##VIDEO ID:Ru-pQjplw0c## [Applause] [Music] he be Mia everyone all right I'm going to call the meeting to order today is Tuesday January 14th 20 2 this meeting is being video and audio recorded for future cable broadcast please silence all cell phones for the duration of the meeting could I entertain a motion to officially open the meeting so moved second we'll do a roll call Mr Hood yes Mrs Downey yes Mrs goes yes Mrs Cadera yes motion passes we will start with the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States of America and to the it stands one nation God indivisible liy and justice for all okay so the first item is the consent agenda we will ask for approval of the minutes from December 10th 2024 and approval of payroll and warrants everything listed in the consent agenda was distributed in advance of the meeting does anyone have any requests for anything to be removed from the consent uh agenda and discussed or voted on separately uh seeing no one making that request can I entertain a motion uh to approve and accept the items listed in the consent agenda second all those in favor I any desent seeing none the motion passes do we have anyone signed up for delegation no we do all right so then we will I don't see any old business Dr so we'll jump into new business sure um good evening everyone the first order of business I'd like to call Mrs chesne up to the podium and M petto and whoever else she's got because they are going to be presenting What's called the good news calls home it's just something they're doing it helps with a lot of different areas and they're going to explain it all to us tonight um while Miss B Court puts our presentation up on the screen um mic is that better okay um thank you so much school committee members for um having us present tonight and we wanted to share with you one of the initiatives that we started this year um Miss petto and I have been in one of our professional development um workshops that we took over the summer and this was one of the ideas that really resonated with us as something that we really wanted to do so often when either of us call someone at home home it is usually perceived as bad news and we really love doing this because the first thing that we have to say is no one's in trouble but anyway so we're going to explain how what we do it's very simple and we actually have some people here that have received a good news call home and um we're just going to kind of alternate right you can just click so first of all to um start us off we connected this to our dist Improvement plan and you can see that um two elements there that it fits into so first the teacher nominates the student in Google form we get alerted we call the student down and they get a certificate and then we call parent and we say this is a good news call home and that's what exactly what it's called and then the student is so excited because of course they're being called down and they're very excited and the par is so excited so we just put a little splash there of some of the students that have actually received one of these calls teachers can actually nominate students for anything they don't have to do it within a certain time they don't have to be limited by the number uh we get calls all the time and then we pretty much within a few days or at the most call home and and call through with this we do read the um the blur that the teacher puts in which is their rationale for nominating the student and to me it's going to reach so many more students in on a very even though it's a small level but so many more students that we could do the that might not receive perhaps a p or Pride something that so it's really more inclusive that way so we got some pictures there for you the kids getting the calls and their little certificates and before we have questions I wanted um first Miss BTO do you want to read we had invited two parents to um kind of share their experience um but we've had a parent who emailed us but couldn't make it so the parent that couldn't make it s when I received a phone call at work and was expecting to hear my son did something wrong I was surprised and thrilled to hear that he had been so good that they wanted to call home and tell me I couldn't stop braging to my co-workers about my phone call it truly made my day when my son came home and I talked to him about it I could tell he was very proud of himself I am beyond proud of all the improvements my son has made this year thank you very much for having that program and then I'd like to mention that I have here Noah Amaral Noah and Mom and Noah if I may was nominated Noah continues to have this is just a sample of what the teacher will write teacher would write Noah continues to have a really great start to the school year the area that makes me proud is when I speak to his specialist teachers who have said how much he's grown as a student but more importantly as an overall person he is helpful and respectful to all of his teachers he constantly has his work done to the best of his ability and is a consistent participant in class discussions I'm sure he will continue to grow and have a fantastic school year so I called Mom and said this to her and Mom go ahead and tell us what you have to say um so Noah's attended AES since preschool unfortunately Co hit and his kinderg gotten year at school caused many changes Noah had some struggles when returning back to in school but thankfully had many teachers here at AES that have helped him succeed to do as well as he's doing now when I received the call from AES I was unsure if it was the nurse calling but when I heard it was Miss chesne I didn't know what to expect at first Miss Chesney then inform me that this was a good call and that no was nominated by his teacher Mr P for the call home award he would be going into the office soon to receive the award Miss Chesney then proceeded to read to me the nomination that Mr Pyers wrote which brought tears to my eyes to have teachers and staff come up to me at the school as well as write these nominations of how far Noah has grown makes me proud um to see how much she is succeeding not just academically but as a student and a person I feel that the call home award is a great idea for the school as it reminds students that going to the principal's office does not always mean you're in trouble or did something wrong it's a positive reward and I hope AES keeps this award going for years to come good job good job thank you so much I appreciate thank you so much Noah do you want to say something about what what what was it like to go to get upile wants to say something to you I think um how would that make you feel when you got nominated for that uh I was proud of myself that I got nominated and some people didn't yeah and I was proud of myself for all the things I accomplished and people are noticing and I'm sure it makes you want to continue to do those good things right yeah I'm so proud of you Noah thanks thank you thank you so I was surprised at the um P meeting last night that um parents didn't seem to really know about this so um Christine Bardo is going to help us with a little bit of just not that everyone obviously can get a phone call home within the year but that we are doing this and that it's a positive initiative um but we we often have to explain it when we do call home because I think to the norm has been people are very nervous when here exactly but do you have any questions for us I just no I was just gonna say thanks for sharing and great job to all the kids and know we're proud of you too up here from the school Comm great job yeah I just want to say that that um my son is 19 and back in middle school I received a positive phone call home and and you're right as a parent you hold your breath when you get these phone calls my son was always a little bit of a rascal um but what I will say is I've never forgotten about that phone call this is all these years later and what what it felt like to receive that phone call so I appreciate Noah's mom sharing her experience and no no it's not easy sometimes to get up at the podium and speak at a school committee meeting and I know I put you on the spot but you did a nice job Noah um I just want you to understand the impact of what you're doing and you probably don't even realize the impact that you're making with these families and the children so thank you so so much for doing this thank you really great that okay next up another great um AES kudos to them but um aush Elementary School was ranked Among Us news and World Reports best schools and the principal was notified of this and again it's just another National recognition um we were 104 out of let's see almost 1600 almost, 1600 schools in the state and I believe there was only one other school in the area that was included in the list so we're extremely proud um we have great leaders leadership at the elementary school and great teachers uh great students and we know we're doing things right and it all comes down to the school committee as well I don't know if you noticed but we had a thank you sign on the board this week because we do appreciate you do volunteer work you support all of our initiatives we do appreciate you so much and it really from this and like I said I couldn't be more proud of the work that our staff is doing and I just think that was important for you to know about that we did send out a press release so I want to congratulate the teachers and all the staff and administrators at the elementary school um we're extremely proud of them I I would Echo that and the students congratulations to all the teachers administrators and students fantastic absolutely um and it's funny a couple of years back I think somebody on the school committee said to me we we want to get some national recognition and we got the Elementary School uh that following year got the distinguished schools award recognition um and now this and honestly like to have it happen a couple of times in the matter of a couple of years is is really unheard of so we're really we're really excited um the next um item in my report is the budget transfers there's nothing to vote on tonight it's just a memo outlining and explaining things does anybody have any questions okay and then the next piece is um you know I'm on a a 2-year evaluation cycle so I wanted to just do a mid-year check-in and what's nice about using board docs is we're able to kind of keep track of how everything relates to the standards and the goals so in um your packets you'll see two attachments one of the attachments basically talks about and I did it from September this year all the topics that we've had at our meetings and how they relate to each one of our goals okay and then the other packet is how every single thing that we've talked about um been doing and we try to highlight important things in our meeting but how it relates to each standard okay the instructional leadership the management operations family connections Etc and the safety and all that obviously I'm not going to read all these topics and things to you but I just I just want to say that you know in my humble opinion I think that things continue to go well here in the district um I work alongside of a great great team um surround myself with great people we have wonderful Educators in this district and I feel like you know my leadership style I'm able to empower people to do things I mean there's people out there getting grants for us there just everyone is just rowing in the same direction so it's it's a great feeling but I just thought it was important that you have this check-in with me and if there's any a progress it's just a little progress report basically on everything that we're doing do you have any comments questions and I Dr Billy I believe we saw kind of an updated um your goals at one of the earlier meetings this year because we're on the second year of the twoyear cycle right and so um nothing's changed I don't think here no no nothing's changed um we have a you know there's a lot of moving Parts running a school district there's um between the instruction instructional um initiatives that are going on all the grant work there's lots of new initiatives at the middle school um all the capital projects that we're working on and the infrastructure issues there's just a lot going on but it's exciting work so I think everybody who works in the district should be really proud of the work they're doing because it is really good work and I'm proud to work alongside them like I said any other questions no it's a great it's helpful to see all of that though thank you thank you for putting it together yeah and I I hope you're liking the board dos because we find it super helpful and efficient um that's all I have for tonight so thank you so much okay do we have any um oh so we have the business manager upate Patrick good evening chair person Hood school committee uh um quick update on the to-dos in the district from my office uh good news is again FY 25 budget continues to stay on track I know we kind of glaze over this almost every report but it is critical and it just you know sheds light on the work that the leadership team has put in to build their budgets um from a departmental standpoint and stay in line with those budgets um and with that you know we also didn't have any budget transfers um none are required though in quarters three and quarters four I'm sure there will be some from savings and strategic you know changes that we've made um within again the confines of the budget I know we have some some student service changes that that were unpredicted costs but at the same time we've captured savings and um you know replacement salaries or vacancies or curriculum initiatives um to be able to afford those changes and again it's just it speaks to the thought in the effort that goes into the budget and managing the budget not by myself but by the entire team um as far as from an accounting system standpoint the town was able to finally input the fy2 budget into munis so we don't have to do that mechanically anymore um again it is helpful it's nice to be able to just run a report with a click of a button to see those figures versus you know take four five six seven extra steps to do so um as far as FY 26 goes and building that budget um we've almost gotten through all our department head meetings already um for initial numbers we're going to compile those together um present to budget subcommittee which we have scheduled for this Thursday the 16th um in which the Town Administrator and the finance committee chair are also going to attend to shed light on the town's um figures and projections and where you know they sort of guide us in landing for a budget figure um again it's important to us that we maintain level Services while we get nationally recognized you know what backtack years or you know two out of three years anyway um so that is critical as well um Governor's budget is due the 22nd so that'll shed light on you know the funding from the state as far as education goes and if there's any changing changes or initiatives um again we expect to be a hold harmless District we don't expect the Chapter 70 formula to change at this point so really what my eyes are on on right now is what the per pup amount is going to be for um you know our minimum Aid that we receive from the facility standpoint um we received what we're calling the final investment grade audit from train on January 6th um which was the deadline that they were given we are meeting with them on the 21st to discuss further um it is an almost 150 page document so that's the reason for a couple of weeks before we meet with them um on the details and then you know they could be another round of changes but the core components of it are final so that's why we call it final and from there um once it is final and we're okay with everything that's in it we'll plan on sharing that with the committee um stakeholders the town post it on our website wherever is appropriate um that we decide so that everyone's in the know and they can see you know it in its greatest detail while we also have plans to provide the details and layman terms so that everyone can kind of understand on the surface level um again news with the town um Friday I'll be meeting with the Town Administrator the moderator and the town clerk to discuss the Avenues to get this project moving forward um which has been discussed in the past as far as if it's going to be a debt exclusion you know what timelines are we looking at what do we need to do to get this on the ballot what are our options and language and how we present it so um it's great that we have that meeting on the table and scheduled and um to figure those things out because truly we wouldn't be able to do it in a silo we don't know those Municipal law uh you know rules in terms of the fact that you know they're willing to take time out of their schedule and work with us on that is great um and and it gives hope to the project um on a Personnel standpoint uh this is the last week for our facilities director at least from a part a full-time standpoint um we have been conducting many interviews um for that position um and hope to have some interviews by the end of this week beginning and next week um for a replacement um he's leaving on great terms willing to pitch in um kind of sub whatever it takes to to hold us over and then some um so you know we're excited and happy to have that luxury um and I I know the next director will like that as well because there's a lot of historical knowledge in what that trade does in these buildings and the ins and the outs um of Aging infrastructure so that's critical um and then we filled our our vacant custodian positions that um we've had so we have a full-time day custodian next door um with great experience and we have a part-time custodian as well that's Bridging the Gap between day and night and filling in the the holes um so those are all positives and moving in the right direction to keep our facilities you know clean and up to Snuff for for teaching and educating um and then from the Food Service standpoint really my last note is we continue to evaluate the equipment as part of our you know capital and budgetary plan that we built in that department uh we ran into some snags with the cost of electrical requirements for some of the equipment that we're looking at so we're kind of on pause and strategizing what what direction we need to go with what equipment um but at the end of the day we know we have aging kind of obsolete equipment with the new ovens that are out there and the things that you can do and how you can use them to expand your menu and accommodate different needs of the students with allergies and things like that um so it is critical that we do make some sort of upgr grades in that department um and we're we're continuing to push through for that um a small change that we were able to make was we updated all our point of sale systems um at in the lunch lines and again those were old aging computers so not that you know they weren't fast and functioning and we weren't able to get kids through the line quick enough but also you know if the tech director was here he would let you know how they are exposed to different threats because the updates uh aren't available on them to protect you from the outside World um that is you know cyber security um so now we're all up to Snuff with that as well and that's all funded through the school Food Service revolving account so that's not anything locally that's all the aid that we receive from selling um our reimbursable meals and breakfasts um any questions that's about it for me um can you just explain again the um the cleaners for the night time and daytime do we have that third party still cleaning at night yes the third party is still very much much at night um they pretty much do a full clean of all the classrooms and bathrooms at night while our day custodians um take care of the same spaces as needed um full hallways they're responsible for the gym the librarian some of the bigger spaces then being on call and available for the lunch shifts um for the for the you know we call them the bodily fluids whether you know it's yes um so um that's what they take care of in the daytime and then the part-time custodian kind of picks up in between what the night crew isn't taking care of and what the day crew can't get to they afford US the luxury of having a body in place there um so that we're not going crazy with overtime we can let our rental facilities in we can get some things done that you know tie up Loose Ends so um I looked online again uh at the town website and I see that they're still looking for an accountant a town accountant and an assistant accountant so with that said knowing that there are not these people in the positions um or they're not working to their full capacity how confident are you in the numbers that we're going to be receiving on Thursday sorry to be you on the spot but um yeah I well so my understanding I mean it's critical that we don't have a town accountant um and someone that's kind of known the numbers and again has that kind of historical knowledge of the trends and then the analysis of those figures um for my my understanding you know we have a a board of select a select board that's you know well versed on the figures and the Town Administrator and finance committee that um feel comfortable enough to present to us on Thursday with the figures so you know we'll we have to do our own due diligence but we you know we'll take into consideration what they present us as well and you know it is what it is I guess um you know yeah there there are holes in that office and it's it's tough we also lost our assistant treasur um I'm just concerned that the finance office was closed last week cuz someone was out sick so that was it it was closed you know um going to come to us with this figure and then we're going to have to re-evaluate it all once these other people start coming in and and finding out like what the real numbers are and then let's go back again and I just don't want to waste school time on on on numbers that might be so far left or right or whatever and I think you know not to just interject you know we have some pretty significant projects going on here and I think the timing and I Patrick I don't want to put words in your mouth but hopefully it sounds like you have a meeting at the end of this week that may inform some of the things that will need to happen and maybe at the next school committee meeting we get a picture of kind of next steps where we are but I think the timeline is pretty tight to try to make some of this stuff happen and so to the extent that we don't have the right resources in place it puts a potential risk on the project I will tell you we uh met with the board of selectman recently about the capital project I express some concern about like not having some of the staff accountant position uh filled they they appreciate that I think they're trying to do what they can do but it does create risk I think across many of our projects I think what's important too is you know we know our figures you know and I'm confident in that we know what our needs are um you know we've done we've done a good job in the two and a half years um that I've been here to sharpen our pencil and be fiscally responsible for both the school responsible for both the School in the town and that's the approach we're going to take um you know we know what we need we know what's reasonable um we know what it takes to provide those level services and we're going to advocate for ourselves with you know everything in mind the tax rate in mind the community in mind um things like that but it is I mean we know how it goes we're going to present hopefully next school committee meeting with a superintendent recommended budget we're going to extend as many meetings as we need for joint meetings finance committee meetings you know so on and so forth and you know we're gonna have to see what everyone thinks um but at the end of the day you know we know what Aid we get we know what sort of you know reserves that we've tapped into in the past the stabilization fund um we know what grants we're capable of getting so you know we'll put our best numbers forward thanks thanks pck so the next the next item is the technology update but my understanding Mr is out of the district today so we'll just table this uh to the next meeting if that's okay or if you have any questions I can bring it back to him but okay I I read the report or his update I didn't have any questions on okay uh are there any school Committee Member reports I just have one announcement that the ACC cushion at PTO uh is sponsoring the eighth grade class for their eighth grade dance that's happening in June and we are doing a shoe drive at Ford middle school so if you have any lightly used shoes not not completely unusable but they will be donated to local shelters and um a percentage of the cost of that whatever that is is going to help our eighth grade students um with that eighth grade dance so the community can drop them off at the vestib in the front of this building Ford Middle School um so they are welcome to come in again just in that vestibule so they'll be uh they'll have to push the button to get in and safely put their um shoes in the bin that's out there um and if they do not if they could please not put the shoes in the bins that are in the parking lot because those don't count so it has to you have to come in and ring the bell at Ford Middle School at the front main office and that's going until the end of February so please clean out your closets and donate all the shoes that you can so thank you do get rid um the the only other thing uh that I would mention is um we have started uh negotiations with our um teachers and other bargaining units so we've had a couple of meetings um those are underway hopefully over the next few months we'll have a clean and uh smooth negotiation process but there'll be more to come when appropriate uh so there are also in the in the packet uh some Communications District newsletter ases newsletter FMS and one thing that I will say is I think um we received a donation from the oset firefighters Association that was uh targeted towards the music program and so we certainly are appreciated I wanted to thank the the folks there who made that donation um and that's it we we do not have executive session tonight so we have no other items so I will ask for a motion to adjourn good move second I'll do a roll call yes Mr Hood yes Mrs Downey yes Mrs goes Mrs C yes motion passes meeting is a j thank you [Music] [Music]