##VIDEO ID:pqoG4TJE0AE## e e Clippers are owered to pursue their goals with curiosity integrity and resiliency Clippers are creative inquisitive and engaged Learners who participate in their communities as socially responsible citizens Clippers effectively communicate and solve problems that impact the ro real thank you so much in accordance with Massachusetts open meeting law I remind everyone that the meeting is being recorded Cas didn't already my computer tell everybody um and anyone who wants to make an audio or video recording of the meeting please notify me by raising your hand either in person or remotely and state your name um so we can not by the audience is anyone going to be recording it's okay if you're recording stu okay all right thank you so much uh public comment no we're either GNA take com and no no worries uh members of the public are welcome to speak it to items that are not on the agenda comments are limited to 2 minutes in length and due to the open meeting law the committee cannot act on public comment um but the chair May accept comments from the public following the discussion of an item any additional comments and feedback can always be submitted by email to school committee F.K 12.ma.us is there anyone for public comment tonight hi we have extra chair how many how many people do we have oh we have a number would you mind if we take our students first all right great so let's go a little out of order and take the presentation from East fou um school highlights so all of our our little visitors can can share with us with they've been up to you ince um so I'm gonna um introduce are uh two new uh East bth co-principals uh Rose Moran and Nancy Ashworth so thank you very much and thank you for stepping in uh as our new principles and I'm going to let you take it off uh take off with introducing oh me okay I'm Kat skate Hill third grade teacher here at East Falmouth Elementary and I'm here with Matt Manchester also third grade elementary um teacher here and Tera Draper library and digital literacy computer science teacher here with some tremendous third grade students who wanted to tell you a little bit about something that we do here at East found with school our um all kids crap there hi thank you for coming you're welcome good evening my name is Lincoln this year we celebrated our 45th anniversary of the all kids craft fair just like the past years this year was a huge success it's a tradition of at East fouth that the third grade third and fourth grade students are able to participate in creating and selling their their craft and we're pretty crafty if you come to our to our craaft you will see everything from paintings and jewelry to ornaments and [Music] slime thank you hi my name is Ry we spend the weeks before creating our class at home and learning about buying selling money and running a small business business there's a lot to it just ask her our families that support us before the castep we prepare in school we get to play osmo Pizza Company during Tech time in this Interactive handon Learning game we practice fine selling Money and Run money cents and running a small business it's a fun way to practice our skills before the big day hi I'm Owen on the day of the craft fa students and teachers from our building have the opportunity to shop during the school day thanks to all the teachers take time to bring their classes down and hype up our craft fair to their students our prices are kidfriendly with most things selling for around a dollar it's bustling and Lively as customers come to shop some kids even shop for holiday gifts for their families my name is PL this evening event is for grown-ups and families we all come back to school to make sure our tables are looking great it's nice to be able to invite the community in Everyone is always happy and smiling we learn to communicate with the public and practice good business skills I love seeing how much people love my crafts it makes me so proud and I'm far the best part is we contribute some of our hard work and profits to a charity we got to vote on what charity we think is best and this year we selected a student Lucas from fouth who is battling bone caner with the generosity of the crafters and Shoppers we were able to donate $877 to help the family who needed some support they were so appreciated to know that our community is behind them every step of the way doctors brought some examples of their crafts would it be okay all right let's go on around give a tour you'll also notice that in front of you while are going around there's a iPad and a game this is the A game that the students do during their techs class um where they learn how to run small business and you are welcome to actually press the home button few times on your iPad you can play the game if you would like to [Music] [Music] how much you charge [Music] [Music] [Music] selling [Music] [Applause] [Laughter] a lot of different Delan you want to help [Music] I'm on my way [Music] I love it [Music] I [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Laughter] your [Music] [Laughter] [Applause] we're gonna do this pack up all the stuff we let but you're welcome to during our T time for any of our pizza I don't think I'm doing it right wow that was so we I don't know I I had one pizza to pay the rentar what a great learning Mike I'm Sorry Miss PR thank you so much [Applause] time to bring them so fun love it so one comment F memories of my three children participating in the craft fa as well as [Music] my it'll come full circle yeah um we're gonna jump over to Isabelle so she can fill us in on the comings and goings at the high school as our student advisory report and then we'll then we'll go out order again public comment so there's about a week and a half left um of the first semester which I think is pretty crazy so the Year's been flying by um many kids are meeting with their guidance counselors now in the next week and picking classes for um next year so we're really at like big point in the year so that's good um Athletics boys varsity basketball is undefeated they won um so they're six and0 right now and then girls doing well they had a big recent win against Martha spard it was 40 to 16 so Sports WIS um was hockey beat their Rivals bar schol and they also had the Tommy Place game or night and it's fundraising and it's a charity for um kids fighting cancer so that's always a big deal and gets lots of people to go so that's always a highight and they want um challenge day at the high school which is a new program and it's about connecting and forming a more positive and inclusive Clipper community so it's a full day I think it's in February um and you it's with teachers and students and it's just about coming together reflecting moving forward and um reforming yourself to be a better person and along with like your school so they do activities like small groups sharing and team building exercises so that would be really um exciting to see what that um has to come and then next week after MLK weekend we have the winter sports and Academic Teams pep rally to look forward to so that will be exciting and Junior cost is planning that so I have to figure that out and yeah so that'll be exciting for awesome thank you do you know if you're going to be participating in challenge deck I don't yet if there's an extra spot I think I will yeah it' be great to hear that's all the first time what grade you I'm a junior you're a junior thank you for taking time to join us the school each year goes faster than next grade yeah graduating in a minute thanks thank you so much okay public comment thank you for being patient now bring a chair thank you thank you the camera picks you up it works great so just go ahead and and tell us your name and have two minutes to hi Russell thanks last February the superintendent applied for a grant offered by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care the eec uh the superintendent applied for $372,000 to add three preschool classrooms her budget requests included one new staff member per class carpeting desks curriculum materials Etc this grant was strictly to fund new additional classrooms These funds were not for PT oot IEP or anything student service related these Grant funded classrooms are required to operate 10 hours a day year round had the district qualified for this grant we would have been eligible to apply for 750,000 in fiscal year 25 and then up to a million in fiscal year 26 the last October the EC did not award this grant to the F Public Schools between November 20th and November 22nd last year I sent four emails to the superintendent with questions and concerns with statements made within the Grant I found the grant narrative to be riddled with misleading and false statements the superintendent never responded to any of these emails ever so I went right to the source and asked the eec to clarify some of my concerns the eec reached out to the superintendent for clarity as well in December the eec then began and continues an investigation into this matter this starts and ends with the superintendent the grant coordinator was under the superintendent's Direction it is not her fault key staff members have and continue to resign the future of the Coalition for children is at risk as it's funded by the eec I choose this wonderful community- based program with committed staff over the superintendent and you as a school committee should be taking action to ensure this program stays in place thank you thank you who would like to go next U my name is Amanda mle as the school committee prepares to begin the process of performance evaluations and presentations I'd like to take my two minutes to remind the committee that performance evaluations are more than routine assessments they're opportunities for growth Improvement and accountability for such evaluations to be effective we must be honest and direct acknowledging both success and shortcomings sugarcoating challenges or glossing over failures does a disservice to the very people you are here to serve our students Educators and Community this evening we hope the school committee can reflect on its own performance over the past two years in addition to the performance of the administration it is essential that personal professional and elected responsibilities are upheld at every level of governance and the alleged actions here in by this Administration and by default this this committee should not be glossed over to begin I'd like to revisit the resignation of a previous director C of student services which occurred on May 10th 2024 shortly after on May 15th the new director was announced who happened to be the principal at T ticket Elementary yet there's no evidence to suggest that this position was posted publicly or that there was a formal application and selection process transparency and due process are foundational to maintaining trust these steps appear to have been bypassed an interim one-year principal was put in her place and still have not seen a full-time job posting in contrast in December we saw an Abrupt resignation with the principal of East fouth immediately following the East fouth principal's email to families informing them of the resignation these families received a second email from admin reassuring them that a full-time principal position would be posted within the week T ticket Elementary continues to wait for a permanent leadership posting this delay stretches back to May 15 2024 and highlights a continued failure to meet expectations and follow through and communication promises made to the community the district is reportedly under investigation for alleged discrepancies and R recent Grant applications a quick example in documentation secured via the Freedom of Information Act the district cl to have paid double the actual amount charged for services rendered and listed tasks outside the scope of the actual project to a local marketing firm I can personally substantiate these discrepancies through original invoices and service agreements because I own this named marketing firm this raises serious concerns about fiscal responsibility and the ethical Integrity of our funding practices equally concerning is a supplemental police report rele recently provided um by admin in which they acknowledge the inappropriate use of police presence for intimidation tactics after the school committee received a copy you can finish it it's it's a long thought you're welcome just to be are you sure okay sorry I meant you can leave the leave the oh no I prefer to have it continue to be read if you don't mind um I'm gonna defer my two minutes to someone else we don't defer so you're welcome we don't do that you're welcome how much longer do you have a little bit so I'll give someone their two minutes sorry I don't understand what you're saying complete my name is uh Brian J equally concerning is the supplemental police report recently provided by admin in which they knowledged the inappropriate use of police presence for the intimidation tactics after the school committee received a copy of this police report the admin allegedly approach the teacher at their place of work without needing representation to question them about how the school committee obtained a copy of this police report ation actions like these undermine trust and Foster a culture of fear and deviates significantly from the goal of creating a supportive and collaborative environment within our schools another issue worth highlighting is the ongoing failure to effectively address the communication challenges and skewed priorities outlined in the navigating the future proposals while these priorities claim to focus on the district's most pressing needs they do not reflect the critical issues actually facing our schools such as unsafe workplace complaints filed with the Department of Labor as just one example it's worth noting that open investigations by entities such as Department of Early Education care the attorney general and the inspector and the Inspector General remain active these highlight the scale of the challenges we Face challenges that demand Clarity action and decisive leadership throughout these various issues one theme remains consistently in the administration's responses a recurrent acknowledgment of m mishandling key decisions followed by Assurance of doing better next time whether it be the pass passport report cards screen time in class navigating the future proposals or the use of police intervention we continuously hear repeated iteration of I should have handled this differently at some point we must ask ourselves is this pattern is this pattern is acceptable for the stewardship of our schools oversight is imperative it is critical that decisions affecting our children teachers in schools are made transparently and ethically with proper accountability in place we did open with the fact that it is important to acknowledge both success and shortcomings we feel it's important to note the wonderful changes we do get to see in our district District such as the farm to table initiatives led by our new community Chef the recipient of a green ribbon recognition for our commitment to sustainability the district's commitment to social emotional learning just to name a few it's a shame that these good things are overshadowed by such damning reports of what's actually going on behind the scenes dayto day our school deserves leadership that prioritizes Integrity Fosters trust and champions the best interest of students and staff of life we encourage this Commit This committee to rise to occasion take a hard look at the issues at hand commit to meaningful change our Educators parents and most importantly our students cannot afford to wait any longer we'll end I I'll end with this we want to remind the school committee of the directive issued by Bill Dorner on October 8th 2024 to quote do your job we are still waiting thank hi on December 11th 2024 East fouth Elementary principal Kelly announced her resignation Miss Kelly was with the district for just over a year before resigning while the reason for her resignation is not the topic of my comments for tonight I charge you all with finding out the facts behind why her teners were so shortlived instead we need to ask why was she hired in the first place while I know you will be told by your chairperson that Personnel matters are outside of your purview I'll remind you that the superintendent does fall within your purview in May of 2023 Lori D informed the school committee that there was only one applicant to move forward in the selection process and that candidate was KY Kell what did Lori derer what Lor der did not share with committee was that Miss Kelly had no experience whatsoever in as the elementary school administrator in fact all of her previous experience was in early childhood education her profile on LinkedIn confirms this why would it be this candidate would be the only one to move forward is it because everyone else was so underqualified or was it because someone with her experience was the only one to fit the agenda of Lorie D to turn T ticket into an early childhood education center here in Fon an agenda that was not shared with the public or the school committee until much much later in retrospect I believe that was her agenda all along and I believe some of you do too time and time again Lori D has chosen to only share parts of the information available that parts that fit her agenda time and again has been a failure of this Administration to effectively communicate the direction progress and vision of this District this failure of communication has already been documented in past evaluations how many more crises do we need to go through how many more times do parents need to stand outside our buildings and protest how many more petitions need to be sign how many of you need to be recalled before somebody says enough is enough and calls for Lori D's resignation she has lost public trust she has lost the public faith and there isn't really any faith left in this committee either do the right thing for our community and for our future and remove the superintendent hi Kirk my very first school committee meeting was September 24th it was just eight days after we heard of navigating the Futures proposals it was a slap in the face to hear Dr Dora's goals and even harder now reviewing them four months later goal number one was student learning experience this year with these proposals many students learning experiences have changed and haven't been equal across the district we've heard many stories about how East fouth had serious issues going on staff being escorted out by police students getting injured while on school property and a principal abruptly resigning after a light was shined on her school goal two student discipline feedback from staff and students there needs to be a better practice in place for students discipline and address the inconsistencies in application yet here we are 4 months later and the classrooms are continuously in lockdown months after month we are hearing a different student or staff member getting injured so much so that the Faba files a charge against the district with the Department of Labor goal number three with two-way communication the rationale here gather feedback from a diverse range of families that represent our student body to ensure all voices are heard just six days after that goal setting meeting parents were begging and voicing concerns on how these proposals weren't interpreted then there weren't any translated documents or presentations to help support our multilingual population 23 days four open forums later our multilingual population finally got a zoom meeting where we could type in our questions but only a few questions were answered again not Equitable but sharing the decision helps reinforce our commitment to Excellence right funny enough this was my very first meeting it was conveyed that the school committee should be looking into Dr D's presentations observations meetings events and Communications that are all tied to her goals so it's time to stop being her cheerleader and start start holding her accountable staff and students deserve better [Music] good evening Ro honestly it's hard for me to even know where to begin being an employee of 15 years and counting with FMA Public Schools I have never felt so discouraged by what's going on around me I Rec some school commit from the past year randomly the first one I chose was from January of 2024 do you remember the family whose Sons suffered a frightening assault at the high school fast forward to December 2024 when another parent described her son's assault at an elementary school what struck me most about these two events were the similarities in neither case did the familyes speak to the compassion Outreach support and concern that they were exposed to by this administra themselves or their children public comments that both were similar as well which said to me not much has changed one year later presently we have an elementary school whose staff requested to meet with all of your committee members they were granted a meeting with three of you and I don't need to tell you that what they shared was appalling Their Fear is real and so are the stressful work conditions that they are under solid leadership from an effective Communicator should never have allowed this to happen interestingly our proposes that by making that particular building twice as crowded as it already is the problems will be resolved I wonder at what point you'll decide enough is enough misinformation divisive proposals retaliatory actions against employees allowing hazardous work conditions threats to student safety multiple and to you and yet for some reason we aren't really sure why enrollment is declining I've found a common denominator have you anyone [Music] online okay all right moving along um first we have discussing and acting on the town meeting articles for April 2025 um this the two items are the stabilization fund and the solar canopies the information is um isack language you want to speak to it the first article is to draw down $275,000 uh from the stabilization as you may recall we down 825,000 mil um all our other District expenses has gone up $800 thou $900,000 since the beginning of the year and so uh with the remaining money that we have have left to be draw down in April which is 636,000 uh we'll be needing this draw to help uh for the payment of those audit District tuition as you may recall we went over this in the last um school committee leading about the need for uh additional funds for other District tuition um so that's about it yeah I think the only other thing is as it says in that last section that this is this is not like the total of our out of District this is just the unexpected piece that this this um stabilization fund was created to help us address so we wouldn't end up cing money from the budget to a district yeah correct again the estimate beginning of the year was 2.8 million uh there's no way to project the increases that have occurred um for multiple reasons U some the other District tuitions now would be 3 close to $3.5 million uh that $900,000 increase part of which would be paid by this 275,000 of us from the draw from that um so we have to take them separately um so is there a motion to approve the language for the special education stabilization fund language for the warrant for this coming time um is it important for well I didn't know that there was going to be a November vote to replenish we're going to request to replenish this is it important to have that in here that this will be replenished because it's not evident we don't know if it will be we don't even know if this will pass okay yeah we we would have to cross that bridge um then when the town because the town would fund something like um replenishing the stabilization fund out of um free cash and if they don't have free cash they wouldn't even entertain the idea I would imagine um so so we can discuss it more thank you let's get a motion is there a second I'll okay now we can actually talk about it are there any other questions about the stabilization fund or the request to draw down it does require a 2third vote at town meeting so this would be just to get it on the warrant at town meeting and then um we would explain to members why why The Bu The District budget is so much higher this year than was anticipated and hopefully they would approve it any no last discussion okay uh it's a roll call vote uh Mike do you want to start us off yes Heen yes yes yes yes ping yes well it's also yes Melissa um next up is the same concept um approving the language for the warrant article um for the upcoming town meeting on the solar canopies uh so we listed here we have North Elementary and for as two candidates that by passing this article voted in favor of this AR article we could potentially put in solar canopies what this article specifically does is give the superintendent uh after the school committee's authorization the right to enter into a lease uh for uh 25 years I think no 30 years uh on the on the land so that an outside develop can pay for the cost of the solar canopies and building the canopies themselves that being said we do not have any specific Pro program that we have sign off of for either North fam or for the high school this is just the first step that we would need uh to and to start the process uh so this is more of a a formality given the authority to make these least decisions if we choose to do that we can either choose we can choose to do it by leasing the land for 30 years and having the developer pay for all of The Upfront costs that analysis and the SL in the the uh the selection of the vendor that will be done at a later point but this now allows us to start the process of of exploring this option of entering into a long-term lease because I would imagine companies would want to talk to us that's right we put that we didn't have that piece in place and and this has been approved in regards to um by the selectman the select board right now or is that coming up with the that's coming up the finance committee and the select that's right yeah I think we're the first one on this but these other you know the U the recreation center and the cpet bond rooftop uh that all is part of the towns and that comes under their cvw so I I can't tell you it's been voted on by the Selman yet I think it's about to be voted on and this was excuse me no no please This was um created with um collaboration with the renewable energy Town representative yes um Stephanie Madson sustain M coordinator yes yes she actually created this proposal thank you okay so we know that it follow right and and I should have mentioned that we have to go first because it involves the schools uh from not F high school and then they vote on everything else thereafter so so they're basically going to take this exact language and it's it's their language we're fitting in okay thank you uh any last questions on this one as there motion to approve the language for the um solar what is it solar canopy for the upcoming Terry is there a secondina last questions or comments oh Mike yeah thank you very much uh Paul this is just for canopies at North fouth in the high school those are the only two properties correct right exactly and then it has to be a canopy yes in this case this is for the parking uh it for example uh Mike it can't be on the roof in North fouth because the roof wouldn't support the weight uh this is only for the parking lots at both of those schools fth high school and North all right thank you and and Kelly I will vote now if I can yeah I think is everybody good yep please go for it uh Halen yes thank you yes yes yes yes yes yes also yes that passes unanimously thank you so much all right more to come on that once it makes it through the select board and uh finance committee recommendations uh next up we have our presentation on the budget followed by the public hearing on the budget I just sent you a request this y [Music] right so um just as a reminder U we um presented to you in December uh we did not have the exact um ask at that point um we do you'll see that the changes in this presentation that will give you the um the ask for you to approve uh at the next meeting so this has um been updated since December um we've had two um public sessions uh one for the elementary schools uh last Monday night uh one for the secondary schools last Wednesday night um uh in preparation for our hearing tonight so we'll go through it still since December 10th because that was originated um so just as a reminder um we always start with our strategic um uh plan which is our framework for Student Success um and then within that um meeting our goals we look at identify what student needs are and often student needs um leads us to assessing our staffing needs to make sure that uh we can meet meet um uh what each student needs um and then uh then we look at the budget and we align our priorities to those to those needs um we identify uh and resolve budget constraints which you will hear Paul uh speak to tonight and then um and then we always look at our plan over several years so um there may be some things that um that we would like to do but we might not be able to do it this year um as I always say but we always look down the road the next couple years and uh in the the plan um to see when we might be able to to include [Music] so okay um so the the last here is just that I'm not asking for anything new this year um we stay stay the course um with our academic progress for all students uh and ensuring that we're making phisically respons respons um decision making so just a look at um our current uh uh staff enrollment and when I say current I mean as of October 1st um these are the official numbers that get turned in um I'm going to point out that at the out of District number there at 36 um it is closer to 40 now this often happens as we get into um this the school year and the other numbers of the schools could certainly you know go up or down um some but this is the official October one data can I just question out District you found kids that have left F there's that number is hovering around 40 or that's um out of District students that have come into F hovering around so it's actually our special education students that have gone to an out of District placement they're found the students that are in placement outside could be the collaborative it could be this isn't school choice so they're still Art Kids this is found found enrollment a good question maybe we should have it say a district [Music] special so our school choices mixed in all of those numbers sorry that's I think we're around 180 I think so those numbers are throughout all those okay um the uh Staffing of this year um that would be as of when we prepared the presentation um that can you know go up up or down a few uh as needs always student needs always come first and and we need to make adjustments as as necessary but that is pretty pretty much close to um 675 and it mirrors um close to what last year's uh Staffing was um just a little bit about the um our teachers and the experience level um it's nice to see in the Years 1 to five um we have some new new staff in but we are uh definitely have uh we're an experienced District we have lots of experience from year or from year six six and above and then the educational levels um uh very proud to say that you know our teachers as you can see have their Master's uh and above Master's uh level and education two very things um a little bit about the student um populations we have the economic dis Advantage uh student students or low income um the the title has changed with um throughout the years um but you can see that we we actually came down a little bit uh in fy2 um to where we uh were in fy22 we had seen a little steady growth at the height of 45% 45.6% last year um you know but the um in fy20 over six years you can see that we've since since that point multilingual Learners has been a steady growth um you look at the six years ago we were at 4.4 we're now at 7.8% um I will say that this is usually the growth period for our multilingual Learners um January through March we you should see um the most growth of our students coming in so um so we'll watch that do we know why that's so interesting um I don't know I mean people have their ideas of why I guess so l so when there the way there the schooling are done in some of the countries so they kind of end and then they start and so this is a time where they they can start move and start the new start fascinating that's why I hear from something probably doesn't cover everyone no I'm sure yeah so and then the students with disabilities um at 24% this year um in 2020 we're at 18.2 we certain um picked up and have grown over the last um uh several years and we are um watching this and looking at those numbers as well so I have uh referenced this before I know that the um um economically disadvantaged um criteria changed a few years ago uh did the criteria change for students with disabilities no okay so it's not I want to say that um that this note the economically disadvantage is skewed I just I like to highlight that because I feel like it looks like a big jump so good to know this is still the same criteria thank you is this the same basic information that we had at our last meeting yes it is I'm just reviewing it again because we're having a public hearing if anyone has any questions I just want to go over everything just wanted to make sure it hasn't changed significantly of the state has changed at all it's all still the question could you just um describe the category students with disabilities what what's who's in that group so um it may be a student with um a learning disability um that um could be fully included in the classroom it may need uh some pull out Services uh it could be a sub separate um uh program that we have here in the district a what a sub separate program like the program um you know our tip program or TLC um programs that that um so um that um that's basically do our out of District kids get included in this as well um no this is just in [Music] District all right so I'm GNA turn over to Paul now okay um so we go through some of the slides we U said uh the last school meeting go into a little bit more detail as well so this is the uh total funding sources for fiscal year 25 purpose of having this here is just to give you a basis compar to for what we're asking for uh for fiscal year 26 so you see in this slide on the uh on the upper right hand corner you see the town contribution was 48 m601 the state Chapter 70 contribution was 9,621 again this is for this year the state Chapter 70 contribution went up slightly uh from what was initially estimated uh at the beginning of the year they estimated 9.3 million uh the governor had additional funding 300,000 to uh for us a portion of it uh in the late fiscal uh our last around June when the government decided to increase funding in for the state chapter 7 FS so that number turned out to be 9.6 million so our total budget uh for this year was is 58 milon 222 421 now on top of that we received school choice funding uh of a mil 52 for this year uh grants of a million 631 and then circuit breaker amounts which again uh just a remind people circuit breakers are calculated in the year prior uh so uh they vary based on the prior years's experience without a district tuition so the total funding available for fiscal year 25 was 61 m560 if you switch to the next slide for this coming fiscal year fiscal year 26 we project Town contribution or requesting Town contribution of 51,803 uh this Chapter 70 we straight line we assume no increase in that funding so that again it's 9 mil6 21 so the total request of those two to the town will be 61 m424 654 and I'll show you this more clearly in another slide we've just straight line school choice assuming the same amount uh straight line the grants um they haven't been increasing year to year so this is we're just using the prior year grants the circuit breaker importantly for next year will increase if you recall I just mentioned circuit breaking for this year is 653 for next year it will be a million 36 that's based on that large increase in tuition out the district tuition I've been talking about earlier tonight roughly $900,000 increased tuition that's this incremental amount the state will be paying for next year okay so uh again the 61 m424 the top two numbers of what actually goes to the town to have the town vote on so the next slide you'll see um the year of year comparison uh so our total local budget this year again is 58 million 222 421 the uh new year new fiscal year 26 uh budget request is 61 million 424 um that's a 5 5% increase a roughly $3.2 million uh increase all right so now next slide just kind of breaks down the large categories here between salary and non-salary expenses uh and increases so we just talk about the salary line so it's a 4.7 million 12.7% increase in salaries of that that's 2 roughly $2.3 million in rounded numbers but let me just caution everybody this number is a blend of Coler changes uh as well as step and Lane changes and then there are multiple other factors that go into this number so we build this H salary line from the bottom up by school so that you could have retirements at a school that may not be replaced you could have a retirement uh at a school that has a will be replaced ultimately by a new employee uh and so on so you can have multiple factors so you can't look at this 4.7% and say that's what the rise of uh teachers or staff are getting this is a blend of multiple numbers all right so if you look over to nons salary increases this number is going up 10.2 % the non salary expenses I will go into detail on this number that that's a $95,000 increase uh in non salary items uh again we've actually gone through this in previous meetings but overall that's for the budget it's a 5.5% increase all right you move forward on the uh y so here's a breakdown you know of the the local budget uh this doesn't include Grant monies this is just what the town budget broken down so largest item obviously is salaries it's 51.6 million level instructional supplies are at 2.5 almost 2.6 million you move to the top left out the district tuitions would be 1.35 that's the unbudgeted portion of uh the district expense um then maintenance expense is roughly flat from uh last year a mil 53 uh utilities are up uh 1.6 million and transportation is up as well and again I'm going to go into these increases uh to 3.1 million so if you look at the next slide you just see the percentage breakdown on those category salaries 84% structional supplies 4% the others in a 2% rate uh with the exception of um transportation which is around 5% just go on to just the uh the special education total spending uh I just want to highlight this because it you know one of the driving factors in our budget um here 2018 we had about 19 $12 million and uh in special education costs and these are all costs so this is special education teachers ta oneto ones a of District tuitions out of District transportation therapeutic costs Etc so this is the entire special education budget and if you look at that uh growth um to 20 25 it's roughly 18 million this is pretty much in line with what you see in other districts is you know this has been a factor in school districts across the state across the country um and so you know and our you know we are very close with our brethren in the cape and elsewhere within a couple percentage points in sh year to year but uh these are not out of line but you know I think fouth take pride fouth should take pride in how it treats its special need students it does a wonderful job uh and educating it special need students um some of the a Realties in the non-salary side again this is some numbers we've run over uh the last meeting for our busing contract is up in January um not in at the end of this year it is out to bid those bids to do on January 23rd uh so we'll be selecting the winning bid at that point shortly thereafter we we're budgeting for a 5% increase for the budget uh that would be roughly 105,000 of this 370,000 the other cost is the cost of our internal transportation for uh special needs students in particular that's $261,000 for the uh leasing of the Vans and the mini buses that we use to transport uh special needs students we're increasing our our on budget uh District tuition line we're going to be growing this line over the next few years uh we asked for what we think thought the budget could be of this year which was 100,000 next year I expect this number to be in the2 to $300,000 range and for that to continue W for the year thereafter we need to build this the district tuition line on our budget in conjunction with other District tuition increases you know and and sending students to other District we need to transport these students so those student that cost in other District transportation is also going up uh again that's you know we were over budget last year by about 162,00 ,000 for that uh expense so we increasing the budget for this year to cover that special contracted Services that's the therapeutic cost uh for uh for outside providers for students so that was all the budget again in conjunction with all of this by 68,000 last year um and let me just make one point all of these students that are out of District need this type of service uh I don't want these numbers to mask what is a true need to the underlying student uh you know these uh treats their students special need students exceptionally well uh you know sometimes when you tell them a financial story that gets lost and I just want to make that sure that point is clear um just make a comment to that I know I just kind of walked in on this but I remember asking our previous uh Financial uh Finance director Patrick Murphy about it uh when I was brand new to school committee and he said people have been known to move to fouth because of how well we treat our students that require that are not just the the average mainstream kid that needs help whether it be we they moveed to FAS to have their student to have their child sent to out of District um education knowing that fouth was going to take it of them I think that that speaks volumes for our town I really just wanted to highlight that and it's something that we hear all the time yeah so moving moving on the other category increases cost is uh supplies for school um these are going up 55 this is largely software related supplies teaching supplies uh there is some commodity type supplies number increases in costs Etc and finally utilities are $75,000 increase last year we had a major increase in our electrical rates we under a new contract this year our gas contract expires in a in April the new one has a 14% increase in gas prices uh for uh I believe it's a three-year contract that we signed so that's uh that for % toist 75,000 uh so all in all these are the major category increases uh for the non salary lines is equ to 830,000 and um finally the school committee will be asked to approve request of 5.5% increase that's a 3.2 million increase year over-year uh in the budget uh FAL year 26 questions that was a lot of it's not entirely new though we've seen some of it before so thank you um I have a couple of questions that not in any particular order so you are are estimating projecting that in Chapter 70 will be level funded yes that and that's sort of the tradition because it it it they don't take away money in the last few years they've you know if they've changed the formula you're guaranteed what you had received the prior year um so we were at 9.3 million was the estimate going into this year increase to 9.6 so it's just straight lighting back and you're not hearing any positive rumors that maybe there'll be an increase or I know sometimes things are in the wind before they're actually not I'm heing this is early for us to hear any of that yeah um and then a question for you Dr dor uh the student population this year is 2,9 10 students and I know you've told us previously off the top of your head do you remember how what the what the population was last year I believe the um October one was um um 2935 well I you know yes I I believe that was it but I mean I could you at some point it was that number last year I think that was the oct um and then my last question is for the other District transportation I know that at a previous meeting you would um presented the idea of leasing um some some vehicles and is that still moving forward and is that in this budget and so how how will that be impacted no so we are we are leasing Vehicles today for a District transportation uh what what also is a factor uh for a district is we have to bring in private vendors for students that are going to they may be we may have five students going to one school we would transport five students to that school we may have a single individual going to school B where we we have to use a private vendor to to transport that uh Second student um what we're trying to do is open up a negotiation with all of our fendors that we use for that private transportation to try to come with some uh C cutting because he's a quite expensive um so we're looking for Savings in that year in that area but we you know we currently transport a good number of students for out of District placements ourselves uh release those fans of buses and that's reflected in in the refed in do we do any of any of that Transportation collaborative yes yes yeah they do provide students that go to collabora they provide transportation yeah I was wondering when the grants they were sort of level across from last year to this year and I was wondering if anyone just can tell me how many grants we have and are going to keep sustaining at a level is this like a longterm Grant system yeah have a bunch of them or just a couple it's actually in your budget books on section 14 you have a list of Grants U and you can see the comparison to year to year so there's entitlement grants which would be the 240 through uh 39 these are so these are the major grants so they for the people in the audience here idea which is special education uh grant for this year is 982 th000 it's slightly lower uh we have a the small Grant of 32,000 for it's called the 262 grant for early childhood education we have uh 591 thou [Music] $591,000 in title one two three and four GRS such for reading and math coaching and then we have uh uh Perkins grant for vocational training 25,000 monthly uh and then a small $1,000 Grant from uh High School equivalent in test centers as we administer tests at our schools so and these just carry on there's no end yeah these are all formula based grants most of them okay so they they change by population SI so it's based on on the title one four grants they're based on uh lower income percentages within the district uh and and likewise some special education so it's need um I think um not wor that we do a good job with special education um and not to State members but not all the spe not all the out of District special education students are coming from outside of found some of them are well I think that's important that in fact it's found money and found tax so they should know that you know we're not just bringing in people outside that there are some found with residencies you know are our special students right I I would just want to clarify all of our our other District students that were responsible for tuition Arts F students so if a school choice student was ultimately came to F and then was sent to the district PL placement that sending town is responsible for that tour not some really our student um just a comment as well you know like this is a a substantial percent increase um for the town to be um for the SL board to be willing to put this forward um I think is a test to you know their understanding of the factors in our budget that are beyond our control this year being util you know almost a million dollars in things that we have absolutely no control over like transportation and utilities and the cost of just buying things um so you know I just want to acknowledge that it's it's noted that they that they um are supporting us in this way and we're always so grateful for the support of the town both the the town leadership and the taxpayers who are putting the bill as well I just add I I I do want to note and I'm glad you brought that up U it is an incredibly Cooperative relationship uh with the you know town hall and the leadership there uh to come to an agreement on these numbers and they've been exceptionally supportive of the school system I think your point was needs to be emphasized and strong supp school um any last questions from the committee and then we will move on to open the questions from the public that's in the public questions from the public us the budget it will the questions are during the the public hearing which I'm about to open oh give me two seconds okay um so we need a I see do we lose mic yes so we do not need to roll call um I make a motion that we open the public hearing on the school budget for f school year 26 is there a second a second thank you and a vote is required um oh but we don't need a roll call great all in favor of opening the public hearing for the budget for 2026 say I any opposed any extensions great all right so our public hearing is open now you're up thank you for the work do this is not can you come over so that the AUD will up thanks um I just have two questions sure my first question is so in June the Chapter 70 funding was um bumped up to 300K where do you anticipate allocating that those funds the 300,000 well it's at sort of Blended in with all of the like operating costs and all that stuff so it wasn't like one set area no it wasn't directed to one it's blended with all the other increases so both salary not and supplies wherever okay so like spread out and then um do you anticipate you utilizing all the title one and out of District Revenue again this year for salaries stly salaries that's true yes that's the only those the only uh outside of uh one or two uh employees so the only grants that we really still have uh staff uh funding for their salaries so they're almost fully used for makes the com a little cleaner for you too right yeah exactly that's it thank you Paul thanks any other questions the budget okay last information that we need to know call for the budget before we close the public hearing okay well that's short and sweet um I make a motion that we close the public hearing on the budget is there a second all in favor of closing public hearing say I I any opposed any exstension passes unanimously so pardon me sorry L I miss we're counting yeah oh no I said oh the entire hearing yeah exactly I know it's usually pretty quick um because we do so many iterations of the presentation during the year so have access uh policy is next up a first read on a number of policies all tied to the elimination of M as a gradu I think they're all ti no they're not first one sorry the first couple coup yes okay before I introduce um uh the first one about the I have um principal high school and assistant principal Alan Harris and man you can pull another chair over to both of you can to them that would be [Music] great all right socy doesn't have to explain you're you guys are on WE Tri to go this yesterday a policy thank goodness you guys feel minut I just want to start out um so the the first three policies are as Kelly said have to do with um the changes that we need to make uh to the our policies the revisions since uh mcast is no longer a um requirement um they're going to explain a lot of them we can go through uh and talk I know this is unusual for a um policy subcommittee actually reviewed this last night uh at the policy subcommittee meeting you're seen it for first read and then we'll ask you to vote again um at the next meeting so it did move uh through quickly we are waiting for guidance from desie um and uh the superintendent have met a few times and so um we we've um and then of course the the team at the high school um and the administration uh has worked on this um so we feel like that we're really comfortable with what we're presenting uh to you it wasn't um even that the policy subcommittee and then the school committee was was kind of quick we want to make sure that the information gets out to our students and families as quickly as possible but we definitely wanted to make sure that um we heard what the uh desie was uh the guidance what the State Board of Education um comments were the um frequently asked questions were you know guides was done um before we uh brought this to you so so actually we have a pretty good turn a quick turnaround what I want to do is give a shout out to um both um Allan and Tom um for all the work they do all the time and what you're going to hear a little bit I I really want to to shout out Tom that he does this every single year um so this is really not new for fouth because we have students that have not um passed the incast and then we um have an opportunity to appeal those to the state and Tom knows the uh ins and outs of the um the standards of all the courses that are required and is able to um and really takes the time this is this is nothing easy um that he writes up um this massive amount of work to turn into the state and um the incredible number of students that you've been able to bring to graduation because of the work you have I want to I want a public acknowledge so really do a great job for us um we're gonna go through this but um our actions will really not be much different than what they have been in the past um with that so we we get kids to graduation so I'm going to turn over to you if you want to talk um through this from your point and and we can go Line to Line if anyone wants to as you want to go Line to Line you have spefic Line to Line questions please let us know we're going to I'm going to try and give you just kind of the overview of where we were where we are what this change will mean for our students right some of it the work at times I think for for people in the public and even for people in school can feel mundane that happens at the district and school committee level I want you to know how essential it is for the work that's been done the last five six years of found with high school that there's two elements to what is on the essence of the school district that really are like a North star for our work and has helped us be in a really good place coming into this right so one is a community committed to Excellence every student every day so you'll hear that as we go through this because that is really kind of the beacon we use as to how we process through there's a strategic plan on the district website and that informs down to our program of studies which at the end of the day is the nuts and bolts from the moment you leave Lawrence and you come on to fou High School it all is real so to speak that's going on a transcript that course is going to count or not count towards graduation and cours workk and all of that work has been done and I think it's one of the things when I applied and looked at the school district and then certainly as I met Tom and worked with it of the eight high schools I've worked in it is the most refined in really understanding what those requirements are so I say that because kind of Dr mentioned the last five years as we worked through covid and had the mcast test in place every year we would come up against a small number of students that were passing cour workor or were coming to kind of that crunch time their senior year of passing or not passing cour work and were at different places related to the incast requirement from desie a reality for f High School our bar is much High much higher than the mcast test we have more students who struggle to pass our courses much more than struggle to pass that test I think that's important for our community to know and understand our bar from our teachers in the classroom is is is extremely high but we do have some students for a variety of reasons that may struggle coming into that test for a multitude of reasons as we move through that process and Tom explained it in more depth we would work with desie on where that was and they gave different options to be able to say a different way you may have met that requirement or not that's what Tom worked on for this incoming class of the that will graduate in May in 2025 they were in seventh and eighth grade during the pandemic and if you think about that and where that class was as they're in this part of their senior year there's a total of just seven that are impacted here all the rest passed the tests where they were supposed to be and and some of those you talked about students students who are served with IEPs some of our students that are in that are going to be served until they're 22 because they have some developmental delays and we will serve them through and they will get a completion rather than rather than the diploma so the work done by the teachers in the classroom Tom supporting them Dr tell you I just I you know coming in here three years ago I continue to be so impressed with the instructional level and what happens and it's reflected here and and I'm gonna let Tom talk through because one of the things we we noted each year in the spring Tom would be on the phone with someone from Desy talking through was done for each student and there was a point a couple times last couple years where the person from Desy would say Tom I trust you what you guys do in FAS I know is right um and it really is that kind of work that set up where when this came Dr tellor and Tom have been on for about a month now plus working with desie and understanding where districts were and it set us up to be in a really good place I think to have a policy in front of you that um reflects committed to Excellence in every student every day so what you talk about kind hi nice to see you all um so not to belabor the point too much very appreciative to Alan and Dr der for the kind words it's only as good as the wonderful work our teachers do every single day and the trust and relationship we have uh at the school with people like Dr Teller and people like Tomi and Derek Zara and all the way down the vertical alignment and the strength that's been built up over the years to get students where they need to be so just one Cog in the wheel uh when Dr Teller and I when the the news came the the vote passed in November um there was a webinar pretty soon after that that Sonia and I sat in on um to go through the nuts and bolts of what the state was asking and basically what they said was um to give you context local control has always been in the place of graduation requirements I think you all know that that is part of our policies and what the state had was a competency determination those were measured in the state of Massachusetts by three mcast exams in the 10th by the 10th grade English math and science so when the vote came through and said mcast will no longer meet that competency determination there still needs to be some measure that districts have to meet that so they're giving some control back to districts to determine and what that looks like and the guidelines from desie were as follows you need to have coursework that meets the same standards that would have been met by I believe it was the 2023 spring mcast so looking through that um what you see in in front of you um what started with me and Sonia and then went to Dr derer and Dr Harris after that uh in conversation is what we believe truly meets that bar accellence for fouth so the the nuts and you'll see are uh passing grade 10 English or its equivalent passing geometry which is that grade 10 Math course for most students it's grade nine or 10 math by grade 10 the majority of our students have met that geometry requirement and then passing one of three science courses uh that were the option for that spring 2023 mcast it's similar in scope to what happened when uh desie waved mcast during those covid years that was uh Dr Tellier and I on the phone going through each individual student to make sure they met that course work and that's kind of similar to what we'll see going forward so meeting that or its equivalent which again I think as Allan pointed out um I think just the district overall has done real y's work in the past few years it reestablishing coming out of a a pandemic what Excellence means for the the found public schools and for our students in found with reestablishing bar of excellence and then that every student every day is that Equity That's essential to making sure we're meeting each student where they are when they walk in the door and giving them the scaffolding the supports the accommodations they need to rise and meet the challenges so uh all that say you'll you'll see in front of you the the main pieces of change there are moving away from the mcast requirement and moving towards the coursework those 10th grade courses from most students so on the the front page um you will see um that we have um cited Mass General law so the mcast went away but the compeny determination did not go away so the mcast um uh was reflected the law uh at the state level and that they took that so now it's just in the local control as um Tom just mentioned so we still have to do the conf determination and just to reiterate what Tom said we have the the um graduation requirements and then we have the the CD the comp DET termination and on the second page what Tom um actually laid out is that um uh for the 20123 incast there's three subjects and so these are the the subjects and we put equivalent because um it's that's what we do because it's you know you have you have choices in the in the courses um uh on uh the science um that could be an equivalent um to those we want to leave that up there is a note here um that I think is really important um that I want to um state it says in the event that a student transfers into fouth high school at any point during their High School career a transcript review will be conducted to ensure that the coursework from the students previous schools is aligned with th of high school coursework for the purpose of meeting the CD requirement and the high school graduation and we will leave this review in the the hands of the principal um when when those transcripts come in to determine that so um that was um really important to us to make sure that we can work with every student come in not un like we do now I just if if I feel like since it's coming back to local control we felt it really needed to be stated um in there that uh that that review will take place um and that's whether a student is you know coming from bar as close as Barnstable to somewhere else in Massachusetts to another state um or even to another country um as our um you know many of our El students come in and we work with them the same way we would um work with all their students um the uh the third page you're going to see just um some language um change um some strikeouts and just to to meet the um the law and the new local control um changing some language under their certificates uh with uh out graduation um hasn't changed it's just it's it's just correcting so uh and Mary Gans could not be here with us tonight but she went through and and followed the law and just updating you know the specifics the meat of it was really what they shared and what's in the first two pages uh if you go to the next page um uh we actually took out you can see a cross off of the social studies uh because now um world of history is included and instead of listing everything we follow Mass core um not all districts do um I hope most do um but we follow Mass core so really leaving it open with just the credits and knowing that we follow Mass core as they make changes we don't have to keep coming back and making changes in the policy so um that's why that um you know again just to change of our langu uh our language from foreign language to World Language that's what we call it it was a time to just update it right um and then um again I think if you go through these are just little tweaks just to to make sure that we're completely aligned uh We've added in uh some links um do you want me to stop there go through the next two because I think the next two just align with it can I just going the um Ika is graduation in less than four years um the only change you're really seeing here is that um a few years ago um uh Terry remember I'm sure remembers it was in the 18191 1920 Melissa too we were all in the policy subcommittee review um and we had taken out all the procedures at that time um and leaving that um so it just those are the how-to of the policy um and somehow we forgot these procedures and as we're reviewing this this came up so we're just uh removing that out of the graduation in less than um four years procedure still exist procedure the procedure access exact for just cleaning up the the policy manual where we might have missed something um IHG home education programs um and you'll see um just one tweak on this uh that the coning determination is no longer at the department OFA secondary education um that it's it belongs to us and so at the local level and then there was just an amendment on that last page so the other two were were brief but since we were doing this we thought we would do it as a package so um so once we approve these at an upcoming meeting how are we I mean I imagine families are some families are probably asking is my kid going to graduate and what are the new rules so how's that gonna how we GNA do that well I mean we have we also have a really exceptional counseling team so each one of the seniors is in has been in dialogue for if any senior was in any way in Jeopardy of having is of possibly not graduate come into this year their counselors in dialogue with them and was in dialogue with them stared in September so in that processing through a lot of this actually is so if they hadn't passed in 10th Grade they've been working on either working the past or what another competency would be already so it it for their world it's not a whole lot different than where they already were this provides I think at least for us uh Clarity we've been working for a couple years on having clear high expectations for students right and and what does that look like and and and this allows even another level better for us in the clarity of this language some of the language cleanup and we were intentional some districts or high schools chose to not have language in there that they had to pass the course they stayed with the more simpler guidance from desie of you've shown this competency we were intentional about saying no we want you to pass the course our expectations you'll pass the course there will be some exceptions based on when you transfer in or other issues that you need that we need to do review of coursework for you to meet that competency but that should be an exception and I think that's that that's that excellence and Equity piece we're trying to get at so bottom line is I think for our students that are in this place they've been in that dialogue already once the policy is final we'll be able to move it forward and provide that but I would it's really it's really the counsel that the dialog so through the November uh retake anyone that passed the mcast were grandfathered in um it was only from December 5th on and we had a very small number of students it as Alan said it was seven students when we came back September 1st we were looking at seven different students um and you know then we you know many of them have also through that those retests and things already satisfied competency okay any questions about yeah I just in mind on a little bit of clarification I read that uh students had to be at the school for for one [Music] term enrolled I asked that question yesterday marifi sorry well I need Mary clarified that enrolled and um and being in the school are different things you're not going to actually be in the school building you can still be homeschooled I see so homeschool en just that you're registered with the district then the other two things are that in various places uh it requires a superintendent or his or her design but then two times later it only has a superintendent and I would assume that they should always put you know if there's if it's either their are at the very I don't know what page right now to it's different sometimes it we try to always designate if there's an allowance for a designate so was about your decision Mak the appeal it did say the appeal does not allow for a designate I saw that one oh here it is it's on the second page um if the principal decision is appealed the superintendent so that's one [Music] so the so make policy can just make sure that the places that allows for designate we have them places that don't I'll have do one more yeah so my just more of like clarification so is it kind of like there are kind of two requirements for graduation one by desie where like going back to when mcast was required um so if a student passed mcass would they be allowed to graduate or do they do they also kind of have to pass the district's standards so it's kind both okay and so now it's they still have kind of the district's standards um but then also passing those kind of 10th grade equivalents okay all right you got it that was a really good sum thank you appreciate yeah Suns it up nicely one of the questions I asked Mary yesterday was would they still be taking the mcast and she said that they're still going to administer the mcast test it just won't have the same requirement it will not be part of graduate same as it is in all the other grades that it's administered it provides a barometer of where we are related to other schools in the state well I'm sure it helps teachers know but they if they missed teaching something well and everyone in the class didn't get it then they know okay gotta work on that um you know I just think it would help teachers oh sorry GLA um I just would like to uh give both of you kudos for your advocacy on behalf of students because um I'd like the public to know that that's not common at every school um in the state and I've had personal experience working in a school where um the certificate of completion for some students particularly multilingual Learners was good enough and um by you going the extra mile for for all students that really takes a lot of time and commitment so I I just thank you for doing that you're good clarification um is it a l English 10 or English 11 English 10 it's English two I I think it there's a Roman numeral okay great thank you it looked like 11 it probably looks better when it's in Black instead of red it's hard to read I thought there was a ton of missing punctuation until I realized it was just the color any last questions I still think it's a missed opportunity on part of the state to not have history being part of the new competency for graduation because it's all part of mass for all of these course requirements history is part of it and it would be a great chance to add that into the graduation requirement yes know they're taking a number of cour workor in just in the district thank you apprciate it all right so that'll come back to us um and next up is advertising um a few edits to advertising in schools thank you poliy for revisiting this one when we ran into a situation where it didn't quite make sense um okay so when we um we looked at it um the new the new edition um that we added as the last statement I'm just going to start here because this was the reasons we're bringing it to um policy sub committee and then I give kudos to the policy subcommittee that while we were doing that and we noce some other things we make some other changes so the last thing not understanding uh the foregoing local local organizations and groups that partner with the school district will be allowed to use the name or logo of the school district and or the name and logo of the individual School within the school district when approved in advance by the and just as an example we have a lot of Partnerships with woodo with the kuna um W you know so um and we do a lot of work together and our students are actually participating in a lot of the work and they do like to um you know give a shout out to F with public schools and and the you know just our our partnership and um I think allowing them to to be able to to use the logo I think is um is really important uh most recent um the Kun mesent had asked if um they were putting up a sign because they're doing restoration work um uh on the keset river and our students are a part of it and so they wanted to to be able to advertise that that our students you know come on a regular basis they do a lot of work right in the river with them and it's been it's a great and exciting partnership and so um and then when I read this and I'm like well it really doesn't allow for that so and I think that's appropriate to to have us on the sign so that was the addition then while we were talking um you move under um types of advertisement B Publications um uh we just added including but not limited to student Publications published by student organizations uh which really aligns with our practice and we've been doing it so I think we were doing a clarification and then do you have just an example of what you mean by this like student newspapers I brought that one up because there's little um programs at plays and and stuff like that it's full of local business advertisements yeah that makes and then um and then the under D other solicitation of sales or use of the name or logo of the school district um we did not have in there or the name or logo of the individual School within the district um so you know so you're not um you're not allowed to use you know not just the district logo but we want to make sure it's not the School logo either to to promote um uh any product or service so uh that was just a you know clear cleaning something up as we noticed so thank you to the policy subcommittee as weie nice job policy thank you so that'll come back um questions on that one of course you can policy if you catch anything uh update by the office of teaching and learning and your pitting pitching okay Sonia apologize for not being able to be here there was um a uh um emergency situation she to be here so but she sent me her notes so here we go so the first update of as on goal one and goal one for the district was um we believe and found that all students will have the sense of belonging that they know that they are valued for The Unique uh identities strengths interest needs language exceptionalities and background uh for the 24 25 school year um we were focusing on the selection of uh instructional materials um we continue um to implement the uh I ready program from K to 8 that would uh was purchased last year and implemented so that's it's continuing um going um you know really well um so this year we are looking at the um uh high quality literacy program P to six and so we do have a team that uh is looking uh going through that HQ that high quality instructional materials process with the state um we are in um where we are right now is um we have nared down to two finalist um materials and um we'll uh they'll be doing more work with them in February um with the the um Outlook of uh March um to actually select a new uh literacy program um the uh we're looking at an introduction of investigating history um K just brought up brought the history set point for grades five and six uh and then um we're just uh they in the the process right now of updating uh the inventory and prioritizing new purchases um that happens each year they in that process and then the collaboration among multilingual um and our ELD staff general education special education for materials that can be specifically used for um our our um students in the El programs or multilingual Learners um under professional development um uh uh and resources um continuing with um the PD U with those finalists U PD from Dr Katie no back um around the mtss process that's the multi-tiered systems of support um it was an identified area of um need for R trining for all of our district um which um leads into the ntss implementation and training that we had added in several uh entry points throughout our district goals this year um as just as we refocus again um professional development um doing resource collection uh to to assist on the um ongoing adjustments uh and data inform instruction decision making and then having a focus on our IST uh process as well the instructional support team um which when teachers have um concerns or uh administrators have concern with students there's a with certain students there's a um there's a process there's a team where you bring um you you may come up with some interventions or some strategies for the students um uh teachers go back and work with those um intervention strategies they progress monitor they come back so it's a process of continual Improvement and growth um for our students so a focus um so that was the district one update um on the goal um her other update um we have listed as a tiered Focus monitoring I congratulations to Sonia and her team um they have concluded um the process this was just a um an annual uh review process but it is it is uh done the last three pieces that um they needed to to work on was update the student exit criteria um to line with des's updated access score guidance um for our um our l l students or multilingual students um and so that is all updated now and aligned um update student placement to align with des's updated guidance released at the same time uh during that review so everything was updated so it wasn't that we were outdated it was all happening one time so it required it it's done um and then uh add teacher um uh uh registration in the uh SEI endorsement course so um years ago um PRI prior to my entrance of seven years ago um SEI became a requirement for all teachers to have and so um just making sure that um all students are or teachers educators are um registered if they haven't had the POR that they're registered so all of that was me those were the last three things and so congratulations that um part of the tiered Focus monitoring has concluded so those are cored okay I'm sorry there's so many acronyms I anywhere that I can access that in like a written form or have someone print it like share and print it out for me or something there's just I don't know what SEI is we have we have report I was trying to write things down okay so but Terry's saying we did that a few years ago for the the school uh committee members that all that um SEI all those things are in that bind in your bind sure I meant the the update I just was not able to keep up with you were talking so I don't I feel that would be help for me I don't remember you just said oh to have an actual maybe I because we had updates in we Hades in November and December and you guys didn't ask for that so maybe I talk too fast okay I misunderstood well part of it is not I don't have not fluent in the all the acronyms yet and also it's just fast after 1 years is shelter instruction Shel it's it's so all of our general Educators have strategies to work with our um our moning w in the classroom okay yeah okay uh next up is the presentation on midcycle progress Turn the Page you have a lot okay fine um all right so I am going to this one [Music] for patience okay okay all right so um so this is the um mid cycle [Music] um the go one was to ensure the equity audit uh results are addressed by strengthening the bright spots and creating a plan to address the areas for improvement uh selected by the um uh School community and if you remember from the audit last year um there were certain um areas to address um this goal of mine mirrors um the uh districtwide goal um around uh the equity audit so I felt it was important um that that this aligned so um so this actual first one was um Sonia's update that I just gave uh and so this is the area in the stud learning experience goal um and so I'm not gonna repeat all that since I just did um the um Henry on December 10th gave the U update on the uh student discipline goal just as a reminder uh of a few things that we're working on is making sure that um the um the alignment from elementary um clear through the high school is developmentally appropriate when we report uh behaviors and then certainly you know the reporting is one thing we're working on um but then what is it that we're doing uh on what what what are we doing with that data um to improve um the outcomes for all students and then um Sandy on uh November uh 12th um meeting she gave the update um on the two-way communication um just as a couple little reminders of what she gave the update on was the um focusing at the school level and making sure that um families have um feedback um back to the principes at the school level last year we focused um as a full district and now we wanted to bring it down and so um doing that through um principal's weekly messages um but also adding on in periodically uh periodic to get um with QR codes or with little surveys one or two questions at a time just to get uh feedback from families on something that's important with the school so that um so they know how they're doing and if they need to make um any um any changes with that um also with um the talk you know promoting the talking points uh it really is a great communication not only with our new students and new to English um but the families um that um are um new to the English language and then um ensuring that um our Communications are accessible to everyone and um and then making sure that um that we confirm um uh family email addresses that we have in Power School uh in Connected because that's the way we communic communicate out that all of those are correct so those were um the highlights that um uh for that goal all right um so uh goal two U build capacity among all employees of the uh District to implement environmental stewardship and sustainability education and practices related to the role in The District um so we have um continue to uh continue to grow opportunities to educate students on environmental stewardship and sustainability practices um this goes back to um a lot of our work that we're doing uh with our Partnerships uh Woods ho and uh the Greater fouth Community um around um just the environment sustainability Coastal resilience um data uh tracking over time um um the composting um as you know we have from poting we started last year and um that uh has grown we've continued this year but we we not only just we composting we actually you know had um stories and books and trying to teach um children why um that's so important so it's that learning piece of the composting which is I'll talk about later in a different section but um it's going well as far and then um the solar um so as we move in the Solar that Paul has been talking about because he talked on December 10th a lot about the solar and and um the pieces around um that the district go for that kind of lines in in this goal um the finding opportunities for students to work along with when we're talking about solar so that um students are understanding about the um reduction in energy the savings um and why clean renewable energy is so important so um those those things are are being planned as we're moving into that that solar um area so it was working fine it's just I'm hit this button but it's just not going to the next one or we can do it that way thank you that's why that's why you came over all right so the next one was explore and improve new and existing strategies to reduce waste through um the implementation of Steel cows um school and Community composting and the recycling um so part of um the benchmarks were um we added the composting uh bin at the ad building and then it was just to you know watch it assess it and see if it's successful uh we have had um literally no issues with that bin I am so excited uh they come a couple times a week to empty B and there's this this full sign at the top so people are really using it um and so um so we need to now we're talking about adding a new site um the only uh situation as we're assessing um at that location is that um it needs a roof because when it rains the water will the structure that that that um and it's a beautiful structure our high school students did it last year our seniors but the brain does leap into the and so we get water um in so what uh our mitigation plan is that DPW is building a new one with a roof we're going to put it in place and then we're going to take the current one we're going to uh then we just don't want to lose any composting in between then we're going to take that add a roof to that and then we're going to look for a second location um because it's going so well and so anyway so that uh so that's the kind of the update on the composting piece the recycl this has been interesting um so I didn't realize that we needed to um do a um discussion so working with the principles that we really needed to talk about what we can recycle and what the um and Paul's gring because he's kind of working on working on this one Focus so we we got nice little um stickers um we made more posters um they allowed us to take it and make posters that we could get out of the is exactly what so we're in the education mode now so the first part of this goal was to assess where we are on the recycling because we are trying to you know reduce waste right and so um so we can't compost we need to recycle and so we have um done this this is actually I think helpful we're going to we're going to continuing to assess how that works the steel cows um is been a little bit more difficult um the vendor that we use for milk um which is the the the bulk of what we use them for is for the the and they're in the cartons um had said that they were going to add the um the bulk milk that goes into the the steel cow um they have not added that yet so uh my goal may have been a little ambiti ambitious to get it throughout the district I still think we might meet it this year they're still talking about adding it um and because it's the the bulk of that vendor and what they supply for it's not like we could pick up another vendor because then because we're under contract with them so they assure us that they're still going to get it we're going to get the Ste cows in uh in our cafeterias because it's less we waste with the the um cartons and um we'll be using the um uh the plastic not you know the the reusable sorry reusable cups like we are with the trays and so forth so we we'll move in that direction uh we are just behind on that one at this point just because we're waiting we're waiting for the B need another District to say that they want them too so have to yeah good point um and then um the next one was increase energy efficiencies and that was again uh Paul in December 10th was giving his update so I won't repeat that was a lot of it but he was talking about the solar um he was talking about the um electric buses um and you know we we still have uh Paul spent time looking into the federal and state grants and tax credits if we move to Electric um the other part of U my goal is that we need to figure out the challenges it's not as easy to move to Electric um you know but we are moving slowly we're looking at uh adding another electric um B um after the the November vote uh on our Capital plan so so we're moving there um and and we'll get there but um and then that solar with the other piece of that was taking the warrant to the um town meeting in April which we are in lined it so for two so projects good and then the last one was really around um our partnership with farming fouth and then the uh the grant we received that um that wasn't uh in dollars but it was giving us a coach for the year if you remember uh so we in um you know we formed a team uh this summer we VIs visited um two Farms we uh visited the one farming fouth here in um fouth and then we visited the farm that was over marus Vineyard um then we uh we've been meeting monthly uh and a team of people uh went to the two-day retreat in September and then our coach is continuing to work with us and I've been giving uh little updates all along um like you know moving uh looking at um uh Contracting and getting more uh fresh FR local uh fresh um fruits vegetables into the cafeterias um which the stf has uh been doing and working and then that Harvest um of the month that we've been doing has been going really well so really excited about um that um the last goal was Implement a communication strategy focused on community engagement and two-way exchange of ideas um the first was to development develop the communication plan and um this was um through through the fall um with the um uh for first week created a public a publicity plan Chris horn actually worked with us uh Chris horn we've worked with uh in the years past around the communication strategies uh and then we developed the um flyers and social media uh the website um the media all around um the um uh proposed plans uh we had uh the next one was implementing the plan and so we um uh formed the building uh needs task force uh we had a written Communications out we did the uh Community fors uh and then um as you know in December um I brought forward one recommendation uh was to submit the proposed plans to the uh for the S SOI um statement of interest um to msba for the renovation of Lawrence School and so that's where we are any questions about go updates um and then everyone should have um I think I don't know if everyone has done it already but Sharon has sent out the link a couple times to schedule your um formative meeting to sit down and review the the content of pardon me the yeah yeah um and so hopefully everybody is on the books for that and have has an opportunity to to review progress um individually okay moving on uh acting on the memorandum of agreement FDA Unit C um yeah do you want I mean we um we were able to review this the language for it and discuss it at our last question yeah I'm trying to get to it but course I can't find it okay thank you there and after so after um seeing the specific language where there any questions about the MLA from the last executive okay is there a motion to approve the mo are we calling it MOA it says a Moa um regarding toileting responsibilities and compensation make a motion thank you is there a second any last questions on this one um when it said I don't have it in front of me I'm pretty sure that I understand thank you it was saying uh no member will be eligible for compensation unless and until they have been officially assigned so would that be in the beginning they would have to they would have to request that they want to be signed up as a sub essentially like if you if you are going to be a person who you know the regular person is not there and you need another person to do it you would have to have somebody who had signed up who had said I will be a person who will do that you would only get compensated if you actually have to do the work yeah but okay so would they like s volunteer or principles can talk to to the to the individuals yeah I think that specific language is just that you only get paid if you do the work no yeah exactly I just wasn't sure how it was determined who was going to I couldn't remember from our convers if it was um everybody is signing up or like it's just how do we decide how do they decide so so mostly it's it's um the individuals that are actually working with the students on a regular basis but if they don't want to do that and someone else does that's I think it was the word substitute or something in there well because we do have someone's out so maybe I'm assigned I got the assignment for the year I'm receiving the the site that I'm out someone has to do it so you can get volunteers to he's going to do that okay and they would have to then sign that before they could do it right they would have to they would have to have signed just with the principle I just yeah there's not a there's not any big process around that I mean no sure just make sure I and this just remind everyone this is extending it um this is it's in the unit c contract um now with the teaching assistance and this just extends it to Unit A B and D so those are our teachers our um building Administration uh administrators and then the nurses so it just extends if they're doing toil responsibilities they also good okay any last questions oh hold on I lost my screen we have mik no all in favor approving Thea say I any thank you thank you that passes unanimous oh sure let's do the official sign so we don't forget it was bumpy because table [Music] bumpy there you go and that's retro so yes yes important that our folks know that it's they've been doing it all year they they will get paid for all year yes uh did you have any other updates I mean you've had a lot to say so um yeah actually have um several here so we have um just wanted to let you know that uh we are doing a reunification drill uh with B of high school um a limited number of students and families because this is a um new um location um that we are going to have um in the fir first um we're going to do famou high school and if this goes well um we' like to look at this being the the new location for reification drills for the dist for all schools so on January 20 we're going to do a drive run with a small group I want to give a shout out to um to Paul Dart he has done Yan's work around this um so um and uh Paul stefanelli before he left and now Mike Hurley has also done a lot of work uh in getting this together but we've um it's and I just really want to thank uh the cape cut um uh chch because they are so welcoming they are so happy that they could actually provide this uh opportunity for our um um students staff families um it's um it's a beautiful Church a beautiful location I don't know where we'd have anything this large this was always Our concern over the last um you know years is if we had to re do a reification with the the high school with as many uh staff and students where where where could we do that that would actually so this is I think an ideal location uh we'll see how the first run goes but um I just want to give shout out for all the work and certainly to P Cod church for um you know for working with us and willing to grow with us and um so think it's going to be good we'll report it on after after we do it so um and hopefully we'll never need it and hopefully we will never need it but you know I don't know I mean as just needed it so yeah right prti yes it can be for a lot of things we had you know it wasn't long ago that we had um nothing that was going on with our school at mors Pond but had to um do a reification as a high school because just proximity to something that was going on in the town so I mean so things do come up and and um and and the church is so close to us it's so you know um so anyway so we're very excited about that um I wanted to give a um a shout out to the town um and again I'm gonna shout out to Paul on this one too because he's worked with the town but um because his relationship with the town is so good and with Stephanie Madson um we're working on a heating project at the ad building uh we have consistently have one one side of the building that has no heat the other one that has way too much heat and so um so they're working on it but the the um the town uh Stephanie found grants for us for the boiler and for the vals we're actually going to have vals so that we can do it so it l literally came down to no cost for us because we were getting it uh covered so um but it's you know so it was something that's been neat it's been like that for years and years and years um so uh I'm I got to give another shout out to Paul sorry a first whole list you know um because um I know that during the presentation he talked about you know the reduction of the the the mitigation of you know um closing the window of when we have the heat on um but I didn't hear him actually say um how much and in the the month of November um there was $116,000 saved by what they've worked on with just um and so he had set the goal a couple meetings ago told the school committee we're looking at 70,000 for the year and we are on well on the track of being able to save um the 70,000 around that so thank you it's not a little thing so I know that's awesome um so I got several more but I'm gonna ask Paul to speak on the next one so our launch participation rates are up um it's very exciting so don't give us a couple details Paul on this yeah um the launch program is still doing great I think I mentioned that before so our goal for the year was to reach 60% and and and for many schools four of them they're at 60% so uh in the the number of students participating in the in the free lunch B so which is and it's you know you can look at you you know some the largest increase from starting in September was 133% uh and the number of students uh and and the smallest increase was around 3% so all the schools were off you know really it's the the sign of of what the food service department has been doing Andrea and and laa and the whole team with the kitchens and all the schools really done tremendous the students vote by participating so they're voting in favor of what it was a great arle oh okay this is the next one so in case you didn't see uh See this this is um this is a really big deal and I just want to again give a shout out to um Laura and Andrea the team um it is a big deal when you get a trade accept it uh this is a desie program over the last couple years this is the very first first tray that we have submitted there's one tray that's selected out of all the submissions each month so it only happens once a month and this was the tray um the first one mitted and accepted and this was the uh the tamale pie um that the chef had come up with um and as you can see that and then um we get a shout out to our Kun Messa farm and Peach Tree Circle Farm which is really exciting um but this was a kale sauteed with sweet potatoes beans topped with cornbread and a dollop of sour cream and then you just look at the whole tray isn't it just beautiful um and I just um it's a far cry from chicken nuggets I would eat that so anyway I I I just wanted you to have a copy of this because it's and the team is so excited about this this is this is so big I seriously would love that recipe well so maybe so we are putting all the recipes up on the website so we are revamping the website for them and and there's going to be a chef L's Corner that all the recipes she's knowing are going to be there so people can so as the students go home and say mom you know love this dish dad can fix it yeah exactly I was about to say same thing well I think also adding that to what you just previously said 60% of the students are really getting nutritious food that's that is healthy I mean it's not just 60% but they really good food and that makes the 60% even more shout out to Amy teams you said it was up to 6% schools uh East Mullen Hall North fth and T ticket that's awesome get the younger kids yeah so that's right because as they age up yes hopefully they'll I wondering I was wondering actually if there's lower participation in lunch programming in the middle school and high school in general is that there is it is slower um not in the middle schools uh in in the high school the high school you know if you is been going up that's at 53% they they started at 46% um it's at 45 they started at 39 um so most PS at 40 they started at 37 so they're going awesome it's just exciting that that was our goal for the year and you know and um you know through December we're already reaching in that at four school right okay my next can I just give a personal shout out to um again um I kind of knew this was happening when it was happening and I um personally couldn't be Pro more proud of um Amy is also a k to2 alumni fth she takes her job very seriously with pride every single day and um she doesn't just make beautiful food like this at school but also at home and um Amy and Tiana and her team at uh mullon really I know that everybody shows up every day but um to see it from a personal side to know how much um effort that they put in I just that should also um be mentioned as well I just wanted to do a shout out for um there's a another um desserts and conversations uh we've had dinner conversations with the uh so the elack puts um the the program on we do it twice a year um it's continuing um pack being the English Learners uh parent advisory um Council and the uh next dinner is January 23rd so it's coming up at six o'clock we have moved them uh this one is going to be uh at uh M and Hall um we'll have desserts there and um and then some of the conversations um uh Chef is going to be there and talk about the the the food and we'll have school adjustment counselor um to learn more about the support services that are available um and um we are um having the library uh the the B with Public Library there will be someone there because they have in their Library put up a whole section for the Portuguese and um uh community and the just the readings and just learning you know everything about it so uh one reason we're having a m and hall because at the end we're going to walk across so people can see it and they can sign up for the library cards so very excited but that is on it's 6:00 uh on the 23rd and um just really proud of this event uh and something else that's ongoing through the year that um the uh elpac has been doing for several years and that's the um uh read aloud uh family events um it's really enjoyable um I yesterday and you did your talk about your reading because mine's coming up I that was going to be in my update so I got to be the U guest reader at the their family literacy night yesterday um they selected it was at tet they selected a book and there were I don't know how many families but there were a bunch of kids it was so fun they all sat around and I got to read um not yet to them which is funny because that's a phrase that I always used to use with my kids and they would say they couldn't do something um I would always just say not yet you can't and so the whole book was lovely and then everyone got to take a book home at the end and it was it was just great it's really nice it it just it's lovely so anyway um there are some um it's at 5:30 um uh and uh we have um March 3rd and April 14th coming out just just if you wanted to come and participate and it's really it's very quick too which is nice okay two more things I promise and then I'm gonna I'm gonna this is um oh I need one all right so um in collaboration um with um so Susie Hoffman um has done a lot of work around this and working with um partners and so this is um on January 16th was which is just two days away um at the um Rec Center uh downtown is going to be um energ generational Pride winner social uh so I just wanted to to show us um out we've been uh working with them as well you can see the number of Partnerships um you know at the bottom that that has worked on the social but I I wanted to give a a shout out to to Susie for for all the work that she's doing on that so make that and then the last um it is time for the C High collaborative uh annual uh legislative breakfast again this is hot off the press fly just came out today so perfect timing week though I know nothing like I know so it came out today um and here it is I just want to make sure I get it to you um I've already signed up at the bottom Judy um at the bottom the email um just uh if you can make it um the legislative breakfast is an annual event that's for um superintendents and school committee members uh so um if you can it's going to be this is a new location um it'll be at d y um their new Intermediate Middle School um so that's where it's at this year so um I know some of you have attended in the past and if you can come that would be great just sign up tell them that you're kind I I was just say I would you know if you can please relay that having a week and a half notice for something that happens in the middle of a work day is not the most thoughtful thing I've ever seen well that's because they it wasn't the collaboratives um uh the tarting this it was the legislators okay tell them then they've they've been work I was going to talk about that actually thank you my no no no the to get all the legislators together um they kept putting off there some newes new people okay but here it is just came got it to you we've been talking about it for two months to get it oh my gosh then thank you for working on it and I hope that the turnout is okay okay I'm G to stop thank you got cover the agenda in um routine business uh is there a motion to approve the minutes from December the 10th make motion thank you is there a second any edits or questions all right still don't have Mike all in favor approving amendments from December the 10th say I I any opposed any exensions great unanimously uh any committee report yes take it away um one thing that just to point out about this um breakfast is the regional um Regional challenges I mean that that's a theme that affects everybody you know this our whole capes housing employees all kinds of stuff so they're always very interesting these breakfast too um okay and another thing from the clav is that last week was Paul Hilton's last meeting as the Director the last Board of director's meeting um he's been there 15 years I was there when he was hired and I'm there now that he's leaving so um and the there's a new director I think you've heard my heard me mention her name before is um whole pantum she came from mashby to and she will be the new director um The Other Board that I report on is VIPs and this um young lady for January is aario Vall I don't know if you say V or V I think it's anyway she um V it's V that's how okay yeah yeah I should I don't I'm really a stickler about names and I just didn't check this beforeand thank thank you de okay um she says she has a list like many of the students that goes like five pages long but she had a quote where she said she likes giving back to the community meeting new people and making a positive impact so another great student from school thank you any other committee reports uh negotiations is ongoing that's all I ever get to say um but we we'll get an update when we move in the executive session uh with that I make a motion that we move into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to colletive bargaining with FDA Unit A and to discuss Department of Labor complaint having the discuss no concession may have a detrimental effect on the schol committe bargaining position it's anticipated the school committee will not return to public session is there a second second and it's a roll call maret well it's also yes thank you so much we are