##VIDEO ID:oCKhjEXLOsk## this government meeting is brought to you by eastw works and our local cable subscribers all right so the time is 6m this is the Southampton school committee meeting regularly scheduled for the month of November we'll call the meeting to order with all five members present as well as our superintendent and there's been an ask to go out of order for an accommodation so we will take up the finance team report first no problem thank you when I was here last um I presented the list of issues that had been identified and I think um maybe it was Dylan or somebody from the board asked if the next time I came I could give an update on uh maybe a timeline so what I've tried to do and again it's not it's not a presentation format this is really for us but I don't take any additional time away from the work that I have to do to make it pretty this is really detail that may or may not be good for you but it's helps us to keep track of what what we're doing um there's a number of different entries in here I just wanted to highlight a couple of them um I don't really have much more to say about the audit which is on the first page we have the audit coming up um we expect the Auditors when I spoke with them said they thought they'd be here by the end of November they will be putting um requests into a portal which we will receive it that'll be asking for different you different papers and such numbers for 23 um we're going to do the best we can none of us who are here now or here then and the books don't do what I would expect them to the end of the year for 22 does not match the beginning of the year balances for 23 on the trial balance it's kind of concerning we're looking at things but um you know that's just moving along I think the most important um thing to mention and and perhaps it's not one that affects Southampton as much but it is one that I will report on is the payroll um if you'll remember we had 20 payrolls which were not in the general ledger for 24 and none of the payrolls for 25 are in the general ledger we're in that situation because we moved from our infinite Visions uh Tyler Technologies platform to processing payroll through Harpers um Harpers has done a great job of getting things um straightened out all of the withholdings ETC but it doesn't automatically feed into our general ledger and what the I believe the previous business manager was expecting is that we would get a download from Harpers and upload it into Tyler to be able to feed the information into the general ledger and as I've explored and talked with Tyler technologies that is not possible they do not accept any uploads from any other system so we are we have a short-term fix and a longer term fix shortterm it requires a a lot of work to summarize all of the information from Harpers we can do it electronically digitally but we have to summarize it we won't be putting the information in by person we'll be putting it in by account code or cost center and uh then having to do a journal entry to put the expenses where we need to put them so it's just a lot more cumbersome and timec consuming but but that is the short-term fix the long-term fix may be and at this point looks like it will be moving back to the payroll module of our current Financial platform um so that remains to be seen But if that if we do go in that route that won't happen until January of 26 that mean bringing payroll back in house yes yes I I assume that you're exploring all the re all the reasons why you don't want to do that yes like the filings the quarterly filings um in fact as long as we're talking about the quarterly filings it's actually on here a little later but um it was yesterday I think it was yesterday when um Kim USA um the superintendent Administrative Assistant came to my office at 10 minutes of one to say I'm so sorry and I said what and it was a letter that um she just received so November 12th that was dated November 6th and it asked for the business administrator to show up in Springfield to meet the IRS field agent at 1:30 so I was not going to be able to do that um because literally we just received it and what the letter said is that the quarter two and quarter 4 filings uh for form 941 the payroll tax had not been submitted um so I ended up calling him and just saying you know I can't come and we talked about it and we're going to resolve it um the really good news is the quarterly payment's about $200,000 plus and um I thought oh where we going to find that money but actually it had been deducted from everyone's pay and sent to the government just that the form was never filed so I'll just file the form and we'll be out of that hot water but it was and those two quarters are in this calendar year those two quarters were in 22 so well in the calendar year 22 which would have been the one of the fiscal years 23 and one in fiscal year 22 are they um attaching penalties of interest at this point if um if our uh if when we file it the deposits cover that no if if it's just a matter of filing we they won't um they said if we do I asked them if if if they were if they had to assess what could we do was there an appeal method and they said that I could fill out a particular form which would reduce might reduce the the fees so I don't I don't know that we're going to have any I'll report on that next time um but I think we'll I think we dodged a bullet there because I found the information that I can use to file so if you get to that point and there are penalties there's there's a specific federal law that exempts municipalities if they write an apology letter for penalties you got to pay the interest oh okay um we had to do it in okay and basically you just blame the predecessor okay you're the new person take care of it I fixed it and it's not going to happen all right so I think you know I'll report on that but I think we'll be okay on that one um and that was for Hampshire Regional that was for the high school um actually yeah so let's see the other thing I wanted to point out on the positive side is um on page on page four um in terms of State reporting one of the things that we were really backlogged on was the mtrs reporting so the deductions were taken from um from Teachers Pay and sent to mtrs and once mtrs receives them they go through an audit process and in some cases some of the schools were a year or more behind and some were less behind but we've caught up as it states here so um to various levels I'm just trying to see if Southampton so Southampton um the reports are through August 23 and they've been post and finalized for 24 and they're up to date through September in an initial status so the initial status just means mtrs has to now review them it's ready for their review they've accepted them and now they're going to go through their procedure so that was positive um we are I we were granted an extension until February 1st for the end of the year reports um we'll be I think V we're talking was it next in December the first week of December with Jay Sullivan at from desie we give him updates periodically just as you did last year and um we'll report on our Readiness to be able to meet that also at that time he will be talking to us about um the the very critical element of end and when that's going to be calculated um we know that it can't be calculated on a timely basis because the numbers aren't in there yet in the system to generate the reports that they need but is but we anticipate I would say by January having the payroll information in and all of the expense information and um we should be in a position to move forward from there so that's I mean I'm I'm willing to entertain any questions but that's the situation there um of course we we are about to start the FY 26 budget process and um that that is well it'll be easier when we have the FY 24 numbers but we do have the fy2 budget and I've been going through that and trying to match um trying to match the numbers that were presented to the various School committees with the numbers that are in in our books and um some of them like in central office I see that there were some there were some items that were not accounted for so I'm going through that budget right now with a fine tooth comb because in the not too distant future I think it's the first week in December we need to come to the ADC to present the central office budget so that's really what we're working on right now is trying to get the central office budget together so we can present it to all the school committees and that's kind of where I am at this point any questions thank you oh thank you so much work great job really really this is like really wonderful this report is phenomenal I really appreciate this okay uh approval of the minutes of October 9th 2024 I just one on I wasn't here last month so I should be listed in absent that is correct oh sorry it's okay did you make any motions take the credit her her presence is still here regardless sitting on John's shoulder is there a motion to approve as amended so moved seconded I second there's a second all in favor opposed so moved I you V the under I love good recovery no members of the public present uh circulation warrants no announcements or Corr respondence principal's report will be brought to us tonight by our superintendent indeed um I don't know if there's any questions on what was what was shared with you I'm glad to answer any of them but one thing I did want to update and I think this might be on later in the uh the agenda but one thing that I asked uh Alisa to to really focus on was the security system and the update um where we are right now and she she had a a dialogue with the owner of the company the last piece of that system is back ordered we're waiting for it it's supposed to come in this week it's the horn which is integral to the announcement of an issue and um once that piece comes in it's installed then the uh system will be presented trained to staff so that we are ready to move forward with the entire system as designed uh to be implemented um the school council what one thing that uh Alisa did ask me to update with respect to her report uh there were four parent volunteers to serve on the Council of course that needs to go to a vote that's all part of the process with the school council and the volunteers are responding with information about themselves so she can kind of put together a little marketing packet for each who V what who votes the the uh the community the community oh it just doesn't always happen because we usually don't have that many volunteers interesting true sometimes is only two and then yeah that there is um but now there's four so there has to be a vote and so uh once the uh the information is collected uh Alisa will put together a process to collect votes on those four and who two of them will become the uh the parent members of the school council any specific questions on her report good uh superintendent's report okay uh so again I'm I'm glad to take any questions you might have on on what I put in the report uh my my focus tonight is really about um the evaluation process next steps and I've had some questions from from school committee members uh around what can be done to support us moving forward and um the the reality of our situation um really came home to me as I settled in in August and September and I started thinking about what evaluation looks like what the goals of the superintendent should be how we might Envision um a vertical articulation from from uh the Strategic plan to superintendent goals to District Improvement goals School Improvement goals and then down to individual uh student learning and professional practice goals and I felt that the most important thing was to really work on relationships building relationships establishing trust reestablishing a sense of responsibility roles in responsibility with respect to central office specifically in in the time that I've been here and this is my fifth month in the time I've been here one of the things I've tried to do is be a part of and be present in the community z uh and so I tried to go to events I've tried to uh be at the schools I I want in the classroom um at the nighttime events at games at sports Etc and what I've seen is that each of the the schools each of the the districts has a sense of community that's really strong that there's uh a staff that cares deeply about the students there's principles who are invested and engaged in uh making uh the life of the students and and the uh Educators in the buildings uh as as viable as as excellent as it can be and so the the thought that I had was the focus needs to be on central office on rebuilding Trust on on ensuring that people understand to whom they go to when they have a question understanding the roles and responsibilities of the superintendent the central office and what needs to happen to move our districts forward in a positive way and so what I've been trying to do is share out that Vision that that um message to everybody that I can uh at the school committee level um and so so really what what I'm trying to convey is that we are making decisions at the central office level that [Music] are are in the best interest of our kids the lens that we're determining for the decisions we're making is about what's best for students what's best for teachers what's best for programs schools and districts kind of in that order and I think it's important that we establish that fact for everyone because there's a need for that reestablishment of roles and responsibilities relationship building trust building and so the the when you look at my goals you'll see that culture is a huge part of what we're trying to do and by we I mean me as the educational leader but us as a team at the central office um I I I feel that there has to be a vertical through line from the the the Strategic plan to those other goals that drive the work in the district and it's hugely important that we create a a supportive and respective excuse me uh respectful environment that we establish a positive culture and that we encourage intradistrict Partnerships and Regional efficiencies and that is really stated quite bluntly in the Strategic plan so what I tried to do or what I'm trying to do is live that and message that and so the ask I have is how can you as school committee members and I'm having this conversation with each school committee how can that be supported in your role in your responsibility as a as a member of the school committee of Southampton how can that be supported and moved forward into the community at large in your role in your responsibility as a father as a mother as a school Committee Member and if we each keep in mind our roles and responsibilities if people understand to whom they need to go to get answers to get support to get resources then I think we'll be able to move ourselves forward in a positive way despite the fact that there's a list of 20 some odd things that need to get fixed at the central office because that shouldn't stop the work that we're doing with our kids with our teachers and so reestablishing the trust that we need to have with the principles with the Educators in the building is hugely important and that is the centerpiece of the work that we're doing as a central office this year and that is the centerpiece of my evaluation and so the process was shared with all the chairs um the timeline was shared there's no Earth shattering information there but what is I think important is a truly sincere belief from the central office a I I believe we put together a really good team and Dawn is proof of that we have people that are engaged and want to do what needs to be done to reestablish those things that have fallen on the way side at the central office level and I'm saying right now that that's how I should be evaluated and that's what I'm asking for support from this from the from the members of the school committees to Echo that message to reinforce that message to help us establish relationships and rebuild trust and that's really I mean I get fired up I I truly I get excited about this work because it's important work and you're going to see me at events you're going to see me in buildings you're going to see our central office team there maybe not Don and her team because they got too much work to do but Michael and Amy and myself are going to be out and about and you're going to see us and that's important to again rebuild relationships and establish trust in the central office that's what's missing in these districts questions now I'll just say that when um Dr talked about this at the hire meeting the student rep said that they actually know who he is and that they had not that's not been their experience in the past these are Juniors and seniors and they said that they they know who he is everyone knows who he is and that's that's a great start as far as I'm concerned I appreciate that and one of the things that I'm a softy I it it touched my heart when the kids asked me to speak at the academic induction so you know the academic Society induction that means a lot to me as a first year superintendent they know who I am they see me around they see me at the games but they asked me to speak at that ceremony and that means a lot to me so I'm really excited about that event Tuesday night I was to say to Echo what Margaret said was I've talked to a bunch of teachers and they've said how much they've seen you around in Norris and you were actually in one my son's kindergarten class for a while and you know went on the floor with them doing yog yeah and so that's that meant a lot to hear that I mean I think that you're going to do great things like from this perspective but to hear it from at parent teacher conferences that you were in there doing like that's cool because that's obviously not something that's happened before so thank you yeah okay uh chair's report uh we did have an ADC meeting uh we discussed the evaluation we agreed on a timeline and a process and that is up for coming um and I believe we I don't think it's been scheduled yet but we are going to return to the chairs meeting with the superintendent once a month um date and time yet to be established Hampshire Regional school committee update so we were doing a lot of the same things we're doing here you know talking about budget and you's goals Etc and so on this cellone um program is going very well um so that's going through December and then Administration is going to figure out you know because it is a pilot program and to figure out how to continue this um one of the things that we learned is that our students cannot tell time on an analog clock what yeah because they have their phones they have their watches Etc so they actually had to do a lesson in advisory on how to tell time okay and I that I mean you learn when you're what six or seven or eight or something in elementary school and then you don't use it again so I found that very interesting clock at home where you put their time on there like a little Daisy clock yeah when I was a teacher I yeah s yeah and there's been you know just like little tweaks such as students the seniors who e outside they can't they don't know what time to come in and so now there's clocks outside um analog clocks but they have learned they're learning how to tell time again which is good how to write children and our last meeting was only an hour and a half so wow lightning yeah it was beautiful were there any updates on the cell phone program the bags it no it's it's fine everything it appears to be very quickly changing the school culture so student aren't complaining about it of course some do you know you can't do anything without some being being concerned but what they say is that it stopped them from procrastinating they're getting more done um they're using their devices less at home because they're not as you know um attached to them and instances of bullying have gone down as well that's Co so what do they need to do to make it a permanent thing after the pilot end well they may or may not you know so that that's up to them is how if it's changed the school culture we don't know might seniors get a little bit more of a break you know those are all things that need to be but there's no like additional cost that will like like they everybody has the bag so there's no bags it was a $26,000 investment to get bags um and some kids aren't even bringing their phones into school at all because they have to lock them up anyway uh so it it is definitely I think it's had the impact that we hoped it would have and how how it perceives as to Administration with advice from the teachers and the students teachers are completely on board um and a lot of the students AR do you have anything to add to that I I I would just say that the you walk into the lunchroom and you see kids talking talking you know it's not it's not this it's engaged they're they're they're having conversations they're they're uh socializing and and the the the the negative effect of social media on behavior isn't there because it's not that immediate I'm going to say mean things about you and then you're going to hear about it and not you know then it's on at lunch that's not happening you know things are happening maybe out of school that might bleed into school but for the most part uh it's been positive the teachers are I I I couldn't I would have to think it's 100% if not yeah there but the the students of course they feel it but when I I I you know I stand outside with some of the teachers and administrators in the in the morning and kids are like it's in my car you know they don't even bring the Yonder pouch in they just leave it in their car and so the seniors have a senior privilege they might go out to the car at lunch and do what they need to do they have access to it but in the school in the uh instructional environment it's not an issue that's awesome one of the requests a student did make was to have the ability to make a phone call home good um without having to go up and ask in the office so there's still a phone in the office there's another one elsewhere that if student needs to call home or call work or or whatever they have that ability to do that they we we actually we principal Hotes and uh her staff and had a a phone installed right outside the cafeteria in the hallway there and so if a kid needs to use the phone they walk outside and they make a call they just have to remember the number yeah that's part and we were teasing about putting a pay phone in and they're like a what I would fix all the problems hey uh PTO I didn't go so that's me too um so when I I started my you know report to them I said I've been on school committee 10 years at the regional it's my second year here and it's boring for the first time ever there's no drama there's you know we have a central office staff that is humming along we have problems they're being resolved and you know it's been just a pleasure this year to just not have The Angst um but for the PTO they of course go in great guns they're so organized the holiday bazars coming up on the 23rd they've done a lot of work for that and they had their Scholastic Books sale and uh gross like $7,500 netted almost 7,000 and they have that qualifies them for the 50% discount through Scholastic and they have enough credits to fulfill every single item on the teachers wish lists so awesome brilliant yeah they're a great group they're a great group school council nothing yet okay we have to have a vat remember collaborative for educational services update next meetings in December hey select board update we set the tax rate yesterday I can tell you what it is because I didn't go to the meeting but I guarantee it's not lower than it was we're uh no no I don't think it went back this year uh and uh moving forward there will be a uh I don't I I don't know if Alisa is going to participate or not but there is a department wide uh Zoom training session on the budget process for the town and how that's going to run and uh requests are out from the other departments for things to be in so it's just moving along uh we had the budget and finance team update uh new business is there any other business that can't wait until our next regularly scheduled meeting heing none uh we got the security upgrade uh upgrades update already um are there any questions or is everybody satisfied where we are in the process okay and then uh if there is nothing else for the public the chair uh will entertain a motion for executive session under mgl chapter 38 21A subsection 3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have mental effect on the bargaining or litigation position of the public body and the chair so declares specifically the South Teachers Association and further ask that the superintendent be invited into executive session to join us so mve second moved by uh Kim seconded by Margaret all in favor it's a roll call Maron I shot I Lum ey John so how do we know so this the time is 6:30 this ends the public session of the Southampton school committee meeting we will not be returning to public session uh we'll take a two-minute break and we'll start executive session e