Opportunity to maintain And improve our learning
spaces. So we have in our Operating budget been able To address certain things.
additional funding For h-vac maintenance. We know we've had had some Facilities in the past.
we know maintenance is Key to sustaining the Facilities we have. Additional funding For plumbing repairs Has been added.
always need new Furniture and equipment. Whenever you've had rooms >> and things like safety And security are also
included. I'll talk a little bit About security funding In the next slide.
all right. So maintaining safe and Secure facilities is Obviously very important.
so here is a breakdown Of the different ways in Which we have funded that.
lookingâ -- we've contracted School security officers, So we have 29 contracted
security offers and we Have security in place And risk management is
available, that includes. The program called raptor.
also, increasing The capabilities With two-way radios.
next slide.
and again, we have to be Thinking about always be Thinking about how we can be
innovative with both our Spaces and our system.
so in addition to providing Safe and secure facilities, We're also looking to bring
new innovation and New innovative spaces For our division.
electric buses, we Have talked about. We also recently applied for Another grant for possibly Get additional electrical
buses, which is Very exciting. Also, new learning spaces.
thanking our city Council for investing in 1703 north grofber guard.
as you know, this will help You us in the fou tir, as You look for or not having
to search for the space. And securing Additional revenue.
we have a vision grant for Technology and geef funding To support our e.l.
and special Education students.
next slide. So I'm just ending here with A snapshot of our c.I.p.
this has sort of a look At the biggest upcoming.
the high school pro. Obviously, we have 1303.
color guard, which Will support us.
and we've had our Discussion about the Cip earlier this year.
this is just a glimpse Of where we are.
so, I know that was a lot. The funny thing, There's so much more.
there's not enough time to Say all of the things that We are doing and looking to
do. Again, I would encourage Everyone to take a look At the state presentation
yesterday. It gives you an idea what we Are doing, which is serving The students of alexandria
public schools. Thank you, everyone. And I'll actually Put out a question.
would we like the city Manager to share his Presentation first and then
we go into questions. Or do we want to do Questions about the school Board presentation first
and then go to the City manager's budget?
>> I think the Manager's city budget Is pretty quick. Maybe get that Out of the way. >> that sounds good.
>> for those who I haven't had a chance To meet, I'm jim perry.
I'm the city manager. I appreciate the opportunity To talk to you a little bit Tonight and learn.
I want to say, it's Been a pleasure working With dr.â hutchins.
he's been helping me Understand a lot of the Dynamics in my new city.
I appreciate that. It's been a great Partnership and Learned a lot.
was very niceâ -- I Just have three slides.
as you know, I proposed a Budget that, the city Council, recently, that the
council is reviewing. It does reflect the request Schools have made at 100 Percent level, both if
capitol and operating. I did want to point out, Some of the challenges That are before us in the
future. When I say us, I mean the City and the schools.
the first slide is an Interesting one and it shows Our debt service relates to
the capitol program.
the capitol program is a Continue year program that We adjust every year based
on nides. We try to be as consistent As possible and there's Things that pops up, like
20, in the past year, there Were quite a few things That popped up that needed
to be accounted For in 2023. It does change a little Bit of our debt service.
as you could see, kind of In the slide, orange is the City debt service and the
blue is school. And at the end of the day, Really doesn't matter how It's broken up.
it means we're Growing our debt. We have to be careful of That, how we can support.
next slide. So, you know, I think This is a little bit About the sustainablity.
you know, we're projected to Need about 90 million more Over the next 10 years,
that is in extra support. And I'll show you a slide, How I got to the point.
that does represent Significant increases. So we need to manages Our capitol needs lech Electively in a positive
way. And as you could kind of See, that really does Require some smoothing of
some things. Maybe looking at revenue As well as some scoping And some, you know, how
necessary are some Of the things that the Community I looking for.
next slide. So, what I want to do here, Is just show over the ten Year period, if we track
the same capitol program That I recommended, it Does show the black line
underneath is really what We expect the growth rate To be in assessment.
that could go up or down. I think that's somewhere Around 3â 1/2 percent in The ten year period.
so the blue line really Shows if we keep the same Capitol program, what the
expected need would be in Terms of additional debt Service above the rate of
growth. As you could see, the Numbers start to get Significant for budgetary
purposes. What that really means, That has the ability for Us to need to look at
opportunities to right Size some of our capitol Or fin revenue or find the
opportunity for us to share Efficiency so the cost Structure is considerably
different than that. Again, this is not just About the schools, when I Would look how the cities
capitol, staff would look, Would look somewhat similar In terms of the growth
pattern. A couple of things I want To highlight, I think are Really important, both for
the audience here as Well as people watching. The capitol program that The city adopts is based on A set of fiscal policies.
again, I'm new but I'm Incredibly impressed with Our city council's fiscal
management some of the Policies are some of the Strongest I've seen in the
country. They are well put together. A couple of ones that I Think are really important Ones, the outstanding debt
is the percent of the real Estate fair market value. We continue to stay Under our caps.
and the debt served, General expenditures.
our limit in the Fiscal policy. Those are good Information, good news.
and our ten year payout In our capitol, we're Aggressive as a city in
paying out our Debt service.
those are all Really positive. The challenge is we're Incuring a challenge in our Debt as it grows and the
ability to provide more Cash to cover that or to Adjust is a challenge.
the more cash we put into Our capitol budget the more Challenge we have in our
operating. I wanted to highlight that. That's something that's Important for us to work on Collectively not just next
year, but projecting out Really how our needs could Be managed within the
fiscal policies as well As the logic of what we Can support and what the
community is Comfortable with. We're talking about Changes, if we track on the Projectory, we will have to
find some ways to cut Fairly substantially or Adjust the revenue stream in
a significant way. I think those are two Challenges typically. As the same manager, those Are not the best options.
you would have to have Some glide with how we Deal with the things.
the good news, we have a lot Of good positivity in some Of the fiscal parameters.
I think it's something, as A collective team, we need To work really well on.
I think it represents Some great opportunity. This is actually really Good news in general.
it means, we're Early in trying to Use it effectively.
I just want to say Thank you for allowing Me to share that.
>> thank you >> so we can Move on to questions.
not all at once.
mr.â aguirre. >> I was curious, being a Former liaison myself, I Would like to speak on it.
I appreciate, it's Been expanded. I was curious in terms of Adjusting compensation.
I know gw, there's been Toner, for, I would like To say, almost 13 years.
there's a new apparent Liaison every single year. I was wondering, you Write around the time.
I totally acknowledge the School systems have done, To expand other schools and
include other languages as Well >> so we continue to Do market rate adjustments,
as well as compensation Studies, to do a compareson Of positions, throughout
the school. And one thing, I could say, Within the past several Years, the department as it
continues to expand, we are Making adjustment to the Roles and responsibilities
of the different roles. I think in the past, We had limited staff.
people were working Excessively and that's not Just for family community
engagement but I think In a lot of areas.
what we have done is make Adjustments to how weâ -- And faith has been adjusted
tremendously, including Additional liaison, adding Volunteers into the actual
department as well, as Having school liaisons in Every single one of the
buildings and making sure, We are defining what the Roles and responsibilities are, so they are not taken Out of what they were hired To do to meet some of the
school and operations. Those are the things that Specifically we're doing to Make the adjustments in the
past you few years. We do monitor the salaries Of all the employee groups.
each year, what we do, we Have the employees studies, To determine if we're out
of whack in terms of Ranking other school Systems >> I will make one
last comment, if you guys Are looking at the market Rate and how we're using in
the region I'm sure It will be super low Across the region. Given what we do. I hope you guys will take That into consideration as Well, not just what they
are making, or Effects wherever. For the region, they are Kind of underpaid, the Value they are bringing to
each school. . >> ms. Gaskohn and ms. > And thank you, madam chair.
I was excited to hear About the increases and Out of school time funds.
I have a question. I sit on the gang prevention Community task force.
one of the things we talked About, is the increase of Young black males involved
in the crews in the City and the need for After-school programs,
focused on them. I was wondering, as Part of the increases And programming.
are there any programs, Designed for black males And middle high school.
>> I'm looking to see If I see kurt tufman.
I know julia she may. And one, we talk about with The hispanic, our schools That we implemented in the
high school in particular. These coaches, which we Have two at alexandria High school, on campus.
they work directly with our Hispanic male students.
they also work with Other students as well Within the high school.
we also have After-school programs, Towards middle schools.
it's not geared specifically To black males. Black males, deal with Several partnerships.
the link club, that's off Campus for our students and These are services that are
offered in specific areas That have majority, black And brown students, who are
in the particular Neighborhoods That are housed. That's another out of School opportunity that we Provide for our students.
part the strategic plan is Really looking at, what are The, the additional ways we
can really engage schools Outside of the classrooms. One of the focus areas is Externships and internships.
at the secondary level, Kids, they are not staying After to get additional
supports in most cases. We are trying to find ways To expose students to Different certification
programs and giving them Exposures to different Career pathways.
when they finished at the High school, they can go to Some sort of trade or post
secondary educational Institution. These are some specific Strategies we've Incorporated and are
continuing to expand. I don't know if ms. Bergoes Wanted to add anything.
>> I don't know my Camera is acting funny.
I apologize. Yes, we have actually added Quite a few resources, Also, positions as well,
we're in the Process of filling. We're trying to put a lot of Emphasis in out of school Planning and making it
sustainable. There's another model we're Instituting in addition to The club program.
we're looking at different Ways to expand the program, Especially with the new
addition with the two, Actually two positions that We were able to include in
theâ -- as well as the Operating funds budget, Operating funds budget
allocation that we put in. I think we definite He have an emphasis on the Out of school programming.
and in fact, I will meet With the couple programs Tomorrow, with regards to
sustainable effort. And we want to make sure to Sustain the program, with The grant dollars and being
thoughtful and putting the Money into future years And making it sustainable.
I hope that answers Your question. >> and one other thing ms. Burgos, we have earmarked, Out of school time for
students. That's something we focused On, including our black Males and student males and
other populations Within cps.
>> ms. Bagley. >> thank you, madam chair. I have two questions, If it's possible.
I will ask them both. One of them relates To the graduation Rate and dropout rate.
my apologies. I'm new to the process. There's a disconnect between A 95 percent graduation Rate and 5 percent drop-off
rate. I was wondering, a, If someone could speak to That a bit and give me the
context. The lack of graduation Rate, do we see a trend?
how are we reacting to that? And the other question is Related to communications I Know both bodies will go to
great lengths, on how We're communicating with Residents, in language and technology tools.
I'm wondering if you could Touch on the budget, and The tools, in the budget,
partially because so We can use it as well To better communicate.
thank you. >> hand it over To dr.â hunchins.
>> thank you, councilwoman. Quickly, I will answer the Question and then turn it Over to ms. Burgos to talk
about the communication Plan because we recently Shared that with the board.
in regards to the graduation Rate, it's important to Note, when we're talking
about the one time Graduation, students are Graduating with a four year
stand. In some case, There's students who Have special needs. They are able To be in alexandria Schools until 2021.
that's why you won't see, When you add the dropout Percentage, it won't equate
to 100. Some students are Still educated in aps.
they have not dropped Out of the school system.
the celebration to having The drop-off right lower, The fact, we're seeing in
the trends in the past Several years, many Students are not dropping
out of school. Meaning they do not return To completing their Educational services in
cps.
as I mentioned earlier in Regards to the communities And schools program, that's
one of the reason why We have that program At the high school. Some kids get disengage.
what leads to disengagement Is dropping out. It's a number of reasons, Why students do that.
that's one of the Strategies we put if place, To remedy our dropout.
I hope that Clarifies the two. >> maybe share about the Early warning indicator.
>> the early warning Indicator system, is one of The areas of focus for this
year. We're developing not Just at the high school.
kids don't just all Of a sudden show Up in 9th grade.
research shows, early on, You begin to see pat turns. They will respond In engagement.
and we're developing our Early warning system Currently at the high
school, as well as the Middle schools, to insure We're identifying students
sh who are demonstrating Any deficit areas early On and providing those
additional supports To them so they don't Become students who are
disengaged, that could lead To dropping out of our hig School >> ms. Burgos, if
you want to speak to the Communication plan we Recently shared and talk
about some of our Innovative, planning. Before you start, I want To make this one point.
it's important for us to Know, our communication Team over the past couple
of years: and we have one Employee -- and we are Trying to make sure, we're
refining and as part of the Ms. Burgos's role, this is A new position, that
started two years ago, During our restructure.
coming as a chief of school, Community relations, her Job was to bring community
partnerships and Communication team togethe Under one umbrella or one
department. They really go hand in hand As well as to expand our Communications department.
we're able to serve Our community. A lot of times people Think alexandria Is a small community.
I tell you, it's a Small community with A lot of involvement.
so in order for us to keep Up with some of the demands Of our community and make
the adjustments so we are Commune cative to the steak Holder, we had to really
imagine What the communication Department looked like. I wanted to prefas that Before you started.
you may not mention that, But I wanted to say it, so People know, it's a working
progress. We're in a good place, Where we have most of The positions filled.
we still have openings that Are still out there that we Are trying to fill now.
>> yes, and I thank You for the prefas.
I think that's a really Important point to make.
we have restructured The entire team. One of the things, We've been strategic To fulfilling the right
talent, and the family Engagement goals We've had as well.
we've made a number Of adjustments. And I think we've been able Toâ -- and as you mentioned Earlier, we completed the
2021-25, community Engagement plan. I think what's exciting About the plan, probably The first time that we've
had a communication and Community engagement plan That directly alliance with
our strategic plan. If I had my way, we Would have built while The strategic plan was
constructed. We will do that next time. And I think we've been Able to be deliberate and Making sure the specific
strategies and tactics we Have in the plan, they Really align with the work,
they are trying to fulfill With the strategic plan.
. >> a couple of things I will Share, one thing that's Exciting with the family
community engagement work, Is one of the strategies In the plan, is that we're
creating a blueprint For each school. That speaks to family Engagement, that's Completely designed for
that school. Every school has a need and Has nuances that we have to Take into consideration.
to make sure, family Engagement is practiced Well in the school.
many people associate Family engagement with Nonenglish making families.
we need schools with Family engagement. And even with the english Speaking families.
that's one of the areas, to Make sure all families feel That we are providing that
family community engagement Support in every school. We have another tool that We're really excited about.
that's parents square. That tool pretty much Brings the communication Platform to our area.
family will get, when Teachers commune.
when the family writes Back to the teacher, It will be in english.
there's a two Way communication, Which is fantastic.
to make sure the Families communicate Well with thelessers.
we have our language Direct line.
'. There's no gap in The communication.
we're putting a lot of Different communication Schools in place, to make
sure our families feel Really empowered to speak to Us, to be able to call us
whenever they need us In whatever language Really works for them.
also, all the tools that We've put, are putting in Place, will help them to do
that. The other thing we're Focused on, and sometimes We get criticized for it, our messages may go out a Little later than other School divisions and that's
because we're really Committed to all families Receiving the information at the same exact time.
translation takes a Little time sometimes.
we have our translator That translates for us, at All hours, even during the
winter break. And we will wait to Get the translation.
we feel strongly, just Because you speak english, You shouldn't get a message
the next day just because You speak another language. Those are the things, Families are heard, That's part of the goal.
I hope that Answers a question. You are goal is to Make sure, all families Is being heard.
there's equitable access Being and families are Being heard at the same
time. >> we'll send a copy of the Xhienications plan to the City council, so you could
walk in and actually Review the 3, 5 year plan.
>> great >> was Your question relate Ed to ms. Bagley?
so I will go to Mr.â chapman.
>> thank you, madam chair. I want to go back on the Slide, with the use of fund Balance and understand some
of the numbers I saw With the combined Fund statement.
as I'm looking at it and I'm not the expert in this. I saw at the very bottom, The unassignedâ -- the Unassigned amount.
I wanted to understand what That amount is made of. I think it's About 20 million. >> I will ask our chief Financial officer to just Join us for a moment.
mr.â dominique turner, just To provide a quick overview Of our unassigned funds as
well as fund balance >> so This is from the combine Funds statement, basically.
>> and I thinkâ -- do you Guys have their slide is Number 9 and 10.
there's actually 3 slides. But for the presentation, We only showed one.
you could look at slides.
you could look at Slide 9 and 10.
>> so thanks for The question. . >> fund balance, $21 thousand.
and there's the unassigned, Committed and nonspendable As well, as the assigned
>> assigned is carried Forward carries One to the next.
it's a little over 2 Million in the category. Nonspendable and Noncash assets.
the committed is what we Have for appropriated for Use in fiscal year, 2022.
it's $5.# million. The unassigned, it's a Little over $12 million.
as we go forward, in fiscal Year, 2023, the total Spendable fund balance, is
roughly $19.6 million. Out of that, we have a Little under $2 million That's assigned.
and it's going forward From one fiscal Year to the next.
we committed to fiscal Year 2022, 5.1 million. Appropriated for use in Fiscal year, 2023, for the School board budget 5.4
billion. And if we use, the Appropriated fund balance, And the trajectory fund
balance, at the end of Fiscal year, 6.39 million. Over the years, the policy, As you see on slide 8, you Know, stipulates 3 percent
of unrestricted fund Balance and allows us to Use, up to 3 percent, to
fund our operating budget.
good financial management. We use our fund Balance, to balance Our operating balance.
as the chair said, using the Fund balance is operating Budget is like using the
saving account to save Your rent or mortgage. You still have to make rent And mortgage each month.
we would like to get Away from using fund Balance to do that.
the way the policies Is written right now. With the idea, We will only use.
with the catch-22, it Essentially says, each year, Over fund by 2 percent.
you don't touch Your fund balance.
that's the catch-22. That's in the Policy right now. Depending on what year it Is, we may dip into the Fund balance, we may not.
past two years, We have added. There's a lot of different Causes that had that.
the revenue, that we got, That we were not expecting. Obviously, we had a Lot of expenditures That didn't happen.
at the end of the Fiscal year, 2020. Throughout the course of 2021, there are a lot of Things, that went we didn't
do. We had the savings. Utility cost, Substitute teaching, so Forth and so for the.
that's how the Fund balance got to the 19.6 million right now. We appropriated that, as Well as the fiscal year 2023 >> appreciate that,
laying that out. And so, where do you, what Percentage, that you sit At in terms of the fund
balance? Is it, I'm assuming it's Not below the 3 percent.
what kind of Percentage is that at? >> that's correct.
we always maintain, 3 percent, based On the policy. 21.6 million, represents About 7â 1/2 percent, Fiscal year, 2021, or
fiscal year 2022 Expenditure. 2 million of that is Nonspendable fund balance.
the spendable of 9.6 Million, is a little less Than 7 percent >> I think
that's one of my question. I wanted to bring out.
if I read your policy Correctly and you could let Me know if I'm reading it wrong.
if you have, I guess You're trying to stay Around 3 and 5 percent.
is that; right? . >> that's correct. That's a little bit Of the catch-22.
we're required to Keep 3 percent. We can go up to 5 percent.
we are required to use 5 Percent, to fund the budget >> we are down to the
limit, required amount to Keep the fund balance. >> say that last one again. >> if we were to spend 100 Percent of the budget.
every year, we fund our Budget with 2 percent Of the fund balance.
if we spend 100 percent Of the budget, we're at The maximum of 5 percent.
we will go down To the limit. Next year, we woen Utilize the next, to Balance the budget.
that's the catch-22, with The way the policies is Written right now.
>> I think I was, as I was Reading through this and Trying to understand, your
fund balance, kind of Regulations and policies, Trying to understand and I
think, with the approved Budget, doesn't seem to Get down with the 3 and 5
percent. Am I reading that wrong As well >> for the Current fiscal year.
when we go to Fiscal year, 2023.
it will. It will drop down Between the 3-5 percent.
as I said, we have 5.1 appropriated. We have 5.1 million, Appropriated for Use, on the 23rd.
. >> so, again, with the 5.5 Million each year, that also Means that you would spend
100 percent of the budget? >> that's correct. If we were to use the Entire use, that means we Would spend 100 percent.
that's correct >> let me Kind of think over the Numbers >> thank you very much >> regarding the Shortage that every school District is facing in terms
of bus driver Recruitment and hiring. I'm curious, how Do kids in our school District gets to school.
what percent of our School districts is Travelling by bus. Obviously, before Dash was free, it was Free to acps students.
and if there's ways, if the Buzz driver shortage Continues can modifications or work with dash, Regarding the new dash Network to kind of cover am
so of the shortfall. I have another question But it's a separate topic. >> dr.â heart is in The call as well.
one thing, we're utilizing The dash services, Prior to the pandemic. It's been a great Partnership. Some of The complications with That is just the times.
we did try to work through With dash, with changing Some of our pick up and drop-off times for The dash schedule.
just combination Of the school day. The problem we have is, It's not really a problem.
one of the hurdles we have Is that we don't have dash Stops all over the city, wherever the Students may live. To try to really have our Students take advantage Of the dash bus.
we're seeing most of the Secondary kids are the ones That will take advantage. The way we work it out with Dash, they get to sleep in For maybe 20 minutes.
you get to sleep in Extra 20 minutes. You couldâ -- that's Kind of the pitch to get Our students on there.
we couldn't do that For every location. We've been trying to do some Creative things like that. I think our bus shortage And I'm not familiar with Dash shortage I'm not the
director of Transportation, but I know Scott would know that. I know there's a shortage Across the dmv, with Regards to bus drivers.
people who are able to drive Their kids or kids who are Able to walk or bike. If they can do that. >> many of our families Chosen to that.
a lot of people Enjoy their bikes and Walking to school. We're trying to encourage Alternative ways that kids Could get to and from,
families could. >> what percentage.
>> I don't have am.
dr.â heart, probably Wouldn't have that Information.
what we can do, Provide they can it.
we can send that to you all.
you would miss it because You were not on the city Council at the time.
>> I appreciate it. And on the flip side, Obviously, you get most of Your funds from the city.
you also get a significant Amount from richmond. Are theres, in ways that You were trying to make A hole in the progress.
>> hard to say. So many things have happened Month ago, I would have Beenâ -- I don't know now.
we have a legislative kind Of liaison that works with The board as well as liaison that works with The superintendent.
they keep us an I breast. Some weeks, they are Like, hey, we can't Tell you either. And I think we have to Continue to monitor what's Happening in richland.
I don't think there's Anything in the radar that Will significantly impact our state funding at This particular time.
so there's nothing Currently on our radar. I can't predict what's Happening in the future.
>> I would like to say, I Appreciate all the work you Did nutritionalwise, during the pandemic, 3.2 Million meals, to Keep students fed.
>> and I know, mr.â turner Wants to add something. I want to thank our city. There was a lot of Partnering that happened in The city with the schools.
I want to thank the city. When the city couldn't Do it, we did it. We were very coordinated And collaborative.
and that's some of the great Coordination that happened Between the city and the schools. >> we just received the House and senate amendments To the budget today.
every year we get those and Try to take a look what the Government proposed. We try to estimate where The governance will fall And how it will affect us.
I believe the subcommittee Meeting, two of the big Items on there, grocery taps as well as the add on. I believe when it comes to The grocery tags, with the Funding that supplement
that. >> it will remain whole, if They use the right, funds And not let it go through the same funding That they use mou.
>> okay. Soâ -- just to keep us In order here ahead. Ms. Jackson, I think as a Follow-up to mr.â mcpike's Question and ms. Gascon, is
yours a follow-up To the same. We will go, gascon, Wilson, jackson. >> I could go last.
>> my follow-up was, First of all, I presh Great all of this. This is a great evening. I appreciate all The information.
when it comes to the Ridership numbers from Dash, when you're asking for them, would you please Ask not just for a lump sum Of the students that ride
dash. I would be interested to Know about the elementary Schoolchildren and who is
actually putting parents On the buses, in that Regard, public buses.
>> I will check With the team. We may coast, students Who ride the dash.
let me check With them, to see if Aggregated in that way.
>> thank you very much. >> ms. Gas kohn >> Thank you, madam chair.
I wanted to turn to some of The information, that the City manager presented in
his presentation. And sort of really talking About how intertwined the Budgets are and how we're
seeing the growing gap and Growing pressure in our Cip: I know, have meetings
and task force. I'm wondering, are there Things we need to start Talking about, how we meet
or the ways we meet Together, so we can really Plan more sustainably
together, look for ways, we Can better coordinate on Cip items, efficiencies,
doing projections together. I think it's a big gap I Need right now and it's not All the need and projects
in the city. How do we get ahead of It but be talking about It throughout the year.
. >> dr.â hunchins, Looking at me.
>> I want to get Permission to speak. I want to say, one.
thank you for that. I want to reiterate that, Our city and school staff, They do meet frequently.
we have communication Mechanisms and colab Rative to work together.
and rodea took a note, when Mr.â pairjohn was speaking. He talked about the Good news, this is an Opportunity we can be
creative and foreseeing into The future, as to some of The deficit areas that we
will foresee. It is inevitable. I think we can start Utilizing our internal City school meetings.
we just met recently about Couple of weeks ago to talk About some of the purpose
of our collaborative Meetings we Had with the city.
what are some of The agenda items.
what are some of the Projects we see, not close But in the distant future,
so we can talk Through and strajize.
I think adjusting the Meetings that we have in Place and just being a
little more intentional.
how we can be innovative With the spending As well as the revenue.
those are key points that Mr.â pairjohn spoke to During the presentation.
I think that could Benefit us all.
the other advantage we Have, when we're looking At specifically the cip. And I could say, I was Very honored to be able to Work with our former city
manager on a weekly basis. Sometimes daily depending on The, the time of the year.
I made the commitment, With mr.â pairra John to do the same.
we're able to be creative With our spending. Some of the creative things, Is using patrick henry with The swing states.
making sure we have the Location of douglas Macarthur, as we're building the new space.
identifying, to have Additional swing space for The future projects, that's
happening in the next Five to seven years. There's a lot of creativity That's been happening.
we want to keep The synergy going. I just want to make sure, We don't lose some of the Things we have done really
well. I don't want to lose the Things we have done really Well, so we can replicate
that and build on the Innovative approaches In th past. >> thank you.
I appreciate that. I'm glad to hear about the Creativity that's happening. And one thing that may be Interesting for the joint Committee to explore are a,
how often are we as a joint Board coming together in Order to be updated >>
knowing we come Back together and we Do priority setting. And thinking beyond Capitol project.
if we know, you guys are Getting ready to think About the budget and major
initiatives, You want to do. Having it in the radar Early, are there creative Things, that council has
been brainstorming and we Haven't talked about yet, Or put forth so we can
maximize the creativity But maximize the Cost savings as well. >> I think those are really Good take aways for us, or The city council and the
school board to Talk through. We will welcome that. We have structures In place, internally For the school board.
I'm sure the city has in Place for the city council. It may be beneficial to have A joint opportunities on The front end to talk about
some of the Budgetary items. I wanted to turn things to Mr.â turner, he wanted to Speak in regards to the
colab rative and Innovative approaches. >> appreciate It, dr.â hudson. One of the things that was Mentioned, the smoothing of The service, to make sure
it's not spiking In any one year. My teenl has been able to Work with the management, So the timing of the bond
sales, for instance, 200 million High school project.
you don't want to sell the 200 million in one year and Then be paying the service
on that, when the money Is not being used. We're making sure we had the Proper cash flow with the Projects, so we have could
time things on the bonds. That could save Money on the service.
not going out there and Getting 2 million right Now, won't be used until
year two and three. That's one of the ways, the Finance team is working Together, to smooth the debt
service over the years. I just wanted to add that As well >> ms. Gascon now.
mr.â agir. >> I think when we had had The discussion with city Council, around on timing,
versus what we're seeing Kind of with the interest Rates and what we think
will happen. You know, what are your Thoughts arn how you and Your team is trying to time
the sale. Working with the city And particular increases In the interest rate.
>> as you know, the city, Finances our v.I.p. Program. It's really about The cash flow and Need of the project.
whether the market goes up Or down, your finance team Will be able to look at, to
be able to benefit it's Also the need of the money. You never want to Sell $200 bond.
you're paying the interest On that, while the money Is just sitting there. That's the biggest timing Piece, working with the Project manager.
make sure the project Manager is providing The cash flow need.
so the city's team okay. We will charge the Money on this date.
let's go to market. We know we will have To charge the market Year from now. To be able to not Just have a bunch of bond Funding sitting there >>.
>> I want to add one more Piece of the discussion.
I think when you look at the Capitol and I think, the Cash flow, I think is going
to give us more Opportunity, which I Think is fantastic.
. >> one observation about The collective capitol, The delivery of that.
right now, it's bundled, And it's funded in 2021.
projects don't get built That way >> you may have Final design and
construction may occur in a Couple of years >> I think Working collaboratively
with the team, that Will balance it out. That will extend our ability For you as boards and Council to work, to get the
things you want the Community to have: it Give you more room.
those are the things that The internal team, that's Kind of refreshing itself,
I think is great Opportunity. I think they, with Dr.â heart and deputy Manager, baker, I think
that will work Out really well. I wanted to highlight that. The final, basically going Back to sort of early Colabration, as I look to
receive input together, put Together a draft budget. It's really, really Valuable, and very helpful.
some of the higher level Initiatives that the Decision-makers have the
opportunity early on To sort of see what May be happening.
I call it forecasting And projection. For me, that's Critical importance At the staff level.
and that's helpful at The decision level, at Key moments early in the
process. . >> that allows, Dr.â hunchins and Myself to look at.
it looks like the Council is interested in.
highway do we early on Figure out where it belongs And how do we do that?
later in the process, It limits my options to Present a budget that
covers those things. For it to happen in Multiple levels, is Really important.
thank you >> thank You, madam chair.
I have three questions And I'll kind Of put it out there.
first one is not a Question but a flag.
last month, we had several Parents, from southern Towers, to stop by.
we want to make Sure, you're aware. We are concerned about the Routes and everything.
other question, one of Your goals is truancy For latino males.
I was curious, what Other strategy, you Guys are taking.
you hired more Bilingual staff. Many of the families, they Do have some limitations With english I was
wondering, any additional Bilingual staff. The last question, because It's difficult to speak With a mask on, the last
time mr.â baldwin was Here and we did a circle.
I was curious about Restoretive practices, what You are making, considering
when you look at Your data, it's low. What are we doing to invest To be able to have a higher Results with restoretive
practices? I know it's only one Component of several >> I Know thatâ -- I'm sorry,
madam chair. So I knowâ -- I'm trying To follow robert's rules. I know dr.â crawford Is on as well.
and she can elaborate On some of this. I want to start off By talking about the Truancy component.
I did touch on It last night. If you have an opportunity.
it will be up on line. I don't know if It's up there.
we recorded it and it Will be in the website, State of our schools.
we touched on this, because It has been a challenge, in Regards to truancy.
some of the additional Things we are doing to make Sure, we have the social
workers, doing some school, Home visits to our families Who are experiencing truancy.
we are also making sure We're providing Psychological as well as counselling supports For the students, because Typically, there's a reason
why. There's always something. Our job is to prevent Them the root clauses.
and the community and Schools, is another Strategy I touched on earlier today.
we also expanded some of Our social and emotional Services at the school level.
I want to give a huge Shoutout to hgcs, you Provided services and
clinicians that are working In our schools as well.
we know, if we provide those Socially emotional support, We will have kids that keep
coming back in the School buildings. The final thing, in regards To school truancy, let's Stop thinking about school,
to being aa to 3:00 Thing I feel like, it Sounds really simple.
and every child doesn't Want to be here all Day, but they don't. I think we had to Make the adjustments.
we don't want kids out in The community all day.
what we're providing or What we're working through Is just structured kind of
flexibility, where Students, in our schools, For a portion of the day.
they are doing some form of Externship, internship or Some sort of employment in
the community. We're revamping our Chance for change, cfc.
this year is our year to Really reimagined what Chance for change and what the campus is like For the students.
it has had had a Representation for having A place for kids, who had
disciplinary areas To go through. That's the wrong philosophy For having chance for Change how do we make sure
we provide some various Options, for our students, So they don't feel they
can't be in school for A number of reasons. As we spoke to the number Of schools, our data, when Kids are not in school,
some kids are working Full-time jobs. Some kids have children. Their own children at home.
some kids are watching Younger sibleings. Some kids are having to Contribute to the families Income and keeping a roof
over their families heads. When you're thinking about a Roof over your head versus In class, dr.â hutchins. And so we have to make sure We're making adjustments to Provide the appropriate
options for the populations That we do serve >> I'm Having technical issues.
and that's a really Great answer. I was going to make the same Comments of identifying Root cause and working with
barriers and working with Our families and students To see what they need to be
able to access education And, you know, heard Dr.â jackson say to a group
the other day. I will quote her, the Executive director of Student services.
how are we pushing Ourselves, to make sure the Programs fit the students
and we're not making The students fit into Existing programs.
it's what you just said in Response to programming. Just being aware of what The needs are for our kids, So we are able to adapt
accordingly. Thank you >> the other Question is about Investments and restoretive
practices. >> dr.â crawford is here. I'm glad you got to Participate to the Community circle.
it's a culture we're trying To establish throughout the School system.
this is the way we do things In alexandria, in regards To having balance and
starting our classes And days this way. Doctor crawford, you may Want to share our Restoretive practice plan
as well as time line. As you're coming on, I want To reiterate that a part of The 2025 strategic plan,
restoretive practices Is one of our Main areas of focus.
and since 2020, hence, This is adoptive, when We were in a pandemic.
we didn't have kids in the Building and teachers were Not in the frame of mind of
doing any training about Restoretive practices. They were trying to figure Out virtual learning and Contact tracing and all of
the other things That we had to do in The year and a half.
this year, as we return To the school building, Five days "week," we did
reinstate and get back in Track with the restoretive Practice time line.
dr.â crawford, you may want To speak to that and the Planning moving forward
with regards to the Restoretive practice. >> and thank you.
thank you for the question. I want to say, thank You for the opportunity and Mr.â baldwin to come before
you tonight and share Some of our practices. The focus of restoretive Practice is to utilize our Funding and the development
of our employees with Their training and their Professional development
for running community Circles, a tier 1 support Like you just did and
making sure that we have Staff in each school that Were trained in the higher
levels, responsive circles And restoretive circles. Primarily, we look at Use of funds, the cost of The trainings that I just
referred to. In recent years, we were Able to utilize funding For restoretive practices,
liaisons and in each Of the buildings. We really haven't, because This is our first year in Being in person with the
restoretive Practice liaison. It's building that position Up for the day-to-day Support and oversight.
it's working with our Principalâ -- principles for Increasing our accountable
and ongoing resources That are needed. We did look at it this year.
we have mr.â baldwin as our Main restoretive practice Coordinator, but he works
with our seal team With the other medical Professionals, with the
guidance with Ms. Kinitra wood. Primarily what we're using As we reference back with The dashboard as well as
the auxillary Survey results. Forecasting forward, when we Add restoretive practice in Recent years, we want them
to be school-based. It's building the capacity With the restoretive Practice liaison in the
building to offer that Day-to-day on-site report. Appreciate the opportunity To share one of our Strategies with you, main
use of funds so far has Been the liaison funding An the professional
development. Thank you. >> could I just tag on. Because I did see The dashboard.
how exactly are we Collecting the data? What are the data points, Primary data points we're Trying to collect when we
do do it? >> initially, from the Equity, the new one is Administered march 11th,
starting next week. The data we were collecting Was what type of Restoretive practices that
are conducted in classroom. And the building with The administertion. And to see if people Are aware or have had Any engagement with the
restoretive practice. As we begin to build, kind Of professional capacity With our staff, we get to
expand beyond whether You're having a community Circle in the classroom.
we want to know why The kids understand what Restoretive practice is. What we're trying to insure, Our staff, at a place where They are able to articulate
to buy into the restoretive Practice philosophy. We're embedding it into the Teacher evaluation as well.
in a way, we have the Look force, that we are Incorporating into the
teacher evaluation. That's something that Started two years ago. It's not something That's new.
we wanted our staff to Understand, or evaluating. We're not evaluating to Say, you're good or bad.
we're not evaluating To say, you work at Ucps or you don't. We don't talk About evaluations Like that anymore.
the evaluations Is about building Professional capacity. What are things we should See, that we should observe And things like restoretive
practices and different Types of strategies, must Be incorporated into the look force.
dr.â crawford, I don't know If you want to add anything Else in regards to the data
collection. I don't see dr.â paige on Here, because we were not Expecting a question about
accountability. Dr.â crawford may have More specific details? >> yes, I think you hit on The dashboard and how we Get to the equity survey to
get a sense of experience. Our kids are having, moving Forward, we will expand Just looking at the number of staff we have Trained in r.p.
that's a constant In making sure people have The training that we want. They are implementing With fidelity.
but to also look at Accountability measures, How we are checking the circles. We know people Are recognizing the Restoretive circles.
they are embedded in the Seal levels, the students Are experiencing in the classroom at the tier 1 Level to support the social And emotional learning.
that's not captured In the dashboard. We're looking at the team, To insure we'll get a Reliable data measure, for
use, across the schools. Thank you >> okay. We're time and I feel like I don't even remember. Mr.â wilson.
mr.â wilson. >> thank you, madam chair. I guess a few comments, a Few questions and thoughts.
so I guess, following up on Councilman chapman, could We get that kind of walk through on the fund balance On kind how it relates to The adoptive policy and get
that with a memo and Hold together a memo. What I'm particularly Interested, wanting to Understand whether, you
know, going back to the Conversation we had earlier And I think mr.â turner
reference and mr.â -- the Timing, timing of money, Whether, as you guys are
tracking this year, whether We have the opportunity to Steer from the capitol from
surplus funds perhaps Giving us a little less Pressure in the next couple
of years and helping Us in the cip side. I think that's the question, I want to make sure we Explore and get some more
detail on that, Would be helpful. I think one thing that Jumped out as I'm looking Into your budget and had to
go into the the folder of Budgets 10-12 years ago.
I note thatâ -- and I can't Believe I will say this Because this a positive
note on the funding For k-12 education. We have essentially in the Last decade, the amount of Your budget the state is
covering. Pretty much doubled, Almost at 20 percent.
and that's a far cry from Where we were a decade ago.
I'm curious and I think you Go into some detail in the Budget how we got there and
falling into Kirk's question. You know, is itâ -- we're Basically now in the lci. We're at 80-20 which is What the lci calls for.
it makes me think, more of What we provide is in the Soq, I'm guessing in the
state's funding. Less is outside of that.
obviously, there's changes And cost to compete.
all of that stuff Is changing. Hopefully it Doesn't change back. Walk me through The narrative.
what I am trying to get at, Is kind of what it means For the future and what we
should expect. Is this a one time anomaly.
should we track kind Of in the future. That's my first question. >> I think the question, the State funding versus city Funding and why in the past
decade, city funding has Gone 80 percent gone to the Operating fund and state,
less than 20 percent. The city funding Has gone up?
>> the city funding Has gone up. State funding has gone more.
the state is covering a Greater percent of your Budget than they have had.
>> and one piece Of budget going up Is state sales tax.
this is actually one of the Items that is projected to Go down during the
pandemic, and It be did not. We received more state sales From the portion of the State revenue than what is
projected. The internal projection Gone down and the state Projection, gone further
down. I'm sure everybody Has been following. The state had a surplus Of revenue as well.
and just because of the Projection is often, we Continue to see the trend
for state tax going up. We predict the state fund Is going up in the state Side for a couple of years.
now even during the Pandemic, was projecting it Would slightly increase.
that's the largest portion Of why it's going up.
they have been adding Other incentives. Whenever the governor would Propose teacher salary Increase, they would
provide the state Portion of that. Once it's provided, it's Rolled into the total Estate funding that they
give you. They are not going to give You for one year, because Salaries and ongoing
expense. There's other incentives Added, and that gets added To the total funding of the
portion of the state. Between those incentives and The state revenue and state Sales tax revenue, that's
where we're seeing the Growth in the state Side of the revenue.
obviously from the city Funding, we had the Increase, the transfer,
each year to be able to Cover the other 80 percent. Okay.
>> I may come back to that >> I am excited to see the Investments on the school.
I will beat this dead Horse a little bit. It's not that, it's not dead Much we talk in the city Schools in the coordination
of the after school side. I want to make sure, as we Expand, those are not done In a simply asilo with
acps, that is Closely coordinated. The city remains the Largest after school Provider in the city.
and I want to make sure We're not, we're not only Duplicating the services,
but actually we're being Strategic on how we add Investment I also think we
need to have the Conversations on our side And make sure it's closely
coordinated. There's a lot Of opportunity. If we are not serving the Same kids and how we're Serving them, shame on us.
it's probably a conversation For more dialogue at city Schools as well as other
venues. I want to make sure. It's a message, for our Side, and I'm hopeful, it's Tightly coordinated and I'm
questioning it is. The other question and this Is probably, leave one Thing and want to open it
up for maybe some board Council conversation. One thing we want to Bookmark, a conversation Around the budget process.
I know, you guys, like We are, heading in the Direction of collective
bargaining. I cannot. I cannot overemphasize Between the city council And school board, as it
relates to budgeting. You guys are 80 percent Of cost is personnel. 80 percent of cost is Long-term collective Bargaining agreement.
that will change the annual Bargaining process and the Discussions we have. We need to hold hands as we Go to the process together And talk about how we
coordinate both the staff Level and the elected Official level going into
that. I guess the final point and Maybe open it up, note.
obviously, half a billion Over the next decade and Your crp, great, is a huge
amount of investment. I would note, all about 115 million of that is In the next five years.
it's a hugely Front loaded crp. If you look in the six Years, it's 30 million.
it's terribly loaded Crp, which is great. We're trying to get a lot Of products off the table.
I look in the years And no way in heck.
and when we sat down With the previous board.
we have to figure out What's next and have Some dialogue again.
outside the budget process, What we are going to tackle Next in the crpment we're
swallowing a whole bunch Now, which is wonderful.
what I don't want to see, And this is always my Concern, we should not have
projects dropping into The crp within five Years of completion. They should be In the outyears.
they should be plans over a Period of time and not just Dumped in and us trying to
figure out how to fund them. Not a conversation with this Budget but a conversation That we should have.
>> okay. . >> I want to be Cognizant of time.
we have other topics that People want to discuss.
I will cut the budget.
the whole thing should be a Budget conversation >> I'm Going to go bagley and we
need to move on >> Thank you, madam chair.
>> and the m o.u. That sps has a Reporting element, I Believe is quarterly.
at this stage, have you Received the quarterly Reports that have come and
gone. If not, when do you expect To receive those >> thank You for that question.
we will be presenting the Quarterly reports to the Board, march 24th, which is
wednesday. Not only our discipline data Overview, but to talk about Our school law enforcement
advisory group, which is Also known as s.l.e.p.
we have acronyms For everything. Those items are Posted on friday.
it will be posted this Friday, for the public.
but the discussion will Actually occur during the Board meeting on march the
10th. >> just to Follow-up on that. You have not received The quarterly reports, Pursuant to kuru.
>> we look at Data every month. In regards to presenting It to the board, that's Happening on march the
10th. Dr.â heart, she's here. She can provide, just kind Of an overview of when we Meet or when we've met with
apd. We have met with them, Back in september.
I believe it's another date, Some time in november.
in regards to aou. We have, dr.â heart You may want to Provide specific dates.
I am trying to do this by Memory and I'm sure you Have the specific dates.
>> and from a point of Presentation, what will be Presented next week is not
student discipline data. School discipline falls Under dr.â crawford's team.
I want to make the quick Presentation, terms of What will be presented.
formal readings regarding The olu review, september 14 and november 5th.
however, there's many more Meetings that will occur With the smaller sub set with the team and we have The director of safety Services as well as the
coordinator of emergency And services, that meet Regularly with the adp
counterparts.
.
>> anybody the acpsside.
and with the granted, you Guys talk to the reporting Requirements, is that
correct? I guess, to my colleague's Point, I'm curious why >> A had a conversation with
chief brown and dr.â wilkins And talked about adding Some additional data
points. I'm not sure there's Additional data points and Making it to the next round
of reporting, to kind of, I know, I kind of through A little bit of jum bell
there: we're required to Report data to the state.
here's the data. This is why it's important To have two quarters to Start off with, any type of
reporting publicly, so You're doing some form of Compareson between the two
quarters, we want to Provide some trends. I'm excited about The fact, we are able to Provide the data analysis.
something that we never Had a practice of doing. Been an active From the beginning.
I think that was deaf At this timely a deficit Area for us in the past.
we're trying to get This information out.
we have to be careful With the specific Data that we share.
what I mean by that not Necessarily incidents Or type of arrest.
those things are Public information. What we have to be careful About and this is something I've been sharing with our
team internally, is our Safety structures, where People are positioned in
the school buildings, Talking about the actual Safety protocols.
what we do, if we have Public conversations like That, we are jeopardizing
our safety within The organization. That's why you won't see any School division, talking About classrooms and
locations and how Many people are here. We have to be very careful.
I know that doesn't have Anythingâ -- you will see, Posted this friday for the
board. We will make sure we send The links, that city Council could actually see
the data analysis. I think it's going to be More beneficial seeing the Presentation, so you don't
just have to view slides Without the context to some Of them, because we don't
like to put a lot of text Heavy slides out there, Because that also is not
appropriate. And the information will Be data analysis not Just sharing the data.
making sure, we're sharing, As well as the community.
>>nd aâ -- I totally agree. You just don't Do a data dump.
that doesn't do Anyone any good. There's a quarterly update, And as you acknowledge Specifics security
positions and Numbers, that's not Part of the report.
that doesn't say anywhere to Even talk about that stuff.
I wouldn't want us to be Talking about that stuff As I mentioned; right?
I understand what you're Saying, and with having two Reports, you get to show
some trends. Part of the issue is, there Are already two other Reports due from last year,
because the mlu was signed In november of 2020, which Means there should have
been two or more Reports before the end Of the school year. I understand that, the Students were not in the Classroom, there should at
least be something. I told chief brown at The time too; right? Is there any Kids at school?
the report, no Kids at the school. The fact, we're lacking Reporting, now 23 years Is, it'sâ -- I am sure you
could see my frustration And we're still not there.
I think we still have a long Ways to go to make sure We're getting the reporting
done properly. >> I know, dr.â hart, Her camera is on.
I wanted her to Provide some insight. She wanted to Elaborate a little.
>> what I wanted to be able To provide, is a bit of Context as it relates to almost this past year.
some of the challenges we May have received, in terms Of formulating a report
that would have met that Quarterly criteria. I'm hearing this, trying to Do a time line for all the Changes I could remember.
we wereâ -- you're Correct, councilman agir, Mlu was fined in 2020.
in may of 2021, the soo Program was not funded to Go beyond the fiscal year.
we had to pivot and go for A calls for service mlu, That won't have the same
recording to my Understanding. That's a separate mlu that's Put in place, during the Time frame when the sro.
the sro's were in Stated last october. Once they were reinstated, We went back to 2020mlu.
while that's not an Excuse, I will say there's A fluctuation between the
switch mlu program and The rein statement the Sro and back to 2020mlu.
and I absolutely agree There's an opportunity to Be caught up with the next
go around and we're In, that comes up With the meeting.
with assurance that meeting Has occurred to the indict I mentioned between the
september date And november date. I wanted to add it For a bit of clarity and Context to your question.
>> I appreciate That ms. Hart. I thought I was giving Clarity as well, when I Said it was signed in
november, even though It ended in june Of the schoo year. Cps was still under The mlu from november 2020 to june of 2021.
there was at least Going to be two reports And we didn't get them.
>> we'll add some more Specificity, in the future. >> yeah, I'm thinking. >> and I'm thinking, two Things I gather, really Determining, you know, in
the future m lsu is being Specific on what the Quarterly report is, what it
looks like and who Is delivering it to Whom, is important.
I'm sorry. I do want to jump in and Say, that as dr.â hart Mentioned, she will be
posting a report And presentation Tomorrow actually.
and I had a chance To preview it. I have to say, I Think people will find It very interesting.
I think it is like Dr.â hutchings said it's Robust because it's an
analysis. We're not just looking at Numbers and we're looking At who the impact is on.
we will see some, I think Interesting information About this proportionality,
that may have Some surprises.
what I would encourage Everyone at the do, take A look at the report. Please take a look At the presentation.
I think we're heading In the direction that We all want to go.
it demonstrates how Much better we can do This in the future.
>> I think it's we're Getting to the poin, where I suggest it's lack of
clarity. It's section, section 3-d Defines the quarterly Performance review meetings
and gives examples On what will be. And calls for The assistance.
mru does provide what's to Be in the quarterly meeting And provides dates, in the
school year. Just forâ -- that's what I Was being looing towards.
there should have been a Report as defined in your Mou delivered in february.
so I appreciate, there's Information for coming, all I was trying to establish,
as mr.â hart, you Went to theâ -- in October of last year.
you had a four quarter Under the preexisting mlu.
just paced on the language Of the document, I expected To be a february quarterly
report delivered. I look forward to seeing What's in tomorrow's report And on friday's posting but
I just wanted, I thought it Was worth clarifying, since It was lacking in the mlu.
it's actually here and That's what my question was Routed in, as defined in
the mlu. So thank you all for that. Yeah.
>> mr.â mcpike and Mr.â hutchings. >> and you said earlier, There's going to be this Report, based on the
requirements of the mlu. I also thought, there is Going to be broader Discussion at next week's
meeting, is that correct? >> yes, the school law Enforcement partnership, Also known as slep advisory
committee will provide an Update on that as well.
establishment as well. >> you could give us An idea the nature, The purpose of it is.
>> back and dr.â hart could Actually speak to this.
>> yes, so in october of 2021, we provided an update To the board after the rein
statement of the s.r.o.'s. One of the recommendations, We will recommend a school Partnership advisory
committee. And the presentation next Week will be, that will be Posted tomorrow, will show
our proposal for that Particular committee as we Look for ways to increase
our engagement, as well as How do we move forward with Reimagining the partnership
through the process. >> and I appreciate that. As you are all preparing to Produce the recommendation, We all saw last year, what
happens when the council And the school board grow In opposite directions on
this issue. It's incredibly Important, we find Ways not to do that.
we're talking about safety In our schools, which is a Paramount concern not just people in our bodies But the entire city.
it is a program that exists In the school but is funded In the city budget that's
not part of the School budget. And hopefully a broad Discussion with the entire Community what we want,
safety in our schools to Look like, we need to make Sure, both our bodies,
council and school Board feel connected to Process and brought in.
in the end, we have A product that we can Both use to make future
decisions in a harmonious Manner and avoid the back And forth, we saw last
year, which I don't think Was productive for anyone Particularly, in a time
that we bring kids Back to schools. I'm looking forward to what You guys propose next week.
I hope there's a role for The city council and the Broader community to be
involved in the discussion, As you're moving forward, So we can get to the point, we're rowing into the Direction that we both Could be happy with.
>> mr.â chapman. >> I apologize for not Squeezing it earlier.
could I follow-up my Question for the budget.
I want to start off What I see in this, on This piece of paper.
I am concerned about what I See with our fund balance And some of the numbers I
walk through. Just for background, I have Been on the school board's Budget advisory committee.
I understood their budget For a number of years.
you know with what we Approved in 2019 and Looking at reserve funds
and kind of overages, what We wanted to do is give Additional flexibility and I
think that has Been achieved. I see on paper, and I'm Missing some of the reason Why it needs to stay in the
levels that it does and Certain line items and the Memos will speak to that.
as, the number of people Talked about and I think we Know about, we have some
challenges. Particularly in The capitol side.
looking at additional Capitol, pushing cash Capitol in that direction,
hopefully to help with the Front-loading, I think Would be a very reasonable
thing to do. I think we have to tell the Story to our alexandria Taxpayers, why money is not
being used. What that means for Our taxes as well. If we have certain amount In reserve, we need to Say exactly why and what
policies we speak to. I understand from the Policies, that you have A minimum and you have a
maximum. It doesn't mean, you have To have right at 5 percent.
you could hold 4. You could hold 3â 1/2. You can't hold under 3.
I know I have to Be able to tell. Police officers. $2 million of that was Spendable and then over the Next two years the next
fiscal year we have Appropriated the use of the Balance and if we spent 100 percent of our budget this Year we will drop down to $7 million which was
slightly under answer we Need to make sure that we Have expenditure controls to make sure that we don't use A fully appropriated amount Of that balance that we had
in the policy so we are Appropriating a balance each Year we want to make sure we are putting the money to Use we don't want to have a Significant fund imbalance
going forward and to address Any unforeseen emergencies Or shortfalls and again since I have been here we Are trying to present â" so When we say we are going to
appropriate a balance if we Are saying that it should Get used we should be dipping into that each year Ultimately if we continue To do that we will reach a point where we will be at The lower level of the Three percent at if we do
that over the next Two years we will Hit that level. I do want to follow up to Something that was said Earlier but I want to make
sure I am answering your Questions and we are Providing the memo >> I do appreciate your response and Again I will wait to the Memo for the discussions
with the liaison and I guess I would have â" so we talk About this appropriating use of fund balance and maybe This is a better way to Communicate this and to sit
down with the staff as I Look up and pull off a few Of you guys have on your website which is that Amounts that 20 million And we have some community
members speaking to what That is and if the reading Of the line item says $20 million not appropriated not Restricted not spendable Totally unassigned.
but I really want us to Understand without amount is What it is going to what is made up of want them to Understand where they're Coming from and what they
are. >> we have a operating Balance of $1,995,000 2,032,975 is non-spendable. > I am talking select to skip to this part of the video">[indiscernible] and Unassigned 12 million â" And that is >> I am talking
about the combined Fund statement and Is that nutrition? >> so somewhere around 15 Million and we also have our School nutrition fund which
are federal dollars still Have and specific uses for The school nutrition fund to be able to do kitchen Projects and the use of the School nutrition fund we can
spend what we do spend Every single year are Operating fund balance 21.6 million so if you're looking Through all the combined Budget there are fund
balances and so the Operating fund so when we Have the most flexibility to be able to say we are Going to use some of this Both operating and all the
funds to get those people to Understand and I do kind of Want us to understand if one
of the questions I had is If the policies and maybe This is a question for the
board if the policies you Have for using the fund Balance outside of the normal use is possibly too Restrictive for you for the Use of it only because we
have seen the pandemic and If you look at the trends I Am looking at the operating fund the trend of usage There is not the pandemic Spike and so I am trying to
figure out if the rainy Day does come have you Handicapped yourself and you are allowed to Spend and not be able to Address that rainy day.
>> if I could just follow So the limitation is the Appropriation of the of the two percent if there is an Emergency they are able to Go back to we can only go
out to the two percent so We do have the ability if That comes about one of the
reasons why all the federal Dollars we have been getting Throughout the pandemic most of the things that we have Been generally not be able To monitors funding out of
those and in the Classroom substitutes and A completely different ballgame.
>> that is part Of my question. I would assume pandemic is The rainy day and using that Money to â" to whatever
you need it. I guess I am a Little bit confused. >> I did not get there was a Question for the board but I Could say from the past
three years of experience it Did not feel restrictive it Has never felt restrictive it has felt nice to have The security of knowing you Have that in case of an
emergency one of the things That I have highlighted on This budget, partly we were very cautious at the Beginning of the pandemic We were super cautious so we
immediately thought about Reducing spending and there Were some bonuses that came out of that in the sense That we were able to provide Every single employee with
a two percent bonus so I Think some of it was we Were really conservative and cautious and it paid Off and in the end.
so that's just been my Experience as we've gone Through the pandemic and I have been really proud of How fiscally responsible we Have been dealing with that
because we had moments Of trepidation. [laughter] and fear but We were able to have some Security and overcome it.
>> no question about that The question I was trying to Have, I apologize if it was not clear, I guess I want to Understand what qualifies As a rainy day I guess I
thought pandemic is a rainy Day and so some of the Policies you have say if a rainy day happens we can do X, y, and z and that's my Question, has this not been
a two-year rainy day? I understand there Are other emergencies And things like that. [indiscernible] >> we are Not going to get a full Understanding this evening
but we can work on that. >> I just want to comment On the discussion this was Not a traditional rainy day
that's part of the problem That's why every public Entity is sitting on huge
surpluses because revenue Continued and some places Were up higher than we
expected same thing for any Individual who remain Employed during the pandemic
and that's not the anomaly We are looking at I think The conversation we want to
have, what does Normal look like? Is there a one-time Opportunity because of the Experience we just went
through that didn't like Help us on the capital Side and I think certainly
that's what I'm trying to Tease out the reality is we Were having the conversation
at the end of every year They would come and stand In front of city council
what do you want Us to do with it? We have an approach to Dealing with this, the Question is if we need to
tweak that policy and if We need to adhere to it That' the conversation.
>> so we had covid on the List as well I'm not sure What the questions were
about that.
>>.
[indiscernible] [laughter] >> let's first start and Make sure are there any
covid related budget Related questions?
>> I just had a quick Question related to this.
I know there were a lot of Measures we put in place as Part of covid and we are
seeing low transmission are There ongoing expenses that We need to plan or prepare
for if it's continuing Sanitizing stations or Accelerated hvac, are there
things that we will Continue to maintain a safe School that will be part of
the budget regardless If we are a high Transmission rate?
soon I guess we have Incorporated that into the Budget and some funds we
will have through 2,024 So we will be able to Put tha into account the
unfortunate thing is, we Also don't know what could Happen and we don't know
what could be different but We know how our worlds can Get turned upside down.
and now we know it's Possible so we have to be Prepared and be cautious
because with our financial Planning right now because We don't know what tomorrow
will bring. In some points of Consideration I am just Thinking about right now,
when the variant hit we did Not expect to have so many Staff out and we had to
find, sub say we couldn't Find subs we had to start Paying people extra money to
stay and these are things That would have never been On our potential expenditure
list. We have a budget for subs Only have a budget for Having a situation if we
can't get a sub and we have To pay a teacher to do an Additional but not at those
levels and just in three Weeks span so we just don't Know what the future holds
what we are preparing for What we do know we have to Just try to be conservative
about it and proactive for Preparing for the unknown Which is always difficult
because you just don't know.
mr. Turner.
>> one of the things that Came out of the pandemic was The additional funding and
we try to be strategic in All the infrastructure Tries to prevent that from
going into the cip and We are doing hvac projects And improving filters in a
technology infrastructure That we can do that helps Estate out of the capital
improvement budget so those Are some of the things we Are trying to be strategic
with ease and we do have a Time-limited when they are Gone, they're gone so we
want to make sure that what We get out of those funds Last beyond september 30 so
some of them are being used For that to be able to help Keep those projects out >>
I just have a quick Follow-up question in Terms of the technology
investments that are made Because I understand Covering the funds but we
know technology has an Expansion and things are Done throughout the course
of it how is that Factored into the budget? Because obviously when it's Implemented we wanted to Sustain even when â" runs
out. >> saw the technology Infrastructure and Improvements we are doing
we did a lot of computers And tablets and some of it Is a improvement so that's
going to last and you are Correct if we are buying Equipment does do you have a
lifecycle we will have to Have that be replaced at the End of lifecycle and in the
actual infrastructure Of the building. >> so I think I am down To two more questions.
>> this is a comment thank You and as the mayor said, Not to beat a dead horse, I
am looking forward to the Presentation on the 10th I Am excited as she pointed
out that it will be a little Bit more of a deeper dive And analysis and I don't
want us to lose sight of What of the conversation was And the mou still maintains
the status quo, if you Will, the conversation was The greatest conversational
community is to keeping The sro there and it does Go nicely with what the
superintendent brought Up with what's a greater Safety for all of our
schools and I think what Everyone agreed on last Year is the process select
and there was almost little To process so my hope is With some of the discussion
there will be a discussion Around a greater community Process that involves
stakeholders, students, Parents, because my concern Is there is a small closed
group it doesn't give the Opportunity to have that Discussion but like I said looking forward to the Presentation on the 10th Grade >> >> a couple of clarifications one thing There was a report that Happen at the end of 2,021
jan was published friday June 11 and that was the Final meeting at so what I
am saying is one Of the things we should be Thinking about is how this
information gets Disseminated because you Need to make sure that you go to see it and get Notifications that there is Something uploaded to look
at but especially on this Particular topic that we now Which is a topic we will
continue to come back to You, we need to make sure That we are creating that
dissemination system to make Sure you're getting that in The mou, the language
itself, says were going to Meet on these quarterly Points of time but it
doesn't say when the Written report is due.
the meeting will happen in February 1 time the school Board is coming back
together again, we skipped Our normal business meeting So is there a process in
place in terms of the Timeline of when these Meetings happen and what is
the expectation so we are Setting the process up that Everyone can agree to and
they don't feel like we Are dropping the ball.
work is happening but we Need to make sure we are Expecting to get this
information. >> doctor hart. >> I think there is an Opportunity for us to Develop a process to adhere
to the current mou in Regards to making sure that We have those quarterly
meetings with any reasonable Amount of time, there can Be an expectation that â"
can be provided as closely As possible and in terms Of any future discussion
regarding the process as it Relates to the mou, I am Trying not to get ahead of
myself but I think there Will be an opportunity for The advisory committee any
additional changes Or edits to the mou.
>> the last question for The evening will be from.
[indiscernible] >> this Is off topic and yet not Because it has to do with
money and timelines, Can you provide a quick Construction update
concerning arthur elementary To make sure we are on Schedule and we don't need
to. [indiscernible] [laughter] >> so I can answer both of Those questions directly, we
are not going to ask for Any more money when it comes To douglas macarthur, we
have been steadfast in Saying that we would not ge Any additional funding, we
have been sticking fast so That in terms of the Timeline, it has not shifted
since the last presentation That we made in terms of the Extended timeline due to
covid, there have been no Additional changes to that Timeline so yes we are on
schedule when that was Discussed in january.
>> I appreciate It, thank you. >> you are welcome.
>> thank you everyone and Unless you would like to Stay for an extended time
and hang out here, I Think we should go home. I appreciate the discussion, I am looking forward to more And I know that we will see
you all soon. Thank you.