001Good evening and welcome to the MSAD51 board of directors uh meeting and workshop. I'm so grateful to be here with all of you this evening. I really actually enjoy this format where we're all sitting around together versus how this room is usually set up is like all the board of directors are kind of just in a line and I I can't usually see any of them. So having everyone spread out around is wonderful. Um so the format of tonight is a little different than a typical board meeting. Um we're just going to have a couple items of board business fairly quickly before we move into the workshop. Um the first will just be an approval of minutes by the board and then we do open up for public comment. I have a few remarks and
002then I have um two signups. Um I'll double check before I move to public comment in case anybody has has come in and would like to speak. Um so our first uh item of business is our approval of minutes. Um can I have a motion to approve the minutes of the December 18th, 2025 meeting? >> So moved. >> Thank you, Megan. Can I have a second? >> Second. Thank you, Jesse or Sean. >> Here we go. >> Good start, everybody. >> See, we're not in our usual setup. You guys are going to mess with me. >> It's the hair. >> Any comments or questions about the meeting minutes? Okay, hearing none. All in favor? Great. See you notice. Um, so the next section of the agenda is public comment. Um, before I proceed with reading
003tonight's procedures, I did just want to check. Um, was anyone else here hoping to make public comment? Okay, so I have two people signed up. Um, so the board welcomes and recognizes the value of public comment. To ensure public comment is fair and orderly, we follow procedures outlined in our board policy, BEDH, and we ask that all members of the public do so as well. We follow this policy to help keep the meeting civil, respectful, and productive. And we also hope this allows for all community members who would like to speak to be heard. Um, we want to mention public comment is one of the many ways that you can connect with the school board. All of us have a schoolboard email address that is available um and are happy to meet with any members
004of the community who'd like to reach out for public comment tonight. I'll use the signup list. Residents and staff are always given priority. Um but since we only have two people, we should be able to get through everyone. Um I'll invite the speaker to use the designated podium when making their comments and speak into the microphone. Comments by individuals are limited to a maximum of three minutes at a meeting. The clock will be visible on screen and after the three minutes goes off, the comment should be wrapped up. Please state your name and town of residence before beginning your remarks. Lastly, please keep comments respectful and civil. We are neighbors here. Be kind and this includes member of the audience. Please do not direct any comments at or about individuals in our schools or community.
005And please direct your comments at myself, the chair. Um, and I'll welcome our first um, member to come public comment, Michael Doyle. >> Come on in. >> Let's me too. I'm Michael Doyle. I live in Portsouth, New Hampshire. I own and write for felttoday.me. Last time I was here, I was taken away in handcuffs and arrested by the police and uh went through a trial at the Cumbland County Superior Court for criminal trespass. I lost that case by a jury decision. My lawyer appealed it because one, the judge didn't understand the First Amendment. You would think that he'd understand that part of it. and then he couldn't explain it to the jury. So, I won the uh appeal by my lawyer filing a 30-page brief explaining these Supreme Court decisions. Uh KIC versus Meyers, Snyder
006v. Phelps, Texas v. Johnson, New York Times v. Sullivan, Board of uh County Commissioners versus Umbra. These uh specifically outline everything you just said about public speaking at this podium is against the law. None of that controls. Once you're at the public p podium, you can say anything you want, but I'll be respectful. Uh the prosecutor didn't even file a response to the appeal. He sent a one paragraph letter to the Supreme Court explaining that Jeff Porter's testimony was so inadequate during the trial that they could not file a reply. He did not develop enough testimony to answer the the appeal. So, I'm coming back here to just, you know, do my little victory dance here in your uh your school board meeting and uh going to have some fun with you folks. Now, I
007can say anything I want anytime I want. You can't stop me from saying it. If you do, just add it to the lawsuit. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Next, I have Jessica Windsor. >> Hi everyone. My name is Jessica Windsor. I live in Cumberland right up the road. I'm a community member and I'm a mother of children in this district and I am a proud member of the ESP uh team of the district. I am a front secretary at Gley Middle School. I'm uh 4 and a half years in and I still wake up every morning and love to go to work and um 199 days, maybe 200, something like that, without a contract today. and we've been here multiple times and we've we've um we've asked you guys to be
008in support of us and to rise up and to seal the deal and help us get a contract that honors us and pays us a livable wage so we can stay in this district and we can live in the homes around the corner from where our kids go to school. and people like me and the amazing group of ESPs in this district that support, educate, love, play, sing, dance, educate, teach, cry, feed, slap on the band-aids, show up at meetings, part of the transition communities, volunteer, all of it. We show up every day because we love each other. We love this town. We love this district. But we still can't pay our bills on the wages that we have. We're not asking for rocket science. We're not asking for millions. We're asking for you you
009guys to be leaders and show that we are a priority. We're going on 200 days without a contract. That's ridiculous. Please. Oh, and by the way, we just got noticed this week that in March, which is what, another two months, we're going to factf finding, which is thousands of dollars out of your pockets to fight against paying us a reasonable wage. Like I would like I'm asking Leon I'm asking for you guys to send us something that explains why what explain this to us. What is the how can you how can we leave this district at go home and you guys make these decisions to go to factf finding and spend thousands of dollars to fight against paying us a measly whatever we're asking the list goes on about where all the money is being
010distributed. You're going to talk at length tonight about all the money that's going to get redistributed. All right. But the people that are filling up the spaces in this district are asking for a livable, honorable wage and we're still 200 days and now two months and now you're going to pay more money to fight against us. So we can go back and forth about explain it to us. What? We don't deserve it. We're doing something wrong. What is the justification? Please help us understand or wrap it up. >> Thank you, Jessica. >> Thank you. Thank you. And yeah, thank you. >> Thank you. Appreciate you. >> All right. And then I have Jean. And Jean, I'm just going to let you pronounce your last name at the podium so I don't get >> Cassinus. >>
011Casinus. Thank you. >> Okay. >> It's well written. I just >> Um, so my name is Jean Cassinis. I'm a resident of 16 Pine Lane where I've resided the last 12 plus years. Leanne, thank you for having this time for public comment uh and for welcoming participation in the meetings. Um and also just I'm thankful for the school board and the superintendent's dedication uh and efforts. Uh it's an incredibly challenging job and so I just want you to know that the community really appreciates all the work that you do and all the time you volunteer. So thank you. I know Jeff, you get paid a little. Um, anyway, I am a retired special educator. I enjoyed over 40 years in the field and now I'm able to volunteer and support special education students in a
012grassroots manner. I realize I'm a little bit late to the preschool process in MSAD 51, but I'm very interested in the quality education of all preschool students and most significantly those with special education needs. I've been looking forward to this workshop for weeks as I'd like to hear about the current preK offerings, like to review the new state requirements, and share my input on the several programs that you're considering. Given my experience, I feel I have much to offer to the conversation. The lack of early education services for special education preschoolers has been an ongoing problem at MSAD51 and throughout the state of Maine for many years. We know that early intervention works. The research tells us that. So certainly we want to make sure that we do what is right for students when making
013this decision about programming moving forward. when these services are not consistently provided with evidence-based interventions and certified staff which I have experienced myself as part all this as part of early intervention not only do children and families suffer but the schools end up providing services for longer periods of time to indiv individual students because they didn't get the support they needed early on. I'm convinced that the services that MSAD-51 has been wise enough to consider and frankly has been providing in their two classroom model will not only solve this problem for many local children, but will also raise the quality of early childhood care provided by preschool programs that our families use and lower the cost of providing these services. Thank you for your time and I look forward to learning more about the plans
014and being part of the process. Thank you. Great. So, I think that will end public comment. Um, and I think this is officially us moving into the prek workshop uh section of the agenda. Um, as I mentioned at the beginning of the meeting, I'm I'm so grateful to have this table to sit around um with our board members, with our um school administrators and and providers of of care in this district and then also with our community providers. Um >> I'm sorry. And this is my first school board meeting, so I am clearly not familiar with this. Can can I go back to the public comment? I did. Or is public comment allowed after the prek workshop? So, we have public comment set for before. Um, so would you like >> Yes, sure. >> Okay.
015>> Yes. Anyone else? >> Sorry. >> No, no, it's okay. I KNOW THERE ARE new faces and I know >> No problem. >> Thought I'd learn a little bit and then >> I know. I know. We're just going to go on the fly. Okay. So, I'm uh Caitlyn and I live in Cumberland. I have two kiddos at Mabel Eye Wilson. one of my children benefited from early intervention. Um they went to Children's Odyssey and was tremendously successful. So I want to tell everyone a little bit about my story because it really was life-changing to me and my family and my child's success in in life and becoming an astronaut someday. Um when I will admit that it is really confusing to understand the options that all of you are tasked with you know figuring out.
016So I do not envy the position that any of you are in. Um, but one thing I want you to think about is a child like mine who who was kicked out of many places, who was not welcomed anywhere, who at three and a half years old, he knew he was a bad kid. He felt like he had no place to succeed. M and I'm, you know, sharing a lot more because I think it's important. But what was really astonishing to me was the other parents um were not as inclusive as my child as they thought they were. So, one thing that I struggle with all of the proposals is how do you truly create an inclusive environment, not only for that one child and that family, but how do you create a culture within
017that little microorganism of a classroom of 10 students that is truly going to change how our children treat each other? And I think they did that at Children's Odyssey. Now, for those of you that don't know about Children's Odyssey, they have children with hearing impairments and physical impairments, neurodeiverse children. It is the most amazing welcoming space that has animals in the hallway. During snow days, they make the hallways racetracks for bikes. It's like the most unicorn place ever. So my ask for you all when you think about where we land at the end of the day is how do we make a program that is a unicorn program and I know that's a lot to ask for but our children deserve it. My child deserved exactly what he got at Children's Odyssey that no one
018else and no one else in our community could ever give him. And I really appreciate the comment from the former special ed director because what matters most is that qualified clinical staff. I am not talking about warm, friendly bodies to take care of our children. I'm talking about people that are qualified to handle and to support a child in a family. And that honestly is the only reason he has been so successful at Mabel. I Wilson. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. I appreciate that. Was there I know this is new for a lot of people. Was there anybody else who would like to do public comment? >> Oh yeah. >> I was going to listen and then >> Oh yeah. Yeah. Come on up. >> Also a mother. My name is Jane Wilson. I'm a
019Cumberland resident, mother of two young kids, one at Mabel Eye, one will be in the system. um wanted to be sure of with and a kind of a similar theme that you all are aware that many children's needs will emerge while in preschool and will many families I'm sure there are a handful every year have gone through a dance in the preschool years of trying to find a place for their kiddo the stress of that is really significant um for working reasons for child care reasons for can I just find a place to socialize my kid reasons And the dream for me is that we build a program that has capacity to on a rolling basis absorb a child so that you can call and say wow we're really struggling in preschool don't really know
020what it is thought this monastery program would be great and MSAD 51 can say great we would love to evaluate your child we would love to work with you we have a spot for you and that we don't box ourselves out of helping kids who present themselves during the during those years when the the survey seemed predicated ated on the idea that like we know what everyone needs at three and they either have an IEP or they don't and we're going to administer these services. But for many children's journey, preschool is when we find out what's going on. They may or may not end up with an IEP and those kids, they do get kicked out of really wonderful programs. They're not a good fit for really wonderful programs and like we need to we
021need to be able to welcome them. So, let's build capacity for that. >> Thank you. Now that we broke the ice, anyone? Okay. Um, I think this is just highlighting for for me as well that what part of the conversation today, we're focused on um the school board learning more about what currently exists in our community. Um and also um I'm really happy to introduce um some uh both community members who who work at the state and and otherwise um who who are going to help facilitate this next section, but also that a need for a conversation um that also focuses on talking with families um in the community as well. And I know there's planned focus groups or another sort of meeting or workshop that has more conversations with families. Um, and I know
022we'll get into that a little later, but this is an awkward format um if you're not at the table. So, thank you for coming and listening um for everyone who's who's sitting behind us. Um, so as we move into the next section, I'm really um excited to welcome some facilitators that are going to help us. Tara Williams who resides uh in our community as the associate director of early care and education at the office of child and family services and Nicole Mador who's the early childhood specialists at the main DOE uh on the early learning team um to help uh work through this workshop agenda. Um I hope that most people have a copy of the agenda in front of them. Um, but I'm going to hand this over to them and so we can
023work on introducing all this incredible uh energy at this table. >> We're going to make a slight adjustment to the introductions given just sensitive uh being sensitive to time and um how many of us are here around the table. So, let's go with name and affiliation. Um, and we're going to skip the part about sharing kind of what brings you to the work, even though that would have been lovely, but we'll have more conversations over the next, you know, hour and a half or so where we'll be getting to know each other. Um, so, as uh, Leanne shared, I'm Tara Williams, um, from, uh, Maine Department of Health and Human Services. And I'll go this way and we'll go around the table. You can say your name and your role. >> None of this. >>
024Uh, no, not yet. Just Yeah. >> Um, I'm Danielle Hunt. Um, I am the director and owner of the Learning Loft Preschool. >> I'm Sarah Rose. I am the owner of Rose Garden Preschool and More and a board member. >> Jesse Lamar Vincent and I'm a board member and father of two kids in the district. >> I'm Amy Story. I'm a preschool teacher at Storytime Learning Center. >> I'm Donna Kaine. I am also at Storytime Learning Center, but I want to let I've done preschool um in the town of Cumberland for almost 35 years. >> I'm Jamie Kiso. I'm the owner of Storytime Learning Center and I'm also the owner of Story Smith Pediatric Clinic, which provides occupational physical and speech therapy for birth twin. >> I'm Jenny Eastman. I'm the owner and director of
025the Willow School, a preschool here in town. >> I'm Katie Wallace. I'm the senior rep on the board. >> I'm Caitlyn McCarron. I'm the junior rep on the board. >> Sean Thirstston, school board member and I have one kiddo in the district. >> Chris Keegan. I'm the the learning strategist at Friend School of Portland that happens to be in Cumberland. >> Um I'm Kelsey Shagnen. I am the director of Main Street Children's Center. >> I'm Madison Coftley. I'm the assistant director of Main Street Children's Center. >> I'm Scott Puland. I'm the director of finance, human resources, and operations for the school district. >> I'm Lauren Welliver and I'm a board member and I have two children in the school district. >> Lean Candor, board member, and I have two kiddos at the high school. >>
026Kim Vine, board member, um, mother of four kids. My youngest is a senior this year. I am also um a parent of a kid with special needs, a sister of someone with special needs, and um very interested. >> I'm Carla Fiance. I'm the assistant director of instructional support for the district. >> I'm Corey Munzy, the current principal of MIW and the future principal of the new prek to1 school. >> Julie Olsson, director of instructional support and um oversee our prek program and district. >> Hi, I'm Mari Turbilock. and the director of academic services in the district. >> Jeff Porter, superintendent of MSCD 51. >> Anukica Hull, school board member and parent of a sixth grader and ninth grader. >> Megan Lictor, school board member. Um, sixth grader and eighth grader. >> Tim Valente, school board
027member. Uh, I've got four kids, two in the district and at least two coming into the preschool. Let's just fingers crossed two coming in. I'm Rebecca. I'm the owner, director, and lead teacher of Creekide Hollow here in Cumberland. >> I'm Nicole Mador, uh, the early childhood specialist at the Department of Education on the early learning team. I'm not a member of Cumberland or North Yarmouth, but thank you for having us and I appreciate the invite. Um, and I did just also want to say, uh, we were hoping to have a representative from our office of special services and inclusive education. They're the team that's largely overseeing the uh transition of FAPE services for 3 to 5 year olds. Unfortunately, their team didn't have a member available to join us tonight. So, I'm going to do
028my best to sort of wear both hats as best I can um and answer and facilitate any conversations as we are able. Um but I am prepared to take any questions and um forward them on to our team at we call them Aussie uh forward them on to the Aussie team if necessary. So, just heads up. >> Perfect. Before we continue, is Totten not represented here tonight? >> They are not here. >> Yeah, I got a message from Todd in with their information answering the questions. They apologized that they were not able to attend, but I I she shared with me something that um she said I could read just about their enrollment and their programming. >> Okay. And I was trying to go around. Are we missing anybody else as a representative from our
029community? I just want to make sure we account for everyone. Who else are we missing? We're missing Bonnie Keith who is a family child care. >> Okay. >> Um and Darcy is after school only. >> Yeah. Okay. Thank you. I just want to make sure we >> also I reached out to Little Hands in Falmouth and they could not be here tonight. Well, in the next part of our agenda, we're going to take a few minutes to hear from those who are directors or owners of the early care and education programs in Cumberland and North Yarmouth that are sitting around the table to be able to share a little bit about your programming, the ages you serve. Um, just kind of like a quick profile so we can get to know not only each other's
030names, but the programs and services that we have in our community. Um, and that includes the programming at MS851. So, is it okay if I turn again? >> Jenny's more so more you feel like a first. >> I thought we knew. >> Sure. >> Um, >> so a little bit about learning. >> Okay. >> Um, so I am Danielle Hunt. Um, I own and operate the Learning Loft preschool. Um, I inherited the Learning Loft preschool a number of years ago now. Um, my background is I was a former BCBA, um, which is education uses a lot of lingo. That's a board-certified behavior analyst. Um, I was employed by, uh, a school district, um, to work with all sorts of behaviors um, preK through uh, grade 12. Before that, I worked at Mar Murphy Center um,
031and before that I was a first grade teacher. Um, so I I have a number of certifications behind me. Um, and when I took over Learning Loft, um, that was sort of the direction that we were going in. Um, my my why I know you said not the why, but um, my my my why behind why I wanted to take over was because I was seeing a ton of kids only because people were talking about this. I was seeing kids in elementary, middle, high school who were having behaviors, having hard time, and it's a whole lot harder, as a lot of people have said, to work with kiddos later. >> Yeah. >> On it's a whole lot harder. And so when this opportunity arose, um, the former owner was leaving. We were, my husband grew
032up in Cumberland, wanted to be in Cumberland. we said, "Let's do it." And we're gonna I'm gonna work with as many pre-K kids as I can work with to help them get on the right foot. And from then on, that has been my mission. Um, you know, diving into all of the professional development that you have to do for early ed, which I know a lot of people here know that is a whole different ballgame. Um, and so at our preschool, we serve, um, I have a class of 12 kids. We have three-year-olds and we have four-year-olds. They come half days. Um, we've toyed in the past with longer days. There are four certified teachers that work with me, all who have also left schools for very similar reasons. There are three kids to 12
033three, I'm sorry, three adults to 12 kids all the time. We are 90% outside. We are play-based. We are we talk about how we um you know we do academicy things but if anything's going to fall off the table it's an academicy thing because we are talking about how to be humans and function as humans how to build relationships how to be successful confident brave um all of those things we work with preschoolers with IEPs we've formally worked with CDS um IC providers here that we've worked with we are open we have spaces is dedicated for that. We, you know, um so yeah, we do it all. We go. >> Yeah. Sorry. >> That's great. No, it's okay. Thank you. >> Good. >> Um um Sarah Rose, um so Rose Garden is 24 years old
034and I'm licensed finally child care. Um I have eight preschoolers at a time and then 12 school age kids who come in the afternoon. So there are lots of mixed age opportunities. Um the preschool the last couple of years has been half day. I've offered school days and full days as well. Um, similarly to as a lot of the moms were saying, have worked with a lot of kids who have struggled to fit into other environments, be it too small, be it too large. Um, and not always had the support of CDS and or the availability of CDS. Um, I'm a onew woman show and I'm really proud to be that and I'm overwhelmed and so thankful to the providers to be here tonight and to speak up please for our kids. >> Thank you
035Sarah. I guess it's me that gets to talk. So, um, I went to school at the University of Maine Farmington a long time ago, um, for early childhood special ed. I actually started in in elementary education and said, "Whoa, stop. I want to be more with kids than elementary education and found my passion. I found the love that I do." And, um, one thing I'm working on is embracing this, but I'm good at what I do. Um, I've worked with kids. We h um at story time we have kids from six weeks up until depending on the year whether they go through kindergarten or not and the space that we have available. Um this year we don't have any kindergarteners. Last year I think we had eight. Um so we we're flexible with that. We
036work with children of all developmental levels. Um I am a mother of four. I had I've birthed three and we adopted one with special needs. So, I have my 282 had my 282 certification, but when I adopted a child that was very involved, um I decided I wasn't wanting to work just special ed anymore. So, I kind of let that go by. Um but I have an awful lot to offer with the kids. Um knowing that kids come first. And I can't remember your name, but you said at the gene at the beginning that um the earlier we intervene, the less is so true. You know, you could do six months of speech therapy for a child and they're not going to need six years of it in the kindergarten. I mean in schools um
037I um I think that we as a community need to embrace I was so excited when I was in college cuz let's that's when we started talking about public prechool. That was 1998 and we were talking and I was like yes we're going to finally do that. And I will be honest, I am scared to death with what I read and how we're doing it because we're talking evidence-based curriculums and we're talking um data driven. And what's going to happen is all that stuff that got me out of elementary education in the first time away from working with kids and losing our kids to numbers. Um I have spent a lot of time in the last couple of years looking for a um evidencebased curriculum. Do you know Maine's pond life in February which most
038of the programs sell? It's frozen. There's not a lot of Maine f so it doesn't fit in. I use the main early guidelines which is what is in line with the state which has spent spent a numerous amount of time with the state making it a seam trying to make it a seamless transition into the educational system but there is a huge divide. I mean, I've been doing this a long time, and there is not there's been very few years where I've had somebody from the school contact me and say, "What were you doing with this child and what was working?" Um, and it's not happening. Would that be great if that was happening either in our schools or in our community? It's not. So, we're we're wasting time. We're wasting energy. We're re trying
039to reinvent the wheel over and over again. Um, I think public prek is a great idea as long as it's done child first and in child's best interests with least inrict restrictive environments. >> I think we're going to Willows or are you all from the same program? >> I would actually like to if I'm it's okay. I would like to talk about Story Smith pediatric clinic and the services versus the the private based services versus the school-based services. So we um provide occupational physical and speech therapy for kiddos um birth to 21 and we contract with school systems currently and one of the reasons that we contract with school systems is because school systems do not have enough providers. So, one of my biggest concerns is the children being able to get the services that
040they're written for and the consistency of services. If a therapist has an IEP meeting and that's during the child session time, that session gets canceled and that session gets missed. At the clinic, we're able to offer makeup sessions. We're able to offer other times for the family that might work for them. So, they are getting their consistency of care. They are getting what's written on their IE plan. And I know one of the biggest issues or concerns right now is having enough providers because we don't currently have enough providers for the services that are recommended and rendered in the school system, let alone adding a public prek program. So that's one of my biggest concerns is making sure that our kids are getting their needs met and getting them met consistently. >> And you do
041go into >> Oh, we go into preschool programs, we go into public schools, we go into private schools, and we have clinic based services. So we go we go everywhere >> and you do emails. >> We do evaluations as well. Yes. >> Um >> yeah. So that was that was my >> um thank you so much to everybody who shared um and I look forward to hearing more about um your centers and what you have to say about them. Um like I said my name is Jenny Eastman. I'm the owner and the director of the Willow School. I am a American monastery credentialed teacher with over a thousand hours of contact training. So um and I've this will be my 19th year um in the early childhood realm. Um and this is my second year
042owning the Willow School. Um, the Willow School is a monastery, nature-based, play-based um, facility that supports children from 15 months to 5 years old. Um, I want to say something kind of bluntly. We, all of us here, all of us providers have been facilitating and providing services for children who are on IEPs for years. This is now something that we're very accustomed to doing. We are, dare I say, experts at facilitating this for children. However, where the school district could help alleviate some, I would say, of the clog that we experience is getting kids screened and then getting appointments for them. We make the space, we call the people, we make it happen. It is a part of our daily lives. So it's not as if we are reinventing the wheel. What this discussion really
043should focus on is where do we want our funding to be alloc allocated and how can we uphold our responsibility to the children and to the people of our community. Um, I am so passionate about making accessible early childhood um, education thrive here in this town, but not just in Cumberland, but in Cumberland County. None of our centers operate in a silo. When Falmouth opened up their beautiful prek s prek programs, we felt it. When Yarmouth opened up their robust prek programs, we felt it. Um, you can dig through the census numbers. You can put in percentages of um what students migrate to what towns and whatnot, but the bottom line is that we already have 120 preschool seats that are here in our schools, ready to be supportive in any way that we can
044because this is what we love to do. Um, and we are really good at cooperating and communicating in positive ways. So, I hope that we can um come together tonight to create um positive actionable steps um that will support everybody in our community. Thanks. >> I think next friend school. >> Yeah. So we have uh 134 kids who are prek through eight. Only 12 of those are prek. >> You said 12 prek. >> Excuse me. >> You said 12 prek. >> Only 12. So it's a three four program full days except that we often have few who need a shortened day and need special services. And you have to feel for those parents who are really struggling to find those services dependent on CVS and um private entities and definitely hardship. Um, I taught special
045ed in Portland for 20some years in elementary school and saw there, of course, the lack of preschool and what kids suffer from that. So, all I can say is thank you for trying to fill the hole there because I have very resourceful families with resources and they're struggling and so all of those kids are struggling. >> Hi again. Um, I'm Kelsey from Main Street Children's Center. Um, I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I'm quite intimidated by all of the experience in this room. This is my first year in this role. Um, and so I'm here to learn but um, also support. So um, we are a developmental preschool and we serve about 40 children um, ages 3 to 5 in the community. Um, and we do currently partner with um, MSAD51. There's a
046bus that comes to our school in the um around 11:30 and then again at 12 uh then again at 12 and then we get afterare. So um there's it's a whole mess of um configuration and um we love it. It's chaos but we do it um just to meet the needs of families in the community and that's why we do what we do. I think >> yeah, we have a lot of kids who receive services both at MIW and who receive them um at our um facility or who go to private facilities. Um so we work really closely with CDS and with the district to get everyone everything they need >> MS851. Yeah. >> So we are in our seventh year of our prek program. We have two half-day programs. Um, and we serve only
047four-year-olds, so we have 32 students. It's a 4 day a week program. Um, we are an inclusive classroom. We have up to 50% of students on IEPs. Our students receive, if they have IEPs, they receive specially designed instruction by a certified special educator, OT, PT, speech, educational technician support. As needed, they'll have a BCBA, which is a board certified behavior analyst, social work. We have our doctoral level school psychologists doing the evaluations, nursing support, teacher of the deaf. Um, all of those staff are of course certified. They need to be through the department of education. We do, as mentioned, provide transportation to and from either homes or preschools in the community as needed. Um, we don't go outside the community town lines to go to any other preschools or homes outside of town lines, but
048we do provide um, transportation to any preschools or homes within the community of Cumberland and North Yarmouth. Um, we do use research-based curriculums that are approved by the DOE and need to do that as part of our curriculum. We have our own preschool playground um, with developmentally appropriate equipment um, that we have purchased and it's only used by our preschool students. Um, we provide MTSSL, which is multi-tered systems of support, or for those of us that are sort of not up on the most lingo, RTI, response intervention supports for students, um, if there are students that are not on IEPs but are needing a little extra boost for something. And that is done by our developmental specialists, um, who is a certified OT by trade um, and our literacy and math specialists who are um,
049part of our MIW staff. And um we certainly um take students of all disabilities, all disability levels. And um often we are the provider that gets the students who are kicked out of all of the other preschools. Those are the students that we get and those are actually the students that we ask for because it makes our transition to kindergarten a lot easier and it provides um I mean like Jean said earlier in his public speaking, the earlier we can intervene with these students, the more progress that we can make. Um, so that is our program at this time. I keep asking for more um, in terms of a full day, particularly for our more involved students. We don't need a full day for any of our younger students. We don't need a full day.
050For our students that are less involved, but for some of the parents who spoke there, like there are some students that could require a a a longer, more robust day to fit all of their therapies in. Thank you. >> I think we have one more person to share. Yes, thank you. I'm um Rebecca at Creekide Hollow. I I'm a credential teacher. I'm a Waldorf teacher. I've studied Reio Amelia and now I'm very much um learning the Forest School pedagogy and deep nature connection. I have um three to six year olds right now. We are almost all outside. We do come in a little bit in the winter because we are outside all day and it is Maine, but um we're playbased, but that doesn't mean we don't have an amazing amount of structure within play.
051I think sometimes people when they hear playbased means that we just play all day. We play. We have circle time. Our circle times are full body um movements. We cross the midline. We do fine motor skills, large motor skills. We we do log rolls. We crawl. And then we do our learning. So they get into their bodies before we actually sit them down to listen to a book. We do um story time circle times. Um, and I really feel I I'm like every other early childhood educator here. I'm passionate about I'm a I'm passionate about it. It they are our future and we need to help the future. And so, um, I've really realized that the more the children are connected to nature, the calmer their nervous systems are, and the more if they feel
052safe and connected to the earth or to the elements, to each other, um, then they're ready to learn. So, that's what we do at um, Creekide. I have or I my son is now 30, but he was a special needs child. And so our mantra is every child is different and every child is beautiful. And yeah, that child gets to sit outside of story time and roll around because he's different. Like that's really like that that helps him. And they're like, "Wow, that's helping him." And um so I have found that having occupational therapists and speech therapists come into my program and observe who I have and who the current students are. that's been incredibly um helpful to me because then they can tell me what to incorporate into my circle times or my um
053outside times. Um, it's heartbreaking because it's only me and uh I have an assistant. When I know I need a child that should have a one- on-one helper, I can't have that child in my program. And that's heartbreaking to me because in all these different ways they're doing so well, but when they run, they run. And I'm a forest program with a creek, right? You know, and so I need someone else there. And so if I could get those helpers to come to my program, it would be amazing. my summer camps, you know, these they the children come, they're up to nine years old and the parents pick up and they're like, "What have you done? My child has never been this like grounded when they come home." And it's because we're outside and we're
054in the elements and they're in their bodies. They're getting in their bodies before they do their academics. You know, they're tired. They've worked out everything and now they're ready to do their best. And it's amazing, you know, at um now that we're coming inside for the first hour, I make them do a journey, which is rolling across the floor, crawling under a tunnel, going on a balance beam, and then they're grounded, and then they're ready to do their work. So, >> I wish I could have more um people come into my program and give me tips on what they see these children need and I could incorporate it into my program. >> I wish we could start our board meetings like that. >> Um I have information from Tatalan. Is that okay if I share
055that? So this is from Daniel Pickering who's the program resource director at Tottelin Childare. Um she shares Toddellin is a long-standing ear early childhood program that has been serving the Cumberland community since 2001. Our Cumberland location is licensed for a capacity of 200 children ages 6 weeks through 12 years including a prek program with a capacity of 20 children. Our prek classroom is led by Heather Morse, who holds a bachelor's degree in education, is licensed through the state of Maine to teach preK through through grade three. Um, Heather has been teaching for almost 17 years. Uh, proud of the quality. Our center operates from 7:15 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., a schedule that has been proven highly supportive of working families in the community and one that often complements the needs of today's workforce. We currently
056have approximately 16 children ages 3 to 5 who have IEPs or who are in the process of CDS referrals and evaluations. Supporting children with diverse learning needs is a significant part of our daily work. We collaborate closely with families and CDS service providers to help parents navigate the process of seeking supports to help children succeed in their learning environment. She has some other notes that I can share at another time, but I did have a question that had come up earlier just about how many students tend to be like from MSAD51 um versus outside of her community. So, I had just asked her that and she said that she said their current prek classroom of 21 children, 20 live in the MSAD51 district. Our younger classrooms have 30 and 16 of those live in the
057district. So they see typically 70% like are in school in the community that their children will go to school is the percentage they see across total. Okay. Um well the expertise in this room is really amazing and I really feel humbled by that. Um, and then I wanted to say too that um, it is true that when it comes to public prek education, meaning um, education for four-year-olds in public schools, there are really specific requirements and expectations around that. However, there's also a lot of room for interpretation. So, while there is a requirement to implement an evidence-based program, we know that play is evidence-based and by all means, we would support a play-based curriculum in a public school. We actually want that. We would argue that that is far more developmentally appropriate for a four-year-old
058than a worksheet in a desk. So, I just want you, you know, I know that sometimes when we talk about four-year-olds in a public school space, it paints, it can often paint a picture of student like what education looks like for a fourth grader or a fifth grader, etc., right? And I just want to um be very clear in saying that's not at all what my early learning team promotes or supports. Uh we want to support um our public schools pre-K through grade two into three even um implementing highquality developmentally appropriate evidence-based programming. Um and in the preK2 space that is by all means play-based. Uh so just for the record, wanted to make sure. Um we do have lots of supports on our website and our team can offer as well that also includes
059nature-based. I'm pointing to you because you're next to me. I'm going to do that all night and so I'm sorry. Um that also supports outdoor nature-based learning and Wabanaki studies as well. So, uh lots of supports that the DOE can can provide. I do have um a slides that are I'm going to read from I don't know Le if you received it if it's something >> you didn't can you attach it. >> Oh. Oh, I was sure I did. >> Um >> I do that all the time. that old email without the actual attachment. >> And then Jeff, I'm going to send it to you. Have an apple. If you can just put them up. >> Oh, is that El Kendura? >> Yes, she did. >> Oh, I got an email. I didn't see an
060attachment. >> Oh, I ap it. It looks like it's attached. >> I don't know why I didn't send fully. >> Okay. Do >> you want me to try again? >> Or J Porter if you want to >> or do what? >> Hook it up. >> Send or send to Jeff Porter. or try. For some reason, I'm not getting the attachment, but is it just >> J Ps1? >> Oh, yeah. >> See if it comes through for you. >> Um, all of that to say, they're they're not that exciting of slides. Uh, I I am just going to read from them. There is important information on them that I want to be really clear in presenting. Um, and would we be able to share and post these later as well? because I'm assuming depending on where
061you're sitting, you may or may not be able to see the slides. >> Yeah, there's actually several versions of this slideshow on the DOE website through the Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education. So, um, this information is all publicly available. It's fine to post or share. Yeah. Okay. >> Oh, it's saying so now I'm getting a warning saying it's too big to share in an email. >> Oh, >> maybe we should go. We can we can put the Can we connect hardwire? We we started there and we're like, oh wires and >> start. >> Sure. Um so the other caveat too is that these slides are were created to support a meeting very much like this in another community. Um I had mentioned our colleagues at the office of special services and inclusive education
062AIE um developed these slides and shared these slides. So, that's what I meant when I said I'm going to do my best to sort of wear that hat um and and answer any questions that may come of it. Uh I I believe what brings many of us here today is sort of the why of special education, more specifically the FAPE transition. FAPE is the free and appropriate public education requirement for students with uh IEPs or special education. Okay. Do you have one of those computers on >> Do you have one of those computers that just dies if you unplug? >> Yes. >> Oh, okay. State government. That's a pretty fun little screen. >> That's not mine. I'll just break the awkward silence and say I had said to Tara in preparation for today really don't
063want this to be like a presentation. So any here we are presenting um which is totally fine. So the the current uh sort of atmosphere of students with special education needs in the state of Maine is through what I think many of us are familiar with CDS, child development services. Um CDS is the um the what's the word I'm looking for? Workforce behind special education for zero to 5y olds. And we break that up into two sections. zero to three year olds which we refer to as part C or a crib perhaps and three to five year olds um which we refer to as part B like in a bed. Uh so we sort of remember it that way and that refers to the federal IDEIDA law section 619 on uh the provision of special
064education services for children 0 to 5. So two years ago about um our state legislature was successful in passing a bill to move the provision of special education services for 3 to 5year-olds out of CDS and into our local school administrative units. Um that is the way I believe 48 other states do it. Maine is very unique in the way we've uh provided special education for 0 to 5year-olds. We've done it this way for 40 plus years. Um, and the legislature has brought this up in the past and it's what it has what we refer to as died at the table and hasn't moved forward. Well, this time it has. So, by July 1, 2028, the expectation is that all state all school administrative units in the state of Maine will have adopted uh the
065provision of special ed services for 3 to 5 year olds. Um so between now and then they the AIE team that I referenced earlier is doing what we call cohorts. So currently this school year we have cohort 2 happening and that is just made up of SAUs who have volunteered to start now. um they wanted to get the ball rolling in their communities, better understand the process, have time before it's required of them, um and have access to supports, funding, TA, TA's technical assistance or professional development. Um and so we've had and it's been great for us, I will say, too, because it's brought up lots of things to work through that we didn't realize were going to be things that we needed to work through, right? Um there's been lots of conversations and meetings
066in PD with folks in cohort one and cohort 2 um to better understand the whole process. Uh so we've learned a lot from those schools and I'm optimistic and thinking they've learned a lot from us as well. >> Sorry. >> No, that's okay. >> I perhaps it's all good. Is it on the website? Is it the slides that are on the website that we could pull up on somebody else's computer? >> Potentially. I'm not I would have to look to see what the actual address is where they live because they were just sent to me. >> Right. I'm just wondering if Terra says it's on the website. I mean, we could pull it up on somebody else's computer that's app to connect easier. >> Yeah. I'm not Yeah, I mean, you you're welcome to to
067check. I I don't know for sure if they're the exact slides or not. They may not be the exact presentation because we have multiple versions of them because we've done all these different webinars and presentations but I can check. Um the other thing I will add to is so our early learning team at the department we oversee public prek general education. Um so the provision of services of public prek for students who are four years old uh by October 15th. If and when um anything special education related comes into that realm then we pull in our colleagues at AIE and or CDS depending on the community and the um resources needed. So when we talk a little bit more about this you'll hear me say often about partnering and it can mean different things depending
068on the context of which we're referring to it as. So, when we're talking about MSAD-51 public preK classrooms, and if you're looking to expand, but you don't have the space capacity, the staff capacity, what have you, and you want to partner with a community provider to provide public prek education for general education students, that's one way of partnering. When we talk about MSAD-51 taking over special education services for 3 to 5y olds and having a child in your community with an IEP who needs a service provided, then you might partner with a community provider so that that service can be delivered. That's a different form of a partner. Both great, both very successful across the state. But when we are continuing the conversation, I just want to be clear that there's different ways to partner.
069The funding for each are different. Um, and the way it flows to the school, to the partner, etc. varies >> depending on the definition. No, that's okay. >> I can just talk. >> You're doing great. >> I'm way off course. I will say the slides will rain me back in. >> Can you put Is it on a Google Drive you can share versus email? I can do like through micro not not Google the state doesn't use Google so I know often that's what schools use >> I mean you're doing great otherwise >> later keep talking >> keep yeah >> so >> oh the poweroint there yeah perfect >> that first one y that's it thank you >> okay you want to stay I don't folks. Where would you like me to? >> You're doing great.
070Right here. >> That works then. Thank you. Okay. So, I pretty much covered that the legislation. Um, let's see. Think we covered that. Um, I think the other thing I'll say before I just like pause for clarity or questions is that the current model of CDS that exists as is now is not necessarily going away. It's just changing with the time as well. So CDS is going to remain the authoritative realm for all students 0 to three part C. That's not changing in any way. It's really just shifting for the 3 to 5 year olds. Um, so CDS has nine sites throughout the state. They align with our superintendent regions and they're going to remain a hub for public schools to access if they need support for therapists, for evaluations, for case management purposes, whatever
071it is, they're going to remain intact. So, you'll still be able to, if needed, contact folks at CDS Reach for support in your uh special education oversight for students. Um, so a community like you all, you have two public preK classrooms that serve up to 32 students and in your kindergarten you've got like 150 to 180 students. So, there's a gap. Those hundredish four-year-olds are somewhere in your community. They're being cared for and educated by many of you in this room. We heard that. Um, some families may choose to keep their children home if they're able to do that, and that's totally appropriate as well. That's their choice. So, we want to make sure that when we think about your community and your students and your families, what are we talking about, right? because CDS
072reach covers a much more widespread space of this part of the state. RSU or I keep saying that MSAD 51 has a much smaller chunk of that puzzle. So currently this school year CDS data shows that there's approximately 65 three and four year olds with an IEP or in the child find process. So that gives you sort of a ballpark to better understand your community and its needs as it relates to special education and IEP services. Looking ahead to next year, if you were to take this on in cohort 3, um there's already about 35 children anticipated. That number is obviously going to change dayto day, let alone between now and then. So that kind of gives you a better idea of of your data of what exists in your community now and what you
073need to sort of be prepared for. So all that's really changing is that instead of CDS taking referrals and being the responsible party for those services, it's going to move to the district. A really common misunderstanding is that now schools need to physically house those children and that's just not true. We don't want the children to leave their familiar spaces and settings if they don't have to. So that's when I talk about students with IEPs and the district sort of partnering, that's what I mean when I say if a student is at I don't have my notes, but story time. I think that was a name I remembered hearing. Um then we want them to stay there if it's possible. Um, if it means that you have staff and and can support staff going in
074to provide whatever services on that IEP. Um, if it means that the student has a space in the public school classroom and that's where the family and the IEP team determine is the appropriate setting, then that's what we should work to do. So, it's not to say that the SAU now has to take in all of these children. In fact, it's quite the opposite. We want children. We want to support them staying where the family wants them, assuming that it's the IEP team's decision that that's the appropriate setting for their services and for their education. So, I'm going to pause because that was a lot just sort of thrown out. What is MSAB51 specifically wanting to know? What are conversations that you're wanting to have that I can support in facilitating? Um, what do you
075what's happening? Yeah. >> I so I'm also on the finance committee and so we talked about some of the different models and there's a lot of confusion I think about how the money flows for both both programs. So if you at just a high level could help us understand there's also lots of people in the community who don't want us to spend any money on anything we don't need to. Uh-huh. >> So, understanding how do we get reimbursed for IEP services? Like, do could we get reimbursed to expand public prek partnering with folks and not raise people's taxes or is it split? Just just a broad understanding of because otherwise like yeah, we want the best for all of our kids, but like >> a lot of people don't want us to spend any money
076on anything. So just understanding at a high level like >> how are you guys giving us money to do more? >> Perfect. >> Like would be just incredible. >> Perfect. Um so when we're talking specifically about students with IEPs once MSAD51 takes on that responsibility for 3 to 5 year olds, the district will receive 100% state funding for the provision of that child's education. it will not affect local costs whatsoever. So how that works and that also includes your um the subsidy part portion of that calculation. Um so how that works is the the special education funding comes quarterly. So there's a July one uh October 1, January 1 and April 1 count. So the district would say okay it's July 1. this is how many children we have with active IEPs. Our finance team
077will say fantastic here is 100% of the funding that you need to provide high quality care and education for that child those children on. So you're going to get that money upfront. It is not a reimbursement model. It is not a delayed you know you had that last quarter now you're getting paid later for that last quarter right? It's current and it's active and it's within that time frame. So that's July 1. October 1, we're going to say, "Okay, time for your counts. How many children in MSAD51 have an IEP?" You're going to say x amount of children. And we're going to say, "Great. Here is the 100% of the appropriate funding for those children." And it may be more than July 1 depend if you have more students, it might be less if you
078have less students come October. It will fluctuate. And when you say within MSAD51, do you mean children served who live in our district and are served >> in any of these places or within our classrooms, no matter where they're served? >> Correct. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Uh yes. >> What what is the what's the number? How what is um appropriate funding based on? >> It's I would refer to your special education. I personally don't know that. We could get that for you for sure. our finance team and or I don't know if your special education director might have um a better understanding of those costs for your district, but whatever it is for MSAD51, then that's that's it. >> So that number is determined by the district >> and the needs of this children
079with Yes. Okay. Yeah. Each of our providers bill a certain amount in the state system. It's called sync, the child system that we bill for. So like occupational therapy gets a certain bill amount, speech therapist gets a certain bill amount, psychologists get a certain bill amount, or case manager get a certain bill amount, administration gets a certain bill amount. That's what we bill. So that's why she can't give you one figure because it's actually the providers that bill, not the student that you bill, right? And so the providers get the money like like the providers each bill. Like we're currently actually more we we're already 100% covered in our current program. I think you read that in your board packet, but just to say that publicly. Scott should actually be the one speaking money, not
080me because I'll get myself in trouble. Um, but we're like our program already is 100% covered. The the department reimbursees it's a reimbursement model now, but reimbures um short of our educational technician which is upfront reimbures 100% of our um current services that are IEP ordered for students. >> And it's really individualized for the student. One child might have an hour of speech required a day, you know, five times a week. Another child might have more intense services required, which would then cost more money to support that child's education. Therefore, you know, the amount for that child would be more than another. So, it's really individualized and dependent on the needs. >> Yes. >> So, I think you just answered it, but I sure So, it's paying just for the services. So like if they
081have their speech services, it's paying just for that services and then the parents are required to still pay the rest of the educational piece of that >> sort of so the best that I can describe it uh and MS school folks will understand this. So your public prek students who attend MIW now you get a state subsidy from the department of education to support that child's education. the cost of what it takes to educate a typically developing child is included in that special education cost. So if uh if Jonathan attends MIW and has an IEP, then the school will receive funding for their general education and their special education cost. That's part of the 100% cost. If Jonathan, if all that's true, but Jonathan attends story time, then the school will receive all of that
082same funding and then it will would likely somehow be dispersed or reimbursed to you or to to the parent so the parent can access a free and appropriate education, but at your location. So that too kind of varies because sometimes a parent will say, you know, my child needs speech and language therapy, but I don't want them in a setting all day. I don't want them, you know, there past whatever the case may be. Um, and so in that scenario, it would be more individualized because the parent is may or may not be accessing the same amount of time that another child in the district is. Um, so there's more to work off that. That's what sort of to what I meant in these cohort one and two schools that we're already working with have
083really helped us better understand the needs and how this looks in the incredibly diverse communities that we have throughout the state. Um but all so if like at MIW if you have 32 students two of which have an IEP those two students would be take removed from your EPS funding because you you wouldn't get EPS funding for them. it would be included in their special ed co in that special ed funding. That's probably more than we need to discuss right now. >> But I think those are the exact points that we need that we need. >> You just need to understand. >> Yeah. I think a lot of a lot of folks are looking at the models based on like >> what's going to cost us more, what's going to cost us less, right? >>
084Versus that's a different discussion than what's best for the child, what's best for right. So I think understanding that there's reimbursement coming >> and if it comes to the school it could pass through to a provider. >> Yes. >> And Nicole when you were talking too about just to clarify like if say the example you gave with story time it may be that the decision is the child's place there as the general ed placement. Correct. Not that story time is agreeing to provide all of the special ed but that the school is going to provide that and send those in. Right. So that can also determine how the money flows because you don't have to agree as a community- based organization that you're able on your own to provide all special education services. You can
085say I'm the general ed placement and then the school could work on um providing the services on site at your program. >> Correct. >> Lean, could I talk a little bit to the finances? Do you mind? >> Oh, no. >> Okay. I did a memo to the board package that everybody should take a look at. And um we currently have third, as Julie had mentioned earlier, we have 32 students who attend the prek program. We get two over $288,000 in prek subsidy. Uh it's about a little over $9,000 per student. Okay. So we receive that. Our prek program budget is $28,000. So we're receiving additional money above and beyond what we're actually what our actual budget is for our prek program. about 90% of transportation costs are reimbursed through the through the uh subsidy formula.
086And then also then you have the special education services that are delivered. You know, we may have an OT who provides a half an hour service twice a week into the program. Well, we receive, you know, about $51 per service that's provided depending on what each service is. So, right now in last fiscal year, we received close to $78,000 in CDS reimbursements. So, so the program has not cost the district money in order to provide it. So, uh, so I think that's important to know. We also receive a little over $16,000 in local entitlement funds, uh, that, uh, you know, which are federal funds that are used for prek. So, with all of those in place, I can honestly say by looking at all of this that the prek program, including the special education costs,
087is not making a cost to the district. It's actually offset by the different revenues that we receive. And one of the things that's done very well here um is that our service providers put in, you know, our OT's, our PTs put in their time for the billings and then it goes through special education and Julie and her office have ensured that all of those services are being built for. So it's provided an excellent revenue source and so there's a lot of great work that's been done in that area to provide subsidies on that. So um so I think I just wanted to say that out loud to people so that you had that and you understood that. No. >> Can I ask a clarifying question? Um, one of the the the things you mentioned about
088the formula around the G general education fund. So, are you saying that if we when we need to expand at least the services to three-year-olds, would additional general ed dollars come with that as well >> for a three-year-old with an IEP? >> Yes. And so how does that currently work if if they're being served in a child care setting now? Do they get general ed dollars now? >> Like does that offset then what the parents pay? >> CDS navigates that with the child care forms anou or a contract with the childare and does reimburse >> um for a certain number of hours that really is for the child's general ed and special ed. Correct. That's the intent. Yes. >> Okay. So that hasn't don't experience but we don't experience they don't >> um no in
089the actuality how they don't >> okay I retracted I will take that back >> right they don't hard stuff >> if you would have had that up in an IEP meeting with they would be like nope we don't do that you don't do that >> as of a meeting with the DOE and Aussie today 11 to 12 I mean the intent is always that they're continuing to work with >> the district attorney on what the general ed hours look like because it hasn't happened under the current law for three and four year olds and they're trying to figure out what the general ed hours would look like for FAPE and if that's reimbured and what that looks like and what case law looks like around the nation because it hasn't been happening on a whole
090CDS thing there and go back to Nicole >> Scott can I ask a clarifying question just to what you had mentioned about the finance because you had said that um The prek is costing us nothing >> as a district. >> It's offset by the regular ed prek is offset by $288,000 >> that we're receiving from special ed. So, >> no through our subsidy formula for general ed for the prek program, >> right? As well the special ed funds come from the billings for CDS and then there's all um and that was I think I mentioned it was a little over well close to $78,000. So, so just to give you an example, there's a 100% of an educational technician which is funded by CDS. We bill for that, okay? Of an educational technician. There's services
091that are provided by a special ed teacher, an occupational therapist, physical therapist, speech therapist. All of those are invoiced and uh through a uh CDS, it's called an IEP billing service. And so, we receive funds from the state for those particular uh billing hours. So, take an example of an OT, okay? An occupational therapist who may be full-time in the district. A portion of that OT's salary is is going to prek, but we're getting that back because it's billable. It's actually been build back and then we're receiving more than probably the cost of the hourly rate of that OT. So, we're getting, you know, $51 or other fees depending on what the service is. It's um >> But that's special ed. So I'm trying to So what I'm trying to do is differentiate in my
092brain like that's special ed stuff that is reimbured I assume the intent of the state is to reimburse for the cost of that student right >> so that money should go out for that student right >> we're also getting subsidy through the EPS model for regular ed student >> so there is a subsidy for regular ed students that's coming from public so let me let me clarify >> yeah that's what I was trying Start again at the beginning. Okay. >> WE'RE ALL TRYING BECAUSE IT SOUNDED like we're getting more money for special ed and it makes up for all the regular ed. It sounded like that and I just wanted to clarify. >> So, regular education prek. Okay. Take special ed set it over here as a second part. Okay. Our prek program gets $288,000
093through our EPS formula, which is a whole formula which counts all students in the district and what subsidy we get. Uh for our total subsidy amount related directly to prek is 288,000. No special ed cost affiliated with that. Just total prek cost. Our budget for prek the 32 students. Okay. Our budget with the services we provide, no special ed services, is um about 28,000. So we are receiving more subsidy than we're expending in our prek program for regular ed. Okay, >> just through the EPS model. >> Through the EPS model. So now, now take that, set it aside for a moment. Okay, you now have the special education services that are pri provided for IEPs, student IEPs. All right, that is build through a CDS billing format in which PT services, OT services, all of
094those are build by our staff who provide those services and we get that money back to us. I think now it's like every two weeks, something like that. It's like about every two weeks we get that money reimbured to us, which is paying for those services above and beyond uh for the special needs. Now, what's ironic is if you have an OT who's full-time, and that OT is only working in preK an hour a week, well, that really isn't a cost to the district. You're actually getting money because the OT is going to be full-time anyway. And you get the whole rest of the benefit across the district of having that OT providing services in the rest of the district. So, um, so only a portion, a really small portion of that person's labor time
095in a given week is spent on prek for OT services and we're getting money for that. So, >> have you run these numbers in a cost projection for the possible enrollment that could be in the new school? >> Absolutely not. Because I have no idea what the student population will look like at that point in time. So in theory there would be >> or what the services would be. >> So that I mean that is what is um part of the reason there is a working committee um and that we're having this workshop and having community conversations is because the board will need to decide later this year. >> You don't have those numbers yet. Well, because there's right there's nothing that's been voted on beyond the um 32 that we're currently >> we also
096don't know what are the identifications what's you know what's the population of the students look like who might be attending that program and what we services we might need to provide >> what we do know is we'll have more space which we did not >> which is basically what I'm saying theoretically I'm it's just like a cost projection >> an idea and if the on the building blueprint It says that there will be four rooms that are dedicated dedicated to prek and each room for the state says that you want to have a 1 to8 ratio. So you can do math. >> I'm not sure what the state's doing in the future. The only thing I can tell you is what we're doing right now and what we're receiving. So I I I'm not going
097to predict the future. >> Okay. >> I do not have that crystal ball. >> Jenny, I will I will add to that. Um as finance chair we are um as Jesse was was saying we are trying to take that approach like we have to be the heavies and say okay >> set aside what you know phil philos philosophically socially we we might want for our kids let's really look at the costs and there are believe it or not so many things that are still up in the air because as a board member I want to be able to compare I don't want to cost comparison Right? So that at least we can say if we go with um the community model, if we go with services on site but not the classroom on site, I
098mean you know these different options, what is that going to look like? >> Uh and as of right now, we just don't have enough information from the state >> uh to to fully embrace that. There is question you said you said 100% reimburseed of the appropriate cost. Um could you if you're able to or could your finance um team get back to us because there actually is some discrepancy. Are benefits covered? Are the payroll taxes covered? Are um you know the utilities that are in the classroom like all these things that we have to think about the the additional costs what actually will be. >> So a child with an IEP using Mr. Puland's math for about $9,000 per student, you'd get $9,000 plus what is necessary to provide the special education for that student.
099>> Um so if that's an individual part of an individual set, etc. All of those things would be included in the cost for that child. >> And then if we're um if we were to do the offsite model where providers travel, >> then we're reimbursing mileage, >> correct? And we're also their drive time is >> part of their work time. >> So, so that time is compensated. So, you know, trying to figure out like, okay, how many >> that's an an appropriate cost to serve that child, >> right? >> Is there a pass through to the provider? Right. So, if if we we have 30 we have 30 special ed seats in the school now. >> We've got 60 kids who are going to have IEPs and we're going to have to serve those 60.
100So, unless we double our program here or we use community providers. If we use community providers, in addition to sending if we sent staff to provide the services, is there also a pass through to basically say for $9,000, can we reserve a spot for a child with an IEP in your program? And does that money pass through to the provider or do we only get that money if we serve them in the school? >> You can't do that. >> No, it's not it's not that it's only served in the school. It's that what that child's receiving for their general education. If they're at story time only for speech and language services for that one hour a day, five day, whatever it is, then that's what will be reimbured. If that child's IEP says they need
101an hour of speech every day and they also need to have access to three hours a day of general education, then that cost that general education can come at no cost to the parent, which then means Miss Story is not getting paid for those three hours of that child's general education. And then that's where the district might subsidize for Miss Sto's general ed time. >> But we're not getting that money through the EPS or >> you'd get it through the 100% IEP reimburse. Yes. Because that's part of their general education. >> So whatever is in the IEP is reimbursed and we could contract with providers. >> If the IEP states they need a general education, >> right? So whatever whatever is in the IEP is like how often. So you're saying there's IEPs. I I
102know nothing about this. For three and four year olds that could only have a one hour of service and no general ed, like how often is general ed included? >> I Well, always. I would say there's some level of general education requirement on every IEP unless the child's needs are so severe that the least restrictive environment is a special purpose. >> That's not true right now. That's what that's what they're working towards. That's what they understand the law to be and they're they're trying to work towards >> I think right now it's like nine hours a week or something. >> They're working towards six hours for three-year-olds and 10 hours for four year olds. And that is the model that they're trying to work towards and they're trying to find case law to support that
103because the field is wondering how that is individual to name that every three-year-old that's what they get and every four-year-old that's what they get because that doesn't feel very Yeah. That doesn't feel very individualized. if you have an articulation disorder versus significant down syndrome. People are wondering how that's individualized to just name those hours. And so the Aussie team is trying to sort of work through language to support individual IEP teams to come up with individual determinations around general ed time right now. And I think all the parents are shaking their head agreeing with me. There is absolutely no general ed time order. the service grids on IEPs only order ser order special education services at this time and that is something that the Aussie team was like yikes when they figured out that that
104was happening. They want to ensure that general ed time is ordered in this new model so that general education is not left out for our special education students as we move forward in this model. And we're all awaiting updated FAPE guidance around that so that it's ordered correctly and therefore build correctly and therefore reimbured correctly. Is that your understanding? >> Yes. >> Yeah. >> And that was literally like today's version. But that could have changed since noon today. >> Yeah. Sure. >> That's why it's so difficult to predict and anticipate what this is all going to cost us because we don't know that yet. >> So >> I know we have a couple other questions coming. And also I've just heard a couple of comments about if we go with the community based model or
105the school model and um both um the early learning team the special services AIE and our office who work with childare are working with different communities and schools on the different ways to work together and partner. So just also want to offer it's not a you know you either do school or you either do community based. There's all these hybrid versions of the number of classrooms in a school versus the number of kids or classrooms that are in the community. There's many different ways and Nicole has done work for years on the specific public prek partnership model and how that can look different across the state in all different communities. So we can offer also support in terms of both understanding not only the special education um kind of transition you're navigating but also the
106pro public prek itself and how that works um together as well. There was yeah >> I just wanted to say I know that there was there was a statement made that um outside providers are reimbured for their mileage and their time for three to 5 year olds. We are not reimbursed for our time. So if we are traveling to a program we are not reimbursed currently. So that is something that is not happening through CDS. >> Um so I hear a lot of funding that's not being doled out right now and obviously we have a limited budget at the state level too. So I didn't know if there was any talk at all of um a protected non-lapsing account or if this is going to be derived from the general account or if anything was
107out there. >> Where's the money coming from? >> Right. And is it protected or are we going to do the same thing we always do and cost share eventually and then 50% of this money is coming from >> taxpayers in the town. >> So I don't know if anything was at the legislature or anything that might have been >> we'll get back to you. >> I would just thank you for all the money you've given us this far >> made a difference for us. >> I don't I don't know if I'm allowed to speak. I work in a district where I'm servicing prek kids and we're doing >> Oh, please. >> I don't I'm a public I'm not sure I'm allowed to talk. We have one more question. >> I just had one clarifying question,
108but I'd love to hear um and it might be for Julie only because I know like we're talking about um billing services, speech, OT, PT, all of that. What about um those kiddos that we talk about that have significant needs with a one-on-one and that is a um that is not a build service. That is a >> it is a build service. >> We can build we can build for ed tax bhps. We bill for our valuations lump in Yep. We bill for and the ITC is actually salary and benefits. So, um those are build for and that can be either like one-on-one, two-on-one, threeon-one. It depends on how it's ordered in the IEP. And we work with um the department on that ahead of time. And that is actually um it doesn't doesn't matter
109the details how we do that, but that's different than like a half an hour chunk or an hour chunk through the sync system. It's actually done on a monthly basis um through because it's an ordered service all day long for students. >> That was one of the pieces that I mentioned earlier about the edtech being 100% reimbursed. >> Okay. Thank you. >> CDS building. So, >> and that's special education, but then we also do have regular edtech in the prek program that is also through the APS models um supported because we're a one to, you know, 2 to6 ratio. behind. There's two there's two two people behind you. Both of them. >> That's fine. >> Um I just want to make sure everyone around the table has their questions answered first. >> I just want
110to make sure that everybody's aware we're not just talking about four-year-olds. We're also talking about three year olds. So it's not just a matter of 65 students. That's just 65 foury olds. I'm assuming >> that includes threes. >> And there's also a difference between three and four in terms of with three-year-olds, we're just talking about children with IEPs, whereas with four-year-olds, it could be a broader conversation in terms of if you have questions for us. Um, particularly having Nicole here who's done so much work around public prek because four-year-olds are often served in public schools in SAUS and in community based programs for both public prek in general as well as those with IEPs >> and the dollars can follow the kiddo into >> want to speak about. >> So for foury olds I mean
111that's what I'm interested. >> You want to speak a little bit about the public prek four-year-olds. >> Is that your >> Yeah. So, >> yes. How regular. >> Yes. I mean, general education children for prek through 12th grade, uh, like Mr. Pulin was saying, receives, um, funding through what we call the essential programs and services, the EPS formula, uh, which is a statewide formula where the state provides 55% of the costs and the local community provides the the 45% match, what have you. Um, so four four-year-olds who are four by October 15th of the school year and access your public prek programs, the school will get the EPS funding for that general education piece. So that might be in the public school classroom at MIW or many schools districts across the state I mentioned earlier
112partner formally partner with community providers. So whether it's um a licensed provider like we have here in the room or a Head Start or a YMCA or a Boys and Girls Club, what have you. And basically in those scenarios, the children are physically at that community provider setting. Sometimes there's a classroom in the school, but that's another conversation. Um receiving their public preschool education at no cost to the family because public education comes at no cost. and the school district gets the EPS funding for that child and through anou agreement with the provider, that money is then shared with the provider for the general education cost. We are not talking about children with IEPs. We're talking about public prek education. Um, and that looks different everywhere because no two communities are the same across the
113state and we it really needs to match and fit what is needed for your your particular community. Um, so sometimes districts, like, you know, I won't name names. Sometimes districts will say, >> I'll name them. >> Um, okay. We get $9,000 per student through the EPS formula. Story time. Sorry, you're in my my line of sight. >> Story time has um eight children in in our in our public prekou agreement. Therefore, we're going to give her that nine nine times eight, right? 9,000 time 8 cost. or it might say a district might say we'll reimburse you $5,000 per student for the provision of this general education or or whatever the agreement is. There's no set cost. That's between the two parties. Um but it's definitely an option. So if MSAD51 wanted to expand their public
114prek general education availability into the community, that's certainly a conversation that can be had and and supported by us at the DOE. um there the partner would need to meet all of what we refer to as chapter 124 requirements. So they would need to there would need to be a certified lead teacher. All ratios would need to be maintained. Of course they would need to have a childare license. Um anything around classroom size, evidence-based curriculum, research-based assessment, etc., etc., all those things would still need to be in place. um and assuring that they're all in place then that that is a scenario that happens often. Tara, you have a question. >> I wanted to just add one thing because um just to make sure we're clear on when you mentioned it would come so it's
115public prek so it's at no cost to the parent. It just reminded me of so you had read aloud something from one of our community programs where they're open from 7 something in the morning to 5:00 p.m. That public preschool agreement, right? Might be like the public prek part of the day is for three hours. That part is at no cost to the parent. The parent could then choose to pay for the rest of the day or apply for a child care subsidy or something for the rest. So, >> or not be present, >> right? Or not be present. It doesn't necessarily mean that the public preschool day is going to be the whole day that the child care is open. That's anou between the >> in order for a school district to receive EPS
116funding for a prek student, that prek student needs to have access to at least 10 hours a week. So at least you know and schools are really creative in how that looks. Sometimes it's two hours a day, sometimes it's twice a week for five hours each day. You know, >> although at this point, how many years we've been into prek, a lot of schools are at 3 to four hours a day or even full day, five days a week. >> And when we say that, I mean school hours, it mirrors the time of what the school like an 8 to 3 8:2ish time frame. Lots of hands popped up. Okay, great. Do you know what the town of Cumberland's plan is as far as partnering with preschools or because we're building this whole new school?
117And I I'm sorry. This is the first time I've been at that. >> That's why we're here. >> We know what the plan is. Are we partnering out with the community? Are we pulling everybody into this public prek school that's being built? Or what's the intention? What's the plan? >> Why we're good question why we're trying to all figure this out. >> But nobody knows where the money is coming from. We're trying to figure out the money, right? It's like >> welcome to prek, right? >> Like every prek kid should get a full day in all the services, right? Except that >> then people will vote down the school budget if we all have like if it d right. So it's like how much money are we getting from the state, right? And then what
118can we stomach in terms of like can we partner with providers? What money can we get to you guys to make it work or does it not work and we don't exp like right like we don't know the answers to this which is why >> we're trying to figure this out in real time. So you are at the first meeting. You are on the ground level of figuring this out with us. >> My question is you keep saying 60 kids in Cumberland with IEPs. Is that through CDS or is Okay. because there are more a lot more kids than I I probably have 10 kids in my program that have IEPs privately or have >> receive services privately that are not included through that could but they have insuranceances and choose not to. >> Would
119you say that's called the medical >> and it's a snapshot the CDS data is a snapshot in time. >> Yeah. right? Or there are kids that aren't that it's not severe enough so they don't get services. So then when they land on the doors of May Wilson then that's when they get their they finally get the thing that they need because it's just cuz cuz they're like I'm sorry I'm losing my words but it's then that they get their needs provided because you have >> there's more resources >> an entire department that's dedicated to that. Yep. >> Well, Nicole, you were you were list you were listing like the requirements for us to partner. How does the star star rating system play into that? Because I'm still slightly >> So, the requirements I mentioned chapter
120124. Those are not requirements to partner. That's requirements to offer public prek. Period. So, the classrooms at MIW already meet the or should already be meeting those requirements. Um it's just to say that if you were to partner for the provision of general ed public prek, those requirements still need to be in place even if it's physically at a different space. Um the QIS system, the quality rating and improvement the I system um is under Tara's office. It has nothing to do with us at the Department of Education. And your star rating for public education partnering doesn't exist. You don't have to have a specific star rating. You just have to meet chapter one. But >> but yes, however, we are I mean we're working to build this in more alignment and stay tuned. We're
121trying. Um but for special education, they have decided that the new requirement will be star three. They are giving programs. So any program who is currently a star 2 can apply to the department of education for a waiver. Um and you will have up to two years to be a star three. And our office um at office of child and family services is working with those in childcare are familiar with the main roads to quality on having resources and funding available because sometimes the difference between a star two and a star three is um someone running a a private preschool or child care may have a teacher who needs to finish a credential who needs to get some coursework done. there may be costs associated that we know you will incur to get to a
122star three. So we have supports available to help um our licensed childare programs get there and you have time to do that. So it doesn't necessarily impede the ability to partner if an SAU is looking to partner with you. It just means you need to we can give you the email and you'd say I'd like a waiver and it's pretty simple. Tara, do you have the number of um programs in our district that are at least a star three? >> I believe our programs are all star two right now in Cumberland and North Carolina. >> I think a three. >> Yeah, but we need to be >> cuz I'm not sure why we're not. >> Well, my understanding my understanding the last time I looked is that Tottalin is a three unless >> and I
123will say and and any of the owners or directors here could provide more information on that. That is based on what our child care programs submit through our our QA as she mentioned with in Maine is called Rising Stars for me. So our office looks at annually what's been submitted to basically demonstrate that you've met these quality standards. A program at any time could submit further information. And so you may be doing things currently in your programs that actually meet STAR three, four, and or five. You just haven't shown that to our office yet. and then we can review that and and kind of add that rating. >> And it takes time for you to build your rating. So, um >> I've owned the school for a year and what do I I probably perform
124at a level four at a right, but I have to prove myself as a three for an entire year before I can even apply to be a four. So, I'll have to just sit on my hands and wait until I can be or I can ask for a a waiver from the Department of Education um until I can be considered for another level up. And it is also important to note that some of the language in the um rising stars and I think that it's changed >> but there was um some language in there in which it required certain >> um >> benefits that be awarded to employees. So it was like you couldn't be a star five if you didn't offer health insurance. >> Well employees, >> right? And if you're a very small
125school, the likelihood of you being able to, you know, achieve that is minimal. So, um, and but I think that there's language that is changing to work towards. >> So, the state just implemented updated rules for our rising stars for me program, which means there are childare programs across the state who, according to the new rules, may now be able to move up. And so there's an opportunity for people to resubmit documentation. Part of that was related to different requirements around staffing. Um we don't need to get into it here at this meeting. They can reach out to me if they have questions or you can. But um there's definitely there's a lot of work in progress and between our two departments on how we better align our requirements and then provide that information to
126all of you so that um we can work on it together. >> Yeah, our two I will say our offices work incredibly well together. We collaborate regularly. Yes. >> Um, so currently we have members of the community that send their kids outside of our district area. >> How does funding flow to say somebody that chooses to send their kid to somebody in Portland or Scar Bro or wherever they work >> superend is that on the district's responsibility then to have the billing staff to collect all that data and is that refunded >> all that questions. Do you want to speak about superintendent? Um, so I'm I'm actually going to read directly from Aussie, my colleagues at AIE's slide that you'll potentially have access to. Um, because it's it's a little more convoluted during this cohort
127process once it's 100% law and it'll be much easier because right now it's sort of dependent on where that child lives, what community they are a resident of, and where that child receives their service if it's not in that same community. So I'm going to read it like verbatim from what they say. So for SAUs, school administrative units that do not have programming space, etc. within their prek programs nor have any collaborative programs in their community. Um then the resident SAU that where the child lives would do one of the following things. assuming that you know that child needs an IEP, they could do a superintendence agreement with the SAU where the student is in a program. So if they live in Cumberland but attend preschool in Portland, then MSAD51 could have a superintendence agreement
128with Portland public schools for the provision of that child's service. That's an option. Um they could MSAD51 in this example uh could develop partnerships with the child care or preschool program where the child attends. So MSAD51 could call up Busy Bear Daycare in Portland and say hey want to partner with us and we'll facilitate just between us. Um MSAD51 could provide teleaalth in that space. That I will say for the record wouldn't be my first option. I'd want to exhaust all other things before that, but um I'd be lying if I said that wasn't an option. Um MSAD51 could offer that child a spot um as far as like a drop in service. So they might go to Portland for their child care, but they might say, "Okay, but two times a week, could you
129come into Cumberland for this service and then go back?" Some families that might work out, okay, I'm willing to bet my life that for many it won't. Um, if the IEP team agrees and that child can access services um, at the service provider location, that would be ideal. Um, or you could be creative and have conversations around what else would work. But there's a couple things more, I think. Um, so SAUS are responsible for the early care uh, excuse me, early childhood special ed for children who reside in their SAU boundary. um and they are not responsible for children that reside outside of it. So on the flip side, right, if a student lives in Portland but comes to story time, MSAD51 is not responsible for the special education services of that child unless or
130until Portland reaches out and says, "Hey, we can't do this, can you?" But MSAD51 will have needed to adopted this if it's prior to July 128 after the cohort backs it. It's a little bit different, but for now where it's optional for schools to be partaking in this um that would be like a varying factor. >> Clear as mud, you >> will have to do all the paperwork and the billing. >> So that for your question, yes, we will have to develop an individual service plan. We will have to do the goals. We will have to do the billing. Yes. Yes. Yes to all of that is what she just said. >> And does that reimburse? >> Yeah. How do we pay for that? So, what I'm hearing like is the the best thing for
131children and families is to have flexibility. And in order for us to have flexibility as a district is to consider a number of different models. Um, but to do that, we need staff to be able to to manage that. Where's the is there funding for that as part of this the funding? there's a special education funding, but above and beyond that, is that what you're referring to? >> Yeah, we're looking a year out and I would love to consider community partnerships, superintendence agreements, but the the easiest thing administratively is, I'm assuming, to bring the kids here because we coordinating all of that >> it's a full-time position. I would have to say it's a pre that's why most of the school districts around us are saying we need a pre-k administrator >> and that would
132seem like to the best needs of family schools communities is to be able to have that position in place like a year in advance >> to many schools have done that um how they pay for it specifically I would ask the individual schools because there's no like requirement or law on our end to say this is how you do it >> do this but we're not going to give you any administrative Call 14 call kit York. They have those positions in place and they would be the best ones to do >> specifically say how they make it work and >> like who who manages the agreements? I mean like I said it seems like the best way for failing >> and also I will say don't forget the C CDS reach is not going away.
133They're remaining as a hub. So there may be a contract in place between MS851 and CDS reach to say can you part can you help us with this case management part time? Can you help us? You're going to see that in the slideshow and our colleagues at AIE reminded us to say that that >> CDS is still going to be a resource hub and they are still have the ability to support you in different ways as we go through this transition. >> Are they going to tell us where all the kids who live in our district are in childhood? >> They can tell you that. Yes, they can. >> They can. I can't. I don't have access. >> They'll be able to tell us. >> The one So, I'll clarify in case you didn't hear
134her question fully. They can tell you where all the kids with IEPs are. If you want to know where all the children who are three and four years old any >> children are IEPs >> right they can project to next year >> they can project but in terms of like I think if I understand correctly if you're wondering all the three and four year olds who live in Cumberland what's any possible child care that they and or North Yarmouth that they attend right now >> um we would have to survey childare directors and owners on that to find out where all the kids who live in our communities attend child care that we wouldn't have at >> level. We already have all the IEPs in our sync system, >> meaning they go, but not and
135and we know who's in referral, but what we don't have is the all the kids that you all were talking about who are bubble kids who don't quite qualify, who are like, right, those are the kids who might have >> Yeah, >> CVS could give you part C data as well. >> Yeah, we're not we don't have access to part C. We don't we're not allowed the 0 to3s. >> I but I think if you reach out and just said you know like without giving me identifying information can you give me a number like how many >> we're allowed we have the numbers we don't have we don't we're not have access to the kids >> placements. Sure. >> I just have I have two things I want to one be really careful about thinking
136about prek and what is easy. I heard that word it would be really easy to do this. It would be really easy but I think collectively and I know we have some parents and providers in the room. >> What also we are tasked with is what is best for kids. Thank you. >> And if hiring one person to navigate that is going to help us do what's best for kids, I will pay the taxes all day long for that person. So I just I want to be really cautious because I know we're all here for that goal. What is best for kids? That should be the number one goal. Um, I have another question that just kind of goes back to earlier. We have a pocket of Sorry, I keep coming back to money, but
137I know that's like a thing. >> It's a thing. >> Yeah, it's a thing, >> right? For all of us, we have a pocket of money from special ed to support four-year-olds who have special services. We have a pocket of money coming from special ed to support three-year-olds that have services. We have a pocket of money coming for regular ed foury olds. Do we have a pocket of money coming for regular three-year-olds? >> No, there is not. Not at the moment. >> So when we're talking about adding three-year-olds in and we have 50% 50% special ed that will be covered. The other 50% I imagine will not be covered and that's what we're going to be asking the taxpayers to pay. >> Is that does that was just like from a while ago >> potentially.
138It depends on your model. >> It's why there um there are some school districts joining cohort three who are going to focus on just foury olds first. I was going to bring that >> and then develop three-year-olds next. And that's also why partnership comes off comes up even more with three-year-olds. >> You're okay. >> That is an option in the cohort model only. That is an option for districts. They can opt in as a slower roll out to better understand their community's needs and the funding aspects, etc. They can opt to take on IEP responsibility for four-year-olds only. But once July 1, 2028 hits, that's not going to be an option anymore. >> and that's only a one-year option, I believe. Like if you're a cohort three, four year olds only, >> once cohort 4
139year rolls around, I believe you'd have to take off. >> We've already we've already committed to cohort 4 as a district. So then you don't have that option. >> We don't have that option. We're already cohort four. >> Do you mind just saying what we've what cohort 4 is? >> Yeah. I mean, we are the we are cohort 4 or we've committed because clearly we want to make sure we're we have a very thoughtful and slow and and complete process for our community. So, we have been very clear as a community that we are cohort 4. We're doing the very last cohort. And I don't know, I mean, the DOE keeps knocking at our door being like, are you sure? Don't you want to? You already have a good program for some. Are you sure
140you don't want to take on more four-year-olds? Do you want to do you want to do this, you know, slow process of doing forwards first? And we've been very committed and sort of stuck to we're we're cohort four. We are doing the very last cohort. So we don't have the luxury of starting with four-year-olds and then doing three-year-olds. We have said that means your responsibility starts all three7 whereas if you were cohort 3 your responsibility would start in the school year with July or July 1 2026. It would be >> Can you further clarify that? Fall of 2027. >> Uh I should have said July 1 of 2027. >> July 1. >> July one the doors open to all four year olds. We are responsible in the summer. So and and that is an important
141clarification. It the CDS does not and IEP services do not run for three and four year olds on a school year. They run on a calendar year. So July 1 is actually July 1. We are responsible starting July 1 for IEP services for our three and four year olds. And it's rolling. I mean students get identified, they have services, they have birthdays and become three, right? They turn three and we're actually responsible for evaluations at two years, three months. So all of that happens in the summer. It happens starting July 1st in the summer and that is when we are responsible and it is for all of three and four year olds for cohort 4 and that is what we committed to so that we could make sure that we had a very thoughtful process
142with all of our providers and community members >> all of three and four year olds or all >> with identified with identified disability and and that also includes students who are in the child find process. So in the referral process, so anybody who is currently in the referral process as a three or four year old, we are responsible for on starting July one. >> And one of the reasons that our departments are working, you know, with so closely with both childare programs and school districts, SAUs, is that we know that's a lot to take on. And also that um we want to support um of course um inclusive environments, least restrictive environments, which means you're looking at having children with IEPs that are three, right, in a classroom, in a program, in a setting where
143they're with their typically developing peers. That's why the conversations are so important about looking at your space and capacity in your SAU and also your space and capacity in your community. >> And I do want to clarify what was just said. CVS actually does follow the school calendar for three and four year olds. You have to qualify for summer services for three and four year olds. So they do follow the school calendar extended school, >> right? They you have to qualify for extended school year, but they're on a 60-day testing rather than a 45 school day. And there so that's different. So it goes over the summer, meaning you have you're on a 60-day calendar day rather than 45 school days. We follow 45 school days. So the testing stops in the summer for our
144students, whereas for three and four year olds, it doesn't stop in the summer. you keep testing, >> right? And as far as summer services, they are they do have to qualify for summer services. So their services that are rendered September through June are not necessarily the same services that are rendered for July for we just are July and my understanding through the three and four year old laws though is like the 2.3 birthdays if they fall in the summer, you still have to meet those birthday requirements. You still have to transition plan and meet on those students and all. That's my understanding of how the law is currently written for the three and four year olds. So, we'll have to have staff that are working in the summer now, which is, you know, we don't
145we don't really right now other than admin and the few people we hire for extended school year services, but we'll have to have evaluators employed over the summer. We'll have to have >> or contracted >> preschool programming. >> Yeah. Right. We'll have to have people >> at tax. >> Yeah. And all of that will be 100%. Right. That's what I'm understanding. >> Correct. That's why it's a July one, quarter one, right? your July one count goes in and that's the money you get and it that money will support whatever is needed in those counted IEPs whether it's >> this funded leading up to the IEP or only once they have an IEP because there's a lot of services that happen leading up to the IEP being written >> question >> is it at referral >>
146at referral >> it's by quarter July one I mean yeah I to have an IEP But if we're in the child process that the district is responsible for, they're not getting >> Yeah. I'd want to talk to our our folks at Aussie to be really specific. >> Yeah, that was I had that question about Yeah. How does >> you get that question answered? >> Yeah, because I mean similar to the a program coordinator, how how do we pay for the person working through Childfind? >> We're gonna get back to you on that. >> Okay, great. Thanks. I think it looks different. >> So, I just I want to reiterate what Tara said. I don't know. Is it Tara or Tara? >> Tara. I apologize. What Tara was saying? Um because I want to make sure
147the board hears this. Um that if we are providing a public prek program for three-year-olds on our campus, then at least half of the classroom or no more at least half have to be um regular instruction. Correct. for an inclusive setting. >> So, um, so that is something we have to to again consider and I know it's been said. I just I I just want to reiterate that that that is something we we could not just offer a classroom for kids who only have an IEP program. Um, which for obvious reasons that's a very healthy thing. I presume that if we were um not partnering but the community model or I mean I know that's a form of partnering but the the two and three star or Okay. Oh, I don't like thinking about it
148like a Yelp review. Two star sounds so bad. >> I know. >> Does that also need to be the case for their classroom? Like that is that part of that requirement to be considered part of the prek >> so ed or special ed? Yeah, I hope we it becomes all one answer one day. But in the current answer, it's for the children with IEPs at least a star three. For the children who don't have an IEP, they need to meet chapter 124 standards, which I know is just me saying a name and a number, but we can provide you the details of what that is. The school district meets it, so they also know what it is. But um we have staff in in our offices who can help with kind of um making sure
149everyone knows what those requirements are for chapter 124. One of the things we've had some of our child care directors and owners do in other communities is I've worked with them from our office in giving kind of a template of this is what chapter 124 is and then they outline for their sau here's everything that I meet and if there's something that they don't meet there might be a waiver or there might be some process for them to come to be able to meet that to be able to partner. So that's again something that you can work through over time. I I think I would also add with that too because um you made a comment earlier Nicole when someone said you know we have this time right it's a thoughtful process that's great one
150of the things we encourage from both our offices is that SAUS and licensed child care your partners in your community for early childhood education take the time to work through this together not only for formal challenging complex decisions around this whole special education transition but also alo to build relationships and to build ways of collaborating uh that can be informal the way you may develop s earlier when you were all introducing yourselves and giving things around your program. Um I think you mentioned at story time we'd like to have more of a connection to our SAU and sharing about the children who are in our program when they then go on to prek or kindergarten at at Mabel Wilson. So there may be some things as you're going through this longer process that you start
151to develop. What are going to be our annual connections? Are we going to do a shared professional development together? Are we going to have a way of visiting each other's classrooms and programs that you can just start to kind of develop this as a community model, not in a formal partnership community model, but in a community model that we're all working together and getting to know each other and building ways of collaborating. And we also have ways to give you ideas and share what other communities across the state have been doing with that. Well, and you you hit on my next question honestly. Um because >> at the risk of u making it sound like this is our offer. I mean I do want to hear more from all of the providers like I'm not
152going to say the ideal situation because there's no such thing and and money is obviously consideration. But in a somewhat more perfect world, um, you know, I heard that having someone come and observe while the kids are playing is super helpful. Um, I want to know whether, you know, what it looks like to have a child be transported to the campus for their services and then come back to you, um, versus that service coming to you. I I want to know what it looks like to be evaluated. I think Jenny you were saying that that um you know sometimes you have to go to the story clinic to get evaluated and that's under might be under medical plan but what would that look like if the district was providing that? So, I do want to
153hear more at the risk of not being able to promise you that that's what we would end up doing, but I do want to hear more from what um you all are are genuinely mostly realistically hoping for. >> And I just think to advocate just because um I know that we're all pretty familiar with each other. I don't know that the community is always familiar with what we do. Um, and and I think the beauty in what we have in this town, and I can't speak to other towns whether they have this or not. I can't imagine other towns have what we have, is that we've got a nature preschool. So, if that's what your kid thrives, that's where they should go. We've got somewhere in between, you know, is somewhere in between education and
154nature. And you know, we've got Sarah Rose who's like just genuine caring love, smaller program, one person, right? Been doing it forever. You know, we've got story time who's connected in ex like to to to Story Smith, you know? Not that that's the only thing, but like every single program that's here has a very special niche and not every kid fits one program. I have seen kids that don't fit other programs and they come and they fit here. I have had kids that don't fit my program and have are successful in other programs because that's where they fit. And there was a parent earlier, I think she left, who talked about like having the best fit for your kid because that's where it is. And I just like this community. I mean, obviously I'm I'm
155a little passionate about it. I think some of us are, but I think, you know, money aside and whatever that looks like, I don't think any of us are asking for more than just let's provide it for our community because we can and we have it, right? Like so I just to your point like we I think we would all love to tell you more about what we do and I think we would also be the first one to say like you know my program might not be a fit but >> you know I think what Jenny's doing or I think what Sarah's doing or I think what story time or toddle in that has wraparound care or you know Creekide Hollow who's outside all day you know that might be exactly what your kid
156need monastery Waldorf like there's a million different approaches and none of them are wrong. Right. And so I think the risk you run with putting a program in a public school only and and saying we're going to provide for all these kids is that many of us and has happened in the past will start to shut down because there aren't kids because you can't you we can't do it for free. We can't. We can't. And if money is coming into the public school and if there's an option for money to come in and just funnel through to be the same, that seems to me like a nobrainer. Um, again, it's just my opinion. It seems like a no-brainer, right? So, I just I feel like we would love to do that. I just wanted to
157advocate for these people because having that and if we shut down and then you have one model and it doesn't work for that kid, I don't know who's been I mean those of us who are teachers who have been in schools and it doesn't work for that kid, you're up the creek without a paddle. >> Yeah. >> And now you have all of us sitting at home doing you know legal work or something else, >> right? And I think the thing that's really beautiful that's already happening amongst us >> is that >> I'll have a kid who I'll say to myself, "Oh my gosh, I >> we just don't have enough of this specific thing, but I know that Sarah does." And so I will say, "Sarah, do you have a spot because I know
158you've got the magic that this person needs." And she'll say, "In fact, I do." And and so Sarah will do what she can do there. And vice versa. And it's um it's actually something really special. >> It is really special >> that um that we have going amongst us. And I and I think that it is one of the only times >> in a child's life where you really get to honor what kind of learner they are, >> right? Not what best delivery system we can do to touch on the hours in which are legally required for them, but what is the best environment for them to learn and be prepared and be available for learning the way you can offer it at MSA 51, right? Like that's also part of our job is getting
159them ready to love being at school, right? Like uh what is the school bus like at get watching a teeny tiny human being get on the school bus for the first time uh from your facility? It's exhilarating and terrifying, >> you know, and uh because we love them. They live in our hearts and we think about them all the all day all day. And uh and so when they come back to us and or when we see that those transitions are a lot for them, we wish we could ease that and we would love to. And um and I think that really piggybacks um on what Danielle is is saying and that we want to be a part of making a good thing happen. Uh because it's what we're in the business of of good
160things of children, you know. >> So I know we are time is >> Yes. And I want to honor everyone around the table. Is it okay if I >> Yes, please. you guys. >> We're all speakers. We're all coming out for you to speak. Please um deep respect for all early childhood educators and uh I think what's important for the board to understand is that IPS look really different. So one kiddo might need an hour of speech a week and let them have it at Jenny's school, but a private system uh can respectfully decline to administer services. And the fact of the matter is is that there are children who don't get the services that they need and MSAD51 public prek is too small to accommodate those kids and those kids end up on long
161long wait lists and have to drive far to get a spot in a classroom so that they can learn how to be in a classroom. So it public or private schools can't fully provide public education and our current public early childhood education falls short of administering services to the kids in our town. So it's it's just it's not you want to provide some and not all of the IEP services that are needed. So when we think about building capacity, we have to make sure we can provide a least restrictive environment of 50/50 regular ed and special good for all of the kids who need to be in a classroom to figure out how to be in a classroom if they're not welcome frankly in your classrooms. And we don't do that now. We don't do
162that now. >> I should mention that once you form um there's certain requirements that come with forming different parts of different types of partnerships, right? So there's one specific to public prek that Nicole could speak on in terms of like how enrollment is done, not being able to turn away children. There's other requirements around partnering. If you were to do a formal contract where a child with an IEP is placed in a community-based setting, they cannot be turned away from that setting. So there is a there is a public private you're exactly right. There is a shift in that once you form a formal partnership or contract with a school district because you become a private pro provider who is part of a public system. Now you are then held to the same standards as
163a as a public system. So we would want to make sure everyone's aware of that. >> And just to add to that, services would be available to support the provider that couldn't support your child. >> Well, we're not going to like drive edex to every single preschool in town at some point. Like I I I've been so hesitant to talk about this because it's like so deeply personal, but my story might be helpful. I had a kiddo who did great until she hit preschool. Preschool was super overwhelming. I was like, we what's going on with my kid? I don't know. She's so bright. Why is this hard? Shop around. Try to talk to other people. Turns out she needed to be in an environment that had more adults than any of these places did because
164that's what she needed. So, I get on a wait list through CDS and go without anything because I had missed the MS851 lottery until she got a spot at a place in Portland uh where she was able to go for some preschool months. The emotional experience of being like I am not welcome anywhere in my town because of my like fouryear-old is just like no one should live through that. It's so it's it's not what our public school system should do. And I we this is a wonderful opportunity we have as a district to just eliminate that problem like that. People should be able to go to the private schools they want and anyone else to just have a spot at public school. That's what it's like when you hit kindergarten, but it's not like
165that when you're four. And it just should be. It should be >> digging into the deeper issues of what's a public good and Yeah. But you're exactly right in terms of um what we want to be able to make available for children and and I so appreciate you sharing that story because it is really hard. I went through something similar with one of my kids and it's really challenging. >> First grade with no adult support like this stuff is like this tricky these are tricky years. >> Yes. You know so >> I know Gan has had his hand up for a little bit. >> I would just say yeah that's to me that's what I thought why we were here to talk about that and your story. I mean, in my experience as an educator,
166I mean, I had parents that went through I mean, the stories were and not this is really I appreciate you sharing, but just multiple levels of multiple programs kicking out. Yes. >> Just and the kids coming into public school and they have had no education at all and and that's what we can solve and it's like we've got a solution. So, let's do it and let's talk about that part of it. Um, I respect the wonderful programs that are all here and they're going to continue to provide that support and there'll be kids to do that, but these other kids are not getting that wonderful support. They're not accessing your programs. I wish they were. I wish it worked that way. So, I just feel like yes, and I appreciate you sharing, too. I know
167that's difficult. I would like to say that I think most programs would say yes, come join me if we had access to >> support. >> Yeah. And then I think what we're getting at is that there's been a system in place primarily in K to 12 that is now pre-K to 12 that for for decades has more of the um resources and funding available. The child care system is a patchwork system that has grown up over time where the resources you have available are what parents can pay because as a as a state and country I mean this gets into much bigger issues about how we fund early care and education birth to five and that we don't fund it um as a national system of support that makes sure every family has access every
168early childhood educator that works in child care can get great compensation and every program can run and thrive. So, right, that's that's getting into some huge issues that we're definitely not going to solve tonight, but it it's worth understanding that um in order to support all of the children, those typically developing and with IEPs, we need to look at the capacity that you have that is in this community in Cumberland and North Yarmouth. understand what's been available before, but also think about what's possible because some of the limitations that may have been in place in some of the community-based providers may there may be new options open with funding like what we talked about tonight, funding for the full funding for a child with an IEP, uh public pre-K funding that's available, um and other
169possible creative solutions that you come up together come up with together. So, it may be that you've had some community-based programs that previously really couldn't provide supports for all the children that needed them, but you by partnering together are able to make more of that happen. That's a longer process, obviously, a lot more than we're going to do just this evening to help you figure out all the details. And that's for you to do in your process in the coming year to see kind of what works for the for the community and for the school district. So, um, I wanted to see do you want me us to turn it back over to you now to close out or how we had put on for next steps and I know there's still questions and there's
170discussion. So, how do you want to handle time? >> We do have about 10 more minutes of workshop. Can we give it 10 yes more minutes? And I know >> I know you've had your >> I just if people don't mind I'd love to share my experience. My name is Caitlyn. I'm an SLP. I work in a different district. I live in >> You say that acronym for >> Yeah, we're sorry. Speech language pathologist. Sorry. and speech therapist. Yes. Um I work in a different school district that we are servicing pre-K students. Um I work pre-K to three mostly right now. We are doing both. And I just say really consider doing both. We have preks in our buildings in our prek in our K to3 buildings. We have preks there that are thriving, that
171are going well, that our kids are getting services. It's great. We have partnered with communities um um providers and preschools and that is going well because they are getting funding. They are getting services. They are getting people to come in and work with those kids so those kids can stay where they're doing well. Um and let me just say we see kids coming in from preschools and we're like that kid went to that preschool hunt. Yep. He's looking good today. You know, like we see the difference it makes kids being in preschool. So I don't I just really don't believe it's one or the other. Like I again I've just been lucky and we're in year two or three of this that I'm seeing, but it's nice to see the community partners as an option
172as well as building up our we're having more and more pre-K classrooms in our building too. And I just I just really urge you guys to consider looking at both and doing a little bit of both. Also majorly because of your concern moneywise staffing there. There are no staff like it's really hard to find SLP. >> It's not a funding thing. It's like I'm also speakologist in the community. There's just not enough of us. Yeah. >> So, like I could be treating all day every day and there's still long super long wait lists because there are not our state is not >> Yeah. We don't have a lot of >> educating enough speech pathologists to fill this need. >> But so you have the CDS people who they're going to need a job like they
173still need to work the CDS SLPs the daycarees they still need people. You know what I mean? So I just want to say we're doing it and talk to other you know districts that are into it because I'm seeing it work. It is hard and it is tricky and it is a lot and we have hired a pre-k coordinator but I just I I really encourage you just as someone who's had that experience watching it and seeing it happen like I I I do think it's really possible. It's a lot of work. >> How many partnerships have you entered into? Do you know >> there is four? There is four. Yes. So >> and you and you did hire a coordinator. >> Yes, they did. >> Yeah. >> Can Can we Can we hire a
174coordinator like tomorrow? Right. >> They didn't the first year they did the second year. So highly encourage. We have to highly >> get another one. Sorry. >> Um so I'm also a parent um of two kiddos in the district. Um I'm also a teacher of middle school in another town nearby. Um my child during the preschool years uh we went through four different daycarees. Um and I think that it is wonderful to have everyone at this table, but I think that more people this is a two-way conversation of daycarees and the kids with the needs. And I think that those families should be potentially sought out because I will tell you, I think for those of us who are here tonight, that is a hard thing to do emotionally. Being >> kicked out of multiple
175schools is very emotionally challenging, triggering, and it is not just for the parents, it is for their child. And that perspective needs to be considered and it needs to be sought out because it if you're in it in the moment like we're a little bit removed and it's still emotionally triggering. If you're in that moment, you're in survivor mode. You're trying to keep your head above water. You don't have the capacity to speak out and advocate for something. And so I just would hope and wish that those voices are called upon and sought out because it is hard and there are needs there. And once we got I'm >> my motto was get to kindergarten. Get to kindergarten. Get to kindergarten. That's all we have to do is get to kindergarten. And I cried at
176the first meeting because they were proactive with resources and told us about things that we didn't know that we could have. MSAD has been 51 has been incredible and families need that support. >> It has a ripple effect through not only the family, the child, the teacher, the other students. My child tore down other children's schoolwork in the hall because he was having a difficult time. I never want someone else to have that impact that they couldn't take home their artwork, which just sounds like a small thing, but it's huge. It benefits everybody. It benefits the other kids. It benefits the teacher. It benefits the dynamic between the parent and the teacher if they have the support that they need. So, I just strongly advocate to hear from the other people who are probably struggling
177right now and people who hesitate to want to speak out. >> I've been taking notes about some potential next steps that you might all want to consider. And I think as board chair, you actually had mentioned this at the beginning that maybe one of them is a meeting with parents to really talk and hear from the community. So that may be one next opportunity since this one has been more centered on kind of early care and education providers. Yeah, >> thank you for sharing. I know that >> quick. Um first of all, I look around this these tables of the providers that are here. All of us have an education in childhood early childhood education which is uniquely different than elementary education. It is hugely different. Child development is what we are talking about. I
178do not take I am not a daycare. I do I do not take care of days. I take care of children. Um and I I am clear about that. um when I don't think that I I know all of the these providers sitting around except for the MSCC but um know all of them and know that they are putting children first and children's needs first. Second thing, Jean, this goes back to originally I wrote it down. Maine is actually second in the country about of the number of preschoolers we dismiss from programs. It is because we have a lot of programs and I none of these around this table are those programs who are not qualified to be running educational programs. So when you're looking about talking about partnering with schools, you're not partnering with
179people that don't know early childhood. I've been doing this for 34 years and I have had three kids in 34 years who I met with the parents. I did not kick them out. I met with the parents and it was not the right situation. And all three of those children ended up going into a um >> special purpose >> very small um special educational program >> probably a special purpose path >> special purpose all three of them. I work with families whether they have kids that have significant needs and I work with fa families that are working on a little stutter. I don't care what their child is where what their child's needs are. I am meeting that child at where they are at. And the other thing that I think that we will miss
180if we don't partner with some of it, four out of us, four of us I think I heard spend significant amount of time outside. Nature is a great place to learn and we're we're promoting wanting to be learners. Our job is to make kids want to learn so that when they get to kindergarten, when they get to fourth grade, because that's the age in Cumberland schools that they are becoming they're going to school to learn, not to learn to learn. Um then then they're ready to learn. They are there. They want to be there. They're not crying and peeling off parents. Um so I think that we need to be thoughtful in who we're partnering partnering with, but also understanding and valuing the people that we have in our community. I mean, we have some
181good resources in our community who are doing some great things and um are working with all the families. I mean, you you got to work with everybody. You can't just say, "Oh, yeah." And no, it's um it's on the ground. and and we had a meeting I think Tara you were here and it was in this room maybe five years ago >> this fall of 2019 I was looking back >> Jeff >> and there were probably twice as many providers as there are here >> 100% >> and almost they are not programs and programs are closing and closing and you're going to you're this community needs child care 3 hours a day is not going to cut it. And providers aren't going to be able I don't want kids coming back at nap time. That's
182that's a horrific setup for providers to say, "Okay, you're going to eat lunch and now you're going to take a nap." >> But where's pairs of snow pants? >> Yeah. And how many pairs of snow pants? So, you know, thinking about all of the children and what is best for everybody. Um, another thing with early childhood kids that's unique with kids, transitions are tough. So why are we putting more transitions on them? We are in a a society right now that our biggest concerns are this anxieties we're breeding. Putting kids through multiple transitions a day is going to create more and more anxieties. >> Sure. And if you're servicing kids with if your focus is on actually enhancing the benefits of the services that you're aiming to provide, but you're making them get on the
183bus on and off, then you're undoing some of that >> 100% >> work unintentionally. Sure. But it's they only have so many spoons. >> Yeah. >> Can I can I jump in? >> Um >> I I think we have a little bit of a MATH >> NOW. I hear uh I think we have a little bit of a math problem. Um just in terms of there's just a finite amount of kids and so it's not easy. It's it's one thing to just be like there's more marry them like enough kids to go around like that's just not actually true. >> Um but I think first also we have a philosophy problem. Like I'm hearing a lot of logistics. I'm hearing a lot of legal stuff, but we haven't really talked about as a board and
184we're starting as a community to kind of figure out what we want from a philosophy standpoint. Like, do we as a district right now K through 12 want to be in the preschool space? Cuz it is a very different developmentally um appropriate or finite or whatever. Like, it's developmentally like a completely different world and environment. we might as well just open a college and like you know what I mean? So like we don't have to control everything. And I think what I'm hearing from the town so far and a lot around this table is to Leanne's point, we want flexibility. And I think that we have to be very careful with I think in part that flexibility could be an option in this school, but if we put way too many from a math standpoint
185resources into that and we funnel too many kids here, we lose the flexibility here because there aren't enough kids for them to be sustained. So I think like we have to be really careful about like what is our philosophy of how much we want to take this on and what like what our purpose is and our role in that and be really strategic about the partnerships that we form because I don't hear anyone here thinking that it's a good idea to put all of our eggs into one model one basket we all want a differentiated approach and I think all the research would say that. I know my like my experience would say that. I know my kids experience did say that. So I think like I think we just have to be really careful
186with jumping ahead towards what's being offered to us by the state and all the law and really thinking about generally as a as a community-based board. What is our philosophy in this town and how does it impact because our goal here is we have to do legally we have to do what's best for students and not necessarily the providers. But I think what's best for the students personally is what the the providers are. So I think like if we can just have a meeting where we discuss our philosophy and get to that point >> and just to be clear Tim we are a prek provider. >> Yeah it's >> it is but what I'm saying is >> a universal pre yes but we are at this table as a provider >> but your responsibility to
187the program that already exists and maintaining it and the people that worked within it >> and what you're getting at also may be even broader than you as a school board. It may be MSAD51 school board and Cumberland and North Yarmouth town councils and others thinking if you're talking philosophy and strategy. It may be a larger what is the community these two communities these two towns want to be an early childhood strategy or an early childhood vision for the communities because even though for MS851 that's going to be more of a focus on prek and preschool um there are some towns who are starting to look at that now in terms of like what is our birth to school vision what do we want to do to make sure parents who move to Cumberland and
188north and north Yarmmouth can find infant care toddler care access preschool access IEPs and services. So, not to say you have to do all of that in the next year, but it's something to also think about too in terms of just broader visions and philosophy. Yeah. >> And I just want to speak to the parents that spoke because I feel you so deeply >> and I just want you to know I'm and I think I can speak for my colleagues here too. If we had the resources that are being offered, >> a thousand% you would not be turned away. There would never be one of these providers, I I can confidently say with a resource provided in an IEP that says this kid, this is what we know this kid needs. It's something that schools
189can do right now because they have it already and they're receiving funding automatically from the state. We receive nothing. We receive a little bit. I'm sorry. BUT >> a little bit. >> It's almost nothing. >> But it's it's I have to say it's hard to hear like finance being like, "Oh, we actually get more than what we really use." Because do you know that for us what we receive exactly precisely has to go exactly precisely where it needs to go. >> I cannot divert that stipen for my teachers to pay for a second teacher. >> I can't do it. I'm not allowed. >> Right. Not allowed. not allowed to provide extra IEP services. I already have a three and sometimes four to 12 ratio in my classroom. Like >> we we can't divert IEP services
190either. I just want to be on the record. >> NO, I was just saying like financially, right? We have zero wiggle room and all of that comes from parents and we try really hard to be like, "Hey, we don't want to. We can't charge you. Like I'm a parent, too. I don't want to pay this. I don't want to, but at the end of the day, I don't collect a paycheck. My my staff does, but I don't, right? And you might look at that thing for preschool and be like, "Really?" Right? But like, I can just I just wanted to say that out loud to you because I also am a parent of >> tricky kids who also don't make it in different spaces. >> Me, too. >> Right. And I know there's other parents
191here who are like that. And I just I need you to hear that from Cumberland specific. I can't I can't speak about, you know, I guess I can really only speak to myself, but I know some of these people so well. You would not be turned away. You might have a kid who's having a tricky time in preschool. We have them all. I have kids who trash rooms all the time. I have kids who, you know, climb up to the top of the tree and then I have to climb up and get them down, you know, or whatever. just if there's a resource we identify, the only threshold we have is if we can't access that resource. And when we ask CDS and they flat out say no CPS, >> there's our hands are tied.
192There's nothing I can do. When you're talking about having a kid who bolts, you know, into the creek, like it's a safety issue. You have to have support for that kid. You have to. And if CDS if that IEP service is not available to you, >> then you you can't safely service that kid, you know, like that's just it is what it is, you know. And do we want to turn kids away? Never. Never. So, you're right. I think a rolling model would be great for something like that. If it's a place, you know, Odyssey or wherever the specialized preschools, it would be great if they could just take the kids that really need that service. But at the same time, we try to filter through like, okay, like you're in nature, you're you're doing,
193you know, you have I have more adults, you know, and we try to work through that with families and um but just I just I need you to hear that like none of us want to turn kids away and I think we can probably all count on one hand the number of kids we have, but it does happen. >> Can I respond? Yes, please. CVS doesn't want to send an edtech to every single private preschool. So, they say you need to go to a special services preschool where you can have more adults in the room. And that's what MSD51 needs to expand and provide >> because it it makes no financial sense to send a one-on-one to all of these places around town. We need to figure out who needs a 2:1 ratio and then
194we need to have capacity in the new school to accommodate all those children so that their staffing can stay the same and they can take care of their children and maybe have the speech therapist. But that that's the that's the hole to fill and that's what CD like that's what's failed. That's why the law passed. That's what we can save >> and don't repeat that mistake potentially again by trying to >> single it out here and then have more families struggle. learn from the broken system that's happening right now. >> I mean, we did talk. >> I mean, this is Yeah. >> Go to the service. >> Yeah. So, >> you have a question for me, though? >> I mean, you did. >> No. Okay, you're good. >> Okay. >> Yeah. If you want to
195go and share what the work that has been. >> Well, that's why I was wondering still do that tonight or do you want to build in like a next opportunity? I depends how what your >> Do you want to just give a little bit of an overview? I um we wrote up some stuff quickly. Um so bear with me because it's a little bit dense. So this is on the survey results that I think most everyone in this room probably filled out for us. So thank you for that. Um so just a brief background. Um the intent of the survey was really a um broad stroke to gather information to then do further work. It was not a end point. It was a starting point. Um we started with outreach to stakeholders to form a
196committee. Um and then we were charged with gathering input from Cumberland North Yarmouth um communities. The survey was created with a variety of models ranging from preschool students receiving IEP services in the community to them being added more um programs in the preK. And it was really just to gain a pulse of our community, right? to see where where our folks were so that we could gather more voices because we knew we were not going to fill, you know, an auditorium full of people. And we wanted to just get a pulse from the community. And again, it was a starting point to elicit dialogue. And the intent was to at one point the intent was to have focus groups form from that survey. One of the questions was, were you interested in joining a focus
197group so that we could then take those questions and dig into further dialogue. So, it was really a broad stroke um uh survey. So, this is dense. Bear with me. I will slow down or speed up or repeat anything that's needed because you're not looking at um anything. The board does have the actual results and has looked at them. Um so, the survey there were 286 respondents across both of our communities. 92 people went on to respond with comments. Um 26.9% respondents were staff. 12.2 2 were community members, 56.6 were parents, and 1% were students. Um, and 2.8 were providers, percent were providers. Um, so 30.4 of those expressed interest in p of participating in a focused group. So they wanted further dialogue. So out of those people, 73.8% 8% of people said that they
198would like to see the district to offer more prek, significantly more or more prek children in our community. They wanted more district programming to happen. They felt like we, you know, they wanted an increase in programming. 18.9 wanted to see us have do the same amount of programming. 7.2 wanted fewer or significantly fewer students um programmed for. So then we went on to the options. For those of you that did fill out the survey, I think you know what I'm talking about that there were a variety of options that were outlined. Um, and those were captured on a light cart scale, ranging from sort of least preferred to most preferred option. And so I'm going to sort of capture these in generalities of sort of preferred to unpreferred. So I'm I'm clumping them since they
199were on a cart scale. And certainly digging into the data um would be important for anybody who wants more specifics. But um wanting three and four year olds four days a week for half days. There were 56.3% of people who preferred that option and 43.7 who was unpreferred per per um having special ed staff travel to local preks for services. 37.8 preferred this option and 60 62.2 found this unpreferred. Transporting students um to the district for services. 40.9 thought this was preferred and 59 said this was unpreferred. Serving students with needs for self-contained programming up to 50% with neurotypical peers on campus. This was 56.3 preferred and 47 point 43.7 unpreferred. Four year olds four days a week and three-year-olds transported to the district so that they would be in another provider place and just
200coming to the district for their services. This was 50 55.9 preferred and 50.3 unpreferred. And then four year olds 4 days a week, full or half day on the district and staff travel to the prek locations to provide IEP services to three-year-olds. This was 54.8 preferred and 45.1% unpreferred. So certainly um I think you know that's like a very broad digestion of the data. I think looking at the data which the board has done more specifically certainly happy to answer any questions um I think there were some themes that came out of the comments that I think the board had an opportunity to look through all of those as well that if we had more time we'd be happy to dig into but that gives the community just a broad stroke of the outcome for
201those people that might be joining in live stream or want to have an understanding of what the data showed. I think one of the pieces that was portrayed to us tonight that was isn't hasn't been portrayed to families is that if there was a partnership with programs that the funding could potentially be covered for families. I think a lot of families are saying they want public prek because it would be free to them and they are it has not been portrayed to families that there's potential that their funding could be covered in private programs through the school district through contracts through other means. So, I think that's something important for families to be aware of because I guarantee the majority of families would want to stay in their current programs where their children are if
202they knew that they could get assistance with funding. >> Yeah, thank you for putting all the work that you did uh into it. I think it's really great that we started we have a good starting point. I will say that from I I heard a lot of comments just about how this was just confusing and even like I feel like tonight there's been a lot of different like back and forth and clarification and like like well that's not quite true and like that how are we ever going to like represent that well for them to be able to make really good decisions in this survey. However um the comments I think are really valuable. So, um I don't know if we can uh maybe put them in chat GBT and do like some kind of
203summary of them, but like I feel like people should see these comments and draw some questions from it and we should merge what we've learned tonight into a little bit of a narrative that we've shaped because the I think the comments are really they get really to the point of their questions and concerns that I'm not sure if the data really reflects that. So, um, hopefully we can maybe come up with a way that, you know, we can aggregate those. >> Can I just speak really, I'm sorry. Can I just speak really quickly to the confusing question that you said that there was like a lot of confusion because I think that narrative got spread pretty quickly by people and >> so Mari and I did aggregate the data a little bit on the comments
204just because >> we wanted to say, you know, both of us have our doctorates. We went through programs that taught us how to divi to develop surveys, right? We we have education on how to develop surveys. Now granted, we didn't have a long time to develop the survey. We know that like we had turned this around pretty quickly, but both of us went through two different programs that taught us how to develop research design and so and surveys. So we did that. We developed a survey. We put it out to our prek committee who gave us feedback. We took that feedback. We shaped it. We put the fe the put it out. And then we started to hear this narrative from a couple of people that it was confusing. And we were like, geez, like
205we know the idea of all the mock of prek is confusing, but is the survey itself confusing? Because on the same time, I was actually getting quite a bit of calls complimentary of the survey and actually some districts act asking if they could lift the survey to take it. And so we did aggregate the data a little bit. And just for to to sort of put a pin in that, there were 16 of the 92 respondents on the comments who had some level of confusion. So 16 out of 92 respondents or 16 out of the 286 people who commented felt some level of confusion. So that's really only 5.5 or 6% of the people felt confused who chose to comment. Now there might have been more people, but that's not a huge level of people
206who felt concerned or confused. Now, maybe more people did and they didn't choose to comment, but I might just challenge that maybe a few loud people chose to say that the survey was confusing. >> I don't we don't need to get like there's not like there's no attack or anything like that. I mean, I read it. I was confused. I asked my wife, she was confused. So, like I expected other people may have been confused in the articulation of it. But I think what it did give us valuable information. So, there's definitely value out of that information too. Okay. >> So, I get I write surveys too. I like I get information people have negative feedback or positive feedback on it. I think there's a lot of value to take out of it. But for
207me personally, I'm just saying I got a lot of value out of the comments that themselves. So, I think if we figure out some patterns in that and we can merge it with some of the data, I think it'd be really valuable just to see where the >> where to go for next steps. >> Yeah. And the the six themes that we found out of it and I would love to hear what other people get out of them were the confusion piece sort ofly referencing collaboration with providers was a was a theme that we got. Um referencing a preference of not having district staff travel to private preks. Child care needs and wanting a preference around that. Like do I need child care, right? I don't just want three hours a day. I need child
208care. That seemed to be a theme from the comments that we saw. um a preference for four-year-old only being on site and not three-year-olds because developmentally that seems not appropriate. That seemed to be a comment theme that came out. And then cost. Cost seemed to be a lot in the comments like what tell me about cost. So I don't know if you saw other themes in the comments, but those seem to be what popped for us in the comments when we analyzed them. I can just I did have a lot of families come to me say >> I don't know what they're asking and then um I intentionally sent it out to some of the older people in the town because I wanted them to do it and I know for a fact many of
209them didn't because they didn't understand what they were being asked. So, uh, just anecdotally, and those are not people on Facebook and doing the community whatever. Those are just those are just anecdotally things that came back from my experience. >> Yeah, I I 100% found it confusing. Not just there there wasn't a level of education, right? It's like I could answer it and I did answer it. I didn't write that I found it confusing, but filling it out, I was like, I wish there was a workshop first where I could understand this. I could understand like there's so much that goes into it. So it's like I think a lot of the answers it's a great starting point and the comments are great and I think we can work those into the you know the
210focus groups right but like I barely understand this and I've done dozens of hours of research on my own time and so to ask community members a to fill anything out and b to have the knowledge to answer it >> in a nuanced way I think is it's a tough ask. It wasn't hard to fill out a Lyker scale survey, but like you know, how do we know what what different things are going to cost? Like, yeah, you know, so like I don't want you to feel like I thought it was great for what it is, which is like a snapshot and you couldn't give everyone a 2hour workshop on the ins and outs. So, like I think you're absolutely right. It's an amazing starting point and like we should take the comments because those
211are the 260 people >> who just who cared enough to give them to us and there's many other people who didn't comment and who knows what they think and like >> there's an incredible amount of people who start our focus groups um and I think that's >> that's there's so there's so much interest um which is awesome so >> I mean I don't know if do you want to say anything to close because you've listened for a while after that. >> I was just thinking to remember that we're here as a resource and particularly the staff at DOE um who can help you navigate a lot of this. >> Yeah. And I wrote down just some notes for my own thinking going back because there are other districts in your surrounding areas that have done
212many of the things that you're perplexed by. So I'd be happy and strongly encourage you to talk to them. Talk to their administrators. Talk to their partners. talk to their pre-K coordinators because they have them um and better understand what it looks like for them. It's not your community. It's not the exact same scope, but it is um boots on the ground, right? Like I'm at a higher level. I can talk the talk till 852, you know, plus. Um but I think you'll gain a lot of perspective from those doing it day in and day out. So I've um just jotted down some notes. I'll follow up with Jeff and Leanne. Um, in the event that you want to reach out to to others. Um, I would really support you to that. Also to say
213on our early learning team, we have um a public prek partnership specialist who's really poised to continue these conversations. Um, so, you know, don't hesitate to, you know, reach out to her, me, etc. Um, >> and even though the special services team didn't have someone available tonight, they also hired additional staff and have people who can >> continue between all of us. We can provide support as you need it. So, whether it's the board, you know, Jeff, you and your team, childcare directors, remember, you know, you know, I'm a resource. Our office is a resource. So, we're here for you. >> Yes. >> Great. You're already leaps and bounds ahead of others by just having a meeting like this. I will say like it's it's really it's really wonderful to have all of this expertise
214wonderful. Yeah. No, it's lovely. >> Yeah. >> It's very transparent. It's great. >> Do you say anything now official? >> Oh, well, we still have more of an agenda. >> Okay. >> But just we'll officially as this was just a beginning conversation uh workshop really um we really thankful for the work that has happened within the district. Um there's been a committee as mentioned that Julie's heading up that is working on this on on the ground in the district. We're supporting the conversations with the community as a board because we will have a decision before us that we need to vote on later this school year to be to know what we're going to be implementing um in 2027. And you have our contact. I know each provider I know I reached out to you
215have my contact. The board is open and available. Please come back to see us. But you we'll be in touch with next steps. So >> thank you guys. >> Thank you so much. >> I love the outdoors. >> Yes. And staying late. We know it gets late. >> Yeah. Where are you guys going? >> I did. I got it all done. >> You said everything I would have said. >> I knew. I know. >> Yeah, they all need a breakout meeting for after the workshop. They'll just go chat. Give her your pen back. How about you? I'll have it for you next time. Please do usually It's my job to check. >> Oh. At night it gets cold. >> Are we moving quality time? >> Don't start that. >> Depends on how much you want
216to talk about. If you stop yawning, I'm done. >> I've been fighting it all day. >> I didn't sleep with the darn last night. >> All I had was budget number. >> I couldn't talk all day. >> My jam couldn't get rid of bookkeep. I like this little >> Christina, you sitting in. >> No, I'm leaving. >> Can I have a motion to approve teen science wing? Never mind. >> That moved. >> All right, Jesse and then Lauren. >> We're still recording >> on the floor. Go in the middle. >> All right. >> Um, we're talking about our item for action, the surf overage. Is that >> SRFF? >> Um, who's are you going to present this? >> Yeah, I can talk about it. So, >> so the SRF project was approved by the voters
217a couple of years ago for the high school science wing and we went out to bid and the bids all came in higher than what the budget was for the uh revolving renovation fund. So, Dotton's construction was the lowest bid. So we had Oakpoint work directly with dotens and there was value engineering that was done to the project which uh basically brought it down within like 130,000 of what the budget would be. The budget was initially um about probably 4 million o or 400,000 over what uh the budget was. And so they did the value engineering and now we're down to just needing 131,000. Possibly we won't need that money because, you know, or all of it uh because there's about an $80,000 contingency to the project. So, there's a good possibility we won't use
218all 131. But we just want to get that authorized so I can get a letter of commitment to Doans and get this project rolling to get it done this summer. We're approved for an extension through till October of 26 to be able to get this project done. So, so that's where we're at right now. >> Could you remind us what the project entails? The project entails um the science wing at the high school and it's upgrading the HVA system for the HVAC system for that area. So the value engineering that was done was that the original HVA system was meant to go outside the building with structural supports to the roof was how it was originally designed. dotens came in a look at it and said let's put the um let's put the uh a
219different type of unit in the ceiling okay in the hallways and and up the thing which required less structural work less work all the way around and the units were less expensive so you get the same thing just a little value engineering going through into the project which helped reduce the cost so uh so everybody worked together on this um you know myself and Don Foster are very integral in working with um uh dotens and point and uh it's been a good team effort and we just want to get this project done. So what happens we borrow the we borrow the money so let's say it's uh close to 1.2 million that ends up or one a little over a million uh that's borrowed um part of this money will come out of our own
220capital reserve account which we already have. It won't involve you know additional taxes. So about 50% of the principal is forgiven, 0% interest. So it's literally um something that the district can't forego because um you're getting free money plus you're getting free interest. Okay. So it's uh so it's important to move forward with it. >> And so the 131,000 is does is above and beyond the >> is above and beyond the 50% but not quite sure we need it. There's a possibility we may it's an up to amount and so there's a possibility we may need that additional amount but we aren't quite sure till we get fully into the project. >> Any questions? >> Heating and cooling does both >> temperature policy guy >> one way. One way >> one way and then >>
221one will go there. Well, and out of um out of facilities, just so uh it's not as well. I mean, Tim, you know, we had the conversation that we're going to be doing an RFQ for an energy project at the high school and see what comes back on that RFQ. >> So, there would have to be further approval if it did go above that. There's no like so if we they manage to somehow something they find something when they pull something apart they're gonna basically come back to the board and say yeah we actually need another $40,000 or whatever at this point or is it or is it a contract and >> we believe that this is it there'll be a contract on the project and you know change orders would be handled if there's
222something you know that's uh you know found that was a surprise but I think everybody's pretty confident in what we're doing. We should make everyone aware that there's a lot of HVAC challenges and concerns coming up. So, you know, just you're going to hear different projects and different ways to get to that point. So, I just like it's easy for us to be like, "Oh, what? Another HVAC? I thought we solved that." Like, this is for one specific wing. The high schools in such a way where it's kind of a complex system of arrangements and we're trying to figure out the best way on facilities to kind of deal with that. But the middle school is another one that, you know, we are challenged by. So, this is one of many of a theme that
223we're probably going to see over the next, you know, I'm not going to put a time on it, but you're going to hear a lot of of it over time cuz it's one of our highest needs thanks to that policy that we passed. >> Yeah. Well, and the chiller unit at the the chiller unit at the middle school is is you know Tim from facilities. We've actually submitted a school revolving renovation fund application >> for the you know 8 $900,000 chiller unit um over to the middle school that's you know reached its useful life and it needs to be replaced. So >> about that we should hear back on that by the end of January whether we got the and so we made a pretty good push on that. >> Let's see what happens with
224it. Okay. Great. All right. Great. >> Any other questions? Okay. All in favor? >> All right. It's unanimous. >> Oh, I did want to mention one other things. We may >> No, this is No, I need another 20. No, no, it's uh No. Um there may be some additional votes we'll be bringing back. Um which will just have basically authorizing a contract to do, those types of things, right? It may come back a little bit later just because I've got to take a look at where we ended with the project and you know uh and then there may be some authorization votes coming forward but it's it's just part of the process of the overall process. >> Okay. >> All right. Communications board goes back to school. >> Yes. You should have got a calendar
225invite from Melissa already and inviting hopefully you can make it. we chose to um leadership team really felt it was better to size it back a little bit and um we did get some comments that I hopefully um this works better for all of our board members um and you can join us for the two visits instead of having to schedule four visits. >> They're two hours each time though instead of one hour each of the four um and part of it is we're making the reconfiguration to the new grade span. So, this will be a good opportunity for you to see two schools and see grades across the span >> for elementary and secondary. Um, and so we hope you can join us. Um, the administrators are looking forward to working together to provide
226you that experience this year. I think it'll be probably better than what you've you've gotten before. >> So, it's like a big game last year. >> Will you will you guys come to visit us? >> Yeah. Yes. >> Yes. We'll be at the high school. We're so we'll write in where we are >> and then you guys will come awkwardly. We're like, "Hey, >> I remember seeing you guys and then I remember thinking, I hope they come to my next class. I think we're doing something cool." And then I never saw you again. >> Mr. Francis, he's scheduling it. >> Oh, really? Yeah. >> Oh, yeah. >> So, obviously today's format's a bit different because of the workshop, so we don't have all of the committee updates. We know there's a lot going on and
227I was just looking ahead to our um board schedule coming up. We only have one regular board meeting in February because the other meeting date is our joint community workshop. Um and I'm like we're trying to fit a lot in on February 5th. we were going to um do our midyear like a mini board retreat um which I still think would provide us a lot of value especially coming off of tonight's conversation um to have an opportunity to sit down as a board and and talk about um sort of how we want to support the direction of the district in its final stages of the the work that still needs to happen uh between focus groups and um the work that's putting being put together to put a recommendation before us. I just feel that
228um it would be helpful for us as a board to have a conversation with our takeaways. Um and I would like that to be prioritized I guess maybe over a broader board workshop for February 5th. Um, I I have like a little preview of things that need to be scheduled at certain board meetings and there's sort of already a lot that are on February 5th anyway, but I think however we format a section for the board just to be able to sort of have some open discussion. I think that we'd really benefit from that time at our next meeting. So, I'll figure out like what the rules around agenda formatting so we can make sure that we do have time to discuss and whether we do just still frame it as um a midyear retreat
229and that's like our main agenda item. Um but I just do want to find time for us to be able to come back and and have further discussion. Um yeah, other I feel I know it's weird not having all the committee updates, but that's that's what we got. Um I think what would be of real value though, we wanted to put more in the um district newsletter. So maybe um if the chairs can touch base with Megan and I about a little blurb about what's happening on each committee to try to get that in an upcoming newsletter. If we could focus on maybe getting something written up for committee updates. >> A brief a brief brief brief blur brief >> a brief >> mail it would be great. >> Don't look at me >> and
230maybe we can target having something ready for the newsletter on the 26th. So, we'll have next week to pull together. So, if you're a chair, if you could get send a blurb to Megan and I by mid next week. Does that work for you, Megan? >> Yep. >> Um and then you'll have like Friday to work on it next Friday. >> Yep. >> Right. Friday. >> And I think we even meet next Friday. So, that'll >> perfect. I believe next Friday >> because I also see on the February 5th agenda is the public hearing for the naming of the school. >> Yeah. And that is going to be in um the plan is to have it in the G >> what is it called? The GCA the pretty building over there and have public comment
231on the names the top two names. Um, so Melissa will publicize the meeting in all of the avenues leading up to it to sol, you know, to try to get as much community involvement as possible. >> Okay. So the idea is February 5th. >> The idea is February 5th. Yeah. >> Okay. I'm going to put that. >> Tim, did you share that email I sent you about the name? >> Yeah. Did you share? Well, about the name of the school. >> No, about um I was at a meeting and a resident pulled me over and I typed out what he as what he suggested and I sent it to Tim. So I don't remember what he suggested but I sent it to Tim. >> Basic the name. Well, we already have >> okay >> the
232names >> okay >> as suggested. Okay. Okay, >> we have two finalists. >> Carolyn Small or >> Gley Primary. Was that >> Gley Primary School and um the small school? >> I mean that doesn't mean that >> but we can do whatever >> we can't totally go off script and vote for something else. >> Do whatever we want. >> That is true. >> Those were the two suggested names that policy >> that followed the process. >> Yep. >> Um >> and this was it was generally in relation to the Broadmore and how we could honor that. Oh, cool. >> And there may be ways to honor other name submissions on campus, but that I don't think that that's been hashed out yet. Further, once a name is picked, the plan is to publicize the other
233names that were not did not make the cut, as it were, >> and tell that story. It'll go through all of the school channels. So, it's not going to be um possibly broadcast um as widely as some might. Like, we can't do a mailing, but we will be highlighting, you know, the Broadmore School and a lot of the other submissions um in in explanatory blurbs um once the once the school name is picked as the stories are so wonderful. >> We don't want them to, you know, we don't want the stories to fade. Um, I don't know how the Bradmore name could be incorporated, but it's not it's not totally off the table. It is still something that's sort of lingering here. >> Can I have a motion to move? >> Thank you, Jesse. Can
234I get a second? >> Second. >> Thanks, Sean. Sean's great. >> All in favor? Thanks everyone.