001Okay, good evening everyone. With the time being 6 o'clock p.m. on May 7th, 2025, I will call this meeting of the Webster School Committee to order. And as a reminder, on March 28th of 2025, Governor Hilly signed into law a bill that extends the temporary provisions pertaining to the open meeting law. It's now been extended to June 30th of 2027. And specifically, this further extension allows public bodies to continue holding meetings remotely without a quorum of the public body physically present at the meeting location and to provide adequate alternative access to remote meetings. In this case, we've provided a Zoom link for this meeting for folks to join if they so wish. The language doesn't make any substantive changes to the open meeting law other than extending the expiration date of the temporary provisions from
002March 31st of this year to June 30th of 2027. So, as I mentioned, those who wish to participate could have accessed the meeting using the Zoom link. And in addition to that, this meeting is being recorded and will be posted on the district site. So, with that being said, the first item on our agenda is a reorganization of the Webster School Committee. So, as you may know, Sheila Ble's last meeting uh with the Webster School Committee was last month. Uh I would first of all once again like to thank her for her years of service not only as a school committee member also as vice chair and as a member of the Bartlett High School school building committee. Um and due to the recent election we do have a new member. Welcome Lauren Calleros to
003the Webster School Committee. We're glad to have you. Thank you so much. Uh Lauren is a parent of a student in our district and she's also a public education leader here in central Massachusetts. So, we're very lucky to have your time and talent here. Um, so in light of these changes of in the composition of the committee, we do need to reorganize our committee. We'll be seeking nominations for uh the chair, the vice chair, and the recording secretary. So, currently I have been serving as chair. Shayla Ble was serving as vice chair and Nick Adamopoulos is the secretary. So with all of that background, is there anyone interested in serving as chair or anyone like to make a nomination for chair? You're the chair. Member Adamopoulos. I would like to make a nomination that Miss
004Sadiki remain as chair going into the next year. Second. Okay. There's a motion and a second. Mrs. Pangley, would you please pull the committee? Sure. Member Mallette? Yes. Member Caller, yes. Member Scarigia, yes. Member Adamopoulos, yes. Member Sadiki, yes. Motion passes. Thank you um to the committee for entrusting me in in serving our committee as chair again. Um I'm happy to have been doing it. Um happy would have been happy to see someone else take the torch. Um but happy to continue um in this leadership role for another year and maybe next year we'll have another person that wants to take the torch. Um and the next role is that of vice chair. Anyone like to express an interest in this or offer a nomination for that role of vice chair? I'd like to nominate
005Nick Adamopoulos as vice chair. Second. There's a motion and a second. Uh, Mrs. Pangley, would you please pull the committee? Sure. Member Mallette? Yes. Member Colleros? Yes. Member Scaria? Yes. Member Adamopoulos? Yes. Member Sadiki? Yes. Motion passes. Uh, and the next role is that of secretary. Is there any um one that would like to be either nominated or um make a nomination for um the role of secretary through the chair member Adamopoulos and make a nomination that Miss Millip be the secretary going into the next year. Second. There's a motion and a second. Uh Mrs. Pangley, would you please pull the committee? Member Mellet. Yes. Member Claros, yes. Member Scrigg, yes. Member Adamopoulos, yes. Member Sadiki. Chair Sadiki. Yes. Motion passes. So, just as a summary, uh we will move forward with uh Kelly Sadiki
006as chair, Nicholas Adamopoulos as vice chair, and Linda Millet as secretary. So, thank you all for that. The next item on the agenda under old business is uh discussion and approval of the revised FY26 budget. Hi, thank you. Um as you know, we had previously approved a budget in the amount of 27,737,389 which represented a 3.65% budget uh that we were putting put forward to the town. Uh the school department did receive an additional 38,365 which will bring our budget total um to 27,775,754. Uh we added that 38,365 to the salary contingency line that we had for negotiations if you remember that we had in the budget. Um so there is a need to have that money there. um that would have brought that individual line item up to 627,976. So um as you know,
007we need to go into town meeting with an approved budget. So I'm looking for the committee to approve a budget totaling 27,775,754. Are there any questions? Any questions from the committee about this revised budget? No. Okay. Hearing none, I will entertain a motion to approve this budget as presented. So moved. Second. There's a motion and a second. Uh, Mrs. Pangeli, would you please pull the committee? Sure. Member Millet, yes. Member Calleros, yes. Member Scoria, yes. Member Adamopoulos, yes. Chair Sadiki. Yes. Motion passes. And uh moving right along here through this agenda. The next item on the agenda is the uh warrant article with regard to special education transportation. Good evening. Um this is more for your awareness. As you know, we have um brought to you previously a special ed deficit for transportation. Uh we
008were hoping to absorb that in our operating budget. We had put a spending freeze on I think back in January to try and make up for that deficit. It was approximately um $700,000 I believe. Uh unfortunately, we are unable to absorb all of that. Um so after reviewing our budget and our recent projections um we are hoping to um absorb at least half of that projection um so this was previously being put forward by the town anticipating this. So we put a not to exceed $400,000. Um we'll know more hopefully um as we get for towards the end of the year that we we're hoping we don't have to use the whole $400,000. Um but to be safe going to town meeting uh we are looking forward uh their approval to support uh the amount
009of free cash up to 400,000 to help offset uh this special ed transportation deficit. As you know, this has been building for a couple years. We had it last year. Um we're continuing into it a little bit this year and we're hoping to really stabilize um in the upcoming year. We've certainly increased our um budget quite a bit um but in transportation uh for next year. So, we're hoping that'll cover and we hoping that we don't have to go back to town uh for any additional funds to support um our transportation. So, Mrs. Pangi, it sounds like you feel pretty confident that that number that upper number of 400,000 would be enough to cover our needs. Yes. and and we're hoping not to have to utilize that um after carefully looking multiple times at projections.
010Um you know, our goal would not to be use it all. We try to go back as little as possible and that's why we absorb it in our budget. Um but to be safe, I I think we're comfortable with that. Okay. Are there any questions or comments about this from the committee? Would you like a vote to approve this warrant article or is this more of anformational and showing support for this warrant article? I think it's more offormational and showing support for the article. Um, I don't want any anybody to ever feel caught off guard or not informed of why we're asking for more money. Um, normally I would have brought it to you earlier for your approval to be from the school committee. Um, but because of the timing of everything, we weren't able
011to do that and get it on. Um, so you'll see in the um guide it says sponsored by the school superintendent. Typically, I would come to the committee and ask for the committee support for that and it would be sponsored by this um school committee, but it can be an article can be put forward by a department head or anybody else. So, we're within our legal obligation, but um I think it's really important that the committee understands, you know, what we're asking for, why we're asking for it. Um the last thing we want is somebody coming up to say, you know, what are the school's needs? and you don't know anything about that. So, right. Okay. All right. Any further discussion with regard to this warrant article uh focusing on special education transportation and the
012ask that we're making of the town. Although the it's put forth by the superintendent, you know, um it's a collective ask. So, all okay. Here. Okay. Uh that is all for our agenda this evening. So I will entertain a motion to adjourn. So moved. Second. There's a motion and a second. And Mrs. Pangley, would you please pull the committee? Would be happy to. Um member Mallette, yes. Member Colleros, yes. Member Scaria, yes. Member Adamopoulos, yes. Chair Sadiki, yes. Meeting adjourned. Good night everyone. Thank you everyone. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.