001[Music] good evening and welcome to this scheduled meeting of the Milford school committee today is Thursday March 20th 2025 and this meeting is being broadcast and recorded by Milford TV copies can be obtained at the request of this board or through central office so tonight we're going to start with an executive session to review the superintendent applicants um we will return after this executive session is over whenever that uh concludes so I need a roll call vote to enter executive session yes yes yes yes yes I'm also yes thank you so we will enter executive session now and we'll come back when we're done hello welcome back to our open portion of this meeting we're all done with our executive session and we are going to jump right into announcements correspondence and distribution does any
002member have anything for that nothing from you guys all right so I have a couple things here um item number one I will let you guys know and I'll forward this email as well that I received something from the director of HR at Town Hall the town um is going to be doing a live open meeting law training this spring it's actually April 14th um there's two times that they outline 1:00 and I think 3:30 or something like that um labor Council attorney Kate federa is going to be doing it um the purpose of this is just to bring everybody up to speed and I guess provide reminders and some training on meetings Corum communication deliberation executive sessions and all that stuff so if you're interested and you have time you can email um the
003director of HR town hall and get involved in that so I will pass that email off to everybody just note this down before I forget and then the last thing I have on here that has snuck up on me a couple times and thank you Chris for making sure I did not forget about it today is this is Robin's last meeting so I just wanted to say thank you obviously and give everybody the opportunity to uh to say whatever they like about the time you spent and the uh sacrifice you made to to give your time to the the community and to the school committee and I know we all know the amount of work and time that gets put into this thankless job at times so we appreciate your time with us okay so
004we are going going to pass over invitation to speak for now only because I believe we may actually have somebody coming to speak who I spoke with an email so I'll wait until the end on that one so that brings me to the general chairperson update so I have two updates here um one is on Personnel one is on the roof I'll start with the Personnel update because it's a little bit quicker we had um some questions about personal update from a couple meetings ago and and it was related to uh two things it was related to the girls track I believe and the boys lacrosse we had some vacancies that were trying to be covered by um different people in the district so as of right now the track position is being covered by
005I believe the boys coach it's going to be able to handle both I talked to Dr Mcintyre and he said that the boys and girls track teams are generally together at most of their meets so um they have plenty of assistants and they're working on trying to find a permanent coach for the girls team and then I believe it was Tuesday this week the lacrosse position was filled so that checked off some of those boxes that I think some people had some questions on uh High School roof so somewhat of a subcommittee update as well I guess in here Chris John and I met um as a facility subcommittee last week with Carlos and Kevin um we reviewed five quotes that received and discussed kind of a plan of action for what's been going on
006with the roof so essentially what it's come down to is uh it's a two-part two-part process here um facilities and and administration are going to work to identify one of the vendors who is going to come and try to make immediate repairs to the space in the hallway just outside here and uh over the front doors um aside from that we discussed and asked facilities to go get quotes on bringing in a company to do a deeper assessment on the roof as a whole so we have a um infrared reading of the roof from the current vendor trco from 2022 I believe and they basically take like a moisture reading through the roof um to get an understanding of moisture content um we're asking to have that done again and then some potentially to have
007different spots checked to see what's going on so we have not heard anything back about the quotes for that but it's going to be a two-part piece fix any immediate damage and then also try to get an assessment of what we're looking at to try to get this roof to the end of his life so the there more information to come on that did you guys have anything to add to that piece no that sums it up just a reminder that we you know we do have a roof that's had a life expectancy of 18 or 20 years we're into 22 years or more 23 and you know we don't know that we have a new school we may have an addition to the school we may be building out or up which I said
008at you know the last meeting but you know this this roof needs to serve us for uh at least the you know the next four five six years at a minimum in in a portion of it or majority of it might need to serve for another 20 years so we we have too many unknowns in this school building process so it's not like you know a new school is right around the corner because it's not so I mean I know everybody here is aware of that but for anybody watching that maybe didn't see the last meeting I just wanted to point that out very good thank you all right next up we have an update on the superintendent search so last last oh we're going further than this um C about two weeks ago we
009opened up um the the position and accepted applications that window closed on the 18th we had a good amount of applicants come in and this evening we started the night with reviewing the applicants to determine who was believed to be um fitting of the qualifications and the needs of our district the decision that was made in executive session tonight was that we had a loan candidate to move move forward with and that was Dr Craig kigle who's our current assistant superintendent so the discussion that we have in front of us now is around support for Dr kigle and whether or not he is the individual that we would like to move forward with as our new superintendent starting in July 1 so I'd like to open up the floor to anyone who has any comments
010or thoughts about um Dr kigle as our potential next superintendent I'll go first go ahead we'll just go right around that works yeah um you know certainly Craig has been a member of our district for uh what over 25 years you know starting off as a uh as a school teacher then as a principal uh at multiple schools and then uh most most recently and for a duration of of many years as the uh assistant superintendent so I think looking at some of the other candidates um yes there were there were individuals that were qualified for the job but I think that Craig kigle was was hand hands down uh the the most qualified and and the person that knows our school and when you start considering the fact that we do have the um
011the school building project coming up uh C and Craig has also handled many uh new initiatives as far as the ma you know the math program and the English program that we hope to move forward so again I feel like you know in my book Craig is our guy yeah thank you so um yeah we know we have we have Craig and sigle he's been working for the school for roughly 27 years to me that's almost been like a 27e job interview for this position he served in multiple capacities he's excelled at all of them he knows the needs of the district he knows the needs of the students he knows the needs and the support needed for the teachers and equally important you know all of the colleagues that he'll have or uh they
012know him very well too and they clearly have a uh an outstanding working relationship so to me this was this was the this was the the logical progression for our district I I kind of hinted at that last last week that I felt that way or maybe I said it but um I I I support that wholeheartedly I think this is probably um the most important decision I've been a part of in almost nine years on this committee I think it's going to have long lasting um effects and I I think that Craig kigle is the right individual to move this District forward so that's that's why I supported it or that's why I wanted to move car forward and um presumably go go forward from there yeah I'll just keep it really short uh
013Dr kigle obviously is immensely qualified um I'm excited to see what he can do in this position he's obviously done so much for this District uh for the last 25 plus years and um yeah he has our full support my full support for sure um and I think everyone here also agrees great thank you echoing what John just said hiring a superintendent is one of the if not the most important jobs that a school committee can have and so I'm glad we of snuck this in before our time was up um speaking about Dr kinigi specifically just looking at his resume knowing him as a person he's someone who has worked as a teacher and as an administrator and now in the central office in our district in multiple grade levels he's worked at the
014elementary middle schools and now he's here in the high school in his current role um what part of the reason why I was so adamant before that we do open in the search and look at other candidates it wasn't that I necessarily had any doubts about Dr kiggly but now I feel assured that looking internally and externally the entire applicant pool he is by far the most appropriate and would be a really sought-after candidate even if he wasn't our internal pick so um I'm very excited for this next chapter in Milford Public Schools and I'm happy to be leaving the committee at a time where it looks like we are going into really really POS positive Avenues and I'm excited to have a conversation or have the committee of a conversation with Dr kigle about
015this thanks Matt yeah I think when you think about sort of commitment to Milford and our students and our staff and our families you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that could exceed sort of the commitment that Dr kiggly has shown us for the last 20 plus years so I think you know having the chance to have reviewed rumes Robin I certainly supported kind of us navigating that process I think it was worthwhile but I think to bring other people in would actually be a waste of time at this point because I think our ours so high that it would just be unfair to take time out of individuals when we have someone who's so qualified so excited to move forward it was also really touching I think we all have uh know the references
016that were provided and I think it just adds additional validation in terms of substantiating I know my own opinion but it's great to see that be validated by so many so sure well I won't uh I won't go around saying the same almost as everybody else but um similar feelings I think that Dr kle is more than earned the opportunity um to take this role on it and for me aside from obviously his um highly clear qualifications on paper you have the character of the person too and there's somebody in him that's that's highly committed to their craft and has a a deep desire to make make a difference and I think um there's just no one out there that's qualified and available that um that's anywhere near is connected to our community or the
017success of our students uh so I think that uh by far in a way that he is he is is the next guy and I'm excited to see um where this District can go with him leading so with that we do have an opportunity to entertain a motion tonight if anyone is willing to make it at this time I can help with a wording unless you guys got it go no I I'll motion to um offer the position of superintendent of Milford Public Schools to uh Dr Craig kigle pending um successful contract negotiations okay motion by John second second by Megan any more discussion no I see none all right all in favor it's unanimous thank you can I can I make a secondary motion please um to allow the the chair and the vice
018chair to enter into preliminary discussions to bring something into a future executive session sure motion by motion by John second by Chris any discussion sorry thank you for the efficiency John all in favor my pleasure that's also unanimous thank you let me just take note on that M I apologize can we just can I go back to announcements just for one second absolutely I'm sorry I thought I anticipated we would go around the table and so R I would be remissed if I didn't say how wonderful it's been working with you over the past few years I think you brought such a great perspective with your professional experience as well and you've just been such a true advocate for all of our special needs children including everyone in our whole district and so it's been
019a true honor to work with you and I've learned a lot so we miss you you sorry thanks M sure is now a good time for that man yeah go ahead I'm still I'm still no I was going to wait till the end but I'm glad you brought it back up so no problem yeah thank you for your time served I know obviously it's as you know it's it's not the easiest of easy to be here every Thursday night or every other Thursday night and and the time all the time in between you know especially when you have a family so but we appreciate you know you you've worked for the school district you're you're educating the the future of our school districts um so I think that what you've brought to our district sitting
020in the seat that you're at right now um has been extremely beneficial um your your voice as a professional and as a parent you know has been second to none so really appreciate it enjoy your free time enjoy your free time with your daughter thank you anyone else chn go ahead please yeah I'll just you know I'll Echo most of those sentiments or all of them and thank you for your time your commitment it's not an easy job uh it's not easy from from day one when you you put your your papers out there and you have to hit through the campaign and you get scrutinized by the public and you get questioned by by pretty much everyone um but you know so I I appreciate everything that they've said and that you have brought
021to this committee and um also you know how well you worked with with all of us here we don't always agree and and you and I come from totally different backgrounds you know you've got the education and the um you know educational background so to speak and I bring more of the municipal side but you know the fact that all these these different experiences we've all all seven of us I'm really proud to have worked with you and everybody else here but you know tonight's your night so thank you yeah Robin I'm I'm really sad that I don't get to work with you in this capacity any further but please continue to reach out and be an advocate to us because I think your perspective on so many things that we discuss on a on
022a bi-weekly basis here so valuable and I'm going to miss a lot of that it's something to miss you as a person too obviously you'll still be around I'll see you out running and such but um yeah really appreciate everything you've done thank you anything you want to say I mean it's been a great experience um and my decision to not seek reelection is nothing about the role or any of the other people in the room other than the fact that it is the time commandment and um I actually very sweet told my daughter this morning that tonight was my last school committee meeting um she actually made me a present at school today um and she was very excited to show me and she was telling everyone it's my mom's last meeting and then
023at dinner tonight she actually said to me does this mean that you're going to have more time with me and I said this is 100% what it's about so um it was just really nice that she got it um and I I remember three years ago when I ran and she would stand by my side and say vote for my mom and so I think that experience she was able to relate to social studies understand it but now she just needs her mom a little bit more and I'm happy to give that to her um and I'm happy that you know I think that the committee is in a really great place and I'm excited to see what Mr soers does when he joins the committee in two weeks so yeah excellent thank you all
024right we can cross that one off and are you all ready to talk okay we we'll go back to invitation to speak right now then so we can do that now invitation to speak is a public uh feedback forum for the school committee allowing members to listen and to and understand Community concerns it's obviously not intended for debate the speaker should provide their name and keep their comments to 3 minutes or less unless otherwise extended by the chair and the full policy can be found under code BH yeah either one's fine either one just because they have a mic I don't need a mic all right my name's Helen Shone um I know you all know me um for 20 years now I've been a Milford School parent uh of Milford Public Schools I have
025volunteered every single year I volunteer more actually for my younger two kids since I don't have little kids at home um I had a meeting with Josh about something very trivial and it ended uh really quick cuz we took care of it and then I just brought since I had all this extra time I brought up the meeting at the meeting um security staff all that at the school and I was shocked to learn that there's not a team of like campus AIDs that are just the eyes and ears of the school I know uh B Dog and I can't think of the other lady's name they do a great job checking people in and all that but if them and the principls are the only like Authority that is insane I went to Newton
026North High School there was a thousand kids in grade and this was 30 years ago we had three campus Aid staffs that walked around that was plenty for 4,000 kids I learned that Josh has asked for the past two years for the same thing that many high schools have and it's been turned down by school committee and I think that that is insane on the count of everyone here I'm not sure if you have kids in the school but everyone here has kids that have gone to or are coming to the school people uh have spouses daughters that work in the school and the bathroom situation has always been crazy and I get it that when kids are together they share a brain and behavior is contagious so if one kid goes in and does
027something stupid they'll all do it the students definitely outweigh the kids and if there's not people that are just the eyes and ears then it's up to the staff and that's not fair my kids I have three that have already successfully graduated I have one left and sorry I can't believe that that this has come to school committee two years in a row and I didn't know and I blame myself uh but I know you guys can't answer me I'm not going to let this go there is a guest speaker that comes for the past three years his name I'm probably going to butcher it shrai Holly it costs $110,000 it is a grant this isn't uh you know money from taxpayers $10,000 a year three years in a row same speech they put him
028up in a hotel and feed him I think that that is a grant that can go without since he has said the same speech three years in a row to the staff uh if I don't know much about how to ask for Grants but if we can't afford to staff three campus Aid for a high school then everything needs to be like broken down this is insane I'm going to come to school committee meeting until we get this a huge huge part not just destruction of bathrooms people that I know that went to school here always had uh somebody sit outside to check the bathrooms I get it even if they're three campus AIDs that can't be a thing but if there are people walking around asking kids where are you supposed to be right
029now great let me walk you there uh go walking in and out of the bathroom I think it should be like two moms Busy Body moms who know everybody and maybe like a retired cop I would literally go for that job if it came up and I would only do it until 2027 when Christopher graduates but that's how passionate I am the last thing I want to show and this is hard to watch but let me get the volume going is if you check your kids phones I'm sure you will find fights like this this is an uncared part of the building this fight broke out two fights broke out never uh broken up by staff staff didn't know this was at the end of the day and the kids share I don't know who
030recorded this they all do it all your kids have fights on their phone if they're in high school and then I have one more uh but all right I'm not even going to bother showing that I have a ton of these there's one that was a girl fight and a teacher got flung and she was doing the right thing breaking it up but that's not her job most of my kids have had the same teachers I've never had a problem with the Milford High School teacher I love all my kids teachers it's not their job to police the kids uh some of these kids go to the bathroom don't come back for 10 minutes you know uh it's like Anarchy around here that's crazy and it's not fair to the staff this needs to get
031fulfilled I can't believe it's allowed that a high school can not have campus Aid security just for that one purpose teachers work very hard and it's not their job and that's it thank you and I know you guys can't answer me but like I said until this gets granted I'm going to keep coming back and I really really appreciate Josh for bringing this to everybody's attention for two years and I'm disappointed that it didn't get fulfilled thank you for coming yes if I can so so we can't engage directly on the subject so I I won't do that if we did that that could be an open meeting while violation but what we can do as a committee is decide whether we want to put this on as an agenda item and what I suggest
032I've probably suggested in the past um like I I know you pretty well um if if you reach out to me offline just as an elected official and we talk about this more at length I can bring some of this back because that's the first I'm seeing of those those videos so I'm not saying you did anything wrong by coming here and sharing this but we can you can do more offline when it's when we don't have an agenda item that we can't really get into but yeah no I will do whatever it takes on my part because I think it's really important I can't speak for anybody but I'm sure everybody here would be willing to exactly talk to you and get a better sense of some of the specific concerns I mean we
033all have a general concern for safety but and oh I want to say one last thing uh school shootings come on you know I I'm not one of those people who likes to Fan the flames on that but it it's insane and I hope that my post this morning got a lot of people watching this CU I know that any parent I've told since last week had no idea so thank you all for your time thank you okay catching up all right so that's that brings us up to the consent agenda now um we will have 18 warrants and the approval of minutes from five different meetings on this list do anything need to be pulled for that sorry pardon what did you say nothing does anything have to be pulled for the minute of
034the consent agenda you had some corrections yes just a couple quick Corrections on the March 6th regular meeting and the March 13th budget meeting okay and they're just I think typographical okay so just editorial Corrections yep okay um we'll go for taking the vote and moving everything forward uh with any corrections could you please send those to Melissa okay so the consent agenda is going to include 18 warrants in the amount of 1,5 $75,900 and the approval of minutes as follows the February 27th 2025 regular meeting the February 27th 2025 executive session these are approval only the March 6th 2025 regular meeting uh with some edits March 6 2025 budget meeting and the March 13th 2025 budget meeting with edits you're a motion to approve motion by Brendan second by Megan any discussion there is
035none all in favor unanimous thank you subcommittee updates I'll throw up there obviously that longrange planning facilities is met I already talked about that so I won't start over uh labor and management met on Tuesday uh no real glaming issues throughout the district which was really good you kind of chasing a few few things here and there that uh can't be you know can't be wrapped up up uh without any you know major efforts so um it was good to hear okay nothing else future agenda items so this is more suggestion since I won't be here but um based on what we just heard I do think it would be advantageous for the committee to consider having administration at least at the high school if not districtwide present on what are the current security and
036safety policies and protocols just so everyone is aware do we want to also include the the the police department in that conversation as well what was it wanted to include the police department in that that conversation as well I would I guess recommend we start with okay perhaps the Dena students and the high school principal and if they want to continue on with other involvement like we'll lay it out there for them to to decide I guess just taking notes on this like Mr chair and to add on that as you're as you're taking your notes with that you know there was the discussion camp at a a but I guess you know is there a level of vandalism so I'd like to know you know are is vandalism being reported and if so to
037what degree and does that point towards the need of Campus AIDS absolutely um and then also a review of the I I would I would assume that the handbook must have a section on bathroom passes right and and what that looks like whether either that's from the staff side or the student side so but at least to kind of be better informed because if it's if we're seeing vandalism in the bathrooms then all right how do we stamy that you know and is there is there some level of modifications to the handbook that we need to look at sure all right I would obviously agree with those I think that that's a a very interesting thing to look into especially after what we heard tonight um curious what more information we have not maybe heard
038yet or what was missed in different time so I think that that's certainly a discussion to reopen and try to figure out um what's going on a little deeper here especially since we're not done with the budget season yet so there is still time to obviously work something in if it's necessary so anything else for future agenda items yes stiens uh and I think it's a would need to do a complete review of stiens um I think we or not I think I know we need to put some pressure on and and let's discuss the need for um descriptions on these stiens and you know what exactly is you know the the job title and and the scope of work and and the level of expectation so I really would like to to go over
039what we've had in the past what we expect in the future and uh and and set expectations excellent anything else I see not okay just going to double check that I actually hit everything here I did okay that brings us to a German if nobody has anything else to share we do not have anything further incl including any executive sessions tonight so we'll be ending the meeting take a motion to adjourn motion by Robin second by Brendan all in favor it's unanimous thank you