##VIDEO ID:Cu_pXX0FADc## [Applause] [Music] good evening everyone today is Tuesday August 13 2024 this is our uh chrisan nich school committee meeting um uh please silence your cell phones this video uh meeting is being video and audio recorded for future cable broadcast and as always we will open our meeting with the uh Pledge of Allegiance [Music] thank you so much all right IED Al to the flag of the United States America the for stands one nation God indivisible withy and justice for all and if I could have a motion please to open our meeting so move second okay and we'll take a roll call vote Mrs Downey yes your yes Mr Hood yes Mr H yes and Mrs C yes okay we'll begin with the approval of minutes de roll and warrants I can request a motion please to approve the minutes of June 4th 2024 and all payroll and Warr all those in favor I I and I understand we do not have anyone signed up to speak on public comment tonight so we'll move right over to um point four in our agenda which is the reorganization of the school committee so as we know um every time we um H have public election which was just recently we do take the opportunity to reorganize the school committee and change the roles of the school committee um so that entails the chair Vice chair so on and all of our subcommittee subcommittees um so I'll just get right Dive Right In um if I can request a motion please um to approve to um nominate Mr Hood uh for the position of chair of the school committee so moved second okay any discussion IE to ask oh do we need a roll roll call for that roll call vote Mrs dowy yes Mrs G yes Mr yes yes yes then I am going to very happily pass you the torch Mr chairman and so that you can continue on um with meeting congratulations well I I appreciate the confidence and look forward to uh continuing to work with you for the benefit of the the district so um with that uh I'd like to ask for a motion to nominate Mrs Downey to Vice chair so moved second Mrs down yes sorry I now I need to change I would be happy Mrs goes yes sister Hood yes Mr she's yes congratulations thank you happy again happy to continue to serve uh okay so um with that we typically look at our subcommittees right and so I propose the following and we can discuss um budget sub subcommittee Mrs goes and Mr hro negotiations myself and M Miss Downey policy Miss Gomes and and Miss Corda the Old Colony V appointment committee Miss Gomes Mr hro Miss Corda smck representative Mrs qua um masc Master confererence delegate myself superintendent valuation committee myself and could I entertain your motion for those assment I'll make motion roll call pleas Mr Hood yes Mrs Downey yes Mrs holes yes Mr h m yes that was a quickest fast [Laughter] Mr chair now the nominations are closed so I just I just want to uh commend you know we seek excellence in public education but what I we witnessed the last couple of years is excellence in public service and I've seen that in the in the chairmans ship of Mrs Downey I see you know how commendable vigilance to and dedication uh to her to her job as as chair has brought a great deal of public support to this community you know for the school committee and uh and and I and I and and she been has served proudly and we're all proud I am proud of you so I just want to say [Applause] um paa looks like we have no old business so can we jump into business sure all right the first um thing on our agenda tonight is we have Representatives here from why not a pair foundation and I'm sure many of you are wondering why we have many beautiful backpacks filled with school supplies and here from the foundation I'd like to call all the members up but the president is Brook MOA to the podium if you could just talk to us about um your donation and everybody is welcome feel free to come up hi everyone um my name is Brook MOA and I'm the president of the nonprofit organization why not app pair uh first I would like to thank the school committee and superintendent for having us at your meeting this afternoon it is always a pleasure meeting new faces and being able to share our message so um I would first like to give you a brief introduction into our symbol and our meaning and our name of why not prare so our organization was founded on the belief that by providing children access to various learning opportunities different opport different activities that they wouldn't otherwise find themselves being in different learning OPP environments that we can help Empower and make them grow into the successful Future Leaders of our communities so with the help of our team we identified various um opportunities where we can either donate our volunte time or provide funds um mainly in education based initiatives um these are all geared towards helping children regardless of their differences learning differences Financial differences the list goes on um the image of the pair is in contrast to the shiny perfect round Apple that can be seen representing students in education um we chose to use the image of the pair the imperfect not as thought of fruit to represent and celebrate difference so why not a this is our second year um at why not appare supporting students and families in need of aush schools as you can see in front of you we have a couple backpacks ready for students in need here um each year we have purchased and filled the backpacks with each of all the needed school supplies um to help our Future Leaders learn I would also like to extend a sincere and extra thanks to superintendent Paula Bailey for her support and um all of her partnership in this endeavor both years um I would like to thank you all for your time again and and I hope to see you helping us learn at why out appear in the future thank you thank you again for the second year your generosity is greatly appreciated by the district so on behalf of the comme thank you absolutely our pleasure thank you and I would just ask um well before we get to that I just want to say we contacted the families who will be receiving the students who receiving these backpacks and I cannot tell you how thankful and grateful they were to your organization um because it's going to help them a lot and this will be good all year and I know you went on our website you went above and beyond you went on our website to see what specific supplies for each grade level and we have very specific people that these will go to and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for U being a great partner with a cushion at public schools now I would love it if you could all come over I'm going to take a picture with a school committee um let's see come John look the [Laughter] [Music] other that's good assembled you push me down if you like thank you so much that was our first um next we also have guests here from train I would would ask the representatives from train who is conducting an investment grade audit to give the school committee an update and the public an update about all the things that they've been doing over the summer um so if um Morgan and Max could come to the podium introduce yourselves and give us that update thank you so much superintendent Bailey and thank you so much uh Mr chairman and to the committee uh for having us here today uh like superintendent Bailey said we're here to update you on what train has been doing in regards to the investment grade audit that we entered into earlier this year um this audit is a part of a larger project to really upgrade your school buildings in a comprehensive approach uh so we're going to start have a little brief agenda I start with the why of why we entered into this contract together in the first place a little brief performance contract in 101 kind of the basis behind how the structure of this engagement will work um the ECM scope review which is really the me potatoes of an investment grade audit the schedule update so what we've done so far timeline and also what we have to go and then really close with Community benefits and any questions you may have so the why of these projects really starts with deferred maintenance and understanding uh your facilities so what are those Capital needs that have been growing over the past couple of years because you're only alloted a certain amount of budgets to update your facilities each year and you're what we call stuck in the spiral having these things kind of built up you do the best that you possibly can but these are large buildings and they require maintenance and attention um usually that's heavily into heating ventilation and air conditioning systems and also controls so that also impacts visibility of systems understanding what energy usage those systems are putting off understanding your total uh carbon footprint and then lastly on that list which I know is is a priority for the district is also demand for sufficient indoor Environmental Quality otherwise known as inle air quality a little bit of background again into performance Contracting which is really the structure of an energy Management Services agreement is that it's a well established procurement and Contracting method enabled by mgl chap 25 a1i it's enabled by the department of energy resources and it allows for one firm and Energy Services Company to come in and assist in design understanding your buildings development of a scope of work in Project implementation so installation of that scope of work and then servicing and guaranteeing Energy savings for the long term these contracts allow for up to 20 years of an agreement so it is really a long-term engagement between two parties to make sure that you have buildings that really work for you these projects can be paid independent of a capital budget and they can be paid for overtime entirely or in part by Energy savings so they don't have to be 100% Energy savings funded although they can be there's a bit of flexibility when it comes to financing of these types of things projects so to get into the investment grade audit otherwise known as the IGA that we've been working on for the past couple of months our really three priorities when we engaged into this IG were first to improve the Indoor Comfort and humidity at the elementary school the primary way really for us to do that is to add air conditioning and intelligent controls so that was the first scope of work that we started to focus on and that's adding AC into occupied space is using really intelligent he pump technology which also thankfully in this day and age comes with some incentives some State incentives uh which has been really helpful towards the financials as you can imagine adding controls to make those systems work together and then improving the building envelope so that we're not just adding air conditioning and let all of that fresh air fresh cool air slip out back into the environment right the second priority is to investigate on-site solar to realize those energy cost savings and help use that energy saving to hopefully pay for some larger Capital upgrades um so we've been investigating two different options one would be a carport solar canopy option which we envisioned would sit in the canopy in the parking lot covering some parking spaces but also the walkway between both schools it requires as you can imagine a bit more investigation as it relates to understanding what's underground of the parking lot geotechnical um really a lot more Preparatory studies that that need to be investigated so it's a little bit more expensive and also just in general steel structures like that do cost more money benefits are there is it's a separate structure right it's providing coverage of the parking lot and of the walkway and it will also have LED lights as well the second option under on-site solar would be rooftop solar on the elementary school to our understanding it's a relatively new roof that could be prepped pretty appropriately for solar um we have already started to investigate the structural Integrity of the roof in addition to what that warranty would look like just to make sure we're not impacting that at all so those are the two Pathways that we are proceeding forward with as it relates to solar and then lastly is really traditional energy conservation measures so in our eyes that's Transformers it's building envelope it's a little bit of lighting um kitchen Hood controls walkin cooler freezer controls these are things that we use to really promote energy SA within a project to help pay for some other larger scopes of work this is just a quick summary of the investment grade audit Scopes that we'll be identifying so I already mentioned controls building management systems building envelope lighting insulation um we're also investigating some kitchen equipment upgrades as well and I think I covered all of those so really investigating every single ECM for both schools they may differ and how large each scope of work is per school but we are doing the investigation on them all right it looks like my timeline's got a little wonky but regardless this is the current schedule what's boxed in of steps 1 two and three is what we have completed to date so we started with a request for qualifications issued by Acushnet in February uh Acushnet so- kindly selected train as their energy services company in May of 2024 and we officially entered into that investment grade audit in July of 24 so we've been working since then and even a little bit before then on starting to develop this scope of improvements that we are plan to start presenting to you now and to present to you again in the next couple of weeks with fixed firm pricing and a better understanding of what the Energy savings and incentives will look like for each scope of work um next is obviously uh bringing that project um forward to the people that need to hear the message potentially bringing it to town meeting after that we would execute the agreement with financing secured this could be as early as November this is just an estimated timeline of course uh things can change um and then we could start implementing those upgrades as early as November if we were to move forward pretty quickly and following implementation and actually installing these energy conservation measures what would what would follow afterwards is some sort of either uh maintenance combined of aush and also train longterm for the term of the agreement uh and also train guaranteeing Energy savings um for the term of the agreement as well to make sure that your buildings are running appropriately so just to to summarize the goal of this project once we have selected a scope of work that fits your needs or really into three buckets fiscal social and environmental we want to make sure that you are getting needed facility upgrades in the most financially um appropriate way possible so getting any incentives that we possibly can using energy SA needs to pay for it uh guaranteed by train and really making this project work over the long term second is social right making it an appropriate learning environment where indoor air quality is pristine so we're positively impacting both teachers and students and then lastly is environmental right uh reducing energy consumption hopefully helping your utility bills and really Greening your schools as a as you can push it as a green community and that's I think all we had we have question questions so I I did see the timeline there and is it realistic to have some sort of budgetary information for a town meeting that's happening in the fall is that something that's really going to happen it just seems like a really big big project to have all these numbers done for town meeting are we estimating at town meeting or are we really going to have some numbers nailed down is my question it's certainly a lofty goal I think it depends on which part of the scope of work you intend on moving forward with so we will have really mostly firm some budgets to you all within the next week or two um so then right so I mean you'll already be able to start thinking about financing and selecting a scope of work um I know that getting onto the warrant has to happen obviously before town meeting right um so then we have to start thinking about well what are we willing to put onto the warrant so that we feel comfortable presenting a project and that really at the end of the day is up up to you all so you're comfortable with accurate estimates and again I use accurate and then estimates that in the same I realized that um for each of the jobs for us to select that's the gold that's the gold if I may add to Morgan's U so we we understand your constraints right we understand that you know um everything is a trade-off so we we got to we're going to present you with options right with the ECM so that the town can look at what's the highest priority but we heard the town loud and clear that humidity control at a high at the elementary school is a priority right so our job is not only to tailor our effort towards a priority um that not all um ecms may be develop to the same uh accuracy if you will right because as margan mentioned some of the ecms are larger for example solar um to to look at the canopy uh in a in a um more advanced development one needs to look at the soil report one needs to look at the location uh underground um utility location and that is simply not feasible to develop the the uh fixed firm by the to fall town meeting so we will do our best to develop uh a estimate to within the accuracy as much as we can for example plusus 30 % plus minus 20% if we can so that the town can make decision on next steps um on the other hand we understand that the um addressing indoor air quality is of the highest priority so for that we are pushing to have it as accurately estimated as possible to the end we have been working with uh different trades um and just to bring folks into a little more considerations for that um this that will require upgrade on both electrical infrastructure as well as structural right because um that's adding a lot of equipment um not um as well as solar because they're interactive so we have to find out spaces and structural to uh accommodate these pieces so we are doing um those pieces are moving ahead so we are comfortable that we will we will align our efforts to your priorities um that I also want to point out that that's one opportunity uh we were brought into um look at the the indoor air quality piece but that uh with adding air conditioning is a great opportunity to also capitalize to to capture the environmental piece right kushna being a green community so we are proposing a heat pump which is a incremental incremental uh cost addition but um to capture the heat the the environmental benefits as well as cost benefits down the road because heat pumps can heat and cool electrically with the same piece of infrastructure and also to uh capitalize on existing utility incentives so when we look at the project we look at uh different ecms and see how they can best uh you can capture economies of scale and you can capture uh the optimized design at the system right so for example if you uh if we are to install a a physical piece of equipment and then to retrofit with controls later that will be more costly so when we are looking at a project we are looking at what's what's the facing of the project that makes sense what's the uh what's a combination of measures that Mak sense as a system so uh our recommendation as you have seen um are tailor towards that direction and sorry I realized as Max was talking that we did not introduce ourselves Morgan Baris I think I've met most of you before but I'm the I'm the account manager for this role so really the point person as it relates to the development and communicating to you what projects we are considering and presenting forward and Max ma is the project developer uh so he's the brains behind the mission and we've been meeting with both Max and Morgan uh myself the bus manager and the facilities director every week we have a standing meeting every Tuesday morning just to get be updated ask our questions so that we're in the loop and and make sure that we're on the timeline so it's been going well I mean really at this point every single trade has been walked so part of it is the waiting period of of trying to accumulate quotes back and getting picking the best quotes we don't we don't typically get just one right we want the best price two for you all so we get multiple receiving those pulling together the fixed firm pricing so that we can present that back to you I just have one more Qui question you might not be able to answer it which is fine um the solar aspect of it I know we were having issues with solar in the past with I don't know what it was I know they were just issues has that been taken into consideration with this project yeah so we Absolut we were made aware of of kind of the the previous engagement regarding solar um the model that we've really focused on on looking at is a cushion it owning your own solar which is a completely different model than what you had been considering and while some of the constraints I'll say and challenges are still the same right it's a very um what's the word Consolidated there's a lot of um heavy interconnection there's a heavy interconnection what am I trying to say busy right this this a lot of people are trying to inst solar right now A lot of people are trying to interconnect to the Grid it's very busy right now and that's I think where a lot of the challenges were coming from as it related to pricing um a benefit of taking this own your own versus the alternative approach that you were considering is that the new inflation reduction act actually includes additional benefits for the investment tax credit that used to not be um available to non- taxable entities so now there's actually a direct pay path for non- taxable entities like yourself where you can claim that investment tax credit which is anywhere from 6% to 50% of the total project cost so Tak in consideration that absolutely and that would flow directly to you um as that non- taxable entity direct to pay into your your budget what is the defitely the deadin the warant I think it's within the next week or two right this week yeah so we're aware and we're working on the Articles to get to the town um yeah so it sounds like just just a confirm um we're working to get that warrant on town meeting Y and W compin will have um a strong estimate plus or minus 20% right% to the we've should suffice as it say right can Patrick head up there and just explain a little bit more detail for us cuz we're we just want to make sure we have our ducks in a row when we come to town meeting we don't want to miss the opportunity right and we also don't want to present anything that's too inflated or too under inflated yeah so thank you Morgan and Max um so a couple things Town article deadline is the 26th we've been I've met with the town we've been in talks you know again all summer with expectations of this if we don't have you know a fixed firm pricing I might be saying the same thing here they a little more polish with the terms we will have not to exceed number which should fit into the scope of the project again project priority is AES indoor air quality first which is what really they've been busting their butts to get done for this deadline that which we once thought was November then it was October now it's September 30th so um they've been great we've had people in and out of here every day you know the this is very much an energy conservation project that we're able to capitalize on our Capital needs with so everything they take into consideration is based on energy saving so we had a light project done before that's something they would they audited but we already grabbed all the incentive there to conserve energy and to upgrade um so those things come into play but this this HVAC solution isn't just go buy the equipment put it in and plug it in it's you need to have the the roofing structure Al loads we have a structural structural engineer out here looking at as builts looking at the N looking at weight capacities um you know then we talk about electricity load and then we have to look at what our panels can afford what our connection to the street can afford so you have to have an electrical engineer out and it's just a revolving door with you know their team members and ours showing them different things reviewing different things um you know there might be a million dooll solution that only comes with a $200,000 incentive that you know an $800,000 project but there might be a $1.5 million solution that would cost us a million and you get away the pros and the cons so that's been their job of you know giving us all of these different options looking at incentives grants are popping up every day we've been working with the town not to apply for Green community grants so we can hit the Heavy Hitters that you're only allowed to apply for once a year for $500,000 so there's a lot of moving Parts but um so I hope that sheds a little more light and lay in terms on what we been doing um we're very much going to hit the Articles we're going to hit our deadline we're going to need everybody out there to vote to support this project and one other clarifying piece which you know honestly I I think I got confused with a little bit as we kicked this off is your payback is an energy savings it's not that you don't have to pay for the project up front at full cost but it's the idea that you're paying a million dollars in over 30 years if you didn't make that change you're going to be saving a million dollar over this time period so it out the project to really not afford you anything and that that's the idea with the conservation and the incentives and the different scopes of the project so I hope that helps a little bit solar definitely we're not considering for Town articles right now and that was related to interconnectivity and load in if it was a certain size you had to pay premiums in El there was so many things going on there and again we've passed all our notes onto train Train's met with us with their solar team you know many times as well and we're kind of still brainstorming that that you know maybe the canopy is a good solution to provide all those extras but maybe the fiscal responsible solution is a rooftop solution that you know saves US money otherwise and let us budget gives us budget flexibility if you will so that's that's a conversation to have later with the focus being on um indoor air quality and some of the other low hanging fruit that we can just pick and pop without doing any crazy heavy lifting train has been around for very long time is that correct we have okay cuz one of my concerns with having our little tours around both buildings is that there are no parts of a lot of the mechanics in our buildings are not replaceable anymore because the places have gone out of business or something has happened so I'm looking at this with your company having the longevity that they've had that we shouldn't Bang into that in the next 20 or 25 years that we can't find a part is that safe to say if there's something that breaks or anything like that that you won't be around anymore I know there's no crystal ball however I'm just saying that we will absolutely be around for the next 20 years I can guarantee you that uh I think you're always going to run into issues of of Parts going obsolete I think obsolete I think that's just kind of the nature of the stay and age but absolutely within the next 15 20 years I don't Envision that happening as a part of this agreement and we certainly are not going anywhere I'm not going anywhere and so there are warranties and part of this like that's all part of the package and everything like that I just want to make sure that we're well yeah depending on the scope of work there would be different warranties for for different pieces of equipment um it always comes with a one-year part and workmanship warranty parts and labor um but aside from that it's traditionally equipment warranties which can be anywhere from 5 to 10 years for certain pieces of equipment okay I was told that you also make is that correct that you make Parts as well we do we make equipment of our bread and butter M yep thank you those that's one of the aspects if I may add that um makes train a good partner for this project because we are we make equipment and we make controls right we integrate controls into our equipment so for hvc uh Focus project training is you know we are competitive in in this Tye of project yeah and I think again Morgan if you want to address continuing the relationship once the project is finished I mean there's probably going to be multiple phases but you know it's not like you you know once certain thing is done we don't speak to you anymore do you know what I mean like if you want to just address what that looks like yeah absolutely I have a a number of projects and and engagements with districts that I still talk to 15 years into their agreement I'm actually talking with one now on doing an additional phase in the 15th year of a 20-year agreement so we truly do not go anywhere this is a very stable company not only with our equipment manufacturing but also our servicing capabilities as well um so our service technicians are in buildings every single day all across the state of Massachusetts in Rhode Island and they are not going anywhere uh Factory trained technicians and truly my job is to be here for the long term and make sure that this project not only goes well right now but that we continue to serve you and help you and make sure that your buildings stay Tip Top so that's our job so thank you all for working so uh quickly and diligently to try to make this happen thank you thank you thank you for having us thank you so much and I just want to reiterate the process for a choosing train was very thorough and extensive um because we had other companies that were very good so we're just very happy with what we've seen so far and I know it will continue so I appreciate you very much um next on the agenda we've been working very hard this summer and I want to uh give a shout out to our director of curriculum who I'm actually going to have come up to the podium Angela rer and also our business manager because we are now going to be offering before and after school extended care for our families so I'm going to ask um Miss rary if she could just review with us what we we're bringing in a new vendor to make this happen good evening Mr chairman and members of the school committee and can I just add how we found out about this is um Angie and I were at a professional development and this is often where we do Network and make contact with some of these vendors so this was a direct result of going to professional development so yes alphab best education um so we have not had before and after care in the district for years now it's actually since before um the pandemic um and you know we have had a feeling that it's been a need in the community we've had families reaching out in inquiring and uh we we attended a professional development and there were some districts in Massachusetts they're presenting on the amazing experience that they have had with alphab best um and we started really looking at what what these programs had to offer and also kind of what the cost would be to families and it all just seemed like a really great opportunity um and something that could really help support our community and we did follow the RFP process so we did put this out to bid and we did have um two vendors actually um put a put an off place a bid and they were both actually really amazing and it was a very close call we had a committee come together and to review all of the um everything that both companies had to offer um and I want to just show kind of a quick video about alphab best and then I can talk a little bit about why it was that we selected this vender every child looks forward to the end of a long day but for kids who attend after school the final Bell of the day can represent the start of something new something different something exciting introducing after school with alphabest where creativity Wonder and Imagination take Center Stage alphabest is dedicated to providing more than just homework health and safe Dependable child care every day our students get to Delight in funfilled experiential learning designed to tap into their innate curiosity our Innovative after school curriculum teaches kids how to connect to the world through everchanging lessons that incorporate stem world languages and cultures Fitness and Wellness arts and entertainment and maker stations by Design the school day can be rigorous and structured which is why alphab best gives children the freedom to explore through imagination we take our fun seriously in fact the only thing alphab best is dedicated to more than good times is safety and nothing gets past our watchful eyes before school after school during holidays and over summer alphab best is here whenever you need us so come discover the educational power of imagination and help us put a little Wonder in the world let's work together to bring alphab best into your children's lives alphab best after school is where adventure [Music] begins um so I talked about this a little bit but we did put a survey out to families in April of La of a April of 24 and we had 31 families respond that they would like to take advantage of before school and 42 families respond that they would like to take advantage of after school whether it be a day or three or 5 days a week um and so we had criteria that we used to select the vendor um we definitely wanted a vendor that had success in delivering programs um not only not only this is actually a nationwide company and and some of the venders really that is kind of their large scale um but they're also local um or within the state and and alphab best is actually kind of growing quickly growing in the state of Massachusetts um and so we wanted a good service plan we wanted um comprehensive program offerings um strong um Administration support from the from the program um we wanted to make sure that our high need students were also going to have um be supported to participate in these programs um and then yeah just a level of experience with whoever would be coming into our buildings that they that there was some level of of experience there and that the registration process would be user friendly to families and that it would be affordable um for families as well and cost efficiency for for our district and alphab best really I think the the thing that made us really want to go with alphab best was while the other vendor did have great program offerings this just seemed like there was a stronger curriculum piece in place or it was a little bit more highly structured um you know and so that video kind of a little bit Illustrated it and that video talked mostly I think about after school programming but this would also be before school programming also um and so the areas where they have their enrichment is stem world languages and cultures Fitness and Wellness arts and entertainment there's maker spaces and they do have homework help and it is structured and supported homework help time and at this point um what has been proposed to us would be the $60 for 5 days of before care $80 a week for 5 days of after care and then the combination of the two would be $125 a week per child um and I don't have up there they're working to get us different pricing based on whether a family was to come one day or three days or a student was to come one day or 3 days or so I don't have those prices for you tonight um but it really they did their homework they did some comps with different providers in the area and this seems to be either right in line or actually probably under what families might find themselves paying in other locations and it's not that we're trying to take anything away from that but what it comes down to is that a lot of families are finding that the other other opportunities are filled and so there's just really is a need for this in the community um and so this would be a program that will be offered to K to6 students with the idea of escorting middle school students back and forth to the elementary school so it would be housed at the elementary school but that they if fifth and sixth grade students were going to participate they could be escorted back and forth um and the it would be from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. um we talked about I talked about homework time and there's going to be secure checking in and checking out there's a great uh staff student ratio of 1 to 13 um they the alphab best is able to and prepared to help families secure vouchers so if there's families who receive the free or reduced lunch they could also receive reduced fee for after care and they can assist families in that process and um we've also been talking about trying to extend that care to school vacation weeks um professional development days and um summer break and this is actually um something that we're going to be asking the school committee to take a vote on um so are there any questions um can you tell us what the committee that selected this program was apprised of was it parents teachers it was myself our business manager and the two building principles just a quick question on like for the morning care is it going to be run out of like the gym or the library or you using classrooms they're looking at using the cafeteria at AES um and then the gym I don't know about the gym for the morning time but the gym and then they'll they'll get um they're in the process of getting their certifications for operating out of the building um so they'll get the playgrounds also certified but I think they'll probably try to just keep it to one they're going to try to get a few classrooms certified also so that if there was ever an event that uh the gym or the cafeteria needed to be used during the same time if there was a conflict that they would have an alternate place to go um so they're they're like very willing to work with us and understand that it's a school it's a school and that there often multiple needs and uses in the community and that they're willing to be flexible what is the max capacity of students that can go in the I know we we know what the interest is but how how many can they take yeah they're willing to take is many as um are interested I think I mean they're going to try to grow the program they you know it's in their best interest to have as many students participate as possible so and I think it was a minimum of 10 okay right to start and then they were like whatever whoever signs up they'll provide the staff yeah they're handling all two more questions yes uh guarantee of Staff like are they guaranteeing like one staff member to every 10 children or how how is that it's 1 to 13 um but they do say that they sometimes you know they they actually that's like their Max so they do say that often times it will be that ratio will be it'll be lower um so they won't say I'm sorry we can't have today because we don't have anybody to take the I would hope not I don't I mean we did talk a little bit about that they do have um Regional supporters also who so they have like backup people in case subs or something M they have subs and they also have like a regional manager and then somebody who's probably going to be overseeing a few of the programs on the south coast here um and those people in emergency situations will even come and jump in if they cannot substitute and then one final question is there price adjustments depending on the schools because fifth and sixth graders start school at at 8:00 so they're only there for an hour but are they paying the same as let's say an elementary school child in the morning that's there at 7:00 and doesn't go to school till 9:00 and then vice versa in the afternoon right I'm not I can I can inquire about that I'm not certain because I I think either way they need to Staffing whether the student comes for an hour or two hours they need the Staffing for the number of students that they're going to have so my guess is that they they may not adjust that but I can ask as a as a parent I I'm just that would be my first question so I'm just wondering if other parents will have the same one so if we can address that prior at least you'll know yes I'm working on getting the exact pricing from them um we have sent a communication to families that this is coming down the pipeline and I know that they are eagerly awaiting more information and they are calling the elementary school and unfortunately at this time I don't really have much more to share than what I've what I'm sharing tonight and what I've already communicated to families um because we are going to contract after this meeting if the vote is approved and then uh from there they are going to be working on getting their certification and that is then in the hands of alphab best in the state and hopefully that process goes smoothly we it is our hope to have a program in place for the start of the school year but that may not be the case um and so right so when we so like I said I'm trying to get a more tiered approach to the pricing for families so that it's not the Allin or nothing we also sent the principals and uh Miss rier to visit another District close by that has alphab best so I think that was helpful to us in making our selection as well maybe we could ask if it's approved that once we're up and running at some point maybe Midway through the year we have a report back to see how it's going what's working well yeah yep and part of our part of our request and what they do is to have regular s surveys to student to families um and students and so we are requesting that they provide us that data and feedback so that we can review how families feel the program is going um so and they and they actually one of the other things that we really liked about alphab best was they really claim that they want to be a part of the school community so they will put on family events and try to you know I think grow their program in that way but that they're doing community outreach and um so once we're contracted we'll probably see them on site like we may see them on site at open house night or those kinds of things other question so we need a okay so could I have a motion to uh approve the Contracting for before and after school extended day program I think we need a roll second see no discussion see no discussion Mr Hood yes Mrs dowy yes Mrs go yes Mr Rob yes yes thank you thank you thank you so the next thing um is the superintendent PRP and midcycle formative evaluation which we've already discussed at an open session um but we thought we would just be transparent about it again so I'm going to actually turn it back over to you um chairperson to um address this one this agenda item yeah so Dr Bailey Just to be clear right so we're setting your goals on a two-year basis right and so this is really to check in and see how we're tracking ultimately to those two-year goals so I will not read this uh but certainly the committee provided feedback and I'll just try to summarize maybe some of the the themes here quickly if I look at um some of the goals like instructional leadership you know there's a lot of feedback from the committee uh in terms of Dr Bailey's um efforts to continuously improve right we're always um and she's always leading the district to try to not rest on our law rules and to continuously um you know improve what we're doing if I talk if I look at engagement a lot of feedback around um you know the updates whether we're using social media the newsletters um all of the uh the vehicles essentially that are at our disposal to to communicate with the with the district and to ensure that folks are engaged if I look at uh the culture again we hear Dr Bailey say this all the time right two schools one District so I think the committee recognizes that and feels that that's important to the culture that we're trying to to create here you know if we look at um you know some of the things around fostering a sense of belonging and partnership a lot of feedback around you know the need that we had for a social and emotional learning some of the things we've done like putting in advisory groups in FMS some of the student ambassador at the elementary school so some of those things I think the committee feels pretty pretty strongly about so you know if we look at the overall rating it's it's certainly proficient um and I think our intention here is to uh have a vote on the performance uh recognition in your contract so um I can make that motion this this point yeah okay so uh based on the superintendent's attainment of specific performance objectives for the contract year I'd like to asked for a motion to approve Dr Bailey's performance recognition pay for the 2023 2024 school year in the amount of $3,000 so moved second any discussion so I think we a roll call see I'll pass I Lear I Mr Hood yes Mrs Downey yes Mrs GES yes Mr hro Mrs CA yes thank you um and again I always give recognition to the team that I work with each and every day um not just the central office administrators but the teachers the custodians the cath workers every single person who works in this District we all two schools one District we're all working with the students in mind um and we strive to do our very best to give them the best education possible so hope I'm glad that you recognize that over the years we just continue to try to make those improvements so thank you so much the next um thing on the agenda is the school physician contract you know every year we just have to have a school position so we have Dr tet's contract there that you should have reviewed in your packet um I'd be more than happy to sign that on behalf of the committee but I just do need um a vote tonight to approve as presented could I request a motion to approve the the contract as presented so second any discussion we need a roll call Mr Hood yes Mrs Downing yes Mrs goes yes Mr hcro yes Mrs K yes uh next we have our student handbook which looks a little different this year i' actually like to call the principles up to the podium but one of the things that we thought was important is um the transitions for families we are only two schools we're a smaller District it's really sometimes hard for parents to go from one school and these rules to another school and these rules things are so different we have a lot of things that are are the same so we decided to work this summer on making one combined handbook with the Dums um that is very specific for the elementary school as well as an addendum for the middle school and I'd like um we have Miss syvia here from the middle school and miss petto here from the elementary school to talk about the process that we this was many months of work um we looked at other handbooks so it finally has come together um and we have many other projects that we want to work on but this one we feel that after this year we've got it down but it's just going to get better and better as we go on now that we have the format correct so I'm going to turn the podium over to you ladies and you can explain what we have done thank you Mr chairperson school committee how are you tonight good it's lovely evening so over at AES our handbook the main the student family handbook did not change we didn't add anything we still have all of the information about the shoot specific behavior expectations PBIS um and then if you turn your your items over to the staff handbook is that okay if I talk about that sure um the staff handbook we did had some stuff some items and so now our staff handbook mirrors exactly the FMS staff handbook you open them up side by side it looks like this very similar handbook we added in some like civil rights for some reason wasn't in there we have classroom environment and um a section on professionalism so those were some of the big changes um so it mirrors the FMS handbook we thought that was a great idea that she had that in there so go back to the um the family and student handbook I go back to June and I know there was maybe about 10 or 12 of us in the room we were trying to get this handbook to look great and look perfect and it was very sounded chaotic to me but no it wasn't and I did apologize for being so excited for making it look a lot better and making it combined um into one better and it is just less repetitive the format it's more organized so my addendum in the end is really just um six sheets three double-sided sheets and everything else is in the Combined District handbook looks great mhm so for example we have pride awards that are districtwide before the pride award section was in both handbooks now it's in the main handbook not in the addendums right so but they might have had two separate things on the pride awards that looked a little different okay so two schools one District we want one main handbook that's going to be easy for families to go from one school and transition to the next a little smoother so in the agend for for you know my marking calendar is different we go by four terms the elementary is trimesters the cafeteria is set up a little bit different at four than at the elementary school our job often pickup is a little bit different at both schools um so things like that that were just unique to one school which really just ends up being six pages or three double-sided worked out great it's not as overwhelming for family to Now read another whole handbook that's similar right um not only did the leadership do a lot of work on this but I would like to thank um my assistant Mr sonis who really did a lot of formatting um and there's more to do but I mean I really thank everyone who's had a part in this because it's been a big undertaking the questions on the student family handbooks any questions yes I'm sorry is the Ford Middle School po off and pick up there I don't see it and I it's on our website I don't see it in the book this is the addendum we'll make sure that it's the I saw that the AES but not I see yeah yes I think that's a part of the formatting that's still left to do the AES drop off and pickup was pulled out of the addendum and put into the handbook so we'll make sure that the for one matches and I'm sure because this is new we're going to find little kinks here and there that will correct but we'd be looking for a vote tonight so that we can you know have family sign off on this moving forward um nothing will be changed um if something is changed like a drastic change obviously we come back to the committee but as far as formatting we will continue to make it pretty and everything but that's how we're moving forward with this at this time we good so can I ask ask for a motion to accept the 2024 2025 student handbook as presented and the 2024 2025 staff handook as presented so move second second can we add as long like the agenda yeah with the changes that yes with the changes that were proposed we can't see Mr Hood yes Mrs dowy yes Mrs GES Mr h yes Mrs CA yes okay than you thank you great thank you we talked about student staff hook the next um H is just a policy update we have two policies listed there this is simply for a first read um policy gcg substitute teachers um we just wanted our policy to reflect more in line with the state um and the rules as far as after 20 consecutive days uh replace it with language that align with the Department of Ed requirements and then policy JF school admissions um we need a draft language to fall into policy JF to include a policy that a parent cannot request a specific teacher they should um and then all children of school age who reside in the district will be entitled to attend public schools the only thing that we added there is parents and Guardians requests for specific teachers are not accepted or considered um a essentially that policy Remains the Same this is just the first read there's no vote required um but if you have any questions that we can forward to our policy subcommittee meeting I'd be willing to take those into consideration now okay moving on we have school breakfast and lunch meal prices a vote I would ask Mr McIntyre our business manager to come to the podium and discuss meal prices for the upcoming year and there's a in your packet and Associated memo regarding this chair person Hood school committee thank you again um this one's pretty brief every year we have to vote meal prices for breakfast lunch um adult and student um long story short there's a price Equity tool that you're supposed to use if you do not have a fund balance in your revolving account we have a fund balance but we like use that price Equity tool to kind of give us a gauge of where we should be for if there ever was a time that we need to use it and it's just a good you know Target if you will um based on that analysis though the tool increase the prices our proposed pricing which is remaining flat for school year 2425 still covers Us and builds enough comfort zone to be able to operate um food service department um as planned and with the changes that are suggested long story short with that is a lot of these prices don't really significantly impact the funding it's it all comes from reimbursable meals which are all Student First meals um that are universally free and funded that way so you know we're talking students that buy second meals $2 for breakfast $3.75 for lunch for their second meals again same as last year and then adults because those meals aren't reim and we cannot uh provide free lunches we have to price those out too so breakfast would be $275 same as last year and $5 um for lunch that which includes the meals taxes and really that's to cover the cost of materials and in some of the labor that doesn't come fully through the reimbursements um again no no real changes just uh a mechanism to rebuild the prices every school year any questions or concerns so it's still free lunch first meal for students Still Remains free Universal free lunch that's you know a Statewide uh initiative second meals come at cost to students all meals come at cost to adults I I am just curious how much below what the tool says we should be so we we're actually above because we built a buffer last year I don't know you know you probably don't recall I was looking at it going aha when we were kind of going through the motion but for so many years before last last year we were below what the price Equity tools said to charge so last year was our catch-up year but it's also built a cushion that we can remain flat for a few years if there aren't any substantial changes to costs and inflation and things like that so um you know if I looked into my you know magic ball or whatever we call those things for the next couple years too I wouldn't expect many changes unless it came from the state um will we see any changes this year in any of the equipment because Mone I will touch on that during my business managers report so can ition we're just looking for a motion or vot can I can I ask for a motion to approve the school breakfast and lunch meal prices as proposed so second further discussion Mr Hood yes Mrs Downey yes Mrs bones yes Mr how yes Mr C yes thank you moving on um I would ask Mr McIntyre to address on the next item on the agenda the additional labor hours that we are proposing for the food service department all right so I'll try to keep this one brief as well but in our June presentation um we discussed how meal labor hours are measured by the state you know this isn't just a benchmark this is they truly tell you you know well yes it is a benchmark but if you're at or above 16 you really need more labor hours to to maximize you know your menus and what you're producing what you're offering um we communicated that AES kitchen was six meals per labor hour above the state standard and FMS kitchen was five meals per labor hour above the state standard of 16 so that means we we're we're putting out more than we have the labor to do um so we're asking to bridge that Gap not 100% but just enough to kind of start some of our new initiatives of menu changes and um and just efficiencies around the kitchen we're going to be getting new equipment so there'll be some training on that and some learning curve on that um but really it's getting us to where we need to be so that we can get the most out of that department this didn't just happen overnight again we looked at this many months before we presented it in June kind of saw where we could change things procedures gain efficiencies implemented all those and we were still behind the meals Pro labor hour um so really this is needed and again we're not asking for it all right now but just a little bit to see if it moves the needle it allows us some flexibility to still build more efficiencies um the overall impact of what we're proposing would be about a $20,000 increase to the to the program again which is fully funded this does not impact our local budget nor will it um and there's rate increases for what meals are going to be reimbursed by this school year that should absorb at least 50% of the those increased costs so when it boils down we're really asking for more labor hours for about you know 10 grand more to the school uh revolving budget which has been generating about $150,000 a year on average so to you know question I did have one question I may miss have read read this wrong so I as it relates to AES it looked like saying we're going to increase all three workers by uh 15 minutes per day perhaps um but then when I look at the proposed hours I only saw two increasing so I don't know if that was uh that might have been an oversight it really should have just referenced the table below so to your point we're looking to increase one of the cafeteria workers a half an hour of labor hours so again this isn't their total day which might be the disconnect we're not counting brakes we're not count counting you know clean up those aren't meal labor hours we're counting just meal labor hours so a half an hour to one cook um and then 15 minutes to another and then a full part-time FTE of 3 hours and by doing that as a part-time you know we prevent ourselves from needing to provide benefits and all of those things to keep costs down does that help it is helpful uh any other questions so can I ask for a motion to approve the additional labor hours for Food Services as outlined by the business man I so who second no further discussion think we need aoll call Mr Hood I will obain miss is Mrs Downey yes Mrs G yes Mr H yes Mr yes thank you next um Mr McIntyre has his business manager report and update which will include the question that you had Mrs Gomes all right so I'll jump right into it um just uh to conclude on fy2 24 we uh came in on budget or under budget if you will and that was through strategic budgeting and planning you know allocating funds to our our grants Esser our facility revolving You Know M you know utilizing our food service revolving in full um and by doing so at the end of the year we were able to to implement some some great projects as it relates to security and safety and just general upkeep in our in our schools so you know improved technology infrastructure as presented by the tech director a long time ago there's a 10-year plan this jumps right into that and helps purchase some things towards that um we were able to get new playground mulch which is a compliance issue you need to have at least six inches deep of playground mulch um it doesn't normally have to occur annually but we were due for it and we were able to implement that and the playgrounds look great we got it in place right before uh our summery um we were able to to utilize a contracted service for four maintenance which helped free up the hours of our short-handed custodial and maintenance staff to focus on cleaning um painting you know General M maintenance and upgrades um we have some other safety upgrades that I'm not going to mention out loud we can go into those more and executive session but those are disclosed here and then we obviously met the $176,000 or so that we had to commit to the fy2 budget with Prepaid special intuitions um so that was great um you know that that maximized our allocated funds for fiscal 24 while ret turning about $7,000 back to the town which will close up to free cash so I mean that's that's As Good As It Gets 25 budget is underway um always improving the budget the budget process the tracking mechanisms um I think we upgraded our departmental tracking sheets since we still lack newness in the district you know departmentally um and everyone's jumped right on board with that sheet um a lot of good feedback about how it's keeping us on track with spending getting purchases now so we don't have to later they're ready for the school year um so that's been great and it's going accordingly ly um as we would expect there are changes even now you know a month and a half into the new fiscal year high school tuitions have changed because enrollment has changed right now it seems favorable we obviously have the agreement with the town that those funds if aren't returned will be negotiated to be utilized for something else first um so it's not necessary savings and it could still swing the other direction um there's some special education costs that we weren't expecting um one that could relate to residency a res prescy program which would be a budget Buster um that'll be a big deal um we're still trying to gather more information on that and then you know because of our custodial vacancies we're we're still working with the contractor to come in on budget to provide night services which I had a conversation today and I'm not overly concerned we we'll be in place and we'll be going with at the beginning of the school year um and it'll it'll benefit us greatly so facilities we talked about the investment grade off it um it's been a lot of work you know Paul and I put a lot into it Steve will at our facilities director there's meetings every day people in the buildings every day um analysis constantly phone calls change of plans you know looking for as buils site Maps it's it's it's a lot of fun but it's a lot of work it's time consuming but we're making sure we stay on track for fall special town meeting to get what we need in these buildings and to improve our environment as discussed um you know just this is my chance to shout out to all our summer help our regular custodians and maintenance hand for everything that they do over the summer it's again that's endless too you think no one's in here in the buildings are clean but there's always catch up as you know a lot of our faculty and staff know um and we're getting to things that we wouldn't normally have gotten to um whether it's painting an additional room or being able to to move some things around or to clear out some old equipment to Surplus some things um we just cleaned out a work room over in this building that's beautiful that I I think there's High Hopes to start to utilize as either a teacher lounge or an additional conference room so only good things there um we've improved some internal you know manuals procedures if you will the the Hera requirements that was Revisited tested with vendors um that was a big undertaking and it's still ongoing but that maintains our compliance in that area and that document will be publicly posted to our our uh website and shared in the links of the handbook as required by law um only good news there they tested over 350 samples throughout both schools and there's no sign of aestus in these buildings um integrated Pest Management plan again just had a chance to to revamp it update it talk to the contractor that provides these services to us make sure the chemicals they use are compliant safe what they're used for disclosing the fact sheets on them so we we beefed up those those memos and documents and those will also be posted um um as as Mr Gary alluded to earlier our extended day in summer enrichment so again anything procurement it's a lot it's you know a lot of prep time drafting documents revisions you know meeting discussing changes posting evaluating and then getting people in the door and keeping people honest on timelines and talking to general counsel and things like that and at the end of the day this is this is for the community it's the ability for parents to be able to get to their work on time while knowing their kids are in good hands and already on the location where they go to school um as a parent of four you know I know how important that's going to be once all my kids are in school and you know we're trying to balance two two jobs and that workload um so that that really you know was a personal it it it felt good personally but it's it's also very professionally for everybody involved there um food service so this has been a fun year for for Miss Melo as the facil food facility director yeah it's funny that I say that but um food service director because she's very much been involved in the facilities this year so we planned to purchase that equipment had a contract had it signed and found out more information so they came on to do a site audit before they delivered the equipment purchased it we were told the equipment won't fit through the doors when they did a plan B and they disassembled the equipment put it together did the workaround found a way to get it in okay now that it's in what else did it need it we needed new floor drains our floor drains could couldn't take the capacity of the water that was going to be released from the Steamers and the ovens and the self cleaning so now um just a few days ago we had two huge trenches cut into the slab of concrete in both kitchen floors dirt all over the place um new drains being piped in so that we can get this equipment and and again costly procured all done by myself and Shelly with the help of Steve and we're on our way to get those floors board concrete this Friday then we're going to paint over them and then we can look to get the electricity upgraded so that we can have our equipment in place by December so that's your answer Miss Gomes we wanted it now we hit some Road bumps again it's not always just plug and play and you're good you know we had up up upgrade a a full floor of both schools which would normally be a capital ass we have those funds reserved that we were able to do it on our own not burden the taxpayers not have to wait for town meeting so we're on a roll there um and Shell's been busting her butt to get it done and she's been here every day overseeing the project making sure they're doing things right it it's been great um so we're excited for that a little behind schedule but by December um we're going to have some great equipment in there and then we know we have the infrastructure in those kitchens to continue to upgrade um so that's really important and then with that we're also you know we know we have issues with our walk-in freezers and refrigerators not that they don't work but they're not efficient you know from time to time they leak you know something seizes up you you know the temperature doesn't regulate properly so we tagged that into train for energy conservation and um we're going to maximize what we can with that project to replace these walk-in refrigerators and freezers too which not only is going to grab some incentives and rebates but it's going to get us what we need for you know the next 20 to 30 years um and hopefully again within our own food service revolving funds um one more thing train so the fun thing with that project and the Strategic thing with that project is that we didn't have to go directly to procurement so we could maximize all these other savs and not just get hit with the cost one thing train shared with me is they looked at a similar project on a larger scope that someone brought train in they got hit with the number that it was going to cost to upgrade and it was 2.7 million again larger scope not our project um but very similar the school district said no never mind we're going to just procure it our normal way we'll go out to bid we'll evaluate their lowest bid ended up being $4.7 million $2 million more so that's what this project does for us it tackles all the opportunities there are for not only Energy savings but to upgrade our Capital at a minimal cost to our taxpayers um and that's why it was important to go that way and when they give us their final report that's what they're going to show they're going to show the cost but there's going to be this rebate that rebate this grant that Grant this incentive that incentive plus Energy savings and it's it's really the most equ Equitable way to do these things and I just want to add in that you you saw Morgan and Max tonight but we have a whole team of people they have a solar team they have the engineers but we've met with multiple people from train that have been very very Hands-On and very involved in the project so we feel very confident and comfortable with with them um all right so moving on not so fun One Transportation so Town Hall failed to include our trans transportation contract article on the spring annual town meeting where it would have allowed us to have a 5-year option not the end of the world because for our legal we can as long as before we hit that fourth and fifth year we can vote and get approval to do so um to have those option years so we're going to hit that in the fall but in the meantime I have a contract in front of um the committee to sign to get underway for the three-year term with the expectations that we'll get those two option years um for the community bus roads information will be shared very soon um we just got the list back from our vend there we we're auditing it making some small tweaks making sure it makes sense to us and then we'll get that out to the public um more importantly you know more than once we shared that the registration was out there and people needed to register and register and register we looked at the numbers and we have over 200 students returning this year that used the bus last year that are still unregistered this year that is a problem because it's going to be a problem to the families when they expect their kids to get on and off the bus accordingly yet they're unregistered and it's going to be a problem to us to communicate with the bus drivers to let them know these additional students are expected to be on your bus or on your bus keep them sit we need to get this together as as a community and a school district we need to register on time to keep everyone safe and to keep keep the the wheels turning no pun intended um so we expect some Road box there um you know we did our best we reminded we extended we posted um now I'm asking everyone else who's listening to do their best and if you haven't registered yet register late we're going to do our best to get your students on the bus for the beginning of the school year um and you know stand by Otherwise you know how to reach us um we'll work with you and and you know we want this to work but the best way for that to happen is to to meet the deadlines moving forward um other matters there's a lot that went on this summer I forgot a few things you know preschool registration is underway we've collected payments deposits shout out to the business office you know Bonnie Grace I know she's sitting over here Sandy reposo they've kept it together for me they've put up with all my changes my requests my you know just everything so um without them a lot of what I'm reporting on wouldn't have happened and they don't very much ever get credit so um this was my opportunity for that but there's a lot that I probably didn't include in this memo that should have been and a lot of it they had to do with the success of so thank you to to then um Town updates fall special Town meetings scheduled for September 30th 2024 the articles are due the 26 we'll be well ahead of that I'm hoping to have them to them at the end of this week um there's a few things on the docket that I can touch base on once we get the approval from the town um but we need our community to support us so that we can get what we need at at this town meeting um as far as I'm concerned we've been transparent with the town and our asks and our expectations Board of Selectmen a steering committee the whole nine everyone knows what's coming um but we need everyone's vote to get that through um and then just operationally we still have an interim Town accountant she she was adamant that she was signing off at one point by the end of the school year I mean the end of the fiscal year she's still here she's great she's only part-time it's a problem to us in our operations um so you know I just want people to be aware of that too and the committee to be aware of that you noticed our our budget report doesn't have the fiscal 25 budget in it yet it hasn't been updated um and again that's just the limited capacity between what they've given us access to and what they can truly afford to do they have a lot going on with audits vacancies things like that um there's some work that we're taking on to help alleviate them because of absences which we very much intend to give back but you know know that we're team players we're doing what what is asked of us um but it's important that we we figure that out and have some content over there in the accounting department um as we've certainly started to figure out in the treasury Department which is helpful and makes our job easier and efficient and just the whole process so I felt that was important to update the committee on um any questions pck just going back to the transportation can parents still register now if that link is put back up on like say all the Facebook pages because so the Link's available on our website which is what we are trying to direct our families to get to use we we put up a new Bus website with all the information you need up there it's all posted we send out one call we did send out one calls and Facebook posts but it lives there get there register if you have questions there's contact information that you know we're available we're we're getting phone calls and registrations every day still but it just needs to be done timely to meet everyone's expectations it's not me being selfish but it's you know we want you to be we want you to know where to go and what to do on the first day of school and have that peace of mind and know your kids are going to be taking care of as they need as needed and we have so many other things going on that we don't want to be chasing bus registrations until January you know I was the first to fill it out get on the bus so yes it's still available online the Link's still up um and we're going to do our best to get it get them on the schedule for the for the first day of school I'll post it on the PTO page yeah I was thinking I could post on some of the pages kicked off any other questions no okay seeing none I know that um Patrick also touched upon the transportation contract so we do need a vote for that tonight and then Mr sonis will get the committee members to sign off on that contract tonight but that's more of a formality so I'm looking for as a vote at this point uh so can I ask for a motion to accept the transportation contract as presented so moved second further discussion we'll take a roll call Mr Hood yes Mrs Downey yes Mrs goes Mr h m CA yes thank you next is our technology report which you have in hand um and we had decided as a committee that the technology director would be presenting every other month so you will see Mr mistler next month presenting but I I would like to highlight as part of his report um you know they've checked and cleaned all of the student Chromebooks over the summer and they have put out email communication to families regarding the Chromebook insurance which we highly recommend but they've done a nice job of negotiating the same cost as last year so it's $33 for the year which again is highly recommended um again you can read the rest it's the rollover in Aspen um updating the servers and computers I I want to pay also have you pay close attention to how they handle the fax lines again Mr mistler and his team finding savings again in the district from things that were done prior um for Savings of 367 per month due to no longer needing those extra fax lines so we're always looking for ways to save money and then of course we will review with you in executive session the things that we've been doing over the summer for the Safety and Security initiatives that we've been in discussion uh about so do you have any questions on that okay and that is all I have for tonight thank you so should we move to reports School Committee Member reports yeah do we have any school committee just one quick one um regarding the regionalization committee I just have a statement to read so the regionalization committee started um I started to send out letters to the community members asking if they're interested in being part of this committee volunteer committee um at the last meeting it was voted to have certain number of parent staff Administration and other community members and I'm hoping to have this volunteer committee together for a formal vote at our next meeting have numbers by any other reports not at this time okay and if Mr Hood if you want to just highlight the communication and information that's in Section 8 yep so um we had the as newsletter FMS newsletters smack tuition rates Reeds collaborative agreement the reads quarterly report letter to staff and an update on Personnel matters so we can can I ask for a motion to so moved second further discussion fa [Music] [Music]