Exeter Region Cooperative School Board Meeting 01/15/26

001Welcome to the SAU school board meeting for Thursday, January 15th. Please join me in standing up and doing the pledge of allegiance. >> I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> Thank you. We uh we'll start off tonight just by introducing everyone, then we'll go into our public uh budget discussion. So, we'll start with the board members. Neil, would you like to start? >> Neil Blake and exit. >> Great. Thank you. >> Don Valins, exit. Melissa Lions, East Kingston. >> Bill Gothier, exit. >> Aaron Garcia dees stratum. Amy Ransom Newfield. >> Right. Could we start with the administration around? Oh, Brian, you want to do a quick introduction? >> Hi, Brian

002Duffy. Brentwood. >> Thank you. Perfect timing. And then we could we introduce the administrators in the room. >> Tanya, you would like to start? >> Sure. Tony Nevie, principal at Exter High School. >> Pam Carr, principal SST. >> Drew Barto, principal, CMS. >> Molly O'Keefe, director of finance. >> And I'm Heather Murray. I'm your chief human resource officer. Jason Hills, director of technology. >> Michelle Larrison, assistant finance officer. >> Sonia Ro, special ed director at the middle school. >> Great. Thank you, everyone. And >> Sure. And I'm Chris Andriski, superintendent of schools. Thank you. >> I think it's good that you introduce [laughter] yourself. That's that's probably appropriate. Yes. All right. So, with that being said, would you like to Yeah. >> Oh, sure. I'm Lucy Blackburn. I'm a student rep from CMS. >> Great.

003Thank you, Lucy. Uh so uh we'll start with the budget hearing uh meeting and I'll turn it over to Molly in a moment. Uh we've we have as a board have seen the budget numerous times. It's gone through the BAC in October. They had five meetings went through the all the administrators had done a report out to them. They came to our last meeting. They approved the budget or said that they recommend the budget to us. We got an opportunity to ask questions. Uh, I appreciate anybody who's emailed me and asked me additional questions about it. Molly, you've been a great resource. We appreciate it. Um, so, but with that, uh, all the work that's gone into it, tonight is a big night, so I'll turn it over to you. >> Sure. So, we put

004together a video. Um, it is a little on the longer side than before, so um, hope you enjoy it. Hello, this is superintendent of schools Chris Andriski and welcome to the fiscal year 2027 school budget. In this video, you will see the major increases and decreases for the cooperative middle school, exit high school, seco school of technology and exit adult education. As you know, this budget encompasses all six of our towns in SAU16. We look forward to seeing you at our deliberative session and then again at the vote in March. Thank you for your support and we will see you soon. >> Hello, my name is Jud [music] Dugh and this is my wife Mandy Dune and we have three children in the SAU 16 school [music] district, two in the high school and one

005in the middle school. Our children participate in both general education and special education services. So, we see firsthand how these services [music] work together. >> Supporting the SAU's programs ensures all students have access to their education benefits. [music] the entire community. Strong schools attract families. They support lo local employers. They reduce long-term [music] social services and help build a resilient, capable workforce. [music] Hi, my name is Wyatt Wrathman. I'm a senior here at or at Xer High School and I'm in year two of welding technologies here at SST. And [snorts] one of the things I love is it introduced me to a field that I never knew exists before and I've already been looking at career opportunities within it. So, I'm very thankful for that. And the pitch to him, that one grounded to the

006third baseman. He scoops that one up, fires the first and that will do it. [cheering] The Exitter Blue Hawks are your New Hampshire state [cheering] champions this year. >> My name is Caroline. I'm a senior here at Exit High School. >> My name is Carson [music] and I'm a freshman here at Exit High School. My name is Lindsay and I'm a junior here [music] at Exit High School and we wanted to talk about the amazing opportunities that everyone can achieve um through the clubs [music] here at EHS. For example, um I'm in ASL club where we learn to do ASL and I started Best Buddies for an inclusion club where we can connect with um all of our peers. I am part [music] of student senate where we do fundraisers for the school and we

007also do pep rallies in the gym and there are also a bunch of other clubs here at exit high school [music] like robotics and slime club and philosophy club and all that great stuff. Um, I'm a part of the Future Business Leaders of America where we have the opportunity [music] to gain real world business experience in high school and I'm also a part of French club where [music] we celebrate French culture. But the clubs that we listed um isn't just where it ends. There's a variety of clubs here at [music] Exit and there's a little something for everyone. And if you come to Exit and you find that the club that you want isn't here, then there's everybody can support you in making that club. The Exit Region Cooperative School District budget is made up

008of four sections. The general fund, also known as the operating budget, the food service fund, which is our meal service program, Fed funds, which are our adult education grants, and title, idea, and other grants. This slide shows the change from the current school year to the proposed fiscal year 27 budget for the 2627 school year. The title IDA and other grants were previously appropriated as part of the SAU budget. However, as the school district is the legal owner of the grants, the appropriation is being moved to reflect that. The food service and grants are self- sustaining with revenue to offset expense. Therefore, the amount raised in taxation is to support the general fund. Most of the cooperative budget is contractual or mandatory obligations including salary and the associated FICA, New Hampshire retirement, professional development, and

009health benefits as outlined in the collective bargaining agreements. required special education services, student transportation, the SAU assessment which includes payroll for all staff, accounts payable for all expenses of the schools, human resources for all staff and the superintendent of schools, facilities and maintenance costs to support the operation of the schools, the middle school bond, Great a charter school and everything else in the budget is 5%. In the exit region cooperative school district, we have three employee associations. The exit education association which serves certified staff such as teachers, school counselors and others requiring lenture. The exit cooperative paraprofessional association serving special education paraprofessionals, teaching assistants at the C coast school of technology, library assistants and permanent substitutes and the exit area administrators association serving all administrators in the cooperative except principles. All teachers and administrators salaries

010are being increased per their collective bargaining agreements. This was a negotiation year for the exor cooperative paraprofessional association. So that increase will be reflected in a separate warrant article. All non-affiliated staff such as principles, administrative assistants, facilities staff, and food service staff were placed into the budget at a 3% increase. Annually, we receive health and dental increases from our insurance providers. The health insurance rate increases varied per plan from Health Trust. The district's HMO plan includes a 15.5% increase. The district's PO open access plan increased by 14.8%. The district's dental plan includes a 4.4% increase. Over the last nine years, our health insurance plans have increased approximately 6.8%. Regarding FICA and NHRS retirement, both are function of salary. Therefore, when our salary budget goes up or down, so does FICA in retirement. For those that

011fall under the teacher category, rates are 19.23% and for other employees, the rates are 12.75%. One of the drivers of the school budget this year is the addition of an electrical technologies program at the Secost School of Technology. The future of the Sea Coast economy is being built right now. From residential homes and commercial buildings to electrical vehicle infrastructure, the demand for skills licensed electricians is soaring. Yet, right here in the Sea Coast, we have a critical skills gap. That's why we're proposing a vital investment for the 2627 school year, the creation of an electrical technologies program at the SECO School of Technology. Student needs in SAU16 have grown significantly since 2016. The percentage of middle and high school students with IEPs has increased from 12% to over 20% where it is expected to remain

012for the 2026 2027 school year. National trends reflect similar concerns. In 2023, 40% of adolescents reported persistent sadness or hopelessness. 20% considered suicide and one in six young children had a behavioral, mental or developmental disorder. As needs have become more complex, costs for contracted services, outofd district placements and specialized transportation have risen. However, the district has been expanding in district programming to better meet students needs and therefore there is a decrease in the special education budget. The district must provide IEP services for students attending charter schools. Because charter schools typically use their own specialists, the district collaborates with them to reduce transportation costs. Costs are lower this year due to fewer charter school students. Last year, funds for paraprofessionals were redirected to hire more special education teachers and expand co-eing and general education classrooms. This

013has strengthened school culture, improved student independence, and reduced the need for contracted services for the upcoming year. The outofd district placements occur only after substantial in district supports are attempted. Placements have increased as student needs have become more complex and tuition costs continue to rise. Under IDA, the district must provide an appropriate education which sometimes requires specialized programs outside of the dis district district. Strengthening in district services have recently reduced our out of district tuition and transportation costs. Lastly, there is a small increase in the equipment funding at Exer High School. This is to ensure students have the tools they fully need to access school programs and activities. The admin supplies line supports the everyday operational needs of the entire school. Purchases from this category include office supplies, paper, emergency and safety materials, and various

014other supplies needed to keep EHS running smoothly. Last year's actual expenditures in this line were higher than the amount originally budgeted. The increase in the current budget reflects a more accurate depiction of the materials and supplies required to support daily school operations. In the professional study line, last year's actual expenditures in this line were higher than originally budgeted. Increasing this line ensures the budget accurately reflects the true cost of supporting our staff as they continue their education, an expected allowance outlined in the certified teaching contracts. This investment strengthens professional practice and directly enhances the quality of instruction and engagement for our students. >> At Cooperative Middle School, several key budget adjustments explain the year-to-year changes. First, our contracted services and guidance have decreased. This reduction reflects the startup nature of our advisory program last year

015when initial development costs were higher than what is required to sustain the program moving forward. Physical education supplies show an increase. This shift is primarily the result of moving a long-standing expense out of the special education budget and placing it appropriately within the PE account. The added funds also support our partnership with UNH's Northeast Passage program, which provides disability awareness experiences in our Aspire PE classes, including adaptive biking, archery, and wheelchair basketball. Finally, curriculum expenses have risen. This includes higher costs for essential instructional tools such as I Ready as well as funding for teacher curriculum development during the summer to ensure materials remain current and aligned with student needs. >> You will see an overspend in contracted services due to the use of thirdparty custodial services. However, there is a significant reduction in the salaries

016and benefit lines resulting in a net overall savings. We continue to seek areas where we can significantly improve our operational efficiency. Project funds have been requested to make efficiency and comfortability upgrades to our HVAC management systems, continue efforts to maintain the safety and aesthetic of roadways and parking lots, and improve the audio video experience of our auditoriums and performance spaces. This year's cooperative school district technology budget reflects several important adjustments that address critical infrastructure needs and support ongoing instructional and operational priorities. The most substantial change is the replacement of our end of life server infrastructure. The servers have reached the end of their supported life cycle and upgrading them is essential to maintaining a secure and stable server environment. This investment reduces the risk of system failures, improves performance, ensures compatibility with software and services

017the district relies on. The budget also incorporates the updating of the internal fiber optic network to the data closets at the cooperative middle school. Strengthening the school's internal network will enhance reliability, increase bandwidth, and better support the growing technology demands throughout the building. In addition, the implementation costs for the replacement of the student information system are included. This transition will modernize how we manage student data, streamline administrative processes, and improve the user experience. The replacement of two 3D printers used in our steam programs at the cooperative middle school is included in the changes. Updating this equipment will support continued hands-on learning, engineering, and fabrication, ensuring students have access to tools that align with current instructional goals. Finally, the administrative dues and fees line has been adjusted to reflect actual billing patterns. This update provides a

018more accurate representation of ongoing obligations. Together, these changes reinforce the district's technological foundation, support instructional innovation, and ensure the reliability of the systems essential to our daily operations. The increase in transportation is the negotiated multi-year contract with first student and changes in student need. Property and liability insurance increases are based on prior year actuals. We have a fixed bond schedule for the middle school renovation and each year we pay a little bit less. All other changes amount to $10,35. When the voters go to the ballot boxes, they will have a choice between the proposed budget we have just presented and the default budget. The default is the prior year budget plus or minus any contractual or mandatory obligations required by law or one-time expenditures in the prior year budget. The exit region cooperative budget is

019split out by enrollment. This chart shows the breakout for each of the SAU 16 towns. >> Hi there, I'm Bobby Pace. I'm a senior at Exit High School and also a student at the SECO School of Technology, which is a hands-on training site where students can learn career skills and life skills that will help them in their careers going forward. Coming up, we have some really important budget dates, which is January 15th for our public hearing, February 4th for our deliberation, and March 10th for our final vote. It would be really important if you guys could come out and help support the community in the next few months. Thank you. >> Nice. Thank you. >> Appreciate that. Bobby, that was great timing. [laughter] >> Really, that was something. Uh, so Chris, do you want to

020add a couple notes to that? >> I just want to thank, you know, both the budget advisory committee and the administrators that are here today. It we start our budgeting process in in August. Uh, and we really look at a needsbased budget. Um, and that's what you heard the presentation today. So, there was a lot of countless hours that went into making sure that we provide what the the our students need in the cooperative, but also being very fiscally conservative of how we presented it to you today. >> Great. Um, open up to any comments. Absolutely. [snorts] >> Tina Morales, Brentwood. Um, first the unspent funds for fiscal year 25. Uh, what were those and how much was spent on the warrant articles other? And then what was returned to taxpayers? [snorts] Um, so I

021have the year and fund balances here. I'm just don't know if it's before or after they were contributing to the trust. So the 2425 ending fund balance would be 3,312,469, but I'd have to just double check if that's before after the contribution to the truck. [snorts] >> And do you know how much the trusts were? >> So we did uh the exact same amount that we're proposing tonight, 200 to the maintenance and 50 to the turf. So approximately 3 million was returned back to the taxpayers to offset. >> Yeah. And I can pull those exact numbers and send those to you if you'd like, Tina. >> Okay. Um, just some questions on the actual budget line by line items. There's just things that us everyday folks don't necessarily understand. So, um, I appreciate your patience.

022On page one, the MTSS coach center. Um, who does that person report to and do they coach staff, students? That's at the high school. Hi. That was um a repurposed position. So, it's not a new position. It's a different title. It was previously a BCBA, a behavior specialist that held that position. And we thought that we could extend the reach for kids beyond just behavior support to behavior and academic support, which is what that position now does. So, it is a person that eventually we'd like them to help coach teachers on some best practices just for regular classroom instruction. And right now, it is a room that is um open to all students downstairs at all periods of the day to come through and get extra help academically. They can also get some help like

023organizing their notebooks and their binders. So, there's some executive functioning. It's those sorts of things that all students can access. >> So, it's tier one, two, three. >> That's right. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, on page two, longevity 339,000. What is included under longevity? I'm not quite sure what that means. Don't make sense. So, um, when teachers have been here or teachers or paras or actually anybody really, um, have been here for a certain amount of time, they have different types of longevity. So, teachers would be certain amount per year of service or >> it's it's when you've been here for a while. >> Okay. you get that little added bonus for for a time. Okay, just clarifying. Um on page three, academic coach, it's zero. It was 40,000. Was it moved? >> That position

024was um eliminated from the budget. >> It was just eliminated >> because we we thought that the MTSS coach was fulfilling that role. >> Okay. So, double names. That's where it kind of got a little confusing on some of these. Um I appreciate that. Um tutors uh CMS the budget now is for 7500 fiscal year 25 actuals were zero. EHS 3,900 actuals were 1,600. Are we seeing an increased need in tutoring services? [snorts] >> So that's for uh when if students are hospitalized or out of for for health reasons for any reason. And if um it's just money that we need to spend if they're away from school for 10 days or more, we start. >> So that's what that tutoring is for. >> Correct. >> Okay. >> Y >> thank you for the clarification.

025Um [clears throat] reg regular ed contract services. What is that? >> I have to pull what was pulled out of that. We looked into it. I'm not sure if it's >> I know it to be honest this because this is my first year dealing with the budget and I know that we talked about it and we pulled the things from there. I'm trying to think if it is um do you recall what was in that? The regular ed. It's okay. The regular ed contracted line >> I think you're right. Yeah, >> I think that is right. It's um SEO youth services and so we use that as it's a community connection. It's a program as an alternative to suspension. So if there are some students that have some um some undesired behaviors then we would

026send them there and it's a therapeutic center to work with students so that they can return to school in a better space. >> Okay. So it has its own line item as opposed to being like in guidance. >> Yes. >> Okay. Um, and basic classroom contracted services, mentor, is that kind of the same stuff? If it's a mentor line, that typically goes for if there is a new certified staff that is hired, part of their contract language is that they are provided a mentor to help them in their first year. >> Awesome. >> It's like you need a question, you need a glossery on this thing. And it's and it's it's it's not questioning your judgment. is just trying to really understand it a little bit better. Um, and Tina Michelle did confirm while Tanya

027was talking that the that is the balance that that I read is after the trust funds after the after the contribution to the trust funds. However, just keep in mind that's a combination of revenue more than planned and budget less than plan. >> Okay. >> Tina, how much longer do you do you anticipate? um if they want to go ahead and then I can ask more questions. It's a lot of stuff is like the special ed um staffing is >> so you want to give me like an estimated like how many questions I just want to make sure everyone gets an opportunity. We typically limit to five minutes but >> okay um can I have two minutes? >> Okay, two minutes. Go ahead. >> Yeah, >> sorry I there was nobody there is nobody else

028here so go ahead. >> Um and no one's here asking questions. Um the the special the the paras um the the budget at in the middle school is about is 817,000. We're utilizing 217 unfilled. >> Um are those being contracted right now? >> It's a little bit of a mix. Sonia, do you want to speak to specifics? And then the kind of the same thing with EHS because it's it's not filled and I'm not sure if there's an area for contracted and I know they're getting a um >> we are contracting some of that because we had nobody to hire like through our hiring system. We do we do not need though. We only hire based on our needs and so we do not need all seven right now. So we're not contracting all seven

029of those. >> How so? Half of those we have four contracted. >> Four contract. And is that total between the middle school and the high school? >> That's only the middle school. Um I believe the high school still has some openings. Last I knew. So >> okay. Um and under the special ed contracted services in the middle school. Um so that's broken up between parased teachers. That could be paras, that could be music therapy. We have some students that access ecquin therapy, um, adventure lore, um, nurses, PT, >> OT. So, the majority of that isn't coming from not having enough teachers or not enough paras. >> There's a there's a good portion of it that's programming for student needs. >> It's programming above and beyond. I guess and one of the things that when I

030was looking over the budget, it kind of told me I don't know enough about the special ed. Special ed is probably one of the biggest areas that keeps increasing and I go to I at least listen to my town budgets. People are um feeling stress about their taxes going up. We see a budget here. Everyone says we're going to go up less than 4%. Doesn't matter which budget and then people's taxes are going up 10%. I support the schools and I know everyone has questions about why things are costing more. So my questions are not questioning the services, but one of the things I think that would help get more support is having a better picture of what our students need. Um I I kind I like the present some of the presentations Principal Barstow

031had with the makeup of how many teachers, how many FTEEs, how many IEPs. So that would be helpful with um the high school, but you know there's different categories and so some of this is just confusion. I don't know what student support services are compared to others. So I'm just trying to speak up for everybody that didn't show up. [laughter] Um, so it's it's mostly that and I know the during your budget workshop there was voices of concern of what happens if it doesn't pass and it goes to default. So I'm just trying to get as much information to grab a good picture for everybody so that all of our students are supported the way they need. Um, and I I really appreciate that. And it's like so like the pair is we we see

032the budget that you don't need to >> Yep. And we had a decrease in special ed this year because we really have been actively working to build out our programming which has required substantial PD and all kinds of things. If you reference the video when we talk about special ed, we have a rising need for social emotional and behavioral programming and that is complex and requires pretty intensive services and requires a lot of manpower. And I would invite you I will give you my contact information before I leave and I would I love to talk about special [laughter] >> and I think and I think I think it's a community conversation for sure. People just don't know what they don't know. >> Tina, thank you for bringing these questions forward and I know that you

033were you were at the all the BAC meetings. You've been so great about asking questions and we invite the whole public to always >> input. We've got another meeting. So, I I really applaud the administration for for making the switches and and really getting to the students where they need to be. So, I do want to give other people a chance also in case there's other questions. Um just one on the budget advisory committee. Um at a town meeting, somebody asked me where I could they could find the budget advisory committee meetings and uh video presentations. And I said there are none. And then they said, but it's a school committee by elected members and they're supposed to have um documented minutes. So, I don't know if that's something that can help more people get

034information because there's a lot that does happen um in those committee meetings. >> Okay. >> And those presentations are all posted. >> They're all online. Yes, >> the the presentations are posted, but there's no there's no minutes and then and there's no recording and a lot of people it doesn't always make sense. >> All right, that's good feedback. I haven't heard that. So, that's the first I've heard of people asking for those minutes. So, thank you for that. >> [clears throat] >> Uh, want to open up. Anybody else have questions about the [laughter] Molly? >> You have questions? [laughter] >> All right. You want to? >> So, the second part just to give you a little synopsis and I think um, Melissa, you'll just talk a little bit about the contract negotiations we had um,

035so people understand that. All right. So, this year is a um a contract negotiation year for the pair of professionals. Um we have finalized uh what will hopefully be approved as a three-year contract for our pair of professionals. Um this represents increases over the next three years that you'll see on a separate warrant article. Um for the year 2026 to 2027, a $386,51121 increase. uh 27 to 28 a $274,31364 increase and 28 to 29 a $25,74066% increase. Um this was a the negotiation went back and forth between um us wanting to provide much increased wages for our paraprofessionals and our pair of professionals really wanting um better access to health care. Um, [clears throat] so we tried to balance those two things. Um, and I'll go through kind of what our basic changes were to

036the to the contract. Um, the wage increase uh in year 1 is 4 and a.5%. In year two is 4 a.5% and in year three is 6%. And we're hoping that this will get us to be uh closer with other negotiated contracts within the district and um locally. Um we've done a few other um kind of minor bumps within the contract and this kind of goes back to some of the special education things you've already heard where we're trying to bring as many services inhouse as we can and to move away from some contracted services. So we've increased um the personal hygiene care differential um from 75 cents to $2 an hour in the first and second year of the contract and that'll go to $3 in the third year of the contract. Um, we've

037increased the registered behavior technician differential to $2. It was $1 and in the first and second year of the contract. And then in the third year, that will also go to $3 an hour. Um, this category also includes those that are certified as a trauma support specialist. So, our goal here is to get more people um with that designation as a registered behavior technician or trauma support specialist. Uh we've increased the pay per fair pair of professionals that serve as substitutes when it's whenever that's needed from 16 to $20 per hour to better match what the substitutes are also receiving. Um and we've moved the formula for the longevity payment to a set amount per ban of time. So at 6 to8 years, 9 to 11 years, and 12 to 17 years um instead of

038a percent of the last year's earnings which was in the previous contract. And we've added in a new healthcare plan. It's called ABSOS. It's a higher deductible plan um as an offering to the pair of professionals so that we could offer the health care at a lower cost. Um no new hires will be allowed to go under the current HMO plan that's offered. Um by doing this we were able to add in a contribution of a twoerson and a family plan throughout the life of the contract which was a a big goal that the um pair of professionals really wanted to see. Um we've also added in a dental option for single and twoerson plans which previously they did not have. Um and the vast majority of the other changes to the contract are are

039more clarity of terms. Um those were kind of the main the main drivers and the fiscal drivers. >> Thank you for that update. >> Yep. >> And then there will be three warrant articles that will also provide. As Molly said, um we will be um recommending $200,000 go into the capital reserve fund uh and then uh $50,000 be added to the synthetic turf replacement fund. Those are are pretty typical from numbers from year to year. The one new word article that will go in will be in response to open enrollment. Um for those people that don't know about open enrollment is a huge uh legislative topic right now uh within our state. Um and right now you have the ability um there's two districts in New Hampshire that are open enrollment where students could go

040to that school if they choose. um and the sending district would have to pay 80% of your tuition to that school for them to be educated there without control. So that is a major liability for SAU16 if we were to send out. Uh also there is now an online open enrollment school so where anybody could attend that. So there's a lot of concern on how um the liability that any of our towns would face by taking local uh tax dollars that we uh look at and how that would be uh expended to other districts uh for our students. Um so that is not fully drafted. We're continue to work with a legal counsel to get that. uh but it will not be a budgetary item and that's why um we can continue to work on

041that warrant article and once we have that we will be doing someformational sessions about open enrollment how that will affect your your local budgets how that could affect your local dollars uh and being spent elsewhere. So, I just wanted to put that on the horizon that that is also a warrant that we would be uh recommending to um help with the liability of students that would be going to other districts that are deemed receiving schools across the state. [clears throat] >> Thank you for that update. All right, with that, do do we need we don't need the action. We can >> you can just if there's other comments if Yeah. I just want to make sure there's any any other comments. All right, that will conclude our time for the public hearing uh for January

04215th at 6:40. Thank you. >> Uh we should open up the other Yeah. >> Yeah. So, we're going to do one other public hearing on the Apologize I don't have it up, but uh on on accepting a donation, >> correct? So, >> yes. So, at last board meeting, I brought to the board and and by policy KCD, we need to have a public hearing. We are fortunate enough that um our auditorium manager, Mr. Dean Kle, he owned his own business in audio uh sales and equipment. Uh he had sold that business to um MFI which is music factory incorporated in where New Hampshire. He's had a close relationship with him and when he was getting the the possibility to sell his equipment, M MFI said we'd like to donate it back to you know SA16.

043The cost of that is $45,000 in audio equipment that we would get. That would be uh benefit of of the cooperative school district. Some of that uh and we have it a formalized um appraisal report so that we had everything documented of what we'd be getting. Um just so you highlight it so you know what we'd be getting. um professional loudspeakers, digital digital audio mixers, industrial standard uh microphones, amplifiers, um adapters, cabling, transport cases, um wireless microphones, and two 70in flat screens for projection. So again, this is something that we wanted to bring the community by policy uh since it is over the $20,000, something that we could greatly benefit and then would not have to put into our budget because this equipment's in very good standing. >> Great. Uh, anybody have any comments about

044that? It's a very generous offer and it sounds like it's going to be a big help. We did talk about this last school board meeting to prepare ourselves and we I think we're all very happy about the the offer. So, um, seeing no discussion, I just ask for a motion to accept. Okay. Thanks, Brian. I I'll second that. So, I'll just do a roll call for that. Neil, would you like to I >> I I >> Excellent. Thank you, everyone. And thank you for the donation. That was very generous. So would be happy to [laughter] thank you [clears throat] everyone. >> All right. With that, we will uh we're going to close out those two hearings and we're going to move right into our regularly scheduled programming. Uh with that, it is at 6:40. I

045will open up public input. So if there's other public input beyond what we've already talked about, we're happy to hear that. And then uh I will start off at L. Oh, yes. Yes. Hello. >> Back. [laughter] >> Dina Morales, Brentwood. Um, [snorts] this week we had our sees budget meeting and one of the things that I was presented at the town budcom and one of the things that came up was the grants. They're being moved to all the individual budgets and one of the members on the budcom was a little bit confused about, you know, where does the money go? And Molly does a great job explaining the whole revenue process. Um, but one of the things that I got from that conversation was that people were wanting to know exactly what those grants are.

046Not like the category, but you know, is it for grabbars or curriculum or what is what exactly those items are because it's just kind of confusing when you see grants. Thank you. Thank you, Tina. Thank you, Sonia, for exchanging some notes back there with Tina, so that uh you can continue to get questions answered. I appreciate that. Um, all right. So, let's move on to uh our visitors. Lucy, would you like to give us an update? >> Sure. All right. So, I know talked last month, there not too much has changed, but we'll give a little bit of an update. So, um I know last month we talked about our Martin Luther King Jr. Day that's coming up. Um and our celebration for that is also coming along as well. Um so let's see. So

047as we know Stratam has had their celebration going on for 3 years and this is the first year that CMS is partaking in it in some way. Um during the celebration we invite everyone in the community to come to a big book talk that we're going to have. Um, along with this we had the seventh grade chorus concert and they put on a really special concert that just went along with the whole message Martin Luther King Jr. Day and they did a really good job of that. We had a really good turnout. Um, and then that was called the We Belong Concert. And then as for our book talk, it's on the 21st and we have an author coming in Abdin for a discussion about his book that tells us all about his journey um

048with immigration from Somalia to the US here. So that's very exciting. Um as another future event you've heard of, we have Steam night January 3rd 6 to 8. We have a bunch of activities, hands-on things, hot air balloons, zip lines, all types of fun stuff. Um, anyone's welcome to come and we hope we'll see people there. Um, and then we had our 250th anniversary for New Hampshire which was so much fun. Um, and then we have our team mural challenge which is coming up. Um, for this challenge, each team will create a mural on the windows of the pods and um, they will make a nice mural display and they'll use their art skills and um, yeah, it will display the core values and the winning team will receive a prize. So, the prize isn't

049disclosed yet. We don't know what that is. Surprise, [laughter] but it will be at some point. And [clears throat] then two days ago on the 13th we had our sixth grade band and orchestra concert which is new. Um so the goal of the sixth grade like orchestra and band program is to really give students an opportunity um who didn't have like the means to get to instruments in elementary school. So, um, our band director and band teacher has worked really hard with all the students to get them introduced to a bunch of new instruments. Um, and that's really the main goal of that curriculum. We had an amazing turnout. Um, and everybody really enjoyed it. So, yeah, students worked hard, learned all their pieces, and it was really fun at the same time. And that's

050basically all we have. So, we'll see you in March. >> That's quite a bit. We appreciate it. It sounds like that the day you went back January 5th, there was a big celebration for 250 years. That was great. That was Drew's notes also. So, I appreciate that. Thank you >> for letting us know. >> Bobby, you're up. You'd like to give us a quick update? >> Oh, yeah, of course. [laughter] >> All right. Exit has also had a pretty eventful two weeks here. Um, just this last week, we had an Alice incident here with a false alarm. And I was not in the building. I was at SST myself, but from what I've heard from staff and students alike, the response was pretty awesome. I mean, I haven't heard anything bad about student response. So,

051I'm pretty proud of us on that hand. But for some of us who had the same kind of thing happen in the middle school, it's a little sketchy. So, there's been a lot of resources offered and the administration just this past few days have been really supportive of students coming back from that. So, I wanted to say a quick thank you about that really fast before I started. Just a few I think just last night our exit high school girls varsity um hockey team went down to the PWHL fleet game with Connor's climb for a stick stigma event and that was really cool getting them to connect with professional women's hockey in the Boston area and with a really strong local program for suicide prevention and mental health. That was really awesome. Saw some pictures

052of that. So pretty cool. And then some other stuff here too. [laughter] I was trying to go off the dome, but didn't quite make it. All right, the happy bean. So, that is our special one of our special ed programs. She's not here anymore, but one of our really awesome special education programs for much like SST is real life like career training for a cafe-like environment for the special education students here. And they are going to be featured on the New Hampshire Chronicle, which is pretty cool, pretty special. And then I have one more thing. All right. Yeah, >> winter carnival that's coming up. That's my favorite time of year personally. And for those of you who don't know, winter carnival is a huge grade versus grade competition to boost school spirit. It's kind of

053like what you were just talking about with the middle school, but we have a trophy. So, [laughter] >> I think ours is better. But that'll be coming up. And that is our biggest Senate event of the year. So, looking forward to awesome participation. But that's about it from Exit High School in the past few weeks. >> Great. Hey, thank you. That's great. Yes. Um, and then do you know when the New Hampshire Chronicle, do you do you know when that's going to be aired by chance? >> I think you had that. >> I think it airs on the 21st. >> The 21st. Okay. Well, that's something to watch. That's great. That's the second time this year that the school will be on. >> Yeah, they came out and filmed and I think has been putting

054it together. So, they're excited to air. >> That's great. Congratulations. Thank you so much for the updates and and of course in that school board packet, there's always updates from all the administrators. So, we do appreciate that. It really uh gives us color about what's going on, all the great activities that are happening. So, thank you. Um we're going to move right into public. Lucy, you're welcome to hang out. I know that that's probably not as tempting, but uh thank you for sitting through the budget, too. >> Uh so, uh the meetings from December 16th, I just asked the board, is there any discussion about those? They're in the packet. Seeing no discussion, I'll ask for a motion to accept the minutes. >> I'll make a motion to accept the um public and non-public minutes

055from December 16th. >> Excellent. Thank you. >> I think I just noticed that Ryan, I think you were listed as president, not present. >> He wasn't He was not present. >> I was not present. Definitely not public. It looked I looked like it might have said he was present unless I wrong. >> Let's take a look at that. Yeah, I'm listed as president and non-public. So, yeah, that >> that's pretty you're not here for the but you came just for the nonpublic. All right. >> Well, so just for the for the uh the public meetings just and then when we do when I ask for acceptance the non-public will have to straighten that out. >> Okay. >> So, is that good? Yeah. >> All right. Anyone want to second the motion? >> Second. >> All

056right. Perfect. Thank you, Amy. Uh any other discussion? >> All right. So look to to uh move on that. Uh all all in favor of accepting the minutes, please raise your hand. All right. Uh all those abstaining. All right. Thank you. >> Is that is that good enough? That's Yeah. Okay. Perfect. All right. We'll move on to the non-public minutes. We'll have to put a note that Brian was not there for that meeting. Well, I'm listed as absent in the roll call vote, [cough] but members present during non-public session. So, it's just to fix that on number five. >> All right, perfect. >> I'll make a motion to approve with that change. >> Excellent. Thank you. I will second that motion. Uh discussion. All right. All of those in favor, please raise your hand. Excellent.

057Thank you. Abstaining. Perfect. All right. Thank you. I will uh move the meeting to you. >> Yeah, we're really excited. Uh we have 11th grader and also Eagle Scout uh Evan Scott who is here. He has a proposal of something that he's been working on for his service project and I'm really excited to hear about it and I I love when we have students here presenting about how they're going to be giving back to our community. So, I've spoken enough. Uh please take it away. >> Yeah. Hello everyone. Uh Evan Scott from Brentwood. I'm a boy scout in Troop 33 here in Exer and a junior at Exer High School. I'm currently working on getting the Eagle rank for scouts. Um, and for getting this Eagle rank, I'm required to do a project that helps

058the community. So, the Seahawks and I have partnered up uh and have been planning to put up a flagpole on the backfield CMS. My plan was to install a 25 ft flag pole, but after talking with the Seahawks and what they were thinking, we decided on a 40ft flag pole. They offered to cover the price between a 25 ft pole and a 40ft pole and the extra extra cost for materials and installation. Um, the flag will need to be lit up unless there's someone available to raise and lower every day. Um, so I'm here tonight uh to request approval from you so I can carry out this plan and also ask if there are any other permits or permissions beyond the school board. Uh, once I hopefully have approval from you all, I will be

059attending the Eagle board meeting in the next month or so to get my final approval and start this project. >> Evan, great work. Thanks for bringing this uh before us. Appreciate that. I I have a couple questions, but did anybody want to start off before >> So, I heard you say something about lighting. I I think it does need to be lit. So, h how did you >> Yeah. So, on top of a 40 foot flagpole, we'll have a solar panel light that typically ranges around from $50 to 100. So, not not that expensive. >> Um but yeah, so there there won't be a need for electricity cuz it's solar panel. Okay. >> So, yeah, that's a it's a big thing to get out of the way. Great. Thank you. >> Yeah. >> Uh you

060you made a comment about permitting. I I'm not quite sure about the permitting if there'd be anything additional. >> I don't believe >> I I don't think there is, but I from the town because it's in Stratum. I don't know. >> It's probably Dig Safe. >> Just >> Dig Safe. Yeah. But >> that's free. They come up and they do that. >> Yeah. >> But any other permits from Stratum? I would assume not, but just just put it out there that that might want to follow up. >> You have a question? >> All right. Great. So, we would need to approve this. >> You would? Yes. >> Um All right. Any questions? >> No, I was just say I I like that this is a um it's a connection between, you know, the project you're

061working on, the community, the school. You've also got the Seahawks involved. >> So, I think that's great. >> Thank you. >> Yep. >> Yeah, that was nice to hear. This will look great out there. This will be such a great thing. And >> um yeah, love it. >> Yeah, thanks. Appreciate it. >> Do the Seahawks do the national anthem before games? >> So, yes. Uh they typically hang a flag uh just a flag on the gate. >> Um >> that's what I was going to ask is what they've been doing. >> Yeah. So uh having this flag pole >> makes a lot of sense. >> Yeah. >> Um in the solar panel light that you're going to put on the top. >> Yeah. >> I know that those last quite a while, but do you

062know what the lifespan is? And do you know how difficult it is to get that down to replace the battery? >> Yeah. So I I actually don't. I haven't looked that much into it. Will >> you keep that in your mind as you're moving forward? Of course. Thanks. Yeah. Yeah. Good. I'll look for a motion to approve. >> Make a motion to approve. >> Excellent. Second. All right. Any other discussion? >> All right. All those in favor? Raise your hand. >> All right. There you go, Evan. >> Thank you, guys. >> Thank you for your work. Great project. Appreciate you bringing that to us. Yeah, that's I I'm with you there. Nice work. [applause] Next up, we have uh Jennifer Delorey who is here to talk about the possibility of a 2027 Spain trip. >>

063Yes. Hi there, everyone. Thank you for having me. Um nice to see you again. I some of you I've seen before, so I'll give a but some of you haven't. So, I'll give you a little intro to who I am. I'm Jennifer Delorey. I'm in year 26 of teaching here at Exit High School. Shuy, which means I've had many of your kids or I h am having I have them now or I will have them in the future. Maybe a little Andrisky will be floating through my door. [laughter] >> So, um I'm also the uh world the learning area leader for the world language department and um I'm also an extor resident. I have two boys. One who well they both went through Susie Finn's kindergarten class and I know we're all going to miss

064her and my older boy is now after graduating in 2023 from Exit High School a junior at Depal University having an excellent experience there. And my little one is currently at wrestling practice at the middle school and hopefully someone's going to go pick him up if I don't get out of here in time. Um he is a sixth grader and um he's also doing great. So everybody's great. I'm enjoying my year 26. Enjoying if your kids if your kids in my class they're all doing great. Um and also before I tell you about my trip, you all know that there's a trip in Canada right now. And oh shoot, sorry. >> Um the [clears throat] uh I have an update because I'm on their little group spot and I can tell you something what they've

065been telling me. They post all sorts of things. What did they tell me? They said blah blah blah. Let's see. They posted something. I just wanted to read one thing to you. Where is it? Oh, I'm going to not find it. Anyways, they're doing great. They're doing great. It's snowy. They're um you know traveling. Have lots of fun. They decided because the group is so big, they broke it up. They've assigned jobs to the kids and so there's some kids who are um like the tour directors, some kids are the money managers, some kids are the journalists and stuff. So they're really all the kids are posting pictures and stuff. So it's a lot of fun. So they're doing great. So my trip um is the same trip that I've run in the past um

066to southern Spain and um I'm hoping to do this this year. I I've tried to do it uh for this year to be running this February and it I only had two kids sign up so it was I'm really hoping that I can get more kids to sign up. But it's a great trip. You all have seen the proposal. Um we do a lot of stuff. I really believe in travel period. I think we should all be traveling all the time. But I personally like it for its educational purposes. I really try to infuse um our travel experiences with the kids to with language experiences, giving the kids again jobs, opportunities to be the ones that do guide us along the streets or to buy the metro tickets or to um you know they we

067don't go on a big bus and have a dinner reservation for like 50 people in the back room that's a preset menu and somebody they don't ask you what you want. They just bring you the food and then the there's one big bill for everybody. I really believe in smaller experiences where the kids can kind of go in smaller they can even go in different restaurants for groups of four, groups of five and they're all in the same area but maybe a different restaurant or at least in a different table where they get to look at the menu themselves, pick out what they want to eat, talk to them the weight staff, negotiate the bill, figure out who's going to pay what, how much tip do we leave, and say thank you when they leave.

068is not just me doing all that as a, you know, a person leading an ginormous group of people along. So, um, I really, you know, aside from just, I could talk about the itinerary left and right because I think it's a great place to go and I think everybody should go to southern Spain. Um, it's a beautiful country. It's a beautiful place. The southern part is my favorite. It's where I studied in in college. Um, there's just a ton of things to do, a ton of things to see. But more than anything, I just, you know, if you guys have questions for me, be happy to answer anything you've got or I'll try. >> I I have two questions. First of all, I I just want to say I appreciate what you put in there

069and I really liked what because I think one of my concerns about all this all the time is like the other you we always go student loved student love student love travel. But there's other companies and I I appreciate that you love that. >> I did it because you asked last time. >> I really just want to say, hey, nice job. That that really makes me It's great. Um, second, did you have you said you had a trip this year, but you wouldn't? >> I we you approved it for me to go this February and I had to cancel it because I didn't have enough students. So, the those students who had signed up and begun paying, they got all their money back because they, you know, we we we here had to cancel the

070trip. >> Mhm. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> All right. >> Do you know why there was a lack of interest? Was it cost? I >> I don't think it's cost. I think it's just sometimes kids it's just not the right time. I mean, some years we have I've had to turn people away. some years and other times I just can't get five people to sign up. So, it just depends. I think it's just I mean I really don't know. [laughter] >> Thank you. >> The cost doesn't really change much. So, it's not that it can't be that too much. >> I didn't mean the cost change. I meant that are people feeling the pinch so much that there it's a discretionary item. >> Yeah, certainly. Certainly. Yes. But what my point being that the cost

071of the trip from one year to another doesn't change a whole lot and so it would only be a particular like this year for whatever reason is difficult for families. Absolutely. I I I agree with you. Mhm. >> But it sounds like having the opportunity for the kids if they if they can if you can get enrollment that's a pretty good thing. And yeah, good. Any any questions? All our minds on the budget tonight. I think [laughter] that's >> I just detail this. I know. I think we're good. I was just going to share one detail about the travel and this is a credit to Jennifer is that we um after the Morocco trip we actually sat as a group and talked about what were some things that we could preemptively consider as we came

072to the board and so we have sat down and have kind of created a better protocol to really look at why the warning what kinds of warnings are out there what exists uh I mean there there's probably like 20 or more additional things that we said if we're going to be traveling with students these might be things we consider and so Jennifer said that she would be willing to kind of pilot that with this trip and make sure that we're going through that we've really captured a lot of things so that when we come to the board and there are some good legitimate questions and we've done some good research. So just a kudos to her as she's looking at building this trip out that we did try to do some back work on that.

073>> Yeah. Well, it's something that I would say kudos to you that I wish we had been doing all along and we wasn't really until we sat down and >> started talking about it that we're finally doing it. So happy about that. >> Great. Thank you. Appreciate hearing that. >> All right. I'd like uh a motion to approve. Anybody want to kneel? >> Go ahead. >> Motion to approve. >> Excellent. Second. >> Second. >> All right. All those in favor raise your hand. >> Excellent. >> Yay. >> Enjoy. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Fingers crossed. >> Yes. >> Thank [laughter] you. >> Thank you, Jennifer. Last part is uh Mr. Beerto. He's going to give us a little just update on the uh middle school grading um and kind of how we're working through

074the Alma uh issues that we've been having and how that will carry through for the rest of the year as we transition to Infinite Campus for next year. >> Do you need to click that? >> Do you need me to click or do you have Okay. All right. So, um, we've been clearly in touch the last couple of months about our ALMA and grading situation and unfortunately we've been in a tough spot as we've been uh working on their initial agreement to have formatives um we at 20% and summitives at 80%. Um, so Alma did provide this fix to us in some degree. Um so this is just the big picture. This is this is uh a picture of what we ideally wanted. So formatives at 20%, summitives at 80%, um practice [clears throat] assignments,

075we record those in the grade book for completion. They don't have a weight. Um and then we also have habits of learning that provide separate feedback that are different from the um academic uh grades but it gives you a sense of like the effort and the um and the sort of attitude towards learning that kids are demonstrating. So currently uh where ALMA is not providing the fix um is the overall class grade excuse [clears throat] me. So right now when uh families or kids initially log in the first thing that they'll see is the overall class grade and currently what that is is not accurate. It's not 20% formative or 80% summitive. Um it kind of varies because it depends on how many assignments whether they're formative or summitive. It's a it's a natural weight.

076Uh so it's just averaged out across all of the grades that exist. Um so our overall proposal and what we ask from you is um that we remove that over that inaccurate overall class grade for the remainder of of this year um going forward. So when families and kids see an overall grade or see that grade um they won't be misled one way or the other. Um sometimes the diff difference is very small and sometimes it can be quite large. It all just depends on how many assignments are in the grade book. Uh the next couple of frames I'll show you are just the differences, what it will look like currently and what it will look like going forward. So this is the current parent view when families log in um to their their child's

077um Alma account. And so you can see the first thing that they see are the overall grades. It's very small, but on the right hand side by the arrow you can see the overall um score there. On the lefth hand side, you can see the classes that those grades are associated with. And then when you go into the grade book, you can see um overall that top band there says overall class grade. Scan all the way over to the right where it says mastery level. That is um the overall class grade that is currently inaccurate. You can see underneath there though you can see all the uh individual grades for different assignments. Um those are accurate. So with uh the acceptance of this um proposal uh the new parent view when you log in you'll

078go in and you'll see these classes that the student has. But in order to see the student's grade you'll see that the overall grade isn't there anymore. you need to click the view grades button and it will go into this grade book um view. And so you'll notice where the arrow is the overall class grade has been removed and it will still show um the mastery level for each competency. So you'll see each grade uh that's associated with an assignment all the way over the end on the mastery level. It won't show the overall class grade, but it'll show the mastery level for each competency. So that is the the most accurate view and that is indeed 8020 uh and weighted as a 8020. Um so you won't get the overall grade but you will

079see the grade for each competency which is actually like more specific in terms of um the the child's progress. Uh so for report cards um you'll see the old parent report card again has that overall and that um gray box up top. The extended learning that the arrow is pointing to that's the overall class grade and you'll see each competency has um the description. So the new report card we would remove the um overall class grade again and then obviously leave the competencies um as they are. So that's um our suggestions in a nutshell um for what we're are we're proposing. Good. >> Thank you for putting that together. uh questions. Yes. >> So, sorry. Is this sort of like the temporary fix until the transition to the new system and the removal of the

080the overall class grade is really to fix that 8020 >> correct >> error. So, because if you're looking at it without paying attention to that first bit, it looks like there was this overall picture and I'm not getting that anymore. I'm just getting the specifics, but it's because the overall picture was wrong. >> Correct. >> And so, you're removing what was in providing incorrect information. >> Correct. So you get the the more specific information. >> Yep. All right. Exactly. >> Thank you. >> The grade book view. >> Yes. >> Is that updated each time a teacher grades something? >> Yes. >> Um and then the report card is just at the end of the trimesters. Correct. The upcoming trimesters. >> Yeah. >> Um can you talk about the update that you just sent out to

081the families on um parent square so that everybody here knows the information? >> Yes. the the update that I sent out to parents was basically that the overall grade view that they see currently because it's it is still there right now it's live is inaccurate because being unable to fix it. So it was um just a reminder that what they see is is might not be accurate. [cough] >> Now I've got one question. So you've been working with parents. Have you gotten feedback from parents on this or >> is it >> honestly not not a ton. There have been some questions here and there. Um but I haven't received a lot of um a lot of concerns. I've I've been thoughtful that um it is I mean when you get into the weeds it's kind

082of nitpicky and and confusing. So I'm hopeful that our communication we've done our best to try and explain the situation but um I haven't received a ton of feedback. >> Okay. If >> I have a question, >> yes. >> If there's a circumstance where that overall grade would matter, >> can you calculate it or is there not a circumstance? >> Honestly, that's the frustrating part about um Alma is that the calculation is relatively easy. They just weren't able to make it happen. And >> let's say students on the margin and I don't know how the grades are calculated passing a class or not. [clears throat] >> Extended. Can you calculate that to determine whether or not that can this student would pass the class or not? >> Yeah. Yeah. And it's the teachers are in

083in close touch with the kids to let them know and the parents too if if there is an issue for sure. So waiting for the end of the trimester is not something that nobody's going to be surprised um >> if they're at risk of that. >> Right. >> Yeah. >> Thank you. Yeah, >> Drew. If we had had this conversation before the parent square notification went out, I would have asked for some of these examples to be part of this notification. Um it would be nice to remind parents about that workbook, work page, worksheet, the other screen, the other slide that you showed us. >> Oh, the Yes. >> So that um I think that not every parent >> participates in Alma in check-in grades. >> I think that um your parent square notification comes

084at a random time because we're not waiting. Parents, CMS parents aren't waiting for report cards. So, I just looked at this during the meeting and I was like, why is he telling me this right now? What's changed? Like, I don't know why you're sending this right now. >> It was in advance of parent teacher conferences >> tomorrow morning. Which are tomorrow morning. So, it was an uh hope to so everyone is coming in on the same page. >> Yeah. Um, I think that you're not getting questions and feedback because parents are like, "Huh?" >> Because we're not seeing what the problem is. I think that that worksheet page is a great example of if you actually want your accurate grades, this is a great place to continue looking at. >> And don't forget, we're done

085with Elma soon. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> And just want to add one thing. Sorry. Um parents will be given the opportunity to get feedback in February. So we as you remember we met in December as a report card committee K8. We did have representation from the high school there. So they just heard what we were what we were going through. Uh we finalized the questions uh from that report and met with uh um isobar to get the questions so that they're not biased and that they will be uh the validity will be ranked by them through their scoring. So we finalized that uh on Monday and so we have a timeline that it will go out to staff and parents in February so that we will get a anonymous feedback from parents on our report

086card and our reporting system so that we can take that to bring back to our boards in May. >> Right. >> And just Erin one more thing I after tonight I'll be sure to send out all of the before and after photos just so people can can see. >> That would be awesome. Thank you. Y >> or even just a link in that parent square in the future because not everybody wants to see it. Not everybody has the moment. >> Sure. >> But just to know it's accessible to parents. >> Sure. >> So Drew, do you do you anticipate any problems when it comes to um the kids in eighth grade coming up to the high school with recommendations for where they should be in classes or it it >> I don't know >> final

087grade doesn't impact that. It's no it's more it's um you know their work in the classroom, teacher recommendation, their um progress on I Ready and um standardized test scores. Um so like I said the these competencies are the most accurate um thing we've got. The overall test grade is is you know an average basically. >> Okay. >> And what about for kids that are applying to a private school? Will there be any way that they can get a more like a complete report card? because I assume maybe not all private schools might want to run through every competency or >> Yeah. >> or understand them the same way. >> We can we can certainly help make the calculations if if requested. Sure. >> Okay. >> Yeah. >> Great. >> Good. Thank you. The pictures are

088very very helpful. I agree, Erin. Uh it makes it easy for me. I didn't get the email, but I see that I see exactly what you're doing, so it's pretty clear. Um all right. So, I'd look for a motion to approve the change. Neil, >> motion to approve the change. >> Excellent. Don, you want to second that? Any other any further discussion? Excellent. All those in favor, please raise your hand. >> Great. Thank you. >> Thank you, Drew. Good luck with uh >> good luck, >> conferences, both conferences and everything else. [laughter] >> Excellent. So, you're done. So administrators can leave, right? Do you want to >> ask Tanya to say just going? >> Okay. Yes. Perfectly. Yeah. But >> yeah, but certainly Dr. Carr and Yes. >> Thank you. >> You're welcome. >> Uh

089all right. My Molly, do you have an update? >> Yes. So in your board pack is a current year financial. >> Um we did have some kind of expendure increases. I did. Oh, when you find it, [laughter] >> repeat it because I turned my mic off. >> Okay. >> Um, so >> thank you. >> In your board pack is a current year financial. Um, we I noted in the board pack some areas of increases and decreases. Did anyone have any questions? Um, we did add an enhanced uh revenue report um for recommendation of Mr. Rans trying to find it. [laughter] >> Oh, sure. Yeah, it's in there. Um and so um it's just a um enhanced way to show the revenue side of things. >> So did anyone have any questions? >> No, I just

090want to say thank you. It's really it's really helpful and I think for people in the public when they see this to see what you're expecting for revenue. It goes to the question that came from the public. You know, what is it that you're expecting? What's left over? So when you're looking at the end of the year fund balance, they can understand that part of this revenue is not spendable. And why is it not spendable? Where did it come from? So, I really appreciate it. Thank you. >> Yep. No problem. Um, and then that's pretty much all I had for the current year budget. If anyone else had any questions or we could talk about next year's budget. >> 7 page 72. >> 72. Yes. >> Right by it. >> Yeah. All right. Thank you.

091Any questions? Perfect. Thank you for that. Um, then I have to go back to the the agenda. So I I had something to bring up tonight for the the Yes, thank you for the uh the chair just and I Chris talked about I want to talk about open enrollment and fair funding, but it the we had a meeting a week and a half ago. It was basically talking about the open enrollment and I know that we're going to talk a little bit more about it but Chris you had already brought it up and how we feel like that any kind of open enrollment whether we send or receive students will drive up taxes and uh so we certainly have some concerns around that if you've been following in the news uh I know Kaj already

092had a vote uh to [clears throat] do 00 so we're going to kind of we've been meeting with people other school boards talking about it Amy I know you've been a big help and trying to understand that. So again if uh for open enrollment which means that any student can choose to come here uh or any any of our students can choose to go elsewhere and what that means that we would have to pay 80% going out and we have not budgeted for that. We don't know what that would look like. So it puts us into a vulnerable position for next year, but also receiving students accepting 80% might not meet the same need that we need for student services here. So we feel like we'd be vulnerable there. So on either side, it's just

093not a good match for us. And I think we'll uh need to talk about that and have some discussions around having a warrant article for that. So that is the only thing I wanted to bring up. All right. Uh, moving on, we'll do committee reports. >> Do we need a motion for what we want to take to deliberative at all? >> Um, in regards to your budget if they're they're comfortable with the formal budget. Yeah. >> Yeah. In the other districts, we just made the motion on the amount. >> Oh, so we so we make a motion on >> on the budget that for your public and then we'll bring that as part of your the board as as outlined in your packet. >> Okay. Um, so should we do that now? Oh, I guess

094we'll we'll do that now. >> I thought we had done that at the last meeting, but I guess Okay. But we certainly do it again. What's that? >> We usually >> we'll finalize it after the public. Okay. >> Just in case. >> Yes. >> All right. Um, so there are there are the warrant articles in the packet. Uh, so we'll start with article one, which is the operating budget. Everybody get an opportunity to read that? All right. Okay. So, I'd like to make a motion to accept the operating budget article one as amended or I mean as is. Could someone second that? >> Second. >> Okay. Excellent. Uh we'll do a roll call on that. Neil, would you start with the >> I I >> I >> Thank you. >> Uh looking at article two,

095collective bargaining agreement. Um thank you for all your work on that. Appreciate that both of you. Um, so I'd like to make Could we make a motion on accepting that? >> Yeah, I'll make a motion to to approve it. >> Okay, great. Thank you. >> Uh, second. >> Perfect. Okay, then uh I'll do a roll call to accept that. >> I >> Thank you. >> I know I'm doing one at a time, but like we'll get the uh so the capital reserve fund, we did talk about this at last meeting. We we all support it. Uh, I'll make a motion to accept the article number three, capital reserve fund. Could I have a second? Thank you, Don. Uh, all those in favor or >> Yes. >> I I >> I >> All right. The last

096article is the for the turf turf replacement, $50,000 for that fund. Uh, I would like to make a motion to accept that. >> Second. >> Amy, you'll second it. Would you? >> I I >> I. >> All right. Thank you. [snorts] >> Thank everyone. >> When will we see the war article for the open enrollment? >> Um I'm [snorts] hoping so I did talk to legal right before I came here and I gave a couple different scenarios. So I'm going to send it after our meeting tonight. Uh hopefully by midweek next week I'll have something on on what they're suggesting. Um so we will need to talk about that because it is legal in non-public to get more. >> Okay. And so after we have all the warrant articles drafted, I will need you to

097swing by the SA office for signatures. Um, and if you need to come to me to come to you, just let me know and I can. [laughter] >> Um, I because I will need your signatures by Friday because we have to have these posted by next Monday. >> By tomorrow. >> Yeah. What? >> No, no, sorry. A week. A week from Friday. >> 26th. >> Yes. [laughter] >> Not Not tomorrow. A week from tomorrow. >> Thank you. >> Just because the deadline to post, I believe, is that following Monday, the 26th. >> Okay, perfect. All right, we'll move on to the uh updates from our committees. The first update is the superintendent. Nothing has changed since last time. We will hear more about it at the uh SAU meeting and Chris will give us an

098update. Uh Brian, I know there's quite a few new policies or revision policies to look at. >> There's not quite a few actually. It's a fairly short agenda meeting. Uh >> yes >> the uh the one at the top is BEDH which is public input at board meetings that's highlighted here by again the summaries presented by prep prepared by Dr. Bennett page 76 of the board packet um on the that one it's highlighted as discussion so I take that to mean we're not adopting or amending or doing anything with it they're just reviewing continue to discuss it a copy of that policy is not in the packet um so I I don't recall I wasn't here at the last meeting. So, what people talked about that where other districts have basically taken the idea that

099you're prioritizing or um reminding people that the purpose of public input is for residents of the district, caretakers or parents or students, staff and employees of the the school and that there's language to that effect in the Brentwood policy. Some other districts have adopted that as well. I don't know what this board feels about that or whether this was discussed the last meeting. >> I thought we were >> What does the current policy have? Is the current >> generally it's just uh public policy is open for 30 minutes. People need to identify themselves but there's not >> it doesn't >> doesn't have that sort of uh framing. >> Okay. >> I don't remember where we left that one. >> I don't either. >> We didn't take a motion on that one. >> Yeah, we did

100not take a motion on it. And there isn't it's not in the materials tonight. So I don't think right for a motion. So I guess >> it'll be on the agenda next month as well. >> Yeah. >> So now you've got 30 more days to think about it. >> We [laughter] appreciate the extra time. >> All right. >> What was the overall consensus from the committee? Are people thinking that it should be narrowed? >> Yeah. >> I thought we had narrowed it. >> So Brentwood did it two or three years ago. Um and then I think slowly other districts have been picking up on it. There have been some concerns expressed about whether you can actually enforce limiting it. And the language in the proposed policy doesn't set a strict limit and say, you know,

101you you must be a resident or must be a caretaker. It's the public is reminded that the purpose of public comment is for this purpose. And again, that may not be the exact language in the policy. I'm just reciting from memory. Um, but it's it's something that I think for the most part the other districts have been adopting that this past year. >> I just remind this board did adopt as presented last time. I believe it got brought back to the policy committee because Straten hadn't heard it yet. So they had some questions. So I think it will go back to Straten when they meet um next week. >> Okay. >> For for suggestions from their board. >> All right. So then we won't see in 30 days. you will not have to. >> Um

102the remaining policies in the board packet and there are only three others are all uh fairly straightforward revisions usually to update um in response to um updates to law. Um internet access for staff. I assume this has been run by the staff. uh looking at Heather um or Chris. Um one of the policies is internet access for staff and just to make sure that the the teachers association got a chance to approve that and make sure they're okay with it. >> They have not reached out if they had any problems with that. >> All right. And when we did it at the Brentwood School Board last week, there were no issues from the Brentwood Teachers Association. So, and it's nothing controversial or unusual. um uh daily physical activity that's tied into the the uh district-wide

103um not fitness wellness committee um and then the supervision of students. There was some brief change about school property and school activities um to reflect um you know when supervision is appropriate or expected. >> Good. So, we'd be looking for a motion for those three. >> Yes. >> Three policies. Um, any discussion on those policies? Any questions for Brian? >> I'll make a motion to accept those three policies. >> Excellent. Great. Second it. Great. Don will second. Uh, great. All those in favor raise your hand. >> Perfect. >> And there are two policies to be removed. Um, >> one is about employee computer and internet use because that's been replaced by the policy that was amended. um on uh GBF or G GBF, excuse me. Um and they're both in fact both policies be removed

104have been replaced by that. So I'll make a motion to remove those two policies as presented in the materials. >> Excellent. I will second that. All those in favor? Perfect. Thank you everyone. Any new or old business? Uh it is it is 625. I am going to close public. I didn't officially close the public uh input, but I will close that at 7:25. >> The only old business I um was the um the vans. We you were had sent around a draft agreement. I didn't know where that stood. >> So, um that went to legal. We discussed it with administrators. So, we just uh bring it to different boards so that they understand what our process would be going forward. >> Okay. >> Um I did have a couple boards. They did not have issue

105with paying what what was recommended by this board. >> Okay. Yep. >> Excellent. >> Thank you. >> Did you want to do that? >> SST and safety and security. >> I don't think there really are any. >> Tim will not have an update, but uh safety and security. >> Safety and security. We meet next week. >> Next week, but it was on the agenda. So, I just wanted to make sure we >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Um, [snorts] good. Then we will uh I will ask for a motion or ask for a motion to go into non-public uh per RSA 91 A column 3 to IIL. Um so I'll make a motion to go into non-public. >> Second that. All right. All those in favor or roll call I I >> I I All

106right. Great. Thank you. We'll go into non-public. of non-public. Uh, so I would like to make a recommendation to accept the superintendent's recommendation. May I have a second? >> Thank you, Neil. Um, and I'll take a roll call on that. I >> I I I >> I'd also like to make an announcement that we'll have a meeting on February 23rd at 8:00 the superintendent's office to continue our discussion about uh the warrant article and open enrollment and I will see you all there. Make a motion. Don't you want to make a motion to adjurnn? Go ahead, Don. Are you second? >> All right. Thank you, Amy. All the uh roll call. >> I I >> I [laughter] >> I >> All right. Thank you everyone. Appreciate it. Yes, I