001board of education is now in session we will begin our meeting this evening by reading this board's statement on hate speech the watertown board of ed and watertown public schools are committed to providing an inclusive educational environment all students regardless of race religion color national origin ancestry alienage sex sexual orientation marital status age disability pregnancy gender identity or expression veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law have the right to access opportunities and supports available throughout the district's educational programs and should be able to do so in a welcoming inclusive environment free from the dangers of hate speech all students including those who are lesbian gay bisexual or transgender have the right to attend school in a safe environment our board of education meetings are an extension of watertown school environment and are televised
002into homes permanently recorded and accessible to all words matter and there is no place for hate in our schools and we should never stay silent in the face of speech that devalues people this is why the watertown board of education stands together in solidarity to condemn hate speech spoken against our lgbtq plus students faculty family and community members hate speech research refers to incitement and encouragement of discrimination or hostility towards an individual that is motivated by prejudice against that person because of a particular characteristic for example their age religion sexual orientation or gender identity and in the face of hate speech passivity and silence are never the answer if left undiscussed and unchallenged hateful speech can escalate into threat if hate speech hate speech directed at the lgbtq plus community is left unchecked worsening behaviors
003can become more accepted and more dangerous discriminatory language of any kind has real consequences and impacts the lives of people in our own community suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people with lgbtq plus youth being four times more likely to seriously consider suicide make a plan for suicide and to attempt suicide than their peers the trevor project estimates that at least one lgbtq plus youth between the ages of 13 and 24 attempts suicide every 45 seconds in the united states we must not stay silent when faced with hate speech directed towards our lgbtq plus students to that end let us be clear hate speech at board of ed education meetings will not be condoned period we the watertown board of education strongly stayed our abhorrence for hate speech of any kind
004and our commitment to tolerance inclusion and upholding the human rights of our lgbtq plus community and all people we are committed to promoting an inclusive environment and will strive to provide all members of the school community with opportunities resources and support that facilitates learning and growth elie wisel during his 1986 nobel peace prize acceptance speech said we must always take sides neutrality helps the oppressor never the victim silence encourages the tormentor never the tormented sometimes we must interfere when human lives are endangered when human dignity is in jeopardy national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race religion or political views that place must at that moment become the center of the universe we must take sides we do take sides and we side with our students to
005our students friends and neighbors who have been hurt by this vicious language the watertown board of education sees you accepts you and loves you please rise as mr murkowski leads us in the pledge of allegiance i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under god indivisible with liberty and justice for all mrs davidson miss hosking here mr flaherty here mr mccaskey here mrs rinaldi here miss little here this is crowded here miss rosa here miss eastman here mr malibuti here mr davidson here thank you mindy moving on to item d members should have received a copy of the minutes from the october 12 regular board meeting do we have a motion yes madam chair i move that the board approve of
006the october 12 2021 regular minutes as presented by ms davidson thank you mrs ronaldi is there a second second thank you any discussion all in favor aye opposed abstentions motion carries moving on to item e award recognitions the watertown board of education wishes to recognize and congratulate watertown's 2021-22 district teacher of the year mr christopher begna recognizing you know recognizing his teaching talent and ability to form strong connections with students he was officially asked to join the watertown high school english department in 2007. his dedication to his students is evident year after year he seeks to form relationships with all students making them excited to walk through his classroom door mr begnel is also not afraid to try new instructional strategies he uses mentor texts to teach students how to write for a variety of
007purposes he consistently differentiates to meet the needs of watertown's ell population he is taught in the summer school program at watertown high school he believes that all students should have multiple opportunities to demonstrate their learning allowing them to be successful and prepared for the following school year the board of education is proud to honor watertown public schools teacher of the year mr christopher begna so and and i chuckled there at the start because um i know miss wilk and miss hosking was with us for a convocation when mr begnell gave his uh acceptance speech at the start of the year and he had us a fantastic performer congratulations would you mind stepping behind us so we between us so we can get a picture with you that would be one we could also remain standing
008would you like to invite his family how would he do that and maybe if the family stands right in the front here that would be wonderful hi you say hi we're so proud of your dad [Laughter] davidson i'm going to turn it over to dr villanueva thank you very much and so mr vegnell was chosen as the teacher of the year out of many many nominations this year we had quite a few and i know that a few of our nominees have also joined us this evening so if you hear your name please stand and we have a certificate for you jody angiolini a special education teacher from polk school paulina eclaire english teacher from watertown high school annalisa barlow fifth grade teacher at polk julianne bambero oh yes perfect if you're here we're gonna
009give that applause julianne bombero special education teacher from swift jennifer caprari first grade teacher from john tremble diane cersei english teacher from watertown high school chelsea guerrero math teacher from watertown high school beth coleman kindergarten teacher from john trump caroline's pre-k teacher from john trumbull jennifer longo second grade teacher from john trumbull aaron matthews language arts teacher from swift stephanie milo 5th grade teacher from polk richard pirenae social studies teacher from swift middle school ashley pedonato from school sorry school psychologist from watertown high school dorothy rinaldi computer teacher from jessica sharkey special education teacher from watertown high school karine's dentiford kindergarten teacher from john trump kate st john language arts teacher from swift middle school and beth wolf srbi coordinator from watertown high school if you all wouldn't mind coming on up here and then
010i'm going to very carefully find your certificates and we'll take a picture with you as well i'm glad you're handy yes okay you can come right on up to the front it's really incredible to see so many nominees to have your colleagues nominate you and to have so many from one district nominated by your colleagues that's pretty pretty impressive so congratulations can you see us cheers that's okay we've got one more gift coming one more [Music] board members stand on your chippy toes anymore thank you our next section of the agenda um is one very special um part for this evening and it is item f distinguished service awards first i'm going to read what's on the agenda here and then i have a little statement prepared the watertown board of education would like to
011thank the following board members for their profound leadership dedication commitment and service to the watertown school district and to the community we are fortunate to have had such a dedicated group of board members leading our school district and i also want to thank them for their support of our mission to improve the education system for our students continually we applied them for their vision and voice to help shape a better tomorrow and very soon you'll hear some remarks for everyone here who will be leaving our board of education and who is having their last meeting this evening so tonight marks the last meeting before elections for four long-standing members of our current board of education to say thank you after the countless hours of service you have each provided to the watertown public schools and
012to the watertown oakville community seems is the least thing that we can do this evening to provide a little context here's a quote that just starts to scratch the surface of what board of ed members do the school leadership team school board and superintendent is critical to the success of public education great things can happen when the elected and executive leadership of a school system are in agreement about goals and expectations that requires candor and collaboration and a shared commitment to the mission of ensuring that all children have access to a great education according to cabe board of ed members have the power and the potential to improve teaching learning and student achievement in our public schools through cooperative purposeful and professional working relationships between the superintendent and boards of education and it's not just
013that easy because all that purposeful professional work is done when shifting demographic cultural and regulatory pressures press down on the functions of any board school districts with high quality governance teams and high student achievement are relentlessly focused on a leadership relationship based on collaboration all on behalf of children chairwoman karate leslie vice chairwoman wilke chanel miss rosa josephine and mr flaherty brian on behalf of the watertown public schools i would like to thank you for your leadership and commitment to work together with a community to develop a vision for the school district with a primary focus on student achievement we also thank you for your focus on working with us to communicate and interpret the school district's mission to the public and listen and incorporate appropriate community perspectives into board actions and i thank you
014for collectively executing the legal responsibilities of a board of education even when it's tough and the pressures loom high and for me personally i thank you for the collegial spirit that has underpinned my experience since i arrived in the district that doesn't happen in all districts and i know that and i know that i'm very lucky here's a small token of thanks that are meant to relax the spirits in the coming weeks so one of the bags that you'll receive have a nicely scented candle and a little book on mindfulness and meditation so when you're not here for your first meeting you can certainly go into a zen moment but um to keep it nice and short i thank you for everything and i know many members of the community do the same and so
015now i turn it over to miss kathy rinaldi who will give the presentation of an award and remarks to miss leslie crotty thank you it's my pleasure to speak to you tonight about leslie leslie crowdy and her time on the board of education leslie began her legacy on the board of ed in november 2013 and in less than a year she was appointed board of education chair although it was under unfortunate circumstances of the passing of her dear friend guy bozzano the board at the time knew leslie was a perfect person to continue the hard work and dedication that was required that was required to be a successful board chair throughout her eight years on the board of education leslie got to know six superintendents served on the budget and finance curriculum and instruction facilities
016and operations governance and community engagement and policy and labor committees spent countless hours in all union negotiations weekly superintendent and budget meetings attended numerous charitable and school related events a plethora of board chair conferences and informational sessions not to mention all the conversations with parents students staff and board members leslie has also played a significant role in making educational social and emotional and community changes all decisions being heartfelt and with the best intentions for all our students being the board of ed chair doesn't always come with glory unfortunately it also has a share of sadness during her eight years as board of ed chair leslie has dealt with some tragic events that occurred throughout our town we've lost students staff members past and present board of ed members and other misfortunes that have affected watertown
017public school families leslie handled each heartache with compassion sensitivity and always making sure our families knew that they had the love and support of the watertown public schools behind them i've had the pleasure of working with leslie for all my time on the board of education she has always handled herself with grace and dignity leslie also always ran and treated the board of ed as one group and one union allowing us to respectfully speak our mind and share our thoughts that leadership has proven to be an asset to a successful board of education to say leslie has truly devoted the past eight years to the watertown the watertown board of education is an understatement i asked fellow board members to share one word with me that describes leslie and her time on the board of
018ed to no surprise i got responses like supportive encouraging utterly selfless which is two words integrity compassionate and admirable these attributes prove what a class act what a class act board of education chair leslie has been on a personal note over my six years on the board of education i was able to confide in leslie with personal and professional concerns i always respected her advice as a colleague and a friend she was never too busy to answer my early morning or late night texts and i'll never forget the confidence she bestowed in me to always stand up for what i believe in and for that i truly thank you leslie as this is your last meeting as board of ed member and chair please know i speak for everyone when i say thank you for
019your commitment to the watertown public schools and we all hope that you use all your free time because you're sure to have some now to do the things that you enjoy and make you happy thank you all right and the next presentation will be by miss karen hosking on behalf of ms janelle wilk our vice chair janelle it is both my honor and my pleasure to have the opportunity to share what janelle means to all of us on this board i first knew janelle 20 plus years ago when i worked at watertown high school and she was the younger sister of maddie d my student much of how i remember janelle then holds true now her smile lights up a room she is the same kind genuine authentic open and caring young woman today she
020is devoted to her family her husband her dogs walter and trigger and a cat that very wisely adopted her her work her community and for the last eight years this board of education a few short months ago janelle welcomed me onto this board she offered me support guidance wisdom and all the assurances that i needed until i gained confidence to move forward and find my voice how she and i have come full circle from the student i first knew to the mentor i now adore i will always be grateful i saw firsthand her commitment as she attended all meetings subcommittees marched in parades and laid wreaths at memorials and volunteered wherever she was needed fellow board member jason maligoody put it perfectly janelle is diligent extremely hard working dedicated compassionate and passionate she throws herself
021into every opportunity at civil excuse me sorry civic service she is fair-minded well-spoken although she may argue that good-hearted and always uplifting to everyone around her janelle is an amazing woman who is honest and everything she does or says comes from her heart josephine reflected that from the start of her eight years on the board to this sorry to this her final meeting with us together janelle is a true gem before closing i'd like to share some highlights of the past eight years janelle became a board member november 2013. in june 2015 she took on more leadership as board secretary in october of 2020 janelle became vice chair in march of 2019 she became chair of the policy and labor committee her perseverance in negotiations has resulted in signed contracts with all bargaining bargaining units
022in august 2021 janelle became chair of facilities and operations janelle was often i think always a member of all the walk-throughs of our buildings before school opened this fall to ensure our students had both safety and security for our students our staff and our community wait there's more janelle also served on the budget and finance committees curriculum and instruction and policy and labor before becoming chair janelle as i try to speak for all of us who know you and those of us lucky enough to sit side by side with you here on the board you will be missed more than you know it is both bittersweet and hard to say goodbye yet we know you will continue to put others first and through that make a difference in our community and our world we wish
023you love luck and happiness and all you choose now and in your future we are grateful beyond measure for your service your kindness and your friendship but mostly thankful that you gave of yourself for all of us i can only end with an irish prayer may the dreams you hold dearest be those that come true and the kindness you spread keep returning to you all right and the next presentation will be by miss cindy eastman for miss josephine rosa it is my privilege and honor to speak about josephine both as a person and a trusted and committed board of education member josephine has been a member of the board of ed since november 2013 serving on both the business and finance and curriculum and instruction committees she has shown her commitment through her unflappable presence
024at meetings and other board events it was my good fortune to be seated next to her for the last four years because the moment i sat down for my first meeting she took me under her capable and generous wing i'm not the only one who thinks that her heart is with the children of this town that is her lens how will whichever issue we're discussing affect our children of all the lenses that board members must look through she has always had a steadfast been steadfast in her gaze it's always the children [Music] she looks out for others too like me at that first meeting and throughout her life josephine's focus is on people but don't just take it from me bridget carnimola our former superintendent shared with me that josephine is a true example of
025what we hope to have in our board members always interested in all perspectives and making rational measure decisions that meet the immediate needs while still maintaining the long-term vision of the board she does not serve political party she serves students the school district and the town as if i needed more evidence of her dedication to her community at a recent event u.s representative johanna hayes became aware that josephine was a member of the cavallo family family a long time waterbury presence and founders of cavalla's market she told josephine that night that she could always count on cavallos when she was a young single mother in waterbury they were always looking out for her and helped her whenever she came by then after johanna thanked her a member of her party came up to josephine and
026basically said the same thing thanking her and then another man present shared his gratitude with her of course josephine had no idea that these people would be there but when they realized who she was they had to thank her helping people is what josephine is all about no matter who i talked to about her bridget leslie anyone they all say the same thing josephine's heart is with the children no matter what she is going through personally and recently it's been a lot her clear interest is for others and honoring her commitment to our town's most vulnerable citizens bridget said one more thing she said i'm certain her beautiful smile calm demeanor professionalism and genuine desire to do what's best for kids will be missed on monday nights no more so than by me thank you
027josephine for your unwavering love and dedication to our towns thank you and our last presentation will be by mr jason malagudi for mr brian flaherty mr brian flaherty from the moment you joined us your unique personality charisma experience wit and charm impressed us all to me personally you were a friend and mentor on the other side of the board who somehow always wore the same color tie i had selected that evening your congratulatory speeches became a highly anticipated legendary event for all the behold you consistently chose the right words and the right moments to make your connection with people unique personable genuine and unscripted your deep roots in this town are a testament to the enduring bonds you have nurtured over time with so many families i was most impressed by the fact that you
028were able to share these wonderful generational tales with us all it provided us a consistent inspirational reminder of what an incredible community watertown is and will forever be you stepped into your role with sizable shoes to fill and you did so to utter perfection i am in awe of your political savvy your deliberate delivery and the humble nature in which you served your post i have watched you handle all adverse situations with a political candor and humility unlike any other which has given us all a leadership example to follow we are lucky to have had you if only for a short period of time because of the indelible impact you have made on not only myself but all board members and most importantly the community and children of watertown in closing i wish you the
029best sir i consider us all fortunate to have served with you and most importantly i thank you sincerely for your service on behalf of the watertown board of education our community and the incredible children we have the honor of serving thank you sir and i'd also like to call out miss marianne rosa chairwoman of our watertown town council to the podium [Music] good evening i'm here this evening representing the town council to express our gratitude to the members of the board of education that are not running for election and this is your last meeting i think we've heard all of your attributes and fine qualities this evening i i can't really add any more to that than what i said to you earlier this evening we deeply appreciate your time and commitment your unwavering devotion
030to the school system through some very difficult decisions and we wish you the very best in the years ahead we have a small certificate for each of you expresses in recognition of having served as a member of the watertown board of education the town council wishes to express its appreciation and gratitude for your dedication volunteerism leadership and numerous contributions to the citizens of watertown personally i'd like to say it's a sad day when mrs rosa goes off there won't be another rosa on the board after 20 years of roses thank you thank you thank you everybody for participating in recognizing the four of us we really appreciate it and i know i speak on all of our behalf when i say it's been a real real pleasure to collaborate with all of you and to
031call all of you friends and colleagues and i thank you for your tributes this evening they do mean a lot to each of us miss karate just before we move on um there is just one more presentation okay josephine leslie on behalf of the board and dr v we'd like to show our appreciation for what you have done for us thank you we present you with us i certainly know the store thank you very much thank you everybody thank you we are going to now hear from evan davidson our student council representative thank you madam chair good evening everybody at john trumbull primary school we began the year with writer's workshop a program in which students build fluency and confidence in writing through continuous repeated exposure to the writing process students have been busy learning
032the routine of writer's workshop they've been using assorted writing paper to capture their thoughts selecting writing spots conferencing with teachers and revising their work to meet specific individualized writing targets of small moment stories we have also been working hard at creating our community of writers through sharing students have been sharing their writing pieces with the class we've learned that everyone has a story to tell and we're all a community of writers and authors at judson our grade 3 students are working hard in math and becoming experts picking what subtraction strategy they like to use while subtracting three-digit numbers some like to use the number line some like to break apart excuse me some like to use the break apart strategy while others like to use the adding to subtract strategy so many different ways in
033grade four math students have been hard at work learning the standard algorithm for addition through games and activities in english language arts students just wrapped up a unit about chad africa we were fortunate to have mr demaris come in to speak with us about his time serving in the military there he shared some pictures stories and answered questions from the students students have read or excuse me students have read or are continuing to read the book wonder this read aloud provides an opportunity for wonderful discussions about kindness in grade 5 math students are wrapping up learning about multiplication algorithms it is so wonderful to see these math brains in motion in ela students are working hard on using vivid verbs in their writing to bring their pieces alive students are in full swing with their
034win groups and students are usually utilizing the time to work with a teacher or with each other on special enrichment projects we kicked off our science fridays classrooms are starting to dive into the science units in greater depth on fridays students are really excited to learn about many different topics including force in motion fossils and the weathering of rocks finally bring your families to the wolves and witches walk to trick-or-treat in judson's haunted hallways on friday october 9th from 6 to 8 p.m games raffles and food from frankie's are available to purchase there will be a costume contest and there will be a five dollar admission each month miss field the art teacher at polk recognizes an artist of the month and this artist's work is displayed on a special wall of fame in poke's
035main hallway the september artist of the month was janelle knapp and the october artist of the month is shane peck these two artists are being recognized for their hard work passion and enthusiasm enthusiasm in addition mrs fields shared that they both are excellent role models on friday october 22nd polk students joined together to celebrate individual differences and to make a stand against bullying as part of the million misfit sock march this national event sponsored by the polk student council is a reminder for everyone that even though being different may make us feel like we don't fit in sometimes differences are what make us all special to culminate the day students engaged in a parade around polk school to show off their misfit socks finally polk students were so excited to participate in two fun fall
036events last week each worked together to build a deck build and decorate a class scarecrow on display during the halloween bash students and family members were able to cast their vote for the funniest scariest best dressed and most creative scarecrows the halloween bash was a huge success and it was lovely to see our students dressed in their costumes and enjoying the merriment in addition to the trunk or treat students enjoyed a dj dance party and halloween games the swift middle school chapter of the national junior honor society recently inducted close to 16 members into this elite organization membership is earned through the achievement and maintenance maintenance of high academic standards as well as through the display of good character students who earn this membership are called to be role models for their peers and asked
037to exemplify the five tenets of the organization scholarship leadership character service and citizenship dr villanueva helped us to induct our newest members and joined with staff and families for this important event speaking of important events this week dr villanueva joined town manager mark ramo and director of operations lisa feckerty to participate in the induction of 20 members into the swift leo club the leo club is connected to the lions club and lions members help support leo activities and vice versa for example leo's help out at the annual lions christmas tree sale in mid-december we are grateful for this collaboration between our students and members of the local community at swift we also collaborate with members of the community through the watertown garden club the front of the school recently got a good sprucing up and
038the flower beds got cleaned up got cleaned out for the winter the garden club members support the students even through the winter when they work together with students to decorate for the holidays our world language club is sponsoring salsa dancing with a visit from elisa of elise's house of salsa students are invited to listen and learn all about spell spanish culture through this unique style of dance student council held its annual pink out day together with staff over forty four hundred dollars will be donated for breast cancer research watertown high school held the first meeting of the principal's advisory panel last week the panel was open to all watertown high school students and over 50 students signed up to participate the meeting agenda excuse me included the panel's purpose a discussion of the daily schedule
039use of study hall time and overall school fundraising ideas students were wonderfully engaged and insightful the next meeting of the panel will take place in three weeks watertown high school students and swift 8th grade students participated in the final round of voting for the new watertown high school mascot last week with the substantial majority of votes watertown warriors was selected as the new mascot the next step included students drafting examples of a warrior logo for the entire student body to consider and vote upon we have already several excellent submitted drafts of the new logo and we thank students for their great participation throughout the mascot process we have had several spirit fridays over the past few weeks last friday featured anything but a backpack day where students carded their chromebooks and class supplies in a
040wide variety of different containers this past friday was a pink day to raise funds for the susan g komen foundation we have a number of fun fridays coming up for the remainder of the school year finally the watertown high school unified sports team enjoyed an excellent game of kickball along with our friends from oxford high school athletes and partners enjoyed the competition and fun during this autumn afternoon thank you you evan for that report um it never ceases to amaze me how many collaborations our schools have with community partnerships like the lions club an incredible organization and also i just have to add on a personal note if school when i was in elementary school and middle school and high school had the types of clubs and activities and spirit days that we have now
041in our school system things would have gone much better for me on a daily basis lots of encouragement to go to school get excited about going to school and absolutely really hats off to our administrators for all the work they do for those to put those into into action in our school any questions for mr davidson okay thank you moving on to item h superintendent's recommendations and report dr villanueva thank you just a couple of updates from me uh one is i would like to begin by formally welcoming our new business manager miss marie kashuba sitting right over there who's joining us this evening on her first day in the district uh we're so happy to have her joining us and as she onboards miss kashuba will be working closely with all of the cabinet
042members to dive into our very soon upcoming budget season very soon welcome so welcome didn't we just finish that that's right perfect and as you heard from evan this evening last friday and throughout this coming week our schools have several fun events planned for students and families to take part part in for the fall season last week's trunk or treat was so impressive to um at polk really to see the extremely creative trunks so people park their cars and decorate and pretty impressive i also had a chance to visit the link crew at whs they shut down a hallway and decorated it and they were very kind to ask me before i walked through on what scale of scariness do you want and i chose baby scary and uh it was still pretty darn scary
043so um they did have a great time there so that's really update for me not not a whole there's a lot going on but those are kind of two fun things to update thank you thank you any questions for dr villanueva okay moving on to item i presentation a food service update ms emily doe ring watertown public schools food service director is here this evening to present the board a first quarter review of the food service department including an update of the breakfast and lunch programs dr villanueva wonderful thank you and also as we're uh welcoming miss kashuba as our business manager we welcomed miss during to our district uh just in i think september august yep right at the end of august that's right so um emily is new to us as well but
044she has already done some great work with our food service team and um we are excited to see a q1 update on how we are doing all right we turn it over to you good evening everyone my name is emily dooring i am the director of food services and like dr villanueva just mentioned i'll be giving an update of what we've had going on so far this school year we'll have a glimpse of the budget up there so everyone knows where we stand and i'll share some things that we have going on in our department [Music] and it works okay so the first update i'm going to bring everyone back a couple of months and this past summer was the first year that watertown ever hosted a summer meal distribution program um the way we
045our district ran it this year is we had families pick up seven days worth of breakfast seven days worth of lunches we ran that program out of swift middle school on average we had about 200 families um 200 students rather coming to get those meals each week it was a huge success let me thank everyone who did come and pick up meals when i get to the budget piece i'm just mentioning this this will be what the july and august numbers are reflective of it was this program that we ran for the first time this summer and if i could just jump in there for just a moment as miss doreen mentioned we did summer meals for the very first time this year this is an opera this was an opportunity this summer to ultimately
046respond to food scarcity that we do have in our district we have families who came and picked up food for the entire week and we were able to feed them for both breakfast and lunch it takes a little bit more logistical planning on our end but we are so happy and so proud that we can provide food to our families year round now really is wonderful absolutely so that was summer and now this year what is going on since school has started so the first big update is that watertown public schools is running the seamless summer option of the national school lunch program and what that means is that the usda in conjunction with the state of connecticut has passed a series of waivers that allow us to feed all students in our schools of
047free breakfast and a free lunch every day and then we receive funding back from the state based on the number of meals that we serve we like our summer program are having great participation to date we're seeing lots of students taking advantage of the free meals that we're serving we are serving more meals than we have in any years before this and again we know this is really good because we are getting more nutrition into our students all of our meals are filled with whole grains fresh fruits and vegetables low-fat dairy and we also again receive that funding from the state for the more students that we have participating a quick note while we're talking about the free meals there was some confusion and questions if those free and reduced applications should still be submitted
048and the answer is yes even though all meals are free this year there are still other benefits outside of the meal program to completing those applications so if there's any families who haven't sent their form in yet or weren't sure if you should send it in you absolutely can and should still submit your free and reduced form so i'm just curious at the high school i know that there's a variety of food for the kids too is it a certain lunch that they get for free or is it no matter what they want so we use the term a reimbursable meal is what we have to be able to submit to the state and at the at every school we have multiple options that are reimbursable meals at john trumbull polk and judson we have
049three different reimbursable meals they can choose from and then there are some snacks as well at the middle school in high school i'd say there's probably five or six reimbursable meals um and then all the snacks on the side but even their favorites things like pizza things like some of the sandwiches we make sure those are reimbursable meals so we can submit them to the state and still get our funding for that do they have to pick like something from each i know sometimes in the past you had to have a juice ahead of do they have to grab all that stuff in order for it to be yep so the phrase that we say there's five components to a school meal so we offer five components we offer a serving of fruit a serving
050of vegetables a grain component milk and then a meat or a meat alternative and in order for it to be reimbursable the term that i keep using a student must select three of those so they have the option to decline some things that they don't like it but they're welcome and we encourage everyone to take five components thank you you're welcome so that is what's going on with our meals the other big update this school year so far are the supply chain challenges and this is something that we're seeing not just in watertown not just in food service this is something affecting our nation and affects all sectors of life outside of food service and unfortunately it is getting harder and harder to get deliveries to get the products that we want to use in
051our district we are seeing a lot of canceled deliveries delayed deliveries product substitutions and we're doing the best that we can with that i think everyone who has been patient with any last minute menu changes we've had to make those have just come out of necessity but we do our best to communicate any changes with the students we make sure to include nurses for students with dietary needs so that people do know when we do have to make a change i miss during i want to hats off to you because i know that at the start of the year we anticipated that we would be experiencing some supply chain uh challenges so i i heard you say a few times to the to the group triple and double order this week because then we'll put
052it aside for the following so i know that you're thinking ahead into the future and just anticipating when there's going to be shortages uh you're putting stuff away we're doing our best to mitigate where we can so ordering ahead we're looking for new vendors to try to still get the products that we know students like so we are getting there and doing our best quick question for you i know you're probably going to go over revenue but i am curious how is the the free meals which is phenomenal first of all we want that how is that impacting the revenue because then we're dependent on snack sales correct so i will have the budget up there in a second for you to really look at the numbers but we are able to cover our meal
053costs from the government so um serving a reimbursable meal is just as good as a snack sale okay and that'll be up there mr makowski through the chair uh thank you very much so to piggyback on that um question just a reminder for the community um correct me if i'm wrong but food services is self-sustaining you're your own budget center right so money and money out right can't be in a negative right so that's a really important um thing to consider when when evaluating you know the supply chain issues uh rising in costs that you have to manage all of that um but to piggyback on that um have you given any consideration to trying to identify or partner with local companies or suppliers that might be able to leverage higher purchasing ability like so
054for example like a labonz or whoever who's got multiple stores they have greater buying power than watertown public schools to see if we can piggyback on their access to supply chain and product and bring that into district i certainly haven't looked in that direction quite yet but like i said we are trying to get creative with our supplies um a there are some things we just can't get from our normal vendors and then the price you mentioned we don't want to have to keep paying more so those are definitely you know opportunities to keep looking around if we do find people local in the community that we can partner with that's you know even a double win situation um but nothing yet to date in that regards great thank you all right so what i
055have up here speaks to the number of meals that we've been serving and i just to kind of make the chart nice and even i compared this september to september of 2020 september of 2019 september of 2018. the column in blue are the number of breakfasts that we served during the total month green are the number of lunches we serve during the entire month so as you can see both breakfast and lunch counts are up from any of the three years prior that we're looking at but i especially wanted to highlight the breakfast column because that is the most significant jump we do have a lot more students this year consuming breakfast in schools again i've said this we know we're getting more nutrition into them everyone's heard the phrase breakfast is the most important
056meal of the day we know students that eat breakfast perform better academically less tardiness all of those benefits so this is a really good thing to see i think so absolutely i believe we serve just over 30 000 um meals combined breakfast and lunch during the month of september so that is that's really really awesome all right now we have the budget that i'll let everyone take a few minutes to peek at and process on their own i will point out a few things while you're all glancing at this july and august i mentioned all of those numbers are reflective of the summer program that we ran this year historically food services has not done anything for the summer so those lines are usually pretty quiet but this year as you can see we were
057actually able to yield a bit of a profit from our summer program so that's a huge win for our district looking then at september i do want to point out in the income column that we did receive a significant amount of extra funding from the state this month to make up for funds that were lost during the beginning of the pandemic so going back to spring of 2020 the state gave us quite a generous amount of money to help offset that so our income will not typically be that high because we will not be getting that money from the state again typical sources of income include snack sales teacher meal sales second student meals catering sales and vending sales however that extra money that we received from the state was very helpful in offsetting some
058of those increases in food costs which was the other part i was going to draw everyone's attention to we can see that the food cost and paper cost for september was quite high and that unfortunately is tied to all those supply chain challenges that i mentioned before through the chair correct so quick question so let's let's say that we are able to continue this trend right so um you know i don't think we're used to seeing a a profit of quite that amount at any point in a year um but let's say we despite the challenges we can end the year with a a reasonable profit you know in food services what do we have to do with that does that have to can that stay within food services or does that have to go
059back to the town how do we so um we i did ask this of dr villanova very recently um the money that we see in profit and correct me if i'm wrong um really replaces the nest egg of the food operating budget since they're their own operating budget that was taken from them during coven particularly with you know obviously the prices the lack of students buying lunches and snacks and staffing extra staffing for summer programs and so forth so um that money correct me if i'm wrong has to replenish that security net that you have in your operating budget is that correct yes that's what we're currently working on so last year the food service department was in a very different position we did struggle not having students in school full-time that really hurt our
060sales so this is a much better but much different position to be in this year our plan is to start moving that money back that we took last year as long as we can continue on this trajectory absolutely and what's also wonderful is that um now that we have we have a little bit of a cushion there it's not extra what it allows is for the years self-sustainment to continue on because oftentimes i think the first reimbursements don't come in until school has already begun and we're well into the into the year and we already have to put in our orders and such uh so it allows us to continue the circle to keep still sustaining itself yeah and uh mr mccuskey brings up an important point he mentioned the town council putting money back
061in the town coffers so part of our ask last year when we went for an appropriation from the top council included some of the the funds that we were in need for sustaining our food service operation but that doesn't even come close to what we lost correct okay that's what i thought okay so i'm gonna move off of the budget and just a couple of notes of where i see our department going and what um we may be able to expect moving forward based on the number of meals that we saw during the month of september and the number of snacks that we were selling catering events we can anticipate about seven thousand twenty dollars per day coming in as income when i was looking at the numbers a little bit more i was very
062excited to see that our meal counts from september to october have already jumped pretty significantly which means that we can anticipate even more money coming into our budget more money coming back from the state we've increased our average breakfast per day by about 130 and we've increased our average lunch sales per day across the district by just under 300. so if we continue to have more and more students participating in breakfast and lunch we'll have a little bit more cushion in our budget which can help with some of the uncertain expenses so this is my plug i think everyone who has tried our meals if you're sending your child to school to get breakfast or lunch from us if you are a family that has not tried our meals yet maybe this is the time
063that you could give us a try for one of your meals and see if we can get those meal counts up even higher and just one more thing if i can jump in there you have a very important part down there in the last sentence it says equipment repair so just backing up to the previous slide about some of that cushion there we have large industrial equipment in all of our uh kitchen and cafeteria facilities so when a refrigerator goes down or or a stove goes down or or an oven goes down it's thousands and thousands of dollars and it does happen and when it does you know we we cross our fingers that we've got the money there to be able to repair it absolutely um so looking at the expenses again based on
064kind of what we've been spending end of august september the beginning of october i'm anticipating about six thousand eight hundred ninety dollars coming out per day um if we can stay on this path then obviously everyone can look at those numbers and we have the potential to stay in decent shape um you know things do happen the food costs are very uncertain the equipment repair like dr villanueva mentioned but based on these numbers it does seem like um our budget will be in a healthier standpoint than it was maybe last year and then just the last thing i wanted to share with the audience this evening is a quick bit about our after school snack program this is a brand new program that we're rolling out in the district it's another opportunity to provide students
065with balance and nutritious snacks but it's also another opportunity for us to get some additional reimbursement from the government and again help to cushion this budget we have an initial rollout for students participating in student council and homework club at polk elementary and we are working with the principals of all of the districts to identify other clubs and other areas that we can um expand this program it's free to students yep and that's another thing so this is another scene works the same way as breakfast and lunch it is free to all students any student who's staying after for some sort of academic or enrichment activity we can provide them with a snack board meetings yes what are the snacks for that so the menu that we have rolling out at polk right now includes
066um there has to be two components so again kind of similar to the breakfast and lunch program there's four components you can pick from there has to be two in a snack we are using a lot of um packaged items like pretzels we're using um cheez-its and graham crackers and then pairing that with either a fruit or a vegetable and that's just to help control our labor cost because it's a new program i'm trying to keep it pretty smooth to operate and if they don't then you could always take them back and use that right the menu i mean you know we'll change we'll see how this goes but that was my intention with this uh because also a new program for watertown so we have to kind of iron out all the kinks do
067you hope to once you get through the initial rollout and see how it goes do you hope to expand that to all of the schools yeah definitely have emails um you know going out and working with the principals so the main requirements for this would be this the after school program has to be either educational or enrichment in nature they don't allow athletic sports unfortunately to qualify for this and the program has to be run by watertown so our ymca clubs do not qualify for the snack program what's exciting though is it's kind of the first step to some possibilities down the road we start with one school we can perhaps get into all of our schools and then although athletics is not included at this point perhaps down in the future there will be
068an opportunity to also expand there for a small cost so i know athletes are hungry after school definitely and that is really all that i have for everyone this evening we're three months in but i am hopeful that we're going to have a very good school year i will leave everyone with a few images of some meals that we have served last week in our cafeteria and i open up the floor for any additional questions would members have any questions okay thank you so much really appreciate all the information and the work that you've been doing thank you okay we're going to move on to item j the 2022 board of education meeting date calendar in your packets was a draft of the possible meeting dates i do i have gone through the dates on
069the calendar the only one that i wanted to mention and then we'll open up the board comments is the date on 9 26 it is a high holy day for our jewish population i don't know if any of the staff members who are required to be at board of education meetings or any potential future board meetings or public would have any concerns with that i'm not so sure we have we don't have a very large population of people but i think given the most recent concerns we had from the public in a letter that we read last week i think it's important to acknowledge that that is one of the two most high holy days of the jewish calendar that's right i think that we should change that agreed okay so you guys want to
070take a look at your calendar chair go right ahead um is the following day tuesday september 27th um so is is that holiday multiple days or is it a single day it's it's multiple but um there's days in between there the um the the main holiday for 2022 occurs the first day occurs on the 26th so it's the night before day one and day two can you do it the 19th that month i mean can we do them back to back or could we just do the fifth and the 19th that month oh no we shouldn't because we're not sure the fifth is labor day it might be easier you know just in terms of central office um to keep it the same week i don't know how you get used to i think does
071russia's trying to end um the 27th yep so yeah move it to wednesday so through the chair i think given previous communications that we've received um i think we need to start setting the tone as a district that we take these into account seriously you know let's move the needle right let's let's absolutely let's get it outside um so that there's no questions there's no conflicts um and let's start setting that tone across the district so if if wednesday the 28th any board members have a concern with changing the meeting date to a wednesday is there a concern for personnel in the district to be able to run a meeting on a wednesday i don't think so at this point um i don't think so at this point but i'll also um reflect this conversation
072when we get to calendar for the 2022 year as well is it bad to have them back to back like two mondays in a row or if we do it the following the last month yeah you know what i'm saying oh you mean like clicks with the 10 it only it conflicts with the 10 pounds that's right it probably would yeah i mean off the top of my head i don't know if there are any other town meetings that we would be conflicting with i know there's pto on um after you have some time to look at the district calendar and see what else is going on great sounds like a plan yeah okay that's good okay any other dates that anybody has a concern with so madam chair do we need to oh we
073don't have a motion on that yep we do it's coming up let's see we don't have one right now we were going to make it with the 28th yes as the meeting date so we do have a motion coming up we'll just adjust please so right here is edited by the board or something all right anything else all right is there a motion to approve the calendar as edited by the board yes madam chair i move that the board approves the 2022 schedule of meeting dates for the work on board of education as edited by the board this evening is there a second i second it any discussion just for note during discussion the edit was for the september 27th i'm sorry the september 26 meeting to be canceled and replaced with september 28th all
074in favor aye aye opposed abstentions motion carries thank you everybody moving on to item k communications madam secretary yes madam chair we have two letters this evening first letter to superintendent villanueva principal parlato and the watertown board of education we led the initiate we led the initiative for the board of education to renounce watertown high school's former problematic native american mascot and it has come to our attention that the warriors is one of the voting options clearly the board of education and the committee formed by the board of education recognized a problem with a native american mascot the problems the board discussed regarding the indian mascot are equally all equally applied to the proposed warrior mascot in their ending in their ending indian mascots campaign the national congress of american indians the largest and most
075represented representative native americans organizations recognizes warriors as an inappro inappropriate native american mascot that needs to be changed various schools have changed their mascot from warriors for this reason there's also a website that was given it is not appropriate to replace and replace one native american mascot with another we expect our educational leaders to act as leaders in this situation and make a decision that makes clear that the use of native american mascot is not appropriate that is why we wanted to bring this to your attention now so that you can prevent a new native american mascot being selected invoking the same ethical and legal and legal risks that the board of ed outlined in the decision to retire the indian mascot thank you for your time we would hate to see all the research
076time and effort of the committee and interest groups involved in retiring the mascot to go to waste or for watertown high to put themselves at risk of liability best eileen and calling ellie and colleen the board also received another letter on october 22nd dear chairwoman karate and the board of education i'm writing as a concerned citizen regarding the tone lack of courtesy and respect being shown at the last several board of education meetings although i can appreciate the right of all watertown citizens to freely express their concerns i believe there is a difference between freedom of speech and outright hatred at the most recent board meeting on october 12th i feel the hateful rhetoric crossed across the lines i haven't seen in the public forum in the past when a local resident commented on the
077record that homosexual talk is vulgar and went on to say homosexuality doesn't belong in schools when i moved here 21 years ago to raise my children this is not the future i envisioned as parents shouldn't we want our children to have the right to be who they are free from ridicule most upsetting are the watertown students who are impacted by these statements including students who may have attended the meeting in person or virtually some of whom do so or in order to serve our community it is unacceptable it is unacceptable that any child should be made to feel unwelcome in this community with the hatefulness of some of these parents where is the response from our elected officials is it in our board of ed's responsibility to re to protect our children teachers and administrators
078and administrators from such hatred if you are a prospective teacher administrator or parent would this be the type of community you would want to work in or raise your family we are sending a much broader message amidst these hateful outbursts in our community it is a it is called it is a coincidence that there are board of egg candidates who have placed their campaign signs next to a local f your feelings flag in town we need public accountability and support for the lgbtqia plus students most importantly we need community and common courtesy we need to think before we speak listen to the experiences and opinions of others and have real conversations with respect we are a town divided by lack of caring for each other our conduct as individuals will shape our fate as a
079community we are only as strong as we are united and as weak as we are divided as ever dave sandangely and both of these letters were communicated through the board of ed members through email thank you madam secretary moving on to item l public participation public participation does not allow for two-way conversation between the speakers and the board but we welcome and appreciate your comments and opinions and all will be taken into consideration the board encourages speakers not to express personal complaints or defamatory comments about watertown board of education personnel and or students and any other persons associated with watertown public schools as provided in robert's rules of order the chairperson is authorized to ensure speakers adhere to reasonable standards of decorum such standards include that speakers be courteous avoid personal attacks refrain from the
080use of vulgarity hate speech and the like please be advised that no speaker has a first amendment right to be disruptive rude or engaged in hate speech should you engage in such conduct chairs will not hesitate to end short your time at the podium security issues and matters relating to negotiations and grievances will not be permitted consistent with the principles of the federal education right to privacy act any discussion of students is not permitted absent parental waiver please note that our meetings are also attended virtually are live streamed on youtube and are recorded for the public's future viewing you must state your name and your address for the public record we must be able to distinguish that in the recording and limit your statement to three minutes to any members of the present public wish
081to address the board this evening mrs lambert kelly lambert 301 oak drive tonight i would like to give thanks to the board of education members who will no longer be with us at the next meeting and particularly board of education chairwoman leslie crotty leslie deserves a special thanks for all she has given to our town much more than any other volunteer public servant that i can recall in recent memory i can say that prior to being leslie being chair i knew others who i thought did the job well but no one has done what leslie has done and i think she has set a standard which will be a hard act to follow and whoever does should look to her as the model for not only how to to conduct meetings but how to lead
082a school district leslie has devoted a great deal of time and energy to our community and its members regularly meeting with the administration as well as constantly making phone calls and having conversations with parents and community members she has always lent an ear and always with one goal student's best interest and that is all students leslie has always been transparent and available she is non-partisan working with everyone equally and always with students in mind she is normalized celebrating students faculty and staff during meetings providing words of encouragement supported programs that reach students in need and fostered career-ready education she has listened to all of us with an open mind she has bridged gaps not all decisions are easy to swallow for a community and she has made difficult sound choices for our district's future she
083has also had the brunt of unfair statements in recent months and she has handled it all with grace leslie may not have grown up in watertown but watertown is lucky that she chose us as a place to raise her family and give years of service and she may be stepping down from the board of education but i know her second act will shine brighter and continue to impact not only our town but our world thank you please set your name and your street address genesis alfondo lovely drive um i'm gonna start off by saying that the comment i made last time okay i'm not apologizing for one two you guys are all cowards because it's clear to me that this was about me that this hate speech stuff is being mentioned i should have been
084addressed personally i feel everybody knows what i said um uh it's clear where your priorities are it's clear that you guys are on one side of the town because when there's parents who want their kids on mass when there's parents who want things done for their children here it's not done but i say one comment about the inappropriate content for elementary and middle school children okay you should read some of these books they should not know a letter about the things that are in these books these kids and you guys are sitting there and you're being quiet about it and you're not doing anything about it you're saying that hate speech all these things they they're gonna add to the to the uh suicide count the suicide accounts going up because this stuff is in
085the school and the more that you sit there and you just tolerate it and you don't do anything about it you are being a part of the accomplice of that suicide rate i want to know if this is because i'm the only hispanic here that's what i want to know okay because i feel very calm down i feel isolated i feel discriminated against right now honestly honestly i do when i moved to watertown this is what not what i was expecting this is very segregationy very very rude very disrespectful i expected a little more integrity in a town like this do any other members of the public wish to address the board this evening esther capuano 41 branson road i had uh i mean again it's starting up again i know last year we talked
086about a lot of children going into the nurse with bloody noses because of the masks um it is starting up again my daughters will come off the bus bloody noses a school nurse calls me bloody noses so if you guys can look into that again please just you know talk to the nurse she'll try the nurse too it's a lot on them too so maybe air filtration filtration something but to help these kids with their the masks it's just drying up their noses and again starting and my daughter's missed already a week of school the pediatrician won't even let her go because it's so bad on her side it says all right thank you thank you any other members of the current uh public present wish to address the board this evening and then after
087that we'll switch over to virtual please state your name and street address good evening elizabeth lawton 46 pine street um i just wanted to take a minute to speak this evening after what's become not an isolated incident here in incident here i think sometimes silence speaks louder than words so i appreciate all the comments that were made in opening tonight the board of education and the meetings that are held here as a public forum are are meant to demonstrate the epitome of respectful and educated discourse even when there are disagreements and overall to demonstrate a process that has the best interest of the students at hand you know for example there's been multiple meetings that have toiled over even the semantics of a policy that emphasizes respect nonpartisanship and being non-judgmental we also have be
088kind signs all around town from a variety of organizations i have one in my yard as well i think they're a great reminder in this climate and the mural that's completed just in time for the nor'easter however when what's on the side of the walls is not being reflected inside of the walls it becomes just words and it is not the community that i know it is not the community that i grew up in it is not the community that i represent and again silence speaks volumes i wanted to just state tonight that again also grateful for the statistics that were mentioned in opening the lgbtqia plus community especially the youth have disproportionately high rates of suicide suicide attempt suicidal intention this is not just a matter of comfort level it is a matter of
089safety it is a matter of health it can be a matter of life and death um we have to encourage that work the safe what could be the only safe space for students and we cannot and should not tolerate things that further marginalize students or take that away from anybody i just want to also speak to lgbtqia plus students and families in town it's not just the students sometimes it's the families that these students are coming from even in elementary school even in middle school and i say this as a parent with half hispanic children i support you fully there is much of this community that supports you unconditionally i just wanted to make sure that was stated thank you any members of the public wish to address the board please set your name and
090street address kathy hillian 245 guernsey town road i'm here also tonight to address the hatred that has been spewed toward the lgbtqia community in these meetings as of late we have adults that have come up to speak in the last two meetings adamant about changing the the recent teaching and learning of multiple prospectus policy at hand because they are worried that their child will be made to think a certain way invalidated in their own views or made fun of for what they believe in they demand that things be changed because they are concerned about the professionalism of our teachers and their ability to not push their views on their children all of us sitting in these very public spaces and attacking people of our lgbtq community with hateful comments it is unacceptable that we allow
091these comments to be ignored and uninterrupted as they are happening these community members are the exact reasons that this policy needs to be in place all students need to feel that they have a place in school to come and be their whole self and feel safe a place they feel they will not be criticized made fun of or invalidated for any part of who they are no matter if they are a student that is part of the lgbtqia community a student of color a student with a different religious background a student with learning differences or a student with mental or physical disabilities every day as a therapist and mother i see the effects that the world has on our children and how they are affected mentally i see how when they struggle emotionally they do
092not have the capacity to learn and thrive academically excuse me they struggle to just survive academically when a student feels they cannot be their whole self and that they have to try and hide parts of themselves which in some cases is impossible they are not fully present to learn we need to stop allowing the few people in our community to dictate what we should be doing with policies that are necessary for all students just because they are fearful of those who are different or share different views from them students need to be provided with all the information so they can be allowed to form their own conclusions no one is saying that your child can't come and share their views and with their class we are simply saying that they have to be open to
093others views that they cannot voice their views in a way that is disrespectful and or attacking toward others the same way is not okay for others to attack or invalidate their views i have witnessed other microaggressions towards other groups of individuals as well in these meetings probably unknowingly done by the person making them and that is just one more reason why we must do better to educate the children in our community of these perspectives when you know better you do better why limit the children's knowledge allow them to see hear all perspectives so they can make educated conclusions for themselves thank you are there any members of the public that wish to address the board eric wozniak oak drive um in recent times there's been some new books brought into swift middle school there's a
094book called cinderella is dead it says it's recommended for ages 15 plus slight sexual condem allusions to rape domestic violence romance and creepy male behavior i went through swift when i went there it was seventh and eighth now it's sixth seventh and eighth my daughter will not be going to swift i do not believe as a mother these children should be reading at swift middle school about sexual content rape domestic violence romance and creepy male behavior i'm a victim of domestic violence okay i would never want my daughter to read about these things these children should be innocent they shouldn't be reading about these books in swift middle school okay these are about books that should be in college or something but swift kids are what it's swift 13 maybe they should not be reading
095about domestic violence rape male behavior this is absolutely disgusting my daughter she is in her last year of public schools in this community it is absolutely disgusting some of these books that are being brought in that i don't know if you guys even read these books that are even being donated but this is disgusting i would never want my daughter or anybody's child to be reading about domestic violence rape at swift do you guys research these books that are being brought in though this is absolutely disgusting especially young girls they don't even know what rape is they don't know what domestic violence is my daughter i shield her from all these things i censor what she watches especially when she goes on youtube or anything we really need to take accountability and see what type
096of books are being brought in for our children to read if they go to the library are they going to pick up one of these books and come home and ask me mommy what is rape what is domestic violence i would lose my mind we're supposed to keep our children innocent this is not innocence by putting these books in our schools thank you thank you any other members present wish to address the board seeing none we'll move on to the virtual audience members of the virtual audience who wish to address the board you may do so by unmuting yourself go right ahead katie washburn hi leslie thank you i just wanted to just say a few words about the new board of ed liaison evan i have been so impressed with him every every meeting
097since he started how well-spoken he is how well-prepared he is and just how pleasant he is to listen to i know teenagers very often get a bad rap and we only hear about them when they do the wrong thing so i just wanted to compliment him um to everybody at the board just to say that he really is a joy to listen to at every meeting thank you any other members of the virtual audience wish to address the board may do so by unmuting okay seeing none we will move on to item n m word policy i will turn this over to policy chairman mr maligoody thank you miss karate um we had made some revisions to the policy six zero one two based upon board members uh feedback recently and uh you could all
098check your packets there pull out the document there and uh it turned over to dr villanueva to review what's been changed in there for the edition of traditional read if you don't mind thank you very much mr maligoody so you are getting one new copy of the red line and one new copy of a clean copy [Music] so the one in your packet is not the one we'll be referring to that's the same as the last correct product so once again i want to thank all members of the board of education for taking the time to make revisions and to mull over policy 6012 with such a fine tooth comb the discussion is the most fruitful time i think for us as a team and for me uh definitely to be able to reflect so
099you'll see the red line um which includes a lot of the revisions that were already discussed in our last meeting but as of our last meeting on page two uh there was the suggestion to change the word guidelines to expectations and then in sub-category f to add on teachers will facilitate topics to be um and then to move forward from there in addition we had a conversation around adding on additional corresponding policies in the area on page three however to keep this uh specific to teaching and learning as opposed to putting in disciplinary type policies i kept that clean for the time being so you can see those minor revisions from our last discussion and again thank you to everyone who provided their insight do board members have any questions or comments they want to
100make on the revisions from our last meeting flaherty thank you madam chair and uh i appreciate i'm just kind of catching up with the changes here um i like that this draft is responsive to comments we've heard from members of the board and comments during public participation from members of the public i like the fact in the second paragraph it talks about the teaching has to be clear fact-based neutral presented in a way to allow the students to formulate their own opinions and i think it also strengthens the tie to the curriculum and it strengthens the ties to the curriculum committee and um also talks about and this has been referenced too in the in the expectations being age appropriate being related to the topics aging course appropriate and talking about topics curriculum not specifically
101approved by the committee shall only be permitted with approvals of the building principle and superintendents so what i have seen as this has evolved is accountability it talks about supervision there was a lot of concern about what happens if a teacher decides to just talk about their own or push their own point of view and when i think about the balance is that there are measures of accountability there are measures of supervision and at least what i'm seeing this does not cross the line into suspicion and an automatic suspicion that one could have read to say well we're suspicious that this as as if it were a default but it makes very clear courtesy it makes very clear some of the things that we're talking about as we've struggled to make this better and and
102be more receptive to the um to what has been stated uh and i think that's it and the stress again that topics taught and discussed an objective non-partisan impartial manner and you know this morning there was an incident in east catholic high school it was a racial incident between students at a football game versus bonfield high school last month earlier in october and two students from the uh a brother-sister students wrote a letter to the heart for current i was reading it this morning and it reminded me of this and this is what they said it was catherine and jonathan greene facing the past expands our frame of reference so we can understand others experiences and avoid repeating the same errors and they finished their letter by saying most young people today want to jettison
103bigotry and divisiveness to build a world rooted in mutual respect i appreciate and believe that this revision of the policy gets us closer to saying those words but not as eloquently as catherine and jonathan greene did and uh i thank you thank you mr flaherty any other board members wish to make any comments on the revisions mr makowski yes madam chair thank you um i want to extend my utmost thanks and appreciation to dr villanueva um for allowing me the opportunity to express my concerns with the original policy and for this entire board for doing what we should do which is sharing our comments hearing what each other has to say taking that feedback and going for another round rinse and repeat okay this is probably in almost six and a half years of my
104time on the board the single most challenging endeavor we've had some challenging situations but from a policy um you know curriculum and instruction perspective by far the most challenging um and so i just want to thank you for addressing my concerns i believe that with anything there is give and take and i believe i feel comfortable with where we are tonight that it puts us in a place where it allows our teachers to do their jobs it allows our administrators to do their jobs it does create a process and it does create accountability um is it as far as i would like it to go no because if you look at my my draft it was you know a lot more um but i do want to say thank you um you know from the
105bottom of my heart for for listening to me and and and taking into account my feedback and thoughts thank you thank you mr mikowski any other members okay seeing none is there a motion madam chair mr clarity thank you madam chair madam chair i move that the board of education approve of the revisions to policy number teaching and learning multiple perspectives on current and historical events effective immediately thank you mr flaherty is there a second a second thank you all in favor aye aye opposed abstentions motion carries thank you everybody thank you thank you thank you moving on to item n action item adoption of item to be approved by consent we have a very generous gift to accept this evening do we have a motion yes man i'm chair i move that the board
106accept the generous donation of a two-drum set for the polk and judson elementary jazz boy program at estimate value of 1 and 35 cents made by jen and mark johnson of morris connecticut and that a note of appreciation be sent to the donor thank you mrs rosa is there a second [Music] second any discussion all in favor opposed abstentions motion carries i believe dr villanueva wanted to add something thank you i'm sorry i know it's not on here um we received a wonderful donation from the staples in shelton uh thank you vice chairwoman wilke for connecting us with the the management there we received 700 boxes of pre-packed school supplies which include dry erase markers a sharpie marker erasers pencils and a pen a ruler i think is even tossed in there and they're in
107these beautiful little yellow kits we received 700 of them so we will be deploying those to our elementary schools uh throughout this week and next and again just thank you for making the connection you told us to be there thursday on one o'clock and we were there we got a big thank you to my cousin and his general manager as manager that that helped this whole thing so wonderful thank you so we will uh write a letter and sign it and send it off to staples thank you moving on to item oh committee reports mrs ronaldi chair of curriculum instruction nothing at this time and mr malibuti policy and labor thank you madam chair we had an action minor a moment ago thus accepting the revisions the policy six zero one two no further updates
108from there thank you very much mr makowski budget and finance no report at this time and this is welcome facilities pbc operations you said nothing to record but i want that mean board members did receive in their packets a wonderful update from our um facilities and i just wanted to say that the warzone high school did get an indoor uh air quality test that was performed uh an area of concern uh test results will be next week same thing for swift middle school and we have i believe that unless um i would just like to add that um i had spoken last week during the facilities report and chair report about the wea uh teacher presidents coming reporting concerns over two areas one that swept in one at the high school in regards to potential
109mold you had dr david weber had already investigated it and determined everything was fine but i had requested that we have environmental studies done and you agreed board members um are they in their packets the brooks environmental yeah i believe you have a hard copy report yes showing that we have no areas of concern um in either of those areas or the surrounding area of that area so i was very pleased with that and i will respond to the wea and send them a copy of that in the morning thank you madam chair thank you um mr makowski governments and community engagement no report at this time thank you um just a quick thing um for my last uh board share report i do want to echo some of the things that um mrs renaudy
110wrote about board of education members um and and specifically the board chair role because much of the work um that i've had to do as board chair does occur in the background and in preparation for meetings and board priorities during negotiations with my fellow board members and hearings and workshops and seminars that we've all belonged to have gone to meeting with the superintendent and staying current on new and updated legislation and policy matters coordinating efforts with town council which you've all been a part of and keeping board members informed and most importantly being present for parents and families of watertown public schools of everything that i've had the opportunity to work on in the last eight years that is one of the things that i will always treasure the opportunity to work with our families
111specifically those who are most vulnerable those who share their personal stories of trauma of tragedy and experiences those who trusted me in their most vulnerable moments who reached out for the betterment of their own children and others those conversations are going to stay with me forever i will always carry you and your children in my hearts and will continue to pray for you for healing because above all above all else students in this town are in crisis and our focus and my requests for the incoming board and the board members that are remaining is that our focus of this board must remain on them and their classmates and i encourage you to do everything you can to provide increased mental health services and resources for our students and our faculty and our community moving on
112to item q future agenda items and board member comments the board members have any comments they wish to make it this time mrs eastwood well you brought it up already everybody but i felt very remiss a couple of weeks ago and i wanted to bring our attention back to the letter read on october 12th which detailed the incident of anti-semitism on a young child that had the effect of the family moving out of town and i just i feel like there was so much going on at that meeting we just i felt remiss that i didn't speak up at that time and i feel like there are two issues at hand here one is a long-term issue that should make us acutely aware that teaching tolerance is needs to be we need to begin in
113our primary grades as no child should be ridiculed for his or her personal beliefs and the next more immediate and concern which has already been addressed tonight is um immediately reviewing our scheduling and calendar policies in order to honor and observe the diversity of all our families religious and cultural customs we need to create a school calendar that allows every member of our school communities to participate participate as fully as they are able which you all started without me so nicely but i wanted to bring it up because i felt upon reflection after hearing that and thinking about it i just felt like it's something that we really that's a pretty severe response to something that happened to a child in our school so that's thank you mrs eastman mrs ronaldo over the past 10
114months i've seen a lot of negativity and hurtful things on social media and at board of education meetings it seems that political views and beliefs have been brought up in the ways the sport of education makes educational decisions when i joined the board of education the one thing that i embraced was a lack of politics that was brought into this lecture room twice a month yes we are elected based on our political platform however that has never been how we base our decisions the nine of us sitting here have always listened to each other with respect and courtesy and although we haven't always agreed we valued each other's opinions and decisions that is the difference between how this board event has handled situations and the way the community has been entering this lecture hall as
115of late the community seems to think that because we are republicans or democrats we should vote a certain way or we should think a certain way each of us vote or speak on views based on what we think is best for our students and our district as a whole we look at each comment each concern each policy each union negotiation each committee update etc as an individual entity we discuss it ways away the pros and cons and then we vote the way we think is most beneficial are there times where our vote may seem to sway in a way the society that society has identified republican or democrat sure but that doesn't make any of us hear bad people it makes us human for having our own opinions the badgering and cruel comments towards staff
116students board of education members and community members is not what this board past present or future believes in or will stand for each of our schools has their own reward system to support to respond to support respectful behavior think about how excited your children are when they come home from school with a gotcha or an eagle award please don't misunderstand my message we want parents to speak up about your thoughts and concerns but before you get up to that podium to share think about the message you are sending to our children would your behavior get you a gotcha award thank you mrs ronaldo any other members have any comments or future gender items they wish to share mrs rosa yes um first like to start with evan i'd like to say thank you for giving
117us all those detailed messages and updates every every time we meet and they're amazing it saves me time from reading thank them and um so next i'd like to say something to brian brian it's only been a very short time that we've been on the board together but your energy and the passion that you have for this board that is shown is very outstanding and the love you have for our educational system shines right through i want to thank you for being with us and it's been an honor to have served with you on this board [Laughter] so leslie and janelle okay eight years have gone by and i would have not traded this journey for anything you have been here with us i have met the most amazing people that any person could have
118ever come in contact with including all the members here on the board superintendent teachers students parents faculty members we have come a long way in such a short time and i thank everyone here for making this journey incredible for me what i have learned through all this is that people will forget what you say and people will forget what you did but people will never forget how you made them feel thank you for always making me feel welcomed any other members wish to make any comments at this time go first if you want mrs wilk oh i'm gonna try you know josephine i was trying to make this so i didn't cry because it's harder when you have a mask on the crop so i'm going to be kind of whatever i'm going to make
119it short and sweet because you'd be here forever if i didn't and again i don't want to cry i have so many wonderful memories experiences and amazing things to say about my eight years being on this board i drove in tonight and got a little choked up knowing that this is my last meeting it has been a true honor and privilege being a part of watertown's board of education thank you to everyone who elected me and gave me this opportunity thank you my fellow board members for always being there thank you all for sharing with me the same passion and concern for the children entrusted to our care and for our beautiful town i know that all the good work that is being done will continue on we have amazing administrators faculty staff and most
120importantly outstanding students good luck to the new board members and i hope everyone has a healthy and a fantastic rest of their school year thank you anybody else mr mikowski thank you madam chair over the last almost six and a half years i have spent more time some weeks with leslie jannell josephine and brian that i have with my own family collectively i would like to thank you for your time and dedication to watertown public schools brian being a baseball fan the best way i could describe you is you're the utility guy after the loss of our dear friend tom lambert you willingly you willingly stepped in to fill a void bringing with you your experience in public policy legislation and public relations we appreciate all that you have done over the last year to
121support this board in watertown public schools josephine always at the other end of the table you felt so far away however i could feel you from here you're the most kind caring gracious and hard-working person of anyone i know you brought your commitment to family into watertown public schools wanting nothing more than the very very best for our children we will miss you dearly however you can certainly help us plan any future holiday parties [Laughter] janelle another selfless giver who cared for nothing more than improving our school system you chaired one of the hardest committees policy and labor and you filled really big shoes when we lost tom becoming vice chair your contributions and dedication are immeasurable but more importantly the friendship you have brought to each and every one of us is more than
122anybody could hope for madam chair you wrote me into this six plus years ago after i spoke during public comment at the budget presentation i was shocked and honored that you would think enough of me to even consider asking thank you your commitment to watertown public schools your time commitment is unparalleled i still don't know where you find the time and if i had to describe you in one word it would be meticulous everything is always exactly the way that you wanted it at least it looks that way always well thought out and planned always well written and well spoken i can certainly say that i have learned a lot from you and appreciate the opportunity to do so thank you for your leadership and your mentorship for so many years to the outgoing board
123members thank you for giving selflessly and doing that which very few are willing to do best of luck best of luck in all that the future brings to you thank you mr mccoy mr flaherty thank you madam chair my parents were teachers and like we've heard in many board meetings that i think like all of us believe parents are their children's first teachers parents grandparents guardians caregivers we come at least second or probably long after that but our job is to partner with them and to do the best we can and i've always felt that the beauty of democracy is in its renewal i would have given anything in the world not to be sitting here today uh because of the man who was sitting here with tom lambert who we all love and admire
124and i wouldn't be sitting here today i i suppose madam chair if you hadn't called and uh i'd say you conned me into but you didn't count me into it um and this has been the hardest thing i've ever done in politics i want to thank all of you i want to thank the people who come here every meeting and speak up because i think the people who are coming here to do so are doing so sincerely in their role as their parent as their children's first teachers now i don't agree with everything that that said but but we don't have to that's also what democracy is about but the people who come here are braver souls than those lurking uh in back rooms in anonymous conspiracies and writing letters to the paper that other
125people sign so i think for people to come here to speak up as parents is part of what we are how our country was founded we are in the midst of historic times turbulent times this board has endeavored to steer our way through agendas with a new superintendent doc i'm really glad it's you um we had to deal with budget problems we've had to go through an historic global pandemic that shook the world and boards of education don't write the laws but we have to implement how those laws as to how our schools teach and we have to do our best to support the students and the parents our teachers administrations and staff we're the place parents and the people can and come and should come to and it's good that we have two public
126participations and it's good we're also able to enable people who can't be here to do it because i believe the board's job is to listen is to think is to act applying our best energies and experiences as and as mrs rinaldi said using our judgment it reminds me of edmund burke your representative owes you not their industry only but their judgment and they betray they don't serve you if they sacrifice their judgment to your opinion and so that's why there are votes and that's why there are things people agree on and we debate and this this experience with the policy we listen okay we hammer it out we keep going we try to get consensus so thank you to those who speak up thank you to all those who also are standing for election or
127reelection it's hard to do and uh thank you again madam chair when i was asked for one word i doubled it because i had to say utterly selfless um i am one two why say in one word what i can say in about an hour and i've spoken already that my entire service on this board so thank you for this opportunity evan jason cindy josephine madam superintendent madam chair janelle kathy rob karen as they say history has its eye on you and we're all counting on you and i'm certainly rooting for you thank you mr cloud and the other board members wish to add any comments or future agenda items okay seeing none we'll move on to the last round of public participation to any members present wish to address the board this evening any
128members of our virtual audience wish to address the board this evening sarah hall good evening thank you so much for all of your service um as we begin to close this meeting tonight i just wanted to re-iterate how absolutely impressive all of you are and how gracefully you have handled some really challenging waters this season and in the past year and a half and certainly leading up to those points as well you've all been met with lots of challenges and i'm very grateful for those of you who will continue on the board and those of you who are exiting it's okay buddy and so i just wanted to just kind of echo all of those sentiments that went out all of your hard work your dedication you are so very much appreciated by our district
129and for doing right by our children and making sure that their best interests are at the center of your focus all the time that's incredibly important as a parent as an educator those are things that i specifically value in a board of education it's really really important to see that the representation is specifically looking out for the best interests of our our babies and so thank you once again for all of your hard work i also want to thank the educators in the watertown public school system who currently are making it a safe place for all students regardless of their backgrounds the experiences that they're coming to school with every day the challenges that they're facing making it a safe place for them those who are going out of their way to make sure that
130students can be their authentic selves and that they can have people there who are safe adults for them i as an educator can say that there have been lots of times when students specifically students who are part of the lgbtq community or students who don't have somebody within the school or within the building that they can connect with have found a safe place in classrooms where teachers are intentionable intentional about creating that space for them and i think that's something that we need to continue to keep at the forefront of our minds that all of our students are coming from different backgrounds and with different needs and if we are to continue to do the best for our students we want to keep their mental health at the forefront especially during all of the challenges
131that they are facing and unsure how to navigate these waters as well it's beautiful when they have families at home that they feel safe with that they can connect with and they can be their authentic selves at home as well but we do know that there are some students who don't have that luxury who are not safe in expressing who they are at home for various reasons and oftentimes it's fear and so i'm grateful for the educators who continue to create that safe space for our children and i'm hoping that the board continues to ensure that our teachers are working to make it a safe space for everybody thank you miss hall any other members of the virtual audience wish to address the board please unmute yourself if you do okay seeing and hearing none
132i would ask for a motion to adjourn so moved is there a second second any discussion all in favor opposed abstentions meeting is adjourned time is 9 30. everybody good job everybody oh i'm so sorry thank [Music] get to work oh yeah right nothing i'm pretty impressed by everything i've heard [Music] oh my gosh well nobody it's not going to do anybody else that's good so thank you you believe in our books thank you mindy i already feel that way thank you for saying that i appreciate it i'm impressed yes thank you so much whether you agree on the same thing or not they're the only people who don't understand a lot of those yes oh yeah