Thanks for reading Fluco Blog! I’m Perrie Johnson, Fork Union’s representative to the Fluvanna County School Board. My goal with Fluco Blog is to let people know what’s going on at School Board meetings beyond the reports available online. Be forewarned, when it comes to discussion, most of the comments I remember turn out to be mine! Here’s the latest…
The March meeting started with a focus on school safety (it happened to be the same day as the student “walkout”). During public comments, one high school student respectfully acknowledged the intent of now requiring students to report directly to first block, but asked administrators to reconsider.
Budget discussions were a little shorter than usual since 2019 has been submitted to the Board of Supervisors, and 2018 is close to the end. There’s still the subject of this year’s bonus-now-raise to vote on next month. It looks likely (says me) that all full time staff will receive a 1.25% raise – plus supplements for some lower paying positions to reach a minimum of $500 – paid in one lump sum and applicable to THIS year.
Next year’s school calendar came up for a final vote. I suggested we put off the decision to get more input on the latest version, and to include a discussion of costs vs. benefits of a staggered kindergarten opening (half of new kindergartners come one day, half the next). Most Board members wanted the decision done and the superintendent said we can still discuss staggered opening without changing the calendar, so all voted in favor. I did add the comment that even if administration comes up with the best calendar every time, there may still be value in reviving the calendar committee of staff, parents, and community members.
New business for future agendas included Ms. Pace’s request for suggestions to increase direct contact between Board members and school staff, and my hope for a discussion of the staff survey and the possibility of a third party administering and reporting survey results (as recently implemented by Roanoke schools).
I’m sorry we’ve been making so many changes to our scheduled meetings. We changed the time in March and April (open session begins at 4:00) because the Board of Supervisors also meets Wednesday evenings and we want to keep up with their budget discussion, and we changed the date in June (to June 6 instead of 13). We also have a special meeting coming up sometime soon in Charlottesville at the headquarters of the Virginia School Board Association. It’ll be an open meeting, though not nearly as easy to get to. The purpose is Board development, learning strategies to work together effectively as a team.
Have any thoughts on how Board members and staff can communicate more directly? Attending Staff Advisory meetings was suggested, and announcing Board members’ “office hours” in each building. We need your ideas. Please send ‘em on!
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This blog is a personal blog, written and edited by me. The views expressed in this blog are purely my own and do not represent the Fluvanna County School Board, the school superintendent, or anyone else. Comments added by others are not necessarily my opinions and I am not responsible for their content.
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