Hello, Mr. Evans, Dr. Sovine and Board members. As you know, I am Roger Stenersen, speaking on behalf of Rising to Learn, a
nonprofit organization which follows the actions of the Board of Education and reports them to the public. Members of the
public are invited to join with us by navigating to our website at RisingtoLearn.com. This evening, I ask that you as a Board
reflect on the outcomes of your work over the past fourteen months to determine your success.
Stakeholders have increasing concerns about the loss of experienced, talented, dedicated professionals who are leaving or have
left WCPS. Over the past fourteen months, we have seen the departure of both the school system’s Chief Legal Counsel and
Deputy Legal Counsel; those positions remain vacant. The absence of consistent in-house legal guidance weakens an important
layer of oversight and increases the risk of decisions that may not fully align with policy and law, including the Open Meetings
Act. Strong legal guidance is essential to protect the integrity and compliance of our school system. This Board’s Policy Review
and Development Committee has not met since July due to the lack of a liaison, who in the past has been the Chief Legal
Counsel.
The departure of the Director of Special Education and the elimination of the position of Supervisor of Equity and Excellence
under your watch have impacted the work of ensuring and advancing equity and inclusion necessary to meet the needs of ALL
WCPS students and raise concern about your intent and the school system’s obligations to maintain the strong and consistent
support on which WCPS students and its employees depend. The loss of an experienced, effective, and highly regarded Associate Superintendent, a Deputy Communications Officer, and building-level administrators and teachers could be attributed to the lack of a positive, supportive work culture. These losses undermine stability and the forward momentum of WCPS.
Leaving key positions unfilled and the eliminating others negatively impacts the effectiveness of the school system and the work
of its employees. At what point does continuing to eliminate positions and shifting responsibilities onto already overburdened
staff undermine the excellence all should be striving for? A culture of fear and discouragement, overburdening, and undervaluing
is not conducive to excellent employee performance. Remember, employee performance impacts student success.
This Board has not adhered to its own policies regarding meetings and has altered policies to align with the personal agendas of
individual members. While touting the importance of safety and security and bemoaning out of control students, this Board was
unsupportive of increasing the number of much needed school security officers proposed by the Superintendent in his
recommended budget last year.
It comes with little surprise and deep concern, that now WCPS is losing its Superintendent. Dr. Sovine has consistently modeled
a positive, collaborative approach to his work, provided highly effective leadership, and is recognized in our community and in
the states of Maryland and Virginia as a transformative leader.
These are outcomes of this Board’s actions and conduct over the past fifteen months. Increasing concerns from the community
extend beyond what can be presented to you in four minutes this evening. This Board’s decisions, directives to the
Superintendent, and the culture of discouragement that has been created in our school system are not serving well our students,
employees, and community. This along with pandering to the County Commissioners by not requesting the funding necessary to
meet the needs of students is leading us down the path to being a second-class school system.
Rising to Learn urges you to reflect, to reassess and to do better. Be strong advocates for the funding necessary to address the
increasing needs of our students and to provide livable and competitive wages to WCPS employees. The students, employees,
and Washington County deserve better.