##VIDEO ID:zij4mKcDA64## all right welcome everyone thank you for joining us I call the meeting to order if you could please join us in the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge allegiance to the plag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation andice you see by the dawn what so proud We at the Twilight last who brought stripes and bright Stars through the fight or the we watch were so and rocks in gave Pro through the night that our flag was still there oh that starled the of thee and the home of the bra Mrs will lead us in the invocation Lord as we begin this session let us acknowledge your goodness and mercy and ask your blessings on all our deliberations we thank you for this opportunity to be of service to our community and to the young people entrusted to our care and if everyone could please remain standing we have um some people that we want to just honor their lives first one is Mary Bliss who was born in 1922 at St an's Hospital in Fall River uh she has many she had many child she wrote her own obituary before she died so I'm those that you that know probably weren't surprised by that there are many happy childhood memories attending we grammar school taught High School class of 1939 and the University of Vermont 1943 gave me way to many new friends and Sisters of the Delta sorority and she talked about her life as a last Latin teacher was a labor of love and laughter was spent in Sudbury Westport dayon and Taunton high schools for 42 years talks about sharing her life with her wonderful husband B Bill Bliss and their three their five children one who pred deceased them Mary Lynn and she talked about all her grandchildren and her parents and her classmates and her cherished six grandsons and her only granddaughter but she also ended up with great granddaughters and great great grandchildren because of her long life she loved dogs travel foreign lands people languages plants trees bicycling poetry hymns and TV she loved to read God's word at mass at St Joseph's Church now St Nicholas of Maya and at and at lelet Shrine and she especially liked to teach in the English as a second language literacy program and she thanked for the family everybody who attended her Services um our our sorrow goes out to their family and I hope that they keep you uh you keep them in their thoughts and in prayers but what a nice long life she lived and I know that people that had her everybody who knew her said that she was a real hot ticket I guess that's a nice and a wonderful teacher too the next one is Richard Allen Parker Richard Parker passed away on September 5th with his lovely family at his side it wasn't that long ago that I did um I did one of these obituaries for his wife Rosemary who was also known as Dolly Parker who passed away in March um he was known as Richie he met his future wife at Rosemary at Kohan at school he was a star athlete at Taunton High School and he did all kinds of odd jobs starting at the age of eight selling newspapers at the dog track working at a local grocery store in it St at San's ice cream shop Richie and Dolly were married on February 20 20th 19 1960 and had three children Lori Richard Anthony and Donna Louise who we know as Donna lorano from our business department and his family was complete he always put his children first and he had so many things he loved doing as a hard work he was a hard worker worked at the Foxboro company bended at the Portuguese American Civic Club he also liked liked all types of fishing saltwater fishing of chadam freshwater fishing he loved to make clam boils and clam cakes and had a large vegetable garden and was famous for his tomatoes and he particularly loved having his his six grandchildren he loved being their grandfather and his he had a first great grandchil Landon Parker who was born to to a grandson Matthew lurra who's a police officer in tton and his wife Ashley last year uh he stayed very close to his adult children and his grandchildren and he was as I talked to his daughter Donna he was very very heartbroken when he lost his wife he that she was the love of his life and he told his children that every day he wanted to be with his bride and his h family is happy to know that they are now together so I just want to extend my sympathies and all of our sympathies and and keep them in our thoughts and prayers I got to know him uh years ago he I'd see him every day in church he said I come to church every day he I he said do you know why I said no he said I survived pancreatic cancer so I I just knew him from that and talking to him what a what a nice man he was so our sympathies go out to the to all the people that that were you know his children and his friends and everybody who really loved him the last person is majorie Sweetman Yugo who is the mother of christen gagnan who works in our business um office as a you know this is was her mother she was born in cat Anon Mass she when she married 18 she became the mother of six girls that must have kept her busy but she became a seamstress she worked as a skilled seamstress in Barrow Fabric in C for many years working on custom draperies as a specialty Girl Scout Lita the proud proudest moments of her life was being a mother of her six girls and devoting her excuse me her life to her her girls her and her for loving care as a parent spending time with her grandchildren she enjoyed making home-cooked meals she made mean Italian dishes her brownies never sat on the table long for someone always had to have a second serving and she truly had a love and neck for serving that even would make her grand children's clothes as they were growing up she also designed a patent for quilted bags she had an incredible vocabulary was an Avid Reader and the P family thought this was important she was devoted Watcher of the father and a big fan of Greg Gutfeld so I'm sure he'll be happy to know that she was also a proud supporter of Maga she'll be greatly missed by her beloved daughters and family and those who who knew her so she she survived by her daughters including um chrisen gagnan she was the nanny to 11 grandchildren and is survived by 15 great-grandchildren and one great great granddaughter she was preceded in Death By Her Seven siblings and behind several nieces and nephews so please keep this family also in your thoughts and prayers and we'll have a moment of silence for these three wonderful people who we lost thank you everybody thank you Mrs Fagan all right could we get the roll call please yes Mr Reus present Mrs shs present Mr palowski present Miss Santos present Mr Vieira present um Mrs Fagan present and Greg Dello is absent and as well as um Mr Laura and mayor okon pres thank you um could we get a motion for approval of the minutes for September 4th 2024 some second Motion in second if there's no discussion um all those in favor I opposed none opposed so voted and we have with us tonight Natalie Duncan for the student advisory committee report welcome Natalie you hello my name is Natalie Duncan and I a member of the student advisory committee the 2024 school year has been off to a great start I am entering my senior year at taon high and I am glad to report that I have seen Improvement every single year over the summer the THS guidance Department held a college boot camp to familiarize students with the college application process students received feedback on their college essays instructions on how to use platforms like the Common App and Naviance and other Guidance the eighth graders are settling in smoothly and a main reason for this is the link crew the link crew is new this year and it is a group of 70 mentors who have already made a positive impact on our school to welcome students back to school we have been holding a welcome week Spirit Week organized by our student council members welcome week kicked off last Friday with Nee during this week I have observed the most student participation I have ever seen for any Spirit Week in my five years of being at ton High tonight the student council is hosting a party as a fun introduction to the school year last Friday ton High hosted the first football game home football game of the season the bleachers were full and the spirits were high students voted during the week to elect their senior Kings of the Jungle who lead chance and boost morale in the student section the Tigers were victorious and dery with a final score of 24 to 14 leaving them with a record of 20 all four all fall sports are starting strong and there are a remarkable 410 students participating in them clubs like Key Club interact Club Deca and student council hosted their first general meetings dual enrollment classes have begun so our high school students are working diligently on College work to receive college credit credits I'm enrolled in the introduction to the College of Arts and Sciences course through um Dartmouth and I've already found it to be tremendously helpful and insightful last week drama club ran their auditions for the upcoming show Guys and Dolls and the class list was released tomorrow there will be a college fair for seniors in the cafeteria with representatives from 50 colleges visiting there was such a high demand for this event that it had to be separated into two cohorts seniors transcripts GPA and class ranks were were released this afternoon in their school brains portal on October 9th the THS guidance department will be hosting an informative session to help families plan for life After High School whether that means tackling college applications or Exploring Careers starting today and extending through Friday seniors are getting their pictures taken for the yearbook in their school ID the library Renovations are almost done and the furniture will be installed on Monday 50 freshmen are currently enrolled in early college classes meaning by the time they graduate from Toten high they will already have accumulated 30 college credits our nationally recognized Esports team led by Mr bores is adding a new video game to their lineup Logan Bell a skills USA Massachusetts state officer from ton high will soon be traveling to Washington DC to have a one-on-one conversation with a white house representative lastly our Tiger Den will be adding a commercial fridge in the kitchen thank you all so for having me I'm looking forward to another great year thank you nalie sounds like the Year is off to a great start I hope you're not missing that student council party tonight I know all right well thanks for joining us and for the information is there any public input this evening no public input so we have the superintendent's report Mr bar good evening anyone on behalf of superintendent cpra would like to send his regrets he's actually attending a conference in Chicago where he was uh asked to attend by the Secretary of Education in Massachusetts so just as much as Natalie talked about what's really going on out and exciting uh superintendent cabal cabal's first comment is looking back about the school opening and he'd like to thank all the teachers pair professionals administrators uh everyone who opens up the school that goes unnoticed and just think at a drop of a hat the doors open up and especially to assistant superintendent Monahan Mark freedus along with all the custodial staff who really make these buildings pristine as they actually dance around the summer time dealing with summer programs so it's not as easy as saying we're going to go in a building and clean they're cleaning as movement is going on and as uh customary superintendent cabal visited every single school and our last meeting took place the day before our prek and K students showed up and I think Miss moan can attest to this it really adds a unique flavor to a building when you know everyone is in house and there's something really magical about seeing kindergarteners walk the building for their first few days and having their teachers show them here's the restrooms here's the main office here's the nurse's office and the eyes that light up of wow this is what school is like so it's really exciting especially here as superintendent cabal and the support of this committee opened up a new prek class which is located around the hallway and seeing those students who navigated their first fire drill because Taun Public School of schools worked with fire department do their drills and seeing them go out and March and lock stap like everybody else so it's it's a great feeling to uh welcome all the students and typ of normal type of how School business is held so that's first uh comment from superintendent cabal the second has to deal with Taunton High School completed last spring an athletic program assessment is part of a pilot program now we're used to having our entire District reviewed by Department of Elementary second Ed High School gets theirs through Nas every 10 years and it's a whole ongoing process this new process actually looks at not so much the academic component but also the athletic component looking at the experiences of student athletes and how to professionalize that program this was a pilot program one of only two districts in the Commonwealth that took part in it sponsored by Nas the New England Association of school colleges uh the massachusett school administrators Association Massachusetts inter Scholastic Athletic Association which known as the MIAA they looked at standards just as much as we look at teacher evaluations administrative evaluations and in schools they looked at the administration resources Equity student safety all with the goal of enhancing the student athlete experience and I know members here and especially I'm I'm trying to not catch Miss Fagan offu here but she's the chair of the athletic uh subcommittee would you like to mention anything about the process at all you talking about when we met with them yes yeah I thought it I thought it was really interesting they they're really trying to to do a lot of what and I I always thank Mark ganelli for having the foresight to do teaching these kids how to be um referees and things during a game because a lot of them have been hired to do that because it's a big problem now in all the sports getting people that will do the refereeing and what I liked about it is is they really want to set a high bar for athletics you know they want the behavior under control and I just thought these people all of them were just really sincere and and really concerned about having athletic events be something that everybody can be proud of that we don't have the bickering and things that have gone on over the years and I was I was really impressed with them as a group the way they looked at things and I was I was really glad to be it was nice to be part of it but they they were an interesting group of people and you know the more we can get things under control I think the better off we are but I think a lot of times you know they they see a lot of violence in and you know like football and stuff like that I know there's some been some violent things going on during the games and I I think we have to change that thought process that we can we can be civil and play a sport you know so that's what I what I like the most about it and and the product of that visit was a final report which will eventually be placed on our website and again I'm glad you mentioned athletic director Mark out of velli because he always belied D our programs could do better our students should be allowed and afford the opportunity to do better and rapael DOW our new athletic director is this cut from the same cloth and having this as sort of a baseline assessment as Mark transitioned out and Raph took over will allow the district then to examine the recommendations and and make an impact and make those changes that they feel uh could really Elevate our student athlete performance so having said that that concludes uh superintendent cabal's uh report all right thank you Mr Bara receive and place on fil is that we do with those sure Motion in second all those in favor I opposed not opposed so voted next we have administrative business and number one is the Staffing report I don't know if there's any business with that or any comments on the Staffing report received and placed on file second motion and second all those in favor I opposed none opposed so voted and the tunon public schools Staffing update same procedure second Motion in second to receive and place on file all those in favor I opposed n opposed so voted okay we have subcommittee reports long range planning is first with Mr Vieira thank you Madame mayor on Tuesday September 10th 2024 4:30 p.m. the longrange plan and subcommittee me at e Elementary School and attendance from the subcommittee was myself Mr Reus and Dr deell committee members also in intendent were Christine Fagan school committee secretary taunt Public Schools administration was John cabal superintendent Brenda moan superintendent of finance and operations M frus director of facilities long range plan and subcommittee meeting was called to order um I as chairman uh express my intentions for the subcommittee to direct the superintendent to notify the city council city council public property subcommittee and the City of Taunton superintendent of buildings Chris carmichel regarding the urgent need for the roof repair at the for Hall Elementary School I emphasize that the roof was in immediate disrepair and that the request for the building department to address the issue uh in a timely manner on discussion Mrs Fagan and Dr Dello noted that the condition of the roof had previously been raised at a city council meeting back in January Dr Dello reference at the meeting also shared that community members had discussed the roofs poort condition on a local radio program there was additional discussion regarding a portion of the roof had been replaced if additional repairs were made who was physically responsible for the repairs the city or taau in public schools it was answered that the city's physically responsible for the repairs also during the discussion Mr Ena stated that due to the building's condition fund should not be allocated to repair in the roof and that the building should be turned over the city chairman VR stated the building should continue to be considered to address future space concerns of Tau in public schools building has served as Flex space in the past during renovations to the Alternative High School motion to notify the appropriate City entities was made by DR Dello seconded by Mr Vieira the motion passed 2 to1 with Mr enus voting in opposition and the meeting was adjourned at 5:15 that concludes my report thank you for the detailed report uh if there's no discussion motion accept the report Motion in second all those in favor opposed none opposed so voted uh rules committee Mr enus uh the rules committee met on 911 at 3:30 p.m. uh present were myself and Mr palowski um we use the rubrics to um evaluate the legal bids um we adjourned probably about an a half hour and we submitted our results to um um assistant superintendent mam that's it thank you motion to accept motion to accept the report Motion in second all those in favor I opposed none opposed so voted Committee of the whole Mrs Fagen the committee of the whole met this evening at at uh 5:15 to discuss the aforementioned rubrics that went along with the legal services RFP summary uh everybody had some input into this conversation everybody had thoughtful input and we unanimously voted to um nominate the The Firm of Stoneman Chandler Miller LLP as our choice to um to go forward to represent us in that that okay motion to accept the report and adopt the recommendation of the committee of the whole meeting Motion in second all those in favor I opposed none opposed so voted and finally we have finance and law m Mr Vieira thank you Madame May the finance and law subcommittee met today at 5:45 uh myself Mrs shavs Dr D was absent the administration assistant superintendent Brenda moan assistant superintendent Chris Bara other members and attendance were Mr enas Miss Santos first item on the agenda was uh the use of facilities uh discussion was around uh Community Partners who reserved the space and hold meetings uh in our facilities and discussion was had about which fees were waved and which fees were applied committee voted unanimously to accept the report second item on the agenda was taau in high school softball field Renovations which is excellent excellent news we received the communication from nzar and Jeran they provided us the Milestone schedule for the softball Renovations uh the key dates are as followed the bids are due on Wednesday October 2nd at 2m opening of the bids at finance and law subcommittee meeting on Wednesday October 2nd bid review and contract evaluation is Wednesday October 9th notice of a wood is Wednesday October 16th start of construction is Thursday October 17th completion sustainable completions Monday March 17th and and final completion weather permitting and God willing will be Monday March 24th that was um the report to us on the high school softball field renovation and same action to nothing we received in place on file accepted item number three was the procurement cards uh July there was an expenditure of 5,8 $644 August was $1,312 48 and the year to date $ 6,188 192 so the year dates the fiscal year which is July and August that we would plan on January to September or August so the fourth item discussed was the bills payable FY 25 and the amount is $696,000 one the question by Miss shabs was raised on page four uh expenditure in the amount of 257,000 assistant superintendent monan let us know that it was for the improvements the commercial kitchen page 10 29,000 for uh Improvement to buildings that was for the tigers den C uh patio page seven library books and response was subscriptions page eight Jim do that was HVAC Grant to improve HVAC in three of our schools the motion was made and seconded to approve and it passed to nothing FY 24 uh the amount of $291,400 question was asked about uh instructional software and the amount of$ 161,000 the response from assistant superintendent monan was uh we're working toward was adding the same things in all schools this was in regards to projectors that way everybody has the same software to use and it was done in five of our schools and that was the cost Associated we voted two to nothing to approve the FY 24 bills payable that concludes my report okay thank you on discussion um is there a second motion and second on discussion I'm sorry I should have second I apologize I was just wondering um Mrs moan if you could if they you could just fax over a copy of what the progress is going to be on the softball field to headst because they just so they just to keep them a breast they they were concerned about the infringement on their property but that's all going out the other way so just to let them know because they're right next door to that so that's okay with everybody okay right so there's a motion and a second to accept the report all those in favor I opposed not opposed so voted there is no new business listed and seeing no others we'll move on um unfinished business action items update do we have any so superintendent Cal would would like to recommend the following to the committee to consider the first is the 10522 THS awning uh they completed if it's the will of the committee to uh take that off the action item list completed that is completed okay so Mo motion to remove uh set action item from the list motion and second to remove 10 522 THS awning from the list all those in favor opposed n opposed so voted and the second to consider the 9 2023 the action was to refer the hopeall roof repairs of long range planning the memo which was included in your packet that school Committee Member vi just read out has been completed and such I guess super cal was the wers what is the will of the committee to remove it or retain it on the action items motion to remove it and the the action was to send a letter that's correct okay well I'll second the motion okay motion and second to remove the letter uh that particular letter from the action item on discussion yeah do we have to do that right now or can we just hold on and see what if any what what they want to do with that school I mean we can the item is specific to the roof so I guess if you want to wait for a remedy to the roof we could well I'm just concerned about you know I know we're going to be tight for space and I'm just curious as to if that's something that we could do anything with I I I really don't want to remove it at this point but it's up to it's up to the committee if that show wishes I'll withdraw my second okay okay uh so Mrs Fagan has indicated she would like to leave that on until there I guess there's a response um yes with does the maker of the motion wish to withdraw the motion did you make the motion Mr it did but he withdrew a second so it wouldn't so oh it does okay gotcha gotcha okay all right we're all set then and um is that it that is it thank you we will move on okay there is no press here this evening and I will take a motion to adjourn second motion and second to adjourn all those in favor I opposed then opposed so voted thank you everyone thank you may