3.30.2026 Fall River School Committee

He probably went to Griffy like to call to order the special meeting of the former school committee for March 30th. Deb, would you please call the role?

Mr. Aguia here.

Mr. Das here.

Mr. Cory here.

Mr. Monus.

Miss Riley here.

Miss Stewart here.

Mayor Coogan here. 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.

Uh, 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 or transmissions are being made whether perceived or unpersceived by those present and are deemed acknowledged and permissible.

Okay.

All right. So, citizens input, we're going to stick to the half hour. Uh we're right on the button with the number of names. a one over, but if we gain a few minutes along the way, we'll probably be okay. Um, three minutes each, please. First up, Keith Michong, Triion Avenue, East Providence.

Good evening. Try to be quick. Uh, after reviewing the budget, I'd say there's a range of feelings about the proposal.

Overall, it move it moves us in the right direction, but there are some areas that we are questioning and others that we are adamantly opposed to. I'll start with one of those areas. We are strongly opposed to the proposal to eliminate the psychiatrist position.

You'll hear directly from the psychiatrist and others tonight about the critical role they play in our special education department. I want to focus on the funding and staffing impact of this proposal. The rationale provided is limited and the projected $75,000 in savings is misleading. The cost of adding a psychologist is based on the average salary while the savings from eliminating the psychometrists is based

on actual salaries. But those salaries don't disappear. Those positions do. The funding remains in the budget. By that same logic, the savings would be closer to $210,000.

The average cost of a budgeted uh three budgeted FRA positions. That's not real savings.

It's a shift on paper. More importantly, the proposed work doesn't it doesn't work operationally. Two psychologists cannot absorb the workload of three psychometrists. That work doesn't go away. It gets redistributed.

Spreading the workload across 18 psychologists represents roughly 17% increase in in reality. Not all the psychologists do this testing. So it' be more like 20% more for each one. and everything I hear, they're already at capacity. I looked into how other districts handled this work because it's not common to have this position in in a large district. Those districts rely on special educators, uh stipened testing

groups, um outside consultants, which would come at a higher cost. It's not a realistic option for us. Our special educators are already stretched thin and many are not fully licensed to perform the testing. So, what does this leave us with? increased workload, added cost down the line, and a negative impact on recruiting and retention. It also risks reducing the consistency in testing,

which undermines our efforts to address over identification and maintain the integrity of the process. I don't see how this moves the district forward, and it comes at the expense of three highly skilled professionals who are doing this work well. We urge you to reconsider this eliminating this position. There are also several other proposals we're questioning. The plan to close RPA and

replace it with new alternative pathways raises significant unanswered questions.

We are hopeful but concerned about the impact of this proposal on current staff and students. The reduction in foundational English learner classes while tied to enrollment projections must be carefully examined to ensure student needs are still met. We are also concerned about the consolidation of the dual language program. 15 seconds, Keith.

Thank you. Especially after previously supporting its expansion, and while some programmatic changes appear to be lateral moves, any change can be disruptive. We ask that you appropriately resource uh appropriately apply resources to dedicate to a smooth transition.

Finally, I want to note that there's a limited number of behavior therapists in this proposal.

Thank you.

Thanks, Keith.

Uh, next up is Mel Linda Raffinan, 2766 Anderson Drive, Titan.

Uh, please help us, Melinda. Three minutes please.

Good evening. My name is Melinda Rafman.

I am speaking tonight as one of the district's three psychometrists whose budget whose positions are currently proposed for elimination in the upcoming budget. Who are we? Psychometrists have vital team members who serve as educational evaluators playing a critical role in ensuring highquality compliant special education evaluations in Fall River. We bring extensive expertise in standardized academic

achievement testing, conducting evaluations for students with IEPs across the district and assessing over 600 students annually. Our work provides thorough targeted academic data thus supports informed timely decisions regarding eligibility and educational planning while allowing school psychologists to focus on the interpretation and broader evaluation responsibilities. We are also former

special education classroom teachers.

This means we understand both the technical side of assessments and the educational impacts of the results. We know how academic data connects to classroom performance, interventions, accommodations, and eligibility decisions. We are loyal to the community we serve. We demonstrate a clear and long-standing commitment to Far River public schools as evidenced by our collective longevity in the district.

Together, the three of us bring more than 70 years of service to Fall River, reflecting a deep and sustained dedication to the students and families we serve. Over the years, we have built strong professional relationships and developed extensive knowledge of district procedures, student needs, and the importance of consistent, highquality evaluation practices. But our role extends beyond the assessments.

We collaborate closely with team members, communicate with teachers to gather insight into areas of concern, and consult with related service providers such as speech and OT. But most importantly, we take time to get to know the students we assess. We talk to them about school, what they're good at, and what's hard for them. They share their favorite activities or class struggles. We talk about teachers,

recess, friends, or why they're tardy to school again. and we get to know what they're what they hope to be when they grow up, what they do for part-time jobs, and how their team did in last night's game. Those conversations matter. What will it look like without us psychometrists? Eliminating our roles may seem cost effective on paper, but in reality, it is not. It will likely create greater challenges and costs in

the long run. Reassigning all academic achievement testing to psychologists will significantly increase their workload, delay evaluations, and reduce the consistency and fidelity of standardized assessment administration.

This change may also create risks for meeting legally mandated compliance timelines and maintaining highquality student evaluations that we all currently provide. The role we serve in the district is being portrayed inaccurately and does not fully affect the value reflect, excuse me, the value and of our work. Our positions are worth preserving and we respectfully ask you that you reconsider as you make these

budget decisions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, Emily Ratherman. Uh three minutes, please. Emily, good evening. I'm reading on behalf of Jenna Vieiraa. Last month, I came before this committee to comment on the culture that is permeating through the district from the top down. Tonight, I am back to discuss culture and morale specific to the special education department. Last week, our psychometrists were informed their positions were being eliminated.

Not only was this news shocking, but it left us trying to wrap our heads around how this could possibly lead to forward progress for the department. It doesn't align with building consistent and effective staffing structures. The psychiatrists are busy with a full workload. They are reliable veteran staff with specialized expertise. I'm not unreasonable enough to think that sometimes hard decisions need to be made

to drive forward progress, but this this doesn't make sense. In fact, this proposal takes the work of psychometrists and shifts it onto the school psychologists. This is a clear change in working conditions and this is a clear pattern of behavior from leadership. It wasn't too long ago that we were having very similar discussions about changing team chair workload based on a proposed change that was made in a

comparable fashion without collaboration or consideration. The psychometrist complete over 600 academic achievement evaluations annually between three staff. During the last contract cycle, we secured language to manage their workload. They are so busy that the language was developed to trigger a system of support when a testing percentage of 150% was reached in a month. How that support was to be

provided was left open-ended to allow the district some flexibility. The psychometristers have consistently maintained a high rate of evaluation completion which warranted this language being developed. Last school year, the psychometristers utilized this language.

Now it appears the contract language that was supposed to support the psychometrist is being weaponized to make it seem as though they couldn't handle their workload. Not only is this insulting and disingenuous, but it sends a clear message to the department.

Asking for help is not allowed here.

I've received feedback over the last week from members of our department fearful of their positions being cut or of their requests for support being seen as incompetence rather than attempts to further their knowledge. We are watching a department full of dedicated, hard-working staff unravel at a rapid pace. If we continue to make decisions without collaboration, transparency, or

data, there will be nobody left in this department to lead. I am urging the district to make decisions backed by the data to consider the impact of these changes on culture and morale and to reconsider eliminating the psychometrist positions. This budget proposal that imparts an illusion of forward progress doesn't have to come at the expense of our educators. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you.

Next up, Elizabeth Medeiros, Courtney Drive, West Point.

Three minutes, please. Liz, good evening. Tonight, you're hearing from multiple staff within the special education department asking for you to consider the proposed changes as a result of budget planning for next school year, particularly around a reduction of staff. I'm one of those staff members. I've been a team chair for now six years in this role with an additional seven as a special educator,

all within this district. Last week, a committee member stated that the proposed special education department budget had appropriate rationale and reasoning. I've had the opportunity to now see that budget and supposed rationale and ask direct questions to department leadership. And so I ask, what rationale is there? I've asked the questions and shared concerns. To be completely honest, it feels like we are

building a car while driving it. We've asked about implications to workload and daily operations. We've been told there's no proof it won't work. But here's the thing. We don't make decisions in the land of special education without data. We run the numbers. We analyze trends. We determine needs as such. To be told that doing the work ahead of time before this budget is approved is too timeconuming is simply

insulting. We are talking about people's livelihood and we are talking about the impact to student services. You have boots on the ground. People expressing grave concern about the direction this department is headed. When will this committee begin to listen? When will you address the climate and culture that is being created? It's time to stop ignoring the issues of the department

and begin asking hard questions. You'll find, like we did, lack of answers and a lack of any clear plan. Have any changes in this department led to improved compliance? Has anything led to improved outcomes for students and families?

Continue to cut student and family-f facing FREA positions and things like compliance and service delivery will continue to fall short. It's time this committee stops turning a blind eye to it.

Uh Sarah Saniato, Clinton Avenue, Newport.

Three minutes, please. Sarah, thank you.

Good evening. My name is Sarah Saniato.

I'm one one of the school psychologists in the district. I am here tonight to speak in opposition to the proposed elimination of the psychometrist positions and the significant impact that it will have on both staff and students. Psychometrists play an important role in our district by conducting achievement testing for special education evaluations. If these positions are eliminated, that

responsibility will fall directly on psychologists. We are told that there will be two new psychologists added to offset this change. The numbers simply do not support that solution. Even with two new psychologists, that would be an additional 60 assessments each. We would very quickly raise these concerns to upper administration about there not being enough time to do these since our

case loads are already extremely high.

They stated that if they needed to, they would then advocate for more psychologists to help. But my question is, how does this financially make sense? A psychologist is a much more expensive position. They also have additional duties rather than just testing. They cannot complete assessments at the same rate a psychometrist can. In reality, they would take more it would take more than

three psychologists to cover the work of three psychometrists because of the time needed to complete those additional duties, making this not just an impractical solution, but um a more costly one. More importantly, these shifts put the district at serious risk of falling out of compliance with statemandated evaluation timelines.

Delays in the evaluations can also lead to legal vulnerabilities, including mediation, due process hearings, outcomes that are going to be far more costly both financially and ethically um than maintaining the current staffing structure. I also have concern with how F River will be able to retain staff, putting this extra responsibility. Fall River already has a hard time hiring and

keeping psychologists, especially in the last six years. Of our 16 psychologists, 11 have been here for 5 years or less.

Four are due just this year. How are we going to attract potential employees when our districts are more other districts are more appealing? Even with the new contract, the pay is similar to surrounding towns and psychologists in the district work longer days, longer school years, and do more evaluations.

We reached out to other urban districts in the state and districts such as New Bedford Taton Brockton Lowel Lynn Boston, and Worcester have either psychometrists or special education teachers do the achievement testing.

Psychologists in all of these urban districts are not responsible for the added workload. Putting unsustainable demands on us when we are already averaging well over 100 evaluations would quickly cause burnout and other districts know that we have good psychologists, smart psychologists here and we should focus on retaining them rather than having them go to other districts where their case loads are

more manageable and the work they do is appreciated. I strongly urge the school committee to reconsider this proposal and preserve the psychometric position for the benefit of our staff, our students, and the integrity of our district.

Thank you.

Ne next next up is Jamie Connley High Avenue forever. Three minutes, please.

Jame.

Good evening. My name is Jamie Connelly.

I'm speaking tonight as a school psychologist and as a city resident, taxpayer, voter, and parent of an incoming kindergartener. I am fully invested in the decisions made by this committee. I am here to share the concerns of our psych group regarding the proposal to replace psychometrists with psychologists. This has been presented as a move to provide more support to buildings and address high

needs students. We respectfully offer a different perspective. Under this proposal, our psyches would be doing the very same evaluations the psychiatrists currently do. The testing load does not decrease. It simply shifts to us. And when testing consumes our entire day, there is no time left for the building based prevention focused work that was described in the sped budget proposal.

That is the irony of the current proposal. Currently, none of us are truly building based. For example, I am assigned to Spencer Bordon, a school with 42% of students on IEPs.

Last month, I spent more time at Dery High School due to testing demands than in my own building, leaving me unable to support the needs there. This proposal would make that worse, not better. With our current testing case load, each psych is left with roughly one hour per day for other responsibilities such as reconvene meetings, transition meetings, manifestation determination hearings,

and that is assuming we work through our lunches. We do not currently have time for direct student contact beyond evaluations. Under this proposal, each psych would absorb approximately 60 more evaluations per year. That is 120 more hours of testing per site. We do not have one hour to spare, let alone 120.

We support the long-term goal of reducing over identification of students with disabilities, but MTSS has limits.

Most of our evaluations are re-evaluations for over 3,000 students on IEPs, all legally required to be completed every 3 years. MTSS cannot change that. Since 2021, our sped population has grown largely due to students moving into our district already receiving services, a volume we cannot control or predict. And here is a deeper issue. Meaningful MTSS work requires Sykes to have the time. Time to

be in buildings, time to consult with teachers, to directly work with students, to intervene early. If we are consumed with testing, we cannot contribute to MTSS at all. The proposal removes the very capacity it is hoping to build toward. I want to be clear, we could already benefit from two additional psychologist positions just to support our current responsibilities and improve our practices. Subtracting

three staff and adding two is still a deficit and will have a detrimental long-term impact. It will make it difficult to maintain and recruit psychologists given the massive testing case load. And it perpetuates antiquated practices that most districts no longer test their psychologists with. While additional staff is welcome, absorbing the psychiatrist case load isn't a gain.

It's a loss dressed up as progress. We ask you to consider this carefully and do not eliminate these positions. Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up, Nick Quigley, North Main Street.

Three minutes. Nick.

Good evening, Mayor Coogan. Let me fix this. Good evening, Mayor Coogan, Fall River School Committee members, and acting superintendent Reposo. I was wondering if you have the Opportunity Hub One Pages out. I'll be referencing those. I'll be referencing the Opportunity Hub One Pages. I'm a proud music educator at Dervy High School, but the last school year and the year prior, I served both Dery and RPA as an

itinerant teacher. Over the course of those two years at RPA, I formed a rock band class that performed at the district's Battle of the Bands. My students made cowboy hats part of their visual theme and signed this one for me.

It's great because it goes with everything. As leaders, you understand that starting any new program requires the investment of both time and money.

Thanks to funding from the fine and performing arts department, as well as grants that I wrote and received from the nonprofit Music Will and the Association for Popular Music Education and items that I donated from my personal collection of musical equipment. RPA currently has a full rock band backline of a drum kit, guitars, a bass, mics, a mixer, cables, effects processors. I could go on. Establishing

this platform for students to make to make music took a lot of my own time and money, but I would give it again in a heartbeat because every student deserves access to highquality music instruction.

However, in the staffing budget provided in the opportunity hub one pagers, there is no music teacher position list listed. The PE, culinary, and art positions are listed, but so too should be the RPA music teacher position.

Music is an art form that helps students find their voice. One of the many goals the district should have for the opportunity hub is for students to successfully collaborate and exercise creativity to use their voices for good.

Therefore, a music teacher should be considered a must have for the opportunity hub. I urge you to update the staffing budget accordingly to include a music educator to continue the effort I put in over those last two two school years. There is absolutely no reason why any student in any of the Fall River public schools should be withheld from a music education. Rather than cutting positions, we should be

adding more to get even more kids singing, moving, playing instruments, and writing and recording their own music. We should be adding even more positions to help make sure that every child knows their voice should be heard.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chair, two seconds, Mr. Das. Um, RPA's they're being they're presenting Wednesday, correct? They're not being presented today. Okay, thank you. I Next up is Christopher Adams, Lynen Street Cranson.

Three minutes, Chris, please. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Christopher Adams and I've been with the special education department in Fall River for 12 years.

three years as a parah, five years in a social emotional behavioral room, and most recently as an inclusion teacher for grades six through eight at Doran.

While I have a number of concerns with the newly proposed special education budget, my first concern is with the elimination of the psychometrist positions. If I understand the proposal, it suggests that the academic testing demands have grown too large for the three people currently in these positions and recommends that these positions be cut and the task delegated to two psychologists instead along with

several other duties. Regardless of where you stand on the proposal, I think we can agree that two is less than three and giving the work of three people to two people seems unlikely to have a positive outcome. It's been argued that other districts do not have psychometrists to do academic testing.

While this is true, it doesn't mean that Fall River should not. This model has worked successfully in the district for 39 years, and we're fortunate to have three former classroom teachers who specialize in these unique tests. Rather than aligning with other districts, I think more districts should align with us because we have a better model.

Finally, considering other districts, most other districts do not have psychometrists or psychologists to do this testing, but leave it to the special education teachers. If these positions are cut and two people fail to do the work of three, this is the likely next step. This would be difficult and expensive, even if we were fully staffed and had unlimited resources. Under current conditions, it would be

completely unmanageable and would take even more time away from what should be our focus, working with our students.

There are problems that need to be addressed with special education in Fall River, but having psychometrists do academic testing isn't one of them. Just as we can all agree that two is less than three, I think we can all agree that solving existing problems is preferable to creating new ones, changing how we do academic testing is fixing something that isn't broken. Our budget priorities should be filling

vacancies and reducing case loads so we can have more time for what should be our main focus, working with our students.

Thank you.

Next up is Diane Sears, Friendship Street Florer.

I got two more. We started at 503, so we're going to make it three. Three minutes, please. Diane, thanks. Good evening. My name is Dianandrea Sears, and I'm speaking on behalf of some families whose children attend VA's um Nova Vista dual language program. We are parents, not advocates organizers, here to share why this program matters to our families and ask you to oppose the proposal to condense

Nova Vista to one classroom per grade. I was born in Bolivia and moved to the United States when I was 10. My husband has Mexican heritage, but didn't grow up speaking Spanish. When Nova Vista launched, it was an obvious choice for us. The program reinforces what I'm teaching at home and gives my children something I didn't have growing up.

confident bilingualism from an early age. My son in third grade is thriving, reading and writing in two languages, engaged and proud of his identity. My daughter just started kindergarten and is already reading in Spanish with growing confidence every single day.

This doesn't happen by accident. It happens because Nova Vista was designed intentionally. multiple classrooms, experienced bilingual teachers, and a true commitment to additive bilingualism.

Through this program, our kids are gaining far more than language skills.

Academic confidence into languages, culture identity and connection to their heritage, real world opportunity to comm to communicate with extended families, future career advantages in an increasingly multilingual world, broader perspective on the world and other cultures. One family son now dreams of living in Puerto Rico to embrace his culture more deeply. Something this program inspired. That's powerful.

Reducing Nova Vista to one classroom per grade will limit access for families who want their children in a bilingual program. Disrupt the inter intentional design that makes this program work. We ask you to oppose the proposal to condense Nova Vista. Maintain the program at full capacity. communicate transparently with with families in both Spanish and English about any decisions

affecting our program. Our children are readers, thinkers, bilingual learners with tremendous potential. Nova Vista gave us a program worthy of that potential. Please continue supporting it as is. Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Javier Candalas, three minutes. Javier, good evening. My name is Javier Candelas and I'm currently a kindergarten teacher in the dual language program at Viperos Elementary. Speaking on behalf of our dual language education team, I would like to briefly introduce myself. I bring 26 years of experience in education. I serve as a school principal in Spain for seven years. Was named teacher of the year in my former

district in Texas and have also worked as a dual language coach. I joined this district in 2022 through the visiting international teachers program and my visa is sponsored by Desi. I'm very grateful to Desi and to this district for the opportunity to be here the kindergarten program.

When I arrived I was impressed by the professionalism of the entire staff but especially by the dual language team.

The level of commitment and collaboration is truly exceptional. In my classroom, I see every day the power of this program. For example, 100% of families complete optional homework. By December, more than half of my students were already reading in Spanish, and we expect over 95% to do so by the end of the school year. This shows the strong commitment of our families and how deeply they believe in this program.

We are here to respectfully oppose the proposed reduction to the dual language program. Our program is based on research and develops bilinguism, biliteracy and strong academic achievement. We already see students becoming confident bilingual learners who meet and very often exceed grade level expectations. It is also a direct pathway to the district's seal of violeracy. Reducing this program limits

that opportunity. This is an equity issue.

Our district is diverse and multilingual.

This is a strength and we should support it, not reduce it. The dual language program is more than instruction. It's a bridge. It helps students build on their first language while succeeding succeeding academically in English. We understand budget challenges and that's why we have proposed a costneutral solution.

15 seconds. 15 seconds. Yeah.

We respectfully ask you to react these reductions and allow this program and our students to continue to succeed.

Thank you very much. Thank you for your time.

Kelly Gabardi, Seria Omar, Kelly Gabardi.

Last one, Kell. Just making it three minutes. Go ahead, please.

Hi, I'm here to speak on the behalf of Sariah, who was very nervous to come and speak, but she is the fourth grade foundational teacher at the Green Elementary School. She began her work in February of 2022.

I'm going to just read what she wrote this evening. So since then, I have dedicated myself to supporting multilingual learners, many of whom are newcomers, just as I once was. As you consider the budget, I urge you to protect our foundational classrooms.

Research from Weer shows that students need five to seven years of development to develop full academic English.

Research from National Academics of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine also show that MLS make the strongest academic gains when they receive targeted language instruction alongside content learning. Closing foundational classrooms would push newcomers into mainstream settings before they are ready. Widening achievement gaps and limiting access to grade level standards. This is not about my

position. It is about equity.

Foundational classrooms give our newcomers the time, support, and safety they need to succeed. Removing these programs would take away opportunities from children who deserve the same chance to thrive as any other student in our district. Thank you for considering the impact on our most vulnerable learners. And I want to add my point of view is that y'all are picking literally the most vulnerable people who cannot

the parents cannot get up here and support themselves or their children.

Are you going to are you going to propose this to the parents in their native language so they know what's happening or are you just going to pull the rug out of their underneath their poor feet that they're already trying to survive?

THANK YOU.

I MADE IT.

Item number two, I mean, I'm sorry. Item number three is a discussion of the for public schools fiscal year 2027 budget for all for public schools and departments. Um, I'll turn it over to the uh superintendent Brian.

Sure. So, um, we have an opportunity really to discuss um, schools and departments. I know that uh there are a couple of schools that are not represented here this evening. Um but really, you know, this an opportunity to take questions. Um I don't know where folks exactly want to start in terms of whether they want to go through schools or or departments.

Um schools are not here.

Uh Tansey, Talbet, Fonica. Actually, Tansey's here. Talbet and Fonica would be um two schools that I know are not here.

Thank you.

Do you want to start right there? Go right I think. Right. RPA.

RPA. Yes, Mr. Here we have a presentation.

Mr. Das, if I could recommend because most of the um positional changes um in one way or another are special education. I think we should start with that because that would be less question probably.

That's fine by me. We got to do them all anyway. The order doesn't bother me.

Mr. Das, go ahead.

Thank you, Mr. Obuchin. I wasn't sure if you had a presentation or not or so I can review the proposed changes um in special education if that's what the committee would like or I can answer questions.

Sure. Um if you um if you want to just review and then we'll ask I'll ask questions.

Sure. just um so when we're talking I know and totally understand the psychiatrist's um um feedback tonight as well as the people um that work closely with them. I want to be very clear that this is not about the people. I totally support and have shared with the psychiatrist myself that they are loyal and hardworking. But the position of a psychiatrist with only three psychometrists for three over 3,200

special education students just doesn't meet the need of the district. That is why and the only reason why the proposal is to eliminate the position. The people are welcome to consider other open positions that they are eligible for in the department again because their loyalty, their dedication, their hard work is has not gone unnoticed.

The position of a psychiatrist, they complete one piece of an overall assessment of a student. That is the academic achievement evaluation.

It is not a required evaluation.

Number one, so every single student who's getting a re-evaluation does not need that assessment necessarily. Some will, of course. We also have a lot of academic data within the district that we can use as part of the special education process. Many times the academic achievement data that we get from the standardized evaluations that psychometrists do don't accurately reflect the work required in the

classroom by students to reach reach Massachusetts state standards because it's a standardized assessment that is normed across the country.

So part of this is a psychologist already does a piece of the evaluation when it involves a reeval. The psychometrist does the academic achievement evaluation. The psychologist does the cognitive assessment. They do rating scales. They do classroom observations. So they're already evaluating many times the same student. So this is yes an additional assessment that they would have to do

but they don't have to do it for all the students. When people talk about no clear plan or um um rationale it was never about funding. It was never about saving money. I said all along I will advocate and this committee has heard me say this for the students and what they need. If that is positions, I'm going to be the first one to come up here and ask for them. And the committee has always

been supportive. What I'm asking now is that we think about structures and supports that meet the needs of students. So if a psychologist, and we already have 16 of them, um are able to conduct the complete assessment, not just a piece of it, and they're the ones that attend the meeting. If I'm a parent and my student was assessed by a staff member in Fall River Public Schools, I want that staff

member around the table to answer my questions. How did they do on their reading assessment? The feedback from um the staff is absolutely right. Other other districts have their special education teachers do the academic achievement evaluation. That's been my experience in the past as well. Fall River doesn't have that structure.

That's why we've had the psychometrist position. But Fall River has never grown that position. If you're going to want to keep the position, then you have to make it so that they can attend the meetings and follow best practices, observe kids in classrooms, talk to teachers, consider the achievement data that we have in our data system, which is aligned to Massachusetts standards.

So the only reason why I'm proposing this reduction in uh the position is simply to create structures and supports that better align our evaluations, our presentation to families, our interventions with the needs of Fall River.

Um thank you um thank you for your um for your explanation from your position.

Um there's a few other positions and I saw this in the PACE budget when I just went through again. I noticed this actually comes out of your budget as well where converting some um community facilitator um interpreter positions over to community facilitators.

Um I don't think that involves my department. So there are two um special education interpreters that currently work and uh they mostly cover IEP meetings. um those two positions will move over to under uh Miss Kudo's um group so that there's a bigger pool of the interpreters. So we have one for Spanish and one for Portuguese.

So there will still be like a like um like that use for in the um I in those Yeah. Their position isn't changing. is just a matter of falling under a structure where because Miss Kudo's um um staff members, they also support our IEP meetings when our two interpreters can't make it.

Thank you. My last question um just for now is um most of I wouldn't say most, but a good chunk of um special education budget goes to collaboratives and out of school tuition. Mhm.

Um we don't have the budget set up in a way where it shows um an increase or decrease from last year into this year.

There's going to be an increase from last year to this year.

Um this what does that look like? What's the percentage like?

Um I can get you the actual hard numbers, but I know that we probably have this time this year, we probably have 20 more students out of district currently than we did last year at this time. Some of it is because they moved into the district and they already had out of district placements. Some of it is because our um stone school is Yep.

We have a lot of needs in the social emotional um realm in Fall River and we're trying to meet the needs the best we can but when we can't meet their needs I am required to say we have to provide FAPE so they need to go out of district.

I understand. And um last point I'll make on that on that subject is um while we're curing our strategic plan um something that we should um look into long term is looking how can we invest in special education in Fall River so we can reduce the costs um sending students out.

I yield Mr. Corey.

Um I've thank you Miss Obenchain. I for one have uh been really happy to see the special needs department I think grow and evolve uh since co I know that we've put a real focus on the growth and development of your department. I am concerned about the loss of employment.

Uh is there any way that they can be redirected into other roles?

I've already spoken to the three of them about that. Yep. We have they are certified special education teachers. We have plenty of teaching positions available and we have team chair positions available which again they meet uh they have the lensure for. So there are open positions in the district should they want to stay. It's just we don't have the role of psychometrist should this committee um agree to move

forward with the proposal.

Will this uh will this pairing down of psychometrists add um more uh an extra layer of work for the sachs?

For the sachs.

Yeah.

In in the IEP process or the uh the writing process.

Well, it will be our psychologist.

Again, that's why I'm asking that we add two additional psychologists. However, I can't tell you the exact impact yet because we have to go through and determine who is getting the academic achievement evaluations and is it really required and if it is, how do we alleviate some of the psychologist's other testing responsibilities such as a cognitive assessment is not needed on every single child. We have to

meet the needs of the of the students.

Again, I would never jeopardize that with also being realistic in the staff members that we have. If this proposal goes through, 18 is a high number of psychologists in a district whose primary responsibility is eval is evaluation and attending those meetings.

Yes, you heard other people say, you know, um they have other districts, they don't do the academic achievement. Yes, that's true. They don't have 18 psychologists, but a lot of psychologists in other districts, they could have counseling case loads, they could have administrative duties, some of them chair um meetings. So, it's hard to compare um kind of what the impact will be on the psychologist. Uh we need

to go through this together and build a structure and a system that works.

Thank you. I yield, Miss Stewart.

I know I spoke on this the last time, but I have a huge problem with losing five paras from Henry Lord. I I am just not okay with it. That's a huge position. It's a huge loss. We need them in the classrooms. I I understand. I know you and I already spoke about it, but I have to say it again. I am not okay with the Paris not being in those classrooms. My daughter was at Henry

Lloyd and if my daughter was in that classroom, it's it's a huge loss. We need the paras in those classrooms.

Those classrooms are um and I get it. I read in here exactly where, you know, the classrooms are going to be and how it's going to be done. But the older kids, just because the kids are older and how it works, they still need an extra body in that room. Especially when they get older, a lot of behaviors come and a lot of things happen. They need that extra person in that room. It really really

bothers me that we're not going to have those paras.

I you know I understand we've talked about this right Miss Stewart and I have to say that when you've come to visit the classrooms did you ever feel like it was understaffed because when I'm in the classrooms I don't feel like it's understaffed. The positions that we're looking to eliminate with restructuring are positions that have been vacant for a long time. So the schools are not

operating with those positions being filled currently and instead if I have to as an administrator I'm tasked with trying to you know allocate funds where the needs are and then not just leave funds hanging for positions that may not be filled again. I the structure and um systems you read about as far as PARs go are to provide a high level of support for some of our you know more

significant um significantly disabled students and yes this is just the structure however if a particular student was in the district and needed a onetoone we come to the committee we ask for that um I don't feel like this proposal um or elimination of the few I mean we have still have 34 49 special education paras in the budget for next year. Um so I do I understand what you're saying and I would never want to

leave a classroom short. Um again if the committee wants to keep those positions in the budget and still support the other um requests from my department you know we can certainly can do that. My worry is is that we have a lot of paras in that program who have they're working half day. They call out a lot. What do we do then? What do we do when someone's out and we can't fill that? What do we

do? They pull those powers a lot to cover other classrooms. What do we do then? That that's the problem. When we we don't have those building subs in Henry Lord do not go into those classrooms. What do we do then? That's my worry. you're going to have one par inside that classroom a lot of times. Do we have a floater? What do we do at that point?

I think the individual's buildings handle those things separately. I know we've had our cluster coordinator at Henry Lord being in the classroom with the students or a BCBA. Um what um principal Pico does as far as you know allocating other paras that might be um inclusion special ed paras. I can tell you that many principles talk about taking special ed cars and using them to cover general ed classrooms because when

teachers are out that shows me if that can happen and students are safe and learning continuing what is the position really needed is it more float paris is it more right for those types of things or building subs but we can't take paris out of programs to cover classrooms and say those we value those people in the classrooms with the students So, can we say that we can't pull those

powers out of those classrooms? How can we say we we should be saying that we can't pull those powers out of those classrooms?

I know it's a last resort for principles, but they have no other option is what I'm being told. I I mean, I agree. I don't know how they would cover a classroom then. I mean, that would be a question for a principal, but um I get to Henry Lord. I'll ask the question.

Yeah, that's fine.

I yield.

Thank you. Anything further on special, Mr. Angia?

Thank you for your presentation and um always uh since you started that your job here uh I for one asked you to be bold and look at everything and make decisions based on data and taking the um personalities out of it, the names out of it and look at positions and to ask us when you need something and I think the committee and at least the last committee and I'm sure this one

will be very supportive of those things but when you present stuff to us it doesn't as one member it does not come out as this is willy-nilly this hasn't been looked that by you and your team.

Uh at the end of the day, I think you're trying to do something that's going to provide a layer of support for theCCL needs of the kids in in this district.

And I think that's a major issue across not only your department, but the counselors and the which we'll get into all that. So, I do support what you're trying to do. I think you have looked at it and if if it's something where you're going to need something else, I think you're going to be not afraid to come back to us and say, "We need an extra person." But we just can't keep doing

the same thing over and over and expect different results, per se. And I think you're doing the right thing with a few of these moves for sure. Uh the um meetings, I think the part about not attending a meeting, I think that really struck a nerve with me as well because I if I was a parent, I would want to have that person be there uh to support that.

Um, we also have some psychologists in the district that are very skilled with uh counseling with just uh providing services for kids. And it's bothered me since I've been on this committee that they don't have time to necessarily utilize their expertise with the team.

Excuse me.

So, at the end of the day, psychologists have things that they can offer to a team to a principal or and that hasn't happened for for many years. So I I think the at the end of the day we have to look at the whole picture. I did ask someone that works in New Bedford and they don't have 18. I think they have nine. So just as comparison that's we have 18 psychologists. They have nine

and their teachers do the um academic testing. I'm not sure how that works and how many those they have but that would be something to explore uh looking at just data and say well what does it mean? Maybe this is what we try and then you say well this didn't work.

this the teachers should do it, but then we have to increase the teachers because our teachers are overwhelmed. So, you know, there's not really an easy answer, but I applaud you for at least trying to make the moves and do it in a transparent way as far as I'm concerned.

The piece that you have in here about uh the additional cluster coordinator, changing the name, I totally support that. I think the um needs of the kids are tremendous across the board and these whatever you're going to call them a special education department head or cluster coordinator it's another resource because a principal vice principles can't get into the nitty-gritty on all of those programs.

So uh I definitely support that. Um I would say that the parah issue is something that we need to explore. I agree with my colleague Miss Stewart that we have to and it may be when Henry Lord comes down for that example but let the principles explain to us what it is with their vacancies. So if you had x amount of vacancies and we don't have anybody filling those roles how is that working

right? And I and I totally agree and support the fact that paris do support kids in the classrooms. I mean, I'm asking to reallocate 18 Paris to support middle school science and social studies because I know disabilities don't go away in those settings. But when I have six adults in a classroom and 10 students and all adults aren't engaged in the work with the kids, I have to say

where can we reallocate some of that?

That's all that this is about. But I totally respect whatever the committee decides to do is to I would just say that with with that piece uh any more data that we have from the school side where these uh positions are being moved from would would help for us at least to be able to understand where are they leaving. You know, you have a lot of vacancies. We also need special ed

teachers. We need more special ed teachers. I've been a proponent over the years, as you just mentioned, a student's disability doesn't go away because they're in science and social studies, and they need the supports as well. Uh, this is a an effort to not just do the same thing that we've been doing for years. This is an effort to do something different. It's doing something bold and it's and it's doing

it based on data that you have listed here for us. So, I support uh what you're presenting. The issue of uh somewhere in here is about liaison and we'll talk about that through uh at another time as well but I think the liaison are a different position in that when we first had created those it was meant for basically you could almost get two leaison for the cost of one school adjustment counselor when they first got

created. Over time things have changed.

So now that difference in pay is not two for one. And one of the biggest problems that I have with this entire budget and the entire uh system right now is that I don't believe the mental health needs clinical mental health needs of our kids are being addressed. We have people that can do that work that are not necessarily doing being allowed to do that work because they're doing other

things. But when you look in here I somewhere in your proposal is to hire a couple of leaison.

I will at some point when we talk about it look into We need to hire school adjustment counselors, clinical licensed school adjustment counselors rather than liaison. The leaison has taken on a life of its own relative to the money the data shows us, the salary uh show us and they just don't have the same same skill set or certifications or clinical skills that a school adjustment counselor does.

So as far as I'm concerned, the special ed piece for anal leaison, it should swap to a school adjustment counselor.

And with that, I yield and thank you, Mr. Das.

Thank you. Just to follow back up on um two points for Hen specifically on Henry Ward. So um how many vacancies if minus these five including the five vacancies because the the five parish you're um proposing to eliminate there was a vacant position. Correct. So yes, when I proposed to uh reduce the number of paras by the 11 or whatever it was at first I like I did not um say at Henry Lord. Right.

So with um Mr. Almeida and uh the current acting superintendent like where those positions came from were just where the vacancies were. I think Kevin like we didn't I didn't say this school versus that school. I was just saying here's the structure, here's where all the powers are very and then where they how they selected those positions. I honestly don't know that information because they were never filled.

So there's currently only five include if we don't remove these these vacant par positions, there's currently five vacant par positions.

Uh right now on on I'm just on the employment site, there's 34 uh there's 44 par professionals listed on the employment site. 34 under specifically for Henry Henry Lord.

Okay. Specifically for Henry Lord. I'd have to see.

So there's there's only five vacancies if you include these par positions.

That's we have um agency staff working at Henry Lord. So those would still be considered, you know, vacant positions because they're filled with agencies. So they're still posted. Again, I think that the principal when Henry Lord comes down can maybe tell you specifically how many true vacant positions a lot of our powers at Henry Lord have been covering for vacant teacher positions. So again,

their position isn't necessarily vacant.

They're just filling a different role.

So I think it's so these five power positions, they're currently being filled by agency staff.

these vacant positions.

The five that you speak of at Henry, that's specific to Henry Lord.

Yes.

I would have to ask Miss Bacho how many actual agency paras they have?

Because my question would be if we're removing these five quote unquote vacant positions. Are we rem would that be five less agency staff? Is there those five are there five individuals currently working through an agency in the school?

We never contract with an agency until after we've done our due diligence to hire our own staff. So at the end of the year, none of those people have positions here. We h we advertise and interview and hire and then come August maybe when I come back to the committee and say we can't fill these positions.

Can we go back out to get our agency people? That's how it's been.

I guess but just um just so I'm clear with my question. If we approve the budget with the five less par profofessionals, that would be five less individuals in the classroom next year potentially in some classroom wherever those positions again were. So, with that being said, I'm more inclined to then put these back on the um back on there because if they're going to be filled next year by an agency, then that's five

less power professionals in the classroom that will be helping students.

We can't even fill all of our power positions even with agencies. Like there are multiple positions who have been vacant for multiple years and we have not been able to fill them. Again, we can certainly try and we can certainly but we don't we can't hire like if 44 agency paris isn't cost-effective for the district and if they're not required they're just positions that we have open like I go by

when we hire agency people where is the vacancy and is it needed for the student if the position just exists but it's not necessarily crucial to implement IEP services or provide safety in the classroom then those stay vacant. While people continue to search, we really do fill our high needs positions with our agency staff.

Right. And if we can, that's what I guess I was looking for. We can get this is primarily like we can make some changes today, but this is primarily discussion based. We can get more y like detailed information on that for when we vote on this budget in the future. Um that'll be beneficial. So yeah, so if you look at the breakdown that I gave you as far as how paras will be

restructured, it will show you our programs at Henry Lord and show you how many paras are K2 classrooms are still having three PAR professionals and again if they're needed, we have a whole proposal of how we're organizing the PAR professionals, right? Um based on the needs and based on feedback from the department.

Thank you. Um and just one and we're going to come back to this but just quickly on the dual language program again I've asked at prior meetings what is the plan specifically for Bishop Connley and I haven't seen any suspend that's not spent I I understand I'm trying to say for oh dueling I'll come back to that thank you I just also want to be able for the public to know what else we're

advocating for in the department so one of the things um I want to be very clear. Yes, I have to make hard decisions. When people tell me I don't get feedback from staff, that is completely inaccurate and not fair. Um, we went last year to move toward a more more inclusive model for students that had been in substantially separate for many, many, many years. Embraced by Sylvia and Green, those teachers really

did embrace the students meeting their needs. I had a listening session in December with them. As a result of that listening session, they raised some concerns about moving into next year and being able to meet the service needs in the classroom and out of the classroom.

As a result of me con um collaborating with staff, you see in the budget for this year, I'm proposing four additional special ed teachers, two for Green and two for Sylvia to be able to meet the needs of the students based on the feedback from staff.

I understand. I'm just going to end on this point. I I do agree with my colleague as well and I think um the committee should consider some action either today or some point on as on um adding more sacks. We'll have to have a deeper discussion to that. Thank you.

If I can just offer some um just some numbers. Right now there are uh 34 special education par positions posted and there are um about 30 special education teacher positions posted with the majority of those at the middle school level right now in terms of what our postings are right so our agency staff I believe we have about 32 agency staff that's across paras and open teacher positions in the most critical

areas so in terms of you what's available. Um there are still even with the agency pars right now that we have there are still you know openings above and beyond those um those positions that are currently staffed by agency folks and I can send all these to you so you have the information.

Anything further on spia?

Just a a couple of comments. So you excuse me what you did say uh relative to Sylvia. I witnessed that myself with uh Miss Stewart when we walked around there uh you were very open with your conversation with us the principal and the assistant principal. We talked about the the needs of that each classroom the cid services how that was going to work out and at that time you had made some

shifts and then you're coming through with what you said you were going to do was make sure that those shifts were going to happen for the betterment of the kids. So I totally agree with that.

The inclusion model is where we need to go and we've all said the same thing. We have to move towards that because it's the right thing to do for kids. But what I don't like and I don't want to see as one member of the committee is any school principal, administrator, superintendent, or anyone blaming the special ed kids for not making accountability numbers on your school or your schools. That's unacceptable. I've

read it a few times in in this document from several schools and I for one am saying that that's totally inappropriate that kids deserve an education and to be in an inclusion. That's not an excuse for somebody to say, "Well, due to that now we're going to have our uh achievement levels go down." As one member, that's not acceptable. But I do want to give you credit for what you

said you were going to do. You walked with us and you made those changes. So, thank you. I yield.

Okay. We'll run right down the order now. Um with our elementary school, the fir Uh, we got pages of it. I'm gonna go.

We'll get to Henry. I guarantee. Let's do it. We're not. First up is Green Elementary School.

Um, principal coming down. Miss done.

Good evening everyone.

Good evening.

Good evening.

You want to just take some questions?

Sure.

Mr. Das, thank you. Just to quickly start, I always like to start off just looking at the ORC chart and looking at um how the positions are allocated and who reports to whom. Um out of your um so I for your vice president you have prek through one, two, and three and four and five. Which one out of those do you have the most amount of students?

I would say four and five.

Okay. So, I'm assuming that's why um that individual has the least amount of um um positions that report to that person.

I I don't know. I'm not quite sure what I what you're asking.

Sure. So um I just for example um your vice principal in grades two through three it appears on the York chart and correct me if I'm wrong they have um a sack they have an liaison and they have um four interventionalists um your P preK through one has a sack a liaison and interventionist three you have three for one the other has one two three four six and then your your fourth

or fifth grade vice principal just has two. So, I didn't know if um I I think that's a misnomer.

Yeah, I I think the I see exactly what you're seeing on the chart. The ELA interventionist would likely fall under the ELA department head.

The math interventionist would likely fall under the math department head, right?

And then um the MLL coach would likely fall probably under the principal or a combination of principal and department heads. So, the structure is actually just the blue there. So each um vice principal would have a school adjustment counselor and an eleasison attached for those grade level bands.

That's correct.

Thank you. Um can you speak to because and we've we've heard it today um about the um elimination or consolidation of the um dual language program. What's what's your thought?

I don't have the dual language program at my school, Mr. Das. I have the foundational program.

That's that's what I meant. Sorry. So the foundational program um over the years we have had less and less students coming to us um in that lower level of foundational so below a 2.9 um level. We have seen a lot of our students actually return to their home countries this year. We have very few students in third, fourth and fifth grade right now currently. And the way that we have um

moved children out of the foundational program has changed over the years. I've been at Green now for 5 years. So my understanding is that we need to consolidate FONSA. Last year Laterno lost its foundational program. Those students were reassigned to both Green and Fansa.

Now we have less and less students.

These students will be exited out. Most of them after we get their access scores, they'll be above a 2.9 and then what whoever is remaining will move to Ponica for next year.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Last question is um on I understand you're we're moving now some pre classrooms. Everton still on track for Bishop Connley for I know that we'll be providing an update on Wednesday, I believe.

Is that is that more like a a yes?

Because the the reason why I'm asking if um we're still going to be moving out like the two classrooms to Bishop Con?

As of right now, that would be the plan.

Yes. And we'll be able to provide some information on Wednesday.

I yield. Thank you.

Thank you.

Anything further for Green, Miss Riley.

Um Dr. Dunn, just a question. I notic you you mentioned that you have a lot of new teachers to the building. Is that why the swap from teacher interventionist to teacher?

Yes. Yes. Yes. 25 I believe 25 teachers are still in their first three years.

Yes.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Anything further, Mr. Aguia?

Yeah. It says in here that uh a security guard started on 1217.

Yes.

What what was that? Uh I maybe I missed it but from our angle like was that a a vacancy like was it in the budget last year?

I did not have it in my budget. Um I believe it would be in the security budget. Um, but I have been asking for a security guard for quite a while, especially with the traffic issues that we have around our building. So, he began at the end of December, just before vacation.

Can somebody Do you know why?

I can find out. I'm not sure why. I know Mr. Ventur is here.

Just regarding the security at Green and when that position was budgeted.

Uh, yes, sir. The reason that's when he went to green, the reason that's when he went to green is because that's the first time I had enough staff to actually get somebody down into um to bolster up the elementarymentaries. I was trying to get somebody into green and vavver the last ever since I got here and this is the first year I've had enough people to do it.

So it was a budgeted position just not you didn't never filled all of your positions. that uh and the reason why I ask is because throughout this uh document even in I think in your presentation it talks about wanting to have one at each school but when this came out 1217 I just I didn't recall getting anything from the superintendent at that time to understand why yeah that was just when he was hired it

was a budgeted position in the budget that was just when he was hired and it doesn't get budgeted as the green it gets budgeted in your correct they were all district security officers so if you chose to say we're going to move three people from another school to fill those other three vacancies right now. You could do that.

Yes.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

So, I just had a couple of uh other questions on the um the AG chart where the interventionist I think it might just be the way that they looked and you might have answered this. I might have been mis there is interventionists or anyone working with other department heads or like what is the those fall into the department head?

They fall under the department head. Is that what you're saying?

Yes. That's inaccurate. So the ELA would fall under the department head and the math would fall under the department head.

And then when you say interventions coach changing it, that's just a lateral uh I believe it's just a change. Yes. Um I believe the four individuals that are in interventionist positions. When they were hired, the position was just called interventionist. So we're just going to change the the name to interventionist coach.

Interventionist teacher. Like the same credentials it would take to get to be a coach.

Yes. Um, I for one uh think that you have a lot of students at school and you need to have enough administrators to do all of the eval. But with that being said, what what is the how do you divide up the evaluations for teachers amongst your administrators?

So, I think that we um we utilize all administrators to do evaluations and then in addition to that, we have a part-time cluster coordinator that we share with Sylvia and we also have a special ed supervisor. So, they take on some of the evaluations for the special ed teachers, but primarily it would be myself plus all of the evalu evaluatory administrators. So the vice principles, the department heads, we would be

splitting up the all of the evaluations.

So if you had 60 teachers divided by six adults, you'd have 10 per.

That's basically yes.

Roughly how it goes. The um I I do think that um what you mentioned about the district doing that. I don't know if that's is that happen in every school um like that.

I'm not sure. You mean the cluster coordinator and the I'm not I'm not sure. That's that's how we do it at Green. typically the supervisors or cluster coordinators will support as needed be in the buildings that they're um they're at most frequently.

But that if we can just get a I mean that's just a system that if we're going to do that across the board, they should I think that was the purpose of hiring a cost coordinator as a department head or so that they could assist with that.

Um the um I know you talked about the accountability percentage being low.

It's I don't have a history here, but has it always been like below 10%? What?

So when I yeah I'm sorry to interrupt.

Um when I assumed the principal ship we were in the we went to the fifth percentile and so we have steadily gone up to the eighth percentile. We have not lost ground but we're not where we need to be either. So I'm hoping that we come out of the bottom 10% this year with you know the idea that we're going to continue to grow.

And I I mean I would obviously second that. I think that's where everybody wants to get to hire. Uh but we have a number of schools that are in that below 10%.

And what every year that we come up with a budget, I try to figure out what is what are the changes, what are the bold moves that are going to happen in any given school to make that number go up.

And I think you're just more of the same. Maybe shifting the um to the coach, but ultimately that number has to go up, I think.

Of course.

Yeah.

Agree.

Thank you. I yield, Mr. Das. Oh, Mr. Das and Miss Cory.

Thank you. Um just quickly follow up on um the question about the security position um because I know you just mentioned um you might be having some traffic issues around the school. I know the the district um the school committee voted to um ask the district to do um districtwide um traffic reviews. Has um screens been completed yet or started? It has not.

I don't think so.

Is that up? Is that coming up soon or?

Okay. Um, the reason I ask and um, someone correct me if I'm wrong. I I know we had a similar um, we've had traffic situations at another school and I know there's discussion around using security, but I know there's certain things security can do and certain things security um, cannot do. So, I'm just asking if um the main concern is traffic issues and nothing internal. Have you um have we've

had any conversations like with the SRO's or the police department on the traffic unit?

So, yes, the traffic unit has been at green pretty consistently, but I will say since we have had the security guard um on staff, he has really been instrumental in helping minimize the congestion particularly on Grenell Street. We have a really big problem because it's two-way. Cambridge Street is one way. Um, I think that that is a huge problem that we have a problem every day pretty much on Grenell Street.

No, I I understand. I I guess my concern if I mean, if it's working, it's working. I just want to make sure um we're never in a situation where security is going outside of what their um the roles and responsibilities are.

But if if we're within that, no issues.

I yield.

Okay, Mr. Corey, I'm sorry.

I just want to briefly ask you, Dr.

Dunn, uh, operationally looks like there some changes next year, seven additional classrooms that are moving.

And so, um, are you comfortable with the transitions that you're going to be facing in the upcoming year?

I I certainly hope so. I know that one of the foundational classes, so we have a bubble class right now in first grade.

So we have six first grade classrooms, including the foundational room, which will, you know, move to FSA, but that bubble classroom will transition up to second grade. So I'm I'm thinking that, you know, the following year we're going to have a bubble class in in third grade um also. So yes, I am hoping that we are minimizing some of our students. So, I think we're at 745 students. I think

we're the largest elementary school in Fall River.

Yeah.

Um I'm hoping that with the changes we're going to lessen some of the um the numbers and that will help with class size.

So, you will you will make adjustments on the fly and you will report out to the superintendent what you may need and especially the supports you may need.

Absolutely. From us.

Yes.

Thank you. I yield.

Uh Hearing nothing further on green, I'd like to go to Lerno Elementary School.

Latero's next.

You want to give us a brief overview of your changes, Mr. Simpson?

Sure. I think the the largest change in the proposal is to add two new sixth grade classes at LNO with the vision of over time transforming LNO into a K through eight community school.

Excellent.

Just do it. just like is two sixth grade classrooms all you need for uh to progress towards a community school so I if you were to look at the neighborhood uh demographics uh at Lerno that would be enough if I sorry if I can jump in as well so um we're going to provide a redistricting update on Wednesday but specific to LNO know, as we looked at um the numbers of students who actually live in the

neighborhood, um there would be about 50 students or so that would be moving to sixth grade.

So, this would be an opportunity for those students to stay there. Um and I think that, you know, some parents will want a choice as well for a child to have a traditional middle school experience. And so, um you know, there would be an option for some students who live, you know, closer to, let's say, a cuss or near a Talibit, uh to attend there. But I it's about 50 students, I

would say, Mr. in that are currently in fifth grade that would move into the sixth grade.

But are they going to have the same setup like fifth grade? So like they'll have like math and science is going to be the same teacher.

when we've rolled out. So I was part of the team at Doran when we became K to8 um we did roll out slowly like that once it was fully built then that changed a bit where I believe now they may have you know a science teacher a social studies teacher but in the beginning when we started to roll out um I believe it was a STEM and humanities sort of mix

and so I mean I would really you know we would work with Mr. Simpson and the team to figure out what you know what the best iteration is there based on the staffing that he has and will you have enough room to go K to8 I love K to8 I love the whole thing of it all but will you have enough room there to go full K to8

yes yes we will I think you know it's a determination over time you know the amount of cohorts per grade level but we most certainly can be a K through8 school with our physical space okay I know the school I just want to make Sure, Mr. Chair.

You all set?

Yes, Mr. Dus.

Thank you. Um my colleague um asked a similar question um during the last school, especially since you're going to be opening up a sixth grade um and eventually going to K to8. Just even for next year, do you think you have enough um personnel on the front end under you to Yeah, manage everything? Yeah, I think so. We have um we'll have a similar student population.

So even though we're adding the two sixth grade classes, we would be reducing from lower grade classes uh to make those sixth grades. So I think at the end of the K through 8 experience, we'll actually end up with the same student population.

So um at this time we don't anticipate additional needs in that department.

So you're adequate even right now like this is enough correct under you.

Y I yield Riley.

Sure. I know it's not in Lerno's budget but I see in the considerations front safety and supervision front door rear door cameras and main office multicam view. Is that whose budget is that in?

yours, Mr. Simpson.

That was a a proposal. Um, just in thinking forward, one of the things that we noticed in one of the priorities being safety um our existing camera um that is the would be the main office looks at. So, it's like a doorbell.

Um it is it probably could be replaced um sooner than than later. I just want to look for it in the budget it belongs in.

So technology I would believe technology or facilities, right? The cameras security.

Yes.

Okay.

Feel like they don't know where it goes.

I anything for Mr. A. On that same note, the um when I see this uh chart here relative to technology needs and front door, rear door cameras, all that stuff, we don't see anything here other than your presentation. So when I saw that, I said, "How the heck is that even possible?"

That we have meetings, we have the technology department that meets with us like how the heck is that even possible?

So I'm I think I'm either missing something or you have projector motherboard under technology needs like I don't know what that means. What what does that mean?

Yeah. So we have a uh a projector that's built within So there are two schools in the district that have projectors that drop from the ceiling. They're probably eight or $9,000 projectors. that projector. We're just waiting for a motherboard. It's been ordered. Uh some of the other technology stuff that we've ordered, it just takes quite a while. Um we're not even sure that this

motherboard is it's a refurbished. We're not sure that it's going to solve the problem. So, we may be coming back to one of the technology subcommittee meetings and saying that we need to replace the projector, which will thenail basically replacing everything in the cafeterium because it works off of one programming language that is basically obsolete at this point. And as far as

the front doors, um, we came to you with the project, Mr. Pico and I to do card access. Um, and the schools that had working intercoms to save money so we could do other schools that had no intercoms and no card access at all, uh, we passed over until they die. So, that is on a list to replace when the system no longer functions. Um, there are cameras at the front doors, but they're

right on the interior section of the door. Uh, and the last piece there with that monitor, we do not do um the monitors anymore because uh once you get the um the video intercom, it's on an iPad. So, the front desk can see everything on an iPad. Uh we do away with there's no more uh monitors for cameras like you used to see the oldfashioned monitors. It's all web-

based now. Um so, you have to log into the web and you can get it right at your desk. So is that what they have or what you scheduled to have for them?

So all district all schools have web-based they can get in. Everybody has a user to get in. However, we still have schools that need card access as well as the video intercoms. Um I was with Mr.

Pico at the city council meeting the other night and if our capital plan uh gets approved over the next five years, I believe we budgeted$1.8ish eightish million dollars for the next five years to finish the buildings and to also um add cameras in areas of buildings that don't have them currently.

So, I think I think it's pretty clear that we have some communication issues amongst the administration relative to this because this chart doesn't say there's one motherboard. It makes it look like as if there the all the whole school. The other one it doesn't we're asking for a camera screen that doesn't even exist anymore. Like there's a problem here with some of the communication in my personal opinion.

We've been at meetings some days. I don't know whether you are in charge of the card access, Mr. Pico is, Mr.

Ventura is. Like we got to get to the point of you're in charge of everything from start to finish because what happens is one person's saying one thing, the other person is saying the other thing. Everybody's crossing up and we don't know who to actually hold accountable to make sure that we have the card access. If you're the CIO, in my opinion, you should have access to all of that. And instead, you shouldn't

have to rely on another department because just by listening to what I just heard here, we got confusion here. The if the if you're in charge of all of the uh cards, the cameras, and everything else, then we know Mr. Mr. Cabell, what's going on here? It shouldn't be, well, I had to meet with Mr. Pico or somebody else. They have other problems that they have to deal with. I think administratively to the super to the

superintendent, we need to clarify who's in charge of what so we can figure out what's happening. Um the other question you had on here was about busing impacts instruction. How can you explain that?

Yeah, I think you know when you're a school that has multiple buses, there's a level of impact that goes in it. you know, some some of it potentially has to do with timeliness of, you know, buses arriving, leaving at the end of the day and then, you know, the considerations of, you know, what occurs when you put the students on the bus in the afternoon. There's, you know, components

that go with that too that ultimately, you know, take time of administration and potentially can impact instruction as well in the morning if a bus is arriving late.

Does that happen a lot?

I would say, you know, it it's it's in a good place, I would say. But, you know, we've had incidences, of course, uh in the afternoon with busing, um you know, students, uh getting off the wrong stop, different different components.

Yeah. I mean, those some of those things are going to happen, I think, no matter what.

Of course.

Well, my last question is related to what you said about you answered a question to somebody about what are you going to use for all your rooms. So, if you have two sixth grades, I'm sure you must have already worked out whether That's what Mr. Reposo said or the person's going to be a singleton teacher or so you have two sixth grades. What is the plan?

Yeah. So the plan for next year would be we'd have two cohorts of students. One would be on the math science end social studies. They would swap as we progress six, seven, 8th grade. Then there'd be more opportunities for maybe uh content specific teaching multiple grades. Um, so I think you know for the next year that would be the immediate plan.

And the rooms that you just mentioned, you have enough rooms. How would that work? If are you going to have vacant rooms next year?

We we will have to reduce um lower grade levels. So in this proposed plan, the the proposal is to reduce a grade two classroom um for the next year and potentially a different grade level as well. So in order to grow obviously sixth, seventh, eighth with two cohorts, we would have to reduce in the number of cohorts. And you're not looking to make three cohorts of if it's a K8 school, you only have

enough room for two in the the projected model. 6th, 7th, and eighth would be two cohorts and then K through five could potentially be two or three. I think it's also contingent on our subsparate strand that we in LNO as well.

But if you have four right now and they continue to be four, how do you get to two?

We So we would reduce. So uh currently um we would have we have three fifth grade uh cohorts and if we use the neighborhood model like so students that live in the Laterno neighborhood, it's around 50. Those students would stay for sixth grade and then the remaining students would probably go to CUS or Talbot based on they would be forced to leave.

They would go to their neighborhood middle school.

But I'm saying it's not optional.

So if we had you get what I'm saying, right? If you have at some point you got to say we only have room for two.

So you can't have 80 kids, 80 students in Right.

Yeah. And so there's a couple possibilities as we build this out. Um as Mr. Simpson referenced the substantially separate, right? So, how does that population grow and what does that strand look like? Um, and so there's either the option of a complete twounit, you know, sort of general education um uh cohort or 3 to two just for the middle school. So, those are things we're looking at right now.

Yep. The only other uh and this is probably more so for the superintendent.

We just have the green school who has 720 students, 200 more students than the BNO school. The only difference in their org chart that I see is one vice principal because they have two department heads and then they have the three other boxes. When I like talk about that long this sheet here, I just don't see how that's possible.

It might be that you have the right uh structure, you know, but you have 200.

I don't disagree that green needs support.

Correct. So, I think I for one I mean it just based on the number of students.

It's not like I'm making this up. It's 200 more students. Now, maybe they're going to stop reducing, but right now next year and we're just saying that the eighth percentile.

Well, if you're at the 8th percentile, maybe you need another uh department head or you whatever it I mean somewhere we have to take an action based on data to say everyone gets something. So I'm in favor of that other piece. Your structure might be and I'm assuming you'd say it's okay because I think you wrote that correct.

So if your structure is okay for 528, somebody has 728, we need to not have a we need to have a different structure.

So thank you very much. I yield.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Cory, uh I see where uh uh as far as your absenteeism is concerned that you listed as positive action. Is absent is absenteeism increasing? Is it getting better? I mean for the the students. Yeah. Yes. Yeah.

We um and it's a credit to the the work of the staff, a team effort. Um but yes, I feel like from Dr. Brownhart down to the school level. We have clear uh protocols, guidance. Um we're able to identify uh potential barriers for families, particularly at the elementary level. You have to we have to collaborate with the family obviously.

Um we're able to identify these families and and then really learn from other schools as well what's been effective.

You know, we have a lot of great great schools that are they're doing the work.

So we're reducing we continue to uh to reduce chronic absenteeism. Um so we are proud of that.

Are the behavioral and mental health supports u maybe factoring into that somewhat?

I would say you know I would hope to say that you know our students wake up and they want to come to Laterno and it's because of the staff and how they have trauma-informed practices. Um and then the supports that we have with our school adjustment counselors and liaison. So you know we're really trying to be proactive um in how we're supporting um the whole student. You know, we still have obviously

students that communicate a lot of needs and differing ways. And you know, we we really I feel like each year we strengthen our MTSS system to try and provide specific interventions to um support particularly with self-management um self-awareness. So students, you know, these five, six-year-olds that come in that maybe have never heard the word no before and um it's the first time they're

experiencing these routines and structures and non-preferred tasks and how do we help them to navigate being in school um for the first time and you know understanding that they can do hard things and things that they don't necessarily you know prefer to do.

Is the walking school bus still being used?

The walking school bus is still being used. Um, and that's uh we use great funding from the PE department. Um, it has and you know you can still come down um on Stafford and see the the kids and the crew in the morning and yeah, it's a great experience.

Yeah, it's just a great thing. I mean that that in itself bonds it's a bonding thing. It's a it's a relationship building tool and I think that helps to create a positive environment throughout the entire school building itself. So thank you. I yield Mr. Anything further on Silia?

I'm sorry, Lerno. Mr. Mr. Das, thank you. Um, last question and I'm just um trying to understand what the philosophy is here is around it because some schools they're getting transferred or converted and some schools they're staying just as is the community facilitator position. Um, can you talk about this? I I like I understand like the general of what they do, but specifically what what what's what does

the day-to-day look like at Lerno for that?

Yeah. Um our community facilitator is incredibly valuable to our school community. Um our particular um community facilitator lives in Maple Gardens. So um there are what I have found is that there are things that you know families will say to the principal and then there are things that families will say to the community facilitator and those things are a little bit different and it's because the level of

trust that that position has developed with the community and so we're able to support the needs um of our uh parents and families because of the relationships. So she would be the first person new student would come in the building, big greeting, um doing an intake survey. You would find her, you know, out doing a home visit if need on the phone trying to encourage um families to, you know, make sure, you

know, hey, you got a doctor's appointment, you don't need to miss a whole day. You can just come in, you know, in the morning, get dismissed afternoon. So basically, you know, you would see that community facilitator interacting with with famil family's new arrivals as well as um making sure that um you know, families feel comfortable communicating their needs to us.

Okay. So, um thank you for that. That's that's a good explanation for keeping the position like where it is. Um did the administration like ever suggest that they might move the position and then did you like advocate to keep it that way? I'm just That wasn't my particular experience um you know with the position. No.

Okay. Don't the only reason I asked and this is more of um and when pace or another position comes up but just some positions are getting moved some are staying so I just want to understand like what would be like what's what's the plan going forward with the position but if it's working for you then that that's good that's the way it should be kept thank you all right next school up is Sylvia Yeah,

Mr. Lens.

Hello.

Want to give us an overview of what's going on?

Sure. So, the general landscape of Sylvia heading into next year will be in our second year of the achieve program, first through fifth. our third year of the grow program for kindergarten. Um, also a district recommendation to be taking on the prep program for next year from Spencer Bordon. Um, and preK classes um, moving out of the building.

Any questions for Sylvia? Mr. AA, thank you. Uh, the first one of the first pages on your uh, chart shows programming considerations.

Yes. Yes. And in 2025 26 the team members are running specialist block with the loss of a technology teacher.

Yes.

I looked back last year and I truly couldn't I I didn't understand why there was a loss of that was can you like why did the technology teacher last year get cut was it that wasn't my decision. I I feel I feel though there are some district eliminations and that was one of them.

So, at the time, and you might not have this, but if you could try to dig up why.

Sure.

Based on what you just wrote here, it makes no sense.

And I'm assuming that in your meetings last year with whoever was doing the budget that you said it made no sense because you're telling me now or you're telling us now that that loss of a technology teacher now took your team members to run that block in order to have your schedule work. and then you've had absences for almost a whole year and like I'm thinking to myself like no

wonder there's issues there with if you lost the thing you have to put them in like I just don't maybe you could follow up with a email or something to the superintendent about why that happened but to me it just clearly makes no sense but um you wrote here about IEP teams minimal sack psychologist sped general ed teacher collaboration with psychologist yes I'm assuming that that is going to be

corrected by one of the proposed proposed changes is to give you a psychologist full-time. Is that true?

I don't believe it's full-time, but I do know that that will help or assign to your school more often.

That will help with uh the request. Yes.

Um I have uh you wrote a long rationale related to the um that issue, but my voice is not too great. But it actually indicates a little bit more detail why you think as principal that that would make sense to have a psychologist and the services and collaboration they would have with the staff. Uh I think that just points to obviously there was some communication between you and the special ed

department about that. Uh the the teachers we have a hard time sometimes figuring out what you would ask for multiple teachers a library media specialist and something all those positions funded or any of those not funded? So, I know that the art teacher is going to be funded and the library media specialist is on the wish list.

Okay, that's on a different uh page.

Okay.

My last question for you uh was a lot of the schools are showing on the ag charts that the vice principles are uh grade specific, you know, one for first and second when it's noticeable that yours has a different uh dynamic or whatever. Can you speak to why or why you think that this model works better than Sure.

you know dividing them up so that they you have all your leaison under a vice principal of student services but not like in groups.

Correct. So we don't do it by grade level at Sylvia um just based on the vision of all of us being instructional leaders. Um some of it also has to do with the history of the position. So we used to have a dean of student services that was converted to um a vice principal of student services. Um so that really gives her an expertised area to focus across the building. Similarly

to my vice principal of management and operations um that's really his niche and his area in terms of how he's supporting the building. And then we do have a dean which is a little different than other buildings as well.

So when you look at uh evaluations are they all equally doing evaluations with teachers?

They are. So, they're not necessarily the priority area, but uh yes, and we and we actually do try to make sure that we're all getting experience um with each other's priority area, but I would say the vice principal of student services has the most people on her case load that fall under SCCL and and special ed.

Yep. And um more so for Mr. Reposa, when you look at the org chart without any department heads, administrators, it also affects evaluations and all that.

So once again I think there's difference uh between schools but you do not have three vice principles and two department heads that so out of your whatever number 600 students 700 whatever you have 600 you have to divide that by four rather than by six if you had two department heads correct I think that's just food for thought thank you I yield Mr. Corey uh so um Mr. lens. Um, as far as a full

inclusion model, uh, concerning your early learners, areas of concern or strain missing the uh, meeting the needs of a wide range of learners. Could you explain a little bit more?

Uh, yes. So in kindergarten um when you're looking at our numbers we have 30 students who have IEPs and out of those 30 um 15 are in the grow program which um by definition is you know a trial partial inclusion model. Um and then when you look at grade one uh we do have 20 students on IEPs and then eight are in the achieve model which is more typical in terms of how you go up in

numbers. So the needs at kindergarten just number-wise are greater than the other grade levels. Um I will say I did come to this committee earlier in the year and ask for an additional special ed teacher and that was granted and that has helped significantly um based on the model that we're using in terms of co-eing can happen but with the additional special ed teacher we can also have crid surf services happening

in isolation at the same time. So that's really the rationale behind the two additional special ed teachers as well to really meet that model.

Is it is is everything flowing now because we know we had a little bit of a issue a couple of months ago you know that was presented to us. Are things uh basically working in a positive direction in the earlier grades at Sylvia?

I I will say yes. I think the addition of the special ed teacher helped significantly. We also have done um quarterly surveys with the staff to get feedback from them and the increase in overall effectiveness um comfortability from October to fe February was significant in terms of growth.

Have have your liaison uh been a factor in helping 100%. OurCCL team is very strong. Our leison play a huge role in that.

Thank you. I yield.

I'll go to Mr. Dyson to you. Mr. Dyson, thank you. Um, first question, I'm not sure if um it's a typo, but at the bottom of your um of your sheet, is um the the special education teacher that's paid through a grant. Um it appears are they a floater.

I'm not sure where you're looking. I'm sorry.

At the bottom under your grant, you have a teacher that's paid through a grant.

No, I only have one grant. Um is that Yeah. Okay.

That position is a prek teacher that's moving that's moving to Conley. It's uh half FTE paid out of the grant.

Okay. The the the teacher is moving to Conley.

Yes.

But half half of it's being paid half of it paid operationally, half of it's paid through the grant.

Operationally through Sylvia currently. Yes. But next year it'll go half half of it will go over to ELC on the operating side and half of it and they're fulltime the grant side.

Yes. It's one teacher.

All right. This the way it appears like when I'm looking at it, it looks like 0.5 they're moving to Bishop Connelly and 0.5 still under Sylvia's budget.

So it's a total it's a total of four.

It's a total of four teachers that are moving over to No, I understand that. Just the way it appears like on on here was just a little confusion, but thank you. Um just one question on the ORC chart as well.

So um the management operations so they only oversee the science coach.

No in terms of the coaches um they're assigned across two individuals. So that vice principal of management operations also has an instructional focus which is science but he also handles scheduling um as well.

Okay. Because um management operations that more facilities or what do they what's that day-to-day look like for them? So dayto-day he starts very early because he's taking on all the coverages. So he makes a coverage schedule for the day. Um he also focuses on pair of professionals. So he plays a vital role in their schedules and their development. Uh he takes on the regular responsibilities of the rest of the team

with evaluation and then instructionally his focus is in science. So he works very closely with the science coach. So plans for professional learning um professional development. Uh we've rolled out open sad over the last few years.

All right. No, I understand. You just have like a unique way of delegate. I understand. Um last question again is just on the community facilitator. Um says 6 is that they like they go between you and and Watson and Watson. Correct.

Um what are they what's that again that what does that look like when they're in? Are they helping like with the reaching out to parents? Is there office work involved or It's very similar to Laterno. Um minimal office work involved besides making calls to members of the community, helping with translation, um helping with attendance, greeting all our new families.

Okay. Again, I think um once we get to that, we'll just get better understanding, but just I appreciate.

Thank you. I yield.

You're welcome.

Uh Mr. Yeah, just one follow-up question on the uh behavior therapist at your school.

Yes.

How long has that been in existence at your school? You've been there for a few years.

I believe this is her third year.

All right. Through to through the superintendent just uh in the past we've talked about uh the need for behavior therapists or the need to uh hire school adjustment counselors in instead. If you could just do some research on that to make sure that we're following that protocol as we go forward. I yield.

Thank you. You're welcome.

Anything further? Next school up is Spencer Bordon.

Kevin.

All right. Good evening everyone. um significant shifts for Spencer Bordon for next year is that uh we will have um our two preK classrooms will be moving over to the early learning center as well as uh Mr. Lent referenced uh our three prep classrooms which historically have been called medically fragile will be transitioning over the Sylvia school.

So we'll have a total of five classroom spaces that are opening up. Um one of those classroom spaces is a bit more of like a multi-purpose room and not necessarily a classroom. So a total of four uh traditional classrooms will be opening and we will be um as the proposed is now we'll be receiving three additional subseppparate uh sort of u programs for students with autism subsparate um classrooms.

So part of my uh or my request for staffing for this year is to support that growth in sort of the stride rise program with two additional leaison.

Currently Spencer Bordon has one leazison that works across uh pre-K to 5, but the vast majority of her work is in our stride program just based on the needs of our students and those um currently those six classrooms that we have. And so the hope would be that with two additional liaison um they would uh really work as a team to better support the uh needs of the students that are

going to be coming in our specifically in our sort of K2 uh primary classrooms that we'll have uh with the stride uh rise program that we'll be starting up next year.

Good. Any questions? Dr. Riley.

So this what do you see as those seal needs in K2? So, um, we've seen a bit of a shift.

So, this is my third year at Spencer Bordon. Uh, prior to that, I was at Spenc I was at the Dorne School. Um, over the last couple years, um, the profile of the students coming into K has, um, been sort of a higher need in terms of language needs, um, language development needs as well as sort of, um, ADLs and sort of daily, uh, daily functions. Uh and so whereas our 345

classrooms are pushing more towards uh more inclusion and getting back out into um uh traditional inclusion classrooms.

Um so my understanding is with our sort of pre-K population that's coming up into Spencer Bordon, those higher level of sort of language development uh and social emotional needs is more of what we're going to be seeing in the next couple of years. And so we just want to best prepare to meet those needs. So I guess I'm just wondering if the best person to address those needs is an SEAL

liaison or if it's speech therapist or BCBA. It just sounds like the need doesn't fit the position.

Um so uh we do have a very robust speech team at SP. So we have four uh speech clinicians at Spencer. Uh my understanding within the special ed budget is that the hope is that we'll have a full-time BCBA next year. We have a um probably about a 75% DCBA currently. Um and so that would be hopefully that team would sort of build and grow that way. Yeah.

Thank you.

Anything further, Mr. Drag? Yeah.

You have under safety and supervision need for additional key fob access at two exterior doors.

Yeah. So we have um sure we have currently we have uh fob access at our main entrance and then also at we what we call the chestnut doors which is our rear entrance that a lot of folks come in and out of for meetings. Um the chestnut door is locked uh once all the students are come come in for the day.

Um but our recess doors we have a small playground as well as our traditional large playground. Um those um are accessed only with a traditional key system. The request for the FOBS is just to kind of help with that ease of in and out for students. Uh in particular, um a lot of our pair professionals from our special ed programs do not have exterior building keys. We don't really have many

of those that are out there. And so if students need to come in quickly for the nurse or for the bathroom, that kind of thing, um it often times will just turn into more of like an administrative response when it could be something that could be addressed perhaps with just a fob access. So, has there been a request for that through uh whatever the school dude program is?

Yes, just just within uh the last three or four months, we had put in that.

Mr. Cabell is going to come up and tell us it's all set.

Um pricing it out right now. Um problem with that those doors, they are too far away from the controller. So, we're going to have to purchase an additional controller. We could be looking at anywhere from 80 to $85,000 to uh card access those doors because of the relative location of where they are and the cabling. I can't go more than 250 ft without putting what they call a cabinet

and then it daisy chains off each other back to the main room.

But ultimately what the principal is asking for I don't think is unreasonable.

No, not unreasonable. I just have not doable for the finances. figure out another way is what what I would say whether that's a a key whatever you got to do. I just when he says that it makes sense to me. So if it's not feasible they should have access especially with special education children out there to get back in the building. Something happens something bad happens outside and you got to rush in. What are you

going to say? Call on the walking and say come around and get us like that's a safety issue that should be addressed immediately. My that's just my two cents. Uh but I there's a uh you had mentioned a statement over here relative to your leaison and I just highlighted it. Um it says uh oneclaison supports the stride rooms. However, up to 50% of her workday is spent covering contractual

breaks for par profofessional staff due to staff absences.

That's a lot of time.

Yeah. Not every day but oftentimes. Yes.

just based based on absences. The needs within the rooms are high enough that uh certain classrooms, you know, do need two pair professionals at all times in addition to the classroom teacher. And so our leaison is often our first go-to.

Um in part because she knows the staff and the students so well. Um but that has become a significant part of her job on days when staffing is a challenge.

But on those days, she can't do the other work, she or he, whoever it is.

Correct. Yeah. Uh that to me is some of my concerns relative to u the issue.

Like it doesn't make sense to me why we're having a person do 50% of the time which I'm assuming when she got the survey that superintendent asked to be out is going to say 50% of the time I'm doing other duties because what I'm what I'm worried about is if we do a survey and somebody says, "Well, I'm not like that. You wrote here often." Mhm.

So I would go back and look to make sure that whatever that survey is, it's an honest survey because we can't make decisions on the budget if we think oh every I'm just doing leaison work all day. This says often 50% of her workday.

So if you wrote off and in my mind when I look at the chart it shouldn't say oh I'm doing this 95% of the day.

With that I yel Thank you chair.

Anything further, Mr. Corey?

I want to echo uh my colleagueu's sentiment on that. As far as the leaison is concerned, I think it's an incredibly uh important uh function for for our schools behaviorally socially and often times they're put into situations in in an all hands-on deck situation when something happens in the school building. So if I if I were you, I might even want to include um requesting uh an additional beside your

your your request for an additional sele uh above that as well.

I'm requesting two requesting two. I have one currently and I'm requesting two additional and so might that help to alleviate you know the functions and roles of the leaison within your school. That's the hope. Yeah. So, everyone would sort of be a bit more on an even playing field in terms of the what they can do during a day to support students.

I would hope so. And if if you feel the need to request even an additional above that because I noticed you only have one on staff currently. Is that Yes. Is that Yeah. So, I could see the need for at least one or two mafia school. Thank you. I yield.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das.

Thank you. And I I I missed um the beginning of your presentation, so if I missed this part, I apologize. Um just trying to understand the rationale if um you have a um seal liaison who you um who needs to be utilized for um duties outside of their of their what they're supposed to do.

Mhm.

How would adding additional additional liaison satisfy that?

So uh it's it's not by choice that that is part of what her workday looks like uh at times. So, when we have a number of staff that are out uh in particular in some of our higher needs classrooms, uh for safety and instructional purposes, we really want to have um the adults that need to be there to do the work with the kids. Um we do have a couple pair of positions that are open

that are uh posted right now. So, part of what she's covering at times are those openings as well, depending on the the flow of the day. uh the additional leaison the goal would that not be that they continue to do that type of coverage work by any means uh it would be much more intentional uh preventative proactive work in classrooms and with students do you think it would be more helpful to

have one sack instead of two SCL liaison uh I mean that is something we considered what I um one of the things that we talked about with the leaison is doing some very um sort of close training for that new staff with our BCBA with our Sachs and with our existing leaison who is a real uh leader in our school to sort of provide them with the training capacity to work really closely both with our students

but then also with um our substantially separate pair of professionals who take their initial direction of course from the classroom teacher but I think that sort of more u bcba driven uh sort of refined training would be I think really a benefit to them and we'd love to have the leaison be a part of that.

Um Mr. proposal or if um do you support that model?

Yes, I mean I rely on school leaders to um you know provide a rationale for us.

Mr. Bradley knows the needs in his building. Um I I just want to do comment though that all of these positions are critical and it's important to just name that we need staff in those positions.

When people are absent it does have an impact on our schools, right? And so if a staff member is absent and someone else has to now cover for them, that means that they're not able to do what they were intended to do or trained to do on that particular day. Right. So I I fully I fully agree with that aspect. Um my question is why not go out for a building sub or some sort of substitute?

I think the reality is we you know speaking as a principle absolutely we would do that but we know that you know as I referenced earlier we had 64 vacancies just in special education between teachers in Paris. And so we have the same challenges in finding a building substitute or in finding you know a power professional. So I I think Mr. Bradley that would be his first uh resort always for any principal would be

let me try to get a substitute. But if we don't have a pool of substitutes um then that presents a challenge in itself. And so as a school leader you know I would do everything I possibly could before I had to you know tap someone on the shoulder and say can you help me out you know and cover this classroom. Right. So in the position, do we have any current vacant seal less on positions in the

district? Like has that been hard to fill or we've been able to fill those relatively?

I don't believe we do, but I'd have to look. I'm not sure. I can check.

I yield. Thank you.

Anything further, Mr.

The uh how many substantially separate classrooms do you have?

Uh so currently we have nine. We have six stride and three prep. Um so with the three prep classrooms moving to Sylvia and the proposal for us to receive three um stride rise type classrooms we'll be back at nine. So it's the number of classrooms stays the same just a different u makeup.

And what is the threshold in order to get a a cluster coordinator to manage those is nine. I mean so we have seems like a lot.

Yeah. Currently we have um two part-time uh.5 cluster coordinators. one for the stride program, one for the prep program. Um, I haven't seen the special ed budget in detail, but my understanding is there's been a request to uh possibly increase the cluster coordinator, which uh would be wonderful for nine stride rise classrooms.

Yeah, I'm just looking at Spencer Bon's orchart and there's no cluster coordinator on it. That's why I asked the question.

Okay. So, yeah, it might just be an oversight special under special ed. Yeah, special ed.

I get it. But if you're looking at an ORG chart for the school, you should indicate there we don't really care in an orchart where they're funded from.

But you clearly had nine. It it beg the question of Hawaii that it's not the case. So I'm assuming that's a good thing.

Thank you. I yield.

Anything further on Spencer Bordon.

Next up is Tany.

Point of information. Wasn't that Weren't they moving to Wednesday?

No, the principal's here. They showed up Mr. So, I said it and then I looked out and I saw the principal.

Good evening.

You want to give us an update at on Tansey there, Miss Brown?

I will give you an update. Um, I know you have the budget presentation in front of you as well. Um, I had requested for Tany a STEM part-time STEM position slashte because we hadn't had that in the last two years and thinking of the pathways going to the middle school. We wanted everything to be equitable and kids to come in with the same resources and background when they went to middle

school with the science and technology.

We're currently pulling paras to full fill special blocks um teacher PLC's because we don't have that position.

So, I had requested a part-time um STEM person.

Since then, I've heard that they're going to um replace our school adjustment counselor or the proposal is to replace a school adjustment counselor with an SEAL liaison. And I'm here to request that you reconsider that given all the discussion we've even had on that already this evening. The importance of social emotional learning and the impact of trauma with young kids not being able to self-regulate. Um I

think it's important to really think about the qualifications and the differences between anal liaison and a school adjustment counselor. Tansey is not Tansey. I did my student teaching at Tansey in 1988 and it's not the Tanya that people remember it by and I think it's important that the story line is accurate. It pulls from every neighborhood in the city. It's one of the only schools that's not a

neighborhood school and we have over twothirds of our kids coming from everywhere else. We have a lot of students like other principles have named that are coming in especially kindergarten and first grader who are aggressive behaviors big emotions not able to regulate in services are needed in those families. We've established a number of wraparound services called crisis a number of times um physical

restraints things like that and we utilize our school adjustment counselors in every tier. tier one for everyone, tier two for some kids who need it, and tier three. And I know the rationale is because uh we don't have as many social emotional minutes on our IEPs, but in my opinion, school adjustment counselors are for all kids, not just kids on IEPs.

And I really think it's important to look at the role of them as an inter an intervention, a prevention, and access to everybody to impact them and have kids regulate in order to make them accessible to learning later on in life.

Okay, Mr. Corey.

Thank you, Miss Brown. Um, I agree with you. Um, how about if we were able to finish you with an additional sack? You already have two sacks on staff. Is that correct?

Correct.

So, you're requesting an additional sack?

No.

No.

No. The proposal um would be to move one sack position to a different school.

Yeah.

And um provide anal leaison at TNZ. The principal is requesting to keep the staffing as is my understanding.

Correct.

Um which would be two full-time school adjustment counselors without the addition of the leaison.

Okay. So let me then let me ask this. Um I agree with you again. Um so would the addition of anal leaison also help to facilitate the necessary therapy that you might need on campus beside the two sacks that you have available.

I mean of course I think extra people always assist and support students. I did not feel like it was necessary to request that at this time.

Okay. I feel like I'm trying to work as my first year as principal, having the school adjustment counselors go into classrooms and do tier one work and trying to put systems in place effectively to manage that, establish relationships with families and wraparound services and supports that way first.

So as far as your requests are concerned, you're happy with that?

Yes, sir.

Thank you. I yield.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das and Mr. Ager.

Thank you. So just so I have this right.

So um you currently do not have anal leaison and you do not want anal leaison.

Correct. I have two school adjustment counselors and I'm requesting to keep it that same way.

This budget the the budget that we currently have before us unless it was uh recently updated states that you currently have an EA on position and that position is moving to Westall. So that's not accurate.

I believe that's the proposal from the district. The proposal would be um and I can go over the rationale as we went through our budget meetings. Part of the rationale which impacts another school was to move a sack from Tansey to Westall. Westall currently has one clinician, one licensed school adjustment counselor and there are 30 students that require grid services as the principal referenced. um

that number is different at TANZI and I completely understand that that does not that's not what I was arguing Mr. What I was um highlighting was that in this budget there's currently an SEAL pos leaison position already in the budget that never existed because the position would move from another school. So the the position was going to the the proposal was to move a sack to Tansey and move an anclaison

move a sack from Tansey to Westall and move an e leaison to Tansey. That's why you're seeing that proposed there, right? But we we don't want the SCL liaison to go to Tany.

That's what the principal that's what the principal is requesting and and I and I fully support that. Um I guess the way I just why I was confused the way it read was it we but so the liaison position is in here and it's located as moving to Westall.

That's where there was some confusion because it appears that at least the administration or the principal it states that we have an eel leazison.

moving from Westall from Westall to Tanz and then the sack would be moving from Tansey to Westall.

Oh, so Oh, okay. I thought it would be green cuz it's yellow and yellow I thought yellow meant it's going away but no I think it's a it's a shift. Yeah.

Okay. Um I'll make a motion that we cut the leaison position at Tany.

Are can I just ask a question? So are you proposing that we would maintain with two sacks at TNZ supporting the principal's position?

Supporting the principal's position. So I would just say that you know just to keep in mind that that current position is a position at Westall and I do know there's a demonstrated need there as well and so you know I don't know I'll make a motion that we move this leaison on position back to Westall.

Second.

I have a motion, a second, Mr. Hegger.

On the motion, uh, I would, uh, tend to agree. I just think the, um, mechanism of how it goes, I think is a little confusing to people right now.

But I I'm going to support this because there's two school adjustment counselors at the school now with a new principal who has demonstrated based on data more data than I've seen in a lot of other places relative to the needs that those kids have at that particular school. So based on your information and data and the fact that you currently have two sacks, I'm making them I'm supporting

this so that we end up with two sacks.

The other mechanism of where the other person goes would be another discussion at West Hall or somewhere else. I would also go so far and I'm not making that motion right now is that we do not increase any more liaison in the district. When there's a need for a social emotional supports, we hire a school adjustment counselor duly certified in mental health skills and clinical skills. That's a separate

issue. But for this one right before us, I support this for that reason. And I have some questions other than this, but I want to on the motion to leave the two at um Tany call the roll.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Cory.

Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Mr. Riley.

Yes.

Miss Stewart. Mary Koug.

Yes. Mr. Aguia.

the um you had mentioned in one of your uh slides that like I said I thought you had a lot of uh data and you know I thank you for that the one that just made me a little curious was uh under space constraints positions that are shared with other schools that are supposed to be 0.5 but because of lack of office space attendance office community facilitator these staff are in the building for approximately only two

hours per week um I don't I I understand what I can see what it reads, but functionally, how is that possible in the big scheme? And it might be a question for somebody else other than you, but I'm assuming that what you wrote there is true that that's the number. So, what since you started there, what has happened to notify people in the district level that this is happening?

Has there been anything or is this sort of just the way it was? And so I feel very supported by the people above me in the district level. Um I'm just speaking accurately when we have a very small school. I appreciate the attendance officer and the community facilitator. I'm sharing them with much bigger schools. Again, my team and I I come from a small school in Somerset where I was before. We did a lot of the

attendance works ourselves. So that's what we've been doing. And then she she still comes to meetings every week, but it's it's a very minimal time, which is nothing against her. It's with all due respect and the same with a community facilitator, but I'm trying to be mindful of budgets and fiscal restraints. So, I'm just being honest.

Yep. No, I understand. I appreciate that. I I think for the district folks, I would ask how that happens in a school year because truth and advertising, we shouldn't just say it's 0.5 if that's the case. If the other school has the person 08, it should say point8 and point 2 or something like that. I feel like we weren't given accurate information and even when it becomes the reality that it's not happening, we

should get something to say uh that doesn't and that might just be because of this year. I don't know what it was in the past. Y so I'm just speaking to our and I also want to point out that when we talk about the issue that we just motioned on and thank you for your consideration with that. I would never want to take away from another school like Westall. So I just want to say you

know that we're gonna take care of Westall.

All right. I just want to make sure.

But uh the only other looking at the org chart the same I asked another um school for evaluations. It's just you and the vice principal and their the model of coaches interventionists and that. So, I know you're new to the district, but if you look at all the other schools, they have the popping heads that are very um minimal uh budgetary impacts, but the impacts of evaluations can be tremendous.

So, I don't know if people have either told you that, shown that or if the district said maybe you want to move one of these folks to a department head for very short money in order to be able to do all of that.

I don't need any help with evaluations and um Superintendent Reposa has shared that offer with me. I want people forward facing with kids.

Yep. No, I totally get it and I think you're doing a good job in your first year here and I appreciate it. Thank you. I yield, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Zas.

So, um, one last point and, um, it's not the first. I I've heard this as well.

Um, and just seeing the the needs having, um, that community um, facilitator, which I can't seem to find it in the TANZ budget. However, I think um Okay.

If the principal is saying that there's not really a need at that school and they're going between two schools, at least for now in the budget in the in this budget, whatever um the administration wants to do going forward, they can we should take it out of Tansey's budget and just have it fulltime at Spencer Bordon for now. Is that something you would be opposed to, Mr.

or I'm sorry to interrupt Mr. disas or excuse me truly reflect the time that she's in the building.

So if if it's 0.9 and 0.1 or 08 and point 2 for the community facilitator just I want it to be one way or the other.

I understand that. Um, from a budgetary standpoint on that point, um, do there's no I know it's a short distance anyway, but we don't reimburse mileage per mile or they have like, um, I I'd have to look for that role. I can't recall for that specific role. We do reimburse mileage for some positions, but I'd have to look for that position. I'm not positive.

She does most of her work at Spencer Bordon for TN, too. She comes sometimes.

Right then, thank you for that. I just think it makes sense. Um especially if um you would agree there's not if the position were to be full-time at Spencer Bordon, would you be what would would you be losing out on any on anything?

A minimal thing. She's great. Believe me, I don't mean this in any disrespect, but I think we could make that work.

Um I'd like to make a motion we take the 0.5 out of Tany for the community facilitator and move it fully to Spencer boarding. Now I have a motion. Do anybody want to second that?

Hearing none.

Mr. Edgar, I think we should just instruct the superintendent to make that accurate. If it's 0.1 point 2, I think that is what uh the principal is wanting is just to call it like it is because if we look at it and think you have the person halftime and they're not there, that's not truth in advertising. So I think we should just instruct Mr. Reposo without emotion. and I think he's very well

capable of changing that. Thank you. I yield.

Uh, next school up. Oh, uh, uh, V, I'm sorry Vis.

Go to We'll go to Westall next since we were just talking about it for a few minutes. We'll tackle them together for the back and forth.

Make a motion we add a school adjustment council to Westall.

Second.

There's another request there as well at Westall.

Are you I'm just trying to get that one out of the way.

Mr. Leman, they I don't know if you heard the motion.

I have a motion in a in a second on adding another I did not hear you.

Good evening, counselor.

Well, good evening.

So, the motion before us is to add an adjustment counselor, a school adjustment counselor. Uh based on the last conversation that we had, uh ultimately that would I think if the person's already working as an SEAL liaison, they would be displaced into another role.

Is the person currently working there?

So is I just want to understand this currently right now one full-time school adjustment counselor and one full-time leaison.

Two two leazison at Westall. So is the proposal to convert one of those leazison to a sack?

Yes, that's the motion.

convert convert the because Westall has 321 students. We're not going to at some point say we that school should have four SEAL people.

Right now they have three for 321. We just had uh the principal of Tansey come up with 296 kids and she only has two total.

So ultimately what Mr. Leman just said is they have three two leazison and one school adjustment counselor. The motion is to replace or convert one of those.

So he'd have two adjustment counselors based on the skill set, the need and IEPs, which would therefore take one of the leaison based on seniority in the contracts, whatever that works out as, they would have to fill an leaison somewhere else. So no one's losing their job. It was just he needs a school adjustment council the way I see it.

Correct.

Okay. The motion is to convert the leaison to a sack at um Westall. Deb, call the role, please.

Miss Drag. Yes, Mr. D.

Yes, Mr. Corey.

Yes, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Miss Riley.

Yes, Miss Stewart. Mayor Coogan.

Yes. Anything further on West at this time?

Hearing none, we'll go.

Do you want to just talk about the department head?

Yeah, sure. Um, oh, this is his other one. Okay.

All right. Uh, Rich, you ready? Okay. Uh, so yes, we are requesting a department head. Um we have some strong structures in place right now at Westall but the goal is to build them out with capacity. Um the addition of department head will allow our coaches who are highly qualified in the content area to work more interventions.

So that is the rationale for uh asking for that position and that's in the budget.

Yes. So I can expand on it a bit. Um and as this was referenced in the previous discussion. And so Tanz as an example has two full-time coach um two full-time coaches and two full-time interventionists. Currently Westall has two full-time coach/interventionist people. So just two individuals doing that work. So Mr.

Leman's proposing to add a full-time department head. What you'll see when we get to Watson is that the proposal um at the district level was to move one of the full-time department heads from Watson to Westall and then um each school would have one full-time department head.

Can I get a motion?

I don't think that needs a motion because it's part of the budget in the budget.

So when we approve later your recommendations, anything further on Westo hearing none, we'll go back.

Just one comment, Mr. here.

So, uh I I know there was a new school and uh I been hearing some good things, you know, personally. Um was there issues there with traffic at some point?

So, I know, yeah, there was a change.

So, the two-way traffic on Maple Street was posing some serious safety issues.

Uh since that has been resolved, it is a lot safer. Uh so anyone who comes down you'll see the drop off for the students is just much much safer. So that was the whole rationale behind trying to make sure that that intersection between Mabel and June where there's two-way very tight streets um was modified and your school is one that has a security guard. It doesn't.

We do have a security guard.

We already do.

We do have a security guard. Yes.

Thank you. I yield Mr. Das. Thank you. Um just very quickly on the um the traffic issue. Um I'm not sure if there's ever any plans to I I know you have a very um limited um parking area like a parking I know it's it's hard to try and expand that. I don't know if there's land um nearby that we could look at as well. However, um I've been receiving complaints from

neighbors since that um that change. So, um I'm not sure if there was um recently a a traffic study done or that's one that's um in the radar to be done. If we can just um get an update on that at some point. I yield. Thank you.

No problem.

Okay. Next school up. We're going to go to Watson.

Mr. Chair.

Oh, I'm sorry, M. Riley. Forgot you again, Miss Riley.

I just want to acknowledge the data that you included in here. I appreciate also your decrease in chronic absenteeism and the work that you're doing in that. um your PLC fidelity and agendas is that something that's will be supported by a department head edition is that what you're thinking yes uh I think right now we have made large gains in that area but the goal is consistency and improvement so I believe

that's what this presents great thank you yield okay we'll go to Wat Watson next and then we'll go to after Watson

Miss Wood, what are you going to tell us about Watson?

It's amazing. Um, we are actually asking and hoping I know the budget proposal was to have a department head move um to Westall, but we were hoping to maintain our current staff just because of the um systems that we have in place.

and the wonderful progress that we've been making um hoping to sustain that um and keep our department in position.

Mr. Das, thank you. And I was um fortunate enough to tour the school um within the last few months and they have um great staff and they have um not that much admin to begin with. So just looking at that on its face, that's something I'd be willing to support. Before I get to that, um the only um it's not even in the building. The only concern I have is the traffic. I'm

just want to get an understanding of um what what went into the decision to make um the school not have any busing. We know just because we're a walking neighborhood school. We're a very small district um area school. So, all families are within um a certain radius of our school building.

They're all within certain radius.

Correct.

Um I didn't know there was a few that were outside, but I didn't know if there was like an exception to the policy. Um the only thing on the traffic as well if um I don't know if we ever started the administration has been in touch with the um SRO's if um because I'm sure we've all seen it. Just the hold up there. I I I worry not only for the students but for the

staff as well who have to go out there.

Um again talking about traffic studies I hope that's one that's coming up soon as well because they definitely need it. Um with that being so you're that department head position that's you just want to keep it as is. That's what you're you're hoping.

That would be the hope. Yes. Put it back.

I'll make that motion.

Motion to add the department head back at Watson.

Yes.

Do I have a second?

I'll second it. Um, as long as we're uh Go ahead, Mr. Agar. I have a motion to second, Mr. Agar. On the motion.

So, on that on that particular motion, I would just caution my colleagues to look at the um when we were talking about the other issues, uh, everyone could use two department heads, uh, student support coordinator, school adjustment council, LC, CLA, leaison. We have to take this into consideration looking at equality across all of the schools and I think we're just being more reactionary rather

than um understanding it. The administration recommends a change because the structures are different at this school versus other schools and we have to be careful when we just take a decision just because it sounds good. I would like to say I would support this if this was the structure at every single school and it's clearly not. So ultimately we I just caution everybody to be careful

because we shouldn't be making a decision on one school and not be consistent with that in the other places. When I look at the um organizational chart for this school with 290 or 300 kids, they're roughly the same as what we just talked about at Westall and the others. Granted, it's been a school that's been in uh underperforming. I totally get all of that information, but we have to watch

out that we don't now by not funding things at the other schools. Those schools will be in underperforming and in needs of improvement uh sooner than later. So, I think we should um support the administration's decision. If they come back to us and say in reviewing the budget uh we got more than uh didn't that school spending money that we throw all that stuff I think that's a consideration at that time but there's

limited funds to do all things for all schools across the district and I think we just have to be very careful example this school has a student support coordinator which only two or three schools in the whole system do so they get paid more money than a school adjustment counselor as well as they get anal leaison I'm not begrudging that kind of been before you as certainly as a principal,

but we have to look at the whole picture when we're making these decisions and not just throw things out there and say, "Oh, I'd like to I'd like I'd love to support you in in that, but I can't in good conscience say all these other schools don't have it. So, we're just going to say we're going to leave another $120,000 position at a school when the administration's telling us when they balance the books amongst all

the schools, they're recommending a shift from one to the other. So, I'm not going to be supporting it for that reason, not because I don't I I really want to support your school, but it's just consistency and I think I caution the members to be careful when you're making these decisions. I yield.

Well, again, I I'm assuming that most of these changes we're making are coming out of that float fund of the half a million dollars. So, I think for all of us, whether it's the adjustment councils or anyone, um, that's where we are, Miss Riley. And also this position was reallocated to Westo. That what we just voted on. The the two department heads are going to one because the other one's going to WA.

That was the proposal that we have.

So every time we make an adjustment on a second one, remember we already voted on the last one, right, chairman?

I'm sorry, Mr. A.

I would caution the committee again. We have only a limited amount of funds under the current situation that we have across all of the rest of the discussions that we're going to have. As Mr. Riley just said, that's correct.

This is going to cost double the amount because we now would have to fill in Mr.

Leman's need to do it. So, they're they're making a decision based on limited funds. If we had Yeah. more money. If we had more than 100% in that school spending, if we had the issue that I've been talking about, adnauseium about the rebates and we had $2 million, I'd be the first one to make this motion. But at some point, we have to be consistent and not we we just don't have

unlimited funds. So, I'm not going to be supporting it and I caution my colleagues to be careful. I yield.

Deb, call the roll.

Mr. A, no.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, no.

Mr. Monus, no.

Miss Riley. No.

Miss Stewart. Mayor Kan.

Yes.

Mr. Chairman.

Yeah.

So, I'm very proud uh of the work. As a former Watson student, I have a little bit of a a soft piece in my heart for Watson and I know that it's been a very challenged school for for past several years. And I know that we're on a trajectory right now of showing some improvements. I noticed that you you um talk about the attendance streak system and uh how analison has initiated that

and how it's positively impacted your school's attendance. Yes.

Can you just talk a little bit about that?

Sure. So myazison um has taken on this new um incentive for students and it's really taken off.

we've done incredibly well this year and I'm very proud of all the work that she's done. Um, so what it is is the students are tracked every single day with their attendance and once they hit a certain streak meaning not missing any days for 15 days, 30 days, 45 days, there are incentives um and the kids are talking about hitting their streaks. Um, they get very excited to do it. Um, I

have parents that message me like, uh, my child has a little bit of a cough, but they don't want to miss their streak and they the kids are coming to school.

So, it's been incredible. Um, it's excitement. Uh, the kids are very happy about it. The teachers are involved and it's it's been a lot of fun and we've seen a lot of growth.

Is it similar to what you might see on a behavior modification chart, trying to incentivize the students?

Yes.

In positive ways?

Yes. And what what type of buyin from the parents have you heard?

Oh, they they're bringing their kids to school regard and it's hard when you're at Watson, you know, there's there are like um Colin said, there are no buses, right? So, our families are walking, they're walking in the rain, they're walking in the snow. Um it it takes a lot when they have little ones in carriages to get to school. So, um, having this streak, um, going on in our

our school and the kids being excited to do it, the parents are very excited to get the kids in there, um, and they're part of that. So, yeah, I think I think in one unit schools such as Watson and Tansey, it's really important to have a strong parental community supporting your efforts. And uh I I hope that you have enough in the budget to maybe reward them with, you know, a spaghetti supper some night or something

to campus, you know, something to keep them engaged so that those attendance numbers can, you know, continue to grow at a positive rate and I think that that will directly affect the achievement levels at the school as well. So thank you. Thank you very much.

Mr.

quick um just two points quickly just wanted to um give a rationale and I fully respect um where the majority of the committee was coming from. The way I saw this was they currently have a department head that's being taken away and as my colleague just mentioned there have been some gains made and I just did not want to see a regression by losing a department head. Um one specific

question and if I'm missing it I don't see I see it in in the ORC chart. I do not see it in the budget itself. the community facilitator position. Plus, I'm We share the community facilitator position with um Sylvia's school.

Correct. That that would usually be like a 0.5 or 6 in the We have a It's a point four, I believe.

It's point4. So, we have her um in our school two two days a week and she does the same um that she does at Sylvia. She does the same uh job duties here at Watson.

No, I understand that. I just don't see it in the budget like the budget itself like in the positions.

I don't know if that's like a typo or I don't see anything either.

Oh, if um if we can get maybe some more updated afterwards. I yield. Thank you, Mr. Egg. Yeah, along that same line in the um or chart, it should show an instructional support liaison and it doesn't show up on the uh screen either. So, I would just add that as we're looking at um comparing schools. Not every school has one of those. Uh some do, some don't. So, thank you.

I yield.

Nothing further on Watson. We'll go to Viver, the one of the ones we skipped at the beginning.

Hello there, Miss Witty. What are you going to tell us about?

Good evening. Um so much of the budget proposal this year was driven by the fact that our enrollment is going to change of a virus. Um we are losing our reach program. It's moving to the Dorne school. So that's four classrooms as well as the condensation of our dual language program into one um cohort. So replacing that those classrooms will be general education classrooms. that will

give us an additional about 85 students which will bring us up to approximately 800. So taking that into consideration and taking we would need another art teacher which we proposed for to fill in the specialists um blocks in our schedule we would also in discussion with Mr. Poso and superintendent uh we decided to shift to a different admin structure to mirror that of other larger

schools in the district. So we would have three VPs and two department heads.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das, on the dual language program, is the MLL director here to answer questions?

She is um just want to get their um feedback on the proposed um transfer I mean transformation.

I think there's a tab called MLL.

I should ask.

They're in that part like there she's she's going to come up to present.

That's what I would say. Yep.

So ask for even if it's a change in the school, ask it during that. Okay, I yield then.

Anybody have any questions for Viver?

Yes, Mr. Dagio and Miss Attendance or engagement trends. It reads on your sheet. It says the shifts in enrollment as well as a decrease in attendance monitors parentheses loss of social worker and leaison are cause for concern.

Yes.

Can you talk about what that mean? Like how um Sure. Well, the reach program is shifting to Dorne. So, with that goes the staff. So, we have a social worker and an SEAL liaison that will shift over to Dorne. And as well as with our dual language program only becoming one cohort, we have a full-time basically a full-time right now person for our dual language program who is the director of

dual language. We won't be having her full-time next year. Uh so, that's also a shift in our admin structure. So all of these shifts sort of less people to to do all of those duties, the attendance duties and things.

Yeah. I I guess my question is the social worker and leaison with the the level of need that is in that school you know that I acknowledge and and know y they're doing attendance monitoring. How how often do they well for their cohort? Uh they're doing it for their cohort. So there's about 50 give or take 50 students within that strand of special education student. Uh and the social worker has close

relationships with all of those families. So if we have a student who is out in the reach program, she most likely is reaching out to those families because of the relationship she has.

Got it. When I I saw this, it looks like it's a attendance monitor for the school.

No, she's attendance monitor. Well, it is part of our school, but she's an attendance monitor for those 50 students.

And the leazison is on just supported that for that. Yes. because they were listed under that yes school. Thank you.

I yield.

Nothing further, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Das on um the social work. So position positions being eliminated.

They're not being elimin Well, I'll let Mr. Mr. Reposo or Miss speak to that.

They're moving with the students, right?

I well I believe there uh one of our the social worker is being displaced because there is a social worker at the Doran school but I don't want to o out oversp speakak it's not in my realm obain I know I'm just looking at the special ed so the proposal would be two cluster coordinators I believe no so the um proposed was to change the um social work position from vavveris to

two additional sele but I heard your point Mr. to agara that the committee might want to go in a different direction. There are six reach classrooms that will be housed at vavveris. I am going to put more program administrative support over at sorry at doran notes.

All the programs will be housed at Dorne. Doran currently has a social worker for the reach program. So again, when looking at reallocating resources, if each if two reach classrooms had an SEAL liaison to triage that, you know, um kind of responding for the behavior supports, social emotional needs, dysregulation, and the social worker was the one providing that clinical intervention that you described earlier.

That was the structure I was proposing instead of having two sacks I mean sorry social workers for six classrooms like I just again allocating funding allocating resources thinking about um how we could meet the needs of the students. So my proposal was one social worker, three seal leaison. Each seal leaison would have two classrooms that they would be embedded in along with a special

education administr administrator supporting the admin team at Doran with a day-to-day running of the program.

Mr. Dia, can you tell us again what how many of the reach uh classrooms are at Various Now? There's four at Visas now and two at Doran. Doran used to have three when they had a middle school component, but that since moved out.

So at the Doran Yeah.

What does the C uh social worker do?

Social worker because they had if they had two.

So she's only assigned to the program.

Correct. So that just begs the question of if we have a person at one school similar type of programs has a just a social worker and anal leazison.

No, Doran does not have an eison classes and the other one had one sack with the you know I I just think equity wise it it raises some questions. I for one would think that um when it's a specific program you could make the argument that an eleas on could do that working very closely under the direction of that person that to me is a logical explanation but what I was talking about before was

sort of in general right so when you come back and say based on the following whatever you can also see that if the person is displaced they would have one of these other positions they're not going to be out because they're a social oh no y so I just think I don't want my comment to be looked at like as if it's a blanket. I just think it's rational right now. It might make sense to do

that. It might make sense to put two social workers and only oneclaison. When you look at the $20,000 difference, you'd have two clinical licensed people in one that could support the I don't know, but I don't want you to think that I was sort of saying that wholeheartedly. Thank you. I yield.

Anything further, Miss Riley?

Sorry. I guess I would just say the reverse for Vavveris. So we're going from 720 to 800 students. There are already attendance issues at Vavveris.

Now we're going to add 80 more students, but we're taking a licensed social worker out of that building. I guess I'm I'm just I see that person as a clinician who can support. And when you have huge attendance issues, a social worker can be that homeschool liaison.

So I'm just curious about that versus the folks.

Well, currently in the org chart that I had presented, um the way I had it structured was we would have three VPs and under each VP would be a student adjustment counselor and under that student adjustment counselor would be an SEAL. So you'd have a team of three basically. Um however, the principal wants to um assign them.

So the social worker was not a part of that structure. They only solely with the reach program solely.

Yes.

Okay.

Thank you.

Anything further, Mr. Das?

Thank you. Um just in regards to the um two two new department head positions.

Um I understand the need. Um I guess just planning for the future. Is this um I guess my question would be why wasn't this um was this proposed last year? Did we shoot it down or so?

No. The structure previously was two department heads with two assistant principles at this particular school.

Last year, Principal Witty um advocated to change that structure um and have a vice principal um in lie of the two department chairs. As we've looked at that structure for this year um and studied it and then also anticipating an increase in student enrollment, we're proposing that um we would go back to the the structure with two department heads and maintain assistant principles at that school.

Thank you.

Anything further on Ferris?

All right. Thank you, Miss Witty. Our next school is Doran.

Good evening.

What are you going to tell us about Dorman? So in addition to the reach program as you if you have further questions about that we um have only other position we u asked for was the um special ed position and that is for inclusion and to utilize in the 3 to five area more so and that's again based on numbers and uh needs for services.

Mr. Chair, Mr. dis the um liaison. How do you plan on um implementing them?

Yeah. So, and and again with the addition of the reach program comes the leaison. So, they would be utilized as um Miss Oenshane explained specifically anchored to the reach program. We would be going from two rooms to six rooms and they would um be anchored there. I have two leazison. one that supports our lower grade levels, one that supports our upper grade levels in the gened um

day-to-day. Now, so if we stuck with the model that um was recommended to you this evening, we would have a total of five seal liaison in the building.

Do you have any sacks currently?

I do have sacks currently. I have um two sacks again, one that serves the lower grade school and one that serves the upper grade school.

and one social worker as you heard in the reach presentation that serves and anchors just to those two classrooms.

Um like I' I've said before, the only um concern I have and I'm not sure if I'll pull the trigger at this meeting or wait till Wednesday or a future meeting is whether we should even fill these positions. Not not not anything to do with you or your school, just in terms of um where you want to move forward. My colleague brought up great points about using um a sack because it can be more

comprehensive and they can fill in the in the in the meetings as well.

Um if there was if we did make that move and we just had maybe like a sack instead of two leaison could you see um that being useful within your model or most certainly. So if two of the three seals were traded in for a second sack that anchored to the reach program, I would definitely see that as also a lift for us. And then one seal that would anchor into those six rooms most certainly.

Okay. I seeing that um I'll make a motion to do just that.

Do I have a second?

Hearing none.

You got any further questions, Mr. V?

No, I yield for now.

Mr. Hagger, sorry. I I just not sure what the last motion really was about the moves because that's a special education.

Yeah.

Uh determination, but when I look at the numbers of Doran, they have 5 You have 500 students.

Yes, sir. And then you have two school adjustment counselors.

You have a student support coordinator.

And then you have a school guidance counselor. It looks like it says school counselor here.

Yes.

So you have separate from the social worker and the reach program which if you take th those folks out which I'm not sure how many six classrooms is of uh students. Let's say there's 10 in each. That's 60 students. So that means you only have 440 kids left in the whole school and you have four counselors.

That's a 100 case load for each counselor. There's nowhere in this district that has a 100 case load. Uh so this agot to me begs how did it even get to this point where here we are trying to make tough decisions on some other places and we have K to8 school with 440 kids are there about correct me if I'm wrong on the math but I got to be pretty close with the math right yes sir

out of the six I'm saying let's say it's nine it's 40 whatever you got to deduct that when we're looking at balancing all of the schools that have case loads like it it almost bordering 100 to one. I'm not saying you don't have needs there. I definitely think certainly we have needs. Yeah.

You know, so I'm not trying to minimize it. It's just blaring that when we look at that. Then we look at the other structure. There's two department heads as well as four other intervention people that work with. So as far as I'm concerned, the Doran is staffed up pretty well. Um I I have to just honestly say I think it's staffed up pretty well with my personal opinion.

you had wrote an operational needs about a badge reader that's broken and you gave uh uh I don't know some documented tickets and stuff. We have anything on that?

So, we do have um a brand new uh badge ID maker since this was submitted to you all.

Okay, perfect. I think that's a good thing. The one thing that you had mentioned, it was like scattered in here is the outdoor playground and I mentioned this when we dedicated the allows playground. We have to look at and I think you wrote it in here in sort of a roundabout way about uh protection from Yes.

Yes, sir.

definitely needs to be on the plate of of grounds that you your littlest students go on that playground. And while we were at the dedication of that playground with the children on the playground, we had some people that weren't necessarily the most savory characters walking and just sort of stumbling through that side of the whatever that side street is and coming from everywhere. And there's absolutely

no control of your grounds in a very dangerous section. So I for one want to add that to an agenda piece of what is happening. We can talk about it at facilities, but you had wrote it in here and I Yeah, it was on the uh same page as the sped inclusion and it was for a second security guard andor more time with a school resource officer, right? Thank you. The other one was um I

think you call it a security associate, but is that just your Sorry, it's a security guy like that's not a different position, right?

No, sorry.

And then you mentioned something about two hours of lunch duty for support staff. Yeah. So we have Amazing.

Yes. Yes sir. So we have as you know um the lower grades and the upper grades and so we try uh very strategically to keep them separated in the lunchroom.

And so during the time frame of 10:30 to 12:30 we operate all of our lunches. And it does require a lot of hands-on deck in terms of a getting students moving back and forth um and then supervising in the cafeteria. So most of um the administrators includes the SEAL folk as well, the administrators. We do supervise andor have shifts throughout that cafeteria. So I do utilize lots of

those folks. Um the second security associate was excuse me security guard was was asked for just ma mainly for the grounds area because we have had so many concerns but also they're integral to the day-to-day movement of kiddos up and down between the lower and the upper grades. So it would be helpful. I understand and the um I just giving my own opinion when we talk support staff

and it's school adjustment counselors I don't believe they should be doing two hours uh a day any of them or or variation thereof because the clinical mental health needs are so sure and it's not only you sir it's like I would say that across and and let me correct during that two-hour time frame they are all they are all scheduled within it they are not each doing two hours of that

whole time so if that was misleading. I apologize.

Yeah. No, I understand. Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Das, I'm just following up on my colleagues comments. Um, we don't h currently hire security um assigned like the position wouldn't be dor security or derpy security. We hire security throughout the district and they're assigned and they're assigned as a floater like to whatever school they need to be.

That's correct.

Okay. Um, so I'm not sure. I know security I believe requested a few extra positions. I'm not and I guess my question would be when that comes up is that for um specifically for the schools that are requesting it or because I want to know if we're going to app ever hypothetically and I'm not committing one way or another approve a um extra security position and the school was asking for an extra security position.

Is that school going to to get that is would be my question, but we'll talk about that when security comes up. I yield.

Anything further on Dorne hearing? None. Next. Henry Lord.

What do you got there, Miss Patico?

All right. So, at Henry Lord, we were requesting a history teacher again. Yep. So, at our school, we're fortunate enough this year that we received the investigating history grant. So, we were hoping for a history teacher that could dedicate the work to that grant.

Mr. the DAS.

Um, if it's a new position that would be highlighted green in our budget packet, correct?

So, okay. So, this is a position I'm assuming.

I believe this might be on the list funded list. Yep.

Um, administration's take on it. What?

Yeah, I think the position was that um currently, you know, we understood the the need and there are teachers in front of students right now teaching them history, right?

So, I think Miss Pacho was really looking for someone who could specialize in that area. Um we did, you know, proposed to her to consider if there were any other potential conversions within her current budget um that could meet that need.

And is that here under like the um teacher the grade five that cover or is that just a generic?

No, I think the grade I think the grade two grade five is an enrollment shift.

Okay.

Yes. You said we're enrollment. Thank you. Um you mentioned uh Miss Pico um you received a investigating history grant.

Yes.

And that's specifically for you. Do you receive the school received that?

Yes. Um, several of our schools did and it's on Wednesday's agenda.

Okay. So, I guess if it's not coming out of the operational budget, does the administration see like a like another need for or another use of the grant?

No, the grant is not for a position.

It's for professional development for teachers.

The grant doesn't fund a position. It's for um investigating history would be a curriculum.

Okay. And so we're expanding the use of that at the elementary level across several schools. And so we had schools opt into a pilot in order to be able to um provide additional training. So you'll see differences in the allocations between schools because those schools may have said, you know, I want to train these three grades versus two grade levels somewhere else.

Thank you. I yield.

Mr. So uh you had mentioned in here some I'm paraphrasing that the roof leaks throughout the school. Is that uh pre predating you being the principal? Like is this been an ongoing issue or is that something that's sort of happening and what's the plan to fix it?

Yeah. So, actually it was fixed last Monday. So, yeah, thank goodness.

Okay, that's a good thing.

The um in looking at what I just asked the the principal of Doran, so you have 853.

How many special population students do you have that because it's not on the ARG chart here but that we would deduct from what's on the ARG chart roughly with regard to the RISE classrooms any of the classrooms that are in special education. So not inclusion but like the you have strands of so I think like the cluster coordinator any of those other roles that may support your school that aren't captured

on your specific or how many students is that in that program?

Yeah. So when I take a look um we have 11 classrooms that from RISE. So we have I'm just looking at it roughly right now.

So approximately 80 students, 90 students.

Okay. So under that same logic, if we're looking at equity, Henry Lord is a community school, K to8 or whatever, you know, similar to Dorman and the conversation that we just had.

If I use that same logic, you're at 770 students total, which is 270 students more than at the Doran.

And you have five counselors. Uhhuh.

And they twoCL liaison.

So that the same logic would would tell me that you don't have enough counselors or support staff to handle the need.

Maybe you're doing okay with it. I'm not suggesting otherwise. But if you look at straight numbers, both schools have needy children and you have one, two, you know, four school adjustment counselors and one guidance council. I lump them together because they should all be able to counsel kids. So for 770 you got five. For 500 they had four or 440 they had four. So to it's not really a question for you more so to the

administration. I think that's something to look at as we proceed to determine if we have to do something different equity-wise. And I say this literally I say the same thing every single budget. Every single budget. So it's not a surprise to anybody. Uh with that being said, the program uh that for the substantially separate whatever you called it, I'm not sure the name. You have enough staff in that. I know it's

under probably under the special ed, but it's part of your school. Like what is if they're not um properly staffed in that piece, it's going to affect you like you as the principal have to deal with some things within that program.

Yeah.

Where you have another vice principal has to So I understand I work there. I understand what it's like, but is it adequate to not drain some of the um counseling for instance?

I'm already telling you I think it's not enough if these counselors that you have here now helping with the children in that program.

It just rises that number up because it's a different program than Darwin with the reach where the social worker kind of handled the whole thing.

Yeah, we are fortunate in that program.

We have two BCBAs that are um that help with that program.

So, not only do our school adjustment counselors also work both in that program and in the general ed, but we have the two BCBAs that just work within the RISE program and the cluster coordinator for the whole and the cluster coordinator and our uh special ed supervisor in the in the same building.

Yes.

Yeah. So, well, we share her uh between it's Morton LNO and Henry Lord.

Yep. And I I understand that. Um and Mr.

Stewart had to step out, but she was very passionate about the numbers and the power professionals. Can you sort of just weigh in on that conversation for the edification of her? She's not here right now, but Yeah. And I can understand because the concern is when the powers are absent.

That's the that's the biggest thing. So right now when I look at each of the classrooms, they're staffed with four staff for seven students, five staff for seven students, five for six, five for 9, four for 12. So as the needs get a little less, the need for staff becomes less because those students again the big thing about Herring Lord Community School is all about inclusion, right?

Getting into that um into the classroom more. So again, the concern not only in the RISE program, but in many of our classrooms when staff when they're absent, that becomes a concern.

Yeah, I think what it would be helpful to work with Mrs. Obje and Mr. Reposo to show us maybe a graph of minimum staffing. So as an administrator in this building, you must have in your head. I can't do without like three minimum or something like that because a visual I think will help us to understand what that looks like. I can definitely do that and I think Miss um Stewart would

appreciate that as well. Thank you.

Absolutely.

Okay. Anything for them?

Um Miss Riley.

So I'm just looking classrooms may have over 28 as a result of students from the RISE program pushing in. So do they come with staff when they push in?

Yes. Yep. Definitely. Y checking. Thank you. Anything further?

Thank you, Mr. Pico.

Next up is the Stone School.

Hi, Mayor. What do you got going? What do you got going stone? What we've asked for, excuse me, this year is uh we've once again gone back to trying to get one fine arts position in the school because we lost two days of our fine fine arts instruction. This will help us to recoup some of that time that we lost and will also allow us to open up some opportunities for our students for uh

therapeutic services in the arts. Um, we also had asked for a po.5 school adjustment counselor because I shared some data about, you know, what our school adjustment counselor does all day and that it's kind of difficult for her to meet her mandated number of hours in terms of students IEPs with the crisis that occurs frequently throughout the day.

Mr. Aia, thank you. So, I saw I'm trying to find it, but it looks like you have a behavior therapist that's vacant.

We do. He is returning this week.

So, it's vacant. It's a It was vacant in the budget, I recall.

Oh, no. There Well, there is a person that is in that position, but he has been out. He is returning this week.

Did you Did you mention that somewhere in the um Yeah.

I think in the in the staff roster he was included in that roster, but I could be incorrect.

So, I think um I've said this for a number of years, not something that's new. I'm sure that you've heard me say it before.

Therapeutic Day School needs therapeutic people that are clinical and certified and all that stuff.

Uh so, I think we need to add a school adjustment counselor to the school. And I'm not even concerned if we said, well, based on all of the budgets were supposed to be done zerobased by our request of the administration. So with that being said, if we were to start a therapeutic day school for the number of students that you have, how many adjustment counselors, licensed clinical adjustment counselors would you

have in a school that is um as a the advertised as and is a therapeutic day school with the fact that we have the behavior therapists who fill a lot of the counseling roles in different ways.

I would say that we can function very well with two school adjustment counselors. Uh the one is just it's not quite enough to to support the increasing mental health needs of our students.

Right. I I just think if we were starting from scratch, would you have five five or six whatever that number is behavior therapists and only one? Like I just if I were starting because they're not therapists, right?

They're just they're it's a sort of a misnomer.

Well, they're registered behavior therapists, right? As far as mental health, I'm looking at trauma, mental health, clinical exactly stuff.

I just can't sit here and not say we need to change the model to have more clinical folks at the therapeutic day school. I just can't.

I just can't do it. So, I want to make a motion that we add a school adjustment counselor and reduce a behavior therapist.

I'm sorry. Can you repeat?

I have a motion and a second to add a school adjustment counselor and reduced a behavior therapist.

Basically, a conversion.

A conversion.

Can I Do you want to weigh in on that?

I do, if you don't mind. So, very much appreciate the addition of a school adjustment counselor. Um, the behavior therapists, the roles that they fill in the school are the on the ground. They are on the floor in the classrooms all day long checking in with their students, meeting them when they're having difficulties uh teaching social skills classes, doing social groups. So to lose a behavior

therapist at this point, I think would be difficult for our students. This is something that they're used to. They're used to having that person that they can reach out to periodically throughout the day if they need a little additional support.

So in the list in the list it says open TBD therapy behavior $70,000.

That's what it says in the sheet here.

Okay. So so in my mind I'm looking at it as right if that's open we're just converting that position to a school adjustment counselor which is also consistent with what this com the prior committee has said to you and everyone else that's involved that we should no longer be filling through attrition. We should be filling adjustment counselors instead of behavior therapists. Now, calling it like I see it, too.

We have therapy behavior 98,000.

They don't have a license as a school counselor in a therapeutic day school.

And they're not they're valuable. I'm not criticizing that. But take the names out and say if we were starting from scratch to say what would we do if we're spending 98,000 we should have a licensed person 97,000 97,000 98,000.

So, I'm only looking at it taking the names out and I'm not criticizing those folks. You know that.

No, I know. I just think that we need to have more licensed clinical mental health people in especially a therapeutic day school.

Mr. Mr. Raposa, Miss Shaw, has that been filled? So that there was six positions listed. There are five individuals in those positions.

One is open.

One is not open. It was for a person who is out. Okay.

And we weren't sure why.

So you currently have six.

I currently have six positions. six positions. I just want to clarify the the open. Okay, I do.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das on the motion, the department head position, this something that it says it's open. How long has that been vacated for?

How long has that person not been in the building?

Yes, you have a department head position.

Oh, I'm sorry. I'm misunderstood. The department head position, he left around December. So that position has been open since then December. Um do you see share shared position?

It we share that position with RPA.

Okay. I didn't see the 0.5 usually have the 0.5 as shared. Um is that with any potential reorg is that department head position still going to be used in a reorged RPA? With the proposal, we would have a department head at Stone and a department head at RPA. That would be what was proposed. So that actually, you know, there would probably be a full-time.

So that would be one full-time person mostly, which honestly I think we would would be very beneficial because we lose a lot of time with transitions and all of that.

Right. The reason I asked I'm just looking for some kind of some financial coverage to make up for the position um or if we can just have the position outright. And the community facilitator positions, I see two that are crossed um that are yellowed, which means they're I'm assuming they're moving. We have one um that's moving to PACE to be a floater. And then we have another open community facilitator position.

I believe that's the same position. I think Mr. Almeida coded it as um a reduction essentially, but it's the same position.

So there's only one community facilitator.

Exactly. Yes. And I believe it's been unfilled for quite some time. Several years. Yep.

Mr. Chairman, I yield.

Mr. Mr. Corey.

So, Mr. If I If I may. So, I I agree with my colleague that we should add another sack to that to the stone therapeutic school. Would we be able to hold on to all of the behavior therapists as well as adding a sack?

It sounds like that's what the principal was advocating for. Miss Shaw would be, you know, but again, that would be up to the the committee.

Yes. So, that's that's exactly what I want to advocate for. I know uh first of all, I I really think they're doing a great job. It's it's such a challenging environment each and every single day.

So, whatever behavioral supports we can add, you know, for her request, I'm I'm I'm completely advocating for. Thank you. I yield.

So, we have a motion. We have a motion in second, right? Uh to add a sack at the um convert uh to convert a behavior therapist to a sack position at the stone with that with that. Mr. Chairman, are we losing a behavior therapist? We're going to lose. Would that be adequate?

In my opinion, it would be preferable if we were able to keep the six behavior therapists. That's what I was advocating for, Mr. Reposa. Keep the six behavior therapists as well as adding a school adjustment council.

It's not the motion though, Mr. Cy.

Okay. Okay. It's not the motion. So, we can we revise the motion?

Hold on, Mr. Aia.

So, I would just caution my colleagues again. Same thing that we just talked about. There has to be some tough decisions that are made along the way.

Ideally, it's not fair to Miss Shaw to be saying, "What would you like?" Of course, you'd want to keep whoever you have and add a school adjustment counselor. But at the same time, if we have needs all over the place, we just have to tell a principal of a of a underperforming school that we're not going to give her two department heads to stay consistent. Like, we're trying to move in different ways.

And I don't think it's really a fair determination because we don't have unlimited funds. So I just caution my colleagues that at some point we have to take decisions to say we need to shift away from a position if it's not necessarily the clinical day school type position and move to this. It's a conversion. It's not saying that I'm against those. It's just we need more clinical people

at a therapeutic day school. And I I just caution that we just can't keep saying because we can't make a tough decision or just say well I'd like to have both. every principal out there would like to have everything that they asked for, but if we start to do it individually without looking at the whole picture, we're going to get ourselves caught up into how do we do it. So, I just think we have to

ultimately make the decision that we've had to been making for for a couple years. I So, so Mr. Chairman, Mr. Dory, so again, I I I agree with your premise uh Mr. Aguia. Um it's it's well thought out for sure. Uh the question is is there there are rules and there are exceptions and I look at the stone as an exception to the rule and I I just think that the added

seal support there with with an adjustment counselor without losing she just said the behavior therapists are boots on the ground people uh in challenging situations every day and that's what I heard. I heard that clearly. Is that is that right?

They're boots on the ground inside your school and and the challenges there are there every day. They present every single day as major challenges and with one school adjustment counselor on staff, it's just not enough to handle the clinical therapeutic needs of school. So, I would advocate and I would ask uh Mr. Reposo, if you think we're in a position uh budgetarily to add a school adjustment

counselor as well as retain all six behavior therapists, that's what I'm asking. And I'm wondering if that's a fair request.

I have not. Um I know that there's the $500,000 um you know, float float uh for position. So I think um you know, if Mr. Almeida has been keeping track of um the request so far. We'd have to see if it's able to be funded out of that. Um potentially would we be able to visit that soon u so that we can we can show her that we want to support her needs.

Thank you. I Mr. Aar I once again want to caution my colleagues to look at the budget and look at the staffing and I support and Miss Shaw will know this. I've supported the Stone School for my entire career here. So, this is not a slight on you or the school or anything else, but we have to face reality of what we're budgetarily what we're facing.

Right? We have 156 for the principal, 134 for the vice principal. We have 100,000 for the department head. We have 118,000 for the adjustment counselor. We have 113,000 for the guidance counselor.

And we have five or six behavior therapists all at $98,000.

There is going to we're going to run out of money in like support services for that short number of students. uh they need support, don't get me wrong, but for all of that money we're spending, all I'm saying is we need to convert somebody that's getting paid that much, it can be a cost savings because you could get a school adjustment counselor that's, you know, at a a step one or step three or

whatever for 70,000. When we look at the budget, we don't have unlimited funds that just keep on adding. Look at the numbers that I just read. That's 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12. That's 14 people making $100,000 a year at the Stone School. Now, as much as I support it, it's just hard. I I can't just sit here and say, "Let's just get rid of the

500,000." There's a lot of things that are going to happen over the course of our budget deliberations where we're going to use that money. But we can't just every if you just happen to, oh, we're going to just do it with this. How do we do it for everybody else at some point? And Mr. Almea will say this. I'm sure we are going to run out of money and we got to we have to sustain budgets

long term after the student opportunity acts over and live within only 100% that we get from the city.

So reality just face reality. I I I am asking you to support this because it's a shift and if later on you come back and look and say, "Okay, we you know we're going to get $2 million more from the city that they owe us, then I'll be happy to support it." But right now it's tight. The numbers are very tight. Are you Mr. Corey?

Again, Mr. Vice Chairman, I agree with your premise. Uh I'm just trying to see if we can squeak it out as best as possible. I I agree with that that maybe if we can revisit it as soon as possible, but at the very least get you an additional school adjustment counselor on staff and and Mr. Vice Chairman, I'm asking you as as we peruse the budget down the road, if if there's

a way that we can squeak it out, can we reaportion a behavior therapist for her?

My opinion would be it's everything is open for discussions amongst the committee and it's the majority of committee. I'm not trying to dictate one way or another. I know that the need if you gave me a zerobased budget and said create a therapeutic day school and I wouldou encourage you my colleagues or anybody out there to Google ask any questions and say how many school adjustment council licensed clinical

mental health counselors do we need at a therapeutic day school okay go out and look at it and guarantee you it's never going to say one and as of two years ago we had zero correct let's go let's go so I I don't think it's a rush and Mr.

Cory asked me a question. I'm trying to just give you a fair answer. I think we should make the decision now and then when we move forward with the budget and they come back to us, we can determine what it is.

Okay.

I So, I just want to say in closing that I appreciate your position. I completely understand where you're coming from, but it's our job to advocate for what we think would be helpful. But I understand that you have to make tough decisions.

All right. Then call the role, please.

Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das. Yes, Mr. Cory.

Yes, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Mr. Riley.

No, Miss Stewart. Mayor Coogan.

Uh, yes.

Anything further for Stone hearing? None. Next up is Cuss.

Mrs. Houette, you can present. Thank you.

Yes. Good evening.

Our um changes and asks are based on our enrollment and uh student population changes.

So, we will no longer have a foundational English language learner program at CUS next year. And that is only because we don't have level one and level two students um coming into CUS anymore. Um and it's actually um it's really sad for me to see the foundational program leave and I hope one day we will see it come back because that has been um an enormous bright spot in our school community. Um but all of

the students that we currently have that are foundational in the building at the end of this year will be um moving to level three transitional um which is really exciting. Um and our projections from the uh feeder elementary schools do not have foundational um students coming into CUS and so we will maintain the same number of English language learners. So, our English language

learner population is not declining. Um, it's just that those students will all be level three um transitional students that do still take ESL class every day, but they are um for all of their other core content classes in mainstream, including mainstream ELA classes. So that then led to our need to increase the number of ELA teachers in our building because with our very large

population of foundational students over the last couple years, foundational students do not go to ELA. They have two hours a day of ESL. And so we needed to increase our ESL teacher numbers and we were able to decrease our ELA teacher numbers. But now that all of our students are going to be in transitional classes, we need those ELA positions because those students will be taking um

ELA class uh in mainstream classes. Um the the only other addition was for um a unified arts teacher and that is to uh help reduce the number of unified uh the number of students in our unified arts classes um and providing some schedule flexibility. Right now we are really when we do our schedule tied into a very tight um kind of uh position where there's no flexibility um because uh of

the number of unified arts teachers we have. Um so that would help bring our unified arts class sizes down and also provide that needed uh flexibility when doing scheduling. Um the other thing I would say is that um you will see that uh we've been doing a lot of work around inclusion in our school and I'm really proud of the work that we've done. Um so many of our um traditionally subsparate um student populations.

uh as soon now uh we are using an inclusion readiness rubric that's being used throughout the district and as soon as students are ready to trial uh moving to an inclusion class for one period or then on to two periods a day. We're finding a lot of success for that for our students. Um and so uh we are going to have a large population of students next year that are uh partial inclusion

students. So they spend part of their day uh in a subsparate or self-contained setting and then part of their day in an inclusion class. That combined with the fact that um our uh incoming students uh we have a large increase in the percentage of inclusion students. Um you probably saw that our special ed numbers are looking to jump by 6 to 7% for next year. Um and so we um we are looking to

um have a number of our teachers that are currently um special educators and in self-contained um moving to that uh partial inclusion model and serving students both in the self-contained setting as well as in inclusion settings.

Miss Riley, you say your level one's moving based on access scores. Is that what you're using to justify the movement?

So, we don't have any level one students in our building this year. So because the numbers because so many of our students um in the district and at CUS um moved out last year um many of them actually going going back to the countries that they came from. Um our numbers dropped. Um we saw a a pretty big decrease starting around February of last year. Um and so this year level one

students at the middle school level all went to Talbot. Um and we maintained all of our level two students. Um so we do anticipate that uh getting the access scores uh most of those students are going to uh reach that access level of moving to transitional. Um but also um once they have been in the level two program for a year uh we do uh move them into uh the next we do move them into

transitional um with that ESL support as well.

Thank you.

Anything further cut Mr. Aaron?

Yes. Thank you. the um looking at the same logic of numbers 668 is your projection lower now that some students are no longer going to be is there any movement like I asked the other folks and do you have any specialized programming that we have lots of specialized programming yeah so in terms of the foundational change that's not really impacting our numbers um because our like I said our

ESL numbers are staying the same it's just that those students are now going to be at the level three um in transitional classes. Um in terms of our special populations, we have three different um subsparate special education programs at CUS. So we have the prep program, traditionally considered um community- based, medically fragile. So we have the prep program, we also have the stride program

and we have the reach program. So, three different um specialists is that roughly 10 each.

No, it's more than 10. And I do have the numbers for you. Give me just a moment here.

It's about 70 across the three programs.

I think it it's right about 70.

Is there any special education staff that is not on your organizational chart that works with those children? So we do have um we have a cluster coordinator for each one of those programs that we share with other schools. Um so the cluster coordinators are shared across for instance our um prep cluster coordinator is shared with other schools that have prep. Um same with reach same

with stride. So no one that is solely dedicated to CUS for that matter and there's no social worker or we have it's on our org chart. Um so we do have a school adjustment counselor um that is devoted to the reach program. Um as you know the um I mean the reach program is the social emotional program.

There are very intensive needs there. Um and so we have a sack and anal liaison devoted to that program. Then we have um a school adjustment counselor that services separately the other two programs. Um not anal liaison um but a school adjustment counselor for the combination of our prep and our stride.

Um there are also um different and um intensive needs across those programs.

Yeah. So when I just look at the uh it looks like in my opinion the counseling is staffed up pretty well. When you look at you have the two guidance you have five counselors for the 590 students left over after you take the uh reach out. That's a pretty good ratio and then you also have three dedicated school leaison already.

Yes. One at each grade level. Yep.

I see somewhere in here. I'm not sure how the process worked that people got like added an leaison and what that process was amongst the administration, but I don't see the rationale for that here knowing what we're just dealing with. Um, is that am I am I wrong on that or is that just uh I don't think that was proposed for cost, right? Addition of was that proposed?

I did not ask for an additional leaison.

No.

I think it's I think it's related potentially to um a discussion around RPA I believe is that proposal. So maybe on Wednesday it says here new position seal leaison 50,000 custom middle program improvement. So I personally think that you know based on what you said I think you're staffed up well. So I'll make a motion that we eliminate that second new position.

Mr. Mr. Aguiar, I would agree with you.

I do think that um I do think that we we have the people that we need um on the ground right now. I'm really proud of my team across the entire CUS building. Um we are seeing um a lot of improvement and gains this year. We're um I mean and when I look at um you know thinking about the work of our SEAL team um we've as of right now our suspensions are half

of what they were last year. Our chronic absenteeism um at this point is four percentage points lower than it was last year. I think my team um from Paris to teachers to custodians to security um to my admin team and mycl leaison um this is a family and everyone's working really hard and I think focused on the right things and our priorities and we're seeing it pay off. I don't think

that we we need um an additional person given the budget.

I appreciate your honesty on that.

I have I have a motion and second to remove the lean from the budget. Go ahead Miss on the motion. With that being said, the same thing. The second percentile absolutely is an issue. I know you know it's an issue. The district knows it an issue. It's not like we're pulling anything back. We're giving you an awful lot of support over.

But the results have to be I completely agree for sure.

Question question before our vote.

Mr. Cy, would it be uh Mr. Chairman, if we remove analison from CUS, would we be able to add that position to the stone therapeutic?

Um, Mr.

Just in the um, my opinion is I think that might be a mistake in the budget based on what what we were talking about. So, I don't know if it's truly an addition, but I any any programs that we vote on that say we have something in the budget with a dollar figure that we reduce off at some point when the next week or whenever the next time we meet

is, you could you could add it, but it's in the budget here. I just don't know how it adds up. So, so, so what's the answer? So, would it be feasible to even consider it?

I would say we have to wait for Mr.

Almea, Mr. Reposo to come back to us, see how it plays out. But to your logic, every $50,000 position that's truly in the budget that we choose to not fund, that gives us $50,000 more to add somewhere else.

Yeah, last page.

Just stay tuned, I would say.

All right, we can we'll review it at the end, Tom. Okay, Deb, call the role, please.

Yes, Mr. Das. Yes, Mr. Cory.

Yes, Mr. Monus.

Yes, Mr. Riley.

Yes, Miss Stewart. Mayor Cougen.

Yes.

Uh, anything further on CUS?

Hearing none, we'll go to Morton.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Same thing.

Okay.

We still don't see the damn thing. Um, uh, Mr. Bencoin, what do you got?

Good afternoon. Um, our budget, if you look at our budget overview for the Morton Middle School, some of the key areas that are changing, we're really looking at strengthening our special education programming around our readiness rubric. We have many students that are in our subsparate classrooms and throughout this year we've been looking at professional development as well as our readiness rubric to see if

they can transition from those subspparates to inclusion classrooms.

So, we've seen some great momentum this school year specifically around that and we'd like to continue that growth as well as continuing to expand our staff development pathways specifically in our content areas with support of special education.

Okay, Mr. Das.

Um, thank you. I'll start off with um and just so I have the the coloring correct. It's yellow at the bottom. The six um pars and six FTEEs. Um we're keeping we're we're keeping that.

I believe those are inclusion par profofessionals that are being proposed to um support math and science classrooms.

So they're additions.

They're either additions or or reallocations from a different program.

Thank you. Um and I guess I'll get the committee's opinion on the um additional SEO liazison. Could you speak to the need? Apologize if I missed it.

Not at all. Um I think our that goes along the line similar to CUS. So in that regard, I currently have four seal leaison and four school adjustment counselors.

I believe that what potential transitions may occur at another school may also impact my school.

Okay. So, you're you you didn't never propose an lay on position.

No.

Should we make a motion to cut this one too or second? Sec. All right. Motion still made.

That's the $50,000 position in the budget. I have a motion, a second on that. Deb, please call the role.

Mr. Mr. A.

Yes.

Mr. Das.

Yes.

Mr. Corey.

Yes.

Mr. Monus.

Yes.

Mr. Riley.

Yes.

M. Stewart. Mayor Coug.

Yes.

Mr. Aguia.

You had mentioned in here that uh you only have one security guard, but other schools have two. I we don't necessarily know that, but is that has that been brought up like in conversations? Like what's the background of that?

Yes. So, we at the start of the school year, we did have two security guards.

One of those security guards did transition to another school in the district and so we currently have an open position there. So right now I only have one security guard which has been typical at the Morton.

You started the year with two.

I did.

And the other schools which is I guess not you have Mr. Rosa. Was that true?

I believe the two other middle schools have two each. I believe Mr. Ventur is here as well that can answer any questions.

So, I had to transition the second officer who was new from Morton to a different school that needed um an officer. However, I just hired three today. One is dedicated uh for Makes sense. Thank you. The uh other one is um the accountability of course is a concern. Uh 3% that's overly low. Um, I just whatever changes we're making or whatever, that number has to go up. I mean, something's got to give there. I 100%

agree with you. I want you to know our partnership with the Department of Ed looking at acceleration. If you also look at my accountability, uh, transitioning into Morton, this is my third year. We have seen continued growth around my accountability uh, specifically with students with disabilities. We went from 19 to 54 and the accountability. So of course listen, we are at the lowest end. We are slowly

trying to make growth to move out of that area. I 100% agree with you.

I understand. I have a note here about uh AIR reports. Somewhere in here you talked about uh uh was it a survey or some sort of uh with AIR? So AIRIR is the partnership with the department of ed that comes into many of our schools that looks at different programming and also our teaching and learning. And in the past those reports did come back relatively not in favor of teaching and

learning and the type of programming that was taking place in the past few years that has shifted recently. We had AIR last year and this year and we've seen continued growth focused on teaching and learning culture and climate.

If you could I just had a note to see if we could get those reports through the superintendent.

Yes, we that would be appreciated. And then do you have specialized programming the same uh you know conversation I have with the others?

We do. So currently this year we have three rise classrooms and we have five of our stride programming as well as inclusion classes. Next school year we're anticipating maintaining our three rise. We're looking at possibly having four um stride and then we're looking at integrating and achieve. So that's where most of those students will be in inclusion classes where they may have

one or two content areas that they're in the subs separate.

So when we look at the counselors, you have the uh four sacks to guidance and one for the specialized programming. I have a BCBA for the specialized programming and then I also work with the cluster coordinator as well as the special education uh administrators for both RISE as well as stride.

Yeah, Mr. Reposo, I would just recommend that all of these get updated because we just can't like we don't know what some people have don't have. I I think your numbers are satisfied. Like that is like everybody elseund you're not at a 300 to1 counselor case load.

So that to me would mean we're giving you the resources now. We just want to see the results that obviously go along with it. Um and the on addition it wasn't a slight to you. It just I think we have to deal with that as a as a body. So nothing personal on that.

No I agree.

I thank you. Thank you. I yield.

Anything further on Martin? Mr. Riley.

Just a question. And I see a transition from a math coach interventionist to science, but your math data is still not great. So why the swap?

So that position has been open for many years and we've recently tried to fill those positions and we haven't been able to s sustain in the math coach specifically. We do have a math department chair which is different than the other middle schools. So, we're looking at the conversion to a STEM coach because I believe that um we can make gains both with science and technology as well as the implementation

of additional support in mathematics.

I'm looking at a blended position with that where they might oversee part of science as well as a focus with mathematics.

Does the department head do any coaching with staff?

Yes.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you. Anything further for Morton?

Thank you, Nick.

Thank you.

Next, we're going to jump because Talbot's not here and we're going to hold on uh Robert Matias right now.

We're going to go to Dery because they are here.

No, we're gonna pop some of the easy ones.

Yeah, he did. He certainly We're not gonna do them all.

Okay. Dr. Stevens, good evening everyone.

Hi. Um, if you remember when I was here a couple months back in regards to the program of studies, we talked about a few priorities. The first of those priorities um had to do with real world readiness and our ask this year are directly related there. If you remember, one of the elements of that real world readiness that we talked about for next year was just making our offerings relative to financial literacy more

robust. So next year we will have AP business and personal finance. We'll also have an elective that is financial literacy. So with that comes a request for a conversion of an ESL FTE to a math FT. That's the first to ask. And the other related uh realm if you will is CT and the two asks that we had that are relative to compliance are a criminal justice teacher. Our criminal justice

program is um currently completing its second year. So it will begin be beginning its third year next year. Uh the CTE programs to support a cohort each year need two teachers. And so next year we'll uh will kind of be that that first year where the second teacher will be required to sustain. Uh the other ask there relative to compliance is an EEC parah an early ed parah and the compliance factor there has to do with

the infants and the toddlers in those programs and the needs for breaks contractually for the staff who are in that program and the way that it is currently staffed doesn't support that.

so that when people are taking their breaks related to lunch and break time um it's very tight borderline out of compliance when people are out of the room. So those are the asks related to compliance. The other three asks relative to CTE were a parah in construction and FTE in construction and an FTE in cosmetology and all are related to really to optimization and growth. So, they were asked

understanding that they would likely be on a wish list of some sort, but in the spirit of wanting to optimize and grow programs uh and advocate for the development and evolution of the building, we put them on the list and spoke to them.

So, those are our asks.

Mr. Corey, I'm in a position of support. anything that you request for support moving forward. I also want to take a moment to congratulate uh the CTE program and its success in the recent mock trials that went on. I think that that's a real boon for the school. It's just great PR for Dury moving forward. Thank you. I I yield.

Thank you.

You're not ready. Okay. Anybody?

M Riley. I just want to make a point that adding the CTE program will also bring you more Perkins funding so you'll get more grant money. So in the end it'll just support itself.

Perfect.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Das.

Thank you. And I and I know I emailed about this earlier in the day, but if you can just um I haven't got a chance to look at the response. I'm just trying to um just get an understanding. We um might correct me if I'm wrong. We have um three guidance counselors per grade, sophomore, junior, and senior. Um the freshman class only has two yet they have the biggest um biggest class. What was the rationale?

No. So the fresh correct me if I if I made if I'm wrong and and No, no, that's okay. All grade levels have two school counselors and they in this house model that we currently have, the school counselor is attached to the student beginning in 9th grade and they'll move with them through the 12th grade and they'll come back to 9th grade. School adjustment counselors, there are three in nth grade and there

are two in the other grades. There's one stagnant adjustment counselor in nth grade and then the two that will be paired with students and move with them as they progress to 12th grade. So that ninth grade will always have one additional in theory.

Thank thank you for that correction.

Sure. I yield.

Anything further for Derpy? Mr. A. You.

So looking at the um I don't have the number in front of me, but sort of the same question I asked the other folks.

So you have 2600 students and your counseling and support staff. If we combine all those together, do you know how many that is basically on like the sheet that looks like this?

Sure. So, we have 12 school counselors, 10 adjustment counselors, four student support specialists, and two behavior therapists.

So, so I I I mean I think that um that's a lot. You need a lot. I'm not suggesting otherwise but it when you look at if we're using some at least that's how I think we have 28 2600 students and we have 28 support staff that's less than 100 per I know they don't all do the same things but in general terms I think you're well staffed with uh and I think you

acknowledge that your staffing is okay my my concerns are the um which I've said in all these other places is the clinical trauma based um by licensed folks support at the school. That's where I think we're either lacking in the number of those folks that can actually do that work as well as the people that have the credentials to do that that they're not doing that work all day. And it's a concern that I have

across district. That's why I asked for the survey. Um I so I'm not looking to change something. I would just want to weigh in on my personal opinion is that we need to really focus on the clinical mental health needs of the kids because it's it's needy right now and that might mean like we had a tough vote on on a different position. At some point if that's happening we need to take some of

those 28 and repurpose those to more clinical folks rather than keep all those and add a clinical When I first started on this school committee, we had eight guidance counselors and two adjustment counselors for 2,000 students. Now we have 28 equivalent of those folks for 2600 students. Now granted, the needs are there, but literally that's what happened when I first started here. So, we are putting

the money there, but I I I think we're lacking on the um mental health part myself. Um the other pieces that you have in here, is there anything? Can you just clarify what's on the wish list versus the um because it's hard for us to figure out what was granted and then what do you have still on the want list or Sure. So the the you want to know what's

what was granted and what is still on the want list or you just want to know the want? Just just a wand list if you can is a construction parah a construction FTE and a cosmetology FTE and when you say an FTE is that you mean teacher teacher? Yeah. So to M Riley's point, what is the costbenefit analysis of any of those positions um related to CTE and

if you can get that to us? I think if you were going to increase the number of students because you get more money for those by October one for next year. It it it might be something like I'm not sure why it's on the want list if the numbers just show that you increase the numbers and we're going to have from the state x amount of dollar like that. It's a mathematical formula.

We did discuss that in our budget presentation. So, so why is it not done?

Yes. So, I think for us, we um as we went through the process, as you've referenced, we have a certain amount of funds. We looked at um whether it was a need right now or if it was an intention to grow the program beyond its current iteration. And so, I think if the committee wants to continue to grow the program before its current iteration, that would be the proposal to do it. But

in terms of how what adequate staffing we need right now, the way the program currently stands, what we have is sufficient. Um, and so that was really the context.

Yeah, if you can just get us, excuse me, the um the mathematical formula because to me, if if it was looked at that we're going to increase by I don't know how many one teacher teaches how many kids 100, 60, 80. I mean how many more how many more um enrollment for children in that? Um it would it would depend on the program.

It would depend on the program. The state allocation if it's cosmetology let's say um we have 15 per cohort. So it' be for another FTE would be another 15 students that that teacher could teach over four periods.

You said five times four. So that's 60.

Yeah. Times four.

So we would increase 60 but it wouldn't really increase 60 because you those one those 15 are going to be there multiple periods. So you got the same 15 who are going to be there over multiple periods but the state board does not allow us more than 15 in a cohort because the cosmetology board only allows so many as we have six.

Yeah. No I understand. I think just getting the number would make it make sense for us.

I think it would help us. And um I had a question on the uh y pouches in the budget. So last year was a mess to start out with on the yanda pouches and um when I look at the budget here I know it's like whoever's problem it was it wasn't necessarily duries but I believe the yand pouches belong under here somewhere and how are we prepared to not

spend all kinds of money and do what we did last year because this is for the next year's budget. So, is there a number that needs to be in here or something related to that?

We have a meeting scheduled tomorrow morning with a plethora of people who are involved. I think there's definitely a cognizance that uh proactive planning relative to yonder has to happen. So, fair enough. So, if you once that happens, the superintendent can let us know. But I firmly believe that things like that need to come into the school budget. Not necessarily. So we know it's like if you have to replace

hopefully not that many, but like last year all of a sudden we started getting bills for 20 30 40,000 like all these numbers. I'd rather have a number in here to say well if we have 2,600 students we need to replace 500 per year. Whatever that number is it should fall under here. Not Mr. Pico or Mr.

Cabaral.

So if we can amend that somehow to Thank you very much. I yield.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das, some quick followup questions. Um and not sure what's the committee is going to make a we'll make a decision Wednesday what will happen with the evolve program. I'm assuming the budget is um made with the appetite in mind that the the changes would be made, the reorganization would be made.

I think the budget Yes. So the budget was proposed with the um the organization. Exactly.

So my my question on that is we're eliminating an involved position. Is that is that being eliminated or is that being moved to the new proposed hybrid school?

I'll let me the last position on the um on the operating budget.

Is it the power professional?

Yes, the PAR evolved. It's um it doesn't look like it's um it's it's an open position, right? And it looks like it would be eliminated in the reorganization.

So, it it's not going to be transferred, just going to be cut. So with that being said, if the evolve program is, correct me if I'm wrong, if it's the administration's position to move the evolve program to RPA fully, why would there be um evolve powers in the dery budget would be my question.

Currently the evolve budget is part of the dery budget, right? That's what that's why I asked the question in the beginning. Was this budget?

So we would need to approve the new school before we could Exactly. Yes. That's and and I I want to say the same piece for earlier. So I just want to mention that the leaison which I referenced earlier I think also are tied directly to the RPA proposed redesign and so those positions at the three middle schools Talbot Cuss and Morton were also related to that. So so it's the same type of situation where

sort of it's contingent on that potential reorganization.

Thank you. Just a few questions on um club advisors. Is that a stipened position afterwards? Um because I saw it was um six figures. How does that work? Is there like each club you get $1,000 stipened and is a hundred?

Yes.

Um my only question on that and I don't need the answer right now. Are all these clubs that have advisors um actually my first question would be do we do you usually go through that entire line item?

Yes, I would say that over from COVID to now, it's been easy to manage because the there hasn't been a surplus of requests for clubs.

We're definitely hitting the point now where there are more students and staff advisors looking to do clubs than what we have a budget for. So, I I think I have met with our current clubs and activities advisors, student government adviserss, and talked about how we're going to have to adjust our process to figuring out what gets funded and what doesn't because we're right at the

threshold and there are some people um on the other side of the line right now.

Sure. My only question would be, and again, this is what I don't need it right now. if um all of these um clubs if they're being approved um I I guess I don't know if this is the situation if you have a club that meets every single week um you have an advisor they're receiving a stipen versus if you have a club that hasn't met in six months yet that um advisor receiving I don't know

if it's a yearly stipen or monthly stipen or how it works they're receiving a stipen yet there the club's not meeting often if that's something we can get the backup on. I appreciate that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anything further on Dury, Mr.

Two things. One is on my colleague's point about the clubs. I'm sure I don't know what it is, but I'm sure there's a minimum threshold or expectation for clubs. So, you can't have a club advisor that has 40 students and then another one has two and they get paid the same amount. There's got to be some standards of minimums. I'm guessing the um question I had and we're not we're not

taking up the whole picture of Revolve uh but that's going to be on Wednesday, but it begs the question of what is the alternative programming going to look like at Dery High School, including evolved type of programs or substantially separate programs at the school that would allow for students that are either on the trajectory to be evolved because it was it's there right now and it was what is the what is it

going to look like for those students at Dery when if the committee votes to move evolve well I think it's hard to plan for that without knowing what what the actual situation is but I also think you touching upon how robust our support structure is and the way that time is allocated I do think is a big um piece of it one of the benefits to having robust support structure is that you are

a lot better able to support personalized individual um needs. So I guess the first place that my head goes prior to programming um is in that direction to be honest. I think relative to how the school evolves. I mean the current structure evolve has been um a program that obviously lives in Dury we've worked in conjunction with and has developed in a very positive direction over the past few years. I think that

that's something that that's something that would take a bit more thinking than an on the spot answer right now.

I understand. So, what I would ask is that you look with your team to try to determine if hypothetically the committee voted to move the Evolve program out of Dery High School. That is basically I'll say it the only alternative options for the most part. I know you're doing some credit recovery and those other pieces, but that's going to be a void at Dery. And I would encourage you to

through the superintendent come back with some kind of proposal for how are we going to support those children, not the evolved students, but students that have those type of needs in such a way at Derby High School. uh in the documents that we have from 2018, 2019, 2020, all the studies and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on consultants for evolve RPA. It talks about during those evolve 2.0, let's

say, at Dery. And I can't think that if we just can't forget about that. We have those needs. We have students that have needs that could benefit from an Evolve type program and then do inclusion a little bit. And we have to have that full continuum. Mhm.

So just because Evolve moves, there's going to be a void at Dury. And all I'm asking is that you work with your team to through the superintendent to figure out how can we try to build something and it might take more resources. I get it. But that's somewhere where we should look at. We just can't say, "Oh, if we move one place, what's going to happen there?" So all I would ask is take a

look at it.

I think I appreciate that. And I think if you um remember, one of our priorities in the program of studies meeting had to do with more mastery based options. So we are beginning a small handful of electives next year that will be the TLE model. So we will get the opportunity to see how students respond um to learning with that with a class that style.

Yeah. No, I appreciate it. Thank you. I yield.

Thank you.

Okay. Anything further on Jeffy?

All right. So we're going to bounce around a little bit. Um yeah, we're going to do art and music next.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I don't know if anybody has any questions on the art.

Mr. Chair, I don't have a problem with it. U we're going to what we're going to do is try to run through a few of the uh the uh support programs, art and music curriculum, early childhood, ELLL, finance, music, school committee, and health and PE. and we'll finish up the uh other programs on um on Wednesday hopefully or if we have to do more we'll do more art and music.

Welcome.

Thank you. Good evening. Thanks for taking them together. Appreciate that.

What did you add? Anything?

I have no proposed positions for next year on either side.

Okay. You're fully staffed.

I am. I have one open position.

Actually, we have one open position that's been open for most of the year at RPA, but other than that, we are fully staffed in both art and music.

Correct. Sir, anybody have any questions? Mr. Cory, I just want to know how how you settling in, you know? I mean, uh, is the program still robust and lot of enthusiasm in there?

Yeah, I mean, um, it's great.

I was just going to say that we're going to be evolving. We're going to be um supporting the evolve program, you know, heavily at the like we do everyone. But um I'm lucky to be with a great team and have great supports.

So you have theater going on.

We do. Okay.

We have theater at middle school and high school level. We have band and orchestra and chorus at all middle schools and high school. We have um you know we have 60 people in our team. So, so is each middle the the what what middle schools are sponsoring theater right now uh Morton and CUS are are leading the way and we're hoping to add Talet next year on theater.

What type of budget of companies do you know an idea for each one of those theater companies at those middle schools? Is it around $10,000 or so?

Uh not really. Um it's kind of a mix.

Um, some of it's funded through title one um grant funding um our budget for the FBA funds like the theater rights um the play rights um and like costumes and some of the um stage crafting but um and then we have some we have a stipen budget where we pay some people that way. So, it's a little bit of a mix depending on the school and so they because uh those because

it's robust even at the middle school level is providing a really strong feeder program for the high school so that by the time they get to high school um the arts and and and the music program is is really rocking around.

It's just rocking. You get a lot of kids to fill those slots in chorus, in band, in theater and whatnot. Is there always a good amount of kids signing up for those programs?

Yeah, it's been growing since I've been there. This year we had a middle school's ensemble field trip where kids came to the high school and got to see their high school counterparts perform.

Tomorrow night we have our first annual all city chorus concert, which is a chorus concert that combines all of the middle schools and um some of the elementary schools. Um it mirrors what we do with um orchestra and band. So this week's a busy week. Come on out the next three nights.

Well, in in in my travels, it's it's always a source of pride to say that we we always support the arts in in our fall public schools. Thank you. I yield.

Appreciate it. Anything further on art and music?

Mr. A mention here about summer camp uh summer band camp. Mhm.

Uh, black sustaining funding source.

Just don't know the history of it yet.

Did you Did you say it was under SER funds or something like that?

Yes. Um, we do have band camp every year and it's basically our pregame. It's our it's our pre-season for band. Band uh marching band starts up right when school starts throughout the football basically mirrors the football season.

So, um, band camp is something we've done for all the years I know about.

This is only my second year in the role.

Um, it's been funded historically through ESSER grants and I think I think it was title one last year. So, um, I was hoping to try to fold that into my budget, but after some discussions um, at our meetings, it looked like we were going to try to continue to fund it with grant funding, which um, was fine with me.

Can uh, Mr. Posa, you answer that like So, we've been able to support it. um through title one I believe and um in connecting with Mr. for Alita. It sounds like we would plan to try to continue support. I believe it's about $10,000, correct?

Um for the summer and that is because uh the uh band is actually part of a curriculum of the school, not it's different than like a football camp or something like that. So it's not like we're funding one thing, but not this is more schoolbased related. Correct.

I'm not sure how it relates to the football one. Um no, I'm saying it's different.

It's definitely different. Yeah, for sure. So if you have band uh marching band as part of the curriculum in a school, right, there's a linkage to us to say nobody can come to us and say why are you funding the band camp but you're not funding some other camp like it's it's actually tied into this programming that you run within the school. That's correct. It's an extension of band which

we run at all the schools and it's it's tangential to our music curriculum in general. Yep.

Yes. With that said, I'd like to Is it$10,000?

Yes. I'd like to make a motion that we put $10,000 for the band camp in the budget so that we're not relying on grants year after year, which is an unstable source.

Second.

That's I have a motion to second on on 10,000 for band camp. Uh Deb, call the role.

Mr.

Mr. Das, yes.

Mr. Corey, yes.

Mr. Monus, yes.

Miss Riley, no.

Miss Stewart, Yep.

Mr. Chair, anything Mr. Das?

Um, just a quick um procedural question and this can be amended. Actually, this doesn't even have anything to do with you. I was looking at the bud when I was going through the budget. I went through art first and then I saw I saw you and then I had um maybe like two or three teachers. I was like, has to be more staff. And then I went to the music um

and then I saw like the rest of the staff you oversee. if that can just be um amended either by through a 0.5 just so it's um reflective and transparent.

That's all I ask for. Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you. Thank you. The next one we're going to look at is uh Mr. Reposes, the curriculum department.

I'm not proposing anything um additional there, but I'm open to questions.

No changes to curriculum. Mr. Opposer's here with us. Anybody have any questions? Mr.

So, uh my only question is I guess just trying to um see the and I know you've done this but the analysis of uh academic uh achievement levels and such and how to without changing anything what is going to change in there and it might not be something that you can just give us something on it but when we look at like there's only a few positions I've gotten a lot of questions from

people that look at the budget why do we have a director of uh each of the, you know, topics, history, all that. Like, what are we getting out of that directorship?

Um, the one that I really have a um not a problem with, but a concern about is is early literacy.

And how is that affect how are these positions affecting that? If I was if I had unlimited money or I think we should be looking at uh reading specialists at the youngest grades, things like that.

And I know there's not unlimited funds, but that would fall under a curriculum type of thing. So with the needs that we have, not looking for more. I I'm I'm looking for better results. So you could probably help us at some point.

Yeah, I mean I can uh prepare something, but just to speak to that for a moment.

We've really relied on building the capacity of the staff that we do have.

So taking an approach at, you know, really um training um improving the quality of training. Um there's a request I'm bringing forward on Wednesday which is for a train the trainer um from the National Literacy Institute. So we actually train four people to be trainers in the science of reading. Um we have some folks who have that capacity now but we've actually contracted out quite a bit um for that

sort of thing. But that would be an example of stuff that you know we've been really trying to work on is build the capacity of the staff that we do currently have right now. And um you know you'll see an example of that on Wednesday. But I'm happy to prepare um something specific to the directors that we do have and how their time is allocated and and the impact that they have.

Great. Thank you. I yield.

Mr. Chair, Mr. Das um just question in a a hypothetical proposal. Um for the question um for a bookkeeper, shouldn't that be under finance?

I know all the bookkeepers under finance, but I see this one specific to your department.

I don't see a which where is that?

Sorry.

Um I think that's the curriculum budget, right?

Oh, yes. Okay. Sorry, Mr. Alita. Yep.

Yes. So, it's the So, the bookkeeper is the uh is the grant is under title one and so we've historically kept it here and because it goes with the director of grants, it's like hand in hand with that position. Okay. Um, you don't have any none of your bookkeepers are under a specific title one grant. No, this is the only one.

Um, thank you. That that's all I have for that. And this a second item. if we ever run into the situation of um we ever need to cut down on anything. I was doing some research and I did notice a lot of um a lot of different um districts across the across not even just local towns but some municipalities they combined their social studies and ELA not proposing that but there

something if we ever have to go in the opposite direction if we um don't have unlimited money we go in a in a backwards direction something to look at I yield anything further for curriculum hearing none We'll go to early childhood and that will Yeah, that's held the ones I circled with. Oh, you want to do athletics too?

No,

I circled the ones you did.

Early childhood's here now. athletics as well.

So, I'm going to go the two quick ones.

First, in terms of the broader early childhood department um and grants, I'm not proposing any changes there.

In terms of the Fall River Learning Center, our proposal is just to move that entire program and the staff that are currently aligned with it um to Connley in the same way we're moving all of the preschool classrooms that are in the elementary schools and the staff that are directly connected to those classrooms over to the early learning center at Conley.

So, I'm not proposing to change anything um with the staff that are coming over from there. So Far River Learning Center will no longer exist and will be folded into the early learning center.

So everything would consolidate a comp there. Yes. And then I'll let Mrs.

McKinnon speak to our proposal for um the early learning center changes.

Okay. Go ahead.

So, uh, with the addition of, um, 15 additional classrooms to the early learning center, we are proposing a department head just to help, um, with the administrative duties and the instructional support within the classrooms with the addition of those 15 additional classrooms and also proposing a SEAL liaison to help. Um, right now we have a BCBA and a behavior tech. We will be getting the B

uh the BCBA from the Fall River Learning Center and the SEAL liaison would partner with the BCBA to help support the social social emotional needs of our students.

Nice. Any questions, Mr. Das?

Thank you. The part-time positions, are they coming in um as needed? Are they filling breaks the two um part-time Oh, my iPad is shut down.

We don't have any time positions.

I think early childhood position.

There are some positions that are partly funded through a grant and partly um funded the the part-time home visitor family support position.

Oh, so those aren't part of the early learning center. So those positions are part of early childhood the early childhood department and so they do not work um in any way with the early learning center.

Were we not on early childhood? Are we are they two separate? We are. Okay. So, sorry. I'm not proposing any changes um to that part of the department.

No, I understand that. My question was how do they assist with the um I I guess my question would be you have multiple like um not sure they're funded by different grants, but you have a full-time position for the support specialist. you have um almost a full-time position position, then you have some part-time. I mean, have you ever thought about consolidating into multiple full-time

positions? I I guess I'm trying to understand why the multiple part-time positions.

Yep. So, some of it is availability of staff, some of it is just from year to year, the funding has shifted. And so we did have um three part-time positions at one point. We did make the decision to move to two full-time and two part-time um when one of those people um did retire. It those that part of the department is 100% grant funded and we have struggled um over the last year and

actually have been working um with Mr.

Almeida on that. the grant has been consistently level funded. And so with level funding, we know does not mean level services. And so as we look at increases in salaries, increases in um benefits, being able to utilize part-time employees for part of that helps us in that we do not have benefits attached to those positions.

Okay, that makes sense. Thank you. Um, last question is, um, and I'm not sure what this position is, but if someone were to ask me, just looking at the title, what would be my explanation? The early learning playgroup facilitator.

Yep. So, as part of one of the grants, we offer um playgroups around the city.

We're the facilitator of the grant for Fall River, Somerset, and Westport. So, we offer um playgroups in all three of those communities. The playrgs are for children under the age of five that are not attached to a preschool program. And it works with um children and caregivers on um early literacy is the primary focus and um developing social skills in anticipation of children preparing to come to school.

Thank you. Thank you. I Anything further, Miss Riley?

I'll just say, we talked about this when you mentioned the grant for um home visiting the last time that you were in front of us, that one of the most important things we can do to continue to improve our district is to really support early childhood and the supports we provide for our youngest learners because those are our future learners.

And so I would just say that next year I would love to see you propose the rest of the positions that you would like to have particularly in this area outside of the grant and in the general fund so that we could continue to support our three and four year olds because those are the future of the district and we want to make sure we give them the best foundation. So I encourage you to add

next year and put those in the budget.

Thank you. I yield.

Thank you M. Mr. Yeah.

So, uh there's a lot of changes with the the volume and and that I the only thing I would ask is that we um I'm not prepared to say whether I support the additional department head. We talked about it individually at a at a meeting of what what's needed. Um I I think we should try to streamline whatever's here. We have two different things. We have director of early childhood, then we got the principal.

Yeah. Last year, two years ago, we had all we had a different structure. So, I think it's for me personally is changing a lot too quick and having too many administrators right off the bat. So what I would ask is that we get a streamlined um chart that shows sort of the whole picture uh because I don't necessarily see like I see it as a whole department and I can't really figure out

what's in here to be honest. It's not not being critical. It's just confusing.

Yep. And there is and I don't know if it's in there but there is um an org chart specific to early childhood. It is important to understand that my position about 25% of my position is related to the early learning center.

So about a quarter of my time is supporting teaching and learning and the work that happens at the early learning center.

The other 75% of my time is spent in early childhood special ed and the transition into the public schools as well as the two large grants um that we facilitate through the department of early education and care.

So I'm not a building administrator at the early learning center.

I understand based on what you just said. I'm looking at the org chart for early learning center 373 Ellisbury Street.

Yeah. So I'm not on that on that. That's But you just told us that you're 25% assisting them. That's all I'm saying.

I'm not suggesting whether somebody's doing it. All I'm saying is what's here.

It doesn't show the fact that if you're there for 25% of the time based on what you just said, they should show up on here somehow. So, we can start to look at what is it. when I was told that there was administrative positions that were needed. I don't even know if that included the second VP or on a wish list or something like that, but I was trying to figure out how many administrators do

we need when we don't have that that many. I get it. You got to move kids in and out like what is. So, I I just think we need to sort of consolidate it. It's a lot of moving parts. There's yellow lines in here all over the place because positions are moving everywhere. I'm just owning it that I'm confused. So I would ask the superintendent to come with something that's a clearer picture

if I you know for Wednesday where we can say I think it would just be helpful to have one um proposed or chart that would capture everything in one place. I know that what would be proposed is a principal an assistant principal and a department head would be the administrative positions. I believe there's a BCBA as well that would be supporting.

Yes. So the BCBA exists already. Um, we have there's one at the early learning center and there's one at the Fall River Learning Center. So, that one will cover.

So, I think if all those were captured on one org chart, the BCBA's the I know I understand there's a coach, right? The two coach positions or something I think on one chart would be helpful so that we can see everything in one place.

Thank you. I yield.

Anything further? Thank you guys. Next up is ELLL department.

Good evening.

Hello, Mr. Das.

Before we before Mr. Das has this question, are you asking for anything?

No.

Okay, Mr. Das, chairman, I'm sorry.

May I interrupt for a second?

Go ahead.

Since we have a new director. I would personally like to just have her give her a couple of like her slides because these are your slides now and we your new like just to kind of get a quick perspective before we start asking questions I think.

Okay.

For the talk about the slides.

Yeah. Just in general just doesn't have to be too long just you're new and I think you know people should hear from you on what's your perception so far and things that you uh where you're where you're at.

Okay. So my slides only pertain to the budget. They don't pertain to any of my perceptions about programming or compliance or anything like that because I was this is just a budget. Um so not gonna speak to a lot.

Not yet. But when I'm done with my compliance report, I certainly might change my mind. So next year I'll be asking for kinds of things. But um so right now our key priorities are to build coherence across schools through strong collaboration with coaches um focusing on internalizing lesson plans um working on CPT on uh professional learning communities to make sure that we're in alignment with what the rest of

the district is doing. Also working on coherence with curriculum. Coherence is a big bud buzzword nationally and at state level like through TNTP and our other partners that work with us nationwide. So looking at our MLL curriculum, making sure that we're aligned with WEDA, but that we're also ensuring that our students have access to grade level standards. So um my kind of view comes from a lot of national and

state work um and then connecting with the great initiatives that are have been started in Fall River. So, my plan is to continue with that to deepen curriculum literacy, which is in the new um rubric for the teacher and admin evaluations, but hasn't been adopted yet in Fall River. But curriculum literacy is this notion that as we adopt highquality curriculum materials, we want to um

build the capacity of our educators to be able to amplify to meet the needs and assets of multilingual learners and students with disabilities. So, I see my role here working with my partners who are the um department heads for social studies and science and math and ELA to help them build curriculum literacy within their content areas as well as to build it within ESL. Um, in Massachusetts, we have a framework for

dedicated EL or ESL that um is called next generation ESL. So working with our teams to work on that is kind of my goal is focusing on teaching and learning. Um across the system our students learn most of their day in the core. Right now we have um and then building systems to be in compliance. So um I've been here for a couple of months and we do have some places where um there's a lot of

building that needs to take place. So that's where I'm focusing now is uncovering kind of um systems and and what needs to be focused on first. So um what's remaining stable is our staffing in in the MLL department which means we have MLL coordinators and two people who work at PACE. The MLL coordinators were redistributing their work um so that we have the coordinators working K to 12.

So I'm looking for coherence across systems so that all schools have an MLL coordinator who support principles and if the school has a coach to also support the coaches and to make sure they we have PLC's up and running in all the schools for ESL. Um alignment to district priorities means again building curriculum literacy and highquality curriculum implementation both in the core and in ESL

and um job advent coaching through coaching and feedback. also looking to support an assetsbased community um helping Fall River and our teachers and other staff members really harness the power of our multilingual community, their assets. Um so really working on that as well and um supporting their well-being, our students well-beings. Um equity and access, thinking about again tier one for multilingual learners.

There isn't much magic in the multilingual learner world other than trans languaging which is amazing biiteracy biculturalism.

A lot of the magic is really strengthening tier one. So what we know um is good tier one practices and oftentimes people say well that's just good teaching. My answer is always great. It's vital for multilingual learners. So increasing student discourse is vital for in multilingual learners right? So students who are in advanced classes, maybe they can learn the oldfashioned way, studying stuff out

of a book, but for multilingual learners and students with disabilities, it's important that our tier one is top-notch. So um working on that and then operational efficiency um right now again thinking about strategic staffing.

schools have made choices about staffing and um again with the MLL coordinators really being strategic about making sure that we're in alignment with the coaches we have in the building and having a really clear coherent v vision for um formatively assessing what our students do, making sure that our PLC's are tight and that our ESL curriculum is is uh strong. Right? If we're going to pull

kids out of a classroom, it needs to be for something that's amplifying.

So, our enrollment numbers, as you can see, I don't know if you have any questions about those first things about my alignment to district priorities and our kind of priorities for next year.

Um, can look at our enrollment trends. I think are kind of interesting. I don't know what slide that is. Pre- pandemic, we're at 7 at 1,728 in 2019. Currently, we're at 2,917.

We had a big jump from 2024 to 2025.

Um that was largely because a lot of shelters closing. So we had like an a big influx of kids from other places in Fall River. It wasn't necessarily um newcomers and then our number of newcomers has um dropped but right now we have kind of a steady number of kids but kids are coming in and out of the district. We're having a lot of reinrollments um coming in as well. So I

think that's kind of interesting. Um and so our strategic use of resources is um thinking about programs being consolidated and the MLL coordinators being redistributed across K12 and our grants.

We don't know the numbers for next year yet. And that's it.

Thank you. Any questions, Mr. Corey?

So I want to welcome you to our district. I hope you have a good run.

Thank you. uh you seem to be uh have some expertise in this area which I think is vitally important for our district. Um I remember at the inception of the dual language program uh I had something to do with helping to organize some of those early meetings and I was very excited but now I see that it's pairing down. What might you say about our dual language program?

I think the program is really wonderful.

I support it wholeheartedly. I think um the numbers have have gone down and I was told when I was interviewed that the numbers have gone down and that the school committee and other people were questioning how can we support programs when we have fewer kids in in in classrooms compared to the core. So um I I think that ultimately our goal is to rebuild our dual language programs. I

mean honestly we live in a multilingual world so I think it would be best for all of our kids to be multilingual. I think honestly my dream would be looking at world languages al also like all kids should be be learning world languages um if they're born monilingual. So my goal and my vision for long term would be really being innovative and thinking about expanding but for the current

trend right now I think it makes sense to pair it down regroup make sure that we're strategic with our numbers and that we're um making sure that all students in Fall River are getting what they need.

So let me ask Mr. Mr. proposal with the um with the teacher program that we have uh the exchange program would that feed into this this end of the curriculum.

So several of our international teachers um currently support dual language um support um ES you know as ESL teachers and then most recently we've also had teachers who are actually teaching math and science and so we've asked to uh shift the recruitment focus as well to um fill some needs around math and science and so we've um been fortunate that we've been able to fill some of those positions as well.

Yeah. earlier I heard that gentleman speak uh that that came here and uh that was a big source of pride for that population you know it's always a source of pride you know especially with cultural exchange so I I look upon it as very vital and and very integrative um one more mundane it's huge I just want to add for our our students who are born speaking English at home it's huge for them right so

global competency it you know people who are bilingual have a better place in the marketplace and universities so it's not just for mult bilingual and bicultural community, but for our students who are born here speaking English only, it's a huge asset, right, that all of our students learn.

Absolutely. Absolutely. I grew up speaking Arabic, you know, and then I I morphed into English, but Arabic was the first language I spoke, but in any case, do the community facilitators report to your department or are they specific to the schools?

Because I know they serve in translation purposes.

They do not report to my department.

Okay. Thank you. I yield. Anything for Mr. Das?

Thank you. Um my colleague asked um about the dual language program. Were um you involved in those discussions for the administration to consolidate it or was that before you joined?

I think I I came on um mid January and so I think that always already ideas were in the works because we wanted to make sure that we had class sizes that were um equal right across schools and that redistricting was already in the works.

All right. I guess I guess um just to reiterate my question, did you um it seems like you have an opposition to us um consolidating the program. Did you voice I don't have an opposition. I I I firmly value what my my bosses at central office have have done work before me with redistricting and looking at numbers and budgeting. So I don't oppose the decision right now, but globally my

vision would be that we would definitely support bilingualism for all students in Fall River.

And I'm just looking at your Thank you for that. And looking at your organizational chart, you have um how many ML coordinators am I looking at this right? You have three or three MLL coordinators. Yeah. And you're looking to expand that to one for every school?

Nope. I haven't asked for anything this year.

I mean, not not this year. I meant in the future. I thought I thought I heard you mention what I was saying was so before um like so our person who supports do language was just based at at Vivier.

Okay.

And so now each of the ML coordinators will serve as elementary.

I can jump in. Yeah. So really we're just looking at the three positions and how do we allocate their time in a way that makes the most sense. based on student need. So it wouldn't be an increase. It would just be the same positions, but you know, Miss Cooney is really looking at how how and where do they need to support right now.

I understand. I wasn't referring to this year. I was referring I I thought I heard that.

No, I don't think there would be a vision for that.

Okay.

Um and how how does the relationship look like with PACE? I understand there's two positions, the um intake specialist and the the access. Um do th those don't report directly to you.

Those those are PACE positions.

No, those two positions um report directly to me, but they work in PACE.

They work in PACE. Yeah.

Okay. And um how's the connection? Everything's fine.

Yeah, everything's fine. There are like 12 12 or so people who do registration at PACE. Okay.

And then from there um about 40% of the kids who enter the district um flag on the home language survey. So from there they funnel to one of the registration clerks who doesn't report to me but then from her um information goes to our person who gives the weed to screener and then sends home all the notification as required by state and federal guidance and then we have another person who works there and manages our

compliance kind of issues um and database and then supports with screening and all of that.

Okay, thank you. Um my last question for tonight is um around um I guess the plan for the future with this department. Um I I I've questioned before I've seen a lot of bills come in the past before you around like outside vendors and um what's the plan going forward? Like obviously you bring in a lot of expertise position. So, is the plan to decrease that need for um professional

development or do we still have um how's or specifically in the budget, do we still have a budget amount for Yeah, I'd like to jump in for a moment.

I think it's important to note that, you know, um multilingual learners represent about 25% of our population.

So when we look at our staffing structure um with you know just three coordinators um we also have really been spending a lot of time um writing curriculum right and so we we really are relying on folks at times through grant funding or in any way we can we can fund it um to support us with curriculum um for the needs of those students. So, you know, while I would say yes, the goal is

to continue to sort of to build capacity with our teachers, there always has to be some sort of recurring training for folks as you're getting new folks, you know, in um, you know, in the door. But I think that in general when I look at the number of English learners that we serve and the work that we've been able to do so far in the department where we met our our target last year um as a

district um it's really been through a lot of training which is very important right now. So I think the PD piece is critical. Um, we're not coming and saying we need, you know, uh, lots more positions, but I am saying that I think we do need to continue to invest in people um, through professional development and in curriculum materials that um, make sense.

Thank you. Thank you.

Anything further?

Thank you.

Okay. Next up is finance.

We want to get nursing.

Well, you want Kevin, you're going to hang in. So, we're going to bump you.

I'm sorry, buddy. Hang in for a second.

How about nursing?

And then uh PE will go next.

Do you need anything?

I didn't ask for anything.

Didn't ask for anything. You're the girl for us. Anybody have any questions for nursing? Go ahead, Mr. Das.

Thank you. I'm just trying to get understanding of um specifically how the structure works at Pace. I understand they have a nurse there. They don't report directly to PACE even though my understanding they spend most of if not all their time at the PACE building. Um nursing pos like a LPN and the nursing position those are um so there's a districtwide so they're um you're not hired to a

specific school like there's no job description for like nurse of TA but you apply I'm assuming you apply to be an FRPS nurse and you're assigned based off of the need. Am I right? That's correct.

I have five LPNs. One of them is at the registration office and she reports directly to me, but she is housed at the registration office and her main role is to um work there. Um unless I need her at a school, then I take, you know, I'll ask her to go to a school for the day.

What does that dayto-day look like for that position? Is it a year round need or is there um times where there's um more like when student enrollment comes in there's more of a of a need then but when it kind of dies down there's there's less um we have a very fluid population so it's pretty busy um throughout the year a lot of the time and um when she's not

there um when there there isn't the need for uh direct registration there are other things that um that um I ask her to do or to be involved in.

She can help me with um early assessments of uh students with um early intervention, that sort of of okay thing. So there I mean there are other um you know there there there's a lot of different um instead of just doing registrations there's you know a lot of history that goes on that needs to be assessed in the registration office as well.

Okay. Um how does the allocation of um I don't know if it's overtime or is there's a stipen for the summer um how how is that allocated? Is that allocated equally throughout the LPN? Is there a process for that?

The um usually what happens is anyone who wants to work during the summer will um put in four hours um with either if it's um depending on what program they want to work for. We have nurses that work. Um there are positions that are posted like right now there are summer positions posted and it says districtwide.

So um the ESY positions aren't posted yet and um so they'll they'll put in for the positions and depending on how many hours um are needed. Um thank thank you for that. How is that allocated? like if someone if say you have multiple individuals that apply for that ESY position um is there I don't know if it's like a a a way through the collective bargaining agreement if it's like the person who has been there the

longest or most has the most qualifications on paper how does that work or is it your or is it your choice I interview them based on if it's someone who's in the district um you know based on their um qualifications I'll interview them and determine along with um I'll you know with Lyn uh with Lori and you know we'll just discuss whether or not that's a good candidate. But most of the time

especially the ESY because there's students that are in the district we usually keep um nurses that have worked um during the school year.

But is that um is that um compatible with the and I don't need an answer right now, but is that collect would that be compatible for like the collective bargaining agreement if if like you can choose based off of just um being there throughout the year?

I'm not sure. Like for example, nurse a um is at the pace building. they have five years, I don't know, four or five years experience. And then you have another LPN that works in another building, they have 10 years experience.

However, because nurse A is in that building throughout the year, they would get chosen just based off of the I just want to make sure we're just following the the CBA.

Mhm.

If um that's something we could check into, but thank you. I yield.

Okay.

All set.

All set.

Thank you. Thank you. Um, fizzed and healthy on me.

This is

um, so we're not requesting I'm not requesting any additional positions. Um, and the line items from last year from contracted services, uh, general classroom supplies and things are the same as last year.

Any questions for Fizz and Health? Go ahead, Mr. Das.

Thank you. Um, um, that situation we had um with the um, credit for for Jim, was that um I I don't know if we ever got an update on that. Was that rectified or the waivers?

The waivers. Yes.

Yes. So, um, so far guidance councils this year have identified 68 students.

14 did not qualify, whether they weren't in a program or they quit or got cut from a team. Um, so far only 26 as of today have been fulfilled of that 68.

Um, so guidance counselors have to generate the waiver, meet with the parent, um, you know, explain it to them, get all the signatures, and then it goes to the athletic department, then it comes to me for verification, which I keep a record on a Google form uploaded with a physical copy of it.

Sure.

Oh, and I I just want to give credit because I know that was um something we didn't have before. We didn't have um the systems in place to to keep tabs of that. So I'm just happy that we are able to rectify that. Thank you. I yield.

Anything further for physics?

Just want a brief comment. M Mr. Corey, just want to thank you for your service, Mr. Fitz.

Thank you, Mr.

You've been around a long time. You've given it up for the FRPS and I I for one, speaking for myself, really appreciate it. Thank you.

I love Fall River through and through.

All right. Thanks. Thanks, Danny.

Question.

Oh, you got a question, Mr.

So under your program the um you're really involved in the in the schools obviously um and mostly in the elementary and middle.

I do all levels of it.

Yeah. But I I find that it seems like you're doing a lot of work with um because we have athletic directors at the high school and programming, you know, the fizzed athletic side. I don't do any of the athletic side, but as far as uh um how do I want to say it? They automatically have a lot of sports and things after school or we don't have that in the elementary and middle,

you know, the infrastructure for that.

And I've always felt that there's a a missing link to that type of infrastructure for elementary grades and middle school grades for after school programming with sports activities and the like. But you're only one person and you're doing the day-to-day fizzed pieces. But I feel like we have a missing uh a missing link that we need to have for increased programming for the elementary and the middle schools.

And I've said this for several years now. A few years ago, we had a um position called assistant athletic director. That was the main focus of that position and the reason why that position was created was to increase the middle school and elementary or whatever type of programming and that's kind of morphed into that position really up the high school and I don't think we're meeting the needs of the middle school

and elementary school for activities and sports and the programming. So, I've always been trying to figure out how can we actually make this work where the that position should fall under somebody and I think that person should be working with the elementary and middle school and that position in my opinion could fall under you to work with them on the programming within the school.

The the uh elementary middle school sports is a couple of seasons and we can expand that. We can make that grow. And when you look at athletics, health, fizzed, all those type of programmings, if we don't do it at the youngest grades, we're not going to get those kids. So by frontloading it with the younger grades, to me makes the most sense. So with that being said, I'd like to make a motion that we take the

assistant athletic director and make that position under Mr. Fitz called uh elementary and middle school athletic director. back in the same contract and uh we increase all of the uh benefits that we can have for those children.

Can I So we we don't have Mr. Bustin here and we're not doing athletics. I know Mr. Fitz oversees Fizzad and Health, but I just wonder if we want to have an opportunity to talk to Point of Point of Was Mr. Bustin invited for here tonight?

I'm I would assume so, but I'm not sure if he was invited.

I mean, I guess I just know he's not here now. I had conflict. Some other principles had conflicts, so I know he's not here. I'm only referencing it because it's a separate department. So, I don't know if it makes sense to have that discussion in that department or Mr. Mr. Fitz doesn't oversee anything related to sports. That's the only reason I'm mentioning it currently in his in his position. No, I have in the

past but currently in my role I do not.

And then your past past role was what?

I was um I over I would oversee the middle school sports uh previous uh 2019. So 2016 to 2019 I had coached um an array of sports from 2007 when I entered the FRPS.

Um, and then 2016, uh, Mr. Bustin put me in charge of the winter and the spring sports.

You were a teacher.

I was that was in addition to your teaching.

Correct. Yeah. I think what you're basically telling in my opinion is that in 2016 2019 when you were coaching there was a need for that type of programming. Now the need is probably even greater. um guessing when you look at the elementarymentaries that all the trajectories that turn into elementary and middle school, we need activities for these children after school. It's to me is a real simple simple

transition. We take the position and we call that position elementary and middle school uh position. I don't know why Mr.

P wasn't here. Everybody was supposed to be invited. So when you told us you weren't whoever wasn't here, it his name wasn't on it. I don't have a problem, you know, bringing it up on uh Wednesday. The merits the merits of what I'm suggesting is under in my opinion, it should fall under you as a director because you're a a director of K to2 athletics activities and fizz. Like I I

think it just kind of fits to put under you when you look at the history.

Elementary is for instance, one of the things that drives me nuts is we can't even have principles collecting the uniforms for the kids that run the thing. like what is this? Everybody knows it. The pro former superintendent knows it. The finance director knows it.

Everybody knows that we can't even manage that because we don't have a person in charge of it. So, it's definitely something that we can bring up. But I I I my opinion is not going to change. So, I withdraw my motion bring it up on Wednesday. Uh if there's any information in the mill, figure it out.

Thanks, Mr. Fitz. Next up is uh finance.

We're going to do finance and community engagement.

And title one.

Oh, title one. Derek, come on down.

We're putting you last, Kev. Sorry, buddy.

Just these two.

The rest The rest will go to Wednesday.

Hello.

Title one, what do you want to tell us?

I don't have any um budget changes or requests. I have a bookkeeper that falls under me.

Title one.

I know he wants to talk about No, no, just title one. Just title one, right?

Yes.

Okay.

Yep.

I don't um point of information. I actually don't see that even in the um it's at the end of parent and community engagement. I'm sorry, Mr. Das. It is it's written on the last page. Parent and community engagement title one. He's talking about the It's in the It's in the electric electronic version.

It's on the curriculum.

It'd be on the curriculum. Oh, okay.

We kind of already did curriculum and I thought title one was sort of included in Mr. Correct.

If you have any questions, my I only have a bookkeeper um that's in my budget that that I have. So, get put together. Mr. Yeah, my only question is not necessarily a question, but it's a comment about how we can get to understand and the community can get to understand where the title one funds are utilized within the budget. You know, when you have an 800page binder, it gets confusing. It's

here, it's there, it's everywhere. So, somehow if through after this process, we can get some sort of uh streamlined look at what is the benefits of title one and why do we do this versus that things like that would be my only question. you can get the way we're going through this, but if you're new to the school committee or you don't understand truly. So when we say they're

going to cut Title One by 10% under the administration, if we don't know, we don't know what the heck that means. Those that are in education know that's not good. But I I just think somehow having a in the future could be a couple months from now, it'll help us to learn.

Title Title One is very complex, right?

It's a very complex program that we have.

Thank you. I yield.

Thank you guys. Nothing further on title one is Riley.

Yes. So, so Derek, before the budget gets finalized in June, you may have some recommendations based on the cuts that you see in title one. So, I just want to keep the committee in mind that if you see big cuts and then we won't be able to fund activities that we've typically funded for students across title one. We still have an opportunity to find some funds to make sure we cover

those. We don't want kids to miss out because we have a big cut from the federal government.

I appreciate that. We right now we really don't know um we don't have any solid numbers of what FY27 title one is going to look like but we are anticipating a 10% cut like you mentioned so but absolutely I will Mr. Chair Mr. Das just on that last point is this budget um built with that anticipation of a cut with that 10% cut yes thank you I yield okay thanks Mr.

Last one.

Which one? I thought we were doing finance. Yeah, Mr. Alita. Yeah.

Me again.

What did you ask for, Mr. Alita?

I I didn't ask for anything. Um just like in years past. I have my department consists of a finance manager, a payroll manager, a procurement specialist, and I have five bookkeepers, and we have three pay payroll staff in the department. And so with that, I'll open it up to question.

Finance, Mr. Mr. Chair, Mr. Das, so the 300,000 that um I don't know if this comes out of this. I don't know if it's still coming out of special education or where it comes out of um Michael Joyce. This 300,000 include that.

This is for all of the legal Michael Joyce. Michael Joyce falls under special.

Oh, you So this 300,000 does not include Michael Joyce.

No. Um, this include I have to I didn't pull up the HR budget. Would this include um outside legal for it would?

Yes, it would.

Um, so I guess my question if this fall I didn't know this falls under special ed or if this falls under actually Wednesday I might just come back around to ask questions um specifically on Mr.

on that um contract situation.

Sure. What is is there anything in particular you want to know you need for Wednesday night as far as how much has been spent and what that looks like or is there anything you need?

I I I think um as speaking for myself, I made my um it might just even just have to be something in policy. I think um we give a blank check sometimes when it comes to um how much we spend. Um we Mr.

Joyce we he gets build by the hour. I see the bills come in and we get builds for little things responding to emails when um my opinion is you either all should come before us for a blanket or um there needs to be um a certain cap and then you have to come before us because we need to do something and I understand Mr. Joyce um the services are needed in the

department. However, we also need to find a way to rein the spending. So, we need to find a happy medium into that.

Um secondly, um public records requests.

We're spending thousands now in legal fees just to respond to public records requests. And I don't know if that comes out a lot of that Michael Joyce responds to. And I'm not sure that comes out of special education. However, my opinion is we shouldn't be spending money out of special education for Michael Joyce to respond to a public records request, which 90% of the time has nothing to do with special education.

Um, I think there's some ways we can re into spending. I know my colleague, Miss Riley, prop proposed um a position which I'll be supporting to um keep some of this legal in house, especially on the HR side to answer these common sense questions. I hope maybe that could also include responding to public records requests. Um but when I look at 300,000, I look at that and I find there needs to

be ways that we can re that in and um hopefully um in the near future we'll do that. I yield.

Sure.

Thank you. Uh, Mr.

So, following up on what Mr. Dia said for Wednesday, I'd like a detailed list of, excuse me, all legal expenses in the district for the last year with as much specificity as you can have. I agree with them. The 300,000 is is only for the non Michael Joyce legal, but we have to try to we can't help to make decisions on procedural guardrails, uh, systems in place, things like that if we

don't know the information. I have no idea and I try to pay close attention to where all the money is going relative to all of these legal bills. So I think he raises a valid point including how many how much money's pay paid out of special ed grants if at all because we shouldn't be paying out of a a grant for special ed when it's non special ed. We're not

I'm just That's all I think the report will show us that uh the other piece of just the um your documents like I know you're saying you're not adding anything but I think just being honest I think we've increased salaries during the year uh to give you a robust uh staff and budget.

So, I just want to make sure that's clear to the public as well that um we definitely supported your department over the year and um at the end of the day that also comes with now expectations for streamlining all the things you wrote into your um package.

So, I do think we supported it. I'm happy that we don't have to necessarily add things, but at the end of the day, you you know as well as I do that we're expecting more and I you know, I look forward to working with you. I yield.

Thank you. Any anything further? Thank you, Mr. Aler.

What about um new business? Uh anybody have any any new business come before the committee?

Hearing no motion to adjurnn.

Second.

I have a motion to adjurnn. All in favor?

I opposed. Unanimous.