Summary of the 6/8/23 School Board Meeting
School board meeting convened as a closed meeting to discuss the performance of an APS employee. School board recognized APS JROTC cadets Dr. Tyrone Byrd, Interim Chief DEI Officer, presented about the Multicultural Student Achievement Network (MSTAN) to work to reduce achievement gaps. Two students involved inthe program shared their experiences.
Consent agenda passed 5-0. This included:
● Adopting revisions to policy G-1.30 Goals and M-4 Financial Management, Capital Improvement Plan which included title changes, alignment with Virginia Code, and language clarification.
● Adopted retirement of policy G-1.31 Human Resources Policy Implementation Procedures
● Approved 2022-2023 APS Educational Technology Strategic Plan as required by VDOE
● Made administrative appointments.
○ Ms. Ennis Al Majeed as Assistant Principal at Carlin Springs Elementary
○ Ms. Autumn Kinney as Assistant Principal at Hoffman Boston Elementary
○ Ms. Deitra Brady-Pulliam as Assistant Principal at Long Branch Elementary
○ Mr. Adrian Walker as Assistant Principal at Oakridge Elementary
○ Ms. Paul Davis as Assistant Principal at Randolph Elementary
○ Ms. Meghan Smeenk as Assistant Principal at Swanson Middle
○ Ms. Jessica Salvadore as Assistant Principal at Wakefield High
○ Ms. Kristie Saini, Assistant Principal at Wakefield High
○ Mr. Wilson Ramirez, Assistant Principal at Escuela Key
○ Ms. Erika Sanchez moving from Assistant Principal at Gunston Middle
Superintendent’s Announcements and Updates
● Dr. Duran noted June is LGBTQIA+ pride month and played a video featuring APS students and staff.
● Noted that the Summer School Program is expected to serve nearly 4,000 students which is an enrollment increase of nearly 1,000 students due to expanded eligibility criteria.
● Dr. Duran provided an update on the revisions on the revisions to School Board Policy I-7.2.3.34, Reporting Student Progress and Grades. The revised grading policy implementation procedures (PIPs) applies to elementary and secondary students and will take effect at all schools in the 2023-24 school year. (Previously, it was piloted a selected schools.) He explained that the Standards Based Grading (SBG) system intentionally does not align with the state SOL grading system. He said the policy provides for greater equity, especially for secondary students who will be allowed to “redeem themselves” by retaking tests. He also said it will improve achievement by requiring that all students achieve mastery rather than accepting a one-time failure. He said staff are prepared for the new grading system.
● Dr. Durán expressed gratitude to teachers who he said have faced increased scrutiny, especially social studies teachers who “have been put in the middle of political discussions” and challenged about what they are teaching in their classrooms. He said they have his “150% support” even though some claim it is not accurate instruction.
● Dr. Durán encouraged the community to share their feedback on the APS communications survey.
● Dr. Durán announced that the APS All Stars Program received a Golden Achievement Award from the NSPRA. Ms. Kadera thanked Dr. Duran for supporting teachers and for the video on LGBTQIA+ pride month. She also asked about air quality in classrooms in response to smoke infiltration. Ms. Sutton expressed support to Dr. Duran for affirming social studies teacher. She also expressed support for the new grading PIP to make grading more equitable. She also said that there needs to be better communication with parents about the new grading system. Mr. Goldstein expressed thanks for the LGBTQIA+ pride month video. He said the teachers are the most valuable asset. He highlighted support for social studies teachers. Ms. Diaz-Torres said that Dr. Duran’s announcements “make my heart sing.” She expressed appreciation for the LGBTQIA+ pride month video.
Public Comment
● An ATU rep and a teacher spoke against teachers starting pre-service on Aug 17.
● One parent spoke about bullying of her child at Gunston Middle School.
● An APE member expressed concerns about the new Standards Based Grading don’t align with State SOL grading levels and that APS is implementing it without data from the trial period.
● A teacher spoke about inequities in leave citing year round administrative employees earning 12 times more paid leave days than than 10 month employees.
● A teacher with 31 years experience expressed frustration that APS has added a significantly higher amount of non-teaching staff compared to teaching staff over the past 5 years, and that teacher morale is very low as a result.
● An AEA rep read a poem.
● A parent expressed concern about the lack of adequate special ed staffing countywide.
Cory Kapelski, the Director of Professional Learning, provided an update on his office’s work over the past year. He said the office is a better job at responding to staff requests than in the past. However, staff report that more staff are reporting that Central Office-based learning does not meet their needs.
School board members then asked questions about how to improve learning. Leslie Peterson, Asst. Superintendent of Finance and Management Services, presented the FY 2023 3rd quarter budget update. State revenue is up $6.7M. Local revenue is down $1.1M. An additional $2.9M revenue from Federal ARPA funds allocated for employee bonuses. Thus, annual revenue is $8.3M above estimates. Expenditures are $21.9M under budget. About ⅔ of this is due to salary lapse and turnover. The Major Construction Reserve is $0.5M and the Capital Reserve is $16.6M.
The School Board approved proceeding with Stage 2 of the Long-Range Plan to Renovate Existing Facilities. It also approved $832,273 to MTFA Architecture.
Jim Meikle, Director of Maintenance, presented a plan to replace HVAC equipment for Wakefield pool. There is a temporary fix until a new system can be installed. The lead time for the replacement equipment is 24 weeks. The low bid cost for the replacement HVAC equipment is $586,132. The anticipated total cost to replace the HVAC including labor is $1.2M. Mr. Priddy asked about the fact that Wakefield pool is the newest pool in APS, yet the HVAC system had failed at 10 years, while the systems at Yorktown and WL are older but have not failed. The life expectancy of the new HVAC is 15 years. Ms. Kadera asked to confirm that APS is purchasing the most energy efficient system. The pool will be closed for 2 weeks for installation with a goal of installation happening during winter break.
See our Scorecard for this meeting here.
