##VIDEO ID:ECwvip7F4TA## okay okay I will call to order this meeting of the somerset Berkeley Regional school committee at 605 p.m. du notice having been posted pursuant to the open meeting law any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium attendees are therefore advised that such recordings or Transmissions may be made whether perceived or unperceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible we'll do a roll call of members present miss fera Mr fer maker here Mr Mado here miss Solomon here Mr biera here also and the chair is present also with us this evening our superintendent of schools Mr Jeffrey schover our Chief Financial Officer Miss Raquel Palin and our director of curriculum Miss Elizabeth hasal and as always our recording secretary M Robin marara uh could you please stand on touch I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the na indivisible andice for all thank you everyone please note that the next regularly scheduled meeting of this committee will be held on Tuesday November 12th at 6: p.m. here in the somerset berley Regional High School library and the first item on the agenda for this evening is our student representative report Ryan what you got good evening everyone all right so just jump right into things um regarding Performing Arts is a busy busy month for uh performing arts groups so last week was the 51st music town uh Ball performance um that was held last week and then upcoming this week on Thursday is music pops night and this Saturday there is the pra which is going to be held at 1:00 uh to move on to sports fall sports are winding down for the season and during the competitions for teams last few uh competitions they are our senior nights so wishing the best luck for seniors um in their future plans and then as it is Breast Cancer Awareness Month uh many sports teams are representing wearing pink uh Pink uniforms selling like last week at the game they were selling pink pink bracelets pink shirts everybody was wearing pink so just something nice everybody wearing um same colors made for a good cause uh and then in preparation for senior's future plans tomorrow night at the school there is a financial aid night so students uh Juniors and seniors are allowed to come tomorrow at 6:00 um where financial aid process will be discussed along with uh the college admissions process uh in the past few weeks guidance counselors have been meeting individually with seniors as a lot of early application early decision deadlines are set for November 1st some of them earlier today uh October 15th is some students first deadline for uh some of the schools down south so that is some things that the guidance counselors have been doing uh working hard helping everybody leave their deadlines and get prepared for future plans and that's that's all I have oh and then uh few weeks ago we had our homecoming dance which was uh which was fun A lot of a lot of students came um I think it was the first time in the past few years that that event was sold out so it was good to see that's that's everything I have thank you very much anyone have any questions or no the I think the only thing I would add uh so tomorrow night as as Ryan said is the financial aid in college admissions night and it's certainly Geared for parents of Juniors I think probably more Juniors than anything knowing that they're they'll be going into this process soon but also seniors who are in the midst of uh completing their college admissions uh process right now uh but really any parent is welcome to come so if if there is a parent of a sophomore who's interested and wants to begin learning about it any any High School parent is and and their student are welcome to attend that I think that's a great Point too because fafs looks at prior prior year so if you actually want to try to plan ahead move some things around or make some decisions it's actually sophomore year is kind of the last chance to do it in a way that will impact your freshman year of college financially so the earlier the better because it's so cheap college tuition it's really affordable nobody's for it at all if I may just add one thing to Ryan's um last week uh uh Senator Mary was making a brief visit to Somerset and he wanted to attend our schools uh and and do something with students uh so even though it was this was last Tuesday and uh there was no school for students for the high school that day because of parent teacher conferences members of the student advisory Council along with some of our class presidents and a group of similar students from the Middle School uh gathered at the middle School uh and just had a about an hourong discussion with Senator Mary I don't know if Brian if there's anything you want to add but I just want to say that our students to No Surprise they were they were excellent and he remarked several times before he left how impressed he was by the 12 or 13 students who were present that day it was nice just nice opportunity for them to engage in a discussion with a US senator uh but they were very impressive I don't know if there anything you wanted to add it was def definitely a great opportunity not only to hear his point of uh view on certain topics but along with some of the middle schoolers views on certain topics that we talk about all the time here at the high school and I also got to see the new Middle School which the first time seeing was impressive very impressive it's very impressive great thank you for coming in on your day off any time anyone that okay thank you so much um okay move along the next item on the agenda is um we talked about this last time when we did a the building inspection tour we noted that um Diamond Regional Vocational Technical High School had um built and donated um a fabulous trophy case which is up by the walking Track um and the purpose I think specifically is to um house the for the Hall of Fame that have been maybe tucked away not on display so that's we're appreciative to them so I would entertain a motion to accept the donation of the trophy case from Diamond Regional Vocational Technical High School so mov motion by Mr Mado and seconded by Mr Fen maker anything on discussion I'll just add we drafted a letter of appreciation to okay nothing on discussion all those in favor I opposed so voted thank you thank you for drafting that Robin um the next item on the agenda is the assessment summary and we are going to hold off on that item until the November meeting so that that information can be presented alongside school Improvement plans and those things go together is there anything you want to add before we no I'm super excited about it Dr BR and I were actually talking about it uh today and we we're looking forward to it great here all about it next at next meeting um okay the next item on the agenda um is under new business is discussion of the mcast ballot question um which is question two which would um make the grade 10 Ela math and grade science mcast U exams wouldn't take them away but would make them no longer a requirement for graduation am I stating that correctly yes um so this came up at our last meeting and I don't know if what are those of the committee anyone want to make a recommendation an endorsement can I just give a little bit of uh background knowledge uh so even though Miss hasell will be presenting the assessment information next time just uh for this for the 2024 data just so we understand exactly what we're um talking about here uh our Ela results and this is based on let's see 247 students who took the exam so there are these numbers might not line up exactly with what we've seen on the assessment results because you could have had uh some students who did not take the exam for various reasons um and are considered a not meeting right now but they haven't actually taken a test so just for the 247 students who completed the math mcast exam this past year and we had uh just about 55% of them either exceeded or or met the standard and we usually consider that as passing but for graduation purposes uh it's a anyone who scores uh who has a score above a 485 so 486 486 and above and a 46 is like halfway through the partial meeting uh category so we had uh 11% of our students this is just in math 11% of our students uh were uh exceeded the standard uh a little over 43% met the standard 41% of our students partially met and then 4 and a half% did not meet of those of that 41% who partially met the upper half of of that so um so the partially meeting it's I should have I should have a display in front of you uh so scores 530 and above is exceeding 500 to 530 is meeting 470 to 500 is partially meeting and then below 470 is not so these these 30 point scales uh so for that partially meeting if you cut it in half and just look at the upper half 485 486 to 499 um they they meet the graduation requirement so they they have partially meeting score but they but they meet the graduation requirement uh without any with having to do nothing else the bottom half of the partially meeting category so between a 470 and a 485 uh they are placed on an EP um a proficiency plan uh Ed education education proficiency plan so they have to complete a certain they can either retake the test and if they get a qualifying score then obviously they um they meet the graduation requirement or they can fulfill some certain course work uh and if they um fulfill certain courses with within uh someone said Berkeley then they they are all set for graduation so usually if you if they fall within that category just about I I want to say all students but pretty much all students meet the graduation requirement so for us uh as someone said Berkeley last year for last year's group we're talking four and a half% of our students who took the test are currently not meeting it's 11 students and what I look at um from looking at the English scores the scores they're very similar 10% of our students exceeded 47% of our students met the standard so 57% um met the standard but then it's um for the students who scored a 486 or above it's 83% of our students just they've passed they've met the requirement in additional 133% of our students fell within that 470 to 485 uh so they have they they will pass with that EPP and then it's 4% 10 10 students uh who need to retake the exam and um and pass it that way so we're talking 9 95 96% of our students uh have already met the the graduation requirement even though 55 56% of our students on average have met or exceeded the standard it's 96% have met the graduation part of it so just just to give that layer because I know we don't really talk about that part where we just look at the four categories um but just to provide a little bit of some background information for you and and Mrs Andrews as you mentioned I think there's this some have the misunderstanding that a yes vote means mcass is gone it it doesn't mcass remains it's just whether or not is considered part of the graduation report so thank you I I have a couple questions one um I'm really never worried about towns like Somerset because most of our students do quite well as Mr scova mentioned if the mcast is no longer a requirement for the graduation my only concern will be how do we let's just say some school districts and I've known this in the past because even when I was a child I saw some students just get pushed along and here's paper off you go it's no longer our headache um I think the mcast and No Child Left Behind and all these other programs were to avoid districts not like ours to hold them accountable uh my question is if the mcast is not a tool that's going to hold let's say the student accountable because obviously it's not going to prevent them what is the purpose of the mcast at that point is it just to hold the district accountable um so that's why I'm not I don't think I have enough of information to vote Yes on something like this is because I want to know how is this going to affect school districts um obviously there are some students that are horrible when it comes to a test and they are not able to pass that test and they're being hell behind I don't think that is fair as well but I'm glad that there is a waiver process that the schools depart that the schools can either request but I don't know I'm having a hard time of districts um just rolling students from grade to grade to grade and in the long run we're failing our students especially they pass high school they go into college and then they really because I hate to say this a college might not have the standards but now are we sending kids to college who are paying big bucks and that can't make it so that's where I'm struggling with it um so I don't even know how I'm going to vote at the at the ballot box so I haven't got to that point yet so I could never make a recommendation here to the public because I'm still trying to weigh my options so Mr well I I don't typically agree with Mr madow you do no I do I do I I have to tell you that I am very concerned with this because I think our district is is fine we're addressing those things when we have the students that need the assistance we hopefully we're giving it to them to get them to but look at the the bigger picture and you have other school districts that are just waiting to be able to cut some money out of the budget or they need to cut some they don't have enough money to cover what they have oh here we can cut us position and and you're going to be you're going to leave students are going to be not well protected I think would be the word uh I see this this is not the end all the m testing but I think it was a kind of the beginning of moving forward to bring all the students up and I think by uh right now not having an alternative to that there some language in one of the documents we had about that we don't have any alternatives for that so the students as Mr M said are going to get pushed along because they don't want to take the test they don't want to take the test and fail you don't need the tests um I think it's a for me it's uh you know I'm a I'm a solid not so anyone else the only thing I'll add is I grew up in in in a large city school so I know how things can work well can I can I put someone on the spot this the be I agree with both of your points I I there needs to be some kind of accountability to hold students where because like like you were saying other school districts students seem to get pushed along if they if they're not passing you know you get that extra paper like you were talking about get that extra credit um and you can you can get through and then once you get to College you're paying that money and if you're not ready then it's going to be a big shock so I I I also agree that should be know I'm kind of in between so my daughter was a CO kid so she did not have to pass mcast I mean she's always passed before so it wasn't an issue um but she didn't have to because of it was Co so and she's in college she's in her junior year and doing fine but then you know I have a son who is the complete opposite of my daughter and really struggled to have to pass mcast because he's not a great test taker so kind of I kind of see both sides of it so I'm not quite sure yet one way or the other up um I I'll be I'll be the contrarian because why it's my um I I think that um while I think that valent measures are not the best way to make education policy in general um I think that um there are fewer and fewer um states that require essentially that sort of like exit exam if you will to no Massachusetts is consistently ranked um the highest in the nation in terms of education so um but I I do struggle with um having a students I struggle with the validity of a lot of standardized testing in terms of does it measure what it reports to and does a one day test really demonstrate what is student knows and can do and I think there are very there are limitations to mcast I don't know that it is um indicative of what students can do I think that their four-year career in high school um you know is a is a far better way to ascertain their you know their preparation for whatever their postsecondary Pursuits are so I think there are a lot of limits with it and I think this frankly comes with some frustration at the department of eded for sort of maybe not being responsive to calls for reform in this area um I've seen in the the district I worked in previously students take the test five times and Miss by two points and that's kind of heartbreaking um and it's not for a lack of um effort by the student the family or the staff who are working with that student so I just think that there are a lot of limitations to it um um I share concerns about okay then what is the standard but I think at least from my seat here in Somerset I think we have local graduation requirements that I feel really good about I think that if students attain they're taking four years of um not just taking four years of but working through four years of math English their social studies science and their other requirements I I feel like that is a much more comprehensive holistic appraisal of what students know and can do and I think that it tends to for a lack of a better word punish maybe students who who struggle with standardized testing and yes there are alternate assessments and yes there are some waivers not every district is in the same position to be able to sort of like cohort students that way to make those appeals successful um so those those are my concerns um my worry my this cynical part of me worries very much that if they're going to keep the exam but if it's you know if a student says it doesn't matter for me I I would probably not exert my best effort you know um and then will that be sort of oh this might be too strong word but weaponized against District so how is desie going to use this information right and if students aren't maybe as motivated to do their very best that day because they know for them it's not you know crucial in terms of graduation the accountability part of this I worry about for districts so that's the cynical reason why I'm a little bit like maybe we should keep it but in terms of like benefits to students I think we have great teachers who do great work over the course of four years I have a lot more faith in that than I do in a test a standardized test that is sort of you know of dubious value I think so that's just I don't know if anyone else has anything we don't need to take a vote I think it's just it's I think it's more of making folks aware of the question and and it is complicated and you know folks will make the best judgment they can when you show up in the only thing I would say to the public if you do not educate yourself don't vote either way cuz I would hate for someone to go in there uneducated and just check a box one or the other and it may go against what they actually may believe if they didn't educate themselves on it that would be my only recommendation and I think a lot of resources sometimes go into testing that if we assume that intentions for folks time resources go into testing that could be used I think more um effectively to support kids and yes that means you're you're sort of having faith in people to do the right thing but I think I know here we will do that so it's a lot of testing for a lot of kids it's a lot of time I that's just but I I am going to mention one thing I think this is a failure of the dec you know when people come out and put a ballot question it's because desie did not listen to people and continue to go on the same course as they have been over and over again when people get tired of something because they feel like no one's listening to them they take the measure 90% of the ballots I mean uh ballot questions that are put to the public is not always it's a good thing it's just because one or two people believed it and now they got the enough signatur so I think you know that's why question one and later on in our resolution I do support an alternative but uh so that's just as an FYI I I I I think this is really um a situation that could have been avoided if desie had dealt with it among themselves probably when it came to this so I was just gonna add a couple of things uh so first the superintendent Association did vote uh took a stand on this uh and they voted uh to uh support a no vote just uh with the the premise that desie really needs to go back and look at making a better test uh and and I was looking at some recent test questions and there are some there were some test questions from math and Ela that I thought were very good questions and then there are others like there was one I think was from 2023 uh one of the high school questions it was it was really what is the difference between a rational and irrational number and we're all well educated people here when is the last time where any adult had to know the difference between a rational and IR rational number and and how how is that important uh you know and for someone who took many many math classes in college that was never relevant to me and it's never been relevant in my working adult life so there there were just some questions too that were asking like why you know what's the important here uh so creating a test that really uh addresses what we want students to be able to demonstrate before they leave High School I I think maybe looking at my my personal opinion is revamping that uh but to the accountability uh comments that were made uh it's not necessarily related to this but I'll just give an example for South Elementary last year 2023 results uh we had a couple of students who uh in a in a subgroup um who opted not to take the test because two students in a subgroup determined not to take the test that subg group's participation fell below 95% South Elementary last year likely I can't you know we have no guarantee to this but they were on the bubble of being a school of recognition they had all of the numbers that qualified them to be a school of recognition but because two students in a subgroup did not take the test it dropped them into from BAS basically a a high a level of high distinction to a school on watch or whatever the category was um because of this small opt out by two kids uh and with a 95% participation rate anything below 95% participation your uh your school of intervention needing intervention or something like that uh so I would assume that's going to happen throughout state so for accountability I don't know how it's going to impact us uh you know we might have just a a Statewide um system of schools that are need need an intervention because the participation doesn't reach the 95% threshold uh I I thought about that I wonder um but I don't I don't know have anything to add Miss hll no we had this discussion actually I have a I have a daughter who's going to get to vote uh for the first time uh this year so it's an exciting time and so she got her mail and ballot at school and so we had a conversation it was not dis similar to this and because you know she's like okay how am I voting on this I said I don't know I don't know how how are you voting on this so we talked a little bit about all of the the the things that you laid out and um you know it's it's a good conversation and it's an opportunity to keep the conversation going I think um and you know we the outcome we're looking for is for you know for us to realize our vision of The Graduate right so so that we can have these conversations with our kids who graduate and they're really thinking about it and becoming responsible young people who are going to move us into the future thanks everyone okay um next item on the agenda is discussion on future use of SLE Regional school as a voting loation um I actually asked this to be put on the agenda um because I had concerns myself about U particularly for the primary in September some of the logistical concerns in terms of um there tends to be low order turnout but it has the impact on the school logistically in terms of especially the high school kids trying to come to school to park and then having the park somewhere else um to accommodate voting which is very important but um that was one of my concerns was just the logistics and then myself personally the other reason I wanted us to begin to talk about this um is that I have concerns about um given how contentious politics in this country is and um some of the be behavior that we've seen around elections I have real concerns about having having voting in schools period um I know that that tends to be the default place in most communities because it tends to be the place that's you know can accommodate it that's just my so that's I wanted to put it on the agenda and bring it up for discussion and open it up to other folks or maybe I'm well I'll say I'm in agreement um with M and about um um specifically the the our situation in the high school being used in that um I know in September school was a session and it was an issue for students and parking they had to park elsewhere and I think correct me if I'm wrong some of them got tickets that were taken back but they got tickets for parking um I think our responsibility needs to be to the students that we've presented parking passes to for them to be able to park and us to provide um parking for those students to get to school and get to school on time I think voter um voting at the school should be a secondary thing but our responsibility should be to the students and and being able to find a place to park I was kind of surprised by that issue in September I don't know what Somerset being from I don't know what somerset's um other options are for voting that I I'm going to disagree with both my colleagues um you know when I was a little kid I was always very proud of walking down Fairy Street to John J Doren school with my parents or with my father so he could vote um and I remember especially my father being a first gener uh he was he was the first American citizen of my family because he was born in Portugal and he was very proud to vote he taught me as I was going down to on Fair well we were walking down fairy how important it was to vote I've never missed an election because of that um so there's but the other thing is on November 8th there were many November 8s throughout my school year that it was a no day for school we choose to have a half a day where we have these problems but in and the only reason why I know this is because November 8th is my birthday and many times on Election Day I would have it off because that is the correct way to do it in voting is extremely important making sure that we have a safe place for the people of Somerset to come and vote should be priority number one students should have the day off we have snow days we have all these other days that we work around our calendar election day is extremely important and having one location for all of our senior senior citizens because this is another thing a lot of people in many different parts of the Cities especially cities I vote here no I vote over there which Precinct do I go to which where do I go cuz that's how I remember when I first ran in 2006 I had people going to Wilbur while I was standing and they were supposed to come to the Middle School uh because they were in the wrong precin so I think having one building so for me I will always support election at our school but it should be a not it should be a day off of the students and then you don't have these issues where it's a contest you know people are upset about the politics right left and all of that so I I disagree with you um I think the school is the proper place for government buildings are the proper place for election and learn it hopefully students are coming in with their parents so they can be instilled on how important it is in election like my father did for me so um because I can tell you right now too many kids who are 18 are not voting because they haven't seen that um so I I I I will never a vote for our High School uh or any school in this case not to be used for a uh a public poll in place so I'll sayle uses our school we only have our school to choose from um and we don't have school that day that's how we and we don't have school for the General in November but I do I I think the primary was kind of a hot mess I'm it was a lot of inconvenience to our students for a very small turnout and I want I value voting I also I mean I'm going to throw out there I wonder might the Middle School the brand new Middle School be cuz this is also a Somerset Berkeley Regional High School Berkley votes in the in Berkeley K to 8 and might it be um appropriate now that the middle school is finished to have Somerset vote there I'm just throwing that out there um I I even with school closed I still I as someone who thinks about school security in a different capacity um and absolutely values voting and doesn't want to I don't want to make voting harder for anyone but I think our priority has to be so maybe we either have to think about is the middle school which would be a conversation with another committee a more in the town would that be an option or if not then I think we need to look at our calendar when there's a primary and no I can't support having school over open when there are elections anymore so I agree with Mr masado that you either we have to close school um and you know I'm not in charge of the middle school or the other I'm not in Char I don't have a saying K to a but um for me for the high school it's sort of been a concern for a while just in general safety and Logistics and a lot of things and for me the primary was kind of like the last look why are we doing it this way um so um that's why I just wanted to bring it up for discussion and I don't know if anyone else who was here that day has thoughts on that or Mr Vieira I mean I I agree with both your points about security but also it needs to be a place accessible to all of Somerset um for voting but I'm just trying to think back to the election day I do remember um there being some parking issues um with students for because of their um people coming to vote parking in the student parking lot um leaving spots open for them but also um people holding signs for people coming in they were there as we were walking into school you were walking by people holding up signs which like you said it could become a security concern and I don't know if there are any other logistics I know sometimes setting up the night before this building gets a lot of heavy use I don't know if there's any impact with the setup this primary election was definitely a lesson learned and and that's not something that we're going to do again whether it's at this school or at the middle school some other location for uh that primary election where the ballots are open I think from 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. for a day like that there has to be we have to have no school and then we always try to even though it's just one one school in one District uh so for Somerset the other four schools which are really are different districts uh those may just you know have school that day and then unfortunately the the high school just ends one day after uh the other four schools um you know we try to keep the two in lock step with each other but um that's we saw that that's not really possible any longer uh when it comes to this there are there is another election that occurs in this building in the spring uh the town election and that is one where the polls open at noon and close at 8 and we have and we have an early release day uh whenever that occurs and that has not been an issue uh up to this uh Point uh in the past so I don't know if you feel the same way about having those that town election uh that begins at noon because I I think Ryan on that day we have it's an early release and I think we either we don't serve lunches at all or maybe there's like a bag lunch option or something that on your way out yeah yeah if someone wants it but uh so we're not using the cafeteras because they would set up in the calf in the morning getting ready for the the noon balance uh so that is that's the second time every year where School are inide plus you um um during an election well I think I don't think there's a need take a vote but I think it's something that as we are building calendars going forward and thinking about some of those Logistics I just wanted to put it out there is to the Forefront to be thinking about all for all of us to be thinking about that because I think that um want to make sure first and foremost that our kids can get to school and be safe um coming and going and um you know we shouldn't put obstacles to that um un un you know unintentionally of course um so perhaps there's some creative things we could think about moving forward anyone else okay the next item on the agenda is is the Staffing update Mr Schon over uh yes uh so you have um a few try to find it here uh a few appointments I do want to uh call attention to uh Jennifer Lazaro who will begin on Monday as our human resources coordinator and was not here I'm not sure maybe it was on the previous agenda but uh Jesse an Welch who has been our HR uh coordinator for the past three years um she is stepping down from her position and we're very fortunate to have Jen Laro um uh step into that role Jen has a very extensive career in HR we're excited to have her join the team and for those of you who know Jen uh she is uh she's a Somerset resident her uh two children uh recently in recent years graduated from the high school she was the former um president of the friends of music so she she's very familiar with our school system uh and we're just really pleased to have someone with her experience uh join us in that capacity thank you welcome um okay the next item on the agenda under business and financial matters um the first item is to vote on uh updated assessment numbers for the towns of Somerset and Berkeley um I don't know Miss do you just want to sort of remind folks as to why we are updating that assessment sure at a at a previous meeting we brought forward um the adjustments to both member towns due to Chapter 70 the Final Chapter 70 numbers um we were asked to bring the revised assessment forward for a final vote um so you can see that there is a change to the Chapter 70 which results in a change to the total assessment although it doesn't change the bottom line of the operational budget um when we bring forward the budget adjustments at the next meeting you'll see an adjustment between the member towns and Chapter 70 to align with the assessment sheet so translating more money from from the state a little less money coming out of the pockets of the taxpayers with the two a smidge but we'll take it it's in at least in the right direction right okay um so with that background I would entertain a motion to approve the 2024 2025 gross operating budget in the amount of 2,624 th9402 65,535 n967 of which 9,232 537 is assessed to Somerset and 2, 89,4 is assessed to Berkeley a separate Capital assessment in the AM of 2,1 158,159 will be assessed as follows 1,633 1881 to Somerset and $524,999 to Berkley the total assessments to the towns of Somerset and Berkley being 14, 2,136 of which 10,866 418 will be assessed to Somerset and 3,333 718 to Berkeley so moov second motion by Mr Mado second by Miss Pereira is there any discussion hearing none all those in favor opposed so voted I I think I got all number oh I don't know how you do that all the time oh okay great um and I think that those that'll be just as a credit in the in an upcoming monthly payment yes um great okay the next item on the agenda um are the um the gb74 and gb75 reports for the fiscal year ending June 30th 2024 and these don't require um a vote but there's information in your packet and perhaps you could give us a summary overview so this is um gby 74 and 75 are requirements that are related to oped or other post-employment benefits last year the district had a full valuation um which is more demograph demographics and more in depth um this year shes a roll forward year or an interim year um and the real focus is about um the year end asset value as well as your annual required contribution which could be referred to as the arc payment or the ADC um that being said there are just a few things to point out were better than anticipated um with the valuation about $37,000 more which is really good um your funding ratio has increased from 7.03 to 10.32 um with the commitment to add additional dollars to the annual payments uh we're projected to increase another few percentages to get us close to 12 and a half% um so it's all really positive and moving in the right direction question um just for gasby governmental accounting standard board just in case if anybody is trying to figure out what gasby means uh that's the the definition of that or the firm Deo Mr pen are you are you our op person yes do you have great job great job and all seriousness I I think uh the committee has done a great job of increasing our opep contribution um and I would like to thinkk Mr Fen maker and his predecessor Miss um Gagliardi who kind of really pushed us to do that um to pay attention to that so thank you it's a very and also our Administration that was always urging us Mr Taro and pin U you know I think you know and even our Auditors you know who constantly say we should add some more money so uh continue pushing not only this board but future boards as well thank you um and then the next item on the agenda under business and financial is the September financial statement so in summary this is um July to September and really our Focus has been aligning with our FTE and getting our encumbrances uh that are necessary necessary for the opening of school um this too will be part of a budget amendment at the next meeting um as we finalize I believe there's a vote on tonight for contractual agreements um so we will finalize everything and bring forward a budget amendments anyone have any questions about the September thank you um let's see we're at 6:55 we are supposed to start our joint meeting at 7 with Somerset I'm looking see if there's anything we can do in five minutes rest you want to recess yeah why don't we recess okay so we'll recess for five minutes you need a motion no just do it oh we're recessing then for five minutes and then we will um come back together at 7 for the joint meeting with the somerset school committee school committee will enter back into session yep um at this time I want to call the somerset uh Public Schools school committee meeting to order at 7:04 du notes have been posted uh pursuant to the open meeting law any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit this meeting through any media attends are there for or advise that such records and Transmissions may be made whether perceived or unperceived and uh by those present um by roll call uh just uh for the Public's knowledge U Miss Ashley Miss Ashley reached out to me today she's under the weather after speaking to her I'm glad she's not here because we don't want her here um with that cough um so by roll call uh Miss Cal pres Miss Miss Ferrera present oh Mr G present and the vice chair is also present um and with us we have our superintendent of schools uh Jeffrey schover our Chief Financial Officer Miss perin um uh director of curriculum Miss hasco and our recording secretary um Robin Baro thank you sure um and our first item is to I'm going to entertain a motion uh to enter into executive session purs to Massachusetts general laws chapter 30A section 21 A3 to discuss strategy with the respect uh to collective bargaining and or litigation um if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on our bargaining and litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares American Federation of state county and Municipal uh employees ask me par professionals and cafeteria oh par professionals cafeteria contracts and the somerset Teachers Association M Mo sta a memorandum of agreement and a s side letter agreement and pursuing into the Massachusetts General Law chapter 30A section 21 A2 to conduct strategy session in prepar ation and negotiations with non sorry I'm going to scroll down nonunion Personnel or to conduct collective bargaining session or contract negotiation with non-union Personnel superintendent of schools salary increase I I'll say afterward um we have a motion made by Miss Ferrera secondly by Miss Corville uh by roll call Mr G um I miss Corville I miss Ferrera I and the vice chair votes I and the somerset school committee will return to public uh will return to open session and at this time I would entertain a motion to enter into executive session pursuant to Massachusetts general laws chapter 38 section 2183 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or in position of the public body and the chair so declares American Federation of state county and Municipal Employees asme paraprofessional and cafeteria contracts and the somerset Teachers Association sta memorandum of agreement and S side letter agreement and pursuant to Massachusetts general laws chapter 30A section 21 A2 to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non-union Personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions or contract negotiations with Union Personnel superintendent of school's salary increase so second motion by m fer and seconded by m Mado um I'll do a roll call of members present uh M barera hi Mr Fence maker Mr Mado hi Miss Solomon and the chair vot to I and the committee will return to open session region um is back into Open Session um and the Ka will has also returned to open session um and the first item on the agenda would be um the superintendent salary increase so um on behalf of the region I would entertain a motion to approve a 6.5% salary increase for superintendent spoon over for the period of July 1 2024 through June 30th 2025 and this would be retroactive to July 2024 so second motion by Miss fer and seconded by Mr Fence to maker is there anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor I opposed so voted on behalf of the K8 I'll entertain a motion to approve a 6.5% increase salary increase for the superintendent for superintendent scoon over for the period of July 1st 2024 through J June 30th 2025 retroactive to July 1st 2024 second we have a motion made by m Corville seconded by Mr Gore um any discussion um obviously um this increase is based on the evaluation um that uh we just had from Mr scoon over u a couple of months ago so uh by uh all in favor opposed for it um and then I just add for public knowledge um that that uh decision was rendered not only in terms of his evaluation but also in terms of um some careful consideration with um what superintendents and and nearby and comparable districts um are compensated for and also for his extensive uh years of service and commitment to um both Somerset and Berkeley um in full recognition also um that he serves two School committees um at two districts and that that is um not a completely unique arrangement in the cona but um certainly um an unusual one and a very challenging one and we are very grateful um for his leadership okay next item okay next item on the agenda I would enter on behalf of the region I would entertain a motion to approve the cafeteria contract uh for the period of August 1st 20124 through July 31st 2027 so Move Motion by Miss Ferrera and second In by Mr Fence to maker is there anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor I I opposed so voted on behalf of the KA I'll entertain a motion to approve the cafeteria contract from the for the period of August 1st 2024 through July 31st uh 2027 some second we have a motion made by Miss Corville seconded by Mr Gore uh any discussion with none uh all in favor I opposed 4 z um next on behalf of the region I would entertain a motion to approve the par professional contract for the per period of August 1st 2024 through July 31st 2027 moved second motion by Miss for incited by Mr Fence to maker is there anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor I opposed so voted on the K8 side I'll entertain a motion to approve the power professionals contract for the period of August 1st 2024 through July 31 2027 so move second we have a motion made by Miss C second by Mr Gore any discussion with none all in favor I I oppose 4 z um and finally on this matter I would on behalf of the region I would entertain a motion to um accept the mentoring side letter of agreement uh with the STA for the period of September 1st 2024 through August 31st 2027 Some Mo second motion by m f and seconded by miss defense to maker is there anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor I opposed so voted and on the K8 I'll insain a motion to accept the mentoring side letter of agreement with the somerset Teachers Association uh for the period of September 1st 2024 through August 31st 2027 second we have a motion made by Miss caral second by um Mr Gore any discussion with none all in favor I I oppose 4 Z and next on the agenda for the um joint meeting um under new business professional development plans are we doing that or we putting that till next no that's that's that's okay that's make sure all right um h just want to project a jing I do have it open oh here we go I paused and then I didn't know how to get out of thank you okay so we are actually going to start at the home um so this was a collaborative effort um I am the only one here presenting but um as you can see uh uh principal Stephanie Brown Alexa cabal who is our instructional coach for the elementary um Stephanie Brown is the principal at South Elementary School Alice Ferris is the social studies content coordinator for uh Somerset Burg Regional High School um n Nikki merata um is a chorus teacher for Somerset Public School schools Erica Pereira and Matt talbet are both assistant principles of uh Somerset Berkeley Regional High School so this was a collaborative effort um of our team and and they know I'm sharing it so and we even have a little picture so I'm just going to please step in for one second uh you you Darth just launched its own uh doctorate program uh that the started this I think they announced it in the summer late summer is that uh and uh it just kicked off this September and there were about 25 or so people in the cohort seven of the members in this cohort are um Educators and Somerset and some Bly uh by far maybe not by far but definitely the largest contingent uh from U from any school district as I said earlier we kind of consider ourselves as one even though U we're not necessarily um so we're very proud uh that I I I personally am very proud that we have seven people who uh stepped up and are seeking their doctorate and they're able to work together uh on some different projects I can't wait to see their problems of practice and and how it unfolds uh within our schools but just as an introduction thank you um so we are using data to inform our professional development plan um one of the things that was really fun as we started to work on this was um you don't you don't often slow down to think about all the data that is informing the decisions uh or that are informing the decisions that you're making um and and we have a lot um and so um we really are committed to inclusive student centered learning um and uh our vision is really to personalize learning um not just for our students but also for our um staff so we're going to go ahead and get started with our elementary plan pathway um so Culture Connection and Community Building um we are really committed and as you may remember we have done some uh responsive classroom training over the years um and so these are some of the topics uh one of the other things that that has really come to light is that we are always doing a lot all at once um and our principles um and assistant principles are working hard every day alongside our teachers um to really embed this work in what we're doing but we want to support the professional learning of all of our teachers and that embedded peace and the ongoing professional learning is what we're really committed to and we're trying to find as many ways as we can to fit that in because we don't really have that many professional development days so um this year I think that um I think it's actually three for the elementary um because one of them is a planning day so uh these are some of the pieces of the professional learning that we're doing and our principles and assistant principles are working really hard um to bring it all together during our common planning time so the grade level common planning time that's happening our principal or assistant principal is part of that work um and so again I'm going to I'm going to keep scrolling um so there are connections with the um desie teacher rubric so there's a new teacher rubric and teacher teaching standards and these are our Focus standards for this year and really connecting the professional learning with those Teaching Standards um and then this is what our format and schedule looks like so our common planning time uh and our teaching all students block those are the the blocks where our um uh principles and assistant principles really are instructional leaders and working alongside our teachers to provide them the the support that they need um they are also working to connect and tie in faculty meetings so that anything that can be an email is sent as an email and uh the opportunities for professional learning are happening again during that uh contractual time really um early release days again we have four this year um but one of them is a an elementary planning day so uh we've just had our September Day October 30th is on the horizon and um and then there's another one in Jan anuary of course we have our um election day Ed Camp is also happening and that is a full PD day and we love that day um but uh it is uh more of a it is an all day voice and choice uh situation um so teachers get to pick um although we are building in some vertical um meetings so that our fifth and sixth grade teams can talk to each other and talk a little bit about what's happening and um how we might support each other and then our eth and nth grade teams will also be working together um at the start of the day um you may remember uh we did have to make some adjustments in Staffing this year uh but uh Alexa cabal has been named as instructional coach and she is working with our principes and our assistant principles but most importantly alongside our teachers and um really helping to support um the work that we're doing this year and I'll talk a little bit more in a few minutes about uh our teacher induction program um and then the oppos opportunities outside of the school day um I will refer to those later I'm going to keep scrolling so uh we are rolling out in at the elementary a new uh math program um but it's a direct connect with building thinking classrooms and Peter lad doll is an author um who uh has a book called building thinking classrooms uh and he also is going to be uh rocket is a company that offers live professional development with uh educational gurus and Peter lad doll is one of them and we um sent out the invitation to all of our teachers who might want to participate so it's an evening course it's with Peter himself um and it's five weeks uh two hours uh per session and so uh we're going to try this new model and and see how it goes and we're kind of looking forward to hearing about it all of our levels have um at at some at each level we have had either an administrator or several administrators and teachers participate so it's even more meaningful as the teachers and the leaders are working side by side um and moving forward so um we're really looking forward to that and then our specialized PD so we have our Specialists um who are uh classroom teachers but they also are in need of their own professional learning related to their content area um and so uh we do provide the opportunities throughout the course of the year um even some asynchronous learning modules that we've bought for our um art Department um at the elementary they had requested and um even at our Middle School um and so we we're really wanting to provide the voice and choice for our adults and their learning uh not just our kids so the middle school and the high school um have a little bit of a different approach um we have offered pathways to our faculty and staff and uh reaching and teaching all Learners is one of the pathways and integrating social and emotional learning into classroom culture is the other one so there are you may look at them and say there are only two um but if you think about the amount of staff that we have um and again we're using data to inform um our our PD Pathways these seem to be the ones that um between the surveys that we give and our um observations that would be the most meaningful to our teachers um and so uh we have chosen those um I'm just going to sorry scroll up a little bit um and we've got uh really a make and take workshop model is what we're looking for at the secondary um we want teachers to go in learn and be able to take what they've learned and implement it tomorrow if they chose to um and then when we come back together we talk about our experience with the one thing that we tried between the last session and the next session and then how did that impact our students and their learning and then what's our next step um so that's really the model that that um teachers appreciate um I think we all do um that that it's worth your time um and and so uh we're really focused on those goals um the process and and then um one of the things that I really liked uh so I'm I'm going to click through really quickly but um and hope I can get back to where I was um one of the things that I really liked uh we're working with a team uh that's providing modeling um but they also um have taken some of the work that we're doing in District and really made the work that they're doing connected to our goals and our work and our strategic plan um and so uh this this is their presentation and they included all of these pieces um so again we're not just doing the learning but we're also making the connections between our district strategic planning our vision of The Graduate our school Improvement plans because they're all connected and um so it's one of the fancy things I wanted to make sure I shared because I I really um appreciated that um sorry lost my page um and then oural pathway I again I may have mentioned in the past um that we uh wayfinder is our umal curriculum for our tier one instruction um which everybody gets um but we're also doing some work uh with a woman named Donna Tobin who is um anal coordinator um in Massachusetts uh for a different School District but she does some work with Athena k12 and she has been outstanding in the work that she has done with our team last year here at the high school so we have expanded the work that she's done and she's working with both our middle school and our high school this year along with Sarah star who is the wayfinder um PD provider and last but not least um so we have some additional Pathways at the high school they have a larger um team that works here um and we you again you may recall that we this is year two of our PD Pathways at the high school so uh teachers uh participated some teachers participated in theal pathway last year and they would have gone into a different pathway this year um and so this is a new cohort and a new crop um who are focused on uh social emotional learning um we have't we did have building thinking classrooms last year which was facilitated by Andy Lawrence who is one of our uh content coordinators she's a math content coordinator yes it sounds familiar it's what we just talked about when we were talking about the elementary um and Peter Lilia um this year we have again some some of our um teachers that work here who are facilitating building thinking classrooms the humanities addition so Peter lilll hasn't even written this book yet um but uh his is focused on math what these teachers are doing is taking the concepts which are res research-based and applying them to the humanities and really sharing their experiences and um their strategies for building thinking classrooms so uh they we have a really special and an amazing team um and they are doing the work to Pro um provide these opportunities um so that's uh Christina bergm um Ben Chase um and I Emily cabal may be working uh with them also and and then we have Matt Croft who um is uh offering our we're using technology to enhance learning so technology is not there just for the sake of technology or because we all have Chromebooks now um it's uh really how can we use and leverage those technology tools to um take our our learning uh to the next level so um Matt Croft this is year two of him also um facilitating this session and then reaching and teaching all Learners um again you may recall we did work with through line last year um and we have uh continued that work last year it was uh focused on freshmen and this year it's focused on sophomores and so um we have been looking at our data from The Freshman cohort and uh some of that data has been informing the work that we're going to do with this teacher uh or with this teacher cohort um who are teaching sophomores um and again we have our um focus areas our objectives um and finally um and again this we're we're to last but not least again um special education we have mentioned before that the new IEP is rolling out this year and so um this is uh this is an opportunity for our special education teachers um they are really uh learning about the new IEP and applying what they've learned to write the new IEP so this is going to be a journey for us um throughout the course of this school year um and uh our um coordinators and team facilitators are really leading that work um and with these sessions uh and one of the um speed bumps or hiccups that we always have is that special education teachers are in the classroom but they also have some really specialized skills um that they need to um learn about and and grow with so um we're trying to always provide that balance for them um because sometimes we when we have to roll out a new IEP we don't have some of those same choices but um prek through 12 the new IE is something that we really need to make sure we're providing that ongoing support um and that's our our colorcoded uh PD plan that that we keep referring back to Dr bford is um uh every early release day says go go to the plan look at the plan it's it's there so um and then finally uh we have our some other professional development opportunities um as I mentioned Ed Camp which is our annual um we do have that integration of departmental time faculty meetings uh common planning time we do our learning walks where our leadership team um goes to visits all of the buildings provides feedback we get to see you know what's happening in all of our classrooms um Team time time I said earlier I would mention this um it is our teacher induction and mentoring experience and our uh our course is called the exemplary teacher and um we have it broken down by the beginning teacher or beginning Teaching Standards 1 and two standards three and four um this year standards 1 and two and standards 3 and four are the sections that we are running we had so few brand new teachers that we just integrated them into a cohort with our veteran teachers well are there there are beginning teachers there in years two or three so they're not quite veterans yet and are veteran mentors um and and so uh what we're looking for is to Pro provide ongoing support for our new and beginning teachers but also uh to provide some new learning for our mentors who are supporting our new and beginning teachers rocket pd I mentioned and then of course our Advanced coursework and uh we're really trying to provide that that personalized individualized professional development and I mentioned the data um we continuously um are asking for feedback after each session at the end of each year and that data informs our our PD and and where we go thank you any questions that only one quick question how are we for staff at the new IEP for writing them do you think we we're going to be okay it's going to their workload so uh one of the things that Miss Ashton and I uh we we've met with the STA leadership recently uh and we are providing um uh teachers who uh are writing IEPs knowing that it's going to take a little bit of extra time uh to write an IEP now uh while until they really become familiar with this new process so we are providing uh each teacher up to I think it's 2 hours of additional time uh at an hourly rate um if they need it um for this year while they are um completing that and really learning as we go so that was something that the STA requested uh Meg and I both thought that that was very reasonable um an accommodation we can provide making sure that they build that comfort that they feel the support and as Liz mentioned uh there's been a lot of training so far um the different trainings are taking place again uh some some more I think today uh and this week uh bringing some people in just to provide some support um to people as they are learning this so uh right now it seems to be going quite well and then we will uh we know that it's going to be um it's a learning curve that everyone is on and we're we're here to support them while they are getting familiar with this and and build that comfort in writing the new I anyone re have any questions that was very th it's a lot of work that's and that's just presenting it that's not actually delivering it and doing it and so um I appreciate that and I think that emphasis on a lot of that tier one instruction and how um the supports are embedded in the that or the instruction that all students receive is is so important to do that explicitly um so I think that's fabulous lots of good ideas to steal we're good sharers than you I'd just like to return right back to the original photo I think it's great that all seven of you are participating in your doctorate program together I think it's uh having your colleagues doing it with you I think it's going to be great I wish you guys best of luck thank you so much it has been awesome and we're only in the first course it it's it's just that good so it's a great team such hard workers and it's it's nice to have we have some quality time together so um lots of zooming good thank you so much thank you very much thank you okay next item on the agenda I have uh Audi visual concerns for meetings y so I don't know if you want to start with that sure um obviously there's been a couple of meetings that I've had to participate in Zoom um and I don't know if there have been others that feel a concern that you know one of the things about have the open meeting law and having a remote participant is that we must be heard by the general public and we have to hear everything that's going on that is the official um to be part of the open meeting uh of having a partic remote participant I can tell you at Ed is extremely challenging to listen to whichever side the microphone is on and if someone is speaking in the public it's it makes it even 10 times worse so I think we need to either invest in some type of audio system I know there's a place in for where that does um I think it's wow um not to be confused with the gym um but I know that um they do things and I know in the past we've used um access AV from New Hampshire or something like that but it might be a new company now in the past I was trying to remember who did work here or maybe it was an satv that they did work at UH being of that board as well but I also think because this is a meeting uh environment we may want to also speak to Sav so we can film things live like they do with the selectman's meeting um not only by I think we used to have it in the um in the school the former school committee room where they had a direct control maybe perhaps doing it in here and also at the middle school in the K8 side but that's something that you would have to work with them but meanwhile for us um I've also heard people in the crowd it's sometimes it's very difficult to hear um some of us are softspoken but I think we need to do something and if someone does need to be remote either the chair say I can't guarantee that you're going to be able to hear and don't allow it or make it completely a zoom meeting when a member needs to use zoom so that would be my recommendation and and Kim I know Mr Fence maker he was on Zoom not too long ago I think jene were you on Zoom time no okay um I don't know what your experience were was it different than mine or is it similar so I the last K3 meeting I had Co so I zoomed um didn't want to share with anybody um and it would Mrs Ashley had the speaker was here and her mic was here so I had had no problem whatsoever hearing my fellow committee members but when it was the other side talking it's I could hear but it wasn't as loud as I probably missed a few words here and there and I mean I did hear the public and all again all depends on how loudly someone is speaking so if you have someone that is you know a little soft spoken it it it is very hard to hear so I think it is worth if we're going to continue to keep you know being able to zoom it is important that maybe we have mics even I mean one at least if if we're using a computer on one side you know something on the other so or towards that way so at least we can kind of pick up the prop also because it it is difficult to hear I don't know how it was hearing me oh we can hear you fine but from the other end it was and the other thing is I don't know how it is you know in the Berkeley Town Access TV sometimes certain certain members we can't or certain comments it's very hard to hear even on the recorded on satv or something like that so yeah it was I had a similar experience with it and I was the point where I couldn't hear enough to to make sure I was answering the right question yeah you know what I mean because it was so not very clear it sounds like it's not just the zoom it's exacerbated by Zoom just right but it's not just a zoom issue and I think if you watch most school committee meetings because what else do you want to do with your time um most other school committees I think have microphones for every member for the super the regular attendees and then often um there's a Podium or lecture and set up with a mic for the public to so everyone can be heard so I do think it's important to keep the meetings accessible so um whether they're in Zoom or not um I know this is an intimate face but we want to make sure folks can hear everything um so I don't know if we could maybe um ask our technology folks to see if they're um if we can figure out I would think everyone should have a microphone I mean I think that's the simple answer yeah um I know it's a little more set up but we have had we have had some cases where where uh um stuff was brought in for us yeah yeah um and then yeah and then when Mr Mado is talking too much we can turn off his mic you can turn mine up I'm so um all right so I we we're all I think we're all in agreement that we should try to address that so is that something that we can work on yes um and um make sure that we're complying with the meeting law and and and also just as an idea I don't want Robin to be carrying equipment from this building to the next building we know that these are the two meeting rooms um and the reason why I mentioned perhaps asking satv I would like to allow other community like other uh departments they may need a meeting Hall as well I know with the town hall being down and sometimes they only meet at the uh Library you know give the other districts you know the opportunity to also be here if it works with satv you know because it it almost want to make it not so much this particular place but the K8 I mean the somerset meetings could possibly happen in one of our locations until the Oldtown Hall is open m so and we've all experienced we're fortunate tonight do not have the air handlers going but as soon as those turn on it just makes the problem that much more course and I and I was just leading over to Liz and and W spring too we're also in a library and I know acoustically this was designed to not have sound carry very far so we're also up against that hurdle which you know we can't fix that but we can certainly look into ways to amplify voices and make it clearer for everyone okay great thank you thank you for bringing that Mr Michelle um okay next agenda public input um for the audience when you use when you would have a meeting with just one school committee it was much easier to hear when the whole school committee was over here and the audience used to sit over there uh even when we had the air handlers going now now when you have them going it sometimes it's very difficult to hear the people that are on the ends or or Mr make but but I I I just thought it was much easier to to hear when the audience sat over there oh as opposed to like this horseshoe so I'm going to sit at the far shoot okay so we can see what we can do to get amplification through more mics more quick and also maybe see if that addresses it or if we also maybe need to reconfigure the layout especially for joint meetings or okay anything else public input no okay so with that um I'll entertain a motion to adjourn the KA school committee meeting so second we have a motion made by M seconded by Mr G all in favor I I oppose thank you we're going to take just a brief moment and we will continue with unfinished business for the reg any okay thank you we'll reconvene the somerset Berkeley Regional school committee meeting um at this time the next item on the agenda for the region under unfinished business or votes on the um masc the Massachusetts Association of school committees resolutions these are um for support opposition or Amendment um there are uh several of these resolutions if it pleases the committee I think what I'd like to do is just go through resolution one the title and then and if someone wants to make a motion either in support or opposition we'll do that if we need discussion we can have it otherwise we'll vote and we'll move through or you can alternate or you can amend it if anyone has an amendment they'd like to suggest does that sound like plan yes okay the first uh resolution is for the development of an alternative to the high stakes mcast test mam chair I'll make a motion that we support i' want to make a discussion I'd ask to have one one of the resolutions added one of the um one on the first page the last item um therefore the resolve the Dy has urge Massachusetts test testing effectively immediately res you know taking the incest off like next week right I would like to have that removed okay my motion um all right so first we had a motion from Mr masado but it wasn't seconded okay not seconded so now we have a motion by Mr Fence to maker I'm sorry I didn't hear you that's okay you didn't hear Mr Mado no how do you live at your um so Mr fener Maker's um motion is to amend resolution one um and the amendment would be to strike the final um the final condition on the First Column is there a second second um so we have a motion and a second is there any anything on discussion okay hearing none um all those in favor I opposed so voted okay okay um the next resolution resolution two is to increase the compulsory attendance age we have a motion I make a motion to not to oppose to oose yes second okay motion by Miss Bara um to oppose this resolution is seconded by Mr Mado is there anything on discussion I just wanted to say uh Mr masado and I had attended the zoom I don't know if anybody else was able to um they did say in this they're going to try to get both of these together to be done at once to be passed as a combined unless someone asked for them to be separated they're doing that with a couple of these um that are kind of similar so I just wanted to put that out there for who our delegate is that uh I would request that we ask that they be separated and not be voted to together they want to combine one and two they want to do a vote for the two together so you're passing either both or not passing unless someone asks for them to be heard separately I was going to mention that like we did at the last meeting I I think when you have 11 resolutions that they're trying to do like security um certain things in blocks so um I think they're trying to avoid what happened last year but unfortunately every article every resolution has its own Merit it should be voted on its own merits so I would recommend that uh in the beginning of the conference when they decide to stop doing this that um you stand up and say no let's vote this our our committee voted individually so should we type of thing okay um now last did we vote no we didn't no we didn't we have a motion in a second on resolution two to increase the motion is to oppose the resolution to increase the compulsory attendance age which public information would be to from 16 to 18 um any further discussion hearing none all those in favor I I opposed so voted the next resolution number three is regarding the safe storage of firearms essentially would uh require the school district to communicate with families about um the safe storage of firearms do we have a motion I'll make a motion to oppose second we have a motion by Mr Mado and seconded by uh Mr barer is there anything on discussion this is one that they're also trying to combine three and four um reason I'm opposing is while I feel it's very important that Firearms are stored properly I don't think it's the superintendent's job to do that uh send out something to the schools they they're not asking for you know unified message from everybody they're just kind of saying each district can do what they want um so that would be what I put to oppose yeah just to go as m forever was saying that you know each the MSA ma The Mask Mas masc Jesus um is basically asking School committees to ask their superintendent to write a you know an education piece when during the meeting I asked would shouldn't that be coming from the A's office and we just follow send it to all the families no cuz or masc should be coming up with something I get very nervous when masc is putting a resolution because of one Community or one district and it's not every District can do whatever I hate to say this the masc or um the district we already have that right we can do it on our own we don't need their permission to be told what to do it's either going to be as a here's what mask recommends not what each diff you know we don't need their permission so that's what I would recommend to say to them we don't need your permission to do something like this if we choose to do it so anyone else okay if there's no further discussion all those in favor this is to vote in opposition to resolution three I I opposed so voted the next resolution is regarding school bus stop uh arm surveillance act and enforcement penalties I'll make a motion I like to insain a mo I like to make motion that we oppose this second okay there's a motion by Mr Mado and it's seconded by m BR to oppose this resolution is there anything on discussion there's there's no mechanism of uh funding it not that I'm against it but is who's going to pay for it right so this invol just this involves cameras and buses and there's an enforcement action here and there's equipment and there's a lot of things that are and you also have District some that own their run buses and some that don't so it would be kind of hard to make sure it's un done correctly so um anything else on discussion okay hearing none all those in favor of opposing resolution for i i i opposed so voted the next resolution resolution five is aligning the taxing Authority with the required local contribution I like to entertain a motion to oppose number five resolution number five second so there's a motion by Mr Mado seconded by Miss barera um to oppose resolution five which would essentially um remove the 2 and a half% do prop two and a half um uh cap on on increasing um local taxes so we have a motion to oppose is there anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor I opposed so voted the next resolution number six is to support legislation to improve the fiscal health of rural school districts we have a motion I'd like to make a motion to support article number six second a motion by Mr M second by Miss fera to support resolution number six is there anything on discussion I think I would just add that this resolution involves the state funding uh to support rural districts as opposed to the previous resolution which would put more of a burden on individual towns and municipalities if I'm I don't want to oversimplify but I think that's a crucial difference yes um okay so the um motion on the floor is to support resolution uh six if there's nothing else on discussion all those in favor I opposed so voted resolution number seven is next that would uh um resolution to fully adjust chapter 7 the aid for inflation um I would like to make a motion to support number seven second motion by Mr Mado and seconded by m is there anything on discussion no one's opposed to getting more State money to help keep up with inflation uh okay if there's nothing else on uh discussion all those in favor of supporting resolution 7 i i i opposed so voted the next resolution number eight is regarding equal funding for non Regional School Districts with high Transportation costs we have a motion just for the record um the K8 had discussed this and we actually were no action because we were tied to the two um so just just to let everyone know about that but I'll I'll entertain a motion to oppose uh resolution number eight we have a motion to oppose is there a second second T in my M um is there anything on discussion hearing none um what say all those in favor I opposed so voted um the next resolution number nine um is regarding the msba the mass school building Administration um Association thank you grants evaluation for chapter 74 programs is there a motion I would like to make a motion to oppose resolution number nine second a motion by Mr Mado and it's seconded by Miss bur is there anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor of opposing resolution number nine I I opposed so voted the next resolution is number 10 uh this is a resolution to expand the capacity of chapter 74 Vocational Technical programs you have a motion like I'd like to make a motion to oppose number 10 second motion by Mr Mado and second by Miss ferera is there anything on discussion I just have one question in still folks who the webinar um was this limited to vocational and technical schools or does it also apply to like a chapter a chapter 74 program that might be for instance in a comprehensive school that was I I believe they were just talking about vocation schol what I took okay um in that case I know how I'm um okay anything else in discussion it was yeah okay um hearing none all those in favor of opposing resolution 10 i i i opposed so voted okay those are uh that concludes the um New Resolutions and then next we have several expiring resolutions does the committee want to take them one by one or do we have a i I'd like to entertain a motion that we approve all the expired ones second I'll support support the the continuation of all expiring resolutions is there anyone who wants to pull anything out okay in that case I'll entertain it so Mo so we have a motion to support the continuation of all expiring resolutions is there a second second Mr uh anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor I opposed so voted okay okay I think that's all of them thank you everyone um okay uh the next item on the agenda would be to consider appointing an masc res iions alternate voting delegate um I am for k38 the alternate okay so I don't know if that puts me off of the alternate well if you both didn't choke then I would have two votes that's the only thing two voter two voters right well we only appointed Miss Andrews we saying that should we appoint a ultimate just in case not a bad idea just gonna say his life so this Mrs Ashley is vo and I am her the alate the alternate for K because I will be there okay um I don't know if any need I don't think there's a I I think there's a problem with you being the alternate for both the only problem would be is if both didn't show up cuz then I can't vote twice that would be the only issue okay is there anyone else who's planning to be there there for the trans shows this defense maker he thought he was out of it it's only be willing to be the alternate the undy that's the Friday that is Friday correct yes be the alternate alternate I mean if one of them doesn't show up and I'm there I don't mind so okay is that okay the alternate to the alternate all right thank you Mr Fence to maker okay so I would entertain a motion to appoint Mr Fence to maker as the m resolutions alternate voting delegate so Mo second okay motion by m second by Mr Mado anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor Al for the alternate you can't oppose that motion um okay so voted next on the thank you Mr serious um next on the agenda uh updates from Berkeley and Somerset Public School start with Berkeley start with Berkeley um I don't have much from our last meeting um we are just 3 weeks out on our school building project vote November 5th um we have lots of Tours scheduled if anybody wants to see our lovely Community School to vote for funding what are you we are voting to approve the project yes you will so the project um the total project is just under 89 nope just under 90 million at 89 million um Berkeley's portion would be 50 million the msba would reimburse us the other portion which is the 40 million um but we have a couple of we kind of in the so we have November 5th and then we have 11 special town meeting on 11:14 for our second vote to completely approve the project um so we have tour scheduled virtual meetings in the next couple weeks it's home stretch kind of just trying to get it get it done um but that's really what we've got going on there that's a Lu there is well with that yes you want to come see the Leaky school yeah you can see our leaky our our yep busted windows our floors the water comes up from underneath cuz it's just like a sinking mud yeah it's great it's 60 something years old it's just it's time it's time I'm sure you guys are yeah you know the thing the taxpayers and Berkeley have an opportunity to uh almost getting matching dollars you know you know that's something that's doesn't come very often so the thought of having 45% actually paid by the state is something it's a no-brainer you know yeah I mean and in the cost of the repair there's it has to be done there are things that it's beyond its life expectancy so there are things that have to be done and the cost to do those things that need to be done are going to be far beyond what the this project total is and the reimbursement from the state which we will not get so fingers crossed that everybody sees it that way it's interesting just to see how much the cost changes over time yeah so this building uh the the average price to construct a new school now is twice as much as what it was when this one was constructed so this $80 million project would be you know 150 160 yeah and and that's kind of some folks are saying because we just have the BP project that we have to put our portion into so there's a lot that's happening for us all at once that's going to increase taxes for folks and it it is unfortunate but if we do the kick the can down the road and get try to get back into the project at a later date we're only talking about practically double in cost in the time that hopefully the msba would put us back into the project so unfortunately Now's the Time to do it it just Falls at a sort of An Inconvenient time for Berkeley and what we've got going on right now but has to be done so got to figure it out thank you um um some sh updates go sure go ahead um at the last meeting we um we had students and uh come in uh they gave us um a great report about how they're all adjusting to the new school um and it was it's nice that you know that they're looking forward they enjoy starting the day every at The Home Room uh where before it wasn't that way um there they we did approve the DC trip um we said goodbye or we are in a process of saying goodbye to two retirees uh Lan prattis and Teresa noons uh we did approve uh I don't know if we approved but uh we did have a dis a discussion on Middle School cheer team Transportation this was something that the administration worked on um we decided not to put any any special articles um we did get a uh a buildin update uh for the middle school which is obviously up and running we had a staff reports uh we did get an update on our Chase Windows um we are still working on a capital plan and we voted on the resolution like I mentioned we basically voted exactly the way that we voted today except for number eight it was a no action because we didn't get a tiebreaker and um we were very fortunate to get a donation from a for a Trumper and um and I Trumper Trumper Trumper Trumper Trump maybe I did it's late and I have TR yes Trum and um and we did also have some public input regarding some Capital plans um regarding walls at north um from a public attendee that's about it thank you Mr Mado okay um next on the agenda topics not anticipated by the chair I have none um action items for future meetings I have a couple okay um one I'm not 100% sure if this is correct or not but I'm not sure if we ever had a plaque made from Mr uh for the tennis courts so if we could look into that and perhaps get some um you know pricing so we can improve that so and if there are any other I know we already did the the pack but just in case if there is any others that we need to do uh and also I know I used to enjoy this quite often when I was a K12 member and that was meeting with our friends from Berkeley school committee I was just just wondering if we could potentially have a meeting with the Berkeley school committee just so CU I don't even besides Jolene I don't know any of them and I'm the best one perhaps you know and and perhaps you know you know I still cherish my friendship with Chris um and that all started with those uh meetings so I just wondering you know it' be nice a for them to know who we are and for us to know them so perhaps maybe ask if they're interested in the joint meeting okay would you like me to present that question to them or do you want to do it in a more official comp you are a representative all right it's me we see if they're interested in talking to anyone have any other um I'm just thinking that they might be thinking how where would you meet which location so we'll go visit that aoro is like right in the middle perfect the only thing that I think we need to um get moving on for this committee to is um Capital plan but specifically where it relates to the turf and the track replacement I think we got some guidance from desie about um whatp type of plan we would need to present to them in order to be able to perhaps have some additional Financial options um I don't know that those would be adequate to cover the cost of what we would need to do but I think that um that is something we need to start so maybe if the next meeting we can flush out a plan for that moving forward we need to do specific the hard budget but um wanted to give Miss P the opportunity to get acquainted with us before we um hit her with that but I think I think we address it I was actually going to ask if we can put that on our next agenda item uh I reached out earlier today uh to a company to come conduct an assessment uh the same one who did it for us uh in early 2020 uh so hopefully for our next meeting I'll have that report to share as as the first step to having that discussion and and if it's all right perhaps um what are the pros and cons of grass and turf these days you know I'm just curious you know I believe last time turf was the ideal but I'm just wondering if any other districts are changing back to grass or anything like that just out of curiosity this present I'm just curious yeah it's there's there's no okay any other items for meetings great um and with that uh the next item on the agenda is to consider approval of minutes of Prior meetings anybody need to pull anything out in that case I would entertain a motion to accept the open and executive session minutes of 10 September 2024 as presented so move second motion by Mr mad second I miss for anything on discussion hearing none all those in favor I I opposed so voted uh one more call for public input in that case um I would entertain a motion to enter into executive session pursuant to Massachusetts general laws chapter 38 section 2187 to comply with our under the authority of or any general or special law or Federal grant and aid requirements to consider the release redaction withholding of September 10 2024 executive session and pursuant to Massachusetts general laws chapter 38 section 21 A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body and the chair so declares Somerset Teachers Association and I would note that the committee would not return to open session so move second motion by uh Mr Mado second by Miss Ferrera I we need roll call for this on roll call um Mr Mado hi Miss Ferrera hi Mr Fence to maker Miss Solomon I and the chair vote to I and once again I'll reiterate the committee will not return to open session