I just can't see them over on this chair.
Good evening. I call to order this January 21st, 2025.
Loudoun County, FY 2026 operating budget school board work session. Dr. Mark Bergen will be serving tonight as the superintendent's designee since Dr. Spence is unable to be here tonight. I have been well, is Vice Chair Donahue on Well, we'll continue with, um, Mr.
Trei. I've been notified that Mr. Trei would like to remote, would like to participate remotely in tonight's school board meeting. Mr. Trei, please state your location and whether this is a medical or personal matter. Um, I am in Ashburn, Virginia at my home. This is a medical matter. Is anyone present with you at this location? If so, please state their names. My wife and son are with me at home, but I'm in a separate room.
Did you say there was a medical exemption? Yes. Okay. Um, I'll now entertain a motion that, uh, Mr. Refi's request to participate remotely be granted. So, So moved. I'm gonna Dr. Deans, uh, a move a motion by Dr. Deans. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second. By Mrs. Chandler, the motion to grant, Mr. Stree request to participate remotely has
been properly moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. We will go ahead and take a vote. Clerk, would you mind please opening the vote?
Oh, sorry. Oh, it's over there. Okay. Um, board members, please record your vote. Clerk please close and display the vote. That motion passes with Vice Chair Donahue and Mr. Raffe absent for the vote. Welcome to the meeting, Mr. Raffe. Thank you. Um,
and we will Continue to go on. Um, if somebody would please let me know when Vice Chair Donahue is present. At this time. We'll continue with disclosures and I will start with my glasses. As member of the Loudoun County School Board, I will 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 board member, 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 well in the excess of the statutory three employees whose interest 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. Mrs. Griffith. 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 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. Thank you. Thank you, Mrs. Grs. Uh, Mr. Refe? 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 you, Mr. Trei. Ms. LaBelle. Thank you Madam Chair. As a member of the 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 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. 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 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. Thank you, Ms. Shernoff. And with that, we will move on to agenda item three FY 26 operating budget work session,
starting with 3.01, investing in our students, presented by Dr. Ashley Ellis, chief Academic Officer, Ray Mitchell, chief of schools, Tedra Richardson, assistant Superintendent Suit student services. Neil Slevin, assistant superintendent teaching and learning. The floor is yours. Thank you. Good evening, chair Mansfield and members of the board. We are excited to spend time with you this evening. Diving into how the FY 26 superintendent's estimate
of needs invests in our students. We have taken a collaborative approach across academics and school leadership, including teaching and learning and student services because it truly takes all of our departments and all of our amazing teams to support our students successfully. Next slide isn't working. Yeah. Thank you. This evening, we will be touching on many
of the initiatives you all identified as we were developing the superintendent's estimate of needs. And you'll see these denoted throughout the presentation with the little orange gavel that you have seen in previous presentations. We're going to be sharing information related to two main areas of focus for our students, for our students, learning paths, offerings and access, as well as student support and wellbeing. And we'll start with a conversation
around non comprehensive schools and programming. The concept of non comprehensive schools represents a diversified approach to education in LCPS offering specialized learning environments tailored to the diverse needs and talents of our students. Let's talk a little bit about our transition center. The LCPS Transition Center for Students with Disabilities is embarking on a pivotal journey in FY 26, marking it as a crucial planning year
with no funds being requested at this stage. During this period, the dedicated team will be diligently drafting the center's concept and writing the special programs proposal to establish a robust foundation for this e initiative. In addition, the team will host a round table discussion in the spring, aiming to engage and garner support from our community partners. Partners. Next, let's talk a little bit more.
Since we had a presentation last week about our LCPS Recovery School. We are poised for an impactful launch in FY 26 necessitating an allocation of 8.5 full-time equivalent positions and a budget of approximately $900,000. The requested funding will support a dedicated team comprising four general education teachers, two special education teachers, two behavioral assistants,
a part-time school social worker, one principal and one clinical coordinator. Earlier today, staff received a question about the possibility of combining some of our non comprehensive school programs. Well, we'd like to talk a little bit about that. We don't advise in combining any of our existing non comprehensive programs or combining any of our newly proposed programs
for the following reasons. Tailored support, it would limit the ability to offer personalized services and resources, a focused environment. The Recovery School offers a substance-free environment that is essential for students that are in recovery. While the Transition Center focuses on the development of life skills for our students with disabilities, also, our specialized staff,
the staff at these schools are trained to work with the specific student populations and provide specialized support. And lastly, our community and peer support. While both the Recovery School and the Transition Center Foster a strong sense of community and peer support, students will benefit from being surrounded by peers who share similar experiences as well as similar challenges. The combining of these programs with other educational options would disrupt
that supportive network. Continuing on with our non comprehensive school support, an executive principal for these alternative programs would be able to provide some very specific support to these principals. Our non comprehensive schools and programs offer various pathways for secondary students to meet on-time graduation requirements through different scheduling options, such as with Robi
and the North Star School allows students to explore innovative pathways and conduct research such as with academies of Loudoun and provide environments that may be more conducive to student learning, such as the Alternative Education Program, virtual Distance Learning, and the Recovery School. Similar to our comprehensive schools, these principles are responsible for aligning their goals with the strategic plan and the school improvement process.
These schools and programs assist students throughout the division and collaborate with multiple comprehensive schools and central office departments and executive principal of alternative programming with support these principles, ensuring effective leadership of their programs and student success, while also asur ensuring alignment with our comprehensive schools.
So continuing the conversation about alternative education programs. Looking at specifically for elementary, as the ones previously mentioned, support our secondary students. The newly proposed elementary alternative education program is designed to support students who face significant challenges in their educational journey. This program aims to serve students who have difficulty managing anger and frustration, a history
of behavioral issues and unmet social and emotional needs. In order to establish a solid foundation for the program, we have identified the need for two general education teachers, two teaching assistants, one behavioral assistant, and one school social worker. Our students will be grouped by K two and three five to optimize the behavioral interventions to their developmental needs.
By addressing these specific profiles, the program will focus on enhancing students problem solving and conflict resolution skills, fostering empathy and improving their ability to understand different perspectives. Additionally, it will provide a structured environment where students can develop positive relationships with mentors and learn to adhere to rules through targeted
interventions and personalized support. This alternative education program will strive to create a nurturing and effective learning environment that empowers students to succeed academically and personally. Recognizing the board's interest in expanding special programs and instructional pathways. The FY 26 CO includes two initiatives related to special programs. First, the Access Academy, our lab school
that is in development with George Mason University and Northern Virginia Community College. While half of the LCPS Access Coordinator position will be funded by the Lab School grant through George Mason University, we do, um, locally fund the remaining half of that FTE and we are moving that po that half a position into the FY 26 operating budget. Currently, this position is being funded in FY 25 with remaining funds that were in our Go Virginia Grant, um, which are, will be expired at the end of this fiscal year.
Second, the FY 26 budget includes funds to support a planning year to support the launch of the Global and Linguistic Studies Academy. This program, which will be placed at a school to be determined, will launch in school year 20 26 27. A proposal has been shared with the special programs and centers committee and will come to the full board this spring for approval among other courses. This program will also expand, expand language opportunities in LCPS
by expanding the accessibility of Mandarin and introducing Arabic to our school system. The FFY 26 budget also supports the expansion of existing programs or course pathways. First at Heritage and Loudoun Valley High School as Loudoun County, as Heritage and La Valley High School continue to develop their IB pathways, we have included additional staffing to support the establishment of cohorts for the diploma program.
Second, recognizing the popularity of American Sign Language, while also recognizing the difficulty in finding qualified staff members. We have included FTEs to support essentially managed deployment of a SL teachers at four high schools and clusters that do not currently offer a SL. This will be a phased imple implementation over time as these programs continue to grow in the future.
Additionally, next year, we will be expanding our dual language immersion program into second grade at Potomac Elementary School and Sanders Corner El Corners Elementary School. As you can see by this chart, our dual language immersion program will continue to impact the budget over the next three fiscal years before, before it is fully built out. We are excited to include funding for the expansion of the welcome center in FY 26 to Eastern Loudoun. This will support the standing up of our Eastern Welcome,
Eastern Welcome Center in January of 2026 when the property becomes available. I would like to take a moment to remind the board of a few benefits to our community that the welcome center will provide first for our teachers. One benefit will be the return of instructional hours prior to the welcome center. Our EL teachers were responsible for conducting screenings at their school. Now they can dedicate more time to teaching and supporting students. There will also be a reduction of administrative burden
for our teachers in schools, as they are will no longer be responsible for requesting EL records from other US school divisions for transfer students generating notification, letters of screener results, or translation and interpretation support during registration and evaluation of secondary transcripts. There are also benefits for our families joining LCPS. They'll Welcome Center offers a centralized registration process. Families registering students at multiple levels can compete the entire process at one location,
making it more convenient and efficient. Families will be provided assistance with Parent View. The Welcome Center supports families in using Parent View, ensuring they can access important information about their child's education. And finally, families will receive consistent messaging. They receive a consistent message around school programs, resources, and pathways to graduation, helping them better navigate the educational system. In Loudoun. Slides 11 and 12 show a quick overview of which schools will be supported by each location,
while more schools will be assigned to the Western location, this distribution will divide student family volume almost equally between the two locations. Next slide, please. These requested positions will complete staffing for the Leesburg location and begin the opening of the Sterling Welcome Center location. To ensure consistency and delivery of services, we are requesting an assessment
data specialist to support both locations alongside the Welcome Center supervisor. Additionally, we are requesting a reclassification of current two welcome center assessors to specialists to support administrative duties at each location respectively. The Assist assessment data specialist will assist all welcome center staff to audit their data to ensure accuracy. The position will be responsible for maintaining user accounts for various assessment management systems, uploading student data to various assessment platforms
to generate test ticket tickets, downloading student assessment results, uploading assessment scores to the student information system, and generating screener notification letters. The position also will be responsible for the daily schedule, the welcome center for each site, populating the sch, populating the schedule with additional student demographic information from the SIS via A clip app click app to ensure an efficient appointment flow. Finally, this position is responsible for developing and maintaining various click apps, which will help the welcome center to conduct their day-to-day work more efficiently,
efficiently, and also to conduct audits of the assessment and social academic history data that is entered by the welcome center. The family liaison and registrar will complete staff will complete the staffing needed needed for the welcome center Leesburg location. We were asking for five positions to begin support supporting the Sterling Welcome Center. Expected to open in January of 2026. The program assistant will support visitor management at the Sterling location to include other duties as assigned. The welcome center in Sterling will be the only program at
that location, and so the program assistant will be the front facing position in the, in that building. So now we'll shift gears a little bit and focus on student support and wellbeing. During initial budget discussions, the board prioritized afterschool programming as a need for many of our elementary school students and families. Additionally, staff hears periodically from families about the need for more robust afterschool options, including academic support, enrichment activities,
and transportation from those activities to home. As you know, Loudoun County Parks and Rec oversees the afterschool program, CASA and many, but not all of our elementary schools. There is often a wait list for some CASA programs and there is a cost associated with the program for families and no transportation is provided. The FY 26 cion includes a focus on afterschool programming in a couple of ways. First, it includes approximately $200,000 in afterschool
allotments for elementary schools to support afterschool student interest activities. This will help level the playing field across elementary schools. In terms of the programs they're able to offer without relying exclusively on PTO and PTA funds for support for afterschool programs, the money allocated in the proposed budget will allow for 150 hours of, of afterschool programming per each elementary school. The next is an afterschool pilot program at
five elementary schools. We are taking a two-pronged approach to this pilot. The first will be a partnership with Loudoun County Parks and Rec to offer a plus up CASA program at two schools to include academic and enrichment programming for students. The second will be a partnership with a third party vendor to provide an academic and enrichment program at the the other three schools. Each of these five pilots will be offered at no cost
to families and will have transportation provided. For this first year of the pilot, we are focusing on the five elementary schools in the Parkview High School cluster, including Forest Grove Guilford, rolling Ridge, Sterling Elementary, and Sully Elementary Schools. We plan to work closely with Parks and Rec and have already been engaging in those initial conversations to determine the third to and the third and the third party vendor that we have not yet determined
to monitor the implementation and the success of these programs, parent feedback and other factors before bringing you an update and potential proposal for expanding these afterschool programs in the future. As you may recall, school divisions across the Commonwealth received significant funding from the state to implement the governor's all in Virginia plan. That included a focus on attendance, literacy and learning more specifically for learning tutoring
for elementary and middle school students in reading and math. The all in funds set aside for tutoring were used to pay part-time funds for school selected tutors, a third party vendor who provided tutors to some, some other schools, and a small amount to provide online tutoring as well as a free K 12 on demand online platform for all students. These funds will no longer be available in the future, and in order to maintain the tutoring services, we have included $3 million in the FY 26 estimate of needs
to continue services on some level. Should these funds remain in the final approved budget. The central office would work with the schools to determine the number of students in need of tutoring in each content area and allocate funds to schools based on those student numbers. We would also maintain virtual tutoring for a small number of students as we are currently doing. This would also allow us to maintain the on-demand tutoring essay review, SAT prep, and other free services provided to students in grades K through 12.
One question I do anticipate you all having is around the success of the All in Virginia tutoring program. Unfortunately, I do not have any additional information for you then. I did when we presented a summary at the end of last school year. We continue to collect that data. Um, at that time, I shared that there were mixed responses from schools in terms of the types of tutoring, although they did lean more heavily on the tutors that, uh, they were able to assign locally at the school level
during the school day and after school when it worked best for their scheduling. Uh, we've also heard from the families participating in the virtual tutoring that that has been a positive experience for them. And then overall, I also shared that overall there were slightly positive results in terms of achievement for students who did participate. Now we'll review our behavioral resources to enhance services to students across LCPS.
Currently, we have the following resources available to assist our schools staff and families with behavior specialized instructional facilitators for behavior. They are board certified behavior analysts. They're assigned to clusters and they assist and serve all students in our schools. As you know, we have a robust multi-tiered system of support. We also have positive behavior intervention supports. We have behavior specialists that are specifically assigned
to the Office of Special Education, serving students with emotional disabilities. We also have the 12 new school-based behavior positions for this year that are scheduled to serve 24 elementary schools. That plan is currently under development. We also offer restorative practices and, and additionally, the following professionals also support the prevention and intervention in addition to the other aspects
of their roles in LCPS, our school psychologists, our school social workers, and our school counselors. Now let's touch base on an overview of the new position of the Behavior crisis coordinator. This role will play a crucial role in in, in creating a safe and supportive learning environment for all students, especially those facing challenging be behaviors. They will be responsible for training and implementation of our current SY systems of Mant
and OO karu. They will have a proactive focus to restraint and seclusion working with our schools. They will provide professional development. They will provide data analysis and improvement on our crisis interventions, restraint and seclusion to identify trends and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and make improvement to the school's crisis repo response system.
They will also work collaboratively with school-based staff, such as administrators, teachers, support staff, and parents to, to create a consistent and supportive approach to addressing challenging behavior. The board certified behavior analyst that is requested is a highly trained professional with specialized knowledge and applied behavior analyst. You might be asking what is applied behavior analysis.
It is a type of science, um, that focuses on using the principles of learning and positive reinforcement to to improve socially significant behaviors, often used to help with individuals with autism spectrum disorders or other developmental dis disorders. This role will lead assessments such as functional behavioral assessments. They will design interventions through the use
of the FBA data to drive behavior intervention plans. Data analysis. Our BCBA will collect and analyze data to monitor student progress and adjust interventions, and they will provide training and support to school staff and parents on implementing be their behavior plans and strategies. Lastly, our school behavior specialists will work directly with students, teachers, and families to address challenging
behaviors within the educational setting. They will implement the behavior plans that are developed by the BCBA and provide support in the classroom setting. They will use deescalation techniques and positive behavior supports to prevent and manage challenging behaviors. They will collaborate with teachers and create positive learning environments and and adapt instruction to meet individual needs.
They serve as a resource for teachers providing guidance on classroom management, behavior strategies, and available supports. The role of all of these dedicated professionals plays a pivotal role in nurturing the emotional and academic growth of students, especially those grappling with anxiety, which was a board priority. At the heart of their work lies the keen ability
to identify the subtle signs of anxiety. Once I identified they can delve deeper, conducting the functional behavioral assessments to uncover the underlying causes of anxiety. Armed with this knowledge, they will then craft the individualized behavior intervention plans that serve as roadmaps for our students. These plans may include a variety of strategies such as relaxation techniques, social skills training,
and gradual exposure to anxiety provoking situations. School behavior specialists will then step in to implement these plans along with the classroom teacher providing consistent support in the classroom and teaching students valuable coping techniques. Next, we'll talk about our health clinic staffing. The newly requested student health services positions are poised to have a transformative impact on the school environment,
creating a robust network of support that significantly enhances student wellbeing. The combined efforts of these health clinic staffing positions ensure a comprehensive approach to student health. Nurses provide direct health services ranging from first aid and medication ad administration to health screenings and education, always ensuring that students are healthy and ready to learn.
The registrar will play a crucial role in ensuring smooth in enrollment and access to community school resources, connecting families with essential supports. Nursing assistants offer valuable assistance to nurses, allowing them to focus on the more complex health needs that may arise at our school level. Furthermore, the introduction of continuous glucose monitoring at the school level underscores the need for more re registered nurses
and skilled nursing assistants, close monitoring to manage and support students with diabetes. Effectively For our additional athletic trainers requests, as the number of our student athletes and athletic events continue to grow, the demands on our athletic trainers has increased.
The addition of these five athletic trainers will provide consistent and continuous care to our student athletes supporting their physical and emotional wellbeing. Trainers will be able to provide coverage at athletic events to ensure a quicker response time and proactive prevention efforts and reduce the risk of unnoticed injuries. This strategic investment supports the health, safety and success of our student athletes, while also ensuring
that every athlete receives the attention and care needed to thrive. The Department of Teaching Learning has included five instructional coaches to be placed at schools at the discretion of the Department of Teaching and Learning in the Department of School leadership. While we aspire to have an instructional coach at each of our schools, this measured step will allow us to support additional schools within the system. An instructional coach position is a valued asset
of our principals and school teams. As a school system, we support the value of coaching. These positions are integral to our school leaders in the continuous improvement cycle at our schools. Coaches build confidence. They equip our teachers with new knowledge. They provide perspective on division goals. They provide feedback to teachers and CLTs. They collaborate with other supports that are offered at the school level, and they support our principals as their role has shifted over time in the areas of, in, uh,
in the areas of instruction. By assigning a coach at the division level schools will then have increased flexibility for using their staffing and other areas to address school improvement needs. In the same line of thinking, we have added two math resource teachers and two science resource teachers to the operating budget. Unlike instructional coaches, resource teachers work directly with students in the specific content area, um, excuse me, the specific content area.
In addition to supporting teachers with instruction, we currently have 11 math re resource teachers placed at our schools based on student academic achievement data. The additional tool will allow us to expand the support. The two science resource teachers come from a school level innovation. As a number of our schools have created this position with their own flexible staffing to support science instruction. We are building upon that innovation with two additional positions that'll afford us the
opportunity to expand the support of science at the elementary level. Lexia Core five has been used at L in LCPS since 2023 using funds from the All in Virginia Grant. Lexia is one of the only interventions approved across all components of literacy evaluated by the Virginia Department of Education. The the funds will expire in FY 26 for the all in Virginia,
so the funding must be moved to the elementary reading operating budget. I would like to note that the total cost of this, of this initiative is $670,000. However, the Elementary Reading Office reallocated $400,000 of existing funds to support this purchase. The funding is specific to K five as the middle school Lexia contract has been paid for for three years. I would also like to remind the board that this Lexia Core Five is included in our division literacy plan,
and it is the one product that is approved for all areas for each area of literacy. We do have a goal of continuing to monitor the implementation of Lexia and we'll look forward to sharing results with the board. Second, to support the bridge to enter Advanced Mathematics or the BEAM Program and allow more students to participate, we are adding additional funding into the operating budget. This funding also will provide additional support for Propel
and Level Up reducing the reliance on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant. We received a question earlier in the day regarding why we need to relieve, um, the re reduce the reliance on the Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant and reducing this grant reliance serves two purposes. First, practically speaking, there are a number of FTEs in the HHMI grant, and as each year goes by the salary to compensate those FTEs go up. However, the total grant does not,
and so many of the items that need to be pushed outta the grant are non position related, such as the part-time funding for Propel and Level up in Beam. Second, the intent of this grant and any any grant, um, like the HHI grant, is to see the intervention and many of our local partners, um, expect us to evaluate the effectiveness of our programs. And if they are effective, they would like to see the innovation become standard operating business and, and have those programs funded.
Um, propel and Level Up and Beam have been initiatives in in LCPS for a number of years, and we have slowly over time tried to move some of that funding into the operating budget. Next slide, please, to move towards a phased in updated proficiency based model. For grades K five, we have added four FTEs for English language teachers in elementary school. This increase in targeted and effective teacher to student instruction will ultimately
improve language proficiency and academic outcomes for English learners. Also, to move towards a phased in enhancement to the staffing standard for K three, gifted differentiated classroom instruction or DCI and additional three elementary gifted teachers are needed to support the elementary gifted team expansion beyond Fusion search edge eligibility and the current DCIK two model. We have also included a stipend for elementary fine arts.
This stipend provides compensation for an elementary art or music for elementary art or music staff who responsibilities may include organizing and supervising before and after school student activities such as musical rehearsals, performances, and exhibits. Um, many of these activities are currently sponsored by the PTA or a principal relies on a volunteer. So we are happy to be able to fund this to provide parody across all of our schools. And next, we are also, um, responsive
to the school board priority in moving, um, moving, removing student fees where possible. We are investing funds to remove the fees for supplemental materials for all CTE students across the division. And this is Inc. This includes Banner. LCPS is fortunate to receive grant funds in multiple areas each year. In academics, these funds are often provided to explore
and initiate new programs or initiatives, and as Mr. Slevin said a moment ago, to seed innovation. Additionally, there are often fixed timelines for grant funds or specific rules of use when grant funds are used successfully, and we rely on it year over year. Shifting the funds locally is an important consideration for continuity and expansion of services. We have a few examples of that in the FY 26 budget. The first example is A one FTE from the Perkins Grant
that is currently allocated for A CTE specialist. The other it, the next is an FTE for restorative practices facilitator, and then funds for the threat assessment software that I'll ask let Ms. Richardson speak to. Sorry. Thank you, Dr. Ellis. Securing local funds for the one FTE Restorative Practices facilitator is crucial to maintaining the positive impacts this role has had within our schools. Restorative practices have proven effective in addressing
student conflicts, reducing disciplinary actions, and fostering a more inclusive and supportive school environment. The facilitator plays a key role in guiding the restorative processes, training staff, and supporting students in conflict resolution and community building. With the VDOE Restorative Practices grant no longer being accessible in FY 26, it is essential to integrate this position into the local budget to ensure the continuity of these beneficial practices
and the overall wellbeing of our students. The threat assessment software allocation is an investment in the safety and security of our school community. This software previously funded by the STOP grant has been instrumental in identifying and mitigating potential threats, thereby preventing incidents and, and ensuring a safe learning environment for everyone.
As the stop grant funding will not be available in FY 26. It is important and imperative to support this critical resource through local funds to maintain and enhance our proactive approach to school safety. Continuing with strategic priorities to support all of our students, we have these other positions. Adhering officer, nearly all, each discipline case that is submitted to the Office of School Administration
or OSA requires that a hearing be conducted within legal and regulatory timelines. These cases also require the issuance of detailed communication in advance, and oftentimes the director must step in to support the one hearing officer that OSA currently has. Additionally, OSA now conducts hearings to consider exclusion recommendations and reassignments along with providing professional development
to all administrators as well as immediate support and coaching. When receiving inquiries related to student discipline, an additional hearing officer would be able to support the substantial increase in the work that is being done. The inclusion of two adapted PE teachers in the FY 26 budget is essential to support students with disabilities in achieving their physical education goals. Adapted PE teachers provide specialized instruction tailored
to the unique needs of students with disabilities, ensuring they can participate in and benefit from physical activities. The request for the one CSA coordinator is a focus on case management for students placed in private day and residential facilities, ensuring that they receive appropriate services and support that is tailored to to their individual needs. The coordinator will also conduct monthly visits
to all placement locations for LCPS students, fostering strong communication and collaboration between the schools, families, and external facilities. By securing funding for this position, we enhance the continuity of care and, and educational support for our special education students while ensuring that they receive comprehensive and consistent services that promote their academic and personal growth.
Lastly, um, I'm sorry, not lastly. We have two more, sorry. From student services, um, two FTE for Child Find Child FIND ensures that children from birth through age 21 who reside within a school D vision are provided with appropriate educational opportunities. Child FIND is a critical component of the individuals with Disabilities and Education Act or IDEA, which mandates that schools actively seek out
and evaluate children who may have disabilities to provide them with the necessary supports and services. At this time, we are requesting an additional speech language pathologist be dedicated to, to child find. The SLP will play a vital role in evaluating and providing speech and language services to, to preschool children I that are identified through the child find process. Early identification and intervention of speech and language disorders are crucial for the academic
and social success of our children. We also are requesting an an additional special education teacher who will be responsible for conducting e evaluations, collaborating with families and other pro professionals, and developing and implementing their individualized educational plans. This enhancement will ensure that LCPS can meet its child fine ob obligations efficiently and effectively providing early intervention
services that are critical for the developmental progress of young children. Now lastly, our, our Request for two homebound teachers. They will be providing personalized instruction to students in ensuring that they can, they can con continue their education and stay on track academically during their absence from the traditional classroom setting. This service is vital for maintaining academic continuity
and preventing students from falling behind, ultimately supporting their return to school as soon as they are ready. We had just a couple of more other strategic priorities that Ms. Boland and Ms. Willoughby mentioned in a previous presentation that the team wanted to highlight. First, I can start with the alignment of instructional coach calendars. We are currently have a discrepancy between our elementary coach calendar
and our secondary coach calendar. Secondary coaches are at 207 days to support the principal and their teams in planning for the return of teachers, and our elementary coaches are at 197. So we are proposing to move the elementary co coach contract from 197 days to 207 days to match their secondary counterparts. The Department of Student Services, as you heard last week from Mrs.
Willoughby and Mrs. Boland, have have requested a reclassification of our elementary and middle school registrars who are responsible for managing student enrollment, maintaining accurate student records, and ensuring compliance with state and federal regulations. Currently, all of our high school registrars are 12 months. We have some middle school that are 11 months and some are 12, and so now we're trying to make it standardized across the board for all of our registrars being 12 month in employees.
You also heard last week that we would like to provide a stipend to our elementary lead special education teachers. Leads are responsible for o overseeing the implementation of individualized, um, educational plans, coordinating services with teachers and parents, and ensuring compliance with federal and state regulations. As a division, we have been providing stipends to our secondary leads and not our elementary leads,
and so we're excited to be able to build in this request in the FY 26 budget. Lastly, Matt training stipends. You also heard about that initiative last week. They are responsible for training staff and in, in the man system, which focuses on preventing and managing challenging behaviors through positive behavior support and deescalation techniques at the building level. And as we wrap up, we will just briefly remind you and the public of our upcoming meetings on Thursday.
There will be other presentations regarding other funds. Uh, Ms. Willoughby and her team will share details about next steps regarding budget adoption and a public hearing. And, uh, chairman Mansfield. With that, we thank you for your attention and we'll turn it back to you. Thank you, Dr. Ellis. Um, before we continue with anything, I've been notified that Vice Chair Donahue would like to remotely participate in tonight's school board meeting,
vice Chair Donahue. Would you please state your location and whether this is a medical or personal matter? Uh, yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. I am in my bedroom in my home, and this is, uh, a medical matter. My spouse and minor children are elsewhere somewhere in my home, but I am alone in my room with my dog. I think that takes care of the second question as well. Um, so
therefore I'll entertain a motion that vice chair request Vice Chair Donna Hughes request to participate remotely be granted. Um, yes, Ms. LaBelle has made that motion. Do I have a second? Second. Sorry, Ms. Shernoff. I have a second. By Ms. Ms. Chandler. Um, it's been properly moved and seconded. Uh, is there any discussion? No. Uh, seeing none Will go ahead with the vote Clerk, please open the vote.
Can't see it. Is it up here? Oh, there it is. Okay. Uh, board members, please record your vote. Mr. Refe, would you please, uh, state your vote? Yes. And would you please, uh, clerk, would you please close and display the vote? That motion passes, um, unanimously with, uh,
vice Chair Donahue, absent for the vote. But, uh, welcome to the meeting, Ms. Uh, Vice-Chair Donahue. Now, do you have access to your disclosure? Yes. Thank you, Madam Chair. Uh, thank you for, uh, thank you for the vote on my remote participation. Um, would you like me to read my disclosure now? Yes, please. Okay. As a member of the Loudoun County School Board,
I make the following disclosure to the school board and to the general public 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 by 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 LCBS 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, um, Donahue, um, board members. That was a lot. I know I have my plethora of post-it note questions, um, but I'll start with somebody else. Does anybody want to start? Okay. Mrs. Griffis, why don't you go ahead and start. Uh, thank you Madam Chair. Um, I'll probably put a lot of this, uh, in email,
but, um, I mean, we went down in enrollment, um, and a lot of this, um, I I would really like to, to question like, for example, elementary alternative education. Where exactly would that be? Which school Staff has not determined a school location at this time? Um, if it were to continue in the FY 26 budget, um,
the Department of Student Services would work with the Department of School Leadership and, um, Mr. Lewis's team to find an appropriate space. We would also collaborate with principals. Um, before making that decision and notifying you all, Ms. Mitchell, would you add anything to that? Oh, oh, you're not adding anything. I thought you were Okay. You're really finding that you need, uh, an alternative program for elementary
and you can provide the data as to why we need that. So yes, currently we don't have any type of alternative program for our elementary students. So having a, something set up like this would be an opportunity to provide them with support, um, and keeping up with the continuity of their instruction and schooling. So having something to support them without disrupting the instructional
environment of the other students. Thank you. Um, and also, um, when I do ask these questions, I, I'm curious to know if you're modeling after other areas, um, as far as the Access Academic, AC Academy Global and Linguistic Studies Academy for, uh, 300,000. Are we modeling, um, this academy after another, a program that, um,
in another district or another area? Um, also the Welcome Center. Um, do we have data on that? I'm not quite sure why we need to expand a welcome center. Um, you know, also afterschool programming, um, aren't these Title one schools, um, aren't they getting money and grants already? I'm not sure why. You know, we're offering all these free programs plus transportation after school.
Um, I'll want answers to that as well. Um, and also tutoring. Um, I seem to remember we were, we were using varsity tutors. Now we're, are we phasing out all in tutoring? Are we still using all-in tutoring? Um, can you let me know where we are with the tutoring? And also my understanding was that, um, we had to pay upfront, um, for students that may not have used this tutoring.
Um, it wasn't per student on a case by case basis, so we had to put an upfront, um, cost. We had to pay for it upfront. Can you explain that for me as well? Thank you. Ms. Griffiths. Would, would you like us to try to answer those questions now or provide the responses in writing? Well, for, uh, for the tutoring, um, all in tutoring, what can you tell me what happened to Varsity tutors?
I thought we were using them last time. Yes, ma'am. Okay. We are partnering with Varsity tutors for a, we have a small number of students, um, students lots, I believe it's 500. Um, they are currently all filled. And so we are maximizing our, um, our partnership with varsity tutors at this time. Um, we would likely not expand that in the future, but we would like to be able to maintain that level of service to those, to those students who are utilizing, um, online tutoring services.
And, um, regarding the all in funds, you are correct that that funding is, um, going away. We have almost completely used up those funds. Um, and VDOE was very clear that when those funds ran out, they ran out. Um, so the funds in the FY 26 budget would be to continue providing tutoring services in the future. Uh, and don't get me wrong, I'm not against tutoring. I just, I wanna make sure all the spots are filled and, um, you know, we're not paying upfront, um,
an enormous amount of money for students that are not, um, taking advantage. Um, also instructional coaches, is that something else that we're modeling after another district, another like Fairfax? Um, how did we come up with instructional coaches and at a cost of 700,000? So I'll start and then I'll turn it over to Mr. Slevin. But I will say that, um, just for a quick clarification, the role of the instructional coach, the, the title has recently changed.
These are what is are formerly known as Division instructional facilitators, um, which are essentially instructional coaches and there are very robust models of instructional coaching all across the country. Um, and Mr. Slevin can speak more to our program. The instructional coach program has been in place in LCPS for a number of years. This position has recently shifted a model, um, from supporting multiple schools. Um, we had coaches assigned to, um, up to four schools.
And the feedback from principals and teachers, 'cause that was very difficult to build relationship, a relationship and establish rapport with those, those coaches. And so recently we, we moved to assigning those coaches to one birth school. Um, often when I'm visiting a school, I either hear one of two things. If I'm at a school that has a coach, they wanna tell me all the good things that the coaches are doing at their building and how they're moving, um, their school, uh, towards their school improvement goals.
And if this principal does not have a coach, they wanna talk to me about why they need to coach, then please, please work to assign a coach. Um, and so we aspirationally would like to be at the point where we do have a coach at each, at each building. Um, this is a measured step to add additional positions that we could distribute in partnership with school leadership, um, across our elementary and, um, middle and high schools. Um, I just have one more. Thank you for that. Um, I will respond with more questions later.
Um, Lexia core. Now I was curious about that because that's being phased out as well. Is that right? Or the, or the money is going to reading teachers. Can you explain that? So the Lexia Core five is one of our supplemental resources for elementary literacy. It's part of our division literacy plan. Um, it is the only, um, supplemental
or intervention material, um, approved by the Virginia Department of Education to cut across all of the, um, areas of literacy. Meaning if we did not use Lexia, which there may be other options, we would have multiple different programs in our schools that we would be supporting and are ask, asking our teachers to navigate. The point I was making about reallocation was that the, the cost of the initiative is actually $670,000. I wanted to point out that we were able to reallocate some funds.
Um, as you may know, over the past couple years, we invested heavily in letters training locally. And since we no longer are offering letters to the degree we did because of the Virginia mandated training, we're able to identify those funds and repurpose them to support this instructional material. So it's not going to any staffing, it's more of shifting training to the need for instructional materials. Thank you.
You done Ms. Chandler, would you like to go? Sure. Thank you Madam Chair. And, um, thank you to the team, um, for this presentation. Um, I will start by saying, um, very excited to hear, um, about so many of these initiatives. And I would like to thank you. Um, I think it reflects some deep listening. Um, we've, there are a lot of things that are included in this budget that staff members and parents have come to the school board and asked for.
And, and I'm, I'm grateful for the effort that you've put in to meeting those needs. Um, I'm especially Mr. Slevin. Thank you. I know you've spent so many times, um, over the years talking to me about American Sign Language. This program means a lot to my dis um, to my district and my constituents. And we will be grateful to hear where that program lands, but are very happy to see it included in the budget. Um, I'm curious in the welcome center, what factors perhaps specific
to population went into the plan distribution for how that, I just, I found the map to be interesting and I was curious if you could tell me a little bit about how that was broken out. So I, I would like to take that as a budget question to give you detailed information. Sure. But I can tell you that that is based on an analysis of student registrations, um, anticipated needs. Um, and so I'm, I'm confident we have a robust, um,
spreadsheet that points to that decision. Um, but it is looking over five year trends to, to make those decisions. Um, as you can imagine, we do anticipate, um, the eastern part of the county having a, a larger, um, portion of, of need. Um, and it's actually the area that's not receiving the support of the welcome center. So, um, we're looking forward to that becoming coming online. Thank you. I'll look forward to seeing that data. That's, that's exciting. Um, I will say in, in terms of, um, the afterschool programs, I find that to be very exciting.
And I found that I became more open to the idea when we were actually at the VSBA. Um, I had the opportunity to an attend to attend a presentation that was done by Roanoke City Schools who has had a pilot program that was actually legislated for them. Um, I believe one of the house of delegate members ha had actually passed a bill, um, to make funding for this PI pilot program available. And it was specifically to reduce gun violence,
which they had been experiencing a great deal in Roanoke City, I guess at the time. Um, and to disrupt gang recruitment. And it was so interesting to hear the data that they had, um, collected over the, in the pilot program as they had developed it. And one of the things that they shared was that students who have been recruited into gangs say that middle school is too late. And so to have these programs in the elementary school I
think will be great for our students. Um, we'll have the, we hear from the parents when they come and say, um, school is where our kids are the safest. This is what we feel. So school is where our kids are the safest. And these positive programs will go a long way to keep our students focused on academics and sports and other positive activities. Um, and, and one of the things that they mentioned at Roanoke is that resiliency is really built, um, through engagement.
And when these students feel like they're an important part of the community, we see, um, more responsible development. So I'm very excited about that. Um, I also am excited to see the behavioral resources. I, I feel like that's something that we've heard a lot of feedback from, um, especially school leadership and the nursing programs. Um, thank you so much. Uh, that's something I hear. Um, I remember on all of our school visits hearing how
taxed the nursing offices are and how at some of our schools this may be the only medical professional some of our students see. Um, to that end, I'd love to hear a little bit more about the role of the registrar. If it's one FTE, will they be working at a district-wide level and what would their, will their job be? This is a new position, correct? Yes. Thank you for that question, Mrs. Chandler. That was a good one. And I'm sorry I did not provide clarity that registrar is going to be specifically
for our mobile health clinic to our community schools. So thank you for asking that question and I do apologize for not making that clear during, during my presentation. So I think I mentioned the impact that it would have to community schools. I did not specify that it is specifically for the mobile health clinic. That's so exciting. Thank you for that clarification. Dr. Deans
Wonderful expansion, wonderful presentation. Um, question, what is the current staffing for the health, the nurse, the clinics at the schools? So as it stands now, and I might have to defer to Mr. Dolson back there to help me out, but at the high school level, every health clinic office has a registered nurse. And then at the elementary
and middle level, we assign registered nurses as we have, um, programs for students with multiple disabilities. You can also thank you Dr. Ellis. You can also find the staffing standard, um, starting for, uh, student health services on 2 92 of the budget book. And so as we add programs for students with multiple disabilities, we also add re uh, registered nurses to elementary and middle schools.
We are looking to have a full return gradually as we phase in throughout the se next several budget years to make sure that we are fully staffed at all schools with registered nurses. Thank you. Because I was at a school that had a, um, a fire drill when I was there and the registered nurse actually had the, had to take a student with the medical equipment out of the building.
And so I'm happy to know that that's growing. Now with the, um, with the athletic trainers, if you get five, how long is it gonna be before you can get two per school in the future? Thank you for that question, Dr. D. Um, it's one of our aspirational goals, um, which is why when, um, we looked at, um, the slide for that,
we put a little bit of language in there in terms of, um, if the budget allows, we would continue to try to use the phased in approach, um, to get to at each school. So that's more of our aspirational goal right now. Budget pending, I saw that as an aspirational goal, but recently did we not expand, um, uh, sports to the middle school? Yes. Intramurals. We do have intramural sports at our middle school. Yes, ma'am. And how are they served in terms of injuries?
Um, so we don't have athletic trainers assigned to our middle schools, um, currently, and we did a pilot last year of our intramural. So this year with them being at all 18 schools. Um, we do have some regional athletic trainers, um, that if we have multiple activities and sports going on at one time, if we need to ask for support, we can.
And also our supervisor for athletic trainers also goes out and supports schools and kind of serves as a substitute, um, to provide that when there is not enough coverage. Okay. So, you know, this is a, a, a comparison. When we were talking about a playgrounds, uh, when it worked out, it said have take how many years
before we get all the playgrounds up to a DA. So I guess I'm asking the same thing about athletic trainers. Uh, at what point are we gonna get them? So with the five, if those go through, pending this budget approval with the sixth regional that we had, we would only need six more to have two at every school. So if we get five this year, it might be doable
to do the remaining six and FY 27. So it's, it's just all budget pending. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Deans. Um, I guess I don't know if I should like Lauren, Ms. Shernoff, you'll probably get some of mine as well. So I'm just wondering if I should just get rid of some of these post-it notes now or later.
Um, I think, uh, I'll go real quick. Well, it's not gonna be real quick, but I, I wanted to ask about, let's see. Um, first of all, I'm pleased to see the non comprehensive school support and the executive principals because I think that they are very, they have different programs, they have different needs.
They don't have things like funding and fees that they get from football or any other rest of that. And I think that they need, um, different supports. Um, and, and someone at the table, I don't know that they've had anybody at the table during those meetings at all. Um, Ms. Mitchell, do you, I mean, do you want to speak to that? So right now, those schools are supported. It's kind of split between the executive principal and the director of high schools. So as you stated, because of the varying needs that they have, um,
we are asking for that executive principal to provide that continuity and comprehensive support because all of those programs, they are open to all students. Um, outside of even the, um, tape program, which is the alternative education program, even though students are placed through the Office of School administration, there's still middle and high school students that are coming from any of our comprehensive schools. So yes, that is something that we're asking because they do require different types
of support and advocacy. And you are collaborating with multiple departments and all of the comprehensive schools in order to ensure those students have access to the different programs depending on their needs. An access wouldn't be a part of this, would it? No. Okay. No. Um, elementary alternative education program, it is a hard thing for people to understand
that kindergartners do have emotional disabilities and that, that we can see it and that it does happen. Um, I do wonder about like where you would put it, like Mrs. Griffiths brought up a very good point where we would have it. Um, the other thing would be, um, transportation, because they would most likely be
special education students. We would have to look at, not necessarily you're saying, okay. So, but we would still be responsible for transportation if we placed them somewhere. Is that correct? Getting nods. Um, so I, I do like that I have questions about the Global and Linguistic Studies Academy. I have not been a part of those conversations at the, uh, with, uh, Dr.
Rashid's committee. Um, but I always have a knee jerk reaction because I wanna make sure that those things are, um, available for kids with disabilities. And we've talked about co-taught po. Is it in CNI or is it in special programs? I'm sorry, special programs. So I always am wondering if we're going
to have something like that. A, um, two different things. One thing I want to be sure is that we're not displacing, uh, special education students and, um, from high schools and self-contained classes and things like that. And that, that we have the room. The second thing that I'm wondering about is, like I said, our, how would we be giving access to kids with like a, uh,
a learning disability or something, because we don't have co-taught, uh, Spanish classes or Chinese classes or any of the rest of that. Um, and is this gonna be looking at government kind of things and civil discourse and those kinds of things? Do we know, has it been fleshed out yet? So the curriculum pathways are still in development, but to address your first question regarding accessibility, it is school board policy, um, in the
to when developing these specialized programs and pathways to think about equity and to think about inclusion and accessibility. Um, so one of the things you should expect to see as this proposal moves through the, the committee then onto the full board for approval, is evidence of, of those concerns being met. And there'll be an opportunity in the future for the board to have feedback and input on what proposal ultimately is, is selected. Um, the, the program, um,
is focused on, um, linguistics, meaning it, it's definitely grounded in the expansion of world language opportunities for our students. Um, we do have a, um, strong school led, um, global education, um, work happening in our high schools. Many of you may have attended in the past, the International Youth Summit. Um, last year it was at, um, light Light Ridge High School. Um, so we would be building on kind of a global
economic leadership leadership focus. And so when you mean civil dis discourse, I'm not sure exactly what what you mean, but, um, it would definitely be, um, growing in international relations, global leadership, and, um, linguistic acquisition of language. That's just something I was looking into. Um, so then, uh, do we have numbers on how many, if we have any, uh, students
with disabilities in our dual language immersion program? We could get those numbers. Okay. Um, I have to say, the welcome center was a, I went to visit and there's some really significant needs there, and I totally support that. Um, it was eye-opening for me. Um, okay, let's see. I'm just kind of going through this. Uh, okay. So the after schools, so
I totally get that. We need to look at after school, academic and enrichment the pilot. I think that's great. I have a, again, a a little red flag about, um, all in tutoring, varsity tutors and those kinds of things that we don't know what the evidence is that it was successful. Um, we have perceptions and things, but we don't have anything that shows that it made strides.
And for me, as a literacy person, and that's my focus, I wanna make sure that we're using things that are evidence-based. And what I know is evidence-based is an in-school tutor and, um, for both math and for, uh, reading, um, using the curriculum, familiar with the curriculum and a part of the school milieu. So I would have some,
I would have to look at that really carefully with the all in, uh, tutoring and just giving money to something that I don't know that has, um, any, uh, metrics towards it afterwards. Um, I kind of feel the same about Propel and Level Up. Do we have any indication about what the kids who were using that, if they were looking into, if they were going into advanced math
or advanced science later, do we have any of that information? Yes, we have that, we have that data. We could share that with the board. Would you mind putting that in the, the documents and then, um, let's see. I'm, so we talked about health, did we call it health clinic? Health clinic Staffing? Yes. After going that, I did see that with, uh, Mr. Dolson and our tour around the nursing, uh, the,
we did see that actually the health clinics that in some schools, they were using their flexible substitutes. Yes. And I do ha I do stand corrected and I do appreciate Mr. Dolson and his team getting me this information. So, Dr. Deans, I stand corrected. All middle schools and high schools currently have registered nurses. Okay. So we're looking to rebuild registered nurse staffing at the elementary level.
Um, Mr. Dolson has also shared to support the request for our, our skilled nursing assistants for each high school that's over 1700. Um, they'll have a school nursing assistant, and then for middle schools that are over 1600, they would also be assigned a nursing assistant to assist with, with, with that population. And believe it or not, I think I have my last question. Um, the math and science resource teachers.
So how familiar are these math resource teachers with Dyscalculia and are they involved in helping, um, our students or IEP teams or any of that? I know that there's gonna be some, there's legislation happening at the state level, and math is a huge focus. I don't know if it's gonna pass or not, but this would kind of go right straight into this,
So I can take that question. But speak to a high level that our math resource teacher team, again, is a new, is a new team this school year. Last year, we reallocated seven of our math instructional facilitators, two school-based math resource teacher positions, um, based on the feedback of principals, a wanting someone in their building to work with students in small groups, um, and b to, um, reduce the amount of people coming into their building to, to offer support.
Um, one of the goals of the math office has been to collaborate across offices. There's regular collaborative meetings happening, um, with the Office of Special Education. Um, I can, um, look into the agendas to see if that specific topic has been brought up. Um, but we are monitoring that legislation we're aware of, of its implications, and we will, we plan to be responsive to it as we were with the Virginia Literacy Act. But that specific question, I'll have to, um, work with the team and I can get you an answer.
Thank you for that. Okay. And I think the next person to this side of me, and I also say I'm not quite sure that I am all on board with no letters tutoring with no letters in. I'm, I wouldn't, I, I, I want to make sure I clarify. It's, it's a reduction. No, as you recall, as you recall, we, um, we wanted to get ahead of the letters training, and we had a goal.
The, the training was before we knew where the Virginia Department of Education was going with their modules. And so letters training is still offered. There are still people u being trained. It's the scale at which it was implemented that afforded us the ability to reallocate The first part or the first and the second part of letters. Are we just doing the first, or are we doing the first and the second? We are, I know we are doing the second part.
We have teachers that have matriculated into the second part of volume two. Um, I'll have to check where we're at with the first volume. Thank you. Okay, Mr. Rei. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you so much for the presentation. Um, I am very excited and feel very optimistic at how, um, all of these priorities are targeted to help close our gaps
and really focus on what our students, as well as our teachers and educators need to thrive. Um, I've always said, and I've shared with, uh, leadership that I think that, um, getting our school buildings what they need in terms of, uh, whether that's flexible staffing or position changes, contract changes, um, reclassification of positions, just getting them what they need to meet the needs of their individual school communities, when you tie that to a robust school improvement process,
um, and having leaders at the school level that are obsessed with student achievement, um, um, continuous improvement and, um, an amazing school climate and culture, I think that's really the recipe for success. And I think a lot of these priorities, uh, really, um, you know, hit the bullseye for me. Um, and everything that I have been hearing at the school level from parents, um, just echoing what Ms. Chandler stated as well, um, so many of these initiatives
and priorities, um, have been things that I've been list hearing, uh, for a long time. So appreciate all the effort that was put into this. And, um, all of the listening that has probably happened over the course of the last few months. Um, I have a number of things, uh, that I'll just touch on very briefly, um, but I'll send my list of questions, um, separately. So no need to respond to all of these. But, um, one is, I appreciate the context that was, uh, provided on the nursing program. Um, that answered a lot of my questions. Thank you. Um, um, for me,
I think the title one supports those additional 31 plus FTEs, um, that investment to targeted support to students, um, in our Title one schools, uh, EL learners. Um, I think that that is, um, something that we have been talking about in terms of the challenges we have as a division in our performance monitoring committee. So I'm very excited about what these positions will do to move the needle. Um, I am
also excited about the behavior resources. Um, I think that, um, I think that schools are struggling and, uh, even inside every individual classroom, folks are, uh, struggling with kind of this new normal, um, of some of the behavioral challenges that some of our students are facing, whether that's the alternative school or, um, some of these behavioral resources. I think it's what teachers have been really asking for is that support. Um, and then seeing that the number of, you know, students
that have been identified, um, increasing by the percentages that it has, I think that this is really a critical, um, support that, um, something that I, I, I would get behind. Um, I have some questions about the afterschool pilot program. I'm very, very excited about it. I, I think it'll really help, um, zoom in on some of the inequities, um, and create more opportunity for students, um, in our Title one schools. Um, but I'm curious whether the allotments will be available
for all elementary or just title one or just the five schools stated for the pilot. Um, you can answer that in writing. That's okay. Um, and I'm curious to learn more about what this Casa Plus program is and how that will work. Um, and in general, just the pilot program, uh, the enrichment and the, um, afterschool activities, what's really being envisioned? Um, I know there's so many models out there. Um, what are we really most excited about, um, when it comes to the afterschool programs in general?
Um, so I'm very curious about the programming, the welcome center. Um, I had a chance to visit the one in Leesburg as well. Um, and any school that I visit, um, especially our Title one schools, um, the amount of effort that our principals and educators put in to make sure that the school feels welcoming to all students from, um, various family backgrounds or ethnicities, um, even from the murals on the walls to the maps, um,
or, you know, um, the visuals in the school. Just really making students feel at home, um, given their family backgrounds. Um, I think there's such an opportunity to kind of do that as well in the welcome center. And, uh, definitely here. Um, the fact that the welcome center will be, um, a way to get, give teachers more classroom, um, or school level time back. Um, and there's so still so many parts of the county that Leesburg is not really that accessible to including Dulles, Dulles South area. Um, and so I just wanna extend my support for that.
I am curious, I really wanna understand what's been funded already, and I think board members might benefit from understanding, um, the resources behind the building, um, that has been dedicated to this effort for a long time now. And it's kind of the conversations around the welcome center, um, and the history behind that. Um, so it's not just the FTEs. There's a lot of other resources that have been kind of in play, um, for a while to get this done. So I'm excited to learn more about that. Um, additional new and new stipends.
Um, very excited to hear kind of the listening that's happened around these. Um, I'm also just concerned about, you know, what, what stipends, um, or ideas for stipends were kind of deprioritized. Um, um, it's important for us to know as school board members, like if we're going to approve these, um, these requests in our budget, that we also understand where other areas of interest, um, or, you know, needs that have been, uh, communicated up
that didn't, that were delayed or didn't get prioritized in this budget, um, so that we can kind of, um, balance our decision making. Um, so I think that's really important, um, because there's an opportunity for a lot of folks to feel like they, they weren't heard in this process. So, um, any information that you have around the different ideas that have come up for stipends that maybe didn't make their way into the c um, other areas. So, um, I think one area that I'd love to hear,
maybe some initial feedback right now is the IB program expansion. Um, you know, one of the ideas that I, that we had, and I know that it didn't make its way into the C on, but is, um, to expand IB programs or, or even just really rethink our, a approach to special accessibility to special programs in Eastern Loudoun. And, um, kind of the, the, the strip, you know, Southeastern Loudoun as well. Um, I, I encourage us to really rethink
and challenge our assumptions around, uh, this idea that geographic location, um, of our special programs, including ib, um, in central Loudoun by default, makes these opportunities accessible to everyone. Um, and I know that not everyone believes this, but I think it's really important that we kind of plant the seeds, uh, for something like this in Eastern Loudoun, specifically at Parkview or another school.
Um, it is very important to really just, um, rethink our approach to where we locate, um, programs like IB or special programs. Um, and so that's why I'm very curious around the expansion of special program resources, um, and where they will be housed and what we're thinking in terms of the clusters and, uh, the expansion plans. Um, um, that's something that I'm kind of hyper-focused on. Um, so I will stop there and then just send a bunch of other questions that I wasn't able to get to.
But again, very excited at, um, what you all have put together and how much work has gone into this. So thank you. Thank you, Mr. Troian. And that was a great point about what you guys didn't put in here that you wanted to put in here. And, um, for stipends and other things, I don't think people understand how much was really cut from what the needs are. Um, okay, Ms. Chernoff. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Um, and just to point out to my colleagues, I did ask that question, and it is in the budget packet already, a list of the things that were left outta the sea. So hopefully, um, we'll get some more clarity on that as the packet unfolds. Um, I, I echo my colleagues and the thanks for listening. I know that there are a lot of needs, if there's one place, um, to pour into, I think you can tell by the level of conversation and questions tonight that, you know, serving our students is top priority. Um, whether that's ensuring their wellbeing and their health
and their safety or their academics, um, I think all of it is certainly near and dear to my heart. And I think that we have, based off of all of this, clearly communicated that to you all. So I appreciate that. I do have some questions, um, so I'll work through them and, uh, thank you to my colleagues who have knocked out a few. So, good job, guys. Um, I just wanted to clarify, I got a follow up question. So this is reaching back and in two places about the recovery funds.
Uh, and I didn't know the answer. My question is with the 500,000 that we were given and then 250 additional, I just wanna make sure that I have it clear that 250 is anticipated from the state, correct? That is not in our pockets yet. Correct. Okay. That is anticipated. We'll have to fill out another budget template next fall. Okay. And submit it to the Virginia Department of Education, clearly describing how we plan to utilize the funds before the 250 will be allocated.
Okay. And then would we anticipate that that would, so we would anticipate that that would not impact this budget because it won't backfill? Correct. Does that make sense what I'm asking? Like if we get it awarded, would some of these costs go away or We are we anticipating Yes. We need these costs? So We, we do anticipate being able to utilize the $250,000 next year. Okay. Yeah. So, so we anticipate being able to fill out the budget template sooner rather than later. Okay. Um, we didn't receive the budget template
for the 500,000 from the Virginia Department of of Education until late November. So we completed it and submitted it just before December. And we received notification once we came back that we had received the award. So, 'cause the state, um, has sort of gotten their groove now, we anticipate that we'll get our template earlier so we can receive the funds earlier in the school year. Excellent. And then if we have, since we have not really accounted for that currently, because we don't know if for sure if we're gonna get it,
those could be reallocated potentially to other resources for recovery from our operating budget or for other things. They would have to be allocated to all things recovery, because that's the focus of that grant award. But If these were approved from us, yes. Those could potentially be reallocated. Yes. Okay. That's good to know. Thank you for that clarification. Um, in terms of the executive principal for our other alternative programs, I'm curious, um, why IB
or dual enrollment or other types of things are not included in that list? So that role is specific, sorry, to support principals of those programs. So, unlike IB is a program within a school that has a principal like IB is at Heritage. So the principal is supported by the office of high school education. So the executive principal of these non comprehensive, and I'm separating it out non comprehensive schools versus alternative, not to get it confused
with like our alternative education program. Okay. That OSA places students. Okay. So different routes, different pathways. Um, so the executive principal would support, provide supervision, um, for the principals of all of those schools and programs. So each one has its own principal. Okay. And then how are principals like Mr. Adam, who has IB supported with
that additional program then? So in, for IB specifically, for example, there is an IB coordinator at, um, heritage High School in a valley. Okay. Equivalent to an assistant principal. Those positions are supported in a specific office, in central office. In this case, our Department of academic programs, um, supports IB specifically, um, for health and medical science, for example, for, um, T Square High School and Breer Woods, for example. We have a ham side coordinator that supports the principal,
but is supported centrally from the, uh, department of Career and Technical Education. Um, in the, um, other examples you mentioned, such as dual enrollment, while that is across all of our high schools, we do have a central support. Okay. Um, that supports there for access. And I think Ms. Mansfield asked this question earlier. Um, the vision for that would that, that that position would be housed at Potomac Falls at the ACCESS program. There would be a relationship with the building principal.
Um, it may be a supervisory position, it may be an assistant position. Um, but we are going to have unique pathways at each of our high schools, that our high school principals will be supported centrally in making sure we meet the curriculum needs of those programs. It's not like a comprehensive center, such as the academies or the alternative education program, which would be differentiated by what Ms. Mitchell is talking about. Does that make sense? Yeah, that makes sense. That delineation makes more sense. Now, is there collaboration within the offices
of executive principals and those different programs and departments, or are they pretty separated? There is, there is existing collaboration. And part of the recommendation for this position, if I could speak to it, is from that recognition that there's opportunities to grow in that collaboration. Okay. Thank you. 'cause of the unique Needs. I appreciate that. Um, I also want to echo my colleagues, um, with the behavioral, um, supports and the alternative elementary ed program. You're gonna get support from me on that.
Uh, I also, you know, I wanna speak to, um, something Ms. Griffith said, and a lot of these things on their face, I think seem like, well, why would we need that? And, you know, I'm struggling with enrollment too. I'm struggling with it. We're, we're flat lining. We're not recovering from covid and fiscally. I, I mentioned this last time. I, I'm looking for ways to kind of dig out things that maybe aren't working as well as we had hoped, or, um, you know, hopefully over the next year in PMC too, we can continue to evaluate what's working, what's not.
So I definitely echo those sentiments, but increased needs mean more programs and they mean more staff. And it definitely matters in terms of the staffing standard. And a lot of these things are interconnected to other things that I know we really value. And one of those things right now that I still feel like we're, we're grappling with, um, is teacher morale. I don't think magically as we move away from Covid that we are still in a good place.
I'm still hearing about, you know, I had a conversation with a teacher this weekend who was like, I don't think I'm gonna make it another year. I think I gotta walk. And it, it, she's one of the best I know. So that is weighing heavily on me when I think about these things. And high needs and behaviors can impact teacher morale. It is a lot on them. It's a lot on their shoulders, and they need the resources. Um, and I feel like some, as much as I'm, you know, wanting to be fiscally responsible,
and I do wanna do some digging out, I also want us to right size in a lot of ways. And, and in some ways I feel like we are really behind in this area, in Loudoun County. Um, when I taught in Fairfax, there were lots of supports in place for behaviors. Um, and, and I experienced it myself when I taught kindergarten. And, and so not only for these students to have the needs, but like you talked about Ms. Mitchell, I think it's such an important point. The other students in the classroom that need their needs met. Um, and then in terms of, you know, additional supports
for teacher morale, I think it's really important. Um, I also wanna speak to the instructional coaches on that level also, because while it might seem like maybe we don't need coaches, I mean, I was a coach here, so I guess that's a little bit of a bias, but we were able to go in and lift some of that load off of teachers at times. We could go in and, you know, say, Hey, you can try this or use this resource or use this strategy or have honest conversations about the challenges in the curriculum. And so I, I know like, it sounds like extra sometimes,
but these are things that really, really support our schools. And so when I think about things that I wanna pull back on, those are, those are not the things. Um, so I just wanted to put a plug in there. Um, in terms of the Global Linguistic Academy, um, I, I'm gonna ask a tough question here. Um, so I know you said that we don't, we're, we don't necessarily have a full we're plan in the planning phase. Is that correct? Okay.
So we're also in the planning phase for Transition Center. And I know like why allocate funds for the Global Linguistic Program and get things rolling for that and maybe not, I'm not seeing that with the Transition Center. There's $0 allocated for that. So I, I don't wanna put you on the spot 'cause I haven't asked you that ahead of time or, but I, I would start with, I'm asking with, Um, I do think it's important,
and we are trying to do that in some of the language we're using and differentiating, um, between special programs that in many ways are essentially stacked course pathways to get student to a, to an end result, meaning a sequential electives. Okay. Um, and it, for example, a goal may be in a special program to get a CLL Biliteracy. Um, that could be accomplished in many ways with our existing programs, but we're being really targeted with our special programs that we may not be able to replicate at all of our schools, such as we're not gonna be able
to offer Arabic at all 17 of our schools. Likely, maybe in the future we would, but we wanna start with, with one or two to get that in place. Um, with the Transition Center, which I know Ms. Richardson's leaning in on, um, that is a much more broad, non comprehensive school that involves facilities, involves many different, um, components. Um, and the complexity, um, would be something to consider as to why we're ready to move forward with planning this sequential group of courses.
That's exactly right. Mi Mr. Slevin. Um, the largest challenge that we face right now with planning the Transition Center for students with disabilities is space. Space and a location. So we wouldn't want to have funds allocated and we not be able to fully utilize them. Um, the planning is ongoing as, um, staff we're meeting weekly. Um, we have a core team that's working on things. We plan on pulling in some more folks and expanding that group. As I mentioned. We also plan on having a round table
to hear more from our com our community partners and stakeholders so that we can fully make sure that we are building it out to truly meet the needs of our students across LCPS and looking at our current workforce and what the trends are within our workforce. But it really boiled down to space. So we couldn't, we wouldn't be able to hire teachers and a principal and a coordinator and job coaches and all the things if we didn't have a place to put those people.
That makes sense. I appreciate that from both of you. Yeah. Mr. Slo. And, and I would just add one more, um, thing in terms of why the recommendation. Um, I've, I've heard Mr. STRs question, um, and I believe Ms. Mansfield also talked a little bit about this academy. Um, we have been engaged in conversations, and we've shared this at our special programs and centers committee in terms of, um, what our community would like and language programs is a priority for us. Um, and so, um, we've heard an interest in expanding Arabic.
Um, and so in many ways, this particular academy hits multiple marks. It, it meets expanding unique opportunities for our families in Loudoun. Um, it meets the need of expanding language ac access in a, in a unique and targeted way. And, and frankly, we also have a, a few opportunities for grant funding that we are looking to pursue that would help us in terms of timing, um, for this initiative to maybe seed some
of the success of this program. And so, in many ways, when we're recommending new programs such as this, it's about timing. And I, and in response to Mr. Refi's question, I'll provide a little bit more background on that. So I just wanted to give that perspective on why now, uh, with that particular recommendation. I appreciate that. I know the conver, we were just looking, looking at each other and being like, which committee is that in? 'cause it has, you know, bled over into curriculum instruction too, so I appreciate that. Um, okay. Onto afterschool programs and also tutoring. I, um, I'm also a big supporter
of having these afterschool programs. I have a knee jerk reaction as Ms. Mansfield does to certain things when I hear third party Fender, because I also worry about Fidelity, about how it's supporting the current programs that we have, um, how it's gonna have that academic tie in. I think that that's something I'm specifically looking for. I'm also trying to sort of wrap my brain around how Propel and Level Up and Beam and these new afterschool clubs
and all the things that I know, like LEF supports certain things I think as well, and how all that works. So I may need to have some conversations about clarity in just terms of structure, if this is gonna be just something totally separate that we're analyzing, um, or if it is possibly going to be interconnected to some of the programs we have. And if maybe we didn't use a third party vendor, could we get some of those things more interconnected? And maybe I'm seeing your face, so maybe not,
but I just, that's what's kind of swirling in my head is just sort of an understanding of like, is this just a totally separate thing we're looking at, um, in comparison, or is it meant to be two different paths? Maybe you can provide a light answer to that, but we can talk offline too. Sure. I will try to provide a, a little bit of an answer. Okay. Which may seem like a non-answer because we are very much in the planning. Okay. And ideation phase.
Um, we have heard from community members and board members about the need for, um, a really academic balanced with enrichment because students have been in school all day. Right. So recognizing that, um, afterschool program, a a, a truly robust afterschool program that is not just an hour of a, of a club type activity. Right. Um, and is not simply babysitting until families get home from work, but truly a robust program.
Um, I had the opportunity to speak with, um, someone from Montgomery County in Maryland, and they have, if you haven't seen it, I I can include this in the written response. Um, and a very robust afterschool program that has taken them decades to build across the county. Um, and it is a strong partnership between the school system and the county government. Um, there are multiple staff members dedicated to managing the program. I'm not even talking about being at the schools every day
to run it, but just from a managerial, um, perspective, which is likely why it took them so long to build out this program. Um, obviously we're not talking about that level yet. Um, but the purpose of this pilot at the five schools I see as separate from the interest based programs that we're providing at all of the elementary schools, um, to, to truly see how we can start to build out this, this robust, um, meaningful afterschool program.
Does that help a little bit. We are truly going to need, um, so I, I do wanna mention third party. I also get a little nervous, um, with third party. I, I don't have any ideas about what that third party would be. I do know that there are, um, companies that, that come in and provide, um, complete afterschool programs. Um, there are also organizations like Boys and Girls Club that school divisions
can partner with as well. Um, we have made no definitive decisions on that. Again, we're truly in the planning stages. Um, I do wonder, I worry about LCPS with existing resources taking that on without the support of third party. Um, it would likely be our teachers staying after school. Um, teachers are are overloaded with things right now. So even even offering them money to, to stay after school, I'm not sure that would be enough.
Um, and I don't blame them. So, so I do think at least getting it off the ground, we absolutely need our, um, partnership with Parks and Rec. And I, I do think it would be beneficial to see how a partnership with a third party could, could potentially look, But Okay. Yeah. I, I'm understand that I, I still have worry and nervousness about just ensuring that it is all the things that we really want it to be, and that it's very focused specifically on really moving the needle for our kids here in Loudoun
and not just some one-stop shop. Not that I'm accusing Montgomery County or anybody of doing that, but making sure that our needs here are really being heard and met. So, And, and potentially five is, is, um, not the right number of schools, perhaps. We focus on a smaller partnership with, um, Loudoun County Parks and Rec. Um, they did express, in our initial conversations with them, they expressed a little concern about, um, their challenges with staffing too many of these programs.
And they would really lean on us for the academic component, and it would likely still be our teachers that we would pay to, to support the after school. So maybe five is too ambitious. We could look at just starting with a smaller partnership with Loudoun County Parks and Rec, if that's something, um, that the board is, um, feels more comfortable about, but certainly open again, just in the planning stages. Yeah. Don't wanna limit necessarily. Um, but lots of thinking around that, I think, um, in my mind.
Um, and then can you, uh, Mr. Slevin, can you clarify gifted contract extensions from last time? Is that all gifted teachers or that is gifted specialists? We have two Gifted content specialists. Okay. In the office of Gifted one's on a one contract and one is on a different contract. So we're aligning their two Contracts. Okay. And then the new FTEs are gifted teachers? Yes. School-based gifted Teachers. Okay. So they would stay on the regular Yes. Contract. Okay.
Um, and then two more athletic trainers. I'm gonna ask more specifically how much it's gonna cost for us. Uh, you said six, so I'm gonna need that FTE number should we want to get that in this year. I have a hard time reconciling that some kids physical safety during athletics is more important than others. I feel like we've heard that throughout, so I'm just gonna need that number. Um, and then the last thing I'm gonna mention,
I'm gonna, I'm gonna mention it. Um, I'm struggling with Lexi. I'll be honest. I've had a lot of conversations at the elementary level, um, also at the middle school level, which I acknowledge has been paid for for three years. So maybe outta luck on that one. But, um, I'm, I'm struggling. I know that this is aligned with VLA, I know the state has approved it. Uh, but I have the things that I'm hearing and the things that I have seen, it, it concerns me
that an intervention for something that I believe was largely caused by being on digital devices is going to be solved, or gaps are going to close by using programs that are digitally dependent. Um, it continues to be a concern of mine. We've had these lengthy discussions in curriculum instruction around technology use and the appropriateness of it. We've talked about Lexia specifically, um, core Five in terms of guiding teachers to use more in-person
tools and teaching and not be so dependent on the digital platform. Um, and I've had lots of conversations with staff already behind the scenes about Lexia and our dependence on monitoring student usage of digital platforms. I, I just feel like I need to put that out there. I don't love the alternatives of, you know, having a program here in a program there and not being able to measure apples to apples. So, um, should this go through and stay, I would also really love for our PMC
or someone to start really showing us that this is effective because I, I think our highest needs students need highly skilled teachers face-to-face to learn. And I know you believe that too. I do. I know. Thank you for, Um, I would say that this budget initiative is for a supplemental instructional resource. And so we have named Lexia because that is in our approved division literacy plan. Um, we made it a habit
and we'll continue to do so of providing updates to the curriculum instruction committee or the performance monitoring committee as, as is appropriate. Um, and we, um, understand the feedback you're receiving, but we're also seeing signs of impact. And I think anytime we make a decision around an instruction material, we should be able to talk about that. So I look forward to having the elementary reading team and the secondary, um, English team, um, either join a CNI meeting or performance monitoring committee to talk about the specific impact
that our choices in our division literacy plan have made. Yeah, I appreciate that. Um, I think that's all for now. Amazingly. Thank you guys so much for your work. Really appreciate it. Um, how about Vice Chair Donahue? Oh, uh, thank you Madam Chair. I, I don't have any specific questions right now. I just, I do want to express my gratitude for the presentation.
There's a lot of really exciting, um, programs, proposals, and ideas, uh, that have been discussed this evening that I am very interested to follow up on and learn more about. Um, I did also want to, uh, briefly follow up on and kind of respond to a couple of the other comments that were made by some of my fellow members, um, which do also
reflect and track some of the comments that I've heard from community members, which are along the lines of if LCP S'S student enrollment is staying roughly the same, why do we have to keep requesting larger budgets? And I understand why people are asking the question, we need to ask the question, but it's not, it's, it's not as simple.
Um, to me it doesn't seem to be as simple, as simple as we might like for it to be sometimes, because as we've discussed before, or staff has discussed before, the percentage of our students who need more support, such as our special ed students and our English Learn or English learner students, uh, if I remember correctly, are making up a lar larger percentages of our student population,
which means that we have to provide more services to make sure that they are getting the education, uh, the educational opportunities to excel and learn that they are entitled to along with all of the rest of, uh, of our student population. And that require, may require a greater outlay of, um, of money than, uh, when those populations of student groups were smaller.
Uh, and I, um, one of the things I'm particularly excited about is, uh, the idea of an alternative elementary school. I'm, I'm very interested in that. I'm really glad that it's something that we're looking at. Um, and I, I hope that it will maybe someday help us to deal with some of the situations that, uh, parents have brought to myself.
And I know to other of my fellow board members where there, there may be an instance of an elementary school student, um, who's alleged to be threatening physical harm to another student. And sometimes we are faced with those questions of, you know, what do we, what do we do in these situations when our obligation is to provide public education to everyone? Um, so, uh,
um, anyway, I will follow up with any specific questions I have in writing, but, um, thank you again to the staff for the presentation. Thank you. Vice Chair Donahue, Dr. Rashid, Thank you Chair, and thank you to the team for putting together this awesome report. Very detailed, very comprehensive, and I'm sure it took a while. Um, and it was a lot. And definitely as chair had mentioned, um, you know, I, I, I like how it's forecasted how the athletic trainers
that we're, we're trying to work towards the optimum number of having athletic trainers in every school. Um, however, I am a little worrisome of that timeframe where we don't have that optimum number. Um, uh, because our students, uh, if something were to happen to any of the students, then their colleagues are not CPR certified or anything like that to help them in rescuing their colleague or to resuscitate their colleague. Heaven forbid if anything like that happens.
Um, but I do like that it's forecasted. I like that it's, you know, it's in the, it's in the plan. As a healthcare professional myself, I I, I love that there's the health clinic and, uh, I am hopeful to see, um, that there would be any type of, uh, dental cleanings offered. I I'm a dentist myself or any type of dental work, just like something, at least something basic. Someone had mentioned that some of these students don't even see a physician.
So it would be nice to have something like just a dental cleaning, um, of some sort. Um, of course within the confines of rules, at least for the elementary, elementary school kids, that would be pretty helpful. And yes. And then there was a slide that talked about transportation about having 0.4 million, uh, transportation for after school, uh, uh, as, as a pilot. And that, that saw that on slide 14. Um, we, we are expanding.
I like how we have a lot of other programs going about, and I'm just, it's just a comment more to my colleagues. I think you guys know what I'm alluding to and I sound like a broken record again. And I, you know, I quote myself when I say that, but we have other buses going to other places, so it would be helpful, let alone some of our, um, little kids or a lot, lot of other kids out west that are having a lot of, um, you know, transportation issues.
But I go back to other schools that are outside our county, uh, specifically tj, um, and how we send buses there. So it would be great to offset that if we could have some of those buses for this pilot. Again, it's just a thought for all of you guys just to think about. Um, you can look down, you can look at me, but I'm just telling you. And that's all I have to say. Thank you, chair.
Well, thank you, Dr. Rasheed. Miss, miss LaBelle, You're, you're quite welcome, Dr. She see that she still helps me. Um, no, that, that has been a thing that I have brought up several times, uh, about buses and tj and we'll talk more about that I guess later on. Um, my big concern is the, uh,
behavior specialist and all the people that we are bringing in for that. I see that as critically important at this point in time as we are having so many complaints in special education about restraint and seclusion of our students. And we need to, and we're working on our policy, um, it should be coming up next week. So many teachers do not know how to handle
a student when they are having a behavioral meltdown. It happens frequently. We need to have a staff, uh, a small staff granted, that can go about and help teachers learn how to deal with this, not just in their special education classes, but some of these, uh, students are out in regular ed classes and those teachers know nothing about how to handle this.
And so I think we need to be mindful of that and know that having behavioral specialist and providing consistency in training is critically important when we look at the next year coming up. So I'd hate to see anything come out of the budget for that. Um, I agree with, uh, many of the others this evening about the importance of having athletic trainers on the school grounds.
I'd like to see them. If there's only one more that we need, why can't we find the money to do six? That would would be, I mean, we're looking at five. So that would be something that I'd like to see have completed. I'd like to have that one checked off our list of, yes, we got something completely finished. That would be nice. Um, I've got a few other things that I'm looking at here, um, on my list of things to think about. But, um, I'm going to put those into questions
and put them onto, uh, our written documents for answers, written answers. Uh, so that's about all I have to say this evening, except you're very welcome, Dr. Rashi. Thank you, Ms. LaBelle. Um, I echo your sentiment about we need more positive support interventions with behavioral analysts, and then we won't need seclusion.
Um, but we have to put all those in place in that training. So, um, and I think we are moving that way. Um, I think Any other questions? Yes. One more. Mrs. Griffith. Thank you Madam Chair for my inform for my own information. Where is the current Leesburg welcome center? Is it in a school? Um, forgive me for asking if I missed where it is. It says at the it at the Douglas School in Leesburg. And I, I'd be happy to visit
with you if you would like to visit at some point. Okay. And I just, my computer pooped out on me a little bit. Um, so we will now. Thank you. I know that was long. Y'all got to sit there for a long time. I'm sorry. But I appreciate you guys, um, and your presentation, um,
and looking forward to more conversations in the next week. Um, our next, uh, we'll continue on with, I guess the school but school board budget discussion, um, with Ms. Willoughby. Thank you. And I'll just provide a brief update that we are working on the next packet of school board q and a. Before the questions that were asked this evening,
we had about two dozen, um, questions that we were working on. We will actively work on the questions that have been asked this evening. I will also, um, request that school board members please send your questions as soon as possible. Thursday is the last work, uh, session that we have calendared as Dr. Ellis shared at the end of their presentation. Thursday will be, um, a relatively light meeting. There's a short presentation on the other funds.
We will then have, um, another short presentation regarding what to expect to adopt the budget, which is scheduled for February 4th. And then we'll also have our first of two public hearings. We will also be looking for guidance on Thursday on whether or not we will have the work session that was listed as if needed on January 30th. And that is my update. Ms. Willoughby, could you remind us about
the amendment process and when that might start and when we would start that whole, uh, On Thursday as part of the next steps budget, uh, presentation? I will go into detail of that. But if, if some of you are already, um, thinking about possible motions or amendments you would like to make, I'd be happy to meet with you separately or have a discussion. I'll give you the quick preview on Thursday. We'll be, um, sharing that information
with myself as soon as possible so that we can not only help with the costing of the motion, but also, um, putting it in the proper structure and helping just to vet to make sure that there are no other, you know, unintended, uh, consequences. The other update will be that typically you can, um, if you wanted to add something to the budget to maintain the fiscal balance,
that you would have a counter, um, reduction. If not, then obviously if you added something to the budget, then you're going to increase the request from the county. And then vice versa. If you were to just solely do a reduction, that would be a reduction to the county ask. Thank you. Board members, do you have any questions about like, that procedure and those dates or anything? No, not at this time. Dr.
Bergen, do you have any comments? You've kind of, no, ma'am. Okay. So we'll just continue on with item four, adjournment. Um, seeing there's no more business. The 20 January 21st, 2025 Loudoun County School Board for the FY 26 operating budget is now adjourned. Please drive safely home.
I.