website in 24 hours if we could call the role alphabetically by last name Bowen here conry here Constantine here here oh sorry green here I heard alen b um Ursula is not here Steve are you here we're calling the roll yes I I am here I can't get on with video so I'm just coming through the phone okay thank you okay at Mount Greylock Regional School District our mission is to create a community of Learners working together in a safe and challenging learning environment that encourages restorative based processes respect inclusive diversity courtesy integrity and responsibility through high expectations and cooperation resulting in lifelong learning and personal growth next up on our agenda is our student update so I'm going to turn it over to our student would you like to introduce yourself hi everyone my name is smra I'm a senior um this is my fourth year on student council and I'm stepping in for Charlotte who's um in DC this semester so I think we just had a student council meeting earlier today and right now we're working on cards for Teacher Appreciation Week um we had I think a junior Kaa um made these digital designs and we're going to print them out and have everyone sign them for all the teachers and all the Paras um I'm trying to think what else we um we're working on V we have a vending machine subcommittee um I think Selena is trying to head trying to get either add a subcommittee or kind of move the one to kind of bring that back since covid um we're also um I'm in I'm in rev and we have had some dwindling members a lot of um the founders graduated or kind of moved on to different things so we're working to try and make that a part of student council like have a permanent subcommittee I know rev usually hands out stickers at um the election and helps with voter registration and things like that and kind of tries to bring in um different speakers so I think that technically falls under student council and a lot of people who are in student council are also interested in rev so we're trying to kind of merge those so the club doesn't um all graduate this year um we're also uh working on Greylock talks we we were supposed to bring in a Williams college student um who's very prominent in um the kind of AI discourse um last Thursday but we had a snow day so we're trying to reschedule that um and yeah I think that's I think that's the gist of it um yeah great thank you any questions fora from the committee thank you so much wel welcome thank you for joining us and for the update yep no worries bye bye okay next up on the agenda we have public comment there is um public comment from um somebody through email and it is in our packet I just want to bring it to the attention of the committee if you didn't see it earlier today um and I don't see any other members of the public so we we will move on to approval of minutes would someone like to make a motion to approve the March 14th 2024 minutes so moved Curtis has moved do I have a second I'll second Julia seconds any comments I did notice a minor typo where it said syn instead of sick but I think think that's very minor okay all in favor B and I conry I Constantine I Elfen Bine I green I Miller I thank you that motion passes okay we are moving on to the principal report Nolan I turn it over to you good evening thank you for having me tonight I have to would like to talk about the cape trip that's coming up um it's going to happen this year May 28th to May 31st uh we depart early Tuesday morning the coach bus to and from the cape and then when we're on the cape it is a bus to drive around uh pretty much almost the exact same as last year with a few different details and I'll touch on those towards the end one big detail is Hancock Elementary School is joining us this year in the past they've done it uh last year they did not join us this year they are joining us so there's 25 lboro students seven Hancock students and 10 sh chapron um five male five female chaperon and one of those male chaperon is a Lanesboro police officer uh the entire trip roughly cost $30,000 that's pre fundraising which breaks I think uh Rob told me it was $798 per student before the fundraising uh and there was a lot of fundraising efforts this year to bring the cost down to $336 per student and we've had I think I've already seen four or five checks from local businesses looking to sponsor students not that we need that many students to have sponsorships um but those who in are in need or um have the opportunity to join the trip um through those sponsorships so Tuesday they leave bright and early from lboro elementary I think 6:30 a.m. they depart um lboro they go to this first stop is Mystic Aquarium they do the kitchens classroom for a squid dissection um they do a Seine show they do the XC theater they do if you've been to um Mystic Aquarium it's a great time students can't bring digital cameras they can bring the old school disposable cameras and last year was the first time I ever went on this trip and they use almost all of their photos on that first day they're running around enjoying that trip and it is great to see them have so much fun and learn about Aquatic Life then they pack up they eat lunch there they pack up they spend way too much time in the the gift shop and then they head to the uh head to Camp get their rooms do some team building and have dinner and have their first night at camp on Wednesday they go to the long pasture wild wildlife um and this has a couple different stations the first one of the station that I remember the most from last year is when they're into marshlands it was like watching a bunch of four and five-year-olds play soccer everyone's just chasing the newest fine so like something will pop up on the beach and all the kids will run to see it um so they're focusing on water cycles among Land Ocean and the at atmosphere um and how that is focused um propelled by sunlight and gravity and they understand the complex interactions determine like local weather patterns and how that affects those Wetlands um so then after after their time at the wetlands they then do a nature hike at the freshwater Kettle Pond then they're back for dinner team building activities and then they watch the whale watch they have the whale watch naturalist come in and talk about what they're going to see on the whale watch the next day day uh so on Thursday they do the whale watch they get up right in early they go see the whales um it's in Ptown and then that after they get out and do the whale watch they do a trip to race Point Beach for view of the oceans side geology in action through um The Long Shore drift and then they spend a little bit of time in P toown exploring the shops and they're back they pack up that night they get ready to go they have dinner and it lights out and Fry this is the trange they're no longer going to the Plymouth Plateau they are touring Plymouth with the Jenny Museum and then they're going to the Harvard Museum of Science and after they do those two things they head back to Lanesboro they usually arrive back at 5:00 p.m for students or for those of you who know have had students go on the trip they're usually escorted by police officers through town um just to celebrate their arrival home uh which is special for a lot of parents because not many parents have been four days away from their children so it's special for parents and for students and then they're home and they're exhausted for the weekend so to fundraise for this trip we sold candy bars we have corporate sponsors we did a DME to donate we had flower bow um we did Penny Wars we've had two different dance aons we had a four through six Danon and we had a k through3 danceon we had a basketball versus um a students versus staff basketball game and a parent Le raffle so those are all the things we did to fundraise and what questions do you have for me Julia um that's awesome and I'm so glad that that uh tradition lives on I I'm just trying to square the fundraising things which is also awesome and in of itself is I imagine a really great set of Community Builders how does that impact the $30,000 for the entire trip so what is now the cost per family uh the cost per family now is $336 so it was initially 798 um and sorry um and this I mean last year we we fundraised more money but last year we also had 13 more students in the class and that you know affects the total amount of fundraising that can be done overall they did a really good job fundraising this year um yeah awesome and and how um are are there families for whom that's still a hardship and what do we do for them yes so there are we do have a couple families in mind and we have already um a lot of local businesses that have students that went to lboro already have sent checks to sponsor students um like I I'm going through the checks I saw in the last two days and I just don't remember any of the businesses off the top of my head but there's checks that come in from these businesses looking to sponsor students and they're usually from local businesses of students who went on the cave trip other questions thank you Nolan all righty okay have sorry and have we already approved that as an overnight trip or do we not have to as a you do need to it'll be coming to you in May because I don't believe we have brought it forward yeah okay good question thank you Nolan okay up next on the agenda the business administrator report hello everybody thank you um so first up fy2 budget process update uh since the public hearing which was that the last time we met oh my good goodness that feels like it's ancient history now but we we um collectively as a team uh we met with the Williamstown um town finance committee and the lboro finance committee and select boards um all of those meetings I think went about as smoothly as meetings of that sort can um there were certainly you know great questions I I think they were fielded in ways that that satisfied the the needs and interests of those boards um and we are now looking forward to to the two Town meetings which are um mentioned within the agenda I believe in upcoming meetings so that so they're just on on people's calendars um we do not foresee any um any noteworthy issues in terms of budget approval as of right now you know but every it it is up to the town's people to uh attend town meeting and vote in favor um of the budget that we've put forward um also of note um there have been some Rumblings and and I think you might have seen through masc at various points um about um some concerns with Chapter 70 calculations and and how some school districts did not receive as much funding um as they've calculated as um should have received um or should be projected to receive and um we are not one of those school districts um so our interest right now is really just making sure that that we don't see any decline in funding as funding is allocated in that direction and we have seen no uh no indication from the state thus far that that that would uh be in play at all um so it's kind of a non-issue for our district as of right now uh but are there any questions about the fy2 budget and where we stand and where we're headed all right well then the next item of interest uh the Williams Elementary playground design and construction um this is there is no vote here tonight um last week when we were working on the agenda I had some hopes that that we were going to manage to get a little bit further along in the process than um than we have but what uh was dropped in your packet this afternoon arrived last night um from the the state contract vendor um that we have been working with to try to figure out out how to um make sure that every every box is checked as far as um interests and needs that have been voic by whether it's our special education teaching Community or our broader Community during Outreach that we did last spring um and with the variety of Staff who have been working on the topic um this design that you see is is definitely still draft um there are a number of of aspects of it um that will ser certainly not go to the final um but this is about the third or fourth iteration that we've seen from the company that we're working with um to be able to push that forward so this is purely informational at this point I do hope however that we will pretty quickly hear over the next few weeks get to a point where we are ready to bring something forward for approval um we are currently sticking within um the budget as we've described and was generally um support uh during a vote a couple months ago um and uh so so we're hopeful that we will get a final version to you quickly here um I might try to and and I haven't really tried to work through this yet because I I don't want to you know uncross my fingers on it might try to call a special meeting um if needed um only because given our timeline of trying to get this um ordered have it arrive and constructed during the summer period um we're kind of bumping up against some some tight tight timelines there so um that's where we stand at the moment um what I'm thinking will happen next is um we're going to take what we received last night what you have there in your packet um we're going to work with it internally this week get back to the vendor um and then we're going to go through a process of there are some areas here that are um that are potentially um malleable in terms of us being able to to do things with students and families to try to help um have some final decisions some final choices between a orb type type um bits um done through the community and so uh we'll probably go through that process um and then once we have a final and we are ready to bring It Forward for approval um we will include that design plus the probable contract in packet material for you with with plenty of time to um go through it and we will look for a vote so that we can then execute that contract get things ordered in our hands by late June early July so that then all of the construction can happen in July and early August um that's what we're looking at right now you can certainly discuss but as uh as I noted this is a rough draft so nothing here is set in stone but um both during this meeting as well as outside the meeting I welcome every individual conversation that I can possibly have on the topic because it is one of those um generational items for for everybody to use at that school all right next up um lbur Elementary School solar lease and PPA um the documents that you have in your packet are um so taking a step back um all of what you have in your packet is identical to what you had seen back in December and then January prior to us getting the approval and signatures done for Williamstown Elementary School um we've worked with the uh lboro town hall and lboro select board last night the lboro select board um gave their official consent via vote for us to enter into the lease as is in the packet here um so as of uh last night that was U approved by them ready to go um so what we're looking for you to do here tonight is to Simply say the same thing that you did for Williamson elementary school that is um you approve the the lease and Power purch purch agreement um all of them have you know they went through the vetting process with our Council um with the state's procurement process um and now also with lboro Town Hall and the lboro select board um leading up to this so it's kind of these have jumped through all of those Hoops now um and they are ready to go um and just for people coming in fresh to this I don't know if we've got anybody on the zoom that that would be new um the project at hand here is the state about a year and a half ago announced uh the Green School Works program which is a state funding opportunity for um the state to fund the replacement of an existing roof on a school building um and the stipulation in order to receive that funding is that you need to have a significant solar project shovel ready contracted ready to go um so it's a way for the state to both help um entities with the cost of new roofs but also to ensure that renewable energy will be at the core of of how schools are developing and investing um all of that will happen um as currently projected without any outlay by the school district or by the the member Town um by extension um so this is not a commitment to any sort of investment or any sort of uh outlay of any sort um what it will do is it will put us in um a at the front of the line for the state's program as soon as they release funding um it looks like it won't be here in fy2 but hopefully in FY 26 to get the roof done have a solar developer get the substantial solar installation on the roof and have US enter into an agreement where we will be P purchasing electricity um from that solar installation at a um cost per Kil up that is significantly lower than anything that we will be paying um through our contracts we put out to bid for uh grid delivered electricity that was all just all things that you've all heard I'm just saying it for whoever might be listening who is wondering what a solar roof lease project is thanks Joe so um I guess we can make a motion um would someone like to make a motion to approve the Lanesboro so lboro Elementary School solar lease and power purchase agreement so moved Curtis moves do I have a second milliseconds milliseconds any discussion all in favor Owen I conry I Constantine I Elfin Bine I m I thank you I can't hear did Carrie vote H I think we may have lost Carrie she's having trouble with her um internet connection I was also having trouble getting into the meeting earlier today so I I don't know if that's but it might be her internet connection but I had trouble for several minutes and just switched to my phone okay are you guys waiting for a a vote for me because yeah I it keeps cutting out and cutting back in so I missed the last couple of minutes yes so we um there is a motion on the table to approve the Lanesboro Elementary School solar lease and power purchase agreement okay green eye thank you that motion passes thank you so just to wrap that up we'll we'll get everything executed this week or or early next week um and then really we'll just be playing a waiting game to to see when the state um really opens up the the possibility to get this done both elementary schools at that point will be um ready to go and hopefully will both be accepted at the same time into the inaugural class of the Green School Works program um but that is still uh to be determined great thank you for the work on that okay next up on the agenda superintendent report thank you uh Christina and thank you Joe for all the work on all of the uh items you discussed um I'm going to do school choice participation report ideally that ends with no action from you all at all um to remain in the school choice program which I assume we will we need take no action were we to opt out of school choice that would require a vote um Joe is then going to jump in and do a brief presentation on the student Opportunity Act on our plan uh for the next three years which you have seen or will see aligns pretty closely with where I was going with my uh superintendent goals and uh then just a brief brief conversation about the super attendants Round Table about the conversation we're having on Friday the 12th with our legislative delegation um and uh and so with that I will um share my screen and put up a presentation pretty much that you have seen uh before for anybody that may be watching this later on YouTube I will not belabor much of this since you all many of you could could deliver this uh as well as I can because you have seen it so many times but just really a a brief touch base on where we are with school choice and recommendations for where we're open and where we're not open next year and I think um to to just use a brief phrase to identify where I think we're looking at for school choice next year for the 2425 school year we are really looking at a constriction of uh of bringing in new school choice students uh as you will see for yourself um school choice has been around now for since 1993 so decades old um a school district does have the choice to not accept school choice students the school district does not have a choice about students who live within the district opting to go to other districts that that do accept school choice students um Mount Greylock and our two member towns prior to regionalization are longtime participants in the school choice program uh important things to remember once a yes is given to a family that there is space and it's offered to them through school choice uh that space their enrollment lasts until that student graduates or until the family chooses to place the student into another program another school district or to home school uh school choice there is no Transportation offered families are on their own to provide that Transportation uh every year we get requests to provide transportation folks that live near a bus stop uh we we stick religiously to um to the spirit of the school choice regulations which is that's not really appropriate and we do not do that uh in general a school choice student coming into our district has $5,000 in school choice tuition attached to their attendance and our students that opt to leave our district has $5,000 that the Regional School District pays for that follows that student and we do two random selections uh for open school choice slots one the last week of the school year or it's not actually the last week this year because we're getting out on June 13th unless we have another late uh late year snow day and then we do another round if we need to and there's reason to and we do believe we have openings the week before school starts um school choice for anybody watching this that perhaps you know is is befuddled by the fact that we tend to spend 20 ,000 Plus on average for each of our students and school choice students only come in with $5,000 following them from their Town um this graphic just merely illustrates really the spirit of school choice which is you have a classroom with a teacher with students who are residents of of one of Two Towns or new Ashford or Hancock uh at uh Lanesboro Elementary or at Mount Greylock Regional School and then perhaps in some classes you do have what you would consider additional space that's additional space that comes with no real additional cost to the school district you're not adding a teacher you're not adding additional electricity or heat to the building you're not adding uh additional pair of professionals you're not adding a new principal you're not opening up a new bus route these are really students who are coming in at really no cost to the district taking up an empty desk those are the the what we open up for school choice uh seats school choice can increase the diversity of a school district that was really one of the AIMS in the original 1993 legislation that led to school choice becoming law in Massachusetts uh I think researchers would take some exception as to whether that is actually an outcome come but that was certainly embedded in the hopes for school choice um school choice without question uh adds real value to to aspects of our of our school life and our school Culture by bringing in uh students from other communities and uh it allows consistency for families who start their school career with us um and where possible life circumstances May force them to move away from one of our two commun ities and school choice can and occasionally does provide us an opportunity to keep an individual child as a member of our school Community even though life circumstances has taken them out of being able to live in lboro or W uh we use school choice strategically and appropriately we do understand that the folks who reside in Lanesboro the folks who reside in Pittsfield or in Williamstown um it's an investment it's a choice that families make uh often times very specifically in order to access the excellent public schools of the Mount Greylock Regional School District and and we do understand that people who choose to make that investment in where they reside and who are able to make that investment in where they reside we have to protect that and we have to value that investment and we have to respect that there are sometimes when um circumstances create the need that that a district may want to use school choice to increase their overall School enrollment in order to keep schools open in order to keep teachers employed Care Professionals employed custodians cafeteria staff employed that's not really the case with us um we definitely take a look at that first bullet very very hard as you will see uh later in this presentation we are not in a position to need to increase our enrollment um our enrollments have actually gone up over the last uh three or four years very organically by new families coming into our communities and coming into hanok and moving into new Ashford and uh so that second bullet really does not pertain to us although certainly their districts in Burk County in the Commonwealth where that is the case uh and and school choice requires um real vigilance you've heard me say it before I'll say it again um we keep an eye on our class sizes our sections sizes our grade level sizes year round so we can be really ready to have this conversation about school choice um our desire to welcome families who want to be here that's one that's our hearts leading that we would take every school choice student perspective applicant if we could but we also need to be realistic about protecting the uh local investment that folks make and just being realistic about what can we do and at what point are we stretching ourselves to things and so we are very strategic and I think very appropriate about how we utilize school choice this is a look back that includes the the current school year on school choice numbers the blue columns are the number of students that we are receiving the red columns are the number of students that are going out um I am not sure I did not get a chance to double check either of those numbers for this year this data is from probably mid November about what October one reports were saying um I'm not sure we're in the ballpark on both of those 94 in in 45 uh out um impacts of school choice just looking at this year overy year um you can see that this current school year about 7% of our total School District population is comprised of school choice students um I I I am thinking now having been here for four years and and looking forward to to year five next year along with our team including Joe uh we we would think that that 5 to 8% is probably the appropriate number for for for us to have um that that really tracks back to just being able to offer everything that we can do not that we want to offer and need to offer to our own resident students um not wanting to stretch ourselves too thin and wanting to be really respectful of the investment that our two towns and the residents of those two towns make in our school district uh these enrollment summaries I'm not going to belabor you have seen these before when we discussed our enrollment back in December um so you know looking ahead to to Choice openings this green column is really where um where I want to direct your your attention for for what we're looking at um at Lanesboro Elementary School we're really looking at a total of of maybe uh let's see 12 18 openings um kindergarten that's really amazing and that's one where we we tend to protect kindergarten for siblings of students that are already in the district per school choice which our policy allows us um to to consider that um really the the only two grades that we are looking at and and and will we accept six students in second grade next year no will we accept six students in grade four no um but but uh but but that would be the maximum that we are looking at and prior to our acceptance we will have identified numbers edged in stone about how many students were're willing to look at as we work to protect our own class sizes as we look at the needs of of individual students that comprise those classes Williamstown Elementary we're looking at an even larger contraction of school choice openings um really looking at a total of of maybe five openings at Williamstown Elementary out of the the 440 or so students that will comprise that school next year uh we just we we have a very good handle on what our needs are and and talking about the needs of all children but really looking at very specific needs and understanding that some classes uh even regular grade level classes were just better serving students by keeping the number of students at 12 students or 13 or 14 or 15 students and so again very strategic very um tight use of school choice at Williamstown Elementary School uh and at mgrs uh over across the parking lot at the Mount Greylock Regional School really looking and and you can see sort of the tail of the tape uh grade grade seven this year is 113 students grade eight is is 100 students grade n is 93 students um we're looking at a potential for our seventh grade next year including our our friends and Neighbors from Hancock being around 111 um as you know we we kind of shoot for between 100 and 110 at each grade level at Mount Greylock Regional School uh you you can see that really the only openings are going to be in grade 11 and 12 next year uh you know these 10th graders and 11th graders moving up um very rarely do we get applications for grade 11 or 12 so so we could possibly be looking at really no new school choice students um at Mount Greylock next year because we we do anticipate that we are going to have um you know sizable grade levels um moving in uh to to gry loock and that's a great thing that means that young families are choosing to live in Lanesboro young families are choosing to uh to to live in Williamstown young families are choosing to live in Hancock in new Ashford and that's that's a good thing on many levels for for all of the communities that wind up over here at Mount Greylock Regional School um so you know to to really put it in a nutshell um we are we're always strategic we're always Vigilant around school choice this year we are going to be strategic Vigilant and um and rather tightfisted as we as we consider ultimately how many openings I I would suggest to you that the number of openings presented as maximums in those green columns will only go down as we progress through the school year and early into the summer and we get a handle on how many new families are are moving into our towns um and as I said at the beginning of this presentation to continue in the school choice program does does constitute uh or does require no vote it it simply is um uh really understanding that our openings are going to be limited this year uh as you know we are putting really a new energy and a new focus into school climate and hoping hoping to shrink our numbers of students that choose to go to other districts from our district and um and we look forward to continuing into the program next year and uh in in you know we're going to have some disa disappointed families and neighboring communities but uh but but we really think in order to serve Williamstown and Lanesboro best that's the approach that we want and need to take for this upcoming school year and and I'm certainly happy to answer any questions about this okay uh and since we don't require a vote uh I I'll thank you for your attention and I thank the principles for helping helping us think through this at our level and to really going to thank our our special education director Noelle for helping us really spend some time wrapping around um you know increasing need in our schools and understanding that um you know adding more students to the mix via school choice is not necessarily the right answer for what's best for our kids um here and now and so with that Christina Joe hand it over to you for the SOA and I can certainly jump in uh at any and all strategic points sounds fantastic so the student Opportunity Act um a Massachusetts state initiative adopted by the state's legislature in 2019 um designed intended um to help school districts and the state at large um close any gaps in um performance Equity um between various student groups across the state um the introduction of the ACT um led to a number of um funding initiatives by the state as well as a number of requirements for every school district to um to satisfy as the state moves through the process of of this initiative um part of that is that um School District as you see in your packet tonight um has a student opportunity plan um that needs to be written out and then executed um it involves identifying a problem um indicating the steps that you're going to take to address it and what metrics you're going to use to measure your success um Whenever there is a state uh initiative I think oftentimes one of the questions that that I come back to is um well one how does it impact what we need to do you know does it does it create a mandate that that we're not already working on um or that somehow needs to become a new offshoot of what we're working on um or ideally does it help to bolster and and provide additional funding and additional emphasis behind something that we are already working on um and so outside of all of the the paperwork I think one of the things that we as a team wanted to be able to talk about tonight is how the student Opportunity Act and what we have documented is actually directly in line with um where we are headed in terms of District Improvement plan superintendent goals and how all of that work aligns with the bigger picture outside of just what is written within that document um and being submitted to the state so um SOA and our larger picture um we within this school board body as well as um more broadly across the district um have committed a lot of attention over the last few years to um deib to academic performance roll out of new curriculum initiatives um and evaluation of of existing curriculum and and how to how to improve it um and as we started talking about in a lot more depth um this year absenteeism chronic absenteeism and its impact um on our students on our community and on our school district large um so those three core areas of of um focus for this school district they intersect in at least one place that we want to focus on tonight which is belonging um and I think Jake and I have both used the word belonging along with other administrators many times over the last couple years um we might have defined it in the past um but but I want to make sure that as we continue this work that we actually Focus ourselves in on um the the the substantial and very palatable things that belonging means um for our students for our families and and for the district's health and and well-being um in general and so belonging is a feeling of being happy or comfortable as part of a particular group and having a good relationship with other members of the group because they welcome you and they accept you it sounds good it sounds like it's something that that is a feeling within the school district but it but it has a very serious set of um foundational um pieces of importance for how every bit of work that our students are able to do every bit of happiness that our students are able to have and how our school district is able to perform um so just in a in a big picture it improves community and happiness belonging increases participation you are more likely to participate to want to be a part of everything that is happening if you have a feeling of belonging um which notably within our SOA plan Within um a lot of planning that we've been doing um decreases absenteeism but so much more you know participation is about not just being present in school but actually participating fully in all of the things that that are able to happen it's a critical foundation for supporting diversity for improving equity and ensuring inclusion it is the be and deib um it's foundational for improving conflict resolution and incident response um if relationships are strong if there's a feeling of belonging we're going to be able to work with that within the context of when an incident happens how can we best respond to it how can we best bring a positive um resolution to to any incident um and it's foundational for academic performance that is that is both proven by research as well as as well as being common sense that that if you feel as though you belong if you have a sense of comfort within a space you are going to perform better academically so the curriculum rollouts that we have whether it's Ela or math or doing curriculum reviews across the board and looking at changes um and updates um all of that will stick better it will it will be rolled out um with more success if students are feeling as though they belong and that they are able to live that work and do that work as fully as they can um so some of our efforts thus far within this area um the social emotional learning curriculum that has been implemented across all three schools now um that that is that is one um effort into that work morning meetings and classroom practices at our elementary schools um that's another area that's constantly evolving that that we've been working on social workers at all three schools you know if we look back five or six years ago we did not have those systems of support um at either of our elementary schools or um in as robust a way as we do at Mount grock Regional School now Affinity groups for students and families um continuing to identify ways to provide um places for students to gather in support of each other whatever those interests are as well as identifying ways for us to bring families in closer and for families to be able to find strength with each other um through both initiatives that are structured and offered by the school district as well as ones that we support that our that our community LED um our deib student support and professional development Investments that that you've received numerous presentations on over the last few years um and that our students and staff and families have experienced over the last few years um those are all directly in line with this work introduction of circles uh um and I think over the next year two you'll you'll hear a lot more on this topic from us um circles are a foundational com uh component of restorative justice work um at Mount grock Regional School the assistant principal there has been um gradually this year rolling out a variety of pilot Circle projects where she's bringing um students staff together um at times that that can be identified through through the schedule um to be able to further the development of relationships trust communication between among students and staff um the rooll out of an improved family communication system and parent Square was something that that we we went through over the last year um and continual website Improvement these are not necessarily in in any order but these are all the types of initiatives that are working towards this goal of increasing belonging and being able to address a number of um areas that are very s SOA friendly um but certainly within the area that we chose to Target within um the document that's in your packet as well as where we're headed with the district Improvement plan and these superintendent goals um directly in line now what is highlighted within that SOA document as well as what was highlighted um within our district Improvement plan and superintendent goals uh um We are continuing to increase the emphasis on the importance of student staff and family communication events and cooperation um we are trying to reinvigorate our family and staff organizations no matter what their name is p4g at Mount Greylock uh families and staff for West at at Williamson Elementary School and PTO at lansburgh elementary school continuing to um put our energy into helping those organizations build and Thrive um is key to this um because they are really a way to multiply anything that that we are able to do on a onetoone or or one to a group basis within our schools um ramping up our community facing events within our schools um during covid we didn't see a lot of activity at all within schools and I think we've been trying to figure out all of the different ways to welcome families in Community back into our schools and trying to figure out all the different ways to make sure that those events are well attended um and that we are able to um really have them blossom in how they how they impact our community um we are piloting a check and connect program at Mount G Regional School in the seventh and eth grades it's uh been rolling out this spring it's going to continue into um next year um the the emphasis of that program is to um create better more intentional structures around seventh and eth grade students um directly interacting with our staff with the intent to strengthen relationships and to offer that sense of belonging that students feel when they have deeper relationships than u a series of of classes through a through a school schedule during the school day um so that is something that is it has been an emphasis within the administration within the team at Mount Greylock um and we will probably bring more updates on that over the next um four to six months as we as we try to work through the pilot and then roll it out hopefully more more fully in the fall um for all of those middle school students um increasing the use of circles and other relationship building tools within and across classrooms um the assistant principal at Mount klock has been doing a wonderful job of um really facilitating and and finding ways to work this kind of work into students and staff schedules um we are evaluating a lot of different ways to try to further that um so that that foundational component for a lot of other important work um Can Happen and and can expand over the next um year two years 3 years um we're going to continue expanding our use of parent square and our website um really trying to make it so that so that information access and communication um are at the front of of what we are worried about making sure happens as smoothly and as robustly as we can um and we're going to be investing in other opportunities to to implement ways to directly address chronic absenteeism um perhaps the most powerful and proven way to make sure that students are in school is by using the correct timing the correct approach um the correct people to make sure that that you reach out to students and families and and make it known that that their attendance their presence their participation are valued and important and that and that that is something that this school district cares about 100% it goes far beyond um what would traditionally be thought of as as the role of um of a staff member receiving a student into a building it's really reaching out and trying to draw that student into the building when they are not present um and so that is an area that um we're going to be probably again coming back to you as we as we work further on this um and taking a couple big leaps back and up um all of this all of this is being done within a climate where we understand fully that we don't have a lot of funding for additional efforts additional staff um this is an area where we know that we are concentrating what we already have on a task and and and on a really a thread of work that needs to be done and done well and done fully in order for a lot of areas that we find important to be addressed so whether you're talking about absenteeism you're talking about deib topics you're talking about student performance um all of those are tied together here and so taking advantage of the fact that we have one area where we can really throw ourselves and our resources at while not needing additional beyond what what we have within our budget here for FY 25 um and probably for FY 26 and FY 27 it's really important to be efficient in that and and to make sure that we invest as fully as we can um so that's kind of how our SOA plan ties into our district Improvement plan ties into our day-to-day life living within the the means and budget that we have um so I apologize for laying all of that out in Rapid succession but I figured I would get it out there and then we can we can open up for discussion and and Jake if I missed anything that we've talked about certainly just let me know yeah Joe the the only thing I would add and I think it's um tax on very appropriately to what you were just talking about is um those of you who have students at Greylock may be aware um you know obviously we we had as as a big goal uh several years ago to have a full-time deib director that did not appear to be in the cards for us financially uh or or or um in terms of of perhaps being able to do a search that would elicit the the right individual wanting to come and be a part of our community um we we have grown into a much much smaller scale uh programmatic approach but a programmatic approach nonetheless um we began working with uh an individual named Shirley ederton several years ago to address some very specific uh circumstances at Mount Greylock Regional School um surely is somebody that that I've known for probably 16 17 years and I've known her and and and respected her but also consider her a mentor and somebody who really helped me take uh some steps forward in understanding my own biases and in my own role as a leader in doing this work um surle worked with with Mount Greylock Regional School our Administration after one small Consulting engagement this year uh brought forward a potential plan that uh is is um very low cost and really depended on on shirely uh thinking enough of us to to alter her very busy retired quote unquote retired life uh in order to to become a part of our community uh and so we we right now very pleased to announce you know to all of you and and very publicly through this forum that Shirley ederton is joining us for one half day once per week uh for the remainder of the school year and looking forward to beginning next year with that model as well um Shirley has done quite a bit of arranging and rearranging of her calendar to be able to do that she is working with uh individual students she's working with affinity group she's working with families uh and is working with young folks who have [Music] um uh disappointed the other people around them and disappointed their community members through some of their actions and some of the language that they've chosen to use and um that has been quite powerful for individual students and some small groups of students and for some families and uh Shirley is is I think maybe not uniquely POS position to do that work or or uniquely attitud to do that work and be able to elicit the the good honest heartfelt conversations that have to happen in order for growth to occur um but but she is is excellent at doing that work and and and really um we're very grateful to her for being willing to come and be a part of our community uh as as she's balancing so many other things and so I would just add that to uh some of the other work that's been ongoing as we try to increase belonging uh in in in a school district that does well but could do so much better if every student really felt like this was home and that they were uh wanted and loved and uh and they were kind of desperate to be here every day is desperate to be here every day as as we um are desperate to have them here every day so thank you Joy I didn't mean to leave you with your with your hand up hanging there so I apologize please feel free um no and I I I really appreciate you bringing Shirley's name into this conversation for those who don't know either on this call or in the community um I have also interacted with Shirley not to the extent that you have Jake but I have the deepest respect for who she is what she does how she does it who she brings along um how she cares for and treats everybody um in a way that welcomes um true growth and learning so I um am so grateful that you brought her into our community to do um some of this work and obviously grateful to her for creating the space in her schedule to do it so um thank you for sharing that I I and Joe thank you for your presentation um I love how you have connected how the two of you and your whole team have connected the various efforts um and are working to connect those across the you know all the efforts but really it's all part of the same effort um and uh connecting those to the school Improvement goals um I noticed in the um student Opportunity Act plan that you shared in advance that there is a section on targets um can you imagine I paid attention to that section um and it says I that I think you're effectively proposing that we use the um Desi's three-year targets for increasing performance um and that that will be the measurement if I if I'm reading this correctly that is the measurement for the success of this request that's correct that's correct Joya um can we what are those measured what's the Frequency with the report on those measurements those are really reported out um once a year in kind of a roll in fashion um you know um Joelle and and Joelle was on the meeting she's not presenting here tonight Joell is is um won't even say a co-author really the author and Joe and I were were sort of input uh folks to this plan but but we we really went um we went back and forth about what appropriate targets were and your name actually came up is who's going to ask us about this target piece and I'm just doing my part Absolut absolutely so so we really um in some conversation and thinking back to conversations we've had with folks from the state they really want us to use the growth targets they are giving to us as the targets and those are visited annually okay and I I think that's right I mean I I think go speaks to the point of connecting you know you're not trying to do as Joe was saying some other initiative you know in some other space you're really trying to connect these I I guess um I'm going to take another crack at it um if we only measure them like there what are the interim measurements to know that we're on track because if we only if we wait once a year we're off or we're on but we won't know how to adjust in time yeah I the the interim measurements and there there is a section or two that we brushed on this within the plan itself that we submitted to Dy but it's it's really you know look looking at at local data like grades but I think more importantly looking at local data that includes discipline data and attendance data um that that to me is you know one of the re reasons we wanted to Zone in on uh chronic absenteeism is chronic absenteeism uh I I think I'm right in saying this and I think you all will understand it it's a big data point it's going to get only more prominent in the Commonwealth I am certain it's it's I'm sure some of you saw a week and a half or two weeks ago in the New York Times um extensive coverage and a look at this you know macro level across the country uh looking at that through yeah I guess I you could look at it through the same lens even in in an enormous District but we really look at it as as a challenge but it's it's not it's not the illness it's a symptom of of other illnesses that that sit beneath it that but it's a really great way to quantify the the illnesses that that that really lead to Chronic absenteeism and I and I think everything from the the really short Ellie who's also on the meeting has been has been working on a plan to open up next year with with really like three to four minute uh Panorama survey questions you know one or two questions that are getting at who's your go-to person what can we do to help you identify somebody it's it's it's going back to those dipstick moments those really quick easy it's not going to take up much time out of somebody's day and then and then it is really much more regular than than the annual event of this of the state determining did we meet our targets or not but really looking at uh through the vehicles we have in our buildings and at the district level attendance discipline and great and and how those three all intertwine and interconnect to to to to to say success or failure on our part at having students feel like this is really their their home their home away from home thank you you're welcome thank you Jose I might have uh followup Carri I'm happy to wait Carri if you'd like to ask your question um either way mine mine is just about uh the funding mechanisms um so clearly we have to state in our um submission how we as a district are funding these efforts the evidence-based programming um but how does the funding from from the state work I think Jake you might have said something about student Opportunity Act funding at one point just curious what what that actually means yeah and Jo joke that's a great question Carrie because you know that that first three-year SOA plan that we prepared three and a half four years ago was really directly tied to new SOA funding and and if you think about our our Chapter 70 increase over last year and the year before last um uh I think we already the the state would say you already have the funding we we did an injection your base is higher than your base was you know proportionately it's it's you you got your injection a couple of years ago and now run with it this current plan the second three-year SOA plan is not attached to any new funding or any new funding sources it is sort of very very tacitly but clearly from Desi's perspective attached to a bill they would suggest they have already paid and so and so maintaining that boost in Chapter 70 that we received once upon a time is is how we fund this and and when we put a number in I think the number was around $220,000 the better part of a quarter of a million attached to this that's that's money that's already embedded in our budget for for programming that that we already do um staff that we already have on board you know our look is really we're we're not going to spend 30 or 40 or $50,000 going out and hiring consultant to who are promoting themselves as we have your answer for chronic absenteeism we we know what our answer for chronic absenteeism is it's to make sure that every student wakes up in the morning feeling like I'm tired but I really need to be there and I really want to be there um and that that's about relationships that's about relationships that's about Community um Julia's statement from a couple of months ago that that climate eat strategy for lunch um you know continues to to ring in our heads and show up in our conversations it's really about our climate it's about do kids believe and do they have reason to believe that we are absolutely in this for them so no new funding attached Carri okay all right and then so thank you I appreciate that um and then to Julia's Point Jose do you mind if I just ask a followup in see me no no problem Gary okay um thanks so to Julia's point about the the reporting and the tracking um the surveys are meant to be the more sort of subjective um tracking of how we're doing as opposed to the data that we're collecting which is clearly like are our students showing up to school more often and are we addressing this issues that we're trying to address um are there other um I might have missed it I maybe I should just go back and look at the the plan that we submitted but um just in terms of how we are going to know how we're doing I do feel confident that we have all the measures in place that can help us to um you know quarterly yeah get a handle on yeah that's a that's a good question I I would never say that I'm 100% comfortable that we have all of the measures in place but I think we have enough measures in place to to measure ourselves and hold ourselves accountable um the the you know the dip sticking is is one way um to me really that attendance the discipline data the use that we're making of of restorative circles um I I I think the thing I'm pleased about most with all of this is how we're finally kind of hitting this uh for lack of a better term kind of hitting a Groove about all the things we're trying to do or working together whether it's family Communications or uh making making use of a neighbor and a colleague like Shirley ederton using the the expertise that Sam rutz are assist in principle over at Greylock comes in around doing restorative circles I I think we will have enough data a quarterly or on an every six weeks basis have a pretty good idea of how how we're doing and tracking back to how do we know how we're doing that's great that's great thank you J thank you and I would just add that you know the the Panama surveys they're going to provide the the bite-size hopefully leading indicator of belonging you are how are students feeling and then what that should then feed into is attendance numbers across demographics should be increasing um discipline data should be should be objectively improving um and whether you're using the bite-size fast Bridge type assessments or or the or the bigger picture grades and mcast um you know all of that should be improving really as a result kind of of the Panorama data showing that were that we on the right track so all of that is is like the more granular um bite-sized stuff that then feeds into the bigger picture annual type Improvement data so I I actually feel like we have perhaps the the best sense of measuring success that that we could possibly have aside from just a you know a traditional pure grade type look um so I I feel good about it to be honest thanks Joe it's actually nice to be in this place right now of being able to do this work and and track it y thank you for your efforts and for everybody's efforts and Joelle um for putting this together and Ellie everybody you Jose thank you Jake and Joe um I really appreciate the framing uh that you presented us Joe the framing of uh our around the this concept of belonging um and I appreciate many elements of uh the the strategy that our district will will put in place and has put in place to promote belonging um what I want to ask is uh you know given some of the research that at least I've come across one of the more impactful if not most impactful ways to create a sense of belonging for all of our kids particularly for you know our children of color in our district is to diversify our teaching staff and I want to um preface my question with a statement of concern in the past members of our community have heard pleased to diversify our our teachers um or teaching staff as as being the same as lowering the standards by which we uh hire teachers um implying I think to be frank that if we were eager to hire black teachers they must be less effective and less good as teachers than than than um teachers of a different identity that aside uh what I'd like to hear is where we stand as a district in terms of our strategies for diversifying our teaching staff and what are our plans moving forward to accomplish or at least to move forward um into to building a cohort of teachers that uh reflects the the student body that we we care for yeah that's that's actually a a conversation that we entered into with Shirley a little bit today and Shirley was expressing um the the you know we were talking about the fact Joelle brought up a a somebody that's in her life that is doing an internship in a Springfield public school right now and um the principal of that public schools of Pittsfield High School alum and uh we talked about efforts that that I have made that surely made that we made together once upon a time to um the UMass Center in Springfield UMass Amherst has for the size of the University a smallish teacher preparation program um the UMass Center in Springfield um through the Springfield Public Schools and their career la has a sizable program of people working toward bachelor's degrees and toward certifications teacher Administration Etc um and then those folks go right back into the Springfield Public Schools and and and we were admiring the Springfield Public Schools for their ability to do that um I I can assure you Jose nobody on our team would be somebody that that um equates a teaching staff with a less capable teaching staff um I I can also tell you having tried to do this work for years and years and years uh the the challenge of being an effective recruiting agency and and a an effective recruiting organization in Berkshire County has its specific challenges being rural has its specific challenges doing this work in Massachusetts with with um the the Hoops one must jump through to have a LIC a license in Massachusetts presents its challenges um we're a member of the The Berkshire black Economic Council where we advertise through some national uh vehicles that attempt to increase the diverse um applicant pool uh we certainly work within our own community and within our own networks to become more diverse I would totally agree with you that one of the best ways to show support for students of color is to have grown-ups of color doing important work uh in the school um to to say that I have an we have an answer Jose is we're we're not there it's it's a constant conversation um we admire the work that some of our highered neighbors do in that work um we we understand the urgency of it uh but but I do not have I do not have a neat pad answer uh other than we continue to work at it say Joe I don't know if you have anything thing to add or or Jose if you want to follow up no just just briefly and I I appreciate that that Frank and honest answer and I I I you know more than appreciate and understand how how difficult it can be to uh you know to recruit just just in general you know good teachers to just teachers you know that uh we're fortunate to have many excellent and talented teachers in our district um but I just wanted to to follow up Jake you know that the is the research shows you know diversifying a teaching staff not only benefits our children or students of color children of color the research shows that it you know having diverse teaching staff actually improves belonging for all kids for all kids I I want to just make that make that point clear thank you for that that's it's it's it's uh yeah the the notion that some folks might try to make that it is important to black kids for instance to have black teachers or latinx kids to have latinx teachers it's it's really vital for every student to see to see people doing important work and to see wonderful people of of every way that people come doing wonderful work that's thank you for making that point Jose anybody body else Jake there is a vote next to this agenda item yeah we need we need to report to desie that the SOA plan has been approved by the uh by the governing agency which is you all so we so we need a vote to approve the the three-year student Opportunity Act plan as presented Christin I'm happy to move to approve it okay thank you as presented would someone like to second that motion I can second that thank you any further discussion hearing none all in favor Bowen I conry I Constantine I Elfen Bine I green ey oh I snuck in sorry Miller Eye welcome back thank you that motion passes okay I I just did want to you know briefly uh let you know the The Berkshire County superintendent's Round Table is uh I think like our school committee colleagues within a within a day of you all um meeting with the legislative delegation and I hope as many of you as humanly possible can do that the superintendants are meeting with uh the legislative delegation on Friday uh we we have a 8:30 to 10:30 am meeting scheduled with uh with our Burkshire County um representatives and Senator and uh it will it will I know this will stop you in your tracks uh in shock and surprise our primary focus is to talk about school funding public school funding um which is uh you know I think all of us in our own way are grateful for the efforts that the state has put in uh over the years but I also think all of us are somewhat taken aback by um what feels like some some backsliding in in support for our Public School with the with fiscal 25 looking forward into next year and so we we do have some some legislative concerns about things that may be moving forward or need to move forward but but we really will be focusing most of our efforts and attention on uh the fact that um that the need of our students and the need of our families is growing at a rate that is outpacing the growth of publicly available Monies to do the work of of educating whole human beings not only academically but socially and emotionally so just do want to and let you know how that goes and uh and certainly before Carrie does the the region six report um make a pitch that uh you know these folks um the the you know our state representative representative Barrett and and representative fary bouier representative patelli from from South County and Senator Mark are are really our primary voices uh in Boston and um and and I think we let them hear one unified voice across Berkshire County for what our needs are and what our expectations are uh the better so thank you for for giving me the time Christin talk about that briefly thank you Jake okay next up on the agenda is the masc division 6 report so I will turn it over to Carrie thanks Christina I'm just G to put in a plug for the April 11th 5:30 pm Zoom um meeting with our legislators um you know we're we're g to be asking the same questions just from the school committee perspective there there was a form that I sent around um many weeks ago inviting folks to submit questions I have passed those questions on to the legislators in advance um if anyone would like to send me questions if they're not able to make the meeting on Thursday at 5:30 pm um just send me questions and I'm happy to raise those um during The Forum but this really is our opportunity it's it's an opportunity it's an important one to uh express our concerns directly to our legislators um there will with any luck be another legislative Forum in the fall which is the traditional legislative meeting for division six um and then uh there is also day on the hill um coming up in May um be going I'll be um arranging meetings with legislators um on that day and there'll be masc meetings uh on that day as well so um this is our opportunity to um pass along our questions our concerns and our feedback um positive or otherwise to the people who are elected to listen to us so thank you thank you can I make a comment see yes in case you were gonna ask the question that you submitted one of the questions I did pass along um yes I was wondering if I could talk about that briefly with the full committee here right now or should I wait to agenda requests um yeah you should probably wait till agenda request I think you've raised it with the committee before um but yeah I would wait to the agenda requests thanks okay because it does it does kind of fit here with talking to the masc and I have signed up for that meeting as well but if you want me to wait I will wait oh if it has to do with masc yeah um sure go ahead okay so my uh question to our legislators was actually inspired by a lot of the things we're hearing tonight although I asked this you know weeks ago is we have finite resources and we have a lot of you know very valuable activity we wish to fund and it's getting harder and harder to do so we've had years where we're not able to add things we want to add and the future for next year and the year after is not looking good for a lot of trends that grow exponentially the earlier you take corrective steps the easier it is to push for a positive change and so you know looking at what the budgets are going to be like in the next few years looking at what the demands are going to be on the system the way I see it you know we need to do some combination of three things we need to somehow have more Economic Development so that there's more pie to distribute we need to raise taxes or find other sources of revenue or we need to cut expenditures and we can't just say to the state we need to fund education at a higher level they're getting demands from numerous organizations we have to say funding education is a priority for X Y and Z and painful as it is some of the other programs that we are funding right now are not as valuable or not as important and we have to cut back funding there to provide the resources needed for education and so one of the things that I thought would have been very valuable for this committee to discuss but it was not added to the agenda is can we make some concrete proposals to our legislates as to what programs are we funding right now as a state as a federal government that perhaps may not be as valuable as education or other items and so I will leave it at that I will urge everyone to come to the meeting and to push our legislators both at the state level and at the federal level to really think about what are we funding and every time with a finite amount of resources every time we choose to fund X that's less available for y and we have to decide which things do we want to do so thank you thank you y car do you want to recirculate or do you want me to recirculate the invitation to that meeting so everyone should be receiving um the invitation to the meeting directly from masc at this point okay perfect I I had C let me know if you don't because it should be coming from Anthony um masc um and there's a way to sign up through the masc format the one that I had circulated earlier was a kind of a heads up um let me know if you're going to attend and if you have any questions you want to submit I mean I'm happy to pass that around again but um really the invitation to actually attend the meeting is now coming from masc it's posted on the division 6 um Facebook page um and uh you don't have to sign up to attend I mean I'm happy to share the zoom link um but it's just helpful if people do sign up okay great thank you yeah okay next up on the agenda we have upcoming meetings our next regularly scheduled school committee meeting is May 9th at 6: PM the Williamstown annual town meeting is Thursday May 23rd and I believe that is taking place in the Mount Greylock school gymnasium and the Lanesboro annual town meeting is Tuesday June 11th and I believe that takes place in the Lanesboro elementary school gymnasium um other items for discussion not reasonably anticipated by the chair Joe I have an item that happened uh uh over the weekend um Sunday afternoon uh we we identified that the visitors Dugout for the on the varsity baseball field had been blown over by a Micro Burst of wind where it actually flipped it front to back and then it split apart as it was crashing down on the ground um this is a Dugout that um uh well one it's it's been there for 15 20 years um two upon you know annual inspection as well as upon inspection after it was all laying in Parts on the ground um it's in great shape something pretty extraordinary happened to take it and flip it um thankfully nobody was there um so nobody was injured um and uh We've really been um I've been wowed over the last 48 hours about about the outpouring of support um by some very knowledgeable capable people within our community um and I'll probably be bringing thanks next month um they're already in action um making sure that we get it repaired uh good as new um but I just wanted to make it clear that the uh the Fallen Dugout on our campus it happened via not by humans at all um by a freak weather incident um and that it is being repaired ASAP um by unteers and and hopefully uh pretty much exclusively gifts um which is a wonderful thing um and so that's that was something that nobody could have anticipated reasonably anticipated uh within 48 hours prior to this meeting Carrie um thanks Joe this isn't actually about that which you know I'm really glad to see the community support but it is an agenda an upcoming meeting question for you um finance committee do you have a sense of whether we should try to meet before the next school committee meeting on um on the nth or schedule meeting between now and then I think it would be great to pull a meeting together before the 9th one of the reasons that I'm pausing here is is it if we are able to make a playground commitment prior to the 9th it if we're able to because it's going to be something where once we finally have all the necessary pieces in place we're going to want to get it voted really as quickly as we can so that we don't delay the ordering and the delivery and I would love for the finance committee to to be ahead of that one so um yes I'm just not wholly sure how far in advance of May 9th we should aim for if possible um well if you need a full School mini vote on the 9th um then we should schedule the meeting on the 9th but if you think you're going to have a special meeting to do a vote earlier then well here's what I would suggest I would suggest we schedule a meeting on the 9th and then move it or add one um if we need to how's that so the question is four o'clock or five o'clock whatever is best for the three of you committee members okay Stephen Ursula do you have a sorry Christina for taking this time but no not at all are we talking about May 9th yeah May 9th four o'clock or five o'clock um I guess I'd prefer five if I had a choice but okay Steve does that work for you and then we'll be going um basically right into the school committee meeting sure okay five o'clock then on May 9th and then Joe obviously if you're ready to schedule something earlier just let us know sounds great thank you thank you thank you and thank you to all that are helping out with that what is it called I'm so bad at baseball terms a bullpen dug out dug out sorry I was a soccer player and go ahead Steve does insurance cover any of the damage the deductible I if we were to be paying for the Dugout out of pocket the deductible would be about half of the total cost which I understand then then you got the other half but the way that it would and Maya might be listening here the way it would drive up our premium for the following year would not be worth the you know this is not a a catastrophic thing around a building where we pay the deductible and then we're paying a higher premium but it's totally worth paying into the the larger pot this is a this is a smaller type Affair yep no it's just good to make that clear thank you yep thanks Stephen I I would like that Joe will be coming back uh in May with with thanks for the folks that that are actually going to help us make this whole again and um but but in the meantime Joe and I ran into Jim brazan who was the superintendent from McAn Tech last night at the Lanesboro select board meeting and Joe said hey it'd be great to have somebody take a look at this to see and uh and three people from the C showed up uh today to offer doing some blueprints to offer uh you know checking in to see what we could do we took a walk down um Brandon Krauss our director of uh our our head our head groundskeeper is a Manan Alum so he he flexed his alumnus muscles and um and we had folks over from McAn offering help and support today which we really appreciated so and then and then more to come about actually getting the work done and and who's to thank for that so grateful at all involved and very grateful nobody got hurt because it was you would if you get a chance and you're up here walk down and see it is hard to even believe I I assume you've taken some pictures we do have some pictures the pictures don't do it justice it's um no it's but but it's remarkable Steve and we can share out the pictures yeah we just uh I was just there at the softball field and I had no idea that's what that was I thought it was just staging for some new construction yeah pointed it out to me yeah long as we're sharing can I announce the vity Greylock Final in baseball say that again Steve I'm not sure we caught that as long as we're sharing news about baseball can I share the result of the varsity baseball game today absolutely the mounties triumphed 7 to4 and 7 in very nice very nice thank you thank you and we softball and Lacrosse went well uh too softball also won yep uh Varsity wound up being a shut out I think they ended it 17 to5 or whatever the mercy rule is so that was good nice y yep lacrosse report uh there is no mercy in Lacrosse uh JV lost I think 14 to one varsity's in the final periods trailing 173 all right all right and unified track had a meet today over in Drury and uh the visiting team was just getting there as I needed to leave to get back for this meeting so I I hope uh all of those athletes do well and get home safely and and the track and field team had a meet I have no idea how they did and I can't give you the JV baseball anyway everyone was there I don't I haven't gone the JV FL yes well thank you everyone for these sports updates especially those live reporting live from the athletic fields at Mount Greylock Christina could I just ask are there any um um Performing Arts um perform uh events coming up um between now and the end of the year that we could know about there are we will try to do a better job of coordinating and getting those messages out to you um there's none that are absolutely imminent but as we approach deeper into May there will certainly be some updates great thank you wel car thank you any agenda requests so two agenda requests go ahead and then C had his hand up okay okay so the uh first is a h shout out to Dr to be and everyone who did such a great job for the eclipse they have a little bit of time to rest before the next one which according to the web is not until Monday May 1st 2079 and just wanted to make sure we got that on the district's calendar because this one I believe will actually have Williamstown in totality so just wanted to have that on the calendar uh the second one is um I had mentioned that we had a note from a reporter from I burkers about some of the information for one of our meetings not being available and just wanted to repeat my request that we try to put you know draft agendas and supplementary documents on the district website you know as soon as we know they're going to be in the meeting so that you know people can make informed decisions about whether or not they want to come or what feedback they want to give us those you know much notices we can give the public I think would be great thank you I think we discussed that agenda item in asked um Jose if you would consider that for the policy subcommittee in our last I don't think I don't I do not think they've met yet okay okay thank you you're welcome Curtis uh hi how's everybody doing um this a lull this is perfect timing uh I have been attending all these sporting events and looking over at the construction equipment for our multi-million dollar investment in athletics at our school and thinking about diversity Equity inclusion and belonging and thinking it might be a good idea to put together a comprehensive snapshot of how our school Community is engaging with Athletics uh at Mount Greylock in terms of the same sort of demographic breakdown from what we were talking about early uh earlier in the meeting in terms of uh race ethnicity uh grade level sending dis to in the district a breakdown of who what students are most utilizing uh uh the athletic offerings uh at Mount Greylock and how we can support all students from all backgrounds uh and all ability levels to engage uh in the Athletics that is such a huge part of the character of our school and our school district uh and if that's from cobbling together information from old rosters from every sport that's ever played or if that's an existing spreadsheet uh I would like to get some really good idea what that looks like for our high school and middle school uh especially as all of these uh efforts and funds are finally coming to fruition uh I think that would be a good uh measure of how the diversity Equity inclusion belonging plays out in that facet of student life here at Greylock what that what shape that takes but I would like to get that information and or help build that information great thank you right on also I just want to shout out my battery on my laptop is at eight% any other agenda requests would someone like to make a motion to adjourn I'll move to a journ Julia moves do I have a second I second heard a second all in favor Owen I conry I Conan elf and Bine ey green I Malloy I Mill I good night all thank you it is 17 p.m. and this meeting is adjourned good night everybody thank you byebye