##VIDEO ID:99ZEvWRpZG8## one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all just to note the attendance here tonight to my left is Mr damarino M Martelli and the superintendent Mr Powers to my far right thank you for joining us M Riley from the Rainham Board of Selectmen as we're required to do we have either Bridgewater or Rainham Town officials Rainham this time to approve any contract Mr Lo the vice chair is downport and myself the chair Mr Fitz Gibbons there other members of the administration in attendance this evening all right uh so we're going to move right into contract ratification is there a motion to ratify the contract with the uh secretary's bark made by Miss Martelli second by Mr Lo uh any discussion M Martell m m Ry Mr de Marino I just note that um the the funds for this year's um funding of the agreement uh have been budgeted so there's no extra cost and there's no other cuts that need to happen due to this uh the following two years a 1% increases in the G uh we want to thank the uh secretary Clerk's Union uh for being very um very receptive in working together uh that said um we can take a vote to uh ratify the contract all those in favor say I I oppos it's unanimous M McDougall and M Riley I think you have fulfilled your duty thank you very much good night all right um so moving on to uh consent agenda is there a motion to approve the consent agenda which is approval of minutes from July and general ledge of warrants from July 25 and August 8 made by Mr D Marino second by m marelli all those in favor oppos unanimous thank you all right public comment anyone from the public wishing to comment uh come up state your name address Etc Vis A jimy and you've done this so much you know what to this particular Forum but thank you my name is Mr chairman members of the regional district school committee and superint pow uh my name is Christina a and I look at 221 Alro here in briw with my husband Ray I'm a member of the briw communities for civil rights CCR and earlier this summer we sent a letter to superintendent Powers with copies to members of theorum school committee and other Town officials expressing Our concern about the elimination of the position of Dei coordinator for this for the district I would like now to read that letter into the public record if I may Dear Mr poers Bridgewater commit for civil rights bccr is a community- based organization dedicated the rights of all persons while fostering open communication providing opportunities to examine soci issues of social justice and advocating for the elimination of Vibes and racism bccr recently learned about the elimination of several PHS within the pan Regional School District including the position of Dei coordinator although we understand that this decision was the result of diminished Financial Resources we wish to express our dismay and concern during Caleb aro's time as Dei coordinator for the for the district bccr followed and supported her work to Institute policies curriculum changes and training throughout the system guiding students faculty and staff towards a broader understanding of diversity equity and inclusion as members of the community vccr members urg the school district leaders to find ways to continue the progress made by all parties involved and not lose momentum after the death of George Floyd countless school districts corporations and universities instituted Dei programs and policies in reaction to the outcry against the institutional racism that was exposed recently we have observed a withdrawal of support for Dei programs across the country taking us backwards rather than towards progress this should not be allowed to take place in the Regal School District we hope that during the course of the summer there will be some budget relief that will make it possible JY and state some of these very critical positions at all levels including the Dei coordinator position we are willing to contact our state legislators other community leaders or anyone else you recommend to urge them to reinstate funding to local schools there is too much at stake to allow Dei support and training to l and thank you and the letter was signed by members of the executive committee of bccr which en coupled several members are here tonight including myself and my closing statement I just want to say that our two children are graduates of the Bridgewater R school district and we felt very well served by the Bridgewater system through the 80s and the 90s but now this is now 2024 times have changed and the expectations and needs of our communities are also different we urge you to do everything possible to reinstate the position of Dei coordinator and we are here to assist in any way that we can we cannot go back thank you thank you further public comment we're going to try to keep this to three minutes folks okay we can I never go never go over my time Sam 60 short Street Bridgewater I hadn't planned anything specific tonight but I did come in support of my fellow bccr members and I wanted to point out that I've spent three years working with Caleb baros on the townwide Dei committee and I know how hard she worked and I know how hard the staff and faculty have worked with three years of in service and I believe it's still going on so hoping that as the letter stated that the momentum will continue even without a person in that leadership role because it is so critical to our society now and I'm very proud of the fact that brid R has stayed the course on like many other districts around the country secondly just on a personal note I very much looking forward to stepping out to the running track on Monday are you going to be there with the keing Mr I'm not sure if it'll be me uh Sam I know you're probably an early bird so uh but with that track will be over there the kids have been out there on that this week and I'll wait till the cross country teams off so I don't embarrass myself and just another comment I've occasionally watched committee meetings on YouTube and again I find it hard to hear unless people put the microphones right in front of them I say the same thing to the counselors too so the mics are big and they look powerful but unless they're close to you still hard to thank you thank you Mr sir it's ma'am oh sorry no it's it's the Patriots I I I my name is Nancy Gil um 45 Winter Street uh very proud bridgew resident since 95 homeowner since 97 uh two children that are both um be uh graduates college graduates uh very very grateful uh as uh one of the previous speakers said for um the education that they receive um with that said um I am alarmed actually that um the thought of cutting um this coordinator position um because we are trying to continue the momentum of moving forward and you know I I read you know all the little lines here uh safe and supportive schools the district will employ uh coordinated efforts to ensure School environments where all students and staff are physically socially and emotionally supported how can we say that and then cut this position then my my my pragmatic side I'm like okay bu get it you know I looked to try and find out how much this bud this dis position was paid and for the life of me could not find it so I don't know if there's something that I personally can do I will do it because this position is too critical to the future of these young people coming through our schools and I I ask you to please if there's something I can do let me know thank you thank you m Gil and uh I apologize and I guess I need more diversity training and not gendering people as they walk to a microphone no worries sir thank you um all right we're going to move on and unfortunately um tonight we've had we have two um committee members who are away on other other business that already been planned um Mr demarino has other business that he is putting off to keep our Forum here for just a bit longer and M king um just had an emergency at work and couldn't make it so that being said we're going to try to just cut the agenda down so I'd like to make uh I'd like to entertain a motion to move agenda item 7c long range planning report forward uh to now made by Mr deino second by m Martelli all those in favor opposed it's unanimous U Miss D Miss Davenport's going to give the report um Miss Mainville uh is one obviously the people couldn't make it here tonight uh is the chair of the committee thank you Mr fitzg uh as you said I am speaking on behalf of Miss meeting bille tonight for our long long range sub report um these virtual meetings took place on August 13th and August 20th uh the following sub the following committee members were an attendance at both meetings Miss Mainville Mr Lo myself Miss Davenport and Mr fitzg also in attendance with superintendent Powers um Miss S roit as recording secretary and Miss Barry was there also during the um August 20th meeting sorry my apologies so it's August 20th instead of the August 19th instead of the 20th to inform the development of the 2425 goals and ensure that our meetings were productive productive and efficient Mr Powers provided an overview of the progress made on the Stu Student Success plan during the 2023 to 2024 Academic Year as well as worked to include the feedback and reactions he received from the school committee members during long sub committee meetings as well as feedback he received outside of these meetings the committee reviewed and voted on each of the superintendent 2425 key actions benchmarks and evidence separately and includeed discussion on the objections raised by school committee members during the July 24th SCH committee meeting spe specifically budgets can be contentious and that Gathering evidence to secure funding may be challenging in the current economic climate inclusion should extend to all extra curricular activities including all clubs although the committee opted not to amend any of the goals they worked to make sure that the key actions benchmarks and evidence include language to address the budget process process concerns as for uring that inclusion was extended to existing activities the committee agreed that this OB objective was important enough to receive consideration as a standalone initiative versus being included in the district Improvement goal number two as a result of our discussions I would like to make a motion to approve the superintendent 2024 excuse me 2025 key action benchmarks and evidence as presented and reflected in the long range planning meeting folder is there a second second second by Mr Lo discussion everyone had it in their folders I I'd just like to commend the entire committee and the superintendent for working so quickly and expeditiously to get this done and in place before the school year starts so that everyone is able to be on the same page that's great um and I would just like to see and I'd ask the superintendent just to make sure this happens or Mr Mo probably I don't know uh that it ends up on the website so that folks can hold us and you accountable to what we say we're going to do for the year that said no further discussion see we go okay all those in favor I I opposed it's unanimous all right I would entertain a motion to uh table the remaining agenda topics until our September 25th meeting and to uh then adjourn at 7:20 pm tonight made by Miss Miss Martelli seconded by Mr D Marino uh to table Yeah well let's do the table first we're going to split that second all right so uh that that can that can have some discussion Jing canot um any discussion on the table seeing none all those in favor opposed it's unanimous all right is there a motion to aair made by m Martelli second by Mr de Marino all those in favor opposed it's unanimous thank you