December 5, 2024 School Board Meeting Highlights

Meeting Opening

At 7:37 p.m., the School Board Regular Meeting was called to order followed by the Pledge of Allegiance, a moment of silence, and a performance of the National Anthem by the Island Creek Elementary School 5th and 6th Grade Chorus under the direction of Sarah Laird and Sara Arslan.

The School Board approved proclamations honoring Inclusive Schools Week and Justice High School's 65th Anniversary.

Community Participation

The School Board heard from 13 members of the public during Community Participation.

Student Representative Matters

Student Representative Megan Sawant presented Student Representative Matters to the School Board.

Executive Limitation Performance and Policy Review

The School Board has implemented Executive Limitations (EL) - the operational guardrails for how the Superintendent shall operate the Division to achieve its goals. ELs are reviewed annually through monitoring reports, submitted by the Superintendent, to ensure compliance with these limitations.

Superintendent Reid presented a monitoring report on Executive Limitation-4: Human Resources. The School Board found the Superintendent not in compliance with EL-4, and requested a corrective action memo by the December 19, 2024 Regular Meeting. In a related action, the School Board voted to maintain Executive Limitation 4: Human Resources, as it is currently detailed in the Strategic Governance Manual.

Action Items

The School Board approved the following actions regarding External Reviews and Internal Processes:

• Motion: That the School Board engage an external law firm that has not performed any work for FCPS or the Superintendent in the last 10 years to conduct a comprehensive and independent examination (to include but not limited to student athlete transfers and eligibility practices) for all high school athletics across FCPS schools, starting with a examination of Hayfield High School, and to report its findings and make recommendations to the School Board and Superintendent.
• Follow-on Motion: Based on the findings of this examination, that the School Board direct the Superintendent to work with the Governance Committee to identify potential updates to related policies, including but not limited to Policy 1106, Policy 1105 and Policy 1107 and bring those potential policy update suggestions to the Governance Committee to review and to send recommendations to the School Board for consideration and a vote as needed.

Presentations to the School Board

Dr. Reid and Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden presented the FY 2025 Midyear Budget report.

Dr. Reid presented Academic Matters on Inclusive Schools.

Dr. Reid and Jenny Cunneen, Director of Leadership Development, presented a Strategic Plan Update on Pillar C: Diverse, Adaptive, and Supported Workforce.

Dr. Reid presented Superintendent Matters to the School Board.

Consent Agenda

The School Board approved an amendment to the Strategic Governance Manual regarding Newsletters, the minutes of the October 24, 2024 Regular Meeting, the Legislative Program Joint Position with the Board of Supervisors, and several contracts.

Meeting Closing

Finally, the School Board regular meeting concluded with a Committee Report from Budget Committee Chair Mr. McDaniel. The Regular Meeting adjourned on Friday, December 6 at 12:07 a.m.

Watch the full meeting on the FCPS YouTube channel.

Upcoming School Board meetings include:

• Public Engagement Committee Meeting on December 10, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
• Joint Meeting with the Board of Supervisors on December 10, 2024 at 3:30 p.m.
• Joint Meeting with the Fairfax City School Board on December 17, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.
• Regular Meeting on December 19, 2024, 7:00 p.m.