From the President's Desk |
Dear Fellow School Board Members,
Summer is finally upon us. As a board member, there is no better moment than recognizing our students’ achievements on graduation day, and I hope you all were able to celebrate in fantastic weather to kick off the season the right way. While it may not have been the traditional season like graduation, we now have a budget with record support for education. Thank you to everyone who advocated for public education and J.T. Kessler and Stacy Haney for their diligent efforts throughout the many sessions and for keeping us updated on the latest in Richmond.
At our Board of Directors meeting this month, we created a Task Force on School Infrastructure Needs. As you likely know, this is a cause dear to me, and I thank our Board of Directors for supporting this critical endeavor. I am thankful also for the impressive lineup of members who have joined in support. I look forward to the Task Force’s work to address these needs so that all our children in the Commonwealth have safe, supportive, innovative learning environments no matter their zip code.
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From the Executive Director |
10 Tips for New School Board Members
The VSBA would like to take this time to welcome all new school board members and welcome back those incumbents who won their elections. Below are 10 tips for New School Board Members based on the advice of seasoned board members who’ve learned through experience the pitfalls of being new on the board. Don’t forget that your association, VSBA, is here for you, so please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-446-8722.
1. Assume your position with an open mind. Go slow initially, especially if you have come to the board with changes in mind. Chances are you will feel differently about many things in six months.
2. Remember that the only authority you have lies in the corporate action of the school board. You have no legal authority to act alone unless the board explicitly delegates a task to you.
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Issue Highlights
Virginia General Assembly Adopts 2022-2024 Biennial Budget
VSBA Profile in Leadership- Meet Sharon Felton, VSBA Tidewater Region Chair
Division Spotlight: Henrico County Public Schools
Application Process for Nomination and Election of Regional Officers
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Virginia General Assembly Adopts 2022-2024 Biennial Budget |
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The 2022-2024 Biennial Budget was adopted by the Virginia General Assembly on June 1, 2022, following a lengthy period of negotiations between Senate and House budget writers. Lawmakers returned to Richmond on June 17, 2022, to consider over 30 recommendations to the budget made by Governor Youngkin. Recommendations by the Governor require a simple majority vote of each chamber to remain in the budget.
The 2022-2024 biennial budget contains $19.2 billion dollars over the biennium directed towards K-12 Public Education, which is a 20% increase over the appropriated dollars for K-12 during the 2020-2022 biennium. The spending provisions and legislative language found in the budget will take effect July 1, 2022.
If you have any questions about the 2022-2024 biennial budget, or if you have questions regarding any legislation that was addressed during the 2022 session of the Virginia General Assembly, please contact me at 434-295-8722 ext. 116 or jason@vsba.org.
The following list of budget amendments is a selection of amendments and does not contain each amendment impacting K-12 public education. If you would like to review the entire 2022-2024 biennial budget, you can find it by clicking here.
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VSBA Profile in Leadership- Meet Sharon Felton, VSBA Tidewater Region Chair |
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What do you do when you're not working on School Board items?
Currently, I serve on two City of Virginia Beach Commissions and one Committee:
- Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Commission
- Virginia Beach Park and Recreation Commission
- Virginia Beach May 31st Memorial Commemoration Committee
Where do you turn for new ideas about serving your community?
- Attending monthly Civic Leagues meetings
- Conducting regular neighborhood meetings, meetings one-on-one with students and parents
- Regularly scheduled meetings with faith-based organizations
- Meetings with PTA organizations
What are one or two issues/topics/challenges that are especially important to you and why?
Policies that promote equity:
(1) Policies that value diversity in our educational community and staff. (2) To provide a framework to advance educational equity in alignment with the school division’s visions and priorities. (3) School Division to be committed to developing a capacity for cultural competence and a commitment to equity and inclusion to enable the fulfillment of its core values and lifelong learning competencies (4) Policies that define and support expectations for consideration of racial and social equity, including meaningful stakeholder involvement in planning, developing, and implementing policies, practices, and initiatives.
What is the most important thing you’ve learned through your board service that you’d like to share with others?
I have learned and embraced that the school board of public education develops policies and directives. In turn, this allows the school district to effectively establish and implement plans that will successfully govern the priorities that directly support the vision and mission of the school district.
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Sharon Felton,
VSBA Tidewater Region Chair,
Virginia Beach City School Board
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"Pursuing the Foundations of School Board Governance Certificate was an enriching experience. It provided me with many tools to grow as a school board member. I am incredibly grateful for these opportunities to work to deepen my knowledge so I can better serve Washington County Public Schools and the community at large. I highly recommend this certification program to new board members." - Jenny Nichols, Board member, Washington County Public Schools.
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2022 VSBA School Law Conference |
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On June 3, 2022, VSBA held the 2022 School Law Conference at the Hilton Richmond Hotel & Spa at Short Pump. The conference offered legal guidance on several important topics, including Dyslexia and Specialized Reading, Legal Strategies on How to Hold Public Meetings, Division Staff and the First Amendment, and an update on the budget and education legislation. |
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Division Spotlight: Henrico County
In each newsletter, VSBA will spotlight a recent initiative or best practice taking place in a school division in Virginia. If you have a story you would like to submit for inclusion in the spotlight section of the VSBA newsletter, please contact Brittany Moore, member services coordinator, for more information. We look forward to hearing about the great things going on in your divisions.
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Henrico County Public Schools Kids of Promise Pilot |
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The Problem: Underrepresentation of Gifted Students
A study of 10,000+ elementary schools conducted by Vanderbilt University found that Black students are 66% less likely and Hispanic students are 47% less likely than white students to be placed in gifted programs. In New York City, while Black and Hispanic students comprise 65% of the elementary school population, they make up only 27% of the elementary gifted population. In Henrico County Public Schools, 46.6% of students are Black or Hispanic but only 17.2% are identified as gifted. During the past school year, only 6 students were identified as gifted at Laburnum Elementary.
Failure to identify students with potential often leads to stressful school environments in which bright students become bored, lack motivation and participate in disruptive classroom behaviors. Additionally, social-emotional problems may result as well as misdiagnosis of attention disorders and reduced economic opportunities later in life.
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The importance of advocacy and grassroots engagement is a central component of the Virginia School Boards Association. It is imperative for board members to engage the stakeholders of their community including parents, business, community and higher education leaders, local community organizations, and policy makers in the work of building a successful public school system in each community across the Commonwealth.
VSBA invites your board to nominate a member for the annual VSBA Advocate for Education Award, to be presented at the VSBA Annual Convention in November. This award was created to recognize school board members who have demonstrated significant and outstanding leadership, commitment, and contribution to public education that has impacted their region, the Commonwealth, and who have actively participated in local, state, and federal advocacy on behalf of their division, VSBA, and public schools.
Each local school board may submit one name/nomination for consideration. The nomination must be the approved by the school board, and the nominee must be a current school board member. Nominations are due no later than August 12, 2022. Please submit your nomination via email to J.T. Kessler, VSBA Government Relations Specialist, at jason@vsba.org. Nominations will undergo a review by the selection committee which will determine the award winner.
Thank you for your continued interest in advocacy and all you do to support public education!
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The VSBA has three recognition programs that school boards and school board members may apply for each year. Please review the below information for a description of each award and a link to the nomination forms.
To be considered by the judges, the official nomination form and supporting materials for each of the award programs must be received by July 20, 2022.
Please do not hesitate to contact VSBA should you have any questions. For questions, please contact Brittany Moore, membership services coordinator at brittany@vsba.org or by calling 800-446-8722.
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Application Process for Nomination and Election of Regional Officers
Elections of VSBA Regional Officers will take place at the Fall Regional Meeting held in conjunction with the VSBA Annual Convention. For those regions that will be holding an election this year, a nominating committee was formed and announced at your Spring Regional Networking Forum. Those interested in serving as chair or vice-chair of the region should complete the application form and contact the members of the regional nominating committee. The regions below will be looking for nominations for a chair and vice-chair for a two-year term:
- Eastern Region
- Southside Region
- Southwest Region
- Valley Region
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2022 Urban Boards Alliance Symposium
September 8 & 9, 2022
Omni Hotel on Centennial Park
Atlanta, Georgia
Registration Opens July 1, 2022
Limited to the First 300 Registrants
$425.00
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We are looking forward to the 18th Annual VSBA 5K Run/Walk sponsored by Quinn Evans, and co-sponsored by Ascent and DMWPV! The 5K is scheduled to take place Thursday morning of the convention starting at 7:00 am. Awards are presented at the Closing General Session for:
- Fastest Run (Male and Female Category)
- Fastest Walk (Male and Female Category)
- Team Spirit
- Best Individual Spirit
All registrants for the 5K will receive a free t-shirt for participating! You do not want to miss out, so make sure that you register today!
For questions or more information, contact Mikaela Coffey, Coordinator of Board Development at mikaela@vsba.org or 1-800-446-8722.
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VSBA Affiliate Member Profiles
In each issue of the VSBA newsletter, we will feature three VSBA Affiliate Members.
Thank you for your support of the VSBA and Virginia's public education system.
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Gay and Neel, Inc.
Civil Engineering, Landscape Architecture, and Surveying.
Trevor Kimzey, P.E.
Phone: (540) 381-6011
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SB Ballard Construction Company
SB Ballard Construction Company serves as a Concrete Specialty Contractor providing concrete flatwork and structural concrete services to a variety of General Contractors.
Candy Hennig
Phone: (757) 440-5555
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Pierce Group Benefits
Pierce Group Benefits is the leading regional provider of employee benefits to the public sector.
Donna Nixon
Phone: (800) 387-5955
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200 Hansen Road, Charlottesville, VA 22911
Tel: 434-295-8722 Fax: 434-295-8785
*You must log in with your VSBA issued password to access portions of the newsletter.
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