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and then we'll go two and a half hours in between each time we've had enough data to know now after two years of being at honey well with all three of our graduations that we can do it that way so then Southwood will be first this coming year in 2025 northw will be 2 at 400 p.m.

start out with Pledge of Allegiance Follow by a prayer plge Al to the plag 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 our Father in heaven we are grateful for this day that we have we're grateful for the that we're receiving at this time and we're we're grateful for all the the great gifts and blessings that we have we're grateful that we live in a country that we are able to be involved in our our kids educations and the opportunities that we have to to serve in this community we ask as we meet that we will discuss and make decisions and do things that will be pleasing unto thee we ask you that you always bless those that are in our community with safety we bless those families that have lost precious belongings and homes here lately bless them that they will receive the things that they need and bless us that we may have opportunities to serve them we ask the to bless all those others that we're not aware of that are in need of thy assistance and we say this in the name of Jesus Christ amen all right future board meetings uh July 23rd August 13th and August 27th all at 6 o00 here at the administration building revisions to the agenda don't have anything except one on HR um so we'll go to public recognition and we don't have any of those today but I will say again that this year um we will be recognizing our teacher and staff members of the year um we'll bring them in and we also will have a gift for them um from our sponsor again First Farmers Bank and Trust so we will start that up again that will be kind of like our Spotlight that we've done in the past but it will be our 12 members that were selected as the teacher and staff members of the year great any school recognition no nothing presentation good public comment on agenda items only all right um on I got switch um claims no approval minutes I was not down can I get a motion a second to approve our meet meeting minutes for June 11 Move Motion in a second all those in favor say I I any opposed right passes uh claims and payroll number 23 and 24 anybody have any questions on claims they haven't already been answered all right I move motion second to approve of the claims all those in favor say I oppos payroll we got two of them here anything yeah the difference between the two just so you aware is um summer school so summer school started coming out on that last payroll in June party increase there questions or problems on a motion second to approve that move to accept second Motion in second to approve payroll 23 and 24 all those in favor say I I oppos all right Financial summary so this is just end of June Cash balances um so that kind of completes what we call a fiscal year so our fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30th so a lot of times the reports that we have to submit to the state Etc are going to represent fiscal year numbers uh even though we run on operate on a calendar year as far as the budget concern so anyway these are where we end up at the end of June uh cash balances uh look well uh still you know trending in the right direction uh you know from January um at the start of the calendar year we had a cash balance of 27 million [Music] um and at the end of June Cash balance of 29 million so continue to see improvements in areas looks good interest rates are all right um is that part of the financial summary part of 2025 budget okay um like to start doing it this time of the year kind of breaking up the budget uh as far as what we will um eventually submit to the state um as a reminder um we have to have approval from the dgf for um a budget for Education fund operation fund Debt Service and rainy day fund and so um like I said I like to break them up so that we're not doing it all at once we start with the simpler ones here early on which is The Debt Service and the rainy day fund um so for Debt Service this is kind of what we're looking uh for for the 2025 budget that line 15 amount represents um what that total debt service cost would be the first part the first line at the top is what we've already established with the 2023 Bond borrowing so we've established what our amateurz schedule is to pay that Bond off so those are our our payments um um through that and then the last line that is an estimate because we have not borrowed yet so we'll have a trer reflection of what that number will be once we borrow for the 2024 Bond uh for the the Northfield project a Metro North project um so that number is a little higher than probably what the actual will be and again part of that process is because we have to submit this to the dgf we air on the side of being hired because if we undershoot we can't come back and ask for more whatever we submit to them so uh in that case we can adjust once we have true numbers when the budget's been even if the budget's been approved before so anyway that those are the numbers that uh will represent what our debt service will be that will keep us at our current tax rate so there will be no tax increase for the 2025 budget at this point so rainy day rainy day um budget is similar each and every year it's there if we need it uh we just have to provide a budget for that a lot of times we don't spend very very much out of rainy day fund uh because we don't need it it's usually for emergency purposes for certain things but we do create some line items in there for that budget um for the past I don't know five or six years it's it's been at a million dollars so we keep it at a million doll um if we need to use that then we have the corporations for if we ever need to go beyond that then we would have to ask for additional Appropriations um through the dgf process for that but like I said we don't touch it so it's just we used on anything uh there are some guidelines based off of the resolution that was established when the L fund was created I mean we can always go in and modify that resolution for that but a lot of it's just more for emergency purposes all right any questions on that when when was the estimate time to do the B we'll wait I guess question is we'll wait as long as we can well we have to wait till at least we have what our new assess valuations are we don't get those until 1 of August and then once that happens then we can build out that amortization schedule based off for the assess valuation so as soon as we have that number we can borrow at any time at that point uh I think statuto for a budget purposes I think we have to have it done before December 1st um but that gives us a little bit of time to do that I think last year when we Bor for 2023 I think it was like in October yeah I didn't know the goal was to hold off as long as we could anticipate hopefully some drop sure and then just be able to float the expenses until that yeah well we're going to have to float the expenses anyway because some of the work for the project has already beg so no vote on that there's no for input and then next board meeting we'll go over operations fund and then the one after that will do the education fund and then we'll have some presentations after that and lead us into our bottom hearing probably in September sometime all right move on to Personnel uh under resignation we have three here Jennifer Poland as a pray professional Prof at sh Creek Elementary that was immediately Jessica France as a bus driver on the North side that was effective immediately and Tyler cook English teacher at Southwood High School and that's effective immediately if I can mention a couple things on that Jessica France she's also a fisical education teacher at the Elementary's North but she was one that was doing both um and so with the the family in addition to the family um she's decided not to do that but um she did that might been yeah year and a half yeah two years and then U Tyler cook um Len to her family um so being more of a stay home M maybe doing some other things part time but she would like to when the kids get older mention that uh love to come back if she could Southwood and and all the people there but I'm to make that all right employment uh we have Lori Schultz best driver on the North side effective immediately August Elliot temporary first grade teacher Southwood Elementary it's effective at beginning of school year August 5th sah Hall temporary second grade teacher at Southwood Elementary and Ashley large a third three-hour cook at South Elementary those are effective August School Stars we have the second page yeah transfer we have a Gina moris transferring from a general education general education bus driver to special education bus driver effective August 7th and then we have northfield's fall coaches in here um Brandon Baker heck football Stan Cox assistant football Matt burar Junior High Assistant football Joe Holdman Junior High football kale Dyson assistant football Joseph Mitchell assistant football Jim Curry assistant football Adam sevel assist football Ariel Dale Head Golf Brock Cislo assistant golf haly zman headed cheer Ashlin nickam JB cheer Britney Daws Junior High cheer Andrea beaks head cross country Kelly Bieber assistant cross country Eric kurtland assistant cross country Hannah breaker volunteer cross country Kevin limy Junior High cross country Faith Cox Junior High AC cross country Tiffany Li had volleyball shy Myers assistant volleyball Tony mckel assistant volleyball Ashley Staley e8th grade volleyball Kenzie Griffin seventh grade volleyball briland theer volunteer junior high chair mik Higgins assistant football and C Hopper assist all those favor of the all [Music] second have motion second to approve the HR all those in favor say I I any oppos all right passes reports Harland anything Matt it's been a while since be there U the big thing remember I talked about cosmetology and CDL on about three kids that didn't pass they all did they all end up getting their diplomas or certifications so that's really cool um that's about it unless we start talking about huh nip oh the nipco thing yeah which I haven't received anything nipco want to run a line through there and they're wanted to do a very quick thing I said there's there lots of steps to go do and I want to make sure where it's going it's deep up the screw up farmer stle or the tile there I'm not sure exactly the line they W to go the guy didn't come to the meeting the last time so we'll see this month see what plan is I did send the link that has some of that information on there and then I think um I I rev agreement right I told him about that I did have some questions that um Floyd did um sent that to all the superintendent I had some questions I just didn't know for sure I haven't heard back yet I don't know if he got those to you or the new Josh but we can talk about that later gu because it's more har but yet it's a report right and um it's something that we need to be aware of because then once that goes we have to bring here to approve it Josh is that a permanent e there's one top I had I think it was permanent for maintenance of it but there was a a temporary for the construction they going to have a station on that property or is it just going under I didn't look at it's been more than a I don't know whether they were in the outline or somebody told me they were going right through the middle of it there's some pictures on some of the information that we had I mean some drawings on picture drawings of that well I mean if they want to do it immediately there too they said they will pays there for one of the big questions I had was ,000 yeah well that's what I said because it was 99 Acres 99 acres is worth a lot more you know what we were going to pay for what I mean it has to be at least that much well and actually Bowen was going to pay how much this is in the Farmland then yeah that's my understanding because they were talking about part I didn't want it to any kind of future plans or future construction correct very close to build well right if they were to run along the outside of the property line I think that's pretty good but cutting right through the middle of it because we have a a gas pipeline R through us it's not deep enough I just want to make sure it's deep enough well so what he's saying though is if they do tiet rate through the middle you just eliminated any possibility of selling it to anybody else correct or because you got that thing going through the middle so if it goes down the loope each of the road or some place like that and that would it give that takes the value down I would say of that piece of property when you have that thing correct I'll get more information too because I did ask some questions and there that link that I gave you though had like five or six documents on there so it shows all those different things but there are some questions I had too so sorry to interrup that we're supposed to be talking about that's all all right thank you superintendent um just some project updates maybe more for our public if anybody's listening to people that are here tonight too so locker rooms continue to progress um always things that come up and have to be make some changes things like that Chris is really doing a great job of keeping everybody informed on that the chiller is be delivered on the 11th which is on Thursday it'll take about three weeks to uh then install so right before school so um that's good um that's been delayed for many many many many many many months um but that's what we're hearing on a lot of different things like that especially chillers and um different kinds of things uh the tennis courts I think I've shown you some pictures but they have everything cleared out um as far as that goes with some base and we're having a uh I think I sent you information about raising the one at Southwood a little bit to get a bid on that we haven't got the quote yet on that so and then of course the demo of um for the new construction um a lot of the you know the new parking lots are basically for um construction people and also for parents and also for buses that's all been um put down I think you've seen some of those pictures um they done some work just uh south of um the CTE what we call the egg building right now they moved a lot of dirt um we got that um new ski slope um that we run out there just west of U of Sharp Creek it's not very big so we don't have to have a lift right like that but anyway that's going to be there they're going to they're supposed to seed that also so that will be nice it'll look better and not just a bunch of dirt mud out there so lots and lots and lots of things happening right now all over the place that's good so the signs signs when will those be I see they've already ran yeah they got the power there they have the big signs digital signs yeah uh July 18th was when they're going to start working on Nori and then after that started doing South but they got we still got we're waiting on some brick and stuff like that they put that foundation in first for I did take a picture for you guys yesterday but I never sent it then but I took a picture of all the fencing that's up around Warfield and SHP Creek right now to kind of shows the outline of where people canot go but they're still working on well they pretty much had it finished yester there'll be some sign goes that's what I you were talking about first but there'll be some in those areas and then we'll communicate that to our community here before school starts understanding the new traic it's going to be different or is it basically the same going around the back yeah I mean you're still going to go around the back but there are going to be certain spots that are off limits off limits basically will be right here between Northfield and Sharp Creek so that is off limits that's only for construction and buses so but there'll be signage that we looked at and make sure it's all done appropriately what are they doing parking lot just we paining it oh so that's all coming okay there's some posts out there you can see how far it's going to go back so it's kind of Y us more staff and is it a par for the school side and then just one maybe a couple other things so it's interesting to note you know School uh officially summer school ended uh last last Wednesday yeah last Wednesday July 3rd so no buses for about about four weeks only because we'll start um running buses next four weeks from Tomorrow bus inspections tomorrow and bus inspection starts too right so so we have no more students in school as of now of course White's finished the week before um but then they'll be starting to end end of July so school all the time going all right curriculum Trum household started charlott's web to the 5-year-old so we're uh we're prepared for tear here in a few weeks some pig some pig some pig I will say um Mr Drake has been looking at the AP scores um we'll get more he'll have more information for you later I'm just starting to dig in those a little bit more but um very pleased with the AP scores and some some excellent news on that too so I'll be just a little teaser on that part of it we can share um officially and we'll probably do a document so we can show you everything that just came out I think yesterday was the first day we saw some of those all right new business we have a recommendation to approve no changes for the 20242 School Meal crisis yeah just after looking at where we stand cash balance wise and some other things our recommendation is to not change anything that we did the last year as far as M costs are concerned I did throw some facts out there on your document for some reason they didn't they don't show UPL when when they go to PDF I think they CH take away your anyway just I thought they were interesting so we have not we have not changed meal prices since January of 2017 so they've remained the same since then um our average monthly food cost though has increased I would guess yeah say that again, so in 2020 our monthly average food cost was about $ 2,000 just over 32,000 and 2023 our monthly average went up to 48,000 and in 2024 right now we're trending at almost 62,000 and so if things continue to Trend that way next year we probably will have to raise service costs but right now I think we're good if an emergency ever comes up we can always we've done it before mid year where we've changed price cost I think we're I think we're okay for well I think that's good if we can keep those costs down we can still afford it keep that going we know it's not cheap out there for families anywhere yeah and some of that meal cost is not just I want to say just food cost per se but like doing the free doing the free breakfasts has increased participation so obviously there's an increas in number of meals being prepared which that adds into the cost of the meal that's all right recation for that the got a motion a second to approve no changes to our meal prices for this coming school year all those in favor say I I oppos all right passes our school calendar we got the revision yes the re reason for the revision U there are no date changes whatsoever U just to do the reader digest version basically there was language put in when you adopted it on November 14th to say that um a lot of this was based on the 103 flexibility waiver since we did receive the 103 um 103 flexibility waiver we no longer have to worry about some of the language so we took out the language uh which means on some of those days that it would say a makeup day it won't be a makeup day because we actually will be using our 103 flexibility waiver uh for some of those days just like we have the last couple years um the other change is not a date either none of these none of the dates have changed but on June 1st when we have our commencement we are changing the times just slightly um instead of starting at 2: PM we will start at 1:30 p.m.

we don't put it on here because it's not they have their own calendar but then our bridge program will be at 6:30 so we go 30 minutes earlier as a start but then we end 60 Minutes uh earlier especially for a lot of this U the families and students that travel across the whole state of Indiana they'll be finished a little bit earlier um so they can go home so anyway that that is the recommendation again for anybody looking at this talking about revision dates stay the same just some language and the change of times for graduation questions on that if you want me to go over the whole thing with the 103 flexibility waiver i' would love to share that again move we pass Revis scho calendar for 20425 okay we got a motion second to approve the revision to our 2425 school calendar all those in favor say I I any oppose all right motion passes unfinished business don't think we have any Bo policy public comment we received our new brochure and we're really impressed with it so thanks to everybody that worked on it was really nice it was I had com we did too ien you got live I seen it it your wife probably watch it'll be I have two yes that was a a good little brochure had a lot of good information in it and appreciate those that did spend a lot of time putting that together um any items for board members all right we're jour

and then we'll go two and a half hours in between each time we've had enough data to know now after two years of being at honey well with all three of our graduations that we can do it that way so then Southwood will be first this coming year in 2025 northw will be 2 at 400 p.m.

everybody okay um they were going to have to be amended anyhow based on the feedback that you this evening so right oh go ahead we can approve as is and then bring back that metric to add in and that would obviously give me time before I go out and present to the schools to be able to present that thoroughly to our staff safe to say yes I just had a a quick comment um it's not about a specific number anything but um I just need verification we have momentum based on what we saw from last year correct yes and so that momentum is valuable to our students our kids and our staff so I don't have a suggestion on that specific change um when I speak from from the deos as a board member I'm also a parent when I share a personal story I try to share it from the lens of it's also something other families are going through and I have a a fourth grader in the audience who was below Proficiency in math and because of the excellent work that the Educators in her uh group were doing this year she actually got her needle moved up to um proficient this year from the beginning of year to the end of year and she used to be in that special education group too um this year she was not so she didn't even have the extra support so I I know we're just one number but I know that that needle is moving for other families um and I appreciate the work that's going on I don't have a specific suggestion on these numbers but just knowing that that's moving and the impact that it has person personally as a parent or with your child um has been very valuable so are are we all right with moving forward with the goals as amended in tonight's meeting I need clarification on what that means I'm not so we come back and we vote on we vote now deled or it's a fluid document and we we approve it tonight but come back with amendments to the board goals next meeting or do we want to wait until the middle of August to vote on no I I would love to give our teachers and administration some some clear guidance I think my only issue here and while I heard all of you suggest that this should I wasn't really clear on how we were measured measuring that number and that those two things were lumped in together and as Miss Dunn was asking those questions on the day that's where it occurred to me that this goal in order for us to really measure where our proficiency levels lie with our students is something that we may want to look at look at amending so I'm comfortable approving okay these goals tonight I don't mean to speak for anyone else just me but like you know having a con because the whole pie and even getting on some of the pockets I would like to have a further conversation too just and if I'm not mistaken I think you're saying in terms of equity the most important um measurement may be moving kiddos out of below because if we don't concentrate on that that sure they will be left behind forever sure yes so um we need to concentrate on those left uh those kiddos that are being moved out of below and then we can also report those at proficiency um with approaching being kind of a nebulous area we can maybe we can just leave approaching out of the out of the board goals does that sound right oh I think approaching actually is pretty important for us to measure just in terms of a health metric well but it but since it includes kiddos moving in all directions up and down and up and down we want to see our our proficiency increasing our at proficiency increasing and we want to see kids being moved out of below and if we know that that's true we know that our um approaching is I want to see increase in both the proficiency and the approach proficiency well you don't want to see approaching if they're moving from proficient if they're moving down from proficient into approaching you it's hard to the the two most important categories I think to measure will be the top category and the bottom category so that so that because as as Mr Notre was saying uh if a teacher is being meas measured only on app proficiency she's got five kids that just need to come up two points and she's going to be working with those five kids because that's her percentage measure but the the decrease in the below proficiency is how we could measure that we've had a decrease in below proficiency yeah okay um we can we can we'll talk about it when we get to our action items how we want to deal with this okay we'll keep it in our action items do you want to table it or do you want it to be part of our action items this evening we still have deserve to have um I mean we we have a couple options we can pass it as is um pending amendments um we won't create the Amendments this evening because we want to see them and look at them right you know and so over the next um two weeks we will be looking at those amendments and then we can pass the amendments to the board goals in the next meeting but you already you and your staff and our building leaders will already have a good idea of what those amendments will be I want to add to just I want to make sure that it's clarified that I think what we're all hearing from the desk is passion we're passionate about but for me wanting to make not but because that negates I thank you for this dialogue I do think yes we probably should have worked this out a bit more prior to coming here but I will say um where I am coming from it is not to uh push back on a lot of things to get a bigger picture and so I thank you for being able to hear me on that because it's those pockets of th those those those questions that you asked that give you the bigger view of equity and where is this lens coming from and that's what I really try to frame things from is where is this Equity lens coming from and so yes the dialogue tonight was helpful but what you're hearing is passionate what I'm hearing from everybody up here is we are passionate about our children passionate about this work and passionate about moving our kiddo so um just want to make sure that that was clear great okay I think we've asked a lot of questions and um formed some some opinions here we'll move on U Mr harb Dr harb I'm sorry to the Neola policy updates Madam president members of the board Dr Smith at the June 24th board meeting I brought forward the special June 2024 Neola revision packet and now bring that same packet back for second reading or do you have any questions about the policy the second reading of the policies than you for this work sir that's a lot of thank you and then we will go on and move uh Mr miles to our financial update please thank you once again Madam president Dr Smith members of the board in front of you you have our June 30th 2024 general fund and Transportation uh reports we'll start with the general fund um from a revenue standpoint uh revenues are up to this point of the year and as far as expenditures go we're actually just a little below U projected so in a very good place from the general fund standpoint on the transportation side similarly the uh Revenue are up uh quite a bit from our projection our our June um property tax receipts were were uh a little higher than what we had projected those could drop at the end of the year we get those twice a year um and from an expenditure standpoint just a little bit above uh the projected so once again in in a good place uh overall any questions about our financial update then um we will move on to our board committee chair reports thank you Mr miles uh board committee chair reports uh Foundation um currently they are uh the foundation is offering Supply the success it's the school supply drive that's going on through August 2nd uh they have it in the form of an Amazon wish list uh you can find that at msdlt f.org or call the office and then the first um and tell me if I'm wrong Miss Lawrence but edex starts up this Friday July 26 for our staff our teachers to get their free uh school supplies to go shop and they're always taking volunteers if you like to hand out supplies those are the two updates I have you and also always taking donations for the edex store from companies in the area that have additional school supplies or things of that nature that they want to donate yes thank you and I I just saw that they do have a list a wish list for edct on on the website so yes thank you fabulous well and I think we know what's going on with policy but give us give us an overview fabulous uh policy co-chair um shared our uh packet that we will be obviously voting on for approval this evening but also has shared with me that looking forward Neola has indicated that the next policy revision packet volume 36 number two is nearing release the packet will contain additional policy revisions as again a result of laws passed by Indiana General Assembly this spring um and we anticipate the first reading um to be in August or September and lastly the policy committee continues to work on updating our administrative guidelines and response to the recently revised policies thank you very much thank you Miss dun thank you very much um we will move on to our action items Madam president Parks oh Parks I left parks off I'm so sorry have some fun coming up too I have July 28th at Alexander park we have the back to school cookout from 12: to 3: and we also have the barbecue and blues um at our cultural campus this will be on September the 14th from noon to 5:30 and they will have four bands I'm glad I didn't miss that that's that' be fun is that a Saturday to see it's on my calendar I don't know it's on a Sunday thank you great um fantastic thank you Miss Norman so now we will move on to our action items um approval of our school lunch fees Mr miles thank you once again Madam president at this time I ask the board to approve the proposed school lunch fees for the 2425 school year all those in favor of approving those lunch fees I oh so please Jessica I'll second all right properly moved and second and all those in favor I I any opposed thank you board for keeping me on track um the approval of the proposed um 2025 budget adoption calendar by Mr miles Madam president at this time I recommend that the board approve the proposed 2025 budget adoption calendar as submitted so moved second properly moved and seconded um all those in favor of adopting the current 2025 budget calendar I I any opposed all right we'll move on to the approval of the board goals and I believe with the motion um we should include an amended state so so move I I first we have to have um they have to be presented so Mr on what I heard mam president I recommend the board approve the proposed board goals for the 20242 school year as submitted and amendments so moved second um all those in favor I any opposed we have our board goals um approval of the Neola policies um Mr Dr harsh mam president president members of the board Dr Smith a few minutes ago I brought to you 20 or 2024 spring second reading and now recommend the board approve the package as submitted so moved second properly moved and seconded all those in favor I any opposed we have our policies thank you very much uh Miss D and Dr harb thank you very much that um and that leaves us Madame President I move we treat action items 3.5 through 3.10 as consent agenda do we have a second a second okay properly moved and seconded um we have an all those in favor of the consent agenda I iOS I move approval of the consent agenda second second all right all right so properly moved and seconded um all those in favor of the consent agenda the approval of the consent agenda I I any opposed and again let me just let me just State for the public that our consent agenda agenda includes um the our board minutes from our past meetings of last month the approval of personnel reports um and uh approval of claims approval of service agreements um approval of pay apps and um the approval of our field trips having said that we just approved our Personnel report Miss Johnson do you have someone to introduce to us this even I do good evening Madam president Dr Smith and members of the board this evening we approve the principal of forest Glenn Elementary Mrs Kelly loving fos is here with us tonight her husband if she can come forward Mrs leing fos brings 16 years of educational experience as a bilingual teacher and administrator to the new role most recently serving as as the principal of the newcomer program in Indianapolis Public Schools Miss loving fos began her career in IPS as both a Spanish and Ela teacher in 2008 she transitioned to Administration in 2019 and as experienced as both an assistant principal and principal Mrs loving fos earned her BS in Spanish from Indiana University and having one year abroad in Spain she earned her Masters in teaching at Maring University an MBA from IU Kelly School of Business and is a doctoral student in education at vanderbelt University Miss loving fos shares that as a scholar of language acquisition she finds the immersion model fascinating as a K12 educator and former Spanish teacher she loves being part of igniting a passion for foreign language and others and have watched the success of forest llyn over the years with great admiration and respect she's a servant leader while student welfare is always at a top priority the well-being of these exceptional teachers cannot be overlooked the retention and cultivation of high quality teachers is imperative to a successful school like Forest Clint and she seeks to keep the sentiment in mind at all times Dr Smith has shared that Forest glint is an exceptional School recog throughout Indiana and Beyond as a pillar of Excellence for bilingual education and he is confident that Forest L Community will be impressed with the experience and personal skills that Mrs Ling fos will bring to this role she has extensive knowledge in studies in Spanish and her long service in Indianapolis Public Schools is an indication of her commitment to public education we are confident that we have selected the best person to continue leading this school on the path of success in teaching and learning let's welcome Miss [Applause] Kelly with her [Applause] tonight shake all your congratulations friend I'm so start with your thank you so much and I and I do think it's important to say that um both Miss Dunn and our new principal have been working together for some time and we have know each other well we do and I am extraordinarily extraordinarily pleased that you will be leading Forest Clan because I can't think of anybody better because you truly are an amazing amazing educator and you will be so incredibly missed in IPS but the students at Forest Glenn and in Lawrence Township are in such wonderful and capable hands you are truly a gem thank you um now we will have board comments board who wants to begin our board comments this evening I can't well I had something to say but you know what it's been a long evening keep you all in prayer for an amazing beginning of the school year thank you for all you do and God speed same thing just um enjoy what's left of Summer uh August 1 is next week and um good luck and thank you as you prepare to receive our our kids I I would just also to Echo everything that was said before also to thank the teacher for all of the preparation and work that goes into preparing for the school year I know that this is going to be um it's always a very hectic time of year for them and as much as um our students are preparing to go back to school maybe reluctantly so our teachers are behind the scenes working hard to make sure that that's a seamless transition I would also suggest to parents to please please be patient and kind at parent drop off it is uh a challenging first couple of weeks and it will be longer wait times so get there early and exercise patience and love for your community and the people around you Mr Smith would also like to remind we do have bus transportation yes we do have bus transportation so if you don't want to sit in that B on a bus we have great transportation in Lawrence Township I would Echo the sentiments of my fellow colleagues um but also I know that teachers are the ones that we think of but also know that we have number of individuals Human Resources looking at the report you guys have been working over time I know to get quality Educators um we know obviously in finance um in student services every part of this organization Transportation um everybody is working Food Service I just think about all the people that make a district Go Round And I just am so incredibly indied to this leadership team to our superintendent as well as all those people that make Lawrence Township that District of destination that we all love so thank you all I truly Echo all the sentiments expressed on the day in addition I would like to congratulate Mr notor and teams for the amazing Lawrence learning Summit it was outstanding and I think of Ken Williams and ruthless equity and how that fits into the discussion the really rich and good discussion we had on the dasas about um about our board goals um making sure that those most underachieving students are never left behind because that's the definition of our Equity so making sure they're never left behind um I I will add before I asked Dr Smith to say a few words um that are next board meeting will be um August 12th I believe August 12th will'll be here at 5:30 um so be there or be square Madam president and board great work today thank you I'm sorry it's August 14th August 14th yes August 14th point of clarification board next board meeting is August 14th 12 it's the 12th it is the 12th Madam president I I don't think that the dates had been updated for the next school year yet we have it we have it we have it taken care we do have it taken care but I I will end Madam president great board meeting thank you great discussion board love the expectations students in fact families plenty of rest CU school will start promptly August 1st so that's my last statement I'll see you soon thank you we have a motion to adjourn so moved second properly moved and second that we are adjourned

we will call our work session to order I'll guess it's a session Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the rep for it stands one nation God indivisible withy and justice for all and since we have since we have just one meeting this month we'll be covering a bit of extra territory we will begin um Mr Smith with our Blue Ribbon update please Madame President Dr Smith members of the board um we've been fortunate here lately we've had some good weather so site work continues on LC actually is and the asphalt has been late uh top code going on this week LC pool tile work continues on and also interior work in the other parts multi-purpose uh gym see the acoustical tiles lighting uh walls have been painting and the floor will be the last new weight room fully equipped in place and being used so uh all in front uh parking lot all the asphalt bases in and they have started the final surface coat and again this week we got a little bit of rain coming in but should be all finished up by the end of the week new addition uh glass is going in a lot has gone in um storefront and doors hopefully in the next two weeks have it buttoned up north edition of course the interior continues on uh classrooms are nearing completion uh for subm renovation hallways and a lot of new furniture going in place gy floor final coat uh Stripes going on uh be ready to go by school start of school uh site work they've been busy out there they'll be done either today or tomorrow uh with a front full parking uh the auditorium will be able to turn that over to the building mid August uh the final uh seating Is Yet To Come uh again classrooms band orusa and hallways going in as well as Furniture front canopy Steels going up and that'll have a totally new look site work again we'll try to finish that up uh they're moving over there once they're done with Belzer to finish up our career uh soccer fence and more sight or Landscaping going on in front of the building LCC tennis courts they should complete those this week with final coat and striping and uh the roof will be uh finishing that up about mid August new LCC the main uh elevator shafts stairways are complet they move to the second moving to the third and steel will be delivered August 1st for the erection of the building all right questions Miss Lawrence yes Mr Smith it's so exciting to see all this work happening right now at our different sites um a couple of a couple of questions as it relates to to the start of school I know we discussed in the last board meeting but to refresh every so I have three I have a three-part question the first is what will the pickup and drop off lines how will they be impacted the second question is what are our plans for ensuring a seamless transition into school for all of our students and um and administration and uh staff and then the third is um will that soccer field at Fall Creek Valley be ready for sage Lawrence to play on on in the fall I'll start with the third real quick we just had a conversation about that so they do have irrigation going to it and uh we're hoping it will be ready and they're doing everything they can uh from the contractor standpoint to make that happen uh in our four buildings with asphalt actually we're going to be able to add to the parent drop off and pickup bells are will be on the front we'll have that all ready to go and I'll get give them a lot more staging area uh Lauren Central will have all of their uh parent drop off pickup on that Southeast side so again we'll be able to expand that of course busing in both sides uh of those buildings uh are up and running now and will be uh Lawrence North the north parking lot again no interference with the drop off pickup with parents that'll continue as it did last uh spring and then U the front of the building we're going to have three entranceways open for students go directly in from the uh parking lot from the buses and then we're going to have a partial hallway all the way through that front from the front door one all the way to uh the commons area so we'll still be working in there but it'll also be open for student Passage follow up to that I've had a number of constituents over the last year share concerns about uh 56 Street in front of or right in front of Lawrence Central because there are a number of families that continually day after day drop off their children and pick them up causing quite uh hazardous condition for children and so I'm just wondering um what the plan is to ensure that we don't have families that continually um drop off now that we have this new drop off and pickup procedure we hope that will help uh of course uh the building constantly sends message out um Lawrence Police also uh monitors that uh we cannot police 56th Street uh from our building we can handle everything on our site U so we constantly continue toh work with our parents to ensure that they use a drop a parent drop off pickup uh for safe delivery of their child is there a world in the first few weeks that we can have a Lawrence presence there because the number of times that I've driven to work myself and Witness children getting out and almost getting hit by cars it's a matter of time before it happens and it concerns me greatly about the safety of our children um that it is continually happened over the last year and given the fact that we are now concluding the construction it seems uh relevant that we would ask our partners at Lawrence Police to have a presence there at the beginning of the school year absolutely Mr Smith and uh Mr Parish both has been in communication with Lawrence PD uh related to that but we we just think that with the new construction that that will go away it was never a problem before we started construction and so we just got to get people back to the routine and I hate it Miss dun you know we hate to be the bad guy and I have to warn parents school starts August 1st watch out for the safety zones because the police will give you tickets and so that's out of our control but Roger has been in communication and Jim has with Lawrence PD specifically to that area and I've witnessed firsthand I was out there Mr kusak and I stood there miss Dunn brought the coin up it is a problem and we want to say to the community don't do it because you're going to the possibility of somebody running in the back of you right out in front of the building so you're making a good point so thank you Miss dun to bring that back and we'll bring it back again with Lawrence PD prior to August 1st my question is I know that 56th Street is Indianapolis so would that be Indianapolis Police Police the 56th Street itself belongs to Indianapolis go ahead Roger yeah uh Lawrence do Lawrence Police does detrol that area Okay along with impd uh so we'll see both cars out there and usually the first week of school uh they're very good about helping us uh traffic again for the communities is going to increase so uh we'll both uh work with them and impd uh to see if they can help us a little more especially that first week and maybe we could issue a um a statement to our parents that should you unload on 56th street you may be issued an expensive ticket that that has been sent from the principal to Lauren Central High School families numerous times Jim point of clarification that is Lawrence PD that's not I PD's Lawrence that's Lawrence that is Lawrence physically in the City of Lawrence so people don't get confused by that now who maintains the RO Roger that's totally different so so people don't get confused that is Lawrence City of Lawrence Mr Smith um as we have a lot of families like like mine that are um transitioning schools going into new schools this year would it be it all possible to potentially do like a write Along video video where we could show parents how to properly um go move through the um pickup and drop off lines because I know I get confused if I haven't driven it before and I think like the the more we can communicate and the more we can just be proactively um involved in making sure that the parents are understand the correct procedure Miss Lawrence as a long-term principal I was principal for a very long time uh our assistant superintendent will communicate to our principles to make sure that they are speaking speaking directly to their families about their pick up and drop off because all of all 15 elementaries are different our two middle schools are different and our high schools so that will be communicated directly to our families from the principles I absolutely and we'll take along the suggestions about videos the reason why I ask is because when you're new to that line it can be very confusing absolutely it is and it changes from year to year it does they do make changes and adjustments with that but we don't touch that here we'll work directly get confused when people are like go to the south parking lot and do this and that so I'm just so as a former principal I always put that map out and I was a high school principal we had very detailed maps and cones and we also had people out there helping with security to Ure that people understand where to go and if there's any now there may be some slight changes because we're giving back to them Roger Smith a lot of property this year a lot of real estate is coming back to our two high schools so that should be a little bit easier and the middle schools are picking up additional real estate that will help out with that but the school schools will make sure that they're communicating to the families I I understand that that is a managerial aspect and not to get into the weeds and but respect Miss Lawrence's comment only from the fact that we do have a number of multilingual Learners and a video is a really outstanding way for a diverse school system such as ourselves um with an increase of patient Creole within the increase of Spanish speakers and so from a safety aspect I I think it should be taken in consideration again defer to you we got it we'll take care of I just had a couple questions Mr Smith um the pool at Lawrence Central uh when the scheduled completion date is that the fall uh early fall September is when we're projecting that to be finished okay so that'll be ready for the swim season that's our plan that's the goal yeah okay goal and then the second question again about grounds what is um will the athletic fields at Fall Creek the baseball and softball and Tennis all be rebuilt in the same location uh the softball will be different baseball stays the same softball will be between the baseball and the tennis courts okay uh so we laid out to softball so they'll have all accurate Fields okay thank you and you said you expect those fields to be done by the beginning of the school year not at Fall Creek okay so um the soccer will be is the soccer Turf what no no it's grass okay it's grass okay thank you one more thing I would just like to say how much we appreciate the work that is being done on the facilities but also in making those facilities feel fres fresh with new furniture and looking at those rooms um knowing that students are going to come in and not just have a fresh new environment in terms of the buildings but also having updated Furniture speaks volums about the commitment that we're making to having spaces that feel like academic spaces where learning happens and where student achievement is going to excel so thank you for checking all the boxes I I I would add to that um that I did attend and a few of the mornings uh at the Lawrence learning Summit Bravo later on that um how well the high school functioned um with the glass doors that open and shut um in the cafeteria and the media center creating this large open space for a conference it was incredible the way that the buildings are designed to morph um the spaces to morph for the needs of the event so Kudos Bravo that was great okay any other questions for Mr Smith we'll move on to um our academic um achievement too Mr thank you madam president members of the board and Dr Smith uh last week the State Board of Education and the Indiana Department of Education released I learn scores and so we are now able to talk about them in our public meeting so I bring to you this evening an update on our iearn scores and we begin first with your board goal so your board goal just as a reminder is to increase by 10% the number of students designated as approaching at or above Proficiency in every subgroup on the annual iearn assessment another way to look at that is to decrease by 10% the number of students in the below proficiency category so let's begin with just an overall look at English language arts um and this is the 10% growth goal so 11 of 13 schools had individual subgroups schoolwide that met the 10% growth goal in ela and that's compared to 10% or 10 of 13 that we had in 2023 and you can see the different subgroups um that were met at those individual schools uh the next bullet point is 174 individual grade level or grade level cohorts met the 10% growth goals so we look at this in two different ways we look at it grade level grade level to grade level 23 to 24 we also look at it by cohort so students who were third graders last year how did they do as fourth graders this year and so those are the the different um subgroups that we take a look at so you can see um quite a bit of growth in our black subgroup Hispanic subgroup but most was our English learner last year we had 15 in that box uh this year we have 29 so significantly uh improved with our English Learners at the district level and and this is a really Ambi ious goal to get a 10% growth at the district level we had 10 District grade levels or grade level cohorts that met that 10% growth goal um in ela compared to three last year and then you can see the different subgroups that they fell into this slide we get into the actual data and there are four years of of I learn data for us to take a look at and this is modeled after uh the Indiana Department of Education they are using as the Baseline year uh for comparison and then measuring that growth over a period of four years and it is important to look at it over four years because as a district we need to know whether we're making continual Improvement every year or whether we're going up and down and up and down and up and down and I'm pleased to report uh you can see all the green um that is there for every subgroup that we are making steady growth in all of our subgroups in terms of reaching proficiency um I've also included the total number of testers for you um this is important for us to continue to monitor as we monitor our demographic changes and growth across the district so you can see um in that change 21 to 24 over on the right hand side um that we have 282 more Hispanic testers in 24 compared to 21 and then if you go down to the free and reduced 678 more and then our English Learners 359 more testers in 24 compared to 21 yet we are showing growth that very last column is the state growth so uh this is the state growth over the same four-year period and you can see we meet or exceed the state average in each of our subgroups this next slide is looking at the inverse this is the the number of students that were moving out of below proficiency so we would want to see a negative number here we want to see see less students in below Proficiency in 24 than we had in 23 22 and and 21 and so you can see with one exception our special education subgroup you can see that we have moved our students out of below proficiency with accelerated movement in our black subgroup compared to our white subgroup as we transition into math so the overall uh growth in math 9 of 13 School schools had subgroups schoolwide that met the 10% growth goal and this was compared to seven in 2023 and you can see the the various subgroups that were were met there 149 individual grade level or grade level cohorts that met the 10% growth goal compared to 135 in 2023 so nice growth there but this is this next point is perhaps the greatest growth that we've seen is the at is at the district level we had 10 District grade level or grade level cohorts that as a district we met the 10% growth goal in math and that was compared to zero in 20123 so we had some very significant growth in math uh relative to the board goal and then as we look at the uh specific data uh you can see uh Green in every subgroup with the exception of multi-racial we did not show change in multi-racial from 21 to 24 it is a relatively small subgroup but one that we need to pay close attention to um and when you compare our growth to the state average you can see that we exceed the state average um growth over that same amount of time in in math perhaps our our greatest growth has been moving our students out of below Proficiency in mathematics and so if you just look at the the right hand column where all the green is you can see accelerated growth for our Black and Hispanic students in moving them out of below proficiency our English Learners accelerated growth as well um and of course our free and reduced lunch total um accelerated growth and moving out of Prof out of out of below proficiency so just some some key analysis points in a in a macro level um we're seeing significant progress toward the 10% growth board goal in all subgroups in both Ela and math um every building had a subgroup or multiple subgroups that met that 10% growth goal um it is significant to note the second bullet that our English learner subgroup has grown by 363 students uh many level ones and level twos yet we are showing better proficiency um and moving students out of below so similar to the Statewide data our gains have been greater in math than in e La um but our our Proficiency in Warren's Township is greater than the state growth in in nearly every subgroup this last bullet point is really important um in that there is a widening Gap so um if you look at the data there's a widening Gap in our proficiency levels uh among the racial subgroups so we grew more at the proficiency level in our white subgroup than we did in our subgroups of color and so um we have identified very specific practices across the district those pockets of Excellence that we found in our data analysis and are working to expand those practices uh across the district where we know that they worked based on last year's data and of course a continued focus on our Equitable student outcomes action plan is a must so next steps um one of the the pieces in our analysis that we saw and we continue to see is those grade levels those schools that are most tightly align to our instructional framework are getting the most growth and so that particular goal of achieving a 9.0 or higher on the rigor appraisal is is critical the next bullet is integrating the Lawrence language model into the instructional framework we're seeing good growth in our English learners but we want to see more and so a very specific language model that aligns with our instructional framework was introduced at the summit last week and will be carried on throughout the the school year that continued focus on the science of reading implementation in all grade levels not just early grades but in all grade levels with datadriven reading interventions um and this is also very specific to that um sped subgroup where we didn't show the growth and Below proficiency um this will be significant uh for that subgroup continued implementation of our Equitable student outcomes action plan with a specific focus on short cycle Data Systems uh short cycle Data Systems is a system that we identified last year as a high leverage system schools that have really strong short cycle Data Systems showed significant growth and so we want to support all of our schools in becoming better at Short cycle Data Systems and then uh students have to be at school in order to achieve so implementation of our comprehensive plan to improve student attendance would also be a next step we happy to entertain any questions um Mr notor this is phenomenal I've been on this board for almost a dozen years and board we don't get reports like this with all green very often or ever have we gotten this I'm not sure kudos to you the team our teachers our building leaders our assistant superintendents and our superintendent thank you um this will have long-term rewards for our students um I would ask is it possible to give us a short understanding of the Lawrence language model because I know we have implemented this year um further growth of our dual language programs in various schools I understand that but what do you mean specifically by that Lawrence language model yeah and it's different from Dual language so um you may have heard of the scop language model um and so it's taking the elements from scop which we've trained our district in um over several years and directly integrating them into our Marzano instructional framework so that we're not looking at two different Frameworks we're looking at one framework that integrates language directly into it and could you just explain for for those that haven't heard of scop just explain briefly what that is yes it's about an approach to making language um accessible for all students and and using instructional practices like comprehensible input building background knowledge focus on vocabulary that support students access to grade level curriculum it's not about teaching below grade level it's about supporting students language to access grade level curriculum and if I understand correctly correction in a very positive way feedback absolutely feedback and correction in very positive ways instead of that's not how we pronounce it it's just repeting the correct pronunciation Etc okay all right thank you questions board is done thank you very much for this information it is very exciting to see the growth happening but we do know that our scores are um certainly not at the state level yet um compared to other districts across the state or other districts within Maran County and so the board goal I know indicates that um approaching at or above proficiency but slides for and and seven say proficiency is that an error or is this all of are we talking approaching at proficiency and above Proficiency in the data that's reported this evening it's about at proficiency and above at and above together and Below okay but not we don't see the approaching which is part of the board goal the approaching it's difficult to measure because some students move out of approaching into at and above some students unfortunately move out of approaching into below so by separating it this way we're able to measure the percentage of students moving out of below and the percentage of students that are reaching proficiency which is considered at or above okay so the board goal I'm assuming in because I just this I'm just catching this right now probably we should not have approaching in board goals moving forward but it should just be at or above proficiency so the data that's on the screen now this includes the minus 7% in black students for example that includes any student who moved out of below into approaching at or above so some of them may have moved out of below to at proficiency some students moved out of below into approaching proficiency so this particular slide includes approaching any student who is not up below proficiency this is confusing to me I think I understand your confusion Miss D um I look at data a lot and I'm very confused that why we would have approaching as part of a board goal if we're just really looking at the at or above Proficiency in every subgroup and I understand that we're decreasing but really the board goal as written is approaching at or above proficiency so I'm just saying that we might want to rethink the board goal that we have created so that it is specifically staying at or above proficiency because as somebody who is in education for over 30 years is struggling to understand this who looks at data on a daily basis I can see that our constituents might be commed so the board goal is about moving 10% out of below proficiency so to move out of below proficiency you can go to approaching you can go to at or you can go to above we'll look at the board goals in a few but that's not but the under like that's the second part so I think we have to have Clarity are we decreasing that amount or I don't know so we we'll look at that again in board goals is that is that yes I would appreciate that thank you okay all right any other questions yes I do um is it possible to expound more concerning the it's on slide on the key points on the key analysis points concerning the correlation between the proeyes and our Equitable student out outcomes plan can you expound on that a little bit more sure so um you're talking about the last bullet yes yes so one of the data analysis points is at the proficiency level there's a widening Gap so our white students are growing at the proficiency level faster than our other subgroups and so we recognize that um there are practices across Ross the district that we have been able to find through our analysis at particular schools in particular grade levels that showed accelerated growth in subgroups of color or in our English learner subgroup or our special education subgroup and so now it's about replicating those practices across the district short cycle data system is one example where those schools those grade levels that are in tune with daily how students are performing and then correcting um and and self-improving daily uh based on that that that data um really showed accelerated gains and so that's uh a a focus from the Equitable student outcomes action plan from several years ago that will be a priority Focus for this year thank you for thank you for sharing that it's it's good to see that we've done the work AIT but also that a Curr absolutely I just had a a question just to help understand myself it's on slides three and six you can go to either one uh bullet point two um just trying to understand what the individual like grade levels are um first of all I see the needle moving which is amazing and great um I think the on the I learned the ELA they went up 27 year over last so that's great I was just trying to understand if I knew the numbers correctly so individual grade level how many total grade levels would we have out of the tested group so each elementary school has four Okay so three through six each middle school has two okay okay thanks for um explaining that I was just trying to understand a little bit more like the total total numbers I do the grade level cohorts make complete sense to me so thank you for that and I also wanted to say thank you for mentioning the special education group and the you know the addressing of the future forward um strategies I saw that in the data too so it's always great that I I know there's a plan in place so thank you are there any other questions from Mr not this time okay if not we'll move on uh Mr miles the proposed lunch fees for this upcoming school year thank you madam president Dr Smith members of the board it's my pleasure tonight to bring you our proposed school lunch or School Meal fees for the upcoming school year and I would remind the board and the public uh this we are entering year two of a 4-year um Community eligibility program which grants all of our students all of our students free uh breakfast and lunch daily so we have no change in the price uh for students this year once again it will be free our adult meal prices there's uh proposing a slight increase of 10 to 30 cents depending on breakfast versus lunch for the upcoming school year any questions board yes Mr miles um the St the difference between the student lunch and the adult lunch as um many of our students and high school are eating adult-sized portions how how different are those two lunches and would we ever have a student purchase an adult lunch in order to get more food how does that work so uh after they I may I may defer to Mr Smith he may have on that I'm just trying to help the hungry children relations yeah no they're they're the same lunch uh there's different Entre that uh the adults can have as well it's the same entree that the students are offered so the mounts uh are very much similar from an adult to a student if if a student wanted more food because he or she was extra hungry that day is that also accounted in this or do they pay additional so that's an additional cost for individual students they can buy anything anything from art certain items uh at a at a price anywhere from um I believe they're 20 cents on up to over a dollar 40 cents for a certain item such as a bread item um or they can buy a full meal if they so choose okay and I'm not sure who this question goes to um but we were able to secure free lunch and breakfast for our students um because of the federal program I wonder if you could just explain that a little bit so yeah that an application process that that takes place at schools uh if you've got above 25% uh of your student population that qualifies for either snap tanif or or some other categories mckenny vento Fosters others um you are eligible for that application which we did a year ago um and again unless we were to opt out for some reason we qualify for that for the next four years or the next three this year and two more years Beyond this great any other question questions about school lunch fees so basically your your children's lunch is free if your children are extra hungry make sure you put a little extra money in their in their account because anything above and beyond the regular school lunch does have a price correct um albeit greatly reduced from the trip to Wendy's that our high schoolers may want to take that would also be correct yes okay um nothing against Wendy's um all right um Mr miles we'll move on to transfer of our funds update thank you madam president at this time I'd like to report back to the board uh on action that was taken in June uh you may recall uh we asked for permission to transfer funds between our education and operations funds we do this twice a year in June and once again at the end of the year in December and then we report back to the board uh by Statute we want to make sure we stay underneath the 15% maximum that we can transfer from education to operations the the net transfer uh at this time is just under 12% 11.91% uh for that June transfer and once again just as a reminder this allows us to get the funds or the revenue into the uh the correct fund that we where we track the expenses so that they balance out um and that helps us um stay compliant with the statute and please remind us why those funds are in opposite accounts so the education fund um in in essence funds everything in the classroom primarily our teacher salaries and other things that are directly uh related to classroom uh expenses so we want the expense and the revenue to be in the same pot our operation fund um includes everything from transportation to our bus replacement fund and our capital projects um or cpf so basically the the nuts and bolts of things that run run the district so why do we have education I guess the question is why do we have education funds in operations and operation funds in education sure I understand the question really this is a um we feel like it's best practice it's something that we've done U that dates back many years into the past this is the way the state used to have us track these uh the expenses by funds and so by doing so we're able to to monitor our budget more what we feel like is more effectively we can still do these transfers but allow us to keep um sub buckets if you will underneath the different funds um so we can track and and stay on budget and also look at historical so it's in order for us to compare as as we'll get the financials later in the meeting so that we can compare apples to apples ET correct okay thank you you're welcome questions okay uh we will move on then to the um budget adoption count uh calendar Mr miles thank you once again Madam president Dr Smith members of the board uh by Statute each year we we go through a budget process and we're just getting into that season part of that process is to um disclose to the public and our taxpayers the calendar in which we plan to adopt our budget for the upcoming year um we work on a on a year-to-year basis so this process will take care of our 2025 budget which needs to be completed and submitted to the state prior prior to November 1st for all taxing uh taxing districts taxing units and so before you have the calendar dates um that we intend to uh proceed forward with uh from a publishing our budget to the final adoption in September this does give us a little bit of room um for flexibility we only have one board meeting as you know in October this year so this sets us up just in case we were to need to push back we can do so uh we certainly couldn't move forward or faster than the announced calendar but we feel like this is uh best best path forward uh to get us set for our 25 budget questions about the budget calendar anyone okay thank you Mr miles um we will move on then to our um board goals um Dr Brown and Mr kusik President Smith members of the board we're bring to you the new board goals for the 24 25 school year any changes from last year's goals are in turn it overis thank you the beginning goal for equity and anti-racism is focused as uh we've already been discussing this evening on our Equitable student outcomes action plan and that it be implemented as outlined in the plan that progress and outcomes would be reported on the dashboard monthly so adding that time element and then report updates to the board twice twice each year as we move into student achievement um the first one is the focus on the graduation rate um and it's recommended that it would stay the same as last year's board goal in maintaining an average graduation rate of 93% while increasing the percentage of students earning an academic honors or Technical Honors diploma by at least 5% in every racial subgroup with accelerated growth in underperforming subgroups the next one um I mentioned in in the iearn update our rigor diagnostic to achieve or exceed an end ofe rigor appraisal score of 9.0 um we see that as a a direct correlation to a student achievement on iearn uh the next two bullets are about the um attendance rate so increasing our student attendance to 95% and the next one gets specific in how the state is measuring attendance so increasing our model attend attendee rate by 10% for students enrolled at least 162 days and the model attendee rate is the number of students who have attended at least 94% divided by the total number of students in the school as we move to the next slide uh the next one is our um I ready growth and for this year it was 12% uh because we had such significant growth this year we recommending to increase that for next year to a growth of 15% in the number of students meeting grade level proficiency on um and I ready the math and reading assessments at the midy year and year end uh with accelerated growth in underperforming subgroups the next one is your I3 goal and it's been uh re Rewritten based on your feedback and by June of 2025 increased the ir3 proficiency percentage of third grade students who've been enrolled in LT for two or more years by 10% and that two or more years is to align with the state legislation that was passed last year and then the last one is the the other one that we've been discussing and and this is written um in the positive to increase by 10% the number of students designated as approaching at or above Proficiency in every subgroup on the iearn assessment the other way it could be written is to decrease by 10% the number of students designated as below proficiency so it could be written either way good evening and going on to our strategic plan and again noting the additions in red we are in starting year two of the three-year strategic plan so continuing with the implementation continuing with our monitoring and Reporting uh but adding in the time element as well here that the dashboard would be updated quarterly good evening as we continue with the human resource people goals as we look at slide one of our people goals um our first goal remains the same as last year on our commitment to providing professional development in our Equity work our second goal um Remains the Same in that we will work to increase our staff diversity as we look at our bilingual staff as well as our racial and ethnic diversity by 3% on the next slide are three goals that we are looking at um number three Remains the Same retaining 90% of District effective and highly effective certified teachers and just just in as we concluded the month of June we reached 93% for that for last year the 2324 school year Implement an anonymous employee survey for all staff have to better understand drivers of job satisfaction we're working to just increase their participation um percentage each year as we create a climate and culture around participating in that survey and our last board goal for human resources is offer an exit interview to every employee that leads through resignation or retirement and continuing that go in the area of operations and finance uh our first word goal we propose a slight increase to our cash balance in the education fund uh we have a current board goal of 13 million in that area we'd like to see that increase um as our expenses and our revenues go up each year we want to make sure our our cash balance does accordingly and the next two board goals are repeat from the current year or the just the previous year U to maintain a current positive uh balance in all taxing funds and lastly to increase our minority vendor spend by three percentage points continuing with Safety and Security First two are repeats continue to meet the requirements per Indiana code for the emergency preparedness plans and drills and continue with the annual site building security assessments and we've added to launch the helpme app for safety resources and Anonymous reporting fantastic um I do have a couple questions um um academically 9% rigor how close are we is that doable the 9.0 yes yes we have schools that have been there for several years and so I mean it's I know it's achievable is it achievable for all of our schools year absolutely okay absolutely okay um uh model attendance rate um can we just put put that math right on underneath that goal just definition of model attendance rate because um I I know that our building leaders know what that is and largely these board goals are for our building leaders but um if you know any stakeholders look at this we want them to be able to understand it um um I'm not sure we we wrote on the Strategic reports um when how often we report to the board on the Strategic plan I think that uh we did report that on the equity plan but I think on the Strategic P so just you know twice a year if that's you know if that's acceptable to the board twice a year okay right um cash balance uh just for the public um for all 30,000 that are listening this evening um that cash balance um is roughly equal to a month of pay for our teachers and as as prices and salaries go up that cash balance often moves up a little bit so 13 million to 14 million is seems pretty reasonable to me um and then retention of teachers um 93% this year and I think our goal is 90% retention so I'm thinking you know I'm thinking a little bit like a a boss of a Salesforce you know you've got this you met this level so I don't know is that do we want to keep that at 90% or do we want to move that to 92 93% try to maintain the same retention that we have we already have what do you think Bo I'm always for a good growth number um I don't know what would be reasonable in that sort of circumstance either well just to add to that we also look at the number of employees that resign and that are retiring and they too many of them were effective and highly effective so it's hard to know what to anticipate that to predict so that 93% is based on those that were retained so that's the Wild Card Factor as to so what you're saying is just to repeat in a different way that number could fluctuate not necessarily because we're not retaining um highly effective teachers but because a lot of Highly Effective teachers are retiring okay don't know that estimate number per year so 90% is a safe rate I look at historically the data I I do have one question um related to the achievement um data Mr notor when we're saying um decre or forget how it's phrased up here the um the yeah the 10% piece yeah so um the second bullet point where it says by June 2025 the IAD proficiency if third graders who've been enrolled and LT so this is what we're saying about incre like moving them out of below proficiency into one of the other subgroups so either achieving or what I forget how it was phrased it's right here I oh sorry I read the wrong one sorry increase yeah are you talking about the I read or the I learn because I differs from the I learn in the way in which it is reported out right I I learn is what we were discussing today yeah my apologies um so what we're what we're saying here is that we would see those those green numbers that we saw today that would be 10% less because we're moving those students out of below proficiency into one of the other three subgroups and it's a bucketed subgroup just for clearity s correct and the way it was reported this evening yes but my concern is is approaching is not passing and knowing where we are currently and I am not saying I want to make sure that I'm very clear that I do not think a test score is the end all Beall of monitor or of actually capturing what a student is able to do especially knowing our diverse population in that test scores are just one element but I do know it's the element that our state uses to determine if we are effectively instructing students and so I would respectfully ask that we are not saying that we're decreasing the number of that are passing because approaching still is they're still not passing so I think that the in seeing this presentation this evening I would have asked this earlier but I didn't understand because we didn't see the iearn goals or the iearn data until tonight that I think that it needs to be written as increased by 10% the number of students designated as at or above proficiency in every subgroup his approaching is still not passing the I learn assessment and we are we still have a lot of work to do because some of our subgroups are in singled digigit numbers I'm wondering if we can maybe report it a little differently if we can report below proficient below proficiency includes approaching does it not no there's four different designat so if we can report it in in the same um categories that it's that it comes to us because I think it is really important if we have let's say we have 30% below one year with 10% approaching and the next year we see we have 10% below and 30% approaching I think that's very meaningful to our community and our teachers even though it's not passing um I think it's very meaningful growth um that will push us toward passing uh at passing at or above proficiency so perhaps we could report it with all of those categories would that be appropriate that was my concern is that we were bundling those two categories together and not ever seeing the actual passing data but instead the passing was being cooled with the approaching data in well I don't think the approaching data was actually given tonight there was there was only below right it was yeah I'm saying it's being bucketed within that right that within that group I I think personally as if we are looking at we've got several goals that are talking about growth we've got our rigor diagnostic we've got you know other ways that we can see the progress that we're making but I think it is really important for our stakeholders to see that the the end goal the Northstar is for our students to be at or above Proficiency in every subgroup especially if we know that there is a significant discrepancy between how are certain demographics I what uh Miss Pucket was asking earlier about our Equity work that we know that our white students are continuing to outperform um um our other racial subgroups so that's why to me having that high bar that we know Lawrence Township is is known for as extraordinarily important I think it leads into the visions and value of our community I think our community wants to see schools that have students who are passing um the I learn assessment so I guess my question is this goal increased by 10% the number of students designated as approaching at or above proficiency um in every subgroup um then when we when we report to the board report as well the approaching as well as at or above Prof proficiency so so that we have when we have three levels of the of the reporting below add approaching below and approaching and then are above proficiency so we have the three categories reported at the board meeting there would be the below proficiency approaching proficiency right at so it would be below at and approaching at proficiency or above proficiency so there's four categories so we could report the four categories to the board um instead of the two categories would that I I think that gives a lot more clarity to the numbers so the more perspective way it is the board goal um but I heard doc I heard Mr ner say that the approaching was difficult to show the increase by 10% or maybe I Mur you no you didn't and the the issue with approaching is there's two ways approaching can happen one is to move students out of below which is what the board goal is the other is to lose some students that proficiency and then they go down to approaching so that's where that number you have to look at it in the context of all the rest of the data to determine whether the approaching number is healthy or not that's what I was wanting to get to is why in your opinion why we do the how it all how it all coincides from your perspective if that makes sense the historical piece for this go and this has been our goal since I learned started and and we began uh Bo goals around I learn is that the state Pass rates are so low on I learn and this is the state average I'm talking about um that and president mus you spoke to this in order for teachers in schools to feel like we can really get behind this I learn goal it's about moving students out of below into one of the upper three categories that if we're moving students out of the lowest reporting category we're getting healthier as a a school district and to your point um Mrs Dunn it's absolutely our goal to get students to at or above a 10% growth in at or above may not be as achievable as when you put it with moving 10% out of below and so this really is a way that um and and you saw the data I shared it with you of the 10% growth that we had at each of our schools and how moralizing that is for our teachers to see yes there are low Statewide averages in terms of proficiency but we're making progress with our students so it's about a progress goal um we certainly could rewrite it to say decrease by 10% the number of students scoring in below proficiency or we could certainly make it about at or above but I would recommend that we change the 10% thank you for that I was leading that element to kind of round out as we're bouncing around um just having that element to your you're here you're like what did thank you that was helpful as well I think having Clarity with the number of students who are at or above proficiency given that that's how districts are measured at the state level would be important now I'm not discounting the importance of also having approaching proficiency as a metric to understand if we're being helpful and moving toward those end achievements but putting the two together I think unfairly makes the the total number maybe Rosier I don't I don't I don't that's unfair to say but um there's just it it provides more clarity when you're able to break those two numbers out um and would also allow us to have a better perspective on the point that Miss Dum was making our diverse populations and how they're moving toward achievement I also state that for the board we are looking at overall student outcomes and the North Star is that especially as we are being graded by the state is going to be how students perform on our I learn if they are passing or not passing essentially and so I think it's incumbent upon us to have a goal that is a rigorous goal that's not to say that I don't hear what you're saying that as a former educator I know the just the amount of Blood Sweat and Tears that goes into um ensuring that our students are performing well and to see the Statewide averages I mean when we look at the Statewide averages we know that uh in ela what do we have uh 20.9% in the state that are proficient so we know that those scores across the state are low but I would hope that individual school and school leaders would celebrate those those incredible Educators that are moving students incrementally from below proficient to approaching but I think as a board we have to have that really high um what our community is looking at when they look to buy homes in our in our neighborhood they are looking at report cards they're looking at how students are performing um and so I would suggest that even if it decreases by 10% I suggest that we um have it at or above because that's what folks are looking at just clarify also I want to make sure because I'm big on culture um so it's a matter of what works for the culture of our leadership here and so I want to ask um or I don't want to minimize it but the concern on how we have it worded is that it also is help as the [Music] moral I'm not I I need to find a way to word this a little differently I'm we're seeing growth with a model that we're currently using because I'm concerned and I don't want to put words to any body's mouth is a concern um you want it to be clearly laid out is it in my perspective the approaching proficiency doesn't adequately account for those that are at or above and while approaching is a health metric to understand how we're moving which I certainly agree with still including as part of the board goals making clear the end achievement goal and now like I I leave it up to others to say if it's 10% or if it's lower than 10% Etc but I do think that we're not actually calling out those students who are at or above proficiency and my my fear is that that number is maybe not as clear as it could be because that subgroup in the way that it's reported out is including the the he the the moving toward proficiency and not breaking those two outs separately maybe unfairly shows that we aren't um the maybe looks as though we are not being clear in the at or above proficiency rating have an understanding so like I'm I'm thinking three different categories make sense below um approaching and at or above because at or above is the ultimate goal and it's the like how we're getting there let let me ask this in terms of the wording board um we do not want to increase below okay so the goal is increased by 10% the number of students designated both in approaching and at or above proficiency we can't show that the approaching without show because basically the way that this is written is it's really decreasing by 10% the number of low proficient students that what that's what this goal is but it's not a it's not clearly stated that that's what this is and I would argue that our ultimate goal is to increase the percentage of at or above proficiency that's the ultimate goal and while there is a health metric to move the students for at or above proficiency because we are putting those two together when we're reporting out those metrics we're never actually understanding what like we're never understanding whether or not people are moving out of that approaching category into at or above so do you want want you to say increase by 10% the number of students designated as at or above proficiency I what I heard is that 10% might not be a realistic goal and so I think we defer to making sure that it is realistic because we also don't want our Educators to feel like we are placing unrealistic expectations we know as you so eloquently stated that at the state level we still are not seeing 100% proficiency Even in our school districts that technically or traditionally have 90 plus percent we're seeing in the 60% so we we know that that's the reality of the assessment so I certainly am not hanging my hat on this 10% as being the Target but I think the adder above is really what we need to focus on in deferring to the leadership team on what percentage would be mosto reason so I would ask Mr not yeah yeah ahead you may be asking the same question so not to sorry oh I just would ask um what would be the effect on our teaching staff that's yeah of changing that goal to students designated as at or above proficiency yeah I would ask that of Mr notor and Dr Smith it would be varied depending on the school um we have some schools who have um smaller numbers in below proficiency and so they would be able to easily get behind and at or above for goal we have uh other schools and perhaps one of our schools that made the greatest growth this year was Brook Park Elementary um who has the largest number of below uh students scoring in the below proficiency category but moved significant numbers out of below and so for that school um it would be a different conversation we have two separate goals that's what I'm suggesting yeah that was my concern is equity yes but the equity from the lens of and so that was helpful because I don't want to that that piece was helpful that helped to round that out I'm just processing here because that's what I was kind of digging into and you helped to find language for that on if we do take this approach on what that would if I am looking up a school or whatever the case is that school has made tremendous strides but if we put it in this format that is actually going against the very Equity that we are trying to do so what does Equity look like in the wholeness of this so that gives me a better understanding this is State reported data we report out which schools are right are are at or above proficiency yeah I'm just saying like it's not going to be a surprise to the to the teachers and staff whether or not they were at or above if that number had increased or decreased over the year no that's not the approaching one I agree with you is very important for the culture and to to to give ploted to the great work that our student or that our U teachers are doing in those communities so I agree I'm just arguing that we need to keep both we need to have both as part of our might I suggest and so just think about it might I suggest that we change the goal to two goals one is um decrease the students and the lowest category decrease the students in the lowest category by by a doable percentage and have another goal increase the number of students designated at add or above proficiency at a doable percentage could we change it to two goals would beneficial but I also want to name Miss Pucket I believe I hear what you're saying but we know that there is a massive amount of academic achievement diff differences between some of our schools and we talked about that at length with the I and the um impending legislation that we know we are going to be impacted by next school year that some of our schools may have two or three students who will be um just impacted by that legislation whereas some have in the 30s abely and so I think it's incumbent upon us to have more goals that are rigorous and to allow the management at each school to make sure that they're building a culture and climate that is is going to be conducive for that demographic of students in which they are serving because it's going to look different and that's where I'm coming from is I respect what you're saying but at the end of the day the culture and climate at those buildings is not our work it's the work of those individual building leaders our work is to create go me goals and measures that are showing how students are academically performing and at the end of the day we are our district we are here for student outcomes do not students and so and I just I want to because I think we could say that for any one of the goals and not just the I learn goal is that all of these to some degree are going to make certain demographics of our teachers feel a certain way and so it would be my hope that we have wonderful staff who is working with those individual teachers to understand that they are doing great work in the demographic of students that they are teaching trly they are I don't dispute that at all but I'm also cognizant too of just cultures we are making continual progress could we do more absolutely but I've noticed even within my four years that green is more and more and more so if they have a system that they're saying is working these are 30 40 plus years do I trust what they view on how we move forward or do I trust as much as I think I know they know a lot more than I do so if they're telling me this is what we need to do or say or do this for the culture of the that's just what I actually see this as an opportunity like I view this as important for equity in that we we want to be very cleare eyed about where our our schools are moving toward proficiency and where they stand currently in terms of proficiency so that we can make better assessments and potentially allocate as a school district um deems reasonable resources to assist in helping those School schools increase their proficiency rating do we not currently have that are we not currently doing we're not reporting out the the actual end metric is what I'm saying we are lumping in the those students that like that are approaching proficiency but never clearly call out the at or above proficiency metric here's something that's important board I want to remind you board that I've been here 11 years and we've always had board goals center around student achievement so miss dun is correct Lawrence Township has always had high expectations for student achievement but I do caution the board clear concise board goals works for me as your leader your CEO day-to-day leading to day-to-day operations I have to lead and motivate our staff they have to be clear so as we're having this discussion how do we make this I hear what everyone is saying how do we make this very clear and concise so that I can speak directly to a principal and they not be confused by so we do Infuse some expertise behind it we work with our board to make sure that we have clear goals that we understand and that we're able to manage and work with so are we saying that we want to add to that as Miss Dunn is bringing to the point because the bo goals have worked because we are increasing student achievement the bottom line we're increasing student achievement so do we need to add a little bit or a point of clarification because I think Miss Dunn is asking the question so Troy she asked a question about that group how do we reflect that because we're not trying to combine or do anything we're just when it comes to our student achievement data it's out there for everyone I'm going to share every detail with every single faculty member that works in our schools that correct Mr notter that's they know and president must suggested two separate goals right um one of the uh cautions that I would give you about at or above um only is that um there's games that can be played with that when you look at at or above only then you go into your approaching students and you target those students and give them lots of extra support so that you can get them to the board goal to add or above and if you're playing the board goal game then you ignore the students that are in below proficiency where if you've got two board goals one that's decreasing below increasing at or above then that's all students in our district and I would feel comfortable with that like the sound of it I appreciate that because we know those are called Bubble kids right the kids and so I think that that is a wonderful wonderful solution to this because again I'm not trying to be difficult I just believe I am struggling to understand this board goal um and so I think the clarity is what is most important to what Dr Smith is saying so thank you do you have um a number in mind that would uh I don't I I don't know if this is fair to ask you tonight on the spot and and and board these these questions and these issues um we could have addressed over the last two weeks by email um so it's we're putting our our our staff on the spot at the moment but um do you have any idea if we had had a reducing um below and if we had a number reaching at or above what those percentages should look like that would sure just based on our current data I'd keep the 10% for the decreasing below proficiency we've seen growing success um in that particular goal and then when you look at at or above proficiency I'd look at anywhere from 3 to 5% um that that um is a little above where our yearly growth has been and would would be ambitious 5% certainly would be ambitious 3% more in that achievable range maybe 3% this year or 4% this year and I I mean I would defer to Mr not I just I think we did not see the iearn data in that presentation that you were sharing until just recently when board were posted so we did not have two full weeks to to answer this because we didn't have the I learned dat until last week this is true but we do have we did have this um goal which designated as approaching at or above proficiency and that's my concern is that we did have the data to where this that's why I'm with going with how it's worded now because we didn't walk through this we've had a week to walk through this so if there was concerns it this should have been passed out before we got to the de so that would be one of my concerns is that so board would you feel comfortable because I think we asked to vote on our board goals today yes we could make the adjustment and bring it back to you the 12 is our next meeting it's not that far into the school year with the adjustment to formally approved would you feel comfortable in doing that or do you want to move forward to I I would feel comfortable but if we can rewrite the goal and um pass them as a ended okay I would feel happy about that as well 6:46 p.m.

so again I I I'll make sure you get reminders don't worry but uh we'll remind you of that um we're really excited about the programming for that day and then the week prior to that we'll be bringing in all of our new teachers into the district um our team has done a great job of of building a really robust agenda to help support them coming into the district and I know um they'll have time to work with their mentors as well so um a lot to kind of Sprint in to get this uh opening of the Year ready to go uh we're really excited also uh I you know happy to report over the last few weeks there's been a lot of meetings and discussions with administrative teams with the Bea and Besa about the new strategic plan how we're going to continue to work towards capturing this work uh collaboratively and move it forward you know I I I really appreciate the conversation we had here tonight it's a huge component as well of this you know the as a reminder the Strategic plan is all of our plan it it's the District's uh framework for how we're going to approach our work and as Brad alluded to today um our CAC meeting today already had some great conversations and centered around that was our strategic plan and how do we address some of the components there uh so I'm really excited about that um I want I do want to thank all of our administrators the Bea reps and basma Reps who have been able to take time to meet throughout this summer to continue this work on the collaboration that we're doing um and Bard I'm I'm looking forward to having conversations with you about some of the things we'll bring to you because we're all in this and we're all we all have a component I guess is the best way to put that and then the last thing is I'm mentioning you know um we're getting near the end of the summer and bringing students back and today I had my final uh daughter and dad breakfast birthday breakfast um I like to take my girls out one-on-one breakfast with me when they have their birthdays and they're all summer birthdays and so today was my last one she's my youngest one and um it was it was just a pretty I don't know it was a heartbreaking reminder of how much older my kids are getting year by year and it's tough and Steve and I I mean I actually everybody on our admin team we kind of talk about this our kids are aging and so um the thing is though that makes me excited and I'm looking forward to seeing is our kids back in our buildings you know the summertime is really quiet and uh even though we're busy with work but now we get to do the the stuff with kids in the in the buildings and the staff back in the buildings so excited about that but I do hope that all of our parents and Guardians in the district are soaking up what remains of the summer and and time together as a family and um yeah just looking forward to our next meeting because we'll get to report in a successful opening of the year are you saying you're not going to have breakfast with your daughters anymore ever yes apparently maybe not oneon-one okay this is a very intentional thing they've actually started to look forward to this and I hope that stays do it the same way you'll have more final one for this year oh good that's all I got all right thank you all right uh next is board comments so would you like to start since you're at that end or sure okay sure I don't have much just um enjoy the last weeks of Summer be safe and thank you to all of our amazing staff that are working hard to welcome everyone back in August um me okay so I will say thank you to everybody that came to the board meeting tonight everyone that reached out to us again that feedback is very important we appreciate everyone who wants to raise their voice and share their opinions on things um I want to wish everyone a happy summer I do want to point out the two channen in the back I'll this is off the top of my head but I want to thank David everyone's sort of aware of that uh crowd strike Incident That's sort of paralyzed a lot of organizations I'm sure uh David had a few anxious moments there initially but we survived it so thank you for that and then uh I will I want to thank Tom and Josh uh before the board meeting tonight we got a little sneak peek of some of the new uh menu options are going to be available at the high school uh I think there's going to be a lot of very happy students uh what's waiting for them so it's really exciting it's kind of good chance to see that so thank you for that and uh yeah everyone have a safe summer and I look forward to everyone getting back to it in about 3 weeks just enjoy the last weeks of Summer be healthy and be safe um yes uh looking forward to the start of the school year but uh just want to say I appreciate the fellow board members here thought we had a good conversation here and as well as the administration so um thank you you're welcome would you like to add anything Tony's looking at his watch I just got my bedtime reminder actually no I got mine too we have the same bedtime remind I would like to thank Tony Brad Steve I know it's not easy it kind of felt like we had you guys up on the hot seat today so I really appreciate you're willing us to have an open discussion about all your practices and everything that we've been doing because I have no doubt that you have the best interests in minds of our students and faculty so um I think you guys have done great work over the years and I know we're only going to get better so so I appreciate your um willingness to to listen to us and then um I did I did want to call out one of the things that we had talked about a lot was how we're going to be how we're going to I guess own or or make sure that people that uh Tom and Company are being um responsible and and how we're going to make sure that they're owning the responsibilities of the Strategic plan so the one thing that um I just want to call is that we get up we get updates from weekly and the the change that you made to the last update where you're putting in parentheses at the end of the different bullet point items where you're showing this is related to this portion of the Strategic plan I think shows great ownership it shows that you've got it on mind at all time when you're doing things um I believe you said faculty you're going to start doing this as well uh our the leadership team since we do a lot ofun your cabinet yeah and and the buildings yeah so I think that's great I I think it's a great way to show ownership and that it's on your mind at all times that you're each action that you're taking is reflective of a different one of our priorities or strategies so I really appreciate that um and that's it and yeah thank you I appreciate it um and I'd like to thank my wife for just being my wife that's all solid uh I won't U belabor anything thank you everybody for coming today for those of you that came and a good discussion today with the board we have much more to do on all of those topics but I feel like we're mov in the right direction at least for right now thank you to the administration and to Tom for all the hard work they do throughout the entire summer and look forward to first day of school um for the teachers and the staff that come back and the their perspective maybe the very unfortunately very very near future so as I have one at home who's counting down the days little positive a little negative so yeah thank you everybody all right thank you I will entertain a motion to move very quickly by Rael second by RJ all right um all in favor I I opposed nope I heard a nope so I don't think that counts it is now 9:46 the meeting is adjourned I said no thank you everyone don't oppose it is that the wrong way to vote

uh at the wer courthouse so I plan to attend that 213 Trail sideway they they have corrected all the violations I I had a conversation Email exchange with the owner and I should be doing uh a reinspection there soon uh with disease investigation uh we have two active TB cases that we are following up and then last week we had a one compilo VOR case and we had one this week as well that we are following up and I guess that's all and I'm open for any questions from the board anybody have any questions for Raj no no all right thanks Raj appreciate that um next thing on the agenda is the consent agenda so do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented salute I can't vote on the minutes there okay you want to pull that out and then vote on that separately or or just do the consent agenda with we have a quorum without me right yeah yeah all right so we have a motion so so Jay you're just going to abstain then correct yeah okay so I so we have a motion I will second the consent agenda so all in favor hi hi so uh Laura for the record it's um four and J's an exstension yeah okay uh next thing on the agenda is to discuss future agenda items upcoming meeting dates review Revis tobacco regulation and tobacco sales permit application and an August meeting date Raj you going to pick that one up Sir so still working on the tobacco regulation you you know again if somebody's interested I can send uh you know as I have a draft ready any board member want to take a lead on that with me that'll be great if you want to email me on that wonderful and then meeting dat Mr chair you know if you see if we need should do it before or after the arm event you know so that's up to the board you know um I think I you know my feeling is unless we have anything pressing we should do it after Ram correct because we we do typically do only one right so we can aim for maybe the 20th you know or because 13th is going to be too close to the event and everybody you know given three day event you know yeah but again whatever board decides or I can reach out you know to you you know if when the need is you know and then decide you know yeah why don't we do that we'll leave it open-ended for now Raj so does that mean definitely not the 13th right we won't do one on the 13th okay and maybe on the 20th and we'll wait to hear back from Laura or R and if there's nothing we'll hold out till the 27th yep okay Raj I'll volunteer for the uh the revised tobacco regulations wonderful sir thank you I will I will send you the draft you know and we can have a discussion you know whenever you have time you know on on the changes and all that okay thank you I so if you guys need a second reader you just want it proofed um before it goes you know official or before it's voted on I'm happy to read through it too great yeah Raj I just would like to take a look at the applications that's all sure all right well if we have nothing else I will entertain a motion to adjourn so move sir right good night everybody thank you good night thank you have a good night thank you see you all at the clinic yeah yes sir there e e e

e e e it is now 7 p.m. Tuesday July 23rd 2024 and I called this meeting of the Board of Education order Cindy would you please call the role here present mat here sler present Meadow present Gonzalez Thomas present all right the next the Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Tom I pledge 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 thanks Tom thank you and are there any items to add or remove from the agenda uh no no cover the speakers yeah right Holly do we have any public comment for today we do not we do not so I will spare everybody from me reading from that section cut 10 minutes off the meeting right there all right and I do not believe we have any BPS Partners today so we wish them on whatever they're enjoying their summer break on and then board leaz on committee reports does anybody have any to do share today summer not all that surprising though I got every invite on Earth from Josh buac yesterday so time of the year yeah um so for the CAC team I was they had it today I think 1M I was unable to attend but I Brad if you you want to mind a couple highlights sure we had a a summer curriculum and assessment advisory council meeting today we talked about um the work that was done June 3rd 4th and 5th which is our summer curriculum league so we had over 90 people 90 teachers who did the quick turnaround from ending school to come back to work for three days on curriculum a lot lot of middle school and high school groups so that communication will go out to staff here in a week about all the updates to the curriculum um and what those teams worked on we talked about the board policy on instructional materials about operationally defining anchor supplemental and responsive materials and then giving teachers a way to work that process so that's in the works uh we talked about our subject area leadership teams which you might hear called salt teams and um there there are some spice to them sometimes but um they are we're going to work this year on um a K5 social studies pilot so we had teachers opt into that um for this year there are 42 elementary teachers who are going to be participating in that pilot which we think is super exciting um it's really based on inquiry and getting kids to ask great questions about the community they live in the state they live in and really recognizing um how social studies can really impact them we'll have a K12 science team that's working and then a K5 and a 68 team working on English Language Art so those will be kind of our major curriculum projects for this year and our conversation centered around how do we get people involved in this work so that they feel empowered to to lend their voice to this work and then we spent some time talking with Tom about our our structure so we set up C about 12 years ago and things have changed in 12 years so we wanted to make sure we were having conversations about are we as effective as we need to be how can we maybe transform ourselves a little bit to meet the the greater needs there's so much curriculum work that's going on in the district due to changing standards and our ability our desire to get better so really looking at are we the team set up in the right way for that success so really good conversations today happy to have Tom be a part of those conversations we a good group so I was very happy with the conversation today I just a couple I just um because I'm taking I just don't the science the K through 12 um H how many is all grade L like how many teachers are I didn't know if you said that how many teachers were participating in that one we don't know yet so like we just approved like these are the ones we're going to offer so we'll now put this out to the staff okay and see who wants to participate but our our conversation was like how do we get more people to participate and I think that you know we ran a science leadership team last year and we had very few people from the elementary want to be a part of that but we have a lot of work to do in that area because the standards are pretty complex we had more secondary people but like we were discussing today how do we get more people involved in that process and the same with Ela is that K through 12 we're going to do it's K through 12 but we're going to do a K5 group because their needs are pretty defined and then a 68 group because their needs are a little bit different anything I missed to no I think that's actually to what Brad was highlighting earlier that was actually a natural product of the conversation about how do we differentiate the needs instead of trying to treat it always as prek through2 as conversation you know based on the feedback and trying to be responsive to where different needs are uh I think Brad absolutely highlighted we talked about maybe it's time to kind of divide and conquer some of the areas of priority and that's that's kind of hard for us sometimes right because we're a a prek through 12 district and we like that's in a huge Advantage for us here in bavia is like we get kids for a long time right and we can do great things with their education but things in needs are different developmentally kids are different so how do we respond to those needs the needs of the teachers are different because at the secondary level they're more specialized within their discipline elementary teachers they teach it all so how do we balance those needs so today was a good example of like just trying to balance continuity versus needs of staff and students and then just two other questions because I'm just curious the salt team are those the members on CAC or is that totally separate it's separate so it's like bringing in a farm team to help work on that and our goals are to get a lot of classroom teachers involved in that process and then one member of CAC will be the liaison and sit on that subject area leadership team and then does the salt team is it like voluntary handpicked and does it ever like rotate like do like you know someone sits on it for two years and then they are off and somebody else we talked about that today because we kind of want continuity of like the work it's hard to restart every year but but it's also hard to ask people to do like a 2-year commitment too so we that was part of our discussion and we haven't finalized what that's going to look like we do like to get as many people involved as possible one of the challenges at the elementary is you have six buildings and if you don't have a like somebody on one of those committees within your building to kind of share that communication sometimes the communication gets lost and then when decisions are made people feel blindsided by that which is like a very natural thing because they haven't heard about it for a year because they don't have a representative the best thing for communication at our elementaries is word of mouth right they're really good about talking to one another here's what's coming up here are the decisions that we're making and when they have that building based rep or that grade level rep communication's a lot smoother and people feel less blindsided which is our goal thanks all right any others no Okay I uh I just want to call out that Fox Valley career center is open for course requests that they're uh it's not registration because you have the request to be in the courses but so if anyone out there has students interested in it Now's the Time to start looking into it oh thank you all right consent agenda so according to our board policy we designate a portion of the agenda as consent for those items that do not usually require extensive discussion before board action these items are generally routine recurring and can be grouped together for efficiency Steve I assume you'd like to share what we're going to be absolutely reviewing today 4.1 through 4.3 is the approval of our June 25th 2024 meeting minutes and our two close session meeting minutes from that same date 4.4 is the Personnel report 4.5 is our payrolls and bills uh 4.6 is the instruction of our Clos session recordings from January 24th 2023 uh 4.7 is our donations uh we have one donation sizable from bavia youth Athletics for BHS basketball which is appreciated and 4.8 is the approval of the consent agenda anyone have any questions I do so um I know that we've hired a lot the past few months so I'm just curious um is our BPS website is that up to date with what all the positions are open it's close there's a lot happening right now but yeah it's close okay yeah we try to do like a reset every few days at this time of the year because things are changing right that's why I was just curious if it's but yes these people have been reflected on our website for the most part yes okay anything else okay all right well thank you uh hearing any no other questions I'll entertain a motion to approve the consent to agenda as presented so moved so moved by Danielle second by a a on Cindy please lead us in a roll call vote AR yes Meadows yeser yes ma yes gilber yes Gonzalez Thomas yes motion passes all right next is reports Tom anything you'd like to share under reports our foa reports for the board are presented and were granted as presented to you in the report book okay treasure report can I presume that's you sir it is me yeah nothing out of the ordinary to report anyone have any questions on anything no okay all right so a first set of actions um action 6.1 authorization to hire contract PA professionals Steve I understand you'll be leading this discussion yeah I mean I don't know that it's a massive discussion unless there's lots of questions but uh we're just seeking authorization to hire um based on the agreement that was approved last month uh additional par professionals um I think our count as of few hours ago and speaking with uh Natalie um who coordinates a lot of that of our par professional hires were short around 17 18 paros as of today um I have some good news we I saw two um AC Personnel action requests come through today for a parpro at BHS and a Paro at Grace mcain so that's good but we certainly need more um the authorization here is to approve uh up to8 um as of again a couple hours ago um Natalie had identified uh through a series of interviews um with a lot of candidates from the contract agencies uh seven uh PA Pros that we are prepared um to uh move forward with with and and hiring with the uh different uh contract agencies um she noted with me that uh she's been very happy with the candidates that have come through and uh they've actually been uh very very diverse um in terms of uh who they are in their experiences so uh we're glad about that but obviously our preference would be to hire our own people and hire people that would be our full-time employees but we're not quite there yet um so this is authorizing us to work through our our different contract agencies and uh continue to work on hiring those to full have staff our special ed classrooms properly okay any questions from any of the board members okay hearing none I will entertain a motion to authorize BPS 101 adiz Contract Services with the between Besa and BPS 101 Boe that was approved at the June 25th 2024 meeting so moved moved by RJ second second by Aaron cdy please lead us in a roll call vote CER yes Meadows yes yes yes Thomas yes yes passes thank you uh second action item is item 6.2 authorize memorandum of agreement with the baa who's speaking on this one that would be me uhy uh in the bargain that we with the Bea for the current collective bargaining agreement that we have with them those negotiations were completed and the CBA was approved last summer one of the components in that was a topic that we were not able to get to in those negotiations and that was compensation for drivers of activity buses and for those who may not be aware the activity buses are the the white te passenger buses that we use for after school activities we don't use clubs and we use them for athletics primarily and some other things but um they're generally driven by our own staff uh we had a memorandum of agreement in our CBA that basically stated we would convene a committee of the administration representing the board and the Bea to talk about this in detail and figure out what if anything we would do about this and given the state of those conversations we came to the conclusion that we recommend to you adoption of this MOA that would approve a flat rate of $25 per driver per trip so there would only be one designated driver per bus per trip for the pre and post activities related to driving that would be getting the vehicle in position to pick up the students it's gassing the vehicle it's cleaning vehicle making sure it's ready for the next trip uh administrative paperwork related to that you know all those sorts of things that go into making sure that vehicle is prepared for travel including in some cases depending on the time of year warming up the bus or cleaning off the snow Etc um we felt this was a Arrangement that we wanted to try on a one-year basis and so that's why it's a one-year agreement and at the conclusion of this agreement with the board's authorization uh um we would discuss whether or not we would want to continue doing this in the future um what else is there to say about it I think that's about that's about it yeah how are we handling this before was so primarily it's used by coaches and sponsors and they have the option to either take a yellow bus which is a charter through our uh transportation company or they can choose to use one of the activity buses if they're available there are five total in the district generally there are three at the high school and two at the middle school but depending on the time of year sometimes the high school will use all five depending on what sports are going on and whatnot so um if they're available and sometimes they're not available and sometimes they're all available it depends on what happens to be going on in a given day but the sponsor and or the coach has that the ability to make that choice of course if they're driving the yellow bus they're actually generally they're driving the yellow bus excuse me the white bus the activity bus they're D they're actually doing the driving whereas if they do the charter of course there's a a an employee driver of the transportation company they're not driving a yellow bus they have to be light is this an amount they asked for yeah where are we suggesting it this is an this is an amount we negotiated okay that we felt was a apprpriate given the nature of the duties and again the compensation isn't for the driving per se the compensation is for the work related to the preamp poost and it gets tricky we talked about the logistics administrative Logistics just people for that time you know and you know it's not necessarily work that we're accustomed to like there's not necessarily a direct supervisor of of time you know coaches work on a on a stien basis they don't work on an hourly basis and so that some days you might be taking a y bus and some days you might be taking an activity bus and there's a whole host of considerations to go through so the reason why this is a temporary Mo MOA is because we're not quite sure how this is going to work yet both from a logistic standpoint and whether or not this can change like you know we might need more activity buses or maybe we'll be using more yellow buses that's not entirely clear one concern we do have that's adjacent to this is the cost of these activity bu buses post pandemic is going up significantly we expect our lease on these buses will expire in the next year and we'll have to renew that lease and if those expenses continue as they we expect them to it's going to go up significantly much more expensive than what we're currently paying so that's one concern we also have is the longterm uh viability of using the activity buses given their increasing costs so that's another Factor consider previous we were not paying them for driving or cleaning up or doing anything it was just that was your stien and if you need to drive the bus you drive the bus if you don't you don't that's where we were before I think that's the question you were kind of getting to right that is what I was getting at yeah and then to drive those smaller buses activity buses do you need like a CDL or is that just a normal driver's license for that normal driver's license yeah we do train folks before they right okay take them out for a spin but uh yeah there's no you do the training is that happen I I do not do the training no no good idea did you should not he's a pretty good driver actually he is yeah any other questions from anyone else okay hearing none I will entertain a motion let me skip to the right page so I say it right I will entertain a motion to authorize a memorandum of agreement with bavia education associate to provide flat rate of $25 per trip as compensated for Designated Drivers of Student Activity buses move so moved by RJ second second by Rob Cindy please leave us lead us in a roll call vote Thomas uh I'm gonna abstain due to my husband being a baa member that drives activity bus okay that's fair yes yes mat yeser yes Meadows yes thank you Mo passes all right item 7.1 is board matters board matters is a time set aside for board members to discuss important topics and allow for the board to have a dialogue on these topics this item may be used um at every board meeting as required so we have two topics today that were requested to be discussed one of them is about buling hate speech and and the second one is about employee exit interviews so this is our opportunity and time to kind of flesh out these thoughts see if we want they Co kind of coalescent to being able to give the staff and Tom Direction on some information we want to get back or recommendations that we request that they would move forward with or for us just to be able to have a discussion and Open Session about these matters in a way that allows us to kind of get to the root of the matter so the first item on the list is bullying and hate and or hate speech would anyone like to kick us off so I have something I'd like to start so first of all I want to say I think this is a great discussion to be having and Tom and I talked about this but I would love for him or the team to walk through our uh process when uh someone submits that they've been bullying and then also when someone gets accused of bullying what that process looks from their side can we before we start that really quick that's a great place I think for us to start I just wanted to put out there that um in reviewing the policy and I I don't know enough about this um I think we're supposed to be reviewing this every two years based on the policy um and based on the last time that it was reviewed I I think we are past du that so this is a great conversation to have what exactly does that mean for us what do we need to do during the to have happened during this conversation to kind of fulfill our policy duties requirement that's a fair question I don't know the answer to that okay so you want me to if you don't mind sure the we take a lot of Direction because the that policy in particular there's a lot of legal action that has taken place whether it's court cases or action by the legislature around bullying so the iasb policy service that you are members of came out in the spring late spring with their policy recommendations for this policy so you will see probably starting next month that policy revision for your consideration um and we would need to get you know this this is a great start to it but I have to get teachers parents and others who are interested in participating in a feedback session around that policy that's part of the requirement together uh before you could approve that policy so you'll start to see it next month we'll engage people and then we would bring it back for a second reading an approval after you've received that feedback so that's underway because that just came out and we'll be digesting that policy so you're right we're nearing the end of our two years we're going to have to renew with the state but there's a more specific set of actions that we have to go through now with this most recent draft that they've given us does that happen every two years the requirement to have a group of people review that other than the Board of of education is different so that's a new requirement that they put in the the law is that you have to have a group to give feedback on that so I would need parents teachers and staff and then that feedback from that session would come to the Board of Education as a part of your consideration and Adoption of that policy for clarification in our policy the two years is that something that have previous board came up with or is that a state mandate the two-year thing is the state mandate okay so that's in the law that we have the board has to look at that every year and then I submit our board's policy to the State Board of Education on an annual basis they actually keep a list online of like who's non- compliant there was like three on there that I noticed this time because as soon as I saw there was a list I'm like let me go check to make sure that we're on it list we don't want to be checking the obituary you want to make sure you're not on so yeah so that that is coming up for the board's consideration which is good and timely for this conversation as a kick off to that process okay because yeah that's I'm reading through the policy the state law policy and it list through and there's the various process that should it should include but without limitation and they go through several different key things the frequency of victim victimization uh student staff and family obser obervation of safety at school identification of areas of a school where bullying occurs the types of bullying utilized and bystandard intervention or participation so I was just curious if all of you guys that who have been on the board have you guys been part of that process or is that something that the board does not get it can work any way that you want it where a board member could be a person to kind of observe that process that feedback process or that feedback can be brought to you so either way would work for that what have we done in the past well the feedback process is new the feedback process is more new in this renewal it's a requirement before you can approve of that policy renewal but I don't think that's new if this is a policy that's been the last time the policy was updated was January of 2022 I think what he's saying is feedback requirement no but this is part of what is already expected of US based on this isn't it is that something and those things have not changed so when that group meets those are the types of things that we'll be talking about for but in the past I don't think you guys did any of this correct I don't remember specifically I mean we probably should do something to make sure that we are doing it I think from here forward absolutely yeah and it sounds like that that's in process and I think a lot of that data at least I would be interested in seeing and I think it sounds like because you'll be presenting that information to the feedback group it would by virtue of the process come back to us I guess it's a valid question what does everybody feel feel about do we want to have a board representative at that group and that feedback process to kind of see and watch it happen and understand what was going on but I think the feedback loop could be board member and kind of directly from kind of consolidating that information because there's probably a lot to work through what does that look like will it be like uh scheduled meetings or um yeah I'll probably do probably like a during the day one and then a night one so different People based on their schedule can participate and my role is just to facilitate so I'm just there to kind of present some information so that they understand what the purpose of that is and then like a focus group Style just to kind of hear them and look for themes that I would share back with you and I'm very clear with people in those focus groups like if one person says something it won't necessarily make the report but if I'm hearing the same things over and over again those are the types of things that I would share with the board of education but if you want to do it a different way that we can do that too so as a matter of policy governance which is one of the charges of a board of education you know there there's obviously a whole slew of different policies that the board is responsible for in the board book right it's a pretty intense document right um and you've probably seen in my weekly updates that I've kind of highlighted how many new legislative bills have gone through that impact public education in the state of Illinois a lot of times that lands into board policy development uh updates and reviews so um you know one consideration could be that the board may want to consider uh a more regularly scheduled visitation to board policies whether you want to do that collectively at board meetings or if you want to do that as a sidetable uh group work you know with a couple of board members and May it as a board committee off to the side that would bring back recommendations to the board as a whole you know you as a peer of colleagues doing that with each other um typically board policy work is something of the board and it it's again what we as the employees of this District have to adhere to um it's your governance structure I guess is the best way to put it so that is one thing I've noticed we do not have in this district and so maybe to uh Danielle's point it could be a good structure to put in place so that it's not just this particular policy but if there's finan fiscal respon you know policies that have to be reviewed and maintained HR policies curriculum policies I mean that's a good opportunity as a board to also be really aware very acutely aware of legal updates that Springfield pushes forward or ISB pushes forward so just a thought just to give you some background on that particular topic for a minute is um when I first got on the board there was I guess a slew of more than usual of press updates information and I probably had I was one of the two people that said shoot the superintendent at the time said hey I might need some help going through all of this and so myself and one other person I was like this is a great way to figure out how to read policy and go through so I volunteered and then basically gave a report an update of the changes and what we like and didn't like and that sort of thing it wasn't a group work it was we just split it and individually gave their update so there's a mechanism for that so um that does not have to be kind of decided right now since it's the first we're all kind of hearing of it but um I think I kind of like that because there is a lot there to digest and so if we were getting updates and kind of digging into it in pieces it would be easier to okay have discussions I think about it I mean I think there is if it's if it's a small group a board committee there two or three people but couldn't be three without open meetings just to be clear um that if that person is also the one that kind of ties in with this feedback group because that's part of the policy right and then um Tom and I've been talking a little bit about policy review as it relates to the Strategic plan as well is that is there a formalized process of going through and looking at the Strategic plan compared to our policies to be able to make recommendations to us as to how to update or adjust all of our policies effectively so that they're reinforcing the Strategic plan or at least not acting against it yeah I think we need to put something in place because of that Mr plan and then just to help out with the press all right whether we want it we can mull it over and just see how do we want to do it we want to do it together as a board or is there only a couple people that really right well you know how big a ask is it too like you're right if it's a lot for two people three people I think what I'd like to do is um if this is okay with you guys is if you're interested in being a part of that feel free to email me so we all don't have to put it out there whether we're interested or not interested I'll work with Tom to kind of coess that information and then I think this may be partially a bit of a collaborative structure between us and the admin as they educate some of us on what the policies actually say and how they enact and everything else and then we can then work with them to bring back whomever those are kind of the recommended revisions updates and whatever else and that's not only on the bullly bullying component that we're talking about for that policy but others in general does that make sense Tom M okay got it all right so look at that look at us moving making decisions yeah no action items but making decisions yes all right so back to the bullying topic so if you're specifically interested in that one just so we kind of move on something is before we try to set this other framework in place if you're interested in that specifically if you email me and we'll kind of talk about it and figure and make sure someone's not overtaxed with the other committees we looking at potentially adjusting representation on okay anything else on the policy component you want to review on your part before we get to this process I'm still I'm honestly I'm not clear what the answer is with this but I what I'm so are I know what Brad is saying where they're going to do focus groups so is that gonna that's separate though from what we need to fulfill here on the board policy yes it's a separate cuz on board is component a right word for what that is it's a component of that process of this process of renewing that policy but we still would need to hit like the frequency of VI victimization like visiting that the student staff and family observations although that would probably tie with that so we're still going to need to hit those marks as well as that okay okay I just wanted to no we need to hit those things and I can't answer whether we did it in the past but I want to make sure we do it in the future yes absolutely at least I do personally absolutely okay okay thank you all right how do we want to do this process next since that was asked yeah I I mean that was my initial question was okay to walk through the process okay I'm not sure who would do that but that's Brad or Tom or sure so the general process when uh a complaint comes in and a kid can report a complaint in a number of different ways or a parent can can do that as well so uh his saf to helpl line reporting to a teacher reporting directly to an administrator the middle school has a separate process where kids can fill out a form those all trigger that process to start so it starts with taking the report in any form so we take that report uh within 24 hours our requirement is to communicate with the the known parties involved so um that would be both the victim and the aggressor in that situation and again that's prior to any formal investigation starting but that's a newer requirement in the law is that the parties that we know that are involved are notified within 24 hours which can be challenging we then go through a process of investigating on that whether that includes interviewing other students looking at social media there's a variety of of pieces depending on the situation um each of these investigations is new right there's no like set formula or questions that you have to ask it's really there are some general guidelines but we have to investigate that situation we make a determination whether that is bullying because there is a formal definition of that bullying or it's some other form of disruption to our school environment and then we determine supports consequences and intervention that might be needed in that situation um we communicate that to to parents students and families that are involved in that and then there is followup that's required as well so that followup can look in a number of different ways depending on the situation there's no one set piece for how that looks there any time frames Brad on those like you said the 24 hours to respond to the initial what about those other the investigations the follow up do we have any guidelines 10 days is our our window for that which is a very good question so 10 days now sometimes that's difficult because you have like kids that you need to talk to that are sick or gone or sometimes when you get into these investigations they tend to Snowball right like it's like opening a can of worms like they just start to oh and now I have to talk to these five kids and then there's a a complaint against the person who reported and it can sometimes be very messy in that situation which can expand that timeline but our goal is 10 days 10 days after the 24 hours or 10 days in 10 days total 10 days total then after after um I don't I didn't tell me if this is the wrong word to use but resolution or communication has been given related to the incident um is there any other followup after that so meaning I'm just thinking the situation where okay you've communicated maybe uh punishment or you know uh to the appropriate parties and in an outcome to uh other individuals uh maybe two weeks down the road do we follow up and say are you has you know are you feeling better about this situation is the is the environment changed and I don't know if two weeks is the right time frame but I'm just saying some other followup after after the you know closure of the incident or you know that is definitely the best practice is to do that followup um sometimes they'll set up as a part of their communication like you're going to do a regular check-in with your counselor to see how things are going or your social worker um sometimes the the Deans themselves will do that followup but that is the best practice is to do that followup there were some questions by the board about um restorative practices so like how do we heal those wounds right because that's that's a real thing that's often difficult to do right sometimes they're like I never want to talk to that person again or I don't even want to see them I don't want to be in classes with them restorative practices have to be like a mutual party thing I think that is always our goal is to get kids to heal some of those wounds if that's possible but sometimes that is not possible so I think that each case in kind of the hurt that's caused in those cases has to be assessed whether those restorative practices can be enacted or whether we just have to set very clear parameters for how those students will interact in the future when we're doing the investigation look at the grade school is that the principal doing that work or who's doing the typically it's the principal yes sometimes I'm called in to to do some of that like if a principal's out or something or it's a case that they dealt with or you know there's a lack of trust in that process then an outside person like myself would step in but it's mostly the principle at the elementary school can people if they're you know I'm just these are theoreticals but like uh could parties request someone else to come in and do the investigation I'm they could request it is that available to them if they want okay I don't know to grant that all the time but right it's a request that parents could make do you have any visual for this what's that do you have a visual is there like a step-by-step process flow something like that no no not that I know of so how did the faculty know how to follow this practice our our administrative staff has been trained on it so we had the district's attorney come in and do training for us last fall on that it was really helpful for us to get some updates on the law see where we stood um talk about best practices and investigations talk about um how do we kind of process through those things in ter making a determination whether something is bullying or not where it might need to go with one of the board's other policies so that and then we had a group work to develop a teacher training that we're going to launch this year that kind of explain some of these policies and procedures is there anything that is done I so I hear like for legality is it like the actual policy and procedure what about training as far as handling a victim or even an aggressor while it is happening to ensure that more trauma um is not put on them are we training admin and staff on that part of it the actual emotional part and you know as far as what one person might seem as that that's you know again like a student wrote in that's not a nice word versus like this is you know this is very biased hate speech so are we training our staff to know the differences so they can handle things appropriately when they're reported to them do you want yeah and that's uh that's a great point and so that's where our student services teams do come in to assist in those situations and sit in as part of that conversation process um so as Brad alluded to like counselors and social workers um while they may be involved in the followup but also can be very much involved in the front end too for every incident uh I think it depends it just it depends on the nature of the situation what's occurred who's sometimes it could be to Danielle like who's available um who the student might be comfortable with and I'm just trying to think of some of the things through this year alone uh but yeah the they the student services personnel are definitely kind of equipped to handle those kinds of things I mean we talk about those issues Danielle we don't have any like training on them but like that is something that our team talks about very few of these you know processes happen in isolation so we are constantly communicating about them and they can be really hurtful and you know horrible situations that kids are experiencing so like we want to make sure that we're getting that right for those kids so we do process a lot together about that but uh on the administrative side there's not been like formal therapeutic type training on how to handle that and I have a question so when um if someone submits that they're being bullied during that investigation time like what's the protocall like well we're kind of doing that Discovery I mean are the kids like are we telling well you guys stay away from each other I mean how does that work what does that look like yeah every incident is a little bit different in that respect but you know we talk about like retaliation will be taken really seriously during that time we try and do this pretty quickly because we do know that like people put together stories and there's just like we don't want these things like hanging out there for these kids CU sometimes they won't come to school until it's like there's some resolution like there's a lot of trust issues that will come up during these investigations trust issues as far as the students not trusting that the school is safe or that they're safe or that they're being listened to um there's a lot of issues that will come up like social emotional issues that I think are really impactful to learning so we want to make sure that we're dealing with these things so kids can access their learning so without like like with RJ asking about like a flowchart or I don't know if that's what we call it but so there is no what I'm hearing is that there is no uniformity exactly it's kind of people can handle it differently but there's not like a set that every school every level like so six different elementary schools is a possible six different principles are handling the same incident differently is that possible because there's not a one flow chart type of thing to follow I mean is that fair to say or are we all on the same page age I think training helps right get like more consistency and like I was an English teacher and we aim for inator reliability right so that that training part does help in the getting a more consistent response the policy itself and the procedures give guide post but it doesn't dictate like here's what you do first second third fourth so it's not fully laid out because every circumstance is different but there are definite guide posts within the administrative procedure and the policy so one of the things you mentioned earlier like restorative practices but you talked a lot of it about being restorative to between like the aggressor and the victim right trying to either restore that relationship or restore their trust with those around them I guess one of my questions is part of your followup kind of question earlier is is there kind of touching base with both sides independently to either through a counselor or someone to kind of touch base and say how are you feeling are these things that like individually restorative not collectively restorative yeah I think that's always the best practice we try and do that okay can I say it happens in every circumstance I canot I mean people you got I understand you got to walk the line between kind of ret traumatizing someone balancing them if they're willing and accepting but I think like you the attempt needs to be made in my opinion you know to go through that and best practice yes and then whether they accept it or or willing is a different matter so okay and I'm sure we can always get better at that too right I think I think that followup is always so I mean to me it sounds like this followup is you you're saying BR it's best practice and I get it but it's not required or mandated and I'm wondering if we should make a recommendation that that is part of this process and the flow that it does happen every time I I I I agree with that I think that's a good idea I think I I I know personally I have some more questions I'd like to understand certain parts of it I think that might be a good idea based on what I've heard just watching different board meetings before my time on the board listening to everyone it may kind of bridge some of the gaps that we're seeing as far as everyone comes from a different background right right different I mean even through a little bit of trainings but we're not going to all see one incident the same way necessarily I think it it could center our victims a bit better if we do have something in place that's a little bit easier no matter whose hands are on it we're going to go through and and I mean be mindful that every event is different but there still should be something that we can kind of organize for sure yeah so kind of a request on that would be to kind of look at that practice what would the um how would that kind of materialize or what would that look like kind of in a parlance and then what if any since we have limited staff limited time and limited availability what does that mean if there's any kind of financial implications of of being able to do that and I'm not putting price tags on thing I'm just saying we need to be aware of what the impli well and this is one of definitely so but this is one of our biggest things and when we look at our strategic plan so much of this ties in like I look at the very first opening statement of our policy bullying intimidation harassment diminish the students ability to learn and a school's ability to educate preventing students from engaging in these disruptive behaviors and providing all students with equal access to a safe non-hostile learning environment are important District goals I would even be say that should probably be updated because those are our main goals right when we look at these things so I think it would be we voted on the Strategic plan this is part of it so whatever money it we know if once this goes in I mean I think that you'll see a lot of other gaps this is a huge part right kids being safe feeling safe um being able to go to school and being able to be part of an environment is going to really really uh improve in a lot of areas and maybe Brad we could make sure that we include that as part of a uh maybe like the feeler with our with our stakeholder committees that we meet with prior to this coming back to the board I think that'd be good to hear you know I mean the the idea about the follow-up protocol you could kind of drop that for some feedback and see what what the stakeholders feel yeah I would really like to know from kids like what kind of followup do they want or would they feel is most important to them yeah I mean I don't think you're right you can't uh make every you know if they don't want to engage in it then that's their right to do that but I do think I I mean for me I do think it would be good to have a protocol where we are touching back with them two or three weeks or whatever it is to see just to see you know how they're doing and uh because you're right I mean if they if they go through the process and then it's completely unsatisfactory they might not report future incidence because they feel like well what was the point I went through all that and nothing happened or it's just as bad and and so there might be some kids falling through the gaps that are suffering again maybe maybe not but maybe there will be I have a hunch or there probably is some we've been told that there that has happened we we've had kids stand up there and say exactly that is what has happened if you listen to their different stories that is exactly what many have said um and so the question that goes along with that is what do we do to follow up with the kids that do come and speak you know do we follow up with Lizzie do we follow up with her sister Alexis do we follow up with the people that we know are experiencing the bullying and follow through with them or they coming and even speaking in public reliving that trauma and getting no response and to my knowledge those kids have not received a followup so what are we doing with I I will provide you with the answer um and this is apologies on my part for not maybe coming back to the boore on this but uh our administrators did follow up with the students that spoke at I heard directly from two them what they were not followed up with so that's I I'm not saying like I'm not like a back and forth but that was my question that I had is so do we shouldn't we be following up with them to say how is this working when we know that you've come and actually brought it to our attention so like are you doing better right and I directly asked for a followup on it and was provided an executive summary of the follow-up meetings that took place and this is part of the reason why I know we do involve our student services team members because we had other people in those meetings and conversations to support any social emotional needs that might have come up from that okay so are we talking about you know people who came and said that I I care for kids and groups and kids I have one who's sitting right here that I am familiar with who um deals with children with in the lgbtq plus Community who said that their kids those kids and their kids and behavior is suffering so those are perfect people for us to follow up with right to say yeah they're still so so the people who have come and spoken to us at meetings right are you talking about the agencies or the specific student stories all of the above I think anyone that we should we should find that information valuable okay I would if I was looking to say is is this working is this bowling policy working I think the first place I would think of starting are with the people who have come to publicly speak and say hey and like a lot of these people are representing not just themselves but other students I'll call one out specifically is Martin burn who is now graduated they are a voice of many students and so that one person alone can give you a wealth of information on what works what doesn't work not just for them but for other kids who may be in similar situations um but so that was my wondering is like you know why are we following up with them and if we aren't shouldn't we be and is that should be part of the policy of our loop back around you know making sure that our policies that are in place are actually working for people I'm clear you're saying that you talk to people that said that spoke that they weren't there was no followup and Tom you're saying there was I mean it's not just this meeting and we go back to the one I remember I mean again it's not the May was it may of 2022 where we the rally had happened and it was at the um RMS I mean there were I don't think I don't think people for the most part were followed up then people Le said I know you know so they're coming and speaking so what comes of that what does the board or what does admin then do what do they do after someone is coming and reporting that you know hey I had this bullying incident I did this but there was no follow through or this failed me so is that not part of this you know information that we should be reviewing and evaluating our policy on and if we're not following back up with them or having those open conversations then I don't know how we're doing I'm just a little confused here well so I I I think I understand because there was like I'm just so I wasn't here for 2022 I wasn't I wasn't here right so I'm not 100% sure about that situation I mean I'm I'm 100% sure I'm not sure about that situation that makes sense right uh this past May board meeting you're absolutely right we had various representatives from different agencies in our County or our region speak on behalf of some of the voices of students that they've had come through their agency right and then we had a couple of our own uh speak up what I was referencing were those that were internal to us that okay I into your point I I don't I'm not aware of any Administration and I can speak about myself I did not reach out to some of those agency groups that came and spoke I'd like to think about that I'm taking this feedback in right now and talk to some of my team about that and process that is it clear to those people because I'm just a little surprised that hearing from them knowing some personally like um were they confused that this was not a followup related to is could there where's the conf I I guess I'm where's that disconnect and we don't need talk about yeah I'm not sure and that would definitely be a conversation I'd like to take offline because we're getting into like student record student stuff but I'm defin you know I'm I'm definitely open to having that conversation and would like to follow up on that yeah and we I mean no specifics I guess my whole point is is you know talking about you know as far as how do we know if things are working and we do know that people are saying that it's not working and so how do we get those voices well we have different voices that are available to us and do we need to change our policy we do make sure that those kids are followed up with or those individuals I think you're I'm going to word Smith a little bit I potentially change our practice like our policy says we need to do these things okay right and our practice is how we kind of enact that policy and the things we do to support that policy okay so like does our practice need to a shift to be able to help support that policy so um I think I think got Tom's basically saying let's go back let's look I and and I I recognize the fact that for my position the I don't think people were I mean I've talked to the previous superintendent in the past and said hey if somebody comes to me and said to the board and says something I want to know what happened afterwards like I need a feedback loop that if someone said something happened on a bus then then they came here to talk at least tell me whether that was supported that was investigative what were the things that kind of occurred to that yeah it's and and that really didn't generally happen right and so I think that's something that we as a board can say that's important to us as a board that there is that now whether it how it what I think Tom wants to do is like when we start having organizations that come individually making sure that we figure out a way to engage them in the process as a part of the practice is what you need to work on I'm interested in what other districts do because historically most of the people that come speak at boards are listened to but I'm not sure how much is there's actually a real feedback glute there and I'm not saying it shouldn't be yeah I'm just saying I'm curious as to how other districts might handle that as a way of of of understanding it because in a lot of ways it's advice given to us to take to say okay if it's important to us then we'll give it to that these are things we need to follow through clearly something's from varying people's opinions is not working right yeah yeah I mean just that I think that would help us as the board to know you know is is this something that needs to be you know Revisited revised but we're not going to know if we don't know exactly what ever happened right so I think that's like a just for me that's like a really easy place to start because those people are local they are reflecting and reliving their traumas and I think we at least that's the bare minimum that we can do at that point don't we'll let Tom digest that information a little bit go for it yeah figure it out okay I just want to be clear on one point though is there were if I remember correctly two active students that came to the May board meeting am I correct about that that gave feedback and experience shared experience or active students active students okay okay four active students wait is there more hold on I'm trying I remember four specifically they were all active at the time okay so two or four let's say four okay okay four active Tom did we follow up with those active student situations I'm aware of two so I I need to take a look and go back though the intent was to follow up with any student and you will verify that they were yeah and if not we'll take a reasonable action associated with that okay good point so I know that going this our policy is kind of with sp00 kind of aligns with s sp00 is that fair say so I guess my question because I read SP 100 um and so they talk about the out of school suspensions of 3 days or less um may be used only if the students continuing presence in school would pose a threat to school safety or disruption to the students learning opportunities um and it says the threat to school safety or disruption of the student's learning opportunity shall be determined on a case-by casee basis by the school board or its design and the design says you know it's the principal Dean all that good stuff so that one and then also the one about suspensions longer than three days expulsions and disciplinary removals to alternative schools basically says the same thing it to be a POS a threat to the safety of other students staff members of the school Community substantially disrupt impede and interfere with the operation of the school um threat to the safety of the student staff members of the school community and subst disrupt impede interfere with the operation of the school shall determined by Case by case basis by school officials um so I guess my question is so that's what they say right it's if they Cause A disruption threat safety and all that stuff and so says the bullying may take various forms including one of the following harassment threats intimidation stalking physical violence sexual harassment sexual violence death public humilation destruction of property retaliation for asserting and alleging the act of bullying so I understand that we have to do certain requirements from s sp00 but if it says so that's what I'm I guess I'm it says on a case-by casee basis this is how I'm reading it is like um we don't necessarily have to do all of those if it poses a threat to the safety of other students staff members School Community disrupts impedes and interferes with operation of school and you know like their uh students learning opportunities so it's kind of like okay um if I'm being bullied and they're threatening me and if we can do this as a case by case basis and I understand we shouldn't have a zero tolerance but do we ever take that into consideration like hey we investigated this is a serious threat we do not have to go through the um um the inter uh the interventions you know does do we ever do that yes the board took action on something this year Brad correct on a student that resulted in in an assessment that there was an eminent harm and deposed danger to the entire building based on the activities that were being done the misconduct and the board took action on that particular recommendation there was also a second recommendation that was conducted about a student situation um that unfortunately in the end uh we recommended an expulsion that was held in advance um of a young student and that also fell in line but a part of that was again best practice trying to remediate trying to educate trying to support the situation before we got to that point so yeah so I'm just the reason why I bring that up is I guess I'm just trying to uh remind the board we have unfortunately even in my first year here resorted to that level of consequence has that ever been done relating to bullying like uh it was not yeah I know the ones that we did but has it ever has it ever is that I don't know I'm sorry I can't answer that I I'm not sure so this I'm just kind of curious you know that's what I mean so it's like it's kind of a casee by so that I know the S SP 100 you know I know what people think of s SP 100 so that's what I'm just kind of saying is like hey should somebody you know after the investigation look at it by a case by casee basis and say I think we need to go this route and not this route I'm just you know because that's I to me I'm not a lawyer I'm not I don't write this policy here I'm not a politician um but just like I think that kind of gave them a little wiggle room on it because it lets the school board or School District determine on a Case by case basis if that makes any sense so one of those cases I guess as your question is is one of those cases to the point where the S the the the ramifications are so kind of exent and important and and critical that you effectively say we're going to suspend the student for 3 days or longer or whatever because of the kind of criticality or nature of the situation right right and then kind of follow up with the investigation I guess if need be but I would presume at that point you almost have to like prove inocent like you're affecting punishment before you've necessarily gone through the right steps so I imagine a harder lens is pushed on that to do something like that because now I'm sorry I'm asking a question more than anything yeah I so I I do think think just so the board understands the spirit of how sp00 got introduced in the state of Illinois Chic it was a it was a measure used actually from the state of Michigan I believe is where it was the the philosophy behind this uh came from but reason why I got adopted was to slow down and make districts really analyze who right you were expelling and punishing from school because there was a very specific demograph set of demographics that the data was starting to show were being over punished or overidentified so the the state um moved sp00 through and that's part of the reason so I hear what you're saying but that that I just want to remember that the spirit of this was actually intended to do something else right to level the I don't want to say playing field but I you're saying it's like to make sure that we are Equitable in all of our punishment it asks districts to be reflective on on your disciplinary policies and what you as an organization might have as a blind spot and how you're handling student discipline um CU I I remember going to the king uh to Cal County Roe trainings on this when this was getting pushed as a building principle and we were as it was moving forward and and that was absolutely the intended Spirit of what they were asking us to do yeah I I we had to revisit everything right yeah so I guess maybe it is an option it could happen it may has maybe has happened probably can't get too specific about that but I think you would you got to really take a very careful lens because of that spirit that you're talking about as to whether the nature that you put yourself and the other students in that if that's a snap decision in the end more than a thoughtful decision I guess is the danger of it I don't have an answer to I think it's a great question yeah I mean I I'm just curious I mean I guess I'll add to that is and also we're talking about expulsions that's a pretty extreme like as a district obviously want to protect all our students but exposion is a very extreme right measure of discipline which it's been explained to me that it's changed in education that you know I think they've studied the outcomes of students that are expelled they really set some up for failure throughout their life so if we can somehow uh mediate that or uh provide them therapy or treat I mean that's not really what we're going to we don't never really want to go down that path unless it's like the last resort right like you said it's imminent danger and students so I think in the vast majority of cases we're looking for Less Extreme Measures and I think what we're trying as a board to do is get consistency and policy from building to building and make sure that whatever our policy is it's giving us the outcomes where we want to get for both parties I think for the people that are getting bullied that they start they feel safe uh they can learn in a safe environment and for the kids that are the offenders um that they understand the extent of what they've done the damage they've done and that they can learn that this behavior is not acceptable and that they can learn more productive Behavior so they can intermin with their classmates and the faculty and a positive way I me that's I mean I don't want to speak for the board but that's kind of what I'm thinking right I mean I don't want to always exp I'm not s but that was just on their SP and I was talking actually I mean they also again I don't want to expel anybody but it says like the out of school suspensions of three days or less too which I know I don't even know if we still do ISS I don't know if we do it yeah we have we do ISS doesn't usually rise to us though right for they could appeal it yes so if they appeal it it could but generally speaking it doesn't always get up to us at that which is actually a really good reminder why sometimes Bo if you're wondering why why weren't we given some details or things of that nature ahead of time and we're really careful about what we try and expose you to and not expose you to is because sometimes in our policies you are the appeal and as the appeal you have to kind of hit it hit your eyes for the first time with with those appeals and not have already some kind of uh Prejudice lensed by information that we may have provided you in a different meeting or something that fact it's the same thing with me they don't bring something to me if I'm the next appeal step and then I kind of hear it out okay other questions comments yes yes I I don't uh this is for Brad I believe or if you want to prer to someone else year-over-year year-over year for years you've been in this position um how do you know if you're doing better at helping students or reducing bullying or harassment we look at our data So within our data warehouse there's what data is that so we look at all disciplined data that goes into Power School which is your student record system that we have access to so um we look at that data on a monthly basis to see like are we seeing more incidents are we seeing more incidents in one particular area one particular School we're try and problem solve that with principles if that is occurring um it helps clue us into where we need more training maybe for our staff so that is something that we regularly review are we doing better year-over-year I would say the pandemic through we were seeing some progress and then behaviorally the wheels kind of came off during the pandemic just to be very honest and we saw a lot lot of extreme behaviors that we weren't seen before and we're just starting to see I guess I personally underestimated the the Ripple effects that that would have on our school community in terms of student behaviors and we're just starting to see those kind of even out and making some progress again in that area what data can we have access to we don't need that answered here mhm but I think that will help us all sure especially when trying to set goals and level set and find a base um I think I said this before I would love to call out that just because the reports go down doesn't mean that the problem's being resolved so there needs to be another measure whether it's surveys or whatever um my other question on or my other thought on or my other question first before thought is what is the strategy that you all have to make sure students are aware of how to submit bowling reports is it the same at each school is it handled by the principal that's handled by the principals and a lot of that happens like front loaded in the beginning of the year where they'll go over the student handbook and how to do those things so uh they review the student handbook with with students um and a lot of times those will come up during that time okay because I know like going through different schools I've seen different signage some have things about and some of them don't um I don't think it would be a bad idea to do an audit walk through the school look for that specifically to see if it's there if that's something we could do um and I'll just say one comment that is not an easy comment to say but I think think that I think we need this is just for me and obviously we'll figure this out as a team but I think that we need a lot more written down and visuals of what everything looks like from start to finish for a student from start to finish for a parent for a faculty all the ins and outs I understand there's a lot of abs and flows in it I understand that there's nothing follows a straight line but there's a start and there's a middle and there's an end end or maybe there's not an end like we were saying continuous followup but for us to be here and be like what is these questions I feel like there's a lot of questions that we've asked that we as school parents should have known the answers to not just as Schoolboard members like what's the practice what's the policy how do we get to this um it seems like there should be pages and pages of information on all the different outcomes all the different resources at faculty have all the different resources that students have um tied up in a nice little bow and a nice little bow that's all and I'm not solving the problem I'm just saying what I think so if you could do that that'd be great do oh you pointed me yeah so you did say that was there a h line that they can report it to a hotline or um do you want to talk about that Tony or yeah there is to answer your question briefly yes there is okay through 12 available for K2 to anybody it's a Statewide hotline so then just a qu thought is I I don't know how difficult or easy this would be but maybe we just print that hotline on the ID cards so kids have it available with all the time you know I again I don't know how easy or hard it is I don't know who does our ID cards but just make it like on the template you know bullan hotline or whatever the hotline's called um that way it's all available even and I don't know if they have a website they do they have codes say you can even put like phone number QR code right on there kids always have their phones idea so I'd be kind of curious as a part of your kind of feedback loop process of finding out like people's ease of access or how they feel like are they even aware that there's a phone number or a QR code or whatever else is mebody else I mean probably you would feel about the same if hearing from people externally students and teachers and others to find out what they're aware of that options and resources even are out there yeah sure if you're not having a problem would you know what to do if you did right like I wouldn't have you know yeah there's a lot of signage that we posted and we adopted the safe to help hotline I would say maybe two years ago and there's yeah I see that around a lot of areas we post them most often if you're in the school restrooms they're they and there because usually when when a when a student is despondent that's typically where they I've ever been in a restroom in a school think I've ever yeah think a difficult so I have a question um so you know we just approved the Strategic plan and a big part of that was having measurable data so we can measure how we're doing so I think for me with this it's kind of twofold like obviously we want to reduce the incidents of bullying or be able to identify if there's like problematic buildings like the middle school or certain grade school but then I would think we'd want some component I'm not sure how you do this again I don't have the answer but like once people go through the process like was it did it work for them I guess is what we have like how do we how do we evaluate if our process is working I mean I don't I don't know the answer to that cuz I imagine whenever something like this happens there's one party that's always probably to satisfied because either you you put in a submission for bullying and nothing happened to the person or I didn't think I was bullying and I got punished I mean it's I know it's pretty complex I mean you're not going to have everybody say Yep this was fair usually uh I'm just trying to figure out how how do you measure the effectiveness of our policy if it's working or not I I think part of it is is coming back to something we talked about earlier is is um the idea about how are we checking in on our students on our on our the kids that are part of the situation I I really do agree with that sentiment I also want to Aon in response to something you just raised we have to be careful too when we're measuring the data um if we see a spike in reported incidences over the next two years as a board is that a good thing or a bad thing for you because well rical question more people are aware of the policy now I going to say the more awareness you raise it is it is very possible you will actually see a spike in reported incidences now to someone who's got that mindset of well now you got a really big issue in bavia or are we really actually just providing an outlet for people to seek help and feel com and now the number has gone up because we have made a different type of intentional campaign to put them on IDs and and get parent awareness Etc right so I just want to be careful that as we talk about where Improvement and success is being made I do think on a this particular topic just this I'm that student voice might be really important right you know because how how do PE parties feel after it's been resolved or I don't know why there's such an echo on this microphone but there there there you know what what yeah where where have people landed are they better what has happened were both parties open to going through kind some kind of process to heal that relationship and what's happened you know again as Brad pointed out that is ideal and I've gone through restorative uh practices training and restorative justice training and you know in my previous District when we did that it was always very clear by the by the trainers when you have both parties not willing to sit together you still want to find ways to educate and support right um but the most ideal situation is is that they're able to kind of sit together and understand what happened and and kind of work through that and then they may not become friends but at the very least they've learned and grown from that experience and and can move forward right one of the things you brought up that's always kind of raised the point with me a bit is you know people come to us and talk and there's it's difficult for us sitting up here with the level of information that we get right to know are those individual problems or is this endemic like is it all over the place because we probably won't make everyone happy all the time we won't resolve everyone all the time and so it's hard for us to know the people that came to speak is that just it wasn't resolved to their liking and yes there will people that happens and that doesn't mean we don't go Reach Out And Touch talk and everything else to them to try to continue that discussion and that resolution but are we making progress on other things and are we trying to do to because it's difficult to know if something's broken by three or four voices now these organizations that come talk that's a bigger hint to me right you know that something is truly a Miss I think if you're having someone come and speak to you you should have a pretty to me it's an indication that there's a systemic issue um more than likely they're not unhappy with your victim is not going to come up and relive their trauma just because they got to answer they I agree that they have a separate they have a higher level of let's say credibility for lack of a better term right now because they were brave enough to come up and talk and they feel it's an important enough issue and that there's enough support below them that I'm not saying it's like an individualized issue per se but it's to help us understand a bit of the breadth of it is okay we had 472 of these items we feel we successfully resolved 389 you know we're making progress toward these that kind of thing might help us understand the extent of the issue is all I'm kind of saying it also keeps the tendency for people to excuse those that come talk to the board MERS oh that's just one person you know it it gives some Credence to them if if that is in fact a bigger issue because we really know well it would be or not so any other items on this topic for discussion yes okay I I real quick I comment just to follow up in something Tom was just saying is um and this is something I thought about is we we have these incidents that occur and yes we have to we're talking about you know how we deal with and what the process is uh but I'd like us to think about more about um how we as a community learn from that from these and I know it's once I'm G to Echo I don't have an answer to this this this issue or this question but um but when we have these incidents in order to know prevention you know to to learn as a community how do we how do we take these negative situations ations learn from them and hopefully that will help to prevent it from happening by getting education awareness out there so and I know we may we may already do some stuff I'm I'm sure but uh just um how to turn these these negative incidents into positive learning opportunities for the community I was going to stay with the educational piece that talking about more scena optic possibly in our in data the more educated you are as a community the more able we are to identify things we have kids who have no idea they're not and I mean every family should do their process the only the way that they you know see fat not everyone's going to talk about racism not everyone's going to talk to talk about you know homop homophobic slurs and stuff like that so I I mean if we don't know about them necessarily or know that they're happening we may not have the tools ready to actually identify those things kids are going to school not understanding necessarily I'm hearing this and this isn't okay and so we ask for by standards to report incidents but if we're not educating our community our kids our parents actually to what is harmful what is bullying um you know what is bias behavior then you know we probably aren't going to see everything reported as it should be so if we are educating more which is a great thing we may we may definitely see those numbers go up um and to Rob to your point I know it's been talked about previous to even us being on the board is do we reach out to community so when we have incidents that happen let's say I'm going to use one that is nonvictim specific so a swastika let's say is drawn on a wall and whether or not it's 50 students at seat or 10 students do we notify the community of that and say because then maybe there should be education that goes out or if we are seeing an uptick in racism do we send out something to grade levels to schools um specific schools or is it districtwide um related to that or as hot topics come up in the world you know that we politics or other heated things and and we know that things are happening like Tom had sent out some information regarding some of the conflicts and I think that's always great so that you have the education so I don't think it was ever decided what does that look like and do we do it do we all agree with educating our community with age appropriate resources and what does that look like I don't think there's ever a downfall to that and yes it will probably bring up some discussions and some fears but I I always think that's better than it being misinformation out in the community people making assumptions um the story variant it doesn't mean that you have to give details or private information I think there's ways to go about that so that we are educating and people are knowing that it is happening in bavia and we can have a community- based approach about it to it is that do we do that like is there something that actually are there steps we follow I guess or is it just is that something that we do on a regular basis do we have anything in place there's conversations that we do have about that and then we have again some like criteria so we look at what is the nature and reach of the event right like how many people saw that what what was going on confidentiality is a big piece that you have to take into consideration when communicating more widely um sometimes you're in the middle of that investigation about who did it riew in video so is the investigation ongoing and then sometimes we need like to drum up Witnesses too right like same thing like the police I'm sure they have somewh guy posts about like if they communicate about a crime so like do we need people to step up and tell us what they saw those are some of the guide post that we use for whether we're going to communicate more broadly about an incident that's happened within the schools to me it seems like this is just anecdotal it seems like we shared that when there is like a police report generated and then that that usually seems like there is something shared by the district and if it doesn't rise to that level I mean there might have been instances where we shared by I can't really remember a lot where I police report though we have to be mindful of the fact that that's dealing with adults you know we're dealing with students and minors so in that respect or that regard it's we have to be a little more careful right because even the police reports don't include minors um they don't report on that so um I I get what you're saying I I just I just think um I'm not advocating I'm just saying it seems like when we have done it it's kind of been that level of uh trespass or mhm so is there no if we're seeing like if we if we're data we have our part of our you know strategic strategic plan is to have um our dashboard and let's say we are we are definitely backed by some data and we're just we're noticing that there is an uprise in certain hate speech or or just behaviors could we not say like hey this is a great time for an email to go out say hey this is a reminder community that we um take a strong hand Against Racism whatever our we need a strong stance and here are some educational resources and age appropriate so it's not necessarily this is what happened D if that's not something we're all comfortable with um I mean at the very least can what about something like that I just think giving parents resources and the knowledge that things are happening is much more powerful than than not I think more of our community have voice that they would rather understand understand that things are happening I mean as a parent I'd rather know like do I need to have different conversations with my kids not everyone wants that and you don't have to have those conversations but to have that ability are you talking about like a specific communication that that is the sole topic of the communication I don't know I mean I don't know what it needs to look like I mean I'm just kind of throwing see and I think that's a perfect case of like it's hard to Define it right it's hard to draw the picture right now because every situation could be somewhat different we we don't know what would happen right and sometimes and um if like this is where I sometimes I lean on Holly's expertise right and and you know I I will lean on her and say hey what would be really appropriate or you know we had a very unfortunate situation happen in the first semester at one of our buildings and we did send out broader communication with age appropriate resources and asking parents if you're don't know how to tackle this conversation at home and you're you notice your child is struggling with this here's some links that you can consider using we also had set up on-site support um for families and for students and for staff and you know Holly worked with our admin building Administration to support what the con communication should look like right so I think it it also dep depends on the degree yeah because we've done that when we've had uh faculty uh pass away I know we've done that before it was traumatic to the I think I think it's a reasonable lens to put on kind of like every incident right is there an Vue an aspect here that is either Rises up to a level of of kind of a consistent issue we're having or that there's a consistent problem or it's severe enough that it requires of that you know that that I think I think that would be a reasonable kind of a lens to take a look at to say okay is based on our judgment is this trending in a wrong direction is this important enough and is is can we frame it it away to be an educational component as an issuance to the community at large that's kind of where the data piece comes in it for me a little bit Yeah is so that we're not so we can kind of see how things are trending so if it was really getting to be a signif like okay we're seeing a certain uptick and one sort of type of thing then that would give us a lever to kind of like recognize it first of all and then we have a different kind of discussion to even know what you're addressing even know what we're addressing right yeah I think um I think one of the frustrating things um parents is like is when there is something that happens at the school where like you know there's a you know racial slur or hate speech written on the bathroom wall and then you get the email from the school saying hey there was an incident this that that um we are currently investigating and I a I just always was like okay well I don't need to know specifics but did you guys come up with an outcome was there an outcome so a follow-up email yeah and I understand we due to Privacy Law is like I don't want to know students names I just want to make sure like that you actually did do the investigation and if you couldn't resolve it because of you know if it's in the bathroom you know obviously you're not going to have cameras in there but just like hey we did look into it unfortunately we you know we can't express we can't say what was happened but we did look into it and continuing or something that was I always felt to be honest one of the um frustrating Parts it's like what you how do I know you guys did it the other kind challenge is kind of a message game right a bit so like when those don't go out they get out on Facebook they have those things and then then the cult of misinformation right on every side pops up and nobody knows what to believe anymore and facts get misrepresentative so that's the other component to think about as these things you know sometimes getting out to State the facts is better than not stating them at all right so I think that's where a lot of the feedback comes like I would just rather know that you're aware of this and that it's it's not the image that it's just being swept under the rug like that's not what's happening you know it's it's we're acknowledging that this happened um and you know you don't have to give specifics I don't think people are necessarily asking like what did you do who was it but they I think people just generally want to know like you you are addressing this and with that with that knowledge I mean that again that that allows education um at the home level that allows education that's needed from other students again if if students are understanding that this was not okay um you know this is something that is not accepted a lot of things do happen out of pure ignorance and not knowing that using the n-word has an effect on people the way it does and so I think with having that there I just I don't see a downfall to informing our community and maybe I just I'm missing something but I think that's where lot of that goes wrong and you have a lot of misinformation when we don't communicate so when we're talking about data I do have questions about data is I know we can't necessarily like spill it out out but um you know one of my concerns when you talk about the dashboard and data is that I guess the confidence and the fact that we are getting reports in and I I guess a better understanding of what the data is so like does it track you know this is a racist incident this is a homophobic incident this is um an incident and and in the aggressor this is a multi you know instant aggressor um is this something that is not victim specific do we keep data on that and it counts towards different incidents yes yes um I don't know if it's broken down specifically by the type of what's right way to codify this uh like category yeah like we we have it um we have the data broken down by also disaggregated by race and Brad gender as well right as we reported to the state status by who's reporting and who's we uh Brad would you mind uh explain that data component a little bit further so we like so again so like we have like a demographic data so are we over reporting certain students as bullies or uh is that what we're talking about so we can track that certain populations are getting overidentified possibly but not necessarily based on a categorization of like what was said what was the incident so how do we know there's like a homophobia comment is this a racist comment is this like not to talk politics but we know that there's going to be an uptick in like coming November right and so are we going to see more sexist you know incidents are we going to see more you know whatever I mean so how do we know so that's the part I think is Brad Craig M we don't codify it to that level of specificity correct in power school can we or we shouldn't no we we don't have that but we do have like anecdotally the administrators and student services teams that are working on those kinds of situations when those inces occur you how handling it um it's kind of anecdotal I I guess is the best way to put it like we you know um because we don't specifically say like to your example hate speech surrounding politics or you know we don't have those categorical systems cuz the the student data collection system isn't uh like an open text Field Box in how we collect our data because part of that collection has to go to the state right right so and they don't collect it um to that degree of categorization not to M I know we AOS school suspension time race and gender are some of the data fields Brad am I missing any of the big ones so like when I was looking at is it hb3 the one that it says that we have 24 hours to notify families um shoot let me see if I've written down really quick hang on are we tracking just a th that time do we actually track that Brad like what's that we we re we notified within 24 hours we completed within 10 days it's HB 3425 just to put it out there so we do collect so I have like the report we share with board and close session we do have a data chart that showed you the buling incidences that were occurred based on the protected classes so race gender sex religion um and so we broke it down by buildings the in infractions that were reported so for example in 23 24 that was 47 um and it was broken down by also uh language language proficiency low income special education status and race so they're tracking like the people who are victims and the people who are doing are they I'm still confused are they tracking the type of incident yes yes okay okay because that's what I my understanding of that bill is so that people so a parent Guardian can contact isbe and pro ask for the data on a district and that's part of that bill so I wasn't sure through that I didn't look into it more but like what does that include is that going to tell each person that there was this many racist incidents and this many um you know against religion and this many against that so it sounds like yes okay thank just not individually broken down within those pre protected classes I think we would have to hand filter oh so that particular part so it's a collection of anything that's been identified as an incident regarding religion race disability sex gender uh ident identification and sexual orientation but not specifically but then not not disaggregate within their now that so that's that's the aggregated number under those protected classes of incidences that were reported that makes sense so how would we know if things are getting out of hand in a specific area datawise would we can we well that I mean that is still though a a totality of the report from those protected groups classes I guess the I guess the question is right is the but is there a value right in knowing what type that is and I guess from your perspective yes there may be because then you can kind of Target your educational campaign yeah directed toward one specific right section that seems to be right like if we're Tak off a bit higher than one would expect right then we need to educate people on you know gender identity or whatever else okay let me have time to process with my team then okay take a look at I was just I was curious so yeah I'm not giving action cuz we are not deciding on that I think we've all agreed this is kind of a conversation right yeah so we'll go okay and with that data question um just to elaborate on is is does that include our instance of again like an edword written on the atrient brick or swastika or just in general it's not specific to a person but we're having someone you know spewing hate speech which may affect students are we keeping track of those incidents and how is that tracked like are you talking about nonvictim specific like someone to faces something someone to faces something see this this is the hard part it's not like student a called student B this name it's student a yeah maybe they wrote um a slur on the wall maybe they were screaming out like a a student head said um I think that they were calling Muslim Students bombers in the hallway and so I mean that could and really leak down to a number of students but it's not specific student against this one student do we track that and and is it track the same way are we doing a report on it because it's not one person reporting it as bullying necessarily yeah most of our data collection is student specific so like if a student involved that situation whe a consequence for that that's the type of data collection we do maybe not as not as so it's hard for me to visualize that but probably like if something like there was no victim but it was like an impact on school culture or something like that so like if you I don't know if they would track that necessarily okay in our student information system because everything's very student specific so as a district do we do we not track that do we not know how many times students have defaced like a bathroom wall writing this word or that word do we just do we not know I don't know but okay I have to ask I'm looking at all of the data just really quickly and I'm not going to give out any numbers or anything discipline incidence by type is reported okay um each I'm looking here and there's probably what Steve 40 different answers of what that type is from cafeteria violation bus violation computer violation uh dress or grooming drug violation um there's a large and including uh property damage property misuse and vandalism are all listed as options then you can click on any one of those types and drill down by school by grade by type by individ like it's you can it's all very available like a bus let's say a bus one it can be down to so the student you know what school they go to and that is it saying that this was a racist racist incident so I may or may not I click on that and then it will show us how many by school by grade level by Race by week of the month um how action counts which is the consequences after school detention so how those incidents were handled if it was a conference in school suspension after school detention then on a bus um if they were low income or non low income all like Broken Out by demographic do we have anything that that you collect on that so I hear by discipline but do we do it by victim as well no I guess where I'm following I'm I'm like I feel like there's like a gap so then how are we serving the needs or knowing what the needs are if we're not able to see the big picture of everything I don't know if I'm verbalizing that correctly you say don't don't know the big picture well the big picture being so I um we have more discipline right let's say bus issues but are we knowing that these are um I'm just going to go to that let's say the nword because it's just like the easiest example but using that um and acknowledg that we are seeing more and more of it or the I don't think that we have I think that's tracking the actual number of times that's happening on a bus that is reported and then you can narrow it down to like Elementary or middle school whatever you want to do but we're not able to say this was racist This was um against someone's identity this was against the religion we don't have that data so when people are saying that they are being bullied for various reasons we don't truly understand if we have if we don't have the data to actually process that I'm confus okay I think that's what that Tom was saying he was going to kind of go back and digest with the team okay because I think that's that is that something we can potentially split out right or or it's arduous to split out and what does the implications or what does it take to do that I just don't think we can understand without it I mean so to other districts not go without it right like I'm not arguing whether I'm not stating at this point whether I think it is isn't yeah how do we handle that and how do we progress through that right I see your point right like how do you like we're not we don't we have no idea then we have no idea of the number of incidents that happened I'm just going to use Rolo that involve hate speech that involve like a bias to the degree of really harming fellow student members we have no measurement of that in our district at this point is what I'm hearing so that's worrisome in the fact that how do we can't control bullying if we don't even understand what the problem is we can't address it and have Solutions I mean we can definitely put a policy in place to to maybe start that way but I guess I maybe that's what's it's a missing piece I don't know okay I think for one thing for me I'm hearing all this this is a lot we're having a pretty broad discussion but like one thing I'm not really clear on is like how do we find if we're doing well or not like I I'm not naive to think I mean I guess the goal is that there's you you never have a like everyone's aware of the bullying policy and no one chooses to exercise it because we never have it in that's probably not reality so kind of what I'm trying to figure out is like how like we have report cards that kind of measure like how we're doing and I'm trying to figure out like I mean it's pretty complex like Tom said like if we increase awareness of how to report then we probably will see a spike yeah and so like I'm trying to figure out like how we as a board can measure you know if how if we're improving if we're doing better because technically like next year we could raise awareness have a more clear policy we're doing better cuz more people are getting reporting and getting uh needs addressed but at the same time if you just look at it in isolation the numbers are going up I think then we don't look at an isolation I think if we have the data that can specifically be a little bit more specific perhaps or a little bit more helpful for those needs but we're also checking in and maybe that is through our discussions of the follow through you know I don't know what the time frame is but the check in students did this work for you are you do you feel safer do you whatever the case might be which were not necessarily following through every time you know so that follow through along with the data along with like you know the things that we're already supposed to be doing every two years I think would give us a really good understanding of how we're doing and like people are saying I'm safe but they're then instance going up then and I think um you know part of the reason why I'm saying I want to digest is to kind of circle back to some of our teams is because as you've heard um we were're adopting Panorama as our new self reporting umal mechanism survey right where students will now report on where they feel they are uh in terms of school safety their own well-being Etc and if you recall Bo that was being self-reported only by our high school age students students who were younger than that was being reported by the teachers completing it on their behalf so I think we're going to see a pretty Dynamic shift in some of the reporting data but I want to get this is where I want to come back to uh Brad and I connecting with some of our teams that have done this work and and that student services team to understand specifically any of these components that might actually fit what you get all are talking about because there could be already I'm trying to we used panor in my last District I'm sorry I it's not the work that I was directly touching but I I would always see the the end product survey and results of that work because it would get reported out of cabinet then you ET so I I'm just trying to recall if we had some specific indicators there that were part of that but we you know again this is something that I've taken some notes on that we can take a look at here um because it might actually give you that point of of uh references to whether or not improvements are being made because if we can take a look at what students literally are saying to us that might actually be what you are looking for right I mean because that's what we were talking about earlier where it's it's really coming down down to the students voice on on how we understand whether or not we've been making some gains for for kids who are in these situations so okay I mean I would also be interested in data on the kids that are accused of bullying if they be if we're doing restorative practices so their behaviors are improving as well rather than you know only the kids that are getting bullied like that would that's the other component of I think because we want on you know both sides of it I think we want to every kid safety and wellbeing is a priority I think we just need to make sure we're focusing on centering the victims and I think when you do that it's going to bleed outwards to ensure that we're touching on that because in essence I mean most bullies their needs are not being met for sure and maybe through that educational piece having more open discussions and and different practices are helpful for that as well but right yeah I mean every student needs to be taken care of it just doesn't seem right now that it's centering the victim when we're not looping back or we're not collecting data on them to just kind of like see our uh what is the word I'm looking for like a I don't know my brain's fried right now to see like a our our how things are like progressing yeah reg SM I don't know yes yes that we're heading in the right direction thank you yeah yeah no I'm thinking about I'm thinking of a lot of different things at one time so sorry all right Daniel do you have anything I yeah I I let me I so what are we I guess I don't know how much I want to take up more time and this is very important so are we coming back let me go through my questions because maybe that I just we might have already gone through a lot of them one of the things I don't think that we've talked about is um regarding have a zero tolerance stand on policy I know we've talked about that with school well 100 and I'm not talking about zero tolerance like you're out of school but do we have do we feel like we have an effective statement to our community to our students to our parents whether it's in the student handbook that specifically spells out like this is not going to be tolerated or I don't know that we can have specifics like you know one two three strikes are out I don't I don't think we can do that right so do we feel that our policy is very very clear that this isn't just like oh this is bad behavior I mean this is like a nogo this is zero tolerance we do not allow this in our schools and I don't know now that we do I feel like it's like tiptoed you know it's like oh that might be bad right but like no this is this is saying Zero Tolerance without it actually being Zero Tolerance I guess I guess a very clear stance AG like the issues surrounding that and the luggage that that statement brings yeah a negative side don't get me wrong you know so I think that's a good question as it results kind of from the Strategic plan reviewing our policies yeah to say does that is that supported enough in that question for that group that might be looking at that I think it's a very reasonable question to say is it a is the statement affirming enough within that initial kind of inclusive statement you read from the from the strateg plan at the beginning of this discussion right I mean because I mean it gives a definition of bullying which I think there might be a couple P people pieces missing but it's very specific on like you know what that includes um and where you it can't be H it can't happen like what's considered school property and all of that I don't know that it's like super clear that it's something that is going to be called out let's say I mean we ask kids to report it and what I hear from kids is like they're afraid of that retaliation in our policy it talks about students not receiving retaliation but I mean I've heard from students and staff that they feel retaliation when they do report things and so often times when kids are hearing things or people are hearing things they're not reporting it because of that and I think that if we have a stronger stance and it's very clear and we have that type of community language and that education maybe that falls together but right now it's kind of like people like oh maybe that is bad I don't know but it's not super clear from my understanding especially again you're not going to have a culture of people standing up against it if it's not super strong and they're afraid of that retaliation and I don't know how we address that piece either because more often than not students are not reporting what they're hearing and what they're seen because they're afraid that their peers are going to retaliate or they're going to report it and then nothing's going to be done and so maybe that's a different topic I don't know but I think that kind of goes into having a very clear policy and stance so that people know what the expectations are okay um I don't know if that's so much a policy thing I think that's a culture thing that shouldn't we have it as a statement that trust I mean yeah yeah given you have the right statement and their effective statement but I even with that unless you have the right culture where they feel safe yeah then it won't the statement won't matter do you think if we effectively are able to adopt some very like you know some more improved procedure and kids are feeling like they are reporting things that's being heard things are being done do you think that that would improve over time that's that's a culture got I think that's a culture thing you're talking about is if this Touchback feedback loop that we're talking about creates an environment that they feel better won't matter what we write in the the Strategic plan or in our policies or mission statement well and that goes back to something th said where that relationship's got to be there between the students and somebody at the school with an adult but there's trust yeah that they they could go there and that's a safe space and that it will be followed up on it I think like the one I think about specifically is like a student did go to a teacher but that teacher wasn't in charge of the investigation and we heard about that from a board email and I obviously for privacy reasons I won't see what the student is but it brought more trauma than the actual incident because the member of Faculty that handled the investigation was like I can see where that can kind of be like not so good words to use very much minimized the incident so when we talk about that we perhaps need to ensure that it's the follow-through is done by that trusted individual right I think that's what Brad was also talking about earlier there was a component of Staff training that's going to potentially go on to help make that a little bit more effective than it seemingly has been in the past yeah so see those strategies play out a little bit and see what that does m so seems like a step is being taken that's yeah that's great okay discussion on um you walked us through I think these are asking what we do so is there usually education for the aggressor and their family when incidents happen did anyone ask that I'm sorry if that's repetitive but do we educate the aggressor and family in any sort of way I would say we absolutely tried to I know I know that our teams try to okay and is there any recourse for the victim or aggressor if they are unsatisfied with how things are handled or what the outcome is repeat that last one are there is there recourse so like if the victim is not the victim or the aggressor is not happy with how something is handled are they able to what happens at that point they're like an appeal process I think that's when uh the appeal process will start to occur so from the aggressive there's an appeal process right I think this feedback we've been talking about is a better route potentially of addressing from the victim side their continued kind of care after the event there's nothing in place though specific like I sound like there is but it was like a best practice thing and we're talking about kind of codifying that a bit more potentially okay okay um I don't know if we can get into this because it might be too specific but how and what discipline is decided do we base this on type of events or whether or not this is a repeat aggressor so I'm guessing yes that we handle things different based on that mhm okay okay okay well this is not the last time we will ever talk about this I'm sure that so um and I think that's a good thing I mean I'm not saying is so the conversation will be ongoing and I think there's a lot of things related to other components of the treat strategic plan and policies that need to be kind of have this lens so I appreciate everybody's time and effort to just so I know some time I know you were taking a lot of notes so like what are the follow-up that's fair like what's the next action steps after this discussion that you wrote down I don't mean to put you on the spot well I mean I have collected I think the entire list of questions and follow-up discussion items that have come through our conversation here so I like I said I'd like to kind of just sit down and unpack that a little bit with the administrative team there are some specific questions that were asked and I think that are kind of like the technical aspects of our operations you know like some specific questions were discussed about what what can we do with about data collection and the type of data and how do we can we disaggregate that right so that's really technical stuff that I'd like to get with building leaders and and Brad and I and talk and then we talked about like the Panorama survey I I raised actually that and as a response to some of the discussion the board had about um uh you know how do we how do we chart a road map of success you know like what how how do we determine that right so I i' I'd like to see us follow up and talk a little bit about that what kind of data are we're going to be collecting because it is important we're going to be um you know as a board there is going to be a conversation coming about our data dashboard um there's actually some decision- making that I'll need you to give me guidance on um um Holly and I have had some conversations and and she's done some great work on putting together um some options for the board to consider and we'll bring that to you when it's an appropriate time for you to have that conversation with with us as Administration and make that decision so I think these are really good talking points uh helps us kind of think about what we're looking at uh what we're looking for excuse me um so yeah for accountability of the board you know again if we're we're in breach of this policy in my opinion and maybe that's not correct technically but if January 22 was the last time and we're supposed to do this every two years and update things we're past that point so what does the time frame look like for us as a board you know to have another discussion on this I don't necessarily just want to table it and see what happens I mean so what does our plan of action look like at this point because I'm not I I think out of I think we do be good Brad to know what your timeline is for being able to do the feedback loop that is required we need to find the board member that would be working with you or being a witness to that process let's say just like as an advisory level that we have on our other committies I don't know that timeline yet and I don't know whether you don't know are we actually in fact in delinquent on that yet or not not that you're aware of maybe I don't okay I think we need to continue that process regardless of the current state however keep in mind the the new updates in the legislation on bullying just went into effect right now like two weeks ago so okay I don't want you it's important and I appreciate the sense of urgency we need to have around it but you have to understand this work takes time I mean he's got to create some feedback loops as part of the process that needs to happen before you're even allowed to start kind of weighing in as a board yourself on on this particular policy so for us to have conversations as far as to you know whether we wrote down some of the items you know as far as um a flowchart um you know um protocol Touchback you know and the check-ins with students and how we communicate to community can we not do that until this point happens I'm not saying that I think that's so then why are we I don't know understand why say we were I said that's part of what I think we need to do to figure that out when to tooth it in it sounds like for the voice of the student staff family and all that to be done on the part that we're supposed to be doing that would be a smart way to utilize that but I mean this is urgent I don't I I I can't here anticipating a conversation but I I'm are you guys comfortable with not just putting off on the back burner or should we ensure that we're going to um make movement on some of these issues doesn't feel like it's on the back burner to me feels like they have a plan what's the plan I guess I don't understand I know that there going to be con conversation with Community yeah uhhuh is that not the plan that's not going to I don't think that's we're I my understand is we're incorporating that feedback to help us refining policy right and there's some things that Tom needs to digest so to figure that out that's that's component number two is all of the item that were part of this discuss so what is the timeline for this that's a that's I don't know the Tom are you able to kind of establish like at the next meeting could you come back we can bring an update back to the next board meeting I I mean this it's G to take time right it's going to take time we need a first reading second reading yeah and I'm not even sure at that point we'll get to a policy yet I don't know that yet but I think an update at the next we entirely reasonable to say okay these are the things we can act now these are the things we need to do and these are the next steps yes that reasonable yes I wasn't hearing that part yeah I would like to bring some answers back to the questions that I we can try address I understand things will take time but I just want to make sure how much time things keep moving well that we're progressing yeah yeah things keep moving that's fair when you look at what we have here it's we need to make sure that we are swiftly doing things in a careful manner the yeah the presumption from at least my part was I wanted to give Tom a chance to be able to figure out how long he needed to respond to because there was a lot discussed today that absolutely potentially and and it's in my opinion it's okay to say these are the things I do and these at the next meeting and these are the things I need more time on so okay Tom okay makes sense I'm good to go all right the second topic of conversation was um exit interviews so that's something that was brought up a while ago um as we were working through with people kind of resigning retiring leaving whatever they case may be but if there's a kind of a a formalized process for understanding why people leave is that a reasonable summary of what the discussion was at one point in time so I think there was some questions to what that might look like what the ra ramifications are because there's three people or so that deal with that work with how many employees that we have in the district 400 was it 800 700 yeah 800 that's what I thought yeah so how do we fit that within the capabilities and are there additional resources needed to be able to manage that dependent on what we would be looking at so Tom you had looked at other options of how to do how does that look like exit interviews is it purely interviews is there yeah know um Steve and I have actually had some of these conversations along the way because the Glide path on this is it actually fits one of our strategic plans components right as one of the priority areas um we've talked talked about uh finding a good model of some form of a a survey that can be pushed to people when there's a notification and that that would then collect a data warehouse for us to use um bless you Steve yeah I mean that captures what we've discussed that may not be the best thing but that captures what we've discussed as maybe the most doable practical with what we have I think if we can Center the form form around um some form of a quantitative metric on response to certain things you know as a prompt that people are being asked about um as they leave our organization that would be consistent over time then to give us that kind of feedback that I think we're looking for like consistency kind of in the question for example were you leaving because um benefits were an issue in this District were you leaving because your salary was not competitive where you there's ways we can take a look at that but I also want to make sure that we identify a model that's got some uh's okay I'm struggling with words um like research based best ways to ask those kinds of questions right so that uh when people leave we're getting the clearest answer and response from them and the reason why a survey would probably be the best tool if I've remember uh what the board's questions and discussion points were in the past this past semester was that it's surrounded around if we can collect it and see some Trends so then we would want that in a digital format I would imagine because the more anecdotal and qualitative kind of feedback you get it gets really skewed very quickly uh so having like a consistent tool we're using and being able to push out would be really helpful well then you get consistency in how it's asked as opposed to a sit-down discussion interpretations of questions but also sometimes people a in a personto person interview you might not be forthcoming with a situation and they can it's at their option of responding to an online survey so you protect their rights to be able to respond accordingly and potentially Infuse some anonymity into the process if you needed to you know that sort of thing if need be that's one of the reasons I kind of like the thought process of a survey more than and it's it's minimally resource dependent from a staffing perspective a survey from the standpoint you would like send it in the mail to them or you would someone would sit and talk to them be electronic email or okay I'm just wondering about the response rate on something like that yeah if you if you look if you do a little dive into this kind of a process the response rate is very hit and miss you get a better respon rate response rate what the research says if you do it in person because you're doing person to person but people can also refuse to do that yeah there's also questions if you dive into this whole kind of concept of do you do it when they're still employed do you do it after they've left does that impact response rates like there's there's from what I've seen and I'm not like the uh expert on this binding stretch the imagination but just looking at what um researches out there with exit surveys is there's a lot of different Pathways and avenues and there's pros and cons and one of the champ biggest challenges with it whatever way you do it is just basic reliability yeah which makes sense yeah it's fairly logical they ALS a lot of the research too says at least some some would advocate for this and maybe these are people who are looking to make a buck but they would say that a third party is always better because the person who's getting interviewed feels a little safer because it's going somewhere else and not right to your employer or your former employer who you maybe don't want to burn Bridges with so like again there's a lot of ways that this can go um but if we're going to do this I think we just need to probably determine a starting Place start somewhere because right now it's anecdotal so I'm think real quick this you know I took my car into the dealership for a repair here recently and afterwards the advisor ask says you know ask me a couple questions and you know I responded to him and then he said by the way you're going to get a survey please mark a five all of on that Sur every time and um okay and I was like yeah okay and uh I have yet to fill out one of those surveys right just don't do it so well that's a question right like regardless of whatever Sur survey you're going to get like I mean people don't usually go out of their way to say really positive things unless they're really really positive but people will be more than happy to fill out a survey for a complaint so yeah and my my point there is when we were talking as as I was leaving I was happy to answer his question you know I was like yeah you did you know fantastic job or maybe I need to follow up on this you know like that but then getting a survey in the mail once you're moved on once you moved on you're done yeah so that's why I answer the surveil I just want you to know regret h i answer their surveys but uh did you give all he wasn't happy I do I [Music] do service my friend used to do it when you get the free oil change if you answer the survey but we you have to incentivize it right but um so my exper previously my district as as the HR leader there um we did have the practice of exit interviews the turnout was really low uh actually I'm going to challenge your research I I we did them in person and it was not as strong um the union leadership had asked if there was a way I could create a Google survey and make it a little more convenient because one of the things they were getting as a feedback they didn't want to take the time to come and sit down and take 45 minutes when especially because typically the resignations when they were coming in that process with me started towards the end of the school year and people wanted to get and or during the summer so people actually liked that I would we were just my team was just pushing the Google form to them and we were able to start collecting a little bit more data through that methodology um um I think there is a little bit of a reality we just have to be aware of well I don't think either methodology is going to ever hit 100% of of your exit rate in response to those surveys whether it's in person or in a Google form but I do because of what we've approved as part of our plan I do think it's a great idea of collecting some of this Baseline data just to at least get a temperature feel uh of where we're at right um I mean the example I give I can give is like we just approved uh on my first year uh the district had a new teachers contract so as we've had some teachers moving on and I know otally like Steve was able to get and assess where some of these folks were going and why um but it would be nice to know hey was the new contract fair you know H how would you rate it do we want to use a lyer scale one through five um you know and that would be nice to know as a board and as an Administration to say like okay we're not missing the mark on salary but maybe maybe we men we're maybe we're a little off on health insurance right I'm making this up by the way this is not coming from any feedback um you know you could I don't know there's a myriad of things that we can collect the feedback on and what people might say but I know that was one of the things we asked at Niles because it was very important to our board that they stay financially competitive with that region and of course that's a you know from a comp compensatory standpoint it's it's a pretty competitive area with money and so they were being closer to the city you know that was uh sometimes a deal breaker when you were comparing our district to another District straight up the uh 94 and so our board wanted to know that data because then we would report that when we were talking about certain things so then did you for Niles did you have a third party survey and then the union was like yeah can you do a Google or was it always like how how was it you know how did the process start we did not use a third party for the exit survey component however we used Panorama and we paid extra to use the employee um what do you call it the climate component of that but you had to pay extra for some of that so always have to pay extra to use more but um that's what we were doing to try and keep a temperature on how things were going uh with the district's employees and then after that you did the Google do or was that part of no no no I when I walked in we were already doing exit interviews but they were in person and then we SW and then I we switched it over to a Google form because of the challenges that you were hearing from the Education Association and what you were seeing as just some internal data we were looking at and participation whatever else to me it was like yeah let's give it a try because again you know I was getting about one out of every three maybe one out of every four resignations say I saw like 30 to 40% is like a yeah you know and and you know as they were leaving I was just getting more of the specific specifics but you know really to Steve's point I think he shared this typically because of the role I was in and the role Steve's in they kind of share with you why they're leaving and what's happening um I think one of the things that shows value and what we're going to try and do with our dashboard though is is establish some baseline so that we have Trend data that we can build off of moving forward right so the inperson didn't work for you guys in N like that inperson interview no no no I people took me up on it I'm just saying that the uh the rate of like taking that offer was probably like one out of four to talk with you in person okay yeah but Steve like do you hear or do you talk to everyone that like puts in a resignation not everyone um some people I know like I got an email today if somebody it's not in the board book yet it'll be in their next month and laid out exactly why yeah well and that's that's kind of what I was thinking I I you know when we first talked about this is you know you were sharing the the list of people or whatever and and I was I I guess I was envisioning that you you had talked to these people and then maybe in that conversation they shared the reason why they were leaving sometimes that happens document that right so but maybe um I guess I'm wrong on the participation rate on that but yeah and we have the other issue that you probably are aware of is Ju Just from a capacity standpoint we have we would have I would have a major I don't know how I could do it in May and June when a lot of this stuff happens we don't have the capacity we're the smallest HR department in King County if we yeah and that's another reason why I'm encouraging that we consider the form component I think it gives us a data warehouse it allows us to have it it gives us consistency we can give it a shot give you know give the feedback Trends whatever and if it's meeting the need great if it's not we can twek and try something different I mean again I think anything we start with is is a start because right now we don't have anything beyond anecdotal would it be beneficial to get stakeholders involved in that process like hey you said their Union reached out so maybe we should go to the Desa and Bea and say what would be the best form of communication you guys want right yeah they reached out but they were they just said can you do a form instead people don't want to meet take time to meet that was the only feedback they gave abely we can me because yeah like we meet regularly with the leadership teams so I met with one today you I mean I just C like if your that Union was like yeah give us Google doc I don't want the surve know maybe they'll be the same yeah well in my challenge right is like three months out of the year a lot of staff is not in the buildings they're not work they're not working here so getting access to get them to come back in or a phone might be really really challenging to to do that and that's a big component because like you said May June and then from what I've heard you know there's sometimes an uptick in July August as well it can happen yes I think the survey is way to go it seems like our partners prefer that method so I think for me that's like the no brain like let's start there and U you know see what we get a year from now I guess yeah and what I I would what I would want um I mean we we can do it a couple different ways I number one if there's specific data questions themes that you want to know I would time when I would like to know that I mean that was a question like why are we doing this for for me it's personally like okay so identifying like okay like Tom was saying people leaving because compensation work environment is hostile or you know you're could be you know I don't know you figure out five or six categories of why most people are going to leave and then again for me it's like about Trends you know or like if it pops like hey 75% of the people say their pay is not competitive you know then that would be something like actionable like okay now we know like okay this is the situation we need to reexamine this or that like that's why I would think we're doing it I mean I could be wrong if that's what other board members don't think but like I'm trying to figure like why are we collecting the data that's why I think so we can just see the Trends on why people are leaving yeah right exactly exactly my only statement is to like what's actually crafted in it is I'm always asking like what are What in in our kind of group like large unit whatever what are they what are they doing and what questions are they asking and if there's like okay here's five of them what what information in this that you board find would be good to know from your perspective and these are the ones we would recommend anyway because it'd be good for us then I think that gives us the foundation to kind of work from because then we can learn from other people's trials and tribulations yeah for sure I can yeah get that and we may find out you're like nope nobody else is doing this well some are some aren't yeah yeah and so just it'd be good to understand what they're asking because then potentially if we pick similar questions or we work through it that might be good data that you could correlate between other districts in ours to find out if they're experiencing the same trends that we are which we kind of anecdotally know but not necessarily know okay so anything else on that so I'm hearing provide information and if there's board action needed related to that let us know and we'll consider it further all right that concludes both board matters elements um next is the public hearing on the 2025 budget budget and fund transfer Tony would you like to follow up I would so the purpose of this item this evening is to hold a public hearing on our 2025 budget and the fund transfers the interfund transfers that are incorporated into it it's a requirement that we do this before we adopt um this year as you recall we're going to be adopting the budget in August which is a month earlier than we typically do and that is a new Cadence for us uh that we would hope to continue in future years so that we can better allocate our resources in terms of the timing of of our of our calendar uh so what we'll be bringing you a month from today would be a final budget for adoption pending any feedback that we get from the board or uh any feedback that the board wants to consider from the community so I'm going to give a brief update of what's in this budget and then if there's anybody here that would like to address the board this evening they may do so on on the budget and the budget and the fund transfers uh first uh want to give a high level overview of the budget itself it includes $133 million in revenues and 134.5 million in expenses so that is a overall deficit of almost $1.5 million closer to 1.4 depending on how you round the numbers uh and initially at first blust that does cause some heart palpitations uh we do expect this expected this to be the case however the overage is in what we call the non-operating funds and that is because we're spending money out of fund balance for capital projects primarily almost exclusively actually uh in our operating funds we have an excess we have a surplus of 1.6 manag our operating funds are the funds that we use to to run the district on a dayto basis they exclude special purpose funds like Debt Service for paying for our bonds and our capital projects um among others one no interesting note here is that this budget does include some $23 million for what are called on behalf payments that the state of Illinois makes for our teachers pensions that money does not come into our coffers per se they're included here for budgetary purposes that we have to estimate and report to the state and they're in our financial reports and so I include them in the budget as the bottom line number but really what's moving through our coffers is some $110 million of actual money we'll see come in and go out of of our accounts over the course of the fiscal year another important thing to note is that uh our property tax revenues we're going to see an increase in those receipts of just under 1% this year it doesn't mean that tax bills will go up 1% that's just what we'll get in terms of total revenues and the reason why that appears lower than we're we're accustomed to this year is because our bond payments are going to go down or we're they're going to start going down and it gets a little complicated here because how Levy years and tax years and all that stuff works essentially when we when tax years and Levy years come in they get split between two fiscal years but we're going to start to see the first part of the upcoming Levy where our bond payments will go down for many years we had a stable Bond payment of nine 9ish million dollars that's going to almost be cut in half about four and a half five million do and so we'll see the tax rate going down accordingly and we'll provide some degree of tax rate relief evidence-based funding which is formerly known as general state aid will not change we're a tier four District which according to the state of Illinois we have adequate um revenues that come from a local standpoint from our local taxpayers to pay for our expenses and so we cannot expect to receive any more money from the state of Illinois unfortunately uh overall State reimbursements um will be down 6% and federal funding will go down um considerably too because uh the pandemic relief funds will be completely spent fact they've already been spent in totality we're done with those we won't see any of those in this upcoming fiscal year we'll see increases in just about everywhere else in terms of our expenditures but as I noted what's important to note here is that we'll be spending fund balance for capital projects which we anticipate they do not include any of the improvements to storman Louise in this fiscal year but they will be coming in the following fiscal year and and those will be some rather large numbers and we will spend down significant fund balance in the next couple of years to to be able to fund those projects um overall Staffing up right now by all accounts 6.7 FTE that's despite enrollment declining estimated decline of about 1.7% to just over 5,100 students maybe closer to 5,200 uh as we finalize those enrollments for August an improvement however in the pupil to staff ratio keep close eye on that um right now at present we estimate our P of Staff reg as being 7.9 so that means there are 7.9 students for every staff member we expect that to be 7.6 so that's a rather large decrease for in a given fiscal year that would be a three three T of a point is uh is is large um for one second how can can you explain why there could be a seven like how can full-time employees be like a fraction so that's why we do it in FTE I gloss over that thank you for asking that question FTE stands for full-time equivalency and we do have many part-time employees we have many part-time campus monitors we have some part-time par professionals we have other people who work throughout the district and a part-time status and so RN yeah exactly so we try so that we can compare apples to apples and just instead of heads we do it in terms of FTE years ago we used to do it in heads and in some cases one head is not all heads are the same unfortunately yeah when you're talking about fractions of an FTE like some people work 02 FTE and you count them as one head it's not a very good comparison we don't count um any of the contracted employees to that right the contracted people we don't that's not well no we do not so these are people who work directly for us and who are paid salaries and in some cases if they're eligible benefits in most cases if they're full if they're full-time they're receiving benefits um but the like for instance the authorization that you gave to Steve this evening for those Contra they are not included in those numbers but that does bring up a really good point thank you for asking that question what you see in this budget are Staffing salaries and benefits for those positions that the board has authorized and that includes the 6 74.9 FTE but in this case we're going to Outsource essentially eight of up to eight of those positions if we need to so that those eight people will not would not necessarily be included in that 6749 FTE and those salaries and benefits would be moved over to purchase services to pay for those contracts but for the purposes of comparing Apples to Apples we've included them here up front because our desire and intent is to hire these positions and that is what we're going to angle to do and we'll attempt to do if we can does that make sense m good question all right I won't belabor this anymore but I would be happy to answer any questions that you may have or any questions from the public any questions we have I had um a note and I apologize I didn't ask you this separately I believe there was an expense called tuition and other those around 1.7 million I don't know if it was for special education um off the top of my head I don't know exactly what that would be but it would have to be tuition for special education so it could be overall tuition and so not all tuition is special education for example we pay tuition for the Fox Valley uh career program that would be a tuition number that's included in that overall line item but yeah we do spend a lot of money on tuition for special education and other services that we cannot provide directly to our students that's what okay that's what you had explained it is before these are these are situations where it's not something that we could move in house exactly okay we're paying another organization generally is going to be another public institution and in some cases for special education will be a private institution we're paying to for them to provide services to our stud Mid Valley would also be to yes then there's some specialized programs that are within the state or outside of our state that we have to did I get that right Josh thank you appreciate that other questions love that he's checking with Josh all right one more thing I obligated to cover before we move on to asking if anybody else wants to ask questions are the the fund transfers and I'll cover those very briefly and Holly those are in the budget memo you could go back to that please we're transferring $56,950 from the education fund to The Debt Service fund that's to pay for Capital leases and specifically that's to pay for the activi buses that we lease so we can't spend that money according to our accountants directly out of the education fund we have to transfer to The Debt Service fund before we pay those bills it's right in the memo it's in the agenda in the agenda 7 transferring $48,000 from the operations and maintenance fund to The Debt Service fund to pay for the lease of the maintenance building and for the same reason we cannot pay for those that debt out of those funds we have to transfer it so we're see seeking um your authorization to do that and then lastly the $3.5 million that's how we're funding our capital projects and so this is the the annual allocation that we have for capital projects and we move that money in capital projects funds because it gets really tricky as to when sometimes those bills come to oftentimes that work as Craig knows well as an architect it's very challenging to know exactly when you're going to get the bill from some contractors because of the way that that work happens and the schedule our fiscal year ends on June 30th and sometimes the bills show up in June sometimes the bills show up in August and so anyway we use the the capital projects fund as more or less like a piggy bank we're transferring funds out of our on M fund to to pay for our capital projects and this year we're spending more out of that fund than we are putting into it but we put more in Prior years into that fund so it's not as though we're running a negative balance and Tony can we just make sure we're clear um the work that that we're doing and the work that you alluded to that will be happening next year this was all approved through our warm safe and dry plan last December yes that's a very good point just want to make sure that everybody understands that we are trying to do our best to stay on top of Maintenance Cycles Mark and his team are are doing everything they can to stay on top of this and we're working diligently on our health Life Safety plan it's taking longer to complete we've got some other aspects of it that we have to work through but it does appear that some of those expenses are larger than we anticipated we're going to have to incorporate those into this work as well so we'll process that this coming fall and and probably into the winter so just to clarify and you hinted at it earlier like these are not being transfers because there was some sort of weirdo shortage and the other one it's almost like an accounting requirement of the state that you expend dollars on certain things under certain fund categories yes yes there there are acconting requirements and funds that you know money is taken in for a specific purpose must be spent on that purpose and there are of course exceptions and a long-term debt has to be paid out of the The Debt Service fund that's you know our accountants and lawyers interpretation and so in some cases we have to move money out of certain funds even though we you know Into The Debt Service fund to pay for it so Tony sorry is a balanced budget required by law for this you would think but no it's not uh and for all intents and purposes we do have a balanced budget from an operating standpoint we're spending funding balance on capital projects okay so and sorry if you said this but the 1.4 million shortfall how are are we how do we make that up or where is that money coming from so in Prior years um we had transferred money from omm and in one year from the Ed fund but from on andm to capital projects and we didn't spend all of it and we knew this was going to happen because we treat the capital projects fund as as a piggy bank sometime we move more money there we can't necessarily spend all the money in a given year for all the projects because some of the projects together perfectly so we treat that as a piggy bank and there's more money in that fund that will cover the deficit but we're just spending more money overall this year than we happen to be taking in but we knew we were going to do that so you would put money in the piggy bank for this quote unquote rainy day right okay does that make sense kind of we saved for it before yeah I agree it's it's so this is the first time expenses out strip the revenues again that fund balance is in a I don't want to put words in your mouth but we're in a healthy position compared to we were like a decade ago oh yeah very much so you know the piggy bank was pretty empty the best you're ever going to get from Tony's we're in a comfortable position right so uh wouldn't say that okay we had a discussion so that fund balance you know we can it there's room to operate but it's you know we have to be very careful because um fin we're gonna start we're gonna start using that fund balance we are be very strategic in how we're utilizing it right and these numbers are going to get much bigger so to do the work at storm and Louise that we plan for in this warm safe dry plan this deficit is going to be tens of millions of dollars next year we have accounted for that with our fund balance can you remind me what our fiscal year is our fiscal year starts on July 1 it is okay and ends on June 30th and we have to adopt the budget by the end of the first quarter so that would be September 30th maybe I'm just confused with the capital projects list showing HCS work in FY 2025 yeah I have some some of that work is actually has come to yes I do have some of that work noted like we'll we'll pay some of those bills in 25 okay okay but the real work we we'll start working our plan right now is to let bids on storm and Louise simultaneously and what's likely to happen there is that we'll start the interior work on storm this coming June so almost a year from now okay probably late May and do all the interior work that summer and then do the interior work at Louise White the following year and the exterior work at storm the following year so some of those bills are going to come in this year appreciate it yeah but the real work in terms of letting the bids and whatnot and the real costs won't come until 26 it's a real challenge when you're trying to do construction work and your fiscal year ends right at the beginning of it so kind of I've had clients and others talk about like just can you not have me a contract or send me a bill until augus you know first because of the challenges associated with funding things over years over year but it's really important that the board have an understanding and so we can even if we this doesn't have to be the end of the conversation we can talk more about it next month and we can talk about it as much as you like so that you feel comfortable with how these things are ebbing and flowing because it's important that you have a solid understanding of it um and that you feel comfortable with and you have an understanding of what's going to come next because I don't want you to feel as though like you don't know what's going to happen in 26 or 27 but to your point earlier Craig about us being in a comfortable position I would say we are on glide path where we have in those operating funds some Surplus but we do have expectations for increasing needs both for Staffing for staff pay um for the costs of benefits and making sure that we constrain those that inflation um we can't necessarily count on some of our revenues that we're receiving right now right now we have a lot of money invested with our fund balance and we're earning considerable interest on that earn those earnings it's not something we've had in the past uh and but as we spend fund balance that will go away of course and recall just a few years ago we were issuing what we called tax anticipation warrants because we didn't have enough cash to get through the fiscal year was kind of like a payday loan I have to mention this every year wasn't that long ago we were we basically bwing money to get through the fiscal year so that we could make payrolls and pay our bills and so we've come a long way in these last few years um but as I like to say we're on glide path we just need to make sure that we stay on that Glide path so that we don't our expenditures don't exceed what we can anticipate our revenues to be otherwise things get really painful very quickly all right open to other questions from the community or other okay hearing none anything else from the board on this topic all right we don't need any no action on this at this point in time so but there will be action next month the next month okay thank you all right next item 8.1 is administrative comments Tom anything you'd like to add yeah so uh as we sit here on July 23rd the next time we meet together uh officially uh we will been five days into the school year so I just want to kind of bring that up so Bor I do invite you to join us on August 12th for opening day I'm sure our staff and administration would love to see you there if you're available uh we we will be kicking off our uh in opening Institute day there at the BAC um at 8:00 a.m.

e e like to call to order the July 23rd meeting of the ash Board of Health um the first thing on the agenda is citizen participation do I have any citizen participation go ahead Mark H yes thank you good evening Mark st49 Road this question is going go through the champman to Raj if I can ask him a question yes or no sure go ahead Mark thank you now Raj I've I've been go I've been going to the enh hasing plan committee meetings and um it's either being sponsy attended or full board attended but not all the time with all with all boards and members and stuff like that through the Board of Health my question is to you Roger R Roger is um how does the B heal determine what determines a nursing home in the Board of Health regulations Mr Mark your question is what determines nursing home yes what how does the Board of Health see what a nurseing home is in their eyes and regulations sure so most of the stuff with nursing home is is regulated by state you know but how we regulate nursing homes is like if they if they have food like we have two three of the nursing homes here right where we give food licensing right and regulate it that way and then uh if we get any complaints you know besides State regulation we we get involved and then during covid right we have assisted them you know with supplies or covid protocols and all that stuff you know but if you ask me uh it's direct direct regulations is is by the state not not by the local Board of Health they come under dph Okay the reason why I'm asking that I I'll say it out loud I was going through the comprehensive plant and vision Ashland gos and that's one of the things they want to get in for the elders in the future once they're out of the house once empty nesters and stuff like that the age for nursing homes and how we be placed in that I I was looking out in that turn just to find out what what what would look at and how and what would be in the future so I'm just looking out down down the road just in case and the comprehensive plan vision statement is what I I was going by that's all thank you thank you yeah um anybody else for citizen participation okay um so uh Raj if you could uh take the next thing introduction of Board of Health intern yes sir Mr chairman we have ashin here who have joined us for a shortterm very short-term uh internship uh he's going for his Premed uh and I will uh ashwien if you can introduce yourself to the board please sure uh hello everyone my name is Ashwin shandel chemistry and molecular biology um I'm studying for the MCAT currently and planning to attend medical school in a year and for the remainder of the summer I'll be uh interning at the Board of Health shadowing the the vaccine clinic and working directly under Mr Gupta come V welcome and did we R him into the ram Clinic rush we we will sir you know so he's just starting he's uh we'll definitely do that and then he he's actually coming to the clinic tomorrow so he's just getting started so definitely yes so that's a good exposure for him yes yeah sign up online keep up the good work my friend thank you thank you for helping us meet you all right um Raj you uh are you going to do the reappointment of the Tobacco Control agent absolutely so so Mr P is with us you know so uh Mr chairman if you want to give that you know if you want to just take a vote on that you know I guess do it you know sure so I would need a motion for the reappointment of I cannot pronounce your name I'm so sorry can call me so MO and I will second that does anybody have any questions or discussion okay all in favor I kg I congratulations for another year all right um next thing on the agenda is the 14 Acton Road septic waiver requests and we have Mr McIntyre I guess then then you with us J yeah here yeah would would you like me to bring up the plan or sure uh uh the the sharing is disabled Laura can you give him access [Music] oh there we go all righty can everybody see that so this is uh 14 Acton Road uh the house uh is for sale and and fail the title 5 inspection to orientate you Aon road is the bottom of the plan uh the house is located here it was a Wetlands delineated toward the rear of the property and also a wetland across the street uh that's connected by an underground cul that runs through the property and across the street the existing system is right in the sidey yard between the driveway the neighbor's property line uh and that's really the only practical place to put the system back is in that same location we did some test pits out there the groundwater was relatively high at about 36 in below grade so we're proposing to put in an alternative technology uh the geomat system and a in a pressure distribution uh design in order to get required leeching area within this small footprint so it involves a regul septic tank a pump tank and then a alternative technology bed design here uh we're still raising the yard a little bit but we are asking for a waiver on the on the 4 foot groundwater offset uh under the remedio use approval of this system by D we are asking for a couple of waivers to the Ashland regulations and Title 5 uh because the groundwater table was so high we weren't able to do a percolation test so we took samples of the of the soil and sent it to a laboratory for a c analysis why to obtain the uh the designed perk rate let figure it out so that's a that's a local upgrade wave run Title 5 and a wave run to the Ashland regulations for not having a percolation test uh due to the limited area in in this lot we just dug uh two test pits rather than the three required under the ashine regulations but the soil is very consistent between those two test pits so but we are asking for a waiver on the third test pit um in addition Ashland prohibits beds but we are requesting a waiver on that since we're using an i IIA technology uh that goes into a bed format and the distance to Wetlands the main wetlands in the back we're meeting the 75 foot offset under the ashine regulations but we're missing it slightly on the Wetland across the Street on the other side of Acton Road we're about 60 feet off of that instead of 75 and then there's also a a setback separation between a leech field and a uh underground Culvert of 50 feet if the cul intercepts the high groundwater table uh we conservatively asked for this waiver because we don't know the condition of that pipe technically that cover should be solid and not intercept seasonal High groundwater but it has been in the ground for uh a long long time so we don't know the condition of that culbert so we're asking for that setback of 42 feet instead of 50 feet to that cul that goes under the road uh it's an existing three-bedroom house it's staying a three bedroom house and uh that's the quick of it if you have any questions I can address those it has been approved by conservation too Ed kg go ahead Yeah question is that CW carrying water all through the year or is only intermittent only intermittent U as water builds up in the Wetland behind the house it travels through the cul and discharges on the other side of Acton Road and are you raising the land mounting It Up by how many inches or how many feet we're mounting It Up by approximately a foot does it does it require uh stabilization at the edges to make sure it doesn't bleach not on this particular one no okay so it won't breach all right that's all okay anybody else have any questions okay I'll entertain a motion so move to give the vors requested do we need to go one by one or we can go any I know just need someone to Second it I'll second it okay um any other further discussion no all in favor hi hi hi that's unanimous thank you very much you're welcome thank you um so the next thing on the agenda is uh Clover Road Brewing Company at 151 Main Street for an external grease trap waiver request Ed I have one small request for Raj yes please not about this but the previous one that um ensure that the concom has given the appropriate permission required for them they did so yes so thank you thank you thank you sorry for that okay um so Raj who's on for the Brewing Company hi I'm Jamie moldun I'm here from Clover Road hey um so this is for um an external grease trap waiver that's correct so can you give the board information but yeah so we're going to have an internal grease trap um but we aren't going to um have a lot of food we're going to have a very minimal um menu that we currently have in Hudson and actually in in Hudson right now we don't have a grease trap with the food that we serve we have pretzel bites we have hummus dip we have Sherie box is um and so with the food that we have that has you know we we don't have a fryer we don't use oil um a grease trap is typically not necessary we are going um you know to do an internal one as I mentioned before um but we aren't going to have a full kitchen we are just doing snacks um so we are hoping that we can get a waiver for the external grease chop Raj do you have anything to add to that U Mr chairman we should be good you know by we have an application from them uh given the menu right we we we should be good good on going with the internal three step but yes on Jam's point we definitely going to need one internally given we have a fat regulation in in town you know so we're going to need at least the internal one so yes but we have application from them and we we are good to go to give this W please okay anybody else have any questions okay so I'll make a motion that David see it sorry no that's okay I was I was slow Ed sorry um no the only question I had was um so how long have you been in operation in Hudson two years um so I guess the only question I have is like in the event that you decided at some point to change your menu um this would obviously either prevent you from doing doing that or or create um a situation so I I didn't know um if you had any any thoughts around that um so um yeah thank thank you for bringing that up that's a thoughtful Point um I would hope that the internal grease trap would cover us um for anything that we would want to implement down the future uh our business model and this is you know what we stand by is that beer and wine will always be our Focus not food um we are going to have um food trucks and um a food trailer at The Establishment that obviously will'll have to go through you guys and we'll be a whole separate operations but we'll be outside of the tap room to facilitate a full menu um so going forward that will always be the plan our food trucks and food trailers um outside you know of the existing patio park there and that's what we brought um to the other um committee as well in Ashland the planning committee so um you know and also the space is very tight in the tap room um and so given that our mission is always to provide the best beer possible and the best wine possible um I I don't foresee us switching our Focus so heavily onto food that we would need an external grease trap to support that anded I have a followup question for David go ahead David thank you for pointing it out and know you said that you have a food truck coming into your place is that correct yes so we're hoping to um establish a permanent food truck or a food trailer um that will obviously go through you guys with a separate application it's going to be a separate LLC a separate application and it is obviously be parked outside of the brewery but they will not be using any of the facilities inside the brewery any of the storage it's a completely separate entity I just bring up that point so that everyone knows that food will be offered and will be an option but it's a a separate um separate business basically assuming that they won't wash their dishes here oily dishes too that's another condition that we need to make sure well so we will have to wash dishes glasses your dishes is fine our dish is correct right not not from the Food Truck Yeah Yeah so we um so no so we we support food trucks in Hudson today and we you know it's we keep them outside and most of the dishes actually are disposable um so I don't see them actually um I would say 99% of food trucks don't have permanent dishes or or glasswar most of them are disposable um so but they would not be using the interior of the brewery okay that's good great thanks all right so um I'll make a motion to approve the grease trap waiver for 151 Main Street Clover Road Brewing Company I second that any further discussion or questions all in favor hi hi so that's unanimous congratulations good luck and starting your business here thank you we look forward uh to seeing you all in Ashlin hopefully very soon sure great okay the uh next thing on the agenda is the reappointment of the burial burial agents it's a three-year appointment um the people are our town clerk Cindy Livingstone Deputy town clerk Chris Sullivan John mice and John mice Jr um Raj this is just a vote right on this that is correct so only only thing we are doing uh different this year is right we are doing a three-year term instead of a year term that we used to do earlier but we have checked you know there is no limit on the on the time that we can do that you know so just that's why we we're doing a three-year term yes just just a vote on that please yes yeah may I make a motion to approve that for three years okay we have motion do I have a second second Jay second okay all in favor all all hi that's unanimous unanimous all right uh Jay you're up next for the um Ram Clinic okay hi everyone we are uh pretty close like couple weeks out now I and before I forget if anyone here it wants to volunteer and has not already signed up please go on to the volunteer web site and sign up so we can get a head count um but yeah we are doing well I don't really think there's any significant new stuff to report since the last time we met uh money is coming in I think that we're going to do okay with fundraising so we're very close to our goal um aside from that I think we have pretty much enough volunte in uh every service area we you know there was a couple of more uh eye professionals that would be nice but I think we can go with what we have now um and I think that that's all I really have to report at this point uh we just need to launch it um Ed and Dave so yeah Jay um I haven't had a chance to talk to you um I had um a great discussion with uh assistant superintendent of framan public schools who got me in touch with the school nurse leader for the district um the flyer for the vaccine clinic and the ram Clinic is being pushed out to framan public school families and they are doing a big push within the district for additional volunteers including interpreters excellent all right J yep question is the um the spectrum of Physicians that you have do they um evaluate every age group or is only for certain age group that you are looking at we have um one pediatrician that has registered uh but there may be other adult um Physicians and nurses that are comfortable doing you know General uh childhood exams uh to get them ready for school might be I'm not sure about that you you're content with the number of doctors or you need more Physicians we are content with the number of doctors at least that's what I'm told uh from Ram right now doesn't mean that we couldn't use more or that they be put to use so if somebody signed up we would make sure that they have something new yeah there are a couple people that approached me so I will give them the link and then they can go and register on that that'll be good okay yeah and and you know like I said that one pediatrician um it's not the person that we had last year at least I I don't re I don't recall the name uh is the same but we had a couple of I think pediatricians last year this year we have one if there was another pediatrician that would be wonderful um I'll get you one okay all right so yeah if they can go on the website sign up um one thing that I've been telling people that when they get to that website is you'll get to a an area on the online uh portal where it's events and assignments I think is what it's called and under that there are three drop-down menus but all you have to remember is that you'll have an option between uh between Ram events and RAM clinics and if you choose events you're going to go down the wrong path you have to choose clinics this is a ram Clinic okay if if the folks uh sign up for a ram Clinic then they'll be um given the opportunity to pick Framingham and their assignment and everything should flow more smoothly so Ram Clinic um and people who want to make use of the clinic do they have to register too or not no not on not online they would just show up um and they'll be registered on site okay and um you had told me last year they had somebody who was making Dentures on is that person still on or is that option there my understanding is that person will not be there if U he is there this year we'll I'll be surprised because I guess nobody has heard um from him so okay so we're not we're not telling anybody that and even last year when we had that um person doing Dentures we didn't announce that until just you know a week or so before the clinic um so yeah uh what there was one more thing I was going to mention um oh just a question I guess for Ed and for anyone here do we know of um a mechanism by which we could get Naran to hand out and the reason I asked that is that the public health service will be there on site they'll have about 15 officers one of the things they want to do is have a Naran training um which should be no problem and I've been to clinics where they have this they they train patients as they're coming out of their service area to um uh give them education in overdose and the use of Naran and they can get Naran for training but they can't I don't think they have a way to pick up a bunch of these to hand out so Ed do you know are we I know Raj Raj has some cases I can grab a couple of cases too I don't know how many doses they would need uh what how many what do you have for stock um Mr bman you know I I can request more uh Dr J we do have a program uh we do have uh Narin availability to our residents under a grant that we have here at the the at the department right so Ju Just to add on that so we we will I will request more Narin for the clinic and see where we go but we definitely have I guess uh maybe three or four boxes in hand you know so I guess we should have sufficient supplies you know for for the for the is that regulated in terms of distribution or is that anybody can have it okay we Mr K we just need to train anybody whom we hand Nar you know we we just cannot just give it out you know any person we give Narin we need to train them on how to use it you know that's the only requirement I'm sure he knows because he has been the Zar here in as he actually trained us to train people you know so he's the master trainer but I just want to point out you know somebody who if anybody's listening you know so but we we have to train them before we hand out uh ning you know so thank you so Raj can I then put you in touch or connect you with this um uh PHS uh officer um who who is asking me about this uh and she just emailed me about it today I'll just connect you by email and then do what you can I mean I don't think she expects you to use all of ashen's supplies for the ram clinic but Dr Jay is is for the if is for the residents is for the public you know we'll we'll be happy to distribute as as much as needed or whatever supplies we can get you know so yeah it should not be a problem you know but yes Raj I have a couple of cases in my office too so if we if we don't get the one from the state in time I have some in my office wonderful oh great all right well I'm glad I brought it up I will I'll connect you and then Ed will get back to you uh with with his stock y uh one other question that I have are we allowed to just visit anytime or as just members of Board of Health or restricted def definitely do we have to register well um that's a good question I can ask if you actually need to register I I think that Ram would probably say you know if you're on site uh they want everybody accounted for um sure but you know even if you had to kg you could register on site and come in and get a tour I will sure thank you byee the uh one last thing about the the volunteer registration I I seem to remember the folks from Ram mentioning that they they closed the registration about two weeks before I think it's exactly two weeks before so that would probably make like this Friday the 26th the last day to register so anybody who's planning to register to volunteer um do it soon yeah good point good point thanks Dave um anything else Ed or Dave that you want to add okay so so I think we're in good shape and I know that we're not gonna at least I don't think we're going to have another Board of Health meeting prior to the clinic so if anybody has any questions just email me or text me or uh you know how to get in touch with me and Mr jamman I just want to add one more point you know to Mr kg's uh question about the physicals I know it was a little different topic but uh we do at the at the department with our childhood vaccine clinic right we we have a program under which we can get free physicals uh for for any schoolgoing kids right at convenient MD locations uh we have voucher system that we can provide it to them or year around right they can go get go get a physical you know if it's just like if it is not feasible in the in the clinic for documentation and all that we have a program where all the kids can get a free physical from convenient MD I just want to put out there you know great excellent thank you I have a question for you Raj um so ashon will have a table at the clinic like last year right we will have a table from the shared services or yes you know we we'll have a combo combo table yes so you could have all those special information available to them if there is a pamphlet or something if there's a resident who wants to get information we we will have that sir yes thank you so Raj I'm going to send to you the um the agreement form that all the community resource groups need to sign it's a one pager you signed it last year or somebody signed it last year um and you can give it to whoever needs to be the signer on that and get give it back to me and then whoever is going to be at that table you may remember needs to register as a volunteer and there'll be a spot on the on the in the portal that uh where that person or those folks can say that they are in a community Resource Group um and so we'll have the table set up um am I going to see you on the setup day Raj absolutely yes okay so we can talk about like where you're going to be and all that but whoever's going to be at that table should sign up and I will send you the agreement yes sir thank you okay thanks all right I think that's all all I got okay all right uh next now you're are up next Raj for the health director's report thank you sir yeah so on the on the arbo virus uh we we so far in the state we have nine Tria uh now these are the mosquito samples that we have nine of them positive in the state then we have 16 vile positive MOS mosquito samples uh so far no human or animal cases but uh just with the mosquito samples the numbers are still high for the season so uh just caution on on on the mosquito bites and all that you know if the folks can wear our pant and all that if they go out in the evening and all that that'll be they'll be good you know uh other than that the central mosquito program what they're doing this year uh they they are spraying private pools uh abandoned pools so so far for the season we have got sprayed two pools and then there is another Pool that we are currently dealing that we have issued an order to crack lad uh because that's abandoned pool and there is overgrown vegetation at the property all of our recreational water with bhukum Pond and our three beaches are closed because of sign of bacteria as unfortunate but all our water bodies are closed for right now for for swimming or any any other recreational use uh just just on the updates on the septic system side the two properties I I know 27 Dean Road was in front of the board last time and Mr Burman have asked me to communicate with with the property owner as well as the installer or the engineer we have done so and uh they have not gotten the permission from aour yet but they they are in touch with them uh so that's going on and another property 11 Tower Road uh the system uh we we we was doing the inspections here and there was some conflict uh that uh that was there between between the installer as and the property owner U I guess we we have a resolution for that and we should be doing the inspection soon but there there was a gap right they didn't cover the system for for almost a month this was at 11 Tower Road and I will keep the board posted once once we finish this system uh Frozen desert license we we have a request from one of our vendor do D that they are looking for a frozen desert license that for currently we we don't Grant this kind of license uh it's just for the frozen ice cream and uh I just want to ask board if if you have any concerns or anything any questions on that but uh moving forward we we'll start granting uh that kind of license Starbucks uh we did the final inspection yesterday and we have signed on the uh COC U they plan to do uh a opening event on this Friday I guess you know but they are all set from our side we did um two two pre-opening inspections you know and they're all set from bord of outside uh Raj can I a quick question on that one um since it's a new business um have you met with the manager the who's the that that is correct Mr bman so both my three opening inspections right the the manager I guess his name is Mr Miller you know he he was there you know so I met him yes so he's going to be the manager manager for for the property yes and and Tom will do a check in like relatively within a short period of time once they open that is correct so usually we we plan to do a operational inspection within two weeks you know of of them going in operational okay thank you you welcome uh mil milpond rest home I I checked with the ownership uh last week you know they said uh the the change of ownership is still going on they going through some paperwork and they expect mid mid August that might that might happen but the only thing was like I have not gotten the pest control uh that they have agreed to provide it to board every three months right uh so the last T control report I had was from April 12th um I hopefully I get one for this month you know that that that's pending and I'll keep the bo board informed you know updates on our housing cases 55 codable Dr J was with me last time we went for the reinspection thank you for that uh after that uh we have gotten the second P control uh report this week that shows a little bit of the activity radent activity on on the report so we'll be looking for more crass control report for from the owners of the property I guess they have signed for three months of uh pass control report pass control on their property Chestnut Place Apartments I I was there this morning had some issues with the trash and I've issued a $100 ticket or citation this morning uh in between they they was pretty good you know with with the trash situation but today when I went in for the inspection I saw a lot of stuff and I issued the citation cus Apartments we have picked up two more cases there are two housing cases uh one is in building six and one is in building nine and so we're working with the with the management on that update on 137 Pawn Street uh the AG's office have filed uh the case with with with with the court now our first court hearing uh is on uh September 4 at 9:00 a.m.

in attendance from administration were Dr Robert toy Mr Jenaro Mr shihada Mr doctor Mrs Nola Mr Mountain Board of educ members in attendance were myself commissioner Kenova commissioner siano and president Paris additional guests in attendance were Vanessa Gaba and Robert uh bertolini from Christopher Columbus Middle School Mr Mountain explained that all security referendum related projects mentioned in previous meetings are continuing as planned this includes firewalls internet circuit uh internet circuit and router upgrades and Wi-Fi access point Replacements the new student Chromebook order has been allocated and devices are being prepped offsite expected delivery is early August Commissioners brought up poor cellular service at CHS and other schools Mr Mountain will contact providers to investigate options for improving their service in and around our buildings Commissioners also brought up a concern with Chromebooks accessing board docs Etc during our meetings these meetings future upgrades should alleviate these issues and a member of the tech team will be on hand at the next Boe meeting to facilitate if needed and they are here and have been here so thank you Mr doctor updated the committee on 12 additional students found not living in Clifton due to doile investigations for a savings of $182,100 this brings the school year-to-date savings uh of 1,268 242 Mr doctor also explained a proposal to hire two part-time staff members to act as attendance agents to assist in reducing chronic absenteeism throughout the district these staff members would take a preventative a preventative uh a preventive approach to the problem and utilize direct contact with the student and family to resolve issues be before poor attendance Begins the committee approved the idea with a three to zero vote finally Mr doctor shared a request by a staff member who utilizes the tuition program for their child to forego tuition in the student senior year discussion occurred and all the board members provided their input Dr Rober toy will decide the next steps in the matter Miss anola explained that the district has met all requirements outlined by New Jersey school drill law Clifton police have attended more of our drills than any other school year in addition OSP has once again reached out to Clifton to host a site for NJ dooe school safety training uh this summer Clifton Public Schools also apply for two Department of Justice federal grants directly related to stopping violence in schools and responses to security incidents miss zenola and miss rosza jointly attended the New Jersey school safety seminar using Behavior threat assessment to prevent targeted School violence sponsored by the US Secret Service Clifton Public Schools was recognized twice throughout the presentations on both the state and National level for our efforts in the hardening physical security and softening pbsis of schools Mrs anla mentioned that the district will be hosting the Clifton Police Department active shooter drills over the summer at our school buildings no students will be present for these drills in addition the junior Police Academy started June 4 and to open the ceremonies there was a helicopter landing at uh CHS finally vice principal berini pitched a new product to the committee to monitor student migration via digital pass it was approved for one-year trial to see if there's a benefit to using the product the meeting adjourned at 7:30 any questions Commissioners any questions I have a question um the hotline are we still using that and do have we had a lot of payouts on the hotline for uh res uh referring to the anonymous tip line yes uh every year we're pretty consistent there are a few every year so this year absolutely we have had a few whether they're utilizing the hotline or reaching out to Mr doctor and his team directly uh but we are still paying the the bounties for non-resident students thank you commissioner Suarez thank you this is just for clarification um can you please let me know what op stands for so aspep is the abbreviation for the uh New Jersey Department of education's office of school preparedness and emergency planning uh they are considered the gurus of School Safety and Security throughout the state and our our direct source for uh all the initiatives that we've implemented in our school district come directly from aspat anyone else any other questions okay moving on to HSA booster club meeting commissioner bassford please thank you um we had our HSA booster club um combined meeting um it happened on June 17th at 6:30 the meeting was opened uh we had a lot of people in attendance um Amed shahida opened the meeting introducing the attendees and their affiliations including Administration HSA presidents booster club presidents the Clifton Education Foundation representatives and pomptonian uh the Board of Education from the Board of Education president was President Paris uh vice president Dr Dany uh Miss Suarez and myself we had some lengthy discussions uh event planning and cost management we discussed planning the events like Trunk or Treats and coordinating with pomptonian for supplies to help reduce the cost to the hsas Alex Rosenberg discussed offering catering services and helping booster clubs with the concession stands field trip and transportation this is a big topic with the uh elementary schools with their field trips we addressed the elementary time for a limited time for field trips due to bus schedules suggestions um to extend Time by cater uh chartering additional uh buses and shared course between the Board of Ed and the hsas Google directory and communication platform and calendar coordination proposal was um made for a centralized communication platform for not only the hsas but also the booster clubs using a Google directory and calendar system the clipon uh school email accounts for the hsas were suggested as well and I believe we also suggested that for the booster clubs too so they could access the calendar um school supplies list standardizing and making school supply list uh accessible on the district website was discussed with updates to be posted by the end of the school year website updates are submitted to building principles and approval to sent to J horn and Samantha D roza for the website booster club concerns uh discussion regarding booster club handling of the concession at the stadium recognition of contribution Loretta Amed discussed the Clifton Education Foundation support for teachers and HSA initiatives through grants and fundraising events our meeting adjourned at 7:30 mostly every school was listed I'm not going to um say who was there from each school but mostly every HSA principals and or Administration was there representing their schools any questions thank you okay thank you commissioner bassford uh commissioner brunak would you please read the facilities committee meetings thank you Mr President the last facilities committee meeting occurred on July 1st 2024 those present were myself commissioner siano commissioner Kenova Dr Robert toy Mr Jenaro Mr shahada Mr Maldonado Mr Marion Mr Ido and Mr Watkins meeting started at 3:30 adjourned at 352 items of discussion with the referendum update epic gave an overview of what has taken place thus far in the referendum and what is taking place throughout the rest of the year Package 2 and 2A are complete working on the bathrooms and security vestibules and other buildings expected to be done January 2025 for package four package three spring of 2025 CHS package 1 winter 2024 still waiting on electrical parts that are delayed number number two was the plaque Mr shahada emailed the entire board with Renditions and the pricing details for both plaques each plaque is set to cost $5,600 bringing the total to 11,200 for both this price was a result of negotiations with Mr shahada ensuring that the quality Integrity of the plaques were not compromised despite the cost of a reduction the board reviewed the Renditions and expressed satisfaction with the design and pricing noting that the negotiated price reflects a balance between cost Effectiveness and maintaining high standards being updates the black top and the pothole repairs the city of Clifton city of Clifton DPW will commence black top and potholes rep pothole repairs in mid July this project aims to address the deteriorating conditions of the roads and improve safety for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic the DPW will prioritize the areas with most significant damage and will work in coordination with local schools to minimize disruptions during the repair period woodro Wilson Middle School library Media Center renovation the renovation of woodro Wilson Middle School library media center is scheduled to take place over the summer the project will involve installing a new drop ceiling upgrading the lighting to energy efficient fixtures replacing the flooring with durable modern materials and providing new ergonomic Furniture these improvements are designed to create a more inviting and functional space for students and staff the target completion date is set for the beginning of September in time for the new school year gutter guards installation gutter guards have been successfully installed at school three and school 5 these guards are intended to prevent leaves and debris from clogging the gutters reducing maintenance needs and preventing water damage to the buildings the installation was completed on schedule and initial feedback from maintenance staff has been positive regarding the effectiveness of the guards parking plans for school number 11 the parking plans for school number 11 have been awarded to contractor DNR with with Rodney scene overseeing the scheduling and execution of the project the new parking layout will include additional spaces to accommodate staff and visitors improve traffic flow and enhanced safety Fe features such as better lighting and clear signage the timeline for the project start and completion will be communicated once the scheduling is finalized boiler replacement at school 17 one of the boilers at school 17 will be replaced with a new Airco Platinum boiler this replacement is necessary to ensure Reliable Heating and improve Energy Efficiency within the school the new boiler has a lead time of approximately 4 weeks for delivery installation will be in schedu will be scheduled immediately upon arrival to minimize any disruption to school operations custodial maintenance and maintenance team job opportunities interviews for job opportunities within the custo custodial and maintenance team will begin this week the positions available include both full time and part-time roles with responsibilities ranging from routine cleaning and maintenance to specialized tasks requiring technical skills the hiring process aims to fill these positions promptly to support the ongoing maintenance and operational needs of the school facilities use of facilities the committee engaged in a comprehensive discussion regarding the use of facilities over the summer key topics included the status of pending permits the feasibility of accommodating various activities and the potential of impact on schedule summer athletic programs committee members Express concerns about ensuring all the necessary permits are obtained in a timely manner to avoid any disruptions they also explored how to best coordinate the use of facilities to balance the needs of the athletic programs with other community and school events additionally there was an emphasis placed on maintaining safety and access accessibility standards while maximizing the utilization of available spaces little free pantry the committee discussed the proposal presented by doc presented to Dr robertto by a Community member to install little free pantries on school grounds these pantries would provide students the opportunity to assist their classmates by collecting food food donations additionally local community members would be encouraged to contribute to the pantries the committee wanted to further discuss this at a later date does anyone have any questions I I just have a a comment and and that's concerning uh the help we're getting from the city of Clifton just an example of some shared services that is saving uh saving us some money and utilizing our capabilities with the city so we thank the city for their cooperation and assistance in this pothole repair that they have the Manpower and the equipment to uh to help with so it's deeply appreciated by the board any other questions okay um uh commissioner brunak you're up again Finance minutes please thank you Mr President those in attendance who are myself commissioner Santiago commissioner Mahia Mr jenero Mr shahada and Mr Uchi meeting started at 5:00 p.m.

and first on our agenda after that is the clerk's report Kate thank you madam chair we have received one correspondant from the public since the last planning board meeting which was responded to by the clerk on behalf of the board great thank you next on our agenda moving right along is public comment so uh Peter I will let you manage all public comment if you don't mind sure so um prior to um moving forward to the one gentleman in the room that had public comment I just want to let everyone know that uh Mr Mark donon um who is at the microphone at the podium currently um he did submit a handwritten letter which is in everyone's binder tonight so uh with that said I will open public comment up uh in the room first to Mr Mark donon Mark I'm just going to turn the video on hold on a second has to unmute all right thank you okay thank you good evening mark he can stay M because his volume is going through the microphone so I'll just mute you real quick but you're good all right out in the cave back into the land good evening Mark Sony for9 haon roadms and thank you Peter for setting me up I did send in a piece piece of paper about zoning bylaws and I'd like to ask go go through the board that they uh what the youve been talking about you want to have Mee and everything and this is my way of saying that I want to be uh part of it so I sent in this to the planner Mr Peter there I'm the other day and this is what you got so if you can look it over I I will ask any I'd like I'd like to make a comment okay so I think this is um sort of good time in the second part of our meeting is like um a retreat about our work plan and the board has been thinking about I don't think we're quite ready to talk about any like attacking specific bylaws because I don't know if you saw the agenda it has many many things that Retreat and we'll probably have to prioritize but I assume some of them should be attacking bylaws right so I think when we get there they they absolutely we would want a public part of that process right and I think there's probably a way to integrate Mark with that yeah I think with with any obviously bylaws that we tackle the it it's required that the public be part of the process so yeah 100% And that's that's was one one of is is I wanted to hear and a little PS is to thank you Miss Kathy JK for your email back to me and my reply back to you it did help and this was the content that I sent up here to the U to the rest of the board here to continue on it's not just with the comprehensive plan it's going to be with the planning board because the planning board is part Zone and bylaws in their CH so I want us to come in and be involved in this together all every member either through EMA email Zoom meeting I I come up to my house and residence and do it inside there and and to work it through before you get to September 4th if possible September 4th is a big compreh hasive plan with the select board and I figure got to understand the regulations and everything to have a smooth talk over both with both uh boards that's why I want to get involved in with the boards themselves to to see CU I when I last time I did this was around 2016 2017 with the um pH base code got that pass in this town that's why I have some of the experience doing this and I wanted to show and give back to everything does that sound good to you Mr chairman well certainly we're going to be looking at zoning Mark but I don't think anything's going to be happening that quickly to September 4th we only have two me meetings in there um and one of them I know several of our members won't be at I I don't think we're going to get there that quickly to suggest zoning before comprehensive plan I think we're really looking for a little bit more the opposite process that comprehensive plan will help guide us on zoning so um it may not happen that that quickly but we are as as Kate said we are looking in our agenda for later in this meeting to to talk talk more more specifically you know starting to look at what are our goals with with zoning so that's all I can it's General but that's all I have right now so so when the planning board itself starts separate for what comprehensive plan is figure I can work with the plan board themselves and go with what you have with what I gave Trisha could I make a comment that I think will help Mark I I read your comment and there's there's some themes you seem to care deeply about commercial Ventures entrepreneurial businesses you have interest in that and as you can see part of our agenda for our Retreat later tonight includes things that relate to business whether it's zoning downtown for hotels or discussing bylaws for short-term rentals talking to um the ashin cultural Council about using art with private spaces there's things on our Retreat list that relate to business so my thought would be because you come to almost every one of our meetings you seem to have a lot of interest in planning is maybe see if you can help us find more information about some of the things that we keep talking about in our retreats in our meetings so if you're interested in accessory dwelling units which seems to constantly come up for us maybe help us find other community drafts of zoning so I feel like you come to every meeting you're very engaged you want to help us out if you pick one of these things that we keep talking about and give us memos on those things that would be a productive way to help us that that sounds agreeable and what I did write down on the pieces on the piece of paper that you all have K right straight from the from the town website is zoning regulations i c copied them so figure if you look into them that I I brought up there it might give you ideas where I am and how you said that Annie that and that's that is is my thicken but I figured if I try to upgrade so everything could be going forward together I would like to be in that group in that upgrade system yeah we don't uh we don't have a specific plan about how we're going forward uh yet but um but we have your document and so uh obviously we'll be here discussing it at other times too so you'll be able to follow the progress on where we're going with this so and I my last comment after after Peter go ahead no please mark oh I would like to have an answer either through email which you do have somebody on the board has and and um either that or um let's see through zoom and that is this 101 whoever wants to keep up with this with me and I'll be I'll be caual and social and applying my ideas with the board so we be on the same track well Mark you know I'm always happy to meet with you so you know we can schedule a meeting and sit down and go from there but and then I can kind of translate back to the planning board um but obviously I think you know we're still working on the comp plan together and we do have a list of agenda item you know on the items that we want to talk about later tonight so I think we can keep our minds open and and hopefully move things forward progressively and I will keep my mind open for compromise and we all can be together on it all right thank you Mark thank you [Music] uh at this current time I see nobody with their hands raised for public comment you have a public comment conc a specific topic or any um so with that said I see no more public comment I think we can move forward to our first public hearing thanks Peter do you want to give us um an introduction on that uh yes so first I'm going to read the uh public hearing excuse me the Public Public hearing notes into the record so please bear with me the Ashen planning board will hear a public hearing on Thursday July 25th 2024 at 7:15 in the Ashen select board meeting room second floor Ashen Town Hall 101 Main Street Ashen Mass to the hear the ition of T-Mobile Northeast LLC 10 Commerce Way sweet B Norton Mass 0277 6 requesting a special permit modification per chapter 282 section 6.4 wireless communication facilities in 9.3 of the ashon zoning bylaws the applicant seeks to modify the existing special permit for the placement of antennas and update auxiliary equipment on the existing Tower structure in in in on the water tank uh just for everyone's clarification this is a water tank owned by the town at 24 Tower Road the equipment will be aesthetically consistent with the existing structure in nintend Array the proposed The Proposal includes the installation of 5G capable equipment the property in question is located at 24 Tower Road assessor map 20 lot 80 in residential a zoning District the public area will be held via zoom in video conference the zoom Zoom is up here um in it the confer the link was provided parties wishing to be heard on this matter should submit comments to the AC planning board ahead of time and or appear at the time place indicated above materials will be viewed at ashon toown website uh under the current cases or the uh Town Hall by appointment during no business hours for more information or do subit comments please contact myself Peter mat at 85327 n27 and provided my email address Trisha kendle chair as PL board with that said I would like to take a moment and introduce the applicant so uh this application came um and was submitted by T-Mobile Northeast LLC and tonight we have attorney Adam F brilley of Prince LEL and Tha LP representing the application um just for a kind of a round description of the project so this is a 24 Tower Road it is an abandoned t water tank and um having a cell facility goes back and or the sighting of a cell facility um goes back to 1998 I believe so in 1998 the town uh in the zoning board of appeals permitted um this location as a um a sell facility I believe at this current time there are two um carriers um that are collocated on a monopole that is um that goes up through the actual site um indoor water tank and then it has guide wires anchored to the side of the tank uh with that said I believe in 2008 within this within the application package Um T-Mobile did come in um Andor the um company at that time I know there's been a lot of mergers in the Telecommunications um world uh came in and updated this equipment so here tonight we are talking about updating the equipment on the existing uh infrastructure indor monop pole that currently kind of comes up through the abandoned water tank um at this time if appropriate I would like to hand it over to Adam brayy attorney Adam brayy and uh please take it away great thank you you got it um members of the board and thank you Peter just for the record Adam brard at Prince Lael Tai um we're in Boston Massachusetts on behalf of the applicant T-Mobile Northeast LLC um like Peter said we're here to modify or request special fir uh special per modification um to modify the existing Wireless Communications facility that's located on the um Tower structure that's on top of the tank located at 25 Tower Road here in town the applicant to Peters Point there's been telecommunications equipment on that site since 1998 I think it was either Nexel or uh AT&T that went on um at that time and then I shortly after that I think it was AT&T so it was Nexel in 98 AT&T shortly after that and then T-Mobile under the name of omnipoint communications which is now uh T-mobile went on in um 2008 so in 2008 T-Mobile executed a lease agreement with the um with the city uh with the town and then installed its equipment um and now uh T-mobile is looking to modify that equipment the modifications proposed are easiest way to do that is tell you what's existing and what we're proposing to do so what is existing is six panel antennas that are on that um Tower structure that's on the on the tank and the um we have a set of plans that are on have three uh of the of the plans on on the package um so T-Mobile has three panel uh six panel antennas two per sector that are currently on the on that Tower structure Um T-Mobile proposes to to replace those with six new uh panel antennas it T-Mobile also has three remote radio units which are small 1 by one foot um units that that um that amplify the signal in the coax down to the computers um and those are also on the tower there's three currently there two mob looking to replace those with uh six new remote radio units so um aesthetically it's going to look pretty much the same uh six panel antennas um for six panel antennas and three remote radio units for six remote radio units um T-Mobile is going to replace any um worn or abandoned which I don't think there is any abandoned uh coax cabling that is um that runs from the antennas down to the ground equipment um in on the or within the T-Mobile's least area in Fen compound area there is two currently two um cabinets for the radio equipment and T-Mobile proposes to re uh replace those with two actually smaller uh cabinets so those cabinets won't be as big as the ones that are currently there as far as there are the plans yeah as far as the the changes that's that's really the the gist of the proposed changes so you can see there if we go yep there you go that so those are existing um t-mob at the top &ts in the middle and then there's there uh nexile but it's no longer there so those are there's no there's no um carrier that's at that lowest level at this at this time so we've worked with the planning department we've worked with uh Haley Ward um we've been working with them since early 2023 in connection with the modifications here um we did get a a letter from the the Department um in I think it was January 2024 that um in our application that that basically stated that we're good to go provided we conform to the uh Haley Ward conditions which we which we are yep so just to clarify so um the applicant uh with AT&T preemptively sent this to halan Ward and did a pre uh uh a excuse me a engineering um peer review and so there is a letter behind the um letter here and the public hearing notice and it's dated May 23rd 2024 and this is from Greg Aldridge working for the town reviewing uh Helen I mean as working for for the town's peer as a town peer review Helen Ward uh they do all of our uh water department tank uh telecommunications tank review um um and I have spoken with him on the phone and the appro the approv the proposed plan satisfies his review and from a structural standpoint I I had a question and looking over your application materials tab five there's a letter from January of 2024 I believe from um Doug Small and Doug talks about this one very important item yes that's how he starts it yep uh to mention is the strength and condition of the concrete domed roof he's indicating a man lift should be used for all Communications equipment removal and installation to avoid Point loading I'm assuming all of that you're agreeing to yes okay so this is um an abandoned water structure for the town but we're like obviously structurally it's not great they're saying don't like so what what is um is there any maintenance the town will need to do and how does that affect with like the equipment because I'm presuming like we're not going to just let this crash the Tower or that kind of thing I think from that standpoint I lean on Greg ALDS I'm not a inst structional engineer you know I think they've checked it out the water department has checked it out and they feel confident that the way it as it stand and it can take this no I meant so like but if there's future maintenance how does that impact with with this and then is it temporarily baned or it's never to be used again or do we know that and how is did anyone ask those questions along the way in my eyes this is abandoned um because there's a monopole through this oh okay through the through the roof that I don't think we're it's literally through there that actual pole that pole goes from the center of the through the roof so I do not think we the town will be using this again however I'm happy to ask those questions and try to get those answers it's it's a little bit of a strange site I went up there with pet yeah it's a yeah you don't really feel like you're in Ashland kind of when you're there where where this you come of come come across this water tower which was really um I don't know I was kind of surprised I obviously I'd never been up there for any other reason so um it doesn't seem like again I'm not an engineer either but it seems like something that would be if a water tower been need probably be replaced that then reused given this condition but I'm not obviously I'm not sure right is there any other questions for the applicant right um I'll open it up for public comment good evening uh my name is Eric Jensen I live at 23 Tower Road uh right next to the proposed project um a lot of our questions have been answered uh not just tonight but uh reading through other projects or other information concerning this project uh but our main concern basically uh with me and the other neighbors there are um the impact it has of timeline how long the project will take constructionwise how much heavy equipment will be coming in where they plan on uh stationing and uh just uh keeping all this heavy equipment when it's not maybe not in use in this area um so that's basically our main concern right right now is just the overall scope of the project timeline and uh throughout not just length time but during the daytime as well what time it will take place because it is a pretty quiet End of the Street up there correct yeah are those questions that you're prepared to talk about thank you okay I can first state is that any work that would have to be done would have to be during the during the day you know we have bylaws regarding construction hours obviously and so obv they would have to amend to that regarding time and the timeline equipment how long it would take I'll obviously let yeah so oh I'm sorry no no please um through through the chair um just just to try to answer the question yes I'd appreciate that so this is a a replacement of existing equipment generally what what we would do I think in this case because because of where it's located we would use a man lift anyway we're required to in this case because of the the findings from Haley ward in the town um so we would have a a man lift that would be that would you know drive up there or come off a trailer and then drive up and do the work most of the work can be done within a couple of days um because it's just replacing the antennas with the new antennas but I would say that you know we would we would need a couple of weeks for a prep um install and then take away um so when you talk about a couple weeks do you mean um like people trucks on site say 10 for 10 days I I would think yes yeah okay um to be safe I think it can be it it could be quicker than that but um generally the modification structural uh the modification um construction installations are relatively quick I mean they don't want to be down the reason is that you don't want this the the the facility to be down for a lengthy period of time you really want to switch out the antenna so that there's really no downtime and that and that length obviously given the nature of the work that would be doing would also depend on weather and things like that that's correct right thank you yes and other than the M left is there any other equipment that would be on site yeah I don't think so I mean obviously we're going to have uh there'll be ladders um there'll be some Vans probably um that would come with the equipment um smaller Vans like the Sprinter vans um and then attractive trailer with the with the man lift I think our concern yes yes and we can I mean that's that's completely reasonable and if if you want to if we need if we need to include that as a condition I I believe that that's that's reable I think that's suitable obviously we would not during any construction project we wouldn't have them parking in the public way Andor obviously leaving or blocking anyone's driveway so I think that would be I think that's common courtesy tell you the truth absolutely so okay uh so with public comment uh there's one person with their um their hand up um so online I going to ask uh hello can you hear me guys yes and I apologize I I I I don't I cannot pronoun I'm not going to attempt to pronounce your name but please introduce yourself with your name and address yes sure thank you for letting me speak my name is Mukesh chuk and I live on uh five royal colony Circle that's uh directly opposite to like the my backyard faces the the tower um so uh I think a lot of questions have been answered so thank you for those and we do have a concern about the relative increase in the power emission from these uh Towers uh presumably 5G uh Tower replacement that suggested is uh you know results in higher uh emission of power and since we have uh we are next to it we are a little bit concerned about that uh so I would appreciate any commentary from the applicant on this and also if there's any data or any any um studies that they can provide us um to uh reduce the concerns I am representing some other folks around uh on the street as well who have raised this concern to me okay thank you um I'm going to ask the applicant to see if he wants to address that uh question yes to the chair um thank you yes please uh so in every instance when uh T-mobile and most of the carriers either install a new facility or modify an existing facility like in this case radio frequency emissions studies are performed to conform to the requirements set by the FCC um that's been done here and the um radio frequency emissions are comply and conform with those those uh safety levels so that study has been completed and um and the uh like I said the uh any radio frequency emissions do conform to the um safety levels that are U that are that are that have been mandated by the uh by the FCC I will say that uh this is a is a 5G style installation however it is somewhat constrained typical 5G installation for T-Mobile is nine panel antennas and this is only six so for example in the Cedar Street um water tank that that has nine panel antennas this would only have six so the there would be a difference in in radio frequency there and FC and just just for the the notes FCC that you mentioned stands for oh I'm thank you uh Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission yeah thank you I I just have a a couple of followup uh so um is that study that you mention that you mentioned is that done specifically for this Tower or is it more generic U that's done somewhere else the study is specific to to T-Mobile's installation at this at this location great thank you and is that uh is that a part of the packet that that you have submitted I think it was required as part of the package but we could include it as part of the building permit application it it what the applicant stated is that it's uh he it it hasn't been submitted but I think if you could submit that I'm happy to post that online and and get that out to the applicant as soon as possible is that agreeable uh yeah sure certainly we can install that uh include submit okay thank you yeah so the applicant stated in the meeting uh that he will submit that report and uh I can have that posted on the website as soon as tomorrow great thank you appreciate that and if you have any issues find I I had just a last question but that's not very important if you have press on time I I can rest no please feel free uh okay just quickly how um long is this contract for so is this like a forever lease or is there is there a time period for this just I can answer that if you please the least the current lease agreement with the uh with the town of Ashlin uh expires in 20 2028 so about another four more years so this isn't look yes this isn't looking to ex it's not about the lease agreement it's about doing something while you have the lease agreement active right and in order to uh extend that lease or renew that lease the the the town would need to uh and any of the carriers that are on the tank need to go through a procurement process which is a public process at this time there's no other questions all right are there any other questions or comments from the board okay so our typical process um to do this would be if the board is in general agreement will help have like guess is there any discussion this is a pretty typical we've seen a number of these in the past obviously and just for my only thought to show is just for the folks in the room um and on Zoom who might not have been part of the prior projects where this has come up um this is falling under the I'm going to the tri act um but this is one of those ones where we don't our hands are pretty tied in terms from the federal government in terms of what we can do that's true Peter can you give us just a the just just so it's a part of this meeting process a brief synopsis about that regulation so back in back in 2012 as part of the federal middle class tax relief and job creation act um they state that that application in that law um kind of took it the power away from Municipal governments right and regarding the updating of these facilities per se right and so really the town of Ashland and all towns not just town of Ashland has limited Authority and jurisdiction when when a telecommunications company comes in and wants to update their equipment on a already permitted site and So within this process right under the 2012 um Federal middle- class tax relief there are six points right of eligible facility and um and so with that said it says number one the modification does not increase the height of the base station by more than 10% in this case where at the same height the mo modification of the transmission equipment on the um pole or or you know does not uh produce uh from the edge of support structure no more than 6 feet so therefore we're not widening the support structure we're not making this anything different right um and that kind of goes further on um but the main takeaway is is that the FCC kind of is control here and the town is kind of in the back seat what we and and I'm going to speak for the planning board on this is that I think the planning board over the last few years we find it very important to have public hearings when telecommunications companies come into the town and we want to make sure that everybody within a certain dis you know within proximity knows what's going on right because it is in your backyard and so some communities um would have the Telecommunications Company file for for a building permit and kind of not go through this process so we as a planning board and as a town uh obviously have this process we go through it we are limited to a 60-day process right now we're on day 35 after receiving this application uh we as a town only have about 60 days to issue a final decision but our hands are tied a little bit but this is public information that's happening um and work going on within the community and so I think holding the public hearing what we are doing tonight in making sure it's a public process um that is the goal here um and to make it transparent and so um I can go further through the six points if you would like but no I think what um I just wanted to make sure since we had folks from the public here asking questions and to your point Peter I think um the reason why we handle it differently than some other municipalities is because there are a lot of questions that can be answered really easily in this open Forum by the applicant and and have everyone sort of on the same page but to your point if unless something is um Falls outside of those six points we really can't do anything other than than approve it correct so because everything sort of within that it is a little bit of a proforma exercise true I I will add that for me it's been although the board is limited in whether we can deny it or not there's certain limitations I think these types of hearings for me have been very insightful because I listen to the public comment and I myself become more educated as to what the public is concerned about um and although by federal law we have some limitations and certainly there's not a lot we can do as a board I do believe that there are certain points that the public needs to understand and one of those is that and Peter you can correct me if I'm wrong that this is technically public property that's being leased am I corre am I right oh 100% y this public property in theory the public has full access to that site I can go there right now and take measurements for radioactive or excuse me for radio frequencies and I on my own could as a public citizen do my own research as a resident as to whether I believe those are dangerous levels for me so those are some of the things I sometimes wonder about we as a board have no jurisdiction here to order anybody to do do that kind of testing but when the public comes to us and expresses those types of concerns we have a lot of very educated scientific people in this community and I think that it's important to remember this is a public site that any member of the public is welcome to do testing at and because it's a tower the way this works my understanding is that safety is also dependent upon where your private property is located relative to this public space so if people are concerned they have every right as public citizens to go and pesti site I hope that's helpful relative to the comment online about safety are there any other comments from the board okay um I think then and uh our typical process um would be to um have Peter start with um to put together the um the approval document for this and obviously there are a few conditions that will come in come into that and then we will look at that next time um we need to be a little careful of that window because at our next meeting I'm not going to be present and that only leaves two people of a quorum for this particular public hearing so either people right will need to review the tape well it's a special per so Amanda could sit oh Amanda could sit on the special oh okay she's not hear so we're a little bit in this so doing the doing the math right um the next meeting August 8th would be 48 days um and so we' be we would still be in the time frame of of acceptability I would say um I did not look to the I think the next meeting would be 14 days after so I think we would cross over that 60-day time period but um if acceptable to the applicant and we can put this in writing uh we can move this to August 22nd and 2th isn't it 25th 25th 25th isn't it the 25th or August no 22nd sorry oh okay it's I don't know why I had the 25th in my head okay maybe that's why um and at that point we could have a full we would not have to M we would have to go through the M off of Davids or anything like that yeah um I think that's just remind me of the process the hearing doesn't the hearing closed close the public hearing process we tend to leave the we tend to leave the um the public hearing open until until we can look at the um until we can look at the the doc approval document in case there's other information that comes into it in case we have more questions to ask um because otherwise we're we're very limited in what who we can ask question questions of until that time yeah at this point we usually will we will close it and then vote on it with an approval document and if and if we have to continue it out to the 22nd of August I can assure that we can have a draft decision you know complete um at a very least by August 8th for everyone to start reviewing and obviously I would share a copy with you um in the meantime yes so we can include I mean the four of us can be on the special permit process but two of us four will not be here on the 8th so I think it'd be best if we can continue it out to the end of August to the 22nd so that we can make sure and usually we go at least a day after that because we need to collect signatures and stuff like that yeah so we'll we'll I'll follow up in the email so we'll just continue out till August 23rd which is a Friday and uh as long as we there's no kind of hiccups or and we'll kind of go from there I could zoom in on the just for this it helped but yeah I can't even zoom in that day so um yeah so I think summer schedules were a part of your uh your earlier scheduling as well okay if you can take care of that yeah we'll follow with with emails but I think tonight we just need a motion continue it to the 22nd and um and we'll follow up verbal we know I think we got the okay verbally but we'll follow up and I'll file that with the town clerk tomorrow right is there such a motion I'll make a motion to continue the public hearing for 24 Tower Road with T-Mobile pending approval of extension of the deadline I'll second up and a roll call vote Anna teski I cath Jers I Amanda I and Trisha Kendall I so we will see you on the 22nd when it'll be very close to back to school SE thank you all right so um next on our agenda we knew our public hearing agenda was going to be quite light light tonight so um the planning board uh put together a list of topics that were just generally compiled um of um I I compiled a memorandum I should say um regarding different suggestions people made about um possible topics for the planning board it's quite a a long list but it shows the diversity of things that we that we um work on and um I'm sure Amanda will be back in a sec but um Anna you had had an idea about how we I mean we have time in this meeting but we don't have all I'm sure we don't want to stay here all night so how do we you had some ideas about how we can approach kind of a long complex list and and get something out of our evening yeah I mean I I guess what I'm seeing here is three different categories of things um I think it seems like the the guest speaker piece and the processes piece is a little bit more simple than the stuff on top the bylaw work I think is what is challenging to us because of the amount of work that's involved how to go about it Etc so I guess my suggestion for Trish to Trisha was do we want to talk about the bylaw stuff and sort of figure out from each one of us what two or three things really stand out as a priority priority for us and come up with some sort of plan obviously we're not going to solve these problems in one retreat but I had suggested a prioritization for each person and sort of some consensus as to what do we as a board want to f focus our attention at and come up with a timeline of some kind as to how we go about that that was essentially the suggestion and then in theory you could have a go-to person who sort of becomes responsible for owning that priority for a period of time and that person can sort of in theory lead the work gather certain basic information maybe even work with Mark to do some research present it back to the board for further Retreat further discussions um that was generally my suggestion Yeah so basically the the middle topic like like you said joint meetings guest speakers were not usually ones to say no we don't want to talk to you or we don't want a joint meeting usually those are always informative for our board and these are just things that have come up um not even just with this call for requests but things that we've talked about before that haven't quite made it on our agenda so and there might be more as that that we might add to this list that we want to bring in throughout the year but it's not something that necessarily needs to discussed right I mean we could certainly discuss it but I'm thinking like if we have an hour to do this retreat part of our agenda maybe we agree that you know 40 minutes goes to bylaw conversation and prioritization and a plan and 20 minutes can go to discussing the other two topics that seem a lot less controversial and more sort of hey what are we thinking um so I don't know how you want to go about it but I feel like we should pick a time frame stick to it try to get through the agenda and figure out plan of attack for the bylaw work I I think if any unless anyone has a different opinion I think that that guest speaker joint meeting thing can really be like it's just for us to keep track of feel free to add to it you know we'll keep an ongoing list of those things but there's probably not a big discussion to have there b you know about discussion would be who to invite first but I'm not sure that's a critical discussion at this stage so but between um the bylaw work and um Kate I think a lot of I think you had a lot of comments about processes and procedures so how does that how does Anna's suggestion fit with maybe your concerns about that category I I mean I agree I think they're kind of simple I think they should be talked about to see how much agreement and and a path forward but they're kind of simple ultimately okay so Amanda any no I think that makes sense to start with by law work um maybe give ourselves like we want to be wrapping that by 845 so that we can move on to the other things I feel like that makes so I justes have to be 45 second yeah no Mak sense you mean moving on to the Joint to the guest speaking and the other stuff exactly yeah okay mosy through those yeah as faster things at the end yeah all right so sounds good so why don't we um I don't think things don't need to be necessarily taken in any particular order they weren't put in any particular order by me so um feel free to take them out of order wherever you want to start um I'd just like to comment on the the tree um preservation bylaw because I said I would contact the sustainability committee and kind of their thoughts so the best I could get was that they've sort of they haven't really met and it's been um you know travel and then summer plans so I I would assume it's not off their plate but I could not get any confirmation on that at this time are we thinking that we just want to sort of talk through our priorities and what we each think makes most sense among yeah I think so I think it's just anything we want to have out there like where do we start with this thing how strongly do we feel about it um who's really interested in it um for me I feel pretty strongly about the ones that we already have pretty substantial progress towards like we've invested a lot of time in the tree bylaw and tree preservation between standing you know you know they sitting meeting where it's just that or having sustainability here on multiple occasions um I feel like it makes sense to sort of try to wrap up the ones that we've made that we've already invested a lot of time in and for me that would be the tree bylaw and um MBTA communities to just like focus on those two yeah the the MBTA communities just so you know that there are some other um information that was given it was really just more about the the updates it wasn't to be necessarily to be discussing MBTA but um there's a calendar there and there's some um um there's a map here which it it's actually a a slightly earlier draft than um there's a few Corrections that need to be made on it so I'll say that ahead of time but um I was intending to talk about that during the updates versus yeah that makes sense and and it's more something that it's kind of like that one's going to happen it's an official thing yeah it's already official thing and it's already yeah it's already going to happen um the the tree B if obviously we need sustainability um on that I just wonder if we sort of pencil it in for an early September meeting with them I sort of it would like knock out one of our joint meeting they Al I don't know that they're on here but um I know that they didn't want to go for it in the spring but like sort of if they end up wanting to go for it in the fall to be able to have it on there in September to have a conversation and try and tie up L ens from the last where we left everything the spring did did you did Kate did you say you actually talked to someone about this or there um there's um no I we're kind of where we were before um I sent an email I didn't hear and then I did make a phone call to say what what's up and they really haven't actually met um I think more schedules so no body can really comment right as a board I'm not surprised because I think a lot of boards like us have quieter Summers and people are a vacation so maybe Kate if you're comfortable following up with them and I feel like that might be helpful to figure out what their interest is before we go on with it that's true yeah because I think it was because the notes the minutes are even in here right of the and it was actually a pretty complex discussion they were taking things back for sure yeah and so so um like the at least the first W meeting in September is right after summer I I just wonder if they'll be on top of things and it seems yeah it'll seem to be we'll relying on them to say is this do you want to talk about this again is it ready to talk about even do you want to with the sustainability committee even do you want to have another working rehash meeting something like that you know to doesn't have to have all the answers meeting um but maybe it's reaching out to the sustainability committee and see say it has it's not off our radar we'd be happy to do something in the fall if you guys are making progress haven't met yet but who knows August FRS or September right right to to meet and and see where it is okay I guess I'll I'll jump in to kind of my reaction to the bolaw list um in my in my brain because I'm very linear I sort of separated it from things we're required to do versus optional things so the MBTA zoning thing it's not even a question we have to do it by State law so to me that's not even like anything we should be discussing it is a priority because we're required to make it such period um the other things you know one thing I'll say is so far on the comprehensive plan work and K you can correct me if you disagree um a lot of the discussions whether it's the public or the the committee has been consistent with some of these things whether it's tree preservation or accessory dwelling units there's definitely prioritization in the community on ashin being very green very tree likee and focus on alternative affordable housing and adus are a very acceptable form of such in the state of Massachusetts so obviously we have a bylaw already in idus but it's got some limitations and we don't have really a dedic ated resource mechanism to make that a successful thing in Ashland but it's very clear to me based on how the comprehensive plan work is going so far that the things we have listed here are not contrary to what I'm hearing the public is interested in so my kind of General opinion is that we as a planning board because zoning is within our purview have a responsibility to congruent to the comprehensive plan process to take those public comments and priorities and start to actually do the work so that by the time um we are prepared and engage with the public we as a board are more prepared so I don't really look at the comprehensive plan process as required step prior to us doing our work I look at it as a congruent step that if I as a planning board member am hearing those are priorities for our community I believe I can bring that back to this board and say hey we should do something about this um so that's kind of a a general comment and then as far as sort of where I'm willing to put my head to um obviously the tree preservation common I agree with with Amanda I think that we should engage with them um the accessory dwelling unit thing really interests me I know that Trisha I believe had prior work on that topic I don't know where that is I guess the the two topics that are most of interest to me are the Airbnb short-term rental and the uh rezoning downtown to allow some limited smaller hotels um those are things that I'm especially interested in because I believe that 10 years from now ashin is going to be um more competitive um Statewide and the hospitality industry and the economy seems to be shifting towards those types of uh downtown revitalization type of ideas so that we should start thinking that way not because we're going to you know become the next hot ticket item to travel to we're not the cap but you'd be surprised how many communities are not prepared for the Airbnb short-term rental issue um Kate and I went to the planning um event that happens in Worcester every year and this is being discussed as something that many communities are not prepared for and when it happens they don't have zoning ready um in those communities that are thinking ahead tend to um do better and there is revenue to be captured in that there are communities that are lawfully taxing these types of properties and so we should be exploring that and thinking about it before we miss that opportunity um and it tends to get hotter the hotter the real estate market is and so these things are interrelated and we should be ahead of it so that we don't get the public is not frustrated that we didn't think of it um so I guess for me those two things are I have a special interest in the Airbnb short-term rental thing and the downtown hotel zoning um and I'm willing to do some you know preliminary research on those and bring it back to the board for further conversation but I'm also happy to help with the Adu and tree preservation thing if that has Focus for others on this board um just a just a clarification that on the accessory dwelling units I haven't actually done any preliminary research on that I'm just kind of familiar with it because I have done an Adu in Ashland and so I know that process as well as looking at them in other communities as well so as a part of my job uh part of my day job um so um but I I agree that both um the Airbnb and the accessory dwelling units um you know they also have a lot to do with housing and our housing production plan and and things like that you know because airbnbs aren't housing right they're not they're not permanent housing for people so it's it's important to take that in to look at it closely like you said and have regulations about it so um and we do have um accessory dwelling units as part of the housing production plan obviously which was approved as well so and and Kate had brought it up a while back about looking at that more closely and I think I I think it's a good idea I think a lot of communities are looking at it closely because of the shortage of housing because of the good thing it can Pro good things it can provide and how do we do it if we're going to make modifications and what we have now how do we do it right how do we learn from other communities and and do it as well as we can um the other thing I I think I mentioned before is um that I'm kind of particularly interested in and it's it's actually maybe more of a drab subject is the general review of the bylaws that's one of the things that in signing up for a second term um on the planning board is something I just thought I've gotten so deep into the planning board bylaws in the past few years that it's something I feel like I can use that experience for to maybe straighten some of this stuff out um while I'm on the board um so um it's it's a little dry because I don't think it's about big overwhelming changes but about little things but it is something that has been on my kind of personal to-do list I think when I when I start to look at the bylaws and see those kind of kind of frustrations in there um so um I would I guess be leaning toward that one for myself is um but also be willing to contribute to the adus because I do have professional experience and in working with those I think that's the general review is I feel like it would be such a such a missed opportunity if you've already sort of identified those things and feel like you've gotten like so experienced in them in the past it's almost like the other areas where we've done leg work it would be a waste to not yeah and I'm not saying I'm not saying I have a memorize but I'm I'm saying that there's I just keep coming across the same things and I'm like I'm frustrated that it's not clearer or it seems in just like it says here something's in Conflict something repeat Heats and we it just needs a and like why lose that institutional knowledge when we have it teed up like that's that feels like an no-brainer so Anna has kind of called out things that she's interested in I know everyone is schedule is tight but is and I don't think and I don't think necessarily there has to be things that hey I feel passionate about this so I will tackle it but is there any and and we have two of our members who aren't even here but um do you guys lean a certain way like if you were going to pick something from the list um I'll just give my kind of two cents rundown as well that um so I a little bit disagree with Anna about the MBTA communities act obviously we do have to do it but this is really critical to be in the public so I think when we oh absolutely no no no it's number one because it has to be done we have no choice is what I mean yeah but it making sure that it gets the proper attention right um so I think the um accessory dwelling units I mean me personally I I wouldn't want to put I would support the board but put effort unless it would be flipping to a buy right which we all probably know is how the state's considering anyway they might get to it before us but I I think that shows good willll that we're hearing about housing and it's it's actually I consider it low hanging fruit I know it's work to get it right but that that would show you're saying it's a no-brainer a win a progress we're paying attention we right that um I think that the Airbnb short-term rentals there again there's communities that we learned like they way ahead of this and it would be very smart of Ashlin to be ahead of this before it's a problem so I think it's in keeping with that um the downtown hotels I think is going to take some convincing of the public of why that's coming up maybe not a lot but um and the general review for it this could be ongoing but I feel like that's literally one of the reasons I was on the board to set the Precedence of having people like Mark and more people pay attention right in and said this is a conflict and helping um even I think more than Trish like one that I think really should be looked at is we learned um over the discussion can we asked for more than 10% affordable so we're out of the pit that if it's five stories we can't and that seems silly to not lower it since we we haven't heard the public clamoring for five or more story buildings in Ashland residential so that seems in that cleanup if you're lowering at four stories at least we by that research which again economics changes all the time but the last report was 12 a half which is still better than 10 it makes again a statement the board is paying attention the community is paying attention so I think the the cleanup should probably be ongoing through all our terms forever but like that's not exactly a cleanup in the same way you were thinking but no so I think that and I think that's but it's interesting that there's there's different there's different ways of focus on that cleanup yes right and and and that's okay because there's plenty of work to do to spread out right so it's okay if someone's focusing on one thing and someone's focusing on another thing based on you know interests or you know passion about something so well so I think I think it is sort of the whole board but these what I'd want to do if I'm like just because doing on comprehensive plan two which also takes a lot of time is some reasonable schedule we think these could be looked at I don't think I'm not saying it's instantaneous but I think that's helpful to the public like here's our actual work plan published on the website what and our potential timeline of bringing these to people draas things so I guess I'm struggling with two things one is there's like for me something like uh like what you mentioned hey there's a zoning bylaw where one little sentence just makes zero sense and we could literally just like do that in 10 minutes and make it make more sense that to me is so easy I don't know if we need a work plan it's almost like if we can agree as a board that there's room for that type of thing and we can make it a regular agenda item for us and actually use it where if we see something I'm sorry I'm just going to say it something stupid in the zoning bylaw that just can be change quickly let's start drafting those as we go in a regular way I don't think we need a work plan we just need to agree that that's what we want to do as a board and put it on our agenda in a regular way the more complicated stuff like hey rezoning downtown for hotels guess what I will I will have to do some research bring to you as the board the things I already read about the hospitality industry growing in Massachusetts it's one of the fastest growth industries what that might look like for for for us maybe I'll reach out to Framingham State and try to kind of gather up some basic economic research on it present it to you do some research that's far more complex it's not like something we can just like throw together that might require a work plan and I guess if there's someone who's passionate about it I can propose something to trishia hey I'll give you research by such and such date I'll give you a memo by such and such date maybe she'll we'll put it on the agenda by such and such date for another conversation and then if there's consensus on the board I could sort of Go off into work mode you know and reach out to I don't know other committees that might be interested start looking at a potential draft bring it back Etc so that's where I'm struggling like figuring out you know work plan for what right like what does that so I I can just say I think we our board does not always get um the public or the public understanding like for instance I'm just going to say people have told us a case was in front of us for three years which isn't true and so I feel like it's just goes with that public like we are going to start working on these and so that if you don't come to town me you're like what where did this come from like I want to avoid right so I guess that's what I'm talking about a published work that people could I don't know how many people click on the website but at least it's there and so we're we're looking at these are the five things we're looking at and the general cleanup could be that I guess that's sort of where that's coming from from from me that's helpful yeah I think it's for me it's about like list listing um you know goals for this this year which isn't a calendar year but like September to September you know let's say um and not necessarily about we're going to do this first and then that second and this because I just can't guarantee that with my schedule and I from it seems what most people of our schedules probably know one can can pinpoint their schedule that way so to me it's about bigger goals and things we hope to achieve and you know like I said what are we focusing on um so so it sounds like so far based on our conversations we're all in agreement that MBTA communities Act is a priority for this calendar year September to September year there's no choice right because we have no choice I'm also hearing the tree preservation um and the general conflicts inside the zoning like the obvious stuff the low hanging fruit as you put it um seems like we could put them on the top of our priority Focus like we want the tree preservation stuff not to fall off effort and it's sounds like we are interested in like if we see something silly in the zoning by law we want it we want to give it a shot to kind of work together and then everything else I think is really up to whether we have time and passion so to speak to do it and if we kind of throw it on the list as these are our interests we're going to see how we do as a board as long as we agree that we're willing to be open-minded and hear from whomever is passionate about it like it would be waste of my effort to go and do the research and not have the opportunity to present it to the board so if we all agree we're interested I I'm more than happy to do some leg work and present memos to the board but I think we need some consensus that yes these are the things that we want to look at well and I think that's kind of my point why I'm calling it a work plan because I don't want to I've already done a fair bit on Adu and I've contacted other like state agencies and got references but like if it's not going to go anywhere I I I do not want to do any more work I don't agree because we have a lot to do already on the comprehensive plan so for me it's like you're looking for that formality I guess that's what I'm I'm looking for a consensus that this is really something we as a board want to explore it doesn't mean we're going to do it right like we're not actually going to finish it maybe maybe Anna does a bunch of research gives it to the board and the board is like oh this is not really our thing but there has to be some agreement that we're going to we care enough to allow us as a board to explore these things yeah I mean I think with the hotels and the Airbnb it's definitely not something that I would have thought of just like yeah Ashlin it's not it's not Cape Cod you know so is this really a thing for us yeah but you're saying no I think it might be I think it might be coming you know and so I think that's valid and I'd be very interested in what you what you find about it just because I it didn't float to the top of what I was thinking I'd be very interested to hear about it because it's it's kind of forward thinking it's curious something like the Adu I think is it is right now it's happening and so it should be like it should be it should be low hanging fruit it's already in our housing production plan I think to have it by right it's already there as a goal it's not like it's new so let's just pursue it in the right way and and see if we can come up with the thing that works for ashin to me it's a no-brainer as well right it just takes putting the pieces together and uh maybe maybe this fall we'll have time to do that so I I agree with that and I think for me a little bit of my um I had a little bit a different take of the role of the comprehensive plan with things like the Airbnb and the Zoning for downtown hotels where like I I I sort of air on like a little bit more of the side of the approach we've taken with MBTA communities of like wanting to see the results of the comp plan so that we're not sort of trip you tripping over each other sounds negative but like duplicating work or sort of like getting putting a cart before a horse with with that part so for me some of like the bigger theoretical things feel to your point in about like not wanting to go off and do a bunch of work on it and then like have it stall out I think that's a completely Fair concern I'm also interested to learn more about them I think I'm in York Camp Trisha I think I wouldn't want to push something like super fast through to conclusion or through to a bylaw on either of those topics until the comp plan was coming together a little bit better and we could see how they interact personally um but I do but I am like intrigued to learn more about them so that's sort of where I am on on those two and everything else feels like something that's like right now teed up already sort of either in existence and We Know It needs help like adus or tree preservation which is you know we we thought it was going to go to Springtown meeting so like sort of very um formulated in a way I mean it's not but it is if that makes sense as a priority formulated I guess so just to for clarification like the comprehensive plan process is setting priorities for the community and recommendations for the kind of zoning that might be addressed the problem with something like airb BS is it's not like the community can say that's a priority like it's just happening it has nothing to do with a priority of the community so it's a little bit different from comprehensive planning because it's just there like if you go to Airbnb I did just now out of curiosity and you put an Ashlin in random dates you will see all the airbnbs in the region many of them are Apartments we're building more Apartments it's not like something we can prioritize in a comprehensive plan it's like if the comprehensive plan allows for apartments and growth then this keeps happening it's not like we have a way to it's not like we have to wait for the comprehensive plan to be done to know it's already happening is what I'm trying to say that different in that sense it's kind of yeah I guess they're the two like um least developed of the ID just because dealt I them for that reason but I think you're right that airbnbs is like a problem that exists and to your point like communities get stuck um when it becomes a problem and that's sort of a more a proactive thing and not as much of a planning thing I think the hotel thing is a little bit more of a plan thing absolutely so I I should have separated them in that sense but um I I was kind of lumping them again because they were sort of the the ones that we've made the least that we've delved into the lease so far as a board and the hotel thing is coming up in the comprehensive PR process um and I think we're going to hear more about it from the experts the consultant team Etc I think one of the questions I had asked the Consulting team in the last meeting we had with the select board was that issue and they the person who spoke said he would do more research on it so like again it's a congruent issue where as the comprehensive plan process explores downtown and potential resoning I would love to help the board get more educated on it so that we have have an actual educated voice we may say as a community no we don't want hotels downtown right but we as a board need to kind of understand what's happening it Statewide um sometimes I look if it's okay I'll just share this sometimes I Look to what other communities are doing and interesting things right and um whether it's planning or zoning or whatever and these are some of the things they're thinking about so it's kind of trying to get get us to catch up if you will to other vibrant communities that are similarly situated I you know I would think that and just to kind of think about what a result of this is tonight is that the the first four things on there the tree preservation adus airbnbs and the and the hotels to me those are the four that get um like maybe on our web page or you know that that we write a few sentences about each one of those um you know if we have if we have planning board goals you know the board would like to work on pursuing a tree preservation bylaw working with the sustainability committee this bylaw is intended to help preserve trees in our community you know just a few things like what is it about right um just a few sentences so for something that so the community the public can actually understand what we're doing MBTA I think it it has its own page already right and uh it's just not it's not a year-long goal for the planning board it's it's happening um and and and the general review is also just like there's not much to say there like yeah we should clean up our bylaws a bit right it's not really a not that that exercise isn't meant to change the bylaws it that's that's some they do have to go through town meeting I'm not saying that but it's meant just to clean just to clean it up not to change the intent and that to me is different than the first four which is really about a planning issue versus a cleanup issue right um so at least in in now some of the things Kate suggested maybe are different and those aren't the things I'm talking about I'm talking about the basic cleanup so that might separate into a separate category that would make it into a a fifth goal so just to be clear about that I wasn't meaning to undermine what you had said um so does that make does that make sense yeah I think that is logical to kind of announce to the public these are the things we're thinking about this is how we're separating these items and contemplating them I guess my only other thought is like when we do meetings when we get busy again you know sometimes I feel like we bring the bylaws with us at least we've seen us do that we but we're like so in the mode of the project we're just like applicant speaks yeah public comment we are speaking we don't really take a breath to be like what is the zone zoning part that applies is it clean does it make sense to us and I wonder if we should make an effort to do that more and maybe start taking notes of okay this is the zoning that applies here's some sections in here that we find could use some cleaning and we put them aside and we become more active in that kind of awareness as we go been doing that yeah I mean that's exactly what I'm talking about because when we get a project in I am reading through the the all the Wildwood bylaw right and I'm like oh boy you know this is this is a little convoluted here you know and no wonder we get to and then right I guess what I'm suggesting is a formal almost like micro Retreat every time we have a project that focuses us on the bylaw like even 20 minutes of what is the bylaw that applies to these projects and what's dirty in them that we want to clean up and then we move on to the project like ground ourselves in this work if we say it's a priority for us to clean up the zoning the only way it's ever going to work is if we actually have it on the agenda item as a grounding exercise and and it's public and it's there and it's happening in a regular way and we're tracking it and we're making notes and then in some ways that benefits the projects that are right after yes so it can be done in a in an organized way ongoing I would say like two things one is that when this year we have new projects come in I would say the meeting before if possible we have that if we get something in the wild District the meeting before the the public hearing is introduced we have that little mini session yeah but in the meantime I'm going to be looking I don't know I don't know what order but I'm going to be looking at them anyway like I'm not waiting all do our job yeah we should all do our job which is like we should know what zoning piece applies and we should be reviewing it we should become prepared for sure I'm not saying like that stops no no I'm saying that before we get a project in another project in I might be looking at it anyway for those kind of inist for this kind at the same time you're looking at hotels and air them in your mind they're driving me they're driving me a little crazy already no reason Trish has an OCD project yeah do keep that list I see that's very important let's get that done so it is a little yeah that's way too stressful to [Laughter] have um no no in all seriousness I get it like I I do think that there's been consistent things that you Trisha and you um have said both of you Kate and Trisha so I feel like you guys are really well equipped to try to clean it up for some reason because I think you're very detail oriented that way um I'm just trying to suggest a way to do it as a board that benefits the actual projects as well because like sometimes I feel like I guess I'm kind of going off into the best practices piece of our agenda where I feel like we struggle sometimes as a board when we get busy we're like in this sort of energetic mode of hearing the project without the context of the bylaw and I think that's that's a missed opportunity there yeah no I agree I think that's um yeah because we've been trying to be more consistent about saying okay this is a special permit this is a site plan review they're different and to pay more attention to that but it would also be um and I and I think we've definitely looked at these things earlier here are the criteria for Wildwood this is what we have to pay attention to that's different than downtown yeah we have to pay attention to what's in the bylaw for Wildwood right kind of thing so um I think we've been getting better at it but as new projects come in we should have a discussion when when Peter alerts us that something's on the horizon we should start looking at that particular by set of bylaws yeah um exactly you know and maybe some of them have will have been changed along the way you know and and probably not because it's going to take a while to to get through that but to give ourselves a to know where all those little inconsistencies are or you know things are unclear things to pay attention to and sometimes in the context of a project because you're using it as an example to apply the B law the inconsistencies are more obvious like if I just read a bylaw right now with zero project in front of me I'll find something wrong with it but a live project is what makes it alive like oh wait how does this apply to an actual real thing um well this is why we've had Pawn Street projects we've had Wildwood we've had downtown and so when we look at these now we're like oh yeah I remember we had a little issue with that particular point and why why why did we have an issue what what's not clear about it so all right sounds like we have a plan to at least draft up a little summary of the bylaws and publish it as some kind of loose concept for the public ke are there things that you can pull out of my take on the general bylaws which I don't which is different than what you're saying is there something you can pull out to be with the other four instead of mine which I think is about housekeeping think housing well I think that five story thing when I heard and asked like that seemed like a no-brainer to lower that um it's also all over the comprehensive plan like we're getting pretty far we it's a draft vision and they said it can change but like housing affordability housing for all types is there and there's definitely um like the pre-existing non-conforming the way our bylaw is now basically can obliterate those houses potentially so if that that's a change though that is that is not a cleanup that is a change to the bylaw but it is under the guise of preserving housing yeah and those are the things we don't see a lot because they go to zba instead of planning board maybe that might be true yeah no pre-exist Section 3 is preexist all pre-existing nonconformities regarding special permits and vares go through the zoning board of appeals so but I guess I mean I know that our housing stock will be in danger if that's not yeah definitely not definitely not to say I I'm not used to looking at those in Ashland but I am used to looking at those in other communities so I mean those are the two off the top of my head and related to that would probably be I think the definitions I would put them under the cleanup but but to your point they are not simple cleanup they are somewhat changing potentially there's a little of both in them definitions I would definitely put in that category yeah but some of them need clean up to like make it clear but it would alter so yes you have to be care it overlaps both yes that's true but those would be my top three is the definitions the five storage pre-existing non-conforming I I do want to add one thing from I from what I remember for the comprehensive plan our agreement with the consultant does not include actual drafting of bylaws is that right Peter no they will yeah they're not going to be drafting anything for us recommendation right he Dred a comprehensive plan yeah no no no no no I mean I mean for zoning no obviously they're going to draft the comprehensive plan but they're not drafting the zoning B no they're not going to be drafting that's really important for us to understand it's going to be that's not on them that's on us we're the ones next St it's it's that technically then you do an implementation committee some communities that tends to fall apart historically many communities but the whole point is like we are the zoning jurisdictional entity we're the ones who are supposed to do this work so it's just something to remember because I feel like sometimes we forget that the comprehensive plan is not going to be ooh here's the plan and a package of bylaws choose one it's on us to clean it up yeah it's kind of like the housing production plan except the you know it made suggestions about adus it made suggestions about yeah inclusionary zoning but they didn't they're not going to write those bylaws for us and I think it's like that except the comprehensive plan is obviously comprehensive it's not just about housing so we hit the 845 Mar we did yeah I think we hit it yeah pretty well actually okay do you want to move on to the guest speakers piece again I'm not sure I mean I'll take anybody's comments but I'm not sure what's in there besides saying Yep this is a good list and probably be adding to it yeah the only thing I'll add to it I think we do want to maybe chat with the zba at some point oh uh we may or may not not obviously the relative to the 40 BS they're going to hear that's up to them if they want to talk to us about the 40b projects but in general I think having a chat with the zba about our role versus their role the intersections of our roles and frankly our interests in these topics of bylaws while it's kind of our thing to plan and reone this way they're really helpful in my opinion to hearing their thoughts on adus and airbnbs and all this stuff even if they're not going to have jurisdiction power there it may touch upon their jurisdiction so I feel like we should get together remind ourselves what do they do what do we do what are their interests what are ours and how could those things intersect like I would love to hear their thoughts on this list well it's actually it's interesting point because in the same way that we wouldn't go doing a tree bylaw without talking to the sustainability committee existing non-conforming we we have to talk to the zba because they're the ones who are in the conflict about okay this is this is us trying to follow the bylaw this is why we have a hard time y this is what's tricky for us you know yep you know they're going to have that Insider knowledge because that's what they do all the time so so that would be just kind of like my addition to that list um the other addition I would have and this is I don't know what you guys think about it but I do feel like a lot of what we do touches upon issues of economic policy and we're not economists and there are State economists there are the state has resources like that there are academics in this area who are economists I for one would love the opportunity to bring an economist to our board to talk about the region to talk about Ashland to gain some perspective on how our work works because we're oftentimes confronted by the public of you're the way you're doing business is going to destroy my business or the literally the way you're making decisions is going to be bad for my company or you know Property Owners feeling concerned about impact on property values because of certain projects and I feel like we pretend to be economists and we're not but we're being asked to make decisions in a way that touches upon policy and economics so I for one would like to build a relationship with someone regionally who can come to us with some expertise from time to time and educate us about the region and actual Economic Policy so that we're educated when the public says whatever the public says and we're not just kind of pulling things out of thin air um Beth Reynolds might have a name for us sort a couple names that we could look into I mean she has her really her finger on that kind of yeah just a fall um last week we had I had a meeting with Merc the Metro West um research C economic research center uh just wanted to state that you know since deep wasn't here and she asked me last time uh but uh we're we had a followup meeting on a on a um on economic tool right that we were looking at but obviously they have a very dense knowledge of research in the area and I'm starting to build a relationship with them so I think I could reach out to them you know and and maybe it's not on policy per se right or how does this decision uh impact um a business owner but at least I think they have the very they'd be very capable of painting a portrait of um Metro West yeah in the region of Metro right yeah and you know I know they they put out and I I I think I have a copy and I'm happy to send it to everybody but they're 2024 uh annual report of the Metro West uh economic data right and I can definitely send that out to you yeah I think that and if that's what you're looking for I think I think that's a great start I think had a GU yeah if we had a guest who could basically give us the annual report on the economics of the region how that impacts Ashlin what we as a planning board should be aware of maybe comment on some of the work that we do and how that impacts those trends that would be a great start for sure yeah I I think we can invite them in and see if they can kind of assuming it's free obviously well there's not too much in life that's free Anna uh but like the point is let's explore that yeah I think they say no at the very least I can I can obviously send out the report obviously the Merc report we can all go home and read it and kind of take a take a look at it you know I think that's definitely be in the capacity um and and try to have that relationship as we continue to build right and I I talked to him last week like I said about the economic uh Impact Tool and the development of that tool U and not just for as I I kind of you know kind of said that not not all towns have an economic impact tool right and so you know if mer had the ability to develop a tool that could be updated annually and and and granted in or sent out to you know communities or subscribing communities within the region that'd be something obviously of of Interest right and I think they' be interest of this board but for the town and also bunny towns but I think we can start there on that kind of bullet point yeah we have the resource we might as well yeah use it and they're local they have the Rams right Mark that's right that's right State when I look at this list I kind of have the same thought as I had about the bylaw work which is to take some of the things that have been like top of mind and see if we can get close them close them or have folks in you know when things get when everyone's sort of back in the groove in the fall but for me that would be the Ashton cultural Council because I just I don't want to lose I know there was a lot of behind the scenes sort of commentary on Starbucks I it's I feel like the recency of it people seem to love the idea of it right which is great and if we can keep including it but I think we hit these points in the projects Where It's Tricky and I don't know that we want to lose the um the like immediacy around what the issues were as we implemented the first one I think it would be useful to sort of tie up any Loose Ends around that or get any feedback on that when we're so close to it yeah it would be really good to maybe talk to the cultural Council like okay we put this thing in in our approval tell us how it went from your end how was your life what did you do where were the problems where can we help it be better or maybe it's out of our hands I don't know but to have the conversation not just to say oh well that worked good let's do it again yeah right board we're inclined to want to do those if they're in a way that's feasible right I think we've hit questions in sub projects as sort of concerns with the Starbucks miror were bubbling up that you know should we just like can we put it in should we put it in at all should we say anything about it how do we say it um so I would just love to get like out in the air like pros cons what went well what worked what didn't like it's so we can sort of know going forward and I feel like the closer we are to that the better and that so that would be a priority for me for the fall and the other one would be the historical commission um I think the forming of the historic district like in light of what we encounter with like the downtown 40b um even with like the the Clover Road Project where we wanted that signage like stuff that keeps bubbling up like this the idea of the district the idea of consistent sort of signs or markings like things that we that we value or that we want to bring to projects I feel like would be great to touch B with them on and get yeah it would be that hey we have these ideas are are you working on any kind of signage like this because we would love to be able to have that yeah to be able to say hey the historic commission wants to do this it's required for the project you know versus us saying right we order the historic commission to do this which we can't do right to have it already in process I wanted to make one comment about the um the cultural counsel because I mentioned a letter at a previous meeting that I received from the cultural Council and I realized it didn't I found the letter it didn't go to me as the pl at the planning board it went to me as the CPC so it was a letter from cultural Council to the CPC and that's why I got this letter when it was really about um um you know funding these are type of projects we do this is type of funding sometimes we're looking for you know type of thing so I wanted to I I didn't remember the time where I got the letter but but that's why the I received and the board did not so and then I would obviously I would personally be prioritizing the select board but that's in process so for it's going on the calendar yes and I I think that is people should put their I think they're saving their rooms for September 23rd it's a Monday it seemed to be a day I'm sure it'll in the end someone won't make it because that's just how things go but it seemed like that would be the day and it took that long to it took two months to find a day where hopefully all of us could be there so um they are looking I should also mention they are also looking at that day and it kind of comes back to the MB this this timeline for MBA communities that maybe that meeting would be twofold half of it would be about get to know you and half of it would be about the joint meeting for the MBTA communities given how hard it is to get us both in one room because it's around the same time frame so that's a tough one yeah it's not really what I was a tough combination of things I was hoping it'd be just a hey how are you yeah that's not for the record that's not going to go well I know but um yeah but I think realistically like try and trying to get the work of the boards Done Right which one gets priority the so it's not it's not set in stone yet but just to give people a heads up that it might be half a working meeting out of necessity so if we're just slipping on that this if this is like a public discussion in August like we have to to be publicizing that now summer vacations we already experienced at our own boards that if we ever want people to attend on August 27th it has to be wide we can start having that we can start putting that out there I think in the town newsletter like I think there really needs to be a strong publicity to well what strong publicity to you what does that include like specifically and well I don't on the newsletter yeah I that helps I mean the website we can put it on the board agenda mention it yeah we can get that in newsletter yeah because I mean I you know I generally get my news from the newsletter you know um so I'm like if people aren't getting their news from the newsletter but where are they getting it I don't know someone needs to tell us right so I think people get it from some of the Facebook groups but I also prioritized the newsletter yeah so I think we can put it on the Ashlin Facebook yeah page um you know and hopefully people have that clicked and so it goes into their Facebook y so so but yeah we can start um putting that out there um we think that's a pretty solid date but we can just also put a heads up please be watching for these public forums um so okay so what about um anything else on joint meetings guest speakers okay um and obviously I think other things will come in as we as as we interact with them sometimes we think of new things process and procedures um can we start with Comprehensive plan there we have been talking about comprehensive plan I got the impression that this was about where does the planning board and the comprehensive PL during committee intersect is that is that um not I know I put this on Anna might have as well but it's the conversation that Anna had earlier that there will be no zoning changes coming out of the plan but there will be recommendations but the things that are very obvious now like in the vision and the themes we do not have to wait another year we would be remiss as a community to just pretend that nothing needs to be looked at now and could be and the planning board having zoning jurisdiction needs to be part of it and start kind of pushing that along I think being a part of what zoning changes and and like the zoning changes we like such as the ones we've disced of at the beginning of in the first part is that what you mean I'm just trying to get specifics about what you're saying it it's I would say the simplest thing is what Anna reminded that they can go parallel they do not have to wait to end yeah and I don't think I her certainly hope it was maybe it was me that implied that we should wait for comprehensive plan but never have I thought that we have to sit on our hands until that thing is done it's more about those big decisions about rezoning things you know makes me a little hesitant until we to see what's coming out of that like to some some of the bigger moves the little moves no I'm not that's not what I'm concerned about I'm wor worried about the bigger moves that I think the comprehensive plan I assumed was kind of all about what what's our big directions right and those are the ones I was hesitant to I agree that's the same page that I was on and I and I'm not saying like I know we're still a year out from like everything written and formalized and all those things and we might have a vision and things like that which I think we're going to get updates on jointly with the select board at some point soon I think for some of us who aren't as intimately like aware of what those themes are that are coming out like it would be helpful to once we have something pretty Concrete where they say this isn't probably this isn't really going to change much like this is this is the input this is the feedback like these are the these are the themes we can take some direction from that and I don't I personally don't feel strongly it has to be like complet completely done and dusted as a comp like voted on and approved in order for us to start putting things into the works because of how long things take I do think that like I would love to see those things and like right now I think for some of us who aren't you know at every steering committee meeting the way that you guys are it's probably less clear to us what those things are and so once they come to us and that we do have that joint update I feel like it would it will feel easier and better to sort of start taking some of those themes forward I I look at it as more I I agree with what you're saying I also think there's a piece of it that is slightly different in my view which is that the planning board plans and has zoning responsibility and is the one that has a vital role in the comprehensive plan and so technically it's a back and forth relationship in my mind so I look at it when I say it's congruent what I'm saying is we as a planning board have a responsibility to be the the organization the board in the town that should know what zoning changes should be happening and we should be delivering that information and expertise to the comprehensive plan committee to help the process work more efficiently it should be a back and forth and at the same time the public feedback that they're Gathering through the really important public engagement comes back to us I look at it as a conversation that's happening congruently I don't look at it as they decide which zoning to do and that's what we do I look at it as a a back and forth a communication which is why you have two planning board members on the committee so that that conversation can be ongoing so to me it's much more of a partnership not necessarily a US telling them what to do or them telling us what to do I I think for I think for me though it's like um you know there are things that like like you said that we have these okay um adus and um um airbnbs these are kind of hot topics we need to kind of hey comprehensive plan these are kind of hot topics we need to we need as the planning board need to deal with because it's in our purview and they're very of today right on the other hand when we talk about the the two boards I see like the the steering committee is Ashland with this huge body carefully chosen for different districts different committees and we're five people and so I'm very I'm for one very conscious of that difference of five six with Amanda sorry six people on a board and the town of Ashlin making a decision about its comprehensive plan coming from the people coming from the residents so I'm a little H I'm I'm not quite as uh I'm not quite thinking this is a kind of an equal partnership I'm like we're the we're the boy that has to get it done yeah right but you're you're Ashland which is also us we are ash right like there's people on the compreh hensive plan that have expertise in like Elder Affairs and their job is to bring that perspective so we as the planning board members have a responsibility to bring the planning perspective to the comprehensive plan committee it's true it's just that we just have to remember that the the zoning bylaws are passed by the residents not by the planning board absolutely but it's the planning board that drafted zoning changes it's the only board in town that has that jurisdiction and so it's a it's a back and forth and I guess what I'm I'm reiterating is we have to remember our responsibility is zoning and therefore that is what we need to deliver to the comprehensive plan committee we have to be able to communicate very clearly we're not the sustainability committee we're not the Elder Care folks we are the planning board and so therefore when the comprehensive plan committee talks about zoning it's Kate and I that have to be able to communicate we the planning board have looked into this and this is what we've learned yeah not we voted for a zoning change but we as the com as the planning board have knowledge base on adus and here's what we can deliver to you because that's our thing that we can deliver to you as the comprehensive plan committee so that you you have our research you have our information to make the decisions to create priorities right but we as a planning board are the ones that are supposed to have that knowledge base that's why Kate and I are in the room to do that so I I think I complet completely agree with that I think what um and I don't want to speak here Tisha I think I think we might be aligned like on just the order of operations where like for me on some of the bigger picture things that we haven't really delved into much yet I would like to like or bigger picture conceptual things I would I personally feel like we would be remiss to not take the opportunity to hear from this very large community board when we're like within months of like having a pretty final vision to say hey planning board these are the things that our community cares about they're zoning is things please go look at them come back with your expertise and start to have that conversation I don't want to be making a list for the town before I hear like I I don't want to go the wrong direction on that part of the conversation so I'd rather for like adus for airbnbs for the tree pres some of the stuff that like is in the works is existing and we know as a community we're going to get caught out like if if we're not ready for it that feels very different to me than some of the bigger pictural conceptual things like hotels downtown which like that's a a community conversation that I feel like we want to hear from the community Through via the comp plan which is if it if we were 15 years away from our next comp plan that would feel very different but we are like in the thick of it right now where we are going to get some clear Direction pretty soon and I feel like taking some of the cues as to what the community wants to prioritize that might be within our realm and then we take our notes from that develop of our expertise around it and go back to the comp plan with it makes perfect sense but for me I I think I want to leverage that Community body to be able to be telling us a little bit about what's important because it seems like when we always talked about the comprate that we didn't have a up-to-date comprehensive plan so the planning board didn't have this thing to refer to in making our decisions which is the agreement of the town about what the town wants and so that's where I'm like well where's where's the thing I can refer to like oh this is what the town voted for versus oh I put in there what I wanted to you know it seems backwards right we build the comp plan as like this is the vision for ashin for the next 20 30 years right I don't want to I don't want to take the legs out from under that and do something really big picture that from a zoning change perspective and when we've said we want the vehicle for the vision for Ashlin for the next 20 to 30 years to be the comp plan like I want those big I would personally like to see those sort of big Vision items that then will fall under zoning because we I think we all understand no one's going to tee up a bylaw for us but the conceptual stuff for to basically tell us this is what the town wants this is what the community wants planing board go do your job and figure out how to do it I want to be clear that uh like you I thought of it as a 20 to 30 year thing yeah but in fact it's been referred by by folks as 10 to 15 so um right now I think it's fairly confusing to the community what the number is and I would have to go back to the original work plan that was given to the consultant to give you the right answer but I I just wanted to clarify that if you're thinking of it as 20 to 30 years that's not long term yeah that's not necessarily how it was presented to the community 10 203 I'll feel quite somehow that got a little cut down but I I guess I guess to your point if we were planning for 30 years I might have very different feelings about this list than if we were planning for 10 to 15 so I just want to be very clear I guess so I can amend my comment and take the number of years away but say that it has been buil to the town as like the vision for the town of ashin like what you want to see the town of ashin become so for me that still means that the some of the big picture conceptual items like I don't want to take them to the comp plan before the comp plan tells us it's something that the community wants to prioritize and I think that that's different from and then I think we do have to go do that work when the community the when we're told by the community this is what they want to prioritize need I guess for me I've already heard the public through the comprehensive plan process focus on downtown revitalization so much but I'm already thinking about what that means and to me the downtown thing is worth exploring the down hotels because that is already being discussed not as a the hotels thing is a solution to the priority but the priority of revitalization and Business and Entrepreneurship and creating downtown businesses and all of that kind of for me is like oh obviously we should think about hotels because we should think about what could be the potential so yeah the comprehensive plan is not yet at a phase of what are the 20 possible solutions that could solve Reit alization to it just I'm starting to think that way because the public is already saying revitalization downtown jobs growth Etc so and history and trees right so to me it's all interrelated already to what I believe we're hearing at the comprehensive plan it's just like thinking ahead to what is our job not the consultant which is drafting um but to your point like nobody's going to be voting for any of this stuff until there's a thorough public process thorough feedback from the public and a vote that has zero to do with us and more to do with town so you know it has to be past the town meeting it's not our decision um we just have to reflect the values of what we're hearing and I don't look at this as a definitive list of what we're going to prove I look at this as like worth exploring for a continued conversation between ourselves with the comprehensive plan committee with the public exploration of those values um and maybe rezoning eventually um the little bit I've seen from us it takes us forever to reone so realistically none of these things will happen until years after the comprehensive plan process and I think that's exactly where where my thought process is it's like this list could get five or 10 things longer based on impa based on feedback from the comp plan right and so and it will and it should and so we're so close to having that that I feel like and how long things take I feel like let's tackle like the ones that don't I think it's just we're exploring some some smaller issues and some bigger issues and we're exploring them and um we realize that some are low hanging fruit probably and some aren't and that and that's okay to have things on different scales you know um is there anything else on that top half I mean I don't think um this is the proc so the the implementation I I think it it may not solely rest with us but I think I mean not to go backwards but the last time there was comprehensive plan process it was stopped by the planning board um people talk about it's sitting on the shelf we I've worked given way too much time to see that happen I think the other 28 people part of it have given too much time to that happen but if we're not proactive about that that that could kind of sort of happen because we weren't ahead enough of that and I I feel like the planning board can offer not not again to say we're doing it this way because it's bigger than us but I think yeah well if there's a conversation that the planning board has with the steering committee process about when we get to that point about okay well how do these things happen like let's talk to the planning board because they're the ones that make zoning changes great yeah let's do it you know about how how does how do this board whoever's sitting in these seats you know how do we make that process where we we make these things happen based on the book that's in front of us that's not on the Shelf that's on our table right I I think that's ideal you know that's that's the but the reality is if to really do this like it will be bigger than the six of us in my opinion oh yeah I'm not saying you just talked about the involvement to the planning board so that's why I'm talking about the involvement to the planning board think implementation best practices have us starting to brainstorm recommendations of that back to the committee in the way and I was talking about that conversation like we've done some thinking about it and research we think this is some things to consider I guess I would need um um maybe to see some things from other committees I don't even know what that list looks like I don't know I don't know that's what I think I'm saying as that's last I would like to see where the where they are because I think we're so much more disconnected well I mean like best practice like I don't know what like if if if there's examples from other comprehensive plans about best practic because I don't even know what you're question you're asking me and so if I had a list of oh well we have we have tea parties and and we have U meetings and we have like like I don't know what that means so if I saw a list of what breast practices are I'm like oh I have some other ideas in that category but I can't even tell you what that means so so I mean I guess that that's the conversation do we think that's worthwhile of the planning board putting effort to start looking at implementation to produce something to give to the steering commit sure I think I would like to see it if that's something that how other communities have done it yeah if if we're obviously the board that that um implement or you know that has the process to make zoning changes and that will be something we are looking we want to be looking at this book as a guide for our work um I would both take information about what best practices planning board should have because I don't know and I would be willing to add to that list if I have other ideas that aren't already on the list so I think that would be a good thing to start educating the planning board about about that about what happens after this book is complete and on the table you know I think it's a great idea so fiscal Impact Tool I I think we have uh not to cut off the comprehensive plan but watching our time um I think Peter's kind of on that yeah I just gave an update obviously had a meeting with Mark last week and actually IA email te up and I'll send it out so and we'll continue to work toward I think what you're talking about Kate is to have something that's consistently used that's as accurate as such a tool can be so that we have a means to compare things and I think that's part of kind of your ongoing education of to like how do we how can we get to this point how do you get to this point you know I think when other communities seem to be perhaps behind us rather than ahead of us yeah I think we had a good tool that was developed by Economist by Eon by Economist when we did there is um there's so many nuances in that tool how does it apply to all projects I don't think it could be in or can be so I think that's kind of a goal of a fiscal impact tool is to take it and say okay how does this apply across the board right and and that's what I'm talking to America about and so couple their Prof two of their professors that's who I was talking to last week and so they're still in that process to kind of and they're in interested in they're engaged because part of their purpose right is to help serve the region right as a economic you know economic Hub of information at Framingham State so that's ongoing and obviously it's it's it's it's moving forward I know it's slow but I think it's a very it's a tough nut to crack at the end of the day so yeah so the last category I think the planning board processes are are definitely um things that have it's kind of like a checklist of things that we have talked about you know over the past year or so um so good for you Kate for actually keeping maybe track of them um or kind of brainstorming as to what all these things were that we that we talked about um so I I actually printed I think I forgot to bring other stuff it it was simply um it was from like a regional planning best practices right one piece of paper it I I'm actually probably glad I didn't bring as well because people get distracted this isn't appropriate but it literally had like the application came in here's when the 90 days comes up when I asked for continuances and we would make our own I just but I like the idea because I feel like that could also be public to say the the long breaks are bothersome for everyone in my opinion and certainly public trying to pay pay attention so trying to be the most transparent and communicative about them like did the applicant ask for one did we ask for one right so there's like a a a a document or a list online or a page for each project yeah that kind of just it kind of just spells it out it's like right project it's got a review with our third party I I personally I like checklists and I would make it complete right and some things are na because it's never going to go to the Conservation Commission right but um and it's never going to go to the traffic and we say no but like it's as you know somewhat easy to lose track of like we we've been at the pinch point of projects realizing we didn't get that last letter back right and we have to be scrambling that's happened so I feel like that would help with that yes so do you you you kind of suggest that maybe there was a sample letter you found that might be a useful starting point not finish you guys would be saying this is too much I so I'm glad I didn't bring it away I I will I can email it I can I think have a starting point even if you say well this is five you see what I'm thinking about but you could also get distracted and say because it's not really I'm think it's a it's both I think ours should be just very I don't know like the example has like when did I get the application when was the thing published and I don't know if we need to collect all those right um but maybe this might be a terrible analogy but it's almost like the Domino's Pizza Tracker but for a project before us because i' I've recently seen a ton of community questions Bubble Up about like sorry I love that thing I kind of want to know what the Domino's Beach attractor not going to lie no please enlight me I'm Le what Fe your order is in and it's amazing I know how to clean a rug and I know how to order I know how to follow a pizza kind of hungry right now 20 minutes you know yeah we and there's a new one in h i just I haven't ordered yeah um I haven't used the Domino's piz tracker in a long time because there's not a Domino's that delivers to my address in ashy but it's Wonder anyway having sort of a very clear like visual of like where is a project in its life cycle because I have seen a lot of community questions Bubble Up recently about like hey whatever happened to the fire project or what's going on with the why and like to be able to see on our web page like okay this was this is approved this is now like in the applicant's corner to build it or like to get get building inform six Chestnut St it came up recently where's there a question around the firehouse there was a question around like you know all these things where it can be like you know this is not the pl board approve this on this date or it's it's paused because the applicant requested a continuance on this date you know what I hasn't come back before the board um I feel like that's a would be incredibly useful I it's a great idea and part of that is I didn't really bring it up but it's I think it is related like how can we do a better job of publicity we don't have a ton of time to spend doing it right and it it takes time because I've been working hard for it in the comprehensive plan and it's a lot of time right to try to just do my part for publicity but I feel like at least having it and then educating people it's there might might be something I think to me that's it like it's there um it's there for us it's there for the community um we might have to remind people that it's there but if they go looking it is there for them read it's easy to read it's easy to comprehend because even if you go to our website and it's it's it's organized but there's a lot there it's super overwhelming you have to know what you're looking for you have to understand the documents that are there and I think there are members of the community who put that work in and understand it but I think great idea I it would be a useful tool both for us and for the community so are we looking we're not looking for a document list we're looking for actual step in the kind of it's sort of like a combo yeah I sent a couple to Kate just now that I found I mean in other Massachusetts towns so it's not going to be impossible to start somewhere like that that stuff exists we just need to create it for Ashland because our bylaws are different in our process I think I I can help put that together easier so I guess one question is do we need it and want it as detailed as they applied on it got published on that the one I have has that and I torn on that but I think some of that stuff which is in the realm of like way I put it is is not what we or the public needs like that to me would be distracting from the real things that I think they you guys want you want to update on the website you know um like a public hearing was on like for 24 Tower Road you could say public you know July 25th you know public hearing opened uh you know information taken in planning board continued to yeah August 22nd as a bullet point under the case on our case website to say like where it is or like it could also be a document that's in our binders if that's what you're looking for then you're like then that's a different story you know it could be a combination I me I think that to Kate's point like you want the public to be aware of where the project is to my point I want us to know what's well that's fine I think it's in your bind is not a problem I think that can lie on me and I can I can help work that process through you know I think if it's on the website it's just that you know we're doing a lot and the day-to-day bases and stuff it's like what what do we need what we want what we could do on the website is just put up scan that document when we update if we have a document can that be scanned to add I don't know I guess I was IM imagining I there we have site plan and we have special permits each one is going to have a checklist that checklist is a general checklist for any project that should be publicized at a minimum so the public knows the planning board and the applicants know these are the checklist steps we expect then when a project starts that's the first date on any any checklist right I don't know if we need to constantly at every meeing scan it for the public as long as we're tracking it ourselves and we have that as part of the record in some way um yeah I think it's a lot of work to have to scan it at every meeting you're upda you're up on the website it's a it turns into almost two different things that we're talking about I think there's something would be in our binders it's a little bit more detailed and then something that's like super distilled as like a project status tracker on our website which is like like show basically like phases of of a Project Life Cycle that public hearing open public hearing close decision render because more like a timeline yeah yeah okay so there's two ways um is that everybody sort of bring examples or send them to me and I'll try to call because I like there's a lot of ideas and that's why I didn't try to actually create something because it's simple and complicated so um I mean it sounds like there's a pattern that Peter knows as to which groups you know need to clear every project so if Peter can give you that list that seems like an important list the list of like I think it makes sense for for k shment whatever you know share what's going on you know what she's looking for you know and then I can manipulate it and say okay nope this is the this is the process this the procedures we kind of have in Ashland you know how it comes in when it gets stamped in but also when's the prec you know when's the is there departmental review meeting you could say check those obviously memo issued did we get the memo from the tech review like I just I guess like we're just I just want to be able to say we got it or not so maybe the thing is too that really first of all we formulate one list and that's the list for us what we want to keep track of then it's like okay how do we we can simplify this for the public right like what do they want to know when they that's cool they probably don't you know like okay not this yes these three things you know when we got a project like you when we open the public hearing you know this is out this is a continuous at the applicants request it's a it's you think of some projects where we've said you know we need drawings and we don't get drawings for three months or whatever it is people can see that that's a applicant needed continuance and the project is stopped for that right now stop before the board at the moment or I think that's really important yeah and then or you know all the way through completion where it's like this is approved by the planning board it is now off in its life as a project that come to fruition yeah so let's focus on the document for us so and then can people I guess that have to send suggestions to Peter for list back to me is that I'll send what I can to both of you yeah see I think you can both be emailed ideas for the memor andon things went to me and or just computer so we don't have a viol I'm saying of open Mina law so you could send it just to me like just going in One Direction yeah this isn't we're not talking about here we're not talking about talked talk it's a procedural P true it's procedural Soom you com yeah comments of things you think we need to keep track of and I will try to make it in some sort of sure preliminary list to look at to clean up but I'm excited about that you all agree I like it for this we've got OCD all of us we're all into it personalities I'm it's not even OCD is just making it easier I think it's like I don't know if I have OCD he does not he does the rest of us I'm talking about the board I like to keep my car clean but like kind of like Peter literally looks concerned I don't have it Peter's chill how dare you imply you notice he's not protesting he didn't protest us he's like I'm fine I put their white flag all of us should be a little more like Peter is what I'm saying would probably be much happier and have a much better actually to make get easier so you don't have like you don't have to remember you don't have to like just in my job we're in the middle of an internal company implementation and we have things like matrixes and you know um things like that so at least we're not doing that Peter we don't have any project Matrix God Bless you that's Google Google shared unless unless anyone is really if there's really something that needs to be discussed that people are like man I really wanted to talk about outdoor dining you know or something I I think given that it's 9:30 we can we go on to the I think this to the wrap up okay is there anything that needs to be like I feel like the concept we all agree with these things and that's why we put it at the end and I feel like the way to do this is to start seeing them on the agenda and even if it's small right like like the review of the decision document template I know you more or less have that handled Trish I'm not super worried but I guess I put it because I don't want to put that all on you as the chair I feel like we have Collective responsibility um I I guess I I mean are you looking for an agenda topic that says how to make meetings more efficient and that's our agenda topic no uh no but I feel like that should be another retreat but um no I said the review of the decision document template so that could be an agenda item and we could spend we said we're going to spend 15 or 20 minutes and look through that do we want any more changes for example yeah we we could I mean it if if we have some of these slow you know some of these empty meetings we could do that it would require people to really take a close look at those things in advance yeah um so that's fine if people want to do it yeah I mean the tighter they are and you spend some time in advance the easier they are when we get to a decision true that's true there's definitely some things I've been we all have the thing that we go back to every time yeah with our powers combined yeah yeah so okay so we'll start looking to yeah I mean some of these things are like application status that seems like that's already covered in the what we just talked about kind of long best practices for yeah so it's like some of these are maybe tied into that document um but other things um yeah I think a lot of them are tied into the document but but others aren't like the like the template so I do think it would be helpful to talk about how to make our meetings more efficient yeah um as far as timing and I feel like sometimes we're inconsistent we give certain like typically we want to hear from the applicant we want to hear from the public sometimes we we take questions sometimes we don't sometimes we have a back and forth with the applicant sometimes we don't I do Wonder at some point if we want to come up with again I don't want to use the word best practices and overuse it but like in the ideal world if we have three projects on an agenda how much time do we give a project how do how do we decide how much time to give it project and how do we maintain that level of continuation so that our meetings don't go off until 10:00 at night not that I'm against that sometimes it's necessary and I don't wanted to like say o we can't do that when it's necessary because we got to meet a deadline so obviously projects sometimes have to happen within a certain amount of time and and we need to do what we need to do but I do feel like it's worthwhile at some point to like brainstorm the timing of our work and how we want to contain it sometimes no offense to certain applicants I'm just like why do I need to hear this I can read it like or um sometimes there's more of a benefit to like an open conversation with the applicant from the GetGo and less of an introduction um sometimes I feel like some of the applicants it's almost like a marketing thing like wait I'm not I'm not going to be the one living in this apartment like I don't need to know about the amenities for the public like that's going to live there I need to hear about the design and the zoning like sometimes I feel like we we are almost not aware of time and then it's like 10 10 o'clock I I think it's I mean coming from my perspective about having to schedule these things over the past three years that um it's just not I think things are getting better right in how we're organizing things absolutely and they can't always get better yet but to try to set up some kind of template that's going to work like every week and for every project to me it's like I I don't see how that's happening to me it's more about um where I think that Clarity is is about again it puts on more on the chair and potentially the vice chair to look at the project before it comes to the planning board to see if we w't even put it on our agenda or if it's ready like that's kind of was under my thing like a process because I feel like that's dogged us a lot right yeah well sometimes it's hard because it's like Peter's looking at the stuff but he's not an architect right I I can look at the stuff and say well what's that what's this what's that right and so is that does that become my job right that and what if there's a chair that's not an architect who isn't going to pick up on the things that I'm going to pick up on right whether something is ready is really perception too yeah so um so It's tricky in that way and that's what makes every project a little bit different right um and hard to and it is different how you're going to schedule when you have to have three public hearings in a meeting because of circumstances and when you only have one those are two very different meetings having a checklist that Kate is talking about will will help us I agree because if we have a checklist and it's transparent to the applicant then that will guide us and the meetings can become much more efficient like where are you in the checklist what are we focused on today I guess for me what I'm suggesting is I'm not criticizing the way we've been doing it I think we've done everything to become more efficient and we've made massive improvements in our process I think what I'm saying is what else can we squeeze out I'm thinking about the presentations themselves from the applicants I find can be way shorter and way to the point of what we need and the stuff there's a lot of extra stuff that they throw in because they're trying to sell the project to us rather than go for what we actually need how could we make that better maybe maybe there needs to be a conversation with the applicant ahead of time as to our expectation when you present is that you focus us on the zoning here's the zoning pieces that apply we don't need to hear about the beauty of this project and the marketing for the community you're not trying to sell this to us we need to hear the bylaw applicability give us that then if you want to fluff it up with some extras have fun but at a minimum they should start their presentations with this is zoning that applies this is how we fit the project like give me what I actually need for my decision rather than frankly it takes them like multiple presentations sometimes to get to what actually matters um yeah I think we need to be care I mean I I agree partly because I think you know for different projects but I also think um there is a lot in a big project there is a lot of information that I want on day one and I don't want it in three sentences I wanted to hear it in detail right and I think it's important for the public to understand some of the conceptuals stuff versus I don't want to comment on it before I hear all about it right and other times I think because we have questions we Veer off on a tangent and we have a big discussion about something else versus saying nope we're not going to discuss um affordable affordability right now because that's not that's not the presentation we're going to discuss that in two of two more meetings when we get there but that's not maybe not what people are going to think different things in the board affordability is really important to me I want to disc it today no I want to discuss sustainability so it's going to be really hard to can we to keep that on track but I agree with the zoning how does your project deal with zoning in my opinion the sooner we get to that the better because it grounds us and it organizes where we believe as a board we we have weaknesses in the project very very quickly is there a way to almost give like an outline with suggested time that we want to see from an applicant like I don't know whether we do that but we have given them like like okay you have 20 minutes for your presentation or whatever it was over and for a big project like for a big project for someone who you know like that is not a lot of time on a project this size and but I'm wondering if within that just to sort of address I think some of the big picture stuff is helpful and useful to say like okay what is this like you know what are we talking about what are we doing what does it look like because I think we actually do get into the nitty-gritty of like where's the tree going to go and is there a bench and like that so like if we completely have them like not give us an overview at all at the beginning I think we'll end up having more convoluted conversations later but I do wonder if we can say at the opening of a project here is you know we are affording you 20 minutes and we would really like you know three minutes of like a fly over of the project of like a really good look at the exterior we would like you to jump to the zoning quickly and and focus for 10 minutes on that and then we would like you know you to move on and sort of wrap up with your conclusion and any concluding remarks for and sort of give like in parentheses like how much time we expect them to spend on each thing to be able to say like this is what we value we don't want you to just completely gloss over this we and and and we will spend time we are a thorough board but like this is in the interest of time this is the starting place and then we're going to take it to questions I think I think I think there could be some general guidelines you know like that knowing that that presentation isn't going to cover all the information we're going to want and we're all going to have to be patient saying okay yeah I'd like to talk about sustainability but they're not going to be able to get to it today because we've asked them to do these other things right and to able to say like this is do you have those conversations with the applicant because you seem to know because that's the first time I've heard of it that there's this plan and that would be helpful to know well no I mean but it's not it's not that specific Peter and I when we've had three public hearings we've said and you know I have said tell them that they can have no more than 20 minutes to present this is like maybe when we have an hour for that project they can no more than 20 minutes you know so but I haven't given thing like oh focus on the bylaws or spend three minutes on this hasn't been anything more than that like you get this amount of time and then we're going to questions from the board on us not to say what's important at least try yeah but I think we also like when we did when we're doing the 10 to 16 million project you know which at this point was all virtual there were some nights where it's was like Hey we're going to focus on environmental okay the Environmental Engineers coming on and we're going to focus on that part like you know I mean that totally makes sense to me so we were doing that we were doing that and I think on a big project and we did that for tenness I mean for chestn street we said okay from you know what's the legality what I'm talking more about like the everyday project you're talking about the everyday project stuff the big projects obviously are going to get broken down into sub parts and that's corre we need to focus on but the but even on the sub parts there's generally a bylaw or something applicable I guess what I'm suggesting is let's ground Us in the ultimate thing we got to do the ultimate thing we got to do is draft a decision that's consistent with the bylaws there's elements to every single meeting we have big project or little I'm just suggesting I've noticed I'm being honest well I'll be in I will listen to an applicant and there's a lot of fluff and there's not a lot of substance to what actually matters to what a decision is and we we tend to repeat things because that's what happens because people want to come in and sell they're not necessarily focused on what we do which is we got to draft a decision and mark up certain points the most useful meetings we've had in my opinion are those where we as a board are looking at those elements and we're thinking about do we have enough on this element do we have that that's what we should be doing with the applicant the applicant Behavior thing too if we tell them that's what we expect like I wonder if things will come to us cleaner like and require less discussion down the line I don't think it needs to be super super like directed and obviously we're not going to say like the buzzer dings like your three minutes on the intro to the project are over but I wonder if just some saying what we think is important and what we like to see and some allocation like I mean we do that in presentations like when we get let's say when we get a um when we're going to go to we're going to present like an RFP they tell us like what they want to see and and how much time time they want to spend on each thing and what's important to them and I wonder if some direction will help I almost like an opening statement from US that says we welcome the applicant we're excited to hear about the project we have some general guidelines of what we seek in each project we're ultimately you know grounded in the bylaws this is the bylaw that applies we're hoping your presentation will bring us there as quickly as possible like I I also think and this is a it's probably somewhat biased but I also think it's true I think there's difference in the presentations and the fluff Factor depending on when the presentation is given by the attorney no offense to those at the table and when it's given by the architect you know or the engineer because they don't deal a lot in fluff right they're explaining the project they're explaining the why they made the moves that they did why it sits on the site the way it does and I think the sales sometimes is coming from the people that don't it's very evident to me they don't really understand the project they're they're regurgitating kind of what they've been yeah what what they've what they've heard or whatever versus the architect being able to explain the project so it might be sometimes that we want the pro we want the project to be explained by the architect right not by a representative not by you know and that would get through some of the I mean they can explain the some of it right some of it I me I don't know that we can demand that I don't know if that's I'm not sure we can too but I think that's a careful thing about like the about the fluff in the presentation cuz I don't always experience that listen there's benefits to both like a lot of what we do is we have to focus on the placement of a tree or a bench or look at details on the building I'm all for it I actually am trying to say the exact opposite of that which is like in addition to those details I wasn't thinking about criticizing the details all of it is important we want the basis of the project we want all the chitectural and design details we also want the bylaw to me it doesn't really matter who's doing it lawyer or non-lawyer the bylaws to me tend to be missing the most and then by the time we get to our decision I feel like we're the ones doing the heavy lifting and we're trying to remember what do we have on this project from that point and it doesn't really matter to me if it's an architect or an attorney who does it someone needs to bring us back yeah but what I'm saying is that on some of these bylaws is um how I don't know the exact afterward but how is this fitting into the community yes right exactly so in explaining that they need to explain not because this tree I'm not talking about that level of detail I'm talking about the big moves on the site Y and how those things were placed and that comes better from the person that did it than the person who's trying to sell it right so um usually the people that are trying to sell it are the developers not the attorneys um lawyers are super annoying I'm not going to disagree with that but uh I I can't think of a lot of projectss where we've had lawyer presentations the ones I'm criticizing in my mind the ones I remember standing out tends to be the developer not the architect who is kind of spending quite a bit of time on things where I'm just like okay we're going to pass this thing stop trying to convince me get to the you know we need to talk about conditions we need to talk about the requirements of the bylaw um that's what I was referencing well why don't we again now it's it's getting quarter to 10 and we still have other things to do on our agenda so why don't we there's obviously a discussion here about especially when these big projects come on and how we can get them through a little bit quicker so I will have it noted that um that we need to talk about that um more and um and I'm very open to that because I don't like to be here all night either and it really was no offense about attorneys in general just attorneys I don't practice anymore the record I I've been in compliance in a finance company in an operational role for almost 10 years so we can insult lawyers all you want um I happen to have a law degree and I'm active but I don't actually practice law so I'm a practicing attorney but I do find out practicing attorneys and myself often quite annoying exactly I'll and I'll I'll second that I'll make a motion to second that yeah I'm with you on that one so no offense taken well I'm I'm happy to have you both on the board because you have strengths that I do not I think that's what makes this a strong board so um okay so uh agenda um planning board retreat check okay so going through the things that we have to go through I assume you're good on comprehensive plan or is there more that I don't have anything else to say that you want to announce um just we should make sure the the joint meeting with the select board September September 4th yep that's on the agenda I believe on their upcoming meetings on our agenda y as a remind on the second page and just to note Kate and Anna um well to everybody the next meeting is August 15th and that's going to be at back at the library okay for the com for the you mean for the comprehensive for the comprehensive plan yep August 15th August 15th so unless there's other things is there anything for Metro West Regional they haven't done anything they take the summer off so this is obviously just an update item a report and not a full discussion nor do we have time but um the First on MBTA obviously there's a a calendar here um that is being filled out about MB the MBTA regulations and we will as Kate suggested start advertising for the the two public discussions which are not public hearings those come later um but the general public discussions which which we also had last time which is a which was a really great and valuable way to get um just some really open feedback about what people thought should be included and not included we got some great questions you know on there so what we were planning to do is to as you see um in the first box there SEL board and planning board update because as you know it's very hard to get the two boards together um Peter and alv were going to give a presentation a more formal update um uh for the planning board on the 25th for us um it's not something that necessarily needs to be ours it's just uh to to um make sure we're up to date on that we wanted to do it before we have these public discussions so you kind of see where we're are all everything that we're are is actually reflected on these sheets so which I'll talk about in a minute um and then the select board on that so Joe minani on um 8:14 um oh yeah okay sorry sorry um so we're giving like a little update now and we're going to have a more of an update on um um when we have our joint meeting will be kind of the big thing wait a minute Peter what is update boards about so we update Boards of the kind of process so yeah no see this should be this should be in August um sorry so that's 7:25 should be 8 25 so our so there's going to be 8:22 sorry um so on that date we're going to have a more a a bigger discussion just on the planning board we can invite the select board if they want to come we can also go to theirs if people want to participate but we just didn't think we'd be able to get everyone together again right so we said hey we'll do these updates separately in the boards um and um and then proceed with the public discussions then come back with a formal meeting with the select board and the planning board in the same room to to talk about all the results from that with updates in between of course in between the public discussions so what the what these things are obviously one is the calendar this one which is um the M yeah and uh I apologize that ELO didn't didn't catch all of my tweaks on this so and I think some of them are really important so um the um the thing in red below actually as on the map should have been marked in Orange so that it's not supposed to be highlighted in red it should be orange because as you can see from the key they're projects that are approved but not built and ucg is in that category it's not supposed to be I'm going to have him update this and send it to the board so it's correct and also that line about not considering Ed in fall fall MBTA proposal that shouldn't be there um it's meant just to understand what this is and the kind of the you know what that project is um we are look we are looking for um how can we not include that project if we don't want to include it because that's the one one of the ones we Mark as high risk Kate asked the question before like well why not and so we tried in this chart to out line hey what's it permit what's the benefits of it now right so that benefit is it's it's a low unit count um it's 25% affordable and it's age restricted all of which go away if it's in just MBTA zoning right so um so that's why we tried that's why we were like trying to take that out but we have not made a decision that it's absolutely coming out and I think that's so what's before and you guys were going to do is like what is the zoning now it could be there the only way to yeah so that's what's under the F right so the second to last comment is pro proposed permitted built units per acre um and that shouldn't be units per acre that should be density um so again I I'm going to have a fresh copy sent because this isn't quite right the density is showing what it's um you know what's it what it's proposed as permitted as right um and then the next one is units per acre that's a result of of that permitting so um so I don't know if that I don't know if that answers your question I mean I think it's just the titles to make sense of them like you want the titles to make sense what is what is currently proposed built proposed or allowed because like 1060 Main Street doesn't have any housing but you're saying so I it's confusing yeah so proposed meant um with the current um with the current numbers coming in as 4 The 40b Proposal yep so should we label those as 40b proposal thought we were going to say without like the base I thought we were going to the base zoning right now if nothing changed okay I thought we agreed to that because that's the way to make sense of it so um we we can add another column in there we think we were going to look at current zoning yes what does the current zoning allow for density from a density standpoint yes yeah well just a note there's a couple different things right there's F which is FL a ratio right which is a different which is a different mathematical calculation of how many units you can get on an A on a on a lot then you have then you have you know and then the MBTA is units per acre right so you're you're trying to mesh two different calculations into one which is very difficult to do especially when you're talking about F because it's more of a lot calculation and then you got to get into unit size X Y and Z yeah the same building with the exact with a two F can have one unit on it or it can have 100 units on it same F right and that's what's in the Zoning for some of these districts is f not units per acre so you can't there is no number to give right you have to say well on you're taking the average so the AL just to me is what is the way I think about it because I'm thinking to Prior discussions we had with the select board what matters to me I think is what is the current zoning it's not about density necessarily as much as like what does the current zoning allow period because does it allow five stories or four stories does it allow 16 stories because once you have a 40b you can pretty much do whatever stories you want yeah so so it's not just about density to to your point Peter yeah it's a different definition of density but we do need to understand what's what is currently allowed in these areas we're proposing right we need to know where it doesn't need to be the same lingo right well um just so um 10 to 60 Main Street right that is under Zoning for that's in um add right it's add corre so that is uh I believe is it 2 minutes breaker or 1.5 F sorry not use units breaker F it's an F of two yeah that tells you nothing about the units per acre nor can I provide that because it doesn't f doesn't talk about units per acre but what does it allow what is it what's the so where did this number come from on the chart that's why I'm just that came from the 32 under no under 10 to 16 the 36 that came from what is being proposed by the 40b it's SL perent so we need to be more clear about what that number is about both what is what is allowed which is a two a 1.5 or two of f which is not attached to units per acre or the 36 units per acre which is being proposed by the 40b I know it's hard to the f is a really hard thing to get a hold of because it doesn't have to do with units per acre they can be three bedroom units or they can be studio apartments and you're going to get totally different units per acre so so I'm I don't want you guys to have to do work that's not necessary what I'm I'm trying to take myself back to the conversation we have with the select board where there was a res residents who were discussing um building or allowing their property into the 40b excuse me into the MBTA discussion the MBTA discussion next to the transation thank you next to the transation and the whole burnhams thank you so much and the whole discussion circled around this idea one of the ideas that we kept discussing was what could they do right now by right what could they do the when we look relative to MBTA and so to me what matters is an understanding of the these these areas right now what can you do there by right what can you do there by special permit and what would you be able to do there per MBTA that's what I'm visualizing right so what's so but what's important to understand just like as it was yeah it just that it was hard for those owners to understand is that property is determined by F and it is by right they can do housing by right they can they can do multi they can do they can do it by right not special permit that's what I mean that was not that was missing from Clarity and so for me but you still can't understand signed up by units per acre I get that and I get that too and I guess I'm okay with the imper to your point it's apples and oranges relative to density yes but it's still an instructive we need to be able to understand what is the current zoning and what is the MBTA zoning and yes they're different they're apples and oranges but it's a visual for the public and for us as to what we're changing we're moving from this kind of thing to this kind of thing we're moving from apples over here to oranges over here by right or do you know totally different I do it doesn't need to be the same apples apples but because it's apples to oranges we need to be able to convey that and we need to be able to communicate it because what I heard in our prior discussion with the select board is a lack of clarity that's what I heard I don't think it's clear even to the select board what is allowed there by right now or not I can tell you right now mixed use is allowed by right on that property under add right there's no but there's been no projects in Ash that have taken place under add I believe everything has been done under addc right uh add is the highest floor area ratio at 2 point at 2.0 right how many stories can they do by right three okay so they will probably never and no project right will ever hit 2.0 F on any project in Ashen because you have parking requirements and you have height limitations right so if you back up a little bit and you say okay well let's look at 10 to 16 let's look at looks like a 128 Main Street right that has a f of 1.5 I can tell you right now that I think that's at 1.8 no 1.08 right that is because it can't go that high as a 1.5 is because of all the other limitations that you have right sounds like another clean up like have something it might be it I mean f is a very common way to do things because it controls the mass of what you're putting there the shape how big is the box but it doesn't control what goes in the Box units per acre controls what goes in the box so there were I'm sure when this was created there was a and there there are very valid reasons for doing F it's hard to comp it doesn't match up to NBTA zoning which is units forer but what I'm hearing yes but so what I'm hearing is that and I like I I'm a little frustrated because some of these things aren't the corrections aren't made so what I'm what I'm going to do is to try to provide more information on a separate page like a one 8 and half by 11 table with more information it'll get more complicated but it's just more complicated um but it ultim makes it simpler if we can't explain this to people we're asking people to consider a change and we can't tell them what it is now I would I would say you're not going to get this passed we don't we don't know what weing if we cannot explain this to people they're not going to want to vote for it yeah I mean those questions it's a change it's not it's not yeah so that's what we'll we'll put to like I said I'm this I think it's not quite right I think our goal like one of our goals was to be able to convey to the public that the certain areas there's not even going to be change relative to what's already there so it would be good to be able to demonstrate that I guess but I also feel like we're creating extra work for you so I want to make it's all extra work at the end of the day but I'll tell you this right now under add you have two different things right and you're trying to and a the MBTA zoning right is trying to is is on the units per acre add is on F are yeah and so to to mesh those two things is difficult right and so I think what we're trying to show in this this this chart right which is which Alo put together nicely is that okay let's look at okay what was proposed what's the MBTA stuff going to be and what's the difference right and I think we can clean it up and we can get back and we can kind of send it out but this is difficult stuff right 100% and not everyone's going to be able to a will follow it and B knows the ins and the outs right but have to make this followable to the public I mean ultimately those are it will be and it and it is to tell you you know and it is um I I think it's going to be a mix some people will be able to follow it and some people are going to have a hard time following it because it's hard to follow and I'm not going to say that F can be made understandable to every single person but we'll do our best and maybe have to understand it in words not just on a piece of paper because it's it's just not it's very hard to make a visual representation of a complex zoning bylaw that speaks a different language from the MBTA I get that I really do can we I I don't know about you guys my brain is starting to slightly I think this is a very difficult thing to fix late at night that's why I didn't I wasn't intending to go into this it was supposed to be just an update so I'm very hesitant to even to even stand by my suggestions because I think it's so late at night that I don't want to like I'm going to take what I suggested back because because I feel like it's too late at night to even properly discuss this topic to the point where I can actually say change it I don't think it's a fair time no I'm going to work with Peter and Alo based on what we said today to to provide more information that hopefully makes it's simpler to to understand yeah and I I did not intend to create extra work at this hour I don't think that's fair no no like I said it's a it's a little yeah so um and El is on the same page he said I need people to look at it so I understand what they don't understand so I can help them understand maybe we should give this one more shot yeah I'm earlier in our meetings yeah yeah so anyway we'll be talking about it you guys can definitely you know maybe we have it on the agenda for the 8th yeah so that Peter and ELO like I don't need them to go through it with me again right they can go through it with you guys that's fine you know so um and that might be helpful okay sorry about that all right um don't need to do anything on number seven on number eight um there's nothing with Whitmore is there legally no we're just working with the attorneys continuously our conservations office is working with them legally um I'm having continued conversations with the um with the with the with the developers with the contractors we hope work to get done out there but we're we're following all avenues that we need to do and we're trying to be proactive to to make work to to get work going back out there to get it done okay the biggest thing I can talk to is number four and that's the Starbucks tomorrow is the ribbon cutting 4:00 if anybody's interested in being down there um the occupany print was granted today Saturday is the first day it'll be open um the police know Saturday this Saturday they're this Saturday they're open uh inside looks awesome it's been great um there are some outstanding landscape issues um that I've talked about with the owners with the developers with the um site workers um those are all elements um regarding the bushes in the front at the Apex um they're T they're taking taking those out um they were in the process of taking those out on yesterday um until we realized that they did not have a uh Dig Safe And there's some underground electrical wires that pertain to the overhead lights um and so therefore they stopped they halted a little bit so all the Landscaping is going to get done um obviously it's the best time to plant grass in September to get this grass growing um and so those all those issues are are conditioned on the occupancy permit um just as a note however the big story is Saturday coffee will be poured at Starbucks tomorrow is the ribbon cutting please feel free and enjoy yourself the ribbon cutting is at 4 I think everyone got an invite right yeah I thought I I might be able to go I'm trying to trying to see if I can make it work but I may not be able to we'll see I think everyone's excited I've been down there every day this week and I can't tell you how many people went through tried to go through the drivethru line I saw coming because I yesterday I was like I could see people thinking about pulling in there like as I was driving down and then today I saw the coming soon I was like that was probably bu yeah yeah so you know the building's going to open Starbucks is excited I think everyone's excited um there's a couple site issues that have to be worked out and they are going to be worked out um but uh just want to give everyone the heads up on that okay so update on 100 Chestnut Street I don't know when it was it was hot all I remember is that y but uh Peter and I met with the architect and the developer there's a few people from the development team there out at the site um because Peter and I were there earlier and I noticed um things that were different on the approved drawings and on the building right none of it was that big but I was just I had questions right and it it's important to remember that when projects go through they're not even 50% done like they're a fraction of the design done you know at that point so this is a you know pretty normal thing like I said I don't think most people would even notice them but I have the drawings in front of me and I did so I asked questions so we had a meeting out there and we went through some of the things um that had changed and for what reasons sometimes it was in the interior layout of Apartments had to change because of whatever um sometimes it was um a certain business that was asking for a front entry door versus a entry on the side you know things like that so to get um to fill the business slots and so um I asked them U none of it seemed egregious to me none of it seemed out of character with what we had approved but I asked them to take the original drawings put the as it was being built um drawings in the same configuration and call out the things that have changed right call them out so it's very obvious for everybody to see and so they're doing that they're in the process that doing that they called they sent a draft I think there's still some more things I want them to call out on there um I mean a lot of things are just different like you don't have the exact window size when you're because you didn't do your window order yet like when you're putting in the windows right so there's lots of St stuff like that in process um so they will be providing those drawings I think the architect actually said he or someone from his office happy to come could come and explain those changes and what for why the why the changes were done um so I just wanted to give an update on that it's nothing I'm seems to me at as part for the course especially not only in a building that size but in the little buildings I work on this uh 100 chest Street under construction so um uh and full disclosure I realized at that meeting I would not have realized if they had not said it but the architect Matt ver marada and also uh Eric senson from the development team are my former students like I had them apparently about 20 years ago in studio I guess the I guess Matt was trying to figure out during these um presentations if I recognized him I had no idea until this meeting on site was quite embarrassing actually but I had no idea who who they were I mean I've had hundreds if not thousands of students I didn't no way yeah so um anyway but full disclosure for student so it's all your fault anything they M up what's that you're the teacher it's all your fault it could be yeah so these changes that you happen to on like is there again with process a threshold that we should say you shall and like discuss I think we should consider some conditions in our decision that makes it clear that what we consider to be worthy of notification exactly we should think about it I don't know what the answer is like you're like oh it's part of the course because like I would imagine when you make a plan and then you go out and you order the windows they're out of stock what do you do well my expectation is if we actually cared enough to approve a design of a window there are buildings like I'm thinking about the old design that's now gone pre 40b up Main Street there was a lot of interesting detail in that whatever rendering of the break and the in the design of the windows if suddenly those windows were not purchasable and it changes in the size or shape I would consider that to be a big deal me personally I don't I want you to get the one that you presented not the cheaper version that you can now find so I think we as a board need to come to some consensus about what is normal for changes and what's not like yeah maybe the quality on some sort of micro level I don't really care about or a little tree moving you know a few feet maybe I don't care that much but like Shapes of Things locations of things on the building like the Starbucks issue that came up where they put it on the wrong you know they put the little electrical thing in a random location stuff like that to me is a big deal yeah I mean I think that discussion does have to happen because like the electrical panel wasn't a r random location it was like the probably the appropriate location for the project but at 60 at 60% or whatever percentage that the drawing is presented to us as because you can't bring it into full tuition and you know fruition we didn't even know that until somebody walked by noticed no it was me but I mean the Starbucks thing was you too yes great so so maybe we have the Clause called if Trisha walks by the building and notices you you have to come back I don't know what we call this Clause whatever it is we need to think about it I I do and and that's why and that's why I didn't say onsite yeah it's good you know whatever I said no this needs to come before the board like the Board needs to understand these changes I said my personal opinion is that these are these are these are in this this what's been going that probably no one would know them here's the thing what you do is a lot and I appreciate it very much but it's like that's not a fair way for you to function as a chair to have to go check projects out nor is it necessarily okay in my mind that one person is deciding is this good or is this not good is this consistent or not consistent I think we as a board need to figure out the expectation of what that is rather than like oh our chair is going to go check it out what if you can't check out no I I I that's why I'm totally agreeing with that like I'm totally agreeing with that but it's like we'll have to I I will have to figure out what is the um with the understanding that these projects are submitted rightly and correctly not at 100% right like it just can't they can't have to come back for every little it they can't we would be dealing with with one of these buildings every a little thing that's right that's right so how we get to that and how we put it in our conditions and how we it's going to be uh interesting discussion because I don't know what the answer is so just a note I think the developer was forthcoming right and he asked and theoretically it all came out when when we went up I they asked that they and they invite they I've been going up there they said let's come come up and look at the siding colors siding colors are very important to everybody right so obviously I you know having Trish in town I said hey Trish I'm going to the site look at siding colors and then when we were up there looking at the siding colors which were spoton we start to notice a couple tweaks and it wasn't a couple large tweaks it was just you know they go through that design change and so that's where this conversation Sparks from I just want to be clear about that and so going in that reques no I don't think it was I don't think it was I don't think I think someone asked even and they're like we don't splitting so there was a there was a Oh that was there's a commercial space right and so the commercial space um had one door coming through it right and so now um they have two proposed tenants in that one space and so they each tenant wanted their own door their own they both want a front door like no one wants a side door right and so they had a side door proposed which kind of went in under a residential um they're not balcony they did no I think they they didn't want to be uh you know then have to it's false through right like yeah they said there was nothing signed kind of Starbuck is open tomorrow man yeah I mean Saturday sat Amanda's like what else is opening come on come on what am I going to do after I get my coffee so I I think I think it's a it's definitely a valid question about how we how we go forward with this I don't think it's going to be an easy one are very long my children don't sleep can is this under I think it's under administrative matters I mean it's not listed but of the the um 10 to 60 Main Street 40b application have we heard anything I have no no update no that's up at Mass Housing and both both of them yep both of them at Mass housing they have their time they're working within their time frames um and so I have had no communication with Mass housing at this point all right so no upate upate anything else that needs to be discussed besides uh what any update on the mural for the Starbucks not that I know not that I know I know the last artist um that we that they were talking to um um pulled out of the pull pull out of running and decided not to take the job on due to that I didn't know due to I think the whole complexity of uh the tri party contracts and payments and and funding funding too but I think it was more of um everything right this is a project procurement um uh you know I will say this right the idea of putting a mural on a building as a town project on private property it's a lot easier said than done and that's pretty much my takeaway from this entire process um in that now we're back to let's find a muralist that's interested in working with us um to do this project it's too bad I didn't know that all right anything else you ready to clear up some meeting minutes we have first August uh February 1st Mee yeah the February 1 one's an old meeting um obviously it was a long time ago kind of slipped through the Wicket so I would say um this is a zoom meeting that the planning board had with the sustainability committee to discuss the tree bylaws these minutes were kind of borrowed from the sustainability committee as the meetings were already written for that uh the minutes were already written for that meeting obviously and so we were just um we put it on uh put it on on plany board letterhead and kind of put everything together so I think there's a there's a couple things that I don't really understand what comment I was actually making um I had the same reaction to mine because I was like what the hell do they think I said yeah I don't I don't understand I don't know how to make it better yeah well the only one that I the only exactly the one that matters to me it um is um on line 73 because that's the one I do remember it says Miss Kendall says she does not believe that anyone town is against trees true but when confronted with trees or an expanding town and I think I specifically said when I said when confronted with trees or a new town you know I I think it said the YMCA frankly um but it could be like a a new a new town amenity you know we could say something like that but I think I was comparing the trees to the YMCA you know then you might make a different choice I think that's what I was I would say a new town amenity okay and that's the same thing later in this this residents might favor the new amenity over the trees or something like that um because I don't think the students or that I don't think residents would just vote for an expanding town instead of trees that seems uh not true okay that was my only one what's that proposal to anex part of hopon to expand the town oh right we need more space I'll mention that to the comprehensive plan committee the planning board suggested we are so smart annexation are we good should I make a motion was again I'm good if um I make a motion to accept the February 1st 2024 minutes as amended at the meeting I'll second it R vot an tman cther Jersey guy oh um yeah Amanda ha ey and Trisha Kendall ey so then now we're at the June 18th meetings these were about this is the zoom meeting the online Zoom meeting when we came up with a letter when we finalized the letter for the 61 Waverly Street 40b okay right um just a I think this is correct but Wildwood Zone D multif family there's a height limit of five stories for residential commercial together is that right okay it's under my comment but I don't remember that I made that comment so it was probably just uh I'm not sure maybe I did because I was looking at the zoning at that time but I can't remember yep are these still generated by a person or or by AI a person great I've never been quoted so much before [Laughter] I'm I'm good with these so am I I'll make a motion to approve the June 18th meetings as is if if you guys are good with them I just made that conclusion based on their based on the silence second second okay roll call vote an testes I Katherine Jersey guy Amanda ha I and Trish Kendall I and now we're on to June 20 I was noted the June 20th can someone remind me do I vote for these I don't think you can I don't think I can I so I'm at this one I was not that's fine but I was not at the June 20th so oh it's fine so June 20th okay yeah so that's when we where the hell we do we approve approved six Chestnut and uh 151 correct the five station oh yes and we finished the letter for 61 I mean and we six we finished a 40b letter holy cow that was a that was a big meeting all it's painful just to look at it oh and a lot release that's right okay I think I'm good as as is I make a motion that we accept the June 2024 minutes as presented is there a second I guess I guess I can second right I will second and I guess Amanda could too because you were there but a roll second Catherine Jers gu Amanda ey and ey so those are oh sorry I completely space that you could not yeah you're good that's right five is five I mean three covers Us okay M um I'll make a motion to adjourn unless we have something else uh just one thing um August 8th planning board meeting I said I am not here I am traveling Amanda say she might be able to come on she's also traveling so um to I was going to come on if they needed it for that for that decision yeah I don't think I can get on at all um so Anna that means you're on unless uh as chair unless sure someone else wants to I'm just going to check on Marcelo Marcelo I'm going to check with Marcelo with his attendance because I know he's traveling uh he said so if if Trisha and Marcel are out we can't hold a meeting right no you still have AUM oh we have de can be there right you checked with her I can check with her I thought there was a meeting in August she couldn't make my imagin I'm it's on my calendar in my office but um I'll send out an email just to double check with everybody yeah but let me know if you need me to chair it I'll chair it okay and I will be getting this MBTA stuff to everybody because I want it I want you to be able to study it and you know with plenty of time so my only thing is the very last week of August the week of the 26th or whatever is the week I'm taking my daughter to college so I'm useless that week so if you guys have if if we're doing something MBTA related or whatever or planning board related that's the week that I'm useless so you'll be at the meeting oh 22nd I can do the week after I cannot okay there's okay so there's there's there's five Thursdays in August there's the so we're going to meet on the 8th and the 22nd perfect that I can do and so you're out the week of the 26th which is the 26 to the 31st and so I I assume Labor day is going to be on the 2 the second yes okay gotcha and then we're going to come back after Labor Day that Wednesday is going to be that meeting with the okay so that's fine okay I feel like didn't know something new was going to come up if something new is is this point I think right now not so much okay I think that's going to be a week that's going to be that's going to be a week Labor Day week where everyone's going to enjoy the last stuff week of Summer and okay I'm assuming we're going to stay [Music] room so sorry to hear that I'm assuming we're going to continue hybrid in the fall the state still allows us to do that and all that I assume since we are the only board besides the school committee and likey board that are meeting in person everyone else is still hybrid which is allowed till 20 through 26 I believe that we will just keep things going the way they are all right so we had we we adjourned toj I'll make a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:31 p.m. second roll call vote and I Katherine Jersey guy Amanda ha I and TR k i thanks everybody e e for