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[Music] this is a Greenfield Public School special school committee meeting it is Friday December 22nd 2023 11:00 a.m. meeting is being held fully remotely in accordance with the governor of Massachusetts March 29 2023 order extending certain provisions of the open meeting law GC 30A section 20 per open reading Law any member of the public may make an audio or video recording of this meeting and let's go right into the agenda secretary extrom can you do a roll call please yes member Den is unable to attend secretary extrom I am present member Johnson mad I'm here Vice chair Martini I am here and noting for anyone member Martini is joining us via her phone and Glenn has has her on his phone chair Priti here member wall here and member wall is also joining us via phone through chair pret's phone yes with that and Marita Gardner is unable to attend we do however have a quorum thank you so we are called to order at 11:04 a.m.

and the only item on the agenda this morning is um oh I'm sorry well all related to the contract the first item a public vote on the contract for superintendent Appo e Karen patod and I would at this time take a motion that the Greenfield school committee accept as presented the three-year contract for appointing Karen Pat node our superintendent as of July 1 202 24 and through June 30 2027 so moved is there a second second here we go and um any discussion from the committee I'll just say I'm thrilled great thank you member Johnson mad and I would Echo that um and if there and and member well as well thank you and and member Exum and no doubt member Mar feels the same uh and if there's no objection I would like to give uh Karen the opportunity to also say something I don't see any objections please just wanted to try just wanted to thank everyone for their support I am really thankful to continue doing this work blessed that I get to do it in Greenfield still I'm very excited to start this next chapter and um am just truly grateful uh for all of you and all of the support you've given me so look forward to working with those of you who remain and for those of you no longer on the committee uh it's been a real pleasure working with all of you and um I look forward to our next steps thank you very much any other further discussion so we will take a vote on the motion please secretary exam secretary extrom I am a wholehearted yes remember Johns mad yes Vice chair Martini yes chair Priti yes Ember wall yes we are unanimous wonderful awesome um and then the other item on the agenda we would normally um do this process in person and actually physically have the signing we have the two contracts here um and if you didn't already tell if you couldn't already tell Karen Christine and I are all in Christine's office and um we'll go ahead and sign it here now um and then we can take a motion to adjourn [Music] got a paper clip I get toid you want please okay I am narrating the activity that cannot be seen in person Amy and Karen are in fact signing contracts I can act as the official witness yeah original blue Inc signatures oh okay done done done and officially done yay so excited okay so we have signed and then the only other piece related to this is that Karen has also presented me her uh the copy of her super attendance certificate that will um uh put in the personal F personnel file today as required by the contract and at this point I would uh take a motion to adjourn so moved in a second I'll second go ahead M uh member wall seconded and a roll call vote please secretary extrom yes member Johnson mad yes Vice chair Martine yes CH pretti yes Ember wall yes we are adjourned we are adjourned as 11:09 at 11:09 happy holidays everyone thank you very much Happy New Year see on January 2nd yay

[Music] la [Music] n [Music] I'm [Music] looking [Music] [Applause] and [Music] now [Music] [Applause] [Music] the [Music] all right that's that section and now uh the last of the woodwind instruments in the band I'm talking about the saxophones in the back uh are going to perform for you uh jolly old now do [Applause] what [Music] [Applause] who are going to perform for you good King [Music] [Applause] yeah [Music] uh and now uh there is a an error in the program I somehow left off the trombone section I was wondering why the font was so big and I still fit it on the page but uh the trombos are going to play for you a surprise piece that you will recognize and the baritones as well the low brass section baritone horns and trombones [Music] [Applause] uh and uh and now we're going to conclude the fifth grade portion of the concert with a selection of holiday songs uh entitled Holiday Rock and as with any uh rock song The the drum part is very important so this piece is going to feature the percussion section in the back and um you'll hear them right at the beginning with the rock drum beat and uh you're going to hear different instruments uh throughout take uh so solos or solies I should say where they'll have the melody for a few measures as they trade it back and forth uh so we hope you enjoyed holiday [Music] la [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] come [Music] oh for being here thank you very much ladies and gentlemen you're a fifth grade band playing together for you tonight for the first [Applause] time good evening ladies and gentlemen my name is Alicia marfield and I was elected sixth grade band president for this year we hope you're enjoying the concert so far and are looking forward to hearing the first sixth grade band performance of the year we will begin our performance and Proclamation by Brian VES this piece which I will conduct is a Fanfare style concert opener which features all the sections of the band next is Tidings of Joy composed by Del late great Robert W Smith this piece contrasts a familiar seasonal Melody with a joyous fanf our third piece is a setting of green sleeves arranged by Michael Sweeney this piece will showcase sensitive and expressive playing in the wind sections our fourth place is entitled celebrating Hanukkah it is a Sandy feltin arrangement of two well-known Hanukkah songs we will conclude our portion of the concert with coner for slay BS and B this jubilant up Temple march by John Edmonson includes hints of familiar holiday Melodies and of course features the slave BS performed byma Rodriguez we've been working very hard to prepare this music for you tonight and we hope you enjoy performance very much thank [Applause] you [Music] l [Music] pap [Music] a [Music] pap e the [Music] pap [Music] B [Music] yeah [Music] pap there's [Music] [Applause] a spe for [Music] the [Applause] [Music] morning [Music] oh [Music] la [Music] [Applause] [Music] yeah for [Music] J [Music] all [Music] and [Music] the [Music] PA [Music] pap you [Music] for [Music] oh [Music] than [Music] [Applause] w [Music] d [Music] n [Music] la [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] la [Music] la thank you very much ladies and gentlemen uh that was zigzag and uh we come to the uh end of the concert here we have one more piece for you tonight uh we hope you've enjoyed the concert it's distracted everyone from their flooded basements uh it's it's distracting me from my flooded basement uh this piece of fested fanfare by Brian balmages uh is a uh is really uh one of my favorites of his because it has a lot of little hidden uh pieces of holiday of holiday songs hidden in it like a little bit here a little bit there so have to listen really closely to see if you can hear all of them there's a lot of them in there so thank you very much we hope you've enjoyed the concert this is a festive fanfare [Music] la [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] sh [Music] la ladies and gentlemen the asley Middle School Wind Ensemble here thank you very much Happy Holidays and safe to everyone good night yeah

[Music] evening and welcome to a special school committee meeting for organizational meeting on January 2nd and it is 5:30 pm um we will start with a roll call um member Charles Childs member Deni here mayor dorer here I'm member Johnson mad and I'm here member pretti here member seon here we have a quorum and oh sorry M martini thank you thank you so much thanks everyone for being here um gctv is recording and is anyone else recording tonight thank you um so it is our special organizational meeting and with our new organizational um meeting meeting policy um the member proem the member who the most experience on the school committee is chairing and that is me until we have a chair um so our first agenda item is um the election of a chair so do I oh and I I need to ask also um we do have another meeting coming in at 6 so we can speak but we can not speak at length tonight so um is there a nomination for a school committee chair I would nominate Glenn Johnson mad for chair thank you and is there a second for that I would second that second okay and are there any other nominations okay let's um any members who wish to speak to the nomination of myself as chair member Priti I will be very brief um um I I think I I think how I want to put it is that for my entire time on the school committee we've had a super majority of women and one man on the committee and I guess I would say if the dynamic was reversed the men would never allow the woman to be chair so I would expect that the this would be a short term for member Johnson mad um and uh that is the reason why I would not support this I feel like in in a in a dynamic like this the women should be leading uh the committee thank you any other um comments yes I nominated you two times in the past and I am so thankful that member Martini has nominated you this year year I cannot think of a better person to chair this committee you are diplomatic you fair-minded you are kind and considerate and I think you take all of our views to heart and I'm really thrilled that there's a possibility to have you facilitate this experience for us for a year any other comments yes I made the nomination so I think I should say something but I did not uh prepare statement or anything um Glenn I appreciate your um temperament and organization and uh and your sense of humor at many of our meetings in the past um especially when things might be getting a little off track and I think that's invaluable um and I appreciate your experience um coming from other aspects of your career that I think um lend themselves to um the organization of a committee like this and uh and I also have a lot of respect for your experience uh and I appreciate what um member pretti was saying in terms of uh gender Dynamics but um for me I have to uh support the person that I think is the best one for the job irrespective of that and uh and that's why I made this nomination thank you any other comments mayor dorer I enthusiastically support you being the president and I'll be voting in favor thank you any other comments all right then let's vote all those in favor I all those opposed any abstentions I am abstaining the motion carries thank you very much appreciate the support um and I will strive to be a a good chair for everybody we now proceed to the nomination of school committee Vice chair is there um a nomination for school committee Vice chair member Den I would like to nominate member Martini for vice chair is there a second I'll second that and discussion any other oh any other nominations discussion member PR member Martini is a exceptional Vice chair very thoughtful um very measured in her approach um and I think gives a a a very um patient um perspective on things I fully support that nomination thank you any other comments okay let's move to a vote all those in favor I I all those against uh any extensions one abstention motion carries congratulations Vice chair Martini now we're on to the nomination of school committee secretary is there a nomination for school committee secretary I would nominate member Den nomination for member Den is there a second there's a second and comments member deneve has a lot of energy a lot of passion and someone who really wants to do it will do a good job thank you any other comments member martini uh member Den's uh ongoing interest in um organizing and helping the committee to be effective on a broader level and um getting essential Tools in place like a working calendar uh I think LED themselves well to the role and if you're willing to take on the time um that it entails then I would very happily support that nomination thank you member Martini any other comments let's vote all those in favor of electing member Den as Secretary of the school committee say I hi hi hi any um against any abstentions one abstention the motion carries congratulations secretary Den um now we're on to the chair comments portion of the agenda and I just want to uh acknowledge and thank you all for the kind comments about my leadership I do hope that I can be a good school committee member for the whole community and to listen to everybody on the committee um whether I agree with everything or not um I think that the community has really spoken to us in many ways um about what they want from us you really want us to be focused on student outcomes you want the children in in Greenfield to get a good education and I think everybody on this committee will work really hard to make that happen um you also want us not just to do the work it takes within the within the committee um what's within our role but also to be good advocates for for funding from the city and also from the state um to get the resources that every student in Greenfield needs and I think we're we're going to do that then there's also the way that you want us to work and I think we're hearing that folks want Community engagement they want respect they want listening um and they want it to be done not just as a checking the box but from a committee that that really cares and is really listening and is really involved out there and I think that we will do that together um so one thing that I aware of is that this committee is now all people who work for a living and that's really great it gives us um important perspective I think on the lives of many of the Working Families who are raising children in this district and it also means that what you all have taken on in in running for school committee and being on here means adding to what's already A busy life of having having a job and in in many cases also having children so I I guess I just wanted to to acknowledge that that this is a committee of workers and um that we'll strive to do do our best to prioritize this work and to uh get get the business done that needs to get done um at the same time as people are managing a lot of other things and I just wanted to say that um so uh with that I think we're done with the business of this meeting so I would hear a motion to adjourn so moved is there a second second second okay all those in favor I I all those against any abstentions it's unanimous we are adjourned at 5:40 PM other meetings will be longer

live um you are now live so I turned it over to you [Music] guys good evening Dr Freeman Board of Education members staff and members of the public welcome to the Bound Brook Board of Education organization this is a unique meeting with the chair being determined yet so as business administrative board secretary I will open the meeting as chair uh we will go through the initial parts of the agenda and elect a board president hopefully and then that person will take over as chair for the remainder of meeting so at this time I will call the meeting to order the New Jersey open public meetings law was enacted to ensure the right of the public to have advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of of the public bodies at which time any business affecting n interest is discussed and acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the Board of Education policy 0162 Board of Education of the barau of Bound Brook has caus notice of this meeting be posted in Board office and at Bound Brook High School and mailed their facts to The Courier News Bound Brook burrow clerk South Bound Brook Board of Education and any person who has requested individual notice and paid the required fee at this time would you please pledge allegiance to [Music] flag item four election results theyve provided to members of the Board of Education and the public and uh be noted in the minutes that Mr Roger subco Mr Donald bber and Mr Michael B were elected to another three-year turn on the board of [Applause] education move on to number five swearing in a new board members if Mr vulmer Mr B and Mr zco would join me at the um the podium we can take care of the [Music] required I got [Music] right this is a required oath for school board members pursuant to njs 18a 12- 2.1 and njsa 41 col 1-1 and 1-3 please repeat after me and in search your name of course I do solemnly swear or affirm swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States I will support the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the state of New Jersey the constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith and Allegiance fa and Al to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States to the governments established in the United States and this state this state under the authority of the people the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I I do solemnly swear or affirm solemnly swear or affirm that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education the office of member of a board of education and that I am not disqualified as a voter and I am not disqualified as a voter pursuant to rs19 4-1 pursu to RS 19 4-1 nor disqualified due to the conviction of a crime nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or listed offense in njs 18a 12- and that I will Faithfully I will faith and partially partially and justly and justly perform all the duties of that office perform all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability so help me goding to the best of my ability so help me God [Applause] congratulations January 3r serious business oh that's true you're the man you had the most [Laughter] votes I got over congratulations I believe uh we were position one two three right [Applause] me turn [Music] the I forgot [Music] that okay um items six on the agenda is RC call now that we have sworn in all the new members Mr B here Mr Dawson here miss gazino here miss Lima Mr zco here miss Len here Mr minus here miss H here Mr bulmer here Mr J here be noted that we have a quum present this evening now number seven election of board president I will open the nomination process at this time would anybody like to nominate any member of the board of education for president yes Mr Z I nominate Mr Januzzi okay would anybody else like to nominate any other person seeing none we will take a roll call for Mr Januzzi please respond yes if you vote Yes for Mr Januzzi to be board president Mr B yes Mr Dawson yes Miss cazino absolutely yes challenging so noted Mr Z yes Mr Min Miss H yes Mr bmer yes and Mr J abstain you can vote for yourself [Music] no Nos and that elects Mr Januzzi as the new board [Applause] president I appreciate the so we are up to now item number eight election of the vice president uh at this time I'll entertain any motions uh would anyone like to nominate a member for vice president yes thank you Mr for and your nomination is Mr B thank you sir we have a nomination now for Mr bord Vice President can we have a roll call vote please yes sir I apologize do we have any other other nominations at this time see none we will close the nomination process for vice president and take a thank you Mr B yes yeso absolutely yes thank you Mr Z yes m l yes Mr minus yes H yes Mr colmer yes and Mr Januzzi yes motion passes congratulations Mr [Applause] B Mr Gorski can you just tell me how many votes I got vers what was the what was the count there believe I had ninees just makeing sure a resounding all right up to item number nine code of ethics uh it is recommended that members of the Board of Education acknowledge receipt of acceptance of New Jersey school board's Association code of ethics Mike do we have paperwork for them to sign this evening um yes uh we just need to vote on it first motion and a second very good may I have a motion motion thank you misso a second second thank you miss m speak have a roll please Mr B yes Mr Dawson yes M Caso yes Mr zuco yes m b yes Mr minhas yes Miss High yes Mr fmer yes Mr yes motion passed excellent we are up to item number 10 resolutions be resolve that the balberg court of Education authorizes and improves the following organizational resolutions this is item excuse me number two through item number 23 I have a motion motion thank you Mr Dawson a second second thank you Mr zco any [Music] discussion all right hearing done can we have a roll call please sir Mr B yes Mr yes M Casino yes Mr yes yes Mr Min yes Miss H yes yes Mr yes pass thank you we are up to item number 11 open to the public for discussion in accordance with District policy 0167 public participation at board meetings just remember to sign in at the podium or online provide your name address group affiliation if applicable uh and the agenda item or items you are intending to address public participation is limited to 25 minutes in duration and no participant may speak more than once on the same topic until all others who wish to speak on that topic have been heard I don't see any comments from the room do we have anyone up online the video uh I am seeing uh I don't see the file on the in the folder so I don't know uh what happened to that uh so I don't know no questions online got we are up to item number 12 I will entertain a motion to adjourn uh Mr real quick before we do I just mention just very quickly members um we have to do our ethics training um I'm my plan is to speak to Gwen and give her the choice of January or February unless any of you have a strong feeling either way that maybe you can or cannot attend one of those meetings it'll be one of those where we have to probably come a little bit early so that she can get the training out of the way before the regular meeting does anybody feel strongly either way or can I give the Choice okay just making sure before I reach out to her okay I'll let you guys know when I hear from her thank you Mike uh and now we're up to item number 12 I a motion to re oh that was I'm sorry that that wasn't there there was nothing online I apologize sorry different meeting structure y yep yep y motion thank you Mr Z second second to give it to Mr Dawson all in favor [Music] hi have a good evening thank [Music] you

welcome to the 2024 real reorganization meeting there has been adequate notice of this meeting provided by the Board of Education in the December 28th 2023 notice in the Asbury Park Press and the co-star setting forth the date time and location of this meeting similar notice has been posted in the burough Hall the Belle School website and the burough clerk has been notified flag salute [Music] Al flag United States of America to the rep stands one nation God indivisible liberty and justice for all election results of the November 7th 2023 election are as follows Mr Ted Vitali for a three-year term 926 votes Mr Shawn Waltman a three-year term 8117 votes Mr Liam starky a three-year term votes the newly elected members will now take their oath of office we will start with Mr Ted by [Laughter] no it's [Music] here IED by we solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state under the authority of the people so Heavenly God I take my T to Solly sweare that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of a member of the Board of Education and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of that office according to my abilities so help God thank you very [Applause] [Music] much Mr [Music] Walman thank you I Sean Waltman do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and in the state of New Jersey and I will bear faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and this state under authority of the people so help me God I Sean Waltman do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of a board of education and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform all the duties of that office according to the best of my ability so help me [Applause] God [Music] Mr [Music] sty I Liam starky do solemly swear that that I will put support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same the Authority established in the United States and the state under the authority of the people so me God I Lam starky do solemly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the for the office of member of Board of Education that I will faithfully and partially and justly perform all of the duties of that office according to the best of my abilities to helping [Music] [Applause] God [Music] roll call Mr Becker president Dr Dan berio pres Mrs mcdevit here Mr manano here Mrs wath here Mr starky here Mr Vitali here Mrs Walsh here Mr Waltman here the board members now read the code of ethics which each board member can read a section we will start with Mr Becker please thank you cly code of ethics for school board member School Board member shall abide by the following code of ethics for school board members I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and court orders pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about only through legal and ethical procedures I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of the children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who will be affected by them I will carry out my respons posibility not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they are well run I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interests or partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for gain of friends I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or the schools in all the matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for schools I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative off officer I will support and protect School Personnel in proper performance of their duties I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an un administrative solution thank you I will now call for nominations for president of the board at this time I'd like to nominate Mr Kurt Becker for president all in favor wait any other nominations okay and I'm sorry any other nominations I apologize okay close them close the nominations nominations are closed all in favor I I opposed abstain [Applause] congratulations the gble is yours sir at this time I would like to uh see if there are any nominations for the election of the vice president for this evening board at this time I'd like to nominate Mrs mcdevit Sarah mcdevit for Vice President are there any other nominations can I just ask a question before we vote sure I know I should know the answer to this but this is a teacher negotiation year and with Kurt being conflicted we need to have the vice president not be conflicted and that's you're not conflicted I I do not have any very good question very thank you close nominations then I'd like to close the nominations and get a vote or if all in favor I any opposed any abstains thank Youk you congratulations uh by formality there is a president statement although I didn't draft anything formally I'd like to point out that there are two very important components to a board of bed uh they may be obvious to some but it took me quite a while to learn them and uh I think I'm still learning them the most obvious is the the Simplicity and the awesomeness of the fact that this is a board of nine people no one individual not the president not the vice president has control or sway over the board that is the Perfection of a board of ed in New Jersey the other side of that the maybe not so obvious side is uh it can be uncomfortable there's politicking there's decisions that are made uh not easy ones a lot of them are easy and awesome I I I'm not ashamed to say that I've left here TI eyed because I was proud of the decision that we made and on the flip side I'm not ashamed to say that I left Ty ey because of a decision I made that scared me believe it or not uh they are two important components the fact that it's a body of nine and the fact that the people up here in conjunction with the administration make some pretty big decisions uh I think it's one of the few times I can speak for the entire board when saying we take that very seriously that's it that's my statement uh by normal course I'm asking if there's any visitors business uh visitors are permitted to comment on agenda items only at this time and we just ask that you clearly state your name and your street [Music] address yeah Mr reer I would like to say something real quick uh hello uh I'm Liam starky I'm newly elected to the board uh I look look forward to working with all of you and uh with all my fellow board members superintendent secretary and all the other board officials and uh I'm going to take this pos position seriously and perform at the best of my abilities thank you very you're welcome thank you Mr starky Diane are there any correspondences no no corresponden we do have reorganization agenda items uh item 10 uh which has a all the way through t t t all the way through t uh if I can get a motion for us to approve all those action items that would be great I'd like to make a motion to approve action items 10 a through T second Mr Becker yes Dr D Ambrosia yes Mrs mcdevit yes Mr Lan yes and I would just like to add part of letter Q to the new president uh Manish Juan reorganizes tomorrow so if you would like to have somebody there that fine if not it would just wait until the following month do you want to finish the vote Mrs re yes Mr starky yes Mr Vitali yes Mrs Walsh yes Mr Waltman yes so did Joe Point uh Belle because of its size has representation on the man from Board of Education uh our meeting is this evening their meeting is tomorrow uh and part of the president's responsibility is to sign out committees and responsibilities I'm hoping it's not inappropriate to uh have Joe continue in that capacity he and I both have uh high schoolers in the school right now and uh he's done a great job in in the recent past I can yeah if he's accepting all right that that way we're good for tomorrow one thank you okay uh we do have a resolution of the real Board of Education I am to read that wait did we finish that vote we have to finish the oh we we didn't finish we did Okay resolution of prel Board of Education whereas the inter local s Services agreement authorizes municipalities and school boards to enter into agreements for the sharing of services and whereas the Briel Elementary School Board of Education and the Barrow of Briel wish to enter into such an agreement for their Mutual benefit and to provide a more cost effective expenditure of public funds and now therefore be it resolved at the Briel board of education does hereby authorize the superintendent and business manager administrator to execute an interlocal service agreement with the buau of Belle and the Briel Board of Education to begin the implementation of said agreement upon its execution by both parties now there be it further agreed as follows one the B school will share in potential future Capital purchases by the Barrow Briel with the equipment being owned and maintained by the Barrow the B Board of Education will approved the amount of outlay prior to the purchase of such equipment by the Briel burrow and two this shared agreement will be reviewed and approved by each party annually second and I need a second second thank okay this evening we've reached the point where uh visitors business oh we vote on that it's a resolution Mr Becker yes Dr Dam brosia yes Mrs mcdevit yes Mr Milan yes Mrs wath yes Mr starky yes Mr vital yes Mrs Walsh yes Mr Waltman yes all right we have now reached the visit business where visitors are permitted to comment on agenda and non-agenda items at this time again we just ask that you state your name and and address clearly right there appears to be none uh there is no executive session plann for this evening so uh all we need is a motion to adjourn i' like to make a motion to adjourn second all in favor I oppos [Music] yes second

all right thank you welcome everyone to the ashin select board meeting for January 3rd 2024 um we're live streaming with w CAC TV tonight so thank you so I'm going to call a meeting to order um and ask any anyone here for Citizens participation either has everyone been LED in yet to the meeting who's letting people in I see Joan here I see Joan is that it no one else on the in the waiting room no there's nobody in the waiting room okay thank you I think she said no Okay so so I see um so I see no one either virtually are in person here for Citizens participation so we'll move on to the first item on our public agenda which is the introduction of Kirsten qu our who uh K our clinician for the jail diversion program and I think Michael wants to do a little introduction and and so go ahead Michael sure and I Know Chief Rossi just joined us here in the physical meeting yeah so you know obviously the the jail diversion program has been an important component of our Public Safety strategy over many years and over the last couple years we've had uh difficulty finding in retaining a um JDP Clin so I'm pleased to say that we do not have that issue anymore we've contracted with Riverside um and we have Kirsten quern here who has accepted did that job and has already started and that being said I'll turn it over to the Chief and chief you can elaborate a little more thank you um this has always been a pet project of mine for decade plus um coming here to Ashland um we did not have a JDP clinician when I got here um funding has never been an issue this is all Grant funded so there's no direct cost to the town uh but it it is such a vital program for literally every aspect of our community from children to the elderly and everyone in between um Kirsten could not have been a better fit for ashin um she's a a clocker she has clocker children cler children well you are now clocker by asso you live here so um she just started last week she's already integrated herself into the department you've been on ride alongs um she hit the ground running I'm so happy and impressed with not only your um resume and your experience um but the person that you are so I will allow you to come and introduce yourself officially to the select board in the commun but uh we are delighted to have you on board Chief before you leave just give us for the lay person an example of way the jail diversion program might work or someone like Kirsten might intervene or what's a typical kind of so there's nothing typical okay in her um job description we just um ordered her a bulletproof vest because she may be going on on calls that could be that could turn into something more than we expect but on a a typical day um she'll call through the log and see what transpired the night before and what she could follow up with um so um there was a resident who was having issues um of domestic violence that came up last week that she followed through with um there's a lot of people suffering from substance use disorder um that cursed and well you went to a a home and and assisted with someone who is what we call a Joe you'll understand a magnet address someone we go to continuously the hope with Kirsten is that she will cut down on the amount of calls for service because we'll get people to the appropriate after care or services that they need so we don't keep being um called yeah just the society's janitor just coming in you know and cleaning up a mess we're trying to solve the problem so what Kirsten does she's got the time the bandwidth the knowledge the experience the training to follow up with these people so it's not going to be the same person who's intoxicated you know five times a month that we get called hopefully she'll get them to services that they need so that they're healthy they're thriving um if they've got children it's not going to impact children um great it's it's a mixed bag we had unfortunately a horrible incident you know about that involved a high school student I you know making that sort of um notification to a family is something that a public safety official will carry with them forever they don't have the same training that Kirsten has she could have intervened at that point um and and assisted in that way okay um it's just an endless list of what she is capable and qualified to assist with so great I hope every person in the community who needs any sort of assistant will assistance will reach out um and I'm sure they'll find Kiren capable and willing to help great well thank you for that is this an on call position or is there a set number of hour I mean I'm sure there's a set number of hours but it's is it the same every day or so the way that I crafted this position for our department was that um and this is obviously retention in this industry is difficult very difficult um Carson's a mom she's got obligations outside of just the Ashlin PD in Riverside so we work together to craft what works for her knowing that if something happened at 11:00 tonight night and she had someone to care for her children and we needed her mhm we can call her and she's available okay and she's close y but we made hours that are they're different they cover um basically two of the shifts the overnight shifts is going to be on an on call basis which is normal with any JDP program um but the way that Kirsten and I worked out her schedule she's available 5 days week for at least part of two shifts okay great so is the split shift not a direct not what you would understand as a split shift because it's not 7 to 3 3 to 11 yeah um it's various parts of each day that fit okay um and it's the understanding is that if we find a real need at a different time of the day that we'll talk about it and and change hours but so she got to flex schedule yeah and it a lot of what she does is not in the immediate it's the aftermath yeah um she's got the advantage of having all of what Riverside offers and bringing that to us nice that's a nice great I would like you introduce yourself hi hello I'm C I think I know everyone though this is for us but also for the community yes yeah yeah so um yeah it's been I I've been Riv with Riverside for over two months at this point um just preparing for the role um and then yeah day six was today um I feel like it's a really good um not only use of my skill set um but also just a wonderful program in general um jail diversion is a little bit of a misnomer in a way because it's really mobile crisis um oh and the ability to go to where the issues are happening and respond either in the moment or as the chief said um that follow-up piece of just making sure that we're checking in and getting people connected um because I know that the police officers don't have the time for that um and the police have been more than welcoming so it's been a good start that's great it seem to me you're sort of a social worker attached to the police department that is exactly what I am I'm a licensed social worker yes um with an office in the police department um and I have like the chief said the this consultation the resources from Riverside um which is it's actually a really awesome organization I worked there like over 10 years ago um wow doing the mobile crisis I was in the emergency room at that time um I think a lot of what we're trying to avoid is that emergency room whenever possible um and I think in the last decade at least that I'm aware of um the Department of Mental Health um I think they've created more levels of care more options for people um so it's not just impatient impatient which can be a revolving door as well now this isn't replacing the juvenile uh diversion program is it no okay um so like Kirsten said jail diversion is you can stay up there Kirsten if it's a very unless you want to run it's a it's not really accurate to what this role um is intended for so to divert from the emergency room is really more of what we see in our community um which I mean if you're having a heart attack and we're tied up with an ambulance doing something that could be diverted through the assessment that you're going to get at the ER in the field with a licensed social worker I mean that's life saving for people it it it's also um you know cost savings for residents because every time someone gets transported to the emergency room via ambulance and they can't pay for the care I mean ultimately becomes a responsibility of other people this is diverting from that and as you know Joe particularly when someone is presenting with some sort of um issue that would require going to an ER to get an evaluation we can't make the assessment we don't have the skills we don't have the training um and in order to to indemnify for lack of a better word we're going to send to the ER which is going to tie up a bed in the ER it's going to tie up an ambulance it's going to tie tie up Ems Crews when Kirsten can make the same on assessment on site I mean it's just a win-win for everyone and the patient ultimately the person who's involved probably nine times out of 10 does not actually need to go to the emergency room they need followup care that Kiren can make sure that they get so this is where Riverside comes into play yep yeah so at section 12 you'll be there making the assessment on scene I could yes instead of going to the yes and taking it off of the officers who who and and the medical group as well they can but are they really trained to that level right most times not right thank you cool any other observations questions so um on a typical call first of all welcome like officially like we all know you like as part of our community but we're excited that you're you're here in this capacity um so for a typical call would would an officer and Kiren respond together or how how does that because I'm because I'm thinking you know you were talking about like the bull proof vest and safety and that's always like probably top concern she will never respond on her own okay she's embedded with us she's one of us um she's a you even have a police jacket I noticed does it say social worker in big letters across yeah yeah I so we we'll get you one we we're we're piecing it together as we go along but um so she'll ride along with officers just to go and check out I mean there's I've seen I read the log every day I see you've gone to check on some of our frequent flyers to just see what we can do more for people so she'll just ride along sort of awaiting something to happen uh part of her day is spent in the office which is directly across from mine um and she's doing followup she's on the phone she's you know she's only six days in but followup typ type of stuff she'll never respond on her own she'll never go without one of us or um you know she may work directly with Courtney or to be my services um without a police officer there um in that capacity but if she's responding as part of APD She'll always have one of us with with her okay and that was going to be my next question was how how closely are you going to be connected to to Courtney and our Human Services team at the at the community center because I'm sure that that the overlap is huge it really is I didn't realize until we met today um I met with Courtney our lead social worker and joy um our case manager and we just kind of were dividing up some follow-up work um because there is a lot of overlap between people seeking out services and and police responding to people um so I'm looking forward to that it's nice to have a team that's great and and I know you also if I remember correctly you also have your law degree too so I have a law degree it's my I've been admitted to the bar but I am inactive and not practicing um but it's definitely wow it came in handy this I was say I was going to say like I see it all kind of coming together it sounds like it's a good fit for you so I think yes and I really appreciate the flexibility knowing that that's the hardest part trying to balance we're looking for balance and in this field I mean it is a it's a tricky field like people can get burnt out but I think the difference um I don't think I would have applied for this job two years ago um I feel like our Police Department is like Chief Rossy is pretty incredible um so I feel very supported bless you um in that regard the building good time you don't go outside to use the restroom exactly it's it's a nice working environment as a clinician we're used to like closets and basements and I have a window so it's a win-win awesome well welcome thank you anything else from the yeah I would also I mean as you said most of us here in the have known you as part of the community uh to hear that you're coming in with the background I didn't know about the law degree so it's nice to hear all the experience that you have and I think as a working mother to know that you can have that flexibility I think you you know when you talk about work life balance it's important to have that so I'm excited to hear more and of course my brain starts going oo interview sure but if you ever want to get in touch or you have someone oh I might call you tonight yeah that's what happens thank you Chris oh that's good you just pass just pass them around so that's good great well thank you congratulations and welcome aboard welcome we look forward to hearing how it goes just before you so maybe talk the grant this is Grant funded and how long is it funded and so every year we have to reapply with dmh um but it's 100% covered there's no cost to the town I mean they cover computer phone I remember Susan calling me does she need a phone nope Riverside has it so how the funding I know it's sometime unknown but what's the long-term funding look like is this likely to be I do not foresee having almost 31 years in this profession I do not foresee this ever being not funded this is where policing going in Massachusetts I think Nationwide is going towards um I wouldn't be surprised if funding increased for more than one I don't ever see it being pred do many jurisdictions are we unique in this is like is a lot of places doing this now in Massachusetts so Framingham and chief Davis our former Chief um really started this program with Dr Sarah Abbott in Framingham probably 15 16 years ago yeah it was a long time ago yeah long time ago long 20 and it is taken off um we we are not unique um in that we have the program I think we're really unique in that we have someone of Kirsten's um training education background experience I mean she's very modest but I mean she worked in the juvenile courts in Boston I mean how that can translate to what her knowledge and experience becomes here is invaluable she has got experience working in school systems in the area DOA Sherburn I mean she's got experience in every single one of the arms that we coordinate with so um and I know Michael I said how excited I was for this higher and Jen I told you as well um I think you'll see why and it she's six days in but I think next year if we have this conversation you'll see why I was so excited to get her on board great I have one last question so what's the relationship with Riverside so are they the employee employer for Kirsten not the out she works for Riverside she's embedded with us so she's they're contracted with us we signed um you know an agreement um they supervise um they trained she lives with us she's one of us um but she's not actually a town of Ashland Employee if that makes sense y yep okay mental health mhm yeah okay good great well thank you so certainly sounds great yeah thanks for coming in right thank you for thanks for coming in now I'm a res there you go you you took our thing off okay very good yeah it doesn't it doesn't always work that way when I get home yeah all right thank you so our next item on the agenda is 7:30 is a public hearing so yes thank you very much um congratulations Chief yeah congratulations Chief good I see that um Cindy is here uh a bit early shall we take her and deal with that in our 10 minutes can we do with that we have six minutes but I think we can I'm sorry I keep looking at that clock yeah we have six minutes I think we can should we go ahead and try that okay so cdy why don't you come up with this this this agenda item is um uh mail uh vote by mail uh and other various issues having to do with the election season coming up and I believe a a recommendation from Cindy the town clerk that we do not do the vote by mail for the municipal election so um I hope people um got a chance to look at that and Cindy if you wanted to make a short maybe presentation or if Michael you wanted to start the ball rolling on this uh uh no I mean I think the memo pretty much speaks for itself yeah I mean just really brief is it's the first year with vote by mail that it will fall before the municipal when they mail the postcards out so voters have the option to choose all elections for the year and I would like to see us opt out of the local which we have the option to as long as the the board and how clear does that I mean first of all I think it's ridiculous that you send out those cards but that's my personal opinion well we don't the state does no no I mean I know that but so would there be something on their card that lets them know that they're not eligible so the initial guidance I got from the state said they were going to say to check with your municipality okay they then they sent us out the sample of the card it does not say that but I have been speaking to the um the attorney for the elections Division and she recommends that when we mail out the ballots in March just to put a notice in there to all the voters that have requested one that they will not be getting one in May that if they want to vote if we take this vote that if they want to vote in the local election they'll have to apply for an abot or apply or come in person exactly okay so um just to kind of give a little bit more context anybody that might be watching um the the memo that you sent us that's in our packets um you know because it's there's going to be a national election there's okay multiple national elections but but it's it's a big it's a big election year yes um and then the and because the state is um sending out these postcards for mail and voting and it's a state decision to do that um what potentially could happen is you had put in here that um that we anticipate approximately 3,500 voters requesting the mail and um yeah that's very conservative too I think and that there's a cost associated with that for each election um that you know if we if we're able to opt basically you know 3,500 voters in ashin would receive a municipal postcard or a municipal ballot and may or may not you know that that may or may not send it in but there's still a cost in a in a Time Associated it's about 90 cents a ballot for um Postage and it's 25 cents to print each ballot so just there alone plus the time right each and I'm curious like you know know the state you know we talk sometimes about these unfunded mandates from the state um and I would assume this is another one of those unfunded mandates so we got three we may have you know 3,500 vote by mail um ballots going out for each election and is there any reimbursement that comes from the state does the state do anything yes so um within the next couple of months um for each election we fill out like what we anticipate like um for postage um detail officers at the election things like that it's not a lot I think last year I got back I'm sorry in 2022 it's now two years um about $5,000 okay all right but the presidential alone I mean we'll probably mail out 6,000 ballots for the November election so I I I'm fully in support of us opting out or the for municipal I am too other other questions or thoughts about this I just want to talk a little bit about absentee um voting and a little bit about how that works and do you anticipate because of the fact that now we've had the mail um mail in votes that now we might see an increase in people taking advantage of absentee voting yeah but like in the memo I wrote um in the last two locals we had 95 and I think 110 respectively for May and July um you know that's a lot less than 3500 so even if we had you know a 100 people apply absentee that's completely doable you know all right so I think it's just sort of quick yeah sure so quick summary for folks we've got um for those watching so in terms of the election season ahead we've got the the state Primary in March presidential primary in March then our municipal election in May then September the prime presidential primary November the final election so it's a big election um we're going to do mailin for three out of the four elections but your proposal is for the municipal that we don't do it and have our we're likely have early voting is that correct yeah I'd like to do iners early voting but um we won't have to vote on that until 45 days PRI okay so that's a decision to be made but it's quite possible we'll have that and you'll have absentee so so your your proposal do I have a motion here I move that we approve the opt out of vote by mail for the May 21st 2024 town election and any special local elections that may be called in 2024 good point and I'll second that all right so the motion's been made in seconded all those in favor of the motion say I I I oppose none so the motion carries so thank you thank you all thank you Cindy for coming to see us okay okay all right so yes happy New Year now we got to open the hearing yeah so um where's my little oh so um it being 7:30 I'm going to uh read this legal notice about a public hearing um considering an all alcohol liquor license for Clock Tower pickle ball so notice is hereby given that the select board will conduct a hearing regarding the application for an all alcohol liquor license the applicant is Clock Tower pickle ball LLC located at 200 Homer Avenue Ashland um a public hearing will be held on the matter on Wednesday January 3rd 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

um it's good to see you and uh we'll call the meeting to order at uh 7:04 sorry um for the delay but um thanks for your patience okay so before we get started please um stand please join me stand let's say the Pledge of Allegiance I pledge aliance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all great we'll jump right into the roll call um we have um AIS here um Joy Greenstein um Rob Robert fetto Sarah Divine Stephanie sakur Rosa Fernandez I'm Wendy Young Blood we have halah harani and then we have the executive team Mrs Casey diot Dr John burill and Dr Anna man um and and a pretty good crowd so thanks for turning out everybody um we we are going to begin with um public comment no we're going to yes we're going to begin with public comment sorry I had to shuffle my papers so um we have two folks signed up for public comment and as you know um we're going to begin with uh just a reminder of our protocols the Board of Education welcomes public comment each speaker shall have up to three minutes to provide input uh to the board and this timer is not to be sassy it's just to keep the meeting moving um at the start of each regular meeting a maximum of 20 minutes is allotted for comment on any item included on the agenda for that meeting at the end of each regular meeting time is allotted for comment on any item within the board's jurisdiction discussion of school Personnel individual students or individual members of the board is prohibited um so for folks who have signed up for public comment please give your name and address before you um address the board and thank you very much so um Mrs scal you're first Aon SLA 5 Jackson Drive Professional Service the Professional Service process is very loose clearly you can choose to bid start over Aaron Scalera 5 Jackson Drive professional the Professional Service process seems very loose clearly that you can choose to bid but it's not required do they have a contract when was the contract initiated extended at whose discretion just because Brookfield has a long-standing policy and our procedure doesn't mean it's necessarily right as far as far as I'm concerned a competitive process ensures the school and the taxpayers are getting the best bang for their buck so to speak I can imagine any I would imagine any item not under Professional Services there's a number such as 10,000 that that would be required to go out to bid I'm asking that legal is an item that's looked at heading back to the legal services this is a huge line item it grows from my understanding lawyers are required by the rules of professional conduct to have retainer agreement so I assume attorney Murphy and attorney chenny have them I'm curious where that can be found as taxpayers of Brookfield have the right to know how these actual fees are split among attorneys when public money is being expended or allocated when I asked a specific question on when the last time legal was actually sent out to bid it could not be found what I know is that attorney Murphy has been on our payroll since 2008 and attorney chinny since 2011 15 and 12 years is a long time that Brookfield has been complacent what I heard at the last meeting is it likely won't save money it's not all about money there might be legal firms out there that can actually better suit the district we can get back to basics and actually do what we're all here to do which is support our kids thank you pleas on okay uh Andy Korea 45 West Road I sent the board a email um regarding Legal Services two pages that covers kind of the governance aspect of like why we should not only go out to bid but we should immediately fire the two lawyers that we have um we have eight pages of backup of history of the past 5 years of um legal concerns that have been lawyers have been utilized to cover up um misconduct of Administrators and staff so it's kind of an no-brainer you need to send it out to bid um the reason why you would typically send something out to bid is to ensure that you have the best service best serviceability um it's not about the lowest rate I think we have one of the lowest uh the lowest biders but they do the district's lowest bidding so I encourage the board to read through not only the two-page email but the backup that shows the the concerns of how the district has used um lawyers to cover up issues as it relates to the um governance as it um and public comment um this public comment time is the boards to receive input so it has been used as a way to stifle comment um by by putting it kind of at the end having parents wait um but also by not being able to discuss board members or particularly senior members of the administration there have been items that parents have written to the board and the board has ignored not responded not addressed and that's why some of this these governance issues have persisted it's actually a violation of our first amendment rights to not be able to come up here and say you know XYZ board member did the following or you know this particular Administration right administrator has been informed and they didn't follow the law I have sent emails to administrators and said your staff is not following the law and explained in detail and said please supervise your staff and follow the law uh one of those instances was a PPT meeting that didn't occur for eight months that's a clear violation of the law of a students rights but I can't go up there and tell you exactly who did it who didn't respond right what I have to do is hire a lawyer and then fight lawyers that if you go look at how they've acted out in the public right some of our lawyers have done awful things to the public the cases that they've taken and how they've acted they've taken one of them has taken um parents to do to Due Process make them get a lawyer to go to due process and not even show up to Due Process that's publicly available information we should not be hiring these lawyers and the board should the and can you could make a motion to add an agenda item as long as you have five people that agree to it and you could fire the lawyers tonight so that's it thank you very much for your input okay so um we will move to uh hearing from our student representative David K oh sorry hi I hope you're all doing well today and had a great holiday break the past week I don't have too many updates cuz like I just said we're just getting back to school after break so everyone's readjusting a little bit um but what we just had before break we had a little half of a spirit week so we did some nice winter and holiday spirit days which is fun um going on right now um all the seniors they're submitting all their forms for their caps and gowns and the graduation date has been set that's going to be June 15th and it's going to be on the BHS backfield or the front field sorry um midterms are coming up they're going to be January 2 2nd through 26 um and I'm pretty sure they're repeating it again this year um the master year midterms event so that's when um we have some student tutors and students there to help other um students their peers who are trying to study it's just like a little study session and that happens in the library and I think they're going to be doing that again um and they also provide some resources for tips on how to stay relaxed and less stressed during midterms time um and yeah along with that teach are just starting to prepare for that too um for athletics I don't have too many updates but um two basketball players Katherine Sosi and Shane Weber just became part of the 10,000 Point Club so they scored their 1,000 points in their High School Crews which I think is pretty amazing um for the clubs I'm in uh for National Honor Society like I talked about last time we're still doing our tutoring program every week and we're planning for the Mother's Day 5K that'll happen in the spring um and finally for Spanish Honor Society we're getting some materials organized to help tutor other students um in Spanish classes for midterms as well as the ongoing um English as a second language students tutoring program that we do and there's a community service opportunity for students in Spanish Honor Society with helping Spanish teachers grade their multiple choice during midterms and that's all I have for this week thank you I have a question for you Eva um and you might not know and that's that's okay but how well attended are the student tutoring sessions um for National Honor Society so they happen every Tuesday and Thursday and I've only ever gone a couple times they're pretty well attended I think it's a great program and yeah students basically will just reach out to like their counselor or their teacher um who will then contact the tutor coordinators of National Honor Society and I've gone and there's Pro there are probably I'd say like 10 to 12 pairs of uh NHS tutors and students um and I think it's just a really great environment so yeah they're pretty well attended thank you yeah of course actually I have a question to piggyback on that is the um is the ESL tutoring similar in structure or is it more informal do you know anything about that that um the ESL tutoring I haven't done um but yeah that's a Spanish Honor Society focused one that one's a little different I'm not exactly sure what like setting that happens in um but I also know that the Spanish Honor Society students will also um help and peer counseling students help to tour those um kids when they first come to the school I do think that tutoring happens in like a little bit of a different um maybe a different setting where there's not a bunch of other people around just for like the communication um but yeah that's another great program thanks yeah of course any other questions um no other questions fora all right um so the next agenda item is written correspondence Stephanie um we have three Irene Korea wrote two emails one concerning the budget and one concerning student attendance and Andy Korea wrote regarding Legal Services okay thank you um the next uh item on the agenda is the approval of board minutes I move that the board approve the minutes listed below as recommended budget round table from 12223 regular meeting from second okay so the approval of minutes has been moved and seconded are there um questions or comments about this particular item um so all in favor of approval please say I I I okay so that is unanimous thank you very much um the motion passes the minutes are approved okay so now we have the superintendent's uh update Dr bril all right thank you Dr Youngblood uh Happy New Year to everyone good evening um really I have a very brief um superintendent report as it's been four school days since we last met when you actually think about it um so just so everybody knows Wendy and I did talk about getting a second board retreat uh scheduled we just haven't you know when we're looking at all the different budget hearings and roundtables and holiday schedule um we don't have a date solidified yet but we'll be working with Lisa on that um uh as well as some of the communications she put forward earlier today uh in setting up uh the schedule the facilities meeting for the facility subcommittee um just for as a reminder for everybody is next Tuesday um uh the 9th of January so that's still off schedule as the committee tries to get on schedule but it's on for next Tuesday so everybody knows that I just want to make sure that was communicated and then my final update is regarding Candlewood Lake there's just there was a lot of punch list fine tuning going on over the break so I wanted everybody to know there's a lot of what punch list you know the punch list you go through you not it's called a punch list no what what is what is we call a checklist that might help you a checklist like a checklist checklist is fine okay um having having said that the checklist uh the the the fine-tuning pieces of you know trim work and all other kinds of things so just to give a quick update to everybody uh Dave and I actually did a walk through yesterday um and we had confirmation that the all the classroom flags have the brackets have been installed the flags are up we're excited about that we've been waiting for that for quite a long time bleach bleachers are installed the gym pads for the walls are installed um and Stage curtains on both sides multi-purpose room cafeteria have been installed um most of of the trim work has been completed on the different trees and other trim areas and benches and so forth um there final touches to go but really a lot of progress was made the majority of motorized window shades on the very high windows in the large spaces have been completed um and as I communicated to you over the break the north parking lot uh is about 3 weeks behind in terms of having it available for faculty and staff uh so they don't have to have that long walk from the temporary parking lot so in about 3 or 4 weeks we should have um if anybody takes a over to the school and looks through the fence you can see how much progress has been made uh but there's still uh that compaction of the process stone that still needs to be done there um in terms of technology I have to really thank uh Eric and his team as well as our vendors um a lot of great work was done over the break for canwood Lake in terms of Technology uh the L system in the gym um that work will be finished this week and hopefully um workable for the teachers next week um digital signage is up all over the school now uh the multi-purpose room and gross motor rooms um the initial floor projector install just started um and we think it'll be done by the end of the week um permanent live streaming um technology is being installed this week so you notice how we had some of the microphone issues La last month when we were at uh kwood Lake for the board meeting that work is the infrastructure work is going on um and then tremendous news at whiskin ear the last four of the 40 smartboards have been installed and now all the classrooms in the entire school district have the interactive Smartboard so we're super excited about that thank Eric for all the work it's taken years to get us there uh in in the the board as an organization to give us that support and of course the community so um really really excited about that and that's my report for this evening okay um two quick things first of all folks who are um in the audience thank you so much for coming out but please um keep in mind that um we're having a discussion here and I don't know if anybody else has auditory distraction issues but I certainly do and um so if you if you need to talk um please do it in like a whisper whisper the second thing is I don't know if you guys have heard um usually one person at work or everybody at work has that one friend who's like the pseudo meteorologist right we certainly have one at our school um this might be the first big snow test for CES for the weekend you mean yeah um could you talk about any of the the the chatter about how to prepare or um where all the snow going where's all the snow going to go because the community may want to no like so so what are the what are the plans if we get hit hard like the kids are hoping as a as a reminder parks and wreck handles our parking lots for us and helps with the sidewalks our custodians handle entryways the bridges and so forth at CS we know the routine here and at whiner um but actually Mrs Dia and uh Dan Caldwell have been working directly with parks and recx so she could talk a little bit to that sure where we um Parks Rec was able to obtain a handheld brine machine you know the brine is that liquid uh snow melt that you see on the street sometimes before the snow comes um so we have that available for the entryways the the um stamp concrete Bridges at CS um we are looking to obtain a um a brine machine I don't know what it's called but it's a it's a much larger piece of equipment more in the 22 to $26,000 range that would be used exclusively at CS to do all the sidewalks there's a lot of concrete sidewalks in that area or at that um campus and so um we are looking because it's only going to be part of um CES and the needs for for that building in particular we're hoping that the budget of um the building project itself can cover that cost um so we're working you know with with folks that um that will hopefully be able to assist in getting that accomplished but um the even though the parking lots not complete um the um there has been asphalt buildup around all the um what do they call pipes the pipes sticking out right so that it will be smoother for you know um par for the plows there's um designated areas where they can dump the snow um and so uh fingers crossed and hopefully it's good that it's going to happen on a weekend right so we have a test run first and and as a reminder for everyone that that's why we have delays and we have that that 2-hour delay we actually have an emergency 3-hour delay if we really need to go there um this happens to be falling on a Sunday but it's the job of parks and rec and let's let's not forget yeah it's a larger School parks and W doesn't have to plow Huckleberry they don't have to plow Center School and actually there's uh I think an ambulance barn or some other entities in town that they're no longer plowing they have a separate service for that so they could put all of their efforts uh you know obviously at whiskin in the high school but we have our our our time piece too so whiskin and the high school at the same time now so there's not a delay anymore so they've got to deploy their resources at the same time so they've had plenty of time to work on their plan uh in addition to that Casey mentioned working with the NBC and the the project budget to get the equipment we need the parks and rec department and and uh Mr calwell we've been talking about this and at working with the NBC for quite a long time you know asking for certain equipment and so forth so it's not as though winter just came you know now and we're thinking about it this is requests that have been made have been made year and a half ago so I mean there's been a lot of preparation going into this so we're uh we we're planned for the best and we anticipate the best good so hopefully parents and kids watching at home uh will know that the the plan is in place to take care of the snow um so the next item on the well thank you very much Dr BR for your report sure question for John I know I asked this last meeting about the flag pull outside yes and um you said it was contingent on the parking lot but and I thought about it when I thought about our own FL flag pole at my school it's not in the parking lot it's like on the sidewalk so the way where where's it planning on going I'll get you the map design the you're facing the school South lot north lot and in between there's driveway and also walkway that's going to be designed and where that walkway goes which is stamped concrete is where the flag PO is going to go so that's a part of all that design and now that the temperatures are the way they are they can't continue the work so that's why all right so the next item on the agenda um is a subcommittee report and so we have a report from the finance subcommittee um from January 2nd so Roso as chair would you share please from December 18th from December 18th yeah um yes so we met on December 18th at least we've been meeting a lot since then but um so and this particular meeting was uh a special meeting just to discuss or be part of our discussion of the budget review um so throughout this Pro starting in the beginning of December uh the finance committee constructed that questions document that I had mentioned um several times and has been contributing questions to that and then at each special meeting which has been held weekly since then um we go over any of the questions that have come up since then so that is that was really all we did on that particular meeting was just go over some of those um budget questions so um and that document will be made um publicly available as soon as the board is done contributing to it and we adopt our budget so that was it great thank you um and so before we move to the next item on the agenda uh I I've been remiss um we had a um we had the public budget Forum here that began at six o'clock an hour before the meeting and we um talked pretty extensively about um budgetary issues that were connected to class sizes and so um before this meeting started uh we could probably talk about that there though oh do you want to do it during there okay so so stay tuned that's coming um let's move then to the to item number 10 um on the agenda it's the consent agenda uh I move that the board approve the items listed on the consent agenda as recommended transfers and new hires uh do we have a second for this motion Wendy can I just say one thing yes please um the uh there was a decision made um Mrs lenise who's transferring from being an ABA perah to a special education secretary at the high school actually started this week as of yesterday so the second not the 8th wonderful okay well that's that's all I had thank you okay so we have a second for this motion um all in favor of approving the consent agenda say I hi okay um so it passes unanimously and thank you um so now we'll move on to new business um we have a teams presentation um from the teams stands for Teacher education and mentoring and this will be presented by WMS assistant principal uh principal Ed Bednar and CES assistant principal Dr Danielle is it rud rud is how you say yes great so wheny I may okay so before we introduce uh Ed uh to to get started on his presentation um it was important to share first of all that uh Dr rud is quite ill so she could not make it tonight and so is Mrs Griffin she's not able to make it tonight so so um and so everybody knows Mr bner is the whis one of the whis is the whiskin assistant principal now not one of them anymore the assistant principal at whiskin a and Mrs Griffin is one of the assistant principles at uh the high school and Dr rud is one of the assistant principles at Candlewood Lake so um we have all three schools represented in the mentoring program for our beginning teachers um a lot of times uh we look at our system principles and say all they do is discipline what else do they do um well they are educational leaders they do a lot well Beyond discipline um uh there's supervision uh of faculty and staff there's evaluation of faculty and staff um and certainly the mentoring work they do and professional development work they do tonight you'll learn a little bit about a required program called team for beginning teachers um and how we really take it uh I think kind of uniquely to a next level in terms of the the work we do with our teachers and uh uh we're pretty excited about it Anna did you want to add anything before turning it over to Ed um I I don't think right now I want to just kind of because I'm probably going to add more at the end or as we go but um I just want to one of the things that's nice team has been something that the you know it's been a state expectation for about 10 years now but it has evolved from other um and those of us who have been certified for multiple years had to do with other certification processes such as best best program which was not best um but this one of the nice things about team is that kind of continuous and ongoing professional development and support program for new teachers but it Al also offers um as Dr bril said you know the opportunity for educational for administrators to continue to be educational leaders and also veteran teachers to provide that mentorship for um our you know for our profession development um it's not just professional development it's the profession you know the development of our profession as Educators um and really you know is all in service of creating the best educational experience for our kids so with that we're going to hear from Mr berar thank you for giving me an opportunity to talk about our teacher and education mentoring program here in Brookfield uh we do have a unique program in certain ways and in other ways we are fulfilling our obligations for the state right but I think some of the things I'm going to share with you that are unique to our district are pretty interesting so uh this is a big encompassing program there's a lot of moving parts to so I'm going to do my best to kind of get through it and tell you um most of the pieces uh succinctly so I am the district facilitator I do run the kind of the entire PR program Danielle uh does help me with that piece she will do certain kind of pieces and I'll actually ask her for help in certain areas and she'll she'll help me Susan Griffin runs module five which is something I'm going to talk to everybody about pretty soon and let you know what module five exactly is we also have a team Coordinating Committee it's called the TCC committee and that is made up of teachers and administrators throughout the district it's volunteer for teachers and administrators uh that we get on this board and what we do is we kind of oversee the program we review it uh periodically see if we need to make any changes make sure we're meeting the state mandates make sure that our program is is is consistent and is working well for our beginning teachers and our mentors so uh the mission of team this is the Connecticut State Department of Education mission for team so that we're under that umbrella of the State Department of Education the promo Excellence equity and high achieve eff foran students by engaging teachers in purposeful expiration and professional practice through guided support and personal reflection you're going to see me touching on a few of those points as I'm going through this you'll hear the personal reflection piece multiple times professional practice piece as I'm kind of going through um the steps in what we do here in Brookfield the goals of the team program there are some very specific goals uh one of the main goals especially is to provide that support for our beginning teachers these are new teachers who are just jumping into into the profession and and and it's probably I would say the heart of team is essentially that piece of it which is that Mentor support and I'll talk again I'll talk a little more about that too also to ease the beginning teachers transition into the profession uh and to help us retain effective teachers develop teachers who are reflective practitioners you'll see in some of the modules they're going to do how they do a reflection and they're able to reflect on the practice what worked and what did not work uh help cultivate understanding the professional responsibility of an educator there is uh that encompasses a lot of what we do but particularly module 5 is something I'm going to talk about that that is a professional code of ethics for teachers uh Foster Collaborative Learning communities for all Educators the collaborative piece is huge in team and you'll hear that also provide excellent teachers the opportunity to develop as educational leaders that's the mentor piece okay so there's a lot of people who are part of the team program uh there's the beginning teachers who hold an initial educator certificate or an interim initial certificate uh that's Any teacher in the entire state of Connecticut who has that certification is going to be in the team program there are a few small exceptions here and there uh certain areas perhaps might have a smaller degree of participation in team I really don't need to get into specifics about it but it's like certain unique areas like perhaps a culinary might have uh complete less modules than everybody else uh so there are a few areas that are unique but in general it's your teachers with certification initial certification who are going to be part of team they need to complete team in order to move on and get their provisional certification I am the district facilitator I run the program I the one who kind of connects with the state too and the state database and make sure that all our teachers are uploaded into database that they're getting everything completed on time that they're completing their module on time that mentors are putting in their hours and those types of things uh our trained mentors which are current Brookfield teachers those are different teachers from each of the buildings in different subject areas we try to make sure we have a variety of teachers trained in different areas so that when we have the opportunity to take on new teachers we have mentors who could actually work with them okay uh another piece that mentors could do which maybe I'm jumping a little bit here but I I want to mention it because I think it's an important piece and that is that mentors can also take on student teachers and that I believe that that is hugely important for the district as a whole and for this program because I I I strongly believe my philosophy is that schools that teach teachers are better schools okay so and that is a piece that I'm frequently trying to do I'm frequently trying to connect the state will reach out to me or colleges will reach out to me through the state and I will try to connect those student teachers with mentors in the district who are uh who are eligible to become their their team teacher their Mentor teacher okay actually officially cooperating teacher all right um building administrators are part of this I we already mentioned the assistant principles in each of the buildings the principles also play a role in approving uh approving certain papers and items and topics that that the beginning teachers are doing uh principles also help with the help me and help all of us with the the mentors and and uh we have a process where we actually request mentors and teachers apply for it and we go through their application and then decide who who we need who's going to fit our needs and uh become a mentor I mentioned the team Coordinating Committee already uh the State Department of Education obviously right we're under that umbrella uh uh the rest right the Regional Education Service Centers they do work with us in terms of training for teachers I do a yearly uh District facilitator update where I meet with uh the heads of team from the state and as well as uh their even their technical people are there going over their website and I meet with them we talk about the new updates we talk about any new laws that were going on uh we talk about training of teachers things that might have changed in the program so I go through that piece piece with our resks and uh pretty much at Advance in Lichfield is typically the one that kind of handles that for us they might also be the ones who train our Mentor teachers they might be the ones who uh train um somebody like me District facilitator and also involved in the review process which is something I'll I'll talk about soon too we don't have to use at Advance you could use any in the state but typically our our regional our regional service center is at Advance which and they're great they're fantastic the design of the team program so imagine you're a beginning teacher you're you're starting your first year uh and then I end up having a meeting with them at the very beginning of the year when they start in a district I have another meeting with them about a month into the year where we get into a little more detail uh a lot more detail than we would obviously get into tonight but we talk about what the modules that they required to do are the modules are classroom environment planning and instruction assessment and professional responsibilities uh there is a a little bit of difference between these modules I'll talk about it as I kind of move on and explain what the modules are to you so for modules one through four uh the planning instruction assessment environment piece um teachers have to write reflection papers they have to choose their topic they do this in conjunction with their Mentor teacher they choose a certain topic and then they have to do research on that particular topic they have to make a proposal The Proposal submitted online it goes to their principal the principal has to approve their paper uh they then begin to write they actually have to go through the process of implementing that module right which is student learning based it's what can I do to improve my practice in some way based on Research that they've done um in some manner uh they they continue to work with their their Mentor teacher on that and they will end up submitting a final reflection paper for the state that reflection paper is is a mandatory piece of this requirement for the state now one of the things uh that's very very I I think unique to berkfield I know it's Unique to Berfield because I go to the meetings and we talk about what everybody's doing and typically most are doing the same types of things okay and there's always a lot of questions about what we're doing in Brookfield because it's Unique and and that Unique Piece is where I said everybody submits a reflection paper in Brookfield that's true everyone submits a reflection paper in all of the State uh but in all the state that reflection paper uh at least in most cases there there are some variations on this but that reflection paper is submitted by the teacher and it goes out to some person they don't know who then reads that reflection paper comments on it says you've passed or you haven't passed submits it back electronically and then the teacher has the opportunity they either pass it and they're done or they're told to redo their reflection paper in Brookfield we got together as a team for uh the team Coordinating Committee and we said we want to try something a little different as long as it's approved by the state and it was approved I submitted the proposal and we got it approved and that is instead of just submitting a reflection paper and letting some unknown kind of person out there score it we have our teachers submit the reflection paper which goes into our our queue so we have that reflection paper but they also take what they've learned on their reflection paper with the main topics being what I listed here which is what did you learn how did you learn it and what impact did it have on your practice and on your students those really are kind of like the bullet points for what they're presenting at their presentation and we have a presentation at the end of every year where our new teachers all get together if if we had a a large number of new teachers um we might break it into two groups but typically we do try to get it into a a full District so that we could have our high school teachers with our elementary teachers with our Middle School teachers so typically we try to get them all together and every single teacher who is there as a beginning teacher who has complet their modules during the year we'll do a brief presentation on their module uh typically it takes them about 5 to 6 minutes and they will go through and they will talk specifically about what they what these bullet points are right what did you learn how did you learn it did you did you read books did you work with your Mentor teachers did you work with your colleagues did you collaborate typically it's all of those things right did you Prof 10 professional development that's a piece of it all of these things are kind of put into this uh and then and then obviously the impact it has on your students right that's the most important thing at the end of the day is how is it impacting students there's that the teachers have to bring data that's a piece of it you know this number of students uh uh if it's classroom environment and perhaps it's it's learning about uh classroom management it could be number of minutes on task when I started you know I was losing time kids weren't on task I implemented these practices that I learned through research and through working with my collaborating with my colleagues and working with my cooperating teacher or my my mentor teacher I mean and I I now have this many more minutes of actual work time for my students because I'm not wasting time doing other things so these are the types of things they're presenting and with actual data with it and it gives us the opportunity because we'll have we'll have uh members of the team Coordinating Committee will be are the ones who are at the presentations so it'll give us the opportunity to ask them questions where when a when something is submitted to some person who they don't know there's no there's no opportunity to ask questions it's submitted it's either all right or it's wrong you got to fix things you got to resubmit it you got to redo it gives us the opportunity to ask some questions if we feel there's areas that that perhaps the teacher didn't cover enough of uh I'll give you one quick example A lot of times when teachers are talking about planning the planning modu ual they'll sometimes delve into instruction what they did versus what they planned so this gives us the opportunity to ask these questions to the teachers and get that out of them and make sure we're covering and they're covering all the all the areas they need to pass the module if for some reason they don't pass the module they have the opportunity to come back and present to a small group from the uh Team Coordinating Committee or if they choose to they could they could uh they could go ahead and present the following year at the full presentation but we don't usually have that happen usually it's going to be a group from them and then we're able to give them feedback like this is what you're missing and you need to cover this and you know perhaps your data wasn't solid enough you know you need a little more data and it gives them the opportunity to go back get that bring it to us present it pass the module and and kind of move on in the team process okay so each module is pretty uh it's pretty detailed I did give you the basics of what they're looking for in the module uh as well as the kind of the check off points where the principles are checking off and mentors are working on it the reflection piece um but it does take them a good amount of time I mean they could be on one particular module they could be planning for months and then implementing for weeks okay as well as the followup behind that module and Gathering data so it is pretty extensive for new teachers it's a pretty extensive process which is why it's so important they have their mentors to help them right module five is completely and totally different from the other four modules module five focuses on uh the code of professional responsibility for teachers it essentially is just a facilitated conversation there's no reflection paper that goes along with it it really is that you are attending two conversations over a period of two years that you are in team you're typically given three years to complete team but the goal is to get team done in two years for for beinging teachers so over those two years we offer four module five conversations so they just need to attend two out of those four over two years those module five conversations are run by Susan Griffin and she has a bank to choose from from the state that covers a wide variety of topics that are often pretty interesting in terms of new teachers and and things they might go through some that we don't even think about uh use of social networks well what is it like now that you're a teacher and you have Facebook page right things like that uh electronic communications with students and families what's appropriate what's not appropriate student confidentiality uh Hot Topic uh and other topics that are related to ethical issues and things like that so uh she will go through that conversation we'll invite Mentor teachers to attend with them and we're able to have like a facilitated conversation around uh the idea of these type of ethical personal responsibility issues for teachers okay so again that's really just uh they do have to just attend those conversations be part of the conversations to cover module five okay mentoring I touched on mentoring a little as we went but I just wanted to give it its own kind of slide because it really is is the heart of the program for team uh our Mentor teachers uh again they're volunteer teachers who I'll put out an email to all staff and I'll say we're looking for new mentors in order to be a mentor you're going to be trained for three days you're going to uh you need to be open to taking in student teachers you need to be open to working with our beginning teachers and you're going to have certain responsibilities right you're essentially a lot of these things right a coach you're helping motivate your new teachers you're supporting them okay you have to take your training you're giving advice all right all these different things that kind of roll into it so it really is a hugely important role for teachers in the district it also gives a lot of teachers the opportunity to step up who want to be leaders you know they want to do something more in the district they don't want to just be teaching in their classroom they you know by themselves in a silo which is not something we do here in Brookfield but it gives them an opportunity to kind of step up and do something a little more right they could become involved okay become more involved and and work with work with other teachers um so again that's pretty much the heart of our program um it is a continuous Improvement a practice of continuous Improvement um there's an ongoing professional learning I'm some of the things I didn't even touch on were the fact that uh Mentor teachers have to get retrained consistently as they go so this is not something where they do the training one time and then you're a mentor for the rest of your life you have to do training it's every three years I think it is I think three years or so uh they have to do updated training online uh and if they if they don't get that training completed they're no long an eligible Mentor in our district they're actually kind of taken off the list in order to become a eligible Mentor they would actually have to retrain for the 3 days okay which we don't want to happen so I'm frequently I'm the person who reaches out to Mentor teachers to say you got to train soon you got 6 months you get that going okay and most of them are great because they want to do it so um they're G to they're going to jump right in and get that done as soon as they can uh obviously the piece of improving Student Success right the whole point of the modules is Teachers learning all right through the process and helping their students improve uh connected to our strategic plan I mean even if you just saw the previous slide to this slide right support a culture of continuous Improvement I mean it's not like I chose I actually chose that prior slide before I even thought about the Strategic plan that was just what was in the slide right because it's all connected the professional development piece the research based instruction uh all the process we're going through the things I told them told you about them going through the modules and researching and learning and going through working with colleagues so there is the collaboration piece right all of this is kind of connected so sometimes it's good to kind of bring that back and just see those connections uh there was a survey done this is a state survey this is not us there was a state survey done to team teachers asking them uh about the particular program and again this went out to everybody for team and they got a lot of good responses and this was this is probably about a good three or four years ago so probably due for another uh but 2.6% I'm not going to read through all of them right but that it positively influenced their practice help connect them connect recognize the link between new learning and impact on students made them a more reflective educator there's that reflection piece they have to do right that they're revising and they're going over with their Mentor so at the end of the day they've gotten some good feedback about the team program from the state and then to couple that with the fact that I think we're doing it even a little better in Brookfield I think and some ways where where we're doing the presentations uh I I think we're in a good spot right now for team so that's about it I think I covered everything I wanted to cover I'm certainly open the questions I don't know if Anna wants to jump in and add anything John the only thing I just wanted to kind of yeah thank you very much I think that was a super comprehensive um presentation um and as you could see from uh Mr bednar's presentation this is really kind of based in the theory of research right like I mean that's the idea is that teachers these teachers are working to do some preliminary research after they set their goals within the framework of their module and then um do their research and then put that research into action and see what they kind of get um with the support the continuous support of the mentors um and so it's a it's a I was going to I was wrote down collaboration because that's exactly you know it's kind of embodying our Brookfield C's um with our teachers um it also enhances the vertical articulation as um Mr bnar said based on that presentation piece at the end which is something that the pathways kind of has has adopted I've talked a little bit about the PD the professional development Pathways this year that our PC um committee our professional development and um evaluation committee uh focused on for our professional learning plan for this year um it was definitely partially influenced and inspired by the team process and the thing I think is most interesting um is that the new guidelines for Teacher evaluation from that are set forth by the state which have just recently changed and are everybody is developing their new adjusted teacher evaluation plans um is really kind of inspired directly from this concept rather than the high stakes accountability that we have just kind of come from the last 10 years um from that the state had adopted in 2011 um there wasn't a lot of uh really good data to show that that would improved teaching and learning whereas this program does show that there's there's there's really positive change with you know to really supporting teachers so um as we are we actually are embarking on our creating our new uh teacher evaluation uh and and professional uh support program starting next week with the pedc team and it's um definitely influenced and inspired by this program so um and the last thing I wanted to say is that as uh Ed mentioned with the mentors it provides an opportunity a lot of our mentors actually um Susan Griffin has uh engaged uh Lori Moses is one of our English teachers at the high school and she um is pursuing her uh degree her her certification in um Administration and so she had partnered with Susan for the opportunity to help lead these module discussions so it's just another opportunity for her to develop professionally as she's leading a team module discussion um as she's pursuing her certification so there are opportunities to kind of abound um for our both our veteran teachers and our beginning teachers so those are the last little pieces and now discount um the benefits of Veteran teachers working with new teachers and all the ideas and new strategies they bring to the table you got it um is there so can a mentor be anyone who has gone through this or is there a a minimum number of years of experience or something that a a mentor teacher has to have a mentor could essentially be anyone who goes through this uh typically it's going to be someone with a professional C certification uh but anyone could be going through this process and and become a mentor and you like a mix of you know some of the like freshly graduated or and also all the way up to the sort of Veteran teachers it very much is it very much is yeah I had a teacher who essentially really just went through the program and she very eagerly immediately jumped back in and said I want to be a mentor teacher and she is and and and she was pretty recently so very fresh you know but but very uh very excited and and and really happy to be part of the program and she's actually uh a a mentor teacher this year yeah we had a new teacher who came in and we connected those two so it's working great she's interested in a student teacher too I think uh she very well might be yeah yeah I have a question um um when do teachers do this extra work do they have common planning time baked into the schedule uh essentially this is this is above and beyond yeah and you said it's volunteer it's well it's volunteer it's a stip in position but it's but it is volunteer to do it to do it does this does this feed in I mean I I'm I while you were talking Dr man I was and you Mr bigar I was thinking about like how do I say this without sounding like a jerk I mean this is a lot to to to do this and uh is there I mean to Joy's Point veterans can get rejuven rejuvenated with their own practice but it is you're taking on a big job in addition to other challenges like we were talking earlier about you know the pressures of grading of timely grading it's it's very very difficult so does being a mentor um factor into uh some of the professional responsibilities accolades that might appear with an annual evaluation yes yeah absolutely I mean I know that I my person person Al when I evaluate uh teachers in my my end of year evaluation I do mention whether or not they're a mentor and whether or not they have uh um worked with a work with a teacher when a cooperating teacher work with a new teacher and not that it's an issue but to to address on the other side of it that's the positive side um if we noticed that this was taking too much time away um the mentoring from their actual classroom teaching that would be a supervisory conversation um and we would we reserve the right to deny that opportunity as well so that's all part of the holistic plan and I'm sure it is a mix I mean essentially the teachers that are doing their modules and they're planning for their instruction are going to they're going to be doing some of that and what they regularly do right right um but there should be focused on what they're working on right um but then there is also absolutely a component of after school hours time and hours you got to put in to to get through get through a lot of this there is a lot of work yeah and one of the beauties of this upcoming um teacher evaluation model and I I even kind of hesitate to call it teacher evaluation it's teacher evaluation and support and growth model um is that this is the kind of thing that could become a goal of a teacher to to really focus in on um as a mentor not only as a you know the nice thing is that now these first beginning teachers are going to be able to marry both their team goals and their support and growth goals they can be the same thing one and the same um but also a mentor teacher could say I'm going to be working with you know Anna a nth grade English teacher this year and my goal is to work on on helping support her and adopting part of those instructional practices or assessment practices or whatever the case may be um and also collaborate with that person so that that person can come in and watch me I can go in and watch they know it can now become that the focus whereas before everything was bifurcated and in silos and you could not a teacher would not a mentor teacher would not be able to also use that as a goal um it may overlap but you could not actually officially set it as a goal so I'm excited to see that the state is recognizing the power of support and growth and coaching rather than just high stakes accountability so I think that that's a good thing are there other questions or comments and I just want to also mention that speaking of kind of stiens in time this is part just inclusive of Mr bednar's um job responsibilities and he is enthusiastically took it over you know has Tak it over long before I got here and I was thrilled to be able to how many years now it seven years years I was thrilled there was someone so aped and excited about it when I got here thanks for saying that all right thank you that's great thank you very much much appreciated thank you okay so I believe this concludes new business yes all right so we're going to move on to Old business now I can talk about my Maya COA um so for uh people who are watching at home we had uh 6 PM budget public forum and uh we used that time to to have a pretty robust conversation and we felt that it was important enough that that you not miss it I don't even know where the camera is it's up there okay great okay all right so we we we didn't want you to miss the Highlight so I'm going to start off but also ask fellow board members to to chime in um for things that I might um Overlook so the main points um this was a conversation that was started by Joy was about class size and how especially at BHS in the math and business classes um we have a number of um classes that are over our stated guidelines and um and so this we asked um principal Banda for um some data and he's going to take a closer look at class sizes and um and uh I don't know that we could weave this in for this year but but as a budgetary consideration um I think the turnaround time is going to be too tight but um we uh are also going to be getting some midterm exam data so we will have some data points to be um able to discern the impact of higher class sizes at least for these few data points so um oh also um noteworthy principal blenda said he was not aware of um uh he didn't have a data chain of um complaints for students about uh their difficulty accessing extra help in these particular curricular areas areas so he said he was going to be um checking in with um some of his team leaders and support staff to get a better sense of what they're hearing from students and whether or not students needs are being met um let's see oh also uh the guidelines for class size were adopted in uh 2009 so that's something that the board may be revisiting um for 2024 um there's a new Math course for seniors and we're not sure how the the integration of that new course will be affecting um class size so that remains to be seen um and then we had we had uh conversations about I'll call it the tension between what the community wants in terms of support for kids I mean we all want that um and then the teachers contract and the budgetary pressures that are there because we all want a a budget that we can wrap our arms around so there's a little bit of tension inherent in that and so we'll be discussing more and asking for more data and getting updates from um the staff so what what um should I add I think that covered it covered it thank you too Stephanie for the awesome notes okay so well can I are you moving on on the budget I I have okay I I just wanted to add something um on the budget um so the finance subcommittee which is sort of acting as our budget committee um is going to be meeting two more times right two more times once during our regular meeting which will be next week and then once more after that um but we have really looked at our we we divvied up the budget um into thirds and we've took a deep dive into each one of those and we're really kind of coming to the end of that process so we have contributed all of our questions to the questions document and I think the goal um really is to at our at our next probably um well before we bring the the budget to all of you guys um is to kind of feel really comfortable sort of giving our committee recommendation that we support this budget so I would just use sort of encourage our other board members to really look at that questions document see if it raises any other additional questions that you might have um and and contribute to it like you can you can add to that document as well um and Casey looks at it frequently and you know we review all the answers and you'll be able to get um that and then that that document again becomes this public document that um helps us advocate for for the budget once we um adopt it so um we're getting really to the end of that process so I know I think our our hope is that we can actually adopt that budget or be ready to vote for it um on the 17th 17th yeah so some of you guys we've seen you in on the document um and uh since that time I mean I don't know if you've been in recently um but since that time um uh Casey has added a a ton more data explanation she's provided hyperlinks um so that you can go to like the she says you know there's information in the contract she's linking the contract there so so you can go in and really really um dig deeply and I think that that can give confidence to our neighbors um in the community that you know this is not a a passive pass on the budget like this is this is serious scrutiny um and some of the numbers are fluctuating could you talk just a smidge about that please just one quick thing um did we read the action to get into Old business of the budget to talk about the budget yet we don't know I wasn't sure if we did or we wanted to I didn't want us to miss that just to make sure we're moving along on the agenda yes so yes old business I think we she did say old business and then okay I just want to make sure you're comfortable with where we're at okay okay very good action it's not motion it's an action okay so some of the areas of the budget that are still in flux and we're we're waiting on some finer U refinement of the numbers um a lot of that has to do with um insurance numbers uh we have what is um in the budget right now is a 7% increase in our health insurance um which is based on an estimate provided by we were in the state part partnership plan um and they have webinars monthly to give us updates on where they're thinking that the increase is going to uh Trend and right now they give us an estimate of 4 to 7% the budget is reflecting a 7% increase so we're being conservative there we hope um uh other you know workman's comp disability insurance all of those insurance premiums we do not have fine numbers on those yet so those are all estimates um our oil and gas prices diesel um costs fuel costs those are also estimates um we budget those very closely with the town uh we you know I talk with um Marsha the the town controller and we've both agreed to to do a 10% increase over our current year prices on oil and gas right now it's trending lower than even what we're currently paying this this year so we are hoping to see um some positive gains in that area um trying to think any other that's really everything else is is pretty firmed up um I think a point that you know um where Casey says we stay aligned with the town it's very important we have the same insurance program as health insurance program as the town so that is exactly the same on the town side it's 7% right now hopefully it comes in lower and then that's why we budget conservatively with that uh other things Eric is also with some of his technology estim he'll be fine-tuning um the vendors get back to him with more fine-tuned uh actual numbers and then uh we we budget conservatively and hopefully it's lower so uh before the board if we have the numbers before the board votes to adopt the budget um we obviously would lower those uh we could do that in real time right here um bring that information to you um but again the the budget process uh you know Monroe presented last night but the districts are starting to present now you know the board's had the budget for I think 6 weeks now uh we presented 5 weeks ago uh to the to the public and I presented to the board and the public um but it's still early in the Connecticut budget process most of us approve our town budgets and our school budgets in May um there's going to be fine-tuning throughout the process even after the board adopts it and we always you know if insurance comes in a lot less it happened last year we had a really nice uh really good news we're going to lower the budget it's so if the board adopts a 6.3% or or or whatever if operational areas or other pressures come during the next couple of months we'll still be addressing those at board meetings and making those adjustments uh in real time as we go and working together with our colleagues on the town side Board of selectman board of Finance y that's an important piece for everybody to know it's a long time a lot of process here some some other areas thank you for giving me that pause some other areas are um we are uh putting together juwels our uh purchasing agent is putting together an RFP to go out to bid for our garbage um and recycling service um we're looking to perhaps combine that with the town we use different um vendors for that service right now but we're hoping to find some savings there um and also uh water and sewer those uh numbers from um from the town are not in yet so those are also waiting but awesome yeah okay well we hope it's awesome yes and there's one more thing I just wanted to mention um in in terms of the budget and how sort of it's It's constructed um I know that you guys all know that you know sort of year after year we always talk about this one sort of volatile issue in our budget which is you know special education outplacement tuition and transportation um and you know some people might wonder why why we budget the way we do as opposed to well we're always over budget why don't we put some more money in the budget um that was a this is a very sort of um years in the making agreement that has been done in cooperation with the board of Finance um the agreement ment was to budget for the students that you know you will have and so that is what we do however the Cooperative agreement is that that contingency so if we run over budget the town is holding that they would like to keep as much money in the sort of rainy day fund as possible and that helps the town's Financial Health but there is a Cooperative agreement that you know we're not going to you know start taking away from our regular opper operations to cover special education outplacement tuition or Transportation so um though it keeps coming up it is simply Our obligation to report on that so just wanted to make sure that that's sort of clear because that'll probably continue to be a very volatile part of the budget so okay did you want to add anything no was okay great okay so um that brings us uh then if if we have no further comments or questions okay Jo us sorry please I know it was brought up in an email but it was a question I had as well um you know given our positive path moving forward in the area of special ed um how important to you feel that IEP compliance coordinator is needed moving forward maybe you can speak to that well I bill why don't you come to the podium I think you know given the correct report and the importance of compliance and qual the writing of quality IEPs and the PD that uh bill is leading and also bringing into district and I would say that that the IP compliance coordinator this year has been an invaluable resource in terms of having a history of working with the teams and being able to help Implement those recommendations from the correct report in conjunction with the whole department so in terms of her uh in in her position working on how the goals are written what the the the Mastery should look like and things like that I've been really encouraged by having that on board and in in Prior districts I know we've had compliance supervisors and compliance people but I think um having her in the having that position as a resource for all three schools not just she's based out of whiskin but she's worked on coaching in all the in the other two schools um has been a really welcome addition to what we need to do with the correct report so do you think so so that's great that we're getting all this formal training this year um you think another year of that is still needed or necessary if because once you're trained right the expectation is that yeah I mean I I could I'd like to maybe reflect on it and get back to you a little bit more but I also would say that once we're doing the IEP quality training which we're in the process of doing that with that advance and having the IEP compliance person on board working with the teams I would want to make sure and ensure going for forward that it's firmed up and that we're not sliding backwards for the foreseeable future and that's just that's just my opinion my thought at this time and I could certainly get more information on what that could look like with the IP compliance person and without and with our given structure of corre supervisor absolutely and that's that's something that we're always looking at too is what are the roles of everyone within this and having being new to the still new the position 6 months in I can look at what the model looks like and who does what what the role rols are and where you know we can refine that and where we can improve on that process CU at some at some point we have to take the support away right we can't just like an IEP just you're moving towards independent so I I wouldn't disagree with you on that okay thank you very much appreciate that thanks Bill okay so um all right I believe then we're moving to uh I wanted to bring up another thing sorry please go ahead um I think it it would be Co of us not to you know talk about the legal services and I put it in the document to um and to get some of those questions answered I don't know if you can answer those tonight but um one was the last time we went out to bid um is it a yearly contract who renews the contract for Legal Services I think it's definitely something that an area that we need to look at as far as the budget goes um is this a a thing that that belongs in um committee is this a thing that that's um like I I would think that for us to have this kind of conversation uh we need and I don't mean to sound flimsy but uh a little bit more education about um standard practices I I this is like a newish area to me and so I'd like to be uh better educated what what is the protocol here is this like is this a typically for a committee probably not I would probably say like John would probably be able to gather that information or John and Casey together would be able to gather that information and report back to the whatever questions you have we can answer and like I said um last month at the board meeting if the board desires to go out to bid provide the direction to the superintendent and we'll go out to bid it's not require it's not required to go out the bid if we're pleased with the services of the uh firm then we're pleased with the services of the firm but the general um Canan escalera um which attorney Murphy works for that firm has been with the district since 2008 it's not a requirement to go out to bid for Legal Services uh however um if the board so desires to look into different pricing different firms that that's absolutely the prerogative of of the Board of Education because the attorney is the board's attorney right and also the labor attorney and so that's that's that's our main um Legal Services is through attorney Murphy and then our special education attorney who is attorney chenny is a very small portion of the the the budget um okay I feel I feel like we have had um some uh strong opinions voiced here and we need um some we need to uh I I would like to educate myself further on I hate to say but like both sides here and so could we table this and and um put it on the agenda for the next meeting so what I would what I would suggest is I mean we haven't formally made a motion anyway so so it's okay we can have we can ask for whatever information we need um what I would suggest is have everybody here sort of what do you need to in order to decide not whether well really to decide whether or not we go out to bid and I would say then we we can put that on an agenda in a few in a well and and I think we have the Q&A Doc and I think Joy you said I see question so we could put questions in there and we can get you the like to make a motion to um direct the superintendent to go out to bed for legal services and I a second um shall we have some discussion before we vote or I don't think we have enough information so I will not I will be abstaining but we can call vote if you want um I again I I don't feel like motion seconded so we have to vote I think there's I think there's some information that came into us very late today I think it was it was uh made clear in our um opening public comments and I think we we need I would personally like to be able to look at those documents um and to read uh the information I don't feel like I'm prepared to to go there right now without having all of that information I agree so then just so we know so our next meeting is January 17th and I'm not comfortable voting on a budget that on the 17th until we have all that information can discuss it so then we would probably have to meet um uh on the 24th yeah we'll have a special meeting then okay um but there is a motion with a second so okay so then um can I'd like to have the language of the motion um the the language of the motion is you would like to um direct the superintendent to to direct the superintendent to bid to bid for for the legal services um so do we have Clarity there I know it was a little jumbly um to direct the superintendent to bid out for legal service Services correct oh okay I have a question about that motion because a nay vote would be no don't do it but I don't I don't want to do a nay or a n I just need more information is all I'm saying so you can abstain if you don't have enough information okay I feel in the same space yeah that yeah um I think it's important we got a lot of information today um I'd like to investigate the other side um as well and um and so so with that uh yeah I think I I would be abstaining I think that won't leave us with a quorum that's all right just I would just call the vote call the vote all right so um all in favor of um of the motion putting Legal Services out to bid say I I okay all opposed abstentions okay so we have two I votes zero nay votes and five exstension coming from fetto sakur Fernandez young blood and Irani thank you everyone um we will continue to work on this um important question okay does that then conclude old business any other budget question yes it does okay have public on it okay so we're going to move to um to item 13 which is public comment um the board welcomes public comment um each speaker shall have up to three minutes to provide input to the board at the end of this of each regular meeting time is allotted for comment on any item with the board's jur within the board's jurisdiction discussion of school Personnel individual students or of individual members of the board is prohibited we have one person signed up for public comment um that is Mr Korea so when you are ready is on Andy Korea 45 West C Road um so I'd recommend the board email um in the email there's a board educa a board by law 9115 that I like um it's a policy of the board that um the superintendent and the board need to do an annual evaluation of Legal Services um I don't think that's happened in many years I have written to the board in the past and asked them to do just that and they haven't right um before you move forward I think you should get some evaluations now you don't have to have the administration go out to bid um the board can do it itself and I would recommend doing that I would recommend the board choosing um their own attorney the chair can hire an attorney um and has the budget to do so and I would recommend the chair hire an attorney um to evaluate our existing attorneys and look at some of the past cases and ask is this the sort of services we would want and I gave you eight pages of backup there's no way I know more than 30% of what's out there so there's probably more cases the board could solicit input from the public if there's parents that have concerns with how the district has ever interacted with the board they could contact that attorney and that would be a great way to involve the public in choosing an attorney that would work for the district and not necessarily individual staff members um so um as you move forward that that would that was what I would recommend um similarly a separate um uh governance issue I'd recommend the Boe email address is essentially um a distribution list and when you send an email to the Boe email address it sends uh that email to each member of the Board of Education but it sends an email to non-members of the Board of Education and from a Governor's perspective I would think that the board should direct um the administration to not copy non-board members because the board manages a superintendent from from a um span of control and management theory if somebody would to have an issue that um they want to go to the superintendent's boss they can't do so with without informing the superintendent it and it that this is true of the current occupant or future occupants and from a management control theory um you shouldn't be doing that you you don't do that in any other scenario right so I would recommend that the U the board directs the super the superintendent to take himself and other staff members off the Boe email address and from a standpoint of just Joe Q public or Jane Q public they go and type type in Boe email address they wouldn't expect that they would be sending it to anybody other than members of the Board of Education thank you very much for your and the documents from earlier today okay so um I believe then we are um moving to the next item on the agenda three main points so so we've had sorry we've had um some robust disc um discussion here tonight um Stephanie what did you capture and then we'll see if other folks want to add or um modify three main points yep so my uh recommendations I guess would be the superintendent update um the finance report that would also incl include the committee update and the public comment update from the finance uh meeting at 6 o'cl um and then the team's presentation okay what do you what do you guys think about that like when you I would just title the finance report thing just budget budget okay really a robust it wasn't really a robust um agenda so yeah options not a lot of choice yeah I think that that word's going to be coming up a lot you know the only main points y okay um so so are we are you good on that I am look how good you are getting at that okay yes please um so in terms of uh the next item on the agenda agenda uh upcoming events so we've got the finance subcommittee meeting Monday at 6:30 correct Monday the 8th Finance is 5:30 yeah 5:30 oh 5:30 5:30 switch till February okay sorry Robert you got to drive it break next speed to join us it's all good okay thank you um and then again on finance committee subcommittee will be meeting Tuesday January 16th right no or did we did we we had a schedule conflict with that we're just meeting that one more time okay okay okay and we we will discuss on the 8th which is next Monday if we need to meet on the 16th okay okay okay okay depending on how much Workshop we get done okay um and then the next board meeting will be Wednesday January 17th here 7 o'clock are there other important items for upcoming events students midterms was there going to be another meeting on 2th that that gets would typically get determined on the 17th the regular me if we need to if the board's comfortable adopting the budget that night they'll adopt the 17th if board isn't comfortable then you could table you could take a vote whatever you decide to do and bring it to the but we do I would uh strongly encourage the board that any later than the 24th is problematic given the timeline of having to get it to Mr Dunn by the following Wednesday January 31st by Town Charter we must get it there and frankly Casey and I and Joan and the team need to be able to get the work done to have the budget prepared and we need those work days to get it done after the 24th before the 31st so will the agenda on the 17th include continued discussion oh the old business the budget will still be there and so I can't encourage enough if you have questions ask and we'll do everything we can in our power over the next two weeks to make sure you have what you need to be comfortable voting on the 17 if you're not then you're not but uh we want everybody to have the info they need okay are there other points to discuss all right great job team if there are no objections this meeting is adjourned at 8:25 thank you everyone and thanks everyone who is watching and thanks to the people who turned out to see

I would like to I would like to call our meeting to order who we all stand for the pledge I pledge to the FL of the United States of America and to the it stands one nation under God indivisible andice for first of all with my Bad Manners happy New Year glad to see everyone in the New Year hope everyone had a safe and beautiful holiday and enjoy family enjoy traveling or doing whatever you had to do to just relax then we will have a roll call Richard Holly here Jan here here here here Al here Michelle here Terry present Mary yeah we have 10 present and one ABS thank you I would like to thank everyone for coming out tonight this is a budget Workshop okay and I'm going to ask you when you have a question would you raise your hand I will put you on my this and when you ask a question I'll scratch you off and move on to the next person U we're going to be polite understand this budget Workshop ask your questions so we can be out of here at 8:00 no questions yes Mr J do we ask Kevin do you want the questions held until after or as you go through the slides please if we can wait until the end of the presentation and I since everyone has already heard the Pres presentation I'll go through it very relatively quickly to make sure John and I have plenty of time at to end questions that'll be help thank you okay any other question I know I can tease Mr Janelle any other question before we get started Mr you yes okay cut is not here good evening everyone and happy New Year U welcome back our comment board members and new board members to the 2024 school year and so in front of you this evening and on our screen um is our preliminary budget for the 24 25 school year um I did have an opportunity to review the preliminary budget with our new board members in the month of December I'm in two separate evenings and I want to thank them taking the time to join John and I that night um and of course I want to thank the the board um in November of course we had the opportunity to review this previously um so this will be our first opportunity as a group to ask some clarifying questions U and frankly um just kind of nail down any um questions that you might have going into the full presentation for January 7 and so on page two uh which is titled budget timeline and the budget timeline you will see I just want to bring your attention to the line that says January um and um these are really the activities for the month of January uh with uh from my office of course also with our chief finance officer John Sang um and that is of course board red Workshop which is this evening um I anticipate we may have a couple of extra for the month of January or February as well of course we will have a finance committee meeting in the month of January um a board eved uh meeting which hopefully there will be an opportunity to adopt the budget if not in January then in February certainly uh parents as partners budget discuss um is an alumni group from one of our parent University groups that I'll be also reviewing a budget with that group that I cannot get to in December and last but not least the Nea superintendent advisory overview uh that was initially planned for December um but we had a full agenda that afternoon and so that has been pushed to January so that's why that is now in the month of January as as an activity um and I will just leave the other items uh for review to see February aoit Workshop if needed budget templates due to the city uh typically by no later than um February 14th and and then of course an an adopted budget by the board will be submitted to the mayor's office in City Hall by that time as well push and so our next slide begins to tell the story here in danburry public schools and so the enrollment you'll see all of the blue bars the blue bars represent the numbers um dating back to 201718 and you'll see enrollment growth in the city of danburry danburry public schools um a little over 11,400 students in 1718 and as of our October one submission and in 2324 we had 12,114 students reported to the state of Connecticut um since October 1 um we have added an additional 91 families students I should say to the district and so the year today as of today is 12,25 that red bar um represents our projection for the 2425 school year uh based on our um demographic projections the next slide is titled enrollment growth and this represents our enrollment growth not only for our U multilanguage learners but also our special education students these last two slides uh really begin to um speak to how different and unique we are from the other districts in the entire state of con and and so you have heard me say considerably of often and often how we continue to experience growing enrollment here in danber public schools while the vast majority of the districts across the state of Connecticut are experiencing flat or declining enrolment um another thing that further distinguishes us from the rest of districts in the state of Connecticut is our continued growth amongst our multil language Learners um by far we have more the highest percentage in an entire state of Connecticut and despite the fact we are the sixth largest District in the state of Connecticut we by far have more multil language Learners uh to date we have 4,468 we've already grown 116 since October this next slide titled requested versus actual and this just kind of gives a historical look back going back to 1718 um and just kind of walking the board through what they ask had been from the Board of Ed to the city and what the actual funding was from the city of the so going back to 178 the request was 131 plus million uh we received 128 million and you see every year 135 million was the request or the need uh the next year was 132 million um going from left to right you will see the columns as such school year boarded need or request actual funding the difference and the ongoing enrolling growth uh for your slide this afternoon which is different from what you had seen previously I did not have a projection for 2425 it stopped at 2324 so I wanted to make sure 2425 represented the board of need or request the actual funding of course is empty and the difference is empty because we don't know what city funding is going to be at this time however what I did include and you'll see the two asteris 12,34 is the number we expect to be at at the minimum by the opening of school in September 24 25 School the big difference of course I want to bring your attention to and that is the $45 million over uh since 1718 that has been the Gap uh that we have experienc in terms of what we've asked for and what we have received from the city therefore the next slide page six and that is the cliff and the cliff is an excerpt from our uh 20 uh 2022 budget book where we were beginning to trying to forecast um not on uh not only what um the 24 25 ask might be but also to demonstrate to the community um how our funding streams are beginning to change um in subsequent years um so again going from left to right you'll see uh fiscal year 2122 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 um and then if you look at the column I'm going from Esther 3 Esther 2 cares act those are the three uh cover relief monies that we received um starting in 2122 school year during the pandemic um Alliance of course Title One Ida other grants are sustainable grants that we've continued to receive and city funding um of course is our funding from the city of danber and so you'll see at the bottom it says total funding and that's essentially and this is something I want to speak to later on in the presentation but total funding is essentially what it takes to run and operate the District of their public schools in 20 I'll stay here for a second John in 2425 you will see S3 S2 and cares act a zero that zero is there really to strongly and represent the cliff that we have been so concerned about these last 3 or 4 years we've been we benefited from the co monies the relief monies um because it has helped to address enrollment growth over the last couple of years and so it has essentially filled the Gap that the city has not filled and it has also filled the Gap to be fair um for the alliance funding that was not fully funded at that time right and so we have been beneficiary of those monies um and we are now in a place where none of those monies have dried up um you will hear later on throughout the presentation and our subsequent presentations the the vast majority of the monies in S3 are Staffing for danburry high school to address our enrollment growth over these last couple of years um so when we initially again when we put the budget book together for 2022 um you see an alliance projection um again this was a projection at that time in 2024 uh we tried to do essentially about a $2 million increase uh we will report later on that increase is projected to be higher again this is the next St from the book on Title One at uh 3.8 million during this year and projecting that will be at about 3.9 million again those numbers change depending on Rolling in the district Ida Grant U 2.8 projecting at 2.9 other grants we flat funded not knowing what would be continuing to come into the system um so we just flat funded that at 34 million the number I want to bring your attention to the funding me for 150 million for 2324 you'll see that for city funding 150 um and then you'll see an aster next to 169 million and I want to talk about um what that number represents that 169 million again was a projection around November December when we were putting together the budget for in 2022 um frankly the number is not terribly off from what we see those projections to be now this 169 million represents um our keep the lights on maintenance budget from 23 24 to 2425 um it also includes absorbing the Essa salaries from 2324 to 2425 um so that that gets us to the 169 million the 169 million does not include the new ask for the4 25 school year because it did not assume or anticipate involment growth in this budget book um so I think when we did the math this was off by about $2 million in total um but we came pretty close to what we had projected at that time when we were trying to forecast what the district look like to the threee Cy so I just wanted to give you an idea how we got to the 169 again it's folding in the salaries from S3 and then it's also um to keep the light on budget keep all of the programs and services in place roll over contracts and project what utilities and transportation costs would look like that's how we got to the 150 to 150 to the 169 um and so that's what you're seeing on this page from this excert from the budget b the next slide ongoing budget drivers and mandates and this is just a quick review and overview um it upgrades and supports and I know I shared this with our new boarders and also cting board members um we had several grants to support on toone device um activity for all of our students in the district um those federal and state grants have since um expired and this is uh now a uh an initiative that we are funding here locally in the city of Dan the 25 credits to graduate um this is not a new initiative um but it does come as an ongoing cost for us and I I think at some point we'll have to stop saying it but it is part of our reality um 21 credits to graduate for students uh to 25 cost more money cost more classes more teachers Etc um and then that of course that's exacerbated by the fact that we continue to experience additional inov um SEO support and staff um post pandemic uh we have learned um of course we were um prior to the pandemic we were desperately trying to catch up making sure that we can address the kneas request to make sure we've satisfied our ratio of U 325 or less students per guidance cide at the high school as possible uh we've been able to reduce that ratio over the last couple of years um in most cases this is essentially been with s monies but it also helps us to address social emotional challenges and the supports that we need across the system so we have been able to the majority of our investments have been in guidance but we've also been able to hire some psychologists and social workers across the system for more continues to be needed um and those um those request continue to come and and impact the system school safety enhancements of course we can't have a building of 3900 students in building and not um continue to request additional Advocates at the high school um so that that this um incorporates that ongoing request um the board might also recall uh we had uh requested and acknowledged the request with an additional Advocate also Fair middle school as well um in addition U we are seeking out this Grant which requires um an investment On the Border head side um and so um this is again this is a school safety enhancement um and I I'll ask Mike to at a at a followup meeting through facilities to talk about the rapid program because I know some of our new board members not necessarily um um special education population increases and Ela population increases I talked about the MLL community and the supports needed for that population um I think it's important to know although we haven't experienced the same type of um student growth uh with a special ex students but the needs of the students have changed considerably and so the services and supports have changed uh which could mean more counseling more OT More PT um across the system last but not least on the new AR reading program I know a lot of our cting board members have heard quite a bit about the new reading program uh but the new reading program will transition uh next year for the 2425 school year that transition will start in the spring grades four and five and so new materials have already U been purchased for that group and then professional development plan will be implemented to help support that transition for the following year but the point being it continues to to uh require a Longo investment for the implementation of it and then last but not least and I think this is last bullet quite frankly is something we'll be talking about in this room for a long time because it's something we've been talking about for a long time has involvement growth it's just I think it's always home to be a budget driver for this District community so these next three to four slides um John Spang is going to speak to and it's talking about our budget drivers and and then he's also going to have a summary slide in addition to that as welln I think Kevin I'm going to stand up because um I'm going to point to a couple of those slides if it's okay people hear me okay hear me back there okay um so you have a page in your book it's called budget drivers and there's a lot going on on this page I want to take a minute and walk through I know it may look kind of small it's easier to see in your book but um what it talks about is what we're calling contract obligations and program maintenance and what that means is uh this is the budget for our existing programs and services what we have right now what it would cost next year without anything new just the things we're doing today I think that's an important first step to really understand what we're requesting so what you see um in the first two columns though they should be familiar um and it's it's the middle column though I'd like to take a minute and just point something first of all let me back up um the numbers are different from what you saw last month last month um what we had prepared was what we call a pro fora budget a pro fora budget is U more of a summary nature we might take what we have for supplies and say they're going up 6% for inflation or uh the teacher contract is 5% so salaries are going up 5% you do some general things uh with the the larger line items for example you know what the bus contract is and so on on uh but since then we've actually done more of a a zerob base budget we've gone item by item line by line we took uh individual teachers and said what step will it be on next year what Lan will they be in uh What insurances have they picked have they picked single or family uh we looked at um what um the principles want actually wanted for supplies and put that in maybe they wanted uh fewer textbooks and more library books or something like that um looked at everything much closer and when we did the what we can now call the preliminary budget it's come down from what you saw last month last month you would have seen a figure of 163 million up there that's now come down to 160 um sometimes we call it the lights on budget uh but what brought it down really a couple things one is we had a um a recommendation from our uh employee benefits consultant the Gallagher company we've used them for a long time uh they recommended a 5 a half% increase in health insurance for next year the pro fora budget had been predicting seven so when we filed it work that in worked down the individual choices that came down uh more than a million dollars the other thing we saw uh that came out different was uh I'll call grp them as energy costs a year ago uh the outlook for Energy prices uh was not good we all saw electric bills going up us just like uh you uh were going up everything was going high inflation was going higher and uh we had to budget uh a significant increase that was one of our drivers last year was energy costs but since then energy costs have come down uh and we've been able to lock in some of our prices along with the city and sort of a Cooperative Venture uh if you know the purchasing agent chick vulpi he'll go out to bid on some of these things when they think the market is favorable they'll ask us we want to join in gives them a bigger quantity so we've locked in some lower energy prices for next year already that are lower than we had in the budget so when we put it together this month it came down uh a few hundred th000 there um so that along with the actual payroll costs and things like that the lights on budget or the current programs and services are is lower than what you saw last month um but what I'd like to show you here um is particularly it's the 2324 budget because there's been a well I'm sure we'll be talking about um the requests we have in front of the city the savings we thought we'd have last year and didn't have but what I'd like to show you is for these line items and we'll call those like to call them major objects that's the word they use in governmental accounting you can see that the the items that we plan to spend which go right down to the 318,000 that du's fees and staff development we've projected those so we're we're projecting 153 million next year up to 160 so it's by you can see some of these individual ones are really not going up substantially higher um the entire budget if you look from 160 to 150 that's going up less than 7% right so a couple things in here to point out um I call it last year this year um we lost Sr 2 this the second of the three Co GRS that expired last June we had a number of staff that were an eser to if remember mostly again at the high school and we moved those staff into the school budget and when we did it we wanted to highlight it so people could see exactly what we were doing we didn't want to blend it in with the the current staff we in the budget so we put it on this line right here that said enrollment impact equipment 5.5 million dollar you can see that doesn't extend into the next year there now up in the salary numbers it helps explain why that 92 million is significantly higher but it's it's not a a change for next year um the the 5.5 million actually what was in that was 45 million for expiring sr2 and some uh repairs to our buildings call them uh minor repairs that we do things the city doesn't do there's about 700,000 there so that that's one of the changes um the other um the other thing I I think you need to know is we're going to make a we come back next week we're going to show this a little differently for a lot of years we've uh we here we have budgeted for our tutors our special tutors uh not in the salary lines we budgeted them up here and purchase Professional Services it's about $4 million of salaries that are on that line been there a long time what we're going to show you next week we're going to move 4 million up into the salaries Where We Belong where it belongs but we're going to do a restatement so we're not only we're not just going to move next year's up but we're going to move this year's up so you'll see 4 million less on the purchase Professional Services line this year and next year and 4 million more on the salaries this year and next year we we think it's a a more uh transparent way to show our budget it is salaries um we're going to we're going to do that um okay so that's the the pro the preliminary budget as Kevin explained um and I I don't know if many of you happen to read uh the article in the hear newspapers on Monday New Year's Day you know they do these top 10 stories all the time but they they uh wrote a story about the what what would be the top 10 news stories to watch this year and one of the ones in the middle was what in their words was the fiscal cliff exactly what we're talking about that was their term and they talked about um how to keep our eye on what's going on in Hartford uh the changes would be significant not just next year but in the years that follow so I thought that was um in interesting timing so what this is really the story of our budget this year here it's it's uh it has different different names um the the Hurst newspapers called it um pandemic era grants it's already an error right pandemic error grants um we call them the covid grants um the state Ed department calls them Esser grants all all the same thing there were three of them as you saw in Kevin's Slide the first one they called the cares act couple million dollars the second one was called sr2 and the third one sr3 um but the first one was a couple million the second one was $12 million that's expired and the third one was 25 million back in 2021 the board said well let's split that over three years kind of equally this is the third year uh it runs out in June um we we did a little better instead of having only 8 million to spend at the end of the third year uh we had 10 million5 left but if if we had the grant for another year the people that are in it primarily teachers would cost us 10 million 7 to to just do the same thing next year um you can see it's almost 7 million in salaries uh the usual employee benefit package uh but what we've also done in that Grant is we've paid for substitute teachers in that Grant and you know like like most U organizations uh with covid and and some of the labor shortages um they're very hard to fill all of our absences or I should say harder um than before the pandemic we use an outside service like many uh school districts to uh hire our subs but that that um activity is in the sr3 grant to that so we we need to continue this so again this is I I think I call it the story of the budget this year the declining sr3 the last of the co grants that will will add to that lights on budget you saw on the previous slide um now if you want to go to the next one Kevin the there a lot of other things going on and let me just go through those briefly these are new things to the budget so sticking with that approach um we think showing you the new things separately is a good way to go because it just it it makes sense you need to we need to highlight these new things uh for you um in special education uh we have a growing need um at all levels K to 12 for additional staff um including at the prek level uh and yes there's a new mandate up to age 22 uh but we need special ed support staff um prek through 12 so we' we think that's 400,000 uh next year but the uh the the ctis building the academy um we believe that will be ready for occupancy on April 1st and we'd like to move in on April 1st we don't think we can wait till July uh to move in if school's going to start in August up there so what we've uh what we're proposing housing is some uh salaries for administration and operations uh we don't quite know all the specifics of that plans are still being developed but we're going to need some Administration for both the high school and the middle school programs that will be housed over there now whether it's two people for half a year or two people in a secretary or one person for longer than that and an admin assistant we'll have more details on that but there's a lot of work that has to be done uh when you open a school all the little things uh you've heard the devil's in the details and there there are a number of things uh the the building committee is doing a fantastic job but uh they handle the big things and there'll be a lot of little things not just buying things but scheduling and arranging and getting ready uh that has to be done when it uh takes time so we we see the need for additional for new administrative staff to be housed there in April uh those positions carry employee benefits but we'll also be responsible uh for the building at that point the C the city actually turns it over to us and we we have to uh budget for the cost of running that building it's a big building um this has been a I have to be honest with you this is I described it as the most difficult line item to project uh this year um for those of you who went through the the tour over there um it it was it was nothing in there really to to go on so it's very hard uh we'll try and get better numbers as we get closer but what that number is based on is the cost to operate our current high school but for 3 months so we'll we'll do better with that I think I want to point that out we'll need some supplies and and things like that to get going over there for a couple months most of the expense for the Academy will come in the following budget but there'll be some things there um also knew uh you know if there was any if there was a Silver Lining or in the pandemic it was that it it pushed all of us into more technology we're doing more with systems computers things like that especially in our classrooms and um when you go down that path you uh you have to support it uh we're going to to keep going we're going to need more infrastructure more devices more support uh just to keep it running all the time we think that cost will be about 785,000 next year and that unfortun unfortunately unfortunately will be an ongoing expense of you know education today and its emphasis on technology um but in here um I think this is probably the second most important driver of the budget uh after uh the sr3 and I describe it this way um you know the building the cartis building has has been delayed for a year from its original estimates and nothing wrong with that um instead of U occupying it in in August of 24 it's it's August of 25 or April 25 and of course we can't move during a a school year um but just because the building's not ready uh that doesn't mean the students aren't here the students are coming they're here already if you talk with um principal Donovan he'll tell you that when he looks at the 8th grade the ninth grade the 10th grade and 11th grade right now it's close to 3,900 K and we knew the enrollment would be here we thought we'd have the bill we don't so what um what we are going to need for next year it's more teachers at our High School uh high school has asked for nine uh what they call Core classroom teachers nine core classes and five electives total 14 certified teachers that's the million 50,000 right there and uh the benefit packages that go with those uh 14 positions right underneath that now you saw from us earlier and we'll talk about this a little bit the ummies and the cost of that what that would cost this will be a reduction of that just we need them now we won't need them a year from from that um but also with the enrollment growth we need more buses some of you have been up there up to high school morning or dismissal uh the buses are full uh there tons of kids on them um and this represents four additional buses added to our current Fleet they cost about $775,000 a year per bus and the other part of that what we call the u a Roman adjustments Furniture that's nothing more than just student desks and chairs for new students and and the ones we have don't last forever sometimes they break they have to be replaced but we need um we need Student furniture for the increased in R so that's that's in the middle there um that's a a Big Driver um we want to do more with school security we always want to do more there's some grants that we can get if we pay a share of that uh we'd also like to add more uh safety Advocates um next year so we put that in as a a budget driver and then uh finally you know as you saw um Kevin's slide um our increase in multilanguage Learners that we have uh we have um some we call academic support staff and the benefit package I'm just going to read these off to you at the at the high school uh four bilingual teachers uh two Spanish two Portuguese uh to teach science math and social studies uh four bilingual Paris two Spanish two Portuguese and a s coach um for the high school we also think um we need two more bilingual Paris one Spanish one Portuguese uh K5 two for the the district and a scop coach there uh and then at the middle schools um a World Language teacher at Rogers Park and uh at um Broadview two Middle School teachers um for World Language so those are the drivers um Kev if you want to go to the next one just kind of summarizes it this is that's how we got to the 175 the 160 which you saw on the first slide uh declining Co relief funds has 11 million here are the new items that I just walked through when you add those together it's it's 1175 million uh that's 25 million over the the 150 that we're currently operating well the last one that's the last gu and I have two more slides and I will go through these quickly um the next slide is titled next steps for January 10th meeting and just kind of want to walk you through some initial next steps that we are plan for for our not preliminary budget but budget presentation for 2425 um so one I just want to re something that John said had said previously uh the tutors uh will be moved from purchase Professional Services into salaries and benefits on slide eight um our new board members Might Recall this conversation but I also want to remind our cting board members um we had talked about uh potentially what moving costs could cost um the district for um moving this building CRC which is our Cur building in CER Street 43 Bieber book which is down block um and we also hope to backfill this building with one of our programs um and so all of those moves we are estimating to be at around $100,000 um to have professional movers plus uh the payment for overtime for staff and also our um custodial staff over time I mean when I say staff I mean contractually we have to pay staff um and paid them a couple of days for actually packing up their own Goods um we will there will certainly be some cost Associated for our custodians to pack or unpack um and then of course the moves themselves and I think we had experience going back to our days from um being in at Brookfield it was between 12 to $15,000 uh per move uh as we have understood going back to those experiences um build an additional $100,000 for um Dam High School cafeteria tense in supervision um John is still exploring some other ways to possibly offset this cost he thinks there may be some ways to talk with our federal lunch programs to address this cost but until we have some clarification there um we are U anticipating supervision of tents during inclement weather and the actual now this this cost um is an estimate with leased tents not purchased ones um if we were to Pur purchase them certainly would reduce the cost um but then of course we would have to maintain them and have the insurance associated with that U so we will one way or the other we will have two probably numbers for the board to look at and consider and we'll get some feedback on what the best way to approach this uh but we are anticipating around $100,000 M for tent so we to address the Overflow from the cafeteria um out to the Courtyard so we can cover those areas uh particularly as we get to those months of inclement weather once we have the in whether the tents have to be closed in they have to be heated once those um shades are down um we have to pay someone to supervise inside of each individual tent that might be out there of course that would more than likely be um teaching staff but not necessarily uh so if we our budget projection of course will asse that it's teaching staff so that's those are the numbers that we will be based on um the next few bullets provide Staffing history and new position analysis this is typical of our budgets um in previous years um and so when I say provide Staffing history we'll kind of go year over year for two or three years look back to find out to get an idea of how much it's cost in the district for 2425 versus 2324 versus 2223 um and then we will do something similar where we can provide um what ECS funding looks like spending and enrollment comparison report and so last year and I know two years previously we had done um a comparison with our uh districts that are similar to us and so often times in this room I'll talk about no and Stanford but there are other districts like um East Haven and East Harford um in Mar and other districts that also look like us and so we want to make sure we can provide a fair uh comparison for for the board to see um how uh we are spending locally um the state monies that we get and what these other districts get as well just so the board can have an idea of what it looks like across the system uh provide key departmental budget drivers and so we'll break down you SE lot of summaries on these lines um and so John had talked about the high school and all the position right now you just see the aggregate 1 million so we'll make sure we have that detail out for you for every line item um and so I just want want you to know that's something you should anticipate and last but not least and this something we have not done my last my first two years as a superintendent and that's provide a full Financial summary of general and grants funding um we think it's really important um that the board and the community understands it takes a little over $220 plus million do to fully operate the school district in which we rely on 50 plus million of Grants plus our general operating budget we will make sure we have a visual we going to do the best we can to have a visual to um help folks understand that the operational serves one purpose and there kind of an overlay and maybe we'll have it 3D out where this is the grants piece that serve any other purpose um the grants are intentional meaning um the expectation is they are to as uh my assistant superintendent remind me all the time uh the grants are purposeful in that they are to address U interventions for students they are to address achievement gap for students they are to address um related services and mandated service for kids uh whether that's title 3 title 4 idea Alliance Etc titles and so we are mindful of that uh but but also want to share with you that we have staff to know those grants and we want to make sure we do a better job of making it clear to you who those people are the type of uh positions that we've had in these grants that we've been frankly we've RI on these grants to operate the district for years uh and one of them that I I think I've repeated a few times um full day kindergarten is not a requirement well day half dayk is a requirement and so years ago as a strategy Dan schools decided to put their kindergarten teachers in the alliance gr and so now to date years later we have 47 kindergarten teachers taking up space and I don't mean that in a bad way but they are taking up a significant space in Alliance as a strategy for the public schools um so these are the type of things we want to make sure is clear to the board um and why it will be so important we count on those Alliance monies certainly um and what I will share with you in the next slide um we are expecting and as you recall from our last meeting um some anticipated supplemental funding streams for the 24 25 school year very excited I'll say it again very excited to be part one of two to be fully funded with um with our alliance funding um and it comes at a really good time as certainly we are um experienced some expiring monies from Co relief uh but our alliance right now is beginning to kick in and two years we will be fully funded the expectation is to will vote from 22 million in 2023 right now I'm sorry 2324 right now by 2627 we should be at $34 million so it we'll grow $12 million over the next two years great for danburry we need it the money should have been here yesterday but okay um and next year that number is projected to be around $29 million and so I just wanted to bring your attention to it so just wanted to make sure I bring to your attention these are the anticipated supplemental monies we are expecting next year uh we're anticipating leak one and two to continue again next year and I I'm sorry but I can't I I have the reserves in there because whether it's now or later um Our intention is certainly to request the reserves um um of $5 million um that that accumulated during the pandemic U and I'll just say quickly about that we probably John should also have this and I'll full full presentation on the 10 um pre pandemic we had um approximately $2.2 to $3 million in a reserves um and the IB nnr I don't remember exactly what it's for John can help me out with that sorry health insurance all right and so it was the health insurance kind of requirement that we had to have in there as part of the reserves um and and so we would continue to maintain that health insurance reserves um and still we would have $5.8 million additional that has been accumulated on top of that and so this is a long way of saying we have about $8.8 million in the reserves right now if we left $3 million in the reserves to cover the health insurance um kind of requirement or best practice that would still leave us with $5.8 million um and so as of right now again I know we still have an outstanding request from last school year um to uh tap the reserves for right now uh right now this this presentation is anticipating we're not going to get that request and so that's why you seeing up here a request of $5 million for the reserves so I don't really think I'm double counting the 3 million plus the 5 million I understand it's i' love to count them both but we can't um and so this $5 million is um expecting that we're not getting it and the 5 million is on the board as a strategy for the 2425 budget so that that is it for us but I did want to bring it to your attention we are planning to make sure next presentation includes um the things that are on slide 12 and um I want to leave this up here cuz I intend there might be some questions but I also want to make sure I walk away this evening with there's something you want to see in the next presentation I want to make sure the team and I and we're taking notes uh to make sure we capture what you want to see CU I want to make sure uh the presentation captures uh what the board is hoping to see and for for that is for our presentation we any questions you are there any questions could you raise your hand who thank you chair um the money that you have put aside for the the tents is that still going to be needed once the academy opens so I John I I would like you to answer that question I just want to say one thing I just want to clarify we don't have any money on the side Louisa um you know but John please go ahead yeah um the tents are P primarily uh for for lunch um with that number of student with 3900 students you just can't get them through the cafeteria in four waves we need more room they don't want to have the students eating somewhere else other than situation where can be monitored right so we're anticipating that as a one-ear strategy because we we anticipate this is really because the building is not open right we need tents for the Overflow because it's just too many kids in the C thank you I had Mr janelli and then will be Teresa and then Mr Harley I've got several questions I'll just go through could we do two questions at a time sure okay and then we come back and the other board members go and then you can come back with your second question could you put it in the form of a question not a statement from here to New York okay a question thank you you're really killing me with regard to the charts on the aroman de priest could you speak into your mic Mr Janel we can barely hear you p on your on your page where's the button are they thanks thank on your page three you shown enrollment growth when I look at this I see that the overall growth over the period of the 8 years was some 800 some students when I look at the other charts um following that that is the enrollment growth having to do with the MLL and the special ed there were also increases the MLL increase went up to some 14400 uh some 1400 students um looked like an increase of some 40 45% in special ed students went off can I assume assume that and in the enrollment growth on on first schedule here for the total for the district uh the growth over the the past eight years we're really only in 3 years but would that be an assumption that the enrollment we have in our district is coming principally from the body of ml into a small degree special ed very small degree special education um the uh multi language learner enrollment gr has has been like no other District in state of Connecticut to a small extent Meridan um but we're really the only two in the state of Connecticut that's experiencing this type of percentage in grow and yes um I don't know exactly the number Mr chanelli uh but a significant percentage of our growth has been indeed multi okay so was a valid assumption the second question uh have I refer to the page here I don't follow your it's your page called the clip I don't see the page page number six on your 2425 column your last number says funding needed 169 million do I take that to mean that that's your operating lights on budget related to in your other schedules here the number now is 160 million it was previously 163 so what's the disparity I'll take a jum um if I get it wrong jum so this this 169 is representing a couple of things uh it is representing keep the lights on from 150 to 160 um but it's also representing the salaries folded in from the expired s of3 so if you look at 2324 we have that number sitting at the top 11.4 and so this this this chart um really is is is really saying hey that 11.4 has to go somewhere and so now we're sliding the 11.4 over folding into the general budget and so now that budget goes from 160 uh to 169 right from from last year's budget I'm sorry from last year's budget 232 2223 to 2324 this was our projection from last year at this time right this is an excerpt from the book from last year so this is not current right now I just follow the I find it confusing to follow that in terms of if you're got to call something one place then be consistent call it the same thing some other place because I mean I would look at this at some point in time and try to trace the number without any explanation to say why you 160 or 163 versus 169 so there has to be some sort of a footnote or adjust one of your schedules to reflect the numbers so that they're comparable comparable to to do it I mean it's later on I'll get the other questions with regard that but that's just observation an observation word becomes confusing right that's fair that's fair and I think this is um when we when we are looking at the orange C when we were looking at the orange col um we when we developed this budget book we were in the gray right so 2223 we were in November December in the gray at that time and at that point we were projecting not what it would look like in 23 24 but what it would look like in 2425 2 years ahead of where we were at that time and what we were trying to project was well basically from what John was and talking about earlier basically I keep the lights on maintenance budget going from year over year year over year and what you're seeing that 169 here reflective of Maintenance budget rolling it over two times 23 24 24 25 and then folding in 11.4 so we understand it's not going to necessarily line up exactly with our real ass now because we know it doesn't represent the new staff which we did not anticipate because we didn't want to try to project what enrollment growth would look like and what Dan and the systems asked might be but what we did try to do was really this slide was really about listen we had the conversation about the cliff and that's the reason why we brought this slide back in to say this is not the first time we talked about the finan cliff approaching that that was really intentionality behind it but you're absolutely right the numbers don't match and I can see how that can be confusing for someone who doesn't understand that the intentionality about bringing people's attention back to it was just to say this is not the first time we've had the conversation about the flip and that's really the intention about it and I don't know if John and I did a good enough job about that's why we're talking about that's really the in you're building in a history which is not pretty to people I don't mean me personally but you're going to make this presentation to another audience who again going to be a good part of that audience is not going to have the history of many people here or what you're supposing that they have behind it and I said to you before I do like your concept relative to the three components of your budget the keeping the lights on I like that phraseology the the the the loss of funding the ESS money and your new needs and that's why when I looked at it I said okay how much does he need does he need $170 million because that's what I would put in there or whatever that final number is your all inclusive number and somebody can say okay what is that made up of you can go to your last page and it's boom boom boom okay you know without a long explanation to what you gave to to that okay thank you thank you I do have more questions but that's the first thank you um my first question is I understand there's new legislation coming down the pike are we uh being mind of those costs sorry which legislation new legislation M it's coming down the PIP think sort of program that or there's also climate change administrator that's being looked at as a mandate for 2425 is that something that we would be looking into now now who's asking the question well this was are we ever mindful of future legis in the past it doesn't seem we have been mindful of what's coming down the pipe in the legislature and I just wondering if we are paying attention I I will make sure that I speak with my team to incorporate any legislation that might impact the budget for sure IE kindergarten legislation Rec yeah right and my second question was moving cost is that an estimate or did you get a hope for $100,000 it's a rough estimate based on some activity we've already having but that's in the past cost have G up agre agre agreed and and and this was an estimate for this presentation we'll have something Tighter by the time we're back here thank you Michelle and D M hallz um I had so many questions that I have written down so when you talking about the salaries and have you turn your mic on it's on hear closer when you were talking about the adding the tutors the 4 million over to the salaries I had and then you brought it back up again in other words I think it was in the new school in in the Career Academy that we needed you know two extra people or principles or administrators and then all the additional staff that you read off which I would love to have copy of to see where we're lacking instruction in each school that' be great um is that part of the number that you've already allocated here these position like the these requests for all these additional teachers is that in the proposed budget for the spring it it it it is I'm sorry I just want to make sure you I'm just trying to figure out like have we included all those positions in the number that you're saying is 100 400,000 for special ed in the spring and you know if these numbers you read off a lot of teaching in under the alliance home or however we're going to do it are those all included in these figures in the spring they are they are um and we like to show the new positions isolated and separate so we can zero write it on exactly what's changing if remember the chart that had the three amounts 6 uh the second amount was the uh sr3 we're not we're not talking about those as new positions Al they they might be new to the school budget those are teachers that have been here for a couple years but it's that third section that has all of the new positions including the ones I read off and one of the things on our to-do list for next week is to show you exactly those in a a better summary fashion right so show um so for example I'm looking at slide 10 I know I don't have that on my page um but it's it's budget drivers three or three and John was going into detail about the new positions for the school during the Spring transition Etc um so what I'm hearing from John is we will have detailed what those positions are because right now we just have it in the aggregate in the summative and I know the board is used to seeing okay this is how many core teachers what core teachers English math science social studies so we'll have a breakdown for you so you can see how we got to the $1 million and 50 that 1,50,000 for D high school and then what that also means for academic support so John was beginning to give some like three Middle School um English Spanish and Portuguese so we'll have that detail as well to come up with the other million dollars so when we had spoken two years ago about overages that was a big issue regarding covering classes I think we had 56 you said this year was reduced I don't think we got a number but the number I believe you said went down about 200k are is that considered in this budget as well overages or these adding teachers take care or address any of that expense that we so the overages I I mentioned the uh substitute cost of Kelly Services but um that number also includes the overages so uh the overages are being paid out of the sr3 brand and we're proposing that they come over to the budget as part of the I think it's 2.4 million we put up there to bring over and then just my last question I have um you had mentioned the one to one computer you know for the district and I saw that number it looks like it's 1.2 million or something is that right is that on a separate line item 785,000 okay on slide 10 so so I guess yeah because I saw that number in two places places so we is that going to be a capital budget Improvement as it was originally discussed at the end of no this is uh in addition to the capital budget we've submitted so under the capital budget we've got 1.2 million for one to one and then I think it was like 400 or something thousand for staff support and now you're saying that we're going to need on top of that no Michelle you're you're right just TR to figure out put these one to is is there some distinction you can provide cuz I think when we provide our full presentation um we may need a like a slide that shows hey this is for the general operating budget and by the way this is going to go to the capital but do you have something you can share so um gosh you know well she's talking about the 785,000 now right but she's recalling appropriately so that we had a lot of things with technology in the capital budget um IE copy machines IE right and I just don't remember all exactly what those were I don't know if you have some the technology that was inal the technology that was in capital uh was for Chromebook refresh there was a lot of uh technology Chromebook refreshes teacher uh uh Chrome MacBook refreshes um copers of printers were in there and then a few other things uh converting our phone system to voice over Internet Protocol and then additional security measures um there's a few services that we've taken on since last year's incident um and then also something for a website we buil we have to move the high school website off the so that's within the capital budget this is separate and distinct this is okay so it's additional this is making our Network more robust ourwork cuz I'm just trying to figure out we know that AI is coming we obviously are trying you know our game on technology but obviously this would be the first time that we would be considering that kind of money in our and in that fashion for the capital budget for what in the past would have been pencils and paper is now technology we need to repair our schools obviously that was the intent pluming elevators we all speak that year floods so I just I'm just concerned about that high number plus all of the ones that we have and we're going to be bringing on that new school so just want to make sure that we have an understanding of what those numbers are right and I know that last year we had saved some money projecting on this s Side Bar on health insurance so I'm a little concerned that we are making that I almost feel like we're in a in a back in in time repeating like I think we're going to do better on our utility and our insurance and that I'm not I'm a little weary about that because at the ad hoc meeting I thought they said that we could not draw less we had to have $5 million in our health care benefit account you're saying that there's 8.8 and that we would have access to 5 million but my recall on that at hoc meeting if you remember we had to have like 5 million I think we had so we like 80 something thousand so I don't know did that change with the insurance where now you're saying we only need 3 million in the reserves instead of 5 million which was a number that I remember at the ad hoc Irv Fox was kind of holding on to that $5 million number we only had like 85 to draw without being impacted so I'm wondering how we went to 3 million if negotiation and then I'm thank you so um the amount of reserves and the individual reserves are are set by the city finance department along with the city council um and there there is a requirement that if you are self-insured like we are um you have to keep I think it's six weeks of average claims on reserve that's what you keep hearing about that's the ibnr uh incurred but not realized as what it stands for um any other amounts you keep in reserve um what the this finance department tries to do in other well-run Finance departments um they want to keep um money for other things to the extent that it's reasonable so um you know there's a little bit of money for uh workers comp claim that might be crazy or uh some unemployment situation that might be unexpected and the reason they like to keep those other amounts and the reason to keep reserves is it looks good to the rating agencies when they when they come in to rate our bonds or notes when we're borrowing uh they don't just look at uh the Surplus that you have the fund balance I say they the city uh but they look at the way you're also managing your balance sheet and and they look favorably when there's reserves set aside and versus if they're not but so what they're they're doing is they're trying to balance things what's what's needed for the operation what's good for the rating agency where's the kind of the middle ground um we haven't heard anything other than what we heard at the ad hoc in October to be a little more specific cuz we're adding staff so I'm only assuming that those claims have a potential to be higher than less so I'm just wondering you know maybe we have a new benefits coordinator who's you know found a program but that just brings some concern to me because that's where we ran into problems last year we we we do think though and um on Gallagher our consultant would agree um that we had a very um unusual situation last spring it really um call it post pandemic um there were a lot of claims people began to go back to the doctor back to the hospital uh they didn't want to do that when Co was uh raging and um when the those folks in simple terms when many of them did go back um they U situations were more advanced than they had been if they had been gotten par so we think we had a a an abnormal jump in some high cost claims and we're not seeing those repeat yet um so fingers crossed thank you Mr Harley before you ask your question I just wanted to ask that we be respectful other t any questions and if another board member does not have a question then we can come back and you can ask your follow up questions okay uh I don't want to have anyone say that I'm letting someone else ask three or four questions I think two questions we can start off and then your other question we can go around so Mr Hall so thank you madam chair so if I look at page three you're noticing or your your ifying basically an enrollment increase of 186 students from 2324 to 2425 is that correct 122 to to 12391 yes bed on so 200 students have an increase plus adding two schools yet you're only adding 14 staff members the best of my knowledge from from looking at page 10 I mean how can that be I'm sorry could could you re ask the question so again if we're if we're adding approximately 200 students to our enrollment for school year 2425 how is it that we're only adding 14 staff members which is predominantly going toward DHS and Academy to to as well as opening two schools to satisfy not only the increased enrollment but opening of two schools how could that how could that Staffing level be that small I'm just I'm mildly surprised I I'm not I guess I'm not understanding the opening up two schools part well I mean you're you're opening Academy is what you're opening the academy correct s which I consider as two schools a middle and a high okay but that but that's not for 2425 budget that's for 2526 so what John was talking about was having administrators in place to help open up that school for planning for the summer um so that that's what he's referring to a middle school administrator to to be ready hired in the spring to open up the doors uh for planning and and then also someone whoever is going to be on the new site and administrat to also help open the doors for plan and of course that's up to the board to to determine whether or not that's something we want to agree to in terms of a strategy okay so my my misinterpretation you and then secondly I could ask um uh my apologies I'll defer I'll I'll I'll re I'll come if you think about it you can Mr Jan Oh I'm sorry Teresa um we had gone to the ad hoc committee for $3.5 million for the new reading program what's the status on that That was supposed to come out of the reserve um we didn't go to the ad hoc for the reading program although we talked about it in this context um the the reading program we used the expiring sr2 Grant primarily for that um and it was $3 million we didn't want any s money going back back to the federal government the Mandate was there um but what we talked about with the ad hoc was that because we chose the reading program that took away some options to use those funds for other things and we hadn't expected that until recently that's the word but car I don't know if you want to add any update to the reading program no I I think you described it accurately that was it was purchased with that Grant was specifically meant for you know closing gaps pmic related um issues can can I ask that wasn't my understanding we were going there for the new reading program and they asked you when did they when did they have to know what was it by Spring whether or not we needed that money so you decided to go the Esser route I was not aware of that was all regards to to the new reading program which I'm glad I'm just trying to clarify there's been gaps since we last talked thank you Mr H yes go ahead if I may do you have a wish budget I mean this as you mentioned kind of our beer bones keep the keep the windows and you you know so where do we have a wish budget I I think it's important for us and I'm glad you asked it that way uh because I think it's important as my folks are over here smiling looking at me um I think it's important that our January 10th requests represent what we really need because what what we're presenting to the board um is really Bare Bones just to get by and as an example and this is just one example uh John's recommendation for four additional buses is just enough it's just enough it does not address the request for as we met with parents um that Dr me set up for me to meet with parents during the month of December when families are saying my kid can't get a bus to go to practice unless my child is on a football team or the basketball team but if my kid is in band if my kid is in one of these other sports that is not one of the two major sports my kid can't get a bus because all the buses on a final run for their elementary schools never mind the non pubs right and and that's a whole other story I know we've had that conversation in this room but but my regular extracurricular activities we don't have enough buses just to address those needs so right now as an example this request still doesn't cover those families requests making sure that our kids can have buses for transportation something as simple I don't want to say simple but something as typical as making sure all of our kids have the necessary Transportation back to school activities um so I I think it's going to be important I'll make sure that we um write this down as we're talking about it um because as my assistant superintendent is always smiling um but not just Transportation um you know our budget request for security is just enough uh I I don't think we can find enough Advocates or budget for enough Advocates that we're really going to need for a building of 3900 um our request for class size at that high school for 3900 kids it's just addressing Dan's number for 26 27 28 kids in the classroom what it really should be is 25 26 that makes more sense just enough is really just keeping our numbers at 26 27 28 in our middle schools which we all know is way too high um but the reality is if we wanted to hire an additional section at the middle schools there's no room to put them like if we wanted to hire math English science social ladies and open up a new section at Rogers Park Middle School Chrissy doesn't have room for a new English Math Science Social Studies in another section in that building although she'd probably find it if I said you can get 500 teachers um but so I I will make sure when my team and I come back with the January 10th budget and I appreciate the challenge um that it's really a little bit more representative of the numbers we like we should be at versus the numbers just enough to get by um so I I appreciate you asking that question that way because I think it's important for us to be mindful of that ask um when we're coming back with not the non preliminary budget but the budget that the superintendent is asking to board to improve so thank you for asking me help okay um can I just ask clarify question about the reserve funds um so is the plan to not try down those Reserve funds that we had already requested from Council for this year and ask for the 5 million for next year maybe maybe I'm missing something translation no thank thank you k um we have in fact I just receiv received an email I don't recall what day it is I'll make sure it's in the updates of the board at the end of the week uh received an email for an invitation I believe it's next week for to meet with the ad hoc committees I believe all three ad hoc on one day uh one day next week CL the week after this one of those days and it is the 17th thank you John and it is to review the request um from last year uh that the board made on a District's behalf so we will be there for those requests um if the requests are honored uh then we will accept the monies and uh pay for whatever is outstanding for this year and speak with the board talk about a strategy for 2425 if the requests are not honored um we will move the requests forward for the 24 25 school year and and keep that as a strategy but this this budget proposal assumed we were not getting it given it's already January assume that we're not getting it and I I hate to say it that way but that's that's just where we were we putting this together assume that we were not going to get it and our strategy was to request 5 million of what we anticipate 5.8 being available for 2425 school year thank you thank you Miss haris yes thank you um super yes in the original um November yes preliminary budget there was a page in there that I would um just suggest that you continue to use and that was uh the budget priorities oh um which makes it um to me it communicates what you have or what you're going to present and how you're going to support does that make yes it does yes it so hi yes it does um question number two and again remember I'm new so I'm someone that's going to ask all the questions on page number six um for the title one we used to have Title One School one district is that correct that is correct except for the and high school yes in our programs yes right okay good that that helps that helps me with when I talk about the funding and so my my very last question is on page 10 and talking about the uh the staff for the academy and I think you said that you will detail who that who the request is right um and um when we talk we're talking about hiring new people into those positions is that right so we don't currently have I think we of course be following the uh collective bargaining agreement but they are new positions that will be created we hope to create I just want to make sure you're referring to Academy staff salary spring transition salaries benefit spring transition okay um and and just to clarify for everyone um in the event we can open up I'm sorry when we open up 2526 a new building we anticipate having two schools within that building a school that's going to serve 912 and a school that's going to serve 68 and um John as part of his preparation um is anticipating if there's going to be a middle school there we're going to need a new Middle School administrator to get a schedule ready to get whatever however we're going to get kids into that building that administrator will be hired and preparing to open the doors for this summer and so he's that's why he's budgeting for a spring transition whenever that might be decided and then the same as also true of a new person um and this is the conversation Teresa uh was debating uh prior to our break um and this is the idea currently as part of our um organization chart there would be a principal with twoy so a head principal and then an assistant principal charge of twoy at the building um but that principle of that site at this moment is not on staff and so those are the two positions that John Mr jel do you want to follow your question thank you and to be technical I have three statements and two questions statement number one to John's Point um there was an article again I think was January 1st and has to De with the enrollment denber is going through a propos building surge in apartments the article read that summit's looking to put in 200 Apartments mil PL Road Al salum place is looking for another 100 or some other apartments downtown between Maloney and and and somebody else moreart vir now to your point Kevin when your demogra demographers come in and do these assessments are they taking into account the potential of these apartments with enrollment and what the impact may be on students it's just as a statement number two the I would be cautious and just caution you to be conservative un utilizing the reserves only because of the history of the insurance the uncertainty of Self insurance and and the numbers so you don't want to be back a couple years now in the same mode but again that's that's a statement and my final statement is John when you go to restate some of these schedules if you would not only restate the current one but the prior years as well so they make they make sense and also if you can give an addendum to those line numbers to the the point where you mentioned this includes the buses and this includes 14 ft e if you can have you know you can uh noted you know line number 1 2 3 4 5 and then have an addendum includes 14 and it gives a narrative what I'm getting at it makes the it makes the numbers more meaningful and digestible for somebody reading it so that nobody's going to sit there and Scribe and I don't think any one of us took down all those copious notes that made up with numbers so I I think that that my two questions are as follows one of which I think Kevin answered but the first one I'll ask is Kevin on your slide where you say that where you indicate it's a factual indicate that we were shorted some 44 million doll my question would be what was the impact on the education and D of that shortage how did that impact us what effect did that have on the the teachers the students um the administration my next question is part of which Richard asked and I think you answered the budget you're providing I was going to ask you is this total budget of $170 million a business as usual budget in other words where are you showing me or the community that for the $170 million in addition to keeping up with growth using that and other other nuances that that we have to keep up with such as the academy etc etc but you're measured at different points and comes out and you have periodic meetings with academic achievements where in that $170 million can you say that that's going going to affect a decline in the achievement Gap well that's going to give me the opportunity to have improvements in my different testing scores you're the one that's on the hook for the academic perform you're on the hook for everything but it depends on which hook you know they want to to burn you want so to say um but to Richard's point the I've always thought that the the purpose of us here is to present a budget not to plate and I use that word not in a derogatory sense okay but to put a budget forth that's going to move this District ahead with what you need and then given the appropriation of the Appropriations on that you're justified in saying okay with that I don't have 22 kids in the class I've got 27 kids so I see what the impact is um that's what what I was trying to get at and I think your answer to Richard was that this total budget of 170 million dollar basically what I would put is the maintenance budget keep the lights on if I understand it correctly it is so what if you appr put together something that you you could say maybe is 180 190 million and it's going to move this District ahead because of the challenges we have rather than people think that you're going to do that and you come back at some point and say well I don't have the funds I can't do that how can I increase my scores when I got 28 kids hypothetically in a class it it's impossible for me to do that um that's the the second question that I have is to perhaps we should think about what we're proposing and what the scenario what foot we want to put forward in the district I I appreciate you braking it down that way um I my my short quick answer will be um not sure you wed an answer uh but what you just asked is certainly going to inform our January 10 presentation uh but I I will also say um because you had asked the question well by that $43 million gap um since 1718 what has this District missed and so I will start with I worked in Nook Once Upon a Time yes we we have um more multilanguage learning students than they did when I was in no walk and and and and the same is still true but the profile of the student is not terribly different outside of that in Norwalk public school's graduation rate is at 90 we are at 80 the supports across that building are broken down in a way where kids have support class sizes are reasonable at 24 and 25 when Dan would do back flips for 24 and 25 across the school elementary schools with supports at kindergarten this District hasn't seen supports in kindergarten classrooms I don't think I don't think they've had kindergarten supportting class since I but I know they haven't since I've been here we know the history of what it with me uh for K1 and two and investing in those early years the difference that can make projections what that can mean for how a kid might project when they get to three four and five um instead our class size particularly when we've experienced enrollment bumps in this District because it it didn't start at Middle School in high school it was in elementary school at first and so we were at 24 and 25 and teachers complaining about class siiz then uh we've come back from the pandemic and our staff across this system they saying our children are different the needs are different across the system meanwhile as a district we're asking just for enough to get by when we know we need more and and so the idea and and so the the guide kind of the guard rails on class size are 22 K1 2 and 3 we really don't want any more than 22 to try to maintain that Mr H is going to actually cost more than I'm asking for right now to be frank uh 4 and 5 we try to stay at 25 but if you ask my elementary teachers they're going to go Kevin are you crazy like this is not the same district that it was prior to the pandemic and Meanwhile my kindergarten teachers who I know I don't want to say I know them well but I know him differently before the pandemic because I was in several meetings with him during the pandemic all 47 of them in a remote meeting and it was clear Kevin we need help in our classrooms and so you're talking about 40 something million dollar Gap this system should have always had someone in those classrooms when a third of the kids in your room do not speak English they they should have always been there and and by the way they're five and six and in some cases four right we we already know that's been a reality they very focused on some other districts as well um and then in a district where a third of our kids do not speak the language that's all the more reason to have a CL size that's manageable across this system um so again Mr H again I appreciate you asking the question the way you did um and and I think Mr J when we put our budget request together I think 175 178 million people need to understand well this is what you're getting for 178 and if you're not happy with that then it's going to mean 190 if you want class size to look like this um Etc and so and maybe that's the way we should do it but I I'm just an opener to just kind of open up the dialogue I think we're constantly excuse me okay are you continuing the question resp Kevin I think we're constantly asked to make lemonades at of lemon and and to have the district its administrators teachers and its students suffer because of much of what you had had explained and I think by putting uh put forward and saying if you want this District to be like a nor and have this then this is what I need to run this particular District because when the test scores come out and and Cara carw comes up and gives all of her statistics and supported by by Cara and that that Kelly we backpedaling and it it it's like saying I don't have the money but now is at the time when we say this is where we should be if you can't afford to give it to me this is what you're going to expect so that we put it out there as to what the impact and I keep using that word strongly what the impact of not supporting the education budget is going to be on that because to your point over the years the district demographics have changed the needs of the students has changed and we've got a change with that and that's a financial change so that's you I agree with Richard it is and and with you just saying that to propos a budget that it's going to be able to let you do your job and not be not be held accountable with your hands tied uh for something that you can't do our teachers in staffe Michelle one question that's it um I'm looking at page six where we look at the other grants and I'm looking forward to the next meeting where you're going to break down all those grants and who how long they are for and all that good stuff but the this number is consistent 34 million just across the board for three years is that just a general number it was at that time because that with all the you know Career Academy and all that and I know that family like we really kind of exponentially really grown our nonprofit so since I've been here I've seen a lot of growth but that number hasn't moved so hopefully there's more in the kitty when you come back what we're seeing and what we're looking to get our hands on for the new school we're going to have to really make sure that we maximize the grants I don't know you know who's responsible for that I know and does a lot of it for what we currently have but when we go for the Career Academy we're talking about the mentors and the Partnerships and the grants and those like is John you that you're going to be working in and trying to get grant money and whatever sponsors whatever it is to maybe increase our our numbers possible so there are competitive grants um that that is annually available to us as a district um and then there are competitive grants that uh folks in this room V majority people in this room who are going out and they trying to find them meeting Dr meting Dr Caso and Kelly trus in this room who are going out and uh seeking out those grants um and so like annually available um in an eant system that we have to apply for every year but they're sustainable but then there are other grants that we go out and try to bring additional resources and monies into this District um and well really quite frankly and Caren Kelly the people who are going out to get those grants uh so I'll I'll make sure they provide a kind of overview I think it's important that we be able to talk about kind of the intentionality behind the grants but also the restrictions uh because some of them are I don't want to say wide open but like Alliance and title and title 1 2 3 4 we have flexibility for Staffing Etc but then there's some other grants like the bar grant that we've heard about the Del May Grant not necessarily Staffing but initiative kind of driven um and those things will will will address professional development resources um speakers coming in and stuff but not necessarily people so we'll try to talk around that Abs from every area to get money but the important thing we have we don't have to go to the regular budget to go get that stuff you pull it from a grant so it all helps yeah I'm hoping that that number is is higher that you know a general line maybe we can get some Mone thank you thank you John I have a question on the um budget drivers on page three where there all cost and I think you said next week when we have our board Workshop you're going to be able to fill in give us more information uh on that page yes and I think that's that's what Mr janelli was asking for t to town items that make up those so you can see the names of the position so we have that next week so we don't have to worry about emailing to anyone tomorrow we have that at the budget meeting on next yes okay thank uh to board members uh you were asked to fill out uh your top priorities for as a board member for 2024 I only receive four I only receive six so I have some people that need to contact Carol because that's going to help us stay focused as a group and work together so we can understand what our top priorities are and we know from what I have so far from the six people that feel there is out the top priority is the budget right now so they just asking you to list your top four priority as a board member I'm sorry I don't think I understood the email so so anything that you don't understand you can call me text me or call Carol and we'll make sure that everyone get the information top have clarify for priority as a board member okay sorry and no one sees it except yeah I think I got it confused with the Committees and then another thing came out with others and I think that's where I I might have gotten caught up there somewhere nope you've also um asked us about the district I can't hear the district committees and the PT yes I have all that signed up I will have that I will do it next week at our Workshop okay uh I want to thank you all for coming I'm I'm looking forward to working with this group a great group of people and we can work together and share our concern and our interest and we might not all agree but we won't fight going out the door have a good night I need a motion to adjourn motion mail by K second by Teresa all in favor good night thank you

persons wishing to be heard in this matter invited to attend the public Hearing in person are by logging into the zoom meeting interested parties are unable to attend the hearing May submit written comments to the select board's office Town Hall 101 Main Street ashin mass 01721 or by emailing Susan Roby sroy Asin mass.com sign Robert share chair select board so a motion to open the hearing so move second all those in favor of opening this hearing say I I close none so hearing is open so do we have anyone here I think Steve pritsky is up there uh Steve oh he just activated his cell so Steve I think you can talk if you want so do you have a presentation to make us on this uh on this license there he is hey Steve how's everyone doing good good certainly missed the town of Ashen but I'm happy I'm back uh now and again a little bit more than I used to be so great how's your neighbor Mitchell is is he behaving himself as far as I gather I think he's dealing with all the grandkids now I'm thinking but um so yeah just a a quick overview of what we're doing um the second floor at 200 home RAV on the 135 Route 135 side has been vacant for many years now as you know we used to own uh own the building and sold it a little bit ago uh we still retain the management of it and as we as pickle ball continues to get more and more um you know exposure more people playing it everyone wants to be inside and and play I looked at it and the actual specs of how the beams and everything works perfectly good so we're able to put in four pickle ball courts those are going to be in a separate area where the then where the bar and the restaurant will be there'll be a garage door that will go into the uh the bar uh it'll have an opening and then um it'll be able to be locked when when no one's there um there'll be opening through the kitchen as well to get in back you know back into the uh the bar as well but that'll be locked um our intent is to have a restaurant which will be a gastro pub which is high-end com comfort food I'm learning not really a foodie but um we're excited about that we're working on the menu now the uh the bar uh we plan on having it be you know really a Social bar after people play pickle ball or come watch people play pickle ball um which we're very excited about the uh the pickle ball portion is probably going to be open before the end of January or early February um and we're in the designs phase of Designing the kitchen and the bar excuse me no no that was sorry go ahead oh no problem so we're in thei design phase of of the bar and the restaurant but we have that pretty well understood how we're going to how we're going to create that and what we're going to do um the bar the the bar is not going to be open from 10 to 10 the pickle ball will be open from 10 to 10 and the hours will be different for when the bar and the restaurant are open just based on when people will come um when there'll be actual crowds there or more people there it'll be based on that but our plan is never to be open after 10: and never to have the bar open obviously before 10 I don't know what the rules are but we would obviously conformed any of the rules Marissa Kenny is the bar manager and general manager for Clock Tower pickle ball she is she has been in the past the bar manager and head of the front um head of the front manager for uh Jon stones in ashin so she's very familiar with all the um Ashland people and she um is is doing a great job for us and we're looking forward to having her run it and the uh ownership structure just quickly is there's a lot of um ashin people that are part of this ownership structure I would have the full say of as the manager of bmd realy which is the name of one of my companies that will be the the actual owner of it but the investors are mostly from the Metro West area so everyone's very excited to get this going um we look forward to having great pickle ball and having everyone play so great I don't know if that was what you wanted but that's that's good well just before we get into details Susan um is the application complete any issues with the application or the application is complete great all right thank you did we we I was looking in our packet Susan you we usually have like a cover page I thought for liquor licenses about like with the times and the and the days of the week and there wasn't we didn't receive anything in our packets so I'm not sure what I was asking I was going to ask that what are what are the hours for the for the bar restaurant area yep so the hours for the bar restaurant um we right now it's probably going to be or is going to be mostly in the afternoon from 2: till 10: uh for the bar and our current plan is not to be open on Mondays just to have pickle ball so Tuesday through Sunday 2 to 10 is what you're looking for from a liquor license approval from us um I think if I had to amend that I would say we're probably going to be definitely on the you know Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday open at 11:00 if possible for the for the uh bar open until 11: open no open at 11: 11 oh so 2 to 10 Tuesday and Wednesday and then 11 to 10 Thursday through Sunday Y and and Susan how many if we use this all if we use an all out alcohol oh where does that leave us at five she told me to tell everybody five left five left yes we have six currently and there'll be five left okay good um can I ask a question about the the hours sure um so be stating those hours is that is that changeable or should I try to change it now if it's going to change because you know as this thing continues to unfold and uh the amount of people that we have that may come or may not come is unknown to us because it hasn't opened yet um and if we get a bunch of people that want to have the bar and restaurant open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is that changeable or is that something I should do well it is changeable but I think Steve you should maybe ask for what you want now right if you think you're going to want longer hours on other days it's easier to for us to say okay these are your full hours then if you decide not to do it as much if you say okay I'm just going to do 2 to 10 if you think 11 if you think 11 to 10 Tuesday through Sunday might be where you'll get to but you decide not to do that it would certainly be to your advantage to ask us for that now I would go then 11 to uh 10: um actually every day because we don't know what's going to happen on Monday because but right now our plan is to be closed on Monday and just have members there okay so 11 11 to 10 s days a week to 10 p.m.

Sunday sorry about that Saturday and is there anyone else here to speak in favor of the license is it uh anyone else here no just just me just you you're just you Steve how about anyone uh who wants to have questions about the license in the general public or has uh any other questions about thisse support or against this speaking in in support or against anyone else I don't no one else is physically here anyone else online there raise your hand or I can't read everybody up there but Susan have we gotten any emails or anything regarding this no you have not okay does the board have any other questions or before we close the public hearing and proceed to a vote or no I just have I just have a pickleball question I'm not sure that qualifies go ahead so so I know that um the I've heard and I've never played pickle ball so I'm really excited to to to come check out the pickle ball but um I've heard that pickle ball can get kind of loud and I was curious about because you're going to be on the second floor with um you know businesses below you I was curious if like there was soundproofing I'm just you know I'm more like I said more on the Curious side so so um the Telecom building as you may know has some of the has the thickest floors because of the live loads they needed with when they were making what they were making so the the the the cement between the first and the second floor is about 8 in thick at this point and as well as what's underneath it is just a storage it's worth Imports and they just store um you know chachis just little stuff that they sell at different stores so they're not active there if you look on the outside um into the hallway there's a storage for Mass medical next to us which is just a storage of medical supplies and then you have a machine shop tapler which is next to us um and that they're just making machine parts um we will have sound proofing on that the fact that it's on the second floor is beneficial because the sound will go through the roof but we'll also have sound proofing up there um so yeah we're not anticipating issues with our neighbors um and if we did we would mediate you know what needed to happen to make sure it didn't bother them as still the the manager of the building sounds good so go ahead so 200 home or where is the entrance to that thank you that was my question so the entrance to that is well there's C there's an entrance on 135 and you can walk up the stairs that way that is not the ideal entrance because you walk kind of into courts so the entrance is going to be where you walk into Dr greens if you've ever been there which is on the back side towards the parking lot you'll go up the hall you'll go up the stairs and there'll be a brand new hallway that we just created that goes into directly into our space wonderful great great all right any other questions I think we're ready to a motion to close the hearing motion to close the hearing I'll second all those in favor of closing the hearing say I I I oppose none hearing is closed all right uh deliberations any other discussion motion I I think it's a great use of this space and and as as Steve said pickle ball has become one of the most popular sports for everybody so to have this coming to Ashland and bringing people to Ashland is a very positive thing for us absolutely and is there a select board discount night is that we've already worked that into the uh to the oh actually that is a question will it be a membership or will you be able to just come in and play once in a while but what we have is there's two forms one is there will be a membership and that will be people will be able to play um come in when there's no one there through a fob system and sign in we'll have an enormous amount of camera situations there to make sure everything's done and they'll be able to play and and get charged I believe it's going to be $25 an hour and you own the court for the hour so from 5 to 10 o'clock if you're a member you can sign you can pre-sign up pay pay your fee come on in and play and you bring as many guests as you want and they're all it's just $25 and then after that from 10: till 10: it's open Play meaning anyone can come play the benefit of the members is they get to sign up earlier than the other people as well as they get a reduced price for the for the hour cool very nice and there's other membership benefits I think we need a r Retreat yeah Retreat Retreat all right so where so do we have a motion I move that we approve the all alcohol call liquor license for Clock Tower pickle ball with the hours of Saturday Sunday through Saturday 11 a.m.

to 10 p.m. I'll second that all those motions been made in second all those in favor granted us license say I hi opposed none congratulations you have a license thank you guys very much thank you Happy New Year to you MB to thank you yes for sure nice to have you back doing some things in Town St we look forward to it take have a good one all right so that's good so our next item on the agenda is um discuss the mass Trails grant program and Ashlin award to support the creation upkeep of Municipal own trail so this was a notice that we received or Michael received um from uh press conference from um the state Administration and so I don't know Michael and we've all um received several pages on it and Michael I don't know if you had any anything to add to it this was a general Statewide press release that we were named in but I believe other than that we don't have any any specific information and no one here applied for this grant or but it's funding that seems to be available and U yeah it's um you know as as you mentioned Rob we did get a um press release from DCR Department of Conservation and Recreation announcing uh $24 million uh for trail projects across Massachusetts and specifically uh as it relates to Ashlin they had $6 million uh to support the creation and upkeep of municipally owned trails in a number of communities Ashland being one of them um as you mentioned though we didn't apply for a mass Trails Grant so we're left a little bit scratching our heads what this is in regards to uh I had reached out to DCR couple of times I actually heard back from them today um basically I asked them again for some more information and I got an email saying what's the best number to call you so um so we've been playing phone tag uh today so I don't have I don't have an update on that but I'm really interested to hear what he has to say so so based on the press release and the detail it sounds like we can use this for anything we we need to create an update our Trail and I mean it's that sounds like Prett General yes if it's if it's that broad yes usually you know what they have is they have supplementary information that is like a matrix that shows each of the communities and and what it's specifically for uh we've received nothing and there's nothing on the website about but and we do we know what the number is for us there I don't think there's a specific number I think there's this pool yeah that's my impression from reading this and the pool well that's a good question 15 commun for $6 million for 15 communities or 9 million there's another place where they talk about the difference so it is a little confusing I'm trying to find that section I I read it and it said that 15 would go to DCR and of the 24 so mine that that leaves 9 million so like 3 million will be used for the upkeep of oh maybe that's okay so that's the difference okay but because we're looking to partner with DCR for their section of our Trail through the State Park ideally we could then use their portion and our portion separately that's good point we we would love that leverage uh leverage their air FES as well yeah yeah they probably hopefully they yeah so as you talk to them and maybe you I'm sure you already have some questions some questions I would have is what is the timing of this and do they have people that we can work with for the engineering and the actual design and working with with our Conservation Commission in regards to getting this permanent and things like that I mean those are the questions yeah I'm really first I'm I'm hoping it's not a mistake and U well it says environmental justice communities and the only thing I can think is we are one because of the whole nanza issue true well there's other issues too we have some demographics that qualify us yeah that's the demographics are are really kind of the key to that but yes I I will ask those questions okay hopefully get some more concrete information but good news out of the out of the blue and one thing I want to add that right now Joel arbitman is is putting together a mass Trails Grant working with Michael and hopefully Jen uh which I'm not totally but it's the same department so I'm not sure if that's part of this but he's in kind of a separate process he was contacted by them um or made that connection is actually applying it's through February 1st I don't know that it's the same pool of money or it's a whole different pool but uh he's applying for that for a particular purpose to acquire some land for easement so that's good news um and um they actually use the when they're discussing with them they use the term environmental justice community that we were well qualified so good good news so okay Co all right very nice thank you forward you hearing more all right lost the agenda okay we did vote by mail so the next item is potential dates for a joint meeting with the school committee to fill the vacancy on the school committee so says your appointment due date of 229 but I believe we've determined that it is really required by February 5th that's my latest understanding under the charter so we have it's 45 days from the date of resignation we're supposed to make an appointment so I'm using that February 5th as the date around which we're planning and right now uh Lori you know the string of emails about two or three weeks ago between Lori myself Michael and Cindy the um the the is there okay um we just kind of laid out the parameters um to have the the application for the school committee vacancy was posted on the town website I think a week more than a week ago I believe yes it's been a while it's been up there for a little while um and so right now the due date for applications is still January 18th which gives us a little time to make the appointment by February 5th and then based on all those kind of demographics Lori suggested that we attend the school committee uh meeting of um U what's the date is it the 24th January 24th so that's what I asked you folks to kind of look at if that would be workable I think that's pretty much our option given the kind of parameters here is that I may actually not be available I I'll be out of town but you know I may come in I'm not out of town but I don't know that I'll be available oh okay at 7 what about other people what are people thinking so I'm trying to think what about other dates that week Yolanda is any would it be different or I me we try to I'm just trying to nothing else that week would work for me nothing that we no so do we have any other options if we're trying to we could do it on the if we do something on the 31st no one has a meeting but I mean I don't think it would take very long No it should well well depending depends on the number of applications and you know we we like to interview people and discuss things with them so it could take a while uh so what's the date you're we're looking at here 31st when are we having our Forum 28th 29th 29th gosh I do that every time the Valen 29th is the Valentine I see for so Wednesday the 31st don't I'm trying to think what did Lori say about her availability do you remember no I can I can find out there was an um she said something about she wouldn't be available after that but could come in um but she did say she could come in Via video but she'd prefer to be in person so she suggested the 24th so I think she Lor's going to be away the 31st okay I wonder if she's available by video and you're not available by video that day no no I have another I have a conflict so what are we thinking well I I I could um suggest the 31st how about other dates that week is there any earlier that would work we're Valentine form on Monday I suppose we could look at the 30th don't forget we're not the only board so yeah we got to go back to the school committee so that gets a little sticky yeah Wednesday the Wednesday she suggested as a regular meeting day I mean I I I you know it's I think it's important enough that the more of the the more of us that can be there but if the 21st the you know the 2 4 it's a school committee meeting if at least three of us can be there we'll have Quorum so all right so why don't I um how about this I we could I could suggest that the third the 30th does the 30th work for us because the 17th is too early right is that the issue I think so because right now the due date is the 18th and it's been posted that way okay um so our options are a bit limited yep um right in the seventh is too late yeah so all right so so I could we could ask about the 30th um that seems to be a good date the third are the 31st is good for us yeah but it's it's not good for Lori you're you're sure of that how about the 30th U I don't know about the 30th so we could have Commit oh you oh you're not available to 30th actually actually I think I do because I think Lori said that after the 24th she's away until March but right but she said she could be available by video but would prefer it in person that's why I went with the 24th so we could so who which on of us can't be here the 24th Rob and I okay but I may be available I yeah probably if I right if you're available by video that's that that would be four of us yeah I'm not available all right should we well so why don't I okay I guess I can ask about the 31st and if if if it's still an issue for l we can go with the 24th is that just okay I think that makes sense okay so what date are you resist so we're probably going to end up at the 24th but I am going to ask her about the 31st just texted me and see the 31st no good she's watching us wait she has to come online here and talk to us all right so all right so I guess we'll go with C all right we'll go with the 24th then Lori did you hear that okay um all right all right so we'll we'll go with the 24th um and and um that'll be our plan for now hope we be the first on the agenda Lori are we first on the agenda but um Pro I would think probably 7 o'clock um and the only other thing I wanted to add about this is we do have short timelines um if I if I may Rob what's that our meetings start at 6 oh okay is any issues with six for people we can go Lori whatever you know whatever works six or seven six to Seven's great so um so we can schedule at any particular point in time if if seven only works for oh was that Paul oh I'm sorry I didn't real I thought that was okay thanks Paul okay that's Paul Paul's communicating okay very good really bad cold yeah all right so I don't know yeah whatever 6:30 or so is that kind of good for people all right so thank you Paul yeah that should work um so 6:30 you want you want us to schedule yeah around there I mean I don't think it has to be exact right so that'd be good thanks okay um or does it have to be ex you guys want to put it down okay have it on your count all right 6:30 thank you um and the only thing I wanted to add is that uh given the short timelines people should feel free to advertise and recruit for this right um and uh I would suggest if I'm not sure I know the town's had it on the website for a while if we should maybe put it in the Town manager's newsletter or maybe you know a link maybe on the community bulletin I don't know if it's already been on has anyone seen it posted we should probably try that I website um but I meant the Ashland um community board Facebook yeah or if or on the Ashlin Ashlin Facebook page right there that'd be good because it is the holiday season and we have a short timeline to make sure people get the word and then we'll think the newsletter is a great way to get the word out yes yeah okay all right anything else on that just just to thank Aaron for her service cuz oh right sure I don't know how many Paul do you know how many years Aon was on school committee was it like nine I believe it's I believe it was eight maybe okay uh she she came on filling a vacancy the year before I did and we're on the same cycle and okay we're up in the uh I'm up on the 20 uh in 2025 so it's my third term so I think so great okay so yeah just thank Aaron Williams for for years of service on the school committee so I know it's a lot of work that you guys all do so thank you some very difficult times yes co co is like d oh right sure and the building of a new school yes yeah yeah go great all right thank you and thank you Paul anything else you want to add or no thanks for being being flexible and uh working with us on the 24th so great all right thank you okay happy New Year Paul yeah happy New Year you as well okay so the next item is discuss MBTA station reopening so I don't know if anyone had any specific I've been there I've been there a couple two or three times um so you know the station looks a lot like it used to look only better I mean it's it's like well the rust is all gone it's painted a nice gray the pigeons have mooved back in um but it it basically it's nice uh you know the concrete's in good shape uh they're still working on the lighting they've got construction lighting there uh the the parking lot's been redone and repainted um it's just kind of cleaner this the rust is gone it's um nothing's loose anymore um so you know the stairs are better so the stairs the CR crumbling concrete stairs have been replaced by metal stairs metal grids very similar to what is at Framingham um they seem to work better yeah they yeah so they can get slippery it I'm sure when there's snow on them yeah so I mean you know I I I've talked to some folks who were like oh this was all the the work that they did and I'm like well you know I I think of it as sort of like deferred maintenance it is it's preventive yeah it's good they got it so it's not going to collapse on you so which is good and obviously they weren't going to be able to to do the work on the stairs with people with the station open people have to go up and over so you know and the fact that they were able to do it in four months like they said they were going to is a minor miracle so and they have some more work in January that they have to finish up on too correct correct and guys do you have any other specifics Michael has anyone been in touch with you about no no I think they were going to work do some more work on the lighting that was that was my understanding but um yeah I mean I I took a visit or took a drive over there looked at it over the weekend would concur with all of your um observations it's safer yeah might not be that much more attractive right driving by it doesn't look any different May our expectations weren't in line with what was ever intended well they painted it the the usual gray which is nice I guess if we want to paint it a different color bhip gray Battleship Gray um col a blue yeah get the one side of it the um when I as I said I think I told you they they did talk about the npta did talk to me about having some sort of ceremony whether that's actually going to happen or they're waiting or you know I just haven't hurt anything um but uh so that's about it anything else anybody want to add on that no it's good to have it back and working so that's good that's the best thing yeah all right next is MBTA zoning update and um you know Joe was uh working is that on that subcommittee and told me they're moving along and so I just um asked him if he wanted to give us an update on how things are going with that we of course met I don't know was it a month ago about this and um talked about things so go ahead Joe you want to update us B thank you Mr chair uh there's not much to uh provide additional information other than what we uh presented at our last meeting uh we did receive a letter from a business owner on on Pleasant Street uh Mr and Mrs jari with with some concerns and some ideas unfortunately we as a committee have not met since that time frame so um I don't want to speculate and comment on on the letter until the three of us have a have have a sit down with uh you know Trish and uh and Peter to go over that over some of the concerns that they they they' brought up so uh other than that that that's about it but uh and you guys have you guys met since we met and and is that like I think you told me that you got you think you're zeroing in on a solution we're about 90% at a location as to where we where we want to go with this and we're looking at a uh a low a low impact uh mhm percentage of uh housing which makes it makes it a lot easier and we can use other lands in and around that area and right just the things we discussed in PR in the ash area yeah okay any other questions or thoughts since I know it's so the information was put in our package just as a reminder yes she said that Peter this doesn't look different from pet put that in that's exactly what we talked about put just to give you a ref pressure that that's exactly what we have exactly uh then we just got this letter so we wanted to uh yeah and I would just you know Danny's letter I you know I I think he makes some good points it's something we should look at closely it's kind of what I was kind of thinking when you know when I looked at that those plots those Parcels right there so anyway we'll see how it goes but well and so is the idea that this will be ready to go to town meeting that's that's our attempt to do that and with that whatever we finalize we'll bring to the board so we can set up a forum a public forum so it'll be you know available for the public to question right prior to time meeting this tells me though that even before the Forum it might be good as you thinking about what you're going to do to reach out to the businesses along Pleasant Street right because here you have a business owner who has said you didn't even include my lot when you were talking about the potential zoning changes on Pleasant Street and some of the discussion that we had about Pleasant Street so I think it might be good to have a discussion with the business owners the reason why I'm holding back comment because that's not totally accurate so I just wanted to oh interesting okay has anyone talked to the church I mean what do they care one way or the other the church is a separate entity we we're not going near there okay I mean they can do whatever they want but I just wonder if they had any feelings one way or the other right all right well thanks Joe if there's nothing else we'll move on to the next one um okay these are reminders I was asked to put in uh complete and return to town sensus and dog license registrations right what's this so they're now available okay and then uh the next one is so we'll be doing uh Christmas tree collection uh starting on Monday January 8th and then the next one will be next and final will be January 15th and the town census gets mailed to people we should but for a dog license you need to apply for it or reapply if you already have one okay very good all right thank you for those reminders okay and the next is uh an item that Yolanda um suggested and that we she did send out something about this is discussion of committee updates and schedule so you know we had talked before about having a regular appearance maybe once for each of our meetings from a committee so fig Yanda want to have a discussion about how to set that up and schedule it yes so we've always you know through since I've been sitting here it's always like you know we appoint these boards but we don't know what necessarily what they're up to I remember one time we like created this whole elaborate thing that we were going to before you were on the board Brandy uh that we were going to have them fill out and we tried it and they're like this is just a lot of information so I just think it would be good for us to think about of the boards we appoint and I gave Claudia a potential list I haven't heard from Susan there's no list that says what the select board appoints so I'm going to I plan on working with Susan so that we have that list and if we could on our website put a little asterisk next to the one that we appoint so people understand that uh anyway so the idea is that we look at the boards that we appoint and ask them one a month to come and give us an update what are they working on what are they what do they need help with where where are they with things so the list that I gave to Claudia was and the and again I'm not 100% sure but I believe these are ones that we do affordable housing ashin cultural Council some of the members of CPC conservation Council of Aging historical commission open space and Recreation roadway Traffic Safety again one or two of the members not everyone storm water advisory sustainability Town Forest committee upper Charles Trail and the zoning board of appeals does that sound right Susan did I miss anybody yes and what I do is every year in August when you guys reappoint I have the list so I can resend you that list that you guys use in August when you do your reappointments that'd be great so I think I mean off offand I think sustainability is one that we've talked about because of some of the Net Zero stuff that they're working on and they did come present to us last spring before before spring the one thing to keep in mind with them they are I think proposing that tree bylaw and they're working with the planning board for the Maytown meeting so might be we'll probably I would think see them anyway before to meeting so yeah and I know that tree bylaw is causing some Ruckus um but I think about historical commission they have some stuff that they're working on WE appointed them three years ago now four years ago it was during Co I think it was three yeah it was the first so 2020 maybe the first year of Co um R roadway Traffic Safety Committee again they're I mean I know we have Joe as an appointee good and we get some of but it would be great to hear there's some issues that have been going on what are they working on so and I would say we'll get the list the official list from Susan and rank them one through however many there are and whoever whatever one gets the first one in terms of Tim in of okay so I was going to say like I have like my priorities of like what I would you know well that's what I'm saying so when we get the list from Susan the official one yeah then if everyone can say Okay I want in in order these are the ones that I'd want to see and get those to me and I'll compile it and you know if there's one that pops up that'll be the first one we do otherwise I'll based on so how we hand so is it one per meeting that we're talking about either one per meeting or one per month I think if we have depend on you know which group it is some might be a little bit longer and need a little more time right and others might be able to do a couple right yeah right but I would think we do want to do at least one a meeting right right I think it's going to depend on the meeting and what else we have on the agenda and okay that might be a time to do one that might be less time right right yeah right well the other things some are going to be on a schedule like sustainability is a good example do we really want to have them in for a general meeting if we're going to then meet with them at some point soon to talk about the well no I think that would be their that would be their time in right if they're coming in to talk about the tree law bylaw we would also then ask them to give us an update on what else have you been working on so and I know we only appoint like part of CPC but I think I think like seen them for years we've been talking about like having them come in front of us too just to kind of do a much more overview of what right for people who might not understand what is CPC and what can we do with that and what does that really mean I mean for all of these yeah I I think it's to help the public understand what these committees are doing and how they're impacting or working toward the betterment of the Town yeah and also for us to get feedback from them and for us to give them there something that we can help them with what do you guys been up to what are you doing yeah no I think it's a great idea to start that up okay great so all right we have a plan here you'll come back with a list that we'll rank we'll get the list from Susan that'll go out to everybody everyone will rank them get them back to me and then I will try to I will reach out to whoever is first and then yeah thanks for doing that to our ideally hopefully we can have someone at the first meeting in January we a second meeting in January yeah okay all right so the next one is the open meeting law complaint result which we received um in our packet kind of the letter from the AG's office and I don't know Michael did you want to just do a presentation on that yeah I mean just I I can just as an overview um we did receive correspondence from the AG that um they had after reviewing uh some of the materials that had been provided they did find that the board had violated the open meeting law by failing to timely approve five sets of minutes the complaint uh referenced seven sets of minutes they thought two had been done in a timely manner and uh you know five had not been um they did determined that this was an intentional violation um only in the sense that they had talked to us about this before and so it was a repeat violation um they did acknowledge the fact that what we were trying to do is we were trying to you know reconcile some some older meeting minutes that we were trying to clean up um and so therefore they did not issue a civil complaint so part of their Direction was to that the board would need to go to a webinar on open meeting law train and I do have uh some dates here that I can pass out to you after the meeting and okay um okay so I I don't think the board has to take it all like as a board you have to take it all together um is this a live webinar or is it a tape one that you just kind of tune in on I I'm assuming it's live Rob because they provided four dates um who's they the AG the AG's office th Cindy through the AG's office right yeah so anyway there's that I just find it interesting that they're saying it's intentional when it's not intentional it wasn't intentional we didn't purposely forget we didn't but but I do know that through the years we've had sometimes difficulty getting our meeting meeting minutes done and updated and approved so I think now we're on a better schedule we're getting them done on a timely basis and and I think that our goal has to be to maintain that schedule and the the issue always tends to be like these joint meetings that we have that kind of fall through the cracks a little bit and that we like trying to figure out like you know where the meeting is and getting the minutes together and you know I know this was something that we kind of looked at like before Rob took over his chair because I wanted to like you had really were yeah I was trying to clean all these up so you know I mean I I I I get that you know via the attorney general that that's you know but my my personal perspective is I would rather have the meetings the minutes completed and out there then have that not happen so to me like that that I will I will absolutely fall on the sword for that anytime and I also would also um you know I know Mr Morgan had put together this um open meeting law complaint and I would always um you know I know he said something about you know interested in like what the solution is and um I would always encourage him if he wants to help out I'm sure we would be able to help you know put him to work and remind us right because sometimes we get busy with things and if he's seeing that there's minutes that't there reach out to us and say hey these minutes aren't there you can always come to our meetings and take our minutes for us and that would that would I don't think anybody anybody should be expected to remind us that our minutes aren't there I think you know that's something we can certainly but he does seem to have some time he does do that that I mean I think I like the idea of having I would love for him to do our minutes in fact if the board wants we can always extend that invitation to them and and uh so but I'm just saying it's always good to be constructive rather than true absolutely yep I I I would be surprised if you ever take us up okay so you have dates for us that we need to go and sit okay yeah all right thank you um all right and we'll make sure we're continuing to get our minutes done on time okay uh the next item is that correspondence from the um the review of the Grant from the executive office of Economic Development and Michael you have some followup or resolution on that yeah so um where did I okay um yes so everybody recalls the correspondence that we got from um executive office of Housing and liable communities and at that time when we reviewed it I said that I would provide you a draft letter that U Rob actually needs to send uh on behalf of the board so uh Beth and I worked on this to uh put this together uh and it Beth has done a lot of um taken a lot of her time um and reached out to these 15 businesses these individual businesses and um you know some she was able to get some information from um others she found out had gone out of business so you know unfortunately the goals for that program were not achieved I wouldn't say just because of that program um but anyway if you've had a chance to review it and you feel comfortable with it I can put it on letterhead and have um the chair sign it yes let see F no it was good I'm curious like was there any any sanctions or anything um against mgcc because they were working on our behalf on a lot of this yeah we did um so we did have well there are several meetings and conversations with mgcc since we got this correspondence it sounds like they received very very similar um similar correspondents had similar issues but specifically I don't know if you recall in their letter the executive office of housing Li communities they said you could not work with mgcc again until they meaning the executive office was satisfied that they would be able to to keep so they sanctioned themselves they were sanctioned by them not by exactly yeah okay so so there's that one okay all right thanks we'll follow up on that one um okay and the consent agenda boy I think this is the first time we have not done the consent agenda when we got to it so so you know we put it up anybody want to pull anything from the consent agenda or make any remarks about anything on it so um I I've given the the edits to Susan but I I gave it to her really really late on the the meeting minutes so I'd like to pull out um the regular uh session minutes from December 6th to 2023 um the only and the only I just want to you know happy to have it's great to have Curtis Hoffman on the historical Commission and of course we we talked about Aaron's resignation earlier and um anybody want a pull a parade permit for the for the Boston Marathon that's on this list so people should be aware of that this is our approval of the Boston Marathon running through Ashlin and there's another big Grant uh the police department uh is that the one that's the jail diversion 100,000 so that's great all right so we're pulling out a so I move that we approve the consent agenda minus item a regular session minutes for December 6th second uh motion's been made in second to accept consent agenda except for item a all those in favor say I I I oppose none uh consent agenda's passed okay item a on the consent agenda regular session minutes from December 6th 2023 so I just have two really small edits um so um under the scheduled appearances where we talk about the public hearing for the Warren Conference Center in the paragraph at the bottom where it talks about um Kim on behalf of the Warren Conference Center noted that they are a a a group driven property um I added group event driven property because I think it kind of clarified driven yes so that just added event to that um and then on under the um consent agenda um number five where we talk about um B where we're looking at the Town Forest Comm committee to reduce the committee size from Seven members to five voting members and one or more associate members there's a um the first sentence that says Miss Kinsman inquired as to how many members of the Town Forest committee there are currently I asked how many associate members there are currently because okay we knew how many members of the committee so um so just adding associate members to that so that's to really small oh when those changes were made the the meetings that are in our packet have those changes okay okay right because I'm looking at to them did she print I'm looking at the meet the minutes that are in our packet and it says final agenda okay yeah final agenda okay I didn't see that I'm sure Susan probably sent out another version kinman noted the Warren Conference Center is Event Event driven and well controlled got so I move that we approve the regular session minutes from December 6th as in our packet yeah and we have a second uh all those in favor of accepting the regular session minutes in the packet say I I oppose none so the M uh minutes are accepted thank you okay that gets us to town manager report and the first item is the fy2 budget update so go ahead Michael yeah so um you know first off I just want to let everybody know the department head budgets are in and so we'll be taking that information and and plugging that all in and then um we will schedule very very soon a date um for the department heads to talk about their budgets um with the select board and the finance committee probably look at a Friday like we did last last year if that works for everybody um we're already starting a little bit behind the eightball just because the GIC came out with their preliminary rates and they are predicting an overall 9 and a half% increase um whereas we were carrying around a 6% increase so Jesus I mean you know it all depends you know what our true increase ends up being depends on who enrolls in what in what plan um so that's something that we have to keep our eye on so that's good um if you don't mind I'll just kind of skip around I'll stay with budgetary themes so um opioid settlement receipts so it was pretty ironic as you remember or May recall at the special town meeting we had to appropriate those out of free cash because do had not issued regulations regarding the treatment of these funds I think probably a week after we did that do came out with regulations and said that we can now treat those as a special Revenue funds so just wanted to give you an update on that and remind me just how much is it and what are we doing what did we decide um is this an annual thing or is it one time yeah it's annual for a few years um um I want to say it's this Pro is 70k 65 70k and our Human Services team will be using that as to to help with their efforts in line with that yeah okay M just ask a quick question um I wasn't sure probably didn't hear it right but the GIC help cost in negotiations or that that's a fixed cost right now at 9 and a half they must so right so what they do um so first they kind of look at the information they'll put together a preliminary rate increase like a comprehensive you know basically number that Inc July 1 July 1 yeah and so that's 9% so what they do at that point is they go and they look at the plan designs for each of the offerings and look if there's any changes that need to be made there and some of those changes may result in a lower increase in the premium cost okay you know depending on you know they might go with a higher deductible or they might you know increase co-pays and therefore they wouldn't have to raise the premiums as much so that's the next step they probably won't have everything finalized until March or April okay so all right so it's still in a time frame where you're working on your budget you'll have those figures available at some point okay yeah I mean we will probably carry you know until we hear otherwise the 9% figure yeah okay so there's that um and just uh moving on to the next one that deals with money um this is a little bit more good news as opposed to GIC increase um but uh the town and Paul Carpenter um specifically were awarded $150,000 as far as part of a community compact it Grant um to help us establish and um start a new permitting system a new holistic permitting system that is going to basically uh Encompass all of our permitting and connect everything together we also be able to pay online um which is a big deal too so um so congrats to Paul and and his team and um we've started a working group you know to figure out how to you know best Implement that it'll probably take a little while but um but yes this um this grant should cover so a training program for the the employees that right cool and will this 150 give us the funds to create it set it up and get software or what what is this 150 going to cover for us it will cover the setup The Establishment the setup and and then also um the first year I don't know if we're going to be able to do two years I think also help us um import our dat oh nice trans yeah trans as part of the setup yeah cool very nice the I love that you know the community compact program we were the 10th Community initially yeah yoland I think you're the one who I help push because I I remember I had gone to a meeting and the baker administration had pushed this out there and it's nice to see that it's still being continued as a way for communities to get additional funding by being initi you know creating initiatives and for issues that they really have so it's nice to see that it's still working and we'll have to see I mean we've taken advantage of this grant quite a few times quite a few times we'll have to get that be good to see how much yeah great so that I'll move up to item J which is uh citizen education and awareness initiatives um first I I'll start with the Citizens Academy we talked about that actually we talked in our retreat in June about uh July about about ways to um not just explain what the decisions are but how the you know why the decisions are made the way they are and really educate the public on some of the more inner workings of of town government and so the Citizens Academy is a way to do that um and I'll let Jen kind of get into a little bit more of the programs but the programming aspect of it but um we had a good response we had about 30 people express interest in implying and being a part of it we um did select 15 um the people that we didn't select were they had either been a part of a boorder committee before or they had not gotten their application in on time and then the others were selected randomly but uh so we've got a good good class A good diverse class um it's pretty interesting and the program is uh it's pretty pretty great eight weeks Jen do you want to talk a littleit little bit about it because you've been working on the programming aspect so eight weeks um we did some polling just to sort of see you know what kind of time commitment um residents could um really commit to and so what we're doing is basically on our off schedule um so every other week we'll be meeting um from January until May and so we'll really wrap up our program piece right before Maytown meeting which actually I think will work out nicely in terms of hopefully um people who may not have been engaged in in the process will attend town meeting and sort of go in a little bit more educated um than they may have been previously and so the way we sort of split it is try to like group departments so we'll initially start with an overview um then we'll move into budgeting finance and then um hopefully um we'll have folks that are participating also watch the fincom um meetings where we're talking about budgets so that they get a better understanding and they'll get a better understanding before they actually meet many of the department heads um and then we'll go into um Public Safety and Public Works um land use Economic Development health and sustainability will be another one um Human Services and programs and then ending with town meeting clerk's office and sort of it and how that's incorporated into all the various um um departments also sort of reached out to the schools and that would have been a nice segue to see if that works for them in terms of like it is one of our departments our only Department that works across together the two so sort of that um and then we'll have a wrap up and hopefully we can have the class here um for like a wrap up presentation that' be cool in this in this room or we like come we're going to actually be changing locations so you know as part of the public safety it'll be you know they'll be getting a tour I'm kind of hoping that DPW does sort of like touch a truck for adults so that it's like interesting sort of see some of the equipment when we're um like talking about Capital Improvements and um needs that we have they'll be able to sort of have an opportunity to actually see some of it we'll have at the library and the community center again so that people can see um Recreation the food pantry if you if you haven't been over there just to sort of see our other facilities great yeah very cool good did any of the high school students sign up for it no so we did that was a re um a requirement was the 18 and old older 18 and over okay and so and then again it's going to be in the evening so from 6: to 8 just for for working okay people is that in physical somewh in the whole CL yeah so that was that was um we wanted to make sure that we could do it in person because much of it will be sort of like hopefully we'll be touring places and may not be sitting doing presentations so you couldn't really do virtual um and then also um because we had a bigger than expected sort of response rate we made sure that people could actually attend you know almost all of I was just thinking if that's a big commitment yeah teens I'm not talking younger teens I se iors or you may maybe first year freshman in a college that may be interested in you know going into the municipal you know Vector that may be that may be a step a learning care for them to learn you know what's going on maybe sparing interest type of deal so maybe next Academy maybe maybe um and then next um we're starting a podcast to talk a little bit about um you know just Ashland and Ashland Town government um uh we were looking at recording the first one yesterday but one of our guests uh was not going to be able to make it just cuz he's uh taking care of some people so um so hopefully we'll reschedule that soon and uh but yeah looking forward to that and then my final item I don't have it here on the agenda but uh if you recall milpond rest home they had they had they had talked about closing down um I had received correspondents that they actually in the process of selling the business and another you know essentially nursing home facility business is going to um is going to to buy it and continue uh continue that service so what do we yeah so that's I guess we like the idea that they're going to be able to continue operating I presume course yeah so because it's such a shortage I actually what kind of uh level of care do they provide it's I believe it's nursing home like skilled facil yeah interesting okay anything else Michael that no that's it all right so that I think brings us to board reports and I guess we'll just start our usual way Claudia from the end you go ahead and much report that's all right but for the big weekend events but I would like to just comment about how wonderful downtown looks and U you know I've heard that yeah yeah I even had younger member of our community who mentioned it to me and so really the lights the just everything was the town hall I police station Public Safety station was a separate uh Venture but uh just it really looked very very nice know feel and so I just wanted to say thank you to be I know that she really driver of that and and like I told her I I made a point sometimes going through down looks very nice Chistmas definitely beautiful um I also don't have very much to report so so um I pretty much spent the last week and a half with my family so um as I'm sure hopefully everyone else enjoyed some time the holidays with their families and friends as well um the only thing I have to report is that right before um right right before the holidays uh on the 21st of December we did meet with the comprehensive plan steering committee and um it was a relatively short meeting we met at the high school library we're um trying out a couple different you know we we tried out a new venue um to see if that would work and we actually had really good turnout which I was yeah we had like almost a I think there was only a few people that that didn't make it to our steering committee which that this a surprise it was it was great yeah so um but um so you know we met in groups and just talked about um you know different areas of the we broke into groups that had some interest or expertise from all all of us um on the committee and whether it was Economic Development or um I did housing and demographics and um Yolanda was part of the economic development discussion so um we had some good discussions and that goes back to JM Goldson our consultant who will compile it with um some of the other interviews that have been happening or had happened um with department heads and other um within town so um but we're moving along and and Goldson was thrilled with the with the turnout of our um Community visioning Forum um I think the the statement was that they've never seen anything quite like that for our first Forum so um thank you to the community that came out and supported that basement of town hall you know I think we need to I think we need to have uh all of our forums be part of a bigger Community event I yeah that's a great idea I think that's a good idea because people were already out and about they didn't have to go out a special night y it was easy and it was easy yeah and people felt like they were connected and I think that was great we could do that so um so yeah so we're moving along on the comprehensive plan and um our next meeting we're going to be talking about a lot more Community engagement opportunities and um so for anyone that is looking to get involved in giving some some feedback to us on the steering committee um stay tuned because there'll be a lot more coming up what's the date on that in your next our next meeting January 18th the third Thursday of the month y just to the point about uh having those sorts of forums when there maybe is something else going on in the town um will they have a table or something set up for when the night for the Valentine estate for Forum I don't know if we'll be ready yet at that point yeah I'm not sure we will be but that's a good idea that like stuff we did we we did schedule it right or the 29th yeah y so what are we thinking about so well since you brought it up do we need to publicize or do any other work or what a more yeah okay and um that's all for me so yeah thanks yeah thanks go ahead Joe Joe thank you Mr chair uh first and foremost Happy New Year to everybody out there uh may it be safe prosperous and most of all healthy for everybody um just want to remind everybody we are having a uh roadway traffic study committee next well it's Tuesday um we're looking at probably the 28th I don't have it written down probably but I know it's the last Tuesday in January uh from 10: to 11:30 and that's at the uh sub substation at mck basket so um we'll be following up on some questions and concerns that uh several residents have uh asked for and update um so we'll be presenting that so if you have any concerns or anything you can can uh email me if you have a question or concern about uh to be addressed regarding U roadway safety or uh the traffic issue and we'll be happy to look into it and get back to you in a timely fashion Jo before sure can I just ask a general question about so I've heard and maybe Michael or Jen know about this so Massachusetts has recently adopted the ability to have traffic cameras issue finds is that right is that what or or to have they're in discussion with that yeah because there's a there's a liability issue that uh that they're they're questioning right now with respect to that so and there's no there's no definitive answer so we did look into that and uh actually this was before Eddie Burman uh took the position uh temporary position in whan and um he said it probably won't pass because there's so much really because things that need to get done because I know like New York City uses it and the reason I know it firsthand is I keep getting speeding tickets from 400 miles away cuz certain relatives are down there with my car but anyway so so you know it works it does work I have to pay and it's not even a human there's a camera that said I was speeding down the BQE at you know in a in a school zone whatever well the other thing I have to pay 50 bucks but it's it's effective I know I what is my problem but you know that gets to our we we don't like Myrtle Street is an example we can't have somebody there all the time but if you had a traffic camera there and you know so anyway just the thought no that's okay we're also looking at the potential use of uh drones really wow yeah interesting something that somebody brought up to me recently was um uh traffic lights you know that I can't remember the the terminology but they basically turn green for automatically for police and fire yes for non-standing yes non-standing vehicles I know there's some towns that have that I think subur is one of them yeah it's they're pretty expensive yeah and the uh the the the mechanism of the design that has to be followed is uh well it's elaborate and um and you need the proper equipment so uh I know Eddie was thinking about doing that and I don't know if uh Chief Rossy wants to follow through on that but you know we'll we'll we'll ask yeah it might to look into especially as we change and add street lights you know them oh yeah yeah sounds like a candidate for the top priority committee to see top priority committee well that we'd be ready to uh be the first on to come in front of you we'd be happy to do it um I just had one question but that was already answered so uh The Forum is going to be the 29th on the uh Valentine property which still looks pretty cool uh 7 P.M I don't have a date on that 6:30 don't okay all right CU thank you I actually have six on my calendar but six but that's okay okay if it's 6:30 that's here or no what are we doing no 6:30 on January 29th 24 but where but where uh we haven't got the location okay to be determined okay all right now that answers that and uh lastly I just want to thank the folks out there who uh emailed and uh texted Donna uh on her uh successful surgery and uh she she's back to normal she's been ordering me around ever since she get home so she's uh she's doing well so she' be oh I just bought more bags of ice talk to me after the meeting I got something for you I will a nice machine that would that would work great but other than that thank you very much and happy New Year to my uh yeah thank you colleagues here in the board thank you also happy happy New Year uh tomorrow is the lion senior breakfast starting at they start serving at 9:00 a.m.

Steve's not here to do it so now I get to do it uh starting at 9:00 a.m. apparently it's going to be a simple breakfast but it's fun to go that because you're doing yeah we won't go there we will not go there um oh that's funny there's a story there but don't worry about it anyway so the other thing is uh MMA is coming up on the 19th and 20th I am registered to go uh I also interviewed for and got reappointed to the weimo board oh and I'm going to be Vice chair this year and I just got an email today that they're asking me for the weimo luncheon to do the interview of their keynote so it's not going to be a straight keynote it's going to be a sort of fireside chat and I've been asked to do that so I'm looking forward to that and then on the 25th is our Metro West Regional collaborative uh board meeting at 8: a.m.

and that's all I got great thank you um yeah just to follow up on so the MMA conference are other people thinking about going to it it's in in person and we do need to let Susan know I think soon right if we're interested yeah you need to register sooner but but Yolanda is going as it stands now and you know it's some it's it's a nice event especially somebody who's new and you know I don't know if you have time to go to it so if not I will make sure on our first meeting in February to give updates and let you know yeah good what sessions were good and I know some of them they sometimes record so yeah and was it last year the year before it was all um remote and boy was that convenient and and good that was a couple years ago yeah you just missed the the networking aspect of it yeah but something to think about um the um the only other thing I had was uh a couple weeks ago I sat in on the joint planning board and sustainability committee um discussion on the uh tree bylaw which is under development by sustainability has been and most of us seen it draft so my under my impression or my understanding came away from that meeting they didn't spend a lot of time the details but agreed that it was important to have a uh Forum to get ideas or issues or concerns about the tree bylaw and I at that time they scheduled it for January 11th U next Thursday I I'm not sure if that's still that was their thinking at the time I haven't looked at the schedule lately or heard anything I believe it was going to start at 6 before their regular board meeting is that yeah okay that was my sounds right and whether it's so I just don't know if I haven't you know heard anything since that meeting but you know it sounded like a good thing to do so I just you know just let getting a word out for that um especially if there's business owners or developers cuz I think that's who they wanted to to talk to um and the only I I understand we have some snow maybe forecast this week do we need to is it potentially substantial and we're ready to go I presume as usual okay Doug love snow don't let him tell you so anyway okay he's a snowater and that's all I had so I guess I will entertain a motion to adjourn if there's nothing further second all is in favor of adjourning say I I we are adjourned thank you all good night good night good night night all right

okay we are live let me call Mr Davis can you hear me I can hear you can you hear me yes I can all right we are going to go ahead and call the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m um I'm going to take it and run with the first until we appoint our board president um we're going to go through the election results uh Stacey Juliano had 9 votes Kayla Hannah had 897 and Rebecca Allen had 94 so they are filling our three vacancies um so now we're going to go ahead and give the O of office which will be given by me or you matter I all right we have everyone you going do it all once yeah have a copy of that I'll make quick Copy I Solly swear s that I will support the Constitution of the United States I the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of New Jersey and theit of and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same faith and aliance to the same and to the governments established to the governments established in the United States and this state in the United States and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help we got I state your name I do Solly swear do swe I possess the qualifications I possess the qualifications prescribed by law prescrib by law for the office of member of a board of education for the office of member of the Board of Education and that I am not disqualified as a voter not disqualified as a voter pursuant to law pursu to law nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in law for offense listed in law and that I will faithfully impartially and justly perform per all duties of that office all duties of office according to the best of my ability according to the best of my ability help me out congratulations you to sign that [Music] certificate elction and that please I mess up did I get the other thing right no I didn't even know to I know you two are like one in the sign sorry about that thank you all right so let's um have to do the Pledge of Allegiance then we'll go ahead and do the roll call and get our business iedge Al to the flag the United States of America for stands one nation God indivisible Mr Davis Mr here Mrs Helma Allen here Mrs Hannah here Mr Golden here Mr Juliana here Mr Jones here m here all right so I'll start the meeting off um I the school business administrator will accept nominations for school board president so we're going to do it a little bit different this year this is actually the way we should do it so we're going to accept the nominations and then we'll go ahead and um appoint the person as I do roll call you'll say if there are multiple nominations you'll say who you vote for and I will be able to have um tell so I mean nominations for school board president please I'd like to nominate Scott we don't second any other nominations okay hearing none then I'm going to do a roll call to appoint Scott are you good Mr Davis yes okay I'm going to do a roll call to appoint Scott golden for school board president uh Mrs oriente yes Mr James yes Mrs Helma yes Mrs Juliana yes M tnah yes Mr Davis yes Mrs Allen yes Mrs Reed yes Mr Golden yes congratulations ahead take over so taking over from there uh looking for nominations for the school board vice president I would like to nominate Kim any other nominations oh I'm no I'm sorry I'm a control free I'm a control hearing no other nominations okay then I will do a roll call to appoint Kim Reed as our school board vice president uh Mr Jones yes Mrs Helma yes Mr Davis yes Mrs Hannah yes Mrs orente yes Mrs Juliano yes Mrs Allen yes Mrs Reed yes Mr Golden yes thank you and moving on to public comments uh or agenda items have a motion second to open that meeting to the public for discussion of agenda items only motion second second to close the meeting okay so for the delegate nomination we were told if we wanted to keep it all the same we can just do a single vote to everyone keeps what they have does anybody so I suppose I will make a motion for that and then we can talk whether we actually want to do that or not would be the right process for that I mean I guess if nobody had any there wasn't any issues along the way if we're going to move towards having the board president appoint make those appointments yeah but in your bylaw board president has that authority to make those appointments I think traditionally you you ask the board what they think as well which is which is fine but right now you have that authority to make those appointments on your own um so you can go ahead and if you if you think that's what you want to do and get the consensus you know you can go aad and do it yeah I guess that's just it is that this is that open comment does anybody feel they want to you know change what they they're doing or would rather get involved in something else all right then I will just appoint everybody to what they had last time okay perfect um so the first one was the hel fory School Board Association so right uh so so I have to do them each one by one then is that we can group them right we can group them and then go through them can we go group seven approve motion of second 7 a through s i and then you can go ahead and do your appointment that way then I'll do do one big roll call okay uh so you said Lisa for New Jersey school boards all right wait need a motion a second first to Appo do the delegate nominations um appointments motion second I must have misunderstood I I thought he meant that I could just appoint and say Lisa will be our delegate to the school board you can we just need to do that motion second we're going to group them all together you'll say who's going to do what and one big roll call yes no no roll calls at all I think so no roll call actually seven doesn't even have to exist correct well then I have minut so no calls no nothing Perfect all right lots of time now amazing So Lisa hel yeah Lisa hel office New Jersey school okay you want me to go down L yeah let's just read down the list so everyone is reminded where they yeah so um the delegate nominations by the board president will be Lisa hop as the delegate to the New Jersey school boards Association Kay La Hannah as the alternate delegate to the New Jersey school boards Association um Brian Davis will be the delegate to the cam County School boards Association Stacy Juliana will be the alternate delegate to the Camy County School Board Association Michelle oriente will be the representative to the Camy County Edge Services Commission Kim Reed will be the representative to the pin Hill Board of Education from this date to the date of the next reorg meeting in 2024 um the board President appoints the following members or advisers of the board's negoti iations committee for btea as Brian Davis chairperson Keith Jones and Scott golden as members the board president further appoints the following members to or advisers of the board's negotiations committee for BT PSA the principal and supervisors Association that will be Brian Davis as the chairperson Lisa helmo and Kimberly Reid as the members and then we're going to appoint the board president will appoint the following members or advis of the board's finance committee as Rebecca Allen Kayla Hannah and Stacy Juliana um that's that's it right and then we'll move on to number eight we need a motion and the second to um establish time and date of our regularly scheduled board meetings it's the fourth Thursday of each month with those exceptions below Mo second so just curious is there a reason that March 18th rather than the normal Thursday for that week for the submission to the county office for the budget has to be in like by the 20th okay so doing it on that Thursday be beond that sounds good any other questions concerns Mrs Hannah yes Mrs oriente yes Mrs Julian yes Mrs hel yes Mr Jones yes Mr Davis yes Mrs Allen yes Mrs Reed yes Mr Golden yes um 10 um is to approve on the recommendation of the superintendent a leave of absence for employee 1467 January 16th 2024 4 through February 5th 2024 um 6 will be utilized for this lead I have a motion second Mo second Mrs orente yes Mr Jones Mrs Helmont yes M Juliana yes Mrs Han yes Mr Davis yes Mrs Allen yes Mrs Reed yes Mr Golden yes and then 11a is just travel and professional development for the following staff members it is brigh um there is no cost to the district This falls under um her Association as a public want approve the motion second motion second questions Mr Jones yes Mrs helmo yes Mr Davis Mrs Hannah yes Mrs orente yes Mrs Juliano yes Mrs alen yes Mr um motion to open for public comment or non-agenda items motion second all those in favor oos no comment so motion to close thank all there in I okay um we're gonna have to go into executive session for a brief Mo for a brief moment um Mr Davis I'm going to cut you out on that but we can touch Bas later um and then we're just going to there's not GNA be any action taken you want me to call you back or you're good all right sounds good talk to you later byebye so we're you can either sit up there you can come back in or you can go home or whatever you want sorry February 12 it would we started do you w to make a comment that I mean we're not going to go come back we're not gonna have any action so I guess if we want to send Jacob we can shut it down we're not going right we can do that yeah we can just shut down the recording since we're not taking any action at all correct that's it this is going to be very very y just give me one second just um yeah you can go if you'd like because we're not going to take any action after we're done really yeah we're just going to adjourn our meeting so you're done oh well all right then there's no point inting we won't be too long in here no I'll just do this and then it'll take me a little bit of time to get everything out anyway okay session

e allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all now we we will Begin by administering the oath of office to the newly elected board members we will go in alphabetical order Mr Kenova you are [Applause] first Mr Mayor please come up I need there she is you want she don't want to I guess you here family up y i Joe kova do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States Constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will be bear true faith and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and the governments established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God I Jova I jenova solemly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of member of board of education for the off office of member of Board of Education and that I am disqualified as a voter pursuant to and I that I am not disqualified as a voter pursuant to RS 1941 1941 nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense nor disqualified due to conviction of crime or offense listed in njs listed in njs 18a colon 12-1 and that I will faithfully and impartially and that I will faithfully and partially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of that office all of the duties of that office according to the best of my ability according to my best of of ability so help me God so help me [Applause] God Mr sio that's the Italian Bible don't go nowhere kid yeah it's one over here okay I don't know what I so repeat after me please I Joe siano I Joseph siano do solemnly swear do solemnly swear I will support the Constitution of the United States I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that I will bear true faith and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and allegiance to the same to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God one more time I Joseph sio I Joseph siano do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess the qualifications that I possess the qualifications prescribed by the law for office of member of the Board of Education prescribed by the law for the office of member of a board of education and that I am disqualified I am not disqualified disqualified and that I am not disqualified as a voter as a voter pursuant to pursuant to rs1 1941 rs1 1941 nor disqualified nor disqualified due to conviction due to conviction of a crime of a crime or offense or offense listed in listed in njs njs 18a 18a 121 121 and that I will faithfully and that I will Faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform and justly perform all the duties of that office all the duties of that office to the best of my ability to the best of my ability so help me God so help me God congratulations Miss Suarez love yes so you want to hold the Bible for thank you thanks bud I state your name I Tanya Suarez solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state this still counts yes and the constitution of the state of New Jersey and that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same and to the governments established in the United States and to the governments established in the United States and this state and this state under the authority of the people under the authority of the people so help me God so help me God I state your name I Tanya Suarez do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that you possess the qualifications prescribed by law that I possess the qualifications prescribed by law for the office of a member of a board of education for the office of a member of Board of Education and that you were not disqualified as a voter and that I am not disqualified as a voter pursuing to rs19 col 4-1 pursuant to rs1 19-4 nor disqualified due a conviction of a crime nor disqualified due to conviction of a crime or offense listed in njs 18121 or offense listed in njs 18121 and that you will faithfully and that I will faithfully impartially impartially and justly perform the duties of that office and justly perform all the duties of that office according to the best of your ability according to the best of my ability so help me God so help me goding thank [Applause] you congratulations I don't know what to do with this am I doing with this not I don't know yes Miss bassford here Mr brunak here Mr kova here Dr Danny here Mr Mahia here Mr Paris here Mr Santiago here Mr siano here Mr Suarez here we have a quorum Mr brunier can you please read a mission statement thank you Mr shahada the mission of Clifton of the Clifton Public School of the Clifton School District in an open and reciprocal Community Partnership is to provide all students with a quality education to develop the skills necessary to become literate lifelong Learners who are responsible and productive citizens contributing to a Democratic Society in an changing World Mr kova can you please read the open public meeting statement sure the New Jersey open public meeting law was enacted to ensure the rights to the public to have an advanced notice of and to attend the meetings of public bodies at which any business affecting their interest is discussed or acted upon in accordance with the provisions of this act the Clifton Board of Education has caused notice of this meeting to be publicize by having the date time and place thereof posted at the city clerk's office Clifton Public Library Administration Building senior citizen Nutrition Center on cable TV and the local press on the district's website in mailed to the Presidents of parent teacher organizations this meeting will be tape recorded in accordance with policy 0168 thank you now I will now entertain nominations for president I'd like to nominate miss bassford Mr Canova nominates Miss bassford do we have any others i' like to nominate Alan Paris please Mr Alan Paris Mr brunak nominates Mr Paris do we have any others seeing none I close the nominations you have a slip in front of you please sign your name and the person you will vote for and pass it around yeah you wish in no particular order Mr Paris votes for Mr Paris Mr FIA votes for Mr Paris Mr Santiago Mr Paris Miss Suarez votes for Miss bassford Mr siano votes for Miss bassford Mr Kenova for Miss bassford Miss bassford for Miss bassford Dr Dany for Mr Paris Mr brunc for Mr Paris Mr Paris Mr Paris [Applause] congratulations than um yes we just we would like to recognize that our pay County Clerk is here uh Miss Danielle uh Ireland imhof is she welcome welcome and congratulations uh thank you to my fellow board members uh for the opportunity to uh help lead the board I appreciate um next order of business is nomination and election of the vice president uh for the board of education do we have any nominations I'd like to nominate commissioner Lucy Dany for vice president commission Danny I'd like to nominate Miss bassford vice president bassford any other nominations okay let's uh again write your chosen person in your name hand it to your right or left depending upon which side you're on you read them Mr sh please than you okay I'm ready when you are no I'm not ready when you are in no particular order Mr Santiago voted for Miss Danny Mr siano votes for Miss bassford Miss Suarez votes for Miss bassford Mr Mahia votes for Dr Dany Mr Paris for Dr Dany Miss bassford for Miss bassford Mr Kenova for Miss bassford Dr Danny for Dr Danny Mr brunak for Dr Danny Danny congratulations Dr Danny thank you very much okay next order of business will be the reading of uh School Board member code of ethics bylaw and we'll start with commissioner Suarez if you could please read for us you have a copy I hope right please read uh the first uh item a I guess it would be thank you I will uphold and enforce all laws rules and regulations of the State Board of Education and Court Ord pertaining to schools desired changes shall be brought about about only through legal and ethical procedures thank you Mr siano I will make decisions in terms of the educational welfare of children and will seek to develop and maintain public schools that meet the individual needs of all children regardless of their ability race Creed sex or social standing thank you Mr Santiago I will confine my board action to policymaking planning and appraisal and I will help to frame policies and plans only after the board has consulted those who would be affected by them thank you Mr Mia I'll carry out my responsibilities not to administer the schools but together with my fellow board members to see that they will be well run thank you I will recognize that Authority rests with the Board of Education and will make no personal promises nor take any private action that may compromise the board F I will refuse to surrender my independent judgment to special interests and partisan political groups or to use the schools for personal gain or for the gain of friends I will hold confidential all matters pertaining to the schools in which if disclosed would needlessly injure individuals or schools in all other matters I will provide accurate information and in concert with my fellow board members interpret interpret to the staff the aspirations of the community for schools thank you Mr BR I will vote to appoint the best qualified Personnel available after consideration of the recommendation of the chief administrative officer thank you m passord i I will support and protect School staff School Personnel in proper performance of their duties thank you and Miss Suarez please Jay I will refer all complaints to the chief administrative officer and will act on the complaints at public meetings only after failure of an administrative solution thank you very much uh the next item is designation of meetings that's already in your agendas um selection of delegates and committees um I'm assuming commissioner bassford would want to continue for as Delegate for for the State Delegate for okay well at this point I think what I ask you to do is uh just send me an email because we have to work on uh committees as well send me an email of what positions You' like to uh hold um I serve on a lot of State committees so um if somebody else wants to step up to the plate it's uh every quarter down in Trenton so they can drive on a Saturday morning I'll Mr Mia okay so Mr Mia will be uh how about an alternate for that position alternate that Mr Santiago thank you uh the next the next uh positions are delegate and Alternate for the county board so it's basically representing Clifton to the County Association anyone official anyone else any volunteers okay Dr Dan and an alternate looking for an alternate Mr Mahia okay thank you uh I'll work on the uh committees for for our next meeting and please send me um any committee requests that you might be interested in uh Dr Robert toy your report is next no formal report tonight just want to wish the entire one Clifton Community a very happy and healthy New Year so nice to see so many members of the public here tonight uh I want to welcome and congratulate uh Mr kova Miss Suarez and Mr siano I look forward to working with you over the next 12 months um to make the lives of children better um to help our staff and to do good things for this uh this great City that we live and work in so congratulations and to entire board uh welcome back happy New Year good to see everybody thank you Mr President okay thank you Dr Rober toi next is our uh public content uh this portion of the meeting is open to the residents and non-residents of Clifton for the purpose of addressing any subject matter pertinent to and or directly related to the operation of the Clifton Public School District residents and non-residents are requested to sign the register provided for this purpose and to state your name address and subject matter comments are limited to 5 minutes per person issues raised by members of the public may or may not be responded to by the board all comments will be considered and response will be forthcoming if and when appropriate the board asked that members of the public be courteous and mindful of the rights of other individuals when speaking specifically comments regarding students and employees of the board are discouraged and will not be responded to by the board students and employees have specific legal rights afforded by the state of of New Jersey the board Bears no responsibility nor will it be liable for any comments made by members of the public members of the public should consider their comments in light of the legal rights of those affected or identified in their comments and be aware that they are legally responsible and liable for their comments Mr Rose is there anyone online we can no not first okay then I would invite members of the public who'd like to speak to the podium yes oh a motion to close please mtion to close second second okay Mr Santiago second by Mr brunak oh Mr Kenova sorry now we would like to invite any members of the public who'd like to speak to the podium thank you good evening Dr Robert toy Nina kusevic Mark Jenaro Ahmed shahada Judy bassford Mark brunak Joe Kenova Dr Lucy Dany Richard Mahia Alan Paris Anthony Santiago Joe sayano and Tanya Suarez I stand before you as the president of the Clifton Education Association filled with enthusiasm and optimism as we embark on a new chapter of collaboration with recently seated Board of Education Commissioners our excitement is fueled by three key reasons that underpin our shared commitment to the betterment of Education in our community firstly we are thrilled about the prospect of working hand inand with the new board to prioritize Student Success education is the Cornerstone of a thriving society and by aligning our efforts we can create an environment that nurtures and empowers our students to reach their full potential together we aim to foster a passion for learning instill critical thinking skills and prepare our students for the challenges of the future secondly the potential for positive policy changes is a Beacon of Hope for both Educators and students alike collaborating with the board provides an opportunity to address current challenges and implement innovative solutions that enhance the overall educational experience by working collaboratively we can create policies that are not only effective but also responsive to the evolving needs of our diverse student body lastly our excitement stems from the shared goal of fostering a supportive educational environment education extends beyond the classroom encompassing the emotional and social well-being of our students and staff together with the board we aspire to create a nurturing environment that encourages inclusivity diversity and a sense of belonging of every student by fostering a positive School culture we can enhance the overall educational Journey for each child in our care in conclusion the Clifton Education Association eagerly anticipates the collaboration with the new board of ed for these three compelling reasons a shared commitment to Student Success the potential for positive policy changes and the creation of supportive educational environment by joining forces we can make a lasting impact on the lives of our students and contribute to the growth and prosperity of our community thank you very much thank you Mr L is there anyone else who'd like to make any comments seeing none motion to close second motion to close by Miss batford second by Mr Mahia uh our next item is a motion to approve ea4 24-1 so moved Mr can motion to approve do I have second second second by Mr Mahia voll call Mr Shad please miss bassford yes Mr brunc yes Mr kova yes Dr Danny yes Mr Mahia yes president Paris yes yes oh sorry Mr Santiago yes Mr siano yes Miss Suarez yes motion carries thank you Mr shahada well this is probably going to be the fastest meeting that we will have this year so enjoy it congratulations to all our new members excuse me absolutely what um we want to give you give uh our new Commissioners an opportunity to make some comments if they like let's start with commissioner Suarez please thank you um I just want to share my sincere gratitude and appreciation for everyone here on the Das and and for everyone in the audience my family certainly my friend Tanya who came with here precious baby my son Aris thank you community of Clifton thank you for trusting in me with your children um I really look forward to this coming season and three years thank you so [Music] much thank you very much mine's going to be a little longer than that I'm sorry uh so for me today is really a momentous day uh one that I've eagerly anticipated and I'm genuinely touched to experience as I sit here before you just having been sworn in as your board of education commissioner I feel a deep sense of responsibility pride and above all gratitude from the bottom of my heart I want to extend my sincerest thanks to each and every one of you especially my loving wife who has been my rock and constant support my Incredible family my dearest friends and of course my dedicated supporters I want to thank mayor grabow for swearing me into this role and your constant support uh without all of you by my side I couldn't have taken on this journey it truly warms my heart to know that you believed in my vision for a brighter future for our schools and students and have entrusted me to take on this critical role thank you Comm commissioner Canova thank you uh I didn't prepare anything uh so I'll just speak from the heart here um first I just want to thank everyone for coming out uh on Election night and and showing me your support uh this is my second term I have as you know three children in the district um and I look forward to what we have coming I I seen eight other board members here that that really care about kids and care about our town and I'm looking forward to working with everyone here um and pushing that needle forward so thank you again everyone and we'll see you the next three years okay uh as I said a little earlier this will probably be the shortest meeting we've had this year so looking for a motion to adjourn motion second motion by all in favor go home and enjoy the family yeah board members we do need to take the family picture for the [Music] yearbook no well when you call me your name shows up I don't have a you have um yeah I came out here ear quick summary so

[Applause] e sh up Ashlin clocker is hosting the 0 and6 hollon Panthers in Tri Valley action here on waca TV I'm Josh Abrams and with me is Rob if you're just joining us you missed an interesting first half uh the clockers are down 2621 to the Panthers but seeing showing some signs of life here as the clockers are looking for that first Tri Valley win of the season so just to reset here your starting five for the second half O'Brien Espino rudicil Robinson and finstra your leading score is Robbie rudil with 11 points followed by Espino with four bores and and Robinson each with three we're underway clockers will start with it Espino at the top rud look trying to get an open look Robinson at the top did you already discuss the keys to the second half no we only came on with about a minutes ago before the start of the half that shot gets destroyed and the Panthers come out with it give that one to suada who uh hits the shot and the foul so how to just a freshman so that's a name you will hear for the next four years unless he graduates early hit O'Brien picks it up so right away two two turnovers by the way that foul and clockers is on F for his second of the game Panther setting up that uh that half court set right now here's Dal he was dangerous in the first half he gets fou he'll go to the line to shoot two again we said they were going to have to put a body on him and they did just little too hard of a body so Dy at the line to shoot two okay Del hits the [Applause] first 16 for Deli Ian with 17 after that one 18 oh we'll do some here's finra he has numbers bores oh ill advised attempt to kick it out to rudicil they had the numbers didn't put up the shot how many you have for Sahar how many for sahada five I've got him with four four okay Schmid with six tough inbound to finstra he gets fouled that one's going to go against Schmidt his first [Music] okay spino sizing things up over to rudicil O'Brien had a open for a open look for a moment back out to rudicil now clocker showing some patience they're down nine or just got drawing like the entire team out there for a moment finra back to rudil doesn't have the shot tries to drive in too hard off the glass tries to force a rebound doesn't get it and vau with the Panthers winds up with it too much thinking going on that's their first shot fster is wide open let them take it no nobody here is a 90% shooter so if the kid's wide open shoot the ball mhm so frustrating because I know he's he's probably been told he can't shoot and it's just it's okay Panthers with a host of errors on that play turn the ball over here for the clockers who will inbound on the near sideline here just under six minutes to go in the third quarter cison by [Applause] nine good screen triple team fenra wide open here he's driving the lane but he gets fouled ahead of time this one going to get caught on Schmidt as well sure is second foul for him but even there too much thinking he's he gets the ball should I shoot it no and then he hesitates he could have got that ball driven right away and he's in the clear it can almost dunk it but at least he drew the foul okay so O'Brien a inbound right here by the table Carlos calling out the play poor pass to fer out of bounds unforced turn over there by the clockers Panthers will take control all right GNA have to step it up on D got to get to them earlier when they're in the corner you got to double that right away yeah B just didn't see it right away and they were able to inbound pretty cleanly well it was like they were trying going to press but maybe not I don't know okay Dy with the ball forcing it inside to vaugh he gets a fadeaway jumper to fall so vaugh now with five O'Brien a little bit of trouble here with the Press Espino down the sidelines two hot to handle for borus another unforced turn over there so 505 to go in the quarter clock is down by 11 fer is going to C catch a break on the bench s into the game now yeah s say uh can be a spark to this team plays hard both ways not that uh F doesn't that's for sure well Brian that's going to be his third going to be his third absolutely I wonder if they were going to call a foul or travel there but it is called in O'Brien his third Panthers inbound vaugh in the corner for three Off the Mark loose ball gathered in by SC getting into some pressure here beats the double team Carlos with it now he's driving right on down meets vaugh and travels okay Mike Norman calling for a full-court press clockers a little faster to respond this time da in the corner guarded closely by S Carlos on suad now six ah 1 second to spare okay Panthers barely break it across the line daily all the way in can't get the roll here's Carlos looking driving a little bit of a fast break now picking up the intensity s thinks about it up to rudicil Russ has it popped out and it'll stay clocker ball 26 seconds to go on the shot clock 416 to go in the third quarter a lot of of attention right down there at the Baseline with the ball O'Brien to S it B just loosen on the floor for just rips it out rudil a deep three Kaboom and it's good they call it good and the foul and I have no problem with that even if it doesn't go in that's their second shot they got to shoot the ball so the foul is on the clockers yeah foul was called in O in his fourth so the rare three the shot was in the air foul on the offensive team clocker still down by eight heavy pressure from s it here goes Del kicks it outside for vaugh vau drives the lane sad makes him for alter the shot oh offensive foul interesting call there so so that one is going to go against Owen vaugh his second and Ashley's got to be careful they're already in the penalty next shot regardless of where it is oh that was a dangerous pass and they're at four fouls now either team next fou foul shot foul is two shots with 353 to go in the quarter so V just picked up very quick back-to-back fouls that's his third so clocker down by eight 353 to go in the quarter got to try and get it to rudil let him be aggressive nice pass to bores beautiful play way didn't see the court there gorgees with five points tonight well diagrammed play rudis with another nice defensive play but Baseline and a w oh a carry double dribble okay okay so clockers were sloppy early in this quarter now it's the Panthers turn somebody's got to go go to this ball little five nothing run here got it out to rudil drives against vaugh pulls it back out to bores little high brings it down s drives in against three guys pulls it back out rudol is an open look St thought about it then shot it no good rebound Panthers I know Rob I can see it on your face I know what you're going to say it wasn't a bad shot though no but you wanted him to take the first one not the second right it's too much thinking right don't think it can only hurt the ball club name that movie vau misses the three sandep was had good positioning there but Panthers come over the re nice pass da was wide open underneath that was number 15 that's a crani with a nice pass to find his teammate underneath daily with four points this quarter this yeah this half rudo with an easy bucket again some really nice passing plays to get there both end that's it certainly doesn't look comfortable oh rudil tried to swat away from on shot but go to the line for a couple I'll tell you what rudil that SWAT was so violent I think that's what drew the whistle more than anything yeah it's good point so rudel's first and formani hits both ends of the rim can't get it to fall so sand deep comes out fster back in okay so neither neither shot Falls but on the ensuing rebound out of bounds off of the clock blockers so hollon will inbound under the basket three ball for da no good rebound forges nice to see him possibly cooling off S it for three off the rim follows his shot can't get to the rebound in time and instead draws the foul yeah how's going to go to line for a couple see if they notice it yeah he how notices it it's the fifth [Music] foul so 209 to go here in the third quarter hollison up 34-28 Robbie Howell going to the line to shoot two two Robbies one on each team you don't see that a lot with a BB no Robert okay the Panthers charity stripe struggles continue it's three straight misses I mean that could be part of the strategy down the stretch for the clockers or the Panthers oh for whoever I mean that one Falls that one in okay so how's on the board with one got a Timeout on the floor and Rob seems like a good time for tonight's dad joke of the game I thought You' been telling them all night what I could tell well you know we got some compliments on our last broadcast the last one that you and I did together all the 80s references okay Rene Thompson really appreciated it but um tonight's that joke is why was Cinderella so bad at soccer I I I don't know she kept running away from the ball okay I'm glad I'm glad that was the punch line I've heard some other other Cinderella jokes that end hey this is a family broadcast it's a family broadcast we keep it clean here it's a dad joke it's a dad joke well I don't know what circles you run in so you never know what's it's going to come out of your M very nice very nice always entertaining we do want to take a moment to welcome those of you switched over from the Yukon Butler men's basketball game appreciate you joining us here tonight and uh Tak and sorry your remotes broke punch three it comes over to us all right right and uh taking a quick look at the NBA we got a Full Slate of 14 games tonight including the Celtics hosting the Jazz and the Sixers hosting the Knicks that game's going to be tipping off very shortly on ESPN I think you were originally slated to uh cover the Jazz Celtics right and then this slot opened up so you that's it that's exactly how it [Laughter] happened all right so 3528 209 to go here in the third quarter or just trying to dribble out of this pressure finds it open as spino on the wing fer flashes for a moment he's in the corner getting some body gorgees now rudil sizing things up finra thought about the three pulls it back down fores we're down to 12 on the shot clock now rudil got to create something come on step back there's Carlos for three lines it up and Nails it his first points of the half seven for the game and then another another one of those yeah so I'm not sure what the white five call was I don't know either cuz if it's a foul yeah I mean they still have Josh sence foul up on the board so I'm not sure what that last call was clocker down by four a minute and a half to go in the third quarter s with some heavy pressure on defense now Espino yeah there's a 10 second they got it full core press finally pays off hollon coaches beside himself that's uh Chris venian that's his twin brother actually just kid this is leading to a discussion so again want to thank uh tonight's sponsor town housee pizza and roast beef located at leem Plaza at the corner of LH Street in 126 they have the best roast beef sandwiches in town but check out all they have to offer including pizza subs and more by visiting Townhouse Pizza roast beef.com now when you said that it sounded like leechmere Plaza which was the old mall so I it's ledg it is ledm I read it too fast it's ledg I'm thinking leeem Plaza talk about flashback to the 80s it's before my time I wasn't up here by then I was wondering about that back then that's where uh where Target is in that little mall right there that was the old leechmere Mall [Laughter] mm there's a lot of confusion on the court right now and the fans are helping out shouting shouting Direction but it's going to end up Panther ball somehow okay so they should have got a fresh fresh 10 seconds when the ball went out of bounds is what I heard him explaining to the player so they have actually two seconds to get it over okay full [Applause] 10 I have no problem with the full 10 just I have no problem with Bo Derek as a 10 oh hello first B Derek Dudley Moore reference of the night I think that one's going to go against Josh Z it does that's his third and they're shooting yeah they're letting them know so Tyler Robinson coming into the game for SC well he will be shortly yeah so you got daily at the line shoot two yeah a lot of confusion here at the end of this third quarter stretching it out that's probably not the guy you want on the line if you have a choice I don't think they have a choice if you go to that uh strategy yeah I believe I have him at 18 19 now I think you're one ahead but I believe I reconciled it correctly let's see what happens here as they double team them got timeout wisely called by Mike Norman they'll head to the benches clocker uh clocker down six points 3731 with a minute 18 to go in the third quarter that was the best Call of the night seriously that that they don't utilize that enough I agree when you're down on the ground and you know all the other player has to do is put a hand on the ball and they get a jump ball but use the timeout like you said five of them right right I mean I thought Carlos might try and like just throw it off of a defender's leg and out of bounds but he was getting flustered with that that was a really tight double team yes so really quickly let's take a look around clocker Nation uh the girls basketball team dropped to 1 and4 after an 8133 loss to Midfield on Tuesday team's going through some growing paints with a roster full of freshman but there's a lot of young Talent on that team with a bright future the girls are at hollon tonight and are back here to host Bellingham on Tuesday rob you and Chase have the call here on waca at 6 p.m.

yeah I'm excited about that one I think it's a good potential for a win there and uh like you mentioned they do have one win I think they beat Weston in a non- league game uh just before the end of the year so that sounds right yes again they are one and four meanwhile no no seniors no and what like one two Juniors two uh two Juniors two sophomores and all friend okay really quickly up Boys Hockey one two and two after a rousing 5-2 win over hollon Tuesday night Bob Savin and I had the call on that one the replays available on wca's YouTube channel Nick Connor scored the first two goals Dan abunas had the last two and Oliver lauro in between they face off against Westwood tomorrow night at 6 at the Ice House in Canton back to the action at hand the clockers beat the Press rudil nice pass to him tries to lay it out in underhand no good rebound by Cooper Forman of the Panthers and we're down to about a minute to go in the third quarter clocker down by [Applause] six good defense here by the clockers off balance shot got to grab the rebound as Doos Tyler Robinson head of the pack left-handed layup in and good that was a big big basket for the clockers under a minute to go the Press is on clockers down by four shot clock wasn't [Applause] running okay so we're going to reset here a little bit 37.1 seconds to go 31 on the shot clock Panthers inbounding in front of the clocker bench yeah we get a lot of volunteers helping out with the scoring so not everything's going to run as well as you'd like sometimes get people so and uh daily hard off the back still ahead of the pack he drives in layup is hard but in and good 18 seconds to go dily right back puts it get it right over the top of finstra 12 to go we can get time up ah Robinson somebody fell from yeah hit the deck rudil left open for a three it's too hard off the glass put it up fer tries to get it off no good and that'll do it for the third quarter so the clockers again struggled early on in the third quarter turned into a relatively big deficit but we come to the end of the third quarter they're only down four yeah it was 3221 the biggest lead at the you know 11 points and they finished on a uh 14-7 run yep they actually they outscored the uh they outscored hollon in that quarter 14 to7 I have 14 to 133 sorry 14 13 I'm trying to do math upside down it just doesn't work for me you know I am math challenged I do I do I know didn't do a lot of math in broadcast journalism school you know so heading back to clocker Nation we talked girls basketball we talked Boys Hockey let's move on to swim the girls swim team 3 and0 now while the boys swim team 0 and three the girls next meet is next Friday against Norwin at Babson while the boys don't swim again until January 21st against over Sherborn over to track now the boys and girls indoor track teams are in Boston right now against Midfield the boys are two- one on the season while the girls are 1-2 and finally checking in with the wrestling team they are 3 and0 and they had a meet at Newton South earlier tonight and speaking of Newton South my cousin Alex Ryan wrestles for that team and my apologies to him and the rest of my family that I couldn't make it there tonight but getting back to the action at hand here in Ashlin in Clock Town your Ashlin clocker boys basketball team down by four as we head into the fourth quarter Panthers will start with the ball inbounding for them will be Robbie Howell and just an FYI if you don't have your headset on and you're standing next to the whistle very [Laughter] loud Josh s back into the game by the way he is playing with four fouls Panthers looking a little hesitant and again just noticing that Logan Schmidt not out there start the qu same thing it looks like panthers seem uh perfectly fine to drain the shot clock here they're down under 10 there a forced layup no good Forman having a little trouble getting the ball in the hoop missed a couple free throws a short range shot there Carlos lost the handle beats a double team inside Feer quick ball movement Robinson for three that's a three ball for Robinson did you notice that ball movement that was perfect quick decisions inside outside quick Cris passes absolutely yeah just about a minute gone by here in the fourth quarter clocker within one it's the tightest that's been in quite a while here tonight and Josh just unlucky or drawing a lot of attention from these refs he just called for his okay they've got him with his fourth I already had him with four oh no I do with four now my bad my bad Deon O'Brien also has four 10 and 11 heavy in the fouls okay those are your double down hands Rob Kylie picked up the dribble early but no damage oh Rell had a little bit of an extra hand in there on vau v i I like the way V plays he's confident you like the big guys yeah Charles Barkley is yeah early when he was more fit right not not late when he was the round mound of rebound at Auburn Robinson might have the hot hand he gives it up here to Carlos Dy getting ready to check back in for the Panthers he's been deadly tonight rudisell drives through four players hits the deck and gets that's fou go to the line with a chance to tie or take the lead so it looks like that one's called on Brent Kylie his first and uh big Logan Schmidt getting ready to check back into this one along with Aiden Daly yeah and it looks like Ean Salem Ean Salem I think he hit every part of the rim on that one doesn't get it to fall and here are the substitutions so now just a chance to tie the game mhm you've taken the lead option off the board hit that one 19 just went over the 18 and a half uh was the over under on rudil today okay on cutting daily just short off the glass Here Comes The Fast Break fer driving too hard for rudil good save great save gets it out knocked out of bounds by Panthers uh eban Salem so clockers keep the ball 602 to go they're they're tied up here in Clock Town out to finra over to S looking looking bounce past to fenstra now 20 on the shot clock Carlos drives somehow able to hold the pivot foot Robinson fires and front of the iron and in yep Robinson with six points in the second half clocker up 4139 it's their first lead since early in the first quarter vau gets fou on the way he'll go to the line to shoot [Applause] too so wow we his third Bad News Bears breaking training reference exactly right is that Don Balor back there oh is that what who en Cabell Enos Cabell it was Don Bor it was uh is it was that andar I bet andar was there Wen andar Von makes the second of the two long pass ahead rudol wide open dishes to Robinson who got fouled he'll go to the line to shoot too so mark that down as the fourth foul on vaugh the big man so I feel like the boys clock team year a few years ago now might have been preo at this point Rob had a guy that reminds has that same body style that of vau and you you loved him and I can't think he wasn't a big scorer but he got you know he got he got some points but he was a you know big body on the floor and I can't I just can't you the names always Escape me but yeah was it was it Dro I don't know that doesn't sound right I mean he was right around then so Robinson one out of two hey s keeps on the floor now helping with that press clock ticks down to about 515 to go in the game clocker up by [Applause] two vau cuts in WoW couldn't get the roll no foul doesn't get the roll great save there by rudicil and here comes Carlos feeding way ahead to Robinson the Lefty from that side from his weak side that's a tough shot for him thought he might kick it out to O'Brien but not a bad shot it's a high you know down low take the shot yeah no thinking right that's that's what you want Rob oh here goes Daly too hot to handle right through the wickets for for Logan Schmid turnover clocker ball up to 440 to go in the game that's one of the rare miscues that Logan has made in his uh limited playing time D lot of rest Dy with some heavy pressure on Carlos Robinson stops pops fires no good and we got a foul on the floor that one's going to go against sand deep I believe yeah there that physicality we're talking about Mike jinsky you could go all day with these 80s references Cana the Gman Mike shiminski Panther's going to break this one for pretty easily Daly brings it over the line 420 to go in the game clocker up by two rudicil quick hands yeah they're calling it off of uh look at that vau another terrific defensive play by Robbie rudil vau looking a little incredulous like uh never hit him [Applause] but we haven't seen rudil fire from this side of the floor tonight O'Brien drives Baseline puts it in sand Deep's hands kicks it outside Robinson for three off the front iron no good everybody hustling for a rebound the clockers have it sand deep to Robinson for the layup and in beautiful work on offense by Sandy Bry he's making the most of his minutes tonight Rob yeah mean Robins we got a travel travel wow four-point lead for the clockers 341 to go and I got to tell you now Tyler Robinson putting his name into the hat for silver Award winner of the game it's it's going to come right down to the wire tonight Rob we got a good one here yeah I love uh like you said ready making the most of his minutes but that last play he got the offensive well before that he kicked it out found the open open shooter and got the offensive rebound found the cutting Robinson as Ashland extends their lead to 44 to4 40 and possession of the ball right around that point spread so you can hear the murmurs going back and forth the Holliston fans they really know their stuff in Vegas Rob they do they do folks just a reminder you are watching Ashlin High School boys basketball on waca TV your exclusive home for ashin high school sports I'm Josh Abrams he's Rob silver we're glad to have you with us here on a cold Friday night in Clock Town if you haven't bought your bread and milk you'd better do so cuz the Snows are coming I got nothing I'm going to fo I'm going to Foxwood with my brother tomorrow till late Sunday have they named a wing after you yet a showroom perhaps that's that's not how it works it's not how it works I mean I figure you're making your share of donations down there right you know I at this point I'm more of an observer I'll watch my brother play crabs if he gets a little hot I'll uh you know he'll throw me some money I'll play with him I do have uh a ticket to collect from the Army Navy game you're betting on the military now my brother did it and he gave it to me as uh well let's focus on this game as Robinson again doing the hard work underneath took two shots couldn't get him to fall walk right there that's a he can't believe it but it was clear as day Rob yeah was a blatant travel that went on sahada so big break for the clockers up 4 323 to go and an inbound on the offensive side of the Court oh okay settling things down now under 320 to go rudicil he drives that was a nice defensive play there I didn't catch who who made it theh so making up for the travel now what do we got didn't reset the shot clock again yeah again these these guys are volunteers absolutely they probably said hey we got nobody to do the shot clock will you do it yeah and we're lock press this button press that button yeah I don't think they get a lot of training so 305 to go Panthers inbounding shot clock running and it's probably a little tough if you came to watch the game and used to watching the game you kind of you can get lost in it there's that sand deep match match up great job of forcing there it is huge shot okay Carlos beats the Press let's see what happens a little bit out of control pull it back down settle O'Brien bruil they're a little grouped a little too close together back up top to Asino two and a half to go in the game clockers up by one Baseline for O'Brien so had broke that one up so no shot clock reset here 16 seconds on the clock 227 to go fenstra in now hilling bound to rudicil finstra on the Baseline brings it back outside looking looking six on the clock now oh dangerous pass and that's going to do it turnover Daly has it now 205 to go in the game 4443 clockers Panthers with the ball Daily Now sand deep with a hand knocks it aside it's loose off his foot and out of bounds 19 seconds left on the shot clock yeah that was unfortunate on their last offensive possession for Ashley and at that point you got to ril's got to go to the ball he's got to take control and he can always create something Dy pushing off with the left hand and loses it focused a little bit more on his Defender Ruda still for he got knocked that got blocked by Schmid cuz he waited Schmid up ahead to dily yep no good back iron Big Break there Carlos pushing ahead they're going going uh end to end right now rudil drives the lane gets fouled on the way and he'll go to the line to shoot two wow so sahada gets rudil on the way to the hoop so suad is his second that I guess they said he wasn't on the shot so fer inbounding underneath to is ready for the pass and he Nails it the monster game for ready the whole ashin bench came off their seats for that one rudil blocks it three on one Robinson to rudil off his foot oh getting a little too excited there the clocker up by three a minute 16 to go on the Panthers call time out we got a barn burner here Rob it's coming down to the wire clockers by three so just a reminder to our live streaming audience we are monitoring comments so say hi give a shout out to a player friend or family or let us know your nomination for tonight's Silver Star Award of the game you and chase you never get it right it's the silver medal the silver stars you give during the star the star you know the star they're the star of the game they get the silver but that's that's the whole that's why it's they don't get a gold star they get a silver star silver stars are like the Tommy points it's like it's like when you get 100% on your oh you probably never did but when you in elementary school and you had a good grade they throw a little star on there sometimes it's gold everything but math I was Finding everything but math and then you get then we give out the silver metal the silver medal I had um actually at when hiy and I did it we we had I had some Hanukkah G I had the big silver yep that that's what I gave out what happened to the fortune cookies I missed the fortune cookies I have some I have some it just you know when I do it with Chase Chase is so focused he doesn't like to vear off path he's so he's still young he's still learning he he's he's going to be great okay Panthers inbound clock is running a minute 10 to go in the game clockers by three Panthers with the ball Schmid way out High to grab that one yeah sh a little lazy with that pass oh look at that rudil breaks up another one trying to get a foul call doesn't get it or trying to get it was getting the out- of- bounds call looking for the Green Light Special less than a minute to go 17 on the shot clock for the Panthers toada inbounding for Holliston Robinson task with guarding daily the high score for Holliston well once he drives somebody's going to have to help out there he goes no good but he he got fouled who they going to call this one on finstra looks like fenra that's his fifth somehow I missed one from be earlier on so daily at the line to shoot two I I have five of six at the line tonight for daily yeah I have the five [Music] part okay Deon O'Brien checking in here for fenstra who sits down with five fouls 48.2 seconds to go clockers by three Dy misses the first that could be big quick reset your clocker on the floor right now sand deep Carlos Devin Tyler and Robbie Dy hits the second one clockers by two they're going to say that one got knocked out of bounds by the Panthers much to the panther crowd chrin 45 seconds to go Deon O'Brien inbounding somebody's got to get to help out with Deon there we go Carlos has it guarded closely by Dy draws the foul that's four so both teams in the penalty on the next foul is that D's first foul look at [Music] that okay Deon O'Brien inbounding right in front of our table guarded by vaugh Carlos Springs free guarded closely Again by Daly 42 seconds to go to rudicil matched up with sahada rudil little too fancy there Tyler Robinson tracks that down we got a foul away from the ball oh a timeout a timeout I was screened by the players MH time out on the floor Mike Norman calls it 30.6 seconds to go clockers by two what's the play call I I know what you're going with the picket fence yeah exactly well if you're going to Tee It Up like that it's the only play you [Laughter] know so just a reminder folks uh the uh the boys basketball next game here on waca will be Tuesday January 16th at 6:30 against denam Rob silver my good friend next to me and Chase Abrams will have the call here on waca TV and Robie I'm starting to get a little sentimental that we're into like the final season for Chase doing these games here on waca as as a uh as a high school student well you know he's he's always welcome back on the break if he's uh coming back wherever that may be we we don't we don't know yet we you know we don't know where he's taking his talents next season but uh there will be a press conference when it's official yeah he's very adamant about not discussing he's F heink yeah I know he he's a great guy So speaking of which we do have openings here at waca TV it works one of my buddies as a uh as a gift for groomsmen gave all the groomsman one of those oh in uh yeah but like in you like like a remake of of this classic toy was awesome so here it is two possession game huge shot Rudell now just let it go let it go okay everybody got baseball pass this just about sand with a big put it up interception he draws the foul one second to go and if you have hollon plus the four and a half Ashley and leading by four a this might be on uh this might be on ESPN bad beats so saying deep at the line to shoot two he was one of two in the other and there it is he did it three points tonight for sand de 4944 he should be at least getting an honorable mention tonight for the silver award talk wow doesn't make that one that's it and it comes out five point that is a final 4944 Ashen with their first TV win in two years second win of the season they hit it when it counted it looks like they outscored hollison there in the fourth quarter 14-5 wow wow talking about shutting it down some clutch basketball there at the end for the clockers yeah that was um thank you talking to me of course of course uh yeah so uh let's let's do a little recap I mean on the hollon side we'll just I mean daily I had them we're not I'm not going to count one he was a onean scoring machine tonight had him at 23 you know plus or minus you know a that would give him more than half of the uh Panther points tonight and the next uh highest scorer on the on the squad there was Schmidt with six and uh vaugh who also had uh six and that did it for uh Holliston but on the Ashlin side pretty well balanced like we said everybody there on that starting five can uh hit the three and Tyler Robinson had a three Carlos aspino had a couple had a couple J B came in Deon O'Brien quiet not on the scoreboard foul trouble hurt him but uh fortunately it didn't hurt the team as a whole sand deep ready uh three points but uh a huge defensive presence really doing a nice job putting the body on their big man yeah Logan Schmidt and uh it was Robbie rudil with his one of his best offensive performances of the night what he answered the Bell he answered the Bell tonight you know the the criticism on him is he couldn't hit he couldn't hit shots at home he certainly did it tonight leading score for the clockers we are looking for a big game from him and he delivered yeah Robinson 11 Espino 10 I I have to give have to give the uh silver medal Sil silver medal to uh Robbie rudil honorable mention I I mean there's always Honorable Men this team plays so hard you don't get a win in the tvl without uh a bunch contributors look I mean going back to rut for just a moment obviously we've talked about his offense leading scorer did a great job you know hitting the shots when he needed to but also Stellar defensive play so many times that he was breaking up passes forcing turnovers I mean he was really active on both ends of the court tonight yeah and the other thing that really doesn't get enough uh credit is he very really is on the bench plays a lot of minutes you're right he did he did you know sit for maybe a minute at one point in the maybe in the first quarter but for the most part he's out there you know 95 to 99% of the time so um okay the other I we certainly want to mention Tyler Robinson right had a three-pointer in the first half and then he lit it up in the second another three-pointer a couple of uh field goals and three foul shots what I had for him and he and again hitting some big shots he was a key contributor down the stretch especially in that in that fourth quarter on the big run and um turning a big deficit into a b Big Win here tonight for the clockers and the same with caros aspino who's a two-time silver Medal winner this year he just plays hard and he plays T of minutes as well handles the ball really really well I can only think of one time tonight that he was on the bench so a lot of minutes you know Carlos has always been one of our favorites and um going to certainly miss him next year but he's he is the spark plug you know the heart and soul of this team yeah so that uh that pretty much does it the uh I do want to before we go I do also mention we talked about it down the stretch sand deep the four and a half point spread no I don't want to talk about the spread anymore sand deep nailed with the foul shot with one second left I was going to give him credit for his great play tonight you know making the most of his minutes and you want to give him credit for beating the spread well the Ashley and fans are going home happy because I mean it came up Five Points okay so with that one we go ahead and wrap it up Rob yeah so uh once again the final here tonight Ashley and cler Holliston Panthers 44 for my partner Josh Abrams I'm Rob silver saying good night and go clockers

indivisible with liy and justice for all welcome everyone the first board meeting of the year uh welcome Bob new board member thank you let's just act decent okay okay um is there any additions to the agenda uh James i' move to move agenda item 12 contracts approval and appointments to agenda item nine to switch those two agenda items that sounds appropriate okay second okay okay all those in favor I I being this is the uh first board meeting of the new year and the board meetings now are con every year first of the year versus in the middle of the year so um we need to have a motion to approve the resolution to stablish selection of school board officers as presented we we haven't done it yet I think this is now where you guys discuss and talk about board president or vice Bo Vice pres okay moving down election of president vice president oh that's what I was trying to okay that's what I was like okay I'm confused so so we need to pass the resolution to establish the election of the school board officer that's okay I hear a motion yeah I'll make a motion to approve the resolution to establish the election of school board officers as presented second second discussion all in favor vote Mo car moving on next agenda item is election of president vice president discussion motions well I think James doing J second let's do both at the same time meet L you want to do it yeah yeah Mo elect James motion to elect James Higgins as president and Lucas all Vice theard of Education of Burlington Unified School District 244 for 2024 second second discussion no we stu okay all those V on we look forward to another good year car [Music] motion to approve [Music] gussion motion carry 6 we have very nice donation from uh trust point for the buron Early Learning Center so we thank Kimberly Angela and Trust point student recognitions so certainly we'd like to recommend those uh recognize what did I say recogn second grade Alan Griffith Kinsley KN noran Tatton Aiden Troyer Adam tutill for their reading great job and then third grade Charlie Carl Charlie Carlson winry Charles Jay Clark Oakley Freeman Abigail Hazen Andrew Hurst gonard Lucy Bridget McMurray Hayden Ma Abra Abram Peterson Mason Bret mck ready Owen Williams a lot of yes fourth grade huh there's a lot here so we'll read yeah so rather than reading all 120 something we we High recognize those folks but student that met that zi student scored 90% or higher status on spring fall 2023 map for fall 2023 fastbridge language math reading or science assessments will be recognized in their respective buildings the board is asked to recognize these 113 students for the achievements and I apologize that I didn't get to read all your names but I would have been out of and they will be recognized in their buildings at assemblies at El middle and high school so great job to all those students and their families and the teachers that work with them absolutely congratulations to the administration and the teacher for sure [Music] concern written items so we received a thank you note from family of Roy kman father of Craig and B kman for the memorial contribution 35 to hospice sorry so we to go for school reports you have anything helloo um I don't have any additions um December was a really fast month and I was gone the last seven days since semester so that made it really really fast for me um I do I didn't put it in my note but uh a lot of people stepped up and helped out wise out of the building recovering from my surgery so I appreciate all everybody helping uh Christmas season can be an exciting and W up time in the elementary school so um I just appreciate the efforts for every keeping things running smoothly and I'm very glad to be back at work good good thank you so we're still study up nine new students or um yes yes they've all started and um well we'll probably have a few more our preschool really took a boom right here we had a few movein right before the break and then we have we had a screening in early December and we'll be um or meeting in probably add and a few kids from that screen so there's probably still two or three more preschoolers coming on the load uh there as well so that group started out a little under numbers at the start of the year um but we're making up for it rapidly right here at the semester thank you have for okay Middle School Matt all right one one thing that I would like to add is um as we start uh recognizing some students of the month um specifically around our Eight Keys of Excellence um Kent Medlock at fittings export um has generously donated uh almost $500 for us to recognize those students this this second semester so we we greatly appreciate Ken yeah thank you do something yes very similar programs what the high school is doing with their recognition those students so very good excellent thanks to thank you Matt thank K and Jody high school she is I'm here um the only thing I want to add on that we have the new results for the ACT work keys and so this is the class of 2025 so our Juniors and 85.5% of them earned a certificate and that is a bronze silver gold or platinum and we're at the one of the highest rates for having the Platinum so I'm pretty excited that we're back up a little bit from we about 79% last year of certifications and 85% this year so we pretty pumped about or yeah pretty pumped about that so good job and then um we we are we're sitting at about 261 right now we had four new enroles uh semester okay questions job thank you special education I don't see Lindsay on there Lindsay is on there y Lindsay I'm sorry yeah it's okay I'm here um I don't really have much to add except for um we did see a few resignations um right before the break and retirement obviously that's on here and didn't even one since then but we're holding pretty steady um I have uh opening at high school I have one at the elementary school that we may have um somebody returning to us but Phill we're going to look into that a little bit and then I do now have um two openings and Lebo so a little bit more but nothing like last year so we're still doing pretty well and most of our new hires that we be brought on in August are are still with us so question not really um much more to add um we are actually we are really excited for next Monday uh in service we have a speaker coming in to work with our staff on Eddie climber and then uh in the afternoon our U Middle School and Elementary School will train on uh pair assess and um the class link which I've mentioned in this or past reports so excited for that day okay thank you and Marsh yeah definitely J here we are starting off brand new calendar year I want to thank all our administrators and directors for all the work that they do uh again that leadership is so important and I want to thank you guys for Board of Education appreciation month again thank you for your service to the students and staff and community and you have some nice things there uh good to be a board member in January hopefully it's good to be a board member all the time so again thank you for your service and and and your your time and talent and and and input to help us have a terrific School District so uh want to touch base on uh just parent and community staff involvement uh that piece that we have as far as from our strategic plan trying to cover one item um each month from our strategic plan you know we just involved the community a lot over the past eight years and I've listed a lot of different things there from site council's P distri clubs uh you more linkages like we just had tonight with our alumni which we would have had 20 alumni on on our Microsoft teams but who knows maybe next year we'll have even more giving us some good input and some information that we will be able to share you know with our administrators and just make ourselves even better than we already are right now but you know the advisory groups I TR I really truly believe they've been very beneficial and I think it's helped us out a lot to get input and when we you know when we have a topic comes up that if we inform people I think it just makes it that much better for us to be able to you know to to share information to to to get cons I mean support I don't know if it's consensus but support uh and understanding what we're trying to do so um there's a whole list of different groups and different things that we've done you know the strategic planning group was a really good uh a good group for us to do last year with Brit Hart leading it for us and so again U just I think uh not everybody wants to be a board member like you guys but there's a lot of people that want to know about what's going on and I think we've done a pretty good job of informing uh people of what's happening in our district so um again we going to try to continue to hit on an area uh each month from our strategic plan we talk about this as well with our administrative group as as as we have our meetings uh our monthly meetings and throughout the year so um that's all that I have we're just ready to start off with a brand new calendar year and ready to go with the second semester that's good questions anyone easy any board members have anything that talk about bring results report who wants to talk about that anybody got specific anybody wants to start administrat I know that I I'll just add real quickly I was tuned in last month to the board meeting uh live and I know James you had said it that time like you felt like it was a lot of data so I did change what I uh reported in there I just added we have we have to report some information to the state uh yearly uh for intervention groups so I just shared the information there instead of as many graphs try to convince that a little bit so if that uh suffices what you're kind of looking for I guess I just like feedback on that yes that was exactly right thank you very much I mean for me I don't know what of everybody else next but I was in the same opinion oh everybody agrees so thank you okay good thank you appreciate that anything else on thata reports um come you know we this year we have transition to to fast Bridge specifically at the middle school and high school um on January 26 myself and uh three teachers will be traveling to Lawrence um and what they're going to do is provide some more specific information on the reports we have and how it can impact student learning um and so it's pretty exciting because we're we're right now we're finishing up our winter testing and so we will have some comparative data uh from the fall to the winter um and there'll be a group of us that will be we'll be in LS to be able to look at that together so um uh it's going to be a great opportunity for us I'll just add one more thing to um this is the ELA report and readings really uh the center of the Wheelhouse for us in the elementary building so we are uh more so than math we're in this data a lot we're tracking U how these kids are doing because um it's really uh you know we know it's our job to get them going and so we have a lot of requirements for the state um so we're I don't know if you saw the slide but we are taking the letters information that we're learning and that's one thing that we'll be uh making some um building wide changes in the upcoming year that's one of the targets for us to continue to improve so um always ready to answer questions if you have any but this is one area that I feel like we are really honed in on in our building I appreciate your focus on that certainly Nationwide that's a big issue so um glad that we're on top of that so and real quick before maybe either Jody or Taylor go on a reminder that again in in terms of assessments cancas tests are among the hardest in the United States remember that and we should have kids in levels 2 three and four that's the ideal scenario level one sometimes it it remember it the definition of level one shows a limited ability to understand and use skills and knowledge needed for postsecondary Success a lot of people think level one those kids can't read that's not what that means it doesn't mean that students can't read it just means they might have some trouble in college although many do succeed there because remember just one test doesn't Define a student and Jody just mentioned about uh some of the information regarding uh the uh oh gosh a link the U oh what the work keys thank you the work keys assessment that is a very very just remember level one doesn't mean students can't read it just means it's not as easy for them doesn't mean they won't be successful uccessful in the postsecondary realm of their life it means it's just a little more challenging it's a little more difficult and we are obviously trying to move those kids into levels two three and four as time goes on so anyway Jody Taylor I don't know if you guys have anything else to add in yeah and so piggy back off of U what Matt with the charts that we put in there too is it's um we're at that that stage of I'm going to be attending the the meeting in Jan January as well um and so we'll be able to look at that comparison data and we I've been the report that we start testing um this week and next week we start testing again so we'll have that comparative data but then when we look at act remember um always that we are testing everyone and as we're doing the preac um their freshman year and looking at that what what we're diving into is to see that comparison over that two years time um so I'm starting to have have our counselors um dig into counselor and myself dig into that getting that and so we can start looking through through that we're good in English for right than the the state average um in English and reading we're just a little bit below but again when we are testing all our Juniors that's um some choose to have have their accommodations if they have a i some choose not to um so we do have to keep that in consideration um when we look at are overall scores for all of our kids okay thank you J anyone else have any comments thank you for your work on this certainly have yeah I'm Mo to accept the ELA results monitoring report as reasonable interpretation of the Board of Education results policy second second any discussion all motion car okay motion evaluation tools now yeah it should be there so we do 12 9 a or 12 a Greenbush evaluation tools okay these are the evaluation documents that we work with with Greenbush Educational Service Center um to be able to have more specific documents for evaluations than just a one size fits all for whether it's a teacher or a library media Specialist or a counselor or school nurse or whatever that's all those types of things so these are specific to those job descriptions I don't know if you have any questions on those administrators had a chance to review and look over them to make any adjustments as needed um we will our thought is to go ahead with what we have now unless you guys have any comments or any questions or any concerns and then if we need to revise them as we do these evaluations with our actual staff we'll look to make those revisions for for next year but right now we think they're in pretty good shape unless anybody had any questions that we feel like these are going to be much more specific and valuable evaluation tools for their jobs so the only thing I have is on there it says 2023 2024 school years of the 2024 school year we're actually we're actually able to use these this year yes we can because the number of these people are one time evaluation people instead two time evaluation people so we can actually use them this year question so we use these in the past or not I'm confused we have not no we had kind of a one- siiz fits-all document with a company called uh Talent Ed and um we paid a service for that about $3,500 a year for that service um we uh have a free service with Greenbush our Educational Service Center you guys have approved some of these F positions already correct I'm with you now you got it want to make sure problem good good question okay any other questions on these motion to approve the Green Bush evaluation tools for the instructional specialist occupational therapist physical therapist school counselor school psychologist speech language pathologist and social worker for the 2023 2024 school year all second discussion [Music] Mo car yes we'll do that okay moving on to 12b okay I'm going to turn this over to Jody uh and Taylor uh for regarding the high school credit requirement the class of 20128 will have new graduation requirements so they jod and Taylor they've been working on this with their building leadership team and their staff to create the plan moving forward and this will be the eighth graders this year as freshman next year we'll start with these requirements so Jody Taylor you guys are on okay so the BLT mat and um these are the suggestions and they were pretty admit about um increasing the credits to 25 um one of the main reasons there is that right now um our students could fa a whole year of school seven credits and still graduate so I broke that down um on that sheet and it you know there's seven courses per year times four years that's 28 credits and then we have that cap time and they get 0.25 per semester times 8 semester that's that two credits so that's the 30 credits so with 23 credits for graduation a kid really could f a whole year school so there her philosophy is kind of that good to great is how do we um make our diploma um I guess um how did they state it in here it's um more valuable is that if um and we feel that um Mr Wilson and I feel that with what we put in place um for that power hour and are um getting our kids the help they need and that self-management we feel we're in the right track to meet this just fine um and so what's also included on there is just the three things they looked at is the 25 credits the 24 credits and then what the 23 credits um are look like and on those sheets we just focused on that First Column the changes are that there's um four that that uh 4.5 um English for communications um what they have what our department say is we still want the kids to have for English and then have that point of speech or forensics um like act leadership something that gives them the speaking ability the seven stem credits three science four Society Humanities and then employability and life skills they're adding that financial literacy for our um eighth graders coming in and then seven electives and so if you just follow down on 25 24 or the 23 option really all it comes down to is how many electives that they have at the end of the day so that's our recommendation um uh at this time I think anybody have any questions about that are the I understand there's three options here with the different number of electives what are the current standards for the number in Communications stem Humanities because it sounded like the employability and life skills was new so what what was the N what are the current numbers for graduates this year okay so I think I heard you is that the communication section is our English section and it is for um this stem is our math and science which does hasn't hasn't really changed chips three and three but they did add that one stem elective on it so right now it's not called stem it's just English math science Scher studies um PE health and electives and so what the state has done is broken it down into these new categories so as you see stem it actually encompasses the science and the math and then a stem elective um and then government your social studies is now named Society Humanities um and then the Fine Arts are put in there so really it's the the only items that are were added is the 0 five of communications and there's the stem refective there's um financial literacy and yeah that's it and so um the what what's nice is our kids take these requirements anyway basically and so it's not like we're adding anything to their plate they we've just reorganized it welcome yeah definitely didk thank you J any more questions thank you Jody uh moving on I'll move to approve and increase in the required credits for graduation from 23 to 25 beginning in the class of second discussion motion carries 6 Z and as you approve these now a big reason they're approving these in January is because we're going to start an enrollment coming up here pretty quick believe it or not for the 2425 school year so we can get this information out to the incoming class The Freshman for next year so thank you for doing that you guys I believe you're dismissed move on on the executive session thank you guys thank you have a good night you too we're going to uh motion to recess in executive session for five minut discuss non Personnel exception under coma and then to return no session in the room at the end of that time to include just the board second Association yeah I'm here a motion progress discussion Vota 6 and negotiations we put that there just in case but we'll probably have one in February because we're compiling a list of some things that we would like to to discuss we may have a short one in February start talking about M preparation for our March 31 you have another community meeting schu for we do yes that's Wednesday Wednesday not this Wednesday but next Wednesday January 17 yes we do January 17th 6:00 so if you have anything you want me to do any research on before then I might have some dollars and cents financial information possibly some basic information and then the Fifth Fifth Monday in January I do have a gentleman from Piper Sandler coming they're a wanding company uh that works with school districts and other entities coming for a kind of a on hour type scenario to discuss um some some some just some information regarding bond interest rates specifically projects and there things that they they work with different different districts on for projects so anyway that'll be the 29th I think 29th so I'll get more information out to you guys later on that okay anyone else have anything thank you for the nice letters yes thank you appreciate thank you for the Sonic card all that so nothing else here thank you thanks good night

got sgo community Unit School District board oh where is it oh where is it okay someone going to be a no here he comes right now okay you got caught in snow5 in oh jeez yeah we never did uh take a are you ready I call to order the asgo community Unit School District Board of Education meeting for January 8th 2024 can I have a roll call please Mr Cerone here Mr gwood pres Miss Johnson uh present Dr Mario pres Mr pres misson present Miss ven present and our St student ambassadors is B present Luke lwood present all right Pledge of Allegiance will you all stand with me I pledge of Ali to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice okay 4.1 public comment on behalf of the Board of Education I would like to thank the public for attending tonight's meeting we value the feedback we received from our members of the public and encourage everyone to take an active interest in their Public School System residents interested in speaking to the board this evening are asked to have completed a comment card and presented it to the secretary to the board when the secretary calls your name I ask that you come to the microphone state your name for the public record and provide your feedback please note that comments are limited to five minutes per person and that no discussion of personnel matters stating staff names or responses to your questions are permitted the board does not participate in discussion during public comment followup to your questions or concerns will be addressed by Administration through the contact inform information provided on the comic card thank you Michelle Trager good evening and happy New Year um I want to start with agenda item 8.4 the approval of Junior High School English Eng uh learner support I'm really excited that the need is recognized and that it is recognized as urgent um the company the district intends to use looks really good and I like that they have symposiums about multilingual special education perspectives and Publications about welcoming bilingual Learners with disabilities into the Dual language program I want you to approve it uh my question is what then um I would like the district to carefully consider its position that we are unable to fill the junior high El coordinator position it's been open since October but how much outreach are we doing to our own valuable and experienced staff I think we have at least two DL teachers who would be qualified for this position how attractive have we made this position to them yes then if one of our teachers moved into that position we'd have to then fill a position for a DL classroom teacher but that should be easier than filling the coordinator role how much are we reaching out within our own community and are we training our current employees how to respond to direct inquiries um this is a f an example I heard um that's recent a parent who's a native Spanish speaker a teacher in her home country new to our district therefore might not understand how our big school system works ask the front office at one of our elementaries that has a DL program if they were in need of any DL teachers and the answer was simply no we're full here um if that's accurate we need to do a better job training our employees to redirect such inquiries maybe that school doesn't need any DL teachers right now uh but why not direct those inquiries to deak and who they should contact there maybe another building needs a DL teacher or a bilingual sub or a bilingual ta and maybe this person who inquired has the necessary credentials or would be close to having them as our eldl population continues to grow we can't miss opportunities for utilizing resources in our own Community it will be valuable to have this company give some structure and a proven system to set a foundation but then what who will oversee what is put in place and see that it continues we don't want to throw $2,600 a day out the window why not get creative work with our own staff who may be qualified pay them to take on this role in some capacity to do Consulting and implement M mentation and ensure continuity into the future if not outright employ one of our own staff in that full-time position I want to talk about um there's a lot of good going on um uh I'm going to try not to say the names our el director and our super our assistant superintendent for curriculum have been working um with the El DL Community um frequently and we have momentum and I don't know the last time I could say we actually had momentum like almost to the point where it's too late but I'm so glad about it now um and we had a great e Forum in November Dr katti was able to attend that as well I'm also really excited again I'm going to try not to say the names our Dei director and I believe her title is community outreach uh kind of reworking parent University to pull that El DL Community under that umbrella that is going to be crucial um and that's another very exciting um event that's happening and I'm excited to see how that works the things we still want to work on um I'm never going to accept that there's not enough students in DL to justify an honors social studies class for them we still need to work on bridging math for those incoming sixth graders improving student supervision and listening when parents ask for further investigation on a narrative that turns out not to be accurate we can't improve our communication and response plans if we don't start off with the accurate information I also want to say that January is brain injury month and prenatal exposure to alcohol is a brain injury um I also know that behaviors are a concern for a lot of parents a lot of teachers a lot of Administrators they seem to be increasing in frequency and severity I want to say that the Illinois Council for children with behavior disorders winter conference which is virtual is the first weekend of February thank you very much thank you thank you did I good always okay now I would like to ask Dr kelti to give his superintendent report thank you Madame President uh board uh Community it's uh great to be back and I'm uh I hope that all of our students and staff are feeling rejuvenated and our families after a welld deserved and winter break and and also taking a lot of vitamin C I uh personally went through a long bout of illness uh due to a variety of things and I would say that the more we work to show up our health uh really important um as we turn this Leaf so I want to welcome every you're back um this served as a time of uh this break was really important also as a time of reflection and time with our loved ones and as we step into this new year together um let's continue to harness the energy that we've been building this year um that comes with a fresh start of 2024 for um this second half of our year um uh holds promise and opportunities for continued growth and learning and personal development um none more symbolic of that than um on the was it December 29th we gathered at the Ws Crossing roundabout to uh cut the ribbon with many of our legislators and City and Village and just uh and members of our board were there as well and what a wonderful symbol of collaboration coming to fruition and I I look forward to this continue work I'm just so proud of our community and 308 for all the work we do around that I um on a similar um in a different tone I do want to take pause and I want to invite us to um hold a moment of of Silence this evening uh we we experienced uh several losses over the last couple weeks um during this really ju supposition of time of Celebration and excitement um we also want to be mindful of those who are facing grief sadness and really trying to find a silver lining of what can be very difficult um we've lost um a staff member we've lost two former high school students and um sadly a second grader and so we want to do everything we can to send positive energy into the the world and I'm going to share a little bit more now about who those individuals are uh first uh with our staff member Mr Michael Jacobs um I was able to attend his uh celebration of life this weekend um he was a ohos staff member as a special education teacher beloved soccer coach um Mr Jacob was known for his dedication and a true advocate for all students uh Maximo Cruz was a second grader at Churchill Elementary School Maximo will be remembered for his sweet smile and positive demeanor Daniel Maya was a 2023 ohos graduate uh Dan was a true fighter he overcame so many challenges his smile laughter and positivity will be missed and Alex Noak who was a ohos graduate from 2020 um Alex was an outgoing happy and kind person always willing to help others um would you please join me for a minute a moment of reflection for these uh four individuals and their families and the communities around them who are grieving for thank you and this is always an important reminder to just reach out to each other and support each other and and uh we are we are a community and we are a family and that's what makes this community 308 so special and so let's let's continue to lean on each other and knowing that no favor is really too small ever to ask for and supporting each other and with that I'll turn it back to you thank you Dr k bye 5.2 we'll have our student ambassador reports all right due to our long winter break we have only had one ssac meeting since our last school board meeting throughout our last meeting we went over our schedule for the January 26th Ascend event determining our final speaker count for Ascend and finalized our procedure for students to select their speaker of choice we are asking asking parents students and Educators to keep an eye out for the finalized plan for Ascend along with all the important information on our wonderful speakers over break I was able to create a presentation that students will receive with all the important information on our speakers currently we have six incredible speakers including our very own Mr Gatewood and Dr katti lastly I would like to thank Luke along with our board and administration for a wonderful first semester in this position I'm looking forward to continuing this vital work in the upcoming semester um throughout the break I took some time uh to reflect on the past semester and the things that the ssac did well and also some of the areas that we need to improve on um we look to improve communication with students teachers admin Etc um this will be essential to the success of our work for this upcoming semester and the future of the ssac we also look to the Future as we reopen our work on our our teacher survey to get some much needed feedback as it took the back seat to our much anticipated Ascend that takes place later this month I would also like to thank everyone for a fantastic first semester as the ssac is looking forward to getting back to work in starting 2024 and this new semester very strong thank you very much to our student ambassadors 5.3 we'll have our board committee reports have equity in teaching and learning would like to start there I didn't have any questions okay oh oh my god of course oh goad yeah go go ahead I don't need to but I can you want I'm having trouble finding the notes right now so um sure one of the things we discussed was uh the involvement with the map Center and um upcoming professional development um we also discussed uh organization curriculum audit process reviewed proposals submitted by the vendors um after looking at those we definitely recommended that um they be brought to the entire board so that you can we can all see uh various proposals I think there was a question at some point I can't remember where or when about uh why we settled on who we settled on and um I believe that after looking at the the vendor proposals it was pretty eye openening um there's definitely some very intriguing aspects to that audit that I think will be um really telling and and pretty excited about um and then um we our next we agreed the next agenda items would include the ELA pilot and um also um space needs with the our El program as well I'm sure there's more that we can add but I would I just think that the curriculum audit is going to give us some really great information um I'm looking forward to getting that started and then hearing the results I think will give us um some clear Direction on where we need to go I just want to add to that that we're really paying attention to this really being a opportunity to work collaborative with our uh unions across the district and with all staff so that it's really more of a shared learning experience um anytime somebody says oh you know what's going on or audit it's like oh wow what is that about you know and so I just want to tell everybody that this is really more a reflection opportunity for us to think about how we do things better and so that's something that we will be bringing back to the equity teaching as well about some of the progress we're making around collaborating with our our unions okay very good um next finance and Facilities it was um you weren't there wasna say I'm pointing to Mary Joe um it was very it was very short um we didn't really cover too much Jen had a your the M the first point here was um something that you were pretty ad about so I'll let you speak to that um got some got some pull updates um pull gutters um some infrastructure improvements and safety improvements that we need to you know look at there and relatively soon um we were told we were get an update on the uh RFP for Food Service um at every meeting and there was um nothing to share at this point um and then we're on track for the the plank uh um air conditioning unit or rooftop unit roof rooftop unit so rtu so we actually spent some time talking about the um just the incredible crew um that our maintenance department has led by Mr Queen and um some some um damage that uh we found in what was that was that last meeting with all was yeah with all the debris and the oh my okay in the uh sewer system and un what was found is a lot of Vape cartridges and um shoes and and G bucket and I can't hear him G gon bucket a five gallon bucket worth so um we do ask our students not to use it as a trash can um so just once again I cannot thank that team enough Mr Queen their responsiveness the way they get in there and take care of it so that we have the least in our interuption to our students is possible um just really grateful for that team we just um per the last our last board meeting something that we've been trying very hard to between um our last Administration and this Administration is just to bring forward proposals with r vendors as best practice so uh we look forward to seeing that um moving forward and then I believe um isb's backlog on um food rfps but I do believe we are doing a tasting in March with the different companies that have submitted rfps it's quite a big number which we're really happy about and um Amanda thank you so much for leading that up and um taking that on it's something that um we've been hoping to do in the district for a very long time and I just want to say and I don't know if we mentioned it but um uh Terry gachi who um is was our um our Administrative Assistant has retired and we just want to thank her for her amazing service to this district for many years and she will be sorely missed but um Mr obami is bringing in someone um transitioning someone in an ex in this in our succession plan and we're very excited to uh it's going to be a seamless transition so we're very excited but we are very much going to miss Terry yes so we talked about um I forgot that that's one of the things we talked about was all the Vapes in the uh and the the drainage yeah in the sewer um so we did talk about maybe doing um some more preemptive type things to prevent those types of you know buildups from happening in the future and'll save us um over the long term um and by by getting the necessary equipment yeah we don't have to rent because as we keep renting this this um this tool it we can pay for one and then we can have it and we can address that situation a lot sooner then put it on schedule to go like yes different buildings here rather than waiting till it's a yeah causing you know school closures and stuff like that and also maybe some preemptive uh communication to our students not to dump their trash in the sewers yes so so or student it doesn't it doesn't necessarily need to be students it could be it could be yes yeah um one of the things too that I'd be interested in is the cost that we're finding this because uh just as a historical reference to take us back when um the state and listen I'm not arguing for against I always preface what I'm about to say but when the state decided to legalize marijuana one of the things that I had personal conversations with legislators about was some of this is going to filter into our schools we're going to see an increase and things like vaping and so forth in our schools and there's going to be a cost to us and one of the things that at the time that I had advocated for was some of that tax revenue the local tax revenue to go directly to the schools I'm not saying the county count doesn't need it there's absolutely things that can be done at the county level I'm not saying there is an estate tax that helps us as well however this is just another example of some of the cost again and you know just like to kindly remind those who who write legislation and do these things that um we're we're a lot of times the front lines right front lines when it comes to mental health and here we are again on the front lines again I'd be interested in the cost just because I think that would be something useful to share uh so that we could say Hey listen listen if if you don't believe us here's physically something that has cost us because I uh I am you know based off of what I'm reading I'm not saying that that's exactly what's going on uh all the time but uh there's definitely been a correlational uh increase um in in vaping that we've seen since the law passed and again not arguing for or against it's not the purpose of of that piece just that there's a cost there's always a cost cost benefit and sometimes a we also have money from our lawsuit as well yes so thank you all right moving on to policy and legislative any comments in that regard I can do that one um most of our meeting was reviewing policy uh good good good good majority of it there was a lot to review and we're not quite uh through it but we did a um or we are bringing several policy suggestions uh from press uh to tonight's vote uh we had a couple items we wanted some more information on uh so there's still more to do uh but it was productive and that we're got these ones on the agenda for tonight and the only thing I'll add on the legislative end is I had a conversation with uh another board member outside of here who um were going to get together and kind of discuss what they do for their legislative committee they um bring in other districts I know and they have conversations with quite a few legislators so they're larger than us but um there's always the opportunity for Partnerships and what have you we did not have a lot of time to discuss a lot of legislative in the policy and legislative committee and uh I always like to remind that we combine those and and uh both are definitely in need can you just extend your meetings a little longer then is that what you're saying is you need more time for the legislative piece well I mean we we certainly could um the question becomes again like um you know um I me I don't have a problem with that doesn't matter me I mean it it I would definitely want to take the feedback from our staff to see I mean I I would remind us that they're they've already worked a long day and so if we're asking them to come in like extra on top of extra that could be I mean I don't want to speak for them and I certainly do care about them so so I think know when um last year when a lot of the heavy lifting in the F in the um policy aspect kind of thought maybe it would be a little lighter this year is it not going to be it's again it's I think it's always going to be a reflection of legislation and that's I I I agree that the two are definitely combined but you have the proactive piece which is supposed to be the legislative piece what do we see as a need and one of the things in board comments that I'll bring up tonight is uh um HB uh um sorry HB 3822 and the implications there right and so there's opportunities on the legislative end which is the proactive end right and that uh HB 3822 centers around dual language and and um what the state recognizes as issues and also legislation that they've uh passed to kind of try and address some of those things but then there's the outside right there's the there's the followup which is the policy piece so when you pass legislation I don't want to use the word mandate but there's there's mandates there's changes to to to Legal code all these things that then we have to address yeah okay thank you very much for all um those I do have a question because I feel like I looked at board docs the other day and it's changed but what has happened to policy 830 it's approval tonight say again it's for approval tonight okay thank you okay okay 5.4 board member comments who would like to start um sure um I did attend uh Dan Maya's wake and um you know it's very sad um but you know there was so many of the artifacts that were presented um you know at the Wake were uh um things that have been done with the schools and um so just um all of our students are is so important and we just got to we got we need to make sure that we're doing the best we can for them um life is precious right um additionally um since we last got together um did some holiday Char charity work um we intend to keep doing that throughout the year this is just basically my reminder to the community that you know now the holidays are over there's still plenty of things that we can do there's plenty of contributions that we can make um with your your your school um Community um your nation you know whatever you want to do in order to contribute um I was also uh you know we had a uh pancake breakfast for our transportation team um and it's my understanding that that was a relatively unique um event um and I'm I'm glad I was able to participate you know board members and and District leadership uh made pancakes I was uh I was on The Griddle I don't know if I was making the best pancakes ever but um I I think they were okay um but you know that was great and I'd love to be invited to to more of those types of things you know as you and and I encourage us to do more of those things um seemed like it was uh um went well with the the team um and then yeah I I intended the roundabout um celebration was 20 minutes it wasn't you know I hear some comments you know oh making a big deal off it was a 20-minute thing and it was 15 years in the making um so IID talked to uh um we talked about it quite a bit in Planning and Zoning every single project um it's a chicken in the egg um but it was um it was a must um so this you know glad to see that we're expanding to four lanes you know the roundabout um I know I'm moving a lot quicker through there today was uh the first time kind of you know with with the School traffic as well um as you know uh regular traffic and yeah it was a little tighter but um went fine just pay attention you know and then you know listen to your your your you know driver's ed teacher so stay L stay in your L stay in your late yeah you know what was what almost caused what somebody did though um after they get out of the roundabout they decided to Park no they decide to park on Wolf Ro right after the roundabout but um I don't I think that was a unique situation but that was where I was like whoa where did that come from but anyhow there's always hazards on the road so be safe may I do um okay I probably shouldn't shouldn't announce this but first of all U Michigan is beating Washington 17 to3 in the second quarter um just thought I'd bring that up outside of that in in other news um went to the uh kickoff the robotics team kickoff um this weekend uh what what they got or what they received at that kickoff and and I have to say I you know it was on another level was it oh my god um what they received was their project for help me out here Dr Kelly for the first uh first competition right is in worldwide competition so it was a it was a uh a presentation that was done simultaneously I guess across the world which would be interesting with time zones but um the project that they're doing first of all all of the students there were so excited when this project was announced because it was a combination of two other projects that had been done before if you could see how these students lit up when they heard in the meantime I'm sitting there going yeah okay the robots have to move uh what do you call it R rings in throw them into a different thing using frequency musical frequency so there's a whole artistic component they even have will I am from Yes uh uh black I from black ey pece come and like do part of the presentation and mind blown it was but but the students were so excited and they got their their stuff afterwards um so they are like ready to go and and again these students put in like hours and hours after after school almost on a daily basis so that was pretty exciting um the other thing and I'm going to make a pitch now again uh I'm gonna throw a guilt thing out there to um o parents that o senior parents um I have been volunteering at some of the um indoor concession stands for sports and and the money for that goes to uh goes to senior celebration senior celebration is you know a great event it's it's um you know everybody kind of walks away with gifts and they're kind of cool gifts like iPads and and things like that and we need to raise money to do that now the people that are supposed to be volunteering at these concession stands are parents and they are two-hour slots nobody has to be there for like the uh the entire time um they are really desperate for people to come to step up and volunteer if you have a senior at o um you know you you should get involved um please get involved please step up please participate um it's fun it's easy um you know what what else can I say um but but please go ahead and do that um the the um I was uh volunteering for first of all for girls basketball which um oh won against uh planfield I believe Central uh also they had a large wrestling tournament over the weekend uh a large Mega duel and I'm a big wrestling fan um so um oh did win three or two out of their three du so they were doing really well so that's about it from me thank you thank you jar uh uh well I'll say this real quick it took me seven minutes to get here to work so thank you Village ofo quiz the 16 yearold and he passed with an A on how to maneuver through so I think the young people will be fine yes they'll be fine um I really appreciate your words about grief um thank you um listen we all have our own stories we all have our own travels and and uh today would have been my brother's uh 54th birthday uh and when you try and console a parent which was a good portion of my day and I know there's plenty of our parents in this District who have tragically had to deal with some of those things uh it's it's not fun so thank you because there are lots out there uh I did want to kind of talk about HB 3822 uh I'm not sure how many people are aware of this or whatever but I'm not going to read the whole thing don't worry uh but uh HB 3822 um was um an attempt to try and help districts with um dual language programs right and one of the goals of the sponsor of the bill uh representative uh Rasheed was taking immersion and being able to finish Middle School proficient in both languages right or two languages however he also said that learned a lot about uh the shortage that exists Statewide uh it's not unique to us and one thing I I listen I am always open always I I would do just about I could think of a a war games analogy the movie from the 80s that I cannot use in public you know I'd do just about anything if I knew it would help um somebody got that um but um we also have to be cognizant that um there's there's legalities that we have to follow right and so part of the bill that I am going to read is um the bill that was passed and signed by uh Governor pritzer uh and this part right uh which acknowledges where we're at as a state and really probably as a society in general but how to build the supply of qual this is their words not mine how to build the supply of qualified teachers for dual language programs including potential Partnerships with private or nonprofit teacher preparation or development programs and college teacher preparation programs potential alternative certification certification routes exchange programs with other countries and financial incentives and standards for measuring student progress in dual language program was included in there as well I I I bring this up because um I've often found hey if I find something in our district That's Unique then I want to know what's going on if I find something at the state level where they're just trying to report how to do some of this because the the demand is increasing and it's recognized as um beneficial and probably needed as we as we need more young people who um you know as deeper conversation but we're um as a society we're not producing enough young people to deal with quite frankly an aging population and so as we have more young people who are coming here where English may not be their first language this is going to become more prevalent um so I'm happy I'm happy that it's getting attention I'm happy about uh to have these conversations and I'm I'm glad um and the law has required that a council look into how districts can overcome the multilingual teacher shortage because it is real and there are things that legally we can do and there are things that legally we cannot do and it does look like it's at the attention the state level this is something certainly I would love to discuss with some of our legislators or maybe a legislative where how can we get um people involved so that they can get their legislators uh uh ATT ption for those who want to know what the bill was it was HB uh 3822 was signed into law there was a big article written about this over break um in one of the one of the state news letter pieces so um just wanted to bring that to light thank you thank you just a couple uh comments uh to to just add on to that and to just point to some of the stuff that we are in the process of establishing our teacher pipeline line um we could and I think we have the potential and the passion in our district uh to be on The Cutting Edge of building that pipeline for a dual language teachers with a teacher Residency program with a dual language program that's been around much longer than many many many other dual language programs uh in the state so um I I agree this is good and it does have uh some impact and some um you know potential um hopefully for us to shine so um haven't been to the roundabout yet changing topics so I'm hearing it's a hit so I got to go and check it out just don't hit it right just don't hit it it's a flow okay okay okay um and then the third thing I'll say is the First first day of second semester um you know uh the high I have two girls at the high school everything went very smoothly they had some schedule changes that and they you know navigated and all that well so um they're home sleeping probably because you know they're now on a school schedule and you know the teenage winter break schedule is a little bit different so all right now we'll move to 6.1 on the consent agenda can I have a motion to approve the consent agenda please make a motion to approve all items under consent including 6.1 minutes from the Board of Education meeting on December 4th 2023 open and close session 6.2 to acknowledge the foyer requests received by the district 6.3 to approve the field trips for overnight and or more than 200 miles and 6.4 to approve the following policy references and legal updates section three three colon 5 Section Five Five colon 5 five colon 90 5 colon 120 5 colon 1 15 5 colon 1 90 5 colon 2000 0 section six 6 colon 20 0 6 colon 665 I'm sorry 6 colon 65 6 colon 270 6 colon 280 section 7 uh 7 colon 5 7 colon 250 second okay um before we take a vote are there any questions on the consent agenda all right may we have a motion please I mean may we have the vote Please Mr Gatewood I Dr Mario I Miss Johnson hi Mr Cerone hi Miss Simon I Mr hi Miss hi motion passes 70 I'll turn it to you okay financial statements yes on the investment schedule Mr Obi uh what we presented is the portfolio of the district uh it's laid down by different categories the uh the regular funds that we need we don't invest a lot of money over a longer term because of the fact that uh we don't have a really high Reserve so we need those funds to be able to meet uh daily needs so what you have there is what we have are invested in the shortterm liquid and the goal is that over time as we build our reserves we can do more longer term investments I'm sorry we can do more longer term investments and be able to uh to get better returns but as it stands right now because of cash flow reasons we do most liquid short-term Investments and and just for educational purposes there are many districts out there that are able to make long-term Investments correct and that does um uh uh create an advantage financially for for the district for the districts that are able to do so correct absolutely especially the last few years as we all are aware um inflation has been high because of the increase in the federal uh Reserve fund rate and what that has done is made it very lucrative for individuals as well as organizations that have money in their Reserve to be able to earn IR of Interest than in the past so for organizations with a higher reserves that's an opportunity to get some more some more revenue from investment income we're working towards it and the goal is for us to get there yeah and I think I think like from a historical standpoint it's important I think to to revisit that and bring that up because there was definitely a time in this community where the argument was we didn't need to increase the levy because we really didn't need need a fund balance we didn't need those extra things um and without that kind of buffer and that investment long-term piece there it put us behind other districts absolutely and if you can remember the last few years that's the reason why we've been doing short-term borrowing with uh tax anticipation warrant uh the way the district gets money we get money uh in two trenches really we get 55% of our uh property tax uh receipt in uh in June that's that's the windfall and then we get the second uh installment 45% in September so those are two period even though we have expenses that we have to carry over those periods so it's important that we have enough Reserve in place to be able to carry us over those uh those drought period if you will so it's absolutely imperative in order to avoid borrowing what I call U payday loan uh enriching all the school district by borrowing shortterm money to fill the gap between those uh June distribution and September distribution having a reserve help us to be in a better position to able to withstand those droughts so since since we're since we're on the conversation here um are we getting any rate on our liquid funds on our on our cash balances at the banks yeah we are we are we get uh about 52% but they're not there long enough to make a significant impact on on our on our Revenue now the one area where we are seeing some good return is in the uh working cash funds that was uh that was issued back in February of 2022 to be used for capital projects since we haven't ramped up and started doing those capital projects we have the money in the uh in the liquid asset fund the the flip side of that is since those are non-t taxable uh bonds that we we issue we're limited to how much interest we can earn on that if we earn more than a certain amount we have to pay the IRS back uh in the form of penalty well I'm just I'm just thinking about the average the average balance throughout the year I mean because get it in tranches there's going to be Peaks and valleys I understand that but if you look at the average I mean it should add up it's at 5 and a half% for the most of our money yeah it is but but we we we spend about $10 million a month yeah yeah so he's not I mean it's, that we didn't make that month that we made the month prior but still that's a lot of money get some money that will um yeah we we it's better than the 0.1% that we were probably oh absolutely absolutely 3 years ago when uh when uh the money market rates were 0.01 and we will get absolutely nothing right yeah so yes so when do you anticipate that we will not have to have tax anticipation Awards we are very hopeful this year that we wouldn't have to issue one we have been closely watching our cash flow and as it stands right now we don't anticipate that we will have to do one if we had anticipated doing one we will have had the ref we will have had the the resolution before the board in January which is when we normally do it but so far we do not anticipate that we would need it and one of the key I'll be very open one of the key reason why we wouldn't need it is two things really to that the transition from being self- insured to being part of a pool when we self-insure we are about $8 million that we parked into an account and that account is segregated we can't touch it we can only use it to pay for uh proceeds of health insurance expenses now that we that we pay a premium instead of being self-insured all we have to do is hope that uh the premium that we collect from the employee matches up to the premium that we pay the uh the co-op so the money that we used to park in that health insurance account we can actually we're using some of those money to help us buffer the rough period of the timing that's a timing yes and the other part of it is the working cash money that I just mentioned we have that money now we will be able to borrow from it when our uh when our funds are down and then we'll have to pay back when we get a distribution in June so we're watching our cash flow very very closely every week but as it stands right now we don't anticipate having to do with tax tax anticipation war will will that be an option next year borrowing from that same fund or or not because we will start to utilize it it would not be an option but what we are hoping to do is we're hoping to manage our expenses better with some of the decisions that we're making right now so our goal is to move away from doing short-term payday loan as I call it and start building our reserves that's our goal love it I I have a correction to my math that I want to make sure that I'm that I State um so I said $10 million in a month that's $550,000 that's annualized it's more like $45,000 uh $10 million in a month at five and a half% so um it's kind of figured you that's that's well I don't want the you know 550 time 12 that would be you know like a pretty good amount of money we'll be we have to be sitting on a 1.5 Bill to have that kind of money like I better correct myself on this one because that's 10 times uh the value yeah um this evening uh thank you uh Mr bemi this evening we've got uh we want to welcome Kevin McDonald and Brent Kyer who going to come and share an update on a securely classroom update for the board uh Faith do you have anything you want to add opening for this just this is an exciting uh opportunity and a tool that our teachers have the potential of of using uh to help with um motivation uh also engagement uh and also some classroom management pieces as you can see the climate and the uh ability to do instruction has really changed when you have all of a sudden 28 students with their own devices uh the wonderful things and also some of the obstacles that that uh brings to so I'll turn it over to Tech B do we use anything right now so are we switching to secur we don't have anything we do not um for monitoring of um student devices and for teachers to be able to see other than the good oldfashioned walking around and trying to do that which as you can imagine is somewhat difficult while you're wanting to scan students faces or be in front of them their devices don't face you or if you go to the back of the room you can see what all their they might be doing but then you can't gauge them as well or small group instruction which we're really trying to do is more problematic for a teacher to circulate and see what's actually on devices um while you're trying to really focus on small groups we used it in my former District it's it's awesome for teachers so I just didn't know if we had something or not yeah I loved reading about the responses but um from the teachers so well do we really need to go through this presentation it sounds like everybody's so [Laughter] there's no snow yet you're okay okay there is a game on though 17 say the someone's taping it yes I didn't say who's winning I just please go ahead okay as mentioned uh I'm Bren ker this is Kevin McDonald we're the tech directors for the district and tonight we're going to talk to you about a classroom management solution specifically securely classroom so exactly why do we need it um since the uh District decided to go to the one to one Chromebook program for students in grades 1 through 12 teachers have been tasked uh with addressing various uh hurdles uh let's say that technology can introduce uh to the classroom on their devices and we feel that we need to help educators keep an eye and manage those devices for the students this particular solution will give them the tools that they need to help maintain that onetoone classroom environment and help with engagement with their students so what is securely classroom it's an online tool to give instructors the ability to manage and monitor the students experience on their Chromebooks in their classroom over the next few slides I will show you and uh talk to you about how it will accomplish that and so to begin with uh it will help students stay focused uh this teacher will be uh able to uh segment or isolate or group particular websites that can be used uh during the lesson it will allow them to uh lock to one particular website uh it also gives the teacher the ability to close tabs uh that aren't pertinent to the lesson and then it can also uh allow the teacher to create groups of websites that can't be used either as distractions or sites that maybe they don't want them to use uh uh for that particular lesson next it can help guide the classroom uh the tool will allow the teacher to push websites to the students devices uh very drastically increasing the amount of time that they have for teaching uh instead uh where previously they may have to deal with typos or make sure everybody's on the same page that's no longer uh needed um the website will be automatically push to their device it also allows them or the teacher to uh broadcast their own device screen to the uh students devices uh which again will keep them focused and uh on what is happening and the demonstration uh that the teacher is p uh trying to do and then finally uh when devices aren't needed uh the teach will be able to lock the screen freeze the screen and make sure that uh they have everyone's eyes looking at them uh security classroom also allows for the teacher to monitor the the students screens uh no longer will the uh teacher feel like that they need to be in the back of the room to make sure that everybody's doing what they need to do uh they can now uh uh relegate back to the front of the classroom uh teach their lessons from the front of classroom move about the room uh engage with uh groups uh of students or individual students uh feeling comfortable because they know that they can see what else is going on in the classroom just by looking at the screen that now is with them in that particular circumstance um and then finally uh it will allow them to directly communicate to one another the teachers and the students uh the teacher can send announcements to all the devices uh that rather than say uh a teacher wanting to uh call out a student for misbehaving they can now direct message that student get them back on task uh and get going uh they um uh can also use it as a positive feedback method to the student and then finally the student students uh can now uh directly interact with the teacher so in the case where a student may not feel comfortable in asking the question in front of everybody well now uh they can chat with the teacher um next Kevin will talk about how we arrived at securly classroom all right thank you when looking for a classroom management Tool uh we found out that securely had a classroom management component um in their Suite that we could utilize and since we already used securely for a few of other products we reached out to get more uh information about it and once we did that our count rep uh scheduled the demo got us more information and explain to us that um there are 71 other districts in Illinois currently using their platform so um we did look into other vendors that offered a similar solution um but all the other Sol other other Solutions did not directly tie into our content filter that we have in place currently which makes some of the features that they offer like the custom uh allow and block site lists to um pretty much be useless and so in order to make sure the staff can properly utilize those um we felt like securely was the way to go so um and then we also had created a list of the success indicators that the the uh pilot groups created and and I should get back to the pilot sorry so the pilot the existing pilot we had was a a group of 30 staff members uh between OE and O um the length of the pilot was three months um during that we created a Google classroom for all the members to collaborate and troubleshoot and idea share about how they use the features um to the best of their ability and and by the end of the pilot we ended up with about 50 staff members due to requests and Word of Mouth to join the program or yeah so then um every one of those members we created the success indicators and most of those were around um how it could help with classroom management and keeping students on task and keeping them engaged with the lessons and at the end of the pilot um all the members um agreed that the success indicators were were met and so for the the cost of the implementation of the product the first year cost is a little bit higher um due to the fact we added two additional add-on features or add-on Services um the first of being a year subscription to the securely learn portal um for the staff to view uh on demand training uh videos and then the other option was the personalized recording training sessions which then we could utilize and keep within our Google Drive and then share for new staff members that come on board to get them up to speed on what the product offers um and then there is a one-time implementation fee and then the subsequent years would be a little bit cheaper and then this product and this uh this cost is already budgeted within this year's budget and then for the implementation steps um the first being which we would install the extension on the student devices through Google and then send product information to the staff so they are aware of what this new tool can do do for them and then after that send Links of the optional recorded training content that we would have and then also the link to the securely learn platform for their optional self-paced training videos and most of the videos on there were about 5 to 6 minutes long so they weren't very very long and if needed we would work with the buildings to come on site or provide additional uh training to their staff during applic applicable staff meetings or uh times they have available and then lastly we would enable the securely classroom roster sync with Google classroom and then it would pull all their Google classes into securely so they can get their staff class uh their class list and their student rosters all in the same screen and that's it any questions yeah I have one and I didn't send this ahead of time so you can get back to me I'm not expecting an answer right now but I'm curious what the reasons for not going with something like haara and what the cost was um if you have that now that's great but if you don't you want to get back to me that's perfectly fine too so that one was the one that I was curious about yeah haara and go Guardian were the other two that we looked at um and like I said the integration ation with how it allows websites or blocks websites would conflict with the securely filter method we have in place currently because their product would say allow it but if securely says block it it would be conflicting so that's that's why we after finding out what the products were capable of that's why we kind of lean towards securely because based on the filtering methods that uh all the tools would need it seems like we would have to adjust or kind of make maybe it wouldn't work as to their expectations well what you're saying makes complete sense I I would like at some point the cost piece on haara because I think at that point like I'm not saying it's zero I don't know but let's say it was if it was zero and this is 40,000 then we need to understand that because we're using securely it's really costing us 40,000 if we want to do this because haar is not an option so if that makes sense yeah yeah we didn't go all the way to getting quotes from those vendors uh after we learned about the the limitation of it but if you would like us to present the pricing yeah let's bring let's bring that to the next board meeting we'll bring some updates on that great question jar well I just in along with what Jared said we've talked about this before we really do need to see multiple bids and why why we're choosing what we're choosing just so we understand that the due diligence was done so moving forward if we could do that we talked about this during the radio situation making sure that you bring it forward so that would be helpful and then if it answer is obvious that it doesn't integrate it doesn't integrate we totally understand we'll do I don't have any questions I just have you know a couple comments um to I'm happy to support this especially with the support of teachers and being a former classroom teacher I can definitely see how I could I would use this in my classroom um I did go to their website because I do have a keen kind of eye towards student privacy and surveillance of students and they seem very high like get high marks in that area and are uh I think go above and beyond what is required of them which I'm happy to see I think from a pedagogical point of view I just you know I always get weird like thoughtful about how we're monitoring and surveilling our students I do think there is an I know that there's an educational benefit and benefit just in human development to allow the mind to wander and to think and to you know not always be on task on task right uh and I know that goes against a lot what we're we're taught as teachers but um and sometimes technology monitoring technology surveillance technology really stifles that um so for me this is all about how it's used in the classroom and so I would encourage teachers to think about um how they're balancing you know you know this type of technology technology in general in the classroom and still allowing for that creativity to to to develop in students um and um that self-efficacy of their own monitoring of their self um shine through I I had uh one question and then uh request for feedback um so implementation you're talking about next school year or no yeah it would be this school year so they would you need the actual devices in order to no it gets pushed all through the cloud okay and then yeah I was kind of led me to this um I wanted to hear from the two of you um just thinking back from as a first grader all the way and thinking as an ambassador you know of all students you know how would you how do you feel about this or what do you think thanks yeah so overall I definitely see the benefits um I know for me I can see this as a big um Plus for me as um just making sure you know I'm on task in uh classes um obviously there's always going to be students out there and I could see where um you know they would feel like they wouldn't like it as much um but I also feel like that's that could be coming from a place where you know um there is is it's very easy to wander off with the Chromebook where you can you know let me just go play a game on here while I'm learning and I've been guilty of having those moments where I've gotten off task and then I'm like shoot I just missed that so and yeah and that and that's here as an ambassador I've had that so um I do think overall this would be um a great program for students um but also for teachers I feel like it could make it immensely easier and I do feel we're in a completely new era of Education with um Chromebooks and stuff so being able to adapt um to some of those new challenges as we go forward I think this is a really big step with that yeah I would Echo what Luke said I think that it's a good program and there needs to be some monitoring as much as you know even as students sometimes we want you know to be able to do what we like obviously it's school and there should be parameters I guess it's not really anything that can be like addressed with the program but just making sure I don't know how we could do it but just making sure that teachers understand students and understand like I guess my only concern is that students are going to it's just going to add to additional pressure feeling like you have to be you know locked in the entire school day when it is hard to you know sit there for seven hours even me I think I'm a pretty good student but even I struggle sometimes and I get off task and I also just hope that there's education about neurod Divergent students who especially are not going to be able to work just you know focused the whole class period who need breaks so I don't think it can be anything really done with like as much just like I think the software is important but I also another thing I wanted to make sure we have is I think we really do need to tell students the monitoring that is happening because I think we do need to know what privacy we have and it shouldn't be about like having like a Goa moment where a student thinks they're not being watched and all of a sudden like cuz I do I don't know if these um students were part of the pilot but I do know that and I'm not like this isn't a criticism it was a pilot and you know you have to try new things but I do know some students that were working and then all of a sudden it's like oh your teacher's monitoring your screen and they're being messaged and it just was overwhelming and kind of like it just just made them jump back so they're like oh am I being monitored what kind of level of monitoring so with a schoolwide implementation I really do want to make sure that we are fully told what is being monitored because I don't think it's fair to just put this on students and and there's no reason not to um I would be very concerned that it so that it's not used for punitive um reasons agreed you know um agree this is just to help teachers you know as far as I hope you know that's that's just I I don't want another level um of of ways that kids can get in trouble even you know for something kind of on their computer you know so I mean I I agree with you and I hear you but at the same time I I'm very cautious to guar say oh we're going to guarantee because there's always a level of that supersedes that so there's there was extend you there was cases 100% And so I think I think like that needs to be conveyed right like when you're talking about conveying to students you can correct me where I'm wrong like they they need to know that that piece you know it's like when as a teacher when a student comes tries to say oh well if I tell I'm like Hey listen you tell me some things I got to share right I can't I can't sit here and guarantee that so I think there is a level of that I appreciate yeah I want to thank Dom for inviting the ambassadors to to speak on that and so encourage you all even without Dom's invitation to to speak up on those Y and especially you know something that's so close to the classroom and I think think you make um uh the ambassadors made a good point about students um you know for future Pilots did we get the students who were involved in this pilot what was their CU I heard you relay something like oh something someone's monitoring me like from a student like what was their reaction to that I mean we have a student Mental Health crisis in our country and they spend the majority of their day in schools and so I often wonder if we're doing things that are contributing I don't wonder I feel no know that sometimes we're doing things in schools that can contribute to some of these feelings that students have so so sorry go ahead go ahead so so since you brought that up uh say that there is will it what will the teacher see if a student is not on if the student is not on task for example um a student um say LCA spending all his time on Facebook instead of Facebook right um will it's already block yeah they see their screen all right well let's you do see the screen okay yeah you you get a nice uh I don't know yeah tile view of all the student screens everybody's correct and on the side of the student screen it's it refreshes the image every like I don't know two seconds uh to show the current what's on their screen but on the right hand side of it it shows what tabs are open and what websites they have so you can quickly see so this would be above and beyond anything that was already blocked or that wasn't already blocked right okay that makes sense yeah that's where the Contra the contradiction was correct that's where the teacher creating those custom lists of if they see a student continually going to the same website that they said hey please you know get back to where the lesson is if they keep going to there they can create a block list that has that website automatically blocked got it I actually have a question so is there a way that the district could choose that that we just want teachers to know they're on another tab or what it automatically is there any way to kind of like restrain or choose what kind of um like what teachers are allowed to see or is it always going to be they can see every single tab yeah it's going to they're going to see all the tabs that are open uh I just want to flip back over to implementation and um kind of hearkening back to the other rollouts that we've had recently how are we training staff what is their how what does the roll out look like um and are there expectations around use of securely for staff do it yes so this is an optional tool it is not something that all teachers have to use and certainly there are some classrooms that lend itself where this would be advantageous and I can think of others where their students aren't on Chromebooks a lot so there would be not a reason to do that uh also what you would want to be monitoring for second grade is really different than at 10th grade you'd be more likely to be let's all go to this website together and immediately all the second graders have access to that so um in speaking with Union uh leadership we work together on what um professional development could look like and since they're Snippets uh uh the longest video is about six minutes long there are some that are less than that so teachers can pick and choose what they're interested in learning about um and then use that because it's an optional tool we're not having everybody sit through everything at the same time or say this is what you have to do because people are at different levels of interest and also we've already had a lot of staff that have used this or have talked to friends like this is coming from teachers we've gotten a lot of emails in the last month when are we getting this have we gotten this yet are you ready um so a lot of our staff and it's a pretty intuitive tool um we're looking at this as being optional and differentiated of when they would want to when and when when is the right time for them to learn about different aspects of this tool and they can choose their own timing just want to make sure that they know that a it's optional but B um what the expectations are around yes so this cost includes um like what licenses of numerous licenses in order to come up with this $4,000 or $44,000 cost it's a cost per student that is how they price it and so we know that not all students will use it right and so how do we so we're getting is this the least expensive way to go about it um I mean we we gave them numbers uh of enrollment for 1 through 12th is where we were aiming to um I guess push or allow this uh component um but obviously if we feel like we don't need it in the lower grades or we can adjust the price because it is per student so oh okay and it's per student so if you think about like a high school student they would have lots of teachers that they would see over it doesn't mean that every single teacher would use it during every day it's per student so so the 44 745 is kind of on the high level that that's that's the that's the that's the first year price because we added the two additional features that's with license for every single computer yeah the 40,000 that would be the subsequent years is per student okay but if we went but if teachers decided to implement the I guess I'm how many students is if it's per student let's just look at the 40,000 number how many students did you anticipate a little over 15,000 15,000 a little over came out to about $33 okay yeah that's that's basically first through 12 but but again I'll just and I'm not saying it's zero but again if in theory if we had gone with not securely let's say and haara suddenly was an option and to get to to do this for all the students it was zero right we'd still in essence it would cost us 40,000 to do the same thing that the other product could have done I'm not saying that's the scenario I I don't I don't know but so I think that needs to be I just want to make sure that that's a cost piece to the other and we'll get you that information I've already done some preemptive multitasking here so and so I would imagine when we come back at our next board meeting we're looking for several um other um vendors proposals can we just can we just get a memo yeah I'm going to clarify that yeah I think we're going to clarify that it was not it was not an oversight there was intentionality about those vendors because of the technological limitations that this would provide us sure I just want to be really clear about that so what we'll do is we'll follow up with the question and then we'll we'll communicate with the board about what the next bests but but and the answer might be 500,000 because then you'd have to change everything else you know so because the intention is which is fine not not well yeah the but the other piece that I want to make sure we're clear about is like when we when we went with securely and whatever we paid right well what we need to make clear is that we're we're locked in because we have to be and that's actually so let's say it was 500,000 for security it's really the cost is 540 right because if we go with this route now we're locked in because we have to do it right and we're just we're using fake numbers yeah using fake numbers I think with I think with permission I'd like to bring back some more of these details and oversight because I wasn't here when the secur the contract did go through so I think it's important that we have all of that information as well on the table for the board to review and understand and be fully cognizant of so I'm happy to make sure and orchestrate that to make sure and I think also the communication because the way that and what was a little off-putting for me was in the agenda where it says this me meor memorandum is provided to notify the Board of Education of an upcoming project over 20,000 I it versus like an RFP type of situation where we have a goal the goal is that we need to help teachers better manage their classroom here's what we did we went out and we looked at it this is saying we're doing this and so I think that was like a little where I I felt like we're doing this and it's over 20,000 by the way so I just want to make sure that kind of maybe a mind shift perfect yeah I appreciate that thank thank you y absolutely I am excited because teachers are thank you you know when um Mr Queen was looking for vendors for swimming pool Parts there's just not a lot of swimming pool part vendors and we expect to hear that kind of stuff you know that this isn't I just know securely happens to have quite a few um competitors competitors yeah thank you I appreciate the Fe I'm I'm grateful for the feedback and we'll definitely take that into our our next steps um thank you gentlemen safe travels thank you thank you yes smell um Bill queen with the operations project update good evening good evening good evening all right so we'll talk a little bit about the plank project um while everybody was enjoying that great vacation and break uh we didn't let the contractor do so so we uh commence to uh get prepar get prepared for to possibly when these units come in March the beginning of March have half of those installed over spring break giving us a jump on the job that way when we hit that summer date we we will only be setting the bigger units and be in a better position to have that building open up for the um school on that next start year so we're in good shape there things are moving along and we hope to have more on that update later on um I felt it was important to talk a little bit about oehs track and where we are at with that so we've been brainstorming a lot with the architect the civil engineer this Wednesday we have a meeting set up with the building administ rtion the Athletics team um the coaches and we're all going to get together and brainstorm and come up with that plan to uh relocate that high jump area to where the P Vault and long jump are currently at now um we we've learned a lot in this process with what we own and what we're maintaining out there and and one of the biggest problems is water retention um that's going to play an effect of when we move from further on this conversation or if we ever talk turf or what we're going to do with the water um and when I mean water retention what I'm talking about is is all these subdivisions everybody sees we we have these ponds right that holds and retains the water we don't have anywhere to do that around here we we've got it locked we're locked in it's either a practice field or it's a drain ditch or it's just not big enough to cover all of that um so leads us to our next option is do we bury it is it in a a a top tank right so there's a lot of conversation and and just wanted the board to be aware that this problem does exist um so with relocating that to where they are at now in the Southeast Corner we'll have some fence adjustment we'll have to work with the coaches and an Administration and after we have that meeting on Wednesday we will have a better plan and a better idea and a solid plan on where we're going to where we're going to do this and we would go out to RFP um and pull that back into the Board of Education definitely going to talk about it at FF c um and that's all I have for tracks and just to kind of to lay on what Bill just said nicely is that part of what the issue that we were dealing with this summer is that the the project was rushed through there were no communication between the civil engineer and the architect that's done work in the district that knows the water table of the of the district very well one location is not not the same as the other location because you work somewhere else doesn't mean you know the the uh the particulars of a of an area so we didn't take that into account when we decide this is where we're going to put certain things so what we're trying to do is we're working with the architect who has a very good idea about what the water tables here and then making decision as far as where things will be placed that they right for that place instead of making a subjective decision thaty looks good let's put it here supposed to where can you put it based on the the particular makeup of that area so those are the kind of things that we're trying to get get at and the issue that we're running into we have some of athletic folks colleagues who are used to things being a certain way even though they may not belong there they've always been there but they may not belong there because of the makeup of the water table so we need to have a conversation so we can get to the same place and say we need to place the things where they should be based on the Topography of that particular area so those are the conversations that we having on Wednesday and we're going to have the civil engineer and the architect involved in that conversation I I so I I want uh you to elaborate on one thing but then what's the timeline on the the what are you are you referring to the our goal is to have it completed this summer absolutely okay um and then the other one was um um we did have this conversation in finance committee um regarding you know the contracts and the things that we're trying to do differently um for example with the plank contract yeah um and we had a discussion on why we think that we're getting a better response and things like that um and you there was no direct 100% correlation between you know some of the changes that you've made but it seems like there there might be and I just want you to tell the rest of the board kind of what you're doing um uh when it comes to the contracts Rafael are you familiar you know what I'm talking about yes so part of the we've learned some lessons from the project uh the track project this summer and when we contemplated the rtu project the rooftop unit at uh plank we looked at a way we can design the modify the American Institute of architecture contract that you use for construction to put in the langage requiring uh uh liquidated damage what we wanted to do we wanted to make sure that we stay on time we wanted to provide an incentive to the contractor to finish early or on time and we also wanted to to make sure that so it's kind of like each side gets something so we give them a bonus if they finish early and if they don't we penalize them they have to pay us to make up the difference if we don't finish on time so we put that language in the contract and moving forward but all the projects that we do now we will put that language in and you may Wonder that's actually not additional money that we're going to spend when you do a construction project you have what is called um contingency and so if there's contingency money will pay it the the uh the bonus out of there the way the contractors if there's no contingency money nobody gets anything so this is created a situation where there's motivation on the part of the of the cont contractor to get this done so we the the contractor is supposed to finish in August they couldn't wait to get in that building they car a building during spring break uh during winter break in December and even though we want them to finish in August they want to start doing some of the work in March during spring break this is what happen when you have incentives and disincentives in the Contracting project it was it's just basically to say that you know lessons are getting learned um we're trying to do things make sure that some of these issues don't happen again so yes we we have we we've learned a lot through this process yeah good so I have a couple questions um I guess number one I I know you talked about o what about OE I guess this question number one and question number two helped me out because you said the track would be done in summer It season starts in Fe actually season starts really soon right so help help me reconcile those two pieces we we've always known that we weren't going to make that spring season so the anticipation for for both just for one well I I need to back you up cuz Okay that that was on OE I was talking about here o where we're at with o right now we just need the rubber plane surface that sythetic Synthetic Turf surface that goes over the top of the oval the jump pits that's all we lack there so as soon as that weather breaks this spring those guys are coming back to lay that rubber for us along with the rubber that's still laid here at o s oehs is the only spot that we still have construction work left to do to where we couldn't get that that um it all relates to the dzone right we redid the dzone it's not going to work for the end user it was it was pointed out to be a safety concern so we're moving from from that to relocate that high jump area that's that's where we're at now so the high jump area at o is no here here so at o it's fine o we're good to go we're just ready to put rubber down that's where okay I thought originally you said oh no but what we did to be proactive is we've set a p Vault jump area inside one of the gyms here that can be utilized for meets okay thanks yep and I think is important to say that it's not ideal we know that it's not ideal but we have made sure that we can still move forward we we are going to move forward with our with our Sports absolutely good good all right have a good night thank you you sir next I want to invite Dr KC uh board policy first read uh so as uh Jared and Amy mentioned earlier we've been methodically uh going through some of the policies um so we have a section that came forward at our last board meeting we have a section that is coming forward today for first read and a section that will come back uh due to some followup questions so uh today we have 220 which is powers and duties of the school board um if you take a look at our documentation included what I would like to highlight is six and 10 um those are the two recommended changes to the policy um the updates that we are bringing forward are in accordance with press policy the most recent version um in the issue in number number six uh entering contracts in accordance to applicable federal and state law so what this does is it increases uh the bid requirement the bid threshold from 25,000 to 35,000 and then in number 10 um it removes District Improvement in 5:30 the change is requiring postings um as of January 1 2025 to include pay scale and benefits the next one um is section 5250 which focuses on um the legal review and uh footnotes so uh it does make some changes in terms of removing covid language and then extending child bereavement believe in 5330 um legal references and footnotes very minimal changes to the actual policy um same thing with 615 minimal changes mainly in uh footnotes legal references um it brings the only changes the inclusion of technical assistance um in 650 School Wellness uh changes to Legal references and footnotes um there is some additional language around the goals for school-based activities and then um in uh 660 includes Native American history um in that curriculum content the remaining uh policies or the next sections um minimal changes the committee did agree on the S suggested changes to 770 7160 um in 7190 there was some discussion uh the policy the policy committee did agree with the changes uh specifically to number eight in moving forward we also discussed 7270 about administrating medicine um one of the questions that we discussed um was about undesignated oxygen which we do do not currently keep on hand um and then the last two also in section 7 was 7285 about anaphylactic and um 7290 about suicide and depression and there is minimal policy changes and the committee did agree with the suggested changes okay um in your information are those changes so you can see not only the changes that are recommended um to the policy but also the legal references and the footnotes any questions one point because I know it came up and I always like to um what's the word I want to use make sure that we're cognizant of uh of Comm Community voice and I know we had a student who came in here and and spoke when it came to um certain things that we're we do um to try and promote healthy uh student Lifestyles and and perhaps maybe some um some things we can do when it comes to like eating and and so forth and monitoring students we talked about monitoring students tonight and so I I I just want to make sure we're doing our due diligence that we we recognize voice uh and certainly the conversation was had um when it came to and I'm trying to go back and find it now because I lost it I think it was 750 but um uh we did have that conversation right and and so I don't want maybe it's not 750 uh but I don't want um here we go it was um 650 sorry um just want to make sure that anyone who comes and speaks here knows that we definitely um had those conversations you know what does supporting and promoting a healthy eating environment for students look like obviously we want students to be healthy the point isn't to to shame students and we talked about having that uh that cognizant piece there and U the wellness activities and everything else so um I think it's due diligence to bring it up that the conversation happened and and that we have heard this from students in the past so thank you chair um thank you Dr K and to the committee for due diligence yes all right 8.1 action item bills for payment can I have a motion please make a motion to authorize the payment payment of bills in the amount of 4,373 733 as presented second Miss venoth I Dr Maria I Mr Cerone hi Miss Simon hi Mr Gatewood hi M Johnson hi Mr Clover hi motion passes 70 action item 8.2 Labor Management partnership contract can I have a motion please make a motion to approve the Labor Management partnership contract with ACB for cost of $64,800 second Dr Maria hi Miss Simon hi Mr cler hi Mr Cerone hi Mr Gatewood hi Miss venman hi M Johnson no motion passes 61 action item 8.3 RSP enrollment analysis contract can I have a motion please make a motion to approve the RSP enrollment analysis 2-year contract for a total of $44,000 I have a quick question is this something we are going to can we get the motion first though and then because I think it's motion then question second yeah now sorry is this something we are we do every year not typically what we've seen is that um this was done last year so this is really an extension of that because we've had some significant growth in the area that was not anticipated last year and as we think about there are some uh significant questions that have come up regarding our enrollment size of certain schools and so to be more thoughtful in that planning it's really important that we do this this year the reason no the reason that I asked this because when I pulled up the notes from last year it does say that it's something we do every year it and I was looking up the notes that Teresa puts out it says this report is completed each year so I just had a question about that we have done it the last few years I can't speak beyond the last two or three years but it has been done at least the last three years it's just odd to me if it's a fiveyear like projection or a 10-year projection and I guess what's changing so drastically it and I'm just really questioning I think in the last three years why it has been um redone every year is we did see a uh dip and enrollment of close to a thousand students during covid and then over the last two years there's been um growth in certain sectors of the district where we wanted to ensure because not only does it talk about student enrollment but then it gives per level and per school so we could see if that it the capacity how far the instructional versus the physical capacity is because we have specialized programs in different buildings so it gives us information related not only to like student address and location but also programmatically okay so so just I just want to make sure that you feel that it's like yes we've had a lot of growth but incrementally each year are we repaying the same 45,000 or is it a smaller portion years of a bigger I asked the same question because I agree with you I had the exact same thought so my my thought was exactly that so if the if there's a partnership with uh with with RSP yes to make sure that after this year it should be an incremental not a not another 44,000 if if the if the information that they're giving goes out to 2026 then technically we shouldn't have to do this again until 2025 versus just are you just looking at here we've had four subdivisions what is that going to do to our our numbers that you provided us last time and I I I it's 22,000 a year not 44 I I know I was just saying yes is that the number is that the incremental number but you're talking about like a full versus a yes revised to Dr katti's point we have had a lot of um uh construction that we weren't anticipating so is that yeah is that what we're paying for or are we paying for another full yeah they they probably anticipated all that construction but not maybe as quickly as it's coming um correct because that's I know they're good about all this plus I know that um from being Planning and Zoning that some of the um initial uses have changed from what they you know were were zoned for good point um so you know for $22,000 um it's we need to know it's probably a good time to make sure that we're staying ahead of and I was really just questioning that we do that report every year and is that something we should just be expecting every year I don't think we need it every year okay it's something I these next CLE I'll be honest with you I think it really depends also what's happening around us okay but there's no and there was no development there was no then we this but there's a lot of leg work that goes into this a lot of additional analysis new analysis new Partnerships that you can be investigated it's pretty investigatory to get really down some BS of it so those are great questions and um our student assigning Student Assignment planning process would be an annual process do we use RSP every single I mean this service every year it will depend okay right it will thank you okay can we have a vote Miss ven I Dr Maria I Mr Cerone hi Miss Simon hi Mr Gatewood hi Miss Johnson hi Mr pler hi motion passes 70 action item 8.4 Junior High School English learner support can I have a motion please uh make I'm sorry make a motion to approve the use of parad uh educational Consulting to work at plank each week for the remainder of the school year to fill the Gap in support from not being able to fill the junior high English learner coordinator position the cost for this would be wait am I yeah recommendation I apologize good grief I make a motion to approve the junior high school English learner support provided by parad educational Consulting for a cost of $39,000 second second enough too sorry Mr Cerone hi Mr Gatewood hi Miss Johnson hi Mr pler hi Miss venman hi Dr Mario hi Miss s i motion passes 70 action item 8.5 csmi organizational and curricular audit can I have a motion please make a motion to approve the contract for csmi organizational and curricular audit for a total cost of $96,500 second second sorry Dr Maria I miss venth I Mr Cerone I miss Simon I Mr Gatewood I Miss Johnson I Mr ploger I motion passes 70 action item 8.6 policies for second read and approval can I have a motion please make a motion to approve the following policy changes section two uh School Board 2 colon 110 2 colon one20 2 colon 2000 2 colon 22 0 section 4 operational Services 4 colon 1 0 4 colon 30 0 4 colon 60 4 colon 90 4on 130 4on 1 160 4 colon 170 section 7 students 7 col 345 Section 8 community relations 8 colon 30 a second C can you read those again please just in case sure if you really want me to no I'm kidding I mean I just wanted to make a comment regarding before we vote regarding section 8:30 um I think that everybody in the education World um is very and HR world is very um well aware of Faith's law not our faith doll Quist um but Faith law is a uh two-part Public Act that came in to affect December 3rd 2021 and July 1st 20 23 um it focuses on the prevention of sexual misconduct as defined in the first part of the Public Act by School Employees substitute employees and employees of contractors it's really kind of groundbreaking work that happened it really gives voice to a lot of people that haven't had voice prior I'm really really proud of and um encouraged by the work that has been done by this Administration Dr katti by the public statement that you made um at a couple of board meetings back uh this um board has been very adamant and very passionate about protecting our students and our staff against sexual harassment sexual assault um and so forth and uh Faith law has really given us the I think foundation and the backing to do so but I'm really proud of this um act you know a lot of times it's easy to go with whatever um press plus says or whatever just like the basic bare minimum is but sometimes you have to recognize that more is needed and I'm really proud of 8 colon uh 30 and I think it's also very important of that act and of that information to understand that if you do see something and you're not reporting it you are also part of the problem and and something that we can it actionable on the district's part but I want to thank you um to the administration Dr kagati Dr swy very much um for looking into this for making sure that our students and staff are safe and um by looking through anything that um may have been in the past or is is something that needs to be considered um and not just taking us at um the the basic you know we're doing the bare minimum so I really appreciate it thank you Mr Gatewood I Miss Johnson hi Mr hi Mr hi Miss vmou hi Dr Mario hi Miss I I motion passes 70 action item 8.7 approval of separation agreement make a motion to approve the separation agreement and general release for Eric weitner second Mr Cerone hi Mr Gatewood hi Miss Johnson Mr cler I miss vmou I Dr Maria I miss I motion passes six with one abstention action item 8.8 approval of second separation agreement can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve the separation agreement and general release for Garrett lefferson second Mr cler I Mr Gat I miss Simon I Mr Chone hi Miss venth hi Dr Mar hi Miss Johnson abstain motion passes six with one abstention action item 8.9 I make a motion to approve the go ahead approval of District administrator contracts I apologize I jump the G there uh I make a motion to approve the district administrator contracts as discussed and presented second Miss Simson I Miss Johnson I Mr hi Dr Mario hi Mr G hien hi Mr hi motion passes 70 action item 8 8 8.10 or 810 approval of building administrator contracts can I have a motion please I make a motion to approve the building administrator contracts as discussed and presented second Miss v i m Johnson I Mr cler hi Miss Simon I Mr Gatewood hi Dr Maria hi Mr Sone I motion passes 70 that one can I just make a comment that we just want to um welcome into an interim principal role with this approval is uh who's with us tonight miss Jill Decker um who's serving the dist and thank you welcome yeah thank you action item 8.11 approval of personnel report can I have a motion please I make motion to approve the Personnel report as discussed and presented second Dr Maria hi Mr G hi Miss Johnson hi Mr cler hi Miss Simon hi Mr Cerone hi Miss men I motion passes 70 action item 9 I'm sorry no 9.1 can I have a motion to adjourn make a motion to adjourn all in favor I I all a second do we get a second second yeah second okay we are now adjourned