001Uh and this is a regular board of education uh meeting for the town of Weston, Connecticut. Um we have a quorum and so the first item is 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. There we go. Number three on the agenda is uh our student uh representatives to the board of education. >> Hi everyone. >> Isabelle, I just need to ask you a quick question. >> Go for it. >> Why Why a picture of the Harbor Bridge in Australia? >> I have to be honest, I didn't even know it was the Harbor Bridge in Australia. Well, there you go. Luckily, >> an automated Google photo. >> Okay.
002Well, that is the Harbor Bridge in Australia. And uh now you learned something. There you go. >> All right. I'm going to go around saying that tomorrow. >> Okay. To start things off, we had homecoming week last week and it was and it was the halls and in the halls of Weston. Um there was spirit everywhere. Um and this year's homecoming theme was Animal Kingdoms. The seniors were ocean themed. The juniors were the rainforest. Sophomores were the Arctic and the freshman were the savannah. Um, every grade decorated their golf cart with decorations matching their theme and those carts were displayed at our Powerpuff game and the homecoming football game. The freshman ended up coming out on top with their Savannah float. Um, we also did our annual Deck the Doors competition and saw some great
003doors this year. Um, at our last meeting, I talked to you a little bit about our idea to give out digital cameras to students in response to the new phone policy. Um, and student government members took photos on digital cameras. And now we have, um, a couple hundred of photos that we can display around the school as well as on social media. Um, to cap things off, the football team won their game on Friday against Notre Dame. Um and then coming up we have PSAT day tomorrow for the sophomores and juniors. Um the freshman and seniors are going on field trips tomorrow. Seniors are going to the IT um ropes course. And the freshman are going to two art museums and the Peabody Museum. Um we also recently had an assembly about the Say Something
004Reporting System for Sandy Hook. Um and all four grades are now trained in the reporting system. Um, we have packed the pantry coming up next in the high school. Um, where we're collecting food for the food pantry next month. Um, and we're planning on having an assembly for that. Um, in other news, the boys soccer team is the number one seed right now as they head into playoffs. Um, and also we're beginning to implement our new point system at the high school um that we use to incentivize school spirit and dressups and other things that we usually recap at assemblies. Um, and also we are looking forward to planning our boys volley game, volleyball game that's going to be similar to powderpuff but basically flip-flopped. That's it. That's all we've got. a lot. >> You
005just haven't told us what you're going to be for Halloween. >> You want to go first? I mean, for me, TBD. >> Okay. >> I don't know about you. I think I'm being a ninja turtle. >> There we go. Well, have fun. Thank you. >> Thank you so much, ladies. >> Thank you. Uh number three or four, excuse me, is the approval of minutes uh for our September 15th meeting. >> Uh are there any changes that people would like to recommend? And the October 3rd um minutes, any changes? So, may I have a motion to approve, please? I have it. >> There you go, David. >> Move that the Western Board of Educ I had a battery mishap of my mouse. Move that the Western Board of Education approved minutes from the September 15, 2025
006and October 3rd, 2025 meetings. >> I second. >> All those in favor, please say I. >> I opposed. So, the motion passes. Number five is public comment. And as everyone knows, we read a disclaimer um ahead of uh ahead of public comment. The board welcomes the opportunity to hear from members of the public about matters concerning Weston's public schools. Public comment is an important chance for the board to receive input and feedback from our school community. We listen attentively to all comments shared. While we value and pay close attention to public comment, it is our practice not to respond substantively or sometimes not at all during public comment. There are several reasons for this. First, engaging in a discussion on non-aggenda items could violate the board's obligations to comply with the Freedom of Information Act.
007Second, the board or the administration may not be prepared to discuss certain matters raised in the first instance by a public comment. Third, the board develops its meeting agenda carefully to ensure that the board addresses matters that are pressing or relevant at the time of the meeting. We encourage members of the public with specific questions, concerns, or complaints about our schools to reach out directly to the superintendent. You may also email the board at our email address, board of education westernps.org. Additional details on public comment and board meetings can be found on our website. Um, as are uh our bylaws relating to meeting conduct. And with that, Jody, do we have anyone from the public who would like to address the board? >> Is there anybody that would like to speak for public comment right
008now? If so, please raise your hand. Anybody for public comment? Please raise your hand. Nope. I do not have anybody that is raising their hand at this time. So, you can move on to the next agenda item. >> Okay. Item number six um is uh new business um Western Board of Education policies, regulations, and bylaws. Yes, >> Erica or >> Yes. So, um we have three policies this evening that were discussed in policy subcommittee. The first one is uh civility and I'm going to call upon Julie to give a brief overview regarding this policy. >> Good evening everyone. Um so the uh October policy committee uh meeting saw the review of a first draft of a revised civility policy. Many of you know we have had a civility policy in place in the district for
009many years. It was last revised in 2019 and the policy committee last winter entertained the idea of um revising that policy particularly because it's in its um current form it is uh highly prescriptive and detailed um in the actual policy and we were looking at how to separate the policy meaning its purpose and expectations from the administrative regul ations. And so the draft that you see this evening reflects that shift um which includes a brief policy statement um including the purpose which of course is to promote mutual respect, civility and orderly conduct among employees, students, parents and members of the public. Um as well as expectations for that conduct. And attached to that policy uh are some revised gently revised administrative regulations. >> Are there questions? >> Uh can I have excuse me can I
010have a motion to approve bylaw 9311? >> I do have a question. Uh so the motion looks like so we typically do the first read which I think is tonight, right? >> Yes, we typically do um two mo two two reviews of a policy. Um but I'm going to let Erica speak to this. We decided to see if we can move some of our policies along a little bit more quickly. So I'll leave this up to Erica. So, the bylaws and and I think um Jod included a copy of the bylaws in your in your board packet does allow the board to make a motion where you uh wave the initial reading and approve the policy as well as a second reading um in one motion. And so, Jod included language on the agenda um
011this evening to reflect that. That's in an effort to sort of move along um the work we have specific to uh policy review, revision, and the creation of new policy. Um I attended the committee meeting. The work in the committee is really robust. They're working hard to review language, to modify language, to change language. um and with a robust committee review um and work when it gets to the board level um I think it would be appropriate to wave um the readings make a motion to approve along with the waving of the second reading if the board's inclined. >> All right. I'm because it talks about civility and it's an issue that I think we've tackled quite heavily over the past 9 to 12 months. I'm not comfortable waving that. I think this needs to
012go around the community a little bit longer. I know myself, I've only had a chance to look at it briefly over the weekend. So, my preference is not to wave the second reading. >> If that's the case, then there's no action taken and you could move on to the next agenda item. Is that is that the case or is it >> if if you do not wish to make the motion to approve at this first review, then you just bypass the motion and you can just move right on to the next policy for review. >> Okay. Are you >> no action is taken? >> Well, that's one person's opinion. >> Is it the opinion of the full board? I'm not suggesting otherwise. I'm just procedurally I'm just that's my question. >> Um if no does
013if there's anybody else that wants to make a motion to wave the second read and approve tonight. Somebody can go ahead and make that motion. If not, then the motion just stays at stands as is. Don't make take any action and we just move on. >> Okay. >> We're putting it out there. >> Yeah, we're putting it out there to try and get people. >> Yeah. It'll come back to the board at the next meeting for approval. >> Okay. I'm I just want to make sure that everyone has their voice. If everyone would, you know, rather not move forward, that's perfectly fine. Perfectly fine with me at least. >> Right. I think we should accommodate David's request. I'm I'm comfortable with that. Okay. >> Back to the next one. >> Absolutely fine. >> Okay. That's
014great. Yeah. Just so everyone, you know, everyone has a voice. Um Sorry. Um, >> the next one that you have is the 4118.22 code of ethics. >> Oh, I'm sorry. I'm looking. Yes. >> So, I I'm also going to speak about this one. This is a new policy. Um, we do not have uh a code of ethics policy. We have not previously had one in the district. Uh, this draft is modeled after the CABE model policy. Um, in in this vein, it has very um minimal specific um revisions to um excuse me to uh make it specific to Weston. Um so it is my recommendation that uh we adopt such a policy, but again it is up to you how you would like to proceed. This is the first time that you are seeing this
015as the full board. So, are there questions of Julie? This is the first read and and I assume that we'll go forward with the process that we've always followed, which is a first read, then a second read. So, um if there are not questions of Julie, we can move on to uh to uh the next item, which is student wellness. >> Ju Julie, I just have a quick question. Um, when reading through the policy, it looked like, and this is, you know, somewhat controversial, I guess, you know, whenever you bring it up, but, um, it looked like there was there wasn't anything on social media. Should there be something on social media in this? Did we deliberately not include something on social media? Um, you know, does the does the cave policy sort of have
016anything on social media? Just just a little background on that would be helpful. >> Sure. We have a separate social media policy in our um grouping of personnel policies and so um it is not included here specifically for that reason though we could include a reference to that policy here if that would be helpful. >> Yeah, you you may want to do that. I again I'm open to I'm open to sort of interpretation and of course any suggestion here. I just um when we're talking about code of ethics, I figured we should at least make reference to, you know, maybe what the policy is for the district um at at a bare minimum. >> Sure. >> Thanks. >> Anyone else? Okay. Thanks, Michael. The next is um uh the next is uh >> Wellness. Yep.
017Sorry. >> Great. I'll take that one. Good evening everyone. Um the next policy is around the district wellness policy that was last updated in 2006. Um since that time we have uh updated state guidelines and as well as our district practices have evolved since the last time that this was reviewed. Um this work started in May of 2024. Um I established a district wellness committee which included um administrators, teachers, um our supervisor, our nursing supervisor, food service representatives as well as um uh facilities and we also um have invited uh students uh to participate in the committee as well. Um, we met eight times over the course of the year since then to review our current policy and practices so that when we revised the policy, it was reflective of what we actually do in
018Weston. Um, in addition, part of the reason that we revised this policy is because at the time Weston participated in the National School Lunch Program. We no longer participate in that. And um we also wanted to make sure that the policy was aligned to the whole school, whole community, whole child framework which as you can see in the policy really outlines our commitment and um focus around physical activity, health and nutrition, social emotional learning, safety and community and family engagement. The policy also reflects um how we ins u expect to oversee and manage the accountability of this policy um on an annual basis and we're going to use our wellness committee to help us do that. Um and it also provides um a level of communication regarding this work out to the community as well.
019Um and that's it. >> Questions of Tina? Yeah, I actually have a few questions on this one. Tina, just to confirm, this is in the packet. This is like pages 20 or sorry, 29 through 34, something like that. The shipment document policy regarding wellness. >> Yes, it was based on um the shipment uh policy 5141 um and we merged that content with our own and updated it based on the fact that we follow a different framework. >> Great. A couple things to call out and a few of these I well so a couple things to call out. >> One just to highlight and this is mostly just issues that have been mentioned to me in email or things like that by parents and I honestly don't I've not had enough supervision to speak with a
020ton of context on this. But as an example to highlight one point the removal of recess will not be used as a consequence for classroom behavior for any student per state law. That's a important point to underline and I think that there was some incident of um recess aid or something like this. Anyway, point being that one as well as nutrition services. I've had a bunch of parents ask me about that through the years primarily about the access to ultrarocessed food and snacks and cookies and that sort of thing in the cafeteria. And then the third thing to flag would simply be and thank you Michael for bringing up social media in the previous point. Therefore, I didn't have to, but as the well-known and beloved voice of all things tech at all times, just
021to call out that in the physical activity and other school-based activity section on page 32, teachers will be encouraged to incorporate physical movement into classroom activities using methods like brain breaks and active learning techniques. Just to distinguish that some of the research about tech mediated brain breaks essentially like watching video games and moving along or watching videos and moving along Allah a video game with them is not necessarily that great for kids brains. So, as whoever is in charge of this document over time in that committee, just to call out those three areas, nutrition, recess, and brain breaks in class being non-digital, those would be three things for the future maybe to look at to make sure this policy is implemented as well as it's intended to be designed. >> Noted. >> Very comprehensive. >>
022It's very comprehensive. A lot of hard work. Thank you. Good input. I'd like to make a motion move to approve this. I think as as it is tonight, it's satisfactory. >> Hey, hey, Peter, let me just make one comment, too. Just backing up what Chad said, and I'm going to I'm going to focus here on a little bit more on the nutrition um to, you know, to the extent that we're trying to obviously promote that um in the schools. Look, I mean, you know, when I when I take a look at sort of what the kids are getting in terms of breakfast for lunch and French toast sticks and waffles and bread sticks, etc., etc. you know, I I would I look, I know this is a policy and all we we can further discuss,
023but you know, I would love to see the options sort of, you know, in the lunch, you know, you know, in terms of the lunch program. I'd love to see those, you know, a little bit more in the spirit of what we're trying to promote here in the wellness program. And so maybe we could work on that sort of over time here. But, you know, just some of these things I think look, I've been hearing from parents, you know, I've seen it with my own kids as well. And I think we can we can actually make some strides here on the lunch program if we uh you know if we if if we're really serious about promoting let's say wellness and and nutrition for the students in school. >> Yeah. And that is a conversation
024Laura was actually and uh on our wellness committee especially at the K5 level really um leaning on some of the support from our director of food services as well as our nursing supervisor. It was an ongoing conversation and topic and this this policy will help support that conversation and look for um avenues to ensure that we are meeting the guidelines based on what we expect in the policy. >> Perfect. >> Reinforcing reinforcing Michael's point, the thing I'd heard about a lot was snacks. So, not just the lunch program and breakfast, but also the snacks. And to be clear, like this is not a western problem. the US food system. You walk in any grocery store, you know, we're like swimming in ultrarocessed foods, but there's no reason that Western Connecticut couldn't be a leader in
025in that and giving our kids nutritional food all day long. So, I agree, Michael. >> Tina, I'll just quickly actually echo Michael and Chad's comments. My kids, especially my whisk kids, also say the time allotted to get food and sit down. I saw in the policy the minimum of 20 minutes. My both of my kids had said that it there's the lines are very long. The service is very slow and um they feel rushed and they're not able to eat. So for promoting this, so again, I understand this is policy. Uh but I think there's some valid concerns at the K5 level um about time to eat and potentially what's being served. >> Well, David, I think you make a good point. I'll do this would be an implementation discussion and I'm not quite sure
026if this is under we have food service and contracts coming up or we have the ability to intervene midy year but I mean we should certainly re address all these I think they're all valid points so you're right it's a it's a policy but really the heart of it is implementation so these are all good inputs and I think that's it moves us maybe the next month or two months board meetings we should address this. We should see if we can >> just clarify, we have 30 minute lunches, not 20. So, >> yeah, minimum of 20. So, um that's good. Thank you, Laura. And I think just to add on to that, too, that's why we want to continue with this uh advisory committee for wellness. Um, and I've written down all these comments and
027I think our director of food services, our principles when they're looking at scheduling and even how do we gather additional feedback from students to help us as Peter said with the implementation so that we can really um, you know, maximize the nutrition services and the time that students have for recess and movement and and the quality of food too. Agreed. So, I'm going to uh make a motion uh with that caveat that these things will be addressed as implementation in the future. So, I move that out the Western Board of Education in accordance with bylaw 9311 wave the requirement for second review and approve 5141.25 student wellness following its first review as presented. Have a second. >> Great. Thank you, Peter. Is there a second? Okay. Uh, all those in favor say I. >> I.
028Opposed. Thank you. Motion carries. >> I'm sorry. I didn't hear who was the second on the motion. >> Jody, I am Lisa. >> Okay. I thought it was off. Thank you. >> Yeah, microphone's off. Uh, >> uh, moving on to six, uh, B. um a discussion of the Weston 2026 2027 uh public school calendar. >> Yes. So in your um there is a proposed 2026 2027 calendar um taking into account the input um of various unions um and stakeholder groups. This was the preferred calendar for 2026 27. And so tonight, I ask the board's consideration in approving the calendar so that we can publicly circulate it. I >> I have one question. Uh you'll get to know I'm the February break champion. Um why are we doing PD on the 5th rather than the 12th?
029You talking about the early dismissal day? >> Yeah. Um that was that was input from um Julie were you we were in that meeting that was input from uh the teachers union relative to that day and I think it was because it was backed up to something happening in the high school. Can you help me recall that? >> I don't recall the piece about something happening in the high school. I think generally um the teachers group prefers David, I know that this is not always your preference. Um the teachers group prefers when PD is not attached to the break because the feeling is on a on a lot of teachers part that that day before the break is is not always the most conducive to new learning. um in particular when we're looking at you're
030learning something new and then you have >> a week where you are not um not there not able to uh confer with your colleagues and apply that learning and those sorts of things. So there uh that was that came out of the teachers group in particular a feeling that uh if we can uh not back PD up to a vacation that that might make those sessions more um impactful for teachers. >> Okay. And then just Erica just for the for the community's sake when do we determine gradu the graduation date? >> So there's a reg state regulation that the board can choose the graduation date whenever you deem um appropriate. Generally speaking, I think historically the district has done it sometime in March or April after we're through the snow season and determining that date.
031Um, some districts have already set their graduation dates. Um, some districts wait until the spring after we've gone through some of the winter months that may extend the school year in June. >> Okay. One one other question I'll flag and this is actually not a question but just a kind of an FYI. Megan's been a really important voice on this the last couple years, but I know that it's been a real effort to reduce tardyism and absenteeism and that sort of thing. And just flagging that I know this is a crazy jigsaw to always try to coordinate these things. But at the starting point of the year, beginning on a Thursday, Friday, what tends to happen in Weston a fair bit is you get parents rolling. If there's like one day before on a long
032break, they tend to all a sudden roll in and start their kids, you know, on that that following Monday or whatever. I doubt that will happen in the beginning of school, but just flagging whenever we can move the calendar around and not have those kind of hanging starts and stops, it tends to help on the absenteeism front. But I think you guys probably see that much more up closely than I do. >> Thank you, Chad. Now, >> I had one more just clarification question. For the PD days that don't have the line through them, are those what's it? Is that a day with no students? >> That's correct. Those are full professional learning days for faculty and staff. >> Okay. Other questions? Okay. Uh, can I have a motion to approve the 2026 2027 uh,
033academic calendar? >> Move that the Weston Board of Education approve the 2026 2027 calendar as presented. >> Second. >> I second. >> Thanks, Lisa. All those in favor? I >> I >> opposed. Motion carries. The next is the North House HVAC project. I have one of the individuals from the project um on the webinar right now. Eleanor, I don't know if you can hear me. I keep promoting you to a panelist and you keep declining. I don't know if that's because you don't want to join the meeting. And then there's I believe one other individual um and he's trying to access from his phone and I don't know if he's having any luck getting in. Jody, may maybe we can call him or her and and help them get on. >> Um, he's got the
034links. He's getting in and he was trying to access simultaneously, which won't work. >> Um, I'm actually I was on the phone with him right now. I put him on hold for a moment while we went forward here. So, um, Adam, I believe you are logged into this meeting. ADZ M ID J M A Are you one of the consultants? >> He He's on mute. >> Adam, if you can take yourself off mute, Mike, this is one of the ones that you were telling me, correct? >> Yeah, that's correct, Jody. >> Yeah. Um, yes, by PC, but I need access by my phone. I Dan, is can they access both by both at the same time? Well, when they first connect to the meeting, it can say like what do they want to join audio
035by phone? They can try to join twice and it may show up twice. We've actually had that happen before. So, >> you can see on this >> I'm not seeing Yeah, I'm not seeing them as other panelists. Um, I'm going to try and promote Eleanor again. I see her down here twice now. Let's see if I can get her in. Okay, I think Eleanor is going to be joining right now. >> Jody, she has no she's on mute and has no video. >> Yeah, that could be that could be her connection by the phone. Eleanor, can you hear us? >> Give her just a second because her video just turned on. So, give her just a minute. She just connected. I'm going to mute myself for just a >> um while everyone is trying to
036connect um just to move this meeting along u maybe we start by Mike just kind of give us a quick overview as to where we are. >> Okay. >> Yeah. So we um we have Landmark Facilities Group here tonight to uh discuss North House HVAC um after the um RP was issued. This is the um this was the group that we decided with our our finance operations and facilities committee to move forward with. Uh they came through in the spring and summer. Many many site visits did a deep dive into the north house. Every single room, every closet, mechanical room, uh basement, uh ceiling, you name it. So, they have a very good understanding of our building. They have our mechanical drawings. They have our structural drawings. They have everything that they needed to give
037us HVAC options. Um, if you're if you're not aware, the North House of the Elementary School has a a managerie of of heating um systems. We're trying to unify and come up with at least maybe one or two. I know we have about 24 or so classrooms, a gymnasium. So their task by our leadership was to create a give us HVAC options uh their recommendations costs and project timelines to a like for like to what we have in the system in place now which is unit ventilators and some other um some other items. Um, and also North House at this point strictly has no AC other than the gym. It has a 19 roughly 60s unit which is struggling. Um, so Jody just texted me that they're in. So I guess without further ado, let's
038let Landmark um facilities group take us through what they've come up with HVAC options, recommendations, costs, and project timelines. Well uh unfortunately Elon cannot get uh yet on our meeting. So I tried to be uh um provi pro provider here. So yeah, we created uh four different options for HVC application for uh north uh uh wing uh of the school and uh should I explain what option each option it's included right >> if you want to hit on it quickly I mean you can go over the the options that you came up with at the high point. >> Sure. Yeah. So basically uh for the option one we we we we want to provide the uh kind of um uh reuse existing uh most of the openings and u uh some of the units. Uh
039so we would like to introduce the VRF system and convert this unit ventilators most likely with a new uh VRF unit ventilators. uh VRF is a variable refrigerant uh uh uh flow units. It means they're going to provide you heating cooling uh as well but the same time remaining the existing uh uh hot water um baseboards for the uh for the as a perimeter heat. Uh additionally we would like to provide the rooftop do which is a fresh air unit. Uh that's one basically option try to reuse existing opening through the walls etc. So option two is basically kind of totally new concept to provide the main RTU or a few RTUs to provide the first and second floor by feed by the central unit located on the roof. uh and uh that's going to
040be pretty much gas heating operation uh as a heat for the heating but additionally uh the whole all wing to provide the cooling. Uh but unfortunately that's needs much more space to run the dock work from that from from the roof to to each uh space and uh and of course we we have to provide as a zones so like a VAV boxes. The option three is uh uh all VRF. That's what we strongly recommend to provide wall-mounted unit. Then you you all classrooms get the central I mean uh zone uh cooling or individually for each classrooms and provide the uh fresh air system from the roof. And option four which is like a second from our recommendation is a combination of option two and three meaning on the second floor we want to do
041kind of apply option two and for the first floor uh option one uh three. So uh every all options got some uh you know pros and cons and we you know we we include in our report that thanks and uh um you know hopefully if you have any any questions I would like to respond it and um and I'm sorry I forgot about mention about the gym what what you what you have you have a uh we have a you have a split system there which Mike you already mentioned before and we We we we would like to revise and upgrade that system as well as a dock work installation because it looks like kind of a lot of condensation you can observe there and and and for that gym itself we can create like
042a three different options for outdoor unit. It's could be conventional compressor inverter compressor which is kind of modulate compressor or the heat pump conver uh inverter inver inverter compressor. So that's the three options. Uh talking about the numbers, I not sure do we have a loner here. So maybe she can be able to help us with that. >> Can you hear me? >> Yes, >> you can. >> Yes. Hello. >> Loud and clear. >> Yes. >> Okay, that's great. Finally. Uh yeah the the um the fourth the recommended option was a combination of options two and three. Uh it it has the ability to uh uh use a very efficient method using the VRF heat pump system on the first floor and RTU's for uh system with VA boxes on the second floor. So, we
043have the advantages of both systems and we're applying it to the um the proper floor because uh an RTU on the on the roof uh uh serving the second floor minimizes the amount of duct work uh going through the building. Uh and meanwhile using the first floor with the VR VRF system, we're using a very efficient system uh that uh can heat and cool. So, just quickly jumping in here because I I cut over to page I guess 32. Um, in the document, did you just say that you're recommending option four? Because I I think in the document here, it looks like we're recommending most recommend most recommending option three. >> Yeah, the the most recommending uh option three uh as a second recommendation is option four. So, We would love to have three for
044the entire building, but but um it it's more costly system and I if it um if the budgets don't allow that, >> right? >> For us as a group, just for us as a group and and for the public as well, what is the main difference there? just what are we getting for the 33% extra cost going from option four to let's say option three and then can you also just compare timelines for those as well so so again two questions number one what are we getting in option three for the added cost versus option four and then how do you think about the timeline to completion for option three versus for >> okay Adam can you go through the advantages >> yeah I I just I didn't have that question I mean the question
045about the numbers why why I mean we we recommend the the probably the best system from efficiency standpoint from from operation and like a totally independent about the the zonings uh the the the option four uh it's less expensive because we just going back to the between option two and three kind of easier way- because we have a a roof uh above the second floor. It's that's easier to do uh VAV our rooftop unit with VAV boxes on the second floor. uh going to the first floor and do the same thing. what what is on the second floor that's required more space and this is something what we didn't say here but of course the the the the central rooftop unit required some space to run the duck work from uh from the roof down
046to whatever space is and we we we don't see that space I mean we can find it I mean we know that we have a shaft outdoor shaft located on the I believe uh east side of the building uh but that we worry that that's not going to be enough space and uh kind of u uh you know like a just let's put it this way VRF system is a little easier to do it's a little bit more expensive but easier to do because we we have to provide just a refrigeration piping instead of dealing of all duct work uh you know the we we we show uh the mechanical point but also behind that it's also sorry uh electrical also but uh structural and uh some architectural cost involved. So the so that's why
047we thinking from the mechanical standpoint number three but this number three going to cost you from from structural and uh architectural less and I cannot precise how much less but uh you know you will have a better system uh u uh uh you know as option three >> Adam at the beginning of your comments did you mention and I may have mis misheard but did you mention that option Option three will give you more or or a greater number of independent zones. Is that correct? Versus option four. Uh well uh okay so let let me put in this way that we when we have a when we have a let's say as example option number two we have a we have a common plant for all space providing the heating because that's how that because
048the heating is required in this moment and some of the zones calling for cooling and unfortunately cannot generate that cooling that moment the VRF system number three give as totally independent modes. One room can call for heating, one for cool. It's a that's why we thinking that's the best application for most like buildings like schools. >> So So it provides the most optionality flexibility between even between classrooms, between floors, etc. And I know that Miss Miss Cadis and her her teachers and her students have been dealing with this for quite a while. And so I would love to do it quote unquote the right way. Um, you know, if if we can all >> find it, you know, in the budget here to go ahead and, >> you know, again, we're talking about $300,000 difference.
049And, um, let me ask this just last question. I'll kick it off to everyone else. >> Um, on the timeline, can you talk about what the timeline difference is between option three versus option four? Is there a significant difference there or not? No, it's it will be similar. Uh the installation timeline is going to be similar. >> Okay. Thanks. >> And if I could um just add really quick um option three and this wasn't on our recommendation um or any guidance from us to landmark. This is exactly what we have in E-wing of the high school. When that was renovated in 2000, don't hold me on the year 16ish. Um, it's got a dedicated outdoor air system, which is what the DOAS is. It's on the roof. It's gas fired. It has makeup heat. It
050has cooling. Um, and it has the VRF system. It has the uh split system air conditioning in in each room. So, it's it's a system that's been around for a while. It's obviously is now much more efficient. Now, it can be run with heat to almost negative 20 or so degrees, which is not what we had in 2016 for the E-wing. Um, what this doesn't include any of the price is even with the um structural or architectural down below, if we did any kind of rooftop, all drop ceilings have to move. So, that really increases cost. Um, there's just no room for duck work. There's only about eight inches above the drop ceiling till you get to the um >> right >> till you get to the roof. >> And Mike, Mike, Mike Mike, two
051questions for you. So, um, on the drop ceilings, which options would that impact? And maybe that's a question maybe for Adam. I don't know if if you know that, Mike. And then my second question for you, Mike, specifically is um, when you look at the options here, of course, you're more wellversed in this than I am. Um, what is what would be your recommendation? Do you believe let's say option three versus option four um is you know option three warrants the greater cost versus option four. So I guess >> yeah for me the biggest thing with any kind of rooftop anything that's going to have duck work the drop ceilings are going to have to move. So drop if we put a rooftop on the second floor and did VRF on the first floor we
052still have to drop all the ceilings on the second floor to accommodate the duck work um which is intrusive. And one of the biggest things I wanted to do with the North House was unify our systems. So I really wouldn't like to see on a maintenance standpoint and kind of on just energy management standpoint to have now we'd have three different systems in there because the gym would have to be different, classrooms would be different, second floor would be different if it was a rooftop. So, for me, I like the idea of the full I I um line three, which is full VRF. Everything's controlled. Um this really will lower our um our carbon footprint because we won't have to run the boiler so much. The we'll use a little bit more electricity. Um no
053more no more oil, no more gas. um it's all almost -20° and we would have baseboard heat that would be connected when unit ventilators are removed to just add for a secondary source of heat if needed. >> And that unified system, Mike, would that that would it sounds like that would increase efficiency or save us in some way either in in efficiency or maintenance costs sort of over time because of this unified let's call it system. Is that is that accurate? >> That's accurate. >> Okay. So, so even though this is this would cost let's call it versus option four another $300,000 um you would expect that and I look I don't know what the savings are per year. I'm just trying to figure out like yes it may cost $300,000 more but you may
054actually make that back over I don't know so many number of years um and it would be it would be a more efficient system and just just better for us to handle. >> That's right. Okay. Okay. >> Can I touch on the the co the cost perspective for a minute because I I think on the surface we should be smart. Well, we should be smart about it, right? And option three seems like the logical way to go, but can you just explain um when I look at option three under additional costs, you abde. Uh that's before the additional costs. >> That is before That's before. So when when I look at this and correct me if I'm wrong, the 1.2 million really if the additional costs are ABCD E and I didn't I didn't have
055a chance to do an average, but if I went even with the low for ABCDE, I came up with another over $400,000 in costs. So when I look at option three versus option four, I feel like I'm looking at 1.7 million versus 915,000. [Music] Am I? And that's best case scenario looking at the low cost. Am I right when I look at those things? Adam, should we have had uh additional costs listed for option four as well? I mean they all they all require some degree of electrical architectural structural work. >> Yeah, correct. the the only thing is like a for option three most likely we we're looking for I mean from let's put it even from structural point what I could say uh uh we looking for u some good support for the roof
056for larger RTU for a second floor instead of uh small DOA for uh both floors uh from architectural standpoint point. Uh that's exactly what Mike mentioned. I mean I I I I looking for some additional numbers. We're looking on the mechanical uh that's what we can generate and and from electrical standpoint I guess it's the that going to be similar right or >> Yeah. Well actually you know I I just received the numbers for the the billing history uh which I looked through it after the the report was issued. I can safely say we can eliminate uh uh the uh D the electrical service upgrade. We have a 1200 amp service at 480 volt there. Now uh there I checked and we are drawing at a very peak demand of 300 amps on that. What
057we would have to upgrade is the feeders from the main house to the north house, but we don't have to um uh upgrade the the entire service for the building. So we can eliminate that number. >> Okay. So but so I I think the delta then even if you eliminate E uh the delta >> at low adds even with the elimination of E $461,000. Your high looks like you just took the low and doubled it. So, if I took that and just said 1.5 times just round number, we're looking at um almost at that point $2 million for option three. What? For option four, you don't have any additional costs listed. Is that an error or that's Are we Because now the delta is a million dollars between option three and option four. >> Oh,
058it's missing. Yeah, it's missing because because it's a combination of two and three. It's it's the same letters ABC D and E. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> I I'm sorry. I didn't know what you're talking about right now. I see it. Yeah. On the spreadsheet, it's missing line. >> Yes. It's the same thing. A B C D and E. >> Okay. So, option three and option four both have the same additional costs, >> right? >> Yeah. >> Okay. I mean the level of the cost going to be different for each of them but uh slightly but it will be >> but you're talking about a $300,000 plus or minus and to David's point it may be a little bit more right but given that this the same additional costs are being associated I guess the delta
059maybe it doesn't necessarily blow out David right to your point because those letters were not listed the co the overall cost of this is greater than the 1.2 or the 900. Um, one one other question guys on this in option four. Are we doing both this $915,000 plus plus the gym line? So, the actual cost there is 1.1 before taking into account the additional costs. >> Yeah. Yeah. that that's 206,000 for the gym will apply to any of those options because that's the that's the uh uh approach we're we're taking to the gym regardless. >> Oh. Oh. Oh, okay. So, that's not part of option four. That's just that's additive to any other option. Okay. So, to the current options, just so I can I can understand this then and thanks for bringing this up
060David. Options one, two, three, and four would be increased by the cost of that gym line about approximately $200,000. And then options one, two, three, and four, it looks like, will at least have AC, C, D, and E. Options two, three, and four will include also B. Although the R although the cost the total cost of each one of those you know letters the additional cost it may it may be different within that range that you've proposed to us below. >> Right. Right. Without going through into full design you know we can't say for sure what the architectural costs are going to be. So we took a rule of thumb percentage of construction cost and applied that to the architecture. >> Yeah. If I can say something as a good example, option number two, we
061know it's going to affect by structural a lot, right? >> We because we we we talking about the big or either two big rooftop units with pretty heavy units, >> Right. So, we we don't know where to locate them yet unless the structural feedback we're going to get from. But uh you know like uh uh I I don't want to shoot some numbers but like I I I I could say maybe even 100,000 for to to what to the structural. >> All right. So um this might be a question for Phil. Is this the somewhat um lively conversation we had around budgeting time and where we were going to put half the money and if we should take the expense from last year. Is is this the project that we were that we were >>
062it is it is >> and at the if I remember correctly at the time we budgeted about one and a half one 1.5 1.6 million for the cost of this project right >> I think we had an all-in cost of about 1.8 8 >> 1.8. Okay. So, >> again, I'm sorry, David, real quick. So, you what we're looking at with option three, it really encompasses the this is the most efficient um system that we can put in. with option four while it's coming in at a lower cost. What we have to take into consider consideration is whether or not it's going to be feasible to do to do option four because as Mike and the team mentioned the ceiling height will not probably will not accommodate the duck the duck work that's needed. What we
063tked Landmark to do was to explore all the options and give us in their opinion what will be best for us. >> Yeah. And just doing some quick math, it knowing that ABCDE would apply to option four as well. We're back to what Mike sort of said earlier. Uh um which is the delta is around $320,000 between option three and option four. And for $320,000 to me, it doesn't make any sense not to go with option three, which is recommended. Um my my other my other question was from a budgeting perspective, we have 1.8 8 million so to speak for this. If we if my math is correct, if we do option three and we take all AB CD E off ABC D and we took it rather than at the low or the high
064but the median one and a half times the price of low and then we added the $26,000 for the gym. We're at about 2 just over 2.1 million, which again $300,000 difference from the 1.8 million that was budgeted. To me, it's a no-brainer to just to do the recommended option three. I just want to make sure, like anything else, the numbers are right. Right. Because it's really easy to spend other people's money. Um, but am I right? So, we we have about 1.8 million budgeted for this project. >> We don't. Oh, >> so as as you as you recall, there was a rather lively discussion regarding this project. So where we left off was the uncertainty uh about the design of what the ultimate cost will be. So the board of finance gave us money
065to to do this aspect to do the design and to do the leg work and then we would go back to the board of finance and say this this is the cost um and then we'll work out what the funding will be. So we do not have a 1.8 allocated because there is some uncertainty um regarding what the total cost of the project will be. So with the plan is if approved tonight we will go before the board of finance in November um to request these funds and hopefully it will will be approved in November and then we can start the other phases that will be needed to to ensure a a um a timeline that we can have it completed for the start of the new year. And as far as >> I'm sorry,
066David, go ahead. Sorry. >> I was quickly say as far as uh what we I I remember what we voted for as a board, right? We did vote to encumber the funds and so the board of finance uh undid that so to speak, right? So what hap Okay. So what happens and this I guess might be a question for you Phil and potentially you Steve. So what hap now that we know the costs are they going to tell us in so many I understand it's one budget for the town so to speak right one taxpayer but is this going to be a special appropriation is this going to be just money coming back from the board of finance or they're going to ask us come this January February March when we're looking at our budget
067to figure it out from our budget >> go ahead Phil >> I I think it is to be determined I I my I do not believe the last conversation was that it was not going to come from our budget. Um the board of finance would find some ways of funding this project. I I do believe that we did have the commitment from the board of finance to move this project forward. I think what they wanted to find to to to better understand was the timeline and also what the co ultimate cost would be. But if it's a if it's unless they've already encumbered the money, uh, then it'll be a special appropriation. Okay. Yeah. My only concern was that they're going to put us they're going to pit us against ourselves potentially come January, February,
068March when we're working on our own budget. And so we we should have a reasonable ex expectation that uh this money at least what we asked for we voted on last year should come back to us without being told you need to find an offset in your own budget. So yeah, I think if that's true, we're talking about potentially $300,000 delta between what we estimated a year ago and what the project would be. And that in the grand scheme of things is not something that we should consider any other option. I think that we should just go with option three. Sorry, Michael. I know I kind of jumped in on you. No, no, no. That's perfect. I mean, my only my only follow-up question um for you, Phil, is if we went ahead and we
069moved this forward tonight um and we we move the project, what is the anticipated completion date of this? Is this going to be like end of Is this going to be over the summer of 2027? Is that what we're thinking? Or is this 26? >> 26. Summer of 26. >> Okay. Great. Okay. So, so I would imagine that the board of finance, now that we're going to come to them with a a plan, is going to ask uh the longevity of the of this new system and uh should we do any type of improvements on North House? Uh you know, will this you know, will this Will will this, you know, be continue? I mean, are we going to have to tear it out and start all over again? >> If you're thinking primarily from
070the HVAC perspective, Steve, I I don't believe we'll need to to tear anything out. >> Okay. >> I think one of the one of the biggest concerns that we do have with the North House has to do with IAK, right? Internal the indoor air quality. I think this will address it. In terms of what our immediate focus is or immediate focus is to is to address that. I do not believe and I could be wrong that there was any any alternative plan to doing anything with the North House. Um so that's where the entire so that's where the entire conversation um lies. >> Okay. Well, you're going to have to clarify that to them. >> Peter, do you have any thoughts here? You're the HVAC expert on the board. >> Yeah, I had all my
071notes. I did my walkound on Sunday. I think David and Michael asked really good questions. Um I I look at this from an IMO perspective and I think that's where Michael came from also. Uh you know in insulation maintenance and operation I like electricity. I like the flexibility of zone heating. I like the lack of dependence on on roof mechanics. Uh the only the only question I had was uh and Phil just asked about it. IAQ we're going to have some sensors and will we have any pathogen control beyond outdoor outdoor air source here because uh if we're going to make an investment uh in these classrooms for the young learners can we sort of cut cut down on maybe some virus that's floating around and I think actually the option three allows you to
072do the most path control because you can uh plug into some electricity and put some ultra blanks in stuff like that. Maybe that's a question for Adam later. You know, if we want to add some pathogen control, I think option three probably gives us the best flexibility to do that. >> So, so just one other question, what's the longevity of each option and which you know eventually it's going to be needed to be fixed? which is the easiest and and quickest option to fix. Um well depends uh depends what okay so let's put it this way the longest I think we we stated in the report try to find out what it is like uh option three it's expected life is like a 15 to 20 years >> uh we didn't say option four because
073it's really combination of both but the option two uh just give us around 15 to 20 years. So is is is similar if we're talking about those two options. >> Yeah. >> Uh you know the we we do have also option number uh two and option number uh one. So for example option number two I believe it's a little longer. No it's also 15 20 years. So we we we are in the same range of life time of the equipment. >> Uh >> Adam just just a pointer real quick. So as as as as you as you as you're seeing right now, what we're looking at in terms of life of of equipment, it's the equipment these days are not built the way they were in the past. So if you think of the middle
074school for example which has all original equipment all the life that we have on all these current units options 1 through 4 you have you have an average life of 15 years not and that is nothing compared to what we currently have in the middle school which is from the 1950s and and so forth. >> Wow. >> So again Lisa to your point these these will be brand new units. We do not anticipate that in the in the near term in the short term that we'll need to do any significant repairs to these units. And one of the plus to having option three is that these are individual units and they can be serviced individually similar to what we currently have for example in the east house or the south house. We do have units
075that fail from time to time and we can address those individual units and not have to focus on the entire unit for the entire space. >> Right. Very helpful. >> Okay. Yeah. So I I I I don't want to add anything to that. >> What the warranty on these? >> Is there a warranty on the equipment for what period of time? >> Correct. But uh be well I cannot tell you what is the warranty. Usually it's like around 10 years for a compressors. This is the the major uh I think piece of equipment if we're talking about VRF. I forgot to mention before maybe it's going to be light up a little bit. Uh the the the VRF is like a you know like a you know when we talking about like a uh totally
076um electrical equipment in the future electricification right now is very kind of common way to to go and that that's a way to go with option three. you're going to get you can you can have totally independent electrical heating equipment if you wish. Uh the option four and any other options involve with a with a gas equipment and uh you know natural gas of course it's right now it's it's it's pretty uh not that expensive and and it's good for operation but we know from uh years before it really depends. I mean electrical the same thing but you you still have a gas boilers operating as a supplemental heat. So in case if something happen with the borders you you can produce the heat using the RF system. >> Now my question is what what's
077the warranty? >> It's around 10 years. >> So half of half half to twothirds the life of of uh of the overall project. Well, I'm I'm sorry. It's Well, hold on a second. Warranty of that equipment. It's really depends of the parts. I mentioned 10 years. 10 years is a is a it's a I believe it's a 10 years. It's a It's a a compressor uh warranty. The parts might be five. I I'm not quite sure right now. I cannot answer your question. Yeah, >> Steve. To me, it's a little bit like the powertrain on a car, right? The car manufacturers give you 100,000 mi powertrain warranty, but a three or 36,000 mi warranty and everything else because the power train likely, right? So, >> uh, but what this does do, this informs us as
078a board in the town that they have to start reserving now for a replacement in 15 to 20 years. Right? The interesting double-edged sword is if we move forward with option three, we now have also we know in 20 years, 15 to 20 years, we're going to incur that expense again. >> Yeah. Except the building it would be close to 100 years old. >> Yeah, fair enough. >> Yeah, but you you you're right. But also, we cannot control everything. as an example, EPA changed the within I mean we we currently right now just switching from one refrigerant to another refrigerant and within we know already within 5 years we're going to do the same thing. So like uh most likely when you have to replace let's say compressor uh maybe not compressor the unit within
079after five six years from now >> you probably have to replace the the whole piping etc. Just to let you know. >> No, no. I'm not I Mine was just a question that we don't have to you we're not having to justify it. I guess unless there are more questions. Do we believe this is at a point where we feel comfortable having Phil go before the board of finance for the recommendation? >> I'm ready to do the motion if you're ready. >> I'm ready. >> I want to add Steve. I want to add some context. Yes. To your question. I wanted to add some context specifically for the board of finance on this point. I looked through all the information. Thank you for compiling a very comprehensive document. There's two points on page 55 that
080are the core of this entire discussion. Point six on page 55 is in general the systems do not provide adequate outside air to keep the students healthy and alert. Point seven is the lack of air conditioning in the classrooms coupled with inadequate ventilation leads to conditions that are at best not conducive to learning and can have serious health consequences for students with respiratory issues. And you have a board of ed that all is in agreement we should go with the build it once build it right number three option. And crucial in this conversation is a point that just got brought up, which is if this happens in November or December, it's ready in September of 2026. If we play more pingpong and get into the whole thing that we get criticized for a lot of
081kicking the can down the road, that pushes things out further. So, board of finance, that's one of the advantages of having these things recorded. Let's move this project along. You have a board of ed that wants to do it. The kids need it. It's not healthy. So, let's do this. All right. >> Ready for a motion? >> Go for it, David. >> All right. Move that the Weston Board of Education approve the North House HVAC project as recommended by Landmark Facilities Group, option three, and the gym split unit. >> Is there a second? >> I second. >> Okay. All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. So, the motion carries. Thank you. Thanks, Adam. Thanks. >> Thanks, Mike. >> Thank you, guys. Move on to the district improvement plan. Erica, >> yes. Thank you, Steve,
082and thank you for the time and space on the meeting agenda this evening. Um, I'm I am pleased to be part of the district leadership team in presenting uh the 2025-26 district improvement plan and sharing a little bit about our strategic approach in advancing the district's work through the uh this current school year. Um, this plan that you're about to hear a little more about this evening is a reflection of how to prepare our students to think critically, collaborate effectively, communicate clearly, create imaginatively, and act as responsible citizens, which are all the essential portrait of the graduate competencies that define success in a changing world and also a very quickly evolving educational land landscape. Um the plan builds on the strong foundation set last year. It it aligns to teaching and learning and leadership practices
083with some datainformed decision-making, but it keeps student well-being, the safety, security, technology, and operational operational future readiness at the forefront of all of the actions. As you'll see throughout the evening, each goal connects directly to a larger vision of excellence, belonging, and purposeful innovation. Um, in math, we're helping students to see themselves as capable problem solvers through student- centered and hands-on learning. In literacy, we're nurturing readers and writers who can think deeply and communicate clearly across all disciplines. Um, in science, we're expanding inquirybased learning that fuels curiosity, creativity, innovation, and critical thinking. In culture and climate, we're really deepening um, belonging and ensuring that ev every voice, students, families, and staff is heard and also valued. And information, literacy, and technology, we're preparing students to navigate a digital world responsibly and creatively, including the thoughtful
084use of AI. Um, in safety and security, we're continuing to build systems and partnerships that keep every member of our community safe um, physic both physically and emotionally. And in future facilities planning, we're working to design modern, safe learning environments that support the needs of our students and educators for decades to come. So each of these areas that I just spoke about represent more than just a goal. It's really a commitment. a commitment to the belief that every single student can achieve at high levels and thrive when learning is rigorous, engaging, inclusive, and our our facilities are safe um and welcoming to do so. Um the team this evening is not going to go through every single goal, every single target, and every single action and outcome listed in each section of this plan, but
085rather spotlight several actions and outcomes that capture the essence and heart of the improvement efforts in their particular area. So, as you listen to each of the district leaders present this evening, um I invite you to think about a few guiding um ideas and principles. First is alignment. Like how does this work connect across schools and departments? The second is impact. How will these efforts shape the daily experiences of our students and staff? And the third is collaboration. How do we as leaders in a in an educational community model the very competencies we we seek to instill in our students? So at this point I am going to turn it over to Tina who is going to start um with some uh teaching and learning. Great. Thank you Superintendent 40. I am also want to
086reiterate some of the um appreciation around the the work that we as a team put into this um district improvement plan. What you may not see um is that we start this work uh right in June of the previous year. So when you receive your endofear kind of update around our school uh our district and school improvement plan, we already start thinking ahead around um next year's yeah next year's work and we continue on with multiple iterations and reflective questions and as a team both at the school level with our teachers and with our leaders and then also across the different departments um at the district level. So, I just wanted to take a minute to say thank you to all the leaders and all of um the teachers that might be listening right now
087because we take this work very uh seriously and we know that this drives our work um into the school year and and in some cases um over multiple years. So before we go into the specific domain around mathematics, I just want to remind everyone um on how we decide and determine our goals and our um improvement efforts every year. You can see that when we look at the individual targets for achievement and for growth across all of the different domains, we um use multiple data sources when we um are evaluating our our growth measures and our achievement measures. We take into consideration um our standardized assessment tools which are assessments like smarter balanced SAT and GSS and we also look at um formative assessment tools which in Weston we use tools such as Dibbles 8
088in literacy NWA in math and literacy um and this year we've got um some data from our panorama surveys too that are helping drive the work and so when we look at um determining the metrics around these goals. I just want to remind everyone that we look at a variety of different um information. We look at the numerical targets of the current school year students. So, you'll see um we've referenced in parentheses some fall achievement data of the current students that are in front of us. And we also look at previous year um achievement and growth as well. So all of that taken into consideration when we think about an achievable um uh target that we feel we can meet at the end of the year um over time. So, first we start with math.
089Um, and and this really builds, as Erica said, on our work that we've been work that we've been really focusing on over the last couple years, which is to transform our mathematics classrooms so that students see themselves as capable mathemat mathematicians and they engage in the work as if they were mathemat mathematicians in the field. Um and so over the past couple years you are aware that we've been updating our curriculum across all the content areas. Um this is the first year that we'll have illustrative math which is a problembased curriculum in grades one through um 8th grade. Uh we also are still infusing building thinking classrooms across the different um classrooms which allow students to work collaboratively, get up out of their seats and work on vertical spaces um where they're problem solving and
090communicating through the different um curriculum based tasks um throughout the throughout the units of study. We're also going to be still working to enhance our multi-tered system of support and that's through data analysis uh through our data teams through collaborative planning and through coaching cycles with support of our CILs. Um, we know and we can see that how this work connects to our portrait of the graduate when we focus on critical thinking and cultivating that those environments where where students have to problem solve and think in multiple ways when they're solving problems. they have to persevere through problems and then um as you as you me as I mentioned before we're really focusing on more collaborative environments in a problem uh solving environment problem based environment where skills have where students have to transfer their
091skills and make connections beyond the classroom walls. Um so those are some of the high leverage um uh action steps that are grounded in our data points and and some of our work throughout the year. you can see that um a lot of our work in every area is really grounded in the evidence indicators. So, we're looking at ways to kind of gather some observational components of our work throughout the year um and get into classrooms to see some sample student work um components to see if that thinking critically and that problem solving and persevering is really coming to life. So, as we transition to literacy, um you will see that our overarching literacy goal for students is how do we help um our students become proficient readers, writers, and thinkers and how do we
092help support them communicate clearly across disciplines. We know that when we look at um uh our literacy goals that while these may be isolated on paper, we know that literacy goals uh transcend across all content areas and we want to infuse those literacy practices in all content areas. Um the research shows that it helps strengthen comprehension, vocabulary, and communication overall. This year, as you may be aware, um we are really grounding um a lot of our curriculum updates and support at the intermediate school in grades 3, four, five. This is their second year of adopting a new literacy program. So, our CILs are still our CIL is still supporting teachers around coaching cycles in that area. We are still using um a lot of our curriculum- based measures and our universal screening data to help
093support differentiated instruction so that students have authentic texts that are um at their developmental level, at their performance level, and also support some of their interests when it comes to reading. Right? We want to make sure that across the district we have authentic texts that are high interest. They're in different forms such as poetry, informational uh text, narrative fiction, and even graphic novels. Uh we know that those are highinterest texts, and we want kids to love to read. And the more books and authentic resources that we get in front of them, uh we hope to inspire that love of reading across the grade levels. And then moving on to um science. Um, as Erica mentioned in the beginning, sorry, I'm I'm toggling and scrolling as I speak. Um, in science, um, our goal again is
094to ensure every student experiences hands-on inquirybased learning in, um, in our science curriculum. This supports our next generation science standards and the idea of a phenomenonbased learning environment where students are exposed to an um maybe a phenomenon around around them such as um could be something as simple as you know why is the sun why is the sunset red right and so that phenomenon when they they kick off a unit it intrigues students it piqus some interest and then teachers are able to connect the science concepts to that phenomenon so students can talk about it and they can engage in more deep science understanding and inquiry. We are still going to use our um standardized assessment metric in science specifically because we currently do not have a formative assessment science tool across all grade levels
095starting um you know in kindergarten through 8th grade. We we use NGSS for a standardized measure when we develop our goals. Um we have been using and growing in our use around um a tool called inner orbit that is a curriculum based assessment tool that is connected to the next generation science assessment. So we're going to continue um elevating and enhancing that tool to help us support our uh work at the curriculum level. Um and then finally I would just mention that some of our work this year in science is to talk a little bit about um visible thinking routines in the science classroom. Um infuse some sci more science talk practices to help elevate that conversation around innovation and science practices and see how the world uh works around us in uh in the
096science area. Uh this definitely builds our student curiosity, their creativity and connects to some of those competencies um that we want to ensure students are mastering before they graduate through the portrait of the graduate. Um so transitioning now I just want to uh move on to some of the work that um Julie and Tracy are going to talk a little bit more specifically. We know that um the content areas while we're focusing on deep student- centered learning um that and grounded in our data and our support with our CILs through instructional coaching and collaboration, academic priorities only thrive when students feel a strong sense of belonging in their schools. And so the next section um Julie and Tracy are going to talk um and lead us through. So I'm going to hand the mic to
097them. >> Great. Uh thank you. Good evening everyone. for district culture and climate. Our goal is to foster an inclusive environment where all students, staff, and families are safe, welcomed, and supported through meaningful schoolwide relationships. Um, this year we're implementing our Panorama survey one time in March in an effort to improve our participation rates. All of our performance targets, which are organized by students, families, and staff in this improvement plan, will be measured by outcomes on the March 2026 Panorama survey in comparison to the spring 2025 survey administration. As you can see, the emphasis is on cultivating a sense of belonging for our students and the overall climate of our buildings as experienced by staff and families. Our action steps this year are centered around our major initiatives, including our continued work with school climate
098and restorative practices, our rollout of No Place for Hate at Weston Middle School, supporting and enhancing our work with district-wide social emotional learning programming, and offering families opportunities to learn about programs and strategies to support their children at school and at home. At this point, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Gavone, who is going to speak in more detail about some additional action steps related to our faculty and staff in the area of culture and climate. >> Thank you. Um, so in in we really closely reviewed the Panorama survey data that came in last year as was discussed I believe in the June meeting of the board. Um, and there were two data points relating to staff that really stood out to us. Um, probably most notably the rate of participation of our
099staff in this survey. And it's really important to us in order in in this desire to uh um create a more positive working environment for staff members to truly understand uh what that environment looks and feels like for them. And we can only do that when we have greater participation particularly for our non from our non-eing staff. So we are uh we've selected two action steps related to staff really around the idea that we would like to ensure that all staff members are aware of and have access to a variety of channels for providing feedback to us not just through the Panorama survey but also through other avenues because we truly believe that when staff members have input and a voice in decision-m that that uh supports a respectful ful and positive working environment which
100uh has a direct benefit to the experience of our students. In tandem with that, we're working to we're committing to working to establish district processes to demonstrate how that staff feedback is reviewed and applied in leaders decisionmaking. Uh we looked really carefully not only at the standardized data points but also at the free responses from the survey uh and saw over and over again that our staff members are uh really looking to understand how decisions are made at the highest levels and how their impact how their input is informing that decision- making. So uh this wraps up really nicely with the points that Dr. Edwards was making related to our overall school culture and climate and we really feel that the work that our staff members do and bring every day uh is is so
101crucial to that process. So I am now turning this over to our uh uh director of digital learning, Mr. Dvito. >> Thank you very much. Uh good evening. As part of our district improvement plan, I'd like to highlight two initiatives that reflect our commitment to preparing students and staff for a world that is increasingly shaped by technology and artificial intelligence. Both items focus on digital literacy and AI literacy insur ensuring that our learners are not just users of technology but thoughtful, ethical and creative participants in a digital society. The first initiative is a continuation of identifying and designing units of study aligned with the ISTY and AASL standards. We're weaving digital literacy and AI literacy directly into the curriculum the teachers are already using. Our goal is to help teachers and students strengthen their technical
102literacy, research skills, and understanding how technology including AI can be used responsibly and creatively. Our library media specialists bring deep expertise in information literacy and instructional design, ensuring that this integration is consistent, age appropriate, and grounded in recognized national standards. Over time, this initiative will enhance both student learning and teacher capacity, helping our district ensure that every student develops the critical digital and AI skills needed to succeed in the world beyond Weston. The second initiative, it's a big one. It's about taking a proactive and responsible approach to generative AI tools like Gemini and others that are transforming how we learn and work. We're developing a comprehensive district plan that brings all stakeholders together, teachers, administrators, and students to build a shared understanding of what AI is, how it works, and how it can be used
103effectively in education. This plan will include professional development for staff, educational opportunities for students and families, and clear guidance for ethical and secure AI use. The goal is to not just use AI, but to understand it, its strengths, its limitations, and its impact on creativity, privacy, and learning. In doing so, Western Public Schools will position itself as a leader in responsible and informed AI integration. We want our students to leave our schools not only knowing how to use AI, but how to question it, guide it, and use it ethically. Together, these two initiatives strengthen our mission to empower students to think critically, act responsively, and thrive in a rapidly changing world. By embedding digital and AI literacy into our curriculum, and by developing a thoughtful plan for AI integration, we're ensuring Western remains a forwardinking,
104equitable, and aligned with the highest educational standards. And now I'd like to introduce Mr. Jim Wily who will discuss safety and security. >> Good evening. Our goal is to maintain an environment where safety and security are foundational, ensuring every student and staff member can thrive both in the classroom and across the campus. School security in Weston is built upon a layered approach, one that combines trained personnel, advanced technology, and standardized procedures, all working together as a unified security ecosystem. This reflects my belief that true safety isn't achieved through any single measure, but through collaboration, consistency, and readiness across every level of the district. To that end, we're focusing on three key areas. Training, building and campus safety, and emergency communication. Under training, this this consists of conducting crisis response drills, partnering with Weston EMS for
105medical readiness training. Our security staff have have also just completed a 3-day school security officer course hosted by NASRO, further strengthening our preparedness and professionalism under building and sa campus safety, improving physical security through new access controls, expanded camera coverage, and additional alert notification beacons. Upcoming projects include installing door access alarms, adding a guardrail along School Road near Hurlbot, and working with Weston Police to enhance traffic safety. Emergency communication will be advancing our ability to communicate quickly and clearly through an upgraded radio infrastructure and updated software and continue coordination with Weston police, fire, and town leadership. Together, these initiatives reinforce our ongoing commitment to a safe, resilient, and well-prepared school community. I'll now toss it off to Phil and Eric. Erica, thank you, John. Good evening, everyone. Um, as it relates to future planning, we
106will continue our work of designing learning environments that are safe, modern, and aligns with needs of teaching and learning, the community, and that will carry Western on for decades to come. This work is a joint effort. It involves all stakeholders, the board of education, the community, board of selectmen, and the board of finance. to descend. We will have community focus community focused group to gather feedback around future plans for our entire campus infrastructure. We will align those plans around our enrollment projection which we will start um in November. The immediate goal is is a grant submission by this June by June of 26. As a note, a grant submission is not a commitment, but instead it allows us to secure commitment from the state for for our reimbursement. During this time, we will review the
107various options and present these options to all stakeholders for an ultimate referendum. And with that, I will pass it back to Erica. >> Thank you, Phil. First, I just want to thank all of our district leaders this evening for presenting. Um the work in this plan is representative of not only their expertise, their time, their energy, but really thoughtful and uh collaborative consideration of those tangible action steps in service of moving our district's priorities forward along with explicit evidence indicators so that we know and can mark our progress or attainment of our articulated goals. Um, what's shared in this plan not only reflects careful planning and prioritization, but our commitment and continued focus on excellence, something we want to practice every single day, not just a finish line or that we reach. Um, the belonging
108not as an isolated program, but more of a a feeling we create in every single interaction in every space within our school communities. and innovation which is not necessarily about change for the sake of change but rather purposely improving how we teach, learn and lead. Um this this is more than a document. It is a a guide and reflection of our collective purpose um which is to ensure every single Western student is seen, supported, challenged to reach their fullest potential. So thank you Thanks everybody. Um it's a lot um quite quite a bit. uh um kind of open the floor to the board members to ask questions or comments or you know this is a living document so it's u you know it's goals and aspirations and anybody want to uh >> yeah I'll jump
109in Steve >> yeah thanks Chad >> yeah mo most of mine are just comments and and overwhelmingly positive first of all Tina thank you so much and for calling it out as well. I know this is not because I asked for it, but I so brilliantly love that it's featured in the document. And Erica, please continue this even once I'm on the board and others are interested in these same things. Thank you for all the call outs of other ways to measure and evaluate if we're doing well as a district besides test scores. Yes, they're essential, but they're also the easiest and fastest things to look at, and they don't necessarily paint a full picture. So boy did I appreciate sort of section by section how you're using multiple things to evaluate how we're doing.
110So thank you for that. Then Dan in the section on tech AI specifically I would suggest this for all of us and particularly as this is like almost a week to week monthtomonth sort of moving target. I really appreciated the truncating into two things and I would suggest we be quite skeptical about the first and then very uh even not not aggressive is not the right word but very innovative and quick and nimble in the second. So the first part is like let's integrate AI in the ways we can in the classroom to help equip our students. And the lesson there from iPads and digital and all the stuff of the last 20 years is like be a little mindful on that one. But the second part about like recognizing how this is going to
111transform everything and equipping our students to be able to be part of that dialogue. I think we should absolutely be doing that. And so far from being a lite on that one, we do have to help them be skilled with this. And I'm going to steal a phrase that I've now quoted from Peter Gordon like I don't even know how many times. But the goal with AI, I would argue, is the same as the goal with any tech. Is that our kids should not be able to work tech, but they should understand how technology works. So the evaluation is not just can they use AI effectively. should actually be do they have a deep understanding of how it's changing a world and how it's it's working and if we are slow and skeptical on the
112first we're not going to make a bunch of adoptions of software that ultimately is just about driving you know Microsoft bottom line we help them on the second then we're doing our job as educators so thank you for splitting that into two very clear sort of missions there and then Phil yes let's submit that grant yes yes thank Thank you putting that for putting that on there. Yes, let's do that cuz we have to change the kicking the can down the road mantra. And last, uh, Erica, I appreciate also the call out about we're not going to just do change for the sake of change, but we are going to embrace change if it's about how we purposefully adjust or innovate for how we teach and we lead. So, those are just some things that
113popped out to me. really appreciate all of those things and I don't have any specific questions but I wanted to bring your attention to those things because they look very compelling all of them. Thank you. >> May I just add a plug since you brought it up. So, and since you're on the uh subcommittee meeting, Chad, you'll be front and center. Um the AI advisory committee will be doing an update um during our curriculum subcommittee meeting um in January. And as you can see, one of the common threads throughout the content area specific um components of the document is around multi-tered systems of support. And we are going to do um a deep dive and overview of our K12 MTSS um system practices, protocols um in our November meeting. So, we're trying to make sure
114that there's a throughine and um you know, aspects of what we do that to come to life in some of our subcommittee work, too, because we know that we can't do it all in our board of ed meetings. And so, that's where a lot of these topics we hope will live and we could go a little bit deeper. And if you didn't get a chance to look at the subcommittee meeting from October, um Principal Bluestein um he provided an overview for No Place for Hate, which um Dr. Edwards mentioned during the school climate um uh portion of it as well as the anonymous reporting system that um uh Mr. Dvito mentioned as well. So hopefully we can start seeing um and leverage some of our time in our curriculum subcommittee meeting that is connected to
115aspects of this work throughout the year. Um, so if people want to dive a little deeper and understand a little bit more clearly what we do, um, and how this document is a living and breathing document, um, that is where we hope that some of that conversation will, um, will evolve. So, thank you for bringing it up. >> Well, I'm going to put in another plug. I really appreciate the the fact that you are implementing best practices. you're you're transforming your curriculum um to best practices today. It's cognitively challenging and yet engaging for the students. So, you're you're taking I I mean, I really appreciate the committee on AI. It's about talking about what's working and implementing it into the curriculum and not waiting. You're being ahead of the game. And I'm sure and and
116it just sounds like you're going to implement it, look at it, change it, and and get to best practices as a leader. And and uh I really appreciate the the illustrative mathematics, you know, engaging it so students know why they're learning it. um and the next generation science standards. So, it's cognitively demanding. We're looking at the problem solving that the students are going to need later on in life. So, um I really appreciate the presentation and and how thoughtful and visionary it is. Thank you. >> Are there um >> Thank you, Lisa. Thanks, Lisa. Yeah, >> I don't have anything to add but just to prove that I paid attention and I followed along. Uh I just would simply say what I like about the dip is that it's a point and Tina will know
117this about me and the rest of you have seen me on the board for a while. It's an opportunity for me in the spring to be reflective and we talk about accountability of the students and parents should hold the administration the board accountable as well. So, I like these because it kind of sets expectations of what we should anticipate as the school year kind of unwinds. And then in the spring and I guess early summerish and fall, mostly fall, I suppose, really if you kind of think about it, it's an opportunity to look back and see what we did well and reflect on changes that we can make. So, I did follow along. and I paid attention, but I we'll talk more in the spring, fall, uh summer and fall. >> Quick comment, quick question.
118Um comment, Tina, you know, I'm a sucker for these numbers and I just want to say that looking through all of them, it looks like you've raised targets across the board with the exception of K to2 in math. So good to see and well done on that. I'm assuming that you're looking and the way I'm looking at it is spring over spring. Right. So looking at those numbers, I think across the board here, math, English, um not only have you raised the targets, but you've raised the growth targets as well. Um which is quite ambitious, which I I love to see. So I appreciate that. Am I looking at that correct, Tina? I look I know it's multiffactorial and how you're coming up with you know what the targets are and all um you know
119new curriculum etc etc but should we be looking at this spring over spring I assume and is that how you're looking at it and sort of using the baseline to gauge this spring versus the last is that is that how you're looking at it >> yeah I'm glad you brought it up we I mentioned in the beginning and and we talk about this every year um that We look at spring to spring goals to look at achievement, but we know that that's a different cohort of students. >> Correct. >> So, we're also very mindful of the current students that are in front of us. So, we always look at um our fall current fall uh baseline data too um when we're making that determination. So, in some cases, you'll see that there is a typical
1203% is what we usually look at from spring to spring. a 3% improvement um across uh the grade bands. Um and in our growth area, we typically are a little bit more aggressive because we want to close that gap. Um and so typically we use a 4% um improvement overall. Um I just want to mention that this is the district level um improvement goals. And so at the school level, they're even more granular and they're even more specific to their students in front of them. And in some cases, they're even more aggressive in in some areas where they really feel that the curriculum is more developed. Um, we have teachers that are more comfortable in in knowing some of the different um instructional strategies because they've been teaching that curriculum a little bit longer. We
121may have stronger students coming in in the fall. And so we've our principles have pushed the envelope in some areas um as well. So this again is an overall um district level plan that comprises you know um aggregated data across multiple grade levels in some cases but if you take some time to look at the schoolbased goals as well you'll see that they're even more specific by grade band. So simple answer, yes, Michael. Um we are looking at spring to spring typically while still taking into consideration that fall baseline information because we know we have a different group of students in front of us and we're trying to be um aggressive yet achievable, right? >> Yeah. And I love the fact that you're increasing the growth as you're increasing the targets and as we know
122as the target goes up, of course the growth gets harder, right? because there's there's there's less room for improvement, let's say. And so, um, I like that you're doing both of those things. That's really ambitious and that's great to see. Um, one one last question, just these are aggregate numbers. When when when you when you're talking to the principles who are talking to the teachers and all and and you guys are following the students, right? You know, as they go from, you know, kindergarten to first to second all the way up. um do you typically see and I'm I'm not sure necessarily the question to ask here but are you typically seeing that the majority of students here just on an individual basis because look we can hide a lot of things sort of in
123the aggregate data um are you seeing that there is constant improvement amongst most of those children and if if there is not or in those cases where there is not I assume we're giving them additional or supple supplemental help and services in order to make sure that each individual student is progressing from, you know, from where they have been sort of and growing throughout their educational career. Um, just >> to bring that up. Um, I'm glad you brought that up and it's really hard to answer that question at a district level because it is so student specific. >> Um, that is what I mentioned regarding the multi-tiered system of support and what our system and structure looks like. Um, in Weston, we've been working really hard over the last couple years to create a handbook
124and a framework for what that looks like K through 12 in math and in literacy. And that's where our action steps are called out very specifically around how do we um use our curriculum instruction leaders, how do we use our interventionist to help unpack that data and then translate that data into goal setting action steps all the way down to the student level. Um and how do we use the data? So even at the district level, we're using NWA, we're using Dibbles 8, but there's other metrics that we're also using that are more granular and more curriculum based to help make adjustments so that students are growing and meeting at least end of grade level expectations and that's by grade level by content area. And those are different targets, right? when you look at the
125classroom level and that's what the data team structure why the data team structures are so important and um I'm really excited to have our team kind of talk a little bit more in detail at our curriculum committee meeting um in November when they really dive into the MTSS system which doesn't just include academics but it also includes social emotional learning and behavior as well when we look at um our system and structure and how all those things relate together. >> Awesome. Thanks. >> Yeah, I have two inputs. Uh the first is very specific to science, you know, close to my heart and uh I think you could add something which is a real positive which is the use of external experiences. Right? I give you an example. We started with the high school reps, right?
126They're going to the Body Museum, natural science. It's the premier natural science museum in the world at Yale. And I know the eighth graders are going to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, a remarkable science museum. So you have like external excitement generators, right? That could be a a thing to add uh because we're doing it and why not uh highlight that. And then I have an overall uh observation. I like a lot of the June 2026 deadlines because it's a sea change. Uh it's for the benefit of the students, the teachers, and the parents. We're showing some sense of urgency, which is good. You don't want to do urgency for the sense of getting something done and incomplete. You want the sense of urgency because it has to get done right and better now than
127later, right? So, that's a C change. I really like that a lot. And I think uh Steve will comment in one specific area of urgency, but uh clearly we hit on this earlier with the HVAC discussion. I thought Michael and David were exactly right and then Chad added in it has to happen yesterday, right? The kids are at risk here. So why not do this job right and do it expeditiously? I think that carries over to the general view we should have campuswide. And again, I like the sense of urgency. So, thank you. >> I personally like the fact that we are a very high performing district. That's evidenced by all the different awards we've received in a relatively short period of time, you know, before school was out. And yet, you're raising the bar,
128right? You're raising the bar. Not you, the whole district is raising the bar to get to an even higher level. and you're going to be held and want to be held accountable for that. I mean, that's a, you know, that's something to be, you know, that's something to be proud of. Um, it's a challenge and, uh, you know, you're you're you're you're meeting the challenge. Every teacher, support staff, every member of the administration is meeting the challenge. Um, and you know, there'd be a lot more to be learned in the spring, but it's it's a high bar already that you're just going to raise uh you're going to raise even higher to the benefit, you know, of every child in the school system. >> Shall we move on to uh the consent agenda? >> Steve,
129before we move off district improvement, I have one other thing to share. I thought other board members might chime in. So, if we're done with that, before we shift, I do want to add one other thing, which is, and this is timely because of that project you just watched us through, which is I often feel like as a board member, we put you in this very difficult situation, which is in the fall, we say, "Show us how well you've done." And in the spring, we say, "Great, but do it for less money." And that's the conundrum that we tend to drive. Now, I'm not going to be on the board after this meeting. the Democratic Town Committee decided to run a different candidate. That That's all good. I I wish them well. And and apparently
130the incoming board is going to be a tremendously experienced board. So, I'm like, thumbs up on Weston. Go team go. Yes. Board of Ed. And since I won't be here in person to ask these questions, that's why I'm framing them now. Last year when budget season rolled around, the first questions that we gave all of you were around like austerity and austerity and why isn't this lower and trying to carve every nickel out. And then in April, May, and June, we got zillions of angry emails from parents about staff losses and parents being upset that teachers were being cut. So because I'm not going to be here, I want to share two questions that I may ask from public comment in that point. And the two questions are simply how many teachers or a headcount
131will we have to lose based on the numbers that we're talking about right now? And then pointedly to the district, does this budget give you what you need? Not like the bare minimum, but what you need to keep going with this incredible district improvement plan you just walked us through. Since I won't be here, I wanted to position those two things right now because you need resources to do the kind of performance you just talked about and just walked us through in this district improvement plan. Thank you for that and thank you for the blue ribbon status last year and all the amazing achievements that you've done. And it's our job as a board and as a community to help build the foundation that lets you do your jobs. Chad, I'm very sorry to hear
132that you've been cancelled, but we look forward to your public comments at our public meetings. >> Was that >> to which we will not respond, >> right? >> I would expect I would expect nothing more nor nothing less. >> Well, you should speak up during public comment during uh budget season. >> I will I'll I'll be there to to bang the drum for go west and go. >> You'll have a louder unencumbered voice. and thank you for g thank you for giving us all of your time and and expertise. It's been a pleasure working with you, Chad. >> Well, thank you. But I I I I turn the thank you around. The only thing that I the thank you I think that should be directed is to the teachers and the faculty because boy oh
133boy do you get an inside view of how hard this gig is. Where does the volunteers who show up and you know ask you questions? You all have to work these pretty epic weeks week after week and month after month. My honestly and my only regret of any time spent on the board is that we have not even more clearly been able to send some love and some appreciation to the faculty and the teachers because God is a difficult career and profession and you all not just not just get by but you excel and you you thrive in it. So the community owes you all a huge thank you truly. >> Thank you Chad. >> Okay, on to staffing. We have a very brief um consent agenda staffing item this evening. I just want to
134highlight uh two two particular people. We recently welcomed Casey Bates to the middle school in the role of social worker. We're very pleased to have Casey with us. And um I would be remiss if I didn't note that we as of this December um Don Egan will be leaving the district. Many of you know Don was hired by the Western public schools in 2018, but has long served the public schools um prior to that time as PTO president um and as a parent volunteer. And so we uh certainly wished on luck in her next endeavors um but that will be a significant loss for us. as to the community as well. I mean, her impact on the western community is um has been felt by everybody. I mean, she's a just a force unto herself
135and um wish her well uh in Fort Worth, Texas. Um should we move on to the district update? I have a motion, please. >> Yeah. Sorry. >> Move that the Western Board of Education accept the consent items as presented by Dr. Gone. >> Is there a second? >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I >> on to the superintendence update. I don't have a formal update this evening, but I just want to thank the board for again allowing us to present our um district improvement plan. Encourage you to take a look at some of the school improvement plans and look for the very tight alignment and coherence between the two and how the work trickles all the way down to the school and the classroom level. Um and thank you for your kind comments,
136suggestions. Uh we're appreciative of the input and the feedback. And and just adding just a bit on to uh just an update. Um one of the things that you'll be hearing uh in the next meeting is an update on uh enrollment. Um the enrollment projections uh will be or have been or will be submitted to the state. They have to be certified by the end of this month. And then as we have done in the past and always have done in the past, they'll be presented to the board in November. Uh uh Tracy. >> Hi again everybody. I just have a couple of updates from the PPS department. Um, as a follow-up to my update last month, I'll be meeting with our district-wide seal working group next week to begin to evaluate our social emotional
137learning program districtwide to identify areas of strength, areas of growth, and any potential redundancies that need to be addressed at the building andor district level. Um, we'll also be working to determine the best ways to illustrate how our programs and initiatives fit together and work in conjunction with one another to support our students. Um, I was very pleased to have the opportunity to attend the first panel discussion hosted by the Weston uh PTO special education liaison at the Weston Library last week. It was very well attended and provided families with an opportunity to hear from other families about their experience with uh special education in the district. Uh related to the PTO liaison, they have been very busy. I met with them a couple of weeks ago to talk about their goals and priorities for
138the year. um and am very much looking forward to working in partnership with them to continue to improve our offerings and communication with families across the district. Just so the community knows, this will include a restructuring of my parent meetings this year. Um we're going to dedicate a meeting for each building in the district to make sure that our topics are um relevant and more focused to families at a particular age level. So, our first meeting will be focused on the Hess parent community. We are about to start the planning process for that. Um, and more information will be forthcoming. And that's it for me. >> Questions for Tracy? >> Um, Phil. >> Hey. Um to start the year, the key takeaway for the quarter was mix. Um we have some pockets of uh slight
139modest deficits and we have um better than expected um tuition non-resident tuition revenues. Um the good news is that we've been here before this. We we were at a similar place last year. Um but we we found a way to mitigate those those deficits. So we will continue to monitor what we have and we will make all the adjustments that's needed. Um just want to highlight that attached to on the agenda are to the packet is results from the state partnership plan which shows their financial result as of the end of June. Um health insurance continued to be a concern not just for Weston but for the entire state and ultimately for the entire country. So, this may have an impact as we go towards our budget for fiscal 27, but all in all, we're
140starting the year um in a good place. Any specific questions on the report? >> Phil, Phil, I just have a question just about um the medical the health care, you know, and the health insurance premiums and costs. So, um you know, look to your point just on the salaries front. Yeah. Yeah. I would imagine that, you know, there'll be turnover and some of that, you know, you know, bad guy of whatever 200 200 plus thousand dollars that'll turn throughout the year as we saw last year as well. Um, on the on the insurance side, Phil, I'm not obviously it doesn't impact us necessarily this year, but for the budget, as you just mentioned, um, do you have any indication um at this point what that increase will be like as we enter budget season for
141next year. Do you are there are there estimates? You know, what are you hearing? Because look, like last year, you know, what we're trying to do is of course minimize the impact in the front of the classroom and of course all the programs that we're offering. And this medical insurance seems to be eating up, you know, more and more of that of that budget. >> And I'm just trying to sort of work through how we mitigate those costs. I mean, we moved to the SP last year. And so, I guess the question is, do we have an estimate sort of of the cost of what you know, an idea of what that will be for next year as we head through budgetary season? And then I'm assuming you're thinking of options or to the extent
142that we can mitigate those costs, what options are available to us? Again, greater discussion than we have time for tonight. Um but just a general question for you about the outlook there. >> Yeah, it's it's rather challenging. Um >> yeah, >> not quite sure where we'll ultimately be. I mean, we we could I think the the rate increase for the plan coming into fiscal 26 was I think somewhere let's say about 10% or so. Um including that Fairfield County um adjustment. >> Yeah. um the the plan itself right now has a a deficit, right? And in order for in order for them to have a positive fund balance, the one of the ways that they do that is by is by the premium increases. So, it's still a little bit early to see. I'm hopeful
143I'm hoping that as a year progress that the claims will stabilize somewhat um and that will have a positive impact in terms of what the rates will be. But I I think it's not all the real possibility to be anywhere between 10 to 15%. I hope it's not. It's a little bit early for us to to to consider options because we don't have a senses to water our claims experiences right now because the plan just started July 1. So it will have to take some time for us to, you know, for the claims to mature and for us to kind of explore some options. Again, as I like to say, right, our entire process is a marathon, right? We we're going to start we're going to start our process um this month and you know
144we will know we'll have a better sense when the actual rates are finalized in early spring. So it's a long process but I'm I'm I'm really hopeful that it will not be too much of a negative or drag on entire budget but we we always find a way to mitigate things and we will hope to continue that for fiscal 26. Thanks. So, >> uh before we move on, uh we forgot to do something at the beginning of this meeting is to recognize the newest doctor in the house. Um we now have three doctors in the house. Uh Julie, congratulations on receiving your PhD. It's a tremendous achievement. >> Thank you. Um, shall we move on to committee report? >> Motion, please. >> Except have a motion on. >> No, you have to film. Sorry, >>
145I have that. I didn't I didn't want to interrupt embarrassing Dr. Doney. >> Okay. >> Uh, David >> moved that the Western Board of Ed move that the Western Board of Education approve the September 2025 financial report as presented. >> I second. All those in favor? >> I >> opposed. Now we can move on to the committee updates. Cabe >> uh I have some good news um to add to our other good news. Connecticut has the second best school system in the country. A new study from the Wallak Hub found that Connecticut has the second best school system in the country and the study published in July 2025 considers test scores, funding, class size, and school safety among other factors. Also interesting is Connecticut has the third highest share of students who receive a three
146or higher on pay AP exams. So, um, Connecticut is the second best school system and we're at the top of of Connecticut. Um, so the 57th annual PDK poll on public attitudes toward public education, formerly the Gallup PDK poll, examined a range of educational topics. data was collected in June from a national sample of a thousand5 adults and a few of the highlights were public attitudes to public education. A majority of US adults support limiting cell phone use during the school day. Despite recent uh political proposals, 66% of US adults oppose eliminating federal education department and parents are interested in access to public education funding for the purpose of sending their children to private or religious schools. Some suggestions from Cape was using Robert's rules and orders to support implementation and organization of the board
147after elections. Um, CABE has a delegate assembly of November 20th if you can attend. And just as a date to consider, um, December 9th um, for the whole day, uh, there's a new member, a new board member orientation. >> Thanks, Lisa. >> Who's first, Lisa? >> Say it again. >> Who's the first state? >> Well, it's it it wasn't in the paper. I know it's always Massachusetts. So, Massachusetts also, Michael, you'll have to know that Massachusetts also has the highest property taxes to support the best state in the union for education. >> New Jersey, huh? I didn't know that. >> Yeah. >> Interesting. >> Thanks, Lisa. >> Sure. Uh, CES. >> Nothing quite as elaborate to report on as Lisa. >> I finally got it right. >> Curriculum committee. So for curriculum committee, our two
148real big hot topic items were the Weston Middle School No Place for Hate initiative and the Sandy Hook Promise uh anonymous reporting system, both of which I believe are in full operation now. And we've spent most of our meeting talking about the implementation, making sure students had access to it. And I will plug here once again that parents should encourage their students, especially at the high school um level to download the Sandy Hook Promise app because when they need it the most, they're not going to think about downloading the app. So download the app before you need it. I think Dr. Henold that did a good job on that, right? Okay. >> Thanks, David. Um the EOC Peter, >> we didn't meet this month, but again again a sense of urgency. I like the messaging.
149Uh maybe it's like release the choke hold on the programs and take it to the public. I thought that was appropriate uh language and dates. >> Uh the negotiations committee, you know, we completed the um negotiations with the administrators union and the teachers union. uh both of which have been uh approved by their uh by their members. So uh teachers union contract is uh been approved for the next four years and uh the administrators for the next year. Uh policy committee uh Sharon's not here. Uh the the the policies we discussed, >> okay, >> were presented to the board. Um and and uh we I guess we'll be going back for a second read >> safety and security. Mike, >> we did not meet this month, but we'll pick it back up next month. We
150is uh is Sharon. >> I can actually report real quick just because I want to give them a plug. Laura Kadis and I are the representatives or the liaison between the school and WE and they are planning a circus. Um and so if you um are looking for tickets, it's on November 15th. It's a great way to support um the Weston Education Foundation, which basically all they do is raise money to support the schools and all the requests that come out of our uh of grants and other things that um the schools are looking for. And so it looks like it's going to be a really exciting um fundraising idea. So, you can get those tickets on the Western Education Foundation um website, but also our principles K through five have been putting that in
151their week ahead newsletter as well. Thanks. So, um, the next meeting of the board of education is on the 17th of November. Um, so if you'll indulge me for a minute or so, uh, like Chad, uh, this is my last meeting. Um, as a member of the board of education, um, it's kind of bittersweet to say the least. Um, I wrote some notes to myself, um, thinking about a few things. So I joined I asked to join uh the board of education from the board of finance for among uh many reasons but most importantly to advance uh the long delayed and long overdue capital improvement plans which began in 2017 with the silver uh Petrochelli feasibility study followed again in 2019 and then in 21 and 22 the facilities optimization committee completed its studied Unfortunately,
152um the board of education having received that report at that time uh did not move forward with a recommendation and we lost yet uh even more time. Our school buildings are not getting any younger and investing in the schools safeguards the learning environment for the future success of our children. After 20 years of being a board of finance member in Westport and Weston and reviewing 20 board of education budgets, I thought it would be an easy transition to the board of education. And I could not be more wrong. Um, as Chad pointed out earlier, um, our schools are like a city within a city. Um, and in many ways much more complex. uh you and the new members of the board of education will have a very active uh nine months coming up. The budget
153process begins in December and you have to bring forward a decision on the school configurations by June. As Phil pointed out, June is a critical month. You lose June, you lose another year. We're already been a victim of the failure of the board of board of selectmen and the board of finance uh to take our recommendation at the time forward to the town. I would anticipate that the new board along with Erica will review the work of the consultants. I would hope they would do that and again uh offer your recommendation for the school campus back to June as the critical month. Our buildings are not getting any younger. Once you decide, I hope the board of selectment and the board of finance will not be an impediment to having the town decide by referendum
154the best course of action. The board of education, the board of selectmen, the board of finance are not the determinants. Rather, it's the citizens of Weston. And this planning, to Peter's point, must begin immediately. And as I said before, the schools are not getting any younger. So while I have the floor for another minute or so, I'd like to address the naysayers in the community. Those who only look at the negative and do not celebrate the positive. You certainly should voice your opinions. However, all is not negative. Celebrate the positives. Western High School's recognition as the number three high school in the state is a positive. Western having the third best test scores in the state is a positive. Wisp being recognized as a blue ribbon school is our is a positive. Our students, teachers,
155support staff, and administrators are all proud of these welldeserved recognitions. I'd like to thank everybody for this opportunity. Tina, Tracy, Julie, Phil, Dan, Mike, Jim, Laura, Megan, you've all been terrific to work with. Unfortunately, Jennifer and Jason, it's only been a month or so, but I know from everything I've heard, uh, everybody has excited to have you join the Western School community. And I would be remiss in not recognizing Lisa Barbierro uh for her guidance over the past few years. Uh she always told me like it is. Um and uh never never never took the chance not to tell me her opinion. Um Jody, uh what can I say but thanks. Uh you've always kept me in line. Um answered my stupid questions and uh you've been terrific to work with. And I am personally
156excited uh Erica decided to join our community. It's only been a month and everyone I've spoken with are so impressed with what you've accomplish accomplished in such a short period of time and I'm really looking forward to seeing Erica's long-term imprint on our school community. Now, my fellow board members, we've accomplished quite a lot and we did it as a group. Our discussions at times were lively, but no one was confused about the goal. Investing in our children's education is the future. And so with that, can I have a motion to adjurnn? >> Move to thank you for your comments. >> Is there a second? >> Before I second it, I want to thank you, Steve, for for your support. and as the chair of of the board of ed, you've moved us swiftly and
157quickly to make, you know, great decisions for the staff, the students, the community. And so I'm on the board a short time and it's it I've learned so much from you and and from everyone else and I have to thank you personally. Thank you and thank you for the Western community. you you've been um fabulous in giving your your time and energy and intelligence to to help our our community and our school. So, thank you. And now I'll second it. >> Thank you. All those in favor? I >> I All right. Good night, everybody. >> I'll be watching. >> Good night.