[1:28] All right. Good evening. Like to call the uh September 10th, 2026 meeting of

[1:33] the Bedford Council Board to order. Um Miss Johnson, will you call?

[1:40] » Mr. Daniels, >> here.

[1:41] » Dr. Heot >> here.

[1:42] » Miss Doson here. Mr. Hill >> here.

[1:44] » Mr. Hullbrook >> here.

[1:46] » Mr. K >> here.

[1:47] » MV >> here. Mr. Chairman, you have a quorum.

[1:50] » All right. Thank you. 1.03, approval of the agenda. Do I have a motion to

[1:54] approve the agenda? >> Purpose on the first second.

[1:59] » Second. >> Second by Mr. Hill. Any discussion? All

[2:04] those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed?

[2:08] Agenda is approved. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance.

[2:18] To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it

[2:24] stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

[2:34] And then we just will pause for a moment of silence.

[2:49] » All right. Thank you. All right. 2.01 DAA presentation. Welcome back.

[2:55] » It's good to see you all again. Um we are back. We have a little over 60

[3:03] slides. So, I'm sorry. And a couple other things to show you. Um, I am going

[3:07] to cover I'm going to recover some ground um because I think for some folks

[3:13] um you know uh in the public this might be the first time they're seeing these

[3:16] things. Um so I just want to make sure we're covering everything and that we're

[3:20] all on the same page when we talk through it. We get to full screen there.

[3:24] Um and I know you know this is this is the start of that uh you know tougher

[3:29] and frankly more emotional discussion for the community. Um and and for all of

[3:33] you. So, uh you know, let's go through this the the whole presentation. Feel

[3:38] free to jump in with questions. Um and then we'll kind of talk about next steps

[3:42] towards the end. So, a little bit of agenda today. Um I'll start out again

[3:46] kind of reminding everyone who we are at DAA. Um we'll talk a little bit about

[3:51] why we're here. Um then we're going to jump into really the two decisions that

[3:56] that we have to make. Um and what what of those decisions we need to make

[4:01] tonight. [laughter] Um, number four, then we talk about when, kind of the

[4:04] timeline. Number five, we're going to talk about how we inform those decisions

[4:09] moving forward. And then we'll get to that point of actually getting through

[4:12] what what we need uh tonight. So, who are we again? Uh, demographic analytics

[4:18] advisors. Um, I know that's a mouthful, so a lot of folks just call us DA. Um,

[4:23] we're a small firm of demographers and data scientists headquartered in Vienna,

[4:26] Virginia, so just up north. Um, we work mostly with public school districts on

[4:30] enrollment forecasting, capacity studies, utilization analysis, and

[4:33] redistricting. Um, you know, we bring the demographic method. Um, and then you

[4:39] all bring the local knowledge, and it's been great to work with the board. Um,

[4:43] I've already received some emails from the community, um, and with the

[4:46] administration to really bring that local knowledge to the work that we're

[4:49] doing. Um, a little bit about how we work. We use a lot of the key primary

[4:53] sources that you would expect of these types of um, studies. We also use

[4:59] reproducible code. So any other person could kind of rerun this from the

[5:03] source. And we measure and really you decide. That's that's probably obvious.

[5:08] Um I am Chris Dick. I'm the president and founder of Demographic Analytics

[5:13] Adviserss. Um I'm former Census Bureau. I used to run the part of the Census

[5:17] Bureau um that does all the projections and forecasts for the United States. Um

[5:21] I also have two other principles who are not who've helped with this who are not

[5:25] here tonight. Beth Geros and uh Dr. Ronald Pau. Um between the two of them,

[5:30] they have over 50 years of demography experience at the public at the local

[5:35] and federal level. Okay. So, what did you all ask us to do? Um Bedford County

[5:41] Public Schools asked us to help the board make consolidation and

[5:45] redistricting decisions that will hold up over the long term, not just over the

[5:48] next couple years. So, we're going to forecast where the children will be,

[5:52] measure how the buildings are used, test the options, and put the uh results in

[5:56] front of you. That's really, we had a meeting in August uh that started that

[6:01] discussion. We are going to uh get a lot further in that discussion today. So, we

[6:06] started out forecasting enrollment, measuring capacity. We've really moved

[6:10] to testing the op options and we're also going to talk about how we're going to

[6:13] support the community conversation um today. And through all of this, we keep

[6:17] the board and the administration informed. Okay. So, why are we here?

[6:23] This is the kind of reminder part. I'm sorry we're going to go over it again. I

[6:26] just think it's important to underly this discussion. Enrollment uh in

[6:30] Bedford County has really it has been falling. Um and it continues to fall and

[6:35] we and we forecast it to continue to fall. Uh K12 fall membership peaked in

[6:40] 2006 at just under 11,000 students. We're down to under 8,500 um as of last

[6:47] year's data. Um that's about a fall of 22% which is roughly six average size

[6:54] elementary schools worth of children just to give you an idea. This is K12

[6:59] obviously so it's not not comparable there but um our forecast for 2035 with

[7:05] development included um gets us from a range from 7,600 students to up to um

[7:11] about 8600 students with the central forecast um which generally we think of

[7:15] as the most reasonable at uh about 80 8350 80 8366.

[7:22] So in the high case the most growth we would really defend over the next 10

[7:26] years is about 1.5% growth in um in K12 enrollment. Uh none of the three

[7:34] scenarios returns the division um to like the larger growth back to like

[7:38] 2006.

[7:42] So what does utilization look like? The other problem is not just that

[7:46] enrollment is declining but that the buildings are unevenly used. So if we

[7:51] look at utilization, which let me define that really quickly. Utilization is uh

[7:56] enrollment over capacity. Um if we look at utilization, we have some schools

[8:02] that are very close to being completely full or even overutilized. Uh looking at

[8:07] you, Forest, Bedford, uh even New London and uh Thomas Jefferson kind of creeping

[8:11] up that way. Um and we also have some schools that are underutilized. So these

[8:16] are schools like Stewartsville, Big Island, uh Otter River, and Huddlestone.

[8:24] So really the problem is then we have empty suits and full ones at the same

[8:28] time. Um elementary utilization division wide is about 71%.

[8:34] Um usually for a declining district, we would want to target somewhere um

[8:38] between 80 and 90% is really really kind of the target we're looking for for

[8:42] divisionwide utilization. And the spread between the fullest and emptiest

[8:47] elementary school is 55 points. So if you think about that, that would mean

[8:51] you have one school that's close to 100 and one school that's under 50.

[8:59] So one of the things that we needed to make sure to do when we were building

[9:03] our forecasts was not to just assume that our our forecasts could be built

[9:09] off of just what had happened in the past. We also have to look at things

[9:13] like plan developments. So, this is just a map of all the development that is

[9:17] planned throughout the district. Both those that have been built already and

[9:21] are still being filled. Um, those that are underway and those that are either

[9:24] proposed um or kind of unspecified what uh stage they're they're actually in.

[9:31] Um, one of the things you'll you'll note is kind of where a lot of this

[9:35] development is happening. We see a lot of it in the northeast uh kind of the

[9:38] forest corridor um of the district. um a little down by the lake as well. But as

[9:44] we'll talk about, these two different kind of waves of development are

[9:49] bringing different differential student yield to the district.

[9:54] So what does development impact look like? Uh attendance zone by attendance

[9:59] zone at the elementary level. Um the county's planning file holds about 30

[10:05] just over 3,500 units with about almost 1,700 of them not yet built. weighted by

[10:11] kind of how often each entitlement stage is actually completed. We would expect

[10:15] about 991 of these to be built in our projection period. Um so in general,

[10:22] Bedford builds about 284 homes per year. uh the forecast own trend already

[10:28] carries uh 354 uh units per year expected just because

[10:34] it was fitted on the construction from 2021 [laughter and clears throat]

[10:37] to 2024 um which was a higher construction level than if you go back a

[10:42] few years from there. So the net effect on the division strangely if you look at

[10:46] the development pipeline is development is actually kind of slowing down

[10:51] um and the net effect on the division is actually to decrease the growth overall

[10:57] but that's not true everywhere. Um as we can see on the chart to the on the right

[11:02] hand side of the slide here um specifically in New London Forest and

[11:06] Thomas Jefferson we are actually seeing gains that are above and beyond historic

[11:10] average. um in the other attendance zones, elementary attendance zones

[11:13] throughout the district, we are seeing it actually uh decrease uh historical

[11:19] trends. Do feel free to stop me if you have any

[11:23] questions at any time. So once we have a number of

[11:29] uh developments that we think could be hitting, we also need to look at how

[11:35] many students are going to come from each completed unit. And one of the

[11:39] things that is very very important, especially in a place like Bedford, is

[11:43] to look at smaller levels of geography other than just the district by itself

[11:48] when looking at student yield. Because if we think about it, you know, a new

[11:52] home down by the lake is going to be very different than a new home in, you

[11:56] know, the forest attendance zone, New London or Thomas Jefferson. And we see

[12:00] that in the data. So what we actually did is we um brought together your

[12:05] student attendance uh attendance data from this year and years past, matched

[12:12] that together with your assessor database at the county level and

[12:16] actually looked when those homes were built because we have year built um did

[12:21] they bring children into the district or not? And this is the outcome of that

[12:25] analysis. So we see uh for elementary school ages um New London is bringing in

[12:31] 0.14 kids per new unit. Forest about the same at.13 whereas Huddleston is

[12:37] bringing in about 05. Monita about the same.

[12:44] Okay. So this goes back to that idea of gross impacts of

[12:51] new development versus net impacts of new development.

[12:55] So students in newly built homes, we really want to start splitting them out

[13:00] in how we think they might enter school. Are they in district relocations?

[13:05] Are they new to the district moveins? Or are they new to the district moveins,

[13:10] but they enter in kindergarten just like any other student who had lived here

[13:14] longer would have done. And so the answer to that question is the majority

[13:20] or I would say uh the plurality are not new to district moveins. Um

[13:27] the largest group is actually that organic entry but coming in new. So

[13:32] folks move into Bedford County before their kids start school and then they

[13:37] start school in kindergarten stay with the group. Um the new to district

[13:41] moveins are those folks who are coming maybe moving in when they have a third

[13:44] grader. Um So that's about 32% of those new builds and 30% of uh the new builds

[13:51] are actually in district relocations. Um so maybe from the same attendance zone

[13:56] or even from a different attendance zone.

[14:00] So what does this mean? Overall Bedford County is a growing county with fewer

[14:04] children than it had in the past. Um the county population grew between 2010 and

[14:09] 2020 by 16%. Um at this point only 15.2% 2% of residents are school age which is

[14:17] uh which is ages 5 to 17 which is down about 3 percentage points over the last

[14:22] 20 years. Um the county is really it it is it's adding people and losing

[14:27] children at the same time which let me tell you I do a lot of this work. You

[14:30] are not the only district where this happening. This is happening a lot of

[14:33] places. So the reason for this is really your

[14:38] age structure. And if we look at this I know we looked at a bunch more of these

[14:41] today. I had to show one population pyramid. Um, but if we look at it, you

[14:46] look at those older ages. Again, for those who haven't looked at a population

[14:49] pyramid before, uh, the dark blue is males, light blue females. Um, we start

[14:55] at ages 0 to four, go all the way up to 85 plus. And what we see is the, you

[15:01] know, the large bulge that you see in population in Bedford County, um, starts

[15:06] at that 55, uh, year age group and kind of goes up to the 65 to 69 age group.

[15:15] And just another note, um you know, overall births are obviously still

[15:21] carrying the load for how you are bringing students into your schools. Um

[15:25] but that number is kind of decreasing over over time or just barely growing

[15:30] like slowly and your migration is really uh is bringing in adults but not

[15:37] children. So why does this not fix itself? births

[15:43] are kind of generally stagnant. They're about flat. Um, in migration is less

[15:48] child-heavy than it once was. Overall, the US has less children than it did uh

[15:53] in, you know, say 2008. So, in migration is going to necessarily be lower in

[15:58] children. And new homes, uh, that mostly hold students. Uh, the for the forecast

[16:04] is really already counting because you are already growing.

[16:09] And the decline really is cohort size, not students leaving. So you're having

[16:14] smaller entering cohorts. It's not like you're having a rush of fourth graders

[16:18] leaving. It's it's really once you have them, they're generally staying. It's

[16:22] really that smaller and smaller cohorts of kindergarteners.

[16:27] So at the end of the day, um we have a set of buildings that's sized for almost

[16:31] 11,000 students. We're now serving about 8,500.

[16:35] Um, and the forecast says that gap is going to persist or potentially get

[16:39] worse. So, to me, in my professional opinion, really the question is not

[16:43] whether to adjust, but how much and where. And that's where we're going to

[16:47] move to next. So, I know everyone probably hopes this was

[16:52] the last time you would ever see me. Um, and that we would make all those

[16:56] decisions and uh then you you all would go on your merry way. However, I think

[17:02] that we probably still have um some decisions to make over time together.

[17:08] So, two decisions that really need to be made. The first one is how many schools

[17:13] to consolidate? [snorts] Obviously, Steuartsville has already been decided

[17:17] by the board for school year 2728. The open question, which we started talking

[17:21] about in August, is is a second consolidation warranted

[17:27] and if so, which building? The second question then becomes how do we balance

[17:31] utilization and relieve some of the pressure in the high utilization schools

[17:35] and use some of the extra building space we have in [clears throat] low

[17:39] utilization schools. So really not redrawing the maps even with

[17:45] just the Steuartsville closure is not a tenable option and I'll talk through

[17:49] kind of all the different things we looked at but um that's these are kind

[17:53] of the two key decisions that we need to be looking at.

[17:58] So decision number one, Stewartsville has been decided by the board. Is a

[18:03] second closure um warranted? [clears throat] Stewartsville um is the

[18:08] least utilized elementary school in every demand state at 44%. Um the

[18:13] capacity math really ranks at first in every scenario to close. Um and the

[18:17] board so really the board's decision matches the data in our study beyond

[18:21] Steuartsville. um at a 90% planning ceiling. So that kind of optimal for a

[18:26] declining if we're just talking about utilization, optimal for a declining

[18:30] school district. Um the math really supports one further consolidation

[18:35] today. Um and two really most likely in in the low case. Um capacity is really

[18:41] going to set the range for us. Um capacity is where we're thinking about

[18:45] RA the the tough fiscal decisions we need to make. But fiscal decisions

[18:48] aren't the only decision, the only ways that we make these decisions. So just

[18:53] because the numbers say it doesn't necessarily mean that that's the right

[18:56] thing for Bedford County. And that's what you all will have to wrestle with.

[19:01] So decision number two, how do we balance utilization and relieve

[19:05] pressure? Uh there really is no leave the lines alone option obviously with

[19:09] Steuartsville 243 students. they have to be assigned somewhere and

[19:15] we can get close to assigning them all to one school but we can't quite assign

[19:19] them all just to one school. Um how many students change schools scales with the

[19:24] decisions that you all make. Um so depending if you close more schools

[19:29] obviously more students need to move. Um

[19:34] and the lines really help us to understand what the count doesn't show.

[19:39] And we're going to talk through a lot of different things here. bus rides,

[19:42] subdivision, uh subdivision stain hole. Um but really there's a lot of different

[19:47] data points that you all uh can and should consider

[19:51] divisionwide. Um the the the pressure is real in in the

[19:58] northeast of the district. The question I think becomes, do we

[20:02] relieve that pressure by redrawing boundaries

[20:07] or is it a potential that you all need to look at something like building a new

[20:11] school in the Northeast? And really, I mean, we can talk through the the math

[20:18] on this and and we have a slide on this specific thing, I believe, uh, in a

[20:23] couple slides. Um but the math would be really hard for building a new school

[20:28] and not um redrawing boundaries because of the fact of where the high

[20:35] utilization schools are and how they're already kind of next to some schools

[20:38] that could use additional students. Let's put it that way. Okay. So those

[20:44] are the two decisions that really need to be made here.

[20:49] The question is when. Okay. So, where have we been with this

[20:54] project? Uh, we started in June. Um, we kind of had a a kickoff with with the

[21:00] folks internally and then on the 18th of August, I came down here and did a board

[21:05] briefing on enrollment, demographics, building use and started talking about

[21:08] capacity only, utilization only. What did the numbers say for consolidation?

[21:15] Today we are taking that discussion and moving a step further. We're talking

[21:20] about options, maps, and data. Um, we're going to talk about, you know, some of

[21:24] those town halls on boundary alignment. I know that have been announced already.

[21:28] Um, or any additional consolidation between the tomorrow, basically today

[21:34] even, um, and the 6th of October, it sounds like you all are collecting

[21:38] feedback on the options and passing it back to me to make sure that there isn't

[21:41] any changes I need to make to our analysis.

[21:44] Um it sounds like on the 8th of October um we're talking about a potential

[21:50] public hearing for the four options that we're talking about here or the one

[21:54] option depending on where decisions go. Um

[21:59] before the board uh before that vote um that is in the next line here um for the

[22:06] special call meeting. I would update options based on all the feedback that

[22:09] you heard both in public hearings as well as in your town halls. Um, as well

[22:14] as another way that we'll talk about at the end. Um, and

[22:19] then the the plan would be to have a special called meeting where the board

[22:22] votes on one or the four options. After the vote, we then would move to

[22:30] finalizing zones. So, one of the things that you'll notice today is you have a

[22:35] kind of thick packet. Um, it could have been, so it's like this

[22:41] thick. It could have been like that thick. Um, but I kind of wanted to show

[22:46] you all all of the options that we were looking at and how we were prioritizing

[22:52] those options. So, what you have here are four different options that we're

[22:56] going to talk about with three different map drawings for each of them. and

[23:00] they're all kind of scored on a bunch of different metrics. And so we'll talk

[23:05] through [laughter] kind of how to read this. There's also at the front of the

[23:08] page there's a how to read this packet. This packet will be posted publicly

[23:12] tomorrow um along with the slides and um it'll really help us to kind of go

[23:18] through and think about how we make these decisions. So once we draw those

[23:24] once decisions are made on which consolidations uh do or do not move

[23:29] forward, we will then draw a final set of maps for only the option that you all

[23:34] vote on. That takes into account all of the public comments, all of your

[23:39] feedback, all the district's feedback that we've gotten kind of from now until

[23:43] then. Um the plan would then be to have a public hearing on the 12th of November

[23:49] on the selected uh option and the recommended maps. Uh again, we would

[23:54] make a final update to those maps before the 8th of December where you all would

[23:59] then get to look at those final set of maps and have a vote hopefully on the

[24:03] 10th of December. So this is this would be a proposal to get us to a spot where

[24:08] we could make these decisions um for for the future long before we would need to

[24:13] actually implement all of them for 2728.

[24:18] Okay, I'm going to take a breath for two seconds because I've been talking a lot.

[24:22] Any questions thus far? >> Any questions?

[24:26] » You have a public hearing on October 8th and another one on November 12th.

[24:31] » Yep. So the public hearing on the ETH would

[24:35] be to a public hearing about which so if we remember we have two decisions. Um

[24:43] if we decided one or two schools closed um the p the first public hearing would

[24:49] be about those consolidations. The second public hearing would be about

[24:54] the drawing of the lines. So, one thing I will say, not to like tip my hat on to

[25:00] where we're going in this discussion, one of the things we need to talk about

[25:04] tonight is does the board want to consider a second consolidation or not?

[25:08] [clears throat] And so that is

[25:12] my suggestion then would be if you are going to consider a second consolidation

[25:19] would be to have that um public hearing about the

[25:24] consolidation first and then go through the map drawing process a final time

[25:30] even though you already have a lot of options to really get the best maps that

[25:34] you possibly can for Bedford County and then have a public hearing about those

[25:39] final maps on the 12th of November.

[25:48] » Okay, >> questions.

[25:52] » Okay, so how do we inform these decisions? Um, we've talked about a lot

[25:57] of data. The first thing I want to talk about is building the building option.

[26:02] Um before before we really get into the boundaries, um we wanted to give a new

[26:08] school every potential advantage it could have. Um I did not actually go and

[26:14] look at a realistic site. I looked at the most optimal site. Um so this could

[26:21] literally be someone's house. Like this is not this is not real. I want to be

[26:26] very clear. [laughter] Um but this is drawing a new school in

[26:30] the most advantageous site to relieve pressure at um at Forest specifically.

[26:38] Um it's a 500 seat elementary placed at that geometric center. Um

[26:46] it fills to 386 students relatively easily. Beyond that it's kind of hard to

[26:52] make transportation work. um only 100 of them come from Forest.

[26:58] The rest actually come from Thomas Jefferson and Boonboro, which doesn't

[27:03] really need relief. Um and it adds seats to a division that already has 1500

[27:09] empty seats, and it would make you very kind of topheavy in the Northeast, which

[27:14] population density of of elementary of uh enrollment says is right. But then

[27:21] transportation becomes a really really really hard thing. So to me this seems

[27:27] like a tough thing to be behind and as we'll see it might be much easier

[27:33] to redraw boundaries but I did want to have it as an option for you all because

[27:37] this is something that if you were serious about it we could do much

[27:41] further research into and actually make a real proposal with not a you know fake

[27:47] plot of land. But that's so that's the first thing.

[27:52] When it came to drawing boundaries, we tested every lever we could find. Um

[27:58] we had 15 structural options across six different families. The families were

[28:04] just drawing boundaries, consolidation,

[28:08] pairing campuses, which we'll talk about that in a second.

[28:12] uh like it's basically consolidation, but it's looking at the paired Bedford

[28:16] Primary, Bedford Elementary, grade pairing, which would be creating new

[28:21] paired camp uh paired schools. And then we also looked at uh the multi-track

[28:27] year uh as well as the calendar multitrack year um combined with further

[28:32] closure. Every option for now is keeping middle and high schools unchanged. I'll

[28:38] talk more about that at the end. Um, there's a reason we're not talking about

[28:41] middle and high school right now. And every option is measured really against

[28:45] the same do nothing reference. So, at the end of the day, you all are looking

[28:50] at four options here. Uh, we had 15 that

[28:56] you could be looking at right now. >> Thank you for not letting [laughter]

[29:00] » I figured if I give you that much information, you're just not going to

[29:02] look at it. But um this is th this packet is enough that you'll be able to

[29:07] really get the idea of where where we could go with each of these potential

[29:12] consolidations. So the full menu before I talk about

[29:16] what we actually ended up giving you. We tested most of the schools that could uh

[29:23] that that made sense to have a consolidation. We actually not on this

[29:27] list tested every single elementary school. We tested closing, we tested

[29:32] consolidating forest. Um, we tested consolidating every single school. What

[29:36] we're reporting information on is this full menu. Um, there's option numbers

[29:42] which we use and it just makes it easier for people in uh slides if they print

[29:46] them out and they're looking at the two. Um but we have just as a comparison

[29:53] point A Z is not A Z and A Z F do not actually close Stewartsville. It's

[30:01] boundaries only and boundaries pushed to the limits. And one of the things that

[30:06] you'll see is it doesn't really solve our problems. Um so this kind of

[30:12] supports the Steuartsville decision. A1 is Stewartsville plus boundaries.

[30:19] Um, B1 is Stewartsville, Big Island. B2, Otter River added to that. B3, Monita.

[30:26] B4, Huddleston. B5, Montvail. Um, you'll notice B9 and P2 are the only two that

[30:34] have three schools. Um, that's because if you start going, we did actually

[30:39] test, you'll notice we jumped from B5 to B9. We did actually test other three

[30:44] school closures and none of them we couldn't get them to converge uh on an

[30:48] actual map that worked. So B9 is Stewartsville, Otter River, and Thick

[30:53] Islands. P1 is Stewartsville and Bedford Primary. P2 is Steuartsville, Bedford

[30:59] Primary, and Otter River. Now, the reason that P1 is being treated

[31:03] differently than all the B classes is because there's an additional discussion

[31:08] we'd have to have about preK here. um and where prek would go. Would it go in

[31:13] Bedford Elementary or would it go elsewhere?

[31:17] And then we also did a few other things. We looked at grade pairing um which was

[31:23] basically taking the two rural schools uh that um have the lowest utilization

[31:32] and pairing them making 1K2 135. Um, I will say right now we ended up

[31:39] ruling that out because the transportation just we couldn't make it

[31:42] work. Um, the other thing that we looked at were year- round calendars. And the

[31:48] issue here is um from work we've done kind of in in other districts, you

[31:54] actually unless you can do it in a lot in a lot of your schools and frankly in

[31:59] less rural areas, you actually end up adding teachers. Um, so you add up and

[32:05] you end up adding expense. Um, and it doesn't necessarily uh solve all of your

[32:12] utilization problems. There's more on that kind of in the report, but um, just

[32:17] wanted to to highlight that. So, how did we score these things? We scored them on

[32:22] multiple different measures. Uh, we looked at enrollment balance, which is

[32:26] the spread between the fullest and emptiest school. We looked at capacity

[32:30] headroom. So just utilization at the fullest school against that 90% planning

[32:35] sealant ceiling. We looked at transportation which is there's a couple

[32:40] ways that we looked at transportation. The first one is the bus ride time in

[32:45] the morning for the 90th percentile rider. So this

[32:50] isn't like that long tail of folks who have very long rides, but it's the folks

[32:55] who are at the kind of long ride, but not not that long tail. So it's the the

[33:00] 90th percentile of that that group. We did also look at the worst ride as

[33:05] well. Um we also looked at the typical ride which is the median here uh bus

[33:11] ride across all riders simulated per option. We looked at the number of

[33:16] children who would be over 60 minutes on the bus in the morning. Um, currently

[33:22] that's about 30 in the mornings today. Um,

[33:27] the number of buses to hold us to hold every single student under 60 minutes.

[33:33] So, if we just added more buses, could we solve the problem?

[33:37] and the number of rides that were lengthened by 15 plus minutes and route

[33:43] minutes overall. So if we're looking at all those elementary trips, one note I

[33:48] want to talk about, I just said a lot of things about transportation, we have

[33:52] built a bus routing optimizer that is very good for this planning type of

[33:58] work. They are not actual bus routes. It is not the same as your bus routing

[34:02] software. So expect a an error of somewhere between three to 5% on our

[34:08] measurement just so you have that in your head.

[34:12] But it is very good for planning and it's very directional. We also looked at

[34:16] subdivision integrity. So we looked at recorded plats um and how many of them

[34:20] were divided between two schools. Fewer is better. Um we looked at schools in

[34:25] the target band. So that 85 to 90% utilization. How many of the schools

[34:29] could we get there? Um grade cohort depth is looking at how spread out the

[34:36] children are between grades so that we can have the right number of sections in

[34:41] schools. If we start looking at below 30 students for one grade in one school

[34:47] that can become a little more problematic.

[34:51] We also looked at compactness which is a mathematical measure. Um, you can think

[34:55] of it as does the thing we drew drew look like a normal shape, a square or a

[35:02] circle, or does it look like this thing that has like weird pieces coming out of

[35:07] it? Um, if any of you think about like on the political side like

[35:10] gerrymandering, you think of some of those maps that are like really long and

[35:14] they have these weird things drawn on them. That compactness is a way to

[35:18] measure that. Is it compact or not? Um, community disruption is another and this

[35:24] is the share of elementary schools, elementary students who are changing

[35:27] school and then needs balance which is the gap and economically disadvantaged

[35:32] share between highest and lowest share schools. We also have operating savings.

[35:37] Um, we won't talk about it a lot tonight. We we had an assumption through

[35:42] talking with the administration that the operating savings are going to be

[35:45] relatively similar across schools. Um and we'll talk about what that what that

[35:50] number is for each and every school in the discussion. So basically that just

[35:54] scales with you close one school it's a number. You close two schools it doesn't

[35:57] matter which one. It just it's that number times two.

[36:02] Okay. So hard constraints first and then we

[36:06] look at scores. Um first and foremost every zone has to be a whole connected

[36:12] piece. We're not creating little islands or anything like that. you have to

[36:16] actually be able to draw around the zone everywhere. Number two, we want no

[36:20] school over capacity um either today or in 2035.

[36:26] We want no school empty by accident. That sounds silly, but you know, when

[36:29] you're optimizing these things, you could do that. Um scores are also

[36:34] relative. So, as we're scoring these things, we are looking at all the

[36:39] numbers, but then we have all of our drawings of all of our maps, and we

[36:43] score them on a 0 to 100 scale um to to really look at the 15 different options.

[36:49] The waiting is really yours. We've done five different waitings and we'll talk

[36:52] about them. Um but if you have a different waiting that you want

[36:58] to look at, that's a a decision that we a discussion we can have. So after

[37:04] August 18th, I think most everyone said we want to see all options and this is

[37:08] kind of showing you all options. Um some things are not scored just to be clear.

[37:12] Things like facility condition, um program placement and staffing are on

[37:16] the district's kind of side. These things are really much more on the

[37:20] student and transportation side of things.

[37:23] So what fell away and why? Um Stewartsville and Monita um we were able

[37:30] to make it work. Um but on the numbers it really doesn't stand out. Uh there's

[37:35] a 41 point spread. Um 58 children over an hour on the bus and it's never better

[37:42] than 14th under any waiting. 14th out of 15 on any waiting. Um G1, which is the

[37:49] grade pairing of Big Island and Otter River, um we split those two out and the

[37:55] transport on every single measure was just not optimizable.

[38:00] I mean, it it was it was optimizable. It was just not a good optimum. Um, if we

[38:05] looked at the multitrack year-round calendar, um, a multitrack calendar is

[38:09] really probably not feasible for the district to operate, um, on in an in an

[38:15] economic feasibility sense. Um, and the options kind of that depend on it

[38:19] therefore fall out. B1 and B5, um, we set aside on the

[38:26] numbers. Basically, they were best on no criterion. Um, and they were never

[38:30] better than fourth under any any waiting. Um, A Z and B4, uh, they were

[38:35] carried by the rules that I set. Um, I said A Z had to be there, but we

[38:39] actually ended up with A ZF being, um, kind of the floor, um, that that we

[38:45] wanted. And, um, B4, uh, leads only on need balance, but, uh, children over an

[38:53] hour was very not good and it moved a lot of students. So,

[38:59] Okay, what you all have been waiting for. Four

[39:03] structures really stand out. So the first one is Stewart'sville and boundary

[39:09] alignment. So this is the decision you've already made plus doing boundary

[39:13] alignment on that decision. Um B1, which is Stewartsville and Big

[39:19] Island. It consolidates the second least utilized building, gives us a narrow

[39:24] spread. Um, however, I will say, as we'll note when we're looking, it's one

[39:31] of the hardest ones to optimize on transportation of the four options. Um,

[39:35] Stewartsville and Otter River uh is B2. It consolidates the third least utilized

[39:40] building. Uh, it has the narrowest spread of the four and the fewest

[39:43] children passed an hour on the bus bus, but it also has the largest number of

[39:48] students that are moved to get to that number. And then finally P1 uh

[39:53] Steuartsville and Bedford Primary folds that uh prek to one building into

[39:58] Bedford Elementary. But then we also need to talk about how do we how do we

[40:02] house prek? Would we have to move some students out of Bedford Elementary into

[40:07] another attendance zone um to to move prek in there or would we have to move

[40:12] prek prek elsewhere? So that would have to be part of the discussion there.

[40:18] Okay. So, first and foremost, one of the big questions we have, and we answered

[40:22] this a little bit before, but I wanted to provide more data. Would

[40:26] Stewartsville have been first? Yes. Uh, if the board had not acted,

[40:30] Steuartsville is the building that the data would have pointed to first. Uh, it

[40:34] was 44% utilized. Um, 559 seats for 243 students. Um, we were also able to draw

[40:41] new maps that, uh, transportation wise made sense, as we'll see. However, if we

[40:47] only redraw the maps in a way that kind of optimizes for transportation and the

[40:53] balance that we can get. Um, we still have a 32point spread throughout the

[40:59] district. Monteale would be at 89% today and Big Island would be at 57%. So, one

[41:05] school stays under 60. Um, and 41 children ride over an hour versus 31

[41:10] today. Um, so it fixes the fullest school, but

[41:14] not necessarily the emptiest ones. So, I do want to talk a little bit because

[41:22] we're starting to get to the point where we have the slides. We also have this

[41:26] packet. The same information and actually more information is in this

[41:30] packet. Um, and again, this will be available on the website tomorrow. Um,

[41:35] but what you will see on the right hand side here is a map with all of your

[41:39] attendance zones, but then you see different colored areas and each of them

[41:43] has a number and they're much easier to read, not on the screen, but in your

[41:47] packets. Um, because those numbers then tell you, uh, for instance, number one

[41:54] down in the southwest corner here is Stewartsville to Good View, and that's

[41:58] 211 students. So, you can go through and do that. Also

[42:02] in the packet you will notice that we have some zoomins

[42:07] um which actually zoom in on wherever those changes are happening. So for A1

[42:12] we have a zoom in um kind of down in the south part of the district. We have one

[42:18] in the northeast and then we have one uh and then we have one in the northeast.

[42:22] Those are the two spots. Um and you'll see some of them have up to three

[42:26] zoomins on them. On the next slide, we have what I like

[42:31] to call our attendance matrix. And this looks at what school today students are

[42:38] attending. Um, and that's in the rows. And then in the columns, we have schools

[42:43] under the um example that we're talking about now or under the option we're

[42:48] talking about now. And so what you'll notice most of these you want to see

[42:52] like the big numbers are on the diagonal, right? because Bedford today

[42:58] 570 students 572 students if I could speak in the future

[43:04] 572 students um so that would be that that's kind of how we read that but then

[43:09] if we go down that first column good view then moves 51 students to Bedford

[43:15] and one of the big reasons there is right good view is having to take a lot

[43:19] of students from Steuartsville so we have to move some students to Bedford

[43:23] and then move all of those Stewartsville students into um good view. So that's

[43:30] kind of how you read through this process. Another thing that you'll have

[43:33] in the packet is you actually then also have what we have at the bottom of the

[43:38] table but in chart form which is um utilization for each of the schools in a

[43:43] bar chart. And so at the bottom of the table here

[43:47] you have the utilization as the attendance zones are drawn today.

[43:52] utilization today using A1 and utilization in 2035

[43:58] using the A1 proposal. And so I'm not going to spend a ton of time on each of

[44:05] these examples, but I think it's important for them to be in the slide

[44:08] deck um for everyone to be able to look at them. Um but I do want to go through

[44:12] a couple different ways that we measured the these things.

[44:15] » Hang on one second. >> Of course. So, we've got we got several

[44:18] we got like 18 minutes, 17 minutes, but I just want to tell the board because

[44:22] they have to go back. We're going to have to go back at some point, but if

[44:25] you have questions, I guess my recommendation would be just maybe just

[44:29] start shouting them out because otherwise it may be getting kind of

[44:32] confusing. So, Yep. >> I just wanted to

[44:34] » absolutely >> kind of run that way.

[44:37] » Yep. And so, I will say I'm gonna I'm going to go through the high level of

[44:41] each of these right now. I'm not going to go into a ton of detail, but one

[44:45] thing I want to I want to be clear with you all and for how we are having

[44:50] community discussions on these and how the community is engaging on these

[44:55] A1 isn't just one option. There are different ways that we can optimize the

[44:58] drawing to do different things. So we can also try to balance the data more

[45:04] and that's what A1 drawing number one the balance priority um that's what that

[45:09] does. Um and you can see kind of the outcome of

[45:14] that. Drawing two is really focused um we call it the utilization. So it's the

[45:19] same consolidation uh with utilization priority um weighted first. So against

[45:25] the first drawing it cuts the number of children riding over an hour um by a

[45:28] lot. There's only 18 now instead of 41. Um but it also is cutting it against

[45:33] where you are today which is uh currently 31 students in the morning. uh

[45:38] with more students changing school though. So larger impact to the

[45:42] community but better better outcomes for utilization and transportation and it

[45:46] holds the fullest school at 90% today instead of focusing on balancing

[45:51] utilization and make sure that we no one goes over 90%.

[45:55] So there's that. Um we then have Steuartsville plus Big Island. So Big

[46:01] Island is the smallest and second emptiest building. um consolidate

[46:05] consolidating it and redrawing the corridor gives a new 18-point spread. Um

[46:10] which is obviously much better. Um and the deepest grade corsets we can have

[46:14] just because we're getting rid of the smallest school. Um however, the full

[46:19] flest school is Good View at 92% today and 94% in 2035. Uh the emptiest is is

[46:26] kind of Huddleston at 75%. Um and the quarter seats sit close to today's line.

[46:32] The other thing I'll note is um in order to have the drawing work,

[46:38] the compactness isn't quite as good um as as we'd necessarily like it to be. So

[46:44] we're again we're going through where do the students go? We can see that the big

[46:48] changes here are still Stewartsville um to Good View 192, but now more of the

[46:54] Steuartsville students are going to Montail um than they were in some of the

[46:58] prior drawings.

[47:01] So this this one is going to push some of the other house or other schools over

[47:06] the 90% then. >> Yeah. And so the thing that I want you

[47:11] all to be thinking about as you're looking at this. I am not asking you

[47:15] today and no one here is asking you today to say

[47:20] we want to close X we want to consolidate X school. What the question

[47:25] we are asking today and why we want to go through this just so you all have an

[47:28] idea of what's in your what materials you have is do we want to look at

[47:34] further consolidation versus just Stewartsville and boundary redraws and

[47:40] if we do these three are the ones that we would suggest is are those the three

[47:44] that you all would want to continue considering so just have that in your

[47:48] mind we don't we don't necessarily need to get to like oh this line is good here

[47:52] this line's good there don't worry about that today. That is a discussion we're

[47:56] going to have between now and December. So B1, we can also do a drawing um with

[48:04] more balancing priority or focusing on compactness. So shapes that make a

[48:09] little bit more sense. And again, we can kind of go through that process.

[48:14] Um if we look at Stewartsville plus Otter River, um again, Otter River sits

[48:18] between Bedford and the Forest Corridor. so it students are absorbed by its

[48:21] neighbors um that have room. Uh B2 has a 17-point spread which is the narrowest

[48:26] of the four. Um and 37 children passed an hour on the bus which is the fewest

[48:31] um of the four at this drawing. There are other drawings that make it better.

[48:35] Um so kind of watch outs here. Uh the fullest school here is Boonboro uh which

[48:41] would be at 90% in 2526 enrollment. Um and Huddleston at 90% in 2035. Uh the

[48:49] MTS would still be Big Island at 74%. Um it is the biggest move of the

[48:55] consolidation plans uh with 722 students having to change schools.

[49:02] » How many under an hour >> on this one? So So if we look at this,

[49:09] the children riding over 60 minutes um would increase by six students.

[49:15] » Is that on here somewhere? Um, >> it's right at the top.

[49:18] » Yeah, it's right

[49:22] » the top of this page. >> Yeah, right here.

[49:26] » So, it's sorry on this page, but you're also

[49:30] as a as another another piece of this. We also are going to have um an

[49:35] interactive map that you can look at that will have all of these metrics

[49:39] [clears throat] on it as well. Um, and again, that's something that will not

[49:42] only be available to you all, but will be publicly available as well.

[49:48] » When will we have that? >> Tomorrow.

[49:50] » That'll be tomorrow as well. >> Yep. And I'm going to show it to you

[49:52] tonight. >> Um, we just need to get it up on the

[49:55] website. >> Yeah.

[49:57] » Um, probably make a couple little tweaks before then

[50:01] » and also any of your feedback if tweaks need to be made before it goes out. Um,

[50:07] okay. we can also focus the optimization more on transportation instead of um the

[50:16] compact priority and so that has a different impact right so um sorry I'm

[50:23] going all over the place here um everyone stop looking at the screen so

[50:29] you don't get motion sick um if we look at the transport priority um we see the

[50:34] number of students again is at 37 um for over 60 minutes, but the number of buses

[50:41] to hold to 60 minutes goes down. Um, and the number of rides lengthened to 15

[50:45] plus minutes goes down as well. And again, uh, we have the matrix here

[50:51] that we can kind of talk through. Um,

[50:55] we also have ones where we focus on waiting um, needs balance. So, this is

[51:00] kind of that um, making sure there's a balance on um, uh, like income

[51:07] inequality. basically um throughout the district. Um so this is the same

[51:11] consolidation with that weighted first against the first drawing. It raises the

[51:15] number of children riding over an hour um with fewer students changing school

[51:19] and holds the full flest school to 92%. Um so you kind of see all of those

[51:26] statistics there. And then the final piece is

[51:30] Steuartsville plus Bedford Primary. Bedford primary um is a real building

[51:35] with the same model saving as the other candidates. I want to be very clear with

[51:39] that. I think all of us are on the same page there. But the open question is

[51:43] where prek would go. Um and we would need to name a home for it. Uh the

[51:48] district and the board here uh is when I say the district. Um so

[51:54] just the first drawing of this does increase the number of children writing

[51:57] over 60 minutes. Um but we do have ones that work a little bit better than that.

[52:02] But that's this is a one option for it. And then need need balancing priority.

[52:08] Um we actually decreased the number of students riding over 60 minutes by a lot

[52:11] as well. Um and then a utilization priority also

[52:18] decreases but not as well from the first drawing the children over 60 minutes.

[52:24] So if we [snorts] look at the four structures side by side at their best

[52:29] drawing out of the drawings that we've done so far out of the optimizations

[52:32] that I've done without any community input

[52:36] um what we are looking at is today at the very top a full school at 95% spread

[52:43] of 46 points zero students moved obviously um typical rides 22 minutes

[52:49] the long ride uh 90th percentile is 41 minutes over 60 minutes, we have 31

[52:54] students, 31 elementary students. Um, and rides that increase by 15 minutes um

[53:00] is zero because they can't increase uh if they're now. Um, and then this

[53:05] measure of how many extra buses would we need to send out in the mornings to hold

[53:09] everyone under 60 minutes is uh in this optimization seven.

[53:14] So, if we look at A1, uh we can see the fullest school is down to 89%. So, we

[53:21] solved some of that problem. The spread is still very high at 34. Um, students

[53:26] moved is 516. Typical ride doesn't change. Long ride doesn't change that

[53:31] much. Uh, changes by a minute. Um, over 60 minutes, we actually decrease. And

[53:36] 252 students actually increase their rides by 15 minutes. Um, that's going to

[53:41] happen when you close a school and redraw boundaries. Um, and buses to hold

[53:46] 60 minutes is um is again seven. But here we get that savings of one closed

[53:51] building of just over a million dollars. The next three, I won't read all the

[53:55] numbers. You all can uh read them as well and you will have these slides. But

[53:59] the general idea here um is that uh each of these drawings

[54:06] increases um some of the long rides and some of the rides 15 plus minutes by

[54:11] necessity because you are closing schools. um but they do it

[54:14] differentially and so that is one piece on the transportation. The annual

[54:19] savings is obviously another piece. With one school it's just over a million

[54:22] dollars for the district. With two schools it's over 2 million. Um but with

[54:28] all of these options we can draw a set of boundaries that works.

[54:36] That is really the takeaway I want you all to have today. And we can even tweak

[54:40] these a little bit more and maybe optimize them a even a little bit better

[54:45] between now and December. But just in the work that we've done thus far making

[54:49] these first set of drawings, these are all workable um workable attendance

[54:54] zones. So drawn at its best B1 and B2 beat

[54:58] Steuartsville and boundary alignment on spread. Um P1 does not. Uh the narrowest

[55:03] spread is B1. Few children over an hour is A1. Fewest students moved. Also A1.

[55:10] Um, makes sense. You're only closing one school there. Um, typical rides stay

[55:13] within one minute of today's 22 under all four. And the long tale of rides is

[55:18] really where they differ and what you all might want to be thinking about as

[55:21] well. P1 also just to reiterate leaves open the prek question.

[55:28] Okay, so we talked about last time the numbers do potentially support on

[55:33] utilization three consolidations. Um, so I would still say that's the case. On

[55:39] seats, yes. I would say on buses for the for a district like Bedford County, it

[55:45] might be kind of tough. Um, on utilization three works, B9 and P2 have

[55:50] the narrowest spreads on the menu and the largest saving largest

[55:53] [clears throat] savings. Um, on transportation,

[55:58] uh, B9 somewhat holds today's line, but that long tail is problematic on B9. And

[56:05] a reminder that B9 is Steuartsville, Otter River, and Big Island.

[56:10] Um 806 students would have to change schools. Um and two communities uh two

[56:15] additional communities lose a building at once. So um really the low forecast

[56:21] is where a third consolidation in my opinion on the fiscal side of

[56:26] things becomes more necessary than optional. But I would also say that at

[56:30] this point the utilization numbers support it but kind of barely support a

[56:36] third school. Um I think in in my professional opinion your decision is

[56:41] probably more on one versus two, but that that is my professional opinion. Um

[56:48] so this is just kind of looking at the the six different ways that we've drawn

[56:51] the boundaries um and what each of them trade in terms

[56:55] of ride burden. um estimated minutes past 60 for all riders, compactness,

[57:00] number of students moved, subdivision split, and the need spread.

[57:06] Um and then the same thing for the best drawing for bus rides. Um again, all of

[57:12] this information is going to be totally available to you all. The point that I'm

[57:16] trying to make here is these are these are decision these are workable maps if

[57:21] it's a discussion that you all want to have and have with the community.

[57:26] So, what do we need from you all tonight?

[57:30] The decision we need tonight is do we move forward to town halls on

[57:35] Steuartsville and B boundary alignment only or also looking at an additional

[57:40] consolidation. So, the reason that I need to know that is because I want to

[57:44] give you all materials to bring to those meetings, big maps, um you know,

[57:49] additional things like this. um and I need to know what to include in those

[57:55] materials. So, um Stuartsville and boundary alignment only would be really

[58:00] much more focused on the maps that are drawn and talking about those actual

[58:06] boundaries. If we're looking at an additional consolidation, we would have

[58:10] that plus the discussion about should we be consolidating that additional school.

[58:17] um our read of the data. Um the second consolidation really does fix the

[58:21] imbalance that the study was commissioned to address. The capacity

[58:25] map supports it in every demand state, but those are numbers. That's not the

[58:31] community. That's that's not uh the only thing that you all have to decide on. Um

[58:36] so that that discussion is different in kind, not just in degree. So,

[58:43] I guess that's that's my biggest ask of you all. Before we get there, middle and

[58:48] high school boundaries, I didn't forget about you. We need to settle the

[58:51] elementary path first. Uh, every option in this deck then leaves us needing to

[58:57] create reasonable pyramids for each of the attendance zones.

[59:02] But we don't want to do that and then make this, you know, again, I said I

[59:07] gave you guys this much. It could have been this much. If we added middle

[59:10] schools, it could have been this much. So, we want to take this down to this

[59:14] and then add middle schools and high schools. Um, [clears throat]

[59:20] what we can do to help in terms of materials. So, number one, these

[59:26] packets, you will have those. They will be out there publicly. We can work on

[59:31] large format maps, ones that make sense for any town hall meetings that you're

[59:35] having. We also, which I'll show you just very briefly because I know we're

[59:39] short on time. Uh, and we have an interactive app that not only allows

[59:44] folks to go in and look at each of these options and kind of, you know, go back

[59:50] and look at each of the metrics for them, but it also allows them to give

[59:54] feedback through the app. So, if they have questions, concerns about things,

[59:58] they will be able to put feedback in that app as another way to give feedback

[1:00:03] additionally to the town halls. Um all of that information we will collate and

[1:00:08] we will give to the board. Um and then also the summary sheet for drawing which

[1:00:13] is really this thing. I know it's more than three pages now with the focus ends

[1:00:19] but those are all things we can provide and if there are other things that you

[1:00:22] think might be helpful please feel free to bring them up and we can see what we

[1:00:26] can do. So this is kind of the where this goes from here. I'm just going to

[1:00:31] leave that up because that's just rehashing the schedule. Um, any

[1:00:35] questions before we talk about potentially the

[1:00:42] » what you want to move forward to town hall meetings?

[1:00:45] » We got 30 seconds for uh public comment. >> So, we can we hold the questions till

[1:00:51] after we do public comment and then we can continue to go get some answers and

[1:00:55] we'll we'll we'll go right down. Yep. >> All right.

[1:01:01] 20 seconds early. I think we'll we can go for it. All right,

[1:01:06] » we're going to move on to 6.01 public comments. I'm going to find my sheet

[1:01:11] here. That'll get us on time, I guess. I don't know if I have a sheet

[1:01:17] somewhere. It's on me. I'll find it. There's the

[1:01:21] one. I've got a lot of there's a lot of paper trying

[1:01:27] » back of your blue. >> I don't know somewhere. I might need

[1:01:30] some help. >> I have to really read.

[1:01:34] » Should have memorized some. >> You got another copy.

[1:01:41] » I am a man so I usually cannot find anything.

[1:01:46] I know where my pen is. I get a lot of help. All right, we got it. six o'clock.

[1:01:52] [laughter] >> All right. The public comment portion of

[1:01:55] tonight's agenda is limited to 40 minutes. Speakers are asked to state

[1:01:58] their name and voting district. The school board is here to listen to your

[1:02:01] comments um but will not engage or respond to speakers during this

[1:02:04] 40-minute period. Please remember this is a public meeting and that we expect

[1:02:08] all speakers to refrain from foul, profane, abusive or hateful language um

[1:02:13] uh during their comments and or anytime in attendance during this meeting. We

[1:02:17] also ask that speakers keep their remarks objective and about the school

[1:02:20] in nature. Please keep all comments limited to matters related to the public

[1:02:23] schools and any comments that are harassing or amount to a personal attack

[1:02:27] against any identifiable individ individual whether board member or staff

[1:02:31] or student or having the potential to cause unnecessary delay or disruption to

[1:02:35] this meeting are prohibited. This is a public meeting for public matters. If a

[1:02:39] speaker is not present when their name is called will proceed to the next name

[1:02:42] on the list. An individual who has not signed up to speak may not substitute

[1:02:46] for that time slot. Individuals will have four minutes to address the board.

[1:02:50] An alarm will sound when an individual has 30 seconds remaining and a second

[1:02:53] alarm will sound when the allotted four minutes have expired. When this second

[1:02:57] alarm sounds, please discontinue speaking and allow the next person in

[1:03:00] line to come up to the podium. Should you be unable to finish your comments,

[1:03:04] please send or give them to Mrs. Johnson and she will give them to board members.

[1:03:07] Please do not adjust the microphone at the podium as it has been positioned

[1:03:11] with optimum audio quality. All right, public comment tonight. First on the

[1:03:16] list, Amanda Bryan.

[1:03:21] » Good evening.

[1:03:26] So, uh I'm Amanda Bryan. I live in district one. Um, since March, I

[1:03:32] personally and members of our community have spent a great deal of time trying

[1:03:35] to rebuild something that has been missing from this district's

[1:03:39] decision-making process, and that is meaningful community participation.

[1:03:44] And that lack of participation is, in my opinion, something that has happened

[1:03:48] from both sides. Parents don't participate if they feel their voices

[1:03:52] aren't heard or valued. But if parents don't show up, leadership doesn't think

[1:03:57] it's worth the enormous time and effort that is required to solicit and

[1:04:01] incorporate feedback. It becomes a cycle that repeats and grows into what we have

[1:04:05] now. A process that at least appears essentially free of meaningful parental

[1:04:10] and community input. Now, a problem like this that has

[1:04:14] developed over a period of time will also take a period of time to correct.

[1:04:19] Complex problems require complex solutions. For our part, I and other

[1:04:25] community members have encouraged parents to attend meetings, follow along

[1:04:29] with the process, read documents, ask questions, continue showing up even when

[1:04:35] we have believed decisions have already been made.

[1:04:39] I have said publicly that our political processes work best when the community

[1:04:44] remains involved, engaged, and unwilling to back down simply because we may lose

[1:04:49] a vote. I said these things because I genuinely believe them.

[1:04:55] I want to believe that parents in this board can continue to come to the table

[1:05:00] in good faith and establish a productive working relationship. But that becomes

[1:05:06] much harder when the board says it wants collaboration while its actual choices

[1:05:10] communicate something different. Tonight, we're hearing from DAA the

[1:05:14] redistricting proposals that could affect families throughout the county.

[1:05:17] The district has also today, I believe, announced a series of town halls

[1:05:21] intended to give those families an opportunity to participate.

[1:05:26] But take a look at where those opportunities have been placed. There

[1:05:30] are six announced town hall stops and four out of the six of them are very

[1:05:36] centrally located in the forest district.

[1:05:39] There's not a single town hall at Stewartsville, Good View, Stanton River,

[1:05:45] or anywhere else in that part of the eastern end of the county. I'm sorry,

[1:05:50] the western end of the county. That is not geographically balanced

[1:05:56] public engagement. The families affected by redistricting should not have to

[1:06:01] travel across a county this large to reach a process that is supposedly

[1:06:05] designed to include them. Particularly when four of those six opportunities are

[1:06:11] concentrated in one portion of the county. This is not just about

[1:06:14] convenience. Parents are working. They're arranging child care, managing

[1:06:19] homework, dinner, sports, and transportation. And each one of you are

[1:06:23] as well. We recognize that every additional mile and every

[1:06:29] additional minute minute minute of travel narrows the group of people who

[1:06:32] can realistically participate in those conversations. If this board wants

[1:06:36] representative access, it m it representative input. It must create

[1:06:40] representative access. This concern also cannot be separated from what was said

[1:06:45] during the August board meeting. While chairing that meeting, the vice chair

[1:06:49] said he had been alerted to the fact that public comment is not really a

[1:06:53] necessary part of our meetings. I understand that that might have been

[1:06:57] intended as an observation about what is legally required and maybe even

[1:07:01] frustration about lack of parental involvement, but that's not how it lands

[1:07:05] with parents. Public comment may not be legally required at every meeting, but

[1:07:10] public participation is not a favor that this board bestows upon its

[1:07:15] constituents. This board is made up of elected officials and listening to the

[1:07:20] people you represent is part of the responsibility you accepted when you

[1:07:23] sought these seats. Thank you. >> Thank you.

[1:07:28] Next up, [clears throat] Elizabeth Manzel.

[1:07:34] » Good evening. I'm Elizabeth Manel, District 6. I have close ties to the Big

[1:07:38] Island community and here to address the need for a prek program at Big Island.

[1:07:43] Due to federal funding cuts, their Head Start program was cut. In the Big Island

[1:07:48] community, there are no daycarees or church preschool programs. Bedford

[1:07:52] County has six title one elementary schools. Seven, if you count Buffford

[1:07:56] Primary and Befford Elementary separately. Five of these schools have

[1:08:00] VPI programs. Big Island Elementary is the only title one school that does not

[1:08:05] have a VPI program. What are the qualifications for VPI's income

[1:08:10] eligibility? At or below 200% for the 2025 federal poverty guidelines, which

[1:08:16] is for a family of four, is an income of $64,300.

[1:08:21] The Big Island community's median income is 40,000. The median income in Forest

[1:08:27] is 82,000 and there are two VPI programs in the forest communities, New London

[1:08:32] and Thomas Jefferson. I'm not saying there's not a need for BPI in the forest

[1:08:36] communities. I'm emphasizing that the need is as is as great in the Big Island

[1:08:41] community. Yes, the population and school enrollment are different. Yes,

[1:08:46] BPI requires a certain number of applicants. The Head Start class that

[1:08:50] was cancelled this year had seven four year olds along with some on a wait

[1:08:54] list. In 2003 2004, Montville Elementary started a prek class with just eight

[1:09:01] students. That year it was funded by Title One funding. The class grew into a

[1:09:07] full VPI class that's still in existence today. Big Island Elementary has 17

[1:09:13] kindergarters enroll this year. Future kindergarteners in Big Island community

[1:09:18] deserve a quality preschool. It is time for you, the school board, to recognize

[1:09:23] the importance of preschool availability and for the Big Island community to know

[1:09:27] that you see them and no child feels left behind. Despite lack of federal

[1:09:33] state funding, I believe if we work together, we can gather the necessary

[1:09:36] resources to have half a prek class with one teacher. In addition, in response to

[1:09:43] the DA representation tonight, when you look to redraw

[1:09:47] boundaries for school districts, ple please consider the soio economic status

[1:09:52] of the community as families with the least financial resources should be put

[1:09:56] in situations to be furthest from their school.

[1:10:01] Small rural schools serve as a community center for its residents. For students

[1:10:06] sent school outside their community, I would ask what is the data on parent

[1:10:10] involvement as compared to parent involvement when students or attend the

[1:10:15] their community school? Thank you. >> Thank you very much. [clears throat]

[1:10:22] Uh as of right now, that is everybody who has signed up. So if there's anyone

[1:10:27] else who would like to speak, you can you can speak at this time.

[1:10:33] All right. None. I will now close public comment.

[1:10:39] All right. So, let's go back. It's 2.01. Uh, you can take take back

[1:10:45] over where you're at.

[1:10:49] [clears throat] All right. So, going back to kind of

[1:10:54] where where we were. Um, switch [clears throat] back over to my

[1:10:59] slides. Um maybe wait for it. There it is. Um

[1:11:06] we have where this goes from here. I can also I will show in a few minutes um the

[1:11:10] app that we have as well. Um but I did want to see if there were any questions

[1:11:16] first. Um or if there if you all wanted to talk about the the consideration that

[1:11:21] I brought up. Um,

[1:11:26] » so why don't we ask the questions first and then we'll come back and the

[1:11:30] decision is one or two Stewardsville and move the boundaries or would we consider

[1:11:34] two? >> Yep.

[1:11:35] » Miss Johnson, when we get there, do we need consensus or how do we do that?

[1:11:41] » Um,

[1:11:44] you could do consensus. Um, or you could it could just be whatever

[1:11:50] the board as a majority decides. the board could agree to just go with

[1:11:53] majority. >> Okay.

[1:11:54] » Um being that it was not an actual, you know, an official action item on the

[1:11:58] agenda. >> So I can just go one or two and just

[1:12:00] have every board member say we count them up. Okay. We we'll do it that way.

[1:12:05] All right. Well, we'll start with questions if there's any questions.

[1:12:07] We'll start over here. Mr. K. >> I don't have any real questions. I I do

[1:12:13] have an interesting observation, I think, or I find it interesting, but I

[1:12:17] am quite boring. Um [laughter] if we were looking at just the uh

[1:12:22] Storzville consolidation boundary realignment, I noticed we currently are

[1:12:27] showing nine schools under 80% utilization, one over 95, but just under

[1:12:33] that one measure, we then go to five schools under 80%. So we drop four

[1:12:40] schools go over that 80% uh metric. Um and our 95% school which is going to be

[1:12:47] your forest elementary school drops to an 84%. So that gives us a little bit of

[1:12:55] balance there so that we can actually you know continue to that growth area

[1:12:59] but into the 2035 projection we then go to four. [clears throat]

[1:13:04] So it's still it's still going to that growth area that we're seeing. Um my my

[1:13:11] big fear would be if we if we did go to a closing a second school that's going

[1:13:17] to hamstring us a little bit and I'm super not happy about the the bus rides.

[1:13:23] Um, so to me, um,

[1:13:29] with all this data that we have, which is I'm not going to lie, it's it's a lot

[1:13:33] of data to pour over. So, I almost need to I almost need to digest it a little

[1:13:38] bit, but in my mind, we're getting

[1:13:44] essentially what we need to do by redrawing a district map and still

[1:13:48] allowing us an opportunity to grow because at the end of the day, the

[1:13:52] projections for 2035, that's an optimum projection. It might go lower, might go

[1:13:56] higher, but none of us saw COVID coming. None of us saw anything like it. and we

[1:14:01] have no idea what the future holds. For us to sit here and say we do is is a

[1:14:06] little bit flippant. So, I'm really struggling to consider closing a second

[1:14:11] location at this time. Um, how long do we have access to these

[1:14:18] maps? I remember you said in our initial, but I can't was it like 35

[1:14:23] years or something like that >> to to the to the interactive map.

[1:14:29] » Yes, sir. >> Yeah. you you have you have 12 months of

[1:14:31] of access to the tool. Yeah. >> Okay.

[1:14:34] » Um >> so realistically

[1:14:38] in [clears throat] my opinion or in my my mindset if we were to uh consider

[1:14:44] that option I guess it's A1. >> Am I doing this right?

[1:14:49] » Okay. We consider option A1. It gets us where we need to go and gets us there

[1:14:54] comfortably. uh it's the least disruptive of

[1:14:57] everything and it still saves the school division

[1:15:01] quite a bit of money. So I I'm I'm a little tempted to that. If you go if you

[1:15:06] look at anything else, I'm concerned

[1:15:11] we're going to be hurting should should the tide change a

[1:15:16] little bit different.

[1:15:19] One one thing I will note on that statement is there are different

[1:15:24] drawings for all of these. So some of the two closure options actually do keep

[1:15:29] all of the schools under 90%. And balance them more. So like for instance

[1:15:34] this one that's up here right now B2. Um this one actually keeps a much cleaner

[1:15:41] Sorry, I'm just going to go I'll bring this with me. Um

[1:15:46] but but yes I think actually having a little more time to bring into the data

[1:15:51] because if you look at this one utilization out at 2035 you're going a

[1:15:56] spread 87 here 78 85 86 88 90 is your highest 88 84 89 89 um so we keep all of

[1:16:05] them under 90 it's just a qu we have to optimize different things and that'll be

[1:16:10] part of the discussion if we go that direction but I do I do just want you

[1:16:14] all to be making a decision based off of off of that fact that it is possible to

[1:16:19] draw these so that they are more balanced than the one than the one you

[1:16:23] were talking about. >> Well, and and again I I understand that

[1:16:28] y >> um the other thing that scares me about

[1:16:32] that though is when you're looking at that same option

[1:16:36] » uh how many kids are displaced? How many kids are moved total?

[1:16:40] 700. >> Yeah, that one would be 722 students.

[1:16:45] » So, it's 9% of our entire student population is displaced.

[1:16:50] » Yeah, it's 19% of elementary students. >> That's a that hurts. [laughter]

[1:16:58] That's a lot. >> It is it is it is a disruption and that

[1:17:02] is part of the decision for sure. >> You know, we have tough decision to

[1:17:08] make. no matter what we do, it's going to disrupt, right?

[1:17:11] » But if we can minimize that and still achieve our goal, I think that's

[1:17:17] kind of >> I'm going to save most of my comments

[1:17:19] till after everyone talks. But I I do want to also say

[1:17:23] [clears throat and snorts] it's also incumbent on us that if there

[1:17:27] if we look at another option and there is a lot of savings, let's just say

[1:17:31] there is. We still remember we've got reversion coming up. We have CIP that

[1:17:35] we're not going to have any real money for. We just heard from somebody that

[1:17:38] says VPI is super important. We have other savings that we could pour into

[1:17:43] our students, into our staff. There is some disruption, but is there other

[1:17:47] things that we can do that are not only mitigating, but helping us excel in

[1:17:51] other in other avenues? So, I want to be cognizant of that. So, I I think that we

[1:17:56] got a one thing we say tonight is is great, but we still have a lot to really

[1:18:01] chew on. >> Yeah.

[1:18:03] My my fear is and this is a great amount of data is you know it's hard for me to

[1:18:13] say I agree it's a lot of it's hard for me to say we should take any options off

[1:18:16] the table with you know getting an hour to look over 60s some pages worth of

[1:18:22] data it's hard for me to go all right let's eliminate one of the options when

[1:18:27] » I haven't >> looked at them all

[1:18:29] » I haven't had a chance to really dive into these No, no offense to you.

[1:18:35] » You provided a ton of information, which is which is great and exactly what we

[1:18:38] asked for. It's just >> I agree with you. I don't think that

[1:18:42] that might still be the option we land at, but man, it's hard for me to go, all

[1:18:46] right, we should take it off the board and then

[1:18:48] » No, that's what I was going to ask was, do we have to have this answer to you

[1:18:51] tonight or could it be >> I think that directs us the town hall

[1:18:54] meetings we're going to be having. >> Well, I mean, that's another

[1:18:57] » Yeah. Well, let's let's let's be honest. I can I can be perfectly honest with

[1:19:00] you. I'm not I don't predict the future, but if we say we're going to look at

[1:19:04] considering closing two schools, those town halls are going to be like

[1:19:07] everyone's going to say do option one, don't close a school, right? Or they're

[1:19:12] going to say, well, if you close two schools, just don't close my school. And

[1:19:15] I get that. We know that that's what's going to happen. I I think we need we

[1:19:19] certainly do need time to digest this information so that we can you informed

[1:19:24] us a lot, but I'm I'm not I couldn't go and talk to somebody on the street about

[1:19:27] it with any >> depth of knowledge or confidence. I'm

[1:19:31] not just talking inside of my mouth. >> And it you know, at the same time

[1:19:38] that I I guess that's where I'm coming from. If if I have to choose tonight,

[1:19:42] » I got to go lobster. I I because I because I can't I can't wrap my head

[1:19:47] around anything else at this point. [clears throat] So I think I need more

[1:19:50] time. I just >> I'm not smart enough to figure this out

[1:19:55] in 20 minutes, guys. >> Yeah. To to to be clear, I'm not I'm not

[1:20:00] asking you guys to say one or two. I'm just asking, do you want to take two off

[1:20:05] the table or keep it on the table? That is the only question I'm asking.

[1:20:09] » I'm sorry. I need I'm maybe I I need to be very clear about that. That is the

[1:20:13] question I'm asking. Do you want to have those options when you have your town

[1:20:17] halls? >> Okay, that makes it way

[1:20:20] » at this point. [laughter] >> Someone just smack me for now.

[1:20:24] » I think we might. [snorts] I think we might still come to that same

[1:20:29] conclusion. Um, all right. It's not >> Man, it'd be nice to be able to take

[1:20:34] this evening and work through everything.

[1:20:36] » To Chris's point, we have a fiduciary responsibility.

[1:20:39] » Absolutely. you. It's really uh Mr. Haggler said it

[1:20:43] before, it's really hard to run a school under that 60%. Because the the math

[1:20:50] doesn't wipe math out. You have Otter River with a a fourth grade that's got

[1:20:53] 34 kids in it and so you have to add a second teacher. I get it. So, I don't I

[1:20:58] think we shouldn't take any option off the table except for uh closing [snorts]

[1:21:04] three schools to me is nutty. So that's that's an option I I

[1:21:10] » look like it did that one did come up. >> Yeah, it's it's

[1:21:13] » you guys and I I want you guys all to jump in too and this is a full-on

[1:21:17] discussion. >> Well,

[1:21:20] I mean I I had mentioned before I didn't want to just keep putting band-aids on

[1:21:25] everything. I wanted to just do it once and let people settle where they're

[1:21:31] going to be. Um, that being said, um,

[1:21:37] closing two schools, I'm I mean, I guess I'm an optimist. I'm hoping there's more

[1:21:42] babies coming. [laughter] I'm I'm hoping that the economy changes and we actually

[1:21:47] start seeing healthier people and more, you know, stay home moms who can

[1:21:53] actually still have children and take care of them. I um

[1:21:59] and that we don't have to have two people working all the time so that we

[1:22:04] can have more children and healthier families. Um but I know that's not what

[1:22:09] reality is right now. Um so I'm a little more um I'm a little

[1:22:18] more careful to not close two schools. That's that doesn't give us an option um

[1:22:25] to have to reopen something else, you know. [clears throat]

[1:22:30] Yeah. I It's hard to sell schools, too. So, it might still be there even if we

[1:22:35] don't actually have it running. So, I don't know how that would work either.

[1:22:42] Um, as everybody has said, it's a lot of

[1:22:45] information and it's something I want to digest as well, but I also do want to

[1:22:48] hear from administration and the different areas of the buildings and

[1:22:55] you know how much needs to go into a building, all of the buildings that have

[1:22:59] been mentioned or transportation and how difficult that would be to find seven

[1:23:04] additional bus drivers when we already struggle. Um, so I think I want to hear

[1:23:09] from our administration as well before we take anything off the table.

[1:23:16] I mean, that's where I'm at. I just I need more information.

[1:23:22] » Um, I too am reticent to to close two schools just because of the community

[1:23:29] backlash that would happen with that. I think it would be very difficult to

[1:23:33] swallow. Um,

[1:23:39] but Steuartsville we know needed to close and remember the the backlash that

[1:23:44] we got from that u because it it's an emotional decision and I think if we did

[1:23:51] two or three schools we could all just have to watch our backs.

[1:23:59] » Can we we might have to take them at savings to buy kevlar you know.

[1:24:03] » Absolutely. But no, it's, you know, and we need to

[1:24:07] hear from our constituents before we make any decisions, too. You know, so I

[1:24:11] think all the options should stay on the table.

[1:24:14] » Um, you know, a million dollar savings is not something to sneeze at when we've

[1:24:18] got a big shortfall coming.

[1:24:23] So, yeah, we're all going to be digesting this information and we need

[1:24:28] more. >> I've got one question for administration

[1:24:32] here. Um, GP is our I think our fifth largest

[1:24:37] employer in Bethford County or in [clears throat] the top you know you

[1:24:40] talk to um do we have a responsibility to keep Big Island there as part of any

[1:24:46] type of agreement with GP when it came in I have heard that but I don't know of

[1:24:50] any exist I don't have a record of it >> I don't have anything in my files with

[1:24:55] anything like that >> I've always heard that

[1:24:57] » and I would say in essence really >> you can't really buy in future school

[1:25:02] boards you know this is school board at city right now. That's your

[1:25:05] responsibility to make decisions. You [snorts] can't really buy a future

[1:25:08] school board.

[1:25:15] » I would say there's also a couple things I know a lot of division or you know

[1:25:19] counties are considering a you know a sales tax increase. I don't think we're

[1:25:23] one of them. Um as of as of right now I don't think that we are. And that's so

[1:25:27] that's assuming that doesn't ever come up and doesn't get done. We still have

[1:25:33] What are we going to do to help fix these schools? So, yeah, we have a

[1:25:36] million or$2 million dollars of ongoing savings. What are we gonna, you know,

[1:25:41] HVAC is going to go out, roofs are going to go, parking, all the things that we

[1:25:45] have to deal with on a CIP level. So, what's that ongoing savings? So, that's

[1:25:48] something else to consider. The other thing is you don't want to also be like,

[1:25:52] hey, we're just taking this away. So I would ask staff if you had which you're

[1:25:58] going to have a million. If you had two million, what would we do with that to

[1:26:03] better our education for our kids to to help our staff? What would we do? What

[1:26:09] would we put that money into? Now this board will change and of course we need

[1:26:13] to approve that stuff. But your best foot forward, what would make the

[1:26:17] biggest positive impact on the division if we did that? And I understand, Mr.

[1:26:23] Kins, I understand your point. What if, and you know, what if you and Dora,

[1:26:26] right, and people going to start having more kids and we're going to fill these

[1:26:29] up? Obviously, it would depend where they go. We still have a couple

[1:26:32] buildings that we could add on that we could add on a wing tube or something.

[1:26:38] We already are ruling out because I guarantee if you put the sit the

[1:26:42] situation in there for like if we had the perfect spot and we could spend $50

[1:26:46] million that we don't have to build an elementary school that we may need, you

[1:26:50] can move kids around a whole lot. You're going to need more buses, but you would

[1:26:53] alleviate the the 90% problem everywhere.

[1:26:57] » But where we if if we're considering 1 million or two million, we definitely

[1:27:00] it's going to take 25 years to get to 50 million. So

[1:27:06] there's a there's a couple different things that we do certainly need to

[1:27:08] consider. My recommendation would be not to take anything off the table. Let us

[1:27:13] have a chance. We have to do that. We're going to have town halls pretty much

[1:27:16] know where they're going to be. But this is going to be very important to hear

[1:27:19] because in each of these four there's other different options like sub

[1:27:23] options. And I think once the public sees that and looks at it, they go,

[1:27:26] "Hey, I get it. If you have to do this, this one is the best ride or whatever."

[1:27:30] Um, but I think we shouldn't take anything off the table. We should just

[1:27:34] approach the town halls head [clears throat] on and we're going to

[1:27:37] try to make the best decision we can make for the county. Not just for right

[1:27:41] now, but as we get into the future. So, >> is there am I the only person concerned

[1:27:49] if we close too many schools that kids are gonna parents are going to start

[1:27:53] pulling kids out of our division and put them in somewhere else?

[1:27:58] I'm I I have a concern about that personally. Um

[1:28:03] my my alone in that >> I think anytime you you put a school

[1:28:07] system into a >> state of flux.

[1:28:10] » Yeah. You're going to have it's going to take a little bit to even back out. So I

[1:28:16] I would agree with you in the short term absolutely but I don't I don't know. You

[1:28:22] might know this from your experience with other other school systems. Once

[1:28:26] you put the And right now we're in a state of flux. Um, you know, how long

[1:28:31] does that take to kind of even out? Do you have a a metric on that?

[1:28:35] » So, let let me just say, and this is why this is always so hard. There's no

[1:28:39] perfect decision. No one no one wants to be making the decisions to consolidate

[1:28:43] schools, but you also want to think about two different things. Um, is it

[1:28:48] possible that closing additional school pushes some families out of the

[1:28:52] district? Yes. Is it possible that not closing down

[1:28:56] another school over time pushes some [laughter] folks out of the district if

[1:29:00] enrollment declines and class sizes get really small and they decide they want

[1:29:04] to go elsewhere as well? Yes, I've also seen that happen. I've seen school

[1:29:08] districts where they haven't made those decisions and some of the school sizes

[1:29:12] get so small and you get to like one classroom situations where let's just

[1:29:18] say your kid's having a hard time with another kid. you don't have another

[1:29:22] classroom to move them into in that school in that particular school. Like

[1:29:27] you start have you start running into more of those situations when you have

[1:29:31] lower utilization. You also just have less programming often times when

[1:29:36] utilization gets lower. So um I would say

[1:29:41] neither of these neither of these are decisions that I would want to be making

[1:29:44] either. These are very hard emotional [clears throat] decisions, especially

[1:29:47] for folks like many of you who not only are on the school board and obviously

[1:29:51] care a lot about your community, but also probably grew up in the community

[1:29:54] as well. And so have those ties to each of these buildings. So um I know that

[1:30:00] was a very long- winded way to say this is a very very hard decision, but I

[1:30:04] think in both directions you can have both negative and positive outcomes.

[1:30:10] And you know some of the positives of the consolidation are the opposite of

[1:30:13] what I just said. you have larger, you know, less schools doesn't always mean

[1:30:18] larger class sizes. It means more sections and that can give flexibility

[1:30:23] to school districts as well. And um more programming can be with with savings.

[1:30:29] You know, the question you asked like that is a potential thing that that

[1:30:32] exists. And then on the on the side of not not closing um a school down,

[1:30:38] obviously you have the like community not being as frustrated. Um, but then

[1:30:43] are you just kicking the can down the road for another 10 years and you get to

[1:30:46] the spot where you have to do this again and maybe you have more decline because

[1:30:51] of some of those issues. >> Yeah. I [clears throat]

[1:30:56] there's been a debate over Stewartsville for several years and I'm sure parents

[1:31:00] when it was talked about two years ago were like I'm I'm you know for that

[1:31:04] amount of time they've been thinking about that. It's in the back of your

[1:31:07] mind. And if we don't do if we let's just say we we like we really should do

[1:31:12] it, but we we're not gonna, we're going to just cause a lot of instability, I

[1:31:17] think, too. So, I I think if we make the if we make a move, we need to make a

[1:31:21] move. That's why we're sitting here doing the entire looking at the entire

[1:31:24] county as a whole and not just trying to go, well, what about this? What about

[1:31:27] that? Let's look at the entire county. Let's try to make the best decision we

[1:31:31] can make now. Um, so >> yeah,

[1:31:37] » I just wondered, you know, the Otter River area, we're looking at forest the

[1:31:42] forest area continuing to grow out, which that's what usually happens

[1:31:47] and we closed Otter River, we'd have to be sending them to Big

[1:31:52] Island or, you know, I don't >> you have [clears throat] to add on to a

[1:31:56] school in Forest or >> Yeah. I mean,

[1:31:58] » there would have to be a line shift again and then maybe they go into the

[1:32:02] Liberty zone somehow some way. I don't know if that what I mean, we're

[1:32:07] we're we need time to dive into each one and this is going to be out there. We're

[1:32:11] going to start hearing from people and we're going to have a couple of town

[1:32:14] halls and we'll have chances to ask other questions as as well. I don't

[1:32:18] know, you know, I'm sure we'll start hearing from board

[1:32:23] of supervisors as well on these. Um, you know, because they're going to get

[1:32:28] they're going to get calls and stuff, but that that's absolutely going to

[1:32:31] happen. But if you did look at another school, you know, we have to be

[1:32:35] practical here, too, and go what makes the most sense, which what school would

[1:32:40] be, you know, you know, our river would be something that's kind of like it's on

[1:32:44] 221, it's right there. Like, I don't know. You have to look at the schools

[1:32:47] and go you don't want them sitting there vacant. What could they be? Could they

[1:32:52] be anything? Is there anything to that? I don't know. But this is all things

[1:32:55] that have to be considered. You have to consider all of it. So,

[1:32:59] » well, Big Island is definitely under utilized,

[1:33:04] but a community up there. >> That's the other thing. Like the bus

[1:33:09] rides are probably pretty long. >> Yes,

[1:33:11] » they're already long. >> It's not a straight line. There's

[1:33:15] mountains in the way. >> There's mountains,

[1:33:18] » you know, it's just >> 122 or 501 head.

[1:33:20] » Yeah, you have to either go or >> and I mean I I'll say speak speaking

[1:33:24] both for Hotter River and for um and for Big Island, Big Island definitely

[1:33:29] increases the transport transportation the most under the most if you look at

[1:33:35] the most optimal transportation option for all of them. Uh

[1:33:40] is the worst on that. Um, if you look at Otter River, to your point, I know it

[1:33:46] seems weird to be closing a school that's like in that growth area, and

[1:33:50] that's the reason why you have to move the most students. Um, but it actually

[1:33:54] balances relatively well. Um, so it's it's also closer to other schools. So

[1:34:01] like the transportation burden is lower. >> There's buses that you have to buy

[1:34:05] because we're buying we're buying buses. And you know, we'd looked, oh, seven,

[1:34:09] that's not that many. We need seven bus drivers and that seems to be not the

[1:34:13] easiest thing in the world. I guess seven bus drivers is easier than 30.

[1:34:17] When you were putting that number, you were saying that was the number of buses

[1:34:21] to make sure all kids are 60 minutes and under.

[1:34:23] » Yeah. So this was like putting a new constraint on everything

[1:34:26] » which we don't have now >> which we don't that's that is not a

[1:34:29] constraint that we have. Um, so just to explain that a little bit, one of the

[1:34:33] things that we want that I wanted to be able to um, talk through is

[1:34:39] the way that we were optimizing transportation

[1:34:43] assumed that you were running buses the way that you were running them now. But

[1:34:47] one thing you could do if you had schools that were further away is run

[1:34:50] more buses out those routes. Uh, Randy, I know you you brought that up and so

[1:34:53] that was something we wanted to test. So that's where that number comes from of

[1:34:56] like how can could we fix some of the transportation problems with running

[1:35:00] more buses >> and and look if you're saving some money

[1:35:02] and you put in there I think that you know that alleviates a concern of

[1:35:06] parents for sure >> and what time do you have to get up you

[1:35:09] got these kids at the bus stop it's incredibly dark

[1:35:13] » and then at at you know what time did they get home and pretty soon it's going

[1:35:16] to be dark at 5 and you know you see buses and they're getting there it's

[1:35:20] like is that an afterchool program no they're just getting home now it's a

[1:35:24] long day for kids and then they got to do homework and they got, you know, if

[1:35:27] they want to do any sort of extracurricular activity or go to

[1:35:31] church. It's it's a lot. That's a lot. So, I would certainly be up for looking

[1:35:37] at keeping bus rides as short as we [clears throat] could if we had to do

[1:35:41] something. That's a that's a, you know, something that we would have to

[1:35:45] consider. You don't want to add a bur, you know, do a burden, which could be,

[1:35:49] and maybe it works out good, which it it could, but then Oh, oh, by the way, now

[1:35:53] you're on the bus another 25 minutes. That's a long long thing it took. So,

[1:35:57] » can I just add I think with A1, let me just in looking at A1 with Stewart with

[1:36:02] boundaries. It's boundaries for the whole district, not just there, but A1

[1:36:06] was taking care of basically the consolidation of mainly Stewartville and

[1:36:11] Good View, but moving kids so we wouldn't have to add on a mobile or add

[1:36:15] on to Good View. Is that correct? >> Correct.

[1:36:17] » So all the all the maps on there, >> they don't all go to good they don't all

[1:36:20] go to good view. And then also we move some students out.

[1:36:22] » So that would alleviate the the cost or the need for mobiles at Good View.

[1:36:26] » Correct. >> Okay. Thank you. Just wanted to add

[1:36:27] that.

[1:36:34] » So looking at this

[1:36:42] [laughter] um well can we not an accountant.

[1:36:48] » Is there is there a big difference, Randy, between the CIP needs for Big

[1:36:52] Otter and for for Big Island and for Otter River

[1:36:57] » over the next 10 years? >> Let me take a look at that with the

[1:37:00] facility. We can look at that. Let me get my maintenance and look at what our

[1:37:03] needs are and when things are coming on. I don't have that in front of me, but I

[1:37:07] can bring that and get that out to the board as soon as I can. as far as when

[1:37:11] are the you know we we track the big things the roof the HVAC you know and

[1:37:15] things like that when are those coming up and a lot of the HVAC have been taken

[1:37:19] care of over the last four years so you know the needs on that hopefully the

[1:37:24] last 20 25 years on that we'll see with this new um when you ask me my opinion

[1:37:30] um I've been guiding the board really on what the future is on we've had

[1:37:35] declining employment I think this data is putting a a lot of great data in

[1:37:40] front of you that we were able we we were able to do at a top level but not

[1:37:44] in this level and so I appreciate what DA has brought to brought to the table

[1:37:47] here. Um we do have reversion coming to there's a gap in funding that's going to

[1:37:54] come we have set aside funds but not to the level that it's going to go away

[1:37:57] from the state. So that has to be addressed either with more revenue or

[1:38:01] some cuts. Uh we still want to continue to be competitive and pay and give those

[1:38:07] raises when they're on the table for the state that requires local match. Um I

[1:38:10] think somebody was saying that if you do uh have some savings, maybe there's

[1:38:14] other programs want to add. Well, that's added cost and then the money that was

[1:38:19] set aside has allowed us to do quite a bit in the CIP uh capital improvements

[1:38:24] across the board. We'll be able to do a lot more this year and next year, but

[1:38:28] after reversion, if all that money moves over to the operating

[1:38:33] then you might have some lane years where you can do CIP. There's not much,

[1:38:37] you know, you can do. You're gonna have to build that fund back up with

[1:38:40] reoccurring funds over long term. I don't think it's going to happen

[1:38:42] overnight. I don't think you can just find five million to fund that every

[1:38:45] year. And I would peg that CIP probably around five to six million a year to

[1:38:50] maintain all of our equipment, long-term on our buildings. So, I didn't answer

[1:38:54] your question, but those are the three things I see as concerns going

[1:38:58] [laughter] forward from the accounting side. And I and I know we don't have

[1:39:02] everything laid out in the CIP plan before you never know when emergencies

[1:39:06] are going to happen, things are going to break, but if could we also get just a

[1:39:11] breakdown of like got the next five years planned out scheduled maintenance,

[1:39:16] » could we get that broken out to okay, if we eliminated X school,

[1:39:20] » it would it would also not only get the million dollars in savings, but it would

[1:39:24] also eliminate these CP. >> The maintenance department is actually

[1:39:27] looking we got a plan almost out 30 years. Yes.

[1:39:30] » So, we roll things on when we think it's coming up to end of life. But then we

[1:39:33] evaluate, can we get another two or three years out? Just because we say

[1:39:37] it's end of life doesn't mean we replace it. We're looking at how the, you know,

[1:39:40] how's it operating? >> If the roof has no leaks, we're not

[1:39:43] going to do it next year. You know, we're going to we're going to kind of

[1:39:45] get more out of that. But we have that out 30 years. Yes. That comes into play

[1:39:49] as far as if a school comes off, what is that for you?

[1:39:52] » So, the million-dollar statement is just an operation.

[1:39:55] » Yeah. Nice. >> Doesn't have to be that sport decision.

[1:39:58] I'm saying it's the number one savings only that's reoccurring savings and and

[1:40:05] I would say that's really on the administration side in the building

[1:40:09] custodial nutrition principal clerical teachers

[1:40:13] » on the counselor >> well counselors probably but basically

[1:40:17] the teachers go with the kids >> because you're going to have more kids

[1:40:20] in other schools the teachers will flow on what's with them

[1:40:24] » so not really a big reduction on teachers [clears throat] Anything

[1:40:29] else? Questions, comments,

[1:40:38] but if we save this money, does that mean we get less from the board of

[1:40:45] supervisors so that we basically don't save anything? I mean, as far as the

[1:40:52] » is that a possibility? >> Yes. I mean

[1:40:56] » I mean that that's working between the boards. Um there is a gap with reversion

[1:41:01] and working with reassessment tax rates additional funding to make up that gap.

[1:41:08] Um do we need you know is this board required to do all the lifting to make

[1:41:12] that cut or is there additional revenue that's negotiated supervisor? So

[1:41:16] anything's possible. But as we continue this process of being or seeing

[1:41:22] uncapacity school under capacity schools, we will get less money from the

[1:41:27] state to continue to fund those. So where does that fall? It falls on the

[1:41:32] local government. And so there has to be a discussion. I I I could probably X out

[1:41:38] half of my report here. Um what I would urge you to do, and I think you've just

[1:41:43] said it, is don't take anything off the table tonight.

[1:41:47] The town halls are going to be robust. They need to be robust. [clears throat]

[1:41:50] She's right. We do need to get the public involved. But at the end of the

[1:41:54] day, there still needs to be a consideration. As many of you have

[1:41:58] mentioned tonight, reversion. It's coming. Are we prepared for it? You're

[1:42:04] going to hear uh later tonight that we're we're moving on an abbreviated

[1:42:09] budget because the county has asked us to do that because they're considering

[1:42:15] um reassessment property tax, those kinds of things. So, there's a lot of

[1:42:20] push right now. When you look and add all those up, there's a lot of variables

[1:42:24] and and those discussions need to be had not only here and our finance committee,

[1:42:30] but they need to be had down the street because at the end of the day, that's

[1:42:34] their responsibility is to fund us. If if we keep going down in capacities,

[1:42:39] correct me if I'm wrong, Randy, but if we have 19 schools and they only fund us

[1:42:44] for 16 schools, who pays for those extras?

[1:42:49] any positions or anything that's not recognized by the state is on locality.

[1:42:52] » It's on the locality. So those are discussions that need to [clears throat]

[1:42:55] be had >> and and and Mr. Dupair, we are having

[1:42:59] those conversations with we we've we've talked to our counterparts on the board

[1:43:03] of supervisors. We've had several meetings. We plan on having more. I

[1:43:06] think they understand our position and and Miss Pervvis, you're right that that

[1:43:11] could be the case, but we have to operate. We're net receiver, right? We

[1:43:14] don't we don't make our own money. Um, we have to make the best decision we can

[1:43:19] with the cards that we have in front of us and do the best we can. And we do

[1:43:23] have to make the case to our our constituents over there and say this is

[1:43:26] where we're at. >> I know they you tell us we we need to

[1:43:30] make tough decisions and and we are. I don't think we're shying away from our

[1:43:33] responsibility. >> I think they'd appreciate the fact that

[1:43:35] we're trying to consolidate. So, >> we're not taking any decisions lightly.

[1:43:41] you know, we he hau for a long time and um we talked to our constituents and um

[1:43:48] we you know, if they have any thoughts, we're going to bring them back to you

[1:43:51] and say, "Hey, what about this? Let's try it." Or, "Does it work?" I think

[1:43:55] that's what we need to we need to do um and have these discussions. But it's

[1:44:00] also our responsibility that if something doesn't work and we come up

[1:44:03] and say this is the best decision we think we have, it's our responsibility

[1:44:07] to be honest and truthful and say this is where we're at.

[1:44:11] So, uh, >> okay.

[1:44:13] » Uh, can we go back? >> Could you put the calendar up there?

[1:44:17] » We were working with Chris on a potential calendar. We knew about the

[1:44:21] town halls, >> but we had a lot of debate on executive

[1:44:24] staff [clears throat] about doing public hearings and we thought there should be

[1:44:29] like two two rounds of these. So, I'd like the board to consider you're

[1:44:32] looking there's a to be determined up there for the board to consider that on

[1:44:36] October 8th there be a public hearing really on these four options. That's

[1:44:40] what you'd be hearing feedback. You'll hear it at the town hall, but an

[1:44:43] official public hearing on the four options and then coming back and the

[1:44:47] board making a decision later in October to date to be decided

[1:44:54] for uh a special call meeting. That's what we're recommending. Um

[1:44:59] but I, you know, we'll defer to the board on that. That was just us giving

[1:45:03] an idea that after you've done the town halls after the public hearing, you've

[1:45:07] looked at the data, come back later in October sometime and make a decision not

[1:45:12] on the final maps, but are we consolidating one or two and then we

[1:45:16] move into the final maps and get a decision by December on the final

[1:45:20] boundaries? >> So that the to be determined date in

[1:45:25] October would be selecting one of the four. So that would not be one or two. I

[1:45:30] mean it would but it would be which of the schools if you did that or

[1:45:36] » yes because whichever option there would drive and it would take a while to get

[1:45:40] those detailed maps and as Chris said once you have that you get your

[1:45:44] elementary doc down then you look at your middle and high school. Then we

[1:45:47] would do to to be clear. Then we would look at we pick this one. There's as of

[1:45:53] now there's three sub options. >> There might be five

[1:45:56] » that would be there may be more based on town halls. Then we would have to have a

[1:45:59] month to decide which of those three to eight potential options now or three to

[1:46:05] five potential options. We >> go too late in October. We're looking at

[1:46:08] November 12th for public hearing on the maps.

[1:46:13] » Yeah. I I'm I'm not going to shy away from having public hearings. I think we

[1:46:16] need to have both of them and I would be okay with that schedule. We would have

[1:46:19] to I guess pick a date. >> It's tight, but we're still looking at a

[1:46:21] December decision on that. Um because it does impact the budget

[1:46:26] » and so we we need to build a budget and we need to know what's happening on.

[1:46:31] » Did you folks have a date in October you were kicking around?

[1:46:36] » October 8 is the um first hearing that is the October board meeting. We would

[1:46:42] shift to a different venue obviously a larger location.

[1:46:46] » Sorry. >> Um

[1:46:47] » I hear St. Rivers's got a really nice auditorium now.

[1:46:52] » Well, we would then shift the November one probably as well.

[1:46:55] » Probably. Yeah. Oh, any Oh, yes. Anytime it's a public hearing, absolutely. We

[1:46:59] would not be here, but we would do it at a centralized [clears throat]

[1:47:04] » I'd like to do both of the new auditoriums to be honest with you.

[1:47:08] » The October dates up to the board on how how much time they want to put October

[1:47:12] 8th and that they make a decision. >> Is that much of a challenge on your end?

[1:47:20] » Can I can I just bring one if you all think that you would need any updates to

[1:47:24] materials between October 8th and your vote which we put in there. Um I would

[1:47:29] probably like just give me a week I think minimum for that. [clears throat]

[1:47:35] So as you're thinking about dates so not October 9th please.

[1:47:39] » [laughter] >> So,

[1:47:40] » I mean, I've I've pulled some allnighters in my time for for work, but

[1:47:43] uh that would be probably not a very good one.

[1:47:49] » So, I ask a question, and I I'm not trying to change it, but your last town

[1:47:54] hall is on October 6th. >> Do you foresee them needing anything for

[1:48:00] that October 8th meeting, and could you turn that around? So I my

[1:48:06] hope and you know just I think it's a good time to bring it up. My hope is

[1:48:10] that as you all are getting feedback you can bring it to me as you're getting it

[1:48:14] instead of waiting until the end so that I can be bringing it in. If that is the

[1:48:18] case I think I can have any changes in those two days. No problem.

[1:48:25] » How should we do that? >> We I was talking with the seeds over

[1:48:29] here previously. Um we were talking about gathering public data. Obviously,

[1:48:33] I know you've got a comment section on the website. We had talked about for our

[1:48:38] maps that are getting printed out doing a QR code on those that link to this

[1:48:42] comment as well to where we can where we can consolidate all the data and we get

[1:48:47] while we're out there if anyone, you know, we can get their data, but also

[1:48:51] they're able to put anything down in writing so we can aggregate it together.

[1:48:54] So, you know, if you and I are out there for two hours listening to people and

[1:48:59] then sitting down at the computer after I get home and we're going, "God, what

[1:49:04] did that person say?" This would give everyone an opportunity to to have not

[1:49:08] only give feedback to us as board [clears throat] members, but also give

[1:49:11] feedback to where we don't have to rely on, you know, I turned 40 last week, so

[1:49:16] my memor is going off me, >> right?

[1:49:22] Okay. Um, so are you asking Mr. Haggler for us to say are we good with that

[1:49:28] schedule? >> Yes. And then you have to decide now,

[1:49:32] but you have to coordinate a board meeting where we can get, you know,

[1:49:35] everybody there and stuff like that. >> So we can set it up venue and everything

[1:49:40] like that. >> I think if we want to consider this a

[1:49:41] preliminary schedule, I I would be okay with getting board consensus on that and

[1:49:45] then we would we would just pick a date that makes sense. have consensus on the

[1:49:51] tot.

[1:49:54] » Yeah. Yeah. I mean, everyone kind of said that. So, let's see. So, why don't

[1:49:57] we go around and say, do we have consensus um that we should not take any

[1:50:01] of these four options off the table? >> So, quick question. Uh do we need to get

[1:50:06] unanimous consent or just majority consent?

[1:50:10] » That really is the chairman's decision how he wants to run the meeting, whether

[1:50:15] it has to be unanimous or majority. Um unanimous is always better. It carries

[1:50:20] more weight obviously. Um otherwise it should to carry more weight than that.

[1:50:26] We need to be an official vote which we can't have because it wasn't on the

[1:50:29] agenda and we can no longer add you know >> um you can do consensus but I I I think

[1:50:34] majority was everybody wanted to keep all options on the table.

[1:50:38] » That's what I'm going to ask for is majority consensus. So

[1:50:42] » to not take any option of the four options off the table.

[1:50:46] » Yes. >> Yes. Yes.

[1:50:48] » Yes. >> Yes.

[1:50:49] » Yes. >> Yes.

[1:50:50] » Yes. That's unanimous. Okay. So, that's the first thing. Second thing would be,

[1:50:56] do we want to get consent to approve this preliminary agenda? Does that sound

[1:51:01] right, Miss Johnson? The calendar. >> Okay.

[1:51:06] » Just FYI, I will not be here on the 8th. I can try to get answers.

[1:51:12] » We can set that up just so you can hear the public comment or or you can watch

[1:51:16] it after. That's fine. >> And just to make sure kind of feed off

[1:51:19] that question, we're not necessarily planning on a vote on the case. We're

[1:51:23] just gathering more information. >> It's just a hearing. Yes.

[1:51:26] » So, it's not obviously important for you to hear, but I I don't think we're going

[1:51:30] to be making a vote on on this on that. >> Okay. So,

[1:51:34] » probably 15. [clears throat]

[1:51:38] All right. So, um let's see if we have consensus to approve this preliminary

[1:51:42] calendar. >> Yes.

[1:51:46] » Yes. >> Yes. Yes.

[1:51:48] » Yes. >> Yes. There you go.

[1:51:51] » All right. Is there anything else?

[1:51:55] » Um does the board want to while we're now together consider that date for the

[1:52:01] special call after um

[1:52:06] after October? after the October meeting.

[1:52:13] » I know that you t you have some travel at that time. So I I just want No,

[1:52:17] because >> sometimes your everyone's opinion is

[1:52:21] important. >> If we're looking at if we're looking at

[1:52:23] doing it on Thursdays, I can do the 22nd is the best date for me.

[1:52:29] » It does not have to be Thursdays, but >> just throwing that out there.

[1:52:33] » Let's not do it that day. >> This is for the vote. Could we do it the

[1:52:39] following week? 15. >> 152

[1:52:45] [cough and clears throat]

[1:52:49] sometime that week.

[1:52:52] » So you're there. You're here that week. The week. Okay.

[1:52:58] [snorts] >> I can

[1:53:01] » I can do the 15th. >> You can do the 15th.

[1:53:03] » I can do the 15th. I can't I can't do any other day that week.

[1:53:08] » That's exactly right. >> We'll make it work.

[1:53:13] » You got a week, Mr. >> We'll make it work.

[1:53:16] » I would have spoke up if it didn't work. [laughter]

[1:53:20] » I need you a Starbucks gift card or something if that helps.

[1:53:24] » We can do the 15th. >> Okay. So, is that going to be at 5 again

[1:53:28] or what time? >> Yeah, that that'll be in this building.

[1:53:32] » No. Well, This is not a public hearing special call. This is action only. Then

[1:53:38] we'll probably be here >> because that's the only thing we will be

[1:53:42] doing, >> right?

[1:53:43] » So, it should be >> You've heard everybody at that point up

[1:53:46] to what you're going to be voting on at that point. So,

[1:53:52] » gotcha. >> Okay. Well, we'll send that out. We'll

[1:53:56] make sure people know. And uh All right. >> I would probably Chris, correct me if

[1:54:02] I'm wrong. Um you had so many for our contract so many times that Chris would

[1:54:06] be here and stuff since that would be you have all the data we'd be doing back

[1:54:09] and forth you probably wouldn't require Chris to be here for that vote because

[1:54:13] hopefully you've got all the information be doing the back and forth by the time

[1:54:16] we get there unless you want just

[1:54:22] » I didn't know if you needed to be here for that one or not

[1:54:25] » I would leave it up to to you all if you need to be here

[1:54:28] » my question is >> is there a difference between you know

[1:54:32] being available via digitally or being in

[1:54:37] » I mean I think we need to think about what questions you would have for me

[1:54:40] » I don't have many questions at that point

[1:54:42] » um and I but I do think some of that's going to come out in the comments and

[1:54:45] the questions that you're getting from constituents and the questions that

[1:54:48] makes you have um I can make it work if you need me here I can also be here

[1:54:54] virtually if you need me here >> we set it up virtual if there's any

[1:54:56] questions that okay yeah I don't have a problem with that

[1:54:59] » so so just so I'm understanding we're having the public meeting on the or

[1:55:03] public comment on the 8th and then on the 15th we're going to vote on which of

[1:55:08] these four we're going to take. >> Yeah.

[1:55:10] » But then we can still work on boundaries and changing

[1:55:14] » in November. And then we have to do after that we

[1:55:19] have to go back and do we'll have Okay. >> Okay.

[1:55:26] Have you left? Right. So, we'll be doing another public comment on the boundaries

[1:55:30] in November and then we're gonna have to vote after that.

[1:55:35] » Whatever we need to do, we'll do it. >> Okay.

[1:55:37] » Okay. I think we're good. >> Thank you so much.

[1:55:41] » A lot of information. >> I And I'm going to give you one more

[1:55:44] piece before I go, which is this site. >> This will be live tomorrow. Um, and this

[1:55:49] is where folks will be able to go look at the scenarios. There there will also

[1:55:52] be tabs on just the background data on enrollment capacity and development. Um

[1:55:57] but people will be able to select different um of the drawings and it'll

[1:56:03] redraw them and then you can select if you want to compare to today or if you

[1:56:08] want to compare to another one of the drawings and it will give you a bunch of

[1:56:12] in all of the metrics we were talking about will be down here side by side.

[1:56:17] » Um that's >> so we have that.

[1:56:19] » Does that change live as you're selecting?

[1:56:21] » Yep. Yep. And um the last thing is if you want to comment, there is a little

[1:56:28] comment thing here. I honestly might change it to make it even easier to find

[1:56:31] where to comment tonight before this goes live. Um but you comment on this,

[1:56:35] it brings you to this page. Um and it allows folks to put in, you do not have

[1:56:40] to put your name or email in. You may just put the information in. Um but uh

[1:56:45] if you want to, the name and email is there. Um, is it about a particular

[1:56:49] drawing or just in general? Um, and is it about any any and all schools or is

[1:56:54] it or you want to talk about a specific school and what comment would you like

[1:56:58] to make here? >> What is the value in not requiring them?

[1:57:03] » Uh, and this is completely up to you all. Um, but the the ability to have

[1:57:09] have folks say things without being concerned about it being tied back to

[1:57:12] them can bring more comments, but it can also, just to be completely honest, as a

[1:57:17] person who's done a lot of survey research, it can also bring a lot of

[1:57:21] garbage um into into it because people could just go put a bunch of

[1:57:26] » comments in there that are nonsense. >> I don't necessarily need to see an

[1:57:28] email, but I you know, if you believe in something, put your name behind it.

[1:57:33] » That's kind of how I look at it. So will we have access to all of this?

[1:57:37] » So all of all of this information um will be collated and sent to the board.

[1:57:42] I will also create some summaries of information for you all.

[1:57:45] » Certain things that people like if something hits a bunch.

[1:57:48] » Yeah. Kind of the sentiment of what people are talking about, the topics

[1:57:52] people are talking about. [snorts] >> Um how did you aggregate something like

[1:57:55] this? >> There's I mean there's a lot of uh

[1:57:59] basically like language models. It's it's not like the AI that like LLM SP

[1:58:05] style. Um, but basically natural language models which were a lot of the

[1:58:09] precursors to a lot of the current large language models allow you to categorize

[1:58:14] things. Um, as well as measure sentiment of things. So if you've ever seen like

[1:58:19] word bubbles and stuff like that, it's it's

[1:58:22] » um I have one final question and I think we'll let you go. um when you were

[1:58:27] coming up with with all of these um there was all a bunch of different

[1:58:30] metrics that you you were looking at. You weighted all of those equally.

[1:58:34] » So there were five different ways that we tried weighting them and that's how

[1:58:37] we optimized all the different that's why you have so many different

[1:58:40] optimizations. So we did things where it was like we just we uh weighted them all

[1:58:46] exactly the same >> or we leaned heavily on creating balance

[1:58:50] or decreasing transportation time. So, those are all the different levers that

[1:58:54] we can pull as you're getting comments from constituents of like, hey, you

[1:58:59] know, I I love that we got to very close balance, but I'd really like to see if

[1:59:03] we can get transportation down a little bit more and still keep balance rel or

[1:59:08] utilization a little better. So, those type of comments I can always work with.

[1:59:12] I've tried to squeeze as much of the juice as I could easily in this

[1:59:17] optimization. Um, but that doesn't mean that there isn't a better one out

[1:59:20] [clears throat] there. So, okay, cool. >> All right. Thank you very much. Thank

[1:59:25] you all. >> Excellent job.

[1:59:27] » Mr. Chair, can I make a motion to have a quick recess?

[1:59:30] » I was just going to bring you reading in my mind. Can we take I don't know 10 uh

[1:59:34] five minutes. We'll start with five. >> All right.

[1:59:38] » We're in recess. Yeah, we'll read.

[2:06:04] Just making sure everyone's back that we need.

[2:06:10] » Just going to move on to 3.01 BCPS governance transition under discussions.

[2:06:17] » This will be much sub. Good evening. Tonight we bring before the board a

[2:06:22] governance item regarding the format for our schoolboard policy manual.

[2:06:28] Staff has been working with SBMA on a proposed model that would test every

[2:06:32] policy against one standard. Does the code of Virginia actually require the

[2:06:37] school board to adopt the policy? Apply to a current manual. This would take us

[2:06:42] from 253 schoolboard policies to fewer than 70

[2:06:49] with the rest relocating to governance manuals, administrative regulations or

[2:06:54] handbooks. This changes more than the manual size. It affects who votes on

[2:07:00] what, how quickly changes can be made, and how much oversight the board retains

[2:07:06] going forward. Melissa Ston will now walk through

[2:07:11] specific suggestions for how restructuring could be approached. Our

[2:07:16] goal tonight is to give the board the full picture and receive your direction

[2:07:21] on how to proceed. >> I should get points that when we went

[2:07:27] over this in IGA, it was double the size of what you're getting since the last

[2:07:31] presentation. It's not fair that I have to go after that. But

[2:07:35] » say there's is there a 60 page slide or [laughter]

[2:07:38] » it's very concise. [snorts] >> No, I will start to say that what you're

[2:07:45] getting information from so that you don't you wouldn't have to be overloaded

[2:07:49] like me. I did make this notebook of every email that I've received from SBMA

[2:07:53] regarding this. So, I did condense it down for you so that we don't have to go

[2:07:58] through all that, but I brought it in case there were questions.

[2:08:02] So, first of all, like I said, on August 25th, the IG committee met to review

[2:08:06] SBAMA's proposed governance transition. This discussion included Dr. Hubach and

[2:08:12] Miss Dobson. Following that meeting, it was determined that this information

[2:08:16] should be shared with the full school board. I'm going to go over this in

[2:08:20] summary form. You have six pages worth of stuff that I'll tell you what page

[2:08:25] that I'm on, but I'm not going to read what's on those pages. I'm just going to

[2:08:29] summarize it. And I'm going to go over one topic at a

[2:08:33] time. And if did you want to them to have questions after or during?

[2:08:39] » It doesn't matter. >> Doesn't matter. Whatever you after.

[2:08:41] » Okay. So, I'm going to repeat similarly to what Dr. Cav just said just so you

[2:08:48] understand the scope of the changes. So what ASBMA is proposing is the approach

[2:08:54] is to keep only what the code of Virginia actually requires the

[2:08:57] schoolboard to adopt as a policy. So if the code of Virginia does not

[2:09:02] specifically say a policy needs to be created for this, it will no longer be

[2:09:07] in our policies if we follow through with the guidance we've been given.

[2:09:12] By that measure, SBAMA predicts our current manual, which we have 253,

[2:09:17] and we add more. I mean, we may need more than that would drop to fewer than

[2:09:22] 70. None of that content would be lost. As she said, it would simply move into

[2:09:27] other documents such as administrative regulations or handbooks. And um this is

[2:09:33] following along on page two of the documents that you have.

[2:09:37] Page three and four I'll summarize as SBMA frames this as establishing a

[2:09:42] clearer distinction between the schoolboard's governance role and the

[2:09:46] superintendent's administrative role. Under this framework, the school board

[2:09:50] retains authority over self-governance, role clarity, school division direction,

[2:09:56] and required guardrails through bylaws, governance manuals, schoolboard

[2:10:00] policies, and schoolboard regulations. while the superintendent and staff

[2:10:04] manage operational execution daily handbooks and legal tracking through

[2:10:09] superintendent procedures handbooks and compliance books.

[2:10:13] Again, wherever law requires something to come before the school board, that

[2:10:17] requirement would apply regardless of which approach is chosen.

[2:10:24] So now on page five, the benefits and tradeoffs. The appeal [clears throat] of

[2:10:29] this transition is operational flexibility. Right now, because so much

[2:10:34] procedural detail sits in policy, almost any change, even a minor one, requires a

[2:10:40] full public vote and a multi-reading process. SPMA's model would move some of

[2:10:45] that detail into handbooks that staff could update directly.

[2:10:49] There's also a compliance concern. Reducing 253 policies to fewer than 70

[2:10:55] would create a real gap if BCPS ever left SBMA service or if SBAMA itself

[2:11:02] stopped offering policy services altogether.

[2:11:05] Other Virginia school divisions tend to use similar policy naming and language

[2:11:10] largely largely because many rely on the same or similar policy services. As a

[2:11:17] result, it would be hard for us to match what most other school divisions are

[2:11:20] doing if we were now at 70 policies and had to reestablish the remaining 183 or

[2:11:26] more because more could be created after we got rid of that that we removed and

[2:11:32] placed elsewhere to follow suit with how everyone else handles them.

[2:11:38] You don't have a page on cost and obligations, but I'm just I'm going to

[2:11:42] talk a little about that. Regarding the cost, SBMA has paused billing while it

[2:11:47] completes its planning, so we do not yet have a fee schedule. BCPS Legal Council

[2:11:53] will also need to review the model language before adoption and again on

[2:11:57] every future update cycle since SBMA has made it clear and multiple occasions

[2:12:03] over emails with me that his guidance is for educational purposes only and not

[2:12:08] legal advice. So, we still need our BCPS legal counsel to review everything

[2:12:13] before using or adopting any SBMA provided resources, whether that be

[2:12:18] policies or relocated content. That is real ongoing staff and legal time on top

[2:12:24] of whatever the subscription for SBMA itself costs.

[2:12:29] What this means for staff, so I'm on page five. Current policy content does

[2:12:34] not disappear under this model. It moves into other documents such as handbooks,

[2:12:39] regulations, and manuals, including the program of studies, employee handbook,

[2:12:43] and code of student conduct. SBMA has not specified whether it will draft this

[2:12:48] content for us or whether that work would fall to BCPS staff. Until SBAMA

[2:12:55] clarifies its role here, we should assume the work could fall to BCPS staff

[2:12:59] and plan accordingly for the increased staff time and training required to

[2:13:03] implement and maintain this plan. Lastly, we have attached a handout of

[2:13:10] policy examples to show a set of our existing policies and how they would be

[2:13:15] categorized under the proposed SBMA model. So that is my summary

[2:13:25] if anybody has questions. So, I guess to reiterate before your questions, um,

[2:13:32] having this information, staff is simply seeking board's direction on how to move

[2:13:37] forward with the schoolboard policy manual, whether we want to go with the

[2:13:42] SBAMA approach, whether we want to keep our manual as it is today. Um, we need

[2:13:47] some guidance in that direction. So, if you have any questions,

[2:13:51] » so I know I'm next on my report, but I'm going to forego it because I had two

[2:13:56] parts tonight. And the first part was asking [snorts] you to make sure that

[2:14:02] you at least listening to Mr. Dick's uh presentation that you leave everything

[2:14:09] on the table because I think you're going to hear feedback in town halls.

[2:14:13] It's going to be important. Um it will help you coming back in here to actually

[2:14:19] make a good decision whether it be just Steuartsville and redistricting or some

[2:14:24] other combination. Um, but I think the the community needs to see that this man

[2:14:31] has put a a large investment into how we save money. And one of the issues that

[2:14:37] is probably the biggest for me is as we approach um reversion and CIP and the

[2:14:45] different things that are coming down the down the pike in 2028

[2:14:49] is that we be prepared in how we structure our schools moving forward. I

[2:14:56] think we're at a crossroad right now of both the uh issue of redistricting and

[2:15:03] consolidation and policy. So, um kudos to you guys for keeping the the the four

[2:15:11] options out there so that you can go to town halls, have this conversation so

[2:15:15] that the public can see and at the same time I think it gives us a conversation

[2:15:20] piece when we start having conversations with board of supervisors. So, um, I've

[2:15:25] already had several communications with Mr. H once this meeting is over tonight,

[2:15:28] knowing not knowing fully where it would go. Um, we're going to start setting up

[2:15:32] meetings for finance committees, chair, vice chairs, like you did last year, so

[2:15:36] we can start this dialogue before you even have to make a decision. I think

[2:15:40] it's important for them to hear why you have come to this conclusion that

[2:15:43] something has to be done. The the second part of of my report tonight was really

[2:15:49] about um this governance model. Um, if you recall back in January,

[2:15:56] I asked you for dual dual membership. And I asked you for dual membership for

[2:16:01] one reason. I felt membership and just and I don't have a problem with SPMA.

[2:16:06] Trust me, I understand the practical pr principles behind it and everything, but

[2:16:12] it it's not serving as a as a

[2:16:19] I'm going to use your word. you told me not to in one of our conversations, but

[2:16:23] it it's an ideology at this point. It is not a structured system of how to get

[2:16:28] through the legislation. And so when I between Dr. Calbert, myself, and Miss

[2:16:36] Sex, we've been mulling over this for six months at at least. And and in that

[2:16:41] process, that book is legit. That is how many emails. and and in that process

[2:16:47] things would change as to what your responsibilities were and all of a

[2:16:51] sudden now [clears throat] what our responsibilities were and all of a

[2:16:54] sudden it changed. So to me there's a process out there right now that exists

[2:17:02] that we have moved away from for ideology reasons but it has put us in

[2:17:07] isolation and let me give you an example. I can go to a region five

[2:17:12] meeting and hear a topic and not know what they're talking about because we

[2:17:17] don't have information from an organization. Um, thank goodness when

[2:17:22] I'm involved in region five, it is vast bringing information to us. It's how I

[2:17:27] get my information. So, there are times when I have to ask somebody in a

[2:17:31] neighboring county, what is this? What is this about? Well, or what leg what

[2:17:36] what are you doing with this legislation? And so, if if we're not

[2:17:40] going to have a organization that's going to be our legal counsel, then

[2:17:45] we're going to pay more money. there's going to be a suggestion. We're going to

[2:17:48] take [clears throat] money for it because we're gonna have to go out and

[2:17:50] get our own legal counsel. So, it is going to raise the cost. But one of the

[2:17:54] things I wanted to say is Bedford County has a history, this board

[2:18:02] has a history of making really good moral decisions for the students and the

[2:18:08] faculty and staff of Bedford. And you can go back and look at certain policies

[2:18:12] which I have done over the last couple weeks and and kept them informed as to

[2:18:16] what I was looking at. But I was looking at at at some of the policies we have

[2:18:22] and then going to surrounding counties and looking at that same policy and ours

[2:18:27] is 10 times better as far as giving us coverage. Ours is in depth. Ours

[2:18:33] protects where theirs is. Some of them are more vague and they give wiggle

[2:18:38] room. So, you know, you can take JBB for instance, um, and it's about the

[2:18:44] protection of students and parents. Ours is so much more intricate than some of

[2:18:48] the surrounding counties. Why? Because you guys took the initiative

[2:18:53] to make a good decision. So, one of my fears is that while we are in isolation,

[2:19:01] we're not getting good advice that we don't have to pay twice for, if that

[2:19:06] makes sense. So, I'm not I'm not disparaging them. I think they serve a

[2:19:11] purpose, but they're not giving us the legal uh back backing that we need. And,

[2:19:17] you know, you you heard uh Miss Saxon mention if we were to go through and

[2:19:22] convert all these, the manpower hours would be unbelievable. And then if they

[2:19:27] didn't exist 10 years from now, what would we do? Would we go back? Would we

[2:19:30] revert? Would we have to put it all in in some type of um library holding those

[2:19:37] policies? I I just don't think at this point we can continue to be in

[2:19:42] isolation. So, I'm going to forego my board report because that was it. It's

[2:19:48] just that I'm I'm trying to paraphrase this county has [clears throat] made

[2:19:51] decisions where it needed to be strong, it was strong. Where it needed [snorts]

[2:19:56] to contest something, it contested something. So kudos to you guys and the

[2:20:00] people before you who are stepping up and being accountable. So to me as we

[2:20:06] get to this process tonight, consider putting us in a position where we're not

[2:20:11] in isolation because I don't know how many other counties are in a position to

[2:20:17] actually be going through this process with us. I I don't think it's very many.

[2:20:21] So that's my concluding thoughts on that. Hannah's summary of my report

[2:20:27] itself. >> That's it on 3.01. So you're done. So

[2:20:29] now we could just do questions and then we'll go to 3.02 or do you want to do

[2:20:32] 3.02 and then we'll do questions? >> I think 3.02 is just an example. It's

[2:20:36] just an >> some examples. All right. Okay. Cool.

[2:20:39] » It was the examples of if you had to take it out, this is where it is. This

[2:20:42] is where it would go. >> Okay.

[2:20:45] » In the process. >> Okay. Um

[2:20:47] » just discussion. >> Yeah, this is just discussion. So we're

[2:20:50] going to start over here for questions. >> Yeah. Any any questions, Mr. KS or

[2:20:55] anybody? I'd like to go. [clears throat] >> I do have a question.

[2:21:04] » Why are why do we even have to have any of this information from any third party

[2:21:09] for that matter? I is it just because this is how it's been done and that's

[2:21:14] how all the other places do it? >> That's how you get to your policies.

[2:21:17] Somebody has to give a legal perspective of the of the law that or the

[2:21:20] legislation that they make in Richmond. And sometimes big divisions have

[2:21:24] in-house attorneys. >> Yes. Yes. We don't.

[2:21:27] » So they'll give you a law, but making that into a step into a procedure that

[2:21:32] everybody can understand, everybody can follow step by step. You need an

[2:21:36] attorney to be able to do that. Um because sometimes the laws are very

[2:21:42] long, very convoluted. They have very they have all these tabs and ties and

[2:21:47] and that's what we rely on them for. >> Well, it's a moving target, right?

[2:21:51] Because because the legislative body in Richmond is always changing laws and uh

[2:21:57] » every time there's a new election, you get a [clears throat]

[2:21:59] a switch from left to right. You get a new administration.

[2:22:02] » That's what I was wondering. Why wouldn't we just have legal counsel? I

[2:22:05] mean, we already have it, >> right?

[2:22:08] » I mean, I know understand they're offering this part of their package,

[2:22:12] right? >> I think I can explain that. So right now

[2:22:15] we had Sans Anderson review policies in the summer for us

[2:22:21] because we were having we were behind in our policies. So we had them review it

[2:22:26] in the summer. So they do that with whatever divisions want that done and

[2:22:30] they do it at one time. So they divide the cost by all the divisions that do it

[2:22:36] and it's in a lump and they do it all at once. But there's policies that come in

[2:22:41] that may be due like they may come through now and they may be due in

[2:22:45] December. >> So you would have to in a sense contract

[2:22:50] Sansa Anderson to do all that work singularly because no one else is really

[2:22:55] having that work done. They're getting their policies from another

[2:22:57] organization. Do you see what I mean? Um, so you're going, if you wanted if

[2:23:02] you wanted to do it that way, >> it's going to cost you a lot more

[2:23:08] [snorts] >> and we would only get it the one time a

[2:23:10] year because >> it Yeah, like she said, I mean, if if we

[2:23:14] specifically want them to help us with policies,

[2:23:17] » we're paying a lot. >> Not Not to say, do you have an idea what

[2:23:21] that would cost? >> No. Well, we don't know because we don't

[2:23:25] know what laws go into effect, how many policies would be created, how many

[2:23:29] would be edited, what changed in them, and then no matter who you pick, it's

[2:23:34] always an interpretation of the law, which is why we had IGA.

[2:23:37] » That's what we're kind of getting at was,

[2:23:40] » you know, >> well, I'm just

[2:23:41] » neither organization is swayed one way or the other.

[2:23:44] » That's why >> people have agendas. Yeah,

[2:23:47] » everybody does. >> I mean, I try I try to interpret law.

[2:23:49] I'm not a lawyer. I mean, I question what people give me, no matter what who

[2:23:54] we're going with, but at least if we had an I guess if you have an organization,

[2:23:58] then you have a policy and then it's quicker to say, "We don't like this

[2:24:02] part. Can we change it?" And then we can get Sans Anderson to review that

[2:24:07] quickly. Do you see what I mean? It's you're not starting from

[2:24:11] » that's and that's why we have work sessions and IGA because we didn't take

[2:24:14] [clears throat]

[2:24:16] » what another place told us in their interpretation of the law and be like

[2:24:20] we're automatically using that. That's why we met and we would say well we

[2:24:23] don't really like what that says. Yeah, >> we're going to follow the law but we

[2:24:26] want to word it like this. And that's how what Mr. Jupair said how our

[2:24:30] policies have sometimes improved way more than what the law says or what an

[2:24:35] agency gave us. But you had to have a groundwork.

[2:24:38] » We need a draft. We need something >> and you have [clears throat] the right

[2:24:41] to adopt it the way it comes. >> You have the right to reject it. You

[2:24:45] have the right to which used to happen. >> What I don't like about the deal is

[2:24:50] there's been several laws that the BSBA had spoke out about how to vote

[2:24:57] for parental rights things like this. This was several years ago and I mean it

[2:25:02] was complete contradiction what I would believe in you know and I hate to give

[2:25:08] these somebody that money you know it's not

[2:25:12] all about the money but I I don't like to support them in any way shape or form

[2:25:15] you know but I get what you're saying >> now my biggest concern with what they're

[2:25:20] saying to do with policy what SBAMA is saying to do with policy and I'll just

[2:25:25] use my department as an example all the employee polic policies pretty much go

[2:25:31] into handbooks. So that leaves the control of all those

[2:25:37] policies to me and Randy. And some of those policies have money

[2:25:42] tied to them. Some of those policies are about sick

[2:25:46] leave donation, sick leave bank, how much we pay unused leave. That should

[2:25:52] not be our decision. That should be a board decision. Those

[2:25:57] things worry me with going with this new format.

[2:26:00] » I wouldn't go with the new format either.

[2:26:02] » I don't think we should do that >> as a board. We would be losing a lot of

[2:26:07] » just so I can >> the oversight of us knowing

[2:26:10] » where something goes if it actually gets put there if we're actually abiding by

[2:26:13] the law if anybody's say the public wants to find something. I mean right

[2:26:17] now and I'm going to do whatever you know I just go with the flow and give

[2:26:21] you a job and I'm going to do it. But right [clears throat] now the public I

[2:26:25] mean yes we have these other documents but right now the public goes to the

[2:26:29] policy manual. You can search a word or whatever it brings up anything about

[2:26:33] that. Now the public is not even going to know where to look for stuff and

[2:26:38] you're going to go search through look how long the employee handbook is

[2:26:41] student code conduct all these things and you're going to add more to it.

[2:26:44] People aren't even going to be able to find stuff. It's not going to get

[2:26:46] updated properly. That's my >> creat

[2:26:50] issue. I disagree with this. I disagree with this.

[2:26:55] » That's what they're doing. >> So, when they change their policy

[2:26:58] services and there are only 70 policies, then that's the ones they're going to

[2:27:03] give you updates on. They're not going to give you updates on the rest of them.

[2:27:06] » No, we don't know that for sure. >> Well, we don't interpretation because

[2:27:10] they haven't said otherwise. >> They haven't said otherwise, but

[2:27:13] » but they're still going to require local review. They still every policy you

[2:27:18] have, they have to have legal review from our council. Policies do, but if

[2:27:22] we're putting stuff in handbooks, we don't have to have lawyers look at that.

[2:27:26] » How much is it? How much? >> That's not entirely true.

[2:27:30] » Doesn't the whole gave us a policy file, do we then have the policy

[2:27:34] » in order to get and then you have to pay extra for their policy

[2:27:37] » because we're trying to tweak it, >> right?

[2:27:40] Sans >> Sans Anderson is a reviewer of legal

[2:27:45] process. VSBA has a legal team and so what they

[2:27:48] » what the law >> are passed in Richmond then goes through

[2:27:53] VSBA and their legal team. They hand down policy changes suggestions to us

[2:27:59] which when then we decide upon and if we have questions then we go to Sans

[2:28:05] Anderson about it. >> Yes.

[2:28:06] » SBMA. >> We can also ask them. That's kind of

[2:28:09] what I was trying to say. Well put it. You don't have to follow what comes out

[2:28:15] of uh VSBA. It is a it is a base and and

[2:28:21] and the point was made before you know governors change left right issues

[2:28:26] change importance of this is no longer there and all of a sudden it is again

[2:28:30] and so you know it really does pay who we put in office and how we vote and and

[2:28:36] so you have the ultimate decision as to

[2:28:40] whether to take what they say and actually put it into your policy. I

[2:28:46] think the point that Melissa's making too is as we change this whole thing to

[2:28:51] where it goes to handbooks and things like that, it will become less

[2:28:55] transparent because you I I sat down literally with Word docs. I know it's

[2:28:59] not there for much longer, but just literally going through policies and

[2:29:02] then going to another county going through theirs policies and making

[2:29:06] comparisons and our I'm telling you, you guys have done a good job. I mean, kudos

[2:29:11] to you guys for for staying up with the changes that had to happen. Um, if you

[2:29:18] were careless with that, you would have problems, but you haven't been careless

[2:29:22] with that. So, >> Mr. Duper, I I'll be honest with you.

[2:29:24] Any I'm not for any kind of uh change that offers Dr. Calvert any more power.

[2:29:31] [laughter] >> I say there's some I get rid of.

[2:29:36] » YOU want to give me that? I think I'd be the first one out. BUT [laughter] LET'S

[2:29:40] GET AROUND THIS DISTRICT ONE PERSON, you know. Um, but but I I tell you what's

[2:29:47] got me a little bit. I actually kind of agree with Mr. Hobbrook. Don't don't

[2:29:51] freak out on me here. Uh, I don't really want to give my money to anybody to be

[2:29:55] honest with you. But we also have to cover our Heiney

[2:29:59] » and uh I don't know how much legal fees

[2:30:03] would cost for us to look at every DGO policy,

[2:30:06] » but I got a feeling it's more than we can afford. That's I and I don't know. I

[2:30:11] honestly don't. If I did, I' I'll probably be a lawyer. But um

[2:30:15] » do we have enough a number >> when they did

[2:30:19] » when they did the general review last year of select policies that they were

[2:30:22] doing for others? Um this would be more but last year when they did a very

[2:30:27] limited thing just on granting it was like $4,500. But if they had to look at

[2:30:31] everything that we were doing it it would be a lot more.

[2:30:39] » So I I'll just give you my best guess on what would happen. We get a discount

[2:30:43] with boards. There's different monies moving. If we stayed only with SBAMA,

[2:30:47] it's about $22,000 a year. If we were only with BSBA, it would be $25,000 a

[2:30:52] year. If you had dual, it'd be about 27 $28,000 a year because there's some

[2:30:58] discounts and you're foregoing cost. [cough and laughter] And if with VSBA,

[2:31:03] you wouldn't have as much legal review. It's only on those select policies.

[2:31:06] You're going, we don't like this. Can we do something with it different? That

[2:31:09] [clears throat] would go to legal review, but it be it would be minimal.

[2:31:12] So, I'm just giving you the idea of what the costs are on there.

[2:31:16] » Um, so I have and I think in my mind I'm conflating conflating

[2:31:21] um these three dots and the eight dots. So, I'm trying to figure out which one

[2:31:25] we're we're really talking about. Um, so with the government governance

[2:31:31] transition, really what we're saying is the SVMA is

[2:31:36] going, hey, we're going to suggest that you pair it down from 243 to 70 policies

[2:31:43] and then a lot of those remaining would go into a handbook. And just so I'm

[2:31:49] clear on that, as the board, we have control over

[2:31:53] policy. Executive staff has control over

[2:31:57] handbook. Is that I just want to make sure I'm understanding this. There's a

[2:32:02] lot of words being thrown out that I didn't

[2:32:03] » There's very little understanding to be had because SBMA keeps changing the

[2:32:09] dialogue. They're they're I keep looking at it and saying what are they trying to

[2:32:14] accomplish by restructuring the governance model and the best I can

[2:32:20] figure is that they're changing it so that they're not VSBA

[2:32:25] and in doing so they're changing the nomenclature so that looking at an old

[2:32:30] policy there is no correlating new policy. It just revamps everything.

[2:32:37] every one of those 253 policies that exist now to change them over to

[2:32:42] regulations, the board has to review them and vote on them and change it.

[2:32:46] It's so it's a tremendous amount of work for everybody involved

[2:32:49] » individually >> individually.

[2:32:50] » And to make things more confusing for everybody.

[2:32:54] So it it really makes no sense. >> That sounds like it's really worth about

[2:32:58] $300 a month. Well, and also when you turn it into

[2:33:02] regulations >> for 200 [laughter]

[2:33:04] » you're still having to bring it to the board and stuff, we're just having to do

[2:33:08] the work and the company is not doing it for us. [clears throat] We're not

[2:33:11] getting the draft. Like I'm not a proponent of any of the things. It

[2:33:14] doesn't matter to me which one. We just need one that functions for what we

[2:33:18] need, >> right?

[2:33:19] » Helps us, gives us a draft, costs the least amount of money because we, you

[2:33:22] know, we have to be cognizant of the amount of money of all of it. And if

[2:33:27] we're if we're using SBAMA and we got a new thing to do, okay, but then we're

[2:33:32] also paying our legal counsel to pay to look at it again. That's a big issue.

[2:33:39] And we we just need somebody to give us what we need so that we can have drafts

[2:33:44] from a lawyer based on the law so we can bring it in front of the board so you

[2:33:50] can figure out how you want to word it. And I mean, that's the easiest thing in

[2:33:54] my own opinion because I do the job. But again, I'll do whatever job whatever.

[2:33:59] » My other concern, Stephen, is that we're you're somewhat of a guinea pig for for

[2:34:06] this because there's no other division that we know of that we're aware of that

[2:34:11] would be adopting this governance model. And so it kind of puts us out on an

[2:34:15] island of of all the Virginia divisions. And

[2:34:20] » a lot of it doesn't work. You're saying it's not proven.

[2:34:22] » It's not proven. That's right. >> If there are others, we don't know. we

[2:34:25] don't know about. >> And if it doesn't work, we're going to

[2:34:29] have to go back to the other model or create a third one that doesn't exist

[2:34:34] yet. >> I did talk to the school court attorney

[2:34:38] just briefly. Um, every one of those policies moved would have to have action

[2:34:44] and they would have to review where it went and all of that. There would have

[2:34:48] to be legal review on all of that. She also said there would be increased cost

[2:34:53] and time because like for example our employment contracts would have to be

[2:34:59] rewritten because they're based on the existing policy that's out there. So

[2:35:03] we'd have to rewrite the format of the contracts. We would have to um defending

[2:35:10] any case personnel whatever it you would have to do it differently since the

[2:35:15] documents were in different locations because different weights of different

[2:35:19] documents. a handbook is not the same as policy. So all of that would change

[2:35:24] which would add time onto all those processes if you understand what I'm

[2:35:30] » Dr. Calbert, if you if we stick with SBMA

[2:35:36] and we stick with the way we're doing our policies,

[2:35:40] » would we just not even know that there's a policy change from the government or

[2:35:44] or would the I don't really know what they're doing

[2:35:49] last year is we don't get updates. So, one one of one of my biggest issues with

[2:35:55] not being a part of VSBA, and I don't want to give money to that ideology

[2:36:00] either, but they're supposed to be, and as much as

[2:36:05] they can be, I think they try to stay neutral, but

[2:36:09] my biggest grievance is that it it hamstrings all of our administration,

[2:36:14] right? Mr. Deair is in the dark uh in the superintendent meetings and these

[2:36:20] guys are missing out on educational opportunities as well. Um that I I think

[2:36:26] it it makes it more difficult for them to do

[2:36:30] their jobs that we ask them to do. [snorts]

[2:36:33] » Dr. Hub, I have a question for you all on the IG

[2:36:38] and this is going all the way down to eight. Um,

[2:36:43] so what I'm hearing is we're not getting supported from SVMA.

[2:36:48] » That's the >> from the J. That's what you guys have

[2:36:51] have gone with. Why maintain a membership with them as a as a board?

[2:36:56] Like why do duel? Why not just do if we if we have one that's not working and we

[2:37:01] believe this other one's working, why have them both? That that doesn't

[2:37:06] make a whole lot of sense to me. Um, I think that the sense in in the duel

[2:37:12] is that the VSBA gives us the the awareness of the law changes and the way

[2:37:19] that it should affect our policies and what we need to look at and review. Um,

[2:37:24] that's number one. Provides the tools for the executive team to do their jobs

[2:37:28] the best they can do. Um, and it doesn't absolve the IGA committee of the of

[2:37:35] needing to do the due diligence to look at those policies and to say, "No, that

[2:37:40] is not right for Bedford County. Uh, that is not what our constituents want

[2:37:44] and we need it to be this way." And to tweak them with Sans Anderson's stamp of

[2:37:50] approval that yes, that's legal to do. So, that's the plus side of the SBA.

[2:37:56] SBMA, they offer a perspective

[2:38:01] that of the law changes that is very different from VSBA and more in keeping

[2:38:07] with what I think our constituents and our board as a whole um feel. Uh so it's

[2:38:13] more in alignment with with our values and and u our current policy. I mean, I

[2:38:21] know >> that they have a a closer alignment um

[2:38:25] with the way Bedford County just looks. >> Yes.

[2:38:27] » Ideology. But if they're not providing any service, why continue? I there are

[2:38:33] plenty of people that I agree with that have subscription services to podcasts

[2:38:39] and I don't >> I don't have a use for all of them, so I

[2:38:43] don't subscribe to their services. Why would we go ahead and continue to

[2:38:47] subscribe to the service if we're not going to use that service?

[2:38:50] » Right. And there's there's no mandate that we would have to that that's

[2:38:55] certainly an option before the board to go back to VSBA and and and to abandon

[2:39:00] SBMA. A lot of >> Can I add one thing, Dr. Peubach? I'm

[2:39:04] sorry to interrupt, but um VSBA is of course a divisionwide

[2:39:09] um partnership or membership. SBMA is

[2:39:14] individual board members. Correct. If Dr. Hubach and Miss Doson want it to

[2:39:18] remain with SBMA as members, fine. If Mr. Collins, Mr. Hullberg said, "No, I

[2:39:23] don't want to continue my membership." Fine. It's individualized. So, it

[2:39:27] doesn't have to be. >> And that's how SBAMA is with most of the

[2:39:31] Virginia. Correct. Individual schoolboard member alliance. It is an

[2:39:36] individual school board members. >> Yes. Which Virginia School Board

[2:39:41] Association, BSBA, says it in their name that they're for school boards. However,

[2:39:46] they provide any information to all everybody that's around this table.

[2:39:51] » So, is it really for school boards or is it for everything? I've had the argument

[2:39:55] with SBAMA, hey, you should consider working with staff, which they've done

[2:39:58] more work with this staff than any other division. They're like, we're not really

[2:40:02] doing that because we're supposed to be for school board members only. I go, I

[2:40:06] get it, but you're you're David and VSBA is Goliath and if you want to get more

[2:40:11] people on, you're going to have to offer more services. That's something that

[2:40:14] I've just told them. So, I'm gonna let everybody else talk before I before I

[2:40:17] get into my questions. But I I think that here's what I would say about the

[2:40:22] IG. We used to have VSBA and we had Sans Anderson that represented us. And on the

[2:40:28] IGA, we worked really really hard to make sure the policies that we didn't

[2:40:32] just take it verbatim before IGA was there. That's what happened. They came

[2:40:36] in, you know, it's on this sheet. There's eight of them. They vote go

[2:40:39] through. Um very rarely did anything get called out. Um, we made a lot of changes

[2:40:44] and work to make sure that this fit with what Bedford County wants to do. Do I

[2:40:48] have any doubt? I don't care if AOC was given the the policies. We go, wait,

[2:40:54] this doesn't make sense for us right here, right now. This is the way we'd

[2:40:56] want to do it. And they would make those changes. They would go to Sans Anderson

[2:41:00] or whoever, and they would say, don't tell us why we can't do this. Tell us

[2:41:04] how we can do it. And then Sans Anderson would would help us. There were some

[2:41:08] controversial policies that we passed. Um, I don't know why patriotism one was

[2:41:13] controversial, but it was. Um, but they worked with us on it. So, they did they

[2:41:17] did help us. Did it cost more money? Yeah. But at the end of the day, do I

[2:41:21] think we got the policy right? Yeah, we did. I think at the end of the day,

[2:41:24] getting the policy right is the most important thing.

[2:41:26] » I disagree with a lot of what VSBA does. I know I said I was going to let other

[2:41:30] people talk, but I'll I'll keep going. Um,

[2:41:33] » you're doing great. >> Thanks. Sam Anderson works very closely

[2:41:37] with VSBA as well. They talk at their conferences. They give them legal advice

[2:41:41] as well. Is there supposed to be a separation? I'm sure that there's

[2:41:45] supposed to be. Is there I don't know if they're if they're aligned. They go,

[2:41:48] "Well, this is what we've been doing, so we're Why would we not tell school

[2:41:51] boards we wrote the policy, why would we tell them anything different?" Um, but

[2:41:56] it would be up to IGA and I I have no doubt in my mind that this committee

[2:42:01] working with because I was on that committee working with staff staff

[2:42:05] always advises, gives advice and gives consent and and when we say this is what

[2:42:10] we want to do, they do it. They go this is what we're going to do. We're going

[2:42:13] to help get to the right answer, making sure that we're protected and everything

[2:42:16] else. So, I am on the fence on this knowing like I know where it's probably

[2:42:22] going to go and I get it ideologically. I know where I'm at on it, but I'm I'm

[2:42:26] just going to walk through some other questions I have at at the end, and I

[2:42:29] think it'll help everyone get to a decision.

[2:42:31] » So, I just want to lay it all out. If we go with SBMA, you won't even know about

[2:42:38] policy changes. >> I don't we don't know that yet. I guess

[2:42:42] that's accurate, right, Melissa? >> They won't be policy changes like the 70

[2:42:47] the 70 or so that they're going to keep in policy. They would give us draft

[2:42:51] language just like the SBA did, which they've done with me since we started

[2:42:58] working with them. But then I've been told, "Hold off on all the stuff that

[2:43:01] we've given you because we're changing what we're doing." So that's why we

[2:43:05] haven't been bringing policies because that's just a waste of time for you guys

[2:43:07] if we were to get rid of it. what the the parts that we're not sure about

[2:43:13] because they haven't specified in all the emails that I've received. They're

[2:43:17] saying that the content that's in our current policies that's no longer going

[2:43:20] to be policies all will be moved somewhere into some handbook regulation.

[2:43:25] But I mean, we can choose not to do that, right?

[2:43:28] » Yeah, that's what we're >> But it can but they're not going to

[2:43:30] update the policy. >> It would be hard to stay with SBAMA

[2:43:33] policy services and not go with their format. I think that would be difficult.

[2:43:38] Yeah, because I would I would I would not know what policy they were

[2:43:42] referencing because the it's not letters. It's not even the same.

[2:43:46] » They're in six sections. And >> one of the reasons that they want to

[2:43:50] downgrade to 70 policies is so that there's not 253 of them for them to

[2:43:56] review, right? So that saves them a lot of work,

[2:44:00] but at our expense. >> You only have to re I'm sorry. You only

[2:44:04] have to review a policy if there's a change in the law.

[2:44:08] Right. But they're not even going to look at

[2:44:11] what's in our handbook. They're only going to look at what's in the 70

[2:44:15] policies. If there's a change in the law, does it affect any of those 70

[2:44:18] policies? No. Good. >> That doesn't matter if it doesn't affect

[2:44:21] your handbook. >> You would not be notified about it.

[2:44:25] » I'm trying to be unbiased here. So that's why I'm here because I don't take

[2:44:28] it personally. It's not my department. This is my job. We don't know what

[2:44:33] they're going to do. >> They haven't said it. They haven't said

[2:44:35] they're starting over. >> That's right. That's why there's no

[2:44:38] answers. >> Six sections of stuff that

[2:44:41] » So you can't even make a decision. You you're saying what you guys are saying

[2:44:44] is even if we wanted to do this because there's so much unknown at this time.

[2:44:50] » Yeah. >> We don't think we can do it.

[2:44:52] » Correct. >> And just because we would might

[2:44:54] recommend to change to something just so that we're protected doesn't mean in the

[2:44:58] future we would stay with that. They got themselves up to stuff. Did you guys

[2:45:02] have a conversation with these guys on the phone? Have you talked to them and

[2:45:06] said, "This is our concerns. This is our concerns that the attorney has."

[2:45:09] » I will speak for me. They won't speak to me unless you're on the phone.

[2:45:13] » The only conversation I had with Shel was because I had a question about what

[2:45:18] policies that I have that we've paid for say I wasn't going to bring this up

[2:45:23] because that wasn't in the summary. It's too much information. But we paid Sans

[2:45:26] Anderson last summer. We have policy sitting. I was at my last two policies

[2:45:32] from VSBA because we do eight policies at a time. We're behind all the time,

[2:45:36] but we always have to follow the law. Well, with SBAMA, I have had policies.

[2:45:43] They've given me policies like in different months over the years the time

[2:45:48] we've had them. But I called her to talk to her about what am I what am I

[2:45:54] supposed to be working on? Am I supposed to be doing any of these policies? Am I

[2:45:57] supposed to be doing anything SBAM? I mean not interviewing Sans Anderson gave

[2:46:00] us or anything else that we have and she said to me on the phone I mean of course

[2:46:06] like you said earlier you turn 40 can't remember stuff. Well, I'm 46, so I I

[2:46:10] can't remember every single detail in a conversation either, but she pretty much

[2:46:15] told me, "Don't use anything that you've had from us that you she didn't say that

[2:46:20] you paid for, but to me, I'm like, we wasted money because we paid for this.

[2:46:23] We paid for SBMA and Sans Anderson, and she said, "Don't do anything until we

[2:46:29] decide which policies are going to be still policies."

[2:46:32] » So, none of that stuff moves forward. Even even that doesn't necessarily make

[2:46:36] sense because we could enact it and then if we decide it's not going to be a

[2:46:39] policy it's going to move we would just move it

[2:46:40] » right. I just asked though because I'm just like I don't want to

[2:46:43] » and they should get on the phone with the IG.

[2:46:47] » You go through the process of information and action then we don't

[2:46:50] even have >> they should have got on the phone with

[2:46:52] the with the IG and said hey guys these are our concerns and they either go okay

[2:46:58] because at the end of the day they don't just want Bedford County to do this.

[2:47:01] They would want every division to do it. Well unless they if the attorneys are

[2:47:06] advising that you shouldn't do it. How could a division decide to do it? Well,

[2:47:10] they're just saying it would be costly to move it.

[2:47:14] » I will say I've reached out to Shel a few times, not a bunch. Um, she has

[2:47:19] answered me. It's not always the answer I want. Sometimes it goes around and

[2:47:23] you're not really answering what I'm saying, but she always takes my call.

[2:47:26] She calls me back. She she does work with me because I am the policy person.

[2:47:31] So, she will do that. I'm not I'm not saying they're all bad. They have good

[2:47:34] things they send. It's just our policy, our policy services is not working for

[2:47:40] us. >> And if we want to follow with what

[2:47:43] they're doing, you all need to be aware >> that

[2:47:47] » you're not going to have the authoritative part to approve

[2:47:50] everything. It can get lost. It's going to be in 50 places. We We still have

[2:47:56] accountability. We still have I do foyer, which I hate by the way, but I do

[2:48:01] foyer. Well, that still applies. any any fura stuff applies any all the laws

[2:48:07] still apply no matter where we have this >> and it makes it harder for us to be

[2:48:13] compliant if it's in all these places and all this is changing

[2:48:17] » it's taking control of >> you said

[2:48:20] they sent the policy yesterday the state said that policy about three or four

[2:48:24] days prior to >> so we took it basically and started

[2:48:28] having that conversation >> so

[2:48:31] » but they didn't write the polic write the policy. It was just they didn't give

[2:48:35] us a law. They just said you need to create policy for this because it's one

[2:48:39] that doesn't exist. >> So, we would be in charge of doing that

[2:48:43] outside with our own >> lawyer,

[2:48:45] » which we did. I mean, the rate the uh there's another one on here that we

[2:48:51] created out of all cloth and we did it and we had to go to Sans Anderson with

[2:48:54] it. That would be the case if you make your own policy. I mean, obviously, you

[2:48:58] can Google which laws changed in Virginia in 2026, and it'll tell you,

[2:49:03] » but that doesn't it's like, okay, where do we put

[2:49:06] » you want to base your where do we put it? Internet search.

[2:49:10] » That's No, no. What I'm saying is [laughter] even if

[2:49:13] » even if it's accurate, >> right?

[2:49:15] » Like, okay, well, how do we search to figure out which policy it's supposed to

[2:49:19] go in and what does it replace? >> Does it fall in line?

[2:49:22] » And this is exactly what happened when we very first went with SBAMA. And I'm

[2:49:26] like, "Okay, I feel like an idiot here. I've been and I mean I'm not an expert

[2:49:32] and stuff, but like I took their stuff and I'm like I spent hours and hours

[2:49:36] just reading it." I'm like, "What policy is independent is this?"

[2:49:39] » And I'm defending you here on that. That's what I'm saying. Like, "Oh, well

[2:49:42] people you can find." Well, yeah, you can see what laws change, but it doesn't

[2:49:45] help you >> with the policy. And by the way, even,

[2:49:48] oh, you can search boards. That ain't the easiest thing to do. [laughter]

[2:49:52] » I can give you an example of the Friday off before Labor Day, which we

[2:49:59] were certain we fell into that category because we met all these parameters.

[2:50:05] So, one day, just because I wanted to be prepared for this meeting, I opened that

[2:50:11] law up and

[2:50:14] not not right here. So, I went down and and at the bottom of the law, there's

[2:50:19] these little blue links. I linked on one,

[2:50:23] read that, went to the next one, linked on another one, and holy cow, we're

[2:50:28] exempt from 2012. And so that's the kind of tech, that's

[2:50:34] the kind of digging that has to be done because just because the law gets

[2:50:39] rewritten this July 1st doesn't mean that it hasn't been around for 20 years.

[2:50:44] They just changed something. So now you got to go back and you got to touch it.

[2:50:47] So it's buried. Some of these laws are buried three or four deep in transition.

[2:50:53] » Do you have any questions? I want to go through. Anyone else have any questions?

[2:50:57] » I asked a couple. >> The question the only other only

[2:51:03] question I had is, you know, if you're not getting the policies,

[2:51:07] you're trying to dig, trying to find them is what I'm hearing. and you want

[2:51:11] somebody to be able to just go ahead and write them and we can adjust those and

[2:51:14] then go to Sans Anderson so that we can >> take those instead of looking at this

[2:51:19] document of the new law which could be couple pages law and trying to create

[2:51:23] your own policy. >> I think we're afraid of going with the

[2:51:27] new format because it's so different and it isolates us from everybody else in

[2:51:32] Virginia. >> Okay. Um, I think we're lerary of going

[2:51:36] to the new format. >> And I think something Mr. James brought

[2:51:40] up before, and this is kind of why I made this suggestion in January is

[2:51:45] because an organization like VSBA is sanctioned by the legislators.

[2:51:52] You know how that changes, but that's the other side of the story. But but in

[2:51:56] so doing that they have programs for superintendents, for executives, for

[2:52:04] board clerks, for every group that sits in this room, board members and all. So

[2:52:11] you you're in dialogue constantly with the changes, whereas and I made that

[2:52:16] suggestion to Shirley over a year ago that that's where you needed to go if

[2:52:20] you were going to be uh in in the hunt, so to speak, and and become a

[2:52:25] competitive group. So, you know, that's that's my conversation to that.

[2:52:33] » I think one one point that hasn't been made and that is that when SBMA makes a

[2:52:39] suggestion for their policy review, their disclaimer is that we have no

[2:52:44] legal team. There's no legal oversight of this. So, you're going to have to get

[2:52:50] your own lawyers to review this material. So

[2:52:53] » SBAMA says that >> SBAMA says that

[2:52:56] » um >> um I think to sum it up my concerns

[2:53:03] would start with being opened up to liability. Um and then my concern really

[2:53:10] as well is time and money which I don't feel we have with in county and it's not

[2:53:15] something that we just don't have that luxury right now.

[2:53:19] My only comment because I don't think anybody answered Mr. Hell's question

[2:53:23] about why we would keep the two. Um, and I think that that is what we are doing

[2:53:29] as a board is deciding whether or not a dual membership is something that we

[2:53:34] want to pay for individually. We can be a member of SBMA. Um, but is that

[2:53:42] something that we want to budget for the board as well? Um, And I think I am

[2:53:50] on the team of the more information that we have the better um from every side.

[2:53:56] Um so I think it's worth it, but I know that not everybody sees it sees it that

[2:54:01] way. So I don't think that really answered the question, but I think

[2:54:05] that's something that we're trying to decide.

[2:54:07] » Gotcha. I appreciate that. Anything else?

[2:54:11] » I think I think that because VSBA is a divisionwide membership

[2:54:17] that for necessity that that's something that we should rejoin

[2:54:24] and that as far as SBMA goes they they offer valuable insights that

[2:54:30] [clears throat] uh I think are a yin-yang for looking at

[2:54:34] the laws and I think that at least the IG members should continue to be SBMA

[2:54:42] memberships the cost difference $2,000 Yeah.

[2:54:48] » Uh about membership >> $2,500.

[2:54:52] » I think it's 300 bucks for an individual membership, something like that.

[2:54:58] » Um but that keeps you getting their emails and their insights on the new

[2:55:01] laws and their coffee house meetings and whatever else they offer, you know, as a

[2:55:08] member. >> Yeah, they're a very young organization.

[2:55:11] They don't have a lot of budget. They're they're asking individual board members

[2:55:14] to sign up. >> Some boards don't pay for their board

[2:55:17] members to do it. Every board pays for a VSBA. So, they have a lot of money. They

[2:55:22] do policy. There's a lot. They're big organizations. So, they have attorneys.

[2:55:26] They have resources to be able to get information out.

[2:55:29] » It's just is the information good? We, you know, and we've used them and we've

[2:55:34] most of the policies fly right through. They're a little controversial.

[2:55:38] » You got to look and make sure it makes sense for the county. Um,

[2:55:41] » Dr. Ubach I I'm I'm of the opinion I'm going to say I'm going to preface this I

[2:55:48] was actually I was of the opinion we should not be members of both

[2:55:51] organizations. I truly I truly feel that it's a we need to save as much money as

[2:55:58] we can essentially. But you actually make a very interesting point and

[2:56:02] actually Miss Dobson and I spoke about this last week and I've chewed on it.

[2:56:06] There's something to be said about having multiple points of view. There

[2:56:10] really is. And seeing seeing something from a different lens a lot of times can

[2:56:15] open you up to something you didn't see. I think I'm almost

[2:56:22] there's something to be said about that. >> One of the things that SPMA stands

[2:56:25] [clears throat] out it it it points out that the board is the one

[2:56:31] that is in charge and most boards just are rubber stampers to the

[2:56:36] superintendent. offense, but it shows us that we have more authority than

[2:56:42] » what the SBA kind of promotes, and that is just rougher standard. Um, and that's

[2:56:50] my opinion. But, um, that's the one of the emphasis that SBMA shows you what

[2:56:57] kind of authority you have as a school board member, what you can or cannot do,

[2:57:01] um, based on law. Um but that's not really emphasized in as as much through

[2:57:07] the BSBA. Um and it also allows us to see things on a more um yeah on a

[2:57:16] different level on a different perspective on what's going on locally,

[2:57:20] what's going on nationally, so on. >> So let me reply to her comment um and

[2:57:26] apology. I am not of the person that asks you for to rubber stamp anything.

[2:57:31] » You know, you never have. Yeah. >> And so to me, I've said it before,

[2:57:38] this board in the past three or four years that I have looked at it, um has

[2:57:44] been very careful [snorts] to make good decisions. So, you didn't hire a guy

[2:57:50] that's going to say, you know what, let me see if I can sneak this through. It's

[2:57:53] not my personality. So,

[2:57:56] » yeah, >> for what it's worth,

[2:57:58] » and and that that is that is that is true. But I will say I've been in a ton

[2:58:02] of IG meetings and we've had policies and there were uh things that came from,

[2:58:06] you know, VSBA that say, "Hey, these are the policies because the law changed.

[2:58:10] This is what we want to do." And other members of the staff that have been in

[2:58:14] those meetings have said, "We don't want to do this this way." We have our

[2:58:18] thoughts on it, too. So, it's not just you that's not a rubber [laughter]

[2:58:22] stamp. Everybody that's that's been at those IG

[2:58:26] meetings has also said that. And I think in the one of the things when we were

[2:58:29] both on there is we would come to staff when it comes to a policy and we would

[2:58:34] talk to staff go does this policy give you all the tools that you need to get

[2:58:38] your job done and if it and they would say yes or they would say no we need

[2:58:42] this and we would we would look and and try to do that try to make again the

[2:58:46] best policy. Um all right I'll I'll finish this up.

[2:58:50] SPMA does say, "Hey, look, the board has a lot of power and we want them to

[2:58:56] understand that they do." So to go down the 70 policies, I think there's a

[2:58:59] reason why they're saying to do it. I just don't think that it's very clear on

[2:59:03] on why that is and that's what I'm hearing from the IG and from staff, but

[2:59:07] I had a couple of questions. So, and I guess we probably don't know, but

[2:59:13] eventually maybe there is a hybrid model that's in there where there's the 70

[2:59:17] policies that they'll review. But if a policy if they're saying that a

[2:59:22] policy does not is not required, does that and that's true. Does that mean

[2:59:27] that if you had that policy, if you decide that you're still going to make a

[2:59:31] policy that it has to be reviewed? Yes,

[2:59:35] » it's still if you make your own policy. No matter what, you still have to review

[2:59:38] it. >> We always have. Okay.

[2:59:41] » But if it's not a required policy, even if we reviewed it, we would be reviewing

[2:59:45] it to say, do we want to change the policy? There's no law that says we need

[2:59:49] to have it. >> Okay.

[2:59:50] » There are laws that the stuff within our policies are in law. The law itself does

[2:59:55] not say you must have a policy. That's where SVMA is saying. I mean, I don't

[3:00:01] know if it's actually 70 policies, but >> yeah,

[3:00:04] » 70 policies. The Virginia law says that the the school division must make a

[3:00:09] policy about this law. >> We still have to do stuff with all the

[3:00:13] other laws. >> And if we have policies for it, it has

[3:00:16] to abide by the law. Even though the law doesn't say you have to have a policy,

[3:00:20] » we can create, we can have the 70 and then we can have 20 more if we wanted.

[3:00:24] We would just need to review them on a regular schedule.

[3:00:26] » Well, we have policies now that we >> That's what I'm saying. So that would

[3:00:30] not if we went to do that that would not change. We could then decide we wanted

[3:00:34] to have a policy for >> whatever.

[3:00:36] » We would just have to talk about it in >> but if the law changed

[3:00:41] » and you had it as a regulation, you'd have to go in.

[3:00:45] » Am I correct? >> You'd have to go in and make a change to

[3:00:48] that regulation to like >> like we do now. But you would have to go

[3:00:52] ahead and check like if we're making this change to the regulation, this

[3:00:54] regulation stay

[3:00:57] » but the staff writes those regulations. >> Even if it was a policy, we you know,

[3:01:01] » their new government's model SBAS redefineses those words so that they

[3:01:06] mean different things. >> They they've changed throughout the

[3:01:10] emails. If you look through Melissa's binder,

[3:01:13] they're building the ship while they're in it. [laughter]

[3:01:16] » Yes. Um, they're changing the rules as they go and they're also recommending

[3:01:22] just so you don't lose that in all this stuff we're talking about. We're getting

[3:01:26] rid of policies and put them in other places, but they want to change that

[3:01:31] regulations all go through the board and be voted on. So, you're really not

[3:01:35] having less. >> That's right.

[3:01:36] » They're just not having what? >> You're not having less to go through the

[3:01:39] board. >> Yeah.

[3:01:40] » It's going to be in a regulation where currently we don't bring that to the

[3:01:43] board. It goes in Wednesday memo. If you have an issue with it, you can tell us.

[3:01:48] » IGA will talk through its staff on on regulations. Sometimes say, "Hey, we're

[3:01:52] gonna come back with it." >> The regulations will now be approved by

[3:01:55] the board. >> So, you're taking you're having

[3:01:59] information in action just like you would with policies. That's what I'm

[3:02:02] saying, >> but they're not giving you the language

[3:02:04] for it. >> So, it's not a policy. It's a

[3:02:06] regulation, but the regulation now the board needs to vote on.

[3:02:08] » It's still a policy, but it's called a regulation.

[3:02:11] » All right. So, there's a lot of It's, you know, I don't speak Chinese and

[3:02:15] Sounds like it's a different language. I don't understand.

[3:02:18] » So, >> exactly.

[3:02:19] » Okay. >> So, that's the point.

[3:02:20] » I don't think we need to do anything on on that right now. That was just

[3:02:24] discussion. >> Do we want to go through right at it?

[3:02:27] You want to jump? >> No, we'll go right down. We'll go right

[3:02:30] back to it. >> I think we can skip the example.

[3:02:33] » Yeah. >> Yeah. Okay. [laughter] All right. We

[3:02:35] skip. We did 3.02. We discussed And listen, by the way, I I just want to be

[3:02:39] really really clear. We all [clears throat] know how hard you work

[3:02:43] on this stuff and how much you really care and you want to make sure that it's

[3:02:46] right. None of this debate was was calling any of that into question. You

[3:02:51] do the work. >> We came to talk because

[3:02:55] I I don't I'm not biased any situation. Like I don't go look and see like, oh,

[3:03:00] the SBA leans my way or this leans this way. I am black and white. What the law

[3:03:04] says is happening. And and anybody like I'm a meek person by nature, but anybody

[3:03:10] this table will tell you. I will argue with you. If you tell me something and

[3:03:14] that's not what I think it says, I will keep on keeping on with you.

[3:03:18] » I know. [laughter] >> ABSOLUTELY.

[3:03:21] » THAT'S very good. >> We we appreciate you. I want to make

[3:03:25] sure that and nobody's [clears throat] going to debate that. We definitely we

[3:03:28] appreciate you and all the hard work that you do. They always try to keep us

[3:03:31] straight. And that's >> one of the reasons I asked for this to

[3:03:34] go to a work session was because I wanted them to be able to kind of repeat

[3:03:40] what she her frustration was. And so when only four of you were able to come,

[3:03:48] I kind of felt like this was too big of an important discussion to only have

[3:03:53] four of you present. So that's why I cancelled the meeting. So yes, this may

[3:03:57] have taken longer, but I think all seven of you have to have an input on this. I

[3:04:02] think that's I think that's fine. >> And Dr. Cow said I could leave after

[3:04:05] this. So do you have any more questions? [laughter]

[3:04:07] » You can. You're good. Thank you. >> Is that a regulation OR

[3:04:12] » she goes we give her a LITTLE BIT OF POWER [laughter]

[3:04:16] THE way she just told us it's the law.

[3:04:21] » We're going to go to someformational items hopefully quickly.

[3:04:25] » 5.0 01 Dr. Woodford, school calendar for 2728.

[3:04:29] » So tonight I'm presenting a draft calendar for the 2728 school year for

[3:04:34] your review. Um I created four calendar drafts and shared them with staff. Um

[3:04:40] and then um asked the staff to vote on which of the four drafts they like the

[3:04:47] most. I did make you a comparison document because I think that's easier

[3:04:52] to look at than four different drafts. There's not a lot of wiggle room within

[3:04:57] a school calendar. It's really like start day, our ending day is always

[3:05:02] before Memorial Day for graduation. So, you're really playing with work days,

[3:05:05] professional development days. Um, so I sent the four drafts out, asked staff if

[3:05:11] they would vote um on their calendar of choice. We had 335 staff members

[3:05:17] complete the survey. 50% of the staff chose calendar draft 1. 11 and a half%

[3:05:24] chose draft two, 17.5% chose d um draft three, and 21% chose draft number four.

[3:05:33] So therefore, I'm presenting just calendar one draft for information

[3:05:37] tonight and approval in October. And it's the actually the calendar that's

[3:05:42] most similar to the calendar we've actually had for the last two years that

[3:05:46] um staff actually worked on a committee to create with their input. So

[3:05:50] » did have a question about I'm sorry

[3:05:52] » about the footnote. >> Uh it said it was based on 180 days. I

[3:05:56] know in the this past school year we did it off hours. So why that change?

[3:06:01] » So I was able just the way the dates fall for Memorial Day and the beginning

[3:06:06] of the school year. I was able to give work days and PD days the same number

[3:06:12] and do 180 instructional days, which for me is really important if we can because

[3:06:17] I think the more days we have with kids, the better. trying to balance that also

[3:06:23] with giving teachers time to have some work time and also their own

[3:06:27] professional development. So this it's just the way the dates fall within the

[3:06:31] 12-month calendar that gave me that leniency. The law says 990 hours. Um but

[3:06:38] we all know even if you bank time or you you go two hours late, things just

[3:06:43] aren't the same. So, I went for 180 days because it's it's really kind of the

[3:06:49] common structure for schools across Virginia, even though you have the

[3:06:54] luxury of just going 990 hours. >> It's kind of long for me to understand

[3:06:58] your hours last year. Not going to change it up again. [laughter]

[3:07:02] » Well, she's promised no ice and snow in January. Oh, gotcha.

[3:07:05] » Yeah. So, it's 180 days actually. How many hours is that?

[3:07:09] » Oh my. That that is a it's a lot. So that's how we got

[3:07:13] » more than what we would need. >> Yeah.

[3:07:16] » Because um [cough] [clears throat]

[3:07:19] » you really need 990 is the minimum amount of hours.

[3:07:24] » So you want to always do more than that.

[3:07:27] And even though the calendar last year was based on 990 hours, it was still we

[3:07:32] still surpassed that by a very adequate amount. But it did last year give us an

[3:07:38] opportunity when we had all of those snow days. we were able to make up with

[3:07:43] our bank time and so it gives us some flexibility.

[3:07:46] » Let's say something happens like that again this year. We we lose a lot or how

[3:07:51] many days we lost last year. >> I think it was of us that we didn't have

[3:07:58] to do virtual days. I >> right

[3:08:00] » I was a big big supporter of the way y'all did that last year. Let's say mid

[3:08:06] year we run into that again. Could we switch back to the hours?

[3:08:11] » Oh yes. >> It's the minimum anyway, right?

[3:08:13] » It's the minimum. So at the at the end of the year, what I have to report to

[3:08:17] the Department of Education is how many actual hours students were in school at

[3:08:23] each school individually. So uh remember the year with Big Island, we had the big

[3:08:28] wildfires and so they were out some days that other elementary schools weren't.

[3:08:32] So their hours were different. As long as we meet 990, we're fine. Any

[3:08:38] other questions on that? >> All right.

[3:08:42] » Is this just information?

[3:08:46] » So, I'm bringing you um 5.02 is regular meetings for the school board in 2027

[3:08:53] starting on January 14th running through December 9th. Those are all at this

[3:08:59] point in time scheduled 5:00 pm at the school administration office. uh with a

[3:09:05] special call budget work session on March 18th.

[3:09:10] Questions?

[3:09:15] » Any questions? Question. >> Getting a copy of this sentence.

[3:09:20] » Want me to approve it? Yeah. But you can just screenshot it. It's so funny

[3:09:24] looking at this. It's like when they you go to like go to a doctor's appointment,

[3:09:28] they're like, "All right, you come back in a year. Are you good morning or

[3:09:31] night?" Like, "I don't care what I got going on."

[3:09:33] All right. Yeah, it sound looks good. These are the You put these in first and

[3:09:37] you schedule around it. >> 5003. That is Mr. Jaggler.

[3:09:43] » I was just verifying something. Um >> March 18th for special call budget.

[3:09:50] » Didn't we move that up?

[3:09:54] Um I need to look at that. I thought we'd move that up to February 18th.

[3:09:58] » February 18th. That is true. >> Yes. Is that not what's on the calendar?

[3:10:06] » Well, he's getting he's getting ready to give you an abbreviated.

[3:10:09] » Um the budget calendar, we might need to make a change to that board counter

[3:10:12] meeting. Um so >> the projection is um it is a bianual

[3:10:19] budget that's already approved by the general assembly. So there's already a

[3:10:22] budget for the 27 28 year. Typically the governor will make adjustments off of

[3:10:27] revenues and stuff. So I I'd expect some adjustments to come in December

[3:10:31] sometime. My goal would to build be to build off

[3:10:34] the governor's. The general assembly could change that like they did this

[3:10:38] year, but we build off of that. And um our goal would be to have a um a

[3:10:44] superintendent's proposed budget to the board on February 11th, regular school

[3:10:49] board meeting. then come back the following week on February 18th to

[3:10:53] review and approve that so we can transmit that over to the county and get

[3:10:57] into the dialogue because they're going to be going through a lot of different

[3:11:01] stuff and if the later we wait to get a budget over there in our ask then it's

[3:11:06] like well they're not over here in time to really be part of the conversation.

[3:11:10] Uh they have reassessment tax rates set next year. So the earlier we can get

[3:11:13] them our need and request I think the better. we're going to be dealing with

[3:11:17] going into last year reversion. So, we'll have all those documents, be

[3:11:21] working through January to have something to you guys on February 11th

[3:11:24] and February 18th. That's accelerated than what we've done in the past, but if

[3:11:28] we wait till well into March, they're well long in their budget process, and I

[3:11:32] think we're late to the game. It [snorts] also allows for more dialogue

[3:11:35] for Mr. Deair and Robert His and also for our committee members on the

[3:11:39] finance, dialogue with the board of supervisors and all of you once you pass

[3:11:42] that budget to start dialoguing on that gives you more time. So,

[3:11:47] » so we had that set for February 18th, I believe. Is that right?

[3:11:50] » I am correcting it now on

[3:11:56] » this correct. >> Our decision regarding closing schools

[3:12:00] and redistricting should be done before you put together this budget. the

[3:12:06] calendar you guys were kind of looking at. Now, that could slide depending on

[3:12:09] what happens and feedback, but a December the December vote on that. That

[3:12:14] way over the break and stuff and I'll be working on preparing all the budget

[3:12:17] documents, there'll be moving moving moving figures on that what we have to

[3:12:22] » so I can come back with the savings and then we can decide what to do with that

[3:12:25] and bring all that. >> All right. Any questions?

[3:12:31] » Okay. >> All right.

[3:12:33] » Additional action items 8.01. 1 dual membership B SBA and SP1A.

[3:12:40] I think we discussed that. [laughter]

[3:12:43] » I don't think we need anyone else to say anything. So I guess I will do we have a

[3:12:49] motion to dual do membership in both both organizations.

[3:12:57] » Mr. Chair, I'd like to make motion that we rejoin BSBA as a division and that we

[3:13:06] make it optional for SBMA memberships individually.

[3:13:10] I have a motion by Dr. Hubach. Do I have a second?

[3:13:14] » Second. I have it right. Give it to Miss Dobson.

[3:13:20] Uh any discussion? Um all those in favor signify by saying

[3:13:24] I. >> I. Any opposed?

[3:13:28] All right. Motion carries.

[3:13:34] Just a reminder, if that anything changes um and we get additional

[3:13:39] information, anyone that voted in the majority can bring it up for a revote.

[3:13:44] All right. 9.01. Close session.

[3:13:50] [clears throat] Come on.

[3:13:53] Don't ask me. >> [snorts]

[3:13:55] » I'm looking for papers first. >> New rule. We each get both sets of

[3:14:01] papers. [laughter] I don't even know where

[3:14:06] » on the back two sided. We're saving paper. That's good.

[3:14:10] [laughter] >> All right. Pursuant

[3:14:13] to code the Virginia 2.2-3711A1 2-3711A1 for the discussion consideration and

[3:14:20] interviews prospective candidates for employment assignment appointment

[3:14:25] promotion performance to motion salaries disciplining or resignation of specific

[3:14:29] employees of Sanford County Public Schools and pursuant to code Virginia

[3:14:35] 2.2-3711A2 2-3711A2 for discussion or consideration of

[3:14:40] admission or disciplinary matters or other matters that would involve the

[3:14:44] disclosure of information contained in a scholastic record concerning any student

[3:14:48] of any public institution of higher education in the commonwealth or the

[3:14:52] state school system being student 091026A.

[3:14:58] I move that we move into close session. I have a motion by Dr. Hub. Do I have a

[3:15:03] second? Second by Mr. Hill. Any discussion? All those in favor signify

[3:15:08] by saying I. I. Any oppose? We are in close session.

[4:05:31] Bever County School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to

[4:05:35] an affirmative recorded vote in in accordance with the provisions of the

[4:05:38] Virginia Freedom of Information Act and where section 2.2-3712D 2-3712D of the

[4:05:43] code of Virginia requires a certification by this school board that

[4:05:47] such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia law. Now

[4:05:51] therefore be it result that the Befford County School Board hereby certifies

[4:05:54] that to the best of each member's knowledge only public business matters

[4:05:58] lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia law were

[4:06:01] discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies and only such

[4:06:05] public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the

[4:06:09] closed meeting were discussed or considered.

[4:06:11] » Yes. Yes. >> Yes.

[4:06:13] » Yes. Yes. >> Yes. Yes.

[4:06:17] » Thank you very much. Um 9.03 No free action on closed meeting items.

[4:06:25] Uh Mr. Chair, I move that we follow the recommendation of the executive

[4:06:32] committee regarding student 091026A.

[4:06:38] All right, we have a motion by Dr. Cubac to have a second.

[4:06:42] » Second. Second by Mr. KS. Any discussion?

[4:06:46] All those in favor signify by saying I. >> I. Any opposed.

[4:06:51] That is approved. Consent agenda. Do I have a motion to

[4:06:57] approve uh the consent agenda? [clears throat]

[4:07:01] » So moved. All right. Mr. Hill on the motion. Do I have a second?

[4:07:07] » Second. Mr. Hold Brook. Any discussion? All those in favor signify by saying I.

[4:07:12] I. Any opposed? Motion consent agenda is approved. matters from the board. Miss

[4:07:17] Pervvis, >> um I had a STEM academy meeting and

[4:07:22] everything this um was good. Everything's moving forward. Um we'll be

[4:07:28] we were signing up for mock interviews. So um that's coming up in in November.

[4:07:40] » All right, Miss Dobson. >> Um next Wednesday we have a SEAK

[4:07:44] meeting. uh the special education advisory committee and um they are still

[4:07:49] looking for a parent member for the Stanton River zone. Um so if there's

[4:07:55] anybody interested um reach out um and also a teacher representative as

[4:08:01] well. I think there are people interested but but if a teacher is

[4:08:05] interested joining as well >> and that teacher can be from any of the

[4:08:09] zones or >> any zone. Okay.

[4:08:14] All right. Anything else? Dr. Huba

[4:08:17] » Laurel board met uh welcomed the new superintendent uh from Amherst there and

[4:08:24] a few other directors and we pay the bills

[4:08:29] important to do. >> Yep. Mr. Haggler's agreeing with that.

[4:08:35] » All right. Uh Mr. cars. I had notes.

[4:08:41] There were a lot I'm too tired to go over, but uh the only thing I'm I'm

[4:08:47] pretty excited to see the start of the school year. Um I think we we have a

[4:08:53] long road ahead of us. We've got a financial responsibility that's that's

[4:08:56] looming and think we're going to make some headways here in the next few

[4:08:59] months. The only real thing that I'm slightly concerned about and I have

[4:09:04] spoken with Dr. Woodford about it is uh this new attendance uh regulation I'm

[4:09:10] I'm not super happy with and uh we had discussed previously about adopting a

[4:09:16] regulation similar to uh bodats which had 16 days for high school and um

[4:09:24] we've adopted one that has 10 days which is 5% of the school year a little over

[4:09:30] five and a half percent um I think that that's um very rigid coming

[4:09:37] from a policy of non-existence to a policy of 5%. So, uh I would ask the

[4:09:46] chair to consider uh taking a harder look at that regulation and how we got

[4:09:52] to it

[4:09:57] » and that policy that uh regulation came from um [clears throat] staff and IGA or

[4:10:02] it was just >> it's a regulation

[4:10:05] » based on the policy that we had to >> um it was part of it well the attendance

[4:10:11] polic policy is totally different. We met with principles multiple times. We

[4:10:16] talked through um when should you consider retention for large numbers of

[4:10:22] absences. [clears throat] We were dealing with chronic absenteeism,

[4:10:25] dealing a lot with high schoolers who leave early, missing one class, but it

[4:10:31] doesn't get caught in the daily attendance, things like that. So we work

[4:10:35] several months with principles to come up with uh you know looking at other

[4:10:39] policies and talking about what's the appropriate time. I think some of the

[4:10:44] miscommunication which I've reached out to all the secondary principles to to

[4:10:49] say that we needed to talk about I think the miscommunication is saying to

[4:10:53] parents that 10 no matter 10 days you're going to fail my class. That's not what

[4:10:57] the regulation says. It says that you could be you may

[4:11:03] not get the credit. You have to be notified. The parent has to be notified

[4:11:09] if there's any danger that you would not get credit. And there's also a waiver if

[4:11:13] there are special circumstances >> that we would need to consider. So, that

[4:11:18] was all developed using other policies, a multitude of other policies.

[4:11:23] » Um, but if you want staff to relook at it with principles, we can.

[4:11:26] » I I think that um Mr. Kins brings up a good point, but we just put this in

[4:11:30] place. Correct. Okay. We have the ability once we've now put

[4:11:35] it into practice between principles and staff and everyone to say hey you know

[4:11:39] what we didn't anticipate some of these things these are coming up and we can we

[4:11:42] can then change correct >> you have the ability to be flexible when

[4:11:46] it comes to [snorts] that. So maybe um it would we maybe should we would you

[4:11:51] like to we just started maybe we get some

[4:11:53] » a little massaging is all I think ultimately what we've done as well I

[4:11:58] think some of the verbiage especially based off the letter that we saw some of

[4:12:02] the some of the language in that needs a little bit softening.

[4:12:06] » Okay. >> I think it's probably better

[4:12:09] communication with the teachers. You know I think we were communicating with

[4:12:12] the principles. I'm not sure how that was relayed. You guys meet with the

[4:12:15] principles every >> every month

[4:12:17] » every month and then [clears throat] so maybe we could put something out maybe

[4:12:20] some guidelines or some examples >> and maybe that would be something that

[4:12:24] we could do. >> I I know in meeting with the principles

[4:12:27] there was never the intention to try to fail. Nobody wants kids to fail. They

[4:12:32] don't want to deny credits. I think what they were trying to do was give we were

[4:12:36] trying to give them the support to say to parents

[4:12:41] you this is a possibility. So you need to be aware of that when you're letting

[4:12:45] your kids just >> not come to school. And I know you met

[4:12:49] with the principles and that I was working more with elementary but I feel

[4:12:52] like that's what >> I don't think they want to retain a

[4:12:55] bunch of kids and do three credits and all of that for sure. But um we can talk

[4:13:00] to them about communicating and we can put out something to teachers about

[4:13:03] better communication to families. We can also put something out to families about

[4:13:09] like [clears throat] clarifying some of that so there's not that misconception.

[4:13:13] So I'm happy to do that and then we can see how it goes and if we need to change

[4:13:16] the rag we will. >> Okay. Sounds good. Sounds great.

[4:13:20] » Thank you. Anything else? Uh we haven't had any facility meetings. I think the

[4:13:25] national's October 20th 22nd something like that.

[4:13:28] um no updates. I think everything's done

[4:13:33] except for [cough] the HVAC

[4:13:38] um on both projects. That's it. But I did have a question in

[4:13:44] regards to what Mr. K said. Can attendance be the sole reason for

[4:13:48] failure? Like even if they say they have great grades, someone missed more than

[4:13:55] » it depends on like you're required to have so many seat hours to get credit

[4:13:58] for [clears throat] courses. Um

[4:14:02] I think what you would have more of a problem with if you just have unlimited

[4:14:06] absences, you're going to end up in truency. Like that's

[4:14:10] » a reason to ask because that's I remember

[4:14:15] very well. I was charged with truency. It was the very first year they had ever

[4:14:20] had and the news was at the courthouse with all the schools there

[4:14:24] » and they were gonna fail me. I'd missed 78 days of English class.

[4:14:29] » Well, there you go. [laughter] >> Well, that's not

[4:14:33] » I can PUT THAT IN REGULATION. [laughter] >> 7 was the limit.

[4:14:38] » But that's a great example. But I had missed over the 10 days or whatever it

[4:14:42] was back then, the eight days in some other classes, but I had passing grades,

[4:14:46] like really good grades. >> And and I remember finding in the

[4:14:51] school's policy, it might have been the handbook, I don't remember what it was,

[4:14:54] that a student's attendance shall not be the sole reason for failure, what they

[4:14:58] were trying to fail me, of course, >> and and reason I asked, I didn't know if

[4:15:02] that was still in effect. state law has gotten very very specific about what we

[4:15:08] as administrators have to do with truency and students who are not

[4:15:12] attending school. >> Um and I think again with high school

[4:15:16] courses, a child can attend school part of the day and then leave one class and

[4:15:22] miss 78 class periods, [laughter] >> but then attend the mornings because

[4:15:27] maybe they like those classes better. >> That's what I come to.

[4:15:31] » Yeah. So you might not get caught in truency because you're attending

[4:15:35] majority of the day but not that one class. So I think again it just gives

[4:15:40] » I think our teachers are are very flexible about makeup work and trying to

[4:15:43] work with kids and >> these are this regulation is for the the

[4:15:48] the group of kids who are just not coming to school and their parents

[4:15:52] aren't supporting us. And part of that having to reach out to parents is to

[4:15:57] also have that lever to parents to say your child can't miss 78 days and still

[4:16:03] pass this class even if they're getting everything right. I mean, I just think

[4:16:07] it's, you know, schools are held accountable for chronic absenteeism. We

[4:16:12] are held accountable with the with the law for truency. Y

[4:16:16] » um and so I think it is a a communication to parents that we need

[4:16:21] your help. And I'll just add above all of that, we say that our mission is to

[4:16:26] build citizens. And so we see this most in the grade levels where our students

[4:16:30] can drive and they're missing 78 days of English 12 or government. And so we're

[4:16:35] trying to reinforce the point. You don't get to miss 78 days of work and get a

[4:16:38] paycheck. This is your job. You have to show up to an attorney.

[4:16:41] » Yeah. >> And we hear

[4:16:44] five days work, too. [laughter] I mean, now we hear a lot from

[4:16:51] when you're self-employed. [laughter] >> I mean, we hear a lot from our community

[4:16:55] about how kids don't have the same work ethic. We need to be So, part of that is

[4:17:00] us trying to build like this is your job right now.

[4:17:03] » And I'm going to add there there's a multi-step as Dr. Wicker mentioned

[4:17:07] process of warning the parent, notifying, walk through a waiver,

[4:17:11] building an action plan. Like, >> we don't want to do this. This is

[4:17:14] paperwork and extra work for everybody. if it happens. It's for a kid who

[4:17:18] » really >> we've bent over numerous different ways

[4:17:20] to try to make sure this kid's >> got a fair shot in them.

[4:17:24] » And I do agree what the what Mr. Kins was hearing and has been hearing is

[4:17:29] teachers saying no matter what you miss 10, I'm failing you. That's not at all.

[4:17:33] First of all, it's not our regulation and it's not what we communicated.

[4:17:36] [snorts] So, we need to clean that up. Make sure that kids don't think that and

[4:17:41] parents don't think that. Okay, >> that would be good cuz I just got a text

[4:17:44] from a certain wife that said that ain't the way we heard it. And I Yeah.

[4:17:49] » Yeah. >> Well, I couldn't be at every class

[4:17:53] making sure they were doing it right, but I will make sure they get it right.

[4:17:57] » Our AI, we could clone you here. [laughter]

[4:18:04] » That's all right. >> Um, no, I I um very excited for the town

[4:18:09] halls coming up. Uh, I just want to thank the rest of the board members. You

[4:18:12] know, we got 100% participation in those thing the scenes for getting it all put

[4:18:16] together. I think now the, you know, getting to hear as much feedback as we

[4:18:21] can. I'm excited for how that's going to uh help shape this map, the interactive

[4:18:27] tools. I was uh I was very nervous when we hired this consultant. Y'all know me,

[4:18:32] I don't like to spend money. Uh, but I I would I've thus far been very impressed

[4:18:37] with the product he's produced. So hopefully we can keep on working this.

[4:18:42] You know, 13 years in the making. Hopefully we can go ahead and uh make

[4:18:46] some headway there. >> That's all I got.

[4:18:50] » Well, I think that you were you've proved your point. You're able to pass

[4:18:53] because you read that policy and regulation. Well, he can he can read. He

[4:18:57] can do English. We'll pass it. [laughter]

[4:19:00] Um I had some stuff, but I think that honestly a lot of it I could just talk

[4:19:05] individually about. nothing really dialed in that I could present or or ask

[4:19:09] here, but I want to thank um I want to thank uh all that hard work that went

[4:19:14] into that presentation tonight. We have a lot to chew on and a lot to lot to

[4:19:18] really think about. Um this board again, since we've all been here, we have not

[4:19:22] shied away from making decisions, not necessarily decisions we want to make,

[4:19:26] but ones that we we need to. Again, for the longstanding success of Bedford

[4:19:31] County Public Schools, that's our job. That's what we were elected uh to do.

[4:19:35] So, uh, it was a lot. This was a long meeting tonight. There was a lot of

[4:19:39] information that we had to go through. I thank all the board members for asking

[4:19:43] good questions, uh, debating and, uh, yeah, and I thought that your review of

[4:19:50] of policy discussion, I think you did a very very great job on that. I think you

[4:19:56] really dialed in. I think made people understand what we were talking about.

[4:20:00] So, I want to thank you uh, for that. But, thanks to everyone for here uh, for

[4:20:04] being here. schools, schools, we're in the thick of it now. I know kids are

[4:20:07] probably looking forward to Thanksgiving, but you got stick with it.

[4:20:10] Show up all day and um and uh keep getting after it. So, with that, that's

[4:20:16] all I really have. So, uh do a motion to adjurnn.

[4:20:20] » So, moved. >> Mr. Hullbrook, do I have a second?

[4:20:22] Second, >> Mr. Barnes. Any discussion? Nope. All

[4:20:25] those in favor signify by saying I. I. Any opposed? We're journ.

Regular Meeting - 5:00 p.m. School Administration Office - Sep 10 2026

Transcript