1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,800 And we're going to get started now. 2 00:15:00,210 --> 00:15:27,970 And that doesn't mean just next year where we say, should the high school is leaking the roof? We've got to fix that. There's a lot that we know is going to be in the next two, five, seven, ten years. And I think working very quickly to say, okay, let's come up with a plan. Let's start understanding what those needs are going to be. How do we fund that so that we're not going to put ourselves in any sort of financial jeopardy? Which then would lead me to working with the boards and committees. I think we had a really good meeting with the school committee. 3 00:15:27,970 --> 00:15:32,110 Not that long ago to talk about their capital projects and say, hey listen, we have things 4 00:15:32,110 --> 00:15:32,950 in the hopper now. 5 00:15:33,270 --> 00:15:36,310 We want to make sure we're looking at the school and getting those fixed as well. 6 00:15:36,790 --> 00:15:40,710 Some of these things were just coming to us and I think working more, okay, what's most 7 00:15:40,710 --> 00:15:43,310 important, what's not, how do we get this fixed is really important. 8 00:15:43,530 --> 00:15:48,570 So I think that takes volunteers and I think it's going to help to get more diversity of thought 9 00:15:48,570 --> 00:15:50,650 and more people on some of our boards and committees. 10 00:15:51,010 --> 00:15:54,670 I think any one of the audience right now that is on a boarder committee, that is donating 11 00:15:54,670 --> 00:15:56,850 your time, it is certainly something that is important. 12 00:15:56,850 --> 00:16:04,250 There's always openings and I think the more ideas and thoughts we can have it's only going to help us sit down and continue to prepare for what's coming. 13 00:16:05,270 --> 00:16:12,970 And then last day of touch on this I'm not going to have the answers for this but I do think affordability and affordable housing is certainly a big issue in this town. 14 00:16:13,130 --> 00:16:23,270 I think lower middle class families that are really hard time moving here and staying here and if we want to continue to have a tax base that is supported by hospitality and the businesses that are here. 15 00:16:23,270 --> 00:16:27,610 any workers any people that can live here and I think Mary Beth has been really 16 00:16:27,610 --> 00:16:31,930 good at trying to help work with on the affordable housing issue. I would love 17 00:16:31,930 --> 00:16:35,570 to help support her in that and work with the broader community on finding ways 18 00:16:35,570 --> 00:16:40,070 to do that. I don't have the answers I wish I did but I think that's very important. 19 00:16:41,030 --> 00:16:43,470 I don't know if I have anything I know I've been here in my seven minutes but 20 00:16:43,470 --> 00:16:44,550 those are my three points. 21 00:16:48,850 --> 00:16:52,990 Thank you. Thank you very much. And now we move on to 22 00:16:52,990 --> 00:16:57,990 are Jared Webber, our third candidate to speak today. 23 00:17:01,610 --> 00:17:02,670 Yes, go forward. 24 00:17:02,670 --> 00:17:03,670 Okay, good evening. 25 00:17:03,990 --> 00:17:08,310 Thank you to the League of Women Voters, to Remel, and to everyone who's here tonight. 26 00:17:08,590 --> 00:17:09,790 My name is Jared Webber. 27 00:17:10,490 --> 00:17:14,190 I'm running for Select Board because I feel that Lennox is worth showing up for. 28 00:17:14,450 --> 00:17:19,830 I care about Lennox as a beautiful place, of course, but I also care deeply about it as a community. 29 00:17:19,830 --> 00:17:30,070 A place of neighborhoods, volunteers, small businesses, seniors, families, workers, and residents who want to feel that local government is there for them. 30 00:17:30,830 --> 00:17:36,730 I serve on the Lennox Community Center Board, and I represent that board on the Community Preservation Committee. 31 00:17:37,410 --> 00:17:40,030 Professionally, I work as an executive recruiter. 32 00:17:40,270 --> 00:17:47,950 My work is about understanding what organizations need, building relationships, and helping the right people step into important roles. 33 00:17:47,950 --> 00:17:52,110 I want to be clear about how I see the role of a select board. 34 00:17:52,250 --> 00:17:54,530 A select board member doesn't run the town day today. 35 00:17:54,530 --> 00:17:56,730 That's really the role of the town manager. 36 00:17:57,310 --> 00:17:59,130 But a select board does that direction. 37 00:17:59,230 --> 00:18:00,290 It asks questions. 38 00:18:00,290 --> 00:18:02,350 It makes appointments to boards and committees. 39 00:18:03,510 --> 00:18:04,870 It sets priorities. 40 00:18:05,190 --> 00:18:06,010 Listen to residents. 41 00:18:06,250 --> 00:18:08,630 It helps set the tone for how open, responsive, 42 00:18:08,650 --> 00:18:10,970 and forward looking governments should be. 43 00:18:11,650 --> 00:18:15,230 So my first priority is open and accessible town government. 44 00:18:15,230 --> 00:18:19,490 Residents shouldn't have to be insiders to understand what's happening in town government. 45 00:18:20,570 --> 00:18:27,250 They should not have to know the right person or attend every meeting, or follow every agenda simply to feel informed. 46 00:18:28,130 --> 00:18:43,270 As a select board member, I would hold regular public office hours, I would ensure that my town email addresses readily available, and I would support more opportunities for residents to ask questions and understand major issues before they are already far along. 47 00:18:44,330 --> 00:18:49,310 If elected, I would be active with the Massachusetts Municipal Association and 48 00:18:49,310 --> 00:18:50,910 it's Select Board Association. 49 00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:54,390 I would promise to attend trainings, make use of resources, and 50 00:18:54,390 --> 00:18:56,870 connect with municipal leaders across the Commonwealth. 51 00:18:58,050 --> 00:19:01,350 My second priority is bringing more people into town service. 52 00:19:02,270 --> 00:19:05,510 As Max said, there are a number of folks here who have served on boards and 53 00:19:05,510 --> 00:19:09,190 committees, and I thank everybody who's willing to step up to do that. 54 00:19:09,970 --> 00:19:12,130 Lennox has incredibly talented residents, but 55 00:19:12,130 --> 00:19:15,250 But we do need to be more intentional about inviting people in. 56 00:19:15,770 --> 00:19:19,170 I would like to see a real recruitment plan for our boards and committees. 57 00:19:19,730 --> 00:19:22,410 And this connects directly with my professional background. 58 00:19:22,670 --> 00:19:27,090 As a headhunter, I'm used to identifying talent, understanding what an organization needs, 59 00:19:27,570 --> 00:19:31,130 and reaching out to people who may not have put themselves forward otherwise. 60 00:19:31,670 --> 00:19:37,350 I'm not afraid to pick up the phone and introduce myself to strangers, and I'm not afraid to ask somebody to consider serving. 61 00:19:37,350 --> 00:19:42,770 I would take the role of select board liaison seriously, I will show up to meetings, I will 62 00:19:42,770 --> 00:19:45,830 listen and build relationships with board members and chairs. 63 00:19:46,470 --> 00:19:49,670 And the goal is to make sure that good work doesn't stay trapped in silos. 64 00:19:50,390 --> 00:19:55,050 Many of the issues that have been named here tonight are overlapping. 65 00:19:55,510 --> 00:20:01,430 And boards and committees that are better aligned, better connected means more effective local 66 00:20:01,430 --> 00:20:03,230 government in tackling those issues. 67 00:20:03,230 --> 00:20:08,870 My third priority is responsible stewardship and strengthening Lennox both as an economy 68 00:20:08,870 --> 00:20:09,850 and a community. 69 00:20:10,850 --> 00:20:14,910 Residents are concerned about rising residential tax pressure and of course there's no 70 00:20:14,910 --> 00:20:19,550 magic fix but I do think that Lennox can be more intentional about broadening our economic 71 00:20:19,550 --> 00:20:25,030 tax base so that future costs don't fall so heavily on the residential tax payers. 72 00:20:25,690 --> 00:20:29,970 That means supporting the businesses we have, our small businesses, restaurants, ins, cultural 73 00:20:29,970 --> 00:20:31,910 institutions and the Chamber of Commerce. 74 00:20:31,910 --> 00:20:36,330 It means looking carefully at appropriate business development within our commercial 75 00:20:36,330 --> 00:20:41,470 villages and it means thinking creatively about Lennoxdale, its industrial zone, and 76 00:20:41,470 --> 00:20:46,030 where there could be opportunities that fit the town without undermining the historic 77 00:20:46,030 --> 00:20:47,330 character of the village. 78 00:20:48,070 --> 00:20:52,310 But a strong town is not one that just balances books, it's one where people feel connected 79 00:20:52,310 --> 00:20:53,150 to each other. 80 00:20:53,330 --> 00:20:58,910 I want to support our parks, recreation spaces, local events and traditions that help residents 81 00:20:58,910 --> 00:20:59,970 connect with each other. 82 00:20:59,970 --> 00:21:06,630 I would love to see us explore whether longstanding traditions like the tub parade could be brought back or re-imagined 83 00:21:06,630 --> 00:21:13,150 We'll also supporting new town events that bring people into our village centers and strengthen community life year-round 84 00:21:13,770 --> 00:21:20,730 So my priorities are open governments bringing more residents into town service and responsible stewardship 85 00:21:20,730 --> 00:21:24,110 I'm not running because I think one person can fix everything 86 00:21:24,110 --> 00:21:29,330 I'm running because I believe a select board member can show up ask serious questions 87 00:21:29,970 --> 00:21:35,430 build trust over time, bring more people into the process, and help Lennox prepare for 88 00:21:35,430 --> 00:21:40,790 the future. I believe that Lennox benefits when experience leadership is complemented 89 00:21:40,790 --> 00:21:45,610 by fresh perspective, active listening, and new energy. And that's what I would bring 90 00:21:45,610 --> 00:21:47,090 to this role. Thank you. 91 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:55,400 Thank you, Jared. And thank you, Max, and thank you, David, for your seven minutes each. 92 00:21:55,980 --> 00:22:00,060 You'll be able to vote for two of the three candidates who've just presented. 93 00:22:00,060 --> 00:22:05,620 Are there any questions that have come in that before they we make a switch? 94 00:22:28,550 --> 00:22:29,670 And then we have another. 95 00:22:31,290 --> 00:22:33,270 Some of these questions overlap. 96 00:22:35,670 --> 00:22:36,150 So 97 00:22:39,250 --> 00:22:43,410 I'm not a speed reader, but would you like to tell me, which one would you like 98 00:22:43,410 --> 00:22:43,550 me? 99 00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:51,380 Okay, here's a question. 100 00:22:52,100 --> 00:22:56,560 With the emphasis on affordable housing, we'll start and each of you can have a minute 101 00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:04,760 to answer, and a minute and a half mose, a minute, with the emphasis on affordable housing 102 00:23:05,300 --> 00:23:10,620 to attract and keep young families, what do you suggest to save the Lennox Child Center 103 00:23:10,620 --> 00:23:12,720 a much needed child care service? 104 00:23:16,020 --> 00:23:18,200 So thank 105 00:23:21,780 --> 00:23:21,940 you, 106 00:23:24,140 --> 00:23:28,700 affordable housing has been an issue we've had for the last several years. 107 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:37,860 I mean, we've got a whole bunch of new units, 62, I believe, 65 coming on now, that's 108 00:23:37,860 --> 00:23:39,640 happening and perhaps the more being built. 109 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:45,200 As far as affordable child care goes, I mean, that's an issue that we need to address. 110 00:23:45,900 --> 00:23:48,520 And I think there's alternatives if we think outside the box. 111 00:23:49,260 --> 00:23:57,800 First of all, we could look at child home, our home care child care, where we can get retired 112 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:03,720 grandmother and with perhaps some tax incentive or forgiveness for opening a child center 113 00:24:03,720 --> 00:24:10,000 of maybe the housing trust could organize a loan to help somebody retrofit their home 114 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:14,500 to meet the state requirements for child care. I think there's all kinds of ways that we 115 00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:20,520 can look towards giving some assistance. First thing we got to do is find some people who want to 116 00:24:20,520 --> 00:24:26,080 do it. That was the first thing. So if somebody wants to do it and wants to come to the select board 117 00:24:26,080 --> 00:24:30,120 and make a proposal, we'll greet you with open arms and open ears. 118 00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:36,240 I don't think I can add really anything to that. 119 00:24:36,420 --> 00:24:41,420 I think part of the challenge, irrespective of the building with losing the child care 120 00:24:41,420 --> 00:24:47,000 center was that the folks running it were also running on a steam and I think if someone 121 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,560 came to the select board and said, hey listen, we really want to provide child care in Linux, 122 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:51,840 we can't find a space. 123 00:24:52,100 --> 00:24:54,920 I don't think anyone in the select board would say, that's not for us. 124 00:24:54,920 --> 00:24:57,860 We'd be happy to try and find a space for them, we'd be happy to try and work with them. 125 00:24:57,940 --> 00:24:59,240 I think tax credits is a great idea. 126 00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:04,480 I think working with any of the other financial options we have, I fully support that. 127 00:25:04,700 --> 00:25:08,680 I think the first thing we need is someone that wants to do that work that we can then work with on. 128 00:25:08,980 --> 00:25:13,940 So anyone that has, anyone in that, if you know someone in that business, let us know. 129 00:25:17,770 --> 00:25:21,810 Yeah, I think the question said, what can be done to save the Lennox Children's Center? 130 00:25:21,930 --> 00:25:24,710 And I'm not sure that the Lennox Children's Center can be saved. 131 00:25:24,870 --> 00:25:27,490 My understanding is that, and I'm not too close to the issue. 132 00:25:27,490 --> 00:25:32,510 But my understanding is that's a 501c3 that's been dissolving. It's it's existence 133 00:25:32,510 --> 00:25:37,150 Recently, so and and the folks who run it are planning to retire. I mean 134 00:25:40,530 --> 00:25:41,010 Yeah 135 00:25:41,010 --> 00:25:45,910 of building, what can the select boards get to do the building that it owns? 136 00:25:46,670 --> 00:25:46,810 Yeah. 137 00:25:46,970 --> 00:25:51,250 It helps a group of people who have already demonstrated that they can view the work and provide 138 00:25:51,250 --> 00:25:54,890 the service and are now letting families down because they're very close. 139 00:25:55,390 --> 00:25:56,950 What can it sound like to do this report? 140 00:25:57,090 --> 00:26:02,310 Perhaps CPC funding or grant funding to rebuild, you know, again, I'm not yet on the 141 00:26:02,310 --> 00:26:07,150 select board, so I would have to be in that position to know and find out, but my feeling 142 00:26:07,150 --> 00:26:14,230 is that perhaps there is grant opportunities or use of the CPC to rehabilitate the building. 143 00:26:16,190 --> 00:26:24,170 Though, I think it may be useful to establish a temporary subcommittee to examine the viability 144 00:26:24,170 --> 00:26:27,890 of retaining child care within Linux in some bigger way. 145 00:26:28,070 --> 00:26:31,990 Maybe it's not the Linux Children's Center and it's not within that existing building. 146 00:26:32,510 --> 00:26:36,510 But I know folks have come to the select board and have expressed interest in supporting 147 00:26:36,510 --> 00:26:41,290 this issue. So, perhaps there's an opportunity to create a temporary subcommittee with a mandate. 148 00:26:41,990 --> 00:26:43,870 Is that stopped? Well, is that stopped? 149 00:26:46,910 --> 00:26:51,490 Is everyone had a chance to, do we need another minute on this to answer the question from 150 00:26:51,490 --> 00:26:51,670 them? 151 00:26:54,420 --> 00:26:54,620 Okay. 152 00:26:56,730 --> 00:27:01,730 I think as far as the bill goes, there's not a lot we can do without incurring significant 153 00:27:01,730 --> 00:27:05,750 financial challenges. Not that we don't want to fix that building, but the issue is that there are so 154 00:27:05,750 --> 00:27:10,130 many, so many challenges with it, that the minute you start fixing even one of them, you're going to 155 00:27:10,130 --> 00:27:14,310 into having to bring everything up to code, which is going to be a significant, significant 156 00:27:14,310 --> 00:27:17,810 impact to the town finances. I'm not saying that can't be done, but I think this is part 157 00:27:17,810 --> 00:27:22,210 of a bigger question of how do we prioritize what needs to get fixed and how much you want 158 00:27:22,210 --> 00:27:24,690 to spend on that. That's also something that would have to come before a time meeting as 159 00:27:24,690 --> 00:27:28,410 well. We can't just arbitrarily spend that money, so that would be, they start with a PBC 160 00:27:28,410 --> 00:27:29,110 to be honest with you. 161 00:27:31,360 --> 00:27:36,680 Thank you. I think the first thing we need to start with is a group of people that really 162 00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:41,440 want to continue on with child care. We had people come to us and say we want to retire. 163 00:27:43,100 --> 00:27:48,560 So, if somebody wants to retire, we need to have somebody else come in and say, this is our plan. 164 00:27:48,740 --> 00:27:52,960 This is where we want to be. We will look around Linux and we've identified five or six different places 165 00:27:52,960 --> 00:27:57,340 and we want an opportunity to talk to you about perhaps utilizing these places. 166 00:27:58,700 --> 00:28:00,320 We need a business plan. 167 00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:06,020 I appreciate the roundabout going back over and answering twice. 168 00:28:07,220 --> 00:28:10,920 Here's another question, and we can start down with you again, sir. 169 00:28:11,780 --> 00:28:15,680 Two years of double digit budget increases is not sustainable. 170 00:28:16,220 --> 00:28:18,880 Twenty-two percent tax increases in two years. 171 00:28:19,580 --> 00:28:26,600 How would you maintain tax increases to the rate of inflation at 2.5 percent? 172 00:28:29,300 --> 00:28:32,640 Some of us we control a lot of it with adult control. 173 00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:40,460 last year health insurance increased 18%. We can't control that. This year it's 174 00:28:40,460 --> 00:28:44,920 down to about eight or nine percent. The other things we can't control, we can't 175 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:49,140 control leaky roofs at the school. If a roof leaks and they tell us it's gonna 176 00:28:49,140 --> 00:28:53,660 cost us a half a million dollars to fix, we have to come up or actually you 177 00:28:53,660 --> 00:28:58,340 tell us we have to fix it. You're the voters at the town meeting, we have to come 178 00:28:58,340 --> 00:29:05,920 up with the money. So what we can hold to 2.5% is what we control, which is we work with 179 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,220 the department heads and the department that we give them a budget and we say level services 180 00:29:10,660 --> 00:29:15,500 and we want you to maintain that and that's what they did this year. They maintain level 181 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:21,660 services. Now it wasn't 2.5%, but it wasn't 8% or 9%. That came in with the rest of the stuff 182 00:29:21,660 --> 00:29:27,740 that we don't control. So those are the issues that we're facing. So the select board can 183 00:29:27,740 --> 00:29:33,840 Can work with the town and present a town a level budget, but there are certain things we can't control and it's beyond them. 184 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:35,200 Thank you. 185 00:29:37,060 --> 00:29:38,840 I don't know that I can really add much to that. 186 00:29:38,940 --> 00:29:43,240 I think, again, getting back to my opening statement, I think, working with the different departments to say, 187 00:29:43,300 --> 00:29:48,540 okay, how can we really try and keep our budgets over the next three to five years as low as possible? 188 00:29:48,660 --> 00:29:52,720 We'll be looking out further for our capital projects so that we're not in reactive mode on them, 189 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:54,980 which inevitably means we're going to spend more than ever. 190 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:14,040 We were planning an advance for it. And then I think, at the end of the day, if you want to keep our taxes low, we need to support businesses because the business tax levy is going to really help keep our individual property taxes low. So anything we can do to welcome more businesses and be a business friendly environment is going to help that. 191 00:30:16,660 --> 00:30:31,100 I'll echo that. I, you know, there's no magic fix. But as I said, I think Lennox can be more intentional about broadening the economic base so that future increases don't fall so heavily on the residential taxpayers. So again, that means supporting the local businesses. 192 00:30:31,100 --> 00:30:36,640 And the major economic drivers that driver that exists here, you know, tourism. 193 00:30:37,860 --> 00:30:42,520 So supporting in, supporting cultural institutions, supporting local employers in the chamber. 194 00:30:42,900 --> 00:30:46,060 And again, I would like to think for an industrial zone and 195 00:30:46,060 --> 00:30:52,400 see if there's opportunity to broaden the commercial tax rate from business development there. 196 00:30:54,020 --> 00:30:55,280 Thank you very much. 197 00:30:55,280 --> 00:31:01,520 I have one more question where you can have another minute to answer and it's a little 198 00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:03,980 different more about the programming offered. 199 00:31:04,540 --> 00:31:09,980 Has Lennox has very little in the way of activities for the seniors? 200 00:31:11,700 --> 00:31:15,820 Is there especially compared to the other towns around here? 201 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:18,380 Do you have any suggestions for that? 202 00:31:18,380 --> 00:31:19,400 I'm 203 00:31:24,070 --> 00:31:25,290 sure you start off with a senior. 204 00:31:30,300 --> 00:31:33,040 You know, that's a debatable point. 205 00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:37,060 I mean, I think, no, it's not debatable, and I'm a senior. 206 00:31:37,460 --> 00:31:39,640 It's a debatable point as to what's available for seniors. 207 00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:41,980 I think Lennox has a pretty good program. 208 00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:45,160 I think the community center does an outstanding job. 209 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:48,720 I think 210 00:31:51,310 --> 00:31:58,610 Liz Webster runs a terrific program there and various launches and all the activities 211 00:31:58,610 --> 00:32:04,150 that she has, but above and beyond that, there are so many active seniors in town that can still 212 00:32:04,150 --> 00:32:09,130 avail themselves of going to a sick Shakespearean company, or Tango Wood, or stuff during the season. 213 00:32:09,450 --> 00:32:14,930 So, yes, there's always room for more, but I think the community center and the town of Linux 214 00:32:14,930 --> 00:32:19,390 does a lot for seniors, and the seniors do a lot for themselves. Thank you. 215 00:32:22,170 --> 00:32:26,590 Hey, second, the sentiment about the community center, I think they do a great job. 216 00:32:26,590 --> 00:32:29,130 I wouldn't know what to say to that question, I guess. 217 00:32:29,410 --> 00:32:32,550 I'd be happy to welcome seniors to come before the select board and 218 00:32:32,550 --> 00:32:36,830 tell us what activities they'd like to see and we can try and figure out how we could possibly provide some of those. 219 00:32:37,830 --> 00:32:43,530 If, you know, if we did get a skating rink in, if a pickleball court is needed or something else along those lines, I'm happy to address that. 220 00:32:43,710 --> 00:32:47,830 I just don't know that I have an answer as to what's going to help seniors with more activities. 221 00:32:50,990 --> 00:32:56,050 I agree with what's been said, I'm on the board of the community center which includes the council on aging, 222 00:32:56,050 --> 00:33:01,290 and I'm there multiple times a week and it seems like there's always things going on in the community center. 223 00:33:01,650 --> 00:33:07,390 Perhaps there could be more awareness created if there's a feeling like there's not awareness about what's happening, you know, 224 00:33:07,990 --> 00:33:14,510 a modern approach to pushing out events, Facebook, Instagram, newsletters, we do have an active newsletter. 225 00:33:14,770 --> 00:33:19,230 But there's always an opportunity to increase awareness on public events. 226 00:33:19,230 --> 00:33:24,210 and to the extent that anybody wants more council on aging program, I recommend going 227 00:33:24,210 --> 00:33:28,290 to the community center, talking to Liz, or talking to the community center board, giving 228 00:33:28,290 --> 00:33:32,070 us a sense of what you're looking for and talking about how we can implement it. 229 00:33:33,840 --> 00:33:37,840 Well, thank you. That wraps up the questions from the floor that we're going to pose. 230 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:44,800 And I wanted to tell a round of applause for the hard work that our community is doing. 231 00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,120 Thank you, each of you for your very thoughtful responses. 232 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:59,080 and now we're going to make a transition and invite the school board candidates for 233 00:33:59,080 --> 00:34:04,780 one year term to come forward and we'll switch out our playscars. 234 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:12,060 Here we are. I don't want to thank you very much. 235 00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,320 That there's one on the phone. 236 00:34:30,950 --> 00:34:31,650 All 237 00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:44,220 right, and moving along, we're going to have, 238 00:34:55,350 --> 00:34:56,490 and here we go. 239 00:34:57,190 --> 00:35:04,430 So our two school board candidates for a one-year term are Richard Burke running for re-election 240 00:35:04,780 --> 00:35:08,950 and Stephanie Kluka running for a first-time seat on the committee. 241 00:35:10,010 --> 00:35:13,290 Each of them will have four minutes to answer this question. 242 00:35:14,050 --> 00:35:20,990 So I'll ask it now starting with Richard, because your last name starts with a B. You come first. 243 00:35:21,690 --> 00:35:27,010 What do you believe are the two most important issues facing Linux school system today? 244 00:35:27,530 --> 00:35:31,450 And what do you believe will be the best way to resolve those issues? 245 00:35:35,280 --> 00:35:36,280 Good afternoon. 246 00:35:38,020 --> 00:35:43,380 I'm Richard Burke, Debbie and I have lived on the Hubbard Street for more than 40 years. 247 00:35:44,340 --> 00:35:48,160 The neighborhood kids who are in school then have kids in school now. 248 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:58,340 The two things that I think are most important and you have to understand that the school committee 249 00:35:59,340 --> 00:36:04,440 is really focused on three things, we're focused on the leadership of the schools. 250 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:07,140 I'm primarily the superintendent. 251 00:36:09,100 --> 00:36:16,580 Number two is work focused on the policies that are in place. 252 00:36:17,220 --> 00:36:18,640 We set the policies. 253 00:36:19,300 --> 00:36:20,660 We don't manage anything. 254 00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:26,520 I can't walk into the school if I can't ask anybody to do anything at the school. 255 00:36:27,320 --> 00:36:32,340 We set policies and it's up to the leadership of the schools to implement them. 256 00:36:32,340 --> 00:36:37,220 And number three, we have to allocate the resources. 257 00:36:37,540 --> 00:36:38,720 We do the school budget. 258 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:48,720 And so we decide what gets allocated in terms of priorities and to meet the legal necessities 259 00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:49,980 that we have to satisfy. 260 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:58,280 So the first issue that I have, I think we all generally agree the Lennox schools are excellent. 261 00:36:58,280 --> 00:37:07,500 But the most important issue we face is maintaining that quality and character in the schools. 262 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:23,080 In the face of rising costs, shifting demographics, and policy challenges, some of which come 263 00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:24,680 from Boston or elsewhere. 264 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:34,060 That excellence is essential to preserving the character of 265 00:37:34,060 --> 00:37:40,140 where we live. It's important to Lennox that we have good schools. 266 00:37:43,170 --> 00:37:49,400 So we have to consider providing every student with an avenue to success. 267 00:37:50,980 --> 00:37:59,860 Not just an route to college, but also in other directions to other means of success. 268 00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:08,520 In my academic career, I'm an Emeritus Professor of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering 269 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:11,460 at the Maritime College of the State University of New York. 270 00:38:13,200 --> 00:38:21,580 I had the privilege of serving on the advisory board of the Urban Assembly School for Global 271 00:38:21,580 --> 00:38:24,440 Commerce, which is in Harlem. 272 00:38:26,900 --> 00:38:36,020 And that introduced me to the idea of career and technical education, and the short-hand 273 00:38:36,020 --> 00:38:45,000 to CTE. It's not exactly vocational education, but it can incorporate vocational education 274 00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:59,160 in the framework. The idea is that the school will have an overarching application area, 275 00:38:59,160 --> 00:39:04,300 and all of the education will be done with respect to those applications. 276 00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:11,760 Three things come out of that. One is everything makes more sense in terms of an application. 277 00:39:12,640 --> 00:39:22,580 Number two is everything is transferable to other applications. 278 00:39:22,580 --> 00:39:27,760 And number three is, it prepares students for both a collegiate and a vocational path. 279 00:39:29,120 --> 00:39:33,280 The second problem is that of allocating resources. 280 00:39:34,100 --> 00:39:37,740 And this is becoming a real issue you heard it from the selection. 281 00:39:39,100 --> 00:39:43,480 And I think we need, we have good schools, we have good teachers, we have good leadership. 282 00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:51,060 I think we need to talk about ways we can collaborate, short of regionalization. 283 00:39:51,060 --> 00:40:04,340 And I hope somebody will ask about regionalization we can talk about it, but we need to think about how we're going to allocate resources in the future to make things work well for our schools. 284 00:40:05,940 --> 00:40:06,660 That's it. 285 00:40:15,830 --> 00:40:22,830 Hi, I don't know if I don't think I know many of you actually, a lot of my friends and 286 00:40:23,410 --> 00:40:28,510 other parents in the town are actually home watching their kids, so hi, my name is Stephanie 287 00:40:28,510 --> 00:40:28,830 Fuka. 288 00:40:29,490 --> 00:40:33,470 I am a mom of three children, all of which go to the Lex schools. 289 00:40:34,430 --> 00:40:40,610 I am a Berkshire County native, so I have lived in Linux since 2019, but I grew up right 290 00:40:40,610 --> 00:40:47,230 up the street. I have been an education for 18 years. I have experienced in both severe 291 00:40:47,230 --> 00:40:52,550 special education, mild moderate special education, and also as a general education teacher. 292 00:40:53,530 --> 00:40:59,090 So this is my passion, talking public school, talking public school policies. This is my 293 00:40:59,090 --> 00:41:05,450 bread and butter. I do believe the question was to issues that we would like to work on, 294 00:41:05,530 --> 00:41:07,190 is that correct? Yes. Thank you. 295 00:41:07,190 --> 00:41:09,310 to the two most important issues 296 00:41:09,310 --> 00:41:11,330 based on the Linux school system today, 297 00:41:11,730 --> 00:41:14,970 and what do you believe will be the best way to resolve them? 298 00:41:15,310 --> 00:41:15,890 Great, thank you. 299 00:41:17,230 --> 00:41:19,990 So, one of the things that I truly believe 300 00:41:19,990 --> 00:41:23,710 that we can work on is programming for our more diverse. 301 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,300 I do believe one of the things that we can work on 302 00:41:31,300 --> 00:41:33,940 as a district and as a school committee 303 00:41:33,940 --> 00:41:36,500 is our programming for the more diverse population. 304 00:41:36,980 --> 00:41:43,340 So, talking about students that are on IOPs or 504s and programming for them, I reviewed 305 00:41:43,340 --> 00:41:49,420 our past PowerPoints that the administrators had put out, and in 2014 we had 4% of our 306 00:41:49,420 --> 00:41:54,700 student body diagnosed with some type of a learning disability that would have put them onto a 504. 307 00:41:54,940 --> 00:42:01,800 This has jumped up to 12%. So, what are we doing to address this population and how can we create 308 00:42:01,800 --> 00:42:06,600 programming for these kids while balancing our budget because we don't need to 309 00:42:06,600 --> 00:42:10,460 outsource every single child to a public school. We can create an inclusive 310 00:42:10,460 --> 00:42:14,520 community. I think we start that at the elementary school and then I think 311 00:42:14,520 --> 00:42:19,660 that we create a pipeline to LMMHS. I think that we start programming with our 312 00:42:19,660 --> 00:42:24,520 local communities, our local businesses, and we get kids these internship hours that 313 00:42:24,520 --> 00:42:28,140 they might need. I understand that Teconic has an amazing 314 00:42:28,140 --> 00:42:29,520 we can go to the Botan program. 315 00:42:29,760 --> 00:42:31,920 McCann has been in the county for decades. 316 00:42:32,680 --> 00:42:35,260 Monument Mountain is even now building their new high school 317 00:42:35,260 --> 00:42:37,980 and they are going to create, I believe, an electrical, 318 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:40,720 mechanical and welding shop. 319 00:42:41,180 --> 00:42:44,880 So I don't think Lennox needs to put on a new part 320 00:42:44,880 --> 00:42:46,900 of the building that's not at all what I'm saying, 321 00:42:47,260 --> 00:42:49,460 but I think that we could create something very neat 322 00:42:49,460 --> 00:42:51,000 and unique to Lennox. 323 00:42:52,860 --> 00:42:57,300 I do believe that advocating for an inclusion 324 00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:14,420 I do think that I have an asset and that I bridge both sides at looking things, not necessarily from only a financial standpoint, but also from a human standpoint. 325 00:43:15,140 --> 00:43:25,220 Two of my children are on IEPs, so I think that I have the knowledge and the know how to talk about this topic and to bridge that gap to our community. 326 00:43:25,860 --> 00:43:30,580 being in education currently and being a Berkshire County resident from my 327 00:43:30,580 --> 00:43:34,640 whole life. I know people in the Williamson School District, the Pistil School 328 00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:38,740 District, the Dalton School District, that's great Barrington, Berkshire Hills. 329 00:43:39,580 --> 00:43:44,480 I mean, all up and down, I have people that I consider colleagues and friends of 330 00:43:44,480 --> 00:43:48,900 20 plus years that I can call and talk and say, hey, so what are you guys doing 331 00:43:48,900 --> 00:43:55,200 about this? How are you addressing this issue? What are you programming for? What 332 00:43:55,800 --> 00:43:57,740 Yeah, I think that's about it. 333 00:43:57,980 --> 00:44:00,300 Thank you, thank you very much. 334 00:44:01,440 --> 00:44:03,660 I have a question, are there any other, 335 00:44:03,880 --> 00:44:05,840 I have one question here from the floor. 336 00:44:07,240 --> 00:44:08,980 And there's another question there. 337 00:44:10,280 --> 00:44:13,960 This one, the question is at least 40% 338 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:17,380 of the Linux public school students are transfers. 339 00:44:18,340 --> 00:44:20,940 The repayment rate was set in 1990. 340 00:44:21,620 --> 00:44:23,620 Can you work to revise the rate? 341 00:44:23,620 --> 00:44:26,660 Would you like to start with that, Mr. Burke? 342 00:44:28,840 --> 00:44:32,000 Okay, I hear this question a lot, and it's important. 343 00:44:35,380 --> 00:44:37,900 The people who choice into Lennox. 344 00:44:39,240 --> 00:44:44,760 The policy in Lennox is that we will never open a new classroom because of school choice. 345 00:44:45,380 --> 00:44:48,160 We will never hire another teacher because of school choice. 346 00:44:48,160 --> 00:44:54,280 So those students are coming in and filling spaces that are currently empty. 347 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:29,860 In rooms where there is already someone covering the class. So the additional cost that's incurred is relatively small. If you're driving a taxi and you have one passenger, what's it cost you to take a second passenger passenger on the same trip? It's the same idea as that. The school manages that very carefully. We get the extra revenue, but in grows, we expect that we're going to grow the student population as a consequence of that. 348 00:45:29,860 --> 00:45:36,160 But it means that we have the capability of accepting extra students without incurring 349 00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:37,860 additional costs in the future. 350 00:45:43,050 --> 00:45:48,190 So also hear this question all the time at our own school committee meetings for my district. 351 00:45:49,190 --> 00:45:53,110 And I do believe that it comes down to Boston, right? 352 00:45:53,450 --> 00:45:55,430 I believe that you need to reach out to Boston. 353 00:45:55,710 --> 00:46:00,110 It is the state policy that we only receive a certain amount of dollars per choice students. 354 00:46:01,050 --> 00:46:04,470 Like Mr. Burke said, though, I do think it goes back to affordability. 355 00:46:04,870 --> 00:46:06,810 I think that we need to make Linux more affordable. 356 00:46:07,230 --> 00:46:09,770 I think that we need to get families in. 357 00:46:10,550 --> 00:46:13,330 You want to see people come back to this town. 358 00:46:13,810 --> 00:46:18,190 I want my children to be able to come back and raise a family here and 359 00:46:18,190 --> 00:46:19,970 have their kids go to school here. 360 00:46:20,070 --> 00:46:23,250 I think that's so amazing and what a legacy to have. 361 00:46:24,170 --> 00:46:29,090 I do think that we can create these pipelines for kids where if we get families in, 362 00:46:29,090 --> 00:46:32,550 we're going to want they're going to want to stay and we're going to create longevity 363 00:46:32,550 --> 00:46:33,290 with the town. 364 00:46:33,850 --> 00:46:39,450 But I do think that the overall solution to that is we need to petition to Boston to 365 00:46:39,450 --> 00:46:40,090 change the rig. 366 00:46:40,970 --> 00:46:41,830 Thank you. 367 00:46:42,210 --> 00:46:42,670 Thank you. 368 00:46:42,790 --> 00:46:46,470 I have one more question which I hope I can read this handwriting. 369 00:46:47,470 --> 00:46:54,470 Is the reality that Lenick should collaborate on regionalization with another town to offer 370 00:46:54,470 --> 00:46:55,810 vocational path? 371 00:46:57,680 --> 00:46:59,460 I think I had that right. 372 00:46:59,460 --> 00:47:08,400 Is it the reality that Lennox should collaborate to regionalize with another town to offer a vocational path? 373 00:47:12,170 --> 00:47:18,690 I'm not really a fan of the approach to regionalization that's being taken by the Commonwealth. 374 00:47:19,110 --> 00:47:24,910 The most recent statement from the Commonwealth was that they think there ought to be three regional districts in Berkshire County. 375 00:47:24,910 --> 00:47:32,750 It's 75 miles from Ashley Falls to Amstown, so three would be 25 miles north and south 376 00:47:32,750 --> 00:47:34,670 and roughly 25 miles wide. 377 00:47:35,270 --> 00:47:40,690 And if we were part of a district that's 625 square miles, we're going to lose the 378 00:47:40,690 --> 00:47:44,430 character and quality of the Linux schools and I don't believe that we should do that. 379 00:47:45,690 --> 00:47:53,310 On the other hand, there are other ways of collaborating short of regionalization where 380 00:47:53,310 --> 00:48:13,010 where we could work with neighboring districts to work more effectively, to save money, to not duplicate services, or to share services, and I think we should, in fact, we already are exploring those opportunities. 381 00:48:16,370 --> 00:48:23,390 And that is, that's really, I think, one of the most important things we have to do now. 382 00:48:23,650 --> 00:48:30,350 We have to keep Lennox the way, as a high quality school district, but at the same time, 383 00:48:30,470 --> 00:48:31,850 we've got to play well with others. 384 00:48:35,000 --> 00:48:35,460 Thank you. 385 00:48:36,280 --> 00:48:36,880 I agree. 386 00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:40,100 I kind of touched on this in my first little four-minute spiel. 387 00:48:40,100 --> 00:48:44,960 So I do think that there is such importance in programming for all learners within the 388 00:48:44,960 --> 00:48:48,840 Linux schools, and that includes kids that may not be on a collegiate path. 389 00:48:49,240 --> 00:48:52,840 I do not think that we are in a position of regionalization. 390 00:48:53,160 --> 00:48:57,200 I do think we are in a position where we need to collaborate and we need to get inventive. 391 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:02,220 With that being said, I think we can do something very neat and unique to Linux. 392 00:49:02,540 --> 00:49:08,500 I think we can do something that is very exclusive to the student body that we have with our community 393 00:49:08,500 --> 00:49:09,020 partners. 394 00:49:10,920 --> 00:49:19,660 Yeah. Thank you. I want to thank these candidates to them. You'll be able to vote for one for their very thoughtful replies. 395 00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:21,700 Let's have a hand for their hard work. 396 00:49:30,350 --> 00:49:37,110 And in conclusion, I would also like to thank the hard work that went into providing preparing for this event. 397 00:49:37,110 --> 00:49:38,950 It took many energies. 398 00:49:39,410 --> 00:49:43,130 Thank you to those who told a friend and filled up the room. 399 00:49:43,350 --> 00:49:46,190 I'm delighted with the turnout and a very short notice. 400 00:49:47,250 --> 00:49:49,710 I'd like to thank Moe's Olnick from Great Barrington, 401 00:49:50,270 --> 00:49:53,570 who contacted the Lennox Town Clerk and each one of the candidates. 402 00:49:54,070 --> 00:49:57,930 It just took a lot of work to put this event into the schedule. 403 00:49:58,350 --> 00:50:01,570 Just finding email addresses is not always easy. 404 00:50:02,770 --> 00:50:06,750 The other members of the local lead board of directors make such a difference 405 00:50:06,750 --> 00:50:08,750 to keep this little chapter afloat. 406 00:50:09,410 --> 00:50:13,150 Thank you Susan Morris, who's the secretary, who did the set up today. 407 00:50:13,870 --> 00:50:18,750 Thank you to Betty Farman, who's sitting back here, who keeps the books and manages the 408 00:50:18,750 --> 00:50:23,090 membership list, and brings a good perspective to our board from Egremont. 409 00:50:24,030 --> 00:50:26,570 And Lucy Kennedy from Lennox is right here. 410 00:50:26,950 --> 00:50:28,470 She had the shortest commute today. 411 00:50:29,350 --> 00:50:35,390 She's moderated out of town candidate forums like Stockbridge, and Lucy updates our website 412 00:50:35,390 --> 00:50:42,590 and Facebook page. Amy Cooper is out of town this week, but she continues to edit and revise all we 413 00:50:42,590 --> 00:50:50,050 write. And she recently has worked on the legislative action committee of the LWVMA. It's a monumental 414 00:50:50,050 --> 00:50:59,570 job. They read all the legislation from the Senate and Congress in the state house. There's 2,000 415 00:50:59,570 --> 00:51:04,930 bills off every year. And they weed through those to find the ones that make a difference. 416 00:51:04,930 --> 00:51:10,370 The numbers change as they come in and out of committee and that group works very hard 417 00:51:10,370 --> 00:51:12,950 They've just finished one on voting rights 418 00:51:13,650 --> 00:51:20,250 But we've focused our hearts and minds on voting rights and civics education and I want to thank you friends 419 00:51:20,250 --> 00:51:24,130 Who have joined league and helped us keep that going? 420 00:51:25,330 --> 00:51:28,570 I've been a wonderful evening all politics is local 421 00:51:28,570 --> 00:51:33,570 please remind your friends and family to vote on Lennox Town Elections right 422 00:51:33,570 --> 00:51:40,870 here in this town hall on May 11th between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and thank you for 423 00:51:40,870 --> 00:51:45,710 intending the candidate forum. We do have a few snacks in the back which I hope 424 00:51:45,710 --> 00:51:51,250 you'll stay and enjoy and have a little conversation and consider signing 425 00:51:51,250 --> 00:51:55,610 your email address and your name to our list so we can keep 426 00:51:55,610 --> 00:51:58,130 glad you're in here. Thanks very much.