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Roanoke City Public Schools work session, Oct 27, 2026

4 h 18 min · 0 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 2:27:13Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 1:35:15Enrollment ▶ 1:35:15Reading and test scores ▶ 2:36:37

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 4 h 18 min.

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What happened

What happened at this meeting

Roanoke City school finance staff project almost $6 million state funding drop as enrollment falls 1:45:32

  • The board approved the agenda as amended, the personnel list and the consent agenda. 8:43
  • The board heard a budget update in which the chief financial officer said preliminary fall membership of 12,217 fell short of the 12,700 used to build the budget and could mean almost $6 million less in state funding than anticipated. 1:34:56
  • District staff presented the annual student performance data report, which covered chronic absenteeism, standards of learning assessments, on-time graduation rates, state accreditation and the school performance and support framework. 2:24:57

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Item by item (13)
  1. Opening and agenda approval 7:28
    • The meeting was called to order and the roll was called. 7:28
    • The board considered amending the agenda to add a personnel list and then approving the agenda as amended. 7:54
    • The motion to amend the agenda carried, and the agenda as amended was approved unanimously. 8:20
  2. Closed session on public contract 8:43
    • Derek Kaknes moved that the board convene in closed session to discuss the award of a public contract under Virginia Code Section 2.2⁠-⁠3711. 9:01
    • After the closed session, the board took up a motion certifying that only lawfully exempt matters identified in the motion were discussed. 9:51
    • The motion to enter closed session and the certification motion were each approved by unanimous vote. 9:51
  3. Personnel, appointment and consent agenda 1:12:07
    • The board considered the personnel list as presented. 1:12:07
    • A district staff member introduced the person who accepted the position of Executive Director of Special Education and Exceptional Learners. 1:13:12
    • The board then considered the consent agenda as presented. 1:16:44
    • The personnel list was approved, and the consent agenda was approved unanimously. 1:13:02
  4. Superintendent's updates 1:17:04
    • A staff member giving the superintendent's updates described a new video series to help kindergarten families understand the skills their children are learning. 1:17:04
    • The staff member said the district celebrated more than 750 students from 32 schools and programs at a Special Olympics event and held a resource fair with more than 2 dozen community partners for families of students with disabilities. 1:18:23
  5. Constituent services and government relations update 1:17:16
    • A staff member reported 94 tickets in the last quarter after the office moved from EthicsPoint to a new tool called OnFlow, and said nothing was open or critical. 1:22:16
    • A district staff member said the board's positions and priorities were taken to the city council on October 5th and that the annual Take Your Legislators to School Month event is November 24th. 1:32:05
    • The staff member said a state-required policy on access by Immigration and Customs Enforcement must be adopted by the end of the calendar year, with a first review at the November meeting and a second review at the December meeting. 1:33:27
  6. Budget update and enrollment 1:34:56
    • The chief financial officer said preliminary figures showed about $66,000 in unspent funds expected to be returned, in addition to the $5.25 million committed at the end of last year. 1:34:56
    • The chief financial officer said preliminary September 30 funded fall membership was 12,217, a decrease of more than 500 students, which could mean almost $6 million less in state funding than anticipated. 1:48:06
    • The chief financial officer said a preliminary look at next year with a 4% raise and about a 10% increase in healthcare costs would start with about a $1.9 million deficit. 1:52:38
  7. Board questions on budget and enrollment 1:55:16
    • One board member said costs increasing by 5% and revenue increasing by 3% would mean structural deficits for the foreseeable future. 2:00:09
    • In response to a question from Deidre E. Trigg, a staff member said the district lost 313 students to the county, 90 to Salem, 91 to homeschool and 33 to private school. 2:13:35
    • One board member suggested the board might look at moving $3 million from the capital improvement plan into contingency, and a staff member said the process to spend that $3 million had already started. 2:16:50
  8. Item 2:24:57
    • A staff member said chronic absenteeism in Roanoke City Public Schools overall decreased 4.49 percentage points this school year, outpacing state improvements of about 2 to 3 average percentage points. 2:28:42
    • Derek Kaknes asked why chronic absenteeism was 30% at the high school level compared with 15% elsewhere. 2:49:34
    • A staff member said there are 33 specialists. ~3:00:44
  9. Standards of Learning results 2:36:37
    • A staff member said that since '22-'23, 3rd grade reading rose 9 points and 3rd grade math gained 15 points, while 6th grade math declined 17 points over the 4 years. 2:36:37
    • The staff member said the district received $986,000 from the Virginia Department of Education to support middle school math work. 2:39:18
    • Joyce W. Watkins asked about the effect of reducing investment in benchmark testing. 3:04:05
  10. Graduation, accreditation and school ratings 3:16:30
    • A staff member said the graduation rate rose about a point and a half and that all schools were fully accredited for the 2nd year in a row. 3:16:30
    • A staff member said schools meeting expectations rose from 2 to 9 before federal identification. 3:25:33
    • A staff member said 14 district schools had their performance category reduced after federal targeted support identification, and schools needing intensive support went from 0 to 9. 3:38:47
  11. Board discussion of school ratings 3:42:59
    • One board member said a third of the high schools becoming TSI schools overnight did seem kind of arbitrary. 3:43:09
    • Donna Littlepage asked whether the threshold score explained why many schools were identified for students with disabilities. 3:44:04
    • A staff member said adjustments to the framework probably would not happen until 2029. 3:54:22
  12. Focus areas and principal presentations 3:55:25
    • A staff member described the Golden Thread, a literacy initiative with Radford University TTAC for students with individualized education plans and reading plans. 3:57:09
    • Principals of Lincoln Terrace Elementary School and James Breckenridge Middle School described their school improvement work. 3:59:33
    • One board member said a follow-up conversation would be welcome on the framework at the high school level, including use of the career and technical education centers. 4:08:50
  13. Board calendar and closed session 4:14:51
    • A speaker noted a special called meeting for the board next Wednesday at 5:30 PM and the upcoming VSBA statewide conference. 4:14:51
    • Joyce W. Watkins moved that the board convene in closed session on personnel matters and to consult with legal counsel. 4:17:09
    • The motion to convene in closed session was approved. 4:17:59

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Roanoke City School Board Special Meeting & Workshop: October 27, 2026”