![Junior Diya Arun stares out a window. For Arun, the winter season brings out the holiday blues. “ I think [the winter] has a negative effect on my mental health because I feel like the cold weather and people around me are also sadder [and] that affects me,” Arun said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_8047-1200x800.jpg)
![French teacher Marieme Toure serves a plate of the Senegalese food she prepared for her AP French Language and Culture class, to senior Faiza Syed. “I never had Senegalese food before,” Syed said. “I thought it was so cool that she was able to bring a part of her culture [and] background to us.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_0798-1200x906.jpeg)
![The Phoenix varsity volleyball team lines up for the national anthem. “We were more communicative [with each other] during this game, and I feel like we kept our energy up, especially after the first set,” senior Jessica Valdov said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/DSC_0202-1200x800.jpg)
On Oct. 22, the Loudoun County School Board held a meeting to review budget balances for licensing products from private companies, modifications to policies that might affect future decisions in the new year, a new attendance policy, and the implementation of a new theme that advocates for students self improvement that will guide future options to consider including November being a month dedicated to family engagement in education.
One of the major items the school board discussed includes business and financial services. The board determined the fund projections for the remainder of the fiscal year, estimated the year-end fund balance for FY25, and updated the status of COVID funding. The financial reviews covered the School Operating Fund, School Nutrition Fund, Self-Insurance Funds, and the new Capital Improvement Program and Capital Asset Preservation Program funds. These funds cover the school’s food supply, operating money, construction and renovation, and overall budget.
Another update was Policy 4030 (Non-Locally Funded Programs), which are school programs that generally get money from outside sources like state and federal grants, instead of just local funding, which was adopted by the school board on Oct. 25, 2016. It needed additional clarification to assist with the definitions and guidelines of the types of non-locally funded programs, so the board decided to update it.
The request for change in reforms for the County End Funds Request will allow high schools in LCPS to build multiple types of projects as well as continue to cover day-to-day operating costs. Furthermore, the change in operating funds will allow high schools to refresh their technical equipment as well as multiple other items for students such as sports equipment and school items as well, leading to the total fund request to be over $7 million. Therefore, the capital fund is allowing these schools to continue their replacement and restoration projects and receive new equipment for their sports. The total accumulated request made was over $49 million.
In line with the new guiding theme of “Spark Discovery,” which emphasizes creativity and risk-taking, the school board recognized the importance of school psychologists. School psychologists work with administrators to collect academic data on students so teachers and staff can better understand how to teach content efficiently. The school board declared that the week of Nov. 11 to Nov. 15 would be School Psychologist Week.
Multiple items were to be created in response to recent legislative changes, but some were delegated to the local school board. One was the option to excuse attendance for various reasons. In order to give religious students a chance to practice, the school board made religion a valid excuse for tardiness, dismissal, or absence.
The next Loudoun County School Board Meeting will be held on Nov. 12.
