1.12.2026 Fall River School Committee

I'd like to call to order the regular meeting of the for school committee for Monday, January 12th. Deb, would you please call the role?

Mr. Aguiel here.

Mr. Das here.

Mr. Corey here.

Mr. Monus here.

Miss Riley here.

Miss Stewart here.

Mayor Coogan here. Uh, I want to congratulate our three new members. uh Miss Riley, Miss Stewart, and Mr. Monus, and we wish them much success on the school committee.

And uh we hope they're here to help the kids just like the rest of us are. So, let's salute to the flag.

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.

Pursuant to the open meeting law, any person may make an audio or video recording of this public meeting or may transmit the meeting through any medium.

Attendees are therefore advised that such recordings are transmissions are being made, whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible. We have a number of people signed up for citizens input. We're going to try to hold everyone to three minutes. So, first up is Keith Michelle.

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. We're gonna do the student delegate first. Jack, fire away buddy.

Thank you. Thank you.

All righty.

First off here, uh I'd like to talk about uh the holiday parade. So, uh, Dery took part in Fall River's annual holiday parade and a good amount of our students showed up to, you know, hang out and, uh, even though it was downpouring and freezing cold, uh, we had a, it was, it was a good time. It was a great time and, uh, it was good to see people. Um, now we have, uh, Dery's winter musical

and concert. Uh, it was Into the Woods and and Winter and it was uh, it was amazing this year. Uh, thank you to all those who came out to support those awesome performances.

Now, our AP research fair, over 100 students participated in Dery's uh AP research fair on December 8th. Uh, each student selected their own research topic and conducted independent research on it. This fair was the first opportunity for students to showcase these projects as they will be formally presented and defended in the spring.

Kudos to all participants.

Granite Grill's Holiday Market. Derphy's amazing culinary arts program hosted its annual holiday market on December 17th where they sold bread, cookies, pastries, pies, cakes, and more for the holidays. They hosted a lunch as well.

As usual, the event was packed and was hit for all who attended.

Now, we have Santa's workshop. Uh once a year parts of Dery are transformed into Santa's workshop and FRPS student uh elementary school students are able to rotate through uh festive stations hosted by Dery students in the school.

Uh this includes face painting, cookie decorating, ornament and craft making, writing letters to Santa, all that fun stuff. Uh there was a holiday dance party in the dance studio as well.

This year's event was a great one that brought all of our FRPS student uh school commu uh communities together and was enjoyed by younger and older students alike.

We have this textile and manufacturing workforce pipeline article in the Washington Post. Big now uh last year Dery piloted this program connecting students to local manufacturers throughout the city. The program not only provided hands-on experience for students in textile and manufacturing work, it also created pathways to internships and full-time employment after graduation. The program was a big

success and has expanded this school year. The program's birth and evolution at Dery as well as its potential was featured in the Washington Post in late December.

Finally, our winter social in the works.

We we're working on something here. We have the advisory council and student government. We are currently collaborating to plan a little student social uh prior to February break. We are looking forward to this joy and uh you know hope it'll bring some joy and just everything to our our school in the middle of these cold months. And that is all I have.

Thank you Jack. Appreciate it.

Next up then is citizens input. And first up is Keith Michonne Trian Avenue East Providence.

Three minutes please Keith. Thank you.

Thanks. Good evening. I'm Keith Bashan, president of the Far River Educators Association, and I want to begin by welcoming both new and returning members of the school committee. I truly look forward to working with each of you.

However, I must also express some serious concern about some of the behavior we have seen from some members of this committee.

At a recent meeting, we watched a curriculum donation be tabled so that a committee member could publicly disparage an employee. You may try to defend this by saying it doesn't meet the technical definition of harassment or that adult to adult bullying is not addressed in our district policy, but let me be clear, the union will not stand by idally and watch our employees be targeted or humiliated in public. As

fiduciaries, you should also understand that the financial risks of this behavior, inviting litigation and investigative costs, are far more than a gourmet sandwich for your meeting or a holiday in stay in a major city or a steakhouse dinner for every employee traveling on business. What should have been discussed is the construction laborer curriculum. And I hope that's what you do tonight. The curriculum is

not and has never been the source of inappropriate stickers that were reported last school year and continue to be oddly recycled in conversation.

The public still knows almost nothing about this program even after a curriculum subcommittee meeting. That is a failure of the committee and the direction that they took that conversation. More than 10 years ago, Mr. Medeiros began at Dery as a woodworking teacher.

As valuable as that work was, he had a bigger vision. Over time, he built a partnership with Lyona, which represents more than half a million workers across North America. Together, they created a construction craft laborers program, once the only program of its kind in Massachusetts, and now a model for districts across the country. The success of this program has recently been questioned. While I do not have

formal data tonight, I can say with confidence that the program is in high demand and that students who compete complete the program are prepared to to enter the construction field. They receive OSHA training, hands-on experience that blends theory and practice. They work with real tools, real projects, and even advanced simulation equipment that most schools could never safely or affordably

provide. This is exactly the kind of opportunity his communities hope to give their students. If Mr. Medeiros is mentioned tonight, it should be to celebrate his work. And if any committee member has concerns about him or any other employee, those concerns should be directed privately to the superintendent in accordance with the school committee policy and state and federal law. I hope

this committee chooses to lead this district forward and not tear it down.

Thank you.

Thank you. Next up is Street.

Next up is Nathan Gonzal's Martha Street.

Three minutes, please. Nathan, thank you.

School committee.

Dear members of the school committee, my name is Nathan and I am a senior at Dervy High School. I am here today to speak about the fact that our construction program has been without a licensed teacher for the past seven weeks. All we have been told is that our teacher was placed on leave. What can I say for certain is that neither I or nor of my classmates have been interviewed

or questioned about anything related to the situation. To my knowledge, the leave was occurred after an incident of our class in our class that our teacher addressed immediately and the students involved were disciplined at that time.

It is difficult for us to understand how seven weeks can pass by without a single student being spoken to. From our perspective, this makes it feel as though our education is not a priority.

During this time, we are missing critical instructional hours and certifications, including Lyuna training, Department of Labor hours, heavy equipment experience, and hotwork certification.

And that is the only and that and that is only the beginning.

These are opportunities that are directly impact futures after high after graduation. Many of us chose this program specifically to gain these skills and credentials.

I truly hope that whoever is conducting this investigation is relying on accurate facts and firsthand information, not rumors or unverified stories about a teacher we respect and value. right now students in this Fall River system, Fall River school system, spec specifically those of us in this program that are not receiving the education we deserve. Thank you for your time and listening to our concerns.

Uh, next up, Kaden Platt, Barsley Street.

Three minutes, please. Kaitton.

Hello. My name is Kaden Platt. I am a senior in the construction craft laborers program.

My friend, can you can you put the microphone right near your mouth?

Is that better?

Right in front of you.

Is that better?

Yes.

All right. My name is Kayen Platt. I am a senior in the construction craft laborers program and I'm here tonight to speak about the program. I feel like my education has been undermined for the past seven weeks. We have not had a certified teacher and now it is our senior year and we are here still on pause because of allegations that our teacher Carlton Medeiros is facing. I look forward to my senior year at Dery

because I felt it would be my best year in my construction program. I didn't get the education I deserved in my junior year, but now my education is on pause once again for the second year in a row.

And I am stuck doing nothing in my construction class, which is supposed to be most my most important year of my high school experience. And it shouldn't be wasted on allegations on my construction teacher, Mr. Medeiros.

Mr. Medeiros has done so much for this program. He is someone that I look up to as someone to learn from and someone to be like one day. Not just only does he make the construction curriculum easy to understand and learn, he also makes it something to look forward to every day when I wake up. Through stories from our paraprofessional, who was also once a student in the program, we've learned

how little the program used to have compared to what it is now. What our teacher has built is something to be proud of. He is truly a teacher who puts students first. He shows this to me every day. He consistently works to improve the program and to create more opportunities for us, including industry certifications that makes us more employable after graduation. He goes out of his way for students to have

graduated the program to help them seek jobs they are trying to pursue with the education that they got from the program.

All of all of our progress has been put on hold because of this investigation.

It has already taken 84 hours of classroom instruction away from us and that number continues to grow. This doesn't just affect seniors like me, freshmen who also lose losing valuable learning time in OSHA training, including my brother who is a freshman in the Discovery CTE program who wants to have a good career in the construction program. Has missed his opportunity to get his OSHA 10 cert certificate.

He is now questioning if he is able to get an education through the construction program which isn't fair that we are missing very important learning opportunities and skills because of a se sevenweek investigation.

This investigation is impacting many students and as a program we are feeling the effects every day. The most frustrating part of that is is that it feels like no one is paying attention to the students who are missing out on their education. We are the ones losing opportunities, skills, and time that we will never get back.

Thank you.

Next up, Joe Kaparco, Province Rhode Island. Three minutes, please. Joe.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. three minutes is I although I respect the rules is not really enough time given the um seriousness of the situation as you just heard from these students. I have a few brief statements from students that are currently working that aren't able to be here. I'd like to read into the record if I could. Um but actually I'll reserve that and I'll leave them.

You can submit those, Joe. We'll take them.

I'll submit them. Absolutely. Um, I'm the director of the apprenticeship program for the New England region for LANA, the Laborers International Union of North America. Um, we have currently I have 11 full-time high school programs that I operate throughout the region. I have three more coming online in Massachusetts this coming year. The reason I bring that up is because we are

not a desperate date as maybe it used to be to go and be a construction worker or the last path. We are an alternative, a viable alternative to the middle class.

What other career opportunity does this school offer where students come out of high school and they not only do they come into this program where we have a 140 acre campus that they come and they get trained, they get industry certificates, but they start making $29 an hour the first hour they work after graduating high school, building the infrastructure of our community, this school that we're standing in. When we

started this program, the way this very program started, I will tell you hands down unequivocally was started because of the tenacity, the courage, the compassion of Mr. Medeiros following up and actually becoming a haunt to me at times, not relentless that he was a woodworking teacher that needed to give more to his students. And I'm not saying it here now because of this frivolous, childless

accusations that are happening or that disgusting display that I watched last month when I donated my curriculum to you and you wanted to talk about hard hat stickers instead of my curriculum.

I'm saying this because I've been on record publicly talking about Mr.

Medeiros in other settings about his what he has done for the students of this school. If it wasn't for him, this program never would have been. I believe me, I signed theou mayor. You were part of this. So, while I understand you have a process that you have to follow with these allegations, we need to also have a process we owe to these students that are missing. You have them for a few

years. I have them for the next 30 to 35 years. and what they're missing this year, the amount of time that's being taken away from their education, it it should be criminal and it it's a sin.

This is very important what we're taking away from these kids in order to give them the opportunity to go earn. So, I ask you and I implore you to put your feelings aside, check your feelings and your ego at the door and let's think of these children because you're hurting the kids. Thank you.

Thank you, Joe.

Next up uh is John Gonzal's Rehob Mass.

How you doing? I'm here. I'm here on behalf of Mr. Medeiros. Just got a few things to say. My son Nathan Gonzo came up here. I'm very proud of him. He really believes in Mr. Medeiros. He loves the class. He comes home talking about the class. It's his future. You know, Mr. Medeiros is one of those teachers.

I've talked to him on occasion. I was in structural carpentry and vocational school. And my structural teacher, Mr.

Bremo, I'll never forget because he gave us lessons on school, construction, and lessons on life. And I believe Mr.

Medeiros is the same way. I feel that. My son loves him, talks to him. He gives him lessons on life. He's very important. I think it's very important we get the guy back here. My son's only got three four months left. He's graduating. He's been made a big difference in my son's education and a career moving forward. Thank you.

Thank you.

Uh then we have two letters. First one, uh Deb Dave Alivera, three minutes, please.

Good evening, members of the school committee. First off, I want to congratulate the new members. You guys are up for a big challenge in the school district. Voters ask for change and voters go are tired of asking we are demanding change. First, I hope this body elect Kevin as the vice chair since the last vice chair was a joke. Second, I would like to see a change of new leadership in the school district and

remove this superintendent. She has let this school district fail and the kids of this district school district deserve better. Third, I am asking the new members to stay away from bowing down to the mayor as much as we still have one that will. Fourth, I will like this committee to strengthen citizen input time for no more than 10 minutes because as much as the mayor hates to admit it,

he works for the people. We don't work for him. And this body needs to hear more from parents which their children go to these schools. So, I hope you guys takes it take this job serious and get this superintendent to do to finally do her job. Thank you, Dave Oliver.

Thank you. Uh, next is uh three minutes depth. Taylor Perry, please.

Good evening. My name is Taylor Perry.

First, I would like to congratulate the newly elected and reelected members of the school committee. Seeing this group come together gives me a sense of hope and promising progress. Over the past year, as I sat back and watched school committee meetings, I often felt distressed and disappointed. While some members may argue that the quorum was present, the reality is that parents and

community members could clearly see otherwise. Personal agendas, lack of respect, and hostility toward one another made it difficult to believe that decisions were always being made with children at the center.

That is why I truly I am truly grateful to see the faces seated here today. I have hope and faith that our school system is entering a period of positive change. I will continue to advocate for open-minded ideas, collaboration, and leadership that puts what matters most first, our children. Children come first, education comes first. Safety comes first. When parents and community members provide citizen input, it is

sometimes dismissed as complaining. But we are not complaining. We are addressing concerns because we care. We You are our elected officials and it is our responsibility as parents to speak up when we are not being heard. Tonight, however, I feel a renewed sense of trust. I feel that parents will be heard, respected, and valued. I believe this is a team that will grow together and make this district better than ever.

At the end of the day, my purpose here is simple. To congratulate you and express how grateful I am as a parent to witness what feels like the beginning of positive, meaningful change for this term.

Thank you.

Next up, um we have a subcommittee report uh by uh the former member chaired it. So it'll be read by Deb Cabraw. Uh it's the instructional subcommittee.

Instructional subcommittee was held on December 18th, 2025. The first agenda item uh was a discussion and vote to refer the new dery curriculum for the construction craft laborers program CCL.

Miss Sylvia, director of the Dery CTE program, presented information about using the laborers union called LLuna.

She stated that LLuna curriculum aligns with our framework, but had to be redesigned and make it relevant for high school students. For many months, Jury's team worked with an outside consultant to help create a high school level of a Luna curriculum. Mrs. Sylvia stated that Luna reps asked if Dery would be interested in hosting schools from all over the country to come in and see the

Dery CCL program using Lill Luna and in return Dery would get the curriculum for free. The Luna high school level curriculum will be implemented in the 2026 2027 school year if approved by the school committee. Members voted to refer to the full committee.

Agenda item two was an update on the international teacher partnership.

Assistant superintendent Reposo thought it would be helpful to have Mr. Sergio PZ from international teaching partnership give an in-depth update. Mr.

PZ said the country of Colombia would come to Massachusetts to help our students. He said it's very exciting initiative and is aligned with the Department of Education. Mr.

said he does all the interviews, screenings and all the matching for our district. All candidates have to interview with him via Zoom. They have an um they have to have an interview in English and if the interview is good, he sends it to the principles. Principles also screen the candidate and they have their regular hiring process interview the candidate and then asking any questions they want. Mr. PE said that

they have to be from an accredited university. They have to have a license and they have to have the experience.

His job also provides guidance in supporting and support for flying, transportation, financial and banking support, how to get a license, social security, and more. He also stated the district will not be responsible for this part of the process. Mr. Mr.

proposal said that there are some international teachers with us who are in their third year.

The third item was a discussion to vote to refer the Dery program of studies.

Dery principal Dr. Stevens opened with a discussion of the importance of evolving as a as it pertains to curriculum. She stated there's a real intentionality around making Dery meaningful for all kids and vetting the curriculum consistently is making sure Dery is evolving with the times and keeping up with the needs of our population. Dr. Stevens said offering 21st century skills is most important to

add to the curriculum as it will be applicable postgraduation. Some of the additions are as follows. The first is adding an AP business and personal finance course. Adding a math elective with the financial literacy focus.

Renaming senior history to senior civic life and financial literacy to focus on real world skills. Finally, adding a course designed for juniors and seniors who are not as connected as they should be. This course would be to get them in an environment where they can learn about themselves, their stories, figuring out kind of what their influences, who they are, who they become, and then connecting that to

the interest of things that they could spark their interest, hearts, minds, and relating that to making a future plan.

Members voted to refer to the full committee. The final discussion was on the updated physical education waiver.

Mr. Fitzgerald, the physical education health director, presented. He stated, "The current physical ed waiver was implemented by a previous director in August of 2020. We now have a new framework." He said, "It's time to update. We need to have more offerings that are relevant to physical education and offer new pathways and different options of how students get fulfilled in PE whether it's in the summer

participating in athletics after doc and more. If approved the by the committee the new waiver will read as follows.

Waiver form must be completed prior to the start of the season. Only one PE class may be waved and must be in sophomore, junior or senior year. Only director of PE health can approve. The athletic director and coach must provide their signatures for approval. Students must complete one term of PE before applying for a waiver. Three sport athletes may be eligible for a second waiver on a case-bycase basis. Mr.

Fitzgerald also said they have recently changed the way we do uh physical education at the high school where students can self- select every two weeks. It's really boosted their enga uh engagement. The committee voted to refer Thank you. Item number five is the superintendent report. Dr. Curley,

I lost my notes.

Well, um I have two updates. One of them is around our um strategic plan and the fact that back um you know at at the November meeting we were approved to go to RFQ um put out an RFQ and that went out in December. the um those bids will are are due by the 15th which is at the end of this week and um then will be opened and the bid um the RFQ itself

said those um we look to um contract um 30 days after opening. So we expect that by midFebruary um we will be looking at finalizing a contract with one of those biders. Um the other update that I have is around um hiring and uh we've had 12 new hires since the last meeting including six par profofessionals and two teachers. Uh we've also had one rehire, 18 resignations, two terminations, and six transfers.

Um and that's all for the update.

Thank you, Mr. Aguia.

Related to the strategic plan update, so uh I know we went out for an RFQ. I would think that um this is actually something that the school committee should be involved in a little bit more and um as it goes through the process.

Sure.

So I think uh I'd like to make a recommendation that we have two members of this committee serve on the review committee so they can take a peek at the um submissions and and represent the school committee as two members. And uh one of which I would like to recommend Miss Riley uh since she's had the most experience with strategic planning and as a superintendent and then whoever else uh anyone feels

and I would like to make that in the form of a motion.

Second.

Second.

Yeah. Okay. So let's uh let's vote on his motion. Um part of your motion is um Miss Riley.

Go ahead Deb. Give it a call please.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yes. Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Rouan, yes. Does anybody want to be on that committee?

I will.

Okay. So, we'll let Miss Stewart do it also. Uh, there's our two representatives.

Um, item number six, I have three sets of minutes. Does anybody have any questions on those?

I'll take them as a bundle. Mr. Das.

Yes. Um I was able to go through um all three sets of minutes. Um some two of these were in the um backup today. I did not see them in the backup over the weekend. So and I understand that the new members don't aren't situated with board docs yet. Did the new members receive all three sets of minutes in in their backup? I'm seeing yes. Okay. I yield. Motion to approve.

I have a motion to approve. Do I have a second? and then we'll answer the Mr.

Corey second. Um, Miss Stewart, but we weren't here for them, so I don't think we can approve something we weren't here for.

I'm I'm sorry, you're talking to the mic but we got them, but I don't think we can approve something we weren't here for.

Okay.

Um, did they all Can we have the attorney weigh in on that just to make sure everybody's on the same page? Mr. side.

The the question is, did all the new members get the um minutes in their booklet?

No. Can they vote on it? I think that's just so they I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

Because they weren't part of it.

Mr. Bones, did you get them?

I think so. Yes, sir.

You did get them.

But the question is, can they actually vote on them? So, people I think are wondering. So, even if somebody misses a meeting in the middle, we should know whether we have or I agree with Mr. Agiel. We'll do the O um veteran members will vote.

Mr. Chair, veterans have a question.

Mr. Chair, the only question I was asking is if attorney Assad can give us his opinion on whether they can actually vote the new ones.

Uh if they can vote, they would know and we would know for the future.

They weren't here for the minutes.

As as long as uh there is a quorum that could actually vote on it, that would be a that would be proper. If not, the rule of necessity kicks in and then they would be able to vote on it.

Thank you.

Okay.

So, we do have a quorum, Mr.

for us.

Dep please.

Mr. Dia, yes.

Mr. Dus, yes.

Mr. Corey, yes.

Mayor Coug, yes.

Item seven, travel requests. We have a number of them. Does anybody have any questions on the travel requests?

Mr. D.

Um, thank you. So, um, I'll just, some of these questions apply to all, so I'll just put a hold on all. So for the first one, I noticed um there is no cost um to the district, the the participants um paying for this. Um my question is it appears that this individual is going for um appears that they're an art educator and they're going for um to professional development, which is obviously something we should be

promoting. Um, did this individual apply for is there any grant funding or anything we can do to help this individual? I see is being paid for by them. um and I don't know if there's something in in any contract, but if we can look into possibly um help assisting them because obviously we want to promote professional development for all our educators and and all our employees of course.

Do we know so do we know if um why there there's they're paying for it out of pocket?

I do not. Is that Are you asking me?

Yes. Yes.

Okay. No, I do not. Um I do not. I know that we do have a um you know, for credit classes, we do have a reimbursement process, $1,000 um for each of the two semesters u or up to two times per year um for educators. And where this is not creditbearing um in consider in consideration of the flight, I I don't know. Um, I don't know what the funding source would be.

I guess my question, thank you for that.

I guess my followup would be what is the process because obviously we have um plenty of um travel requests that come down that are either paid for usually through some sort of grant or is paid for um through the operating budget. Um I didn't know like if there's if it Whose decision would that be? Would it be specific to a grant? So I think that generally speaking when we see the

travel requests here um that are related to professional development, it's generally professional development that we have a hand in setting up for people and say um and we're asking people to go and we say like will you go to this professional development and um if the answer is yes then we are looking at whatever funding source that we have whether it's from the operating budget or um through a

grant to pay for the travel and the lodging um and the food and for the professional development itself. I don't know the details offhand of this. Um assuming that this is potentially a teacher who came forward and requested to go um you know that it was they suggested attendance not that we asked them to attend. It's usually if um we have um any faculty member that requests to go on um a trip like this, it would

be there wouldn't we wouldn't work with them to find any funding. Like that's usually like pretty straightforward down the line. I I don't know how often something like this happens. So I wouldn't say that we have a protocol in place for it. Um, I would say that and I'll say generally speaking, um, we would encourage people to find something similar that doesn't require the travel in the overnight

lodging. Um, and then and we then and we do assist in paying for the professional development itself if not um, you know, if not all of the extras associated with going.

Okay. Thank you. And last question, and I see a few on here that um and I know this is pretty common, the use of personal vehicles either going to the airport. I understand that's common place. And the reason I'm questioning it right now is we received the Collins Center report which in part mentioned that I guess discouraged I would you say the use of personal vehicles for department use. I don't know that would

cover going um out of district to either the airport to go somewhere else.

However, I think it's just um something we should look at in the future just um while we're working on complying with that report.

What would So, what would the alternative be other than a person driving themselves to the airport?

I don't know. I I I I guess if you're asking me if that would be an assurance question. Um but I don't have the answer right now. I just think it's something that should be looked into to make sure there's no liability on the district. I don't think so, but since we received that report and it mentioned it in detail, I just figured it's something we should look at. Um, but I'm still going

to approve all all these travel requests. I'll make a motion to approve.

Mr. AA, just a follow-up question on the U travel to uh for the teacher. So, I'm not even sure looking at this why that's even here because it's not basically if a a teacher wants to go on to a professional develop some we don't know that they go. I'm thinking this is here because it one of these days or all of these days are school days.

I think it's because someone's traveling out of state on a school day.

Correct. So, with that being said, there should be a funding or a cost meaning substitute.

Substitute should be there as well. You know, it just says that it's almost like they're telling us about a private trip that they're taking, which might be totally voluntary and beneficial, but there's got to be a system in place so that we don't This makes it look like as if it's school sponsored travel.

Yeah.

And I think it's really her own travel with an allowance from the principal or whoever's in charge to say you can take those days off as professional development. I I just think we need to tighten it up a little. I'm not I'm not opposed to it. Uh but it makes it look like as if it's us when it's really not.

I yield. Thank you.

Anything further on travel? Do I have a motion to second on all three?

I made a motion.

M. Okay.

Second.

I have a motion and second. Deb, call the role on the travel items, please.

Mr. Dap.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Mr. Riley.

Yes.

Miss Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Cougan.

Yes. Um, we have five donations tonight.

I'm looking for a motion and a second to accept.

Motion approved.

Uh second.

I have a motion and second. Any discussion on any of them? Mr. Das, thank you. Um, I've asked this at the last few meetings now if we could reach out to the MASD and just or anyone and just get an opinion on whether the donations that we have if we're receiving all of them because there is law around the acceptance of donations and this was from the training that I received from the MASC because if there

are um donations that are over $50, it could be seen as a gift and there's conflict s of interest. So that's why those come before the school committee and that was explained to me through the MASC.

Um it's my opinion that we don't receive I'm happy that we receive the don donations that we do receive. I know in the past um about a meeting or two ago we've had a conversation that we should just change it to acknowled we're just acknowledging the donations ceremoniously which I don't believe the school committee should be doing by law.

It should be we should be accepting the donations and making sure every single school and every single department that accepts the donation is reporting those to the school committee. Um, one specific question on the last one for um, CUS Middle School. Let me just pull up the backup for it.

So, it appears um the donations and I have the backup here is um mainly gift cards um from many different locations throughout the city. Some of them are being used for family events. Some of them are being used for um student behavior attendance grades incentives.

Um, so my first question is if when we can find this out is if we're going to be working with the PTO at CUS, if they have an operational PTO, um, how's the distribution work and um, how's the asset management work when we um, taking in these gift cards from all these different um, um, these different um, places, these different um, stores.

How do we where are we keeping them? Not specific. I don't have specific issue with CUSP, but we've received complaints recently around um asset management with different PTO's. So, I think it's a valid question to ask. What does that look like? Where are we keeping a log?

Where would we keep these um gift cards or whatever gifts we receive when we receive them? Is that something I'd have to inquire. I don't know where if they're kept at cost. Okay.

Um, this is C. This isn't PTO, is it?

This is the school.

Yes.

It's not the PTO. It's it's um Melissa Roulette, the principal. When the PTO accepts donations, they don't come before this committee because they're not a a body of of the school district.

They don't work for us.

They could be fun, but they could be funded by the There could be public funding in their bank accounts at all ever. We no they keep a separate bank account. We don't oversee the funds for PTO.

Okay. We and we don't get we don't oversee we don't provide any funding for them.

No.

Okay. Um that's good. But again, if we're all if they're they're placing they're planning a lot of family events. So if there is some sort of involvement with the PTO and planning those events, I could see a PTO using those um gift cards to plan. I I I think that's uh something that could happen. Um so I think it's still worth I think it's still a valid question. My second concern

is um I guess it's more philosophical.

It appears that we're using gift cards, mainly food like McDonald's, uh Chili's, Chick-fil-A, as an incentive. And I personally am of the opinion that food shouldn't be used as an incentive.

um my opinion and secondly um it appears that they're we're accepting coffee and I did take a quick look at the um department um the state guidelines around um giving out coffee and I know it's not allowed um I don't know there's there's probably an explanation for this but figured something we could look at giving out coffee to whom children so I think that probably falls under the

family events so that if they're having a parent coffee, I know that I was at um CUS for a an award ceremony and there were snacks available and I believe coffee was one of the things available to to okay parents.

The reason I asked it because um there are some that are listed as family events. The one specifically for Starbucks and the coffee is listed as student behavior attendance and grades incentives.

Okay. I I mean Starbucks does sell things other than coffee. Obviously, a student could use that for anything and nobody's checking ID at Starbucks. So, if that's a concern, I Yeah, that might that's a valid concern. We wouldn't serve coffee to students. So, giving gift certificates for coffee doesn't make sense either.

It says it not um gift certificates.

It's four bags of coffee in the the bag.

That's why I asked.

Okay.

I yield.

Mr. Chairman, Mr.

Just to follow up on that, uh the the issue with the so cuss has donate has delineated here on a spreadsheet a whole bunch of donations which is fine.

That's I think how it should go. But I've said this for months on end that there's absolutely no way knowing the good work that all of our people are doing, our principles are doing, our teachers are doing that this are the only donations that are like this. It seems like we have the green schools always telling us they got donations and if you didn't know any better and you'd say all the donations have to come to

us. You think only the green and cuss are doing it now. I know better than that. We have people all over the district that are getting things which is good for kids. But we need to let the principles and administrators know if we're going to do it for one school and that's the policy. Everyone should be doing it and keeping track of it. So that's how we can know what it is and

it's not oh I got $100 in gift cards and what happened to them and then nobody knows what's happening. So I would just ask that we uh I think we look at it and the PTO piece that my colleague was asking totally separate issue for the PTO's uh we they do their own thing and um I think it they should all be a 501c3. Uh, and I think we should look into the district, which is also

something I've been talking about for at least 10 years, that we as a district should have our own 501c3 back to the days when Nick Fischer was actually the superintendent here, that we should look into it so that we don't have to do this uh juggling of trying to figure out who's going to accept a donation at Christmas time or wherever. So, we're finagling the the rules around a

nonprofit. So, I think that's something I put on the radar. Thank you. I yield.

Motion to app. Do I have a motion and a second on accepting the donations?

You do.

I do. Deb, call the role, please.

Mr. AA?

Yes.

Mr. Das?

Yes.

Mr. Cory?

Yep.

Mr. Monus?

Yes.

Mr. Riley?

Yes.

Miss Stewart?

Yes. Mayor Cougar?

Yep.

I can read them now.

Oh, I'm sorry. Uh, Dr. Curley will now read the donations.

On behalf of Chief Information Officer Scott Cabraw, acknowledgement of a donation of $20,000 from MedTatech. The donation will be used to enhance technology use by purchasing techreated products and equipment to utilize in the preK through grade one um classrooms.

On behalf of athletic director Brad Bustin, acknowledgement of a donation of $92323, a donation from the Dery Hill Topper Athletic Foundation. This donation will be used for purchasing a VASA training pro swim machine.

On behalf of Green Elementary School principal Liz Dunn, acknowledgement of a seven and a half foot lighted Christmas tree valued at $300, a donation from Home Depot Somerset. The donation was used um for Green's Winterfest event and the tree was raffled off um to one of the families from Green for the holidays. On behalf of CTE director Cynthia Sylvia, acknowledgement of a donation from the Laborers International

Union of North America. The donation will be used to support a construction craft laborer program with the laborers's new high school curriculum.

And on behalf of CUS Middle School principal Melissa Rouette, acknowledgement of various donations valued at $1,35 um from a list of vendors that was supplied to school committee. The donations will be used for family events, um student behavior incentives, attendance, and grades.

Thank you. Uh 91 is the approval of grants. We have uh four grants that need approval. Does anybody have a hold on any of those grants?

Bristol County.

Bristol County. Uh Mr. Aguio holds the second one. Bristol County. Any of the others, Miss Riley.

Deeper Learning Implementation Network Grant please.

Deeper Learning, the first one. So, the first two are held.

Any motion to approve the others?

Second.

I have a motion, second on the other two. Deb, call the role, please.

Mr. Dia, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, yep.

Miss Mr. Monus, yes. Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mary Kogan, yes. So, we'll take them in order and we'll go u Miss Riley first on deeper learning implementation grant. Uh Mr.

Reposa, hi.

Hello there.

So, I actually have uh principal um Witty and Simpson here because this grant is specifically um supporting Viver and Laterno. Um so, they could give a little bit of additional background. Um but I can share that this came through an opportunity at the department of education. Um and so far um in the in the beginning uh they came and did a site visit, a walk um and these two principles expressed interest

in being a part of this community um learning community. And so this grant opportunity came about as a result of folks who are involved in that learning opportunity. Not everyone necessarily in the D deeper learning network had the opportunity uh to apply or maybe was awarded the grant. Um but I know that these two schools were. So they could talk a little bit more about um specifically what they're doing at those

sites.

Hi, good evening. Good evening. Um is there any specific questions or would you like just the background of the So I I did read the grant. I think it's great. I'm excited that you received it.

just the most of the money is going to stipens, but there's nothing on here about hours after school. There's a hybrid portion. Is that a course will teachers get credit? So, there's just no detail around what the stipend is for.

So, I was just curious how we were using that to improve professional learning.

All right.

Yeah. So, sorry.

Yeah. I think, you know, part of it is we know that um we want to create a model in which we can get teachers to attend. So I think part of it um is to get some feedback from educators at Laterno and Viveres creating a model in which um there would be um some uh online participation. So, you know, a a proposed model would be maybe, you know, some of the time could be after school

in person and then maybe another space that could possibly be on a weekend or another time in which people would log in. Um, there would be a book study that would be connected to it and then we would be applying the learning through upcoming units. So, I think part of the intention of leaving it a little bit open was we just want to create a learning opportunity that we can get

teachers to to buy in. And I think we want to have a process of getting some feedback of what that specifically would look like to just get the most amount of um educators that would participate.

So, right now it's on a volunteer basis.

Yes. Yeah.

In the hopes that it grows and Okay.

Thank you. That's all.

Any further questions on deeper learning? Can I get a motion? A second.

So move.

Second.

Uh Deb, call the role, please. On deeper learning.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yep.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Mr. Riley.

Yes.

M. Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Coogan.

Yes. Uh, Bristol County Savings. Mr.

Aguia.

Uh, don't really have a question. Just have a sort of comment. So, um, I'm reading through the chart of what it is going to be used for. incentive program for students, uh, attendance and the like. Uh, bikes, helmets, uh, school swag, spirit gear, attendance, uh, t-shirts, gift cards for personal incentives, enrichment, ice cream, pizza parties, edia technologies, miscellaneous. I'm all for that. I think

that's fine. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. The problem I have is that this district continues to be inconsistent because I was just at a meeting last month where a te a a teacher wanted to purchase something for a student and it was called bribery and it created this whole big mess of a situation and at the time I said to myself I think this is happening all

over the district and then lo and behold without even knowing this is coming now we get before us incentives here but these aren't bribes but the one that that particular teacher did was a bribe I have a problem with the inconsistency I wish people would pay attention and be consistent in administration because right now they're not being consistent with that. I'm going to approve this

because I agree with this philosophy, but I'm also of the same. If somebody does this, they're not bribing a student.

I yield.

Can I get a motion in a second?

Oh, I'm sorry. Uh we'll do the motion in a second and then Mr. D.

Motion to approve. Second.

Okay. Mr. Nice.

No, I just very quickly I second my colleagues um remarks and just to give my guidance or my opinion on where we should go. I know not to go into detail, but there were policies on the book that were used for the bribery claim that didn't even make any sense. So, it just really we need to emphasize this year that our policies that up and down the board need to be revamped fully and I'm

hopeful and confident that's going to happen very soon. I yield.

Thank you. Uh, any further? Dep please on Bristol County.

Mr. Agiel?

Yes.

Mr. Das?

Yes.

Mr. Corey?

Yes.

Mr. Monus?

Yes.

Miss Riley?

Yes.

Miss Stewart?

Yes.

Mayor Coogan?

Yes. Item number 10 is the approval of contracts. We usually take these in bundles.

Like to hold all contracts.

You like to hold all contracts?

Yes.

Okay. So, we'll start on the first one.

Mr. Das, Special Education Transportation 3DR.

Thank you.

Um, Mr. Pico, can you walk the committee through? Actually, my first question would be it appears for special education we we went did we go out to bid for that for the No, we did not. These are daily rates.

If you look at the two numbers, the reason why they're identical. It's daily rate that we pay for transportation. So, we have three or four companies who do request from time to time to work for the district. the company bus companies that we've gone out to bid with do not have the assets available um to use under their contracts. So, we call other companies um to get these oneoff transportation pieces filled.

Maybe I'm just having a tough time because I know you said um we and my understanding is we don't go out to bid for any special education. It's exempt.

However, we have um an award letter.

There wasn't a bid. So, the award is basically they were the only company we were requested to do award letters on some of these oneoffs, whether it be transportation or other things that are over.

They they were the only company that placed the that Yes.

And for special education I have in what that's SB transportation the SB transportation was the only company that placed there were other companies who were higher right yes there were other companies who were higher but not but SP was the low bidder but I'm trying to to let you know that the dollar amounts it's not coincidence that they're the same. It's a daily rate that the district pays,

right? We picked the lowest person, right? But these two companies and two different companies and their rates are identical is the daily rate that we are willing to pay for this transportation.

Yes. And we and we put out that quote in on August and it closed the bid closed in August.

Yes.

And we started transportation. When when did that contract start?

uh early in the early in the school year. Some of these one-offs are based on not necessarily um right out of the gate something comes up and a student needs transportation, district providers can't provide it. So, we always have some other vehicles that end up needed to fulfill the obligations.

So, I guess what I'm a little confused. Why is the contract before the school committee today if it we started this in August?

Um it was it was u missed. I missed it in the processing.

It should have the award letter should have went out earlier when the when the when the work started. Yes. If that's what you're asking for for both for both contracts.

Yes. Yes.

a superintendent, what are we doing from an accountability standpoint to make sure because I I think there's a little bit of a habit now of contracts coming before the school committee that have already started. The work's already started and we're approving the process after. Obviously, we have policies and procedures in place that call for policies, I mean that call for contracts to come before the school committee

before the work has been done. However, my opinion, it's been an issue. So, I don't know if you could speak to how we're addressing that issue.

I will not speak to that, how I'm holding people accountable. I will not.

How are we how are we holding the process in place? How are we making sure this doesn't happen again? Because it seems to happen a lot.

Okay.

Do you have an answer to the question of how we're going to make sure it doesn't happen again?

Yes.

Yeah. We've reviewed I've reviewed the concern with Mr. Pico and here that Yeah, that's it. It won't happen again.

I'm sorry.

So, we're just not going to do anything about it.

What would you like me to do about it?

Well, I'd like you to make sure you This isn't the first time this has happened, superintendent.

But you understand that this came up in the this came up in the fall with another contract. True. But this had already happened. So it's not as if we corrected a problem and then I said we corrected the problem and then it happened again. This is something that happened prior to that discussion.

Nothing new has transpired since we had that discussion in the fall. So there isn't another step to take except to say I'm glad that you caught this following that following what happened in the fall. That's where we are.

I I and I'll bring this up during um during finance. I think we need to either have the conversation of whenever there's a contract if we even have to review our contracts to make sure there's no more oneoff such as this or we should maybe the school committee needs to be notified if um there's a contract that's ongoing that hasn't been approved by the school committee.

However, it's really important and it's my job as one member of the committee to make sure the policies are being followed and it just seems to be an ongoing trend and I'm just aware of it. I yield.

Mr. Angia, just a question quick one. Uh these two contracts, Mr. Chico, are they new or these were just from the beginning? Is this just cleaning up the paperwork or did we This is cleaning up the paperwork. This is cleaning up the paperwork. Yes. Yes.

So, we don't have any new roots cuz that would uh No, that would be they were 100,000.

They may not have started. They may they didn't start. It's two different companies. They didn't start right from the gate.

It's not $100,000 in new expenses.

No.

Is uh you know, to my colleague, to my left's uh statements, I think we'd all agree that we need to have systems in place to make sure that this doesn't happen again.

Sign offs and the like. I think that's what we need to start getting back to, just the systems. So, I think there's no harm, no foul here. the way that the um contracts are the same. It's based on the same rate, but moving forward, I think we just across the board have to have better systems. And I don't think anybody would disagree with that, I yield.

Okay. So, I'm assuming the first two are 3D and SB we just talked about. Does anybody have any further questions on either of those two contracts?

Motion to approve.

Second.

Okay. A motion to approve and a second on the first two. Further discussion?

Deb, call the role, please.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Cory, yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Coug, yes. The next hold, uh, Mr. Das was global education solutions.

I want to hold that one, too.

That was you. I'm sorry, Mr. Aaron.

Global education.

I think both of us, but we I held it. M I just have a question quick. Sure.

So, my only question is uh obviously this is to try to recruit people from overseas to come. What happens if we don't get eight? Is this just a we're paying them 40 grand and if we don't get eight where it just they Yeah. So we actually reduced it slightly. Last year it was for 10. Uh so we have 17 right now. Um what we've done is um they'll continue looking if we

have a need. They'll sort of owe us a teacher. But I reduced it to eight because I I think that that's like a healthy amount right now. The 10 was to difficult to try to fill all those with really qualified folks. So, um, if if anything happened, we could either amend or they would owe us a teacher, but we haven't faced that scenario right now.

Well, like the future bottom line is we're not paying and then they give us no teachers and they still 40 grand.

Absolutely not. No, they've been an exceptional partner to work with and did a comprehensive, you know, presentation at subcommittee. Right now, we have 17.

Many of the folks are staying beyond their initial uh three years. Um, and we actually just placed our first person in math. Um, and so initially we were getting folks in like ESL and uh dual language. Uh, but these are really, you know, the the main difference here is these are qualified teachers, right?

That's why I'm really excited about the partnership. These are folks that actually have teaching experience.

They're educators in their in their native country and so they're coming here with experience. Um, and so we just placed, as I said, a middle school math teacher, which is great. So we're actually going to broaden the search now to math and science and some of those other high needs areas for next school year. But when you say 17 wasn't in one year, that was No, that was over the course of several one year.

Exactly.

We're just not going to Yes. Over the course of of years.

Thank you. I Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Cory, then Mr.

So, um, superintendent proposal. So, what's the term of service about how long?

I believe it's three years initially.

they come under a cultural exchange uh program and then it's three years with the option to extend and then so some folks um are already at the place where they've been looking to extend beyond the three years but the initial term of service I believe is three years.

I was going to ask you what's the feedback sound like to you?

It's been great so far. Uh we've had you know they actually um part of what Dr.

PZ provides is he does a monthly in-person PLC like a support meeting because these folks obviously are facing different challenges. They're relocating their families, you know, from another country. And so, um, he actually offers these monthly sessions where he'll go over, you know, some of our procedures and protocols in Fall River that might be different, even like evaluation, you

know, just things that might be, you know, really different for folks. And so, that ongoing support's been great. I had the opportunity to attend last month and um just meet some of the teachers and have conversations and I visited many of their classrooms and so um you know the feedback's obviously been been positive. Uh it's a huge shift, right?

Folks are literally coming here to hopefully learn something. And the goal is oftentimes these folks are so interested in education that they want to take things back, you know, after their three years of service or four years of service and return to the field, you know, in Colombia again, right? Um we're going to start to explore, as I mentioned in subcommittee, um Dr. Paz has connections with um

Brazil and so we have a you know, a large Portuguese speaking population, Brazilian population. So that's something we're looking at. what might what might it look like to build a partnership there with some teachers from Brazil as well. So, we're going to look at some different options, you know, as we move forward.

Are they in different schools or are they focused on they're they're clustered? So, they are in different schools, but we do try to keep a community together. We just find particularly with Isa one of the focal schools.

Uh Vis has some teachers. Um Green has some teachers, Fansa has some teachers, Morton, Dery. So we probably have about five or six schools and we keep folks kind of clustered together that way they have, you know, each other a support because it's obviously a huge shift.

Are they open to visits?

Absolutely. Yeah.

Just to see.

We're always open to visits just to see what it looks like, you know, and to feel it. Just to feel what it's all about. It sounds very exciting.

Thank you. A m Mr. Das.

Thank you. Um I I thought it was a great um presentation at the subcommittee level both by yourself and um the representative from the company and I'm going to support it today. The reason I placed the hold was to um give my feedback to the administration as I believe this is something along with future purchases that we um may or may not have coming up. This should be something that should be really looked

into expanding in any strategic plan that we have in bringing in um new staff and as we potentially um expand classroom space. Um just wanted to put on the administration's radar something to look at. But that's all I have. So I'll make a motion to approve.

I have a motion to have a second.

Second. I have a motion to second. Any further discussion on global de call the role please.

Mr.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey. Yes, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Miss Riley.

Yes, Miss Stewart.

Yes, Mayor Culler.

Yes. And finally, Compass tuition for students with special needs. Mr. Das, thank you. Um, typically they're pretty self-explanatory. However, I think it's fiduciary responsibility of this committee to have all the backup to have the actual contract when we're approving a contract. When when we approve this the contract itself. Four members are going to sign off on said contract

afterwards. We should be able to review that language in the contract before we vote on a contract. And that should that's tra that should be for anything anything we vote on. Um so I hope we hopefully we can get into the habit of doing that of having that placed in the backup. Um obviously it's something that we need to um approve. Of course, there's um state law. Um but I just hope

we can get the backup moving forward.

Thank you. I'll make a motion to approve.

Second.

Motion to second. Any further discussion on Compass?

Hearing none. Uh Deb, would you please call the RO?

Mr. Higgal?

Yes.

Mr. Das?

Yes.

Mr.

Yes.

Mr. Monus?

Yes.

Miss Riley?

Yes.

Miss Stewart?

Yes.

Mayor Cougan?

Yes.

Uh we'll start the committee of the hall. 111 is a vote to approve the election of a vice chairperson of the school committee. Um the person with the majority of votes will be declared vice chairperson. If the person receives no person receives majority of votes, the election will be declared null and void and a new election will be held. Do we have motion to elect a vice chair via vosy vote?

That's what it is.

That's what it is.

Correct. nominate um to um nominate a vice chair via votes to vote.

Have to be call.

Do I have a second?

That's what the rules are.

There's no motion needed. It's just that's what the rules are.

Okay.

So, we just call the role, don't we?

Right.

Call the role. De Mr. Auar, Kevin Auier, Mr. Das, Kevin Auar, Mr. Corey, Kevin Auar, Mr. Monis Kevin Auier Miss Riley Kevin Aguier Miss Stewart Kevin Aguar Mayor Kougan I'll abstain on that one congratulations Kevin thank you very much I just have a few things to say sure absolutely uh thank you uh for your vote of confidence in me from my colleagues I do appreciate it I've served for many years

on this board and I look forward to having the opportunity to serve as the vice chair over the next two years we need to uh take this committee in a different and a fresh start in a new direction for the fall of our school committee. We need to demonstrate appropriate systems, accountability, decorum and oversight. To my colleagues, I say that it is okay to ask questions.

Questions are actually encouraged as part of a good government process.

The over the last two years, we've had some situations where we've created some rules and regulations on this committee that I don't think make sense. And one of which is going to be my first act as a vice chair is to make a motion that we eliminate the 10:30 curfew on the meetings because there is no time limit on the people's business.

Second.

I have a motion and do do you have anything further on your statement, Mr.

Magguire? Is that the end of your state?

That's the end of my statement.

That's the end of your statement. We have a motion and a second on ending the meetings at 10:30. eliminating eliminating the meeting ending at 10:30.

Any discussion, Miss Riley?

I just say that I also I'm not against changing the time that we do it. I I just would say that I don't know that we're always in the best frame of mind if we start at 5:30 and we get to 10:30, 11:30, 12:30 that we're in the right frame of mind to listen.

Perhaps more than adding another meeting so that we have two meetings that are maybe shorter versus one really long meeting. Just throw that out there as someone who knows after spending a day all of the folks here have worked all day and then staying here into the night. Sometimes we don't won't get the best conversation. So, if we want good discussion and good conversation, perhaps the thought is

I think twice that much.

I support M. Riley on that one. If you work an 8 hour day and you're here for a 5 hour meeting, that's 13 hours. Um, if we couldn't get through everything and we had to schedule another meeting, I'm not against that. But I think a 10:30 cut off is is a 5h hour meeting and we should be able to handle the people's work in five hours. And if we can't,

we'll move it along again. But we do try to cover everything. I'm just I just know that a 13-hour workday for most of us up here that work an eight hour day is a long day. Mr. Das, thank you. And I understand I and I'm supportive of my colleague M. Riley's um sentiments and comments. Um the reason I seconded the motion is because it should be up to the committee to decide what

time the meeting ends. this 10:30 deadline um was rushed and we've I don't believe we'll have this issue with this committee, but we've ran into the issue before of just rushing things through and ending meetings um on an issue that could be a climax or something that an issue that was very important. Um obviously the decision to end the meeting is up to the entire committee and the committee should decide at any

time it wants when to start and end the meeting. It shouldn't be up to one individual. So um of course we should have efficient meetings. We should um move with the decorum and I'm sure we'll move in the right direction. However, that's why I support seconded the motion. Thank you. I yield Mr. Cy. And so I'm I'm just going to, you know, digress from uh my colleagueu's opinion. Uh I do want to

congratulate Mr. Aguar on the vice chairmanship. Uh I think it's welld deserved. However, I I just thought that the temperament of our meetings over the past two years just uh felt like a run-on sentence in so many of our deliberations when if we could tame ourselves and and and put ourselves into a more efficient uh frame of mind so that we can just work through the agenda as it needs to be worked through

legitimately, then I think we can get our work done in a more timely fashion.

So that's that's what I have to say and I'll yield.

What was next, Mr. Reg? Yeah.

So I do understand um the sentiment. I can just speak from experience over the past several years. So one of the things when I say I would like to work and help to take this committee in a different direction is that we need to have better systems in place and we need to look at our agendas in a different way. We need to look at our backup information in a different way. And we need to increase

the level of communication between the administration and the schools and the school committee. That includes the chair and the vice chair. If those things are done properly, we're not going to be here for four hours having the meeting. But if we've asked questions of the administration, any member, it's their right and their duty to ask questions of the administration.

If the administration refuses to give answers to the questions and would rather come to a meeting on Monday and roll the dice and see what happens, that's where we got into this problem.

So, I'm fully aware that when we get to the uh setting the agendas and doing it properly, doing the proper backup and having communication, we won't end at 10:30. What we do currently have is at 10:30, everybody's wondering. So, we'll go in the back and we'll have six items in executive session or 16 items in executive session and we have nine minutes left on the clock. So all the

workers, the teachers, the unions and everybody needs us to negotiate and we look at our clock and say we got nine minutes to do 17 items. That is not it's not a good situation. That's not a good system. So I encourage us to get rid of this time. If the meetings are going on too long as a committee, we can choose to pause the meeting. We can choose to make another meeting. But ultimately,

uh, I don't think that we need to have an arbitrary 10:30 deadline so that everyone's sitting there saying, "Oh, we only got three minutes, so I can't ask that pertinent question or just let it go because we got a 10:30 curfew."

That's not what the people want and that's not what I want as vice chair. I yield, Mr. Cory.

No, I think you make sense on that. Um, Mr. Agiar. Uh certainly if there are very important items that need need our discussion in our weighin, certainly uh perhaps we could work to amend those meetings as they stand and to get that important business conducted. However, I I just think that as a model, we should think about really being efficient and and maybe um setting 10:30 as an

arbitrary end time. And if we need to go over like sometimes we do in citizens input, we could call for it on that specific date. I don't know if that makes any sense to you, sir.

Okay.

My opinion would be to get rid of it and do the opposite. When we need to end it, we can end it if it's going on and on.

But trust me, I would say I said it last night at an event, we need to expect more. I think everyone out there in the public and here should expect more out of us. They expect more out of me, expect more out of the committee. We need to run these meetings efficiently, get to the PE people's business, including executive session. And when it's over, it's over. If we need to have

multiple meetings, so so be it. We got elected to do the job. And it shouldn't matter on the time is my point. So I say, let's go with it. And if we have to go backwards and say, "Okay, we're going to cancel the rest of the meeting to go into executive session, so be it." But I got to stress the agenda setting is an important piece. One of the important

pieces of vice chair is to work with the mayor and the superintendent on the agenda setting. And I intend to take that very seriously so that we're no longer going to have agenda items that either we don't have all the backup, we haven't been given all of the information, so when it comes out, we can actually do something very smooth. I ask you to trust us. Thank you. Well, since since you're going to do that,

Kevin, then we shouldn't then we won't even need a deadline of uh 10:30. We'll be out of here at 9:30 and God will like us. But I say expect more out of all of us, right? But I I believe if you were being 100% honest at 10:30, 11:00 after most of us start work at 8:00 on those days.

It is one long grind and doing the people's work is important, but doing the people's work correctly is also important. And I think sometimes if that was the case and now that you're going to be at the agenda setting and you see an agenda that's bombed out, let's schedule the next week a meeting. I mean, we've done that before. We I agree wholeheartly, Mayor. Like we had one we had one meeting last uh I think

it was in December or in um whatever.

Boom, boom, boom.

We had 17 items on the executive session item. 17. So if we just look at the agenda setting, you know, we had 13 items on the regular and 17 on the thing. Who are we kidding? So, at that point, instead of doing it, we would say no executive session on this meeting, but we're going to schedule an executive session only item two weeks from now.

So, I want to work with you. I want to work with the committee, and I think we can do it efficiently.

I'm I'm just going to stay with the 10:30 for now because I'm the oldest one up here, and I uh I want to try to stay alert. So, give it a give it a roll call vote, Deb. Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Stewart.

I don't mind the 10:30. I I prefer the 10:30, but if we're going to switch to 10:30. I just think that if we get to say 11 o'clock and we know we have like two hours worth of a meeting at that point say how about we come back in a week, two weeks to finish this off, we can't just say we're done and then redo it in a month from now. I just don't

think that that's fair for the rest of the stuff that's on the agenda.

Okay. Deb call the role please on changing to no 10:30 end time.

Mr. AP, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Cy, no.

Mr. Monus, yes. Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes. Mayor Kan, no. Next item up on the agenda.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das, I'd like to make a motion that we move subcommittee reports up to now on the agenda. I mean, I'm sorry. Yeah, subcommittee assignments.

Assignments.

Second.

Well, how far down is it?

It's information.

One of the last items.

Information. It's right before um second to last item section after the Did we hand them out everybody?

I'm going to hand it out.

Okay.

Yeah, this is just strictlyformational.

Uh, I I put people where I thought they could uh most help the city. Um I did combine grievances and um recognition because uh because Kevin has done recognition and he was on grievances. So I and that's not a very as busy of a committee as some of the others. So we put those two as the exact same and the rest we move some people around and we put people where they think they where I

thought they could be a strength to the far school committee.

Can we read for the record?

I'm sorry, Kevin.

Some Can we have somebody read them in for the record for the public?

He wants you just to read them in.

Subcommittee assignments evaluation subcommittee. Anna C. Riley's the chair.

Tom Corey, Kevin Aguia.

Facilities and operations. Kevin Aguya, chair. Colin Das, Emanuel Monus. Finance committee of a whole grievance subcommittee. Kevin Aguia, chair, Eman, Emmanuel Monus, Anna C. Riley, parent and community outreach. Tom Corey, chair, Emanuel Monus, Chanel Joyce Stewart, Instructional, Anna C. Riley, Chair, Tom Corey, Chanel Joy Stewart, Special Education, Alternative Education, and Early Childhood. Chanel

Joyce Stewart, Chair, Colin Das, Tom Corey. policy Colin Das chair Anna C.

Riley Chanel Joy Stewart Technology Emanuel Monus Chair Kevin Aguya Colin Das recognition Kevin Aguia chair Emanuel Monus Anna C Riley thank you 112 is an update on the revised CTE policy for years 2627 is presented by Dr. Tracy Curley, superintendent of schools.

Mr.

Can I just ask a clarifying? I think we went over this last time and this was tabled at the end, but just does this just reflect the changing the words that we talked about last time or is there new stuff new changes?

Uh, no. So, it is so I just wanted to give um an update coming out of that last because I know there was a lot of discussion.

Yeah, I just was seeing if that's just so um I think in the backup there are two um there are two versions of the policy. um one of them is the um originally recommended policy and then there's the policy that was approved. So because we had to submit a policy by the end of December, I did submit the policy that was approved. That was a policy um that had a lottery system that included

um two lotteryies. One um it was to represent um the student population at Dery. so that the percentage of seats in the um CTE lottery that were designated for students with disabilities would match that of the demographics of Dery High School. So I did submit that policy. There was an attestation that I had to sign off on saying that to my knowledge it was lawful. I didn't sign the attestation because that was still

in question. Um since then I did receive um some information. I you know I met with folks from the state because I hadn't signed and they said why haven't you signed um and they recommended that we get some um legal advice on it. I did receive that um from the office of um Makavoy Joy Joyce and Kowalsski um and and basically it says um it's our legal opinion that the policy's use of a

separate lottery pool for students with disabilities would be non-compliance with both state and federal law. And it goes on um but that's the gist of it.

And so we would be making just the recommendation that um the committee revisit the um originally recommended policy that um included an unweighted lottery system.

An updated lottery system.

An unweighted lottery system.

An unweighted Mr. Chair, Mr. Das, um I guess my my original question is more of like a procedural one. If we were looking for an update to the policy, well, I guess it says update, but usually when we have update on the agenda, it's just to give us some sort of notification, but it's on here.

Well, it is it's I I just wanted to offer an update that I had gotten the legal opinion, but you're seeking um to change the policy back to the your original that was recommended by the CTE director.

So that that would be my recommendation if the if the committee is going to take action. Yeah. Based on the legal based on the legal advice that is that we presented um that I that we submitted a policy that was unlawful.

So I'm going to move that we approve the one that meets the legal recommendation which is the second one.

Yes.

Second.

Thank you.

All right. So we have a motion and a second on adopting the legal policy.

Anything further, Mr. Corey, I'm not going to vote to obstruct uh the motion of this policy uh the motion of this um agenda item, but I just have trouble with the term lottery in in in regards to any of the programs we have.

Um when I look at CTE, which I'm really proud of, I'm really proud of the growth and development of the career and technical education going on at Dery.

Um, I know that there are kids in the middle school level that if you portfolio them, they're going to show certain strengths and skills that want to point them in the direction of a CTE program. And some of these very children, some of these very students would be um not available um because of an unweighted lottery. I just have an issue with the lottery. It's not with our school department. It's mostly with

Desi. I have the issue with the state mandate. I just don't understand it. Um it's diversity, equity, inclusion, but it's stepping on some toes for some kids with real skills, and that's my concern.

With that, I yield. Mr.

Chair, Mr. Das, thank you. I I I fully agree with um my colleague to my left and um I second a motion because obviously we need to follow state law and state and federal law. With that being said, I'd be interested to see that legal opinion from U. Michael Joyce if it was Michael Joyce and the dollar amount attached to it just so we get an understanding of it and if there's something we could

possibly look at into the future or for the f for this committee has the ability under policy to advocate for changes to state law to advocate for that. So whoever um is in that position we could use that to potentially advocate um for changes that my colleagues are referring to. I yield.

All right. So, I have a motion, a second on following the legal policy. Deb, would you call the role, please?

Mr. Dia, yes.

Mr. Dus, yes.

Mr. Corey, yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Kan, yes.

113 is a discussion and vote to approve the Dery High School program of studies for 2627 as referred by the instructional subcommittee and presented by Dr. Jessica Stevens, Dery, principal.

Any discussion on the program of studies for therapy?

So move a second with a question.

I have a second with a question. Mr.

Dus, just for the public's edification, can we just get a um brief um presentation?

Good evening everyone.

So thank you for the opportunity to share our proposed uh 2627 program of studies. Naturally in kind of organizing exploring I just had said at the uh subcommittee meeting kudos to all of the content academic instruction leads at Dery because a lot of thought and heart goes into really vetting the program of studies to make it one that is relevant and meaningful for all of our kids. So,

uh, with that in mind, just the idea of working hard to make school meaningful for all kids and really recognizing that the diversity that we have at Dery is such a gift that our stories, I mean, our students stories and trajectories are super important in us honoring that and how we review uh, the ways that we go about teaching them is really critical. Um, there was a lot of thought

and heart put into kind of vetting our current program of studies and we came up with three organizing principles. If you have an executive summary and you have a the full program of studies, you'll see that the three organizing principles noted on the executive summary are number one, strengthening real world readiness, financial literacy, civic learning, and skills for a changing world. Uh the second is more

choices, more mastery, expanding transformative learning experiences and adding more multi-redit course options.

And then the third is building clear, coherent science course sequences for all students. So with that said and between the executive summary and the full program of studies, I would certainly open up to any questions that anybody has.

Mr.

Mr.

Thank you. Uh couple of questions not necessarily related. The summary is intense. Uh there's a lot of stuff there so I don't want to get into all the different details. That's what you are the principal for. The question I had and I've asked this question to the superintendent in the past was around study halls and time that students are taking off. U I've received some complaints from people at Dunkin Donuts

or wherever that say why are these students not in school and they need to be in school. Students say oh I got to study this period. I've heard from some parents that say my kid's calling because there's nothing to do, you know, whatever. So I tried to clarify with some of that with the superintendent.

She indicated that it was something about um attaching to a class. I said, "Is that part of the is that in the program of studies?" The answer was no.

I said, "Is that problematic?" And that's where we're at now for a few months. So, first time I had a chance to talk to you about it, like what is the rationale for it? Um, I thought we got rid of study halls. Uh, so there must be more to the story. And um along with that, I'm curious as to how many hours uh of the 990 do you meet based on um

instruction? You might not have that answer now, but if you can get it to us.

I think among the squad, we do have the answer. But I um just relative to the study hall question, the number of students who are in um any course that is referred to as a study hall is extremely extremely low. Um so I did inquire try to get specifics about who was calling saying that. Um sometimes it's hard to tell the projected version of what's going on and the actual

version of what's going on. And I would never say that any student is being blatantly dishonest, but sometimes it doesn't match. You know what I mean? And there is such a low number of students that would have study hall on um their schedule that I was curious about specifics of who is who's saying that essentially. Um I know that Drew post.

So just by by what you just said, um apparently there's an ability to figure out who how many students have study hall.

Yeah.

So one of the things if I would ask that question would be we have 18 students out of 2,400 that have a study hall and there are four whatever some answer that I got was about it's attached to another class or something. Um, and I'm not trying to spot you on it. It's just a the fact of the matter is is that if it is a study hall attached to a class or

something, it should show up in here somewhere.

Sure. and it might already and I I honestly haven't gone through it to look for exactly which one. But ultimately my concern was just that there I find that there's too many situations where people are saying that they don't have a an assigned class at Dery and there even if it's a small number it should only be for a real reason not just because we can't fit it in the schedule or some other reason.

And I don't know that I don't have enough backup to say yes, it's only 20 students and they're all attached to an AP class or whatever it is. I I don't know. So sure, I don't disagree and the change I believe is noted in the current one, right?

So it is a very low number, but your point is very well taken and it is noted in the current in the projected program of studies for 2627 study. So, so if it's attached, so um why I asked the question about the 990 is those kids would have to still get if they're in a study hall, it's not counted. So, if you're at 990 even now and they get in a

study hall once a day for 180 days, they they're not meeting the 990. So, that would be the reason why I asked that other question was just to follow up on that. But, um if you can just get us some kind of information uh related to it. Um I don't think that the question uh the fizzed issue is I think a separate one or is that part of this uh separate separate issue because I have some

questions on that but with that I yield thank you Mr.

Mr. Cory then Mr. Das so uh Dr. Stevens. I used to live within the tenets of this uh program of studies myself as a an old social studies teacher at Dery High School. And um I'm looking at the social studies curriculum right now. I'm happy to see some new add-on courses and I know that the program of studies at large represents the growth and development of our American society in that it's it's it's

an evolving document each and every time that you guys have to review this and rewrite it and rethink it. You know, you're adding new courses. Um, I'm putting a personal plug in for a very, very strong civics education because I felt as an educator that when MCCAST and the uh, No Child Left Behind was was instituted in the '9s, then I saw social studies become a victim to uh, the

standards for the MCCAST test. uh where we doubled up in math and we doubled up in science and we doubled up in ELA, but we knocked we knocked out the business department at Dery High School, which I thought was an extremely viable department and it taught real life mathematics to kids. I just hope that at some point the Department of Education might help us to revisit these ideas and

and go back and reinstitute business level courses and business level math as well as really hammering uh the Bill of Rights and uh the Constitution in in early social studies classes just so that we can get our young students tuned in to what it's like to live in our country and to have a deep respect for the rights in our country and to be able to form their own budget while they're

living in our country. And with that, I yield, but I certainly want to congratulate you and your extensive team at providing us with an an awesome document. Thank you. I yield, Mr. Das.

Thank you. Um, just to piggyback on my colleague's question, I I know the PE is um separate issue coming up on the agenda. Is um the is that listed anywhere within I didn't see it but I could have missed it. Is that listed anywhere within the program of studies like the curriculum on on gym like how many classes I don't know if you can it's definitely in there.

So uh the weight so the PE graduation requirements are on page 13 along with all the other um departments in terms of the minimum course graduation requirements.

Okay, thank you. Um two just two questions um mainly SEO related. Is um there any issues right now at the at any grade level with um monitoring the halls that recently came up with students like leaving class early?

Um I think that like the what I've heard the message had to go out that students if they leave the halls they're going to be told the week they can't leave like use the the pass system.

I don't know what you're referring to, honestly. I'm sorry.

Okay. Um I'll I'll follow back up on that. Um and last question was on um do we currently have vape detectors in the in the bathrooms?

Vape detectors?

Yes.

No, we don't have that. Um I think that's something we should studies I think the the help dery is something we should definitely look into.

Bring that up in sub the program studies. It was an SDL related question, social emotional. I I figured it was you just allowed other questions. Okay.

Um but other than that, I know we had an um um a good discussion at the subcommittee level. So um yeah, keep it up. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr.

The um directed academic center. Is that the what you guys are referring to?

Y so in under the current uh the current because I guess this is next year. So like in the current year there's no directed academic center.

What are they listed as the current students that are on free periods or whatever in the current program of studies? It's added because of that feedback. So that's okay. So I'm just so just to clarify what I'm looking for when you get so this is for next year. What I'm just looking for on current is what does it look like? So it might not be called like you wouldn't go into 904 and just

pull it up. You must have some other way to figure out who's getting these um Oh, what is it called in Aspen? Like in the computer system, right? Because I'm just trying to figure out how did we get to the point where in the current year students are on let's call it directed academic center, study hall, whatever you want to call it. How did we get that? that's that was allowed in the current year when it's

not in the program of studies and we knew nothing about it. That's I guess the point I'm trying to make.

Yeah, I'm validating your point and I'm just noting that that's why it's in the projected program of studies for 2016. So you you're aware that we just got to I am figure out some other stuff to go to the fizzed piece of the curriculum into the program of studies. There's nothing in here that says the fizzed um as different classes and I I want to say we have the director as the director of

all schools not you don't have a a department head of physi right so I think my concern is just uh everything else is thorough and articulated and detailed and what the students are expected to do learn and whatever in each one I find that just and this is just my own opinion I have not seen it just what the kids say, what parents say is the kids, it's not as structured in fizzed physical education

as we would like in some places. Some people want a free-for-all. Yeah, go pick that, go pick this. I think that cheapens the fizzed uh department. I think we should have fizzed classes where you get assigned so that you can actually know and grow with the teacher rather than just have it be I'm saying free-for-all, not that it's out of control, but like you get to pick whatever it is. So, I I'm just curious

why there's nothing listed. Is it just If you're in physical education, it's just one class, one summary, or there's no summary.

Well, I think Oh, yeah. I was going to say I think it'd be one honor dance.

So, my first year when I came into the role, um, speaking with the guidance counselors, they were saying that kids would get put into, you know, walking for fitness, but they wanted competitive basketball or they were put in competitive basketball and they didn't want it. Um, so it really put like a negative connotation toward it. Um so one of the things um I proposed my first year is I said well let's call it

physical education and we move to a model where students come in they take a survey their first day or two as we go over like rules regulations um and those things and then we offer um several choices for students to self- select their pathway through physical education.

Why don't we why don't we talk about that? It's the next item. Mr. Aguia the fizzed. Um that's the waiver. the waiver which is going to relate to some of the things Danny's saying.

I mean we can I'm just asking because if you what you're just telling me sir is that there's a in this program of studies there's a one that says physical education a gen a generic summary one.

Yes.

Not like fizzed 9 10 11 12 like just one.

Correct. We moved that so there'd be more flexibility. So if you went 9 10 11 12 then if you had a a junior and there was a spot open in fizzed nine really they shouldn't be able to take that. So we just kind of had it as like a broad stroke.

Well I think that um I would question that but do we really want 12th graders and nth graders in the same phys class?

They can.

You know I mean they can they can but is that something that we want to encourage? I I'm not sure but we'll talk about them more physic. I yield. Thank you.

Can we get a Oh, I'm sorry.

Question. I'm sorry, Miss Riley.

Just one I love that you're adding the brand new AP business and uh personal finance. Are you thinking about the cyber security one for next year because that's the other new one.

I'm intrigued. So, okay, that's it. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Quick followup.

Yes. Yeah.

Okay. Um just two quick follow-up questions. first is um more and I know Dery is um is doing a lot in the in spec specifically the first one I'm about to mention but par a lot of questions I get from parents is around these two um what are we doing right now to prepare students and financial literacy life skills I know there is a lot we are doing but if you could just quickly speak to that

yeah sure I would I would say currently it's embedded in um senior history like we alluded to in the um subcommittee meeting but that that is a primary focus for next year is this this really this offering in a more expansive way so that it's something that all students get the opportunity to access if they um choose to. So I think that of all of the kind of focal points that's the one that is

the broadest stroke at this point and is probably the most relevant to the world that large and um you know what we want our kids to be able to do and know when they're done here.

Okay. And um last question um we have classes either in health around um the topic of drug prevention.

Yeah. If you want to quickly speak just for the parents at home that you want to come back in health one and health two we do substance abuse use and prevention that freshman sophomore um freshman sophomore health one typically uh sophomore junior some sophomore if they passed health one can take health too depending if there was like a program um you know that might have bumped it out later on but

typically it's junior senior as well as management issues in health.

Thank you. Last question is um the accelerated program for multilingual who who oversees that?

The accelerated program for multilingual is that what you said?

Yes.

Yeah.

Um other than can you show me where you're referencing page? I didn't have it up. Um it's in the accelerated programs I think um like where um like evolve is and all them.

Yeah, I believe it's page 11 under the credit recovery option. So the accelerated MLL pathway is for students uh who are entering uh Dery uh from other countries um but cannot provide um written transcript records uh from their home country for a variety of reasons um and because they're older typically 18, 19, 20 years old. Uh we have ways to accelerate through mastery. Sometimes

it's students taking two courses um like history 2 and history 3 at the same time or accelerating through summer.

Sometimes students are able um through um teacher and department head uh able to earn credit faster. So that's just kind of a general description. It's a very small group of students who are older who have been engaged in school cannot provide records or maybe they've had some interrupted education.

Thank Thank you, Mr. Woodward. The MLO director's not here today.

No, she's not here.

Okay. Thank you. I yield.

One followup, Mr.

That just uh as you were speaking about the um accelerated for the MLL, I think you've done a nice a better job with like the options for credit recovery and alternative type schooling. I get it. I would just like to wonder why that just says MLL. I I think there's situ kids that have situations and you know exactly what you just said except for the multilingual learner piece that need

that same option that they finally got it. I'm 20 years old and I have to you know why would we only call that for MLL based on the council but you know whatever get a hook into the kid why would we limit it to only MLS? I think we should consider Thank you. all students because what if one needed it and they weren't MLL?

Technically speaking, by you put an MLL here, you can't run an alternative type of schedule for that student. I yield.

Thank you.

Okay. Can I give a motion and a second?

I have a motion and a second.

I have a motion.

Motion so made to approve.

Okay.

Anything further on Dery? Uh Deb, call the role, please. On item 11.3.

Mr. Aette.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Cory. Yes, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Mr. Riley.

Yes, Miss Short.

Yes, Mayor.

Yes. 114 is discussion and vote to Good job, guys.

There's a discussion and vote to approve the updated Fizzed waiver as referred by the instructional subcommittee and presented by Dan P, director of health and fizzed.

Mr. Chim, whatever.

So moved.

Yeah, I have a motion.

Second. I'll make a motion.

I have a motion, a second, Mr.

Fitzgerald.

Um, so we'd like to update the current um the current waiver um from where it is now to um way we would like to see it. Um this came about um last year um speaking with my direct supervisor, assistant superintendent Reposo. Um, we talked with through the team, myself, um, Director Woodward, um, Director Bustin, uh, amongst others. Um, and we talked about there have been some students who've gone through Dery High

School without ever actually taking a PE class since this waiver has gone into effect in the fall of 2020 is um, the email that was forwarded. Um, so we retoled it. We still are going to offer it. Um, if you are an athlete and you play an MIAA sport, um, you could be eligible for one waiver between your sophomore, junior, senior year. You would identify that with your guidance counselor um, prior to the season. You

would sign that, have that conversation with a parent guardian, okay? So that everybody would be aware that you need to fulfill your obligation. Otherwise, you'd be um, reenrolled in a PE class.

If you were a three sport athlete, you could go up for discussion for a second waiver um if there was such a conflict in your schedule um that allowed that.

Um looking to to move forward with students um currently we had this year and in myself and Barbara Meyer who is a guidance counselor director. Um they identified with the counselors 69 fall applications. We're still receiving them. Um so far we've received 14 back within the last month. Um we still have more out as we continue to get all the signatures that come from student, parent, guardian, guidance counselor,

myself, uh the athletic director, as well as the person's coach. We also looked to remove um some list um some offerings on here that did not align um with physical education.

Mr. Das and Mr.

Thank you. Um I do support the as I did at the subcommittee, I do support the updated language and I I think it's um a step good step in the right direction.

Um and I'll still vote to approve it today. I just want to make note I did request some backup from the superintendent on December 19th at 1211 related to PE waiverss. I don't think I ever received them. If um those could be sent to the committee still. Um so the information that Mr. Fitzgerald just shared is the information that he shared with me. Um just in in the other piece of it is that there were there

weren't records kept prior to so he only knows about the waiverss that were requested this fall and those that are in process and those are the numbers that he provided.

Thank you.

Y I yield.

Oh, Mr. Cory then Mr.

Thanks a lot, Mr. Fitzgerald. So um this item I if if I recollect um when we were running for office and we had the student forum right here at Dery um one of the student athletes was um on the board that questioned us and uh she was kind of hoping that this would be a potential item that we may consider to pass moving forward and she's so could

you just give give me an idea of of what it's like for a kid to compete in at this division one sports level and still have to maintain their credits. Is it hard for them to do with all of their other academic challenges? I don't think so. I mean, I was a two sport athlete at Dery. Um, I went on I played in college.

While in college, I also coached wrestling at a high school. um prior to 2025, it's my understanding that I'm sorry, prior to 2020, it's my understanding in speaking with, you know, past alumni that also were athletes that everybody maintained a physical education class. Uh great book sparked by Dr. John uh Ray um a Harvard associate Harvard professor talks about after age 24 3% of the population um

stay physically active through a team sport. So like we always talk about like the game ends someday like we tell our kids that our athletes that. Um I mean my father was telling me that since I was a kid. Um so by having other options in PE a it takes the pressure off. Um you don't have to perform in front of the crowd. Um and you can explore different options that you can stay

physically active throughout your life.

You know um decreasing decreasing a sedentary lifestyle preventing chronic diseases.

um better quality of life. I mean, if you think about it, at 46 years old now, I no longer play football. I played football from fifth grade all the way through college.

I started wrestling in sixth grade all the way through college. I don't do either one of those sports anymore.

They're too violent on my body.

Um so we look at different ways that, you know, we can get kids involved and we have some great choices. We have a fitness concepts class where we teach kids about nutrition, macros, micros, what you should be fueling your body with. Three days a week they're lifting weights. Uh we have another course, refs. It's we're one of the first schools in Massachusetts um to do that where the students can

take right now we offer basketball, soccer volleyball.

You can become an associate official of the MIAA and it's a very active class too. We go.

Is it like an internship?

No, you be actually become an official where you could do junior varsity games and below.

Uh Brendan Kelly runs a class. He does a fantastic jobs three of or if not four days a week. They're on the court a lot of times like we'll bump into a PE class or we'll, you know, recruit a couple kids to run a game of basketball.

They're up and down showing referee position hand.

So are you seeing activity like that would provide a waiver for that student?

I just So, we're saying that this is another way that they can, you know, stay connected to a game. Okay. But that's not taking a physical toll on their body. So, they could referee throughout, you know, the rest of their lives.

Oh, there you go.

As long as they'd want to. We got lifeguarding. We got aqua uh aquatics classes, uh lifeguarding, aquatic and team sports, swimming for fitness. A lot of schools don't have the luxury of having the gorgeous pool that we have there. Um we offer yoga, stress management and we have a dance class.

Thank you. I yield.

Thanks a lot.

Dan, so uh based on this I I see the um current would be one uh only one be waved for their career. Uh and then they have so that would mean they'd have to take three. Can they take those three or like jam them in or do you have to like so be one freshman, sophomore, junior or one per year or can you multi?

The law says you should be scheduled every year for physical education. We've had situations where it's been bundled, right? where um for whatever reason the student didn't take freshman, sophomore, or junior or they take it their junior year and they're scheduled for multiple physical education classes within that year. I've worked with um the director of guidance or the head department head

of guidance last year about addressing that issue and calling that out because as a team we look at that like during our PLC's saying who's getting an excessive amount of PE or my teachers will say you know I have Dan Fitzgerald in my class periods 2 three and four so it looks like they're getting their PE requirement that way so hopefully and there's no maximum There's no maximum amount amount of

credits you can earn in PE.

It should be equitable that all students have it once a year. Um, and another reason we want to look at that waiver is for reasonings of such, right? As well as working with the guidance department to ensure that students are scheduled once a year for PE. Yeah, I think the law is confusing because in preparation for this, I looked it up myself where it says it will be offered every year. It

kind of implies that you're supposed to take it, but it doesn't. It's just a a lousy worded law. The way I see it, um, then we looked at if it says we should offer it every year, but then we cut it down to three instead of four. So if you're in school for four years and we only have to have three and then you give a waiver for

one, now they only have two. So I I just think it's a the the law I believe says it's a required course K to 12 um regardless of the graduation requirement three four they should be scheduled for physical education every year.

Right? But if that's the case we would be doing it and we're clearly not.

That's the problem. So I personally think it should be every year. You know, my own personal opinion. I think it cheapens the fizzed teacher who works hard and does a good job of teaching all those variety of things that you just said. I think those are excellent, but it cheapens it when we just say, "Ah, you can go sign up for this. You can take two or three of these or it just

makes it a different situation." So I think we have to uh I guess we just have to look at it. But I don't think anybody should be taking three in one year. I think that's a guidance issue of um how did we get to this point? But when you say only one and the waiverss are coming in now, I was confused because you were talking about waiverss coming in now, but we

the early page that we had was I guess it was the old one. Looks Yes.

So we're still currently operating under the old waiver, right? That's what I'm going to now. So yeah my question is not necessarily for you sir it would be for guidance.

So if this is the waiver that you need and we've had how many students got waved where are the vouchers where are the waivers for these students for the current year and if this was in place in the last year I think I saw something like since 2020 or something. Where are the waivers for the last five years and I believe what Mr. Das was talking about asking for after the meeting was exactly

that. Where are the waiverss from guidance that says 87 students got waivers and who checked it? Did kids get multiple waivers? Like that to me is more of the issue for us currently to figure out why are we getting waivers in now? I mean, is that for just this term?

Is that that's for the fall season? So, at the conclusion of the fall season, these waivers that I'm talking about are only for this school year. Prior to this, I haven't been um given any of these waivers. Did they exist?

Yes. From 2020 um is when this came in.

No. No. Did they waivers actually exist?

Physical paper waiver that I see here.

I don't have any copies.

So, Madam Superintendent, that's the question I would have since this has been in existence. How many waivers have been done and where are the forms?

Because I think what's happening is we're trying to tighten it up now, but we're currently operating under the old one that doesn't exist.

Yep. So like for instance in September student comes in in September they they can't get a waiver for the prior year. So now where you got to wait for the term but that same process would have been like last year would have been multiple times at least twice right when you're picking your classes or is this is it quarters is it thirds what when do they pick physics they do terms so out of four

correct they do one out of four so a student now based on the conversation we just had would only have to take one term for two years of They should take it. They should be scheduled for four terms.

It ain't It's not happening though. But it's not happening.

That's not happening. You know, that's not happening. The principal knows it's not happening. The superintendent knows it's not happening. We can say all we want. We think they should or they would have. It's not happening and it hasn't happened for years. So that's why I was saying the law is confusing, but ultimately it shouldn't just be hodge podge or oh, the schedule doesn't fit or whatever for whatever reason.

Waivers shouldn't just be given. And are there any waiverss for anybody other than sports under the old uh the current one? It's marching band, early education, um dance team in color guard as well as ROC.

So you're recommending as the director that we don't do that, but we're still operating under the current because this is for next year.

Correct.

So kids could currently still be do taking early childhood and getting their fizz waved.

Correct.

Uh the schedule is done for the the term for this upcoming term. Yeah, I would assume so. Yeah.

And is there another term?

There's a fourth term as well.

So, I'd like to uh make a motion that we um take this recommendation and start it in fourth quarter.

Second.

Um I have a motion, a second. Anything further? I I I want I do want to add something to this debate though. Um I have a motion to second on starting.

Can I talk?

Um Dr. Curley.

Yeah. I just I I would want to invite um someone from Dury High School to speak to the impact on like student schedules.

I mean, if students have a legitimately full schedule with um year-long in semester courses, what does that look like if fourth quarter a semester course potentially has to be dropped so that the the PE could be picked up?

We also have um two other options with PE. They can either roll in the summertime or the dery after dark dock program which meets twice a week for two hours.

So you want to give them PE credit for that?

We run a PE class.

Twice a week. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. One of our PE teachers, Mr. Ree um twice a week on Wednesday, Thursday runs a course from 3 to 4:45 um so the students can get out to get the bus on time um and things like that.

and the students sign a contract which I have um we keep an updated grade the guidance counselors have access to our spreadsheet so that way like we can track if you miss one time um you have one unexcused absence after that um students make classes up we also give students the option um to make up classes every Friday I stay after school um typically in the fitness center now that the winter sports are in session

and they're packed um and they can make up a class or two if they miss it. Um, so if they want to make up one class, they say with me till 4, they want to make up two, we stay till 4:45.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I thought I was going to answer the superintendent question.

Yeah, I would just add that schedules are done for the most part. There are students in a variety of different uh situations for this current school year.

Some students may have full uh six fully year courses perhaps in their schedule.

Others have a combination um of semester classes and term classes where they would have a lot more flexibility for it to be added um during term 4. But I would just request that for students who already are participating in year-long classes um that this does not go into effect until next school year.

I was referring to not waving the classes that Mr. Fitzgerald said shouldn't be got because ultimately you you can't ask for the waiver until you've done the actual class. It's just articulating the class like to me it was a foolish uh uh policy to say that you can take an early childhood class and get fizzed credit or whatever those other ones were. I read them. So that's the only piece of this I

was asking to go into effect. So you don't just keep on doing the same thing that makes no sense. The whole policy is going to take over next year. And it's it sounds to me like as if you're scrambling right now to try to figure out where's all these waiverss and then I just ask for the copies of I hope they exist.

Well, I I I do have a question just on that though, Mr. Woodward. If someone plays football, doesn't that go on the transcript and count as their PE credit?

So there's not like if Kevin was playing football, he wouldn't need a physical waiver. He could just say, "I'm not taking gym. I'm playing football and that's on my transcript." Am I wrong there or am I right? So the I believe the previous PE director had the sports added to the transcript or the academic record in Aspen um which is how um uh folks were keeping track of sports and

and waiverss versus the the physical the paper physical from 2020. I think that started during the COVID times and it just continued continued on based on the previous director feedback and in conversations with uh Mr. Fitzgerald last year. Uh we looked at it and realized we needed to tighten um recordkeeping and and the paper form up.

Uh so we've um been consistent with it this year, but it's it had been inconsistent over the past three years due to uh the sports being, you know, how many credits do they get for a sport?

They don't earn any credit. It's just listed on on their transcript. So they don't need three PE credits right now if they're playing four or five sports.

We're under the this we're operating under the old waiver policy. Um so yeah, so this this year any student who wants, you know, in addition to it being on their transcript, they also have to fill out the waiver form.

Okay. But if someone over their four-year course here plays two sports a year, plays six or eight sports, they don't they don't really need PE credit under the current policy. Correct.

Under the current graduation uh policy, they can have all um of their PE classes waved or granted alternatively. I think in discussions uh with Mr. Fitzgerald, you know, it's clear that we need to strike a balance um by giving students some flexibility but also um uh ensuring that you know the benefits of physical education um that students receive those by participating in physical education a

lot more frequently and more consistently because even when I was here as a vice principal, if a kid wanted to take a second language or an additional science, they would try to get out of his ed by telling us I'm playing soccer, I'm swimming, I'm running cross country. And we would give them, you know, tell tell the parent, "Your son's going to have to cross country."

Isn't that how we did it even back then?

I don't know if you were here then. It was in 15.

Yeah. I can't I I I feel like that was practice.

Um but I you know, I can't say for sure.

Um it wasn't Yeah. Okay. All right. Now, I'm sorry, Mr.

The other thing is, uh, I think we get into an equity issue, especially what you just said. So, student knows the rules a little bit and they can try to finagle their GPA and whatever else. So, I don't take this, but I take a more advanced class, but everybody else has taken it. It It blows my mind to think that kids can just not take fizz because I play sports. We could have a student

that is uh in MMA that works out five days a week and is in great shape and they don't have a right to come in and say I want to wave it because I go to a certain gym or whatever else. So, it's just an equity issue for me that you're supposed to take fizzed. The law half says you're supposed to take fizzed and we shouldn't be doing waiverss and we

shouldn't have not filled this form. If this is the policy, there's got to be some sort of something because how the hell does this happen that people gave waivers without knowing? I just don't understand how we can say, "Oh, well, it was like we got to tighten it up." It shouldn't happen. There's no way it should happen that a student is getting a waiver and without filling out the

waiver form. I just don't understand how. So, I'm going to I'm going to look forward to the information that I requested to the superintendent.

Let's uh let's vote on this, but you made a motion to put it into effect fourth quarter this year.

Just two just those two classes that Mr.

Fitz said, they shouldn't count. Not the whole program. Not the whole program.

Well, let's let him identify the two classes. Then Mr. Das, what is he talking about? Two classes.

The marching band, early ed, um, early education, dance team, color guard.

So, they're they're getting a waiver presently for marching band and early education. If they did marching band from September to January, which is what Jim would count, correct? September to January.

No, you would go uh quarters. So it' be November, August till um I think this year was early November.

Early November.

So the cost of the full season is what it says on the waiver if that they wanted that they had to fulfill the entire season. But is fizzed a halfyear course or a full year?

It's a quarter.

It's a quarter. Oh, okay.

But I guess it but it just goes back to it could be that somebody say is in marching band and they have an otherwise full schedule. So what happens to that student fourth quarter if now if tell them that's my I'm confused about that because you don't just do band for a quarter and and that that makes you eligible for a waiver. You're in band, marching band over the course of a year, I believe.

And that that gets my understanding of it was by the season. So if you look at like football, they play the band plays during the football season. They fulfill their obligation to it after the term we signed for the band.

Okay. So, I worked with director Fontina and Julia um to verify any students that were in marching band already during the fall season. Okay.

Um that successfully completed it.

Mr. Das, thank you. Um and obviously I'm glad we have the um policy that's about that we're about to enact. I guess just following up on like what that recordkeeping is going to look like going forward. Um just if you just want to speak to that again.

Sure. So the student should meet with the guidance counselor to identify the year after freshman, sophomore, junior or senior year where that one year they may need a waiver. Say, hey, my junior year my schedule's tight. I really can't fit it in. And in the new waiver, um, you know, we put in an area, please explain why you're requesting the waiver, not just I don't want to take PE

or I have this opportunity to wave PE, whatever it may be. It would have to be um, under the new proposed one that they would explain as to why um, I would get it, meet with the guidance counselor, uh, meet with the guidance department head and say, "All right, we grant so and so a waiver for girls volleyball. We grant Kelly Bouia um our volleyball coach um you know a girls volleyball credit.

Who would keep the the waiverss? That go into guidance or you would that would be me. Yep.

The guidance would generate them before the start of the season.

Um student signs it, parent signs it, counselor signs it.

I have it up here.

They give it to me.

Um what I do is I then I upload them into a Google sheet um that's shared with all members of the guidance team.

Um, at the end of the season, I'd go to Mr. Bustin, um, or a secretary. Um, she would verify that the students played.

Mr. Bustin would sign. Um, she would also or he, um, would get the coach to sign that they were a bonafide team member, that they met all the expectations, and then I would be the final signature. Um, I keep it uploaded in a Google sheet. again everybody has access to and then I would email the counselor saying uh Kelly Bullia girls volleyball earned a PE credit junior year.

Thank you. Thank you. I So Kevin's got a motion that he wants to put this into effect the last quarter fourth quarter Yeah.

of this year.

Uh I have a motion to second on that. Um Deb call the roll.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. D.

Yes.

Mr. Cy. Before I answer, can can I get a clarification from Mr. Fitzgerald? Is is that doable if we approve this to go into the fourth quarter only?

Uh, you'd have to ask Mr. Woodward. I'm on the schedule.

Mr. Woodward, is is it feasible?

It seems feasible, but there may be unique situations um where um we would have to look in uh look into an alternative solution um as opposed to its implementation for next year.

Would that be more would that be more would that be better?

I think that would be that would be the that would be the way to do it the cleanest would be to start it next year. Good.

Um, in my in my personal opinion, yes.

I vote no.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Mr. Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Ken, no.

That's one more question on that.

Mr.

Is there is there currently or has there been over the last four or five years any students that just don't take fizz?

They they just don't schedule it and then they just call it a day.

In my three years coming up from the middle school, I've seen students that we've never seen in the fieldhouse. Um, I have some of my PE staff at the high school, um, that are also varsity, subversity coaches that would say such and such student has never taken, um, a fizz class like physically within this building because they've always gotten a waiver every year.

The exact number of that, I don't know.

I guess the heartache that I'm having with it is I I feel like they they just didn't do any paperwork over the last three or four years and just willy-nilly. So that's my concern is how do we how do we do an audit of that and track that. So I asked for the information from the superintendent. I want to wait to see it. But clearly it hasn't been done right. I yield.

Huh?

Got a vote on it now.

Okay. We still now we still have to vote on the motion.

Uh yeah.

There was a motion and there's a motion to second. Deb call the role on 11 for the discussion and vote the updated fizz waiver.

Mr. I Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey. Yes, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Mr. Riley.

Yes, Miss Stewart.

Yes, Mayor Coug.

Yes. 115 discussion and vote to approve the organization of committee meeting dates as presented by Kevin Aguia. Mr.

Aia, I think that we need to um consider looking at it as a fresh start for the two-year term. We've always traditionally met on Mondays. Uh I think it makes sense uh to change that date to a Wednesday.

uh at that point we would have uh being in the middle of the week it would allow us to continue to get the agendas on a Friday and we would have more time to try to get drill down the um any questions and any backup information. Uh it would also I think help when that when the meeting if it did happen on a Wednesday, excuse me, that we would be

much more efficient in our in our uh meetings. So I'd like to make a motion that we move our meetings from Mondays to Wednesdays.

Second.

Motion second. I um the the one I uh the only person I'm concerned about at this time um is uh Miss Riley. What What time could you get here on Wednesday?

I can be here for five. I just five.

Y.

So if we move him to five, too.

You Oh, you mean the time?

The time. Go Wednesday at 5. Give us an extra half hour.

Yeah, it's fine with me.

Okay. Wednesday at 5 is Mr. Aar's motion. Uh I have a second. Deb call the roll.

Mr. Agap.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yep.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Mr. Riley.

Yes.

Miss Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Coug.

Yes. Same same uh same week. Same weekly schedule. Second Wednesday of the month.

5:00 116.

Taking effect.

Uhhuh.

When is this taking effect?

Next meeting.

Yes.

Okay.

We'll just get a new updated schedule to the committee.

I'll just send it out.

Okay. Thanks, Deb. Um 116 is a second read and a vote to approve the superintendent's recommended budget priorities presented by Dr.

Curley.

Uh so at a previous meeting in the fall, I presented the draft budget priorities for school year 27. Uh I did not receive uh feedback at that time and or any subsequent communication. So, I don't know if anybody has any feedback or questions about what was presented.

Anybody Mr. Das um I have questions on the the on the backup if I know you're looking for specific you're looking for feedback on the um the survey.

Uh I mean I could take questions. I It's on the um on the priorities. That's what I was ask right now. Um can I ask can I ask the um a photo to come up.

So on um second page it speaks about multilingual learners. Um we're looking to stren strengthen um multilingual education by improving how programs are designed developed um etc. helping current staff learn new skills. What does and I know the MLLO director is not here today. Are we still partnering with um what's the contracts look like right now with equity? The is this under this?

No. Can is this under her budget priorities?

I I did already have a conversation with you Mr. Das about the fact that and I'll just I mean I'll explain why you're asking. We hired um a new MLL director.

Um it is a person with whom we've previously previously contracted um for consulting services and professional development for our ESL teachers. Um and there was a question raised by you, Mr.

Das. You asked me if we would continue our contract with that individual. I said no. Um that she was starting with us full-time today and the contracts would be terminated.

Correct. I'm I'm following up on um so these are three contracts that were approved by the school committee.

Yes.

And if and a more veteran member of this committee can answer if we are to amend a contract to either lesser money, would that usually have to be a vote of the school committee?

Not not typically because there's been there's been situations in the past where um we haven't fully spent a contract or um the contract has been less than what was initially anticipated. So in situations like that when that happens the purchase order you know when the time comes when the work has been completed would get liquidated.

The three contracts that we the school committee approved are they did we already send out the funds?

Not all of them. No, not all of them. Any of them.

There's I believe and I believe this is super can answer, but I believe that there is um what do you call it? Bills still outstanding that we haven't received for work prior or higher.

There's bills outstanding prior as part of the contracts.

How how are we going to work that out? I I guess Mike I you you understand my concern. Are we going to be paying for No, I I I am just going to ask that we um close out any work prior to the date of hire, so before today. Um and that we just finally have, you know, get build out and settle those contracts up until basically the end of last week and then

as the superintendent stated, um close those contracts out completely for the remainder of the year.

Okay. So, just to like confirm it on the record, we didn't we did not send out the the full lump sum beforehand.

No, we did not. No, the work we've been build um by that organization in chunks and so we have not uh sent out a full lump sum at all. Typically, what happens is we encumber, you know, the amount and then maybe a month of work, you know, I don't know the exact time, but maybe a month of work is done, we get an invoice. So, what I'd like to do is just

make sure we close out all those invoices effective January 9th would have been Friday, and then um moving forward, we just wouldn't have any other contract at all.

And those will come before the committee through the the bill schedule in whatever process they currently come before you all.

That's what I was looking for clarification on.

Yep.

Um that maybe that I didn't receive at first. So, I appreciate that. Thank you.

I yield.

Sure.

Anything for Mr. A? Just on that same issue, just uh the contract reads from September to June. So theoretically, you would say that's a 10-month or whatever it is.

I would hope that we're not going to spend $38,000 on six months just and then all of a sudden higher. No, you know what I mean? It should kind of fall in line with No, it's been chunked out in smaller amounts as it's come across.

We're not I'm hoping that we're not going to get something to say, oh, I loaded up all my bills and then now I'm going to get the job. I don't I don't think that's the case, but it would certainly look bad if it did. I yield.

Absolutely. Yeah, I understand.

I got a second. I have a motion and a second on this. Uh Deb, I don't have a motion.

Motion to approve.

I have a motion.

Second and a second. Deb, call the role on the budget budget priorities.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

M. Morley.

Yes.

M. Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Kan.

Yes. 117 um is a discussion and vote to approve the appointment of school committee member to Smeck.

I'd like to make a motion that we approve Chanel Stewart. Second.

I agree 100%. Deb call the role on Chanel Stewart formeck.

Mr. Agap.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Whoopee. Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

M. Riley.

Yes.

Miss Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Cooven.

Yep.

118. a second read and vote to approve the proposed 2027 budget calendar as presented by Kevin Almeida, chief financial officer.

Uh so this is a second read. We brought this forward last month and what we've done is provide you with kind of like a road just a road map of what the process was last year and what what we are proposing for the process to be this year.

uh the process falls in line with what is said in the charter and when we have to have the budget submitted to uh the mayor and the city council. So with that, I'm requesting uh your approval tonight.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das, um whoever has the answer to this question, who is in charge of sending the advertisement out for the public hearing?

I am.

Okay. Um and I brought this up at the last meeting. What What's the plan right now to advertise? Are we just doing the hero news?

That's typically what we do. Yes.

I would like to make a motion that we send out the advertisement to all med local media across the the district.

What's that going to cost, Mr. Dice? You know, I I don't It does cost money. It costs money to to advertise. So, the actual dollar amount, I can get it to you for this week. It's it's probably like I second it with a question.

Yeah. I just don't know what I want with a question. I want to say it's probably about 700 bucks roughly. Mr. Mr. Yeah.

Uh my question is just that I I think he he raises a valid point. We want to try to get out there. But we also don't want to waste money in this day and age of the internet and people it's going to be posted. It's have to post uh the library and all that stuff. But what I would recommend is that between now and the next meeting, you come back to us with some prices

because why we're going to give $750 to the Herald News when nobody's going to read it.

And maybe we just can publish it some other way in a different whatever whatever satisfies the law for the least amount of money. Yep.

As far as I'm concerned, because we could publish it in six different places and waste three grand and I don't think we should be wasting that.

I would I would withdraw my motion, but I still have a question.

Go ahead, Mr. D.

I don't know if that has to be in the form of a motion. I don't know if um it doesn't really have much to to do with the schedule. That's something that can be brought forward at the LA next meeting.

We trust that.

We have time. We're not advertising for months right?

No.

So, you can bring it back next month.

Yeah.

I'll make a motion to approve this the schedule then.

I have a motion. Do I have a second?

Second. I have a second, Mr. Yeah.

So, on uh December 2025, it reads administer principal department budget survey to develop priorities goal for the budget. Can we please get copies of those?

Thank you. Yes. Thank you.

All right. Deb, can you call the old on 118?

I'm sorry, Mr. Mayor. And we'll make sure these are on Wednesdays, not on whatever date some.

Yeah. No, it's so what what I typically do is I just put like week of Gotcha.

for that. So, whatever the day is. The day is perfect. Thank you.

You would call that. Thanks.

Yep.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Miss Riley.

Yes.

M. Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Cooler.

Yes.

119 is a discussion and vote to approve the second quarter transfers by Kevin Almina, chief financial officer.

So with so this is the second quarter transfer and what we we are in this with this transfer we are requesting the transfer of uh $521,000 um to essentially go to four different cost centers to Dery for 190,000 for insurance for 200,000 for nursing for 100,000 and for Westall for 31,000. Uh the funds are coming from Doran uh RPA, CUS and Talbet. Um and so in just because we have three new members um the

format typically is uh I'll provide the document and which is the front page that provides the explanation of anything over $50,000 and why there were there was a uh a savings or why a transfer is required. Behind that I provide the details as to the accounts where the money is going to to suffice to cover the the transfer that is required. And the last section of the document um is the year-to- date budget

report just so you can get a picture of what it was prior to the transfer happening. So this is um the document in front of you. And with that I'm recommen uh I'm asking for your approval tonight on the second quarter transfer.

Any questions? Mr. Das. Um, I have I'm actually gonna yield for for my colleague.

Thank you. You don't look this way, Mr.

Mayor.

I know. I'm so You don't We used to have a curve to the table, but now it's straight. I apologize, Miss Riley.

Mr. Almea, when you do your memo, could you just add um the reasoning behind having So, I'm just looking this the money is coming from Doran, RPA, CUS. I mean, Talbot looks pretty self-explanatory. Um, but why are there why is there so much money available in salaries? Is it because positions weren't filled or positions cut? You could just add that to your memo so we know how you were

able to come up with those funds from those. Thank you.

Anything else, Mr. Chair, Mr. um uh Das, how did I forget?

Thank you. I I just wanted to let some of my colleagues go first.

So I think it's I mean we we do approve these and um and just speaking um either with some colleagues and just has always been my philosophy of course the school committee um one of our most important roles is the budget and controlling the budget and where the money goes and I think and I'm going to be as one member introducing again as the new policy chair as well as some fiscal controls that I believe will

help with accountability and transparency. So, I'd like to make a motion. One second. I'd like to make a motion that the school committee have monthly transfers and explanations be given on all accounts where transferred is required over under 25,000.

Second.

Why? Why are we doing that, Mr. Das?

We have more authority over the budget.

That's a philosophical my my position.

How how bad is that, Mr. Al?

It's the wall of the committee.

Mr. Das's motion wants to go to monthly transfers.

Um, like instead of by quarters, you want it by months is what we're talking about. over 25,000. That's the motion.

Second. Any further discussion, Mr.

Riley?

I mean, this is a small number of transfers, but since this is the first one I've seen, is this typical that you just have so few quarterly?

I'm sorry.

Do is this a typical amount of transfers quarterly?

It It depends. It all It depends on it.

It's It depends on the year. So, what we've seen the last several years, and I'm sure you've seen in your district, you know, we we've had an exorbitant amount of positions that are vacant. And what what's happened is we've hired a lot of positions through staffing agencies. And so we typically will cover the staffing agency from another cost center. And so typically those transfers

ends up happening because of that. So that's that's a big reason why. And then in other cases, it's just stuff that's unforeseen that happens, you know, on a yearly basis. you know, when you look at, you know, $500,000 in transfers, while yes, it seems like a lot, it's in in in essence, it's five positions when you look at it in total because positions are roughly, you know, standard 80 to $90,000, so maybe six

positions. So, it's not a big transfer with a budget this size. So, but the TR but we do we've we've tried to stay to so I've in the time that I've been here, I've been here a while. Um, we've done quarterly transfers. At one time I was doing monthly transfers. It's just it's a lot of work. It you know to do it monthly it's a lot of work but I'll do whatever the committee wants. It's it's

fine. So So I'll just say so I do monthly transfers but there's only like two or three every month. So I'm just thinking is it more work or less work? You just have fewer transfers.

It would be No, it would be in that sense but it's just it's preparing the documents every every month. It's just you know sometimes it's a little something. You know that's all. Gotcha.

That's all.

You all set, Mr. Riley? You all set?

Thank you.

Anything further, Mr.

Yeah. So, I I've been here when we've done both ways like you, Mr. Almeida.

So, one of the concerns that I have and why I seconded this is the last quarter is what really gets me is that we don't necessarily on a monthly basis know where there's available funds and the like. So, if you ask me, and I think I do a pretty good job of paying attention to the budget.

Yep. If you asked me last month which uh schools had uh this type of savings, I couldn't tell you because we don't get that report. And if I was to say right now, are these the only schools that have that savings? You I know that that's not the case. So, if we get them monthly, at least we'll be trying to figure out or do we say something different where we at least get some

sort of documents to show as of uh the month of uh as of November 1st, the Doran school had uh $100,000 savings in their thing. Like, we don't get a report that says where the money is.

So, as we're trying to figure out what's happening, just like you're trying to figure out where you're going to pay for some of these overages, we have no literally no idea. And right now, this isn't the only money that's available at those three schools to I think Miss Riley's point was asking why those schools. It's because that added up to the number that you needed. So, I'm speaking for you, but that's basically

what happened. So, if I was to say we have 10 other schools that right now, if everything stayed the same and all their their hiring was done or their vacancy stayed, we would have a lot more of these options. We don't get that. So, I think we need to either go to quarterly transfers or something where we get an updated budget to just show where the available funds are in some way. So, I'm

not necessarily trying to make more work for you with the transfers, but I do think we need to take our fiduciary responsibility more serious with where is the extra money. So if you I got you if you want to make a compromise to say don't do the um we don't need the quarterly transfers as much as every month when we get a monthly report we're going to get an actual here's what if

everything stayed the same every um school or cost center is I I think that would be sufficient but what t what takes time is the projection on the actual budget every every three months that's what takes time I project the accounts you know all the salary accounts I project every two weeks it's all the other lines that take a little bit of time. So it's that's why I'm saying it's a little it's it's a little

timeconuming that's but it you must have on a monthly basis uh a projection I do and it can go up and down obviously because it's fluid but you have a monthly projection I believe that you can give us a monthly report that would I think it would at least for me it would suffice to leave quarterly transfers but give us a monthly report that actually shows agree what we really have is Is that

is that easier for you or is that in so prior to the cost centers it was much easier to provide you with the information. It's a little bit more timeconuming with the cost center approach that we've you know fully put in place.

Can you say that again? I didn't Sure. So prior to the cost centers when we had the when we've had this set up in the cost center format y it was quicker and easier to format and to project everything um in the cost center format it's a little bit more timeconuming that's that's all but it's a monthly like you're watching it I am well I I I watch it every two weeks every two weeks I'm watching

that's what I'm saying so I think that's uh sort of a way to meet in the middle somewhere so you're not doing the quarterly the monthly transfers but if we got a more robust monthly report I think that At least for me, that would suffice.

Okay.

And and I would say you could build it.

You don't have to do the same thing you're doing here. If you have an easier report you can run monthly to show us, as long as we can see where we are and what the projected expenditures are, I mean, I think we would be open to a format that shows us that, but maybe is something you can ease Yep.

be easier to run out of munice instead of you having to do the projections.

Gotcha. So I make an amendment to the motion to say to just do what we just suggested. Have a more robust monthly report.

Second.

I don't uh Mr. Aguar, can you tell me what we just did there? I know you were going to monthly. So what did it become now?

Basically, he's just going to give us a monthly report at the school committee.

Okay.

That's a little more robust and it actually has the projections to show okay X school or Xcore center has money left over right now.

All right. We got a motion to second.

Call the role on that amendment.

Mr. Dragon, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Cory, yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Mr. Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Coogan, yes. And now back to the original second quarter transfer as presented by Kevin Almea. I have a motion to second on that.

Second.

De call the role on the original.

Mr.

Yes.

Mr. D.

Yes.

Mr. Corey. Yes, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Miss Riley.

Yes, Miss Stewart.

Yes, yes. 11:10 is a discussion and vote to approve the second quarter revolving fund as presented by Kevin Almeida.

So, this is the second quarter revolving fund and it provides you with our revolving funds which are 13 in total uh as of and so what the balances are as of December 31st. The report provides you with um the quarterly revenues and expenses for each for each fund and it provides you with the year-to- date totals um as of uh December 31st. Um the only the fund that's highlighted is

the use of schools account and with that account the only items that are charged off to the use of schools account um is with your approval and that is the uh outside overtime for whatever is done with outside v um the use of school um the vendors that we charge for outside services. And so um this month that amount totals uh just under $27,000 26,85786.

Um all the funds uh here they all have we all have positive we have positive balances on all our revolving funds. Um and so with that I'm requesting uh your approval tonight.

Any questions on the revolving funds?

I get a motion. Do I have a motion to second?

Yes.

Huh?

No. I do a motion in a second.

Mr. Das, thank you. So, I was looking at the line item with the revolving fund around the use of schools. Um, and I brought this um up to the administration a few times now.

And my opinion, just my opinion, of course.

Um, we I have concerns that one, the policy is selective in its enforcement and two looking at receiving some concerns over some various bills from companies that have used our schools. And we're talking just for the rental, not even including um the the the the necessary cost of like electricity, custodian security, which obviously is needed and should be should be covered. On top of that, we

are charging companies thousands just for two nights for a few hours. And the policy in which we charge these companies calls for a yearly review. Do we know when the last time we've reviewed this policy?

Have we ever reviewed the policy since we've implemented the new one?

Mr. I I I just have what what companies are you talking about that are using it for days? I I don't know.

I'll give you an example. Dance studios.

Yeah. But they charge a significant amount of money for people that use it.

They don't come for nothing.

Like dance studios use Yeah. If they use Dery, they're charging $25 a ticket or more.

Or more.

Right. And my my opinion is because we charge so much absolutely in the over cost.

No, they they're very very expensive.

I understand.

However, this policy should be this policy should be reviewed. It calls for it to be reviewed. And so I just like to make a motion refer policy KF to policy subcommittee.

or just call it.

Okay, sure. Second.

That's fine. But if it's going to go back to policy, how about the second quarter revolving fund? Why don't we just vote on that? You're the chair of the policy committee. You can Yeah, I just thought about that afterwards. I'll vote right in front of you.

All right, I withdraw my motion. I'll just place it on the agenda. Um I'll make a motion to approve the revolving on on the revolving fund, Mr.

So the use of schools uh to answer my colleague we I believe it was a couple years ago when we reviewed it at the time the point of the uh trying to make that use of schools account actually plentiful is because we have to repair things at the use of schools like the turf outside that's a million dollars every 10 years and the like. So, what we've been trying to do over the years is

for not, you know, for nonprofits or in-house, whatever, try to keep it fair, but ultimately you have to make a little bit of a profit in it because we're going to make the expense. So, that's where I think that was going. But I think it's good to review it always uh to take a peek at it and um I don't think it has enough money in it to be honest with you. Uh when you just listen

to what I just said on one turf fields a million dollars every 10 years. So, if we're trying to plan budgets, we better charge a lot more than what we are. Um, while while also being fair, I think that's the case. Correct.

But, um, what I wanted to bring up was, uh, the the good benefit that we have of having an election where new members come on and we we're able to talk during the campaign about different events and different uh, desires and different things that we need in the school system. I want to give credit to Chanel Stewart who brought this issue to me uh asking a question relative during the

campaign about we have 18 to22 program for whatever we call that at almost every school that I've ever worked in or worked around or been to they have transportation vans or buses that are handicap accessible that these children can actually go to field trips and do uh the various things that are basically the the purpose of the of the program or at this high school, they have so many other things that we could

do with field trips that if you want to go out, you got to try to get two uh from what I understand couriers and then this one's going to fill in and that one. We in a comprehensive system with this many kids and the budget that's this high, we need at least a couple of handicap accessessible vans that we can actually have the staff use to take these kids out on the field trips and

experiences that they deserve. I think it's a no-brainer. I brought it to the superintendent. which I know she was talking about looking into it for the next budget cycle, but I think this is long overdue and with the way these things work with the um timing of getting a vehicle is not always the easiest way. So, I want to make a motion that out of the whatever the number is but stone tuition, which is 600 and

whatever thousand that we take $200,000 and purchase two special education handic handicap accessible vans uh for the Fall River schools to use. Second.

I have a motion and second on purchasing two b v band v band v band v band v band v band v band v band v band v band vans out of the stone tuition fund. Um any further discussion Mr. Corey?

I like the idea very much. I just want to know about if there's would be any type of liabilities that we may be subject to is would it all be yeah same as any of our it would be all the same right no other issues. Thank you. I yield.

Okay. All right. So this is let's go we'll do the stone vans first to have call the roll please I just want oh I'm sorry I just want to say it's not just for field trips it's for job coach it's for a lot of things that they go out and about I just want everybody just to know that and so in the meantime um so we have been talking about this um with

folks at Dery in terms of their programming needs and we were um meeting their needs partially um coming into this conversation we revisited and we've been able to better meet their needs moving forward in the short term and you know until there's a purchase of vans um using both our internal um opportunity like internal vans and and drivers as well as um contracting out um for the remainder of the year.

Okay.

On the two vans, give it a call, please.

Mr. Aam.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Cory on the vans.

Yes.

Yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Coogan, yes. Now on the second quarter revolving fund.

Do I have a motion to second, Deb?

Motion.

We have a motion. I need a second.

Second.

And you have a motion to second.

Deb, call the role.

Mr. Hig?

Yes.

Mr. Das?

Yes.

Mr. Cory?

Yes.

Mr. Monus?

Yes.

Mr. Riley?

Yes.

Miss Stewart?

Yes.

Mood?

Yes. 1111 is a discussion and vote to approve the year to debate the date budget report as presented by Kevin Almeter.

So at this time um the report you have in front of you provides uh the operating budget broken down by cost center. Um each cost center shows you what the last three years of spending is what has been. uh I've projected out for FY26 through the end of the year for what it's going to be this year uh to show you what the balances are for each cost center. And so we've been providing this

um this this document in this format um for the last couple years. Um and so with that said, we're at a 98% spending level right now and we have um all you know, you just approved the transfer. So each cost center is whole.

I know this report shows some some cost centers that are under um but that's now been taken care of. Um in addition um I've provided you with a health insurance update as of u last week. So it shows that uh we are in good standing as of this moment, as of this month. Um and finally the last piece that you have in this document is uh the budgeted um budgeted FTEES for um essentially your

administration slash uh support positions. And so this provides you a roadmap of what the FTEES look like across the board for all the schools. Uh it gives you that breakdown. So, with that, um, I'm looking for your approval on the year-to- date report.

Any questions?

Mr. Aaron, question on the healthcare.

The, um, I was just a little confused on the, um, piece that says, uh, last year's reimbursements versus now, like what's the point of that being on there?

So, there's there's two two um, so I provided two different sections. So, the first is what I've projected to be the current year reimbursements. The second is what I projected to be the last year reimbursement. And so, uh, two trains of two schools of thought. Um, one is using last year's numbers because, you know, the numbers for this year are not known yet. Um, so offsetting what the prior

year reimbursement is in the current year. Um, the other is projecting out um, what it potentially is this year.

So, so when you look at the eight is 8:16 that's to the good. Yes. Like so they would be we'd be under.

Yes.

U the other way if we got the lower reimbursement we'd be at um 97,000. So ultimately we're not in the we're not behind. We're not.

But this also has the next conversation about the net school spending for um me as far as that goes. The only other question I had was I've asked in the past that this document with the um the matrix gets sent to all principles. Is that happening?

I we sent it out after the last meeting I believe.

Yeah. Thank you very much. I yield.

Anything further?

Just one question.

Could I get a um Miss Riley?

Sorry. On that last page in the proposed budget where you have the FTEEs, are these what you budgeted or what exists?

What this is what is budgeted.

Okay.

Yes, there may be there may be an opening or two, but yes, that's what exists.

That was my conversation with you about the transfers. So, in the memo, we would see why we got that. Okay. Perfect.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Dice.

Thank you. I'll vote to approve the um the update. Just want to um have a discussion with the committee and potentially some changes in finances in terms of fiscal controls. Um as I said earlier, school committee controls the budget and I think it's very important that we have a say in the process. Um something that I've been very vocal about when I've since I've been a member of this committee is the

um expenditure process procedures of the expenditures and um the approval of contracts. It's my understanding that the committee used to approve contracts. It's $25,000 and up now. It's my understanding it used to be 10,000 and up. Am I correct? Yes.

And when was that changed?

Uh two years ago.

Okay. So, I'd like to make a motion that we go back to any contract $10,000 and up come before the school committee.

Second, can I just can I just comment please?

Mr. Mr. Bal, I fully I I respect the fiduciary responsibility and I have no issue with the dollar threshold. it's it's the additional work that's going to be created. Um, and the it's not going to be as efficient as things are right now. So, I'm trying to, you know, I'm going to say this. I there's I I believe that there needs to be accountability. I believe there needs to

be all those things. The problem is is I feel like our thresholds while I don't disagree with them are much lower than other communities and other districts across the state. And so it's it there becomes, you know, a time and a point where it's a lot of processing that we're doing that I I don't believe is, you know, fully needed. And so the the reason we went to the $25,000 is because I thought it was

a step in the right direction, I thought it was a more efficient way to do things. And the problem is is the cost nowadays, you know, $10,000 while it seems like a lot is not a lot in in the current day terms. And so moving to $25,000 I felt was more um more reasonable and more going with what everybody else is doing.

because things do cost more now. And so if you're requesting that we're going to go to $10,000, it's I'm just saying it's going to be a lot more work and a lot more time.

I understand. If I can respond, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, some of the issues you were having was back then you were doing wet signatures and you had an issue getting committee members to come in and sign. Am I wrong?

That's that was part of it. That was part of it.

Of course. So we have the procedures and which I actually really liked the procedures that um Miss Gueen Gueen sent out. Ashley um thought really addressed some of the issues that we were having and specifically it said that the administration would respond within 24 hours to any inquiries which was not happening when we had questions. So, I'm glad to see that in procedures and I believe we have a committee up here

that's going to take its responsibility very seriously and that is going to do its part and okay asking the questions but also responding and signing off in a timely fashion to help you out. So, I believe that's going to help with some of some some of some of the the backlog there. So, I think um it's something that we should definitely try out. is something that we should definitely do

and that's my position. I yield.

M Stewart and then M Riley.

I think this has to do with policy and I don't think we should talk about it. I think this has to do with policy. I think we need to bring this to policy.

This is a policy change. I don't think this is something to be brought up here.

I think we need to bring this to policy.

Well, again, um he's he's making a motion off the floor to change it to policy.

Yes. I'm just wondering if in policy subcommittee we could look at other districts and see, you know, comparable districts, Taton, New Bedford, maybe Brockton. What are they threshold so we can make sure we're in alignment? It's 25.

I can tell you I can tell you some is none. There's no threshold for some.

In Springfield is $400,000.

And I and I know we're three times lower than Springfield, but to me, I think 25,000 is an acceptable number. And I think it's, you know, given what today's costs are, I think it's a good place to start.

Mr. Mr. Agiel.

Yeah. So, uh, I've been on the committee when we had the 10,000. We knew it was some signatures and the like. And I always said if you call, go in and sign the signatures. uh we change it to 10,000 uh to 25,000 with I I think a sense of uh trust and we're not going to do things sort of underhanded or just without the committee knowing that is controversial or anything like that.

Unfortunately, what we've dealt with and including this year is that we were taken advantage of in my opinion by the $25,000 threshold. And I'll give you a case in point. Earlier this year, we had a situation where the superintendent signed a contract with People Incorporated for less than the $25,000 without telling this committee. in said contract without bringing it to this committee.

We paid $6,000 of that to a sitting school committee member for a program that we they basically knew we weren't going to need, but it was a gift to a sitting school committee member without school committee approval because of this $25,000 threshold. And after we had the meetings and we figured it out and it was back and forth, some emails or whatever, then we didn't go with them

because they weren't going to continue.

But originally it was we're just going to carry this through with a contract because I can do it because it's under 25 and then we were going to extend the contract with People Inc. until it started to get a little dicey. At the end of the day, that's my reason for the second in this motion is because we shouldn't have a 10 12 $15,000 contract just be thrown out there. If there's

some sort of mechanism that that's not allowed or that has to come before the committee for a vote, so be it. But I I think it's there's a difference between like purchasing is if you purchase product or something or but ultimately if you're doing consultant contracts, we shouldn't have a nonline item budget.

There was no nowhere. We we as school committee knew nothing about that contract whatsoever other than that all of a sudden we have a school committee member working in a school getting paid $6,000 but not identified all because this process was circumvented. That's the reason why I'm not trying to give you any more work, sir. But at the end of the day, I also don't want to sit

here and have $10,000 contracts be given away that shouldn't have been. And I still maintain it to this day that that contract should never been given. I think it was a a problem. So, that's the reason why I seconded it. Thank you. I yield.

Dr. C.

Yeah. I just want to respond because we didn't we didn't move forward with it's not that we moved forward with a contract because we could and we said we're going to take advantage of this.

That's not how it was. We were able to sign a contract because it was under the $25,000 threshold. That's a fact. Just like we do a lot of contracts, whether it's with individuals or for materials or or for professional development, whatever it is. But we did, you use the word circumvent. We didn't circumvent a process. We have a process in place. And certainly that process allowed us there

was no reason to bring it to the committee because that's not that that wasn't our process. Our process was under $25,000 we could move forward with the contract and we did. That is irrelevant to whether or not a sitting member of the school committee participated in that contract. That it that wasn't even a new that wasn't even a new practice. that same person had worked under a similar contract the

previous year and in it it's I don't know it's disheartening because instead of just giving a nod to the fact that we had a long-standing relationship with a um with a partner in um out of respect for that partner and what we thought was a need in our school. We moved forward with the contract at the beginning of the year and did a partial contract. We didn't try to sneak anything in for, you know, 24,99.

We didn't try to sneak anything in. We moved forward with a partial contract.

And when we got to the end of that contract and realized that we could either move forward with our current staffing and provide the same service or that that service was just not something we needed, we backed out of the contract. We didn't bring it forward and try to convince people that we should move forward with it and just so to characterize it in a way that we circumvented a process. No, we didn't.

We actually adhered to the process that was in place and we made some responsible decisions and we didn't move forward with an additional contract.

It's just very unfair to characterize it that way.

Mr. Cory, then Mr. A.

as one sitting member on this committee and I've been uh here for a few terms now. I'll admit I'm not a financial expert, but I am a an expert in building relationships with my colleagues uh to form a team logic that helps get the wheel of progress moving forward. And I I see the team that we have assembled here and uh I hear my CFO saying that it would be a lot more work um given

today's circumstances and ultimately I have I have a real lot of trust in in in in his knowledge and in the way he runs our financial business on this school committee. I've never had I've never seen anything really jump out that that screams, you know, mistaken practices.

So, if you want to move this to policy, maybe that's that's okay to go there and review it. But, as far as uh the $10,000 versus $25,000 threshold, uh I really don't want to overburden our staff working our administrative staff or their staff. You know, I it's I think I think it's fine just the way it is and that's where I'm going to keep it.

Mr. Agiel, so to just go back to the conversation, we had people incorporated as a partner.

That contract ended at the end of the school year. It was I think it was controversial. I think people internally and externally kind of knew that they were duplicating services that we were getting and they probably shouldn't have got another contract.

If we're being honest, at the end of the day, that contract ended.

The point I'm making is that the school committee had no say. And because of the threshold, superintendent was allowed to give what I would could say is a gift contract to just say, "Okay, we know that this person is going to work here."

They the last contract went through and it was over. There was disclosures filed. All of that stuff happened last year. this time, no disclosures, no information to the school committee. We just find out that we extended the people incorporated contract for a short amount of money. But a month earlier in the summer, we brought all the other partners to us for contracts for full contracts. So I'm not mistaken here.

It's very clear that by having that threshold at that number allowed, and I'll say it, I don't think it was above board. I think it was just we're going to just give a contract there. we wasted some money and then we find out well by the way we we went we're doing basically they were doing everything that we should be doing in our schools. So the contract language in fiduciary responsibility in the school committee

is that we have 25 grand then that same thing can happen again if we don't do something about it. That's why I'm bringing it up and it needs to be discussed in policy that if we don't have those limits and some fiscal controls the next time it can be just another 20 grand for something else, 22 grand for something else. We do it a lot and I and I maintain 100% opinion that

that was not done the right way. I yield Mr. Das um in order to compromise with my colleagues who brought up um bringing up the policy subcommittee. I I think that's um that's fair and that's fine.

However, we still have bills that are about to be coming um coming down that we all have to sign off on. What would if if it's possible, if it's something that wouldn't be that cumbersome for your department, would the either through yourself or through the superintendent, can we get a weekly list sent emailed to the committee of contracts that we are going to sign off on before we start the process. And just

for either on a temporary basis until we get a good policy going, if a committee member has a question or an objection to a contract to address my colleagueu's point, it can that committee member has the ability to bring the hold put a place a hold on that contract and they can come before the committee as a public body and we can vote on that contract. Um, is that something

are you are you attaching a dollar limit to that? Are you 10,000.

That's not putting you you place. So what I'm for a temporary procedure once a week I could provide a listing of what all the requisitions are that are over $10,000. That's something I could do.

Okay. But for what purpose?

So the pro procedure I'm proposing right now temporary until we review the policy contracts 10,000 to 25,000.

If we're going to enter into a contract with that company, it gets sent to the school committee either in a Friday memo and then that school committee me a school the school committee member whoever that is has a 24 hours to place a hold if there's any objections to said contract.

So you can place holds on contracts weekly instead of at a monthly meeting.

Is that what you're suggesting?

I I'll I'll rephrase it. So right now just policy the school committee contracts $25,000 and up automatically come before the school the school committee in a public meeting contracts that are 10 under $25,000 we do not get a say as a full body what I am proposing contracts that are $10,000 to 25,000 instead of having to wait for them temporarily come before the entire entire committee they are sent in a

weekly email of okay these are the contracts we are about to enter potentially enter into um is there any objection if not 24 hours you can enter into them that's why I'm proposing I have an objection because right now it takes the vote of a committee to block a contract correct and what you're proposing is that any singular member could put a hold put a hold and then comes before the

full committee for a vote in a public I So I I mean, yeah, I don't get a vote, but I I would not I do not think that's a good idea.

No.

All right, we'll vote on the motion. Mr.

Chloe, the the my only comment to that, it just doesn't feel expeditious to me. That's all I yield.

Okay. So, I'm so lost. What are we voting on?

What's the motion?

Lower the threshold to 10,000. We'll lower the threshold on all contracts to 10,000.

I have refer make a motion to refer it to policy subcommittee.

Second.

So now the vote is to send that amendment to policy committee to examine the ability to lower the threshold to 10,000. Okay. De call the role. I have a motion to say to send what?

To send it to send it to policy.

Policy. Okay.

Mr. Agaffa, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, no.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Coogan, yes.

Mr. Chair, one last thing I wish to bring up.

Yeah.

Thank you. So, and and myself, either myself or my colleague have um brought this up before. We voted on it and unfortunately we haven't had the votes in the past. However, it is our fiduciary responsibility to guide the administration the right direction in terms of audits in terms of reviews.

This committee before the the current superintendent was promised an audit of facilities and operations and of HR. We received the Collins Center review which provides detailed accurate information and a road mapap to lead in the right direction.

However, it did not go far enough in accountability as to what the specific issues are.

Again, this committee has received allegations of misuse of overtime, use of an illegal garage.

Um, we've gone, I believe, at least $400,000. Mr. Mr. Das, where where is this related to the year-to- date budget report?

We we have a budget report and it's important that we enact policies, we enact procedures, and we take steps to make sure we are um fully on track.

I don't think what you're talking about with the Collins report is related to that, but try to narrow your focus, please.

So, what I was going that was basically what I had to say. We have the column incentive report which highlighted several issues within financial issues not necessarily with Mr. Almeida but with facilities and there were some issues with HR. So, I'd like to make a motion that the school committee direct the superintendent to order an outside audit of facilities and operation and focus on overtime, use of equipment,

expenditures, efficiency, the following of policies over the last six years, and with HR, a compliance/operational audit over the past six years to highlight issues and inefficiencies we can build on.

Do I have a second on that?

Second.

Second. Yeah.

A motion and a second. Um I just think that's redundant, but keep firing away.

Deb call the roll.

Mr. Dagiel.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

No.

M. Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Mr. Riley.

I'm sorry. I I lost what we were voting on. So, we're voting to do an audit. an audit and a review of human resources and facilities.

But how are we going to pay for that?

Mr. Das will pay for it.

I'm sorry. I did have my hand up, but nobody looked this way.

I I am We're going to move that next next week. We're going to move these people back so I can see you. I apologize. I can't see.

I just know it like remove the roll call and let the uh other committee down the end ask their questions before we go to roll call.

I'm I'm sorry. I I'm just Yeah, I know.

It costs money to do one of those audits. I'm just wondering if this is something we want to build in the budget. Do we have money in this year's budget? Is this something we want to put in? I don't disagree if it should happen. I'm just I know it's expensive to do these and so I just it's a fair question.

Just want to make sure we have the funds to do it before we say yes.

Mr.

Just by way of a history on how we got to this point, um there were some issues a year and a half ago when Mrs. Pon was still superintendent at the time. We had a reorg that was discussed uh they wanted to reorganize the departments.

There were some issues in human resources as well as um facilities and operations. At that time the committee was told by Mrs. Pon that if the reorg came forward she was going to agree that we were going to audit those two departments as sort of a an agreement.

After we voted for that and the the reorg went in, new people got hired, it that that audit turned into a systems analysis by the Collins Center, which is not what we were promised and which is not what was truly needed because we really got a Colin Center report that we knew everything that they basically said. The issue that we were having was we were it was supposed to look at an

audit of like how do we issue overtime?

Did we issue overtime without the proper documents? Did people use equipment that they shouldn't have for private use? Did they? So, it was going to be more of an in-depth audit. So, we paid 30 grand for that. Basically, we wasted 30 grand for that. And that's what's the frustrating part was that we weren't given what we were promised. Uh my personal opinion is that we have money in the budget as I

was talking to Mr. uh Almea before about those other line items that we don't see, but we know are there. So, we do have some money that we could do an audit. Uh, I just think it's something that we need to move forward and then maybe do some sort of an RFP or something to determine what is it going to cost. But I think it just needs to take the next step and then we could

look at the scope of it or something, but I would like to get it just at somewhere. If it says it's going to cost us $200,000 to order the departments, that's a different story than if it was going to cost us $40,000. So, I just think this vote should happen to take the next step and maybe we look into what does that mean?

I'm the chair of the facilities committee now. Maybe we won't need this if we do some different things there, you know, but I think it just needs to be explored then take the next step to explore it.

Mr. Chair, I yield.

If I can, if I can amend my motion, I will amend the language that the superintendent we direct the superintendent to seek out RFQS and come back to come back to the committee with some options that we can explore and have a big in-depth conversation.

Okay. Thank you.

Okay. A motion is to seek out some RFQS, find out what this going to cost us um to do the audit and the facilities I mean in the human resources evaluation.

Deb call the do we have a motion to second on that one?

Mr. Das made that motion on to amend it with the seek of RQ.

Second.

I have a motion second. Deb call the role.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

No.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Miss Riley. Yes, Miss Stewart.

Yes, Mayor Coogan.

No.

Now on the discussion and vote to approve the year-to- date budget report.

Motion so made.

I have a motion in a second.

Second.

De call the roll on that one. 11-11.

Mr. Aguia.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Miss Riley.

Yes.

Miss Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Cookan.

Yes. 112 is an update on net school spending.

Mr. Alita, I'm sorry about this one. I was not aware of this one until this morning.

So, and it's on me because I was not in on Friday. So, um but with that being said, I didn't I don't have any documents for you tonight, but I will have um the documents for you uh for Friday to hand out. Um but just, you know, a quick update. Um so this the net school spending is the issue or the item that's up for discussion is on insurance and how the um insurance has

been reported on the end of the year report and whether or not um we've been getting credits um credited for the stop-loss reimbursements and the prescription rebates. And you know the one thing that this all did all bring to light and I know it's something that the school committee is you know looking for us to do is we are in the process of you know discussing the indirect cost agreement. Nothing's been you know

finalized or anything but one of the items is um the discussion on you know these reimbursements and how they're going to be applied um for us on the school side um moving forward. And so those those are the items um that this is you know the big item in the indirect cost agreement that is kind of like up in the air at this at this point that we will be um that we continue to discuss

and move forward with. And so, um, the last, um, over the last three years, we'll say, um, the reimbursements, you know, between the prescription rebates and the stop-loss reimbursements have totaled, you know, over, you know, $2 million in FY23, about $2 million in FY24, and then last year, uh, it totaled about $5 million. And so um all those reimbursements um have happened over the last several

years. Um, in addition to that, and so the reason why I prepared the insurance the way that I had it, you know, set up for you tonight is because I think that that will be um the discussion points moving forward and how we're going to get credit for the reimbursements um for stop-loss and for prescriptions and whether or not it be based on what the current year is or whether we get

credit for what was received in the previous year. And so with that being said, um it would be I think the method of recognizing something that's received in the previous year to offset future year's expenses, I think is the approach that we should take. And so that's the reason why I provided that format uh the way that I did for the insurance previously with the year-to- date report

so that you um that you have it there.

Um so at this time um we brought the um the I brought the issue to uh Jay Sullivan um and Jay Sullivan indicated that he um spoke with the do regarding the stop-loss reimbursements and the prescription reimbursements. And essentially his response was he spoke with the do uh and they say that the stop-loss reimbursements get the information that information you're reading. We don't have that in our backup.

No, because I I I had a day off on Friday. I had a scheduled doc uh appointment and it the this item was not on the agenda prior to uh prior to Friday. So it was put on on Friday when I was not here.

So I was not aware that an item was added on Friday.

Okay.

I had a doctor's procedure. So I was just so we so we know had I known I would have had this done done for you today.

So um so essentially um Mr. Sullivan indicated that all city and school employees that receive health insurance um from the city benefit from these. So the school department does not share in the revenues. Um I responded to Mr.

Sullivan and said I gave him the scenario and what we believe and how it should work and he essentially said that um he's not opposed to it but that the do is the final arbiter to the decision.

And so that's kind of where we are with the reimbursement piece at this point.

So in order to um in order to finalize it and get it documented, it's something that I think we need to get into the indirect cost agreement and get it all put in there.

Mr.

So are we following the law related to the net amount being placed on the end of the year report at this point? At this point, the amount that's put in is the total expense amount less grant reimbursements is the amount that is put in.

So, we met at the mayor's office with the couple city councilors because this was an issue. At that meeting, I handed everyone the actual law that says end of the year report signed by the superintendent is to be net amount for healthcare.

Did it not? You were there. I mean, the mayor was there. We had the meeting. The law says net amount.

Correct. And I brought it to his attention and he's indicated that it's the law doesn't count for J. Sullivan.

Well, that in this in this situation it doesn't.

Well, I would absolutely beg to differ.

The law for my colleague edification states when the city any city determines how much money they're going to place on the report to say that they've spent money towards the students and education the law reads it will be net what we've been doing here is the gross amount is used in some of them and we only take the reimbursements for the grants we don't take it for the maxaw rebates and 2.9 million dollar that the

city gets for reimbursement. So therefore, they've been telling us for many, many years that they've met net net school spending.

This goes be earlier than this, mayor, I'm assuming, because it was a long time.

Yes.

They're not taking the reimbursements.

And the law reads, it says net. So basically the schools, the teachers, the students, and the children have been missing out on millions of dollars of benefits that they should have gotten that they didn't because we haven't been taking the proper amount of money to determine we place a number on the on the end of the year report and say, "Yep, we met 100%." And we really don't.

And it's the law has nothing to do with in my opinion. It's the law that says it's net. and it's not very confusing.

So, we had an issue where we got a a notice from Mr. Almeida back in July or sometime August something and it stated from the superintendent that the city was $8.1 million over net school spending. That's the memo that we got. I had been on this for months and said there's no way in hell that they're over by $8 million. Please show me how it went back and forth. It was 5 million

for healthcare. It was this and that.

whatever it is. But the trees got shaked a little bit. A couple of city councilors got involved, council Kadim and council Pont, and they started to ask questions. So they called a meeting in the mayor's office with me, Mr.

Almea, and the mayor and Dr. Kurley just couldn't make it. But we went and we went over this with the CFO in the city.

We actually showed all of the documents.

So they determined based on if we counted the proper reimbursements that they're not 8.1 over, they're 1.3 million in the hole. A $9 million difference. What we've determined in a matter of two or three months. So they plug that number in. When Mr. Almeida did his charts along with uh the CFO from the city and they said, "Let's go back six years or something along those lines, some from the year 2000." It was

$6 million under at that time. my personal opinion. I was the only school committee member there.

I suggested to all of these folks that were here as well as the city councilors that we need to take this issue up with a new committee because you all need to weigh in on whether we're going to just sit here and say, "Yeah, they haven't given us $6 million. That's okay. We don't need the 6 million or are we going to say we need to go back and get that money? What's right is right." That's

the reason why I asked for this to be on this agenda. I fully aware that Mr.

Almeida was out or whatever. Ultimately, when we left that meeting, which was in November, everybody on the committee was supposed to get all those documents. I think there was some miscommunication between superintendent, you, whoever.

That's water over the bridge right now.

We need those documents that show it for the full committee. And I think we should take this up at the next meeting where we actually look at it and say, but I can tell you right now what this member is going to say. If the city owes us $6 million, they owe the schools $6 million to be at the bare minimum of 100% of net school spending. I'm voting

to go for the $6 million. I can tell you that for myself. I yield.

Mr. Dice.

Thank you. And um and as one member myself, I that's something in order to for the betterment of our educators, our staff, and the fall of public schools.

It's important that we take this issue seriously.

We could ask for documents. I I could see the issue. I I no offense to the city. I don't see the city fully cooperating with us on that issue. I believe it's important if we are to seriously take this on and the benefits outweigh the liabilities in doing so. I believe it's important that we retain outside legal counsel to look into this matter a little bit more. First, I'd like to make a motion the school

committee um through our superintendent reach out to different outside legal counsel to potentially represent us in our case against the city.

Second with a question.

Mr.

So, I seconded it just so we could have a discussion about it. I firmly do not believe that we need an outside legal.

What we need is we finally got the information. So, we all got the information. The counselor has got the information. The mayor got the information. The CFO got the information. And I'm going to put my faith in the fact that all of those folks that were in the building, including the superintendent, are going to do what's right. Not. We don't need lawyers to figure it out. You know, Mr.

Almea, because I showed you and I showed the mayor and I showed all of them, here's the document what the law says.

They haven't been giving us the proper reimbursements. So, I'm putting my faith in the fact that by next month, we're going to have this addressed and that the city, if they owe us money to be at 100% of net school spending, they should do what's right and give us the money, whether it's a staggered plan or whatever it is. But we've got to address it. We just can't walk away and say,

"Oh, no big deal." $6 million is a lot of money that we can do a lot of good things for the kids. And if we're if we were over, I'm always been one that says if the city's over the 100% that we should be paying something to. So, at the end of the day, I'm going to withdraw my second on this motion, but I do think I'm going to put my faith in

the fact that we're going to do what's right. The mayor's going to do what's right and the city council is going to do I don't think, Mr. Das, you need to flavor your comments with I don't believe the city's going to do the right thing based on what?

If I said the right thing, I don't think the city is going to fully work with us.

No, but based on what?

It's my opinion.

Your opinion? Yeah, but that's like me saying I don't I don't believe you I in my opinion, I don't think you have a clue about what you're saying. I think the city will do the right thing and we've done it for as long as I've been mayor we've made 100% in that school spending every year and if we're short we put the money in.

That that's an open question right now.

So that's not an open question.

That's not open.

Definitely is an open it's open to you but I believe we've we've made our commit because Jay Sullivan sends us a letter when we haven't made net school spending. Now, as far as this debate on the credits, we'll have the debate and we'll get and we'll get to the bottom of it and we'll do the right thing based on what the law is and what the state tells us. That's how this works.

But my my my motion and the reason I made it is because for specifically for outside legal if we're going to have a dispute with the city, but we're not there yet.

It we're not and and I was just going to say it should be in the back burner. I did bring up the motion that however it would be a conflict that if we had our own attorney or anyone here representing of it if it got to that point I I'll back my call if I I trust I trust our attorneys. I trust Mr. Mayor I I have the floor.

Thank you Mr. Corey.

Mr. Mayor, I still have the floor.

You you got a question.

I was responding to your comments and you interrupted.

Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. It's okay. So, what I I'm also backing my colleagues comments hopeful we can come to a reasonable resolution to this and we don't have to go down that route.

However, if the city owes us this much millions of dollars, there needs to be that's something that's serious and something that we need to be very aggressive in dealing with. So, I think it's something that should be considered and hopefully it doesn't get to that point.

I will I will be cautiously optimistic that we'll come to a an agreement. I'm hopeful the city does the same thing. I yield.

We like you.

Can I just Can I just Can I just comment just real quick?

Yeah.

Um I will say this. Um this issue was actually brought to me by city CFO and she's the one that Mr. M. You got to get on your mic. I can't hear you. Sorry. She she's the one that indicated that we were not getting these credits all along and was wanting to work with us to make sure that these credits happened moving forward. So I do I do give credit to her because

who brought the who brought this to you?

Your CFO Emily did.

Yeah. Emily. Yeah.

Yeah.

She's the one that's been looking at it and she's the one who was at our meeting that day with Kevin. We'll get to the bottom of it.

I'm optimistic that I'm optimistic that we can get this agreed upon. I just think we'll put on the agenda for next month. Between now and then, we got 30 days to put all our heads together. And I think the city wants to do right by us. I think the city councilors want to do right by us. The debate's going to just be whether we go back how many years. That's the debate that I think

this committee needs to weigh in on. And I believe firmly that you shouldn't just limit it if it was not done correctly.

We shouldn't just limit it to, oh, the last couple years of an end of the year report. There's a different issue in the city on just doing what's right. That's what I Mr. Corey. So, I'd like to ask my colleague u for some guidance. When we passed uh the student opportunity act, was it was it so that this uh the city council um challenged us on net school spending as a result of the increased

monies in the Student Opportunity Act?

May I?

Yes.

No, I'm just asking the mayor so I don't No, Mr. Corey, this isn't related any way, shape, or form.

I can give him a quick answer.

Yeah. So, so basically the quick answer to that is the city council has always been supportive. Student opportunity act gives us the amount of money that we need and we deserve for the kids.

Yeah, the city council is not barking at this.

This is just a matter of we were not aware, nobody was aware that we weren't getting the proper credits. So, I'm giving them the credit. Mr. Kadim, Mr.

Pont was there. They saw the same thing.

They, the city either has money or doesn't have money, but at the end of the day, 100% of net school spending is the bare minimum that they have to provide. And that's all this is. This is not questioning them. They're not challenging them. But between now and then, they're going to have to work with us to say, "Yes, we owe you this money, and here's how we can pay it."

So, I still have the floor, but um my recollection uh in budget time is that there's been a lot of hemming and whoring right around the net school spending question each year. Each and every year, there seems to be a lot of real uh discourse about it. You know, that concerns me. I'm not an expert on it. All I know is that the city has met on net school spending in the past

couple of budgets to my recollection.

Yeah. The only thing is now the numbers that we received which you're going to get a copy of at some point is that the city was 1.3 million below.

So that's the problem is we we're told that we were 8 million over. City was 8 million over. Within 3 months it turned into 1.3 million below net school spending. That's where the issue keeps coming up. So to currently they're 1.3 million below. They carried it into the current year. But if they were 6 million below, that's a bigger number.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield.

That was good discussion. For your information, we have a number of retirements resignations appointments.

Motion to accept and place on file.

I have a motion. Do I have a second?

Do I have a second?

Second.

Second. Thank you. Deb, call the role.

Sorry, just playing my new card. One question on this. Um I know some of the teacher appointments not everyone's certified. Is their appointment pending certification?

Um we will we we do waiverss 90 days so they get certified.

So that will happen before they get appointed. Perfect. Thank you.

Okay.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. D.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Miss Riley.

Yes.

Miss Stewart.

Yes.

Mayor Coug.

Yes. Uh new business. Any new business coming before the committee? Mr.

Thank you. Both items um took place within 48 open meeting law hours of the meeting. Both very concerning. Um so the issue number one and my colleague Mr. Monis um brought this asked the question in a great email and um so our HR director is resigning and my understanding is madam superintendent you the the position's out to out for bid right now. Not out for bid but um posted the there's been a request to post. Yes.

Yes. It may have been posted today. I didn't check before I came here.

Um I guess as one member and I encourage my colleagues to weigh in. I think we need to have um a broader discussion as to what direction we want to go in with the HR director position in terms of salary if we want wish to review um the duties and responsibilities.

Um but I'll yield right now because I'm sure my colleagues have some more information they wish to add to that.

Mr. Agio. Yes. So, uh, my feeling on we we do need to look at it to try to make sure that we recruit somebody that's actually can do the work. It's the work is a little different than it has been over the last couple years with investigations and the like and some of the requirements. So, I'd like to take a look at the job description and be able to uh determine what's the best thing to

try to get the best candidate. While that being said, now is not the necessarily the best time mid year to get someone in a position like that. So, I would like to recommend that we go out for a um interimm appointment for a retiree or something, which we've done in the past here, where we've gotten somebody that's retired that is not looking for the full-time job, but can carry us forward over the next five, six

months until the next school year. So, I would like to make that uh recommendation uh motion if we have to, but I do think we need some options rather than just say like go and we're going to get who we get. Uh, I do think we need to have that. Um, we need to offer that flexibility to the administration to look out to see if there's a retiree that can actually come in, hit the

ground running, and work it for six months or so. And that'll give us time to check the job description, add some things if we wanted to change some of the things. Uh, the urgency of getting it now was just I think was just we got the notice and then you'd want to do it right away. So, I can appreciate that. I think you need to have some flexibility

to try to say let's see if we can get an interm right now and next month talk about the job description or whatever else you want to change.

Anything further come Mr. Das?

Yes. Um one more item and not obviously not going to go in detail. However, we received a communication from a city resident. It was either yesterday or the day before regarding the Sylvia school.

Not going to go into the details for obvious reasons. However, we have policies that are in place that address when the school committee receives complaints that we should be following.

And I'll just read that quickly. Read that policy into the record. Public public complaints. This is policy K.

Although no member of the community will be denied the right to bring their complaints to the committee, they will be referred through the proper administrative channels for solution before investigation or action by the committee. Exceptions will be made that when the complaints concern committee actions or committee operations only.

The committee believes that complaints are best handled and resolved as close to their origin as possible and that the professional staff should be given every opportunity to consider the issues and attempt to resolve the problem before prior to involvement by the committee.

Therefore, the proper channeling of complaints involving instruction, discipline or learning materials will be as follows. teacher, um, school building administrator, superintendent, school committee. If a complaint which has been presented to the committee and referred back through the proper channels is adjusted before it comes back to the school committee, a report on the disposition of the matter

will be made to the committee and then placed in the official files. Complaints about school personnel will be investigated fully and fairly. Anonymous complaints will be disregarded. Matters referred to superintendent and/or school committee must be in writing and should be specific in the terms of the action desired. Last sentence, the committee expects the profess professional staff

to receive complaints courteously and to make proper reply to the complainant.

So, I'll just like to make a motion we follow school committee policy and refer the complaint back to the proper channels formally to the superintendent.

Thank you.

Do I have a second on that motion?

Mr. Aguia made a motion in regards to recommend that an interim be appointed.

I had he made the motion. I did not get a second on that.

Didn't get a second. My my question though, Kevin, is how do you know you're going to find an interim?

I mean, I know you look and you try. We do that at the city all the time, but how do you even know you can grab somebody now that's an interim?

You can do both.

Huh?

You can do both at the same time. But my thing is we might have some um thoughts on like we get the job description presented to us and say okay so now based on the current needs of the district we might need to tweak the job description for the actual job. So it's giving it's buying you 30 days but the superintendent can immediately go out with the authorization from us to

say I want to try to look in the all of the um publications or whatever to find and interim. So that's where basically I'm trying to Why don't you as the vice chairman and and I sit down with um Tracy and and Mr.

Lai and see where the weaknesses are in the existing one and go from there.

That's fine with Sounds good. But I think what I would want I want to get it rolling.

Yeah. I just wanted to give the superintendent the opportunity tomorrow to make some calls and say, "Oh, yeah. I know a retired HR director that's looking for a six-month employment."

Okay.

If we were posting the job, it wouldn't look the same, you know. So, all right. So, what So, what are we doing on that motion? I don't personally I don't think it needs to happen other than we had kind of given a direction.

Okay, we'll drop that one.

Mr. Das made a motion to follow the policy.

Can I have a second for discussion? I want Sure. A second discussion.

Um to answer my colleagueu's point actually my colleague raises a valid question. I would read this language and state that action would need to take place by the committee. and we've received plenty of complaints as a committee throughout the ten year I've been on this committee. Have all those complaints that have been investigated by HR in general that we've received as a committee?

Believe the answer is no. But I just want to verify.

No, but I don't think the policy is followed um by members of the committee either because I think that members of the committee do start to ask questions and start to perform their own investigations and invite people to email them privately. So, it probably is maybe a policy that we need to take a look at to make sure that it's followed by everybody involved.

Right. Well, in terms of this specific complaint here, I just I received it as well and it was read at a subcommittee meeting um with like about a month ago.

Correct. So, I guess as one member, we received the complaint. I'm just trying to follow the policy and have it officially referred through the proper channels.

Just giving the complaint the respect it deserves.

I don't want to comment on what the if there is an investigation what they're doing. However, we have a role. We have a policy to follow and just makes sense just to refer it and then to follow the language of the policy which states um referred back to proper channels. is adjusted before it comes back to the school committee. A report of the disposition of the matter will be made

to the committee and then placed in the official files. That's our policy. So, I just wish to follow it or get in the habit of following it. So, hey, you'll I think Mr.

the point is valid to just I think this needs to be looked at in policy subcommittee as well because there's things in that policy that are not happening. I'm not sure if they either could, should or would, or whatever.

like there's there's more to that than what it is. I think the point that my colleague is making though is valid. We get a lot of complaints. A lot of times people think that we get like the answer to those and there's some personnel stuff like there's it's complicated. So I think I'm going to withdraw my second.

Let's put it in policy subcommittee and uh Mr. Das chair is going to have a lot of work to do coming up.

I'm very excited. Genu genuinely very Do we have a do we have a request for Mr. Mayor? I have one item under new business.

Go ahead.

Has nothing to do with that. Um my my item is that at the last meeting we had the superintendence evaluation and I was very clear uh that I didn't think it was done properly. Not the content of it but the composite was not compiled properly. So every year we've always gotten a composite that articulates like the number and then you get a score and then the comments are all on a on a composite. I don't think

that happened this time but we have a new committee now. I just realized today that I'm the chair of the evaluation subcommittee, but I would like to make a motion that we have the sec audit issue guidance or whatever to the secretary to actually complete that composite appropriately so that as we move forward, we can actually work off of a composite that's done like all the other composits were done prior.

Second.

Okay, we have a motion, a second on the superintendent's evaluation. you want her to go back and rescore the points?

No. Basically, what I think didn't happen was everyone gave their numbers.

You know, in the past, what we've gotten is uh if you score, somebody gives one point, two points, three points, you add it up and then you say for this it was 3.3. At each one, it says by law, by rule, you're supposed to put comments on the composite. No composits were done.

So, I just think it was not completed.

It was probably just last minute.

Whatever happened, I don't know. But all I'm saying is that in whatever time it takes, just when it's convenient, it's no urgency, not changing any of the scores, but fill out the composite like we've done for the prior six or 10 years.

All right, we have a motion to second on that. Deb, give it a call.

Mr. Drag, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Kan, yes.

Do we have a request for executive session?

There would be a need. Mayor was going to read the request. Sure. Okay.

Mass General Laws chapter 38 section 21A7 to review and approve executive session minutes for December 8th, 2025 regular school committee meeting. Mass General Laws chapter 38 section 21 A7 to review and approve the executive session minutes for December 22nd, 2025 grievance subcommittee meeting. Mass General Laws chapter 38 section 21A1 to review the open media law complaint dated November the 25th 2025 filed by uh

Colin Das regarding the November 10, 2025 school committee meeting. The complaint alleges that the committee v voted in executive session and open session to release portions of the minutes of the 2025 meetings of January 2nd, 13, March 10, April 17, 29, May 12th, June 9, August 18, September 8th, July 29th, February 19th, and June 23rd. The complaint further alleges the committee did not

appropriately release any of the minutes from the meetings as they were not all they were they are all overred redacted.

National Laws Chapter 38 section 21A1 to review the open meeting law complaint dated November 25th 2025 filed by Colin Das alleging the for public schools redistricting working group is a de facto advisory committee of the for school committee and that the for public schools redistricting working committee group held unposted secretive meetings on the following dates in 2025 August 4

and 13 September 3 and 24 October 8 and 15 and November 12 and 19. National Laws Chapter 38 section 2183 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining agreement including hearing grievances relevant to all professional teaching employees. The for school system including coaches title one teachers, nurses, occupational and physical therapists and specialists in the teaching profession represented by

the for educators association. As the jurors attuned that no possession may have a detrimental impact on a bargaining position of the committee.

National law chapter 38 section 2183 to discuss strategy with respect to collective bargaining including grievances relative to all administrators employees represented by the for administrators association as the chair is attuned that open session may have a detrimental impact on the bargaining position of the committee.

National Laws Chapter 38 section 21A4 to discuss in the deployment of security personnel or devices or strategies with respect there too in Mass General Law Chapter 38 section 21 A3 to discuss strategy with respect to collective binding agreement including hearing grievances relative to all par professional employees the for school system represented by the for federation of par professionals. The chair has

determined that an open session may have a detrimental impact on a bonding position of the committee. We would reconvene the mayor and minions at that time.

Okay. Can I get a motion to second?

Motion so made.

Second.

Motion. Second. Deb. Call the role to go into executive session, please.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Yes.

Mr. Cory.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

M. Riley.

Yes.

Miss Stewart.

Yes. Mayor Coogan.

Yes. Going into executive session.

We're back. We're back in session. Deb, please call the role.

Mr. Drag here.

Mr. Das, here.

Mr. Corey here.

Mr. Monus here.

Miss Riley here.

Miss Stewart here.

Mary Cook here. Anything further to come before the committee?

Yes, Mr. Mr. Chairman, go ahead. Mr. Curry, there's a motion to approve the executive session minutes for December 8th, 2025 regular school committee meeting.

Second motion and second discussion hearing none. Deb, call the role, please.

Mr. Aragam, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, yep.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Cougan, yes. Anything further?

Yes, Mr. Chairman. And there's a motion to approve the executive session minutes for December 22nd, 2025 grievance subcommittee meeting.

I have a motion to second discussion hearing none. Deb, please.

Mr. Dragam, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

M Stewart, yes.

Mayor Kogan, yes. Anything further?

Yes, Mr. Chairman. There's a motion to approve the evolved contract.

Second. I have a motion and a second on the evolved contract. Discussion hearing none.

Do we need any more language? That's that's enough language.

Deb, give it a call, please.

Mr. Aguia, yes.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, yes.

Miss Stewart, yes.

Mayor Kogan, yes.

Anything further come before the committee?

No, Mr. Chairman.

Motion to adjurnn.

Second.

I have a motion to second to call the role.

Yes, Mr. Das.

Yes, Mr. Corey.

Hooray, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Mr. Riley.

Yes, Miss Stewart.

Yes, Mayor Kan. Yep.