[Music] e e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] good evening the school committee business session of May 13 2024 will now come to order this meeting is being recorded and will be made available for viewing on the MTH Public Schools website Madame secretary you please call the role ryano president R Beth Donovan Pres Lori Keegan pres Kristen Maxwell present Daniel shabila present Kenneth wette yeah May Neil Perry here thank you all uh may I have a motion in a second to accept the agenda for May 13 20 as presented so moved second moved by the Vice chair second by member shilia uh any discussion yes Mr Mayor M uh thank you uh I would like to add um an amendment to old business and put um nominations for the subcommittee for residency um I've been waiting for like a month yes you can through Robert's Rules before the agenda could be accepted I can file an amendment so we have an amendment suggestion to add nominations for what subcommittee M on The Residency Comm subcommittee subcommittee thank you any second on that I'll second it seconded by member shabila um any other discussion on the friendly Amendment so I guess my only comment is given that we're going to put that policy through review do we still need the subcommittee I would just like to have it just in case with other future things just to be in order especially for the new school year coming up with that policy it would be nice to have it in place so if we do meet and if we have any questions about the policy we can meet with the with those people involved fair enough thank you seeing no other discussion all those in favor of the amendment so we're all here so we don't need a roll call correct okay all right so all those in favor of the friendly Amendment signify by saying I I opposed say nay present thank you carries uh 61 mayor can I just I'm sorry can I just ask a question please am I putting that under business from the committee or other business from the committee I other business from the committee okay thank you please thank you now may I have a motion in a second to accept the amended agenda for May 13 2024 so moved so moved by member shabila seconded by member Donovan uh any further discussion hearing a SE none all those in favor to signify by saying I I oppos say nay thank you the eyes carry moving on superintendent would you please introduce our student for tonight's flag salute it' be my pleasure I'd like to call up Gian buo from the CGS and the supervising principal Katie Peretti to come up and introduce her and maryi Ellen Lucas who I think is here as well behind me yep here we go good evening Janna buo is a CGS fourth grade student her teacher is Mrs Miss Elie she's been attending the CGS since kindergarten Janna is a dedicated student who strives at all times to do her best she is kind is a kind friend and a dedicated student Miss Elie was more than eager to recommend Janna for tonight's flag salute her teacher shared she is a passionate and hardworking student who can consistently goes above and beyond in not only her academics but also in the way she presents herself every day by following the CGS expectations Janna's ability to inspire everyone around her and her driven personality are truly remarkable Janna's family includes mom Andrea dad Rob sister Ava grandparents Rita Lorraine and Bob and last but certainly certainly not least her dog Dwight Janna's favorite subjects are art and science her sense of humor Caring Heart compassion determination helpfulness and create creativity shine in all subject areas Janna is a very Act is very active and has many hobbies get ready these include tennis track singing reading drawing dancing swimming skateboarding kaying paddle boarding playing piano and cooking she's exhausted her short shortterm goals include improving in tennis and track learning piano joining chorus and improving kaying skills when she grows up Janna would love to be a singer or shop owner no matter what she chooses she is sure to be amazing please help us welcome one of the CGS bests J  for our flag salute I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all nicely done nicely done they're not coming with you yeah yeah yeah how are you congrats congrats excellent job excellent job thank you moving on Madame superintendent would you please introduce our sore award recipients yes I would like to First Call um Marla De La Cruz up our director of special education to introduce I think one of our teachers is here to help introduce Anthony Cardone could also come up yes come on up come next one good evening good evening everyone my name is Marla DEA Cruz I'm the program coordinator for special education in methan high school all right um what I would I what a wonderful opportunity to be here with you Anthony today celebrating not only you but so many wonderful students that participate in methan high school um it is my pleasure to be part of an amazing team of Educators program assistants related service providers administrat ERS and so many more that have guided you supported you through all of your successes it is my privilege to learn and also to celebrate with everyone here all of your successes and Mr taggard behind us will have an opportunity to really just highlight all of those accomplishments for us today um Anthony I'm so proud of you and your smile and your positive energy radiates every day in every hallway in every classroom in every space at methan high school so thank you Mr tager Right uh thank you Mrs Del Cruz Madam superintendent Mr chairman uh we are pleased to announce Anthony cardoni as this year's sore award recipient Anthony is a son of Christina cardoni over the past four years Anthony has demonstrated significant social intellectual and personal growth he has earned the appreciation of his classmates and teaches alike with his conviviality generosity kindheartedness and infectious smile Anthony has worked hard in his classes and achieved beyond what many may have expected of him with the new math curriculum his sophomore year when I had Anthony in class Anthony picked up some difficult algebraic Concepts he persisted through the challenge problems once he finished early and began to catch and correct his errors he's on track to earn an A in math for the third consecutive year and his current math teacher Jen Dono adds notes Anthony's D adding he never gives up he's always willing to try and willing to help other students Anthony's English teacher Lori Alo writes in English class Anthony's creativity knows no bounds as he weaves imaginative imaginative tales that Captivate the room his stories are a testament to his vivid imagination and his skillful storytelling even more so than Anthony's hard work persistence and achievement in class Each of which is certainly commandable in its own right Anthony's unparalleled Jad deiv is how he has left his mark Kevin Adams writes last year I had the pleasure of having Anthony twice in class for history and skills his genuine amicable excitedness always brightened my day as a teacher since he always arrived with a highfive or a hug his friendliness poured out to his classmates as he volunteered to answer questions and work with others on his assignments Lori Alo adds Beyond his literary talents Anthony's infectious energy uplifts those around him brightening even the dreariest of days his presence is a beacon of positivity infusing the classroom with warmth and enthusiasm making each lesson a joyous Adventure Anthony has also worked in the school's coffee shop and he's helped deliver the newspaper to classrooms he participates in the best buddies Club Kevin Adams who serves as the club adviser adds it was not uncommon to hear Anthony and me chanting best buddies best buddies throughout the school day when we'd see each other and as we marched to join the club and its meeting day he was always so excited to participate in the club after school again supporting and spreading kindness and enthusiasm to the other members of the club Anthony also participates in the school's unified basketball and unified track teams says teacher and Coach Peter Romanowski what sticks out is his ability to encourage his classmates in the classroom and teammates on Unified sports teams Anthony consistently has positive comments words of encouragement and Applause for his peers next year Anthony will attend mean's transitions Academy to further develop his vocational and life skills this will get Anthony out in the community and wherever he goes his effervescent demeanor and his everpresent smile will no doubt have the same warm and positive effect on those with whom he comes into contact as Peter Romanowski adds I wish every teacher and Coach could have an Anthony in his or her life we are proud and honored to recognize such a young man for his infectious enthusiasm his abant approach to almost everything he does and the Jad deiv that he seems to trans MIT to all those around him Anthony kaidon as our sore Award winner for 2024 thank you guys have all of them thank you guys it's okay it's sry congrats congrats great job [Music] [Applause] is there not one more there is one more sore award y I'd like to call up Christine ster our department chair for the our English language Learners and our student for that department tonight for the sore award is bow Den come join her please quick sward recipient for the English learner education department ba has demonstrated academic persistence and Excellence since enrolling at methan high school in the fall of 2021 Ba's desire to be successful is evident in his challenging academic course load which currently includes honors pre-calculus and honors cyber security in addition to his impressive 3.9 GPA B has earned the Seal of biliteracy in English and Vietnamese born in Vietnam ba and his family moved to the United States in the fall of 2020 his first year of schooling in the US while not in methan consisted of attending school in person two days a week and working independently the other three days for many students this would have derailed their path to academic success however ba persevered and pushed forward he enrolled at methu and high school starting his sophomore year and immediately began working towards his academic goals he filled his schedule with challenging content classes while still working to develop Proficiency in the English language his determination and hard work has allowed him to gain a level of English language Mastery that typically takes many more years of study to achieve ba is quoted as saying education is very important to me I want to be successful and help my family out that is why I study so hard Ba's teachers were delighted to hear that he was earning the sore award this evening Mr Gordon his physics teacher stated he is such a hard worker who never has any excuses and who always works hard to learn from his mistakes he has gained confidence as the year has progressed and has really pushed himself to speak up and participate orally in class Bow's English development teacher Miss Andrews wrote ba has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to remain focused on his vision as well as every step and task it requires no matter what obstacles or challenges come his way from navigating hardships outside of school and being a source of support and strength for his family to overcoming barriers in school as He adjusted to a completely different culture country language education system ba has triumphed in the face of many challenges that even he did not know he could face in the classroom he has always found immersed in the academic task at hand making every assignment his best his work never Falls short of exemplary in terms of effort output critical thinking and academic rigor even while being devoted to a studies he makes time to interact with his teacher and classmates his comments during class discussions exhibit his thoughtfulness and maturity in his free time ba participates in the Esports club and plays soccer after graduation ba plans to attend middle sex Community College and study cyber security Miss nff bow cyber security teachers shared this Ba's genuine passion for computer science is evident through his enthusiastic engagement and commitment to the subject currently excelling in his cyber security class ba consistently shows a deep understanding of complex Concepts and a proactive approach to problem solving he has also demonstrated practical skills in the Project Lead the Way Virtual Lab environment ba is an outstanding student with a bright future ahead of him in the computer science field the entire El Department congratulates ba on being the sore award recipient for the English learner education department so I want to say this is such an honor for me to win this award and I want to say thank you to my family uh especially my grandparents because without them me and my family will not be here in America and I want to say thank you to my dad my mom my girlfriend and my younger brother and lastly want to say thank you to myun high school and all the teachers and the staff for creating such a great environment for students to study like me thank you thank you yes take a pH congratulations [Applause] Madam superintendent would you please introduce our M and high school teacher of the year yes so this is always an exciting time for us we have some folks in the crowd with us to celebrate our teacher of the year each year we uh the principals select a teacher of the year to um acknowledge and to celebrate and we have so many of them this was a great tradition that we started probably I'm going to say 10 years ago uh bringing them all to school committee so we will start with methan high school and I'll call up Mr Bon and our uh Methuen High School teacher of the year Jason Smith good evening everyone uh it's with great pride that I present science teacher Jason Smith as the 2023 2024 methan High School teacher of the year here with us this evening to recognize Jason is his mom Pat his father Ken his wife krie his two sons Braden and kobby science department chair and AP coordinator Joe harb uh interm associate principal Jackie Rabino who also coaches with Jason uh his colleague and wonderful biologist teacher uh Jason Le Point who also works with Jason with swiming dive and softball and then the loudest group so far tonight the softball team over here so that and they're happy to be here because they just hustled back from their 15 to1 win over Westford so that's good yeah yeah yeah so Mr Smith is a dedicated science teacher of over 25 years at methan high school and a valued member of our science department a true professional Jason is extremely enthusiast I Astic and always demonstrate a willingness to do whatever it takes for his students to succeed one of Mr Smith's greatest strengths is that he works well with students of all ages and abilities and serves as an outstanding role model for students athletes and colleagues his affable personality makes Mr Smith very approachable his instruction serves students of varying learning styles and actively engages all levels of students through small group projects and Hands-On anatomy and physiology Labs planned and well organized are accurate words to describe Mr Smith teaching his provisioning is excellent while his dissection experiments in the lab always grab the attention of his students Mr Smith routinely instills in his students a sense of respect for others confidence in one another and disciplined study habits an outstanding resource for new teachers Mr Smith has worked hard to build a strong anatomy and physiology course designed to prepare students who have an interest in the Allied Health Fields the consumate colleague he is very generous with his time and takes great interest in the ideas of other others he enthusiastically shares engaging lesson plans and sound educational practices with his fellow Anatomy teachers Mr Smith is known as a teacher with high expectations moreover he is a teacher who consistently sets high standards and goals for his students and takes pride in his students achieving those goals Mr Smith sends the most important message to all of his students you can do this and I'm not giving up on you Mr Smith is the type of educational leader that every school needs he is the wise professional who can act act as the backbone of a school's approach to education when Mr Smith is done with the school day you can find him at the pool or on the softball field for nearly 20 years he has led the swimm and dive and softball programs to Victory his passion and dedication to his athletes is is beyond impressive he has been the recipient of many Coach of the Year Awards Team Championships trips to the state tournament for softball at a 17 consecutive births and two State Tournament final final games record-breaking swimmers and swim teams and more most notably is his ability to create a culture of success hard work and integrity his athletes are held to high standards on the field and in the pool as well as in school and in the community with a kind and empathetic way he expects the very best and settles for nothing less the administration at methan high school truly admires Mr Smith's inate ability to inspire Empower and obtain the best effort from his students if you visit his classroom or attend an athletic contest it's obvious that Mr Smith is an incredible science teacher and Coach who takes great pride in supporting and motivating students at methan high school to be the very best they can be for over 25 years Mr Smith has proven to be an extremely versatile educator and one who teaches students teachers students and families hold in high regard we are fortunate to have Mr Smith as a highly respected member of our school Community who makes a positive impact on the lives of our students congratulations to Jason Smith on this most deserving recognition of methan high school teacher of the year thank you so much I apologize for my appearance but I literally came just off the field so um I'd like to thank everybody so much for this tremendous recognition uh where has the time gone it seems like just yesterday I was taking a tour of methan high school after my interview and thinking to myself where are the walls Mr Nick and joh Moore sold me on this place and they took a chance on a young kid from upstate New York it's 26 years later we have a beautiful building with wals uh and I'm still here there are so many people to thank that have helped me along this great journey I've had a number of great mentors Roger Fuller Pete salemi and Joel roard to name a few thank you for your infinite wisdom and guidance I've had the opportunity to teach and coach some of the greatest kids many of whom have gone on to do great things in their lives some of which are here today to all of my former and current students in Physical Science Biology AP biology anatomy and physiology and to all my athletes in swim and dive softball and even basketball thank you for the impact that you have made on methan and on my life to my current colleagues I couldn't have asked for a more sharing and helpful group of people Mr Bon Mr harb Matt Curran Martha Tetro mom lansen Kevin shagu Tom mullings Kevin aliette Kevin olafin and especially Al deleno Jason Le Point and Jackie Rabino you are the best co-workers and you make coming to work a pleasure but more importantly I appreciate your friendship thank you and most importantly thank you to my amazing family words cannot express how much you all mean to me as you know this job does not stop at 2 p.m. after uh every afternoon there are papers to direct grades to input practices to run and games to attend they have had to share me with teaching and coaching but they have done it without complaint I'm fortunate enough to have such support from my in-laws Frank and Nancy my parents Ken and Pat moved out here from New York a few years ago and I can't uh begin to tell you how much they have impacted my life and how much they are behind me and my career here at Methuen High to my wife Karen thank you for being my best friend Rock and the best mom to our boys Braden and Colby I am so proud of the young men that you are and excited to see what the future holds for each of you love you all thank you so much for this wonderful honor it is truly humbling [Applause] perect yeah ready congrats super at the marsh yep so I'd like to call up uh supervising principal Rebecca Gordon and the marsh teacher of the year Christina [Applause] Conlin well me and you you coming too okay it is with the utmost delight and enthusiasm that we recommend Christina conin for the prestigious methan Public Schools teacher of the year award miss Colin has been an esteemed member of the Marsh Grammar School faculty since 2014 where she has been serving as a grade 4 Ela classroom teacher Miss Conlin's exceptional leadership skills both inside and outside the classroom her dedication to and passion for teaching literacy her optimistic disposition and her commitment to modeling lifelong learning are the reasons why she is deserving of this recognition miss Colin ensures that all of our students are set up for Success within the classroom she has adeptly adopted our new literacy curriculum and worked tirelessly to make it accessible to all students furthermore miss Colin is highly perceptive of her student social emotional needs and is willing to provide unwavering in support to students in this regard her classroom is a hub of student engagement in conversations about reading where students voices are as prominent as hers miss Colin has laid out routines and expectations for her students empowering them to take ownership of their learning this year miss Colin has shown remarkable leadership skills within the ELA department and among her colleagues she has provided essential support to new and Veteran teachers in all aspects related to ELA and our new curriculum resources her doors always open to her colleagues for Quality peer observations and to brainstorm new ideas her Co colleagues continually seek her out for curriculum support and she embodies the spirit of a self-starter and a lifelong learner we wholeheartedly believe that Miss conin exemplifies the characteristics of an outstanding teacher mentor and colleague and is Thoroughly deserving of this recognition the marsh Community is enormously fortunate to have miss Colin on our team and we are exceptionally grateful for her contributions we extend a heartfelt gratitude to miss [Applause] conin thank you thank you to Rebecca Rob Jen Dr Quang and the school committee um thanks to Teddy and Dave and my parents for being here too I feel so honored and truly appreciate my Administration for their kind words and support every teacher at the the marsh works so hard and I'm so fortunate to have the most incredible seventh grade team I couldn't be more grateful to be part of such an inspiring community and have the best colleagues by my side I am so appreciative of the amazing Educators students and families that I work with every day thank you to my wonderful students for working so hard and embracing all that seventh grade throws at them your curiosity enthusiasm and resilience continually reminds me of the impact education has on shaping the future every day my students inspire me challenge me and make me laugh and I'm so proud of all of them MTH is a very special community and I hope our students know how much we all care about them I truly enjoy coming to work every day and I feel so blessed to love what I do thank you Je congrats [Applause] congrats we going to the Tenny yes so unfortunately Mr Hill couldn't be here tonight but we have uh Miss Goyette I believe to introduce our teacher of the year for the Tenny Laura [Applause] [Music] Deo thank you it's with great pleasure and pride that I'm here to introduce Laura deaso as our Tenny grammar school teacher of the year Laura is joined here tonight by her husband Mike depasto and her daughter Emmy her daughter LOF was unable to attend due to her own chorus concert um and she's also here with her parents Mr Mr Abraham and a big Tenny fan club to my right during the past 20 years Lura has worked at the Tenny as both a sixth grade teacher and a school guidance counselor in the lower school she has worked tiously as an advocate for her students learning whether it be in math and science or student social and emotional Learning and Development when the opportunity arose to leave her middle school classroom and crossed the bridge to the lower school side Laura took the chance and decided it was the right time to make a transition from classroom teacher to school counselor as a school counselor she jumped right in meeting and introducing herself to staff students and their families her eagerness to become a part of the low school team was powerful lur is someone who the staff students and their families inst L connected with she confidently and easily built relationships and quickly demonstrated she was capable of facing any challenge headon fourth grade teacher and former sixth grade team teaching partner Alyssa Salzman States Lura will go above and beyond what she needs to do to accomplish something you can truly see her passion for caring for kids and us as colleagues no matter what she what she is always doing she's always smiling she sees the best in everyone and always looks at all angles before making any decisions or judgments she's always helped me look at different sides and different ways to approach a problem or behavior today Laura seen is a leader of the teddy guidance team she mentors new counselors and never shies away from lending a helping hand when needed especially when things get tough Laura is generous with her time and knowledge of our students she eagerly shares her years of successful teaching experience with new teachers that are just beginning their Journey she is an invaluable resource and someone whom anyone can go to with questions and advice her colleague Kim Nutter States excuse me La dasto is one of the very best people I know both professionally and personally professionally because she is an amazing school counselor who is always available to our students in our team she works relentlessly to ensure her students feel safe and supported and valued in all areas of their lives although she's only been a school counselor for four years she is definitely a leader in our department and someone whom I love collaborating and sharing ideas with personally Laura is a great friend who's always doing things for others what is best for the student is always at the Forefront of Laura's decisionmaking and guides her work here at the Tenny her willingness to support all students is profound as she's always able to find the good at every student with a desire to celebrate their successes no matter the size her care for students runs deep and is demonstrated daily in her interactions with students in the classroom and and at lunch in Recess by helping students make positive decisions to develop an inclusive culture where everyone is treated with respect and kindness in addition to providing students with school-based guidance support Lura schedules time in every fourth grade classroom to teach social and emotional skill-based lessons this year the focus was on invisible disabilities and what students may carry in their backpacks to school every day and the size of the problem evidence of her impact within these sessions can be heard by students using this language from their lessons and applying these strategies and settings across our school Lura has helped to build the teny community to what it is today including participating and volunteering in after school events with families over the past two decades she's been a constant positive force in making our school a place where students want to learn grow and feel included we the Tenny Community could not be more proud of a more deserving colleague who has made a difference in the lives of so many congratulations thank you I'm extremely grateful to receive this award this honor is a testament to the support and dedication of the community that surrounds me first I'd like to thank my Administration and my colleagues for their commitment to our students and to each other through collaboration teamwork and Shar sh values we're able to support A Creative Learning environment I'm truly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside so many amazing individuals who are not only my co-workers but also my friends to my students thank you for trusting in me and for allowing me to guide you on your journey every day I continue to learn from and to grow with you I'd also like to thank the incredible support system that stands beside me every step of the way to my family especially my husband my daughters and my parents thank you for for your unconditional love patience and encouragement your endless support has given me the strength to overcome challenges and reach new goals in my career and personal growth thank you again for this honor I'm grateful for the opportunity to educate and Inspire students within the tenning community [Applause] hello there it's okay [Applause] congrats moving on to the timy yes we have a couple schools left all right so I'd like to call up Chris reev the supervising principal at the timy and Karen KRW our timy teacher of the [Applause] year oh there we go hi um I well Karen really loves the spotlight um so I promised her that I'd I'd skip to the script so she can write to the thank you speech so there'll be no jokes Karen no mention of the fact that you're from Wisconsin land of Wide Open Spaces cows and delicious cheeses no we'll stick right to the script all right um I would like to present school psychologist Karen crawl as the 2024 Donald P timony grammar school teacher of the year she's been a member of the methan public schools since February of 1995 Miss CW is a bachelor's degree in Psychology from Carol College Wisconsin and a master's degree in kags in Psychology from tough University in her time at the timy Karen has proven to be a vital member of our school one thing you learn quickly as an educator is that each student is different and needs different things in every classroom you find a wide range of learning styles one of the biggest challenges for educators is to do our best to figure out what that style is so we can provide effective strategies to support their learning process sometimes a student's learning profile is so complex the need for special education is considered this is where Karen and her expertise come in her role as a school psychologist is to evaluate the relative strengths weaknesses and abilities of a student and craft recommendations to help to help make that student successful this inevitably starts with her in-depth understanding of each child she is testing and family with which she works her ability to develop trusting relationships with students during the testing process in such a short amount of time is exceptional and essential in her charge to create the best picture of how the child learns and what they need once this picture is developed Karen Karen is exceedingly skillful and Comm communicating often sensitive and emotional information to families in an empathetic and supportive way her great success I believe is due to her experience knowledgebase and sincere want to help each student with which she evalu Ates her excellent work is instrumental to teachers across the whole building and our pursuit to educate all students Karen is always available to consult with building staff throughout the day I often seek her out for her expertise While I'm grabbing handfuls of pretzels and jamming them in my pockets because the snacks are right by our office um and gaining understanding of different student situations but this is what Karen's colleagues had to say when asked what she brings to the timy Team Karen is smart and insightful she does an incredible job of connecting with the students parents during IEP meetings and is always able to share information in a way that is accessible to everyone in the room she has a wealth of knowledge and is a great resource Karen is always willing to help and is the definition of a team player we are lucky to have her Karen crawl is a TR is truly a gift to this building she's incredibly knowledgeable and has a special way of making students feel and understood while in her presence she's a great listener with the most thoughtful responses who goes above and beyond to capture the entire picture of every child she works with she has a welcoming space that I've entered countless times for both personal and professional reasons I trust her judgment and have learned so much from her over the years we are so lucky to have Karen it's clear from Karen's reports that she spent the time getting to know her students and families in order to make recommendations that best meet the students needs Karen is able to deliver evaluation results to families in a way that they can easily understand as well as being compassionate and empathetic when presenting information that may be difficult for them to hear Karen has a unique ability to form relationships with students and it is clear that she enjoys all the interaction she has with them oftentimes her her students are asking their teachers if they can go back to miss craw's room to do work Karen should be commended for for her enthusias for the her enthusiasm for her profession and her dedication to the students at the timy school so it's my pleasure to present miss Karen KW as the Donald P timony teacher of the year thank you very very much Mr Ree and to the timy administration for nominating me and giving me the recognition but also for all the kind words from the staff this truly came as a shock to me and I'm still finding this quite unbelievable for sure um and I have to say I was first told that this meeting was going to happen in June and then when I found out it was tonight and knowing it's in front of the entire School Community H yeah um this is not my forte after hearing all those strengths this is not it but on a serious note in my position I have the opportunity to be in a lot of classrooms so I see all the hard work that my colleagues are doing on a daily basis so to be chosen over them is definitely humbling the other reason I'm in shock is because if I think about it a lot of the reason I'm able to do my job so well is due to the input I get from the the staff they all know the kids so well and provide me with so much of the information that I present at my meetings I'm always appreciative of the time that they put into filling out my rating scales because some of them are really long and I know that the teachers have a lot on their plates but they really help me get gain a better understanding of the kids that I work with most importantly I AB absolutely love working with our kids they truly are the best part of my day and I have so much fun spending time with them I am lucky enough to be in my position to work one-on-one with them so I can get to know them on a whole different level unfortunately I can only work with them for a short amount of time so the saddest part of my job is that when the last visit is over but they always put a smile on my face when I can see them in the classrooms or in the hallways I just really wanted to give a shout out to my family who unfortunately couldn't be here because they're literally in every other time zone but ours I know that they are cheering me on from afar and to my parents who I love dearly they've instilled in me my work ethic but also my perseverance and for that I'm ever so grateful I also want to say thank you to Nicole and my in-laws who are here supporting me tonight although half of them are teachers so I'm not sure if they're here for me or the contract so let's be real um just as a as a final thought thank you again for all the thoughtful words and I'm truly appreci to be given this recognition I really really loved being at the timy for all these years being with the the kids the staff and the family it it's the best place to be thank you conat good say chees congrats congrats superintendent will you introduce our comprehensive grammar school and Rotary Club Teacher of the Year yes so again the pleasure of introducing Katie pretti supervising principal of the CGS and Carrie capoa who is the CGS teacher of the year and will also be representing methan public schools at the as the teacher of the year at The Rotary Club tomorrow evening I I was trying we're good we're good green good evening everyone I know I'm short right now thank you as our leadership team met to discuss the merits of naming Carrie Cabo a teacher of the year we determined she has qualities that make a teacher not only engaging and successful they make a teacher exceptional Carrie jumps at the opportunity to support each learner encourage colleagues engage initiatives and build mentorship opportunities she's been committed to the success of all methan students and staff for seven years Carrie has distinguished herself as a focused teacher who persists to find strength in each child she works with building trust and confidence her tireless efforts are targeted at building the skills of the whole child when speaking with a student in her current class she beautifully captured the impact Mrs capua has had on her the student remarked Mrs capua lets us work together and helps us to make friends she helps us learn English and makes us better readers just like last week Mrs capio was observed observed collaborating with Administration staff and related service providers to develop support for a newly enrolled student she led with the students strengths interest in what he can do she's never deterred by the students CH student challenges instead she builds on strengths in a positive supportive way to engage the student in partner with the family in a subsequent student conversation it was clear that Mrs Capo's classroom is a place of joy and support of supportive supportive of risk taking risks should probably put my glasses that are on my head on my face okay there we go the student sh that Mrs capua may have a hidden talent the student said we liked when she did a cartwheel in the classroom at Christmas it was a little crooked but it was good when we left for winter vacation she gave us things to remember her and to remember our friends it was a holiday card she wrote nice things to all of us that made us cry these are the typical examples of what Mrs Capa does daily to ensure that her student her Learning Community is one where every student feels appreciated feels confident enough to take risks is ready to learn and gets what they need to succeed Carrie has been an invaluable support to students and staff alike Miss capua's dedication is exceptional and leaves its Mark her guidance has eased the worries of curious educ ators reassured new mentees inspired Excel staff and other colleagues staff members were very eager to share their thoughts about car's guidance and support one shared Carrie deserves this recognition I always see such a positive attitude when she's working with her diverse students she has a gentle and caring approach working with newcomers her classroom management style sets high expectations and she pays attention to each student's needs for example she takes time to notice new haircuts in shoes it's all the little things she always finds and celebrates the good in all of the kids she was meant for this another educator reflected on her own El education and said these powerful words I wish I had a teacher as dedicated to newcomers as car without knowing the language she Embraces them as her own they're not just another one passing through the system I appreciate it immensely because of teachers like her hope becomes tangible it's evidence that Carrie really cares about working together to create highquality learning experiences for students Carrie is one of the reasons that CGS is the best why so many of our children look forward to coming to school and where our teaching Community is so robust Carrie has served as the El teacher leader facilitated summer acceleration Academy groups built Rich Partnerships with families as evidenced at Family literacy night has been an active member of the non odr team and has supported many PD groups throughout her years years at CGS her input is always child- centered and reflects her compassionate and positive perspective knowing Carrie is involved in reviewing eel procedures and protocols making decisions or contributing to an idea is reassuring to her admin team and colleagues as her judgment is always based on what is best for our students any individual who has had the wonderful opportunity to learn from Mrs capua received an invaluable memorable gift Carrie capu is an exceptional educator colleague and a parent cheerleader as evidenced by that catwell would you like to do like a celebratory one are you sure okay it's an honor to recognize Carrie cap is our CGS Teacher of the [Applause] Year good evening it has been so inspirational to hear about all the great teachers tonight that we have in methan and the amazing work that they are doing I am so honored and proud to be here alongside them tonight thank you to everyone who is here tonight to help me celebrate this award thank you to the school committee and to Dr Quang for recognizing my teaching thank you to Katie pretti my supervising principal for your kind and thoughtful words about my impact I have been at the CGS as a Grade Three teacher working with newcomers in the Excel classroom for the last seven years I teach content and language to level one students in that time I have been able to work with many diverse students that come from many different countries and cultures my students have taught me so much and have so many assets that they bring to our classroom every day to share with me and their peers working with newcomer students has become a passion for me people often ask how I do it when I don't speak their native language having consistent routines high expectations and building relationships with students all contribute to the success of our classroom I feel that many students thrive in my classroom not because I speak their language but because I welcome them wholeheartedly and show kindness a universal language for all one of the aspects that I love about teaching is that every September is a fresh slate new personalities to get to know new cultures to embrace and learn from and new learning profiles to work with over the last seven years my classes and classroom dynamics have varied greatly some years have been easier than others some classes have felt larger than I could handle but every year in June when I take time to reflect on all that we accomplished and the progress my students made I feel proud and grateful to be a part of their journey I am excited that this recognition shines a light on our English language learner population in methan as well as our El department and staff our students work hard every day to acquire English and we have many dedicated staff members that make that possible I have been lucky to have many great mentors in the El Department that I have learned from over the last seven years Jane sigillo Dana gastic Mary D Simone Jessica Hubert and Kristen McDougall have taught me so much thank you to my admin team at the CGS my third grade team and my El colleagues for the support the guidance and the friendship that you have given me for the last seven years I am grateful to be a part of the CGS community and for the the privilege to teach in methan lastly to my family you are the most important people to me thank you for always supporting me and encouraging me my husband Andrew and my father Keith two of my biggest fans are here tonight and I look forward to celebrating with the rest of my family tomorrow thank you [Applause] okay don't [Applause] so Madam superintendent would you please introduce the 18th Annual Israel Arbiter Holocaust ESS contest second place winner yes I'd like to call it Paula Simone first and and in the sea of oh I see him there's Nathan Nathan come on up we have Nathan Pichardo to recognize for this award and I'm sure Miss Simone will read a little background about the essay yes I would delighted okay good evening it is my great pleas pleasure to introduce you to Nathan pado Nathan is an eighth grade student at the Tenny grammar school who has been a proud Tenny tiger since first grade he is the son of Mr Jonathan pado and miss lady delago did I join and is the brother of Tenny class of 2020 Alum Chanel pado Nathan is a constant fixture fixture on the Tenny onor and has earned straight days throughout his eighth grade year Nathan is here tonight to read his essay entitled Holocaust this essay earned him second place honors in the Middle School Division of the annual Israel Arbiter Holocaust essay contest for this Nathan was honored on Sunday May 5th by the Jewish community relations Council of Boston at their annual yam hasaa Holocaust commemoration Additionally the jcrc has awarded Nathan an all expenses paid trip to Washington DC for a private tour of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum [Applause] Nathan Israel arrer a famous Holocaust Survivor once said remembering is a way of thinking people who survived the Holocaust teach us that even after going through something awful they can still find good things in life even though the Holocaust was a big tragedy that affected many people we can learn from it and make sure the world never forgets what happens the Holocaust affected Israel arator and lots of other people Israel arator survived the Holocaust and now he spends his life teaching others about the terrible things that happened back then he told his own story so that we'll always remember what happened during the Holocaust Israel arator has helped the world remember how the Holocaust has affected the world and help us learn from it Israel ERS was one of was one of the few people who survived the Holocaust in the course of the second world war the Nazis murdered nearly 6 million European Jews this genocide is called the Holocaust they set up places called extermination camps where many lives were lost also there were concentration camps where they gathered and killed lots of people Israel and others like him were forced to work in Nazi camps for 5 years going through terrible experiences losing loved ones after the Holocaust Survivors like Israel and the world were deeply affected many survivors suffered because they lost family members and went through terrible things after the world the war people started teaching others about the Holocaust so that they would never forget what happened it happened mainly during World War II and left a big mark on people like Israel causing them a lot of pain guilt and Lasting hurt Israel went through a lot during the Holocaust he was beaten starved and lost family members even though he eventually moved to the United States got married and started a family the pain and memories of the Holocaust stay of him survivors like him often struggle with things like PTSD and feeling guilty for surviving the memories of what happened during the Holocaust are still very strong for people like Israel and they remind everyone about how important it is to remember and heal Israel AR wrer has worked hard to make sure we don't forget about the Holocaust and how it changed the world he wants us to understand what happens so we can learn from it survivor stories aren't just like books we can read for fun they're real life tales that teach import teach us important lessons these stories happen to real people which makes them extra special they can Inspire us and make a difference in our lives we shouldn't ignore them because they're important and valuable the Holocaust was a really sad time when lots of bad things happened because people didn't like each other we should never forget about it and always think about people who live through it like Israel arer thank you yeah what she gives me her number you can go up front it's okay I'm [Applause] I need a motion in a second to take a brief recess to take some uh photos please so will second by member U cilia any discussion all those in favor signify by saying I I oppos say n thank you the eyes carry we'll take it will brief recess for five minutes we just have all the of [Music] [Music] [Music] for e [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] for [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh my gavl I left it in the car I have a gavl too I bought one we're ready we're ready [Music] and thank you we are back in session at the school committee business session of May 13 2024 uh Mona will you please call a rooll here may Beth Donovan present Lori Keegan present Kristen Maxwell present Daniel shilia present kth wette here may Neil Perry here thank you um moving on uh superintendent would you please start the discussion on the cultural Council Tenny grammar school Whimsical Courtyard Oasis I don't see her don't thank you here I saw her she was right there oh she's in the bathroom she went to the restroom she'll be right back so uh what we just passed out is a really exciting opportunity and uh I uh when she comes back I'll let her speak for a moment cuz she is representing the Tenny she's representing the cultural Council here in Methuen um but came to me actually in the fall with a great uh idea and to see if we would be open to the idea of having some um I don't know how to describe it but some there's some pictures here that might be better to look at um some different kind of playground opportunities to make our playgrounds more colorful for the kids uh there was a story done I think in North Andover and Andover did it over the summer and had some photographs and so it just sparked the idea in Jennifer and uh we started talking and thought this would be such a fun and great way to have uh some of our high school students involved in planning and painting and designing uh these uh different colorful you know four squares hopscotches things like that um we have uh the Tenny the timy doesn't have as much but most of the schools have some black top area that these could be uh painted on and used during recess time and so uh our Our Hope was that we would start with the Tenny see how it goes and then you know roll into maybe doing another school next summer and another school is she behind me fabulous because I started this sorry no don't say sorry I started this uh conversation so we'll let you carry it on wonderful wonderful so I hope everybody um was able to receive a copy um um of The Proposal with um some of the example photographs sample photographs um so my name is Jennifer lisel I am a local artist and art Advocate uh here in Methuen and um really very jazzed always about public art projects um last summer I'm sorry I'm catching my breath take a deep breath they have some of it they have the they have the idea in their heads right now I think I did okay so last I uh was at a playground with my kids and uh I was blown away by this incredible art at this playground you know the the courtyard just had a a flag on it the basketball court was painted um it was beautiful it got my my mind going you know and I think I sent over some pictures to Brandy and she said oh this is amazing and let's kind of put together a proposal um which is uh what I have in front of you and I'll just kind of to read here um so as We Gather here today I'm really thrilled to present to you an exciting proposal aimed at Transforming Our School Courtyards into vibrant interactive spaces that Foster creativity inclusivity and physical activity our primary objective is to revamp these areas into inviting Oasis that inspires students to embrace the outdoors and engage in imaginative play um after fruitful discussions with superintendent Quang uh we have identified the first school to undergo this transformation makeover um and our goal is to complete the renovation over the summer through grants and sponsorships um ensuing minimal disruption to the Academic Year and that school that we identified would be the Tenny Grammar School uh the vision for this project is to turn our Courtyards into hubs of play and learning seamless seamlessly integrating Artful elements so like Artful I want to uh elements uh uh oh I lost my place now I got so excited about the Artful um into the environment The Proposal that I'm presenting includes examples of what can be achieved through ART including interactive games educ ational in installations playful challenges and sensory experiences I was really excited to talk with Dr Quang about just all the possibilities really that could um come to uh doing a project like this um from obstacle courses to mazes to uh just colorful hopscotches um and for me I have a son who is autistic and was non-verbal for a while I'm very excited that his able skills have um have picked up but there was a while where he was not and um I really love those Doug fluty non-verbal communication boards um you know and it's unfortunate that not every school can have a board but every school could have a painted board right and I really love the idea of incorporating non-communication elements um into these Artful uh um play spaces that were that we're talking about today um so I'm excited to share that Dr Quang uh Mr Hill um Cheryl Mancini have expressed their enthusiasm and full support for this initiative uh together we aim to involve high school and middle school students providing them with the opportunity to contribute to a significant public art project by engaging students in this process we not only Empower them but also Foster a sense of ownership and pride in in their school environment uh and I'm very excited to announce that we have already received a grant for this project uh through the methan cultural Council if um we are able to go through with that uh so some of the funding has already been secured and I think it's important to note that um so in conclusion the transformation of our Courtyards into vibrant playful Oasis will undoubtedly enhance the learning experience of our students this project aligns perfectly with the methan public school's commitment to holistic education and the well-being of our students with your support we can turn this Vision into reality and create spaces that Inspire engage and enrich the lives of all who walk through our school Gates I'm starting to get emotional because it is just such an amazing um proposal and I really hope that all are on board for this thank you so much for your attention and consideration um let's embark on this shy together and create something truly remarkable for our students thank you questions member dagia um thank you Mr chair I don't have any questions um I just have a statement I love this idea um and you and J you and I I Jennifer have been KNN each other for for a long time now and everything you create is just makes methu better so you you don't even need to ask you have my full support no matter what thank you so much thank you remember Willet thank you Mr chairman if anybody's read recently meow and life and the outstanding mural is it was fantastic so if we had that same energy and enthusiasm applied to our schools the world will be a definite better place so I absolutely agree and uh plan to bring it never lose that enthusiasm please we need that in the world thank you thank you Mr chairman Maxwell um so these so all you plan on doing all of the schools and this would be over two to three years the goal was initially over two to three years although um really H istically it might really take a summer per school okay and then this is the budget per School the 350 that is the estimated budget per School although the grant is written for 5,000 I think it's a great idea thank you Kristen so that means we have two extra thousand to make more stuff with to yeah well you know I also you you want to um plan for a contingency so anything that might pop up that I'm not necessarily planning for you did that already I I did I did I know but uh um potentially yes 3000 it's 3,000 per school though right that that's what I estimated here 5,000 could potentially just roll into roll into another school that was kind of the thought yeah and it has to be used in one year the grants through the methan cultural Council um when you get awarded them they are for a year although if you do not use the grant funds in that year you can request an extension of your project um and so we'd be able to potentially do that and request that extension to roll over into the following year Dent well let me just add my thank yous and appre appreciation this is the it's so wonderful when a member of the community sees something that will benefit our students and steps up and takes the lead so thank you for that I especially appreciate that you're it's so inclusive on so many levels and I look forward to hearing more about the uh dedicated mural space where students can contribute um and along those lines you mentioned above and beyond the grant you're hoping for sponsorship so when will we get more information on that absolutely and so as an artist who's done already a few Community projects it's been really wonderful to go to um places like Home Depot um Sheron Williams and just say hey we're doing this really wonderful project would you be willing to lend a um a sprayer you know to clean the courtyard um or would you be willing to uh discount or even donate some of the paints um and so that is what we were thinking in terms of sponsorship for the project um although anybody in the community who um loves the idea of this project and wants to get on board absolutely more than welcome to contact me um or Dr Quang and we would be happy to discuss how we could um involve you in the sponsorship of this project anything else nope are we taking a vote on this Martha no not we just need a a resounding nod yeah it's kind of what we need you know this isn't a vote necessarily but we we wanted to present it make sure everybody was aware of what we were doing and that we want to move forward in the planning and uh how much work Jennifer's already put into this uh we're we're ready to actually start gathering with students and getting timelines and getting the materials so we thought this would be the most opportune time to bring this forward to you so I see nodding all in the right direction perfect thank you all so much very very much appreciated and I really look forward to this project than you okay is the student advisory Council here committee James is here Mr Mayor James come on up updates please um so starting with the spring play that we had on April 5th and 6th Stage Door 22 put on a production of the musical God spell I was fortunate enough to attend it and I have to say they did a fantastic job with the performance um they put on three shows and all of them had a really great turnout um another event that we recently did was the teacher appreciation lunch where the methan high school's Muslims Student Association in collaboration with methu public school F uh Muslim families hosted their annual e out Fair celebration with the teacher appreciation lunch on April 22nd they were able to provide many different types of food from countries all across the world um such as Morocco uh Pakistan Palestine uh and Turkey um the lunch was a very thoughtful gesture from the Muslim Community and it allowed for teachers to learn about all different cultures um through the lens of food which I think is one of the best ways to learn about different cultures um another um great opportunity that we recently had was on Friday May 3rd the college fair which was available for all Juniors to attend um Juniors were able to go to Boston um at the convention center for the nacac college fair it was a great experience for students who were previously undecided on where it comes um when it comes to where they would like to attend college like myself um it was a good opportunity um for people like me who didn't really know where they wanted to go and how to take the first step in deciding where to go to college and I was able to do this talk to many different colleges and um all the other students I talked to also uh really enjoyed this opportunity and were able to meet many different representatives and get some ideas of where to go and they were also able to collect um pamphlets from the colleges to take home so then they could review them at a later time either with their parents or Guardians to learn more about the college as well um we also recently had the band concert on May 11th just this last Saturday where the ranger band they performed in the Nicholson Auditorium uh it was the um symphonic band as well as the jazz band and DHI or dirty hands Inc um and uh I also heard that did very well from students and staff they said they uh performed it really great um on Saturday then we also have the jrc which they just had on Saturday as well uh Cadets participated in a Raiders competition which included events such as a one rope Bridge Land Navigation first aid and obstacle horses and they also have another event this Friday where the ranger Bion will hold its annual pass and review ceremony during which many Cadets will receive Awards and their incoming Bion Commander will get promoted uh during class they're also working on starting a new archery program as well and of course as we get closer to the end of the school year um we're getting close to sending off the seniors this week I believe um this week will contain a lot of nice special days for the seniors many of uh the events that are coming up are the uh senior prom on May 23rd a ziplining trip to boundless Adventures on the 28th a trip to Six Flags on the the 31st and then before the final goodbyes at graduation there will be a senior sunset on June 3rd and then lastly I'm here to talk about the international flags that will be set up soon I believe this was talked about at one of the last meetings we now have all the flags fresh they were they were pressed in Miss s spf's classroom and they're ready to set up around the school and um we're hoping to set those up this summer in the corridor on the first floor so then all students can easily see them thank you good job okay moving on uh that takes us to public participation uh and we have several people signed up uh Dan Stanley just let me remind you stop by saying your name your address and then thank you my name is Dan Stanley 708 LEL Street in methan ladies and gentlemen of the methan school committee I thank you for this opportunity to share my concerns regarding our school's literacy rate as it relates to our media centers as I said my name is Dan Stanley my son is currently a 4.0 student at UMass LEL after graduating from methan high school and the Marsh Grammar School before that I'm the pastor of Riverside Assembly of God here in Methuen and before that I have served as a private school principal an assistant professor of literature and director of teacher training for my denomination perhap but perhaps most relevant is that it has been my honor to serve as a volunteer at the marsh grammar school media center for the past 13 years with the exception of our two pandemic years about four and a half years ago I addressed the school committee to advocate for the promotion of our school libraries four months after that the pandemic hit in-person learning closed down and even when classrooms were opened our libraries were turned into much needed classroom space during the previous school year I worked with principal Gordon to start a mobile Book Exchange at the marsh visiting classrooms with a cart full of books for kids to choose from that year I had five classrooms participate we've started again this year and I I have 17 classrooms participating almost 300 students from the marsh are now participating with the BIW by-weekly book train that chugs into their classroom to bring them a a variety of books to choose from I love bringing books to those 300 wonderful students but I believe there are close to 7,000 students in methan I advocate for our libraries because I know the importance of Library skills and the power of stories in the development of young Minds a study by Scholastic showed that school libraries play an integral role in supporting student learning and that reducing Library staff reduces student achievement in English language arts writing standards graduation rates standardized test scores and even math scores are all stronger for students who attended schools with strong library programs researchers have often found that the benefits associated with good library programs are strongest for the most vulnerable and at risk Learners including students of color low income students and students with disabilities libraries also provide the benefit a benefit which classroom reading cannot author and former librarian Megan Blakemore told me that libraries are one place where students are encouraged to read self- selected books this freedom of choice is vital to a student's ability to develop as a reader Dr Steven crashion of the school of education at USC wrote that free voluntary reading is a high predictor of developing high levels of literacy if you want to increase our methan students literacy rate give them access to lots of literature when I come into a classroom with my book cart the kids cheer and Shout oh Mr Stanley's here Mr Stanley's here but it's not about me because when I leave the classroom their heads are buried in the books that they've chosen and they barely notice my departure this small percentage of our methan students that I work with are excited about their books they can't wait to find something interested to read can we please feed that desire and provide the funding necessary for a well staffed well equipped library for each of our schools our school libraries are so important to our students books change lives they shape our world view by offering different perspectives than our own I have a little freckle-faced Irish girl in one of the kindergarten class who takes out books like my first K Quanza books put us vicariously into the shoes of another and take us for a walk good school libraries will increase our literacy rates but they'll also help us help us to make better human beings I understand that budgets and policies are complicated thing I don't pretend to understand them all but I ask that as you make budgets and form policies please find ways for students to be encouraged to have access to the libraries in our schools 95% of our students have now been without a library for four years some of the most precious formative years have have been lost intentional thought must be given to how we can reverse this trend in my church our children are our most important responsibility and I believe the same is true for any Community including this wonderful City I love our city I love our students I know you do as well please help them gain the benefit that a library can give them I thank you for your time Heather Jones hi my name is Heather Jones I am a teacher at the CGS I have been asked to read this on behalf of Cara blat who could not attend due to an unexpected event she is a veteran special education teacher at the CGS from 2009 and subsequent years our district has grappled with the consequence of the city underfunding our schools then in recent years with only 1 to 5% increase in funding the direct repercussions of this negligence are dire stretching Beyond mere budgetary concerns to impact the quality of Education we can offer and our ability to retain qualified staff and essential program programs it has been repeatedly stated that the city of methan allocated 52% of its budget to the schools in fiscal year 2021 this was a 3% this was 3% more than the state's requirement in FY 2022 it was a 5% increase in FY 2023 it was 3% and in fiscal year 2024 it was 1% over the past decade other districts in our area have been allocating significantly more funds to their schools an average of 12 to 46% over the state requirement for example a district comparable to ours based on the desie site is the city of hail their City allocates 65% of its budgets to schools in fiscal year 2021 that was a 12% more that was 12% more than the state's requirement in F why 2022 it was 14% above in 23 it was 12% and in fiscal year 2024 it was still 4% more than the required amount and 3% higher than that of Methuen in fy22 Methuen was ranked 290 near the bottom out of 317 school districts in Massachusetts spending just 3% above the bare minimum of what the state recommends they should spend on schools this ranking shows the urgent need for increased budget allocation this discrepancy is not just a matter of Statistics it reflects our City's misplaced priorities 91% of Massachusetts districts allocated a higher percentage than methu in fiscal year 2022 this data and other information was available on City websites the Department of Education and the State's Department of Revenue um that cities reported to them as you know from the proposal for fiscal year 25 school budget our special special education student population has steadily increased this year's school budget highlights the number increase over the past decade students with disabilities Rising by 14.9% and English language Learners Rising by 11.6% these members highlight the growing need for specialized services and qualified staff to support these students effectively in Cara's words in my 15 years within this District I've witnessed firsthand the erosion of support systems not from my administrators but from the lack of funding the city has been willing to provide I have witnessed significant changes in my role from managing a case load of an average of 10 students students with adequate support to overseeing a much larger group of 22 students with more diverse needs I am covering two programs simultaneously due to the Exodus of licensed and highly skilled staff leaving for neighborhood districts neighboring districts offering better working conditions and pay this affects the quality of education and contributes to teacher burnout and turnover leaving our most vulnerable students without the seasoned guidance they desperately need for 12 years I was fortunate to work with the core of a very talented team that has now changed due to programs being eliminated while Dr Quang and miss boek and other administrators have work tirelessly to support us and use agencies to fill critical positions providing staff does not mean they have proper training temporary workers often lack experience using incidental teaching Strate IES in a public school setting or experience working with social emotional behavioral challenges at various grade levels and knowing when a student needs modifications or accommodations more importantly they are not in a position to demonstrate a long-term commitment to our district furthermore the city's priorities as evidenced by its allocation of funds to road projects and other initiatives do not align with the urgent needs of our schools the state allocated another 1 million for infrastructure on top of what they promised the city the city's now prepared to add $4 million a year to roads for the next four years using the city's Revenue the city cannot claim a lack of resources we have heard your comments about free cash the free cash reserves have SI significantly increased over the past 3 years to over 27% however we do not understand that the state recommends 3 to 5% increase in free cash this suggests that other departments may be over budget or underestimate underestimating revenue and tax projections it's perplexing that such surplus funds have not been redirected to address the crisis in education why isn't anyone questioning why in the past two years 9% each year was put into this fund since January the mayor has publicly stated that the city's future is bright with Revenue coming in to quote mayor mayor Perry we have seen an economic turnaround in methan unseen in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts The Future Has tremendous promise the cherry sheet was released on the day that the mayor boasted about the city's future this document ensures that local budgets reflect realistic estimates of the amount of Revenue a municipality and Regional School District will actually receive from the state during the upcoming year as well as the amounts that will be addressed assessed upon local governments to pay for a variety of state or substate programs in which they participate and then in February the future was still bright in a state of the city address how could the city be in Peril in March and April we have listened to you at your events and read the mayor's comments in the news several times based on your comments and our research there is money to fund our schools retain veteran staff and attract new teachers I implore the school committee to take decisive action and advocate for increased funding for our district the future of our city hinges on the quality of Education we provide our students and its time we prioritize funding for our schools as the city's largest Department we will be the largest percentage of the budget the school system deserves more it requires tangible support and investment to thrive it is abundantly clear you are missing the mark in funding our schools let us seize this moment to enact real change and ensure that every student in our district receives the education and support they deserve the time for Action is now I'll end with a quote from mayor Perry in the LA Lawrence Eagle Tribune from January 24th of this year my goal is to make Methuen a beacon for people seeking opportunities a place where dreams can become reality and hard workers rewarded when it comes to meu's Brightest days you've seen nothing yet thank you [Applause] Jackie McGloin hi my name is Jackie mlin um teacher at the Tenny um at the last meeting I shared about the importance of small class sizes to maintain the wonderful progress that we have been able to make with regards to reading achievement I touched on the intense disregulation of students who get no support and some of you on this committee have questioned Dr Quan's request for more behavioral support staff in the schools and I will tell you the behavioral interruptions to learning are out of control I asked a colleague to add up the tier one Behavior referrals she has to put in on just one of her students students and this is what was recorded 15 incidents of work refusal Andor Defiance 10 verbal interruptions to her lessons 12 incidents of unsafe Behavior 13 incidents of distracting peers and off task Behavior this is in one day and it happens every day this student receives no Behavioral or academic support throughout the day when admin or guidance are called to help it usually takes 15 minutes for them to arrive um this teacher is expected to deal with all of these behaviors and continue to teach the other 17 students sitting in front of her when guidance has to stay and attempt to get him on task or safe other student services are not happening which means IEPs are out of compliance it's not okay there was a recent national news story that stated 73 73% of school staff have been physically assaulted by students not just in high school but Elementary as well this is not the time to underfund the schools and increase class sizes as the budget stands right now the Tenny is losing a first grade classroom which will increase our current class size average from 18 up to approximately 20 next year and that's before the historical influx of registrations we get over the summer so we are looking at a potential average of 22 two first graders without any Pas member daglio spoke at the last meeting about how adding even one or two students to a roster can negatively change the dynamic of a classroom culture please don't let this happen please do the right thing and keep our schools fully staffed to support our students and teachers thank you is there anybody else that would like to participate okay see none at this time we'll close public participation Port portion of the meeting if you can't make the meeting in person for public participation you can always send an email to Martha suroy at maoy meth. k12.us before 3M on the day of the school committee meeting and with that we'll close public participation I'll move on to the approval of minutes may have a motion and a second to approve the minutes of April 8th 2024 so moved moveed by member Zago second seconded by member shilia discussion hearing and seeing none all those in favor sign by saying I I and for the record Matha I vote present because I wasn't there uh may I have a motion and a second to approve the minutes of April 24th 2024 so moved second moved by member shilia seconded by the Vice chair any discussion on those minutes minutes hearing seeing none all those in favor signify by saying I I oppos say nay the eyes carry unanimously thank you moving on to the staff reports superintendent and assistant superintendent updates there are none this week um does the committee have any questions about the assistant superintendent of Student Services report member shilia looking at the The Residency check it says in process 37 how are those 37 identified are they through regular scans I know we're do all the eighth grade students so that's separate okay so that first chart right there is like the ongoing for the year residency checks so those come in through Anonymous reports staff reports based on information they've received things like that so that is separate from the grade level residency checks and you say here that says that 31 have withdrawn for this school year this school year yep and I know the question's going to come up because it came to me earlier in the week that there's a net savings associated with that right kind of kind of maybe yeah it's it's it's hard to I mean it is a kind of maybe because the students have been added to our October 1 so they count our enrollment for next school Year's Foundation budget um so if they were here in October 1 and withdrew after the October 1st they've already counted towards our enrollment for the next year's budget so that's one so that right so it does count for future budgets so um we don't lose money uh when they leave you know until the next October one enrollment if that makes sense all right that's the that's the key date for us is that October one enrollment our entire next fiscal Year's budget is based on the absolute number of kids we have in our district and what they are what their subgroup categories are at that moment thank you yeah um one other question uh nonresidents approved to stay for the current year I know we've had this conversation I know the answer but I got the question twice sure over the weekend so I just want to have someone address it so it can be out there um we I can certainly address that um non-resident students who are allowed to stay typically are eighth graders or seniors who we don't expect to go to another school and not graduate with their peers especially when they've it's not doing us any Financial change at that point and we just we're looking at the the student I always look at the individual student situation and I have to actually the parents have to fill out it's a very structured process that they have to come to me and ask me to stay and we go through a long process to decide that sometimes it is a stay to graduate and sometimes it's not and what does it mean when a case is referred to student services so that typically could mean that there may be other circumstances such as homelessness that we find out so it gets referred to my department so that I can work with the families around that okay thank you great questions any other questions member Willet thank you Mr chairman and I I appreciate uh Gina doing a a global look back over the last uh roughly five six years and we're close to 400 students that have been removed because of the policy so just imagine the impact of 400 students to class sizes if they were still present and that also will impact longterm the local taxpayers because there's a commitment from the state in addition to the local taxpayers so removing close to 400 students the policy which I drafted is working and we're going to look to strengthen it so I appreciate all the information the data that was provided to us thank you um and I will I will state um because I think member chilia brought it up uh I do have on the next agenda uh for the next week's meeting The Residency policy to review I know you had brought it up tonight but we we'll review the policy um to update that at the 22 meeting and anything think also Mr chairman that's the the impetus for the policy is that every may we review and that's a vehicle within the policy we review additions subtractions what's working what's not working Y and I think it's a good for the colleagues as a committee as a whole to review uh those changes and I am in favor of those changes and I also want to commend anybody who was working with the prior Committee of certain ideas that were presented uh and I think those ideas are going to be incorporated as well so I appreciate that thank you yeah okay moving on does the committee have any questions about the directive Human Resources report you're seeing that and move on does the committee have any questions about the facilities report just one member shilia actually uh two questions how much of some of the I don't know the it's general maintenance stuff here is performed by either School staff or DPW so for example there was the lighting ballister repairs were completed I know we have electricians on staff in the city are we sending that out or is it being completed inhouse if we have the staff to do it we do do it um so like an electrical uh ballast we purchase the ballasts and we have our uh maintenance staff Do It um there are some things we don't have staff Plumbing yeah um Etc or it might be a you know a huge HVAC job where our one HVAC guy can't swing it um but for the most part any chance we can we use the skilled people we have on board yeah no uh no DPW however and there have been times we've reached out to them to help us with trees and stuff like that and fill potholes um I did get a call since the last meeting about smoke detectors in the bathrooms I don't know if that would fall under facilities um there was a complaint for one of our schools that there is a lot of smoking going on in a bathroom it was coming from the timy they said there were no smoke detectors I said I would bring it up and I don't know if that falls under this category but if we could put some up thank you me gentlement I just have two quick questions one it's not on here but oh I think about a month ago we had had the presentation about um Energy savings for the marsh and the in Branch Street and the people who presented said they might be able to do some of the work to not disrupt learning like at the marsh during April vacation um did that happen uh that has not we're going to city council with that next meeting okay um that'll be done over the summer I will also tell you um with the on Bill that we were planning increased our budget a little bit more than I was comfortable with so we did scale it back to just the marsh lower school and we'll do the branch part of it at a future date when there's more money in the budget okay thank you and my second question is I see at the Tenny there's a work potential work for more Ada parking in front of the main entrance what's that going to look like there's what's the change how will it be how will it be different do you know Mr gin I have not seen that drawing yet I know we've been going back and forth about um where the safe walkway should be um I do know that there are a couple varying opinions so I'm not sure it's been nailed down permanently yet so but we are addressing the Ada we want to make sure we're ADA Compliant we just want to make sure we're also safe M Willet I just want to clarify for people who don't know so that the section she's talking about is not the parking lot we just renovated it's actually the it's parallel to Pleasant Street there's a small main entrance there used to be the main entrance not the main entrance anymore but um it's a small entrance it's typically where uh basketball and things go in to get closest entrance to the gym that's the side that we're talking about that was not part of the fully renovated Bus Loop and upper school parking lot just so you can visualize where we're talking about that helps everybody which I know member Keegan you brought to my attention this weekend as well Willet you good okay anything else okay moving on to does the committee have any questions about the out of school suspensions and other disciplinary actions report so if I may sorry may can I just just for two seconds so um you have the same report it's flipped but on the on the the one side you have the same report that you've had for the past couple months and so Dr kovsky and Matt cirra our data manager were trying to collapse a little bit but spread out I know that sounds really weird but um just trying to parse out what those buckets would be to give you I think what is what you were asking for some additional information on those highest trending reasons and these are only for the out of school what are we suspending kids out of school and and um you know whatever question you have we'll try to answer those tonight Dr golovsky will probably take some of those because she spent the most time looking at this data um but but I can assure you and I hope that you understand by looking at these infractions we are not suspending students out of school for um we're not taking it light-heartedly I guess is what I I want to assure you at this point M by chair um it would be helpful with the proc percentage of incidences um to see the actual number of incidences next to it because it is shocking to me that we have criminal criminal weapons and infractions at two of our elementary schools and so I would like to know how many students that actually involves because I mean it doesn't shock me at the high school but at the elementary schools it does and so I would like to know how many students we're talking about are actually what those percentages mean with physical numbers of kids sure remember dentl Dr Quang the The Vaping infractions um you know at the high school and at one of the grammar schools remind me were there discussions a few years ago about bringing Vape detectors into the buildings and did anything I I forget I just don't remember what happened so yes um some of those have been outdated and sometimes the kids work around the detectors that we have so we did have them not in all the schools no and we certainly didn't have them at the grammar school okay okay yeah and I okay I mean they need serious updating um so I actually have Miss Lopez looking at some new options for Vape detections in the bathrooms and I apologize member shabila that's why I made my I paused when you asked me about smoking in the bathrooms it's it's rampant I've already said that here vaping is is happening uh kids are coming to school with Vapes on their person not in their bags uh they're getting it in their homes they're getting it from Friends they're getting it everywhere it is it is a this is not a methan thing this is such a challenge in every school district across this country and so we we we we have to decide and this is what our team talks about a lot how much how how much we're chasing it right we're chasing it we're chasing it we're chasing it we're chasing it um and so it is it's a it's a challenge that I'm not sure anybody has the perfect answer to my colleagues have spent thousands of dollars on new Vape sensors and it it's not it's not curbing the problem right it's not changing the behavior of the students and they're finding new places to vape and they won't go in the bathroom sudden and they go somewhere else to vape and they Vape Around The Vape sensor it's amazing how quickly they learn things so we're we're just trying to figure out H you know how to deter um you know we teach it in health class it's it's going to be really remarkable um to see you know just like what happened with smoking cigarettes we didn't know right until decades later what the effect was on our health right and that campaign has taken decades to make a change in behavior for students not to go and buy cigarettes at the right so so that we're in that we're in deep right now with vaping and and the hardest part with vaping is you're talking about not just nicotine it's th C and nicotine and this is now left up to our staff to decide if a child is is it a nicotine Vape an addiction are they are they altered because it's THC I mean my administrators are becoming really astute at trying to figure out what those different cartridges are and what's in it but it's amazing it's it is a challenge it's a it's a huge Challenge and I just like social media would implore any parent listening tonight to this to really really um you know talk to your kids about vaping because it is it's so it's too easy to get for our kids at the malls and everywhere else um from each other from their homes uh it's just it's vaping I put you know we put vaping on this it's actually not labeled quite like this in infinite campus but most of our infractions that are labeled tobacco are really vaping uh in our schools and so we're just we're grappling with how to change that behavior keep it out of our schools it is probably the one of the most challenging uh things that we're dealing with sorry that was like Debbie Downer a little bit but it's just it's such a challenge and it and it's not it hasn't gotten any better right with with educating and um you know having actual like Health curriculum be have this be a part of it the education isn't changing the behavior so we're struggling with it MX um so I would just like to say that for on member Keegan's point that I I'd like to see the numbers on the percentages because I I feel like a lot of these numbers are skewed especially with when when we talk about behavioral concerns in the schools um I feel like suspensions and disciplinary actions play into that and I I really like I guess I guess you just don't know how many many students are actually affected by any of this and also I feel like a lot of kids aren't being suspended for things that need to be suspendable offenses so I think we need to kind of relook at how we're reporting incidents too because these numbers don't they just don't seem real they don't seem they don't seem real that's all I just um I'd like to see more of the numbers of the actual students uh the reason why um Mr cirqua um who's our data admin administrator decided not to put the actual numbers was because the actual number of total suspensions is on the other side and he thought it might uh look a little clumsy on the on the report so that automatically generates from um Infinite Campus so for instance um the 3.7% in the first row for CGS would be 3.7% of the 103 the 9 UM incidents so we can certainly put that number on there to make it easier for you to read but I don't want you to get the impression that we were trying to hide information for you it's all it's all there um the other thing that sometimes can be a little misleading is that when you're looking at the um the the fighting percentages there that does not represent each event it represents the students participating in the event so if there were to be an altercation where two students were involved that would be counted twice in this percentage because two two students would have received the suspension but it would be one event I thought that fighting was only called fighting if two people engaged right so wouldn't that be one offense one event two people so two people would have been sus supended hypothetically which would have gone into that percentage for two out of school suspensions but one event occurred so hypothetically with the CGS let's say fighting and attacking is 53.7 s% so out of out of out of their 109 incidents that resulted in 62 unique students over the course of year receiving suspensions 53.7% of those students would have been suspended for an incident related to fighting so this is um I think Dr Quang brought up last time that we would take a stab at the report as a as a oh well my mind wasn't going there Mr shilia um but if there's certainly a way we can present it more clearly we're happy to do so um but I think we there's numerous offenses and by bundling them in these um groupings as we've done we hope to find um or or communicate to you where most of the infractions are coming um in the other policy handbook violations category there's a slew of things that could go into that in terms of attendance violations or theft um or um misuse of Technology provided by the schools um but in most cases that was a relatively small percentage so to list them all out would probably have been more confusing than helpful memb so when I requested this uh at the last regular meeting the purpose at least in my mind was knowing that we have to go through the student manuals or the handbooks over the next coming what month or two I think that these numbers give us some insight as to what we need to be on the lookout for what we need to address and it's helpful to have that full picture going into that exercise the outstanding question for me is when we say number of unique students so using CGS because they're at the top of the list you know there were 62 unique students for out of school suspension how many of those students have multiple suspensions and I guess how do we handle that do we just keep suspending kids who are I guess chronic fighting SL attacking or vaping which now that Dr K Quon says it out loud I didn't even think to ask when the people came to me and complain about smoking if it was cigarettes or vaping because the thought never crossed my mind so I mean I guess that's the the the repeat offenders for that for the out of school suspensions I guess is something that is lingering on my mind that I think we need to address from a policy perspect perspective so no no no question it was just just my statement and I I think that it will help us again help us address it come handbook Review Time thank you Mr chair so um and Dr cor you could uh tell me if correct me so a a lot of the um difficulties is the laws of the state when it comes to suspensions um from my knowledge that a student is only we is allowed 10 days worth of suspensions if I am was told correctly and after that they have to have a court date so or or no that no no or there okay so you so we have to be really careful in talking about the laws because there are different sections that and I would if we're going to have this conversation about the handbook everybody should be really familiar with it there's 37h 37 h and a half 37 and 3 37h and 3/4 there are very different laws that go with each of those wait different procedures that go with each of those laws discipline laws and every single one of those also has a non pathway and an IEP 504 pathway so if a student has uh 37h is our uh most uh serious could be long-term suspension or expulsions there's four reasons a student could be long-term suspended or expelled under 37h that pathway if the student has an IEP there's process you have to put in place it doesn't mean that it cannot happen there are procedures in place to determine whether or not Behavior are part of the students discipline uh start part of the students disability or not if it is then we are not allowed to suspend them by law depending on the 37 each 37 each and a half 37 each and 3/4 so it is not this is not like a 5 minute conversation it is super complicated and complex it's all laid out in the handbook that way but there are things that make everything we do around discipline challenging and so we we get the every kid with a behavior problem should be removed from the classroom which is just never going to happen right removed maybe temporarily removed with some interventions which we're trying to support uh this you know with with what we've recommended this year for some some budget support you know from position support um we're trying different things right we we know that I don't want any kids in the classroom that are disrupting learning except I don't have enough people to help intervene right with what that student might need and you know 20 years ago this was a very different conversation student misbehaved they were suspended out of school Behavior didn't happen everybody was saw what happened to the student it just it it it was a deterrent and right now we're not finding that these consequences are necessarily determins for many not all and I'm not you know there there's reasons that we have consequences right we can't tolerate uh these things and so uh you know we also have to make sure that we're looking at each individual case is different I can't tell you that each kid that gets into a fight that has a vape that that is in the in these categories is treated the same exact way because every principle is going to determine that individual situation how did it happen when did it happen why did it happen right something might be three days something might be a day it it it there's that we're talking about little humans so it's really hard uh to to just put these into a black white category and there's and I when I say complex there is so much that goes into uh the disciplined decisions and it's exhausting and it's every day and I have conversations with each and every principal every day when we have complex situations that may result in disciplinary you know um disciplinary action so I know that was a long answer I just don't want anything right it's there's no black and white when it's a 10 you know 10 days is a really important number a lot of different things but it's not a they can only be suspended for 10 days and then they go they definitely don't go to court we don't that's not us right that's there's no like court involved it's the school decision um there are some things that are police related there are some things that are Court related I mean there's just there's so much that goes into these kids and situations it is it is I mean we were challenged with this because it is so comp to give you guys a number and try to try to put this in a black and white situation is not it's it's not easy and it's not going to present that way to all of you so to follow challenging no just to follow up with that I that's what I mean that's what I was trying to say when I was hearing uh all the other members talking about the polic policies and and numbers and all that that um that was just and again districts all districts are different too we from my district and your District um our district I mean um that's why I'm like well if we go through the policies that's a lot to go through um so I feel like we need to be specific of what we're looking for so we could tell Dr Kong exactly where to point to us um but the second um my second statement was combating all this and I know we're doing it in health curriculum but I remember grow growing up and I don't know if there's any other teachers lot that that go back 20 years when I was little going through the school district we actually had parents come in and they would teach us like from tobacco use drug use domestic violence all that I remember um Mrs uh Mrs Marino and Mrs French Gerald would come into our classroom and it was awesome because it was our friends parents doing it to it they would have these big cods with scenarios and ask us how would we go about this how would we talk to an adult how and it was I would just remember it being more impactful knowing that it was my my friend's mom doing it and and I know it's different time where moms and parents are always working but I was just seeing what ended up happening with that yeah I I no I I just remember it and how impactful it was to me and I don't know if we can bring that back because they could hear it from a teacher but if you're hearing it from someone's mom that you're close with and they explain it and they're in the classroom with you I just felt growing up was more impactful than being in health class so it's something to look into maybe maybe thank you m my sh um I just have a couple of things um one I'm just going to State my concern about putting smoke detectors in the bathrooms because we would have fire alarms going off all day long and the kids would no kids would be in the classroom over it so I just want to caution um that idea because we need to like you said you need to figure it out but I would just caution that espe it would be we wouldn't yeah it would be the sensors okay you're right we wouldn't because the sensors actually are uh you know much U they detect a lot of different things so I wouldn't necessarily it wouldn't just be a smoke detector but like a a sensor environmental sensor my second thing is originally when I had asked for all the suspension information um it was because I was concerned that we weren't following the laws about suspensions and that you know other than like you said the 37h the four reasons we suspend right away but the law is pretty clear that for anything else we have to do something else before we suspend and we don't have that support in the in the schools in the elementary schools to be able to do that and so I think it's very important that we're adding the Behavior Support into the schools because of that and we need to find a way to make sure that we are following the laws before we have OCR complaints against us because we need to find alternative ways other than suspensions and so so I see the drug and the weapons charges those sure absolutely those should be suspensions but for a lot of the other things by law they shouldn't be suspensions before we're doing other things and so I want to know what we're doing other than suspensions or before the suspensions for these incidences and I know they're serious but I feel like it's all the elementary schools have is to suspend and we need to change that so that we are in compliance with the laws yeah thank you um so a couple of things things from what you just said and I appreciate that um is you know again we just have to be really careful about how how we're speaking publicly about the four laws so I would again encourage all of us to reread the handbook the 37h 37h and half 37 and 3/4 and the new laws that attach to 37h and 3/4 It's like got another percentage to it right that added a layer of what member Keegan is saying it's not that we can't suspend because there are events that if they are egregious enough and disrupt the school environment we can suspend keeping the kids in school is more disruptive sometimes than it is pulling them out of school and we see that and we live that every day as well so there's a process that we go to our attorneys have written all of our letters we have legal counsel on call all the time when we need it um and so we're very careful in making sure that uh we're not so I don't know how else to to I'm I'm telling I'm being as transparent as I possibly can because I again have these conversations every day with the principles and know how decisions are made um and I'm I'm intimately involved in many of those decisions when it's a long-term suspension or expulsion because I'm the appeal I am the appeal by law right so of course there's going to be legal counsil involved um so so it is not something we take lightly we spend a lot of our time doing it uh I wish I was in classrooms more than having these conversations but this is a big part of our job right now right and it is it can be exhausting and timec consuming because we do a lot of this uh conversation right and so uh my conversation with a lot of principles is hey this situation happened while because of the kids and because of the situation it's not impacting the school day what do you think about this and we talk through it because that situation that might have caused complete chaos at one school in a classroom and the only way to to remove that chaos is to remove the students that might not be the case in another school or classroom or situation when the same thing happened am I making any sense right so it's it's a it really is a situation by situation and taking everything like just thinking pausing we always pause right we we talk about this a lot on our leadership team we have to pause before we act right because we have to think through once we start the process now we're in it you kind of can't take things back once you suspend you can't suspend again if you find something else right so you we we pause and we really think through those things when we have these serious situations happen and and I do with all five of the principles uh I think it's one of the things that we're probably the most thoughtful about um so uh yes there are there are definitely things that we'd have to do detentions or remediation with the student right or whatever it might be first and we do those but there are definitely situations that happen in school that are so disruptive we remove the students and we are able to do that the allow the law also allows us to do that so we we remove the distraction right so we we do talk through those things a lot sure remember will I just a quick question we have the power currently to to confiscate The Vaping devices and the cartridges so that's permanently taken away from the student that's not returned at the end of the day no okay and then in terms of the Code Compliance I know they have enforcement teams that go into the local vendors and do violations and and fine assessments are we detecting and this is something maybe for the followup for the mayor and our local Department of Public Health I know the State Department of Public Health they have enforcement teams that go out and it was concentrated on Tobacco and underage purchasing of tobacco and assessment of major fines to vendors including maybe possibly losing their licenses um I'm not sure if there's a disconnect between the tobacco products strictly with the nicotine Delivery Systems and the and the vaping um and that's something maybe we could look at as a you know as a school committee to find out if the state needs to catch up in terms of enforcement mechanism um and that's something too like I I saw the posters and I know um I think it's called maybe popcorn lung you inhale The Vape it's it's you know very destructive to your lungs it potentially could be worse than uh you know tobacco consumption because it might just destroy your lungs completely and it's an un um tested science right now and the kids of the guinea pigs so like maybe something that between maybe the next meeting or so or the next month's meeting maybe just gather some intelligence on this for the committee as to Again The Code Compliance do we have people from Department Public Health that's going out um is there a discrepancy between Massachusetts and New Hampshire because if they're going to the malls into Hampshire and then they're coming back into Massachusetts um maybe an educ ational uh program and have the posters and the schools I mean the high school might be something that's different audience but maybe the grammar schools and they see the uh delarius nature of vaping because right now it's a fad um it's acceptable um it's not cigarettes so it's a different uh delivery system um so just I I think it's very productive what we're doing as a committee because we're we're asking questions and we're going to look for ANS and I think like member shabil indicated and others is that we'll review as part of the the policy when we review the handbook U but I just my personal thing like I think there's a disconnect right now I think the kids if you you pull them it's it's a harmless delivery device and it's not a harmless delivery device um and that's something that I think education enforcement code compliance May strengthening the penalties in the handbook all those factors have to be included um so that's my food for thought thank you seeing nothing else okay we'll move on to other business all business and other pending matters superintendent will you please start the discussion on the fy2 school budget um so I also want to be cognizant of time Martha if the if you want to vote to go past 9 o' uh I thought we didn't have to vote till go past 9:30 9:30 change the policy though last last week we changed the policy to at 9:00 to vote to go past and then the meeting has to stop at 10: and we'll we'll put the next agenda items on the right I thought it was 9:30 but um I'll take a motion to extend I just want to make sure we don't lose sight of that yeah they moved moved by Vice chair I need a second second second by member shabil all those in favor signify by saying I hi oppos say nay thank you the eyes carry we have approval the move past 9:00 thank you okay so uh in your packet so we were we were um met with the task uh last time we were still off by about just under $700,000 from uh the city's uh final number to what we were presenting um so our team what you have in front of you uh is how we got to the number that the city has given us uh I will say uh we did not uh have many any actually uh we did a retirement incentive for Unit A and B and we did not have anybody take us up on that so uh that was not part of what you see here so we don't feel that's going to be impactful um to the budget so uh what we did it's it's bulleted but it's also in the chart so I I colorcoded it I hope it came out okay it's hard I was trying to find colors that contrast each other the pink and the red were tough um but uh basically what we ended up doing we had a few more resignations we actually used some uh we sat with Mr CFI for the before and after school programs about reallocating funds for custodial Services through his program um so you'll see that in the second bullet um so again we were able and we were able to with the final looking at different revolving accounts um uh we were able to move another professional salary into the preschool revolving account um and uh we reduced the operating budget by 300,000 and we received our confirmation we were looking for last time so we actually moved that money uh so we uh are getting a payment if we didn't already get it this week we expect to get it this week uh and then we also received confirmation that we will be getting a final payment so I have that in writing from desie a final payment for our homeless shelter uh funding we will receive that this summer so we will be sub you know submitting the data from March 1st to June 14th uh and I think last summer we got it mid August uh something of that nature so we are going to expect that as well so that was good news on our end uh so that we could use that in our planning uh for you tonight um so with all of those changes in those bullets we managed to get the $678,000 down to the 104 million it's here somewhere the actual number and uh you know I know when we started this process I we spoke about you know next steps and that the school committee you know at like likely in June we would vote on uh you know over the the summer if additional funds came in this is what the school committee would like to see uh replenished for positions for programming um I am actually and so is uh Mr golin we are recommending at this point that we need to replenish our circuit breaker fund right now so any additional funds we have we have overspent uh oh I shouldn't use that word don't use that word sorry we haven't overspent I'm so sorry no we we you know we're spending more than we projected for our contracted services I don't think that's a surprise to anybody um not overspent I'm please retract that that was awful and I can't believe that actually came out of the superintendent's mouth um but we've spent more than we uh had anticipated and you know we are anticipating having to spend contracted Services next year uh not because I want to uh because I you know I'm not sure what the Staffing situation is going to be just having you know we've posted some of our necessary positions at this point and we're not getting many people applying for those positions so you know we're we're trying to see what we can do to do more recruiting uh we have gone to several job fairs at this at this point and it is not has not been very fruitful for us um so we are recommending that any additional fund so if if we get any more uh you know salary changes resignations that reduce uh all of those funds at this point go to replenishing our circuit breaker account so we can make sure that we are in a really healthy Place uh as the school year starts and so um you know if that changes that is certainly something we can come back to the school committee for but at this point we both feel very strongly uh that we need to work to replenish that fund to make sure we're opening the school year with the highest amount we we can to to to support any of those fluctuating you know accounts that come with uh our special education costs that come with our contracted service costs for staff uh and things that we saw this year so that's what that's what we would be recommending um you know I I outlined just in the next steps what happens next for us uh if the school committee um you know you're not voting on anything tonight you're basically saying yes move forward to prepare this everything that we have adjusted as the final budget right which is what hopefully you brought all brought your binders tonight that we can collect uh that we will prepare this oh members uh that we will prepare your your budget book for the final appr you know for the approval of the budget which happens next Wednesday so um you know that's what we're looking for tonight if you have any questions uh this table is now updated so we've been able to reduce uh most of our positions are reductions because of vacancies unfilled resignations right so I am happy to say that we haven't this this past situation we weren't laying off anybody these were moves that we were able to make because of those vacancies or unfilled positions um we're also hoping that uh you know we know it's we know we know our uh profession we also know we're not over right a lot happens to folks over the summer some choose to go elsewhere um that we may be able to bring back a few of the folks that we uh did give notice that we that would be laid off with this budget um we're hoping to be able to have those conversations with those folks in the coming weeks again if we move forward with this there are some spots for folks that we can bring back not everybody but bringing a few folks certified people back would be great for us so with that we'll go with questions and comments so um by moving the custodial operating budget money is that going to create an increase in tuition for the before and after school so we're not just moving the money to have parents pay pay it no okay I just wanted to make sure that that was the case no no we sat with him and had a very lengthy conversation about what he can and could contribute without at this at this T like snapshot in time no nobody's looking for an increase in any tuition for the before and after school program thank you yeah Mr Z thank you um Mr chair so contracted service is because again I want I want to be clear because I was thrown a number of $3 million M uh and I I just want that and I know you explained it but I want people to understand because that $3 million number uh like shocked me yeah um so I just want people especially at home and staff understand like because I don't like how that number is being thrown around right so we can look at the back page The Next Step so we calculated it so you all can see exactly what we budgeted for for salaries for program assistance this year was 1.2 million of the vacancies right so we've had vacancies we had to budget for those salaries that added up to $1.2 million what we are going to be paying for program assistant contracted Services is 1.9 million so with with that being said so sorry this is what I mean by by our you know projection of contract is we need to have money in our circuit breaker to be able to account for these over this kind of if we don't fill out these positions so okay so that's that's where if you look at those two numbers it's like $3.1 million correct like is that is that what I mean by budgeted no well okay see as home people to me so the amount that we we budgeted for vacant PA salaries in the budget was 1.2 million all right so those we didn't ever pay those program assistants money because they were vacant yeah what we did pay is 1.9 million so what we ended I'm I should have added that the the what we ended up paying more than we anticipated with the budget salaries was $700,000 so you don't combine that I didn't I didn't pay out 1.2 million in salaries right those were the vacant positions that we had to fill with contracted Services yeah and what I'm saying I'm sorry Mr chair so what I'm saying is that number that there uh our paers have said to us this is where they think because of the vacant positions of budgeting I'm I'm assuming because I keep hearing from the $3 million I clearly understand that it's 1.9 yeah but I just want them to understand because I don't understand why they keep saying our numbers that that number so that's why I'm asking that question where they could possibly have found that number which they saw the vacant positions of 1.2 I think there was an an estimated value that they were based on that I calculated it after that the last meeting that we had that that number was thrown out so I had our special education department actually cost out what the last invoice would be right we're so close I can actually cost that out which they did for us right and the program assistant vacancies are 1.9 million so I don't want to confuse this though because there's other this is the hard part about this nothing is black and white and nothing is really easy around here right because there are these are this is a one for one PA salaries I budgeted 1.2 million for the ones that were vacant right the Pas that I had to fill because those were vacant that were critical positions 1.9 million now that doesn't mean because every year we have contracted services that we provide for whether it's uh additional speech whether it's rbts that we need for certain kids shorter short-term longterm right we we do account for that because that's not a group of people that we have in the dist you know a capacity right so we have contracted Services other than this that we are has nothing to do with a program assistance right so that so I do think it was an estimated cost of like maybe everything that they had at one point they had a snapshot in time um but you know I promised them I promised you guys I'd calculate it and I did no and that's the thing I I just when I heard that number come out I was very shocked by that and I want them especially the PAs to understand that because when they when they say that number it's that's a lot of money for contracted services and I just want them to understand that the regular budget that we paid out was 1.9 like we recalculate can I bilia I want to try to clarify that because what we paid out was an additional 700k correct it's not 1.9 that's why should added that one line of like what we actually paid over right is 700,000 we had to make sure we had budgeted and contracted services to pay over what I had in the approved budget for the salaries so I'm missing one line there I think to help clarify that you're right yeah I just want to make sure that's clear because these numbers are going to come back a couple of times to us probably yes and it's not an extra 1.9 that's baked in it's 700k overage from where we budgeted for position for for staff correct versus what we had to contract out so I want to make that clarification that's correct M member Willet thank you Mr chairman have we ever with your association with the association of school committees have we ever mapped out because there's now a 75% reimbursement from the state right have we ever mapped out the differential if it was 100% reimbursement for the state if we ever had that done like the because we're talking about uh the proposal in the Senate to do 75 million do to for free tuition of community colleges and yet we're scrambling to provide services to a a well-needed population and then we're sacrificing other portions of the budget and I don't think that's fair to anybody period so have we ever map that out like if we 100% reimbursement the differential on it anybody yeah well yearly the uh special Department actually calculates what 100% would be over over the minimum so they only reimburse over a certain threshold um they do calculate what that 100% would be and then we determine we used to use um a number of 63% because the state was historically underfunding it um they've been better at funding it at 75% so that's what we've been we've been allocate um offsetting 75% of those tuitions based on that that number so every year we do calculate what it would be if we were get 100% of it back and we only we only take off 75% off our budget so what would be the the difference in number what would be the number we' have off off the top of my head we're talking this year just hypothe you know hypothetically how would this year I'm going to say about 2.5 million so close Mr okay if it was so projection for next year we're looking at it would be about a 2.2 okay difference all right and with 100% And I think what we're we're top 20 uh District population wise has that changed are we still in a a top 20 I'd have to look I know we were like 13 at one point but I'd have to look okay all right so if you magnified it across the you know the the Commonwealth the difference between and again they should be maintaining their promise it shouldn't be one year 63% because that adds uncertainty to the budget so it should be always 75% according to the law or the people the special ed uh population should be waging lawsuits against the state but if we're talking about doing free tuition at community colleges which again I don't have a problem with that but the foundation is K through 12 and that's where we're losing out is that that if we don't educate these kids and we have increases in class sizes those kids are going to be going to community colleges requiring remediation so if we're not doing it that you know I know they're talking about uh preek and that's important that's a foundation K through 12 is a foundation and Community College is a foundation because right now all we get is money for like uh free meals and I think there was something about um enhancements to the Energy Efficiency of schools but we're struggling as a school district to make up gaps because of a person happen stance might be special ed and that's not fair to their family or to the school district or to others if we're we're sacrificing every year so I think maybe at the next school committee meeting I might just do is a is another letter uh to the state that if we're talking about a Millionaire's tax and they're talking about re allocating monies I think that's a major factor is a circuit breaker law it should be 100% because you're talking about medically involved students uh out of District placements Transportation everything under the sun and they deserve the education but we're we have to sacrifice other portions of the budget and that's not fair to anybody period so that's it that's all I can say because because the state again is short changing us and they're looking at other things and it was funny how Mr shabila hit it right on the head he said x amount years ago he looked at buying a house in methan because it was the strength of the educational system in methan and I guarantee you right now is that people are looking in the paper and saying all these different communities are cutting collectively hundreds of millions of dollars from the education budgets and say well maybe New Hampshire might be a better Prospect for us and don't tell me they're not doing that so this is a disgrace what's happening and I feel that we need to really focus with Beacon hell collectively on this thank you I just another one more note you'll see so as we prepare the budget books for you uh if we move forward with this you'll see we didn't we didn't zero out and strike through all of these positions the positions are in the budget we don't feel we don't need these positions we're we're keeping them there uh especially a lot of the ones at the high school are there through attrition uh and so you know those are going to be challenging uh for sure so you'll see them in the budget as a dollar that holds the position right that we wouldn't come back to you each time or next year and say these are new positions when they really are just they've they're we're carrying them forward and hopefully next year's finances look different uh from the state too that we can start putting these positions back right the one thing we did we did hold uh and I you know I don't I don't disagree that a classroom of 18 is is a far better place to be than a classroom of 22 or 23 um but but we held on not going up to 25 in any of the k4s so you know there are I told you guys last time there there are definitely in the C in the 58s at this point uh pretty consistently class sizes of 20 3 to 25 right 22 to 25 um is what we were looking at but not over 25 uh and we did not go down to the K4 to reduce more to get to 25 I think that was I heard that loud and clear I believe in that uh you know but uh we did go through for enrollment purposes to see where you know there was attrition that we could actually move in that direction so just real quick again so what is going to be the class sizes again because I'm just scrambling through this is summary from May 3rd so so what would be easier is when when we take your budget books and we actually put those um three hole punch and we're going to put all the sheets back in you'll you'll have the class size for every grade level in every school right there it's recalculated for us if we had to eliminate a position or move something around around or or worked with enrollment all the average class sizes are in that book but our Target was 5 through 8 we did reduce a few positions few more positions the last time we met 5 through eight right that was something I heard from the committee not to go down to K4 um and we did that at the high school as well by not filling right each department uh is is losing a staff member again mostly through attrition or vacant positions already uh that we haven't been able to fill it's just been challenging so that budget book would have that in there but K through uh 5 through 8 right now 23 to 25 we didn't have any that we calculated there was no class rooms no average over 25 and to you Mr chair um and for the public to know because again walking around the uh town in the last week The L Word was thrown around so how many in total layoffs did we L word do we have it's lay I mean I just want say it yeah so we had conversations with six people about their positions being eliminated that actually had people in them so so this is what I said earlier of the six people there are a few that we're hoping to bring back right so if we move forward with this through attrition people leaving we have some moves we could actually bring a few of those folks back not all of them there there are some there are some that might fit and so those are the conversations right this is the human part of this process right I'm meeting tomorrow morning with the principles at 8:00 a.m. and this is what we're talking about if we're moving forward if the school committee is in agreement to move forward with this then that's what we're going to do and we're going to start having conversations with grade level teams and teachers and people and start having the human part of the conversation uh and putting your budget binders together um just a quick question um so with this we will have class sizes higher and it will be 25 students to a class no so it's an average of 23 to 25 definitely not an average of 25 across the board 23 to 25 with this proposed yes in the upper school with less like um what are they uh pas Paris so there's no there were no Paras in addition in the upper school the Paras that were part of the sr3 grant were only in the elementary okay well there was actually I shouldn't say that this year they were k through eight so they might have been supporting some of that for School classrooms so that that was away that went away yeah that those were Grant funded everybody knew those were temp temporary positions Co Rel go up in 5 through eight and in different places in the high right there's going to be pockets of places in the high school where we'll see some increased class sizes as well okay anything else on the budget so do you need uh an approval from us are you looking for I'm just looking for a like do we agree to move forward because once we once we start doing this tomorrow we're going we're updating everything so all of the entire budget is in an Excel spreadsheet so where we would be reflecting these these layers of changes in the school by school plus minus right you'll get a new one of those and you'll get new spreadsheets of staff and you'll actually get the whole for each school you'll get every single line in an Excel spreadsheet copy leases all of that so uh so actually I'm I'm just confused because this is my first time that I'm well thinking about this now if I don't agree with this budget which I'm going to say I don't that doesn't change the fact of me allowing you to move forward but there's a possibility that I could vote no on the budget sure okay and I could State my reasons why at the next meeting okay all right that's what I'm saying I just don't want to say yes then I'm in down the road saying you're not voting on anything official tonight I just need to know how to proceed because the timeline is tight right we have our public hearing on Wednesday the 22nd at 6:00 am here I'm sorry 6 maybe 6:00 am. 6 a.m. would be better yeah 6 6 p.m. here is our public hearing right so we'll open it for public hearing our meeting will follow right after that where you're going to approve the budget it's a it's a section by section approval and then we will have our regular meeting or you can vote no and the outcome of that evening is is needs to be in Maggie's the cfo's hands the next day correct because then we go in front of city council you recall we voted no on things last year at the end so yeah so I go ahead member Matel I just have one more question of course um I don't know if it's listed in here so you know excuse me for asking if it is but are the risks and the interventionists still a part of the proposed budget not taking those positions out correct so what is so very good question because that you wouldn't see that here so yes so we did not at we did not remove the risk coordinator we did not remove the crisis interventionist I did not remove the special education teachers I need uh the subpar teachers that we need uh and I did not remove the ESL teachers that I have to have at the Tenny in the high school so so those new positions are still part of this budget so we worked through all of that to make sure that we had staff for compliance Services I I hear you the Behavior Support is I feel feel very necessary um you know especially if we are increasing class sizes in some places I think that support's going to be more important than ever to move forward I'm a dlan and to follow up on that discussion so we had talked a couple of weeks ago maybe about uh your staff looking at alternatives to providing support and discipline like um a Saturday detention some after school perhaps if it's not if these offerings are not supported by the people who are being hired or could be hired is there money in the budget to move forward with to pay staff to to staff yeah so another great question so we would look at we have money in the budget for stip professional stiens um we've accounted for the stiens that already exist the one thing that we we will not be able to so so yes we're looking at different creative ways to help for after school detention Saturday schools things like that um the co the the cost that is we we cannot budget for is a bus and so this is this has been our ongoing conversation over the past few months as well is if we offer this there is no room in this budget for me to provide just freely provide transportation a late bus after school or a Saturday bus for kids you know we we just we don't have that option in this budget um but we potentially have an option for staff we have to look at it I mean I I that's a that's a definitely a summer planning uh to see where we end and and where we land uh to start the start the new year but we are talking about it we have been talking about some creative ways you know the high school has Saturday school and after school and different programs uh and they do not have buses and and we do they do kind of make it work it's not you know perfect but um I think it's worth trying without a bus you know if it's something that that is working and we try it and it's something we want in place for the future I think that's where our staff is right our leaders are at like let's give it a shot because what do we have to lose right if we if we try it and it doesn't work and kids don't show up and can't get there then we got to go back to the drawing board but if we do this and we have these opportunities and we can we can organize that uh again we have nothing to lose by giving it a shot so definitely part of our conversations yeah I'm confused at why we would have to um prepare for transportation for disciplinary matters like if if we call a Saturday detention because you broke the rules at school that's on you and your parents to get you to Saturday detention and if you can't fulfill that then that goes on to the next disciplinary matter so why would we be responsible for their transportation uh it's it's just thinking about how the the sheer numbers of families that we have that don't have transportation that do take our buses uh we have a better shot of kids staying if we have a late bus of some kind to do that um so we're just trying to be thoughtful about that conversation okay just a time check we are now at 9:27 we have 33 minutes left um any other direction on the budget that you want to give to the superintendent and please yeah just as you leave tonight just drop your binders here um and we will uh will'll work to make sure that we get those all cleaned up and in your hands by Friday okay thank you okay moving on to new business we have none excuse me we put it yeah but we put in business of the committee I think Ryan is put business of the committee yeah yeah no yeah no it's okay um so does the committee have any questions on the expenditure report so I know that it's noted in here that there is some available funds due to vacancies that are going to be moved to c breaker I was actually going to remind you of that when you guys were having the conversation about the the 700,000 of Pas yes and um so my intent tonight is to ask you to transfer a total of 1.9 million into contractual services that will do two things I'll be able to replenish U that $700,000 into circuit breaker as well as pre purchase $1.2 million in tuitions fy2 tuitions to offset the FY 25 budget when we get into the 13th month for accounting purposes is there a chance that there's any left there will be more so so there will be more trying to get out without saying I'm not down the penny right now this is a conservative estimate I don't want to take money out and then have to put it back like so this is a conservative estimate there will be there will be some don't get too happy I don't Invision there's going to be another million um something's better than nothing yeah but there will definitely be we're in we're in a good spot well well because of the vacancies financially we're in a we're a pretty good spot um but we have used a good chunk of our a circuit breaker so I'd like to re replenish that before it goes away and this is a conversation we've had you know in years past and the cafo was fully aware that we're doing this this is practice that I we put in place probably six years ago and anytime that we can we should and that was something that when she came on board and Sean Cronin yeah definitely told us the first year we need to get the circuit it's the only account we have that we can carry forward year to year and we know we're going to use there's we need that money we know we're going to use it so uh it's good practice and as if on Q I will say may I have a motion in a second to approve the transfer of funds in the amount of $900,000 from professional salaries cont to contracted services so moved by member Doo seconded by the Vice chair discussion hearing and seeing none all those in favor to signify by saying I I I opposed say nay thank you the eyes carry unanimously ma uh may have a motion in a second to approve the transfer of funds in the amount of $1 million from other salaries to contracted services so moved second moved by the Vice chair second of my member dis aular discussion hearing and seeing none all those in favor signify by saying I I oppose say nay eyes carry unanimously thank you mother thank you moving on to the revolving funds report does the committee have any questions think there is a no moving on to the grants report I'm sorry I'm playing catch I'm trying to read the notes uh for the Lost Books Chromebook repair I see that for year to date we've only spent $61 but we've brought in almost 16 Grand what is that money used for it we're in the process of purchasing Chargers replacement Chargers and parts for Chromebooks uh we just haven't bought any yet so when somebody loses a charger and they pay whatever that is $20 or whatever it is it goes into that account we're in the process of getting quotes to purchase mass number of charges those will then go out to the schools and the offices so that when a kid needs to buy one they can buy one and there was a a a slew of grants that have the remaining balance that matches their FY 24 starting balance will those all be zeroed out by 6:30 I mean that's our goal unless it's a multi-year grant I can go through those with you like personally if you'd like yeah but why does I'd have to look to see which one you're talking about it's an I think we have the wrong report we have the wrong report it says 10312 it does say 10:31 23 I'm still the signed by docy sign though we got we got the electronic signature right got the date wrong and the report maybe the report's right and the date's wrong no cuz those were when it says Needs set up that's what we did when we started munis so we know those are all set up paid out that's okay that's what clued me into look at the date it's okay we will have an updated one for you I will reserve my question until we we'll get that Grant report to you tomorrow um it's um we because it's all electronic the wrong tab was pulled it came up she pulled the October tab instead of the the April tab so it it's in the spreadsheet it's just the wrong tab was pulled and I'll get it to you tomorrow morning new platform jitters got it we got the electronic that's why I'm proud of the fact that we got it all electronically sa signed moving on to the grants report does the committee have any questions moving on to the Student Activity counsil does the committee have any questions go ahead member Maxwell the the Student Activity accounts I know I have a lot of questions when it comes to that I'm sorry Ian um how does I'm just looking at the high school but how let let's say the yearbook for instance how does the yearbook teacher access money if she needs money to make something happen for the yearbook Club um so say they're going to buy yearbooks yep um we get a quote from the company they send us the quote with a dispersement request I mean kids have paid for it the money's been deposited we have the quote that check is prepared for that company and is sent out and then the yearbooks are delivered or purchased okay so any any of the clubs the teachers just come and request the reimbursement or do they just request the we strongly encourage them not to do reimbursements right just say I I need this yeah like if you collect money for a field trip collect it deposit it yep now that teacher has to come back with grade one team lead and says Okay um the Museum of Science cost this much y with the quote but I need it from the Museum of s yeah and then a check would be prepared okay Y and how long does that typically take like the turnaround for that so if you needed band equipment and there was a band concert how long would they need to request it before we prefer they do it a week at least a week out okay so a week preferably more we often get stock with we have a field trip on Wednesday how do I get a check it's Tuesday night that's crazy so sometimes it's magic I just wanted to make sure that it was accessible to the actual team lead or the teacher that was leading that program yes okay yep I'm moving on to the Food Services report committee have any questions I always have questions balone and cheese bolog and cheese yeah okay moving on to contract approval may I have a motion in a second to approve the contract for the Tenny grammar school electrical updates project awarded to Lifestyle electric 100 sweet Hill Road plasto New Hampshire 03865 in the amount of $ 76,1 so moved second by member wette second second by Vice chair discussion M shilia so my first question is I know a lot of this contract is templated but for the uh the DIY sections who proofs those does do we have a council that reviews that is it reviewed by well it's reviewed by the purchasing department all right yeah procurement um so I guess my feedback for uh under definition of terms what they're calling substantial completion I think given the scope of this project that's a little too vague for my liking um we're talking about what live electrical on this one yeah and substantial completion when you're going to have how many kids running around the building I mean that's um Let me let me explain exactly what this is um while they were doing the roof last summer it came to a middle section where they're about to redo the roof and they found Electro electrical conduit underneath the roof in a in a manner in which it could not stay there um because they were afraid that they were going to penetrate those lines Etc so they stopped that Port that the project that middle section was not done until that electrical could be rerouted underneath the roof inside um to in a safe manner um so we went out to bid for that that's the quote is once School is out we have no skid kids in there the roofers will be coming back in we'll be shutting off that electricity so the electricians will be working underneath rerouting the electrical while the roof is finishing the middle part of the roof so at no time it's not going to be if the worst stuff happens and this does stretch into September at no point is this electrical no in a electrical has to happen first yeah so they can't come back and do the roof into electrical so once they once they take care of all of that and start rewiring underneath safely then the roofers can come back so some of the work can be done simultaneously but the electrical has to go in first to take care of what they need to when it can happen until we're out of school because power has to be off to do that right um my other comment is under Section uh 4C for permit and fees unless otherwise expressly provided uh the contractor shell secure and pay for all permits licenses and so on and so forth I would move to strike unless otherwise expr ly provided I don't think we should be letting any contractor anywhere in the city avoid getting their permits and inspections so that's fine I I imagine if they're doing something for inspectional services maybe they don't need it I don't know it's a boil it's a boilerplate I don't know all the situations where that would come into play um but there might be some situations where uh permit's not required but they'd probably need written proof of that in this case they need a permit this allows a you know a handshake between the project manager and the the vendor saying hey don't worry about it you don't need a permit and we should be taking all necessary precautions and getting our our building inspector and electrical inspector out there to do their thing so with that that how do I have to like motion to make that change how does that work or is it just something you guys do I can do it I can do it no problem um I can change the template that we used I that's not an issue it's not signed yet hey I'll have to actually it's signed by them it hasn't been signed by us I won't sign it until you guys vote on it but um we'll we'll send it back to them and make sure that they are aware that th that section was stricken but I think the safest way is to take a vote on the a recommended Amendment to the contract right so removing that statement so there's an amendment a friendly Amendment on the floor to strike you want to repeat the words members really yeah in the actual section again to strike uh section 4 C unless otherwise expressly permitted uh provided say it again yeah so all those in favor of that CH well we have to go to roll call I'm sorry did you do a motion in a second oh we we did do a motion didn't we do that not yet I'm sorry fade uh I need a motion and a second second second I I got a motion from Member shabil I got a second from the vice chair um I think we have to go to roll call because you have to make a note that member Willet has left the meeting at 9:38 p.m I already did that okay thank you um so roll call if you would Matha second M dolio yes member denovan yes member Keegan yes member Maxwell yes member shilia yes Manel Perry yes unanimous 60 thank you and one more and my last one on this one uh four p uh last paragraph down there it says the cost under C shall be added to a fixed fee to be agreed upon but not to exceed 15% so the ambiguity that creates adding 15% to the already large number of this contract $76,000 if we're going to say we're going to add something let's put it in writing let's not contract to come up with a number to be determined later I agree with that usually we get change orders and those are correct yeah has to be a change order yeah has to be a change order Point Clarity what what does that mean like I'm just asking a question now like I'm curious I have no idea what you just said so explain that to me with the 15 so it's the fixed fee to be agreed upon but not to exceed 15% of the actual cost of work relates back to C which is two lines above power and consumable supplies for the operation of power equipment so think of it as brakes on your car they're charging you uh let's call it a VG on the stuff that they're using that is consumable that they're not going to get back so in this case it may be I don't know conduit or crimps the one time used crimp things I'm not an electrician I don't know but it's it's that stuff and the power to power them which they're using our power so they're I assume they're going to plug their equipment into the outlets in our building so so going off your the brake analogy so I Supply the brakes and they're put like charging me to use my brakes to plug in the bolts no no like I'm just trying I'm confused what your analogy I'm like I said I'm just curious just trying to learn this you're paying for the brakes yeah and then they're charging you for the tools they're using to put those brakes on in addition to the fee they're charging you for the service okay okay makes sense now thank you so I mean that's my only gripe if if we can be specific are you looking for an amendment or I don't I I guess maybe okay um everything in there I I'm assuming they're not going to open it up and see a different rat Nest than what they've already seen right um so like if I was worried about them opening up something that hasn't been opened or they don't know what they're working with then the that's unforeseen like change of work is a change order section is in here yeah this is has nothing to do with change orders this is a consumable expense change unexpected unexpected CH unexpected they know they're doing electrical work they're going to show up with electrical wire that's in the quote like change orders are listed somewhere else I don't have it highlighted because I didn't have any issues with it um but this one is relating back to C this says there should should be no changes in the work unless agreed upon yeah so if there's a scope change they open up the ceiling and all of a sudden they find another conduit underneath another conduit and they'd have to be in agreement that's that's a different right yeah so no changes to the to what we asked them to do unless there a formal agreement that's how I read that right all right so we voted yes on the friendly Amendment we still have to vote yes on the contract so I need a first and a second so moved by member shilia second second by the Vice chair any further discussion arthuro um because of these questions being drawn up I'm going to vote present because I'm now confused May Beth denovan yes Lori Keegan yes Christ Maxwell yes Daniel shilia yes that's now present May Neil Perry yes motion carries thank you thank you all uh may I have a motion in a second to proove the contract for the methan high school walkway parking Improvement project awarded to JJ faen and Company excuse me JJ faen and Son Company Incorporated 120 Lumber Lane tuxbury mass 01879 in the amount of 1 million $195,000 so moved second moved by the Vice Chair seconded by members is aular discussion member shilia make a friendly amendment to par section 4 C to strike the first four words unless otherwise expressly provided same thing it's the same thing from the last one okay so moved second uh motion by the Vice Chair seconded by member we have a friendly amendment to strike 4 C uh section 4 C uh I didn't get all the words I'm sorry unless otherwise expressly provided thank you to strike unless otherwise expressly provided I know yeah y I'm I'm G to Let It Go for right now but we're g to chat yeah yeah yep I understand it's in the it might be in the car I understand the use of templated contracts nobody writes contracts from scratch anymore this is that's they just don't do that but like uh so we have the fly Amendment on the floor we need a roll call vote on that please member daglio yes member denovan yes member Keegan yes member Maxwell yes M shilia yes may Perry yes thank you that carries unanimously so then we're back to the contract itself uh to approve the contract at the amount of$ 1.95 million one more thing go ahead uh knowing that this is uh Ada uh project stemming from let's call them Ada issues Y no it's it's a yes and yes and yes and no it's an it's an ice rank change in entrance with Ada parking we're going to change the entrance of the ice rank door right so that people are not wandering through the building right so that is the main focus for this project with the addition of changing the Bus Loop to make sure we have everything compliant that we need in the Fieldhouse the new ice rink and the field yeah and I say that because the funding from this is coming from Esser three yeah to get approval for and the main part of this is the ice rink door that we're Shifting the parking and the main entrance to the ice rink around back so we do not have to keep that auditorium door unlocked and people running through the building um for the ice rank but then so then there's a piece in the front that the city is paying for around the Bus Loop yes to provide spaces and then subsequent to the parking lot so that contract is on city council agenda for May 20th and then subsequent to that um will be the the uh tennis courts the Ada walkway and the pickle ball courts which is a third contract right so they're sequenced we'll be at the city council meeting correct with with Bruce and Steve Angelo and the mayor going through all three of these final approvals they all kind of are city council has interest in this obviously for all the right reasons so these three contracts will be presented to them but because the fundings you have authority over the funding you need to approve the contract so my concern is methan historically going back more years than I am probably aware of has not managed its ADA compliance very well and I just want to ensure that we are keeping a close eye on this be it the mayor whoever the engineer is to make sure that three years after this is done we're not getting an ADA complaint because it's not compliant well I can tell you it is something that the engineer is all about and we actually went even to myself and Bruce took the plans and went to the disability commission and had a public meeting that we spoke about it there um you know and showed them the plans and made sure we had all the right numbers of spots and the right locations where we could um to make sure that we are in a much better space for both the entrance and the Bus Loop area and the ice rank I mean we really are um expanding and adding accessibility to this building tremendously yeah just a quick um ju that's the thing going off of members shilia uh of the past history with ada8 compliance not just in this area but throughout the whole town I would like to like have updates with the engineer as well maybe bring him in just to keep us updated as well I I love that you went to the disability commission or like that but I feel like if all parties are in the loop and we keep asking those questions we can relate it back uh to our constituents as well I just feel like just keeping us in the loop I don't know what to say I know I I don't I don't know um you can add any updates to the um facility report yeah oh maybe that's the way we can do it say asking I didn't want to bring so we the city of mthu in receipt of $100,000 grant that council is going to accept the 20th to assess all the school buildings and for egresses and entrances right so to do the whole any public building is going to be assessed right and there'll be a file kept um you know does the city have a great track record no but I mean I I would tell you we have an ADA officer who's presides over that so so somebody whose position in the city is to what she applied for the grant she got the grant for $100,000 and now we're going to roll that out and assess every building and see you know is it not just because when you say can you bring the engineer I worry about bringing the engineer from this project in I mean he when he's when the project is done he's gonna walk away right so his job is not to keep the city mindful of ADA his job is to make sure that what we have is ADA Compliant right yes um isn't this work being done over the summer when we don't have meetings anyway so having updates is Impractical yeah yeah I mean you're right yes I mean we hope I mean that we you know we expect the ground to break on June 17th corre right so we get out Friday and we expect just like the parking lots Last Summer the the next day they will be machines on on site um this one is particularly uh tricky but super important um you know I think Bruce and Stephen and the folks from the city with Steve gagan and Joe I think they have a good handle on the scope of this Pro it's massive right so you can imagine what that side of the high school is going to look like and also the front so we have some Logistics to go through because the high school has to function in the summer right with programming so you know Mr Bon and we've already started talking about that and we're going to meet with the senior so like Logistics whereas people are going to park is Ranger road going to be blocked because of construction right so so we have some work to do to make sure everybody knows uh the community knows you know where you can and can't drive in but it is going to be uh pretty phenomenal right and so we also know that the Bus Loop has to be done by August 25th correct the tennis courts we know are going to go into the fall and we were we have to be okay with that you know there's no season there's no that that's before the winter that has to be done so it everybody's been working together it is a massive project but you know we're just we're confident with with who we're working with and what we need to get done and the people who are going to be managing it can help us you know maintain the paace of it but you're right we don't typically meet in July um you know but that doesn't mean I can't keep you updated through pictures and emails and everything else over the summer that you guys would love to get all right 95 5 p.m. he said so we still need to vote on the contract itself I don't believe we voted we voted on the friendly Amendment we did not vote on the contract correct correct so MAA can you call the RO quickly member dolio yes Donovan member Keegan yes member Maxwell yes member shilia yes Manel Perry yes thank you all unanimous carries uh notification of appointments and other Personnel matters there are none busit from the committee may have a motion in a second to approve the the transportation subcommittee minutes for April 30th 2024 so moved second by member second by member shabila and a tight race um any discussion has that project kicked off uh it has begun nrt has been notified and uh they are being told what reports and data they need at this point so yes we're excited excellent fantastic yeah Matha sorry member yes member Donovan member Keegan yes member Maxwell yes member shabila yes may Neil Perry presid because I didn't attend the meeting sorry uh other business from the committee nominations for uh the I can't read my own writing residency sub residency subcommittee yeah so did you want to open the floor for nominations The Residency subcommittee yes okay if anybody um uh would join this because that's what this policy we're going to bring forth in the next couple weeks we had a subcommittee we worked on it met with each other and that's why it's going to be successful but since the last subcommittee laws have changed so when this policy is brought forward it'd be great up to have a subcommittee that continues to work and bring up updates and then when we meet in May we're not asking a thousand questions so I would like if anybody is there anybody that would like to nominate themselves or others for membership to the residency subc commmittee I would like to nominate um member daglio thank you I will aren't you already on it yeah I was already nominated I need someone to join a committee that he can't be a member of One if I may go ahead please knowing that this is going to be the policy going be on the agenda for our next meeting my suggestion and I can bring the motion if if the body would like let's table this until after we have the conversation about the policy and that way it becomes more timely and topical and we can see how it's G to set up because I understand member Dag's point of view let's have it set up and ready when we need it but let's let's do it in tandem with the policy if we're doing it at the next meeting I don't think anything changes between now and then so there's a motion on the floor to the table I need a second a second I have a second from Member Donovan all those in favor of tabling oh I got to go to you sorry oh you're fine to do it am I all those in favor of tabling signify by saying I I oppose say nay the eyes carry the motion is tabled thank you members willia uh with no further business to discuss may I have a motion and a second to adjourn this business session May 13th let me finish 2024 second motion by member Zago second by members shilia all those in favor signify by saying I I those say nay the meeting is adjourned at 959 p.m. good night meon [Music] [Music]