[A. Meeting Opening]
[00:00:03]
GOOD AFTERNOON. I'D LIKE TO CALL THE FEBRUARY 3RD, 2026 SCHOOL BOARD BUDGET WORK SESSION TO ORDER.
BEFORE WE BEGIN THIS AFTERNOON, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MOMENT FOR TWO RECOGNITIONS.
WE WANT TO CELEBRATE THAT THIS IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH.
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS HONORS THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF OUR BLACK STUDENTS, TEACHERS, EMPLOYEES, AND FAMILIES IN OUR SCHOOL COMMUNITIES PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
IT IS VITAL TO ENSURE THAT BLACK HISTORY REMAINS AN INTEGRAL PART OF OUR CURRICULUM, AND BLACK HISTORY MONTH IS A TIME FOR ALL CHESTERFIELD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS TO LEARN ABOUT AND BE INSPIRED BY BLACK HEROES.
DURING OUR FEBRUARY 10TH BUSINESS MEETING, THE SCHOOL BOARD PLANS TO ADOPT A RESOLUTION IN HONOR OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH AND THE SIGNIFICANT, SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS OF BLACK AMERICANS TO OUR NATION'S ADVANCEMENT.
WE ALSO WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT NATIONAL SCHOOL COUNSELING WEEK IS FEBRUARY 2ND THROUGH 6TH.
OUR SCHOOL COUNSELORS MAKE A DAILY DIFFERENCE FOR THE CHILDREN OF CHESTERFIELD COUNTY.
SCHOOL COUNSELORS ARE WITH OUR STUDENTS FOR THEIR HAPPIEST MOMENTS, LIKE COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES AND SCHOOL COUNSELORS SUPPORT OUR STUDENTS WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS BLEAK AND OVERWHELMING. SCHOOL COUNSELORS HAVE TRULY STEPPED UP TO SUPPORT THE WIDE VARIETY OF ACADEMIC, SOCIAL, AND MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS OF OUR STUDENTS.
[B. FY2027 Proposed Capital Improvement Plan]
WELL. GOOD AFTERNOON. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT.BEFORE I DO THAT, I WANT TO RECOGNIZE JON BALASA IS BEHIND ME.
HE'S OUR DIRECTOR OF CONSTRUCTION. IF YOU HAVEN'T MET JON YET. HE WAS INTEGRAL IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PRESENTATION AS WELL AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLAN. AS WAS JOHN THUMMA AND HIS TEAM, OUR DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES.
AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, JOHN THUMMA IS BUSY WORKING ON LAST MINUTE DETAILS FOR OUR PLANS FOR TOMORROW.
AND SO HE IS DOING THAT TONIGHT. SO AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY.
WE ALSO TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SOME OF THESE IDEAS IN DECEMBER.
SO IF YOU SEE A COUPLE OF SLIDES THAT ARE SIMILAR OR FAMILIAR TO WHAT YOU'VE SEEN BEFORE FORGIVE ME ON THAT, BUT WE HAVE GREAT WORK AHEAD. SO THIS IS ONE OF THESE SLIDES AND IT'S, IT'S, I THINK, AN IMPORTANT PART FOR OUR COMMUNITY AS WE DISCUSS OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM. AND THAT IS THAT IT'S DEVELOPED BY POLICY AND THROUGH OUR POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN THE SCHOOL BOARD POLICY GROUP.
SO THE IMPORTANT PART HERE IS THAT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS ARE NOT DEVELOPED SORT OF IN A VACUUM.
THIS IS A PLACE WHERE WE ARE CREATING THE BEST POSSIBLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS AND WORKING ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STAFF, AND WE DO SO IN A WAY THAT'S THOUGHTFUL AND PLANNED AND DESIGNED TO CREATE VARIOUS OR TO ACHIEVE VARIOUS GOALS.
AND SO THAT IS AGAIN DESIGNED BY POLICY AND DEVELOP THROUGH POLICY.
AS WE DO MANY OF OUR THINGS. SO WE'LL START OFF TONIGHT.
AGAIN, THESE ARE SOME THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE HEARD BEFORE.
BUT WE'LL START WITH OUR MAJOR CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE ONES THAT ARE BRIEFLY, SOME OF THE PROJECTS THAT ARE GOING ON RIGHT NOW, AS WELL AS PROBABLY MORE DETAIL ON PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS.
SO I'M NOT GOING TO GO INTO AS MUCH DETAIL IN TERMS OF THE ONGOING PROJECTS, BECAUSE YOU'VE HEARD THAT IN DECEMBER YOU HEARD ABOUT BENSLEY AND DEEP CREEK AND THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL. AND YOU'LL HEAR NEXT WEEK ABOUT CTC AT HULL A LITTLE BIT MORE.
BUT YOU ALSO HEAR ABOUT THAT IN MORE DETAIL IN APRIL AS WELL.
VERY HAPPILY, WE ARE NOT BEHIND SCHEDULE AS A RESULT OF THIS WORK.
THE HIGH SCHOOL, THE CONTRACTOR THERE HAD EIGHT DAYS BUDGETED FOR WEATHER IN JANUARY.
OF COURSE YOU USED LESS THAN THAT, SO THAT'S GREAT.
[00:05:07]
DIDN'T HAPPEN BECAUSE OF THE WEATHER. BUT FORTUNATELY WE WERE WAY AHEAD OF SCHEDULE IN THAT PART OF THE PROCESS.SO WE'RE IN GOOD SHAPE THERE. SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT.
SO THAT'S CONTINUING FORWARD. AND SO I WON'T GO INTO DETAIL TONIGHT ABOUT THAT.
BUT ALL PROJECTS REMAIN ON SCHEDULE AND ON BUDGET AT THIS POINT.
SO THIS IS A SLIDE THAT YOU SAW LAST TIME WHEN BOB WAS PRESENTING.
AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN THE SLIDE THAT WE PRESENTED IN DECEMBER.
SO WE HAVE A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW.
YOU'LL SEE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE SCREEN THAT IN GREEN, YOU'LL SEE THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND YELLOW YOU'LL SEE SOME PROJECTS THAT ARE IN PROCESS RIGHT NOW. AND THEN AT THE RIGHT SIDE, WE'LL TALK ABOUT PROJECTS THAT WILL BE IN THE FUTURE.
AND WE DON'T QUITE HAVE FUNDING OR MAYBE PERHAPS LAND FOR SOME OF THEM, BUT WE ARE GOING TO CERTAINLY BE GOING FORWARD WITH THAT. BUT THE BIG PICTURE CHANGE HERE, FROM OUR CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD IN DECEMBER, WAS THAT WE HAVE WORKED WITH OUR PARTNERS AT THE COUNTY TO IDENTIFY THE OPPORTUNITY TO CONSTRUCT TWO NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS, ONE AND AS A REPLACEMENT, GRANGE HALL THAT WILL OPEN IN AUGUST OF 2029 AND THEN A REPLACE A NEW.
STILL MORE PROCESS TO GO. BUT WE FEEL LIKE THAT IS A VERY DOABLE, VERY REASONABLE TIMELINE AND AND WILL BE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT PROJECTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY AS WE GO FORWARD.
SO I'M GOING TO TALK THOSE THOSE PROJECTS THAT ARE IN YELLOW THERE THAT ARE SORT OF IN PROGRESS.
I'M GOING TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON OUR WORK GOING FORWARD.
STARTING OUT WITH THE FOLLOWING CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL PHASE TWO PROJECT.
YOU. I'M SURE, ARE FAMILIAR THAT WE BUILT A NEW FALLING CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL A FEW YEARS AGO.
WHAT YOU SEE ON THE SCREEN IS MY FEEBLE ATTEMPT AT GENERATIVE AI.
SO DOCTOR POPE, I HOPE, WILL BE PROUD OF ME IN USING THAT.
AND A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL. SO DESIGN IS 100% COMPLETE RIGHT NOW.
WE ARE CURRENTLY IN OUR PRE-CONSTRUCTION PHASE.
AGAIN, WE WILL RESULT IN THE DEMOLITION OF THE EXISTING FORMER FALLING CREEK MIDDLE SCHOOL.
SO OUR APPROXIMATE BUDGET IS $6 MILLION FOR THIS PROJECT.
AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT PROCESS.
SO THAT LEAVES ONE MORE TRACK TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS HERE IN CHESTERFIELD COUNTY.
BUT AGAIN, ANOTHER REALLY, REALLY GREAT MOVEMENT FORWARD.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE THE WHERE THE TRACK IS IS SORT OF WHERE THE MIDDLE SCHOOL USED TO BE.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD INTO THE REPLACEMENT GRANGE HALL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THIS IS A AGAIN, ANOTHER ONE OF MY ATTEMPTS AT GENERATIVE AI WOULD JUST SORT OF CHANGE THE NAME ON THE PICTURE OF THE A.M. DAVIS SCHOOL.
THIS REPLACES A BUILDING THAT HAS COMPONENTS THAT ARE OVER 100 YEARS OLD.
THAT'S A CRITICAL PART OF HOW THAT SORT OF GOT ONTO THE ORIGINAL BOND REFERENDUM.
SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT SITE THAN WHERE THE SCHOOL IS EXISTING RIGHT NOW.
SO NOT ONLY ARE WE REPLACING A SCHOOL THAT HAS EXCEEDED ITS USEFUL LIFE.
WE ARE ALSO HAVING THE OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS MANY OF OUR CAPACITY CONCERNS IN THE AREA.
SO THAT'S A TREMENDOUSLY IMPORTANT PART OF OUR GOALS AS, AS A SCHOOL DIVISION IS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF TRAILER CLASSROOMS AS MUCH AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. AND THIS PROJECT ABSOLUTELY DOES THAT. IT IS A CRITICAL PART OF THAT AS WE GO FORWARD WITH THAT MOVING ALONG.
SO WE'LL WORK THROUGH THAT. AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE AN ANTICIPATED OPENING DATE OF AUGUST OF 2029.
JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM HERE IS OUR NEXT PROJECT, OUR DALE AREA ELEMENTARY ADDITIONAL SCHOOL.
[00:10:03]
SO THIS WOULD BE A NEW SCHOOL COMMUNITY THAT WOULD BE ADDED TO THE CHESTERFIELD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS COMMUNITY.THIS IS ALMOST ENTIRELY DESIGNED TO ADDRESS OVERCROWDING IN THE DALE AREA.
AND TO THE POINT WHERE WE THINK THAT WE CAN REDUCE ABOUT 60 CLASSROOMS. TRAILER CLASSROOMS AS A RESULT OF THIS PROJECT.
SO THAT'S TREMENDOUS. THAT IS A LEGACY BUILDING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE SCHOOL BOARD AND THE COUNTY AND OUR OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY MAKE TREMENDOUS IMPACTS ON A POSITIVE, QUALITY LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS.
IN ADDITION, WE HAVE A VERY LARGE WAITING LIST FOR PRE-K STUDENTS IN THE AREA.
SO THIS PROJECT WILL ADD AN ADDITIONAL 150 SEATS OF PRE-K.
SO THAT DOES REQUIRE A LITTLE BIT MORE DESIGN WORK.
THIS PROVIDES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT, MAKE SURE THAT OUR FINANCING WORKS OUT JUST RIGHT.
SO SOMETHING VERY SOMETHING TO BE VERY PROUD OF.
SO THOSE ARE OUR SORT OF PRIMARY UPCOMING MAJOR PROJECTS THAT WE HAVE.
A LOT YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE PLANNING WORK IS ONGOING FOR THAT.
WE ALSO HAVE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT ARE IN THE MID RANGE AREA.
THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR SOME TIME. SOME ARE REFERENDUM PROJECTS THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK THROUGH, BUT MAYBE DON'T HAVE FUNDING YET OR MAYBE DON'T HAVE A PROPERTY IDENTIFIED FOR THESE PROJECTS.
SO MIDLOTHIAN MIDDLE SCHOOL REPLACEMENT, THE ADDITIONAL OLD HUNDRED AREA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
THOSE ARE BOTH PROJECTS THAT WE DON'T HAVE A PROPERTY JUST YET FOR THAT.
BUT OF COURSE WE'LL BE CONTINUING. CONTINUING TO BE AN IMPORTANT PROJECT FOR US, PROJECTS FOR US.
ARE ALL PROJECTS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT FOR SOME TIME. WE JUST DON'T HAVE FUNDING FOR THEM RIGHT NOW. BUT AGAIN, OUR IMPORTANT PROJECTS FOR OUR COMMUNITY GOING FORWARD. AND IN THE LONG RUN YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
WE'RE GOING TO DO A LOT OF REALLY GREAT WORK IN THE NEXT 5 TO 10 YEARS.
BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT WE ARE NOT DONE AFTER WE DO THAT WORK.
RIGHT? AND SO BECAUSE OF SIGNIFICANT RENOVATIONS THAT WILL NEED TO BE DONE BECAUSE THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL GROWTH IN THE COUNTY, THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL CAPACITY NEEDS IN THE COUNTY. THERE WILL BE NEED THERE NEED TO BE MORE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, MORE SCHOOLS. AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT AGE IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR DECISION TO REPLACE A SCHOOL OR TO BUILD A NEW SCHOOL, BUT IT'S INCOMPLETE, RIGHT? IT'S A ONE COMPONENT OF OUR DECISION TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SCHOOLS THAT WE HAVE ADDRESS A PROGRAMMATIC NEEDS.
AND AGAIN THE POINT HERE IS TO SAY WE'RE DOING PROJECTS ALL OVER THE COUNTY. WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO PROJECTS OVER THE COUNTY. THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE ANY OF THE MAJOR MAINTENANCE PROJECTS THAT I'LL TALK ABOUT HERE IN JUST A FEW MINUTES. BUT AGAIN, WE ARE TRYING TO DO OUR BEST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE INVESTING THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY IN AS MANY PLACES AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. ALL RIGHT.
SO THAT'S OUR PRESENTATION ON OUR SORT OF MAJOR PROJECTS THAT ARE COMING FORWARD.
SO WE HAVE A COUPLE OF TIMES NOW HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE NEED TO INVEST IN A REALLY AGGRESSIVE, PROACTIVE MAJOR MAINTENANCE PROGRAM IN THE COUNTY.
BUT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE SHOWN TO OUR COMMUNITY AS AN IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT WE DO, BECAUSE IT'S REALLY GREAT TO BUILD NEW SCHOOLS AND REALLY FUN TO DO THAT.
SO AGAIN OUR MAJOR MAINTENANCE PROCESS HELPS US TO MEET THE SCHOOL BOARD POLICY GOALS OF 7240, AGAIN, TAKING CARE OF THOSE BUILDINGS. AND WE'RE TRYING TO, AGAIN, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE EXTENDING THE USEFUL LIFE OF EXISTING BUILDINGS WHERE WE POSSIBLY CAN. SO THOSE ARE THINGS LIKE REPLACING CHILLERS SECURITY CAMERA REPLACEMENTS.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT THAT MAY NOT BE AS EXCITING TO SOME FOLKS, BUT ARE VERY EXCITING TO PEOPLE LIKE ME AND JOHN AND OTHERS THAT, AGAIN, ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DEVELOPING THE BEST LEARNING ENVIRONMENT FOR OUR STUDENTS AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
[00:15:04]
BEEN SAYING FOR SOME TIME THERE IS A NEED TO INVEST MORE IN MAJOR MAINTENANCE THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL DIVISION.AGAIN THESE ARE NO SURPRISE TO THE BOARD. WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO AS WE GO FORWARD.
THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT COSTS THAT ARE GOING TO BE NEEDED OVER THE NEXT NUMBER OF YEARS.
AND THE SPECIFIC DETAILS OF THESE PRICES ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS TO SAY, HEY, WE ARE DOING THIS ANALYSIS AND THIS ASSESSMENT TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE INVESTMENT NEEDS THROUGHOUT OUR DIVISION. AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE DO THAT, WE DO THAT IN A THOUGHTFUL WAY. WE'VE GONE OUT WE'VE DONE IT IN A LOGICAL, SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CONDITION OF OUR BUILDINGS.
AND WE'VE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT ARE THE NEEDS AS WELL.
SO IF YOU TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THE BIG PICTURE NUMBERS ARE THERE, YOU'RE SEEING A LOT OF MONEY THAT IS NEEDED FOR HVAC, MECHANICAL, THAT SORT OF THING. ELECTRICAL IMPROVEMENTS, ROOFS THAT NEED TO BE REPLACED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
THESE ARE NOT THINGS THAT YOU KNOW, GET A LOT OF HEADLINES, BUT THEY'RE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT TO MAKING SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS HAVE A GREAT LEARNING ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE POSSIBLY CAN. SO THAT IS THAT.
SO I WANT TO GO NOW INTO THE MAJOR MAINTENANCE FUNDING PROPOSAL FOR THE COMING YEAR.
AND THAT IS LISTED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN.
SO HVAC, ROOFS, THERE ARE SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS, THERE ARE ELECTRICAL IMPROVEMENTS.
AS WE CONTINUE THROUGH OUR FACILITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS.
WE MAY HAVE DIFFERENT PROJECTS THAT COME ON DOWN THE ROAD. AND SO WE ARE PROPOSING PROJECTS THAT WE KNOW ARE VERY GOOD, VERY THOUGHTFUL PROJECTS THAT WILL BE VALUABLE TO OUR COMMUNITY AND TO OUR SCHOOLS.
BUT AGAIN, WE'LL CONTINUE THAT FACILITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS.
WHAT SPECIFIC SCHOOLS WHAT SPECIFIC PROJECTS.
BECAUSE WHEN I STOOD BEFORE YOU IN DECEMBER, I TALKED ABOUT THE NEED TO BE ABLE TO BE REALLY CLEAR ABOUT SAYING EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR THAT WE'RE IDENTIFYING ARE RELATED TO A SPECIFIC SCHOOL SPECIFIC PROJECT, A SPECIFIC OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THE SCHOOL IN PLACE BETTER.
SO ON THE MECHANICAL SO AGAIN, THIS IS HVAC KIND OF WORK.
SO HEATING AND COOLING WE'RE INVESTING MOST OF OUR WORK IN MATOACA MIDDLE, MANCHESTER HIGH.
THESE ARE AIR HANDLING UNITS. THEY ARE UNITS THAT AGAIN, IT'S THEY HANDLE AIR, RIGHT? THEY MOVE AIR AROUND THE BUILDINGS. AND THEY MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE FRESH AIR THROUGHOUT THE BUILDINGS. WE ALSO WANT TO START PHASE ONE OF A LARGER HVAC UPGRADE AT HOPKINS ELEMENTARY. IF YOU'VE BEEN IN HOPKINS LATELY, YOU'LL NOTE THAT THERE'S LOTS OF TEMPORARY UNITS THAT ARE AROUND.
SO THAT'S GOING TO BE A MUCH BIGGER PROJECT TO GET THAT GOING THE WAY IT NEEDS TO BE.
BUT WE'RE GOING TO START REPLACING IT WITH SIX AIR HANDLING UNITS.
THAT'LL GET US A LONG WAY DOWN THAT ROAD, AND THAT'LL BE REALLY CRITICALLY IMPORTANT. WE'LL ALSO DO SOME SMALLER PROJECTS. REPLACEMENT OF A CHILLER AND AN AIR HANDLER AT BON AIR, A CHILLER REPLACEMENT AT CHALKLEY AND A GYM AIR HANDLING UNIT AT WATKINS.
ROOFS ARE PROBABLY THE MOST ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF A BUILDING.
BECAUSE IT'S REALLY HARD TO FOCUS ON ALGEBRA WHEN IT'S YOU KNOW, DRIPPING ON YOUR HEAD.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE IN OUR ROOF DATA THAT WE LOOK AT AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THIS WORK, IS THAT BECAUSE ROOFS HAVE BECAUSE WE'VE NOT HAD A SYSTEMIC PROCESS TO REPLACE ROOFS WHEN THEY NEED TO BE DONE.
SO YOU MIGHT SEE A SECTION THAT IS, YOU KNOW, 25 YEARS OLD, THAT'S RIGHT NEXT TO A SECTION THAT'S MAYBE 15 YEARS OLD BECAUSE THERE WAS A LEAK OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. AND SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS TO REALLY FOCUS ON MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE WE'RE DEVELOPING BIGGER PROJECTS THAT ALLOW FOR A CONSISTENT ROOF AGE
[00:20:06]
THROUGHOUT A BUILDING WHERE WE CAN NOW BIGGER BUILDINGS.YOU CAN'T REALLY JUST REPLACE THE WHOLE ROOF OFTENTIMES BECAUSE IT WILL TAKE A LONG TIME.
AND SO WE WOULDN'T DO ANYTHING ELSE IF WE DO LIKE A HIGH SCHOOL AT ONE TIME. SO WE'LL DO SOME OF THOSE IN PHASES. AND WE'LL DEVELOP THAT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS AS WE GO FORWARD. SO IN THIS PROCESS THIS YEAR, WE WILL HAVE PLANNED TO REPLACE THE FLAT ROOF AT THOMAS DALE WEST.
WE WILL IN THE FUTURE, IN FUTURE YEARS, DO SOME REPAIRS TO THE SLATE ROOF AT THAT BUILDING AS WELL.
CURTIS ELEMENTARY WILL DO A PHASE 2 REPLACEMENT.
SO THERE WAS A PREVIOUS PHASE THAT WAS LARGE ENOUGH.
BAILEY BRIDGE. WE'LL DO A PHASE 1 REPLACEMENT.
SO THAT'S A THAT'S DEFINITELY A SCHOOL THAT HAS LOTS OF DIFFERENT PATCHES FROM TIME TO TIME.
AND SO WE'LL DO THAT. AND THEN JACOBS ROAD THE SHINGLE ROOF WILL BE REPLACED.
IF YOU'VE BEEN TO JACOBS ROAD, YOU'LL KNOW THERE'S A PRIMARY SORT OF SHINGLE ROOF THERE, BUT THERE'S ALSO SORT OF A CENTER FLAT ROOF AND THAT'S, THAT'S WILL BE REPLACED. SO THAT'S OUR ROOF. OUR SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS.
WE WILL HAVE A SECOND PHASE OF SECURITY FILM INSTALLATION.
SO WE'VE BEEN THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL DIVISION.
WE HAVE ADDED BALLISTIC FILM ON THE PRIMARY ON ALL THE ENTRANCE DOORS THROUGHOUT THE DIVISION.
I PROBABLY WON'T GO INTO A WHOLE LOT OF DETAIL, BUT WE WANT TO ADD TO THAT SIGNIFICANTLY.
AND WE'LL CONTINUE FORWARD WITH THAT. THAT'LL GO THE FIRST YEAR WITH ALL OF OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS BEING DONE IN FUTURE YEARS, WE'LL DO THE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOLS AS WELL. AND THEN WE WILL DO A SECURITY CAMERA REPLACEMENT AT A NUMBER OF SCHOOLS THAT YOU SEE LISTED THERE.
THOSE ARE JUST THE TIME. THESE ARE ONES THAT JUST NEED TO BE REPLACED AT THIS POINT. ALL RIGHT.
SO THIS IS CONSISTENT WITH ONE OF YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP ADVISORY COMMITTEE THAT TALKED ABOUT HOW WE CAN SAVE A LOT OF MONEY BY REDUCING THE ELECTRIC CONSUMPTION BY REPLACING THESE LIGHTS.
AND SO THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE ANY KIND OF OTHER SORT OF ALTERNATIVE FINANCING OPPORTUNITY.
BUT IT DOES PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO THAT WORK.
THAT'S IMPORTANT. IT'S IMPORTANT TO TO REDUCE OUR ELECTRIC CONSUMPTION.
BUT IT'S ALSO REALLY IMPORTANT THAT OUR CLASSROOMS ARE BRIGHT AND LIGHT.
AND THEY NEED TO BE NEED TO BE REPLACED. WE'LL ALSO HAVE GENERATOR REPLACEMENTS AT MATOACA HIGH SCHOOL, MEADOWBROOK HIGH, AND SWIFT CREEK MIDDLE. MEADOWBROOK I'LL JUST MENTION THAT HAS TWO GENERATORS.
THERE IS A ONE THAT IS FOR THE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SHELTER.
SO MEADOWBROOK AND COSBY BOTH SERVE AS OUR SHELTERING LOCATIONS.
IF THERE IN CASE OF A MAJOR NEED TO EVACUATE OR EMERGENCY.
AND SO THERE IS A SPECIFIC GENERATOR FOR THAT SITE.
BUT THAT WILL COME DOWN LATER WITH ANOTHER PROJECT.
OKAY, SO THAT WAS SORT OF THE FOUR MAJOR AREAS THAT FIRST $25.8 MILLION.
SO WE WERE THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF A PILOT PROJECT WHERE WE'RE SAYING, LET'S IDENTIFY A SCHOOL THAT, YOU KNOW, HVAC IS PRETTY DECENT, THE ROOF'S PRETTY DECENT. ALL THE SORT OF CORE FUNCTIONS AND CORE SYSTEMS ARE IN A PRETTY DECENT SHAPE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE JUST IN THE SCHOOL, IT JUST IT JUST NEEDS SOME LOVE, RIGHT? IT NEEDS SOME IT NEEDS SOME OPPORTUNITY, SOME PAINT, THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
AND SO WHAT WE WANTED TO DO IS FIND A SCHOOL THAT COULD BE THAT COULD HAVE A DESIGN THAT COULD BE REPLICATED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY WHERE WE GO AND WE SAY, HOW DO WE MAKE THIS SPACE JUST NICER, RIGHT? FOR OUR STUDENTS TO BE IN.
RIGHT. THAT'S ON THE WALLS. AND SO WHEN WE DO THIS, WE'VE IDENTIFIED PROVIDENCE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS WE'VE A SCHOOL. THE ROOF IS IN PRETTY DECENT SHAPE.
THE HVAC IS IN PRETTY DECENT SHAPE. NOT THAT IT'S PERFECT, RIGHT. BUT THEY'RE IN PRETTY GOOD CONDITION COMPARED TO OTHERS. IT'S ALSO CONSISTENT WITH A PROTOTYPE THAT IS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. SO ALBERTA SMITH IS THE SAME PROTOTYPE.
[00:25:02]
OF BASIC DESIGN OF THE BUILDING. AND SO WHAT WE CAN DO IS AS WE GO IN TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE MAKE THIS SPACE AS NICE AS IT POSSIBLY CAN BE, WE CAN REPLICATE THAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THE SAME DESIGN PROCESS OVER AND OVER AGAIN. SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. WE THINK, AGAIN, THIS IS A PILOT PROJECT.AND AGAIN, FOR A RELATIVELY MODEST COST COMPARED TO A FULL SORT OF RENOVATION AS WELL.
SO WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. THIS NEXT ONE IS A IS A BIT OF A PLACEHOLDER.
THIS IS A PART OF OUR FACILITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS. WE'RE NOT QUITE READY TO SAY WHICH PARKING LOTS WE'RE GOING TO DO, BUT IN THE SPRINGTIME, WE'LL KNOW THAT, AND WE'LL GET THAT RIGHT AWAY AND THESE ARE JUST PROJECTS THAT NEED TO BE DONE. THESE ARE PANELS THAT ARE AGING OUT.
SO MEADOWBROOK, MATOACA, CHALKLEY AND CURTIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DETAIL THERE. I HOPE THAT'S NOT TOO BORING FOR YOU, BUT IT'S REALLY CRITICAL.
AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, WE'LL CONTINUE TO DEVELOP OUR FACILITY ASSESSMENT PROCESS, A FACILITY CONDITION ASSESSMENT PROCESS, SO THAT WE'LL HAVE AGAIN THAT LONG TERM PLAN.
WE REALLY, REALLY NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE INVESTING APPROPRIATE FUNDS.
SO WE'VE REALLY TRIED TO BE AS STRATEGIC AND THOUGHTFUL AND IN USING THESE FUNDS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING MAKES THE MOST SENSE IN THE LONG RUN FOR THE SCHOOL DIVISION AS WE DEVELOP THAT BIGGER, MAJOR MAINTENANCE PROCESS. SO HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE. OH, I FORGOT THE SCHOOL BUS. BOB REMINDED ME TO MENTION THE SCHOOL BUSSES BECAUSE WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT.
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A COUPLE OF TIMES IN OUR PROCESS.
WE'VE DONE A REALLY, I THINK, A GREAT JOB OF DEVELOPING THAT RELATIONSHIP AND MAKING SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE OLD SCHOOL BUSSES THAT SHOULD NOT BE ON THE ROAD ANYMORE, CONTINUING TO BE THERE. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT WE GOT LAST TIME, I THINK MR. PARANTO YOU ASKED LAST TIME WAS, HEY, WHAT ARE THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH MAINTAINING THOSE OLDER BUSSES.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO SAY THIS WAS PLANNED, BUT ONCE YOU HIT THAT 12 YEAR MARK IS WHEN A BUS IS ON THE ROAD FULL TIME, IT GETS REALLY EXPENSIVE. SO IT GOES FROM AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT $7,000 OR $,8000 A YEAR TO MAINTAIN BEFORE THAT, TO CLOSER TO $11,000 OR $12,000 PER BUS PER YEAR.
SO IT GETS REALLY EXPENSIVE. SO WHAT OUR PLAN IS TO HAVE THE BUSSES ON THE ROAD FOR THE FIRST 12 YEARS AND THEN 13, 14 TO 15 YEARS, THEY'LL BE OFF THE ROAD, THEY'LL BE WELL, THEY'LL BE SPARES AND WILL BE USED SOME BUT WON'T HAVE NEARLY AS MUCH COST.
SO THAT DOESN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION FULLY. I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO FULLY OFFSET THE COSTS OF THE PROGRAM, BUT IT WILL HELP AND I THINK IT WILL BE REALLY VALUABLE. SO VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT PROJECT GOING FORWARD.
OKAY, SO NOW I'LL TAKE QUESTIONS. YEAH THANK YOU DOCTOR WODICKA. BOARD MEMBERS, ARE THERE ANY DISCUSSIONS? THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I DID WANT TO SAY THAT I THINK THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE WILL BE REALLY HAPPY TO SEE THE LED LIGHTS, SO I'M REALLY HAPPY THAT THAT MADE IT TO THE TO THE BUDGET.
BUT I ONLY HAD ONE QUESTION, AND IT WAS ABOUT THE ROOF.
WHEN YOU DO THE FULL ROOF REPLACEMENT, DOES THAT MEAN THEY GET SOLAR OR DOES NOT QUALIFY? IT ONLY HAPPENS FOR A BRAND NEW SCHOOL? SO GREAT, GREAT QUESTION.
AND WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PUTTING SOLAR ON NEW ROOFS AND NOT ON OLDER ROOFS.
I HAVEN'T THOUGHT THROUGH THAT NECESSARILY FOR THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS, BUT IT'S A FAIR QUESTION AND DEFINITELY WE'LL THINK THROUGH THAT. OKAY. BECAUSE THERE'S ONLY TWO OF THEM THAT WERE LISTED. THEY GET A FULL ROOF. YEAH SPEAKERS]. FOR THE TWO THAT WERE LISTED WOULD FULL. I WAS JUST CURIOUS. ABSOLUTELY. WE'LL DEFINITELY EVALUATE THAT. THAT'S A GREAT, GREAT POINT. THANK YOU. MR. PARANTO. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. A COUPLE QUESTIONS IN REGARDS TO WELL, LET ME BACK UP A LITTLE BIT.
SORRY. YOUR PREDECESSOR WOULD PRESENT AND WOULD TALK TO US IN RED, YELLOW AND GREEN.
OKAY. YOU. ARE YOU AWARE OF THAT? NO I'M NOT.
OKAY. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, HE WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, THE ROOF AT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON THE YELLOW TO MAINTAIN IT.
[00:30:02]
RIGHT? AND THEN PROJECT THE RED FOR, YOU KNOW, A LATER DATE BECAUSE IT'S A COMPLETE WASH.RIGHT? UNDERSTANDING THAT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE FOLLOWING.
BUT YOU DO HAVE A LIST, IF YOU WILL, OF ALL OF OUR SCHOOLS IN REGARDS TO THEIR CURRENT CONDITIONS, TO BE CATEGORIZED UNDER SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I'M ASSUMING.
SO ACTUALLY THERE IS A, THERE'S A RED AND YELLOW PROCESS.
I JUST DIDN'T INCLUDE THAT HERE. OKAY. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
OKAY. YEAH. I'M JUST USED TO HEARING THAT. OKAY.
AND THEN AND THEN SEEING IT NOW WE DON'T HAVE THAT.
IT WOULD JUST MADE ME MADE ME WONDER. THE OTHER QUESTION.
THANK YOU. THE OTHER QUESTION FOR THAT IS YOU TALKED ABOUT SECURITY CAMERA REPLACEMENT.
THOSE ARE CAMERA. THEY'RE STILL WORKING. CORRECT? THEY'RE JUST AGING OUT TO WHERE WE SEE THAT THEY'RE GOING TO NEED TO BE REPLACED.
JUST TO CLARIFY, FOR COMMUNITY, IT'S NOT THAT WE HAVE SCHOOLS THAT DON'T HAVE WORKING CAMERAS, IT'S THAT WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE'RE SPENDING MORE MONEY ON UPKEEPING THESE IT'S JUST GOING TO BE BENEFICIAL TO REPLACE THEM.
WE'RE TRYING TO BE PROACTIVE IN OUR WORK. YES, SIR.
AND TO CLARIFY, MEADOWBROOK AND COSBY, THE ADDITIONAL GENERATOR.
THAT'S FOR A CATASTROPHIC EVENT TO WHERE THE COMMUNITY WOULD HAVE TO GO TO THE HIGH SCHOOL.
IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR. SO THERE COULD BE A HURRICANE THAT RESULTS IN WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES FOR MANY DAYS, AS WE KNOW. AND THE PROBLEM AT MEADOWBROOK WITH THE EMERGENCY GENERATOR IS THAT IT DOES NOT OPERATE THE AIR CONDITIONER.
SO THAT OBVIOUSLY COULD BE A SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGE IN A IN SEPTEMBER WHEN IT'S, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S A HURRICANE EVENT. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A GRANT PROGRAM WORKING WITH THE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOLKS TO HELP US REPLACE THAT.
AND THEN WE'LL WORK THROUGH THAT, THAT FINANCING PROCESS. SO WE HAVE TAKEN ON THE RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE A LOOK AT TECHNICALLY, WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO ADD THAT FUNCTION IN. YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO DO SOME CHANGES IN WIRING AND, AND SWITCHGEAR AND THAT SORT OF THING. BUT THEY WILL TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE APPLICATION FOR PROCESS.
AND THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL THAT'S BEING BUILT WILL NOT HAVE THAT.
IS THAT CORRECT? THERE WILL NOT BE A AN EMERGENCY SHELTER.
IT'LL REMAIN COSBY IN THAT AREA. YES. OKAY. THANK YOU.
AND THEN THE OLD BUSSES JUST TO GET BACK TO THAT.
YEAH. UNDERSTANDING TRYING TO CAPTURE THE COST OF EVERYTHING.
THERE HAS TO BE SOME FIGURE OUT THERE, RIGHT? THAT SAYS HISTORICALLY, WE HAVE SPENT X AMOUNT OF DOLLARS.
SURE. THAT'S. I'M NOT LOOKING FOR, YOU KNOW, LINE BY LINE ITEM.
RIGHT. IF WE HAVE A BUS THAT'S, YOU KNOW, OVER 15 YEARS OF AGE, RIGHT? IT'S STILL OUT THERE ON THE ROAD OR WE'RE USING IT AS A SPARE, WHATEVER IT MIGHT BE.
THERE HAS TO BE COST SAVINGS SOMEWHERE. RIGHT AND THAT'S WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IS JUST TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND, OKAY, WITH THIS PROGRAM OF BEING ABLE TO FILTER OUT AFTER YEAR 12 AND THEN, OF COURSE, 13, 14 AND 15, AS YOU MENTIONED, BEING SUB BUSSES, EMERGENCY PURPOSES, WHAT HAVE YOU.
MAKES COMPLETE SENSE. THERE'S A SAVINGS IN THAT VERSUS WHAT WE'VE BEEN SPENDING.
RIGHT? THAT'S WHAT I WAS AFTER. AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH HAVE WE BEEN SPENDING OUT OF OUR BUDGET TO MAINTAIN THIS OLDER FLEET VERSUS A PROJECTION OF HOW MUCH WE'RE GOING TO SAVE BY BEING ABLE TO FILTER OUT AFTER, YOU KNOW, YEAR 12 OR 13? SURE. THAT'S WHAT I WAS AFTER. ABSOLUTELY. SO WE HAVE BUDGETED IN FISCAL YEAR 26, ABOUT $8.7 MILLION FOR REPAIRS FOR ALL THE BUSSES OVER THE YEARS.
AND SO THE REASON I SAY IT'S A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A CONSISTENT NUMBER OF THE NUMBER OF BUSSES PER YEAR, BECAUSE THERE HASN'T BEEN CONSISTENT BUYING OVER THOSE YEARS. SO YOU MIGHT HAVE 135 BUSSES THAT ARE CURRENTLY 7 YEARS OLD, BUT ONLY 20 BUSSES THAT ARE 8 YEARS OLD. AND SO THEN WHEN YOU START TO DO THAT, IT ENDS UP BEING A LITTLE MORE COMPLICATED.
BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY WORK ON AND FIND A WAY TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION MORE COMPLETELY.
YEAH, AND I APPRECIATE THAT. YEAH. I THINK BEING ABLE TO SHOW THE VALUE OF THIS RIGHT? FROM A PERCENTAGE STANDPOINT IN SAVINGS. NOT THAT THERE NEEDS TO BE BUY IN, BECAUSE JUST THE IDEA OF THIS ALONE MAKES PERFECT SENSE.
AND IT SHOULD BE AS SUCH. BUT JUST UNDERSTANDING THE SAVINGS ASPECT OF IT, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO PRESENT TO THE COMMUNITY AND SAY, HEY, LOOK, WE'RE NOT HAVING TO SPEND THIS MONEY HERE BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW.
YES, SIR SURE. I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT'S ALL I HAVE.
MS. COKER. I JUST HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS. AND THEN ALSO JUST TO DITTO WHAT MS. CHATTERS SAYS. I KNOW THE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP COMMITTEE.
WILL IS GOING TO BE ECSTATIC TO SEE SOME FOCUS AROUND THE LED LIGHTING.
SO THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO THEM AND PUTTING THAT IN INTO PLAN.
THE FACILITY CONDITIONS ASSESSMENT, APPROXIMATE TIME YOU THINK THAT WILL BE COMPLETE?
[00:35:06]
YES, MA'AM. SO I'M HOPING THAT'S DONE BY JUNE.SO EVERY PROJECT THAT WE HAVE HERE IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED AS A PART OF THAT PROCESS.
WE'RE JUST NOT DONE YET. AND SO I ASKED FOR THAT TO SORT OF BE DONE BY JUNE.
AND THEN LAST QUICK QUESTION. THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE AT THOMAS DALE FOR THIS UPCOMING YEAR, FOR 2026 IS THAT MAIN CAMPUS OR WEST CAMPUS? WHICH PROJECT? I THINK IT WAS THE ROOFTOP HVAC. LOOK, MAKE SURE.
I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT SLIDE THAT WAS ON [LAUGHTER] YOU CAN GET BACK TO ME.
[C. Compensation Update]
BUT FIRST WE HAVE SOMETHING FROM DOCTOR DARBY.GOOD AFTERNOON, MS. HUDGINS, MR. PARANTO, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
DOCTOR MURRAY, I APPRECIATE HAVING SOME TIME THIS AFTERNOON TO SPEND WITH YOU.
I'M DISCOVERING I'M NOT AS TALL AS MY COLLEAGUE.
[LAUGHTER]. PEOPLE MAKE INSTRUCTION POSSIBLE, AND WE HAVE HAD SOME SUCCESSES WITH INVESTMENTS AND COMPENSATION WITH SOME PREVIOUS GAINS. WE REDUCED THE VACANCIES IN TRANSPORTATION, AND THAT'S BEEN A YEAR OVER YEAR REDUCTION IN VACANCIES WITH ALL THE ROUTES FILLED TO START SCHOOLS THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
WE'VE HAD A DECREASE IN TEACHER ATTRITION THAT WAS SUSTAINED THE PAST TWO YEARS.
AND WE'VE HAD AN INCREASE IN SUBSTITUTE FILL RATES THAT'S CONTINUED TO INCREASE THIS YEAR AS WELL.
AND THESE ARE POSITIONS LIKE OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY, PHYSICAL THERAPY, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, ETC. MANY OF WHICH ARE REQUIRED SERVICES FOR STUDENTS.
SO THOSE WENT FROM 11.7% VACANCIES. AND THEN THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT I BELIEVE IT WAS JUNE OF 24, WHERE WE GOT A KIND OF A LATE BUDGET OR SOME MONEY AT THE END OF THE BUDGET AND PUT THIS INTO PLACE.
WE WEREN'T SURE IF IT WAS GOING TO IMPACT THAT RECRUITING SEASON, BUT IT DID AS WELL AS THE ONE BEYOND SO THAT'S DOWN TO 4.6% VACANCY RATE. SO SOME SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCES THERE. WE HAVE HAD, THOUGH SEVERAL YEARS OF HIGH COSTS THAT HAVE PROMPTED CANDIDATES AND EMPLOYEES TO CAREFULLY CONSIDER COMPENSATION DETAILS, WHICH ISN'T UNIQUE TO CCPS OR EVEN TO SCHOOLS.
SO THIS IS KIND OF AN OUTLINE OF THE POSITION TYPES THAT WE'LL BE CHATTING ABOUT.
AND TEACHERS AND INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS, STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES AND SCHOOL SECURITY OFFICERS.
AND PROPOSED TRANSPORTATION WOULD BE SCALE POSITIONS.
SO WE'LL START WITH TEACHERS BECAUSE THAT'S OUR MOST COMMON JOB TITLE IN CCPS.
THIS IS A CHART THAT YOU MIGHT RECOGNIZE THAT WE UPDATE EACH YEAR.
AND THIS SHOWS THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS THAT ARE BEING PREPARED.
THIS INCLUDES ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMS. AND THIS IS ONLY FOR THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.
IT IS TITLE II DATA. IT'S FEDERAL DATA, BUT ONLY ON THE STATE OF VIRGINIA.
DATA DOES RUN A LITTLE BIT BEHIND. SO THE LAST YEAR THAT WE HAVE AS WE'VE ADDED 2023-24, THE BLUE LINE SHOWS THE NUMBER OF ENROLLEES IN PROGRAMS. THE ORANGE LINE SHOWS THE NUMBER OF COMPLETERS, MEANING THEY FINISHED THEIR CERTIFICATION.
[00:40:06]
THEY PASS THEIR TESTS, THEY'RE READY TO TEACH.AND THEN WE KIND OF ZERO IN ON OUR MATH CANDIDATES.
SO WE HAD 8,700 ENROLLEES FOR THE LAST YEAR. WE HAVE DATA 2023-24 AND THEN 3,135 COMPLETERS AND 69 COMPLETERS IN THE STATE OF VIRGINIA AND MATH.
RIGHT NOW, I BELIEVE WE JUST MADE AN OFFER THIS WEEK.
SO WE HAVE 3 MATH VACANCIES, WHICH IS IMPROVED.
THAT'S ALSO AN IMPROVED NUMBER. CHANGE FROM A HIGH OF 26, BUT STILL SOME WORK TO DO THERE AND STILL NOT THE ROBUST POOL FOR THE STATE THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE. THE SCALE OF OUR HIRING.
SO THAT'S A LARGE-SCALE OPERATION. AND I JUST WANT TO REMIND OUR COMMUNITY OF THAT.
WE HAVE OVER 5,000 TEACHERS. THIS IS OUR ANNUAL ATTRITION UPDATE FOR TEACHERS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'VE HAD A MARKED DROP IN ATTRITION RATE.
AND IT'S BEEN PRETTY SIMILAR IN BOTH 2023-24 AND 2024-25.
WE DO LOOK AT THAT DATA MONTHLY. AND, OF COURSE, MOST OF THE ATTRITION OCCURS AT THE END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR, SOME DURING THE YEAR. THERE'S NOTHING ABOUT OUR MONTH OVER MONTH TRENDS THAT MAKE US BELIEVE THIS WILL BE RADICALLY DIFFERENT FROM LAST YEAR.
SO WE THINK WE MAY HAVE SETTLED INTO A LITTLE BIT LOWER PATTERN, WHICH IS GOOD NEWS.
NO EXPERIENCE. AND IT COMPARES US WITH OUR SURROUNDING DISTRICTS IN THE RICHMOND AREA.
WE ARE THE PURPLE LINE. SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT HAPPENED THERE IN 2021-22.
AND SO YOU CAN SEE A MARKED IMPROVEMENT THERE IN 2022-23.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO SURPASS ONE OF OUR COMPETITOR DIVISIONS, AND WE'RE KIND OF RIGHT THERE, SIMILAR TO ANOTHER COMPETITOR DIVISION AT THAT TIME.
AND THIS YEAR, HANOVER MADE A SIGNIFICANT MOVE.
YOU CAN SEE THAT KIND OF, YOU KNOW, SHARP UP UPTICK THERE CAUSING YOU KNOW, SOME WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE IN THAT MARKET. WE TOOK A LOOK AT EXTENDED LOCAL MARKET STARTING SALARY JUST BECAUSE WE WERE STARTING TO GET INQUIRIES AND WE THOUGHT, WELL, WONDER WHAT THAT DATA LOOKS LIKE.
THEY DON'T HAVE A LOT OF FTE. THEY'RE SMALLER DIVISIONS.
WE DID NOT MARKET ADJUST IT. SO FOR EXAMPLE IT'S 2.8% TO 3.5% LOWER COST OF LIVING AND SOME OF THESE COUNTIES. BUT WE JUST THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE CONFUSING.
SO WE JUST USED THE, YOU KNOW, JUST THE SALARY THAT'S PUBLISHED.
AND THE BOTTOM COMPETITOR WOULD, WOULD CATCH UP TO US A LITTLE BIT BUT STILL REMAIN BELOW.
THIS SALARY. THIS SLIDE MAY REQUIRE THE MOST EXPLANATION.
SO AT STEP ZERO, THIS COMPARES STEP ZERO OF SCALES IN OUR MAJOR COMPETITOR DIVISIONS IN THE REGION.
[00:45:07]
WHETHER IT'S YEAR FOR YEAR, OR THEY MAY HAVE HAD DIFFERENT PRACTICES OVER TIME WITH DIFFERENT LEADERSHIP, DIFFERENT BUDGETS, DIFFERENT FINANCIAL PICTURES.SO TO BE CONSERVATIVE HERE, WE ONLY USE THE HENRICO NEW HIRE SCALE, WHICH IS THEIR LOWEST SCALE.
AND THEN JUST COMPARED THAT YEAR 15. AND SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE STILL HAVE SOME WORK TO DO.
AND THE POINT OF INCLUDING THIS SLIDE WAS THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT WE NEEDED TO DO SOME WORK AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SCALE, BUT WE WERE DOING BETTER AS WE, YOU KNOW, AT THE MIDPOINT OR AT THE MAXIMUM OF THE SCALE.
BECAUSE THAT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE THE CASE. HENRICO DOES HAVE THREE SCALES.
THEY HAVE THE NEW HIGHER SCALE. THEY HAVE THE HP OR HYBRID PLAN SCALE, WHICH IT APPEARS MOST PEOPLE ARE ON, AND THEN THEY HAVE THE UP SCALE, WHICH IS KIND OF, I THINK, A GRANDFATHERED ONE THAT NOT MANY EMPLOYEES ARE ON.
IF WE HAD COMPARED IT TO THOSE OTHER SCALES, THE GAP WOULD BE LARGER.
BUT REALLY, BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF INTERPRETATION THERE.
WE JUST WENT WITH THE CONSERVATIVE SCALE COMPARISON.
SO THE PROPOSAL IS TO INCREASE TEACHER STARTING PAY TO $57,277.
AND WE THINK THAT IS NEEDED. IT INCREASES THE STARTING SALARY BY 4%.
AND THEN IT ALSO THE PROPOSAL INCLUDES A STEP INCREASE.
SO IT TOTALS ABOUT 5% FOR EXPERIENCED TEACHERS.
AND WE WOULD ALSO PROPOSE ADDING A STEP 41 FOR THAT SO THAT THE TEACHERS AT THE TOP OF THE SCALE RECEIVE THE SAME INCREASES. EVERYONE ELSE THAT DOES APPEAR TO BE WITHIN MARKET WHEN WE LOOK AT YEARS AND SCALES FOR OUR COMPETITORS THAT THEY HAVE TWO OUT OF THREE HAVE A LONGER SCALE THAN WE DO.
AND WE JUST AREN'T IN THE POSITION YET. ALTHOUGH WE'VE HAD A LOT OF GOOD STAFFING NEWS THIS YEAR, WE AREN'T YET IN THE POSITION WHERE WE HAVE ALL OF OUR VACANCIES FILLED.
WE NEED TO HANG ON TO THE PEOPLE AT THE END OF THE SCALE INSTEAD OF ENCOURAGE EARLY RETIREMENT, FOR EXAMPLE. AND THIS IS A MOCK UP OF WHAT THE PROPOSED SCALE WOULD LOOK LIKE WITH THE DIFFERENT STEPS AND THE LANES FOR BACHELOR'S, MASTER'S AND DOCTORATE. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME OTHER SCALE POSITIONS TO DISCUSS. ONE IS INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE. AND IN FY 24 WE INCREASED PAY BY MAKING A SEPARATE SCALE FOR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE.
AND THERE ARE TWO LANES, ONE FOR GENERAL ED IA AND ONE FOR SPECIAL ED IA.
AND IN FY 25 AND 26 WE CONTINUED WITH MARKET ADJUSTMENTS AND STEPS.
AND LAST YEAR IN THE BUDGET, THE BOARD ADDED AN ADDITIONAL 70 IA POSITIONS FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION, AND WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS IN FILLING THOSE. LAST YEAR, OUR VACANCIES RAN AROUND 25 TO 29 DURING THE YEAR AND THIS YEAR THEY'RE RUNNING 35 TO 40.
SO THERE ARE ACTUALLY QUITE A FEW ADDITIONAL IAS IN CLASSROOMS. AND ALSO THESE VACANCIES TEND TO MOVE AROUND.
SO IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THERE'S A SUSTAINED VACANCY IN THE SAME SCHOOL FOR ALL YEAR.
BUT THIS IS STILL A POSITION THAT'S CHALLENGING FOR US.
AND ABOUT 70% OF OUR IA POSITIONS DO PROVIDE SUPPORT THAT'S REQUIRED BY IEPS.
THIS IS OUR ATTRITION RATE. SO YOU CAN SEE WHEN WE IMPLEMENTED THE SALARY STUDY, SALARY CHANGE.
THE ATTRITION RATE DID GO DOWN AND IT WENT DOWN TWO YEARS IN A ROW.
AND THEN LAST YEAR IT STARTED TO CREEP BACK UP AGAIN.
AND OF COURSE, NOW WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ADDITIONAL FTES TO FILL WITH THE DIFFERENT BASE.
[00:50:01]
SO THE PROPOSED MODIFICATION WOULD BE TO APPLY THE 4% MARKET INCREASE PLUS THE STEP.AND ALSO TO ADD A STEP 27 TO RETAIN THE INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE AT THE TOP OF THAT SCALE.
AND THAT'S A SHORTER SCALE WHEN WE IMPLEMENTED IT.
AND WE IN FY 25, THERE WAS A NEW SCALE APPROVED TO ALIGN WITH THE REGIONAL MARKET AVERAGE, AND THE GOAL WAS TO RETAIN STAFF AND MITIGATE THE INCREASE OF HARD TO PROCURE CONTRACTED SERVICES.
MOST OF THESE SERVICES ARE ALSO REQUIRED BY STUDENTS IEPS.
SO THE PROPOSAL IS TO CONTINUE THAT PROGRESS WITH THE MARKET INCREASE AND A STEP TO THAT SCALE.
WE ALSO HAVE A PROPOSAL FOR SCHOOL SECURITY OFFICERS THERE ON A SCALE.
AND YOU MIGHT RECALL, THIS IS A RELATIVELY NEW POSITION FOR US.
AND THAT IS THE SCALE POSITION. IT CURRENTLY ENDS AT STEP 26.
THAT IS THE POSITION THAT WE HAVE THE MOST INDIVIDUALS TOWARDS THE TOP, BECAUSE THERE WAS A REAL FOCUS ON HIRING EXPERIENCED SECURITY PERSONNEL WHO MAY HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT OR ELSEWHERE.
TRANSPORTATION. THIS IS A NEW PROPOSAL. TRANSPORTATION WAS PREVIOUSLY IN THE ON THE GRADED RANGE.
AND YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT IN 2021, WHEN WE WERE HAVING CHALLENGES WITH TRANSPORTATION, THERE WAS A $20.21 IN 2021 PROPOSAL, WHICH WAS KIND OF URGENTLY NEEDED AND ENACTED VERY QUICKLY AND REALLY WENT A LONG WAY TOWARDS FILLING OUR DRIVER POSITIONS. WE'VE MADE A LOT OF OTHER CHANGES, TOO, IN HOW WE RECRUIT AND HOW WE ONBOARD.
TRANSPORTATION HAS MADE A LOT OF CHANGES IN TRAINING.
BUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT BUS DRIVERS ARE CURRENTLY PAID ON GRADE 106, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT $20.21 IN 2021 AND SUBSEQUENT COLAS THEY'RE GETTING TOWARDS THE TOP OF GRADE 106 AND BEYOND WHERE GRADE 106 WOULD END.
AND WHAT THAT CREATES IS AN UNANTICIPATED CONSEQUENCE AFTER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS WHERE IF THEY ARE APPLYING FOR, YOU KNOW, PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, LIKE A TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR AND ASSISTANT AREA MANAGER, SOMEWHERE WHERE YOU WOULD NEED TO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF, YOU KNOW, ROUTES AND DRIVING THE BUS AND SO ON.
IT'S CREATING AN HOURLY DECREASE BECAUSE THE RATE IS SO HIGH IN 106 THAT IF YOU GO UP TO ANOTHER GRADE AND LOOK AT THE EXPERIENCE AND THE RATE'S LOWER. AND SO IT'S JUST AN UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCE OF KIND OF AN EMERGENCY ACTION THAT KIND OF GREW OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS.
SO THIS PROPOSAL WOULD ALSO INCREASE THAT SIGNIFICANTLY AS WELL.
SO THE PROPOSAL WOULD INCREASE STARTING BUS DRIVER PAY FROM $24.15 TO $25.11.
AND IT WOULD RECTIFY THAT DISINCENTIVE FOR DRIVERS TO HAVE A CAREER PATHWAY AND BECOME A TRANSPORTATION COORDINATOR, ASSISTANT AREA MANAGER AND AREA MANAGER. AND THIS IS WHAT THE PROPOSED SCALE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND SO THOSE WERE SCALE POSITIONS. AND NOW WE'RE TRANSITIONING TO GRADED RANGE POSITIONS.
[00:55:05]
AND A SALARY STUDY WAS COMPLETED FOR THE GRADED RANGE IN FY 23.BUT IT WAS USING FALL 2021 MARKET DATA. AND SO THAT DATA NOW IS IS PRETTY OLD.
AND THE RESULTS SET A $16 PER HOUR MINIMUM TARGET.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED THERE OVER THE YEARS.
WHERE WE IMPLEMENTED A $12 MINIMUM HOURLY RATE AND ALL THE WAY UP TO THIS YEAR A $14.70 HOURLY RATE.
BUT WE'RE NOT YET AT THE GOAL OF THE $16 HOURLY RATE.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE ATTRITION IN THE GRADED RANGE POSITIONS.
AND IT LOOKS LIKE THAT DROP MAY HAVE, YOU KNOW, COINCIDED WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THAT STUDY.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IT SORT OF LOOKS LIKE IT'S CREEPING, CREEPING UP AGAIN.
AND SO THE GRADED RANGE POSITION PROPOSAL WOULD BE TO MOVE TO A $15.28 MINIMUM HOURLY RATE.
SO SIMILAR TO WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH THE STEP SCALES.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NURSES IN OUR SCHOOLS, THEIR HEALTH AND SAFETY POSITIONS.
SOMETIMES THAT'S THE ONLY MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL IN THE SCHOOL.
THEY ARE SOMETIMES FULFILLING IEP REQUIREMENTS, ESPECIALLY IN THE CASES OF LPN'S.
AND THEY'RE RESPONDING TO EMERGENCIES AND CRITICAL INCIDENTS.
OUR DECLINE DATA STARTED TO GIVE US A CONCERN HERE.
WE HAVE PRETTY STRONG FILL RATES, PRETTY FEW VACANCIES IN NURSES, BUT WE HAD 12 RN OFFERS REJECTED SINCE THE START OF FY 25. AND THAT WAS 44% OF THE OFFERS WE MADE.
AND THE REASON GIVEN WAS SALARY. SO THAT CAUSED US TO THINK THAT THIS NEEDED SOME ATTENTION.
SO WE'RE ALSO SEEING A LITTLE BIT OF AN INCREASE IN ATTRITION THERE FOR BOTH OF OUR, BOTH OUR LPN'S AND OUR RN'S, MORE SO WITH OUR LPN'S, WHICH ARE A LITTLE MORE OFF MARKET.
SO THAT THAT MAKES SENSE IN TERMS OF THE DATA.
SO WE WOULD LIKE TO PROPOSE REGRADING OUR END POSITIONS FROM GRADE 114 TO 115 AND LPN POSITIONS FROM 108 TO 111. AND THEN WE WOULD LIKE TO TRANSITION TO SUBSTITUTES.
SO WE KNOW SUBSTITUTES ARE A SIGNIFICANT FACTOR IN TEACHER WORKING CONDITIONS.
THEY'RE REQUIRED FOR TEACHERS TO USE BENEFITS OFFERED LIKE SICK TIME.
THE TARGET IS A 90% FILL RATE FOR ALL DAYS, AND THAT WAS THE PRE-PANDEMIC NATIONAL STANDARD.
IT'S A VERY IMPORTANT PIPELINE OF CANDIDATES FOR US NOW.
THE MARKET PICTURE HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY, AND WE'RE HIGHLY DEPENDENT ON CAREER SWITCHERS AND PEOPLE WHO START OUT SUBSTITUTING OUR SCHOOLS, ENJOY WORKING WITH OUR STUDENTS AND WANT TO PURSUE A CAREER IN EDUCATION.
OUR AVERAGE DAILY FILL RATE THROUGH DECEMBER WAS ALMOST 92%.
IN JANUARY, BEFORE THE SNOW, IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING EVEN HIGHER.
AND WE'RE WE'VE IMPLEMENTED A NEW STRATEGY HAVING JOB FAIRS IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE COUNTY AND TARGETING AREAS WHERE THE FILL RATE MAY HAVE BEEN LOWER. AND I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO MEADOWBROOK HIGH SCHOOL WITH A 92% FULL RATE THIS YEAR.
AND WE'RE SEEING SOME WE'RE SEEING SOME REAL CHANGES THERE.
OUR MID JANUARY FULL RATES ARE LOOKING GOOD. AND OUR AVERAGE FOR LAST YEAR WAS 90% FOR THE YEAR.
I'M ANTICIPATING THAT MAY BE HIGHER THIS YEAR.
THESE ARE THE SUBS THAT WE HIRED INTO FULL TIME AND PART TIME REGULAR ROLES.
[01:00:04]
AND THEN SOME PEOPLE ARE KIND OF SWITCHING CAREERS INTO TWO STEP WHERE THEY ARE A VIRTUAL FACILITATOR OR ANNUAL SUBSTITUTE, AND THEY'RE WORKING ON THEIR LICENSURE AND THEN MOVING INTO A TEACHING POSITION.AND THIS WAS THE FIRST HALF OF THIS YEAR. ALREADY 228 PEOPLE HIRED FROM OUR SUBSTITUTE ROSTER.
HIGH DEMAND DAYS, ARE LOOKING GOOD. WE'VE HAD A LEVEL RATE THERE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
WE HAVE A 94% FILL RATE LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR FOR HIGH DEMAND DAYS.
SO THAT'S LOOKING STRONG. THIS IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE DAILY RATE IN OUR SURROUNDING DIVISIONS AND OUR FY 27 PROPOSAL. SO YOU CAN SEE THAT WE'RE STILL PRETTY COMPETITIVE.
WE'RE A LITTLE BIT BEHIND THE MARKET AVERAGE.
BUT EVEN WITH SOME COMPETITORS. AND SO THE PROPOSAL HERE IS 3% JUST TO KEEP UP WITH THE MARKET.
THINGS ARE GOING WELL, BUT THERE ARE WHEN YOU MULTIPLY THAT SMALL AMOUNT BY THE NUMBER OF DAYS AND THE NUMBER OF SUBSTITUTES, IT CAN ADD UP. SO THE STRATEGY IS JUST TO KIND OF KEEP UP WITH THE MARKET IN THAT AREA TO KEEP KEEP UP WITH OUR SUCCESS AS WELL AS OUR STRONG PIPELINE INTO THE CLASSROOM. SO THE PROPOSALS TO INCREASE THE DAILY RATE TO 140 TO MAINTAIN THE HIGH DEMAND DATE OF $203. SO WE FEEL LIKE THOSE NUMBERS ARE STILL STRONG.
THAT'S STILL WORKING. AND MAINTAIN THE LONG TERM RATE OF $232.97.
WE'RE STILL HAVING STRONG FILLS THERE AS WELL.
AND THEN LAST WE MOVED TO STIPEND AND BONUS CONSIDERATIONS.
SO THE PROPOSAL FOR STIPENDS IS A 4% MARKET INCREASE.
THIS IS FOR ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC STIPEND SCALES AND DEPARTMENT CHAIR AND LEAD POSITIONS.
AND THEN WE DID FIND A WE LOOK AT EACH OF THESE EACH YEAR.
AND WE DID FIND A COUPLE OF POSITIONS THAT DO LOOK TO BE OFF MARKET.
AND THEY RELATE TO INDOOR TRACK THE HEAD INDOOR TRACK COACH AND THE ASSISTANT INDOOR TRACK COACH.
SO WE HAVE A REGRADE PROPOSED THERE TO PUT THEM MORE IN LINE WITH THE RICHMOND MARKET AND THE.
FOR THE ELEMENTARY DEPARTMENT CHAIR. WE PAY THOSE BY SEMESTER, SO IT'S PUBLISHED BY A SEMESTER RATE.
AND THAT'S THE WAY OUR EMPLOYEES ARE USED TO SEEING IT.
SO THAT'S WHY THAT'S REFLECTED THAT WAY HERE.
BUT OUR PROPOSAL IS THE ELEMENTARY DEPARTMENT CHAIR.
AND THEN TO INCREASE THE FLAT SEMESTER RATE TO $484.22 TO BETTER REFLECT THE LOCAL MARKET.
AND OF COURSE, WE HAVE A CURRENT BONUS STRUCTURE THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE FOR SEVERAL YEARS FOR TEACHERS AT A HIGH NEED SCHOOL LOCATION, BUS DRIVERS, INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT, TUTOR, MONITOR, LIBRARY ASSISTANT, AND CUSTODIAN.
AND SO THOSE ARE PROPOSED TO CONTINUE. AND JUST AS WE THINK TOWARDS THE FUTURE WE STILL ARE IN A NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE, ALTHOUGH WE'VE SEEN SOME IMPROVEMENT THIS YEAR IN A NUMBER OF OUR ENDORSEMENT AREAS.
AND SO WE'RE STILL IN A KIND OF A COMPETITIVE EMPLOYMENT MARKET, ESPECIALLY FOR TEACHERS.
AND WE WANT TO HAVE A MULTIYEAR FOCUS TO BE WELL POSITIONED IN THE MARKET.
AND WE STILL HAVE THOSE GOALS OF $16 AN HOUR AND $60,000 FOR THE TEACHER SCALE TO START.
AND I THINK IT'S WE ALWAYS LIKE TO END WITH REMEMBERING OUR WHY.
WE WANT TO ATTRACT HIGHLY SKILLED AND MOTIVATED EMPLOYEES TO WORK WITH OUR STUDENTS AND PREVENT TURNOVER, MAINTAIN MORALE, ALIGN WITH THE RICHMOND MARKET.
SO I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
THANK YOU, DOCTOR HOUGH. BOARD MEMBERS, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? MS. CHATTERS. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. I GOT A FEW, SO I'M SORRY.
IF WE GO TO SLIDE EIGHT. WE WERE. THAT'S WHEN YOU STARTED TALKING ABOUT ATTRITION.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT THE ATTRITION SLIDE. OKAY, THEN IT'S BEFORE THAT I WROTE THE WRONG NUMBER DOWN.
[01:05:03]
BUT IT WAS YOUR CHART THAT HAD THE ATTRITION RIGHT THERE. AND I WAS WONDERING I'VE ASKED THIS QUESTION BEFORE. I WASN'T SURE IF WE DID SOMETHING ABOUT IT OR NOT, BUT DO WE HAVE LIKE AN EXIT SURVEY OR ANYTHING THAT PEOPLE CAN TAKE BEFORE WE KNOW, BEFORE THEY WALK OUT THE DOOR SO WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHY THEY'RE LEAVING AND DO A TREND ANALYSIS ON IF IT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO OR IF IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE CAN DO? AND IF YOU'RE ABLE TO SHARE THAT DATA IN AGGREGATE OF WHAT THE TREND LOOKS LIKE? YES, WE DO HAVE WE DO HAVE SURVEYS. THERE IS A SPECIFIC ONE FOR TEACHERS BECAUSE THERE'S SORT OF A STATE SUGGESTED LIST OF QUESTIONS.WE DO SEND IT ELECTRONICALLY AS PEOPLE RESIGN AND THEY FILL IT OUT.
WE DON'T HAVE A HIGH COMPLETION RATE. SO FOLKS WHO DO SURVEY RESEARCH WILL TELL YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE TO INTERPRET THOSE RESULTS WITH CAUTION.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE A HIGH PERCENTAGE, I THINK IT'S OVER 40% OR MORE COMPLETING.
AND BUT WE DO HAVE THAT AND WE DO LOOK AT IT AND WE DO READ ANY COMMENTS THAT PEOPLE WRITE.
WE DO FOLLOW UP ON THEM. AND THE THE TOP REASON IS FAMILY PERSONAL FOR RESIGNATION.
AND THEN RETIREMENT WAS SECOND. AND FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS EMPLOYMENT IN ANOTHER SCHOOL DIVISION IS ALSO IN OUR TOP THREE. OKAY. THANK YOU. THE NEXT QUESTION I HAD WAS YOU SAID THE FUTURE GOAL.
WE KNOW THE FUTURE GOAL IS $60,000 AS A STARTING SALARY.
ARE WE WILLING TO SAY THAT THAT FUTURE GOAL IS FOR FY 28 OR FY 29? LIKE, DO WE HAVE A? THAT MIGHT BE A BOB AND YOU QUESTION TOGETHER, BUT IS THERE A PROJECTED TIME THAT WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO GET TO THAT? HOPEFULLY NEXT YEAR. THAT'S WHY WE MADE SUCH A HEALTHY CONTRIBUTION OR PROPOSAL FOR THIS YEAR.
SO THIS YEAR'S PROPOSAL ROUGHLY REFLECTS HALF OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO GET THERE.
CAN'T DO THAT. BUT IF THE MONEY IS THERE, YES, IT WILL BE IN THE PROPOSAL TO CHECK THE BOX OF THAT GOAL OFF THE LIST AND THEN TURN OUR SIGHTS TO A NEW GOAL THAT BOB WILL SHARE IN HIS FIVE YEAR PLAN, I THINK AT AN UPCOMING MEETING.
YEP. NEXT MEETING. OKAY. THANK YOU. THE NEXT QUESTION, I THINK THIS IS MY.
I WAS JUST WONDERING, HOW DO YOU DEFINE LONG TERM WHEN WE DO SUBSTITUTES? SO IS IT HOW MANY WEEKS OR DAYS QUALIFIES THEM? LONG TERM IS 20 OR MORE DAYS IN THE SAME ASSIGNMENT.
SAME ASSIGNMENT. SO IF I'M SUBSTITUTING FOR ART FOR 19 DAYS, AND THEN I GET MOVED IN THE SAME SCHOOL TO PE FOR 19 DAYS. RIGHT BECAUSE THE IDEA IS THAT IF IT'S 20 DAYS OR MORE, YOU PROBABLY HAD TO DO SOME PLANNING, SOME ADDITIONAL PLANNING. LIKE, MAYBE ALL THE PLANS YOU KNOW, WEREN'T LEFT AND YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE TO DO SOME ADDITIONAL ASSESSING.
AND SO THE ELEVATED RATE, THE IDEA BEHIND THE ELEVATED RATE.
OKAY. THEN MY LAST ONE I PROMISE. FOR THE BONUSES.
I KNOW I'VE ASKED THIS BEFORE. I KNOW THAT IT'S ONLY FOR WHAT'S WRITTEN THERE.
SO I'M JUST REPEATING THE QUESTION AGAIN. WHAT ABOUT THE SUPPORT STAFF AT THE SCHOOL AND THE ADMINISTRATORS AT THE HIGH NEED SCHOOL? IS THERE ANYTHING THAT CAN BE DONE FOR THEM? WE WILL BE ADDRESSING THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPALS AT THOSE SCHOOLS.
AWESOME. AND THEN JUST SAY THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THE RECOGNITION OF THE STIPENDS BEING INCREASED FOR OUR GRADE LEVEL CHAIRS AND OUR COACHES BECAUSE I'VE BEEN HEARING ABOUT THAT FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS.
SO I APPRECIATE THE EFFORT THAT WENT INTO DOING THE ASSESSMENT TO TO GET US BACK ON MARKET VALUE.
SO I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU SO MUCH. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. MR. PARANTO. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION.
[01:10:01]
RETENTION RATE AFTER YEAR THREE. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO GET THAT INFORMATION FOR US SO THAT WE CAN SHARE THAT WITH THE COMMITTEE? YES. LAST YEAR THE ATTRITION RATE IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS WAS 11.5%.I DID NOT EXPECT YOU TO SPIT THAT NUMBER OUT RIGHT NOW, BUT KUDOS TO YOU FOR DOING THAT.
THAT'S VERY IMPRESSIVE. THAT'S DOWN FROM A HIGH OF 16.77% AND 2021-22.
SO IT IS COMMON NATIONALLY TO HAVE MORE ATTRITION IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS.
BUT WE ARE SEEING IMPROVEMENT. FANTASTIC. BOB, IF YOU COULD HELP GET THAT INFORMATION BACK TO THAT MEMBER, I'D GREATLY APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. AND THEN ALSO THE YOU HAD MENTIONED ABOUT THE NURSES REJECTING OFFERS BECAUSE OF SALARY. DO WE HAVE DATA SHOWING THAT ACROSS THE BOARD? NOT JUST WITH NURSES WHEN IT COMES TO SALARY TEACHERS, IAS, BUS DRIVERS, WHAT HAVE YOU.
DO WE HAVE THAT? NOW, IF YOU SPIT THAT OUT AT THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, [LAUGHTER] I WILL JUST BE VERY, VERY IMPRESSED. WHICH I DON'T EXPECT YOU TO HAVE.
BUT JUST OUT OF CURIOSITY, WITH THAT UNDERSTANDING DO WE HAVE TRENDS WITH THAT? RIGHT? DOES DATA SHOW WE'RE MORE HIGHLY LIKELY TO HAVE THIS PARTICULAR GROUP REJECT VERSUS THIS ONE, OR IS IT PRETTY EVEN ACROSS THE BOARD? DO WE KNOW WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE? WELL, SO FAR IT IT'S HAND COUNTING. OKAY SO NO WE DON'T BUT WE'VE JUST TRANSITIONED TO THIS NEW SOFTWARE SYSTEM.
SO MY HOPE WOULD BE THAT WITH EVERYTHING IN A SYSTEM AND MIGRATING AWAY FROM SPREADSHEETS, THAT POTENTIALLY THERE COULD POTENTIALLY BE SOME REPORTS THAT WE COULD RUN.
I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THAT DATA. YEAH. ME TOO.
I APPRECIATE YOUR PASSION FOR THAT AS WELL. THANK YOU.
AND TO GO WITH MS. CHATTERS AND WHAT SHE MENTIONED.
WE DID HAVE A COACH SOME TIME AGO COME AND PETITION THE BOARD FOR AN INCREASE IN STIPENDS FOR YOU KNOW, COACHING STAFF. AND SO WE'RE SEEING THAT AND KUDOS TO THE DIVISION FOR, FOR LISTENING AND PUTTING FORTH THE EFFORT TO INCREASE THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW WE GOT TO START SOMEWHERE. AND SO WE ARE STARTING, WHICH IS GREATLY APPRECIATED.
AND THE NUMBERS SHOW THAT. SO KUDOS TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR GATHERING ALL THAT AND PRESENTING IT.
THANK YOU. OKAY. I JUST HAD ONE QUESTION. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE ATTRITION RATE WAS PRE-COVID OF TEACHERS? YES, IT WAS BETWEEN.
WELL, NO, BECAUSE THE RATES THAT I HAD WERE FROM THE COVID YEARS, THE 2020 AND 2020.
GREAT SO I THINK THAT IT'S BACK TO A SIMILAR RATE. AND I ALSO READ A STUDY THAT FROM 2013 TO 2023, MCKINSEY DID A STUDY SHOWING THE AVERAGE NATIONAL RATE WAS BETWEEN 8% AND 9%.
SO I THINK THAT WHAT WE'RE SEEING NOW IS A PRETTY TYPICAL RATE.
OF COURSE, WHEN YOU HAVE VACANCIES, YOU WOULD ALWAYS LIKE FOR IT TO BE LOWER.
BUT THINGS DO HAPPEN AND PEOPLE DO MOVE AND, YOU KNOW, MAKE DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT DECISIONS AND DIFFERENT THINGS HAPPEN WITH THEIR FAMILY. SO YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT AS WELL.
OKAY. WELL THANK YOU. GLAD TO KNOW THAT THAT WAS JUST IN MY HEAD ALSO.
I'M SURE ALONG WITH MS. CHATTERS, WHEN WE SAW THAT 69 NUMBER AND THAT LITTLE TEENY, TEENY SPOT FOR MATH TEACHERS, [LAUGHTER] WE'RE ALWAYS THINKING, OH, BUT WASN'T IT ONE RECENTLY? LIKE, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO? I FEEL LIKE THAT WAS ONE.
I KNOW IT WAS IN THE 30S AT ONE POINT. OKAY [LAUGHTER].
IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THE 20S AT ONE POINT. IT WAS PRETTY LOW OH, ONE APPLICANT, YEAH. OH, IS THAT WHAT. THANK YOU JOHN.
I KNOW I DIDN'T MAKE IT UP. ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH, MS. HOUGH. ALL RIGHT. ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY. THANK YOU.
SO NEXT WE HAVE ANNOUNCEMENTS, COMMUNICATIONS AND SCHOOL BOARD COMMENTS.
[D. Announcements, Communications, and School Board Comments]
[01:15:02]
OKAY. SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. DO WE HAVE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS? NO? OKAY. ALL RIGHT, SO NEXT SCHOOL BOARD BUDGET WORK SESSION WILL BE HELD NEXT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH, 2026 AT 4:00 P.M. HERE IN THE COUNTY PUBLIC MEETING ROOM.IT'LL BE FOLLOWED BY BUSINESS MEETING AT 6:30 P.M.
THERE IS NO FURTHER BUSINESS. WE NEED A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
SO MOVED. OKAY. MADAM CLERK, WOULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL ON THE MOTION? ANN COKER. AYE. JENNA DARBY. AYE. DOMINIQUE CHATTERS.
AYE. STEVEN PARANTO. AYE. LISA HUDGINS. AYE. MOTION CARRIES THE FEBRUARY 3RD,
2026 SCHOOL BOARD BUDGET WORK SESSION IS ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.