001Yep. >> All right. I am going to call to order this meeting of the Mount Escotty School District Board. Uh call to order at 6:33 p.m. on this Monday, January 5th, 2026 at Palver Bridge School online. Uh our second order of business right now is any changes or additions to the agenda. I don't have any. Done. >> All right. Hearing none, I will move on to approval of our minutes from December 1st of 2025. And I will take a motion to approve those minutes. >> Second. >> All right. >> Any discussion? >> I have I have comment. >> Sure. Um, I didn't I didn't feel like the minutes really reflected uh enough of the content of the budget discussions. >> It seems like it was >> No, Lanna takes them. >> She does. >> Yep.
002Sending a recording every time. >> So, um, it it didn't seem like it had worked. I felt it was very different actual content. It just gave a rundown of who said who who spoke but say what sentiments were expressed and I think for the public who is who reads the minutes I don't think they would have gotten very much information actual information out of what happened. So, are are we proposing updates to them or is this just a general kind of go forward? >> I'm registering my comment and I'm asking that yes going forward and updates to these minutes, but I'm okay with being the sole person. All right. Any other discussion on the minutes? >> All right. Awesome. So, hearing none, I will I guess take a roll call vote on this minute on
003these minutes. And I will start with Amy. How do you vote? >> I >> Bill. I Elizabeth. >> Uh Megan. I >> Nancy >> I >> and I'm an I. So it is adopted and we'll take your comment into uh any consideration for future minutes. Thank you. All right. Uh next we are on to public comment on non-aggenda items or otherwise community announcements. Public comment is not legally required, but we believe it is crucial for us to hear from our community members about their concerns over issues. Through these meetings, our board models for our students how to conduct public discourse and that the board and members of our community can approach controversial issues in a civil and constructive manner and can demonstrate mutual respect. Having said that, please know that the board is here to
004listen. The public comment period is not designed for discussion. Please start by identifying yourself and what town you reside in and limit your remarks to three minutes. [clears throat] Uh so if nobody else has a comment, um I did just want to make the announcement that it is uh petition season leading up to town meeting day for uh for schoolboard seats. So um you know, every year we do have two seats at least that come up on our board. In a regular year we'd have two. This year is no different. Um, so if uh anybody intends to run for those seats, uh you would need to gather 60 total signatures, which represents 30 from each community, uh note that it does not have to be 30 from each town. Uh but you know, it's nice
005to get people from both. That said, you could get 60 from one. It's okay. It's just representative of the populations. Um >> what are they doing? >> Uh I was getting into that. >> Um I just need to quickly look it up because I have it. >> Yep. Uh so yeah, by end of day on January 26th. So a few weeks left for that. Um and at this time I guess I will let uh since we do have people in those seats. Uh if you want to you can say whether you're running again or not or you don't have to say anything. Sorry on the spot there. Kind of a natural time to note that >> I am running letting guess. >> Okay. >> I am not. >> All right. Thank you Nancy. All right.
006Any uh any further comments, announcements? >> Yes, Megan. Um Wednesday uh 5:30 about six if you want to swing by the dates forum. >> Okay. >> There is roughly four if you want to send me something. There's usually about you know six or seven voters there. want to stop by and pass. >> All right. If there are no other announcements, uh, then we will move on to the administrative report. So, I will pass it over to our takes great Sorry. Just hit share in the upper right corner. Oh, I'm sorry. Slideshow. Okay. Slideshow. I'm not sure. >> Yeah. Um, so a little wrap up from December and looking ahead to January. Um, just some um a lot of holiday c classroom celebrations and before we headed off for the twoe break. um a nice winter
007concert with with very very good attendance and um I promise Theo I put this in here before I knew you were coming but the National Honor Society does an amazing job at the holiday bazaar for our kids and it's a highlight to see these little kids coming back with these gifts wrapped from by high school students for them. um a real just a nice crosspollination across the school and um they take such good care of the younger kids when they're coming through. So, and um I think we talked to Theo about a few ways to even help more with donations and collections and wrapping paper and things like this. But just um amazing and a really nice experience for the younger kids. We are looking ahead to our assessment windows. Star and Dibbles administered the
008week of January 27th. So that um and that that uh rattles our schedules a little bit. It's a lot of work our interventionists and classroom teachers. Um but that's coming at the end of the month. Um I'm very very excited about our winter enrichment plans. Um this year we've done a couple things to maybe make the um the program more enriching and and more um providing some more different opportunities for um for the kids. I'm typo in my slide already. Um we decided to not begin with right in the past January has not had any snow. We all know that's not true because we just drove here tonight. But um our skiing numbers over the last two years have actually gone down. The number of kids skimming has decreased, but I think it's because of
009the really great opportunities we're offering to the kids on site. So I don't take that as any kind of um negative feedback. Kids are just getting opportunities to do things that they haven't. So this year that should say pottery, not potter by typo. Um we have two theater presentations, one for K2 and one for five. and two teachers will lead a small theater performance. Those kids stay in that group for the six weeks and then they perform through for the school after. Um we added bowling last year and it was a real hit. Um this year we added skating. The kids will travel to Hartford's ice hockey rink. They rent skates and everything there. So they'll be able to go skating. Um we have a real indoor art opportunity where they're going to be making
010banners or murals for around the school. some indooroutdoor sports and then another group um will spend their six weeks swimming at the community center. So just some really great opportunities for the kids and I like that they're able to choose the kids that stay at school um rotate through the six ocean so they'll each get to do one of those except for swimming. They'll get to do one of those every week. Um, we've seen a really nice increase in adult attendance at our leadership assemblies. I think getting back into the theater, moving them to a Friday morning. Um, we added just a little music at the beginning and at the end and streamline the award process. Um, so that students are are not just trying to fit what we think leadership is, but they're being
011awarded for the ways that they demonstrated individually. So you don't have to demonstrate one one particular characteristic to get the award. You you're awarded for for being the leader that you are. And I do think the student leadership team has been an incredible support. There's a group that works at the um assemblies. There's another group that's working on the school environment and then another group that's working on our community engagement. And um we're still holding strong at 25 members on that team. I suspected a few would drop off and make it. So, um, the concert pictures there and our leaders are there. Some of our third graders, um, studied weather and did their own little science fair version, like a nine-year-old version of a science fair. So, these are two sharing theirs. And then, um,
012the Wednesday just before break, Robin French, who's one of our amazing support staff people, um, she used to be a florist. You probably know that better than I do. she offered an opportunity to teach us how to make flexible pieces and it was just come if you want and it was really nice. Um 15 staff members came. It was just a fun community event and I think if we did it again we'd have twice that many because those who didn't come really wish they did. So we're trying to do more of those opportunities as an adult community as well to build um to build our school. when our um winter sports is on Fridays uh winter enrichment is on Thursdays. >> Thursday afternoons. Yeah. And one other change that we've made this year is if
013the kids are not skiing, we are not participating in the enrichment. We'll just add it on to the end. Um we used to try to hold the enrichment. Then we'd have to figure out what to do with 80 skiers and it just made things a little more complicated. So now they will have six weeks. It just may not be six consecutive weeks depending on snow. Um but I doubt that way too far right now. So that was that's a change. >> Hey, do you want to go one more slide? All right. Hi all. Thank you all for joining. Sorry I am um remote today. Um but I'm glad you all are able to join in. Just some updates for ABS December highlights. Just want to talk about our concert and art show. Uh we had
014the ability to collaborate with our town hall to have a beautiful performance facility. Um it's just great to be back in that space. It really gives just uh a little bit of um extra professionalism to the experience for our kids, for our families, and it's a beautiful facility. So, we had a nice opportunity to share with our community there um for both a day and an evening concert. The day before we got into break, we had our solstice celebration, which is also combined with our Skip holiday shop. Um, the first 30 minutes was as planned and then at nine o'clock our power went down and our generator didn't quite kick in the way we thought it would. So, we spent the next three hours in the dark with these beautiful lights surrounding us. It was
015uh quite wonderful just to see how everybody pulled together and made that happen. Um, just a how lucky we were to already have the solstice and all the light stuff lit up for that last day. Um, so super fun way to go into the holidays. Um, want to give a huge shout out to our skip organization, which is our parent teacher organization, if you will. They've uh worked really hard over the last couple of years and this last past year really have just accelerated into moving into a clear vision of their role. They purchased a new ice rink for us um for the whole community and they're really taking it seriously on how to help maintain it um as well as store it. Uh that's a lot. It's a lot of work and um it
016comes at no cost to our communities. It's open when school's not in session to anybody who's in the community. Just a huge shout out. The ice ring is beautiful. It's being really well um maintained. Um super excited to have that out there again for the community. Our holiday shop, which our um Skip and community members help participate in much like they do in the Windsor schools. Um, we don't have the obviously the upper grades, but we do have community members who come in and just help wrap gifts and donations for the whole community. Just a really wonderful opportunity for kids. Um, we are looking with Skip to get a new shed to house the ice ring as well as a lot of other stuff um that Skip supports like our u Halloween walk, those kinds
017of things. So, just heads up that that's coming. Uh, we're working with the town to make sure it's in the right place. um and that it's the appropriate size and does the things it needs to do. And then they also worked very hard to get Kinko gloves for our students for the rope toe tow rope rope toe. Um sorry, I'm not a I'm not a skier. I know it's one of the two. It's either a rope toe or a tow rope. Um but as you hold on to it, it like it's on the gloves. So they worked really hard to get some donations and some lowcost highquality gloves for that purpose for our students as well as some of our staff. So great shout out to our skip organization. Thank you all so much for
018that work. >> And over the past month our exploratory has um sort of focused in on a couple of things including our concert and art show. One of the goals of the exploratory which we do on Fridays is basically a double time period for staff particularly our classroom teachers interventionists special educator to work together to think about how to work on flexible groupings for students looking at the data where the kids are. So we've been working with that over the past trying to figure out how that's going to work. And um starting this week, I'm super excited to share that our K12 is going to a full weeks, six weeks of both math and ELA. And I believe I have Jackie on the line who just can speak to that. Jackie is our kindergarten teacher.
019Um Sarah Day is also here who is our uh first and second grade teacher. They're collaborating with Kelly Donald to create more of a flex grouping. So, I just want to pass that off to Kell or excuse me, Jackie or Sarah, if either of you would be willing to just kind of share a little bit about what that looks like. >> Yeah, absolutely. So, hi, I'm Jackie. I'm the kindergarten teacher over at Albert Bridge. Um, and to piggyback off of that time during exploratory where um, Sarah, the first grade teacher, Kelly, the interventionist, and I have met for the past um, while to discuss how can we support K12 in their learning in our flex groups that we already do on Fridays. um meaning flex groups, meaning um we look at all the students together
020and we say, "Okay, how can we best support these students and meet them where they are?" Um and we have three certified teachers that we can break the kids up into groups with. Um not necessarily based on um age or class, it's based on ability. Um, and so this is something we did last year, we continued this year, added the um, literacy flex groups, which uh, today [clears throat] I was in a special education meeting prior to this and the OT gave me some feedback saying, "Hey, you know, the kiddo that was struggling with holding a pencil. I've seen growth since your fine motor focus um, groups that you've started." And that was I wish I could have recorded her feedback when she said that because that was awesome to hear. Um so as Jennifer
021said for the next six weeks um we will be working in a mixed age classroom um where there will be three certified teachers. Um the benefits of that is students are able to learn at their own pace. um we're able to give really targeted instruction to the students either one-on-one or small group. Um and there's a lot of opportunities for leadership and mentoring just within the class because of having that age difference within one one space. Um it's a bigger community for the students um and builds their social emotional growth. um and the academics will continue to um stay stay strong. So, we will be back. Um I know we have another board meeting February 2nd, so we can share how it's going then. Um and yeah, thank you. >> Awesome. Thank you, Jackie. Um,
022I know for the board, we've been talking about this for a long time and trying to set the stage for this process because as a multi-age small school, um, it's challenging obviously to meet all the needs of our kids with a limited group. But because of the support and flexibility and creative thinking that um, everybody's put into that, we're really moving forward in exciting ways. I was able to sit through um, our three through six math. Grouping is a similar thing where we're working on geometry because we often miss geometry because it's at the end of often the um math uh curricula that comes up. And so they're working on making sure kids get some geometry based on where they are. And it's just a really nice opportunity for us to make sure that kids
023are getting the support they need and skills particularly while being able to practice their leadership skills in social and emotional ways. So that's super exciting. So, getting back into the um the new year, one of the things we know is that reestablishing expectations, norms across our supervisory union, we're all doing this. So, at ABS, we use the responsive classroom. So, we're reviewing expectations um as well as routines and pro procedures for our kids. Um also, we're participating with your sports, which is exciting. Um we start next week as well. Uh for the same reason, we often found ourselves p kind of going into the first week and not having snow and trying to navigate stuff. Um Esconey Outdoors continues to give us the opportunity for kids to learn how to ski for free. Um including
024we're not paying for rentals of ski equipment, um use of the the facilities, none of that. They're just um outstanding at supporting our schools in this work. We also have locally uh cross-country skis, snowshoes, the ice rink, which we're super excited about. Our skip just uh made our skates nice and sharp for the first time in 13 years. So, I'm super excited about that one. Um as well as sledding or fort building depending on the weather. Uh we also have testing are doing the testings coming up. So, we've got star and dibbles coming up. Um and then our n our nape testing which is kind of a national version of testing across uh a specific grade band is coming up and then looking ahead to uh Vermont state assessments just how we're going to bridge
025the gaps between what kids are supposed to know by the end of the school year and what they get to in March from the end of the year to March. Just trying to make sure that we're touching on big ideas so that there's no big gaps. So that's a big part of the work that we're work leading into. And then we have our student leadership day on February 6th, which is an early release day. And this is a time when they have asked to focus on steam and uh science projects. So we're looking forward to seeing what they come up with. >> Thank you. >> Good evening everyone. Um, for the middle school, we had a weather delay um in December for our concert. So, our middle school high school concert's going to be rescheduled
026for this Wednesday at 700 p.m. So, hope you can join us. Um, our middle school is going to have a drama performance January 16th at 100 p.m. Um, they've been working hard. All of them have been working very hard for these performances. Um, we also are reviewing our behavior expectations for our January goals this week with our students in grade level meetings. Um, we're also going to be looking to recruiting some student leaders who would like to share some of those um, regular reminders of uh, introductions to what kind of things we want to talk to our incoming students about. So, some of our middle school students might be doing some presentations in fifth grade, and we're working with our school counselor, Miss Stanley, and um uh Mr. McFillips here to start looking at some
027of our transition dates to have some of our meetings for students getting ready for sixth grade for the spring. And so, that will include our students helping us with behavior expectations and some leadership presentations. Um we're continuing our monthly celebrations, our students of the month. We'd like to thank our um PTO because they um support us with um gift cards for our students um for their celebrations. And we also have um an advisory celebration and that was part of our culture building this year to give our students also working on attendance, those better relationships with their teachers, giving them a lunch celebration to have some time together as a classroom advisory. And so now we're into our December advisory of the month and they will also choose what they'd like to do for their lunchtime
028celebration coming up shortly. Um, we also have winter star testing happening at the end of this month. Um, early February. Um, our NAPE testing as well is for fourth and eighth grade in the SU and looking to work with our interventionists to help us get ready for our VCAP testings that are at the in spring in May. >> I've got a question. >> Yeah. Um, is the starter testing before or after the end of the semester? >> They are happening kind of close to the last week of January, early February. So, it's after >> after the semester change for >> Yeah. >> Do you do it out of fall, winter, spring? >> Yeah. In these pictures in the bottom, we have some of our celebrations from the um the holiday feast that the students all
029did a potluck in the bottom left. And they also did the um a door decorating contest and we had people come to do um the judging from the SU office which was nice. Um, we had a little bit of an impromptu students at the last minute. Wanted to do some carolling for our younger students and went into some classrooms on that last day of school and our student um, four students of the month from December in those pictures. Thank you. >> Um, as Colleen stated, we have one concert for middle school high school. So that is Wednesday, January 7th at 7. Our exams are scheduled from the 20th to the 23rd. We did make a change this year in previous years as we had just had the exam students were um forced to miss a
030day at Hartford depending on the exam schedule with the end of last year. Our friends Scott sent an email to all the sounding schools saying we do something with your exam schedules us for weeks. So, we've made that um adjustment and um everyone will adapt to that. Our science fair is the 23rd. If you can come, please do. It is the best [clears throat] seat and um that's not a biased opinion. That is a fact. Um if you see it, you'll be impressed. And then we send them on to the next level and we get that feedback all the time from surrounding the school. >> Uh just a couple pictures. 11:45 I think. >> Yeah. 11. >> It'll be set up in the morning and get to the actual walk around couple this year. >>
031Um down at the we had Mama Mia which was Yushi. And a huge shout out to Sky because Lauren had secured the sleigh before she knew she was leaving and it was a way bigger undertaking than we would have expected someone who was just coming in for your teacher trying to pitch in our school and the kids and everything. Um it was a few hour over to our productions which typically are about an hour and it was a smashing success. Um so that was great. uh criminology class had uh Sheriff Palmer come in and speak to them. Uh which if you know Sheriff Palmer, he he loves stuff like that. So it was the dynamic and there's opportunity for questions and answers which was great. And my third picture is a cooking that took place
032in Sierra Claire's uh class after um one of her units. Not bad. I didn't have a lot to say in this room. No. You gotta click again. I don't know, Kate. Yeah. And then again. Sorry. >> Okay. Yeah, that's perfect. Um, I wanted to uh share publicly that Miss Gorman, some of you may know her. She taught at Windsor Elementary for I don't know how many years. >> It was her first year teaching. >> One year. One year. It was her first year teaching and she was very thankful for that start in her career. >> I was told it was many years. So, well, this is an even bigger gift then because she has donated $15,000 to Windsor um to up uh for upgrades to the staff room. So, I just we just wanted to
033thank her publicly and um acknowledge that that is a really generous gift and will be put to good good use. Um, it is nice to have a really welcoming staff room for teachers to be able to go and have lunch, gather um, and do some community um, building things. So appreciative we haven't spent it yet, right, Larry? >> And shout out to Larry who wrote the most perfect personal I'm so proud of him. Thank you note to her. >> It was really nice because obviously he knows everyone in their history and we touched on that. That's really thinking. >> Yeah. She was a teacher who was just very thankful that she had her start at Windsor and she just had a really nice connection with students who are now parents and grandparents in our school
034system and still stays in touch with those students >> um former students and um just wanted to do this for us. >> Where is the staff from? There's there's a few in the building, but she we're doing it in the she was a sixth grade teacher, so we're kind of doing in the middle school, elementary. Nice staff room. Next, um I am just keeping you up to date as much as I can on on things that are going on in the state and just wanted to let you know the final report in the Commission on the Future of Public Education was um delivered on the due date of December 15th, I believe. And so that is um on their website [clears throat] for uh you to take a look at if you're interested. I I
035briefly perused it. Um and I didn't find too many surprises. I don't know if they've taken a deep dive a little bit yet or not. >> Well, it's not very long and having all the readings, it's exactly uh what one might expect. It it's much shorter than >> it's like 27 pages, right? >> Yeah. But the >> is just saying what their charge was and what they did. >> The actual recommendations. >> Yeah, >> pretty succinct. So um to bring that to your attention. Um another another happening at the state level is um proposed graduation requirements. Um that report was also due the um and this is the this has gone to the um the >> Yeah. Thank you, [laughter] Board of Education for their approval. Um, as we heard because we, uh, Kate and
036I and Bridget were in some presentations this fall, um, the state was audited by the federal government and one of the findings was that there is there was a lack of consistency across the state in the number of credits that were required for um, graduation. I think I think we learned anywhere from 16.5 to it up to 30 credits. Um so this is to bring everyone into alignment um and have some consistency across the state. Uh I think we're we'll be in good shape um based on the work that we've doing with the program of studies and um it looks like the the few changes are we're going to have to um require another math credit. require half a credit um half a health credit that we we do a half credit now. I think
037we're going to be required to have a full health credit in the future. Um less electives than we require. Um we've also created or Steve Mallaloy and Kate and and their team is um has a great plan for a capstone and that will will be able to continue I think under these guidelines. So we'll keep you updated. the board of education has to put a stamp on it before it goes forward. >> And they also um they also have a public comments on it. Um I actually attended that presentation but They will have one going forward. >> Yeah, because they're just um at the moment they are just proposed Yeah. requirements and because it's it'll be a rule. >> Um they'll have public comments I think sometime in the spring because um it's like it's
038not they won't go into effect till 20 27 28. Yeah. >> Yeah. Is there any um what's the sense of how this is going to correspond to the work that's been done on proficiency based graduation requirements? I know that the kind of paradigm of credits has shifted a little bit more. >> Yeah, I think the way that we're set up um we're proficiency based and the prof you'll have to meet the proficiency in the system as well and I think it's I think we're aligned well going forward. So yeah, Bridget, that was the comment she said to me as I was going out there. >> Well, they were giving us two op like two choices that they were that they showed us at this workshop. And I think because we did all the work with
039the state and they had this information in their head, we're >> either option they chose it's just that we're very uh strongly aligned with what they're chos >> once in a while. We win one. Um the next slide is the um the last slide in my report is the quarterly report which Larry's going to deliver since he's here. Um you have to click on it Kate I think to pull it up should be linked. Um you know again with the caveat I always give it's kind of early halfway through the year. Uh so we are a little under revenue that's to be expected. Um and I think revenue wise we'll be right on what we can control is our spending and right now we look to be in good shape. We are under budget as
040of >> right now that could all change in three months but um so We were projecting anywhere between half a million or so at the end of the year, but again that could change. So we're in a better spot than we were last year. >> And that report is on the website. >> It's on the website. She's showing one page of it. >> If you click on it, I link one tab. [clears throat] Sorry about that. So that's where we're at. This is our daily fund balance. This is our revenue forecast. These are expenses forecast. And that's the difference. >> So you feel good right now, but it's things don't really tighten up until July. >> That is the conclusion. Um Christie, uh [clears throat] the new the new uh education, not education quality standard,
041graduation requirements, um are not going through the same rules process as the uh education quality standards. They are instead um the secretary of education requested that the state board of education come their assessments of it and finalize the requirements by the end of this year. One minute. [clears throat] >> Although the decisions are due 7127, AOE recommends completion date of 123126. >> 12:3126. So we've got time. Yeah. Okay. Great. Thanks, Elizabeth. [clears throat] >> Right. So that wraps up the admin report. Thanks to all of you for keeping us up to date in the last month. Um, I got to check out Mama Mia as well. I was I was really really impressed. I mean, that was a >> a full show, you know. It was it was the unabridged version of that show, right?
042And I thought it went great. >> Yeah. >> Super impressive. >> Without a break, too. >> Okay. >> There's an intermission. >> Sorry. [laughter] I say I would have remembered if I was sitting there. [laughter] >> We have one of the stars in the show here in the audience tonight. She had the real cool outfits. [laughter] >> All right, so we are on to uh number six on our agenda, which is items for discussion, followed by a motion if needed. And uh item 6A is budget adoption. So um I think I'm turning that over to you and Larry's a presentation to look at. Yep. Kate Kate's gonna present the screen. >> Go right to the first slide. >> It's all good. >> There we go. So last time um Larry did the presentation on the
043budget book which has been updated. Um we were uh tasked to come back with some um to do some work on a transition plan that eased into the requirements for act 73. So Kate and I and Colleen and Jennifer, Tracy, um [clears throat] we have been meeting with union leadership over the past um well since we last met pretty extensively. And Kate's gonna Kate's gonna go over where we have landed. >> Yeah, take your computer back. >> Uh so plan A is the maintenance of program that we have now and the class size minimums. I believe parent a looked essentially what we presented to you last time. Yeah. >> Um over here Larry was kind enough to put in what impact on the budget and the result would be one elementary teaching position at ABS
044and three high school teaching positions would be for um can I can I just ask a question about that? Why do you have uh a 6.32% increase translating into an 18.7 or 21.7% increase in taxes? >> That's due to the uh the Byzantine tax system that uh has. And so if LTWADM falls, which in Moscow's case it did, and if the yield doesn't increase to an amount, um, which it did, and then the CLA is down year-over-year, which it is, uh, that would account for a tax increase far out stripping the um, budget increase. So for example, at Harland, it's a 5.24% 24% tax increase or 13.1% tax increase. So their budget's up 5% which is you know the typical maybe we like rather three or four but uh and their tax increases are up
04513.1% basically because their LP W is down and um the CLA is >> Larry will you just say what all those letters mean one more time? >> So the CLA is a common level appraisal so rather than having some towns never appraise their property. They go four years between appraisals. Vermont puts in a governor, lowercase G, uh to make sure that um those towns that don't do appraisals have pay more in property taxes. Um and in Winston Westwind's case, we did simply did have an appraisal, but we're talking about the difference between year-over-year. So, you had the appraisal last year. Um, so if it was at 143% for example and it goes down to 133%. Um, that would increase the tax rate if there were no other changes in the budget even if the budget
046was flat. In addition, if you have fewer students LTWAM wise, um, if you have 10 more students, but uh, LTWM stands for long-term weighted average daily membership. If you have 10 more students but 20 less free or reduced lunch students, your taxes will go up even if there are no other changes and so on and so forth. Our mounty's um LTWADM was reduced by 31 I believe students this year and we we dug in. It was mostly at the preschool level as I recall. >> It's mostly preschool and some fourth grade. >> Yeah. Um, also, uh, it's important to note that the 18.7% increase, uh, estimated for West Windsor and 21% increase estimated for Windsor does not include any income sensitivity because that's on a per person basis. [clears throat] Um, so there's nothing to
047really estimate for that. Um, because that's a graduated payment based on your income. And then number two, it doesn't include any of the proposed governor's plan to buy down at the first $75 million into the ED fund from the Vermont general fund. So that includes none of that. So that yield, if the governor does buy it down, it would lower the tax rate, which would lower the increase. But there is no way to forecast that now. That would not happen till June of July. And if they do reduce it by the 77 million which they expect to um uh it would bring the total down 6%. >> So if the statewide average was going to go from 12 to one to 12 to six then you could do a short academic estimate of going from
04821 to maybe 12 or something. I think that would be fair but again there's no way for me to model that. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Plan B would be the maintenance of program and transitions back into the class sizes. That would still result in one elementary teaching position at ABS and it would be two 2.2 high school teaching positions and point4 U middle school in direct. Um the budget numbers are on the side. The next two slides go into what that looks like um staffing wise. Kate, I don't know if you want to. >> So, [snorts] this is a comparison of what we put together from our current staffing to what the proposed um would be. Do you all have this or not? >> No, we don't. I was actually going to ask if we
049could get a better any kind of breakdown. Sh I can share it. >> You're gonna share it. Okay. Thank you. So I should pick it up. You should have it now. >> [clears throat] >> the middle school. And then if you get to the high school, um this is what the looked like um at the high school. There's some nuances in our staffing that does this can't account for. For instance, one of the members of our staff will move to the IDL uh position also. >> Um it's the team leader >> instructional instructional team leader >> instructional team. Um so um our current TL also the social studies the social teacher left our social studies department but he wanted to hang on to part of teaching. So he currently teaches um social studies class as
050well. Um, and we also, you know, have a certified teacher in who helps with. So, those kind of nuances aren't shown on here, but they're important. Um, so >> so it's moving they're moving their position in the school, but they're not losing. >> I just know. >> So it's it's a math teacher who can also teach uh elementary license is licensed that way. So sometimes teachers get moved around. Um, a couple of the high school teacher math teachers already teach some middle school classes. So, it's just hard to capture it all in in a um in a document, but that's in in essence what would happen. There would be no reduction of a person, but in the high school, it would be a reduction of um point4 position in math in the math department. >>
051Yeah. the um the positive as we're looking at class five you know that does that that affects a cohort right is generally moved in so when they're moving that way that also impacts their electives and that gives also our elective teachers more time to offer more electives um who are middle school students which is something that we have always a great spot so this This is kind of a comparison of plan A and plan B. I think what got lost at the last meeting is that when you're teaching um five English, five sections of English 9 and then you only have to teach three sections that does open up possibilities to teach electives. So that concern over missing electives or RBCC. We're lucky because certifications in Vermont go well there's K6 there's a 72 and
052there's also like a >> 59 five >> nine um but we do because we are in one building um that does allow us flexibility to share teachers. So they may view middle school intervention but then teach an hour already class at high school. So it's given a more kind of holistic look at the schedule rather than elementary junior schedule the high school. Some things are locked in. the lunches are locked in because of our our um ability to get kids to part and that's kind of our starting point that we work around but this has made us look at it build the wide as opposed to injury schools and then yeah because of the overlap in licensing it overlaps from elementary to middle to high school so there's shared opportunities >> Jennifer >> yeah so
053This is just a breakdown of what ABS looks like with the um restructuring. So we would have a primary grade which is roughly age bands 5 years to six years traditionally called kindergarten. Um we don't know how many students come in in kindergarten. Um and then primary two which would be roughly age groups between ages six and eight. Traditionally those would be grades one and two. Uh we'd have you know next year be 15 students. Both of those groups would be supported by a flex teacher as well as our special education counselor um special interventionist um that kind of group. And then we would have an elementary one which is traditionally uh third and fourth grade age groups roughly age 8 to 10. And next year we'd have 13 in that group. And then elementary
0542 would be our 10 through 12 years old. Traditionally these are grades 5 through six. We'll have 20 in that group. Um, so the blue group is basically a group of a flex teacher and a social emotional interventionist. And then the purple group is a different flex teacher and social emotional interventionist. Again, those are part-time flex positions um in order to help support making sure all kids are getting the the general um knowledge and skills that they need. Uh we've been talking as a group about how to make this work as uh Jackie already presented earlier. Um we're working on that right now trying to figure out how to make it so it's sustainable with our staffing. Uh one of the things that would show up with our current curriculum for the uh CLA, our
055ELA curriculum, English language arts curriculum is the knowledge base, the content base would be a two-year cycle. So, um, let's say in same thing as like science. So, let's say you're learning the W water cycle traditionally third grade, you might learn it third grade. If you're in the elementary one group at the beginning, so you might learn it when you're like eight or nine or if you didn't get in that year, you would learn it the following year. And so, it just loops. So, we'd have to just uh scaffold the learning in that way. Um, another thing we're talking about is um the capacity of possibly entering 5-year-olds earlier to give them kind of a jump start onto the process. So that's what it would look like for ABS. >> So our plan C would
056be no changes currently um in staffing and that is would be a budget increase of 913 and Wow. >> Yes. >> Um >> yeah, it was it's since uh since the last >> Yeah. Yeah. So >> would be the maintenance of current staffing would be your changes to what we have and what that >> I have some other questions about whether >> this is just going on a budget book because I We don't I don't think we have access to anything besides that. Right. So, um I don't understand why the budget for mid management salaries went up from 95,000 two years ago to 288,000ed for FY27. >> 25. Well, I just don't understand why it has more than doubled in the last >> I can agree with my stat names of those people. I mean,
057it's almost always um so for example, if somebody goes from u code 511 is a uh account code we use for teachers, >> right? So, if somebody for example, she mentioned earlier that we had a social studies teacher that was ITL. Well, if they [clears throat] go to ITL, they're no longer a teacher as far as state of Vermont's concerned because they're not teaching kids or ITL. So, that would be maybe a 5171 and that would be uh that type management or something else that if that helps. I mean, that's one example. It wouldn't necessarily be have the teacher account code. >> Okay? >> Because we have to use the Vermont account. I can't I can't say well he has a certificate he was teaching and he's a 511. >> Okay, >> but I can
058I can find out the names of those actual people and then trace him back. >> Yeah, because I am um I have several such questions. Oh, can I >> question looking at the the um on the workbook um what would go under assessments uh assessments or SU assessments? >> Pardon? >> SU assessments. >> Oh, okay. So, that's special edition. >> Transportation, ECP, food service. >> Yep. a funny name for it. >> Yeah. Especially when you have to clear up to your stop. >> Yeah. >> There's a rumor that it's about testing. I'm like, "No, >> it's a lot of testing." >> Did Did you all go through the exercise of trying to reduce the budget without reducing staff? we >> because I thought that that was one of the things that we were asking for
059in the December. >> Um we really spent our time trying to figure out uh staffing with the with the um union leadership. Um I don't know that there are a ton of other places where we can reduce significantly. I mean, there's supplies. Um, [snorts] most of the budget is staffing. Um, so >> 75%. >> Oh, I know. I was looked at the >> If you take if you take assessments and assessments plus salaries and benefits, it's 95%. >> Yeah. But, okay, here here's my list of questions real quick. Right. >> Why have mid management salaries gone up from 95,000 two years ago to $288,000 projected for FY27? What are the stipens that account for the $140,000 which are not teaching stipens? What are the non-clerical stipens for? What are the other stipens? Nonclerical stipens would
060be coaches. Okay. Um uh you know the other those types that are classified as other are >> they range from um student council advisor to um yearbook advisor to team leaders to um trying to think because we had to prom Um [clears throat] um they're all afterhour activities that staff participate in and and that was a negotiated item in a contract that they get paid um for that for those for those hours. Um and it's they're now attached to a formula. So they increase every year based on the base salary and uh >> years experience >> and index. You probably can explain it better than I can, but those those stipens are for afterhour work that staff do um for kids and and for the school. >> Uh and as a notary, unemployment compensation listed
061on Oh. Um, it's listed as a reduction, but it's actually it's listed as a reduction, but it's actually Oh, it's a reduction of never mind. In FY25 it was 95,000. Last year it was 100,000 and now it's up to 288,000. An increase of 187%. You have more questions or >> I do have more questions. >> Okay. Y >> why does transportation purchase from other sources? Very simple. >> So that's usually like um things that are not part of the contract. So that would be like um field trips um other things. It's mostly not I don't think it's a athletics that situation I'm assuming goes up and down. Yeah. So it I that was probably based on actuals. So I'm guessing at 103 plus 5% or something. I'm looking at I went from 103 to 123
062based on u meeting with the principles and the amount of trips they feel like they're going to take. So it was down it it went down but then I based on the actual the actuals always come in a year after we budget right. So I get the actual for 26 when we're budgeting for 28. >> Right. So we try to some things like that are kind of a guess. >> Can you explain why tuition to vocational schools is in our budget if it's paid by the city? >> Yeah. So we have to we we budget for that and then they give us rent. So if I didn't budget for it, I would only have that >> because then it wouldn't be a wash. Now I understand that it has to go out but it's confusing
063having the budget and >> that's it. It's mainly the um middle management. >> I'm I'm looking that up right now. Any other questions? I see what was happening with that to see what was happen. It is uh [snorts] I don't remember but it's a instructional leader um instructional coaches. Um, my guess is they got switched to management supervisors out. I'd be curious if if that's the case. Do do we offer um as part of the contract? Do we offer um uh long-term long-term disability? >> It's an option. It's it's on the members. They can choose [clears throat] to get it in. >> I think that's shortterm and I don't think we do short term. I think we do long term. >> Maybe they have to. We have the I believe um and I'm not an
064HR expert, but I know that we have people on long-term disability and and um but we don't offer short-term disability because not enough people um agree to buy into it essentially. So we don't offer short term, we offer long term, >> right? That's one reason why um I believe we had we had quite a generous um sick leave. >> Yeah. >> U policy. And why uh that there is a sick bank? Because if a teacher runs out of sick days, they can go to sick bank and get enough to get to the point of longterm disability. Yep. So that's the function of program two expenses and um the the teaching and professional staff stipens. Um yeah, the teaching and professional staff stipen. Is there any way that we can know what that the what the
065siphons are and to be honest that's going to increase I get more and more um area which goes to a committee of teachers and myself in the spring um that will decide um person works out outside of school. Um, and then there's a formula that they came up with, but I don't see any reason why it didn't snip and list. >> Yeah, the one I get from Terry. >> They'll have Yeah, they'll have stuff names on them. I don't know if I don't know. things off >> just the names of the club advisors and the and the and the stipen amount >> are the uh are the um winter programs paid for through assignments >> the coordinators get paid to do the programming correct >> no that's just a committee of teachers that works >>
066in some schools there is a site they vary across the district. It's been a um a project of ours to kind of get an alignment across schools about what the stipens are and how much each stipend is is um valued at is that was very different depending on your district. So, we've been working very hard trying to get into alignment and we're not there yet to be honest with you. One thing that the last contract did is it removed the listing of individual stiplets because within older contracts, >> it listed out, oh, this technique gets paid this and this techn formula, it gave administrators more control of and staff more control of what stipens were necessary and the formula decides what they would get paid based upon an estimate of administrative hours. So, >> and
067the difficulty, right, >> and the difficulty. So, it's going to be a longterm process to kind of not super long, but to to balance that out. long-term disability. I get it. >> But I think not having it, one of the goals in revamping the stipen was to move away from a very rigid list of what the stipes were. >> They change depending on the needs. >> Yeah. Yeah. And you know there there was a lot of discussion about the value of our our staff members time after they've worked all day and you know it's additional work for them. I mean they they serve to be compensated for that work. So, >> and it's a lot of work for that. A lot more than they work a lot more for the stipend that they than they
068they should get paid more, I guess, is what I'm trying to say, for the work that they do with each statement, >> but we've tried to again, we've tried to streamline it across the SU and make it really fair, as fair as we can. So >> um so when you talk about um uh the talk about the um the laser staff and when you talk about having worked with the um the uh leadership leadership I'm assuming that that means that you were talking about who who gets cut and I wonder what uh what that was based on. >> Whenever you have a reduction in force, it's based on the seniority of um the staff member in their content area and their certification. Why >> that's in the contract? >> Oh, that's in the contract. >>
069That's standard inity. Yep. >> Can we know how uh how many classes will like when you say a point4 reduction or 6 reduction um in social studies is that two classes in social studies. So that means currently that that can turn up to just two classes, but now if you bounce off like freshman teacher, maybe we were in five, six classes, right? Now we're only going to run three next year. So they'll open up for another person to teach those classes. Okay. So it doesn't matter whether the class is well prescribed. No, it does. We run our we choose our elective on like we we had a closed down uh like section is family such as sci-fi. So we have four kids interested in it. So the electives get chosen during the class process of
070four classes. So if a if a class while receiving a budget is sign up for it, then we'll run that class. So >> kind of along those lines. So I think looking at we got a comprehensive explanation of what planning looks like last time and that I just want to make sure I'm understanding this completely. So that would put us at a reduction of force of four total positions. Correct. Is the first one. Um, second one, and I guess just because there's there's percentage points here, I want to make sure I'm understanding >> what that looked like. So, that is >> 3.6. >> You say it again. >> 3.6. Okay. >> A nuance that helps you wrap your brain around this is in the high school, you can't work 25 because of the two. So,
071the 25 in the day, >> so you can't teach. Um so you if you're we can't have a.5 high school teacher either 6 high school teacher or point4 high school teacher and that comes into play when when doing that was that negotiation is I wanted to die on my sore Let me come back to it. >> Yeah. >> So, in plan B, what what is the staffing reduction looking like? >> If you go to >> slide five. Go to slide five. Kate, you can see. >> Yeah. I just want to make sure I'm fully understanding that. >> Just be the high school. And then I'm sure >> that's >> Yeah. Go to high school. >> Yeah. That's middle. >> Sorry, I have a stupid bar on mine. So, when I look at mine, [laughter] it
072looks like it's in the way and then I try to move it, but it's not up there. >> Okay. So, with the with the exception of the 04 under math, >> Yep. and the point four under social studies the sixes are all riffs essentially is that I mean just the terminology is is different across those so I want to make sure I'm fully understanding >> it's uh 6 in science yes reduction >> it's a 6 in English reduction >> but that 6 reduction uh goes to middle school intervention >> okay >> that makes sense >> yep Um and then in social studies it's a 0.4 reduction and then there is a you can see under social studies currently there it's there's a combined position of some social studies and some intervention. >> Okay. >> So
073for full transparency I accidentally read the position last year and I I work completely everybody knows that but nobody none of us saw it at the time because we were trying to do the right thing. moves. Someone moves to the ITL that opens up a social study position in which case the social studies department came to me and said hey we don't actually need this because he's going to teach some classes blah blah blah who's going to throw out a position right so we thought like oh how can we do this we could do wait for social studies and then use for intervention so I guess last year I should have been called to carpet for reading for a riff for us part of the social studies position last there. Um, but you know, I
074was working with the name to help me make this work and it wound up being a positive. So, nobody caught it. So, my that's also not helping the people as long does that mean that person goes. >> So, in science it means that a person's position is reduced to a point and then they lose a full-time job. In English, it means that that 6, they're going to stay point4 in high school and teach RBC classes in ASL. And then they're going to point6 in the middle school >> intervention. Um and in associated crime that means that that point for um reduction association and then a point 6 reduction in the interventionist uh so so I guess okay um last board meeting. One thing that I found frustrating in the presentation of the budget was that
075the main focus was on meeting the um class size requirements and that that really was the main focus of what the administration presented. Uh and uh in closing um the important part of the budget concern was kind of that that buried the lead in my perspective. I mean that really was the more important point not uh maintaining a a reasonable budget in which we will have um and whether or not they're cutting positions of a lowering numbers and student numbers and subsequent ly creating I don't want to say overstaffing but um more electives than really what the size of the high school can support. So um so I think we need to look at as a board is whether or not the budget needs to be reduced and uh because of budget constraints and whether
076or not one way to do it is because is by well the only way to do it is to do it by cutting sap and that the administration believes that they can maintain a level of structure u and still cut staff and I understand the fact that there will probably be regardless of plan A, B, or C, there will be fewer high school electives available. That's a reality of running a high school. You know, the simple fact that if your high school doesn't have 700 students, um you have to fit the opportunities within a budget that the voters can afford. Um So that's a perspective and I guess what I want to know from administration is if that is the case and if uh the staffing that is remain is going to be able to
077provide uh a level of services that our students regardless of plan A, B, or C. >> That was a question. >> So, [laughter] yeah, >> I think I mean I don't want to be done, [clears throat] right? Nobody wants to do that. Um, but can we prior to Octo and prior to budget conversations in the first week of September, did Christine come to me and say, "What are we doing? You can come back running processor and I'm not talking about RBC running standard process four but as we're closing >> two seconds we're looking for >> so can we yes the short answer is yes it's terrible that yes we can do it um and it also opens up the opportunity to offer more to the middle But it does help. Oh, wait a minute. If
078I could have argued for you, like I said, we accidentally had that reference like no discussion last year. I only just added it as a positive, >> but our intervention numbers weren't weren't high enough to justify that when we have a staff that is something. Um, and yes, I think Yes, when you looked through all of this, did you also take into account the proposals and graduation requirements? Yeah, our very closely aligned um right now, but yes, we had known that was coming when we had looked at it and we are you know probably between our last board meeting and this board meeting eight times and if anyone works in the school to be able to do that to Thanksgiving's part um and those conversations ations are are going to continue. You know, sometimes I'll
079just get it fixed on the weekend and say do not answer now, but let's think about this. Um, >> you put a question. It was it was really what you were asking like kind of breaking down what like I'm sorry I'm not understanding this probably as well as I should be but of what we're actually losing to positions because I've heard you say like combining positions. So I just want to make sure that I'm clear on what is actually happening. So in plan B is it actually physically four positions four people are being it's 3.6 six. So >> in plan A or B, I guess >> in plan B. >> Okay. >> So Kate described that the science position would be reduced to a point. 4. Um so that position would be would not be
080might might be a part-time position but not a full-time position. >> Yeah. A total of 2.6 I mean I'm sorry 3.6 positions. 3.6 six actual people. >> Okay, >> that's what I >> sorry I did between a position and a person. Yeah, I think I was just having a struggle. >> It's very complicated because people get shuffled around depending on >> Yeah. >> So, and that's with for the whole supervisory >> that is for Mount Scutney school district. >> Sorry. For the mask district. Yes. >> So, and how many what does that mean for Albert Bridge as well? It means one elementary teacher at Elbert Bridge. I'm sorry. Which position? >> The actual person as a window. >> So >> correct. Yeah. >> Thank you, sir. >> So Al will lose a but that person
081has seniority in the union, >> right? So Windsor will physically lose the person that person will lose their job and the bridge person will so >> very but the other thing I want you to think about is we say like okay we're going to reduce this science to point4 right and then you come back and say well we want to attract people if we make a 1.0 Now I can't put intervention back in because I just ripped it over right here, >> right? So you lose that with how it works. So if somebody has part teaching and part intervention, interventionists are really key positions in our building. So, if we wanted to make a full-time teaching position and we lost interventionist, that would be very hard. >> We'd have to work with >> Which we
082do very well. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> So, at this point though, there are some unfilled positions. Is that correct? >> Unfilled math position. Yes. Yeah. >> And so would that not filling that would that count as one of those positions? >> No, because we need that math position to make the schedule work. [laughter] >> That's not one of the positions. >> so we also have like um one of our employees just using math. about the plane room which is in a teacher position but I'm not filling that uh now because you know could do something I'm just not feeling it now right to could that either be a project cut that could help us because we don't know what what one you're going to then we don't know what the voters are going to do
083right so like there's a lot of variables here but I'm trying to do small things they got with the way we can manage for the rest of this year without it out there. Outside of top that we don't know if there's going to be a buy down uh for the governor and we also don't know and I think this is probably less likely we don't know if the spending threshold is going to raise >> correct >> so there's a lot of >> yes and by the way all the uh good point in all the uh scenarios we're over the actual spending threshold spending school district for the first time >> all the scenario >> just we are >> yes >> but it was the threshold was >> raised >> 118%. >> We're over in all
084our districts this year. >> It was 118%. This these are still this is still six whatever percent. >> Well, again it goes by LTWM and all those other factors, right? So the de denominator is the LTWADM. So if you lost 40 students in LTWADM, that changes the denominator. Right? So even if you spent the same, it would still change the tax code. It's total budget spend divided by the number of students, >> right? And if there's fewer students, >> even if the budget were the same. >> Yeah. >> So it's not really 6%. It is, but not per student. >> Yeah. >> And we lost what? 31 you said. At least 31. At least 31. Again, actual students. Yeah. >> Thank you, Larry, for >> Yeah. which >> you know >> we're lucky. Yes. >>
085In a district school district of our size >> is pretty significant. >> Yeah. >> To lose 31 kids. Yeah. >> Well, it's one and a half. >> Um and so basically we've lost the funding from the state for one and a half positions. >> Uh which is why in this >> and so um I was guilty because maybe I should have fallen off my sword because it comes down to high school scheduling and so because each high school teacher can take his has two long periods schedule one which is why you can't have part-time high school teachers. >> Um my biggest objection to it is equity across the district. my, you know, personal feelings of of my my my biases as, you know, the hardest working elementary teachers, my biases. Um, that's what I was
086for so many years. Um, >> it's different work. >> Say that. >> But I'm not an administrator. [laughter] I can say >> so I've gone back through into the uh wage and benefit spreadsheet that feeds into the pivot tables that feeds into the budget book and that 5151 there's only one employee that's 5151 and uh so that's an error. I can't get it to recreate on the budget book by saving the new version after I updated it. So, here is the raw numbers and and uh so thank you, Elizabeth, for spotting that. There's $180,000 difference uh for mid management when there's only one employee. We know that there's not one employee that makes that much money uh for that one difference. Uh plan A would be 16.5. uh plan and I I put up FY26
087so you can compare and contrast and make sure my percentages are right. But you'll see that uh it'll be a 5.1 5% increase instead of 6.32 >> in the budget >> which would be a West Windsor tax rate increase of everything as we know today of 15.8 and a Windsor tax increase of 18.8. Plan B would be 5.9% increase and it'll be very similar what you already saw earlier at 6.32. Not much changes, 17 12% in 20.8. And plan C, which would be no staffing changes, an 8% budget increase would account to a 23% tax increase for West Windsor residents and a 26%.3% tax increase for Windsor residents. >> It's a little better. Yeah, >> any of the changes. >> No, I I I got the lowest one in the threshold >> and we are
088still $417 per LTWM over the threshold with the lowest amount. >> Say that again. >> We are $417 per LTWM over the threshold. So the threshold is 16,47 LTWM and uh we um are at 17,03. >> Um just to give you an example, if I put 920 students in there, we are under the threshold. So if I put the students back in that we had last year, >> we're under the threshold. So I could share this screen right here. This helps you. So if you look here, this is the tax rate calculated from the state and this is the total expenses. This is offsetting revenue projections for basically the high school tuition is basically the only you're luckily that you're the only district with a high school which raises money to offset that. Uh this
089is the LTWam number from the state. We get your LTWam last year was 9.24. So right now, you see that $417 right there? >> That $417. Let me try to make it bigger. >> If I take that $417 and I make this 924, changing the bottom of the fraction, >> you're under the threshold. >> So your tax rate would go up [clears throat] 11%. In Windsor as opposed to 18. So 7% of the tax increase is because you're LWMS quality. So just as an aside, Larry, I love that you use pivot tables. >> So it's easy to spot the error that way. >> I love a good pivot table. Um uh so how many risks were included in the in the uh first proposed and first proposed >> uh uh >> four >> so >>
090it's not just four ribs it's >> four positions >> was it and just maybe I'm miserable was it not five position position, but one is unfilled. So that sort of >> Well, when we dug in, um there it it was not. We thought that there it was, but it wasn't. Um it was a middle school position. Yes, we thought it was unfilled, but um >> we were incorrect. Sorry. Yeah, it's it's four. It was We presented five, but it was really broken. >> I'm sorry. I'm going to ask the same question again because we're back to the positions and the people. So plan A, you said it's it's four positions, but it's four. Okay. >> It's four positions that you're reducing. >> And um in that scenario, uh I believe it's four people that are
091attached to those positions. In scenario B, it's um 3.6 positions. 3.6 positions and 3.6 six people attached to those positions. >> So it is Thank you. >> So excuse my hearing. Um yeah, the next natural block of hearing clearly administrators, but I don't I just think I'm just getting old and took off my hearing aids, put them in the charger when I got home. help. Um, >> oh, thank God. they [laughter] >> um so my priority as a board member and I I I believe I heard this important from administrator as well but my priority is classroom teachers um and and intervention I mean those are equal it's really important to have um to continue with the intervention work that's been happening. Okay. Watching that slight but really impressive increase in math scores. >> Okay.
092I don't want to stifle that in any way. Okay. And that those increases come from classroom teachers and interventionists. Okay. Um, and I like all about the plans. Uh, there isn't a whole lot of cuts in um the early grades. Um, so I'm I'm hoping that as a board that we have focused over the last decade and increasing the level of quality and quantity of administration. Okay. And I'm I'm that is my next priority. any school district and especially the Windsor schools have been historically under administrative. Okay. Um, there are perennial behavior attendance, instructional overview needs that have not been met over the last 20 years for those of us who have been tied into the Windsor schools historically. U, so that's important to me. Um, now I don't know if there are any other
093positions that are not as um student facing that we could consider cutting. Um, >> in the school buildings. >> Yes. Um, I'm I'll be straight out. I'm not a big proponent of instructional coaches. I know in some buildings, um I'm not talking about this school district, but um I'm talking about other school districts that I deal with. Um instructional coaches become like an assistant principal. Um and I think that in a time in which we have to cut positions um that are student facing um and that may impact um intervention needs. I think that may be an area that we could look at. Um, that's just my opinion. Other than that, um, I I I want to thank Larry for answering that one question. I I'm looking at plan A as probably what I just
094because of the financial responsible way to go. And if the administration doesn't think that uh I'm I'm I'm grand, but I'm willing to cut down on the number of electives offered at high school as long as the elementary and middle school class sizes don't get out of control and intervention in elementary and middle schools are not impacted. Um that's really where my priorities lay and as long as high school students are are getting what they need to pass the high school requirements. I think it's a reality of trying to maintain high school under 300. >> I understand I'm not on the board, but I was curious if I could um speak on this moment. >> Sure. Uh if you just can say your name. >> Yeah. Um my name is Isabella Churelli. I live in
095Wester. Um good evening board. Um good evening board members. Um I am a junior um at Windsor High School and I am here talking on behalf of myself and on behalf of my fellow classmates at Windsor High School. Um we are here concerning um the removal of one of Windsor High School's um valued educators and the impact um in educational classes um will have on students. Um we understand that if this budget passes, it will cut a vital position which is currently held by Theo Abent. Um the kids at the school refer to him as Mr. T and Theo. Um and if you weren't aware of what he teaches, he teaches psychology and criminology and he also um takes our middle school class. Um we value we truly value Mr. T's presence. Um he's a
096supporter of all students and he not only teaches students well, but he challenges us to be the best that we can. Um, I know countless students who look forward to this class every day and have for the past two years. Um, this is not only true for high school students as he does have an impact on the middle school. Um, included here are the accounts of high school and middle school students who find Mr. Te to be an incredible educator at Winter High School. Um, Theo has a middle school study class. I have had his class all year on Wednesdays and Fridays. in his class. We have been he has been quite a help. Um it has been a time for me to get work done, take a brain break, and even do some fun
097work. He has brought in the chief of police who talked to us about what he has done for our country. He has helped me plan and learn about high school and who I want to be. Theo has impacted me and many of my fellow classmates. I want Theo to stay because in Theo's study hall, I am able to get more work done um in this class than any others. He makes an amazing work environment and has supported me in applying for National Junior's Honor Society. He's extremely helpful and I look forward to his class each week. Mr. T's class is one of the reasons I stay at school until the end of the day. I not only look forward to his class, but I know that I will be learning something valuable and memorable. Mr.
098Chief puts in effort into his classwork, making it accessible to all involved and is a very encouraging teacher. At Windsor High School, Theo leads the National Honor Society and I'm currently applying to enter. He has been incredibly helpful during this process. He has been very clear about instructions and helpful in when we had to adjust due to change roles, number of students, etc. Without Theo leading this process, I would have experienced a lot a lot more anxiety, excuse me. However, I was able to ask Theo questions without fear of being treated like I had asked a dumb question or wasn't worth being in the NHS. We believe that if these cuts are made at our school, it would affect our grades and education. Firing teachers at the school gives less gives less options for students
099to meet the requirements to graduate and takes away from the freedom of choosing classes that we want to take. Removing valued teachers will have an impact on our education since more academic classes will not be offered anymore. Students are hoping for new learning opportunities and better classes for the 2026 2027 school year. Therefore, letting off multiple teachers would affect more life out of school classes like psychology, ethnics, ethnic studies, um, RVCC, and college composition. Um, being able to offer classes here at Windsor that connect with future jobs students are interested in will help them not only succeed, but will hopefully better prepare them for college. Passing the budget will only make our school suffer more. As these students clearly stated, Mr. She is a valued member of Windsor High School. His present for students, a
100very helpful teacher, and an incredible support for both struggling students and those who are going through school without a problem. There isn't a single person that would benefit from his absence. Not only is this about keeping one of the teachers who make students want to come to school, this is about keeping open opportunities for kids. Although this decision is not made based on character, I think there is something to say about the positive impact you make. We really hope that you will take this into consideration before you make your vote. >> Thank you. Thanks. >> I I'm Mr. TM The I teach at High School. Um just want to say two quick things. One, I didn't ask any of these students to come here tonight and speak on my behalf. They took this on their
101own. Um and I appreciate your very kind words to come. And I also wanted to thank Ali Christine and Katie. Um I'm one of the position of this for I so very much enjoyed my time at Windsor. Um I'm sorry I'm getting emotional. Um both of these uh administrators have helped me grow as an educator and as a person and I just wanted to thank them for the opportunity you've given me to grow and family member because it's like a family. Um so thank you. No matter whatever decision you make, I leave Windsor um a better educator and a better person. Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Thank you for coming. I I I have to say I as a teacher who was rescued at one point um I worked at conference for 16 years
102and uh they had a position and that position happened to be mine. The last full-time teacher hired I almost made it 20 years there and it's not even tonight. I I uh I understand. >> Uh is there any more questions for our administrators um before we move on to motions anymore? I am Jesse Eros from uh Brownsville, Vermont and I also take the class and I'm also here to speak on his behalf. I would like to preface this by saying it seems that the supervisory union at this particular day and age is running on fumes. I think that we can all agree on and this is not anybody in this room's fault. I don't believe that gutting a social studies department would help anything or anybody regardless of the money it says class is beloved
103by many and taken by many. It is one of the largest in terms of raw numbers. And I think Izzy sort of covered everything that I I wanted to say, but I would like to make that opinion known that I'm speaking on behalf of my fellow students. What? Little MC. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions or general comments to the board before we move on to motions here? >> Question is for the administrators if there's a plan here that you favorite for there's what what your thoughts are on which one uh I can start I think you know we came last time and and we were um working to be in compliance because that's what we were supposed to do. Um, and we did that and um, I appreciated the board's directive of let's
104transition this a little bit slower. Um, that was that was good to hear. Um, I felt I felt it was my responsibility to bring a budget in compliance, but it's your job to approve the budget um, and bring it to the voters. So, it was nice to have a little bit of leeway. Um, and I think it it felt better going back to the union and talking through scenarios and slowing it down a little bit. Um, so I I I think my my support would be around plan B. Um, which slows it down a little bit. It's still it's still a reduction in in force. Um, and I appreciate the students coming and I appreciate Theo being here. It does makes me tearary um as well. But I think Kate shared when we were looking
105at the numbers this fall, this is not sustainable. It's not fiscally responsible. It's not necessarily good for our kids to be in classes of of two or four. Um and so the reality is we would have brought you a budget that reduced staff even without the requirement of Act 73. um maybe not as significant but we we definitely would have done that because we have to um and I think to the point of electives um when you get into it and you dig deep when you have larger class sizes it is going to open up space for those electives that was a very important consideration we don't want kids losing um we want to offer RBCC courses we want to offer electives and we believe we'll be able to do that with the staffing proposed
106in that So that's just mine. Kate and Tracy can >> also strongly support be and my parents partner. Um you know it's the best thing and I believe that and I understand um their concerns about the the like I said a million times. I'm trying I'm trying I'm trying I'm trying to figure out a way like it's part of the reason I didn't fill the uh planning room right because with that like and working to figure something out um but the social studies department is and has been overs um that's the the bottom line two full-time teachers we have the L certified in social studies and we also have another teacher who's social who's also certified in social studies. Um, where my where I felt like we were getting was the science department to knock
107it down to two teachers and to take one of their classes away and give it to the math department because it's physics and expect them to still have the morale, you know, me and all and all that they do. Um, cut that down to Is it feasible on paper? Yes. Would it be a whole lot better with that point4 back in there? Yes. Will we be able to fill it? I'm not sure. We want a point for job, but maybe someone out there. Um and the other thing that this would I wide open is the possibilities of what this is going to bring to middle school in terms of opportunity for elective and you know with the with the ability of teachers having placements placements in 7 to 12 or 5 to 9 and people
108teach 78 and nth grade you know there was all these concerns about science and my um reason for beg centered up on our science program. >> I I think that um we're fortunate that um act 173 and our need for positioning and our priority for intervention is represented in all AB and C budgets. Um it's uh that makes it easier for me. But I but I know how much work uh Kyle and Christine have put into all the different options and um you know we agree that it's easier it's very hard when you're talking about people versus positions and that's why we try to stay within that language because we know as we're talking through this we're talking about people and that's what we don't want. Um but I think um you know I I
109know Kate feels strongly about be and um I support that with having witnessed all the work that they have done with scheduling to um to go through and I really appreciate the collaboration it brings to middle school high school and I think that's going to provide some opportunities better. I also support B. Um I think it's been said nobody wants to cut any positions. Um and our contract goes by seniority. [clears throat] And for the middle school, I think one of the things that I look at is when you see the um class size requirements that we've been asked to follow, the middle school, in my opinion, in all the years I've been there have always been high above those minimums. And I worry about pushing those higher numbers to like what the maximum is
110and having too big of a classes. I have still have six full-time teachers. I have six sections and that we are able to fill that. I would be lying if I didn't say I would love to have more interventionists all the time. Um, but this is the most fiscally responsible decision and I still have the support that I have need and need for my students. But there was a few years ago where we had a sevenperson team because we had a bubble and that that will happen again in the future and we will come back and ask when that happens. But that's the what I'm thinking about is yep we're talking about these minimum requirements but what happens when they get really high? I will say just as a complete aside, it is ridiculous to
111have the minimum be seven students away from the maximum. It's the minimum is now 15 and the maximum is 22 and you have to somehow based on something that's completely out of your control, right? which is people having babies or moving to our state. Uh it's it's I mean I do appreciate a lot of the things that people have recognized that are out of our control, you know, especially bill recognizing, you know, the contract that we're like I follow the contract that presented to me >> um and the health insurance maximum. There's so many things that are out of health. Jennifer. >> So, in my 13 years, we've always ebed and flowed. Um, the state has determined that they have a class size minimum and we've created something that meets that goal. I think I'm
112ever the optimist. We can find um value in moving forward with predictability and thinking about keeping the multi-age approach that we've been working towards. This is um perhaps an opportunity for us to really hone in on that flexible approach that we've been talking about for years. Um I feel like I've got the staff ready to rock and roll on that. Um, you know, we're we're a small state. >> We're a small state and so small numbers are the standard. So to have a multi-age class of 20 kids is in most of the world pretty common. Um there there are some structural things that make it challenging, but I think we've got um with Christine and Bridget working with us to help support a multi-age approach with the curricula that we got. We'll figure it out.
113We'll figure it out. And I think there's opportunity here. So, um you know, we did the best we can with what we got. And I think the the funding structure is not something we have control over. I think it is way more complicated, cumbersome, and ineffective, but it's not what we control. What we do control is what we're presenting. And I think, you know, either A or B, we both right, we're cutting a position at Albert Bridge School. It's going to be what it's going to be. And uh we'll make the best of it. >> Thank you. >> I appreciate your question. I'm too good for that. >> Yeah. And I think the last thing I'll throw out, I I mentioned this earlier, but just reiterating that the fact that any of these plans is
114going to see us go over what what is I mean, nominally an excess spending threshold, but it's it's a spending threshold. It's that and it feels kind of arbitrary and it's it's I I think I would imagine we all share the frustration that it kind of feels like we're being punished for needing operating costs >> when we know that the drivers for those are healthcare or inflation or this giant rat of things that we we cannot do anything about in this room. Um it's I mean it's it's it's pretty infuriating, right? because that impacts these numbers that you see and it makes it all the more difficult to make the case for any um which is just an absurd situation to be in. So to put a fine point on it, if you if you
115decided to go with option B, your tax rate would go from if if LTWM was steady, the excess spending thresholds um your taxes for an example in Windsor would go from 12% to 12%. >> So to put another way, 8% is the excess spending threshold penalty. >> Yeah. Well, 8% of the 20%. >> Meaning if the excess spending didn't exist, >> okay, >> when the tax rate will go up 12% instead of 20%. >> Okay. So, would go up instead of going at 17% will go up roughly 9%. If the excess bank not >> you get penalized over and how much would we have to cut under way more? >> You would have to Yeah, you would have to Um, and Larry, I know you're going to give us the exact number, but I would
116I would assume that it would be cutting so much that we would really material impact our ability to deliver the services. And >> you would have to cut an additional 500,000 over what you've already cut and off. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. And when when I hear Bill asking about non-facing student positions, I feel like there's not many of those either. >> But not many is not zero. So I would prefer to cut those positions than cut an interventionist any day of the week. [snorts] >> So the intervention position no it's um it is at the middle level. >> It's a Yeah. Thanks. Thank you. That's right. >> It's a point4 reduction in middle level intervention and a 6 reduction in high school intervention combined. if the intervention in the high school get funky right
117because we need not so right now the intervention that we have at the high school I believe it's it's not really um it's called intervention really >> usually isn't really seven kids over period >> that Um so again that came from last year even though the teacher the idea of not wanting to get rid of trying to save the social studies business that's where that came from >> and then the intervention at the >> middle school the reduction is not as the ASL and RBC class high school >> so it's a sharing of a person >> in school and middle school which drives the intervention down two periods at the high school at the middle school level. >> And by doing that, you said >> yes. >> And is that in A or B? >>
118B. It's in both. >> It's in both. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> The big difference between A and B is to be able to keep to advertise a point for clients. Okay. Well, I guess before before we get to motions, I is there any just general commentary on option C? >> The good thing about option C is if we could have got there and guys wrote it down then. >> True. >> But that would not that would be unfair and not a good one. Well, yeah. And I mean, I think that that's that's where the challenge comes in, right? I think that I think it's pretty readily apparent having heard from all of you and having these discussions like nobody the value of every one of our staff is is very well recognized and understood pretty
119pretty deeply. um looking at the numbers that go along with it, the possibility of getting that budget to be approved by voters when we have other options that do not come with the same tax increases. Particularly right now when that's it's been such a year-over-year problem, we are facing statewide cost increases. It's It's you know, yeah, it's hard to I'll I mean, I'll be totally honest. Looking at those numbers, it's really hard for me to imagine taxpayers approvement options even west have been very supportive of education budgets over the years. I remember old war one went down in Windsor West came really close before the merger. It was like a voice boat hand boat and I've never seen that before >> usually. >> Yeah. No, we we always had folks. >> Well, I mean uh
120sorry I remember the time that you had to because it was so close >> which I'd never seen before. Uh um so yeah. I mean >> that's in part because it used to um increase and decrease by the same amount. It would go up say 15 or 30 like 33% was the last the last increase before the merger vote. >> Um and then it would go down the same you know the same to the same degree. So it would be um it would have the same fluctuation up and then the same embed down. every year it flip-flopped and it was partly because of special education um because we didn't have the um population to absorb the cost >> a lot of times the group were all around a single student >> then it would be
121like >> two or three students would move in and then April they would then move out >> and it was the tuition which I think our neighboring districts are feeling now is the >> yeah everything. Not one of them bit of it in the control. >> So Larry, when um did the change bring us under the threshold? No. >> The change you found in the situation? No. So even even if you went with option A, um you would still be over the threshold by a smaller amount. Uh you would have to cut you you weren't here. Uh you'd have to cut half a million on top of option B to get under the threshold in addition. >> So we are paying an extra half million. >> No. Uh it doesn't work like that. You're paying
122an extra $470 for LTWN. >> That was$1 for every dollar you're over. >> It is. So, they take that five. So, right here, I'm just using for the sake of math option B because I've heard three board members say option B. Um, you are currently $554 over that. So, this is what your LT this is your this is what you're spending now with that new number. $17,000ish per student. The excess spending threshold is 16,470. The difference between that and the 17,000ish is $554, right? >> They then they tack that on. So, that's where the double taxation comes in. They take that 554 and they add it to this and now you're at 17,578. So it's a penalty >> and that's where the tax rate comes from >> right >> after the yield. >> Okay, >>
123and after uh you know some discounts from act uh 84 which are minor but basically uh that's the double the double taxing is if the threshold didn't exist you would pay that not that. >> Is there discussion >> and that and that amounts to roughly half a million. Is there discussion of changing the threshold? >> Yes, that's sort of that's on the agenda, >> but we go to print in a couple weeks, a week or two. >> Yeah, we we don't within our timeline that we are legally required to follow. We don't have the luxury of waiting to see that we willing or able well able, but willing to increase the sale or whatever buy down happens in this deal. There's no way of knowing when we by time we trans and go to town
124meeting. Uh whatever you decide tonight, plan A, B, or C, that'll be in the budget book. I'll make sure that error is rectified in the budget book before it goes to print. So everything will reflect the amount chosen. I've already got ticket. I guess just one more time just to remind this the first time the buy down that did I hear that's 77 >> was he was the public amount 75 million that was >> and did I did you say a rough projection of the what that would >> the statewide projected average from the tax commissioners letter was 12%. that if the buy down occurred, it would the statewide average would go down to 6%. What that would do to us, I can't really estimate. You could do some back of the envelope math and
125if the statewide average goes down by half and winter's 20% goes by half, it would be roughly 10%. And if West Windsor 70% went down by half, it would be roughly eight and a half, nine, but I would be >> I would not like to sure >> be careful saying that. It would affect the tax rate. >> Yeah. to the to the to the good. >> Sure. >> Then you also >> by by a non by a large amount I guess you >> a significant amount. Sure. And then having the threshold if the threshold were to be raised too. I think that would it would do >> a similar type of >> a similar amount to talking about. I know that >> if they did both. [laughter] >> Well that's that's what I'm >> Yeah.
126But then we also have uh the Senate pro prom saying that he wants to cap all spending >> for entire state. >> Yeah. >> So >> I can when I go to print I can put a bunch of caveats on the top of the page say you know contact your legislator or I don't know these are estimates only. I always put the copy that this does not include the income sensitivity. does not include um whatever happens to the final year which is set in June. >> So >> There's a lot of caveats, but everybody as you know goes through the budget book and they flip to the table where it shows if you have $250,000 house for your tax. >> Y well and I I appreciate in your last presentation and I think and I
127believe this in the budget book too just showing that line graph healthcare cost. That's >> I added that this year. >> Yeah. Well, it and it really needs to be salient to folks because it's, you know, we it's jarring. >> It's incredibly jarring and and I I hear the concerns about sustainability locally, but I think at a state level, like what does sustainability look like if that is not somehow brought to heal, right? Because how often are we having these conversations about like, you know, we're being asked to reduce staff, we cut local budgets when like we, you know, cost fun. It's not us, right? Um, so yeah, it's some got to get there. We can't do anything about it here, so I'm not going to dwell on any longer, but it's uh it is
128a it is a genuine concern when that cost is continuing to be passed along to, you know, >> it's Yeah. Yeah. And up in Norwich this year they are facing a more than 50% increase in their taxes. >> Yeah. >> With level spending level spending and they are 50% increasing. There's only so many times that the state, and I'll just say leadership and Bob Hillier, whether that's in the House and Senate or the governor's office, can continue saying like, well, like local starting to be pissed with responsible. It's like we, you know, we are. >> Yeah. >> That line only works so long when when you're watching healthcare go like >> this year over year and that just hits us like a ton of bricks every every single season. >> Yeah. If we had to
129say what New Hampshire pay, we'd be golden. I mean, we we pay uh 1550 a month in healthcare benefits and in New Hampshire, they pay450 a month. >> Wow. >> It's it's absurd. >> Yeah, it's a huge And we are by far the most expensive healthare >> which is the most expensive warrant. Yes. >> So that's >> but we also start. >> Yeah. >> I just wanted to point that out again. We there's nothing we can do about that here. But I just think it's a reality as we, you know, budget every year and if our if nothing happens with that, we're going to continue feeling pressure to do things that at a certain point. So yeah, to to to move things forward, >> yes, >> I will make a motion to approve the budget
130at uh $16 million 624,852 of plan B. All right, I'll second that motion. So discussion of plan B as a proposed budget >> feels like it doesn't feel good but um that's my discussion but if the administrators support it Sure. >> And there might be people who resign, people who retire. So it may not have to come to as a thing that we know today. I I I am disappointed that you didn't take a closer look at things besides staff that could be cut. I just want to register that I'm really disappointed because that is what we asked you to do. Um and I I get it. It's I know that staffing is uh the most you know the biggest part of our budget but we asked you to look at the whole thing. We
131don't even have access to the whole budget. We have access to um what's in the like we can't go through line by line and say I went through line by line and questioned every line but I don't have access to what's in there. you have to do that. Um, I don't know what each of those lines represents. So, and so it it really I just want to say that I'm really disappointed that uh we can't do it. You have to do it. You didn't do it. And so I will vote, you know, I have to pick between one of the three, I guess. And uh I'm I I don't like this. I don't like this. That's what I have to say. >> All right. Any other board comments for Colorado? Um, this excuse me, this
132is Amy and I agree with Elizabeth with the amount of information that we were provided, not being able to see the the various line items. I know it's perhaps the way a budget is designed now with the stock software, but before we were able to see every line item within [clears throat] a department and now all we see is just a line that doesn't give any of the specifications. So, it's really hard to see how that money is being spent and and truly like at the last meeting had had uh the the union representatives not spoken up. You have obstructed in such a way the lang using like broad language. we couldn't have known that that uh what you were talking about was these specific subjects. You gave you you gave us a rundown of
133your um of your uh priorities and um and but then we have one line in a whole book that says teacher salaries and we have a pie chart of what that represents. But we know that that teacher sal or you know staffing is the most expensive. We know that but we don't have any idea what else is represented by that one line. And and it is constantly referred to as the pie chart or the bar chart. And I think for uh I don't think it's helpful. And I think if you can do lots of pivot tables, if you know how to do pivot tables, it should be in it should have an a way for anybody to be able to access what is represented in there. and not just by teachers, but by all of
134the like if you wanted to pick it apart, you should I feel you should be able to um and because otherwise it just looks like uh I I am eager to do the homework for this job. I want to do the homework for this job, but um I feel like we have we I I pushed hard over the course of like seven or eight years to try to get us to a place where we could budget our values. And now we are back at the place where we're just being handed a budget and being asked to um approve it. And uh like uh how do we budget our values? How do we as a board budget our values if we're just being handed a budget? I don't take any of this lightly. Like I know
135the pins do equal people and I know some of these people personally and are very close friends with and I hear what you're saying too, but I also hold our administrators and their values that I have to trust in too that they are bringing their values to the table that they've showed us each week that we've been here each month, but I I hear what you're saying, but I just want to say that I do value what the administrators brought to us as far as this goes. Oh, I don't I'm sorry to imply, but uh but I don't value that. I know this these were difficult discussions. Of course, they are. Um and uh but and um these are really hard decisions and the the it's even harder to make a decision without all of
136the information. Um >> well I will say that you know apologies for not coming back with non-facing cuts. I think from the time we met until the break was about two weeks and it and as Kate said, we had about eight meetings that we squeezed in with the union to try to figure out the staffing piece of it and and and didn't get to the other piece which in my mind is not a big piece to be honest with you. If I can cut also have a ripple effect right and then they still And I it's we I showed that to the human where and um you know I feel fortunate and I use the phrase a lot but I am really pro the best CFO in the state and we're we're lucky to have
137them and I know that because people try and get them to leave here all the time as job offers and I threaten my friendship. >> Um >> and um >> we're lucky because he knows you know you see it he knows who he's talking about. you know is an impact that they're going to have and in his ideal world he'd get to tell the he wouldn't even have to give it to us he would say this is the decision is what the number but then we I come back with the nuances you know no we have this that not so >> well the other piece is what is the budget book not getting you that you want because this was introduced last year and the feedback was phenomenal on >> this this software that can
138can show >> and I I believe it digs down maybe maybe it needs to dig down more I don't know if it's not giving you what you need, we need to know that so we can adjust. But the feedback last year was super positive about it. And um I think this is a really tough budget year. And and so >> last year was too. >> Last year was um I think this is worse. Um I think you know to your point, Elizabeth, we came last month. We weren't we weren't ready to I mean we presented the draft budget book. We had some ideas. We weren't ready to get into the nitty nitty-gritty. Um that was for tonight and and we needed the time to dig in and and we did that. I feel like we
139did that. Um did our due diligence on that. But if it's if there are pieces that you want that aren't being shown, you know, in feedback and we will improve the process. So certainly um the intent is not to keep the board in the dark. That is absolutely opposite of our of our goal. So >> one of the issues comes down to the little fact that you have buildings and you have to keep that building open. And so, and I'm not I'm not saying anything no one knows, but I think the main issue here is to look at the fact that looking at the enrollment numbers >> that really is the pressure and that At at some point as a board looking at our values, we have to start thinking about what's going to happen
140in five years and then what's going to happen in 10 years and we have to start making those plans >> now. Not just looking at well what's the budget going to be next year? What are the enrollments going to do? What's going to happen to insurance? What's going to happen to state? So, >> can I ask a question? >> Sure. >> Not really a budget question, but uh if as you were saying, most of the 30 kids who left our district were in fourth grade. Are we are we looking at why whether there was a cause? >> Yeah. So, we're we're literally going by. uh to verify everything as we have to go with LGWADM and we get these uh updates and we compare what's in our power school or what's the state is telling
141us is in our power school and Ryan created a report uh where we can click on each kid and find out and they leave for all sorts of reasons. They go to Newport, New Hampshire, they go to Florida. Uh we had two students of the same family. We want to play basketball last year like in the summer. We thought we were going to have them maybe uh and the other one sister. So like I you know without getting kids names they leave for all sorts of reasons. It it seemed like a um a large number than normal uh compared to when we brought in the 48 students that we brought in. Um, but uh, Lori Brown is ridiculous keeping out going. So that's what Ryan and I did this morning. >> I think it like
142kind of balances out because my you need something right now. >> I'll go find something for you. >> If you look right in front of where the screen is, right underneath the where there's a computer, there should be a bucket of food. things like that. >> So when I say four, a lot of them are four students. You're talking like 10 students, >> 10 students of 40 some odd students. >> Oh, it's not like a huge number. It's not like >> I was picturing 40 students from grade four. >> No, no, not it's 40 some odd students districtwide. >> Just this year or is it over? What's the difference? the difference between last year and this year. >> So, it could be that it's a bigger class, but then we we're trying to compare >>
143and also it's a snapshot time. It's October 1st, right? >> And it's less it's less prek students. >> There are less prek students >> less prek students. >> Um, >> this year in August through the end of September, I got more students enrolled in one year and they all happened to be coming into seventh grade and I thought, what is happening? just was the luck of the draw. >> Thanks. >> Yeah. So, >> it'll change at point time. >> It's uh it's it was >> no [laughter] when I say fourth grade the number that was surprising. Thanks, Bill. Make yourself reality of being diabetic. When you feel your blood sugar, [clears throat] >> well, I I appreciate everyone sticking around for a long conversation about this. You're not There's a lot of questions to be
144asked. I I think that, you know, I commend our administration and folks in our SU office for really taking the time to to address those in this moment. And also, even if it did not get into the granularity of looking at either non- studentent facing costs or material costs, I I appreciate that there was the capacity and will to put in some hard work, a really tough time of year to make a plan B. Um I think two thoughts just hearing what everyone's saying and bringing us to where we got to make a decision on this is I think yes the the concerns about the granularity of that is something that we can bring into next year. I mean I we need to be having this concept I think the presentation and the tool that
145is being used is appropriate. Um I it has been adequate for my needs but I think we want to make sure that if we want to drill down as far as possible we should look into that. >> [laughter] >> I do think that the budget book is great works great every average taxpayer probably just super anal and and likes to >> for years I heard >> spend my Friday evenings looking at this stuff >> for for years I heard Can you give us something that is not just a spreadsheet on a piece of paper on a print out? >> Yeah. >> On a board meeting night. Uh can we have it at the click of a button from a phone from a computer >> months before the board meeting occurs >> and uh maybe in
146my haste to deliver that >> uh you lose some of the color and the detail. >> So I'll work on that. >> You've really done a remarkable job with all of that, Larry. I I really I deeply apologize um for implying that you haven't been doing some of our cool jobs. >> It's just hard >> when you see teacher salaries, how many teachers are in the salary? >> Yeah. Yeah. And I think you know in the spirit of continuous improvement that we all come this process with you know it's got >> one of the things that came up from the budget advisory committee was uh we were asked multiple times um and I think it was a timing thing really because by the time we got to December it was almost too late. Uh they
147wanted to see all the things that you're talking about by department by FTE count right in the table just like we did for Weatherfield. I didn't feel comfortable doing that because it would out the teachers right before they had been told that they were possibly going to be ripped. We couldn't put that publicly out before we had talked to the teachers. By the time we did that, it was already December. And then now we're complaining comp prep comparing plan A, plan B, and what do I put in the budget books? This is plan A, not voted on yet by the board. This is plan B, not voted on yet. Right. Once you guys pick a plan, >> then I'll it'll go in the budget book. But, uh, >> yeah, >> it's kind of a chicken
148the egg thing. >> Yeah. You know, this there's >> maybe we could have a separate board packet of some type that I can work on that next year. >> Yeah. And I think I think that's a process discussion we have later, but just to kind of wrap up my series with you and >> all good. Um, you know, >> when we talk about non student based folks, when we talk about materials cost too, that that also reduces the quality of what we're able to deliver. I think that we've experienced that firsthand with, you know, we know that if you put off replacing a roof year after year after year after year and pay in other places, eventually you're going to have a roof. Um, I think we're all very aware of what's happening in Woodstock.
149And I mean that's that's maybe the most extreme example of like >> and >> Hartford if if you I think that it is really understandable and like deeply humanly understandable living in these small communities that you want to find those other places but eventually that leads to other problems that ultimately impact the ability to deliver highest quality education. Um, and I think that, you know, as as you know, Megan mentioned, I you know, our our administrators work with work with everybody every day in these buildings. Um, you know, we live in this community. These are these are people we know. Um, we might have worked with them before. Like there's all sorts of connections here and that that is not lost in me. And I I I'll say one more time, I really appreciate the
150time and effort into into making sure that there was an option to be here. um and making sure that we were not just hitting a compliance number. And I also appreciate that that was the first thing we got because that is kind of the charge and like when something like that comes down from the state, I think that finding finding a way to make that transition in a way that is as the least disruptive possible way of doing that. Um because the I the impression that I've gotten about act 73 is that that isn't exact that isn't a part of it that anybody is really budging on. Um but we also do have a three-year window to work on that and figure out other ways of doing that and then being creative with how our
151staff are are placed and how our services are provided without simply immediately getting under and then just moving on from there. So yeah, I'm I'm appreciative for being in this process. It's really hard. Um it's not fun and uh a certain point we just got to make a decision on it. So with that in mind, I will take a roll call vote and I will start with Amy. How do you vote >> for plan B? I vote I. >> All right, Bill. >> I, >> Nancy. >> I, >> Elizabeth. >> Hi, >> Megan. >> Hi. >> And I am an I as well. So, plan B is adopted or adopted as our budget. Amen. Thank you everyone. I'll make sure everything as well. >> All right. yourself. >> Um, are we if we're ready to
152move on because we do have a number more items here. I can also if folks need it too, we can do a quick recess. >> 910. >> Yeah, I mean it's just it's just gonna make the meeting go longer, but um All right. >> So, sorry. Sorry. >> All right. So, we are on to item 6B, which is the February budgetformational meeting. So, just logistics date and time. >> Yeah. Um, so typically we go the week before, but it is school vacation, so we'd like to propose February 18th at believe we do a six o'clock in room 210 has worked quite well the past couple of years for logistics >> to Wednesday. >> Could you repeat that, please? >> Yes. Um, we typically do the week prior, >> but because that's a school vacation week,
153>> um, we'd like to propose the 18th of February, um, we could propose Monday, but it is a SU board meeting on the 16th of February. So that's why, um, that date doesn't work unless we want it to, and Hartland will be the 17th. So um so proposing the 18th of February for the budgetformational meeting with >> just a meeting no dinners and things like that. Y >> I think last year we axed the dinner because people weren't going to think that that worked fine. I think we had some we had some like coffee and fresh >> it was upstairs >> 210. Yep. >> Yeah. I think the model went last year was really great. >> You want cookies and coffee? >> 6 or uh whatever. I can't remember. Do we just >> Is it
154normally 6:30? I guess I'm all mixed up in my head. >> I'm okay with 6:30. I mean, >> last very long. So, >> you got it. >> Right. And you say it's uh Kate um is that >> Kate? Uh yeah, she's agreed to moderate again. >> Excellent. Okay, cool. >> I'll just give her the date tonight. >> All right. Yeah, that that works. >> Okay. One last glance. I think I looked at it earlier. >> That's a Wednesday. >> It's a Wednesday. >> Oh, wow. >> All right. Any discussions, question about that? I know we don't need to vote on it all. That's just thing we need to be aware of. >> Does that work for everybody? >> Okay. >> Uh all right. Item 6C, the excess spending threshold letter. Um as it came up
155multiple times in our budget discussion, we've already um talked about the SU level. Um Christine has written a very very nice letter of advocacy to uh convey to our our representatives in Millier to ask that they raise the excess funding threshold. Um, and for all of the reasons that we discussed when we were talking about budget. Um, and I'll I'll just say one more time emphatically, it I don't really like saying the word excess before it because it's just a spending threshold. There's nothing excess about the spending that we're doing. Um, we're we're meeting our operating costs and and what we want. Um, and I think that I think that module needs to raise that uh and not punish districts and local taxpayers for meeting our learning standards. >> So, if you sent it around
156already to board members, >> it's it's been sent around to Yeah, I distributed and kind of picked it. I think I think all of us would have seen it at the last SD meeting when it came up. I think that this was where we would >> decide if you want to >> where yeah we decide if we wanted to officially sign off on it as a unit since we're meeting in this capacity now. >> So although I've individually sent it to people that I know a number of other folks have maybe made the same as you have too but >> so I think it's just whether or not you all want to sign off on it and we get names on it and send it away. >> Cool. >> Um anybody want to need to
157review the text again? You have a chance to >> I I' I've read it. I think it's I think it's definitely >> excellent. And there was the the one alteration about the it being padded to inflation or not being responsive to inflation, which I think is actually the main metric that it is is just not to any of the other things that are outpacing actual inflation increasing. >> Um but yeah. >> All right. Um well, I will take a motion to have the non-skid school district board officially sign on to the um uh the letter uh advocacy of raising the excess betting threshold. >> So, right, any discussion? >> All right, I will take a uh roll call vote starting with Amy. How do you vote? Hi. >> All right, Bill. >> Hi, >> Nancy.
158>> Hi, >> Elizabeth. >> Hi, >> Megan. >> Hi, >> I'm as well. So, um, >> coordinate. >> We'll we'll coordinate around it, but yeah, we'll we'll be able to get that out and >> Yep. >> We move that we let Nancy either move or second all of our movements for it [laughter] until the end. I think that's how it typically goes anyway, but >> I'm happy. Yeah, we don't need to actually have a vote on that, but I feel >> all right. So, yeah, we'll we'll correspond on that since we two just administrator t work with folks offline on that. >> Uh 6D is public high school choice. >> Yep. We have to set our numbers. Um, and >> we had a long discussion about it last year, then I >> I'd be happy
159to make a motion just to kind of piece it status quo. >> If you want the actuals, we did the rundown today. >> The the 5% or or or 10, whichever is fewer, is uh the 5% which is seven students >> and um 13 seven and >> so we can go with seven. We just need 13. We can uh I'm sorry it's seven not to exceed 13 in all four levels. I believe that's right. >> We just have it as 10 last year. >> We had it as 10. >> Yeah, >> you can keep it as 10. That's the exact but you certainly keep it as 10. Whatever the board um prefers. We we don't get a lot of students that leave under public high school choice and we don't take in a lot. So,
160>> but I do think um I do think it's worth mentioning in newsletters because I think people are unaware of it and I think that we might guess for a variety of reasons are aware of it. >> I think we will find out. >> Yeah. One thing to remember is it it's uh it's there's no DVD. >> So sounds like folks are generally amenable to what administration is recommending here. Can you state again what what is the motion? Uh gosh, no. Uh seven not to exceed 13. >> So well the motion is that we pick a number and we So >> So you pick 10. >> We pick 10. >> Yeah. >> A full motion. Okay. >> So I think you do. Yes. to set the public high school choice number at at 10. I
161believe that's what we did last year. >> Excellent. All right. So, I will take a motion to set the public school choice number at 10. So, move. >> So, second. >> There we go. All right. Um I think we're at the point that we can simple voice vote on that. So all those in favor please say I >> I uh those opposed extension. Okay everybody >> uh 6E election subcommittee. Um you and I have already connected on that. Larry I think you and I have briefly connected on that and I dropped the line with Aaron Miner who is our district clerk. Yep. >> Um so it's on the radar yet. We haven't actually put a meeting on the books, but now that we've just kind of put it out there and we'll we'll do what
162we've done for the last couple years. We'll get together and just make sure that there's some of us focusing on the logistics around how meeting day how elections run. Um make sure that if any questions come up, they're they're being addressed and dealt with and we're not uh running any issues. So he's not here right now, but I'll thank Aaron Miner again for being willing to be our clerk. He uh did a fantastic job last year and it's extremely helpful just to have somebody who is dedicated on that one day a year to making sure the system works. All right. Uh 6FOU on the ABS grounds. Um this would be us approving I think theou is in your packet. Um, it's the same that we saw before. We just opted to kick it out a
163month so that the West Windsor board could take a look at it and make sure they didn't have any changes to it. Uh, Matt Frederick got back to me and he said that there are no changes to it, but they have reviewed it now. So, uh, we are now in a position to approve it. So, I will take a motion to approve the uh, memorandum of understanding regarding the uh, use of school grants. >> Someone Second. All right. >> Excellent. Uh and all those in favor, please say I. >> I. >> Any opposed? Excellent. All right. So, that passes. That is adopted. Appreciate West Windsor Select Board for taking a look at that for us. Some said they have a lawyer on their board, too. So, that was like really the big things. I have
164been sure it was airtight, but what has been happening is now officially agreed to in the new document, which is about as good. >> Uh, item 6G, we have a resignation. So, I will turn that over to >> Yep. Um, >> yep. >> So, we have the resignation of Cara Curtis. She is the our middle level interventionist. um in this process she recognizes that she's um the position that's going to be ripped. Uh so she started looking for a job because she needs job security and she asked permission to interview which is what you need to do in Vermont and I granted that permission because I felt like um passion for her and knowing that she needs a job. Um, so she was offered the position and I've worked with the superintendent in the um,
165district where she's going to go to and we've agreed that um, he'll hold that position until February 27th and she'll stay with us through February 27th which really gets us to Vermont caps pretty much. Um that was kind of our thinking calling and and our my brainstorming with her and so um she is asking for the board's permission to resign as of February 27th which will guarantee which will guarantee her a position next year in another school district. So I would recommend the board accept that resignation. >> All right. >> Okay. And can you just say her name one more time? >> Her name is Cara Curtis. >> Cara Curtis. Y she's right there. >> Oh, she's online. Cara is online. There she is. >> Hi, Cara. I didn't see you. I'm sorry. >> All
166right. Uh, so I will take a motion to accept uh the resignation of Cara Curtis. So move. >> Thank you. >> All right. Thanks. And yeah, I think that I think that, you know, particularly the circumstanc I I want to congratulate Yes. Christine and Cara uh for a very professional transition and so and >> thank you for your service. >> Christine and Colleen very much very much and Jordan very much. Thank you and [laughter] the board. Thank >> Yeah. And thank you Cara for you know >> she's done an amazing job and we're fortunate to have her. >> Yes. And best of luck in your new role too. She connects amazingly with our students every day. >> Yes. >> All right. So, that gets us to the end of item six. So, we are officially
167>> Oh, we didn't vote. I'm so sorry. [laughter] Um, all right. So, I will I will take a voice vote um on this one. So, uh all those in favor, please say I. I >> I opposed extensions. Okay. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Thank you very much. >> All right. And now we are on to item seven, setting the next agenda. Um I So I I heard it mentioned, but I it's not on my calendar yet. Um is the next meeting February 2nd? >> The next meeting is Hold on. Let me pull the calendar. >> I think there's nothing there's nothing in Google calendar. There's nothing in Google calendar. >> That's not good. I have a 6:30 MASD schoolboard meeting on the 2nd of February. >> Oh, >> in my calendar. >> I
168would maybe check. >> Looks like she didn't invite the board. >> I wouldn't have rejected it. Yeah, [laughter] >> I look for those. Okay, I will do that. Someone said it. So, because >> that is a few days before our our second community dinner, we'll just put the item on that. We can work on that offline. Just logistics. >> What time? What day is it? >> February 5th. Thursday, February 5th. >> So, you want that on the agenda or you don't? >> I I that'll we just last time we did this, we just did a quick check in a few days before to make sure that there weren't any. But again, as our third time, we're sorry about it now. We can pl agenda. >> Yeah, we're just we're going to do a quick gut
169check on the next agenda and I'll be in touch with my usual sign up list. I think it would be kind of sign Mary McC who is who loves >> great >> we have two things from last >> yes I know one of them is we were going to discuss uh at the district level I think this came up at SU level we wanted to talk about um >> yeah library library services in our district I think that's an important conversation >> um Bill had sent you an email about the HHC bus. HHCT bus. >> Yeah. >> Being on the agenda. >> Yeah. >> In February. >> Yep. Yeah. I recall that. Okay. I can go on there too. >> And then we are we will come with our budget. The principles will come with
170the budget run through. That's public information session. >> Yep. Yeah. >> Give that a give that a look before the before the meeting a couple weeks later. >> Any anything else that needs to go in there? Is it just going to be admin report? Do we have any student presentation learning or anything? >> Not until March. >> February's The big focus will be the budget information. >> Absolutely. >> Report. Yeah. Run through. >> All right. Anything else from the rest of the board you want to see on the agenda or we >> Oh, uh, also accessibility updates. >> Yes. Was one of the things >> that was Thank you for Yep. We wanted to talk about accessibility >> and you want Jim to be invited to that meeting? >> Yeah, I think that'd be good.
171>> Okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. I think you can speak the most directly to it. >> Yep. >> It's always always great to see Jen. >> Yep. >> I look forward to it. >> Got it. >> All right. Yeah. And I think that that should that shouldn't overburden that meeting, but those are things that I would like to talk about sooner than >> Okay. Good. >> All right. So, that brings us to uh item eight, which is adjournment. So I will take a motion to adjourn this meeting of the county school district board. >> All right. All those in favor please say I. >> I. >> Does anyone have the um >> Did Amy say I? >> I. >> There we go. I felt it in my heart. That's anyone tell