Good afternoon, I call to order this December 16th, 2025 Loudoun County School Board meeting. I have been notified that Vice Chair Donahue would like to remotely participate in tonight's school board meeting. Uh, Ms. Don, uh, vice Chair Donahue, please state your location on whether this is a medical or personal matter. Thank you. Good evening, Madam Chair and fellow board members. I am in a room in my home. This is a personal matter request. Um, the other members of my family are present in my home, but not in the room with me. Um, I'll now entertain. Is any, okay.
So you is, you said, is anyone present with you at your location? You said that as well. And is this a medical or personal? I, sorry, you said personal. Okay. Personal. Yes. Thank you. Medical chair. Okay. I'll now entertain a motion that vice chair, uh, Donahue participate remotely be granted her the request be granted. Do I have a motion? I may I move? I have a motion by Dr. Deans. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chandler. Um, all right. And therefore we will go ahead
and is there any discussion? No. Nope. Okay. I'll go ahead and take a vote. Board, uh, clerk, please open the vote. Board members please record your vote. Yes. Yes. Oh, thank you's. Um, clerk, please close and display the vote and that motion passes unanimously, um, with, um, vice Chair Donahue absent for the vote. Vote. And so welcome to the meeting, vice Chair Donahue. Thank you. All right. We will go ahead and, um, start with our disclosures,
um, as a member. And I'll start as a member of the Loudoun County School Board. I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion, sorry, Uh, related any other, and, okay. I make the following disclosure as a school to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits and any other discussion that that may include
or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees while in the excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included, I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Ms. Chandler? Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection
with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits, and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included, I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records
of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Thank you. Ms. Chandler, vice Chair Donahue. Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding employee salaries, the budget and or health insurance, and any other discussion that may include or affect salary and benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically my spouse, my minor children, and I are enrolled in LCPS health insurance that may be affected by any potential changes to employee salaries, the budget, and or health insurance. Additionally, my sister-in-law is an LCPS employee
who does not reside with me and is not dependent on me. These subjects include thousands of employees, well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may be affected, of which my spouse, my minor children, my sister-in-law, and I am included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you. Vice Chair Donahue. Ms. Griffiths. Thank you Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and
or health insurance and related benefits, and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically, as a school board member, I am eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees as and well in excess of statutory three employees whose interests may be affected, of which I am included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public's interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk for of the school board for five years. Thank you. Thank you you, Ms. Griffiths. Mr. Streff.
Thank you Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits, and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I'm included, I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years.
Thank, thank you. Mr. Stree. Hold on. Something just happened to my computer. Um, Ms. Uh, Ms. LaBelle? Thank you, Madam Chair. As a member of the Al Loudin County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits, and any other discussion that may affect or include benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance
and related benefits as an LCPS employee. In addition, as a former LCPS employee, I as well as my spouse receive Medicare Advantage Insurance benefits through LCPS. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which my spouse and I are included. I can and will participate fairly objectively and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years.
Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. Ms. Shernoff? Thank You, Madam Chair. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board, I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public in connection with the item on tonight's agenda regarding the budget and or health insurance and related benefits, and any other discussion that may include or affect benefits for LCPS employees. Specifically as a school board member, I'm eligible to receive health insurance and related benefits as an LCPS employee. These benefits, however, affect thousands of employees well in excess of the statutory three employees whose interests may also be affected, of which I am included, I can and will participate fairly objectively
and in the public interest. This disclosure will be reflected in the public records of the clerk of the school board for five years. Thank you, Ms. S Shernoff. We'll move on to item three, approval of the consent agenda. I think, um, board members, are there any changes to be made to the consent agenda? Seeing none, I will now entertain a motion to approve the consent agenda. So moved. I have a motion by, uh, by Ms. S Shernoff. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Ms. Chandler. Um, it's been properly moved and seconded. Uh, at this time we'll go ahead and take a vote to approve the consent agenda.
Clerk, please open the vote Board members, please record your vote. Um, vice Chair Donahue, will you please state your vote? Yes. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously. And we'll move on to item four, our work session with Department of Teaching and Learning literacy update and supports presented by Jeff Crosley, director Teachering Learning, um, and director and I think there many others. And I, I'll have Mr. Slevin go ahead and introduce everybody. Thank you. Chair Mansfield, members of the board and Dr. Spence.
We are appreciative the of the time this afternoon to provide the school board a literacy update and information about the supports we are providing schools. And as Chair Mansfield noted, we do have a large group, and that is because literacy is a large topic in our school system, and there are many hands, um, at the table trying to make sure that we have the best environment to support literacy across our schools in LCPS. So I'll just take a moment to, uh, give our team a chance to introduce themselves. Good afternoon. Jeff Ronsley, director of Teaching and Learning, K 12. Good afternoon. Dr. Michelle Picard, supervisor
of Secondary English and reading. Hello, Catherine Neal, supervisor of elementary reading and writing. Margaret Os Specialized Instruction Supervisor in the Office of Special Education. Good afternoon, Jaylon El Secondary Supervisor. Hello, Heather Crawford Elementary, English Learner Supervisor. So before we dive into the presentation, we would just like to make a connection to our strategic plan. As you know, goal one point goal one around empowered students 1.1, enable core academic excellence by providing rigorous instruction for all students, and literacy is foundational to that goal. With that, I am going to, um, turn it over to Mr.
Rounds, who will tell us a little bit about the agenda and have the, get the presentation started. So we have a couple of things we wanted to do tonight. First, to give you an update on some of our resources that are happening in our classrooms, um, some of our new resources that have recently been adopted and some of the feedback we've heard thus far. We'll also take some time to dive into some data around literacy instruction in our schools, looking specifically at vows, uh, data, and also our, uh, data thus far for Lexia Core Five and Power Up. Um, and also talking about some of our practices
that happen in all of our classrooms. So we're going to begin by taking a deeper look at our practices, our school supports, and our resources. And I believe Ms. Catherine Neal is going to give us a little bit of a vision for what literacy looks like in LCPS. So on this slide, we wanted to just share, um, that this, these are the, um, VDOE standards for K to 12 literacy. Um, these are the strands that are addressed in literacy throughout kindergarten all the way through 12th grade. At the elementary level, we are fortunate to have at least one full-time reading specialist at every elementary school.
In total, we have 105 reading specialists across our 60 elementary schools. This number does not include our reading specialists that are funded by Title one or other funding sources. In addition to our reading specialists, I am fortunate to have a team of eight instructional facilitators that directly support elementary literacy, these instructional facilitators that directly su support literacy, our highly skilled individuals who work across our highest needs schools. The work of our ELA facilitators is based on school priorities that are outlined in their school improvement plans.
We also have literacy tutors available to support our elementary students. Um, this position was previously called to pass tutor. We provide ongoing professional learning for a lot of our different groups throughout the division, such as principals, reading specialists, reading contacts, and instructional coaches. To the greatest extent possible, we try to provide the same learning to all groups on the same cadence to ensure consistency and messaging and expectation. Our hope is that this helps with implementation at the school level when all members of the team have received the same learning. Our focus for this year
with literacy professional learning has been centered on explicit instruction. We continue to partner with the elementary education office to provide principals with in depth ongoing monthly sessions around deepening explicit instruction. In addition, we continue to offer ongoing cohorts of both letters, volume one and volume two. We have nine ELA team members who are trained letters facilitators, so that we can sustain this work moving forward. And I'm gonna hand it over to Ms. Berry. You can see here that we also in the Office of Special Education have 23 specialized instructional facilitators.
While we do have a variety of specialized instructional facilitators in our office, these 23 individuals primarily support specialized instruction in interventions and literacy and numeracy. Um, but we're gonna lift the literacy part this evening. Uh, so they do specifically provide ongoing professional learning for our special educators, as well as working with co-teaching teams of gen ed and special education teachers, as well as trios in supporting literacy for both students in elementary. And you can see on the next slide that that team of facilitators also supports our secondary schools
as well in that implementation. With literacy across K 12, My comments would echo, um, Ms. Neils in terms of professional learning and the support for the office. We're very grateful for the support that you provide. We have 32 reading specialists at the middle school level. That's one in every single school. And then of course, additional, um, positions at certain schools. And we have 25 at the high school level. For the last three to four years. We've met with the reading specialist four full days every single year and made sure that we were really on top of cutting edge research and practice.
The office also has three instructional facilitators and a specialist, which has been instrumental in having a large footprint in the schools. I'll speak a little bit more about professional learning further on in the presentation, but just like elementary, we make a really sincere effort to to touch all of the stakeholders that need to be engaged with literacy. So specifically with regard to special education, our team of specialized instructional facilitators, when they're working with their teams, they're also really doing a lot of collaboration with the facilitators from both elementary literacy
and secondary literacy and providing learning and coaching for those teams of teachers across levels. Our SIFs, as we call them, um, are in the middle of providing some ongoing coaching cycles for the special education teachers in our school. So they're really trying to get a touch point with every single cross cat special education teacher, as well as our program teachers across the schools. Our professional learning this year has really been focused on that year two rollout of HMH as well as vs. For K eight as it applies to our students with disabilities. We're continuing our training for intervention
and this year we're really focusing on some communities of practice to refine those practices for instruction as it relates to intervention for some of our schools that we're really focusing in on supports as we are working on core skill acquisition and generalization, we're doing something called an instructional strategy review. And I believe Dr. Carter might share a little bit more about that in a little bit. So from the English Learner Office, we meet consistently with our early literacy and secondary literacy team. Um, and we really wanted to highlight three areas that we've been collaborating with recently. Uh, the first area is looking at curriculum.
So I'll just speak to elementary. One thing we really wanted to do is to embed some oral language opportunities within HMH. So we had the chance to do that this summer. We've also been creating some exemplar HMH units with an ELD focus, um, integrating both ELD standards and our reading SOLs. In terms of professional learning, my team and Catherine's facilitators have opportunities to present together both at the school level and at the countywide day sessions now that our EL teachers join our general education teachers. Finally, we've been working a lot on school support, um, collaborating on school improvement goals, doing walkthroughs together with our offices
and presenting strategies that help students in literacy and who are also multilingual learners. Finally, we have, uh, ongoing collaboration on guidance for providing intervention for our English learners. Just like the, um, elementary at the secondary level two, we have Q tell strategies that are intentionally embedded within the English Language Arts curriculum, um, that support language development, academic discourse and rigorous text engagement, uh, professional learning offerings such as Q TEL or quality Teaching for English learners and are high rigor, high support, uh, professional learning.
They are intentionally designed to support English co-teaching pairs and focus on instructional strategies that promote student engagement, intentional scaffolding and equitable student access to rigorous grade level English content. Lastly, we partner with the secondary English office to align supports for school improvement plans, um, to ensure coherence across curriculum instruction and interventions. This year we are in year two of our HMH into reading adoption. You can see an overview of our supplemental and intervention resources on the screen.
Um, just one to note, the VDOE has recently approved additional materials and you Fly is now approved k kindergarten through fifth grade as an intervention. First our students with disabilities, we do continue to see spire, which is an Orton-Gillingham based decoding intervention and visualizing and verbalizing, which is a comprehension intervention, are two of our most widely used interventions for students with disabilities. And on the next slide, you can see some good news. Um, SPIRE is also now approved by the VDOE for use in six through eight to target phonics. Uh, so we can see some consistency of implementation
for our students with disabilities and intervention. You're well aware that we adopted, uh, a new curriculum for middle school in March of 2025. We're referring to this year as our rough draft year. We're designing and implementing curriculum based both on the new standards and the new core, um, care core program, which is Sava My perspectives. Um, we're very blessed in Loudoun County. I always say that we have an embarrassment of riches, and that is both talent and it's also resources. In addition to the core program, we are also using
and implementing supplementary and intervention resources, including those on the slide. Newsela, no Red Ink, Lexia Power Up. Um, and, and as was suggested already, please note that all of the interventions and the core, uh, core products are aligned with the science of reading and approved by the state. So I wanted to give you a little bit more information because this is our rough draft year. This is the first year of implementation. We are in unit two of four this year. We're implementing the middle school curriculum, and we're working to engage all stakeholders and professional learning.
Um, some key stakeholders are listed on this slide. We meet with our subject area lead teachers, which are middle school leads in the buildings, and they come once a quarter for a full day, and they're, um, acquiring additional training during that time. We've also had a COEs with the EL lead teachers. We've had training during the conference days, and we have scheduled time with special instructional facilitators. We actually met today with Savas, and we're putting together what we're gonna call a planning think tank so that we can really get as much
responsive professional learning as possible. Um, the other thing I wanted to thank you for and thank, um, Neil Slevin and others for is we're facilitating. There's a new standard operating procedure that when we have new standards or we have a new curriculum, we're bringing one lead teacher from every grade level at every school together for a half day quarterly. So imagine 18 sixth grade teachers coming together and talking about pedagogy and resource, um, and, and being responsive to their students.
It's helping us to write a more robust curriculum. It's also helping us to align practices. Um, and again, the theme of this evening, I hope that you can, can hear is that we collaborate on a daily basis really with special education. And el In our next part, we're gonna move on to talking a little bit about the data that we have around literacy and how this data helps us to drive instruction. But before we move on to that, I just wanted to talk a little bit about why we think this is important. And, um, LCPS uses data from multiple sources to drive our literacy instruction, including the v screening results implementation data from
some of our intervention programs like Lexia Core Five and Power Up. And when we combine those with classroom assessments and other school-based materials, we really do get an idea of where our students are and what kinds of goals we need to set. And we just wanted to talk a little bit about how that data informs goal setting, uh, across LCPS. So the first way that happens is in school improvement plans. Uh, we partner with our district offices. All the people at this table here are highly involved in working with schools to help them set school improvement goals, um, including in elementary reading and writing and secondary English. And they, they design these goals
and track really data-driven goals throughout the year. So examples of this might be implementing differentiated small group instruction in the school, or, um, you know, finding ways to integrate reading and writing throughout all of our content areas. Second, um, our data that from vows especially, has really driven the creation of individualized student reading plans. And that's really the foundation when schools are creating these, uh, plans to help monitor student achievement and student growth. They're developed collaboratively with families. Um, and again, many of the people at this table have helped contribute to that and provide training and what those plans might look like
and how that data might be monitored throughout the year. So that might include moving students from, um, a high band of risk to a low band of risk by years end, or seeing students score the 40th percentile in map. But that's another way that this data helps inform the goals we want for students achievement. And the third way is that this data helps drive program implementation and professional learning goals. So we work with many partners in supporting, um, literacy efforts at our schools and working with them. We do set goals for the implementation of new instructional resources and professional learning for teachers. Uh, that might include tracking the number
of lessons completed by students in a specific system like Lexia Core Five or Lexia Power Up, that might include professional development provided by vendors to help support the implementation of new resources. And while those goals are monitored and discussed, it's always important to note that our primary focus is always on making sure that we're providing students with the resources that they need to be successful, whatever that might look like, and that we're making sure schools feel empowered, um, to achieve at the levels that they need and they have the resources that they need to do that. So with that, uh, I wanna talk a little bit about vows
and who is screened. Um, as you know, vows is takes place multiple times in the course of the year. And in K two, all students are screened. It's important to note that this is the only time that all of our students are screened. So included with your packet tonight is a, um, overview of some of the data related to vows implementation. You'll notice in that data a significant drop, um, in the students who are, or, you know, a significant increase in students who are well below at a high band, high level of risk band starting in third grade. And again, that's important to note that that is
because not all students take the vows test in third grade, it's only students new to Virginia Public Schools who receive, who received summer intervention services. Um, and then in fourth through eight, we have students who received either a failed basic or failed below basic on the SOL or students who pass the SOL with an audio or read aloud accommodation in the midyear. Again, in K two, all students are screened. It is required for students in third grade that are high risk and optional for students that are moderate and low risk. And again, students who received either a fail, uh, basic
or fail below basic on the SOL in the previous year are screened or students who pass the, so with an audio read aloud accommodation optional for students who pass the SOL and were screened in the fall. So just a little context to the data that you see in the packet, um, to note that when you see that decrease starting in third grade, it is because we're not screening all students with the vows. Starting in third grade. We recently shared some vows data updates with the performance monitoring committee. During that presentation, I mentioned that part of the VOWS assessment is that it provides us with an additional measure to identify contributing factors
behind students' difficulties with literacy. In other words, vows provides us with a data point that can confirm and validate what we see in the classroom. So we know how to adjust our instruction. It's imperative that we support teachers and leaders with understanding how to adjust their instruction based on the results of their vows. Assessment. From our fall data, we determined that it was critical that we ensured daily lit structured literacy and foundational skills were happening daily. We also have been working closely with our MTSS office and our reading specialist focus group to ensure alignment
between core instruction, vow screening, data and intervention. Moving down the slide, we just wanted to highlight, um, we first are, um, support for any assessment that is K eight. Having that continuous data is incredibly valuable, and as Catherine said, the vows data helps us to pinpoint where students are are struggling. We just wanted to highlight at the secondary level that, um, it emphasizes the need for core instruction in core and intervention programs to focus on spelling, decoding,
morphology, oral reading, fluency and comprehension. And I wanted to share that all of those, um, aspects of learning to read are threaded through our curriculum, our core resources, as well as our intervention resources. And so for the final three bullets on that list, um, we want to enhance progress monitoring, um, for students with reading plans. As a result of that progress monitoring data, we need to emphasize a sense of urgency and addressing student literacy needs. We already know these students have gaps in their literacy knowledge and skills, so we need to these students, we need
to be moving as quickly as possible to close these gaps. Finally, we have provided dedicated planning days for reading specialists to analyze data and adjust reading plans. The creation of student reading plans is a monumental task. It can be very tedious. It is time consuming, and it is really important work. We want to make sure our reading specialists have the time, space, and resources to focus on these plans and feel confident, um, in their creation. Um, and so we can go move to the next slide. We mentioned that part of our action item from our vows data was ensuring that structured literacy
and foundational skills were taught daily in all classrooms. Structured literacy is for our kindergarten through second grade classrooms, and foundational skills is for our third grade through fifth grade classrooms. What you see on the screen and have in your appendix is a sample of a foundational skill lesson. You also have a sampled structured literacy lesson in your appendix. As you can see from the example, the lessons are critical for teachers to implement daily for students. They address explicit skills necessary for our upper grade students. This lesson happens to focus on decoding, however, they also work on spelling
and fluency throughout the week. You can see that they begin the week with administering a quick pretest. Then teachers spend time explicitly teaching the principal. In this example, it's the long o spelling. All whole group lessons focus on grade level expectations, and then differentiation occurs in small groups, the remainder of the lesson. And for additional lessons Later in the week, students have opportunities to apply the principle in various ways, such as identifying, comparing, and using the spelling pattern in context. In addition to this, the teacher is reinforcing the principal during small group instruction.
So this is completely aligned with what's happening in, um, middle school. LCPS began implementing systematic spelling instruction in grade six after COVID when we found that lots of kids had gaps in their learning. At this time, 18 middle schools assess students on what's called the developmental spelling assessment. Um, in the sixth grade, this allows teachers to determine a student stage of development as well as to categorize the very specific spelling features, the Phon Eames, and the graph Eames that students have mastered, such as blends, vowel patterns,
Greek and Latin roots, and those that still need to be taught during. This is a real celebration. During the past several years, we've seen tremendous growth in the sixth grade, from sixth grade with both spelling and word recognition. Um, this progress is reflected in the vows data that is before you. If you look at the vows subtest, um, for spelling, there is a dramatic increase in performance and a dramatic decrease in students that are at the well below level. In the spelling subtest, for example, there's a 20 point
decrease from sixth grade. 53% of students were well below in spelling, but by eighth grade, that has dropped 20 points to 33%. Similarly, we're also seeing gains in the word, um, word recognition. Reading subtest, 77% of sixth graders were tested on the vows in the fall, and that drops to 44% in the eighth grade. So when we look across, um, the middle school grades, we're very proud of the gains that they are making.
It's reflected in both the developmental spelling assessment data. It's also reflected in the VS data. I did want to, um, share with you, or we want to share with you that we know that sometimes, um, word study instruction has a bad reputation both at elementary and at the secondary level. And that is because many ineffective practices have been ascribed two word study. So, for example, some teachers, um, to no fault of their own believe that building rainbow words or writing the word three times or pyramid words
or crossword puzzles, um, are word study. That's in fact not true. Those are not research based practices. They're based on rote memory theory. They have nothing to do with understanding the 44 phone names. The 250 graph themes, the context, it has nothing to do with active, um, reflection on how words work in text. So a lot of bad practices over the years in Loudoun County have been ascribed to word study. What we want you to hear is that in the sixth grade, the spelling program, and in HMH, which is the elementary program, we are subscribing
to a research based practice that is taught both at the graduate level and in Loudoun County, that we're promoting practices that, um, help students to master the pieces that they need to master to be able to read, write, spell, and determine, uh, key vocabulary. We're continuing to build this capacity across the sixth grade, um, both through core instruction and professional learning. So we wanted to provide some additional information about Lexi since it came up during, um, the last performance monitoring committee meeting.
Our guidance to schools has been to prioritize face-to-face instruction for intervention. The example on the screen shows an explicit lesson that a teacher and or reading specialist might use with a student. Core Five provides teachers with lessons and resources to provide students with additional teaching and practice opportunities. The digital piece of Core Five is a tool that can be utilized outside of the intervention to practice skills independently. Within Core five students work to complete units, and each unit represents a mastery of a specific specific literacy skill across all five pillars.
As units are successfully mastered, they add up to levels as students advance through the platform. On the next slide, you'll see a high level breakdown of our Core five data. This data represents the amount of students who have moved from working in below grade level content to work in on or above grade level content. You can see the key on the right this data is from July to November. Um, as you can see, even in just the first quarter of the school year, we have seen significant growth in our students. Our percentage of students working in grade level material continues to grow.
While our percentage of students in two grade levels below continues to shrink, we expect continued growth moving into the second half of the school year. In the bottom left of the screen, you can see the amount of teachers who have logged into the Core Five platform. The student success you see in the graphs is only possible with the stu the support of our teachers and reading specialists. This data indicates that teachers understand and see the value in providing students with direct instruction and resources that can support them as they work towards mastering their skills independently. Similarly, um,
these vetted lessons are available in Lexia. Lexia at the middle school is used both as a supplementary resource as well as an intervention resource. And I wanted to highlight several reasons that we find Lexia power up again, approved by the school bo, uh, by the State school board. And also the, um, is aligned with the science of reading. Some of the key reasons that we value this are that middle school teachers rarely have the training or the credentials or the understanding of fundamental literacy. You'll notice on the SOL slide,
fundamental literacy stops at grade five, but we know that many kids come to middle school and still need work to be done. Lexia PowerUp as, uh, Catherine described, provide step by step vetted lessons that provide teachers with the information as well as students. And then the data from Lexia Power Up says, identifies specifically where kids need the support. Is it the schwa? Is it a grammar concept? Is it a comprehension concept and it's individualized and taught in small group or, or one-on-one.
Um, and then lastly, I just wanna underscore, as did Catherine, that we're leaning very heavily into the teaching. We are not abdicating teaching to a computer program. The computer program does two really valuable things. One, it provides data on the gaps. This is exactly what Michelle needs at this time. And then two, it democratizes information about reading with all of these lesson plans and resources that are are provided for our teachers. And then the last slide regarding Lexia PowerUp, this is the middle school, um, data.
And you can see here we have three different zones. They are identified as grade levels, but we're we're, we'd like you not to think about it as grade levels. That's where a skill may or may not be introduced. But the foundational level, you can see word study and comprehension. We have over 20,000 students using, um, using the program. And you can see that the advanced zones are increasing over time. So that was a lot of information that that we just shared. And we have a couple areas we welcome questions or feedback on any of what we just shared. But a couple of things that stand out
as being especially important are any thoughts you might have on the school supports and resources that we offer and the staffing available to our schools. Um, feedback you might have heard around our new English resources that we need to keep in mind as we plan to enhance that curriculum in our second year or continuing in our elementary, uh, curriculum and the progress monitoring and communication with families around student reading plans. But welcome any questions or feedback Board members. Do you have any? Yes, Dr. Deans, Where is it? You have, um, it's a well all machine from inside.
Are there any volunteers or is there a process to get volunteers to help with the students who are below grade level? What about the parents? Is there a parent component? Is there something you can teach the parent to teach the child? Um, I just know that in broad run district, there are three retirement communities and when I go there, they're always saying they're looking for something to do and many of them are retired educators. So I thought that that might be a, an additional resource
for some schools depending on where those schools are. Thank you, Dr. Dean for the question. And we always are looking for opportunities for increased community engagement, but I wonder if I could put Ms. Neil on the spot. Can you talk a little bit about the recent partnership between the EFAs team and Henrietta Lacks? I believe there was a, a reading night or I don't know if someone from the EL team could share. And I, I'm sorry to put you on the Spot, but that's okay. That's all right. Um, yeah, so Henrietta Lacks, um, that was an example. Um, they had a parent night where they brought parents in and then they specifically treated it like, like a workshop
where they, um, talked about the best strategies and ways to help support, um, and work with their students at home on literacy skills. And, um, we were able to provide them with some resources. Um, students were able to take home books and to be able to have those opportunities to, and, and just to be able to have, um, for parents to have somebody to talk to in the school building, um, on how can I best help support my child at home. Um, Henrietta Lacks is one example, and I know that these, um, different workshops
and parent nights do happen, um, throughout the division, um, throughout the school year. Any other questions? Yes, Dr. Rashid, Thank you Chair. And thank you for this comprehensive presentation. It was a lot to take in and, um, it sounds very promising. I just wanted to ask, however, um, aside from the last two slides about Lexia power up for adolescent readers, I was just, I, I was just curious to say if there were any intervention resources for grades nine to 12 or, or maybe I missed it when you were doing the presentation. So if you go back in the presentation
to when we were showing the literacy plan and things that are available, there's actually a longer list, um, on the secondary slide, including Spire was mentioned, read 180 is another, um, intervention that we offer. The full Margaret, if you wanna speak to the full matrix of things that are available for special education students, all of those things are available at the high school. The biggest change at the high school is that you have one reading teacher for a great many more students. And of course you have special education and EL as well. So we do have a really robust, um, continuum
of different approaches to help students. Alright, thank you. I will just add, we have a whole secondary match guide for students with disabilities for high school that is specific to the list of interventions. Since we're not tied to some of the ones that are VDE approved, we're also using things like IMSE, og, those are available in high school where they're not available in elementary or middle school. Thank you so much. It's very helpful. Thank you. I think that's the, the differences that we're talking about, uh, VDOE and the Virginia Literacy Act, which really only goes up to eighth grade. So interventions that are approved by VDOE
and curriculum is really only goes up to eighth grade. Um, anybody else have any Ms. Shernoff? Thank you Madam Chair. Um, I had one quick question before I give some feedback on the things you asked for. Um, on slide 21, where we, would it be a board meeting if I asked about Lexia? I mean, I feel like I have to stay on brand here. So, um, can you just clarify the 13,426 students, are all of those tier three students veteran using Lexia? Core five Is, you're talking about the Core five slide, right? Yes. I don't have the notes. Sorry. Oh, sorry.
That's okay. They don't have It up. That's all right. Um, yes, those, so, um, those 13,000 students are all students that have a license in Lexia, but that doesn't equate to students that are in need of a tier three intervention. Okay. Some of our schools, um, about 20 of our schools have a universal site license, which means that, um, students, all the students within those buildings can access Core Five, um, because Core Five is also, um, approved from the state as a supplemental resource.
So they can be using it from that perspective. Um, in other schools that don't have a universal site license, they have individual student licenses and those are used for intervention. Okay. I guess I'd just be curious if there are, I guess I'm specifically curious about how it productive it is for tier three students. So if there are some on grade level kids or general education kids that are tier one that are using this program that are, you know, creating something, I would just love to see the analysis on tier three. And I know we've done some deep dives in PMC, so maybe that can continue as part of the discussion.
And you guys have been great about breaking down the tier movement and all of that. Um, but I just wanna make sure that we're really looking at the highest leverage strategies for our tier three kiddos, especially you guys know, as it relates to digital. I just gonna be marching to that drum for a long time and, um, it's just, it's curious to me about, you know, if those students that are in tier three are now working on grade level. I mean, that, that would be important to note, but we might need to sort some of that out. Um, and then I think in terms, I, you know, I hear a couple of really great things. You and you guys know, my background is being part
of this team, so of course I support the work. I love hearing about the collaboration. I love seeing all of you here together. It's a truly, it takes a village and, you know, we've seen with our special education numbers and our English language learner numbers, like we have a long way to go and we've seen some growth, but particularly in grades four through eight, like we've, we need, we need to keep growing. Um, so I think that having that collaboration is great. I heard another one of you mention coaching cycles. I think we've, we're seeing now that these whole school coaching cycles, whole school pd, we're starting
to crack the code and see how we can move the needle for kids. So I'm happy to hear that. And I want to continue to find ways, and we mentioned this in the last PMC meeting, we wanna continue to find ways as a school board that support the high leverage staffing to make sure that those lessons are happening face to face and those kids are getting the learning that they need. So we will continue to evaluate what things are moving the needle and how we can replicate that and, and dig deeper on those things. Um, and I have heard positive, uh, results about the student reading plans.
I think we've made a conscious effort to lighten the load for our teachers, especially our reading specialists who, some of them were doing all of the reading plans for their gen ed teachers. So, um, I thank you for that. And I, I wanna continue that conversation of how we can help them, you know, hopefully we'll have less plans as we go through this, but I think that that's important. And I would just encourage the public to really, you know, dial into this conversation. It's an important one. Uh, like I said, we, we have some work to do and, and we had the, the chance to dive in at PMC and, and look at some of this vows data. Um, and some of it is, you know, alarming I think in terms
of how many kids are, are struggling in some of these areas. And, and while we are seeing the growth progressively move up, and hopefully we will as we continue these practices, I, I do think it's important to monitor, uh, where we are and where we're going always. So thank you for being here. Any other discussion? Um, so I'm gonna go back real, so everyone knows my history. Um, so I'm gonna go back to let's look at the HMH best practices and spelling. And this to me is, um,
when you're looking at o they're not even looking. They're looking at Go, which is a one syllable word that has an open syllable. And then they're also doing bold and cult. And so I'm wondering are they even, um, explaining to the kids OLD and OLT, and I know Ms. Berry knows what I'm talking about. Um, also if we're going to o and then O Constant, and there's no o constant E here. Um, OE is rare. You have OE in the middle and ow at the end. So that is a lot of concepts for a kid at once.
So how do you, how are you breaking that down and how are the, and this is my problem with Words their way is because it was, it's very, um, the explanations weren't there. It was a lot at once, and it really focused on visual with the word sorts. I will, I will admit it is all about how you're doing the word sorts. Whether you're actively stating the word and putting it in why you're understanding the, and you're asking the kid why you're putting it in one list rather than the other. Um, otherwise it's a visual exercise. I would, um, say when we're looking at word work
here, um, I see your research based practices. I don't see word sums or um, morphology kinds of things in here either, which is something that vows is picking up on. So that's my first thing. How are you breaking it down for core? First of all, because I think you're gonna be losing a lot of kids. And then I have second, So I couldn't agree with you more. Like they're like, these programs and the examples that we showed you o only go so far. And as much as we work with our classroom teachers
and our reading teachers, we tell them all the time, the programs don't teach, the teachers do. And so it's about taking the data, looking at the data and then thinking about, okay, what scaffolds and supports do I need to put in place? Which may mean that we need to take a lesson like this and break it down into smaller parts because of what the students that I'm working with in front of me, whether it's a small group, whole group, what they need at that time. Um, HMH does have some other suggestions and resources. They do suggest some different ways to scaffold, but at the end of the day, that's why we're still committed
to letters because letters, um, really helps to support teachers in making those instructional decisions and then provides them with some resources to be able to go back and adjust some of these lessons to then, you know, strengthen that lesson so that it meets the student's needs. I wanna echo that and I wanna echo what you said, which is that it's all about implementation. It's about deep knowledge of teachers and implementing what kids need. And there is a phonetic continuum. There are four stages of spelling development, there are stages of decoding and it's about arming teachers with that deep knowledge so
that it is not a visual task, that it is an active thinking task. How does this, let's use long o there are several ways to spell long o Some of them are very uncommon, some of them are very common. Some of them come, um, some of the features are in the middle of a word, some are always at the end, like ow is always at the end of a syllable or um, a word. So our efforts with spelling specifically are data based. So in the sixth grade we've had tremendous success because we've really been promoting what's the big idea, not
what are these 25 words. So I wanna make that point. I also wanna talk about, um, morphology. I know that you had comments at the last school board as well. The morphology data is a little, um, I thought it was surprising in vs but I want to share with you if you don't already know, they call the morphology subtest a comprehension subtest. It really has very little to do with morphology. The way that subtest works is it will say, it's gonna give you a sentence. So, um, Mr Rounds was very
exci uh, was very blank to come to the school board meeting this evening. A ex excite B excited C excitable D excitement. That's read to the student and then the student has to select the correct form of the word. So in my experience with, and I did give this test to many, many kids, it's really about language. It's about hearing the language. I will tell you, um, that we teach morphology every single week in every single middle school classroom across the system.
Um, but we teach prefixes, we teach suffixes, we teach the many different ways you can, um, change the word courage to courageous and um, and courage and, and we teach all of those things. And I don't think that's what morph the morphology subtest is getting at. I think it's getting at kids that aren't understanding the English language and getting the appropriate piece. So I just wanted to share that with you for thought So. But if they knew that Ed was, um, past tense and they knew that A BLE was able to that kind of thing,
then that would help them with that sentence. Absolutely true. And this is where what, uh, Mr. Rounds Lee said is so important. The VS data is not all Loudoun County Public Schools students. It's only the students that have failed the standards of learning at least grades, um, four through eight. And it is something that we're addressing. It's also interesting to me that the kids who have to have audio and read alouds are supposed to take it every year. Um, okay, so then I'm gonna move on to middle and high school level. Um, you made a good point that English teachers do not
normally learn foundational skills 'cause they weren't necessarily taught. Um, but one thing I know for sure is that we must use interventions with fidelity to see gains. Um, so how are we able to help those students, um, who need foundational instruction? And I know that there's a difference between special education and reading specialists, but it's kind of weird at the secondary level because who does, who does the reading strategies class? Who does those kinds of things? So, and then what is being
provided in the reading strategies class as opposed to other English self-contained classes and program classes, it all kind of gets meshed together. So how are you separating that out and what in the budget needs to be put in place to help you get the right people in on board who know how to do that foundational instruction? 'cause sometimes it's, it's a lot. Yeah. And I'm gonna turn to, I think there's several people at the table who would wanna respond to that question. I just wanna say that we recognize too that at the secondary level there is a,
a pinch in the schedule to try and make sure we give that time for schools. Our schools have been incredibly creative in thinking about how they might schedule differently to make sure that that time is built in and available for students. But that's an ongoing project that we're thinking about and how we can more fully integrate that intervention time that's so necessary into the daily schedule. But our schools have done a, a phenomenal job of being creative in what they have and being able to do that. I'm gonna let Dr. Picard and Ms. Berry, I'm sure talk a little bit about how, um, what else we need and some of the, the what's happen. I
Mean, I will say that what's important is that consistency. If you have Spire, you need to do it 45 minutes four or five days a week, right? Right. Uh, so first I will say that, um, in the Office of Special Education we offer a professional learning called Foundations of Specialized Reading that we do really target, especially towards secondary special education teachers to provide some of that foundational skill knowledge that is also provided in letters for our secondary teachers to build that knowledge base for some of our staff who are teaching that specialized reading instruction to students.
Um, when we talk about intervention in secondary where we are really looking for integrity of implementation comes from our SS who are out there really working with staff to make sure that they're seeing that value and continuing to provide intervention in a consistent way as well as monitoring our data to make sure that our students are making the kind of progress we want to see. Um, just last week I did a presentation with our special education designees around spire pacing and ensuring that we're staying on pace with our intervention so that our students are acquiring skills at a rate that is going to enable them to continue to put these skills
to work and read text and move on to those other skills like morphology, like fluency, so we can keep moving, um, and closing that gap for our students. The other piece I will say is when we talk about the difference between reading strategies versus English versus self-contained program classes, that's always gonna come down to our instructional match and ensuring that the students in that class or getting the intervention that is going to meet their identified needs based on their disability and their areas of deficit. We are working very closely with our schools, as Mr. Roundly mentioned, to make sure that we're grouping students into classes so
that we're not having to provide three or four interventions within the same block because that gets very tricky. We only have a finite amount of time during the day. Um, our sifts do a lot of work working with teachers to make sure that we're keeping track of what interventions are being used, what skills students are on so that schools can use that information when they're building class schedules. As we move into the fall and winter, nope, not fall, we're in January, winter, it's December, it's December, January is when they start doing schedules in secondary. Um, so they'll have that data for rising sixth and ninth graders to build schedules in the upcoming semester.
Is there anything you wanna add? Budget, and I will say how do EL come into this too? Because there's EL students who need foundational instruction too. So for our English learners, we have, um, sheltered classes, uh, especially specific to students who are level ones through level two point fives, and we have created a structure where they're getting those interventions in those sheltered classes. Uh, we use Read 180, which is approved by the state. Um, and we try to make sure that students are receiving only one inter
intervention at a time. So it's only read 180 and they're not receiving Lexia. If there are students in co-taught classes, um, co-taught English classes, then we do say that they can receive Lexia, not read 180. So that's how we're providing, uh, interventions for our English learners. I will just add one quick thing uh, reading specialists are highly trained and they use a variety of different approaches. Um, Lexia is very helpful when English teachers are participating in some of the interventions as well. But there is a real, um, Margaret,
I think you said it really well there, there it's about a match for what kids need. So I'll take the question about budget on behalf of the team. First, I would like to just acknowledge the tremendous support the school board has provided to our literacy ecosystem of the years, whether it's through additional tools. We had a healthy conversation, I believe, in your first budget around Lexia. Um, looking at our off cycle adoption of the middle school resources, that was a significant investment in terms of what we were doing. Um, and, uh, since the beginning of the Virginia Literacy Act working with budget and finance, we've been very thoughtful about adding
differentiated staffing around reading specialists and, um, thinking about the people that we need in buildings. Um, I can tell you that one of the things that I, I look at as the assistant superintendent for teaching and learning in particular is what are our schools using their differentiated and flexible staffing for? Um, in, in prior to adding some additional reading specialists into the budget, that was one of the first positions that like a school would create out of their flexible staffing or differentiated staffing. And as we've added more, they've moved on to positions such as coaches. Um, but they've also, um, started looking
for just like we have math resource teachers, they're looking for interventionists, people that can just work with students. Um, and we're still at the point where we're not necessarily recommending those in the budget, but we're studying how schools are using 'em, and we're thinking about ways that the offices up in, um, teaching and learning can help those people that are in those positions. Um, so I think, you know, continuing to stay focused on the resources that we have, making sure they're being used with fidelity, um, evaluating the instructional resources in case we need to change, um, being willing to have conversations like this at the board level so
that we can get feedback from the, from the board. Um, I know that's not budget related, but it does impact kind of the decision we make about spending and, and FTE allocation. Um, so I don't have a specific budget recommendation that I'm making tonight, but those are the type of things I'm thinking about when it comes to budget. So flexible staffing, I mean, you can even, there's even things like, um, you know, the tutoring and with specialized tutoring where it's all encompassed, everybody is on the same page kind of tutoring so that they don't have to pay for it outside. Um, there are those kinds of, you know, programs
that you can do before school, at school and really actually during school would be best, but Okay. Um, I'll shut up. Anybody else? No. Okay. Thank you for your time. Um, okay. And then we're gonna move on to, um, department of Academics 2025 state and federal accountability results presented by Dr. Ashley Ellis, our Chief Academic Officer, and I don't know other people coming up. It looks like, uh, Dr. Ryan Tyler and, and some friends.
And I'm sure, um, Dr. Ellis will introduce everyone. Oh, and Dr. Carter. All right. Good afternoon, chair Mansfield and members of the board. This afternoon we will be sharing a brief review of the state and federal accreditation and accountability framework and our accreditation results, state and federal accountability designations and work underway and planned to support schools. There are really not enough chairs for all of the people in, in this team, um, in this building who support this work. So I have asked, um, Dr. Tyler to join us for, um, questions
around school improvement and the data. And Dr. Carter will share some information about specifically how we're supporting our students with disabilities. So, as I've shared with you in previous presentations, Virginia recently changed the accreditation system and now uses for the first time this year. Two ways to describe schools. Accountability is focused on student progress and outcomes, and it is the little flow chart in blue on the left hand side of the screen. While accreditation is focused on whether schools provide an essential foundation of high quality programs for all students in the green,
and they serve different purposes, but work together to show a picture of a school first, we'll talk about accreditation. Again, this system is focused on the elements listed in the standards of quality provided by the state, including items related to safe and healthy learning environments, teacher licensure, et cetera. Accreditation is not tied to student outcomes. I'm pleased to share that all LCPS schools are fully accredited for the 2025, uh, 20 24, 20 25 school year. So now shifting to talking about accountability.
As I've shared in previous meetings, VDOE has shifted to the school performance and support framework model or SPSF. This accountability system centers on student learning progress and outcomes calculated using mastery growth and readiness, and then graduation at the high school level. We've talked a little bit about this in the past, so I'm gonna walk you through how schools have received in this past week, both a state designation and are potentially federally identified for support. So, bear with me, this is a little complicated.
First schools receive an overall index score and scores for different student student groups based on mastery growth and readiness. We've talked about this in detail in previous presentations, so I'll skip that part based on that index score that each school receives. Each school is then assigned a state SPSF performance category, distinguished on track, off track, or needs intensive support. Next, using the information from the state SPFS scores, schools are potentially identified for federal support,
either comprehensive support or targeted support, which the state calls CSI or TSI, the additional targeted support and improvement. We're gonna set that aside this year. It's, uh, really about three year trends of lack of improvement over three years. We don't have any schools in that category, So I'm gonna talk a little bit about the federal identification process. They start by identifying the comprehensive support and improvement or CSI schools. So to do that, CSI schools are essentially at the elementary school, and, sorry, elementary schools are the bottom 5%
of Title one schools in the state by individual level, elementary, middle, or high, Or a high school with a graduation rate of less than 67%, which does not apply in LCPS to any of our schools. And again, we're gonna set aside the orange category of A TSI. So the lowest performing 5% of Title one schools. They separate all of the schools in the commonwealth by elementary, middle, and high. And they rank them by that index score that SPSF index score from highest performing
to lowest performing by level. The bottom 5% are automatically identified for comprehensive support and improvement. CSI. So if you had a health a hundred elementary schools in the Commonwealth, the lowest five performing schools would be CSI schools. Next they identify targeted support in intervention. So for the bottom 5% will stick with elementary. The bottom 5% of elementary schools, the top performing of the bottom 5% has an index score.
And this year, that index score is 71.8. The highest performing of the lowest 5% sets the threshold for targeted support. So we now have a threshold of 71.8, that's the threshold index score. They take that index score, and then they use that against all student groups with an n size greater than 15 to compare to. And any school with any student group bigger than 15, that has a score lower than the threshold of 71.8
is identified for targeted support in that area. You with me? Okay. So one, actually, one important note that I want to go back to on this slide is that n size of 15, that is a significant change this year in the new support system, the n size used to be 30. So any school with a student group that was smaller than 30, it essentially was not counted in their, in their data, in their reporting. Uh, we obviously look at that locally, but determining state and federal, um, designations,
it had to be an end size of 30. So several more student groups, um, are identified when you lower that number to 15. I think that just, um, is important when thinking about some of the changes from the last year to this year. Okay, so trying to make this a little bit clearer, I've included a a couple of flow charts to help you visualize what I just shared. So again, going through the process of determining state performance categories and federal identification, starting at the top, A school is given a framework score based on growth,
mastery and readiness. And then it's given an, given an initial performance category, distinguished on track, off track, et cetera. Then in the blue on the side, simultaneously, there's the federal identification of CSI schools and then potentially TSI schools. If a school is identified as CSI or TSI for federal identification, it automatically drops one state performance level. So using an example of one of our schools, one of our schools received an SPS framework score
of 91.6. That's amazing. It's a really high score. And their original SPFS, excuse me, score, um, category was distinguished then simultaneously VDOE calculated CSI and TSI, using that threshold of 71.8 against each individual student group, bigger than 15. The overall threshold was 71.8. This particular school, their performance score for students with disabilities was 71.2, which is below the threshold
of 71.8. Therefore, they were identified for federal identification as TSI targeted support for students with disabilities, and therefore, their SPSF performance score was revised from distinguished to offtrack on track, excuse me, on track drops one level. So here's an example of a very high performing school that can also be identified for targeted support. I think the, um, challenge for that is that it's a little confusing to explain and understand, uh, for families and the community and teachers. Um, the benefit is that we are targeting support
where it's needed most. So in terms of some of our, in terms of our local numbers for each of these categories, the majority of our schools have no federal identification. 11 of our schools have been identified for targeted support and improvement, or TSI and two of our schools have been identified for comprehensive support. CSI. I've linked a couple of helpful resources from BDOE as well as the Virginia School Quality Profiles that we'll talk about in a minute. Here's the breakdown of state SPSF performance levels in LCPS,
and you can see that the majority of our schools are distinguished or on track. You'll also notice that this is very, very close. I'm extremely proud of the RACI team. This is very close to what we predicted to you all in September when we were tracking this data. So then I asked the team to pull the data from our comparison divisions that we often, um, show you in presentations around student achievement data. Typically, we compare ourselves to the other large divisions in the state Fairfax, prince William Virginia Beach.
And then this last column on the right, you'll see, you'll see the state averages. So these are the percentages of SPSF performance levels. I just wanna point out that's a big 46.94 compared to everybody else. I mean, just saying Thank you Chairman Mansfield. Yes. So 82% of our schools are distinguished or on track, and I do think that's a huge celebration and a testament to all of the work that our teams do both, um, in our departments in central office and the hard work that teachers do every day.
So I know you all are curious about the individual schools. The slide 16 shows the schools that have been identified through the state SPSF system as off track or needs intensive support. And then slide 17 shows the schools that have been federally identified as targeted support or comprehensive support. A couple of things I wanna point out on, on these two slides. As I mentioned, we had very few surprises when we received this data last week. All 11 TSI schools were identified for students with disabilities with one of those schools.
Also be being identified for additional student groups. Um, but overall our biggest area of concern that we need to support schools in is supporting our students with disabilities. Um, the amazing Rasi team and our incredible office of Special Education and office of el, the school improvement team and others in central office track this data regularly. We've had the, our finger on the pulse since, um, well before this school year began. Um, and these schools were already locally identified as needing support this summer
and have been receiving division support along the way. Um, we've also met with a couple of principals individually and held office hours for school leaders in the past couple of days since we received this data last week to help them go through their reports. Uh, we have additional meetings set up this this week and after the break to support. Um, to give you an idea, we typically get this information in September. So this is extremely delayed. Uh, we knew that because of the changes coming with this framework that we absolutely could not wait.
Um, September is already too late to provide supports. The school year has already started. Routines are in place, and we need to have all of those supports ready to go, um, on the first day of school. So we worked really hard over the summer with school leadership teams, with the school improvement team to put those systems in place. And now that we have this data, we will not only continue that work, but are doing a deep dive into these schools reports to provide additional support and pivot if and when needed. Uh, we are also supposed to be getting more information from VDOE on how they plan
to support TSI and CSI schools across the commonwealth. They have said that they will be providing different levels of support and we are not sure what that looks like. Um, we've reached out last week, um, and as of today, we don't have any specifics, but that information is forthcoming and I'll be sure to share that when we have it. So, as I mentioned, all of these schools on slide 16 and 17 were already locally identified. Um, this proactive identification really ensures that the most significant needs
receive focused as assistance. We call that locally enhanced or priority support as early as possible. Um, our top priority schools participate in monthly meetings with division staff for ongoing problem solving and continuous data review. We go through the plan, do study act process through the school improvement process. Um, these collaborative meetings focused on data analysis, providing content level expertise, um, assisting with strategy and resources to support and pivoting when needed. This slide gives you an idea of some
of the ways school teams support students and what you might see in school improvement plans. They use strategies to focus on closing achievement gaps in math and reading specifically for, for student groups identified at their school, um, such as students with disabilities or English learners. They utilize SOL data, map data, local formative and summative assessments, the VS data that the team just spoke about. They implement a variety of instructional strategies to meet needs of students and central office teams provide support
through professional learning, data analysis and planning. So again, as I mentioned, once our team received the data last week, we got together to review our current supports and, um, talk with the Office of Special Education, specifically given the data that we received. Um, and I did want Dr. Carter to speak a little bit about the work we're doing to support, um, improving achievement for students with disabilities, both what we are currently doing and, um, any pivots we might make. Thank you Dr. Ellis. Good evening, everyone. Um, I feel like I'm going to just give you a little bit
of an extension of what Margaret has already talked about. Um, but we do have very specific and strategic coaching going on in all of our schools with our specialized instructional facilitators focusing on literacy and math and how those skills can be carried out in the other subjects. Our goal is to build capacity of our teachers. We have customized professional learning around co-teaching practices, and we're really focusing on fine tuning those practices to include specially design instruction. We have spent time differentiating between the strategies that work for EL
and the strategies that work for special education and what those two things have in common so that we can focus on our students who are duly identified as well. We also, um, in our coaching we talked about, we talk about specially design instruction and specifically at the interventions that we use, the data that we collect and how we use that data to guide our decision making, which leads to what goes in the student's individualized education plan and how we develop those plans and how they change over time.
The data dialogues, data dialogues that we have are really specific to strategy reviews, looking at student performance, especially those kids on the bubble of, of moving from almost passing to passing. Um, those standardized tests we're looking at both the acquisition and generalization of skills, um, specifically the skills that they learned during specially design instruction. For example, during spire, do we see those skills that they were learning across the school day? This also gives us information about what strategies
and accommodations are used across the division and how they're being successful from place to place. Um, the other only other thing I wanted to mention was that while the 11 schools, um, are identified and well 13 um, schools that are identified, we also have, um, deficits for our students with disabilities in reading and math across the division. So our SIFs are, are, while they are focused in these schools, they are actually visiting and so supporting and coaching on a cadence in all of our schools. And, and we have data to support a lot
of the things that we're doing. So even Rolling Ridge, for example, um, while they were identified, we see a trend of growth. And the fact that Dr. Ellis was able to say that doesn't apply to any of our high schools, I think really speaks to how the gaps close as students get older. And you may be several grade levels below, but through intervention by the time you are in upper grades, those gaps tend to close. Though we do have work to do at the secondary level as well. I do, I do think that it's important to mention that we, we are seeing gaps begin to close.
Um, we are both wanting to stay the course and do what we are doing, but determine what we can add to support our students with disabilities as well. So our team is participating in all of the school improvement meetings, all of the school support meetings, everything that we can to really focus on specific interventions for specific students. Thank you, Dr. Carter. And really briefly before we wrap up and turn it over to you for feedback and questions, I did want to, um, say to the board and the public that the school
and division data are available in the VDOE school quality profiles linked on this slide this year, new, new this year, you'll see a button on each school page that says School performance and support. It's a little blue button at the top. If you click on that, it leads you to a very detailed SPSF report for each school. And you'll notice that each level, so if you look at an elementary school, you'll see growth mastery readiness with the elementary calculations. If you click on a high school report, you'll see, uh, the graduation component added in there.
You'll see information about chronic absenteeism. It's broken down by student group. Um, it's quite detailed. And so rather than asking the research office to regurgitate those reports, I really encourage you to, um, go directly to the source for that information. It's, um, it's quite comprehensive. And so I know that's a lot of information after a lot of information in the previous presentation. Uh, so we're, we're happy to address any questions you have. I have. So where could parents find the school plans? Like what, what they need to, um, what the goals
for the school is gonna be, um, what they're working on, how they're doing it, all the, because I knew, I know for a while we had them on the school websites, um, and that's, I don't know that that's being really kept up anymore. Are there plans to keep those up? Yes. So they should be available on the school website. If they are not, they, I recommend, um, contacting school, the school administrator to ask for that plan that those plans are supposed to be available to the public. Um, we have, we try to check each year to make sure those,
um, summaries are, um, updated now, because the school improvement plan that the staff works on is very detailed and sometimes has very specific student information. We have an executive summary posted on the website, but again, those should be on the website. And, um, Dr. Carter, I'm wondering, for a while we had c FARs and we had cms. Why did we decide to put them together and, and did that, did we lose people in that process or, Um, no, we were being responsive. There were several reasons, but one of the highlight the,
the reasons that really stuck out to me is that we were being responsible to the rest requests of principals and teachers. When you have, um, several people coming in and out of your building, um, it's, it's more challenging. And many of our, um, SIFs had also been, before that they were called consulting teachers and they really worked on all areas of academics. So we wanted to consolidate and cross train all those folks so that we could provide consistent support to schools without having so many people come in and out.
Because, you know, I have four, five different kinds of SIFs already. And so that was one way, um, that we could really consolidate and focus on school improvement was to be able to cross train those folks that were centered around academics. Are we having them go into IEP meeting, IEP team meetings? Any at all? Um, that to help With strategies or any of that? Um, I can't say that they never go to IEP meetings. Sometimes if there's specific reason for them to be there, they do. I know often you might see Margaret Osby at, at an IEP meeting and several of our other supervisors as well. And occasionally there will be a SIF who attends,
but that's not routine because their focus is really staying with the cadence of support they're providing to teachers and, and being able to, um, support from that strategy lens in the classroom. And one last question. Uh, what's the difference between instructional facilitators and then you have your S cs one goes to special education and the other one doesn't? Well, specialized instructional facilitators, SIFs are those folks that used to be the S and the r's. Um, that team of 23 that works with Margaret Berry. And so it's only special education teachers that they work
with, or do they work with other, do they work with English teachers? Do they work with other people as, or reading specialists? I do believe they work with student teams. So I, the majority of the work they do is with special education teachers, but I do know that they also support, um, some students receive their specialized instruction in the general ed setting. So there are, there are times that they support there as well. And I will defer to Margaret Berry if she wants to answer more specifically, Who's also our dyslexia advisor. Gave, she gave a thumbs up. Okay. Board members. Do you guys have any questions?
Oh, Ms. Chandler, thank you Madam Chair, and thank you for the presentation. Um, I'm gonna say something flip, and I want to start out by saying that it is no way, shape, or form a reflection on the team currently sitting at the table, but bear with, like, I find this about as clear as mud and it's very, very challenging, um, to really wrap my mind around this process. And I, like many of the people on this dais spend a lot of my time working in this, in,
in the weeds and really trying to understand it. And so I imagine if it's tough for me, it's gonna be tough for parents. Um, so in, and I hope you can help me understand a little bit better, um, in going back to the information on page 12, that the example of one of our high performing schools, is it fair to say that if one or more student subgroups are not necessarily reaching mastery at an expected rate, that it's impacting the overall score of the school? Yes, that's fair to say. Okay.
So, um, and, and that's that state threshold. Yep. But if I were trying to look for the positive, perhaps the positive aspect of this is that we are able to identify students who need that targeted support and we will then be better able to provide services. Yes. I, I believe that is the intent. Okay. But because it's new, we don't necessarily know. Well, I, I think that it is helpful and I, I think that I go back to our local
identification of areas of need almost identical to what the state has given us this past week. Um, to me, I, I do think that is the intent of the framework and, um, and it is, is it very much aligns with our local process, which I do think is a positive. Would you agree, Dr. Tyler? I would agree. And also considering that the state is identifying schools that have the largest gaps or have the biggest gaps between an index score of say, 91
and the actual threshold of 71, our schools conducted needs assessments in the spring several months ago. So we have schools that are addressing achievement gaps of five or 10 or 15 points. So it extends the concept of if you have a student group that is performing below this fifth percentile school and you have other students that are performing at a higher level, you have the capacity to figure out ways to close that gap. So it's something that the, our schools are already looking at. They're high performing schools that were not identified and have significant gaps, and they're still addressing them. So the spirit of it is, if you're succeeding with
so many students and not with a particular group, there's some way you can close that gap because you're showing capacity with most of your students. Thank you for that explanation. That resonates with me quite a lot. Um, I, I think one of the things that I have hesitancy about though is that the ranking or the score or the qualification will impact community perception and, um, especially given that it is very targeted. Um, and then I guess in, in sort of looking at the schools that I know best in my division,
it's clear to me that they, these are schools that have complex populations of students and, um, really serve complex needs. And I am, I feel resistant to continuing to label these communities in, in, in this way. So, um, and with that, I will give someone else an opportunity. So, um, thank you for entertaining my questions. I guess I look at it as if you're a high performing school, you might be masking some things unintentionally and this like drills down what it, what I mean,
'cause everybody has weaknesses, so this could be the weakness. Yes, Ms. LaBelle, I think that one of the advantages of the plan as it is presented is that if we have a high performing school, we would tend to say that's great and you know, there's just a few kids there, but with the way they are using the different valuations and bringing it down a level draws attention to the fact that these kids really are a specific group. They're all performing kind of below expectation
and we need to target them. So I think it makes it a little bit more clear as to, well, you're not just high performing school, that's great, but we need to fix these other groups that otherwise we wouldn't have noticed. So I think that, um, that's one of the things that it brings to light. Anyone else? Sure enough, I'll be quick. Um, I actually tend to agree with Ms. Lobell and Ms. Mansfield and we've talked offline about it, but I, I agree. I think, you know, it's very clear that we're doing well. I think we should celebrate that, especially in relation
to our neighboring districts. We're thriving in so many areas and, and I do think it's time I, I hear about the public perception, but I want the public perception to be that every kid deserves that chance. And so I think it's an opportunity for us to rally, um, around those different groups and, and put the right supports in place. And I think we're already on our way and, and thank you to the team for, for having us prepared. So, um, but I do agree with you Ms. Chandler. I think if we can't understand it, and I worked in our schools and, you know, it was, it took me a few rounds with Dr. Ellis to, to get it under
my belt and understand it. We do need to work on our comms. I don't see Ms. Allen in her seat, but, um, we'll probably have to do some work in communicating what that all means and, and I think we have the ability to do so. So I, I look forward to, to the update as we travel along this new journey. Thank you. Any other discussion? All right. Seeing none this, thank you very much for your, for and i a very difficult topic. Thank you. Um, okay. Um, the school board will now recess for dinner and reconvene around six 30. Thank you. Good evening. The board is coming out of recess at this time
and we will continue with item seven, our Pledge of allegiance and, and national anthem. Uh, our Pledge of Allegiance and national anthem will be performed by Gia svi, a 13-year-old soprano from virtual distance learning and one of Loudoun County's most accomplished young vocalists. Her passion for music has led her to remarkable stages, including performances with the A CD, A national honor choir, the all Virginia State Choir and multiple A CDA quad state honor choirs. She currently serves as the soprano one section leader
for the South Loudoun Youth Corral. Gia has earned multiple solo roles in choral concerts and musical theater, and she also performed with a band foreigner before. An audience of more than 20,000 people at Jiffy Lube live along with a live radio performance pro promoting the event. She's already qualified for the district honor choir. This year will audition for the all Virginia State Honor choir next month and will perform at the National Cathedral on the 21st of December. A dedicated student ambassador and proud representative or virtual distance learning. GIA is honored to perform the national anthem
for this evening school board meeting. Would everybody please rise? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which and stands one nation under God indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Oh, say, can you see by the Dawns early light what the gleaming who's brought stripes and bright stars
through the streaming and the, that our flag was still there or land of, And that was 13 years old. I'm just saying. Well done. All right, we will continue with recognitions the school board member recognition presented by Dr. Spence. Thank you and good evening. So before we get into the meat of tonight's agenda, I would just like to take a few moments to recognize and thank three remarkable public servants who've given so much to Loudoun County Public Schools Chairman Linda
Mansfield, Dr. Linda Deans, and Mr. AR Refe. This board was formed in a moment of transition. All nine of these board members were new with new responsibilities, new challenges, and even a new superintendent. And from day one, you set the bar for what collaboration, professionalism, and shared purpose should look like. You've welcomed the opportunity to build something new together and your steady guidance has helped shape the course of our division during a time when strong student-centered leadership has been needed most. Your tenure has been marked by meaningful and lasting accomplishments, work that will serve students
and families for years to come. Because of your vision and advocacy, LCPS has opened a transition center providing students with disabilities a clear pathway into adulthood. You are, you have champion the creation of the recovery school, ensuring that students battling addiction have a safe and hopeful place to rebuild their lives and continue their education. And you've moved our division forward in so many other ways with things like accessible playgrounds, making sure that every child, regardless of ability as a place to play, grow and belong. You've helped launch the Global and Linguistic Studies Academy expanding opportunities
for students to thrive in an increasingly interconnected world. And your advocacy for free aftercare for families most in need has demonstrated your belief that students are not just places, uh, schools are not just places of learning, but pillars of support for our community. All of this has been accomplished during a time of tremendous change at both the state and federal levels, but through it all, you've not lost sight of our mission. You've remained focused on what matters most our students, and you've showed courage and calm and resolve, and you've made decisions rooted in what would best serve the students and families of our county. To chair Mansfield, to Dr. Deans and to Mr.
Raffe especially. Thank you. Thank you for your partnership, your leadership, and your willingness to make hard decisions in the service of others. Thank you for modeling what it means to work as one LCPS to listen deeply, engage authentically, and lead with purpose. Our students are better off because of you and your time on the board. Our staff is better supported because of you and your time on the board and our school division is stronger because you chose to devote your time, your energy, and your heart to this work. So on behalf of the entire LCPS community, know that it has been an honor to serve alongside you. We wish you all the very best in whatever comes next,
and we do hope that you take with you a sense of pride in all that you have been able to accomplish for the children of Loudoun County. Thank you very much. At this time I, if I could ask Chairman Mansfield, Mr. Raffe and Dr. Deans, if he could come down. We do have a small gift for you and we'd like to get a picture. Don't worry, you don't have this still the new year. We're gonna need some more. Yep. Alright, look straight here guys. Big smile. 1, 2, 3. One more time. Okay. Um, now I have the rest of the school board meeting to get through. It's a short, It's a real short agenda. Okay, so, um, we will continue with item nine,
student school board representative comment tonight. Our school board representative is RJ Neg Bay. RJ Neg Bay is a senior at Heritage High School with a strong passion for science, leadership and community involvement. He maintains a 4.37 GPA and is actively involved in multiple school organizations at the leadership level, including Student Council Association, national Honor Society, and Black Student Union. RJ is interested in majoring in biomedical engineering and aspires to become an orthopedic surgeon.
Combining his love for science and helping others outside of academics, he enjoys traveling with family, staying active in sports, and participating in school events that support and connect the student body. Welcome, no Mr. No Seg and the floor is yours. Thank you for the kind introduction. Madam Chair. Good evening. Members of the board and members of the community, I'm honored to be here tonight and serve the school board representative as a Senior Heritage High School This fall, heritage Football finished the season with a seven and four record in advance to the second round
of the playoffs for the first time in school history. This achievement reflects the dedication, discipline, and persistence of our students academically. Heritage is proud to be one of the only two schools in the county offering the IB program. Having experienced the program before and after its expansion, I have firsthand seen how it's increased enrollment and expand course offerings and has strengthened student learning. IB has helped students become strong critical leaders and globally minded individuals. Skills that are increasingly important in the world shaped by rapid technology growth and art, artificial intelligence.
Our community, our school community continues to come together through athletic and school spirit. Tomorrow night our Undefeated boys basketball team will host McLean High School, during which we will honor our state champion boys baseball team with a ring ceremony. Then the following night we'll recognize our girls basketball team also state champions during a gold out against Dominion. This event will commemorate Rocky Lardo, a former heritage student and girls basketball player who passed away from cancer, while also raising awareness. Student leadership and innovations remain central at Heritage Culture. The implementation of Pride Time has allowed students
to create new clubs and pursue interests that expands their resume further writing them for life after high school leadership forums such as the Principal Leadership Council and Committees held by Mr. Adam. Our principal ensures the students' voice are heard, valued and respected. Even events like the Winter Forum of which we will be hosting with Riverside, create spirit, create creative spirit of events, continuing strength, our unity and school pride. I would like to re thank Mr. Adam and the board for this opportunity. It is a privilege to represent the students of Heritage High School and share the impact
of the school community and com continue to grow, lead, and inspire. Thank you for your time and continued support of students. Thank you Mr. Nobe, and we are thankful that you are here. And thank you for your comments. We will now move on to the superintendent's report presented by Dr. Aaron Sp Spence, our superintendent Dr. Spence. Yes. Thank you Madam Chair. It is as always my pleasure to share good news from around our school division starting this evening with this year's holiday card project, which was a joyful celebration of our students' artistic talent. For this project, our teachers from across the county
submitted student artwork and my team and I had the challenging but enjoyable task of selecting the designs used to create the holiday cards, which will will be mailed to our government business and community partners to extend LCP S'S holiday greetings. Thank you to the students who participated and to our art teachers for their support. I'm inspired by their creativity in this project and by the dedication of our teachers who help showcase student voice. I look forward to growing this activity in the years to come through its annual holiday gift drive. The LCPS Head Start and step holiday helpers help make the holiday season
brighter for 420 families. An expansion of over 100 fam an expansion over the 100 families served last year. More than 34 organizations and countless individuals donated thousands of gifts turning the multipurpose room at the historic Douglas High School into a festive holiday store where families were able to select toys, clothing essentials, and gift certificates for the holiday. With warmth and joy, our head start and step teams alongside our donors created a meaningful experience for LCPS Head Start and step families. So thank you so much to everyone
who made the 2025 Holiday Helper event such a success. Next we wanna recognize talented LCPS, thespians, William Morford, Harrison Morford, Valentina Waller, and Alonzo Waller who are all currently shining on stage in a Christmas Carol at Ford's Theater. Adding to the family Spirit, Sutton Morford supports her brothers by serving as an usher. During these performances, Willard Middle, Goshen Post Elementary and Buffalo Trail Elementary are proud to celebrate the creativity and talent that these students bring to their schools and to our community. Speaking of creativity,
42 LCPS students from 10 high schools were selected to perform in the prestigious 13th all Virginia guitar ensemble This November. These students represented LCPS at the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference in Norfolk where they rehearsed and performed alongside the most accomplished young musicians from across the commonwealth. Being chosen for this ensemble is a remarkable achievement, recognizing students who've dedicated countless hours to honing their craft and we congratulate all of these students during this year's hour of code. Students participating in Propel
and Level Up explored coding while discovering the fun and creativity of computer science students From the academies of Loudoun Computer Honor society provided mentorship support, helping younger learners engage in hands-on challenges that strengthen critical thinking, collaboration, and problem solving. Events like our of code help our students see what is possible in computer science. So thank you to everyone who contributed to this day of learning and discovery for our students. The inaugural season of LCPS Futsal or indoor soccer wrapped up on December 7th with the futsal final capping.
A successful season for the free afterschool club made possible through our Community schools initiative and partnership with Club Deportivo Sterling. This collaboration brought the excitement of soccer to students at Sully Guilford Sterling and Rolling Ridge Elementary schools, many of whom might not otherwise have had the opportunity to participate in organized athletics. After the final match, students were recognized with medals while families enjoyed pizza and refreshments. Congratulations to all the players on a fantastic season and a memorable finale. Recently, the LCPS Office of Special Education hosted a unique art exhibit titled The
Power of Purpose Place and Human Connection. Our stories Matter held on Thursday, December 4th at a place to be in Leesburg. The event featured nearly 40 works of art created by four adult learners with disabilities who are incarcerated at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center and who are pursuing their diplomas. While these student artists were unable to attend the event, their messages, their experiences, and their hopes shown through their art and the accompanying artist statements, I'm pleased to announce that three LCPS educators were recently
recognized at the National Council for the Social Studies Conference for their leadership in helping students understand the world around them. Jennifer Rogers of Dominion High School, Kent Bailey of Loudoun Valley High School and Matthew Albu of Woodgrove High School received the NCSS Award for Global Understanding. This award highlights their commitment to preparing students for thoughtful engagement in an interconnected world. Congratulations to these educators for their ongoing work to empower our students as they become informed and engaged contributors in their communities and beyond. And then finally this evening, I'd like to share
that the division of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility recently participated in the community event at the Adams Center, one of the largest Muslim communities in the DC area with a focus on community and youth development. The DEIA team presented information on lcp S'S commitment to providing a safe and nurturing environment for our students. And the event concluded with a question and answer session and discussion on how parents can sustain engagement in their children's education. Madam Chair, that concludes my report. Thank you Dr. Spence. And that brings us to item 11, public comment.
I thank you for engaging with the school board through the public comment process. The school board welcomes comments from Loudoun County residents and believes that strong community engagement and outreach are important components of a successful school system. Speakers must limit comments to the time allotted based on the number of speakers and the agenda this evening. All speakers have been allotted one minute each for public comment. Please be advised that speakers who missed their time slot will not be called at a later time. Decorum and civility, all audience members shall maintain civility, decorum, and respect for the functioning and dignity of the school board at all times. Please remain seated
unless arriving, departing speaking at the podium or during a break. Violations of civility, decorum respect include shouting, heckling during applause or other noise which disrupts or delays the meeting obstructing speakers from being able to see the school board and vice versa. Interrupting speakers attempting to speak when not called to do so by the chair and approaching a speaker otherwise attempting to intimidate, disparage, or distract a speaker, staff member, or other meeting attendees. Speakers should refrain from vulgarity, obscenities,
defamation, profanity, or other like breaches of respect, nor may speakers target criticize or attack individual students and or individual division employees during public comment. As a reminder, school board policy 25 20 states speakers may not target criticize or attack individual students during public comment. Speakers should communicate those concerns to their school principal or an appropriate school official. The school board requests that comments on an individual student or employee related matter not be shared at public meetings where the disclosure could violate applicable
confidentiality requirements. I do wanna take a moment to clarify a few things. As I have explained previously, speakers can personally identify a student or employee without stating a student's or employee's names. That is personally identifiable. Information is any information that a reasonable person can link together to pinpoint an individual student or employee and where that individual student or employee is known to others in their school and surrounding community. Based on the context that is shared, the school board welcomes you to share your concerns, but asks that to the extent you have prepared remarks
that target criticize or attack any individual students or employees, you generalize such remarks to ensure compliance with board policy. For example, comments that target criticize or attack a student or an employee or a student or an employee from a specific name school or a student or an employee with any characteristics where the information would personally identify that student or employee to others in the school or broader LCPS community would violate school board policy.
However, comments that discuss general concerns with students or employees at schools and do not target, criticize, or attack an individual identifiable student or employee are permissible under school board policy. I, as a school board chair, am charged with the responsibility to maintain order during school board meetings accordingly. When reasonable, I will warn a breaches of decorum, civility, and respect and ask speakers to redirect their comments prior to possibly discontinuing individual speaking privileges
or taking other actions to preserve the civility, decorum, and orderly conduct of the meeting. Such action includes calling a recess in order to maintain or restore and or restore order. If speaker, if speakers fail to comply with board policy regarding public participation, you will receive a warning and request to redirect or generalize your comments should you fail to redirect or generalize your comments. After that warning, you may be asked to yield the microphone at which time you should yield the microphone as well as the floor and take your seat
and I will then call the next speaker. To the extent necessary, I'll also warn of breaches of decorum, civility, and respect from attendees prior to taking other actions to preserve the orderly conduct of the meeting, speakers should face the deus and direct their comments to the school board. Per co school board policy 25 20 members of the school board will not answer questions or respond directly to the public during the public comment period. Violations of decorum or civility by any meeting attendee may result in the chair directing staff to remove the attendee from the remainder of the meeting.
Repeated or persistent violations of decorum or civility by the audience may result in on the decision of the chair public comment being tabled until a later point in the meeting's agenda. Limiting the number of attendees in the meeting room during public comment for safety reasons or the public comment period ending for the evening. Copies of materials for board members should be given to the Public Information Officer in the media box at the back of the boardroom before the start of the meeting, please provide 12 copies of the materials. Under no circumstances may a speaker approach the dais. The public is reminded that access to school board meetings is available
through L-C-P-S-T-V on Cam Comcast, channel 18 and 10 70 HD and Verizon Fios, channel 43. The live stream of the meeting may be viewed on the website. We look forward to hearing your comments and we will start with our virtual public comment with Sarah Winslow, followed by Chris Stevenson. We do not have a virtual public speaker by that name. Okay. Chris Stevenson, followed by Elaine Hussein. Chris Stevenson is unmuted and we are hearing no audio. Um Hmm. Mr. Stevenson, if you can hear us, we cannot hear you even though you're unmuted. Okay. Um, Elaine Hussein followed
by Camden Alexander. Oh wait, did we get it? I heard something. No, we still have no audio from Chris Stevenson. Okay. Elaine Hussein followed by Camden Alexander. Dear board members, I have two children at Sanders Corner Elementary School, one in fourth grade, and another in second, who is also enrolled in the dual language program. And we live in zone DN 29, scheduled to be reassigned to Cedar Lane. There are about 18 DLI students in our zone who rely on the bus system. Not everyone will be able to provide their own transportation and it will force some students to leave the program.
It's deeply unfair to those children who have already completed part of the program to have their immersion education discontinued after so much progress. Additionally, increasing the number of families required to use car drop-off with further strain on an already difficult car loop situation. The parking lot is congested backing traffic up onto the main road causing buses, students and teachers to arrive late to school. Over the next three years, approximately 75 additional cars will be added as the DLI program progresses through fifth grade. For these reasons, I respectfully request that Sanders Corner Elementary School should be removed from
consideration in any of the proposed plans tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Camden Alexander, followed by Ronan Char. Hi, my name's Camden Alexander and I'm from Lewisburg Glen. I'm second grade at Madison Trust. I'm begging you to please let me, me and all my friends in Grant stay at Madison's trust. I know I'm just a kid, but I really hope you'll think hard about how this will change my life next year. I am very shy and they have a lot of trouble making friends in kindergarten in first grade,
but now I finally have five best friends who I won't ever see again. If you move me to Elaine Thompson, we will end up in different middle schools. That makes me so sad. I really don't want to move to a new school because everything in my life will be different. I hope you vote to keep me and this would grant that Madison's trust. It is our home. Thank you very much for listening to me. Happy holidays. Ronan Charri, followed by Sarah Boyd. Good evening. My name is Roan Shari. I live in the grant. I am a first grader at Madison Trust Elementary
and a proud McCall. I hear there is a plan to move us to another school, but I hope you vote to keep us and Madison Trust. My teachers and friends are so awesome. I love learning, playing and growing up here. My school is close by so I don't have to wake up too early. I feel calm and also have time for my tennis and swimming. Moving to a different school would change all of that.
Please let us stay at Madison Trust. We feel happy and safe. Thank you and happy holidays. Sarah Boyd. Uh, I am the mother of a kindergartner at Hillside Elementary School and live in planning district DN 30.2. Um, I wanted to share, share my support for what the documents have called the Mansfield Amendment. Number one to Plan two 80, which would keep DN 30.2 zoned for Hillside for decades.
Broadlands in its entirety has been served by two elementary schools, hillside and Mill run rezoning. DN 30.2 out of Hillside to wax pool is unnecessary simply by rebalancing. Hillside and Mill Run as proposed in the two staff plans and Plan two 80 With the Mansfield Amendment, you can keep capacity under goal levels while not isolating these 32 students from the rest of the neighborhood. Um, I thank you very much for your time. Thank you. And we'll move to in person Julia Holcomb,
followed by Carrie Kidwell. I As the school board, the chair prepares To the newly elected school board. Be smart. Uh, we are a group that provides gun safety legislation and, and we would like to thank the board for the unanimous vote, which they took last fall to support the secure storage notification resolution. The resolution makes sure that adults who care for children are reminded to act on safe firearm storage practices frequently and recently. As we know heartbreaking, unintentional shootings can,
can fall, can sorry, can feel like an insoluble problem. And Superintendent Spence's support and the support of the board with their vote make it clear that leaders with courage and confidence can make a difference in communities that they serve like ours. Thank you so very much. Thank you. Carrie Kidwell, followed by Lynn Alexander. I too am here to thank you on behalf of Loud and b SMART team for your impactful vote last year, passing the secure storage notification. Thank you for working together to prioritize the children and community.
So far. In 2025, there have been over 160 incidents of gunfire on school grounds. Over 220 unintentional shootings by children and more than 3,400 young people continue to die by firearm suicide each year. As BS SMART Volunteers, we've learned that many aren't aware of the Virginia Secure Storage law or the importance of securing a firearm. Along with education, we provide free gun locks at community events. We focus on adult responsibility. But recently, a 14-year-old whose father has four unlocked firearms happened by our table. He asked for locks to keep his family safe.
That's not a weight he should carry. Creating the conversation and educating the community is lifesaving work. Thank you for using this platform to do so, so that our children don't have to. Thanks to every one of you for your vote. And many thanks to Dr. Spence and the LCBS staff. Thank You. Thank you. Uh, Lynn Alexandra, followed by Tara Greenwald. Hi, I'm Lynn Alexandra and I'm pleading you to keep Willis for Grant at Madison's Trust. Tonight, I'm worried our special education students are getting lost in the data. I'm talking specifically about kids on IEPs and 5 0 4 plans, like three families on my one street alone. And don't forget kids with accommodations like,
like my seven-year-old son Camden, who just spoke to you earlier. Moving DN 36.8 to legacy is a logical fix. These kids stay within their cluster alignment and go to the same middle school together. The disruption is minimized and it brings Madison's trust capacity under a hundred percent. Moving Willis for Grant to Elaine Thompson. On top of that is an overcorrection that takes our special ed kids out of their cluster alignment and splits to four different middle schools. This destroys the stability that they desperately need. LCPS has also released data that shows that only 18% of walkers actually walk. This means the walk zone doesn't function as a walk zone. However, the vast majority
of grandkids actually take the bus. I respectfully urge you to protect the stability of our special ed students. Please vote plans 5 33 or two 80 with an amendment to keep Willis for Grant at Madison's trust. Thank you for the time and care that you've devoted to this complex and very emotional issue. Happy holidays to you and your Thank you. Tara Greenwald, followed by, uh, NAES Patel. Hi, I'm Tara and I live in Willows, her grant, and I have two children on IEPs at Madison's Trust. My son started Madison's trust when he was two years old in the special education preschool program. Why move special education students like
mine if it's not necessary? We understand rezoning is needed for certain communities, but moving our community to Elaine Thompson does not make sense. It breaks cluster alignment, creates the only non-contiguous island in Ashburn and Dulles North, and risk other, another overcorrection like Heartland, setting our kids up to be rezoned again. And it is heartbreaking that our youngest and most vulnerable students would carry the cost of that decision. V dot identifies a left turn. Our bus would take on Route 50 as high risk and bus pickup could be around 6:40 AM meaning a 5 45 wake up
for special education kids. Sleep and routine are everything. Madison's can easily be kept under a hundred percent without moving us. Our children's health, stability and safety are in your hands. Please keep Willes for Grant and Madison Trust. Thank you, Nimish Patel. Nimish Patel, followed by um, Sachin Kada, LCPS Board member. My name is EZ Patel. As a parent with one child, I'm a Walker Rrn, DN 36.8. We support R 17, but like we request, please allow current student to the
Medicine Trust that will be held after a couple of years. It'll be the number is going down. Please apply to the rezoning to the only new student, and that will be how the old friend has the On with the Medicine Trust. So please help us to stay with the child will build, bill being, and they will stay with the F on Friends. Thank you. Thank you. Um, s Kaan followed by Kristen La Lloyd. Kristen Lloyd, followed by Ood Ravi Kumar.
Hi, I am Christy Lloyd, mom of four three of whom attend elementary school at Stuart Weller. I'm back again to discuss the Weller Bell schedule. For four years, we have endured the earliest schedule. This needs to stop. It's a big concern for a lot of people. And lcp S'S response has seemed apathetic and half-hearted. I began a petition to demonstrate many families feel the same way. I'm the lone parent here, but speaking for hundreds of families at Weller, we felt hopeless and discouraged then anything will change. This is an important issue that needs attention now, especially as you consider changing school boundaries,
which means adjusting bus routes. The transportation division has been reluctant to change the bell schedules because of busing. So let's consider this altogether. Change the Weller Bell schedule, find solutions, share the burden. Thanks. Thank you Ood. Uh, Ravi Kumar, followed by Zeal Somani. Hi board members and, uh, folks here. Thank you for having me. Third time, hopefully third time's the charm. Um, I'm gonna keep it very simple. Um, I implore you guys not to move anybody at this point.
Uh, it's very important for you to understand that the kids have created loving friendships and kinships across community lines by moving and moving them and doing this. It's gonna hurt them in the long run. We adults, we're sitting here making decisions for our kids. I know we're supposed to be doing that, but still, um, I'm asking you consciously to make the, the, the right decision here. Um, no, none of the plans are helping any of the communities. R 17 versus 5 33 versus two 80. Everybody gets moved. Um, even the principal at MTE has stated to me directly
that the numbers he can keep up and they can accept the new students that are coming in. So, numbers speak a thousand words, but actions speak louder, so please make the right decision. Thank you. Thank you. Zeal Somani, followed by Pratik Malan, no zeal Samani. Okay. Pr, uh, Malong followed by VJ swa, no Petite Malong. Uh, V VJ Jaal, uh, no Vij Jassal, followed by Jane Kennedy, followed by Jo Jory Gilnet. Hi, I am Jane Kennedy. I'm the family liaison at Dominion
Trail, and I would like to read a statement from a parent Lai, who lives in DN 17.02. Uh, they p respectfully express our opposition to plans R 11 and R 17. These plans do not reflect our wishes or the wishes of our children, and we kindly ask you to reconsider with understanding and compassion. Our school is more than just a place of learning. It is a safe and stable environment where our children feel a strong sense of belonging and comfort. We truly love our school and deeply appreciate the efforts of the school principal who consistently works hard to maintain a very high standard of education, organization, and student care.
We also value the school's commitment to organizing recreational and enrichment activities and their constant attention to identifying what students need and working to provide it. Um, they have a positive impact on the children's emotional wellbeing. We're concerned that transferring students to another school would have negative effects on the children, including increased anxiety, loss of stability, difficulty adjusting, and potential declines of both academic performance and emotional wellbeing. Especially since many students have formed strong relationships. Thank you. Thank you for your consideration. Jo ett, followed by Gove, Dr. Deans, we made it. Thank you for giving me a front row seat as your staff aide
for the past two years, I never thought I'd meet someone who had held more jobs than I did, but you win. Thanks. Think of all the thousands of lives that you have touched over the years, and I for sure know that you have more clothes than anyone I know. As I never saw you wear the same outfit twice. You have a servant's heart. Dr. Deans a Servant's Heart is a selfless, humble attitude, focused on meeting others' needs, prioritizing them over oneself, and serving with love, compassion, and generosity without ex expecting reward. Often rooted in faith to serve God and community. Yes, that is you. You have faithfully served the
commonwealth of Virginia, Loudoun County, and the broad run community. When we would tour schools, one of the first things that we told the staff was that your happy place was with the children in the school and you loved ending your week visiting them. Dr. Deans, I know we have not seen the last of you in Loudoun County or the Commonwealth of Virginia for that matter. As you are not ready to retire, your heart is still on fire to serve and your favorite people. AKA Your grandchildren are excited to see you more now that you'll have all of this free time. Thank you Dr. Deans. Thank you. Go. Singh, followed by Karen Va, uh, Veia.
Thank you. My name is goin and I'm a parent of our child at Madison Trust and a resident of dn 36.8. Loudoun County policy recognizes that, uh, walk zones should be preserved and our community was built around that principle. Our streets were not designed for school buses and forcing buses into them would create safety and traffic issues. Families here bought homes with the understanding that this school was part of our community and it makes, uh, no sense to reason a walking neighborhood away from the school. Uh, if it has to be done, a school that is already using transportation, it makes more sense
to add a few more minutes to their, uh, commute than forcing a walk zone to suddenly need buses. That change would waste taxpayer taxpayer dollars by adding new buses and routes while disrupting the greatest number of children. I respectfully ask the board to keep our neighborhood in its walk zone and protect the stability, safety, and efficiency of our, uh, children's education. Thank you. Thank you. Uh, Karen Vaea, followed by Haddi Tonno. Karen va Ya. Har Howdy.
Warren Tono, followed by Eric Showalter. No, Haie. Warren Tono. Okay. Eric Showalter, followed by Rinna Bobby, Bobby Lee. To my good friend Dr. Linda Deans, I want to thank you for your 50 years of public school education, and especially for the past two years, representing broad run district on the school board. As long as people like you run for public office, I know the best among us can offer leadership that brings professionalism and compassion to organizations that make a real difference in people's lives. I know why you do this because you've told me many times you do it because you believe the path to a better future requires education.
All paths to, to a better future require education. And because you believe that if you, that you can make a difference in the life of just one child, that the, that it's worth the work. I know you do the work and I know you've made a difference. I'm grateful for your service and for your friendship. Thank you, Serena. The Bobby Lee, followed by Niha Jane. Good evening everyone. I'm here to support Plan R 17. And honestly, if someone asked me this question one year ago, I would've been fine being a walker or a bus rider. But over the last, uh, 10 to 12 months, I have noticed something special in our neighborhood.
A pure organic walking community formed around by our children, uh, parents from dn. 36.8 can resonate to this. Uh, let me give you an example. Uh, we are family. We are four families, all immediate neighbors, and without any formal coordination, our walk schedules have naturally aligned. We show up at nearly the same time every morning, just like clockwork and m memory. That's because for us, the walk isn't just about getting to school, it's about connection, independence, and starting the day together, our kids talk laugh and look for, look out for one another. And this kind of community cannot be manufactured. It grows from consistency, proximity, and walkability. Plan.
R 17 suppose the same. A practical, safe, connected environment where children can thrive and communities can form naturally. Thank you. Thank you. Miha Jane, followed by Melanie Ross. Good evening everyone. My name is Neha Jan. I'm a parent of a proud mighty Macau and an auntie to many mighty Macau at Madison Trust and a resident of 36.8 every morning in our neighborhood. It feels a little small like a family gathering. Many children from our neighborhood at 10 Madison Trust Elementary and you see them walking together, parents waving
and friendships forming along the way. Being able to simply walk to school is incredibly inconvenient for families. More than that, it creates a sense of community and camaraderie that is hard to replace. I don't want my child rezoned away from their school and a situation into a situation that requires driving every day what seems like a small logistical change would remove that daily connection, add traffic, and turn something simple and positive into something more stressful. Families chose this neighborhood because it was built as a walk zone and because it works, I respectfully, respectfully ask
that it remain that way. Thank you. Thank you. Melanie Ross, followed by Helena Wish. Good evening board members. My name is Dr. Melanie Ross from DNO 5.3. And I have a second grader and thir fifth grader at Dominion Trail. Thank you to everyone who has met with or wrote to me. Knowing my voice was heard means a great deal. Dominion Trail has served this community for 28 years, and its current enrollment is the lowest it's been in more than a decade. With an 18% decline over the last five years, without Title one re, it remains within the target utilization for the next six years, the data is clear.
Moving Dominion Trail students away doesn't solve the problem. It creates new ones by pushing other schools above 92% utilization while leaving Dominion Trail underutilized. Please do not let these 25-year-old neighborhoods DN 17.2 and oh 5.3 for the second time become the scapegoat. Scapegoat for relief efforts that haven't addressed the real needs in our schools. True equity is investing in our existing schools, not shuffling children, as if their place in their community is expendable. Keep our, keep us together. Huskies forever. Thank you. Thank you. Helena Welsh, followed by Rocio Caballero Gill.
Hello, my name is Helena Welch and I'm a parent of a second grader student at Dominion Trail Elementary. I'm here today as we have been here at every meeting to advocate for keeping our Dominion Trail community together. Our position is based on a clear evidence addressing both the human and the logistical cost of the proposed boundary change the human cost. Moving these children will cause unnecessary emotional and social damage, disrupting the stability and established support systems networks essential for their growth. The logistical contradiction. Our data clearly shows that transferring students
to Aspen Elementary will cause that school of facility of comparable size to immediately exceed its capacity. This proposal simply shifts the burden. It does not resolve the district's capacities and issues. We urge you to consider the documented, the documented evidence, and the strong input from our community. Please choose to preserve the integrity of our school and our community. Keep Dominion Trail Elementary together. Keep us together, Huskies forever. Thank you. Uh, Rocio Cab Gill, followed by Chris Countryman. Sorry. Good evening. My name is Dr. CIO Paro Gill. So 19.6 mother of two LCPS students in the blink of an eye.
76 days after the original email on October 1st, including today, uh, including five today, six meetings, and a 43 day government shutdown. Only two things to say. Thank you for your dedication and please vote from data to action. Moving students from Dominion Trail to another school regardless of plan pushes the receiving school above 92% utilization and leaves the min trail underutilized within with about 52 to 75%. Utilization from data to action means do not move students out of the min trail from students working in the hallway at one school they know
to working in the hallway at a new school only transfer the issue from one school to another. From data to action means do not move students out of the mainland trail. We ask you do not single out zones do not make them a scapegoat. Break cluster alignment and violate rezoning policy. We ask you to please vote from data to action. Keep us together, has case forever. Thank you. Chris Countryman, followed by Kyle Nathanson. Good evening. In addition to the collective bargaining agreement taking effect next school year, LCPS and LEA have agreed to establish a labor management committee that will begin
this school year. We expect the first meeting to take place in January, and I hope the school board will be able to tune in. I'm hopeful this committee will help us continue building a collect, collaborative relationship with administration when grounded in transparency, respect, and communication. While LCPS has much to be proud of, we must enter the new year with open minds and a shared commitment to address and fix the issues that continue to have a negative impact. Words matter, but the actions taken through this committee will speak volumes as 2025 draws to a close.
Thank you once again for your service and commitment. Public education is sustained not by easy decisions, but by thoughtful ones to those concluding your terms. I wish you the very best and I wish everyone a happy holiday season. Thank you. Kyle Nathanson, followed by Cory Brune. Hello, I am Kyle Nathanson. I'm a teacher here in the county and I want to give my thanks to this board and to this administration for all their work regarding the collective bargaining process. Um, I'm proud to be working in a county that has shown care for my working conditions and those of my peers through this agreement.
And I encourage the board to continue working in good faith with LEA going forward, especially through that library management committee. This is a really strong starting point, but I think there's still work that needs to be done, especially regarding equity with leave, regarding equity, with pay, regarding equity, with planning time. I'm very hopeful and I'm very excited to see in the next chapter of our cooperation with Loudoun County. And as an employee once again, I'm incredibly happy with the progress that's been made. Thank you all for your hard work. Happy holidays. Thank you. Uh, Corey Brune, followed by Art Chang. Good evening. I'm Cory Brune
and I'm an English learner teacher at Broad Run High School. Two people start work for LCPS on the same day and they both are 12 month employees. Each works equally hard. Each earns annual leave per year of work completed. Yet after the first year, one employee has earned 12 days of annual leave while the other has earned 20. Does that sound fair to you? Check out policy 77 10. And speaking of leave, you may have heard of or seen some of the complaining on the LCPS employee Facebook page regarding Dr. Spence's gift of eight extra vacation days
to 12 month employees. Those of us 10 month employees are not upset about the days given to classified personnel. What annoys us is giving it to management and to himself. The very people who have lots of leave as it is, many in LCPS management now have more paid leave than the French LCPS will never outperform its educators. Thank you. Art Chang, followed by Sarah Cab. No Art Chang. Okay. Sarah Cabrice, followed by Jamie Woolard. I am a mom of two girls at Madison's trust. I wanna say thank you to the board
and I wish this wasn't something we all had to go through. The numbers show that the only way to get Madison's trust below a hundred percent is to move the densely populated walk zone DN 36.8. If you vote to keep the walk zone, you are voting to keep Madison's trust over capacity. Moving the Willows Ford Grant, in addition to the walk zone, is an overcorrection and disrupts young children unnecessarily. If you do this, you'd be swapping a capacity in the seventies at Elaine Thompson where there is predicted growth for capacity in the seventies at Madison's trust, which is in an area that is mature. This does not make sense.
Leaving the grant of Madison's trust keeps it within the 90% capacity threshold. Vote for plan 5 33 or the amendment in two 80 that states DS oh 8.1 to DS oh 8.3 should stay at Madison's trust. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Jamie Waller, followed by Ramen Roy. Hi, I'm back for the fourth time, I'm here pleading with you to please not move the Willis Ford Grant outta Madison's trust. Once you accept the reality that to get Madison's trust under 100% capacity, you have
to move the walk zone. It is an unnecessary overcorrection to also move the grant. If you move both zones. Madison's trust will have a one year 40 point capacity swing from 113% to 73%. Not only will this impact our children and families, but also the faculty. Conversely, moving only the walkers results in a 20 point capacity drop to 93% next year. This is reasonable relief and if you leave the grant on Madison's trust, I think capacity will actually end up lower than
currently forecasted. The grant is top heavy with half and fourth and fifth grade. If you adjust the forecast to assume the grant holds steady contributing 12 kids to kindergarten each year, Madison Trust will drop into the eighties in capacity in two years. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your time. Um, ramen Roy, followed by Mark Cus Good evening and CP. Good evening. LCPS board members and everyone. My name is Ram Broy. I'm a parent of third year goes to Medicine Trust. I'm a resident of 30 DN 36.8, which is a walker zone and we would urge you to com Keep the walker zone
as walker zone only. I know. Um, we are all are proposing for R 17 and in case that cannot happen, we would love to keep the current students where they are so that they have the least disruption in terms of their friendships and their education. And it with time, the capacity issue automatically gets corrected because the new students can go to the assigned design school as well. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Mark cus followed by Suzanne Satterfield. Good evening Mor. Members of the board. I live in DeAnn 36.8 with two kids
that attend Madison's Trust. Tonight I wanna highlight the reasons why I think there should not be any changes made to the school. You have seen and heard from a large portion of the community, and this is a tremendously emotional topic. However, the important thing to keep in mind are the kids. This will impact so many of them no matter which way you choose. These kids have been going to this school for most of their living memory and essentially another home for them. My question to the board is this, is it worth ripping these kids away from their home, everything they've known simply to meet some numbers on a page. This decision will have a lasting impact on these kids for the remainder of their lives. We've spoken to the principal and numerous teachers at the school
all have said the same thing. There is no issue with how many students are currently at the school. MTE has recently earned the distinguished school designation from the Virginia Department of Education. Does that sound like a school in distress to you? With fifth and fourth grade cohorts making approximately half of the current school population and projected total is coming down. Does it make sense to make a massive change? Don't break up on Madison's trust family. We are strong Gilmore calls. Thank you. Suzanne Satterfield, uh, followed by Brian Collin. Two years have been wasted by the school board where nothing was done to control wasteful spending on pet projects,
building unneeded schools, and continuing to create highly paid admin jobs while expecting parents to donate classroom supplies and raise funds for playgrounds, sports, and the arts. You politicize the schools with your liberal agenda by misusing Title IX, signaling out Christian students for their beliefs and doubling down on keeping harmful policy. 80 40 parents have told me that locks are broken on bathroom stalls and their girls and boys refuse to use the bathroom at school because of this policy. That's too many hours without using the bathroom.
Panic buttons are being considered only for staff. What about the students that feel unsafe in their bathrooms? In locker rooms, you make it look like the students are the threat to the staff, but the reality, it's your policies that are a threat to the students. Students will not forget how you've treated them. Do better a new year's coming. Thank you. Brian Coan, followed by Hamad Kamal. I am a parent of three students at Madison's Trust and we live in the grant under Plan two 80. Moving both the walk zone and the grant away from Madison's trust is an overcorrection. If the grant moves to Elaine Thompson,
the Madison's trust utilization will be in the seventies. If the grant stays at Madison's trust, then Elaine Thompson will be in the seventies. Effectively, we're trading 70% capacity between the two schools. The question is, where is it more beneficial to leave room for growth in Brambleton or in Arcola? Two years ago, the prior board dealt with overcrowding at Elaine Thompson as a projection showed a significant increase in students at our in our cola by 2026. Over the last two years, unfavorable economic conditions have slowed new construction everywhere. The projected growth of Lane Thompson simply has not happened yet, but it will likely come when may more
favorable market conditions return. I have twins that are kindergartens right now. I fear they're liable to be rezoned twice, both now and again in a few years. When Elaine Thompson is full, please minimize their disruption. Amend two 80 to keep the grant a Madison's trust. Thank you, Ahmad. Kamal. Good evening. I'm here to ask for your support for R 17 that keeps the walk zone DN 36 assigned to Madison's trust. As a parent of a fourth grader, my family chose to purchase a house in Brambleton community because we valued the valuable design tunnels infrastructure that made it safe for my child to walk back from school.
I'm deeply distressed by the proposal to to move the walk zone 36.8 to from Madison's trust to Legacy Elementary. My son has attended Madison's trust since kindergarten and always been a walker. During the hearing, it was really disheartening to hear some com, some broad comments suggesting students within the walk zone are not walking. This has not been our experience. I'm pleading to the board to support the staff proposal 17 that keeps the kids in the walk zone walking. This would also help us save money that would
otherwise be needed to be used for school buses. Thank you very much. Thank you. And, um, with that ends public comment, thank you all for coming out and for providing your public comment. Um, I would say I think the board could go into recess for like, um, seven, 10 minutes and then come back before we start with the very large action items and agenda. Okay. So the board is going into recess and we'll be back at what 7 45 school attendance zones presented by Mr. Kevin Lewis,
chief Operation Officers and Ms. Bev Tate, director of planning and GIS services. Before we, I ask for a motion and everything else, I'm gonna take a sec. And I'd like to address the critical and often challenging work of school capacity planning and attendance zone adjustments. Our decisions should be driven by a data-driven review process. And it's established that a school's capacity is not simply the number of available general education classrooms, but it also includes specialized essential spaces. This means accounting for dedicated program rooms
for core programs like art and music and essentials to student support rooms necessary for our fastest growing student populations, which include special education resource rooms, sensory rooms, rooms for occupational, physical and speech therapy, dedicated spaces for our Yale learners and rooms for our counselors to capture this true capacity staff executed walkthroughs of all 18 schools involved in this rezoning process. And Isla issued utilization surveys to principles to quantify the exact impact of these ancillary spaces have on capacity.
Thus, this rigorous data collection ensured our planning reflected the reality of today's learning environment. This is the time to acknowledge the need to right size or older schools, which were built before the requirement for these extensive support spaces and delay the need to build any other schools to achieve this. A collaborative team excluding staff from support services, school leadership, special education, and teaching and learning, met regularly to review and refine capacity methods and to address these structural limitations fairly.
I understand and I believe the rest of the school board agrees that rezoning is super not fun and profoundly difficult process. And we recognize the strong, really strong emotional connection families have to their schools. However, I believe we have a fundamental obligation to all students to provide the room and resources necessary for optimal learning. Our staff has invested a significant amount of time in presenting several data-driven plans, utilizing information from our utilization reviews and capacity models. And our focus now must be on making tough decisions based on
the subjective review and planning to ensure we provide all students with the best environment to succeed. And I wanna thank you Bev, Kevin, and your staff for and all of the staff over there as well who do, who have gone and looked at these schools and reviewed them consistently, um, to make sure before you made your plans and your models. Okay. Do you wanna, normally I would take a motion. So you wanna say anything before that? Thank you Chair Mansfield.
We, we really don't have any more information to present. We're here to have, um, the conversation if we, if you need any, have any questions for us, we're happy to answer 'em, but we'll turn it to the board at this point. A motion. Ms. Shernoff. Thank you Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board adopts Plan two 80 involving changes to existing Ashburn and Dulles North Elementary school attendance zones. All changes included with this action will be implemented in fall 2026 with the start of the 20 26, 20 27 school year. Further, pursuant to policy 81 60 exceptions
to school assignment due to attendance zone change, families of zone rezoned elementary school students who will be entering grade five in fall 2026 will be surveyed to determine interest in having their child remain at and complete elementary school at their currently zoned elementary school. The survey re results are to be reported to the school board for subsequent consideration. And action. I have a motion by Ms. S Shernoff. Do I have a second? Second. It's been properly moved. I have a second by, uh, vice Chair Donahue. It's been properly moved and seconded. Uh, Ms.
Shernoff, would you like to speak to your motion? Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I echo m many of the sentiments that you had in your comments and I thank you for making them. Um, I think saying super not fun is exactly the right thing. Um, I am putting forward plan two 80. I I anticipate several amendments as people have seen on board docs, but in an effort to sort of take the two staff plans and try to merge for maximum relief of schools, this seemed like an option that for me, best met those, those compromises.
And so that's why I'm putting this plan forward. Um, I have been to all the schools, I have met with multiple groups and, um, working towards the beginning of a very long road for us in terms of rightsizing our county and rezoning and hopefully making some fiscally responsible decisions in terms of delayed action or possible not action on building another elementary school. As you said, tough decisions, um, have to be made sometimes. And, and that's where I'm coming from. Okay. Um, is there any discussion, um, Ms.
Shernoff? I know this is not usually customary, but I have an amendment, so move right into it. Okay. Um, I moved to amend the base motion by moving, by taking DN 29 and moving it to Sanders Corner Elementary School. Sorry, I'm gonna start over. I move to amend the base motion by taking DN 29 and moving it from Sanders corner ES Elementary School to Cedar Lane Elementary School, and also moving DN 16 from Cedar Lane Elementary School
to Newton Lee Elementary School. I have, uh, an amendment to a, have a motion to amend the base mo motion that DN 29 move from Sanders Corner Elementary School to Cedar Lane Elementary School and DN DN 16, move from Cedar Lane Elementary School to Newton Lee Elementary School. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by vice chair. Uh, Donahue. It's been properly moved and seconded. Umoff, do you wanna speak to your amendment? Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, this amendment has to do with giving relief to Sanders Corner Elementary School.
Fully realizing from the public comment tonight, uh, that this takes certain zoned kids to Sanders Corner Elementary School and provides relief, um, for a dual language immersion program. However, we have made a commitment to that program and it is staying there. And so in order to avoid getting to 107% capacity in the out year, I believe that this is the best, best path forward for us at this time. Thank you, Ms. Shernoff. Um, is there any discussion? And then actually I have a amend the amendment to Plan two 80, um, by removing
DN 30.2 back to Hillside. Do I have a second? A second. I have a second By Ms. Chandler. Um, I am my rationale to, and I'll go ahead and speak to it, um, the move to ment Plan two 80 by removing DN 30.2 back to Hillside is because, um, the Broadlands community, as we heard from special from a public comment tonight, is zoned for pretty much two, uh, schools,
hillside and Mill Run. And we're already moving two zones from Hillside two mill run, which significantly helps their numbers. So, um, that is the reason for my amendment. Is there any discussion? Yes. Uh, vice Chair Donahue. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, more of a point for clarification, um, is, is the Chair's proposal to replace Ms. Chernow's motion or another proposed amendment for consideration? So we're amending the plan, right? So we amended it first with Ms. Schoff.
Well, we haven't amended it yet, we haven't voted yet, so I've make an amendment to the amendment for that. And so then we would go and we would move back up out. Did you see my email? Yes, I did. So then we would move back up out of it and then we could move to more amendments. Okay, thank you. Yes. Okay, so let's, we we're gonna have to, since it's, there's already a move, amend the amendment first. Um, now we're gonna vote on that on mine first, right? And then, um, if that passes
or doesn't, if it doesn't pass, then we can make another amendment. Or I would suggest that we just go on and do the two up to the base motion and then start back over again. Okay. So we're just voting on Hillside at this moment, the one that I just did. So is there any discussion about that? No. Okay. So, um, if there's no more discussion regarding, uh, the amendment amending the amendment, which is to remove DN 30.2 from Plan 2280 back to Hillside,
um, we'll go ahead and take a vote. Clerk, will you please open the vote Board members please record your vote. Uh, clerk please close and display the vote. And that motion passes seven to two with Dr. Deans and Ms. S Shernoff and obs, um, in opposition to the vote. Now we will move to, we will go ahead. Is there any discussion regarding the first amendment to the base motion, which is Ms. Shernoff Sanders to Sanders? Yes. Uh, Mrs. Griffiss.
Thank you Madam Chair. Um, as far as moving Sanders to, uh, Cedar Lane, um, I've pointed out before that, uh, not just the 18, uh, students that are zoned for Cedar Lane would be moved, but, um, there may be other, uh, zoned families that would be moved to Cedar Lane. So with that being said, um, I was going to move that, um, keep the, the dual language program as is, um, at Newton Lee and phase it into, uh, I'm sorry,
at Sanders and phase it into Newton Lee for the upper grades. Um, I believe this program is popular enough and parents will drive their students to anywhere it is housed. Uh, plus you would get new students into the program, new students that did not have the opportunity to join previously. I get complaints from many parents that would like the opportunity to have their students in the DLI program. Um, and if you're trying to relieve, uh, Sanders, uh, we can split the program or completely move it to Newton Lee. Um, I also wanna point out that, uh, the DLI program was put into place
before this board, this board did not, uh, put that program at Sanders Corner. So my concern is for the zoned residents, um, to go to Cedar Lane. And I don't think, um, we should ask zoned, uh, students to go to another school when they're already zoned for, uh, for Sanders Corner. So, um, I'm looking to, um, and I guess this would be, um, I guess we're gonna vote on her amendment first, but, um, my thought was to move, um, the DLI program,
whether it's, uh, split it up, um, have some there and have some at Newton Lee, Newton Lee or just, uh, move it to Newton Lee. So that's what I'm putting forward today. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. So I hear two things. The first thing is to keep Sanders corner as is, would be the opposite of what was just proposed with, so you could vote in opposition of that, right? The second one, um, it would be another kind of amendment, but I don't know that that is particularly germane
to a boundary amendment. Mm-hmm. And, um, so, so amendments that must be germane to it, um, involve the same question raised by the motion it amends. So I'm wondering, um, Mr. Lewis, would you, I I just don't know that it's a proper, is if's germane to this particular conversation, this motion? Could you weigh in? I may need to defer to Mr. Allen, but, um, this would not be something that we would normally do in that, and it's more of an instructional conversation
that would be more in Dr. Ellis's area than it would be for ours in support services to talk about the establishment, the changes in adjustments to an instructional program. Okay. So in that aspect, I'm wondering, Mrs. Griffiths, if you could consider that for new business, because you're discussing an instructional thing or you could get three friends for discussion and an information item at a future board meeting. Mr. Allen, would you kind of weigh in on this? Uh, thank you Chairman Mansfield? Yes. Uh, whether it's germane
or not, I would defer to the subject matter experts, which are Mr. Lewis and Ms. Tate. And it sounds like it, it's an instructional, um, matter that would not be germane, is what I, I heard Mr. Lewis, um, uh, indicate. And, and so yes, that, uh, as you stated, that would be the procedural mechanism, either a new business or putting it on as an informational item as policy permits. Yes, ma'am. Ms. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, and I, I, I just wanna mention, I did go back and forth with Ms. Ellis, uh, about this as far as numbers.
Um, and, um, so I just wanna be clear today that we're gonna vote on Ms. Smirnoff's, uh, amendment and then come back later on because this would take place, probably this would take place in the fall of next year and maybe do an instructional change. Uh, so we would have it as new business, uh, and we would work with, um, Ms. El, uh, Ms. Ellis' department, Dr. Ellis's department to, um, maybe do this instructional change. But what I'm proposing, um, and I just wanna mention it
before we go ahead and vote, is, um, we are at Sanders corner is at, is under capacity right now with the program as is. Um, and what I'm proposing as the grades move up, um, phase it into Newton Lee and then maybe phase the whole program into Newton Lee. So that's what I'm proposing at this time, and it's just something to think about because I don't think my zoned residents for Sanders are going to be happy about moving to Cedar Lane. Um, and I didn't think it was fair, uh,
Over a special program to move zone residents to Newton Lee. And that's it. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you, Mrs. Griffiths. Okay, so just to be clear, we are now voting on the, um, the amendment, the initial amendment to the base motion of Ms. Shernoff to move. Uh, now I get back to it, to move DN 29 from Sanders Corner Elementary School to Cedar Lane Elementary School and DN 16 move from Cedar Lane Elementary School to Newton Lee Elementary School. Is that correct, Ms. Shernoff? That is correct. Okay.
Any other discussion? Seeing nine, we'll go ahead and vote. Um, clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion passes seven to two with Mrs. Griffiths and Dr. Rashid, um, in opposition of the vote. Okay, now we will go ahead and, um, vote those into the base mo motion. Um, is there any discussion before we go ahead
and vote this into the base motion? And remember after this, then we will go back and have more amendments if you guys still choose. Okay. We have more amendments even. This is just to kind of close it out to cut square corners as Mr. Allen would say. All right, so we will now vote on the base motion as amended. Um, I didn't see any discussion. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes with Mrs. Griffiths and Dr. Rashid in opposition of the vote. Now board members is there, are there any Yes. Oh, okay.
As Chair Donahue. I saw it first. Sorry. Dr. Rashid? Thank you Madam Chair. I move to amend Plan two 80 by removing DN 36.8 from the plans such that DN 36.8 would remain at Madison's trust. I have a motion by, um, vice Chair Donahue to remove 36.8 from the plan. Real quick. Second. And I have a second by, uh, Ms. Chandler DI can't remember where the, oh, okay. Um, vice chair Don,
I have a motion and it's been seconded. Vice Chair Donahue, do you want to speak to your motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Um, as has already been noted, these are incredibly difficult decisions we've heard from a number of members of the community, um, who are proposed to be impacted by rezoning related to, uh, Madison's trust. Um, I am making this proposed change to Plan two 80 for a couple of reasons. Uh, one, to be consistent with LCPS policy to preserve walk zones, uh, also in the interest of,
um, disrupting the smallest number of students possible while still providing some relief to Madison's trust. And, uh, our projections do show that if the, if the walk zone remains at Madison's trust, that would still pro get Madison's trust under a hundred percent capacity next year, which is still above where overall LCPS is aiming to have its schools, but is a significant, um, improvement over its current numbers. Um, and also because that will allow Madison's trust to minimize
the number of staff positions that it may lose. Can I say something? Um, yes. Is there any more discussion? Yes, I do have a discussion. Discussion. Thank you, chair. And I wrote mine down. Um, the majority of bus riders are on the bus, and the majority of walkers do not walk. According to the data that we saw, there is an overwhelming amount of bus riders on the bus, and there were only 59 out of 319 walkers who walked. So this kind of leans toward proving the point that the walkers are really not actually walking, and they're, there might be a little bit of
contribution toward the car line congestion. So I just wanted to point this out to you guys as colleagues. I I hear you, Dr. Rashid. It was also done like in a super cold day. Sorry, but I would've liked to see more, more data on that. Um, yes, Ms. Vice Donahue. Thank you Madam Chair. Thank you for making that point. Dr. Rasheed, which is well taken. Although on the other side of that, these, these students in the walk zone in DN 36 right now are not provided bus transportation. And if they are rezoned to legacy, they will have to be
provided with bus transportation. And that is an additional cost and potential cost and logistical challenge for LCPS. Any other discussion? Um, it was my under, it was my understanding that Madison's trust will be above a hundred percent for five to six years. So there are 240 students in the walk zone versus 189 in the grant, for example. I just thought that this contributed a little bit toward the discussion of having a congested car line. Thank you. Any other discussion? No. Yes, Ms. Shernoff? Thank you, Madam Chair.
Um, I've really, probably, this is one of the areas I've gone back and forth with, but I really, I happen to agree with Dr. Rasheed on this. I think that the density issues, just because Madison's trust is such a walk dense school, I just don't see how we can get relief any other way. Um, and so I heed the concerns about transportation. And normally I'm, I'm on that train too, uh, but I feel like this is a unique situation, so, um, I will not be supporting the motion. Thank you, Mr. Chernoff. Um, this one was a hard one
for me too, because I promote walking and healthy living and I would love for, um, people to continue to walk, but I really just didn't see it giving much relief if you didn't, you know, move that one position. I, it's not my favorite, but I don't think I can support the motion either. Um, any other discussion, any other amendments or anything else? Yes, Dr. Rashid? Uh, yes, I do have another amendment to two 80.
If I, if I may, um, I move, and again, please stop me if this isn't suitable, but I move to amend Plan two 80 by keeping DS 0.8, uh, zero DS zero 8.1, DS zero 8.2, and DS zero 8.3 at Madison's Trust Elementary School. I have a motion by Dr. Rashe. I have a motion to amend the amendment, uh, which is, um, to keep DS, DS oh 8.1 DS oh 8.2, and DS oh 8.3 at Trust Elementary School. Do I have a second? Second? I have a second. By, uh, Mrs.
Griffiss. It's more properly moved and seconded. Uh, Dr. Rashid, do you wanna speak to your motion? Um, I mean, it kind of, it kind of speaks for itself. Um, we would like to keep, um, the, we would like to keep Willis Willis for there at Madison's trust. Um, and I think by doing that, we don't impact the percentage of Madison's trust by keeping, um, by keeping Willis for at bay in the community. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Rashid. Any other? Yes, Mrs. Griffs. This is not an amendment, but I just wanted to point out, um, for myself,
can I mention something even though it's not an amendment? Um, this is to discuss what Dr. Rashid's amendment is. Okay. Yeah. Um, I'll mention it after. Thank you. Okay. All right. Any discussion about Dr. Yes. Uh, Mr. Raffe? Thank you, Madam Chair. I think it relates to Dr. Uh, to, to Dr. Rasheed's motion. Um, first of all, I wanna thank all the families for all of the advocacy and the outreach and for reaching out, and I know how difficult it is. I think all, all the board members who spoke already addressed it, that this is a very difficult circumstance, and it's trying to be fiscally responsible
by preventing opening another elementary school by, by, by starting the right sizing and the rezoning that will not just, this will not be the only rezoning. We have more that have to happen. And so, um, where I wanted to offer a perspective, uh, to my fellow board members, I've, I've shared this with you already. I think where I'm coming from with 5 33 and, um, and the amendments that, that, that Dr. Rasheed has made specifically, um, are around, are the conflict between the special permissions
process that we have and the 90% floor, and what we're trying to accomplish with the rezoning by reducing capacity. I, I, I also acknowledge all of the points that were made around some of the older schools, uh, in these zones that they don't have, as you referred to once, uh, Mr. Lewis, the, the same chassis as other, other schools, um, in the same spaces. And we do have a responsibility to open up those spaces and to, um, be forward thinking. Um, I think I, but I just really struggled with us making a concerted effort to solve the problem when we still have an issue
with special permissions. Allow being allowed at these schools up to a 90% capacity. And so we could be doing as much as possible knowing we're gonna impact so many families, yet these schools could be at a 90% capacity, um, regardless of what we do and how we impact these families. And so, um, I am torn, um, but I just wanted to make that statement on the record as to what, you know, that, that, that was a big consideration for me. Um, and, you know, I, I will be supporting, uh, Dr.
Rashid's motion, uh, for that reason. Um, and yeah, those are my comments. Thank you, Mr. Stree. Yes, Mr. Griffith. Um, I would like to also go on the record, uh, for the Selden's Landing, uh, crowd, uh, per Tate of any of the four, I want the people of Land County to know, especially the Selden's Group of per Tate, if any of the four active plans move forward with a, uh, with motions or amendments, whether it's R 11, R 17, plan two 80, plan 5 33, um, this change,
um, the change is already reflected for Selden's Landing. If amendments are also offered to modify any of the plans, but don't involve any of the three lands down, uh, planning zones, DN oh 1D, DN oh 1.2 and DN oh 1.6, then the community would still, uh, be included, uh, in the rezoning action. So Selden's Landing is, as of right now, with all our amendments and everything going on and all the plans, they are set to go back to their zone school. Thank you.
Okay, thank you. Um, Mrs. Griffiths, um, okay. Is there any other discussion for Dr. Rashid's amendment? To amend the ame, amend the amendment for Plan two 80 by keeping DS oh 8.1 DS oh 8.2, and DS oh 8.3 at Madison's trust. Any other discussion? You want more discussion, Dr. Just, Just to point out to you, guy, if I, if I could, yes. Um, that if the walk zone stays, guys, I just wanna let you know that we didn't solve the overcrowding issue that's happening at Madison's trust. I mean, we have to also consider Elaine Thompson,
we're not going to solve the issue of Elaine Thompson, uh, having issues down the line if we go the opposite of my amendment. Thank you. I don't think your amendment gets rid of the, uh, increases the walk zones. I mean, I think that's, that would be vice Chair Donahue's putting him back in. Right? But what You okay? Yeah. Okay. I think that's what you, yes. Vice Chair Donahue. I think you met him. Chair. I just did the quick math that the, according to the numbers that we have on the charts in front of us, the total number
of students in dn 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 adds up to 203 compared to the walk zone, which is 240, which is not such a huge difference. Thank you. Uh, vice Chair Donahue. Okay. Any other discussion on Dr. Rashid's? Amendment? To the amendment to amendment? Okay. All right. Uh, so we will now, um, discuss, we will now, um, seeing no more discussion, we'll vote on amending the amendment, which is Dr.
Rashid's to keep DS oh 8.1 DS oh 8.2, and DS oh 8.3 at Madison's Trust Elementary School. That's Dr. Rashid's? Yes. Okay. And she's already started before I even said anything. Clerk, please Open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion, uh, does not pass four to five with, um, Ms. Chandler, Dr. Deans, uh, Jeremy Mansfield, vice Chair Donahue, and Ms. S Shernoff in opposition.
Um, so we will go now to the amendment. Will now reopen the discussion on the, uh, on the, uh, amendment to the base motion. Yes. Uh, which would be, uh, move to a plan, amend plan two 80 by removing DS three, 6.8 from the plan so that it remains at Madison's trust. Okay. Any more discussion on that? Okay. Okay, so I see no more discussion on that.
So we will go ahead and vote on that. Um, board clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote and that motion does not pass with Mrs. Griffiths, Ms. Chandler, uh, chair of Mansfield, Mr. Stree, Ms. Shernoff, Dr. Rashid, and Ms. LaBelle, um, in opposition of the vote. Okay, so now we take all of this and we do the final vote. Um, we will reopen discussion on the newly
amended base motion. Is there any discussion, Remi, regarding this main motion as amended? Seeing none? Oh, yes, Ms. LaBelle, could You repeat The main motion again? One we're voting right now. Oh, boy. Okay, so just to get, I didn't have my microphone on. Could you repeat the base motion for us, please? Oh, I heard you. Okay, here we go. We go. Um, so it's gonna be, the base motion is two 80, right? And it was amended twice already with, um, Ms.
Shernoff who took who, um, where is it? 29, Uh, to adopt. We, we started with adopting two 80, the amendment. Hold on. I had these all in, uh, the amend to base motion to take DN 29 and move it from Sanders Corner Elementary School to Cedar Lane and moving DN 16 from Cedar Lane to Newton Lee Elementary School. And then the amendment to the amendment, which was mine, was removing DN 30.2 back to Hillside.
And then, um, I guess the other two didn't pass. Okay. Did I clear that up for you, Ms. LaBelle? Okay. Thank you. Dr. Deans, you want? No. Okay. Um, clerk please. Any more discussion? No. Okay. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote. The clerk please close and display the vote and that overall, um, amend that overall motion passes five to three with Mrs. Griffiths, Dr. Deans and Dr. Rasheed.
Absent, I mean, uh, in opposition of the vote and vice chair, Donna Yu abstaining from the vote. Thank you for all of yours. Patience with that. Um, we will now continue on with Department of Support Services, superintendent recommended fiscal year 2027, fiscal year 2032, capital budget, um, presented by, uh, Mr. Lewis. Actually, do I have a motion Or I can make the motion. Okay. Ms. Shernoff, Um, I move, we're on capital budget, right? Yes. Yes, ma'am. Okay. I move
that the Loudoun County School Board adopt the FY 27 through FY 2332 capital budget, including the capital facility planning guidelines as amended through December 1st, 2025. And submit the same to the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors for their action. I have a base motion by Ms. Shernoff. Do you have a second? I have a second. By, um, Ms. LaBelle second, um, as we probably moved and seconded. Um, One second. Yes, Ma'am. There's two motions in here and I think I may have
Misspoke. Okay. Well then, Mr. Lewis, do you want to explain the different motions? Yes, ma'am. So the, the two different recommendations. First, first motion is to adopt what has been amended up into the last work session was December one of December 1st, 2025. The second motion is if you were to make some, some changes to that as of tonight, then it would be as of tonight's date. Okay? December 16th. So if you don't have any other motions to make or changes, then it would be the first motion for December one. Then we're solid on my end. Okay? All right.
Is there any other discussion? No. Okay. Is it probably moved and seconded? Seeing no more discussion, I will move forward with the vote Clerk, please open the vote Board members, please record your vote Clerk please close and display the vote. That motion, uh, passes eight to one with Mrs. Griffith in opposition to the vote. We'll continue with, uh, finance and operations committee, RFP number R 2 5 2 7 1 Enterprise Resource Planning Software and implementation Services. Mr. Stree, do you have a motion?
Yes. Thank you Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County Lewis Board approve the award for RFPR 2 5 2 7 1 Enterprise Resource Planning, ERP Software and implementation services to International Business Systems, IBM, Oracle and Time Clocks Plus for $22,464,093 effective from January 2nd, 2026 through June 30th, 2029, and authorizes the chair to sign the final documents. Upon presentation further that the Loudoun County School Board request the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors transfer 4,000,464,
uh, $64,093 from county held L-C-P-S-C-I-P contingency funding to the Capital Improvement Program. For the Enterprise Resource Planning Upgrade project. I have a motion by Mr. Stree. Do you have a second? Second. Oh, I have a second. By, um, vice Chair Donahue. It's been properly moved and seconded. Um, I guess Mr. Stree, do you wanna speak to your motion or you want to serve it on? Okay. Yes, Madam Chair. Thank you. Um, I will speak to it briefly and, um, pass it to Mr. Lewis or Mr. Smith to add anything that I might have missed.
Um, this is for our ERP system, which we have, we currently share with the county, um, and the county government is migrating to a new platform, um, and informed us in 2024 that we would need to migrate to a new platform by 2028 when they will stop supporting their shared environment. Um, we have been operating through that joint system. Um, we are very limited, um, in what we can accomplish and what we can automate. Um, we're not able to capture certain efficiencies through our existing system, um, by running it
through the county, um, because they have customized it to their needs. Um, and so this solves multiple issues. Um, the county provided funds at the time via CIP, for the project in around 2024, I believe. And our estimate was 18 million at the time. The $22 million award includes a $3 million contingency, which is about 15% of the project and inflation rates for the, uh, sas, uh, portion of the subscription, uh, software model. Um, since the funds were awarded at, uh, awarded about eight to 10%, um, I don't know if Mr. Lewis
or Mr. Smith would want to add anything else. They are giving the thumbs up. I think you did a good job. Okay. Any other discussion? Seeing no discussion? Uh, clerk, please open the vote. Board members please record your vote. Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes unanimously. We will continue with 12.04 LANP, uh, 2026 legislative program Present. Uh, Ms. Chandler, do you have a motion? Yes. Thank you. Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board adopt the 20 25 20 26 legislative program.
I have a motion by, um, Ms. Chandler. Do I have a second? Second. Second. I have a second by. I'm gonna give it to Dr. Deans. Um, it's been properly moved and seconded. Ms. Chandler, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes. Um, thank you. This year's proposed program identifies five key priorities, each highlighting a central area of emphasis with the board's proposed legislative agenda. Um, it includes continued support for the joint subcommittee to study elementary and secondary education, funding advocacy for federal hold, harmless and block grants, full
and transparent funding of re benchmarking standards of learning development and funding of a comprehensive student mental health policy. Uh, the proposed 20 25, 20 26 legislative priorities focus on advancing critical issues that shape public education across Virginia, particularly in the areas of equitable funding, teacher recruitment and retention, and enhance student support. This issue driven plan reflects LCP S'S advocacy with these statewide efforts, and I'm sorry, I'm reflects recommendations from Active
state commissions and committees committed to improving educational outcomes for all students by aligning LCP S'S advocacy with these statewide efforts. The legislative program strengthens the division's capacity to influence policy, foster innovation, and ensure that student-centered leadership remains at the core of our mission. Through this strategic approach, LCPS will continue to advance policies that sustain excellence and equity in education for all Loudoun County students. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. Is there any discussion? Yes, Mr. Griffith?
Um, just one question. Uh, what is the estimated cost with funding the proposed 20 25 20 26 legislative priorities? Do we have an estimated cost on that? Is anybody available to answer? Well, uh, I'm perplexed. Um, what do you mean? Is there an estimated, is there a cost involved? Yes. Um, Dr. Spence, I can, I can speak briefly, uh, to, to that the continued support for the joint subcommittee, which to study elementary and secondary education funding, that's the J-L-A-R-C recommendations.
Those costs would be state revenues. It would be seeking additional, essentially seeking additional state revenues to bring, um, the funding model in, in the Commonwealth, uh, into, into alignment with the JARC recommendations. And a couple other things talking, uh, specifically referenced in there, be full funding the cost of competing adjustment for Northern Virginia districts, for example. So that would increase funding. The request to push for, um, hold harmless on the block grants. That's about federal funding and how it may come to the states. We anticipate, based on some of the federal, uh,
moves from the Department of Education for interagency agreements, we anticipate that that grant funding, which has traditionally been, um, given to the state for specific purposes, may come in a block grant. And then the, and then the states will be asked to determine how they'll distribute those funds. So there's not an anticipated funding cost for LCPS. It's really a question of how we'll receive federal funds when, uh, you look at the piece on full and transparent funding of re benchmarking. That is another state revenue issue that is just, um, trying
to ensure that the state goes through a transparent re benchmarking process, uh, which is where every two years they take a look at the actual cost of education in the Commonwealth and then try to rebenchmark what the standards of quality funding should look like as a result of that re benchmarking. Um, they also look at the LCI in that, and as we'll talk about, uh, as we get into the budget, uh, discussions starting in January, the LC, the LCI, that's the, uh, that's essentially the local composite index. It's the locality's ability to pay, um, that, um,
will have a significant impact on our state revenues. And so, uh, we'll want transparency around those costs and, and how that will impact state revenue. Um, I think obviously workforce housing, I think, um, this is more of a community state, um, and school division, uh, issue. No anti no costs associated with that at the moment. Um, however, as as those conversations continue, certainly something we would wanna bring back and talk with the school board about and standards of learning reform,
we don't anticipate any additional costs associated with that comprehensive student mental health policy. And funding, again, would be a request for state funding to support those, uh, areas And, and will be notified as a board how much the estimated costs are. Uh, so again, not really associated with estimated costs. More so associated with, um, anticipated and hoped for revenues to support different programs. And really it's about taking our conversation to the state to see if we can't garner additional revenue support. Um, I wouldn't say really any anticipated cost associated with it.
Um, but certainly as we engage in the budget conversation beginning in January with the presentation of the estimate of needs, we'll be sharing what we believe the state revenue picture will be shaping up to be. Okay. Any other discussion? Seeing none, uh, we'll go ahead and move forward with the vote Clerk, please open the vote Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes eight to one with Mrs. Griffiths in opposition to the vote. Um, we'll move on to two oh 0.05 LANP revisions to 2140 orientation and professional development for board members.
Ms. Chandler, do you have a motion? Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the proposed revisions to Policy 2140 orientation and professional development for board members. I have a motion by Ms. Chandler. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Vice Chair Donahue. It's been properly moved and seconded. Ms. Chandler, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, this policy was brought forward for its five year review, um, being as it was last reviewed in November of 2021. The proposed changes align with current practice
and provide additional clarity around the, our process for onboarding new school board members. The revised language includes updates on the planning and timing of the orientation process and removes the requirements professional development from this policy with the expectation that that language will be moved into the, uh, other most appropriate, relevant policies, um, that will bere addressed and updated to, um, capture the language around professional development requirements. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. I mean, I guess I was the one who was like, Hmm.
And there, but then after doing some further thinking on it, it's in code anyway. Virginia Code that board members must do professional development. So covered until you get it into your next policy. Any other discussion? No. Okay. Uh, seeing more of discussion? No more discussion. Clerk, please open the vote Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote and that motion passes unanimously. And we'll continue with LANP revisions to 31 20 powers and due duties of the division Superintendent.
Uh, Ms. Chandler, do you have a motion? Uh, yes. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the revisions to policy 31 20 powers and duties of the division Superintendent. I have a motion by Ms. Chandler. Do I have a second? I have a second by Mr. Oh, I have a second. By Mr. Stree. It's been properly moved and seconded. Um, Ms. Chandler, do you wanna speak to your motion? Yes. Uh, speaking of aligning those policies in a more appropriate place, um, this policy was also, um, brought forth in results of the revisions
to policy 2140, which was just mentioned. Um, the primary, um, changes capture the current practice and expectations for the superintendent around professional development. Um, this update strengthens and, um, our policy alignment by moving the professional development language to the policy that is most applicable to the division superintendent. Thank you, Ms. Chandler. Is there any other discussion? Yes, Ms. Chandler? Um, I'd also like to officially move to add the language that I proposed at the previous meeting. Um, so I move to add at line 20, the division superintendent shall have the authority
to delegate to other school personnel, the exercise of any powers and the discharge of any duties imposed on the superintendent consistent with applicable law policy by law regulation, and other governing documents of the school board. This addition is meant to strengthen the policy by making it, uh, giving more clarity, um, and bringing it into more cons, be more consistent with our current practice. And I'll say in plain language, um, the amendment aims to capture truly our current practice, which allows the superintendent to delegate some duties
to other staff members when it is lawful appropriate and permissible to do so. Okay. But the amendment was just the first, like four. It was just, it was the amendment was the division superintendent shall have the, the authority to delegate to other school personnel. The exercise of any powers and the discharge of any duties imposed on the superintendent consistent with applicable law policy, bylaw regulation, and or other govern governing documents of the school board. That was your amendment to the base motion? Yes. And thank you. Do I have a second clarification? I did go too fast. You're like zoom. Do I have a second?
Second, second. Uh, okay. Well, can I give it Dr. Dr. Deans? Uh, Dr. Deans has gave it a second. Um, it's been properly moved and seconded, and we just already heard, um, her reasonings for the function. Is there any discussion to the amendment to the base motion? Yes. Vice Chair Donahue. Thank you Madam Chair. Uh, I apologize, but Ms. Chandler, could you say where in the policy that amendment is going? I missed that earlier. Yes, so it would come on line 20 after the language is there already. Okay. Any other discussion?
Thank you for that clarification. Vice Chair Donahue. Okay. So I, um, seeing no more discussion, we will move forward with the vote to amend the base motion. Uh, clerk, please open the vote. Board members please record your vote clerk. Dr. Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion, uh, passes eight to one with Mrs. Griffiths in opposition to the vote. Um, okay.
And now we will move for the base motion as amended. Is there any discussion? I'll open it up. Nope. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion passes. We'll continue with LENP. Once again, Ms. Chandler, do you have a motion? Yes. Thank you Madam Chair. I move that the Loudoun County School Board approve the revisions to policy 34 10 Office of the Auditor General. I have a motion by Ms. Chandler. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second By Ms. Shernoff. It's been properly moved and seconded.
Ms. Chandler, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. As I mentioned at our last meeting, this conversation really began around a discussion of who in our organizational structure is best positioned to provide the auditor general with a performance evaluation. Um, in the process that took place after, um, we did a deep dive on the norms and protocols that exist on boards that also have auditor generals, um, recognizing that it's not a universal practice in the Commonwealth
of Virginia, but there are, um, certainly other boards including Virginia Beach and Fairfax that use similar structures. So looking at those best practices, uh, the committee weighed placing the auditor, um, under the direction of the school board chair, but eventually opted for leaving the supervision in the committee, which works mostly directly with the auditor. Um, this alignment works well for direct oversight of the actual work. And I also believe it sets us up if in the future we were to have a discussion about moving the audit portion out
of the legislative audit and Policy Committee, because then the committee that works most directly with the Auditor General would have the position of maintaining oversight. Um, I have a So, but if it's, if you're saying that it's reporting directly to LENP committee, I know. Could you repeat what you just said? Because if we put it in policy, then you can't really get rid of it, can you? Well, you have to ch go back and pull a different policy to change the committees at the school board. And of, of course, I would defer to Mr. Allen to clarify
that we, we had that policy in front of the school board within the last year. But the alignment in terms of not placing the supervision with the school board chair, but keeping it in the committee that works directly with the Auditor General and oversees the work seems to be the best alignment from I, I'll only speak for myself, but from my perspective, and I'm not necessarily advocating at this time for taking a mo any further action, but I believe this alignment would make the next step easier
and makes the most logical sense if that is what the future Board chose to do. Okay. Um, Boardman or any other discussion? No. Seeing none. Okay. Um, clerk, please open the vote. Board members please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes seven to two with Mrs. Griffiths and Ms. LaBelle in opposition of the vote. Okay, we're moving to 12.08. Student Behavior and Accountability Committee revisions to Policy 86 55 Student Personal Device use.
Uh, Ms. LaBelle, do you have a motion? Yes, Madam Chair. I recommend that the Aladin County School Board adopt the Student Behavior and Accountability Committees approved revisions of Policy 86 55 Student Personal Device use. I have a motion, uh, by Ms. LaBelle. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second. By Ms. Shernoff. It's been properly moved and seconded. Ms. LaBelle, do you wanna speak to your motion? Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, a little over a year ago, we wrote probably the very first policy regarding the use of personal devices in classrooms.
Um, there were a lot of restrictions, but there was also some, uh, free use since then. In April of 2 20 25, the Virginia Assembly passed a state law restricting the use of personal student personal technology devices from bell to bell during the school day. So, just to be clear, when students come into the, the school in the morning and the morning bell rings, those devices have
to be already put away, uh, out of reach, out of sight, and may must stay that way for the remainder of the day until the closing bell rings. Then after the closing bell, they are free to use them. They're free to use them on the bus in the morning, on the buses, in the afternoon at activities, games, clubs that are not during the instructional portion of the day. Um, but during the instructional portion of the day, it is now state law that they are restricted from using them. So we had to revise our policy
to accommodate that state policy. Thank you. Any other discussion? Yes, rj. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, the only thing I would like to talk about is the safety and concern. As you've seen recently in the news at Brown University, there was an incident. The only fear is, I understand we say we have security officers and the front office can obviously talk for us, but let's say you're separated from a large population of the group of the student body. I fear that is a, a prob uh, issue to the safety
of our kids and LCPS as well. I would like to mention the advocacy for our personal devices as laptops, not as the cell phone aspect. Uh, I feel like Chromebooks itself may need to like, be used as the, the ones that we equipped in the academies for like a ET to better equip our students. 'cause I fear when I use my actual Chromebook that I, there's a lot of like issues where it crashes sometimes 'cause due to the wifi and it moves a lot slower. Me personally, I take some computer science courses
and that's an issue when we can't even access that. That means we do nothing for the rest of the day. Well said. Mr. No. Seg Bay. Um, I will have to say I am not a huge fan of this policy. Um, I think restrict means something different than what it is being interpreted at this particular point in time. Um, and I agree with you as far as, uh, personal devices. Um, so any other discussion? Yes, Mr. Stree? Thank you Madam Chair. I was going to, um, uh, take
that question and maybe ask Mr. Smith if you could comment on some of the, uh, on, on that scenario, um, let's say for a student at a ET, um, that may have other requirements if we're aware of any, um, what the protocols might be now. Sure. So devices provided to students are in alignment with what curriculum design and appropriate uses for classes. So, um, majority of students perceive Chromebooks, but there are also labs in schools, virtual environments, different ways to, to facilitate and access that content and curriculum if it is needed in a Chromebook won't device.
Um, and then there are also targeted, um, programs that are provided higher level devices such as acade of science and academies of engineering and technology. So, um, DDI works with the curriculum development teams and the owners of those programs to ensure that the technology that is deployed supports what the students will be doing in those classes. Any other discussion? Yes, Ms. Chandler? Thank you Madam Chair. Um, I, I'm, I'm definitely struggling with this change. Um, I have to say, um, the entire time I've been proud of the policy that we put in place and pleased with
how it was working out. Um, I definitely worry that several things haven't been contemplated. Um, and I understand that it's outside of our control. Um, but I've had, I've had many students, um, reach out to me to try to better understand, um, the changes that are coming. And, uh, some teachers too. And, um, again, I I I know we are in the business of teaching and we are going to lead our students through this change. And, um, you, I, although I do worry about the bump in discipline that's gonna occur at the beginning of the year.
But that said, I would ask, um, if it has been contemplated how programs like journalism and broadcasting are gonna be impacted by this. Because a lot of the, the work that they actually do with their personal devices achieve the work of the program. And I'm not sure that we've contemplated, um, this device is not going to be able to do, um, fully functioning what, um, students are doing in journalism with their personal devices. And what, um, workarounds are we gonna quickly put in place
so that students can continue in these courses when we return in two weeks. Not to mention the other issues of outing special education students and, uh, students with disabilities. Um, yes, Ms. Shernoff. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, kind of along similar lines, I've also, I think all of us are struggling 'cause we really liked our policy, which we thought we did a good job on and was affirmed by the community. Um, last meeting I had talked a little bit about the operational side, and I wanted to thank Dr. Spence for kind of walking me through what the plan is moving forward. And it sounds like there's a comprehensive plan.
I'll let him speak to that. Um, if he wants to elaborate in a minute, but a lot of the confusion that I was trying to convey came from the striking out of lines 47 through 57, where it talked about designated spaces to put the cell phones and to keep the air, you ear, pod, air pods and all that away. That was so specific in the policy and so many high school teachers felt like by striking that out, we were taking that fully away, which I think makes sense that they would feel that way. Um, but there is a difference between policy and operationalizing something.
And it is my understanding, and Dr. Spence, correct me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that if practices are working for teachers that keep the phones away during instructional time, that those things can continue. We're not trying to limit that. It's just the extension now goes into the hallways and the libraries and the lunches, which means that they, that wouldn't necessarily apply. So it wouldn't make sense to have that portion. Is that a correct, that's, that's precise analysis. Precisely correct. Yes, Ma'am. Okay. Thank you. So I just wanted to clarify that for the teachers that had reached out to me that were concerned
that something was being taken, a practice that works for them was being taken away. So I'll be supporting this, but I also am conflicted. Thank you, Mr. Na. Ms. LaBelle, I wanted to speak to your concern about special education. There is a carve out in the policy saying that any of the devices needed for personal health, uh, and approved in IEP or a 5 0 4 plan or a mental health plan are still allowable, but they need to be, um, discussed. And there needs to be in the IEP itself or the plan itself, I should say.
Yes, ma'am. I think my, my point and, and thank goodness for that, right? Um, and EL students and everything else, there's, there needs to be a plan. My point is, somebody will say, oh, you have a tablet, you must be special education. Oh, you have earbuds, you must be special education. Oh, you must, you know, that's my, that was my concern, but it's not like I can really do anything about it. Uh, vice Chair Donahue, did you want to say anything? Thank you, Madam Chair. I was, I was going to echo the, the point that, that you just made, um, about outing the,
um, about potentially outing special education students. Uh, and I will, I will add, I'll echo some of the comments that were already made. Um, I, I am not in support of this amendment because I think that we did, I think that our policy in its prior incarnation was better, um, than what the, what the interpretation is that the state is forcing on us. Um, and I agree with what you said earlier, chair, that the, the code that was passed says restrict.
It does not say prohibit. And we already have a policy in place that restricts, um, use of personal devices. Thank you. Any other discussion? Okay. Let's go ahead and vote. Um, clerk, please open the vote Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes. Um, six to one with, uh, Ms. Chandler and Ms. Mansfield and Chair Mansfield upstanding, uh, vice Chair Donahue, um, in opposition to the vote. And Ms. Chandler and Ms.
And vice chair and Chair Mansfield abstaining from the vote. Okay. Um, move on to Student Services committee, revisions of Policy 81 55 School assignment. Ms. Donny, vice chair. Donny, do you have a, um, a motion? Yes. Thank you Madam Chair. I move that the school board adopt the proposed redlines to revise policy 8 1 5 5 on school assignment. And just to be clear, does the red line, um, include what was voted on
at the previous board meeting? Um, I'm not exactly sure how to answer that question, Madam Chair. Um, it is staff did incorporate a number of changes that were discussed and I believe agreed upon, um, on the diocese by the board members who were here. Um, there, however, there are a handful of proposed amendments that have been posted on board docs, including one that I intend to put forward. Um, so while I am making this motion
to approve the amendments, uh, I'm doing so as the, as the starting point of a conversation and, and not necessarily advocating that the board adopt the red line as it currently is. Ms. Richardson did we, is are the, um, amendments and everything incorporated in this particular red line? Uh, thank you Chair Mansfield for that question. So all of the proposed revisions made from the dais at the December 2nd meeting were incorporated with the exception of, of
the one that Mrs. Donahue had made at line 1 74. We did miss that. And so she has an amendment to, um, include that language now this evening at line 1 94. But all of the, um, information that was discussed, particularly about moving the instructional suitability information from section lines 2 27 to 2 42 or so are now contained in lines 50 through 90. So we separated those sections.
So it clearly puts the IS process at the front of the policy and special permission later in the policy. The board had asked us to separate those, those two, um, processes. Still same language? Yes. 'cause what we understood, just moved Understood, was to lift it up and move it to the, to lines 50. Okay. I wanted to clear two. Yes, that is correct. Okay. Same language. Okay. So basically a dates and then moving the language has happened. And that is in this red line right here? Yes, that is correct. Okay.
All right. I have a motion by Vice Chair Donahue. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second By Ms. S Shernoff, um, vice Chair Donahue, do you wanna speak to your motion or do you have more discussion? Um, yes and yes. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, you see this was on for information before, so, uh, it's, it's not coming as a surprise to, um, to any of my fellow members here on the dais. Uh, but special, the, this I keep referring to it as the special permission policy. It is not the special permission policy. It is the school assignment policy
and it covers other areas. In addition to special permission. I first became interested in amending this policy because of concerns that I had over the special permission process. But, uh, so this, we are not doing this as part of five year review. Uh, we chose in the student services committee to, to take a look at this policy and propose additional revisions to address, um, uh, some changes to special permission in the hope of improving that process. And also to address some other concerns that had developed related to school assignment issues such
as, for example, instructional suitability, which has been significantly, um, edited that section. And also, uh, and a whole new section has been added related to rezoning and students placed through special permission, uh, to address those concerns. Um, so I am, uh, I'm in support of this. Um, I'm in support of the changes that we're making here. And, but I do also have an amendment, uh, to propose and I move to amend the red line version of Policy 8 1 55,
uh, by adding at the, at line 1 94 after the date, which in this red line, I believe still says April 30th. Although I think we had previously discussed changing it to March 31st. No, April, we moved it further to April, we moved it back. That was last time. That was the amendment last time was to move it. 'cause it was, we stopped it March. Okay. So that's my question is, is April 30th the Correct date? Yes. Yes, yes ma'am. Okay. Okay. Alright. Thank you. Thank you for that clarification, Madam Chair. Uh, okay. So on line 1 94 of the red line,
after where it says April 30th, I proposed to add the following language. Applicants may, but are not required to identify the reason for the special permission request. Applicants are encouraged but not required to provide documentation supporting the request and reason for it. Um, I have a motion by Vice Chair Donahue. Do I have a second? Second? I have a second by Dr. Ms. Chandler. Okay. So we probably moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Yes, Dr. Deans
Based on the special permission panels that I have served on, if no reason is given, the answer is no. So to put that in the policy would lead some parents to think that they would not or do not have to give a reason for the special permission. And would, would, would negatively influence their ability to attain their goal? Yes. Vice Chair Donahue. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, thank you Dr. Deans for raising that concern. So, the special permission process,
and I will ask Ms. Richardson to correct me if I speak incorrectly here, but as, as Loudoun County has always done the special permission process, uh, families, applicants are not required to identify a, a reason, uh, or pro provide documentation for a request in support of a request for special permission, um, that is not required, has not ever been required. Um, if the, if the request is made for a school that is, um, under capacity, currently 90% capacity, it is granted,
there is no, uh, at the initial threshold level, there is no consideration of what reason may be behind the request. Uh, it has occurred in some appeals panels that, uh, families have provided some description of why they are requesting the special permission assignment for their student. Um, in, in some of those circumstances, I'll, I'll speak only for myself. Um, I have felt that it would've been helpful for me in evaluating whether
or not to uphold the prior denial of special permission assignment if I had more information available to me. But by that juncture where when we were sitting on those appeals panels, um, it, we've missed the opportunity to, to reach out and ask for additional information. So my goal in making this change is to make it clear to families that they can include, uh, the reason for their request. They can include documentation.
They do not have to do either of those things. Um, but my, my long-term goal as, as I've mentioned previously, is I would like for LCPS to change if, if we keep special permission, I would like for us to completely change our system so that we in the future would say you have to have a reason. It, there has to be some specific reason why you're seeking this assignment, uh, and provide documentation for it. Uh, I, I mentioned that as a possibility, uh, previously,
and my, my sense of my colleagues at this juncture was that that might be, uh, too much change at once in this current moment that we're in, which is why I have put forward this proposal as, um, as a stepping stone to try and get further along later. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths Per, um, Ann's amendment, I also had two amendments that may be able to go along with, uh, with what Ms. Donahue put forward today. So I don't know if they're kind of long, but I don't know if you wanted me to go through them.
Sure. Um, yeah. So you would have and amend the amendment. Um, well, um, if, if you don't mind, can I please, can I go ahead. Okay. Um, I moved to amend lines on the red line, 180 3 to 180 7 that currently reads special permission is a privilege for LCPS students. Special permission is not automatically approved, granted, or guaranteed year after year. Um, a parent or legal guardian may request their student to attend a school of their choice by special permission if the school is not projected to be over-enrolled and under the following conditions.
Um, so my proposed amendment is, and forgive me, it's a little long, uh, special permission offers a choice to LCPS students, their parents and or legal guard guardians starting in 2026 applications will be presumptively approved. The burden of proof to deny any application is the responsibility of student services under the supervision of the board and in consultation with directly relevant school principles. In cases where student services denies an application, they will outline specific reasons, uh,
for denial based on the core principles of a student's best interests rather than operational or administrative. And denials will automatically go in front of the Special Permissions Appeals Board where the parent legal guardian and or student will be allowed to address specific reasons. Denials must be justified by student services on a point by point basis and not communicated as determinations or referred to as a superseded by LCPS policies, including 2350. Um, now, I don't know if you want me
to get into the Second Amendment. Yeah, That's only, we can only do Okay. An amendment. And amendment the amendment. Then we have to go back up. Okay. And then you can Okay. Do your other amendment. So I have an amendment and, uh, Mrs. Griffiths just read it out. Um, an amendment to the amendment. Do I have a second? Second? I have a second By Ms. Shernoff. Um, it, and so, Mrs. Griffith, would you like to speak to your motion? Well, did I, I I think I did. No, you just read it out. But do you, do you have any thoughts about it? Well, Um, the reason why, well, We're going through, we're talking about, um, denial,
but also appeals process and documentation. So as far as documentation goes, um, when a parent wants permission for their, uh, student to go to a specific school, yes, they may not show up with the documentation the first time. Um, and because of enrollment, they may or may not be denied. But if there is a special reason where they can come back and appeal, they should be able to do that and then maybe bring the documentation. So I'm curious to know what my colleagues' thoughts are on that. Thank you.
Is there any discussion? Yes, Dr. Deans, My thoughts are public schools are not schools of choice. We've just voted earlier tonight on, on boundaries. So why would we then go into the weeds of making public schools, schools of choice? And as a result, I think that, um, um, vice Donahue was saying incrementally, incrementally, I think the system should get away from special permission because we're not schools of choice. We have boundaries.
Thank you, Dr. Deans. Any other discussion on, uh, on Mrs. Griffith's amendment? Seeing none, uh, we'll, if we'll go ahead and vote on the amending the amendment. Um, clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion does not pass. Uh, one to eight with Ms. Chandler, Dr. Deans, Ms.
Mansfield, vice Chair Donahue, Mr. Raffe, Ms. Shernoff, Dr. Rasheed, and Ms. LaBelle in opposition of the vote. Now we will go back to the amending of the base motion, which is Vice Chair Donah Hughes. Um, I'll open up the discussion, any more discussion on that? Okay. Yes. Yes, ma'am. For Mrs. Donahues, um, amendment, putting it in writing in the policy would lead some parents who are not, um, strong advocates
for their children not to give a reason for their request to go to a different school. And therefore it would allow or give those parents a disadvantage to getting their special permission passed. So there again, I think it's a, it's a equity issue in terms of advocacy versus passivity. Thank you. Dr. Deans. Um, Ms. Richardson, could you help me with my recollection of what we,
what we ask on the website for special permission? Because I think we do ask that if they have something to, to send it in. So, chairman Mansfield, we don't ask, so it's not mandatory. They, we have dropdowns within the portal, and so parents can select choices. The top choice is typically childcare. The second usually pertains to mental health. And then the third top category is other. The portal does already have the capacity for parents to upload information,
but it is not currently required. Right. So it's not required, but it, it's not encouraged either. Right. Okay. It's just there. It, it is. There, Here is information. Here is the dropdown, if you would like to, how is it worded? Um, reason for request. And they usually can pick a specific choice or the other category. And in, in, if you pick the other category, you don't necessarily have to provide an ex an an explanation, But there's also a, a, something that says
You can add attachments. Add attachments. Yes. Okay. Okay. Any other discussion? No. No. Okay. Um, we will now vote on the base motion as, um, uh, the amendment to the base motion, which is Vice Chair Donahues. Uh, clerk, please open vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes five to four with Dr. Deans, Mr. Str, Dr. Rasheed and Ms. LaBelle opposed to the vote.
Um, okay. And then we will go ahead and do the final vote to base motion as amended. And then I believe that Mrs. Griffiths has another, uh, motion. So let's go ahead and vote on the base motion as amended. Um, I'll open it up for any discussion, no discussion as the base motion. Yeah, to, to put it in there. Dr. Spence is giving me a funky look. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote.
That motion passes six to three with Dr. Deans, Dr. Rashid, and Ms. LaBelle in opposition to the vote. Okay, now I'm gonna open it up for any other motions. Yes, Mrs. Griffiths. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, now I do have another amendment, but also, um, language to fix some language. So I'll do the amendment first. Um, on line 4 56 on redline the school board committee's decision on finals. So this is also applicable to our discussion,
but I didn't get a chance to, uh, mention it. Um, while the school board's, uh, the school board committee's decision intends to be final LCPS acknowledges errors can be made in the process. To that end, a student whose special permission done denial is upheld by the Special Permissions Appeal Board has further recourse to make an application under instructional suitability suitability, where the emphasis is on a more appropriate instructional program that meets the student's academic, social, and emotional needs.
And this may be addressed anytime during the year. In this instance, applications will be directed to LCPS elected, uh, at lo large board member. And the application would be reviewed by a panel of three board members, different to those who sat down the original for the original, um, special permissions appeal meeting. Um, so I wanted to go ahead. So you Have that, that's your motion, right? Yep. Okay. Thank I have a motion by, uh, Mrs. Griffiths. Do I have a second? I have a second. By Mr. Stree. It's been properly moved and seconded. Now, would you like to speak to that motion, Mrs. Griffiths?
Well, it all sort of obviously goes together as far as, um, you know, when we have, uh, parents that are seeking special permission for their student. Um, this is more to the appeals, um, as to what, that they can appeal the decision and come back and have more of a chance to present their case. And that also went along with, uh, documentation as well. Thank you. Okay. Thank you Mrs. Griffis. Any other discussion? Seeing none. Do you have another amendment? It was just, uh, language if we can fix some language.
Uh, did you want me to go ahead The fix language or if you feel like it needs to be fixed, um, you, I think Mr. Allen, would you correct me if I'm wrong? It would not be an amend the amendment. Thank you Chairman Sal, I think I would need to hear more before I could weigh in on that. Okay. Mrs. Griffiss, why don't you go ahead and, Um, explain just fixing language, um, lines on the red line 2 21 to 2 22, it reads, an appropriate instructional program is available at requested school to adequate adequately meet the student's educational needs.
The correction would be, um, this is a direct reference to special ed ed lines 1 0 1 to 1 0 2 on the Red Line Amendment reads specialized academic programs and specialized, uh, special education programs have separate procedures for the placement of these students. So there, it's contradicting itself. So I don't know, I'm thinking we would remove one of them, one of the lines. So I just wanted to put that out there. Um, that it contradicts with special ed. Okay, Mr. Allen, do you wanna weigh in now? Thank you, chairman Mansfield, that that does seem
to be an another amendment. So if the board wants to treat that as an amendment to an amendment that's on the floor at can, Um, Mrs. Griffiths, that's, uh, has a motion on the floor. Do I have a second? I have a second. By Mr. Raffe. It's been properly moved and seconded. Um, we will now, uh, any further discussion? Yes. Um, vice Chair Donahue. Thank you Madam Chair. Um, lines 1 0 1 to 1 0 2 of the red line that Mrs. Griffiths just mentioned
that reads specialized academic programs and specialized education programs have separate procedures for the placement of students. Um, that is just making a statement of that there are special, um, processes for those things. And that is, that appears under the umbrella of the instructional suitability section. Um, I don't, I have not interpreted those two lines as being contradictory. Thank you.
Thank you Vice Chair Donahue. Any other discussion? Okay. Uh, we will now vote on the amend the amendment. Uh, if there's no more discussion clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion does not pass. One to eight with, um, Ms. Chandler, Dr. Dean's, uh, vice chair, chair Mansfield, vice Chair Donahue. Mr. Ms. Schoff, Dr. Rashid, and Ms. LaBelle in opposition to the vote.
Um, we'll now move on to the amendment to the base motion as amended. Um, is there any discussion? Yes, vice Chair Donahue. Thank You Madam Chair. Just could you clarify which proposal we are now considering? It is the move to amend Line 4 56 that reads the School Board's Committee decision is final and her, the proposed amendment is, while the School Board committee's decision intends to be final LCPS acknowledges errors
can be made in the process. To that end, a student whose special permission denial is upheld by the Special Permission Appeals Board has further recourse to make an application under instructional suitability, where the emphasis is on a more appropriate instructional program that meets the student's academic, social, or emotional needs. And this may be addressed anytime during the school year. In this instance, applications will be directed to the LCPS elected at large board member, and the application will be reviewed by a panel of three board members. Different to those who sat on the original Special Bush
Permission Appeals meeting. That would be her. That's the Thank You. Okay. Any other discussion? No. All right. Uh, we'll go ahead and vote Clerk, please open the vote Board members, please record your vote Clerk, please close and display the vote. And that motion does not pass. One to eight with Ms. Chandler, Dr. Deans chair. Mansfield, vice Chair Donna Hume. Mr. Str, Ms. Shernoff, Dr. Rashid, and Ms. LaBelle in opposition of the vote. Mr. Allen, since neither one of those voted, uh,
and we already did and we already like, kind of put a pen on the other ones that did pass. Do we need to make that final vote again? I would for clarity of record or open the floor for discussion to see if there's any other Amendment. Okay. I will open the floor for discussion. Is there any other thing? Yes, Mr. Streff? I have an amendment, Madam Chair. Oh, okay. Um, I move that the special permission requests under Policy 81 55 school assignment, uh, may be approved only when the receiving school projected enrollment, including the requesting student, does not exceed 85% of the school's base capacity.
This change needs to be reflected in all aspects of the policy where the 90% capacity is referenced. That is to say our mines 19 22, 27, 90% should be amended to 80%, Eight 80 or 85. I mean, sorry, 85%. Apologies. Okay. I have a motion by Mr. T Stree. Um, do I have a second? Second. I have a second. By, uh, vice Chair Donahue. We're probably moved and seconded. Mr. Stree, would you like to speak to your motion? Yes. To amend the base motion as amended? Yes,
Madam Chair. Thank you. Um, I, as I talked about in our discussion of rezoning, um, if as a board and as a division, we've taken on the difficult challenge of right sizing and rezoning, um, this current vote, uh, tonight's vote being only one of those initiatives, then the timing to reduce, um, incrementally or progressively, um, our reliance on special permissions, um, to, to try to be out of conflict with that initiative.
I think now the timing is perfect for that. Um, I understand that this is not easy as well, but I think it sets up the future board, uh, to be able to continue to work on this. I am, uh, very proud of the work of the committee over the last year or more in, in, um, all of the changes that we've made to special permissions. Um, I just think that this is, um, the right time to decrease it from 90% to 85% so that the work that we've done in rezoning so far, and that we'll do in the future, um, you know, isn't erased.
Um, to some extent by this, um, kind of free for all special permissions policy that is still at 90%. It, we, we know that it creates some of the inequities. Um, and by allowing this to go to 85% floor, um, we'll be able to balance enrollment and, and bring a little bit more predictability and sustainability of, of our services across all schools. And we have amazing schools, um, all over the county. Just wanted to say that on the record. Thank you, Mr. Stree. Um, I will say that when we started this, it was like,
base capacity was 100%. And so then we moved it to, then we had these discussions, should we do it 80, 85, 90? And we're like, we're already blowing their minds by going already. And so we'll start with 90. But now that we're trying to keep schools between 80 and 90% base capacity, it kind of makes sense to give that fi 5%, uh, you know, leeway there from 85 to 90 so that they can go up to 90, um, for special permission. So that's kind of, that was kind
of my thought. Yes, Mr. Stree, And again, I'll go back to the point where we, we, we have asked families to take on the impact of rezoning. It would not be fair then for, um, the opportunity from even outside schools to potentially request special permissions to a school that a family who was previously in that zone can no longer attend. And I understand they could also apply to that school, but I think that it just, this idea that we're doing rezoning and we still have the floor at 90% is such increase exacerbates that, uh, potential inequity.
Any other discussion? Yes. Um, uh, Mrs. Griffis? Um, thank you Madam Chair. I think lowering, um, lowering to 85% is not a good idea 'cause we're already struggling with all as as been mentioned, um, with 90%. Um, if it were up to me, we'd go a little higher. So, um, I will not be voting for this amendment. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Griffith. Ms. Shernoff. Thank you Madam Chair. I would like to amend the amendment with the, what I believe to be last amendment of the evening.
Here's hope. Uh, I would like to move that the school board adopt the current redline version policy 81 55 school assignment as amended tonight, but direct staff to present the Student Services Committee. A new policy in the next year that outlines instructional suitability for school reassignment. That is for the next year. Policy 81 55 as amended will guide the process for special permissions, but the forthcoming policy will ensure instructional suitability is the avenue for school assignments
or transfers moving forward. I have a mo, uh, a motion to amend the amendment by Ms. Chernoff. Do I have a second? Second? Who was that? Oh, okay. Mrs. Griffiths. Um, I have a second by Mrs. Griffith. Um, okay, Ms. Chernoff, would you like to speak to your motion? Thank you. Um, I've alluded to this in the past, but I wanted to solidify the reasoning. This motion would allow us to sort of start fresh and redefine the acceptable pathways for student transfers. I feel confident that with staff expertise, valuable stakeholder feedback,
and a commitment to a process that better reflects our values, we can reach a better outcome with clearly defined and transparent processes for our families to navigate and for our staff to have appropriate input. I look forward to this process going forward and feel it is essential that we redefine special permission at this time in light of rezoning, as Mr. Refe said, as well as the CTE expansion efforts. Thank you, Ms. Shernoff. Any discussion? Yes. Uh, vice chair Don Hugh. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I appreciate Ms. Chernow's zeal for tackling this issue, which I do share.
Uh, but that being said, I, I will not be supporting this proposed amendment because I, I don't think it's appropriate to obligate the future board to go down a certain path. Um, if the, if the Student Services Committee or any other group of board members next year wants to tackle this process again, they will have the opportunity to do so. Uh, I am reluctant to, to vote for the nine of us who are sitting here right now to vote and say, this is what the board has
to do in January when we will have new members and new committee memberships and who knows what other changes are coming. Thank you. Yes, Mr. Streff, I just wanted to, uh, get a little bit of clarity. Uh, the amendment referenced the current red line version. What does that mean for my amendment? So, based on the, can I answer? Yeah. So based on the way my understanding is of the process, in order to not get completely boxed out and put a bow on this, we would, I'm basically, my amendment is as amended, so if your amendment goes through, then that would be covered by my amendment.
Got it. Thank you. Just to cut square corners, Mr. Allen, is that interpretation correct? Thank you, chairman Mansfield, uh, that's how I understood the interpretation, but, um, technically amendments to amendments have to be germane. So it's on, this is on the more out outside bounds of what's germane, but, um, I just wanted to point that out. Okay. Well, I, I hear you that it's, uh, probably not germane to fixing
because it's not policy language. So, um, Ms. Shernoff, you can ask two people, like you can ask two people to bring it up at another board meeting at another time for information if you wanted to bring it up to the board or, oh, just to clarify, Uh, if I might, chairman spelled yes, please. Um, that's not, If you said it wasn't germane then To the actual a she for when it go, I think we need to vote on Mr. Str or the board needs to vote on Mr. STRs. Okay. Vote to clear that out. And then
Ms. Schoff make that and then she can come back with it. Yes. All right. Great. Okay, let's just wait. Put a pause on yours. Uh, Ms. S Shernoff. Okie Dokie. Uh, Mr. Es, and so the board will vote, uh, on Mr. Trois amending the policy, amending the base motion as amended, um, and basically to 85%. I am assuming there's no more discussion. No. Okay. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote
Clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes 8 2 1 with Mrs. Griffiths in opposition to the vote. Now Ms. Shernoff should, can we go ahead and do it now? Mr. Allen? Thank you, chairman. Or do you want me to close it out first and then do it? No, this is fine. Yes. Okay. Go Ms. Cheryl, can you just make the motion again and then we'll second someone else? And second it. I know, I'm sorry. I move that the Loudoun County School Board adopt the current red line version of Policy 81 55 school assignment
as amended, but direct staff to present to the Student Services Committee. A new policy in the next year that allows instructional suitability for that outlines instructional suitability for school reassignment. That is for the next year. Policy 81 55 will guide the process for special permissions, but the forthcoming policy will ensure instructional suitability is the avenue for school assignments or transfers moving forward work. I have a motion by Ms. S Shernoff. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Vice Chair Donahue. It's been properly moved and seconded. She's already kind of discussed it,
unless you wanna discuss it again. Ms. Shernoff, anybody else have any discussion? No. Okay. We will move to vote on this. Um, clerk, please open the vote Board members please record your vote. Um, clerk, please close and display the vote. That motion passes six to three with Mrs. Griffith. Ms. Chandler, Mr. Stree, wait, which one was it? This one? Oh, yeah. Uh, Ms. Shernoff, Dr. Rasheed and Ms. LaBelle, uh, I'm sorry I'm,
it's been a long night already with Dr. Deans Chair, Mansfield and Vice Chair Donahue in opposition of the, um, vote, but it's six to 3, 6, 4 3? No. Okay. Now let's go ahead and put a bow on it. Um, I'll reopen the discussion on the newly amended base motion. Is there any discussion re regarding the main motion as we have amended it a lot? No. Okay. Clerk, please open the vote. Board members, please record your vote Clerk please close and display the vote.
That motion passes unanimously. Yay. Okay. It is nine 30. I I am wondering if we want to move all of these information items to the next board. Let's go. I think that's unanimous Happy holidays, but you're not, we're not through, oh wait, we have a timeout. Oh, we can't, we can't do that as I'm seeing which matter. Okay. Which information items do we need to go through? The budget item? The budget item? Yes, please. Okay. We'll go through that budget item
and then we will put all the rest to bed, okay? Okay. All right. So we will move to item 13.02. Is that the budget item that we're talking about? Yes. Okay. F uh, 13.02. Department of Business and Financial Services, FY 27. Preliminary fiscal forecast presented by Ms. Sharon Willoughby. Ms. Willoughby. So I have one last update related to the budget process before Dr. Spence would present, um, his superintendent's estimate of needs next month.
Typically, the fiscal forecast is produced to provide the school board with insight into the budget development and to share similar information with the county to support their planning this evening. I'm gonna quickly walk you through the updates on our revenue projections and discuss how the current lack of state guidance is influencing the FY 27 fiscal forecast. I think this is the latest that we've ever done, the fiscal forecast for those reasons. Exactly. I like to begin with a high level update on our projected revenues for next year. Our funding comes from three main, um, sources
that are outlined on this slide. The first category on the left is other revenues and federal funding. This category includes our various other revenue streams, along with a small amount of federal funding. We anticipate increases in several accounts such as facility use charges and tuition for online courses. On the federal side, our revenues are limited mostly to Medicaid reimbursements for special education services and program funding. For J-R-O-T-C, our federal grants are not in our operating fund and are budgeted in the grant fund separately. In previous years, we did receive federal impact aid,
which helps offset the loss of local revenue due to federally owned non-taxable property. However, for the last three years, we have not met the eligibility requirements. And so as a result, we are going to discontinue efforts to budget for this or pursue this small revenue source. It's about a hundred thousand dollars in the past. If program rules change in the future, we will revisit whether it is worthwhile to apply again. The second category was related to state funding. The state funding typically provides about 30% of our operating revenue. Next year is the first year of the state's biennium budget,
which means the Virginia Department of Education is conducting re benchmarking a process that updates the data and formulas used to calculate state aid. This year to date, the state has released very limited information making revenue projections, especially challenging one p keys. One key piece we do know is our updated local composite index, also known as our LCI, the state's measure of how cost for public education should be shared between the state and localities. Our LCI for the next biennium has increased from 0.5518
to 0.5728. This means the sta the state now expects Loudoun County to cover 57.28% of education costs. It is important to highlight that Loudon, like most Virginia localities already contributed, contributes far more than the LCI requires demonstrating that the state formula significantly underestimates the true cost of public education. This 2.1% LCI increase is unusually large. In most years, the changes are only fractions of a percent.
Our rough estimate is that this shift results in a loss of nearly 20 million in state revenue that offsets other projected increases. We were anticipating, um, from the state. We are now waiting for two major updates. The governor's proposed budget, which we found out today, um, will be released tomorrow. So we will be very in tune to what is included in that budget, as well as video e's detailed funding templates, which calculate our exact state allocations. Once, once all that information is released, we will be able
to update our revenue projections. The last category is our county funding, which typically funds about 70% of our operating budget. County revenue comes primarily from property tax and real property taxes each year. The county estimates its total tax collections and after accounting for capital project needs debt service and contributions to the affordable housing fund, historically allocates around 60% of remaining revenues to LCPS. In recent years, growth into the data center tax base has significantly increased total county revenue.
However, county staff have has raised concerns that Loudon is becoming overreliant on data center revenues. Their long range projections show that by around 2030, which is only five short years away, data center tax revenue is likely to decline as the Indus industry is expected to be fully built out by then to prepare for that decline. The county is now implementing budgetary constraints. The large pot of tax revenue still exists, but the county is capping how much of it flows to LCPS In general county operations.
Excess revenues are being directed primarily to capital projects with a portion allocated to the affordable housing fund. This approach reflects the budget guidance recommended by county staff, and that was acted on by the County Finance Committee on December 9th. While there was some committee discussion about whether this was the right financial approach, the final county budget guidance was supportive of the approach and maintained all current tax rates as displayed on this slide. This results in about 105 million in new funding for LCPS. So, in summary, we are expecting minimal
increases in our other revenue category. The state revenues are flat at this time until we see what the governor re um, proposes in his budget tomorrow. And the county guidance provides 105 million in additional funding. So all combined, we could say roughly 105 million. And just to put in context, our budget, um, increased last year was 137 million. Because of the significant uncertainty around state funding and other variables, we have developed a budget sliding scale to guide the development of the superintendent's estimate of needs.
As a reminder, um, as I've stated, the governor will release his budget tomorrow and we expect, hopefully, that the detailed state funding templates, um, are not too long after that. This places the release of critical information right in in the middle of the holidays and very close to the January 15th CO presentation to prepare for a range of possible revenue outcomes. The sliding scale includes various scenarios starting with Plan A, which is the second box shaded light green. That is our balance scenario. Plan A, um,
is depicting the revenues equaling projected expenditures. It assumes that the Governor's Purpo budget does not significantly change our current state revenue projections. It also assumes that the governor's budget will adopt or include VRS, the VRS board's recommended rate reduction, which would generate approximately $27 million in savings for LCPS that we could then reallocate. While the VRS board has recommended the reduction, the state is not required to accept it, and there has been precedent in the past for the state choosing not to follow VRS recommendations
Under Plan A, we assume these savings combined with projected funding would be reallocated to cover the highest priority needs identified by departments so far. Although we do not yet have a final detailed list, we can assure you that these priorities reflect continued strategic investments and also, um, reflect the board feedback from the budget work sessions we have held to date. Compensation is also aligned with the collective bargaining agreement, um, is also included in this plan, even though it's not depicted on the slide. If funding was to be higher than Plan A and we moved one box to the left.
So if the governor's budget provided additional funding, we would be able to add back items that had been removed to maintain a balanced budget as depicted in Plan A and could fund additional priorities previously identified by departments. Plan C would slide us all the way to the far right in the red section and would represent the most challenging scenario. It assumes all plan A conditions except that the state does not accept the VRS rate reduction. Without that reduction, we will lose approximately 27.3 million in assumed savings that had been reallocated to fund other investments.
To remain balanced, the superintendent and cabinet would need to identify 27.3 million in reductions, determining which priorities must remain in the budget and which would need to be deferred or removed. Plan B, which is in the middle shaded jello, is a moderate reduction scenario. Maybe the state includes the VRS rate reduction, but provides less state funding than what we assumed in plan a. Similar to similarly, we would, again, prioritize items to match available funding and maintain a balanced budget. Key principles across all scenarios though, is
that compensation would remain fully included, and we do not anticipate changes to obligations under the collective bargaining agreement. Also, as Dr. Spence has emphasized in prior years, it remains his intent to present a CO that fits within the county's funding guidance. Regardless of which funding scenario materializes to say that the budget team, departments and cabinet have been busy would be an understatement and there is still a great deal of work ahead. We are actively finalizing numbers, preparing the budget book and developing present presentations in anticipation of the school board's budget review process
that begins next month. That process will officially begin on January 15th. When Dr. Sp presents his superintendent's estimate of needs, we will then move into a series of budget work sessions and hold two public hearings as outlined in the budget calendar. And then this cycle concludes with the school board's budget adoption on February 3rd. Despite the many challenges and unknowns, our team remains committed to developing a budget that reflects our values, supports our staff, and meets the needs of all students. The board's input has been essential as we navi navigate this complex process, and we look forward to continuing this work in the coming
weeks and are confident that we will deliver a budget that balances fiscal responsibility with the educational priorities of our community. And with that, I am happy to take any questions if you have any. Thank you, Ms. Willoughby, uh, board members, you got any questions? No. Thank you. Um, okay. So, uh, per a temperature check of the board, they have agreed to move all of the other items to the next board meeting. Um, all of the information items, Madam Chairman?
Yes, sir. Can, Can I, um, suggest we put the first quarter forecast into a board update and remove that from information for the next meeting? I'm sorry, you wanna put it where? In an update? 'cause it'll begin. It's gonna cover the first January meeting. Yeah. Yes, I think we could do that. It, well, the temperature of the board, is that fine? First quarter forecast in a board update? Yes. Okay. That's fine. Thank you. Okay, so we'll move on to item 14, board members comment and committee reports.
Um, as a point of privilege, while we usually have three minutes, I'd like to extend the outgoing members more time to speak for final remarks. And I would like to go last please. So, Ms. LaBelle, would you like, do you have any think you'd like to share? Yes. Thank you Madam Chair. We've had a very successful, uh, year in SAC. We have gotten a lot of policies straightened out, put forward. Uh, I feel we've done the same thing in the other committees that I I participate in and also in CA, uh, we have an upcoming program
called When the Bus Stops Coming. That's going to be put on by ciac. It's very, very informative and I encourage anyone with, uh, special, uh, students with disabilities to attend so that they can start to plan for what happens when the bus stops coming. Um, I have the opportunity this final week to celebrate the holidays. I'm going to be attending a musical program put on by both Woodgrove and Mountain View Elementary School together.
They've worked out that prog program together. That's going to be Wednesday morning. And then I'm going to be going to a sing along with the students and families at Lucks. So that should be an interesting thing to see, you know, 'cause we're having an indoor picnic. I understand. But, um, so things are going along swimmingly, I think. And I hope everybody has a wonderful and happy winter break. Thank you. Thank you Ms. LaBelle. Dr. Rashid Thank you chair. At the December Specialized Programs
and Centers Committee meeting, we looked at the results from the recent special programs and academies, interest survey data. While there were thousands of responses, only 4% of families participated. Both students and parents expressed the most interest in STEM programs and college and career readiness, which was not surprising. However, that doesn't mean that there is no interest at all in other pathways. So I would like to see a new program in an area such as law and public safety so that we can provide diverse pathways in other in-demand career fields.
I included links to the full presentation on my social media and in my newsletter. If you'd like to look further into the survey results, uh, the 2026 SPCC meeting calendar will be set during the upcoming school board organizational meeting. I'd like to, um, recognize Mr. Refi's commitment and dedication during his time on the SPC Committee. Overall, I am grateful to all of those school board members who have given their time and effort and over these past two years, and to those who will not be returning to the day in 2026. I thank you and I wish you the best in
whatever comes next for you. Thank you, Ms. Turnoff. Thank you, Madam Chair. I wanted to give a quick shout out to Loudoun County High school football team who made it to the state final for the first time ever in school history. They were sadly the runner up, but, um, it was a great season and so hats off to them. Congrats. Uh, at our December CNI meeting, we discussed the Welcome Center East update, uh, that in the development and the construction that's going on there, uh, and is projected to open in early spring 2026. So I know a lot of us are excited to see that.
We also had an update from Headstart and, um, step preschool, an update on federal and state funding, which where they shared some very excellent news that they just underwent. Um, an audit that is unofficially went very well, and that they have received their federal funding for the next year. And so that is exciting. But we also discussed future steps for possible alignment of, um, the programs and how that might work with the funding. And then we had an instructional technology update. Um, the instructional technology office provided work, um,
and data related to one one device usage in LCPS classrooms. Um, as well as an update on instructional guidance for teachers and school data. We talked about a proposal of moving first graders away from one-to-one devices and using classroom carts. I asked if we could explore moving that to K three and stay tuned for more on that, possibly in the budget season. Um, as the terms of our three colleagues come to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank Chair Mansfield, Mr. Refe and Dr. Deans for their service to this board and to our district. Serving on a school board requires a significant commitment
of time, energy, and care for our students, staff, and community. Because we began our service together, we share a unique bond rooted in learning the work side by side, and navigating the challenges and responsibilities of governance As a team, I am grateful for their dedication and for each of you that have shown your willingness to engage thoughtfully in this work every day. I wish you the very best in your next chapter. And thank you for the important role that you have played in shaping our district. We will miss you. Thank you, Ms. Turnoff. I'm gonna skip Mr. Stree, uh, vice Chair Donahue.
Um, thank you Madam Chair. Um, the Student Services Committee, uh, has not met yet for December. Our last meeting of the year will be, in fact, on Thursday the 18th at four 30, uh, where we will be discussing, um, proposed new policy 53 40 safe and supportive removal of students from the educational setting. Um, that's all I have as far as board updates. Um, I also want to, uh, to extend my gratitude to Mr. Stree, to Dr. Deans and to Chairman Man's Field for, uh, as, as a parent, uh,
with students in the, in the schools here in the county. Um, and as a colleague, I want to extend my gratitude to the three of you for having taken on this incredible responsibility. Um, we all came in together, uh, brand new and not, I think most of us not really having much of an idea of what we were getting into, except knowing that it was gonna be a lot of work and a lot of people being mad at us all the time. Um, um, but, uh, we've been, as a parent and as a colleague, uh, I have been lucky to have the three
of you on the board for the last two years. I am grateful for your commitment to our students in our community, um, to our community, and to our schools. I have had wonderful opportunities to learn from each and to each of the three of you. Uh, am grateful for everything that you've given to this board. Um, I will miss you, um, keep in touch and come back to heckle us at public comment. You know it. Thank you. Vice Chair Donahue. I'm gonna go to Ms. Chandler.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, it's been an incredibly busy period. Um, I, I feel like we hit the ground 'cause as soon as the election was over, um, we really had had, um, a very heavy lift with capital budget meetings and the boundary change process. And, and of course, everybody has, uh, shown up and put in the effort to do the work, um, in this incredibly busy period. I, you know, I, again, I feel like I gave you my LAMP updates tonight, but, um, I, I have also been spending time recently
with many students from Dominion High School, um, who participate in a CS span competition through a dual, um, enrollment course. And, um, it is so delightful to be able to speak directly to students and, and through their questions to learn more about what their concerns are, especially at the high school level. Um, I also wanna thank, thank Mr. Lewis and his team, um, for spending some time observing traffic with me last week. It was fascinating to see how your processes work and to learn more about how we really do try to efficiently manage, um, the resources that we have.
Um, and to my outgoing colleagues, I hope I have shown you how much respect I have for you throughout the time that we've spent together. It has been a joy to work with each one of you. And I feel like I have learned so much from each one of you through your service to the school board. Um, thank you for the work that you've done in, um, the capacity of supporting not only our division, but our 80,000 students. Um, we are better for your being here, and thank you. I'm, try, try not to cry now. Mrs. Griffiss. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Um, as far as a, as an update, I plan to go to more schools next year that are, um, outside my district. I'm hoping to do more events as far as plays, shows. Um, I do wanna put it out there to our schools that, um, they can invite me anytime. Um, and I'll most likely accept, uh, the invitation. Um, I'm, I'm very short here, but, um, I look forward to working with our new school board starting in January. And I do wanna wish the best to our outgoing members and wish everyone a happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas
and a Happy New Year. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Stree. And for the last time. Thank you, Madam Chair. Um, I, I'm waiting to see if that clock starts ticking. I have a little bit of PTS That the, no, that's not going to work. I told much time as you want. Um, so yeah, first off, I want to, I, I want to thank everyone. Um, as, as my, as I come to the end of my two year term representing the Sterling District, I wanna begin with what matters most, I think is gratitude, um, to the families and, uh, my community members. Thank you for placing your trust in me. Thank you for your advocacy, for sharing your concerns
and your hopes and for your belief that public education is a shared responsibility that we carry together, um, to the educators and staff across Loudoun County Public Schools. Um, I'll try to name as many categories as I can. Teachers, principals, counselors, bus drivers, custodians, support teams, um, whether I've seen you in school or I've knocked on your door, um, those are the stories that I'll remember the most. Um, I've knocked on doors of bus drivers who were on the job only because they got to take their grandchild to school every day. And like stories like that, that, that, that were, uh,
quite amazing that I, I have the gift of, you know, holding after my, my, my time is over here. Um, and, you know, I just wanna thank you for the work that happens, whether that's before the bell rings every day, or, um, you know, after the buildings are empty. Um, to my fellow board members, it's been an honor to serve alongside you. Um, I learned so much from all of you. We haven't always agreed, but that is, uh, both inevitable and necessary in this role. Um, we've pushed each other and, and the school division. Um, but every success that we achieved, I believe, is because we chose to work together, um, when it mattered most.
We chose purpose over posture and what was best for kids. Chairman Mansfield, thank you for your study leadership and for your friendship over the last two years. Um, can't speak to all of you, but Dr. Deans, Dr. Deans, you are an inspiration, let me tell you. Um, uh, Dr. Spence, thank you for your leadership when this community needed it most. Um, and to you and to the entire leadership team and the cabinet, thank you for carrying the weight of this work with integrity, clarity, um, and care.
And maybe most importantly, thank you all for choosing LCPS to do your life's work. Um, the community is better for it. Um, my parting advice to the incoming board is really just protect the why. Um, the work will pull you toward urgency, noise, politicking, and short term wins. But your responsibility is to remain anchored to what matters most, and to keep the real work front and center student learning belonging opportunity, and the outcomes that reflect the whole child. Um, and remember this, our children are watching, they may not remember every policy that we pass, but they will remember what leadership looked like.
They'll, they will model what, what they see. And in a time of alarming rhetoric and poor examples in the public arena, um, of a time of certainty over curiosity or ideology over ideas, um, our school division must continue to model a different kind of leadership. And that's the leadership of an educator, um, leadership that can ultimately teach students how, how to engage in the world that they are inheriting. Um, and none of this work is possible, obviously without our educators, um, will never be better than the teachers in our classrooms and the educators and leaders in our buildings.
Um, our role as a board is to give them the resources, the space and trust to make the right decisions for kids, invest in them, and to govern the system in a way that pushes the boundaries and grounds us in our mission. Um, and so before I close, I wanna share a quick moment that captures for me the heart of this division. One evening we had a school board meeting, and while my wife was traveling for work, our childcare fell through. Um, I don't know if any of you know, know the full details of this, but luckily at the last minute, someone was able to come to the admin building and watch my son while I was here.
And he was upstairs in the school board suite. Um, probably wreaking havoc up there. Um, and as of course, as a 4-year-old or 5-year-old at the time, um, are prone to do, he, he got started getting restless and we were about to go into a closed session. And the, the, the audience had emptied. Um, and so I, I, I got a little frantic, so I, I called them down here. I said, okay, just move him to the main room. Not a lot of people here. Um, and I went into closed session with no phone and I had no idea what he was going to do in this main room. And I was so worried, um, 'cause he was tired.
Um, and when we came out after more than an hour later, I walked into the main room again, no updates. And I saw him sitting in the front row right there. Um, and you all, I think remember this, um, he, the room had empty. I noticed the staff, they were around him, and they had put a Disney movie on this screen behind me in like, surround sound. And he was sitting calm, relaxed, completely at ease. He felt as if he was home. Um, and he just didn't wanna be bothered. And he was a little upset that we had to close the, the movie. But he was surrounded by Mr. Jackson, my Miss Byrne
and some of the, uh, best educators that I've ever met, right on that side. Um, and I should have known better to than to think I had anything to worry about, because he was in the hands of our teachers and LCPS. And in that moment, I was reminded of something very powerful. Even on the longest nights, even in the most procedural moments or in the most difficult circumstances, the leaders in educators in this division, in this division, never forget who this work is for. It's for these kids. It's all 80,000 plus of them. And please don't ever forget that. As hard as this work is sometimes.
Um, it was also a bonus that every day for two weeks, he told his mom how my job was so much better than hers. Um, and I, as I step away from this role, my hope is that you all continue to lead with purpose, humility, and courage, um, and protect the why. And that we keep our focus where it belongs on the students who walk through the doors every day. And as Dr. Spence says, on the kids who depend on us to get this right, thank you for the honor of serving. And thank you for continuing the work each and every day when the doors open and our students arrive. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Str. Dr. Deans. I was not aware that we were going to have this extended time, but I do want to share that. Years ago, um, in Hampton, Virginia, um, I was in the best high school in the city, the high school where my children attended. I was in heaven. And the superintendent came to me and said, I need you to become principal. I was an assistant principal at my children's school.
He said, I need you to become principal of the alternative school. And I said, where? And it was in a building where half the building had been, had been, um, um, rejected by the city, by the city, um, um, inspectors. And, um, so I went home crying and Ray said, I'm gonna go talk to that Billy Kennedy and see what he gotta say. And Billy Kennedy said to Ray, there's no one I know who has a passion as strong as your wife for kids.
And so it is that I have had that passion throughout my 55 years of education. And it won't stop. My 15-year-old granddaughter says that you all need to call me back for some meetings so I don't be on her. So, so heavy and tracking her. So, so it is that I have enjoyed my time at, on the board here in Low County. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would ever be a school board member. When I was working in Hampton, I often had to answer
to the school board with some of my decisions. And as a result, I thought, Hmm, I can't be a school board member. But when the community called me to run, I actually had a vision that told me that I was to run and I ran and I won even in a, in a, a county where I was unknown. So this has been the pinnacle of foot of 55 years of education. And my love for education has not been dampened
because of this experience. It has only been strengthened. So Dr. Spence and staff, fellow school board members and families, and I say families 'cause some families bring me soup when I'm homesick, I say to all of you that you have given me the pinnacle of an education career. And for that, I am thankful. I'm thankful to God, and I'm thankful to you. Thank you. Well, hard to, um, be the last one,
but, um, it's with mixed emotions. And yet a very full heart that I have chaired this final meeting before stepping down from the school board. Oh, I'm not gonna get through it. While the time has flown by far fast than I could have imagined, it's been extraordinary honor to serve this community alongside my fellow board members, Carrie Samara, Lauren Arbin, and Linda v April, and Dina, our dedicated
staff, Dr. Spence. And I don't know, do you guys want I can name all your cabinet and all of the team and the, and everyone back there and our, our dedicated staff and our administration. I'm profoundly thankful to the parents, educators, students and community members who showed up, spoke up, partnered with us every single step of the way. This work is the strongest when it's shared. And together we sincerely challenged each other. We listened with intention and kept our focus where it belongs on ensuring.
LCPS is a place where every child can thrive and every family feels supported, valued, and heard. As a board, I am incredibly proud of the culture. We all worked hard to build one rooted in collaboration, respect, and shared responsibility. Even in moments of national pressure. And during some of our most difficult decisions, we came together as a governing bo body and as partners with our administration, choosing cooperation over division and doing what was right for our students
even when it was not easy and politically convenient. By listening to our community and our educators, we built bridges and advanced meaningful policies, including cell phone policies and the diabetes policy. We strengthened special education practices by eliminating the use of restraint, seclusion, and committed to students' futures. Through the creation of a transition center, we partnered closely with families to improve playground policies, expand inclusive playgrounds, and accelerated timelines. Within the CIP budget, we expanded
CTE opportunities. We invested in our educators through pay raises, pay raises, and retention bonuses. And we established a new performance monitoring committee to closely examine student achievement and outcomes. And all of these examples, just all that in just two years, is just a fraction of what we've accomplished this board has accomplished in partnership with staff, families, and community. Okay. I would be remiss if I didn't mention literacy because it's my last time. My hope is that the next board takes a deeper look into the
practices of literacy instruction, secondary schools, including core MTSS, el, and Special Education at present, we do have state approved curriculum, which at its foundation is still grounded in Lucy Calkins and Words Their Way, neither of which is evidence-based literary instruction, grounded in science-based reading and research. And please note that you can't intervene your way out of poor core instruction. That said, we do have some very effective intervention programs, but for whatever reason, they're not being implemented with fidelity. And I know we're working on that.
So please keep it on your radar. It's also essential to recognize that higher education institutions are unlikely to alter teacher preparation. So the district must consistently retrain its teachers on effective methods for teaching, reading, writing, and spelling. But to achieve this, resources must be allocated. And science of reading experts must be brought in for consultation. Ongoing coaching, achieving gains requires at a significant amount of time as well as substantial financial and emotional commitment. But as Dr. Pam Kassner said,
a member who's been on higher education task force and, uh, president of the Pennsylvania, uh, reading League, said, every teacher deserves to know the science of reading. And every child deserves a teacher who knows it. Okay, that part's over. Serving as board chair, I have to say, has taught me the enduring value of humility, of listening. First, leading with integrity, and doing the right thing, even when the pressure to do so is super loud. And most importantly, it reinforce that students must always come first. I will forever and ever value the relationship I've built
over these past two years. And I remain confident that the momentum we have created will continue with the incoming members. I am looking very forward to watching this board continue to move LCPS forward. And last, I'll leave you with a quote by Marian Wright Edelman, who's the founder and president emerita of the Children's Defense Fund. And this resonates with me to my very soul. Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your support, your partnership, your commitment to our schools, and to Loudoun.
It's been a privilege to serve alongside you. Happy holidays to each and every one of you. And that's all I gotta say. So without board members, do we have any more new bus, new business? No. Nope. Seeing as there is no more business to discuss, the December 16th, 2025 Loudoun County School Board meeting is now adjourned. Please have a wonderful winter break and drive home safely.