001[Music] for e [Music] for five words you pronounce wrong two you good evening the school committee business session of March 10th 2025 will now come to order this meeting is being recorded and will be made available for viewing on the methan public schools website secretary would you please call the role member daglio present member Donovan here member Keegan present member Maxwell here member shabila here member wette here mayor borgard may I have a motion in a second to accept the amended agenda for March 10th 2025 as presented all moved second move by member shilia second by member daglio discussion all in favor I I unanimous superintendent would you please introduce our student for tonight's flag salute yes thank you I'd like to call it Mar Ellen Lucas the CGS lower school associate principal and our
002flag salute for tonight uh Jacob Dole good evening ready Jacob here we go I am proud to present Jacob Dole is a fantastic fourth grader from the CGS who will be leading our flag salute tonight Jacob has been part of the CGS family since kindergarten and from day one he's been known for his kindness and allaround great attitude his teacher this year Mrs limb didn't hesitate for a second when recommending him for this honor she says he exhibits all the CGS best expectations he is always respectful responsible safe and ready he excels in all subjects is a hard worker and always looking for and excited by any challenge she can give him true in addition he is a great friend to make sure everyone in in his class feels included Mrs limb noted that Jacob
003has many strengths including baseball math and reading when he's not hitting the books or crushing math problems you can find him on the baseball field playing video games or dirt biking his favorite subject is PE of course Jacob comes from a Clos knit family including mom dad his sister Maddie is a 10th grader at matthan high school his Brother Sam is an eighth grader at CGS and two awesome dogs he's got some big goals ahead he's determined to Become a Straight A Student and make the honor rooll when he moves up to Upper School when he grows up he would like to be a professional baseball player playing Third Base Third Base watch out major leagues Jacob Dole is coming for you please help me welcome Jacob Dole to lead the Pledge of Allegiance tonight
004[Applause] I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all EXC [Applause] we all right I'm here back in the saddle so yes so uh at this point I'll invite the superintendent to introduce our sore award students yes I would like to call up Laura en Wright Our World Language department head and Mariani Espino Martinez to join her the World Language department is extremely proud to present Mariani Espino Martinez as our 2025 sore Award winner for her commitment to and achievements in French Spanish and the school Community languages have always been a strong suit for marani she arrived in methan public schools as a seventh grader from the Dominican Republic and dedicated herself
005to acquiring English she did so with impressive and rare speed within four years she tested out of our English language development program at methan high school marani has increasingly challenged herself with honors classes and this year AP cours workk and dual enrollment with UMass LEL she has maintained a 4.97 GPA overall and a 4.5 GPA in World Language coursework medani originally began studying French as a freshman and excelled in it for 3 years when planning for senior year she was inspired to enroll in both AP Spanish and French for honors unfortunately the classes conflicted and she Cho chose the new challenge of an AP course her French teacher Lucy oon says that marani is such an incredible student she is so kind generous ambitious and studious she always did an amazing job trying to elaborate
006and using a variety of vocabulary whenever she could she truly deserves this award for all her hard work dedication to language and her overall kindness currently marani is flourishing in AP Spanish and has already qualified to earn the Seal of biliteracy in Spanish upon graduation her AP teacher Tracy mcnickles shares that marani is a splash of sunshine bringing dedication tempered with natural Joy to the classroom she's a personable leader who keeps relationships at the Forefront without sacrificing Excellence she encourages others to reach higher with a determination to leave no one behind as a result her academic work is topnotch and her contributions to class as a whole are peppered with joy and insight following graduation marani plans to attend a 4-year college or university study business administration and is considering a study abroad experience Beyond
007her academic achievements marani is committed to enriching the community methan High School Community balancing her demanding schedule she makes time for adopted grandparent Spanish club and the Multicultural Club Maria figero the adviser to both the Spanish and Multicultural clubs shares that is Secretary of both clubs she is very reliable she works very hard and is responsible with her duties she is very attentive takes great notes and is always willing to stay after school to work on any activity for the clubs which included most recent recently our annual King and ball marani is held in the highest regard by methan High School faculty for her genuine passion and commitment to learning languages and the MHS community and it is with great pleasure that we honor her tonight as our sore award [Applause] recipient hi good evening
008um first I want to thank my mom and my stepdad for the um support I also want to thank my language classes teacher for always believing me and always be Shing me to um do my best in everything and take risk to grow myself thank [Applause] you e e next on the agenda we have uh the update from the student representative uh who I'm sorry okay uh so uh he's not here with us this evening so we'll move on to uh the next portion of the agenda which is to approve the uh Deca International Career Development conference we need a motion in a second so so moved motion from the vice chair second from Member dooga will'll entertain discussion uh I'll invite are you here to speak about the DECA yes opportunity okay thank you
009guys for having us I'm Mr Rado Josh Rado I teach marketing and accounting here and I'm also the deck adviser my co-advisor Claire Thompson couldn't be here today um but this past weekend or two weekends ago 63 methan High School students in Deca competed at the state competition in seport Boston and we're throwed to share that five our students made it to the top 12 uh congratulations to uh T Bao Jane Loi tanza mmud Amir metri Samora and Alvin Nan for their outstanding achievements and even more exciting five students placed in the top six and are eligible to represent MHS at Deca Nationals in Orlando um these students are Ella Benson Taylor procop Lily Gard Maya Turk and Tona and Cali Ryan uh they've earned a remarkable opportunity and there's only 10% of students from
010the state uh that move forward so out of 4,000 who competed uh 400 moving forward this is a rare feat the last time this has happened from methan high school was 2017 so handful of students uh this accomplishment is especially meaningful to us at MHS because of the growth and impact Deca has had on our school Deca has opened doors for so many students at MHS giving them the chance to engage with the business world and build valuable networks just two years ago we had 20 students involved last year we grew to 55 and this year we have 200 members with this kind of momentum we're confident that our program will see increased numbers moving forward the energy in the business wing of south house here at methan is palpable and it's amazing to see
011so many students excited about what Deca has to offer we've created something that students are eager to be a part of and we're incredibly proud of the community we've built together so we're here today to just talk about um how these students got here it I remember speaking here about a month and a half ago and this was a dream of ours and here we are so uh thank you guys so much I'm going to let some of the students speak it's spping on yeah it's slipping on okay that's perfect good evening my name is Ella Benson vice president methu and deca thank you for having me again and for the continuous support you have all given Deca over the past year hi my name is Taylor procop I'm the methan DECA social media chair
012I'm a two-year Deca member and I've participated in two written papers throughout the years um an integrated marketing campaign for aala uh a Business Solution paper on misstic clean with my partner Ella being fortunate enough we have both attended districts and States both year and now are very fortunate enough to be attending Nationals in Orlando Florida come April together we have taken exams ran endless Pages presented many projects and visited Bentley University for the fall leadership conference while it's been a lot to conquer even though it's been a lot to conquer through we've truly loved every moment together in this club both being on leadership working alongside Mr Rado and Miss Thompson with events registering the chapter recruiting younger classmen and joking around with each other we have created me many memories and more to
013come they have both supported us together and indiv individually in all of our work we have done they have both pushed us to try harder things in this club such as jump from a 10-page paper on marketing in which we have both took classes on to a 20page paper on project management which we went on which we went into blind not knowing what most of it meant being on the first leadership team I've got to watch the fast growing family we've created here at matthu and high for being a small Club close to 60 students with only 20 placing for the state competition last year we're now close to 200 students with 65 students at State this year and five going on to Nationals we have both created forever friendships and connections through networking ourselves
014at events and getting to work with new people in our chapter we have been giving endless opportunities to prove oursel as strong business women through creating campaign ideas for our club multiple fundraising events and bringing our club together with community service with this leadership team we have learned the strength of working together Communications and striving for greatness walking into our marketing 2 class in 2023 we were heavily convinced to join this club expecting to be the average kid in business yet what we never expected to happen has finally come true a trip to ICDC I can speak for many people when I say that this experience is one in a million and that what was once a force is now a love one of my greatest regrets of high school is not joining Deca my
015freshman or even my sophomore year I look at the accomplishments of cat Ma and Lily as sophomores who are going to ICDC and think that could have been me if I just wasn't too scared to join two years just wasn't enough and I wish that I could have had more time with my Jaa chapter now nearing its end we want to thank our leadership team riado and our families for the support and memories that this club has given us and look forward to Nationals in April we would also like to thank you for having us and hope you feel the dec of love and the appreciation we both have all right good evening everyone my name is Lily gard and next to me I have Callie Ryan and Maya Turk andonis and we are sophomores
016here at methan High School thank you for giving us this opportunity to speak tonight we're honored to share what Deca means to us and how it has shaped our high school experience last year Ma and I competed together in a written event we put in hours of research writing and preparation and hoped that our hard work would pay off but when we didn't make it past districts we were devastated it felt like all that effort had been for nothing and honestly we were ready to quit Deca alt together but Mr rato wouldn't let us give up day after day he kept annoying us to stick with it so much so that at some point it became easier to stay in the club rather than to keep listening to him tell us why we shouldn't leave
017we reluctantly gave Deca one more chance not realizing that the decision would change everything for us a year later we're standing here as National qualifiers the journey from wanting to quit to making it to ICDC has been surreal and we owe so much of it to Deca our incredible support system and of course Mr rado's persistence when I first joined Deca I didn't realize how much it would shape my future from preparing for competitions to networking with like like-minded students every moment has been an opportunity to grow the skills I've gained especially in critical thinking and communication will stay with me long after high school what makes our school's Deca chapter so special is the incredible support system we have Deca is more than just a business Club it's a community of students who encourage
018and uplift each other whether it's late nights working on papers uh running practice role plays or just hyping each other up before competitions we've built friendships that extent far beyond the classroom none of this would be possible without our amazing advisers Mr Rado and Mrs Thompson they have been our biggest supporters from the very beginning of our Deca Journey they are always available to help us with our projects answer Our Endless questions and provide the guidance we need to succeed whether it's listening to our presentations offer offering constructive feedback to strengthen our papers or just giving us words of encouragement before competition they go above and beyond for us Beyond Deca they also teach they also teach valuable lessons in the classroom that directly impact the quality of our projects the business Concepts marketing strategies
019and problem solving skills they teach us in our classrooms are tools we actively apply in our competitions they make Deca welcoming supportive and inspiring and we are all so grateful for everything they do to help us grow as students and as future professionals we may not know exactly what careers we want to pursue but we do know what the skills we've gained from Deca will help us in our any path career we choose Deca has taught us how to think critically communicate confidently and handle high pressure situations which are skills that go beyond business and can be applied to any field no matter where we end up Deca has given us the tools we need to succeed in the real world this experience is even more meaningful because we are only the second group in
020methu and high history to qualify for Deca Nationals or ICDC it's an honor to represent our school and community on such a prestigious stage we will be heading to Orlando Florida in April where we will compete against the best deck of students from all over the world ICDC is more than just a competition it's a once- in a-lifetime experience we'll have the opportunity to attend workshops led by industry professionals network with students and Business Leaders and Gain real world experience in marketing Finance hospitality and Entrepreneurship we'll also get to compete in Deca after dark events explore the city and of course visit Disney World and Universal Studios one of the things we most excited about is experiencing ICDC along two alongside two amazing seniors Ella and Taylor they have been our role models for us
021through our Deca Journey always being there to offer advice encouragement and plenty of laughs their leadership and passion for Deca has inspired us and we're so grateful to have this opportunity to compete with them one last time as they get ready to graduate and move on to new adventures we know we'll miss them but we're also excited to make incredible final Deca memories together in Orlando Beyond competition Deca has given us the opportunity to turn our ideas into something meaningful that's how our project this year was born Empower her is a subscription box service designed to uplift and support women and cater to their wellness and lifestyle needs we came up with the idea because we wanted to create something that inspires confidence and celebrates self-care and empowerment what started as a simple concept quickly
022became a passion project and through Deca we've gained the skills to bring it to life from learning how to market the service developing a sustainable business model and taking care of all the finances Deca gave us the foundation to turn our idea into something real and it's because of this project that we're heading to Nationals ICDC isn't just about competing it's about proving to ourselves how far we've come and how much further we can go we are so grateful for this opportunity and the support we've received from our school our advisers and our fellow students thank you for your time and [Applause] support so first of all congratulations to you all on making to this point we're very happy for you and I know the committee is certainly happy to support you in this endeavor
023do we have any other discussion Vice chair so I have um two questions one um where is the money coming from and two um these are not excused absences under our policy and how do we make it so so that they don't get um because this is going to affect their fourth quarter y so um I want to make sure that those absences get excused yep so uh Mr KET can do that as the principal and make them excused that's number one get that one on the way um the money we are looking at some options for fundraising sponsorship and certainly some operating Monies to do this um this is definitely something that uh Dr glovsky and I have been uh asking other large schools how do they fund this we've never had a chapter
024this large and so this is also kind of new for us to uh think about their registration and their travel and all these things to provide this opportunity so um a lot of the other large districts actually there are large grants that other schools like Brockton High School hail High School are using for uh these cost which we are certainly going to pursue for next year so to get them through this point which we don't want them to miss uh we are going to pursue fundraising sponsorship and some operating money costs we're very confident that we'll be able to send them financially any other questions discussion if not will member Maxwell um on here it does say that there's a strict itinerary and timeline and schedule events yes um do do they get that before
025they go and in there in another um section I can't find it but it says that they' be contacted by their cell phones um it says that no student will be allowed to go anywhere alone but they the way that they'll stay in contact is with their cell phones and that also goes against our policy so how are we going to everything will be so that they will have a successful trip so uh we don't think that they will misuse that while they're there for communication so we will these are also rules that they're setting for them to be able to participate so they actually we don't have choices for some of these things uh for example all Massachusetts students are in the same Hotel like each state has a different hotel that they have
026to stay in uh with a different rate so this isn't something that we chose to do um the detailed itinerary actually is online we didn't include it here but some of these points came from that detailed itinerary online uh if you go and look at the conference for the the leaders for this uh for these girls um so you know we intend to yes stay within our rules uh but we have to also follow the rules when we send kids away just like we do when we go to Disney for our students for the um band trip um uh but also something that is new and worth pointing out is uh in the past they always allowed parents to go with their students and this has to be a school sponsored the advisers have to
027be present so there's some changes that they've had over the years that just we haven't been able to keep up on because we haven't had kids who have qualified but those are some changes that we do have to send the adults with uh our students uh to represent methu High School from the school the parents can go but we have to actually support the advisers and the students who qualify to go any other questions member Donovan really quickly I'm wondering is there a way we could get real time updates on your progress and hopefully success I don't want to wait until the next school committee meeting yes yes we we can get I'm sure Mr Rado and Miss Thompson will give us um very uh detailed updates as they're there so we can report those
028out I'm sure Mr KET will report those out too to the school thank you yeah would be exciting any other questions if not we'll vote all those in favor say I opposed the eyes have it enjoy your trip excellent thank you I uh skipped over on the agenda uh the update from the student council Representatives so uh we'll Circle back to that I'll invite the representatives to come to the podium to share some updates thank you it's okay don't worry good evening my name is Gabriella Gord and I'm a ninth grader I'm a th in high school my name is Aviana Lopez and I'm also a ninth grader all right to begin Deca is bringing back their 3v3 basketball fundraiser tomorrow March 11th at 2 pm. this event is a fantastic opportunity to support our
029students have some fun and showcase our school spirit we're looking for Teacher teams to participate as well as chaperon to make this event a success you can be a seasoned player or if you just want to cheer from the sidelines your involvement would mean a lot to our students in the DECA program the telepon on March 18th and 19th methan High School's 34th annual ton will take place as a fundraiser for the methan scholarship Foundation the event will be streamed on Comcast Verizon and Verizon HD the Scholarship Foundation has helped seniors with thousands of dollars to pursue their further education the telepon broadcast students talents as well as multiple Raffles and auctions to help raise money for their cause the Scholarship Foundation is looking for local businesses organizations and individuals to help sponsor or donate
030auction raffle items for fundraising of the ton future events all right girls hockey playoffs congratulations to the matthan high school red rangers on their 4 to1 quarterfinal win against malen Catholic Thursday March 6th the red rangers moved on to the final four and faced off against Bishop sing Saturday March 8th at 7:15 p.m. sadly they lost 2 to3 in overtime the chorus Coffee House took place on Saturday the 8th and consisted of many talented singers singing a variety of different songs one coffee house participant reflected on her experience despite the amount of hard work it took to set coffee house up it was still an extremely gratifying experience being able to support and share music with one another was so fulfilling even if there was some bumps in the road it was all very much
031worth it thank you for your time thank you for your updates next on the agenda we have uh public participation do we have anybody who signed up all right so no one has signed up uh and I don't think anyone has um otherwise reached out with anything in writing so at this point we will close the public participation portion of our meeting if you are unable to make a meeting in person uh for public participation you can send an email to Martha siroy at m a i ois mathuin dk12 ma. us before 3 P.M on the day of a school committee meeting next on the agenda is the approval of minutes we need a motion and a second to approve the minutes of February 10 2025 so moved second motion is from Member daglio second
032is from the vice chair discussion there's no discussion we'll vote all those in favor say I I opposed the eyes have it next we need a motion and a second to approve the minutes of February 24th 2025 so moved second motions from the vice chair the second is from Member shabila discussion all those in favor I opposed the eyes have it next we'll move on to staff reports uh first on the agenda we have listed is the superintendent and assistant superintendent update don't think we have anything new to share in particular uh so we can move on to uh the new student data report superintendent thank you so what you have in front of you is uh new and we want to talk about it this evening uh this was something that came out of
033the school committee's initial discussion to condense change present numbers that actually are um within the purview of the school committee could help us with the budget any policies that we have remember Donovan and I met uh several weeks ago and went through sort of what it could look like uh and what we're presenting tonight is something that uh Dr glovsky and I worked with our data enrollment after that meeting to see what we could pull that could actually help us tell a story um but using the data that is currently in our um student management system so I did do a cover page because of course it's not quite as easy uh as it appears numbers should just subtract and equal something else and that's not quite what happens here for a variety of reasons
034so I did bullet some of these pieces that uh hopefully uh you know might have come to your mind as you were looking at this um and of course this is and can be a work in progress um there are some things here though that are striking and striking to us as we uh start collecting these numbers so um first of all most of this represents all new enroles from the end of last school year to now so uh we did include August because that has to capture the kindergarten students so most of those 424 in August are kindergarten students but those are new enroles uh in methan public schools so again we couldn't figure out a way not to capture that and still have a a picture of all new enrollees for 2425 school
035year um so we left that uh as is um and as you can can see just in that alone um of the August enroll enrollments 25% of those enrollments were English Learners identified as English Learners so I think that's the column that's capturing our attention the most at this point um as you go through this the other piece of this that can be challenging uh and would be uh we talked through it quite a lot to see what we could disaggregate even further it gets a little more challenging but many of these students are multi in multi categories that's why the numbers don't add up right so we have students who are uh English Learners mckin vento uh and I uh students with disability right so we have multi- duly identified students if you would
036um as an example just right now not saying they're new students but at the Tenny grammar school we have 90 duly identified students as English Learners and students on IEP so there's there's this multicategory uh piece that happens right we see this with mcast data it's not a unique number in each of those fields so that can be a little bit of a challenge but you still see it's the number of students we are required to service or um staff really this these are the categories that we um have our highest priority and have our highest attention on um so the same thing you can see with the withdrawals on the bottom it's the same categories and I did put a key on on the bottom of the memo just to make sure everybody sort
037of knew what we were talking about with in District disability those those could be everything from students who receive speech to students in our subpar programs here in District right um so it runs the gamut um the O OD is out of District that's how we categorize or label out of District students uh with that acronym English language learner preschool students anybody who is at Branch Street is categorized as as a preschool student McKinny vento those uh designated under the law as homeless and then non- students uh non students with disabilities and English Learners right so those are students who are not categorized in in in any of those other categories that you see here um the one addition to the bottom of withdraws is the second to last one we did add residency withdrawal
038so you could actually see that that was something that we wanted to capture but did it need it to be by itself somewhere that was part of our conversation as well how to sort of compress if you would this information but also make it meaningful and I think uh the most important for us is that you can clearly see here that the number of enrollments in certain categories uh it is not a wash right so we are enrolling higher numbers of students with disabilities and English Learners than we are having them withdraw this is what I've been talking about for years right so uh this is the kind of data that we need to present to the community and how out in the public because this is what people are really not understanding right with
039the whole our enrollment is down however the students that we have and if if if we did start to disaggregate this uh our 120 students in a sub separate setting in methan in one program our AC program at the mar the pathways program at the marsh that's included in all of this right so uh that is what we really the message that needs to be really clear out with us in our conversations uh and there is no doubt at this point what we'll be presenting on the 24th is going to show this this is we need support staff it's not classroom teachers uh and again I've been saying that now for a few years our class sizes are exactly where they should be uh but we continue to open classrooms at bran Street continue to
040open classrooms in K through 12 for our subpar kids so that comes with the cost of support staff uh so that is what we're preparing for uh when we present our preliminary budget to you on the 24th so that is one thing I thought was uh you know this puts those numbers and data this is exactly what is in our student enrollment this is exactly the information we send to the state uh this is not us looking at something uh Matt cira our data manager is able to automate this information right pull it every month from Infinite Campus to them populate this there's no manipulation of those numbers it's just an automated process uh once he set it up for us so um again this was what we thought would represent the conversations we had
041here briefly and then a little lengthier conversation with member Donan about numbers um and again it did take some I think it needs some of that explanation because it's not you're not going to get this minus this equals the number we're at it's just not that easy um and I will say right now as of March 5th when I created this memo um unfortunately and it isn't unfortunately uh we are 100 plus students above our October 1 enrollment today where we were then so that is that is 100 students that we will not see as part of our foundation budget um so I'm not seeing our enrollment decline it's actually this year and that can work depending on the year uh it can work oppositely right we could lose students after October 1 but we
042still our foundation uh budget is created with that October 1 enrollment so it is unfortunate because 100 plus is a lot of that's a lot of money you know that's like 1 million plus when you're looking at 100 students yeah it's a lot uh so it is again unfortunate those are things that we also have to to you know um plan for going forward discussion member shilia just to clarify that number is $1,745 th000 thank you so much assuming a $15,000 per head yeah and I think I actually think our I think our per pupil is a little higher than that per D's sheet it's a little higher than but that made my my math on the top of the sheet here a lot easier um no it's definitely close it's it's significant to be
043when I said unfortunately I really truly mean unfortunately that that was just money that we did not right receive and they are going to be with us you know so we have this $1.7 million amount over our heads I did some quick totals on the page here and I mean we are we are we are taking on more than we're losing how do we account for this because I I know that the the looming elephant in the room is always that $4 million and this being unbudgeted total surprise there's no way you plan for this how do we how do we account for that how do we is it is it magic money like there's no yeah no there's no magic money uh I wish yeah me too yeah we wish there were magic trees
044and plants but um there's no magic money we just we have to plan for uh what we currently have right and we know what our enrollments are are moving forward for class sizes so I'm taking I take what we have right now I don't go back to October 1st right so when we're creating and what we're presenting to you on Monday is current what we have sitting in front of us today which still could change by July 1 that that is one of the challenges of of urban districts right we have our churn rate our in and our out is just higher and this is why we come to you in the middle of school years and say we need an ESL teacher we need special education classrooms to open because there are certain things
045we can't we can't predict um but we we definitely try to plan that the best that we can with what we have up until that moment where we have to approve those numbers so we are looking at all of the budget uh that we are presenting is based on today's numbers of enrollment not what was October 1st so my next question is on the withdrawals for residen C i23 on the chart on the next page for the regular residency chart 27 and then for the grade level residency withd drawn I see seven so I don't know is that seven counted in that 27 no no so that I don't understand this number and that number don't line up but I also don't know what months these are for versus this one I can speak to
046that Lisa has the answer to that so I believe what the superintendent is proposing is that this new chart take the place of the previous residency chart because it gives the description that we're looking for and in the a prior residency chart the withdrawals included students who through our residency checks we were waiting for their families to bring in documents and the families knew they had them and just had missed the appointment or had made an appointment pass the deadline this colored chart does not include those numbers um but the previous chart did so we thought if we included those numbers here here it might be a little confusing because then they would be in the enrollment category when they always had been here so whether the number is 34 or 23 I guess I
047have the same questions as two meetings ago like what what did it cost us to do this and what is the net benefit what what did we gain from which part from going through all of the energy of the residency checks what is the net benefit so I I think there's probably not a monetary net benefit that I could calculate because I mean I guess I could per pupil but again I have more kids coming in than I do leaving right so these 23 kids that are withdrawing don't even come close to the number that I have enrolling above what we had for October 1st um but I think there is uh a public relations aspect to this that is important important for us to make sure that we are continuously educating methan public school
048students and that there is a process um and that uh I would say parents when they ask us right what that process is or they have an extenuating circumstance we have something in place for them to request and all of that goes through me right so it's not a huge amount of people but when those families are in a really interesting predicament or going through a family situation and they need to stay in Methuen or leave Methuen or uh they're split and it's 50/50 in choose a district um I think all of those things are important to keep um I don't know if I'm answering a question you know but I I do think there is if if we don't enforce it and we're not looking to enforce it it will get away from us
049agreed and I know I just got the buzzer of death so I will wrap it up real quick I guess proba most they talking I'm sorry that's all right I forgive you the 144 that were proven and the 30 that are ongoing I guess I'd like to know where those generate from are those coming from our our double top secer tip line are those coming from a source like just so there have been no residency investigation requests through the phone number hotline it all comes through the Google form either by community members and or or staff reporting because either something's been reported in the school we've had return mail um because we list do not forward so when we get return mail that initiates a residency investigation as well the staff reporting I support the
050the Google form for community members I just I feel like that's a slippery slope well the Google form is for everybody so that's how our staff reports as well right I just feel like this the Google form letting you know anybody out in the community report I'd be curious to see what the turnaround rate is on those and the process and the findings of which you have to see if we're being sent on Wild Goose chases for any other reason or if it's if it's worthwhile I guess to have it open to the community the community members are not as um it's not a large number that we get compared to the staff reports based on either what students are saying in school about them their own situations and or staff just reporting because of
051a bunch of reasons all right thank you I I would also add member shilia I know I have received so has Miss BAC emails from community members and often community members are they're mostly kind when they email us wanting to alert us to a situation uh and unlike you know staff they may just not know the details around that situation so they're just making sure somebody in the school department is aware that X has happened or where is happening um it's been a long time since we've gotten anything that has been charged if you would like from from somebody in the commun Greater Community and not the staff yeah other questions discussion Vice chair then member Willet um on the key for the tables it does not include anywhere high school students are the high
052school students in the chart and just omitted from the key or or is the key correct and there's no high school students in the chart no there's definitely high school students in it why why do you say that there's no high school students because when it says in District disabilities students in the resource rooms K8 Pathways districtwide specialized programs including Marsh timy CGS and tenny but there's nothing with the high school yes I'm sorry yes they're all high school everything is high school included in this there we didn't leave anybody out um prek through 12 okay I'm sorry that's okay thank you see I try to Define it and then I leave stuff out member Willette just curious um when a person is found to be in violation of the policy they're given the option
053to do a tuition payment right that's part of the policy is that if we find you you would have to either reimburse the school district in some fashion so there is a cost factor involved but we've never we've never sought a reimbursement and that was something that we spoke at Great length with our legal council about when we change the residency policy with the subcommittee that if if we find that they're in violation and we we remove them uh we we're never going to see a $112,000 tuition payment okay that that was I'm a little bit confused because why would we even need to seek tuition reimbursement if there's not a cost factor to the city Meen there would be a cost factor to the city of methan now we don't follow through on a
054legal basis and we also as a school committee we take a a position not to participate in school choice correct every year so we have a strong residency enforcement policy we found people in violation we send out warning letters they withdraw but also the backup is to send them out tuition statements because there is a cost Factor and we decide not to participate in school choice so I'm not understanding what the prom is uh in terms of having residency enforcement and we don't participate in school choice and allowing for people to uh forward uh concerns through the administration because it's been working uh as a system for years we're not going to have hundreds of students removed that was initially when we did the policy we removed a good amount of students where averaging about
05550 students per year um and I think that's something again we have the spot audits we don't do full Audits and I think most people are in compliance and there should be if they're not attending methan Public Schools um if they're non-residents they should not be attending methan Public Schools so I appreciate the fact that we're doing additional subcategory going forward because I think it was comingling the numbers and I think we separate that um but I'm trying to understand the rationale from prior conversations and prior meetings that if we find somebody in violation hypothetically we could send them out a tuition statement we we certainly can I mean so there's a cost Factor we can except we're just never going to get but there's a cost Factor then why would you send out a
056tuition statement if there's not a cost Factor there is a cause fact it depend it depends on when they were with us and when they left and also there's the whole and one of the I know remember the lengthy conversation we had with one of our Council me councils uh was uh you know there our kids if we if they were counted in our October 1 enrollment uh they were counted and so we got the funds for that student and now they withdraw so there's a lot of uh pieces to that I think when we uh originally had the subcommittee uh a few years ago it it was really a matter of we needed to put something in place there have been a few during my time uh and I'm looking at Miss boac because
057she's been involved in them but there's been a few where we've had to uh the there has been a battle whether or not they were going to actually withdraw the student or not and during those times we work with our legal council for a tuition statement uh you know a little more uh push to the fact that uh you right we we know that you don't live here you need to withdraw and enroll in the town that you live in so there has been some some of those but like I said I don't I think we need to enforce the policy for if we don't enforce it it absolutely will get away from us I hope I've made that myself clear on that um you know I think doing the the two grade levels the
058timing that we do it is uh working as far as when our family resource engagement Specialists are not enrolling right the fall and the spring is when it gets really busy for our enrollment Specialists um and so doing the residency checks between January and March is a good time to do that to make sure that we have kids sort of in the right places they go on to the next year so I I I feel the system we have in place right now is is working uh and not um over taxing our staff uh if we had to do all the grade levels that would not be you know worth it but doing a two grade levels at a time and then Olive kindergarten so we have Olive kindergarten and then every fourth and E
059grade as they move along uh has been a very good system uh for the past several years so I would you know I'm in favor of continuing to enforce it okay thank you y member gaglio thank you Mr Mayor so back on the subcommittee though I me and member pesh did ask if we could get reimbursement and we wanted to pursue that right so the question ISE with budgets the way it is I would like to talk to our legal counsel again to see if reimbursement is possible now it it's a dangerous game but if people are I guess member wette saying it is cost factor to us and even though we do get the funds we're still going to lose that funds for the next year possibility so and we've already used that money
060or Etc with services and stuff like that so I feel like member wette has you know I think that's a conversation we need to talk to our legal councel about because we can and we have I just also caution right the the conversation we had during that subcommittee was also there's a cost to seeking to fighting that right so every time we call our legal council there's a cost to our operating budget every time we have them draft a letter every time time they talk to another attorney there's a cost factor to that too so that was part of the conversation of we're chasing something we may never get and now I'm paying something and not getting anything in return because if they do what we ask them to do and withdraw and do all
061those things in a court of law it's not going to go anywhere right so there there's we can ask for it uh but fighting to get it is where we're going to end up paying more money to fight to get those funds that we're never going to see and so that's again it's a it's a it's a possibility but uh you know getting those funds and figuring out what that tuition would be is challenging and again if it happens after October 1st for the following year I've already they've already counted in my next year's budget right um so it's it's there's just some challenges there I mean we can certainly bring it back up with them to see if there's any changes can't hurt remember Willet I just I wanted confirmation there is a cost
062Factor because hence why would we need to send out the even the threat of uh reimbursement or tuition statements to these students they're voluntarily leaving after an investigation they have improved residency and then not a burden to the taxpayers of methan I just wanted confirmation and I think I got it that they're a cost factor and I appreciate it thank you any other discussion if not we will move on to the report from the assistant superintendent of student services any questions from the committee regarding that report going once going twice all right moving on uh do we have any uh questions from the committee regarding uh the uh Human Resources report not much changes any questions from the committee uh relative to the out of school suspensions and other disciplinary actions report all right we
063move on to uh old business and other pending matters we have uh the policy relative to uh staff access to student information uh this is the second and final read we need a motion and a second to approve so moved second motion from Member shabil a second from the vice chair discussion yes so so member Keegan and miss boac and I do need to have a discussion with everybody um we did uh seek legal councel after our meeting which we discussed here during our first read uh to see if there were any references or any other things that we needed to include before our second read um and it was a uh productive and fruitful conversation uh I had uh I was only on one of those conversations member Keegan did join with attorney Joyce
064and Miss boac on a second occasion um so so basically uh we are being uh advised not to vote this into policy uh for a variety of reasons that we will share with you this evening um but the most important one that we uh I would say even lose lost sight of a little bit is uh our our our obligations for staff to have access to Student Records is during the school day and during academic time and by I thought kind of common sense like we all did when we went through this uh that it made sense for all of our staff to have access to all of our students regardless of the activity and the situation that was related to methan Public Schools uh but that is not the case um and there are
065uh parents and attorney Joyce brought this up I know in my conversation I'll let Miss member Keegan speak on her conversation with attorney Joyce but there are parents who do not want people knowing their children's disabilities language whatever that may be when they are in after school activities or sports or Athletics and so we also have to make sure that we're not giving things to our staff that uh we shouldn't be and so uh with that that is it kind of in a nutshell our conversations were much longer but that's in a nutshell um and basically got to a point where uh attorney Joyce recommended that we have for every extracurricular for every coaching for every Athletics all across the grade levels and schools that we have a form a very standard sort of procedural
066when that activity starts when that season starts uh that the coach the adviser hands a consent to the parents if the parents wish to share information with that coach or adviser about their child that they think will pertain to that activity then the parents have to give consent and also share with us the amount of information they want to share that that also does not open up the entire student record to those folks so it was very eye openening uh I sincerely apologize that I didn't seek legal Council before it didn't even cross uh any of our minds that this would be uh that problematic CU it seemed like it was common sense to have that kind of access um so that is it in a nutshell uh but we also had this on the
067table for second read so we need to close this out it cannot remain on the table after first read uh so we needed to put it on the agenda tonight for second read uh with the hopes that you will not vote it as a yes I know it's seems odd but that's just part of the process too we can't have it just sitting out there after first read with no explanation um as to what it is and why we didn't vote it and then it will die but member Keegan I'll allow you and then miss boak if I missed anything yeah so um I was fully in support of this and after having a very lengthy conversation with attorney Joyce um I AG agree that we need to vote this down um and we need
068to put in a a procedure not a policy that gets parent consent um I think it's it's the right thing to do so I would encourage everyone to vote this down please say no it's a very unusual way to present a policy I don't know if I've done this yet but this might be a first seems like a procedural question for member Willet yeah why can't it just be redrawn by the sponsor maybe that could be there without scuttling it like World War II shf well I think there's there's multiple ways to pursue it I think just simply pulling it is is one solution but then this is also I think something that achieves the same result assuming a no vote from the committee uh but you know I I would agree this does add
069an extra step but nevertheless we have it on I just wish were drawn by the sponsor yeah any other discussion if not we'll go ahead and take a roll call vote guess not member daglio no member Donovan no member Keegan no member Maxwell no member shabila no member wette no mayor borgon no tried policy fails thank you you're welcome seems odd I know all right we learn moving on to new business we have none on the agenda next uh we have finance and operations I'll begin with the expenditure report do we have any questions or concerns from the committee regarding the expenditure report member Donovan I would I would just like to say in in the same Spirit of looking at data differently I appreciate and I didn't Express enough at the last meeting Mr
070Goin added that extra column on the general budget report to kind of show us where we are where we want to be I appreciate that I did mean to shade it so it stands out as different I forgot next month definitely be shade it is that all yeah any other questions from the committee not we'll move on to the revolving funds report any questions concerns member Maxwell what are the other expenses the short story is um contracted Services any service Supply other is anything that doesn't fit there such as um subscriptions postage um memberships to professional got it all right any other questions from the committee if not we'll move on to uh we're covering now revolving funds we'll move on to Grants I just sorry Mr chairman wette in terms of just again just
071a common theme meaning to meeting now we're going into this the spring months that $62,000 and the student parking fund hopefully will Whittle it down um and incur some new projects and some new items I mentioned some Public Safety related items too so hopefully that's done soon I appreciate it thank you member daglio um yes um for the grants have we have any updated from the Department of Education the federal level yet of any changes none okay unfortunately we are in touch with congresswoman Tran's office though relative to any updates that might be coming down the pike all right we'll move on to Student Activity accounts any further questions Food Services report any questions concerns regarding the Food Services report member wette just in terms of the uh the survey I think there was uh
072going to be a vehicle to survey the kids just checking on the status of that I did speak to Mr fratty about it um so I know it's on his mind because we had a we had over February vacation we also had folks in uh test tasing some new items uh so that was a part of our conversation that Mr Goin and I had with him so I'll I will double check with him but definitely a conversation we've had and he would like to do it too okay excellent thank you yeah any other questions from the committee if not next on the agenda is contract Awards there are none tonight uh notification of appointments and other Personnel matters we have none moving on uh to other business from the committee uh we have uh cell
073phone uh cell phone use by school committee members while school committee is in session this was brought up by me at the uh last meeting uh so uh I spoke in error during the last meeting uh this is not something that uh is consideration for uh a new policy this is something that I as the chair have discretion uh to Implement and uh you know one of the themes that I have been pursuing uh in my time as our City's mayor is to do what I can to help make our government uh more professional and I think a key way to do that is by uh expanding you know we have this new policy in the schools relative to uh trying to limit the use of cell phones I think uh generally speaking you know
074we see evidence of how that can can uh be a distraction for learning in the classroom and I think to a similar extent uh for the adults here at the table you know that can be sometimes a distraction uh as well and so uh what I'm going to establish going forward uh and I'm going to uh State uh something along these lines at the beginning of future meetings just as a friendly reminder uh my ask is going to be that if you need to take a call uh communicate uh via text uh during a meeting my ask is that you simply step away from the table to conduct your personal business I think that that is uh respectful and appropriate uh for us to uh I guess adopt as a behavior going forward and something
075that I think is really important for us overall as well uh not up for a discussion uh that's something that I'm going to be asking of the committee going forward uh next we have uh uh school committee training session selection uh discussion uh member Donovan had added this to the agenda I'll invite her to uh expand further yeah oh first of all I need to start out by thanking member daglio for um you know making this part of what we do in addition to well what we do and that said I got really interested in what we could do and um masc provides us with a list of of potential training um my favorite is the five dysfunctions of a team which looks really intriguing to me but that said um as I dug a
076little deeper I found um a document called protocols and best practices for Effective school committee meetings um and the our contact alaon at masc said she could certainly put together something along these lines because it would impact our governance governance and including and you could find this online at the masc they have um how we communicate how we improve and there was one other and I just thought that is really something that I don't think has ever really been discussed by the board many years ago when I covered the events on this board it seems like it was the same setup um so I'm wondering if it's time to evaluate how we do business included in this package is a handy dandy graphic organizer which um presents a whole bunch of scenarios what do we
077have a concern in areas how are we going to handle things from stuff we've discussed before visiting schools confidentiality what happens when a member of the community has a concern um do we need a written protocol do we need a policy um and Alicia aler is on should be more than happy to put together a training along these lines obviously it's you know the will of the board um but I'm wondering if it's time as a group of elected officials to think about how we do business and how we can become more effective and professional um and make sure the Integrity of what we do is always preserved thank you member Donovan I think that would be helpful for us just as an institution as a as a as a commit uh any other discussion
078member daglio um I just want to thank member Donan for doing the research and everything like that um I'm all for that and also Alicia also said we can combine certain things so that could be one um if you wanted to do like budgeting um I think there's a whole list so that could be one and then if we want to add other topics to that she will combine all that training into one so we could actually Maybe cover three topics or two topics whatever works for the committee so I think that would be great if we I had the list I don't know why we didn't add that to the policy on the back side of it but we could probably next meeting I think we should vote on that and plus if we
079want to do a combine on different topics we have that as well in the next meeting I think we should make because I think the way the policy is written we have to vote on it so that should be on the agenda for next and then we vote and we have that done but thank you any other discussion if not we'll move on uh to uh discussion regarding uh under other business we have uh the proposed joint meeting with the city council on March 17th one week from tonight uh just to share some insights and I know there's going to be some uh discussion here uh I received uh several meetings ago a request to schedule this joint meeting uh with the council and as we know you know there is a requirement that uh
080there be at least two joint meetings with the council held uh annually and uh you know my thinking at least with this meeting meeting uh as we start to go into the next uh budget cycle is to have perhaps a check-in uh with the council during this current fiscal year as it comes to a close in the coming uh months um I think that there's going to be some debate about this uh we can entertain that discussion but nevertheless uh this was a request that I received from the council and uh I don't see the hurt in doing it um but I will open it up uh for uh discussion simply because it is on the agenda member shilia how did you know um so I want to First recognize that I know this puts
081you in a particularly difficult position having to coordinate with the council and the school committee that being said we are getting our budget packet on the for our meeting on the 24th so we're going into this meeting a week before our budget comes out to talk to them about where we are for the year when they can literally look in the packet and see where we are for the year on St Patrick's Day they want to gather us around the table to talk about where are you when they already know it doesn't seem like a good use of anybody's time I totally support and agree we should be we have to do our two meetings a year but let's make it count sitting in that room so they can say school committee you're bad you
082don't do what you're supposed to do your schools are I don't care we don't work for them them none of us do we have to have our meeting but if we can wait till after the 24th when we get our budget we can go to them and explain what's coming their way so they're not seeing it for the first time when you distribute the budget package in totality because first I don't quite really think that's that's fair to them because it's a lot to digest it's not a one Department thing like the PD or the fire department or anybody else we are the we are 51 52 percent of the district that is what we should be discussing we should be discussing the economy of schools not are you gonna make your number this year
083that's a waste of time and I'm a hard no on that meeting thank you Vice chair um I have to agree with member shilia um it seems to me that we're going into an absolutely abysmal budgeting cycle and I think it is is far more beneficial to us to start preparing the council for the school needs of next year versus where we are this year because this year we're doing okay and we're making our numbers but next year we're going to be facing a huge deficit in funding and if we don't if we don't have the information to present to them then it's going to be a wasted opportunity number one and number two they want to hear about next year not this year they're going to be asking us what's coming down the pike
084and we're not going to have the answers so I I wholeheartedly agree with member shilia that we should put it after we get our budget so that we can answer those questions for them thank you Vice chair I just want to be cognizant of using the word deficit given the history of the school department and that word in recent years uh we do not have uh a deficit issue right now I know we're going to have some difficult choices to make and difficult budget cycle ahead but I just want to clarify that do we have further discussion member daglio yeah yeah I don't like that word either and I've been on the school committee for five years and I've never had a deficit um yeah I I kind of agree with member shilia and member
085Keegan um usually I don't have an issue with these meetings but but what has happened over the years kind of what me ability I set it turns into I feel like well especially my brother being on the other side I feel like I being told on what I did wrong at Thanksgiving dinner um when we don't have the exact numbers and I always have to respond with but we're not in a deficit I actually agree with membership ba we're now beyond the bond of paying back the $4 million and being told yep we're doing right by this District I think it's this year especially this this specific year we need to go in because we're we're trying to actually get them to approve more money and more of our budget so we should be explaining
086to them why we need their help to approve more than we made our number this year so can you give us a gold star so I agree with member shabil on that I think we should postpone it until after we receive our budget any other discussion wette I just thought when we had the prior meeting about the the audit I think we were all in a senergy on the audit and we were able to make some comments or some give some feedback to a proposal that wasn't finalized at that moment at time to have us gather before the city council meeting and discuss the budget for one hour all the competing interests all the egos into one room I I don't think it's productive and what I've noticed and I'm not going to highlight the
087specific city council is but they have these common themes of we're a topheavy Administration which is not accurate and you know we've been decimated by a reduction in the custodial ranks and that's something we should be discussing and we should be involving the legislative delegation and the senator did an amendment on the Gateway communities I don't know how you can have all those different questions the give and take the dynamic the presentation to discuss something is very complex and we again what member and what other members have talked about in terms of what's going to be the nebulous response from the federal government which we don't know collectively we don't know what's going to be happening that the state right now is pretty good with the revenue stream and we don't know what's going to
088happen with the state um and I know the legisl delegation will support amendments but the budget itself what uh the vice chair had indicated is going to be devastating to us to encapsulate that in one hour I I don't think that's going to be productive I think it's going to be a train wreck we're goingon to have people coming into a city council meeting it starts at 7 whats if we start the meeting late if it's we're going to do 45 minutes I think the superintendent should be accorded the opportunity to present um some type of um road map um so I don't know why we have these joint meetings if we're only going to be condensed to one hour of discussion of a major topic um so that's my two cents I I don't
089think it's worthy I think if we had a separate night I don't think anybody on the school committee would say you know what I can't do a Wednesday or I can't do a Thursday we've done special meetings we've done Zoom meetings um but they want to pigeon hole us one hour before their city council meeting starts and we're going to have a discussion of the FY 26 budget and one hour time frame of all the competing interests and all the egos in one room I said that's typical meor politics unfortunately and I understand you're the you know you're going to be the messenger um and I maybe the chairman can revise the schedule but I don't think it's going to be productive that's just my opinion based on x amount of years in the school
090committee x amount of years in the Council we should be affording people the opportunity to ask questions or give back and forth give a presentation vehicle to the superintendent and also we're going to have the legislative delegation so are they going to delegate the amongst themselves to speak about their concerns or maybe something updates from the the health so to speak that's all going to be in one hour I don't think it's productive thank you member Maxwell This I so I'm very confused we've known about this joint meeting for a while correct we've known about it for a couple weeks at least I've been announcing it publicly for over a month after coordinating with the superintendent for you know a date that would probably work so so my question is is why can't why can't
091we present the next year's budget if we already have it and we've known about this meeting for a month so I definitely won't have it for Monday night yeah so so we're not in a position to to Really uh get into detail regarding fiscal year 26 that's not uh been uh you know developed yet uh but nevertheless you know the thinking uh that I had at least was uh that this would be another opportunity for us to perhaps have you know a forum that is uh you know watched by individuals in the community to advocate for additional funding going into the next fiscal year uh separate from say a traditional school committee setting um regarding the time concerns over the past couple of years we've typically tried to piggyback a school committee a joint meeting
092with a city council meeting so that that was the thinking where they have a regularly scheduled meeting on the 17th and so uh simply having us come in uh for that time beforehand uh that was the thought um you know at this point uh I've been announcing that this would be happening for some time uh so you know uh my intent is to post a meeting and if perhaps the committee um you know is isn't available we don't have a quorum uh then that's another issue that we would deal with in the moment but nevertheless you know we we've been going to the council with some asks over the past couple of months uh they have been uh funding uh through City funds the audit uh we've gone to them for uh funding support for
093the Deep cleans Etc so I think there is ground that we can cover regarding the current fiscal year with the council um that that's my take and uh the reason why I see value in it I also see value in once we have you know a budget developed going back to them with say the next fiscal year a discussion perhaps on a separate night so that we have more than an hour we can really argue our case for our schools and fully funding our schools uh but nevertheless uh that is uh the logic that I've had uh in satisfying the council's request for a meeting sooner than later I just don't see the harm in having this meeting I don't see I don't see I guess I don't see what everybody else sees I don't
094I don't see why we can't sit at a table with the city councilors and discuss fine this past year like like the Deep cleanings that we've had and the other things that have come up that weren't originally in the budget that the city has paid for I'm not sure why we would be against sitting and having that discussion I'm just confused remember wette so like we're dealing with like Global issues so this going from 70 custodians down to 46 that occurred to my knowledge over time right the 70 custodians down does that predates me I know we had to make reductions in terms of Administrators but then if you put on the city council meeting at times you have certain city council saying yeah there's a lot of Administrators and and the meth public schools
095which is not the case I you look at the Pioneer Institute and we can have the superintendent furnish comparable uh districts to methon like Malden and maybe three or four other districts were not a topheavy Administration so that metric I'd love to have that identified to the city council I'd love to have that for conversation the thing about the custodians I think a lot of that predates us but the School committees had to make difficult decisions based on a limited budget and also the inflation the high water mark was 2022 of 99.1% so we started to get additional monies through the student Opportunity Act bam We got slammed by with inflationary measures so like if we presented that to the city council and that was leving some of their concerns but sometimes they go into
096these fishing expeditions and we might have provided them information in the past but they're going to ask the same questions I'm not going to be potty to that because I was on a city council I was on a school committee if there's questions that they want answered we can provide packets of information same thing with the mayor with the question time and I'm sure he's been angry at times as I witnessed it like they go off the reservation like if it's a major issues with the deep cleaning and stuff like that again it could could be because we went from 70 to 46 with the custodians and that's a conversation how do you balance your budget of classroom sizes versus a proper compliment of custodians that's a that's a conversation I can have or we
097have X amount of Administrators and then x amount of a budget for our administrators versus a Malden and other communities I don't have a problem with that or how are we doing uh Grant acquisition uh that's something I know the mayor was talking about work on Grant acquisition that's a good conversation I'm not going to be there to be thrown rocks at I'm there to listen and we did it with the audit we had a good conversation with the audit and I was in support of the audit and through uh things beyond our control now we're going through the process of an the audit finally on the two the financial and the culture after you know almost two years now right so again it's something that um I'm I have no problem attending the meeting
098and I participated in the political game before so I don't have a problem with that and you and I have been in uh different scenarios and asking questions and I'll support city council is asking questions or us asking questions or give and take but the dynamic of one hour and regurgitating the same things that were erroneous in the past I don't think it's ultimately productive to us but I'll attend the meeting anyways but I think think it's it's you know it's a bleep show so to speak it's not going to be something productive that night I don't think remember shab followup so first and foremost I think we need to put aside The Narrative of the city council because it's it's it's not something we're going to resolve and all of these broad statements that's
099that's what the audit's for that is why the city is doing these audits we're going to have something to substantiate whether or not we're top heavy or whether or not we have these issues and what they are and what they aren't and all that let's let's push that to the side right now because it's not important and then the idea of we need to report on the money that we've used for expenses such as the audit and the Deep cleans the city council is not oblivious as they could potentially be they know that this has been neglected for many years this is not news and anybody who's going to sit at any table and say we didn't know was lying straight up lying so we don't I don't think we need to go and talk
100to them and what we oh thank you and Kiss the Ring thanks guys for giving us the money to do the cleaning I made a comment about this at one point and someone ripped me a new one saying well we gave the Tenny a new roof cuz the thing blew off into the soccer field don't tell me you gave the Tenny a new roof it literally got ripped off but all of that aside I I I just want to ver verify Mr Mayor you had said that you'd be posting the agenda for the 17th with and then if we don't have a quorum what happens if there's not a quorum then there's no meeting meaning that if four out of the seven of us don't show up the meeting would then be canceled on the
101spot correct I don't think that that is respectful to the committee or to the district and I think that does nothing but pour gasoline on an already burning fire between the two branches of government well not branches of government the city council and the school committee if this body has said that is not a productive use of our meeting I putting that meeting forward is just inciting more of a disgruntled relationship and then to member will let's point one hour we're we're going there to check a box we're not accomplishing anything in one hour zero why if we're going to do it which I 1,000% support Let's Make It Count or let's not do it I'm getting the I'm getting that I want to say something finger from Member Donovan so so I I I
102think uh the poor horse in front of us is starting to be uh beaten soundly but member Donovan thank you for that opportunity so I'm thinking we have okay I there's some I have some confusion so we have to do this meeting we're mandated two meetings okay so we have to do it what can we do to make it purposeful and productive what can we do how do we work with our Council friends with on the agenda so it is purposeful and productive and respectful and I will say that what really bothers me is all the discussions about well they're going to say that and I mean I watch the council meetings too and sometimes my feelings get hurt but I've gotten to know some of the counselors and I think that's what we need
103we need to be together to move the city forward and we may disagree but I think we have to meet and try to be professional about it and it's not in this is mine this is yours this belongs to the city so I think it's important maybe we all sit next to a partner but we have to get to work with them we have to so what would be purposeful and productive off the top of my head this um I think the data that Dr Quang put together I think it's pretty telling and I I would like to know that as a citizen like what how where would my money go like how are our schools changing how are we responding so I think something like that would be helpful I know there's been a
104lot of discussion about the Central Building in the last few days um and I think a lot of that is just because people don't know where the responsibilities begin and end so if we could somehow work with representatives from the council to create a meaningful agenda I'm all in and I look forward to working with some of our colleagues down at City Hall Dr Quan something we have so listening to all this and having been privy to these double meetings for the past seven years with various School committees Mayors and City Council Members um if we're going to have this meeting on Monday which it sounds like I'm I don't I'm not sure yet actually what it sounds like but uh if we're going to have this meeting on Monday uh I will say just
105to reiterate to everybody again this policy was put in place because of the deficit in 2008 that the city council really wanted Assurance as to the school committee that they were going to have preview and understanding that we were not going to end the school year in any given future years in the red that is why these policy this policy was created so we're so over the years I would say in my seven years because it started my first year that we put this policy in place uh Mr golin and I have really focused on that part of the the conversation in these joint meetings uh and it has typically been a quick uh one pager of you know sort of where we are with the general budget where we expect to be what we
106spent more money on this year contracted services our contracts right our all of our contract negotiations I'm wondering uh from my standpoint because if we don't have some it's really challenging I think to get 16 people to agree on what that agenda is going to be that uh if uh you allow me to work with the mayor I think a one pager uh in sense right makes the most sense to say here's where we are at FY 25 here's what we're concerned about in FY 26 there's no real numbers attached to that but I have been going to all the school councils uh at the schools I've gone to three I have two this week uh preparing sort of that conversation with the staff and families on the school councils about what we're in for
107a little bit like what are our concerns and I think that's a preview to 26 right our Chapter 70 uh increase decreased right so try to explain that to people uh how the funds work uh I've had fantastic conversations with the school council if I memorialize that uh I think we could at least have that uh and I have uh I think Mr goso and I have absolutely gotten that question every single year we go in the spring of what's your 26 budget look like what you know like it's that's within the purview of the school committee to go line by line and understand the school budget um keeping of course the city council informed so I would be uh feel like it would be upon me and Mr Goslin uh in reviewing it with
108the mayor to present like a onepage succinct conversation again it's one hour uh we have done this for seven years now um I'm going to do whatever is at the will of the committee to have this joint meeting but I would be uh obliged to make sure that we had enough information that we are presenting to the city council if there are questions the the meeting will end before 7 o'clock uh if there's another meeting we have another night that is not time sensitive that we can really dive a little deeper into their questions about the FY 26 budget and what it looks like once we present it and once you all have had the opportunity to discuss it see it have a few meetings with us that certainly would be no the timing of
109the two meetings has never been set I think that's part of the challenge with this is it it doesn't say like one in the fall one in the spring it just say two meetings and it's challenging but again I'll do whatever is at the will of the committee uh but I can I can definitely put together a one pager that sort of says here's where we are which will be easier because we do know where we are um but here are some of the convers the challenges on the table right we're very in tune to what's happening happening with desie and the state and federal funds they're not as you know quite as privy to understanding that conversation so it we could do something like that and again that conversation is very fresh that is
110the conversation I've been having with the school councils so I just want to put that out there thank you Dr quong so not to sound like a jerk or a dictator or anything like that uh this was on the agenda for discussion I'm not about to go before the city council on Monday night and say JK lol about the date um I'd been talking about it for a while so I I would like to proceed with uh having that for the purpose uh Dr Quang outlined um I understand there's some disagreement but you know we we settled on this I think over a month ago just in terms of a date that we thought would work um but nevertheless uh we have member daglio something real quick okay um so I'm just saying if if
111if we are going to do this meet um I don't know if the city council I don't know if the city council would want to meet an extra hour earlier like maybe five if they are up to that so we have a two-hour productive meeting I don't think we need that much time this is going to be largely a review of you know where we're at foral year 25 trying to get the other members to maybe want to I I appreciate it uh so there's really no no actionable item this was just a discussion I wanted to member Maxwell briefly um I know that a quorum is four out of the seven of us but with you being the mayor and the chair of the committee do you count in that seven yes oh okay
112so it does have to be four of us I do gotcha so you would be one of four M okay keep in mind Mr chair I won't be there because I will be out of town anyways I understand I I apologize for I didn't check with you beforehand but um yeah uh so we we'll have uh for fiscal year 26 perhaps I'll I'll coordinate with the superintendent to maybe go through her to confirm availability for fiscal year 26 discussions uh so that does it for our agenda I need a motion to adjourn do we have other business before we adj that was other business or do we have no that was a item so do we have okay other business sure just have one I would like to add to the next agenda um I
113would like to say um I saw that the teny got it deep clean over February uh break which everything looks good um I do however though would like to know um because we're moving forward um what we're doing for plan so especially where it comes to the budget where even exterior um uh traps and I know the city has paid for that up front well is that going to be in our fiscal budget um what we doing to tidy up the custodians um the peston reports uh I would like sub clarification of who's in charge of that um and Etc so I I will be asking a lot of questions when I didn't see the facilities report but that's where I'm going to be looking at for the next meeting M shilia I'll be quick
114I have four quick points um and Dr K you and I haven't really had a chance to talk about this yet but it was brought to my attention that you had a day disrupted recently by the city council where you were abruptly removed from your office and brought to Central uh Central Street and spent a day there if I'm not mistaken and it wasn't a planned thing I guess I I just I take issue with the city council coming in and abruptly taking the superintendent who I'm sure had other things on her calendar for that day and stuff to do and I don't know if that's a conversation at the table needs to have if there needs to be some I don't know policy or procedure where it is it is scheduled but I can
115guarantee you they would not be thrilled if I walked in and said hey Linda come with me we're going to tour the sur's estate right now it would it would not go well um second the the warrants I know we all get those lovely messages from Ian saying please sign the warrant I want to get these people paid um it is three maybe four of us that have ever signed a warrant and I don't know what the problem is but when I'm going to be away starting Thursday and may or may not have the ability to sign a warrant and correct me if I'm wrong but that means they sit um yes and no it's it's not as bad as you think as soon as I get three I have enough okay and I stop
116if I don't get those three I do start reaching out to Ken to Ryan to others I know that you three usually sign pretty quickly and I get my three but I'm not afraid to chase them down too all right so as long as you're getting what you want because I was the impression that it was sitting in stale and that's when I got an angry text message and then one of you guys signed so I said oh I don't need to now can so all right um there I I I've heard that our director of facilities is retiring soon I know he's announced that a few times in the past so it's not like a short thing that he's actually going to go but um I just want to make sure that we're we're
117we're planning for that especially since the budget packet's coming and the last thing I want to end on a positive note uh did read Across America last week at the marsh you were there then the timy um the marsh was fantastic the timy was so much fun and then Branch through this morning which was fun but in a very exhausting [Laughter] way but it was it was awesome and I think that it is a great event that I don't know if the pto's run it or the schools or whoever is doing it but it's fantastic and kudos to them thank you and then ten and CGS will be the first week of May first or second week of May for the children's week so we don't no I almost ended up at the Tenny last
118Friday and then realized that it was the timy because someone gave me bad information Mary tny and CGS will be in May so keep your eyes on that one Donovan yeah just real quick and on a positive note thank you for the pto's for organizing and whoever um at Branch Street for read Across America and we talk about how to find money for things and when I was at the marsh I heard a conversation about how the sound system in the auditorium is so much better now and I got to go in and it was into a recess and um Mrs Miss Gordon filled me in that they got kind of a grant from the photography company that they use um so I thought that was creative the kids were really enjoying indoor recess because
119they had a sound system that worked and I'm sure a lot of people benefit from it so shout out for that Innovative way of trying to get things for our kids that's great anything else member Willette Mr chairman I had sent an email to the superintendent regarding her contract which is up for June and I know that she had cc to your attention and that there's a process I just wanted to make sure it's part of the record that I did bring it to the superintendent's attention and that was star in the process thank you thank you member Willette lastly I'll add we have an executive session uh scheduled via Zoom this coming Wednesday at 6: uh so uh keep an eye for that we we do we do um check your it'll be in
120your email information about that and that's been posted as well um with that uh I'll entertain a motion to adjourn so moved motion from Member uh shabila second from Member Donovan all those in favor I I opposed the ice have it the time is it's roughly I believe 744 7:44 we are adjourned good night mthu