February 19, 2026 Board of Education Business Meeting

001Good, good evening. Good evening, everybody. We're going to call um this meeting of the Greenwich uh Board of Education to order. Uh please rise for the pledge of allegiance. So, if you um if you saw our uh agenda this evening, um it's it's it's nicely balanced in that we go from preK to elementary school. We're going to talk about middle school with enrollment policy and then new courses at the high school. Um, and there's a theme across all of uh these agenda items. It's really about um meeting meeting our students where they are. Um, whether it's giving them choices in middle school or attending specific skills um in prek um to giving them more choices for for for courses in high school. Um, so, so it's it's really and it mirrors I was thinking about

002it because I had the opportunity this week uh because my I work for the New York City public schools and we're off this week. This is our winter break unlike last week. So, I got to visit a bunch of our schools and I saw that um across seven buildings um between uh meeting kids where they are in small group instruction and datadriven. has made me so data driven instruction has made me so excited about the work of a district of the district and I know many of the board members out up here have been doing school visits um and it's just really great to see um that um on a day-to-day basis and so that's kind of the theme that we're going to carry through with this meeting as far as meeting students where they

003are. So it's really great with that. Uh to that point though we're going to start because my other the goal tonight is for me not to forget the consent agenda which I do monthly. So, can I have a motion to um accept the consent uh to to approve the consent agenda? >> So, moved. >> All right. Moved by Bob. Second by All right. All in favor of the consent agenda. All right. That passes 70. And with that, we're going to turn it over to Dr. Jones with the superintendent report. >> Thank you. Um I have a couple of items tonight. First of all, just a special thanks to our staff at New Lab, Hammab, and JC who actually ran February school. Uh we had students who stayed with us and had instruction all week long.

004Um which was a huge success. And not only was it a success, it was supposed to be a hamm they had a pipe burst and at the last minute they had to relocate to new lab and it was just um all hands on deck and thanks to facilities as well for getting all of that work and getting everything back together. you wouldn't have known they had a pipe burst at all. Um they had the several classrooms right back together. Um one of the board members asked me just to mention on the CMS open enrollment that there they've heard some um concerns that some people think it's open to anybody even if you don't live in Greenwich. What we're talking about with open enrollment, it would be students from Western or students from Eastern that could

005opt to go to Central. So, you still must be a Greenwich resident. We just want to clarify that. Um, as a reminder, and we'll have it in the Friday note tomorrow, kindergarten orientation is on March 4th, and that's a meeting for parents to find out everything they need to know about kindergarten. So, if you have a neighbor who is not in the school system yet, and they have a little one, be sure that they know because if they don't show up on a list from a community prek, um, or they don't see something that we've put in writing or in the paper, they could miss orientation. So, we do our best to get the word out March 4th. Um, and then for those uh families that have applied to be part of one of the

006magnet program, um, the lottery is getting ready to take place and those uh offers uh from the lottery will go out early next week. That's all for me. >> Reports from um officers and committees. Go ahead, money. Um, I have my update for the Julian Curtis building committee. Uh, phase one and two are nearing completion with the secure front entrance. Um, the ADA bathrooms, parking, and other aspects are complete. The elevator is now complete and awaiting inspection. Uh, phase three, the phase three contract has been awarded to JA Rosa and the kickoff meeting was scheduled for yesterday. How did that go, Veronica? [laughter] Um, and so we're going to be beginning this uh planning uh cafeteria work uh is expected to modernize the space and make it ADA compliant and also enable um three rather

007than five lunch waves. And it's scheduled to be complete uh during the summer of 2026. Um, I have an update on the Riverside uh building committee. Uh, we've uh we've met um three times the committee's coming together. We had an opportunity to go over the the EDS specs and um we're kind of just finding our footing and I think things are going well. Uh I have a report also as a liaison for the United Way. Is that okay to go now? >> Sorry folks, this one's a little longer. Uh, I recently met with the CEO U. David Rabin and vice president um of uh community input, Robert Moore, for a detailed briefing on the programs that they support that directly benefit Greenwich Public Schools students and families. Between 2000, what I learned was that between

0082024 and 26, Greenwich United's Way is investing almost a million dollars through United Way grants and direct service programs specifically in in Greenwich public school. um students and families. These dollars are directed almost entirely to direct services. So services that that that support our our students and family directly and program delivery and focus is on three uh three common uh outcome areas education, health and family self uh sufficiency. Uh these investments are structured datadriven um interventions with measurable impacts. And so what I mean by that was I had the benefit of seeing these these uh measurements and I was very impressed by them. In education over $600,000 supports early childhood readiness uh literacy interventions such as reading champions, AVID college readiness programs and targeted afterchool and summer supports. These initiatives are designed to improve school

009readiness benchmarks. They strengthen reading and math proficiencies and mitigate learning loss. early literacy and kindergarten readiness metrics. Uh, as we know, these are the strongest predictions of uh long-term academic success. In health, more than $200,000 support embedded mental health services in school-based social work. These programs are are tracked um uh there's behavioral indications um and student stability metrics um that address issues that might otherwise result in classroom disruption disrupt disruptions uh absenteeism or escalated interventions. um in self-sufficiency targeted in investments um are in place to reduce food insecurity and transportation barriers which directly increase student participation in academic and um and student enrichment programs. So from a fiscal perspective, this represents, like I said in the beginning, a million dollars of funding supporting Greenwich Public School students and uh these services are delivered at a

010significantly lower cost than if we were to create and staff comparable programs internally. The Greenwich United Way, from my point of view, is strengthening our schools, reducing non-academic barriers to learning, and enhancing educational qualities. And I believe the partnership represents a significant educational value and I look forward to continued collaboration uh strong awareness um of the return on investment from the Greenwich United Way. >> Uh sorry, mine's also a little bit long. Thank you, Paul. Um I have uh two updates. Um the first one's from the Greenwich Alliance for Education. I'm going to read this one because it's also a little bit longer. Um reminder that the Greenwich Alliance reaching out grants are due on Monday, February 23rd. That's a reminder to all the educators. Um and the link to apply on the alliance's website.

011Uh the proposal should foster educational success for underresourced students and be innovative programs and enrichment opportunities that elevate achievement for all students. Another reminder that the trivia challenge is Friday, February 27th. That is eight days away and tickets are sold out, but everyone has the opportunity to bid on the online auction, which is going to go live on Monday. This year, each of the principles has offered a really fun auction prize. And another highlight are two tickets to the sold out, that's in capital letters, Harry Styles together concert tour. There's also a donor who uh is willing to match $25,000 for AVID success scholarships. So, this would be a great way to support our educational foundation. And lastly, the Tuning into Music program provides free private music lessons and opens up access for students to

012the many musical ensembles in our schools. There are 14 students who'll be playing in the annual strings festival next Friday evening that we just wanted to recognize and congratulate. I'm going to move on to the distinguished teacher award. The nomination packets are now available on the Greenwich Public School website and we really encourage all members of the Greenwich Public School community to consider nominating an outstanding educator. The completed packets must be submitted by and received by March 5th at 5:00 p.m. And award recipient award recipients will be recognized at the April 16th board of education meeting. And the committee invites all the board uh to attend the distinguished teacher celebration on Thursday, May 7th at 4:30. right here at Central Middle School. And the special education advisory committee update will be provided by Chair Andy

013Cosby, who is here in person and will speak in public comment. Um, I've got a quick update on the science textbook committee uh that kicked off a couple of weeks ago. Uh, we've got a great group of folks including several teachers who are subject matter experts in the various areas. This is sorry to to back up. Um this is for high school science textbooks across biology, chemistry, and physics. We're looking to select six textbooks. It's actually for nine different classes. There are two levels of biology and three levels of chemistry and physics. Uh so we've uh convened a group with subject matter experts. We have some representatives from the PTA. Also, I'm serving as the board of ed representative. And we've gone through, we've discussed key priorities uh for the textbooks. We've also discussed a

014few watch out items, things that parents are concerned about like screen time and gamification. Uh we've gone through the scope and sequencing for each of the nine courses and we had our first textbook presentation from one of the the companies last week. Uh we'll be seeing several more over the coming weeks. we will ultimately make a recommendation and come back to uh to this forum to recommend the uh the textbooks. And fortunately, we have a lot of degrees of freedom. We don't have to pick uh one publisher for all of them. We will choose what we think is the the most appropriate for each of the classes. >> Let's make this uh quick. The Central Middle School building committee is running smoothly and everything's on track. If anybody has any questions about it, they can

015just email me. >> To that point, the uh old Greenwich building committee is all along. We are anticipating um groundbreaking April 6th, so we're going to start construction there um spring break. Um and then the policy committee met this week as well. Um we talked about the CMS um enrollment regulation, which you're going to see later on the agenda this evening. And we also talked about a revision to our policy around filling board vacancies that uh may be coming your way at a subsequent meeting in a in a month or so. Any other reports or questions? Okay, with that said, we're going to turn things over to the next portion of our meeting is the uh public hearing. Um up first is our the gentleman from uh GHS. Come on up, gentlemen. Student government. All

016right. Good evening, distinguished members of the board of education and Dr. Jones. I hope all has been well since our last meeting. Tonight, the agenda calls for the approval of several new offerings, including the new AP courses and an honors art history course. I am fully in favor of adding these. In fact, I'm slightly jealous that I won't have the opportunity to take AP business and personal finance myself. These courses are diverse and offer students new ways to expand their interest while significantly improving the variety of our current curriculum. Regarding the honors art history course specifically, I want to offer a word of caution about making it a mandatory prerequisite. While we have seen an incredible 580% growth rate in this subject area, we should be realistic about what is driving these numbers. Speaking from

017the student perspective, many of my peers are interested in AP art history because they see it as an accessible way to earn AP credit, not necessarily because they are interested in art. Adding a prerequisite to any class will naturally lower enrollment, but for art history, that drop might be more significant than anticipated. we see the class, we might see the class revert to a very small group of students with genuine interest. On one hand, this would allow the class to move more quickly because everyone is deeply invested. It might even push students who are focused on AP credits to re-evaluate their choices. But on the other hand, if the honors material isn't strictly necessary for the AP curriculum, the prerequisite ends up being a barrier rather than a benefit. It can remain as a path

018for some students, but it shouldn't be required for everyone. As you move forward with your vote tonight, please consider whether the goal is to create a more specialized, smaller track or to keep these opportunities open to as many students as possible. Thank you for your time. Uh, thank you, Colin. Uh, good evening members of the BOE, Dr. Jones, students, and community members. I'm Gabriel Lesi, the student body president at Greenwich High School, and I'm happy to both see and speak before you this evening. So, uh, I come bearing updates. Uh, and in the first days back from February break, Granch High School students have continued their hard work, and I'm happy to report great progress within student government. To start, the senior class has begun planning for prom, acquiring decorations for their new, newly selected

019and secret theme. At the same time, preparations are being made for graduation with possible uh speakers. They aim to end the year with a few more fundraisers, one of which now being the infamous Pi Day fundraiser where you're able to uh p teachers. Uh the junior class is planning a profit share with a local restaurant set for March March 5th. Uh and they're also planning to create a cardinal cookbook which would collect food recipes from our very diverse Greenwich community. Uh the sophomores held a successful cookie decorating event early earlier this month and are now working on holding a schoolwide performance night where students could demonstrate their various talents and abilities. Uh they plan to host a Chick-fil-A fundraiser uh where students could buy the world famous sandwiches at DHS. Uh the freshman class held

020a morning movie in the student center and are planning to have another due to its success. And there too notably fundraising uh with a St. Patrick's Day fundraiser set for St. Patrick's Day and a possible food drive uh in our coming weeks. As for our student government committees, they have been very busy as well. The relations committee and I reached out to Havier and now have created and integrated LinkedIn onto one centralized page that will serve to connect the thousands of alumni from GHS with one another. The community service committee will host a volunteer fair at GHS this coming Monday with about 10 organizations set to show up. And if anyone here watching has an organization, we are still accepting some tables. Uh the events committee has their schoolwide tournament for Clash Royale, a mobile

021video game uh underway right now where students have been intensely competing for the grand prize. Uh, and they also have a classics book drive set from March 10th to 16th. So, if anyone plans on clearing out books, uh, donations will be appreciated. As for the action item of the night, uh, yesterday at our XCOM meeting, we had an in-depth and fruitful discussion about AP courses and their respective workloads at GHS. I would like to thank Mr. Demo for joining us yesterday, and I hope that we can continue working to prevent students from becoming overburdened and overstressed. Uh, I spoke on this issue in depth last meeting. Uh, so I'll keep things short. Uh, if these new AP classes are approved, I hope there are additional discussions about a potential hard cap on the number of

022AP classes students can take uh, at GHS to, you know, not overburden students and allow for, you know, more free time. Uh, so that concludes my more updaty speech and so I thank you for your time and your commitment to Grunch Public Schools. Thank you. >> Thank you, Gabe. Thank you, Colin. Uh Gabe, the um your your comments weren't um were were noted last last month. Um Mr. Mayor and I had a conversation about such about that this morning. So, we really appreciate it. Um so, moving on to Margaret Jkins, the um GA is up next as we move through. Um we let this we let the student government talk for as long as they want. The um everybody else gets about three minutes. So, just as a reminder here as we as we move

023through here. Go ahead, Margaret. >> Good evening board members, Dr. Jones and community members. My name is Margaret Jkins and I am the president of the Greenwich Education Association. Last fall, I spoke to you about my hope that this year GA's concerns would be better heard. We've made some excellent progress in our meetings with Dr. Jones and the staff at Havier. And today, I'm pleased to be able to thank you, Dr. from Kanty Anthony, Miss Coven, and Miss Shiveroli for the meeting with our representatives yesterday and hearing our concerns about special education. We look forward to continuing that conversation and hope that eventually GA will be able to have regularly scheduled meetings with the board. Can you believe February is almost over? I hope everyone had a wonderful break. We all deserved it. I don't

024know about you, but I spent the better part of that time watching and enjoying the Winter Olympics. And as I did, I kept thinking about the myriad of skills that our teachers bring to the classroom every day with Ner a medal to show for it. So, I hope you'll indulge me for a minute as I award a few Winter Olympic gold medals of my own. For preK gold medal in short track speed skating, everyone starts in the same direction. Amidst the chaos, there's lots of joy and teachable moments. Elementary school in alpine skiing, it's all about learning to stay upright while picking up speed every year. Pizza wedge first, black diamonds by fifth grade. Math, ski jumping. You read the slope, calculate the perfect angle, and launch with confidence. Science, bobsled. Push together, test the

025angles, trust the physics, and enjoy the ride. ELA, gold medal in figure skating, storytelling, expression, interpretation, technical skill underneath, but what really matters is the voice and personality. Social studies, curling, every move builds on what came before. History in Motion, Special Education, Snowboard Cross, my favorite. Different starting points, same course, individual strengths, and some spectacular recoveries. Art, snowboard, halfpipe, style counts, technical counts, but mostly commit. Music, ice, dance, rhythm, timing, harmony, tech ed, gold medal in luge, precision engineering, hands-on learning at high speed. Fizzed, cross-country skiing, relentless cardio, no shortcuts, just keep going. World language, hockey. It's fast-paced, collaborative, and fluid. School counselors, Nordic combined, balancing two wildly different events, academic and emotional support, and they help everyone land each challenge successfully. And finally, mental health providers, gold medal, it's skeleton. Calm under pressure, head

026first into intensity, but steady, focused, and grounded. Together, Greenwich teachers are an Olympic team. Each event is different, but every role is vital and every student is supported. And that's what makes our team not just strong, but gold medal worthy. But when even one teammate is removed, there's a hole that can't be filled. The jumps feel shorter, the turns are wobblier, and the rhythm of the team is disrupted. No matter how skilled the remaining athletes are, some expertise, some guidance, and some supports are simply gone. Every student feels it. The course is harder, the pacing is uneven, and opportunities are lost. In a real Olympic team, you don't just shuffle positions and hope for the best. When a key member is gone, the event suffers. So, I ask you, think about the Olympic team that

027is made up of Greenwich teachers and how every member of that team is essential. When you pass one of them in the hall, let them know they're valued and hang a virtual gold medal around their neck. Up next is PEC. They here. Sorry, I didn't hear my name even though I knew I was up. Hi everybody. Good evening. I hope you all had a wonderful break. As you know, my name is Lisa Sylvester. from the PTA council president to begin. We know that the budget is out of your hands now, but we do want to reiterate to everyone listening that PEK and the broader school community remain opposed to the budget cutting of four teaching positions at Central Middle School and six and a half teaching and one studentf facing administrator position at the high

028school. On the agenda tonight is discussion about adding four new courses at Greenwich High School, AP Cyber Security, AP Personal Business and Personal Finance, AP Human Geography, and Honors Art History. We along with the Greenwich High School PTA are in full support of this. We feel those would be welcome additions to the curriculum. That being said, we do hear the Greenwich High School student leaders when they speak about AP classes, the additional GPA bump for those classes, and the impact on their mental health. We encourage all of you to please work with those students, administrators, teachers, and parents when making those decisions. We are here to support and help those discussions. Regarding open enrollment at Central Middle School, we know this option was open until the last board meeting so we could see what the

029numbers looked like at that time, but since then, it has not been open that we're aware of. We all know January is a tough month as many people are just anxiously waiting for February break, but now would be a good time to reopen this and make a real push. We should have everyone's full attention and we all agree this could help bring their numbers up. We also support comprehensive solutions for Central Middle School, which remains in priority status, and encourage a collaborative effort to implement new initiatives. We want to ensure they have all the resources they need. This new school is going to be cutting edge and amazing, and we're very excited for the day the doors open this fall. Fingers crossed. And speaking of medals, we want to say congratulations to the girls and

030boys indoor track teams on their state wins over the weekend. Such an amazing accomplishment. Thank you. >> Um, so we're up to community comments. So I think there are eight uh individuals signed up for community comments tonight. So, um, take it away. >> Great. Um, looking at the list, we have no students today, so we're we're starting with the adults. Uh, first up, we have Carrie Gr, followed by Jodie Applegate. Good evening. My name is Carrie Gr and I'm here tonight to speak in support of the CMS open enrollment regulation. The regulation, as proposed, would help boost CMS's enrollment numbers through their short-term dip enroll short-term enrollment dip while also helping to alleviate crowding in the other two middle schools. As EMS is by far our largest middle school and WMS had to close their

031middle their magnet program three years ago due to capacity issues, shifting the balance and welcoming interested students to enjoy the brand new CMS would be would be beneficial for their schools as well as CMS. And with this increase in students, CMS would also comfortably be able to keep their team model intact and continue to function in the same way as the other two middle schools. We are very grateful to the board for taking the time to speak with the CMS PTA and to Dr. Jones for crafting a regulation that would work positively for all schools. The recommended caps allowed from each from each school would help maintain current teaching needs at all schools and would allow those interested in the district to the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of the taxpayer dollars in the new

032facility. We appreciate the thought and discussion that has gone into this plan and strongly encourage the board of ed and Dr. Jones to implement this regulation and allow CMS to open its doors to all. Thank you. Uh next up we have Jody Applegate followed by Allison Walsh. >> Hi, I'm Jod Applegate. Thanks for the opportunity to speak. I speak on behalf of my husband and my two kids. One is a sixth grader and one is a seventh grader here at CMS. And we strongly support the open enrollment regulation idea. It's a great solution. Everybody wins. I've seen the team model in action. It has helped my kids in very tangible ways. And these kids and their classmates live through COVID during elementary school. Now they're living through the construction. and please don't make them accept

033a lower quality of educational experience because of a temporary dip in enrollment. People will jump at the chance to send their kids to this new building and I hope they are given that opportunity. Thank you. All right, we have uh Alison Walsh followed by Katherine McCary. >> Uh good evening members of the board of education, Dr. Jones and attendees. I am Allison Walsh and tonight I am speaking as both a CMS parent and as co-president of the CMS PTA. I currently have a daughter in eighth grade here at CMS and a fifth grader at Costco school who will be at the new building this fall. I would like to take a moment to encourage continued support of open enrollment at CMS. This is a wonderful opportunity to open the doors of a brand new building

034to all middle schooler residents in town and retain our teachers and current team teaching model. I would also like to thank the BOE members for adding open enrollment to tonight's agenda and look forward to a fruitful discussion. Thank you. >> Okay, we have Kathern McCary followed by Jennifer Young. Good evening, Chair Meranty Anthony, members of the board, Dr. Jones, and community members. My name is Katherine McCersie. I'm the parent of a GHS senior and a sixth grader here at CH at CMS. I'm also a proud member of PTAC serving as first VP this year. These remarks are my own. I'm here this evening to support to speak in support of the CMS open enrollment. In brief, as a longtime member of the CMS community, I am relieved that our students, teachers, faculty, administrators, and staff

035will soon be housed in a new building. As a parent of a student evacuee from 2022, I know how this entire community has struggled for, advocated for, and wished for this reality, though at times it certainly seemed more like a mirage. For families considering an open enrollment option to CMS, please know this community is comprised of wonderful students, great teachers, faculty, and families. It's a place to study, dream, and strive, risk, and reach, grow, and gain knowledge, form friendships, and find hope. A community of families who stayed with their school. A community of teachers who stayed with their school. a community of staff and administrators who, yes, stayed with their school, who didn't waver in their commitment to our kids through thick and thin walls and woes. In the new school, there's room to share

036and room to grow with people who care about kids, who stick with kids through thick and thin. This example teaches our kids an invaluable lesson of commitment to education, resiliency, toughness, and strength. Our oldest child, a senior, has CMS teachers who still cheer her on, encourage her, who care. Our sixth grader has CMS teachers who cheer her on, encourage her, who care. Open enrollment offers this to the entire GAPS community, a chance to share in this new school with an experienced team who will encourage, care, and cheer your student on. Thank you in in advance for your support of a one-time limited open enrollment option here at CMS, a priority school by making this a priority tonight. Please support open enrollment. Thank you. Okay, next up we have Jennifer Young followed by Suzanne Leo. >>

037Good evening board members and Dr. Jones. My name is Jennifer Young. I am the parent of two student athletes at Greenwich High School. >> And I am Pescal Sjan, also the parent of two student athletes. >> We are here tonight to call upon the board to take the necessary steps to revisit the court-ordered restrictions on the use of lights at Greenwich High School Stadium so that our student athletes have the access, flexibility, and opportunities they deserve. For over two decades, our community has been held hostage, operating under an order established in a very different era. Before advances in lighting technology, before the significant growth in student participation, and before the scheduling demands have been placed on modern families, it is reasonable and responsible to evaluate whether those restrictions still reflect current realities and the best

038interests of our students. Lighting technology has changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Modern LED systems are highly directional, s significantly reduce glare and spillover, and allow for precise controls, including dimming and scheduling. Many neighboring communities have implemented updating lighting while maintaining clear limits that respect the surrounding neighbors. For example, Norwok, Darianne, and Westport allow lighted school turfs to operate until 9:00 p.m. These communities demonstrate that it is possible to balance community concerns with student access in a thoughtful and structured way. Extended access until 9:00 p.m. translates into meaningful additional practice time across multiple sports. and consistent practice time is directly correlated with athlete development, team cohesion, competitive success, and more importantly, reduced injury risk. The issue is also about education. Athletics are not simply extracurricular. They are co-curricular. They teach discipline, leadership, resilience, teamwork,

039and time management. They provide structure and belonging. They keep students engaged, healthy, and connected to their school community. When facility access is restricted, opportunities are restricted, practices become compressed, scheduling becomes strained, fall daylight disappears quickly, spring weather is unpredictable, evening access is not just about excess, it is about equity and support for our athletes. We urge the board to consider the appropriate next steps, be it legal via the courts or our preferred approach to invite the other parties to a productive dialogue that strives to find a win-win solution that benefits our collective community and our large student population. Let's work together to solve this problem. In the coming week, >> 30 seconds, >> we will be requesting the opportunity to meet with you all to better understand how we move forward, what is necessary in

040terms of documentation and timeline, and most importantly, how we, the community, can help. Our students deserve thoughtful leadership. This is not about conflict, about progress. It is about ensuring our facilities reflect modern time standards and that our policies reflect current realities. It's time to reopen the conversation and turn the lights back on. Thank you, >> Pascal. Before you step down, could you please spell your last name? >> S EJ EAN. >> Thank you. >> Uh, next up we have Suzanne Leo, followed by Andy Harrington Cosby. >> Good evening. My name is Suzanne Leo. I'm executive director of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra. um formerly the chief operating officer of the Bruce Museum. I oversaw its expansion and I have been an advocate for arts education and nonprofit arts interests in this town for over a decade.

041Um it can't help but notice that there's been a tremendous amount of press recently regarding the Havomire building and what may become of it. Uh I represent voices that would see it become a performing arts center. It's my understanding that care, custody, and control of the building reside with the board of education, and I wanted to get a sense whether a move is on the board of education's radar. Uh whether attempts to find a suitable home will be added to this year's or next year's agenda, and how the community might help in finding an appropriate space for you all to use. While I fully recognize that the board did not anticipate these questions tonight and is not prepared for any answers, I thought it was important to state for the record that the community wishes

042to help move this issue forward. And to that end, I represent several community members who are offering the board of ed help to make that move possible, both financial, strategic, and otherwise. Again, my name is Suzanne Leo. I am here in town and I'm willing to talk with you all about how to move it forward. Thank you. >> Okay, next up we have Andy Andy Harrington Cosby followed by Alex Pop. Hello, good evening. Um, my name is Andy Harrington Cosby and I serve as the chair of the special education advisory council for Greenwich Public Schools known as SEAK. SEAK is a collaborative advisory body representing administrators, special education and general education teachers, parents of special education students and community members. Our shared mission is to support a strong, effective special education system and to ensure

043that every student with an IEP or 504 receives the services and supports they are legally entitled to and educationally deserving to of to succeed. I respectfully urge each member of the board to take time to read the stated purpose of every specialized program in our district. Familiarize yourselves with the type of learner each is designed to serve and then visit each of them. That includes our prek program, the unique learner program, positive pathways, co-taught classrooms, windowross, and the ghs educational wellness center. Seeing these programs in action provides essential context for decisions about policy, staffing, and resources. I also encourage you to consider the broader impact these programs have on the buildings in which they are housed. Specialized programming does not exist in isolation. It affects space, staffing, scheduling, and the broader school community. Thoughtful planning

044requires looking at those ripple effects effects holistically. We continue to hear from families and educators. There is not enough staff consistently and fully to consistently and fully implement students IEPs. While a staffing model has been presented, feedback across stakeholder groups suggest it may not adequately reflect the current level and complexity of student needs. This is not a reflection on our dedicated educators who are working extraordinarily hard, but a question of whether the system is sufficiently resourced to meet its obligations and legal commitments. Finally, I would like to invite all board members to attend CX next meeting on March 17th at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The meeting will be open to the public. We had originally considered a closed session with hopes of discussing concerns about board participation uh beyond our liaison Veronica and the future

045of SEAK as liaison to the board. Instead, we chose to make this invitation publicly tonight to welcome your engagement. Your presence would be greatly valued as would anyone else who wishes to attend. We appreciate the board's attention to these matters and stand ready as SEAK to continue partnering with you to ensure Greenwich remains a district where all learners are supported and able to thrive. I also want to add um that I've been involved both on PTAC and CAS for 10 years um and the addition of Dr. Dr. Heligenthaler and her team has made substantial strides um in making improvements and we just want to continue. >> Thank you. >> Okay, last up we have Alex Pop. >> Alex Pop. I'm a father of a special needs child at Greenwich High School. And that's a perfect

046introduction having someone before me. First of all, I'd like to give a huge shout out to the unified sports team at the high school, uh, Coach Dera Burke. She deserves a dis differencemaker of the year award. Her and her terrific staff created an inclusive environment with plenty of cheering, laughing, smiling, and movement. But I'm really here to talk about the summer school program. And I don't think we're really meeting the needs of that special needs community. And I think we really could do better. A few years back it was 5 days a week for four hours. Now it's four days a week for three hours. Something like that. So we went from like 20 hours a week and we cut it back to 12 hours a week and they're not and there's no services on

047Friday. That short and reduced schedule eliminating Friday has been really detrimental to the to the special needs community. Like my child, we don't have the lux. She doesn't have the luxury of riding a bike in the neighborhood, you know, meeting friends for pickup basketball game, walking Greenwich Avenue, in and out of the stores, attending a camp after school. She always needs adult supervision. So rather, you know, my child and and many others, they come home, they watch TV, they they're on their devices, they're playing video games, their activities are quite limited. the special needs community will be better served with a more dynamic program. Maybe it's a five-day program and then that fifth day there's some kind of field trip or something. You know, maybe it's swimming at the high school and then they go

048to lunch at Glory Days. Maybe they're walking the trails of the Ottabon Center. They're going to island beach ferry, going to the Bruce Museum, the Bers Bearsley Zoo Nate or the Stanford Nature Center. There's got to be tons of activities for them. But the special needs community deserves a better summer program that is more robust engaging with social with active social socialization and central skill development. So let's commit to a more dynamic 5-day program that incorporates some kind of stimulating uh field trips and provides a more supportive environment for this community so that those summers are really valuable. Um, and I just think we could do a lot more because I know a lot of the a lot of the families that I talk to, they're kind of going to check out of the special

049the summer program that it's to me sending my child for three hours. I don't know if it's worth it, you know? So, we we could do better for that community. And again, Jer Burke deserves the different difference maker of the year awards. Unbelievable. Thank you. So, um the last item um in our public hearing we added last month. So, it's a chance for uh board members if you have any uh questions or comments on anything you heard, anything you want to clarify on, anything to say. Go ahead, Bob. Uh this week uh a few board members were able to go to a civics class at the high school and uh I was in a class with maybe about 20 students give or take and two different students brought up the lights at the auditori at

050the stadium. So I feel like it is uh is definitely something we should look into. >> Well and to clarify we we don't want to talk too much about it but the board did take a vote um last fall um to to reopen um that um litigation. And we have a um we do have an executive session that we're going to schedule next month to to to pursue that. So we can talk more about it. But that is that is something we we hear your concern. Tony, do you know um do you know Dr. Jones? Um so ESY um it's only three hours for is it only three hours four days a week for everybody? for ESY. Yes. Some some parents actually choose less than that. They may just want to come for speech services,

051but um and it is four days a week. >> When that did that changed last year? >> Um Dr. Holly, was it last year? Yeah. >> And that helps us also with staffing. Um being able to get staff to work ESY in the summer. There's some benefits to that. >> Okay, seeing no other comments, we're going to turn things over. We I'm very excited to welcome David Rabin. I see him in the audience uh from the United Way uh um who's going to talk about um um all the great work that we do that you heard Paul talk about earlier in our in our ongoing partnership here. >> Great. That's a great word, partnership. Thank you so much for the the opportunity tonight, folks. Mr. Capielli, thanks for the overview earlier of of the partnership

052uh that you gave. You know, the Greenwich United Way mission is to uncover unmet human services needs, raise awareness and support and develop lasting solutions in partnership with the best organizations in town and that's what we've been doing for the last 90 plus years. And we have such a strong working relationship with the with GPS and Dr. Jones has been so responsive and helpful in making all that happen over the years. Uh examples of some of the programs I wanted to mention was we've narrowed the achievement gap among at risk kids entering kindergarten through our eag program, which is early childhood achievement gap solutions. We've improved the reading fluency of over 4,000 children over the last 17 years. That's our reading champions program. We've enriched the lives of hundreds of title one students via grants

053for the Washington DC trip. We've enhanced the afterchool experience of new lab kids by providing buses for afterchool transportation. And the latest uh is our partnership with Hamav just opened last week. We've expanded the preschool there to be a full day experience now which what does that do? That gives those parents instead of 2:30 or whenever Ham closes to and most of these parents at Hammav, you know, at Title One school, the parents tough for them to go pick up a kid at 2:30, extends it to 5:00 and that gives them peace of mind knowing their kids are in a a warm nurturing environment learning through the end of the of the day. There's more too, but but time is limited here. Um, we perform a needs assessment and I invite you all to take

054a look at it on our website every 5 years and that that is what uncovers the needs of town. We're about to unveil our 2025 needs assessment in April. Uh, I know it's 2026, but we'll call it our 2025 needs assessment. And what does that show as one of the top three needs? Take a guess. Education is one of the top needs in town. No surprise to any of you, I'm sure. And this partnership that we share here in shared goals and approach is working and the data proves it. As the convenor in town, the Greenwich United Way has the insight to address those needs to help kids succeed. Uh Greenwich Public School strategic plan even mentions that working with town organizations is a critical component for success and we could not agree more. We're

055always looking for ways to align us more with GPS to improve student outcomes. Through the grants that we make and our own direct service programming that provide access and intervention, we will remain a steadfast partner in our common goal of ensuring that all kids in Greenwich public schools achieve at the highest level attainable. And if you have any questions, I'm happy to answer them. If not, we're very grateful for the partnership and looking for continued success for our our kids. Thank you so much. >> Hold on, David. I think we have questions. Oh, [laughter] >> but that's all right. But no, let me but first let me um again thank you because uh um I know for years now the the early intervention and the wraparound services that you provide are really essential and and

056you know going back to this theme of data, the data that you bring to bear here in how you support students growth um is really a model for for so many programs and talent. So we appreciate that. Um, anybody have any thoughts, questions? Go ahead, Veronica. >> Uh, thank you so much. Uh, will you be sharing the, uh, United Way 2025 needs assessment that will be released in April uh, directly with us or will we be alerted to look on your website to learn more? >> We're going to have a public unveiling in April. We had um we partnered with Fairfield University School of Social Impact to prepare it and they've been working for the last year on it with us and we met with them last night at our board meeting via Zoom and

057it will be ready in April and we'll make an announcement. We'll probably unveil it at town hall or the library or something and invite the public. >> Please, >> but if you want us to do it with you, happy to do that too. Just just the board. We'll make it we'll make time for that. >> I I can't make those decisions, but if you could just let us know when that is. Uh, I I'm sure we'd all appreciate. >> Sure. We'll let you know through Paul if that's okay. >> Yeah, please. Please. >> Okay. >> I invite you all to take a look at the last one, too, because it's there and it's really robust, interactive. You can scroll over different parts of town, different, you know, it pops up. It's really, really cool. Um,

058and and very informative if you haven't seen it. Uh, we again, we've been doing it for 40 plus years. So, is that the only question? That was easy. >> All right. >> Thanks everybody. Appreciate it. Thanks, David. Oh, Dr. Hiliker, you are up. We're going to talk about prek. I couldn't help but notice that you had Dr. Jones do your homework. Did you get permission from Seak before you went on vacation? Hello. And for those of you I I've met all of you, but I'm Dr. Higher. um and chief officer of special education and I'd like to introduce >> Sorry, can you stand a little closer to the mic just so the folks on Zoom can hear you? >> Sorry, I was trying to move over fast enough. So, I'm Dr. Stacy Hilleal. I'm the

059chief officer of special education and student supports. Preschool falls underneath um the SCSS department, but I also have here with me uh Miss um Katie Nutell, who is the preschool coordinator um and so she directly oversees all of the preschool. So, uh, it really is a triad of Dr. Jones, myself, and Katie of ensuring that we're meeting all the needs of our preschool from special ed to our typical peers as well. Um, and the finance department in all of the the billing and whatnot. So, um, it really is a district program that we use to support our students. So I know that this uh presentation um that we had is mostly about the logistics of prek. LA at the board retreat there was some information about uh the prek curriculum as well. So really here

060to answer any questions you have about what's going on in prek or for further clarification. Great. Well, first of all, thank you so much for being here and allowing us this opportunity to learn more about the program. Um, I've got a couple questions, but I'm going to start with uh hopefully an easy one. Um, understand that we have per regulation a number of we need to have a number of peer students for our special ed students in prek. Um, I'm curious. I've heard that there is a wait list. Could you give us a sense of how long is that wait list for the non-special ed peers on a on a typical year? >> Absolutely. I'll have Katie answer that. Um just because the lottery was brought up, we actually have already run our lottery and

061are filling our spots have filled our spots for the 2627 school year. Um and there's still quite a few on the waiting list. >> Yeah. Um so we had about 225 applicants to our lottery this year. um with about 85 spots to fill. Um I say about because we have people move in and out and so there may be some openings that I didn't anticipate um through the spring and into the fall. It just the way the community works. Um but we have about 85 spots that we filled and so you know if you do the math quickly we have over a hundred people on the waiting list. Um, and so I'm I'm not sure where the questions come from, but um, but it there is a long list. [laughter] So we try to have

062about two weeks to get people to respond and tell us their intent that I can move as quickly as possible. And we did move up the lottery date this year to December from last year was the end of February. So, we're moving quickly um which is exciting and helping us get uh more of the community involved in our program. >> So, it it occurs to me that we might want to back up because there's a great video online and we all watch the presentation. So, um but for folks at home or watching the audience that might might be familiar maybe before we go to questions maybe would you mind Stacy just given maybe this a two-minute explanation of how prek works because not everybody might understand you know how the the mechanics of the program.

063>> Sure. Um so going way back to the beginning and at the start is that we are legally obligated to provide um preschool special education services for students on their third birthday. So happy birthday, welcome to Greenwich Public Schools if you qualify as a a three-year-old. Uh following with that, um we also are required to provide access to typical peers. So we have a a ratio of six uh special special needs students with nine typical peers so that we can have a ratio um within the class for um for our classrooms. So our special education students are qualified through the PPT process. So they go through an eligibility process. They're evaluated to see if they qualify and then they're placed at the school. Our typical peers come into the program through a lottery system. Um,

064as Katie explained, we have more uh more students who want to come than we have spots. So, we do the lottery um every year to fill those typical peer spots and those peers stay in the program for the two years. So for their three and four year olds um before they go on to kindergarten and then um we we fill those spots as the students. So we keep the six for our special education and we keep the nine for our typical peers. >> Great. Thanks so much. Um you know I could could you talk a little bit or sorry let me back up. Um this is that's a pretty long wait list. Um and I have no doubt that the the main reason for that is our amazing teachers. Uh, but I have also heard

065that it's a pretty good deal financially for our families. Um, my kids are a little bit out of preschool, but I think I remember it being around 16 to 18,000 a year and I think we're at about 10 and a half thousand for the public prek. Do you have a sense of how that compares to public prek in other towns nearby? >> Stacy, I might take that one. Sure. That's the work that Mr. Brandon and I are doing right now because we did have the tuition planned on the agenda, but we pulled it off and we we're actually doing that research right now. >> Yeah. >> See, she did do my homework for me. I just want to say my boys now are here and at the high school, but they went through the North

066Street preschool program and it was amazing and I just love the the the the entire idea of it is amazing. Now the the future expansion um I know that Riverside and Julian Curtis have have Oh, I thought Riverside had a school had a classroom. >> No, Old Greenwich does on that side of town. >> I apologize. That's I saw so many schools the last couple of weeks my head started a little bit. I apologize. Um, is the rental space is that something that's been talked about or is that just something theoretical at this point? The I just look at the preschool operations future expansion. It says Riverside, then Julian Curtis, then it says three would rent space. >> So, right now, um, so we're opening our 19th classroom at Parkway in the fall. Um, that

067has been thrown out there preschool space as we're doing renovations. um you know we grow with the number of students who qualify. I think that right now we we struggle but we have been able to find space but at some point if for some reason we aren't able to find space we would need to look at something like that or we would have to look at changing our ratio. So there's a lot of different options when we get to that. I think um you know the idea of like a center or a preschool space has been thrown out there. Um, however, in my experience, and I know in Dr. Jones experience that those programs, you end up outgrowing them and then you end up having to go back to the schools. So, in my time

068in Norwok, um they created a a preschool center, remodeled the building, everything, and was great. And we opened it up, and within a couple years, the they outgrew it. And this school year, they actually closed down the center, and all school all pres all preschool classes went back to the elementary schools. And I I know up in Fairfield, they outgrow, and so then you have some here and then some students over here. So, um I think that as you're growing, you don't know if you're going to outgrow the space. If we were very um consistent in staffing, that's something that you could look at. But I think right now we haven't leveled off yet. Um we're slowing down because we were opening a class and a half a year. Like we were opening mid year

069and then we had opened in the fall and we'd open mid year. This year we opened in the fall. We don't have to open midyear. And so we're we're starting to at least level [laughter] the trajectory isn't going quite as high as it was the static. Um so >> okay, thank you. >> If I can just add to that. So just as a reminder, we're doing the facility utilization right now. We just saw um the first draft iteration of that. They met with all the elementary principles today to make sure they've captured all of those spaces correctly. And I think what you'll see is even in the the utilization, the next two classes are going to go to Parkway. Um, but what you'll see is the space crunch that we truly do have across the

070district. Um, and so I think having the consultants actually do the work, it looks kind of like the same work that we did. Um, but it's good. It's validating that we really are um, full. But again in the edspec and I think it said that in the video um is that we originally had prek in the edspec for Riverside and then it was the board pulled it out. We do have an edspec that's been approved at Julian Curtis that has two approved preks but at what point would you know the board want to put that forward and we'll be watching that for space issues. How does our ratio compare to other towns in Fairfield County? And would you be able to provide us with a list of them to show what they are? >> Absolutely.

071I think I think we might have done that in the in the budget. Um, so I'll find it and do that, but we actually have a really good ratio. Um, actually many of the the the classrooms have trouble filling their typical peer spots. Um, so we are one of the few districts that actually are able to keep the ratio um of what we set and be able to fill those spots with typical peers. Um, that's a struggle for many of the other districts. So they actually look at a 50/50 ratio, but a lot of that has to do with trying to find typical peers and many of them are running more at a 7030 because they they don't find the typical peers. Thanks. >> Picking up on that. So, I know a few years ago

072when we adjusted the ratio, um we kind of talked about it as um like an an if we need to situation that this isn't like always going to be the case, but you know, this is what we could go up to like giving us that flexibility. How much has that been um the reality? The >> last year it was a stronger reality than it is this year. Part of as we continue to expand the number of preschools, there's more students to go around. So even in my time here in Greenwich, I think we've added like six preschool classes, six or seven. And so when you get up toward the end, you have less classes to to spread out. So right now with 18 classes, so we're still at our ratio and we're not anticipating that

073many more students qualifying between now and the end of the year. So we might as we start to get into and you know April, May, June, but um not even at that I we don't expect that everybody would even go up one over just because of the amount of of dispers dispersion um amongst the classes. So, are we under right now anywhere or are we at cap or >> we're like just under just at? >> One thing that happens sometimes with our peers is they come into the pre-K program and then they qualify and so then they become an actual uh you know special needs student versus a peer. So that's usually one thing that throws the ratio off in some of our classes. Great. Um, so I noticed the number of kids that have

074been identified for these special ed prek services has grown much faster than the the birth rate has grown, I think, due to earlier early identification. Um, you know, I'm curious if is there any sort of audit, spot check, review of the qualifying diagnosis? And and be very clear, I am not alleging some sort of, you know, Minnesota autism fraud. And I I am a big believer in intervening early when you can have the most impact. Uh but all of us sitting up here have a fiduciary duty. Um so I I feel I need to ask the question. >> So So our numbers are actually on par and we're a little bit lower than the going rate in Fairfield County and for the state. Um, so even with our increase, we we had a huge bump

075a couple years ago when we redid our practices because we were artificially low. Um, like substantially there were we had to look at our practices which we updated our MTSS to make sure we were catching students because they were staying in MTSS too long and not qualifying. So what we're looking at is pretty on par with what where we should be. So we haven't audited. Um and and in some ways there's a self a there's a self audit in that every 3 years we have to reestablish eligibility. So a student is made eligible in three years. We redo eligibility and we do that for the course of their entire educational career as long as they're in special education. So you can qualify in preschool and then usually in first grade we look at that again.

076We would look at it again in fourth grade, 7th grade, you know. Um and we do have some students who do exit. Um, I will say that this year, um, the legislation, uh, changed the developmental delay, which in some ways exited many of our preschool students as they got into the kindergarten, first grade because they didn't meet one of the other categories and they were at developmental delay. That is now until the age of nine. So, we do expect a little bit of a bump um in students remaining in special ed under the new eligibility guidelines. Who who determines the ratio? I I know that the services are mandated by law. The ratios seem to be different um throughout the town, thus some of the questions. But are there any guidelines? Are there any minimums?

077Are there any maximums? >> The minimum is 50/50. So the state requires that we at least that we at least maintain a 5050. Um my understanding because the ratio is how it is when I came is that is really kind of established with the board and with the superintendent and what that ratio is beyond that. And I I think all it takes I encourage all of you to go and do a readaloud in a pre-K classroom with 15 children. Um because you have to remember there's a large portion of the children who have special needs. It's not like a community prek. So I think we're very committed to not wanting to increase beyond where we are with 15. I it's it's a lot. Um and especially given some of the challenges we have with Paris

078and we've had to change the model there a little bit. Um we're we're happy with where the ratio is as well, but I don't think we should be going uh you know higher. Um I think it would impact instruction and what you see in some of the districts, even in Fairfield County, they're doing things like half-day programs, then they're not seeing the results we're seeing coming in and being ready for kindergarten. And that is very, very important to us. I I I'd be remiss if I didn't say, you know, my my son is an alum of the program. They I mean, back then the ratio was 11 to four. Um and um that was a lot. So I know um it's something that we have to maintain an eye on. So I know it's 96

079now and that that makes me uncomfortable. Um we certainly don't want to go higher than that. Um, but you know, don't don't nobody should hesitate to come to the board and let us know that that's not working. Um, and we need to re revisit these things. >> Right. >> Thank you, >> Dr. Jones. You were up with the um the the highlight of the night, the air quality report. >> And I hope that is the shortest item of the night. So, this is a legislative um just requirement that we have it on the board agenda that we're just letting the public know that uh the air quality report for each building has been posted online. So, if you look under facilities on the um on board docs, it does also have the direct link if

080you want to just go straight out to it. But again, we're required just to look at the air quality of every building and facilities has finished that. It is posted and ready for public viewing. Any questions on the air quality report? Disappointing. Okay, moving on. It was it was it was comprehensive and and you we should note for people listening it came up um glowing. I mean there were no there were no concerns in the air quality report. You should across all all 15 buildings. Um okay. So um uh Mr. Brandon, Mr. Mr. We're up to the financial reports. Are you online? Are they online? They here. >> I I'm I'm here. >> He is. >> Uh Patrick's away today. So you get stuck with me for the report. Uh biggest change between the month

081>> second disappointment of the night. >> The biggest change is special education. You can just really demonstrates the volatility of that program. Within one month, we went from a a $ 1.9 million budget uh projected savings to under a million. So it was a million dollar swing. So it just highlights the volatility of the program, but we're still uh running uh ahead of budget. So that's the biggest highlight from that report, but happy to answer any questions you may have. >> Um yeah, thanks Ben. Um and and we we traded some emails, but you know, I know the public often doesn't the public doesn't see those. So, just to get it out in the public forum, um there were a couple of things. The the figure for the old Greenwich School showing at 44 million,

082you'd clarified that was a timing difference, right? That because of the timing of the RTM approval, that's the reason we don't see the incremental funds uh listed in the capital report on page six. >> Yeah, 100%. Since the funings, this is end of month January and since the funds were approved early February, next month at the March meeting, you'll see the end of month February and it will be there likely a new object code, not not co-mingled with the existing funds of the 44 million just the way we fund the projects. So you'll see that next month >> and and also could you talk a little bit when we look at the on page five we look at the incumbrances and the available balances. Um there are some from from several years ago and I

083know some of these projects sometimes take a little longer than we we anticipate. Uh but could you talk a little bit about some of the older ones and what happens to those? >> Yeah, some of the older ones are are just uh we'll call them vintage projects that are just uh taking a time to close out. Uh we expect particularly the 2019 and the 2020 accounts. Those should be closed out by uh end of quarter 1 this calendar year. I just mo spent uh this afternoon with our director of facilities Dan Watson to go over the status of of those. So those are I'll call them legacy or vintage accounts and those will be closed out. Any unused funds from a capital project is returned to the town once the project is is completed. And

084the one thing I would like to highlight is that negative 18 on page five where you see the month-to-month uh clo uh change that means we've closed 18 projects from last month to this month. And uh even when we presented our budget to the BET early February, we highlighted this the the the amount of capital projects we are closing out. Uh I I joke with the BET that when I first got here, the the report was four pages long and now we have it on two pages. So I no longer need a stapler to uh put the report together. So we're making significant progress closing out the accounts. >> Fantastic. And just one last question that had come in uh from a member of the public. Um just can you just confirm are budgets funded

085exclusively from US sources, right? The town is property taxes and we have some federal and state grants, a couple of of nonprofits. It's all US money. Correct. >> Uh correct. You can see that on page 11 is where most of the grants are. And what this what page 11 does not capture is just as you just talked about United Way and the Greenwich Alliance and and all the PT PTA and PTAC funds. But yeah, you're absolutely right. Those are the traditional funding sources. All right. Um, anything else on the financial report? All right, seeing none, uh, budget transfers, Mr. Bry. >> Uh, hopefully I can beat Dr. Jones on the shortest agenda item, uh, as presented. >> Right. Congratulations. [laughter] Uh, Dr. Bud, >> there he is. Dr. Bud has the staff absenteeism report. I

086hate to be the shortest item, but maybe I'll be the second or third shortest. What can I say? You see the written report there is a published report. Our staff was predictably healthier in January than they were in December. So last month I talked about the large spike the third week of December and that's uh gotten back in January to the pre- December levels. And I would point out an observation at the bottom of page one would continue to be that the staff absenteeism has trended downward this year compared to the past two years and uh is probably more or less stabilized with what would be, you know, typical absence trends for people who need to be out because they're sick, their family is sick, or they have personal day reasons. And even the last

087chart on this page on this uh document about the highest week recent attend absence week which was uh week 21 the way we chart it even there uh that followed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on the Monday and Tuesday the first day of the week ended up being the lowest absenteeism of the week but you know as we were back in school uh we had more people absent. Uh uh it's interesting. One of the New Haven papers reported earlier this week about absenteeism among the New Haven teachers and uh they uh have tended New Haven as many urban districts had tended to be about double the staff absenteeism rate of Greenwich and suburbs. But one thing I want to point out is that even though New Haven reports having about double the amount of

088teachers that we do, uh they report in the same article having about half of the number of substitute teachers as we do. So they employ about 120 substitute teachers based on their report and we have about 250 in the stable right now. So that's kudos to all of our staff who work very hard on of not just being substitutes but getting more substitutes into the system. Happy to answer any questions you have. >> Um this is kind of related to absenteeism. How is it going in terms of um teachers arriving to school on time, especially at the high school with a 7:30 um start time, kind of like that academic bonus time before the first academic bow? >> A good question. That is a topic that the superintendent and I and building leaders have discussed

089and we have discussed it with GA leadership as well to get a sense of uh how teachers are responding to that and any needs that we could address. um most although not all of the teachers um appreciate that earlier start time but it does take a little while to modulate. Um we are addressing um both globally and individually um some small but troubling um issues related to that because briefly and you know much more detail the expectation is that at 7:30 um teachers are present and active working with students. So um we we we certainly absent some emergency traffic situation etc. We certainly um don't want a staff member walking in at quarter of 8. But the most important reason for that is that the students are there at 7:30 wanting to interact and needing

090to interact with the teachers. So it's not an arbitrary kind of uh clock punching thing. It's actually instructional time for the students. So the great majority of staff don't have a concern with that and we are following up individually with some. >> Okay, that's great because I do feel like when we when we made this scheduling change, you know, it was I think part of the way that we all got comfortable with it was that we thought that would be beneficial time for the students to be meeting with teachers. And I I just I fear both for the teachers and for the students, right? if if we start to lose that time the you know it it in the beginning of the year we heard a lot of really positive feedback from teachers and students

091about how productive it was to have that time to meet. So I just hope that that continues. >> Thank you. And I would just add to that, um, of course, you know, we're not talking, as I think I implied earlier, about the person who gets in a bad traffic jam or it's an aberration, but when we have a trend, uh, that's when we address it because if you're a student who needs help from your biology teacher and that's the subject you really need help in, um, you you don't particularly care that 99% of the other teachers are there on time to help their students. you need that teacher there at 7:30, right? So, it's very individually impactful if you happen to um need that small number of teachers who aren't there to be there earlier

092and we are addressing it both individually and globally. >> Okay, thank you. >> Yep. Um so, first of all, delighted to hear that we're trending down on absences. Um I'm personally struggling a little bit with the format of this report uh to really get the key takeaways out of it. My my understanding was you know we had some issues in the past um in particular I think with with a few outliers that were then creating a lot of challenge for the teachers who who were there. Um and and I think when we look at averages it you lose that nuance. So I'm wondering if there's a way to see I don't know whether it's a frequency histogram in batches of absences between certain numbers. Certainly we all get sick and so you know zero to

093three absences I wouldn't even bat an eye but I'd be really interested to see you know do we have a small number who have 10 15 absences um or are you seeing patterns with you know you had talked about Mondays and Fridays so I'm wondering if you can maybe think about whether there's a a different way to present the data or maybe include a few a few key takeaways that you're seeing in in obviously a privacy protected way so that we as a board can get a better sense of of what's going on. >> Yes, I have an initial response to that. There's a few ways that we could provide you more detailed data, particularly because we're about 105 days into the school year. So, we're well beyond, you know, just a couple of weeks.

094Um because people who would be out in general for the same kind of leave reason over 5 days would be designated under FMLA. We certainly know that people who would have 8 n 10 days of absence if they don't qualify for FMLA would be in an unusual category. Our building administrators speak to teachers about absenteeism at midyear conferences which are just about this time of year. And uh I think maybe it would be interesting for me to show you next time some kind of um graph about the number of our teachers outside of those on approved FMLA leave who have been absent 10 times or more, five to 10 times, etc. Um so we can see what kind of numbers we're dealing with. Dr. Bud, I fear you have lost the shortest agenda competition to

095both Dr. Jones and Mr. Branding. to buy them both a soda tomorrow. [laughter] >> This next one will not win that award. >> No. >> Okay. So now, uh, Dr. Jones, the, um, CMS open enrollment regulation. Um, this is a discussion item. We should, uh, remind public, not an action item. U purely because, uh, the board does not vote on regulations by by by it by its bylaws. We only um, we only vote on on policy. You set the you set the regulations. >> Yes. And this is um one reason that um I actually chose to do it as a regulation so that we could get it crafted, we could get, you know, the feedback on it and then be able to also have it um posted online in a public space. Um and and

096be able to do that fairly quickly. So, I'm just going to walk you through what's in the regulation. Um and I I I really don't want to have to read each one, but I think we probably need to because it's really important. Um, so obviously the facility opens um in the fall and you know it's built to hold more than 600 students. Um, >> we should note this is available online. >> Oh yes. Yeah, absolutely. It's available online. Um, and unless something uh I need an edit for tomorrow, we'll actually get it posted as a regulation online tomorrow as well. Um, so when we look at open enrollment, the first thing is, um, just as a reminder, we had an interest form that launched in December to families of all fifth grade students that were

097not already zoned, uh, for central and it went to all of Western and Eastern families that have current um, that will have current sixth and seventh uh, students. So that again happened in December and all the families who filled out the form before the December uh 25 closing date according to this regulation and of course um there may be questions would be approved for open enrollment because they filled out that first form. Um, incoming sixth grade students would be able to attend orientation at their respective middle schools, including students who if they're at Western or Eastern and they've opted into Central, we'll make sure that we get a bus to get those kids to Central for their orientation. Um, open enrollment would have a second enrollment period which would open on or before March 6,

098so very soon. It would end on April 3rd. The second enrollment period uh would accommodate that 15 additional sixth grade students uh 15 additional seventh grade and seven additional eighth grade students. And I'll we'll look at the grid here in just a minute. Um number five is if more students apply than space is available a lottery for the open enrollment spots would be held honor before April 8th but after closing of the form on the 3. So again, that's just if we had to we had a large influx of students. So number six is uh talking about on March 5th, the district would host a virtual openhouse for families uh to present, you know, renderings of the new school. Obviously, they can't tour it yet. Um but we have some fabulous uh renderings that people

099can see what it's going to look like. uh learn about the new facility, state-of-the-art instructional spaces, the fields, the technology, and a second enrollment period would launch on that on that March 6. Now, down below that, what you're seeing is the chart, and I'm going to walk you through because I know one of you asked some good questions the other day, and it is it up there actually. >> Is Michael back? >> Um I think Mike or Jonathan is Michael. Yeah, if you could bring that up uh just for the public. mic. We'll wait just a second. >> I'm almost there. Just one more minute. >> Thank you. We were waiting for your voice. Oh >> yeah, go to the page where it has the current projected enrollment chart. >> So what you're looking at

100here, the first um that first chart at the top, that is sixth grade. So this is your um possible projected enrollment for next year. So it lists each school. The second column over is what is projected for next year. And that's just based off of our October one projection count. Then we had the enrollment period that we did in December. So what that's showing you is Central, if we went by everyone that signed up, would gain 14 students. Western would lose 13 sixth graders and Eastern would lose one. Now, with our second enrollment period, that's what that column is saying. Fourth column over, we could add another 15 um to Central. Western could afford to lose another 14. And the reason I put one from Eastern, I was trying to have a realistic um just

101projection based on what we saw from the first opening. that could change, but that would give you your final projected um after the second round of open enrollment. Um where central would be at 161 for sixth grade, 149 at Western, and 243 at Eastern. So each chart is formatted in exactly the same way. Um and that number was so that we can balance the to have relatively the same size of teams and needs so that we're not um it's not swinging too much in either direction. Um so you can see exactly where those numbers would be for 7th and then for 8th. Now the one thing that's at the very bottom underneath the last chart is the regulation would sunset on June 30th. and that was just the board would want to decide is this

102something that you're going to want to continue to do, you know, the following year. Um, so it's just trying to be clear that it would sunset June 30th and then we would talk about it again and how it went. And I'm happy to take questions, but it's a pretty simple process. Um, and I don't think it's difficult for us to do it all. Even if we have to run the lottery, we're accustomed to doing that for our magnet students and also for prek. I think it's I think it's worth worth clarifying because we talked about this in in policy yesterday. So, um the projections that projection column is what we projected that first enrollment column that was the that was the the students who actually signed up during that enrollment period in December. Um which

103is so column three there enrollment period one December those are those are the students that actually or the families that have actually signified interest in coming to CMS. >> That's correct. The fourth column is hypothetical. Um that is we heard comments today about reopening um the enrollment pro the open enrollment process. So this regulation is doing that um and saying that we would have this many seats available should families opt in. >> That's correct. >> Right. Okay. Questions? Go ahead, Veronica. Um there was no mention but I don't but I don't think this was purposeful or intentional of um sorry let me let me I'm going to rephrase that how I asked that this open enrollment is open to all students entering sixth grade entering seventh grade and entering eighth grade that are residents of

104Greenwich regardless of what school they're currently at. So that includes public and private schools. That's the way I wanted to phrase my question. >> Yes. Well, if if they're in a private school and they have a Greenwich address, they have a right to come to the public school. >> I just wanted to clarify that. Thank you. >> Yeah. Um during during the budget process, I I think it was early December. Um Mr. Cheney had asked if you could find an extra 216,000 by by moving other parts of the budget around to to find an extra two FTEEs for Central Middle School. And I think the the big concern driving that especially was the the double English in in sixth grade. Did did that happen? Do we do we have two more or or did that

105not happen? I'm sorry. I don't recall. >> No. When the board did not pass that additional I think Mr. Cheney made the motion, but what the answer to that is if we need if we need staff based off need, we have to find it. And that's what we always do. I mean, I was looking at elementary today and we have Sorry, that wasn't my question. I I know we didn't pass an additional 216,000, but he had emailed you and you emailed us on December 15th saying at the at the same aggregate level of the budget, you could reallocate from other buckets. And I think that's why some of us felt it wasn't necessary to add the 216 because we felt you found it other there was I think 100 grand that we could move because

106we were running below expectations on the outplacement cost. There were a couple other line items. Um, so my understanding was that that was found and so we didn't need to add it on top of the budget. >> It's if it's needed, it will be found. >> Yeah, my understanding was we would have to do that before we voted on the budget and I I I didn't I did make a I made my amendment that was voted down and someone else would have had to make another amendment. >> Sorry, I thought your amendment was to add on top of the total though. As I recall, I thought shifting within the budget was completely within Dr. Jones's perview to adjust as needed during the year. >> I think you're saying the same thing, right? I think as

107needed is the is the qualifier there. But Paul, I see your hint. >> Yeah. I just wanted to jump in. I I must have misunderstood this as well. I would have voted with Mr. trainee because I was under the impression that that we did need that and that as needed was, you know, was the relief uh that it was found. Um so I I just wanted to give you those two cents. Uh otherwise I think I would have been voting with Mr. Cheney. Um I did understand uh Miss Krauss as it related to such a granular amount of the budget and that the administration could find that um and I think I believe we received that email prior to the budget and so um I I'm I understood it to be that it was found.

108So that seems to be a misunderstanding. >> Maybe Dr. you can talk about because I think this is the um um one of the the big concerns here. So, how do how and Z given those different columns? How do we see staffing playing out here? >> In all honesty, I don't know until we enroll because you know it gets down to how many advanced classes do you need in mathematics, how many, you know, advanced English like all of that comes into play in the number of staff that we need. But again, that's the way it happens across the entire district. Um, and it's always based on need. And when we were in front of the BET and they asked this kind of a similar question u for our budget day, you know, we said it

109is always based on need for our staffing. That's what we do every year. And if let's say we need 15 new teachers in September. I certainly hope that doesn't happen, but right now we have 10 sections we are watching in elementary. And if you've watched some of the stuff that's come out just in even in this week about how uh elementary is that that age level starting to go back up again, we we could see that and if that happens then we have to manage the budget. You get halfway through the year, usually about January, and then we would have to go for an interim if we can't manage our way out of it, if we had to hire too many staff. But it will be based on student enrollment and the number of students

110um with the projected enrollments um that on that fourth uh fourth column there, would that require or would we have to look into adding any more staff? you're kind of asking the same question because right now right now in the budget the budget is what the budget is. So it depends on what we need. Yeah. >> Is is there a scenario in any of those columns where class size gets above um our our our regulations? >> No. No. I mean when you look at these team sizes like even on that far right where you know central has 161 149 again a a normal like team size is 120. So these are still quite small teams. So we're not running where all of a sudden we're going to have so many students. But that's one of

111the reasons too that we I tried to balance it and looked at like Western with the 149 versus 161. um they're still, you know, reasonable team sizes, but they're they're still small. >> The other concern the other concern we had in December was about electives um and electives at CMS. And um you want to talk about that for a minute? >> I think we have to do a much better job of just managing the schedule. It was not an it was not an issue that was impacted by staffing. It was impacted by the schedule. Um and I we're I think we're on top of that. Again, automating is going to really help that um this year. And for instance, if you we have teachers all across the district that are point4 point 6 in one

112building, you know, point four in another. We have to manage that at all levels. And so we have to be on top of that. If it means kids are not getting the electives that they've enrolled in, then we may need to move a teacher. Well, maybe you need to be AM at that building and PM here or vice versa. But again, it happens all the way across the district. We have to communicate more effectively. Okay. >> Yeah. Um, you know, could you talk a little bit about what the impact might be on Western Middle School of Since the bulk of the moves are from Western to Central, are we solving one problem and causing another? >> I I don't think so. And I actually think it could be a help for Western. Um, Western is

113a title one school. Um, they have more EL population. Um, and I know that, you know, having a a larger sixth grade coming in, this is probably going to help them. And I don't think it's so large. Obviously, what you're the number of students that you're moving to Central is going to impact Central negatively, but until they all show up, you don't know. >> I just want to ask about the regulation that sun setting in June on June 30th. is that with the understanding that if we feel like we want to uh renew that for the next year because I feel like there will be people wanting to come to Central Middle School in years to come. You know, >> I I think well part of it is getting through the second enrollment period just

114in case we have more students and we have to run a lottery. But let's say we get through the second enrollment period and we really don't get that many more students. the board. I mean that I we would probably put it on another agenda and say let's do enrollment period three. Let's keep it open through June 30th, but we don't want to keep it open too long because otherwise we could have staffing implications trying to fix in July and August and that's hard to do. >> Sorry. Sorry. Just one more clarification. When we talk about sunsetting this, that's just for new enrollments. Nobody's talking about taking a sixth grader next year who who who mig magneted into Central and sending them back to Western the following year. Once you're there, you're there, right? >> Yeah.

115This is just the process itself and it's really just to help manage the process. >> It sounds like Yeah, it sounds it sounds like Thanks. So, it sounds like um I don't have any objections here. So, it sounds like that'll be the sense of the meeting here and the will of the board to move forward with the regulation. All right. Thanks for putting this together. >> Um, so moving on now, the next action item is or the only action item is new courses at GHS. Um, I don't see Mr. Diko's well-dressed uh presence here in the audience, so I'm assuming he's he's online. >> You actually >> I'm speaking on behalf of equally as well-dressed, though. I hope. >> Uh, good evening and thank you for having us back tonight. I was happy to hear

116from both students and parents during the public comment advocating so strongly for their approval of all four of our new courses this evening. Our house administrators, Mr. Walco for AP business and personal finance, Mr. Reco for AP Human Geography, Mr. Burn for AP cyber security and program coordinator Miss Stillman for honors art history are all of which are available to you virtually this evening to answer any questions you may have ahead of our votes. Many have any questions? Oh, you know what? I failed. God didn't um didn't didn't didn't didn't correct me yet. I need to make a motion to get this on the table. So, I would like to move um I would like to move to uh approve um the new courses at GHS as as presented. >> I'll second that. Okay. Now,

117are there questions? >> I I would just say perhaps not because I think they did such a great job at our last meeting of of describing everything and I think we asked a lot of poant questions last week. >> Yep. Um not a specific not an objection to the class the the courses as described and I agree they are well described. Uh, I would urge this the district to re-evaluate the grade C as a threshold for AP classes though. >> Thank you. They were very well described. But I I I do want to um reiterate something that we said in another meeting because I feel that sometimes um our other committee meetings aren't as well watched and the public doesn't get an opportunity. That's kind of been a little bit of the theme of the

118night that Karen started. Thank you. Um this this uh uh new course um action item tonight is a first step in a multi-step process. Is that correct? Uh check, >> we would have to Yeah, we'd have to come back to approve textbooks um and and and resources such as that. Um is that right, Miss Fogle? >> Um at this meeting, you would be approving the courses of they're written on the forms that were submitted. If additional resources are required to support the curriculum, that would have to go through the board. Um, >> are the books are the resources the textbooks already listed in here? I apologize. I read this a couple weeks ago. >> It's the last page. Um, number eight, estimated cost. And that's usually where like it'll say there are no required textbook

119for the course. So, I had a question based on the student comments tonight about the art art history course. So, um they they they they mentioned that um this being this course being a prerequisite prerequisite for the AP course, the honors course being prerequisite for the AP. Is that is that do do I have that right or do they have that right or how how does that I was confused by that. Uh Leah, I think because Yeah, I was going to say you might want to take that one. >> Sure. So, there's a few different ways that this the honors art history will become one of the possible prerexs, but there's other ones that they can also other courses they can also use to have as a prerec for the AP. I'll also let you

120know that AP Art History, I believe, is the only course in the book right now that does not have a prerec or a recommendation before it is taken. So, if that gives you a little light into kind of leveling where our APS um come from, what they look like, this is kind of leveling the game for this one. I and Leah, I think you said last at the last meeting, it's kind of you're trying to help the students because there've been such a high uh uh rate of low grades. >> That's correct. So, we have a a a huge amount of kids that'll sign up for the AP course because it's the easily accessible AP course, so it helps with their weighted GPA. But on the other hand, we have a very low percentage that

121are willing to take the AP exam that goes along with it. um as well as um it is a lot of content and information that's presented in that course and it can be overwhelming for a student who has no prior history of um an art course before that. >> Thank you. >> Sure. question. >> Uh, [sighs] I might want to remove just one of them and make a motion to remove the AP geography just so we have a little bit more time to go through the curriculum. >> Might want to make a motion to amend. >> I want I might want to make a motion to amend. >> So So do do you the um I hear you. So do you want do you want to make a motion to amend or are you making

122a motion to amend? I >> can I speak? >> Yes, please. >> Okay. Uh, I don't think I heard um Miss Walsh make an emotion to amend. I think she said that she wanted to and I think that um that that could be echoed by others, but maybe there's some more discussion that could alleviate um uh uh concerns and that goes back to my question as is, you know, will we have an opportunity to review curriculum? Um the textbook um uh is the BFW publishers human geography for the AP core second edition 2025. Yeah, >> I I actually did the research on that and um I was comfortable with it and I spoke to Miss Walsh about that. I think we're both comfortable with that. >> Um so do you have anything to add to

123avoid the potential amendment? I mean I so I I I hear you and I was actually unaware that um we were approving the textbook um as well the uh because often times you know lot so many so often textbooks come come at us um differently and we have time to review review the textbook so so that's >> I share um I share a similar sense of discomfort in approving a textbook without without um having any having done due diligence on it. Um, I wonder if there's a way to approve the course um and not the textbook. Um, if we if people are people are um okay with that. So, that would make it I don't and I don't know I'm thinking out loud here, but the amendment a possible amendment in that regard would be

124to um approve the four courses um with the amendment that we're we're we're um but not that that that course book as listed on page whatever it is 25. Go ahead. I'm just wondering if there are any questions that maybe Terra Vocal could answer to allay some of the concerns about the textbook. >> I could jump in also. >> All right, Lucy, why don't you go ahead? >> So, um maybe adding that textbook uh has caused confusion. If the course is approved, my next step is going to be to convene a textbook committee um which hopefully uh uh one uh of you would be able to join and there will be uh books for us to review and from that committee we would then recommend a book um before the end of the year to

125the board of education to adopt. um by putting a a textbook on that form that's more of a suggested textbook to be able to come to an estimated quote as to the cost of the course. >> I think that makes a lot of sense. Thank Thank you for clarifying there, Lucy. >> Of course. >> Yeah. Okay. Is that the only course in this packet that has a textbook associated with it? I'm sorry that I I don't remember reading it, but still >> I think it was the only one that raised concerns. >> Great. Thank you. Are you you okay then? >> Comfortable with that. Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> Okay, that's Grace. I'm going to call the question. Um all all in favor of the the uh the the motion to approve all

126four courses. All right, that passes 70. Thanks everybody. Thank you, Tara. Good to see you. I'm glad you're you're up and about. [laughter] >> Thank you very much. the um so we're at the agenda plan discussion. Um Dr. Jones, anything you want to point out? >> No, I don't think so. I mean, we had United Way um tonight and then um we had moved I believe this shows it, but uh the YMCA will be in April uh instead of March. that was at their request. Um, so they'll be coming before us, but other than that, I think it we're on track. >> Go ahead. >> Um, yeah, I I think at one of the meetings I had asked that we we have a review of of AP and honors and ALP, some of our advanced

127classes. Did that make I I didn't see it. Did that make it on here? Um there are there is um the possibility of um an executive session um next week um pending litigation. Um so stay tuned for that. Um um in addition, we talked about the possibility of um an executive session. We seem to like executive sessions this this winter. Um executive session >> like is a strong word. >> Fair enough. um next uh next month um in regards to the um the the the the field litigation. Um so we did we did talk about that possibility. Go ahead. >> We removed the tuition from this evening's agenda. So I'd like to push it to the next one and I um I wanted I see it I see it there. Right. Anyway, I would like

128to um also convene the budget committee to discuss with the finance committee. Um so I'll be in touch with you. No, maybe not. >> And then I don't know. Um, so so this is a this is a little bit of a curveball, Tony, but um based on some comments um this week, I don't know if Dr. Bud needs to be a discussion item or written to [clears throat] the board, but based on some comments this week, I it'd be helpful. I don't know if we've seen like um like a staffing report as far as um attrition or um um retention. Not quite sure what the word word right the word right what the right word is but I think it might be helpful to see um over the last you know few years um basically

129our our our rate of rate of retention or rate of attrition when it comes to staff. Um, I think that could be that could be that could be good food for thought. That makes sense. >> Yeah, I could plug it in somewhere. Let me meet with it. >> Okay. Anything else? Then we have a motion they'd like to make. >> I make a motion to adjurnn. >> I'll second. >> Okay. Motion by Mr. Cheney, seconded by Miss M. Coven. All in favor? Motion passes. Seven.