##VIDEO ID:9YPqF_zYzN4## [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] where's M got one minute where did Ian go is he G to oh I just want to make sure they're going to do a countdown for us the kids [Music] [Music] [Music] Workshop session of November 25th 2024 will now come to order this meeting is being recorded and will be made available for viewing on the methan public schools website secretary would you please call the role here pres here ma here yeah here all members are present we need a Motion in a second to accept the agenda as presented so moved second motion from Member daglio second from Vice chair Keegan any discussion there's no discussion we'll vote all those in favor say I I I opposed the eyes have it and tonight's agenda has been accepted we'll now move on to the flag salute flag the United States of America and to the Republic whichs one nation God indivisible liy and justice for has anyone signed up for public participation thank you we'll begin with Kim Marin from the Tenny School what thank you Kim Moren I work at the Tenny grammar school um I want to express a concern that I have regarding um the use of humor at the last school Committee Member some examples being um that you would like more than anything to get the kids back to school so you can stay home and get your work done or challenging us to a Coke and a Pepsi challenge while humor can be a valuable tool for building Rapport and alleviating tension I think it's important to remember that if it's used at the wrong time it can be perceived as patronizing and unprofessional I ask that you consider our professional needs contract negotiations and our livelihoods to be a serious situation this is not a time for humor public challenges public humiliation or glib comments there are expectations of us as Professionals in our classrooms and I feel that the same expectations should exist here thank you thank you next we have Judy flag from the Tenny as well oh there you go now you can got it okay this is way easier in front of seventh graders just saying um so my name is Judy flag I live at 151 Woodburn Drive in methan I'm an active voter in this town I've lived here for 27 years you might know me a little bit from around town um I've lived I've been at the middle school for 22 years I raised my children in Methuen they all went through Tenny grammar school I am 100% invested in this District in this school I love my job I love my students I love my co-workers all of that said I also need to address some of the comments that were made at the last meeting um one in particular that struck me really hard like a gut punch teachers get raises every year no we don't not every teacher gets a raise every year I'm one of the lucky few I'm at the top of the pay scale I worked really really hard to get here 22 years of service a master's degree an additional 75 credits of graduate work paid for mostly out of my own pocket I worked really hard to get there what did I get in return in the last 12 years we've gotten zero raises twice we've gotten 1% raises multiple times gotten 2% raises multiple times if you add that up over 12 years we got 18% in raises 18% what did I do by comparison by comparison and this is a number that really matters the inflation rate over that same time period was almost 35% double our raises so any 3% or whatever we get this year is not even close to making a dent in how far behind we are on the pay scale okay I'm I say I'm glad to be at the top of the pay scale it's a good place to be but by the time your medical insurance goes up and you pay for school supplies out of pocket and a million other things we're practically losing money every year um there another one thank you okay um and so it's not just me it's anybody who's not at a step 1 through 10 if you are a step 11 which is half of our teachers we not getting raises every year most years 1% thank you appreciate it um another thing that's a little bit disheartening is to always hear well there's no money left for teachers by the time you do everything else you need to do there's no money left for teachers maybe next year but then you look at how many contract employees you have and how much money is being paid to those contract employees and yet so you have money for contract employees but you can't raise those salaries for the teachers that are already here that are already invested that are already caring for and loving these students that hurts that hurts a lot and I know we get new buildings we get rofs we get pickle ball courts I know all of these things are very very important but so are your teachers especially your veteran teachers so I will say again I am 100% invested in my community in my school in my job in my students and I would really love to feel that you are invested in me too thank you [Applause] thank you Carrie Weaver from the Tenny it's green okay um dear school committee members I was moved to speak before you today after watching and listening to the school committee meeting on November 12th to say I'm dism made and disheartened as an understate understatement so I'm going to speak directly to the comments of the meeting that were mentioned it was said in the meeting that facility issues were intentionally not reported I have a real problem with this language and it is an insinuation of mistrust of teachers that we would ever intentionally not notify the appropriate people and continue to live in an unhealthy an unsafe environment for ourselves and students and to have a gotcha moment is ludicrous like member shabila said we're doing more than is humanly possible in an 8- hour day you hit the nail on the head I'm going to give you some insight into the many ticket systems that we have to open up and navigate daily we not only have facility tickets we have Human Services tickets technology tickets student cell phone use ticket tickets student Chromebook damage tickets tier one Behavior tickets tier 2 Behavior tickets parent communication tickets and school supply and classroom needs tickets we are in inundated with tickets now is not the time to minimize the work we we have to take on do not explain away unsafe and healthy schools because the teachers didn't fill out another ticket member shilia you also made a comment in the last meeting that we cannot compete with Andover well we are competing with Andover our students compete with them in the classroom and on the sports field they compete against them for jobs test scores scholarships and college admissions and of course we are losing teachers to Andover and other surrounding districts this comment sounds like you have given up it is not time to give up it is time to make sure our students and their teachers have the support of the city support that is crucial to make sure they can compete just like our students need teachers surrounding them who say they will fight for you teachers need a school committee that says you are worth it and we will fight for you we need a fair and Equitable contract fight for us the teachers and students of Methuen cannot have a committee that will sit here and say we cannot compete we we need a committee that says we must compete we must invest in our schools we must work to negotiate a contract that shows the value that the city of methu places on their students and teachers thank [Applause] you thank you Sarah Gavin green perfect we're green good afternoon everybody my name is Sarah Goen I am a resident of methan 32 Fant Hill Lane I am also a school counselor at the Marsh Grammar School and I myself have three children in methan public schools two at the marsh and one at the little rangers program at the high school I like many of my colleagues here want to address the comments that were made at the last school committee meeting the laughs and the jokes they're really not funny as another colleague said this isn't the time to make jokes it's really disheartening to think about our pair of professionals who are fighting for a contract who are doing the same jobs who have to show up and work side by side with individuals who are not nearly as trained not nearly as competent and are making more than 50% what they're making every day I have a a PA ask me why they should stay why why should they why shouldn't they go work for the Contracting agency why shouldn't they go to Andover and I'm running out of things to tell them after the negotiation session last week and after the school committee meeting after that there's not a lot that I can say I will say that I think we all need to remember that we're here for the students of methan I am here for the students of methan I have been on the PTO I volunteer for everything I coach Youth Sports I am invested in this community and I expect this same from every single person sitting around this Square we are all here for the students of methan whether you're at the square whether you're behind me we are all here for one goal to provide students the education that they need the education that they deserve and the education they're entitled to thank you thank you heather Jones good evening members of the school committee my name is Heather Jones although I've been a teacher at the comprehensive grammar school for more than 25 rewarding years full of successes and tears my career started as a classroom Aid and then a teacher in the Aira Public Schools prior to the closing of Fort devans before starting my own family I treated my job in Methuen as if it were a calling showing up in the darkness of the early morning hours in staying well past Sunset to create the best experiences for my students even now my own children attend just as many events in this city as they do in our own community and so tonight I come before you as a dedicated teacher an honorary member of the methan community and a proud member of the M methan Education Association to address statements made at your last meeting along with thoughts about the current collective bargaining process like you the committee I have one voice and one vote and tonight I am using that voice to call for fairness respect and living wages for our par Professionals in Unit C and the teachers of unit a all dedicated individuals who play crucial role in our schools and make a difference every day as a unit a teacher I have immense respect for our unit c par professionals who whose work is indispensable to the success of our schools they change diapers to ensure that students are dry and comfortable all day long they literally spoon feed students who can't feed themselves they know our students in ways teachers don't even get a chance to see they're with students at recess supporting their social growth they're with them during specials supporting them in an area where a classroom teacher doesn't get to see them Excel and flourish or possibly flounder RPA are the communication devices for lack of a better term for these students they literally sit on the floor with students who are melting down soothing and calming them all the while one amazing teacher with a loving wink and glance can continue to tend to her 15 or 20 students par professionals often start the day with many kiddos greeting them off the bus with a smile they are the first and last smile our special education population sees many days oh and they're there to teach too they witness in nurture moments that define a child's growth whether it's their first word their first step or the realization that they can achieve something they thought impossible despite this invaluable work they are asked to do it for wages that make it hard to stay that's not fair to them nor is it fair to the students who rely on their consistency and care you have spoken about how par professionals have been offered raises but the truth is these offers have been manipulative and insufficient the latest contract proposal dangled retroactive pay just before the holidays is if it were a gift rather than the basic fairness they deserve at the risk of repeating myself par professionals feed toilet and teach children they are there when students take their first steps say their first words they learn to right and yet they are grossly underpaid for the invaluable work they do every one of us wants what is best for our students to achieve that we need to retain staff who is committed and able to meet a student's needs with consistency year after year it's not about Leaps and Bounds it's about incremental fairness that allows us to focus on our work and our students rather than worrying about making ends meet we are not here to pillage or disrupt the city of Methuen we are here to work with you to ensure that M meu's children receive the best education possible in schools that are safe well-maintained and staffed by professionals who are treated with dignity and respect I appreciate the words spoken spoken about your respect for teachers and the work we do however your actions tell a different story for years we've seen our schools underfunded our facilities neglected and our staff undervalued respect is More Than Words its actions its Equitable funding safe working conditions and fair compensation for everyone in our schools as you appear to have far more control of this narrative than we do misleading statements from this committee have made it harder for us to convey the truth to the public for example Mr shabila if you choose to talk about numbers you must have them in front of you without accurate information you consistently mislead the public as when you overstated the cost of a 1% raise for teachers and mischaracterized our wage proposals that kind of of misinformation damages trust and undermines the bargaining process miss dunan you suggested that our responsibilities are as simple as snapping fingers or clicking buttons calling it easy peasy as Carrie Weaver aptly stated I assure you our work is far from simple my colleagues and I are not just teachers we are mentors counselors crisis managers and more it is our job to shape lives and Futures not to perform maintenance tasks s or fill out reports about leaky ceilings or moldy tiles it is incredible to think that the roof at the CGS has been replaced and yet still leaks every time it rains the city should really ask for their money back this is the responsibility of the facilities Department not classroom teachers let me be clear I am a teacher my job is to educate and support students not to perform the duties of building maintenance if an issue like the ones that have been brought to your attention are visible to the naked eye it should fall on the maintenance crew and not the teachers yet I work in facilities where basic upkeep has been ignored with problems that should never reach the classroom for years we've seen millions of dollars advocated for repairs and yet the roof still leaks tiles stay moldy and safety issues persist while the superintendent has to continue to make Cuts teachers are constantly taking up the slack vacuuming our own classrooms washing windows cleaning desks many of us keep screwdrivers and Allen wrenches for minor fixes in our desks that should be packed with paper and pencils and Chromebook Chargers Mr leet wette I want you to know sir that I am an honest person proud to be part of a profession that is rooted in Integrity trust and a deep commitment to ethical standards secondly it is concerning that you misunderstand the bargaining process to such an extent that you expect teachers to sit down with you and compromise directly that is not how negotiations work additionally your sarcastic remarks in dismissive tone do nothing to foster a collaborative atmosphere Mr daglio you have stated that teachers receive automatic yearly raises but this is not true for everyone once we reach the top step there are no built-in raises our wages remain stagnant unless otherwise negotiated these inaccuracies show a lack of understanding of the very system you oversee let me make this clear no one here no teacher no parent professional no member of the methan Education Association is looking to pillage the city we're not asking for extravagant ra wages in raises or for the district to compete with the endover of the world we're asking for fairness to be compensated in a manner that aligns with similar districts in the area and region for the work we do in the care we provide to mean's children we heard dismissive incendiary and Insidious comments from this committee dishonest collusion bomb bomb bomb and easy peasy suggesting that our responsibilities are reduced to the click on a keyboard this could not be further from the truth our work is complex EX exhausting and deeply rewarding because we care so much for our students as teachers our work often extends far beyond the hours we spend in the classroom we love our students and we show it by putting in the extra time to make sure they feel valued and supported we want to see that love and care reflected in the decisions made by this committee you accuse teachers of dramatizing the issues but only highlighting the facts the conditions in our schools are unacceptable and the lack of respect for educators is clear we aren't asking for much we're asking to be treated like professionals paid fairly and provided with safe well maintained buildings in which to teach this isn't about gotcha moments or social media sound bites it's about the thousands of children who depend on us every day it's about the future of Methuen and assuring that we can attract and retain the best Educators and Par professionals your actions speak louder than your words you and the city council are the governing body who make policies and decisions about us like we're just a line item in your budget I challenge you to Shadow a teacher or paraprofessional for a few consecutive days I won't hold my breath on that one nonetheless as you continue to discuss the pressing need to address funding our schools I urge you to explore the use of the free cash as a viable yet temporary solution to support teacher contracts par professional wages and other critical school budget items free cash is an opportunity to invest in our schools ensuring that our teachers PA professionals and students have the resources they need to succeed while you continue to examine other more permanent strategies let us use every tool at our disposal to prioritize education and create a sustainable future for methan children additional funding is needed and the school committee should advocate for an increase in the municipal budget allocation for Education it is time your actions align with your words respect us fund us and show this community that its children truly are your top priority stop dismissing the concerns of the teachers and professionals stop pointing fingers at others and start working with us to create the schools that methan students deserve thank you [Applause] thank you Christina Bartlett thank you it's quite a night for my first public participation um I'm Christina Bartlett a parent of two students at the CGS and I live in Methuen um another little one that will be part of CGS in a few years I do have to just say thank you to all the teachers um that have poured into my children so far and continue to do so it is very powerful to walk in and see all the red so I just do need to say that um I am here tonight also to bring some clarity on some of the chatter from last school committee meeting I am um the head administrator of the newly established methan mental health parent advisory Council um unfortunately last week I couldn't be here and I did not not provide a print out with the intention and definition and purpose of our group when it got brought up so I feel like there was a lot of um things that were misconstrued and that's why I wanted to come to kind of bring Clarity on a very positive group that we have established um so basically I think we can all admit that there is a true mental health pandemic facing our children and it's happening younger and younger and um when it comes to the parent although we have all these other great groups many which I'm a part of i' I've been the president of CPAC I was involved in that for many years I'm on the school's um school council I go to the PTO meetings any opportunity I have just like everyone here I'm trying to do the best I can for my children so I get involved whenever I can be the thing that is missing is a parent Outlet where parents can openly come together and talk about the mental health issue facing our children right now we don't just want to have one-on-one side meetings or come to public participation necessarily and voice the concern we want to be part of the solution and so we want the ability to come together as parents on the parent level and collaborate and really be part of that discussion and solution and that's kind of where this group naturally started to form um I did notify John C rocker Brandy and Gina the minute the group did form because I didn't want to as it was discussed last meeting do anything behind the scenes this was a very positive thing we have over 50 members right now and everyone's very excited about it um ranging from lower school middle school and upper school there's a good mix of parents in the group some have neurotypical children some have neurode Divergent children um there's stay-at-home moms there's people in mental health Health there's teachers it's all parents and we all come from different backgrounds but the one thing we have in common is we want our kids to have a better mental health experience going forward um in today's day and age it's just becoming harder so the purpose of this group is for us to be able to come together discuss the issues um I did have a positive meeting with Gina John Crocker and Brandy last week um where we are hoping to work together with the parent group and the school we're still working out the logistics of who that point person will be at the school level um one of the things we talked about is depending on the issues that come up in the group there may be times that's Gina boac there may be times that's John Crocker there may be times we come to the school committee and there may be times everyone says our hands are tied this is a state issue and that's when we as a group would start writing letters to the state so um we are working on trying to have that point person within the school and that's still being discussed but we are very excited I hope after tonight more parents hear about this and join um right now bullying tends to be the the big topic that's coming from a lot of parents um with a lot of concerns on on what we can do to improve that and what we're hearing from our children as parents our first meeting will be in December um all the details are are still being tuned out um but if you're listening you can find us on Facebook at Methuen mental health parent advisory Council if you're not on Facebook um we are creating an email as well so I will try to somehow get that out but I just wanted to bring that Clarity I hope you all get excited about it it's a great need today and it just really creates that casual atmosphere for parents to be able to openly discuss among each other be part of both the concern and the solution and then I'm hoping to bring that to the appropriate Point person so we can all kind of have the same end goal of helping our kids so thanks for listening thank you is there anyone else in the room who wishes to speak who didn't sign up previously hi my name is Nicole Pereira and I am a parent of three boys currently attending the marsh Grammer school I'm speaking today because I was extremely disheartened by the recent school committee meeting the discussion felt overwhelmingly dominated by finger pointing about who was to blame for the ticket issues who submitted them who didn't receive them and who should have received them yet amidst all the discussion no one truly addressed the root causes of these significant problems it's essential we address some significant concerns that have emerged at the marsh school first we need to clarify on why rugs were removed from some of the fourth grade classrooms additionally we must investigate the troubling growth of mushrooms through the bathroom floor identify the source of mold and lockers and tiles and determine the cause of the bubble on the gym floor that was discussed I I feel like once we can pinpoint the root causes we can take meaningful steps to resolve these issues effectively we must redirect our Focus to these pressing concerns as they directly impact our children's health and learning environment for example if we are worried about the condition of the rugs enough to have them removed we should also be equally concerned about having them all tested the results of these tests would enable us to discuss and address any potential mold issues appropriately also it would be beneficial to consider scheduling professional carpet cleaning once or twice a year perhaps during summer and holiday break this practice would significantly enhance the carpet's cleanliness and overall appearance while daily maintenance is essential taking this additional step is valuable for their upkeep I would like to commend Dr Quang and Mr go golin for their initiative and conducting a walkthrough to address the concerns that were highlighted in the mea photos however moving forward I think we also must involve custodial management and a mold expert in future inspections their expertise is crucial and accurately diagnosing and prioritizing issues if we need substantial changes to address the evident moisture problems at the marsh we need to start these conversations immediately we all understand that significant projects take time but slapping on temporary fixes will not resolve the underlying Problems by addressing these matters proactively we can secure a more sustainable future for our school and lastly I would like to discuss what is causing a lack of parent engagement in our schools from the perspective of a parent who wants to engage the trickle down effect from Administration is ex is significant they are not only managing their own responsibilities but also taking on the duties of positions that have been eliminated or cannot be filled as a result I feel like they are burnt out this combined with a poor contract situation creates an atmosphere where teachers and support staff feel unsupported unappreciated and again burnt out when our school staff is in this state it becomes challenging to encourage them to participate in activities like science fairs talent shows art shows that aim to increase family engagement in school run events however with the proper support I believe we can restore our school Community I hope that we can work together to create an uplifting environment that inspires teachers and engages families in these enriching opportunities in the end it all comes down to funding we must create a budget that adequately staffs our schools ensures a safe and healthy learning environment and provides opportunities for engaging activities for our students and our their families I believe we all desire the best for our methun community and hope these words reach open minds and lead to a meaningful discussion thank you thank you would anyone else like to speak if not we haven't received anything in writing so at this time I will close public participation if in the future you cannot make the meeting in person for public participation you can send an email to Martha sroy at m s ois mean. K12 ma. us before 3 p.m. on the day of the school committee meeting I think what we'll do is we'll pause brief L uh just to let uh the room clear and then we'll move on to the presentation actually you know what I'll do I'll request a motion for a five-minute recess so move second motion from Member uh Donovan second from Member wette all those in favor of a 5minute recess say I I opposed the eyes have it will take a 5minute recess and return at that time thank you [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the methan school committee is now reconvening after a 5 minute recess we will now move on to the next item on the agenda which is the presentation of the school committee roles and responsibilities uh good evening committee members um first of all let me say it's a pleasure to be here this is a presentation that I was originally scheduled to um present uh back in September but it got pushed off uh given the past of uh mayor Perry that happen right around that same time um I will um I believe all of you have in front of you a packet of information that I'll go over tonight I have done this presentation uh to various iterations of school committee members in the past I want to say it's been it seems like it's maybe been at least four or five years so some of this might be a refresher for some of you um this is really meant to be sort of a high overview of four major areas that affect School schol committee members so we'll kind of just touch on some of the highlights the big picture items tonight uh if there's any particular questions that you have on any areas I'm happy to uh to um try to answer them for you so um if you turn to what the agenda is um the four areas that I indicated are uh the the role of the school committee we'll spend a little bit of time just going over uh what that is uh it's really set a lot of it by Statute um we will do a quick review of the open meeting law uh as well as a quick review of the conflict of interest law and a review of uh public records law and hit on those items that are there also um in addition to this as resource there are some great resources that you can find online for school committee members there's one in particular it's a uh advisory on school governance which a lot of this information came from directly it was actually um released by desie shortly after 1993 after school reform and is really been and maintains to be the foremost authority on uh School governance so if you've got any questions about that I actually kind of keep it in my bag and bring it with me it's always a great um way to just go and take a look at something if you're trying to find something real quickly um also all of these things open meeting law conflict conflict of interest law there's very good advisories that pertains particularly to school committee members so if you've got any questions obviously feel free to ever reach out to me on any of these or uh contact brandy or the chair and see if you could uh get in touch with me on that um finally I will say um masc uh is a great resource to you and they also do trainings I think a lot of you may have had when you became the school committee members they probably did trainings and came up with those also great resources so there's a lot of good information uh about all of this stuff if you want to learn a little bit more besides what's in the packet that you have now so um with with that let's uh take a look at the role of the school committee so there are uh really four major areas here where School committees are tasked with governance and responsibilities um they're broken down into setting education goals and policy uh budget Staffing and uh selection and purchase of textbooks we won't really spend too much time on that one that's all the years I've been giving this one I've had very few uh comments or questions about that one right here so let let's focus on on the big things right here setting education goals and policy so the school committee establishes education goals and policies for the schools in the district consistent with the requirements of Law and Statewide goals and standards established by the Board of Education if you've got the sheet in front of you and it looks like I think all of you were looking at it you're going to see legal sites that are there just in case you don't know for the first time you're ever seeing that mgl stands for Mass General law uh that's chapter 71 most of this is found uh right in chapter 71 and then that's the section where you can find the citation to this information um in terms of the superintendent the superintendent is employed by the school committee and manage manages the system in a fashion consistent with state law and policy determinations of the school committee um then under the superintendent the principles are the education administrators and managers of their schools uh and they supervise the day-to-day operation of their school and the school property if you um look at some of the Desy highlights according to them they look at the school committee as the publicly elected appointed Board of directors of Corporation so you're you're considered sort of the board um the superintendent is the equivalent of the CEO and provides the administrative leadership for the schools so you didn't realize that you were CEO that you're Brandy um and then uh the line before establishing policy school committee should solicit information and recommendations from the superintendent that's one of the big things right here if you're going to set policy you've got a CEO you should reach out to to him or her whoever is leadership and try to talk about that um the line between education policy and administrative operations is sometimes difficult to navigate so they give some examples below um school choice law uh that is the school committee responsibility uh setting the length of the school day and school year that's a school committee responsibility uh adopting General disciplinary policies for students that school committee policy in consultation with the superintendent uh setting rules of student conduct specific to each school that's delegated to the superintendent the principal and the school councils broad systemwide curriculum or School restructuring that's the school committee responsibility after seeking advice and recommendation of the superintendent uh detailed curriculum decisions those fall to the superintendent uh and principal responsibility uh standards for high school graduation and for promotion of students from grade to grade that's a school committee responsibility and establishing report cards and other progress reports that's superintendent principal responsibility so th those are some of the big examples that you commonly have questions about now um in addition to policy the other big item that school committee members are tasked with is the budget and I think you've all if you've served on the school committee you've all sat through budget season you know that that is yours you own that so um the school committee reviews and improves the budgets for public education and districts school committee must hold a public hearing on the proposed annual budget and the school committee has authority to determine expenditures within the total appropriation voted by the city or the town all right so the budget is the big one now Staffing that's the third item here now when it comes to Staffing there are certain statutory uh directives that are given to school committees the biggest one is the school committee is responsible for hiring the position of the superintendent school committee hires superintendent enters into contract uh with the superintendent um assistant associate superintendant um that's based on the recommendation of the superintendent but it is ultimately the school committee Authority the school committee has the authority to hire a school business administrator uh an administrator of special education um School Physicians and registered nurses also falls within the school committee's uh Authority uh supervisors attendance uh and legal Council now um administrators uh principls staff not assigned to a particular School athletic coaches those are appointed by the superintendent um teachers and other staff they're hired by the principal subject to the approval of uh superintendent levels of compensation now this is one the school committee establishes level of compensation for School principles and other administrators and Personnel not assigned to particular schools when it comes to hiring practices and policies uh School committees May establish additional qualifications for hire beyond the required certifications uh and then School committees Also may establish Personnel policies so long as they're consistent with law and don't infringe on the superintendent and principal management and responsibility with hiring now collective bargaining um obviously uh something that's very timely uh the school committee serves as the employer for collective bargaining so they are the employer of all the teachers nurses um all the different groups the school committee serves um as Council there um professional development the school district has to adopt a professional development plan for all principes teachers and other professional staff uh and the plan must be updated annually uh and set forth a budget for professional development now when it comes to to discipline and discharge um the school committee has limited roles when it comes to employees obviously the school committee can discipline and terminate the superintendent um the superintendent has the authority to discipline or dismiss any employee of the school district and only a superintendent can dismiss a principal principal May dismiss or devote Any teacher other person assigned full-time now I'm going to pause right here because most of what I've said is all just based on statute it's all things that you've probably been taught um right there so let's talk about some real life examples of how these inter plays actually come into play so as elected officials uh and people that probably live uh in the community you often talk to your constituents um if there are is a concern that is raised to you about a particular uh employe that is not any of the ones that you have the authority over the superintendent business manager all of those what do you think your role is Ryan I am to report it to the superintendent that's an excellent answer that's exactly what your role is yeah so um all of the guidance on this it becomes very hard is to try to you know try to maintain communication the best as you can and follow policy which is if you ever get a complaint about someone you want to refer that to the administration that's the proper way to handle that um you have no role you don't play any role in disciplining things like that those all have to be dealt with through the administration um you know looking at some of the masc model information right here there's a I've got a little bullet up here which I thought was great which says recognize and support the administrative chain of command and refuse to act on complaints as an individual outside the administration now that can be really really hard as a elected member you might want to say to your constituents let me take that under advisement the best thing that you can do is let them know that you're going to pass on their complaints uh let them know or or direct them another way to do is why don't you direct that to a to appropriate School uh administrator um you know ultimately on those you want to be able to give whoever the chief administrator is whether it's the superintendent or the building principal you want to give them allow them to exercise their Authority uh otherwise what can happen is it can cause problems if if it truly is an issue like let's say there was some sort of disciplinary issue that needed to be addressed um almost all those employees that you'd be dealing with are unionized employees um they also have their own rights under statute and the district would want to make sure they are look looking and handling any sort of complaint in the proper fashion uh and there can be pitfalls and hurdles that you could inadvertently walk into if if the lines of communication and policies aren't followed um as I said I didn't you know I I'm not going really going to the you can read the stuff about textbooks and education materials any questions at all about roles of responsibilities I mean I it's trying to be high level here and just hit on some of this is a good reminder every now and then any questions about any of this right now all right good all right um let's turn to the open meeting law now again I will I will sort of kind of high level this right here we could probably spend uh an an hour two hours just on open meeting law going through all of its nuances and I'm sure that you guys don't want to me to spend an hour and two hours going through just the open meeting law on that and I know you're all aware of it has everyone done the open meeting law training that they're supposed to do online have you've done that good okay good reminder make sure you've done that right there all right so um just some big things general rule is um except as provided in section 21 all meetings of the public body are open to the public uh the purpose uh informing those affected by the process uh public participation which you just sat through I know you understand that um to be open and to facilitate public scrutiny uh it's a checks and balance on accountability uh and it enhances public confidence in the public body um so when you talk about the the open meeting law you often hear the term a public body um you are a public body what is a public body it's a multi-member board commission committee or subcommittee within the executive legislative branch or with any County District City region or town however created elected appointed or otherwise constituted um big thing to know is subcommittees are also uh governed by the open meeting law lots of uh communities don't realize if they appoint a subcommittee you also have to follow that that means if you've got to post meetings of your subcommittees you're supposed to keep minutes um supposed to call them to order really got to follow the same sort of rules and regulations when it comes to that um all right so you've hit a public body you need to know that for the open meeting a lot the question is now what is a meeting so a meeting is a deliberation by a public body with respect to any matter within the body's jurisdiction so for our school committee that can be uh pretty broad we just kind of talked over what our school committee um what your roles and responsibilities are there are a lot of things that can fall in there so what is a deliberation uh a deliberation is an oral or written communication through any medium including electronic mail between or among a quorum of a public body or any public business within its jurisdictions all right if you take nothing more from my brief discussion about the open meeting law it is this right here communic ating amongst yourselves over text over the telephone can be considered a deliberation so you need to be very very careful about what they call serial deliberations all right uh if you inadvertently have a quorum of people over text that can be considered and that can be considered a violation of the open meeting if you're not doing that so really be very very careful about that that's the one do you have a question that's including reply all on an email 100% Ryan so um if you get an email reply all that is absolutely can be a deliberation you can get in school committees and other public bodies have gotten things in trouble um often times um if for instance you have legal counsel on someone or your superintendent or someone if they're communicating with you you know uh myself uh superintendent kuang are not not subject to the open meeting law okay but if we send something to you we'll often give you the directive please do not reply all to this because now you can CH you can take an email that is that is lawful and there's nothing wrong with that and you can now turn that into an unwarranted deliberation that hasn't been posted okay so be very careful about that um so you know you've got the electronic mail the email um and you've got the you've got the text also be very very careful you know this kind of crosses over into the public records I'm I'm going to sort of do a crossover right now but it a public record is also anything any form of communication anything that there's a document so that can be a texts that can be an email you want to be very careful we all have our phones we all probably have them and communicate really easy you got to be very very careful about that right there okay um you you've seen the the bullet I kind of just hit there about members of a public body uh cannot participate in a series of communications with less than a quorum when added to added together may result in a quorum so um you know that's called serial deliberation they found that people have tried to get around that by let me call two school committee members handle this and then let me do that and call others like all of those put together can all be found to be a deliberation so you gotta be very careful on that um did you have a question can you just that yeah you got to be careful about what's called serial deliberations okay so uh member daglio communicates with member shilia okay it's not a quorum right they're they're not a quorum right there okay uh now me sh member shabila communicates with the mayor on the same topic okay mayor then communicates with member Keegan okay now you can see oh wait a minute does this look does this yeah does this look like they're all discussing the same topic yeah that can be that can be a problem okay so you gotta be very careful of that um now um there are not every meeting is considered a meeting uh if you're on page eight right now there are some exceptions to the definition of meeting um an on-site inspection of a project or a program as long as the members do not deliberate so for instance let's say that um you had a brand new school that was opening and you wanted to go take a look at that and the members wanted to be there you could act you could all go there as long as you're not doing any deliberations you could all be there to do a site walkth through that wouldn't be a problem right there um attendance by a quorum of a public body at a public or private Gathering um you've got a methan high school football game this uh big Thanksgiving game coming up against the town of drait this week if you were all there that would be an exception to the to the public to the open meeting log as long as you're not deliberating while you're there um and then uh attendance at lawful meetings of other public bodies uh can get you out of there um when it comes to an open meeting there are certain components you need to have notice um uh attendance by the public uh recording minutes and participation by the public now you as as long as I rep we have not had I don't have we had any meeting lot complaints knock on wood not that I aware not that I'm aware of so the committee as a whole has done a very good job about posting your agendas you've got to put the notice in a place uh with 48 hours it's got to be there um except in an emergency situation any notice required should be provided at least 48 hours 48 hours exclude Saturdays Sundays and legal holidays um notice needs to be printed in a legible easily understandable format and needs to contain the date time place of the meeting and a listing of the topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed that's key so if the posting has gone up and something has occurred that was not reasonably anticipated with 48 hours all right there is a way that you could potentially add that to a meeting you could always uh amend your posting if possible however the AG will tell you if it's not an emergency situation perhaps your best course of action is to wait until the next meeting okay yeah we can just back up yeah if we can just back up what is a lawful meeting of like a city council meeting or what was the question um the reference to a lawful meeting attendance by a quorum of a public body at a lawful meeting of another public body yeah that would be like another open meeting of of another yeah so to bring up an example there's um a little gett together next week hosted by members shilia and one of our state reps so what would happen if if a few people went that is an event right as long as you're not deliberating there I think that you would be okay okay okay thank you y yeah but the the committee should not be deliberate if you think there's any going to be any deliberation whatsoever post it as a meeting okay well that's out of that perview okay yeah but so if if I'm correct the The Forum is about methan public schools so if we showed up and there was a fourth member any of those topics could be considered deliberation because we talk about doing Public Schools right what what form what are you talking about the Forum with danil you explain to me I maybe I need to know more about the so representative Hamilton reached out at this point probably a month ago uh he had previously wanted to set up a listening Forum yeah uh for a slew of reasons it didn't get any traction he wanted to bring it back up asked me if I be interested in listening with him so we are uh I think it's December 3rd I don't remember the date off the top my head is the third the third um will be at the neans upstairs in the big Auditorium cafeteria thing uh and giving people an opportunity to bring forth comments concerns questions and I mean this is this is really his event and I am I I guess the uh a secondary listener so okay so first of all so to your question then this is not the exception this is not a lawful meeting of another public body this is not a public about that I thought well you said another meeting I thought you were talking about another public body first yeah so that that meeting right there you're you and this representative are not a public body so that wouldn't fall under that exception right there okay um attendance by a quorum of a public body at a public or private Gathering which is what I think this would be including a conference or training program or media social or other event as long as the members do not deliberate that's the key right there that the members the whole thing is about schools how do they do that if the I would tell you if the whole thing is about schools and you think that you're going to have a quorum there I would I would say you're better safe than sorry and you would post it do you think you're going to have a quorum there uh not to my knowledge but it has not been discussed I think you're covered under the the other the private the public or private Gathering right there as long as you're not deliberating I mean you can be there if you're talking with this member but once whoever is going to watch you're going to run a risk if you start getting involved and asking questions about so I think that's the intention here the intention here is and I don't want to speak for representative Hamilton but my understanding of the intention is for him to it's community outreach and that's that's a big part of any state representative's job he wants to hear what's going on he wants to understand I mean like a listening session yes and that's exactly what it is it's a listening Forum okay so again as long as there's no deliberations that to me is the key here because I'm I'm now thinking of if someone was to ever file an open meeting law complaints how would you defend it and would' say yes maybe there were people there but there was no deliberations at fits under this exception right here so if all seven of us were in the room but six of us were just there listening there's no deliberation that's not meeting violation that's how you would defend that it's good to know now how the AG would view that that's the risk that you run there but I would say don't don't deliberate on the topics if you're going to be there it may you even make that statements to cover yourself at the front this is a listening session there will be no deliberations here I mean for what it's worth to put that on record the hurt to do that flyer that his office prepared I believe calls it a listening SE session or Forum yeah so I can make that disclosure up front yeah okay yeah okay does that cover that question can I ask you question about posting yeah so and maybe this is a question more for the mayor than but so so we've always posted on our own website within the well within the 48 Hours of the meeting but we always have to post with City Hall to put a piece of paper up on a board okay with a date seum okay is that a city requirement or is that an open meeting law requirement I think that's a city requirement because if you look at if you look at the posting here it says notice is going to be printed in legible easily understand and understandable format the date and time when the notice is posted must also be included um where is notice posted local public Bodies In addition to posting notice in the municipal clerk's office okay okay yeah so we are doing that the following are approved alternative methods of notice used by local bodies posting on a municipal website posting notice on cable TV uh posting notice in a newspaper I mean some of these you can see how old this law is you're talking about posting notices in newspapers and cable TVs but if you are posting this on your website as long it's in a place that's easily accessible for the public to see you'll be fine in that bulletin board at City Hall that's really the home for all of the public agendas so um in essence an extension that's posted by the clerk's office but is that is that notice and I know we got it if we post on our website within the right amount of time and City Hall doesn't get it in time to post within the 48 hours we're still covered like that's what our question has always been there's been times when maybe City Hall isn't open or I mean we've had some very unique situations where City Hall wasn't open when we needed it to be date stamped and posted but we have it all on our website your rules in your policy say where you're going to post I don't think it says a where that's why I don't know if it's a I mean I can talked to the acting mayor I I don't know if it's a city ordinance or not we do it and we've done it forever do it in the municipal clerk's office and then in addition to that on the front of the in addition you're talking about some other place we we post it date stamp it with the city yep uh and then we always post it online uh with the whole packet on our website prior to going I mean then the school committee gets a packet copy of it so it's placed in places where the public knows where to go and they can find it yeah okay when it comes to open meetings if there's ever any you know it's better to be cautious on some of these things particularly if you ever have something on a meeting that might be controversial and you're taking a vote on the AG would always tell you if there was ever a concern to not have the meeting repost it make sure that you've got your posting covered and do it again because again if there was ever an open meeting law violation that is filed um you know what there's a process and I I won't spend too much time going through the process because we haven't if if you ever have violation I'll come and tell you what to do but ultimately what will happen is you'll get the you'll get the open meeting law complaint and you'll have an opportunity to uh see if there was a violation and potentially to try to cure that okay okay um but again uh there's been a number of times I know the superintendent and I have talked if there's been a meeting and a lot of this happened during covid too there was a lot of changes uh to meetings here since then but um I think for the most part this public body has been very good about postings and agendas and things like that okay thank you um Mike if I could yeah uh two questions first can you just hit on the ongoing concern of social media because I know that's been a discussed Topic in the past for example there's a post be it on the school page or off the school page and say for example I make a comment and then I disappear member Donovan makes a comment member makes a comment is that yeah that's if there's no cross commenting are those no those are those are concerns you got to be very careful about that again that could be considered deliberation if it's you know if one person puts something on a Facebook page uh and they say you know whatever it is and then all of a sudden the members start all getting in and now you've gotten to a situation where you're on a public forum okay again it's by whatever means remember when I said the communication over text email this is thank you Dan this is probably what I should have hit on at that point which is social media that also is a medium that you can now find yourself having a unposted deliberation meeting on there through that so you've got to be very careful about that right there and to add to that membership Ilia so let's say member uh Maxwell were to post on Facebook uh stating an opinion about a school committee topic you wouldn't do that I know but um let's say you did that and then let's say at least a quorum of this committee even clicked like on that post that could be construed as potentially deliberation uh so that's why it's especially important to be cognizant of what we do on social media not to pick H member Maxwell just daating for the purpose of illustration but to bring it a step further if the post is non-school related there's no longer an issue if it's post about puppies I don't think so right if it was about puppies that's not school related right here okay unless it was about therapy dogs okay um you but it has to be about a matter that is in front of the within their perview um you know I'm looking at a slide masc has a really good slide on the open meeting law on electronic messaging and there's a couple of bullets and and I'll just read this to you because I think it's the perfect time to say with a few exceptions any use of electronic messaging by public body members to communicate with a quorum of the public body members during or outside of a meeting May constitute private deliberation which is prohibited by the open meeting law so that hits exactly the question that you were asked right there um electronic messaging during a meeting by less than a quorum of the public body's members while not directly prohibited by the meeting law is discouraged if those electronic communications are not shared at the meeting let me stop that right there okay I would be cautious again we all have phones right during your meeting because I've seen this I've seen again this is where open meeting law public records kind of uh overplay someone during a meeting picks up and it might be as simple as texting if for I'll use myself I'm texting my wife to let her know we're running a little bit late and that's it well the members or people that are at home or in the audience they don't know what you're talking about how do they not know that you're not texting one of the members of that so I've had public records requests for members text that they sent during uh public meetings so I would be very cautious about your use of your electronic technology during that because it could be subject to a public records request you know it might be that it was harmless that you're hey I'm running late or um again I'll use myself I'm going to get Chick-fil-A on the way home if you've known me for a while you know that's a common thing for me right but not everybody in the public knows that so I don't want to have to you know so yeah so it's a it's a good idea you you can look at your phones but the ACT texting you want to be careful about that during the meeting so the second question relates to minutes for executive session minutes acknowledging that they are not public until the executive function to the purpose they are so you have to keep minutes for all of your meetings there should be someone designated to be recording your minutes okay all right secretary Dan um and you should be constantly drafting those minutes and then bringing them for approval and review uh by the committee on a regular basis okay um are we up to date well I don't want to ask that question actually don't I'm not goingon to ask that question so I guess my my question is what is is the level of detail in the executive session minutes necessarily the same as the level of detail in a regular session so I would say it's it's not a whether it's an open session or executive session keep in mind it's not a transcript okay start with that premise right there no one expects you or anybody who's recording to make a a word for word summary of what was said it is supposed to be enough so that a member of the public who wasn't there could pick up uh could get those minutes and have a reasonable understanding of what was discussed and any important votes or actions that were taken okay so uh it could be as simple as um an executive session uh strategy was discussed regarding uh contract neg negotiations the parties discussed uh next moves or an update was given okay um if there's votes about what to take those certainly should be recorded as well as who made the motion uh what what was the vote what was taken there now whether or not an executive session minutes are ever released is really uh a separate question um you were you were allowed to keep executive session minutes private from the view of the public so long as the purpose and the reason that you went into executive session still exists okay um and that depends on the particular matter so for instance if you had a piece of litigation uh that was ongoing and you were under the litigation exception right there while that litigation was going you're probably not you could approve those minutes but not release them and you probably not release them you're supposed to go back periodically and say okay any minutes that we haven't approved for release are they okay uh to release at this point um um and if it's determined that uh there's information that's in there that might be of use at some point then you could say we're not going to release these at some point and can I ask a question about that executive session minutes are approved in executive session in executive session yes if you are going to review executive session minutes you one of the lawful reasons for you to go into executive session would be to review executive session minutes all right and you would review that because if you think about it it makes a lot of sense you wouldn't have an executive session about a topic and then go into Open Session to talk about what was discussed in executive session which is to remain private uh executive session is really um it's one of the things and there's only 10 reasons that you can go into executive session and they're all laid out um and and when you're in executive session what is shared in executive session is not to be shared outside uh of this small group or whatever group is there whoever's invited in there uh in at any time unless maybe that purpose no longer exists um I just have two questions and they may seem like silly questions but there's no silly questions the sub when we have subcommittee meetings do those have to be open to the public where like public participation happens and it it depends on the purpose okay so all of the same purposes for go with a general premise that any meeting of a public body is to be conducted publicly unless there is one of the reasons that you can go into executive session okay okay um and my second question was about um uh that listening session I have a feeling that maybe a few of us will go to that if if we were to discuss like I'm I'm also a parent um so if I was to State something that I have a concern about or I think is a great idea or does that con conflict with my school commit like I try and keep the two roles very different parent school committee M it's hard to keep those roles so I think in a situation like that if you are going to be there y um and if you felt the need I first of all my advice would be if you're going to go there is purely to listen okay that would be my advice um just so you don't get yourself in any hot water whatsoever now I understand that you also um that maybe you wanted to again if you're not deliberating you say look I'm speaking as a parent here make it very clear that would be the other Saving Grace right there but again there's no deliberating you can't decide or anything there as a group so okay that's all I just wanted to yeah cover my bases thank you um any any other question I I I like doing questions more than going through you know what were slides so if anyone's got any questions I will tell you if you're on page um uh 11 through 13 um 11 through the top of 13 are the 10 reasons that you can go into executive session session um the big ones I'll hit on is um number one there's Personnel uh if there was ever a Personnel matter that was ever before the board you have to go under purpose one uh and there are very strict rules about who has rights under purpose one um under that particular there safeguards for an individual if they're discussed that individual has the right um to have notice that they're going to be discussed um they have the right to be present during deliberations they have the right to have Council there uh they have the right to speak on their own behalf this is something that I feel like usually gets um used more in the municipal setting than in the school committee where most of the Personnel matters that usually face uh School District usually happen like at the administration level so not as much very common here the big ones for school committees that I see are usually purpose two and three and those are usually when you usually see me or one of my colleagues here um and purpose two is to conduct strategy sessions and preparation for negotiations with non-union Personnel uh or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with non-union Personnel so uh for instance if you were going to discuss um a contract uh with the superintendent you could do that in executive session um if we were going to to prepare for um to conduct collective bargaining sessions with your union that would be done uh in executive session also included in that are what called grievance hearings so occasionally through the collective bargaining agreements they'll have grievances that find their way to the school committee as usually one of the last stops in the uh forum and that would be done under purpose to okay um um number three which is the other common one that you use is to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining uh or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigation position of the public body and the chair so declares all right very very important and I believe this always happens here so you guys are in good speed but the chair has got to declare that all right that's one of the ones that the chair's got to declare um those are the two big ones um that are usually used um number seven is also one that sometimes is frequently used which is to comply with or act under the authority of any general or special law number seven is the per is the how you would site to use reviewing executive session minutes uh you could use that right there okay um uh the 13 talks more about uh meeting minutes we've kind of covered that already Dan if you've got any questions about that obviously look there or feel free I can help you with that so I I do have one question on the executive session minutes and it gets into a administrative Loop is there a time limit or a Time window where we have to approve executive session minutes or am I or are we going to be forced to say we need to have an executive session next Monday yeah there's vote on minutes so then I have to have new minutes from the executive session we voted on minutes now we have to have an executive session in the following week uh where is it here a little Loop where is the slide here you're supposed to review them um see if I have it in here I mean we have a generally regular Cadence of executive sessions but I don't know what the if there's a a a hard requirement and and so which is here it goes um there's rules about if you go to page 15 right here if a person requests a copy or inspection of the minutes of an executive session the public body shall respond within 10 days and should release any non-exempt minutes um uh it shall perform the review in so there's if you ever get a request for them there's specific rules about how you handle that right there but you are supposed to be doing it on a regular basis I think they talk about every like within the next two meetings or so um of when you're supposed to review them all right but you've got to keep them yeah yeah yeah did that answer your question yes yes okay um one other thing too is what I would recommend is on your minutes um if you have if you have a meeting that has multiple executive sessions I I would recommend that you keep separate minutes so you know meeting that occurred on November 25th have have minutes for executive session one and then executive session two because I think it's just good practice because if you ever have uh executive Session One the reason for that executive session you know might end at some point if you ever have a requ EST you can just release those sometimes they'll put them I've seen it people put them on the same document and then you have to redact things if you ever get them released so I always think it's a good practice to keep them sort of separate so Qui quick question about executive session minutes when we release them they should be to the public like a website or something so they can go and click on it where do you release you put them probably on a website right now right is that what you do or are they all online they should be yeah okay yeah as long as you've got them I mean really what they are is in case anybody wants to request them and you need to be able to have them to to access them all right um the rest of this is a lot of this is about enforcement uh if you ever get an open meeting law complaint I'll I'll skip over that um I'm just trying to be cognizant of time here because I know that we have a uh executive session scheduled after this the next piece of this is the conflict of interest law um the conflict of interest law the purpose Public public employees have un divided loyalty to their public employer and they must act in the public interest and not for private gain all right um this one right here is are you covered let's start with let's who wants to answer this one are you covered by uh the conflict of interest law the answer is yes you're all covered okay um you're all Municipal Employees all right um and there are particular rules about uh accepting gifts are you supposed to accept gifts as public employees no no I mean you can uh there's a threshold value says no Public Employee or person selected to be such employe May directly or indirectly corruptly ask demand exact solicit seek accept or receive or agree to anything of value for themselves or any other person or entity in exchange for being influenced in the performance of their official act or to act in any way uh being influenced influenced to commit or Aid in committing colluding in allowing any fraud or being induced in any way to admit to any violation of their official Duty uh there are penalties for you in that monetary penalties uh and or imprisonment uh for up to up to 10 years in jail for those that violate this so um be very if there's ever a question about whether or not you should be doing something check with Council first okay that's that's the key right here um what else is the big one right here really there's there's very strict rules about about having multiple jobs uh if you are a municipal position uh by the fact that you're all sitting here right now I think you've probably already cleared that right now um does anyone have any questions in particular about the ethics law have you all taken your training on this right here okay so in the interest of time I will refer you to this right here on ethics because I we spent some time on that um how about the public records law that was the final one anyone have any questions about that there's a lot of rules about public records uh and about requesting them I feel like Ian and I have have dealt with public are you the public records access officer you are the public records okay yeah so you and I have worked on that right there um the big thing for school committee members okay uh because most of when it comes to public records are any document any medium can be considered something that could be considered a public record so I want you to be very very care careful when you leave here think about what you put in writing what you put use on your cell phone or your if do not use I would say text message okay text messages can be those can be requested as public record if you're talking about methan public school issues right here um you have methan public school email is that correct use that and that email alone for for your work on behalf of the methu and public schools if you use your private email and you start using it for methu and public schools guess what now that can be the subject of a public records request okay and that's how people wind up getting their personal emails disclosed so you want to be very careful of that um but when it comes to the public records law most of the handling the response is usually done on the administration side so I don't need to go through all of that right there but again it's just be cautious about what you put in writing um I the the advice that I always is ask yourself when you write something would you want that on the cover of the Boston Globe or the Lawrence Eagle Tribune um or on a social media site uh use the grandmother test would my grandmother be embarrassed if she read this right here so um so be very very careful about what you put in writing think twice if there's sometimes and we're all human and we're all subjected to emotions uh all of us and sometimes uh you might get some and your response is to fire something back write it and then delete it you know it's cathartic you know so but at least um you always be thinking about what you're putting in writing so look I mean this was four things I just kind of hit on high points and the things that I think are important to school committee members if there's any questions at all um happy to answer them um like I said there's great resources out there for you um and I can always come back and do like a full session like you can do like full sessions on all of these for like an hour um again I know that I think that's what you want tonight on the Monday before Thanksgiving so so we've covered a lot of ground and I think we've covered it well thank you attorney mararo uh but are there any other final questions before we move on if not that's what we'll do next on the agenda is any other business from the committee I want to State before we open this up uh just speaking as the chair I do not believe that it is productive or in the best interest of the city and the collective bargaining proc process for individual members to engage in public discussion regarding the ongoing negotiations and Open Session unless designated by the committee so I will entertain the discussion of any other business with the exception of the collective bargaining process there's no other business we need a motion and a second to adjourn this Workshop session of the methan school committee for November 25th 2024 executive session second so move second motion for member daglio second from Member Donovan uh before we proceed uh I'll State the following for the record pursuant to Massachusetts general laws chapter 38 section 21 A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares units A and C I'll make that declaration now we will not convene a reconvene and to open session at the conclusion of the executive session so at this time uh I will ask for a roll call vote on whether to enter executive session member dolio yes member Donovan yes member Keegan yes member Maxwell yes shilia yes member wette yes mayor Bard yes unanimous the time is 7:30 p.m. open session is adjourned we will convene now an executive session Happy Thanksgiving methu [Music]