001thank you David could not be here Jessica I'm here uh June could not be here Lisa B I'm here Lisa M M yes Randy yes um Susan could not be here Tom could not be here I am here and then I also want to introduce our student rep for this school year uh Rebecca Sylvester so welcome Rebecca hello hello thanks for being here um all right so uh first uh item up on the agenda is well actually let me um let me back up a little bit if I may um so one of the things with um actually it's part of the of Massachusetts General law surprisingly enough um that school committees have a a student rep that kind of sits in on the on the committee meetings participates in the discussions does not get
002a vote unfortunately but uh um obviously seeking the perspectives of the students and Rebecca will be here this year to to represent uh the student body of North Middlesex um the student representative is generally the chair of a student advisory committee and um is uh is elected for to that role for for a year so I don't know Rebecca if that's been the case in in your position I know this is kind of new for us um so I'm not sure yeah I'm the student council president and I'm also going to be the student rep this year excellent good well good to have you um the uh again representative is um a single designated individual as Rebecca and um will be that kind of ex-officio non-voting member of this committee so by by nature of
003Rebecca's role in student council and on the student advisory she becomes a member of our of our school committee as a student representative so if anybody has any questions on that uh happy to take those now um but uh it's this this in the past we've generally had members of student council come and give reports which have been very valuable and appreciated uh the intent of this role is really a Step Beyond that so obviously want to hear what's going on um where where appropriate but also um Rebecca want you to be part of conversations and and have your input and insight as uh as a member of our of our student body so we welcome your participation and input so thanks for being here any questions from the committee or comments before we move
004on to the formal agenda I just want to get that out of the ways people wonder why Rebecca's here Craig I do have one thing instead of calling Lisa B and Lisa M could we use our last names absolutely because like we're not in we're not in grade school so I just sure I just yeah I know it's kind of weird but thank you you're welcome Miss Martin all right um so first order business is our consent agenda we have the approval of minutes from uh June and July accounts payable warrants and payroll warrants and a donation um of 31.33 to the high school from um Ohio pile prints Incorporated so moved second that's Miss Martin and Chester can I still call you Jessica is that okay all right um so this is for approval
005the consent agenda Jessica Jess is fine and yes all right thank you uh Miss bloom yes Miss Martin yes uh Randy yes and I will vote Yes so that is unanimous thank you everybody next up public Communications I do not see anybody submit for public Communications this evening um just as a reminder for the viewing public that uh we do welcome public comment for any items that are on the agenda and uh in the agenda that's posted there's a link to a form that you fill out to requests a sought on our public comment that public comment is generally limited to uh two to three minutes for 10 minute total for the evening so again encourage people to uh to participate if they so desire again the best way to provide feedback to the committee
006is to email either your Town's representative directly an out large member directly or you can email the entire committee uh at NM school committee at nmrsd.org I hopefully got that right um moving on to the chairpersons report I don't have much other than what I have already covered so I'll move on to superintendent Morgan sure thank you and this evening I'm more or less just going to be reading into the record um our retirees from last year our 25 years of service award and also our new hires as I as I try to do on an annual basis and we did want to wait until this meeting so that we were as accurate as possible we are still hiring but for the most part um we're in really good shape right now but again wanted
007to make sure that this list was as accurate as possible and this will be shared with Ms with Miss Ivey later on so we'll become a part of the minutes so for retirees we have Beth balderelli who is a special education teacher at the high school Sandra beachler who was a grade five teacher at the necitizen Deborah Bryce who was accounts and accounts payable specialist at central office Deborah capucci a secretary at swannacook Karen Carlson Mariano a grade six teacher at this Catherine chase a custodian at the high school John Cochran physical education teacher at the Hawthorne Brook Heidi Delaney a physical education teacher at the Hawthorne Brook Susan Hamill the principal secretary at the high school Tara Hanley principal at the varnan brook Oscar Hills the director of building and grounds Sandra Jameson guidance
008secretary at the high school Laura LaFontaine kindergarten power professional at Spalding Paul Leonard custodian at the high school Arthur O'Connor computer science and technology teacher at the high school Judith Phillip a grade 7 and 8 in ela teacher at the Hawthorne Brook Sharon Sheen first grade teacher at vernonbrook Ruth Silva first grade teacher at vernonbrook Andrea White Secretary of weinenbrook in Virginia Woodward grade six Ela teacher at the Nisa Tissot so those are our retirees for the 2022-2023 school year any questions on that list before I move on to the 25 years of service award no just uh congratulations to all of them yes absolutely and obviously health and happiness in their retirement I hope that they have many years of enjoyment and then we have again 25 years of service award all of these
009individuals began their careers in NM in 1998 so Michelle Chapel a Grade Three teacher at the varnan brook Laura Gaffney paraprofessional at Hawthorne Brook Sarah Joy an Ela teacher at the high school Lori lapierra special education teacher at the Hawthorne Brook Rosemary Leclerc a paraprofessional at the Spalding Lorraine lizotte retired power professional in District Courier Maureen pulford a speech and language pathologist of Vanessa Tessa Lynn Ragsdale paraprofessional at the Varna Brook Jennifer Reedy special education teacher at the Vernon Brook Lori Smith assistant principal at the high school professional Hawthorne Brook and Karen Walsh a fourth grade teacher at Ashby and obviously want to thank them for their years of service and dedication to the students of NM questions there before I move on to new staff so congrats and uh thanks for making me feel
010a little older you're welcome okay so if a new staff will do this by building at Ashby Elementary Hannah kamo grade three teacher Kaylee Francis kindergarten teacher Annabella livadati academic interventionist McKenna picaro speech and language pathologist assistant Roxanne Webb the secretary district-wide is Grace Brynn speech and language pathologist Felicia De Salvo bcba Aaron Josephine a speech and language pathologist assistant in James Pierce a custodian at the Hawthorne Brook Middle School junichi ash physical education teacher Libby Morrell paraprofessional Eric Sunderman special education teacher Jason White assistant principal Middle School Amanda Bernie a grade sex math teacher Johanna Brissette paraprofessional Amy Glover paraprofessional Brittany Hart special education teacher Linda copy paraprofessional Jillian lafoss music teacher Debbie Osborne guidance counselor Brittany Reed paraprofessional and Matthew simonich paraprofessional North Middlesex Regional High School Maria ASA biology teacher Tiana Babin
011guidance secretary Christine Batista paraprofessional Chandler Behringer a computer science teacher and Technology teacher Caleb Chu choral teacher Kevin Hall paraprofessional Jennifer Kimball special education teacher also kunitzanova paraprofessional William McCarthy social studies teacher at the Spaulding Memorial School Ashley graval speech and language pathologist assistant Susan Hall General assistant launcher recess aide Liliana Hubert grade one teacher Amy labreck power professional Megan stragovsky grade four teacher Allison Walsh paraprofessional it's going to cook Early Childhood Center Sarah Flores paraprofessional and finally at varnerbrook elementary school Crystal Bettencourt paraprofessional Megan Branco co-principal Jennifer Cota academic interventionist Allison Hannon paraprofessional Elise Levine guidance counselor Rachel laprine's paraprofessional Nicole Mariano excuse me Nicole Mourinho grade three teacher uh in total this comes out to be 22 new support staff two new administrators and 21 licensed Educators and this does not include essentially
012anyone that was already employed in the district and moved into another position so we did have a lot of movement as well primarily with academic interventionists moving into teaching positions so welcome to all of our new teachers that was a lengthy list and again it will be provided in the minutes and that's all I have for my report for now thank you superintendent Morgan yes and welcome to uh it's all the new stuff that's that's fantastic um next on our agenda is uh new business and the first is we have expanding high quality instruction math materials grants and uh we have uh assistant superintendent Dr uh Gary bourbon good evening everyone um so last year conversations between the high school and our curriculum office Dr Cormier the stem director and Mr Thompson the high school
013department head for math identified some inconsistencies with materials being used for students in 9th and 10th grade math classes they didn't notice that open up was a resource that had been used by some of our teachers open up is a resource that's been evaluated by Desi's curate Department as being well aligned to Massachusetts standards and includes strong instructional routines that support peer collaboration and materials that feature robust teacher guidance including including both anticipate and monitor charts which is something that we've been working towards with arcade 8 program implementation so they saw that as a kind of a a nice shift up to the high school level because it was something that was already being used in classes we were pleased this summer when we're presented with the opportunity need to apply for and be notified
014as a recipient of this grant under the grant we're going to be able to provide teachers that are piloting the program with training to explore and better understand the program and the approaches that it uses and funding will also be used for any potential additional materials as we move towards looking at full implementation with Integrity across all classes going forward and of course in accordance with school committee policy as we get closer to that January first date of this year we'll come back to the school committee to discuss any um changes to curriculum going forward into the next school year excellent any questions from the committee um and this grant is provided by Desi correct yes it's a Jesse Grant um and what we're finding with a lot of the Desi grants that are coming
015out right now for curriculum is is a big focus on what's called high quality instructional materials which really references materials that have been um vetted through a process that Desi has which is their curate division or through uh national uh process called Ed reports and so they're looking at you know any type of grant that their funding or supporting has to be supporting implementation of high quality instructional materials excellent do you know how many other districts received a grant similar to this is this a Statewide based on need or is there like a limited number that's like it's a competitive Grant um and I'm not sure how many districts did receive it but it was a competitive application process and they had a certain amount of money available good uh Randy uh yes uh just
016real quick um so the materials that we're getting in um I assume that we're getting enough that um all the grade 9 and 10 I think you had said um will be able to use the same materials and it's not going to impact um the teachers that didn't have it it's just additional um materials that they can use with the curriculum that they've already been teaching correct correct and open open up is actually an online resource so a lot of the materials are available um online and it'll just be purchasing the materials that we need to have more Hands-On access to for our teachers and students any other questions comments if not then I will take a motion to have the school committee vote to accept the fc164 expanding high quality instructional math materials Grant
017as presented that moved second that's Randy and chess any last comments questions okay um so this is to approve the grant Jess yes Miss Bloom yes Mr Martin yes Randy yes and I will vote Yes so that is unanimous thank you thank you Dr Rich appreciate that and thank you moving on to our masc delegate selection always favorite topic of the committee every year not as favorite as the next topic but still a favorite um so masc has their annual conference coming up in November I'm blanking on the date all of a sudden but uh it's coming up and uh what we do every year is elect a delegate who um would cast our votes uh in person on uh resolutions and partake in those discussions so I didn't remember if anybody from the committee
018was planning to attend I guess that would be the first question what days was it again Craig um I knew somebody would ask uh it is I believe November 8th through the 10th it's a Wednesday to Friday I believe Mr Hanson yes it's the eighth through the tenth perfect thank you is anybody thinking or planning on attending Cape Cod November no it's a beautiful time of year to visit it is all right I will take that as nobody plans to attend um Robin if you're still there do you or does anybody know when the delegates have to be selected by forgot I'm not sure when they have to be selected by okay um has anybody uh maybe and is considering or is everybody a definite no I'm trying to look up online right now at
019least on when the uh which day that they're doing the delegates and I can last time they do the delegates on Wednesday they did Friday I'm looking to see if that's the same thing this year um have all the stuff they've mailed us that's on my desk at home so I don't have it with me unfortunately yeah it looks like the the business meeting yeah that can't be you're only putting a half an hour for this aggressive no it would be uh it's saying Mass business meeting is at 4 30 on Wednesday and they have the exhibitor reception starting at five this has never been a half an hour no I know that's why I'm like what are you guys going um seems rather like well those people are going to miss the the reception
020uh which is delicate delegate assembly is at 3 15 on Wednesday into 3 15 did I miss that hold on I'll go back up the First Column yes delegate assembly you're right well I wonder what the mass business meeting is then yeah m-a-s-s versus um okay so 315 on the Wednesday let me take a look at a few things that I can get back to you guys thank you Randy all right so we'll move on unless there's any other contenders who are thinking of attending uh we'll move on to the masc resolution so every year at the conference uh the the delegate assembly which again are representatives from each member school committee uh will get together and discuss and vote on a series of resolutions those resolutions are prior to that meeting voted on by
021their the delegates rep um home school committee I guess to put it that way so we have nine resolutions um this evening that masc has put out for consideration and then again these will be voted on at the at the delegate assembly these resolutions uh generally are intended to provide guidance to masc and provide some indication in terms of what the school committees would like masc to focus on um masc will also use these to guide any lobbying efforts and other um advocacy for for certain issues or certain topics that are presented here in the past we've decided to read these and others we've decided not to read them word for word um I think last year we might not have have not voted on any of them to be honest so yeah I don't
022think we voted last year because nobody was going correct um so we had we didn't really make a difference in what we felt because we weren't going to be there to vote right um in past what we've done is we've read the first um line or the first section and then the therefore section to actually know what the resolution is about or what they're proposing actually being done versus all of the reasons on how they got there all right um I think we can proceed that way Randy I like that if no one has any objections I highly suggest you pull up the document I can um I can actually share it if you give me one second which might make it a little easier for folks all right we're focusing the resolutions I hope
023yes okay so resolution one is full stable funding for metco um metco is the Metropolitan Council for educational opportunity and that is whereas in 1966 the first 220 students rode buses from Boston neighbors to schools in seven suburbs um and it's I don't have a good summary of picking this out but uh Massachusetts legislator passed the racial balance act Commonwealth accepted financial responsibility for any town that wishes to enroll students from outside the district for the purpose of racial integration subject to appropriation um therefore uh be it resolved the Massachusetts Association School committees calls upon the governor and the legislature to create a stable funding structure to support mecco and its partner districts that fully funds the support provided by mecco and the cost of providing Services delivered by Metro's partner districts so this would
024be an example of a of one where masc would help to Lobby and Advocate advocate for funding for this service Now where's we don't have anything um we don't have any programs in our and I am familiar with the Medco program a little bit and this is one of those unfunded mandates um and I would certainly support uh you know trying to get stable funding for this unfunded mandate because it kind of goes a long way for other unfunded mandates that do affect us um and so support other districts that have uh these same issues um it's really kind of just trying to get the state to pay for what they mandate and the programs that they put in place so I would move to support resolution one second any other questions all right this
025is to support resolution one just yes yes Miss bloom yes Miss Martin yes uh Randy yes yes so that is me honest thank you uh resolution two regarding investigations and recommendations for transporting for transportation bidding procedures I wear school districts across the Commonwealth are struggling with the problem of transportation services and the bidding and purchasing of these Services therefore be resolved at the masc uh Prevail upon the office of the state auditor to investigate the bidding practices of school transportation providers and to present such findings and recommendations as may be necessary to contain costs make more efficient transportation services available for public schools um I will say this this was a topic when the state auditor visited our districts a month or so ago maybe a month and a half ago now this was a
026main topic of discussion in terms of the the single bidder environment that we're in for for school transportation and the the costs that continue to escalate that that aren't reimbursed by the state so there's there's a number of different factors that affect us this one focuses on the uh the bidding practices of of that Transportation model superintendent I I just wanted to add that this is that this kind of encompasses what we've been asking for um the state auditor um the and quite honestly that the governor look at this and look at the bidding practice so that it becomes an actual bidding process as opposed to a monopoly I'm 100 agree looking into this and so I will move that we support resolution too I'll second we other questions or comments on this all right
027uh Jess yes Miss Martin yes Randy yes and I will vote yes thank you resolution three regional transportation whereas is outlined mgl title uh 12 chapter 71 paragraph 16 C the Regional School District shall be subject to all laws pertaining to school transportation and when the agreement provides for the Furnishing of Transportation by the Regional School District the Regional School District shall be obliged to provide transportation for all school children grades kindergarten through 12 and the Commonwealth shall reimburse such District to the full extent of the amounts expended for such transportation subject to appropriation and therefore be it resolved that in such case where a pupil resides greater than one and one half mile from the school of attendance measured by the commonly traveled route the Commonwealth of reimbursement does not fully cover the amounts
028expended for such Transportation the Regional School District may allow pupils to opt out of such Transportation or may charge a fee that in aggregate may not exceed the differential between the amounts expended for Furnishing transportation and the Commonwealth reimbursement be it further resolved at the masc encouraged the legislature to modify MGO title 12 chapter 71 paragraph 16c with the aforementioned proposed language or alternative and remove the period to provide Regional School Districts The ability if so desired to charge a transportation fee that an aggregate cannot exceed the differential between between the and that the Commonwealth reimbursement and the Michigan School District transportation expense for any people that resides greater than one and one half mile from the school of attendance measured by a common travel throughout pupils May opt out of Transportation not be subject
029to a transportation fee uh similar to what we just chatted about this again is uh Regional School districts are held to a different standard um towns cities that are not part of a district are not subject to these restrictions as districts are superintendent uh oh I'm sorry I that that was still raised from before I do agree with you I'm sorry um questions comments motion I moved to support resolution three um I do agree with having people's be able pupils be able to opt out of the transportation um it could certainly help with having our empty buses um and some of our costs not having to have a seat for every student on the bus if they don't want it second all right any ask questions or comments okay Jess yes Martin yes Randy yes
030and I will vote Yes thank you next up is resolution four diversity equity and inclusion whereas we are responsible for fostering Equitable learning environments where an all students staff members and families are treated with respect and their voice and presence valued regardless of race ethnicity gender identity sexual orientation expression religion natural origin culture physical ability or other status therefore be it resolved that masc recommends that all districts adopt to the position of Dei coordinator to work towards an anti-racist school system yeah ready where's I completely agree with diversity Equity inclusion in the schools and making uh the schools a welcoming place for all um I'm a little confused why this is one new resolution because um it's just masc recommending something to the rest of the districts so I'm not sure what kind of why
031they need us to vote on that as well as what that does um and I'm not in favor of pushing a position in the district um because other districts some districts can't afford another position um it may not be a full-time position in some of the smaller districts it may be combined with another um having to recommend or even go down the road of trying to mandate a Dei coordinator position is not something that I support I would tend to agree with you Randy I think we've the school committee I should say a number of years ago now um voted on the to support the the anti-racism resolution which was which was followed by um practice of of um educating teachers and putting things in place to address that I agree this I thought the
032same that I'm not really sure what they're asking because just putting out that recommendation would serve the same purpose because whether every District supports this or not it's not going to mandate districts higher this position um and if it did then that'd be another unfunded mandate that districts many districts wouldn't be able to afford anyway so um I think the theory and practice behind it is important but recommending districts hire a specific position I don't think is appropriate so I will move to um not support resolution 4. I'll second that all right any other questions or comments on this resolution so a yes vote on this means we are not in support of the resolution so it's a little backwards but uh um we'll keep that in mind so this is for resolution four to
033not support it Jess yes uh Miss blue yes Miss Martin yes Randy yes and I will vote Yes so motion passes and we are not in support of resolution for resolution five is the Massachusetts school building authority whereas the school building assistance program is the oldest Capital grant program operated by the Commonwealth that's established in mgl chapter 70b section one therefore be it resolved that the Massachusetts uh the masc calls upon the mass legislature to amend mgl chapter 70b section 7 by removing the 800 million dollar cap maybe it further resolved that the Massachusetts Association School committee's calls upon the Massachusetts school building authority to reinstate The Accelerated repair program for 2024 applications and be it further resolved at the Massachusetts Association of school committees calls upon the Massachusetts legislature to allow public preschools to
034be included in the accelerated repair program and core program um yeah so I was just trying to find a good summary but uh um the msba which is the school building authority has improved learning facilities for over 600 000 students across the Commonwealth right now funding is limited by law to 800 million dollars plus either the rate of growth and the dedicated sales tax revenue amount is defined [Music] in another section of the law or four and a half percent so there's some limitations on that today obviously a lot of Aging um school buildings I think we have benefited correct me Brad or at least three buildings through the accelerated repair program or two of Hawthorne Brook vitamins thank you so and at one time Ashby too right did accelerated repair way back when they
035did for roof and windows Yep um so we've been the the beneficiary of that program um so this again is asking well I'm asking directing masc I guess to help advocate for uh the return of that program and removal of the cap on the funding superintendent I I just wanted to add I think what this resolution is getting at is um where they've basically put a halt to The Accelerated repair program in the core program if they don't reinstate it you know with in the near future they're going to be looking at more new school building projects because they're going to allow buildings to fall into disrepair so that that's that's how I'm reading it um I'm not sure if anyone else agrees but I I do think that the accelerator repair program and the
036core program is very beneficial to the state thank you all right Randy yeah I'm also in agreement as far as um including the preschools as um superintendent correct me if I'm wrong but more and more schools probably majority these days do have preschool programs um in them um they are housed in buildings um and they because at least the um the special education portion of the the pre-ks are mandated by the state to have that they should be counted um towards these programs agree 100 percent want to keep going Randy with the Motions sure um I will move to uh support resolution five a second all right and you ask questions or comments okay Jess yes Miss Bloom yes Ms Martin yes Randy yes and I will vote Yes so thank you for that resolution
037six school bus stop arm surveillance act and enforcement and penalties whereas it is against the law in Massachusetts to pass a stopped school bus with the stop arm extended and flashing lights while student passengers Embark and disembark the bus unless witnessed by a police officer penalties for passing a stop school bus are minimal the danger to the passengers is extraordinary and can prove fatal um therefore be it resolved that the masc calls on the Massachusetts legislature to enact legislation to pass into law the ability for cities and towns to install and all school buses Live digital video detection monitoring systems for the purpose of enforcing violations against the owner of a motor vehicle whose vehicle failed to stop for a school bus when required to do so by law and be it further resolved that
038the masc calls on the Massachusetts legislature to enact legislation raising the fine for passing a stop school bus to a significant schedule fines as penalty whether witnessed by a police officer or recorded by digital video detection monitoring system the rationale the significant safety concerns present when a vehicle passes a stop school bus embarking or disembarking passengers are endangering our students in Massachusetts presently and US witnessed by police officer the penalties for passing a school bus are minimal if the registration point of Defending vehicle is reported by the bus driver there is a minimal fine requiring a police officer to witness the violation prevents appropriate law enforcement action from taking place especially for repeat offenders allowing the installation utilization of digital video detection monitoring systems on school buses will allow for appropriate law enforcement action provide
039for monitoring and data pertinent to the safety concern and serve as a deterrent to drivers who are contributing to the safety issue protecting the safety of our students is a Paramount concern questions or comments it's Randy uh that's it for the superintendent do you know if any districts actually have anything like this or um is this something completely new because it's currently illegal to put put these in place so yeah I do believe it's illegal the only thing that I know that districts have in place um on a more regular basis is video cameras on the buses themselves and then some additional um safety features whether it be a physical arm that extends from the front of the bus to block traffic in addition to the stop sign which we currently do not have but
040I do not know of any districts that have even piloted something like this because if we're already um have uh cameras on the school bus for the safety on the school bus it I mean the only thing I worry about is that it's going to be cost prohibitive so I certainly wouldn't want it to be mandatory but certainly um making it legal to do so for districts that can do that because I I have seen buses go I mean cars go right past buses and um you know seen videos online of really scary times when you know students are trying to cross the street and cars just don't seem to care it seems like the wider the road on some of these roads where there's you know two or three lanes going each way people
041don't understand that they still need to stop um on those larger roads that's not just uh the passenger side of the bus that matters so I I could be in support of this as long as it's not a mandatory thing and it does say that is that uh for the ability for cities and towns to install these so it is not trying to mandate it questions or comments from anybody else chess I absolutely agree with Randy on this one I think it's ridiculous that we even have to have this conversation people would just do the right thing um but absolutely I agree with this let's see so I would I would move to a support resolution six I'll second all right last chance for questions or comments okay uh Jess yes that's blue yes Miss
042Martin yes Randy yes and I will vote Yes unanimous thank you resolution seven related to MCAS whereas access to high quality publicly funded education is a guaranteed right written into the Massachusetts Constitution uh therefore be it resolved that masc urges Massachusetts to develop a wider more consensus-built strategy for an evaluation system with meaningful input from legitimate stakeholders that masc urges the state legislature to launch a comprehensive evaluation to investigate the extent of biases pertaining to MCAS testing and to make these results public that masc urges Massachusetts to enact a moratorium on MCAS testing effective immediately and that masc urges Massachusetts to develop an alternative to the high-stakes MCAS tests this type of resolution seems to come up every few years but uh Randy yeah um the only part of that that I still I I've
043always had you know kind of conflicting thoughts on just creating a moratorium on the MCAS testing um because without something in its place um students can slip through without having the proper education I certainly agree wholeheartedly um that there should be an alternative because some students just don't take tests well I think there should uh look at the whole system to really kind of find consistent ways to measure whether the students have learned what they should to graduate but I'm not sure about enacting a moratorium without anything in its place at this time but I would certainly uh you know ask superintendent your opinion on this resolution as you are much more of an education expert than I so um honestly I agree with everything that you just said I do not think a moratorium
044is the answer I do think that we need some way to gauge the progress of our students that being said uh really for the first time last year where I really had some time to go in and see some of the Civic action projects to see what some of our students are able to do from a project-based point of view I'm not sure how all of those students did on the MCAS as individuals but from a project point of view they were certainly able to show their knowledge and show their understanding based on whatever topic it was that they chose so I would certainly be in favor of something some type of an alternative that would allow students the opportunity to show what they've learned during their years in an alternative way rather than just
045a pencil and paper test or a computer test at this point but again I think there needs to be something in place um one other note uh failed to mention this at the beginning but we are allowed to propose amendments additions edits deletions in these resolutions they have to be brought to the floor by our delegate and then the delegate assembly would vote on that amendment I think we were successful with that a number of years ago when I went probably 2019 um that we had brought forth an amendment and that again would bring that up on the floor and then there's discussion just like there is here with with motions and the floor can take or or reject that but uh that is a possibility if there's aspects of this or or any of
046these that that don't uh folks don't agree with we can propose amendments Randy yeah I was just about to propose an amendment um so um I move that we support resolution seven with the amendment of removing that the masc urges Massachusetts to enact a moratorium on MCAS testing effective immediately right for the second on the amendments Bible seconds I'll second thank you any discussion on that Jess I will say that Desi's last meeting that they just had the other day they talked almost two hours on this very thing they had a whole bunch of people come in and say the pros and cons of each so I think that it would be worth the watch it's one of the first things they talk about during their meeting so if anyone cares to watch that I
047just figured I'd throw that out there thank you that's good uh Jessica new character you know paraphrase what their stance on it was and what they were in your opinion of their argument it was both good and uh um bad for both sides um I felt like a lot of people that came in were totally against the MCAS like that they felt like that there should be something else in place because teachers are teaching to attest and not to what students need in order to be functioning adults at 18 when they graduate any other comments questions all right so there'll be two uh votes on this the first one will be to amend to remove the the portion about the moratorium so again this is to to amend the resolution so Jess yes uh Mr
048Green I'm not sure can I not yep you can abstain that's perfectly fine absolutely um okay so um yes uh Randy yes no but yes that's uh four was born abstention and I guess uh uh Lisa Bruno might with Miss Martin now changing her name and how I refer to her I didn't I didn't ask you I should have if you wanted to still go by Lisa now that that name is available again or yeah whatever it doesn't matter sorry about that I should have asked you earlier I didn't all right so now we have the full resolution um to vote um in support of that um now minus the amendment So Randy you want to make that motion for us as as amended or I will uh move that we support resolution 7 as
049amended all second all right thank you any other questions okay Jess please um so no where I do I say yes so this is now um resolution seven but we've as a committee voted to pull out the paragraph on the moratorium so if you support the new resolution if you will then then you could vote Yes if you're still not comfortable with removing that moratorium you can vote nowhere abstain [Music] okay um I'll keep it the same no worries so it's an abstention um Miss Martin yes uh Randy yes yes so that's four with one extension thank you resolution eight safe storage of firearms whereas the safety and well-being of our students teachers and staff is a top priority in schools and keeping them safe from the threat of gun violence should be the responsibility
050of all adult stakeholders at each of our school sites foreign [Music] therefore be it resolved that MSC recommends all districts to urge their superintendent and staff to create an appropriate communication to parents and Guardians that explains the importance of secure firearm stores to protect children and teens from unauthorized access to unsecured firearms and their legal obligations consistent with Massachusetts safe storage law be it further resolved that masc urges other communities to work with their local law enforcement agencies Health agencies and non-profit organizations to collaborate and increase efforts to inform District parents and guardians of their obligations regarding Secure Storage of firearms in their homes and vehicles all righty I am again left with this one um not sure what this whole Mase recommends to the districts whole part of these resolutions is um I certainly
051believe in firearm safety um and I think it should be in law enforcement that should be pushing this we can ask for collaboration from them on do they have a program for our district parents and families um can they target things towards them um but this really isn't anything that should be um developed in the schools it's a law enforcement um uh you know it's in their purview and they're the experts in it and they probably have programs already there that we're going to end up duplicating if we try and do anything it should be a collaboration with the um with the law enforcement so I again I don't know what this resolution would really do you think you're ready uh Lisa Bloom um I agree with Randy I don't believe that I believe this
052is um the parents rights also plus law enforcement should be stepping in um and there are fire safety courses that you can have your children take as well um for the firearm safety you can find them all over town or different places locally um so I don't think it's really the school's place that they need to teach your children um I do agree that there is a problem with you know some some parents leave their guns out unfortunately and that needs to be addressed by law enforcement I believe just um I will also say on that that it is Mass state law that the gun itself is locked and that gun that is locked in goes into another locked case into a locked closet according to state law if you're following me so I think
053it's really on the police in a state matter and not really the spot for a school to say you should be following the law where it is state and federal law that you know it's I don't really feel like it's on the schools to decide honestly thank you Jess anyone else questions or comments all right if not I will take a motion on this one uh I will move that the committee not support resolution 8. I'll second that right any last questions or comments okay uh so this uh affirmative vote on this will instruct are committed our delegate to not support this resolution Jess uh Miss Bloom yes Martin yes Randy yes yes as well so unanimous I'm not supporting this one um and the last one is not uh I guess technically resolution but
054more of a proposal to amend the masc bangla's um there really isn't a lot of context provided here but it um I believe this is just adding um adding a section so resolutions will expire at the conclusion of the delegate assembly three years after their adoption the masc legislative committee shall provide a list of expiring resolutions to the membership no later than March 1st of the year in which they expire re-adoption of an expiring resolution can be accomplished under the method prescribed in article 9 section one rationale this permits three years of focus on resolution which overlaps two legislative Cycles provides an additional opportunity for school communities to become involved in the resolution process by championing resolutions which are set to expire it allows the association to affirm what's important to current membership by re-adoption
055and it clears expired less relevant and no longer supported resolutions for new priorities and I believe this is completely new language I didn't see anything where this is changing anything that already existed so this seems like a new a new section questions or comments I'll just simply move to support the uh the amendment proposed right second thank you Jess any questions comments all right Jess yes uh yes Mr Martin yes thank you yes yes so that is unanimous thank you that's concludes our annual masse run through um that's all I had under new business moving on to subcommittee reports um accelerated repair release anything there or on finance we are all good nothing upcoming meeting on finance not yet we'll probably have one as soon as I I have to coordinate it with Brad He's
056The now all right um June could not make it to talk about the Ashby building committee um Tom is not here for communications but Tom has uh decided to step away from the communications subcommittee um he's having trouble attending these meetings just due to scheduling conflicts um so we'll need to find uh another chair to read that committee I don't know if anybody here is interested um if not we will um we'll figure something on how to move that forward are you are you raising your hand Lisa boom yeah it wasn't raising though I um I I would like to step up to the chair for the community sub Communications as I'm already on it but um I'm taking my misc training uh charting course this Saturday so I just like to put that out
057there absolutely um is there any I'm trying to remember for committee membership but we does that have to be on the agenda to vote on that or can we vote on that at any time I know he's already on it but to change role I think where it's a vote it needs to be on the agenda Okay so we've got that um this on the next on the next agenda I appreciate you volunteering and stepping up for that I think this is this is our newest and and probably one of our more important subcommittees is communication continues to be a Hot Topic so okay appreciate you taking the weight on that yeah we'll formalize that on the next uh on the next meeting okay thank you thank you um or was I negotiation personnel is
058there any update there we have some meetings planned next week okay excellence uh policy Randy uh yes so we have one policy it did not go through the policy subcommittee I do apologize to the members of the subcommittee uh this is the um wellness policy this was worked on by um a full committee chaired by Catherine Hampton who is in the district that had a number of uh nurses and it had a representative from the Food Service it had you know lots of different members I was the school committee representative on that committee looking at this the wellness policy is a policy that the desc does have a lot of requirements for it so we were going and looking at what they require uh putting making sure that we address those there's a number of
059different changes this is a Fair um change from what we've had in the past it is fairly or it is very comprehensive uh dealing with a lot of different subjects it does have buy-in as far as I understand from uh the different schools um and it is something that is now coming to the school committee uh for our approval so I hope everyone had a chance to take a look through this if there's any questions I'd be happy to um answer them but at this point we would be voting on a um um to just put it out for comment for a first reading um and then we would be able to look at adoption at our next meeting so I will move that the school committee approve policy ADF wellness policy uh for a
060first reading as presented second just all right again this is to put this out generally um it is out for a minimum of a couple of weeks we posted on the district website we invite members of the public and members of the committee uh obviously to review and submit any feedback back to us that would be for consideration at uh at an upcoming meeting um so this is just to allow this to get out for for common that's right any questions or comments from anybody before we vote all right seeing none um Jess yes that's blue um I'm gonna say no Miss Martin yes Randy yes and I will vote Yes so that's four to one uh this will go out for public comment at this point okay um can I just add Lisa um
061if there you are objecting to in this or would like to see changes you can certainly give me feedback and we can look at um trying to incorporate or I can answer any questions that you might have um and the only other thing for uh policy right now is we do have a meeting schedule going forward starting I believe October 3rd will be our first meeting so we are getting those underway uh to start doing all of uh what we need to get done thank you Randy uh next we just had any updates from Liaisons to the town select boards uh two of our representatives are not here Jess I don't know if you have any update on the towns inside zero update all right thank you that is it for um open business we
062um we do have some executive session stuff to go uh to go through so I will take a motion to those we convene an open session because I wasn't sure where it was going to go but I I don't think there's a reason for us to come back to open session so when you make the motion you can okay yeah I don't believe there is a reason to come back if we don't need to so did it before we go did we need an update from Rebecca or anything um if she would like to provide an update sure but uh and Rebecca usually you do them in the beginning so you don't have to worry that you'll be stuck listening to this stuff every every meeting well I think the intent actually is that that
063our student rep participate in discussions where where they're able to on any topics of Interest so um hopefully you'll hang around and be part of our fun conversations we usually don't have all these resolutions to go through so I'm so excited Craig coming up most recently is homecoming so we're having all the varsity sports teams play either I think there's I on every team plays either that Friday night October 6th or Saturday and we're doing like a patriot pass so instead of having to pay to get into every sports game individually it's just like one big pass so that you can go to all the games that weekend and along with homecoming we have the Autumn Fest that's going on from 9am to three on October 7th where all the clubs and other community members
064are able to sell stuff and then of course we have the game that tonight or the football game and the dance nice that sounds exciting thanks Rebecca thank you Rebecca all right any questions for Rebecca any other items before we take the motion for executive session all right who would like to do the honors I might as well continue um I move that we meet an executive session pursuant to mgl chapter 30 a section 21A for the following purpose purpose three to discuss strategy with respect to and in preparation for collective bargaining in the North Middlesex Regional School District Teachers Association because an open discussion may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the committee purpose four to discuss deployment of security personnel and or devices or strategies with respect there too and
065purpose seven to comply with or act under the authority of any general or special law or Federal Grant in Aid requirements for the approval of executive session minutes dated September 7th 2023 uh executive session minutes dated July 27 2023 the executive session administ dated July 29 2023 and the executive session administ dated June 29 2023. all right do I have a second I'll set I'll second thank you all right this is to enter executive session Jess [Music] yeah yes I couldn't find my mute button Randy yes and I will vote Yes so the committee will now be meeting executive session pursuant to mgl chapter 38 section 21A for the following purposes purpose three to discuss strategy with respect to and in preparation for collective bargaining with the North Middlesex Regional School District Teachers Association because
066an open discussion may have a detrimental effect on the bargaining position of the committee purpose four to discuss the deployment of security Personnel or devices or strategies with respect there too and purpose seven to comply with or act under the authority of any general or special law or Federal grant Aid requirements and that was for the approval of executive session minutes dated September 7 2023 July 27 2023 July 19 2023 and June 19 2023 the committee will not reconvene in Open session so for members of the public have a good evening for the committee we will see you on the Google meet thank you