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June 15, 2016

Dear Fantastic SCPS Staff,

On this last school day for students, let me thank you for your service and dedication toacademic excellence, your students, colleagues, individual school and the entire StaffordCounty Public School division. You are the face of SCPS and your impact on our children islong-lasting. On Saturday, we watched 2,239 seniors graduate and transition to continuedlearning in new settingscollege and university study, military service and the workforce. Youare shaping tomorrow with your work today. Thank you!

In our continuing quest to keep employees informed, a summary of the meetings highlights isprovided below.

KUDOS and Staff AnnouncementsCongratulations to Ms. Tammy Houkwho was named the new principal at Brooke Point HighSchool effective July 1, 2016. Welcome to Blackhawk nation!

We welcome Berkley W. Dunbrackto the division as the Nutrition Services Director. He willbe filling the large shoes of Chapman Slye, who will be retiring at the end of the fiscal year.Berkley will be coming from the Colonial Heights area and we are excited to welcome him toStafford County Public Schools.

Filling our newly created Director of Strategic Communications and Community Engagementposition is Sherrie Johnson. Sherrie has vast experience as the acting chief communicationsofficer with Prince Georges County Schools in Maryland and as a former broadcast journalist.We welcome Sherrie to the Stafford County team on July 5, 2016.

Congratulations to our retirees on their combined 2,180 hoursof service to the division. It wasa privilege to honor and recognize you on Monday night. I wish you fair winds and followingseas. But if you change your mind, please contact Dr. Benson - his offer is still open.

Thank you and congratulations to all the staff who had a hand in mentoring and supporting themany students who received awards last night.

Strategic Planning and GovernanceOne of the School Boards goals this year was the development of a strategic plan that wasfocused, easy to read and included metrics for success that could be tracked and evaluated.During the last few meetings, the Board has approved various parts of the strategic plan as ithas developed. Last night, the Board approved the metrics that will allow us to track progressthroughout the year. The adoption of biennial priorities will be useful in budgeting decisions andfocusing the work of the division. Thank you to all who participated in this important work for ourdivision.

The Board discussed formation of a Governance Standing Committee in keeping with therecommendations contained in the Evergreen Study and to reinforce the fact that leadershipand governance are intentional skills that should be examined by any board. Many

recommendations contained in the Evergreen efficiency study have been examined closely and

STAFFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

31 Stafford AvenueStafford, Virginia 22554-7246

Phone: 540-658-6000http://www.staffordschools.net

SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS

HOLLY HAZARDChair

IRENE EGANVice-Chair

MELISSA AYRESPATRICIA HEALY

C. SCOTT HIRONSNANETTE KIDBY

DEWAYNE McOSKER, JR.

W. BRUCE BENSON, EdSuperintendent

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implemented positively throughout the school division. An update on our progress implementingthe recommendations in the last year is forthcoming.

Cell Phone Policy Code of ConductThe Board discussed two options regarding the Code of Conduct and the use of cell phonesand other wearable devices. Option 1 maintains the current policy. Option 2 eliminates the useof cell phone use in the hallways between class periods, allows administrators to establishdefined cell phone use areas within their building, adds a penalty that withdraws the privilege ofbringing a cell phone device to school after three violations of the policy and an automaticwithdrawal of the privilege for offenses related to cheating and photography using a cell phonedevice. Signage regarding the policy is highly encouraged and the pilot nature of the rule wouldbe eliminated. Whether this proceeds as a pilot program or not, any policy or Code of Conductrule can be amended in following years.

A Note Regarding BudgetingOver the last few months, there has been lots of talk about found, lost and surprise fundsrelated to the SCPS budget. I would like to provide a basic delineation of the funds that are

being discussed with the Board of Supervisors (BOS) and within the School Board.

1. Carry- Forward FundsAt the end of the fiscal year, June 30, 2016, the school division must close out its financialbooks for the year. If, after all expenses are paid, there are remaining funds, those funds mustbe returned to the County. Legally, school divisions are not permitted to have a rainy day fundor reserve account that would allow year-end savings to be set aside for future uses. Evenafter we transition to the new financial management system, there will always be year-endsavings realized with a $260 million budget. Solid accounting practice would estimate that 1-2percent of the budgeted total will remain at the end of the year. Again, these savings cannot bekept in school accounts to be used for school purposes in future years.

Thus, when the funds are returned to the County, after June 30 of each year, the funds becomeCounty dollars to be used as the BOS deems appropriate. In the past, and in line with theCountys financial policies, carry-forward funds generated from the school division havegenerally been returned to the school division. Carry forward funds have not been returned tothe school division prior to the completion of the annual County and school division audits. InDecember, 2015, $1.15 million of carry forward funds were re-appropriated to the schooldivision since the FY16 budget included use of $1.15 million carry forward funds to meet budgetresponsibilities. The approved FY17 budget requires $1.25 million in carry forward funds fromFY16.

The School Board has requested that the FY15 carry over funds be used for purposes that webelieve would benefit the County as a wholepaying down debt for the financial management

system and buses, funding of a school cash capital reserve account held by the County, andadditional funding to build the new learning environment at Moncure Elementary School (MES).When the School Board request was originally sent to the BOS, the request included funding ofmany repair projects around the division to be completed this summer. The School Boardfunded these projects with current year savings as it was imperative to get these projects undercontract and underway for completion before our students return in September, 2016. As ofthis writing, the BOS has not acted upon this request.

2. Year End SavingsAs the budget year ends, the Finance Department is making sure that all obligations are paidand determining what savings were realized throughout the year. Since approximately 84percent of the school budget is allocated to salary and benefits, salary lapse will always occur.

Low fuel costs and energy savings have resulted in savings this year and we have various

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accounts with remaining balances as well. In the future, with the new financial managementsystem, these savings will be more easily tracked throughout the year. As we get to the end ofthe year and process the final three payroll runs, the savings realized during this year becomeclearer. In the past few months, Dr. Benson and school staff have brought the amount of thesesavings to the School Board for analysis. As stated above, we have been able to fund summer

projects, provide stipends for all contracted employees, and purchase buses.

Last night, the Board allocated just over $2 million in year-end savings to purchase needed andbudgeted items contained in the FY17 budget. This pre-payment allows the Board to fund the$1.1 million contract adjustment for teachers approved previously. Also, in light of comments atthe Joint Schools Working Group, it may be unlikely that any carry over funds will be returned tothe schools in future years. Thus, the Board is seeking ways to fund the $1.25 million of carryforward funds that were used in the budget assumptions for the FY17 budget. School Boardreallocation of current year savings has not been done in the past. The forensic auditdemonstrated that staff made these reallocation decisions without Board input or knowledge inpast fiscal years. The School Board takes its financial responsibilities very seriously and thesedecisions are designed to improve the divisions financial position in FY17, taking into account

discouraging economic news from the state and the possible lack of carry forward funds of$1.25 million needed to fund the FY17 budget.

Moncure Elementary School (MES)Over the past two years, the division has been engaged in researching and planning to developa new elementary school prototype for today's learner and teacher. This new visionencompasses additional spaces for learning in small groups, collaborative spaces and teams.The School Board members and BOS have been actively engaged in this process. MES is tobe the first elementary school in our division encompassing these design concepts. Theapproved FY17- 26 CIP, including funding for MES, was approved by the BOS in April 2015.MES funding profile included project funding with VPSA Bond funding and $2 million dollars incash. This $2 million in cash funding was to be allocated from the FY15 carry forward funds,

however, that action has not been taken by the BOS at this time. Due to the challenges of thesite, additional requirements for storm water management compliance, increases in constructioncosts, escalation of cost per square foot, the project cost has increased almost $5 million. TheBoard reviewed options to decrease the project costs and will have to make some decisionsabout the learning space for the MES project in the coming weeks. The Board is activelylooking for ways to preserve this new elementary school model for teaching and learning.

The impact of a learning environment on the learning experience is tremendous and each seniorwho spoke at the Stafford High School (SHS) graduation spoke about the positive impact of thenew SHS building on their learning and life at SHS. It is my hope that we can continue thistrend for our students at MES and in the future at Ferry Farm Elementary School.

ConclusionI will close with the quote from R. L. Sharpe that I used in my opening remarks at the RetireeCelebration on Monday evening.

A Bag of Tools

Isn't it strange

That princes and kings,

And clowns that caper

In sawdust rings,

And common people

Like you and me

Are builders for eternity?

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Each is given a bag of tools,

A shapeless mass,

A book of rules;

And each must make -Ere life is flown -

A stumbling block

Or a stepping stone.

Thank you for bringing your bag of tools to Stafford County Public Schools. Please rememberthe tremendous impact you have on our children and, thus, on tomorrow. May we all be usingour tools as stepping stones.

Have a great summer.

Sincerely,

Holly Hazard, ChairStafford County School Board