School Board Work Session

Kristina Cecereby voiceOkay,

Speaker 4we're on. Good

Kristina Cecereby voiceevening, ladies and gentlemen. It is Monday, September 29, 2025. This is a work session of the City of Fairfax School Board. We will begin with item 1.01, a discussion of the agenda of our upcoming joint FCPS School Board meeting. In accordance with our school services agreement, we are required to meet with the Fairfax County School Board in a joint meeting each December. Last year's Chair Pitch has discussed the school services agreement, our schools and boundaries, and capacity for our city schools. There's also a discussion around the city Fairfax School Bond. Anything else I should add in there before we open the floor and maybe discuss ideas of where our agenda might be? Just a quick reminder, I know the work sessions

are a little lighter, so just if you have ideas, feel free to share them. Just make sure we leave space for other people contribute to so I will open the floor anybody have an idea they want to get started with the barbara will take notes on these ideas just have an idea I have a minute

Amit Hickmanby voicecertification my understanding is we technically hosted last year

Speaker 4we we were supposed to host last year because it's every other year but they wanted to host because they want to get it away from when they have elections so we're hosting this so we are the official host this year so we set the agenda correct

Sarah Kelseyby voiceand

Speaker 4in addition to setting the agenda to her we're looking at spaces right now and I think we're gonna look at sure I'll go look at Sherwood tomorrow I looked at Blenheim it's just a little too small I think for for everyone for with

Sarah Kelseyby voicetheir staff yeah

Speaker 4their staff their board we're gonna have the asked the choral teacher at Fairfax to bring her little group and she agreed so she'll They'll be coming to do a little performance ahead. And then of course a little reception we'll probably do as well. And that's another discussion that we're doing reception or full on dinner. So we need to just iron these things out as well as what you're going to talk about.

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceSo to clarify, it's an actual work session type meeting. This is different than the dinner that we had. There

Kristina Cecereby voicewill be a presentation that they do. and then we'll move into a dinner. So that's how it worked.

Speaker 4Yeah, we'll officially do a meeting or work session with minutes and recording, and then afterwards. We didn't do a dinner after.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceWe didn't do the dinner after. No, we didn't. You had to go to it separate because...

Speaker 4Right. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah, they just held it at another location, but they... But there was a dinner.

Kristina Cecereby voiceYeah.

Speaker 4There was a dinner.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceYes. require dinner and it's you pay for yourself isn't it

Speaker 4no no it was they had their culinary class at Marshall High School put out a I think they did that year before I was two years that was true

Lauren Bartelmeby voicebecause Christina and I went to that yeah before we were yes

Speaker 4sworn

Lauren Bartelmeby voicein but I didn't

Amit Hickmanby voicelast

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceyear was in there

Amit Hickmanby voicetwo years ago it was that it was the meeting with the dinner Marshall and then last

Sarah Kelseyby voiceright then we

Amit Hickmanby voiceleft there

Sarah Kelseyby voiceanyway went

Speaker 4to the market we went to my

Kristina Cecereby voiceyeah we met we met back at Marshall for the dinner so that's why we thought since done okay

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceso there was a meeting prior to that dinner yes yes

Speaker 4so well there'll be two separate spots and we'll have our baby and then just like it all

Amit Hickmanby voiceokay so we're looking at the agenda for the meeting of our people be meeting

Kristina Cecereby voiceAny ideas of what you might want to add?

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI mean, I think that...

Kristina Cecereby voiceAll right, so we're going to continue with the agenda item. Do you have an idea?

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI mean, I think that the boundary item is still relevant, especially if they're talking about redistricting that big section towards their back.

Amit Hickmanby voiceMs. Higley? My only concern with that is I don't know... What's the date of this? December 16th so they also presented scenario for

Sarah Kelseyby voiceAnd

Amit Hickmanby voicethey don't I don't think the final scenarios will be out yet I just don't know how much of it is within their control at that point we can I think we would need to ask them if that's There's something that's still a conversation like I don't want to Break her step if we're still not there yet

Sarah Kelseyby voiceYeah, yes, I hear it. Yeah I think we need to also possibly talk about I don't know how much it's been talked about or if it will be dealt with by then but we need to talk about Providence's festival and sharing that cost because I don't know I know they're in discussion right now but that if it hasn't been fully gone I think that's something that needs to be discussed as whole group

Speaker 4so we're saying boundary and these are all wherever we're at in December and we can revisit this template of what we're getting together so then PES festival cost sharing and I'm sorry Ms. Cessar you mentioned last year you want to talk about some other things that we talked about last year or just no I'm just highlighting what we discussed last year to give which was basically the bond and the

Kristina Cecereby voiceand the bond schools the I believe that meeting Mr. Fritch started with sort of that agreement and the agreement

Speaker 4for this meeting that has to happen in December is about the SSA so we'll definitely put that on there as well Just continuing talks on that. And if I can suggest maybe even tuition is another operating

Kristina Cecereby voicecost. I think definitely finding a way to essentially cap or streamline tuition cost increases over several years instead. Absolutely.

Speaker 4Which is, you know, relates to SSA, so. Yeah.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceI don't know if that's a loaded one though for that meeting. Yeah. That seems awful. I don't, like, I don't know you'll get much else talked about if you're talking about that. Like, and also if we don't know, if you don't have the tuition sitting right in front of us, and like Lee Burton sitting there as well to help explain because I guarantee they probably don't know all the stuff either.

Kristina Cecereby voiceI think it's worthwhile having a conversation at least since we're in the same room as our counterparts in school boards. And then moving forward with working with their board of supervisors for thinking about their costs for the following years and whatnot. I don't think it hurts to at least continue that conversation.

Amit Hickmanby voiceCan I suggest possibly maybe having a discussion about legislative issues and kind of where, if they know at that point their focus, just because a lot of them have had the elections. And I know at least they postponed the legislative breakfast, so kind of seeing where everybody is and are there places that we can align and do a joint push towards certain legislation. I

Speaker 4think that's a great

Kristina Cecereby voiceadd there.

Speaker 4And you also, tentatively based on his schedule, is you're gonna have Michael present at your December regular school board meeting. So that would be December 1st.

Amit Hickmanby voiceGreat, so the time might be perfect to have that conversation and see where we can jointly support.

Speaker 4Well that's a good start I think. Again we can always go back and revisit all this. It's just a starting point for the agenda.

Kristina Cecereby voiceAny other last minute comments before we move on to the next item? Alright, so moving on to the discussion on the draft memorandum of understanding on the capacity in our city schools. This was drafted, but we never sent it on to the Fairfax County School Board. So we're going to take a look at this and see if there's any recommended changes. Any thoughts? I'll turn it to the board.

Amit Hickmanby voiceI did have some thoughts about this. is under threshold for action. So my, and maybe I'm reading SSA wrong, my understanding, and I don't, maybe this is a super word in there, was that it was, if it's been at capacity for two consecutive years, then the discussion starts, so the boundaries wouldn't even change until at least the fourth year, because the conversation, I don't know that that's clear in here. I guess it kind of is at the start of the third, like in the boundaries adjustment process it is, but in threshold I found it a little bit confusing like maybe we can just add something similar to what it says in three and two so combining item three I mean I guess I understand in theory but until you read three

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI felt like I followed that okay the threshold for action is just kind of saying like what's gonna spur you into into doing something so I think it fits with the category but I was confused by the last sentence in the background when a city school is at over capacity FCPS agrees that county students will be reassigned first to right-size enrollment before considering the reassignment of city students so

Sarah Kelseyby voicewe'll move County kids before any city kid cannot be moved out like if we had to so

Amit Hickmanby voicejust that we weren't moving

Lauren Bartelmeby voicecity kids at all

Sarah Kelseyby voicewell

Amit Hickmanby voiceso if something was to happen and Daniels run was it a hundred percent capacity for city kids then we would have to move the remaining children in

Sarah Kelseyby voicebefore you tried to move Daniel's kids.

Amit Hickmanby voiceSo it would only happen if a school hit 100% with city kids. Like with Daniel's kids. But

Lauren Bartelmeby voicethen I feel like you'd, those kids would go to Providence

Amit Hickmanby voicefirst. They would. Yeah. That's exactly. Yeah, they're not necessarily

Sarah Kelseyby voicesaying out of the city. But

Amit Hickmanby voiceit would be that

Sarah Kelseyby voicewould trigger it. That would only happen if the city had 100% all over.

Kristina Cecereby voiceDo you feel like that language and that sentence should be clarified or if that's appropriate? I mean,

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI thought it was a little confusing. I don't know.

Kristina Cecereby voiceMaybe redefining it as county kids will be reassigned to a county school first to right-size enrollment before considering a reassignment. Maybe like that. just clarify that statement.

Amit Hickmanby voiceIn terms of the timing of this, I think there is a little bit of a complication because of the boundaries, in that they have that, whatever we're calling grandfather clause to allow certain people, certain students to choose which school. So I wonder if we need to put a caveat in, in terms of that, because if we are over capacity it's been everyone's been moved around but then the third year everyone has to go to the school their assignment lower capacity we wouldn't want to move that early that's my only issue with both

Lauren Bartelmeby voicesince you have that third year to discuss it if then it went back down that third year it's like the process would stop yeah

Sarah Kelseyby voiceand

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI think I mean who knows how the grandfathering in will like it should average out on some level if kids are staying like don't be kids that won't come to Fairfax but they'll be kids that stay at Fairfax I mean who knows how it all shake out but

Amit Hickmanby voiceso the other thing that when FDPS did their grandfathering I'm pretty sure it's fourth fifth and sixth eighth and then tenth 1112. So I don't know if we want to just have it be consistent if we want to consider that or not.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceI would say keep it consistent.

Amit Hickmanby voiceYeah. I agree with that.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceCan we double check that? It's on the back, the second bullet.

Amit Hickmanby voiceYeah,

Sarah Kelseyby voiceI'm pretty sure that's... Or the second bullet with second

Amit Hickmanby voicebullet. I know for sure it includes 10th grade, but I'm pretty

Sarah Kelseyby voicesure it was also an option too.

Amit Hickmanby voiceWhat do you

Speaker 4want me to check?

Sarah Kelseyby voicesee what FCPS is grandfathering in for is is

Amit Hickmanby voiceit like a senior status yeah

Sarah Kelseyby voicewell it's

Amit Hickmanby voiceit's they just passed them would they passed it as a although as a resolution or to the the boundary study consultant to say this is who would have that choice right incoming freshmen incoming seven-thirds

Kristina Cecereby voiceI do wonder, just thinking about historically when we readjusted the boundary for Fairfax High School almost a decade ago now, there was conversation of grandfathering families in. That if there was a family that, like I do wonder if there should be some kind of language around that but if there's you know say 11th grade student who has a rising eighth grader or ninth grader even like that wouldn't fall under this grandfathering role right now but maybe there should be something about family kind of keeping families together within that pyramid at least which is

Amit Hickmanby voiceinterestingly not in the boundary right

Kristina Cecereby voiceexactly

Amit Hickmanby voicethere's a lot of turmoil but with the consider it's not saying it's a necessity that consider keeping students within their family in the same schools.

Kristina Cecereby voiceI did want to clarify, like, see if we could clarify capacity because I do think that should be program capacity, 100% program capacity. Not building capacity. because that will fluctuate as the years grow. And I'm going to throw out a unique idea, and that's when it comes to, right now, Katherine Johnson is over capacity. I know some classes are impacted more than others. I'm wondering if there should be some kind of qualifier that if it's not too much of an impact academically on students, if perhaps we consider working with FCPS to find some kind of financial adjustments to the tuition so that if they're over capacity say within two, three years that maybe we get more from FCPS monetarily, you know, reducing

our tuitions and capacity at least we're increasing the rental charge because yeah exactly increasing that rental charge just to help maybe alleviate something to show that you know we recognize that we do have families who are part of that community yeah

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI think I think it being tied to the classroom rental if you make sense

Amit Hickmanby voicein my one question is really if we're looking at this as a two-year thing with sparking the third year I mean I guess it's the same in Katherine Thompson but they're only there for two years so it's very it's gonna change constantly Right.

Kristina Cecereby voiceYeah.

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceBut you should be able to, like if you're looking at this and you're like, okay, we have a problem for two years, we should be able to look at the sixth grade and the fifth grade at those feeder schools and see if it's going to be a problem that's continuing or if it's a blip. So I mean, we're not saying that two years means it's going to change, just that we're going to talk about it. and I think you would look at those incoming classes and see what is going to happen.

Kristina Cecereby voiceThere may need to be also a definition here of understanding program capacity that does fluctuate based on I believe this year the increased class sizes of funding. Just to clarify what that formula may look like maybe a free of is about every couple years that might be something to throw in here as well any other comments all right so thinking of do we want to revisit this draft and consider sending it because that's our next steps think to Fairfax County School Board? Would you rather revisit this draft at a later work session?

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceDid we get a response from our inquiry about the numbers for Fairfax? Not yet.

Amit Hickmanby voiceI think it would be helpful to put something in writing out there because I know at least at the pyramid night that I attended in terms of information for the boundary on Friday, that FCPS staff was not able to answer in terms of our capacity and our ability to decide what the capacity looks like at our schools. I'm just a little hesitant at the time. I think they kind of like, thrown this, when all this is happening. Yeah.

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI'm curious just what the response, like I feel like it might depend on what the response is to that. to that inquiry

Amit Hickmanby voiceI think also seeing what scenario court looks like because it's supposed to take care of Capacity issues is my understanding.

Kristina Cecereby voiceYeah,

Amit Hickmanby voicebut this would not like to send this one out I guess they also could just be completely unrelated to each other.

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceYeah, and and this doesn't I mean the other issue too is the split feeder being created at Willow Springs which

Amit Hickmanby voiceThere's also a proposal that creates a split feeder at Villa.

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceBecause like a lot of the issues that it was trying to solve were not present in our pyramid. I mean I guess there was a little bit of an island. But I think we didn't have any split feeder.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceI think we're overthinking this because this the whole idea with this was, and we talked about this before you guys came on, KJ was our in Fairfax High, KJ has been two years at 100% plus. And so this is just, this is just saying if our schools get to this point, this is the process that happens. It has nothing to do with the boundaries. This is something we just need to have in place for if that comes into play. because whether they change the boundaries or not we need something in place for that I

Amit Hickmanby voicethink we would then need to make that clear because the subject line is capacity management boundary adjustments and well technically we know the history that it's unrelated because of the current conversation like it's

Sarah Kelseyby voicebut I think it says boundary adjustments because that's when the boundary adjustments need to start happening not have it met this has nothing to do with their boundary adjustments and that's

Kristina Cecereby voicethat's what I'm saying just make that clear maybe maybe it's student capacity management and student reassignment you know something along those lines instead yeah

Sarah Kelseyby voiceI just I think when we're thinking the boundary adjustments that they're doing and this they're two different things and that's where I think

Amit Hickmanby voiceI think we're agreeing

Sarah Kelseyby voiceoverthink yeah well no I'm just saying I think this conversation is kind of going But

Kristina Cecereby voiceit

Sarah Kelseyby voiceis

Kristina Cecereby voicehelpful to consider kind of what's happening within KJ and sort of that adjustments happening there. But I agree.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceThis was just something that we had talked about before you guys were on the board of it. You need to be created. So that's why. And that was before boundaries were ever mentioned by FCPS.

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI mean, I think I agree with both of you. It is a separate issue. But the subject change could, the subject line could make that more clear.

Kristina Cecereby voiceany other comments

Speaker 4I know when Carrie was talking about this earlier she like who would sign this is this a

Kristina Cecereby voicechairs

Sarah Kelseyby voiceand the superintendents

Kristina Cecereby voicewithin our well I believe that this is usually memorandum of understandings are only between boards and boards so it would be chair pitches to chair

Sarah Kelseyby voicebecause our MOU with the SROs are with the superintendents I met both the superintendents do

Kristina Cecereby voicethat's because it's dealing with those entities this would be an agreement between school boards that's my understanding but but

Sarah Kelseyby voicethe superintendents are the ones that oversee the boundary like because isn't that a superintendent committee not a school board committee

Amit Hickmanby voicewell the current one is that's

Sarah Kelseyby voicewhat I'm one that's what I'm saying though

Amit Hickmanby voiceI still be a task the board would task that's

Sarah Kelseyby voicewhy I said I think it's the chairs and the superintendent

Amit Hickmanby voicewhere's the we already did an MOU last year where'd that go

Kristina Cecereby voicefor well we did it we didn't know you for the for the committees and that went chair to chair chair chair chair those

Sarah Kelseyby voiceare for chair those are for school board committees but

Kristina Cecereby voiceI do think the segment has a point and that this would be something that if there is an issue this is when then as the board on either side would assign that to the superintendent

Sarah Kelseyby voiceI

Amit Hickmanby voiceI don't know is this something that we need to ask legal guidance on just say we can I think she would be the one who would

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceknow that would not be a quick question I'm sure

Sarah Kelseyby voiceI'm just thinking the superintendent needs to have this understanding as well and that's why I think they need to

Lauren Bartelmeby voicesign it. Well this is not different than what's in the SSA it's just. Yes it

Sarah Kelseyby voiceis. I don't think the two years is in the SSA. Because I think that's why we were saying that it needs to be clarified what it says.

Speaker 4I think I recall the conversations like I know that chair pitches was concerned with the boundary processes that they're doing and that they they didn't quite understand that if it's a city city kids day no matter what and so this was just this came from that I think that just to explain to FCPS that this is the process as far as city students are concerned. They're not moving your FCPS. You have to look with FCPS students. But we can certainly look in the SSA to see if it's specific. I would imagine it has to be somewhere because where did that come from? unless there's another MOU out there,

Kristina Cecereby voicewhich

Speaker 4I haven't seen. That doesn't mean it's not there. So we can do some research on that for sure.

Kristina Cecereby voiceOne thing that has come to mind before you, thinking about students who go to, say, Robinson for their IB program or students who do emerging courses in elementary school, what would happen to them in this agreement, in this understanding, if say I mean what's the prevent FCPS saying Robinson's over capacity we can no longer accept city students I mean I think

Lauren Bartelmeby voicethey already they

Kristina Cecereby voicealready they

Lauren Bartelmeby voicealready can

Amit Hickmanby voiceyeah yeah and there's even conversations right now in place about that and sports you can play a sport if you place into another school I mean it's probably the same with any magnet school or specialized program that we're doing that.

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceYeah, because I think that the transferring for the IB and AP and all that is always dependent on space. Space,

Kristina Cecereby voiceyeah. Because I would not, I don't want to take that opportunity away from city students. I think that's one of the value adds of being part of this county and partnership with the county. I don't know if there's something that should be.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceThis is just if the city schools go over. I agree. But it does impact. It does say regarding procedures when city schools operate at or above below. So it doesn't impact them.

Kristina Cecereby voiceSo usually those are based on estimates for the previous year, in which in that transition, we could see a fluctuation of students go from, say, Fairfax for their AP program to Robeson to their IB program. Not messing a lot, but, you know, 10 kids is 10 kids. And that could mean, you know, we don't have to, drop capacity slightly down to where it's now below capacity.

Sarah Kelseyby voiceYeah, no, I'm just saying you asked how this affects those kids. It doesn't because they aren't in the city schools. So that's something that's totally different than what this would cover. So this wouldn't cover city kids that go to county schools. This would only cover the kids that are in city schools.

Kristina Cecereby voiceWell, I agree with the letter, what's written here. sort of the the bigger picture of that relationship there that fluctuation yeah

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI mean to me I felt like all this really said I mean they have schools below capacity and above capacity all over the county

Kristina Cecereby voiceI

Lauren Bartelmeby voicefeel like all we're saying is we are not going to be the above capacity school

Kristina Cecereby voicelike

Lauren Bartelmeby voicelike these are our buildings we're not sacrificing our students so that other county students to me I feel like that's all that this is saying yeah

Speaker 4but

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceI mean I agree about about those students but but I mean I I do think we shouldn't let our schools go above capacity.

Kristina Cecereby voiceAny other comments?

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceSo did we decide if we're moving forward with this?

Speaker 4So I think probably get all these notes and update it and then maybe another work session I think is probably a good idea to see

Lauren Bartelmeby voicewhat

Speaker 4you've incorporated and then

Lauren Bartelmeby voiceThat sounds good.

Speaker 4Yeah. Before you go, you know, and present it. I

Amit Hickmanby voicethink especially if it's going to come from the charity, it's going to be involved in that conversation. I think it's going to lie. Yeah.

Kristina Cecereby voiceAll right. If there's nothing else, we will adjourn the meeting at 7-0-1. Yeah. Great, beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful beautiful