District Committee Meeting (12/16/2025)

001[music] Present >> present. >> Mercedes >> here. agenda. There were two items that were added. One was superend. >> It's under the reports of the superintendent. This uh director's part and H the RFP for a spray booth. Also on the exe executive session, we've added a personnel matter that just come up. At this time, I'd like to hear from the students, please. We have Leila, Yson, and Amber back. Who's going to start, guys? Good evening, everyone. Um, we are starting with the Reggie Athletics fall highlights. We have the achievements. These are the achievements of the fall sports and their accomplishments. So, first we have cheering first place at the co-ed state vocational cheer competition. CAC League champions co-ed division. Then we have football. Gustavo Valera becomes Massachusetts all-time career rushing leader. Zion Padilla becomes first

002GLTS quarterback to reach a thousand meter mark since 2019. We have golf CAC golf allstar Will Label and Jacob Bowwin soccer. GLTS boys soccer qualified for state vocational tournaments. The girls soccer 13-2 the regular season record league champions qualify for MIAA state tournament in the state vocational tournament. Christian Connell named soccer CAC coach of the year volleyball state vocational champions first time since 2006. Carla Mahoney named volleyball CAC coach of the year. We have the spectator rules. Reggies are coming in hot with the sports this winter. Athletic director Mr. Nelson sent out a reminder to all students about expectations for attendance at these events. If staying after school, students should attend homework help and only wait in room 6032. Let's cheer and roar for the Reggies, but keep it classly and respectful. We have we

003have the talent show coming up. Planning for the spring talent show has begun. The first me meeting focused on general information for participants took place on December 15th. The yearbook committee, which runs the talent show, is still looking for a theme. So, submit your idea soon. >> How you doing? >> Thanks. Thanks to our student services department and the Northeast Independent Living Program, we have a new specialized driver education class that will last 8 weeks and is being provided to students with disabilities. This course will include extra supports compared to the regular driver's ed program and including a guided driver simulation and they will support our students as they go through the process of obtain of obtaining a driver's permit and any accommodations that they would need. Um we are we're recruiting students for the

004after dark program which will begin um in January and February. All classes are free and more information can be found on the GLTS workforce development page. A group of our GLTS students participated in the fall state leadership conference. They participated in various leadership trainings, skilluing sessions, and collaborative activities that provided them with valuable new sets of skills. We are so excited to see how their participation will strengthen our Skills USA program and provide new opportunities to them. Coming in hot with the latest club at JTS, Reggie Voices. The Reggie Voices is a club of student of a group of students that combine journalism with public speaking and debate. Members will create newsletter to inform peers and advocate for positive change. >> Um, I think we had this last time, but it was just approved. So,

005the Red Cross Club will be a studentled club guided by the Red Cross. The club will provide students with skills needed to respond to emergency situations, run blood drives, and organize health related volunteer opportunities. The first meeting was held on November 20th. We have the GTS mentoring. Um we're holding a mentoring program to assure every student feels welcome at school and has a trusted adult to talk to. Students who feel they would benefit from this program should take the trusted adult survey is on there. From October 1st to November 10th, the biotechnology junior class had the once in a lifetime opportunity to study yeast mutations at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. Um, you will hear more about about that later. Special thanks to Adriana Matoss Neves for guiding our students to the process.

006>> As was mentioned last time, um Reggie's here did a food drive. The winners of that food drive was the senior class contributing 167 out of 400 donations. The donation went to our own Reggie locker and community agency. Thank you everybody for your donation and senior class one because everyone can donate. It was $1. So $167 raised. Continuing on the idea of giving and being the holiday seasons that regist this year are in the sphere of giving back with holiday gift drive. Thank you Miss Lewis and the student council get in the student council gifts are being donated to St. Anne homes in Lawrence and Mthuans serving hundreds of kids kids and teens. Continue on the Christmas holiday spirit. Um before before tonight's home home opener basketball game, JTS held a movie night that took

007place at 2:45 in the pack. This was a fun way to spend time with peers while waiting for the game tonight and get in the Christmas spirit. As we know it's coming up. Winter break is coming up. This year we are doing extra long holiday break is 12 days long and lasts from Wednesday December 24th to Sunday January January 4th. The class re resumes on Monday January f January 5th. See you in 2020 26 and have a happy holidays and happy new years. >> Same to you three. Thank you very much. >> Can I get a motion please to approve the minutes of November 18th? Any discussion? >> Call the vote. Show please. >> Mr. Tarbox. >> Miss Dler. >> Mr. Jones. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mia. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mercedes. Yes. >> Yes.

008>> Mr. Hayden. >> Yes. Finance report. Uh, cash balance report. Mr. to Stephano. >> So due to some planned time off in the business office, uh we will have both November and December cash balance and reconciliations at the next meeting in January. >> Okay. >> Thank you. >> That's consolidated cash. also revolving fund report that's in a packet. Budget report is also a packet. Miss Martell will give us the budget transfers. So we have four budget transfers. Um the first one was for the technology department and that was just an interdep department transfer to make sure that the budget aligns with the DESIE account codes. [clears throat] Um the second one was a change in positions that are funded by the Perkins grant. So one position came off Perkins and went on to operational. The

009other position went on to Perkins. Uh the next one's the same thing. We had a position that was on the operational uh budget moved to Perkins and then we had a need in facilities for an extra 50,000 in their carpentry budget. So I used some of that budget and then the last journal um the last journal entry is to add the 1.7 million that was left over from fiscal year 25 to 26. >> Thank you. Can I get a motion to approve the uh budget transfers, please? >> Please. >> Can I get a motion? >> Second discussion. >> Tell I know you this is a budget transfer. So, I know the last one that you said is a it's not like a transfer then. >> Correct. It's an adjustment to add the 1.7 million that

010we approved at the last meeting. Um that was the um the money that didn't meet net school spending. So, we have to apply that to this year's budget. We increased this year's budget. >> This is just adding it to the budget, not transfer. >> Yep. >> Why is not a credit debit? >> Yep. >> That was my question. Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. here. >> Yes, >> Mr. Linda, my apologies. I didn't see you sneak in. >> That's okay. Sorry, I snuck in. >> Linda, can I just read you statements that we have for public participation? You have a limit of three minutes. uh public speaker to limit their comments to the issues, not to individuals. Board members are disallowed to ask or answer questions. Uh speaker must voice their uh comments and

011concerns with respect to the chair. Please state your name and what city you're from and town you reside in. >> Sorry, Linda Donatelli in Mthuan. >> I'm sorry. >> Linda Donatelli in Mthuan. >> Thank you. Go ahead, start. Um, I know you guys had discussed the um, clothing t-shirt option at Nauseium, so I don't want to say too much about it, but um, as a parent, I think my biggest disappointment is that the parents were left out of this decision and the students were left out of this decision. And it may be tabled for this year, but in case there were future discussions on it, I think there are a couple things you need to keep in mind. first that the parents should be a huge part of this and the students should be a

012huge part of this discussion shouldn't be decided by seven people in a committee. Um also the school council should be involved in this because I am part of the school council and that's the only way I even knew that this was going to be an issue for this coming year but I didn't have any details but otherwise as a parent I would have had no idea. Um, and even as a school council, every year we go through the dress code, we approve it or make changes or make recommendations and then to find out that that was going to be I don't know, it felt ignored because this committee was going to choose to do something else. Um, it just felt like there wasn't much communication between the two committees and I just feel like there

013should have been more communication in this piece. Um, also if you do do this in the future, um, I don't think it's appropriate to tell parents a week before school starts. I understand pros and cons to both. One of the cons is the money that parents have to shell out for school clothes. But after they've already bought their clothes or after they've already um purchased extra uniforms, figuring that, you know, by the time my student leaves, I'm going to need this many um clothes. Parents should not have been notified a week before school started. Um, this should be a decision that's implemented prior to year end, the year before, so that everyone coming in already knows. It should not be a surprise that you just spent $300 in clothes. Well, guess what? They can't wear

014them two months from now. Um, so I just want to give you that feedback as a parent. Um, and I'll also as a parent I am I understand there's pros and cons but I am opposed to implementing a uniform for academics for um for public schools. Um there was no no communication on why it was even being implemented. How is this improving student morale? How is this improving teacher retention? How is this improving class grades? There was no academic input. How what are the metrics of how you determine whether or not this was a successful change there? None of that was even considered. I went to past meetings and I tried to kind of review what had been going on, but none of that was discussed. Like how do you even determine this was the

015right move? Um and how do you decide whether or not to go back to a regular um clothing option? Um, so if you could just keep that in mind for future reference, I think parents would appreciate that. Also, um, I was wondering if you as a committee would be willing to make a, uh, an effort to have a very wellthoughtout plan with all four police departments for the nightmare that has been the whole ICE immigration policy. Um, I understand that if they were to come to the school, the school will not be allowing people into the building, but what happens to the parking lot? What happens if parents are right at the satellites at the at a red light? Um, what happens if ICE decides that they're going to follow a school bus home and

016stop at every stop where the kids are being dropped off? This is a very real possibility, unfortunately, in this political situation that we're in. Um, but there needs to be a wellthoughtout plan in place with all four police departments ahead of time to determine what the course of action would be if something like this were to happen. And I was hoping that as a district committee that somebody would take that on and kind of spearhead that. Um, my son's only here through through June, but I think it's important for all the other parents. Um hopefully things change in the future, but if not, there needs to be a well thoughtout plan put in place before anything actually happens on the school grounds or right outside of school grounds. Um I guess that's it. Thank you

017for your time. >> Thank you very much. >> All right, Mr. Superintendent Therapy Dog. presentation uh from the biotech department. Allison Lore. That's not Allison. That's Chad Jackson. Principal Jackson. Thank you. >> Oh, there you go. I got to be smarter than a microphone. My apologies. Uh, good evening, members of the district committee. Um, my name is Chad Jackson again, uh, principal here at GLTS. Uh it's my distinct pleasure to stand here tonight uh formally welcome and introduce uh Allison Lor um who is a supervisor for uh the biotechnology department um and recently joined our administrative team as CTE coordinator. Um she's a familiar face to many of us at Greater Lawrence Tech having previously served with distinction as our lead dental uh assisting instructor. Uh when we look for leadership, we often look for

018individuals who understand classroom experience deeply. Uh and Allison brings that perspective in abundance. Uh I want to take a moment to commend her on her first few months in this new role. Uh to say she's hit the ground running would be an understatement. Uh she's approached this transition with incredible energy and focus. Uh she's dedicated herself to learning the specific needs of her assigned shops and has already become a vital resource for the instructors. uh tonight's a perfect example to support that. Uh Allison's been working closely with our biotechnology shop to ensure they have the administrative backing they need to flourish. She's been a strong advocate for the work that Scott Cummings uh and the biotechnology shop are doing. And I'm thrilled to have her as a member of our leadership team to help guide

019these programs forward. Uh I'll now turn it over to her so she can introduce Scott and our student guests here uh for tonight's presentation. Hi, good evening um school committee members. Thank you Mr. Jackson for that intro. Um I'm here today to introduce Scott Cummings. He is one of our dedicated in instructors in the biotech program. He teaches 10th grade. Um he has a strong blend of classroom and professional experience. He is now in his fourth year here with us at GLTS. He brings 12 years of in industry experience across um different aspects as of life science, customer goods and uh pharmaceuticals. He previously worked in higher education at Rivier College. He is the instructor who arranged this incredible opportunity that you're going to hear about tonight that our students were able to partner with

020Broad Institute giving them the exposure to this cutting edge research in realworld technology applications that they've learned there. He's also joined with one of our juniors that is a recent graduate of this um of this program that will speak about um his experience um Vladimir Calvo. Thank you. All right. Good afternoon or good evening I guess I should say. First and foremost, thanks so much to schoolboard committee to GLTS administration for allowing both myself and Vlad to talk a little bit more about this internship program and what it means to our department, what it means to the students. Um so what I just want to do is I just want to briefly go through um what our department does, what our focus area is. Some of you may be more or less familiar with biotechnology,

021talk about who the Broad Institute is, which is the organization that we have the partnership with. I'll explain what the internship is and then I'm going to turn it over to Vlad so he can give you his experience. um he recently went through this internship just a month or so ago. So he's a great individual to provide that insight to all of you. Um so with that, who is biotechnology, right? What does our CTE shop do here? Um we are I our focus is think about everything you might have learned in your biology class in high school or in college. We take that and we combine that with all of the innovation that is now out there and merge those two to allow our students to get experience and exposure um doing everything from um

022uh microbiological work. They grow cells. They grow media that allows those cells to grow. They practice DNA extraction, DNA replication and analysis. We go over forensic analysis. A lot of our students are fascinated in forensics, so we spend a lot of time giving them the practical lab skills to be successful in that area. And we also go over biio manufacturing. And what's really incredible about being here in Massachusetts is Massachusetts is the global hub for biotechnology. Um, not just within the US, but in the entire um, globe. So, it's really really cool that we're able to give students this experience here. Um some careers that we prepare our students for are careers in pharmaceutical technologies, biommanufacturing, medical research, drug development, forensic science, um medicine, veterinary science, the list goes on and on for what our

023students are capable and regularly do after they graduate. Um, in terms of who the Broad is, so the Broad Institute is who we have this incredible internship opportunity with. And the Broad Institute is a collaborative research institute down in um, Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were founded in 2003 by Harvard, MIT, and affiliated and surrounding hospitals. And their focus is on human health through the lens of genomics. and genomics is our genes. So any of these diseases that may have a genetic influence, that's what they're studying. They're doing research on cancer, infectious disease, psychiatric disorders. Um the list goes on and on for them. And um a couple of really interesting things about them is they are actually the largest genomics research facility in the entire world. meaning they are the preeeminent place where you would go

024if you were looking to study um genomics, information about our genes through the lens of human health. Um some things that they've worked on um I'm looking I'm scanning the room and many of you are about my age. Um so if you remember the human genome project that was a really big news story back in the um early 2000s where we for the first time were unlocking what is the complete genetic code for humans. Um that was them that was the broad institute. Uh they've made many breakthroughs in a number of different human health conditions. More recently they did a lot of work around COVID. They also have done and are the in the institute that holds the patent for a brand new um genetic tool that we call crisper which allows us to do

025gene editing on a level that we've never been able to do before. So they are truly an incredible institute. The way I kind of describe them a good analogy for people is they are our NASA right? So for biotechnology this is the place right? this is the place we want to be. And we're fortunate enough to have this partnership thanks to um myself and the connections of all of my colleagues at um in the biotechnology department that worked really hard to foster this relationship. And what the internship is is every single one of our junior students gets to go down there for a period of about three weeks. They end up spending almost a hundred hours at the Broad Institute doing independent mentor-led research. They get the opportunity to meet scientists, hear about how they

026got to be there, what their journey was. They're in there using the equipment um that is cutting edge um state-of-the-art equipment. They get exposure to that. um examples, although I'm going to let Vlad talk and answer any questions that you have. Um the project that they worked on this past year was actually in our labs right here at GLTS. They took yeast cells, regular old yeast cells, like you would use to bake bread, and they slowly introduced them to conditions that would normally make it not good for them to grow. and they allowed them to make slow changes and flourish. And then they went to uh this lab down in Cambridge and actually identified where in their DNA these little yeast cells changed that allowed this to happen and were able to make that connection

027which is just an incredible opportunity for them. And these are some examples right up here of our students doing work in their lab. Um the lower left you have a picture of all of them working in the lab. The few in the middle are them presenting their work. They actually get to go in front of all of the scientists there. A lot of our administrators were kind enough to come down and see our students present their research that they did over the three weeks. Um, and although I would could speak a lot more about it, I actually want to turn it over to Vlad and give him the opportunity to um, share a little bit about his experience. I'm going to act as his Vanna White and I'm going to hold up his um, his

028poster project that he presented what, three weeks ago? >> Three weeks ago. >> Yeah, it was just three weeks ago, right before Thanksgiving. So, this is uh, sorry, they're normally hung up on the walls of our uh, department, but this is his presentation that he gave to um everyone at the Broad. So Vlad, if you want to talk a little bit about your experience. >> All right. So honestly, the broad stuff, it was honestly one of like a really amazing experience to be honest. It was really great how they got us accustomed to how the industry will be since we will continue on our paths into this growing job industry in America and across the whole world if we're being honest. And this is just one of those things where we would present our work

029to real scientists and we would even go to presentations of other scientists including people who actually made investments in science like advance in bug research, investments in neurology and all these things. And as you can see, I think it looks pretty professional, although I'm not sure. I'm not one myself. >> Looks pretty professional. [laughter] [clears throat] >> All right. Thank you. But I think the lab work was really great. We had we got to talk. We had to have like a little Q&A with different scientists and different workers at the Broad. We had computational We had computational workers. We had real people in the lab. We got to meet managers. We got to meet all sorts of people in abroad and what was really interesting is that they all each had their own different backstory

030and we got to learn so much about these jobs that we could be heading into and it's really an amazing experience that we can just be able to have this when so many kids out there don't have the same opportunity as us to be working in real labs to be making real scientific advancements that haven't been seen before with new technology. technology that's just coming out and it was just it was really great and I'm really grateful about it. So, it was really awesome. [applause] >> Does um does anyone have any questions for myself or Vlad? I know you have a lot on your agenda, but we want to make sure that if you have any questions that we're able to answer them for you. I think we're all set. >> Well, thank you. >>

031Congratulations to you. You did a fantastic job. >> Thank you. >> You got your instructor here. You got your academy supervisor here. You even have the principal here for a cheerleader. Congratulations. [laughter] >> Thank you very much. >> I mean, I couldn't have done it without all of you people from England. So, >> thank you so much for this evening. Appreciate it. Yes, please. >> So, I I just want to express a thank you uh for your presentation and also a special thank you for your leadership and the in tremendous growth in the program over the last four years since Scott has come aboard with us. It's made a huge difference in the curriculum in the uh opportunities our students have had. The Broad Institute, you couldn't get any better than that. wouldn't have happened

032without someone like Scott who really cares about what the kids are learning and the opportunities they have for the future. So, um, thank you Scott and congratulations on the work you're doing and and it certainly shows in in the students presentation today. Thank you. >> Thank you. I couldn't have done it without the whole bio department is incredible and administration has helped us so much with this. It was a lot to get this off the ground and we had consistent support from everyone. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Um I don't know maybe a month ago, maybe six weeks ago, we presented the idea of a therapy dog to the committee to think about. Uh we are uh would like to uh have the committee make a a vote on uh accepting the

033idea of having a therapy dog here at Greater Lawrence Technical School. You have a itemized uh document that shows what the cost is uh in order to uh have a therapy dog here at JLTS. Uh basically it's it would cost us somewhere between 12 and 14,000 initially uh to have uh the therapy dog program get off the ground and then after that it would be about $2 to $3,000 a year to maintain uh the uh the dog on on our uh at the school here. both in terms of continue uh training and continue health and wellness uh and uh supplies necessary to uh maintain the dogs uh health here at GLTS. Um so if the committee uh thinks that it uh would be a great idea to have this opportunity for our students um which

034u I personally believe would have a huge difference particularly on those students who um uh have another opportunity to connect with something that they're comfortable with particularly when our social workers are working with them they have found that uh this is a uh tool that I'm calling it a tool, but a a life uh uh animal that really can make a difference in the work that they're trying to accomplish with students. >> Mrs. Ferris, Mrs. Ferris. >> Um so just one dog, >> one dog. And who's the caregiver >> would be the one of our staff uh members here at the school that has some experience working with uh similar dogs. >> You all set? >> Yes, >> vice chair. Um uh quick question. So these were um prices for different buckets of like training

035and certification. There's something here regarding partnering with Essex Tech. Do you know what that that's about? Or do do they have an animal science program? Is that what it is? Or >> I don't know if it's related to this. It's at the end at the bottom. >> [snorts] >> Yeah. So they do um Essex does have a vette program there. So that would be one option like they have their own you know animal hospital there. Um so that was one of the possibilities to to use their service for veterinary care >> versus like the >> Boulder Hospital. Okay. Right. Makes sense. All right. Thank you. Oh my god. >> So moved. Yes. >> Yes. Uh presently we have uh well just under a thousand but since this report has been put together we probably have

036over a thousand students that have applied already already this year for next year's upcoming 9th grade class. Uh we continue to have applicants that are applying and I believe it's uh the lottery would be in March. I think we uh March. So uh at that time it would close all applicants uh have to have their applications in is it February? By February. >> Uh February 1st is a priority deadline. So, we can take applications after that, but they would go into a late applicant pool. I think we're up about 200 applications from where we were last year at this time. >> Any questions for superintendent? We're doing a school project. So um at at this time the uh major project that's going on that students are working on around the school is the um the

037um high-tech house that uh they will be pouring the concrete foundation uh Thursday morning. Uh and then once that's poured, they can actually start uh they can back fill and start actual uh construction, wood construction of the floor and and move on from there. In terms of other projects that are going on in the school is the cafeteria project. They will be opening up the floor on Christmas vacation, jackhammering the concrete, which you can't do while school's in session. And the plumbing department's going to do all the underground sore work. uh when they return. Once that's done, we can pour the concrete and then we can really move along and uh finish up that project because the under uh the underground work will be done and everything above that is just a matter of uh

038getting equipment in place and uh doing a suspended ceiling on the kitchen area. Uh and uh from that point on it'll go much quicker. Uh then uh the other project we have going on is the uh barn which we are getting ready to do the HAC the duck work for the geothermal system uh which we uh the HAC students will be installing that and that we hope to start after the holidays as well. The carpentry students have done uh the stairwork in there and are probably 75% done with the stairwork. It's a uh twotory stair work. I mean a a twostory uh with a wind one wind in it, one turn in it. [clears throat] Uh that goes up at about uh 14 ft. So it's a long stairway. Uh but the students have done

039a good job so far. They just have the ballisters left to put in and to complete that project. Uh [clears throat] and um those are the um major projects we've been f focusing on. uh as of the last couple of month uh last month or so and the I guess the other uh project is uh the heat system for uh for the IT move uh we're waiting for the company to come in and start installing that. So that'll finalize that space. Um and uh pretty much those are our major projects going on right now. Any questions on the updates, Mr. Jones? >> Uh there's going to be a lift that going to be uh on the outside of the building, not inside the building. So, as you look at the building, when you look across

040from [clears throat] our building, uh to the right, that garage, there's a garage door on the right side of the building. To the left of the garage door, there'll be a lift there. uh that brings uh any handicap to the second floor. >> Any further questions? Out of state travel, Colleen Belly, math instructor, will travel to Texas Instruments Conference, Arlington, Texas, February 12th through the 16th. Uh total estimated cost $1,154.93. Conference fees and airfare are covered by the conference. The paperwork in the back. I think you have it all in your packet. Also, >> would you do this? >> Uh, can I get a >> motion to approve? >> I'll do this. >> Thank you. >> Still on state travel. Motion to approve. >> A second. Second by Mr. Tom. Call >> discussion. Any further

041discussion on this out of state travel? >> M. >> Ferris. >> M. >> Yes. >> Mr. Jones. Yes, >> Mr. >> Yes, >> Mr. Mercedes. >> Yes, >> Mr. Tox. >> Mr. Hayden. >> Yes. >> Uh, superintendent of voice. School bus ownership. I think this came about through uh the vice chair's request for information. >> Yes. Uh I did have a request to look at the possibilities of or what the challenges would be in terms of uh ha uh having our own school buses. So I did reach out to uh Marine uh Griffin at um Whittier Tech the superintendent uh as they own their own buses. I did do a visit out there last year and then I spoke to her again recently uh to try to understand what the challenges are uh in ownership

042and um the uh well the biggest challenge of all is is uh finding bus drivers just as it is in private industry. uh keeping bus drivers getting substitutes uh is the biggest challenge. It has an impact on uh keeping the buses rolling. Uh the the other thing is that uh the bus drivers are uh get paid per uh each route that they do. So each time they go out and uh pick up students and bring them to school, they get paid for that one uh route. And then again when they bring them home they have no benefits. Uh and so it does become challenging in order to keep bus drivers on employed. Uh [clears throat] they own themselves they own 26 buses which they have to maintain. Most of them are diesel. So in the

043winter it's a challenge. When it um when it snows they come in at 3 in the morning the maintenance department to clean the buses off. Uh often when it's cold like this, they have challenges getting the buses started. [snorts] Um they own some of the buses and they lease some of the buses. Uh [clears throat] uh the uh operation, the uh management of of the whole bus system, the scheduling, everything. They have a bus director, which they pay uh is the only one on basically on staff. Everyone else is uh basically kind of like part-time. Um and um the um the uh repairs um can be substantial at times depending on um the time of year and when things tend to break down in the winter uh which causes more problems. Uh they have three

044extra buses when buses can't start or or uh there's some kind of problem with the bus. um [clears throat] the uh cost uh they uh submit an end of the year report specifically for their bus transportation and they're reimbursed uh specifically to the only exactly what they their costs are. So the the rental, I mean the leasing, the ownership of the payments for the buses they own, uh every all of their costs are submitted uh to the Department of Education and they're reimbursed at that. So they really don't uh benefit in terms of any extra funding that benefits the school. Um, so in my mind, uh, all the headaches are, as uh, the superintendent says, they have to deal with all the problems as if they were a bus company. Uh, and they fall on

045her plate often, uh, trying to meet all the challenges of that. So, um, there's not a lot of great advantages. Um the uh I don't think she had great things to say about it, but um the one thing she did say is that we have control of the schedule. And I said, "Do you ever have, you know, late buses?" Well, yeah, buses are late. Buses don't show up. All the things that we have problems with, they have problems with. Only they are the ones that deal with the problem more so than the bus company. So, you know, in light of everything that I learned, it I can't understand what why it would make any sense for us to own our own buses. Uh it's just more responsibility on the school uh to deal with things

046that they have to deal with uh on a day-to-day basis. >> Any questions? >> Thank you, Mr. Boy. Um, I had tried to get the uh committee together, but I was unable to get them together last week for a quickformational meeting on how to do a superintendent search. Um, I have been involved in a few of these. I believe the vice chair has been involved in one, uh, but everybody else hasn't. And I had asked former chairman Leo Lamontine to come down. He did I think the last five or six for Greater Lawrence Tech to give us some insight. I also asked Janice Ayella to come down and give us as much information as she can to help us with these decisions. And I've asked our attorney, attorney Wayne Simmons, who's been here probably 20ome

047years. He's been through quite a few of these to give us his insight. My hope is to get all the information we can and have uh a separate meeting on this after New Year's. That gives you time to digest all these all the paperwork we're going to have in front of us. This is probably the single most important decision that this committee will make. Um I don't take it lightly and I'm sure that you're not going to take it lightly. Um, so with that, I'll ask Mr. Lamontine if you'd come up and give us some insight. Actually, Mr. Lamontine, I feel kind of strange sitting in your chair after 38 years of you serving this committee. >> You look you look good there, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Uh, committee members, thank you for

048this opportunity. I'd like to just give you just a just a couple of minutes of what we did in the past. Uh, some of the things we did in the past. Uh first of all uh what the committee needs to do is needs to decide whether they want to do an um search themselves or hire an outside firm. Uh there's several firms that do it. Uh we always went with the Massachusetts Association of School Committee. Uh we had very good luck with them. Uh and they were uh price-wise they were very very price uh price conscious. Um that would be my suggestion. uh because trying to do it yourself uh is uh a herculean job. It's uh it's unbelievable how much work it can be. So the first thing that uh I would suggest uh

049that we have done in the past is uh we set up a um like I said find out which one you which way you want to do it. That's the first thing. So if you decided to go with an outside firm like uh um Massachusetts Association um you set up a uh subcommittee and uh subcommittee would meet with first of all you would meet with the with MAPSA first not maps excuse me mask first and u you would set up the parameters. Uh then the uh the chairman uh would set up a subcommittee. Uh the way we set up the subcommittee in the past is um we all we had u someone from the administr uh someone from the administration union, someone from the teachers union, um someone from the parents uh council. Um and

050uh we even offered it out to uh one member to each of our sending communities seeing that they pay the bill. Um so didn't always have have luck getting somebody but we always made the offer uh to do it. Uh I would strongly suggest even though how tempting it is, I'd strongly suggest on that committee there that uh we have no school committee members uh on that particular committee. Um because it uh just keeps the politics out of it. Um, the way it works, you set up a timeline and uh, as uh, foolish as it sounds, you set the timeline up right at the beginning and it never works, but at least you set up a timeline. Uh, when you go out for advertisement, how much time you give that, how much time you give

051to get the applications back. uh then how many how much time they have to interview do the first step of interviews and then our committees uh in the past always asked for at least three possibly four members that this final committee would take and uh would uh would would interview um the timeline never works but at least you have a timeline with the final date that you would like someone sitting in that seat or at least signed an agreement for that seat at such and such a date like April 1st whatever it possibly be and you break it all down. It gets changed constantly because of of life and because people cannot always make every meeting whatever it might possibly be, but at least you have something to go by. If you don't do that,

052you're just you're all over the place. And um the the chairman has a a yman's job there to keep everybody uh try as close to on that task as possible. And it isn't easy to do because you're working with so many people. Um we found in the vicinity of between 7 to nine members on that subcommittee worked well. Uh you have to keep you should keep an odd number just for voting reasons so you never you know you never have a tie. Uh as far as that's concerned uh you set up the parameters of what you want the application. This committee sets up the parameters of what you want the application to look like. Um, for instance, when we were out there, uh, when we did it, we asked for, uh, uh, five years classroom

053experience. We thought it was important that, um, a superintendent, he or she had some, um, idea of what happens in the classroom. Um, it might seem simple, but you certifications, you get all types of excuses for certifications, uh, provisional certification, uh, waiting to hear from the state, wait everything. We went with flat had to have a certification to even put the application in. You'll still get people that will put it in without their application, but that's why you have the subcommittee in uh Massachusetts Association School Committee to weed those out. Um, for instance, I might be a little bit off of my numbers, but I believe the last superintendent, we had uh 15 people uh answer uh answer the call. Uh we had eight that um excuse me, we had eight that um made the

054cut, if you want to call it that way, that that fit the parameters. And then we had three that we interviewed and we of course hired one. Um it takes months to do. It's it's a trying position. It's very hard to to keep politics out of it because you're going to be getting phone calls. You're going to be getting everything from from people. Um but that's uh basically how we did it. Um, I I also want um my own personal thing and you can't I don't think you can put this in the application. I look for somebody with uh vocational background. It's not imperative, but I look for somebody with a vocational background because you we do have uh we do have two high schools here whether we want to or not. So, um I

055I think we did very well with our with our last selection. Um, and uh, you know, I would hope that uh, you know, like this, uh, chairman had said, this is probably your biggest job in your job description as far as being a school committee person. Uh, since ed reform, you don't hire everybody anymore. You only have two or three positions that you actually hire. And hiring the superintendent, uh, whoever he or she may possibly be, um, is is is quite a job. But, um, like I said, I would set up that committee. I would personally suggest that you you don't do it in-house yourself, that you hire a company to do it. Myself personally, we've had best luck with that. If you have any questions or anything like that, just, you know, you know,

056>> no questions. >> No, Mr. Line, I don't think you've spoken that much in the 38 years that you've been sitting here. No, I I probably didn't, but uh you know, like I said, uh you know, I I look forward to watching you folks do it because it's uh it's it's a it's a job and I know, you know, everybody wants to say that you should do it yourself and stuff, but you you don't you can't check the credentials. You can't check, you know, you just don't have the I don't think believe anybody on this committee has the has the expertise to do all of that. You know what I'm saying? And we know we had one of our sending communities had a superintendent for a couple of years that had no paperwork, you know,

057didn't have the proper paperwork. So, it does happen. Uh, you know, probably more than we'd like, you know, but uh I would honestly say that. So, and if you like to say if you have any questions in the future, Mr. Chairman, uh, let me know. I'm sure there's enough paperwork in the office, too, to to confuse everybody, you know. So, Okay. >> Thank you very much. Um, Janice, would you like to get up and uh get rid of those packets you're carrying? >> Sure. >> Janice Ayella is our human resource director. >> Oh, yeah. Good. So Mr. Lemonine um clearly covered most of it but uh so I just prepared this packet for all you for all of you. Um it does have information again what Mr. Lontain. Um the first tab refers to uh

058looking for a leader. In most of these documents, I did some research and um I reached out to two of the they call them um executive search firms. One being MASC and the other one being NASDAQ. Um and one gave me a lot more information. As you can see the packet like five tabs are from the MASC the executive firm and the other one just gave me the last tab is just supplier with a few um costs but I'll go over them. So the looking for the the first tab it covers really um it's a guide to searching for the for your next school um superintendent and I'm not going to go through all of it but just to read um more or less because you're going to have the leisure of reading it. It's

059a lot of information, but I feel, you know, I kindly ask that please read it. Like Mr. Lamontain said, this is important. This is big, a lot of information, but you guys ultimately determine and decide what what route you're going to go and who you're going to hire. So, I think I've given you I'm giving you most I can, but if any questions arise, if you have any questions going further, you can channel them through Mr. um paid him and I can get can gather the information for all of you so you can have it in front of you hopefully before the next meeting. So the first one is um looking for a leader. It really just if we do decide to go let like mascine say they um they give you a what they

060call a field service rep. They assign a person to you. that person can be just what they call offer technical services which is described on page 14 of the first tab. Um I'm sorry this I'll go that's in the um cost proposal. So in the uh so this one is the search preparing the budgeting for the search the checklist the search preparation discussions of any salaries employment contract language. These are described within that first tab that you guys might want to read. The second tab is the cost proposal and here they give you and break down what they what they do at that firm MASC does for um for the committee which they offer a focus group um that could be for the subcommittee of the search committee. um they can come in they can

061help you guide you in how to um get that search committee going. They they give um they discuss on page four the focus groups who they can meet with. They do recommend a number of people. They do recommend the odd number. They do recommend, you know, school committee members, community u members, uh staff and then they have the general consultation, the announcement of the vacancy, how they post and and um announce the the job posting. Um they screen, they help you screen the resumes, something that they could be here with us or with you um whoever is on the um committee. They can screen and they can help you screen them. They also can they offer you a list of the candidates that they recommend but ultimately again the school committee will decide that um

062the staff involvement they help you if we decide if you guys decide I keep on saying you um decide to go and bring in the communities they help you with the survey um you know why do you want to be in this committee what part what experience do you have being in the committee if any um they also um on page nine they have The cost the cost is between it's they told me this is $1,1005 but no more than 1200 $12,000 sorry [snorts] um but if you want to announce it or put it on the Boston Globe or any magazines is an additional cost between 3 to 4,000 3,800 to 4,000 for a um for an ad. So if we go if I'm going a little too fast please let me know. um the

063orientation materials. That's tab three. Here is where they discuss um more of how they do it. They they try to keep you like Mr. Lantine say they try to keep you in line with that timeline that you can say that we're going to stick to. So it's important for them to do that. I like you know like I know that if they say that you know things come up where some people can't attend, they can't make it for whatever the reason may be. They have the policies and the laws. They have um how what questions can be asked what questions can't be asked when um when interviewing the open meeting open meeting law how to um they meant they go through that the mass conflict of interest law and the screening committee uh the role

064of the chair the officers and the members that's page um that's in that also in that tab that tab three and the dos and don'ts of hiring ing of a a committee. Um this other tab is the search services, the phases and um the district committee roles. I think this is very important. It breaks down everything I just mentioned. Breaks it down a little different and it also breaks down in phases what's done in phase one, what's done in phase two, phase three, and phase four. And the key committee roles are in green. Um, again, you're going to have, if you decide to go that route, you're going to have that person that's going to lead you and guide us through the whole process, but these are your roles and, um, the ones that are

065in green. And then ultimately, um, they gave us some samples. Um, they just, um, they went through the process with Wilmington. They just hired a new superintendent. They're in the process of working with Lexington. Um, so these are more or less the, um, invitation to apply. What will be out there? that would be um not their posting but information and a brochure. And then the last one is the NZDIC which is the New England School Development Council. This is another executive firm and they also break down to you in the last page the searches, the guided, the comprehensive and the costs are also listed there. Um everything's there. Again, if you have any questions, you can reach out um through Mr. hate him. And I'm here to help you all offer my services um as

066much as I can and you guys allow me to um and hopefully you guys can get this done. >> Thank you. Jess, can I ask you, do you know of the schools that they are working on now? The Mass Association of School Committees, are they working on any local schools now as far as looking for >> They just finished with Wilmington. They helped Wilmington. They're now with Lexington um public schools. They've done I think they've done recently they've done like 20 they completed 20 searches MASC and most of them are in mass. >> Thank you. You worked hard on this for us. Thank you very much. >> You're very welcome. >> Any questions for Janice? Uh one question I have is uh I understand we don't need the RFP because the figure is lower. >>

067Yep. But from what I understand from Melissa, we need three different You tell it, please. [clears throat] >> Yes. >> So, if it's over $10,000 for the service, we would need three quotes. And then the next threshold would be $100,000 would be would have to put it out to bid, but it won't be that expensive. >> And that information I also received from AMSC um >> into the mic, please. I also received that same information from MASC um that we just need the three codes. Right now we have two with the ones the information that you have and we just have to get one more. >> Perfect. I thank you very much. >> Any further questions, Mr. Vice Chair? >> Uh question maybe for Melissa. So the because it is over 10,000 I'm assuming the

068because this is related to the superintendent search the RFP would be decided by the school committee or who would make the decision. >> So we we don't have to do an RFP. >> Oh, you don't have to. >> You can do one if you want to. I mean there's no >> Okay. >> Limit to that, but you don't need to. >> Yep. >> Anybody else? Mrs. Ferris. >> Well, maybe I I didn't hear it or misunderstood. Um, did I hear Mr. Lamontine say that school committee members shouldn't be on the subcommittee? >> That was Mr. Lamontine, >> please. >> You, Mr. Through you, Mr. Chairman. Yeah, that's just my that's the way that we worked it was to keep them off of that that search committee is what it is because they're going to know

069you're going to see everybody and you it's only going to be you can only have two members possibly three members on that committee you know so uh it's going to and and in the past it didn't work well for us is what I'm saying now of course the whole committee meets with the final three slash4 but uh you know weeding out the I don't want to say deadwood, but reading out the uh the candidates um I found or we found that the uh having committee members on it didn't work. We we had a lot of people on it, you know, from the the community, you know, from each of the communities, from the teachers union, from uh um the uh administration, you know, but we didn't uh that's just my opinion. You can have it.

070I believe I have to ask the attorney, but I believe you can you can be on it. But that was just my opinion. It didn't work as well as it possibly could have if you're looking for a nice open and shut clean, you know, clean thinking. You know, they're not going to, you know, you're not going to bring in any personal uh, you know, opinion. >> No, I understand that. I understand, you know, I mean, people have agendas, but I >> No, you can't. No, like I said, this committee is going to make that ultimate decision. >> Yeah, >> it's just that that's just my opinion on on how uh how it worked in the past. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Any further questions? J. >> All right. Attorney Simmons, >> good

071evening. Um I don't have a lot to add. Um I I just give my two cents. Uh Mr. Wain respect what he did in the past and he's been through it many times. I've been through it a few times. Um uh you know from my perspective and some of the questions here there's not a lot of rules technical rules for this process. Um that I'm not aware of any technical rules. I mean it's really up to the committee um to do the due diligence. Um I would recommend um particularly from a political perspective and and some of the press the schools uh had lately um having an open transparent process I think is extremely important involving uh members of the community involving the unions involve just as Mr. Lman said I'm echoing that um uh

072having alumni from the school having you know any anyone that's willing to participate I think is extremely important uh offering uh member communities to have uh members on that subcommittee. So from a practical perspective, I think the committee's uh first big question uh which you first we need a meeting uh relatively quickly. Um you know time takes twice as long as as you think it's going to. Uh 6 months sounds like a long time. It isn't uh when it comes to a committee of nine people. Um hurting cats is a term that we use quite a bit. Um so um scheduling a meeting having priorities for that meeting which I think the first priority is whether the the committee wants to go down the search consultant route or not go uh search consultant. One of

073the options and I'm not recommending it but one of the options in the packet is MASC because we're members does offer technical assistance aside from their uh consultancy hiring. So they will provide technical assistance in the process even if you don't hire them. and there's a list of services they provide uh in those materials I think is very valuable. Um secondly um picking a subcommittee as I said offering it to several people and the committee should have a somewhat of a plan as to who we want to have that committee at that first meeting and getting them up to speed and ready to roll because even if we identify them at the next meeting there's going to be a lag in in actually getting them up to speed and getting them on the same page.

074Um and thirdly, the other uh my priority I would recommend is identifying um as Mr. echoing what Mr. Lontain said from experience, identifying what's important to the committee, whether it's vocational uh experience, whether it's classroom experience, whether it's, you know, having worked in Massachusetts or whatever whatever it may be to you and getting on board as a committee as to what your priorities want to be. So the subcommittee then has the direction that they need to narrow down um um the group. Um so those would be my first uh my three priorities. Um other than that is it is ultimately up to the committee to to to vote on each issue and and to move the ball down the field. Um and if anyone has any questions uh for me >> Mr. the vice chair

075>> um in terms of so because the committee has to start the process and select timeline etc. Um who who is responsible for forming that search committee? >> The committee. >> The So the committee would have to take that in a vote. >> Yes. So again, in a perfect world, um if you guys can think of uh some recommendations for the next meeting, I think we're going to schedule a separate meeting >> afternoon. We'll have a separate meeting just for this. >> So the committee can can offer names. Now the assistance of whether you hire MASC as a consultant or just use their technical experience they will be very helpful on this as well. So you'll be appointed a field rep I think uh Miss Ael has already been touched with them uh they can

076attend the meeting and they can provide more specific guidance on on the practicalities of it. Um but identifying that committee who they're going to be and approving that committee um I think is your f probably your first big job. Any further questions? I really thank the three of you for coming. You've given us uh a lot to think about. Janice, thank you for all the work on the shot book you gave us. Um Tommy, >> I thought it was important for everybody to get the same information at the same time >> and I thank you all for coming. Mr. Lavoy, >> I have my recommendations for the committee. Please, you want to get up? >> Thank you. >> So, this is an outline from start to finish on a recommendation just for your own information

077to have something to guide you. It's based on my three three times going through the process. The last one was here. By far committee, did you go through it? might be helpful for you understand >> thank you Mr. Lavoy. Um, Leo, Wayne, Janice, I want to share with you also that uh there are at least two different schools that were interested in hearing you speak tonight um that I've been in touch with. They were waiting to get some more information just like we're digging it up. [clears throat] So, thank you all for coming. >> You too. Thank you, >> Mr. Sure. >> Mr. Loy, uh, spray booth RFP. So, you have in front of you, we just received um >> the bid. We put out a >> I'm sorry, >> RFP to get a um

078a bid to uh install a new spray booth for auto body, which was part of the uh capital skills grant funding that we got for this particular project. Uh as part of the project, a new spray booth was included. Um the the uh I think it was about $750,000 that we received from uh uh on the particular last uh capital improvement uh capital skills capital grant that we received. And um we are pretty much under the gun to get this project done before the end of the school year. Uh we're very much behind uh on getting this started. Uh so but we just we had to send this out twice. This is a this is a result of the second time that the RFP went out. The first time nobody bid on it. Uh so

079we had to put it out a second time and the second time one company bid on it. Uh and it came in at $335,000 which is covered by the skills capital grant. Uh so uh the funding for it will come out of that particular grant. And this particular I think one of the reasons that we probably didn't get a lot of uh companies interested in bidding on this project. It's uh it's a infrared spray booth which is not u the newest techn it's it's it's not brand new but it's relatively new and that is preferred type of uh heat system in order to dry the vehicle and uh what it offers is the opportunity to uh only utilize can uh dry specific sections of this car instead of the whole car which saves energy. And

080the cost is uh substantially less than using gas boilers which what we have. We have two spray booth now. And both of those use GA they're gas fired uh furnaces that provide the heat for the spray booth. This is uh infrared lights that uh dry the car. And so this technology is relatively uh not seen uh everywhere but it's we thought was important to when we wrote the grant uh apply for something that we felt would be uh innovative and uh uh which is recommended when drying electric vehicles because of the electricity and gas introducing gas into a a electric vehicle. So, uh, I would need a a vote to accept the bid tonight in order for us to get started on this project as soon as possible because we're not meeting until again until

081January. That would put us more than a month behind on getting started on this project. >> Uh, just a quick question. Oh, sorry, >> please. >> Yeah. Um, for the spray booth, so it says the RFP was due yesterday. Yeah, we got it in yesterday. >> It all closed yesterday. So, okay, that makes >> Yep, we just got the bid in yesterday. >> How many bids did we get for that RFP? >> This was the only one >> and this was the second time we put it out there. >> All right. Thank you. >> Welcome. >> Any further questions? >> Yes. Yeah. Any vehicles >> specializing? Yeah, we went this. Yeah, it's recommended. >> Any further questions? >> No. Please turn your mic on, please. >> You got to hit it. Thank you. >> So,

082this just happened today. yesterday. We just got the bid yesterday back. We got it back yesterday. >> So, if you wouldn't have had the the bit back yesterday and put it on the agenda today, what would have happened? Now, we had to rush to approve something that you just gave gave to us. But my question is, >> well, here's here's the thing. >> Yeah, I just there are no there there are no other options. We've been working on this for months and we sent it out there, you know, couple months ago, got none. So, we put it out there. >> The question that I asked, >> but the qu the problem is there. >> Ask the question again. >> Go ahead. >> I My question is this was just put today in the agenda. >>

083That's with the rush of us approving it because there's no time. What about if you don't you wouldn't have received that? What happened? >> That's my question. Just answer my question. >> If we don't have what? If you wouldn't had that bit yesterday or this morning because you you just added this. >> If we didn't have it, we wouldn't have been able to give it to you. We would have had to wait till the next meeting. >> Okay. Then we wait for the next meeting because this is >> we would lose a month of opportunity to get started on we're already way behind schedule. We jeopardize not getting it done in time and losing the grant. If we don't get it done in time, we lose $335,000. And there's only we couldn't get any other

084biders. You're only going to get this bid. This the only company we could get to bid on this. >> Um it's not like we have other because we went and solicited we put it out there. >> We answer another question that we didn't even ask. Thank you very much. This is last minute. It just doesn't feel right. >> Yeah. I mean it's last minute. It's not that we wanted it to be last minute. It's just that we um feel like it's important to get it going. >> All set? >> Yeah. >> Any further questions? >> Emry, you got your hand up or you just >> no. I'll just make a comment that I mean I do understand that sometimes um stuff like this happens that you know I mean was this in the works before

085right or no >> it's what >> what was this project in the works before? Did we ever vote on a new spray booth or any or is this part of a an improvement in that shop area? It's a upgrade in that shop that was recommended by the advisory committee and um to and so we put in we put in a grant specifically for this a skills capital grant to to put an addition on the building and to put in a new spray booth that's uh more technology based and uh up to speed. Okay. I mean [clears throat] >> that that went in a year and a half almost two years ago. So, we've been trying to get this ongoing. >> Did it ever come? Did that ever come to the committee at all as >>

086No, it never came to the committee in terms because we just it just uh we sent out we sent out the RFP and >> we came back and no bid. So, we sent it out again and we finally got the bid um yesterday. >> Yeah. I mean, I'm not I'm I'm not against anything that enhances the building and enhances uh kids ability to uh progress. So, I'm not I'm not against this. I I I um and I do understand I guess that um it was out before there were no bids and now you got a bid yesterday, right? >> Yes. >> Yeah. I mean, I'm not against anything that improves the quality of um education and and and progress in sharp areas. So, and it is a grant. All right. >> All set. >> But

087I understand where Miss Dissler is coming from. So, but you wouldn't have had any opportunity. What would be the issue if you delayed it? >> Well, it means we'd have to wait over a month to get the contractor, the company to start the project. Yeah. So, what would you be looking for in order to >> Not me. I mean, I'm I'm okay with it, but I mean, it's I'm okay with it. Okay. Would you two shut your mics, please? Um, I'm going to speak to this one. This is my old shop. This was my trade with the so many electric cars out there. The kids are working on electric cars. cars, they need the infrared to dry them. Or else, if you put in the oven at 135 degrees for 35 minutes, you're going to

088make the computer dizzy in that electric car. It's basically to service the electric cars that are out there. That would be my [clears throat] biggest claim here. >> Here we go. I mean, again, I'm not against the whole understanding that we need this and it's a grant and it needs to be done. What I'm my my my push back is the same. It's the last minute that we need to have something in the agenda and we now need to approve it because it's too late and it's not the first, it's not the second, it's not the third. It happens too often and it's something that it has not improved. So that's what I'm against. And I'm again I'm not against us getting better for our shops. Of course this is needed. It's the last minute

089thing that I'm against and I need to say something and I'm saying it. Um I will go for this too. But again I need to I need that in minutes. It shows that we need to improve. Making sure that the uh the agenda item gets into the agenda at the appropriate time and that we have enough time to review stuff before we say yes, I approve. Okay. And that's all I mean that's that's exactly what I'm against. Thank you. I'll shut this down. You need a motion first, please. Can I get a motion? >> Second from Mr. Tox. Any further discussion? >> Mr. Jones? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mia? >> Yes. >> Mr. Mercedes? >> Yes. >> Mr. Tox? >> Miss Ferris? >> Yes. >> Miss Dler? >> Yes. >> Mr. Hayden? >> Yes. Motion

090pass. Michael. >> Yes. Um we have been doing few motions reversed. We need to put the motion discussed then the approval. You just almost I mean this was not even in the motion. >> I missed it myself. >> Yes. Okay. We done few of this this way and it's the wrong process. >> I got you to keep me on task. >> I tried. >> Thank you. Reports of the committee, we see none. District committee priorities, we see none. New business, none. Table of matters, none. Personnel considerations report. Resignations, none. Leaves of absences, none. Retirements, nine, appointments, none job postings. We have two job postings. I'll read them both, but they'll both be down for separate votes. Uh, administrative dean, new position for safe office, currently freshman academy team leader, masser contract, see attached job description.

091The second one is a parent leaison translator, 10-month position. provide written and verbal Spanish translations for all school departments based on experience and the par profofessional contract plus 30% for the additional duties see the attached job description the dot job descriptions a vote in the back can I get a motion on the administrative dean position First of all, does anybody need clarity on what that is? >> Yes, >> Mr. Lavoy. So, um we're we have a uh right now we have a freshman academy uh team leader that basically a freshman doing the work basically as a a dean only only working with freshman's. And because of the continued growth of the school uh since we initially uh put this position in place, uh I believe that um this position should be bumped up to a

092a full dean. uh it would allow that person to have more authority without having to. So what happens now every time there's some kind of disciplinary action that has to happen, she has to bump it up to uh either uh either one of our other deans in order to uh uh follow through with any um discipline action or recommendations for uh any additional uh requirements that uh she sees fit for issue may be having with the student. Um and sometimes it having uh operational conflict. So you have a a section there that uh sometimes it creates confusion among staff and her role in her role of what her uh authority is and what it isn't. Uh she does an really terrific job with the uh freshman. She only oversees the freshman. Uh and this would

093give her uh the requirement uh management uh significant increase uh in working with the challenges that uh she does with students in terms of making uh recommendations and giving consequences to to students that are needed and working with parents getting parents in and not having to always uh take that responsibility and turn it over to other deans who are already have a large load. So we have this would be our third dean for almost 2,000 students which is a substantial amount of students for deans to operate. So um that's why I'm asking to upgrade the position to uh um a full dean uh responsibility. >> Any further questions? I'm sorry. >> The expected salary or >> the salary would she would fall in the salary schedule of where her experience lies regarding administration as an

094administrator. So, uh somewhere I would say at the uh I'm not sure because we haven't done an interview or we haven't posted it yet. I'm assuming it's probably going to fall somewhere in the very beginning of the salary schedule, the lower end of the salary schedule. Henry, >> are we are we discussing this? Are you taking a a mo making a motion? So the we can discuss this or do you does it matter? >> Discussing now. You can make a motion. It's up to you. [clears throat] >> Okay. Um unfortunately um the individual in this position is doing a great job. However, I see no need for number one, another administrator, and I've never changed my I've never waved from that statement since I've gotten on this board. There is absolutely no need for another

095administrator. And second, there's no need for three now deans in that office when you have an assistant principal also there. So that's a little topheavy for me. And as all Chiefs, no Indians. Um I don't believe that, you know, the freshmen take up an enormous amount of time. I think that they're well supported by the the the [clears throat] guidance staff more than they are the safe department. And as far as issuing consequences and things like that, that definitely falls under the jurisdiction of that individual without the title and without uh a huge bump in in pay. Again, it's you know, you know, I'm I'm conflicted only because of the person, but definitely not because of the title. It is not necessary. Um, you have an assistant principal in that office and the amount of

096students. I mean, I'm hearing every day, every time I come in here how great the kids are. No issues. We're doing this, we're doing that, and all of a sudden, we need another dean. You know, that's kind of, you know, polar opposites there. So, while I appreciate the effort, I am definitely not in favor of this. Thank you. >> Mr. Vice, >> um just in line with what Miss Ferry, so I'm um I don't know. I'm kind of confused. Well, first confused and second, um I have an issue with this too. Um because we one got a commitment that we were not going to add more administrators and the second is we are talking about giving this position to a particular individual to cover the duties of the administrative dean. Um and the third is

097we just voted on the maps of contract. So my first question would be um is there a third administrative dean position that is weaved into the maps of or the new maps of contract? Because to my my knowledge there was only the assistant principal and the two administrative deans or one one administrative dean. Um and then the second is my understanding of the limitations behind the job description of the freshman team leader is around discipline. Is that correct? >> Yeah, it's around discipline. Okay. So I mean in my mind I see it as a simple job description fix um and something to be renegotiated with that individual or that position. Um, but I'm not an administrator and I haven't been administrator, so I don't understand that piece. But, um, in my mind, reading the administrative

098dean's position versus the the freshman academy team leaders, um, I I see it as a job description that needs to be amended. I don't see a need for another administrator. And the third is we're entering into January of the upcoming year. We're already mid midway through the school year. Um, and we're preparing for a superintendent search. So, in my mind, I would leave this assessment to the next superintendent if that's something that's needed. I just don't I don't feel comfortable with this. Not one bit. because we got the commitment, then we didn't get the commitment, then we were asked for stipens the last meeting, and then this meeting we're talking about another administrator and God knows what else is going to come. Uh, so yeah, I'm curious to just get more information around even more

099specifically the maps of contract >> and if that is even outlined or if this is something that needs to go back to the union and get renegotiated. Anybody else? >> No, it's it's a question. >> Oh, okay. >> Yeah. Yeah. The question is, is is this something that needs to get renegotiated or is this something that was included in the contract? >> No, it doesn't have to get renegotiated. It just becomes another position in the contract. They already have the position in the contract, so we're not going to have to negotiate another position in there. It falls under the existing language of the contract. So in the contract they have three or two administrative deans. >> We don't we don't the contract doesn't specify how many people are in any particular position. >> So how

100is it specified? >> It just gives the uh position and uh the person that's in the position what their credentials are determines and years of experience determine where they're placed on the schedule. So if we hire another dean, their experience uh as an administrator as well as their credentials will determine where they get placed on the schedule. There's nothing in the contract that says you have two deans or three deans or >> Okay. >> Yeah. So um I think what would be helpful is maybe Melissa could help us um is how much does the position what is funded for the freshman academy team leader position? Um, and what is like the base pay for an administrative dean uh based on the schedule? Unless you have at the top of your head. >> I don't have

101it. No, I don't have the top of my head. I have um the current salary for the freshman team leader is 112880 and that she's on step 15 comparable step 15 on maps would be 15694. What? I'm sorry. What was the last figure I didn't hear? >> The I don't know what step the person would go on, but the comparable step 15 would be 156904. >> Thank you. >> Yeah, I don't think she would come in at She has never been an administrator that I'm aware of. So, she would probably fall on the first step. I don't have her credentials in front of me, but since I've been here, she hasn't been in the role of of an administrator >> in the last 16 years. >> Yeah. I mean, just in response, I mean, I

102just in my view, I see it as a fix to the job description. Um if if the issue is discipline is assigning the discipline or having a issue with the chain between the um other deans or the the assistant principal um versus an entirely new position. >> Okay. Further get a motion on this one before we move on to the next one. motion. Moving on to the next one. Parent the Aison translator. Uh Mr. Lavoy, why don't you give us a quick >> All right. So, this is a 10-month uh so we're looking to get a uh a translator. We don't actually have a individual that we consider our translator in the school. So we have different people at different times translating and I believe it would be uh prudent for us to have a

103translator that we go to so there's consistency and experience in doing the translation for the regardless of what department that they're translating for. So, we're looking at making a taking a parent leaison the parent leaison position slashtransator. Uh, it would be a 10-month position. Um, this would be a person that has experience in uh working with parents on a regular basis, has found that we have found to have substantial success, has written a lot has done a lot of translations for us both verbally and and written. has sent out. We've sent out numerous communications to parents and uh both uh on uh through uh email uh letter form um and for years. And so we're looking for someone that can provide this service across all departments in the school. It would be uh provide written

104and verbal Spanish translation for all school departments based on experience. the paraprofessional contract that would be in the paraprofessional contract plus a 30% additional for that duty uh as outlined in the job description please. >> Can I make a motion to approve? Can I make a motion to approve? Okay. So, I'm making a motion to approved based on the fact that I know that a good translator is in high demand. Even though we have several bilingual people here, they're just not available. Apparently, bilingual parent liaison um I think is um definitely needed. >> Second discussion. They're they're in the building now and they're working as a parent liaison uh but has u never formally be recognized as our translator officially and um because of the constant we've she's worked overtime. she's done initial constantly giving

105in that role. Uh but I'm looking for someone that also will work with other departments so that we have consistency in that translation and so someone who has the experience and understands the dialect and the kinds of uh uh Latino uh language better so that whoever we're talking to in the building is getting consistent uh translation. So, I I think it's something that would allow us to be more professional and and show that we support the Latino community. >> Further, >> Mr. Tox, >> yes. >> Miss Ferris, >> yes. >> Miss Dler, >> yes. >> Mr. Jones, >> yes. >> Mr. Media, >> yes. >> Mr. Mercedes, >> yes. >> Mr. Hay, >> yes. pass >> future agenda items. I see none. I'd like to get a motion to enter into executive session at this.

106>> I'll make a motion. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I Okay. How you doing? >> Good. You tough? >> Good. Um, I contacted Hilltop, sent you that note, you and Melissa. So, I know Melissa's waiting for the audit at least to get a draft. >> Yep. >> But, uh, you know, I gave him the background and everything. So, let me know when you want to have a call with them. >> Okay. >> Um, >> once we finish the audit, >> then we can probably make the call. >> Exactly. Yeah. So we can find out the whole process what we need to do and >> Okay, that sounds great. >> And the committee because it needs to go through approvals over there. >> Yep. >> So >> okay, >> sounds great. Thanks for

107your work. What are you doing? I didn't turn it in. So You too. Praise the Lord. A very efficient meeting again. I showed up going down. Okay. [clears throat] This one already passed. Ready? All set back in session, please. Can I get a motion on >> the MOA? >> Motion on the SEIU contract MOA amendment. Get a second. >> Second. >> This is for contract. Call >> Mr. M. >> Ma. >> Mr. Jones. >> Yes. >> Mr. Mia. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Mr. >> Yes. >> All right. Can I get a motion on the substitute teacher, please? >> Like a motion we uh pay the substitute teaching time to cover the math math classes. >> Get a second. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> Chair, please. >> Mr. Mercedes. >> Yes. >>

108Mr. >> Mr. Jones. Yes, >> Mr. >> Yes. >> Uh, Mr. Lo, I don't have a new paper to sign. Will the old paper stay in effect or do I got to come back and sign it >> for the sub that I signed? >> Oh, I think that's okay. >> That's okay. >> Anything further from anybody? We get a motion to adjourn. >> Some move. >> All those in favor? I >> Merry Christmas everybody. >> Merry Christmas.