City Council

CITY OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA HON. MARY KATHERINE GREENLAW, MAYOR HON. WILLIAM C. WITHERS, JR., VICE -MAYOR, WARD TWO CITY COUNCIL HON. KERRY P. DEVINE, AT-LARGE HON. MATTHEW J. KELLY, AT-LARGE HON. JASON N. GRAHAM, WARD ONE HON. DR. TIMOTHY P. DUFFY, WARD THREE Council Chambers, 715 Princess Anne Street HON. CHARLIE L. FRYE, JR., WARD FOUR Fredericksburg, Virginia 22401 Joint Council/Fredericksburg School Board Work Session August 29, 2019 City Council and School Board Working Group Enrollment/Capacity Expansion The Council of the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia held a work session on Tuesday, August 29, 2019, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Walker Grant Center, 210 Ferdinand Street. Council Present. Mayor Mary Katherine Greenlaw Presiding. Vice-Mayor William C. Withers, Jr., Councilors Timothy P. Duffy, Charlie L. Frye, Jr., Jason N. Graham and Matthew J. Kelly. Council Absent. Councilor Kerry P. Devine. Also Present. City Manager Timothy J. Baroody, Assistant City Manager Mark Whitley, Assistant City manager Doug Fawcett, City Attorney Kathleen A. Dooley and Clerk of Council Tonya B. Lacey. School Board Present. Chairperson Jennifer Boyd. Vice-Chairperson Jannan Holmes, Jarvis, Bailey, Malvina Kay, Kathleen Pomeroy, and Elizabeth Rehm. Also Present. Interim Superintendent Dr. Marcie Catlett, Interim Deputy Superintendent Dr. John Russ Chief Academic Officer Lori Bridi, Chief Operations/Information Officer Michael George and Clerk of the Board Deborah Wright. City Council and School Board Working Group. Mayor Greenlaw provided information on the working group which consisted of City Council and School Board members. She stated that this was initially an informal working group that met to have discussions prior to budget development. There was no clear agenda and consisted of free will conversations but over time with the group meeting frequently, and the attendance of the public, City Attorney Dooley looked into whether this had become a public body. She said the group started out as an ad hoc group but had become a more formalized group and was treated more as a public body with communication between two bodies. The draft resolution that was presented stated that two School Board Members would be appointed and two City Council members would be appointed by each of 1 the boards. The members would meet monthly. The purpose of the meetings was also outlined in the resolution and the joint working group has no powers of decision making. Ms. Kay expressed some concerns with the working group’s communication. She spoke of calls other board members receive regarding topics that were discussed in the working group but the others were not aware. She suggested that it would be more beneficial to increase the number of joint meetings with the full boards rather than formalizing the working group. Councilor Kelly stated that the working group was helpful in getting information on topics but that no decisions were being made in the meetings. It was noted that minutes would be taken if the group was formalized and those minutes could be distributed to the rest of the School Board and City Council. Ms. Dooley also stated that others could attend the meetings if it was formalized but could not speak. The question was raised whether members could substitute and City Attorney Dooley said this was an advisory group where no action was being taken and there would be no problems with substituting members. Mayor Greenlaw stated that the resolution was a draft that she hoped both bodies would discuss to keep the working group going. Ms. Dooley said she would work on making the changes that were discussed and submit the resolution for approval. Enrollment/Capacity Expansion. Ms. Boyd suggested a Joint Advisory Task Force that would make recommendation to the School Board and the City Council on future school system enrollment projections, actual enrollment and enrollment trends. This taskforce would identify capacity expansion opportunities and they would submit recommendations to the School Board and City Council to consider no later than January 31, 2020. This taskforce would also be a public body with notices and minutes taken. There were suggestions given for member and Dr. Catlett and Mrs. Boyd and the school administration would like to develop an internal school taskforce before moving to an external taskforce. Dr. Catlett said there was a process in planning a school building project and she asked that the school staff be given the opportunity to do this. Dr. Catlett shared enrollment data as of September 3, 2019 which was 3,599 and last year at this time there were 3,533 students. The Walker-Grant center was housing 177 pre-school students. The Mosley Report put Hugh Mercer’s capacity at 880 and the current enrollment is 967. Dr. Catlett said they have added learning cottages and the teachers and student like them. There was one empty classroom which was being held for more expansion that may be needed. There are no classes with more than 22 students in them. 2 Lafayette was reported at 1010 in the report and the current enrollment is 781, Walker-Grant was reported at 880 and the current enrollment is 809 and James Monroe’s capacity was 1164 and the current enrollment is 1042. The enrollment predicted by Weldon Cooper for the 2019-20 school year was 3,592 and the current enrollment is 3,599. Dr. Catlett suggested options to address the increasing enrollment to include: redistricting (which isn’t an option in the City), housing modules, building expansions, or building a new school. The school has established an internal Enrollment Capacity Expansion taskforce made up of Dr. Catlett, Dr. John Russ, Ms. Lori Bridi, Ms. Jennifer Brody, Dr. Bumbrey, Mike George and the school principals. This group would discuss the need for the school division, and consider how buildings are functioning. The larger taskforce would evaluate options presented from the internal taskforce. Ms. Kay reminded Council that in exchange for the property for the Police Department the Schools were promised a new school and she hoped the Council would follow through on that promise. Vice-Mayor Withers said the City was committed to build but Ms. Kay wanted a date. Councilor Kelly reminded members that the reason the City currently has a debt ceiling was due in part from the two schools it was trying to pay off and it recently funded a five percent raise for school staff along with funding other operational increases. He said he was looking forward to seeing what could be done. Mayor Greenlaw stated that the Schools had a good plan for the internal taskforce and moving that information to the external taskforce. She was comfortable with the Schools taking the lead in this process. Adjournment. There being no further business to come before the Council at this time. Mayor Greenlaw declared the session officially adjourned at 7:06 p.m. _Tonya B. Lacey _______ Tonya B. Lacey Clerk of Council City of Fredericksburg 3