6:40 P.M.. [00:00:01] AND WITH THAT SAID, WE CAN MOVE ON INTO OUR WORK SESSION. [Call the Work Session to Order ] SO, YES, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN EVERYTHING OVER TO DR. [1. Budget Summary and Compensation Overview] HAYWARD. GOOD EVENING, MADAM CHAIR, AND SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS. IT IS MY PLEASURE THIS EVENING TO PRESENT TO YOU THE SUPERINTENDENT'S PROPOSED FY 2024 COMBINED FUNDS BUDGET. THIS IS OUR WORK SESSION. NUMBER ONE, THE START OF WHAT LOOKS LIKE MAYBE MANY IF YOU LOOK AT OUR CALENDAR. BUT WE ARE EXCITED TO START THIS EVENING. WE DO HAVE MR. TURNER ON WHO WILL BE PRESENTING THIS EVENING, BUT WE JUST WANT TO REMIND YOU OF OUR MANTRA FOR OUR WORK THAT WE'RE DOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS, AND THAT IS RESET, RESTART AND REFOCUS. SO TONIGHT IS JUST A SUMMARY AND WE ARE TRULY FOCUSED ON THE COMPENSATION PORTION OF MY PROPOSED BUDGET THIS EVENING. SO AT THIS TIME, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO MR. TURNER TO GO AHEAD AND PRESENT. THANK YOU, MA'AM. SO AS DR. KAY JUST SAID, TONIGHT, WE'LL BE GOING OVER A SUMMARY AND THEN THE COMPENSATION PART OF THE BUDGET. AS MOST OF YOU ALL KNOW, THAT'S THE LION'S SHARE OF OUR BUDGET EVERY YEAR. AND AS YOU SAID, WE'RE TRYING TO RESET, RESET, RESTART AND REFOCUS AS WE MOVE INTO FISCAL YEAR 2024. SO BRIEF OVERVIEW. THE TOTAL COMBINED FUNDS BUDGET IS MADE UP OF THREE FUNDS, TWO OPERATING GRANTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS AND SCHOOL NUTRITION. THE OPERATING BUDGET IS THE LARGEST NINE, MAKING UP 92%, WHILE THE OTHER TWO BUDGETS ARE GRANTS 5% AND SCHOOL NUTRITION 3%. THE SCHOOL NUTRITION FUND IS BASICALLY AN ENTERPRISE FUND, WHICH MEANS IT BASICALLY FUNDS ITSELF THROUGH PAYMENTS OF LUNCH AND THEN THE FEDERAL FUNDING FORCE FOR SCHOOL LUNCH, THE GRANTS AND SPECIAL PROJECTS. SO THE GRANTS THAT WE APPLY FOR AND RECEIVE EACH YEAR, WHETHER ENTITLEMENT GRANTS OR COMPETITIVE GRANTS THAT WE GET, AND THEN OUR OPERATING FUND, WHICH IS THE LION'S SHARE. THAT IS HOW WE OPERATE OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM EVERY SINGLE YEAR. THAT IS $329.4 MILLION COMBINED WITH THE OTHER TWO FUNDS. THE TOTAL IS $359.9 MILLION. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME OTHER FUNDS AS WELL. THE SUPPLEMENTAL RETIREMENT FUND, WHICH IS FUNDED BY ONE AND A HALF PERCENT OF EACH EMPLOYEES SALARY. WE HAVE OPEB, OUR HEALTH BENEFITS FUND AND IN SCHOOL ACTIVITIES FUNDS. OPEB REPRESENTS THE FUND THAT PAYS FOR RETIREES BENEFITS. HEALTH BENEFITS. WE ARE A SELF INSURED SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND THE SCHOOL ACTIVITY FUNDS ARE THE MONEY THAT SCHOOLS RAISE TO FUND DIFFERENT STUDENT ACTIVITIES AT THEIR SCHOOL BUILDING. SO I PROPOSE FISCAL YEAR 2024 COMBINED FUND BUDGET. 85% OF THAT BUDGET ARE PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES, 87.2 BEING BENEFITS AND 219.1 BEING SALARIES FOR OPERATING FUND FUNDS. 2439 AND A HALF FTE. THIS IS ONE ADDITIONAL FTE FROM THE CURRENT NEW GRANTS, A SPECIAL PROJECT THAT FUNDS 111.45 FTES, WHICH IS AN INCREASE OF 9.8 FTES, AND THEN THE SCHOOL NUTRITION FUND. THERE'S NO CHANGE. SO WE'RE FUNDING 121 POSITIONS. THEN AS WE FOCUSED ON OUR SOCIAL EMOTIONAL ACADEMIC LEARNING GOING INTO FISCAL YEAR 2024 AND THE OPERATING FUND, WE HAVE FUNDED AN ADDITIONAL 2.9 ELEMENTARY SCHOOL COUNSELORS, TWO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS, EMTS, SPECIALISTS, A MULTITUDE OF SUPPORT SYSTEM SPECIALISTS, ONE. AND THEN A SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELOR, AND THEN THREE ELL TEACHERS. SO ENGLISH LEARNERS. AND THEN A HIGH SCHOOL MATH TEACHER. ON THE OPERATIONS SIDE, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'RE OPENING UP THE NEW DOUGLAS MACARTHUR BUILDING, WHICH IS GOING TO BE A LARGER SCHOOL BUILDING, AS WELL AS WE PURCHASED THE 1703 BOULEVARD BUILDING. SO WE'VE FUNDED TWO NEW BUILDING ENGINEERS TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THOSE BUILDINGS FOR US. AND THEN ALSO WE'VE ADDED AN ATTORNEY TO BE ABLE TO START THE PROCESS WITH COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR NEXT YEAR. ADDITIONALLY, WE'VE ADDED $600,000 FOR SECURITY SERVICES. NOW THIS WILL ALSO BE TALKED ABOUT NEXT WEEK AND THE NON PERSONNEL SIDE, BECAUSE TECHNICALLY THIS IS MAJORITY OF THE NON PERSONNEL, BUT WE WANTED TO ADD IT HERE BECAUSE IT'S FOUR ADDITIONAL SCHOOL SECURITY OFFICERS, 100,000 OF THAT IS TO TAKE OUR ACP SCHOOL SECURITY OFFICERS AND MAKE THEM EIGHT OUR EMPLOYEES. CURRENTLY THEY ARE SEVEN OUR EMPLOYEES. SO THIS IS THE MEAT AND POTATOES OF OUR BUDGET, THE SALARY ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE HAVE PROPOSED FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024. [00:05:06] WE HAVE A STEP INCREASE, TWO AND A HALF PERCENT MARKET RATE ADJUSTMENT. WE HAVE WE CONTINUING TO STAY COMMITTED TO THE COMPENSATION STUDIES THAT WE'VE PERFORMED IN THE PAST. WE STILL HAVE HOLD STEPS, SO WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A 2% BONUS FOR THOSE ON HOLD STEPS. AND THEN WE'VE ADDED A NEW TOP STEP AND WE'VE REMOVED THE BOTTOM STEP ON ALL SCALES. WHEN YOU ADD ALL OF THIS UP, THIS IS ROUGHLY $11 MILLION TO BE ABLE TO DO THESE COMPENSATION ENHANCEMENTS. THESE HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO TRY TO HELP WITH OUR RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT OF NEW EMPLOYEES. AND WE'VE TAKEN A MULTI-PRONGED APPROACH HERE, BOTH THROUGH THE STEP INCREASES AS WELL AS CHANGING THE ENTIRE SCALES FOR EVERY JOB CLASS ACROSS CPS. SO THE IDEA BEHIND ADDING A NEW TOP STEP AND REMOVING THE LOWEST STEP ON EACH SCALE IS ONE BY REMOVING THE LOWEST THAT WE RAISE THE BOTTOM OF THAT SCALE TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT NEW PROFESSIONALS. AND BY ADDING THAT NEW TOP STEP, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO RETAIN SOME OF OUR MOST SEASONED PROFESSIONALS AS THEY NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO INCREASE THEIR SALARY, WHICH IN THE LONG RUN WILL GO A LONG WAY FOR THEIR RETIREMENT ONCE THEY DO RETIRE FROM ACPS. SO JUST A COMPARISON OF WHERE WE WOULD BE IF WE APPROVE WHAT'S PROPOSED. LOOKING AT OUR LARGEST JOB CLASS, WHICH IS OUR TEACHER SCALE ON THE MASTER'S DEGREE, OR THE FIRST STEP WOULD GO FROM FIFTH OUT OF THE JURISDICTIONS TO FIRST, AND THEN THE TOP STEP WOULD REMAIN AT FIVE. THE DIFFERENCE, THOUGH, WITH THE TOP STEP IS, ALTHOUGH IT'S STILL AT FIVE, YOU'LL SEE THE RANGE FOR THE TOP STEP, FOR THE TOP OF THE SCALE OUT OF ALL OF THESE NINE DIVISIONS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, ARE PRETTY TIGHTLY GROUPED IN TWO SECTIONS. THE TOP, WHICH HAS A RANGE FROM 117 500 UP TO 119 900. SO A 2400 DIFFERENCE, WHICH IS A LESS THAN A 2% DIFFERENCE IN THAT RANGE. AND THEN THE FOUR SCHOOL DIVISIONS THAT ARE AT THE BOTTOM HAVE A RANGE FROM 105100 TO 107 600, A GAP OF 2500. SO WE ARE IN THAT TOP HALF. AGAIN, PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY IS AN OUTLIER THERE. THEY ARE ABOUT 25,000 HIGHER THAN ACTUALLY MORE THAN THAT HIGHER THAN THE SECOND PLACE SCHOOL DIVISION. THEN OUR EMPLOYEE BENEFITS EACH YEAR. AS YOU KNOW, WE HISTORICALLY HAVE BEEN SEEING INCREASES IN OUR HEALTH CARE COSTS AND DENTAL COSTS. SO WE PROJECTED THREE AND A HALF PERCENT INCREASE FOR BOTH OUR UNITEDHEALTHCARE AS WELL AS KAISER. OUR FINAL NUMBERS WILL BE LOOKED AT BY OUR CONSULTANT BEFORE WE ADOPT THE FINAL BUDGET. BUT CURRENTLY IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET WE PROPOSED A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT INCREASE THERE TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THOSE BENEFITS WITHOUT ANY PLAN CHANGES FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. AND JUST QUICKLY, GOING OVER THE EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PORTION, WE PAY THE EMPLOYEE FOR ACPS PAYS 90% OF OUR SUPPORT STAFF HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS AND THEN 80% OF EVERYBODY ELSE. AND I CAN'T STRESS HOW BIG OF A DIFFERENCE THIS MAKES IN YOUR TAKE HOME PAY WHEN COMPARED TO SOME OF OUR SURROUNDING JURISDICTIONS WHERE THE EMPLOYEE IS PAYING ANYWHERE BETWEEN 25 AND 43% OF THEIR HEALTH CARE PREMIUM. WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE TAKE HOME PAY FOR THIS, IT EQUATES TO A DIFFERENCE OF BETWEEN 1007 THOUSAND, DEPENDING ON WHICH SCHOOL DIVISION YOU'RE COMPARING OURSELVES AGAINST. SO THIS A HUGE DIFFERENCE WHEN IT COMES TO TAKE HOME. SO EVEN THOUGH SOME OF OUR AREAS ARE TOP OF OUR SALARY, OUR ANNUAL SALARY MAY NOT BE NUMBER ONE OR TWO. WHEN YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THE TAKE HOME PAY AFTER WE PAY FOR SO MUCH OF OUR EMPLOYEES HEALTH CARE BENEFITS, MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE TAKING HOME MORE THAN THEY WOULD IN OTHER SCHOOL DIVISIONS. SO THEN THE LAST COUPLE OF SLIDES ARE JUST A EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE INCREASES WOULD BE FOR SOME OF OUR DIFFERENT JOB CLASSES. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR BUS DRIVERS, OUR BUS DRIVERS, FISCAL YEAR 2023, THE CURRENT YEAR WAS THE LAST OF THE THREE YEAR INCREASE FOR THEM, BUT YOU'LL STILL SEE IN 2024 THEY'RE PROJECTED TO SEE A 5.8% INCREASE IN THEIR OVERALL SALARY. AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE ON THE RIGHT THERE THAT THIS DOES NOT CONSIDER INDIVIDUAL TAX WITHHOLDINGS AND IT ASSUMES UHC AND INDIVIDUAL HEALTH CARE PLAN. [00:10:01] FOR A TEACHER, A MASTER'S DEGREE. LET ME GO BACK. TEACH HIS MASTER'S DEGREE AGAIN. THIS IS OUR LARGEST GROUP OF EMPLOYEES. YOU'LL SEE THAT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024. IN THIS EXAMPLE, THEY WOULD SEE ABOUT A 5.7% INCREASE IN THEIR TAKE HOME PAY USING THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE HAVE IN THIS MODEL. AND THEN LASTLY, THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL WOULD SEE A 5.3%. BUT I DO WANT TO CAVEAT THAT, THAT THIS IS FROM STEP 13 TO 14. FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, THAT'S A WHOLE STEP. SO THE INCREASE THAT THEY'RE SEEING IS FROM THE MARKET RATE ADJUSTMENTS, THE TWO AND ONE HALF THAT'S BEING PROVIDED FOR EVERYBODY. AND THEN THEY WERE ALSO PART OF A PAST COMPENSATION STUDY. SO THEY WILL ALSO RECEIVE THAT MIRROR AS WELL. SO WITH THAT, I WILL TURN IT BACK TO THE CHAIR AND OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS. THANK YOU, MR. TURNER. AND WE WILL DO QUESTIONS. WHOSE FIRST? AND WE MAKE DR. REEF FIRST. I CAN. I CAN GO FIRST. OH, NO, YOU DON'T WANT TO GO FIRST. HE DOESN'T WANT TO GO FIRST. SO THANK YOU, MR. TURNER. AND THANK YOU TO THE TEAM FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT'S GONE INTO THIS. SO VERY HAPPY ABOUT THE MARKET RATE ADJUSTMENT FOR OUR TEACHERS JUST REALLY MAKES ME HAPPY. BUT JUST A FEW QUESTIONS OF CLARIFICATION AROUND THAT. THE MARKET RATE ADJUSTMENT, YOU SAID THAT IT IS FOR ALL STAFF. I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT'S ALL STAFF MEAN FULL TIME EMPLOYEES OR IS ALL STAFF EVERYONE? IT'S ALL ELIGIBLE STAFF. SO THAT'S ALL EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE A CONTRACT WITH ACP. SO EVEN IF YOU ARE A PART TIME EMPLOYEE, IF YOU HAVE A CONTRACT WITH ACPS, YOUR SALARY WILL BE INCREASING AS WELL. OKAY. AND THEN CAN YOU BRIEFLY GO OVER THE BONUS FOR HOLD STEP? HOLD. SO ON ALL OF OUR SALARY SCALES TOWARDS THE TOP OF THE SCALES, THERE ARE WHOLE STEPS, MEANING YOU'LL GO FROM A 13 TO A 14 WITHOUT THERE BEING AN INCREASE IN YOUR SALARY. SO TO TRY TO PROVIDE THOSE EMPLOYEES WITH SOME ADDITIONAL COMPENSATION BECAUSE EVERY YEAR OUR HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS GO UP AND WE DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM ACTUALLY HAVE A NEGATIVE TAKE HOME PAY. WE TRY TO PROVIDE THEM WITH A SMALL BONUS TO BE ABLE TO OFFSET SOME OF THAT SO THEY DON'T SEE THEIR PAYCHECK SHRINKING DUE TO HEALTH CARE COSTS INCREASING. THANK YOU. YOU'RE WELCOME. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, MS.. GREENE. JUST REAL QUICK ON THAT, SINCE WE ARE ON HOLD, STEPH. SO THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE CONSULTANT IS LOOKING AT TO SEE IF WE'RE GOING TO DO AWAY WITH WHOLE STEPS BECAUSE IT IS AN ANTIQUATED MODEL. SO WHEN WE GET THE REPORT BACK FROM THEM, WE'LL SEE IF WE ARE REMOVING THOSE HOLD STEPS. AND IF WE DO, IF THAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE CONSULTANT AND WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT, WE'LL ADJUST THE BUDGET AND THAT 300,000 THAT YOU SEE FOR THAT BONUS WILL THEN GO TO PAY FOR THE STEP INCREASE THAT THOSE EMPLOYEES WOULD SEE. SO IF YOU'RE NO LONGER ON A WHOLE STEP, YOU WOULD END UP GETTING A STEP INCREASE SO THAT 300,000 WOULD JUST GO TO PAY FOR THAT INCREASE. AND WHEN WHEN WE KNOW IF THAT'S GOING TO CHANGE. YOU'LL KNOW BEFORE THE SUPERINTENDENT'S ADJUSTED BUDGET IN MAY. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO JUST TO GIVE YOU A QUICK UPDATE ON THE COMPENSATION STUDY THAT IS IN PROCESS NOW. HR DEPARTMENT IS MANAGING THAT WITH SCHOOL CONSULTANTS. SO WE'RE HOPING TO HAVE ALL OF THAT DATA PRETTY SOON. AND IT DOES INVOLVE THAT AS WELL AS A FEW OTHER OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE ADDRESSED. OKAY. THANK YOU. MISS BOO'S, DR. REEF WANTS TO GO LEFT TONIGHT. SO LET'S SEE, A COUPLE DIFFERENT QUESTIONS. FIRST OF ALL, FOR OUR WORK SESSION NEXT WEEK. ARE WE ARE WE TALKING ABOUT INDIVIDUAL SCHOOLS AND STAFFING THIS WEEK OR IS THAT FOR THE WORK SESSION NEXT WEEK? SO THIS IS JUST COMPENSATION. OKAY. SO SAVE IT. OKAY. SO I WILL SAVE THOSE QUESTIONS FOR NEXT. IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT STAFFING, FEEL FREE. IF I HAVE THE ANSWER FOR YOU, I'LL PROVIDE THE ANSWER. IF I DON'T, WE WILL PROVIDE THE ANSWER NEXT WEEK. OKAY, FAIR ENOUGH. WELL, WHY DON'T I STICK WITH WHAT'S PART OF THE PRESENTATION FIRST? SO THE HEALTH CARE PLAN PROJECTED PREMIUM INCREASE. I THINK YOU SAID THE 3.5% FOR UHC AND KAISER IS ARE THOSE INCREASES BEING PASSED ON TO THE STAFF? [00:15:04] YES, THEY ARE. THE THREE AND A HALF PERCENT. IT'S A IT'S A 9010 OR 8020 SPLIT. SO ACP PAYS 90% OF ALL SUPPORT STAFF AND IT PAYS 80% OF EVERYBODY ELSE. SO THEY WOULD BE PICKING UP. POINT ONE TIMES 0.035 OR 0.2 TIMES 0.035. SO THEN IF I'M LOOKING AT THE VARIOUS SCENARIOS THAT YOU HAVE, WHERE YOU HAVE THE INCREASE, THE THE DOLLAR INCREASE, THAT ACCOUNTS FOR THE INCREASED HEALTH CARE COSTS FOR THE TEACHERS. RIGHT. THAT'S KIND OF LIKE THE THE NET DOLLAR GAIN. ALSO TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THAT YOU'D BE PAYING MORE FOR THE HEALTH INSURANCE. THAT IS CORRECT. SO IF YOU LOOK AT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE TEACHER, YOU'LL SEE THE HEALTH INSURANCE GO AND THIS IS THE ANNUAL COST. HEALTH INSURANCE GOES FROM JUST UNDER 3200 TO 3300. OKAY, GREAT. THIS IS HELPFUL. AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE ADDITIONAL SEAL SUPPORT POSITIONS ABOVE THE SCENE, THE COUNSELORS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS AND EMTS SPECIALISTS. AND THIS COULD BE A QUESTION FOR NEXT WEEK, TOO. SO TOTALLY FINE TO WAIT FOR THAT. BUT HOW ARE WE ALSO ACCOUNTING FOR SUPPORT COUNSELORS AND PSYCHOLOGISTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL? AND THAT COULD BE NEXT WEEK AS WELL. SO, YES, BOTH AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS AND HIGH SCHOOL. OUR STUDENT TO COUNSELOR RATIO IS VERY GOOD. WHERE WE WANTED TO FOCUS WAS AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL BECAUSE OUR RATIOS OR A LITTLE, I GUESS LESS THAN WHAT THEY WERE AT THE MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL. SO THAT'S WHY WE ADDED THE 2.9 AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVELS AND IT'S NOT A FULL NUMBER. AND THE REASON WHY THAT IS, IS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A WHOLE NUMBER OF COUNSELORS RIGHT NOW. AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS HAVE A WHOLE NUMBER OF COUNSELORS THROUGHOUT BECAUSE IT MAKES IT EASIER FOR HR TO RECRUIT THOSE PEOPLE. IT'S HARD WHEN YOU TRY TO FILL A POINT EIGHT COUNSELOR, AND THEY'RE WORKING FOUR OUT OF FIVE DAYS OF THE WEEK, SO WE'VE MADE IT. SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE A BETTER OPPORTUNITY TO RECRUIT THOSE. AND THEN WE'RE JUST LOOKING TO TRY TO HAVE A BETTER COUNSELOR TO STUDENT RATIO AT OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. I'M JUST GOING TO FOLLOW UP SINCE YOU'RE ALREADY TALKING ABOUT THE POSITIONS LISTED ON SLIDE FOUR. COULD YOU TELL US IF YOU HAVE THIS INFORMATION IN FRONT OF YOU WHICH SCHOOLS THESE WILL BE ALLOCATED TO OR OR IF THEY ARE CENTRAL OFFICE STAFF AND THEN HOW THOSE DECISIONS WERE MADE? SO, CHARLES BAIRD, WE ADDED A POINT FOR DOUGLAS MACARTHUR POINT TO JAMES POLK, AND THESE ARE COUNSELORS. JAMES POLK A HALF. JOHN ADAMS POINT TO LYLES, CROUCH POINT TO NAOMI BROOKS POINT TO MOUNT VERNON, POINT SIX. PATRICK HENRY POINT FOUR. SAMUEL TUCKER POINT FOUR. FERDINAND 2.4. AND WHAT WE LOOKED AT WAS WE LOOKED AT THE STUDENT TO COUNSELOR RATIO. WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS NO SCHOOL THAT WAS GREATER THAN, I BELIEVE, A 1 TO 400 RATIO AT THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL LEVEL. AND THEN WHEN WE LOOK AT PSYCHOLOGISTS, WE WERE TRYING TO MAKE IT SO NO SCHOOL WAS WORSE THAN A 1 TO 600 RATIO FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS. SO FOR THE TWO PSYCHOLOGISTS, WE ADDED A 0.2 AT JAMES POLK, A 0.2 AT JOHN ADAMS, A 0.2 AT LOUSE CROUCH. OH, I'M SORRY. I THINK I SAID A POINT TO COUNSEL AT LOUSE CROUCH, BUT IT WAS ACTUALLY A POINT TO PSYCHOLOGIST NAOMI BROOKS AS WELL. I THINK I SAID IT, COUNSELOR, BUT IT'S ACTUALLY A PSYCHOLOGIST. AND THEN MT. VERNON, A POINT FOUR PSYCHOLOGIST, AND PATRICK HENRY, A 0.6 PSYCHOLOGIST, AND SAMUEL TUCKER, 2.2 PSYCHOLOGIST. AND THEN JUST TO GO OVER THEIR RATIO AT THE HIGH SCHOOL AND THE MIDDLE SCHOOLS, FOR INSTANCE, FRANCIS HAMANN, THEIR STUDENT TO COUNSELOR RATIO RIGHT NOW IS 127 TO 1. GEORGE WASHINGTON IS 194 TO 1. THE HIGH SCHOOL ALL CAMPUSES IS 180 TO 1. SO THAT IS WHY WE FOCUSED ON THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL VERSUS THE SECONDARY SCHOOLS. AND THEN JUST SOME OTHER INFORMATION FOR EVERYBODY. SO THE SOC FOR SST POSITIONS IS THREE FOR EVERY 1000 STUDENTS OR ESSENTIALLY ONE TO EVERY 333. SO WE ARE FAR BETTER THAN THAT. [00:20:03] SO Q. THANKS. I APPRECIATE THE BREAKDOWN AND THE BENCHMARKS ON THE SOX. IS THE METS. THE NEW METS SPECIALIST, IS THAT A DIVISION WIDE POSITION? SAME QUESTION FOR THE SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELOR. AND THEN WHERE ARE THE TEACHERS GOING? SO THOSE ARE BOTH DIVISION WIDE POSITIONS. AND THEN THE THREE POSITIONS I WILL HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON WHERE THOSE ARE GOING. THAT'S FINE. THANK YOU. MR. LOOBY. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. TO STAY ON THAT TOPIC FOR FOR A BIT. SO I THINK AND CORRECT ME IF I'M MISTAKEN, YOU SAID THE COUNSELOR RATIO IS 400 TO 1. IS THAT SO? Q. BECAUSE I SAW 325 TO 1 SOMEWHERE. SO CAN SOMEONE JUST HELP ME WITH THAT? NO, THE SOP Q OR ITS CORE SST POSITION. SO THAT'S COUNSELOR PSYCHOLOGISTS, SOCIAL WORKERS, NURSES. SO IT'S ONE I'M SORRY, THREE FOR EVERY 1000 STUDENTS. AND THAT'S A COMBINATION OF ALL OF THOSE POSITIONS. WE? YES. CAN YOU PULL BACK UP THE PRESENTATION, PLEASE, FOR THAT PAGE? THANK YOU. MR. TURNER, YOU CAN CONTINUE ANSWERING MR. LIBBY'S QUESTION THERE, JUST USING THAT AS A THANK YOU. OKAY. SO YEAH, SO SO Q IS THREE FOR EVERY 1000 STUDENTS AND THAT'S IT. SO THAT'S SOCIAL WORKER, COUNSELOR, PSYCHOLOGIST, SCHOOL NURSE. WE FAR EXCEED THAT. I BELIEVE OUR RATIO CURRENTLY IS LIKE 1 TO 185 OR SOMEWHERE IN THAT RANGE. WHEN WE LOOK ACROSS THE ENTIRE SCHOOL DIVISION. SO WE'RE ALMOST. THAT'S ABOUT 50% BETTER, RIGHT? THANK YOU, MR. TURNER. A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS ON THE COMPENSATION. SO. AND IF YOU DON'T KNOW, MAYBE YOU CAN GET BACK TO US. BUT ANY OTHER SCHOOL DIVISIONS SURROUNDING US STILL HAVE THAT WHOLE STEP MODEL. AND MY OTHER QUESTION IS, WELL, YOU WANT TO ANSWER THAT ONE FIRST. SO I'LL ANSWER THAT QUESTION. SO I DO NOT HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT. BUT WE ARE PAYING A CONSULTANT TO BE ABLE TO TELL US THAT. SO WE WILL HAVE THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU IN THE IN THE COMING MONTHS ONCE THE STUDY IS COMPLETE. ACTUALLY, MR. TURNER, I CAN JUMP IN. MOST DIVISIONS HAVE THAT VERY FEW SCALES THAT ARE AROUND US, BUT THEY HAVE MOVED ALSO WITH THE PLAN TO REMOVE THEM AS THEY'RE PRETTY MUCH ANTIQUATED. IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING FOR EMPLOYEE MORALE AS WELL AS RETENTION. SO MOST DIVISIONS IN REGION FOUR HAVE ELIMINATED THOSE WHOLE STEPS AND WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE SCALES WHERE THEY STILL HAVE THEM. THANK YOU. AND I'M GLAD WE'RE LOOKING INTO THAT. I MEAN, I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE BENEFICIAL FOR OUR STAFF. SO I CERTAINLY SUPPORT IT, ESPECIALLY IF THE RESULTS FROM THIS STUDY, FROM THIS STUDY PANS OUT AND SHOWS THAT I KNOW ARLINGTON DID IT. I KNOW THAT FOR A FACT, BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING AT THEIR PRESENTATION LAST NIGHT AND OR THE SALARY SCALE COMPARISON. SLIDE SEVEN HOW ABOUT IT TALKS OF WHERE THE SCALE WOULD BE FOR TEACHERS. SO HOW ABOUT ADMINS AND SUPPORT STAFF? WHERE WOULD WE RANK AFTER THAT CHANGE? YES, I CAN BRING YOU THAT INFORMATION BACK NEXT WEEK. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. THAT'S ALL. DR. REEF. THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION, MR. TURNER. WHEN I WAS LOOKING OVER IT, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE TYPICALLY TALK ABOUT THE PERSONNEL, THE PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES AND THE COMPENSATION OVERVIEW IN THE FIRST WORK SESSION. AND, YOU KNOW, AS I WAS KIND OF LOOKING THROUGH THE PRESENTATION AND AND I APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT WENT INTO THE BUDGET AND I CERTAINLY SUPPORT THE STEP INCREASE IN MARKET RATE ADJUSTMENT. I SUPPORT ELIMINATING THE BOTTOM STEP AND ADDING THE NEW TOP STEP. AND I'M REALLY GLAD THAT WE HAVE A GENEROUS HEALTH CARE PLAN FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. WHAT I WAS REALLY THINKING ABOUT AS I WAS LOOKING AT THIS PRESENTATION IS HOW IT'S PART OF, WELL, YOU KNOW, THE GOAL OF COMPENSATION, THE GOAL OF THE COMPENSATION ENHANCEMENTS IS REALLY TO IMPROVE STAFF RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. I MEAN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I THINK AS A BOARD LIKE THAT IS REALLY OUR PRIORITY, RIGHT? IS THAT WE HAVE WELL TRAINED STAFF AND THAT WE'RE WE'RE ABLE TO RECRUIT STAFF AND WE'RE ABLE TO RETAIN STAFF. AND SO I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW HOW THIS KIND OF FITS INTO A COMPREHENSIVE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PLAN. [00:25:09] AND AND I THINK WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT MAYBE IS NOT CAPTURED HERE AND I THINK WE'VE GOTTEN THIS INFORMATION AT OTHER TIMES, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THIS TOGETHER, WHICH IS LIKE WHAT OUR STAFF MEMBERS ARE SAYING ABOUT WHY THEY STAY OR LEAVE. I THINK EACH YEAR THE PRESENTATION LAYS OUT HOW OUR COMPENSATION COMPARES TO NEIGHBORING DIVISIONS. BUT WHAT I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN KNOWING IS HOW CAN THE BUDGET BE LEVERAGED TO IMPROVE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION FOR THE DIVISION? AND IN ORDER TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET, I'D BE INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORICAL STAFF TURNOVER RATE IN ASPS, WHICH WE'VE RECEIVED SOME OF THAT DATA IN THE PAST AT DIFFERENT TIMES, LIKE SEPARATE FROM THE BUDGET, HOW OUR TURNOVER RATE COMPARES TO OUR NEIGHBORING DIVISIONS, WHAT ARE OUR MAYBE OUR VACANCY RATE THAT WE CARRY OUT? WHAT ARE OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GOALS FOR NEXT YEAR AND THE STRATEGIES THAT WE'RE GOING TO USE TO REACH THOSE GOALS. AND I THINK THIS THE STEP INCREASE IN THE MARKET RATE ADJUSTMENT IS LIKE ONE ONE OF THOSE STRATEGIES, BUT LIKE HOW DOES IT FIT IN THE BIGGER PICTURE AND HOW DOES IT IMPACT OUR BUDGET? I THINK THAT'S I'M JUST LIKE THINKING ABOUT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, REALLY TRYING TO THINK ABOUT HOW WE CAN TALK ABOUT THE COMPENSATION AS A PART OF WHAT OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION GOALS. AND SO LIKE MY QUESTIONS ARE, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT WE'RE DOING THE THE COMPENSATION STUDY, THE SALARY SCALE STUDY WITH WITH THE CONSULTANT, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE COMPRESSION ISSUES WITH THOSE HOLD STEPS ARE DEFINITELY SOMETHING WE'VE HEARD OVER TIME. BUT WHAT I WAS WONDERING IS HOW ARE WE COLLECTING FEEDBACK FROM STAFF? I BELIEVE WE'RE DOING EXIT INTERVIEWS. I WENT AND LOOKED BACK AT SOME OF THE OLDER DATA AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I SAW IN THERE WERE PAY WAS ONE THING. OTHER ISSUES. I MEAN, MOST PEOPLE WERE SAYING JUST, YOU KNOW, JUST TO KIND OF SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC WHO MAY BE LISTENING. THOSE PEOPLE SAID THE REASON WAS UNRELATED TO WHY THEY WERE LEAVING. THAT WAS THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE HAD OTHER REASONS, BUT OTHER THINGS THAT CAME UP IN ADDITION TO PAY WERE LACK OF RECOGNITION, APPRECIATION AND RESPECT. SO I THINK THE VIP PROGRAM THAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, THINGS LIKE THAT ARE REALLY GREAT PRINCIPAL OR MANAGER MANAGER CONCERNS. THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS BROUGHT UP AND ALSO SOMETHING THAT RANKED FAIRLY HIGH WAS SCHOOL DIVISION POLICIES AND PRACTICES. AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT EVEN THAT IS REFERRING TO. I'M ASSUMING MAYBE IT'S WORKLOAD, BUT I'M I'M REALLY INTERESTED IN. DIGGING INTO SOME OF THAT STUFF A LITTLE BIT MORE BECAUSE I DO THINK SOME OF THOSE THINGS MAY HAVE BUDGET IMPLICATIONS. AND I KNOW WE USED TO DO THE TILE SURVEY AND MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT WAS DISCONTINUED. AND SO MAYBE WE'RE TRYING TO COLLECT THAT IN THE EQUITY CLIMATE SURVEY. SO. SO BASICALLY, TO SUMMARIZE, THE QUESTION IS HOW ARE WE COLLECTING FEEDBACK FROM STAFF ABOUT OUR ABOUT THEIR WORKING CONDITIONS? AND IN THE FUTURE, CAN WE THINK ABOUT COMBINING THIS CONVERSATION OF OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION LIKE PHILOSOPHY AND GOALS? AND WITH THE BUDGET CONVERSATION, I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL. SO I'LL TAKE A PIECE OF THAT. AND THEN WE'LL HAVE TO WORK WITH AIR ON SOME OF THE REST OF YOUR QUESTION THERE. SO AS FAR AS IT RELATES TO BUDGET, WHAT WE TRY TO DO WITH OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IS ONE FOCUS ON OUR COMPENSATION. SO THAT'S TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE, THE SALARY AS WELL AS THE BENEFITS THAT WE'RE OFFERING FROM PEOPLE. AND THAT'S WHY EVERY YEAR WHEN I COME BEFORE YOU, I REALLY TRY TO STRESS THOSE BENEFIT PIECES BECAUSE THAT'S A PIECE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY FORGET. AND WHEN THEY LEAVE, THEY'RE GOING TO SEE THEIR PAYCHECKS SHRINK BECAUSE THEY'RE GOING TO PAY A LARGER CHUNK OF THEIR HEALTH BENEFITS. ALSO, THE DIFFERENT RETIREMENT PLANS THAT WE HAVE AS WELL IS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY TRY TO STRESS. IN ADDITION TO THE COMPENSATION, WE ALSO TRY TO CREATE CAREER PATHS AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR STAFF. WE FUND THAT. I BELIEVE IN THE PRESENTATION THE OTHER WEEK WE SAID IS A $4.1 MILLION IN THE BUDGET TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE CAREER DEVELOPMENT FOR OUR STAFF. WHEN IT COMES TO OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE, WE HAVE THE PROGRAM GROW A TEACHER THAT WE TRY TO HELP OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS THAT WANT TO GROW FROM AN INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT INTO A TEACHER. AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS THAT WE DO THROUGHOUT ACP THAT GO FUNDED IN THE BUDGET AS WELL. SO THOSE ARE ALL THE THINGS THAT WE DO FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT TO TRY TO HELP WITH THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. THERE ARE THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED IN THERE THAT THE BUDGET WON'T REALLY ADDRESS, RIGHT? [00:30:07] SO WE TRY TO HAVE A MULTIFACETED APPROACH WHEN IT COMES TO RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. RETENTION. ONE OF THE THINGS IN THE FISCAL YEAR 24 PROPOSED BUDGET THAT YOU'LL SEE IS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY INCREASING THE SALARY ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCALE HIGHER. AND AGAIN, THAT'S INTENTIONAL TO TRY TO BE ABLE TO SPUR THE PIPELINE OF NEW TEACHERS I'M SURE EVERYBODY IS AWARE OF THERE'S A NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE. THERE'S LESS AND LESS PEOPLE GOING INTO THE EDUCATIONAL FIELD. SO WE NEED TO REALLY RAISE THAT ENTRY LEVEL POINT TO TRY TO GET THOSE EARLY PROFESSIONALS TO COME TO ACPS VERSUS SOME OF OUR SURROUNDING JURISDICTION. AND THAT WILL ACTUALLY ALSO HELP WITH THE BUDGET AS WELL IF WE'RE ABLE TO RECRUIT MORE THE NEW PROFESSIONALS TO COME TO ACP. SO IT'S APPROACH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE EXPERIENCE WITHIN OUR SCHOOLS AS WELL AS NEW PROFESSIONALS COMING INTO ACP AS WELL. SO REALLY FROM THE BUDGET STANDPOINT, A MULTIFACETED APPROACH, THERE ARE MANY THINGS THAT WE ARE FUNDING AND PROPOSED TO FUND GOING INTO NEXT YEAR TO TRY TO HELP WITH BOTH RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION ACROSS ACP. AGAIN, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU MENTIONED AS A PART OF THAT SURVEY THAT WAS DONE BACK IN 2018. WE HAVE TO WORK WITH H.R. ON PUTTING OUT A NEW SURVEY AND GETTING THE FEELS ON SOME OF THOSE. I KNOW ONE OF THE THINGS FROM A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WHEN WE WORKED WITH OUR CONSULTANT. WHEN IT COMES TO COMPENSATION, EVERYBODY KIND OF HAS DIFFERENT ONES AND IT'S HOW MUCH DO YOU FUND ON THE BENEFIT SIDE VERSUS ON THE SALARY SIDE? IT'S A LOT EASIER TO MARKET A HIGHER SALARY THAN IT IS TO MARKET A LOWER SALARY WITH GREAT BENEFITS BECAUSE TYPICALLY PEOPLE JUST GO AND LOOK AT THEIR ANNUAL SALARY AND THEY DON'T AND THEY STOP THERE. THEY DON'T LOOK TO SEE WHAT THE BENEFITS ARE COSTING. THAT'S WHY, AGAIN, AS I COME BEFORE YOU ALL EVERY YEAR, I TRY TO REALLY PUSH THE FACT THAT WE PAY 90 AND 80% OF OUR BENEFITS FOR OUR STAFF. SO PEOPLE WILL UNDERSTAND THAT PIECE. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR CONSULTANT SAID IS TYPICALLY WHEN THEY DO THE STUDY OR EMPLOYEES TO FIGURE OUT DO THEY WANT MORE SALARY OR DO THEY WANT TO KEEP PLATINUM HEALTH CARE COVERAGE, THEY FIND THAT IT'S TYPICALLY A 5050 SPLIT WHERE THEY SEE THAT OLDER EMPLOYEES TYPICALLY WANT TO BE ABLE TO KEEP THE GREAT BENEFITS, AND THE YOUNGER EMPLOYEES TYPICALLY WANT TO SEE THE HIGHER SALARY. SO DOING THE STUDY THERE, THEY FOUND THAT IT REALLY JUST COMES DOWN TO THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE ORGANIZATION IN WHICH DIRECTION THAT YOU WANT TO GO AND YOU'RE GOING TO MAKE SOME OF YOUR PEOPLE HAPPY AND SOME OF YOUR PEOPLE NOT SO HAPPY. SO THOSE ARE JUST SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT OF WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION, EVERYTHING ELSE. I'LL WORK WITH THE HR DEPARTMENT TO TRY TO FORMULATE A SURVEY ON THAT. SORRY, I'M A LITTLE LONG WINDED. THANK YOU, MR. TURNER. I'LL JUMP IN TO ANSWER DR. REEVES QUESTION FIRST, WITH REGARDS TO THE UNDERSTANDING IT'S REALLY AN EDUCATION AROUND SALARY VERSUS THE TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKET. SO THE RECRUITMENT TEAM IS REALLY WORKING ON THEIR WHAT WE CALL THE ELEVATOR SPEECH. WHEN YOU GO OUT AND YOU HAVE THAT QUICK 90 SECONDS TO SPEAK WITH STAFF ABOUT WHY YOU SHOULD CHOOSE ACP. SO THEY'RE WORKING ON THIS IS THE TOTAL COMPENSATION PACKAGE AND WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN US AND WHAT IT MEANS TO YOU AND POCKET. SO YOU DID HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT HOW THEY COLLECT THE DATA. AND FORTUNATELY, I JUST HAPPEN TO KNOW THAT FOR SOME REASON. SO OVER THE YEARS, ACPS HAS DONE WHAT WE ALL KNOW IS THE EXIT SURVEY AND THAT STAFF MEMBERS WHO ARE LEAVING AND THE QUESTIONS IN THE PAST HAVE BEEN VERY SHORT AND DID NOT PROVIDE A LOT OF CORRECTIVE ACTION GUIDANCE. SO LAST YEAR, H.R. WORKED WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS TEAM BECAUSE IT IS A COMMUNICATIONS TOOL IN OUR WEBSITE AS PART OF OUR EXITING PROCESS. SO NOW WE HAVE A NEW REVISED SYSTEM ON THERE WITH NEW REVISED QUESTIONS TO GIVE US MORE INFORMATION THAT NOT ONLY WILL INFORM THE BUDGET, BUT WILL INFORM MORE PRACTICES. RIGHT? BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY SPEAK TO INSTRUCTION, THEY SPEAK TO POLICIES. SO WE'RE HOPING THESE NEW QUESTIONS THAT ARE PART OF THIS EXIT SURVEY WILL GIVE US MORE DATA TO GO BACK AND NOW MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, THAT JUST STARTED AS OF AUGUST ONE OF THIS YEAR BECAUSE WE HAD WE STARTED THE YEAR, SO WE HAD TO CLOSE THE YEAR WITH THE OLD SURVEY. THE NEW SURVEY IS ACTUALLY AUGUST ONE OF THIS YEAR. WE DO HAVE SOME DATA FROM AUGUST ONE OF THIS YEAR, BUT IT'S ONLY 26 EMPLOYEES THAT WERE IN TRANSITION, DEPENDING ON WHEN THEY COMPLETED THAT SURVEY. SO I THINK THAT DATA WE PROBABLY SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE COMPLETION OF THIS YEAR. BUT WITH THE 26 THAT HAS ALREADY PROVIDED THEIR RESPONSES, IT'S BASICALLY IT TELLS US WHY THEY JOINED, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT AS PART OF OUR RECRUITMENT [00:35:02] EFFORT. IT TALKS TO WHY EMPLOYEES LEFT, WHICH IS TYPICALLY BEEN FOR A CAREER CHANGE OR HEALTH REASONS. IT ALSO SPEAKS TO THAT THEY BELIEVE ABOUT WORK LIFE BALANCE, THAT SORT OF THING. SO WE DO HAVE ALREADY FROM THE 26, A LARGE BIT OF DATA THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE SOME CHANGES ON THROUGHOUT THIS YEAR TO MAKE SURE THAT WE RETAIN THE TEACHERS WE HAVE. THE SECOND PART OF THAT ABOUT HOW WE COLLECT DATA IS REALLY AROUND SOMETHING NEW, THAT IT'S NEW TO US IN THE SENSE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON STAY DATA, STAY INTERVIEWS BECAUSE IT'S MORE IMPORTANT FOR US NOW TO SAY, WHY DO YOU STAY WITH US? ALL RIGHT. WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO FOR YOU? ALSO, ANOTHER PART OF THAT IS WE DID 90 DAY CHECK INS WITH NEW STAFF. WE STARTED THAT LAST YEAR AND WE DO THAT IN TWO MEETINGS. THERE ARE VIRTUAL MEETINGS. THEY CAN PROPOSE QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS OR FEEDBACK TO HR THAT THEY THEN SHARE OUT WITH THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTS AND OFFICES TO HELP MAKE SURE THEIR EXPERIENCE HERE WITH ASPS IS A GOOD EXPERIENCE. AND THEN HOPEFULLY WE'LL RETAIN ALL OF THOSE NEW STAFF AND THAT'S NEW STAFF ACROSS THE BOARD. THANK YOU FOR THAT. JUST TO KIND OF FOLLOW UP. I THINK THAT WAS ALL REALLY TERRIFIC TO HEAR. AND I'D BE INTERESTED IN SEEING, YOU KNOW, SETTING GOALS FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION. AND THEN WHEN WE DO THESE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES, LIKE ASSESSING HOW THEY'RE WORKING AND KIND OF MAKING THAT LIKE AN ONGOING CONVERSATION WE HAVE. AND I THINK IT LEADS GREAT INTO THIS BUDGET CONVERSATION THAT WE HAVE EVERY YEAR. AND THEN JUST ON THAT POINT ABOUT THE STATE SURVEYS AND WHAT MAKES PEOPLE STAY. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON. BECAUSE ONE THING I THOUGHT WAS REALLY GREAT ABOUT THE SURVEY AND I DON'T I DON'T I DON'T THINK WE'RE CAPTURING THIS KIND OF DATA ANYMORE IS A WAY FOR STAFF TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK ABOUT SCHOOL AND DIVISION LEADERSHIP. UM, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, HAVING. I KNOW WE DO THE ANNUAL EVALUATION OF ALL EMPLOYEES AND HAVING THAT FEEDBACK COMING IN THE OTHER DIRECTION AS WELL WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE AGAIN, IN THOSE PREVIOUS EXIT INTERVIEWS, THE AS A SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER, YOU KNOW, A NUMBER OF PEOPLE CITED THE SCHOOL DIVISION POLICIES AND PRACTICES, AND THAT'S A VERY VAGUE CATEGORY. SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT. SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THAT. YEAH. SO JUST SO YOU KNOW, WITH THE TEL SURVEY, THE STAFF THAT WAS HERE THEN IS NO LONGER HERE. SO WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND ASSUME THAT WE UNDERSTAND AND CAN INTERPRET WHAT THEIR INTENT WAS FOR THAT DATA. SO I THINK THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO MOVING FORWARD IS TO CONTINUE TO USE WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF SURVEY MECHANISMS THAT WE PUT OUT AS A NET TO THE COMMUNITY, EVEN TO GET INPUT ON STAFF AND A SURVEY FROM LIKE MAYBE A BUILDING LEVEL ADMINISTRATOR VERSUS A SCHOOL BOARD ADMINISTRATOR. I THINK WE ALSO HAVE TO BE CAUTIOUS WHEN WE PUT SOME OF THOSE THINGS OUT LIKE THAT, THAT THEY ARE DESIGNED TO REALLY CAPTURE THE WORK AND OFTEN MAYBE NOT THE WORK OF THE PERSONALITY. SO WHEN WE CREATE SURVEYS, WE HAVE TO BE VERY MINDFUL OF WHAT WE'RE ASKING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S GATHERING THE WORK THAT'S GOING TO MOVE US MORE TOWARDS A CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, BECAUSE SOMETIMES THEY'RE IN THE PAST, IF YOU LOOKED AT SURVEYS, IT DOES GET INTO FEELINGS AND EMOTIONS VERSUS ACTUAL INFORMATION AROUND INSTRUCTION AND SAFETY AND STAFFING, LEADERSHIP CAPACITY, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS. AND THEN JUST IF I COULD REAL QUICK, ROBERT REMINDED ME OF SOMETHING ALSO CONTRACT. THAT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT WHEN PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT COMPARING THE DIFFERENT JURISDICTIONS. THE CONTRACT LENGTH AND THE WAVE OF JURISDICTIONS VARY FROM 195 DAYS, ALL THE WAY UP TO 216 DAYS, AND THEN ANYWHERE FROM 7 HOURS A DAY TO 8 HOURS A DAY. SO A LOT OF THE TIMES SOME JURISDICTION MAY NOT BE PAYING YOU MORE. THEY MAY BE ASKING YOU TO WORK MORE. SO THAT'S A VERY. SO ANYBODY IN THE LISTENING PUBLIC, IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT LEAVING, JUST MAKE SURE THAT YOU LOOK INTO ALL OF THOSE THINGS BEFORE YOU BEFORE YOU LEAVE. BECAUSE, AGAIN, SOMETIMES YOU'RE NOT BEING PAID OR YOU'RE BEING ASKED TO WORK MORE. THANK YOU. YEAH. IGNACIO. I JUST HAVE AND I'VE BROUGHT THIS UP BEFORE, I STILL AM REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE NUMBER OF SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS, PARTICULARLY AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL, HAVING OVER 500 STUDENTS AT THE HIGH SCHOOL ALONE WITH IEPS AND THE LEVEL AND THE IMPACT OF THE STRESS ON THE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST THERE, THAT DOES NOT INCORPORATE THE 500 AND FOURS AND ALL THE TESTING THAT THEY ALSO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR. AND IN THE PAST, WE HAVE HAD A REALLY CHALLENGING TIME KEEPING PSYCHOLOGISTS AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL. SO I WOULD REALLY LIKE FOR CENTRAL OFFICE TO COME TOGETHER AND TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. [00:40:04] THE PSYCHOLOGISTS DO NOT REPORT TO TNI. I DON'T BELIEVE UNDER SPECIAL EDUCATION, BUT THE BULK OF THEIR WORK IS TESTING AND SPECIALIZED INSTRUCTION, WITH THAT OTHER SEGMENT BEING MENTAL HEALTH AND FINAL FOURS. AND I THINK THE IMPACT OF. 600 CHILDREN TO ONE SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST IS NOT REASONABLE WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT KIDS RIGHT NOW WITH SPECIFICALLY SOME REAL SERIOUS MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES. SO I WOULD JUST ASK THAT YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THAT. I KNOW FINDING THEM HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE, BUT IT'S A LOT OF WORK AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL AND I THINK WE BURN THEM OUT PRETTY, PRETTY QUICKLY. SO I WOULD JUST ASK THAT BETWEEN T AND I AND SCHOOL SUPPORT, YOU TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE ROLES. CAN I JUST QUICKLY ADD A FOLLOW UP TO THAT? BECAUSE I THINK. PROBABLY BE HELPFUL TO HAVE SOME CLARITY ON THE NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE BECAUSE WE ALSO HAVE PUT ASIDE MONEY FOR CONTRACTING SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY. SO THROUGH SORT OF OUR STAFF NUMBERS, DID THEY EQUATE TO REALLY LIKE THE TRUE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT THAT WE'RE TRYING TO GATHER? I THINK THAT YES, I THINK I UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION. SO TYPICALLY, IF THERE'S A VACANCY, THE STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM STAFF WILL WORK WITH DR. JACKSON TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THERE IS A VACANCY, WE WILL USE CONTRACTED STAFF. IF THERE IS AN ADDITIONAL LOAD THAT COMES ABOUT, WE ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE THAT OPTION TO ADD CONTRACTED STAFF. BUT WE'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THOSE NUMBERS AS WELL AS SCHOOL COUNSELOR NUMBERS AND HOW WE ARE BEST USING THEM WITHIN OUR SCHOOL. SO THAT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING CONVERSATION, I WANT TO SAY, SINCE ABOUT LAST SPRING AND HOW WE'RE USING OUR STAFF AND HOW WE'RE ASSIGNING THEM TO SCHOOLS, WHICH IS WHY THIS BUDGET ROUND, WE'RE DOING THE ADDITIONAL ONES TO MAKE SURE THAT, NUMBER ONE, WE CAN RECRUIT WHOLE POSITIONS AND THAT WE CAN SUPPORT OUR SCHOOLS. SO WE WILL DEFINITELY CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT. IF YOU LIKE. WE CAN PULL THE DATA TO SEE. I DON'T I'M SORRY. I DON'T KNOW IF MR. TURNER KNOWS, BUT WHAT THE CONTRACTED NUMBER IS VERSUS WHAT IS THE FTE NUMBER OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD. YEAH, I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE LIKE A REAL SOLID PICTURE BECAUSE THERE ARE LIKE THE STAFF THAT WE HAVE. BUT WHEN WE NEED TO CONTRACT OUT FOR ELIGIBILITY AND, YOU KNOW, FOR FIVE OR FOURS AND IEPS FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICE, LIKE, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO KNOW HOW MUCH SUPPORT WE'RE ABLE TO GATHER FROM THAT AVENUE KNOWING THAT THERE'S SHORTAGES THERE, TOO. I MEAN, A LOT OF THOSE CONTRACTORS ARE HAVING DIFFICULTY, YOU KNOW, KEEPING THEIR OWN STAFF. BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE A TRUE PICTURE. WE CAN DEFINITELY PULL THAT FOR YOU. DR.. THANK YOU. I ALSO WANTED TO ASK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS AND THE STAFFING POSITIONS, WHICH WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT. BEFORE I GET INTO THAT, I YOU KNOW, WE WE HAD THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE CLASS SIZE THIS YEAR. AND SO I WAS JUST TRYING TO I WAS REALLY UNDERSTANDING MORE THE PROCESS THIS YEAR THAN I THINK I HAVE IN YEARS PAST. SO THE BUDGET BOOK, THE CIP BUDGET BOOK THAT WE GOT IN NOVEMBER, IN THE BACK OF THAT, THAT HAS SUPPORTING DATA, A SECTION CALLED SUPPORTING DATA, WHICH HAS THE TEN YEAR ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS BECAUSE IT'S A TEN YEAR CIP BUDGET AND IT'S BROKEN DOWN BY THE SCHOOL AND THE GRADE LEVEL AT EACH SCHOOL. AND THAT'S DETERMINED BY THE COHORT SURVIVAL RATE, WHICH IS VARIES BY EACH GRADE LEVEL AT EACH SCHOOL. IT'S DIFFERENT FOR EACH GRADE LEVEL AT EACH SCHOOL. BUT WHEN WE GET THAT CIP BUDGET BOOK, THAT DATA IS NOT READY YET. SO IT'S ACTUALLY NOT IN THE BOOK THAT WE GET IN NOVEMBER. IT GETS ADDED LATER TO, I GUESS, THE ONLINE VERSION OF THE BOOK. SO THEN WE MOVE INTO THIS BUDGET, THE OPERATING OR COMBINED FUNDS BUDGET. AND I SAW IN THERE THE ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR. I'M WONDERING LIKE WHEN IS THE TEN YEAR PROJECTION READY AND HOW WILL THAT BE SHARED WITH THE BOARD? THAT'S MY FIRST QUESTION. THAT WOULD COME FROM. I'M LOOKING FOR MY STAFF THAT'S ON HERE BECAUSE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT COMPENSATION TONIGHT. THEY'RE NOT ON RIGHT NOW, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY GET THAT. I DO BELIEVE WE DO HAVE THOSE PROJECTED NUMBERS. WE DO HAVE ANOTHER ENROLLMENT MEETING TOMORROW THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. WE DO HAVE A CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT MEETING THAT, LIKE I SHARED BEFORE, ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. [00:45:01] SO I CAN DEFINITELY GET THOSE DATES IN THAT INFORMATION. RIGHT. AND I GUESS THAT WAS KIND OF MY NEXT QUESTION. SO JUST TO CLARIFY, AND IF YOU WANT TO TALK MORE ABOUT THIS AT THE NEXT WORK SESSION, WE CAN DO THAT. BUT THE ONE THING THAT I WAS I NOTICED IN THE BUDGET BOOK THAT I WAS A LITTLE CONFUSED BY WAS IN MY BOOK GETS PAGE 155, BUT IT SAYS THAT WE HAVE THE STAFFING FORMULAS AND THIS REALLY IS MORE FOR THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE, THE DIFFERENT STAFFING FORMULAS, BUT IT SAYS ON PAGE 155 AND DOMINIC, MAYBE YOU CAN ELABORATE OR EXPLAIN THIS. IT SAYS FOR FY 2020 FOR STAFFING, FORMULAS WERE NOT APPLIED TO ELEMENTARY POSITIONS. STAFFING ADJUSTMENTS WERE BASED ON ENROLLMENT DISCUSSIONS TO REFLECT NEEDS OF THE SCHOOLS. SO I'M SORRY, THAT WAS ACTUALLY FOR THIS YEAR, ALL THE ENROLLMENT WENT DOWN, BUT WE MAINTAINED ALL OF THE POSITIONS AT OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS FOR THIS YEAR. SO THE THE AMOUNT OF STAFF THAT WE HAD IN OUR SCHOOLS FOR THIS YEAR WAS TO SUPPORT 16,100 STUDENTS. BUT WHEN DR. HUTCHINS WAS HERE, HE DID NOT WANT TO REMOVE ANY STAFF GOING INTO NEXT YEAR, EVEN THOUGH ENROLLMENT WENT DOWN. SO THE PROJECTION FOR THIS YEAR WAS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE AROUND 15 SIX. WE ENDED UP HAVING ABOUT 15 750. SO THAT'S STILL ABOUT 350 STUDENTS LESS THAN WHAT THE STAFFING WAS TO SUPPORT FOR THIS YEAR. SO GOING INTO THIS YEAR, WE ACTUALLY COULD, IF WE WOULD HAVE JUST WENT STRICTLY FORMULA DRIVEN, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN REMOVING STAFF FROM THE SCHOOL AND WE MADE THE DECISION NOT TO DO THAT BECAUSE WE WERE STILL TRYING TO HAVE THE STAFF THERE TO HELP STUDENTS WITH THE ACADEMIC LEARNING LOSS AND SO FORTH. THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION. THAT WAS HELPFUL. AND THEN JUST THE LAST THING IS ABOUT THE THE ELEMENTARY HOMEROOM STAFFING THAT WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT. JUST TO JUST WANTED TO HEAR A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT. SO WE HAVE A POLICY THAT ESTABLISHES THE CLASS SIZE CAPS AND IT'S 22, 24 AND 26, DEPENDING ON THE GRADE. SO WE'RE THAT'S WHAT WE'RE OPERATING FROM. BUT I'M JUST WONDERING IF SINCE WE WE HAD THE PROJECTIONS LAST YEAR AND THEN WE SAW THIS LIKE, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF SCHOOLS, THERE WAS LIKE A LOT MORE STUDENTS THAT ENDED UP SHOWING UP. SO ARE WE ARE WE CHANGING ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT WE DO NEXT YEAR? THAT'S REALLY WHAT I'M ASKING. I'LL JUST SO I JUST WANT TO BE BE CAREFUL OF BECAUSE THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS HERE, RIGHT? SO BASED ON THE BUDGET, THE BUDGETED AMOUNT OF POSITIONS A LOT OF TIMES IS DIFFERENT THAN THE ACTUAL POSITIONS IN THE SCHOOL BECAUSE THERE ARE VACANT POSITIONS. SO IF WE WERE ABLE TO FILL ALL OF OUR POSITIONS AND KEEP ALL OF THOSE POSITIONS FILLED, IT WOULD BE A DIFFERENT STORY THAN WHAT WE HAVE A LOT OF THESE CASES ARE. WE WEREN'T ABLE TO FILL ALL OF OUR POSITIONS AND THAT IS WHAT CREATED SOME OF THE THINGS, AND THAT'S WHY WE ENDED UP MOVING STAFF TO ASSIST WITH SOME OF THOSE SCHOOLS THAT HAD THE ENROLLMENT INCREASE ABOVE WHAT WAS PROJECTED. THANKS FOR THAT INFORMATION. I JUST SORT OF WANTED TO PIGGYBACK AND I THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE ALREADY ANSWERED THIS PARTIALLY IN YOUR RESPONSES TO DR. REEF, BUT I'LL ASK IT AGAIN IN CASE YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD. ONE OF OUR BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR THIS YEAR IS IS FOCUSING ON CLASS SIZE AND TRYING TO REDUCE OUR CLASS SIZES WHENEVER, WHENEVER POSSIBLE. CAN YOU JUST TALK US THROUGH WHAT YOUR APPROACH WAS TO THINKING ABOUT THAT GOAL AS THE BUDGET WAS DEVELOPED? I THINK YOU SORT OF NODDED TO THAT A LITTLE BIT IN YOUR IN YOUR LAST RESPONSES, BUT ANYTHING ELSE YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT IN THAT PROCESS? SO. SO AS WE FORMULATE THE BUDGET, WE USE THOSE CLASS CAPS FOR THE 22 2426, AND THAT'S WHAT KEEPS OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL RATIO THE SMALLEST IN ALL OF THE LOCAL JURISDICTIONS. SO THAT'S HOW WE DO THE BUDGET. AGAIN, I THINK WHERE WE GET CONFUSED SOMETIMES IS WHAT WE HAVE BUDGETED VERSUS THE ACTUAL POSITIONS FILLED. SO WHAT WE HAVE BUDGETED IS BASED ON THOSE CAPS, AGAIN, AS ENROLLMENT INCREASES, IF THEY INCREASES SIGNIFICANTLY, WE LOOK TO ADD ADDITIONAL STAFF TO BE ABLE TO COVER THAT. THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE RESERVE POSITIONS EACH YEAR TO DO THAT. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DON'T DO IS, FOR INSTANCE, LET'S TAKE A FIRST GRADE. FOR INSTANCE, IF A SCHOOL WAS PROJECTED TO HAVE 48 STUDENTS, THEY WOULD HAVE TWO FIRST GRADE TEACHERS. IF TWO MORE STUDENTS COME TO THAT SCHOOL, WE DON'T ADD A THIRD TEACHER BECAUSE THEN THAT WOULD CREATE ESSENTIALLY THREE CLASSES OF 16 OR TWO OF [00:50:05] 17 AND ONE OF 16. RIGHT. SO THE ENROLLMENT HAS TO INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY TO BE ABLE TO ADD THAT ADDITIONAL TEACHER. AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO WITH THE ENTIRE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM THROUGHOUT THE SPRING AND THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO ADD THE STAFF AT THE SCHOOLS THAT ARE SEEING FLUCTUATION IN THEIR ENROLLMENT. THAT'S IF THERE'S A GREAT VARIANCE FROM THE PROJECTION. SO WE LOOK AT THAT THROUGHOUT THE SPRING. WE TRY TO MAKE CHANGES AS EARLY IN THE SPRING AS POSSIBLE. SO THEN THEY AND THE PRINCIPAL CAN GO OUT THERE AND RECRUIT THAT TEACHER. BUT OBVIOUSLY, AS YOU ALL KNOW, OUR CITY OF ALEXANDRIA, WE HAVE LATE REGISTRANTS ALL THE WAY THROUGH AUGUST. SO SOMETIMES WE'LL ALSO MAKING CHANGES IN AUGUST TO THOSE TEACHER ACCOUNTS. THANKS. I APPRECIATE THE INSIGHT ON THAT PROCESSING BECAUSE YOU BECAUSE YOU BROUGHT UP RESERVE TEACHERS. I WANTED TO PIGGYBACK WITH A QUESTION. THE RESERVE POSITIONS FOR ANYONE LOOKING ARE IN THE FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTION, WHICH IS ON PAGE 376, AND WE HAVE DATA HERE ON THE RESERVE POSITIONS FOR PREVIOUS FISCAL YEARS. AND I JUST WANTED TO KNOW ARE THOSE FINAL BECAUSE THEIR FINAL FTES ARE THOSE FINAL FTES THAT WENT INTO THE BUDGET OR THAT WERE ACTUALLY USED? DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? ARE YOU REFERRING TO THE NUMBER THAT YOU SEE UNDER FISCAL YEAR 2022 FINAL? 376 YES. SO SO SAY LIKE IN FISCAL YEAR 23 FINAL FTE FOR RESERVE TEACHERS WAS FOR. ARE THOSE THAT FOR TEACHERS GOT USED OR JUST SO THAT IS THAT IS THE NUMBER OF TEACHERS THAT WE BUDGETED IN THE RESERVE ACCOUNT THAT IS NOT THE NUMBER OF USED POSITIONS. THANK YOU. THAT'S HELPFUL. I'M SURE YOU DON'T HAVE THIS IN FRONT OF YOU, BUT I THINK I MIGHT. I WOULD LOVE TO SEE WHAT WE ACTUALLY ENDED UP USING VERSUS WHAT WAS BUDGETED FOR IN THE RESERVE. AND I CAN SUBMIT THAT AS A BUDGET QUESTION, BUT JUST SOMETHING I'M THINKING ABOUT. THANKS. WE MISSED PROBABLY THE LAST 10 SECONDS OF WHATEVER YOU JUST SAID THERE I WAS. I THINK WHERE I WAS GOING WITH MY LINE OF QUESTIONING IS I'M ACTUALLY CURIOUS AS TO HOW THE BUDGETED RESERVE POSITIONS ACTUALLY GOT PLAYED OUT, LIKE HOW MANY OF THEM ARE BEING USED EACH YEAR. BUT THAT'S I KNOW THAT'S VERY IN THE WEEDS OF YOUR BUDGET DATA, SO I CAN SUBMIT THAT FOR A BUDGET QUESTION OR WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT NEXT WEEK. MR. BAILEY. THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR. THANK YOU, MR. TURNER, YOU AND YOUR TEAM FOR THIS PRESENTATION TODAY. I HAVE MORE OF A COMMENT THAN A QUESTION AS IT RELATES TO WHEN YOU ALL TOOK THE SURVEY AND YOU SAID 50% OF THE FOLKS WERE SAYING THE EMPLOYEES WANTED CARED MORE ABOUT BENEFITS AND THE OTHER 50% WAS SALARY. OBVIOUSLY, THAT WAS THE OLDER CROWD THAT CARED MORE ABOUT BENEFITS GETTING CLOSER TOWARDS RETIREMENT. SO I GUESS JUST MAYBE JUST A COMMENT TO YOU AND DR. KAY QUAD TO H.R. AS IT RELATES TO WHEN WE'RE OUT RECRUITING. YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE RECRUITING, WE HAVE THESE NEW EMPLOYEES, NEW EDUCATORS. THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY THAT GEN Z GROUP OF KIDS, RIGHT. AND I DON'T WANT TO CALL THEM KIDS, BUT THEY COULD BE MY KIDS OR MAYBE GRANDKIDS. BUT SO I'M JUST SAYING, I GUESS PUTTING IT OUT THERE TO HR THAT WHEN WE'RE OUT THERE, THAT'S PROBABLY WHAT WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT MORE. RIGHT. AND I'M GOING TO GO TO AN OCCUPATION THAT I KNOW AND THAT'S PUBLIC SAFETY, THAT YOUNGER CROWD. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE DOLLAR BILL. IT'S ALL ABOUT THE SALARY, RIGHT? SO I THINK WHEN WE'RE OUT THERE RECRUITING, I KNOW YOU BECAUSE YOU REITERATE IT SEVERAL TIMES AND I AGREE WITH YOU 100%, IN THE END, THE BENEFITS, RIGHT, FOR RETIREMENT, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY YOU'RE GOING TO YOU'RE GOING TO LIVE LONGER WHEN YOU RETIRE THAN YOU WORKED. BUT I THINK IN THE BEGINNING WHEN WE'RE OUT THERE RECRUITING, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THE SALARY. AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING TO THESE GEN ZS, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S THAT UP TO WHAT, 25 TO 26 YEAR OLD. AND ALSO, HOPEFULLY IF THE BUDGET PRESENTS ITSELF, YOU KNOW, WE CAN THROW IN BE ABLE TO EVENTUALLY THROW IN SOME BONUSES TO THEM JUST TO SWEETEN THE POT, TO BRING THEM OVER AGAIN. I GO I TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT I KNOW IN IN PUBLIC SAFETY, THAT'S POLICE, FIRE. SHERIFF, WE'RE COMPETING WITH ALL THE SAME COUNTIES AND CITIES THAT YOU ALL ARE COMPETING WITH HERE IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA. AND THEY'RE ALL SAYING THE SAME THING. YOU KNOW, IT'S THEY'RE NOT THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT RETIREMENT. THEY'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT RETIREMENT. THEY EVENTUALLY THEY'RE GOING TO CARE ABOUT RETIREMENT. BUT RIGHT NOW, THAT'S NOT WHAT. SO IF WE'RE GOING TO RECRUIT THEM, I THINK WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE MORE ON THE SALARY. [00:55:04] NOT SAYING THAT IT HAS TO BE ASTRONOMICAL OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT JUST SOMETHING TO SWEETEN THE POT OR WHATEVER, BECAUSE RECRUITMENT I CAN TALK ABOUT AGAIN, I'M IN FAIRFAX COUNTY. WE WERE ONE OF THE TOP IN THE COUNTRY FOR YEARS. WE HAD NO PROBLEM. PEOPLE WERE COMING FROM OTHER COUNTRIES. NOW LOUGHTON, PRINCE WILLIAM, EVERYBODY'S COMPETING WITH US. AND IT'S A HARD IT'S A HARD TIME TO RECRUITING PUBLIC SAFETY AND AND THERE IT'S ABOUT THE DOLLAR BILL. YOU KNOW LOUDON IS PAYING A LITTLE MORE AS IT RELATES TO PUBLIC SAFETY. PRINCE WILLIAM IS TRYING TO PAY MORE. SO THAT'S WHERE THESE KIDS ARE GOING. IF YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER CAME UP TO YOU AND SAID, HEY, THIS IS WHERE I'M WORKING, BECAUSE THEY'RE PAYING MORE MONEY, THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR DADDY TURNER, THAT IT'S THAT, OH, YOU NEED TO THINK ABOUT YOUR BENEFITS RIGHT NOW. YOU KNOW. BUT BUT SERIOUSLY, THOUGH, I THINK THAT'S JUST SOMETHING WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT WHEN WE'RE OUT THERE RECRUITING. AND IF I IF I COULD CHIME IN ON, THEN THAT IS ONE OF THE STRATEGIES WE TOOK IN THE PROPOSED 24 BUDGET. THAT'S WHY WHEN WE TAKE OFF THE BOTTOM STEP, THAT IS A THREE AND ONE HALF PERCENT INCREASE FROM WHAT WAS STEP ONE TO STEP TWO. SO THAT'S WHY YOU'LL SEE THE BIGGER JUMP AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS SCALE THAN YOU WILL AT THE TOP OF THIS SCALE, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE IT IS ABOUT SALARY. IT'S HARD TO THINK ABOUT RETIREMENT WHEN YOU'RE STILL TRYING TO PAY STUDENT LOANS. RIGHT. SO THAT'S WHY WE'RE TRYING TO GET THAT THAT BOTTOM OF THE SCALE UP SO WE CAN RECRUIT NEW PROFESSIONALS TO COME TO US. AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE BOTTOM OF OUR SCALE IS ONE, TWO OR THREE. WE WANT TO BE ABLE TO SAY WE OFFER THE BEST PAY FOR NEW PROFESSIONALS. WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ABLE TO TELL OUR SEASONED PROFESSIONALS THAT WE OFFER COMPETITIVE PAY. AND AS YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT RETIREMENT AND THEN YOUR HEALTH CARE, WE OFFER THE BEST HEALTH CARE BENEFITS IN THE AREA FOR THEM. SO THAT IS THE STRATEGY THAT WE PUT FORWARD IN THE FISCAL YEAR 24 BUDGET ONE TO BE ABLE TO RECRUIT YOUNG PROFESSIONALS WITH THE HIGHER SALARY AND THEN HOPEFULLY BE ABLE TO RETAIN ALL MY SEASONED PROFESSIONALS BY REMINDING THEM THAT WE DO HAVE THE BEST HEALTH CARE PLANS IN THE AREA. WE HAVE NOT PROPOSED ANY PLAN CHANGES IN FISCAL YEAR 2024 AND WE ARE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE SWEETENER. WE ARE ADDING AN EXTRA STEP ON THE TOP TWO. SO, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DO GET TO RETIREMENT BECAUSE YOUR RETIREMENT IS BASED OFF OF YOUR HIGHEST SALARY, YOU WILL HAVE A HIGHER SALARY NOW AND THAT WILL GO TOWARDS YOUR RETIREMENT BENEFITS AS WELL. SO THAT IS THE APPROACH THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT. THAT IS THE THOUGHT BEHIND WHAT WE WERE DOING WITH THE FISCAL 24 BUDGET TO BE ABLE TO OFFER SOMETHING TO NEW PROFESSIONALS AS WELL AS OFFER SOMETHING TO OUR SEASONED PROFESSIONALS. THANK YOU, MR. ATTORNEY. YOU SOUND YOUR REPLY. SOUNDED BETTER THAN WHAT I WAS SAYING, AND YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST SHUT ME UP A LONG TIME AGO. BUT THANK YOU. NO PROBLEM. YEAH. IF I COULD JUMP IN ON THE RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PIECE, I THINK, YOU KNOW, RECRUITMENT WISE, DEFINITELY MOVING UP, BUMPING THOSE THAT THAT TAKEN OFF THOSE BOTTOM TWO STEPS I THINK IS ABSOLUTELY KEY FOR THE YOUNGER PEOPLE COMING IN. YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE THING I WOULD SAY, HOWEVER, THOUGH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THE MONEY ABSOLUTELY MATTERS. BUT RIGHT NOW WE HAVE TO SELL THE PROFESSION ITSELF BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT THESE YOUNGER PEOPLE ARE COMING OUT OF SCHOOL OR THEY'RE JUST SEEING THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY. THEY HAVE ACCESS TO WORK DIFFERENTLY. THEY'RE GOING STRAIGHT FROM COLLEGE TO LIKE WORK FROM HOME JOBS. SO PART OF OUR WORK REALLY IS HOW DO WE SELL THE PROFESSION? AND I THINK THE PAST FEW YEARS THE PROFESSION HAS GOTTEN SO BEAT UP, YOU KNOW, PUBLICLY, SOME OF IT IS LIKE, WHY IN THE WORLD WOULD I GO PUT MYSELF IN THAT POSITION? SO, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THIS, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE WE THROW THE DOLLARS AT IT, BUT WE GOT TO START THINKING DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HOW WE GET OUT THERE AND JUST GET YOUNG PEOPLE EXCITED ABOUT EDUCATION. AND IN REGARD TO THE TOP STEP AND THE RETIREMENT PIECE, YOU KNOW, FOR A WHILE AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS STILL THE CASE, BUT FOR A WHILE, ALEXANDRIA WAS THE PLACE THAT PEOPLE CAME AFTER THEY RETIRED FROM OTHER SCHOOL DIVISIONS, YOU KNOW, RETIRED PG COUNTY TEACHERS, RETIRED FAIRFAX COUNTY TEACHERS. THEY CAME TO ALEXANDRIA TO TEACH BECAUSE THAT'S THAT SWEET SPOT WHERE YOU CAN RETIRE FROM ONE PLACE AND YOU CAN GO SOMEWHERE AND CONTINUE TO MAKE MONEY. [01:00:04] SO I THINK THAT TOP, YOU KNOW, SORT OF GETTING RID OF THE HOLD AND ADDING MORE TO THE TOP IS ALSO KEY BECAUSE IF I RETIRE AND I CAN GO SOMEWHERE AT A, YOU KNOW, EVEN HIGHER STEP THAN WHERE I WAS BEFORE, I MEAN, THAT AND AND REALLY AT THIS POINT IN THE GAME, WE REALLY NEED MORE SEASONED TEACHERS. IT'S IT'S NOT TO NOTHING AGAINST NEW TEACHERS, BUT WE NEED PEOPLE WHO REALLY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING BECAUSE IT'S WE HAVE DIFFICULTIES NOW THAT ARE JUST NOTHING LIKE BEFORE. AND HAVING PEOPLE WHO ARE SOLID IN INSTRUCTION IS I CAN'T EVEN EXPRESS HOW ESSENTIAL IT IS. IT IMPACTS BEHAVIOR, IT IMPACTS EVERYTHING. SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SORT OF MY MY FEW SENSE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, RECRUITMENT AND THEN RETAINING, YOU KNOW. IF PEOPLE CAN STAY LONGER AND MAKE A LITTLE MORE, I THINK THEY WILL. SO HOPEFULLY. BUT IT'S. SO COMPLICATED RIGHT NOW. YEAH. THAT'S WHERE OUR INTERNAL KIND OF BRANDING OF FEATURE COMES IN, RIGHT WHERE WE HAVE OUR GROW OUR OWN. WE HAVE OUR STUDENT TEACHERS, WE HAVE OUR INTERNS, OUR TEACHER CADET PROGRAM, AS WELL AS WE HAVE THE PROGRAM FOR OUR INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANCE TO BECOME TEACHERS. THERE'S CAREER SWITCHER PIPELINES, AND I THINK KEY FOR THE BEGINNING END IS GETTING INTO THE PIPELINES EARLY. BECAUSE WHEN YOU HAVE COLLEGE STUDENTS WHO ARE IN PROGRAMS AND THEN WE'RE FINDING OUT THAT THEY MAY START IN EDUCATION, THEY COME IN AND DO AN INTERNSHIP, IS WHAT I'M HEARING, AND THEN THEY DECIDE, WELL, I WANT TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. SO I THINK I SAY IT ALL THE TIME. WE'RE ALL RECRUITERS AND WE HAVE TO PUT OUT THAT POSITIVE NARRATIVE ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE DO, DESPITE WHAT THEY'RE HEARING ON THE NEWS OR SEEING OR HEARING FROM NEIGHBORS, BECAUSE THE WORK IS IMPACTFUL, IT'S IMPORTANT. AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE A RECRUITMENT TEAM. AND I KNOW THERE WAS A MENTION OF A RECRUITMENT PLAN. THERE IS A RECRUITMENT PLAN IN PLACE THAT ADDRESSES MANY OF THOSE ITEMS THAT YOU DID SHARE EARLIER. DR. RIEF AND I THINK MR. BROWN DID SHARE A SMALL PORTION OF THE RECRUITMENT PLAN. BUT I MEAN, WE'RE INCREASING BY I THINK IT'S LIKE OVER 35 RECRUITMENT FAIRS THAT INVOLVE EARLY PIPELINE STUDENTS AS WELL AS THOSE WHO ARE MORE TENURED IN THE CAREER OR CAREER SWITCHERS WHO KIND OF HAVE MAYBE SOME MORE EXPERIENCE, MAYBE NOT IN EDUCATION, BUT ARE BRINGING MORE OF THAT MATURE EXPERIENCE, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S A CTE PROGRAM AS WE START TO DISCUSS PATHWAYS. SO I THINK IF WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT AND GROW OUR OWN AND BUILD OUR OWN BRAND, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE THE BEST PLACE FOR US WITH RECRUITMENT. THANK YOU, MINISTER. SO I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE INFORMATION IN PAGE 129, IN THE BUDGET BOOK, THE HOME ROOM STAFFING RATIOS. SO MY FIRST QUESTION IS, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE FTE TEACHER COLUMN. THESE ARE LICENSED STAFF OR THAT TAKES INTO ACCOUNT THE INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT WHERE IT SAYS FOR KINDERGARTEN ANYWHERE ABOVE 20. YOU GO AHEAD AND ANSWER THAT FOR YOU. SO YOU'LL SEE A KINDERGARTEN TEACHER THAT'S THE LICENSED TEACHER, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE AN INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANT, ONE FOR THAT KINDERGARTEN CLASS. SO THEY'RE ON TWO SEPARATE LINES. SO IF YOU SEE FIVE KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS, THERE'S ALSO FIVE INSTRUCTIONAL ASSISTANTS, ONE. SO I THINK YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT PAGE 130. I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE PAGE 129 WHERE IT SAYS STUDENTS AND THEN TEACHER FTES AND ONE STUDENT, THEN ONE TEACHER, 23. SO ESSENTIALLY, IF WE GET MORE THAN TWO, IF WE GET MORE THAN 22 STUDENTS IN A CLASSROOM, IN A KINDERGARTEN CLASSROOM, WE GET TWO FTES. IF WE FOR FIRST GRADE TO SECOND GRADE, IF WE GET MORE THAN 24 STUDENTS, WE GET TWO FTES. THAT'S THE WAY I'M READING. IS THAT CORRECT? NO, THAT IS NOT CORRECT. SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS EXPLAINING A LITTLE EARLIER TODAY. I MEAN, EARLIER IN THIS MEETING WHERE AND AGAIN, THE EXAMPLE THAT I USED WAS IF WE HAVE A FIRST GRADE SECTION THAT HAS 48 STUDENTS, YOU WOULD HAVE TWO TEACHERS. IF TWO MORE STUDENTS CAME AND YOU HAVE 50 STUDENTS AT THAT SCHOOL IN FIRST GRADE, WE DON'T ADD A THIRD TEACHER FOR THOSE TWO ADDITIONAL STUDENTS THAT WOULD COME. THE FLUCTUATION HAS TO BE OF SUCH. THAT IS GOING TO REALLY INTERFERE WITH THE LEARNING ABILITY OF THE STUDENTS IN THAT CLASSROOM TO ADD THAT ADDITIONAL TEACHER. SO THEN WHEN YOU SPEAK ABOUT KINDERGARTEN, EVERY KINDERGARTEN CLASS HAS TWO PROFESSIONALS AND IT HAS THE LICENSED TEACHER AND THE INSTRUCTIONAL [01:05:06] ASSISTANT. SO AT THE KINDERGARTEN LEVEL IS TECHNICALLY 1 TO 11 BECAUSE THERE'S TWO PROFESSIONALS IN EVERY KINDERGARTEN CLASS OF 22. OKAY. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE THAT. OKAY. SO THAT EXPLAINS. OKAY, BECAUSE I WAS CONFUSED ABOUT THAT TABLE. OKAY, GREAT. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR RESERVE PRACTICE, BUT I'LL LEAVE IT UNTIL NEXT TIME. BUT I KNOW WE MADE IT A BUDGET PRIORITY, SO I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT KIND OF RESOURCES WE'RE ADDING TO IT IN THIS BUDGET FOR SORT OF PRACTICES. BUT I'LL LEAVE THAT TO NEXT TIME. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, DR. REEF, THANK YOU. MY QUESTION WAS KIND OF SIMILAR TO WHAT MR. AL-LIBI WAS ASKING. SO GOING BACK TO THAT EXAMPLE YOU USE, IF IF THERE WERE 48 STUDENTS AND THERE WERE TWO TEACHERS AND THEN A COUPLE OF OTHER STUDENTS CAME IN, WHAT I'M WONDERING WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THIS COMING SCHOOL YEAR? BECAUSE I KNOW WE'VE WE HAVE USED THE CAPACITY REASSIGNMENT, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO MOVE AWAY FROM. SO THESE GOALS ARE A LITTLE BIT IN CONFLICT WITH ONE ANOTHER, HAVING SMALLER CLASS SIZES AND NOT DOING NOT REASSIGNING KIDS WHEN THEY REACH THESE CAPS. SO IF YOU COULD JUST CLARIFY, IS THAT HOW THOSE DECISIONS ARE GOING TO BE MADE? I THINK THOSE ARE DECISIONS THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE MADE ONCE WE HAVE SOME BETTER ENROLLMENT PROJECTIONS TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR. IF THERE'S A NEED, WE MAY HAVE TO GO WITH A CAPACITY REASSIGNMENT, DEPENDING ON THE FLUCTUATIONS. OF COURSE, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A SMALL ENROLLMENT PROJECTION FOR NEXT YEAR, BUT WE DO HAVE SOME PLANS OF HOW WE CAN ADDRESS THAT. AND THEN JUST TO CONTINUE ON WHAT DR. KAY WAS SAYING, WHEN IT COMES TO ADDING POSITIONS, EVEN IF MONEY WAS INFINITE. WE STILL HAVE TO GO FIND THE PERSON AND WE'RE DEALING WITH THE NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE. SO IT'S VERY HARD, EVEN IF WE HAVE THE FUNDING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT, TO THEN TURN AROUND AND GET THE PERSON IN THERE. SO THAT'S WHY IN THE EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE TWO ADDITIONAL STUDENTS, YOU'RE NOT ADDING A WHOLE OTHER TEACHER BECAUSE AGAIN, YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE FUNDING AND THEN YOU HAVE TO THEN GO TRY TO RECRUIT THAT PERSON IN A NATIONAL TEACHER SHORTAGE. SO THAT'S WHY THOSE ENROLLMENT MEETINGS, WE REALLY LOOK AT EVERYTHING HOLISTICALLY TO FIGURE OUT THE BEST APPROACH TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE KEEPING OUR CLASS SIZES SMALL THROUGHOUT. OKAY. RIGHT. I THINK THAT'S THE END OF THAT. UNLESS THERE'S. ANYTHING ELSE TO ARGUE HERE? WHY? I BELIEVE THAT IS ALL I KNOW. THAT CONVERSATION IS GOING TO COME UP AND WE ARE PREPARED TO DISCUSS THAT, OF COURSE, NEXT WEEK. I KNOW CAPACITY TRANSFER, ENROLLMENT, STABILIZATION ENROLLMENT FLUCTUATIONS AND HOW WE'RE GOING TO HANDLE THAT. AND WE'LL BE A PART OF THAT DISCUSSION WHERE WE DO HAVE SOME PLANS. WE CONTINUE TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN GET ADDITIONAL. MAYBE IF IT'S A SUPPORT STAFF IN THERE TO SUPPORT INSTRUCTION LIKE THIS YEAR. WE'VE TRAINED INSTRUCTIONAL SUPPORT MONITORS, BUT PLEASE KNOW THAT THAT STAFFING SHORTAGE HAS NOT GONE AWAY. WE'VE ALREADY NOTICED THAT WE STARTED RECRUITING EARLY AND WE'RE EVEN SEEING CHALLENGES THIS YEAR AND THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS. SO THIS IS BUSY SEASON. SO ANY TIME YOU'RE OUT AND ABOUT, PLEASE LET EVERYONE KNOW ABOUT THE GREATNESS OF AKP'S. I'M SURE MARGARET BROWN WOULD APPRECIATE THAT AS SHE'S OUT WITH HER TEAM. SO THANK YOU. OKAY, THANK YOU. GOOD EVENING AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT TIME. * This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.