School Board · Feb 10, 2025

School Board Retreat

Agenda Minutes Read the transcript6 agenda items · 6 tracked topics

Discussed

1
Opening/Welcome and Review Agenda · Ms. Pitches welcomed attendees, and discussed goals and outcomes for the day.
2
Revisiting Meeting Norms Discussion · Ms. Hickman led the Board in revisiting and updating the School Board meeting norms as needed.
- School Board NormsBoard norms were reviewed and updated as needed during the retreat.
3
Communication Plan · Ms. Pitches led a discussion on effective communication strategies between superintendent and chair, superintendent and board, board and staff, and board and schools.
- Communication PlanMs. Pitches led a discussion on effective communications strategies across multiple relationships within the school system.
4
FOIA, COIA and Policy Manual · Attorney Stacy Haney of Haney Phinyowattanachip PLLC presented on the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), COIA, and the policy manual.
- Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)Attorney Stacy Haney presented on FOIA at the retreat.
- COIAAttorney Stacy Haney presented on COIA at the retreat.
- Policy ManualapprovedAttorney Stacy Haney presented on the policy manual at the retreat.
5
School Board Calendar Review · Listed on the agenda for calendar topic discussion; no specific outcome recorded in the minutes.
- School Board Calendar ReviewA calendar review and topic discussion were scheduled; no specific outcome was recorded in the minutes.
6
Wrap Up/Adjournment · Mrs. Pitches adjourned the meeting at 1:24 p.m.

Topics touched · 6

School Board Norms
The City of Fairfax School Board Norms are a set of standing behavioral guidelines governing how board members conduct themselves at meetings and in their public roles. The norms — formally articulated as "Be Cohesive, Be Respectful, Be Visible, Be Forward Thinking, and Be Transparent" — serve as a reference for board conduct and are regularly published in meeting agendas.
Communication Plan
Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
COIA
Policy Manualapproved
The City of Fairfax School Board Policy Manual is the governing document that codifies board and school policies, including rules for student representation, advisory teams, and related procedures. Attorney Stacy Haney of Haney Phinyowattanachip PLLC presented on the policy manual (alongside FOIA and COIA) at the February 10, 2025 School Board Retreat.
- Whether the student representative project requirement will be formally removed from the policy manual, as flagged in March 2025 discussion.
- Whether the student representative term will be changed from a July–June cycle to a January–January cycle, as discussed in March 2025.
School Board Calendar Review
The School Board Calendar Review is a recurring agenda item at the annual School Board Retreat, focused on reviewing the meeting schedule for the upcoming or remaining school year and identifying topics of interest to be incorporated into future meetings. It appeared as Agenda Item 5 at the February 10, 2025 retreat, though no specific outcome was recorded in the minutes beyond it being listed for discussion.
- The specific topics of interest identified at the February 7, 2026 retreat have not been recorded, leaving it unclear which subjects the board intends to prioritize in future meetings.
- It is unknown whether any outcomes or decisions from the February 10, 2025 calendar review were carried forward or acted upon.

Documents · 1

Minutes1

Filed in agenda order; the agenda names the item each belongs to.