Dr. Brian C. Ratliff, Superintendent. 1. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Brian C. Ratliff, Division Superintendent.

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1 Page 2962 The Washington County School Board convened for a School Board Organizational Meeting and Public Hearing on the Budget on Monday,, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting was held at the School Board Office, 812 Thompson Drive, Abingdon, Virginia. Present were: Dr. Brian C. Ratliff, Superintendent Ms. Melissa Caudill, Director of Finance & Clerk of the Board Ms. Elizabeth Lowe, Chair Mr. Tom Musick, Vice Chair Dr. Doug Arnold Mr. Billy Brooks Mr. Terry Fleenor Mr. Dayton Owens Mr. Danny Ruble 1. The meeting was called to order by Dr. Brian C. Ratliff, Division Superintendent. 2. Determination of quorum seven of seven board members were present. 3. Dr. Brian C. Ratliff led the Pledge of Allegiance. 4. Dr. Ratliff asked for nominations for School Board Chair for the period January December Mr. Musick nominated Ms. Lowe. Dr. Ratliff asked if there were any other nominations, and there were none. Nominations ceased, and Ms. Elizabeth Lowe was unanimously approved as School Board Chair. 5. Ms. Lowe asked for nominations for School Board Vice-Chair for the period January December Mr. Ruble nominated Mr. Musick. Ms. Lowe asked if there were other nominations, and there were none. Nominations ceased, and Mr. Tom Musick was unanimously approved as School Board Vice-Chair. 6. Dr. Ratliff recommended that Ms. Melissa Caudill be appointed School Board Clerk. Upon motion by Mr. Musick, seconded by Mr. Brooks, by 7-0 vote, Ms. Melissa Caudill was appointed School Board Clerk. 7. Dr. Ratliff asked for recommendations for School Board Deputy Clerk. Mr. Brooks recommended Ms. Nancy Morgan be appointed School Board Deputy Clerk until her retirement in June. At that time a new Deputy Clerk will be appointed. Upon motion by Mr. Brooks, seconded by Dr. Arnold, by 7-0 vote, Ms. Nancy Morgan was appointed School Board Deputy Clerk. 8. Upon motion by Dr. Arnold, seconded by Mr. Brooks, by 7-0 vote, the agenda for, meeting was approved as amended. 9. Motion was made by Mr. Ruble to approve the School Board Meeting dates for 2016 as presented. Mr. Fleenor seconded the motion.

2 Page 2963 Mr. Musick made an amended motion to approve the School Board Meeting dates for 2016 with the change of moving the November 7 meeting to November 10. Motion was seconded by Mr. Owens, and by 7-0 vote, it was approved. Mr. Ruble amended the original motion to approve the School Board meeting dates for 2016 with the change of having April 4 as a Strategic Planning Meeting and April 18 a Regular Meeting. Motion was seconded by Mr. Brooks, and by 7-0 vote, the School Board Meeting dates for 2016 were approved as follows: January 4 & 18, February 1 & 15, March 7 & 21, April 4 & 18, May 16, June 6 & 20, July 11, August 1 & 15, September 6 & 19, October 3 & 20, November 10, December 5. Tentative approval was also given for the following meeting dates in 2017, and official approval will be requested on January 2, 2017: January 2 & 16, February 6 & 20, March 6 & 20, April 3 & 17, May 15, June 5 & 19. Meetings will typically be held at 7:00 p.m. on the first and third Monday of each month except for May, July, September, November and December and will be held at 812 Thompson Drive, Abingdon, Virginia, unless otherwise announced. 10. Upon motion by Mr. Ruble, seconded by Mr. Brooks, by 7-0 vote, the Superintendent was authorized to pay bills, hire necessary staff and accept resignations for the School Year, all subject to review by the Board at its next meeting. The Superintendent s Designee was authorized to attend meetings of the School Board in the absence of the Superintendent. 11. Board members were provided Section B of the School Board Policy Manual, Board Governance & Operations, for review. Ms. Lowe asked for comments on board meeting procedures. Mr. Fleenor said that so moved was not part of Robert s Rules of Order. He also suggested that after Board discussion, the motion be stated clearly prior to a vote. Ms. Lowe made note of these suggestions and said that her primary goal is to work with each member as a collective body and conduct meetings as efficiently as possible. She asked them to take into consideration things that can be clarified prior to meetings in order to expedite the meeting process. Ms. Lowe gave Board members an opportunity to change the seating arrangement. 12. Ms. Lowe opened the public hearing on the Budget. 13. Dr. Ratliff began discussion by talking about budget highlights and information received from the Virginia School Boards Association Government Relations Coordinator on Friday concerning K-12 funding. The state is proposing $139 million to support additional instructional positions - $43 million for the first year and $96 million for the second year. The Department of Education will inform each division of its eligible funding at a later time based on the number of instructional personnel. The money must be used to hire additional instructional personnel and not be used to support current positions. The state is also proposing funds for salary increases for SOQ funded positions, effective July 10, $50 million additional funds are proposed for students at risk of dropping out (stipulations for low income and ESL). $6.9 million are proposed as incentive to encourage new early childhood grants. A big highlight is responsible re-benchmarking to keep up with the education funding formula as it exists. Funds are also proposed to update vocational/technology equipment and to support credential testing and STEM-H. Our LCI adjustment went down from.3813 in the last biennium

3 Page 2964 to.3494, which could translate to additional state funding. This year, our Average Daily Membership (ADM) was based on 7,076, which is a good starting number. The Virginia Retirement System rate increases in the Governor s proposed budget. Sales tax is projected to increase. Dr. Ratliff said that recommendations will be made on our Statement of Needs that will allow us to meet our goals. 14. Ms. Lowe called for public comment on the budget, and the following individual was signed up to speak: Johnny Blevins, President of the Washington County Education Association, said that the money stipulated in the Governor s budget for salary increases is good news; however, without a local match, employees chances of getting a raise are slim. The proposal for raises for support personnel will benefit those in the high wage areas of the state. Without wage increases, he has a concern that we will soon be losing some of our quality people. 15. Upon motion by Mr. Brooks, seconded by Dr. Arnold, by 7-0 vote, the Budget Calendar was approved as presented. 16. Upon motion by Mr. Musick, seconded by Mr. Fleenor, by 7-0 vote, the Budget Goals were approved as presented. 17. Ms. Lowe closed the public hearing on the budget. 18. Ms. Lowe called for public comment, and no one was signed up or came forward to speak. 19. Upon motion by Mr. Musick, seconded by Mr. Ruble, by 7-0 vote, the following items were approved on the consent agenda as presented: Minutes of the December 7, 2015, School Board Meeting Bills Dated : 12/10/15 12/22/15 General: $403, Textbook: $1, Payroll: 12/18/15 Direct Deposit # , Check # : $4,799, /10/15 Direct Deposit # , 12/18/15 Check # : $388, Check Signing Authorization File BDD, Electronic Participation in Meetings from Remote Locations, was approved on second reading as presented. File DJ, Small Purchasing, was approved on second reading as presented. File DJA, Purchasing Authority, was approved on second reading as presented. File DGC, School Activity Funds, was approved on second reading as presented. 20. Upon motion by Mr. Fleenor, seconded by Dr. Arnold, by 6-1 vote (Mr. Musick opposed) revisions to School Board Policy, File GCI, Professional Staff Assignments and Transfers, were approved on second reading as presented. 21. Dr. Ratliff said that the Legislative Forum on January 6 will be in Rooms 103 and 104 at the Higher Ed Center at 5:00 p.m. He will be bringing up the issue of the charter school amendment, and Dr. Robinson plans to talk about pre-school funding. Delegate Kilgore, Delegate O Quinn, Delegate Morefield, Senator Carrico and Delegate Pillion are slated to attend. Dr. Ratliff said he would also be meeting with Mr. Tom Smith for a conference call prior to the legislative meeting. Mr. Smith may end up speaking on Region VII s behalf. Dr. Ratliff reminded them of the webinar (Open Meeting Requirements for School Boards) scheduled for January 6 at 11:30 a.m. at the Central Office. Board members are welcome to attend.

4 Page 2965 Dr. Ratliff said he plans to attend the VASS Winter Conference in Richmond next week. Ms. Caudill will also be attending. There will be several good speakers who will talk about the Governor s budget. The 2016 VSBA Annual Convention in November is at the Williamsburg Lodge, and Washington County is eligible this year (through lottery selection) to reserve rooms for board members there. Rooms will be reserved for Board members who wish to attend. Dr. Ratliff informed them that Ms. Caudill has put together some information on FY16 General Fund Budget Review and Education Funding by Source, Standards of Quality, Enrollment and Employee Demographics. This is posted to Board Docs for their information. It helps to see the variance in expenditures. If there is additional information they would like to see, he encouraged them to let him know. Ms. Lowe requested that this information be posted to our web so everyone can view it. 22. Upon motion by Mr. Ruble, seconded by Mr. Owens, by 7-0 vote, the Funds Summary for November 2015 was approved. 23. Upon motion by Dr. Arnold, seconded by Mr. Musick, by 7-0 vote, School Board Policy, File GAD, Access to Employee Social Media Accounts, was approved on first reading as presented. 24. Upon motion by Mr. Brooks, seconded by Mr. Fleenor, by 7-0 vote, the agenda for the January 18, 2016, School Board Meeting was approved as presented. 25. Superintendent Update: Dr. Ratliff said that Teachers of the Year will be recognized at the January 18 School Board Meeting as well as recognition for two schools who have received Title 1 Distinguished School distinction. 26. Upon motion by Mr. Brooks, seconded by Mr. Musick, by 7-0 vote, closed session was declared, after a ten-minute break, pursuant to of the Code of Virginia to discuss the following: Section A (1) Consider Specific Individual(s) for Employment School Nurse, Valley Institute Elementary School School Nurse, Damascus Middle School Assistant Baseball Coach, Patrick Henry High School Assistant Wrestling Coach, E. B. Stanley Middle School Consider Specific Individual(s) for Substitute Teaching Consider Resignation of Specific Individual(s): Assistant Boys Soccer Coach, High School Band Assistant, Middle School Head Volleyball Coach, High School 27. Upon motion by Mr. Owens, seconded by Mr. Ruble, by 7-0 vote, closed session ended, and the meeting returned to regular session. 28. Upon motion by Mr. Musick, seconded by Mr. Brooks, by 7-0 vote, closed session was certified pursuant to Section of the Code of Virginia. 29. Upon motion by Mr. Ruble, seconded by Mr. Owens, by 7-0 vote, the following was approved:

5 Employments: Page 2966 Rebecca Dolinger, School Nurse, Valley Institute Elementary School, Effective January 5, 2016 Michelle Stiltner, School Nurse, Damascus Middle School, Effective January 5, 2016 Larry Cannon, Assistant Baseball Coach, Patrick Henry High School, Effective January 5, 2016 Alex Singleton, Assistant Wrestling Coach, E. B. Stanley Middle School, Effective December 16, 2015 Substitute Teachers: James Agner Resignations: Richard Blaylock, Assistant Boys Soccer Coach, John S. Battle High School, Effective January 5, 2016 Jonathan McCullough, Band Assistant, E. B. Stanley Middle School, Effective December 18, 2015 Stephanie Meade, Head Volleyball Coach, John S. Battle High School, Effective January 5, Upon motion by Mr. Brooks, seconded by Dr. Arnold, by 7-0 vote, the meeting adjourned at 8:44 p.m., Chair, Clerk, Recorder

6 Page 2967 MOTION: Mr. Tom Musick SECOND: Mr. Billy Brooks CERTIFICATION OF CLOSED MEETING WHEREAS, The Washington County School Board has convened a closed meeting on this date pursuant to an affirmative recorded vote and in accordance with the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act; and WHEREAS, (D) of the Code of Virginia requires a certification by this School Board that such closed meeting was conducted in conformity with Virginia Law; WHEREAS, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Washington County School Board hereby certifies that, to the best of each member s knowledge, (I) only public business matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements by Virginia Law were discussed in the closed meeting to which this certification applies, and (II) only such public business matters as were identified in the motion convening the closed meeting were heard, discussed, or considered. AYES: 7 NAYS: 0 ABSTAINED: 0, Clerk Washington County School Board Meeting Date: