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Roanoke City School Board

23 meetings on our record, 9 of them from the past year and 14 with unconfirmed dates · typical meeting 1 h 44 min · 13,582 students · 7 members on our roster

Latest · Oct 27, 2026
Roanoke City school finance staff project almost $6 million state funding drop as enrollment fallsPlay 1:45:32
Next · Wednesday, November 4, 2026
5:30 PM · William B. Robertson Administration Building 201 Campbell Ave SW · Agenda ↗
Newest meeting we have
Oct 27, 2026 · District's own meeting list ↗ (it may list later ones)
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Also on the board: Franny Apel, Chair · Joyce W. Watkins, Board member

Recent meetings

What the board took up lately

Work session · 4 h 18 minTuesday, October 27, 2026Roanoke City school finance staff project almost $6 million state funding drop as enrollment fallsChronic absenteeismBudget cuts and layoffsEnrollmentReading and test scoresSpeakers: Derek Kaknes, Donna Littlepage, Deidre E. Trigg, Joyce W. Watkins
Play 1:45:32
Work session · 1 h 34 minTuesday, September 22, 2026Roanoke school board adopts 2027 legislative priorities, fills search committee seat temporarilySafety, weapons and policeSpeakers: Franny Apel, Michael L. Cherry II, Derek Kaknes, Donna Littlepage and 2 more
Play 56:56
Board meeting · 1 h 42 minTuesday, September 8, 2026Safety, weapons and policeSpeakers: Franny Apel, Michael L. Cherry II, Derek Kaknes, Auraliz "Liz" C. Quintana and 2 more
Watch
Work session · 46 minTuesday, August 25, 2026Speakers: Michael L. Cherry II, Auraliz "Liz" C. Quintana, Deidre E. Trigg
Watch
The board

Who talks on this board

Minutes speaking per full board meeting · 9 board meetings, Mar 10, 2026 – Oct 27, 2026 · talk time only, never tone or stance

Listed by seat9 board meetings are too few to tell these 4 members apart.
Coverage: about 62% of members’ speaking time named (43%–65%)

Minutes = time we heard them speak per meeting, from the speech we have named so far, so each is a floor: at least that much.

Runs the meeting
Franny ApelChair · runs the meeting, not rankedShare8.7min, at least5 of 9meetings heard, of those while seated—runs the meeting, counted apart3.1questions asked per meeting, at least
Members · listed by seat
Michael L. Cherry IIVice ChairShare3.3min, at least8 of 9meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.5questions asked per meeting, at least
Derek KaknesBoard memberShare2.0min, at least5 of 9meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked2.3questions asked per meeting, at least
Donna LittlepageBoard member · Seated for 7 board meetings on our record; we rank at 8Share0.8min, at least3 of 7meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked1.5questions asked per meeting, at least
Auraliz "Liz" C. QuintanaBoard member · We could name only 17% of the speech they may have given; we rank at 30%Share0.8min, at least8 of 9meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.4questions asked per meeting, at least
Deidre E. TriggBoard memberShare2.3min, at least9 of 9meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked0.8questions asked per meeting, at least
Joyce W. WatkinsBoard memberShare4.2min, at least7 of 9meetings heard, of those while seated—not ranked2.7questions asked per meeting, at least

Minutes speaking per full board meeting held while seated; a meeting they missed or stayed silent in counts as zero · bar = minutes named so far · talk time only, never tone or stance · Hamlet

Meetings on our record
Next meetingWednesday, November 4, 20265:30 PM · William B. Robertson Administration Building 201 Campbell Ave SWSchool Board Special Called MeetingRead the agenda ↗The district’s posting ↗Add to calendarPosting checked Oct 29
All 23 meetings on our record
Clips

What Joyce W. Watkins said

Is there no line item in what you showed us no line item in what you showed us that's a contingency for anything emergent that comes up?Joyce W. WatkinsBoard member · Roanoke City School BoardWatch the full meeting from 40:28
Meeting time

Where the board's meeting time went

Budget and finance27%20%–35%
Ceremony and recognition7%2%–13%
Public comment2%0%–5%
Safety and discipline0%0%–19%

    The two readers didn’t agree on 25% of the time; it counts toward no topic, so every share above is a floor.

    Not shown: facilities, closures and enrollment, curriculum and instruction, student services and special education, labor and personnel, governance and policy, routine business, other subjects, whose checks haven’t passed

    Public comment

    Of the 23 meetings on our record, we counted public speakers at 11; 4 had at least one. The busiest, on Mar 10, 2026, heard from 5.

    5 on Mar 10, 20265 speakers3 speakers1.2 a meeting on average
    Attendance

    The roll call at 9 of the 23 meetings on our record: the ones where we could read it

    Roll-call attendance, member by meeting
    MemberOct 27Sep 22Sep 8Aug 25Aug 11Jun 9May 26Apr 28Mar 10
    Michael L. Cherry IIPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent
    Auraliz "Liz" C. QuintanaNot recordedPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent
    Derek KaknesPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentNot recordedNot recordedNot recordedNot recorded
    Donna LittlepagePresentPresentPresentPresentPresentNot recordedNot recordedNot recordedNot recorded
    Deidre E. TriggPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent
    Franny ApelPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent
    Joyce W. WatkinsNot recordedNot shownPresentNot recordedPresentPresentPresentPresentPresent

    PresentNot shownNot recorded

    Federal district ID 5103300 · student count from the federal 2023-24 count · meeting videos posted by the district