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Home My WebLink About10-06-25 LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING - MINUTES DATE: October 6, 2025 TIME: 9:00 a.m. PLACE: Community Empowerment Center, 40 Douglass Avenue, N.W, Roanoke, Virginia PRESIDING: Vice-Mayor S. Terry McGuire, Chair I. Call to Order, Roll Call, 10:46 a.m. PRESENT: Mayor Joseph L. Cobb, Council Members Nicolas Hagen, Vivian Sanchez-Jones, Phazhon Nash, Peter Volosin, Evelyn Powers, and Roanoke City School Board Representatives Mary "Franny" Apel and Deidre Trigg. OTHERS PRESENT: Preston Bryant, Legislative Liaison representative, McGuire Woods Consulting, LLC, via web teleconference/Microsoft Teams. ABSENT: None. OFFICERS PRESENT: Valmarie H. Turner, City Manager; Sam Roman, Deputy City Manager; Timothy R. Spencer, City Attorney; and Dr. Alan Seibert, Constituent Services and Government Relations Officer, Roanoke City Schools. LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE SECRETARY: Cecelia McCoy, City Clerk, City of Roanoke. II. Opening Remarks: Chairman S. Terry McGuire III. Approval of Minutes: Board Member Hagen moved that the reading of the minutes be dispensed with and approved as recorded. The motion seconded by Board Member Volosin and adopted by the following vote: AYES: Board Members Hagen, Sanchez Jones, Mayor Cobb, Nash, Volosin, Powers, Apel,, Trigg and Chairman McGuire-9. NAYS: None-0. 1 IV. Discussion of the Legislative Items: Board Member Apel presented the following recommendations to the General Assembly from the Roanoke City Public Schools (RCPS) division: • Local Control - RCPS urges elected officials to empower local School Board to innovate and respond to the unique needs of their communities by preserving and strengthening local authority. • School Safety & Security - Safe schools are essential for learning. RCPS supports policies that promote shared responsibility for maintaining secure environments and funding to modernize facilities. • Commitment to Serving All Students - RCPS urge lawmakers to share in this commitment to improving outcomes for all students, understanding the diverse families that make up our community, and the efforts necessary to improve outcomes for all learners. • Governance and Budget - RCPS recommends that the calculation of salary and other cost assumptions use the division average rather that the linear weighted average and adjust the SOQ formula to remove the cap on non-personnel cost assumptions to account for facility staff costs. • Employee Compensation - RCPS appreciates the General Assembly's efforts to invest in PK-12 employee compensation. Virginia's average teacher salary remains below the national average, and much higher wages in Northern Virginia skew the figures. Teachers in Southwest Virginia earn significantly less, and inflation has outpaced salary increases. • Assessment & Accountability Modernization - The state RFP for assessments is still pending; this flexibility support the modernization and assessments and inform efforts to refine and improve the new School Accountability System, the School Performance and Support Framework (SPSF). (See complete RCPS Legislative Priorities for 2026 General Assembly Recommendation in the Secretary's Office). Board Member Volosin recommended consideration for an appointed School Board versus an elected School Board. 2 Preston Bryant recommended engaging in discussions with State Legislators David Suetterlein, Sam Rasoul, and Joseph McNamara to garner support for key priorities and the judicial positioning of specific items. Mr. Bryant asked the Board to familiarize themselves with the important General Assembly Deadlines as follows: • November - December o Legislators typically work with Division of Legislative Services (DLS) on legislative research and bill drafting. • November 17, 2025 o Legislators can begin pre-filing legislation • December 1 (5:00 p.m.) o All requests for pre-filing legislation must be submitted to DLS - this is a hard deadline. • December 31 (Midnight) o DLS provides legislators with draft of their bills and resolutions • January 7, 2026 (5:00 p.m.) o Legislators must provide DLS request for re-drafts and corrections to bills and resolution • January 13, 2026 (12:00 pm) o DLS must make all bill drafts available to Legislators • January 14, 2026 (10:00 am) o General Assembly convenes; Legislators must introduce any bills subject to pre-filing Mayor Cobb highlighted the work of the City's newly formed Hope and Home Task Force as another key initiative for consideration. This new task force is dedicated to studying the root causes of homelessness, proposing sustainable solutions, and leveraging community resources to address the issue effectively. Its mission includes examining the factors contributing to homelessness, assessing the impact on local services and resources, and developing strategies to expand housing options and foster greater community collaboration in combating homelessness. He referenced developments regarding state laws identified to directly address the transportation of homeless people from a medical facility to a rescue mission. Chairman McGuire recommended adding another Legislative meeting on October 20, 2025 to solidify legislative recommendations. The Board unanimously concurred. 3 V. Upcoming Meetings: The next meeting of the Legislative Committee will be held Monday, October 20, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. and Monday, November 3, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. in the City Council Chambers. VI. Other Business: None VII. Adjournment: No further business to come before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 11 :06 a.m. APPROVAL ATTEST /9- -4i/ () .2,‘ s, c/nE.t S. Terry McGuire Cecelia F. McCoy Chairman Secretary 4