9-24-18 Groton Board of Education Meeting

001Hi, my name is Bruce Schedule. Hi, my name is Tanisha Evans. >> Hi, my name is Ivy Johnson. >> And you're watching GPS 19 and we're sliding into another show. >> [music] >> I am going to start the board of ed meeting. Welcome. Today is September 24th and it's about 6:15. Um and our first order of v business is on the pledge of allegiance. So, if we could please stand. >> JC, would you be willing to start it? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. All right. Um, our next is uh visitors and delegation, but I think we don't have any for this month. >> We do

002not. Okay. So, we are going to be moving to the comments citizen portion um of our agenda and these are agenda items and other subject of concerns that lie within the jurisdiction of the board of education. This is the portion of the agenda where the board welcomes comments from citizens. Each presentation should be limited to 5 minutes or less and citizens should, if possible, submit written comments. Presentations should be related to matters pertinent to Graten. Board members will only ask questions in order to clarify the speaker's presentation and cannot respond during the comments from citizen portion of the board meeting. Citizens should make their presentation from the podium and state their name and addresses for the record. Um, and the first person that is up on our list is Mr. Wbiski. My name is John

003Worbicki. I live at 355 Brook Street. I'd like to make a few comments about the upcoming vote on proposed charter revisions. Besides being a former town counselor, RTM member, and board of education member, I was on two previous charter revision commissions. both considered and ultimately rejected proposals for budget referendum. We never considered anything so radical or counterproductive as the proposals now before us which require what would probably be multiple referenda in each budget cycle. the various flaws in the proposal such such as the creation of a toothless and unrepresentative board of finance in place of the RTM and the probability that each year we would have multiple costly budget referenda have been detailed in several recent letters to the editor of the day. I want to focus on the effect the proposed changes would have

004on our schools here in Grt. For there can be no doubt that the proponents of this charter have taken direct aim at the school system and that one of their prime objectives is to slash funding for our schools. For only the school budget has been singled out for special consideration by the voters. There is a distinct possibility, in fact probability, that the schools would take the biggest hit if this charter is enacted. An odd thing about this proposal is that a budget can be defeated even if a majority of voters believe that the town should spend at least as much as the town council and board of education proposed. If someone who believes the school budget is too low casts a vote to that effect, it is nonetheless a vote against the education budget as

005a whole. I've I've observed the dynamics in this town, and I'm sure that even if the yes votes and the no, you're spending too little votes exceed the no, you're spending too much votes, the political pressure will be toward cuts. I don't have kids in Graten school anymore, but I very much believe that we're all in this together and that today's kids deserve an education as good, if not better, than the education my kids got. I would urge everyone who cares about our schools to vote no on November 6th. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Next up is Jean Claude Emois. >> Good evening. My name is Jean Claude Bois. I live at 169 Shenikaset Parkway in Grten. I am also a representative and chairman of the vote no charter revisions uh committee that is

006a bipartisan group of grassroots individuals that are looking to inform and educate the public on why they should be voting no. So today I'm going to do that. Um, my plan here tonight was to uh give you an overview and summary of what the charter changes are for the public here and also for the group in front of us. The proposed charter revisions for the town of Grten would change important parts of Graten's government. First and foremost, and what's most important in my heart is it would abolish the Graten's representative town meeting. All those powers would be transferred to the town council except for the adoption of an annual budget. In place of that RTM, he would be electing a seven member board of finance with one member from each voting district. So each voting

007district will now only have one representative um representing their best interest. And this body is only going to advise the town council on the annual budget. They have no power whatsoever. The town council adopted the adopted budget by the town council will then be submitted to an annual budget referendum where you would have to vote two times. You would have to vote on town operations and you would have to vote on the board of education budget. Uh the the electors can reject that government budget or education budget as being too high and too low. And this is where I have some serious concerns. A yes vote and I just did some math in my head. If you had 450 yes votes out of a thousand and the remaining 225 each went equally 225 for too

008high, 225 for too low. As John said, that would end up being a failed vote. So then what do you do? That would be a very challenging situation for this body as well as the uh superintendent of schools, the children who are using these services, and also the staff that are trying to execute these services. Look no further than Preston, folks. Preston had three times to go back to referendum. And if we do the math on that, each referendum vote is $20,000 more that the taxpayers have to spend. that would equal over $60,000 extra that we would have to pay. Budgets defeated at uh the referendum be revised by the town council and then resubmitted for referendum as I said for another $20,000 cost. The role of RTM vetoing new town laws or ordinances would

009be changed um by the actions of the town council and the only way and the only recourse to change these would submit electors rights to petition. They would need to have 5% of the registered electors to uh to petition in order to enact a referendum and you need at least 15% registered electors to uh come out and vote on that in order for it to pass. The annual budget refum that is proposed in the charter revisions has no minimum voter requirement. So all of the other mechanisms in our system to petition and and have representation of a fair amount of electors will not be there with an annual budget vote. The Grten Town councils will now have four terms in place of the current two-year terms. So, the ability for you to vote out in

010effective leadership would take longer. So, I don't know how that gives Grten a right to vote. No more than twothirds of this town council would also be uh have to be part of the same political party. So, you would need what we call minority representation. So again, if an individual uh election happened, similar to this past year, nine Democrats got on the town council, automatically two of those people who were voted in by the people would have to be removed and the least vote getters would end up getting into that position because of minority representation. And this uh proposal also makes several several other changes. I recommend to all of the Graten public to take a look at gratenct.gov. Go on to the website, look at the charter revision changes for yourself. Look at the

011town meetings of October 3rd, October 10th, and November 28th to see the deliberations of the public and the overwhelming majority of people that were against charter revisions and the previous town council that rejected the charter revisions as well. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Next would be Bruce L. Good evening. Uh, thank you. Bruce Flax, uh, 632 Noank Road. Uh, I'm a no on the charter, but I'm not I'm not here for that heady issue. Um, I come before the board today to bring an issue to your attention that you may or not be aware that uh, and that of charging admission for high school sporting events. Um, a little background. For the last seven or eight years, give or take, Mr. Romano could not remember the exact time it began. Spectators

012are charged in admission. I came upon this rule because uh we come to see my daughter May play volleyball and um we're ending up paying uh $5 a person, $3 a student to come see our kid uh play volleyball, which I don't think is right. They're charged $5 per person to watch the volleyball matches at Fitch. I should note that there is a season pass that you can buy for $40, but again, uh that's outlay of money. Um, in fact, spectators pay for all indoor sports and football. Soccer and lacrosse spectators do not pay because there's no way to fence in the fields. As you can imagine, it can get costly to bring siblings and relatives to a game. I know that very few schools charge. Ledger does and then and Ledger has a pay

013to play as well. I consider this to be a burden on all parents and people interested in watching the high school students play. It does not seem right to me that parents of players have to pay to watch. In discussing with Mr. Romano um he agreed that a cumulative total of all charges for all sports except football of around $15,000 would be a very high estimate of the co total they collect on a yearly basis. So if we're talking about $15,000 those are all the $5 admissions that are added up. I'm asking the board of ed to find 15k in the budget to put towards the sports program so these spectator admission charges can be eliminated. In the last budget cycle uh earlier this year, the board of ed had eight intensive budget meetings where

014they lifted every stone to find savings and ended up bringing the proposed budget down to a 2 and a half% increase. After all the hard work was completed, you stood before the council who rejected an increase and demanded a 0% increase. Uh the board of ed ultimately went back to the books and found additional savings and gave the council what they asked for. No problem. If you can magically find $900,000 or so, you can find 15,000. It feels like the parents, the student athletes are being taxed to watch their kids play sports. Your consideration of this practice is greatly appreciated. And I have another letter. I think I still have part of my five minutes left. So, if I have time, I'll just read this from another parent. Um, after seeing the larger than usual

015crowd at Wednesday's volleyball game, there was no entrance fee until later in the evening. And realizing every time I invite friends and family to come to the games, I have to tell them about the fee to get in. I've come to see the charge as a huge negative. It does not help draw crowds and student supporters of volleyball. I also feel that if Fitch does not charge for girls soccer or field hockey attendance, then it is not right to charge for volleyball. It it is said the extra money helps to defay costs. I've been told the athletic budget for Fitch High School has been decreased and the department needs to make up the difference somehow. So, they've been charging at these games for the last four or so years. Uh at first it was just

016varsity, now freshman and JB games also. Um, I know school employees get paid to man the entrance and collect the fee. Perhaps the savings of not having to pay that employee can help defay cost. Does the money go to the booster club? Does it stay with the volleyball program? I am requesting that the practice of charging to get into volleyball games be reconsidered. Perhaps the board of ed could reinstate monies to help this unfair targeting of the volleyball attendees. I think the trade-off will benefit the school in building morale and help the outside community be more willing to attend a game. For example, I recently invited some younger friends of mine who have elementary school age girls to come watch the older girls play a sport that they probably had never seen played before. How

017inspiring that they can be for the upcoming generations of children. But one mom and three daughters equals $14 for an hour. They may do it once, but the cost would definitely prohibit uh a young fan from coming again. I just don't think we should do this because offering free of charge attendance has much more benefit than any financial game. Uh, that's from Ellen Safransky of 19 Ocean View app. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Before you leave, I had a question. >> Okay. >> Could you tell me if um B girls basketball, is there a um entrance fee? I know there is usually for the boys basketball. believe there is, but I was told that all indoor sports >> get charged or people pay to watch >> and the and football, but um soccer

018and lacrosse, any outdoor sports where the fields can't get fenced in, they're not charged. >> And when was this policy instituted? >> Uh Mr. Romano thought it was seven or eight years ago that they started doing it, but I'm not positive. >> Could we possibly have um Mr. Romano come to a meeting and discuss this with the board. >> Sure. >> Bridget, >> um, as a parent who has had two children go through this, most schools charge for sports. >> So, this is a portion of the agenda where we are not to really have we can ask for questions for clarifications, but not to have a comment back. >> Okay. >> Thank you. Could we um we have >> Oh, I wanted to ask. Okay. When we're done, that's right. I didn't see. >> Okay.

019Sorry. >> So, next one on the list is um Porsche >> Porsche Bordalon 159 Shanakasa Parkway. For full disclosure, I am an elected RTM member for district district 2. Um and also a parent of two students in the district. Today I'm I'm representing myself as a parent in the district looking at uh looking for a plan of action. And once again, I want to apologize. I just left work and I been doing my notes on my lunch break. So, this will be submitted via email to all of you as well as a letter and I apologize for the phone. It was the only time I I had it work. Uh looking for a plan of action on the lead water issue. There has been no clear direction announced as to how we are fully assessing

020and planning to correct both the known and unknown uh contaminated plumbing. And for the record record, there is no safe or acceptable level of lead in any drinking water. Providing free access to portable um water is a responsibility of the school district and the town. Charging $1.25 25 for water bottles up at Fitch High School is not an acceptable solution. It is an unjust solution as there are significant number of lower income families in the region and this is and they're receiving assistance for lunch. Therefore, $125 is uh quite expensive for un for clean water. With that being said, I know at some point there was an attempt to put uh drinkable water in the contaminated areas. What is my plan or solution? because if I'm going to have a problem, I would like to

021come up with a plan. My concern is that there's not enough drinkable water throughout the building. For example, if a fountain is deemed drinkable, a student has five minutes to pass class and cannot fill up a water bottle, especially an athlete. What can we do? In our cafeteria, we should have four to five drinking stations where students can fill up bottled water and be able to consume that on a daily basis without paying to get water. What else is going on is from what I've heard from my own student and some of his friends, they don't want to drink any of the water in the building because not everything has been tested yet and they've been told don't drink the water. So until every spot, every spot, not random biopsies, is tested, we have a

022a a major right as a community, as district leaders, as parents to make sure water is accessible throughout the whole building until the problem is fixed. What has happened so far? We've had meetings about it. And I asked, "Has the fieldhouse been tested?" Wouldn't you know, over the summer I get an email, ice is only used for wounds. Fieldhouse is shut down. Students don't have water down at our athletic field. I I I I attend all sporting events, but I was at a football game on Saturday and watched students cart a utility cart up to the main building to bring water back down to the field and was told by other teams that they were playing when they ran out of water that they really couldn't assist them because they had their football players and

023the water's way up in the main building. This needs to be rectified. We should if we should bring water down to that fieldhouse that's accessible that they can fill up. Hydration is a major concern for concussion and sports protocol for athletes, let them be runners, lacrosse players, football players. And so the lack of availability of water for these students is unbelievable to me that this is still going on. And I'm concerned also at the west side in other schools in our district. My next major concern as far as I I'm looking I attended the open house at at Fitch High School. Prometheium boards non-existing. They're not even working. bulbs not replaced, teachers saying. I sat in the front row of my son's math class and I could not read the board clearly to make anything

024out that he was that he was presenting. And I raised my hand and I hit the lady next to me and I said, "Can you see this board?" She says, "No." I said, "Okay." And I said, "Oh," he says, "It's glare. Uh, they haven't replaced them." Out of eight or 10 classes that I went through, six of them did not have working Prometheium boards. And I asked the teacher, "So, what do you do? the PBI boards now are in the way for the whiteboards to be utilized appropriately. We must fix this. But here we are spending tons of money on IB programs and all these wonderful programs that are all driven through the Prometheium boards, but yet the teachers cannot utilize them. My son is on schooly on a daily basis. Everything is driven through.

025So they have curriculum that they have written that they cannot access on the Prometheium board. One more minute. My other concern was Westside. We had students that had become ill down there from heat exhaustion. And I was told I as I went down there to bring paperwork, the nurse was no longer there. I can only imagine what the expectations or thoughts that happened in that building. But my concern is it took years. Cutler, you know, talking about the divide in this town. I can't wait for the one middle school being a former student myself. Cutler had air conditioner way before Westside had air conditioner in the cafeteria. But it's not enough. Even with the air conditioner in the in the cafet in the cafeteria, students are still becoming ill in our district. Yet, the 2020

026plan is coming. What is our plan in the meantime? We have another summer that we must go through down at Westside. What are we planning to do down there in those classrooms that got up to almost 100 degrees making sure students are safe? My last comment is about subgroups and categorizing racial thing um poverty in our in our district. I have concerns that at the last meeting you guys spoke about looking at the poverty levels in subgroups. When the papers come home where you guys have parents fill out their military and all the other things and where they were, you're able to circle two ethnic backgrounds, but every time I get the report where I have to correct it, only one shows up on the form. So, I would have some questions as to why

027that is. Because I am 50% my father is white and my mother is black. My children's father identify as being white. I circled both, but yet my children are only 20% African-American, but yet their forms always come back with African-American on it. I have concerns. Thank you. >> Thank you to Corin, please. Um so just to make sure that we um that you do understand um Miss Borderline is that we have had regular conversations about the water testing um and that we are following protocol that is given to us by the health district um and also by the state department um of health that uh we are we are following those recommendations um and they are the bodies that are responsible um um for the to help us with the safety of our children. Um

028I will make sure that Dr. Grineer has the um um we'll follow up on the concerns around the portability of water in terms of hydration down at the fieldhouse. That makes some sense. Um but to say that we are not on a regular basis talking about that is not correct and that we are following the recommendations for the Ledge Light Health District and I want to make sure that the public does understand that that we are not willy-nilly about it. um that this is actually in an effort to be on top of the um the issues around uh around the lead. Um so I want to make sure that we're clear about that. Katrina, did you have >> Yeah. Um for some reason I thought the boosters were the ones who got the entrance fee.

029Can we just double check that? >> Yeah, I think that um I think we should follow through on Rita's uh request, which is to have u Mr. from Romano come in and kind of talk to us about those fees and um whether that is a policy that we need to do especially since we are going to be going into budget season. It might make sense for us to do that. >> And one other thing, the forms that were mentioned, those are the state not our forms. >> Yeah, that's correct. >> All right, we are going to move on um to our student representative reports. >> Hello YouTube. >> Good evening. All right, I'm going to start this off. Uh updates from last meeting. I know seniors have been painting the uh parking lots. They've gone

030after school and during weekends and they were also featured on NBC News Connecticut. Uh there was also open house for parents was on Wednesday, September 19th at Fitch High School where parents got to meet their child's teachers and see what was going on in the classroom and everything. Uh for class council, seniors are beginning the process to plan for homecoming and also are selling Coastal Crab shirt having a fundraiser for Coastal Crab shirts to go to coastal crabct.com to order a shirt. Uh juniors are selling fish sweatshirts for this month. Uh sophomores are having a fundraiser at Moe's on Thursday, September 27th and also selling Mson's chocolate and freshmen will be having elections this coming month to elect the class officers. For student leadership, there will be a hat day fundraiser on Friday, September 29th,

0312018. Um the proceeds are going to a new Falcon costume because the one we have now is disgusting. Um, for there's going to be spirit week on uh the week of the 16th to 19th of October. Uh, a pep rally on October 19th at 1:00 p.m. in the Fitch High School gym. Uh, there's going to be a tailgate on Friday, October 19th for the game. The homecoming game will be on Friday, October 19th, and the homecoming dance will be on Saturday, October 27th. Then there's also the start with hello week. Um, so that's uh this week, September 24th to 28th. It's the official start with hello week from the Sandy Hook Promise. Um, where Fitch High School students and the staffy will be participating um in many start with hello activities. Um, so that's going

032on this week. It's along with Renaissance crews, school climate committee, and the kindness club. Also, PSAT day is coming up. It is Wednesday, October 10th. 9th, 10th, and 11th graders will be taking it. As a senior, I will be going in to work on my college essay and any other help I need with the college application. Uh, it will also be an early dismissal on October 16th for students. Uh, and the Fitch uh, music department is putting on a variety show on October 5th in the Fitch High School auditorium at 700 p.m. There's going to be a whole bunch of things. Uh, one of my teachers discussed today that she was writing a little comedy skit. So, it was it's going to be a fun night and it will go to uh, to the London

033trip. Also, on October 20th is the annual uh, Fitch High School marching band home show. Uh tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students, and it will be from 5 to 9 at Door Field. And then also uh FAFSA night is on October 24th uh this month. Uh it is after school from 4 to 8. You can sign up to register on the Fitch website. Uh there will be help filling out the FAA and then there's also going to be a paying for college presentation by Fitch's partners, Court Plus. And as a request from last year, I have also attached the athlet the fall athletic schedules uh to this month's uh report and they will be placed in the minutes. >> Thank you. Any questions for the Abby or Dan? >> Hearing none. Let's move

034on. So, we're moving on to the superintendent administration reports. Dr. Grineer. Well, the the first thing I I [clears throat] just want to report that we've had a a a very successful school opening. The the big the big news, and we're going to hear more of it tonight, is that both middle schools opened uh as magnet schools, Cutler opening as a arts and humanities magnet and Westside as as a STEM magnet. Uh so that that leads to the next issue uh which is transportation. So, I I just want to acknowledge uh both Mr. Kilpatrick and and the and the whole transportation staff. It's really been a remarkable uh evolution this year because we've had to move so many students all around town, not not just uh uh each side to going to each middle school.

035Uh also at the middle schools and we'll hear about this uh next month. uh we have begun to implement the international balorate middle years program. So that's uh and I I believe Miss Austin's going to talk a little bit about the training that that um that took place earlier. Uh so we are off to uh a remarkably smooth opening I'm happy to report but lots of exciting work lots of uh lots of serious work that is going on and we're we're continuing uh professional development and so forth. So uh uh good good things are are happening. But the next part of my report, if uh if you're willing, is to introduce uh two of my colleagues, uh Leslie Forbes and Amy Murphy, who have a PowerPoint presentation uh about these two exciting middle schools that

036we now have. >> Thank you, Dr. Mayor. Good evening. My name is Amy Murphy. I'm the STEM coordinator at uh Westside STEM Magnet Middle School. And I am Leslie Forbes, the arts and humanities coordinator and coach at Cutler Arts and Humanities Magnet Middle School. So, we met you guys um at the last meeting. So, um after we left, Dr. Grineer had um said, "Well, we want you to come back and we want you to do it and at the big meetings." So, we decided that we um it was very important for us to present to you together that um the idea of the two separate magnet schools is really an idea of coming together in Graten to to offer this amazing educational experience for all of our students regardless of which one uh which school

037that they chose. So, we've decided that um our presentation, as you look through, you might be able to tell which school it is, but we're really presenting as a united force. Um this has been a an extremely um arduous journey. Um, and so we'd like to tell you a little bit about what it took from the beginning of this little idea of uh, magnet schools to the opening this year, which was successful and we're all still alive. >> It's a good thing. And I'd like to add that both schools last week had um our site visits from our grant evaluators and both visits went very well. So we are finishing year one on a very good note and beginning year two I think right where we need to be. So we started um Leslie and

038I started together. We were hired in December and we really had absolutely no idea what this was going to look like. Um we um were told, well, we're going to be two magnet schools and one's going to be STEM and one's going to be arts and humanities and make that work. So, um really um everything that's happened has been um an an act of faith that the process is going to work out. Um, we dove right in in December. We both worked two jobs for a little while. We were both still in the classroom and planning and um, the there didn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel at some point. But as we progressed, the teachers and everybody dove in and the first thing we tackled was was professional development.

039And also from these pictures you can see as as soon as you enter our schools now they look different. One really looks like a STEM school and the other one really shouts arts and humanities. So what we were tasked to do um was quite a feat. The amount of professional development that is required to start a brand new school is almost daunting. It was to us. We started by January. We had people in Georgia. We had people in Seattle. We had Colorado. >> Savannah. Georgia. New Hampshire. We had to create opportunities for these teachers to really hone in on their crafts and learn what does it mean to be a STEM school and what does it mean to be an arts and humanities school? And then what does it mean to layer the um middle

040years program on? We brought in experts to our schools. We sent people out. It was the the dedication of the teachers is commendable because um some of our teachers completed um over 100 hours of professional development prior to the start of the school year. And that's quite quite a feat and quite um a task for us to ask them to do. >> And that professional development continues. Um by the grant, our teachers need 50 hours of the magnet and 50 hours for the IBM. So for the arts and humanities, many of the professional development hours comes very naturally through our artists and residents. So when they come into the classrooms they collaborate and plan with the teacher and then within the classroom for two to three weeks they work with the teacher and the students.

041So that professional development is embedded. Besides that they have many opportunities because of the grant to also seek out professional development outside of school and we also have paid consultants that are coming into both schools to work with our faculty. So there's a lot of support through the grant. Um the uh professional development is not all bad though. As you can see um we have teachers actually [laughter] good. >> It it's actually some of it is amazing the opportunities that the teachers get to to have um in order to provide for the students. So we have teachers that are doing some water quality testing and then some other teachers that get to do some amazing artwork. So they um we as much as possible professional development can be um taxing and time consuming but um

042Leslie and I have really tried to make it relevant and real world just like we're asking this the students to. So, the sculptures that you see were created by the staff um at Cutler Arts and Humanities Magnet Middle School. And our art teacher led us through professional development day where we created these sculptures out of clear packing tape. And as we went through it, we devised lessons for our students as well. And we went right through the magnet standards to also look at how would we assess students work after completing this type of project. So it was a very productive day I should say and what the results are really quite remarkable. One of the other tasks that Leslie and I Leslie and I um were given was um recruitment. So, it was part of

043our grant proposal that we would actively re recruit students that um live in Grten, either that attend magnet schools outside of Graten or um others other other districts that if they lived in Graten, they could they would come back. So, we participated in quite a few recruitment fairs. This one was at um RMMS um in New London um which we met families that live in Grten but sent their children um across the river to elementary school and then we provided the information and actually it was successful. We actually a lot of them did choose to come back to Grant. I think we both have had the experience that students have come up to us this year when they see us in the hall and say, "Do you remember me? I met you that night at

044one of the fairs and we chose your school." And we always say, "Oh, yes, of course we remember you. We're so glad that you've come." So, it has been successful. But really, the most important piece that we want to share with you is the students and what they're doing. Um we have I think we have um put together programs at both of the schools that provide real world um authentic learning in the community that gets them out of the classroom and to meet the people that do the jobs that they're learning about. So, um, at Westside in particular, we've gone on field trips down to, um, work with engineers from EB. We've teamed up with the high school robotics club. We have, um, learned to sail. We have learned about buoyancy by learning to kayak.

045Um, and these these are experiences that the kids at Westside would not have otherwise. They the majority of the kids had never been on a sailboat before, ever in their life. So it it's amazing to see when they came back from these trips that the amount of excitement and just the pure joy that they had to go out on the water and to learn about buoyancy on a boat was just it made it it really did make it worthwhile. And besides providing these incredible experiences for our students, both what we say um on-site and offsite is we're really building these very strong relationships with our community partners. And we both see these continuing even after the grant because we're really forming these relationships and partnerships where our partners have voiced how they have enjoyed this

046journey and getting to know our students and working with our students and our schools as much as our students have benefited from the the opportunities that they provide. So this was a day at the seapport and one of the activities was that our students did get to climb the rigging of the Morgan with um some support and some risktaking of the IB learner profile trade and it was a remarkable day. I yeah I think that the the bottom line to this is that the the classroom looks different now and as you can see those you you can't get any more engaged than those kids right there. So we really feel that our partners are one of the most valuable pieces to this process for us and like Amy just mentioned the engagement is so high

047with the teachers and the students and you can just feel it when you walk into some of the classrooms. So, we also had to create some discrete classes and we now have a dance club after school as well as a dance class now uh during the day during one of the CE blocks. Um we also now have a guitar class because we're able to purchase 36 guitars that our music teacher is now using with our students as well. And we also right now currently we have an artist from Arts for Learning Connecticut that is working with our French teacher. And after studying the languages and the culture of West Africa, they are creating authentic hand puppets with authentic um garbs called boooos that the students are creating. And then they will use their hand puppets

048to only communicate in French once they are completed. >> Great. >> We've also been able to create our AV studios. And what's exciting is our new partnership with Sonoly has begun. And one of the people in that video is uh Mr. Toriela. and he's already been in our school three times since we opened working with the teachers and the students providing hands-on training how to use the equipment. So, the most important thing is the new equipment that we've purchased is being taught to the teachers and students and being used. And again, this is a partnership that he has expressed a lot of excitement about. and he's very happy and eager and excited um to work with us as he's local right out of Waterford. And I could see this partnership continuing again even after the

049grant for for Westside. Our discrete classes have um started as well. We have our project lead the way classes which we have implemented five classes um one in sixth grade two and seventh to an eighth and then we also have implemented a new coding class for the sixth grade. So um all the equipment is in and they are off and running. and the two teachers that are teaching the project lead the way the they're really like the rock stars of the professional development because um they had to take a 40hour course for each of those courses that they teach and so um our new STEM teacher teaches three of those courses. So she spent three weeks of her summer before she even started teaching here in Graten um uh across the country um learning these

050courses to implement with the kids. So it's it's been really neat to watch them kind of explore these new courses together. And I would agree with what our teachers have done. They have gone above and beyond with our new discrete classes. We have the AV media classes as well as two theater classes, two art classes, one called community art, which is where the students will continue to paint murals throughout the school and other things like their lockers or um different ways that murals can be created within our school. And they also have one called Beyond the Pencil, which will be sculptures and pottery. So these are all um new adventures for for our teachers as well. And then we are also offering a screenwriting class and as of Friday we have our dance class which

051is just very exciting. So um this is our STEM lab and if you look really closely at the back our new active panels have been installed. We tried to get a really good picture on it, but we didn't we didn't have one. But, um, listening to Porsche talk earlier about the the Prometheium boards, we are so so thankful that we were able to purchase a new active panels. They're like um Prometheium boards like next generation. They're they're so fantastic. Um, so we're in the process of they're like no Prometheium boards you've ever seen. So we're in the process of still learning um how to uh how to use them, but it's really exciting because you can see them with the lights on and and there's no bulbs to replace. So we're really really excited to

052get teachers trained on how to use those and um make the most of those in our classrooms, >> which is actually happening in two weeks. And both schools, we each have three that are attached into classrooms and we have we each have one that's portable in our media center that can be then used for a teacher that does not have one in their classroom. So four for a piece which is oops sorry that's just more engagement I think. [laughter] And if I had to add one more picture, but we had some technical difficulties as we had a role player in on Friday from the seapport to work with all our sixth grade students. And when she walked in dressed in her 1800 fashion and garb, it caught everyone's attention, uh, not just our students. And

053afterwards when I talked to both the sixth grade English language arts teachers, they said the students were so excited, so engaged, and they feel it was probably the the best way yet that they've introduced one of their mentor texts at their beginning um by having this role player in >> with the students and just making it they're really bringing it to life for them. So um we started together and these are our new signs. So we've worked really hard to create a cohesive idea that if you have a a student in middle school in Grten it and they go to Cutler or they go to Westside they're getting amazing opportunities. So we we still have a lot of work to do. We did have our first site visit and we are making progress and it

054it is going to take it is going to take a lot of hard work but just seeing the pictures of the kids um engaged and and learning in a new way makes it worth it to us we think >> and I've said this before and I'm going to say it again and again probably embarrass some people but um Sam Kilpatrick Mark Russell Tim Candy Dennis Kclaw saw above and beyond. And all our custodians, what they had to do for our site visit was amazing. And they were at our schools maybe even by 5:30 in the morning putting together whatever needed to happen. So that when our site evaluator walked through, everything was where it was supposed to be with the money that we used from the grant to purchase them. And so just cannot say

055enough thank yous to the team that work together to make it all happen. So, thank you. >> Thank you, >> Gretch. >> Whoever I would love to compliment whoever made the signs up. They're fantastic. >> The logos are pretty amazing. >> And we have a marketing person. Her her name is Rebecca Beas and she has been working with us to provide not only the banners. Probably tomorrow our students are getting folders that um have each of these logos on them. Oh, no more. >> And uh at Cutler, we also were able to purchase some uh PE bags that the students will be getting with the new logos. Very nice. >> I I think that this is wonderful. Um and and you're right, Mark, could you throw up the lights up again? Thanks. Um >> sorry,

056>> yeah, not this. I think he has to have them for the um videotaping, but we did have you in if it was not last week, it was the week before that. And and I think the reason why we wanted to do is we wanted to make sure that this got televised. Um because the people have lots and lots of questions about what this is. And this is just one of the many ways that we can get it out, but it is um it is palatable about how excited um the the district is about the the things that you guys are doing. And um as you say thank you to everyone to support you, um I say thank you to the two of you for spearheading it. Um thank you very much. Any other questions

057from the board? >> How much longer? Oh, sorry. >> Yeah. >> Is that me? >> Yeah. Sorry. >> H how much longer do we have the grant? Is it four years? >> It's a fiveyear grant. So, four more years. >> Four more years. >> October 1st begins year two. So, we're just finishing out year one. >> Right. Because I would >> And part of it is maintaining that sustainability. >> Yes. Right. >> Yeah. >> We started in December. >> Oh, we Yeah. We were a little here in six months. And and we also have to, you know, that that huge thank you to all the teachers too that have these um big systemic reforms between the IBMYP and the magnet themes and all the hard work planning and bring it to our students because they've

058been amazing. >> Awesome. Thank you. >> Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> All right, let's move on. I I just had it's kind of a segue actually. October 2nd I I'm going to be sending a note to the custodial force. It is custodian appreciation day. And I I couldn't have said it any better than what Leslie just said. When you walked in the schools uh the first uh first couple of days of of school, every school I went into, it was simply sparkling. They they just did a phenomenal job. And on top of that, uh, lots of work during the summer, lots of construction, uh, that needed to be done to support the middle schools. It was a, uh, I think Sam's going to talk about it a little bit actually later. Uh,

059but I can assure you, uh, when I congratulate the custodians, it will be heartfelt because they, they really did a remarkable job this summer. >> Awesome, Susan. And this is a very good segue into really commending our teachers. Um over the summer so much professional development, curriculum writing occurred and I don't think many people realize that summer is really a working summer for many many people who you know volunteer their time and dedicate to these causes. So when we look at professional development, there were definitely um opportunities that happened at the end of August. So we had our new teacher orientation for all of our 40some new teachers. Um we had administrative um retreat on bias and understanding our own biases and how to really recognize them in a school setting. Um we had the

060middle school. Um thank you to uh Amy Murphy and Leslie and Kathy Wilson did a whole um week on inquiry PD and many many middle school teachers and even I think some high school teachers attended that. Um we also had the my training on um from the 29th of August to the 31st. So it was basically three days um of my training which was pretty intense for the start of the year. There was very little time for teachers to kind of get into their classroom. So I would call it you know really a lot of you know good work that was happening. We had the convocation of course on the 29th and um building PD on the 31st. The 30th was um districtwide PD and it included um beyond the my for middle school and

061high school, some high school. It also included for the K teachers um teachers college um work with the phonics units of study which are new this year. And for the upper grade teachers, they had a half day looking at the new pacing guides and the grammar and convention that had pacing guides that have been done and really taking a look at all the summer work that has been accomplished and were thrilled thanking their colleagues for what they had accomplished this summer. They also had a half day in mathematics. Um so that you know and then we had special areas that included Dr. Mari Writington working on trauma-informed schools and um you know our special area teachers working together and collaborating to make their lessons more dynamic. So it was a working summer and uh working

062last couple weeks of the summer before getting ready for kids. Um, in addition, the the work I talk about is in ELA, K12, math K12, and science was elementary, middle school, and high school. We had experts here, Dr. um, Ruckenberg from CRE. We had LLI, which is level literacy intervention, and we had Dr. Fosno from new um, perspectives in mathematics. We sent teachers to Michigan State University for CMP3 connected math project. So, a real core um instructional resource in middle school and algebra. So, there, you know, I just want to say um follow up. A teacher said today at the data team, well, you know, good teaching results in student growth. There's a direct correlation. So, um I think she's right on. You look at what are the effects of all of this work and

063what you've heard, you'll see who's doing the work when you walk into the classroom. The teacher has worked very hard in preparing and planning lessons and collaborating and making sure everything is working and doing that powerful mini lesson, but you walk in those classrooms and those kids are doing the heavy lifting. And that's what we want. That's the big shift, the inquiry shift that the kids are all doing the reading, writing, and the mathematics. So, that's the effects of all that you've heard here. Um, I just wanted to also add, Addie said it so well, but some of our Charles Barnum friends made signs that say start with hello with our names on it. So, I want to thank our Charles Barnum friends um and they sent them up to central office. Um, start with

064[snorts] hello is um a program as Addie said that um from the hand Sandy Hook Promise that teaches children um and teens how to um really be um socially inclusive and not to exclude anybody. So, it's a a real powerful um week this week. All the schools are involved. Fitch has quite a comprehensive program including things like um getting some information out there about the Sandy Hook Promise, the birthday wall, the harbor is launched. Um they are wearing green and I think they even have green arm bracelets. Um and how to help help they're learning how to help fellow students in need with the start to hello. They're mixing it up. So in the cafeteria they're asked to meet new friends and students and adults are participating. Even a central office there is a a

065hum of saying hello today and getting to know and reaching out to people that you might not talk to usually. So I would encourage the community to start with hello and to do the same. >> Thank you very much. So you guys have basically had a very boring and slow summer not doing anything. >> Not much work. not much to work with them. It's amazing what um the district staff and um the teachers administration um have done to make this district incredibly amazingly wonderfully good. >> And it's all about the kids and what they're doing. That's why we do it. >> Awesome. All right. >> How are you? >> Good. How are you? >> I'm doing dandy. [laughter] >> Um this is the object summary. This is attachment number one and every We do. Um

066so uh once again this is our FY19 budget 76839. Uh we are currently sorry Mark uh we're currently estimating uh to be under budget uh by 54,209. Um the the main drivers here are uh some uh teacher retirements uh that came in lower than anticipated uh as well as uh elimination of one bus. Uh this is offset by uh the Apex software that uh we've previously talked about um as well as the uh the natural gas heating oil and diesel fuel that we talked about at the last meeting. Uh so that's all um uh wrapped into here. And so currently we're looking at 54,206. >> Yeah. I I notice that it's different from from what we saw last week is that you incorporated the those two other drivers, the fuel. >> Correct. >> Okay. >>

067Yeah. >> Wow. 54 and we're the end of September. >> That's right. >> Okay. Any other questions about about that? All right. The health care the health reports. We did just get this. >> Yes. So, uh you'll see uh the healthc care uh uh report uh healthcare insurance uh we just received this high off the presses. So, that's why it was not included uh uh previous uh but uh this is for uh the month of July. The total costs uh for the board of education uh for July was a million uh 19,606. Uh and this compares to the the budgeted number that we have a million30,783. So uh we're we're pretty much in line with budget at this time. >> Okay. >> Any questions? >> Right. With that, let's go to the director of buildings

068and grounds. >> Hello, Mr. Kilpatrick. And you're on. >> Uh I have three things I'll report on this evening. The first item is the Graten 2020. Um, as you know, the slam cor collaborative is our architects on the middle school project. Uh, we've uh continued meetings with the architects uh and surveys have gone out to teachers and staff uh and they're answering questions on uh such things such as uh how they are going to use their rooms and what kinds of things they might need in their rooms. And those answers have been coming back this past week uh pretty quickly, I think. Uh the elementary schools is uh being led by uh Perkins Eastman uh architect firm and last Thursday they reported to the permanent school building committee. they continue uh uh working on their

069plans. Uh and their report to the permanent school building committee was um they talked mostly about the sighting of the uh buildings on the uh west side and the Cutler properties. Uh exactly where they will go and uh how we'll be able to do that and build them while school is still in session on those two campuses. Um, I know there's still working on um economizing space. There's there's still need to uh get within uh range in order to keep the budget uh at the uh level that the town approves. So, that's still ongoing. And uh the other thing that they did report on Thursday night was that they'll be meeting with uh most of the town staffs over the next few weeks. Uh things like inlands, wetlands, those sorts of things. um because there

070are wetlands on both of those properties. The second item is the water testing update. Um you may remember some of this may be uh repeated. I may be repeating myself to a certain degree, but I just wanted to go through the uh chart as it started back in June. uh in consultation with the state uh department of public health and the legislate health district we did water testing at Claudechester and Fish High School. Uh the results of those tests indicated that one fountain at Claudechester uh was above the uh limits acceptable limits and we secured that fountain and provided bottled water there. at Fitch High School. Two lavatories in the 2800 wing of the school were above levels and signs were posted there um so that they could still use it for handwashing, but it

071was posted that it's not drinking water. In the fieldhouse uh and the concession stand were both um tested above the limits. Uh so in the fieldhouse we secured any drinking water, posted signs on uh the uh hand washing stations and on the ice machines so that the ice uh as Miss Borderline indicated is labeled that it's only for injuries. The ice at the ice up up at the building um is still good to use, but that down there until we get uh the correct results and and this taken care of is only for injury use. So then in August um [clears throat] I got I got got the results back on Clawchester pretty quickly and we um ret we were instructed by the uh Department of Public Health to retest any areas that were above

072the limits and so we did the retesting in August. Um and while I was at the state uh when for instance Clawchester in the back wing of the school we did two classrooms at the beginning of the wing and two at the end of the wing and um the the fountain in the center of it was tested positive. So when I went back to the state, she indicated that she would prefer that or would like me to the other classrooms are fine. Would like me to test two more classrooms at opposite ends of the of the wing, but that only left four classrooms in that wing. So we thought that it would be wise to just test all of those classrooms in that wing. It happens to be in the um lower grade level, too.

073So, we tested all of those and the results came back um at Claude Chester and the fountain still is above. Um but the test that we did, the second set of tests we did differently and it indicates uh where that lead might be coming from in the line. Um so we uh I haven't met with the state again. I'm going to be going back to the state soon uh to go over those results. Um but the four class or the six classrooms that are adjacent to that fountain. So now all eight classrooms in that wing have been tested and all eight classrooms came back uh below the uh active uh limit or the uh uh limits. Um on to the um Fitch High School concession stand. The results on those uh were um were still

074above uh the uh levels, but the fieldhouse was below. Um, I I've left that off at the fieldhouse until I've talked to the state and determined exactly what I need to do now because I had a I had a a test that was um not good previously. Now I have a good test. Um I want to see what Cindy Sack and Lelay Health District have to say uh what their recommendation is for us to do at this point. Um there is water down there. Um uh one of the things that Miss Borderline recommended or or told me about uh prior to the testing that we did was that the kids uh uh use outside uh water at uh the football field and the baseball field and also they fill their bottles there on on lots

075of occasions and also at Clawchester. Um there's an outside spigot at Clawchester. We did test all three of those uh sites and all three of those sites were fine. So, um, so they do have water down there. It's just, as she said, it's a bit cumbersome to be, um, filling up buckets of water and hauling them around. Um, as far as the concession stand is concerned, there was a football game on Friday night. Uh, I went to the game. Um and uh one of the reasons I went to the game was um not only to watch Fitch play uh and they played well. Um but was also to uh stop at the concession stand because we had we put a bubbler in the concession stand along with three large bottles of water so that they

076could make their uh coffee and hot hot cocoa because I don't think they use milk for their hot cocoa over there. They use water I think. So uh I I provided the water for them. I just wanted to make sure that they were all set with that and they knew that that that's what the water was there for. Um so then um uh in September uh at the beginning of September um we had some concerns about um a lavatory at uh at the high school uh that a uh a group uses for hygiene. And uh so we conducted tests on that and um I also at the same time did a uh an additional test on the service line. There's a 4-in water line that goes from the high school down to the concession stand.

077So I drew a test on that line as well at the concession stand to see if it's coming from the high school down to the concession stand or or maybe it's within that building. So we're trying to locate exactly where it is through these through this testing. So, while it uh it takes quite a while to get it, I think that we'll be able to narrow things down and and uh really be able to take care of things once we get these results. So, we are awaiting those results of the tests at uh the high school and Claw Chester. And as soon as we get those results, I'll be meeting with the Department of Public Health and Ledge Light Health District to review the results and determine what our next steps will be. >> Thank

078you, Rita. Um, before my questions about the water testing and so forth, I need to back up to the graten 2020. Is that okay? >> Um, I was wondering at the new middle school, will they have active panels being installed as opposed to the Prome the oldfashioned Prometheian boards? Like what is the plan for the classrooms? >> I wasn't at that meeting. Dennis Colclaw went to that meeting to meet with the architects, but I'm pretty sure that >> those everything. >> Okay. >> Those will be the newer boards for sure. >> And um in the past other times, the architects has prevent presented to the board of education what their plans are, where they'd like to situate the the new schools. And I was wondering if we could put that on one of our agendas

079to have the architects come and make a presentation to the board hopefully during one of our meetings that's televised. Um I think that is extremely important. And [clears throat] when you mentioned that students would still be in school while they're doing the building, I assume that that new the students would be at the new middle school and those buildings would be vacant. Is it changed? >> Uh yes, if if that's your understanding, it has changed. >> And what is it now? the two new elementary schools will be built while school is still in session in order to move the date up. Um it I I can't remember how many millions of dollars it's it uh saves by doing it uh at the same time that we're building the middle school, but it's it's quite substantial.

080>> So we'll be building three schools at the same time. Is that it? >> Well, pretty close at the same time. They'll be going on at the same time. We'll be starting the middle school first, I believe. But, uh, shortly thereafter, the two elementary schools will be started. >> And, um, yeah, it would be good just to to see what these buildings are going to look like. Um, and where the students are going to come from that would be going. I know where they're coming from that go to Cutler, Claude, Chester, and Butler, but I'm not sure where the students the lines would be for the Westside School since it's so close to Konki. So, I'd like to understand all that. >> But my my sense is that districtricting would come back to the board.

081I mean, the the town is responsible for the buildings. >> Yep. >> That's not what I'm talking about. I want to know >> apologize. >> You know, do we have enough students to occupy the buildings and where they're coming from? This is from the board point of view, not not the town. And then to go back to the water, >> I guess I'm still not clear about what your question is. >> Well, I'd like to see the plan from the architect. >> Yeah. How many um students are going to be in each of the buildings exactly, you know, the schools and what they're going to look like and where they're going to be. >> Okay. >> Sure. >> We we can we can invite them to a to a future meeting. >> Great. and then

082to go to the water testing. What is being done for the visiting teams that come to our school for the fieldhouse like the football teams or you know any other teams that are >> Well, that was all being handled through Mr. Romano. They they had they were bringing buckets or big jugs of water over to them as far as I know. >> Are there bubblers there where the kids could go get water? No, there aren't any bubblers there. >> And And what about in the cafeteria? Are there any bubblers so kids could get, you know, especially cuz that is so close to the wing where they can't get the water >> in the cafeteria at the high school? >> There is a water fountain in the cafeteria at the high school. >> Just one? >>

083Yeah. But it's not I I think Miss Borderline was talking about a a different type of system where they actually um it wouldn't be what I call a normal water fountain or bubbler, right? >> Um but these would be actually be bottle filling stations. >> Um I've um I was actually I went to the Marine Science Magnet School because they have them and they have them filtered as well. >> Um Yes. And so I've got that information and and we're trying to determine I've asked for a couple of prices on them. I haven't got them back yet, but >> I think that's very important. I have seen them at Marine Science. >> Yeah. >> So it's a it'd be a great solution. >> Even if we didn't have the lead problem, it certainly would be

084a nice addition for the kids. >> And to have students pay a$125 for water is definitely a hardship. Nor also we shouldn't be having the plastic water bottles. So using them, >> I think others agree with you on that. [laughter] >> Um, yes, I think it's a great idea that we stop using bubblers and we start filling these things. The bubblers are probably one of the most e the best way we transfer diseases in our schools. I don't know if you've ever seen studies or done one for fun in high school, but they are disgusting. Um, I think what Rita was trying to say is we'd like to see a map and try and figure out where we're going to get reistrict the students. >> Well, I see that as two separate pieces. >> I

085see I see the architect and looking at the size and what the what the capacity of each of the buildings are, what they're going to look like, where they're and where they're going to be placed. I see that that is one piece question. And then the second piece is is how is the board going to um get the kids outside of just saying, you know, all the A kids come there, B kids, CD kids. So um I think that that that that seems like that's two different that's two different processes. >> And my third question >> y >> is why does building them at the same time save money? >> I didn't hear what you said. >> Um building the buildings at the same time, why does that save money? So Sam, your quick and

086dirty answer to that is >> um every every year that you wait to get started on a project, there are there you're um there are funds that uh that you're losing essentially. >> There's escalation costs uh as as time goes on. So you want to get started as soon as you can. >> We'll just be a very busy town. >> Very very busy. >> Yeah. All right, Katrina. Um, >> could we just get a new timeline because of the shift? >> I'm sorry. >> Could we get a new timeline because of the build the shift in the building schedule? >> So, I I think what you're you're asking is for the permanent building school committee to maybe kind of come back in and kind of meet with us and talk about what is a new

087timeline for the buildings. Um I think um and actually Katrina I actually think that this was part of your um brainchild is the town hall meetings and I think one of the things that we had muddled around is that the building of the 2020 and the building of the new skill projects school building of the new school projects seems like a really wonderful way to kind of kick off the town meetings. But it sounds to me that there's lots of information that's going on with the in the wetlands and stuff like that. And I and I'm wondering that once that hurdle gets done maybe having the permanent school building committee and the town um and the board of ed and the town council kind of coming together to have a town to have a town

088hall meeting to to be able to provide for the community sort of what are the plans and what's going on and maybe we would even get a chance to take a look at what the timeline is. Yeah, that's all I really But I think but I think that that's a >> But I have a question. >> Absolutely. >> The um new schools I'm not I'm going to guess with the new timeline two and a half years it should all be up online. >> Okay. >> At what point are we being premature with redistricting? But at what point would should we start looking at that? >> That's a good question. and also scheduling for the middle school >> because of the my program >> and the [snorts] magnet school making sure that hours >> in this

089fall for sure uh the middle school principles have >> departed but this uh yeah the the fundamental aspect of next year's my is going to require a schedule >> so we're we're we're going to do that this >> okay so districtricting I don't see why we have to look at it two and a half years in advance. But if that's the normal practice, then fine. >> Well, yeah, we've got some work to do there. And both of the schools will be magnet schools. Um, so we will have to establish some neighborhood catchment zones as well as really a vigorous uh magnet uh lottery program that will get get kids moving around the district because we have to ensure racial balance. >> Yes. If you leave my house in Bair at 2:08, you can't get out

090because we have four to five school buses. I can't seem to get them because count properly because every time I turn a corner there's a bus. >> Yep. >> So, we really need to look at that when we do the busing because I know we're getting a middle. >> It's all I think that's all part of the plan. Transportation's really huge and I think that we even talked about that in our last committee the whole meeting >> for work >> that transportation is um well you should live in the city with the the fizer and the EV traffic so I hear you I'm going to move us on I'm going to move us on to the summer work to finish your >> I'm trying not doing >> I'll let you finish >> and that would

091be number three >> yeah that would be number three >> uh yeah I just wanted to report that uh yes indeed summer is over Um, [laughter] so, uh, we've been, uh, as, uh, Amy, I guess Amy's gone, but, uh, as she, uh, mentioned, we've, uh, been in pretty early on some mornings to finish up all the magnet school items that needed to be taken care of before the site visits. And we, too, were quite, uh, thrilled that uh, everything went so well for him. Our guys were in probably 4:30, 5:00 in the morning to get some of these things done. So, we certainly appreciate uh our staff, too, to uh making that effort to come in early and get that get those things up and running. Um the uh the uh you may have noticed

092that the practice football field has been uh redone. It's uh we actually have grass growing. Um and I saw on Friday night that I actually have to put up a snow fence to keep the kids from playing touch football over there during football game. >> So, we'll be doing that uh this week. Um, and we are gearing up to um move the early childhood playground from uh Pleasant Valley over to Clark. So, that'll be the last summer project that uh we'll be finishing up. >> All right. So, we're going to move on to questions. >> Yes, Rita. >> Um, there there someone someone had mentioned to me that there's there's a possibility there might be some mold in some sections of Northeast Academy. Have you been looking at that or? >> Yeah, we we we

093visited the school on Friday. We we have a um a humidity problem at uh at uh Northeast Academy with regard to balancing the uh heating, ventilation, air conditioning uh system over there. Uh we've been working on it. Jamie Anderson is our HVAC guy. He's been working on it feverishly. Uh we're going to be bringing in a consultant to verify that it's balanced properly, that sort of thing. Um, I don't know how much you know about that site. I didn't know previously, but apparently the the old school actually had a a stream that ran through the crawl space below. >> My my children went to that school >> and uh so uh it's a very wet site and of course with the amount of moisture that we have in the ground now, um it's pretty wet

094around the building. So, uh, we're trying to determine whether well today we spent the day today or this morning, um, checking out all the drainage and making sure all the drains around the building were working properly so that the water drains away from the building. Uh, we've checked out the HVAC system. Uh, and um, tomorrow I have Mystic u, the owner of Mystic Air Quality will be walking around the building with me checking some things out. >> But um, there are things that look like mold. I'm not sure that they are, but he'll point those things out to me tomorrow and indicate. But we do have a uh uh uh I met with uh Terry Potter, our custodial supervisor, and Wendell Gaston, who's that fantastic custodian over there at Northeast, and uh they went through

095the entire building on Saturday um looking for anything and everything that they could possibly find. and they've come up with a uh cleaning um uh plan uh as well as um we'll be talking to the night staff to implement that. So, >> thank you so much. >> Thank you, sir. >> Question. >> Um if there is a heat humidity issue, how is that affecting the instruments at >> you said Northeast, right? Or >> Northeast Academy? Yes. >> Yeah. >> Northeast has all these beautiful new string instruments we bought. >> Yeah. They were kept in a room that we kept the air conditioning the system on all summer long. Okay. >> Um, >> good question. >> I did see some indications of maybe some growth on the canvas bags that they were on and that's all

096been clean. >> It's not so much the canvas bags. It if they don't have enough humidity, they dry the glue that holds them and they pop and they break and the sound post falls. And if they have too much humidity, then everything expands and they become incredibly difficult to use. >> Yeah, we're working in cooperation with the music teacher over there. Yeah. So, just keep those beautiful little tiny instruments in mind when you think about this. >> Thank you. >> I know I play the cello. So, we're on to the committee reports. Um policy policy continues to work. Um, we I I think that actually Susan wished we had been back to the audit at the last meeting, but we had some other things to deal with, but we meet every month and we will

097be talking about some of our second readings today. >> All right. Thank you. And curriculum >> curriculum has been meeting uh without a quorum, but >> sorry, >> we that's all right. But um we our last meeting was a planning meeting where we went over a schedule of of how we're going to attack curriculum to come. >> Okay. >> And uh but the thing that that I wanted to to kind of back up uh Katrina's question was had has to do with the middle school schedule. That's how the this whole middle school looking at began. We were concerned about the middle school schedule and we evolved into the my program and through that what came to us was that my is going to drive the schedule. So I would like to see that schedule integrated

098into the comm the curriculum committee so we really have some some say about it and yes how it's going to go. Okay, >> we'll be looking forward to hearing more about that on finance and facilities. Jay, >> um we met um last Monday and before this meeting tonight. Um and we will be um recommending uh options to the board on the salary and wage proposals. The um uh policy will read to take up the school lunch program procedure. Um, we'll discuss DoD supplemental and the CIP recommendations. >> That's all tonight. >> Uh, some of it. >> Okay. All right. Let's see. >> All right. Um, read it for learn. >> Um, there was a meeting on September 13th. The Whoops. The teacher of the year for learn was is Erica Pever and she is a

099special special ed student I mean a special ed teacher sorry and um one of the perks that the teacher of the year receives at learn which I was hoping we could implement they are sent to a conference of of their choosing and I thought that was is a very positive something very positive whatever their field is they could you know look for a conference um to go to no matter where it is and so I was just thought I'd put that out there and maybe we could look into something like that um also Dr. Nicholas Bear, the principal of Marine Science Magnet High School. Um he is the safety and security uh coordinator and he they did an active shooter drill um which involved all their staff and they did it at marine science and

100I was just I was curious as to whether or not we did anything like that. Dr. Grineer and if we could have I believe is it Denise Doolittle who is our safety and security. Who is the safety and security? >> Sam. >> Oh Sam you are. So Sam um I was just wondering if if the board could have a report on what we do for our staff and um because they said that it is actually it's the first three minutes of a of an incident that is so critical. So >> yeah, I can make I can give you a report on that at a later date, but yes, I can tell you now that we work in cooperation with um Chief Visaro and Chief Spelman in the city as well. So >> Right. Right. And

101I and I know that they're very in involved and it would just be nice for the public to know exactly what we do in our schools. Um I think that's about it. teacher negotiations is is um a contract is opening again and I will be on that committee as well as on the building committee for the Ocean Avenue Learning Academy which is progressing and hopefully will open in November. >> Thank you. Um so the board of ed um town council and RTM had its third meeting um September 3rd, 4th, I can't remember. Um and I think that that went very well. Um and it seems that um people are actually wanting to meet on a once a month basis not on every other. So um I think that they are enjoying the the fact that

102we are meeting together. Um the next thing is trails and leaison. >> I waiting to find a date and hoping it doesn't cross date with two other committees I'm >> um and graten scholarship >> and that's coming up in a few days. >> Okay. Only one negotiation. Uh, I know. I got it. Good. Um, and so, um, what was not on here is that, uh, negotiations that we're currently involved with the teachers, um, negotiations and, um, that tonight we were going to be ratifying, um, the secretary, um, ne negotiations. Anything else? All right. So, I'm going to move to the consent agenda. Um, and so I will take a motion to approve um, the consent. U, I've got first Can I have a second, please? >> Second. I've got from Lee. Any discussion? Hearing none.

103All those in favor, please say I. I. >> Oppose. Abstain. Motion is carried. Um and the board. Uh that's okay. That's good. All right. So, now go to old business. Um and uh Katrina, can I have you read uh number one, please? The motion. Um, I'd like to make a motion to approve as a second reading policy P 6172.3 homeschooling. Can I have a second, please? >> Second. That's from Lee. Any discussion? Hearing none. All those in favor of the motion to approve um the homeschooling policy 6172 um-3, please say I. I. >> Oppose. Abstain. So we've won oppose. Any abstensions? Motions has carried. Um Gretch, would you be willing to read motion for number two? >> Number two, discussion and possible action regarding the school reading of policy 5141.4 reporting of child abuse and

104neglect attachment number four. So the motion is >> oh to approve in as a second reading policy P5141.4 reporting of child abuse and neglect. Can I have a second please? >> Second. >> I've got read a discussion hearing none. All those in favor of the policy reporting of child abuse and neglect P5141 um-4, please say I. I >> oppose. Absentions. >> Motion has carried. We are now moving on to new business. Um and Mr. Danner, if you would like to make your way down. Make your way down TO THE PRICELESS WHITE DOOR NUMBER ONE, TWO, or three. But while he is walking, um, uh, Jay, can I please have you read the motion for number one of the new business? >> I move we approve the hiking field trip scheduled for May 22nd through May

10525th, 2019 to the White Mountains, New Hampshire. >> Can I please have a second? I've got Gretchen. So, now we're in the discussion part. >> Oh, I'm just I'm just here to answer questions. Oh, you're here, too. So, we have um we received in our packet um and my sense is that we are just trying to kind of get this done >> in advance so that you can just have the green light. And it looks like on the second page um uh of our our blah blah of our itinerary that was copied, it looks like you start in November >> on Saturday and Sunday at Patchhog. That would be yes. One of the trips >> we started a couple weeks ago >> and then last week >> and April 13th and 14th >> and then

106the big trip is uh in May. >> Those are the three overnights. >> Okay. >> Andrea, I mean Andrea, I'm looking at you. >> The other Sorry. Um I was I noticed that your meetings are on Friday evenings. Is that a hardship at all for students having to go home from school and coming back? >> They say right after school. >> Oh, it's really after school. >> It's after school. Yes. They don't come back. >> It does say Friday evenings. >> Well, yeah. Maybe I should have wrote Friday afternoon. >> Yeah. Yeah. Because it may it almost sounds as if two hours each Friday night all year long. And I just was wondering if that was >> Well, maybe it seems that way to me. That's [laughter] >> maybe that's what it is. >> Sounds

107like >> and and the transportation is $2,700, but the student cost is is $100. So, do you have fundraisers for the transportation? >> Do you receive any board money? >> Uh, we've worked some in there a little bit >> through the site through the site budget. >> So, that carries them through their Fridays. So they meet regularly on those Fridays and we have staff, Mr. Danner of course volunteers his time, >> right, >> to run it, but then we have staff who help support it. >> And is there a contingency for students who um cannot afford the $100? >> Yeah. Right. On this thing that I send home, it says money's should not be a factor. >> Great. >> Because I don't want that to be a factor. And have you ever um talked to

108some of the other schools in Grten to see if we could spread this across to some of the other schools? At one time when you were first at Fitch Middle, then at Cutler and >> No, I don't do that. >> No one else has. >> No, we've had it before. Westside had it when I was at Cutler. >> Yes. Yes, they did. >> They did. I think Katherryn Kowski runs something, but I'm not sure what they call it. Do you know that? Yeah. >> Katherine, >> they run something. Ben Moon runs it. They have >> not quite the same thing. They They just take day trips. >> Day trips. >> Yeah. It just would be It's such a wonderful program. I can't say enough about it. I just wish we could um have this in

109more of our schools. >> I know. We need We need to clone you. >> I don't know about that. That might not be a good idea. [laughter] >> Question. Have you reached out to the scout packs in the schools because I know a lot of them do this stuff too and anyway and I'm sure they would love to go with you and help you and can help you with gear. >> I hadn't really considered that yet. I kind of >> they are wonderful creatures. >> Oh, I'm sure they are. >> And now they are co-ed, >> I've heard. Well, maybe that would be the way to make sure that they're handled in other schools is maybe the packs. Um, >> yeah, you could run it through the pack system. I could help. And the other

110question is, can I go with you so I can be prepared for hiking in Wyoming next summer? >> I'll let you um take that up after the board meeting. So, any any more um of the discussion? Okay. All those in favor of the motion to approve the hiking field trip scheduled for May 22nd, May 25th, 2019 to the White Mountains, New Hampshire, please say I. >> Those opposed, abstain. Motion is carried. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. >> I'm not kidding. >> All right. Take me with you. >> So Lee, could you please read the motion for number two on the new business? Lost >> it. >> Uh, yes. discussion and possible action regarding approval of the FY20 CIP plan, which is attachment number six. The motion is to approve the FY19 CIP plan.

111>> Can I please have a second? Second. >> Okay. Can we have discussion? So, um, Jay, is this some of the stuff that you >> Excuse me. It's the FY20 plan. That's a misprint. >> Oh, you're right. Oh, yes. Yeah, we're talking we're already in FY19. >> That's right. We're talking about the 20. >> So, we'll have to make >> We'll have to we'll have to amend that. No, no, you read it properly. Uh, we just mistyped it. It's to approve the FY20. >> It also would be for the 2020 graduation date. >> No, no, that's our 2019. >> 19. >> All right. You're right. Um, so Jay, did you um you said that this was a conversation that you guys had in the finance and facility committee? >> Yes. Meeting? >> Yes. And um

112apparently Chromebooks for the fifth grade are are >> [snorts] >> um coming up on their planned obsolescence date as my grandfather would say. Um the manufacturer has built in that after four years we won't be able to do ESPback testing with them and that sort of thing. Um, and so we're going to be doing some replacement on that. >> I think you're you're confusing the Department of Defense with the CIP. >> I'm actually talking about the CIP. >> I'm sorry. Yeah, the CIP. I'm sorry. >> Yeah, I was going to say, well, that's insane. >> It is. It is true. It is true that we're going to replace those fifth grade computers, but the CIP is this historical little chart thing. >> Oh, that's right. That's all of the money we've been asking the town

113for for all the years and we've never [laughter] gotten it. >> So that 2 million >> Yeah. So this year we've included uh I think that was Katrina's idea the um uh some of the history on um how many times we've asked for money to um upgrade the uh or to repair the um um uh the tennis courts. uh recrown the football field, uh address the water quality issues, um and of course every year um they're denied. So we're we're going back uh to get all that. Plus years ago they funded half of the asbestous project at at Fitch, but never funded the other half. So we're trying to to get complete funding for that. And again, that's something that I I think we determined is 48% reimburseable from the state. Um, and um, so

114rather than shut the school down for two years and incur additional costs, it' be better if they actually funded the whole project and did it in one. Um, there's also the um, asbesus removal for SP Butler. And people always ask, well, why are you doing the asbestous removal on a a building you intend to close? Once you close it, you don't get any money back from the state. So, it has to be done while it's an operating building. >> So, my understanding is that this CIP list that's in front of us is sort of what um was produced by Sam and his crew with Dr. Grineer and that the finance and facility committee has looked this over and have have agreed to move the CIP projects forward. >> Yes. >> Is that correct? Okay. We

115with with one uh we we got a note from the planning department and they said they they'd really like to see it and as we go forward uh for example the storage facility if we lost the A-frame at Pleasant Valley we would absolutely need a storage facility. It's conceivable that that we will keep the A-frame. So, we would be able to uh h have the board remove this from the request, but the planning department would would like this at least as a template to start working. >> Rita, um it was my understanding that the town wanted to sell the Pleasant Valley site, so they would not include that storage in the sale. No, we're you want to talk about that? >> That's correct. Uh it that that uh that's kind of a flag shaped piece

116of land and they could actually uh slice that off fairly easily. Um some um some persons within the town are agreeable to that, but I don't it hasn't been determined yet, but uh that's what we're asking for and some people have been in favor. >> If they did sell the whole piece of property, then we would need the storage facility. Absolutely. >> And what about storage at Fitch Middle School? >> We don't have anything to do with Fitch Middle School any longer. >> I know. But what I'm saying is if you couldn't use the PV frame building, is there any possibility of using a part of the Fitch Middle School? >> That has not been uh >> something viable. >> Yeah, we've asked many times and it's never been approved. And then my other question,

117I'm not sure at NEA and CK the refinishing of the exterior glow beams. What are those? >> Yeah, they glue [laughter] they glue lamp beams. They're the wooden beams that are outside the building. >> Oh, yes. So, it's Yeah, >> they're 10 years old and um they're they're weathered and they definitely need to be resealed. >> It's a pretty big project. >> Okay. I I hope that the um Graten 2020 the um the committee that that is looking at building our new buildings will consider um these kinds of maintenance issues. I mean if if we knew that these were going to have to be refinished every 10 years >> at the current cost of 150,000 and who knows 10 years from now. You know, I I know the architects come in with these wonderful >>

118ideas, but there's 150,000 we could be using for textbooks at the high school, upgrading the computers that are so woefully deficient up there and and the software. Um, so I really hope that that committee takes seriously what these ongoing maintenance cars are, you know, to make it look pretty. both both the permanent school building committee and uh both sets of architects um are are pretty aware of our concerns with regard to maintenance uh long-term maintenance costs. >> Awesome. >> And I haven't seen anything like uh wood beams outside for instance. [laughter] >> Attractive but expensive. >> They're pretty conservative buildings in my opinion. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? Any discussion? It's I'm all fine. >> All right. So, all those in favor of the motion that's on the floor for and I am

119going to state that it's for the 20 um to >> the to approve the FY20 CIP plan. Please say I >> I >> oppose. Abstain. Motion has carried. >> All right. The next one, um Rita, would you be willing to read? Yes. Number three, to approve the 2019 graduation date as June 21st, 2019. I so move. >> Can I have a second? >> I second. My niece is a graduation date. >> All right. So, we got a second for discussion. >> The somewhat concerning idea here is that gives us five snow days, five emergency days. Um, so I'm uh, as I look at my friends over here, >> um, you know, hope hopefully it would be the 21st obviously of of of June. If >> uh, if we experience more, especially last year we had

120eight. If we had eight days, we would have to extend it. But but having the date and and then as you know uh right after April 1st we'll we'll do another one then no matter what happens after April 1 we can keep that date but I think for planning purposes the students their families the post-graduation party everyone needs a date and and they need to know what the board thinks and this this would be school would actually end on the Friday before school would end is scheduled to end on the 14th So this would give us five days. Yeah, we and we started after Labor Day this year. So, you know, if we we may be cutting it a little close, but we'll we'll make sure we get our days in and I'll I'll I'll

121continue to monitor this and let you know where we are. >> Any other questions about that? All right. All those in favor of the graduation date um currently to be June 21st, 2019, please say I >> abstain. [clears throat] Oppose. Motion has carried. >> Lee, would you be willing just to read the motion part of number four? >> I will. Thank you. >> Discussion and possible action. >> Just the motion. >> Oh, just I'm sorry. to approve Michael Grineer and Sam Kilpatrick as authorized assigners of reimbursement claims for the child nutrition programs. >> Can I please have a second? >> Second, >> Andrea. All right. Can I have a discussion on that? Well, thi this is uh this is a form. We we we are already part of the child nutrition program, but the uh

122the program requires that the minutes of the board of ed reflect that uh Sam and I have been authorized to sign for the program and and the uh and the secretary of the board has to uh sign indicating uh that she agrees with our signatures. I just had a question. Why wouldn't it be Mrs. Austin? >> Uh oh. >> Uh we just walked for him. >> Well, you know. >> Yeah, I guess it I guess it could be Sam has been Sam's been uh handling the supervision of the food service program and and I sign for the overall supervision of it. But it I guess could be >> any other curious any other discussion. >> I'm just waiting. >> All right. All those in favor of the motion to um approve Dr. Grineier and Sam

123Kpatrick as authorized signers of the reimbursement claims for the child nutrition program. Please say I >> oppose. Abstain. Motion has carried and we have to take a two second break to change the tapes. That's why I was suddenly talking very fast. All right. Are we back? Okay. All right. So, we um we have two more items that are on our agenda that go into executive session. So, I would like us to um just for the the sake of people being here um instead of like having them wait and having them come back to hear what our information and proposals and advanced planning to get those done and then go back to the executive sessions. I'm hoping that that kind of makes sense. So, Katrina, do you have information and proposals um communications that you have

124had about the board in the past month? Okay. question. Oh, >> I did get to attend Fitch Open House. >> Awesome. >> I was invited up to um hand out information about Start with Glow with the Renaissance Club and they are a fantastic bunch of kids. >> Awesome. >> Let me tell you there should be pictures posted soon. >> I am I just really am so appreciative that you've taken the Sandy Hook Promise on and to be that like leazison for us from the ward. I think that that's really kind of cool. >> I have a partner in that. It's not just me. Okay. Thank you. >> Yep. Gretchen, I have nothing except for maybe we should add checking for mold in this room. >> Sorry, I have several. You stole my thunder. >> Oh,

125I'm sorry. >> I was going to say what a a beautiful day it was at the high school. And that was due to Linda Branch and her her staff. It that school to use your word sparkled. It was just beautiful. And I wasn't able to get to any of the other schools this year, but I'm sure that each one of them look like >> Yes, >> the high school is gorgeous. That's one. The second thing was I went to the um my training and it was fabulous. If our children are thinking at the level that those workshops s showed us that this is going to be a fabulous program. And finally, I have the Martin Luther King scholars to announce and Fitch has three. The dinner is on the 18th of October. Everyone is invited

126to to purchase a ticket. It's at the Marriott. And here they are. Jaden Leman, Lisette Perez, and Britney Tusant from our high school. So, congratulations. >> And we will invite them. We will invite them to the October meeting. >> Yes. I'm really looking forward to the dinner. >> Fabulous kids. >> Yay. And once, thank you for your leadership on the Martin Luther King. That's just >> just a small footnote combining two things. One of the my teachers said she presents at at at schools all over the world. And this was the cleanest high school she's ever seen >> in all of her years. >> And we let we let Linda Branch know that. >> Great, Jay. Um, sort of uh related, I went to the the meeting where AEB was discussing their $850 million expansion,

127which obviously is going to bring in even more people. I believe the head of HR said they've hired 5,000 so far. I'm not sure what the full target is, but obviously something to keep an eye on when we think about swing space as more people are coming into the area and um uh all of that. I I also um attended the uh Fitch High School open house and the Cutler um open house. I believe Westside's this week, so I hope to to go to that as well. Um and my definitely was a theme. um uh most of the teachers uh you know explained how that's going to fit in you know how the curriculum will fit into the the framework and um uh everyone seemed very um excited about it. I know it's a lot

128of hard work and I'm sure that that they were putting on a good face. Um, you know, because I know behind the scenes they've they've worked very hard. Um, and so, uh, I do want to recognize uh the professionalism and and hard work that our teachers have put in to to roll this out in what seems to me like a very short time. Uh, it's easy for us to say, "Let's do this," but, um, they're where the the rubber meets meets the road. Um, and I I had a chance at at Cutler to see the new uh music lab they have there. Um, the uh spoke to the um music teacher about the guitar class uh that she's starting and they also have that uh video studio >> which would which they're using um sonalists

129as uh uh consultants to do that. So it it's very exciting what's happening in the schools. >> Thank you. Well, um I was wondering if um I I sent a letter to Cape. Um and could you say anything about our kids at Cape? >> Yes. I just delivered two invitations [clears throat] to our student representatives. Saturday there's this at the Cape convention from all around the state. Uh it's a Friday and Saturday, but on Saturday students are invited. And so I I just invited Dan and Addie and uh I'll check with them and hopefully they'll check their calendars and we we'll get them to participate in the student program. It's it's really a great thing and of course we'd love to have the two of you represent us. That's probably next. Um, I heard from

130two Navy families that had issues with reg registering their children in school that the central office staff is inflexible and um they, you know, I just think it's something that maybe you could have a discussion about. I know. And they actually had to go back to the schools themselves um because they couldn't get the date and there were just some different issues. So there that is a concern. >> You have their name. >> Um no I I mean I wouldn't >> Well, I mean if they appreciate it. >> So maybe if you do maybe that could be sent to Dr. Grineer so that [clears throat] he can >> Yeah. Well, I didn't mean on camera. Uh I meant if you could get me some information I'd like to look into it. Yeah. >> Okay. And

131my other one is I know October 1st is coming. I'll be very interested in getting a new enrollment data. >> Yes. >> Um that'll that'll come. And I was very happy to see that our Cutler Middle School is um the enrollment went up from last year from 471 to 499 and at Westside from 450 up to 487. Obviously, children um in the district are wanting to come back to the to the schools, I think, because of the my program and and um and the high school also is up, which is very positive. Um my concern um again is with the kindergarten classes at at um SB Butler and um I've been told that there are there's a cap on Paris that we are not that you that a child we're not allowed to hire any

132more Paris. Is that true? Well, is that a discussion? Could we have >> There's a budget. There's a budget for paras. And yeah, when when when a par is needed, we we often see if we can rearrange to have a par or or or we have to exceed the budget, which means we're going to have >> Well, I would I think it's in terms of safety and what's best for the child. It's better to exceed the budget than it is to to say no. >> Right. So anyway, but I think that's a discussion for a future for a future me meeting and um so >> um and I was wondering when you do provide us with the October 1st enrollment data, you have the feet blank for Cutler and Westside. I would like to see

133those. I mean I know the high school is difficult to do but you can do the feet the FTEES for Cutler and Westside. you you >> Oh, I see. Yes. >> You know, we have it for our elementary, >> but it'd be nice to have those listed how many students are in each of the classes for the core subjects. >> Okay. >> Is that it? Yep. Okay. Um and so, um I was able to attend the Royal Run, um to celebrate Dan and my birthday, um at Bluff Point. And as always, I didn't follow the instructions or the rules. and my walk was the full run, but it was nice. [laughter] Um, and I and I enjoyed that quite a bit. And that also, um, I've been in communication and I think I'm going to

134need to send this to you, um, Sue, but the the woman who runs the library program for the youth and children. She would love to have a collaborative relationship with the public schools. Um, I guess there is a one card. >> Yeah. Oh, I can't remember. I can't remember my name, but there's a way that we can actually have kids get their library card and use it um within the public school. I mean, there's just a whole bunch of different ways of doing that, but she would love to have a collaborative more collaborative relationship. So, I I thought I would send it um to you and that you could then parcel that out to the people that makes the most sense, too. >> All right. All right. So, I just I wanted to let you

135know. Um, and so advanced planning, we have got lots of stuff that is on our calendar. Um, we are back. Summer is quite over as Mr. Kalpatrick said. Um, and then just pay attention to the meeting dates of the town bodies, please. Um, and we have lots of stuff that I think that we are going to be able to chop on for agenda items. Um, and that Dr. Reneer and I will do a little bit more refining on that, but it sounds like Martin Luther King people will be coming to our next full October meeting. Um, and it looks like we need to have some conversations with Mr. Romano who is our athletic director. Um, so I think that we've got some things that have come from today tonight's meeting. All right. If no one

136else has anything up, I just I have a question. I wonder if you could approach um Mr. Aarice and ask him to put the names of the the MLK scholars on the the bulletin board outside East Lang has theirs up. So I'd like to see ours up. >> That makes that would be very fun and that it's worthy of that. All right. So we are going to um I I would like Katrina. >> I did not mention um and Kim brought it up. I'm sorry. Susan brought it up, the um implicit bias administrative retreat. I also went to that and there will be another one. You'll let me know when it is. There's a second part of it. >> We actually had that at the retreat when we entered when we started today, but we

137will be having her back and I think that you have requested to have her. So, we were just talking about maybe even having her visit us when we have our board of ed retreat. >> Okay. >> That might be a good topic. >> Wow. >> She was amazing. She was amazing. >> That would be swell. >> All right. Um I'm going to um make a motion to uh have the board um go into um executive session inviting um Dr. Grineer. Um and I think that that's all that we would need. I don't think we need Susan for this. >> Is that correct? Why can't she come? But she can come. >> She she can if she'd like. Do I have to? >> No, you don't. You [laughter] don't. I will invite you to not for

138conversation. Um, and with the possibility of our business um our business manager for the conversations um around the wage increases. >> Ken would be helpful, but Susan doing a ton of work. Okay. Would not be a bad thing. >> Right. So, I am going to uh I'm going to entertain a motion to um for the board to go into executive sessions for purposes of [clears throat] talking um about the non-union um personal uh wages and salaries and also um the ratification of the secretar's uh contract with the invite of um Dr. Grineer and um our business manager attendant. >> So, moved. >> Can I have a second? I mean, that is a second. Okay. So with that said, we are going to be moving into executive session.