School Board and Public Hearing Guidelines

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the School Board is taking the following steps for upcoming School Board meetings:

Upcoming School Board Meetings will be held virtually. Meetings are available for viewing live on the APS website and broadcast on Comcast Cable Channel 70 and Verizon FIOS Channel 41. Videos will also be posted on the School Board web pages following the meetings. The Regular School Board Meetings page will be updated regularly. Please check back frequently for any changes to our processes as we navigate the pandemic closure.

At this time, no in-person public comment will be allowed at regular Board meetings. In accordance with state code, for some specific meetings such as public hearings on the budget, an opportunity for public comment will be made available.

The April 21 Public Hearing on the Superintendent’s Revised Proposed FY 2021 Budget will take place at 7 p.m. Speakers will be assigned time slots. Speakers can sign up online at https://aps2016.apsva.us/school-board-meetings/sign-up-to-speak/ or by calling the School Board office at 703-228-6015. Electronic or phone sign-ups will be accepted up to 4 p.m. on the 21st.

IF YOU ARE NOT ABLE OR PREFER NOT TO ATTEND THE PUBLIC HEARING IN PERSON, you may submit your comments in one of the following ways:

• Use the form at https://aps2016.apsva.us/submit-your-comment-for-public-hearing-on-the-superintendents-proposed-fy-2021-budget/ to submit your Public Hearing comments.
• Leave a voicemail message at 703-228-6105 with your name, phone number and comments. Be sure to state that you would like these comments entered into the public hearing record. Your comments will be transcribed and shared with the Board.
• Send an email to Board@apsva.us with the subject line “Proposed 2021 Public Hearing comments”
• Comments submitted through any of the ways above will be added to the Public Hearing record and are subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.
• All Public Hearing comments received via email or through the online form received by 4 p.m. will be made available to the Board prior to the Public Hearing.

We encourage you to share your thoughts and comments with the School Board by email at School.Board@apsva.us. We ask that you minimize messages to individual board members, as they will be focused on communications about maintaining safe operations during the pandemic. The Board Office staff is teleworking and will be monitoring the School Board email account during normal business hours. Board members will receive regular reports of emails received and will have ready access to view all messages received.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this challenging time.