January 16 2018 Joint Work Session with School Board Minutes218
MINUTES
Frederick County Board of Supervisors
Joint Work Session with Frederick County School Board
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
4:30 p.m.
School Board Office Conference Room,1415 Amherst Street, Winchester, VA
ATTENDEES
Board of Supervisors: Chairman Charles S. DeHaven, Jr.; Vice -Chairman Gary A.
Lofton; Blaine P. Dunn; J. Douglas McCarthy; Judith McCann -Slaughter; Shannon G. Trout; and
Robert W. Wells were present. Staff present: Kris C. Tierney, County Administrator; Jay E.
Tibbs, Deputy County Administrator; Roderick B. Williams, County Attorney; Cheryl B.
Shiffler, Finance Director; C. William Orndorff, Jr., Treasurer; Jennifer Place, Budget Analyst;
Ann W. Phillips, Deputy Clerk to the Board of Supervisors
School Board: Dr. John Lamanna; Michael Lake; Frank Wright; Seth Thatcher; and
Shontya' Washington were present. Staff present: Dr. David Sovine, Superintendent; Dr. Al
Orndorff, Assistant Superintendent; Steve Edwards, Coordinator of Policy and Communications;
Dr. James Angelo, Assistant Superintendent for Instruction; Patty Camery, Executive Director of
Finance; Kristen Anderson, FCPS Budget Supervisor; and Tim Crisman, Director of Facilities
Services
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Lamanna called the School Board to order at 4:30 p.m.
Chairman DeHaven called the Board of Supervisors to order at 4:30p.m.
Dr. Sovine welcomed the attendees and said the focus on the meeting is the school
division's CIP and the Aylor Middle School project. He reviewed the 5-year CIP spreadsheet
noting that the projects have been intentionally staggered at one project per year to aid in debt
service levels. He said the division wants to move forward with the appropriation for replacing
Aylor Middle School.
PRESENTATION — FREDERICK COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS CAPITAL PLAN
Dr. Orndorff presented an overview of the enrollment trends and operating costs for
Aylor Middle School.
Minute Book Number 43
Board of Supervisors Joint Work Session with
Frederick County School Board on January 16, 2018
County of Frederick, Virginia
219
Dr. Sovine said the division will move forward with a request for appropriation in the
next few months in order to allow participation in the fall bond application cycle.
DISCUSSION
Vice Chairman Lofton requested the enrollment trend data be broken down by
elementary, middle and high school numbers. Dr. Orndorff said that those numbers could be
compiled.
Dr. Sovine said regarding capacity, that currently the other middle schools have a
capacity of 900. He said by replacing Aylor's current capacity of 720 with a new building
capacity of 900 would allow for balancing the enrollment among the middle schools and allow
for future growth.
Vice Chairman Lofton asked whether the division anticipates the Dept. of Education
changing recommended classroom sizes in the near future, and whether the new building
positions the division well for such changes. Dr. Omdorff said there are some changes being
seen across the country, and the new building would position the division well for such
adjustments.
Dr. Lamanna said the plan for the new Aylor Middle School is to use the design for the
recently completed Frederick County Middle School building with adjustments. Dr. Sovine said
using the existing design will save money and be more efficient.
Supervisor Dunn noted that the Winchester Star has covered Frederick County as an
older community for retirees and said there may not be as much growth in families with school
age children. Dr. Orndorff said the data on enrollment projections comes from the division's
budget book. He said it takes young people to support a retirement population, and that 20% of
the County population is school age. Dr. Sovine said that there is already a healthy retirement
community and significant enrollment growth is expected.
Vice Chairman Lofton inquired whether the Board of Supervisors will be able to be part
of the process as the Aylor Project begins rather than being handed something and asked to pay
for it. Dr. Sovine said that it has always been the division's practice to have a representative
from the Board of Supervisors. He said the School Board will be asking for a full appropriation
Minute Book Number 43
Board of Supervisors Joint Work Session with
Frederick County School Board on January 16, 2018
County of Frederick, Virginia
220
including architecture and engineering to allow flexibility and would include a level of
engagement from the Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor Dunn noted the CIP, and thanked Dr. Lamanna for the efforts involved in
preparing it. He said the total cost number for the five years of $259,300,000 is staggering and
would require a huge tax increase for the residents. He noted the change in figuring capacity and
asked the School Board to work with the Board of Supervisors to address the issue. He inquired
whether School Board has had another engineering company confirm the estimates provided by
OWPR. Dr. Omdorff said that estimates were based on numbers from multiple engineering
firms.
School Board member Wright said that the capacities have been refigured because they
had not been computed recently. Supervisor Dunn agreed with the need to refigure the
capacities, but said the jump in capacity and the required addition to buildings is staggering, He
asked if the 5-year needs could be stretched to 10 years citing a need to be more realistic about
what actually can be accomplished.
Supervisor Trout acknowledged that she is new to the process, and said that while the
numbers are staggering, the needs are critical. She said delaying projects ends up costing money
and is not good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
Chairman DeHaven said both .Boards share the same goals and need to work together to
reach them.
ADJOURN
There being no further business, on motion Vice Chairman Lofton, seconded by
Supervisor Trout, the meeting was adjourned at 5:48 p.m.
Charles S. DeHaven, Jr.
Chairman, Board of Supervisors
Kris . Tiern
Clerk, Board o ervisors
Minutes Prepared By:
Ann W. Phillips
Deputy Clerk, Board of Supervisors
Minute Book Number 43
Board of Supervisors Joint Work Session with
Frederick County School Board on January 16, 2018
County of Frederick, Virginia