So, for the committee, now you've heard Aaron. Aaron, do you want come on back up here if we have any questions for you? Yeah. >> [clears throat] >> Um Anybody want to start with a suggestion? I think does Berlin have the capacity to absorb I would not They want us to cut another 150, but they gradually approved the number. Right. Like it would it was not approved by FinCom. It was approved by the select board. I would not touch the money in Berlin. >> my other question about the adjustment counselor and the kindergarten paras and it's not I'm just curious. I know Berlin doesn't have kindergarten paras anymore, right? So, so there was there was one there was one this year at at at Berlin Memorial. And there was And there's two kindergarten classrooms, but there was one. The fortunate part about that is our numbers are right now for kindergarten and we keep them low, which is is a little bit helpful.
And things get done quite quickly. So, um I'm really really sometimes even people just checking in with like how things are going and like I'll give my honest answer like some days are better than others. Um but it's really been a joy to come to work. you can kind of like drive home. I'll be able to kind of call some of my mentors. So, there's a rolodex there and we kind of discuss some things. I said, "Are you enjoying your time here?" I said, "Absolutely enjoy my time. It's great. So, thank you for your ongoing support and I'm gonna be looking for more support as we kind of like you're doing a great job of building us into a candy town champions.
And so what we're asking for is we always have changes in people who support those programs. And when we have um someone who might have been the WEB WEB leader before leave the campus, we get to have a new WEB leader that's trained. And so that's what we're doing with this conference is having another individual on campus be trained to lead WEB. And so, you know, when we look at it, Link Crew is what it's called at the high school. Um where you again invite those people who are new to your campus and try to lower their anxiety and their fear of coming to a high school for the first time because we know that's a big shot step for kids. We also know leaving your elementary school and coming to your middle school is a huge step for a lot of people when they're going to be combined with kids from other campuses.
And this one is different and um, was not requested at the school committee meeting, but it was something um, that Margaret and I had spoken about was to knowing that this charter um, additional charter student was enrolled, would the town increase the amount for the reimbursement? Um, we would not have the increase of the 1.25%. Um, but and the original clerical position of additional hours um, that was presented at the budget hearing is accounted for and of course the additional charter expense is accounted for in this budget. So, the bottom line is 2.8 million. It's still the same amount um as the uh budget scenario 1A, um but it only accounts for $116,375 additional in school choice funds when you look at the funding sources in this format as opposed to 1 budget scenario 1A, if you're following me. I know it gets a little confusing.
Um but we had to make some cuts somewhere and that's where we we're looking at that. What are the projected number? Yeah. Um we It's in the school choice. Okay. It was in the school choice I think it was 26 for BMS and there was no number in there for BES. It said I don't know. 26 total for two classes at BMS? I think so. And Let me pull it up. I don't want to say that. What is it at like this point? Isn't it like you get 80% then you get another 20? John, isn't it like this point you'll get another 20% though, right? For kindergarten? Yes. Yeah, okay. And you spoke to it before, that's why I turned to you. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no, it's fine. I Yes, we usually I wouldn't say 20%, but there will be kids between now and August 30th that will come in.
That's what I open to any questions that you may have. Questions for the athletic group. >> Um, first off, great job all we've done so far. Um I'm just noticing a couple questions that came to mind were like are you noticing when you say move coaches five years are you noticing a lot of turnover because they don't already >> so in discussions at the AD conference that I had a couple weeks ago that seems to be kind of a trend that someone will come in and they're not sure if they want to do and they do a temporary kind of like pass. Now temporary pass is really just supposed to be like we there's a shortage we need some kind right away >> like a substant I mean trying to >> yeah so so the district is allowed to you know grant someone two of them but I want to be able to see that we grant one that that coach is working towards their five years and that's all on their own costwise hours wise and things like that I don't want to go through the revolving door of having to fill out a form bring it down to Dr.
We do know that and so allowing them, and we do run WEB before the school starts and then have uh different activities throughout the year again trying to get kids to feel included and want to be a part of the culture that's happening on our campus. And so um like I said, that the young lady that we recognized earlier was a a leader in that and I know that that's been a positive program that's happened on both of our campuses, actually all four of our high school campuses for years. And so this is one that we just need somebody else trained in order to go through. President Wade, Mr. Lotzenhiser, thank you. I was going to clarify that these programs are already taking place and they're excellent programs on our campus with um students helping students and the uh advisors are just going to get more information to how to better these programs that are already in place.
Um so, that's where we are, and if I will take questions on this, I'm sure there's some clarifying things. Yeah, I I would like to see those numbers, can you stop sharing? Yes. Jenny has a question. I'm just trying to understand, so budget 1B would be instead of asking for the 1.25% increase, we would be asking for more reimbursement of the charter students, that's what that free cash from the town. So, we'd be asking for free cash from the town. And at 70. At 70,000, and then that would mean that we didn't spend as much out of the school choice funds. Correct. Okay. So, with these other scenarios where Uh so, if we do ask for the 1.25% increase, is that coming from the town, or is that increasing the amount of school choice funds we're having to use? The one question. Um the 1.25 would be an increase from the town, um but at that we we only had 35,000 that was going to be applied from the town for from free cash for charter.
So, right now there's two classrooms with total 26, maybe maybe 30. That's maybe 15 and obviously 15 in that classroom. And that's BMS, but we don't know about BES. BES. BES unknown. BES, we have no idea what the count is for kindergarten. Maybe uh before we get into discussing individual positions to add or cut, maybe we want to think about, you know, kind of go on what Christina said, right? Christina said uh do we want to attempt to go for an override? Cuz so, here's here's the thing, right? Regional school budget, the school committee sets the budget. The select boards, FinComs don't set the budget. Uh but the select boards and FinComs certainly have to figure out how to pay for that budget and that means taxes going up and if they say that Williston's at their limit capacity, then it has to be an override or uh you know, we can send this to town meeting.
Roseman's office and sign it. Yeah. >> So, we want to be able to kind of shore that up. Andy Buck have been working um a lot and shing up the whole onboarding kind of scenario. >> And then another question I had, you mentioned um ticket sales. What percentage of have you noticed and what does that allow us to do? >> So, with the ticket sales, that allows us to kind of get some more bells and whistles types of things. So if say I run out of a line item of something, I can kind of dip into that to grab. For example, our wrestling team, they ran out of supplies, but they needed like body kind of um off the mat. So I can kind of dip into that bunk. Not a lot, >> but it does kind of help grab some coaches. Well, definitely I have a better system to get there tickets at sporting events, but what percentage increase have you seen increase by thousands that might pop down, >> right?
Um I I they're amazing programs. I just want to say that. But the my kids have benefited and one of my children was a web leader as well. President Wade. Yeah, I Okay. So, you know, I definitely can appreciate not wanting to add to teachers' plates and to make sure that the things that we do ask them to do are meaningful and valued. I also would remind our cabinet to when you can take things away. If you're going to add stuff, take some other things away. We don't need to duplicate efforts. Be conscious of that. But I also wanted to say that it certainly would be nice if all teachers had to do when they came to school was just to teach the subject area that they're supposed to teach. But I mean, we check the kids' spines, we check their eyesight, we check their hearing, we provided lunch, now we provide breakfast, we provide extracurriculars, we provide very important recess time.
Um and I'm not sure that they would um consider the 1.25 and the 70,000 for free cash and if that's something that they'd be able to do. So, it's one or the other is what we're looking at. Well, it's whatever we vote but that's I asked to have that additional option when we found out about the second school choice student. Got you. Okay. Cuz I thought if we didn't present something tonight, we had no option to consider. So But I I want to I want to expand that it gives a tone of flexibility of where comes from in terms of the 1.25 versus the the the 70 and this is under an assumption, right? The assumption is that that if they gave if they gave the if we if we voted the 1.25 that the assumption is that they would give the 35 because they did it last year um from free cash.
Town meeting could approve it. They'd have to either go to override or maybe town meeting's going to cut some other department in town. We don't know. We don't have any say over that. So, maybe before we get into individual positions adding back and taking out and we decide if we want to even attempt for the override or not. My my thought and I 100% agree with Christina. That's right on the nose what I like we have to start planning for next year, but I think it is too late to plan for this year. For Tonto, we cut cut cut cut cut. And last year we cut those positions, we trialed it a year, realized this doesn't work, and then we added them back into the budget. I know these cuts are painful, but if we have our eye on an override perhaps for next year, do we take these cuts now and then have the proof to say this didn't work, we need these bodies, we need an override.
>> From one platform to another. >> Thank you, >> Brian. I love the fact that I I noticed when I go to games, the attendance is up and I think that's important. Um it's it's great recreation for you know seniors to come out and see. I see more students coming in. So I think whatever we can do to help you fan that fire is a great >> Yeah. I think that working with a leadership council get them >> going with things and having like a student section like leaders. >> Yeah. >> Um some of my previous district kind of did a lot of success when we try to like model off of that. sometimes uh you know take a page out of the articles with their half you know all the shows that they bring on or the fun stuff that they to a game we get more people that >> well I did talk to the dancing umpire from Savannah Bananas but he's going to be booked up got a picture with them and everything too >> but yeah there's some things that we wanted but we wanted to have our student athletes kind of help out with that and I've talked a lot like you know we want our friends to come to the game and it's like well you have to go to their So there's there's those discussions as well.
So, I wish we lived in a place where all teachers had to do was come and teach their subject area. But our schools do so much more than that. And our school nurses do so much more than that as well. President [clears throat] Wade. Mr. Latsinik, sir, um as far as I know, um, based on the information provided, so these students, um, get like a it's a script uh and and that's pretty much all they use throughout the program. So, to my knowledge and it's been a few years when since I've actively ran one or participated one. But when I was a principal, we had a link crew. There is you go to these trainings and they will help the leaders then learn what the ideas are or how to put these programs together and then they get a group of kids, web leaders, where people volunteer for that and a lot of times go through an application process to become one of the leaders and then they train them on how to lead these groups through different activities and it's activities that come in and are scripted and again with the idea that creating a sense of culture when someone's coming on to campus and and helping them feel like, "Hey, this is a place that I really want to come." Thank you.
The this now gives them the flexibility of giving us the 70 from free cash. It reduces our um the amount of school choice we would be expending which is really good for us to keep our contingency behind and a great part is the way how it's it's laid out here 1A and 1B really is the same and the the same bottom line. So, what ends up happening is it gives the town also some flexibility in in how we get how they apply the funding to us but we still get to have a level of savings on our end. Other people from the personal Service. So Okay. I I'm sorry. I don't have a computer. I think it's So, well, it's somewhere not with me. So, I um Okay. So, in one does is number three the budget budget is number three, the only one that keeps the registration joint with Amherst.
It gives us more of a fight cuz what a reason for the fight to show that we tried, we did the best we could. I think it it worked out for Tahanto last year to be able to show that these cuts were not sustainable. My one thing for this year is that we're adding heads to cut other heads. And I like that we've reshaped we're trying to figure out what our priorities are as a district. I think that's a good thing. I think that's one thing that we've kind of done or we're we've taken the budget opportunity to do that. But to Beth's point, I like I don't think any of these things are good things to cut and I'm wondering personally do we not add the heads at the elementary school to maybe keep some of the heads that we're planning to cut because there are a lot of heads at BES.
>> Thank you for all you've done this to share. Your goals are all intertwined. Your visibility helped you learn your job with the people and enhance the game the experience. They all they all worked hand in hand. And uh you were visible at a lot of events that traditionally are sort of invisible like cross country meets. um that those uh non notoriety sports are just as important to the kids they're you know playing on the varsity whatever teams and it was noticed it was noticed by uh by a lot of people like me who were there that the he was there something that we hadn't seen a lot of in the past and uh means a lot to those kids and to their parents frankly I think it helps you learn their job with people and enhance the game day experience. So, thank you for that.
Sorry. I was just going to say just to clarify they don't have to attend. Kids don't have to attend these things. Events happen during the summer and you can have a link crew and a web leader and you don't have to be a part of it if you don't want to. Yeah, typically we do it right before the beginning of the year when they've gotten their schedules already. And so part of it is touring the campus and going through and again wanting to know where you're at. But then it's helpful when the link crew or the web leaders are wearing their shirts and on the first day you come to school and there's someone that you've already met, that you know, as well as some other people that you've already met again to help lower that I'm coming to a new school and this is all new to me idea.