Committee approves purchase of Hampton toolkit with grant funds to standardize lesson planning

The Finance & Facilities Committee unanimously supported staff’s plan to acquire an instructional resource toolkit developed by Hampton City Schools and fund the purchase with grant money, including Title II allocations.

A staff presenter said the toolkit includes lesson plans, presentations and assessments aligned to the Virginia Standards of Learning and Bloom’s taxonomy. The presenter said the district obtained proposals, identified covered content from pre‑K through grade 12 across subject areas, and found a roughly $50,000 annual cost for the full K–12 content suite; staff said they plan to use grant funds earmarked for such instructional resources so no operational budget dollars are required in the near term.

The presenter said the toolkit is flexible: teachers who prefer to create their own lessons would retain that autonomy, and the district will roll the toolkit out with professional development and a limited pilot to support implementation. The presenter added that she had consulted with finance staff before purchase to confirm minimal recurring cost exposure and said the purchase will be paid with grant funds that the district needs to expend.

Committee members asked whether the toolkit would add ongoing costs to future operating budgets; staff replied that the initial purchase would be covered by grants and that the division believes the recurring cost is low enough to be absorbed within instructional budgets if necessary. Members also asked that the Academic Success committee review the toolkit in August for a demonstration and deeper discussion. The committee approved a motion recommending the purchase to the full board and flagged that Academic Success will conduct a detailed review and provide guidance for rollout and professional development.