1. Revised: Regular Meeting
Stafford County School Board
Tuesday March 25th, 2014
7pm Bandy Complex
School Board Members:
Irene Egan Aquia District
Scott Hirons Falmouth District
Holly H. Hazard Hartwood District
Patricia Healy Rockhill District
Nanette A. Kidby Garrisonville District
Dewayne McOsker, Jr. George Washington District
Dana Reinboldt Griffis-Widewater District

2. Audience
● Approximately 50 people
● A lot of them were teachers or retired teachers
● Mostly female
● Some names of members (speakers): James
McCrossly, Jeffery Trigger, Theresa Thompson,
Paul Lagoswky, D. Martin, Steve Trant,
Catherine Dennis, Jeramiah Hickens

3. Structure of Meeting
● It had an outline of how it wanted to go but it
seemed to have an open forum where people
could speak if they wanted to (for 3 mins) but
after that time they had to stop. They could
discuss whatever they needed to, but it usually
related to the budget.
● The head chairperson would address an issue
that was on the agenda and one of the other
members would agree/disagree and then it
would be voted on from there

4. S.o.M. continued
●
Call to Order
●
Invocation and Pledge
●
Approval of Agenda
●
Citizen's Comments
●
Board Member Committee Reports
●
Board Member Comments
●
Superintendent's Comments
●
Consent Items
●
Action Items
●
Staff Reports
●
Announcement of Upcoming Meetings
●
Closed Session
●
Closed Session Certification/Action
●
Adjournment

5. Speakers
●
Jeffery Trigger: retaining teachers in the county, 5th year teacher, credible
●
Theresa Thompson: retired teacher, talked about the budget and how the board should ask the
county for more money, credible
●
Paul Lagowsky: he rambled about a lot of stuff that didn't seem to make sense, not credible
●
D. Martin: former employee of the county, discussed retiree benefits, credible
●
Steve Trant: also discussed retiree benefits, the “Bridge” program, the red light came on for him
so he had to stop his talk, credible
●
Catherine Dennis: worked at SHS and NSHS, 22 years experience, also discussed “Bridge”
program, credible
●
Jeramiah Hickens: 4th grader at Widewater, discussed how much he enjoyed his school, did not
want redistricting, credible (and adorable)

6. Summary of Issues Discussed
● Many people spoke about the retirement
benefits and the Bridge program, but the budget
was also discussed a lot. The board had to call
a special meeting in order to finalize it before
they took it to the county because they were
unable to reach a decision during the meeting
(or the Budget Meeting that was just before the
School Board Meeting).

7. Summary of Board Member
Comments
● Many of the members discussed how the
superintendent was leaving and that they were
sad to see him go but happy he was there when
he was
● Some addressed what the audience talked
about and how they get many emails and try to
reply to as many as they can but it is difficult
and they are trying their best
● One brought up Stafford Counties 350th
Anniversary and the celebration at MVHS

8. Effectiveness of Presenters
● They effected me but I'm not sure how much
they could affect the board. The board can only
do so much, but I think that the presenters had
a right to speak before the board and show the
board what real teachers/retired teachers felt
about certain decisions that had or were about
to be made.

9. People’s Reaction to Board
Members’ Comments
•For the most part, no one really
commented on what the members had to
say, but I did hear some quiet mutterings
behind me. A few people called them weak
and that they had no backbone. Someone
said something about how the
superintendant voted down a Bridge
members’ issue.

10. Decisions SB Made
● The chose not to approve the redistricting of
Widewater Elementary School
● They decided to have a special meeting for the
budget on 3/31

11. Differing Views
● Audience: no one in the audience seemed to
have differing views, at least none that were
expressed
● The board: I think that, for the most part, the
board all agreed on issues or, in the case of
Widewater Elementary, they let the chairperson
for that district make the decision because they
knew it better than the others

12. Productive?
● Personally, I don't think this meeting was very
productive. They had to go to a special meeting
about the budget and there weren't really any
other issues that needed to be discussed. The
audience had a chance to talk to the board and
air their grievances but that might have been
the only necessary part of the meeting.

13. Quote
“School board members experience considerable
pressure as they listen to and weigh the
competing demands of citizen advisory groups,
the business community, parents with special
concerns […], the teachers' association, and
local and state politicians, who often are key in
funding decisions” (Ornstein, Levine, Gutek, &
Vocke, 2011,218).

14. My Thoughts
● I thought that the meeting went okay. I
understand where the citizen's are coming from
and why they are upset with the retirement
benefits and the lack of funds, but the board is
stuck in a bind as well. They are in the position
to try and get money for the schools but the
county doesn't like to give out money so then
people are mad at the board. It's just a bad
situation to be in.

15. Reference
Ornstein, Allan C., Levine, Daniel U., Gutek,
Gerald L., & Vocke, David E. (2011).
Foundations of Education. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.