Okay. Now the secondary parts and I'm going to go to part three. The secondary part to that is that same question is now coming up with the ESA person that says, "Hey, my kid's taking um calculus. He's being educated at home as a private student because he's got an ESA, but I don't think either the curriculum's very good or I have the skill set to teach calculus. Can they come to your school and take a calculus course? Okay, the answer to that is potentially yes. And I say potentially yes because what's happening now is um I'll start with the money because that's the big one. What do you charge for them to play sports? And it varies. Um, you have programs that will charge you the same amount as you charge the kids that are in your boundaries and attending your high school. So, 100 bucks a sport, 75 bucks a sport, whatever it is.
>> And I >> I care not. But in the future, someone might come and be like, "Hey, there's this thing that they did." >> Yeah. And and I really appreciate what you're saying able to bring to make sure that we're closing loop on stuff. >> Yeah. It's a loop closer. >> We love closing loops. Um >> but you're saying you want to change that language. >> I'm saying that I think that it would be good to change that language. And I do want to make sure that there is a provision for if a vice chair does want the chair and they acknowledge that they're open that there is a plan for mentoring and I don't want there to be the expectation that if you become the vice chair you have to be wanting to be chair. >> Ah yes I see what you're saying. >> Do you have a um proposal for how to change that language to what you just said?
Um any discussion? Yes. >> Maybe that we don't need to have an exhaustive discussion about this like we'll just go and do what everybody else is doing and talk to the council and then like put something together and then we'll bring it back and you guys can like pick it apart. You guys could New York Times editor the whole thing. >> Fantastic. >> Like not now. >> Yes, I support this. >> Yes, superintendent. Also, just for your information, under the um additional policy with the AI that is there, the background material on that includes a tab of an this policy or of a procedure for this. >> Okay. Thank you. Um All right. We have a motion, a second. All in favor? >> I It's unanimous. Please do the work. Uh item H, motion to direct the policy program and school committee handbook subcommittee to update the school department's vaping and tobacco policy based on the student feedback from the youth engaged legislators and officials conference.
Um, or you have some uh uh programs or school districts, there's two that I know of, that it could be upwards of $2,000 a sport, a sport, not just football. It could be basketball, it could be volleyball. Um, and the rationale behind that is the cost to have that sport is significant. It's not just about for traditional schools. When we charge a 100red or 200 bucks a sport, we're losing money on the deal. Okay? By the time you go ahead and figure out busing and you figure out uh coaches and you figure out lights and you figure out all everything else, that's not covering our cost. We know it's important for kids, so that's why we have it. So you have to decide what's the appropriate cost if you choose to do that. And the difficulty right now is depending on who you look at.
>> Can we change language to what I just said? >> Nan, can we change the language? Can Can I look at it in your beautiful minutes later and add it? Okay. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other items? Yes. Member Web. >> Um my concern is with runs the Zoom aspect of the meeting as the chair does run the meeting and the Zoom is part of the meeting. So, I would just ask that that be put under the chair's responsibility. >> The mayor's raising her hand. I don't know. >> Yes, mayor. >> Um, this sounds like it needs a little bit more discussion. I'm going to move to table. Uh, move to table or postpone? If you table it and we end the meeting, it's wiped. I'll move to postpone it. >> Great. Um, so now we have two motions on the table at the same time, but the motion to postpone, I believe, supersedes the motion that's already on the table and that we have to resolve that >> before we can move on to the motion.
Motion >> second for member child's discussion. >> Yes. >> Sorry. just to create something more robust. When we talk to the students, the only thing in the policy is just that you can't smoke on school grounds and somebody will talk to you at some point in time to gather information about whether you smoke. And a lot of them felt like that wasn't enough that they wanted vaping specifically to be in the language. Um, and they wanted like consequences, like they just wanted something broader. And when we read it together at the conference, like we all looked it up. Um, which was fun because I got to teach them how to find the policy manual. Um, it was just I couldn't even find the word vaping. Like you could only find it under tobacco. So, we were like, "Hey, this is really thin. Like, can we look at what other schools are doing?" Great.
AJ just started one with 600 bucks a cost. Mesa and Bale are 2,000. I think Higgler one of those is roughly in the ballpark of a,000 or 1,200. So it just becomes some places they've said our community can't afford it. I'm aware of some rural schools that have had this conversation and they've come back and said we don't believe our our community can afford anything more than so we're going to keep it the same as what the rest of the kids pay. So that's up to you. The issue of the curriculum is a little bit more difficult because people are just starting to get into that. The highest I've seen and I haven't done an extensive research but just the highest I've seen I think is Daart at 1500 class. the problem that starts to come in that you're going to have to weigh or what are the pros and cons?
And if it gets resolved and postponed, then it will be postponed. And if not, we will return to the main motion. for those following along at home. Um, is there a second for postponing? >> I'll second it. >> All right, we have a motion and a second for postponing. I don't believe that that is discussable. Um, so please Yes. All in favor of postponing to next month. >> I All right. It's a unanimous I. >> Very good. Moving on. Thank you. Uh item G, motion to direct the policy program and school committee handbook subcommittee to create an academic integrity policy which should align with the school department's digital use policy. >> That was as second. >> Very good. We have a motion from me, a second from member Goodwin.
All right, let's move to a vote. All in favor? I. That's unanimous. Please do that work as well. >> Next, we have two items that are updates from the superintendent. Uh, First one about the policy program handbook subcommittee request to create a revised practice for volunteers. >> Yes, we discussed this in the subcommittee meeting and I'm in the process of we are loosening our regulations. Um I can start by telling you you may recall last month one of our speakers at public speakout made some comments that didn't seem like we wanted volunteers in our schools. Um, I did call that individual after the meeting and ask what was wrong and what could we do. Um, we were doing nothing wrong. The only thing that was wrong was they didn't want to drive to Athel to get fingerprinted. So, it wasn't our procedures. It wasn't our greeting at the door, the paperwork that had to be filled out, the Corey.
So, if I'm going ahead and I am playing on the volleyball team and there's the six kids that can start and I've always played and done well and then all a sudden we have three private school kids come in and they bounce those kids out. Is that fair to our kids or not? Some would say, well, that's high school and those with a good enough play and those that aren't don't. If you go into the into the arena of of courses, what happens to the lead in the play? Oh, you're not good enough to be the lead in the play, but a kid that doesn't attend our school, but goes ahead with an ESA and comes to our school, bounces someone out of leading the play or first chair in in uh on the band. So, you have to start thinking about that. What happens if you say, "Okay, we're going to let five kids in to be in Calc, and so we now have a class of 30 kids." What happens when all a sudden a family or two moves in and they have five or six kids and now are we going to keep that class at 30 and deny those kids that are attending our school a chance to take calc or do we have to start up another class which may mean we have to get another teacher or pick up a six fifths.
Um any discussion? >> Yes. maybe that we don't need to have an exhaustive discussion about this. Like we'll just go and see what everybody else is doing and talk to the council and then like put something together and then we'll bring it back and you guys can like pick it apart. You guys could New York Times editor the whole thing. >> Fantastic. >> Like not now. >> Yes, I support this. >> Great. >> Yes, superintendent. Also, just for your information, under the um additional policy with the AI that is there, the background material on that includes a tab of an this policy or of a procedure for this. >> Okay. Thank you. Um All right. We have a motion, a second. All in favor? >> I It's unanimous. Please do the work. Uh item H, motion to direct the policy program and school committee handbook subcommittee to update the school department's vaping and tobacco policy based on the student feedback from the youth engaged legislators and officials conference.
We do the Corey's, not fingerprinting. Um obviously we've we all have acknowledged right the closing closing of the Staples fingerprinting not the closing of Staples but fingerprinting um has sent people to either Westfield, Springfield or Athl and Athal just closed. they were supposed to close in July and they sent us an email last Thursday that they were closing that afternoon and but they did follow through the next day saying they were looking for the greater Greenfield area here to reinstitute something like that. That being said, uh I do think that we've talked about this. We have maybe too stringent of a policy on some of the things that we're doing for people coming into our schools on quick basis maybe a day volunteer reading to a class working at the book fair where the people are chaperoned which are completely different I believe from field trips and overnight trips that type of scenario where you have the potential to be alone.
And so I just bring that up and I and if you can read over the the memo, this is again I'll be more than happy to answer questions, but the decision would be made in June. But I just it's never it's never as easy and black and white as everybody wants. There's it's not going to be a problem. And there'll be lots of people that'll sit and say, "Well, that's not a big deal." But I'm going to tell you right now, as was announced by Dr. Militin, this is my 40th year, and I've been in six different districts. It's never a problem till it's your kid. And then it's a hell of a problem. And so you just got to be thinking about, okay, we're going to do this, but understand whose kid may end up getting the short end of the stick. And whoever may be thinking this is a great idea one way or another may not think it's quite as great idea when that happens.
Motion >> second from member child's discussion. >> Yes, member Den. Sorry, just to create something more robust. When we talk to the students, the only thing in the policy is just that you can't smoke on school grounds and somebody will talk to you at some point in time to gather information about whether you smoke. And a lot of them felt like that wasn't enough, that they wanted vaping specifically to be in the language. Um, and they wanted like consequences, like they just wanted something broader. And when we read it together at the conference, like we all looked it up. Um, which was fun because I got to teach them how to find the policy manual. Um, it was just I couldn't even find the word vaping. Like you could only find it under tobacco. So we were like, "Hey, this is really thin. Like can we look at what other schools are doing?" Great.
The state requires that we obtain Corey background checks and fingerprints from those people who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children. So that's the fingerprint thing. The Cory for everybody, right? But the fingerprint is direct and unmonitored contact. Directed unmonitored contact with children is defined in the DESIE regulations as contact with a student when no other employee who has received a suitability determination by the school or district is present. Contact refers to any contact with a student that provides the individual with an opportunity for physical touch or personal communication. So we'll work to define some of those being at field trips where you potentially might have a group of five, six, eight students that you might be responsible for walking around a museum. could potentially right go into a bathroom with somebody etc or around a corner. Those are the scenarios. We also have a a requirement that people do quite a bit of trainings online trainings that we've heard is very tedious and laborous and probably non uh apppropo to being a volunteer in that sense.
So I want you to consider that and decide what is it we're trying to do. Are we trying to go ahead and entice and bring in kids that are right now being homeschooled or provide, I should say, getting an ESA but being educated at home. And those are kids we're trying to bring in, which is a legitimate solution to the problem. So, I don't want you to think I'm um not suggesting it is, but is that the purpose? Do we want to just be community- based and we'll take all kids because that's the right thing to do and want to take all kids. And so, what are some of those things that that you believe as a board are the important things that we need to do to allow for this to happen? Again, when you take a look, AJ started theirs. I think they're starting it next year.
All right, let's move to a vote. All in favor? I. That's unanimous. Please do that work as well. Next we have two items that are updates from the superintendent. Uh one first one about the policy program handbook subcommittee request to create a revised practice for volunteers. >> Yes, we discussed this in the subcommittee meeting and I'm in the process of we are loosening our regulations. Um I can start by telling you you may recall last month uh one of our speakers at public speakout made some comments that it didn't seem like we wanted volunteers in our schools. Um, I did call that individual after the meeting and ask what was wrong and what could we do. Um, we were doing nothing wrong. The only thing that was wrong was they didn't want to drive to Athel to get fingerprinted. So, it wasn't our procedures. It wasn't our greeting at the door, the paperwork that had to be filled out, the Corey.
So we'll be eliminating those as well. So we are I will have for you we are doing it right now acting on some of these with our current people coming in but for people who are doing field trips they still will be required to do fingerprinting and and I do not believe we should be loosening that regulation at all because we can sit here and talk about we don't want people in we want people in but when and if something happens you'll then come back to me and or anybody right and you'll say hey Superintendent, you're supposed to be a smart person. Why would you have allowed this? Right? Um so we do things for reasons, right? Um unfortunately it's 2026 and we have to be protective of our children, right? They're our most valuable resource and asset that we have. So uh we are eliminating the online trainings which weren't appropo to any of this and will be directing our principles to allow people in for supervised access.
They seem to be they call it a AJUSD flex. They seem to be for the most part $600. I think when you get to little kids, I think when you get into the preschool program or one of those programs, they they drop it down a little bit. I'd have to look it up. Everybody else is a little bit everywhere. And I know Dr. Fountain had given an idea of what was occurring probably about a year ago. He looked up at Higgley and Gilbert and some of the others. So, we wanted to provide you with that information. ask any initial questions that you may have, but then we would come back next month and you would decide, yeah, we're going to let the kids play and this is what the charge is going to be or no, we're not going to let the kids play or yes, we're going to let them play sports, but we're not let them gonna because when you when you do the the core curriculum, just know that that means that if I can't offer music, but Ranch Elementary offers music, then does my kid come get to do music at Ranch Elementary?
We do the Corey's, not fingerprinting. Um obviously we've we all have acknowledged right the closing closing of the Staples fingerprinting not the closing of Staples but fingerprinting um has sent people to either Westfield, Springfield or Athl and Athal just closed. they were supposed to close in July and they sent us an email last Thursday that they were closing that afternoon and that but they did follow through the next day saying they were looking for the greater Greenfield area here to reinstitute something like that. That being said, uh I do think that we've talked about this. We have maybe too stringent of a policy on some of the things that we're doing for people coming into our schools on quick basis maybe a day volunteer reading to a class working at the book fair where the people are chaperoned which are completely different I believe it from field trips and overnight trips that type of scenario where you have the potential to be alone the state requires that we obtain Corey background checks and fingerprints from those people who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children.