Prince William County Public Schools

School Board Meeting January 4, 2017

Select this link to view the agenda on the Electronic School Board webpage.

Select this link to view the School Board meeting on PWCS-TV.

Annual Organizational Meeting:
The School Board took the following actions at its annual organizational meeting:

• Mrs. Lillie G. Jessie, Occoquan District, was re-elected as Vice Chairman of the Prince William County School Board for 2017;
• Mrs. Deborah Urban was appointed clerk of the Prince William County School Board for 2017 and Mrs. B Simpson was appointed as deputy clerk;
• The School Board will require that the clerk and deputy clerk furnish a corporate surety bond of $10,000 conditioned upon the faithful performance and discharge of their duties, premium for such bonds to be paid by the School Board;
• The location of regular School Board meetings was established as the Edward L. Kelly Leadership Center, 14715 Bristow Road, Manassas, Virginia, on the first and third Wednesdays of the months of January through June and September through December. Closed Session meetings shall convene at 6 p.m. and public meetings shall convene at 7 p.m. A few adjustments will be made to accommodate spring break, graduation, the Virginia School Boards Association's Annual Convention, and winter break;
• Ms. Rae E. Darlington, Deputy Superintendent, was appointed designee of the Division Superintendent to attend meetings of the School Board in the absence or inability of the Superintendent to attend; and
• The Board approved membership in professional organizations and the appointment of representatives.

Regular Public School Board Meeting
The School Board Approved:

• January 23‒27 as School Principals Week;
• February as National Black History Month and National Career and Technical education Month;
• February 6‒10 as National School Counseling Week;
• March as National Athletic Training Month;
• March 6‒12 as National Foreign Language Week;
• The resolution authorizing the Superintendent of Schools to submit all reports and other necessary filings for the receipts of Impact Aid and to provide all assurances otherwise required by the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994;
• The November payrolls;
• The December 14 School Board meeting minutes;
• The new Facilities Services building (#52) be named in honor of Randy G. Dasher; and
• The revision of Policy 542 "Compensated Leave."

Citizens' Comment Time:
Citizens addressed the School Board on the following topics:

• Attendance areas and overcrowding;
• Naming of Facilities Services building #52;
• School Board Special Meetings and School Board agendas;
• BOCS resolution and 13^th high school; and
• SOLs and students with disabilities.

Presentation and Discussion on the following topic:
"Potomac Shores" Elementary School attendance boundary recommendations for 2017‒18 school year. To view PowerPoint of Final Report select this link.

Superintendent's Time:
A Tribute to Senator Charles J. Colgan, Senior. Dr. Steven L. Walts, Superintendent of Schools, made the following remarks:

Senator Colgan was Virginia's longest serving state senator and a tireless champion of our county, our community, and the cause of education. We are all richer for his service and commitment. We were privileged to have been able to honor him in person with the lasting tribute of the school that bears his name. Senator Colgan's legacy will live on in every student who learns within its walls, or who studies the countless contributions he made to Virginia and Prince William County. He always considered himself a statesman and he often talked to groups of people about working together to make great things happen in Prince William County and the Commonwealth. We will miss him.

Dr. Walts followed the tribute with these announcements:

• All parents and guardians of students in grades 3 through 12 will receive a survey so they can let us know how we are doing in meeting their children's educational needs. Those who have provided email addresses will be contacted in that manner and given a computer link to complete the survey online. All others will get the survey and link by mail and will have the option of completing the paper or online version. Parents with children enrolled in more than one school will receive a survey for each school. The deadline to complete the survey is January 27.
• Thanks to the Washington Redskins Foundation for donating $10,000 to Mary Williams Elementary School. The funds will go toward new milk coolers and physical education equipment.
• Mr. David Walton, Administrative Coordinator of vehicle services, is quoted in the October 2016 issue of "School Transportation News." The article is on new technologies and emission rules for school buses. He represented the School Division in an outstanding manner. Mr. Walton plays an important role in ensuring the safety and well-being of our 60,000 students who ride a bus to and from school each day.
• Stonewall Middle School's boys and girls teams have advanced to the third round of the Cyberpatriot cybersecurity competition. In round two on December 10, the girls team finished 17th in the country out of over 400 teams.
• Registration starts January 5 for the spring session of our online high school program Virtual High School @ PWCS. This opportunity offers flexibility, low teacher-student ratio, and an alternative to traditional classroom instruction. Students can earn full credit in a semester-length course working with highly-qualified instructors. Registration ends January 31.
• Seventh- and eighth-grade students in Prince William County Public Schools, Manassas City, and Manassas Park are invited to attend an introduction to hands-on STEM activities at The Governor's School @ Innovation Park on Saturday, January 28, 2017, from 10 a.m. to noon in Bull Run Hall on the Manassas campus of George Mason University. Check the Division news box on middle school webpages for more information.
• Thirty-two teachers have been nominated for Teacher of the Year Awards and eight principals have been nominated for the Principal of the Year. Please see our website for their names and schools. Twelve educators have renewed their National Board Certification which is required every ten years. Congratulations to all of these teachers and administrators. They will be honored at a School Board reception on Thursday, January 26 at Colgan High School.
• A final reminder for parents and guardians that the annual Parent Summit will be held on Saturday, January 7 at Hylton High School, from 8 to 11:20 a.m.
• The All-County High School Band's performance starts at 2 p.m. at Osbourn Park High School on January 7.
• A formal request was made to the State Board of Education to reassign Fred M. Lynn Middle School with partial accreditation, based on the many accomplishments made by the staff and students at the school. Unfortunately, that request has been denied. The school staff continues to move forward with the improvement plan that has already demonstrated much success.
• The Prince William Times featured the Division Aquatics Center in the January 4 issue and talked about current swimming instructions for second-graders from McAuliffe Elementary School.
• Dr. Walts congratulated Mrs. Lillie G. Jessie on her re-appointment as Vice Chairman of the School Board. He also welcomed everyone back from the holiday break, and extended best wishes for the New Year.

School Board convened for a Special Meeting and took the following action:

The School Board voted to accept the proposed monies set forth in Prince William County Board of Supervisors' Resolution 16-860 and adopt the PRICE Model for the 13^th high school, in reliance upon that resolution and the anticipated appropriation of $10,675,000 in debt service funding for the differential between the Battlefield and PRICE models and in reliance upon the anticipated appropriation of an additional $10,675,000 for use, as the School Board sees fit, in school site acquisition and/or facility construction or renovation in the eastern end of Prince William County.

Volume 12, Number 9 - Publication Date: January 5, 2017