001Heather, I have 6:30 if you want to go ahead and >> Okay, Eric, you're ready? >> Yep. All set. >> Okay. All right. We'll call the meeting to order. It's It's 6:30. Um we'll start with roll call. Mike Bullier. Okay. Rudy Delury, >> present. >> Kirsten Erinsson. Pam Fington, Carrie Farino, Drew Golfin, Jessica Hall, >> Amy Romanchuck, Marro, >> Scott Soyette, Scott. Soya Andover with mic on now. [laughter] >> Thank you, Scott. Uh Heather Summer from Hebrin, Lisa Touty >> here. And I put my mic on. I'll turn it back off. >> And uh student reps, uh go ahead, Colin. What were you? >> No, I just I want to make sure it was noted that Lee um I'm sorry, Jessica Hall did chime in and say she was present. She just said it uh
002a little late. >> Okay, great. Thank you. >> Hey, Heather, I'm here as well. Michael Boyer here. My mic was off. >> Fantastic. >> Anybody else from the board that I >> Yeah. Carrie Fran? No, my mic was off. Sorry. [snorts] >> Carrie Marorrow. >> Great. Kirsten, Pam, Drew, and we had Jessica, right? >> Yes. >> Okay. Uh, the student reps, Briana Adupu, Yousef Ahmed, >> Yousef Ahmed, Junior, representative. >> Thank you. and Avery Seroviaak. >> I don't think she was going to be here tonight. >> Okay, great. Um, if we could all stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. All right. Public comments.
003Hein, Andover, and Marble community engagement and attendance at BOE public meetings is welcomed. The public comment se sec segment, I'm sorry, segment of the meeting agenda is set aside so the BOE may receive public comments. Procedurally, public remarks will be limited to 3 minutes and citizens will be asked to identify themselves and the town they are from. Because the BOE is limited by the Freedom of Information Act to discussing only matters on the agenda, the BOE is not permitted to engage in a discussion of the comments presented. Um I we've got a lot of people tonight. Um I've asked Amy Romanchuk to be the timekeeper on public comments. Um, so we'll ask anybody that would like to make public comment, please raise your digital hand, which you'll find in the bottom of your screen on
004the menu bar. Okay. So, we've got Give a few I've got six, seven. Let people give people a minute or two. >> Yep. [snorts] Two, three, four, five, six. I have seven people and that certainly could there's eight. >> Um, so we got nine. So, thank you Siobhan. Duly noted your hand is is raised if um Thank you. Um, so I don't know Heather if you you know. Oh, so the the list is growing which is which is good. So >> is growing. Yeah. So according to our policies we um it's stated that each person gets three minutes and we have up till 20 minutes to allow for public comment. Um I think there'sility I'm sorry just for for an individual subject and if the everybody's talking about the same subject we just might need
005to extend that 20 minute period of time. >> So because we do want to hear everybody's comments. Um Colin, do I need to make a motion to have the board agree to extend public comment past 20 minutes if we need to? >> I would recommend that yes we do that. >> Okay. Um, do we have a motion to extend the 20 minutes if we need to um for public comment? >> So move. >> Okay, Carrie Fino, I'm going to go first. >> Okay, I'll second. >> Drew Goffin is here. Um, >> and he'll go second. >> And I'm going to just call people based on how it's showing on my screen. I have no idea if it's showing in the same order as everybody else, but I'm just going to go in order. >> You
006got to vote. had a vote. >> Oh, I'm sorry. [laughter and clears throat] All in favor? >> I >> Anyone? Anyone abstain? >> Okay. [snorts] All right. So, um first on my list, there's not a name associated with that um person. >> Yes, ma'am. I don't have a Google account. So, my name is Chuck Brown. Uh, I can't hear you. >> Microphone. >> They dropped out. Heather, it looks like um >> Okay, I can come back to them then. >> Sure. >> All right. So, that will bring me to Lindsay Schmidt. And Lindsay, we would ask that you identify yourself and the town that you you are from. >> Yep. Hi, my name is Lindseay Schmidt. Um, I am from Hebrin, Connecticut. [snorts] So, I am here because I have some concerns about how things
007are being dealt with by the athletic director. I have previously emailed the board in September with no response. And then my most recent uh request to the board, the response was that you will not handle issues that deal with personnel. And that's fine. I respect that. But when you also oversee the position of the superintendent and the superintendent is not dealing with those personnel issues, you do have to step in. You currently have an athletic director who has now chased out three coaches, three great coaches. I have a daughter at the high school who plays three different sports. I have a daughter in the elementary school who will eventually come up to RAM and hopefully as well play multiple sports. I should not have to have conversations with my high school daughter about seeing an
008adult charge onto the field and yell at her coach in front of her. That should never happen. I shouldn't have conversations with my daughter about losing multiple coaches in the middle of a season during soccer. They lost their coach who started with them who was fantastic. And then the gentleman that was brought in was a friend of the athletic director from her previous district. I was told that that was perfectly normal to have people in her back pocket to call and have them go through a background check before the first guy was even out the door. So I have a lot of concerns for how things are being handled. There is a very negative air throughout all of the athletic programs right now about how this is going on. So, I would like to see
009the board be involved and hold people accountable for doing their jobs and that's have to say on it right now. >> Okay. Thank you, Lindsay. Um, next up I have Jessica uh Soberki. You just have to unmute yourself. >> You're on mute. >> You're still on mute. >> Eric, can you unmute her? >> Um, no. It doesn't give me the option to unmute. Just to mute. >> Are you um when you did you give your microphone permission? >> Okay. We're still not hearing. >> They're trying to fix it, it looks like. Carrie, >> give her a second. >> I can hear her. >> Heather, maybe maybe give them time to try to figure it out. Go to the next person and then we can circle back to Jessica next. Is that Jessica? We'll circle back
010to you. Okay. >> Okay. Yep. >> So, next on the list is Julie Blue. Hi. Um, Julie Veloo, Amston, Connecticut. Um, I'm here tonight speaking only for my daughter and our experience, but I want to acknowledge that she is not the only student affected. Uh, many families are not comfortable speaking tonight given how charged the climate is around this uh issue, but our voices are just a few of many. I have three kids at Ram High School and my daughter's a freshman JV player on the basketball team. She's been an athlete her whole life and understands structure, accountability, and tough coaching. This is not about sensitivity. It's about the difference between demanding excellence and repeatedly humiliating a child. Brian Field served as the varsity coach and ran practices for both JB and varsity teams six
011days a week. While some athletes were were encouraged and built up, others, including my daughter, were repeatedly criticized and demeaned despite being respectful and hardworking. When correcting her in front of the team, Mr. Field would say things such as, "Are you stupid? Do you even know what you're doing?" He would throw his hands up when she made mistakes, regularly singling her out as an example of what not to do. Skipped her during greetings and high-fives given to other players, made comments to her such as, "We are not close like that." From tryyous through his resignation, my daughter didn't receive a single word of encouragement or acknowledgement of effort, only criticism or silence. This absence of support combined with public humiliation significantly damaged her self-esteem and affected her well-being beyond basketball. My daughter also has asthma.
012During one practice, she was unable to complete a 9-minute sprint drill, stopped to use her inhaler with the trainer, and then completed the sprints independently and rejoined the team. At the following game, Mr. Field instructed the JV coach to bench her for the first two quarters as punishment for not finishing the drill with the team. despite acknowledging that she had an asthma attack. When questioned by administration, Mr. Field claimed he had reviewed her health forms before the game and they indicated she required reduced playing time. This was a lie and her health forms do not say that. Misrepresenting medical documentation to justify discipline and retaliating against a student for responding appropriately to a medical condition is a serious violation of her rights. After resigning, Mr. Field shared with certain varsity players at the school that
013they went after him because he threatened to make my daughter run. We had not shared our situation with anyone beyond administration and students then confronted my daughter in anger. I want to close by acknowledging the administration and athletic director took our concern seriously, handled this appropriately. Schools and athletic program programs shouldn't um chip away at a student's confidence. A healthy team can't be built by elevating some students while breaking down others. And we're just very grateful to have an athletic director in a school that supports all players. Thank you. >> Thank you, Julie. Next up, I have Jennifer Buts. >> Hi. Can you hear me? >> Yep. [clears throat] >> Good. Um, good evening. My name is Dr. Dr. Jennifer Lee Sputs and I'd like to share two positive interactions I've had with the new
014athletic director as well as an observation as a fellow educator. First, I saw her uphold the travel policy during fall sports um that was um met with some kind of eye rolling by uh other adults in the room. And uh I appreciate that because the easiest way to open yourself up to liability in a lawsuit in public education is to have a policy and not follow it. So I appreciate her leadership in this in this instance. Um it kept our students safer and our school safer. In addition, I emailed her about an administrative oversight that I believe had happened uh in fall semester uh regarding my student. She emailed me back within 24 hours. She apologized for the oversight and solved the issue. I don't know that it was her mistake that created this oversight,
015but she did. Someone else is speaking the mic on. >> Thank you. Um, I don't know that this was her error or oversight, but as a leader, she stepped up and took responsibility for it, and I appreciate that again that she did not take time to cast blame, but rather solved the issue uh and did so in a respectful manner. Finally, uh, I mentioned I'm a fellow educator. I work in public higher education and I am very familiar with staffing and personnel concerns as I supervise a large staff at Yukon. It is illegal and unethical for any employer to discuss matters related to personnel. A former employee is not legally bound by these to remain silent regarding personal questions and can share information as they see fit. An employer however cannot and in these matters
016as a result the public can only ever hear one side of an issue of any given story and we all know that there are more than one side to any story. If there are two people involved there's at least two stories involved. Um ultimately I believe this comes down to trust uh in our in our educators. Uh I have had only positive interactions with Dr. Briscoll and Dr. from Magnamera and I trust them to make decisions that benefit our students and our school. I trust that they have information I do not and should not be privy to and that they are making decisions accordingly. My job as a parent is to support my student and support our school district, which is why I'm here tonight. I believe it is unethical of me to make recommendations
017on personnel decisions without full knowledge of that situation. And since I'm not entitled to full knowledge of any personnel situation, I'm going to leave it to our administrators to handle things appropriately. Thank you for the time tonight and the opportunity to speak. And thank you to the board for your volunteerism and service. >> Thank you, Jennifer. Um, next up is Rich Blue. Hi everyone. My name is Rich Blue. I'm from Hamston, Connecticut. I'm here tonight uh both as a parent and as a coach uh currently serving in this program. I just want to publicly acknowledge the athletic department and administration. Um strong leadership does not mean allowing adults to operate without accountability. It means setting clear expectations, supporting the coaches who act with integrity, and ensuring that student safety and dignity comes first. I can
018say firsthand that I feel supported in my role, trusted as a coach, and confident that clear standards allow coaches to lead better and not lead with fear. Thank you for prioritizing the students and supporting the culture where coaching and accountability exist. Thank you. >> Thank you, Rich. Um, next up we have Stephanie Garrett. Stephanie, >> I looks like you're on mute, >> Stephanie. We'll we'll come back to you. Um, that will bring us to Siobhan Deg Gray. >> Hi there. I'm Siobhan Deg Gray. I live in Hebrin. Um, I'm here tonight as a parent because I have concerns about how um, our new athletic director has been acting in her role since um, she came on board this fall. Um, I'm a volleyball parent and a basketball parent and I'm also a a public educator.
019I've been teaching in Weathersfield for about 19 years. Um, and I feel like her lack of experience um has disproportionately affected a lot of the girls teams. Um, I know there were complaints in the fall about issues with practices being cancelled last minute, miscommunication um, to players, to coaches. Um, I think most people have read the article that was published in the Chronicle about the issues with the soccer coach um, and the most recent issues with the the basketball coaches. It seems to be disproportionately affecting the female athletes in the building. I was very excited um when we I found out that we had a female athletic director because I thought, you know, what a great opportunity for our girls to have someone who will advocate for them. Um however, I was really disappointed that
020um that that doesn't seem to be how it's playing out. Um, I think it's important to note that I do teach in Weathersfield because two two or three weeks ago when Brian and Joe resigned, um, we were supposed to play Weathersfield that day. And, um, when Michelle told the girls that their coaches had resigned, um, she told them that it was out of the blue, that she had no idea this was going to happen, that she was just as shocked as they were. Um, and I believe the first thing she told them was not, "I'm sorry," or "I know this must be upsetting for you." It was to put her hands in the air and say, "This is not my fault." That is not how an administrator, a leader in the building should be interacting
021with kids. Um, and I know that she absolutely had fornowledge of what was going to happen because my athletic director in Weathersfield knew the day before and the girls on the Weatherfield basketball team were notified the night before that the game was not going to happen. I got phone calls from my niece who lives in Weathersfield asking, "Auntie Siobhan, why is the game not happening?" And we thought that there was just some miscommunication, some error, like there's no way it's definitely happening. Um, and up until he was called into the superintendent's office, the coaches thought the game was still happening. So, like the number one rule when you work with kids, I've been a teacher for 19 years, is that you don't lie. I understand there are circumstances that happen where you can't always give
022everyone the information that they're seeking. Absolutely. I 100% understand that. But we don't look kids in the eye and lie to them. Those girls do not trust her. You can't trust someone who lies to you. Um, and I have concerns that now we have an athletic director who, you know, my daughter feels like she can't go to her if she needed someone. >> I'm sorry, Siobhan. Thank you. If you just mind wrapping it up, your time is up. >> I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight. My experience with the coaches um has only ever been positive and I hope that the you know you will take the parents seriously who are asking you to look into some of the things that are going on um within the athletic department. I appreciate your time this evening.
023Thank you so much. >> Thank you Siobhan. Um the gentleman who's doesn't have his name on on there. >> I'm sorry I do not have a Google account so my name did not come up. My name is Chuck Barkart. I am an assistant coach at Ram and a father of a freshman, a junior and have one in elementary school. And I am here tonight to speak on behalf of Michelle Landry from my own perspective as both a coach and a and a parent. All of my interactions with Michelle, whether she was telling me something that perhaps I did not want to hear or something positive, have been completely above board, matterof fact, professional, and coming from a standpoint of only wanting to make Ram better. That has been my experience. She has been 100% honest
024and completely upfront with me. and I feel supported and I felt it important for me to come tonight and let the board know that. That's all I have to say. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Chuck. Um, Tara M. >> Hi, can you hear me? >> Yes, we can. >> Okay. Uh, my name is Tara M. I live in Marorrow. I'm here as a parent tonight because of the issues within our athletic department that are no longer isolated incidents. They represent a systemic leadership failure that is directly harming our students. As reported by the Chronicle, multiple coaches across different sports have resigned mid-season, citing a toxic environment, poor communication, and lack of support from the athletic director. This is not a single complaint. It is a pattern. That pattern has real consequences for student
025athletes, of which I have one and one upcoming in elementary school. Practices have been repeatedly canled or disrupted due to preventable scheduling conflicts and breakdowns of communication from the athletic department. Students have arrived expecting practice only to find it canceled without notice, something families have stated did not occur under previous leadership. These disruptions reduce training time, hinder development, and undermine trust in our programs. Concern now extends beyond coaching and scheduling into basic program operations. The middle school cheer team went most of the season without uniforms despite the athletic director being aware since September. These girls were unable to participate in games. Responsibility was def deflected to the coach. Written communication was avoided and promise solutions were not followed through until the superintendent was included on an email. Similarly, the girls varsity basketball team faced uniform
026issues when jerseys were ordered without consulting the coach, resulting in incorrect colors, and illegal numbers, forcing the team to continue using old uniforms. These are not minor oversightes. They reflect a lack of coordination, accountability, and respect for the programs and the athletes representing this district. Community concern is significant. There are now over 400 signatures on a petition calling for action. This level of response reflects a serious loss of confidence that cannot be ignored. Despite repeated complaints, multiple resignations, parent accounts, and now documented operational failures, the superintendent has publicly stated continued support for the athletic director without addressing the substance of these concerns. Tonight, we are asking the board to act. At minimum, we request a formal climate survey of coaches, athletes, and parents, a transparent review of athletic department leadership and operations. Our students deserve
027stable programs, proper equipment, clear communication, and leadership that supports not undermines their experiences. Doing nothing is no longer acceptable. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Tara. Um, Tiffany Richards. >> Hi. Um, Tiffany Richards. I live in Anston. Um, so I have actually had the opportunity to work with Michelle in East Hampton um, for many years. So we have been in the same district. Um, it was very disappointing for us when we lost her, but the thing is she was moving up. She was moving over to a different role. Um, so I completely understand that. But I will say when she was with us, I mean she has always been dependable. She's always been willing to speak up when others might be afraid to. and she's always been on top of making sure that
028things are being done and done for the right reason. So, I have honestly the utmost respect for her. She's always made sure that the kids are first. Um, and I know like several of our students miss her very much and they still stayed in class. Um, so she is loved by her students. She is appreciated by the staff. Um, and we do [clears throat] miss her and we see like how much work she has put in and how much she has done. Um, she is very bright. She's always willing to work hard and she puts in everything. There's always just character-wise, she is a very dependable, like intelligent and honestly like if I ever needed somebody to speak up for me or maybe if I was too afraid to do it for myself, she would
029always be there. Um, she is definitely a person that you'd want on your corner because she's willing to speak up for what's right, even if it's difficult. So, thank you for letting me speak. >> Thank you, Tiffany. Um, there were a couple people that weren't able to make their comments. Stephanie Garrett. Okay, I'm here. >> Okay. >> Yes. Stephanie Garrett. Um, I live in Marorrow. Um, so I have two kids at Ram High School. Um, a freshman and a junior. and our oldest daughter um played for Mr. Fields her freshman and sophomore year. Um she has been very dedicated to basketball for over 10 years. Started early in elementary school, you know, worked hard, showed up consistent consistently, genuinely loved the sport. Um over time that joy disappeared because of Mr. Fields. Uh from the
030beginning his coaching raised concerns for me. Um, at the end of my daughter's freshman year on June 11th, [snorts] another concerned parent and I met with athletic director Trudeau and expressed our concerns. Um, he told us that he was aware he had received some complaints, but he had been watching Mr. Field um, in practices and basically this was our guy and you know he trusted that he would do a good job. Um, I want to be clear. I believe in discipline, accountability, you know, even tough love, especially at the high school level. What concerned me was not the high standards, but just a consistent pattern of tearing these girls down. And you're going to hear from a lot of parents whose kids didn't have that experience because he showed favoritism. Okay. Um, you know, when
031kids are regularly criticized without guidance or encouragement, it just stops being productive and it begins to negatively impact their well-being. My daughter went back and played sophomore year um at the end of last season. She said, "Mom, he made me hate basketball. I don't I can't play for him again." So, there was just a consistent pattern I thought of of passive aggressive behavior. Certain players were routinely avoided. Um, I completely second what Julie Valoo said. Um, his communication with girls often felt selective. Um, and from the first parent meeting, we were told our daughters needed to advocate for themselves. He didn't want to hear from parents. If the girls had an issue, he wanted the girls to come to him. However, that expectation only works when a coach fosters an environment where kids feel safe
032and respected and supported enough to do so. And in this case, many girls, including my daughter, did not feel that way. Um, from an athletic standpoint, you know, my daughters would always come home from practice just, you know, he ran these girls into the ground, focusing heavily on conditioning and running, but with very little emphasis, it seemed, on the fundamentals of basketball. So, for girls like my daughter who wanted to grow in the sport, it was it was discouraging. Um, you know, he stated from day one his goals were to have as much fun as possible, encourage player leadership, hold each other accountable, keep it positive, but these goals sound great on paper, but they were not reflected in his coaching, and I completely support the decision from the athletic director. Thank you for letting
033me speak. >> Okay, thank you, Tiffany. Um, I wanted to circle back to Jessica um, Soberki. >> Are you able to hear me now? >> Yes, we can. >> Perfect. Thank you so much. So, um, my name is Jessica Soberowski and I live in Marboro. Um, I'm here as a parent of three RAM students and a concerned member of this community. In my six years as a RAM parent, this is the first time I have felt compelled to formally contact administration. In just four and a half months this school year, my daughter's varsity soccer coach, her varsity basketball coach, and her assistant varsity basketball coach have resigned. These are her mentors, trusted adults who provide guidance, stability, and support beyond the classroom. When I look back and she shared with me her stories, it was
034coach Brian Field and coach Joe Salomon who reinstilled her love of basketball. And when multiple experienced and wellrespected coaches resign in such a short period, it demands attention, not excuses and not silence. And our girls should have coaches who push them and challenge them just like our boys teams do. Rams athletic mission statement emphasizes values such as respect, responsibility, leadership, and sportsmanship. Yet a pattern of resignation raises the question, is the culture within our athletic department truly aligned with this mission? An athletics program cannot claim to teach respect, responsibility, humility, and perseverance while operating in a culture that drives dedicated coaches away. That contradiction erodess trust and damages the integrity of the program. I urge the board to act as it is charged, ensure accountability, and protect students. Specifically, I request an independent investigation into
035leadership practices, the use of authority, and overall culture within this athletic department. I also order the urged the board to consider the reinstatement of coaches who have resigned as a result of these circumstances. I have compiled documentation to ensure that our community's concerns are accurately represented. I will be submitting this documentation to the board to support the need for an independent investigation into leadership practices within the RAM athletic department. If the culture is healthy, an investigation will confirm it. If not, students, staff, families, and coaches deserve corrective action. Ignoring these concerns sends a message that results matter more than people. Acting sends a message that RAM stands by its values, that leadership is accountable, that culture matters, and that students come first. I ask you not to act out of conflict, but out of responsibility,
036not out of accusation, but out of care, and not for adults, but for the student athletes who are watching how leadership responds when it matters most. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Jessica. Um, Isabelle Soberki. [snorts] >> Hello, my name is Isabelle and I am a Marorrow resident. I am a senior and student at Ram High School and I am speaking today because I believe that it is incredibly valuable to hear from parents. Of course, it is valuable to hear from parents. But I am a student and I am the person in the gym and on the soccer field with my coaches who have been stripped away from me. I started my soccer season with one coach and ended with another. And unfortunately change is sometimes difficult for players. And something like that
037and something that happens under administration and under an athletic and under an athletic director is incredibly hard for a season. Especially when this athletic director yelled at our coach in front of us and was incredibly disrespectful towards him. And the entire situation was handled without any kind of empathy or any kind of care for the students uh involved. as well as the basketball season where I personally under coach Brian Field and coach Joe Salamone have felt nothing but support and love and mentored by them. I think as an athlete, again, I'm hearing parents all night saying that they love pushing student athletes and they love discipline on the court, but unfortunately, you aren't in the gym with us. And as a athlete myself, I can say that when we are doing conditioning, it is making
038us better. When we are working hard, it is making us better. Yeah, sometimes push-ups hurt a little bit, but it makes you a better basketball player and it makes you a better athlete and it makes you mentally stronger. And I find it incredibly valuable that my coaches have helped me through that. So, I wanted to just come on and say that I have had an incredibly positive experience with my coaches and unfortunately our athletic director has ripped them away from me. Thank you. >> Thank you, Espel. Um, Heather Little. >> Hi. Can you hear me? >> Yes, we can. >> Heather Little, Marorrow, Connecticut. So, I have a few things to say. I'll wrap it up quick. First, my daughter did play basketball for Coach Fields, and we had nothing but a wonderful experience. Yes,
039he pushes hard, but that's what makes her a better athlete. My son plays um sports in college and he responds to coaches that push him to the limit that he needs to be pushed to. So I have nothing negative to say about the coach. Um he's missed as well as our old AD is very much missed. Dan was a stellar athletic director and he is only striving in his new position. So he's greatly missed. The other thing I want to point out is I've been to many games this season. um every single basketball game at the middle school and I can't honestly tell you I know what the athletic director looks like. I have no idea what she looks like. That's a problem cuz I would think her presence should be noted and seen at
040the girls games, boys games, either or. U maybe the middle school is not taken as serious as the high school, but you need to have a presence. Now, my next comment is mostly for the board to hear me out on this. Given the heightened concern within the Ram athletic community, I respectfully request a formation of a coach exit committee. This is not like a teacher or a staff on the the public school that has a union to support them. The coaches have nobody supporting them except the players and the and the students and families. So, a committee should include representation from students, parents, staff, and fellow coaches. And before they resign or are exited forcefully, there should be an exit interview to find out what is happening within the community of RAM in the athletics
041department because something is definitely wrong. Whether you have people in favor or against, when you have 400 people sign a petition that this is impacting parents, it's impacting students and athletes and their well-being, the majority has to be looked at as well as the minority and 400 signatures is a majority. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you, Heather. I don't have anybody else that has their digital hand raised, but I want to just quickly ask, you know, anybody else have public comment at this time. Okay. Um, thank you very much for taking the time. Um, we know that this has been a very heated topic in the community. We appreciate the comments and um thank you for joining the meeting this evening. We're going to move on in the agenda. Uh we that brings
042us to adding and deleting agenda items. Are there any board members that have any items they wanted to add or delete in the agenda? Okay. Um student representative reports. I believe that we just have um Yousef on the call tonight. Is he still on? Um some of the things that took place was the um mock trial competed in the statewide competition at Harford Superior Courthouse and they won one trial. Um also DECA state conference testing is coming up on February 4th. All the members are taking it in the library. and last the um midterms took place in the last two weeks. >> Okay. Thank you, Yousef. Uh the the um chair report, I just have one thing to mention. Um in January, Dr. McNamera, Drew Goffin, and myself attended our area legislative breakfast. Um that
043is our area is made up of approximately 23 towns surrounding towns. The breakfast includes representatives from the BOE and elected officials from those towns. Gives the BOE members an opportunity to share with the elected officials concerns that we would like addressed um or considered at the state government level. Most of the comments that day were around, as you could imagine, the budget, unfunded mandates, um, and ways, you know, where these things don't come back as a burden to the to the local towns. And that's all I have for the, um, chair report. Colin, the superintendent report. Yeah, excuse [clears throat] me. Thank you, Heather. I just wanted to say that I also uh want to thank people for joining um our meeting this evening and taking the time out of their schedule to share their
044perspective on things. Um, I think it's important for me to reiterate something that I shared uh when I um communicated with uh the reporter who did the articles recently, which is I do understand the public's interest in specific information about personnel matters, but as one person said during their public comments, we are legally and ethically obligated to respect employee privacy. And I can't speak to personnel matters, but I could say that in general they're often complex, very specific to facts and um it limits what I am able to share. And as a result, often happens in incomplete or inaccurate information from social media, rumors, and those promoting a false narrative that benefits them can lead to a misunder can can lead to a misunderstanding and speculation. Um and and again I I completely understand uh
045the perspective that people want information specific information but please understand that we have a duty and an obligation to maintain that confidentiality for students and staff issues. So I I I will conclude my um uh re uh my comments with that. Thanks. >> Okay. Uh that brings us to item number eight on the agenda. It's the consent consent I'm sorry agenda. Um, these are in your package that you received. It's the minutes from the approval of the minutes from the December 11th, 2025 special meeting. It's enclosure 8.1. An approval of the minutes from the December 15, 2025 regular meeting. It's inclusion 8.2. Do we have a motion to um approve the consent agenda? I'll make the motion to approve the consent agenda. >> That's Amy. >> Amy Romanchuk and Mike Bullier seconded. >> Um, any
046discussion on them? >> Well, Colin, don't we have a correction to the vote record? >> It's no, the the correction was re was made. So, there was an there was an error with in the in the initial ones that got posted. There was an error in the vote for the vice chair position, but that was fixed in the packet, Drew, and it was updated. So, the correct version is what's up to be approved. >> Just wanted it to be consistent. >> You're all set. I appreciate you guys catching that. Thank you. >> Any other discussion on that? >> Okay, this time we'll vote on it. All in favor? I >> I >> Anyone opposed? Anyone abstain? Okay, that will bring us to item nine on the agenda, new and unfinished business. Colin, do you want
047to start with 9.1, the update on the the Colombia partnership? >> Absolutely. Thank you. Um, so I wanted to, you know, we've had some conversation, very anecdotal, quick conversations. Um, hang on, Heather. We're we're I'm getting an email. >> I see it. Um >> so so you know what we could do is Heather I think that we can we can include what is shared in the comment. Uh so for board members in the public there's a person who has said they were trying to raise their hand to speak during public comment. They were unable to do so and they've typed their commentary. So what I would say is are we okay Heather? We could just include that in and be it reflected in the minutes for public comment. I think that's the best way to
048approach this. >> Okay. Yep. >> All right. So, we'll capture that, Eric. That will get captured in the meeting. Um, that'll get captured in the meeting. Uh, um, those minutes, those comments are captured, correct? >> They should be. If not, I can, um, do me a favor and copy them and paste them someplace and we'll make sure that we share them with Dawn. Okay, >> we'll do. >> Thanks, Eric. I appreciate it. Um, so yeah, going back to what I was talking about, you know, we've talked in bits and pieces about the Colombia partnership and I really felt that it was important for us to have a more of a specific overview and have it be a topic of for a board uh a board meeting. Uh, we recently had some events take place with
049with Colombia and I know the high school administration has worked really hard to establish and build on that partnership. So I did ask Dr. uh Brisgill, the principal of the high school, to provide the board with kind of an update on some of the things that the high school administrative team has been working on and doing since the onset of the school year. And then also, I think we've we've got a video that we're going to share that we're we've uh put together to promote the idea of Ram High School as being a school of choice. It's a it's a longer video, but we're going to share about the first five minutes of it. But at this time, I'll turn it over to Dr. Brrisdale. >> Good evening, everyone. Can you all hear me? >>
050Yep. All right, great. Okay, so it's been great this year. We have nine Columbia students who are freshman who have joined us this school year and the trans transition has gone really well. Uh they were invited to our freshman orientation and their parents were invited to the open house in September. Um of course to student conferences, but also counselors have checked in with them periodically to make sure that they were doing okay socially, emotionally, and academically. and any um bumps in the road we've been able to address for them. Uh our assistant principles also met with each of them individually to get a sense as to how they were doing um how the transition was going and also to see if they needed any additional supports and to know that if there was any needs
051that they could always go to them um personally and uh they seemed to be doing really great while they were checking in with them. Um, also we recently had our Colombia uh eighth grade visit which all the eighth graders came to do a tour and to learn about Ram High School. And uh we also had uh the parents come in the next day and tour the facility and get to know about our programming and what we have to offer to students. And we had a couple of our freshman um Columbia students uh help in those tours who were really excited to be able to share their positive experience. Um one in particular was already saying how he has been uh sharing with his friends and other families in Colombia that they should come to RAM
052and that uh he's been having a great experience and he is like our number one little marketer. So, I just want to shout out to our students who have been um just, you know, sharing what they have experienced personally firsthand, which is always the best information to have. Um, so we also surveyed our families in December to be able to identify um if there were things that were going well or things that needed to be addressed and some of the reasons why they chose RAM and just getting a overall sense of, you know, how they're feeling about their experience and if there was anything else the district could do to help their experience. And I'm pleased to say that a 100% of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed that um these are uh the questions.
053So I'm just going to say them as they are word for word. My child feels welcome and included in the RAM community. My child feels supported socially and emotionally at school. RAM staff demonstrate that they care about my child's well-being. I'm satisfied with the variety of course offerings available to my child and that they would recommend choosing RAM to current eighth grade families, excuse me, [clears throat] in Colombia. So, that was a lot of positive feedback. Um, also some quotes that I took away for the open-ended questions that I thought I'd share with you tonight is um they shared that it's close to home and offers many clubs and sports. uh the school is clean and beautiful and that there's a great music and drama program and also that they appreciate that teachers have reached
054out to them personally to communicate about their child. So, we've done a lot to market RAM and I think that we're excited to see how many students choose RAM for this next school year. Uh they have to choose by February 20th, so we'll know in about less than a month. Um, we've created a brochure which I was going to bring a few to share with you tonight. I know some of the previous board members have seen it, but some of the new members um, we'll have some for you maybe next board meeting. Um, and also just uh wanting to share this video clip with you guys that uh our staff helped to create not only for our Colombia families, but also for our um RAM 8th grade students who are also going to be seeing
055all the opportunities that they have and seeing if they want to choose RAM. And so I want to just do a shout out for our teacher Shelley Aswiki who is the one who oversaw this process and is um instrumental in creating this video. And um we also have students who are involved with this and uh people in our uh yearbook and um uh different art programs that we have that have helped contribute to this. And so I just want to do a shout out to all of them and just share a clip like Dr. Makamir said 5 minutes of a about a 15inute video because we have a lot to tell about Ram, but we're going to share a little clip with you. So, go ahead, Eric. Thank you. Welcome to Ram High School, home
056of the Raptors. We are a regional school located in Hein, Connecticut. Our school prides itself on offering students diverse and exciting learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom. Let's take a glimpse at what RAM has to offer. RAM's art and music program is a place for all students to develop essential skills such as creativity, innovation, and problem solving. Whether you're a beginner or aspiring to a career in the arts, you'll be taught by locally and nationally recognized teachers. Our programs are deeply connected to the school community, offering exciting opportunities beyond the classroom, such as afterchool clubs, trips, and events, including our popular evening of the arts celebration, and the empty bowls outreach program. The art program has five welle equipped studios dedicated to a huge range of classes [music] from traditional drawing, painting,
057and ceramics to modern technology- based courses like animation and graphic design. We even offer unique options like dark room photography, print making, and jewelry. Freshmen are encouraged to try a little bit of everything, and upper classmen can pursue depth through AP, honors, ECSU, and Yukon College Credit Courses. Students can also join the National Art Honor Society. The music program offers many avenues to perform, create, and learn. [music] We have a strong tradition of performing ensembles including wind ensemble, jazz band, chamber singers, and encore. If performing isn't your goal, you can take classes in our dedicated Mac labs such as audio production and recording or explore [music] fundamentals like music theory, piano, guitar, or the history of pop music. We also host a chapter of Tri, [music] the music honor society. This breath is why Ram
058has been recognized as one of the [music] best communities for music education every year since 2017. We're here to share our passion with you, whatever your goals may be. Ready to jump into hands-on learning that can set you up for amazing careers? [music] Our career and technical education or CTE department has something for everyone. Whether you're interested in business, technology, [music] healthcare, construction, culinary arts, or education, if you're interested [music] in business, you'll explore entrepreneurship, management, marketing, and accounting while learning real [music] world skills you can use in school, your community, and beyond. You can also participate in DECA competitions, [music] giving you leadership experience and opportunities to showcase your talents. If computer science is more your thing, get ready to dive into programming, coding, [music] and technology problem solving. You'll work on real projects,
059learn industry standard software, and gain skills that are in high demand for college and [music] careers. For future engineers and innovators, our engineering [music] and technology pathway has courses in design, robotics, aerospace, digital electronics, and [music] more. You'll get hands-on experience with 3D modeling, programming, and manufacturing tools, all while solving problems like real engineers. Love building things? Our architecture, construction, and manufacturing [music] pathways let you work with wood, metal, and digital design tools. You can design furniture, build structures, explore [music] cabinet making, welding, and advanced manufacturing techniques. Many students earn college credits, industry certifications, or pre-apprenticeship hours while creating real projects. If your passion is helping others, [music] check out our medical careers and emergency services courses. Learn life-saving skills in EMT [music] or our medical careers program complete with hospital and community experiences. These
060courses are perfect if you're dreaming of a career as a nurse, paramedic, doctor, or other healthcare professional. Every pathway also comes with [music] exciting clubs and activities, giving you the chance to apply your skills, meet new friends, and showcase your talents. With opportunities for college credit, industry [music] certifications, and real world experiences, RAM CTE department helps you explore your passions [music] and build the skills to succeed in high school and beyond. We can't wait for you to create, innovate, and grow with us. When you get to Ram High School, you're going to spend a lot of your time in [music] English class, but that's actually a good thing. Our English department is all about helping you become sharper [music] thinkers, stronger writers, and more confident communicators. You need four credits in English to graduate, and
061we've built a whole lineup of courses to make those [music] four years meaningful. In 9th, 10th, and 11th grade, you'll take full year English classes that help you level up your reading, writing, [music] speaking, listening, and even your media skills. Then in senior year, you get more choices. [music] Take a full year course or mix and match two semester long ones. With classes like writing through film, futuristics, [music] and creative writing, there's something for everyone. Juniors can also pick from extra [music] semester electives. And if you're in ninth or tth grade and want to try something creative, drama and journalism are open to you, too. If you're someone who loves a challenge [music] or you're curious about research, arguments, and big questions, you can also check out our AP [music] Capstone program. AP Seminar, open
062to juniors and seniors, gives you a humanities credit, and AP research can count as humanities or STEM, [music] depending on your project. Other challenging courses include AP [music] literature and AP language as well as our Yukon Early College Education course. These classes all offer the chance to dive deep into a topic you really [music] care about and build college level skills. No matter what path you choose, our goal is to help you find your voice, think clearly, and understand the world through stories we read [music] and the ideas we explore. We can't wait to see you at RAM. Our health and PE. Thank you. So that just gives you a taste of what it is that we have put together to um I I don't want to say sell our school but just showcase what
063it is that we do and what we're proud of at Ram. And I am definitely very proud of what we offer and excited about the fact that we can offer that to additional students in Colombia. So thank you and any questions? Um, Mary, [laughter] that was an applause for Mary Rose. Does anybody have any questions? That was that was great. Thank you very much, Penny. >> So, one of the things that I just want to point out, and Shel I'm sorry, Penny mentioned it is um I just want to give kudos and thanks to Shelley Azwiki who really just put together I what I think is a great video that promotes and markets our district and and all that it can offer. Um I I just think and and she did it working with students.
064I mean that's that's really who did the lion share of it. You know the videotaping videotaping dating myself. The filming of it the um narration was actually done by a student. Um really put together what I think is a high quality piece of of work that that you know is is fantastic and really shows what we have. So I appreciate her her doing that and working with our department leader department coordinators and leaders to do that. And uh I think it makes uh RAM a very appealing option for Columbia students. So >> uh Colin, is the full video on our site that we can see? >> It's a great question. It is not currently on our site. Um I don't think specifically we are going to put it on there. Um what I can do
065though so everybody can can see it is until it gets put up on our full site I can share the link with everybody so that it is available um for for everybody to to take a look at. Um, we we're we're we're actually working on um transitioning to a different web service provider. Um, we we realize that our website needs some uh judging up uh to to say the least. And um and so I plan on having a page on our new website. Um we're going to start to transition probably in this spring that's dedicated fully to Ram High School being a school of choice and and being able to promote the the district as as an option for for Colombia families. And Colin, I'd just like to add that Emerson Melquist is our senior
066who did the narration who did a fabulous job. So, I want to do a shout out for her as well. >> Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Penny. Appreciate it. >> Okay. Um, that brings us to 9.2, the personnel report. Um, Colin. >> Yeah. So, I just have one resignation to share for this evening. So, Julia Andresik, uh, she's a CTE, business teacher at Ram High School and Middle School, has resigned effective June 30th, 2026. Uh, she's been employed with the district since August of 2025. And that concludes my personnel report. >> Okay. Uh 9.3 is the first reading of policies. >> Yeah. So, I've got a few policies to share with the board for um a couple for revision and then a couple to consider for deletion. Um, before I get started though, I just want to
067point out that I am going to request that the board consider adopting one of these policies, which is 6146 graduation requirements tonight after the first reading. Um, I do recognize that this is an unusual request, but it's an important one as it does impact course selection that students need to make for ne for next year for some of our I think freshman students, maybe freshman and sophomore, just I think just freshman actually. Um the recommended changes that I'll get into more detail once I present the specific policies policies um affects the credit value for the senior portfolio. Um we're talking about re reassigning the credit value of that senior portfolio um and and having it go into an electives again which I'll I'll get into more details with uh board policy 9311 does allow for
068policies to pre to be approved after a single reading in um the words are emergency situations. While I do while I do recognize that this may not rise to that level, u making the change now when students in the class of 2029 are making course choices is extremely helpful. Um the policy subcommittee did discuss this. I discussed this with the policy subcommittee about approving it after a single read. Um and and they were in favor of approving the change after the single reading. So I just wanted to put that out there um in advance of of sharing a little bit more details about that. And so, um, I'll I'll talk a little bit about the specific changes and then I can and then we c I can go through all of the different recommended changes,
069Heather, if that makes sense to the different policies and then at the end of my sharing the changes to the recommended policies, we can at the end see if there's uh any interest of the entire board to approve that one as a sing after a single reading. Does that sound okay? >> Yep. >> All right. Great. So, as I just noted, policy 6146 graduation requirements is recommended for revision. The recommended change in the uh is reduction of the credit value of the showcase portfolio um for students graduating in 2029 and beyond. Currently the value for the portfolio is one credit towards [clears throat] the 25 required for graduation. um change would reduce the value to 0.5 credit for the portfolio and then increase the minimum number of elective credits that are required uh by 0.5
070from which is currently a three. So that would then it would make the elective credits be a 3.5 requirement. Uh again it's being ch changed for several reasons. the portfolio requirement mandated by the state several years ago that was required at the time to be for one graduation credit uh is no longer mandated to uh be a uh included as a credit for graduation. However, um we still value the portfolio. Uh board members that were on the board last spring may recall that we actually had a presentation at the end of the school year by students presenting their senior portfolio. And again, we find it to be a valuable process for students to go through. um and and staff of the high school agrees that decreasing the credit to 0.5 aligns more with the work
071associated with completing the portfolio. F furthermore, by decreasing the uh portfolio credit and increasing the minimum number of elective credits, it will drive students to explore more of the electives that are offered through the high school's educational opportunities handbook. So that that's that's and again I'll keep going through these other ones and we'll see if there's any interest in approving that as a change after one reading. Excuse [clears throat] me. The the next one is 9 point uh actually I should take questions if are there any questions about the portfolio uh uh value change and the graduation requirement changes before I move on. All right. Not hearing any. I'll I'll keep going. So the next one is policy uh 1435 possession and use of deadly weapons or firearms. Um the recommended changes for this one
072have been made by our attorneys. Um the term school transportation in the in the current policy is not direct is not directly in the legislation. However, school transportation is certainly part of the school day. So it's been added explicitly to the policy to provide greater clarity that again the policy is applicable in in the in the um realm of uh transportation to and from school as well. Any questions about that one? Um uh policy 6153 homebound instruction. This one's being recommended for deletion. Um this policy is is grounded in special education law and specific for students unable to attend school for medical reasons. The state has several available resources which are made available to parent to parents during the PPT process that cover this topic. So there's a a whole litany of resources resources and
073literature that are that are very legislatively driven uh around this topic. So it's really not required as a policy for us. Any questions about that? All right. Not seeing any. I'll move on to the next one. Uh 9180 request for information for deletion. Um so board members may recall that we recently deleted this exact same policy at a recent board meeting. However, that was actually policy 9425. Uh what I didn't realize is there was a duplicate policy with a different number in the policy book, which is 9180. Uh so it's really a housekeeping issue. Um but since it is a board bylaw and not a policy, I cannot make this change without bringing it to the full board. And you may recall that we weaved the language from this policy into another uh board um
074uh another board policy. I think the roles of the board is is the one that we weaved it into. So again, this is one that is can simply be cleaned up as a housekeeping issue. Um the last one is policy 5113 again for deletion. Students student attends at the student attendance at the high school and middle school. Um, so in August of 2023, the board revised policy 5112, student attendance, to align with state law and recommendations for from our attorney. That revised policy allows this policy to be deleted because the uh um pertinent information that needs to be included is included in that policy that was already updated. Um, and if there's specific information not covered under the broader policy of uh 5113, uh, such as loss of credit at the high school for too
075many absences, it can be covered in it's covered in student handbooks. Again, that that that's what enables us to delete this particular policy. Any questions about that? So, if there aren't any questions about any of the other policies, again, I would I would entertain a motion or I would see if there's anybody that's interested in making a motion to approve um policy 6146, graduation. >> So, moved. >> Scott, do we have a second? >> Second. >> Uh Rudy Del Fury, any other discussion on that policy? Um, make sure that >> all in favor. [clears throat] >> Anyone opposed? >> Anyone abstain? >> Hey, the motion passes. >> All right, that will bring us to item 9.4, the presentation of the 2026 2027 budget. >> Great, Eric, if you want to pull up the slideshow. Um,
076Scott, I think I'm getting some background noise from you. I don't know if that I'm picking up something and it look There you go. Thank you so much. I appreciate that. Um, all right. Hang on one second and I can do this real quick. Um just trying to manage all this stuff on all right wonderful sorry about that all right so I will jump right into the presentation which uh starts [snorts] off with just I'm pleased to present the proposed administrative budget for the 202 uh 26207 fiscal year to both the board and the entire region 8 community. The proposed budget will support the district's mission, next slide, please, Eric, of partnering with families and the community to provide our students with a highquality education in a welcoming, safe, and equitable environment. It is critical
077that we keep these factors in mind as we move through the budget process over the next several months. Next one, please, Eric. It also supports the work of all district staff focused in on ensuring that Ram graduates have the skills and dispositions necessary to be successful in life and beyond high school. These skills and dispositions include critical thinking, motivation, communication, integrity, and collaboration. This budget was built with several priorities in mind, which I like to remind the board of every year. First, the budget supports the implementation of the goals identified in the district's strategic plan. These goals focus on improving in the areas of instruction, talent management, climate, and culture, and organizational systems. The budget also supports the academic and social emotional needs of students. It enables us to maintain a high a program of
078studies with a variety of course offerings and career pathways that ensure RAM students are college and career ready upon graduation. Finally, it enables us to improve and maintain the district's facilities and grounds. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2627 is $34,176,011 and represents an overall budget increase of 4.77%. This amount is a combination of a net operating budget of $33,676,011 and a capital budget of $500,000. This table provides a historic overview of region 8 region 8's budget changes over the past 10 years and demonstrates our track record of responsible fiscal stewardship despite a challenging economic climate and the rising costs impacting all school districts. I am pleased to present a budget that is both sustainable and responsive to the current fiscal reality. This chart shows the percentage distribution of the proposed budget by each object
079category in re relation to the total budget. As you can see, 73% of the proposed operating budget is allocated to employees, salaries, and benefits. These are fixed costs associated with staffing our schools. There are several drivers increasing our proposed budget over the current years. Significant budget drivers include health insurance, contractual salary increases, transportation and supplies and equipment. Next one, please, Eric. The proposed operating budget also includes some significant reductions. The notable reductions include magnet school tuition, purchase services for special education, electricity, and other utilities, as well as technology hardware. The budget has also been further reduced by including additional tuition revenue of $150,729 for an additional 10 students choosing Ram High School um as freshman for their freshman uh year. As Dr. Brisgel said, uh the final decision will be made in late February and
080we will adjust our budget accordingly. The proposed budget also reflects the removal of approximately $800,000 from items initially requested from budget owners, including things such as furniture, fixtures, and equipment and facilities maintenance and upgrades. We've also reduced the summer school uh the summer school uh credit recovery staffing and the reduction of six assignments. This budget also red uh reflects the elimination of four positions including a high school business teacher, a 1.0 FTE that will be vacant at the end of the school year as well as three para educator positions. One which is currently vacant and two of those positions uh can be reassigned to other para vacancies that we are not looking to eliminate at this time. Had these had these targeted reductions not been made, the budget I would be presenting to you tonight
081would reflect a 7.42% increase. >> Before you go on, that what is the sixth assignment? >> So a sixth assignment is uh teachers at the high school uh uh t teach typically uh uh five sections, five different classes out of the eight period day. Um so a six assignment is taking on an additional class uh where there is a very specific need for somebody to take more than what the traditional five class load is. All right if we go to the next slide please Eric. Uh the development of the capital budget was a collaborative effort between district administration and members of the facilities and finance subcommittees. The proposed capital budget is $500,000 uh and it will enable the district to address timely issues. The loading dock attached to the high school needs to be replaced.
082Last spring, I shared images with the board that showed the current conditions of the loading dock, and I've included two of those images which demonstrate the need for its replacement. Furthermore, catch basins that are located throughout campus to collect storm water and help mitigate the likelihood of flooding need repair or replacement. Finally, staffing part uh um parking and traffic pavement markers throughout campus need to be repainted to ensure the safety of students, staff, and visitors. It is important to note that FY27 will be the final year of paying debt related to the renovation of its camp of our campus. The final payment of $418,163 is essentially the same as our current year's payment. However, as I've noted to the board in previous meetings, we have several uh and significant capital needs. While the buildings and
083grounds have been maintained, improved in many ways, it is imperative that we continue to address those needs and ensure that our buildings and grounds are address needs are addressed in a time frame where we are not forced to play catch-up. It is important to note that we are faced with these highcost projects in the very near future that will require bonding. We've discussed this at a previous board meeting. As we as as everybody knows, the facility subcommittee working with district administration has prioritized bonding projects to include when we go to referendum next year. These projects include things such as roof replacements for both schools, HVAC systems and controls, life safety, security and communications, things such as alarm systems and door access technology, as well as several other things. So just to note the things that
084are on this list are not fully inclusive of all the things that we need to go out to referendum for next year. This is just those things are just an example. We are currently working with an architectural firm Frier and Associates to gain a better understanding of of the financial impact of the capital projects that will need to be completed. Once this is done, we will have a special board meeting to discuss these projects in greater detail and develop a plan for moving forward. This table provides the per pupil expenditure for secondary regional school districts. Region 8's PPE is has increased from last year. However, we continue to provide a highquality educational experience for our students at a cost that is amongst the lowest in the state for a secondary regional school district. The district
085utilizes the services of NASDAQ to provide enrollment projections. This chart shows region 8 October's one enrollment from the 2019 2020 school year to the current one as well as the projections through the next 10 years. Current projections indicate that the district in district district's enrollment remains relatively stable over the next 10-year period. The October 1st, 2025 enrollment at Ram Middle School was 344 students. Enrollment at the middle school is currently projected to increase by approximately 50 students in the next 10 years. The the October 1st, 2025 enrollment at Ram High School with 675 students. High school enrollment is currently projected to remain relatively stable over the next 10 years. These projections do not include potential future students living in Colombia who choose to attend Ram High School. And as Penny noted when she did her
086presentation to you shortly ago, we are optimistic that as our partnership grows and develops with Colombia, we will continue to be an attractive high school option for their eighth grade students and draw more interest from Colombia families. [clears throat] Current projections for the three elementary districts indicate that prek to six enrollment uh will remain relatively stable over the next 10 years as well. As noted earlier, the proposed budget does eliminate four full-time position. However, it does include the addition of two new positions that are necessary to address current needs. The first is a buildings and buildings and grounds maintainer. The facilities department currently has one outdoor maintainer responsible for all grounds across our 52 acre campus, including parking lots, common areas, and 10 acres of athletic fields. These fields require mowing multiple times per week,
087regular painting, seeding, and fertilizing to meet safety and turf standards along with yearround exterior maintenance. As our campus and maintenance demands continue to grow, this workload can no longer be sustained by one individual. Adding a building and grounds maintainer would provide consistent coverage, reduce the need to pull custodial staff from their core duties, and ensure our buildings and grounds are properly maintained year round. This position would also support interior maintenance needs, improving safety, efficiency, and overall care of district facilities. The second position is an instructional technology specialist or coach. Technology is woven into nearly every part of the school day for students and staff from instruction and assessment to communication and data analysis. As these tools continue to grow and our district needs our district needs consistent highquality support to ensure that technology is used
088effectively to enhance teaching and learning. At the same time, artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how students will learn, work, and think in the future. Colleges and employers now expect graduates to understand AI and use it responsibly and ethically. Creating an instructional technology specialist coach would provide dedicated in-house expertise to support teachers and students with technology, digital citizenship, academic integrity, and ethical AI use. This full-time position would add significant value across the entire district and and better prepare our students for what comes next. We envision this position being a part of the teachers bargaining unit and working the teacher schedule plus additional days during the summer to ensure that we are fully prepared for the start of the school year. It is important to note before I move on uh to that the uh needs of
089students can shift and the administration may need to hire additional unbudgeted staff to adequately meet the needs of students. The next slide which you see now are factors that could impact the proposed budget and lead to a possible changes over the next few months. As I noted, we are seeing a a significant increase in our health insurance premium. Uh they are adjusted each year based off of trends in claims. These adjustments are determined by our uh health and medical insurance consortium and based off of the trends and claims over the next few months. The consortium's um current increase of 15% may be adjusted before being finalized in March. Any changes will be applied to the budget before it is voted upon by the board in April. Also, as we've noted before, the budget reflects an
090anticipated total revenue of $312,764 for next year for Colombia students enrolling at Ram High School. This number is based on the 10 returning students as well as 10 additional Colombia students anticipated to identif uh identify Ram High School as their school of choice. Um, as I've noted before, they will make this decision by the end of February, and once it is done, our budget will be adjusted accordingly. It It's important again to highlight the return on the community's investment into our district as Ram Middle and High School uh provide tremendous opportunities for our students. First, I'll talk about our return on investments as they relate to academics. We have over 240 courses and 38 concurrent enrollment opportunities at the high school. This is a great opportunity as it gives students the particularly the 38 uh
091concurrent uh enrollment opportunities as it gives those students an opportunity to earn college credit while in high school. Um I think I maybe recently noted to the board that I talked with a a relatively recent graduate who told me he was graduating college in three years because of all the high school credits that he earned while attending RAM. Similarly, we allow eighth graders to earn credits at the middle for high school at the middle school level. Our current eighth grade students will earn a total of 300 high school credits. Um, and you could see the distribution of those credits. Earning high school credits as eighth graders enable students to explore a variety of the electives that we offer in our high schools uh, educational opportunity handbooks. And when they can explore more electives, they can
092explore more possibilities. We also provide highquality experiences for students beyond the cla beyond the academic uh achievement as it is as we have been recognized as a best community for music education for nine years. Our wide variety of fine and performing arts programs and classes enable students to achieve at high levels and be recognized statewide. I also think it's really important to note how invested our school's fine and performing arts program is into the local communities that we serve. We're involved in well over 15 uh community events. Whether that we host them at the high school or the middle school or whether our fine and performing arts students go out into the community and engage uh with commu in community activities and events by participating in art showcases uh carolling or performing for our elementary
093students or at um our local um assisted living center. Uh again, it's a phenomenal return on investment. And finally, I think it's important to note that RAM students are provided with opportunities to demonstrate their skills and excel as student athletes. Our 13 middle school sports teams provide a strong foundational skill uh in skill development and teamwork. And Ram High School's 31 athletic teams are competitive both regionally and statewide, winning recognition and accolades, as well as championships. Numerous student athletes earn individual acclaim as well as all state and all conference notice and many go on to compete at the collegiate level. This proposed budget represents a collaborative monthslong effort by district leadership and staff to balance fiscal responsibility with a high standard of excellence expected by the Ram community. It is designed to offer the board
094of education and the public with a transparent view of our strategic priorities and educational programming. We remain deeply grateful to the families in the communities that we serve for their continued partnership in preparing our students to become impactful members of a global society. The board is scheduled to meet on April 6 to adopt the 2627 budget and I look forward to working with you all until then to review the proposed budget and provide more information and make adjustments as necessary. We have meetings scheduled for the board to hear more detailed information about budget requests from specific departments this Wednesday, January 28th and also on February 9th. These meetings will provide a greater level of detail about budget requests from those departments and provide the board with an opportunity to get clarifying information. Now, that concludes
095my uh my presentation. I will just mention that we typically at this point do distribute the budget book, hard copies of the budget book to board of education members. Obviously, with this meeting being held virtually, we can't do that. But we do intend to share um via email tonight a PDF of the budget book uh with board members. Um and for board members that are interested in receiving a hard copy as soon as possible. We can have them delivered to homes tomorrow. Otherwise, we would plan on distributing those hard copies of those budget books um on Wednesday evening at our first scheduled workshop. That concludes my presentation and I could do my best to answer any questions about my presentation that board members may have. >> Is there anybody on the board that has um
096questions on that? >> I just had a quick question about the business teacher. >> Is there um someone else that's ready to take over for him or [snorts] >> It's it's a it's a great question. So we actually uh we do have some we have somebody who is a different employee who's serving as the department coordinator for the business or for the CTE uh uh which encompasses business as well. Um we actually have two vacancies for for the business for business teaching as as uh Mr. Landry announced his retirement about a month and a half two months ago. Uh but as I shared in my personnel report, we had another resignation of um we had another resignation of a business teacher. And the reason that we're able to reduce that position um is because of
097the fact that several of the classes that are taught by members of the business department are things such as personal finance and computer programming. And those classes actually can be taught by different people from different certification areas. So those particular classes can be spread out into uh content areas um that are uh with different certifications. So the classes and the need for somebody to do it is not going away. It's just that we're going to spread those classes out amongst different content area teachers. >> So we're replacing the one business teacher um and we're not going to replace the other one. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. >> I have a question and I apologize my camera is not working well. Um, [laughter] you don't want to see it. Um, in reference to the building
098and ground maintenance worker, you also contract uh outside people as well, right? >> We do. We contract people to do some of the to meet some of our landscaping needs. Snopes um clearing driveways, I'm sorry, clearing parking lots and roadways and sidewalks, but the the the the our current groundskeeper um or out outside maintainer does mowing of a a significant portion of the campus. Um the athletic fields is another huge undertaking for our outdoor maintainer. they're out there uh having to uh paint our athletic fields at least a couple of times a week. Uh mow those same athletic fields uh to a very specific specifications. They're very different than traditional yards where you go out and you mow it and then maybe if you get back and mow it again a week and a half
099later, you're fine. These have to be mowed multiple times over the course of of a week and and in turn that the multiple mowing requires multiple lines being painted. And then you also have different sports being played on our competition field. So you could have a a game that um one day is requiring certain lines and then you have to um go out and make sure that the lines for a different sport are painted and really uh visible for another time. So, while we do contract a lot of that uh uh snow plowing um and some of the things like weed whacking um to and and pruning of bushes to uh a a contractor, there's still a significant amount of work that is done by our one buildings and ground outdoor maintainer. >> I understand.
100Thank you. >> Sure. And I'll also note that this person also maintains all of our the equipment. Um, so it's not just the doing of the work uh to to do the maintenance of of of the grounds, but it's also ensuring that all of our equipment. So, um, we have a garage adjacent to the to the high school and and if he's not out there mowing lawns and, um, taking care of fields and doing all that stuff, he's in there making sure that the equipment that we've made a significant investment in is is up to par so it can do all the work that it needs to do. That's work that we don't contract out. uh saving again saving the district a significant amount of money. You know, one one of the things that I
101didn't notice make bring to significant note was the fact that like we actually had a situation where our our outdoor maintainer had to take a leave for for a unfortunately, you know, a a longer duration of time and we were really fortunate that the town was the town of Hebrin was fantastic. I called the town manager and said, "Hey, can you jump in and help out? like, can you get your parks and recck people to come in? And and they were fantastic, but we can't find ourselves in a situation where that one person who does so much critical work for the district is gone for a significant part period of time or or a vacancy happens and we don't have a backup plan. Um, and that's another VA uh v value ad for the bringing
102on this second position. >> Thank you. >> Sure. >> Okay. Anybody have any other questions? So, um, Colin, you said that if people want the book immediately, you can have it delivered tomorrow. Otherwise, we'll get it Wednesday at the, um, budget meeting. >> Correct. And what we'll do is, uh, we'll send a reminder out via email that if you want it to be brought to your, uh, home, we can just to send me an email. Um, and if not, then, as I said, I'll make sure that I have hard copies available for everybody on for on Wednesday evening. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. So that brings us to 9.5, the financials. >> I am happily turning it over to Eva Galoop. >> Heather, before we jump, I I had a question because I'm I'm
103I'm a little a little behind here. So we have a budget meeting this Wednesday, >> correct? >> Ah, for some reason I don't have that on my calendar. So and and Scott's shaking his head, so I don't know. >> I don't either. >> Neither do I. So, so what happened here? How come we don't several of us don't have this? >> I I I don't have an answer to that question. I I know that it was included in the presentation that I did with the board um back in December that I made note of the fact that we had this schedule, [cough and clears throat] but I [laughter] apologize. Um >> so is this so is this at RAM and in the in the middle school library and >> correct? These are these are these
104are usually so each each department coordinator and or director. So our director of facilities, director of athletics, director of um uh special education or pupil services I should say. Um they'll get up and they'll present their specific budgets. Um and then if there are questions specifically about their budgets, it's an opportunity for the board to hear more about those. Um uh it's it's an opportunity for the board members to ask those questions directly to them. So, so can Jessica send out a meeting notice, Colin? >> Absolutely. We'll get that out. I'll get that out this or as soon as the meeting's over with >> and and it's it's at the middle school library. >> Middle school library 6:30. Yep. >> Okay. Um yeah, I think one of the reasons some of us might have gotten
105confused is most of these budget meetings have been on the Mondays in the past. As I recall, >> we did it this we did it the same way last year. I'm pretty confident of that. I I don't But >> yeah, I it doesn't matter. I just we obviously missed it [laughter] so I'm adding >> again and and I can certainly own own that and my apologies for for for not making sure that's member a part of your calendar. I apologize. >> Now it is. [laughter] >> Okay. Ava, do you want to um take us through the financials please? >> Sure. Before I start, there was a question in chat from Mr. Soyette. Did you get a question answered? >> I did. Thank you. Okay. So, in your enclosure 9.5A, you will see the financials for
106the month ending December 31st, 2025. Um, there's a proposed net favorable position of $466,843. Um, at this time we are just awaiting a payment from excess cost for our high-cost special ed kids that statutoily gets to us on February 28th. Um, all the projects that capital improvement andor the reserve for educational expenditure fund are now fully completed and paid out. Um, and then pupil services is monitoring their budget closely and making changes to purchase orders. based on EIP I IEPs, sorry. Are there any questions that the board may have at this time? >> Okay. So, >> you'll be amazed to hear I've got no no questions about any of the financials this time. It's me, nothing. [laughter] >> So, [snorts] hearing none, 9.5B is the food service monthly sales and expenditure reports. um we have
107a net loss of $80,980.83 at the end of um December. Um however, the for the month itself, there was only a $2,15 loss. Um and in addition um I do not carry inventory and USDA commodities on this income statement. So, at the audit report, which is usually a once a year adjustment that the auditors will do, um I needed to increase our fund balance, which is a positive note. So, we end with um $101,465.17 for the ending fund balance at this time. Are there any questions that the board may have? Okay. So hearing none 9.5c which is the high school and middle school student activity reports. This isformational at the end of December we balance to the bank. Are there any questions that the board may have on that? So hearing none. 9.5D is the
108short-term investment fund account. Um in recent months we took out some funds to pay off the CIP well the track project basically. Um so our net amount that's in there is lower. So the dividends reinvested of course would be lower. So we reinvested $639.86 for the month of December. Are there any questions that the board may have there? Okay. So hearing none 9th.5e is the board appropriation transfers. Um so there are questions on this one. [snorts] So let's see. So the first question deals with 64 journal entry 64. Okay. So basically the audit requirement is a report called the other postemployment benefit report. Um this comes this portion of it comes every other year or every two years and unfortunately got missed when we were budgeting. So um the debit column to refresh people's memories
109is the two the credit column is the from. So, I'm taking available funds from athletic insurance, workers compensation, and the business services, professional services, and moving it into the BOE professional purchase professional tax services to cover that expenditure. Um, the next question was, I don't think is journal entry 70. I feel like it's journal entry 71. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Okay. [laughter] So, um I'm taking funds that are available and putting it into the unallocated personnel. Yes. Because the season was over and we've paid out those expenditures. >> So, we have extra money at the end is what you're saying there. >> Well, sometimes we don't have the full coach. Um we have vacancies and coaching sometimes. Um um I'm not sure why sometimes we would have the additional funds but but we do for
110the most part it's just it's the timing of personnel when we have the personnel um if there's still a vacancy we couldn't have the person or there we have a lot of times they'll split the positions and so we have one but we don't have both. >> All right. So on journal entry number 72, there are six assignments that come up during the year based on leave of absences, FMLA, whatever the case may be um that we have to cover. So we were taking money and putting it into six assignments from the unallocated personnel because when I move money up to unallocated personnel, that usually means that it's freed up. That tells me where I can take money from in situations like this. >> And we learned what a sixth assignment was already. >> Yes,
111>> that was part of my question. >> Oh, yeah. [laughter] So, journal entry number 75. The summer school paras we um were done with summer school because it's the July portion of our fiscal year. So that went up to unallocated. >> Perfect. >> Okay. So journal entry number 76. Um so we had money available again for summer school special ed out of district placement. There was movement. Um we budgeted 100% for magnet and boag um students. So there was money available and this helped cover an unanticipated student placement [snorts] 87. [clears throat] So um this is money that was going from the CTE teacher line to unallocated and for some reason that person had unpaid time. So that's why there was available funds that rolled up. >> What is unpaid time? I mean they they
112worked without pay or >> they didn't get paid. >> They didn't have time to take >> so they didn't come to work so they didn't get paid. >> Ah okay. >> 96 journal entry 96. And excuse my little one. She decided to wake up. [laughter] Um so there's actually two different transactions happening here ran out. >> Okay. So two different transactions happening here. So one of them is we're taking available funds and putting it into unallocated and then the other one we needed another sixth assignment. So we took it out to put it into the sixth assignment. So, is it because the the the journal entries are on different days that it happens that way and it's not a net thing? >> Asking an accounting question. I guess >> journal entries happen all the time.
113So, I can do multiple ones in in a day. >> So, this just happened to line up where there was multiple ones that needed to be done. So, they were done on the as the same journal entry. So, so I guess what I don't understand then is is why it appears as a positive on one side and a negative on another two when when the net's essentially about 6,000. Is there a reason it wasn't just 6,000 or is because they were done >> for transparency purposes? We have to show you all of it. >> Okay. >> So, you can track where the money's coming and going. >> All right. All right. I get that. Are there any additional questions that anyone else on the board may have? So, hearing none, this requires a board um
114motion. >> Yeah, I move that we approve this transfers. Since I asked all the questions, I'll make the motion. >> Okay, >> I'll second. >> Drew's the first, Scott's the second. Any other discussion on these? All in favor? I >> anyone opposed? >> Anyone abstain? >> Okay, motion passes. Okay, so enclosure 9.5F is the CIP capital improvement project reallocation of funds. So Mr. Schlayhoffer is on this call as well, so he can help explain the um there is an available balance in the track replacement project and he's recommending that we move some money to do side to um I can speak to the repairs account so that we can do um systemwide sidewalk repairs. This helps us negate um or lower the budgetary cost come May when people have to um vote on the budget.
115And then the additional amount would go into um unallocated and that would mean that that is available funding for if a project or emergency came along. Um so Mr. Schlayford, did you want to add anything to that? Uh, no. You summed it up really good, but if there's any questions, I'd be happy to answer them. So, for for Eva, I have a quick one. Is this So, there's already a balance of about 9,000 in in the repairs line in the in the CIP. Is that where you're putting it in the accountance 430? >> Correct. >> Okay, great. Okay. Um, Eva, you need a motion on that one? >> Yes, please. >> A motion to approve the transfer as presented totaling $38,19246. >> So moved. >> Carrie, that was you. >> That was me. >> I'll
116second. >> The second was Amy Romanchuk. Any other discussion on that? Well, the motion also has to include the 7,000 to unallocated, right? >> Correct. >> So, maybe we amend the motion so that it includes the 31 to the 430 account and the 7,000 to the unallocated. >> Okay. >> There's two there's two pieces there. It's not a big deal, but [laughter] >> Okay. Um >> Okay. So, so it would be the $31,60 from the track replacement project to systemwide sidewalk repairs and then the $7,13246 to um from the track replacement project to the CIP unallocated. Okay. Um, and the first on that was Carrie and the second >> I'm sorry Amy. Amy. >> Okay. Any other discussion on that? All in favor? >> I. >> Anyone opposed? Anyone abstain? Okay. >> Okay. And there's
117one more. 9.5G which is the reserve for general general education fund. Um there is an available balance of $17,350.91 um that the project came in under. Um so the recommendation by Mr. Schlayhoffer is to move the funds to the athletic athletic fields repair and maintenance project. And again he's on here if there are any questions. Is there something in mind? I mean, there's already 48,000 in that account, right? So, I'm just >> Yes. So, um the additional projects would be the outfield of the baseball field, the varsity, and then uh 316 South. Um we have construction costs ranging upwards of 250,000. So, this would just be putting money towards those um those field renovations. Okay. Do we have um a motion to approve the transfer as presented totaling $17,350.91? I'll move that we move $17,350.91
118into the um athletic fields repair and maintenance account. >> Okay. And then a second. >> I'll second. >> Second is carry. Any other discussion on that? All in favor? >> I. >> Anyone opposed? Anyone abstain? Thank you. >> Thank you all. >> All right. >> Thank you, Eva. >> Colin, that brings us to item 10 on the agenda, theformational items. >> Sorry about that. I muted myself. Uh so, just a few things that I'll highlight for coming up uh in the next few weeks. So, uh beginning of February, we have our grade eight parent night. Um the that's on the 5th, the following day actually, our rising eighth graders come up to the high school and spend some time learning about the the high school and the program of studies and get tours of the
119building. Um it's definitely a very busy and eventful day. Um we have uh another recess coming up with President's Day. We have our high school midyear graduation um coming up in um uh February 19th. Uh, so board members that are interested and available, we'll make sure that you are made I'll send out more information about that date coming up if you wanted to attend. That's just a 2:30 in the high school media center. Um, and we also do have a uh middle school winter concert for band and chorus on February 4th. And that is all I have about upcoming events. >> Okay. 10.2 is the student discipline report. >> Yeah. So um I'm just trying to pull things up electronically that you know the data is in the chart that is available on as a
120part of your packet. Um if there's any questions I can try my best to answer them. >> All right. Um that brings us do we have um adjournment? Do we have a motion to actually before we adjourn a lot of people hung on for the rest of this meeting. I just want to thank you um for taking the time and the interest um in the board tonight. We really appreciate you t you know making remarks and um staying engaged. >> Do we have a motion to adjurnn? >> So moved. >> Carry a second. >> I'll second. >> Second. Mike Bullier. All in favor? >> I. Anybody opposed? Anyone abstain? And we're adjourned. Thank you everybody. Good night. >> Thank you. Good night. Thank you. Good night.