It's just a a a different way of looking at the the chart and it it shows the regular education, the special ed, the utilities, special education just tells our story. But what one of the charts that I really want you to look at is the revenue that we're offsetting the the bridges program. We're bringing in revenue from other districts that are helping offset us of $163,000 tuition from other towns, special education, uh excess costs, and then as we mentioned a preschool. If you look on the next one, and we spent a lot of time on this, so I'm not going to go into this in detail, but our small capital, this is a total of $149,000, which we discussed this morning at our finance committee. That's not much money to fix things that are possibly broken with within our district. But we, if you remember, we're we're looking at a new softball outfield fence, field hockey goals, um, relative to repairing traffic markers at at Cherrybrook.
Goal four is centered around uh forming partnerships over participation. So we aren't looking at just parents to attend events. Uh but we're seeking partnerships with our parents. We want our families uh to be empowered as co-educators. Uh we want to focus on two-way communication where we're listening to our families as much as we are informing them. Um we want to create uh with our families a culture of mutual respect. Goal for progress is measured uh by attendance and engagement measures. Uh we hope that by building stronger connections with our families, we will see a positive impact on these measures such as attendance rates. Currently, as of December, our district was at a 93% attendance rate with a three-year target of 96%. Um, chronic absenteeism has been a concern across the state and currently we see a 4% decrease in chronic absenteeism uh when compared to the 2025 California school dashboard.
Another one was for the books. They gave us $500 to order books on peace and kindness. Um that Rotarians are coming in this week and next week to bring to our students for love of reading week. So um and they also supported our be kind initiative. So we're just very happy with our best support Rotary. Our leader in me symposium Mrs. of us is going to speak a little bit about it um in her presentation, but I just wanted to highlight our amazing team of staff members who went with us. There on the right, we we were able to take a picture with um Sean Cubby himself. um his dad was um Franklin CVY who started the CVY Institute >> and uh so we were we reallyworked and learned a lot in order to improve our leader in me endeavors at our school and when you look at research and studies on leadership matters to business they um spoke about the leadership gap in the workforce.
>> God bless John. God bless John. Sorry. Yeah, I'm calling John. John, help me. Okay. Okay. And then I have to do my Windows K. Okay, good. It remembers me. That's good. Okay. Good evening, governing board members. Um, thank you for welcoming me back. Very happy to be back. um want to make sure that you knew that Amber Morgan was here uh with me today and to know that I have nothing to do with creating this report at all. Um that Jackie and Amber actually work really hard to create it on my behalf and then we spend an hour to two hours every month going through the data to make sure that we understand the changes that have occurred month over month. And as you know, we only share with you what we think is notable for those changes month over month. So this is a very short report.
So just give me a minute. >> Yeah. And it wasn't like combined with another paragraph. It was just the whole paragraph was completely removed. >> [clears throat] >> It's because it's >> I mean right now as far as legal at the end of the day I still don't um I mean this wouldn't be any of our employees. So I still think that we have the capability of passing it and we can ask our inquiry and then per legal at the worst that happens we can bring this policy back up to make that change if there was some sort of something that should not have been done. Considering we've had legal look at it multiple times between here and now, my assumption is there is a logical reason for it that we can ask when >> well the appropriate thing would be to table it and then bring it back for approval instead of approving it and then bringing it back to change.
because sometimes I'll get a notification that the bus route is going to be late. I get it on text message and then sometimes I will say most of the time I don't. Um and so it just made me wonder when you said transportation role. It just made me think of it. Um just kind of like what are our responsibilities and how do we hold accountable accountability in that and what what do we do when they're so late or is there a cut off where it's actually considered late? like do they get a 10-minute grace period every day or >> um you know generally the high school routes pretty much uh run pretty well unless there's a a call off with a combining route issue. Um and then what you kind of see since we're a multi-ter district if there's an issue at the high school and it happens to be a three tier kind of goes throughout you know arrival and departure.
During this time, excuse during this time, I've dedicated countless hours supporting our students, faculty, and staff through volunteer efforts and fundraising. I'm hopeful to bring that same dedication to our school committee where I hope where I can help make an even greater impact while continuing to support our students, faculty, and staff, but throughout the entire district. Over the years, I've actively advocated for our district by attending numerous meetings and working to ensure school budgets were approved so our schools could continue to provide highquality education for which they are known. I've attended Boilston Finance Committee meetings and hosted an informal session in hosted anformational session with in collaboration with Berlin Link to help keep our communities communities informed and engaged. I have a deep passion for this district and that's why it was truly heartbreaking to feel the need to create a backup plan for my son as he prepared to enter high school after seeing the school budget threatened with significant cuts for several consecutive years.
Um, so you get to hear directly from people who work there and learn from their experience. Um, but they also highlighted and Chad touched upon this that, you know, there can be weather related emergencies. Um, I was in one seminar where they were talking about um, a place, I believe it was in the Midwest, and there was a lot of snow and then a a branch fell on a roof and they were having um, part of the the building was in the gym was caving in and it was in the evening and there was a rental going on. So, they realized, you know, what's the procedure for that? So thinking about beyond just what you see on the news, all the different things, checking people in or out, keeping track of people, trying to identify students who might need more assistance so you can um you can connect with them before it gets to anything like that.
One of the biggest items is replacing the tiles in the teched hallway, replacing door uh, closers at the high school is a big line item. uh removing some asbestous uh from the the middle school classrooms, a new sign at at CIS. So these are all things that we've gone through already. So I bring that to your attention. >> Yeah. And then the large capital which you approved at the meeting two meetings ago that has not changed either where we're really looking at the the boiler repair at CIS uh the school public address at CIS and CPPS 182,000 for door replacement the the stadium netting at the the the high school field at Nancy Grace Memorial Stadium, Legends Field. Bathroom updates, fitness room updates. And I want to remind everyone th this is not a choice that we have capital. This is something that the board of selectment will have the final say in their budget.
So that is also uh a positive trend for our district. Uh we also take a look at our district annual youth truth survey that uh parents, staff, and students participate in. Uh we're looking at positive relationships and decision making uh for goal four. And you can see here that a high majority of our families, 84% districtwide, report experiencing uh positive relationships with their schools. So that's a great percentage to have um and to really uh dive into. Um, we also see that 68% of uh parents district-wide feel involved in decision making at their school sites. Uh, so this is definitely um testament to our efforts to build trust uh with our our families and and to have that open uh two-way communication. Expenditures uh for goal four and actions and services uh include um professional learning to empower our students uh to provide them uh professional learning opportunities.
So 74% of hiring managers are concerned about interpersonal skills that people have in the workforce. 65% of the Gen Z grads feel say that they don't feel ready to go into the workforce. So part of leader in me is really emphasizing that there's leadership and genius in everyone. And I have even started talking to the kids after school at dismissal time when the middle school kids are coming out and I tell them, "Thank you for being leaders in our school. Thank you for walking. Thank you for being leaders." Right, Janice? And the kids are, "Oh, you're welcome, miss. Okay, thanks." You know, so I think that it's common language and we need to just spread the word that everybody in the school is a leader in one shape or or form. Um, and this was another highlight. Where are our quotes now? So, we always talk about where what our students are doing and how well did we prepare them for high school and college.
We're just sharing the district operating funds as well as the other district funds. So, as we've shared the last three months, I think the maintenance and operations fund is trending as we would expect at this point in time. Couple of reminders. Remember that we have not seen the final budget revision reflected of the reflective of the annual financial report. So, that will be coming to you the end of February. I think we will be presenting the U revised budget number two. Um uh so you can see that we are still assuming an available balance of $4 million. That will go up. But also you should know that we have implemented the additional 1% which amounts to a half a percent pay increase that was implemented the last pay in January. And so all of our employees have seen that additional uh 1% half a percent reflective of the half year.
Uh but that language was in there at the last meeting and it was not requested to be removed and um and I think it's appropriate to to table it um to find out why it was removed and then bring it back for approval. >> So I can follow up to find out why this language was removed. Um, as board president Wade did state, we could move forward with the agreement and to the extent the language wants to be added back in. That is an easy fix and amendment at a future meeting, uh, it wouldn't necessarily require us to delay adopting this tonight. Um, so to the extent the board would like to implement the policy, the substance of the policy, and update it at a later date with that additional language, we can do that. um as valer also for just to make sure as we go through uh the part specifically that we're talking about wouldn't be any of our current employees.
Um you know we try to work on communication as best we can. We do have a my my ride K through 12 app. Um, and actually I think I included in the FYI a couple weeks ago. We met with uh the regional manager and the customer service representative from first student. Um, they don't necessarily always switch over the GPS information. Um, and that kind of makes their the app a little null and void, but I had dis, you know, voice my displeasure with them. Um, we're actually giving them uh user access on there to see what we see on our end to try and improve those processes. So, yeah, we're always working with them and um this is the first year of a three-year contractual agreement for regular education and special education with First Student. But, uh yeah, I continue to advocate for the district and our families to get the best service we deserve.
After toring St. John's, we made a difficult decision that switching schools was the right choice for him and his goals. But my daughter is here in sixth grade at Tanto and so far loving her place and she's hoping to stay here for the long haul. Excuse me, sir. One of my strongest motivations for applying for the seat is to do everything that I can to ensure no other family ever feels that they need a backup plan due to uncertainty in our district. I've had the opportunity to work with many members of the current school committee in various capacities. professionally, through volunteer work, and even while leading an athletic team together. For those who have not for those of you I have not yet worked alongside, I truly look forward to collaborating and accomplishing meaningful work together for the benefit of the district as a whole.
Um so hearing from schools from around the countries who who've dealt with these things firsthand and learning from their experience is something that you you you can't really get another way. Thank you both for attending. That uh was well said. I know Chad tried to pass this off to the CTE real fast, but >> I mean I but I appreciate that instead of us doing one group, you let us off the hook now, so now they have to come up. But no, it's a pleasure. Uh we look forward to following up. So thank you. Thanks for having us. >> Thank you. Uh Brenda, the assistant superintendent, are you leading the uh CTE or >> I think Lauren Jones is starting >> police. Good evening everybody. Um so yeah. Oh okay. So um so I'm Payota Athenellis, director of teaching and learning. I know we've met before.
And as Mr. Daniels stated at the last meeting, the the whole capital plan is $2.6 6 million right now between the board of education and the selectman budget and ours is 576,000 of that. So the highlights to this budget, it really prioritize and maintains high quality instruction and supporting student achievement. Invest in staff. Staffing that aligns with the board of education goals, class size guidelines, enhancing student services, and strengthening school operations. Allocates resources for curriculum improvements, instructional materials, and updated education. Expand support for student well-being through counseling, mental health services, and school culture and climate. funds critical facility maintenance, safety upgrades, and technology enhancements to improve school environments and strives to balance the district needs with fiscal responsibility to minimize the impact on taxpayers. You can see on the next page of where we have traditionally been and you can see fiscal year 27 is at 6.67 looks inflated.
Earlier in the student reports we heard some uh parent engagement opportunities that are uh being uh presented at the secondary sites. Uh we want to ensure that parents have the knowledge to navigate the school system um and to also support learning at home. Uh we've also allocated resources and supplies to support these efforts. Um and we've supported that uh program implementation uh by providing community liaison at our school sites um uh engaging in the LCAP uh process through PAC plus through DAC uh as well as through student advisory. Goal five uh shifts our focus uh to ensuring that every campus is safe, welcoming, and a restorative environment for our students. Uh we know that physical security is super important. Uh but this goal focuses more on the social emotional well-being of our students and providing restorative practices that allow our students to thrive. Some of the metrics that are used to measure engagement for of our students uh include um suspension rate which is at a 2%.
So, Kaden House, his mom is Mrs. House. She's one of our fourth grade teachers. And Lewis Harley, who is another student, you see the little arrows there. Um, but they helped Waldenber team place second at the academic regionals. Um, Aiden House earned six medals and Lewis Harvey earned 11 and Aiden was also awarded for his outstanding essay. So when we talk about full continental students going out and being prepared, we're super proud of them. Um also um Kaden, yeah, we're thankful for the teachers, but also Cadence um NurC marksmanship team also took second in states. So, our kids are leaders. We They are leaders when they go into high school and they're we have a lot of students who are doing great in the um adult workforce as well. And so, we're very proud of our goals. So, with that, um we'd like to thank you all and have a happy Valentine's Day.
So just so you're aware of that. And then finally, you can see on unrestricted capital, we have an available balance of 27.2 million. Year-to- date expended encumbered is 20.7. If you remember from our adopted budget, we anticipate spending about 30.6 million, I think. 30.6 million. Um, and so we are expecting to see an incumbrance of another $10 million reflective of Albert Dutchover's work in operations as well as technologies work in doing the next round of the device refreshes for all of our students.