Remain quiet. Listen intensively while others are being recognized. Share appropriately. Clap and share respectfully for awardies. Avoid distractions. Keep conversations to a minimum and stay focused on the ceremony. >> Be responsible. Stay seated. Remain in your seat until it's appropriate to stand or leave. Keep folks away. Silence or turn off your phones to avoid disruptions. Support classmates. Be mindful of others around you, especially those boards. Respect personal space. Give space to others and the audience and awardees on stage. >> Be ready. Be prepared for recognition. If you're receiving an award, be ready to go on the stage promptly. Be present. Stay engaged and attentive throughout the ceremony, even if your name isn't. Display positive behavior. Represent yourself, your school, and your peers with pride. To officially begin our program, let's hear some welcoming words from our school principal, Miss Mercy Al.
Uh [snorts] does the board have any questions or comments on that? I will entertain a motion to approve the agenda as listed. I move. So moved by Raquel, second by Second. Second by Aaron. Cindy, please lead us in roll call vote. Arlandu Yes. Garrels Yes. Gonzalez Thomas Yes. Kilgore Yes. Mathews Yes. Snyder Yes. Susicki Yes. Thank you. Motion passes. All right, item number three technically, but the first big one is approval of student board members to office. So this year the board made a decision to modify the student and the board student ambassador program and under Danielle and Rob, they proposed a board approved uh a under Danielle and Rob, they proposed and the board approved a student board member model. Um can we have Claire Lindstrom and Arnaud, I'm going to butcher it and I apologize. How do you say it? >> Dutoit. Dutoit, come to the podium.
Hearing none, they'll be approved. And then we'll go to our first discussion topic. I think Mr. Shepherd will lead us off with the bills. Does anybody have a a question for Mr. Shepherd on those? Okay, we'll move on to the treasurer's report, Mr. Shepherd. All right, hopefully we'll make the treasurer's report just as simple as uh, the last item uh, covering the bills. So, let's dive right in. Maybe. There we go. All right, so when we look at our our revenue, and again, this is through the the month of April. So, uh, we are two months away from ending the the fiscal year. You'll see that our total revenues are coming in uh, right in line with where we expect them to be, if not just a little stronger than where they have expected to be. Um, local revenues, uh, again, right there, and the state revenues have caught up.
Thank you for all you do for our students and families. Today, we also recognize two very special staff members who are retiring this year. Mrs. Shelley Flurky. She has been an incredible asset to the CMS family and someone who truly cares about helping children succeed. Through her hard work and dedication as our RTI teacher, she has made a lasting impact on countless students and staff members. She is truly irreplaceable, and while we are sad to see her retire, we hope she might consider returning as a substitute teacher in the future. The other is Miss Michelle Breeding, who is not in here because she is cooking for our kids today. But she has been the heart of our kitchen and a familiar smile for our students each and every day. She has done far more than serve lunches, and she has built relationships, created memories, and filled both hearts and stomachs with kindness and care.
>> Okay. Any comments regarding the new policies? >> No. [clears throat] >> No. No comments or questions? I'll entertain a motion to accept the second reading of the updated uh three through April batch. >> So moved. >> Second that. All in favor say I. I. >> I. I've got a question. >> I know you guys have the big huge book when it comes to board policy. Is there one available for staff to look through if they have questions on it or would you rather they refer the questions to you? >> They're on our website. >> They're on the website. And so right now we have a link that takes you directly to Niola and then we also have a link that takes you as we take our Nola policies down because once new policies replace those then we have links to the PDFs for those.
Actually, we had a construction meeting this morning. Um and and knock on wood, but they're actually a little ahead of schedule. Uh they're ready for kids to get out of the buildings uh because they're ready to hit the ground running uh on the interior. Um, as you can see out there today, uh, we had a lot of steel delivery yesterday and today the skeleton is actually going up for the the elementary school. So now, um, you'll be able to see a lot more of of the progress. You know, you got to get pretty close to it or over it to see a lot of the work that's been done so far. Uh, but now you'll see you'll see that pretty clearly. So, uh, extremely excited about that. 100% of the foundation work for the elementary and the elementary gym are done. Uh, all of the masonry work is underway on the elementary gym and on that south stairway.
Eighth graders will be towards the end of the week or the last remaining days of the school year. And our seniors have already received their awards at their senior awards night earlier this month. The President's Award for Outstanding Educational Excellence are given to students who score above the 85th percentile in reading or mathematics and who have an A- or above or above grade point average. These students were established to encourage these students these standards, pardon me, were established to encourage students to achieve high academic standards by recognizing and rewarding for educational excellence. Each recipient will receive an attractive certificate signed by the President of the United States. The President's Award for Outstanding Educational Achievement recognizes students who show outstanding educational growth, [laughter] improvement, and commitment for intellectual development in their academic subjects. These awards are given at the principal's discretion in each building to a limited number of students who work hard and give their best effort in school and in some cases overcoming obstacles to learning.
Hearing none, we'll vote on the motion. The motion passes 5-0. Congratulations, I think. Um Mrs. Dyer. Please come up and uh say a few words if you would. Thank you. I will be relying heavily on my notes because I've had many rehearsals in front of my uh family and I have struggled to get through without getting emotional. So, uh and I I have Mr. Peters on backup just in case. And emotions not because I'm not excited uh for a new opportunity, but also sad because when you've spent 6 years um in the role that you've had giving a lot and building the team there, uh it's going to be a hard change. So, I want to sincerely thank the board uh for the trust and confidence you placed in me with this appointment of HR Director. While I recognize that I still have a lot to learn uh as I grow into this role, I'm deeply grateful for the opportunity to serve our district in a new capacity.
So what I did is if you see in the video there was a small hole that I was able to get up in and look. And the the driver was in front of me basically supine laying on the on the glass of the door. And the Stanwell was to my left. And then I looked up and there was a woman that was upside down in the seat belt. Okay. I guess the second part of my question was more or less like you realize that they're trapped in there and I'm sure from your experience you know that seconds count with those electric vehicles. So >> Well well the situation was is I don't ever want to move anybody and I wanted to wait for the fire and police and and so on. But the fire changed everything. And I know how fast these cars can burn up.
Pellegrino over to Pelletier. Pelletier behind the cage gets ball over to Lucy Parsons who drops it. Pelletier turns around and temporarily has it and Minnechaug evades the first offensive attempt by the Spartans. Uh, that zone time's going to be so important staying in the attack. Hopefully some good passing there, but we'll see. I would like to Big key to today's success for any team is going to be that that ride. Can you get any force turnovers like they just did right there? Gianna Byron with a good good stick check, but not good enough as the She got a yellow card. >> gets a Kylie Marino gets a yellow card. Never good for the Spartans. So, now Kylie for the rest of the game will have to play a little uh less aggressive. The other Last time we played against Minnechaug, Minnechaug very aggressive throughout the the game.
They will be trained by the North Andover Community Access Media on professional video equipment. Mental health support for GTS students and families. JLTS has partnered with Cartwheel, an online program offering counseling to both families and students of participating schools. The following services will now be available to families. Appointments with a licensed therapist within days, free appointments with most insuranceances in English, Spanish, and other languages. Parent guidance sessions and flexible scheduling. the we are happy to announce that our student council president Ivonne Cotay was elected to serve as the northeastern Massachusetts association of students coun council's secretary for the 2026 to 2027 school year. This is the first time ever a GLTS student was elected for this prestigious position. Um, I added a quote here.
Bedard's tenure with the Greenfield Public Schools. Um and so, I would motion to because he is here right now to have uh Mr. Bedard present whatever he had put together uh related to status of our facilities right now and uh thoughts about the future of our facilities since that is the pre- perview of this committee. So moved. Okay. Second. Great.
But I also said that it's our job and I was talking to Mr. Dubitsky about this that our job is to advocate and champion for our children the best way we can. Now, sometimes the path that we go down is not the uh same path that and obviously uh that the town uh felt that we should go down. But at the same time uh I thought that the budget that we were putting forward kept our trajectory and our uh the things that we were trying to do within our strategic plan moving in the right direction. Um but the town felt differently. And as I said last night, we will do whatever the town tells us to do, whatever that directive is. And they feel that uh there needed to be cuts to our budget and others. And last night we got those cuts of $375,000.
This year's winner is Alicia Panel. [applause] >> [applause] >> Good evening everybody. The Yale Book Club award is presented to a member of the junior class who is rep respected in the school community for his or her leadership, humility, and integrity as well as academic accomplishment. This year's winner is Elizabeth Choffrey. [applause] The Brown University Book Award is presented to a student who ranks in the top 10% of their class and holds a cumulative GPA of 3.6 six or higher. The student must also be involved in extracurricular activities and community service, hold a leadership position, and command the respect of both faculty and peers. This year's recipient is Noah Rashford. [applause] [applause] The Bowden Award is presented to a high school junior who has demonstrated extraordinary service to the common good and an unusual passion for inquiry, discovery, and innovative thinking. This year's winner is Sandia Sudansu Seratumala Palo Lamuri.
Today's ceremony is being live streamed and will remain on the district's YouTube channel to view at your convenience. And now, at this time, I would like to welcome Parsmi Rajput to lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] >> Ooh. >> [music] [music] >> Let's hear it for our graduates. Thank you, band. >> [cheering] [applause] >> Good evening, dignitaries, Katella High School graduates, and friends. I am Mr. Chuck Hernandez, your proud principal. I am honored to welcome you to the 2026 Katella High School graduation ceremony. Please be seated. >> At this time, I'd like to introduce our 2025-2026 ASB President and our Master of Ceremonies, Fatima Dominguez. >> [cheering] [screaming] >> Fatima has been a four-year member of Katella's ASB class and is currently our ASB President. Fatima will be attending UCLA in the fall to study political science. Please help me welcome Fatima Dominguez to the podium. >> [cheering] >> Good evening, parents, family members, students, staff, and dignified guests. Welcome to the 2026 Katella High School Commencement Ceremony.
>> Good afternoon everyone. It is with great pride and joy that I welcome you all to the academic awards ceremony for our high school students. Today we gather to honor hard work, commitment, and excellence and to celebrate the remarkable achievements of our young scholars. But before that, just like the other academic award ceremony that h just happened, I want to honor our families. So can if you're a parent, a guardian, a grandparent, or any family member that has been supporting our senior, not just seniors, but all high schoolers, please stand. Thank you for being here and for walking alongside your children on their academic journey. Your support, encouragement, and guidance have made a profound difference in their success. Again, let's give our families a big round of applause. to our dedicated teachers and staff. Please stand wherever you are. If you're behind the stage, show yourself.
Thank you. Should have asked that in advance. Danielle and Rob, would you like to introduce? Sure. Um just to start off, we had 14 amazing and qualified candidates um who um applied. I think we interviewed 13 total. Um And there was a really diverse background of experiences, reasons for running, um but all seemed to kind of center around the true desire to bring student voice to our decision-making process and to advocate for one another. Uh we had many ideas ideas to share with us on how to reach other students at BHS and at our uh younger schools, Rotolo and the elementary schools. And a collective understanding of why it's important to center all voices, even those that they do not agree with. Uh one common thread was in the question of what students would say are critical issues regarding their education. We heard the growing hardship of balancing academics with extracurriculars and a personal life.
Remember earlier on, uh, that number was not, uh, keeping pace with the historical trend. Um, we have caught up. That means that the state has been following through with its, uh, payment obligations, uh, for this particular year. For expenses, uh, again, uh, right where we want to be. We want to have our expenses, uh, being lower than what the historical trend is. Uh, salaries and benefits, you know, of course, are lower because, uh, we do have the summer payroll accruals in which we, uh, pay teachers, uh, for the months of July and August. Those get accounted for in June. And all other objects is slightly higher. Again, that's, uh, equating for, uh, any of the projects that, uh, we have. Our month end fund balance to date, you can see how it compares with the the prior year. And again, we're trending slightly stronger than we were at this point last year.
She will be greatly missed by our entire CMS community. We thank both of these amazing women for their years of dedication and service. And now to the eighth grade class of 2026 and graduating class of 2030. It's hard to believe, but in just four years, many of you will walk across another stage at high school graduation. Right now, four years probably sounds like forever. Trust me, it's not. Between now and then, a lot will happen. You'll get your driver's licenses. Some of you will get jobs. All you'll attend dances, sporting events, and school activities. You'll make new friends, face challenges, experience successes, and probably make a few mistakes along the way, too. That's part of growing up. Middle school is a unique time in life. It's a stage where you're trying to figure out who you are while also worrying about things like Snapchat streaks, group chats, who left who unread, and whether your outfit is cringe.