##VIDEO ID:JhfEOmlO5Rw## e e e e e e all right I'm going to call to order the September 9th meeting of the Plymouth school committee if everyone will join me in um the Pledge of Allegiance I to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible for liberty and justice for all right thank you we are going to start our meeting off this evening with a moment of silence uh for Stuart a McLoud uh so as we're gathered this evening uh we're going to take a moment to honor honor and member Stephen A McLoud who served with dedication on the Plymouth Carver school committee from 1979 to 1986 Stuart who passed away peacefully on August 19th 24 at the age of 93 was a devoted member of our community and a cherished figure in Plymouth born on June 2nd 1931 Stuart was a man of remarkable service and commitment his journey began with his education at wouth vot Vocational High School and continued with his service in the army during the Korean conflict afterwards he joined the Carpenters Union a profession he held dear until his retirement Stuart's Legacy extends Beyond his professional achievements touching the lives of his family and many others through his work on the school committee in honor of steuart's service and in recognition of his contributions to our community let us now observe a moment of silence thank you right our next um thing on the agenda is comments from um public comment but I don't believe we have any today so we can skip that and then we're going to go on to our student Representatives who we're really excited to have back here so I hope you all had a really good Summer and the school year started off really well for you um we're going to start with Plymouth North with Quinn all right um to start things off uh Plymouth North open house open house for Plymouth North will be held Wednesday September 25th from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. parents and Guardians are invited to attend follow their student schedule and meet with their child's um teachers next club sports and activities ply North High School encourages all students to be involved with various clubs Sports and activities um find something that interests you and become part of the after school Community or attend one of our many scheduled sporting events and support our athletic teams College lunch visits ply North High School will be hosting college visits during all four lunches or during kblock these visits are for students to speak with the representative from the college uh or university in order to learn about what each has to offer a full list of the visiting colleges universities and the armed services can be found on the plou North website ply North Varsity homecoming game the homecoming game will be held on Thursday September 26th at 3:30 p.m. um the homecoming dance homecoming tickets are now on sale on Gan for $15 until September 23rd If you would like to bring a guest from another school permission slips need to be filled out and approved in advance so you can receive a code to purchase your ticket please see Miss Walcott with any questions and the homecoming dance is Friday September 27th from 6:30 to 10: p.m. Legacy Studios ply North Legacy Studios um student portraits will be Tuesday September 24th and Wednesday September 25th during math class uh visit shop legacystudios.com and the online code is or um and use the online code to view pricing and packages um class of 2025 yearbook news and information parents and members of the class of 2025 please visit ply North website or view The ph&s Daily Bulletin for more um important upto-date yearbook deadlines and information information on the P&S website and on The Daily Bulletin contains important information that will prevent you from missing any yearbook dates School breakfast breakfast breakfast is an important way to start the day and is available to all students from 7: to 7:20 a.m. breakfast and lunch is free for all students late bus information late buses will begin Tuesday September 10th buses will depart from ply North at 4:05 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays it's a great opportunity to get extra help join a club or activity or cheer on a sporting event ply North players presents six the musical the vocal music students have put in a ton of work into a production that features a pop music version of the story of Henry VII's wives the students have spearheaded the whole thing and they'd love to see the staff there it's next weekend Friday um September 13th and Saturday September 14th at 700 p.m. in the Performing Art Center and lastly uh Parson's parent page principal Pete Parson offers a weekly parent page that provides information on what is happening at North this is a great way to stay current on all things Plum North Mr paron posts uh this through his Twitter account please follow him on Twitter for notifications of his page it can also be found on the ph&s Facebook page as well as the other website we encourage All Families to follow us on Twitter and Facebook and utilize our website for all things happening north thank you awesome thank you so much Quin Lillian we go you sou hello everyone so we've had a busy but fantastic start to the school year um sports teams have started games and there will be a grade nine Club Fair next week to help share more opportunities with freshmen all grades had class assemblies the first few days homecoming is almost here the dance is Saturday September 21st and tickets will be sold in advance from September 13th to the 19th open house is also approaching for families it is Thursday September 26th at 6:30 p.m. pshs will be celebrating going gold for the week of the 23rd we look forward to continuing our strong tra tradition of support to this great cause as a reminder if students are driving to school they do need a parking pass which can be purchased in the main office both the senior lot and the lot at the stadium will be re reviewed the week of September 9th in addition visitor parking is not available for students picture day is approaching quickly it's on September 27th and lastly the final date for students to add or drop classes is this Friday September 13th thank you thank you anybody have any questions thank you so much and as we've told you before we if you have any topics that you want us to talk about or anything on the agenda that you're interested in let us know and we can move it to the top so you don't have to be here for the whole time um but we really do appreciate your you know thoughtful input that you've given us over the the last year so please continue and you know welcome back thank you all right now we've got our program update so we've got our food service you looked at me and I thought maybe I [Music] did good evening everyone I'm Patrick vancom the food service director um this is Patty Callahan she's the assistant food service director and this is our nutritionist Olivia Bankston we're currently doing uh business as usual with the 16 uh School sites feeding 7,932 plus students uh breakfast and lunch once again it's free for all thanks to uh being in Massachusetts itself uh we're serving on the average right now of 840,000 lunches and 340,000 breakfasts per year my goal a while back was uh a million meals and we' we far exceeded that and we we're continuing to climb as well too uh we have 72 total employees secretary bookkeeper two van drivers four managers eight team leaders one food production leader 53 cafeteria workers food service director and assistant nutritionist and I have to throw out a thank you to every single one of our workers uh we couldn't do it without them um they they piece together it's like a such a smooth operation anytime you walk into a kitchen and I'm very very proud of them proud of them all some of our additional food service programs we never stop really uh we go from the end of school year uh directly into summer Food Service uh we do five sites uh over 32,000 meals Camp Clark's our big one um boys and girls club uh pcis hedge and Indian Brook uh this past year uh we also do Harbor Academy Pilgrim academy uh pack Rising tide public school system and a bunch of catering our lunch choices um I was uh very excited that uh we we put up some colorful pictures this year rather than the the old brown ones um thanks to our nutritionist here and Patty's hard work um everything we're doing now is is aimed towards more fruits and vegetables fruits and vegetables fruits and vegetables uh and that's that's the look that we were going for uh elementary school has a little bit fewer choices than uh than the secondaries uh secondaries we can get really really excited and start doing some uh really good things this this year um I I can't wait to see what we have to unveil the healthy choices U the mass Farm to school program it was $25,000 last year but I can see us uh receiving about 30,000 this year uh if not more The Dodd fresh I think was at 40,000 last year we're going to get 60,000 this year um and and that's like the cream of the crop this is like really good stuff coming in um and things that we normally couldn't get like um you know strawberries and kiwi and things like that that kids you know would like to try watermelons and grapes and we're getting fresh broccoli um green beans cauliflower I mean these are things that are on the menu now too so and um it's it's kind of funny to people you know set them up like little trees and things like that but they they'll learn how to eat them um new slices our we our continued uh nutrient analysis and it's also our um our gateway to the parents too to so they can look up the menu every single day um and it's not available on an app as well uh allergy awareness and carb counting that's one of the things that we've really focused back on with C schools and things like that it sounds like you can go faster and faster and faster and get the kids through but we still have to be diligent about um the kids putting their numbers in so that in case they have like a food out so it's something that we're paying more attention to now and uh and focusing on especially with the young the young kids um and any any day of the week uh you can look around at any school and Olivia's over there like van white just showing off all the different uh taste testing things for uh for kids to try um and we're really getting into the ethnic foods as well too um like Patrick said with the nutrition aspect of things we're always um updating ingredient labels and nutrition labels to keep up with the allergens and the carb counts of our students um the Massachusetts from school program also helps us um with the Harvest of the month produce in the top right corner you can see the Capra salad that we did for a sample last year um and now that kids have kind of tried that they got to taste it we're starting to add those items to the menu um the dod fresh program helps us by uh we're able to choose locally grown food so everything from the dod program um is grown in the US um and it helps us diversify product produce selection like Patrick said we've been able to add broccoli cauliflower to the menu for vegetables and we're able to um kind of reach out and get different fruits that um students can gravitate towards more um and with menu development um I try to use those samplings um as kind of taste testers for the kids and can kind of g gauge their interest um the bottom corner we did a dumpling sampling at Plymouth South Middle School last year for cultural diversity week and the kids really enjoyed that so we're hoping to put that on the menu in October and uh I'll tell you I don't know if you can tell but I'm kind of a meat and potatoes guy but um she always makes me try these different things like avocado toast and everything and I'm always like get that stuff away from me or the overnight oats and they're very very good and you need to eat more of obviously um free to all there's a total of eight states right now and I and I'll tell you you all you have to do is uh look on the internet and and see what type of uh lunch debt um and the hunger still is persistent in all the other states that's happening um they're just struggling uh right now um so we're very once again very thankful to be living in Massachusetts here um what are we serving are we found guidelines policies procedures they're always changing the salt content sugar content everything's I guess moving a little bit more towards healthy but a little bit more towards Bland as well too so it's important for us to look at spices and herbs and things like that um which we'll get to uh soon nutrient analysis and guidelines uh that's very important we do that uh every month uh staff development and training Pat's in charge of that um It's like a hurting cats um the C at hedge Nathaniel Morton Cold Spring West federn uh man and pcis now um the direct certification uh takes care of our application process basically uh we still have less than 200 applications that we uh currently do process um because anyone can apply anytime they want um financials we're in a good good way with our uh profit and loss statement um revenue for nonprogrammed Foods our labor percentage is on Mark and we do uh cover 100% of our insurance and procurement has been a large Focus now of replacing equipment uh getting things up to date um getting more modern methods of cooking um and we're always uh looking looking towards that um in terms of sustainability efforts we've made a lot of progress in the last year um at pcis we started a new composting program um for all of our food waste um this is kind of a pilot program that we tested out and started in January and we're hoping to expand it um to more of the schools um but the food waste goes to uh an anerobic digestion machine which creates renewable natural gas for energy and it also uses it to fer um fertilize soil um the bottom left corner is a impact summary report that the recycling company gave to us um and it shows that we were able to um we composted just under 13 tons of food um and it kind of gives a summary of uh what the carbon footprint is it's six fewer cars on the road 292 less gallons of gasoline saved four homes electricity saved and 264 trees grown for 10 years so kind of gives us a good summary of uh what we were able to do with the food waste um the other pictures on there show our hydroponic Flex Farms um we started doing that in January as well we have seven Farms right now and that is a type of indoor um gardening that uses nutrient uh Rich water solution um we've been able to start growing Roma lettuce we've done basil uh cherry tomatoes green beans uh strawberries but we've had the most success with lettuce because it grows the fastest um and we're able to grow about 20 5 lbs in 28 days sometimes more than that depending on how well we keep up with it um and we're trying to just put this out into the schools we put some of the lettuce into our backpack programs um we work with the nurses on that and then um the image in the top corner is uh lettuce wraps that we tried at some of the middle schools with the lettuce that we grew um then I also skipped over uh some of the new products that we've brought into the school we've almost completely gotten rid of Styrofoam we've moved to compostable trays and we're getting to um be almost uh completely using reusable trays um and then we're also receiving samples for bamboo based utensils so lots of sustainability efforts going on right now and that's not a stock photo that's actually one of our Farms um and we hope to grow this I mean I was a dirt farmer basically and this is this is amazing to me and and every time we come in on Monday it seems to like doubled in size over the weekend I don't know what's going on um student average daily participation um if you look back at FIS fiscal year 15 we're at 3,400 um kids now at fisal here 24 4689 um as I said there's over a million meals served breakfast uh and fiscal year just 19 was at 900 a day for breakfast and we're at 1,900 right now we'll we'll break the 2000 Mark it's becoming more and more and more popular I was glad that they announced it at uh for North as well expenses yes everything keeps getting more expensive uh food has gone up by half a million dollars uh from fiscal year 23 to 24 um luckily what's happening is uh the state is reimbursing our meals at a larger uh amount than um than expected I was shocked that they raised increased it by another 20 cents this past year um labor is at 1.5 million uh fixed cost health insurance has gone from you know 319,000 to$ 482,000 we still do pay for that out of our account as well more expenses a lot of the things we're doing now um as I was mentioned before is uh we're replacing equipment um a lot of our stuff is so old that the some of the Manu urals will go there and say that's the old curse of writing that they had from the 70s and that's what we're doing we're replacing a lot of the equipment um which is uh almost a full-time job I'll tell you uh to do the procurement um properly um and and we do the old we keep a an entire spreadsheet of all the equipment in the entire district and uh once you hit it like three times or that you can replace it we do replace it so um trying to think anything else I think I covered just about everything do you have any questions for us anybody have any questions Mr Morgan uh you mentioned um the free lunches does that include breakfast too or is there a fee for breakfast yes y okay Mrs Jackson um I first wanted to say that we're I think I could speak for all of us and say we're thrilled about the uh composting and about the environmental things CU that was one of the things that we were supporting this this year um and that just excites me and the new food I think it's all great um when we're talking about the uh ethnic foods have we like explored recipes that mirror like our population as far as um Brazilian food just as the top example but I know that there are other people in the district too we have actually um uh We've we've gone into an awful AO we got h meats and things like that and and explored the process of cooking so we've done a lot of different things like that and uh beans and rice and and I make the most Bland be beans and rice in the entire world which is where the spices come in obviously um but we're all learning as time goes on um you know to to get some different recipes and it was it was thrilling though it was really funny to be over at like a hedge one day and we did beans and rice and the kids um the next day I went back over again and it would happen to be Pizza day and we had 96% of the kids ate the pizza it was remarkable and like this this little kid came up to me this little girl came over and grabbed my hand said could you come sit with me like this is what I do for but um it it's pretty funny how yes they they want to have their their native food and things like that but they also want to experience other different foods too uh the excitement behind having um like the dump and things like that everybody liked it you know that particular day so no I think it's great my daughter was asking for different foods and every time AG go the school committee meeting when she was in elementary school she was like can can you bring up the food issue again and then she went to pcis and you were hired the year she went to pcis but she's very happy to be there and see all the new things you're doing yeah any thank you anybody else have any questions Michelle I don't have a question but just I just want to Echo what Mrs Jackson just said I love the the sustainability efforts that we're putting into this I think I don't I don't know if it's something we can I've seen pictures on social media of our of the hydroponic like um that's happening I've been at pcis and I think I got to see it it was amazing um but I'd love if we could put some more of that out on social media I think that would be really cool just so that people know uh perfect because I going to say people are always asking about their like how you know I think recycling is a touchy subject we've I bring up all the time but I think um having this out there and letting them know that what we're trying to do to make sure that we're more sustainable these are the efforts that we're taking that we have complete control over we don't have control over everything um but if we can get that out and I think the hydroponic thing is just really cool and that's what a lot of like schools are starting to teach their um their students who are interested in sustainability I know my undergrad as a giant um uh green house that that's basically 90% of it is what they do and how they they get their food so it's just a really I think a great way for to educate our students and to educate the rest of the community to know what we're doing in the sustainability efforts and how costs are being covered on the think too many I I often talk to people and they don't realize that you are self- sustaining that there doesn't come from our budget and I think that's an important thing to mention um yes one thing also to mention is really just to kind of build on that um the cafeteria has really taken not only have they focused in the kitchens in regards to equipment but they've gone into the cafeterias too um so a lot of the tables that kids are sitting at have been replaced by the cafeteria and so some of the renovations you see out in the cafeterias outside the kitchens have been done by cafeteria lately too so it's not just yeah then we need to get that word out because I think that's only going to help us as we talk about our budget and I know there's budget concerns as we all know it every every year but I think we're going to see it more and more and any way that people can understand how we offset the budget from the that we or the request from the community I think the better so but thank you for all the work you do I just I love the diversity of the food I think that is what more people need to be exposed to more things and avocado toast is really not that daring we need to get some more things but thank you thank you so much for all that you do thank you for coming reach out to you too when we get to a a point with the hydroponic farms and stuff like that to come visit yes please see the green and then it gets exciting yeah no please do thank you thank you so much all right moving on our next piece is our um pman Public Schools land acknowledgement I don't know if Phoebe John and tamio are coming or they're right there we would love to have you we would love to have you talk about it I just didn't know as to which who thank you for coming I appreciate it absolutely I'm glad we could all make it it wasn't it wasn't easy why' you sit in The Middle's in charge of this [Laughter] effort well um thank you for having us and um having this on the agenda this um was really important to the diversity committee was something that we've been working on um for quite a while and felt that this was the appropriate time to get together um during our summer Retreat to really expand upon it get the opinions of our committee um so before you is the um land acknowledgement that the um pouth Public Schools diversity committee has put together and for submission for review um and we're open to um any questions or discussions regarding it um well so um my name is Phoebe Flynn so I'm this is tamio Buffalo Ellis I'm the secretary for the Plymouth Public Schools diversity Committee of which tamio is the chair and then accompanying us this evening is also John Platt he is a co-chair of uh Plymouth no place for hate which is a committee that is appointed by the select board to handle issues of diversity equality and things like that so the three of us thought we would make a nice team tonight to answer any questions if anybody has them and hopefully everybody received uh the read ahead letter we did does anybody have any questions Mr Pano no oh sorry no questions um I fully support it anybody from the diversity I we have three me I don't know if you each I know that Mrs Jackson was I yeah I was I was there for the retreat and for the conversation we had around this and there was a lot of thought and effort put into this a lot of um land acknowledgements both nationally and locally that were looked at in order to craft something that was both um you know relevant education but also um inclusive as as many people as you know we felt like we could incompass um so there was a lot of thought put into this definitely tell anybody I agree I mean I think that it's you can tell that there was a lot of thought the the pick the selection of the words and pieces like that so I really appreciate all the work that the diversity committee continues to do I know it's it's it's important is a really important role oh miss saywood oh no you can finish no you're good go right ahead um I I think in Reading um the statement and speaking um uh certainly with some of the members um here regarding um the land acknowledgement I I think one of the important part parts to this is um where it states that statements like these are truly meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and and so that is one of the um I think it's a big bigger pieces to this it's it's one thing to do these acknowledgements but it's another thing to create um to continue um to sustain the relationships that we have with the indigenous people our our communities that live here so um uh so yeah I um I applaud you on your efforts um and bringing this like public and forward and and um and I am in agreement with it sorry Dr then almost devoted you sorry I'm going to ask a question about the last word of the first parag of the second paragraph accountability uh you chose that word accountability I'd like to hear a little bit more about what you're referencing last word um so I I can speak briefly on that we had seen a lot of samples as was mentioned there's a lot of stuff nationally there's a lot of stuff locally so we looked at the different verbage and what that made people feel in the room and how they felt that that was invigorating in this end part in particular of a step towards building a culture of respect truth and accountability was one that has an educational Focus we should be proud and acknowledging of our history and also what we have today and what the future holds for us and accountability is part of that it's part of knowing who you are where you came from um good bad or and different embracing all of all of us our community and our students as well for their differences and maybe where they have faltered and where they haven't but we all come together today as a community to be strong and prosper together I appreciate that I certainly truth and respect reference the past accountability according to what you just said reference the F future and that's what I was hoping you would say thank you really well thought out so this is an info action item we can choose Mrs Jackson I move that we accept the land acknowledgement as a um practice going forward I have a motion do I have a second second thank you Miss Shaw a motion a second any questions on the motion if there are no questions on the motion we should be able to vote Maybe sorry I just got kicked out um to all right all right and the motion passes unanimously thank you so much for all of your work and your hard work on this we really appreciate it and moving forward we'll read it before all of our meetings we so appreciate it thank you so much thank you right all right now we have proposed Charter revisions I know we're potentially going to have somebody from the charter uh committee but it doesn't appear that we do so I'm turn this over to Dr Campbell to kind of start our conversation and I know each of you received obviously the the attached and then there's a another document that uh Dr Campbell put together that is just the pieces of the charter revisions that are applicable to us in the school committee role so Dr Campbell thank you I didn't print a copy of that for myself but I have it no it's okay okay I have the notes U so as you know the charter committee which was a um was uh appointed to look at the current Charter and make proposed res revisions these revisions are going um section by section as articles at town meeting this fall um there are revisions in the attachment that we shared that are pertinent obviously to school committe Authority um so I think I thought it was important to put on the agenda this evening where we were all together to discuss that and and there's still a couple meetings before the actual fall toown meeting so I tried to just kind sort of pull um some of the language that was either inserted or um struck so and you know in isolation it's it may not mean much but um just I think I'll I'll hit the important pieces so on page 10 when when it talks about the powers the authority of uh school committee uh section 4.3.1 um that section has been struck where it reads the school committee shall have all powers which are conferred on school committees by law this Charter by law or otherwise and are not inconsistent with the grand of powers conferred by the general laws assuming that there's language other places that sort of cleans that language up um the part that is Struck from powers and duties again on the same page is section d uh where it reads to have General charge and superintendence of all school buildings and grounds and furnish all school buildings with proper fixtures furniture and Equipment essentially taking that power and author away from the school committee um and inserting it on the Finance on the finance side on the town side um as a proposal again um so related to that you will see on page 28 um Struck from section 8 where it talks about establishment and scope of Department of Finance there shall be a Department of Finance responsible for the fiscal and financial affairs of the town and for the coordination and overall supervision of all fiscal and financial activities of all town government agencies except the school committee the Department of Finance shall include the functions of accountant Treasurer collector assessor and director of data processing that part I'm assuming was struck because of the removal of powers and duties related to Furniture fixtures buildings and Equipment um in from section D um there's some language revisions uh for uh on page 35 section five building committee um where it says the select board shall appoint six members and three overlapping terms the school committee shall designate two of its members for a term of one year um Struck from that section is where it reads two members of the school committee and three other residents members of this committee shall be appointed for three years overlapping terms so it looks like there's a change in terms there as well and the last thing that that that um that I noticed so just extracting from um page 36 chter Review Committee the revised language reads the members of the charter Review Committee shall be appointed by a special committee consisting of the moderator who will serve as chairperson one member of the select board one member of the committee of Precinct chairs and one member of the planning board and one member of the school committee so that's essentially everything I believe summation of those revisions related again to SK school I know thank you for putting that together I really appreciate it made it easier than looking through I mean I did read through the document of course but it did make it a little clearer um anybody have any questions or thoughts Miss sha um so related to the Furnishing of school buildings so who the procurement office for the town would be the one that would be that's what it sounds like right now we're not 100% sure to be honest with you um we're not 100% sure what direction that a lot of these changes would take place and how they would take place um if we didn't have a if we weren't doing that um things like equipment that includes like I I go like a basketball for fizzed that technically is a piece of equipment as we categorize it um I'm not sure I think M we have just the same questions that you do um it's not something that was um made cleared of the administration regarding what would the implications be remove this from school committee Authority and move it over to the finance side so um and do we have our own procurement office on the school side right so yeah okay that one I definitely think that we're going to need more information on that seems very complicated and doesn't make logical sense we would essentially be eliminating a an entire department on the school side if I'm I mean that seems to be the writing on the wall don't have a department it is yeah we don't have a procurement office like they do we have it's part of your offices right right but like there's still a position so it would be a position then I I think it would cause a lot of um necessary burden right on the town to be quite honest to try to field every single equipment is Broad when you think of equipment it's anything that's not consumable well in Furnishing so like desks and makes zero sense gym equipment any anything that we would be purchasing that Chromebooks anything yeah that would that would be again be non-consumable could be you know it's not a supply it's a material yeah that one definitely needs to be FL just to add to yours too we have started I Know M Jackson and I have had conversations with Mr KY and uh town meeting the town meeting Town manager and talking about how we move forward with that consolidation that seems it always comes up and there's a conversation of having uh a study done that will'll look at the different apartments and places we can maybe do a little bit of consolidation and so and I think we've talked about this before but this seems a this puts the cart before the horse in our conversation yeah just to clarify that that Mr Jackson um I was trying to find my notes and they're not here but I'll have them for tomorrow uh isn't this against Mass General law I believe in order like if you look at desie I pulled up like and I can't say what it is now because I it didn't save to all my devices unfortunately but it looked like desie is like the state part of that overrules what the town Charter is trying to do here am I wrong about that where is it a gray area I there are great there are municipalities that are set set up differently with their school committees regarding facilities um and and purchasing but it's you know to to miss Badger's point this is the cart I believe this is the cart before the horse I think there's in my opinion a a lot of discussion would need to be had with the those the leadership of the divisions within departments to really look at the roles to get role Clarity to know if we're making recommendations for this is again my administrative opinion um the impact that that could have not just on the schools but on the town as well and any challenges whether they're you know you know legal challenges or otherwise that this could pose I know that Miss Badger invited the charter Review Committee members to come this evening to this to this meeting um and hopefully we can get answers um if not tonight in the coming days and or at the next meeting but um this is something again that I think creates more challenges and and and um more questions for me and certainly for Dr blazel and and all of us um then answers and and we will have them at our next meeting I know they were they said last minute they thought they'd be able to have somebody here but we wanted to just make sure we had the conversation and that and start that conversation today and then um they for sure at least two emails said they could come next month NE 23rd whatever it is I think 23rd is the next meeting next meeting yes yes M Haywood I I guess the question I ask is doesn't it diminish capacity and or role of the school committee member as it relates to um I think it's what's it section 12 chap in chapter 71 in terms of budget it's by taking by by taking that portion away it certainly does which is essentially against Mass General law but yeah we could get a legal I I would I would get a legal opinion on okay whether again there are municipalities that do have certain components of facilities in the town finance departments but to this degree I'm not sure I would need to do some are those Municipal are those particular municipalities what type of structure do they have in terms of town government is that Sim similar that is yeah there are there are some that whose facilities fall within the town the town side but it was set up like that from the beginning yeah okay um as opposed to trying to change things or create a hybrid model okay so it's not like a mayoral type of no no there are non- mayoral um it was the backwards way like was it three or four years ago when they as when the town wanted us to take over their property we couldn't do it because we weren't that wasn't that's against Mass General law so yeah I think I mean my my biggest concerns are um what it would what it would do with our operations one um yeah because I think about the budget process and how it's specific to these different pieces in terms of equipment and and so on and so forth and so for that this process now becomes quite different right I mean think of how we've belabored budgets for the last four years absolutely right and we're making decisions un cutting supplies and materials and Equipment right in order to keep staff mhm um the way that I read this you wouldn't be having conversations about that because it wouldn't fall within same school department you know so again I have more questions than answers for you um I just wanted to make sure I shared what is in this proposed revision okay so many questions Mr so have we got legal analysis this cuz to me no like have the school has gotten a legal review of this cuz I think you could arguably say this has no impact CU like I like striking the you know the the piece that's stricken at the top well whether or not it's in the charter or not doesn't change the fact that we are we have all the the ability to do all the things granted to us by you know mass mass General law whether or not it's in theud budget yeah do so I I and and I know I was in one of the meetings where this stuff was discussed and I when I did vehemently suggest that they not strike that um uh Power and duties piece but the rationale of the folks that were um fighting for all these changes was that they're trying to not be uh redundant with things that you know school committee or any any other group has so I I feel like we're you know I don't see anything in here that says we don't have the right to do these things or that we wouldn't still manage our own uh finances so I feel like we need clarification yeah I mean because regardless of what what what the charter committee says we're not going to this is what is being you know put forth at town meeting so I don't see that that's going to change so I really want to know more what the what the true legal Ram we'll run we'll run it through counil and have that for the next meeting so this doesn't to me this this could all go through and nothing changes MH right I I think we're reading way more into it than we potentially need to anybody else I don't know no no I'm just I mean I I think we're we should be leaning on on Council um I I don't think that these are changes that are like not impactful I think they're greatly yes I think they're greatly impactful I think there's an intentionality behind it oh um for sure for sure so um so I just I I think about what our purview is I think about what our understanding is going into a budget and how uh we are now um somehow I guess inviting others in Andor you know having this expectation that the other other people who will be deciding some of the things that we've decided upon don't necessarily have the same information that we have on a day today in terms of our role as a school Committee Member unless hold on unless you know there there's some educational um aspects of this that that are part and parcel to these changes that give them the same amount of information that we receive on a day-to-day as a school Committee Member Mr Pano so I feel like everything you just said is adding language that isn't written anywhere though like this is we we you're we're creating more policy that doesn't exist so all those things that we just said would you know theoretically happen have not been those rights haven't been granted to somebody else so that's I would want to I think we're arguing something needs to be readed by Council because to me these changes could have zero impact I agree I do agree with the the intentionality there may be intention there but I don't think there's any legal grounds for that intention CU unless that these rights are specifically given to somebody else which by Mass General law we have these rights it doesn't change Mass General law there's nothing you can put in this Charter would change what we are granted by Mass General law right yes Mrs Jackson um just to sort of pull it all together I guess it doesn't change what is brought up by Mass General law but our budget is handed To Us by the town and so if they have the Optics that they think that they have control over it they also control what they're handing down to us so I feel like that's sort of where that comes into play and if I'm not mistaken they can pass this Charter no matter what we say well the the charter then meeting town meeting but then also we need to remember the difference between a charter commission and a charter committee and what they're allowed to do the committee cannot change substantially the town Charter and if this is legal and what we're here what we are thinking that's substantial change and so that is the difference between a commission and a committee so they may not even have the power to make these changes that they're trying to make because then it'll go to town meeting town meeting will vote that's my understanding anyways um and then then it has to go to the um the state and the state approves that the charter is within M General law and all that stuff but yeah so that's the thing too is this even something they're able to do that's a question for legal as well um and I mean I'd be curious to know what's on the town side if they've already they must have had legal go through it I mean I would hope so what is their what is their um their interpretation of this as well you know what I mean uh you know it's always good to have our own obviously but what have they learned um but I think the difference between a commission and a committee is important in our discussion anybody else oh yeah m m um when you do um confer with legal on this will you just make sure that they outline like what we would be facing If This Were if this change came into play what would would we be facing if we were to need to cut the budget for supplies or need to cut like what would we be looking at for that um and how would that be happening because if we're looking at them choke holding us over supplies and not allowing us to do what needs to be done to make things run on the school side I I think that's a very important distinction for legal to make to us if that's something that we would be facing um and if we think that it is not legal for them to take these Powers away from us what is our what's our game plan if it passes and I think meting one thing that is important that we remember is that we've been talking about how we went to town meeting and we went to we went to all the uh Precinct meetings in the spring and we're do that we'll have to do that again in the fall for this I mean if if this does move forward it's something we're going to have to really be advocates for and I know we obviously want to be out at all those meetings anyways regardless because sometimes questions come up that are unexpected uh but so as we get closer and we have those Precinct uh meetings I'm going to be reaching out to all of you to hopefully cover them because it's it's hard to get to all of them and sometimes there's three or four on the same evening so just be be ready anything else we will put this on the agenda again hopefully we will have it's already in the que yeah yes thank you um and like I said I believe they'll be able to make it um for sure and we will have a we'll we'll speak with Council not only on the the the legal merits but also the implications as well yeah because that's I think the most yeah yeah absolutely right anything else okay perfect we'll move on we've got superintendent goals draft goals sorry draft goals yes thank you very much we pull pull up the presentation so um I know that you've all had a chance to look over the draft goals there's a um Word document in there as well as the the slides that I'll go through now um so I promise I won't belabor anything that you've already read but you know as we begin this school year I'm really happy um to present our my draft goals earlier than last year with our Saturday meeting being so late I didn't want to wait for the first uh opportunity to to wait until October certainly so um these goals are aligned with our strategic plan charting the course of success uh really represents in my opinion an ongoing commitment to Foster um a supportive educational environment um in looking both at immediate but also long-term goals for the district so um what's going on here sorry I'm having issues with my Clicker can you go back one thank you I don't know what's going on here so it's important again to emphasize that these goals um presented are not exhaustive they a foundation for a broader Vision so while I focus on specific initiatives they don't Encompass every action that will be taken um and every metric certainly related to our strategic plan but really trying to take into consider ation our strategic plan which is our blueprint for the next 3 years for the for the district um so they really will help to um you know they'll evolve in terms of an adjust according to how things go but it's not an exhaustive list but certainly um a detailed list um these goals will gu guide our efforts in tackling critical issues such as chronic absenteeism enhancing budget transpar transparency optimizing transportation services and embedding diversity Equity inclusion and belongingness in uh throughout our district initiatives and I'll get into that in Greater details so as I just said you know Central to our mission Is our commitment to diversity Equity inclusion and belongingness and we were very mindful as we wrote that the latest strategic plan uh to put that at the Forefront so these core values should uh not be mere slogans again and we talked about that tonight a little bit but guiding principles that really shape the vision uh for our future so they're embedded in every initiative that we Undertake and the goals that we set and we've have those conversations as an administrative team too um so this year's proposed goals include One Professional practice goal one student learning goal and two District Improvement goals which I'll go into in Greater detail now so as I mentioned previously these goals Encompass four key Focus areas uh first addressing chronic absent ISM with targeted interventions this is something that we're going to really focus on heavily uh further enhancing Communications and transparency around our budget and and our financial conditions I think is really important I think we do a good job we want to make sure that we're doing an even better job and finding uh as many creative ways and Outlets to to get information out to people as possible um three taking a deep dive into our transportation services I've been talking about this for a long time uh to search for improvements both in efficiency and reliability but with the hope of bringing down costs whenever possible too so that we can put those those dollars towards towards our kids and our teachers in the classrooms um and embedding Dei be practices across all district initiatives so I'll run through all of these in um one at a time now so chronic absenteeism this this remains uh a significant challenge not just for Plymouth but for the state we're actually in better shape than the state when you look at us in comparison um but it's a challenge and it's been a challenge particularly since returning from covid with a change in sort of attitudes about coming to school really from from from a from a group of families and and younger students that we didn't see before which can directly impact student achievement and long-term success if they're not coming to school and not showing up it's hard to educate them of course so our data from past Academic Year shows that over 16% of students in Plymouth missed 10% or more of the school year so that's that's about 18 days right uh this issue affects not only our academic performance but social emotion development and just overall well-being we know that kids do best when they're in school so this year we're really committing to implementing strategies that address the barriers that students face to really try to get at the root cause and try to get as many kids into school um so really collaborating with stakeholders analyzing data providing targeted supports uh we're going to aim to create an environment where every student can Thrive and come to school so the first goal as written is during the 20242 school year the superintendent will work with stakeholders to reduce chronic absenteeism by 5% this will achieve be achieved through targeted data analysis personalized support plans and Community engagement strategies will focus on addressing cultural and social Eon systematic barriers to attendance with an emphamis on emphasis excuse me on measurable outcomes and actionable interventions and there seems to be a extra word there and my apologies but that Focus Harry One teaching and learning um these are just some of the key actions that will be considered to support this goals really again datadriven strategies implementing monthly reviews of attendants to identify Trends and adjust interventions developing individual attendance plans for at least 80% of our students that are identified at risk really trying to get to all students but setting that as a sort of Target uh providing training opportunities for teachers and uh un recognizing and addressing absentee issues uh among their students working with our treny officer and and others to provide that support to our staff um awareness campaigns launching B monthly awareness campaigns using social media using our media Outlets to highlight the importance of attendance um and and the impact of absenteeism uh trying to host district and school-based workshops uh for families on the importance of attendance and how to support children's education at home to be partners to really lean on us to help get kids to school um in providing incentive programs really implementing systems of incentives uh such as recognition programs and small rewards for students um and again developing uh Distributing newsletters um about attendance and and using uh making sure that we're addressing multiple languages with that as well some of the ways that we'll measure our success in this include again attendance rate changes that's an obvious one looking at uh changes in attendance before and after we do data reviews in including mid-mark periods assessment are we seeing changes in a in a cohort of students are they trending up are they trending down individual attendance monitoring plans um putting them in place um for students valuating the percentage of teachers who complete professional development trying to get as many teachers as we possibly can involved in that and their assessment of that training um Community awareness uh analyzing engagement metrics like we did last year regarding Communications um Community awareness initiatives and social media posts and tracking engagement metrics um aiming for a five 15% increase in our engagement each quarter as we're as we're making those Comm Communications out uh continue with that um tracking the number of staff that are that go to training uh workshops and collect post-training feedback looking for you know strong satisfaction rates improving attendance rates by 10% for students who receive support services so if students are receiving interventions looking for a 10% increase in that particular subgroup of students um tracking the percentage of students that receive Awards in the correlation with their improvements again trying to get 10% Improvement there and and measuring uh the newsletter distribution and feedback trying to get again we'll do that through surveys to see how how this is received from the general public in terms of communications I should have said I'll pause between goals any any questions about the attendance initiatives and our intentions there anybody M um when we're looking at Chronic absence ISM are we ever using um that data as um a basis for child find or anything like that if someone is having genuine issues with coming to school are we looking at um why that is what what is that barrier where maybe they're not just not coming to school there's something that's always the reason we want to look at the root cause right so is it medical is it anxiety is it something is school phobia what it is so that's really critical part to all of this is really getting at the root cause and then working with families sometimes it may lead to a child study it may lead to just bringing in the families and having conversations or creating a plan together so that's exactly what this is focused on um I have a follow up if that's okay um this is more of just a comment on from me um and I'm I'm okay if I'm the only one that feels this way but I don't I don't love attendance Awards um I think that they um are othering to students that have a chronic illness or something like that or someone that knows that they will never actually be able to attain that that award um I understand why we would want to reward students that are consistently showing up um but that's just a personal thing for me that I don't I don't love rewards based on attendance sure I I can appreciate that and and the specifics behind that and certainly I think perfect attendance is something that we also don't want to try to strive to because when kids are sick they should be home so there's a you know um so certainly can take that into consideration and how we would recognize we certainly don't want students who may have um be medically compromised and need to be home to feel that they're losing out on something so be certainly be mindful of that as we yeah approach that perfect thank you course Dr senson sort of following following um actually point a second ago um I want to put aside the mental health problems here with attendance uh for a moment and I want to speak to the to the sort of the non diagnosable student who's really not attached to anybody at school they're disaffected they come because they have to they might not have enough par Parental Guidance at home so they may show up or they may not show up and nobody but even asks them did you go to school today today now that sort of student I call the disaffected student the unattached student when you develop your individual plans they have to have a reason to come to school they don't come because they don't have a reason and and I we have to figure out what and and it gets very individual we have to figure out what reason that this particular child would need for him or her to come to school yeah and that's exactly what we have to try to do for every student right like what's your reason what's your reason for not coming and what's your reason for coming and the reason for not coming you're going to get it's boring I don't care I don't need it I'm never going to do this and you know we always have to try to get those disengaged students right that that are just don't want to come and how do we do that and and it's again it's trying to find that hook to get those we had a course called video games I think they'd come I'm not saying we should do that but that's the point you know that's the metaphor there are at the high school actually Club did I see dids Miss did you have your hand up you I did not okay just wanted to make sure I didn't miss you anybody else all right we can move on to the next thank thank you next one is around budget so we know that U budget transparency is crucial to build trust and collaboration something I think we've worked on uh quite a bit um with our community really clearly communicating Financial strategies engaging stakeholders in budget discussions uh certainly um I think last year was really started pressing that and we really want to do this more and more really strengthen our initiatives uh information sessions Financial reports educational campaigns comparative analysis digital plat digital media platforms really trying to get pieces out um and digestible uh format something is going to speak differently to other people so how do we get the word out about not only what we spend but how we spend it um Food Service some of the things we talked about tonight clear examples of how we try to you know save money and and a whole host of things so um goal two is centered just around exactly that and budget transparency so um go to reads by the end of 2425 school year the superintendent will enhance Community understanding and support for the school Department's budget through comprehensive communication and transparency initiative success will be measured by increased Community engagement and improved perceptions of financial transparency and again Focus that's strategic area Focus for for our um strategic plan these this is a list um again not an exhausting list but some examples of key actions that would be considered to support the goal um Community budget forums I think is critically important inviting families and Community groups to quarterly for forums for example to explain that the budget structures funding sources expenditure priorities um where community members can ask questions provide feedback and gain insights um whether they're large groups small groups districtwide or School school-based uh Publications continue to regularly publish Financial reports that are accessible to the public detailing expenditures Revenue sources and future Financial projections I know Dr blaz Dell's offices continues to do that and as we promote that um there's a lot of information on the finance uh website for the school department and again bringing awareness to that adding other elements to that as the as the year goes on um educational campaign again launching a multifaceted Outreach campaign including print materials videos social media posts explaining the link between budget decisions and educational quality really getting people to understand that and trying again trying to do it in as many different creative ways as possible and getting feedback from that too it's important as we do this to determine what people really enjoy um you know sort of digesting so that we can continue to do that um again enhancing our uh School Department's website for financial transparency uh including budget summaries fqs and real-time updates and comparative analysis I I I always try to look look at districts of similar wealth to communities of similar wealth when we're doing this because I think it's really important that we're looking at that and making those comparisons so that that our community understands that we're you know we're we're being very um mindful of how we spend money Partnerships with the local media collaborating with local media Outlets to ensure accurate reporting and widespread dissemination of information regarding our financial status and needs um implementing feed back me mechanism surveys suggestion boxes to gauge perceptions understanding of the school Department's financial needs um and then again use this to informa communication strategies which I just said before that uh providing quarterly updates to the school committee in ways to further uh um inform the committee but also to educate the community at large um and the budget subcommittee really partnering with the budget subcommittee to allow the committee a more active role in development budget process throughout the course of the year um some benchmarks I think uh to measure how we're doing on this is really to um conduct at least three budget information sessions during the Academic Year with attendance from diverse Community segments uh try to achieve a a strong positive feedback on the clarity and usefulness of forums uh with post surveys uh monitor again engagement metrics of the communications that go out how many people read I can tell you how many people read my newsletters um and how much time they're spending on it so there's a lot of data that we can we can access to see is it getting out there is the word getting out or people paying attention uh Financial reports publishing comprehensive Financial reports at least twice a year with detailed breakdowns of expenditures Revenue sources multi-year Financial predictions um and and peer District budget analysis again getting back to looking at districts of comp wealth looking at the composition the demographics as well and presenting those findings uh and formats to to to you the school committee again during Community forums um and also on our websites and other digital platforms um further enhancing the financial transparency section of the school Community Department website um would be one measure making sure that we're doing what we say um did I skip no okay thank you uh implementing data collection systems um ensuring data collector process um are regularly tracked um forging Partnerships with least two media Outlets to feature with the goal of four articles interviews or segments focusing on the school Department's financial status and needs um and then again collecting feedback from the community um looking look for a strong satisfaction rate in terms of our financial Communications any any questions about that goal focus any questions thank you okay third one has to do with Transportation um you know as superintendent certainly recognize the need for um both efficient and costeffective transportation services uh while we're amid you Rising costs which are extraordinary so by the end of 24 25 school year we'll analyze our transportation system uh with a variety of stakeholders with the goal of reducing overall reducing our um expenses not in totality but to try to reduce you know bring costs down explore Alternatives enhance efficiency and ensure that our services meet students needs while supporting the district's financial and educ educational goals this is a uh a significant uh Focus for us for sure um so this goal reads by the end of 2425 school year the superintendent will work with key stakeholders to strategically analyze and Implement initiatives aimed at reducing overall Transportation expenses within the district's District excuse me over the next three years enhancing operational efficiency while maintaining high standards of service for all students because we don't want to jeopardize this the services as well um so again here's a list of some of the key actions will take place so really conducting a comprehensive analysis of our transportation routs utilization rates um and any inefficiencies continue to do that evaluate leasing versus purchasing op options for new vehicles to minimize upfront costs and long-term expenses um fostering collaboration with both District operated and contracted Transportation providers to identify opportunities for service enhancement and operational efficiencies that can lead to cost reductions so looking for additional collaborations there uh developing a multi-year financial plan for transportation expenditures so at the end of the year coming up with a long-term plan or even before the end of the year uh to present uh to the ski committee and establishing benchmarks and and key performance indicators to track that progress and our accountability to uh both efficiency cost savings and um you know um Quality um so to continue that um to complete a thorough Transportation audit um of all our transportation we're looking at yellow buses or IND District transportation out of District transportation Etc really looking at everything and seeing if we if we can do it better um developing a strategic plan around that establishing metrics and then identifying at least uh two collaborative initiatives with targeted providers to result in measurable efficiencies and cost savings so really trying to set some goals for ourselves to make some actionable steps here to um improve um both our efficiency but to reduce expenses happy to answer any questions regarding the transportation no thank you okay and the last goal focus as I mentioned uh is around diversity Equity inclusion belongingness um so as we start this year again creating uh an inclusive learning environment valuing diverse identities and experiences of our entire Community it's really our goal to strengthen and integrate diversity Equity inclusion and belongingness practices throughout our district meaningful engagement and collaboration with all our stakeholders so um supporting uh our this strategic plan goal four reads as follows engaging all relevant stakeholders the superintendent will enhance and integrate diversity Equity inclusion and belonging practices across all levels of pouth public schools to create an equitable learning environment that empowers every student staff member and Community member so how how will we try to do that uh one by looking at our curriculum continuing to look at our curriculum for diverse representation so by the end of the Academic Year review and update existing curricula and each subject to include diverse voices histories and viewpoints ensuring representation of various cultures backgrounds and identities train continued training on inclusive teaching practices um uh cultural responsive teaching unconscious bias and inclusive pedagogy um assessing students experiences and support to to incorporate our students in that process as well I think is really important so having a having that student voice um both in person but through surveys FOC groups um and infin groups to help us assess and monitor our progress towards our actions both academically um in the classroom and outside the classroom um uh because our students voices matter greatly uh providing cultural community events planning and executing at least two District community events or celebrations focused on different cultures uh each semester half mid year and end of year at least and then also trying to promote that across the district and collaborating with the diversity committee uh really working closely with the diversity committee um and the no place for hate committee as I met with them um last spring to really gather insight and guidance um on District Dei initiatives and our progress um as a school community and a greater Community um so um reviewing surveys and focus group data midyear use um to make actionable recommendations so um also looking at our students process ceptions and how they feel in terms of climate and culture is really important uh analyzing our reports on student data so really continuing with um analyzing student metrics demographic data academic data discipline data uh preparing a report summarizing the dispar disparities and and proposed actions uh to present to you school committee um update recruitment materials with a Dei Focus so really revising and distributing updated recruitment materials and job descriptions which we're working on including Dei statements uh by the the end of the first quarter of the year so we can make sure that that's out and then again our materials to make sure that we're um we're front and center with that um hosting Dei fors and workshops and conducting a comprehensive Equity audit really looking at um all of our practices policies procedures and operational structures across the district so we're in the process of initiating that as well so that's a big step which will lead to a lot of other actions and key steps that I can't list here until that's done um but sort of benchmarking some of the things that I've mentioned um updating the curriculum so by the end of June confirming that that we've reached at least a target of 80% of our existing curriculum making sure they and this is something that it needs to continue to happen ongoingly but to to really focus on those Core Curriculum areas uh looking at our teacher satisfaction rate with the trainings um in their their confidence and skills with the training that we give is critically important we've done a lot administratively and with teachers but you want to make sure that with that comes confidence to um to change practices um again getting feedback from cultural events uh publishing annual reort reports um on student demographic data which I mentioned presenting to the school committee um the revision of all job descriptions uh providing deis Dei progress updates to the committee um by monthly and then the completion of the equity audit and to present the findings to the school committee uh for review so you know just in closing I I think that I'm confident that our efforts will drive significant progress this year really trying to take a focus on this strategic plan as we kick it off to make sure that we're um it's a living breathing document and that it's reflected not only in my goals but in the goals of my team are administrators who we started walking through this we will they will walk through my goals once they're approved as an administrative team as well um and and trickling down to teacher goals but um that's what I have for you this evening I'm happy to answer any other questions that you may have thank you anybody have any Mr M um do we do exit interviews with staff um we we communicate with them and they can fill it out if they choose to okay all right yeah I was just wondering um cuz if we're seeing you know for we hiring people um from minorities diverse backgrounds and stuff like that I would be interested to know if if they're leaving why they're leaving um so that we can address those concerns um so I just wanted to make sure that we were touching base with people that are leaving our system um and making sure that we know why um they are leaving y Mrs Jackson uh I just had two small questions um when you spoke about the equity audit is this an internal equity audit or we're working with a third party to do it yes um and then my other question do this is this is what they they do Equity audits this is the work that they do y okay um oh and then the other question that I had you were talking about um student voice and I was just wondering if there would be a way for people to communicate without giving their name because I know there have been a couple people surve we do Anonymous surveys and that sort of thing too so I think it's important to give students actual voice if they want but also for those who don't want to speak up um verbally to give them you know an opportunity to to fill out surveys and that sort of thing as well that's important thank you Dr senson yeah just just an over aing comment I I you had a lot to choose from I think you chose four very important areas thank youwood um just to uh I guess piggyback on the student voice um aspect um I just in um I guess previous um interactions with some students that were part of um a uh what's it called not an equity group but a um I would say a like group in a sense for lack of a better word um I think sometimes it goes beyond student voice it's more of agency um there was a complaint that for them that even though they have this ability to speak they don't necessarily have agen in terms of things that actually change within a system and so you know how do we go beyond this voice aspect of this and actually you know um take what they've said and and implement it into something no that's important not just listening but like like truly reflecting and and having some action that results from that yeah agency is a is a very good word Miss okay thank you I agree else no I really appreciate it and I know I've said this to you before for but I really appreciate the measurables I know you know that that's my thing I'm always looking for how do we measure what these goals are because they're so big and as I think Dr senson and many of us have said over years you you pick really big goals really goals that are really hard to get to and you know so there like you've said for every goal these are long-term goals this is a first year of planning this is a first year of how we move this forward it's not just okay this year we're going to do it and we're going to check a box and move on this is longterm and so having those those benchmarks and being able to at the end of the year I I speak for myself but I think I also can speak for the committee and say that really helps us when we're looking at the end of the year valuation and can say concretely this happened and this happened and this percentage was reached so I I really appreciate that and the thoughtfulness that always goes into everything you do that I really appreciate that so thank you thank you I appreciate that so this is a info action item um I would appreciate a how the committee feels a motion wherever you want to go with this just need to approve or not uh Dr move that we accept the superintendent's recommended goals for the next um was it 24 25 school year perfect we have a motion do I have a second second thank you Motion in a second do you have any questions on the motion seeing none we should be able to vote that is unanimous so those are passed so good luck with those big goals look forward to seeing our the progress throughout the year yeah it's it's important work I'm looking forward to it thank you very much I know we already have the dates kind of set out when you're going to be presenting right I think we finished that we did yep it's in the calendar not so um so that that'll be helpful if people are wondering when we get our um checkpoints we've got all that on the um the calendar that was sent out all right next piece we have is our policy uh masc policy kdbc Dr good evening um the policy committee hasn't met since we last voted but I wanted to bring this back to the committee because there was dialogue with regard to the district website and social media policy and I wanted to make sure we there was a lot of work and we were online um back when we were voting on this and so and there was some conversation around um social media and turning posts on or off and um what the messaging around that would be to our families around transparency but then also sort of you know um you know some of the misinformation I think that's sometimes out there so I wanted to make sure that it was the committee's intention to turn off Facebook comments or not even just Facebook but social media comments because again there was conversation and I know in the midst of of voting and making edits and things like that I think it might have gotten lost a little bit so again just wanted to revisit and make sure that it was the committee's um intent to turn off comments I know Dr Campbell and I met with Brian burn and Libby Hurley um they were concerned again a little bit about and jump in because you're in that meeting with me about um you know just transparency and allowing parents to sort of voice concerns and opinions about different posts and things like that I did reach out to several communities on the Southshore to find out what their policies were and most of them do turn their um posts off um due to legal ramifications for you know we're not constantly monitoring and sometimes sorry sometimes um Commons can get embedded in one another and so it's very difficult to keep track of yeah so as as um Dr Rogers said that this was voted on as um the section that M Dr Rogers said includes starting off the comments for for very specific reasons um masc again in a recent court decision LED uh to a possibility that District by keeping the comments on or creating a public form by posting and allowing public comments and members of the public cannot be blocked unless there's something that mean you really it's very touchy if you were to block someone's comment on social media so the members of the public um cannot be censored due to decisions regarding free speech so the recommendation of masc legal council is to turn off commenting on District public media Pages it is something that all it takes is one in my op opinion One Missed comment to hold us liable for something but also and and to Ed TV is about communication and I understand their concerns but I don't feel that that's the way we're not communicating through comments we're communicating by by hosting fors and that's a sort of a dashboard of what's going on and what's important for us if people have questions or want more information regarding anything that's posted to go to the source of that post and we gladly have a conversation or provide information but to get in an open form like that on social media I think sets the district up for for problems and again if we just miss one thing or someone you know we can't monitor it 247 you could have a 100 posts going on and there's one thing you didn't see and you know suddenly there's an issue and we've been fortunate to this up until now but um it is something that I I can see why MSC is making that recommendation to to shut that off so I would stand by that recommendation Dr zon the policy committee discussed this as well I'm just going to repeat the last point that uh Dr Campbell made we want people to go to the right channel to the principal we have an open door policy central office if you have instead of instead of putting it up on social media call superintendent's office call the building principal and discuss it at the right at the right place anybody else Melle um I think when we had discussed this I had expressed um that I don't think it has to be written in the policy but if we could make it clear um that I think that the address to reach out to should just be included on the posts when we make them like when we're when we're re creating the summary on each post that says you know per our policy the the comments on this post are shut off if you have a comment please direct that comment to and then put the email right there so that they can just it's just there and they don't have to go search for it and try to say that we're you know limiting their ability to comment so I think that if we include that um on each post whoever they can reach out to on the post I think that would be um the best thing that we could do and then also um I don't know if it is already but are we shutting off messaging on our school Pages as well because I think if we're shutting off comments we should shut off messaging as well so that they're all all of the messages comments are going to whatever email they're directed to instead of like in the message box of like each like Plymouth South High School or whatever it is absolutely Miss shot and it in in the Pol it does say in the policy to the district will clearly indicate uh and direct those wishing to contact the school and District Personnel to the appropriate venues to do so so that will be the language the information that we include in those sites as well perfect thank you do anybody else have anything Mr so what this is same as we voted on there's no need to vote if if there's no change there's no need to V that's I was trying to I wanted to preface that before yes my only thought and my feelings is the shutting off messenger I get the point of it but I don't I think that's another Avenue to get the person to where they need to be instead they could just share it and create it on their own page like a if uh you know whatever they're trying to stir whatever pot they're trying to stir they could do on their own page by sharing it they're going to do that anyways right but if we have an automat if there's a messenger that we can I don't know how many messages Libby gets I mean she could probably tell us she gets are there a ton that we get on the main page I'm just wondering if it's you even I mean we can set like you can set an automatic response that's just like hey thanks for your message please contact this person yeah and yeah I think the more places we have to go and look like an Easter egg hunt right then that's going to I keep doing that too microphones it that will that's going to trip trip up the district um so I think to your point Miss to eliminate the ability for people to send sort of a message through you know maybe a a messaging system where we're not checking it right like Facebook Messenger like just that type of messaging is what I was referring to yeah no I know I'm just thinking about the ease of that and then even though there's that that's just where my brain went like that's an easy way to get your real answer if I'm if I I mean I'm going to click on the person's email but is that going to create another is that another barrier that we're putting in front of someone that they have to click on the link and then I don't know it's more about the open for ofation okay Mrs Mrs hawood sorry um I think also too once you divert one I think you would open yourself up to having much more in there yes in there so it's probably best that it goes to the channel that's actually going to you know to an actual person yes versus a right wherever okay Mrs Jackson I was just going to make the point that also the whoever is answering the messenger is not necessarily the person who's the point person so it doesn't really make it easier for them having the email on there is and having that be the only way then says this is directly who heads up this issue yeah that's true rather than sending it all to Libby and having her having to disseminate or figure out who the person is that needs to be getting the message my only other thought is are we going to set a date by which all the pages need to be done segue we this is something that will may take some time so not only I mean our district pages are the easy ones but it's it's all the other um District sponsored things that we need to work with our tech department and others so I it could take a couple weeks at least I would think just to get through um I I don't have a handle on exactly how long that will take but I think it it may take some time to to ensure that they're all I mean if you give a month I think yeah I think that that would be that would be sufficient okay cuz I'm just because like you said it's not just it's easy for the district pages easy for the school pages but when you think about all the organ anything associated with the pum of public schools yep it's going to be a that's a lot good [Laughter] luck all right anybody have anything else to say about the policy no all right so we'll move on to um job descriptions Mr Jo yes good evening uh so it was actually worked out perfect that food service was here because that's how these four job descriptions are connected and when I opened it I I could see where it was probably a little challenging trying to figure out what's changed and uh because there's nothing that had a strike through but it's the very last performance responsibility for each of the four uh job descriptions that are before you but to get the history uh Mr vancott and I have had lots of conversations Dr Blaise Dell and I Matt derky our facilities director and Dale Weber our Cobra president on how we can support we talk about budget Staffing and the needs of the school how do we support our larger elementary schools right now is the focus of this um that have anywhere from 500 to 620 students that are down in the cafeteria at breakfast and lunchtime and we have one head custodian Manning the buildings uh during the the day at the elementary schools um 1.2 million was the number just under that does not include meals that are brought into school from students that have waste and although the job descriptions capture under that first performance responsibility overall cleanliness of the of the building we have been trying to find ways to create a budget that allows some additional support especially our three larger elementary schools Mr vancott had reached out to his state contact regarding his revolving account he talked about the money that comes in um that he's able to to um develop a budget if we were able to demonstrate that our custodians through a job description are and they are currently they are in there every day uh if it identifies that in their job descriptions we can take money out of our operating budget and it can be paid for by our food service department by doing that with our daytime custodians at 3.75 hours minimum that frees up a substantial amount of funding that we can bring on 180 day floaters 180 day custodial floaters to for those three buildings um so it it's been a large conversation going back and forth before we could even get to that point we had to adjust our job description so if you selected any one of those four and you went to the last performance responsibility and I apologize I should have put them in red um I realized it afterwards it says performs duties related to cafeteria cleanup setup and kitchen floor maintenance approximately 3.75 hours per day we're not adding anything to their job responsibility because they're already doing that but now it physically says it and we can share that with the state and then they would allow us to have our revolving account through Food Service pay for that for those daytime custodians currently in the schools which then frees up money in his operating budget which allows us to um bring on some additional support staff I mean think about spending four hours in a cafeteria when you're one person and something happens in a classroom that needs an immediate cleanup or you're trying to maintain the outside of the building it just it's so challenging to do that um so that was a big piece and the only other piece I want to add is we talked in July when I had the video assistant job description about uh developing and we've had this conversation over the last couple years A diversity statement so I reached out to Mrs Jackson uh as soon as these four were coming forward and I missed the diversity committee meeting by a day um but we had kind of established that um that line so I shared with her just kind of a general statement to to kind of get the ball rolling um and she's going to bring that to the diversity committee at their next meeting to kind of you know get some input some feedback bring it back and then my hope is at a separate time present that and then if that gets to prove then we would just add that moving forward so I apologize that I didn't get it to her fast enough but um it was all happening kind of quickly when we got this information uh so I wanted to present these job descriptions for you today um and just know that that was the only change nothing else was edited it's just to try and get those positions covered through our revolving account um that Mr vancott manages thank you anybody have any questions I I have a quick question the I mean I know we're always talking about their the the health of that revolving account does this longterm kind of how does that make sure that they're able to continue to maintain and pay for themselves within our food services for the foreseeable future okay it is very manageable okay um and then hopefully it gets to a point where we don't have to rely on it but at this point based on the the food that they're purchasing and for the meal and the work that they're doing inside and outside the kitchen um this is something that's very manageable okay perfect as long as universal free lunch continues there should not be an issue okay perfect if the state were to change their mind we would have to probably revisit that okay all right thank you I know it just I know that's a we want to make sure to keep that on its side I know that's a point of Pride and it's not that we're discounting the other elementary schools but 600 it's a big difference at this point and right now we just want to start there there and see how this how this kind of goes no thank you all right we have four job descriptions can we take them all with one or do we need okay is it set up that way that we'd be able to do it wasn't but you want us to we can it's this exact same it's the same thing just take we can just do one a vote and then we'll just and it'll all just go for all of them okay anybody have any you want to just do the first one and we can just assume it for the rest of them yeah yeah we'll do it off the first one but your motion will be for or not I don't point at you but yeah whoever's motion I will I will move the the job descriptions for the 180-day floater codian head custodian and maintenance floer be accepted and approved as amended and regular custodian right I all four okay I sorry I'm just making sure making sure all right I have a motion to have a second thank you Mrs Jackson any questions on the motion no all right then we should be able to vote perfect motion passes so thank you thank you for that I think creative use again another thing I think we want to highlight when we're moving forward with budgets just going to keep making a list making a list right um all right so now we are on to superintendent report back to you Dr yeah uh brief report just opening of school uh slow transition back we had a couple days first first week and then few the second week but um things have gone very smoothly really happy with the way that um opening has gone um to start I think we've had six days six school days already um but I it already feels like January it's I don't know about that maybe October but um things have been going really well well it's just great to have everyone back it's it's you know summer's is quiet and while the summer can be enjoyable uh certainly great to have everyone back and the facilities look great um they they really really do I can't say enough um about um our our team what they've done to to get the buildings ready um this Wednesday we have a visit from msba so um I mentioned this before we're going to be welcoming msba for a senior study visit uh they'll visit hedge and Colts spring focusing on uh the goals for the facility really like looking at our statement of interest that was submitted the deficiencies as we stated in the SOI how those physical conditions May adversely impact educational programming uh we have a lot of information to share with them regarding that U and the district's routine and capital maintenance program so we'll have all key stakeholders there uh to answer those questions um and we look forward to greeting them at 1:00 on Wednesday at hedge and and walking through the buildings so it's um this was not something that we were invited to last year so it's it's a positive step so um we look forward to a good visit um and the last thing I wanted to mention just school committee policies we're talking about policies and remember from the presentation that the masc all of your policies will be on the masc website they're not there yet yet so in the inter term what we've done is we've created if you go to the school committee website page right below your photos um you'll see a button that says policy manual so when you click on that they're listed section by section so there's an index for each section that explains what's in there as well as all the policies associated with indexes a all the way through um as well as um a um sort of explanation introduction to how the policies are organized we've also changed the link on electronic School Board because of that to do a direct link to um the school committee website so as not to repeat it it seemed a little bit redundant to put it into ESB I think it I think it reads better it will read better if we have it on our website in MC I think electronic schoolo going to be a little challenging for people to find wonky is a good word yes um and again of course I mentioned that masc will be placing our policies on their website they're working on that and it'll be in a searchable format with all the other District's policies that are associated so it's a great step um we look forward to that that's all I have this evening thank you anybody have any questions no all right then we will move on to retirements Mr chopi uh yes I have two retirements uh to share with you prior that will occur prior to the first of the year uh Sandy Miller who is one of our elementary special department heads uh will be retiring after 16 years uh just in uh start of November on November 8th and then we have Judy cabal who is a uh par educator at the uh at P at the preschool uh she will have been here for 19 years and she'll be going out on the 31st of December good for them Mr Pano right behalf of the district and the school committee I like to thank these two Educators for their 35 combined years of service to the district thank you um all right we've Committee Member reports anybody have reports and proposals anybody Mrs Jackson um other hand I just wanted to I know we talked about the um diversity committee retreat but um we did a day of meeting with the diversity committee and I feel like we did a lot of work that really will impact us getting started on our strategic plan and they really put a lot of time and effort into things not only the things that were presented tonight but some new initiatives going forward and I feel like we're set up for our next meeting to be in a really good place too so I was really happy to be a part of that awesome thank you anybody else um just that Mrs Jackson and I had I mentioned it earlier um several several meetings over the summer with Mr KY just to talk about our Budget moving forward and how we um as a school committee and um work with the town and how that kind of that whole process will go a lot of has come from it we've talked about um a study for transportation there's been a com a potential study for um consolidation and just kind of talking about how we can have a better timeline that everyone is aware of the budget timeline and it's not just on one side that understands where we're going um and so that I think we've had some really good conversations that are going to move us forward and we're going to keep keep these conversations going we have our first budget meeting on the 24th I believe um and then then we'll get our budget subcommittee started enrolling and get all everything uh moving forward but we're really hoping that the groundwork we've laid will um result in a much better budget season than we had last year but I think that's really the only big thing that I wanted to mention okay now we have Master planning Mr Morgan um yes we're um we have a meeting scheduled for the 12th a brief meeting before the open space um committee meeting at the library I have three different meetings I'm scheduled for that day I'll 10 one out of the three uh but yeah so there's just a brief meeting and then the open space committees mean they're going to listen in and offer answer any questions so it's really not a public form per se but unless there's people attending open space want to talk with thank you thank you um and I know there's no building committee you have one coming up this week that's the other one on the 12 yes it's a busy day I know I with you I have a lot um and now we have uh Personnel reports Mr trophies um well this evening I can share with you that we brought on nine certificated staff 14 classified staff and then over the last couple weeks towards the end of the summer we did receive eight uh resignations thank you thank you for that I know it's a busy time of year it is um hopefully the busy busy time is over because that would be bad it get busy um but um do anybody have any unfinished or new business that they wanted to add to our agenda for next time no all right we've got the consent agenda does anybody have anything they'd like to take out of the consent agenda or anything they'd like to bring up regarding the consent agenda I am not going to take anything out but I did make uh I believe they've been updated so the minutes that are in there right now are updated with just the minor minor changes that just to make things kind of flow in my annoying um formatting so um but but they are in there they they just were this morning right yeah so but yeah anybody have a motion for that or a question on the on my changes really tiny okay so consent agenda if no one wants anything removed I just need a motion to move that forward I'll move than you we have we have a motion do we have a second second thank you Mr Rano now we have a motion anybody have any questions on the motion all right we should be able to vote wait mine's weird hold on coming in sorry I'm holding this up okay is that music I don't know what's happening you're run pressure now M now I can do it good when it work I've got it it just didn't want to work for me for a second all right so that that motion passes so our consent agenda is approved um we didn't have any items removed and unless anybody body has any burning questions or thoughts they want to share we can enjin adjourn the meeting at 8:49 thank you everybody and we'll see you on the 23rd great night e e e e e e