Okay. I'm uh reading a statement on behalf of Dr. Holly Robinson, Dr. Diamond Harris, and the infants in the Bloom and the Infants in Bloom team. Um they were not able to be here tonight because they both became ill. Um as you can imagine, taking care of sick children all day. It's completely understandable. Uh Bloom believes that there could not be a better investment than in our infants and toddlers. This investment will pay dividends not only in our schools but throughout our community. Research and experience continue to confirm that our relationships and care in the first years lay the foundation not only for the child's life, but can be passed on through our DNA to future generations. Early infancy is a time of rapid brain and behavioral development. This period is very sensitive to environmental conditions. Providing stable and safe care can build a brain capable of loving and learning and even mitigate long-term negative consequences.
So they move over possibly. So if they go from a bachelor's degree to a master's degree, they're getting more money. And so so those are all things that we factor in to the steps and lanes in the negotiated contracts. But what we also do is we know that there are folks who are retiring and we have to take into account when when they're retiring, are we able to um hire a position at a lesser cost than that individual retiring? And the answer is for the most part yes, not always. I think it's important to understand that there are certain uh teaching positions that we're not going to be able to uh replace at a lower cost. And I always use like physics or chemistry. Not that we have we're doing that this year, but those are positions that typically most folks are coming in with really advanced degrees and with a lot of experience.
People tell me I should probably stop doing things, but I really don't know what I would do if I stopped doing what I do. Um, I probably bored and playing video games like everybody else. Um, but I'm very happy to see um everybody here supporting me. Um, and so yeah, I'm here to answer questions if needed or comments. Questions or comments? Member Stton and then member Childs. I just wanted to thank you again for being here. I know I've come I've run across you at a couple of other events outside of school committee stuff, but um we love having you in the district. You're a bright spot. Um and just I hope you do continue to do all of the work that you do um now and into the future. Thank you. Appreciate it. Similar to that, I want to compliment you on how much you do manage to get done and also thank you because what you're doing matters to so many people in the community.
Uh, we had conferences on the 26th and the 27th. Uh, thank you to the PTO for the taco bar. an army lives on its stomach. Um March 24th, speaking of snacks, was National Chip and Dip Day, obviously. Uh and so we had a good a really great time with that. Um the fun run, as you heard, is uh going full tilt. I asked the children to do a very good job and raise $9,995. They did not listen. Um we are at $12,841 or something like that at this point. Uh, so I'm definitely done for. Uh, we also have uh Nicole Rosner, uh, Ron DeFazio, uh, Bethany Griffin, and Jackie Nathman are going to be joining me if we hit 13,000. Uh, which is a nice way of saying they are also toast. Uh, so yeah, this is one of those where it sounded like such a good idea on paper.
Uh these types of trips truly are lasting um memories and have a lasting impact on students creating memories that they'll cherish forever. There's many memorable moments that the staff and director and myself can recall from the bus ride of eight hours down and 8 hours back and very long days. Um a special acknowledgement to Mrs. Peltier for stepping up to lead the organization of the trip. As you can recall, Mr. Lambert who retired would come to the meetings and present about the upcoming trips and she stepped up and took over organizing it which is a a heavy lift. Uh her efforts ensured a smooth and successful experience for all. Spring sports are now in full swing with baseball and softball teams and it's been cold beginning their practices and games. Uh the energy and enthusiasm among the student athletes is evident and they look forward to a great season.
And I'd like to share that I just trained one more mentor today. So we're at 66 mentors trained. And the question I get a lot is who is in our program? Of course we all know that our district is large. We have a large high school. Um so we're always trying our best to really find those students that are most in need. And I'm really happy to share that this year we have placed some mentors at each endeavor. Um I know we've had mentors in the past but it's been quiet throughout the past couple years. So we were able to match mentors over there which has been awesome. Um most of our mentors or most of our students that get a mentor come from our school counselors and our school our school psychologists but each of the schools we have a designated school liaison um that really helps us run that dayto-day and finding those students and really being the boots on the ground support for us.
And for that purpose we are often looking at autopsy data. what happened for the year. We are now doing a a final assessment in grades 3 through 8 that are will also take the ESPA in May to to have um an a point in time where we can still do something about the instruction for that student. So instead of waiting till the end of the year doing our I ready and also taking ASPA and seeing what it told us about what what the student achieved, we're now in March and we can still make instructional moves to move that student's proficiency. So um I think that I've made some believers out of people, right? So, um, it's a challenge for teachers because they look at it as, um, okay, this is what people are thinking about my work this year for this student. But what we're really trying to shift is this idea that assessment is for the instructional planning for the student.
I'm sorry to be down tonight. Didn't mean to be. Yes, we had growth. That's great. And this is the first like we're just getting into looking at the data and so that's why I was kind of like looking at all the numbers and anyway. Yeah. Yeah. It's just surprising and sad that we, you know, agreed. Mhm. I'm not saying it's your fault. I'm just saying it's just the way it is. Taking any blame. It's It's incredible, let me tell you. Okay. Any other questions about the data or anything you'd like me to drill down deeper on? I know of course the proficiency one all I think it's a good start. Yeah. Yeah. And now we get to quantify, isolate, and target. And you know, and that's the whole point of it. And uh and I think that's a good start. Yes. I think also when you look at the yellow band, right, that's 42%.
Um we're bidding out the asphalt work at the three schools and asphalt work will be done during spring break. And then the projects that are in design, um the portable relocations at um Majestic, Northwood, and Ruskin are all being submitted, either have been submitted or being submitted in the next day or two. And then um we'll be bidding that out. Um we're still working with um our school site principles and our ED services team on adding um some shorter fencing around some of the TK playgrounds. That was a concern that was brought up. So, we're kind of working with um two of the school sites that don't have fencing to add that. And what we're really needing to look at is um how big of an area to fence off so it's not just around the playground so that there's extra additional space, but we have to kind of figure that out exactly how much space is appropriate.
To celebrate this incredible impact she has on our in our classroom and beyond, I'd like to share a special song. a song that captures who she is and how she carries herself every single day. It's called a masterpiece in every way. It's because that truly what she is when she enters flashy lights today. Her cheerful glow just brightens up her way. With compassion, grace, and cheers, she brings warmth when she is near. She makes her day a masterpiece. Hooray. She speaks with thoughtful words, both kind and clear. Please and thank you. Our phrases we all hear. She's dependable and wise. Gives her space well organized. She makes her day a masterpiece. sincere. Though she may not know which words her classmate speaks, she still supports with patience come in peace. With a heart so brave and true, she knows just what friends do. She makes her day a masterpiece with ease.
Some of the other salary schedules uh have multiple different uh starting points. So, we just give the the amount that's going to be added to the to the uh starting salary. You'll also see the projected costs for the different uh uh position groups. Uh please note what those costs. I mean that's our best estimate is right now depending on who leaves, who's hired. This may go up a little bit or down a little bit. Um and we won't know that until all the hiring is done. Uh and people are brought on board. Um but that's what we would project out. Also, you will note that um for the extra duty stipens um we are recommending again a freeze uh just because the board excuse me the the budget does not support um an increase uh again for that group. So this is what's been discussed.
Okay. Um It's as he as he mentioned below 4.75%. Okay. Thank you. So that particular rate is there something in place to where if we um are offered a rate higher than that then that would put a hold on things or what happens if there's anything outside of what you're expecting? Uh it's a great question. We'll work closely with with the experts with our underwriter um and obviously with with Dr. Lman to make sure that this is what we need to do. As long as we're within our our tax rate, 79 cent tax rate, that's really what we're we're holding to that commitment. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Arman. I sort of alluded to the question, but I actually state it slightly differently. Um, but it's good to hear about the refunding. I hadn't heard about that option. Um, so but picking up on member Owens, two major projects.
Are we in the situation where we have to um pass an emergency quote? We will continue to see what legal action we can do um regarding um RJB and their um lack of wanting to work through their mistake. Um but at the same point, we have to ensure we have clean buildings for our students. And so as we entertain what our options are, we still need to make sure our buildings are are clean. And rather than continuing to do business with RJB, I would much rather um recommend to the board, and that's what we're doing this evening, to move forward with um who's going to be our long-term um custodial contractor. So that's why unfortunately we're bringing another emergency contract, something we would not like to do. Um but we really believe that it's in the best interest of the district. Thank you. Um, may I have a motion to approve the custodial services with citywide building maintenance beginning April 3rd, 2025 to June 30th, 2025 in the amount of $199,51.98 as presented.
And the part that sticks out to me that I want to make sure that there's no redundancy is the components of transparency. Like if we go back to the year in which this was written and um all of the all the technology that we've added to allow for transparency. Like some of that to me might be outdated the components of transparency because of how we do share information now. Okay, I'm fine with the suggestion to table that until the end, but I will remember this and I will bring it back. It's in it's in my notes, too. I've got I've got two charts approved and saved to the end. And it's uh not that is the last one in section one. Correct. Correct. Okay. Okay. So now I will say we'll go to the next item is the D26 policy manual review section two. Excuse me.
Um so to see that jump from 42% to 74% for sure is a celebration for our youngest learners here in Kerry 26. I I just oh I have a question. Okay. So for these three categories, sounds, names, and numeral recognition. So if a student was performing at 100% uh proficiency, they would know all 26 letter names. They could make the sound for each of them and they know every numeral from 1 to 20 or something. So you the key thing that you just said is that they know all 26. Remember, they have one minute. And it's not that you have to identify it once, okay? It's literally you've got like a you've got one minute to come up with as many names and sounds. So, it's going over and over and over. So, you have to demonstrate that you actually know this, not just like a you got it that one time and now you got that score.
Secure attachment is linked to a range of positive social, emotional, and cognitive developmental outcomes. Stress on the parents of infants, including lack of access to good care for their children, also has immediate consequences on the infant brain and overall development. Addressing infant mental health through a center such as this one can dramatically reduce the overall rate of depression, alcoholism, suicide, IV drug use, and domestic violence, reducing the need for future law enforcement efforts. Studies show that a baby can develop lifelong mistrust of the world within the first three months of their life if their care is unreliable. By investing in early childhood, we can also support our local industry pro by providing a solution to the number one barrier women note to working, which is lack of childare. Thank you, Mr. [Applause] I'd like to recognize Mr. Tony Steinhardt, please. Uh, good evening. Um, excuse me.
Therefore, you're not hiring someone at a bachelor's degree coming out of a university or um so so that's something we have to look at. Uh and I know the principles are always we want to hire the best people. That being said, we've got to be thoughtful and conscientious of of our our salaries and our budgets because we're not making we don't have revenue sources streams, right? We're not making widgets increasing the number that we're making. So then there's uh out of district tuition. um you'll see we have a we have a decrease in our number and Britney's here and um we have done a great job of building programs internally but that doesn't mean we can always educate all of our students in the district. We try we we want our students to be with us but sometimes it's just not possible. Uh and many of the costs are to private schools where you'll see they two years ago uh they had a 14 to 18% increase in their own pricing that they were allowed to do at the state level which gets pushed down to local districts.
So you are excellent example of what Greenfield can and does produce. So thanks for keep being and keep on being awesome. Thank you. I appreciate that. Um, one thing I will also say is that um, my grandmother passed away about a year ago and she was a big powerful person in my life. She always taught me of how to speak on my mind and how to be a better person and how to be a nice person. And for me, the one thing was to be involved in everything because not only was it making other people happy, it was also representing my brothers who are two students of the district who are in sixth and seventh grade and who play sports and they play basketball and you know, do they get annoying? Yes, they do. But they are the light of my life and they support me through everything and my parents as well.
Um, we also, uh, so we've got two schoolwide projects that have been going. one on uh Black History Month. If you go in our uh cafeteria hallway, it's one of my favorite things to catch kids kind of like getting distracted. Uh so each classroom profiled a famous African-American and so they created just a a poster there and they line our cafeteria um because that's I mean this is the main thoroughare, right? So as kids are going anywhere they travel through there, they'll stop, they'll take a read for a little bit. Um, and then what we did for Women's History Month is each classroom did a presentation at their door. Um, either on the bulletin board or right at their door and then classes have been going around um, doing learning walks or scavenger hunts and things that way. Um, so it's really been great where kids are both doing the work and then they're enjoying the work around the building which has been really great.
Our PBIS and school leadership committee continue to plan implement fun and engaging student events. Some recent events, and you heard one earlier with the potato bar, some others are staff breakfast, underground spirit days, and book clubs, uh, all of which contribute to a positive and connected school culture. Looking ahead on the school calendar, we have spring recess coming up next week. And then soon after that, April 29th, we'll begin our state testing, which will span the entire month of May. Um, we anticipate many other exciting end ofear events, promotion, um, class night, and many others. and we love to celebrate our students hard work and achievements.