So, she has been an absolute joy to have in the classroom. She is so sweet and kind and she is helpful to all the students and the adults. And there has been um one student in my class who needs a little help sometimes and she quietly helps him without me telling her or asking her, without anyone directing her. Um and she's just very intuitive with the needs of others in the classroom. Um I couldn't ask for a better little teacher. She really is a mini teacher. Um there was even a day I was out of the classroom and another teacher was um covering the room and the next day she came to me and you know talked about how helpful Molly was with her and the student and so I was sharing the story with my first grade teachers and we all agreed that she definitely deserves this award.
This is remainder of the money from the pro the main project that's doing the HVAC work here at the high school. Correct. That is correct. I forget what bond that is, but I think it's 22. There you go. I Very good. You're on it, man. Look at that. Anyone else have any other questions?
She's got to have her sign. See? Oh, there you go. Oh, take it down. There it is. There it is. All right. One, two, three. Got it. Okay. Now, I'm gonna get out of the way. Go ahead. Thank you. Congratulations, Wildcats. Congratulations. Congratulations. [Applause] I guess I don't know this way. Have over on this side. Dan, kids will come here. They'll go around and line up this way. So, tell them come this way, Dan. And then they'll line up over here. Then we'll bring them back. Yep. Right here. Yep. They got it. These guys know what to do. As we change to the high school, up first from Lawrence Central, Mr. Marshall, our bank director. [Applause] Everyone, my name is Jasper Marshall, director of dance at Mor Central High School. Um, we're going to start off here with our states ensemble students. We have Eden Arana Rodriguez on trombones, gold with distinction.
Um there were students responsible that got into this information um respectfully because of this student I can't share information but we we've been having conversations with those parents and with the administration of of Tahanu as well too. Um, we will be issuing a letter that's going out either later on tonight, um, or first thing tomorrow. Um, and we have vetted that and vetting that and made our attorneys aware of that as well, too. So, we know they know what's taking place here. Again, things that we're still uncovering, right? And we're still trying to we're trying to fix and make sure that we have the highest performing district. Um, and and again, to Joe's point, we appreciate the people letting us know as soon as they find out about this. Um, and and I'm sorry to say, I'm sure other people might have known about this taking place as well, too, but didn't tell us.
So my pathway to becoming a professional scientist you know obviously as a I was an amateur and then you know I went to MIT went to a college and the important thing in college is those of you who might be thinking about college what's one of the cool things about college is everything you experience there is almost basically unexpected right and one of the things I didn't expect is that other students would influence me so I went there wanting to be an astronomer but these other students were just like really excited about biology and this is back in the 1970s So this was like ancient times but it was a time when molecular biology and genetics was really emerging and I got really excited by what these other students are telling me about and I I did research in a lab and this is the gentleman who really uh taught me a lot about how how to do science.
Um they will be uh the school climate coordinator. So either the principal or possibly an assistant principal in a in one of our larger schools will be the school climate coordinator for their buildings. Um we are then going to turnkey the training with staff in the fall. Um so that different members of the school community will receive um additional training. Um that's teaching staff, counseling staff, um you know psyches, social workers and so forth. Um and then the hope is the the um leadership team, the administrators in the building will take the primary um focus of doing the restorative practices as we're getting others trained. Um but the hope in time is to develop a team within the building that could help and process and respond to this. Um, I think it's really important that as we roll this out, we seek feedback from our schools because I do think that we need to be cognizant of the other um the other responsibilities that our staff are charged with.
Thank you. I'm sure Travis Moore I'll speak on behalf of one since she's J tonight. So, as a parent, you guys are hearing the girls's perspective, right? As a parent, I just I can't say enough about her. The confidence she puts in those girls and you can see it. Uh the way they play as a team, as they said. I mean, they pretty much said everything. So, um but she wasn't able to be here. So, and I wanted everybody to hear parents perspective, too. We see that as well. Uh behind speak on uh the impact that coaches can have on youth school level. Sport is a vehicle to create pathways for students by developing skill sets that will benefit them in their lifetime. Teachers in school classrooms teach important subjects such as reading and math. But sports develop soft skills such as teamwork, leadership, communication, and resilience, which every single one of these girls I mentioned, uh, which so many employers say are lacking in today's workforce.
I had some pictures of cleanup day that'll get posted um to the Facebook page, but you guys have any questions? I have a question. Can you tell me who was this? Okay, thank you.
I believe it's important to acknowledge the current positive impact has already brought to our campus and carefully evaluate if a replacement can ideally fill his role. I ask you to consider the values and the importances of maintaining a strong familiar presence in our schools. Before making a final decision, I encourage you to seek input from students, staff, and parents regarding their experiences with our current SRO and their thoughts on potential impact of a replacement. Chain Valley High School, you have bigger problems, and it starts with your administration. All right. Second is a Miss Sarah and you'll tell me your last Hi, my name is Sarah Frano and I'm a senior at this high school. Um, I want to start with saying thank you for allowing me to speak. I'd like to say that um, Officer Nan is a kind, respected person and is sorry makes the school more welcoming by his presence in the school because he always says hi.
And then that way you could have an example list. So that way if someone's a new AP and they're like, it says documentation and I don't know what to do. Yeah. Okay. Okay. So then this I can Oops, just realized. Okay. So then this we're gonna take out and these can be And then I think that's it. I don't know what I don't know what I meant by change these bullets. I think it's like into the other one. That's just the format I think. So I'll leave it. But yeah. Um good. Good. Okay. So then the next one. Can we go to What about Tim's comment? Tim's comment is the change. Got it. Yeah, it originally said something else. Um there. Hold on. Okay. And then Okay. So then if you go to next. Oops. I just realized I've been putting the wrong thing. Sorry.
Um, but we love you, Gigi, and we're so proud of you, and I know you're going to do great things here at Big Hollow and [Applause] beyond. Congratulations. [Applause] All right. Good evening. Very excited to introduce SA Vargis, our uh student of the month at elementary uh from fourth grade. So SA, come on up. And then I'd also like to invite Mrs. Lancaster, her [Applause] teacher. Um let's see. SA is an amazing student. She is kind. Um, if someone's struggling with something, she's the first one to ask, "How can I help you?" Um, she's eager to learn. She's very curious. She does her best work no matter what it is that she's asked to do. Um, she has some great questions, too. Some of them feedback is so weird. Um, some of them result in some pretty great class conversations because other people are thinking it, but Sale is the one brave enough to ask it.
Please join me in welcoming Stephen Tracy. Okay, next one. Thank you, board. Um, moving on to 5.2, approval of district administrator contract. Can I have a motion, please? I make a motion to approve the district administrator contract as discussed and presented. Second, Miss Wenmouth. I, Miss C. I, Mr. Cerrone, I, Miss Robinson, I, Dr. Dr. Pollock I Dr. Mario I Dr. Martin I motion passes 70 thank you board and with that we may uh introduce our next uh individual who will be joining our district Dr. Mitchell. Thank you Dr. Kilgotti. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Jennifer Cooper Wells as executive director of high schools where she will serve under the direct leadership of Dr. Kristen Paul. Jennifer brings a wide range of strengths to this role, including her broad teaching background, extensive leadership, and unwavering commitment to student success. She is highly experienced in datadriven strategies, social emotional well-being, and the engagement of diverse learners, all which make her an ideal candidate for this role.
And I think that was about a $20,000 difference over the life of the bond um when comparing the 5year to the 2-year. Uh, so you would save, you know, the taxpayer on that interest expense. Um, so that was definitely one pro, I guess, in uh the uh two-year repayment uh favor. And then also, um, both are set up though to keep the tax rate level uh at the 2025 amount. So due to the issuance of this bonds, we would not expect any taxpayer impact um under either scenario. But uh the one thing I will mention on uh the 2-year repayment is the new legislation that was passed uh and Brock might have mentioned this at the last meeting, but there is that uh one-year cooling off period. Uh so for any bond that has a maturity of less than five years um and is a general obligation bond, the legislation, and I'm not a lawyer, but I'll try to I guess give my best um kind of summary of that new language is that there is a 12-month cooling off period for you to issue another go or uh for a non-controlled project.
So um we're very proud of her and I'm definitely going to miss her next year and she's an awesome young lady. for the families. Um, when we get done with all of the presentations, we'll take some time to to bring the the students back up here for some pictures with their class. Next, we have the middle school student of the month. Good evening. Thanks for having us today. We're with uh Oliver. The seventh grade team got together and the better representative that we have in Oliver. We all got together and put this up. The seventh grade team is proud to recognize Oliver as our student of the month for consistently demonstrates outstanding academic achievement. Um positive attitude and a strong commitment to our school whether it's landing a helping hand to others or putting an extra effort in class. Oliver truly sets his example through his likes once in a while.
Hearing none. Uh, Miss Grave, ready for a vote? Motion carries 40 zero. Moving on to D2. Uh award for the bids for Huntington North High School floor renovation project. Mr. Thank you, Mr. Wall. Uh so we had uh three contractors pick up drawings for the flooring project. uh only one of them ended up submitting a bid and that was ACB contractors. Um the firm that is another firm that picked up drawings uh Dancer Concrete who did the work in here and other places throughout the high school um actually are working as a sub for ACB. So we only actually had one bid turned in. The other company was out of town that picked up drawings off of the website but never submitted anything. Um, so I will kind of talk through the process if uh Mrs. Gray would put that back up. Thank you. So the process includes not only the Terzo in the building but also Oh, not that one.
Alex Aila Hernandez on violin, uh, gold with [Applause] distinction. Mason Baker, cello, gold with distinction. [Applause] Ashley Benz bass trombone gold. Robert Bowen Campello gold with distinction. Dan Cobra French horn member gold. Xavier Crew trombone and violin gold with distinction. Felicity Davis bass gold with distinction. Darien Feifer trumpet gold uh stas ensemble and all state band alternate. [Music] Abraham Greenfield on trumpet, all state band. Oliver Heyman, French horn, golden distinction, state soul and ensemble and all state band alternate. Christian Jennings, trumpet, gold uh at isma soul on state ensemble and all state honor band. Uh Lynn Lamb, bass clarinet, gold with distinction state ensemble. Hoggyl, violin, gold at state soul and ensemble. William, cello, states ensemble, gold with distinction. Katie Pokinito, violin, gold with distinction. Stay silent and ensemble. Kevin Rodriguez, French horn, stone and ensemble gold. Daniel Rogers, trombone, state soul and ensemble gold.
It's all of our responsibilities as parents, school committee members, teachers, and preceding stuff like this. Technology-wise, you got to let us know so we can make those necessary changes and adjustments. Um, I I really put that layman in terms, but I want to make sure people understood that.
Then I did a PhD with uh this guy David Baltimore studied a virus and then I went to Bob Corman's lab to do post-docctoral research which is where you're trying to put together your own kind of direction that you want to take your lab you know so Eric did this went to post you did your posttock and he he figured out questions that he's really passionate about and so when I'm in Bob's lab I'm trying to figure out what are the questions that I'm really passionate about what can I learn from Bob and the other people in the lab that's really gonna put me on on some direction. Um, and from that you get a, you know, professor position where you're teaching and doing research. And so I run a laboratory that studies biological questions that interest me. And so I've moved around and finally I'm at UMass.
Um, and who is most appropriate and most effective to do this. Um, but it will be the leadership at in the beginning to take the primary charge and responsibility and then delegating some as they build their teams and people become more more um comfortable with with the approach. I hope that that answers some of your questions, Monica. Yeah, I I just Yeah. And so I'm looking for a um I guess in the regulations that there's some as you said some feedback um so that it's almost like on a timet. I'm concerned that as we build um these teams in the building and people are appropriate um staff that they're pulled from other duties to do this job. Um the other Yeah. And also making sure that this is a policy that crosses the full Danberry public school spectrum right over to reach and endeavor. um and keeping a uh these are kids who we are trying to do re-entry with and I think that we have to put resources in place that that is definitely happening at that location and um the only other suggestion I guess and again it's in regulation or just Kelly for your notes um I would love to see on each of the uh Danbury public school website the the name of the school the safe school climate coordinator in each of the buildings.
Take it a step further. According to UN Women, which is the United Nations Foundation, 80% of female Fortune 500 CEOs played sport in their formative years. And women who played sports are more likely to be in senior management roles than those who do not. that sadly by the age of 14, girls drop out of sports at twice the rate of young boys. Um, also I noticed in the agenda tonight that there's an attachment that talks about the high school uh the activities and athletics and the participation rates and it talks about their GPA and there's a wide gap between the GPA of those who participate in sports or activities and those who do not. Um, so to me that's why it's so critical to have great coaches for females at the junior high level, right? because that's where they drop out. Can we can we keep them in sports at that level?