>> I know that there's no way we can afford the 1.7 and that's, you know, it's it's a hard choice and I guess that's where we're at. >> Like, we don't want to close a building and that's a big chunk of money we could save. I don't want personally a single classroom teacher to lose their job. I would like it if nobody lost their job and we took this year to make some decisions about our buildings. So parents know >> I do think that that is what the facilities use ad hoc subcommittee will be working on next year. >> So we do have to be careful not to step on the >> I'm not trying to step on anybody's toes. just don't want anybody if there's a way for people for us to use funds that we currently have. Um >> and then those options.
Well, no, it's there's a lot of there's another crazy ballot initiative out several of them that will come up this year that two and a half came forward with a ballot initiative, but it is here and we have to follow it. So, I feel like we would be sending something forward to me that I know right away is over the dollar amount. Plus, I did, you know, we are there were other things that made us over. So, I felt like we had a little bit more work to do other than just looking at something and saying, "Okay." Um, I take every budget that comes to me and I go through it line by line and say, "Have you spent all this last year? Were you under last year or over?" And I think we have a little bit more work to do than that. I'm not on the your ways and means or what do you call it?
So as we continue to use this center to push more progressive initiatives and to collect more data to hopefully come back with cases for you folks. I think that that's one of the biggest roles of the center is to talk about opportunities for the profession to expand our um abilities across the workforce to be in different care settings. Well, what comes first? Do we the the need and the demand and then the data you know, so charge them first and then get the data and find that maybe it wasn't it's not needed. Yeah, so Understood. And then the last thing I want to say, I'm sorry, I'm taking so much time. I I feel like there's not a proactive pharmacy entity on a lot of different boards across the state. So we're very lucky. We have some awesome partnerships with ship done with the university where they're an extension of our voice, but there's not a pharmacist sitting on the rural health transformation program deciding board.
>> [snorts] >> So, we are here to stand in support of this bill This is and we will stand and we will stand on our written Sorry, and we will stand on our written testimony, but I I can't hear. Sorry, say again? The speaker The interpreter couldn't hear the speaker. Tokioka. That's okay. We know you're Pono Tokioka, so please proceed. Yes, this is Pono Tokioka. So I know he's Pono Tokioka, but we need the record to reflect he's Pono Tokioka. So, please proceed. I'm sorry, Pono. Please testify. Are you done? Are you standing on your written testimony? Pono? I did not mean to interrupt you, but we want to make sure everyone knows this is Yes, I am standing on my written testimony. Thank you. >> Can you hear the interpreter? Yes, thank you very much. Okay, standing on your written testimony. Next up, we have um Dr.
Our admins, our principals, our TOSAs, everybody that we've mentioned in this how are they feeling about this? Are they on board? Do they like it? Are they excited about what what we're bringing in? Do they have any concerns about it? I think have very positive feedback so far. Uh we've had the BCBA that we have for this year and what I most frequently hear is that there's not enough of her to go around. I I need another one of of Elena. So, we're working on it. We're working on it. So, that's a big part of the feedback from the principals is more. And I began just today to visit elementary schools. I went to three schools and spoke to staff and give them giving them a mini version of this presentation. And also um promoting the opportunity to apply for this position should they if that's their jam as you describe it cuz you know there are those people.
Thank you. Excellent work and That's your new name. You're up again. Nobody has any Like how you you haven't you haven't heard enough from me. >> heard enough from you yet. All right. Uh between March 12th, 2026 and March 25th, 2026, I, Paul Kendall, authorize by my signature payables in the amount of $486,769.19. This includes general fund expenses of $404,933.93, revolving expenses of $74,509, uh $509.89, and grant expenses of $7,265, and meals tax of $63.37. I finally authorize payroll in the amount of $1,456,173.46. Thank you. Superintendent's report. >> Yeah, just a couple things. We're going to be a stand, you know, standing uh item over the next um few meetings. Obviously, the budget report and just an update. I have nothing more to report than from the last meeting other than uh April 8th will be our official public hearing on the budget. Um and that has been posted.
So where you're going is a place that you're going to have to I say you mean the school committee the entire committee >> will have to look at and I think that those are things >> in in my world I'm thinking those are things we'll be looking at. I mean continually, don't get me wrong, you're asking those questions today in March, but I would say after, right, we get the mayor's presentation to the city council on the April 22nd. Those are when the committee, right, all of you will have choices, right? We'll present different choices of depending on what we get back from the the mayor's version, right? The mayor's budget, I guess you call that, to the city council. Then we'll have an idea of, hey, we need to kind of come up with this or that. >> We still don't have the number from the mayor.
Finance committee. >> What do you call it? Finance. Budget. Budget. >> I'm not on that one. I'm sure you probably all glad about that. But but anyway, um I take it seriously. I go through and I'm like, "Oh, look, there's we have a I mean I actually know where they are right now. We haven't bought the textbooks. There's $100,000 left in the textbook line. I know it's left in the assistant superintendent line. Are we going to buy those this year? If not, it would be left over." I am also happy like with that our CFO brought up about having um what do you call it, Andy? The um Stephen suggested it's a leftover fund. um uh >> stabilization >> something. Yeah. It was like if you didn't spend your things instead of trying to get rid of it at the end year like um Stephen talked about it was a different name for it >> something like that.
There's um an initiative moving this year that has to do with state planning and development and vaccinations and pharmacists don't have representation there. So our association is completely voluntary aside from my position during session that's just grant funded and not sustainable. And so we're hopeful that if we do get the center for pharmacy, we can finally have a a proactive voice at a seat at the table at a lot of these state discussions where pharmacists' voices are left out at the moment. Members, any other questions?
Lewin Shipta in support. You're not Dr. Lewin. I am not Dr. Lewin. Good afternoon. I'm Terry Vesparus with Dr. Lewin and Minister Shipta. We stand in strong support of our written testimony. Thank you. Thank you very much. Louis Erteschik, Hawaii Disability Rights Center in support. Thank you very much. Eleanor McDonald, Deaf and Blind Task Force in support. Leland Brady, Aloha Independent Living Hawaii in support. Um Peter Fritz, are you present on Zoom? Please proceed. >> Yes, I am. I am present. Please proceed. You can't hear me? Yes. >> Okay. Um I'm Peter Fritz at a Deaf and Blind Task Force meeting. People described repeated communication failures at health care facilities. Not one person filed a formal grievance. That is a gap that this bill should also address. The legal framework framework already exists and if I need to slow down, please tell me. Um Hospitals are required to respond to grievances that are filed.
And um as I presented to the three schools today, the teachers' feedback was very positive, appreciative of the recognition that this is an area that causes a lot of challenges for us. Stress. Yes. Stress. Teachers can't teach if if they are stressed out the way that they have been in dealing with behaviors. So, Yeah. >> So, what I'm hearing is an appreciation of us recognizing that and wanting to put some solid plans in place. Thank you. And sorry I had so many questions. I >> [laughter] >> Anybody else you'd like to go? Uh so, you answered or asked one the one question I had about the family integration of the family support cuz that's obviously a pretty major key component in in my um my thought process and I kind of feel I'm pretty right on on that. Um So, I guess let's just take a step back real quick, right?
It's in the MetroWest Daily News. Um so, that that is beneficially taken care of. Tomorrow evening at 7:00 uh and it's online as well as in person here. Uh there will be a conversation with regard to the override. I invite you know, folks to to tune in or come here and and you know, post questions and and ask um you know, really what the impact of of an override will have on the town. But but really, the override is focused on the schools, right? And that's I think that's the conversation that that we're having. Um what would be the impact long-term if we don't pass an override. And I want to be crystal clear when I have conversations. The override to me is about working towards fixing the structural deficit that exists within uh the funding of of public schools as well as communities. And in order to do that, the override is critically uh important.
>> Oh, no, no, it's not the mayor's fault at all. The mayor is getting things from all the departments by April 1st, then has 21 days to do work and hopefully her magic, right, um, on that. And then we'll present, it's my understanding, on April 22nd to the city council. Here's what I believe the city can do, right? in in all the departments and then we'll start moving after that point. >> Well, the mayor is already cutting positions at city hall. I mean, we've all gotten letters from Christie, the recck department, and that impacts our kids, too. It's an afterchool program. >> So, I guess I don't want to wait till the last minute to really if we can generate a list of, you know, revolving accounts would always be first because that's not a human being. That's not giving somebody a a slip that says you don't have your job.
And I said you know um I felt like at the end of last year we were you know there were a lot of purchases that were made. We didn't spend a lot on salaries because we had so many vacant positions. So, but I feel that we have an obligation as a group to do something and certainly not to send it forward with something that I knew was already over the dollar amount. But I'll be quiet outside. >> Okay. remember the >> um I I want to defend this budget because our superintendent is our employee and he's fulfilled his roles and responsibilities which is to tell us how much it costs to educate our students. He's not his job is not to like figure out what the city can do. His job is to figure out what we're a separate entity. School and city, we're separate, right?
Hearing none, thank you. Okay, we will recess this um Call back to order the joint committee on education and committee on consumer commerce and consumer protection. The chairs have um come to decision for House Bill 2161 and House Draft 3 relating to pharmacy. Our recommendation is to go ahead and amend this to further defect the date to July 31st, 2020 55 and the any technical and non-substantive amendments for clarity and consistency be made. The measure already contains blank appropriation amounts and a defective date and effective date. So, with that, the chair will put into the committee report some of the concerns that was raised so the next committee can review that issue as well.
A pattern of complaints can trigger a Health and Human Services HHS Office of Civil Rights Investigation OCR and that investigation can put federal funding at risk. Hospitals are aware and respond to this risk. My written testimony details a two-step process. File with the facility first and then file with the HHS OCR if it's unresolved. One grievance I filed changed how a hospital treated me on my very next admission. My testimony suggests using AI to break writer's block to help patient draft draft a formal complaint. Human assistance in drafting complaints is limited. AI is accessible now to anyone with a computer. The patient describes what happens. AI produces a formal letter produced on those facts. Thank you very much, Peter. We have your written testimony. It was very um very detailed as to what is needed. Thank you very much. Okay, next up, we have Johnny Mae Perry in support.
Is this a pilot program? Is this currently already rolled out at every school site? What does this thing look like cuz I I feel like I'm missing a piece on this puzzle somewhere. So, the pieces that are currently in place and that have been in place um for um depending on the the part of it a good amount of time is having the classified positions. Um they were initially um called behavior specialists and they've worked their way through um most of them through becoming registered behavior technicians. So, we have that in place that's been in place for a few years. Um the part that is um new as of this school year is having a BCBA. Two years. A a BCBA um assisting the schools and then, um, what we're looking forward to implementing and having in place are uh positions that, um, were brought to the board, I believe, on the February 25th.
It also provides opportunities to utilize those one-time funds uh to support one-time expenses as opposed to relying on school choice, for instance, to cover salaries. Uh we've had this conversation numerous times. Uh I I just can't uh emphasize it enough. Um you know, when Mike and I have conversations of a $900,000-plus uh literacy program that has to come about uh because we need one that is um you know, in line with the state, uh in line with good practice, uh in line with um all things that we need to be focused on. Where do we come up with $900,000, right? That's a That's a big ask for our community just to support that. Whereas, one-time funds could help, you know, defer those costs over over a couple year period. But, if we don't have those funds available because we're spending them on salaries, it's going to be a real challenge for us.
I mean, that is for me. If you got that money, this is the year we're gasping for breath. We're done. >> Um, >> but then that is pushing it to next year. >> By next year, you have you can't we can't Greenfield cannot afford what we're doing. I mean, you know, everybody can cry and like do whatever and blame the mayor, but I'm gonna tell you, I mean, she's raised our taxes. She's assessed our houses. My house is $75,000 over what Zillow assesses it. Does that make any sense? So, she has raised the water bills. Eversource, we won't even talk about because I get the shakes. And Ever source has nothing to do with us, >> right? But what I'm saying is >> when you were saying something about I'm changing getting off topic here. When you said something about closing an elementary school would be about 500k if we were to absorb the prek program into our elementary buildings, but that also be the same cost savings.
So his job is to come up with the budget that is about us, the school side, what we need to educate the students. It's the city's job to take it away from us or find another way or tell us what we can have or wake us up to reality. So, I don't feel like I don't have frustration that our administration isn't that our school administration isn't like considering what the city can do or not do because that's not their job. Their job is to tell us what we need to educate our students in this city to keep up with educational standards of this century. Like that's what he's saying. That's what he's doing. We have that budget. I don't expect it to go through the way that he wants. But then again, I've seen budgets come on this table that are at 8% increases. Higher, way higher.