##VIDEO ID:pF22lU9YLeI## we are recording Curtis has school started for you uh thankfully no not yet uh uh teachers resume next Wednesday uh and we have students the day after Labor Day okay that seems later than usual that's nice it is uh I deeply appreciate the extra bit of Summer especially because we had to push so much of our summer into that extra bit of Summer because of the weather of Summer hi Jose I will give Steve one more minute there's enough of us to get started so okay Joe anyone coming from your side not a one tonight no everybody's been working triple time trying to get school open and we intentionally kept this calendar kind of light great okay so let's get started I'd like to call the Mount Greylock Regional School District school committee to order it is Thursday August 22nd 2024 and it is 6:01 PM we are meeting remotely via Zoom the meeting is being broadcast on Wily Net TV channel 1302 in Williamstown and will be posted to the Mount Greylock Regional School District YouTube page within 24 hours of the meeting as well as will at.org um if we could call the role alphabetically by last name Bowen here conry here Constantine here alen B here green here arsa is absent and Steve is currently absent okay thank you at Mount Greylock Regional School District our mission is to create a community of Learners working together in a safe and challenging learning environment that encourages restorative based processes respect inclusive diversity courtesy integrity and responsibility through high expectations and cooperation resulting in lifelong learning and personal growth uh public comment we have no one signed up for public comment and I don't see anyone from the public on the call so we move on to approval of minutes um I will make a motion to approve the July 11 2024 Retreat minutes would somethingone like a second second Curtis seconds any discussion maybe just one addition to the minutes sure I noticed uh it referenced that we discussed the curriculum a a superintendent curriculum Review Committee we had also discussed a Review Committee or the uh superintendent advisory committee for D DB and I feel like that should be in there because that's an important topic we also discussed thank you okay any other comments oh it looks like it looks like the curriculum review committee was listed twice right curriculum program and curriculum Review Committee I think one of those is meant to be the dib I didn't know I want about that too but the first one is about the process and the second one is about the committee so I wasn't sure if it was meant to be two different things but but either way yeah gotcha yeah good catch thank you Julia for bringing that up any other discussion on those minutes okay hearing none all in favor I conry I Constantine I Elin B ey green ey okay thank you that motion passes um it looks like Steve is maybe here now I don't know if I don't I think that might be both Steve and dravis would be my gu I think so too I think Steve Miller was at the V thank you speaking too okay um I will make a motion to approve the July 18th 2024 special minutes anyone like to second that second any discussion on those minutes hearing and seeing none all in favor b i conry i monine i he and by ey green ey thank you that motion passes okay next up on the agenda the FY 2025 annual overview of business items um I do want to say I really appreciate the links within the document that was pretty awesome thank you for that suggestion car all right so we have an annual overview annually of the uh the items that are expected to appear on our agendas um and estimates for when they appear on our agendas um along with a projection of when are two Town meetings are to vote our budget um for next year um so as you read down through this um most things are consistent with recent years we do have some notes about um for instance the potential conflict with concert uh at Mount Greylock um on the what would normally be the date of October 10th as the second Thursday in October um we are proposing that we shift the that meeting to October 17th um we're trying to get earlier and earlier in the cycle to try to avoid any conflicts um but we we're certainly not perfect in that regard so this is one suggestion here and I think um Christina it's a it's a question for the committee as to whether or not the 17th can um can work um in addition to that we have some refinement that we've done around um trying to standardize on on timelines for annual approvals and updates all within um the laws and and within norms for other school committees um but aside from that I don't think there's anything too significant here but Christina and Carrie can certainly interject if that's not the case or if I'm forgetting anything um one other change is this does have a vote on it here tonight um we have we have learned that at least some some sources that we work with um over the course of the year really like to see a voted annual calendar um so we are hoping to um have a motion to approve this this annual overview of regular business items as presented or as amended here tonight so I just have a question of how committed to um ourselves and to the public we are to each of these like if we were to vote it tonight and then decide later to move something around do we need to revote it or would we just need to re vote to move something rather than to revote you know what I'm saying the entire is that is that what you're saying yeah like it it used to be like when we were doing um so when the superintendent and the chair and the vice chair and the um assistant superintendent we're all doing agenda planning there would be this discussion of well this is on the annual calendar for this month but maybe we should postpone that to next month would there be the flexibility to do that if we vote this calendar and then is that a commitment to have those item because sometimes things just aren't ready um when when they're on the annual cut so to me it's it's like a a commitment to being Guided by and to making sure that these things are all addressed but not necessarily when we currently say that they're going to be addressed I didn't know if everyone else felt that way juliia I I just want to note that at the top it does say agenda items on this master calendar are reasonably anticipated items may be moved to another date as necessary I think that gets at the Spirit of what you're saying Carrie and if that's there I feel confident if this should be voted on I feel confident voting on this and then allowing those of you who plan the agenda to make move things as needed and legally we don't have any there are no legal concerns there either I I I think mostly it's that some organization like our bond Council honestly was was the one that asked the question can we see a copy of your regular calendar of events as voted by your school committee um I think they just want to make sure that you know they might interact with some organizations where the board really has no sense of what it needs to do on an annual basis which is certainly not the case here but it's it's a check box that they you know that they need to check off and and ours certainly has um all of those things that they need to see that we do thank you would someone like to make a motion to approve the FY 2025 annual overview of business items as presented so moved Julia moves do I have a second Al s second it thank you Carrie any further discussion all in favor row I conry I Constantine I Alin b i green I thank you that motion passes thank you Joe um next up on the agenda is the hold on let me move back to my oh boy I broke things okay I'll go back to paper this is why I print things too is the school committee and interim superintendent goals process um Joe do you want to kick this off and then I can jump in this is an annual item um this is uh it's it's a it's a bit modified in this year in that given that you have an interim superintendent um some places would um indicate that it interim superintendant don't necessarily have goals of their own because they don't have um all of the same evaluation um and responsibilities to District Improvement plans that that a superintendent who will have a longer tenure often has um at the same time we're a district that is stable with a team and A school committee and an interim superintendent who um I'm interested in continuing us along a process um towards the goals that really were laid out in front of us by the district Improvement plan um by the administrative team that you have so I would like to see us set goals and Achieve them in in the same way that we that we otherwise would have um so I think that's the starting point for the conversation and then we can um if that sounds amendable to folks we can figure out what the process that we want to use over the next couple of months to uh to do that and then to see how we've done at the end of the year yeah and I think that makes sense and I know that in past conversations we have talked about making sure that the school committee goals Aline with all of those schools that you just mentioned um and I will always throw in the Julia Mantra of measurable measurable goals so if we can just keep that in mind um so does this become you know a discussion later on I know in our calendar that we just presented we had goals goals set for I think it was December so Curtis uh in in thinking ahead both in terms of the the interim superintendency and the meeting agenda uh I find myself wondering how much our decision on the length of the hiring search process should in and would inform upon the goals crafted by uh an interim superintendency uh all all together you know what I mean like if we need to answer that question for the goal setting scope can be established yep I agree Carrie um I I'll counter that um just thinking that it to me it almost doesn't matter what the length of the time is that in this particular situation whether it's a one year's worth of goals or two years worth of goals I think it would be rather than having the superintendent present the goal and then making sure the scho committee goals are aligned it would make sense kind of like what we started to do in the retreat to all work on goals together for the district and then figure out what are the interm superintend what is the interm superintendent's role in this and what is the school committee's role in this but to just have shared goals um for whether it's a onee or twoyear um plan but I think um we can talk about the process and then certainly the length of the interm superintendency would inform the goals absolutely and I would certainly volunteer to between now and that the September meeting's coming up off awfully close because of the the later in the month nature of this meeting but in the October meeting probably to have prior to that communicated a draft set of what I believe are attainable goals and metrics to go alongside them for the district and that might be a jump start for the conversation of how does that break apart into school committee and uh interim superintendent Tech gos great sounds good Julia did you want to add something yeah I um I was curious about timing so I appreciate you um clarifying that Joe because the this what we just voted on says the uh school committee goals are in December but I think the superintendent goals are earlier um and my guess is I that we could I I want I I like the idea of Joe coming back to us with um you know the specific goals and the metrics um but I my guess is we also kind of know the categories now and I feel good about those and you know it's around the deib work and the um curriculum review work the things that we've been talking about so I I feel good like waiting to get the exact metrics knowing that that important work is getting started already anyway so just wanted to say that out loud and obviously cell phone you know like digital policies and stuff like that might be part of the goals too other other work but those two really big areas I know are already starting anyway and I would say the overarching goal of all of those goals is to put us in a better position for a superintendent search moving forward so it's like it's good for the district but also good for the way the district is presenting itself right to potential superintendent candidates thank you for mentioning that okay are we ready to move on to the next item okay appointment of District secretary which will be the interm superintendent and just to um bring Clarity on this because it may feel like we just appointed the district secretary but we we appointed Jake as the district secretary so now we need to make sure we have somebody in place too sorry about this right here um to uh get some of the work done that we need to get done so um I would like to make a motion to appoint our super interm superintendent as our district secretary would someone like to second that motion I'll second it but I also want to just clarify um because we just had this discussion it's all seems very confusing and unnecessarily so but typically we would appoint the district secretary at the November meeting when we do our reorganization um and then in may we would appoint the treasurer and an assistant Treasurer the those other positions um let me actually see um annual appointment of Treasurer and assistant Treasurer and authorization of Treasurer to borrow so for the calendar the annual business calendar we moved all of those appointments to June to set us up for the next fiscal year so we won't be rev voting the um secretary the district secretary in November which is when we typically would vote the district secretary because we're voting it now we're goingon to vote it again in June and we're going to vote those other ones in June and then we're going to set ourselves up for just an annual vote in June and no longer in November for the district secretary so that's just a change that we made in the in the annual calendar so in other words this is good until June thanks for that clarification G yeah sorry okay so we I made a motion Carrie seconded any other discussion on this appointment and this motion okay all in favor oh and I conry I Constantine i elen b ey green I thank you that motion passes okay superintendent search process discussion um we touched on the beginnings of what this process would look like in our Retreat um and I think uh I mean we had some very productive conversations around on this um so we can continue that discussion I'm happy to make a motion based on what I believe we talked about and then we can have further discussion but that's up to you we can chat now and make a motion or what what is the process that the committee would like to follow here Jose thanks Christina um it it certainly would help me if we could uh just Briefly summarize what we are about to consider like what are what what are the options that are on the table and then um to get a sense of what what might get moved y so um there's actually y could I also add to that I agree but could we also add to that um who joined us for our Retreat and what the nature of that conversation was thanks yeah so we during our Retreat we um we met as a committee with Joe and with Glenn coocher and Lou leond of masc um they have helped us in the past with our superintendent search processes they um brought a wealth of knowledge with us and we pepper them with questions about um the length of superintendent searches the timing for superintendent searches um and um what might be the best process for our district and the unique challenges of of our district um so let's see um we talked about the difference between a one-year process which would start um in November I think is that right right I can't remember when the cycle starts if it's I think it starts in November um and so if we did a one-year process it would be November uh it would start in November and we talked about what that might look like and then what a two-year process would talk would would look like the two-year process as we talked about it might set us up to really um represent ourselves like as Aon hole so here are district goals um here here's all the information it allows us a little more time to um have I don't remember what we call them like parent talk sessions and a little more Community input um on what a search process would look like and um what the ideal candidate would look like um so we talked about that or listening tours is what we talked about sorry I couldn't think of that word um what else what am I forgetting do you guys want to add to this we were all there yeah I think the the other thing we talked about was the um work that we are going to be engaging in um around the curriculum development and the um Equity audit and the fact that there would be um a a two School coming members on each of those superintendent ad hoc um advisory committees sorry um and that were we to start the search process this year we would have school school committee members serving on three pretty significant committees in addition to the work that we're already doing so we would add a superintendent search committee to um those other two committees and that um seemed like it might be um it might lean us toward taking the two years to do to get this work done this year and then to engage in the superintendent search process the following year um might be better timing for both the district and for the school committee um in general so that was one of the the things that played into it and we also talked about Joe's interest or willingness um in serving for more than one year and Joe I think you would need to to uh weigh in on that and let us know your current thinking on that but um that was certainly part of the the discussion Julia I just wanted to add one more thing is that this is an election year as well and I don't know what who all is running but there was a question around we might have a different makeup of the school committee from what I saw in an article that I read I think in I berkers is it's GNA be the same committee because the only people who took out papers are the people who were currently never mind never mind I I've been traveling a lot I didn't see that okay then no worries Jose do you want to add something and I I I if I could say this and if you guys are uncomfortable with this this is fine but there's so few of us right now on screen I you don't have to raise your hands you can just talk I'm so easily programmed into school classroom mode I know it's just like just like it's it's okay you can just say it and but definitely raise your hand if you feel like I'm ignoring you I didn't know if Joe if you wanted to respond to Carrie's uh question and then I you know my my highest priority greatest hope the thing that I really want to make sure is that you all make a I don't want to put any pressure on you but I want you to make a good decision um and I want you to have the best Suite of candidates as you possibly can have um and so to me that's that's the thing um and that should be how you drive your conversations I will happily serve you for one or two years in this role um I think I know the kind of road map that I would need to lay out for the district but also for myself um under either of those circumstances at this point so I I just want you to make the best have the best group of candidates available and make the best decision that you can um and I'll I'll leave it at that but I can certainly respond to questions about that yeah and to to add on to what Carrie was saying one of the things we talked about is by creating the two ad hoc committee and really digging into that work this year we are we are setting up a a plan that has some legs to it for for the next superintendent um which which could be really appealing to quite a few candidates to have to have those legs before they before they get started versus you know it sort of being a still being a moving Target not totally a moving Target but less of a less of a you know a base Z did you want to add something or carrye thought I heard am happy to wait or just just pipe in no I think um at The Retreat I'm trying to remember how what what I articulated but I was trying to articulate concerns around a two-year search um I think there's the worry that we you know our ideal candidate is out there right now looking for an opportunity like like you know to work in a district like ours um so there's that anxiety about missing out on that person who you know who's who's ready to to make a move move um I really you know the the listening sessions and the ensuring that we provide ample opportunity for Community feedback it resonates with me I'd like to couch that though with this uh you know belief that you know we um very recently had a superintendent that I think we all were really excited to have lead our district you know whose qualities whose attributes whose goals for our district resonated with us um a person uh that our community I would say resoundingly really supported um and who delivered goals or or at least you know articulated goals for our district that I think I think resounded as well and so I don't think we need to start from scratch I think we know what we're looking for I think we know who we are and I think we know who we aspire to be and you know I think there's a there's a lot um that we have to work with all that said you know acknowledging the significant work that certainly these two subcommittees are going to be engaged in um you know what Carrie brought up that that resonates with me as well the concern that we're just over taxing you know a volunteer Committee of those of us who are just volunteering our time for this and and and aiming to do our best for for the district um that does resonate with me and and you know would certainly makes me more open to the idea of prolonging or um engaging in a committing to a two-year search before I could uh whatever motion is is moved and whatever gets moved I would love to hear uh from Joe what he really needs as our interum superintendent um I would like to provide as much support to Joe you know professionally and and given you know the sacrifice that this take assuming this role will likely have for him and his family you know should we be open to an interim assistant superintendent of sorts you know we just identified one for Williamson Elementary um you know there could be someone within our district now who could assume this role or or elements of this role um I do worry that Joe serving basically doing two jobs over the course of two years is it's just is unfair um and and unsustainable even over the course of 24 months so that that's a real concern that I have about a two-year search the my quick response to that is that if if it were to be two years I would very happily identify a way to carve out what would probably be a finance and business operations oriented role um and identify somebody who could grow into that role and and who I would hope would become a long-term part of the district um I think there are a variety of ways that that could work out I think it would be very healthy um I think that's probably more likely than an interim assistant superintendent um but I I do feel as though if it was two years I would feel comfortable work working now on a plan for what kind of a role that could that could take and and also making sure that it was the type of thing where within our area we could potentially have somebody be interested in it who's talented capable of all of that and interested in being with the district for for the Long Haul so I I I would approach I would approach to to put it a different way I would approach a single year as just Sprint for a single year I would approach what would become like a twoyear year and a half type role in in one that that was a little bit more methodical about how to how to build um and how to fill gaps so in some ways that the two-year is actually a little bit um less wearing I would say in some ways certainly there are other ways where um where it's not but that's how I think about it and um Jose what I think Glenn and Liz were saying is once we agree to any search it becomes broadcast that we will be looking for a full-time superintendent you know within two years so if I think and I could be wrong about this Carrie maybe you know a little bit more but I think if the perfect candidate showed up we could we could address how to handle that situation if it arose but it sounds like right now isn't the most ideal time to start looking um but it will get broadcast that in fact you know Mount Greylock Regional School District is looking for a permanent superintendent so one thing I guess we could make a motion if this makes sense we could make a motion to um commit to a two-year superintendent search and um I and perhaps Joe could commit to coming back in September with a more structured plan um so it's not a two-year search it's taking an extra year before embarking on the search right right right so I think the motion would be to begin super in the fall of 2 formally begin it in the fall of 2025 that's giving ourselves one year to get this work done and [Music] then the following year we would focus more um with more intent on the search yeah sorry Julia were you I was gonna say that I was goingon to say that but also um I think it's actually really important if we if we vote to do that we aren't quietly also open to somebody showing up because I feel like we need to commit and move in a in a consistent way um both commit to Joe commit to whoever he might bring in as an interim um for the period of time that we say so um um and and Jose when you mentioned earlier you thought you I share with you I don't want to miss someone but I'm also pretty sure I heard Glenn and Liz say that they don't know of at least the specific Massachusetts perfect superintendent who's about to become available and I think maybe giving it another year gives us um there there's I mean it's going to be a pool of people either in one year ear in two years and so or you know this coming year or the year after that so it's a to me it's the same thing if if I could just just follow up with a question for those that have hired superintendents in the past um you know from when the clock hits start to the point someone you know signs a contract what does that process look like and um you know what are the you know in terms of time commments or or you know the ways that the the school committee is asked to serve and play a role in that process so we have that in the packet there's a whole um document on the superintendent search but in general there's a committee there are there there's the time that goes into putting the advertisement together putting together other the description of the district um posting everything um receiving applications you know it's like any search you've been on searches before but you really W to be careful and and deliberate in how we want to be careful and deliberate in how we are describing ourselves and who we are where we're headed what our vision is for the district for the next you know five or so years um and we want to advertise very broadly we want to make sure we're marketing to um you know as many candidate pools as possible but I think as Christina said um the masc they do a lot of these searches and they're just so many vacancies right now and there were so many vacancies last year um if anything you know um one of the things that I was thinking about is if I were a superintendent at a school and I was thinking well you know I maybe I want to do another year or two at this school but then I'll be ready to move on this is a district that you know maybe I would start thinking about but there was no rush I you know I wouldn't have to you know leave my district right away when we're in the middle so there may be candidates like that but there are just a a huge number of vacancies right now um and you know there's a reason for that not a lot of people are going into the superintendency um not a lot of principles are moving from building leadership to District leadership um they're um there's a lot of turnover um unfortunately in the superintendent positions they become very political um budgets are tight you know all the issues and then some that we've been facing are being faced by other districts as well so the more we can do to put our house in order and to do the work that we know we need to do now um the better position we'll be in to um find the kind of leadership that we need to find that's just how I feel I do understand Jose your concern about well what does that what does that say to the parents in our district you know what does that say to um the kids in our district who are worried about leadership um but I feel pretty good about our leadership right I mean I feel very good about our district leadership right now and are building leadership and the committee is solid and um I I feel like a search this coming year would just be very destabilizing for us given everything else that we need to do so um I just see it as a smart thing to to take the time and really you know do the work um now we could talk to the masc further about you know what are the what what is some of the specific work that we could do over the course of this year that would put us in a better position for a candidate search in the following year we could certainly continue to have those conversations Julia and I are both going to the masc conference in November and we will talk to um you know our um colleagues in across the state um to see what it is that they would recommend um so I I do think it gives us a little Breathing Room it gives us the time to do the work that needs to be done and it gives us um more lead time to present ourselves as we really want to be presented but going back to sorry that didn't really address your your question which is you know there is a there's the you know initial candidate pool and then um that is currently all done in executive session I think there is a move to make the initial screening um a more open process or to maybe let the the school committee participate in that initial screening rather than just the um the the search committee um the search committee typically involves um you know community members parents um sometimes um a student and uh like someone from student council um and teachers um school yeah I think I said School commit members so um what's that I said Town managers have been involved in the they can be yeah they have the option to be um and so um this and then the the the last part of the process is that the candidate interviews are public right so that is what the public will remember from the search process is that the finalist interviews they're given a chance to notify their districts that their finalists the interviews are public um and there's an opportunity for the community to meet the candidates usually there let's say there are three um and they would come to the district the committee the search committee members have the opportunity to go to their districts and talk to the people uh where they're currently working um and then the deliberation is also public and the decision is public so once you get past that initial process of screening candidates and and bringing it from like eight to three everything becomes public thanks Carrie um yeah and you know much of what you shared honestly really does resonate with me um you know trying to recall what motivated um the uh you know my thinking and and what I shared at our at our Retreat uh you know is escaping me at the moment I I do believe and do know that Joe has built you know tremendous trust across uh our community and communities um we are you know we are lucky to have Joe in our district leading our district um this question I maybe is is for this for for for us um Joe has uh expressed um a need that he has for him to assume a two-year to take on this role over two years what is there something that we need to do as a school committee um to to help him find someone to support the work that that he's doing now or is that something that we we look into at a later date once Joe has a a clearer idea of how to car need to be willing to approve the budget for it that's that's our job is to to approve the money um I think Joe is he knows what he needs and he'll he'll find the people that he needs and obviously if we know of people then we should let him know but um I think it's it's the money that he'll need and I um maybe further to that point we've already approved a budget that includes a superintendent and an assistant superintendent so do we need to approve anything as long as it's within the budget that we've already approved we we would the anything that I would bring forward would take the current budget into account and view it as the critical Finance document record and anything that we would do for next year would come off the basis of the the starting point would be that we'd have both an assistant superintendent and a superintendent because that's the way this budget was built um so it's not as though we need to add additional funds for a new you know for for something entirely new um but I would all I would I would definitely keep all of you very up to date with whatever whatever the plan would be um sorry that's the multifaceted answer yeah it's interesting Jose your your question because I think about if Joe were our permanent superintendant I would be like you it's our job is to hire you and your job is to figure out the rest of it um and so my my leaning is to do that now except that this is where we have to like do we need to think about it a little bit differently because Joe is interim um do we need to think about that like very clear line and need differently and we're fortunate in that Joe understands all the jobs so I would absolutely be just like if you think that's going to work you you know I don't know how I would know any differently or know any better if no one could tell I was pantomiming the putting on and taking off of several hats when you said that I I don't know how that translated on this screen but okay would someone like to make a motion for the school committee to commit to a one-year superintendent search process starting in the fall of 2025 I'll second Curtis moves Julia seconds and any further discussion on that again I think there might be work that we can engage in this year that isn't part of an active search but is work in addition to the you know the ad hoc committees and the the work that we're doing um in our regular business and um you know we can find out more about that the next couple of months I think we can look at and work with Joe and I know we've talked about this before as they're re Imagining the district website and realigning all of these pieces we can make sure that the information we're presenting um is clear and concise and helpful to a potential candidate um I know we want to do that even more broadly to for you know incoming families and incoming teachers and so any of that work um will be beneficial Jose uh um there were two sort of motivations I think that were offered uh for for going this route um one of which was to you know given just to acknowledge the the tremendous work that the committee is going to be conducting as a part of you know the two new subcommittees um and the important work that they'll be doing so to give to provide some bandwidth for the for school committee members to do this work um in a way that doesn't compromise that work and also doesn't compromise a search um the other element that was brought up or the motivation that was brought up was uh to provide an opportunity for us to listen and learn from the community who is responsible for that how will that information be collated how that information be used um and who is ultimately accountable I think those are big questions that I think many people are going to be asking so I think that's a really good question and it is something we talk about a little bit in the retreat that we could be doing this now and there are many Comm there are many school committees that hold public forums you know they call the you know if there's an issue um that the that the community is concerned about or if there's something that the the committee wants to present or the administration wants to present we can call a meeting a public forum it would be a meeting it would be a public meeting we would open it but then we don't have to run it like a meeting we could run it um let's say if it were in person we could um do breakout sessions and just have discussions in small groups and have a school can member at each table kind of thing uh we could also have breakout rooms on Zoom or um you know that kind of thing um so that's one way to do it and another way to do it is to commit as individual School Comm members to um hold office hours or coffee hours and talk to the community um or if you're at a game you know to make it known in advance that you're there to you know you're there obviously you're there mostly to watch your kid but if there's an opportunity to have 30 minutes where you're talking with people and just you know engaging in conversation about the district and gather ing information in an intentional way so that it's not just oh hey I'm here but I'm going to be here at this time and in this place and if you want to talk about issues in the district I would love to hear from you and then there has to be a way for us to kind of report back to each other um I don't know if it's a standing item on a school committee meeting um or if there's just a way to um collect the information if there like if goes to the district you know the district um secretary and it gets collected and it puts in gets put into a folder things like that but yes um we we need to be out there and listening and asking folks you know what they're thinking and what they're thinking also about I mean we could hold public forum for about District leadership you know what is the future of District leadership what are the issues that you're concerned about who should we be looking for you know it could be that broad or it could be much more specific and directed to particular topic can can I make a proposal Carrie listening to you I could we so and and and just also circling back to your point earlier Carrie that you and I are going to the and and anyone else who wants to go but to the um masc conference where we will um I'm sure there's going to be a session on recruiting your superintendent um I'm sure there will be sessions specific to this but I know there's also a lot of networking time and so I guess my proposal for myself and I wonder if anyone wants to join me in this is between now and November when that session is I will host um at least one coffee Hour in town in my town in Williamstown um open you know for anyone to come by and share with me their like I will do that I will have specific intentional meetings to listen um but then at that session Carrie and I and Carrie now that I'm dragging you into this commitment you and I will walk away with a proposal for how we will listen um and gather Community input between December and June does that and and sounds good yeah I'm like I'm gonna hold myself accountable to the coffee um and I encourage others to do the same um and then uh you can the committee here and the public who's listening can hold carry and ey accountable um for a a suggested plan for listening going forward and I think I don't know how um like I know we talked about this there's a select Bard member who does this you know it could be as simple as you know U picking a popular time for people to go to one of the coffee places and putting a table tent that's thing I'm a school Community member come talk to me um you can advertise in advance on social media you can email you know your your listes or whatever and just say you know I'll be here would love to hear from you or if we all did it couldn't go out in a school could have go on a school newsletter via parents Square school yeah if we know when and where yeah we could set up a schedule you're muted Jose yes sorry just uh you the Williamstown I think most recently conducted a community survey um motivated you know by a number of important and and hard issues that our our community faced and faces um one of the concerns I think from that survey is that it wasn't truly inclusive of you know the broad swath of our community and um many voices that I would argue we don't often hear from at school committee meetings are probably all probably also won't hear um during you know other types of community events and uh I'm not an expert in in this so I I don't have much to offer but I would would hope that you know if if we do learn of a of a means by which we can be inclusive in our uh Community sessions Community listening sessions of fora I I I would hope that you know we we took advantage of those um and it could be that you know it might have to be multifaceted you know Coffee hours um online surveys I'm not sure what that looks like I think what I'm convincing myself of is if we're serious about this um we we might need to ask for some support um and expertise and from from folks in our community who can help us um yeah I certainly could use it I like that we should let people know also that the school committee email has changed so it's what is the school committee email now the old address will still work so if anybody it will okay any documents where it is that that will still go but the but the new is just school committee at MG rsd.org the old was school committee at MGR hs.org anything sent to that email address will still go to all of you the same yeah and you know we could say now and um publish this um on whatever you know accounts we have uh that anytime anyone wants to send us their thoughts on future District leadership they can always send it to either that school committee address or to us as individual School commune members and then we have to commit to prating it and making sure that we don't lose track of the input and the feedback that we're getting think else that I'll offer up here just because I I think it dovetails nicely with things that we've been working on over the summer which is we've we've put our heads together as a team trying to figure out how to increase participation in all kinds of parent and Community um focused events around the district um our conversations have ranged from utilizing parent Square in different ways um to should we start to consider the um the series of signs in front of school buildings that that include upcoming events that every time somebody Drives By or or pulls up um that that that information is there we've talked about increasing the amount of paper going home in backpacks and the positives and negatives the many negatives there but we're but we're trying to tackle what to me is is a very very challenging but worthwhile problem within the district which is increasing parent involvement in everything that that we do um and so I think that having some intertwining between what all of you are talking about how you go about um conducting events and promoting them and trying to get people interested in coming out um we we are doing the same thing uh with all other aspects of school district function so um we should certainly cross paths and and share that as we go too yeah I wonder you know being one of the few if not the only um school committee member without a kid in the district now um I wonder about setting up a a table at all um school events right for the school committee and having a suggestion box or a feedback box or an opportunity for people to just and we that we can kind of divide and conquer so if someone's going anyway um you can have something identifying you as a school Committee Member because not everybody knows who's on the school committee and just saying talk to me right it's like what we did with the building committee um we were just like everywhere all all at once you know with something identifying ourselves as people who had information about this would be getting feedback this would be engaging in conversations we need swag buttons that say I'm a mount grit I'm I'm your Mount grock school committee friend ask me a question I think sash but well more could fit on the sash we could even email on the sash I like that [Music] idea okay so we have a motion that's been moved and seconded any further discussion all in favor bow and I conry I Constantine I elf and Bine I green I thank you that motion passes okay next up on the agenda policy subcommittee I get to Go mute and Jose gets to go unmute I I think you were passing baton is that right Christina yes you all right well I get to pass it uh I could to pass it on myself um we've got five uh policies that are listed as discussion items um following the discussion uh the policy and governance subcommittee will consider any feedback we receive today and in between today and and our our next subcommittee meeting um and with the expectation um well with the possibility that these these will appear as as action items um at our next full committee meeting uh Joe could you just as a a brief sort of introduction and remind us why these uh five policies are on the docket toight sure uh they all first appeared as masc recommended updates to technology related policies in December of 2023 um so we started working on them in the in the spring um they all relate to the ways that students staff and families interact with technology in in the various forms um how the District offers a website what it means for um there to be a district sponsored social media account who can um who can administer that and under what under what rules um how students interact with uh technology within our school buildings um what what will be provided to them what kind of rules they need to follow what kind of acceptable use um we need people to abide by students and staff um so these policies cover all of that they represent both a rearranging of existing policy based on the way masc had recommended that school districts start to realign their policies um but also a simplification in in some aspects of ways that we had policies that um BL Ed policy and procedure in the past in ways that really they ideally should not um so there is some simplification here to keep policy where it should be and to move procedure where it should be um so it's and none of these have changed since that first read um in May or June whatever that was a lifetime AG yeah yeah can I ask a question and make a comment on our previous convers a looking at these reminds me that it was recommended that we have a district social media presence right that isn't a school building this is this came from an masc um sum the summer Institute that I went to um they said that it's it's it's recommended in order to put your um information out there um to the public that the like each of our buildings has a social media presence but our district does not and so this would be District information and school committee information and it's also an opportunity to kind of make a statement if there are rumors circulating around that we just want to clarify um so I would just it's not relevant to the policies but I just didn't want to forget to mention it my question is where it says superintendent um can we just read in our minds interm superintendent every time we see superintendent in a policy yeah the the legal the legal way is but the my title is interm superintendent the role that I'm serving is as super as superintend as far as the state's concerned they they say superintendent within policies it says superintendent um so it's title versus role is the difference okay thanks all right thanks Carrie and thanks for the reminder of you know of uh you know something that we we need to be considering as a school committee and as a as a district um this is the the time of the hour where I get to uh ask our our favorite I don't know if it's a bar tone or what that voice is but it's it's gold it is certainly solid gold that boys uh thankfully for him uh the older policies are a lot longer than the the new policies so I think we'll just ask Curtis if it's okay just to kind of read through the new iterations of of the policy are you okay with that Curtis I am so glad you said that oh my goodness all righty uh all right so first up is uh policy i j and D access to digital resources proposed new the school committee supports the rights of students employees and community members to have reasonable access to various information formats and believes it is incumbent upon users to utilize this privilege in an appropriate manner the school committee intends to support such use with appropriate budgetary allocations providing for timely updates to technology as necessary the superintendent in conjunction with the director of Technology shall develop and Implement appropriate procedures to provide guidance for access to digital resources should I read the note regarding the FC CC regulations I don't know I don't think it's part of our our consideration that's it um and I'll I'll highlight the lack of punctuation at least in the version of of the of the policy that I can see that we need to amend but um any any thoughts or questions Julia um sorry this is uh not specifically related to this policy but the sharing settings do not allow people outside of mgrs D to see them and given so I just want to um at least that's what I'm seeing and so I that just will need to be amended the I I'm pretty sure the packet and the public facing packet has PDFs of all of these oh the P okay all right got it so the links alone are just okay got it thanks yeah y so all all of it is and if anybody out there can't access please uh let me know but what I'm seeing right now is is that it's all um thanks for raising that Julia and thanks for for clearing it up John look like yeah Mark that what is that at 709 joined us whoever's taking notes hey Ursula you you you tuned in in time but Carrie did you have a question oh I was just wondering what is um is that an actual title the um director of digital or director of technology or is it digital technology in in our district um we use the title director of academic technology academic so can we uh revise that to read director of academic technology or our we had asked that question of our um of our legal council um and and he had suggested that that we actually keep it as is because it allows um it allows for more flexibility if you change titles so whoever is filling a role of what people would perceive as being director of Technology will will work but we can also change it and we just need to update the policy if we updated the position potentially so I either way I think can work is what I'm saying Julia may have a question I wanted to give you a moment okay Ursula I think no oh good apologies yeah just wanted to make sure all right you are muted Jose I just sung a tune there Curtis it was a lovely tune uh I was gonna say I couldn't see you all and uh if anyone had a comment about this particular policy please interrupt me um but I believe we're ready to hear policy jnb use of technology in instruction proposed new the school committee recognizes the need for students to be prepared to contribute to and Excel in a connected Global Community to that end the district provides ongoing student instruction that develops digital citizens citizenship skill sets information and communication technology are an integrated part of the curriculum across subjects and grades in developmentally appropriate ways and are aligned with the Massachusetts curriculum Frameworks including seeking knowledge and understanding thinking critically and solving problems listening communicating and interacting effectively and engaging and competing in a global environment students shall use digital resources in a responsible efficient ethical and legal manner thank you Curtis um comments or questions I I have one quick thing here it just and it might just be covered in the uh phrase uh seeking knowledge and understanding uh but media literacy and differentiating between accurate and inaccurate information or information and miss and disinformation is something that is so absolutely necessary for successful dig digital citizenship uh in this country at this time that I would think maybe articulating those might be worth doing unless people feel that they are covered by the uh including seeking knowledge and understanding Frameworks as put forward by the state so that might be a thing that I'll look at before we meet again as the policy committee to see if that's mentioned specifically in those Frameworks if it isn't I would put forward that we should mention it thanks Curtis yeah I I'm you know thank you for bringing that up and it's something that um we love to hear more from you know when we meet again as a subcommittee Carrie I would have thought it would be covered under the thinking critically part but it might be worth naming it anyway yeah thank you Curtis um I'm G to lose you all so please interrupt if there there's something else that uh you'd like to say regarding this policy but I believe we are on to policy J J and D C acceptable use of digital resources it's a little bit of a longer string of text um we'll pass it on the Curtis looking to see where the proposed there we go uh change to uh masc i j and DC acceptable use of digital resources uh acceptable use of digital resources the superintendent in conjunction with the director of Technology shall develop and Implement appropriate procedures to provide guidance for access to digital resources guidelines shall address teacher supervision of digital resources ethical use of such resources and issues of online privacy in addition procedures shall prohibit utilization of digital resources for prohibited or illegal activities and for the use of other programs with the potential of damaging or destroying programs or data technology procedures shall be implemented that effectively address the following controlling access by miners to inappropriate matter on the internet as defined by the children's internet prote protection act and the children's online privacy protection act Safety and Security of miners in use of digital resources preventing unauthorized access including hacking viruses and other unlawful activities by miners online annually all students must agree to and sign an appropriate digital use form developed by the superintendent in condu function with the director of Technology this form must also be signed for the parent or Guardian for students under the age of 18 all staff must agree to and sign an appropriate digital use form prior to being granted access to digital District digital resources employees must use District resources for the purposes directly related to educational and instructional purposes on the recommendation of the superintendent in conjunction with the director of Technology the district shall determine when and which digital resources can be made available to the community All Guest users will be prompted to and must accept a digital use agreement prior to use those violating the digital use agreement will be subject to appropriate consequences apologies for the the barking dogs here um but uh comments or questions Carrie yeah just uh one this is a minor thing but in the paragraph that ends with students under the age of 18 it's supposed to read this form also must be signed by parent or Guardian that is correct okay and I'm I'm wondering on a usage um perspective the a violation of this policy policy would be a student using um a website that was getting around whatever block was for that website um like if if say the the school was prohibiting the use of Facebook but a student found a way to access Facebook which students don't use Facebook but that's just an example um that I mean what kind of consequences are we talking about if it's something as potentially benign as that there I could imagine you know students accessing things that are not benign um getting around our our firewalls and whatever other things we have in place what what would potential consequences look like the the procedures and conse I mean at when you're talking about somebody accessing something that is not benign um in some situations there are certainly reporting requirements to um law enforcement you know like that that's the that's the far end of the spectrum much more in line with trying to utilize Facebook when you shouldn't um those consequences are laid out in the student student handbook as okay um as just minor infractions which which typically amount to probably a convers the first level conversation with the assistant principle um and and then from there repeat infractions have have other U consequences so that's you it's it's akin to any other type of behavior and do we have ways of knowing if you know illegal sites are being accessed using School Technology we we certainly within all of the normal ways that students would would do that um at a first level if um if you're not supposed to use Facebook when you're utilizing your school supplied Chromebook while you're at school um we actually have content filtering that's that's built in that just makes it so that that's not that's not easy um if you then go and utilize a website that can act as a proxy for Facebook and navigate around that way and do things that's where if somebody notices that you've intentionally gone around all of the all of the walls that are there um that's where something like this would would come into play um so we have a first layer that is just if you're not supposed to be doing it it's difficult to do it um and then there's the second layer of people noticing what you're doing um in some of those situations quite honestly with technology it isn't as though we could install something that could monitor it because it can all be encrypted it can all be tunneled around but um we do certainly have layers of security and protection in place thanks yeah thanks car for that question thank you Joe for your response um any other questions or or feedback I don't have a question about this but uh I did someone just perhaps accidentally remove the agenda for tonight's meeting from the packet because it's not there now which is weird uh just because I was I was clicking onto these documents through that I can just click on the documents themselves but I don't I just don't see the agenda in there all of a sudden anyone else seeing that I just Reloaded and I see what you're saying let me see if I can neat but anyway not not that it's your meain to to what we're doing but I thought I would raise attention to that thanks Curtis and I just noticed the same on my end but separately have a a link to the agenda but I'm good to go on to the next Point okay the how does that even happen sorry we're talking about the use of Technology how does that even even happen if everything is in here as a PDF the the only way to delete uh a PDF uh is if you are the owner of the PDF who who put it there theoretically but then I also once someone is showing us that there's a way to hack the system I think you know you maybe permission settings got got switched by accident terms I just added another copy of that thanks Joe to to the packet folder thank you um we've got two uh policies remaining um the next one may sound redundant uh we'll hear some of the same themes that we've just talked about but it's a policy jic CJ student use of technology in schools if you've got it Curtis I got it yeah student use of technology in schools the school committee recognized that the use of technology is an important part of students being prepared for adult life as such the student use of technology part of their education is to be encouraged as teaching students appropriate use of technology is part of the responsibility of the district annually all students must agree to and sign an appropriate digital use form developed by the superintendent in conjunction with technology staff this form must also be signed for the parent or Guardian for students under the age of 18 students shall utilize digital resources in a responsible efficient ethical and legal manner students are required to abide by the district code of conduct in their use both on and offline of District digital resources which should be regarded as an extension of the classroom students are reminded that there is no expectation of privacy in the use of District digital resources failure to abide by District policies and procedures regarding the use of District digital resources will be met with consequences thank you Curtis uh question questions or or feedback Harry is the use of um AI included in these policies or is there going to be a separate policy around that I do know that masc is currently working on new thoughts around artificial intelligence right now it's still a a relatively unregulated area um L because it's moving so quickly at the moment that trying to differentiate between things is I think challenging um what is artificial intelligence what is not um what is acceptable use and what is not um but I expect that over the next three to five years we'll probably see a lot more detailed understanding and attempt to uh dictate use do faculty at the middle school high school have um guidance from our director of academic technology in terms of what to put on their so by and stuff like that uh yes and and definitely you know in in a variety of forms um we are promoting its use and and in other ways not um or or limiting um expressly prohibiting its use um and I think that's also something that is evolving um more quickly than most policy evolves um so there's there's some level of experimentation and and just trying to make sense of of the world as well and if you really want to melt your brain there's a current case right now on the west coast uh where a a person is defending themselves against plagiarism charges for using AI to write a document uh by claiming that what they wrote for the prompt for the AI to use to write was their own writing and therefore is not plagiarism so that'll be fun to see play out wow this what to to the Math teachers out there this is we're gonna be fine but good Lord i' I've seen some generative AI do some math Curtis that's that's why everything needs to be on paper for some of us some of us need you to put it on paper with your with your little hand right um and and it's you know certainly I think Educators I'm assuming you know C through C all the way up uh are certainly grappling with and it's it's something that we're really struggling with at Williams U yeah other comments or questions all right um up next is uh a new policy policy K DCB District website and social media District website and social media the school committee wishes to ensure accurate delivery of information and as such the mount grock Regional School District will maintain a district website and such district and school social media accounts as authorized by the superintendent all such online platforms will be maintained by District staff acting in their professional Capac aties unauthorized use of District or school name is prohibited a high priority will be placed on such platforms being accessible frequently updated and user friendly thank you Curtis questions or or feedback the only thing that came up and I want maybe one of the things I should say that came up in our subcommittee discussions was the potential uh commitment to Resource allocation to to to for this policy to be implemented and and supported um but you know just wanted to highlight that this could be something that the district would would need support and and uring and it's also something that we already you know we already have a website we already maintain various social media accounts um but it is an area that's constantly evolving and it certainly is a budget area that that can um that can require more at some points I do find myself struggling with the sentence of uh unauthorized use of District or school name is prohibited and my my editing brain says that it should say unauthorized use of district and or school names is prohibited because it's a policy that I would assume the policy would govern a Greylock student or or any party uh illegally or illicitly utilizing Williamstown Elementary School's name and not just our own building's name but that's a good question I don't know Joe if if our individual schools um have a separate and independent sort of mandate for managing their school websites this this speaks to districtwide communication I I don't know Joe if there's if if we need to amend it the way Curtis is highlighted or if this is already embedded in in policies elsewhere or practice elsewhere I believe that that conversationally when people say a district website that that includes that the way our website is organized the individual school buildings are are subparts of that website um so I it isn't as though we maintain separate or they have a separate property um that would be my initial answer but it's Curtis something I think we can just consider again when we meet as a subcommittee you know whether that language should be more explicit um yeah all right thank you Curtis oh oh oh was just about to shut us down Julia um just a note I don't know when we do meet again um that's some thank you for putting that on my to-do list to reach out to you all and Carol and organize that dat okay a good question um but thank you Curtis as always uh and I believe it's we'll pass the Baton Back to You Christina thank you Jose thank you Curtis for reading all those policies um next up on the agenda the interm superintendent report so I turn it over to Joe all right the the first one is is to me it's one of the most cheery optimistic forward-looking congratulatory to many people things that I can do which is welcoming new staff um we are a district that does not experience a lot of turnover over typically either either we add a position because of a need or we see somebody retire um to move on and and and we we need to hire a replacement um and and this year is is no different in that way um we are also very fortunate in that as long as we work hard through the summer and I and I really appreciate the work of our HR department um and our building principles and assistant principles and all the staff who participate in hiring committees um that we typically open the year fully staffed meaning all positions that we had posted and really needed um in order to move into the year have been filled and um that is also something that I am very happy to report U the team has done um thanks for a lot of hard work and we have some really wonderful people who have joined us as a result of that too um that new teacher induction and and new staff welcome um is something that started happening this week and will continue in next week and and it's a highlight I think you know seeing seeing Fresh Faces um hearing their stories um and understanding the ways that we are all committed to um better brighter futures for all of our students it's uh it's it's a great way to start the year for sure um so at lbur elementary school um we have Malia Rand joining us in the cafeteria um working in the kitchen so students and staff will will get to know Malia very soon um Julie suner is joining us as a new uh multiple language learning teacher um Tom Ken as our new music teacher at Lanesboro Elementary School at Mount Greylock um we have a group of new par professionals joining us Tori Hallet Jess Otero and Amy Stanwick um we do have one more person um that I can't name quite yet but I think they are uh about to sign on the dotted line and join us um which will complete our picture there for Mount Greylock for the start of the year um and then at William S Elementary School in addition to welcoming um Jennifer Downey as our new interim assistant principal she had been a um has has been a teacher at Williamstown Elementary School for many years um typically in fifth grade um um she agreed to join us in the interim assistant principal role which I am really thankful for and I have heard from so many community members um staff and parents Guardians um that they also feel really fortunate that Jen has been willing to make that jump for this year as an interim um along with Griffin Lance who um earlier in the summer had agreed to serve as interim principal from his um previous role as assistant principal um so we have two um new but old people in those roles that um that are um doing great work already and and they've been they've been working hard together for the last few weeks um in addition to in addition to them new pair of professionals Eli Phillips um who had been within the district in a variety of roles previously um has come back and joined us as a pair of professional Nicole leens and Kelly hosner Crowley also joining us as PR professionals and then in grade three Cass croser is starting as a new teacher within third grade um and Katie McDon starting in fifth grade um Katie had served us in uh last couple years as a substitute teacher um so she's now joining us full-time as a as a fifth grade teacher so those are our new hires over the summer um I've already enjoyed getting to know each of them a bit and and it's going to be a great year um launching into it with them so that's the initial update there and then the start of this yeah go ahead Curtis did uh a a friend of mine uh who had been listening to or viewing a school committee meeting after the fact uh said that oftentimes he just doesn't understand the things we're talking about and why they're awesome or not awesome uh and this is one of those opportunities I feel like uh when a person outside of this field work here's oh we've fully staffed the schools before the school year starts they're like well duh uh there are no fewer than 10 districts right now who are looking down the barrel of uh starting the school year uh substantially underst staffed there are a couple of districts that are open now and substantially underst staffed so I think it really points to the attractiveness of this District not just to the families in our communities but to the professionals who want to work in education uh that we're able to in this climate with this kind of hiring uh happening all over the county and in upstate and Southern Vermont um it's really something that we were able to do that uh so to to anyone listening uh in layman's terms it is it is no easy thing to fill all positions before a school year uh anymore uh it is it is nothing short of miraculous so thank you agreed um one of the things that this is reminding me of that was also part of the previous conversation about doing the um superintendent search and the timing of it is that um we also need to engage in a search for the um principal at the Williamson elementary school right and I'm just wondering um what that process will look like and that doesn't need to be a discussion now but I think it would be good to just be informed about that um in the future yep that that'll be coming over the next couple of months but that'll be a hire that um that will happen over the course of this school year for the next school year um so there's there's no change to that plan it's it's the right timeline and U and the right path forward there any other questions on on welcoming new staff or or comments so start of the school year as much as I think for some people in some roles the summer feels long um I think for those of us in administrative roles when you're starting out at some point in June and you're saying here are all the things that I want to accomplish before the start of the new school year um and then when now we are less than a week away from the start of the new school year it's a very short period of time and and and we get to enjoy um I think a lot of hard work together where we know that it's our moment um to try to try to prepare in in new and better ways for the start of the school year um as we looked at the road that was ahead of us um in June July and August we really had a focus on on teamwork and communication um embracing the wonderful team that that we have in place and all of the ways that um we could continue to improve the way we communicate with each other but um more importantly with our staff and then with our families um and and that I think has has taken shape in um a number of ways that we've held listening sessions we've worked with people trying to understand ways that we can improve um starting to look a new at policies and procedures and I think there will definitely be some policy changes um that we'll be proposing and bringing forward um many ways that we're trying to increase communication as a part of our procedures um embedded within our procedures and protocols um that was was a big chunk of the work um that we undertook and and we've accomplished a bunch and I think over the next couple of months we'll we'll be bringing various presentations and highlights forward um for for for what we're doing that's new that's different um that's improved but right now the focus is really on T minus six days um less than that to fully welcoming all staff but but for the 28th when students start um we're all excited we're also wishing that we had another couple weeks um but I know that that's not the sentiment surely that um students and and families um have and I think many staff are are excitedly already back in the building um making modifications to classrooms and and asking questions and and working on new things um so we are as ready as we will ever be um and one of the comforting thoughts is that by the time uh that we hit this point next week um we'll have full houses again we'll be we'll be back in full operations um enjoying the presence of of all of the faces that we have within our buildings um so we're we are uh ready and looking forward and we do have a couple of items tonight the next couple of items on the agenda um that relate to work that's been happening over the course of the summer um and with the remedy Hall topic Carrie would you may I turn it over to you or would you prefer I sure no I'm happy to so I'll do a Curtis and take one hat off and put on another um I serve on the board of Remedy Hall um which is a nonprofit that was established um back in November M of 2023 um to provide individuals and families experiencing hardship with basic everyday Personal Care hygiene items and basic life Necessities um one of our core values is dignity and being able to serve the population that we're looking to serve um with integrity and dignity and to meet the needs of those um in our community who have the greatest need with all of that in mind um our director Andy Bryant um our sorry our board president Andy Bryant um very much wanted to set up satellite Lockers in both the public library and the middle school high school so we have done that we set up a satellite Locker of Remedy Hall in the public library in Williamstown um as well as in the teen room of the public library um in Williamstown and then uh we worked with um Sam rutz the assistant principal at Mount Greylock middle and high school to establish a location and a an actual physical Locker um in the the student uh support center and uh we have stocked that um I have have a picture I'm happy to show if if I have permission to share my screen um but we've stocked that specifically with supplies that are relevant to middle and high school students um hygiene and um personal care and clothing um the one thing remedy Hall does not do is food um we don't compete with the Williamstown food pantry or others that um Supply food um in our towns um but I'll get to that in the in the next item um do I have permission you should be able to share thanks um second okay can everyone see that so this is what the I think I just lost my headphones hang on a second okay so this is what the locker looks like you can't quite see the doors but it's a you know it's a big open Locker or well actually sorry it's a the doors close and but when you open it this is what you see and um you know the idea is that students um who need supplies can go in and take them right they don't have to um request them they don't have and this is not to say I mean guidance supplies some things and the nurse's office supplies some things and we're working with both offices so that we're not competing in what we're supplying but we're just trying to broaden um what we can do to provide um Goods to students whose families may not have the money to buy toothpaste or deodorant or you know other items of necessity um in a in a given week or a given month right um questions about that Jose I I just want to say thank you to you and Andy and to all of our you know amazing community members who have put this together I I am we are all so grateful um if you wouldn't mind sharing with us here and and for folks who are listening in who might um later how might folks be able to contribute you know items that that could go into into the locker yeah so remedy Hall is open for donations and thank you for that opportunity to acknowledge that this is a very generous community and um we receive donations of all sorts of things um on a regular basis um the hall itself is located in the uh meeting house building which is the First Congregational Church in Williamstown and um it's right now open to um folks who are in need of services and goods on an appointment only basis but donations can be um given at any time so there's a picnic table outside um it's around the back of the it has its own separate entrance um there's a phone number there's a there's a social media page um and there's an email so folks are welcome to um contact me or contact Andy or email remedy Hall um so yeah we're we're open to receiving contributions at any time and and then Distributing those to the various locations um the library and the school as well thanks Carrie yeah thank you so the the next item kind of dovetails um with remedy Hall in the sense that um we had a a generous member of the community reach out to remedy Hall to say we'd like to contribute do you know of you know what is the highest need in the community and we had just met with Sam rutz to talk about the satellite locker and she brought up that there is a great need in in the Mount Greylock Community for um for food uh for our students who are at that highest need level and so I'll turn that over to Joe now yeah so um the way the federal and state governments operate um once school's hit hit a certain percentage of students um with a certain level of socioeconomic need um they then apply additional funding to that school um not necessarily to the entire District to that school associated with providing free breakfast and um potentially other opportunities throughout the school day snacks um and L School uh qualifies for the free breakfast program um with Federal funding which is wonderful and the number of students and the ways that they utilize it it is it is needed it is helpful um it is wonderful for how they are able to navigate their school days um having had breakfast upon arrival um Mount Greylock and Williamstown Elementary School do not currently qualify for that type of f funding as a result the two schools have had their own um ways to try to try to navigate that Williamstown Elementary School um the uh parents and uh families and staff for West fs4 West um formerly known as the the Williamstown PTO um has assembled a fund um that parents contribute to parents and staff contribute to every year um that funds the purchase of snacks for students so that any student's able to walk into the front office um and receive a healthy snack um at any point during the day where they need it um that's something that's been operating now at West for the last couple of years at Mount Greylock um we do have some grant funding that has been associated with ensuring that um students who are uh legally classified this homeless have access to additional meals and snacks um throughout the day that's a program that we've been um able to offer over the last year year and a half I believe um but we have not had additional funding associated with the larger group of students who have um who certainly have food needs as they're entering the building every day and as they're trying to make it through a a long school day with a lot of attention and and energy apply um that's an area where um in over the last couple of years your staff have often times contributed um money and food and and snacks have been available in the front office um staff have identified students in need and and made sure that they found them um but it's not something that we uh had been able to comprehensively address through a more formal program um and so this summer um with with Andy and and car's leadership and with a very generous um founding gift from James and Martin of $2,700 um that we'll be accepting in a second uh formally with the vote um the the school has uh developed and is launching um on the first day of school a program where um many students um who will have been identified by the student support team on the SST there at Mount Greylock um will be able to utilize their student ID their school account in the same way that any student with money loaded on on to their regular school lunch account um will be able to walk up um in the cafeteria during the um the early morning snack time um to be able to um acquire snacks at at no charge to to them and and their households um so those will be supplied um that mode of operation um avoids any stigmatism any any kind of other nature of that operation it it allows it to to run in a way where we can ensure that an increasing number of students have access um to healthy snacks as they navigate the day um for a group of students that is larger than our our current um group of students within the homeless um legal classification um we're also offering additional support through this um first thing in the morning so that as they walk in at at 7:25 7:30 um that their needs will be addressed better once again that will be um discreet it'll be something where we're just able to support them better through this program so we're currently calling it Mount grock eats um if the program is fully utilized by the number of students that we think um could really benefit the annual cost could be right around $99,000 so this $2,700 gift is a big push forward um but we are going to be determining ways to um to have fundraising lead to additional gifts to the school district there are a couple different ways that I think we we might be able to navigate that um but that's something that's still taking shape so it's a it's a wonderful step forward um and something that that definitely addresses a very critical need uh for a growing number of our students and and households yeah I mean I think a lot of people don't really think about the fact that there's food insecurity in the schools and this is now an opportunity and one of the things that Jamie is interested in doing is considering this as a matching gift right and so the schools were not um really allowed to go out and solicit gifts we can receive them which we're about to do right um assuming the committee uh votes to approve it we can receive gifts but we cannot go out and solicit them but other organizations can other and people can and the school can always receive gifts so you know this is something that we're hoping to um get CommunityWide support um toward in the very near future so I'd like to move that we accept the gift from James and Wendy Martin um of $2,700 as um the founding gift for MRE alock eats I will second that and thank you to James and Wendy Martin it was really serendipitous the whole the way the whole thing came about and thank you to Sam for being you know so straightforward about the needs of the students at the school [Music] any other discussion on that item or are we ready to vote all in favor Bowen I conry I Constantine I elf and B ey green ey thank you m i oh URS hi Ursula thank you that motion passes all right shall we transition to the next agenda item an update on advisory committees um we have two advisory committees that uh for our conversations during the retreat and work uh previously um in the spring and summer um we are working on right now one is a diversity Equity inclusion and belonging advisory committee um advisory to the superintendent type committee um that group uh is is taking shape um representing a a wide variety of um backgrounds and perspectives and um and ways to ways to do their work um the group will um initiate meeting over the next couple of weeks um with the Hope being that we will um get a request for proposals around work related to diversity Equity inclusion and belonging um where the prioritized aspects will come out of the conversations of that multifaceted group of school committee members staff members parents and Guardians um and so over the next couple of months we will have that RFP developed um we will get it out we will be able to select a vendor or vendors um representing um highly experienced objective outside Consulting capability for the district um hopefully they will then do their work over the course of January February March April um preferably feeding into budget cycle for for next year with some of that work um and and concluding work in its entirety um for this committee before the end of this school year um with the idea being that the conclusion we'll have a detailed action plan um that uh my office as well as the school committee um can uh endorse put into play both operationally and and financially um for a variety of very uh concrete improvements that I think will be um very very visible and Apparent from that work um that this group and and the broader district will do um so that's a quick update on the deib advisory committee related to that if it's okay for me to keep it within this is that um we had um received an offer of $66,000 from the Williamstown select board and its arpa funding for this work um we knew that in order to do the work um as well as we as we possibly could um that we would probably be looking for additional funding um so a number of folks uh Carrie once again had had led the way in many aspects um have uh gone out and started to approach potential grant tours um of additional funding um we were fortunate in that Williams College heard that call for additional funding and recently decided to allocate $28,000 um toward towards this work um by the district and so the additional agenda item here is to recognize and receive uh the grant of $28,000 from Williams college for the work of the deib advisory committee um and so with appreciation I'd love to put that forward for um being moved and seconded and voted I'll move it a second and then I'd just like to add that you know the um Community feedback that we got around the deib work um you know that was um instrumental I think in um signifying to the college that this work was important um for The Wider community and also for the College Community the faculty and staff and folks who um you know attend the college as well that this work is critical to um you know supporting those folks so um yeah just want to again thank the community for the feedback and um for providing that kind of uh perspective on the need for um the equity work thank you any further discussion on that motion um I just have a question Joe do we also need to formally accept the arpa funding or are we not ready to do that yet uh we I I'm not sure U but I will determine whether or not that's an item where we should formally accept it in the same way that we do I mean it makes sense to me that we should yeah yeah okay thanks thank you all in favor Owen I conry I Constantine i elepant b ey green I Malloy I thank you that vote passes and thank you to Williams college for for the gift it will be put to good work uh so the second advisory committee um would be related to a curriculum program of study review um for grock Regional School um that is a group that is uh going to take shape a little bit more slowly here as we enter the school year um we've wanted to make sure that we um determine the best way to to fully incorporate uh teacher input staff input within Mount Greylock Regional School so as we um as we determine uh time and effort commitments from uh curriculum leaders department heads uh within the school um we've been um pinning down what kind of uh what kind of shape this committee can take um we will be um I will be continuing to reach out to some parents and Guardians within the community uh Community to try to identify um who we can have uh best come in from that angle as well so I think over the next couple of weeks that will um take much more structured shape and once again um the the idea is that we will initiate work as quickly as possible after that um with the combination of school committee staff parents Guardians and and the district office um collaborating on evaluating um how we can best approach um our annual reviews of program of study and curriculum uh for Mount grock um and and especially how to think about the challenges that we'll face with potentially increasingly tight budgets um as we uh remain an excellent school and and push ahead in every way possible um so there will be more coming there in the coming months as well to the school committee any questions on that I don't have a question on that but if I could go back a couple steps to the start of the school year we um I hope this is okay we have heard all the amazing things that the technology team is doing the curriculum team is doing the principles are doing everyone's doing to get the inside of the school ready for the students I got an opportunity to go up to the Mount Greylock campus the middle and high campus and the greens are stunning like I was just blown away and I know we've had a great kind of weather year but I just want to shout out to the building and grounds crew because my goodness it's as a former soccer player I would be so excited to tear up those fields and do some sliding tackles I'm not gonna lie Brandon Krauss Ryan jpic and all of the custodians who who find time during their day to contribute to that work um have done a really miraculous job over the last few years um the school district has all at once saved money over over previous months models of operation and really brought our fields and our our outdoor capabilities to a level that that we've never had before um so the the combined effort to both save money and do better work is it's really uh it's been a lot of fun to see them them grow and to see the campus benefit which is great might be worth giving a brief update on the track and field project uh field and track project continues um to uh Beyond Time under budget um as of right now if you come to the campus please do not step foot onto the track um that is a message that went out uh to the community over the last couple of weeks um because while it looks like a wonderful place to run around in circles um it is it is currently an asphalt form um the company that that then applies the the rubberized track code coding on top of that um will be an operation I believe this coming week um the the timeline there is that first you need to put down asphalt it needs to cure for a period of time and only after that can you then put what will be the the formal track service down so it's especially important that people stay off it even though it looks like we're really close to being done um and it's true we are because over the next two months um all of the finishing touches will be put uh put into place um Coatings and and markings on the track um the as soon as that is done um and we can have water spraying everywhere temporarily not while the track is going down um the the top soil layer and the sod will be put down on the field interior um and then be going through a pretty intense watering regiment to um get it off to its best start and while that is happening um the outside Disturbed area will be cleaned up um and the final asphalt walkways things like that will be um be poured and put into place those are those are just awaiting um the opportunity to work your way out from the project site um and be done so uh if all continues to go according to the plan um by the end of this fall everything will look complete um we will let it rest um and and be prepared probably for track and field to um have access in the spring and depending upon how the how the sod takes how the weather treats the sod um we we might have lacrosse playing um on that interior field in the spring or we might need to wait um to have it first played on in the fall it all depends upon a combination of uh nature and um nurture of the of the so very exciting thank you Joe for that update so the next item because we're all changing hats tonight is the business office report um substitute pay rates uh we have new updated uh proposed substitute pay rates within your packet um we are looking for a vote to approve the um sub rates as proposed the the green box within that packet item um our intent here is to um a in some cases continue to make sure that um we are um offering rates that are competitive with uh with what we have um for permanent hires on step one of um our various contracts and in other situations trying to make sure that we um continue to have or improve our fortunes when it comes to um being able to recruit and retain substitutes um in a variety of positions um all of this is based on looking at um both other school districts within our general area uh but also what other um competing employers are doing um within other spaces uh to to try to attract substitutes um so all of this is uh was developed by um our HR administrator Jonathan kner um and uh and and I've contributed as well so it's um that's how it's come before you um and I would highly recommend that we adopt it uh if you are willing Julia I'll I have a question why don't I move that we adopt this okay Julia moves do I have a second seconds off Curtis a second um how does this uh change match or not match any assumptions that had been in the budget um all of this lives within with within where we are within the budget in terms of the budget lines um we often um and and I'll be frank with this we often end up in situations where if we cannot fill um substitutes using our sub rates as we have approved um we end up finding more costly ways to go about that um which include uh overtime or asking a par professional to um not work in their par professional role but instead to work as a substitute teacher so all of this fits within the within the budget and in some ways it actually improves our ability um to utilize our um less expensive means of of filling positions great thanks yeah any other discussion or questions for Joe on the substitute pay rates do we do we know how this compares to other schools in berer county or those who are competing with us for substitute positions within our our uh immediate neighbors it it puts us um or it keeps us above them in in each regard um what that does for us is it is it does make it so that our our list of interested substitutes um remains healthier than neighboring school districts um just to be blunt about it uh when you look at starting pay rates um that we're seeing within many business businesses in the area um we're we're just trying to keep up with them um you you find a lot of times that for-profit companies are able to offer higher rates than than many others um so we're kind of we're doing The Balancing Act between um trying to make sure that that we are the brightest spot within the municipal World um but uh but just trying to keep up with um other other potential employers Within The Substitute world so um that's where we are thanks Joe any other questions comments all in favor oh and I conry I Constantin I Elfen B ey green I Malloy I thank you that motion passes all right the next uh and final linky or not linky final voting item on on the agenda um we have a pair of uh postage machine leases these come before you because they are um they are agreements that are longer than three years which triggers uh requiring the school committee's approval um there are fiveyear leases um that we recom commend they they keep the status quo um believe me I am one of the Champions within the District of trying to avoid postage wherever possible um but that's not always possible and so these postage machines um do need to be present uh within the schools for the ways that they operate so um while I'd love to minimize their use um they are definitely needed so I would love if you were to approve these uh this pair of leases Julia move have a second Curtis seconds any further discussion on those items all in favor Owen I hry I Constantin iin by ey green ey Malloy ey that motion passes thank you Joe for those updates um next up upcoming meetings we have our regularly scheduled school committee meeting for September on the 12th at 6m uh we touched on the October 17th or the October meeting which normally would fall on the 10th um but it conflicts with a mount rlock Regional School concert so we're hoping to move that to the seven with the committee's thumbs up Jose does that work for you okay great Ursula thums up I think so okay all right so the the October school committee meeting will be October 17th at 6m thank you um Christina could I just oh go ahead Curtis no you first I just wanted to ask um Joe when do you envision the next Finance subcommittee meeting being because I think we had talked about having them prior to the school committee meetings but this wasn't sure about the timing if the subcommittee is amenable to it meeting prior to the September school committee meeting I think would would be beneficial and would work okay we I identical question Jose for you for uh policy and governance ah so we don't want to use the same slot for those um Finance could go at four and you guys could go at five but if Joe has to attend all of them that's a really long night I don't think Joe has to attend the policy and governance okay um you're welcome to but also but Julia Julia has has I think on on the verge of saying something you've gotten so good at reading Julia's face it's like open book um I I'm trying I'm just thinking about the conversation I thought there was something to check with the attorneys on but maybe not there there is there is and it could be that Joe we might ask you um we'll have to the particular policy it's regarding uh public comment uh and what you know in our current format uh what kind of language is permissible or or not uh so Joe it could be that we ask you for some written feedback I think um it seems like a prior life we had a plan to consult with our uh attorneys uh for some feedback on on what that language should read I I already have from a few months ago plenty of input from our legal council maybe Jose you and I could meet just to try to make sure that okay I know what you're looking for and then um I would I would love to meet with all of you so I'll I'll be there but I'll certainly get you information ahead of time so um if the one thing that I would suggest is that H given that we might have this group of of technology related policies that will be going into the September meeting for vote it might be nice to have the policy subcommittee meet in advance enough that the final versions can go into the packet rather than being done a couple hours before so going back to your question C is I'll just have Carol reach out to us all and and see if we can find a date in our calendar the week before hopefully I I have an email uh drafted here that I'm going to send to the two of you that just has three chunks of time on three different days between now and then just on the off chance that we all have one of those and it's not the day of the meeting hours prior okay thanks that to you once the meeting is done thank you okay then I'm gonna snatch the 5:00 pm on September 12th slot for the finance subcommittee firstula does that work for you yep I think that should be okay all right thanks look at you guys solving all the things so proud of you and honestly that's because I can't make the five o'clock before the regular meeting I have volleyball because we're there now yay all right um I do not have any other items for discussion any agenda requests for our next meeting okay I I had brought up an item request a couple months back but it's been very tumultuous since then so I just kind of left it there but I did have an inquiry into how to access Athletics data in terms of the demographics the same way we do for our student body at General uh just to see how how the benefits are spread out amongst the the population that serves uh so I don't know how to move forward that if that if I just need to email Lindsay and be like how do I find data or like what what to do to move that forward but I I put a pin in it for a couple months because chaos and I'd like to move forward with that uh at some point when it's not chaos so when we're all dead probably yes if you email me with the different slices of data that you're you know demographics to me can be a there could be a lot of different demographics but if you have a sense of what you're looking for if you let me know I can figure out the best way to get that to you and and then you know make it available for an agenda item as needed absolutely and I also have a draft ready to respond to you about when to one-on-one meet for the dib group and maybe we can dovale those together yay awesome we'll meet during the meeting about meeting very productive wait would someone like to make a motion to adjourn Julia makes the motion do I have a second second it Curtis second all in favor o and I conry ey Constantine ey Elfen B ey green ey Malloy I thank you that Mo motion passes we are adjourned at 8:20 pm thank you Joe you all thanks everyone good everybody good night all right let me know when we're starting the search party for Steve