Manassas educators present meet-and-confer recommendations; board hears staff priorities

Facilitators for Manassas City Public Schools' new meet-and-confer process presented a report to the school board on Feb. 10 outlining actionable recommendations on workload, planning time, professional development and communication.

Amy White, the co-facilitator and former associate superintendent of human resources for Prince William County Public Schools, and her co-facilitator described a four-session process that gathered school- and division-level input and synthesized common themes for board and leadership consideration. The presentation tied recommendations to division commitments and identified items that will need budget decisions, such as changes in pay or additional staffing.

Why it matters: The process produced specific proposals that affect everyday work for teachers and support staff, including scheduling changes, clarified leave practices and commitments to more differentiated professional learning.

Key recommendations included creating more uninterrupted planning time and protecting ‘‘gift of time’’ hours earlier in the school year; differentiating professional development to meet varied staff needs; clarifying and making more consistent leave and attendance policies; and exploring targeted compensation adjustments for positions with high responsibility. The facilitators noted some recommendations can be implemented quickly while others require budget action.

The Manassas Education Association president who spoke during public comment urged the board to prioritize workload balance and independent planning time, saying the union asked to "protect and increase independent planning time" and to clarify weekly meeting expectations so teachers are not pulled from direct student support.

Board members asked detailed questions about discipline, calendar development and committee composition. The facilitators and central-office staff described current division commitments: earlier sharing of summaries, expansion of outreach when the calendar is developed, tutorials and navigation aids for board documents, and pilot adjustments such as ensuring no elementary schools have CLT planning scheduled on Mondays and Fridays. On leave benefits, staff confirmed a division practice that grants two hours of "gift of time" and reported a new eight-hour paid leave benefit for attending a child's school event (in four-hour increments) as a division commitment.

Next steps: Leadership flagged budget season as the point when many recommendations will be prioritized and funded. The board was asked to decide which items to advance in the budget cycle and whether to continue the meet-and-confer process annually. Facilitators reported strong staff engagement; Amy White told the board that participants "felt heard and their voices respected."