[Music] l [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Downey makes clothes softer fresher and better we breathe life into your laundry so you think you know wigs [Music] [Music] e [Music] [Music] [Music] e [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] cleans better with fewer [Music] [Music] e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Dan you're on good evening the school committee Workshop executive session of May 2nd 2024 will now come to order this meeting is being recorded and will be made available for viewing on the methan public school website secretary would you please call the role Ryan daglio present mayor Beth Donovan present Lori Keegan Kristen Maxwell Daniel shabila present Kenneth wette here may Neil peris so he's hasn't since the the chair hasn't joined yet we are going to need a motion to appoint the secretary as acting chair a motion motion to vote to nominate someone to run the meeting so moved second oh there he is so we're gonna we're gonna withdraw that no I know that but he doesn't need to motion he just needs to Mr may can you hear us can hear you Dan sorry I I just need to motion I need to move the gavel to you so that you can conduct the meeting thank you all right may I have a motion to accept the agenda as presented so moved second second moved by member the uglio second by member wette um Martha we need a roll call right aglio yes mayor breth Donovan yes Lori Keegan Christen Maxwell Daniel shilia yes Kenneth wette yes may an Neil Perry yes all may Neil Perry said yes oh I'm sorry thank you can we get his volume up because oh you guys are doing that all right and uh flag salute Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the repu for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all M shilia do you want to test that with him and see if it's any louder Mr Mayor can you give us a mic check citz 123 citz 123 I like it oh I got louder too I don't like that yeah it's good for me though oh all right well if you're happy I'm happy um so we have a list of sign up for public participation and I also have a Written Letter do you want me to read it considering I'm echoing through the room but if someone else want to take a crack at it I would read it all right Caitlyn Duffy 34 margerie Street to the members of the thuan school committee my name is Caitlyn Duffy I'm a lifelong methan resident parent of two children enrolled in methan public schools as well as a special education teacher in the district I am writing to Advocate that methan school committee seek additional funding from City from the city council to fund a proposed budget that maintains School Staffing safety supports the social emotional needs of our students and continues to work towards academic Excellence for all Learners I feel that the purpose of education is to provide students with opportunities and experiences that promote a successful future as a productive member of society this requires a school department to invest in vetted curriculums that not only support common course standards but interventions when the general curriculum isn't enough it requires their ability to identify catch and support students with social emotional needs that without this support will not have the ability to access and be successful with the curriculum how do we accomplish this how do we Implement vetted curriculums and interventions and mental health supports we do this by ensuring that we that there are enough funds to maintain teachers paraprofessionals related service providers adjustment counselors guidance counselor school psychologists board certified behavioral analysts an analysts school resource officers nursing staff custodial staff Food Service employees and administrators we are a village of Educators despite our various roles all an intrical part to ensuring that an excellent curriculum is delivered that meets the needs of all Learners that our buildings are safe clean learning environment that our needy of students are fed and acknowledged and the emotional needs are identified early with a web of support any reductions in sta Staffing and supports will hinder our district Vision methan Public Schools students will achieve academic social emotional and Civic success they will attain technological cultural and social knowledge to allow them to succeed in college and careers students will inspire the community Through citizenship leadership and their commitment to lifelong learning as well as our three goals improve student literacy outcomes through skills skillful use of high quality core instructional materials and intervention increase prevention and intervention activities to lower prevalence rates of student anxiety depression and post-traumatic stress provide students from historically disadvantaged groups with Equitable access to an excellent education as a resident of this community I ask that as a representative of our community that you demonstrate the district's Val vision for students by setting the leadership example we hope to see within our own children and within our students advocate for more funding from the city council and up first we have Jackie mcgoffin button we're on y okay um I just want to start off by saying Jackie if I could you have to start with your name and address Jackie mlin five Florence AV I'm a teacher at the Tenny uh member wette I just want to say I've heard you I've sent the letter two or three times already so so um I'm proud to stand here and say that I've been teaching in methan for 25 years but I am worried about the future of my students with the current state of the budget for my entire career I've been advocating for small class sizes in the early Elementary grades which are the most crucial for building a solid foundation of learning thankfully over the past few years I've seen my class size has Dro from a high of 26 about seven years ago down to 18 this year I have Dr Quang and the school committee members to thank for that it has made an incredible difference in the individual support I can offer to my students both those that are struggling and those that need to be challenged the implementation of our new phonics program along with the support of the literacy Pas have helped the Tenny show the largest growth in Reading achievement of my entire career honestly I'm scared of what I will walk into in August my team has voiced our concerns of losing a first grade class historically we have had a big influx of registrations over the summer and we need to plan for that I fear that I will have a class size of 25 again without the support of the literacy Pas all the hard work myself and every other teacher in this district has worked toward will be washed away in one felt swoop the needs of our students both academically and emotionally have increased so dramatically we can hardly catch our breath right now this year we spend so much time focusing on reteaching the behavioral expectations and attempting to redirect direct and regulate students emotions that our time on learning is suffering the intense disregulation of students is increasing day by day the support we have for those students is non-existent which again impacts the learning of those students who do show Readiness to learn every day again I'm scared to think of what it will be like next year the entire School staff all teachers in all content areas interventionists PA content supervisors special service providers we are all maxed out I'm not sure if you've ever read any of those books about the imaginary buckets that people carry around that you can get filled up with positive and dipped out with negative um well the staff are drained the minute we walk in the door you can't pour from an empty cup so you can't expect the school staff to pour into their students effectively if they are drained and empty you can't run schools without people so you need to support the proposed budget in order to keep those people in the buildings you look at the schools and see numbers on a page with columns and graphs when I look at the schools I see the smiles of my first graders it's disappointing that you will use City funds to pay for a school audit instead of investing that money back into the schools if you want to know what could be done to make the schools better just ask us the staff we'll tell you you don't need someone from outside to come in and tell you we need the city to step up to the plate and support the schools financially to show us that you value our hard work and keep the schools moving forward in the future thank you Alexander sipy Alexandra sipy 48 tbook Avenue um I am also a teacher here in Methuen at the Tenny I'm going into my ninth year and I'm here to touch upon the importance of the safety and the Effective Education of our students the Dynamics in the classrooms here in methan are changing we see an increase in negative behaviors each year without matching that increase with the appropriate support um teachers are expected to navigate multiple behaviors within one classroom while delivering effective effective instruction to get students on grade level the constant redirection and interventions provided by teachers on a daily basis is greatly impacting student learning our class sizes should remain small in order to manage the growing need of our students smaller classes means more explicit instruction and targeted interventions we need more students uh and we see more students entering our schools with social emotional special education and English language needs if teachers are going to provide these students with supportive and successful educations we need the environment to be manageable the needs of our students must be matched with the um staff to support them I grew up in methan I went to methan Public Schools many of the teachers and staff here are taxpayers of Methuen theyve invested in the community we need to see our schools supported and students excelling it's time to invest in our schools and our teachers you John [Applause] Becker good evening mayor Perry school committee members Dr Quang Dr kovski Mr goling I'm here to implore the mayor and the city to fully fund the methan schools not just a little bit not just the bare minimum required by law but to fully fund to the extent this community needs to maintain a productive and thriving School Community it requires recruiting and retaining highly trained educated talent and qualified staff without this we cannot address the needs of this community communities are dependent on and measured by the quality of their Educational Systems families choose to move into and stay in communities with robust school systems because of the quality of programs and offerings that they provide to that end it is critical and necessary that the city provides extensive funding to the school budget mayor you have publicly stated several times over the last few months that methan is financially sound if those boasts are true then the city can afford to fully fund the school budget well beyond the bare minimum that required by law and by means that do not rely solely on Chapter 70 State money the city has the Mone to do what is right by our citizens and our students it is conflicting to highlight Financial stability in January and then lament that we are not financially stable in May do what is right by the city of methan fund your schools like other successful communities do this District needs to support all students and all staff this is how we recruit and retain quality Educators keep class SL excuse me keep class sizes small and address the needs of our vibrantly diverse community mayor Perry make sure this school district is able to grow along with its financially Sound City it is the staff in the schools that create the future of methan many graduate methan public schools are now employed in our city as Educators police officers firefighters and other important roles across the public sector it is not only essential but is your job to keep it that way to make sure that our schools can continue to produce the quality citizens employees and parents that will want to come home to methun as a place to work and to raise their families you claim that methun is a shining example of fiscal growth as a function of the measures you have taken properly funding our schools is critical reinvestment as in that continued success of our city thank you do we have any other public [Applause] participants seeing none at this time close public participation uh if you can't make the meeting you can in person for public participation you can send an email to Maus at mous meu. k12.us before 3M on the day of a school committee meeting um uh at this time may I have a motion and a second to approve the transportation efficiency RFP proposal so moved second moved by member daglio second by member Donovan discussion so I think um this came out of the transportation subcommittee meeting we had this week and so it's a timely uh discussion to be able to move forward with it and I can certainly let member shabila speak on behalf of what we heard uh member Keegan unfortunately is not here wasn't able to come tonight for conflict um but I think the subcommittee agreed that it's time and we should move forward uh the gentleman who we met with this week to present this uh this is his Niche this is what he does uh I have uh High recommendations from this gentleman and the work that he has done in other districts um uh so I I will let member shilia talk about what we're looking at here and what we're hoping for tonight before we talk about the budget we met with the consultant Thursday rich lebre on Wednesday y Wednesday um we we grilled him and everything he said and everything he laid out proved to me that this sky was the real deal he knows what he's doing I think he brings an expertise to this district and he's brought to every other District that is going to help us optimize our bus schedules optimize our bus routes and hopefully help us make the buses more effective and efficient for parents I know I've stood at the top of my Hill more than one time and waited for a bus and hopefully save us some money in the long run if we can run it more effectively we can save money and we all know we could use that money everywhere else so the reason we rushed to get it on this agenda for today is he said the process is a 6 to8 week job if we get it on the agenda today and if it passes we can get him started Monday which means we can have the finished product before the end of the fiscal year which means we'll will have the report to make the appropriate changes going into the new fiscal year the new school year to optimize our bus routes and impact our bottom line hopefully so in addition the RFP right he'll help us with next contract negotiations and writing the RFP that we want to put out in the fall which is also pretty critical for us right because we're going into our last year with this particular contract cycle right so that'll be a big help in making sure that we are putting our best foot forward M Donovan when I um the scope of work um I think on the second page there's a reference it's assumes um statement says assumes full and complete cooperation the district manager and the contractor yes um have you had a discussion yet with nrt because we've had a relationship with them um we have not uh but the good news is for this gentleman he has worked with multiple districts who uh have worked with nrt and they do know uh he explained that to us that when they see a particular email from me uh that says we are contracted to do work with him then they will provide the documents he's asking for uh he also uh does know John McCarthy very well who we believe still sits on the board uh so that will also be helpful just because he's had a career second career doing this work um and in addition too uh there is another Local District looking to do the same thing we are so we who uses nrt trbl uh so I've already connected with that District uh to in hopes that they move forward with a proposal as well so we could work in conjunction you know in the same timeline time frame it can help us and help them additionally and I can say from my own professional experience he's involved in so many trans Transportation rfps around the area there is no Transportation vendor that is going to want to step on his toes too hard because he's holding the strings when they put their bids in for other work so he he comes with a little bit more muscle than we could ever come with M blette thank you Mr chairman um I'm in support of The Proposal there's obviously things that we can do internally that we've already done in terms of the notification via email and text of late buses and also I hope that we can strengthen the background check system um and have it annually converted to the FBI database but there's also things that is beyond ey control and if anybody was present at the meeting with nit there was a lot of contradictory information information that needed to be corrected and not forthcoming information and and I I appreciate uh chairman shilia and the vice chair uh for the transportation subcommittee because I think the nucleus has to be this proposal um to undertake efficiencies both within NR and also within our school system itself um and I also appreciate the fact and I something I had mentioned during one of the meetings of uh surveying so to speak the parents and the state holders and I think there's a component that there will be Outreach to the parents and stakeholders and I think um they'll do it uh through a statistical means um so it'll probably be a professionally done Outreach to the parents and stakeholders so I am support 100% I think for the amount of money that we're allocating I think it's going to uh derive significant cost savings to the district and also put nit on its toes and make them accountable to our school system to the parents and the students um so I am so supportive of The Proposal thank you Martha roll call please Ryan daglio yes may Beth Donovan yes Lor Keegan Christen Maxwell Daniel shilia yes Kenneth wette yes may an Neil Perry yes unanimous okay and without further Ado the reason the room is full tonight superintendent would you please stop the fy2 budget discussion so the memo you have so hopefully this uh I explained how this would look and hopefully this uh you know you you understand visually what we're doing same memo so everything that we presented on April 24th is on the same memo uh and we just keep adding to it so you can see over time what we are doing to try to uh reduce the preliminary budget to the number that we need to get to so what you have in front of you uh is from the 24th to today about a million dollar uh in reductions in the district uh and so I've listed some of those in the narrative but most importantly uh there's a chart here which I do hope we were really going back and forth cuz it added up a little bit and the bullets didn't work this time uh so we decided to go with more of a visual model so you could see from April 8th to April 24th uh is in red right some of the new requests that we reduced immediately from the preliminary um so I put those in red on the charts by School in building and then what is in blue is the work that we did to reduce even further from April 24th to today and uh most of those reductions uh were open positions so current positions in the budget not new uh but current positions that are vacant maybe some being filled by contracted service providers some not filled at all some being uh you know at the high school a lot of these positions staff take on an extra period and we pay them to do that when we have staff that we can't fill um so it's a combination of those and resignations through attrition so the columns I hope are self-explanatory but um the First Column is if there was any new additions on there that we eliminated that we were hoping not to uh those are in the First Column so the the uh new request El eliminations for this round were uh two of the grade seven teacher requests at the Tenny and timony to keep class sizes close to 20 those have been removed and the CGS the split so if you recall at the CGS we've been we've been trying to split the seventh and eighth grade newcomer Excel class uh because when that class gets big it just gets more challenging the content gets more uh Advanced and so we've been trying to split that class we did remove that and miss pretti and her team is looking at some different configurations to try to service grades 5 through eight students a little bit differently um and then looking at class sizes we took what the committee said last week we really focused on upper school high school first so what you have in front of you does not include um any further reductions in K through four classrooms does include reductions in 5 through 12 right so what you see in blue is we went through by class size uh and anywhere we could reduce where class sizes were still 25 or under which right now where all four grammar schools 5 through eight are between 23 and 25 across the district with what you have in front of you tonight right um and then the vacant and unfilled p position reductions those are the ones I'm speaking about that we're in the budget unfilled we have staff you know taking on different sections and courses to fill those um you know part of our I think I explained this in great detail last time that we don't want to lose the teachers we have with with the qualified certified people that we have here in the district so our uh challenge was to reduce as many positions as we could without having people in those positions because every every time we lay off a person we also have to include Unemployment uh in that calculation and so this was the work our team did probably over a three-day Marathon uh to really uh sort through this and in the last column you'll see what the result was of these changes across the board by school um so as of today there have been six layoffs that staff have been notified I laid off three administrative positions this week and so I notified those staff because they are identifiable in this document uh and so we had two principles who did the same thing uh we did not feel that it was in anybody's best interest we're talking about people now and their livelihood that we needed to notify them if we were going to discuss this and if it was identifiable on this sheet which again many of these positions are now identifiable because of the titles or grade levels or actual position that might be an individual position in the district so that's the the chart that you have and what we did to get to the number that is below that so as of right now we have reduced the budget by 38 positions which resulted in six layoff notices this week right that's what's on the bottom there I just wanted to capture that this is not included and I hope I made we're trying to figure out how to make this all really clear right this is not including what we did what we expressed and showed you for the preliminary budget budget um presentation uh because we did go through a pretty uh extensive exercise the marsh was one uh where we we did Reduce by enrollment already to present that preliminary budget to you so you don't see any additional in the marsh because they're already at the numbers that I just read out to you for the other schools does that make sense to everybody so I didn't include that right so you're going to you know overall total is going to include everything we've been doing FY 24 compared to fy2 is going to be a different number on than this particular chart because I'm just showing you sort of Step by Step uh how we're going through this so before I move to the next thing are there questions about this chart this process thus far and then we can carry on the discussion this is a a point of information and you can clarify because we had a prior discussion on this the last time we entertained layoffs was that during the Great Recession because I thought there was about 20 layoffs at that moment in time not during covid because you said there was concessions and there was uh an effort to maintain the employment but yeah the last time getting back to the Great Recession was that the last time we had significant layoffs fy18 we had significant layoffs also yes the first the year between Mrs scannel and myself we had significant layoffs that summer okay that spring and summer so this the student Opportunity Act provided an infusion of money yes and that's been very helpful 100% so this is so thank you so if I can I can elaborate because we've had some conversations but but yes so it's it's really challenging to have conversations with folks who don't understand the student Opportunity Act and the formula but um but yes the there had been a group advocating uh for many years at the state level to change the foundation formula because it wasn't Equitable across districts and it was really uh challenging for for larger districts urban districts who don't have the tax income uh to be able to support School budgets right and to be able to continue to support the the revenue coming into the cities so um with that change that's when the S SOA was adopted in 2019 by the legislature and we you know it's it's readjusted the formula to account for our most needy students in the whole state right so you're talking about our English Learners who need additional compliance staff support to learn the language um our lowincome students and our special education students so it's really focused on a a proportional number if you're in a district with high incidences of the the subgroups I just said then that formula is going to support the state aid more than a district that doesn't have those students that need those additional supports the marginalized populations so um so yes what it has done to the urban districts uh is to really have an influx and this change of chapter 78 that was going to be fully is being fully implemented over a six-year period it was seven covid hit at six so a six-year period where we're seeing the effect of that that altering formula how much more money is each child who is identified as English language as highy low income and special education how much is that going to bring into the district so we're starting to see that so yes we're finally getting more state aid into urban centers that has been long overdue that that is 100% fact so trying to bring those class this is what my whole tenure has been is trying to bring uh that change here of small lowering the class sizes bringing the support staff right it is it is uh it's changed our our the the environment has changed the student needs have changed that is not a secret we have been talking about that for years so um so yes and the challenge this year is that that formula unfortunately I guess I would say at this point is based on a state inflation rate that is set and it was set 3% lower than it was in the past two years and so that really altered we received the amount of money for S SOA but it severely altered the overall formula for the foundation budgets okay and then also uh based on my recent reading of the final house Ways and Means approved plan with all the Amendments y the house budget did not include a revision upward of the inflation rate did not it did not include even studying the inflation rate correct however the rainy day fund is going to increase to billion dollar in Massachusetts so I know the ways and means chair indicated in a statement that's for the public record that he said from a Financial standpoint that winter is here and yet we see the revenue benchmarks are lower every single month um the migrant crisis has drawn $2 billion dollar this year and going into next year from the budget and you also mentioned the demographics that was mentioned at the audit meeting with the city council uh elll uh low income uh disability um all those factors we became a majority minority District so the uh student Opportunity Act was a welcomed infusion of of monies but what we're faced with is that you have A9 billion rainy day fund that they're not tapping into unfortunately and if you look at the rate of growth year to year because the last last two years we've had an $8 million increase in Chapter 70 the reduction was about 4.2 roughly 4.2 million reduction so about 50% reduction we were expecting somewhere between 8 million increase this year again yes so my my uh concern and what I been saying all along we did a a budget letter as a committee M and really we're an advisory committee the the mayor and the city council will make the final determination and I appreciate the fact that every speaker here tonight is placing the spotlight on the mayor and the city council because you're going to get to a certain point where right now the optimal class size is is 20 and you've had about a 25% increase in some of the the class sizes and that's not acceptable to me and the membership here tonight talked about the very intense cases that you may not have had 20 years ago in terms of mental health and Mr cck indicated that in methan one in five students have a mental health related issue um we became again a majority minority District we've had an influx of elll and we've had an influx with the uh disabled population and like I said before some of that definitely impacts us because it's almost like Russian Roulette you could have two or three cases of the circuit breaker you're going to get 75% reimbursement but the school system has to kick in that remaining 25% and I've always indicated that we should be at 100% on the circuit breaker and also um the Millionaire's tax was very helpful but that's only allocated to the universal meals program remember Willette I'm G to have to ask you to make a point I know that we've because we've we've we've made this spe several times over the last couple week comments and questions and stuff but no I know but we have no control over the state government no no but I'm making comments for the record and I just said that like in terms of the million the uh millionaires tax with the universal meals that actually should have been like unrestricted school aid that the local school system should have decided if we have money in an account then maybe we could divert it to immediate needs within the school system so that's it thank you thank you member Donovan thank you um the one thing I don't know if we've really had discussions about it is there any revenues any way we can generate money have I'm Mr G and I Look to You Money Trees as there I know rentals at the schools um of those prices going to remain the same do we see any possibilities to make some money somewhere before you answer that can I add to it yes yes um piggybacking on that M Keegan had passed along a question about Ditson and if we're funding that and if we're getting anything from the city occupying it so just include that in your your answer if you'd be so kind I I do not have a magic oneand to bring in extra money except for searching for grants that are I like to say all positive there's not a second shoe where you have to uh match it match it or after it ends you have to keep everything for forever so I I don't have a magic tree we are renting the ice rink we're doing facility rentals we're renting the auditoriums we um that brings in some funds but it's not going to fix and we have salaries being taken out of some of those funds preschool revolving our rentals facility we have salaries taken out of those so they don't impact the operating budget just a point of clarification the ice rink rentals all of that money is stays in the ice rink so those rentals can't be brought out to fund salaries okay I just want to make that sure that's on the record people who work there yes right right and Rental facilities same thing has to be spent but we can I'll purchase toilet paper and paper towels and stuff like that because facility rental people use those products Etc so I can justify it but technically those funds need to go for that purpose as well um we currently don't receive anything um in terms of financial support for dson uh the vast majority of people in there right now is the Adult Learning Center um this um DPW is over there and we've asked them to um you know help with the cleaning and maintenance of it uh but we we don't receive anything financially the former adult education center is now empty yes so uh I the mayor's there I so um the mayor and I are going to bring forth uh some res not resolutions they're not called resolutions here um some approvals regarding the Pleasant Valley School and the courrier building uh we will bring those to the school committee on May 13th we do believe it's time to turn those buildings over to get them they're not useful for us and they will cost millions of dollars to renovate um we just we we have been meeting uh myself Ian Maggie the mayor we we just can't find good uses for them and good funds to actually renovate them for any purposes that we need um so uh we do feel that it's time these are conversations we've had throughout the year which we said we were going to do uh so we will bring that up for a larger discussion so great question member Donovan because those two are out there um but it is challenging because both of those buildings are not able to be occupied at the moment because of their structures um so it's not like we can put something the city can't put something over there and we can't put something over at either those two buildings temporarily or permanently uh it's a challenge I don't know mayor if you want to say anything else about those two but it's the can you hear me yeah okay so the elephant in the room is um we we want to sell those buildings M Delan right so both of those buildings will cost more to fix to use for anything then and and we looked um I I think people are uh remember we looked at the Pleasant Valley School is the original home for the Youth Center uh which is now um tentatively scheduled to go to Central School um and we had several um our fees out and had contractors come in and take a look at the building and the long and the short of it is uh over half a dozen contractors said to us you'd be better to knock the building down right it needs it's got ASB bestus PV it's got no elevator it's got and those are just the the start of the problems so um the intent would be um you know to turn the buildings over to the city for the city to sell the buildings and you maybe to use some of that money to fund things back in I do have something I want to say after Mr chair when we get a minute floor is yours thank you appreciate it uh so through the chair to the body and to the public participants as well I do appreciate all the perspectives of the individuals there I'm going to ask a series of questions and these are just factual so I just want so um Ian how many heads did we add M Public Schools FY 24 through the s or there was um said total in I don't know the total of uh FY 24 I was looking at that number that you had mentioned at the last meeting around number of positions in the Esser and that was 42 including 21 Subs as we had talked about um but I don't have the exact number off the top of my head what we ended up with we have any number the I will I will get you that number for you yeah and I'm I'm fine with it do we have any no no knowledge of the ads for FY 23 or fy22 I you know I can get it from the capital but we we definitely added I know what you're asking I just don't have that information with me handy as I said I would get the the last four years for you so I want to make a point here right so when people say Mr Mayor you know you're fiscally s we we are fiscally sound right but we just got there and in 2018 we were 4 million in the hold due to the school department overrunning which is illegal in the state of Massachusetts so we clawed back and we are now where the state believes we should be um and it you know you don't have to take my word for it you can look at the article in the paper from anver last night where the town manager quoted um you know what DS recommends you know you use certain uh free cash for we are not by any means an and of her right uh we are not uh by any means um you know some of the better I shouldn't say better that's the wrong word some of the more affluent communities in Massachusetts we are um a community that has fought hard to get back where we are right and and I say as we are today 52 cents of every tax Dollar rais in the city of meth goes to meth Public Schools right and so so um I am just one person listening to all the feedback um I have to answer to the taxpayers as well um and everything I do is accountable to them um and so the long and the short of it is if this committee desires to go to City Council and ask for additional funding that is I am just one member of the Community Committee excuse me right and and we can definitely do that but I I just want to go record and say I thoroughly reject any any inference that the city has not done its part on behalf of M public schools that is a false narrative when chapter when Chapter 70 wasn't given to school the city stepped up big time and that could be verified right and we have proceeded to give more than net School spending each and every year right and we're it's important to understand that the methu public school budget if nothing else were to happen right as we have it reflected is with the Chapter 70 and the city a is $6 million more than FY 24 I understand that we're not getting what we projected to get that's also the problem at the state level because they projected revenues and now they can't make it so I'll finish here Mr Chair by saying um we are we are plus almost six million in the FY 25 budget as it stands today right um so I I I welcome the committee to vote and decide if they want to take this matter to the city council by all means I'm just one member but I am telling you that you know my job would be a lot easier if I could just say yes to everyone I have to also protect the taxpayers in the city who in many cases are struggling and you don't need just go down to the senior center on a given day and the health department will introduce you to individuals who are losing their homes who are being bumped out etc etc so we are trying to be fiscally responsible um we're trying to be fair to everybody involved and we believe we made a fair offer if the school committee desires to change that to increase the city funding so be it uh they can go and request City Council um but I just want to make a a statement that says in my Administration we have grown with Public Schools period that is a fact that cannot be refuted right and at the same time we've clawed back financially you will look at no other City Department to show any kind of increase in head count any anywhere close to what we've done through public schools and that's because I believe in the mission of our kids but you know there has to be some um relative understanding of facts involved and with that I'll turn the floor back over to you Mr chair member to zaglia well to piggy back off of what the mayor said since mayor and I because we both came in at the same time we were hit right off the bat three months in for Co and we did not know what funding we were we were going to have at all and I remember I was in a room with a lot of teachers and we we worked out a plan and we managed to get through it um in this time around we projected we relied on our state legislators and they came up short that's what it is however the thing that is bothering me about it and I'm seeing this list of just teachers getting uh cut as a teacher myself I understand just adding three kids to a class changes a dynamic of a classroom it doesn't seem that much uh but it does I had one kid removed from he moved out of district and my just one kid and that class I have has changed completely turned around so imagine adding two kids three kids possibly five kids that changes such a dynamic of a classroom in the chemistry of it now I understand and and I see all the teachers in the back here I I totally understand where you're coming from from one teacher to another however we do have to manage the city according we have to do right by the taxpayers too so that's why again I'm asking you again is that what this is the the situation where I'm not lying to you like this is serious we did not know this the state was going to do that all right but we went through it during Co we can do it again we can figure it out right but I don't want teachers being laid off that should be our last suggestion and I think we're going to go through that next part with what the next steps are and then we're going to talk again correct Mr chair okay so I just want to let people know that from my perspective I have two sides of this I get it but as an elected official too and us being here we have to also what the mayor has said we are in a position right now we we cannot put the burden on taxpayers as well that's all Mr chair thank you so I'm gonna add my two cents now nothing you've said is wrong nothing member wette said is wrong nothing member dunan said is wrong and I even agree with Mr Mayor but the unfortunate reality of where we are is it's it's not good the fact that I do know is that the schools are the Cornerstone of a community in 2015 when my then fiance and I bought our first house in methu and we bought because of the schools so no one sitting at this table is saying that we're un unfund the schools because we don't believe in them so anybody who's out there who's going to spew that rhetoric needs to get themselves checked in because they've lost their minds that being said there's been a couple of things that I have questions on we're talking about these buildings we're saying surrender them to the city for the city to sell who who's been paying for these buildings for the last however many years so the the the buildings are the Deeds belong to the city and the School departments have full It's Our obligation to maintain operate and run the buildings any Capital Improvement plan right and or projects over 150,000 the city that has to be part of our work with the city to maintain the Capital Improvements of the buildings but we have been paying for the electricity and the insur you know like we have to we have to maintain those buildings right now so the city has to pay for the insurance for the buildings we're paying for maintenance to keep it going so that they are insured proper you know right but but we have so we they give them to us to use for the sole purpose of schools and then we operate and maintain so all of the money for utilities for operations for all of the buildings comes from our operating budget right like that's not a city run building I understand that okay but what I'm hearing is we've been funding a portion of that building for what 30 years now probably the Pleasant Valley School I would hope that when those do get sold the school realizes some benefit from that other than the mere fact of getting it off our books and off of his spreadsheets um we've also said a few times today and over the last couple of weeks 52 cents of every dollar goes to the schools I don't doubt that I've never done the math but if the mayor tells me it's true I take him at face value but that doesn't mean anything to me me because I don't know what other districts are doing is haval giving 13 cents on every dollar and Andover giving 96 cents on every dollar I need something to compare it to otherwise you're telling me something is on sale and not telling me what it's being sold for everywhere else doesn't mean anything um the constant comparison to other departments and how the school has been funded irritates me to no end you can't compare methan Public Schools or any public school in the issues that are dealt with in our classrooms dealt with by our administrators to the problems that are being faced in a DPW or the senior center or the police department or anywhere else in the city it's a vastly different Beast it's apples and onions you can't you we need to stop comparing them they are not the same there's nothing about them that is the same um knowing that the mayor has been out doing his listening tours which as a con cep I absolutely commend I think it's a fantastic thing and probably 20 years too late at this point but every time every the morning after all of those we always hear there was a group of folks outside picketing I think that that energy is misplaced where we should be picketing is outside of Beacon Hill to member wet's point we're standing on the wrong Corners with our signs um I think to member Donovan's earlier point and Mr golin and I have had this conversation probably more times than he would like to I would love to say let's make more money I tried to manipulate the circuit breaker funds this morning and he had to tell me no like 43 times it's I want people to understand that we are doing everything we can short of holding the city council hostage um and with that said to quickly hit on the audit because it's been brought up more times over the last couple of days the audit is being funded by the city as was mentioned earlier I think the audit is 100% necessary because a comment that was made during public participation that says ask us we will tell you what's wrong with the schools is inaccurate and I can prove that because I have text messages from random phone numbers Facebook messages we all get emails that come to the general school committee people don't want to speak out they don't want to talk because they're afraid because they're concerned about their jobs they're concerned about their reputation in the community because we all have to work together live together see each other at Market Basket I think the audit is 100% necessary and to the mayor's Point that he's made a dozen times over the last couple of months it'll point out the good it'll point out the bad and hopefully it'll lead us in a Direction Where We can be more efficient and effective with what we have and do more do better uh and my last question comment is what can we do so when I joined the state in 2019 uh 2016 it was right after an early retirement package governor governor Patrick had pushed out can can we do something like that can we incentivize our our our long-term teachers to maybe take a buyout and go to their all-inclusive resorts somewhere early um so yes that those are um options for us uh I'm sure you there's other districts around us that have done them are currently doing them for the same reason North and over announced theirs yesterday today yeah right exactly so it's pretty publicly out there in the communities but it's a it's a cost savings if we have folks who are either at or near retirement who would want to go out and then we able to not eliminate a position but fill at a lower place on the step scale um so so we do have that that is something something we've bandied about uh through this process that is also something uh member shilia a fantastic question something that is uh needs to be bargained so that is something as a group we can discuss more in executive session and that is something I'd have to bring to any of the collective bargaining groups that we would want to present that to it could be any it's we're not just talking about teachers to look at the cost value some districts pick several if there's a cost value to it and we can discuss that again in more detail in executive session if that's something that we want to do and bring to our if that's an option that would save the jobs and we have enough because it also would have to be a capacity of Staff enough to impact the number we need to get to but definitely an idea I think even if one or two want to do it it it has a value because you're now talking a different amount of layoffs that would have to happen agree because there's no insurance that has to be paid on those for that and whether it's a custodian or a cafeteria worker or a teacher or an administrator hey you've done your time you want to retire more power to you I would love to go with you great so we can talk about that more in executive session yes um but just to make sure I get the ask out and I don't know if it goes to the mayor I don't know if it goes to the cafo or if it goes to Ian if we're going to continue to save 52 cents of every dollar if someone could give me some comparables absolutely thank you very much I can tell you 48 48 cents Dan um I don't know and or nothing but I will get them appreciate that try to get it member wette thank you Mr chairman and I had asked for the information uh prior to this meeting and I think it was included in Prior budgets but I think there's some misinformation in the community and I'm not going to assign who said it um but we are historically below the state average for administrative costs and if you look at comparable communities we are below the average for administrative cost compared to those other communities so if we could have that soon produced to the school committee I know that was done in the past and I think it uh refutes someone in the community that would indicate that we're a topheavy Administration with the mowan public schools which I think historically has never been the case and I think if you look at the plan that's been presented by the superintendent um there are some significant reductions in the administration and and layoffs related to that so I just want to say that for the record that um you have to be very careful what you say as a community and then assign blame to an administration because like I'm fiscally conservative I would never put up with the topheavy administration and on the city Side um I advocated for massive concessions from the municipal unions and I also challenged one-time revenue streams and administrative positions regardless if it was police police fire DPW I always challenge those positions um so I think in terms of the administration um and you can correct it or affirm it uh we are below the state average as compared to other school districts and if you look at comparable communities maybe haal and other commun we are below the state uh average and we're also below compared to other communities yeah so in our FY 24 uh budget I spent some time restructuring uh we did both for some of the grammar schools because that has been a hot button topic since 2019 that we don't have enough curriculum oversight in our grammar schools that was in our actual desie audit from 2019 um so we've been trying to get the model at the high school in the grammar schools that was how desie recommended we move forward with more oversight of curriculum instruction and materials and assessment in the grammar schools um last year we restructured central office to also represent uh more of what an urban District uh would look like and I did compare and presented to the school committee um our current uh setup as compared to havil Rivier Everett Taunton Malden uh those are comparable districts to us as far as size of urban District districts um and uh we weren't even close to what uh their central office administrative structure or their school building structures were so I did present that unfortunately uh some of those folks that we restructured were part of our uh conversations this week uh that are no longer uh going to be positions in in the the district so it's challenging when we're restructuring folks to oversee departments and then we're not filling uh the you know the the managers of those the director of health services or the Family Resource Center we have now other people who are we right back to where we were with one person trying to oversee a lot and it's it's a challenge at a district level it's a challenge at a building level right the the more staff we have the more oversight we need if we don't have the administrative support we don't have the teachers being supported with parents and student issues it's it's cyclical I think everybody here understands that and so I think I hope what I presented to you because this is also something that is near and dear to me uh during my principal tenure during my assistant superintendent time and a superintendent you know trying to balance this is not uh we can't just look at all teachers all custodians all administrators all secretaries right there's there's I got we have to still operate as a system when we are looking at the budget in positions and I hope this reflects appropriately on us doing that right that we're not targeting one you know where we had custodial openings we're moving people we're eliminating positions same same concept went through pretty much every Department uh is what we spent the time doing to try to come up with this scenario to be the best case right now and then my other question was do we anticipate the half a million dollars being incumbered in supplies for the remainder of the school year because that was still an amount of half million dollars because that's something that if we're going into the next fiscal year to reduce that amount in terms of supplies because if we still have because the the fiscal year for the state starts in in July correct I know in the federal government October with October Madness but if we have two remaining months of the school year because we June 14th roughly and then we have summer school and then we prepare for the next year but then the new budget kicks in um is it possible to reduce the supplies account or preserve the supplies and buy in advance and preserve that for the next uh fiscal year that we've done in the past I know John Crafton Mr gin can the business administrator did that um during uh tight fiscal times and again the dynamic is we're not in really tight fiscal times the unemployment rate is 2.9% in Massachusetts there's A9 billion rainy day fund so the money is there but we have to look at if again supplies versus Personnel or grants versus Personnel um and I know and I asked the question to Ian as well I know the revolving account is the ice ring that we cannot touch by law and I think the cafeteria account with the $1 million by law we cannot touch that now we can Advocate maybe down the line to have that as unrestricted school aid that will allow us to shore up in deficiencies in other parts of the budget with the millionaires tax but that's something that we're going to approach down the road but if we have a million dollars already in the supplies account on the cafeteria side and we have a half a million dollars that has not been incumbent yet through the remainder of the school year that's something that I either if we can get an advisory from the state that we could maybe buy supplies and use it for the schools or we can preserve and and purchase in advance the supplies and use it carry over to the new fiscal year that's something that I would uh entertain as opposed to cutting Personnel further um if that's at all possible it's not going to it's not going to be a Panacea because even if the half a million dollars we're talking about over $600,000 still in proposed Cuts but at least maybe maybe advertising in the schools with something that might be an option um and we have a policy in place for that but that's going to be marginal or if we really just focus on the supplies and really concentrate on that um I'll give the floor to Ian on that please um I will say the last well in the time that I've had available I've been working on pre- purchasing supplies specifically copy paper supplies that don't go bad things that so that we can actually take that off next year's budget um we're also we always try to pre purchase our wax and um our scrub brushes and all the stuff to redo the floors over the summer we try to prepurchase all our custodial stuff so the July 1 runs around we have all that stuff in stock we don't have to wait um so we'll do that again we'll also um look at other custodial supplies that we can purchase that won't go bad in order to offset next year yeah and currently as of this minute um we have about 349,000 oh sorry lied to you 362 okay available so there was some incumber since since that time but we still have size I had already purchased some copy paper and stuff like that just you know food for the thought excuse me food for thought for the committee and then also the in terms of the cafeteria account is a $1 million in supplies that but we can't touch that unless we get a waiver from the state on that because the Millionaire's tax goes right into the universal meals program we can't touch that correct we're very uh Ian and I sat and and looked through uh with a little more detail the Food Service what we can and cannot and it is uh a little it's a pretty strict restrictions tight restrictions on what you can and cannot spend that money on and we're doing everything we can within those restrictions um so we haven't heard otherwise that we are allowed to use those monies or who we could ask um and we've already uh just to add to what Mr gosin just said we have already reduced next year's supplies that that's already been done before this round we've reduced that knowing we're going to do some of this pre purchasing that is reflected in what you already have and I know that that amount is $85,000 was more than that from from the proposed uh to the reduction I thought it was $85,000 I think we've done more than that now yeah okay all right yeah I'm sorry yeah we've done more than that what you see now is reflected in additional reductions and the supplies so I apologize if we didn't write that in the narrative yeah I didn't I didn't see that narrative on we definitely have done that just wanted to make sure on that okay yeah no we heard that loud and clear last time as well with the supplies okay thank you two things that I missed in my monologue um I wanted to just point out going off the chart for the last 10 years for net non-net chapter 78 and City contribution over the last 10 years Chapter 70 funds have increased 28.3 million over the last 10 years the city's contribution has increased 9 22 million to put it into perspective Chapter 70 over 10 years has grown at 70% while the city's contribution has grown at 35% I'm not going to editorialize on what that may mean I'm going to put it out there as fact I know that the 35% number has been thrown around by the city council as being egregious over 10 years um but I think it needs to be noted that it's comp compared to a Chapter 70 growth of 70% and I think for me what's what's the hardest part of this process is um you know with the with the promise and the hope of the student Opportunity Act was to rebuild and regrow and to get uh to a point in our district where we're not doing this and so this has been very challenging because we have built and started to rebuild build uh our district over the past four years and I don't disagree with the mayor at all there has been uh a a vast difference in the partnership of of creating the school budgets of understanding the use of the funds and the fact that and I know I've said it publicly in past meetings uh the past few years uh there are some urban districts where the city is not giving them all of the Chapter 70 increase cuz there aren't rules about how that is divied up and methu has and so I think that's really important to note and they have again this year it's just the 3.8 million uh covered out of District tuition increases and nothing else in our budget to move forward and that's that disheartening part I and I we've all said it I'm not going to repeat it uh we all are in a very challenging position right now to be able to you know what we've started to build over the past three years we're just is not able to maintain and that is very frustrating uh especially for uh us and me and the school committee and sitting here uh and all of the staff sitting behind me and everybody watching and parents uh in this community because this is what we have been hopeful for and our uh understand is is part of what should be non-negotiable and it's negotiable again and I think that's what is uh the most challenging part about this so recognizing that uh and I said it during our first preliminary budget I will say it here uh I am not I a taxpayer I live in Methuen uh I am not uh you know uh I don't know I'm I'm I'm trying to find the right word I'm not uh you know presenting a budget that I do understand will be challenging for the city I don't think I use that right but um I'm not here to to put all the burden on the tax fairs right I'm certainly going to support the schools my job as a superintendent is to Advocate and to share with you the school committee and the community what this school needs and I do believe that we have done that over time I'm trying to continue to do that with also uh the knowledge and understanding that the city cannot make up the difference uh of what we projected the state to give us and what we need right I said that the first time we start I I fully understand that that is not reasonable right now right that that is a too big of a gap um so so we're working with this we're we're trying to figure this out uh we're we're closer to the number at this point we're not there yet um but you know that this is the position we're in and I you know it is real and I don't I don't I'm not sure you know we've been living it I've been living it so I know it's real there's I don't know where else to pull money from uh we rely heavily on chapter 78 we rely heavy heavily on our entitlement grants right we get Federal entitlement grants that's in your budget book we have $8 million worth of salaries in those entitlement grants those those aren't going anywhere but those are we rely on that that's what we we plan for and we again are entitled to those grants those aren't the ones that are going away um So currently if you look at the second page uh the budget comparison chart those are that's the magic worksheet uh first page of the magic workbook that Ian uh uses and Maggie has copies of it and the mayor and myself and Colleen um so as we reduce and change uh this this chart changes with it so this is where we're at as of tonight that that uh we are at 10 15,390 1846 uh which is the highlighted number is still the amount that we are away from so $678,000 um I'm sorry two $678 258 we are away from the state the city given number for our budget that was choppy did you guys understand what I just said that was very very choppy I can feel myself being choppy so I'm sorry but uh it's the highlighted number on the second page uh the third page that we are we are just under $680,000 still above the city uh number for the operating budget and so I have some bullets there for next steps um you know there there's one piece of this that is um going to be extremely helpful it was extremely helpful last year I just don't have the confirmation that I need right now to actually reduce that $678,000 number to do it but that first bullet does explain to all of you that uh we did receive information from the state that we will be getting one more payment uh for the emergency shelter funds from the state for this year right this was the year we did not receive funds for because they enrolled after October 1st of 2022 23 school year right so we didn't see those funds come to us for the school year so the state we weren't sure uh it was a little rocky there that we weren't sure we were going to see any more payments uh but we did receive information that we were going to get one more payment for students from March 1st to June 14th uh and what that entails is our data manager sends in uh a really easy spreadsheet of documenting all the kids who are living in the emergency shelter that are still with us that weren't with us October 1 of 2022 that counted for the 23 the 20 am I saying that right 24 budget yes I am that is right because the 2223 school year goes into f24 um so uh I am waiting for an email confirmation from the Director of Finance to desie I don't feel comfortable unless I get that from him in writing that yes we are expected to receive that because then I can actually estimate that which I have already um because that's what I do too uh you know based on the data that our data manager gave me this week it looks like we would get about $300,000 in that final payment uh and then we would be able to um apply that to I me I think we've made a decision either supplies or professional salaries at the CGS Marsh and high school CU that's where those kids uh are going uh at this point if they qualify for language Services k through eight they're going to the CGS if they don't they they're homeschool because of the days in is the marsh uh and then obviously if they're in high school no matter what their service delivery is they go to the high school and so um superent if I can ask you just said the some of the students at the days in are being homeschooled no no no um I don't know if any school I don't know if any students at the days in homeschooled they're home school sorry the oh they home school okay I was going to say sorry no the the location of the days in belongs in the marsh because of the address I'm I'm caught up thank you I'm sorry yes so so our C our k through eight kids are split between the marsh and the CGS uh and we do have some preschoolers actually now at Branch Street um but we would we would use those funds and that's an appropriate use of the fund so um once we get that confirmation that is helpful because we can reduce that um and that you know that will bring us to about 30070 not about but 378,000 or around there uh that we're still looking to reduce for fy2 um the the other piece of the unknown that I did uh put here is that um we are sorry my page is flipped backwards so there are you know we we've we've discussed it great length great length our contracted service concerns right are not being able to fill vacancies in the special education whether it's professional staff or program assistant staff um we're we're trying to be a little proactive here to be be able to budget for it and find out if we have uh we have quite a few vacancies in our subit programming in the district and uh I have asked um miss boices the director of special education to contact several of our contracted service providers to see if they have uh people they could we could confirm as uh set for a year and how much that would be because we did post for those positions and we are not getting applicants so we already posted an anticipation for these These are positions that cannot be eliminated from our budget so we posted those several weeks ago um and we we just we do not have uh the number of applicants coming in that we need to fill those so we're we're going to do what we can to recruit but I'm trying to get some numbers so that what we are preparing uh are more accurate than us guessing that we're going to be using contracted services so that is happening as we speak so I hope to have that by tomorrow or early next week and then also for esy we're also not able at this point to fill all of our positions for our extended school year so there might be some contracted Service uh agreements that we have to do there which is also our fy2 budget so there are a couple of unknowns still out there that might have this number fluctuate a little bit remember dis Leo so quick question question well not it's more a statement to you because talking about brand Street and there are certain elected individuals and I'm not GNA talk about people in the community can we make a statement that bran Street those positions were carried over from different schools 100% they were not added positions correct right okay yes I can make that statement loud and clear so Branch Street we had 50 preschools spread out amongst the Tenny the timy the CGS and the marsh we carried those 15 preschools and opened with 15 preschool classrooms in September of 2023 this year now I had to add a preschool because of enrollment that has nothing to do with the that has I would have had to ask one of the principes to make a classroom for me so it has nothing to do with the building it's the whole point of that building is because I have four more classrooms that are empty to grow because I started in 2018 there were eight preschools and now there are 16 fully running preschools so this is another place that we are growing our population and so that was the reason that we wanted to purchase that building to begin with because we had that growing number and we were uh you know in the school buildings we didn't have any places to continue to grow full classrooms to add preschools I mean the timy had seven the Tenny had three I'm looking I know two CGS had three Marsh had two three I don't didn't calculate that up in my head when I just said it but it's 15 we started with 15 we have 16 now and you know depending on who moves in and when birthdays are that's the hard part with preschool it's all about when the child is 2 years and 9 months and so we might not know the child needs Services until October or January when we have then now another six to eight students who need another classroom yep so to carry on to that and our transitions I'm sorry our transitions classroom is one classroom our 18 to 22 year olds our transitions classroom was at the high school in a classroom and is now at Branch Street there's no additional classrooms or Staffing that wouldn't that was added because it was moved to Branch Street and yep so through you m and Mr Mayor uh not to put you on the spot because also in the community uh and just a quick rundown so the community understands how that this worked how was the purchase of Branch Street occurred because I feel like people just didn't watch the meetings when we had those purchasing yeah so can you ex explain just a quick rundown of how it happened what funds were used yeah the funds the school department used Sr funds yeah as yeah we P we P for with ARA funds remember yeah so we P if you get super it's close to $9 million y right y but that was taken out of the $46 million arpa funds that uh the federal and state government provided um to the city of midor right originally that number was only 19 million and we protested we saw other communities getting like Lawrence getting 68 million and ail getting um close to that same number we protested the impact of covid here and the governor responded with uh um an increase to 46.3 million so so to and again I I just want the community to be clear about that so not at any point the I I hate using free free cash because it's not free cash it's taxpayers money so the rating day fund right essentially was never used in the purchasing of Branch Street no that is correct thank you nope I want to go back real quick to the oh go ahead Mr Mayor I'm sorry I didn't mean to inter so I wanted to ask so super said something and you know um so is this the last installment of the desie money for um the people that have been implanted in our community yes so this is the last the last payment uh because now uh anybody going forward who is living who was accounted for and living at the emergency shelter on October 1st of this school year is in our enrollment count for the foundation formula for 25 so this is we didn't think we were going to get it but we thought yeah yeah but that's a revolving door and the thing I said related to that M our whole enrollment is a revolving door but that's that is so they're they're consider I'm sorry they're considering the because that wasn't that was just a influx that we had no control over and all of a sudden we were expected to serve a 100 students at that when it started um so the state actually did step up and give the schools because they weren't included in that they actually gave us some funds at the end of last year started to do this because they knew school districts weren't expecting this uh to happen and then because none of those students that I mean I I think the mayor could too but you know October 14th is when they arrived so it was after when we um sent the data to the state for October 1st enrollment which is how our FY next year's budget is calculated but you make a good point member shilia because our enrollment uh is a moving Target and this is just what we have to deal with as so this is another uh you know a challenge in urban districts especially when we have a turn rate so the move in rate and the move out rate um is constant flow I mean I have a staff member who's looking at our Family Resource Center every Monday morning and sends every principal well here's who's enrolling in your school this week every week every week who's coming in new so the principls can be you know alerted to oh I've got four new sophomores coming in this week it doesn't end it never stops um you know at the same time we have withdrawals it's just it's a little bit of a different process um so yeah it's a it's a challenge because that enrollment number can change and fluctuate all year it's this is the system that the state has given us you good Ryan M Donovan I just have a few questions and maybe a comment or two so to clarify and and to build on what you said so Branch street now the purchase of Branch Street not only allowed to put a whole group of people teaching the same correct subject create a team environment for them not only did that happen and and created a much better learning and and working environment I feel but it also paved the way to deal with some serious crowding issues in some of our schools and I think people forget that 100% like it I know at the Tenny it made a huge difference and it allowed for people to spread out I think there was safety issues that you know people were just sitting on top of each other so you know you're right people have short memories and I'm so appreciative of that purchase it wasn't frivolous at all um and my understanding is there are only rooms for four additional classrooms at that building now which tells us we have a real need for early intervention and education so that's my TED Talk my questions now are so we're down with this addition of $300,000 we are now at we're looking to cut or find 300,000 around there right let's see we're going with I'm using the number of 350 my business manager just walked out but we're going with 350 I hope he comes back is really what we're looking at right now if this if I get confirmation in the next 48 hours so there's some good news I think it's good news I just I'm not going to do it until I receive confirmation from the Director of Finance at desie okay that yes we are getting a final payment and it'll be the same amount per child from March 1st to June 14th then I will do it and that's what we did last year we did cut our budget by the exact amount at the very end tail end of the process uh by the exact amount we knew we were going to get that payment in August okay so we won't get it but we'll get it right we we won't have it for the start of the fiscal year but we we know it's coming the payment for March is coming is supposed to come this week or next week so we know we're going to get it in August that's what happened last summer and I think perspective is important especially during these emotional times right this is this is important stuff so we're looking at that you see the news havil $1 million the school district is looking they're dealing with that kind of deficit North End over three million so it could be a lot worse this is is bad but I think it could be a lot worse so my question to you Dr Quang is there are still some positions in the budget that are new correct yes that have not been eliminated correct correct and it looks like there's a few at every school as I go through the budget okay I just wanted to make sure I didn't miss anything we have thank you for noting that we have tried to preserve yeah our um English learner positions our special education position which I don't actually know how I would cut those because I have students going into those um and our Behavior Support for our staff and administrators I have not added that to the list at this point thank you yeah so I want to go back to the contracted Services line m i not not not helpful um I think it's worth stating that all of these positions that are open that we need to tap into a contract attemp Service is costing us more than hiring people and I I want I want the people in the room to hear that I want the people at home to hear that I want the the the teachers and the parents and everyone else who's watching to understand that because we can't fill those positions we need to go out and contract them so we're paying a rate to this person but we're also paying let's call it the finders fee the commission to the agency that's providing them and that's the killer I think that if we could get our people to Advocate to their social groups their their friends that are in the same world that they are to come in for the these positions we wouldn't need to have $28.6 million allocated to contractual Services because we wouldn't need five staffing agencies trying to fill positions because we can't yes um but two things uh that that contracted service line is not just that it's all the out of District tuitions uh is contracted service mixed in with some other contractual uh things that we have but and buses I think is in contractual Services yeah so there's more to that 26 million that I understand that you are correct and going into that this is the other Challenge and I put it here as well you know the other unknown to this uh is collective bargaining agreements we don't have a definitive uh cost to plan for so we've been able to cost out some of those and project out but uh we don't have an exact number and so there's a there's a reality to that that what that might mean as well St in my thunder there Dr oh I'm sorry that was the last bullet but okay um the contractual Services I think it's worth saying that if we're going to direct our let's call it agitation to the state this should be included in there for all those out of District placements that of chapter 257 rate set a great that got what was it 14 14% increase in tuition last year yes that's absurd which this is this is what I shared right we're feeling we felt it last year we had the funds to buffer that uh we're feeling it hard again this year I was involved in the development of chapter 257 at DCF back in 2016 and that was always built to be a 2 to 4% increase year-over-year yeah the chapter 76 schools have a very different regulation process with desie and the state um even different than our collaboratives and I think explain that right so Crest collaborative is the collaborative we belong to those tuitions are less typically and their increases are what you would expect between 3 to 4% 5% at the highest of tuition increases to pay for Staffing or increased enrollment um so you know member districts of collaborative that's why you're member districts because you can get um you know better tuition rates than you can at a at a what I consider private chapter 766 school and the audit not the the audit the Consulting audit that we approved I don't know two hours ago will hopefully impact that number as well when we I hope it does yeah I mean I'm There's an opportunity yes there's an opportunity for our transportation cost to be reduced I just we we discussed that in our committee you know I just I don't know if that we're just going to be off a little bit on the timing right if if it's a if it's helping us that'll be a bonus bonus M uh that will help us through the FY 25 year when you know we see other increases you know I think that's that would be hopeful and my last comment going back to the idea of making money instead of searching for it the don't make that face the the adult programs that we have out of Branch street is it would it be a fiscally responsible or advantageous opportunity to bring in out of placement for that I'm basing on your reaction I'm GNA go with no uh so I appreciate the thought uh but that class is at maximum capacity so if I bring right I'm if I bring in more students from somewhere else you got to dip into those dipping into more space and people and so right now uh that class is actually probably maxed out for a little bit until students start aging out but it is it is at maximum capacity right now they are in one large space in a small pace so they're all in one space with a lot of student needs and staff they're they're a fantastic addition to Branch Street as adults and I think uh it it was uh we weren't sure how all of this was going to work they're on our floor the central office floor which has been very impactful to us as staff and them as students I hope that makes sense I was sitting in they have great coffee carts they we've actually a couple of our kids who've graduated out are now employees of the school department in the cafeteria because they've had that opportunity um so I I just I think there's just that has been a a a ray of sunshine uh to I hope the staff feels this way but I think they do uh the staff in the program the students and to the adults around you know it's a different environment than them being in high school for so many years they really are in a different environment surrounded by different people and experiences I was sitting in Colleen's office when the paper delivery came through yes fantastic and it was it was quite the highlight of the morning but they're making relationships with adults who and working you know they're they're getting work experience that wasn't as easy for them to get in the past which is what led me to the ask but I understand that space is at a premium and and everything else you know that's something that and I know you know Miss boac and I have talked about that over the years that es and flows because that's all about a birthday right and how long kids are in programs but um you know there are some years where it's smaller you know is there some how how can we fluctuate that I'm not sure you know how could we take advantage of that in whatever way we could I don't know but right now it is at maximum capacity a lot of kiddos in there anyone else M wette just a quick question without um identifying the positions cut nothing in the budget reductions that we see so far would jeopardize uh implementation or enforcement of residency um because that was a concern I have is that I don't want to backlog I don't want to have kids unnecessarily in the school that don't belong in the schools um that something too if we're removing students that saves for the taxpayers as a whole yeah I mean we did we did res reduce what you see on here the Family Resource coordinator that was a management position um so uh we are that just happened so there's some conversation right now about how we keep the maintain the systems in place that she's put in place to maintain that cycle uh but the the um Family enrollment specialist that actually see the families do the residency checks uh I have not eliminated those positions okay so it's it's how do we maintain those systems you know Miss boac and I are talking about that and overseeing that department we're just're and and Miss kovsky actually we have a whole bunch of people that oversee the work that happens there we're just going to be creative and how we're going to do that to maintain the systems that she put in place this year and I know every may we review the policy and I know there's been talk of strengthening the policy which I support um that was the mechanism within the policy CU I drafted it back in the day and I think it's paid huge dividends of removing students from the system and that also impacts the taxpayers directly yeah we're going to put the residency um I think member daglio uh you were on that at the the last sub committee uh we had they had drafted uh with myself Mr lucier at the time and the family resource Specialists that uh the what we're do we drafted uh we updated the policy MH but we wanted to see if we could actually do it with the staff that we had before we actually adopted it because we started with one family enrollment specialist then two then three we have a bilingual so now we have the staff to be able to maintain withdrawals enrollments residency checks um so we will be bringing that to you at the May meeting to update the residency policy that is in the book because it's a little different on the timing of when those residency checks are done and their double grade levels so that's been a topic of conversation we presented it to the school committee when we did that but we were very concerned Mr Luccia and I did not want to actually actually the subcommittee didn't either until we knew we could do it that was a unfortunately Co got in the way of that too but we now we know we can do it and we've been doing it this way for the past couple of years and it's it's it's manageable it's the time of year that matters right and uh I think it makes sense the grade levels we're choosing to do and it was up to the discretion of the school committee to do it every May to approve changes to the policy so it was a it was a fluid 1 perfect and a mechanism I just want to make sure as we're going through um budget cut back on too that were not being counterproductive on The Residency enforcement policy and I want to make sure that expressing my concerns on that because then that impacts the taxpayers yep so we have that on the we have that the policy to discuss if the school committee wants to update that and then if we want to continue this The subcommittee Residency subcommittee or not uh we do need more than one person on the committee so we can put that on the agenda too for May if we want to hold or add people for the subcommittee yep thank you yep that's on the I got it May 13th it's on our list me Donovan yeah I'm still stuck on this Revenue thing generating money Mr goel how much do we spend for um the students who do school choice who go to other communities not our money um probably upwards of a million dollars so we have we have assessments so so the hard part about that conversation is it's not we don't see it right so so assessments for choice and assessments for Charter go straight to the city so we have that on our cherry sheet Maggie already knows what those she's already calculated all those pieces so she has assessments for Choice assessments for Charter and then the greater Lawrence Regional School and then if we have any students at Essex agie that are in programs that greater Lawrence doesn't have uh that all goes straight to the city that is not part of out that's not within our purview we don't ever see those we don't write checks to anybody we don't ever see those money we don't want to write a check but the city does so the city is on the hook for those funds as well as part of their education budget believe it or not yeah you'll see that when the city when we go for public hearing and you get the document it actually you'll see operating budget is the number that we have here on this paper like it'll be pretty clear um and then she has it separated by greater Lawrence technical school and the SK the city council has to vote on that and she will put in there I think she puts the Charter and school choice assessments and there's actually I don't think that has to be voted on they just have to pay it yeah I don't want to speak on her behalf I don't know if the mayor knows that but it's part of the city how she calculates the education costs great question may looks like saying something but there's no sound coming through oh he's speaking I'm sorry uh Mr chair can hear I can't learn use the mute button correctly um so and worth noting that great Tech is coming to the city council meeting next Monday and asking um city council to increase the appropriation to allow Great Tech to buy the um the benevolent protected order of the Elks building in Lawrence and uh in his meeting with myself in the Capo we told him we absolutely could not fund that in fy2 right not even the slightest increase based on the CBA and everything else that's happening right so um you know I would encourage people watching weigh in on that as well thank you Mr chair anyone Mr Willet M Willet y thank you um again uh in terms of personnel versus supplies if we reduced it to $1.5 million could we survive that because then we'd be pretty close to home because if you're talking about the $300,000 that hopefully will be incoming within the next few days plus going to 1.5 could we swing it we'll put it on the list to look at possibly okay I mean I'll go through every line that has an increase and see if it's um because the cost of goods have also gone up um and we're already offsetting about $500,000 in this to to pay for supplies out of the homeless Grant as well um technology supplies um so I mean I'll take a look to see if I can trim some more but I don't want to you know run out of toilet paper can we get a definitive answer from the state regarding that other separate account of the $1 million let's say for instance C Food Services food services is federal funds we can't touch it I thought the the millionaires tax was an infusion of money it's it all comes under the federal federal we looking at are so strict on what we can use I'm not so the Millionaire's tax that the state approved we fall under the federal guidelines regarding that so we can't even remotely touch that food program is a federal Pro program we might get some from the state but vast majority of it State fun uh Federal funding that should have been just unrestricted school aid of the millionaires tax just telling you we go through a review every year and they go through everything with a fine tooth comb all right I can certainly ask okay remember tolio so uh just to pay back of Mr Willet but I keep say hearing if we get this money we're going to be like in the home stretch but this is the number before all the collective bargaining are agreed upon so I just want that to be very cleared that yeah it's the home stretch until all but this is not really the definitive number until all Collective abing Agreements are done so I'm not going to go any further because I don't want to touch part that but I just want especially the teachers in the room right now that this number is not final right yeah no that's my last bullet right that we don't have a final agreement with any of our contracted I mean our collective bargaining agreement so while we can make projections which we have uh that does not mean that's where we're going to land yes that is real hence my fourth bullet oh wait wait I got I have to and with that being said if all of a sudden you know what I'm not going to go down that hole yeah be careful remember will let and as the I'm going to tread lightly too but the superintendent did mention that there is an account established so we're not operating completely in the dark on this we do have an and again it's based on projections projections it's all it is projections so to say like we have no money in the account slated for Union agreements that's not accurate either so let's try to balance the statements please thank you I I think I just I don't I kind of I want to end that conversation before we get ourselves into a little bit of a trouble I think my statement is clear there are projections included in this uh not final because we have no agreements with any of the bargaining units please do want to ask you one question I don't understand how we flirt with the line of trouble there when our sessions are now open and we have 100 people in the room for collective bargaining I mean what happens in a caucus room is very different than what happens on the floor because if we bring up anything right now that could be strategy driven we are impacting our own discussion about strategy for collective bargaining so I just want to that I understand the what we're talking about now is public knowledge uh for positions for proposals that's fine I just I don't want to get in us into a sticky position of potentially talking about uh strategy or uh ideas in public session that could impact what we do at negotiations agreed just wanted to understand because it's totally it's a totally different collective bargaining world right now so but our conversations about strategizing are still intial protected executive session yes good I made my statement because it's been a public record for a long period of time on it y all right well seeing no more conversation there uh is there any other business from the committee so so I oh not yet well I just want to summarize because I also want to be clear right your direction to me and what comes next from me to you right before we clear out this agenda item right um is uh we my team is going to continue to work through this get confirmation from the state about the final payment we will continue to go line by line in everything uh and look at any further Personnel at The Last Resort uh I I cannot sit here and guarantee you that there W won't be additional Personnel um reductions if we can't get to that number before May 13th um but our goal is to then present to you a number as close to if not at the number the city has given us on May 13th so that we can review that with you on May 13th uh and then that budget would have to be per our discussion would be posted publicly uh Ian and his team have to post that in the media and the public at least was it minimum 7 days no more than 14 no less than seven so we're you know we'd have to post it we know we know by that Wednesday morning after the 13th uh for our public hearing on the 21st so that's sort of that's the next step piece for us 22nd whatever I'm sorry that Wednesday is it's a week and a half after the 13th no pressure so I think for me it's it's I will communicate with all of you on our progress over the next few days if there if we're feeling there's a need for any kind of special meeting emergency meeting before the 13th so it'll be sometime next week um we will communicate that uh but I'm hoping not to have to do that I'm hoping to get to where we need to get to by the 13th and be able to present to you a budget that uh everybody will be comfortable with and that uh will be the least uh least reductions that we can I hope this is the final list of reductions that we have for class size for staff uh and we go from there and again get confirmation from the state on uh any more supplemental funds coming in and hope that the sen Senate completely Alters the fy2 because that would be what makes all the difference in the world to us sooner rather than later would be great remember doag Leo um just to and the summary all I can say is to put you in a direction I I know this is very hard for you to do and I'm asking you and your team again I I know this is a tough situation as a academic classes to me is the most important thing too it's it's very important that we keep our class sizes low the best we can like I said as a as a teacher myself that I I'm want to re two kids three kids four kids do make a difference in the classroom and I know so I'm ask like I'm I'm not speaking on behalf of this whole committee I'm speaking on behalf of myself as a member is that if you are going to do these I want you guys to really focus on where you can cut to avoid academic classes to be impacted that's all I'm asking I want that to be on the record so everybody knows that that is my position and I will stick to that position thank you Mr chair member Willette just very briefly is that uh we're not operating in a vacuum our case is not an isolated situation you have many school districts facing similar circumstances of massive cutbacks and layoffs so there's something that needs to be related to the state on this if it was just Methuen and again I agree with with the chairman I don't want to reflect upon the past I wasn't part of that school committee the superintendent wasn't in her capacity at that moment we've corrected the situation if anybody wants to speak to us on an individual basis I'll definitely have that conversation um but we're looking at really almost cutting to the Bone and it's going to really impact our class sizes when you increase on average 25% to a class that's going to have a significant impact so again we're strictly an advisory committee in terms of the budget we make a recommendation to the city council and to the mayor so anybody here this evening any parent any concerned grandparent any union representative um the membership please reach out to the mayor and the City Council on an individual basis because we did it with the high school the high school was not a done deal until we rallied the troops and I would encourage the unions to rally the troops and see if a compromise proposal can be rendered without us cutting to the Bone and approaching 25 and maybe even 26 27 maybe 28 students if we're going in that direction it's when is when is the limit so please take that in mind thank you anyone else okay here oh member Donovan I was going to make a motion to oh adjourn well you jump in the gun pump the brakes um okay so is there any other business from the committee going to speak thought we did well we we tried and it got it got the hook all right with no fur the business to discuss this time may I have a motion in a second to adjourn the workshop portion of the May 2nd 2024 meeting and go into executive session second motion by member wette second by member theago pursuant to mgl chapter 38 section 12 A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining and or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigation position of a public body and the chair so declares all units unaffiliated we we will not reconvene into Open session at the conclusion of this executive session any discussion seeing and hearing none Matha we need a roll call please Ryan daglio yes Mary Beth Donovan yes L Keegan Kristen Maxwell Daniel shilia yes Kenneth wette yes may an Neil Perry yes unanimous the meeting is adjourned at 8:30 p.m e