Methuen School Committee 2-9-2026

001I think you're very Good evening everyone. This meeting of the school committee uh February 9th, 2026. Will the secretary please take role? present. >> Mayor Burger. All >> right, >> we're live. Mayor. Yep. We will be coming back at six o'clock for our regular scheduled meeting. But in the meantime, we're going to go into executive session pursuant to Mass General Law Chapter 30A section 21A to discuss um contract negotiations of the unaffiliated Colleen. Is that correct? >> Thank you. Thank you. Executive session pursuant to Mass General Law Chapter 30A section 21A 2 to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with the non-UN personnel or to conduct collective bargaining sessions of contract negotiations with non-UN personnel formally appoint an acting superintendent. Um, Secretary, will you take role? Yes. >> Yes. >> Thank you. We're going

002to adjourn this live session, go into the executive session, and we'll be back at 6. Thank you. exiting executive session. Uh we uh did that moments ago and we are now uh in open session here. Uh we've just let folks join the audience at this point. What we'll do is we will uh reconvene the open session with attendance. >> Okay. >> Present Maxwell >> present. Member McCarthy So >> present. >> Member Wlette >> here. >> And Mayor Bogard >> here. At this point, what we're going to do on the agenda, uh, we're going to take a vote on the appointment of an acting superintendent. I'm going to ask for a motion to appoint Dr. Lisa Golovski Tumi to serve as acting superintendent of the Mthuan public schools. This would be retro back to December 15,

0032025, and it will be effective through June 30th, 2026. Uh we are also going to need to authorize council to engage in contract negotiations. This would be for an agreement to get us through the June 30th, 2026 date in terms of uh contract terms for the acting superintendent. Uh we need a motion and a second. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion's from the vice chair. Second is from member Soy. Uh discussion Roll call. >> There's no discussion. We'll take a roll call vote. >> Member Daglio, >> yes. >> Donovan Grassi, yes. Keegan, >> yes. Maxwell, >> yes. >> Sir Royce, >> yes. >> Wlette, >> yes. >> Bogard, >> yes. >> Uh, so we formalize the appointment of an acting superintendent. I'll now ask for a motion to adjurnn. >> So moved. >> Second.

004>> Motions from member Soy, seconds from member Keegan. Uh, all those in favor say I. >> I. opposed. The eyes have it. We're now roughly a few minutes after 6 and our meeting is adjourned and we will begin a new meeting momentarily. >> Congratulations Heat. Heat. So, I just uh spoke with the students in the tech room and uh we're on live on YouTube and we're just going to proceed with uh the regular meeting using that same link. So, here we are. I'll begin formally now. Good evening. The school committee business session of February 9, 2026 will now come to order. This meeting is being recorded and will be made available for viewing on the Mthuan Public Schools website. We'll now uh begin with a roll call. >> President >> present >> here. Gangs all

005here. We need a motion and a second to accept the agenda for tonight's meeting as presented. >> So move. >> Second. Motions from member D vice chair Daglio. The seconds from member Maxwell. Discussion. There's no discussion. We'll vote. All those in favor? >> I opposed. The eyes have it. Dr. Globsky, I'll invite you to introduce our student for tonight's flag salute. >> Sure. I'd like to invite um supervising principal Katie Petti to share her flag salute student with us, Isaac Tjo. Can you hear me now? Beautiful. All right. So, I have here with me Isaac Tjo. Isaac is a fourth grade student in Mrs. Dunn's class who is here as well tonight. Isaac has been a member of the CGS community for five years joining us in kindergarten. He comes from a close and supportive

006family that includes his mom, dad, twin brother Lucas, younger sister, Aaliyah, and a large extended family of grandparents who are very clearly special to him. He shares he often shares heartwarming stories about them, and it's evident how strong those family bonds are. Mrs. Dunn shared, "Isaac can talk to anyone about any subject, especially about the Celtics, which is one of his favorite topics. He adds so much to our classroom discussions, usually with humor and a rare a real flare for words. At school, he gets along with everyone and is the type of person who can join in with any group. His knowledge of topics ranges from sports to animals to history and everything in between. He also loves to learn new information on any topic. I can see him becoming the host of Jeopardy. Or

007this is a personal message for you, Mayor Borugard, mayor one day. She said, "Watch out, DJ. I feel very fortunate." She feels very fortunate to have her have him in her classroom this year. Lovely words from your teacher. Right. Outside of school, Isaac enjoys reading and writing comic books, creating digital content, exploring engineering, and playing basketball, baseball, soccer, and in football. His favorite subjects are technology and ELA. He has set personal goals to become a stronger writer, slow down and take more care with his work, reach a hundred subscribers subscribers on YouTube, and learn how to play tennis. In the future, Isaac hopes to become an entrepreneur, an author, an illustrator, or work in engineering. He is a hardworking student who holds himself to high standards, and we are very, very proud to have him

008represent CGS tonight. So, if you would all join me in welcoming Isaac Tjo for a flag salute. Wait one second. Right hand on your heart. Other Here we go. Okay. Now return to the flag. >> I pledge of I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic of which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Nicely done, buddy. And now we'll have the introduction of our soore awards students. >> Sure. I invite our supervisor of fine arts, Cheryl Mancini. >> Good evening, everyone. I'd like to call up Gabriel Narco. On behalf of the Methuan High School Fine Arts Department, we are proud to recognize Gabriel Narco as a soore award recipient for his sustained dedication, leadership, and growth within our music

009program. Gabriel has been a committed and dependable member of the Methuan High School marching band, winter percussion and jazz band for four years. Throughout his time in the program, he has consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic, self-discipline, and a deep passion for music. Gabriel invests countless hours practicing and refining his skills, always striving to become the best musician that he can be. As a leader, Gabriel goes above and beyond expectations. He re regularly spends additional time in sectionals, teaches music to his peers, and supports others in improving their performance and confidence. He is a student whom others generally look up to and aspire to emulate. His willingness to lead by example, combined with his patience and generosity as a mentor, he has made a lasting impact on the culture of our ensembles. As a fine

010arts director, I've had the privilege of watching Gabriel grow, not only as a musician, but as a young man. From his early days starting on bass drum to becoming a section leader with the percussion section, Gabriel's journey is a powerful example of student growth through perseverance, commitment, and passion. He approaches each new challenge with focus and determination, taking pride in both his individual responsibilities and the success of the ensemble as a whole. Gabriel is self-motivated, enthusiastic, and deeply invested in everything that he does, both within and beyond the music department. His pride in his work, respect for others, and love for music have consistently shined throughout his four years at Methuan High School. Gabriel is exceptionally deserving of this recognition. On behalf of the Methuan High School fine arts staff, we are proud to honor

011and congratulate him as a soore award recipient, a student whose leadership, dedication, and personal growth amplify the very best of our arts community. Um, as a side note, um, one of the I have about being a, you know, fine arts teacher, we get the joy of watching kids go from freshman year, sophomore year. So, we watch them grow from, you know, freshman into young adults. And one of the special things about Gabriel is when you're a conductor in an ensemble, you're conducting many pieces to put together in a song. Every time that I've observed the marching band from his start to finish, Gabriel is always looking at the conductor, focused and like engaged and locked in every rehearsal all the time. And that's a stellar musician, someone who is ready to play and always locked

012in to do his best. So, thank you for all that you've done for our marching band and all of our ensembles. So, just want to say a couple words. Um, hello to everybody tonight. Um, it's really an honor to have this award today and I'm glad that I've been recognized for this and like I've I'm glad that I've been recognized for this and I'm glad that I've had my high school here at Mthan High. Thank you. I don't know. We are blessed to have arts and music. So, um I'd like to invite up Lydia Plunkett. Um so, this is a culmination. Lydia has legitimately been in almost every art music, like everything. So when I send out an email to the staff, I'm like, "Hey, can you all just share something with me?" And they

013all responded with four pages of Lydia. So put your seat belts on. Um, on behalf of the Mthuan High School Fine Arts Department, we are proud to recognize Lydia Plunkett as this year's Soore Award recipient for extraordinary cumulative contributions to the arts community at Methuan High School. Lydia's impact on our fine arts department is both deep and far-reaching across multiple disciplines, ensembles, leadership roles, and service opportunity. She has distinguished herself as a student who embodies creativity, dedication, integrity, and service. Her presence has strengthened our classrooms, ensembles, productions, and community spaces. and her influ influence is felt not only through her individual achievements but through the way she elevates the work and culture of those around her across multiple fine arts disciplines. Lydia has demonstrated exceptional artistic range and commitment. She has completed coursework in graphic

014design one, graphic design 2, photo one, photo two, crafts media and ceramics 2, where she has consistently shown originality, a strong artistic voice, and a deep commitment to her growth. Her work stands out not only for its technical quality, but for its authenticity, reflection, and individuality. Through vibrant color paletts, thoughtful composition, unique topographic choices, and strong conceptual thinking, Lydia brings each project to life in a way that reflects her personal vision. Her artwork is self-reflective, well-crafted, and often infused with an honest and humorous perspective on the world around her. Lydia is an active artist in every sense of the word. She is constantly drawing in her sketchbook, generating new ideas, and creating artistic challenges for herself. In ceramics 2, she has pushed herself to develop a a technical skill at the pottery pottery wheel, demonstrating

015grit, perseverance, independence, and a willingness to work through difficulty in order to grow. Lydia not only excels in the ceramic studio, but across many fine arts learning environments. In the performing arts, Lydia has also demonstrated exceptional dedication through her coursework and ensemble participation. She is a strong and committed singer in both the MHS concert choir and the newly established chamber choir, and she has been selected as a feature soloist in our upcoming coffee house concert. She is constantly comes prepared and maintains a positive attitude and demonstrates a high level of commitment to her musical craft. Her engagement in the arts extends far beyond the classroom. Lydia is an active member of the National Art Honor Society where she recently led a workshop on design collages, demonstrating leadership, initiative, and a commitment to sharing her creative

016knowledge with others. She has worked as a member of Stage Door 22 props crew, showing responsibility, collaboration, and care in the behind-the-scenes work that supports our productions. She has also performed with the Winter Guard, applying her passion for performance in yet another artistic context. Her commitment to both the visible and unseen work of the arts reflects humility, dedication, and a deep respect for the collaborative nature of creative spaces. Lydia has also served as a representative of the fine arts department during the Methuan High School road show where she presented a selection of fine arts slides as a part of the high school presentation for the Methooan public schools seventh and eighth grade students across the district. Presenting alongside Principal Caret, she demonstrated professionalism, confidence, and pride representing both the fine arts department and Methuan High

017School to our younger students. Beyond her artistic and musical talents, Lydia exemplifies balance, character, and leadership. She ma manages her academics, creative pursuits, and extracurricular commitments with remarkable maturity and integrity. She is actively involved in a wide range of clubs and activities and is a natural leader among her peers and is a positive presence in every space she enters. Lydia also aspires to pursue a career in the visual arts as an art educator, a goal that reflects both her passion for the arts and her desire to serve others through teaching, mentorship, and creativity. Lydia Plunkett is exceptionally deserving of this recognition. On behalf of the Methuan High School fine arts staff, we are proud to honor and congratulate her as this year's Soore Award recipient, an extraordinary student whose cumulative contributions, leadership, and impact have

018helped shaped and identify culture and strength in our fine arts community. Thank you, Lydia. >> Thank you all so much for this award. I will appreciate it. >> That's it. That's all. >> You don't have to go more. Thank you. I'm so happy for you. Nicely done. Next, I'll invite our student council representative to share any updates he might have for the committee. >> I believe we have uh representatives with us today. there to come up or out. That's what we call multitasking. Yes. >> All right. Hello. Yep. Congratulations to all of Ranger students who participated in the 40th annual Methian High Science Fair. All students represented Methuan High School with pride and participants were presented with a certificate of recognition. With 78 science projects on display and over 135 individual students participating, our students

019utilize scientific inquiry while actively learning about science and gain valuable knowledge about the world around us through active hands-on learning. Pending on approved individual research plan, the following students will proudly represent Mthuan High School at the region 4 science fair. The region 4 science fair will be held Saturday, March 14 at Tus University in Medford, Massachusetts. Participants include TA of Zol developing a multi-stage magneto hydrodnamic propulsion system for marine applications. MC excellence fisa how air pressure affects performance. Stellani Mitsopololis, the effect of different substances on yeast fermentation. Giana Moore, Green Shield, Formulating and Testing a Natural Eco-friendly Sunscreen. Congratulations again. Matthuan High School now participates in the Eagle Tribune's Real News in School program. With this program comes free access to the Eagle Tribune and all North of Boston media news sites from a device

020connected to the school's Wi-Fi. Our journalism club was featured in last week's paper. Methuan High School and their journalism club are now a part of Eagle Tribune's Real News in School program. The teachers, students, and staff have full access to the North of Boston media news sites, and readers will soon be able to enjoy articles and photos submitted by students at faculty at the high school. The the MHS credit for life fair developed in partnership with the Marramac Valley Credit Union will be held on the morning of Friday, February 13th, 2026 in the Climus Memorial Fieldhouse. Through their participation in the fair, senior students will be presented with real life scenarios as they experience the successes and challenges of managing a personal budget. The Mthuan High Key Club is sponsoring a Boston Children's Hospital blood

021drive on Thursday, February 12th. It will run from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. in the Blood Mobile outside MHS main entrance. That's all. Thank you. >> Thank you for the Thank you for the update. Congratulations to you on your success at the fair. I was bumped to have missed it, but I saw it was fantastic overall. Awesome. Yeah, >> that's great. Uh so at this point uh we will move on to public participation. Uh is there anyone here who would like to engage in public participation? If not, I don't think we have anything submitted in writing. Um correct me if I'm wrong, but if if not, at this point, I will close the public participation portion of our meeting. If you aren't able to make a meeting in person for public participation, you can send

022an email to Susan Shanti at snsc nti at mthuan.k12.mma. us before 3 p.m. on the day of a school committee meeting. At this point, we'll move on to the approval of minutes. We need a motion and a second to approve the budget subcommittee minutes of January 8th, 2026. So moved. >> Is there a second? >> Motion's from member Keegan. Second is from member Donovan. Any discussion? >> I vice >> chair. Thank you. >> So quick question and I'm and again this is new for me because I don't recall doing this on the school committee prior. Are we used to approving subcommittee minutes outside of subcommittee here on the school committee? because in in previous years it's the subcommittee that approves the minutes and then they just put it in the packet for just notification. So

023I I because I was not there for any of this and nor have I watched it, I will not be approving it. So I I just want to be mindful that I just want to make sure that's part of the procedure. So I if it's part of the procedure, I I'll definitely in in future watch the transcript in minutes, but >> I don't know if Dr. Gowsky has anything to add, but since I've been serving as mayor and chair of the school committee, we we've always collectively approved all minutes uh whether it's for a general uh committee meeting or a subcommittee. >> Okay. And actually I think that invites the opportunity let's say if there is a question that arises upon reading a subcommittee's minutes you know that will allow for discussion with the whole

024group as well but that's just my thought >> right just in previous school committees that I've been a part of I never did subcommittee minutes so I'll in the future watch this before I approve it so I will I'll be voting present on this member will >> I'm I'm a big fan of transparency so I'm not seeing any issue with it per se, but I understand what the vice chair is saying. He wasn't a direct participant in those meetings, but I don't think we need to be a direct participant. We don't have to view it. I think we're just going over the minutes and then learning as part of the process. I'm not seeing an issue with it. Thank you. >> If there's no other discussion, we will vote. All those in favor? >> Opposed?

025Present. Uh we have >> So, >> I'm hearing conflicting and I want to make sure I get this right. So, let's take a roll call vote. Yeah. >> Present. >> Yes. Next on the agenda. So, that that the minutes are approved for that meeting. We need a motion and a second to approve the minutes of January 12th, 2026. >> So moved. >> Second. >> Motion's from member Keegan, seconds from the vice chair. Any discussion? >> There's no discussion. We'll vote. All those in favor? >> I opposed. The eyes have it. Next on the agenda, we have staff reports. I'll invite Dr. Gobski to present the update on higher education partnerships. >> Thank you. As you see um in the memo, we've had some interesting conversation in the past couple of weeks uh with Marmac College,

026University of Massachusetts, LOL, and Northern Essex Community College. Uh our conversation with Mary Mack um began because we had caught wind that um some neighboring districts were using a cohort model to help um staff members become certified in areas of need. um for us looking at moderate disabilities or um enhancing our ESL staff. So, we had the opportunity to learn about several opportunities that Mary Mack offers, some that were familiar to us, some some that were new. Um all of which would come at a cost to the district. Um but would also help to promote within and help a pipeline of educators come to Methuan and stay in Methuan. Um and then it was a little bit of serendipity. Um UMass LOL reached out and said that they would like to enhance our partnership as

027well through an apprenticeship program called RTAP which I was aware of and had heard about um but was interested in learning more. And so through talking about through talking about the opportunities with UMass LOL, they have some interesting programs where they take par profofessionals or program assistants who want to become teachers, help them complete their undergraduate degree while on the job. So they're getting credit for what they're doing at work in terms of experience. they're learning from a mentor teacher um and at the end of it become a certified teacher with necessary requirements and would be able to remain in the district. That was one of their offerings. Um University of Massachusetts lol also mentioned um that they partner with Northern Essex Community College sometimes to help identify um if if some individuals have coursework

028that's already completed what they could do to accelerate that process. Um, so both institutions offered, I think, really enticing opportunities with online accelerated coursework geared for a working professional with a clear goal in mind. Um, and we also picked up some some tips and brainstormed some ideas on our own end about how to help teachers who are maybe having aspiring teachers difficulty passing the MTEL exam um, to become certified. Um and likewise um the mayor and I met with um representatives from Northern Essex Community College um primarily to discuss uh an exciting expansion of what could be our early college program. So we currently have a designation with University of Massachusetts lol. it is possible for us to have multiple um designations and so we would be pursuing um an additional designation with Northern Essex

029Community College um with pathways that are distinct from those offered by University of Massachusetts lol um but would provide students with hands-on experience and accelerate their undergraduate experience by potentially offering them the opportunity to graduate with a diploma and an associates degree uh at the same time which is really exciting. Um and so we're looking forward to that. The process for designation is a little bit lengthy and it's to make sure the planning is done well. Um we've just engaged with that. Um Miss Tetro from the counseling department is our early college lead so we're familiar with the process. Um also excited about the opportunity that was shared during our discussion to enhance our CTE department. Um, so offering dual enrollment courses, um, making use of both the Haveril and Lawrence campus. Um, and so

030students who engage in our vocational programming could have the opportunity to earn additional micro credentials, coursework, um, and hands-on experience. So, some of the staff at Northern Essex currently serves on our pack, our program advisory councils. Um, but we're really excited about the opportunities there. So, I just wanted to keep you updated on that. Mayor, I didn't know if you wished to add since you were at the meeting as well. >> Yeah. So, one of the things that Governor Healey is loud proponent of is trying to achieve the goal of having 100,000 students across the Commonwealth in early college programs. And so, this will help us, I think, do our part to uh try to achieve that goal. Something that is interesting uh is that UMass LOL I know that they typically will have professors

031participate in that program remotely. Students go about that program at school. Uh but what's nice about the Northern Essex concept is that it would give our students the opportunity to actually be present at Northern Essex to be able to get some of these courses under their belt. And as the acting superintendent mentioned, we're seeing this uh new phenomenon as a result of that program where people are literally graduating with their high school diploma and their associates degree, saving these students god knows how much in student debt and other costs. So, this will be a fantastic uh way to help our students and be a big value ad. And I think we're looking at, as you referenced, roughly a year-long process, but uh this is something that we would aim to have in place during calendar

032year 2027. >> Uh so that's very exciting. Thank you. >> Yeah. And nice too that Northern Essex and UMass have a a partnership where um there's an automatic acceptance to UMassel in addition to the credits automatically transferring. So they're not at odds to they're both excited about the opportunity. >> Thank you. >> Absolutely. Any questions, discussion? Uh, vice chair and then member Dunovan. Actually, >> member Dunovan, >> um, I I want to tell you how much you know how much I appreciate that you're having these conversations. Um, any plans for future meetings or do you see I mean I I'm be very curious what the cost is. Um, obviously it would fill a need and for those teachers we may lose because it's so hard to pass some of those tests. the ESL test, the

033foundations of reading test and this could support at work. Am I correct? >> Yes. >> Um so have you set up subsequent meetings or >> so depending on which programs we pursue there's different pathways to do so. So, um, um, Colleen McCarthy sat in with me on the Mary Mack meeting and so did Gina Bozac. U and we did identify that there is there's a a layer of teachers who do have their bachelor's degrees and are just having trouble with that one last piece. Um, I think it may be uh a benefit to us to have someone come to the district to help with the test prep for that layer of teacher. Um then for instance the apprenticeship program which UMass LOL was um advertising or sharing to us that's a grant-f funded program. So

034I would need to write the grant on behalf of our LEA and partner with them to be able to sponsor the teachers who need to finish their undergraduate degree um either through Northern Essex or a combination of Northern Essex and UMass LOL while on the job training who also supports lensure. So, with that grant funding, um, we're able to defer a lot of the cost. Um, um, the adults who would be pursuing these courses would still be, uh, still have access to financial aid and merit scholarship. Um, and so from the RTAP agreements I've seen in the past, it's typically around $8,000 a year that the district would need to put toward um, this individual who would then in turn um, promise to remain in the district for x amount of years. Um the Mary

035Mack College options are different. So they have the fellowship program um which we do have some teachers who have engaged in the fellowship program at other districts who we then hired who are excellent. The idea there is that the district pays for their master's degrees and in turn those individuals work within the district for the year. Um and so there would need to be some oversight there um in terms of what they're able to do or not within the district. There's there are some limitations. Um but Mary Mack also had some some interesting sponsorship ideas in terms of um same idea as UMass LOL was supporting our program assistance but it would be more toward getting their master's degrees although they do have some undergraduate options too. Um and again the merit scholarship and financial

036aid would come into play. So I think our first our first step is to see who we have in the district that might be willing and interested to do something like that and then look at um the type of adult student that we would um have in the district to figure out the number of of people that would need to be in each type of program. So we saw a need for all the programs that were offered. um it's a matter of of cost and where our biggest needs are but um they seem to be mirroring the needs of the district in terms of focusing on moderate moderate disabilities lenture ESL and some early education as well. >> Thank you Mr. Chair and to the acting superintendent. So there's two parts here. Always been a

037huge advocate of early college programs. It's it's a huge cost-saving to the student and with education just out of control in today's day, it's a huge um opportunity for students to to get a a good education plus be able to go off to a good school afterwards for two to four years. So, anything we can do there to continue that. The only thing I do ask is do we have benchmarking on how many students are currently doing things like this and what the projected number increase could be if we have let's say I mean could it be open to every senior that's interested in college education ultimately >> well I'm happy that we have our early college lead here tonight so I might call her up to the podium tetro >> I think she knows

038all this information off the top of her head as as principal Caret. Um, but part of the early college application process, which is over a year, is mapping out exactly how many students you'll have over the development of the program. So, over the next three years. Um, and so if you want to speak to Miss Tetro, just very generally how we begin the process advertising as sophomores enrolling as juniors and early college. >> Yeah, >> sure. Hello. Um so we have actually started talking about it um the early college program we started talking about it two years ago with the seventh and eighth graders and so we let them know about it then and we again shared that information with them last year. So it's kind of kind of neat because we have kids coming

039in in nth grade when can I participate? So in their sophomore year um we actually will notify the students about the program. We have three pathways, intro to teaching, um a criminal justice, business law pathway, and the last one I'm having a brain cramp right now, um as to what it is because I I don't know why. Um but we have a the engineering pathway. And the reason we did engineering as opposed to um entrepreneurship is because we didn't want to crisscross with our CTE program um for business. And so we went with the engineering program. Um, basically we advertise it. We explain to the students it's block seven, three days a week. They'll take a class in the fall, a class in the spring. We have a um UMass LOL professor. Some of them

040do come in and teach here. Um, we have a Mthuan High teacher assigned as well. And so it's um they work together in unison and the students will take four classes over two years. And in the summer between their junior and senior year, they're offered an opportunity to take a summer program that is three weeks long, of which two weeks they can live on campus and they take another class. So conceivably, the students graduating um their senior year from UMass LOL could have completed their entire first semester of freshman year um in the early college program. Right now we have our goal this year was to have um 75 new student like new students and then we had 16 students returning from last year. So I think right now we're hovering right around 70 students

041overall and then we're moving into next year which will be the first year of the full-blown two-year program. So we will have a large group of students who will be in the second year of any one of those three pathways. We'll be adding two additional Mthuan High teachers and then we'll have a brand new um co content cohort of students in their first year of the program as well. >> And perhaps to add to that, so you know there's the existing program with UMass L as you outlined the thinking with the expansion effort with Northern Essex would be to offer for instance a nursing path that that's something that Northern Essex has in their program offering. So that would be uh something for students who are interested in the medical field. And another thing too

042is Northern Essex has on campus in Haveril. Uh they have a police academy that they partner with Pthuan. We're one of the partnering communities for that. And so there's opportunity for students to get training on how to be a dispatcher and to be able to get the certification for things like that. And so um in essence this would be a complement to the UMass offerings where we wouldn't be doing two programs with the same content with different uh institutions. It would be complimentary. So I thought I would add that just for the purpose of discussion. >> Thank you. Yeah. >> And we did several years ago we had a program with Northern Essex Community College that was um pretty successful. The challenge that we ran into was um that teachers would come here and teach

043and we actually encountered some colleges that believe it or not would not accept those credits because they were taught here. >> Um you know and and we did we had great success. We had a lot of students that graduated after the two years um maybe one or two classes shy of their associates degree. So I love the idea of repartnering with Northern Essex. I actually just saw one of the representatives here um that I used to work with because her grandson was the student that did pledge of allegiance and so um she's like we need to get you back. >> So thank you. Hold on. >> The second part to my question um was on the teacher side. When was the last time we offered the CAGS program to our teachers? >> Have we ever?

044>> Colleen and I were just discussing that last week too. Um I believe the last cohort to graduate would have been around 2011 or 2012 >> over that far behind. >> Mhm. Um and CAGS programs are not as popular as they used to be. A lot of um institutions are moving to um doctoral programs, but we agreed that we would like to start um some sort of pathway to for leadership opportunities within the district. And that was really popular with teachers um when they were able to stay in the cohort model within the district. >> So was 2011 the last time we offered anything like that? >> To my knowledge. So things like that with this partnership >> is something that I've always said that we needed to do in Mthuan >> is partnering with

045universities to give our our teachers the opportunity to grow within district and so and it's always been a money thing but usually if we partner very closely because I know Fitsburg State does this with a lot of their surrounding cities is like like a cost balance. If you can tell me that I'm going to get 25 30 students from your school department or teachers, educators coming to my school for CAGs or doctoral program, we'll offer ESL for 20%. Or, you know, there's a cost balance. So, if we can start planning that out and then budget that out and what that cost would be to us because if they're paying 60 and we're paying 40 or whatever the math comes out or we can guarantee that a teacher is going to sign up for a kegs

046or a doctoral program or even a lure, they'll pay for it like the the school the Fitchburg or UMass will pay to do these other licensed ESL programs for nothing because the money is where those other programs are. So, just something to look into because >> we should be offering these things to our teachers as something as a benefit on top of staying here. >> Our um our supervising principal of the Marsh, Rebecca Gordon, is an adjunct professor. Um and so we have been able last few years to offer courses through Cambridge Cambridge College through Rebecca who would supervise um the staff who were teaching. And that was really nice because we could have them align with our strategy plan. Those were quick one credit courses, but we did put out a survey to see

047if um teachers were interested and they certainly are interested in three credit courses and certainly a program would be enticing as well. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? If not, we'll move on to the update regarding behavioral positions at the grammar schools. >> Thank you. I included um these memos from each of the grammar schools because there was some discussion at the last business meeting um about uh how the crisis interventionist and risk coordinator positions were fairing. Um if you remember last year around this time um we shared similar memos um where the principles were speaking about whether or not um they felt like these positions were meeting their needs being relatively new. Um and there's reasons why um the school had either selected the risk coordinator or the crisis interventionist um and as

048such have um taken account of the needs of their building and used that position accordingly. So you may see some different uses of the individual um in each position from building to building and that's because of um the reflection on the data and where the supervising principal thought the person would be best used. So, we do have um Katie Petti here tonight who um had been here for the flag salute, was kind enough to stay on to walk you through um her write up on experience with the crisis interventionist. >> Really just answer your questions if you have them. >> So, Katie's available if you have any specific questions. Member Wlette, >> just from like a technical standpoint, like between the different uh classifications like I know member Donovan and I have been with the

049RIZ >> uh and versus the crisis intervention versus the other personnel at the MASH that was unfulfilled and then you did a different position at the MASH. Just go over quickly um the benefits and disadvantages of each type of position, you know, especially at the CGS versus what's happened at the Tenny and the Tim. Sure. >> But there is and what why it works for your school as opposed to maybe another school. I'm just curious on that front. >> Yeah, I certainly can um speak obviously more specifically to my position, but I meet with my colleagues and and we've talked about it. So, I'll share what I can, but if I certainly wouldn't want to misspeak on what happens with um risk. So, I'll start with my school. So, um again, it's difficult because populations

050are are different, right? And even year to year, they're different. So when we started with this position, there was a growing need at the CGS that there was a lot of behavior responding for physical behaviors um that we were seeing in the lower school that we had not really seen before. So when we got this position, we looking at the data, we thought based on that population of students last year that we would be able to do hopefully we had a 50-50 split of relationship building in the upper school because we think, you know, every every kid needs a mentor and we have students in the upper school. You know, behavior is communication and the way you behave and the way you communicate in upper school is a little bit quieter. And when you're younger,

051your behavior is more well of a of a physical response because it's more developmentally appropriate. So, we were hoping originally that we would be able to kind of balance relationship building in the upper school and then behavior responding in the lower school. We started out that way and we quickly found that it really is behavior responding in the lower school. That is our primary goal. Um and mostly so that gened classrooms would be productive learning environments that would not be disrupted uh disrupted by a a interfering behavior. So we started that way. This year we really have just been behavior responding interfering behaviors working on intervention strategies. our crisis responder is really there to help with those behaviors right away. Um, and then maybe some deescalation with the goal of getting students regulated and back

052to class so they're not missing learning time. So that's that's how crisis intervention works at my school. Um, again, and I I think I shared in the document that that did leave some resource gaps in terms of the things that we wanted with relationship building. So ideally, I'd love to have the risk coordinator because in terms of talking to my colleagues, they are having the other balance, right? So they're able to with their risk coordinators, I'll speak to Mr. Reeve, he's, you know, he and I just spoke about it the other day. He's able to have that person do a little bit more of the relationship building and and pull kids together to do some preventative behaviors. Mine right now is reactionary because that's the that's what my building is calling for. And to your

053question about what is it serving, I think the climate of my building would be very different without the position. I think teachers know that we have a plan. We have a systematic approach. There's a protocol. We know who's going to respond. And I think in some uncertain times with behaviors, it gives that consistent knowing who's going to be there in that personnel that that we did not have before. So we're able to do things with better procedures, finite expectations rather than just trying to adjust and call an audible when when a interfering behaviors happen. So So that's what happens in my building. In uh the other buildings, I believe they use their interventionist, like I said, for more of the relationship building things. they're able to, which I'm not able to do, have a reduction

054in their out of school suspension because they have that support person within their buildings. I I don't have that. Um, so I know that they're really working on maybe some, you know, some alternatives to suspension and things like that that are happening with risks. Like I said, we really need both. Um, and but I understand that that's that's a cost. Um, and yeah, they I know Mr. Reef had a basketball clinic before school last year. Again, the preventative building on working on relationships. I think he has some data in there about repeat behaviors and he's seeing a reduction in repeat behaviors because of that relationship building with the risks. I think Mr. Hill is as as well. Um I know Miss Gordon's position, she's using it very similar to me. Um but I think hers

055maybe has some other parts in terms of maybe Yeah. TSS and and things that I I'm not using my position for. Um, and TSS is that tiered system of support. Again, the system of support and behavior and intervention. Um, but she's using hers differently where mine is primarily interfering responding to interfering behaviors. Hers might be responding to interbe interfering behaviors, but then developing that intervention. We're not at that step yet. We're we're really we're really sticking with uh having a consistent response and expected behaviors and and again the thing we did differently this year is we've taken it to the next step because often teachers will have a student with an interfering behavior. Somebody swoops in and they don't really know. We don't we don't have that time during the day to recap what happened,

056what was the interfering behavior, what was the trigger, what's the intervention now. And we're working with our crisis responder to fill that gap so that he can work with the interfering behavior, but then do the follow through because we really weren't we didn't have the time to do the follow through and then speak with the teacher of like this was a trigger or this is what the issue was and maybe communication was in the way. Um so we're working more on that to try to make sure that everybody understands how to take the next steps. Last year we were just working on responding. So we're moving in the right direction. Um, I think it's all really valuable and important. Um, but I'm happy to to answer any questions about my school if there are any

057more. >> Just to follow up again, we wanted to establish those positions. We knew there was going to be a disparity amongst the schools. We also wanted quantifiable data. >> I think we're starting to get that quantifiable data. And I think what I'm hearing from yourself uh during a tight fiscal cycle that we need maybe the risks uh specialists at the CGS and that's something I could potentially advocate for. Um >> thank you. >> And that's something I wanted to make sure like it's it's working because again that the teachers were getting frustrated. >> There was not an explanation about the process. there's a separation of the child but then also a focus on a holistic approach what's happening on the home front >> right >> diffusing the situation uh repeat offenders uh so that

058was something that I thought with the documentation I'm receiving from the tenny and the timony and I also very grateful for what you're saying is something when I'm going into the budget cycle and it's going to be very tight uh but I'm from my perspective I think the RZ needs to be adapted to other schools as well. >> Yeah, I agree. I appreciate that. I think it's I mean, we want to be able to offer all kids in Mthuan the same opportunity and and I have a hard time with the fact that I I really can't do anything to um reduce out of school suspension at this point. So, I I want kids to stay in school and I think with the risk maybe we'd have more of a preventative sort of approach instead of

059just the reactive. I think you need both in a balance. >> And again, I'm not an educator. I'm not involved in the field, but I think you could provide easily papers and documentation that would assert out of school suspensions are not uh helpful to the student that they're deletarious to the student for a number of factors. So, I think if we move to that direction of having in-house with the RIZ, I think it's going to have multiple benefits. I appreciate it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> We'll hear from member Donovan, then member Maxwell. I >> thought Um, Miss Broy, I appreciate your honesty in this because I I know it's hard sometimes to say, "Well, we had to shift things because we started in one area, but boy, did we have to veer off

060to meet the needs." Um, I'm just cur I I hear what you're saying. Um, and I've been saying since I got on the um, school committee that I do believe there needs to be equity among the schools and not offering all students the opportunity to stay in place, get what they need, be safe, um, and have some sort of inschool consequence. I think it's so unfair. Um, it's just not right. And we see how it's working. I I want to commend he's not here. I got to tell you, Mr. Ree did a super job. I will talk about that soon. Do you believe this? So, am I hearing you right? You would replace this model. No. With the risk model. So, you need both. >> I was Was this a grant-f funded position? >> No.

061>> What was the one that we had grant funded? >> Very different. >> Right. Right. I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. It was bright. >> I can speak to bright, but I wouldn't want to conft totally get it. I was just trying to remember which one we got kind of a deal on. >> Okay. Okay. Great. >> Or to come with bright. >> Okay. >> Today. >> Um and you would see that I I don't know. I wonder if it's time to review our inschool elementary school detent. I don't know what we want to call it. Inschool suspension. I want I'm wondering if we need to have a whole different look at this. Like years ago, we used to have the opportunity rooms, and I don't know what kind of opportunities kids had in there because

062I don't believe they were staffed by certified teachers, which would be a requirement. Um, but maybe it's time. I don't know. I do think it's important to note though, the first year that we did this, Mr. Reeves still had a crisis responder in his building. >> He did. >> So, he had the luxury last year of having two. Now, one of them was programmatic, but I do think that she was able to either Yeah, >> offer some suggestion. You know, I think that that was definitely a benefit for Mr. Reef. He would say that himself that when he started last year, he did have the crisis and risk. Although crisis was programmatic, I do think it was, you know, helpful. >> So, this is his first year. So, I think his knowledge would be important

063too in that this is the first year he hasn't had that. He's only had risks. Um, but I think he has a really interesting perspective and and I think maybe we can talk more about it. Yeah, I I think it's really um his report I find really interesting. I know I was really excited last year when he took it upon himself to do the early morning basketball program to build those relationships and he saw results from that. >> And then the um the tier one less group lessons I think is uh pretty sharp to do um obviously and you can see that it has had an impact. Mhm. >> Um, I appreciate this very much and I really, you know, I have to look a little more closely at the other schools. Um, but I

064appreciate this and it's just an idea. What can we do because I know we, you know, people, we've gotten dinged on the out of school suspension rate, which really hasn't been very clear. I mean, I think we need to look at that more closely. We don't want to turn it into a dumping ground. >> Um, and while we try to put into obviously our first go-to is an alternative to suspension. >> Exact. Oh, well, you have to go through that whole sheet before you can suspend it. >> Some behaviors are definitely egregious, but you think with the availab availability of having risks, you you might have a few more options that that I currently don't have. >> Right. Right. Right. And I think that equity piece is so important for all our students. >> I

065agree. >> It's a thought. Thank you, >> member Maxwell. >> Um, so I think you just answered one of my questions because I thought that the Tim did have a crisis interventionist. I didn't realize that we had switched back to just risk instead. I do think that both programs would be beneficial to all of the schools to be honest. Um >> when you write the number of occurrences like here it says crisis calls to administration 24. >> But then in the deescalation and student processing outside of the classroom there's also 24. Is that the same 24 or is there 104 total incidents? >> No. So, I was try I was trying to give you like the clearest picture I could. So, I wanted you to have the idea of the So, they're the same same

066number, same same occurrences. >> However, it starts with the crisis call over the walkie-talkie for administration. So, I felt like that was important for you to note 24 times that that that's happening on a daily basis, right? Um, and then the deescalation. So, it's it's and it's very hard to give a range, but typically we think of deescalation really again trying to figure out what even happened and then hoping that that student is able to communicate that and get to a place where now we've had a solution and we're ready to get back to class. Um, you know, sometimes I think it's important you see the ranges. Sometimes it's two hours. Um, so again, I think it just calls to the importance of we're talking about significant behavior. This isn't somebody saying no, they don't

067want to pick up their crayons. These are significant behaviors. Um, and again with that number, to your point, Mary Beth, it's hard to say that that could be a 25m minute gened classroom disruption, but it is the truth. And sometimes, you know, we're certainly not having a disrupted student in the classroom for two hours, but it's it's definitely impacting not just that student, Jennet as well. Um, so yes, that that was trying to explain that it's calls because I think you guys wanted frequency of calls at one point and then it's what happens when that call is made and we have a flowchart of who fans out to do what and we're really trying to delineate roles in that as best we can, but sometimes it might be two people that have to be there

068and then we peel off. Um, so it's not one-sizefits-all at all, but this was as trying to give you as much as I could to let you see kind of the profile of what it might look like. >> I have a couple other questions, too. What um what is like the typical response time from when, let's say, a teacher calls for help and someone actually is able to get to that call. >> Um, well, I mean, I think it's great. I I think we do that within under a minute. Yeah. And again, it's because with the responses, we all ascend and then peel off. >> So it it's, you know, wherever I am in the building, I'm going, the AP is going, the BCBA is going. I mean, crisis responder is there probably first. Um,

069but we're fanning out, going, assessing, and then peeling off as necessary. So, it's fractional. It I think it's really quick. >> Okay. Uh, what are the qualifications for this position? When we looked for this position, we really again to the mentorship. I was looking for somebody that had mentorship background. Um, and he does. Um, he was a therapeutic mentor. He has experience working he was working in the Lawrence public schools in a similar position. Um again that that sort of is familiar with um deescalating behaviors a lot of um adverse childhood experiences because I think that that's important too that you understand how you need to approach people. um he's done some traumainformed things but the the number one thing was that relationship building the experience with children and again it's K through eight so

070a span that was you know acceptable in terms of >> so there's not really a qualification or a certification >> he's not a certified teacher nope um but you know has some great experience and he's he's been great for us so >> and do they have access to this is my last question do they have access to communications with the parent because I feel like that relationship between the parent and that person offering that type of support. It may be beneficial to have a relationship, you know, where you can say, "Hey, Mrs. Smith, Bobby had this today." You know, >> yeah, I I think given that he's not a certified teacher, we're reluctant to do that. Um, we would always want a certified teacher to do that first. So, that's why he works in concert

071with the BCBA a lot, who is obviously certified, and then us in terms of administration, and then the classroom teacher. So um you know there are times where from uh like a behavior responding sort of situation we may write him into a reward for the student because now they have built you know some sort of relationship like that. Um we will communicate that with a parent and they can I've I've brought parents in to meet him. He's definitely part of the process but in terms of the daily communication or any sort of communication with the parent we leave that to like the certified you know teachers and administrators and things like that. Are the certified teachers involved in the behavior support? >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes, they would have to be. A lot of

072it is, you know, we're we're again we're we're being reactive, but we're also trying to put a plan in to be preventative. >> So, in terms of that preventative play, there might be a reward system, there might be a something that the student is doing, a leadership role. Um the teachers are it's a whole team and everybody has a very integral part in that. >> Okay. Thank you. Yep. You're welcome. >> Any other questions? If not, we'll move on. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Next, I'll invite member Donovan to share an update from our health and safety task force. >> Oh my goodness. >> The keeper of the notes. >> Yes, >> I didn't bring them. >> Um, so we met, we kind of regrouped after the new year and um

073we met about three weeks ago. Jump in any time there. um the mice issue. If I don't have my notes in front of me and I apologize, there has been um people are happy with the new company we have that is um reducing the number of rodents who enter our build into our buildings. However, with the cold weather, there was a surge around the building. Am I correct? Jump right in. >> So, yeah. So um the the new vendor found that our school buildings are >> under siege from uh an external standpoint. >> Right. Right. Not inside but outside. >> Not inside. Which tells us that all of the work that went into exclusion efforts is working quite literally wonders given how those boxes outside of the buildings are just being attacked. Um so uh

074we continue to see uh progress by way of keeping them out which is uh 90% of the battle I'd say on that front and so uh as long as we're able to maintain those exclusion efforts uh we'll continue to see that progress but it's remarkable to see the reports from Braymond and see how uh how important the exclusion efforts are because otherwise those buildings are under siege from the outside. They're switching to uh lethal bait. >> Yes. >> Originally, they wanted to get a sense of what the boxes were attracting. And so, now that they've had that initial uh glimpse, uh they're switching to lethal bait. So, hopefully that reduces the uh population outside of the buildings, but nevertheless, uh it is uh something that we need to continue to keep an eye on. when

075we meet again in a couple of weeks. >> Yeah. So, a couple of other developments. So, Inspector uh Darren D, who as I've mentioned numerous times is, uh on the city side at least our go-to project manager for a lot of these things. And so, uh we discussed the uh formal establishment of a framework with DPW. This is something that we've been, you know, uh, I guess experimenting with just in terms of practice here and there. Bringing in, for instance, the tree department folks to take care of Timothy Cory, as I referenced that many times. Uh, but something that we settled on so that we can have a framework going forward is to bring in DPW for a springtime cleanup external around the buildings, a fall cleanup, and as needed, of course, bringing them in

076to address issues that arise. But at least if we get into a consistent schedule of a spring cleanup, a fall cleanup, that'll uh give I think our uh MPS custodial teams and the contractors that we work with some breathing room in terms of addressing some of these issues, but most importantly keeping on them so that we don't have time going by and nothing's getting done. So, uh that's the framework that we're pursuing in the context of our relationship with DPW. Um we did have an issue uh feel free to chime in about uh the marsh uh some issues that were centered on not the boilers that were a topic of some discussion last year. This was uh mainly dealing with an issue uh that was brought about by the the frigid temperatures outside of the

077marsh. There is uh this uh gas line system where you have the intake from the broader uh gas line from the city and that system froze quite literally and that caused a disruption to uh the boilers and temperatures of course in the building dropped to roughly 50 degrees. uh at one point overnight um Sunday night into a Monday last week when we were there uh the auditorium was reading like 48 degrees uh and so that uh was a major issue but uh they're able to get everything back up and running and of course school was back in session not that Monday but on Tuesday. Um and so these are a lot a lot of issues that you know we have to work with the utility companies because that's really their equipment uh and the like

078outside but uh going forward um you know I think it speaks to the need for continued uh investment and improvements. So, uh, one of the things that, uh, Inspector D and I have been, uh, discussing is having, uh, this, uh, spring, uh, doing an overall facilities assessment. doing that from the city side, we would initiate that. Uh but taking a look at all of these buildings and uh having a more definitive capital improvement planning framework to go off of rather than okay, you know, taking issues as they come, having, you know, another pair of eyes from the outside, take a look and work with us on putting together a more definitive plan for the next couple of years of capital improvements. So, that's all ongoing. uh very important work and uh we're gonna keep you

079updated, continue to meet. Member Maxwell, >> just a question. When do you expect the um Marsha's heat to be 100% again? >> There are two handlers that need to be u pulled apart and redone. They're isolated right now, so we're not in danger or anything like that. The building is warm. Um >> all of the building, >> what's that? Well, for the most part, yeah. I mean, there are no places that are 57 or 40. >> I just know I got a call today asking about the heat at the marsh just because I know a teacher was wearing their jacket all day. >> If you tell me what room that is, we'll check to see if that >> I think it's the third floor. >> Two. It's the top floor. >> Okay. >> Um Yeah.

080So, I was just curious when that would be up and functioning total. Yeah, there are two that as soon as they can get on the roof and pull them apart. Um, but in this weather it's it's close to. So, but I will look into that tomorrow if you let me know who the teacher is of the room I can. >> Yep. Remember, >> do do we have like an an early warning system within our schools? Like if we have CO2 detectors, gas detectors, water detectors, because I know if we have like we're on vacation and we have depleted staff, that would be the biggest thing I'm worried about. >> All our boil all our boiler rooms have CO2 detectors. I believe they're quiet by code. >> And in terms of like the cafeteria areas, do

081we have detectors? >> Um, >> I'm thinking the the main areas I would think of the cafeteria is >> CO2. Definitely. CO2 definitely. And we also have um temperature gauges on our uh which is relatively new on our freezers and refrigerators so that if our freezers go down um an alert goes out to the kitchen staff or the maintenance staff to get on that so we don't lose all the frozen food. Um we also have um temperature controls that malfunctioned at the marsh. Um they should have notified us that u the boilers had gone off and it didn't. >> Okay. >> Um so we do have that technology. We need to make sure that all the right names, numbers, emails are kept up to date. That's part of the problem as well. >> Okay. >>

082All right. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Member Sice. >> I just wanted to thank the custodial staff. Um, member Maxwell and Vice Chair Desagio and I tooured the marsh in CGS Thursday. I can't remember which day it was last week. You would have never known there was any water issue in that in the marsh. They did a fantastic job cleaning it up. there was no signs of any issues there. So, I just want to thank them for their hard work and taking care of that because they really did a great job. >> I couldn't agree more. So, when we were there that night when all of this was unfolding, um there were rooms that had some leaks due to, of course, the drop in temperature and issues with the pipes and they were so

083fast to clean all that up and they they were there quite literally all night uh along with the vendor texts and such. So, uh, definitely kudos to the custodians. Absolutely. Anything else, member, uh, Keegan? >> Um, just a quick question. I know a bunch of parents have been asking, um, whether or not the marsh has to make up the day, um, at the end of the year. So, that's my question. So technically days that are missed um prior to um I believe it's March 31st would need to be made up. Um I am able to ask the commissioner because it was one school and it was a heating emergency. Um if they would be lenient in that, but most likely we will need to make up the time. Um, and if that's the case, then

084I will work with the union um to decide how that will be done. Um, but that would most likely be the case, although I will inquire. >> Thank you, >> vice chair. >> Thank you. And just to bridge off that quickly, is it possible for that school if we have two half days just to make it full days potentially so it doesn't impact the summer for them or a vacation? Um that was an idea I had as well. Um but we would need to um partner with um the MEA to make sure they're on the same page about that. >> And then any logs or tickets that may have been placed during the um flooding of the marsh or the the heating incident. Are all those tickets uh being addressed? >> We're working on them.

085Yes, there's there's a bunch. Um, and we're also g I'm going to reach out to I meant to do it when I was at the building the other day to make sure Miss Gordon um lets those teachers know who might have lost personal stuff or books or whatever that we order, you know, replacements uh for those areas. But um yeah, there's a bunch of tickets that they come in fast and furious and they're they're going through them as fast as they can. I know you sent me something today. >> It was cosmetic, >> but I couldn't open the pictures. >> All right, I'll send you the the ticket number if you could take a look at. >> Yeah. Thank you. >> Yep. >> All set. >> All right. >> We'll move on to the status

086update regarding the accelerated repair program application from Mr. Gosselin. >> Um I know Dr. Kuang reached out at middle of December. Um there was no response from the state. I reached out again last week uh via email pretty much saying, "Hey, we asked you and as far as I'm concerned, we haven't heard anything back." And I still haven't heard. So, I need to get an a number of somebody. All we have right now is an email and a like a service email uh that they've been communicate. They were communicating back when we had to fill out all the forms. They scheduled the inspections and the visits and all that other stuff and they seem to have gone um very quiet. So, um we'll reach out again this week. >> Mr. I I know with the

087green works program there's a certain timeline. This is like an open-ended thing because you were required to provide information to the state and you complied with that and there's been no forthcoming information back to you guys at all. >> Is that accurate? >> Yeah. They acknowledged that we had sent them we sent them all the information. They come out and inspected every building. They sent us reports and said read through them to make sure we didn't make any errors. So, we did go through those reports and there were a couple typos or things that weren't exactly right. I responded with the corrections. They sent back the corrected version to make sure we were good with it and they said that um they'll now review it and let us know about our status moving forward and

088we haven't heard. >> Okay. So my advice would be and again I'm one voice one vote. I would encourage the mayor to reach with the legislative delegation and in turn maybe they can reach out to the legislative lays on uh to put a fire into them because we are a gateway community and again I know Haveril was successful in receiving a good amount of money and that will help our community long term with these projects. So that would be something I encourage uh the superintendent and and the mayor to do is to reach out to our legislative delegation and in turn reach out to the legislative lays on good faith and say we've been in full compliance. Uh we'll weigh in feedback from you and what was the timeline? What how long of a delay

089it's been now? Well, I know the super um the superintendent sent an email middle of December, one of the times you had asked the next day she had sent an email and then I just sent another one last week. >> Okay. >> So, I can follow I was actually with the delegation this morning. I can follow up with them about this, but I also stay in touch with both Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, so I'll reach out to them as well. And I I think there's there's nothing wrong with it because whenever we've done approval of a school, whether it was the grammar schools or the high school um and I know I have 24 years experience at the state house, they encourage the legislative delegation to work with the legislative layon who who was

090married to uh the chair of the house ways and means committee. So I know her personally. So I know the mayor I have confidence in him as a segue into the governor's office. But I think at this stage we need that that higher up. I appreciate that. Thank you, Ian. >> And uh DJ, if you want, I can forward the emails that we sent so that have the backup. >> Yep. >> Thank you. >> Uh next we have the GLTS project job site update. >> Sure. The update there is that I did reach out to Superintendent Lavoy um and proposing the idea or asking about the feasibility of the idea of GLTS students um assisting with the completion of some projects in the district or even the district serving as a job site for the

091students. Um I have yet to hear back. Um but I will try um the assistant superintendent and see if I'm able to get a response that way. Um but just to let you know that um we are working on communication there. >> We'll hear from member Willlet from the vice chair and and obviously I've been in constant communication with member uh Brad Jones and he offered that his committee and the school would help Mthuan schools with projects and he works in the trade. So at this stage if something that we will need to reach out do me a favor probably within the next few weeks if you don't receive a response from the superintendent who pledged to work with Mthoan and that I know the city council there was a a ground swell to hold

092him accountable and then attorney said no we we're very responsive to Mthuan. I don't want this to be adversarial but I also don't want to have false promises to the city of Mthuan. So, please let me know. Give me an update probably the end of this month and we'll work with the mayor's office and our uh uh delegation to the vocational school committee. I know Brad Jones is very cooperative. He serves on that. Um the chair um and I definitely want to follow up on this as well because we read about in the paper at all times that they do projects and for them not to do that, for the amount of money we put into that school system, I think is atrocious. Um, at this stage I'm not happy with the superintendent, but again,

093I want to work through the channels again and with our elected officials over there. Thank you. I won't comment on the superintendent salary or promises but um this came up before about six or seven years ago and the insuranceances on the students was a big reason why we did not um move forward was because the the school wasn't going to take on the responsibility of an uncertified electrician or plumber etc. And the only way that they would be able to do it, if I recall, was if they were sponsored through like a Mr. Jones's company or something, and the company would sponsor them here as an opportunity of trade, but they had to take on the insurance risk. So, I'm not sure if that's part of the conversation that we need to have before we

094get sign off or maybe that's Mr. Lavoy's recollection of the conversation six or seven years ago. But that that did come up a lot when we just first opened the high school and and some of the work that needed to be done was the insuranceances. So just putting a little bit more legacy knowledge into it. >> But also I just want to piggy back on what you're saying. I understand in terms of the liability, but they might be able to do things on their campus and have it transported carpentry issues that they could do for us. You know what I'm saying? A new desk, a cabinets, bookcases. I mean basic stuff. So if that's that the impass is that they're not allowed to do for plumbing because they need a sponsor the liability insurance and

095which I can understand that but at least do something for our school district for the amount of money we send over to them and they were uh willing to work with us as the school committee members. So we can follow up. Thank you. >> Any other questions? If not, we will move on to student enrollment reports. Any questions regarding the enrollment data report, >> vice chair? >> And it's going to be more of a request um and uh I think it's going to be more for your notes that you provided um superintendent was that the committee should start meeting too. So for one of the committees, it's the redistricting committee which I'm a part of. I would like to see in the breakdown of student headcount per grade per school if possible so I can

096look at the volume of of the grade levels and then do we still have a district line map for the schools accessible like I remember we had one I don't think we've made any changes to it but do you have one >> we have um street listings um that's posted on our website um that denotes which district each street or addresses in if that's helpful to you. >> But there was no map of methan that said this right here, you know, the timasses. >> I think we might be able to make one if we don't have one. >> We we did have one at one point that I was doing busing off of. It was >> probably >> four feet wide on my wall and all kinds of highlights on it. Um I'll look to

097see if there's one around there. I know exactly who you're referring to, but if we have one, it's it's rolled up like a a blueprint. >> Whatever works. I'll take whatever works. I'll see what I can find committee. >> But the the last thing here too is is if we can also then get the historical K through first data for the last three years on enrollment of kindergarten into first grade 2 for all four schools as well. And just so that the committee knows why I'm looking at it is I know we've seen a decrease probably in kindergarten the last few years. I'm just assuming based off of just conversation. I'd like to see where those trends are and then also the enrollment on where they fall within the districts and and then if we

098can look at maybe an opportunity for us not maybe in 26 27 school year but maybe the 2728 school year when we have to look at the budget cycle consolidation of classrooms for maybe kindergarten and could that be at one school, two schools, three schools kind of thing. just to give you guys a reason for my mad science that I'm asking here. Um, and that could be before the next business meeting. It doesn't have to be for the workshop. So, the next business meeting would be appreciative. And then I'll book a meeting for the district replanning um for sometime in March. Thank you. >> I think I'll add to that too. um statistics regarding kindergarten, first graders attending special programming that's only housed in one school. That might be interesting as well. >> Perfect. Thank

099you. >> Any other questions? If not, we'll move on to the homeschool count. Any questions from the committee? >> Pretty straightforward. >> Um this is not necessarily about the homeschool account, and I think I should have kind of mentioned this a bit in the beginning, but I just wanted to see where the meeting kind of took us. Um, so I know I spoke previously about my apprehension with engaging in virtual drama regarding school politics, but I recently heard news which at best was pathetic drama and at worst to represented a huge failure from cult leaders who are failing to represent the people of Methuan and perpetuating mistrust and division within the within the system created for them. I sometimes think of myself as a downer always giving bad news but truth prevails and in that

100time is that when the highest levels of government is failing and is surrounded by failed it is even more important to be strong at local levels. I truly think some of the point and some of the plot is lost. It is my second year volunteering here and it seems it sometimes I sit here with like a loss of words to be able to represent the students properly because at times it seems as if my feedback is has a lack of meaning to it. Have we forgotten the work is for the kids and the people? Many faculty and staff have come up to me and expressed their disappointment with the leadership and the students hear about the failures from above and how they were excluded in decision in the decisions that affected them. I've spoken to

101faculty and staff just recently about budget cuts and how federal level cuts have affected them and it's only more disheartening and I think at times um it's hard to remember the fact that so how much the students are affected by it and how much effort and dedication these teachers and faculty give towards their district and they're not being recognized for it and their positions are being moved around which again is not always in our control But I feel like it's so important at times to understand like how our voice overall can be towards like as a guiding light for the faculty and staff here. Many times I'm hearing things about luck and how about like sometimes the cards are not in our favors or it's like a roll of dice about the decisions being made

102on at every level of politics. But I think it doesn't necessarily need to be something of chance but rather something of of a clear-cut decision. So I I think reflection is is so important at times like this where there's so much mistrust and division within our community um where we can really understand that the students who are being affected by these policies, how the students are at the core of the purpose and how important it is to consult students and to see where their head is at regarding all these topics. Um I'm frankly pretty embarrassed about the situations that I hear, which I hope that I'm wrong about. Um but I know the people that I've spoke about I spoke previously about that the people of Methuan are people who have integrity and people who

103are who work hard with dedication. So I know truth will prevail. But I just want to mention that that's all I got. Thank you. >> Thank you. Good words of wisdom. Any questions about the homeschool count? If not, we'll move on. Uh any questions regarding the Oh. >> Um so for the years that you have listed here, >> are they in are they inclusive of the same students? >> Yes. >> Okay. So they're not like 72 new students this year? >> No. No, that would be the total. >> Okay. So it's actually decreased over the past three years. >> Yes. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any questions regarding the reported exit status of unenrolled students? If not, we'll move on. Uh, any questions regarding the MPS attrition rates posted by DESIE? If not, we'll move

104on to the student services report. Any questions about the assistant superintendent of student services report? If not, we'll move on to the HR report. Any questions from the committee? Next on the agenda, we have the discipline report, questions, comments. Uh, next on the agenda, we have old business and other pending matters. There are none. Following that, we have new business. Uh, any questions regarding the program of studies from the committee? Actually, you know what we should what we should do is um let's have this be discussion. We need a motion and a second to approve the Mthuan High School program of studies and then we can engage in uh questions, discussion, etc. Do we have a motion and a second to approve? >> Second. >> All right. We have the motion from I believe member

105Keegan, the second from member Soy. We Let's engage now in discussion. Member Wlette, did you have anything? No. >> Member Maxwell, >> I just have one question. I know last year we went from um two ASL classes to one and I noticed this year it's not offered at all. Um is that there a reason for that or we just didn't have the interest or >> I believe that was removed last year. >> Oh. Oh, we went from one to none last year, right? Oh, my apologies. Sorry. That's okay. No, uh we had had it in the program of studies as a hope that we'd be able to offer it. Um it was very difficult to staff and then also to offer a subsequent class. So to align with um the common core, you need two

106um years of a language in order to meet that standard. So um we're in a place where students were taking the one but weren't able to get to the second um course in a nutshell. >> Thank you. And we do have principal Caret here and several of the administrators from the high school. If you have particular questions, I'm sure they'd be happy to respond, >> vice chair. >> Thank you. And first, I want to thank all the department heads for being here at this hour, too. So, thank you guys and and to Mr. Caret. So last year, if I recall, during the budget cycle, there was a huge push for theater arts and there was a conversation of it being removed and it going to English, if I recall, based off of a position being

107transitioned. I see it still under fine arts. So, did anything in here in the course curriculum change from last year or did that not occur? um that staff member um is teaching some courses in the English department but predominantly teaching in the fine arts department um and that decision was made due to the enrollment very small enrollment in a couple of the offerings. So those were collapsed and then um because the teacher is duly certified and had experience in both departments it made sense to alleviate some of the load in the English. >> So it's still going to so it's still in the their respectful departments. It didn't get absorbed into like that course work. Yeah, exactly. In the different departments. >> So all of the courses here are either are the same. Is there

108any net new courses that we have of seeing? >> Um so in the memo that Mr. Caret uh provided we do have um a couple new offerings that are being proposed um particularly um AP business and personal finance which is an exciting offering um through the CTE department um integrated math one for English learners um similar to our um algebra 1 in geometry for English learners um and then also an integrated math 2 and that would help uh achieve the competency determination um that some some students are seeking depending on when they enroll in high school. >> So the ad is the new >> Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Other questions? I'll quickly wrap. It's great to see more of this financial literacy uh content being offered, which is great. So, I'm all in favor.

109Uh so, we have a motion in a second. Uh we just engage in some discussion, ask some questions. We'll take a vote now on approving the Mthoon High School program of studies. All those in favor say I. >> I. I. >> Opposed? >> The eyes have it. Uh next, uh we have the superintendent search firm selection. I'm gonna ask Miss McCarthy to join us. She's in the back. She might not be able to hear us. So, what I'm going to ask is for a motion and a second uh to approve and then we'll engage in discussion um with Miss McCarthy. >> Motion from member Donovan. Do we have a second? >> Second uh from member Keegan. And this is about the superintendent uh search. I think there might be some elements of this process that

110are unfinished. And so if need be uh depending on the direction we take uh we we could uh go ahead and vote in favor of this. Uh if there are other questions or anything unsettled uh we could always table, but I'll pass it off to Miss McCarthy. So, I compiled um the scores that you all rated, the three companies that submitted the RFP um and they came out in the order of um HYA received um Zeal uh received a score of 195 and NASDAQ received a score of 132. So your option at this point is to go with HYA and we can open up the financial portion of the RFP or where they were so close HYA and ZEL you can choose to interview the those two companies. So it's whatever route you would like

111to go. It's how we will proceed. So this is something a decision that I'm not able to make on my own as the chair. This is something for the body to decide. Um my inclination would be to proceed with the highest rated company, but um I'll leave that to the body. That's something we have to decide collectively. Vice Chair, >> thank you. I did uh very much like both and I was very close. I think I was a point off for my my evaluation of the two. The one thing I would say is Zil seemed to have a little bit more expertise in almost everything else too. and uh with the idea of a potential fiscal audit too that we were discussing. >> Yeah, we got no bids for it, by the way. >> Well,

112we have to go back out. >> I get that. But that's what I'm saying is this they might be interested in that and I wouldn't want to to mix. But at the same time, um that's an opportunity for us to potentially let them know about that RFP. Um, but I really did like HA and and and the reason why I did uh vote for them a little bit um further was because of their expertise in the local market and and and that was something that I thought Zil had more of a global reach too. But I I I like the idea of going with the highest one. We don't have a lot of time here to decide between the two. Um we we had an evaluation and they beat it out. Um but with that

113mindset, I do think Zale has an opportunity to do other work for us potentially somewhere else where the where this company does not have it. So that's the only thing I wanted to say. Thank you. I I would just like to say I I think uh I had a dead heat in my scoring between the um Zeal and HYA both brought very different things to the table um from Zeal's um one of the executives who I think you know very interesting history as a superintendent in a couple of schools in Massachusetts and could probably speak very well to the experiences our superintendent, former superintendent experienced. And then we have HYA, which has so many has a giant list of companies of school districts. So, I would say I would like to have them both come

114in um or we could do it whatever via Zoom just to get some more details about what they could offer us. I also feel that we're kind of pumping the brakes and thinking very carefully about how quickly this could go. We are not obligated, are we Miss McCarthy, to do this immediately? Could we say we can call you in to look for someone in the school year? Not this was it not 26 but in 27. I I think you can a I think you have to start the work. Am I correct? >> How does Yeah. How does this work? I was told it can cross into two years and RFD. I'm not a purchasing agent, but I was told it could cross over into two years. >> If we create a a purchase order in

115this fiscal year and they don't finish the work, it can be carried over, but it should be done by um pretty much January 1 of the following fiscal year >> of the following fiscal year. Okay. Uh we could also split it if we know they're going to carry over and do you know half the cost in this fiscal year, half the cost in next fiscal year and that alleviates that problem of >> crossing over. >> Thank you. >> Okay, that's my suggestion. >> Member Keegan. Um, I don't feel like we're in a huge rush to pick a um, company right now because we're not going to get a superintendent by July 1st. I I realistically speaking, we're just not. And so, I have to agree with me Donovan that I would like to talk to

116them because I feel like the ratings of what we were rating them against wasn't necessarily what their benefit to us was. Um, and so some of the things that they were offering, um, one was offering and one wasn't. And I feel like Zeal offered a lot more support to us in the selection process in in the education of how to select a superintendent and in the year-long support after the fact. Um, and so I I have to agree with member Donovan. I would like to have them both come in so we can hear more about those particular things. Um, so that's where I'm at. >> Just to clarify procedurally, so we have uh on the agenda tonight a vote on selecting a firm. So we have a motion in a second. We're discussing that. If

117it is the preference of the body to perhaps interview and kind of slow this down a little bit just in terms of going with a particular vendor, we could table the motion here to formally appoint um the firm or at least proceed with uh the next steps in the the procurement process with a specific firm uh and we could engage in those conversations. So that's what I would recommend in terms of parliamentary procedure if the preference is to uh conduct some further conversations potentially with both members so >> when they come in to talk to us is that a cost on us or a cost on them? >> Well largely speaking I think um you know the RFP process is a conditional exercise. It's not like we're awarding, you know, a contract that would marry

118us to a specific cost, especially if we're trying to make a decision and engaging in further conversation. That's something that we can confirm. But from what I understand of the process, if we had other questions or if we want to engage in further conversation, it's not like we would have to compensate them for that. So if the preference is to perhaps engage in further conversation and and talk with the two top firms, then we probably want to motion a table. >> I just have one question before you do. >> Sure. >> The RFP did not mention anything about interviews, correct? Is that going to >> It did. That's why we can That's why we can bring them in. we are only allowed to open up the uh cost for the company that you've ch you've

119chosen. So that's why I didn't open that >> where they were close. I figured I would >> And to Ian's point about breaking the POS too, don't forget there's going to be a lot of marketing materials that need to be created between the this point of the year and then if we were to wait until after July 1, that could be when we start executing the search. So there's could be some prep time versus execution. I'm assuming we could do >> I'll make it work. >> Okay. >> Whatever we got to do, we'll make it work. >> So I'll motion to table unless there's any other comment. >> Second. >> So we have the motion to table from the vice chair. A second I heard from this corner Donovan. Yep. All right. All those in

120favor of tableabling um so that we can talk with the two top vendors say I >> I >> opposed. All right. The eyes have it. So that's been tabled. Next on the agenda we have finance and operations. Uh we have the expenditure report and the revolving funds report. Any questions? >> I just have one question on the on the um revolving Be >> before you do that, can I just talk about the general budget one? >> Sure. >> Um, next meeting, I'm going to probably be coming to you to ask to move some funds to cover plowing. Um, the fixes at the marsh as well as utilities are through the roof. Um, so I'll just giving you the forewarning that I'll I'll fine-tune the finances, see what's available where. I may be asking for um

121professional salaries that we haven't filled yet. some of it be moved over to contracted services to cover those items. But I just want to give you the heads up. >> Thank you. Member will >> I just have one on the revolving account. >> Oh, yeah. Finish up and then we'll move on >> and and I guess I can jump ahead to a little bit. I I appreciate you sending the uh the u the rates of all the um facilities. Where would that fall in the revolving account >> facility rentals? >> Is that Oh, okay. There it is. Okay. Sorry. >> Yep. >> Cross side. Okay. >> I don't want to ask too many questions on the actual facility cost. Is there a way to break that up on where we receive the funding? Like >>

122um yeah, it's going to take some time to pull the deposits out. >> I'll give you a month. >> Okay. Thanks. >> Or more. That's fine. Four weeks. I do I know you're not asking the question right now, but the last meeting she asked about the revenue for it was only 25 and now I believe it's 29. Um and we just got another check in for about 12 grand. So it's going up very quickly. So I did want to get back to that. Yeah, if we could just see where that is because if you if majority of it's the fieldhouse and like we only got the auditorium twice this year. I want to see that change a bit. And I think the the 300, right, is using the auditorium for a concert coming up. Is

123that >> Yeah, that's uh the city's arranging for some concert. Yes. >> Yes. And are they paying for that or is or is that donated? >> Um well, that would be the city. So um >> thank you. I just want I want to be a helping hand, too. But I just I'm curious on how we're going to be using >> I'm not sure exactly if this was a fundraiser for the city. I don't know if it's a separate organization. I don't really know. I just know they're using the auditorium. Um I do know that Karen Lawler will come to me and say, "What am I charging them if anything?" Um I don't >> I don't foresee us making a profit off the city. No, but we shouldn't lose money. >> Not either. But that was

124kind of a question that I had on on on just that. But if we are using the auditorium for like that purpose, >> that's what it was meant for. So if we're only getting like two bookings a quarter, how do we beef that up? And I understand students come first, but if it's sitting empty, I rather be able to to try to promote it. >> Okay. I'll also see if we can share the calendar with you so you can see how often it is used. >> Yeah. >> You know, in school, out of school, >> or out of school. I I'm fine with the in school, but it's the out of school part that really I that that was built to be like >> competitor to Andover. I know I sound like a broken record.

125>> Correct. >> Arthur Nicholson when we donated that back 10 years ago. We were said we were going to use it for bookings and and I I don't see a lot of events out of it from >> You do have to understand that we have a theater program as well. They put on musicals and they set up those those sets and they practice and they rehearse and they and while that's going on, you can't really have people coming in and clearing all this stuff out. >> Yeah. >> You know, so it's we we'll look at the calendar. I mean, we try to get in as much as we can. a lot of times in June. Um the big dance time we have, you know, weekends at a time. They'll come in Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

126Um so that's that's a lot of the time that we get, but the school events aren't happening at that time. >> I get it. I get it. I mean, the big theaters book it out and they they I get that. I I mean I'm thinking of like the Colin Center books it out for two months because of their performing arts team is in Andover is taking it and then they have something lined up behind it. So it's just just that mindset is it's a money revenue generator for us and you know the the costs are going up you know and >> I don't disagree but you do have to understand we have one part-time person who oversees the auditorium. >> Okay. So one schedules it, make sure it's maintained, you know, does all the communication,

127actually comes in when we have rentals to oversee the the kids who are we have kids who act as ushers and work the tech booth. We have one part-time staff member. So I don't know how the call-in center works, but I'm willing to bet they have more than one part-time employee. >> It's also Andover, so >> I don't know, though. I mean, maybe they don't. Thank you. >> We'll hear from member Maxwell, then member Keegan, and then members. >> Um, a couple questions. So, off of the second list that you sent me with the um spaces I I don't know if that's what he's referring to, but the spaces that are rented, >> how many of those or maybe we could talk about this after, but um how many of those are are donated time

128versus paid for time? >> I can go through that list with you. Okay. Um, typically we don't donate a lot as I just said with the city. We're not looking to make a profit, but we don't want to lose money either, right? >> Um, if we if it's a a local organization, >> um, doing youth basketball, PUP one, or whatever, usually we just ask them to cover the overtime of whoever we have to bring in. It's usually $50 is what we charge them per hour. >> Um, so it's things like that. >> And those programs are the most of our rentals, right? I mean, >> there there's a lot. Yeah. >> Yeah. Okay. Um, the other questions I had were for, and you may have answered this in the past, um, but the Unified Talents

129Ski Club, >> every school has their own ski club account. So, which what is this one for? >> That, um, that they shouldn't have a student activities one. >> They don't. >> That's a district-wide ski club account. They pay into it for the busing and then we cut a check out of there for the busing. >> No, maybe it's beat. Maybe I was thinking of bowling bowling. I was thinking of bowling. >> Yeah. >> Sorry. >> No, that's all right. >> Um and then uh the other student activities, what is that fund for? >> Other student activities is pretty much anything that doesn't fall into any of these other categories. For example, um say the the staff does a fundraiser. I don't know, not the kids because that would go into student activities, but say

130the staff does a fundraiser, I don't know, selling plants or whatever. We we used to call it a PBIS account. The stu the schools would do a fundraiser to raise money to buy incentives for kids or you know maybe do a student of the month lunch and that kind of stuff. So each of those school each of the schools has one line in there where they can raise money and put it in there to use it for stuff incentives and that types of things. >> So if they have like a PBIS store, they can use those funds to cover the stuff for the store. >> Yeah. >> Oh, interesting. As long as the money's raised by the staff, >> not the kids. >> Gotcha. Okay. >> Uh because as soon as it's raised by the

131kids, it belongs to the kids. >> Student activities. >> Goes in the student activities. >> Thank you. >> Um there also other ones in there. For example, the high school run >> um it's a coffee I think. I don't know if it's the chorus or the band or whatever. They run a chorus and it's specifically for >> um scholarships at graduation. So that goes specifically into that line for scholarships and graduation. Gotcha. >> So that's that's the type of stuff that's in there. Awesome. Thank you. >> Welcome, member Keegan. Um, you mentioned that utilities are going up. Um, is there a rental agreement for dits and place with the city for them to be paying part of those costs or is the school still eating the entire cost of displace? >> There is no agreement

132for dits and place between us and the city. >> Okay. So, the city is not paying any anything towards dits and place for DPW and for >> at this point. No. >> No. Okay. Thank you. Just keep in mind it's all the same bucket. Members choice. >> I just um threw you to to um Ian Goen. I just wanted to ask you I remember last year during budget season you were very concerned about level funding the utilities. Is this what you were worried about? What's happening now? >> I I think we kept getting in an argument about whether we're going to level fund or whatever and I'm like I don't think I went up enough, you know. Um, and with the wet the temperature and everything, we didn't go up enough. Um, the bills are

133coming in really high. Um, I mean, we're not we're not in danger. Like, we have money in our budget to cover it. Um, but, um, we're just going to have to move it. >> So, at this point, you're already going to be transferring money. >> Next meeting. I'm going to ask specifically for the Marsh, but I want to get those invoices in. see exactly what I'm chasing. Plowing. I'm hoping by the next meeting a lot of the snow will be done and we'll have some invoices to to get a good handle on exactly and then I'll look at the I mean we're not we're not in the red yet, but we're going to be in the red shortly in um utilities. I just want to get ahead of it. >> Right. Perfect. Thank you. >>

134Member Wlette then vice chair. >> What's the status of the solar panels for the schools? RFP is on its way out the door so we can get okay >> some proposals. >> So we're looking at uh July for a deadline for those credits. >> Yeah. >> Okay. Well, we'll get a status report uh at the next meeting. >> Yeah. And actually ditto for the school bus stop arm system. >> I appreciate that. >> Yeah, of course. >> And then I had some other questions. It might have been talked about in the past and please excuse me. The other student activities, what does that entail? Yeah. >> Yeah. Student of the month, that kind of stuff. As well as if money specifically raised So, the only thing is like it escalated. Um, and so I don't

135know if we should get a report or if we're going to start depleting some of these accounts. I mean, I'm like a broken record about our parking uh account, but also the other uh student activities. Um, that's close to $200,000 now. So, I'd like to start seeing that depleted. Um, on the flip side, in terms of the the circuit breaker, and this might be a loaded question. Um, how are we on that? Because I'm very concerned about that going into the next fiscal year because we usually done a carryover. >> Yes. Um, my goal is to do another carryover. >> Okay. >> Um, this past year we carried over about 6.2 >> billion, which was more than I anticipated. So, I was happy with that. Um, right now based on what I know we're spending

136out of circuit breaker, I expect to have at least $2 million remaining at the end of the year. Um, anything that we don't spend from vacant positions and stuff like that, we'll do the same thing we did last year and do the transfer of expense, leaving all whatever remaining money. So, my goal is to have I'm not going to give you a number, but more than $2 million in there moving forward. hopefully will end closer to where we were this past year. >> Now, is that >> But we're not going to be in the red. >> No. Okay. And now, is that comparable to without the infusion? Take aside the late uh Hail Mary pass of the infusion of money from the state. >> Is that uh comparable to other uh fiscal years of having

137that amount? >> No, we're going to be a little we're going to be a little light. >> Okay. That's what I I thought too. Okay. So, we would really have to focus on that. And again to the legislative delegation that that saved us. That's a huge uh factor for our budget. Yeah. With transportation, utilities, and healthcare. >> Um so I can't emphasize that enough, but maybe we'll have to talk about that during a budget time very soon. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Other questions? No. Uh we'll move on to the grants report. Any questions from the committee? If not, we'll move on to the student activity reports. We were starting to cover that. Any other questions? Member Maxwell, >> I noticed one of the schools had I think like $10,000 in their student deficit

138account. >> Um, >> let me look into exactly where that came from. >> I'm sorry. The tenny. >> Yeah, the tenny. I'm looking at it. Yeah. >> I didn't know. I mean, is there I don't want to say a rule, but is there some sort of like, hey, you you know, you got a lot of money there. Let's do something with it, you know? >> Yes. Yes. I will find Well, first of all, I'll find out where it all came from. Um, but it has to be spent on students. >> That's what I mean. Let's do a field trip or something. I don't >> Over the past years, many administrators have wanted to use it for, you know, to buy rugs for the classroom or buy and I'm like, "No, you can't." if the students

139aren't taking it home, if they're not if it's not a party for them, if it's not an activity they're going to do, then you can't spend the money on it. But >> yeah, >> if they wanted like a subscription uh service, like if a teacher wanted a subscription service to like um Scholastics monthly magazines, would that work in that? >> Um possibly. >> Okay, >> we could probably move. So, a lot of that student deficit comes from either um interest from the bank because that's not really tied specifically to a student group as well as we do get I don't know what percentage it is but depending on who we get pictures from. So, if we go to say life touch our kids buy they give us like a kickback. I hate that term but

140we get like 10% check for the school to use for student activities. So, we put it in there so that when a kid can't afford to go on a field trip, we use that money that So, >> I Well, usually we usually see like a couple grand in there, but when I saw 10,000, I was like, "Oh, maybe maybe they should do something." >> Yeah. >> But all right. Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> I assume with the eighth grade trips coming up and I know they have a couple other petting field trips that that should go down. >> Any other questions? If not, we'll move on to the food services report. I just want to mention at the outset that um I have not seen the uh cafeteria wreck in my queue in Munis

141yet. So, I'll follow up on that um with uh the finance folks. Uh aside from that, I don't have any other updates, but any other questions? Mor Maxwell, >> the January featured menu items, are those in the grammar schools, too, or just the high school? >> I don't know. >> Okay. >> I will ask I'll ask Mr. >> And they sound great. She's Burger Calone and >> Yeah, >> I know the walking taco was in the grammar schools. Okay. >> Yeah. I I'll see if it was everywhere or if there's maybe you can tell us. >> I was He He was had his hand up, so >> Okay. No, I don't have a comment about the lunch menu, but I was wondering about the cafeteria in general. I know Mr. Caret um and Mr. Friday,

142they proposed that like the whole new makeover. Um I spoke to Mr. Caret about maybe having some student feedback into that. I was wondering if like is that still up to date or is there maybe like a pause in it? >> So, at this point, uh they're looking at rescheduling the project to rather than doing it during the February break, doing it during the April break. And so I I guess at this point there there's still maybe some time to offer up some suggestions since we do have that extra time. So I would certainly recommend reaching out maybe to Mr. Fatty, Mr. Curet for sure. Um but you know once uh we get that cleared into my queue for uh the Munis wreck then I'll take care of patching that through. But if we have

143some extra time then keep me posted if you're able to have any other conversations and we'll more. >> Thank you. Any other questions? If not, we'll move on to the warrant report. Any questions regarding the warrant reports? All right. Uh, next we have on the agenda contract approvals. There are none. Uh, acceptance of new fiscal year 26 grant awards. Uh, none on the agenda. I want to mention and I've been in touch with the city council about this. Uh, so we are in the process of beefing up in general on the city side, but I know there's probably going to be some school tie-ins as well, beefing up our grant writing operations, really being intentional about going out to get more state and federal grants. I actually had a meeting today uh with um the

144new district director for Senator Marky and we were sharing ideas about some projects that we want to get after in terms of some federal grants. It's interesting how uh we wouldn't think that we're having a lot of federal opportunities opening up right now, but surprisingly there are still some. Uh so uh that's something that we're uh getting after uh quickly now. Um >> position, >> so here's the thing. Uh former mayor Perry had posted that position and there was no interest in in the position, especially given what it was paying. So, what we're doing now is we're going out to bid uh for uh state and federal grant writing services, but I also have a bid alternate in the works where we're going to go out for just a federal quote because uh there are

145some folks in the area who uh we have some leads in terms of folks who might be able to help us with the state side >> uh grants. So, uh, that's something that I want to have, uh, confirmed before the city council in terms of contracts and the like, uh, leading up to the budget because that's going to be, you know, an area that we're going to need to focus on in terms of helping raise some revenue. >> Um, yes. >> Is that something that I know we've been talking about consolidating departments. Is that something that can be consolidated in with the school department so that we could have also piggyback onto that? I'm not sure what exactly that is, but >> yeah. So, I I that's a conversation that we could have uh with

146the acting superintendent if that might be an area where there's some opportunity, you know, because these folks, especially the federal lobbying firms, uh they're getting after all sorts of different areas and I I would venture a guess that education is certainly one of them. So, if there are tie-ins, I I I think it'd be foolish for us to not take advantage of those opportunities. Uh so uh we'll uh certainly keep that in the mix. Uh next we have uh notification of appointments and other personnel matters. We need a motion in a second to approve one program assistant for the pathways resource room at the CGS. So >> second >> motions from the vice chair, seconds from member Keegan. Discussion. Member Maxwell. >> Um how many of these have we approved? And I feel like we've

147approved these a lot lately. >> This particular request is due to a a student needing to change classrooms and so the classroom the student is moving to isn't equipped um to assist them without the program assistant. Um so we did try a number of ways to see if we could rearrange um but we couldn't. So usually at this time of year it's for students moving in district or a re-evaluation that require additional staff or a programmatic change >> one to one. >> Oh yes. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Any other questions? If not we'll vote. All those in favor? >> Opposed. The eyes have it. Uh next on the agenda we have other business from the committee. Member Daglio. have a request for a discussion on the facility rental rates. We've kind of gone into

148that a little bit, but I don't know if you have anything else to add. >> No, not to the rates, but I, you know, business of the committee. Um, you know, the student rep said something earlier tonight and he's he's spoken up a few times over the last year and I got to commend you for doing it. I I I appreciate your your insight in all this. and you know someone that's been in this role and in in your role because Mr. Goslin was on the school committee when I sat where you were uh but we didn't have an actual student. I was part of the the student council and Mr. Boagard was the class president at the time you know. Yeah. Yeah. He was the class president and he was the school committee secretary

149or vice chair at the time. I forget what it was. You were you were but I looked at our politicians in awe and you know and and that's a huge thing and for 10 years I've met a lot of great people in this role and and in other roles and the one thing about tonight's school committee is again our all our meetings together we're we've been unanimous and I think these meetings are becoming a lot better. I think we are actively working as a team. But the one thing is is that we're only powerful and I use that word term powerful. We only have the ability to induce change when we're in a quorum. Outside of this room, our voice, our opinions do hold cloud. People look up to us like yourself and and other

150members of the community. The one thing I will say is the way that things need to happen is you need to represent your community the way you would want your community to represent you. And that's how you go and that's how we make change. Our community is our home. So just remember that you're a senior, right? When you accept a college, you're going to be going to a new community, but this will always be your home and you're going to be proud of that hopefully wherever you end up and you could say Mthuan. That's what I did when I went to SUFFK is I was proud to be from Mthuan and I came home and here I am. And hopefully you'll do the same in 10 years from now. All right. Thank you. >> For

151sure. No, I appreciate the comments. Um, that's the goal. That's the goal. I hope. Um, and to go off your comment, I do have a lot of pride for Mthuan and sometimes I I think often with my friends about like visiting back home like after like you know spending a few years in college or even past that and like we're going to come back and everything is going to be changed and everything's going to be different. But like I remind my friend and I remind myself that like it doesn't matter like how much like it looks different. Like Methuan is is kind of built from the people and it's built from like obviously I was born here, right? So I've been here for a minute. So, I've kind of seen like how it's changed a

152little bit and I think that's that's the testament to the Mthuan community is the people inside of it rather than just like the visual appeal. Um, but yeah, of course, I'm proud to be a Mthuan and that's why I guess it makes more sense to me why it frustrates me sometimes when I see the the hate that sometimes fers within our community because it's like I'm proud to be Maduan. Like this is not what Mthun is about at all. Um, so yeah, that's that's kind of why and that's why I I really really hope that um people can go for everyone. I speak to myself first and foremost. And I think I forget to say that sometimes, but um everyone across the board can like understand other people's perspective and and be open-minded and and

153learn at the end of the day. Um and understand our education system is for for the students and like keep that at the core of it. kind of work together just a little bit more and um be a lot better experience for everyone. That's all. >> I'm all set. I don't have anything else to say. >> TJ, >> yes, >> just real quick since we're kind of still on facility rental a little bit. Um we gave you the rates, but there's also a policy that is ancient and doesn't really match the rates. Uh, so I don't know if that's something the policy subcommittee wants to tackle and maybe go through. Um, because it's in desperate need of updating and it's I don't think it's necessarily an MSBA. MSBA. Yeah. No, MSBA is you know what

154I'm saying. Um, I don't think it's a we have to go to the MESC to to rewrite it because it's more specific to our facilities. Uh, but if the policy committee wants to tackle that, um, it's it's overdue and I don't remember who's on the policy committee. I'm just throwing it out there. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Member will this is going to be the fun one uh because again I I think there's an a movement in the community to explore consolidation. Now, we've had uh a legal battle and I think that that plane is landing and I and I think the school committee will have the final determination that it was in the right and that battle's been for the last two years. So, I want to put that to bed. I also

155want to emphasize that I campaigned on a platform of consolidation and I know the mayor yourself campaigned on a platform of consolidation. It was just the methodology of how we were going to approach it. So I want to emphasize again probably for the 10,000th time that I wasn't the reason for the impass, but I'm also there to explore the possibility of consolidation. Now, I know I've had conversations with the vice chair and I've listened to the input from the community and I I think the vehicle could be uh the calling center uh for public uh management to do an independent analysis of our school system and ways that we could potentially have partnerships with the city. Uh and that might entail consolidation. uh that might entail something similar to what we've had agreements with DPW

156and our work crew. Um again, I'm very ler about um city solicitor and legal services. Um I I believe that the city solicitor was going on the wrong track in terms of his legal reasoning. Um I think the judge was in our favor regarding that the executive branch could not unilaterally impose its will in terms of consolidation. Uh the city solicitor is still on the mindset that the city council and the charter commission could proceed with consolidation without the approval of the school committee in conjunction with the city council. I want to emphasize again like I did last year is that I have no adversarial problems with the city council. I don't have any adversarial problems with the mayor. I've had disagreements with him in the past. I've told him my concerns. I've given him

157uh friendly advice based on my years of experience. I want to start exploring um cost savings within this system. We had a a triage situation where we've had manifested decades of neglect in terms of maintenance and upgrades that need to be accomplished. I think we're also working with the hopefully accelerated repair program and the capital improvement uh program and working with our partners with the city council who have always approved of emergency measures uh to approve the help with our schools. So I want to emphasize that whatever and again I represent one voice one vote but I think we should start exploring as a committee looking at the Collins Center for Public Management. they have decades of experience. I think they could give us very favorable terms of doing an intervention to study our system.

158Um, and that's what I would toss out there for conversation. Thank you. Is there anything else to add? >> Member Donovan. >> Just really quickly, I know that when we were invited and I appreciated the invite to the charter commission, there was a lot of discussion. I you brought up um feasibility stuff, a needs assessment perhaps. Um >> I don't know if I brought it up, but I'll take credit for it. >> Okay. Well, and also sitting nearby was former mayor Daglio who talked about maybe a feasibility study in terms of the consolidation and I my one question like that costs a lot of money and I know it would be under your purview. I would assume, you know, we don't seem to have any takers for the audit, financial audit. Could that money be

159used for something productive like a feasibility study or a needs assessment to see what would be the right fit? >> I need to be so careful because we have ongoing litigation and I think you guys are suing me and we're going to stop that. >> Yeah, that's true. Um, now are you talking about a feasibility study about consolidating it? No. >> Oh, I'm talking everything, not just it, because you know, members of the charter commission with throwing and I don't want to put you, you know that I don't want to put you on the spot, but it just seems like there was some good ideas that came out of how we could work together and save money. And if I need to retract everything I said, I wasn't even thinking about the lawsuit against you,

160mayor. But but I do think I mean I'm I was just thinking about disparities in salaries from schoolside to city side. All these little things that if we just jump into the pond we might drown drown without >> I'll share some thoughts because I I I believe I'm among friends here um >> on camera. >> So friends countrymen. So, um, and I obviously needing to be as cautious as possible given the fact that this is a sensitive topic currently until it's finally settled. Um, but I'll just state a couple of facts uh to provide some context and to answer member Wlette's uh comment. Uh so long and short of it and uh attorney Macaro might have a couple of thoughts here and if I'm speaking out of turn uh scream and flow your hands. Um

161but long and short of it is that uh the basic disagreement I think resulted from uh two different aspects of state law where you had chapter 278 of the acts of 2018 per my conversations with Sean Cronin DLS and also uh I I'd done some outreach to the Collins Center um as part of this uh it was pretty clear for 278 that there were provisions that allowed for this level of consolidation. But here's the thing. Um the the judge determined that uh it was kind of like a mixed bag. the determination uh that the the judge provided. Uh but the clear the clearest aspect of this whole thing is that there's another statute chapter 71 section 37mm and I spoke to this during the last city council meeting uh when this was brought up where

162ultimately per 37M and I think this is in place and this is the overarching >> guiding light regardless of what you know is discussed by way of the charter right state law is very clear per 37mm instead of 278, leaving that aside, that uh anything like this would need a vote, an affirmative vote of the school committee and the city council. And I'm just going to hearken back to some conversations that I had had last year with colleagues on on this uh board that you know seem to indicate to me that look if we're able to have some type of consolidation framework that preserves the IT services as our students and educators benefit from them as we sit here now as long as there's no impact to that um if there is a demonstrable cost

163savings, I think that there is a widespread openness to having this conversation uh on that basis where as long as you know we're not messing with the Chromebooks, right? As long as we're not causing issues with um you know things from an edtech standpoint and as long as we can demonstrate a cost savings, this could be a possibility. In terms of what member Wlette is suggesting, you know, I I've, as I mentioned, I've had contact with the call-in center in the past. Um, I would recommend that this is something that we would go out to bid for because there are other firms like McKenzie, etc. that specialize in this type of thing. Um, that might be possible option for us to look at. But I think of course we're we're trying to get the settled

164out of the legal system. Um and once you know we do that obviously as as part of this ongoing effort to land that plane uh my commitment is anything that we discuss going forward has to be in keeping with chapter 71 section 37mm and it would need to be something that would pass muster among the school committee among the city council in keeping with state law. uh so uh you know I'm I'm happy to engage in a discussion like this you know if it's something where we can see a path forward for the school committee collectively uh to try to arrive at some type of agreement on what a framework would look like I do think it is helpful to have uh a you know an outsers's point of view by way of management consulting

165firm taking a look at this offering some ideas for us to consider uh so long and short of Um, a city councelor during last meeting asked me, you know, if I would be open to this. I I'm going to say this respectfully in response to any questions like that. I along with I know Mayor Perry as well, you know, we we kind of came up with the idea. You know, of course, I I'm all in favor of finding cost savings and consolidating where we can, but of course, it has to be done in compliance with state law, and it would need to be a framework that uh musters the support of not only this committee, it has to get through the city council, too. So, uh I think it does require in terms of a

166conversation, uh a lot of collaboration between myself, but also the school committee and the city council. So, you know, I think we have to do whatever we can by way of finding cost savings and increased efficiency. Um, but we got to do it in keeping with state law. So, I'm kind of rambling at this point. I apologize. Any other questions, comments? >> Just a few over here. >> Just respectfully, I'm going to say this for the record. I've been very quiet in terms of working with your administration. Um, but if I have any gruff or reaction from a certain part of the administration, it's not working on the same page with with you and also with with the charter commission. I have certain concerns about certain members of that charter commission based on what they've

167done in the past telling me about fiscal restraint and good governance. I'm not going to take that lecture from somebody on that charter commission and we know who that is. So I am willing to work with you. I'm have a feeling I'm gonna piggyback from a movie. I said I think there's a chance I I'm in favor of consolidation and cost savings. Now you lead the ship of state Mthoan and you're going to proceed with exploring either the feasibility study or having some type of vehicle for us to analyze cost-saving consolidation partnerships and agreements because I think because you mentioned always mentioned the federal government and you mentioned about the state and mentioned about utilities, transportation, healthcare and union contracts, right? we're already behind the eightball and we need to do things internally. And I

168would think that either uh the former mayor or yourself would have done some type of costbenefit analysis and said you already determined what the savings were in terms of consolidation. I don't think you would have gone through a legal battle if you didn't have that material that was going to be presented to a judge to justify the legal battle. Now I know there was some modification of that we based on that conversation and that happens but I I want to say for the record I don't want this to be a wasted effort. I don't want this just to be a political hot potato. I don't want this to be hot air and I'm certainly not going to take any uh feedback from a member of the charter commission who caused many major problems for us

169in years past about fiscal restraint and uh good governance. I'm not going to tolerate that. So I will work with you and I appreciate it. Thank you. >> I just had some happy things to talk about. So, >> if everyone's all done with, and I I get it, Ken, I I my only um input to what you were just talking about is I think that all departments, school and city, have to feel like it's a consolidation and not a takeover. And I think that's where it's getting a little blurred where people feel like, oh, well, this department is going to be taken over by that department or that department. I think a consolidation needs to be explained to people and they need to understand that it's a group effort and not one department taking over

170another. And I think that's kind of one of some of the issue is um I just wanted to say that I went to the science fair. I know we touched on it earlier. What a fabulous time I had. I am not a science geek, but you know what? I just might be now. I I loved every minute of it. It was fantastic. The kids were great. Um they explained their projects. Their projects were phenomenal and I toured the um CGS like I said and the marsh this week with member Maxwell and um Vice Chair Daglio. I've also been to the Tim and we haven't done the tenny yet. Those media centers are incredible. Vanessa Guthrie from the high school deserves so many accolades for what she's done. Not only stocking books, the decorations and and

171what they've done in those media centers. It's just incredible from what was there to what is there now. Um they're just fantastic and I know they're looking for volunteers. So, anyone that wants to volunteer, contact the school. And of course, the backpack program. If anyone's interested in donating to the backpack program, you can drop off your food donations at the media at the library at Branch Street. And we also have an Amazon that you can order from. It'll be directly delivered to the Branch Street address. And thank you Kim and uh Ed Quinn for everything they do for that backpack program. They're out there shopping in the stores and filling the shelves and they do a great job. That's my happiness. >> Thank you. Any other business from the committee? >> I just wanted to

172second. Oh, sorry. >> Oh, yes. I'm sorry. You know, before we proceed with that, let me circle back. We are missing one thing. Um, and this is actually uh the request from member Wlette about the uh televising of subcommittee meetings. >> Yes, feel free to chime in. >> Yeah. And I know the logistic of it is different than what the city hall would be in terms of they get the community at television to monitor and we have our students doing it for credit. Uh something just to explore. Maybe we could have a report at the next meeting about the feasibility of doing it. Either have access to Zoom for people to just speak quickly and then be able to view the meeting, maybe have the meeting at the city hall with the ch uh city

173council chamber. Uh and also I had concerns about the the timing uh 10 am meetings versus maybe in the afternoon where people could take time off of work of going to the meetings. So something that we could explore further on that. I think with the city council their subcommittee meetings are televised and on YouTube. I think we should look at that as well for our subcommittee meetings. Just food for thought. Thank you. >> Vice chair. I just want to add I I think MCS is open to all all usage too. So even if we couldn't use the students, MCS is free public access and if we wanted to film there, I don't see why that would be a problem. So I if that's what the way that all the committees want to work or put

174a policy together that >> puts that into place, the only issue is the Zoom is a law until May unless they renew it. Um, and that was due to COVID. So, if that goes away, then it has to be in person. It can't be uh teleconference, but I don't see that going away. >> Yeah. I I think uh former mayor Dennis Zaglio uh he wanted to have the meetings at at city hall and it was more of a a convenience for him and we agreed to it and we wanted to work in partnership with him and I think because there was credit for the the kids, excuse me, the students uh for the broadcasting uh credit that um the logistics of it might not be able to do it. But if we had volunteers from

175doing community television to do the subcommittee meetings, maybe at city hall in the city council chamber and get permission from them. Um that might be something that we should explore. But that's just tossing out that the Zoom thing. Yeah, that had to be it was contingent upon renewal. Yeah. Thank you. >> Oh, I just wanted to second um how awesome the decorations are in the media center. They really are really cool and I think it's pretty awesome. That's all. >> Anything else? Okay. So, at this point, uh, we're going to enter executive session pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws chapter 38, excuse me, section 21 A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining or litigation if an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining or litigating position of the public body. And

176the chair so declares this is regarding custodian negotiations and then also executive session pursuant to mass general laws chapter 38, excuse me, section 21 A4 to discuss the deployment of security personnel or devices or strategies with respect there too. After the executive session, we will not reconvene into open session. So uh with the vote to enter executive session, that will conclude the open uh portion of our meeting tonight. So, at this point, what I'll do is we'll take a roll call vote to enter executive session. >> Yes. Time is 8:30 and we are entering executive session.