001It's all not even close. >> All right. It is 6:30. >> Oh, Amy's here right on the dot. So, I would like to call this meeting of the Mountain Scotty School District forward to order >> on this Monday, December 1st, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. Hey. >> And our first item would be uh changes addition or addition to the agenda. So, do we have any changes or additions that we do not have? All right. So, moving on to item three, approval of minutes. Um, because we do have a couple special meetings and I know not everyone was there for all of them, we're just going to do these individually rather than in a complete. So, uh, let's start with the first one. Uh, I will take a motion to accept the minutes from the school board
002meeting on November 3rd, 2025. >> Second. >> Any discussion? All right. Hearing none, I will uh put this to a roll call vote. Sorry online, folks. Bill, are you holding something up? >> Can I read that? >> Oh, cancelled. >> Okay. Now, >> Bill, how do you vote? >> I, >> Elizabeth. >> Hi, >> Amy. >> Hi, >> Sandy. >> Hi, >> Megan. >> Hi. >> And I am an I. So, it passes. >> Uh, next up, we have uh I will take a motion to accept the minutes from our special meeting on November 6, 2025. >> Second. All right. Any discussion? Okay. And I will take another roll call vote. Uh, Bill >> I. >> Amy. Your volume's up. I think you said abstain. You weren't there. >> Yep. Abstain. Thank you. >> Okay.
003Uh, Elizabeth. >> Hi, >> Nancy. I >> Megan >> abstain >> and I have an I that passes to the directions. All right. And lastly, we have uh I will take a motion to approve the minutes from our special meeting on November 18th, 2025. So move. Second. >> All right. Any discussion? >> All right. Hearing none, I will do a roll call vote. Uh, Bill, how do you vote? >> I. >> Aen, >> abstain. >> Elizabeth, >> I. Nancy >> abstain. >> Uh Megan >> I >> and I am an I. All right. So that is also past. Okay. Uh so on to number four which is public comment for non-aggenda items and also announcements. Public comment is not legally required, but we believe it is crucial for us to hear from our community members
004about the concerns of our 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 note the board is here to listen. 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. So I think the only thing I would announce when I said school this weekend, right? >> Was this weekend? >> Is that correct? >> So >> Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And it's mom and me. and two on Saturday. >> Two on Saturday. All right. Pull out on stops. Well, yeah. Check out mom and be on
005Friday, Saturday, and twice on Well, Friday, twice on Saturday, and then once on Sunday. >> Yeah. >> Awesome. Okay. Any other announcements, public comment? Okay. So, uh with that, we will move on to item five, which is the administrative report. So I'll turn it over to you. >> Share this want to go first. Um so it's in the link of the budget report. So you just pull it up. The the budget sorry the administration report. >> Yeah. >> Should I take this on? >> Oh, sure. Um it's been a busy month. November's in the side. Uh we had great participation at conferences. 89% um that number seemed a little low to me, but when I looked at it gradewise, it's really maybe one or two families per grade level. So averaged out to 100% which
006is which is wonderful. And a couple more did reschedule after. So probably a little bit higher than that. Um we wonderful uh lunch with a loved one right before the holiday break on Tuesday. 300 plus people. Um the student leadership team did an outstanding job. Um I've never seen kids get more excited about green aprons and clearing plates, but they they did. And it was just nice to see them step up and help, you know, help out and take care of the community. And we got some really great feedback from on social media and other places about how well it went. The kitchen staff was amazing. Um and lunch was really good for in preparation for the holiday concert that is next Tuesday for the elementary um is it Wednesday for middle >> concert Wednesday.
007>> Yeah. Um we all participated in a school behavior threat assessment training um just before the break. We're in our second round of intervention. Um we're really targeting our K3 instruction. I think some of the conversations that we're having is that we can't target everybody and take care of everybody all the time. We're spreading our resources really really thin. So we purposely um identified our students who are in the yellow right on the cusp hoping to help close that gap for them and uh we're in our next six to 8 week cycle with that um some targeted interventions. So that's um we have not let go of support in fourth and fifth grade. It just looks a little differently. They have some larger groups versus the targeted instruction for the younger grades. And then we
008also this week started uh with title funds we're able to offer tutoring services to kids after school. So we have um 11 students registered for tutoring take place after school and staff who have signed up to do that. Um we have 90 hours of tutoring scheduled between now and February break. So hoping some of that targeted intervention and the um and the tutoring will really help help us start to close the gap that is only and then just pictures of the the turkey trout the Thanksgiving feast and how hard everybody worked together. It was a really nice community. Then all >> uh in the middle school, we continue to celebrate our students of the month and thank you to the PTO who um donates $5 gift cards to our students. Um we added advisory student
009advisory of the month. That's a picture in the bottom of the advisory um having a celebration. the groups that are like really putting in a lot of effort and um participation in their leader slides and advisory activities each month um are noted um that was actually last month. This month it was Miss Springer's classroom was this the advisory of the month and leading up to Thanksgiving we did a spirit week which included a door decorating contest and shout out to our staff members at the SU office who came and assessed the doors that Lord's advisory um won an ice cream social for their a door there which it the theme was we're stronger together and included um a lot of um fall woodland animals talking about their habits that they use, their seven habits. Um
010some of the f monthly leadership activities that are going on, we every week have um recyclers in the middle school. Um for the next five weeks, we have eighth grade groups working on our advisory slides. We have a handful of students who are buddies in the elementary classes and hope to have a couple more um for the third quarter in January. Um, another leadership activity, um, supported by Miss Lawyer, our Lighthouse leader, was our students created a veterans wall of honor and had some of our local um, teachers and staff members um, on that wall and a lot of students who have relatives who were veterans, our veterans um, on the wall as well, which was really nice for everyone to write. like my uncle, my grandpa, my dad dower on there, dad on there
011um which was really nice. And we also have um working on school and community culture and students were also um leading clubs once a month. So we have some chess club leaders, we have some board game leaders and um Dungeons and Dragon leaders. And so that happens at the first of the month and that happened today. And so that was nice to see. Um our upcoming fine arts, we have, like Tracy said, our concert next Wednesday the 10th for middle school and high school choir and band. We have our middle school theater performance in January. It's an afternoon performance. We don't know all the details of it yet, but it is happening on January 16th. More news to come. Um our choir students participated in the recent um Brattleboro High School District festival and our
012middle school students will lead up to a band middle school band festival um coming soon and they've been practicing very hard for that. Um we have we have about 60% of families um in attendance for our parent teacher conferences and we still have a lot of um families reaching out and still having a couple more meetings. Um that felt pretty good. It's kind of a full and busy day for the teachers with a lot of meetings, but we're happy to have it. That's all middle school. >> Um excuse me. We also had a lot going on. We had um our Salem Massachusetts trip which was part of uh Dio's uh criminology class. Our NHS food drive was highly successful. The students donated in through the Rotary. They're there filling it up. Um I didn't think
013him and Catherine could pull it off when they sent me a day off or weekend text asking about Norway. Um but it is under way and finances are being secured. Um, we had nice donations from the burn foundation. We had some meetings to figure out the rest of it and that trip is going to TP. So, thank you for uh supporting our our wildlife ideas which were a little bit last minute this year. Um, I just wanted to highlight our cultural action team which is led by Katy Rainey. I think I've mentioned it a couple minutes, but the shift she's made in the culture of the the high school um through this position and the ability that it gives her to get student feedback and hear what kids want to do. And what we're hearing
014again and again is that there's large parts of them that still wants to be little kids and they want to take place in activities that are that are fun um and that remind them of stuff they did in their childhood. So, we had a scavenger hunt uh right before Thanksgiving. We have a spirit week coming up in December. They also helped plan um our Sunday school day this year. And we got feedback publicly from Weatherfield principal that his kids came back brighteyed and excited to come to to Windsor and that we knocked it out the park this year. I think it's also telling if you look downstairs in the senior lounge, they took it upon themselves to decorate the whole place for the holidays and they put a tree in the center with a box
015that you take an ornament and you decorate it and you put it on the tree. Um, so it's nice to see little kids activities in a high school. Um, we also took place in the district music festival at Laurel Union High School and that's a shout out to Brian and Becky. You know, Brian interviewed for this job. we kind of gave our hopes and dreams of what we'd like to bring the band back and um he's been hitting those uh goals well before I thought he would and that's been great to see. And we have our annual fall feast hosted by the AIDS program which if you've ever have a chance to come to you should. Um just a ton of pride and and gratitude in the room. It is nice to be a part
016of. Upcoming we have our holiday bizaarre which if I was forced to pick a favorite event that would be it um just because it brings so much joy. It's put on by our NHS and it's essentially a store where kids can go shopping and they check out and they have all their um gifts wrapped by high schoolers that they pick out for their family. But it's not junk, right? It's it's stuff that's donated from our community that they do a good job of picking through and they put on a nice display and money doesn't matter there. And it's just the kids are so pumped for it >> when they're walking out of the building with their wrapped child. They're so excited. >> They can't wait to get home and, you know, give it to their
017siblings and their parents. Um, winter sports started uh today, which I thought I was missing, but I turns out I wasn't actually missing navigating 50 practices. Um, but I did want to highlight that our girls varsity basketball team is planning to go to Westfield State on Wednesday because two of our alumni, uh, Sydney Perry and Sabia Rocket will play against each other. Um, and it's just really neat that we take those opportunities. Um, if nothing else, last year we took a bunch of kids to a game at Riviera that featured two of our alumni just to get kids on a college campus and see what's out there. It's just a really nice thing that we we do here. Uh, Mama Mia, as you said, is this weekend and we're excited about that. Our concert is
018next week and that's 6 through 12 and then we have the upcoming spirit week which is put on by our cultural action action team which should be a lot of fun and we're looking forward to it. >> I know it's a very busy time, isn't it? Um so at Oliver we had a very successful Veterans Day uh performance wherever we had um community members who come and um it's a chance for our student leaders to basically run the show. Um we as adults do very little in the process and it's a great opportunity for them to just experience giving back and celebrating for somebody else rather than it being about them. and we start the year off that way, which is really it's heartwarming to see so many people come up and show up. I'm
019just adding this now because um the student leadership team led that event and then they led the harvest festival. The harvest festival, it's our version of uh our lunch with loved ones for this time of year. And we integrate our place-based learning. So, as you um you remembering just the different ways that teachers have integrated and students have integrated their learning with the concept of of harvest and ties back to their garden units from the year before. And I'm going to see if I can't play this um tab for you on our not sure how to do volume on this. I hit volume on mine. Is I going to set feedback? >> I like being the co-p leader because I like helping kids. important to have our community together to show that we care. >>
020Um, my favorite part of the harvest festival was sitting at the invisible table for the kids who get a parent at the harvest festival. Uh it's important to do things like the harvest festival to have uh bring people together more and um to help I don't know make friends and stuff work together on different ideas. We did a list of all the things we wanted to do and then we did a vote on which drink had the best like Yeah. >> And what did you end up doing? We end up doing uh the milkshakes and chocolate and vanilla milkshakes. Um yeah, because everyone liked milkshakes. Behind this festival was probably working with my best friend Avery. Um and serving milkshakes and um putting the orders in. It was just really fun. Um, my strengths as
021a leader is to try to help people work together and stuff. >> Wait, hold on. >> What are as a leader? >> Um, probably making things happen like a bracelet or something like that. >> What's your favorite part about being a leader? My favorite part is helping people and when they feel down I like um seeing them when they get up or >> it makes me happy when I see someone. >> What do you think your strengths are as a leader? >> Um I like to help people or get help when they feel sad or they get hurt. And it makes me feel happy when they're happy because that's a really strong thing that I do >> to bring people people closer together. >> And what's your favorite part of the harvest festival this year?
022>> Taking Can I start that over? >> Um I like how the harvest fest the People that are serving food take time out of their day. >> Question. >> Why do you think it's important to do events like the H festival? >> Um to remember good times. >> What was your favorite part of the harvest festival? >> No. >> What about the >> um they tasted really good and also I think I was working. >> It's important to do the community events because you can bring people together. And yeah, >> anything about the food you want to mention? >> Uh, the food is good food. >> Favorite part of being a leader? >> My favorite part of being a leader is you can um stand up for people easier than not really being a leader.
023And you have to do special things. I really >> My favorite part about the harest festival is that you can serve the food and serve all the the drinks and >> yeah. >> So why do you think it's important for us to have student leaders in the school? >> Um probably because students want to like >> Hello. Go ahead. Why do you think it's important for us to have student leaders in the school? >> Probably because students might want to share an idea and maybe make it happen. >> Why do you think it's important to do events like the harvest festival? Um, it brings people together and it's a chance to show your parents what you've been working on for like the school year >> and also you can see kids from your classes and
024you can see what work they've been doing. >> And for you as the leader of our student leadership team, what do you find is the best part of being a leader with that group? Um, you get to put out your ideas and like make more things happen when you're the leader. >> What do you find challenging about being a leader of the group? >> Uh, sometimes I get caught up in it and um it's like I have to learn to bring myself back in. >> Perfect. >> So, as the leader of the student leadership group, you hear a lot of ideas. What are a couple of ideas that have been talked about in your group that you guys would like to change about the school? >> Um, one of them might be adding more equipment
025and things to the field side because there's not that many things on it. And the second one is more whole school events, like not events, but like a whole school dodgeball game or capture the flag or whatever. members of our leadership team, student leadership team. Um, one of the things I really appreciate about the group as a whole is they have a lot of confidence and willingness to advocate for themselves, which I can't imagine having been a third, fourth, or fifth grader and being able to do that with other adults. And I really appreciate that we are advocating for kids to be able to do that kind of work. >> Jennifer, is this where you wanted me to say something or >> Yes. I didn't know. Go for it. >> So Alice is the head
026of our lighthouse student lighthouse team. >> That's the wrong slideshow. >> Wrong slideshow. Stop sharing that one. >> Um while they're getting on it. Yeah, our student leadership team this year is doing a phenomenal job. um to kind of give some clarity for the milkshake. Uh we were trying to discuss what would be something we could do during the harvest festival that would be something to like get donations um to start raising some funds for activities that these kids like to do. And uh they went through the whole process of what were drinks they like to have. And we had things like Shirley Temples. Um, we even had some kids who are like, you know, that fancy stuff that you have at weddings that, you know, we can have that are, you know, not adults.
027So, you know, obviously like the fake champagne stuff. Um, and just like a whole list of like different things. And then really started to talk about like is that doable? Um, what kind of work does that, you know, potentially mean you have to do? And these kids went with milkshakes and uh majority of them gave up their recess time, made them so that they were ready to go. We had one person who was like the milkshake overseer and they helped divvy out jobs and where to put it. And it was just it was um it was phenomenal and it was so much fun to get their feedback. We did it the Monday um before Thanksgiving break and just like the things that they already had started to problem solve was just it was great. Um
028they're sometimes very hard to uh get back as our president love said but they are really just such a great crew and I couldn't be more proud of them. >> Thanks. Appreciate that. Um, the leader in me approach really does help children find their value and what they can bring to the table and regardless of who you are in our schools, they find their voice and they find their value and I think that's a really important part of this process. So, I'm really grateful that we have this approach moving forward for a number of our communities. So, the music position, we um were able to hire somebody who is now point4. So, that's super fantastic. I am looking forward to getting back 20% of my week planning time. Um, but just kind of going down
029to the upcoming events, our holiday music and arts concert that is coming up on December 11th. Um, just wanted to like mitigate the fact that we've had three people sort of work with these kids on a concert and the guy doesn't actually start until this week, which is the week before the concert. So it'll be super entertaining to see how people come together and the flexibility uh that the students and the teachers and the community members share both on December 11th 1:00 or 5:00 in our town hall. Super excited to have our town hall in collaboration with us. It's been a while since it's been easy to kind of connect with the town hall in this way and it just makes it special for the students as a much better performance facility than the standard
030gym. So, super excited about that. Um, wanted to send a shout out to our skip, our PTO version, uh, for the ice rink. They purchased it. They're buying um, a shed to store it in, as well as all these skates and helmets that go with it. Um, and they've just been really moving forward in trying to bring back this culture of an ice ring, which when I came here 13 years ago was a pretty well established thing where the parent organization did a great job of like it up, taking care of it, um, making it happen. And then the kids learn to skate, like all of our kids learn how to ice skate. And it's really cool because I just heard that two of our former students started a club at Fitchburg State where they
031are students. They started a club for ice skating or for not ice skating but an ice hockey and they're actually moved to the point where Fitchburg has now announced that they will start an ice hockey team through that process. So that's advocacy right in in action and making a real difference in communities. So that's exciting. And then the other thing that's coming up for us, a big thing is our salsa celebration on the on the 19th where we're putting out just a whole bunch of areas of celebration and traditions that um connect a lot of the different cultures of celebration this time of year. Um so if you're interested, stop by in the morning on the 19th um before early release day and share the joy. It's okay. Let me just go. Let me I
032was think I was next. >> Yes, you are. >> All right. Sorry. All right, just briefly um I uh have the Mount of Scotney School Board uh district quality standard um scores. So these are from the specific to the Mount Scutney School Board. I was asked to bring these to you tonight. Uh these are on the governance standards. So one 3.1 um you scored everyone's consensus was proficient in all three of these areas. So, following an inclusive process to invite and incorporate community input and division goals, annually setting goals, measuring them, and monitoring student academic progress and wellness. Um, on 113.2, too. Um there were a couple um areas where board members thought you were approaching and two areas where uh people rated proficient. So those were um board annually assesses its performance including adherence
033to agree protocols, processes and policies that is proficient annually reviewing whether or not whether I'm sorry whether and or how its actions and contributions have impacted the school system's progress in meeting goals. that's approaching. Annually evaluating the effectiveness of community engagement and public communication efforts is approaching. And um the final one was the board undertakes its own continuous learning and development and provides members with opportunities for ongoing training and support to maintain and increase their skills and understanding. That was um proficient. I'm sorry, somebody's trying to get into the meeting. So, let me just All right. Um the final one is um 113.3 proficient in all areas which is um adopting and revising policies. That's really done at the SU level but we do it um ensures it annual budget aligns with it the stated
034priorities and provides an equitable distribution of resources to help meet the needs student. Uh the board ensures it members are aware of conditions set forth the negotiated agreements and contracts. Phil does a nice job communicating that to board and negotiators. Ensures it members understand and comply with Vermont statutes and regulations relevant to board work and public education. Uh stays prized to propose legislation and policym that may affect its school system and students and maintains an ongoing relationship with locally elected officials. So proficient in all those areas. So pretty good. Um, I was asked to uh reach out to the staff to see if there are any topics that they would like the board to be um kind of in in the know that they would like to discuss and not necessarily tonight in the future.
035I had a question from a staff member about our uh cell phone uh the cell phone legislation. We have to have a policy by the end of this year. We're waiting on the AOE model policy to come out. I've heard it should be out in January. So, we'll look at that and bring that to the board's attention. So, that might answer that staff member's question. Um, and then I got another email about um, you know, funding to make sure the building is truly accessible to all. So, we do have some um, curb cuts that need repair for sure. I know that Jim and his crew in the past have um tried to patch them and I know he has a plan for the spring to do so again, but that was something that was as
036well. Uh redistricting task force, sure everybody's following. So the task force last meeting was November 20th. They went forward with the recommendation of cooperative education service areas, voluntary mergers um as a core concept with um mandatory regional cooperation. They talked about five the five regional cooperative education service areas. Those are like both which we've talked about here before and incentivizing districts to merge voluntarily over a longer timeline. Um so that report was due today. sure it was submitted. The um legislature, they receive the report, they get to accept it, reject it, make their own maps. We'll see what happens. Certainly um they um have mentioned without without the um plan of an approved map, we're the funding formula, you know, is in limbo. So, those are the updates for the redistricting task force and um
037Elizabeth put the final report in the chat. Thank you, Elizabeth. Um the next thing that we have for you tonight, it's under items for discussion. So, Davis, I'll let you let me know you want to share it. Now, >> is there more of the administrative report? >> That's it. >> Well, if that is it, the administrative report. Uh, Elizabeth, you have a question. >> Elizabeth, >> yeah. Hi. Thank you. Um, uh, what was it? >> Can you go back? Oh, um I was wondering Christine since our um supervisory union signed on to the Boseies uh going all the way down to the state line. Um can you give us an idea of what progress you all have made on as being now a part of it? >> We are a member of the Boseies um
038the south of I'm going to forget the name of it this official name. uh we are um have our articles of agreement they have gone to the agency for approval and once they're approved by the agency of education will be an official season the first official season in the state. So that's where we're at. I know that that the director Jill Graham was um waiting on different boards in the southeast region to um sign on and that process was completed um right before Thanksgiving break. So, she's ready to submit um the articles of agreement and all the members to the agency. >> Thank you. >> Yep, we got it. And she'll come to any meeting if we if we want to have more questions with her. She's pretty skilled at what she's doing. So, um,
039let me make sure I Sorry, Kim. Getting ready. >> You're fine. >> All right, >> there we go. >> So, um, the end of the administrative report. So, we're on to items for discussion followed by motions if needed. And 6A is flexible pathways report. Kim Goen. So, I'll hand it over to you. >> Sure. Um, you want to move forward? I'm assuming, um, everyone's familiar with flexible pathways since I've been here pretty much every year, which is great. I appreciate you guys having me back and giving you an update. Um, last year was pretty cool because they did like the 10 years of flexible pathways conference which was really eyeopening and so that this system was stuff from there kind of like really got to see what was going on around the state and what
040wasn't going on kind of like lots of initiatives whether it's ELPS or proficiencies you know there are some that are doing it um more than others or um more uh concretely I guess and involved. So um flexible pathways is a is a big it's a big concept. It it you know it has to do with Hartford and our tech centers and career and tech education dual enrollment. um that also has to do with like alternative education for students and as well as extended learning opportunities and work-based learning. So, um to give you an update on all of that is a lot because there's a lot going on when it comes to flexible pathways. Can you keep going? Um but we're doing it. Um this is similar to last year again um on all the conferences
041that we're doing. I feel like uh that I that I've um sorry I spent all day at a PL cohort meeting in Library and my brain is absolutely fried. So I apologize but um so we're doing it. I think um I interacted with Brian Parkman at the state level a lot who seems to give up uh my name and reference our school as somebody that really as a district that really you know has embraced at 77 and sort of all of the different pathways and flexible pathways from career exploration and work-based learning um all the way you know of course to enrollment but really allowing ing kids to have that choice, even independent studies and extended learning and honoring the learning outside the classroom. Um, I just want you to know that when I'm out
042and about, like I feel like we are really doing that really well, you know, but that's not just because of me. It's because I have the cooperation of teachers and admin and you know the backing from you guys and all the support to be able to do the type of stuff that I think at 77 was intended to do um and that we've embraced it and we've seen the value of it and so and it has kind of evolved over time because you know we've tried some things and then like okay where where are kids really finding value. They're finding value in being able to do work-based learning and internships and summer programs like Governor's Institute. And that's really helping them personalize their education through enrollment and whether it's our in-house classes or ones that
043they take online or um through River Valley. That's really allowing them to personalize their um education. One thing I wanted to highlight uh this year, if you can keep going, um some stuff that we're we're doing this year more of is sort of career exploration. There was a shift this year from like the traditional capstone for those of you that have had a a child go have a capstone or been to a capstone for presentation. um to it being all a career pathway project which is really great. So that's like their junior senior year. That's also when some kids are following that career and technical pathway. And so, um, I've strategically really tried to increase the amount of career exploration opportunities and really encourage our ninth and tenth graders, um, to take advantage of those,
044whether it's getting kids out to visits, company tours, job shadows, because you're not just going to all of a sudden jump into an internship. You're not just going to decide to go to Hartford. Maybe you had an idea of what you wanted to do, but not all kids, they kind of need to be exposed to like all of these things that they don't know are out there. And I what I really like is, you know, we're at the point where those they're coming full circle. You know, they're informing projects, they're informing choices, they're informing Hartford decisions and other career and technical centers. Um, and and we're able to sort of um have kids sort of buy into the value of that and go on these things on a regular basis and get something out of
045it. They're not going just to get out of school. I can tell you that. I mean, maybe you're a few here and there, but they're really going to see what's out there and see what they can do. And I think that is the connection that we've always been looking for between academics and post-secary whatever is making it authentic. And if they can better understand what they're going to be doing and making for post-secondary choices and even their junior and senior year choices, whether it's an internship or work-based learning, then they are going to find value in the other academic classes. they it provides meaning for them. And we've seen that um if you have gotten to know any of the students that go to the you know our career tech centers, they get in those
046programs and they may have been struggling their freshman and sophomore year with their academics and all of a sudden they're those in general they don't seem to be struggling with them anymore because all of a sudden they they get it why they need that degree, right? And so that career that scaffolded sort of career exploration introduction and exposure is something that I think that we need to build on and build on more. I know Colleen, you and I have talked about it down into the middle school too to prepare them for um what we're really trying to drive home in nth and tth grade. you know, once they get to be for a lot of kids, they're still exploring 11th and 12th, but a lot of them, it's helped them figure it out. Um, >>
047can I add something? >> Oh, please. >> I just want to say one of the things that's really great about our flexible pathways is when we see the the pride and the confidence and the calm of the students who do those internships and get to come back and say, "Mogen's helped me get my certificate as an LNA and this is what I want to go into doing." and having the support of Stephanie, Dartmouth, local nursing homes and having students come back with a confidence and pride is quite impressive >> and I mean we live in a small community. I mean luckily we have the upper valley and we have some other you know we have Claremont and the surrounding area. I wish we had more. I mean that we're not Burlington. That's I think one
048of our biggest challenges though is we don't have more things for kids to do like internships. But we work with what we have and we keep trying to reach out and expand. Um so I wanted to just share a little bit. I'll go quickly because I know you guys have a lot. Uh if you can keep going. Um this year these are the trips that we've been on. Um so far we've been to several career fairs. the New Hampshire Automobile Association, Women Can Do, which is always really popular. Um there was an Allied Health Career Fair, um manufacturing day with American Precision Museum in Whan. Um, and then Dartmouth has really expanded sort of not just their sort of M&A and nursing exposure, like they're now like really pushing like OT and PT and perioperative
049stuff and lab jobs and behavioral mental health. And so that it's not just like doctors and nurses like the exploration that they're doing that it's health care, but it's an area that we really haven't been going into this year. I'm super excited about it. Um, and I just wanted to give two examples of students that I worked with as freshmen that are seniors now. And this is what I hope for. We have one young lady who was a freshman came with me on a trip over to Sullivan County Health. We were just starting the relationship. Christine, if you remember a couple years ago when Derek Berling came over and then we went over, we took kids over, which we've done every year. and as she's a um a junior senior will be hopefully a senior
050soon and graduating this year is her plan. But like back into it, we've been able to she was like remember that place that we went to and you know I really liked them and what they offered and they offer an LNA program that you um don't have to pay for. I mean that's an expensive program for kids. It's about $1,800. So to be able to get a job as an aid, work in the healthc care field, get your LNA, also because of the amount of learning that they and training they have to do and the learning with the LNA, we're able to help the student get credits towards graduation. She's going to end up with about three and a half credits from her job, but it's a work-based learning. It's not just a job. she's
051learning and being trained and it's hands-on and it's ongoing training along with a an intense LMA class. Um, so that's one and then another senior boy um came with me over to Claremont to preferred building systems um and as a sophomore applied to Hartford. He didn't get in at first to the building trades. Um, and so was like, I don't know what I'm gonna do. And we had said, well, maybe we can do like an build an internship over at PBS. But then he was weight listed and got in and now he's in the building trades as as a senior, which is great. Um, but he came to me and he's like, "Remember when we went on that tour and I met that guy?" And he said, "When I turned 18, I could think about
052getting a job here, you know, so I'm and I could do it before graduation as I was 18. Do you still have his name?" Because I turned 18 yesterday. What? Yeah, of course I do. You know, like that's like that's cool. That's like he's been thinking about that and that's come that's not going to happen with every kid I take on a trip. But if he didn't know about PBS, he didn't know, you know, I think it helps solidify, yeah, I really do want to go into the building trades and now I have these skills and now I can get a job at a really cool place that had great benefits that Miss Goen said, you know, would be a good career starter. So, those are the types of things that I'm hoping that these
053trips that we're taking kids on and take them away from their academics on a regular basis actually help kids figure out what they want to do and help them, you know, find their pathway through school and also after school. So, if you want to just breeze through the pictures, there's um I've started doing a newsletter that goes out in a parent update and I have been trying to highlight this for parents so they can see what their students are doing when they're going on all these trips. This was what they can do. You can see that kids are doing so many great things, welding and playing in machines and playing firefighters and going up in the um the trucks. This is some of these are the experiences up at Dartmouth. This was the nursing day
054and they're hands-on experiences. They're getting in and doing the things poking the needles into the arm and all of that sort of stuff. You can keep going. Um, this was the New Hampshire automobile. They got to listen to a panel of mechanics about pay structure and different options in the pay field, but also they got to sit in cool cars and, you know, just gets them thinking about what do they want to do when they grow up. Um, again, Dartmouth, this was the peroperative day, learning how to suit up. They're actually playing with some of their training equipment in that top left picture on how to do orthoscopic surgery. I believe. Sorry, I'm not I'm not the healthcare professional, but it was like these are the same tools that they use for their their residents
055and they're allowing our students to play around with them. Um, and if you keep going, there's way a full tour of the facility. um and you know talked about like how they liked families and kids and kids and families and like work ethic and how you know if they had relatives there they wanted them there because they know that I mean it was just kind of cool because a lot of the kids did um these are big companies in our area you know same with like Hypertherm which we'll go to in the spring and even now Beta Technologies we'll keep doing these so um yep and then Again, this was the PT and OT day. So, just wanted to share some experiences. And some kids um figure out it's not what they thought it was
056and it's not for them. I'm looking at this one student here that's like, I don't know what I thought physical therapy was, but that wasn't it and I don't think I want to do it. Great. Next. Come on. The next trip then. So, um yep, >> sure. >> That's my update. No questions. >> Uh, Elizabeth, >> thanks. Thank you so much, Kim. That was really That was really great. I have a bunch of questions. Um, I I hope it's all right. >> Okay. First of all, I I want to ask about the the 10-year celebration. Um, I think you've been in that role for 10 years, have you not? >> I have. Yep. Excellent. Congratulations. Um I I was wondering whether can did you say that um that Windsor is held up as an as
057kind of exemplar for what flexible pathways can do? >> Yes. Do you have a can you give an idea of like I know that in the Northeast Kingdom they use flexible pathways for um online classes and stuff like that um more than they do for career readiness and or uh career exploration. Um do you have an idea of what what they use flexible pathways for in other parts of the state? >> Um it kind of varies. So, in the past, I think I've shown like the big wheel that has all the different components of, you know, what's considered a flexible pathway. >> Yeah. >> And my feeling is is that we've embraced all of the cogs of the wheel. And I think that's what makes us sort of separate. We have I feel like a
058lot of the schools I can't think of any specific names really have honed in on one of them and maybe doing like work-based learning really well and they have a work-based learning coordinator but they're really not you know doing extended learning opportunities and or that's not you know that's like a class that kids sign up for that they're able to do these word-based learning things through this class um or even an alternative high school, but they don't really talk about all of the different clubs. Um I think that we've just embraced that ability to be very creative with credit for all outside opportunities that meet proficiency. Um whereas I find that and I think other schools have as well like Hazen. Hazen's one that has workbased learning, but they also have a flexible pathways coordinator.
059And so they're kind of they're another one that I would I'd say you know the state refers to as a model act 77 flexible pathway school. Um we just >> how many how many um districts do you know how many districts are have flexible pathways coordinators? >> Not that many. Um this came up in conversation last year and I think it was less than 15. Well, that's unfortunate. Um, I I've got a question like if if somebody wanted to enroll at, you know, at at the cartoon school or cartoon institute or have a have an internship somewhere. H how do you handle transportation? >> I don't I don't handle transportation. >> It's up to the student to figure it out. Well, I mean, I think that I would help navigate transportation um in the past
060more help student figure that piece out. I mean, that's not something I alone can personally provide. We tried that once with a student one year driving these kids to these things and that's all I ended up doing and not Yeah. Um, so, um, we're again, you know, we don't have as many opportunities as some of the larger metropolitan areas. We also don't have that public transport, but, uh, I've worked with families to use the micro move. Um, we've had families that have used that to get to some of these experiences, car pooling. Um but sometimes transportation is a limiting factor because of where we are. >> Does the um does flexible pathways extend down into the middle school or is it only open for high school students? >> It absolutely can. We've talked about it.
061I think part of that is like it's so connected to the PLP and proficiency work which is sort of all been a work in and is still work in progress. You've got to figure out what you want that I think sort of the PL components of the student sort of profile piece of where career exploration would fall at the middle school makes the most sense. I think some of the other like flexible pathways options like dual enrollment obviously not um even extended learning opportunities really have to and work-based learning kids have to be ready for them. Um and I think that's why just inherently we see kids doing more of them as juniors than seniors. Um I mean work-based learning they have to be able to have a job right. Um, same with internships, there's
062also age requirements and even pre-apprenticeships and in Vermont and um our neighbor New Hampshire. So, the like the things that we can do that are age appropriate with medical school is really sort of beefing up that career exploration piece um so that they are sort of growing into those other things. Um, >> I was thinking more I was thinking more like the um u special projects that they might undertake or um taking an online class or you know something like that that they could do as part of their regular school day. I just wondered whether that was um something that could have be arranged in middle school or or if it was only open to um high schoolers. >> I would say it's open to middle school. We've talked about passion projects. I think Paul
063and I have had a conversation. um it's what is it going to look like and what is the outcome we're going for and how does it scaffold and build up into what we're going for in high school >> and >> so >> I just have one more question I promise >> no you're fine >> um uh I is it can can students take classes anywhere in the world through flexible pathways and get credit for them or do they have to through a different another school or >> um yes except for I'm not going to say blanket yes like when a student has an interest like an online class sure especially if there's a teacher and a grade that's easy but um when there's an an opportunity that could fit sort of what we have outlined
064and meets the criteria of flexible pathways. We kind of look to make sure that it's what we're looking for in terms of meeting either proficiency andor portrait of a graduate. And so there's I feel like part of my role is this vetting process. So I'm not going to go yet like yeah anything because that's not true because I've had people come to me with some things that are like well I don't think that really fits here. there's not learning happening or there's not learning that I can we can measure through either the portrait of a graduate or um proficiency. So maybe I guess is the right answer for that. Does that help? I will the reason the reason I'm asking is that I've had a couple of parents ask me in the last I don't
065know I don't have a a sense of time about when they ask me but um I've had a couple of parents ask me about uh AP classes and I've said no we don't we don't have AP classes per se but a student could take a you know a kind of advanced class online and get credit for it through flexible pathways. And I want to make sure that I'm not misinforming. >> You're not misinforming. In fact, the platform that we've used, I want to say at least for the last six years for the option of online learning primarily has been at um Ed options which is a adventum product and they offer AP classes and we have had multiple students who want that AP opportunity take the AP classes through Edenum. It costs us a lot
066of money to do that, but it's it's a pretty heavy price tag for us to absorb and but we've been able to manage it. I think if we were to promote that, we might want to talk about how much that's going to cost us. Um, but it's available to us through the platform that we're using. We have a lot of kids that come with interest or they, you know, there's not an elective here that we have and they do, we have a lot of kids that do um medical terminology and even just a generic career exploration and and um content specific classes that we don't offer here on that platform. Um but they have a whole catalog of a AP offerings. I I guess what I was wondering is not specifically how to get access
067to AP classes, but more um like if a student wanted to go and take a class at uh I don't know, Dartmouth or uh or they wanted to take a class at uh the Art Institute of Chicago, could theoretically um could they do that and get credit at Windsor through flexible pathways? Yes, theoretically. Yeah. >> I mean, that's also part of the reason why I have wrote multiple burn grants to have that additional fund to help access some of those opportunities. And we have had kids that have gone out. Uh a few years ago we had a student take a class, summer class at um Stanford Law um to go a summer law class. So yes, and we have had students do it and we have a a grant-f funed scholarship to help students with
068some of the funding. It didn't it didn't pay for all of that experience for the student, but it did help contribute to it. >> Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. I I really appreciate your patience with all of my questions and I and congratulations on your 10 years and and thank you so much for all that you do. I know how hard you work at this job and how how uh your your dedication to like being flexible yourself to make sure that um that it all works for students. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Elizabeth. Uh Amy, you have your hand up. >> I do. So Kim, again, like Elizabeth said, congratulations and thank you for all the work you do because I know that Act 77 was passed a long long long time
069ago. And it took a long time for people to understand and to um to grasp all of its possibilities. There were a couple of schools that were early early early adopters. U I don't know if they're still doing their programs. Um I think it was like the Renaissance program or something at Twinfield I think that students could create their own semester experience and they would take um subjects like social studies and create their own experience like either with work or travel and show everything that they were doing and um present create presentations which then they would share with different organizations or the board or administration and get a full semester credit in different um subject areas. And I was so excited when I first learned about that what feels like 200 years ago. But >>
070um and then Wooki was also an early adopter with actual business opportunities. There were kids who were creating their own businesses through the high their high school experience and I thought oh my gosh Windsor could do this. So I am so glad that we are up there as far as an exemplar school. um it's taken a really long time and I I truly believe that if a child is wants to do something and has the support to create that plan that there isn't anywhere in the world that they can't go. And um as for Elizabeth's question um and just a question of my own on Dartmouth, students from Windsor have always had an opportunity to take Dartmouth classes at a certain point in their high school career. Is that still true? >> Yes. Um Dartmouth
071still has their community program. Yep. We don't find a lot of students taking advantage of it because the way the Dartmouth community programs structured um they have to wait until after their the Dartmouth ad drop and it ends up being like two weeks into our semester and um waiting to see if they're able to take this class. So, in the meantime, we've built a schedule with like a big block of time free with no classes. So, they're able to travel, we have an idea of what they want to do, but it takes a really long time for them to find out if they can do it. and for the right student for a senior that um had like a half day schedule anyways it's ended up working out but it's not something that we can
072plan for in advance um like and count on the spring before or that even that summer you really can't count on it until they say yes there's an opening in this class and you can come um But they do still offer the school community program and once in a while it's like the right fit for one of our seniors. >> Yes, that's great. Um I know that my son um he just it it was a a really amazing opportunity for him and he was able to use the math classes that he took his senior year. they transferred to be college classes. He got um the credit for that as college credit when he went into college and ended up tutoring other student. He was a freshman and was tutoring other freshmen on the classes that
073he took as a senior. So, I mean just the the opportunity again there there does have to be planning and school support and family support, but it's still just an amazing opportunity when a student is able to do it. So again, thank you for all that you do and just giving all the opportunities that kids have to make a plan for their life and do really good work. Thanks. >> Thank you, Amy. And uh I don't know that I have much more to add on top of uh all that great input and praise. So congratulations on 10 years. I really appreciate you sharing everything that's going on in uh in that program. Uh Amy, one more quick thing we will >> Yes, one more quick thing. I see that Miss Psyche is on this meeting
074and I want to thank you for all that you have done for the math program at school. >> Thanks. Yes, thank you very much. Great to see everything our students are doing. >> Always look forward to seeing. All right. So, we are on to our next item, which is staff input on topics for discussion and upcoming events. I think this was covered during the administrative report. Yeah. >> In those two things. So, we can we can move on from that and I'll when we get to setting the next agenda, >> we'll talk about where those are going to go. >> All right. Item C, FY27 budget. So, the way I would like to do this, because I know there's going to be a lot of discussion about this, is let's start with Larry's going to
075present the budget. Um we have some information to share first. >> Okay. So we have information to share first where we'll present the budget. Um if anybody's online or here from the uh budget advisory committee I'd like to you know just hear from you as part of it. Um and then open up for comment folks have comment and then move on for discussion. >> All right. Yeah. There we go. Okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna start because there were some questions about um Act 73 that I was asked to follow up on. So, I'm going to I'm going to start there and then turn it over to the um administrators. So, there was a question about um class size min minimums going uh still going into effect if the legislature fails to issue the map. And
076uh the information that we were able to um find was yes, they do. They're still a part of the law with or without the new statewide map and go into effect on July 12 and 26 for each Vermont public school including each career technical center. We've linked the section of the law where that is stated as well for people. Um, sorry, there's some little transitions out here. Uh, are class size minimums a three-year average? No, class size minimums are not a three-year average. Schools must meet the class size minimum minimums over three consecutive school years to be in compliance. Um we did meet with um Larry and I met with um the deputy secretary specifically to ask this question and um she informed us that the agency of education will have a data collection method
077starting in the fall to measure whether schools are in compliance or not um with this law. So that was the answer to that question. In fact, there was something in the superintendent um update this past week for people that are interested in being on that committee to um help develop that data collection um process. So, they will be measuring whether whether schools are in compliance starting in the fall. Uh are oops, I'm sorry. Are class size minimums based on the average for the school district or the school? Came up at the last meeting and the answer to that question is they are going to effect for each Vermont public school including career and tech centers. They're not an average across the district. Um the next question was about content area content area classes exempt. Uh
078they are not exempt uh from the law. The law states the following and only the following um exempt from X73 class size minimum. So that's pre kindergarten, kindergarten, career tech education, flexible pathways, terminal courses, advanced placement courses, courses that require specialized equipment and driver's education classes shall be excluded from the class size minimum requirements in the subdivision. Small group services for the purpose of providing special education, supplemental or targeted academic intervention or English learner instruction shall be um shall also be excluded from um the requirement. And there was confusion because on the AOE website it did list content area classes as exempt. Um when we spoke to people at the agency they uh realized that that was a mistake and it has since been removed um from the AOE website. it cause a lot of
079a lot of confusion. I think this is the last one. Is there ever an instance where content area classes can be below the minimum? And yes, an individual class may fall below the minimum as long as it is counted by the same content area section to average the class size minimum. So you could have a math class with at the high school level of 12 as long as you had another one um that would um offset that to make the average 18. That makes sense. And I'm going to turn it over to Kate now. Um, what are the impacts on our budget? The, uh, reductions would include one elementary teaching position at ABS, three high school teaching positions, and one unfilled middle school mount science position. What has driven um, our budgets this year, our
080high school priorities? I mean, you you just heard that presentation from Kimmer High School. Carries have always been opportunities for students and we take a lot of pride in that. Um, what would that impact be? Um, I I think Windsor right now there our biggest problem is our our lack of advertising because um we are we are the land of opportunity here. You we don't have cuts. We have students who are going to be in that play next week with the technical week with the port shows and still playing a winter sport. Um, as you know, schools in modern pretty much showified by where they fall in their in their sports division with their size and we fall in deep but are actually one of smaller D3s. Correct Larry? >> Um, and that makes a
081difference when we're talking about like comparing to like a fellows who's also a D3 but they have about 90 more students than us. Um, and that makes a a difference in staffing. Um, but what Windsor is is not lacking is all that we're able to do. Our size actually works in our fever, so we're able to turn on a dime. We offer a lot here. Um, I work with the area schools and I go visit their schools to see what they have that maybe we need or what we can have to offer them. And um we have we have our IDL program which is an in-house program that runs two periods a day for kids who maybe were in danger of not graduating but they do not they aren't someone who's interested in the tech
082center that would be able to remain um next year. We have our travel opportunities internationally uh domestically and even locally through our march intensives and our flexible pathways are are second to none. Um they're uh they're they're just so plentiful. Um our science fair is the best in the state and I will tell that to anyone um who asks and anyone who's ever been to it. Um we we just we just excel. We excel at finding opportunities for kids that that aren't there. You know, they're they're not someone who wants to go to those tech center. They're they're too young to go there. They can't get an internship. We sat this year in the cafeteria, meet Jen Townson and Jim Tap, and we figured out how to get small engine repair to comply with our
083insurance and and get it right here. And it was up in in 3D. So, there's benefits of small schools in a small community um and a load of opportunity. And that's coming from a person has to put four very different kids through this high school. Um, one wants a CDL, one wants something to do in park and Rex, one wants to be a chiropractor, and one wants to be both a veterinarian and a tattoo artist. And I think does when they're when they're able to provide what all those kids need. And the answer is yes. And this is coming from a person whose largest concern when I settled here as someone who grew up went to private school my whole life and grew up 10 minutes outside New York City. Will my kid be able
084to have opportunities here? Um, and will they be able to to compete? You know, whatever. I'm from a large Irish family. Will they be able to keep my cousin's kids? And the answer is yes. They they have we offer that solid foundation here through many different ways. I think where we lacked their advertising and I know I like to think it's because everyone in our high school has their sleeves rolled up and is working hard every day and we're we're missing out on on the flash sheet stuff. I've heard kind of let them call the other school. You know, our side does limit limit us to the fact that we can offer one language in person. That that is a fact. Um that is true about Bellis Law. They offer one in person. I think
085Springfield offers two. I called another undisclosed um high school who said, don't don't quote me on this, but that is where we're have going to have to make cuts because we can't sustain offering the amount of languages that we do right now. um we just have a a lot to to offer and I I've heard kind of loud and through loud and clear through this process that um AP classes are something that people want to see and so we're going to look at the model that Lebanon does or I think Masoma where their RBCC classes and their AP classes are one and the same. Um see if we can bring that here. We're going to try and offer um an AP chemistry course right here. I will work as hard as I can to offer
086what it is that people want and I believe my staff work through will too. Um this budget was really hard really hard to do because we know that I had to be financially the first thing is I had to comply with the law that that is Christine's job like my job to create something that complies with the law and to also be financially responsible to the people of Windsor and West Windsor. Um, and that's really hard right now because there's so many things that are out of our control in terms of rising costs. And um, what will what will be the impacts of this? I'm not going to say, hey, there's there's going to be no impacts. We're going to continue with that. That's not true. Um, they it will it it won't we'll still
087be able to offer honors classes. We'll still be able to offer the IDL. We'll still have our robust flexible pathways. My if I had to be honest, we' see that my largest worry is our science department because they are so great and they they are going to take a big loss in this. If you could see, I think Larry will will show you how we came up with these numbers of what our staffing should be for each department and um the science is really down to down to the wire and they don't have a lot of flexibility um in offering like they would have to be sip in to teach our VCP classes. Um they're really impacted. Will we lose ground with how far we've come with our with our math intervention? I don't know.
088that we're we're really lucky. Um a K12 a preK12 model has a lot of benefits and one of them through this process is that we are going to be able to do a more thoughtful um sharing of teachers and services at middle school and high school keep those things. Um and that was kind of all the all the thoughts that that went into planning this. Um it it was hard because you're this confidential information. You know, you're impacting people's lives. Um you know, you have this responsibility of community and you have to do this in a little bit of isolation. Um because you can't let that information out, but then when you have to share, you know, there going to be other eyes that pick up on something that maybe I didn't see. Yes. And
089um I'm open to that feedback. Um, but do I feel confident that what we what is going to be presented complies with the law is financially responsible to our community and will continue to um offer all the opportunities that I think you saw tonight. Like I I swear I didn't plan to have him at this meeting, but man, I'm thankful. Um, we just Windsor, we're like the little engine that could. We can we communicate with any school in this state if given the opportunity and we are embracing that changing culture every day. The feedback from weather fields about our sending school day is here like I'd like to do a better job at advertising getting the numbers out there. Sending school students are highly successful here. They're captains on our teams. They're the winners of
090our science fair. Um, so it's not like, you know, we have geographically we're surrounded by choice towns and we are one of the only schools that that are that. That's a hard position to be in. Um, but I'm super proud of Windsor and um, welcome any Oops. I'm sorry, Kate. There you go. So, thank you. No. the middle school. >> Yeah. So, I would just like to say like the priorities for the middle school budget first of all is like Kate said the benefit of being a K through2 school is that for middle schoolers having them watch what high schoolers are doing and seeing that everybody is working so hard to give students the opportunities and they know what's coming next is a real motivator for our middle schoolers. And so that's one of my
091favorite parts about it because the kids know that Miss Ryan is is supporting what's happening in the high school for kids to follow the path they want. Um in the middle school my priorities are first number one academic support and intervention for our students. um following compliance with the law and asking us to have minimum classroom sizes of 16 in the middle school. We're easily at 16 and up to 22 in our six different sections for majority of the time. Um we don't inevitably go below 15 or 16 ever. So, um, what's most important to me is that we have all the positions to fill and that all the students who need support in their ELA and MS are getting it. Um, then our social emotional support, having more of that on my team this
092year, maintaining the needs that students have who who come up with different struggles with in the moment struggles or over the years struggles. keeping what they need in place as they come up through elementary school and and helping them have that all the way through high school if that is what they need. Maintaining those social emotional supports and our SEIs, we have um two and a half um SEIs that are shared between our high school and middle school two and a half um positions. Um the other priorities which um are much less than those first two are our student activities. As we work on our leader in the initiatives, our staff is more vocal about getting our students even more involved, having more opportunities, getting those Hartford career field trips, doing more of that, collaborating
093with our Weathersfield and Hartland principles and coming like looking at different ideas that they get to see, making sure all of our students have similar opportunities. um having enrichment and um building the school culture and those fun activities and those spirit weeks and those leadership things for our students and putting some money into the budget for that. And then having as a suide um goal of school and community engagement opportunities where our students do leadership presentations, we invite people in to share a meal. Those are important to us, but again, those last two are so little in um our budget priorities compared to those first two. Um one of the things in middle school is that we do have one position that never got filled this year. And looking through um our class sizes and
094our numbers, it does not appear that we have to fill that for our all of our middle school classes to be covered. that one region that never got fully filled. That's all I have for our middle school. Uh so Jennifer and I collaborated for the elementary um portion of the budget. I think um what's tricky about budgeting is always finding the balance between kind of being responsible and then thinking about all the things that we wish for our kids that will build that as Kate was saying that solid foundation. Um I really think the elementary is that solid foundation. um when we put that in place for kids, they just continue to grow through the years. So um our focus are those family and community engagement opportunities um I think getting parents to partner with
095us and learning is one of the biggest um gifts we can give the students right when their families see what we're doing and they can support us and learning can continue at home um it does it. So, the budget supports that. Um, our intervention, which I talk about a lot. I just believe it's critical for our kids. We have a substantial number of students that need um intervention at a really young age. And um we've got to be able to meet those needs for that foundation to stay strong. This budget supports maintaining our current level of intervention um for um the our younger students. Um this year we have been fortunate that our ML I think it's MLL now is it multil- language learners is it the name seems to change a lot um the
096multilanguage learners was English as second language English language learners all the other acronyms that are used for this year the numbers in that program dropped significantly and we were able to use the time that was left in that position which currently is not locally funded and provide more interventions um to some of our younger students and this in this year's budget we're looking to maintain that to keep to continue and have that that person in the budget um to support the articulation of that. We're able to access a lot more. We have more than uh 50 that means 52% of our students um that are looking for intervention and that that's critical. >> Yeah. And just continue that process. we we receive children where they are and our job is to help close us down
097when they come at very different levels. And so whether you're talking um traditional academic intervention or you're talking more of the social emotional intervention, I think one of the things we do really well across the supervisory is understand that our goal is to meet children where they are rather than just start excluding them with them and both the um academic and the social emotional interventions are really designed to do that work. Uh one of the things at the Alba Ridge School is with the way curriculum is laid out right now particularly multi-age is a big challenge and so we do have support continued in there to help support multi-age classrooms. Currently this year we have two multi-age classrooms next year with the act 73 reduction we would have three but we still are maintaining support
098in order to provide that um ongoing need in order to meet the curriculum demands regarding social emotional intervention across both schools. um the proactive work that we do with social emotional um needs is worth its weight, right? We think about the reactive components of discipline um and how harmful some of that can be. The more we can support people up front and when with their need, the more likely we are to hopefully develop the kind of brains that we want in order for them to be successful and engaged with these. Um in addition, we continue to have support staff that are um supported through budget um as well as some specific event stuff. Um we're also looking to continue to support as we have been student activities. Uh we have like winter sports and things
099like that that provide students who live in this area the opportunity to learn some basic skills that are lifelong skills for them. for someone who did not grow up anywhere near ice or snow. Um, I can't ski, I can't ice skate, I can't budge. Like, I It's really, really hard for me to get on the ice and even walk my boots, let's be fair. Um, and I have put skis on, but when you develop those skills as a child, you learn something that helps you get outside and stay a part of your environment and still stay engaged and doing more healthy activities as you age. um when we live in this kind of community. So those things are really important for us to help our students because it's not just about them right here and
100now it's about who they're going to be in the long run. So everything we're trying to do is not just looking at right here now but we're thinking about if we invest early here what are the long range outcomes going to be for these children as they become young adults as they become parents themselves grandparents contribute to our communities um and continuing to provide enrichment activities and opportunities. We talk about fun and we think about fun as a fun thing. Fun is actually like the most efficient way to learn. So the more we can provide opportunities that are connected to what we want them to learn and how we want them to grow, the more we can provide quicker learning opportunities for their brains to make meaningful longlasting um so we believe that while it
101costs some money again you pay upfront for dividends long range and it shows up when kids go into something like flexible pathway and say I'm super curious about this and they're like oh no thank you then they're not facing member of students college um or they're like, "Oh, wow. This is super fun." And when you find something super fun with your life to do, you engage and contribute more. So, those are key areas that we're continuing to support. So, not adding to but just trying to continue that support and obviously we also have to concept ins specifically what we have to do. And so, we're doing our best to find the most effective way to passing it off to Larry. and stop sharing with the share. >> Okay. So, I'm sharing now the budget book
102that's been out um with very minor changes uh for the last almost more than a month. Um, I'd start with I'm going to go over some of the things that are different about this year's budget book and then go over the mouse local budget and then have an opportunity for anybody who was on the BAC to speak um about their thoughts. So the first thing is I included in the evolution of Vermont Education Law Act 11 which uh took um health insurance negotiations and took it away from local level and I put it at the state level and that was back in 2018 in the first year that that happened was in um 2020. So if you look at health insurance trends over that same time period uh the orange or the top line is
103a family plan. the gold CDHP and a single plan is the green the bottom line and our family uh gold CDHP is our most popular plan. It's over 80% of the SU and member districts use that. This cost is shared 80% by the SU or district and 20% by the employee. So you can see um prior to act 11 uh a family plan cost $21,000 and now it's $43,920. Uh uh single plan was $7,726 and now it's 15,000 and we just this includes the latest numbers from beehive 15,856. So we included that to show the trends in health insurance. Another thing I wanted to um go over was uh something that came out the BAC was they wanted to see it's kind of confusing the way we talk about enrollment um particularly at uh Scottney
104school district because um you're not a K8, you're a K12 and uh the budget as far as the Vermont Uniform Charter of Accounts requires me to report out K6 and 712 and um we tend to think in K5 5 68 and 912 because that's the way we're broken out across the SU but then albridge exists as a K6 separately. So um in order to as these questions came back from the BAC I thought the best thing to do in the in the budget book was simply show it both ways. So the top one shows it by the Vermont uniform chart of accounts and I broke out winter school by K6 and 712 and you can see the enrollment there in Alberta Bridge. You can see the enrollment at the red at the bottom as a
105K6 because they do not exist 712 and then uh the enrollments by the grade bands and it's really hard to see because you see a lot of um colors merging. Um the top one is your mouse school district at K prek12 everybody together. Um it was 648 in 20145 and 2425 it's 648. So, it's changed a little bit based on the uh schools, but it's basically the same. And uh for example, this this includes prek because that's the way we're broken out. Um and that's the way taxes are levied. Um 68 Brava Bridge, uh 217 Windsor PreK 5, 117 Windsor 68, high school 246, and there is your 648 total. Um that is different than last year. Now into the general fund. So including all the uh act 73 reductions that's been laid out uh
106the budget is up uh with that change 6.3%. Okay. So as we go down and you can see I'm not going to go you know we this is available online but as you go piece by piece you can see expenses by location. There's that 6.3% we discussed. Um, and then as you go down here, I think this is something that was added last year. Uh, I also added it at the uh other school districts. If you notice the blue, that's your local budget. So that's K12. That is everything broken out that is not assessments. Okay? So the green is special education. The orange is non special education at the SU. That's transportation. That's the business office. That's IT. That's uh everything else that the business office does. And superintendent, curriculum, DEI, everything is the orange.
107The purple, that little sliver is your early childhood, which is about 2% of your dollar. And then a little under 2% of your dollar is food service. That little yellow line. Now, I just want to compare it real quick. Uh, one of the things that came up was how um it's a little easier um as far as uh moving uh staff around in a K12 building than it is at a K8 building and the cost associated with that because I'm just picking weather skills uh because that was the first one I clicked on. But look at their dollar. There's remember how M spending on a much bigger blue because you control the whole match K to 12 and since Weathersfield it's K to8 that's all they can really control. So if they want to make
108reductions in their budget that's basically all they can do whereas here that uh purple or pink or whatever is tuition that's about a quarter of their budget and then the SU is another quarter roughly. Um, so they control very little of their dollar. Going back over to the Mount of Scutney general fund budget, um, I think it's important to note when we break out by level, this is sort of what we've been uh discussing. You can see prek is up minor because at the uh at the SU it's basically a flat budget. uh the ECP program. Elementary is up. Uh secondary, which is where most of the uh reductions occurred, is down. Locationwide, which is basically your assessments and other locationwide things, um buildings and grounds, for example, is is up. And uh so that
109makes the entire budget up 6.32%. We had a DAC, which we have not um historically had at Mount Scutney. first year was last year. Um it was a much bigger BAC this year. We had many more people on it. Uh so uh my role with that committee uh is a little different than it is at Weathersfield. And with this committee, I'm basically the uh deliverer of information. So as as people email me throughout the weeks in between meetings, I find the information and I get it out to them. And if it's something that Christine and I feel should go in the budget book, like those enrollment trends, we add it into the budget book. Um, that is the 30,000 foot view of the budget. Um, is anybody here from the BAC that would like to
110speak or not speak uh to the budget? Um, by all means. >> Budget advisory committee, too. >> Yes. I'm sorry. I use acronyms like educators use acronyms in the military. >> Yeah. >> Uh, I'm here. I thought everyone was coming, so I hope there's more people online. >> Um, >> so I was I was going to come I was going to say that um the actual BAC committee process was pretty frustrating because we didn't really know what we were doing. Um I think it stands for budget advisory committee, but we didn't really advise anything I felt like at the time. Um, and we mostly asked for a lot of information and um, made Larry do a lot of work. So, thank you, Larry. Um, but sitting here and listening to the principal's presentations, I feel
111like we actually were really listened to and I just want to say thank you. Um, I feel like all of our questions were addressed in these presentations. Um Kate especially like got really specific with things that I personally asked. I really would appreciate it. Um one of my questions during this process was like we were kind of just shown a budget that was already complete and it was like here's the budget. We're like okay. Um and it didn't really tell us any information. Um, so one of the questions I had asked was like, well, what do we need to add to the budget? What do we need to take away? Like how does this reflect like, you know, what we want, what the principles want? Um, and you know, like I asked, you know, is
112there anything like we're not able to offer due to money that other schools are offering like for, you know, to be equitable? Um, so I think, you know, I think a lot of that was answered and I think, you know, K answered a lot of that specifically and um, some of the other principles answered that, but I think if it's going to happen next year, it would be nice if it happened first of all earlier in the year, not just like two meetings at the end where we don't really have time to like earlier when the budgets are actually being put together. um and maybe have like more of a understanding of what our roles are as committee members. Um because it was mostly just us like being really ignorant and asking a lot of
113questions. Um and I'll tell but Oh yeah. And I think um I did notice there was a lot more West Windsor representation. Um I don't know why that is. I don't know if it was just like there wasn't as much of a push on the Windsor side to get people in. Um as a West Windsor res resident I felt over represented which is okay I guess but I think you know it should be more of a fair representation. Um, I don't think that should necessarily lead to less people. I think it, you know, I'm not sure what why it happened that way, but could be a better >> I appreciate you talking about how it did look like and I took some notes about how that process. I think uh one thing we mentioned is
114this odd oddly to me this is a new thing for this district not having a budget advisory committee before two years ago. Um, so I think looking at um looking at some of our neighboring towns and see how seeing how they've done it, which I'm sure you brings up some good points and I I mentioned this at the last meeting. Weathersfield has a BAC. Heartland didn't used to and now they kind of do, but they couldn't get people this this time around, which is interesting. uh Weathersfield's been going for a while and the way it works with them is it is earlier and then uh the principal there's one principal not four uh pretty much runs the show and then I'm there to uh because he says hey what would it look like if I
115did the staffing this way and then he would say well what what if I cut 10,000 out of athletics what would it look like then the BAC asked the questions and then I go to the meetings that I'm invited to and Then uh I show those numbers and then usually the the deliverable from the BAC is they go to the board meeting. They all sit on the deis with the board members and they say usually we recommend this budget as written or we recommend this budget with option B of cuts. >> Sure. >> And and that's basically that's what they do. Um at now at Scutney and Windsor historically prior to the merger too uh it was mostly administrative driven. They're the ones who know their staff. They know their staffing patterns. This this year
116was particularly tough because of the act 73 class size minimums. We're in a BAC meeting. Um we didn't want to go into as much detail before people were who would be impacted would be discussed. Um so while we were having these separate uh private meetings with uh faculty and staff in this room with Christine we were not speaking as about staffing patterns like that to that extent uh with the BAC and if staffing is 75% of a budget that's that's a big part of the budget. So, I think uh if if we're going to continue to have a BAC next year, I think it should be earlier and I think they should have a very specific charge um to do or I would not have one and just let the board and take input from
117administration, the public as as you do every month you meet. So, >> I appreciate that. >> We can talk about that at a retreat or something. I don't know. >> Yeah. Yeah. And I mean I I don't want to get off topic of the bag. >> I don't want to veer off on that. I I mean I I'll just say that I I really see the the value of having that avenue for community input. I mean these are these are some of our key key stakeholders in this process and I think that having having that kind of insight. Um but one thing I want to say Liz is that asking a ton of questions is like I know it feels awkward but that's exactly what I want to hear you did. I'm glad that happened.
118Even though like even if you feel like you're runarity to the right, but yeah, he's he's got a lot of good information. >> You know, and I know when people pay attention to the budget process later and later, and I've been marinating in it for three months, but but they uh they don't pay attention till the tax letter comes out, which just came out, and then until they some people don't even pay attention till they get the report in their mailbox, and then other people don't pay attention till they go to vote. So, I I think it's it's hard to, you know, don't want to give them too much information too early, but it's also there's like a there's a process that I have to go through to make sure we get everything we we
119get done so we can have a vote on the budget. Yeah. I mean, again, not to not to go and say to kind of sum up this thought process, yes, it's something we should talk about going forward and how that's conceptualized. And I I generally think anything that brings more community members into into the hows and wise of budget numbers who then talk to other community members then talk to other ones and and it's coming from an informed experiential place. I think there's a lot of value in that. So thank you Liz. Thank you to your I know they're not here but thank you to your uh compatriots on that board, fellow uh fellow committee members. Um it is really valuable to have that function here and I hope we keep seeing it. So I
120think we've made it to um before we do board conversation. I mean if there is any comment if anybody who's online or here has has you know wants to make a comment now's the time >> um my name is Kim B Johnson. Um I was at the last meeting but everybody here may not know. Um I um I'm a I attended the previous meeting as a uh um as uh yeah as a teacher who wanted to uh lead students on a um extended learning opportunity I guess. Um but um today I'm uh here as a teacher. I'm also vice president of the union, but um in my other life as a teacher at Brford High School, I'm the on the I'm the humanities chair certification in social studies and so I swing both ways. Um
121and I thought um I I'm really happy to be here. Um, uh, Superintendent Bourne and, uh, Miss Ryan have, um, uh, been kind enough to include Katherine and myself in like a number of meetings and so we've sort of known um, where things are going. Um, but, uh, the budget presentation um, in its very nature needs to be somewhat anonymous. Um, and I I'm not going to talk about names, but like I do want to point out some of like before you make a decision about budget and stuff like that, some of the specific impacts that budget cuts would have. Um, in the previous meeting a month ago, um, the administrators were presenting some of the star data, I think it was the, uh, improvement in reading skills and all that kind of stuff, right?
122um student improvement in um classes or student improvement in or student academic achievement that has come about through um through the classes that they take. Um so I thought I'd address that a little bit. Um the uh the proposed budget for um FY27 um recommends that uh English teaching staff at the high school be cut from four positions to 2.5. Um the way the curriculum is laid out now is there is an English 9 requirement. English 9 is where students are introduced to different genres, novel, short stories, essay writing, drama, poetry, non-fiction. Um and that's kind of a requirement. Um sophomore year is uh currently world lit um which introduces students to literature from a variety of places. Um the previous years it had been um Latin America and Africa and Russia and that Asia.
123Um that leaves the junior and senior year um open for students to take electives with a reduction in that four to 2.5. Um that means that the number of those electives that juniors and seniors are taking or will be able to take will be reduced. Um these electives right and I just want you to sort of bear in mind which of these do you think we should cut? creative writing, poetry, mythology, film studies, literature and artistic expression, uh sci-fi, fantasy and horror, the liturgy of war, sports literature, graphic novels, or love, romance and literature that includes works by people like uh Jane Austin, Oscar Wild and stuff like Um the thing is that um the success that the students have had in sort of increasing achievement have come about because the classes that we offer
124are targeted to their interest and to their reading level. The way ELA works is that uh the more you read, the better you get at reading. The more you write, the better you get at writing. But you're not going to get struggling readers to improve their reading by giving them tosski. You need to give them things that peak their interest. Um, and we've done a good job of developing courses like that such as children's lit and sports lit and mythology, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. Um, and similarly, you're not going to be able to improve your collegebound highly students who score well on uh those tests that we're really happy about. um if you give them folks with low lifestyle levels. In other words, in order to continue doing the good work that we need to
125do, we need to provide the students with a variety of courses and that variety um will be cut, right? Just because if you go from four teachers to 2.5 and you already have two requirements that are English n that are fully yearl that leaves.5 FTE to cover the rest and it's just not going to be able to happen. Um so uh with regards to social studies the proposed budget recommends um going from three teachers to two. Similarly we have three years of requirement. Uh English has four years of requirements by the way. Um social studies has um three. The first year is civics um and the second year is US history. um which means that uh the third year is open for electives and again this was aimed at like emphasizing student voice and choice
126and engagement and all that kind of stuff engagement as a way to improve uh discipline and also like trying to find students where they are right so what do you think we should cut should we cut world studies psychology geography criminology ethnic studies gender studies, uh, teenagers and popular culture, contemporary problems, international issues or economics. And the reason I mentioned these specific courses um is that I think all of this really sort of plays into um school strategic goals. Um I was part of as a faculty member. I was like one of the people involved in the portrait of the graduate the development and the you know posters all um so in the strategic goals we have things like critical thinking and empathy and communications things that are rooted in um the very classes that
127we teach. we begin to cut um world studies for instance um that strikes right at the global responsibility part of integrity that is written on the very poster that and teenagers are kind of snarky I don't know if you notice but um one of the things that they love to point out like it's a teenage thing like the first thing they go to is hypocrisy um where we begin to say we're going to do effects and we do the opposite that become a little bit difficult which is why we try and promote student voice and choice or engagement with regards to ELA classes um they speak I mean there are two things that we test for right in you know me and STAR and that is math and reading right with regards to the strategic
128goals we have communication as one of our five kind of portrait of a graduate I think that humorously speaks for itself. Um but also critical thinking, right? The development of reasoning extended, right? This is where the writing comes in. Development of presentations, public speaking, writing out things that you have to say, but also perseverance, right? It's uh you know, I have many students who would rather go to the tech center and like hammer nails, right? than uh you know write a paragraph essay. Perseverance is like a really really but even more than that if you want to keep improving the task force um need to engage with students and engage the students need to have the courses that speak to them um or we're not going to continue so um I just like another type
129of um but just sort of a little bit of context Larry um put a little bit of Vermont educational history out there and I just thought I'd put out a sort of similar brief note. I was hired in 2010 um after a number of people had resigned um including the the principal at the time. Um NCB, No Child Left Behind, was in effect. Um and Windsor had been designated a failing school. um there was a new principal hired and he had the charge of like turning the school around in three years or it was going to be put under administration and 50% of the teachers were fired. The next year an even greater proportion of Windsor not Vermont schools were found to be failing schools. The third year 73% I believe of Vermont schools were
130found to be failing and it you know it became kind of clear that Windsor wasn't failing. NCLB was failing. Okay. Um NCLB was file was succeeded by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Okay. Um which sort of aimed to soften and reduce some of the punitive measures of MCLB. Um but the Every Student Succeeds Act was then revised during COVID in order to like take advantage of the fact that the students were struggling all stuff. Um then we also have act 46 that promoted um the consolidation of school districts of everything that uh uh Vermont was struggling with now. Um after three years of sort of education among our like uh towns the the big push was um the creation of the Navy school district still stay independent and there hasn't been a whole lot of
131punishment. So, uh, act 46 may have been passed, but it has also passed. We now have act 73 and just to wrap up. It's not, you know, I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but speaking as an historian, um, I just want to point out that state mandmandated, top town, legislatively driven, uh, you know, uh, educational reforms. you know, it's all the history of being transformed, being weakened, being softened, being revised, and being dropped. So, I would argue bear in mind the effects that these cuts may have also this sort of a political climate and the temperature of the state as >> Thank you. Um, hi, I'm Katherine um, board annual wall and I am a science teacher at the high school. Um, but I'm with the Catholic Union as the union president
132for Mountain Scouting um, almost called using school district, but it's WSOR Southeast Education Association. Um Kim did a great job of outlining the impacts of the social studies and um English departments and humanities. Um as far as the math science world um we have currently 3.2 um teachers teaching science here and the proposed budget would cut it to 2.2. So an entire teacher would be gone. what the impact of that would be is we'd lose our RBCC class, which is um something that offers four college credits. And I know there's a lot of talk about AP classes being lacking at this school, and it gets under my skin because we offer something better than AP courses. And I'm sure you've heard this as the as the board. These are four these are how many classes
133do we have? Four different. Five. It depends on how you how you count them, but we have some in the English department, in the math department, in the science department, and in the social studies department that are college classes. They do not have to pass a test and then hope that those credits transfer. They are classes um that are at accredited universities, RBCC. Um so that's the that's a major thing that I find really troubling that um the option would be to step in for that and that's just not how a school should be funded. It should be funded by having the opportunities available for the students with the staff being appropriate. Um, we have 3.5 credits required by the students and for two teachers to somehow cover all of that I find impossible. Um,
134as far as the math department, we currently have four math teachers and it the proposed budget puts it down to 2.5. um on the proposal they are trying to hold on to honors algebra but it's all going to come down to numbers. If there aren't enough students or if there are you know too many students that need a lower level of algebra it's going to end up affecting something um honors geometry honors algebra 2. Um what Kim didn't point out is we have English um intensive from ninth grade and also world lit intensive that are on the chopping block as well. Um as far as the science department we have all kinds of electives that would be possibly um not offered. Unsettling Science, Mythbusters, Forensic Science, Marine Biology, which went to um Mexico last year.
135So, do we alternate these classes? You know, it comes down to what the students would like. And it's going to make for a much less desirable school to go to to have all of the electives offered. And so with declining enrollment, I wonder how many tuition students we will be losing with these choices. Another thing that Kim, no offense to you, Kim, but did not mention is ASL, right? And ASL is not just I'm not even sure if it counts as an English credit, but it is >> a language credit. It's not exactly foreign, but we've already lost our French program here, which was really painful thing. I know that we had declining enrollment in that area, but when that teacher left, we did not fill it. We tried to fill it to be fair,
136but it did not get filled and then it was not on the next budget. So, that's another place that the students will lose choice. They will be forced to take Spanish. And I love Spanish. Um, but I'm not every student. So, that seems painful to me. Um, one thing that we were celebrating and Kim pointed this out as well was the star um, scores and a big part of that was Tammy Psyche specifically working so hard in small groups with students and we already are seeing the impact of her moving positions to accommodate vacancies that have arisen in the middle of the year and that is something we were celebrating. And it was really hard for me to sit here through the celebration knowing that it was changing. And um I know many people that
137have had students grow through that program and so I find that very painful to accept. Um, I'm not entirely sure how the eighth grade algebra is going to be impacted, who is able to teach that or if it's even um able to happen. Um, but my point is that every teacher and every student in the high school will be impacted by this. It doesn't sound as bad when you see it as oh two three teachers, right? But it is um each department shrinking and everyone having to adjust to that shrinkage and opportunities um being lost because of it. Um, we have consulted with the state about all of this and we've talked with Christine and um, Kate and Jen and Tracy and Colleen um, extensively. Um, and what we are hearing from the state is
138you're not out of compliance until you're three. So why would we rush to make huge cuts? Why would we cut from some core classes um and core areas that are the heart of the school? Um when we don't know what the future holds, we don't know what enrollment will look like in the future. We don't know if consolidation is going to have an impact. We have we just don't know. Um, I understand the budget is a concern, but I feel that there are places that we could look at cutting and we could um make smaller cuts understanding that many of our classes are small and um could see some cutbacks. that the extent to which this is being proposed seems rush and extreme. >> Thank you. >> Uh Elise, I see your head. >> Yes.
139Hey. Um the first thing I just want to say is like it this is a hard subject to discuss and it's a hard thing to do and so I recognize um the work that everybody put in to make the budget and that I know um nobody made them without thought or value to the people who hold those positions. Um just because I do know many of you that are there and I I just know you guys as caring people. Um, that being said, I I really feel both as somebody who's employed within this district, but also as a former parent and a a cit, you know, a member of both the West Windsor and the Windsor community and a taxpayer, um, that there's almost like an effort of like being like slowing down. Uh just
140even today, this afternoon at like 5:00 p.m., Vermont Public released an article stating, you know, that Phil Scott's already projecting that we're going to have a 12% tax increase this incoming year. So, um it's citing that that has to do with educational costs that have already happened and due to, you know, other things, healthcare costs. Um but it's so my point being is that like we're already going to have facing an increase. He is trying to say that it's because some school districts are you know really putting their heels in and saying we're not going to try and do any kind of merger. There's really only been a small amount of schools that have actually started to consider shutting down or cutting people. Um but there are in school districts that were already having these
141discussions. It it just seems there are so many whatifs and there were so many people um I attended several of the task force meetings and also spoke at a couple of them and just you know heard from different corners of our state how many people were like this doesn't work for us. So it just really puts in so much gray area. And having experienced Act 46, which felt so rushed and so pushed and it was um you know using the same kind of motivation of tax incentives or if you don't do it by this year, you're going to lose X amount of money to your budget. And we we made that decision and you know in the end are we better? Yes. But it then went away. Like CO 19 came and it faded away.
142And I just feel like Act 73 still has so many whatifs. And if we don't need to be in compliance until like 3 years from now, it would be to the best interest of both of um both ABS and Windsor and especially to our students to keep the people we have because the people that we have provide those opportunities that have been highlighted in every single principal's report that was given prior, you know, to the start of this meeting. It's giving the kids the opportunity that Amy spoke about, you know, about the fact that they have these um these opportunities to be seen and have that um that moment to shine. And it's because we do have these smaller school communities. You know, Albert Bridge is able to provide learning environments for kids who are
143in need of being outdoors to do their math. um needing to do more hands-on projects than necessarily, you know, sit at a desk. Like both of our schools provide such wonderful things both in the high school. I mean, the one thing the one thing I have to say that my daughter who graduated last year has had to work on is being in a bigger community where she doesn't have the connections that she has. She's like, I miss Windsor. I want to be back with them. Not because she's not having a great time in college, but because, you know, she loved Kate. She loved all of her teachers. Um, her English teacher who is here, she like just the relationships that she established only could happen because she was in the school she was in. And
144by eliminating people in such a quick way really starts to take away the things that we are trying to build with our students, especially with things like leader and me. So putting in things like having funds to give these kids these opportunities is great. But when you have staff burned out because they are not able to do the things that are required to be a teacher because they are filling holes is not going to make an environment where kids are going to feel successful and welcomed in because the adults are going to not feel welcomed and accepted in. and and so like really kind of giving like a wait let's see what happens and the other thing I would suggest is looking into the waiver there is a waiver option it states stuff about how
145like if a school is starting to put in a plan I would say that like because EBS and uh Windsor came together there in itself is a merger there in itself is a plan and you know maybe there's a little bit of a gray area where we might not necessarily fall into it. We also have to remember this is not like there is holes in this act that are going to probably end up disappearing or being changed. So if you build it and you sell it, you might make something come to be. So that's something also I think to look into. And there you go. And again, appreciate you guys. >> Thank you. Um, I see your hand up, Bill. Are there any other non board comments? Because once we're done with those, I just
146want to Y um I um wanted to just re reiterate a couple things. Um, Catherine what you said about the RBCC classes, I fullheartedly like when we talk about flexible pathways, those college level classes, our kids have access to multiple six different ones here at the school summer year bomb. Those are included in the options that we have for flexible pathways. Like we have to lose those, that's going to be impacted. And the only substitution that we have for all of those things that they mentioned, all of those electives, electives are online classes. And we started there. Like said, I've been here for 10 years. So many of those electives grew out of kids. I think back to like my first year, we'd had kids do an independent study and gender studies and mythology and
147all of these things. And it was like after so many years of kids asking for these independent studies, we're like, "Wow, there's a need for this. Let's move in this direction of electives." And here we are. And now we're going to go back to them taking online classes and elective instead or and not having access to the river valley. And they are better than AP. I don't know why there's a push for AP. Um there it falls under the category of dual enrollment. Dual enrollment is dual enrollment. Whether it's CCB, RBC, CCC, or AP. They all provide a college transcript that you can take with you to college. Why not have them taught by people in face to face? Like, they're just as good. I don't see the push for that DP. It kind of
148freaks me out a little bit because I'm like, please don't ever think that flexible pathways is going to be the solution to those classes going away because it won't be. I'm going to tell you right now, it's not it it wasn't and it's why we ASL. We built that ASL class because we had so many kids coming to us asking for it as a flexible pathways. I was like, we this was like five years ago. We need to create a section of this because I can't what am I going to do? Like I'm all on an online class and that's not the type of learner nor type of class that you can really learn online. How do you do that? So I just don't know like that is going to diminish our the flexible pathways
149and it certainly isn't a substitute for any of the the classes that we have here. The substitute would be oh take an online version and that certainly is not adequate nor uh a solution to being able to provide a quality education cost. >> Thank you. Can I say one more thing about the RBC classes? The way >> keep it about a minute. >> Yeah. The way we're accredited is because we have a master's in our field. And so I could teach AP classes when I had a bachelor's degree, but now that I have a bad a master's in biology, I can teach biology college classes. So that's the difference. That's why we keep saying RVCC is um I mean dual enrollment is better than I appreciate that. >> Yeah. And one more quick comment. >>
150Yeah. Just a quick comment. Um I think that you you said why is there such a push for AP classes over this? And I think it's PR and I think there's a major PR issue. Um which was addressed and it you know we talked about it Kate just mentioned it. We talked about it during the BC meetings. Um, getting choice students in in focusing on the academics of the school has never really been a push. As long as I've lived here, never really seen that as the push. I've always seen sports as a push. Um, so, you know, I think like that really needs to be a focus. These people don't know this. Um, and I think it's really unfortunate hearing hearing what everyone's saying here knowing also that like there is supposedly a goal
151to get choice students, right? There is a goal to elevate our academics here. So, it seems kind of a shame that that's the area that we're >> All right. So, uh, appreciate everyone for for speaking up there. Um, I think we're going to move on to board discussions. So, yep. All right. So, Bill, h so excited to jump in here. Um, couple things I want to agree with with some of the speakers. um is that the ability to slow down a little bit um to kind of look at this analytically and and plan for the future. A couple important points here. Uh as someone who's actually crunched the data for a school district, I I have uh calculated uh classroom size for Hartford. Um that's one That's part of my job. Um and um larger
152high school yada yada. One important thing to remember that's brought up is there is no credit requirement. Okay, there is no credit requirement for graduation state of Vermont. There is no credit requirement for graduation at Windsor High School. Okay. So, that's one of the panamine shifts that's going to contribute to the survival of Windsor High School. Okay. You don't have to have topics and courses to teach students skills. Okay. The other thing that was very difficult in calculating Hartford's classroom size is the fact that in some of the classrooms, one they have 70-minute blocks. Teachers are teaching three courses in one block, okay? And they're doing it mostly in the arts, but there are three courses that exist in that room with that single teacher. Another example is that most of the classes have advanced
153areas within the same classroom. So that teacher has an advanced group and a regular algebra 2 group. You use algebra 2 as a group. They have advanced algebra 2 and algebra 2 in the same room. And so I think in long-term planning is meeting students where they are by disconnecting from the the the thought that you have to have a course content and that you have to have credits. That's not the case. students and and there are classroom structures that are exempt from the uh from the class size. Um there there there's intervention, there's independent studies, there's um uh dual enrollment, all these things exist. And so for an example at Hartford, and I used I'm I'm not using Hartford as an example, but it's just something because I crunched the data. At Hartford, for
154example, they have um courses that are college that are taught by teachers there within a single classroom. And there's multiple courses going on in that classroom at a time over 70 minutes. And so you might have two courses that are similar, but it's a 70-minute block. So the teacher has time to focus on these students and then time to focus on these students. Okay? So it's it it's that disconnecting from thinking that your content area is really what's important when your content area actually isn't important. It is the skills. it is the that are uh what decides what if a student reaches the graduation requirements within the state of Vermont. So it's that it's that shifting the idea so that we can um change the structure of a high school so it delivers the what
155students knew need. Now what makes an education successful? There are two things. There is relationships and there is um student engagement. Okay? And for relationships and student engagement, you need people. You have to have relationships. You have to engage student. You have to know how to do it. And so it Oh, we lost your audio there. >> Oh, well, I pressed my >> There you go. >> There there are there I suggest that there are more creative ways to reach these requirements than just cutting a bunch of a a a several positions. It it it it it's changing how education is structured within the high school. Okay. It's just I think it should be explored and I think it should be explored over time. >> All right, Elizabeth. >> Thanks, Davis. I just want to
156say for the record, I am not a fan of AP classes. I think they're a scam. >> Somehow, >> let me be clear about that. AP classes are a scam to get money and they don't have any meaning, especially in a rural state. I just want to be clear about that. And I have a cat meowing. I apologize. Um um uh I also want to be clear in my distaste for advanced compliance. Um I I uh I I think advanced compliance in uh is what we are being asked to do all over the place right now. uh without true meaning behind uh the compliance and without um exploring ways to uh as as Bill says exploring ways to um navigate what's being actually asked underneath. And I would I ask whether um you have a
157budget that is prepared without these cuts that we can see because we we haven't looked at that. Um and uh uh and I want to know Bill whether you know um whether the um graduation requirements that are being developed by the agency of education will change what you're talking about. Um, and I I uh what I want to weigh in with is um I agree that we should not be um taking up these cuts right away simply to um be advanced compliers. >> Thank you. Uh, Bill, if you want to very quickly answer that question and then Amy, if you have an answer. >> My understanding of the graduation requirements is that there's still graduation requirements. How the student reaches their graduation requirements depends on how well schools are able to apply summitive assessments and
158measures where the students at. It doesn't really change the end result. They don't need credits. They don't need seat time. they need to reach the standard. Okay. Some students can do that in a more independent way with support. Again, it's that it's that engagement and relationships. Some students need more uh help to reach those. Thus, you have intervention type classes which are exempt. Okay? And so you can gain the system in that by following the requirements and and and and allow the the engagement and the relationships to continue and um you just have to document that students have met the graduation standards. >> Thank you. All right, Amy, >> I am in agreement with Elizabeth and Bill that advanced compliance, I don't think, will be our friend in this situation. I think we need to
159wait and see what is happening and do what's best for our students right now. and just my experience with advanced compliance. Um, I think that overall act 46 helped us. Um, I'm looking at it from a Windsor point of view, but I believe that it did. But everything that we had been told by the state about absolute compliance by everyone did not come through. There were districts that the state said, "Okay, you're fine." And I think we need to be one of those districts that just kind of takes takes a break and sees what happens with as the um the conversations with the legislature and the state board and AOE etc. go um continue to work. And I also saw um Elizabeth and um Liz Frederick's um reply to our governor that what needs to
160be looked at more than education are one of the major costs that's driving education and that is health care costs. and what is happening right now. Um the the governor needs to be looking at that and not at education. So thank you. >> Thanks Amy. Uh Elizabeth, I see your hand. Before I call on you again, Nancy or Megan, do you have anything you want to add or are you >> I'm just I'm very happy to hear all these voices and I they speak for me. Elizabeth, >> thanks. I just also wanted to um explain a couple of parts about the the December 1 letter which it's December 1st the letter comes out and every year it is it is a very rough projection. We don't know. It's based on um a few different things,
161but those different things uh don't necessarily have much to do with uh the income that the state is going to receive. It has to it's based on uh the projections of some districts who have already submitted their budgets but it's a very low number because uh uh not not many districts have already approved their budgets um this year about I heard on the um commission meeting this afternoon um that the uh a representative from the tax commissioner explained took the time to exp- explain um the roughly 12% about 7% of that is a result of last year's buy down um uh which was um excess money that was received from I think um the uh uh room tax uh room and room and use tax um which we used to buy down last year's taxes
162so we have to make up for it this year and 7% of the 12% increase comes from that projection and uh and then the rest of it was something like it was made up between inflation and health care costs. Um and uh so the the December 1st letter 12% increase um is is really hard to use as a hard and fast number or even a true projection. And so what we are looking at right now is our budget and we're not looking at the 12% increase per se because we can't we can't base our decisions on that. Thanks. >> Elizabeth, one quick question for you. Was there not a conversation at the state of of doing away with the December 1 letter for the reasons that you're talking about? I mean, this is an perennial
163problem. Yeah, it there was at one point um during the yield bill discussion last year uh they were going to move the December 1st letter back to July um to have it to make it possible for um for but the budgeting season to be better aligned with everything else. Um and that fell by the wayside. Okay. >> Thanks, Elizabeth. All right. Any other comments from the board? >> I guess I obviously do not want to have to cut teachers or any, but my concern like I know what 12% you're saying it's arbitrary. We don't understand. But does is there going to have to be cuts no matter what we do? Like if we decide we're not going to do this, like would there still be cuts? >> It would depend what the voters say that
164would be a rule of >> Well, yeah. And I think in in in hearing the teachers, and I appreciate, you know, what they're sharing. we've been in close collaboration >> and they know that um I feel like I'm responsible for doing what I'm supposed to do. >> Not necessarily uh agree with all of it, but I feel like it's my job. Um and luckily the board gets to make the final final decision on this. But I think in in being in the school, and I don't think anybody will argue this, we have we have classes that are too small in the high school. we have classes where we've closed them down some of those electives because there are two kids that that want to take it. So I think we have to be responsible and
165reasonable about it. Um and I I know Katherine can agree with that. We've talked about it. So I think taking a hard look, you know, if the board's directive is we don't want to cut this deep, you know, we'll go back to the table and we'll look at where it makes sense. I I think it I also think it would be easier >> it's easier to do things as a team and when you're doing something like this we're to do solution >> and um I sometime are friends right like and we have nothing but respect for each other but I wanted to you know they would say something be like oh my god like social department actually isn't being cut 2.5 this year will be 2.5 next year like there are no cuts right >>
166um so now that they kind of like I think Larry the cat out of the bag and we can have an open >> dialogue. Um, I think that would be really helpful. Do I, if you're asking my opinion as Kate Ryan as a president, do I think a budget without any cuts will pass with our voters? The answer is no. >> Yeah. Um and um but >> I I think that we could have a further conversation now that we all have information are able to have an open dialogue. Um, I think, you know, with the December 1st letter coming out today and we don't have all of the we don't have everything solidified and we won't, but you know, our and we're looking into it, but our LTWM has dropped, which has an impact on
167our budget. Um, >> and we're we're looking into the LTWM because that's the only thing that we not that we can control it, but it's the only lever. Uh, and usually there are mistakes and you find out later that the LTWAM came up came up. But even if the LTWAM was flat, >> you tell me what that is. >> Sorry. Um, the long-term weighted average daily membership. >> Okay. >> It's act 127 put it into place. It used to be called equalized pupil. Um, basically, uh, there is no way from what I can see the numbers that I'm running and what's going to be in the budget book when it's printed, that's going to be a 12% estimate. It's going to be significantly higher. the other, you know, and again without the cuts >> now
168that we can have >> open conversations when we talk about there there's got to be a middle ground because I'm talking off the top of my head, but I believe right now with a freshman class of 50, we run five sections of English 9 and you can do the math on what those class sizes look like. And then with the class five minimums, we wouldn't run five sessions of nourishment. Um, so that would open up room to still electives. I mean, I feel like that was pretty obvious. I'm worried about the science department of our science department. They have no wiggle room with what what was proposed. Um, you know, I obviously said to my staff today like I I need this budget for um to comply with the law and to be financially responsible
169for people when there because in my job a lot of what I hear and feedback is people are struggling and how can we help how can we be responsible to a community that supports us more than any other community I've ever seen. So I do feel I mean none of this has felt good but I do feel better that we are able to have open dialogues about it anymore now and it's not so isolating >> because we do come together with great ideas as a team. >> So I think um I mean I I think we should come back to you next month with um different versions of the budget. Larry should have more information on >> I'm going to need some direction. >> Well, you'll have more solid hopefully information on the LPWA. >>
170That's the tax that has to do with budget, >> right? >> So, um you know, I heard Elizabeth say what what's the budget with without any cuts? What's the budget? >> I can give that we have to look at. >> If people want to see that the debt tonight, I can it's one sheet. I can >> it's not going to be uh in the budget book or anything, but to give you an example of what we're looking at, this is the last year's budget. This is complying with the law. This is the budget that's in the budget book right now. >> This is not complying with the law. Um the increase as is, meaning the budget book increase is a 6.3 as I went through the whole budget book. If you put the risk back
171in, it'd be a 9.3% increase. So, just to give you an idea of where we are, Bill. >> Yeah, I'm I'm not comfortable with with looking at this solely from a financial standpoint. Okay. Um there has to be a discussion on changing taking the opportunity to change how instruction is is delivered to these students. Not just how X Y and Z were we need to cut these teachers to do to to reach these budget numbers. How are we going to reach um uh how are we going to uh uh deliver how instruction is is done in a way that one is responsible and two maximizes what student needs. Uh, well, very quick. Well, that's Hi, Bill. I don't know. It's Kim again. I don't know if you can see me, but I I think one
172of the questions that we should also be asking because sort of bell on your thing is not like what should we be teaching, right? I think a sort of global approach like not just how to deliver but like what to deliver. >> Thank you. >> Yeah. >> I just what I think I heard from Kate and that like that some of these conversations now can happen >> to answer sort of the questions that Bill said. It sounds like that's what you all want to come together to do. >> Yeah. All right. Well, I appreciate everyone showing up to provide perspective on this. Um, I have not been looking forward, I don't think anybody's looking forward to or enjoying this process. Um, I I mean, I couldn't agree more that Act 73 is rushed in every
173single one of the things that it has done or has attempted to do. Um, and it is really I find it challenging having been on the board as long as I have to have seen us work towards filling positions, work towards being able to provide opportunities, work towards being able to do all these things and then have what feels I mean at least with consolidation, which isn't quite what we're talking about, but like consolidation within the space of less than a year was sold as a cost-saving measure and then acknowledged to not be a cost-saving measure. Um, obviously, yeah, staff is a large part of is a large part of the local budget. There's no way around that. Um, that being said, on a state level, I think we also understand that healthcare and special
174education costs are what is driving this massive increase in budgets. We know that's a reality. Um and it is intensely frustrating to see in this instance when that is such a known quantity the state kind of leaning again on like well we have to create x-class size minimum just like quantify something that is fundamentally qualitative in so many ways. Um, I I I I endorse the idea right now because we are having this open conversation and there may be some opportunities to look at other ways of conceiving how to structure this budget. Um, if we have another month to take, I think we should take another month. >> Um, and what I would say as far as and Larry, I appreciate you giving that breakdown just kind of the high level cost of it. uh
175as a starting point. I mean, we obviously I think looking at a budget that has the full budget that's non-compliant versus fully compliant with the cuts in mind. Um and then I mean I suppose in that interim working together I don't know if we want to do more budget advisory committee. I guess that's where I'm like what what is possible >> I think in the state of the month with the holidays. I mean that's less than ideal >> and dayto-day school. >> Yes. um with everything in life. >> Yes. Yes. >> I I think it would be helpful to sit down administration to sit down with me again and come back to the board. >> I think you what are your thoughts? >> Yeah, I mean I I think some of our greatest ideas come
176out because we have different perspectives and ability to see things. I think that that is I mean I you job is to protect the outside here right so that that's a hard position to put them in um >> and we all appreciate thinking outside of the box together >> so yeah I would love to be able to sit down um I do I mean I did learn a lot this is the the hardest budget season we've had right so I I did learn a lot um I learned a lot from you know the the perspective from from Liz like when you're in the weeds, right? And you're you're you're doing this day in and and day out and you're money isn't there specific kids in mind that you're thinking of when like how am I
177going to save this one? How am I going to save this one? You're not really concerned with what the outside world is is thinking about you and um you know it bothers me that you know when there's reputation or whatever isn't as great as it should be because it is a great great place to be. >> I'll I'll throw it there. you know, I don't think I say this enough, but my memories of being a student at Windsor, you know, around sort of 2003 two, um the and then being somebody who worked adjacent to Windsor and had colleagues who worked in Windsor roughly around 20101, I think seeing from those different perspectives now, my current role, the kind of sea change that especially our secondary programs have undergone, it's I mean it's just night and
178day. Um it it's really not it's incomparable like what I what I my experience was in in middle school like 20ish years ago. Uh and knowing people in the high school versus what is offered now, what the culture is now. Just like everything about it has come so far. Um and I think that when when we're making these kind of decisions, we really need to do what we can to make sure that that kind of growth continues to happen. Um I think that my my last question for, you know, for you, Christine. So, I understand I appreciate you clarifying all those questions about what compliance looks like because my biggest frustration of the last meeting is that like >> we're confused. >> It was very confusing, right? It it seems a lot clearer now. I
179guess I think it's important when we're looking at this to understand the stakes of it. So, what it's compliance over a period of three years is how they measure compliance. >> Three consecutive years. three consecutive years. Correct. >> So, it's my understanding that when they collect the data next year, if you are a school that is not in compliance with the law, >> you will have to present a plan to get into compliance with the law. So, they're not going to come close our school next year, right? >> You know, the guidance that superintendents are were given is >> this is the law. It's your job to comply with it. The boards the boards make the final decision. So, I feel like, you know, I can go to sleep at night doing my job. >>
180You know, do I want to cut all these stuff? No. I care deeply for them and for the kids. But, um, I think we can come to a place where we can figure it out. So, >> and I, you know, I appreciate your position. I appreciate everybody's position for this. Again, it's not, like I said, something something I've been looking forward to in the decision- making capacity. Um, but I think understanding what getting an idea of what that process looks like, what the state might be expecting. I mean, should we move in a direction where we are getting creative with this, uh, it's just good to keep our eyes on that as well. >> Yeah. >> Um, I think >> if we're not in compliance, we're going to have to create a plan to get
181compliance. That's what I've been told. >> What that plan looks like, I think we devise it. Um, okay. you know, we know we're we know we're over the minimum here or under the minimum here. This is what we're going to do. This is what we're going to propose for the following year. So, I think it slows down the process, but it doesn't >> also mitigate the process. >> Bringing up a point is uh the budget that's in compliance is under the excess spending threshold. The budget any >> but barely. So any if you put those risks back in >> then um or approve a budget with the risk then without the risk um then you would uh you'd be over the excess spending threshold. >> So just remind us what that means. >> That means
182every dollar over the threshold per child um per LTWM uh it's uh you get you send an extra dollar to mom. >> Okay. So, it goes right to the headphones. So, it's >> it's uh >> just add it up. >> It is currently it is um 16,470 and if you went I'd have to find that other number. So, right now you are under the threshold. Um, but if you um >> proposed budget >> with your proposed budget, >> so >> but you're very close. So >> basically it's it's a kicker to the tax rate. So for every dollar >> Yep. over >> over. >> No. And I and Harlem's been over for years and Westfield's now well over. >> Yep. >> For next year. >> Yep. And I I really appreciate you bringing that up
183because that's, you know, just one of the one of the many variables that we we really got to take into account as we work on this. Um, so I don't think there's too much more to say at this point. Um, I think that, you know, I appreciate you all coming here. I'll say that again. Um, I think just taking a month to look at, you know, our and the few that I would throw out that are just off the top of my head, I'm sure that you will come up with far more nuance and intelligent things than this, but um, just briefly hear me out. I would say what what is the least amount of staffing impact that gets us under the threshold is something to consider. Um, and then just and I I what
184are I guess what are other opportunities that don't impact staffing right now or minimize staff impact that uh that can reduce cost within our controllable cost which I know it's very challenging and beyond that I mean I think there's I don't think you guys need more direction than that you all know what you're doing uh And uh yes, thank you so much for staying late and spending taking time to talk about that. Incredibly valuable. >> We do. Oh, I know. Yeah, >> here that >> we put that last because that's going to feel easy. Um >> I thought >> All right. Thanks again. Thank Thank you. Uh 6B. So yeah, table. We'll bring it back next time. and >> theou >> not theou I'm sorry that was confusing way of saying that but it's something
185we'll worry about next time thank you uhou uh so this as I understand it having looked at it and having uh had this discussion in the past this memorandum of understanding between um between our district and the town of West Windsor functionally just codifies what has been happening um is there a way just to throw on the board quick up on the board quickly just I think the background >> sure Yeah, that you can just share out there. Just want to make sure folks get their eyes on it. Um, but it's it's very straightforward. It is nothing we haven't talked about already and it's just putting on paper what the school and the town have been happily doing uh as long as this district has existed. Um, I appreciate the background part because it added
186to my understanding that prior to that the the town and the school were much more closely related than they were in Windsor and it just didn't need to be this kind of paper. Um, but now there does. >> Yes. And as we've expanded particularly our grounds with our placebased stocks, um it's become pretty clear we need to say about who's doing what. So all we've basically done is in this is said who has traditionally done what and we're going to keep traditionally doing that thing. Um so a couple of areas like town of West does the plowing. Um we get uh approval for things like where to put buildings and things like that. we put new structures on as we have like waterways and things like that. Um and then they're willing to collaborate with
187us on big ideas around things that might need to change and school district um they do take care of the grounds the snow um on like the walk paths that kind of stuff. again help take care of the field. Um, and some things are sort of out of the traditional approach that we use in the different schools. So like we have extensive flower beds and we have these outdoor classrooms and so we're trying to find ways to make it so it's not a school expectation that school budget pays for because it's not being paid by the other schools. um nor is it something that maybe the talent piece for but some way some kind of creative collaboration to address these in the past we've tried to have um sort of volunteers and for a lot
188of it it works but it's not consistent so it's on our agenda to problem solve but we're working together to problem solve it so that's basically what this whole thing does and the goal would be if you guys approve it then it goes back to the select board >> west and then they would be in the final group >> excellent and you know to point. Just reiterate this is things that have already been happen. I know you've been working identifying volunteers since long before we were talking about thisou. So all it does is make sure that everybody's on the same page. It's there's drill to it. So all right, I will take a motion to you scroll up top for me for a moment. Just want to get the the name of it as it's
189written. >> Thank you. And >> uh Okay. Yeah. Before I make the motion, Matt, if you want to throw in your two cents about that, too. >> Okay, Davis. Um, for the record, this is Matt Frederick. I'm the town administrator in West Windsor. Um, as well as a parent of children in this district. Um, as Jennifer said, this MLOU just codifies what already is happening. Um, I just wanted to point out that the select board hasn't actually reviewed this yet. Um, so you guys don't necessarily need to make a motion to approve it. Um, if you want them to review it first. Um, this was just just written to make sure that you guys are on board with what Jennifer and I had proposed to make sure that everybody's on the same page. If if
190you guys are totally fine with it, I'm I'm not opposed to you guys approving it now, but if you want them to consider it first, that's totally understandable. >> Uh, yeah, thank you for bringing that up, Matt. I think um >> I'd like to see it to read it uh quietly. >> Sure. Yeah, I think if folks want another another chance to read this and also like just in the off chance that the West Windsor um select board has any updates that they want to make to it for us to consider. I know that it's not policy, but the way we do policy is we do free reads and I think that giving this at least a little time to think about and see if the other parties involved have any edits they want to
191make. Um like I don't see any I don't know if anybody from the board sees any any changes. >> I mean we got a month to think about it. The only thing that they may want to adjust and this is something that I I considered carefully with the liability section. >> Um our select board chair is a lawyer so I expect that he will make sure that that is good. Um but if you guys want to make sure >> you know I just want to make sure that when this is done it's done and we don't have to review it again until something changes. >> Absolutely. Yeah. No, I'm uh I think taking a little bit more time to make sure it's done right makes a lot of sense. >> Awesome. >> So thank Yep.
192Thanks for that perspective. Uh >> so motion didn't get out of my mouth. Um >> I well I didn't motion anything. I didn't ask for one. I started to and Matt gave me some good perspective there. So I don't think we need to make a motion on this. I think this this also we can table until the next meeting. We'll come back to it. >> Oh, we'll get there. We still got to set the next agenda. All right. We've made it to setting the next agenda. uh the two things that I know that we are going to want to have there apart from the two things we'll be tabled from tonight. So that is budgetou. Um we're also I would like to talk about um library services in Windsor. That's something that's come up a
193couple times. Um and I think you know we just want to kind of hear a rundown of what that looks like um across uh Mount School District. Um, and I think that's specifically in the way that it came up just to kind of bring everyone back to that was in reference to some of the uh EQS requirements, right? Um, about library services. I think that's where that question >> required to have under EQS a library if you have order 300 students a full-time library. >> Got it. >> Which we do. I think it's more directed at um so we have an elementary um program and the high school library program has changed over the past decade. So So we're in compliance at the elementary level. >> Well I think we're in compliance. We have one
194librarian for a school of three over three kids. So, and maybe thinking about the fact that we're probably have a lot of talk about the budget too and this is not this is more of aformational topic and less of a pressing thing. I might propose that we actually put that in February. >> Yeah. >> Um >> and then if we can do I think one that might be worth hearing about as we go into the spring uh if we can talk about accessibility updates because I feel like that's Jim comes in speaks to it quickly. I don't think that's going to take a ton of time. >> What month would you like that? >> Um if if we have time, if we think we can put that in next month, I think that would be
195>> So the other things um for next month to consider uh we need to adopt the budget next month. >> Yes. >> We need to talk about the February budget information meeting uh logistics dates time the you know we have to talk about the election subcommittee. We have to um appoint numbers for public high school choice by February 1st, I believe. >> Uh we also have to approve the tuition rate >> technically by January. >> So those are all things that are also >> we have to talk about >> and that's by later in January or by >> by early January. >> Early January. Okay. I get the exact date. >> Um cool. So, let's put the accessibility on February, too. >> Thanks. >> I think Yeah, I appreciate the Yeah. Um, okay. Anything else
196for the next agenda or next agendas to consider? All right. Well, Nancy, we've made it there. So, move. >> All right. I will take a motion to adjourn this meeting. >> Second. And I will do a simple voice vote. All those in favor of adjourning, please indicate so by saying I. I. >> I. >> We are jouring at 9:30 p.m. >> Thanks everyone. I came politics.