Manassas board moves revised grading policy to action and approves calendar change for April special election

At its March 11 meeting the Manassas City School Board advanced a revised grading policy to the action docket and approved a one-item calendar revision related to a scheduled special election.

Board member Stevens presented an updated grading policy that the board described as an "umbrella" statement establishing principles for fair, consistent and transparent grading across the division while delegating day-to-day specifics to superintendent regulations. The proposal would require the superintendent to maintain implementing regulations, reviewed every two years with stakeholder input.

Stevens and other board members stressed that the policy separates academic performance from behavioral conduct and that any regulatory changes would not take effect mid-year. As board members noted, the policy restores a pre-pandemic approach in which the board sets policy-level guidance and the superintendent and staff write details in regulations.

Chair Spall and other members said the regulation-writing process would include stakeholder input from educators, administrators and others, and one board member requested staff follow up with a redline to remove duplicated paragraphs before final adoption.

Separately, the board voted 7-0 to approve a revision to the 2025'26 school calendar: April 20, 2026 will be a regular instructional day and April 21, 2026 will be a professional day for staff and closed to students because of a scheduled special election. The motion was moved by Miss Seberg and seconded and carried without opposition.

Earlier in the meeting the board also approved the consent agenda and heard presentations and public comment on the FY2027 proposed budget and family-engagement programming. The grading-policy revision will return on the action docket at a later meeting, and any implementing regulations would take effect the following school year to avoid mid-year changes for families and staff.