Prince William County Public Schools

School Board Meeting October 19, 2016

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

The School Board Approved:

• The amendment to the agreement of the sale of the Western Transportation Facility;
• November 14‒18 as American Education Week;
• November 7‒11 as Attendance Officer Appreciation Week;
• The Cooperative Agreement with the Department of the Blind and Vision Impaired;
• November 16 as Education Support Professionals Day;
• The increase in FY 2017 revenue and expense budget for the sale of Nokesville Elementary School and PACE West School;
• November 14‒18 as International Education Week and School Psychology Awareness Week;
• November 16 as National Dutch American Heritage Day;
• The Impact Statement to Prince William County for the proposed Devlin Road rezoning development of 650 single-family residential units that will impact the School Division;
• The Impact Statement to Prince William County for the proposed Innovation South rezoning of development of 750 multi-family residential units that will impact the School Division;
• The Impact Statement to Prince William County for the proposed Innovation Town Center rezoning development of 1,416 residential units that will impact the School Division;
• The School Board meeting minutes of October 5;
• Revisions to Policy 131, "Regular, Special and Closed Meetings"; replace "consent of at least two other board members" to "consent of the Chairman and Vice Chairman";
• The appointment of Ms. Ann Nuzzo to represent the Brentsville District on the Safe Schools Advisory Council; and
• That the Superintendent report back to the School Board in January 2017 with a suggested framework for a Task Force. This Task Force is being formed for the purpose of soliciting further community input relative to issues and concerns arising out of the proposed revision to Policy 060, "Nondiscrimination and Commitment to Equity." The Superintendent and/or the Task Force will report back to the School Board as determined in the framework.

Citizens' Comment Time:

Citizens addressed the School Board on the following topics:

• School Board members and political agendas;
• Task Force in regards to Policy 060, "Nondiscrimination and Commitment to Equity";
• More physical education in the schools; and
• Threats made to students or schools.

School Board Matters:

The School Board agreed to move the discussion of the designation of the School Division Counsel, Ms. Mary McGowan, as the official School Board Parliamentarian to the November 2 agenda.

Superintendent's Time:

Dr. Steven L. Walts, Superintendent of Schools, made the following announcements:

• The official student enrollment numbers for PWCS is 88,920 students. We added 1,667 students since last year.
• The on-time graduation rate for PWCS English Learners for 2015-16 topped the state by almost 10% and exceeded all other Northern Virginia school divisions. This reflects a great job by all our administrators and teachers, and especially the entire staff in the office of English Learner Programs and Services, led by Director Janine Sadki.
• Congratulations to 25 students who have passed auditions and have been selected for the Virginia Music Educators Association Honors Choir. An additional four students were named as alternates. The students attend Battlefield, Brentsville, Forest Park, Hylton, Patriot, Potomac, Stonewall Jackson, and Woodbridge High Schools. Congratulations also to the choir directors in these schools for encouraging the remarkable talents of our students.
• Logan Love, a senior at Patriot High School, continues to represent his school and the School Division in an outstanding manner as a member of the College Board Advisory Panel on Student Opportunity. He attended a conference in California this summer and a College Board forum this month in Chicago to give his perspective as a student. He also serves on the Youth Advisory Council on Access to Higher Education for the College Board and DoSomething.org.
• The Office of Facilities Services is seeking volunteers to serve on the boundary planning committee for the new eastern elementary school scheduled to open next year. The deadline to sign up is October 28. Please see the announcement on the School Division website for full details.
• On Thursday, October 20, the new 1.1-mile Discovery Trail that runs from Coles Elementary School to Benton Middle School and on to Colgan High School will be dedicated. The ceremony will be held at the Colgan High School outdoor amphitheater at 3 p.m.
• The Middle and High School All-County Chorus performances will be on October 28 and 29 at Freedom High School. The Middle School Men's Choir will perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 28. Saturday's performances will begin with the High School Treble Choir at 2 p.m., followed by the Senior Mixed Choir. The Middle School Women's Choir will perform at 4:30 p.m. All performances are free and open to the public.
• High School Specialty Program information nights will be held on October 24 at Gar-Field High School and October 25 at Stonewall Jackson High School. Both events will be held from 7 to 9 p.m.

Volume 12, Number 4 - Publication date: October 21, 2016

Public meetings of the School Board are broadcast on pwcstv.com. (Select "Video on Demand"), Comcast Channel 18, and Verizon Channel 36.

School Board Meeting Information:

Individuals who wish to address the School Board under Citizens' Time should notify the Board Clerk in writing at P.O. Box 389, Manassas, VA 20108; by phone at 703-791-8709; or by email at pwcsclerk@pwcs.edu prior to noon on the day of the Board meeting and will be placed on the list of speakers. Or, individuals may also sign onto the list of speakers maintained at the entrance to the School Board meeting room at the beginning of a regular Board meeting, but prior to 6:55 p.m. on the evening of the meeting. Please provide your name, address, phone number and topic you would like to speak about. Any deviation from these procedures shall be at the discretion of the Chairman.

All speakers must provide the School Board Clerk with their address and phone number in order to verify their residency and permit the Clerk to contact them if necessary. Upon request, the Clerk will not release to the public the address and phone number of the speaker.