Ashleigh Crocker
@ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
220 followers 180 following 790 posts
Mom of 2, Interim Executive Director at Progress Virginia, Writer, Activist, she/her Opinions are my own
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
And with that the meeting is adjourned. 12 minutes ahead of schedule!
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Georgianna asks about the priority level because the motion prioritized the attendance over the SRO and that was not the intention. They go back to correct.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Kelley asks if we can add a round of public comment before adjourning. I jumped up to thank them for the SAT funding. That is a big deal.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Sheridan echos what Kelley said about being grateful for the work staff did. She is concerned about the cuts to special ed funding at the federal level. Key thanks everyone for coming to the meeting and the staff for bringing the information.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
School Board member comments. Rittenhouse says just because you have money doens't mean you should spend it. "The buck stops where I am"
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Moving on to the vote for the carryover request. Passes 4-0, but Rittenhouse says he does not agree with the attendance expenditure. He says you can't solve a problem you don't know the solution to. But it is passed.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Sheridan says she likes that it puts the FuelMaster on the radar and we can't grow without it.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
They are ranking the fuel pump upgrade 10, and bathroom renvoations 9. 4 for the Torro cart and 5 for the PSAT. That would leave the tech upgrades at 6 and 7 and the FCHS auditorium upgrade would be 8.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
So they are ranking SROs #1, an SSO position #2, and attendance as #3. Gretz clarifies that the county doesn't always request the rankings, but it is good to do the exercise in case they do ask.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Sheridan asks with regard to the attendance issue: if our kids aren't in the building, where are they? Are they adequately supervised? What are they doing? It becomes a safety issue if they aren't in the buildings.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
The chassis and fiber switches are more important and could lead to vulnerabilities to our schools if there is a significant storm and would leave us without internet at our schools. Don't ask me what they actually do though 😂
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Now they are discussing the several tech upgrades that were presented last week. The promethean panel replacement at $60k would be preventative, and Gretz suggests replacing it through the CRM or some other mechanism.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
It's not clear that even if money was available we could get the SROs, but if it was, that would be the highest priority for the Board.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
There is a pre-k bathroom need for a disabled student that has not yet been remedied. But it cannot be done publicly, but it should be followed up on as soon as possible.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Kelley says he feels like it is less controversial than other asks. Sheridan says she has full confidence in Gretz's ability to defend the request.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Gretz says that the county will ask if this is important, why is it being asked for outside of the regular budget process. Sheridan says that it was brought up by an emergency responder and they weren't previously aware.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
They are referencing what happened at a football game in Louisa where a student broke his leg playing and there is no way to do that on our field.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
EMS has said if there is an emergency, there is no mechanism to get somebody from the field to an emergency vehicle, and a cart would be used for that.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Gretz says there has been an increased level of scrutiny with the county on why these things are needed and he is wondering if the cart meets that. They want things to move through the typical budget process. Sheridan says that seems reasonable and she argues that the cart could be safety.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
They are trying to figure out what is needed for bathroom renovations at Central, but Dr. Stribling had an emergency and had to leave. Maybe they could make sure to include funding for asbestos remediation since that seems to be an ongoing problem.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Right now, what is above the line is SROs, SSOs, the Torro cart for maintenance, PSAT/SATs, and attedance support.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Sheridan says that's why she wanted to consult with Mr. Hill and he might have some guidance. A full year salary is $45k, so $25k would pay for half a year.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
SSOs report to the building principal. Kelley says he would support an SSO at the middle school like they have at the high school. He asks if that would be beneficial at the elementary schools.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Soares asks if there would be ramifications if we don't fill the positions, and the answer is we would just return the money to the county. It might be difficult to fill the positions, but attendance is an important thing to focus on given our chronic absentee numbers.
ashleighcrocker.bsky.social
Soares says we did have this position that was funded with All In funds, but that funding ended.