001Yeah. >> I'd like to call the meeting to order, please. Can we stand for a pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence? Mr. Jones, you want to lead us off? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Please stand for a moment of silence. I'd like to remember all the servicemen and service women overseas and in this country, especially our graduates. Thank you. Cheryl, can we do the roll call, please? Ms. Ferris? >> [clears throat] >> Present. Ms. Disla? Present. Mr. Jones? Here. Mr. Mejia? Present. Mr. Mercedes? Present. Mr. Tyburski? Here. Mr. Hayden? Here. And right on time we have the students' report. Everybody's here? Oh, yours. We share the report.
002We have to prepare the report with Oscar. Mr. Hayden. Do we want to move on a different item until they pull the slide up? Are the kids ready? I'm changing it right now. Let's try to stand out. Good evening, everyone. Today we'll start off by presenting the NHS St. Patrick's fundraiser. The annual St. Patrick's NHS National Honor Society fundraiser came back once more on March 10th and 17th. They're all lunches. Money from the sales will go towards the senior NHS member quarter zip sweaters as a final commemorative gift. Ice cream social. Yeah. Um on April 16th at 2:30 p.m. GLTS is holding its first ice cream social. Students will be able to enjoy ice cream and a fun experience with friends for only $4. ELA MCAS. Um yep. Yep. ELA MCAS is season is upon
003us once more. GLTS sophomores are taking the ELA MCAS March 24th and March 25th. In addition, these days will be a delayed opening for grades 9, 11, and 12. Good luck to our sophomores. SkillsUSA were thrilled to announce the results from last week's SkillsUSA Massachusetts District for qualifying exams. Our GLTS students demonstrated professionalism and dedication. Also on SkillsUSA, congrats to the winners and the winners are listed on this list here below. GLTS senior scholarship. Um senior scholarship. The GLTS scholarship program is open for all students, regardless of whether they plan to pursue college, start an apprenticeship, or begin a begin a trade program, or enter the workforce after high school. It is available for all current seniors and the deadline is March 31st. All seniors were emailed the application link, which is also available on
004the GLTS website. Students can contact a a school guidance counselor for any questions. Author visit. Author Ruta Sepetys, international renowned historical fiction author Ruta Sepetys, visited GLTS on March 10th. Her books have been published in over 60 countries and she's the winner of a Carnegie Medal. With her book I Must Betray You, it was featured in the 2025 Regis read pick for summer program reading. Red Cross spirit day. The Red Cross Club held a spirit day on February 13th to raise awareness for heart health. Students wore red to express their support. We had a wellness committee. Recently the Y the YCA set up themed tables with games and questions to help GLTS students develop positive relationships, skills, and learn about healthy relationships during lunch periods. This was a fun and educational event. Black history culture
005assignment. During their Black History Hair assignment, 10th grade cosmetology students watched a documentary and learned about how hair relates to Black pride, social movements, and identity. After they were told to create a hairstyle with historical context, technique, and professional presentation in mind. The UMass [clears throat] Lowell field trip. The GLTS bioscience students had the opportunity to present the results of the Broad Institute Broad Institute research at UMass Lowell International Women's Day conference. Other activities at the event include speeches from what known research and hands-on activities. GLTS talent show. The GLTS talent show took place on Friday, March 20th. The winners are listed below. And there's also some GLTS talent show pictures also on there. The Reggie's had an outstanding winter season. In addition to the highlights shared here, please see the Reggie athletics highlights handout
006prepared by athletic director Mr. Nelson. This includes individual athlete athletes' successes and a list of our athletes of the month. Thank you and have a wonderful evening. Thanks, guys. Does anybody have any questions for the students? Thanks, guys. Moving along, I have uh the minutes. I have two sets of minutes. I'm going to do a separate vote on them, please. Can I get a motion and a second for the February 24th meeting? So moved. Second. Any discussion? Mr. Tyburski? Yes. Ms. Ferris? Yes. Ms. Disla? Yes. Mr. Jones? Here. Mr. Mejia? Yes. Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Hayden? Yes. Can I get a motion for the March 5th meeting? Motion. Can I get a second? Second. Any discussion? Cheryl, please. Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Tyburski? Yes. Ms. Ferris? Yes. Ms. Disla? Yes. Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Mejia?
007Yes. Mr. Hayden? Yes. Uh cash balance report. Jerry? Mr. DeStefano, please. Hi, good evening, everyone. Cash balance report um for February 2026. Uh the account balance at the end of January was 665,000. We had deposits for the month of 6.1 million. Uh transfer in from MMDT of 250K. Uh you see the payroll um and warrant amounts listed there for the month. Uh and we have an ending GL balance at the end of February for three uh little over three million dollars. In the MMDT account, uh we started off with uh 12.5 million. We had interest for the month of almost 34,000. Uh we transferred out that 250 to operations, leaving us um with a balance in MMDT of 12.3 million. Um and a total of healthy total operating cash balance of uh 15.366 million for
008the month. Thank you very much. Uh does anybody have any questions for Mr. Di Stefano? He has another engagement tonight. Thank you, Mr. Di Stefano. Can we get a motion, please? To accept the cash balance. >> Second. Second. Any discussion? Call the vote, chair. Mr. Mejia? Yes. Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Tarbox? Yes. Ms. Ferris? Yes. Ms. Gisler? Yes. Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Hayden? Yes. Consolidated cash, you have the handout and the revolving fund, you have it in the packet. Uh budget report is in the packet. Any questions on any of those? Budget transfers, uh Melissa, you're going to handle the budget transfers for us? Yep. We have two budget transfers tonight. Um the first was for technology. It was to cover 347,143 dollars uh for the displays. And then 265,000 dollars for Chromebooks, which was
009um approved by the superintendent and we'll be using some of the rollover money from last year. And then the second budget transfer is just an interdepartment transfer. So, machine tech is moving their hardware and software remaining budgets to their supply line so they can make some purchases. All set. Any questions on the budget transfers? We're going to need a vote on this. Vice chair. Yeah, thank you. Uh through you, um for the first item, can you repeat again? Was it a display? Displays, they're like video displays. I think they're classroom televisions, I think, John. The the first budget transfer. Yes. Video displays like in the classrooms? That are How many classrooms have >> in the classroom. How many classrooms have the new equipment? Uh I don't have that number with me. Do you know, Brenda?
010I don't have that number. I know we're buying 100 Okay. >> new displays. We've had um we've had to replace some this year that were sort of just breaking down from the beginning of the year. So, um we're purchasing them all now and we'll install them throughout the summer. Okay. So, they'll be ready for next year. >> September. So, we're replacing every classroom. Okay. Every classroom and then uh Work shops. Uh rather than we've had some issues and some difficulties cuz they're getting older now. So, rather than wait halfway through the year and start replacing them, we place them all and then we'll sell. We have a vendor that's coming in to look at >> them. Possibly buy whatever uh ones that are still have some time left on them. Okay. Thank you. We need
011a vote on the budget transfers. Any further questions? Can I have the chair? Ms. Ferris? Mhm. What else? Um the the iPads, are those all Did you just recirculate them? Are they So, every year So, we're ordering for next year's freshman class. We're ordering them now cuz it takes a while to get them in [clears throat] and in the summer they set them up for the freshman class and then they they keep those for four years. So, the senior uh we'll collect the senior ones and out of the senior one we may end up with about 250 that are still usable and we'll put those in storage. So, when students break theirs or lose theirs, we use those to replace uh some of that. And then the ones that have uh of no value, there's
012a company that'll buy those as well. Mhm. Yeah, I don't want to believe it this, but um are there any um when equipment is is broken deliberately or by accident, who's responsible for that? The school only or No, so >> Well, something uh yeah, if something needs to be repaired, uh we often repair it ourselves. So, um and if there's a We typically we have a certain amount of money uh that we have put aside for that. We don't charge the kids for repairing something that gets broken unless it's an ongoing problem. So, if a student for the first time comes, they drop their uh Chromebook, broke the screen, we'll fix that. Uh we won't charge them, but if it conti- then if the the second time, then we would charge them. And then uh
013if they lose their Chromebook, they have to buy All right. Just As long as there's some system in there, I want I want to see some accountability. I don't want >> Yeah. you know, uh brand new equipment just being thrown out there and there's no accountability on the part of the the student. Yeah, so we we spoke to the IT uh couple of of the IT uh staff today uh in a meeting and they said that that we're having less and less problems with damaged uh it's gotten a lot better since they put in the new policy. Uh that's good. Yeah. Yes. Thank you. Any further questions? Ms. Ferris, you all set? Yep. All right. Can I get a motion? Budget transfer. >> Motion to approve. Any discussion? Chair. Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Mejia? Yes.
014Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Tarbox? Yes. Ms. Ferris? Yes. Ms. Gisler? Yes. Mr. Hayden? Yes. Uh next step is the budget. Melissa will present the uh 26-27 budget. Okay, so tonight I will walk you through the fiscal year 27 budget, beginning with the budget calendar and timeline and highlighting key areas from the budget book. I'll also address any questions you may have and then we can conclude with a vote to accept the proposed budget. So, the development of the fiscal year 27 budget was a comprehensive collaborative process spanning several months and involving stakeholders across all levels of the district. The process began in September with your approval of the budget calendar. This established a structured timeline to guide the entire process. In early October, I opened the budget database in iVisions and provided training to lead
015teachers and budget managers. Throughout the month, coordinators, assistant principals, and lead teachers worked together to review programmatic needs, staffing priorities, and resource requirements. By the end of October, the process moved into a higher level of review phase. And at the same time we held discussions on school-wide budget priorities and we're looking to ensure that budgetary requests were in alignment with strategic goals. In November, the administration conducted a detailed review of submitted budgets, followed by a series of check-ins and meetings involving the superintendent, school leadership, and myself. In December, the administration held a series budget meetings again to for each department to review all of the requests that came in in detail, including staffing and other needs. We continued to evaluate personnel positions, which not only represent the largest portion of the budget, but also support
016the district priority of maintaining appropriate student-teacher ratios. And at this stage, we used budget assumptions and forecasts to ensure we were moving forward with a fiscally responsible budget while meeting the district's essential needs. The release of the governor's preliminary fiscal year 27 budget in January let us further refine assumptions and align with our Chapter 70 funding allocation. Throughout February, the super superintendent and I continued to work closely with leadership teams to make final adjustments, balancing identified needs with available resources. The fiscal year 27 budget reflects months of careful planning, collaboration, and thoughtful decision-making. It's designed to support our students, sustain essential programs, and position the district to meet both current needs and future challenges. So, there are several key factors driving this year's budget. First, we continue to see a significant increase in fixed costs,
017including an 8.1% rise in health insurance and a 10% increase in commercial insurance. These required expenditures ensure coverage and safeguard both our staff and the district. In addition, contractual salary increases remain a major component of our budget. The cost of living adjustment for fiscal year 27 was negotiated at 3.5% and that equates to a salary expense increase of just over 1.5 million. The district is also prioritizing additional staffing, which I'll go over in detail on the next slide, as well as continued investments in technology infrastructure, and increased funding for student support services. So, the budget includes targeted staffing investments to support student needs. This includes the addition of eight full-time teaching positions, two full-time support staff positions, and two and a half custodial positions. These additions are aimed at improving student to teacher ratios, strengthening
018support services, and maintaining our facilities. The total projected budget impact of these new positions is just over 1.1 million. As part of the fiscal year '27 budget development process, administration carefully reviewed all requests for additional staffing. While the positions listed here reflect important needs within the district, we were unable to include all the requests due to financial constraints. However, the administration is confident that the current staffing plan will allow us to continue supporting student learning and district operations effectively. One of the key factors informing both our staffing and budget decisions is enrollment. Next year, we will increase enrollment by 56 students. In the past 5 years from fiscal year '23 to fiscal year '27, GLTS has increased enrollment by a total of 251 students. So, you may recognize this slide from last year and that's
019because our budget priorities remain consistent and focused on defined strategic goals. This includes MTSS, staffing, technology, and student support, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. In fiscal year '27, the objective is to build on last year's priorities while aligning resources to student needs. This current school year, much of the work is centered on putting systems in place, particularly around MTSS. In fiscal year '27, the district will take the next step by embedding MTSS more consistently into classroom practice, and expanding supports for students who need additional help, especially in reading and math. There's also stronger emphasis on using data to identify gaps and respond more directly. The fiscal year '27 staffing additions are an important part of this work. In addition to core academic teachers in math, English, science, and social studies, um supports these supports um
020will improve our access to tier one instruction and help adjust student to teacher ratios. The new math position also aligns with the priority of increasing instructional time in math. New teaching positions in early childhood, aviation, and environmental science reflect the district's continued growth in enrollment and programming. These additions ensure that expanding CTE programs are adequately staffed to maintain program quality, safety, and alignment with industry standards. The addition of a bright counselor strengthens the district's student support services and aligns with the MTSS framework by providing more intensive social emotional support for students who need it. Additional support and maintenance staffing, including school security and custodial positions, contribute to safe, stable, and well-maintained learning environments, which are essential to supporting both student well-being and overall school operations. In technology and student support, the district is building on
021fiscal year '26 investments by continuing to upgrade infrastructure and expand services that address students' social and emotional needs. The district also continues its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through ongoing professional development and continued focus on fostering inclusive school environments. Overall, the fiscal year '27 budget reflects a continuation of fiscal year '26 priorities with a more focused effort to align resources, staffing, and supports to identified student needs. So, this slide outlines the financial impact for each sending city and town and is also referenced on page 30 of the budget book. It highlights enrollment changes and outlines the fiscal year '27 required assessment, which includes expenditures that count towards net school spending and are aligned with the Commonwealth's minimum spending requirements. It also provides a detailed breakdown of non-foundation expenditures, including transportation, OPEB, capital improvements, and
022long-term debt. Approximately 72% of the GLTS operating budget is funded through Chapter 70 aid. Chapter 70 is the state's primary education funding program and is administered by DESE. It's designed to ensure that all school districts have adequate resources to meet the state's minimum spending requirements, known as the foundation budget. The fiscal year '27 required net school spending amount for GLTS is 52 million 412,319 dollars. This pie chart is a visual representation depicting the percentage breakdown of our revenue sources. In total, the state funds about 75% of our budget through Chapter 70 and transportation reimbursements. Our member districts are responsible for funding about 22% of the operating budget, and this year we're funding about 3% of our total operating budget with excess and deficiency funds. The total fiscal year '27 revenues are estimated at 59 million
023375,465 dollars, and this chart is also on page 27 of the budget book. Um this chart separates foundation and non-foundation revenues to provide a clear understanding of how our revenue is allocated. It also details the 4,339,559 dollar increase from fiscal year '26. This chart is a budget by function pie chart and it's a roll-up of expenditures into the DESE chart of account functions. This helps illustrate the major categories where GLTS both budgets and expenses revenues. The actual expenditures in each category are reported to the state at the end of the fiscal year on our end of the year report. The 1000 series is administration. This category covers district-wide governance and business operations. You'll find expenditures for superintendent, human resources, as well as district-wide administrative technology in this bucket. The 2000 series includes activities involving teaching,
024curriculum development, and school level leadership. As you can see from the pie chart, this is the largest expense category for the district and is about 51% um of our revenues is used for these expenses. The 3000 series is for pupil services. These are non-instructional um services provided to students to support their attendance and well-being. So, here you would find expenses for parent liaisons and medical and health services. The 4000 series is operations and maintenance. Here we have custodial services, maintenance of the building, grounds, and equipment, and it also includes heating and utilities. 5000 series is benefits and fixed charges. The biggest expenditure in this category is employee insurance and general and liability insurance expenses. Our 7000 series is capital improvement. 8000 is any debt service, long-term debt, and payment of interest. And lastly, the 9000
025series is programs with other school districts, and for GLTS, that would be payments to collaboratives for special education and school choice tuition. So, the final major source of revenue for GLTS is grants. Each year, the school receives entitlement grant funding, which is allocated based on a formula or eligibility criteria, rather than a competitive process. This year, GLTS received just over 2 million dollars in entitlement grants. These funds must supplement, not supplant, local and state funding, meaning they enhance existing programs, rather than replace required district spending. GLTS also applies for various competitive grants. Um so far this year, we've been awarded over 2.7 million dollars to fund endeavors such as early college planning, reading supports, and CTE partnerships. Does anybody have any questions? That was a mouthful. I'll see your face. I'm trying I'll try to
026lump all my questions in once I don't take too long. Um my first question is around the title one grants. So Um has has there any has there been any changes to any of the grants that we get from the federal government like title one Perkins? What do you mean changes? >> Like has it been reduced or we getting more? We're getting more. More money. Okay. Do you know how much more we're getting for title one? I don't know off the top of my head but I can get you that information. >> Okay. Yeah, that would that would be helpful and then Um I got clarification on most of the budget from the superintendent's office so I don't have as much questions. Um But this one's more related to school security. So I noticed that
027we have six school security positions and we're asking for two more. Um so I'm curious to know what the justification is to have eight security now? To the school? Yeah, it was requested. >> there's there's rotating shifts between those positions but just to understand you know, eight security officers in a school under 2,000 2,000 kids. So Uh first rationale was requested by safe office and the rationale for number one Uh we're increasing our enrollment. We're almost at 2,000 students and then the uh the other rationale was we're opening another cafeteria which will cut require to have uh some uh staff in that cafeteria during the lunch period which is uh six uh five different uh periods out of the seven that we have uh staffed down there or five lunch periods which is probably about
028a little more than half the day. Uh so that's the uh reason that we've uh went with two more paraprofessionals uh in that area. Thank you. And then my other question is more related to um the request that we could not fulfill in this grant which included uh special education instructors if you can go back. Um special education instructors and math instructor. Um so I did I did go back to the original budget for those departments and I noticed that um that there were cuts to certain certain areas of those budgets uh from English math um but more specifically uh special education. And then I saw sort of fluctuations and increase in instruction um but not it it wasn't clear whether it was positions or if it was like material um softwares like what is
029it that um is being cut from that department and what's being added? If that makes sense um just given that we weren't able to fulfill the two requests from that department. Yeah, so uh in special ed wasn't just a matter of not filling it but the special ed we've uh had reduced numbers the last few years in special ed. We don't know what this new uh enrollment will bring bring us. We can always go back and bring back that uh additional special ed possibly uh we'd take another look at the budget and if we had to make cuts somewhere else in order that was education always comes first we would add that person but right now uh it was determined that because the numbers went down uh and there are less uh students in the
030inclusion classes so that we could go with one less special ed instructor. Mhm. Um Yeah, I mean that made sense. I think to me it's a little bit premature to make a decision like that um without knowing what the next enrollment is going to look like >> Yeah. in terms of what the special education department is going to need at that point. Yep. Um and then we get there and we notice that there's an increase there's actually going to be an increase in students and we don't have the capacity and then you have to come back to the committee and ask for us to add another position. >> So the trend has been year after year has been coming down with so um that's one of the reasons and uh we can also some of
031the inclusion classes the numbers are low so we can add students to those in inclusion classes so we're allowed to have 10 uh inclusion students in a class uh special ed students in a class and those numbers have been below that so um if we were to get any a small increase this year then we feel like uh we could cover that without having it replace. I think it's someone that might be retiring or I don't think we're cutting anybody. Somebody's retiring in the department I believe so we're not filling it. Um but we haven't we haven't cut a position in terms of a staff member. Okay. And then second to last question. My this one's more related to capital improvement funding. Yeah. So something that I've noticed at least during my time on the
032committee is there have been several requests of capital improvement money from the budget. Yeah. Um to the committee and and there's also a subcommittee of capital improvement um that has had those discussions and so there is a $2 million increase increase in that line item and so I'm assuming it's related to um the recent projects that we've approved but also sort of to limit the need to have to come back to the committee constantly asking us for for money to do capital improvement. Yeah. In non in non foundation we would typically every year request a million dollars. So that 3 million isn't a reflection of requesting more dollars I believe I think it's a how much we need to spend on capital improvement where we have money in capital improvement already I believe so maybe
033Alyssa can correct me if I'm uh wrong about that. So a million is assessed to the cities and towns but 2 million is coming from excess and deficiency. Yeah. >> Okay. Yep. So this would essentially just be budgeting it in one line item instead of separate Right. >> line items through. Okay. Yep. And then um this the last question is more related to the bond that we approved to go out to the different communities um the $4 million bond Yes. >> that we requested. Um I'm assuming that starts impacting us in this fiscal year No, not this fiscal >> Not this fiscal year. I don't even think it's going to impact at the next fiscal year. So the only bond that we have is the one from 2017? Yeah, which is almost paid off. 2.3
034million? Uh I think it's less than that the bond that we are still on that bond. I'm not positive. Alyssa probably has the exact number on that bond. Oh. Alyssa more related to the bond from 2017? Is that >> how many years left do we have I think we have It's like two or three more years on that. >> Yeah. I don't have that on. It's one or two more years when I'm not exactly I have I can get that for you also. >> Okay. Yeah, you can get that. Yeah, thank you. Yep. Um and then the question I'm assuming someone will ask is if there's any layoffs laid out in the budget. Any layoffs in the budget? >> layoffs planned from this budget? Uh there could be one but that's not finalized yet. Whether
035we need the position or not. Uh which position is that? Uh what I'm rather not say in open session yet since that person hasn't been notified. >> Okay. All right, thank you. Any further questions from Ms. Martel on the budget? Ms. Martel I'd just like to say thank you to you and your office staff for doing all this hard work for us. Very well laid out. Thank you very much. Can I get a motion to accept the budget that Ms. Martel put forward? Uh motion with another question. We'll wait for the discussion. >> Um okay. Can I get a second? Second. Discussion. Um so part of when I was getting clarification on the budget something that um stood out to me was the amount of um money that we're getting that's not from the cities
036and towns or or from the grants but more from foundations and um external resources that we've been able to leverage Yes. compared to to other districts that have applied for funding and so I wanted to see if you can give a little bit of context as to um what we're looking for in terms of like grants from foundations Yeah. the upcoming budget Yeah. in raising dollars for this the different projects that Yeah. Uh Well, one of the uh we're working with Fidelity right now. We've met with them three or four times. Uh they [clears throat] uh we're looking for between one and 1.5 million dollars. Um The final application needs to be in on Friday which we're on target to get. We feel very uh good about that. Um we've been working closely with the
037team from Fidelity that gives the grant and presents it to the uh selection committee. And they feel really good about it also, they wouldn't have come back to us three times now. Um they've also worked with us to ensure that the the grant's written in the way that is written strong and and help us get the grant, but they are looking to give us money to support. In this particular case, we it's going to go towards offsetting some of the cost of the health um um building that we want to put up. Which the $4 million bond's going for that building, plus we're looking we've requested another million uh plus between a million and 1.5 is what they said they could give us. Uh so that looks very promising. Uh and then [clears throat] we're
038also right now in the process of writing a skills capital grant, which is can be up to $500,000. So we're writing $500,000 on that particular grant, and that's to buy all health So when the new building's done, we need to buy equipment for the building for the particularly the new pathways we're we're putting together for the new for our health programs. Uh so we're writing the grant to fund that. Uh and we actually and that's due I think in 3 weeks. Uh so we'll get that done. We just got awarded, which I think is in my one of my reports, $750,000 from the Clean Energy Center uh to do some projects here on the one of them is to continue our work with the Clean Energy barn that we're building to finish up that barn
039and to buy some more equipment for that barn, as well as to do some training. >> That's if that's in your report, I'll let you do that in your report. >> Okay. >> Clean Energy Center. >> [laughter] >> You got excited cuz I asked something. Yes. Um I can give you a lot >> [laughter] >> We have a lot of grant work going on right now. Okay. And then in terms of the grants cuz so a few months ago we had the general advisory meeting. Yes. >> Um and there were a lot of requests for many different things. Some that are more doable in the short term, some of them that are more longer term projects. >> Yeah. Um but for this budget, do we have a sense and I know part of what we
040committed to is getting updates in terms of those requests as to how they're being fulfilled. For this budget, um how are we looking in terms of fulfilling the ones that were presented to us earlier this year? Yeah. So um some of the programs have some of that equipment in their budget already that was requested. Uh and then there's a lot of money a lot of requests that are not in the budget. Um so we're looking at ways in which we can try to fund those requests. So a few of the ways we're looking at is we're reviewing this year's budget to see if there's any dollars that are going to be left at the end of the year that we could then fund some of those requests. So we're in that process right now. Meeting
041I've met this week with three of the CTE coordinators to take a look at their budgets. We're going to look Today we looked at the IT budget. So we're looking at all the budgets to see um to see if there's going to be funds left, which we feel like there will be some money left in order to fund some of that. We're also looking at our our capital improvement budget uh which is right now balanced I think was somewhere around $900,000. And we have a request for another million in this budget. Uh which that's money that we could possibly use for some of those requests. We'll we'll leverage that based on what we have going on for projects now that have to be completed versus what will be left from that. And um and then
042we're also looking at um other other grant opportunities that we can put in for to help fund some of the project. The biggest I think the biggest project other than our buildings is a machine shop's looking for about a $1.1 million to uh replace uh some older equipment with new equipment uh and some new equipment that's brings them up to speed with technology. So that's our biggest request, so we're looking at how we're going to fund that, but we are very much interested in trying to to make that happen. So it may take 2 years, we may be able to do half of it this year and half the next year. All right, thank you. I'm not going to keep letting you talk cuz then you're going to go all day talking about all the
043good things you want to do. Thank you. >> agenda, so Thank you. But thank you. Thank you so for that. >> We have a motion, we have a second. Any further discussion on the budget? Cheryl, please. >> Ms. Thurston? Yes. Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Medina? Yes. Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Talbot? Yes. Ms. Ferris? Yes. Mr. Hayden? Yes. Donations, I'm sorry. >> want to give them one. See Mr. See Vice Chair >> No, I just want to say I just want to say we're going to give you >> I just want to give you we're going to give you a report an update on the Yeah. all those requests. We've a formal update with a list of all the requests and where we plan to fund those requests from next meeting. >> that you'll do that.
044Yeah. >> Yeah. Next meeting I want you to know that we're going to have that for you next meeting. Thank you. I don't see any donations. I don't see any articles. Public participation, I don't see any. That brings us to Anne Marie. Thank you for your patience. Early childhood education. We're getting a a report on it. I'm going to actually introduce her. Good. >> If that's okay. Ms. Lindsey, you can proceed. >> Before before you do that, Lindsey, just tell me before she does that. I just want to say something. The superintendent isn't done again. No, this is to in reference to Anne Marie coming up. I wanted to give them a a understanding of what's happening a little bit and I know that Lindsey will do that, but I just want to tell you
045that this is something we have to vote on, but we don't plan on voting on it tonight because we need you to understand it and you'll get some documentation. We'll vote on it the next school committee meeting. So it will require a vote because there's going to be some we changes to the program that you need to approve and be okay with. So we just present Anne Marie's going to present it to you tonight and then the next meeting we'll vote. Please. I don't want to add on more things and just more things to like the next meeting. I mean if we're already I mean I'm just saying in terms of procedure. I mean if we're getting the presentation tonight um and getting the info and if there's concerns then we can vote on it
046at the next meeting. Um if not I mean I'm one person >> vote on it tonight if you're comfortable. Yes. >> I'll leave it to the committee, but it might be if we're getting the presentation now then Yes. it would only make sense. Yeah. If you're comfortable voting tonight feel like you have enough information, you have your questions answered and someone wants to motion to vote it tonight, that's fine, too. But typically you need you typically want some time to review it, but either way is fine. Okay. Thank you. >> Lindsey, jump in, please. >> [laughter] >> Good evening. It's my pleasure to introduce Anne Marie Gratton, who serves as both the director of our daycare and the lead teacher for our early education and care program. In her first year as director, Anne Marie
047has effectively led the daycare and established it as a reliable option for our families. As a result of her leadership, our infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms are now fully enrolled. What makes this even more impressive is that she has achieved this while continuing to support and mentor our high school students each day. Her ability to balance these responsibilities with professionalism, care, and commitment is truly commendable. We are incredibly proud of the work she has done and the impact she continues to make on our students, families, and school community. Please welcome Anne Marie. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for having me. Um as Lindsey said, my name's Anne Marie Gratton. I am the lead instructor for early education and care and I'm also the director. And I'm here today to talk to you a little bit
048about our program, some of the challenges that we're facing, and then um offer you some insight into some options that we're hoping you'll consider. Um so with that said, these are my first cohort of beautiful students. They're grade 11 right now. Um our program is growing, so we're in our third year. And just to set the stage for you a little bit, in September of this year, our daycare was up for re-licensure with the Department of Early Education and Care, which is separate from DESE. Our Chapter 74 program is a DESE program, and then our daycare is housed under a separate set of standards and um oversight, if you will. Um upon our licensing visit in September, we were made aware that in order for our Early Education and Care Chapter 74 students to enter
049the daycare, every single one of them needed to be fingerprinted, which has presented an immense challenge for us. So I'm here to kind of go through what some of our requirements are and then some of the challenges that we are facing and then hopefully um provide some options for you guys to consider for us. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank Um right now this is the pathway. So for our chapter 74 students um to graduate and earn their infant, toddler, and preschool certification, they need to complete 150 practicum hours in a licensed daycare setting with teachers. So um preschool, infant, toddler. So they're working under the um direction of those teachers along with a chapter 74 instructor in the classroom as well. So our students typically go into these classrooms, they observe, they take
050notes, they might plan a little lesson or activity. Um again, they're completely supervised by the chapter 74 instructors and also the early education and care um teachers. Um the practicum must be approved, which ours is. Um and then the programs that our kids go into are considered an extension of the high school program. It is their shop. So for, you know, aviation, they have the hangar and the airplane. For us, we have the on-site daycare for our kids to go into. Um in front of you, I gave each of you a sheet of paper. We're looking at the highlighted um section. So there are three options for programs that um have early education and care for their students. Option number one is an off-site program. We don't need that. That would be like one of
051your tech, we did not have a daycare on site, they would send their kids to a little sprouts or or some other place to get their practicum hours. Option two is what we currently have right now. Um so our program is overseen by the Department of Early Education and Care. And like I said, they came in in September and told us in order for our kids to come into the shop, uh they needed to be fingerprinted. So this is kind of where our challenge is. Option three, what I have highlighted, is another pathway for us that makes the most sense for our kids and our students for equity purposes. Um it is your oversight. Instead of having the Department of Early Education and Care oversee the daycare, it would be the school committee overseeing it
052with me as director, Lindsay also as director. Um but we would take out the early education and care piece, that the EEC piece and the fingerprinting piece for our students, which I'll get more into. If I'm going too fast, just please Um why does school committee oversight matter? So we're asking you to consider to step in and replace EEC with your oversight. Um this matters for our students because of equity purposes. So um I think it's the next slide. I'll go back if I need to. Right now um only 21% of our students are able to be in the daycare that were fingerprinted, which means almost 80% of our students are not able to access their shop at all. Um some of the barriers that we've seen from our students between cost, transportation because their
053parents need to be with them because they're minors to get their fingerprints done, and then there's the piece where some families' citizen status might prevent them from bringing their children to get their fingerprints done. Um so what we're finding is 80% of our kids have nowhere to go. They have no shop to attend. They're They're sitting in classrooms all day um because of this barrier that we're that we're facing. Um So what we're asking again is if you guys would step in and oversee Nothing is really going to change and I'll go over that. Um but it would align our chapter 74 program, which we approved to to bring to the school and allow kids to experience these things. Now we're finding that they they can't experience and are not getting the practicum hours, they're
054not getting the hands-on experience. Um None of that. So we're just We're asking for your oversight. Um Again, this is our current program model. So here are two of my sophomores. I only have six sophomores out of 18 that are in that daycare and only three juniors out of the total number of students that we have, out of 32 um at this moment. And then we're getting ninth graders any week now. So our program is growing and we don't have anywhere to send these kids and give them the experience we we told them we would when we brought this program on. Um right now, again, we have infants, toddlers, and preschool. Um right now our students are only typically 10th grade is working in the preschool. Our 11th graders, who have a little bit more
055training and a little bit more hands-on, are in the toddler room. I don't have anyone working in the infant room yet. Um that would require a little bit more training. Um because our program is licensed under EEC, like I said, our students are classified as temporary staff, even though we're not paying them to work. Um they're they're considered staff and because they're in that room with those teachers um and being considered staff, they have to go under a CORI story and a fingerprint check. And it's separate from the ones that we do on the high school side. Those are fingerprints for DESE, they do not translate over to EEC. They would have to get a whole separate set of background checks and fingerprints, which is a little bit um it's it's causing a a slight
056issue. Uh the other piece that we're running into, when one of my EEC staff members calls out sick, I don't have coverage. I've had to shut an infant room down because I don't have an EEC licensed teacher. So if we were all to have you guys oversee the program, then we could have people who have been CORI storied and fingerprinted on the high school side that might be interested in working in the daycare be trained and step in as substitute teachers versus us having to shut whole classrooms down. So there's that that piece is a little bit of a struggle as well. Um the impact on the fingerprints, like I said, our students are unable to enter the shop. Like I said, nearly 80% of our students are sitting in classrooms all day. Um they
057are not getting any sort of clinical hours, they're not experiencing working with kids, and that's that's what we signed up, you know, this program for them to do, and they they cannot do it. I think I already showed that. Um like I said, it's inequitable. We have this beautiful chapter 74 programs. There's a lot of schools that have it. They don't seem to be running into the same problems that we are, and I think the reason that we are is because we have the infant toddler piece. Um and so that required EEC, but this new pathway that just came out in August of 2025, I've already spoken with the licenser about this. I reached out to her and I asked if we had the um school committee do the oversight for us, could we still
058keep the infant toddlers? And she said, "Yes, absolutely. You guys would just oversee it again with two directors here. Um nothing would really change other than the fact that we were we were just removing that licensing fingerprinting piece for our students." Um The only other piece to that, too, is an option three, if you choose to do this, we cannot accept daycare vouchers um from parents that might be paying or having um you know, vouchers to to enroll their students. But at this time, there is zero parents using that um voucher option, so that's not impacting anyone that's in the daycare now, nor is it impacting any of the new enrolled students that I have coming in for next year. Like I said, all daycare rooms are full um and we don't have anyone on
059vouchers. So that would be the only other caveat to stepping in into option three. Um like I said, I had spoken to the licenser, so we are able to keep all three rooms. We don't have to shut any down as long as you guys approve to oversee. Um again, nothing is going to change. I will make sure that the ratio numbers are still the same, that the safety precautions are still the same, the operations run the same, doing monthly fire drills, making sure that anyone who is in the daycare has some sort of um Trying to think of what else. So I really it's really just that. All the parameters will stay the same. Nothing will change other than just removing the barrier of the fingerprinting um piece. So I don't know if you have
060any questions. So this program is April. And so this program has really not progressed Oh boy. So So this program has really not progressed. Are you telling me that the students have really not had that experience the entire year? Yes, since September when our licenser came to relicense the >> out in a rash here. Yeah. So when the licenser came in September and did her whole as we were up for relicensure, um she went through everything, all of our safety protocols, our chapter 74, and she said in order for our students to be working in the daycare, they had to have fingerprints. And then we pushed that out to the families. There were many of whom did not feel comfortable having their children fingerprinted in order to participate. So yes, it is 80% of our
061students have not had any sort of experience. So why wasn't this brought earlier so that the kids could have Oh, yeah. Okay. Oh. She has a good point. Um what we did do, Aaron and I, my co-teacher, we met with administration and we brought this forward and we were able to set up a clinical experience for our 10th graders to go to the Frost school. So, they they didn't get the early education and care piece with infants, toddlers, and preschool, but the the Frost school willingly opened their doors to our students and so we were able to bus them over there and get a sort of an elementary experience, which has been wonderful. Um and then Andover Public Schools also just took in 10 of our kids. So, we have those two options. It's just
062we have a beautiful on-site daycare and some kids want to work with younger kids and they're not able to do that. So, we we did kind of So, how much of the year has been salvaged with this this group of kids? How many are you talking? 30. There are 32. So, how much of the year has been salvaged? The first couple of months. We were able to get them out on clinical, I think in November. So, yeah. September, October, and part of November, um we were kind of piecing things together for them to give them some sort of experience. And Okay. I'm okay for now. So, as far as the fingerprinting um what can we do to make that happen? Is there Is there anyone we need to address that can kids can maybe they
063can get the fingerprint here or is that Is that something we have to address the governor, the who state police head >> [laughter] >> I mean, you tell me who do we need to get in contact with to make it happen because maybe that's what we need to do. Well, I Lindsay and I have we've called I've tried to get the fingerprint people to come here, but they need a minimum of 50 people in order to get their fingerprints done and we only had 32. So, it's >> there's another 22 kids who doesn't need to just put them in there so they can come. I mean I mean, let's make it happen, right? Like at the end of the day I mean you know, we just need to find find a way and if they
064need 50 people, then we have to work on the other 22. The other piece of that is because the kids are minors, their parents have to be with them. So, there is a waiver that they need to sign in front of whoever is doing the fingerprints, so the parent physically has to be with their student in order to get their fingerprints completed. Do they need a legal guardian or A parent or legal guardian. Yep. And that's that's where we've So, if if that doesn't happen because parents can leave work, what other ways can we do it? We have them uh we we need to get what a What do they call it? Like some kind of Wait Yeah, well, you know, a parent can sign where some authorizing uh uh school member who you know,
065who will get a sign for something like this so they can all have that one adult you know, if that's something that we can do. Maybe the parent will sign and say, "Okay, we'll give authorization for fingerprinting for so-and-so person from the school so they maybe they're they're parent legal for that particular um uh situation, I guess. I mean, what else? I'm just looking for options cuz I you think we just kind of got stuck on the they can't get fingerprinting and just I I see what you're saying. So, I think that's why we're I'm asking if if we do option three and you do the oversight, we can cut the fingerprint piece out so that the students that are in early education and care can now go into the daycare because you guys are
066overseeing it versus EEC. Does that make sense? I don't know if that answers your question, but I'm sorry. Um Go ahead. Excuse me, let's stay in order. Vice chair, please. Um so, the reason why I brought up that uh in the beginning if we were getting this presentation, we'll just either decide if the committee would like um so, I used to work at an early childhood center um a while ago and my aunt is a private provider at home and so she talks all the time about the EEC regulations and they're always checking the the property and the bathroom and the stuff you use and all of that. So, I get that piece, too. Um and all of the capacity that that takes from the staff. Um but also the situation with parents not feeling
067comfortable with their kids getting fingerprinted, especially in the climate that we're in right now. Um so, one thing that I wanted to ask, which is more related to making sure that we're still sort of holding the legal sort of standard of making sure that our kids are not criminal offenders. I mean, not that we have kids that are, but um making sure that we are making those checks, um making sure that they're not in any kind of registry um without having again, without having to do the fingerprinting, which can be um kind of difficult and based on the graphic um it would be hard to have kids go out to even a co-op if you can't get these fingerprints done. Um and part of why this program was established is to give these kids that
068opportunity. So, um all of what you're sha- you're sharing makes sense, but I I'm curious to know about the sort of legal side of it of um making sure that kids are able to uh be in the program. We're checking criminal records if there are any. So, I wonder maybe from the school end if we could do a CORI story on them because that doesn't require a fingerprint. That's just a background check. Um that might be one way to do that. >> Cuz like for other people, it could raise like um big questions like, "Oh, we're pulling back on fingerprinting, then there's no sort of legal standard." You know, if there's something that uh we can do uh internally as a district to um check make sure the kids are good um and that they're
069because they're working with babies and and working with uh young kids. Um The other piece of that, too, this this fingerprinting stuff, I understand is in place for people who are employed and working directly unsupervised. These students are never unsupervised. So, they're you know, I'm the director. I'm also a Chapter 74 instructor and I'm in these rooms. I also have a co-teacher and we're hiring a third one. So, there is some able-bodied and plus the the preschool teachers, the infant they're all background checked, so they're they're not ever alone with the kids. Um but maybe a CORI story and then the additional all of us adult staff watching over them as well. Um like it like as they go in right now they're just there planning and and facilitating little um you know, activities. They're
070not in the bathroom with kids or providing CPR, first aid, band None of that, medications, any of that. They're just It's just like an extra body just working with kids in that capacity. Yeah, and I mean, I also sort of raise it um because the other shops when kids go to co-op, they do a CORI form. They do a story form. And so, this program being in-house um taking care of teachers' kids, essentially. Um it would make it would only make sense that the district does some sort of CORI story to make sure that um we're holding uh make we're holding those standards at least some sort of legal standard. Um and then my other question is more related to I believe the oversight piece, which also raised big questions in terms of the responsibility
071of the of the school committee. Um and so, my understanding is that there will be two staff managing the program or have been doing that. Um and you both or uh you Lindsay report to the superintendent or the director. And so, there is still that sort of um accountability piece with the staffing um and making sure that if if we do jump into some sort of oversight, that we're getting updates or reports and if there are challenges that we know about it so that we can address them. That's all I have. Thank you. Sorry now. I'm really not comfortable with this whole committee being oversight situation. Um so, what I understand from everything that you presented is that one of the options will be to take away the toddler part of the program because that
072way we you know, that that fingerprint situation goes away, correct? That's what I understood. The fingerprint situation will go away. Or it's not necessary. Just for the students, not for any staff member that's working with the children. Just just the high school children. Yes. And that's what you >> Just the students in the program. Yeah, that's what that's what they what that's what you said that the problem is. Right? Yes, the problem is we're under EEC right now and our high school students need to be fingerprinted in order to go into the daycare. So, if we did >> also >> that there's all the uh school that have the program, and they don't have the same issue. Yes, correct. The other technical schools do not have to do this. It's because we have the infant
073and toddler piece, I think. But, speaking with the >> why I'm mentioning that probably that's one of the options that we need to go for because I mean, I understand that us overseeing it, it will take away the this this situation that you have or the school have with that this program. But, the inconsistency of following up is one problem. And then, we are I mean, we're sitting here, we go home, and we said, "Yes, we are overseeing something." But, it's just a verbal or approval in in a situ in in a meeting here, but that's it. So, I think us overseeing takes more than saying, "Yes." And that's where I'm I'm having a big problem with this. Okay? So, I wanted to make sure that that is said. Mhm. And that we we find
074different options than just the committee will oversee. >> The only other option that I know of that other technical schools have done is they only have preschool. And so, when you remove the infant toddler piece, now you don't need the whole EEC oversight fingerprinting thing. That's typically what other technical schools do is is the preschool. They have a a three, four, uh no, a two, three, and a four, five. So, 2.9 to five. I mean, what I had to say was uh before is probably minimized now, but >> [clears throat and cough] >> the fingerprinting thing is no joke for high school kid. I get that they need their parents' permission, and they need to be there. This Identogo is no joke. Um and I didn't even know they came on site for 50. I
075thought it was like strictly you had to go there. So, and to me, just because they're fingerprinted, it doesn't make them okay anyway. I would want to know that make sure that they're not on any drugs or anything like that. That's more important to me than being fingerprinted, but uh this is not this isn't this is not my rule. So, um I mean, I I don't know what oversight this committee could have. But, sometimes we don't get answers. Like, the fact that we didn't know this for a long time is an issue with me. So, how long do we have to wait before something else comes or unf- there's an unfortunate situation that we don't learn about until it's too late. I mean, that's my problem with this committee having oversight because I don't feel
076that the communication is where it needs to be for us to feel for me to feel comfortable. Otherwise, I I'd want to save the program. I'd want it to I'd want it to flourish. I I think with a couple of directors that are fully certified, and just like any particular vocational shop, they're overseeing the students. Other students don't have to be fingerprinted. But, the whole you have to have your presence there. No drugs, no this, no that. Like, be on task. That's most important to me. So, the again, I don't hear about things until it's too late. And this is a perfect example. So, I don't know. >> [clears throat] >> Number one, when you say over school committee oversight, school committee and myself are the governing body. When you say oversight, I will be
077overseeing the program as I do every program in the school. You oversee every program in the school, not just this. It's no different than any other program in the school. You oversee all programs. And I, as the governing part of the governing body, oversees your interest in making sure that we meet all the state laws, regulations, funding, all the things. This program's the same exact thing. What this program does by going to option three, students do not have to get fingerprinted. Doesn't make >> [snorts] >> They only we will query and sorry all the students with our our own uh Department of HR. That's not a difficult thing to do, and we'll do that. Then, the students can operate and work with all the younger kids, including the the infants and the toddlers. So, the
078reason we're so different is because I told Ann Marie that I did not want to drop the toddlers or the infants part of the program cuz I thought it was important to the program. And also, we would operate in two different ways. If we had to do that, we would run an EEC program for the toddlers and the uh infants because that's a service that we basically started this all because we wanted to support the teachers' needs in terms of daycare. And so, we would have went with two separate programs. This new law, which came into effect in September, allows us under the oversight of myself, basically, to make sure that we follow all the regulations, which I have to do anyways. You're not going to be operating the day-to-day situation when happens. I'm the
079person that you will hold accountable to make sure that it happens in terms of uh which is really by far is the best way for us to go. Gives our students the opportunity more opportunities than any other vocational school. To me, it'll be the best program in the state of Massachusetts cuz no other program is willing to offer that. So, to me, that makes us a step above. And our kids are getting the best possible quality daycare education of anybody plus early child education when they can go on and on the college and get an associate or bachelor's degree in early childhood education. So, they get the best of all worlds, right? So, that to me is really important. The other thing in terms of um you know, "Why are you just getting this now?"
080We have been working through this all school year. I've been involved in meeting with them. It's not we have done what the law allows us to do. So, the fact So, in order to fix the problem, Ann Marie and her team were able to secure sites that our kids could get the education they were missing here. They weren't losing education other than it took us a couple of months to figure out the options we had. So, it's not like I'm not bringing a problem to you in the sense it wasn't a problem. Now, we're saying that we don't want to continue to work and operate this way cuz we want the kids to be able to get educated in our own school and not have to send them to outside services. So, this option three,
081if the committee's willing to go along with this, will allow us to have the kids stay here for our kids. So, I think that there wasn't any um intention of saying, "Well, let's not let the committee know about what's going on." Because the whole fingerprinting thing, we I came up with the and spoke with them on several different ways that we could try to handle this. None of it was meeting the law, and and it was difficult for Probably the most important thing, it was very difficult for parents. And there was a big fear of bringing students off site to have fingerprinting as as you had said, uh Julio, about the environment in the world today was a real concern. It was a concern for us, and so, that's why that didn't happen. Uh so,
082but all I'm saying is I don't believe that the kids didn't get good instruction and good learning this year because of it. They did not, but they were doing a little more um work in terms of the first 2 months what we call related theory. Yeah, we are saying >> you are in related theory, the better you're going to be prepared to go out in the workforce. I always say related theory in a lot of ways is more important than actual hands-on experience cuz that's where leaders learn the theory and problem solve and do all that. So, I don't feel like the students lost, you know, good educational experience. They didn't get as much hands-on that we would have liked to see, but it wasn't like they were sitting around doing nothing every day. They
083were still learning every day. Um I have few comments and then uh question uh related to the uh proposal. So, if we were to do what has been suggested, cutting the infant and toddler rooms, that means layoffs. Cuz we have people that work in those classrooms. >> That's right. Um and we're talking about leaving the program in a position where they're just sitting in a classroom. Um and not getting the formal um um practice uh practicum that they need uh in the program uh for early childhood. And so, I mean, those two are huge red flags for me um because this is a new program. Um and you know, the other uh comment is more related to the oversight and the communication. So, that that has been a huge issue for at least the administration
084and and the school committee. Um not necessarily the the program. Um but when we hear oversight, it sort of rings a bell like, "Oh, we don't need another thing to oversee." Um and so, the way I see it is as if we are committing to um to overseeing this program that we would set a a a governing designee, which would be the superintendent. So, the superintendent would have to be responsible in coming to us um and making sure that we are up to date with everything that's going on um that needs our attention um right away. If I would have known this in September, um I I would have been in I would be in favor of it. I mean, I am in favor of it now, um but it would have be would have
085been better for us to have explored this uh sooner um because it would have made everyone's lives easier um in that case. Um so, my question to you is do we know of any other uh vocational school districts that have this model already, or would we be the first? For infant and toddler? No, if we were to go with your proposal for option three. Oh, that I don't know. I know it it became an option probably because there's a lot of barriers for people in our situation. Um that I can't answer cuz I I don't know that Okay. information. And then, the second question would be more related to to to you, superintendent. So, um again, I'm I'm willing to go into this direction of overseeing the program, but it comes with responsibility for you
086to Obviously, you oversee all the programs and you report back to us on it. Um but I need to make sure that you are willing and committed to if we go forward with this, that you will come back to this committee and keep us up to date and communicate with us about this program, given that this is this is a unique request to the committee asking us to oversee a specific program, um even though generally speaking, we all oversee the operations of the school or the governance of the school. Um and so, yeah, that's more of a question to you cuz we know we we understand collectively that um there have been um different issues with communication on different issues. Um and so, if we were to jump onto this, I I just want to
087make sure that that's clear on on all of this. Well, the first thing I want to say is other schools don't need option three. We only need option three because we have infants and toddlers. Other schools don't have infants and toddlers, so they fall under other vocational schools. So, they fall under chapter 74 regulations only because they don't have infants and toddlers. We only need this option because we have infants and toddlers. And so, that's why uh the request. And um I would say I would have no problems, you know, taking responsibility for this cuz you know why? We have an amazing staff. Ann Marie is a terrific director. She's really good with the staff, really good with the kids. She knows the laws inside out. She oversees her staff. She does amazing work for
088us. And the work that she's did in uh doing alternative opportunities for our kids has been outstanding. So, I have no problem. Like I feel it's a not a lot of stress on my life because I have people who are doing the job, and they also have supervisors that are ex- like she has a great supervisor that's really uh does a good job with that department as well. And uh Lindsay oversees that department who's got a health background besides, so she's a great support as well. So, it's a really the program has been outstanding from the get-go, and the kids love being in it. They do a great job teaching the the high school kids and the young one and the parents were very skeptical, very nervous about having the high school. But if you
089talk to any of the parents today, their kids love the high school kids. And it's, you know, it's well run. It's well dis- in terms of oversight of uh the behavior of our students as well as the kids. So, it's a great program, and we have I don't know how many parents use it, but none of them are saying, "Oh, I don't want this. I'm not let my kids come here anymore." They are thrilled to have the program. And really eliminating the uh if we eliminated the uh toddlers and the infants, we have a lot of staff that are utilizing that service. And we opened this to support the staff, and I really want to continue to support our staff to make their lives easier. One of wonderful thing, they can drop their children off
090and then feel very they feel like, "Wow, what a great safe place." And they the staff, they have good relationships with the staff. It's going really wonderful, and so it would be a shame to shut that down. In the interest of time, we've had enough discussion on this. Just one point. Just one point. You still have the floor. >> Okay. So, I'll put the motion, but I just want it to be clear in the motion that if we are approving this, that you are the designee for the oversight for the school committee, and that we are going to get that. I'll leave it at that. >> you of something. Mr. Lavoy oversees everything. We don't have to put that in a motion. If you want to fine. I think we should >> for everything, and
091we hold him accountable. >> because of the nature of the proposal. You want to make the motion? Yes. I make a motion to other discussion. >> Okay. I didn't even look on this side. You're busy over there. I Just [snorts] for my own information, how many children does this the program support? Little guys or big >> guys. Yeah. Yeah, there's We are licensed up to 32. 32? >> Yep. We have 29 right now. Okay. How many are actually in the toddler and infant? So, in our infant room, we have seven. Our toddler room, we have nine. And our preschool, we have 17. Okay. >> With the But we're going to be completely full. So, next year will be seven infants, nine toddlers, 20 preschool. All right. So, it would definitely >> With a waiting list.
092All right. And it's only open to staff. Right. Yes. >> Okay. We we could open it to the outside, but I have staff that have filled up all those plus a waiting list of staff that are waiting for maybe an opening. >> Now, when I heard about it, I thought it was a great idea. Makes the teachers feel better about knowing where the daycare is, and and if there's no school, there's no daycare. Correct. Okay. Um but if I understand it, the student goes to go on co-op, they have to be fingerprinted to go in not as the like the lowest level in daycare, like you sort of call it a step up cuz they've got So, if the students are going on co-op, yes, they will be fingerprinted by wherever is licensed by EEC
093outside of here. Um the same for public school, they'll have their fingerprints through DESE. Cuz that's some of our kids are in Andover public schools. All right. But like uh a place that was going to hire a student, they would fingerprint them. Correct. >> CORI and sorry all over again. Uh if they were if we were doing it, EEC would translate over to where they are EEC wise. If it's DESE, if it's pre-K to op in DESE, then it's a whole separate set of fingerprints. It's a whole They're They're two separate entities. That gets confusing. >> It does. So, DESE runs our program. EEC runs our daycare. It's They're two separate. If If you tell a student to go get fingerprinted, where are you telling them to go? So, they will have to go to
094Identogo to get their fingerprints done, which is typically the Haverhill site or the Lowell site. I know Methuen had a place where they >> [clears throat] >> The closest one that I know of is in Haverhill and Lowell. >> used to be one on Swan Street in Methuen, but They closed down. Yeah, it was kind of sketchy, I heard. It's like a storefront. >> [laughter] >> The Haverhill one is sketchy. Yeah. What's that? I'm all set. Thank you. >> Listen, Mercedes. So, um as far as the the funds that the the school get for the for for that program, what what much money are we looking to to lose, like if we no longer accept if we're no longer under SC or whatever that is. We get some funds from some government. What What is
095the amount we get? How much money are we talking about that would be cutting off? >> Oh, from the EEC program. So, because we're under EEC right now, and we we have a full daycare, we get $2,800 per month. Okay. Thank you. Before you make a motion, we got a couple more questions. I know you wanted to make them. No, no, no. It was just Um it was a motion by if we were to approve this program, when would it start? Like if we were to approve this proposal, when would it start? >> Next year. Next year? You got two more questions. First. >> Okay. Mr. Oiler. I don't have a question. I just have a comment because again, we this is not a this is a unique program. It's not just like all other
096programs that we have. We are dealing with kids and babies. It's different. So, the oversee is still um needs to take more than just us everything else. Agreed. Okay, but I want to point that out because it it everything that everybody is saying it it sounds beautiful. Um and it sounds normal and this is a unique program that needs more regulation. And again, I now I don't agree that we should just go flat lightly approving this just because. If we have to let go people, I'd rather do that than something happen to one kid because we decided to say yes. I need to make that comment and I want to make sure that I say Mrs. Ferris. And and this has nothing to do with this thing that I think is Put your mic on,
097please, Amy. Thank you for the presentation. It has absolutely nothing to do with it. I just I'm going to make a comment. Does the superintendent immediately get defensive when I said about the communication, but I'm sitting here and I'm listening to the fact that, you know, 30 kids were hanging, quote unquote, go back in the minutes. She said we're just hanging hanging out, not doing anything. It was later that I learned that there was something happening alternatively that where they were receiving some sort of direction. So, and I am very well aware, Mr. Superintendent, that you are in charge of all this all the vocational pro- programs and everything in the school. And for me to hear that students were not productive for a period of time and we're just learning of it in April
098is a bit of a problem to me. I don't know about the rest of the committee, but it is a bit of a problem to me and you cannot deny that the communication sometimes is very muddy. And if at all, and we don't learn of stuff until it's either like fixed, glossed over, something, or it's broken, or whatever. And I was simply making that comment. I'm not adverse to this, but I am adverse to the defensiveness that I encountered. Can I just jump in? I I must have misspoke. They were not sitting back not doing anything. What I'm saying they weren't having the hands-on experience until we came collectively together to find them alternative placements so that they could get some sort of experience. So, like Mr. Levoie said, they have been learning and they've
099been learning a lot, but they were spending 6 hours a day doing related until we could get them these opportunities to get them out where they could experience some sort of interaction with younger children. So, I take responsibility for that. Um they were not hanging out doing nothing. They just weren't they didn't have the hands-on experience. I should have framed it that way. Thank you. Any further questions? Mr. No, I I have to. >> get one in first? Yeah, go ahead. Okay. Uh we have our vocational director, Sylvia, Ms. Jones. Can I put you on the spot and give us your two cents? What? Thank you. You would just like my What do you think of this? Oh, I about this motion? Um I mean, I fully support Ann Marie and Lindsey. I think that
100they've done an exceptional job navigating um you know, learning of that in September about the uh fingerprinting absolutely was a um was a challenge, but we pivoted um as Ann Marie said and um and came up with really creative solutions to engage the students. Um I think part of what Ann Marie was touching on, too, is that part throughout the year there've been um some staffing challenges that she mentioned as well. Um and this would give our students the ability to be fully engaged in the shop that we have here on site. Um so, that would give the flexibility and um and again, integrating it with into all of our programs. Um so, it would really fall under how Mr. Superintendent Levoie is uh is managing and operating all of our 21 programs. Thank you.
101Thank you. Sorry I put you on the spot. >> No, that's okay. Thank you. So, I think there's one more question. I have to cuz other questions were brought up, so it gave me more ideas. Um a question for you, Ann Marie. Um so, or maybe to both the superintendent and Marie. So, what is the given that we're approving this still within the school year, what is the plan for like from now until June in terms of you know, again, you're still navigating these difficulties and so like what is the plan through June or is this something that would be more effective like tomorrow or something? I don't know how much time it would be from from our vote in order to start that. Because if you're encountering these issues now, it would make sense,
102but if you need the department to prepare from now until the next school year, then that also makes sense. I just want to I think September would be fine. We have our students our school has opened up opportunities for our students to help in in CTE classes. We have them going on clinical experiences, so they have placements for right now. Um and we're moving forward with what we've put in place just to to get to the next, you know, place where we need to be. Thank you. Thank you. I would ask at this time if anybody is interested in making a motion on this or if you want to get more information on it. Uh give me direction. I make motion to approve. And and again, putting the language that our friend here, Mr. Levoie,
103is our designee. Do we get a second? Any further discussion? Thank you. Roll please. Mr. Talbot. Mrs. Ferris. Yes. Mr. Disler. No. Mr. Jones. Yes. Mr. Medina. Yes. Mr. Mercedes. Abstain. Mr. Hayden. Yes. Ann Marie, well done. Thank you very much for your patience and your time. All right, moving on. Cooperative Education. Audra Durkin, thank you very much for your patience. Audra, you want to introduce her? I'll go. Uh Uh it's my pleasure to introduce Ms. Audra Durkin, our Cooperative Education Coordinator. Audra first began her career here at Greater Lawrence She quickly distinguished herself as an exceptional Audra. I think you're talking about me. Audra. That's up. Can you put the mic on? I got it. Do you want me to start over? Thank you. Now everybody can hear you. Start. Okay. Um so, Audra
104quickly distinguished herself as an exceptional educator delivering rigorous, hands-on instruction, and achieving 100% co-op placement for her students. At the start of this school year, Audra transitioned into her current role as Cooperative Education Coordinator and she is quickly expanding her impact. As you will see in her presentation this evening, Audra has been instrumental in the success and growth of our Cooperative Education program. She actively engages with industry partners, uses data to identify both strengths and opportunities, and has played a central role in advancing the program to ensure that every student has access to meaningful, real-world experiences. I am very proud to introduce Ms. Audra Durkin. Thank you, Ms. Jones, for that introduction. Um good evening, everybody. Like Ms. Jones said, I am Audra Durkin, the new Cooperative Coordinator here at Greater Lawrence. Um and I'm
105here to present to you about what we have been doing since I've started this position um and a brief discussion about what we where we were at midyear of the school year. Thank you, Audra. Um co-op has been an excellent component for our students, really bridging the gap between the classroom into the industry. Put it in the mic, please. I'm sorry. In the mic. Oh, talking to the mic. Yeah, sorry. Um do you want me to repeat what I said? Okay, thank you. Um, and this year we've actually had a um, an exceptional record of high in placements. Um, co-op has been a great success for our students. Um, they've been able to have real-world skills, so practical application of technical knowledge in professional settings. Um, it's allowed them to earn additional credentials out in
106the field. So, what are they have gained inside their shop, um, and what they have gained through their certifications, they have then since taken their skill set, um, and applied it into the industry to advance their certifications. Particularly, um, in HVAC, they've been offered, um, additional certifications so they can advance with their licensing. Um, workforce alignment, um, is really is helping our students build direct pipelines to the high demand of the careers within our local economy. And professional networking, our students are gaining mentors as well as, um, building their professional contacts as well as building their resumes. Um, just to touch upon a few gains this year, we've had a 30% total growth. So, placements rose from 164 to 213 at the mid-year point. This is a significant increase in our student engagement and employer
107partnerships in our community. Um, particularly talking and referencing to medical assisting, we've gone from the school year of 2024 to 2025, um, at 24 students being placed to this year's class of seniors, um, placed at 45. This is the largest placement we've program we've had in our portfolio. Um, in addition to that, we've had a couple of other top, um, growing drivers here. So, electrical is up about six placements. Auto tech about four placements. Early childhood is up four placements and health assisting is up four. Um, in '24 and '25, we've had at the mid-year mark 122 students. This year we had 154 out on co-op. So, with that being said, we've grown about 33 in, um, our student placement and overall 27% in growth. As mentioned previously, medical grew from 24 to to 45.
108Health assisting has grown from 21. I'm sorry, we reduced a little bit to 16. HVAC has grown from 15 and four. Electrical, 15 10. Dental assisting, we've decreased by two and advanced manufacturing has increased by one. So, overall in the different industry sectors, we can compare construction trades, um, in the year '24 '25 at 57. '25 and '26 at 74, which is giving us an increase in 17. In the industry of health and human services, 35 at the '24 '25 mark and up to 43 with a increase of eight students. In the business service industry, we've had 23 students at the '24 '25 school year and now we have about 28 at the mid-year mark. And technology and engineering, um, previously at seven and this year we are at 10. So, touch upon a few
109areas of growth. HVAC has increased about 11% in change. Electrical about 5%. Environmental, we have, um, new partnerships this year, uh, with four additional placements. Plumbing is up by three. And advanced manufacturing is up by one. We are redirecting our focus for opportunities of growth for dental assisting, um, health assisting and auto tech. And as of now, dental assisting is at 24 students that are out in co-op. Um, just a few areas to highlight our success. Uh, medical assisting saw a monumental 87.5% increase in students placed. This growth reflects the high demand in the regional health care sector of in the strength of our clinical partnerships. So, with that being said, a lot of our students, we have brand new sites this year for our, uh, medical assisting students. Um, a lot of our clinical
110sites are also, um, offering them jobs because they've had the hands-on experience and training with their supervisors and they are very impressed with our students. Um, HVAC tripled its output, rising from four placements to 15 this year. And this is also driven by new local in industry commitments. We actually have a great, um, organization that we've partnered [clears throat] with that's helping students with their transportation as well. So, this is another big component that we're able to bridge that obstacle for HVAC students. Um, moving forward with our program goals and our district success, uh, a focus that I plan to obtain is actively reaching out into local business leaders and continuing our partnership. Um, this has been very successful so far for our students, um, which has now brought us up to to a total
111of 250 students who are placed. Um, I'm sorry. Okay. >> [laughter] >> Um, we're also focusing on our classroom skills and making sure that they are matching what is being done in the industry, um, and also helping our students obtain the additional, um, gap that they need in the educational component of their, um, co-op experience. Um, we are focusing on resume writing, interviewing, and workplace etiquette. So, professionalism is key. We focus on employability and soft skills and really preparing our students for what the employers, um, needs are. And just to add a little bit of, um, I recently [snorts] partnered with a new electrical company, Ares Electrical, and they were able to share, um, some positive feedback. >> [snorts] [clears throat] >> We had a good interview with our student this afternoon. I have to
112tell you that for a while I gave up hope with hiring co-op students into the company. At the interview, I asked questions that I was tired of asking due to the disappointing answers. But she hit me with the proper answers and with follow-up discussions. I actually hear a lot of positive feedback in our field as I'm going out and meeting our employers, um, both existing and new, and they are so impressed with our students and the preparation that they bring. Um, and also a lot of our previous graduates are also still employed at their co-op sites, um, and they have nothing but positive feedback to deliver. Um, so at the mid-year mark, we did grow to 193 students. Um, my goal was to break the 180 placement threshold and we did exceed that by nearly
1138%. It ensures that more students are graduating with industry recognized credentials and real-world work hours than ever before. So, as mentioned previously, we have a total of 250 students out right now and placed in the industry. 210 are senior students and 40 are juniors cuz they were eligible at the start of Q3. Thank you. Mr. Mercedes, I think you have a question. Well, I have a few questions. >> Oh, boy. Get ready. Um, [snorts] so I know you were mentioning, um, 200 something students out of how many students are your uh, you know, out of how many students these 250 students are out? So, how many more students are not? That's my first So, out of the senior class, there's 432 students and in the junior class, there's 467 students. Okay. Um, >> [snorts] >>
114and how long have you been in this in this in this particular, uh, position? Since you said since you've been in. September. September. Okay. Um, I I How do we know once the kids go, obviously you you wouldn't be able to answer me this cuz you just started September, but how do we know how many students are still working in the in the workplace that they once they get hired to? Obviously, they're going there, they keep them in co-op. The whole the whole hope is that they once they graduate, they still working for the company or they can grow in the company and we can go back and say, "Okay, you know, 80% of the student that found co-op jobs are still working and growing in the field." Um, I'm I'm in the field. Um,
115I graduated from this school and but not to flatter myself, but not every school student was in the same mindset that I have. I mean, I knew [clears throat] what I wanted. I have multiple salons, but I'm in I'm a hair stylist and and >> hiring for co-op? Well, the thing is I'm very I'm I'm very I'm very tough. I I need to know that the student, the person who I'm going to pay for. This is my question what I'm going to try trying to drive you to is that what I I'm in the field, I know what the kids need to know and I am not willing to pay to teach a person until I know that they're capable of. So, if you bring me a student and I see that they're really good
116and I want to keep him, trust me, I'm going to I'm going to say I want to keep the students. I I can already see them keeping them in my in my business, but I don't want to come in and pay a student for two, three, four weeks and say, "You know, uh send me another student." And then uh send me another student and that other student is still not matching my my expectation and now I have eight weeks of payroll paying two students that haven't really complied. So, my question is, have you thought about to be able to get more kids out there a possibility of a certain amount of weeks where they can go experiment the field and the the the the employment which it would be and now and say, "I can
117see this kid has potential. I can see, you know, maybe we'll get more kids out there." And at least the flow back, you know, you get so many cuz trust me, I mean, as a company, I don't want to get I don't want to change staff. I want them to be able to keep staff because customers know that they're doing the right job. So, my question is trying to bring you to open up the possibility of sending kids to meet the employment and see the employment and the kids have mu- mutual um interest and say, "I want to keep this kid before somebody else gets it." or I don't see this kids really meets my expectations. So, now I get to have somebody, but now I'm already four weeks of pay. Right. And and I
118have no return. So, just giving you some feedback and from my from a business perspective. No, that's great. >> you know, I'd I'd be more than happy to, you know, sit down later on and kind of But just to add to your point, too. So, we a few of our shops here do field placement or clinical. And this allows for employers to work with the students on internship level um without being compensated for their services. And with that being said, it allows them to see if it's a right fit not only for the student, but for the employer as well. And this is how students are offered um the opportunities in addition to being recommended recommended by their shop teachers um or they're finding jobs on their own or I'm making the connections in the
119community as well. So, therefore, um we have a few shops that do already have that like a trial basis. Um and it gives them that experience to see if it is a right fit. All right. Well, I'll I'll let the rest of the the committee, but please feel free to cont- um Yeah, that would be great. >> feedback cuz I have a lot of um people on the field. I'm part of a networking that I would love to help other students get there, but again, I I I'm I already know the question cuz I'm I'm already placing the question that I all these people kind of ask me. How how about the kid is not good and now you already pay, you know, but anyway, that's we'll follow up in a different um setting. Thank
120you. Thank you for answering the question. Of course. Do you have a chance to go to the companies and and meet with the the boss or and check in with the kids and do you see what's going on? Yes, before they're hired or after? >> when when they're on the task. Yes, I do. I also check up on students as well as doing the site visits. Um so, that is due um annually. So, as I'm going through each site visit and making sure that they have an annual visit up to date. Um I also check in with their students as well. Um and when they are here for academics, I can check in with them, too, during their win block and see how they're doing. And where [clears throat] as far as distance are they
121from here? As far as the in Boston, are they We have some students who are placed from New Hampshire all the way down to the um south of Boston. Okay. Mhm. And um another question. No, I didn't forget. I'll I'll think about it. >> [clears throat] >> Yeah, um in reference to the internship, I don't know how it works, but um if you hire it well, if you try to get a student to try them out, um unless you're paying them, there's no way for you to cover them under workers' comp. So, that's not going to cover a lot of the students that are looking for work. >> Well, when they're interning, we have contracts put in place for that and the workers' comp is also part of it. Okay. So, workers' comp through the
122school? Be also have for the employer as well. It's shared information. All right. Well, it's I know on my end of it, it's usually payroll based is how they do the coverage. Right. But also for co-op, though, it's out of district. They can be out of district. So, it would be hard to get the student there um without their own transportation if they intern as a co-op job. And also with the co-op expectations, they are compensated for their time. Mhm. All right. Um do you ever get much feedback on the work week being a Wednesday to a Tuesday instead of Monday to Monday? Yes, I do. Is it negative? It's not not Oh, no, not at all. Um a lot of employers have positive feedback to give about that um especially in multiple industries um
123culinary and cosmo and medical where the demand is. Um and I think a lot of industries are increasing their hours as well as their services. So, there is um a need for our students to meet the demand of the industry as well. Um and once we do explain why we're doing this the Wednesday through Tuesday, they say, "Oh, wow, that's great. Students are able to get academics and co-op time or shop time as well." All right. I'd say for for my field, the construction field, some of us find it a lot more difficult cuz you get a student, we'll say on a Monday, Mhm. you start off and they all need some guidance to get along and get started and then working on getting used to it and all right, they're they're learning Tuesday, they're
124getting a little bit better. And then you're on this Wednesday, they're you just lost them. So, now you start all over teaching the next kid Monday, you know, Wednesday, Thursday. So, for my field, it's it's not a consistently well. Well, we start on a Wednesday. So, you would start on Wednesday, it would be like your Monday, right? Right, but >> And then um well, but the unique part of co-op is that you're job sharing. So, we have one job where two students will share it. So, they're constantly there for the coverage from Wednesday to Wednesday and rotating through there. Yeah, I've had like 60 kids over the years. I know I know the deal. Now, if a if an employer contacts you from the time he contacts you to getting the student working for him,
125what's the time frame? The expected time frame. Um depends. We can meet tomorrow and do everything or they receive the information, they go through the packet and they discuss it with their team or their board depending on what their finances are like. Um and then by the time I get to the site visit, the turnaround time for the background check, it varies time to time. So, about two weeks? Give or take, yeah. Okay. Thank you. You're welcome. Oh, boy. Just one, right? >> [laughter] >> I hope so. Um so, in terms of I think most of my questions have already been answered or been asked. Um but in terms of um shop areas that aren't listed here, um we do have a little bit over 20 programs as of now. Um out of those 20
126programs, um are there any departments that have yet to have co-op opportunities or there might be like need for growth in certain areas. Like I I I see the certain areas here, um but not sure if there are others that like might not even have placements right now. Mhm. No, every [clears throat] shop has at least one student out if not more. Okay. And so, related to like the opportunities for growth, um so, I see here that like dental assisting, health assisting, automotive tech have had negative changes in terms of uh the previous school year and to this year. Um is that due to losing employers or is that just like student interest? Like what are the What are the typical factors for that? It's an overall combination. Um so, dental has increased now that
127we have juniors out in the field as well. Um their field placements that they were interning at did assist with this placement. Um some students did find jobs on their own as well. Um automotive is getting juniors out right now. So, they've had a a little bit of an increase. Um health assisting has struggled with the um co-op sites that we've had in the past, financial restraints. And unfortunately, that's put a a damper on it for some students. But we've been able to pivot and they've gone to um daycare centers. They um increased their um interest in ophthalmology centers. So, we have a couple of options that we are thinking outside the box. Mhm. And so, for for kids that are interested in co-op and um like you said, like there's been alternatives like daycare
128centers and other centers where um kids are being sent to, um there's always going to be more interest in like students wanting to co-op than there is um availability for employers. Um so, how do you sort of balance that or is it sort of like you're actively working to recruit employers and also assign students? Like what is Like what has been your what has been the process for that? Um because there's just so many departments and you know, there's like 20 kids, but then there's like three employers and they only take certain amount of kids. So, yeah. We've been very fortunate enough to have a lot of employers take more than one or two. Um some places have four or some places have six. Um and then the constant need to fill their their gaps
129with the employment um has we've been pretty lucky with that also. Um but as far as the process goes, um you know, reaching out and making the connections and then the connections lead to additional connections and that's how we've been able to place so many students um in the industry. So, it's been really great. Okay. Um I think that's all I have for now. I think the co-ops has they've definitely improved. Um this was a conversation that we had not too too long ago about uh co-op placements. And so, we're on on my behalf, I appreciate you coming to present this and give us an update and I hope that um that we continue seeing a growth in employers and that there's opportunities that I as well on on our end to support that process
130um as much as we can. Um so, thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I'd just like to echo the vice chair's comments. I think you've done a an extraordinary job. Thank you. And I I think that you totally have a great strong handle on the whole the whole co-op program. Thank you. And that's coming from experience. So, that's that is you should take that as a real compliment. I do have one question, though. >> Okay. What are the requirements cuz I know they've probably changed. What are the requirements for a student wanting to go on co-op? The requirements Or are there any at this point? Yes, so students have to have um consent from the guidance department, um the school nurse department or the nursing department, excuse me. Um administrative assistant in the discipline office, the
131safe office, as well as attendance. Okay. Any particular grade average or anything? Uh what what is the minimum there? Or is it a state one? There is no set grade point average. All right, so they clearly they can't be failing in the shop area, right? >> Correct. So, therefore, their guidance counselor will can look at their academic record and um make decision from that point and recommendation from their shop teacher as well. Okay. So, Okay. Is there any um you know, attendance matters in in a in a job setting, right? So, if Yeah, chronic. Although they might want to go to work more than they come here, so I don't you know, Right. No, it is we do value that as well um with their professionalism, employability. Um if there's too many absences, then we
132have to re-evaluate and think about the student's placement and how it could impact additional absences or not. >> so there so okay. So, Yeah, we do take a lot of that. content with that. There is some oversight. They just don't get cart blanche there. They're out until they mess up and and okay. >> No. You're welcome. Do you meet with the students before they go out on the job? Yes, I do. Mhm. So, when um they come to my office, they'll obtain their student application packet and we discuss all of the requirements that are needed for that. We'll discuss their transportation. Um we'll discuss what they have to do as well as um they're communicating with the employer or their future supervisor. Mhm. I mean, it's fantastic that you can get juniors out. Um when
133does that start? Beginning of March? When do you start sending juniors out? Oh, juniors are already out. >> No, no, I understand, but They were eligible as of the start of Q3, which was January 21st. Mhm. Very good. Yeah, um so as far as the some of the shops require a certain amount of hours like cosmetology. Do you need the the student need to be already licensed or they need to be over a certain amount of hours before they come into a you know, and like uh licensed like electricians or or like a cosmetology. Do do they need to be licensed before they come out or they come out while they have whatever 900 hours or whatever? Yes, so they have to have the 1,000 hours to be eligible for a co-op. Um as far
134as taking their um exam, that can um be in working towards or progress being made towards, um but that does not have to be um done before going on co-op. Mhm. As far as other shops, there are certifications that are required, um particularly like for first aid or CPR. Um OSHA certification is huge for our safety component. Um we take we value all that I'm going out and there's a questionnaire that students will fill out regarding all of their requirements and if their shop teacher um could also vouch for that. And what when are the goals as far as um cosmetology and I continue ask that because it's my field. As far as cosmetology um when are the goals for the student to be able to have their 1,000 hours? But do you know you
135have a like a deadline not a deadline, but like a goal line by you know, junior the end of junior the beginning of the senior year. Like when do you expect them to have those those 1,000 hours? By the start of senior year, I would say. So, it varies for every student. Cuz they they miss correct. Uh so, uh several years ago based on data of the co-op placements and also how many students were coming out with the 1,000 hours to take their their exam. Um we found that there were some barriers with the like when students could begin to accrue their hours specifically in cosmetology. So, um we collect we so the superintendent um worked with us to institute a summer program. So, um two weeks during the summer uh our cosmetology teachers come
136back in and they um run an extended cosmetology program. Um and so the students come in on the summer school bus. Um they have access to all of our summer school programs, but they continue to um accrue the hours under the tutelage of their teachers. Um and that has catapulted uh how many students are eligible. And so, um because our target is to support all of our students being eligible for co-op um as soon as possible, the quarter three designation would be ideal. Um but all of our students are targeted to get uh their 1,000 hours by the beginning of their senior year. Thank you. Thanks. My turn. Okay. Audra, what's the biggest challenge you have getting our kids out? I know it used to be we couldn't get them licenses and we couldn't get
137them transportation. Mhm. What is your biggest holdback? Um I would say it would be transportation, but um this year we've actually a lot of students who are placed at jobs, whether it's two students or four students or six students, um they're carpooling. So, they're willing to help out their classmates and their peers um in getting them to and from. We've also [snorts and clears throat] arranged like I mentioned before with an HVAC company, um they meet students at um like the Home Depot parking lot in Methuen, they'll pick them up there and bring them to the job site. Um so, it's actually at first it was a challenge, but it's the challenge was um brought to my attention to think outside the box and how we can make this happen for our students so they're
138not referencing to like an Uber or a Lyft ride and a lot of um family members also will chip in help them um get there to and from their their work site. So, it's been it's been great. >> [clears throat] >> Bless you. Audra, I want to thank you very much for spending some time with us tonight. I know you've been here all day. I'm sorry to keep you longer than we have to. Ms. Jones, thank you very much. Um I will be asking the superintendent to give us another review at the end of the year. Maybe you can be with us and do a final wrap-up. Yes, thank you. >> Thank you. Shutting the lights on us. All right, now an easy one. This should be quick. The lottery. Miss uh Assistant Superintendent Richardson,
139are you going to handle that or um Mr. Lavoy? So, actually um Ms. Hebert, who's the director of admissions and counseling, she is actually going to start off for us. Um Oscar, I think we have some slides there. Um so, Ms. Hebert's going to give us an overview of the the progress. I will say um so, we had the lottery on March 12th. Um despite all of the the challenges and the difficulties with, you know, just having a lottery this year, um all things considered, the actual lottery itself, it went very very well. Um so, we were very pleased about that. Um and I do want to give credit to Ms. Hebert and her staff. So, Madison Portoreal, who's the admissions specialist, and Betsy Gomez, um our equitable access liaison, and also um Ms. Kennedy,
140who's the other um administrative assistant in the guidance department. She also helps out as well with, you know, fielding the phone calls and managing enrollment and all of that. So, they've done a a great job. But, I'll let Ms. Hebert give first an overview. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Um I know the lottery has been a hot button topic for every district across the Commonwealth. Um now that we've completed the lottery for the class of 2030, I know there's been a lot of anticipation leading up to it and many questions after. So, we wanted to kind of take a little bit of time to walk you through it and give you a little recap and then kind of where we stand as of today. Um so, as you know, as Brenda talked
141about, we held our lottery on March 12th. Um we had 1,316 applicants who were in the lottery. To qualify to be in the lottery, you had to have lived in district and submitted your application on time, which was February 1st. So, with all of that being said, we had 1,316 applicants for 500 seats. Which means our waitlist is 816. It's a big waitlist. Just as a reminder, too, um we do have town apportionment, right? So, we kind of divvy up our seats by town. So, Andover gets 25 seats, Lawrence gets 325, Methuen 125, and then North Andover 25. Um just as a little refresher. Any questions so far? Okay. I know you're very excited to talk about how the lottery works. I'm going to recap it quickly. Now that we've seen it and we lived
142in it, it might be a little bit easier to kind of understand. Um I think, you know, when we think of lottery as a group, we kind of think of Mega Millions. Um ball comes up, my number's up, I win. It's not how it works um when we do the admissions lottery. Um so, each applicant was given a unique ID before the lottery started. Um that's just how we identify them so we don't have to use names. On the night of the lottery, every um person in the lottery gets a pull number, right? So, every single person who is in the lottery pulls a number. That's really the lottery number, okay? So, that's kind of the ticket. Um the key to understand there is that the lower the pull number, the higher the applicant's chance
143of being admitted. So, for the lottery, we partnered with GoTo Solutions to run the lottery process. Once the pull numbers were drawn, um applicants Oh, I skipped a step. I'll go back to that. Um once the pull number was drawn, um applicants were then sorted by community in from lowest um pull number to highest. So, the lowest pull number in each community were offered seats. So, for example, for Methuen had 125 seats, the 125 lowest pull numbers from Methuen were offered acceptance, and so on and so forth for each community. Um just so you can see the breakdown of applications by community. Andover had 45 applications this year for 25 seats. Lawrence had 944. Methuen had 266 and North Andover had 61. So, we had a lot of applicants. Um Questions about kind of how
144the lottery was was run and how numbers were generated? Okay. So, after we held the lottery that night, all all applicants were notified of their status via email um and then on their applicant portal. We also mailed home letters to every applicant so that they knew their status of whether they were accepted for admission um or if they were waitlisted. After [snorts] um we offered acceptances to our first 500 students, um they have 10 days to accept or decline um and then we move from our waitlist from there. So, um the deadline for that after the lottery, the 10 days was Sunday. So, Monday morning, we kind of checked. We had 70 families we had not heard from yet Monday morning. Um so, to ensure that no one missed the opportunity, our office has reached
145out by phone calls and emails to students and their parents. We've reached out to the middle schools to help us. Um and as of this morning, actually, I have a slide that's a little bit off. Um we have um it was 30, it's actually down to 14 now. Um so, I'll get to that one in a minute. That was just a preview, but Um so, I just want to kind of mention that getting that number down, we really want to make sure that we're giving opportunities to people um who are accepted. So, um that really is a true compliment to the hard work of the staff in the admissions with Betsy and Arlene um and Madison making those phone calls and making sure um that families know that they were, you know, in or not.
146So, they've been they've been working kind of in overdrive. Once somebody confirms or declines an acceptance, we kind of move from the waitlist there. So, what that means is if a student declines, we offer the seat to the next student on the community-specific waitlist. For example, if five students from Lawrence decline, the next five students on Lawrence's waitlist are offered admission. We have not pulled from the waitlist yet and I'll get to that in 1 second. Um just so people are aware, the waitlist is posted on our website. It's organized by community tabs and pull number. Families can search by using the ID. We update that um We update the waitlist monthly, so families can track the movement and they can see exactly where their student is on the waitlist. Whenever a student is offered
147a seat from the waitlist, we notify them by email and we also call them because we don't want students to miss out on the opportunity to accept. Um so, where we are now is we have 403 students who have officially accepted with us. We have 68 students who have declined and that number 30 is actually down to 14 who we have not heard back from. Um so, we anticipate to pull from the waitlist at the end of this week. So, we will start contacting families from each town where there are spots open um to see um we'll write down the waitlist in order cuz the waitlist is ordered. Does that kind of make sense? Okay. Um before I end, I just wanted to acknowledge that as you know, this process has been very difficult for
148many of our families. Um we've had conversations with students who have done everything right and still didn't get a get in. Um we've had conversations with their families, with their siblings, with our own faculty members. Um and those conversations have been heartbreaking at times and I'm sure they have been for you as well. Um please know that our admissions office and GLTS, we're here for all families. We will continue to support every student and family who has questions or needs guidance through this process. Please encourage them to reach out to us. We don't mind taking the phone calls. We don't mind sitting with families even when they're disappointed and the conversation is hard, it's the right thing to do and we're happy to do it. So, please encourage them to contact us. Um this isn't
149the lottery isn't unique to GLTS. Every other district um is kind of going through it, but we're in it together. So, um I'm happy to answer any questions you have right now about the lottery, where we're at. Um yeah. Ready to go. Um comment and question. So, uh my question is so, you said the number from 30 to 14. So, out of that amount, did because they responded, they accepted or they they declined? >> It would be a it would be a mix. Yep. So, some of them that we've reached out to have accepted and some have declined. Yep. Okay. And from the different communities, and again, if a kid from Methuen says no, We'll go. >> down from Methuen and then Lawrence if they And we're trying to be very methodical about that. We
150don't want to make mistakes, so we've been kind of a little bit slower this week in wanting to wait for the responses. And by the end of this week, Thursday, Friday, anticipate we will be reaching out and pulling from the waitlist. >> Yeah. And I mean, you I watched the video live and you guys [snorts] did a good job. Um it was clean and it was just as smooth as it possibly can. Um especially in public view. Um but again, I think like this process has just been really unfair. Yeah. Um I think I said it from the beginning when this came to our attention that um the state was wrong in doing this and they're still wrong and they will continue to be wrong um because I mean, I've gotten letters to my house
151and emails and I'm not even joking. A girl that lived down the street from my house came to my door and knocked on my door and she told me, I have um always wanted to go to Greater Lawrence Tech. My dad went to school there. Um and I have perfect grades. I never miss school. I go to public school. Yeah. And didn't get the opportunity, end up being one of the lowest in the list. Um and I've heard other stories, too, um from Lawrence and and other communities, too, that um have been impacted by this and um you know, having those difficult conversations. Um you know, and and the blame that has been put on on us that um we've caused this and I redirect them and tell them exactly who did it. Mhm. Um
152but that's just me. Um and it's been Yeah, I just really want to appreciate that you guys did this very very cleanly. Um very smooth. Um but that we will continue to push back on this process um in any way we can. Um yeah. We're not shy to have families to encourage families to reach out to DESE or to Governor Healey's office. Um I know other schools are doing the same. Um hopefully that will impact change, but it it has been really hard for a lot of our families. It's it's been tough. >> And in terms of the waitlist, um what was the number of students waitlisted? You might know this from the previous school year. Or similar? Yeah. Was it higher or less or I think it might have been slightly above, but also
153take into consideration like right now, right? We might have some late applicants. >> We do. Yeah. >> So, last year, it was kind of more rolling admissions, so it's hard to compare exactly. Um So, I would say though, based on the fact that, you know, we had to stop and it was as of February 1st. >> Mhm. Um I think that the number is maybe lower than it would have been. And I think that the wait list was a little bit bigger last year. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and so I I asked it to make a point out of it and it's that we we're accepting more students this year, Mhm. but if we would have accepted less, it would prove the point that this lottery thing was going to make more spaces, more seats
154for kids and it actually is not. >> Not for us. Yeah. Um all it's doing into our point is now we have to build more classrooms to to fit all the kids. Yeah. Um and that's what they mean by creating more seats. Um and then all that does is cause the districts to have a more financial strain in building more classrooms because we need to take in more kids because of a system that was intended to do that. Yeah. So, that was the point I was trying to make out of that question. Thank you. I get You guys did do a good job. I watched it a couple of days later. Yeah. I did notice that it took more time to describe it and it was a Oh, it's so fast. Yeah. >> Yeah. It's
155It's underwhelming. Yeah. And I I did get a couple of calls also. >> Mhm. Um and basically the system shows it don't bother trying, don't try to achieve cuz if you get the lucky number, you're in. It's It's shameful that they even thought this was a bright idea in our state. >> I know. It's It's It's hard to sit with a 13, 14 year old who's has all A's and has done everything right and they're at the bottom of the wait list. >> Yeah. The parent told me, "How do I tell my daughter that they don't think you're worth anything?" >> Yeah. Yeah. And that's what it comes down to. Yeah. And she had They even sent, you know, her grades and everything, you know, in an email to me. It's like And we would
156love that student at our at our high school. Yeah. I know. Thank you. Yeah, of course. Mr. Haydon, can I just add something? Um so, I appreciate Mr. May's comment about how, you know, it was a smooth process and I just wanted to say that I know both Katie and I have been part of the MAVA admissions meeting, so it's a very collaborative community and though we would like to do the lottery a little bit sooner next year, we actually had a benefit, I think, in waiting until March because we, you know, we're part of multiple meetings where, you know, you would find out from other schools, you know, look out for this, make sure you don't do that. was really, really helpful. It was very collaborative. So, that was really nice. Um and just
157in terms of the number of people watching, so the IT department, as we were getting ready to do the lottery, they were letting us know like, "Wow, there's, you know, a high number of people actually watching and tuning in live." Um there were over 2,000 people um who were on the live stream. Um some as far away as California and Japan. So, it must have been family traveling, I'm assuming. Um so, it it was Yeah, it was pretty amazing. >> their residency. Yes, we did. We checked residency after that. But, yeah, so thank you for that, but >> Yeah. thank you, Katie. >> Yeah, of course. Anyone else? Katie. One thing or So, I know you mentioned on the waiting list, they their number get placed so so the kids can go they'll know where
158they follow. Mhm. So, they know that they're the first, let's say I'm the number whatever, the lowest on that list. And so, that for therefore, I already know that if somebody miss, I go next. Is Yeah, so it's Yep, it's by poll number. So, you'll see on the website, um we've highlighted the kids who have currently been accepted and we'll continue to do that as we take poll from the wait list, so we'll note that. So, that yellow box will get bigger and bigger for each community as we So, you'll be able to count like if you know your ID number, you can count to see how many you are from the wait list. Yeah. And we've had many families come in and we've kind of showed them how to do that. That's been the
159trickiest part, I think, for some families is to figure that out, but And when you refer to decline, do these declines were families just deciding the kids not to come to school? Yeah, no, a lot of, you know, kids are applying to private schools or got in somewhere else, so some families have moved or decided to stay in their home district, so. Got it. Yeah. Thanks. Yeah, of course. Katie, thank you very much. Thank you. I'm sorry. Oh. One more. Fred. I got all night. Um okay, say someone gets declined and doesn't get in this year. What if they try to apply as sophomores? Yep, they can apply as transfers, um for sure. So, we'll do the transfer lottery this summer. Um we need to see how many spots we have open in our different
160shops. Um and then we'll run the lottery um for those transfer applicants this summer. Um the other The other thing to remember, too, that we've told families, um is that 11th and 12th graders can apply for after dark if they're looking to get um their CTE, so. >> [snorts] >> Thank you. All right. Katie, please explain the lottery for um the sophomores. They don't get to pick their shop. They get into a shop that has openings. Correct. So, students who have applied, um we will reach out to them at the end of the school year, probably in June, um and have them rank the shops that they want to be considered in the lottery for. We'll let them know what shops we have opening. They are allowed to be in the lottery for all 21
161shops if they wish. Um so, they'll know and then so, we'll do the lottery that way cuz I'm anticipating we will have more applicants than seats available. for shops, too. For the lottery. For transfer students. For transfer lottery. Just for tran- just for transfer students. Yeah. [laughter] Yeah. Katie, I thank you very much. I think we're all set. I'm I'm glad you're up to date on this. We've been struggling with this. We've been struggling with the parents. Um I'm sure you've been getting the same calls we have. Yep. My the mother was a graduate, the father was a graduate, the daughter was a graduate and the son can't get in. All right, I've got two kids at their Greater Lawrence Tech and one has to go to now to Tenney. Mhm. I can imagine what
162you've been going through and I thank you for keeping up with it. >> Yep. Yeah, thank you. Thank you. All right. Have a good night. >> Thank you. >> [clears throat] >> Um I'd like to recognize Principal Jackson. Have I been ignoring you? Is there something you want to say or you just You I'm here to support the people who are here presenting. Pre- pretty soon we're going to have you sitting in that chair over there because we want the principal's report live. But, thank you for coming. >> Good night. Good night. All right, moving on. Easy one, school calendar. Everybody had a chance to browse through the school calendar. This is a draft. And I think we need to make a vote on it. Does anybody have anything to say about the school calendar?
163Or can I get a motion? Motion to approve with discussion. Can I get a second? Second from Mr. Ferris. Call the vote, please. Uh you want a discussion? >> Yes, a question. Related to snow days cuz I know this year we had a rough winter, so I I'm assuming we had to exceed the snow day mark. No, we didn't. No, we've had four snow days so far this year. >> on four. Okay. >> Yep. Um and that applies the same for this school calendar Yes. >> for the last day. Five five days are built in. Okay. Yep. All right, thank you. I'm all set. Ms. Ferris. Yes. Ms. Disla. Yes. Mr. Jones. Yes. Mr. Magliaro. Yes. Mr. Mercedes. Yes. Mr. Tabak. Yes. Mr. Haydon. Yes. Moving on. Uh Northeast Essex Community College. Uh Mr. LaVoie,
164are you doing that one? Yes. Brendan and I are going to speak a little bit to this. Uh so, we have actually two initiatives going on with uh Northern Essex Community College. Our two initiatives we're working on one on the early college uh program and then the other one where we are working with them uh to expand health career pathways uh where students will go to Northern Essex to utilize some of the equipment if it's in a if it's in a pathway that aligns to equipment they have and also uh work towards credits towards an associate's degree in the career in the health careers. So, we are working with them to uh put a contract together to and to uh identify what programs will be able to utilize uh space out at Northern Essex Community
165College. Uh they are also offering us space to uh if we want to do pathways that align to some of their programs uh that we can uh set up in some of their space such as um um let's see, pharmaceutical or something like that. Um or radiology is another one where you can get a certification today. So, we're working with them on that partnership uh at this time. Okay. And then the other program we have uh other initiative we have going on is the early college program for kids to uh able to get uh dual credits both for high school credit and college credits uh in the different academic areas. Any questions? >> Just in terms of the status of the um early college planning grant. So, um Brendan Sullivan, he's our assistant principal for
166humanities. He's been overseeing this initiative and working very closely with somebody from Northern Essex Community College. Um the first time when we applied for this uh last school year, we actually were denied as I think all vocational schools were who applied. So, we reapplied. Um they approved part A. Um we submitted part B of the application in February and now we're moving into the interview stage of the early college designation process. So we have a virtual interview scheduled this Thursday with a representative from the Department of Education as well as representatives from Northern Essex. So at this point I think it's more about ensuring that the vision is in place, that you know, the the process is very inclusive. That it aligns with all of their guidelines. So hopefully after this next step we will
167be approved for the actual designation. Questions on that? Mr. Lubowitz, clean energy grant. Can you get the socket? Uh so we did get the clean energy grant from uh clean energy uh center. And we got $750,000 to continue our work around clean energy and sustainable energy. Uh so the fund the funds are going into some continue our work in purchasing uh trainers for uh clean energy uh programs such as trainers for HVAC, for geothermal systems, for electrical systems, for mock-ups in the uh in the carpentry and and metal fabs uh programs. Uh for purchasing uh some curriculum uh to build a uh mock-up uh turbine uh a a turbine wind turbine uh teach students how to construct turbine and and it will be actually functional and producing electricity uh for students to learn uh how
168that all works and actually build uh one. Uh and also [clears throat] some of the funds will go towards continuing uh completing our our uh our passive house uh out that we've been working on out there that the carpentry right now department's been working on. So some of the funds will go towards that, expanding some uh uh curriculum uh in the solar panel uh installation area and [clears throat] um and uh other kinds of equipment that will be upgrading our uh to support our after dark program as well. Some of the equipment and some of the training will also the funds will be utilized to strengthen the programs in after dark. Any questions? Uh next up April 1st we have the election of officers meeting. It will be the April school at 6:00. Uh up
169at that is the district clerk, assistant clerk, assistant treasurer, vice chair, chairperson, and the student chair. Next is nomination of district clerk stays none. New business stays none. Tabled matters stays none. Personnel considerations report. Uh there are no resignations, no leaves of absences, no retirements, uh no appointments, and there's two job postings. I'll read them off. I'll take a separate vote on each one, please. Summer IT support up to 40 hours a week, $25 an hour. Summer 2026 July 1st to August 30th. It's a new position and there is attached. Does anybody have any questions on that? Mr. Hayden, I just wanted to note it's not on the the posting, but we're actually looking for up to three people for this summer position. All right, that's the summer IT support, right? Yes. We're looking for
170three techs. Thank you for that. Uh if there's no questions, question? Um so these are summer IT for the shop or like the IT department? >> No, the IT department. So like those 100 TVs that we're getting installed, like all of that work. Okay. >> Yeah, there's a lot of work. Getting all the new Chromebooks ready for the freshman, inventory, there's a lot to do in the summer. So you need three more versus the existing staff that you have. Exactly. So most likely we'd if we could hire three, we would hire our two current part-time staff, just more hours, and then one additional person. Okay. All right, thank you. And are these um these are part-time, these aren't contract? These are just part-time. Oh, okay. Okay, thank you. Hourly position. Brad? It's generally current students,
171isn't it? Yeah, so for students well, yeah, we've hired graduates for that as well or students that might be going in coming into the 12th grade uh as a co-op position. We've done that as well, depending on the applicants. We have a couple of students that have been working for for us for a long time that work part-time. A lot of them who may still be in college uh have done have applied and worked and helped us out in the summer as well. Okay. All set? >> [clears throat] >> Okay, can I have the motion? I'll make a motion. >> Second. Second. Discussion? Any further discussion? Sure. Mr. Tarbox? Yes. Ms. Ferris? Yes. Ms. Gisler? Yes. Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Mejia? Yes. Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Hayden? Yes. Second Chance Car Summer Program Instructor up
172to 40 hours a week uh 40 40 hours $40 an hour four teachers from the automotive tech split one teacher per week summer of runs from July 1st to August 30th. It is a new position and it's attached. Have any questions on that? I'll say so. What's that? He um Brad has a question. They're uh they do a lot of uh cars for veterans. They purchase the cars themselves, they bring them to us, they pay us to fix them, refurbish them, whatever they need, and they give them to people in need. Mr. Lubowitz, you want to Yeah, so >> didn't mean to Yeah, so we No, that's okay. We've done this We've been working with them for years now. But they've come up with a a new opportunity that they want to hire some of
173our students to work on the cars during the summer, so there'll be more cars, but they need to have an instructor overseeing it. So it's going to be a combination of a learning program as well as any students that come during the summer for the learning program will work on their cars, so they will pay the students uh for working on the cars as well as any parts and all that. Can I get a motion? And a second? Second. Can I get one motion first? Okay. Sure. Any discussion? Any further discussion? Everybody knows what that is now. Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Tarbox? Yes. Ms. Ferris? Yes. Ms. Gisler? Jones? Yes. Uh Why don't we wait Why don't we wait for the Mr. Mejia? Yes. Mr. Hayden? Yes. Go ahead, Brad. I'm sorry. One thing is
174it says $40 an hour, and on the right up it says $50 an hour. So I believe the teachers based on contract get $50 an hour. I think the $40 an hour is for the students will get paid. I believe they're getting paid from Second Chance Cars $40 an hour. I believe that's how it works. Right. So the right up it says something different. It says $50 an hour. I know the right up is could have been written All right, so the student gets paid $40 an hour. I believe it's $40 an hour and the teachers get contract rate, which is $50 an hour. Any further discussion? You want to say something? All right, this time I'd like to get a motion to enter into executive session for personnel matter. I'll make a motion. Second.
175All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? I would say we take a 10-minute break. 10 minutes, Oscar. Yeah. I missed the vote. I'm not talking about anything. Put it up on the phone. Good. Here you go, Tarbox. >> Hey. >> Mhm. >> Mr. Mayor, you want to make a motion to the report? Yeah, motion to accept the uh travel request. Any discussion? Show of hands, please. Mr. Mayor? Yes. Mr. Mercedes? Yes. Mr. Talbott? Yes. Mr. Ferris? Yes. Mr. Tisdale? Yes. Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Hayda? Yes. A change of date for the April 1st to sometime during that week. Can I get a motion on that, please? Make a motion to accept. Second. Show any discussion. Show Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Mayor? No. Mr. Mercedes? I mean Tom, I'm I told you I'm back, right? It's up
176to you. No, no, I'm just saying. >> Still two others. Well, um for that same week, it's actually I cannot do it another day. I [snorts] can do the Wednesday. So, I'll I'll I'll say no. Thank you. Mr. Talbott? Yes. Mr. Ferris? Yes. Mr. Tisdale? No. Mr. Hayda? Yes. Okay, we'll get back to everybody with a date that's We'll have the secretary call around, see what's good for everybody. I'd like to do it within that same week. So, when you change the date, everybody needs to be here, or you're going to change the date again? Well, no, ask everybody if this date is good for you, rather than running into a roadblock. If everybody cannot be here, then you're going to have the meeting, or you're going to wait until everybody can be here? That's
177my question. That's That's my point, Zora. On that same week, right? I know, but I know how inconsistent this committee is, and this everything is so You decide Excuse me, may I? Go ahead. >> Mr. Chair. So, any meeting that you do is ordinary, extraordinary, or special, you will make the meeting with four people. This meeting, you decided that it has to be all or all or nothing. Okay? And that's my point. I understand. So, what I'm saying is, which I understand the the importance of all everybody being in this meeting. Um when you change the date, everybody needs to be here, or you need to change the date again. That's my point. Done. By special request, done. Makes sense. No, it does. It makes sense. I want everybody included. If some If someone can't
178be in person, but can be on Zoom, is that okay? No, absolutely not. For for any change, no. I cannot go for that point. I mean, you guys No, that's wrong. We should be in person. When Sue calls around, we'll take the absences. Excuse me. Mr. Chairman. I think you're already running into problems with, you know, not everybody's going to be available the rest of the week. So, I mean, I don't know how you can have a meeting with everybody there. If And my suggestion of Zoom, I mean, at least people would be present at the meeting, so to speak. And that's not acceptable, so I don't I don't know how you're going to do it. Well, you have to vote on that. Committee can vote on whether you want to allow Zoom or not.
179It's up to you guys. Motion to adjourn? No, I have a motion, don't I? I have a No. I make a motion to approve the personnel matter. Make a motion to approve the personnel matter. Personnel matter for who is the child? Okay, I didn't know if I say that. Second. You don't say the name, you say the title. Call the roll please. You need to say the title. Say the title? Mhm. You're telling me not to. Mr. Deslauriers? No, I didn't sign. Mr. Jones? Yes. Mr. Lanier? Yes. Mr. Mistele? Yes. Mr. Taber? Mr. Ferris? Yes. Mr. Hayes? Mr. Washington, you vote? Motion. Second. Aye. Aye. Anybody oppose? Make it unanimous.