[0:01] All right.
[0:02] Good evening everyone. It is six o'clock
[0:04] and I left all this meeting
[0:05] of the very unified Movement school district Board to order.
[0:08] Please join me for the pledge allegiance.
[0:13] We have flags there and up here I pledge allegiance
[0:17] to the flag of the United States of America, America.
[0:22] And two very public for which it stands,
[0:24] one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty
[0:28] and justice for all.
[0:31] Thank you. We'll now take a brief mindfulness moment
[0:33] before we begin tonight.
[0:39] That can't remove, but you can sit there. Okay.
[0:42] It's like there's more seats on this side. I might just,
[1:08] Okay.
[1:09] So before we get to tonight's agenda, I want
[1:14] to take a few moments
[1:15] to recognize superintendent Joanne Canning this.
[1:18] This is her final regular board meeting with us.
[1:23] Joanne stepped into this role during the period
[1:25] of significant challenge
[1:26] and change for our district and community.
[1:29] Throughout her time here, she has brought a wealth
[1:31] of experience that has helped us analyze our systems,
[1:34] thoughtfully identify areas for improvement
[1:37] and continue moving this district forward.
[1:40] She has also led by example with a strong work ethic,
[1:44] professionalism and a determination to always push ourselves
[1:48] to be the best version of what we can be
[1:50] for our students and community.
[1:54] I also wanna personally thank Joanne for the support
[1:56] and guidance she has provided to this board.
[1:58] She has consistently encouraged strong governance,
[2:01] professionalism, clear standards, healthy boundaries,
[2:06] and collaborative and respectful working relationships
[2:09] that help keep our focus on moving forward together.
[2:13] Public education is not easy work, especially
[2:16] during a time when schools are being asked to carry
[2:19] so much for our communities.
[2:21] It requires resilience, patience,
[2:24] and a deep commitment to students in public service.
[2:28] On behalf of the board, I want to sincerely thank Joanne
[2:31] for her service to the Berry Unified Union School District
[2:34] for the countless hours she has dedicated to this work
[2:37] and for the care she has shown toward our schools, staff,
[2:41] students, and community.
[2:44] We wish you the very best in your next chapter
[2:46] because I know you are not done.
[2:47] You still have much more to give
[2:49] and so thank you for everything you have done for Barry.
[2:59] Thank You so much. That is gorgeous. Thank you.
[3:09] Well, I have to say something. Just let this go.
[3:16] It truly has been my pleasure to be here, to serve you,
[3:20] to serve this community, to serve the children,
[3:23] and to serve the staff.
[3:25] I get just as much from this work as I hope
[3:27] that I give to others.
[3:30] And I want you to know I believe in Barry.
[3:32] In fact, I want that to be the mantra going forward.
[3:35] We're gonna pass that budget.
[3:36] I believe in Barry, we all believe in Barry
[3:39] and these people would not be here if they did not believe
[3:41] in Barry is extremely important
[3:43] that we have consistent, competent leadership.
[3:47] And what you're gonna hear tonight
[3:48] around the continuous improvement plan is the commitment
[3:51] that these individuals have put into the plan
[3:53] with very rigorous standards
[3:55] because they have high standards for our kids.
[3:58] And that is one of the things
[4:00] that I think is really important.
[4:01] Having high standards, high expectations,
[4:04] and having the accountability that you need.
[4:06] And the community needs to know
[4:08] that we're doing the best we can for all of the kids.
[4:10] So thank, thank you for the opportunity.
[4:13] I will not be a stranger as I hope you aren't either.
[4:16] I'm always willing, ready and able to come back
[4:19] and help in any way that I can.
[4:20] So thank you. Okay,
[4:29] you, so we are now at
[4:34] additions or deletions.
[4:36] Are there any additions or deletions to tonight's agenda?
[4:40] I believe we need to add an executive session
[4:46] under one BSA 3 1, 3
[4:52] A, one A contracts.
[4:56] Are there any other additions
[4:58] or deletions to tonight's agenda?
[5:03] Hearing none.
[5:04] I'd look for a motion to approve the agenda as amended
[5:09] by Ian, second by Sam.
[5:11] Discussion. Alright,
[5:14] all those in favor say aye.
[5:17] Aye. Opposed? Motion passes.
[5:22] Alright, next is public comment for items not on the agenda.
[5:26] Before we begin, I want to remind everyone
[5:28] that public comment is limited to two minutes per second.
[5:31] This portion of the meeting is an opportunity for the board
[5:34] to listen and hear from the public.
[5:37] I understand and, and rather than respond directly
[5:39] during comment, I understand
[5:41] that can sometimes feel impersonal,
[5:43] but please know we genuinely welcome
[5:45] and appreciate your feedback and participation.
[5:48] So do we have any public comment
[5:49] for items not on tonight's agenda.
[5:53] Tyler,
[5:58] Tyler, Watkins, and Camille, one of the pets here.
[6:04] Since this is the last board meeting, I
[6:10] wanna point out all the people that make this place work.
[6:13] So you've got all the school teachers,
[6:19] all the paras, all the janitors, daytime
[6:22] and night, you've got all the specials teachers,
[6:26] you've got a community of support.
[6:32] And I just wanna say thank you
[6:36] to each and every person that takes the time
[6:41] to put the energy into our kids.
[6:47] And one person in particular, Brenda Waterhouse,
[6:51] who's been in this district for what, 27 years,
[6:55] probably taught more kids than there are kids
[6:57] or people in Vermont at this point.
[7:02] But she is one
[7:03] of the best human beings I have ever met in my entire life.
[7:07] And I've been to the other side of the world and back.
[7:11] So I just want to especially point out
[7:15] all the work that she does.
[7:17] I don't know if she ever goes home.
[7:19] So that's it.
[7:30] Thank you Tyler. And thank you Brenda is,
[7:35] are there any other public comment
[7:38] for items not on tonight's agenda?
[7:42] I heard a hand raised on them.
[7:50] Alright, moving on to
[7:54] board education, starting
[7:56] with the continuous improvement plan
[7:58] and I will turn it over to Superintendent
[8:01] Kim, thank you so much.
[8:02] So I wanna first thank my administrators
[8:04] for being here tonight to talk about the goals
[8:07] that we've set, the very rigorous goals for next year.
[8:11] You may notice someone new in the audience
[8:13] and that is Judy Maynard.
[8:15] Judy has been hired as our project aware
[8:17] coordinator this year.
[8:18] She is helping us develop our multi tiered system of support
[8:23] for social emotional learning and behavior.
[8:27] She has been with us since the beginning of the year,
[8:29] so we're excited that she's gonna join us
[8:31] tonight in this presentation.
[8:33] So welcome Judy and welcome to the other administrators.
[8:36] You know, we've spent a lot
[8:37] of time lately talking about numbers
[8:40] and sometimes I think we forget
[8:42] what those numbers are all about.
[8:44] It's really about serving the students
[8:46] in the best way that we can.
[8:48] And as I mentioned previously, this group has been
[8:52] absolutely tireless in setting some very high,
[8:54] high standards because we know we have got a big room
[8:58] to move while we're also celebrating some progress we make
[9:02] towards those goals.
[9:04] So I wanna thank them in advance for this presentation.
[9:06] We're gonna start with Amanda Riggleman, who's gonna speak
[9:08] to some of the district goals
[9:10] and then the principals will speak to some
[9:13] of their individual school goals.
[9:15] So Amanda,
[9:19] Good evening everyone.
[9:20] Evening.
[9:26] So I'm gonna talk a little bit about what the CIP is
[9:29] and why it, why it matters.
[9:31] And then like superintendent came said,
[9:34] you'll hear some specifics from our different buildings
[9:38] and our administrators that are here as well.
[9:42] So when we use the term CIP, what that stands
[9:46] for is the continuous improvement plan.
[9:48] And this is really important to us
[9:51] because we use CIP to become a framework
[9:54] for collective learning and systematic improvement.
[9:57] More than just boxes that we check
[10:00] or words on a document that we reference every so often.
[10:04] As we move towards making our CIP plan truly effective
[10:09] in bringing about growth
[10:11] and meaningful change, we want
[10:13] to be really intentional about getting to the root causes.
[10:16] So we want to go beyond the surface level fixes
[10:19] and really intentionally use our data
[10:21] to drive honest equity focused conversations about what all
[10:25] of our students need across the district.
[10:27] You're going to hear tonight
[10:29] that this plan is built on shared district goals
[10:33] with school specific strategies
[10:34] and implementation plans to tailor to address the needs
[10:38] of each school community
[10:40] and the different student needs across the district.
[10:45] We started this process months ago
[10:47] and we decided collectively on some common district,
[10:51] what we call tights
[10:52] and our tight agreements is that we've set system wide goals
[10:55] that you'll hear about today.
[10:57] We have committed to outcome measures,
[11:01] collective outcome measures that we're going to use
[11:03] to monitor our progress
[11:05] and checkpoints throughout the year where we evaluate
[11:09] and celebrate our achievements towards our goals
[11:12] and look at maybe areas that we need
[11:15] to make some adjustments on or look at a little bit closer.
[11:19] And I, you're also going to hear some
[11:22] of the specific evidence-based strategies
[11:24] that our schools are going to adopt
[11:26] and implement to achieve these goals.
[11:28] And our building administrators have worked very hard over
[11:32] the past couple months with school-based leadership teams,
[11:36] with guiding coalitions, with teacher groups, staff input
[11:40] to develop these evidence-based action strategies
[11:42] that you'll hear about tonight.
[11:45] This dual approach ensures
[11:47] that we are strategically aligned across the district,
[11:50] but also that we're building a meaningful flexibility
[11:53] and meaningful investment across our different schools so
[11:56] that we have collective ownership in achieving these goals.
[11:59] This is all of our jobs to contribute
[12:02] to supporting our students be successful across all areas of
[12:07] their profile
[12:08] and their experience at school,
[12:11] which you're gonna hear tonight, are some rigorous goals
[12:13] that we have set that we are excited about
[12:15] and a lot of hard work ahead of us,
[12:18] but we truly believe in our students, our staff,
[12:20] and our community in being able to achieve these goals.
[12:24] These things do take time.
[12:25] So we are excited to celebrate our positive steps forwards
[12:29] and achieving these goals in the future.
[12:36] Alright, I'm gonna start, we're gonna just go through,
[12:39] we have about five goals that we're going to share tonight
[12:43] and so we're going to just go in order
[12:45] and we're going to start with our
[12:46] Safe and health and school.
[12:47] And let me just say it's been a very long time since I've
[12:50] got a school board conversation.
[12:53] So is it okay to sit here
[12:55] or, okay, wonderful.
[12:58] Alright. The first goal under Safe
[13:01] and Healthy Schools is around attendance.
[13:05] The target is by this time next year, end of June,
[13:08] that no more than 20%
[13:10] of students are chronically absent districtwide.
[13:14] And the definition of chronic absenteeism
[13:19] is that student, it's when they hit the 10%
[13:22] or more mark
[13:24] of absences on regularly scheduled school base.
[13:28] And it takes into account both excused
[13:31] and unexcused absences.
[13:35] That target of
[13:39] 20%, keep that in mind.
[13:43] This year the chronic absentee is some
[13:48] rate at the district level has varied.
[13:51] In October, it was 32%, that was the highest percentage.
[13:56] In January it had dipped down to 23
[14:00] and then today I checked it and it's 26%.
[14:04] So it has decreased over the school year
[14:07] at the district level.
[14:09] I think the principals will talk about some
[14:12] of the strategies they need that they've employed this year
[14:14] and will continue for next year.
[14:18] Any questions?
[14:20] Yes. Yes. You said it started off at 33%
[14:24] and then you recently checked it was 26%.
[14:27] Can you just clarify what those 33% and 26% means?
[14:31] I'm sorry, 32% of the student body,
[14:33] 32% of the student body.
[14:36] K through pre-K through K through 12
[14:41] Was what? Chronically.
[14:42] Chronically, Thank you sir.
[14:43] 32% was, were chronically absent, chronically absent.
[14:47] And as of today it's approximately 26.
[14:49] And that's across All across our buildings, yes.
[14:54] Thank you. Does this include,
[14:58] so it's excused in unexcused absences.
[15:02] If a child is out for essentially the student version
[15:06] of FMLA, so they have a long-term illness of some sort, does
[15:10] that also count toward this?
[15:14] It it, it should not those, those absences should be coded
[15:18] as a medical absence.
[15:19] Okay. And they're not read as excused
[15:21] or unexcused, they're read as medical. Okay,
[15:23] Thank you Judy, Can I add that?
[15:26] Oh absolutely. Chronic absenteeism,
[15:28] when we think about it is the impact
[15:30] that it's having on a student.
[15:31] So even if you were sick,
[15:32] you still have a negative impact
[15:34] if you couldn't make it to school.
[15:35] So this is not the same as like a truancy function
[15:38] where there's like a consequence for a family.
[15:40] It's just we wanna waste the time kids are in school.
[15:43] Truancy is sort of the separate but related piece.
[15:46] Same. It's a great drop,
[15:49] which makes the goal seem totally reasonable, you know,
[15:52] from 32 to 26.
[15:54] Do you attribute that to any particular bunch of tactics
[15:58] or strategies that schools are using?
[16:02] Yeah, I, we are to my knowledge all using similar
[16:07] what we call attendance letters to try to get families floor
[16:10] to try to have team meetings
[16:12] to put those supports around students.
[16:15] We all have the same procedures for
[16:18] that five absences, 10 absences.
[16:20] And then we also work with our partners outside of school,
[16:23] Washington County Mental Health, sometimes CF,
[16:26] depending on supports, a child might need
[16:29] to all come together and make sure
[16:30] that there is a wraparound services,
[16:32] not necessarily just in school
[16:33] but also outside of school for families that might be having
[16:37] whatever issue that they're having that might be
[16:39] hindering their student from coming into school. Thank
[16:42] You.
[16:45] Juliana, do you have year over year data?
[16:50] Previous years, I do not. I don't know if I'm supposed to.
[16:56] We had an issue with the various city data from last year
[17:00] with campus and way that the schedule was inputted into it.
[17:05] So it's messed up our data to be able to track it.
[17:09] Comparing apples to apples is to that,
[17:13] but last year's data was really messy
[17:16] Offhand.
[17:17] Would you say it's about the same? There are no spikes.
[17:21] We definitely have a better year this year
[17:24] then we've had enough recent last four years.
[17:28] Our attendance data has definitely been
[17:31] concerning since the pandemic.
[17:35] Not that it wasn't, but since the pandemic we have seen
[17:40] significant attendance challenges.
[17:45] Jackie, thank you. What level
[17:49] Triggers the attendance letters?
[17:51] Is it when they hit that 10%?
[17:53] That is not linked to chronic absenteeism
[17:55] that is linked to truancy.
[17:58] Oh, okay. So that's a different, so
[17:59] they would get, yeah. Okay.
[18:01] But that's unexcused
[18:04] what total number?
[18:08] Oh school days you're using like it
[18:10] because is it like
[18:12] 1 7 7 1 70, 1 70
[18:19] But what panorama reads is how many days you've gone
[18:23] through and looking at the percentage of days based on that.
[18:28] So you, if you're on day 10
[18:30] and you've missed five days, you're 50% absent.
[18:34] Yes. So those metrics took into account each time
[18:37] of the year, 10% of the school days from August to October
[18:42] and then August to 20.
[18:43] Yes. That's a good question.
[18:47] The denominator changed
[18:51] And Panorama updates that percentage at the district
[18:54] and building levels every day.
[18:56] Yeah, like you're, we're not at day 1 77 yet, or 79.
[19:03] So we're at day one 60 then students who have missed 16
[19:07] or more days would be considered chronic limits.
[19:10] I dunno their day was 16
[19:12] but yeah, it adds up really quickly.
[19:15] A previous district that I worked in would send out a
[19:17] reminder that if your child missed two days a month,
[19:20] it adds up to a month of lost instruction,
[19:22] which is chronic absenteeism.
[19:24] As a parent it doesn't feel like a lot
[19:26] to miss two days a month, but it does really add up
[19:29] and so it's helpful to let people know like, wow,
[19:32] I would never let my kid miss a month of school.
[19:34] But sometimes you do if you overlook those two days a month.
[19:39] And the hope in our strategy moving forward, if again,
[19:42] like proactive early identification.
[19:45] So we're monitoring this
[19:46] and we are supporting students sooner rather than later.
[19:51] So within that first month
[19:53] or two of school, we're noticing some trends in supporting
[19:57] students before it becomes to the level
[20:00] of of long-term chronic
[20:01] Absentee team.
[20:04] Lindsay, we looking at doing anything like proactive,
[20:08] like Shannon was saying like, hey,
[20:12] your kids are going misses two days a
[20:13] month. Like that headss up.
[20:15] Yeah we, I can only speak to my
[20:17] just the elementary school,
[20:19] but we just met as a student support team to review some
[20:22] of our procedures this year
[20:23] and we wanted to build in dates to go through next year,
[20:26] once every two months or so and just quickly counted us
[20:29] and link that to a call from the school social worker just
[20:31] saying, hey, we're reaching out, anything we can help with.
[20:34] That's sort of a thing that feels more supportive,
[20:36] not a letter saying you've missed,
[20:39] you know, getting that story
[20:40] Letter.
[20:41] Yeah, so more proactive. Yeah.
[20:43] And I have one other question.
[20:45] I'm like for those who know
[20:46] that their kids may be missing some days, like is there
[20:51] like a way for them to communicate
[20:54] and be like, hey they're gonna be absent, like
[20:56] to get the homework or something for them to do
[20:59] so they're not missing all that time.
[21:03] When I was in school, you know, things were a lot different
[21:06] and had homework every night that you'd have to come home
[21:09] and do for an hour, whatever
[21:12] before you gotta go play. You know,
[21:14] You can always reach out to classroom teachers
[21:16] are the best contact for that
[21:17] and they can definitely let you know if there particular
[21:20] things kids can take with them or things like that.
[21:23] Okay. Are you feeling
[21:28] that the supports you're offering are being
[21:30] accepted by families?
[21:35] For the most part there are a few outliers
[21:37] but I think for the most part, yes
[21:39] parents do want their kids
[21:40] to be successful at school in general.
[21:43] So they, they like, you know, we enjoy the partnership
[21:46] and when we're reaching out first I would say the majority
[21:48] of parents are meeting us right at the table.
[21:52] Can I do a follow up on that? Sure.
[21:54] So there's nothing that like you feel is lacking that,
[21:59] that you would would need to offer as as a support?
[22:04] I think as a district I feel pretty good.
[22:07] I think we are all hoping
[22:08] for some clear language from the state about how, so
[22:13] that school districts don't define things in different ways
[22:15] and some legislation has just come through about that
[22:17] and we're waiting to better understand it.
[22:20] It still looks like it's a big draft mess
[22:23] and it's a little hard but
[22:24] that would make things much easier if parents could
[22:26] consistently understand what the expectation is
[22:29] because some folks thought it was one way and one school
[22:32] and then moved and that kind of thing.
[22:34] So that would be helpful.
[22:36] So how about we continue through the,
[22:38] let's let's do the goals two through five
[22:40] and then let's do questions after we go through all.
[22:44] Great, thank you.
[22:46] Alright, so I'll say a little bit
[22:48] before I talk about the second goal specifically
[22:52] around self-efficacy.
[22:54] Starting last spring, the district is views,
[22:59] use this panorama platform
[23:01] and students in grades three through 12
[23:06] reflect on a several question,
[23:08] several questions in six topic areas.
[23:11] And then that day that is collected
[23:13] and it's called the social emotional learning survey.
[23:15] So it was piloted last spring
[23:18] and then has been administered three times this year, fall,
[23:22] winter, and spring.
[23:25] The topics in
[23:28] that survey, what before that?
[23:31] Panorama and most
[23:34] Articles That I've read define social emotional
[23:37] learning as the mindset skills, attitudes
[23:40] and feelings that help students succeed in school career
[23:43] and life of these skills
[23:45] and beliefs include a wide array
[23:46] of topics including growth mindset, relationships
[23:50] with adults, and a sense of belonging at school.
[23:55] So the the six topics that students in grades three
[23:59] through 12 respond to are emotion regulation,
[24:04] school climate, school safety, social awareness
[24:10] and supportive relationships
[24:12] and self-efficacy.
[24:18] Self-efficacy was chosen
[24:21] as a targeted goal across the district
[24:25] because the favorable responses to students who
[24:30] felt this is the definition of self-efficacy,
[24:33] confident in their own ability to grasp
[24:37] and work through challenging material.
[24:40] So that's kind of a broad definition of of self-efficacy,
[24:44] the confidence in their own ability to learn, to retain
[24:48] and to persevere through challenges
[24:53] In the self-efficacy category, there are one
[24:56] to five questions the students are asked to respond to
[25:01] how sure are you that you can
[25:03] complete all the schoolwork that is given to you?
[25:06] How sure are you that you will remember
[25:08] what you learned in your current classes next year?
[25:13] How sure are you that you can learn all the subjects
[25:15] taught in your classes?
[25:18] How sure are you that you can do the hardest
[25:20] schoolwork that is given to you?
[25:22] And then when complicated ideas are discussed in class,
[25:26] how sure are you that you can understand that?
[25:31] So those, so those are the questions.
[25:35] The goal for self-efficacy says that by next June
[25:39] 55% of students
[25:41] will report high self-efficacy on the SEL survey.
[25:47] And the way the data is gathered is
[25:49] that those better percentage would be students
[25:51] who responded favorably.
[25:54] Yeah, I think I can do these things
[25:57] either totally or somewhat.
[25:58] There are two categories or favorable response
[26:05] and so in grades three through five
[26:11] this year across the year,
[26:15] those students who are 35% of the students
[26:19] who responded favorably in the fall, they expressed
[26:22] that degree of confidence across those questions.
[26:26] Happy to report that this spring that that had increased
[26:30] to 43% of students responding favorably.
[26:34] That's really significant, statistically significant
[26:39] and that puts us as a district at the 20th percentile
[26:44] when we're compared to, compared to all
[26:47] of the schools in panorama's national data set.
[26:54] So then the goal of
[27:00] increasing to 55% of the students responding
[27:05] with confidence about their ability to learn
[27:07] and retain it seemed like a, a really reasonable target.
[27:13] That's the grades three through five data,
[27:16] grades six through 12.
[27:18] The students are asked the same
[27:20] questions, questions don't vary.
[27:23] At grade six through 12 in the fall, the
[27:29] percent percentage of favorable responses was 36%
[27:35] and in the spring it was 35%.
[27:41] That puts us below the 10th percent percentile when we're
[27:45] compared to a database national.
[27:52] So grades six through 12 have got a bit more of a stretch
[27:57] to get up to that 55% target than grades three through five.
[28:02] So I don't know if the principals would like to
[28:05] share anything about the strategies that you've done
[28:08] that you're going to do and all of that.
[28:10] That's the end of my presentation. Thank you.
[28:17] Okay, we move on.
[28:26] So we shared some of through the question, you heard some
[28:30] of our school-based strategies,
[28:32] but are there any here that we haven't talked about
[28:34] that folks you'd like to share a little bit more about
[28:38] for the safe and healthy schools?
[28:41] Yes. So at Spalding we're really doing a lot to
[28:46] raise up school voice
[28:47] and involved in that
[28:51] that will help make school place they wanna be
[28:55] and feel comfortable
[28:56] and feel safe taking risks, academic risks.
[29:01] So we're using both our student council up for Spaulding,
[29:04] the Sharks Group to
[29:07] and some of our clubs to help increase
[29:10] that involvement and engagement.
[29:12] So we're really working
[29:14] to help coordinate those groups to work together.
[29:17] We're also just met today with Sherry Scho Schoenberg from
[29:23] the Best Institute so that we can bring in some of the
[29:28] same structures that PBIS uses in younger grades.
[29:33] And
[29:43] Yeah, so in the alternative space, we're doing a lot
[29:47] of the similar things that the high school is doing.
[29:49] We generally try to copy what they're doing
[29:52] to create alignment between see
[29:55] and what is happening at Bing High School.
[29:56] We also have been experimenting
[29:59] and seeing a lot of success with interdisciplinary learning
[30:02] and in terms of increasing student self-efficacy in
[30:05] understanding core content areas as they relate to areas
[30:10] of interest and preferred activities.
[30:12] So we also have a very strong clinical team
[30:15] that has been fantastic and reaching out to families
[30:19] and providing those wraparound services
[30:21] that Eric spoke about earlier.
[30:23] And in an effort to try
[30:24] and get students to school more often
[30:29] At Berry City, we started this year really focusing on our
[30:34] TA and middle school and morning meetings
[30:36] and aligning some of those strategies which really aligns
[30:41] with PDIS
[30:42] and developmental design that we've been implementing.
[30:45] And we're looking to do a more official PD with teachers
[30:49] because especially with the development design,
[30:52] we haven't had that training for about 10 years.
[30:57] So some of our staff have turned over
[30:59] and don't have that foundational stuff.
[31:03] And we have really been pushing hard this spring
[31:06] with the PBIS work
[31:08] and bringing in those practices, which again
[31:11] had been in place and then have waned
[31:14] as staffing changes that happened.
[31:17] Our school counselors had a major turnover in staffing
[31:23] school counselor this past year
[31:25] and so we've been working all year with them about
[31:29] SEL curriculum that they will be implementing next year
[31:33] and being pushed into classrooms.
[31:36] So those are our major focus areas.
[31:40] I would echo a lot of what Brenda said at Marytown Middle
[31:44] along with trying to find some grant money hopefully to kind
[31:47] of double down on our developmental design,
[31:49] which is a framework that will help keep things consistent
[31:52] across all grade levels.
[31:53] Consistent language, consistent expectations.
[31:57] We also kind of did, we also doubled down on some clubs
[32:01] and activities for our younger middle grade students.
[32:05] They were, the clubs and activities
[32:06] after school were pretty heavy
[32:07] toward the seventh and eighth grade.
[32:09] We had some that we have included in the last few years
[32:11] that we're specifically targeting
[32:14] and sixth graders trying
[32:15] to get them more involved in afterschool pieces,
[32:18] getting them hooked up with your book and student council
[32:20] and things a little bit early so
[32:22] that they can continue those things on all
[32:24] four years when they're there.
[32:26] And we also are connecting some of those
[32:31] exemplars of what we're looking for in SEL
[32:35] to something we already do, which is grade level town halls.
[32:39] It is character building each month with an identified
[32:43] character characteristic that we are using
[32:47] for all grades five through eight
[32:49] that is completely built on through our TA and stuff.
[32:54] And at the elementary school,
[32:55] very town this year we implemented a program that we run
[32:59] through all four assemblies.
[33:01] We have a fourth grade leadership team that has lunch
[33:04] with me on Fridays and they plan and run the assemblies.
[33:07] And then we have a school recognition system where teachers
[33:11] or other staff nominate kids for meeting those
[33:14] different pillars of character they're called
[33:17] and they wear badges on the backpack to show
[33:19] that they're carrying or responsible or those things.
[33:21] They take positive notes home about it.
[33:25] And then I think the other thing I would highlight is
[33:27] that we have been working also
[33:29] with Washington County this year specifically
[33:31] with a school-based clinician through Project AWARE also.
[33:36] And that has been so helpful for us in building lots
[33:40] of interventions for students
[33:41] who needed extra practice in lagging skills.
[33:44] Just one example is Respecters Academy, that's for students
[33:47] who struggle consistently with respectful communication
[33:50] with other children or with adults.
[33:53] They get to practice the skill, do playing, all of that kind
[33:56] of stuff for a chance to build skills.
[34:05] Now we're gonna move on to our academic goals.
[34:14] Okay, so this is districtwide
[34:18] that we're talking about in both of these.
[34:22] Our first one, academic proficiency, talking about math
[34:26] and ELA in the CIP by June, 2027,
[34:31] we have 80% of students needing
[34:33] or exceeding proficiency on Renaissance Star Math.
[34:37] 80% is not a random number choice, 80%
[34:42] generally denotes the number.
[34:43] That means that your tier one system is working effectively.
[34:48] So what kids receive when they're in their general classroom
[34:52] space with the understanding that in a,
[34:54] in most classrooms roughly 20% of kids are going
[34:57] to need some additional support to meet those goals.
[35:01] We wanna see though about 80% of kids being able to get it
[35:05] with the first instruction.
[35:06] So that's the goal there.
[35:08] 80% probably sounds really high,
[35:11] but last time I saw you I said we were gonna meet 60%
[35:14] and then we did by the winter.
[35:17] And so this has been a year of big growth for us.
[35:19] People feel really excited about having big goals,
[35:24] I think across the district
[35:25] and also in celebrating their progress.
[35:30] Also we have it noted here
[35:31] that this is again the restar 360 assessments administered
[35:35] three times per year across all schools.
[35:38] We're still in the middle of our spring testing right now.
[35:40] We've completed most of our reading,
[35:43] we've completed our early literacy
[35:45] and we are working on math.
[35:47] Anything else you wanna add to that slide?
[35:49] Okay, we can move on the next one,
[35:54] this is district five early literacy.
[35:57] So this is grades K through three
[36:01] and we again have a goal of 80% of students.
[36:04] This one is by June, 2028.
[36:07] And this is also linked
[36:09] to act 1 39 Vermont's new early literacy legislation.
[36:13] So this, for this testing metric, we also mail letters home
[36:18] for children who are not meeting the standard.
[36:20] Families are required to be notified
[36:22] and also the school lets you know
[36:24] what the standard essentially to support your student.
[36:27] This one we use start early literacy as that indicator
[36:31] for ACT 1 39.
[36:32] But we follow up with any student
[36:34] who isn't needing a benchmark with diagnostic tests
[36:37] to figure out specifically what skill they need
[36:39] to be working on to move them forward.
[36:41] And then we provide small group instruction
[36:43] or intervention in that skill.
[36:46] This one is super exciting.
[36:48] Can I say this Spring data, since this one's done
[36:51] just from January to May, we have moved from 60%
[36:55] to 68% across the district.
[36:58] I think linked to our extensive professional development
[37:02] in this area this year.
[37:04] So this one feels very achievable to me
[37:07] and to a lot of our teachers of younger folks
[37:10] who have been working so hard
[37:12] at implementing new curriculum really well
[37:14] and up being creative in their
[37:16] classrooms and their teaching.
[37:17] Just to add onto that,
[37:18] because we could start three times a year, we are able
[37:21] to look at growth across the year.
[37:23] And so from fall to spring, 70% of our K
[37:27] through our early literacy students, so our K one
[37:30] and Stu K one and two students, 70% of our K one
[37:34] and two students showed at
[37:36] or above typical growth in their
[37:40] early literacy skills from fall from the start
[37:43] of the school year to the spring.
[37:44] So that is really exciting.
[37:49] Now that we've introduced those goals,
[37:51] we'll share a little bit about our district wide
[37:54] and our school based strategies.
[38:15] Okay, sec,
[38:22] one thing that I think is really, really important actually
[38:24] to move the needle on all
[38:25] of these academic goals have been our investments in our PD
[38:30] for all of our teachers.
[38:33] The excitement that Jan was just talking, talking about
[38:35] with our early literacy actually
[38:39] gets talked about in other places.
[38:41] So when we, when that data is talked about
[38:43] and that excitement and that PD
[38:45] where it's paying off in dividends for our students
[38:48] are our teachers
[38:49] who are teaching at higher levels are already excited,
[38:52] whether they're to get those students and so,
[38:56] and their teachers feel that that trust in them
[38:59] and that we are investing in their growth so
[39:03] that they can invest and be there for our students
[39:05] and that we can have the,
[39:07] the most qualified teachers teaching at year one, which is
[39:10] what we know is the most impactful thing for all
[39:13] of our students across all breaks.
[39:16] I think that that is my favorite investment
[39:18] that we are making there for all of our students
[39:21] because it's, it also ensures equity
[39:23] for every single student that walks through our doors.
[39:27] I would add on and highlight our work
[39:31] around professional learning communities
[39:33] and collaborative teams.
[39:34] This has been a very different set
[39:36] of conversations this year with people knowing exactly
[39:40] where their students are regularly looking at different
[39:43] assessment information to tell us is
[39:45] what we're doing effective, do we need to change it?
[39:48] It's really shifting the conversation to a place
[39:51] of curiosity and improvement.
[39:54] I also was so excited
[39:56] and I highlighted this in my weekly email to staff this week
[39:58] that so many of the meetings were starting
[40:01] to wrap up like they do at the end of the year
[40:02] and people are really ready for a break.
[40:04] But instead, three
[40:05] of these teams this week jumped right into like,
[40:07] well we have time, let's talk about next year.
[40:09] Like let's go. We don't wanna, you know, lose any time.
[40:12] And I'll like, okay, I'll keep the candy bolt bowl.
[40:17] But it's a huge really difference in positive culture
[40:21] around teaching and it's so exciting to see.
[40:24] And I think another exciting piece is the branch out
[40:26] to vertical alignment
[40:28] because we just kind of started to tap that from middle
[40:31] to high school level
[40:33] and there's a lot of excitement for our educators
[40:36] and talking about that too
[40:37] and really identifying specific skills that kids need
[40:41] to have to walk in the door and be ready to go
[40:44] and hit the ground and be successful.
[40:46] And that is just exciting work that we have ahead of us.
[40:49] I think, and I'll piggyback on what Shannon
[40:52] and Erica were saying is really this year the amount of work
[40:56] that's gone into the proficiency scale alignment
[40:59] has really clarified or stack specifically the targets.
[41:04] Targets and everybody's all on the same page.
[41:07] And I think that's been a district effort
[41:10] that has really propelled us for this year.
[41:18] Thank you all. Okay.
[41:19] And our last goal is a 90 specific goal.
[41:25] Yes, at the high school and Etsy
[41:28] because at
[41:34] making sure that every student who graduates
[41:36] through Spalding has a plan for their future,
[41:40] whether it be college, whether it be work, whether it be
[41:44] additional training, but to know
[41:46] before they they graduate, what they're interested in, how
[41:50] to get there and hopefully it had a taste of
[41:53] what that means to them.
[41:55] So whether that be through credentialing,
[41:57] through work-based learning, through Google enrollment,
[42:01] through some of our early college options, internships
[42:06] and, and many of the other options that we have,
[42:10] our goal is that everyone has a plan
[42:13] and that starts with our freshmen
[42:14] with their first four year plan
[42:16] and then from there continue talking with their advisors,
[42:21] their school counselors to look at opportunities.
[42:25] And so that's, that's where we're headed.
[42:28] And so we'll start this next year
[42:30] with our freshmen having more of a formalized PLP
[42:36] to add to each year next.
[42:43] And then just to wrap up just a little glimpse into the
[42:46] future of where do we go next?
[42:48] So next year we will continue our progress monitoring
[42:51] of our CID plans, which will include monitoring, reflecting,
[42:55] and adapting as needed.
[42:57] And so as we do this,
[42:59] we'll look at this at consistent checkpoints three times a
[43:03] year that align with our academic assessments,
[43:05] our benchmark assessments that you've heard about as well
[43:08] as our SEL surveys
[43:10] and specific attendance checkpoints that are aligned
[43:13] with those dates as well.
[43:15] We're gonna be looking at a couple things.
[43:17] So we're gonna be looking at areas
[43:19] that we've highly implemented that have high impact.
[43:22] So where are there successes
[43:23] that we can scale to other areas.
[43:25] We're also gonna look at areas that we've really focused on
[43:28] with high implementation,
[43:29] but that we are seeing a low impact
[43:31] and using tools like the five y worksheet to really get
[43:34] to the root cause as to what may be causing not the impact,
[43:38] the level of impact that we hope for or we anticipated.
[43:43] To give you back off of something Shannon said,
[43:46] it's important that we celebrate our
[43:49] successes throughout this.
[43:50] These are rigorous goals
[43:52] and there's a lot of collective work ahead of us
[43:54] and so it's gonna be really important
[43:55] that we celebrate our steps towards achieving these goals.
[44:00] Second to that, we'll obviously spend a lot of time
[44:03] focusing on those areas that maybe are not going
[44:05] as we planned the low impact areas,
[44:07] but also being intentional about looking at
[44:10] where things are working, our strengths
[44:12] or our successes so that we can learn from those
[44:14] and scale them to the other areas
[44:16] that might not be responding in the way that we hoped.
[44:21] And then last, this involves collective leadership both
[44:23] as an administrative team across the district
[44:26] and within our school-based leadership teams.
[44:28] And we have a lot of exciting models in place to support us
[44:31] with that and support each other in,
[44:34] in reaching all of our goals.
[44:38] Thank you. Questions from the board?
[44:44] It's not so much a question, it's actually more
[44:46] of a shout out for the early literacy aids.
[44:50] So I am a first grader right now.
[44:52] So when she started the school year, the excitement,
[44:56] whenever the scholastic book fair was for the toys
[44:58] or the posters or whatever, now she cannot get enough
[45:03] of chapter books like just can't get enough.
[45:05] Like when I go to put her in bed, she has
[45:06] to have a chapter book with her in some kind of light.
[45:09] So I just have to throw kudos up to the work
[45:14] that's being done on there because I am seeing the results
[45:17] of that hard work every single day at my home.
[45:20] Thank you. Lindsay.
[45:25] Are there alternative assessments
[45:28] for the Renaissance star testing?
[45:34] We provide all assessment accommodations, access
[45:40] to make those as accessible as possible
[45:44] on nuanced situations.
[45:47] We, you know, we work to make it as accessible for students
[45:52] so that all students can can access it,
[45:55] but it is a standard, it is like a cri,
[45:58] a nationally normed assessment.
[46:01] It is also adapted so there's only so many modifications
[46:06] that are made that can be made to it.
[46:08] But it is an adapted assessment, meaning that
[46:11] as a student answers the first couple questions,
[46:13] it responds me.
[46:15] So it either it can up the level
[46:18] or it can lower the level
[46:21] based on the student's responses.
[46:25] Is there anything, any you want to add?
[46:29] Some pretty common general accommodations about it.
[46:31] Like the kids listen to the direction,
[46:34] like the younger kids, it's not assumed
[46:36] that they can read it or anything like that.
[46:38] So there are some good built in pieces to the early ones.
[46:40] In particular the graphics are very clear,
[46:43] it's on a white background, so I like a lot
[46:46] of the accessibility features about it.
[46:49] Okay. Because of the state testing
[46:57] now there's an alternative assessment of that.
[47:00] Right. So is this sort of like similar,
[47:06] The alternative assessment through the state, the MSAA,
[47:09] there are some pretty like tight
[47:14] qualifications or boundaries for students
[47:16] to qualify for those assessments.
[47:20] And so the REN star does not have, if we're,
[47:24] if we're looking at kind of VT cap
[47:26] and then the MSAA alternative,
[47:29] the renter assessment does not have something like that.
[47:32] So do do some kids like
[47:34] that would need an alternative assessment then don't
[47:37] participate in the renaissance.
[47:42] We have kids that don't, yeah, not too often,
[47:44] but generally like their special educator might have a
[47:48] different assessment that's measuring their progress on IEP
[47:51] goals or you know, some other way
[47:53] to get out the information.
[47:54] Yeah, these kids did have ips. Yeah. Yeah.
[47:57] And then there's always like,
[47:58] this is why we follow up with diagnostics too.
[48:00] Like the rest are only gives you so much information
[48:03] and it's great for data reporting purposes.
[48:06] Not always like as a classroom teacher you're kinda like,
[48:09] okay, that information usually it's like, yeah, I thought
[48:13] so when you see the results, so for like what can I do
[48:16] with the student next?
[48:17] Usually a different or tailored thing
[48:19] that you can decide at the classroom
[48:20] and special educator level.
[48:23] So I'm wonder if using literacy coaches as part
[48:27] of professional development.
[48:29] Yes. So at all the schools
[48:32] and friends with, no,
[48:34] at the high school they don't have a literacy coach.
[48:37] What is Maya? She's an, she's an instructional coach,
[48:41] so she's a more general classroom support model,
[48:44] but it's not specifically around any that area.
[48:49] Her background is strong in ELA
[48:52] and we do have like we do have a K eight
[48:55] ELA instructional coach
[48:57] and the instructional coaching team collaborates
[49:00] very closely together.
[49:01] So Andrea and Mayo do partner on things
[49:06] and Andrea is very, our,
[49:08] our instructional coach is very highly qualified.
[49:10] So we're extremely lucky to have her
[49:12] and she has a lot of experience in some
[49:15] of the professional development, specifically letters
[49:17] that we brought into the district.
[49:19] So she is a great resource to really facilitate that bridge
[49:23] to practice of taking the learning
[49:25] and implementing it in the classrooms.
[49:28] Thank you. This is so great to hear.
[49:33] Thank you so much. I feel like we're ending the year in a
[49:37] moving in the right direction.
[49:38] We set really high goals
[49:40] with our continuous improvement plan
[49:43] and we're meeting them, so looking at
[49:46] that 80% number feels really achievable.
[49:50] I really appreciate all that, all the things
[49:52] that we've been talking about, collaboration,
[49:55] district-wide alignment, investment in our staff
[49:59] and our professionals.
[50:01] It's really wonderful to see
[50:03] that this hard work is paying off
[50:05] and I really appreciate that
[50:06] and celebrate this with all of you.
[50:08] It feels really good. Thank you.
[50:11] And I'm just wondering, sorry Karen,
[50:16] and I'm just wondering
[50:19] the next step from the board perspective of
[50:22] how we communicate this information to the public, right?
[50:26] Because this is really, it can seem, there's a lot
[50:29] of numbers, it's a little overwhelming.
[50:31] There's not a lot of people here to digest this with us.
[50:34] So what are the next steps to spread this information out?
[50:38] Are we writing a letter to the paper?
[50:41] Are we putting this or sending a letter home to parents?
[50:44] Like what, how should we celebrate this
[50:46] with the rest of our communities?
[50:48] Well the paper is on the meeting tonight, so we're hoping
[50:52] that we will get some good press from that.
[50:54] And then what does go home to parents, Amanda,
[50:57] how do we report progress to our parents?
[51:00] So we have our student newsletter,
[51:04] we have our district newsletter
[51:07] and so that's one meme means we also have our website
[51:11] and our, the curriculum
[51:13] and instruction page on our website
[51:15] that we're working on beefing up.
[51:19] And so I think we have those avenues in place,
[51:22] but I really appreciate you bringing that up
[51:23] and I think that is an important point for us
[51:25] to consider about how we can be more effective in,
[51:28] in communicating this out in yeah,
[51:32] the most like effective ways
[51:33] or the most used ways by by parents in this week.
[51:38] Yeah. What's the best way
[51:39] to keep celebrating us when you know?
[51:42] Thank you
[51:43] Derek.
[51:44] So you should have gone after me.
[51:46] I was going, this is more of a notice
[51:50] and kind of a question every time we see this data
[51:54] and we look at the age group,
[51:55] so I don't know when the most important time to learn
[51:59] reading to learn math is,
[52:02] but always in the back of my mind is some of these kids went
[52:05] through COVID and lost a year.
[52:08] Did they lose that year?
[52:10] Because when you look at I, I mean the, the first scale
[52:13] with like the confidence, it looked like scale,
[52:16] it's worse in the older kids is that
[52:19] because they lost learning and had to catch up
[52:22] and they're less confident because it was so much at once
[52:25] and COVID was such a huge impact on these
[52:29] pathways and on these things.
[52:31] And I think it speaks to Emily's point, it speaks
[52:33] to the skill and the structure
[52:36] that look at the younger kids.
[52:38] They didn't have co they didn't have any COVID exposure
[52:41] as far as learning and they're coming into the system
[52:45] and they're exceeding goals like right off the bat.
[52:48] So that speaks to something
[52:49] and I think it also speaks to how we,
[52:52] we don't spend enough time with the loss of learning
[52:56] that happened with that pandemic
[52:58] and how much of an uphill battle all of you
[53:00] and all of these professionals have had.
[53:03] And again, I mean this is great data to have
[53:07] and I really wanna highlight that you've done a great job
[53:12] and this system is working and we keep doing it.
[53:16] So thank you Jeff.
[53:20] And I think to build off of that momentum,
[53:25] we do recognize that adults create the, the conditions
[53:28] that students experience every day.
[53:31] So to celebrate what we're doing
[53:33] and continue to have the conversation about how to embolden,
[53:36] how to build on hearing about
[53:39] professional learning communities
[53:42] and have a direct relationship to the growth
[53:46] that's observable of student outcomes is wonderful.
[53:51] Let's continue to share these successes with each other
[53:54] so we can continue to build them across all of our schools.
[53:59] The conversation continues of course
[54:01] because the, these are great
[54:02] that we're working toward our goals
[54:05] of a continuous improvement,
[54:07] but there's still a lot of work to do.
[54:09] We all know that and I think the success will continue
[54:13] to be honored as we keep building in systems
[54:17] to support the ones that are already working.
[54:20] Thank y'all. Lindsey, does the
[54:26] documented plan for graduating seniors, does
[54:29] that include transition plans for those?
[54:32] Yes sir. And the Renaissance star sports,
[54:37] are those sent home to parents?
[54:41] They are sent home K through three in alignment
[54:44] with Act 1 39 in
[54:49] our upper grades four through nine.
[54:51] I think some teachers send them home,
[54:53] some have them accessible if parents would like to see them,
[54:58] Supposed to know that their kids been doing testing.
[55:01] Yeah, I was actually just having that conversation
[55:05] and it's on our agenda for our faculty meeting tomorrow
[55:07] to talk about the best way to make sure that all
[55:11] of our parents have that too.
[55:12] Once you get into the middle levels,
[55:15] everything is also departmentalized by subject area.
[55:19] So your child's TA might not be their math teacher.
[55:23] So we're trying to look at a, a couple of different ways
[55:26] of opening communication in that, in exactly
[55:29] that vein that you're talking about.
[55:31] And I think everybody's really ready to have
[55:33] that conversation to move forward
[55:34] because it's not something that
[55:37] I think people think about the fact that, oh great, we like,
[55:40] we wouldn't think necessarily to send
[55:42] that home even if their teacher is communicating about
[55:44] something like, your child is gonna have this intervention
[55:47] time with this, this professional.
[55:49] You know, we say that piece
[55:50] but we don't necessarily send it home.
[55:51] That's something that actually
[55:53] we're talking about literally.
[55:55] So thanks for bringing that up.
[56:02] Alright, I wanna thank you all
[56:05] for taking the time on this beautiful spring evening to be
[56:09] with us to share our successes that we're having
[56:12] as a district, our growth.
[56:14] It's really encouraging
[56:16] and I hope you all know that, you know, you have
[56:20] so many challenges we've faced the last few years in Barry
[56:24] and it's so appreciated the work you do, even though
[56:28] those obstacles can seem really difficult some days,
[56:32] these are the type of presentations that at least for me,
[56:36] leave here with a smile on my face knowing that
[56:39] we're getting, that we are doing
[56:40] that, excuse me, doing better.
[56:42] And that my next thought is how do we
[56:46] as a board meet your standards?
[56:47] How do we support you to achieve your goals for next year?
[56:51] So that's, that's what's gonna be on my mind
[56:54] and thank you. Thank
[56:55] You.
[56:56] Thanks. You leading our goal.
[56:59] I think we would like to recognize all the staff
[57:01] and how much work they fits this
[57:03] and also all the kids, they've been working really hard too.
[57:05] That's,
[57:07] Thank you so much.
[57:10] Thank you. Thank You'll now have Evelyn,
[57:16] thank you for waiting so patiently we are
[57:19] student representative update.
[57:22] I'm Evelyn Callant,
[57:23] I'm the student body vice president at Spalding High School.
[57:27] And as the year wraps up, we're doing some fun things
[57:31] to kind of boost morale as we're ending our school year.
[57:34] This week we have sort of in Olympic games
[57:38] that students were, could sign up for in teams at four
[57:41] and we had a really fun time during our kind
[57:44] of like free period, our study hall to
[57:48] have a little fun obstacle course that's this week.
[57:53] And then we have a bunch of musical performances.
[57:56] Our end of year band and chorus concert was tonight.
[58:00] And then we have some modern band appearances on June 10th.
[58:05] There'll be a at Courier park at the sort of food truck
[58:10] and music event they have there.
[58:14] And then we also have a benefit concert on Friday, June 12th
[58:20] that we would love for you to attend all entries by donation
[58:24] and it, the funds go to our local chapter of
[58:30] the Make-A-Wish Foundation and it's called Code for Cure.
[58:34] We have of course our, our band
[58:37] and then a local student
[58:39] and then Native Tongue is also attending that.
[58:42] So those are the events we're working on. But
[58:53] Wasn't there the first annual,
[58:56] it was the first annual contest at
[58:58] Spalding T-shirt.
[59:02] T-shirt design contest, t-shirt design.
[59:04] Is that what I saw it?
[59:06] You mean the T-shirt design?
[59:07] Yes, that's, you haven't announced.
[59:13] We'll stay tuned to That. Stay tuned.
[59:16] Thank you Evelyn.
[59:18] We will now move on to 4.2 portrait of a learner graduate
[59:24] and I'll turn it over to Superintendent Union.
[59:26] Thank you. So as you know, you had a strategic plan
[59:31] that expired and we've been through two years
[59:38] void of an updated plan.
[59:40] And so this is my suggestion for your consideration that
[59:44] in the, with the previous plan you developed some areas
[59:48] that were really important goal areas,
[59:51] but the new way of looking at this is by imagining
[59:54] what a learner should look like
[59:56] as they're walking across the stage.
[59:59] Some people call it a portrait of a learner,
[1:00:01] some call it a portrait of a graduate.
[1:00:03] But I think the process is really important
[1:00:05] because we want to create what are the transferable skills?
[1:00:10] What do you want kids to know
[1:00:11] and be able to do as they take those skills, knowledge
[1:00:15] and dispositions onto life.
[1:00:17] And so I think this is a great opportunity to rein,
[1:00:21] reintroduce this concept.
[1:00:24] I did provide a, a couple
[1:00:25] of examples in the packet that I sent you.
[1:00:28] It goes beyond setting goals for academic purposes.
[1:00:31] It really looks at the whole student
[1:00:32] and how you wanna develop that student going into life.
[1:00:38] Some school districts develop a design plan, a design team
[1:00:43] that takes the responsibility
[1:00:44] of setting up the stakeholder meetings
[1:00:48] and creating an agenda for anywhere from six months
[1:00:51] to a full school year.
[1:00:54] Taking a look at what are those skills,
[1:00:57] knowledge, and disposition.
[1:00:59] So I think this, this is a great opportunity for this board
[1:01:02] as you're welcoming a new superintendent
[1:01:04] to be thinking about embarking on a pro project like this.
[1:01:08] And you do not have to make a motion tonight,
[1:01:11] but I wanted to introduce the concept
[1:01:13] because from here you would develop your strategic goals.
[1:01:18] What is it that you wanna accomplish over a three
[1:01:20] to five year period?
[1:01:22] And then hold yourselves accountable for that.
[1:01:25] I think this conversation was a missing feast in the budget
[1:01:28] building over the past two years because we used the old
[1:01:30] plan and we referenced it.
[1:01:32] But things change, right?
[1:01:33] Education changes, student needs change.
[1:01:36] And I think this would be a great opportunity
[1:01:38] of community engagement so that you are working
[1:01:43] alongside face-to-face with your community members,
[1:01:45] with students, with parents, with administrators,
[1:01:48] and developing this process.
[1:01:50] So it's just for your information for conversation purposes.
[1:01:54] And I'm hoping that in the next phase of your work with
[1:01:59] new leaders that you can accomplish that
[1:02:03] throughout next year.
[1:02:06] Emily, you and I attended a training that BSBA put on.
[1:02:11] Would you add anything to what I said?
[1:02:14] Yeah, I That was the The retreat, right?
[1:02:18] The board retreat, yes.
[1:02:20] The VSBA conference
[1:02:24] where we talked about the keynote speaker, right,
[1:02:27] was talking about how the board sets the vision
[1:02:31] and mission for the school and what that looks like.
[1:02:34] And one of the tools that we can use
[1:02:36] to create foundational documents is this, this concept
[1:02:40] of a portrait of a learner, a portrait of a graduate, right?
[1:02:44] And how we can really start to build a concrete kind
[1:02:49] of a legacy, a document, right,
[1:02:50] that can follow our students into the world.
[1:02:55] And it will, it will help us inform our strategic plan
[1:02:58] and kind of set the vision for the next few years,
[1:03:01] which is gonna be really important
[1:03:02] as we move into this ED transformation bill.
[1:03:08] So I think that this is a great, great work for us to do.
[1:03:14] Oftentimes we get caught up in our budget cycle,
[1:03:18] so it feels like we're not able to really dig into some
[1:03:21] of this higher level board work, which we are at a level
[1:03:25] of being able to accomplish.
[1:03:27] So I think that this would represent a huge step forward
[1:03:30] for us as a board
[1:03:34] and maybe we should put it on our
[1:03:37] board retreat agenda.
[1:03:39] I think that would be appropriate
[1:03:40] with our new superintendent
[1:03:46] To talk to talk about.
[1:03:49] I, I also really like the idea of
[1:03:55] bringing the community in to this.
[1:03:58] And this is a really, this is a community led process
[1:04:02] where it's not just the board setting the goals, it's,
[1:04:05] it's from our community.
[1:04:07] I think that's a really important piece.
[1:04:08] So however we structure it, I think
[1:04:11] that the community stakeholder, the design thing,
[1:04:14] I would be in favor of that.
[1:04:21] Lindsay, we need to pick a date.
[1:04:27] Yeah, let's, I, I want to check with our new superintendent.
[1:04:32] I don't know when she's available
[1:04:33] before we commit, commit to a date,
[1:04:36] but I agree that we need to pick a date as soon as we can
[1:04:39] so we can reserve the place.
[1:04:44] There are some wonderful resources on the AOE website for
[1:04:48] designing the portrait of a graduate
[1:04:51] and it that involve both the board who,
[1:04:54] the schools and the community.
[1:04:57] So as you plan that, those resources to help.
[1:05:02] Great. Thank you. Other thoughts
[1:05:07] or comments for
[1:05:08] this? Emily?
[1:05:13] Do we need a motion to move this to our board
[1:05:16] Retreat agenda?
[1:05:22] I don't think we need a motion,
[1:05:25] but I have a note here that that should go on.
[1:05:29] Ian. Yeah. I'm willing to raise a motion to
[1:05:35] start the process on this
[1:05:36] and put it on the agenda for our retreat when we have one.
[1:05:40] I don't think we need a a retreat,
[1:05:41] but I'm hearing, am I hearing, is there consensus?
[1:05:43] I guess I should ask that this should be something we
[1:05:46] discuss at a retreat, Jeff.
[1:05:50] Yeah, I just like developing the portrait of a graduate.
[1:05:55] I think it originated from like the state
[1:05:57] of New York a number of years ago.
[1:06:00] Like it, it is an effective model.
[1:06:01] Like it's really a good reframing of like how we
[1:06:05] can see a lot of our work translated into students
[1:06:07] and their end goal.
[1:06:09] But I mean it really is about the systems
[1:06:11] and investments in the adult actions that go to support
[1:06:15] and like help those students get there.
[1:06:17] So yeah, like you are like,
[1:06:19] do we have thoughts and questions about this?
[1:06:21] I'm like, yes, lots of them.
[1:06:22] But I think making,
[1:06:24] making time at the retreat makes a lot of sense.
[1:06:26] But yeah, I'm looking forward to that conversation.
[1:06:29] Yeah, fair points. Any other comments?
[1:06:38] I, we will move on to our consent agenda,
[1:06:44] which includes meeting minutes for
[1:06:49] our special meeting on May 4th,
[1:06:51] our regular meeting on May 4th,
[1:06:53] our special meeting on May 7th, warrant approvals
[1:06:56] for May 7th, May 14th and May 21st.
[1:07:01] New hires
[1:07:03] and resignations Joan, which it cover
[1:07:06] new hires so we'd love to.
[1:07:09] So first on the list, we are hiring a new school nurse
[1:07:12] for Berry City School.
[1:07:14] Sadie comes to us with over 10 years
[1:07:16] of experience as a school nurse.
[1:07:18] She's well connected to our community
[1:07:20] as her own child will be attending Spalding next year.
[1:07:24] It's very exciting, we're thrilled to welcome her.
[1:07:26] Her dedication and connection
[1:07:28] to the community will be a tremendous asset
[1:07:30] to our students and families.
[1:07:32] Next on the list is Kaitlyn MacGyver,
[1:07:36] Berry Town grade three teacher Katie Stone
[1:07:39] as paraeducator in Berry Town
[1:07:41] and moved to be a long-term substitute coverage
[1:07:44] for fourth grade math for the last few months.
[1:07:47] She worked for Waterbury Day Camp as an assistant director
[1:07:50] for first to third graders
[1:07:52] and then Lotus Lake senior counselor
[1:07:55] for six and seven year olds.
[1:07:56] And we, we have been working with Katie for the past
[1:07:59] little bit and she's very enthusiastic
[1:08:02] and very excited about this position.
[1:08:04] Next is Catherine Field from Barry Town, grade six teacher
[1:08:08] Katie pronounced like Katie,
[1:08:11] a highly recommended new teacher joining
[1:08:13] us from Connecticut.
[1:08:14] Katie has a deep passion for teaching both math and science
[1:08:18] and was touted as a gifted math teacher
[1:08:21] during the reference check process.
[1:08:24] Next is Amanda Morris.
[1:08:26] She will be the next one
[1:08:28] of the assistant directors of special services.
[1:08:30] Amanda joins us with over 25 years of experience
[1:08:34] as a special educator, as a district instructional coach.
[1:08:38] She actually worked at U 32 for a while
[1:08:41] and is a licensed principal
[1:08:42] with a deep breath background in Vermont,
[1:08:44] special Education law and language arts.
[1:08:47] Excited to have her come back to Vermont and
[1:08:50] and to be working in Barry.
[1:08:51] And then last but not least, John Stanley,
[1:08:54] the other assistant director of special services, comes
[1:08:57] to us with over 22 years of experience in K 12 education,
[1:09:02] including service as an assistant principal.
[1:09:04] And he has extensive leadership
[1:09:06] and special education specifically with a focus on behavior.
[1:09:11] So that is my recommendation this evening. Thank you.
[1:09:14] Is there a motion
[1:09:17] to approve the consent agenda as presented?
[1:09:21] Moved by Juliana. Seconded by Jeff.
[1:09:23] Discussion. Emily
[1:09:28] Just had a question about the minutes
[1:09:30] from the special meeting.
[1:09:34] There were some highlighted parts
[1:09:40] and I wondered if that, were we waiting
[1:09:43] for information to be
[1:09:44] Confirmed?
[1:09:45] It, it is. Emily, we,
[1:09:46] that was the night we had difficulty with our owl.
[1:09:49] Okay. So we have a plan
[1:09:54] to, to,
[1:09:56] To let in.
[1:09:57] Okay. Thank you Lindsey.
[1:10:02] So should we hold off on approving
[1:10:04] them until it gets filled in?
[1:10:06] It's up to you a good idea. Probably. Yeah.
[1:10:10] And I have a question about the
[1:10:20] Yes.
[1:10:21] Third MacGyver Mac. MacGyver. MacGyver. Correct.
[1:10:27] So it seems like it was a multi-age.
[1:10:32] That's not gonna be a anymore.
[1:10:35] We don't have any multi H classrooms. We have
[1:10:39] One four.
[1:10:41] That might be, we're not swapping third graders
[1:10:43] anymore for ELA and math.
[1:10:45] They'll be with one consistent teacher all day next year.
[1:10:50] Okay. Experience
[1:10:55] In fourth grade.
[1:10:56] Next year she'll teach third grade.
[1:11:01] Okay. Because I was looking at the teacher
[1:11:03] that she was replacing, she was staying,
[1:11:06] but it's like she's gonna be fourth grade.
[1:11:08] Yeah, we had Some and she was the third, fourth grade.
[1:11:13] Regarding the incomplete minutes, do we wanna poll those
[1:11:18] from the That would be the, the,
[1:11:20] the special meeting minutes on May 4th, 2026.
[1:11:24] I'd be fine too. Is that okay
[1:11:25] with the motion and the secondary?
[1:11:28] Yes. But we didn't cover
[1:11:36] four solution.
[1:11:40] Did you add that consent?
[1:11:43] I did state it. Okay. But that's fine. Okay. Yeah.
[1:11:50] So are we pulling? Yes. No, it's fine. Okay.
[1:11:52] If you included it in, so the motion would be
[1:11:55] to approve the consent agenda.
[1:12:00] Everything here except this,
[1:12:02] the May 4th special meeting minutes.
[1:12:06] All those in favor say aye. A opposed Right.
[1:12:11] The motion passes. Moving on to 6.1. Building reports.
[1:12:16] Those were available in your packet.
[1:12:18] Are there any questions from board members
[1:12:21] regarding these reports?
[1:12:26] Just a comment. Is that the empty bowl stuff looked great.
[1:12:30] It was a great event. Yeah. Yeah.
[1:12:35] Anybody win the raffle this year? Oh people, not me.
[1:12:40] Garrett. Could I just do an addition
[1:12:42] that I actually think is, would be an addition for all
[1:12:46] of our district music leaders, our district music teachers.
[1:12:50] We are in basically from April to June.
[1:12:53] It is performance after performance after performance.
[1:12:57] We had an amazing middle school concert for grades five
[1:13:00] and six last week.
[1:13:02] This week is seven and eight.
[1:13:05] I know that there is something happening at the high school
[1:13:07] tonight, but there're the marching band performances
[1:13:10] for our town And just a, an a gigantic thank you
[1:13:14] and appreciation for those teachers.
[1:13:17] They spark a certain kind of passion for our, our students
[1:13:21] and we hope that it carries 'em through.
[1:13:22] And they put a lot of hours into that
[1:13:25] and they show up for our families and our kids night
[1:13:28] after night, we only have so much space
[1:13:30] so we can't have one gigantic concert.
[1:13:31] We have to break it up and we don't have
[1:13:34] air conditioning in those spaces.
[1:13:35] So it is warm. So just a big thank you across our entire
[1:13:38] district for our music teachers.
[1:13:40] It doesn't get said enough. So I just wanna take the
[1:13:42] opportunity and get out and see a concert if we can.
[1:13:44] They're amazing.
[1:13:47] Thank you Lindsey.
[1:13:50] I went to my son's spring recorder concert.
[1:13:53] Oh it's exciting.
[1:13:56] And they didn't fly through blind mice like I did.
[1:14:06] Alright. Any else? Alright.
[1:14:11] All right. Moving on to current business 7.1
[1:14:16] budget revoke.
[1:14:19] Sure. So there's some information in your briefing memo
[1:14:23] concerning the process
[1:14:25] that we will follow when we borrow money.
[1:14:29] The bank is working on it now, as I mentioned in my report.
[1:14:33] And when an arrangement is made with a particular bank,
[1:14:37] then the board can affirm
[1:14:39] that borrowing in office when you meet on in July,
[1:14:45] it would be great if the board can provide administration
[1:14:49] with feedback tonight.
[1:14:51] Obviously these are just some streams of thought
[1:14:54] that I had in term.
[1:14:55] I'm making the assumption
[1:14:56] that you're gonna wanna see some level of reductions
[1:15:00] as we end the school year.
[1:15:02] Things are changing all of the time.
[1:15:04] So some of the changes have to do
[1:15:06] with whether we should fill positions that ha
[1:15:10] that are not filled at the moment.
[1:15:11] Should we hold on to some of that
[1:15:13] and to what degree should we do so?
[1:15:16] So one of the ideas that I had is that Berry City,
[1:15:19] it was recommended that we not our,
[1:15:22] our science teachers moving on Barry town.
[1:15:24] And so we were thinking about not filling that position
[1:15:27] because when you actually look at the number
[1:15:29] of electives in Berry Town
[1:15:30] and Berry City, Berry City has more this particular class
[1:15:35] that's not offered in Berry Town.
[1:15:37] So that seems to be from an equity lens, a good suggestion.
[1:15:42] We had a special educator who was coaching
[1:15:45] provisional level, are new special education teachers.
[1:15:49] She's moved into a special education role
[1:15:52] because she misses working with kids.
[1:15:54] And we're seeing less provisionals.
[1:15:56] We are seeing more teachers with experience.
[1:16:01] So that level of support can be
[1:16:03] provided with the assistant
[1:16:05] directors working in the schools.
[1:16:07] And so we're suggesting that that position not be filled.
[1:16:10] And then last but not least, we have an elementary position
[1:16:13] that we have been advertising for
[1:16:16] and we have not been able to find really good candidates.
[1:16:20] And we are heading to the summer
[1:16:21] where it's getting more difficult to fill.
[1:16:24] So the class size will be a little bit larger
[1:16:28] and it's still within the class size policy.
[1:16:31] And so the recommendation is we not fill
[1:16:33] that position for next year.
[1:16:35] Now keep in mind we may have to fill
[1:16:38] that position next year.
[1:16:40] The fact that we are reducing classroom teachers
[1:16:43] or the recommendations for this year, I don't know
[1:16:46] what the class size is going to be next year.
[1:16:48] So we can't make the assumption going forward
[1:16:51] that that would be the case.
[1:16:53] You could see that we received a new, a new number
[1:16:57] for the yield, which is positive for us.
[1:16:59] It does impact positively on the tax rate.
[1:17:03] Taking a look at the proposed reductions, you can see
[1:17:06] that our per pupil cost will go down
[1:17:09] and will have a both a positive impact on the tax rate in
[1:17:13] both the city and the town.
[1:17:15] And then there's some conversation that you need
[1:17:17] to have about taking that a step further
[1:17:19] and using any of the tax stabilization money.
[1:17:21] But these were just some options
[1:17:23] that I thought maybe you wanna talk about.
[1:17:25] And if you wanna provide administration with any guidance
[1:17:29] at this point, you won't be adopting a budget
[1:17:31] likely until August.
[1:17:33] So you have plenty of time.
[1:17:35] But this is for your conversation this evening.
[1:17:39] I also have some information in here about a grant writer.
[1:17:41] Some of you were inquiring about that
[1:17:44] and so I'm providing some information about
[1:17:47] what the cost would be.
[1:17:50] I'm not recommending that at this point to be honest
[1:17:52] with you, but that's certainly something you could add
[1:17:55] back to the budget.
[1:17:58] Somebody asked the question about whether we would qualify
[1:18:00] for a 21 C grant and the answer to that is no.
[1:18:03] Because if you currently get the money, you can continue
[1:18:07] to get the money, but they're not opening that up
[1:18:10] to any new school districts.
[1:18:12] 21 C is an afterschool
[1:18:16] and sometimes summer school program for students.
[1:18:20] It can have an academic portion to it,
[1:18:22] but the other portion to this grant is that's used often
[1:18:27] for, for childcare after school for parents that work.
[1:18:34] Do we know when in August we need to approve a budget by?
[1:18:39] You will have to approve the budget
[1:18:40] by the second week in August to give a 30 day
[1:18:46] warning for the budget vote,
[1:18:49] which will occur on September 15.
[1:18:52] Sam, it seems
[1:18:53] to be potentially a grant writer could really reduce
[1:18:55] pressure on the budget and relevant the investment.
[1:19:02] Who else at I saw we'll go around Jackie.
[1:19:07] I, speaking of grant writer, I want you
[1:19:09] to thank you for putting that in.
[1:19:10] 'cause that's what we actually
[1:19:11] discussed in the finance meetings.
[1:19:13] So it's nice to see some numbers whether
[1:19:15] we move on it or not.
[1:19:17] And I think it just helps to put things in perspective.
[1:19:20] I had a question about,
[1:19:25] so under the conversation there was the numbers
[1:19:27] one, two, and three.
[1:19:29] So number one was just increasing the yield
[1:19:31] and the effect on current number two, increased yield
[1:19:35] and decrease by three 90.
[1:19:37] Is that the total with the teachers not being added in? Yes.
[1:19:40] Or is that three 90 that that is represented
[1:19:42] by the reductions up above.
[1:19:44] And then the next one is, and we would likely have
[1:19:46] to add to those reductions.
[1:19:48] 'cause I, I don't have firm numbers on
[1:19:49] what those positions would add up to.
[1:19:51] Okay. But I'm, I was guesstimating. Yeah.
[1:19:55] And then the last one includes 200. Okay. Correct.
[1:19:57] Thank you. Yes.
[1:20:05] Are we capturing the savings from the open positions?
[1:20:12] These would, yes. This is, these are the open positions.
[1:20:15] Now there are other open positions,
[1:20:17] but most of them are on special ed
[1:20:18] and we can't consider those open.
[1:20:20] Yeah, we have to fill those and just
[1:20:25] 'cause we're gonna have a new, one of the
[1:20:30] assistant special ed directors.
[1:20:33] Is that the title? They're gonna be new. They will be new.
[1:20:37] No, they're not, they're not new positions.
[1:20:39] They will be new people to the jobs. No, no.
[1:20:41] He, he's gonna be new to the job. Yes.
[1:20:45] In that, for him to take on sort of mentoring those
[1:20:49] with like the provisional licenses.
[1:20:51] How many do we have with provisional licenses? Lindsay?
[1:20:54] I don't have that number but I
[1:20:55] could find out and let you know.
[1:20:56] I'm just wondering if that's, I know that the, it has,
[1:21:00] there are less teachers that we're hiring with provisional.
[1:21:03] I mean, just listen to what I was saying tonight, right?
[1:21:04] Yeah. 22 years of experience.
[1:21:06] So we are finally seeing qualified individuals apply
[1:21:10] for this, for these specialized jobs, which is good news.
[1:21:15] And the teachers who were on provisionals are no longer on
[1:21:18] because they have licenses now.
[1:21:20] So the need for mentorship has reduced,
[1:21:23] I mean, is it a good thing to have?
[1:21:25] Yes. Is it a required thing to have? No, it's not required.
[1:21:28] And so we believe that the support that the staff may need,
[1:21:32] the less staff can be provided by the assistant directors
[1:21:36] because of their level of knowledge of the law.
[1:21:38] Both of them have over 20 years of experience. Okay.
[1:21:42] I was just a little concerned.
[1:21:44] 'cause he's gonna be new to Vermont
[1:21:46] and he lives in New Hampshire.
[1:21:48] He, he's he'll be fine. I'll transfer car.
[1:21:55] Thanks. I So these three positions
[1:21:59] that we're talking about are currently unfilled,
[1:22:02] correct's no one in these jobs right now Right.
[1:22:04] That are losing their jobs.
[1:22:05] We're just saying we're not gonna hire
[1:22:07] for these anymore. Right.
[1:22:09] I will say the 0.3 is a reduction.
[1:22:12] And that individual was already notified.
[1:22:15] The support staff. The 0.3,
[1:22:16] The support staff.
[1:22:18] And what about our new administrative position?
[1:22:22] Have there been any candidates there? Is that still
[1:22:25] Unfilled?
[1:22:26] Which position? Which one is
[1:22:27] Our director of finance and safety?
[1:22:29] Oh, we, we we're gonna talk about that later. Yes.
[1:22:32] Okay. I,
[1:22:37] I don't wanna cut any more classroom teachers,
[1:22:39] but if we, if we can't fill these positions
[1:22:43] and we are in a place where we have to make cuts,
[1:22:47] then I guess this is what we're looking at.
[1:22:49] Right? Trying to keep people's jobs.
[1:22:52] And I think that we need to
[1:22:57] talk about using more tax stabilization money than $200,000.
[1:23:03] If, if the people who are voting are really motivated by
[1:23:07] that tax rate, then we need to really listen to that.
[1:23:10] And it's great that the yield increased like that.
[1:23:15] That's a way that our tax rate would've gone down.
[1:23:18] Even if our first budget had passed
[1:23:19] and we had done nothing else,
[1:23:21] the tax rate still would've gone down.
[1:23:25] But it's really hard to look at this, the funding formula,
[1:23:29] the current funding formula, right?
[1:23:30] Where one community's tax rates are increasing
[1:23:35] and that another community's tax rates are
[1:23:38] decreasing significantly.
[1:23:40] So that there's an imbalance there
[1:23:43] still when we're working within this funding formula,
[1:23:49] I don't think we can
[1:23:51] support adding a grant writer to our budget.
[1:23:54] Sadly. I, I agree with Sam that
[1:23:59] the benefit, it would benefit us,
[1:24:03] but I don't see how we can start adding
[1:24:06] positions into our budget right now.
[1:24:09] Thank you.
[1:24:11] Who else? Jeff?
[1:24:16] I mean re respectfully Superintendent Canning
[1:24:20] not filling those three positions
[1:24:25] is not equitable.
[1:24:27] I, you said the,
[1:24:30] the science position it wasn't well attended.
[1:24:34] Is that No, the science posi, the individual
[1:24:39] that was in the eco position at Berry Town moved
[1:24:42] to a open position in, I'm sorry,
[1:24:45] the eco position in Berry City moved
[1:24:48] to an open position in Berry Town.
[1:24:51] That eco position is an extra elective than
[1:24:54] what we offer at Berry Town.
[1:24:56] So with the lens of equity in the types of things,
[1:25:00] experiences that we offer kids
[1:25:02] and the number of electives, I felt confident that that,
[1:25:06] and that was actually a recommendation
[1:25:08] of the principal, not myself.
[1:25:14] If we don't fill those positions,
[1:25:16] we will never add them back.
[1:25:19] I would rather see an assistant principal
[1:25:22] or administrative staff do double duty like teachers
[1:25:25] and special educators
[1:25:26] and para educators are all asked to do often
[1:25:30] rather than not fill positions for money's sake.
[1:25:34] Those, those teachers that will not be filled are the people
[1:25:38] who see students all day every day.
[1:25:41] And I would say that getting creative
[1:25:44] around administration costs would be smart,
[1:25:50] especially for the morale of staff that are working
[1:25:53] with students all day every day.
[1:25:56] And also with the feedback
[1:25:57] that I heard from community members
[1:25:59] around administration costs not being talked about enough
[1:26:04] and how other folks on this board had said they heard
[1:26:09] different community members share.
[1:26:11] A similar thing with adding the administration
[1:26:17] position director of, you know, finance safety,
[1:26:21] which has a very high price tag compared
[1:26:25] to a classroom teacher.
[1:26:27] I just, I wish we could have been a little more
[1:26:29] creative around that.
[1:26:33] And yeah, those are some of my thoughts.
[1:26:38] Catherine, has the assessment in the city
[1:26:43] been, was that complete?
[1:26:45] Oh yes. All sorts of people about this.
[1:26:49] We all got it in the mail. That's all done.
[1:26:52] So there's no more numbers to wait for from,
[1:26:54] from the city on?
[1:26:56] I don't, Christina is on if you want her
[1:26:58] to answer Christina Kim.
[1:27:00] Oh that would be great. Yeah. Yeah.
[1:27:01] Christina, did you hear the question?
[1:27:05] I'm sorry, could you repeat it?
[1:27:08] Do we have the definitive numbers for the city
[1:27:14] with as regards to the reassessment, is that all complete?
[1:27:18] A hundred percent.
[1:27:20] From my understanding, everybody's been sent notices,
[1:27:24] but I haven't seen
[1:27:26] or heard anything about like the total grand list.
[1:27:32] Yep. So look like if a process of grievance
[1:27:37] or anything happens, is
[1:27:39] that gonna change anything at this point or no?
[1:27:41] Well I just heard in the grocery store near hours
[1:27:44] before coming here, was that someone
[1:27:48] that there's opportunities to speak with the assessors for
[1:27:51] four days, but I didn't, didn't sound like
[1:27:55] there would be any changes.
[1:27:59] Sound more like quick 15 minute calls that explain
[1:28:03] what was going on.
[1:28:05] Okay, great. Thank you.
[1:28:08] Did did you have anything there?
[1:28:11] There will be hearings offered.
[1:28:14] Every property owner will get an opportunity if they would
[1:28:18] like to, to schedule a meeting with the assessors.
[1:28:21] There also be a grievance period individually
[1:28:25] where individual property owners can go
[1:28:27] through their board of abatement.
[1:28:29] I don't, that process could take as long as it takes.
[1:28:33] But that will be for the city, that board of abatement
[1:28:38] to go through
[1:28:43] Jackie.
[1:28:45] So I just wanted a couple things
[1:28:46] I wanted to follow up on that.
[1:28:47] I mean, I'm on the board
[1:28:49] of abatement granted for Berry Town.
[1:28:51] But there is, you can always, always ask for a reassessment.
[1:28:55] You can always fight against your assessment.
[1:28:58] I don't know how successful it is,
[1:29:00] but if you, you look at property cards very often it's
[1:29:03] lowered and yes, that would lower result in taxes
[1:29:05] 'cause it's based on a different value.
[1:29:07] Whether or not that will be in time.
[1:29:09] That's kind of out of our hands.
[1:29:11] So that you could see a bill change.
[1:29:13] You could offer abatement after it's reassessed
[1:29:17] and then abate the difference or not.
[1:29:19] Like there's all sorts of things that go into it
[1:29:21] and it's really, it's an individual property owners thing.
[1:29:26] The second point I hear a lot about the
[1:29:28] administration stuff.
[1:29:29] So I did some rough math.
[1:29:32] So about 78% of this budget, which is I rounded it
[1:29:35] to 57 million, is staff
[1:29:40] like all in wages benefits.
[1:29:43] 9% of that is administration. That is $4 million.
[1:29:48] We could fire every single administrator tomorrow
[1:29:51] and we would still not get flat taxes.
[1:29:54] We would need 8 million to get that.
[1:29:57] And I get it, there's this idea that administration is,
[1:30:00] is heavy, but they just brought kids
[1:30:05] from failing to succeeding with their planning
[1:30:09] and then the hard work of all of the teachers
[1:30:11] and staff that they lead.
[1:30:14] So I would ask this of Joanne, I would ask this
[1:30:16] of Emily Ley, if they're not doing that job,
[1:30:19] they shouldn't be in that position.
[1:30:20] But those positions demand the respect
[1:30:25] and the 9% that they bring in.
[1:30:28] I do not like the, the false narrative
[1:30:31] that it's this one shot one group, one line item
[1:30:36] and I'm, I'm sorry I'm not picking on you Jeff.
[1:30:38] You're not wrong. I'm, I just, it echoed a lot of stuff
[1:30:41] that I've heard and I did the math.
[1:30:42] It's not even halfway. Not even halfway
[1:30:46] to getting a flat budget.
[1:30:47] Like no tax increase. At least not in Berry Town.
[1:30:51] So you know, we can talk about that
[1:30:53] and absolutely hold everyone accountable.
[1:30:56] I wanna keep hearing these again.
[1:30:58] I would tell Emily nicely the same thing.
[1:31:00] I wanna keep hearing these numbers.
[1:31:02] I think the board should hear that from now on.
[1:31:05] But we need talented individuals in every
[1:31:08] single position in the school.
[1:31:11] It's a comment on the eco teacher.
[1:31:13] We do not have an eco teacher at Berry Town.
[1:31:16] My son's teacher was very into it, took them
[1:31:18] outside every single week.
[1:31:19] It's kind of teacher by teacher.
[1:31:22] So we haven't, I don't think we've ever had an ego teacher.
[1:31:25] It's always dependent on
[1:31:28] what the individual teacher wants to do
[1:31:31] or is capable of doing.
[1:31:33] And I would love to have one in Freetown.
[1:31:37] But you know, if it's the difference
[1:31:39] between passing a budget
[1:31:41] and not, then I will just ask
[1:31:43] my teachers to take them outside.
[1:31:46] Because unfortunately with for all my ranting
[1:31:49] and stuff, this isn't really up to us.
[1:31:53] We can hold fast on a lot of things,
[1:31:55] but the community wants a reduction.
[1:32:00] So the model that the teachers in Berry Town went through
[1:32:04] to implement outdoor education is,
[1:32:08] is from Wild branch.
[1:32:10] It's a group that provides the professional development
[1:32:13] and it's intended to implement, be implemented as part
[1:32:18] of a curriculum, not a separate separate class.
[1:32:21] So it was done,
[1:32:23] the implementation was done right in Berry Town.
[1:32:25] They decided in, yeah in Berry
[1:32:28] City to have a separate teacher.
[1:32:29] So it truly is an extra class.
[1:32:32] And I think the professional development that would go
[1:32:35] to all teachers, science, math, English,
[1:32:38] you could integrate the concepts of outdoor education
[1:32:41] through that professional development model
[1:32:44] and I think would be, would be much more
[1:32:46] sustainable going forward.
[1:32:52] I think this is where we have to balance really
[1:32:57] what is best for our kids and
[1:33:01] and the needs of our community.
[1:33:03] And I agree with Jeff, we are just nickel
[1:33:06] and dimming our budget
[1:33:08] and our, what we're offering to our kids.
[1:33:10] I would rather see us be in a position
[1:33:13] where we could create equity
[1:33:14] by saying let's create an eco program at Berry Town.
[1:33:17] Right? So we have two programs instead
[1:33:19] of saying now we have none.
[1:33:20] You know, like that's, I would rather be in that position
[1:33:24] but we're not.
[1:33:26] And we just heard from our administrative team
[1:33:30] who showed us improvement in student outcomes
[1:33:34] and we have to support the administrators as well
[1:33:38] for the hard work that they're doing.
[1:33:41] So this is
[1:33:42] where we're making these really hard decisions, right?
[1:33:44] And if we're talking about are we losing a few
[1:33:48] unfilled positions
[1:33:49] that at this point we we're not sure we can confidently fill
[1:33:53] them before the year starts.
[1:33:56] I think that feels a little bit
[1:33:59] in the direction where we have to be looking.
[1:34:03] Lindsay, I agree with
[1:34:08] what Emily was saying
[1:34:09] and like every count, my son would love
[1:34:12] to have me co-teacher and a greenhouse.
[1:34:15] We have had the career center up there doing some work
[1:34:18] in the garden area.
[1:34:20] Not sure what they were doing, but I don't
[1:34:21] think they're building a greenhouse.
[1:34:23] I was sort of like looking at there.
[1:34:28] Yeah, I don't like
[1:34:33] cutting positions.
[1:34:36] I don't like cutting the elementary school's position
[1:34:39] or the support staff position
[1:34:41] because I know we've already lost support staff,
[1:34:44] which we were in a position to create new staff.
[1:34:48] Like if the new eco position berry town
[1:34:51] or you know, there's no nurse at the seat.
[1:34:56] Which I was kind of
[1:34:57] surprised though.
[1:35:02] I wish we were in a position to talk about that.
[1:35:05] I'm like, I guess I don't know
[1:35:09] what do they wanna see?
[1:35:11] I'm like are you, is this saying that our on the ballot
[1:35:15] language, are we still gonna be at 11.08%?
[1:35:19] Well it depends on which. Yeah. Yeah.
[1:35:21] I mean in the end result. Yeah.
[1:35:23] So it will change if the budget gets changed,
[1:35:26] the yield is not gonna change yet.
[1:35:28] Okay. I'm like, yeah,
[1:35:35] I'm like the only thing I've been able to come up, come up
[1:35:36] with, I'm like, we got transportation.
[1:35:41] I'm like, what do they want from us to pass a budget?
[1:35:45] I'm like, you know,
[1:35:50] I will also add that I have been through line
[1:35:54] by line this budget on multiple times,
[1:35:58] multiple weeks going forward.
[1:35:59] I cannot cut non-personnel costs now.
[1:36:02] I mean I just realized we are putting $400
[1:36:06] of supply money into our elementary classrooms.
[1:36:10] $400 for the year, for the year. It's too much.
[1:36:14] We can't do that. Getting by markers with that.
[1:36:18] So the non-personnel costs have been cut before
[1:36:23] and now the only thing
[1:36:24] that you have are either big programs or people.
[1:36:29] And where are your contracts?
[1:36:31] Because haven't a lot of 'em already,
[1:36:33] haven't they signed contracts for next year?
[1:36:37] Yes. So attrition is the only way at this point.
[1:36:42] So okay, we're
[1:36:47] have some things to think about here.
[1:36:50] No decisions, just food for thought.
[1:36:53] And so I guess my
[1:36:59] next thought would be, I guess just thinking
[1:37:04] about how we wanna proceed moving, moving forward.
[1:37:10] I guess that's to be determined.
[1:37:12] Well and if there's anything else this board would like
[1:37:14] to ask of me going forward,
[1:37:17] we still have a whole month left.
[1:37:20] A lot of work to do. So I'm happy to look into
[1:37:25] an area, consider other options.
[1:37:27] I'm certainly doing some transition work with Emily.
[1:37:31] She, I've shared all the documents with her.
[1:37:35] So she'll hit be able to hit the ground running.
[1:37:37] She starts Juliana, both along those lines we're,
[1:37:41] if we're looking for the second week of August to
[1:37:46] have a budget number, we should probably think about
[1:37:50] meeting times to discuss.
[1:38:01] Doesn't sound like we're getting July off.
[1:38:06] We could wait till the last week in July
[1:38:10] and get somewhat of a little vacation.
[1:38:13] Lindsay. So could we
[1:38:18] ask, like I like to see
[1:38:22] the community participate at this point rather than
[1:38:26] after we've voted on a budget
[1:38:33] and I like the finance committee like they're supposed
[1:38:38] to be doing, there's coming up with ideas
[1:38:41] for community engagement or whatever.
[1:38:44] Right? So could we like
[1:38:48] have them maybe the finance,
[1:38:50] maybe people on finance committee have other ideas
[1:38:52] that those who aren't here today?
[1:38:54] Yeah, about cost savings or something.
[1:38:58] I'm sorry, I am kind of kicking the bucket down the road,
[1:39:00] but I'm just sort of like trying to come up
[1:39:02] 'cause I don't want it to fail again.
[1:39:03] And I'm like, we need the community to be behind the budget.
[1:39:09] So I would like to hear from them
[1:39:12] before rather than just having an informational meeting
[1:39:14] and being like, this is what we're, what we're cutting.
[1:39:18] They haven't liked it. So I'd like them to give us Well,
[1:39:22] and the community is more than just, you know, the handful
[1:39:26] of people that show up to those.
[1:39:28] Yeah, no, but they're the ones that are supposed to come up
[1:39:31] with like a community engagement event
[1:39:35] or ideas, surveys or whatever.
[1:39:38] Yeah. They could go hang out in the park, you know,
[1:39:42] the courier park food trucks are coming or something.
[1:39:45] They could have a booth. I don't know Jackie.
[1:39:50] So I, I mean I like the idea of like gathering,
[1:39:55] whether it's with the food trucks or,
[1:39:59] but we can't, we've learned, we can't really do a town hall.
[1:40:03] I almost like, I'm torn between having
[1:40:06] just additional warned meetings
[1:40:11] and, but like you mentioned,
[1:40:14] the same people show up, which is wonderful.
[1:40:16] Everyone online. So I, I don't know,
[1:40:20] I almost wanna give more opportunities for engagements
[1:40:23] and questioning and you know,
[1:40:26] we can still have the two minutes each
[1:40:28] because they can get questions in
[1:40:30] and if we have enough meetings we can get answers back
[1:40:33] at the next meeting, if not an email.
[1:40:37] So, I mean, I don't know
[1:40:38] that Or we can just leave comment boxes at local businesses.
[1:40:42] I'm just gonna hang out by the veterans statute with a box
[1:40:46] on Fridays, so,
[1:40:50] so please forgive me on this.
[1:40:53] So what I was thinking is, would it be possible
[1:40:56] to set up a meeting for the 15th of June
[1:40:59] for two month two Mondays up?
[1:41:01] Well we have our committee meetings and yeah, that finance.
[1:41:05] Oh that's right. Special meeting. So how about this?
[1:41:08] I think I unfortunately agree that we have
[1:41:12] to have more, yeah.
[1:41:14] More meetings. So how about we
[1:41:20] look at our calendars?
[1:41:21] Yeah. And see where we're at in this last month.
[1:41:24] And let's check with the new superintendent on
[1:41:26] how much time she needs.
[1:41:28] Let's not throw her into the piper pit.
[1:41:30] The first we, we'll wait till week 10.
[1:41:34] So let let,
[1:41:35] but I think we are hearing consensus
[1:41:37] that we need some additional meetings to make sure we have
[1:41:41] a solid budget that we feel the community can get behind.
[1:41:44] And so let's explore that over the coming weeks
[1:41:47] and a second.
[1:41:49] Sure. Would there be any
[1:41:53] potential issue with sending out a communication
[1:41:57] to our parent, to our parent community
[1:42:00] via an email from the school district to let them know
[1:42:04] of the school board meetings?
[1:42:06] Would that run a out?
[1:42:07] So I know that came up with an issue letting them know about
[1:42:09] the vote, but letting 'em know about meetings of, hey,
[1:42:12] we're having a budget meeting.
[1:42:13] We would love to have you to come out and share your voice
[1:42:17] and your opinion
[1:42:20] because it is one group that we haven't seen as many of
[1:42:25] as
[1:42:31] an issue that we could try.
[1:42:32] I mean an issue.
[1:42:34] I mean I don't think the last thing wasn't intended,
[1:42:36] it was legal what we did.
[1:42:38] So I think as long as whatever we do is legal
[1:42:41] and the full board Yeah.
[1:42:43] Agrees to it and votes to it, we can try a lot of, a lot of,
[1:42:47] I'm thinking because we're not trying to get them to show up
[1:42:49] to an election that there would not be any accusations
[1:42:53] of electioneering from that.
[1:42:54] Yeah. I mean I wouldn't be worried about that.
[1:42:56] I'm not worried about worried about what the facts are,
[1:42:59] not what people Exactly.
[1:43:00] You know, but, but yeah,
[1:43:03] we can certainly look into what the facts are, right?
[1:43:05] Yeah. Because I just want to get as many people to come up
[1:43:08] for a meeting if we can.
[1:43:10] Yeah. So could we take it on at finance?
[1:43:15] Yeah. And kind of run through this
[1:43:16] and also maybe have a motion to instruct Joanne to send
[1:43:20] that out via remind an infinite campus like we're having
[1:43:23] this meeting, here's the link
[1:43:25] and it's a round table, you continue into whatever.
[1:43:28] Would that make sense? Because that's the 15th.
[1:43:31] I mean it gives them time. Well, let's have a meeting.
[1:43:32] Let's think about it. Right?
[1:43:35] Unless people, unless the board really wants, let's,
[1:43:38] I'm just trying to catch 'em while school's in session.
[1:43:40] Yeah. And the 15th is right
[1:43:43] before is like the last week Sam
[1:43:48] and we we're meeting, I don't think that be, I don't think
[1:43:52] that will work particularly well.
[1:43:53] Parents are tired. Kids are tired.
[1:43:56] And we made a really great push I think
[1:43:58] for the last, for the last budget.
[1:44:01] And there's only gonna be a small percentage of people
[1:44:05] who are possibly interested.
[1:44:06] I mean, they want their kids to have a greater education
[1:44:08] because they wanna come to a meeting,
[1:44:10] doesn't mean they wanna look in the budget.
[1:44:12] So I don't think, I don't think at this point
[1:44:16] that would be the right push.
[1:44:17] But you know, after maybe, maybe mid-summer, maybe July,
[1:44:22] August, I know we have a short time
[1:44:25] and remember there are a lot of activities going on
[1:44:27] between now and the end of the year with concerts
[1:44:30] and sporting events.
[1:44:32] I mean, I am not trying to discourage you,
[1:44:34] I'm just saying we'd have to, we'd have to
[1:44:36] look at the calendar to see what's, what's going on.
[1:44:41] Yeah. I'm like, I just know usually my calendar gets really
[1:44:44] full like that last two weeks of school things pop up
[1:44:48] and I feel like a crazy person.
[1:44:50] So I'm, another meeting would be difficult,
[1:44:54] but I'm just was thinking like, not having like
[1:44:59] a quorum of people showing up.
[1:45:00] But it would be like if we could have representation,
[1:45:05] you know, like do each other
[1:45:08] and be like, Hey, I'm going, you know, if we,
[1:45:11] if somebody can make it some, we can make an effort
[1:45:14] to get out in the community
[1:45:15] and talk to people about things, good ideas, whatever.
[1:45:19] I'm like, I know we can't get 'em together,
[1:45:21] but I'm like, I,
[1:45:23] an outdoor meeting maybe I'm like, I don't know.
[1:45:26] We get in courier part.
[1:45:30] You know, Emily,
[1:45:35] I think that we have done a lot
[1:45:37] of hard work about our next budget reboot.
[1:45:40] We've set some good priorities for the superintendent,
[1:45:42] which are being communicated to our incoming superintendent.
[1:45:46] And I would be inclined to follow the model
[1:45:49] that we did in 2014, right?
[1:45:52] Where we, at this point, we're waiting
[1:45:54] for our new superintendent to come in
[1:45:56] and make some decisions for us.
[1:45:58] And I'm sure that she has some ideas.
[1:46:01] So, so maybe the best thing to do is wait
[1:46:04] until we have our new superintendent and see what direction
[1:46:09] Going forward looks like.
[1:46:17] I would second that. And I agree with
[1:46:19] what Sam was saying about the end of the year
[1:46:21] and I think the community looks
[1:46:26] to us to, to be their representatives.
[1:46:30] And I think one of the best things that you can get as,
[1:46:34] as positive was what, like what Ian said about his
[1:46:37] child coming home and reading and being excited about it.
[1:46:40] Having those interactions with people.
[1:46:45] Actually talking with people and hearing from the community
[1:46:48] and then us doing it.
[1:46:49] Because I think, from what I can gather anyway,
[1:46:53] people are tired of being asked what to do.
[1:46:56] It's like decision fatigue.
[1:46:59] They want us to do the work and we've got it
[1:47:03] and we've, we've heard, we know, and,
[1:47:05] and we just, we have to do it.
[1:47:07] And that's, and I agree with Emily too, that
[1:47:10] with the new superintendent coming on, I think we,
[1:47:12] we hit the ground with her and,
[1:47:15] and make a plan and go from there.
[1:47:17] 'cause right now it's just everything is still a little bit
[1:47:20] up in the air and not quite as defined
[1:47:25] as, as we probably want it to be,
[1:47:27] to make a decision to go forward.
[1:47:34] So with that, let's stay tuned
[1:47:40] and thank you all for sharing your
[1:47:41] thoughts with all of this.
[1:47:45] It's a lot.
[1:47:51] Alright, moving on to 7.2
[1:47:56] B-A-U-S-D resolutions for the USBA.
[1:48:01] Why is it alright if I hand it over to you?
[1:48:07] At our last regular meeting, we
[1:48:09] tasked the policy committee with creation of resolutions
[1:48:14] to send to the Vermont School Board Association as part
[1:48:18] of their resolution process
[1:48:19] that helps guide their legislative work.
[1:48:23] This is a way that we can participate
[1:48:26] and put our viewpoint forward and,
[1:48:31] and our voice
[1:48:32] and see if we can be part of a bigger conversation
[1:48:37] that's going to happen next year.
[1:48:40] It's also to get to this point
[1:48:42] to create resolutions as a board.
[1:48:44] It's a really high level of functioning for us
[1:48:47] and I think we should all be really proud
[1:48:49] of that and celebrate it.
[1:48:52] So we have put forward two resolutions
[1:48:55] that we would ask the board to consider approving to send
[1:49:00] to the Vermont School Board Association.
[1:49:02] The deadline for resolution submissions is June 15th.
[1:49:05] So we're looking to send these today.
[1:49:09] Would you like me to read them into record
[1:49:12] and or
[1:49:17] Sure, Sure.
[1:49:18] Okay. So our first resolution is a resolution
[1:49:21] to support economic diversity in public
[1:49:23] school redistricting.
[1:49:25] This is advancing economic equity
[1:49:28] and opportunity, whereas Vermont School children
[1:49:31] and communities with a higher than average poverty rate have
[1:49:34] higher school failure rates.
[1:49:36] And whereas opportunity
[1:49:38] and resources to address school failure are limited
[1:49:41] by the community's capacity to fund public education
[1:49:44] and support services services.
[1:49:47] And whereas public education is the foundational training
[1:49:51] for civic engagement and economic development.
[1:49:55] And whereas economic diversity exposes students
[1:49:59] to a wider range of educational and career options.
[1:50:04] And whereas students with economic disadvantages
[1:50:08] may also have limited travel options
[1:50:11] and limited exposure to more urban resources.
[1:50:14] And whereas it is advantageous for schools
[1:50:17] to combine into larger districts to pull resources,
[1:50:21] share administrative duties
[1:50:23] and direct greater resources to the student,
[1:50:26] therefore be it resolved
[1:50:28] that redistricting plans will include economic diversity
[1:50:31] as a prerequisite for each region or district
[1:50:34] or CESA be it further resolved
[1:50:39] that in addition to economic diversity,
[1:50:42] variation in population density will be required
[1:50:45] for each region or district as possible to ensure access
[1:50:49] to more varied education educational experiences.
[1:50:57] Our second resolution is a resolution
[1:50:59] to support more equitable funding
[1:51:01] for public schools in Vermont, advancing fairness
[1:51:04] and opportunity in Vermont education system.
[1:51:08] Whereas public education is a cornerstone of democracy
[1:51:11] and essential to the social
[1:51:13] and economic wellbeing of Vermont's communities.
[1:51:16] Whereas every child in Vermont deserves access
[1:51:19] to high quality educational opportunities regardless
[1:51:22] of geographic location, family income, property wealth.
[1:51:27] Whereas current funding mechanisms
[1:51:29] for Vermont's public schools have resulted in disparities
[1:51:32] that affect the quality of education students receive
[1:51:36] and student outcomes be it resolved
[1:51:39] that we call upon state legislatures, local officials
[1:51:42] and community stakeholders to work collaboratively
[1:51:45] to reform public school funding in Vermont
[1:51:48] to ensure a more equitable allocation of resources,
[1:51:52] be it further resolved
[1:51:53] that any funding reforms should prioritize the needs
[1:51:56] of historically underfunded schools,
[1:51:58] address gaps in educational resources,
[1:52:01] and provide adequate, adequate support
[1:52:03] for all students to succeed.
[1:52:06] Be it further resolved that we encourage the consideration
[1:52:09] of alternative funding models, cost containment efforts,
[1:52:12] community input
[1:52:14] and ongoing evaluation to ensure
[1:52:16] that educational equity is realized
[1:52:18] for every student in Vermont.
[1:52:21] You, Emily, is there a motion
[1:52:23] to approve forwarding these resolutions
[1:52:25] to the VSBA resolution Committee for Consideration Motion
[1:52:29] by Ian, seconded
[1:52:30] by Jackie discussion about these resolutions?
[1:52:34] I have a wonder about that was, that was like a lot,
[1:52:39] some really great resolution language in there.
[1:52:45] I was, as I'm listening, I was trying to figure out like
[1:52:49] public school is very much like in a lot of the language,
[1:52:53] but not all of the language.
[1:52:56] And I just wanted to throw it out there that is there,
[1:52:59] because this been, I know what I'm trying to ask.
[1:53:03] It is public school centric to this?
[1:53:06] Every resolution in there
[1:53:07] or there some wiggle room for expansion
[1:53:10] of school choice charters, privacy private schools,
[1:53:14] or is most of our resolution about public education?
[1:53:18] It says public school redistricting awesome
[1:53:23] resolution to support more equitable funding
[1:53:25] for public schools of Germany.
[1:53:27] Sweet. Thank you for that clarification.
[1:53:34] One
[1:53:44] all I guess I'll go to a, a public comment.
[1:53:52] All right. And silence.
[1:53:56] I guess we'll go to a vote, the motion on the tables
[1:53:59] to approve forwarding these two resolutions to the BSBA
[1:54:03] resolution committee for consideration.
[1:54:06] All those in favor say aye. A. Opposed? The motion passes.
[1:54:13] All right, moving on to the second reading
[1:54:17] and adoption of new policy
[1:54:20] C 16 student use of cell phones.
[1:54:24] Is there a motion? So moved.
[1:54:26] Moved by Emily second, seconded by Sam.
[1:54:30] Discussion questions.
[1:54:34] Certainly not over cell phone.
[1:54:40] Just as a reminder, these were model policies
[1:54:44] provided to us by the Vermont School Board Association
[1:54:48] and also follows recent legislative
[1:54:53] recent laws passed by the legislature.
[1:54:55] Sam, I'm delighted to have this policy,
[1:54:58] but do you think it'll be difficult to implement?
[1:55:02] We are already implementing a form of this policy now.
[1:55:05] It's not as restrictive as this one
[1:55:07] and it has been difficult.
[1:55:09] Okay. Thank you. Yep.
[1:55:15] All right. Any further questions
[1:55:17] or discussion from the board?
[1:55:20] Hearing none, we'll go to public comment.
[1:55:24] Are we, are we gonna move to adopt all of these at once
[1:55:27] as usual, or are we going one by one?
[1:55:30] I'm, we're doing seven motions for C 16 right now. Okay.
[1:55:35] Thank you. We got full bucket.
[1:55:40] Okay. Any comment? All right. Hearing none.
[1:55:45] All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed?
[1:55:49] Motion passes on to 7.4.
[1:55:55] Second final reading
[1:55:57] and adoption of local wellness policy C nine.
[1:56:00] Is there a motion? So moved by Jeff,
[1:56:04] seconded by Jackie.
[1:56:07] Discussion of questions from the board.
[1:56:16] Hearing none, we'll turn to public comment.
[1:56:23] Alright, going to a vote. All those in favor say aye. Aye.
[1:56:27] Opposed? Alright. Motion passes.
[1:56:32] Moving on to 7.5, authorized superintendent
[1:56:36] to approve federal and state grants.
[1:56:39] This is an annual authorization
[1:56:41] that a Vermont School Board must explicitly authorize the
[1:56:44] superintendent to approve and accept federal
[1:56:45] and state grants under 16 VSA
[1:56:49] 5 6 3 8.
[1:56:51] The school board retains the ultimate legal authority
[1:56:53] and responsibility to manage district funds,
[1:56:56] but the board is permitted
[1:56:57] to formally delegate the student to the superintendent.
[1:57:00] Is there a motion to authorize the superintendent to approve
[1:57:03] and accept federal and state grants?
[1:57:05] So moved. So moved by Sam, seconded
[1:57:09] by Juliano discussion.
[1:57:14] Public comment. Alright,
[1:57:18] all those in favor say aye.
[1:57:20] Aye. Opposed? Motion passes.
[1:57:26] Okay. Moving on to 7.6.
[1:57:33] Make a motion to approve the contract signing
[1:57:35] of the food service contract.
[1:57:36] Thank you. Motion by Giuliano. Seconded by Ian. Discussion.
[1:57:41] Lindsay, how much is I didn't be,
[1:57:47] it's, the process is not complete, Lindsay.
[1:57:49] It will be complete on JU June 8th.
[1:57:52] And the board has already authorized Garrett to, to
[1:57:56] sign contracts over the summer.
[1:57:58] And since the board is likely not going to be
[1:58:00] until later on, you can reaffirm
[1:58:03] that decision when he meets.
[1:58:05] But the process won't be completed for another week or so.
[1:58:09] So I'm just wondering, so this is just for the summer?
[1:58:12] No, no, it's the, it's the new food service contract
[1:58:15] for the next couple years.
[1:58:16] Oh, I was like, for the summer, I was like for ESY? Yeah.
[1:58:21] Okay. And how about when I sign it, we send it out
[1:58:25] to the full board Sure.
[1:58:27] To review? Yeah.
[1:58:29] Could you let us know how compared to like last year
[1:58:32] or whatever and I No, I
[1:58:37] or Emily can, depending on when that's ready for us.
[1:58:43] Alright. Is there any other discussion from the board?
[1:58:47] Any questions? Alright, public comment.
[1:58:55] Alright, going to a vote. All those in favor say aye.
[1:59:00] Aye. Opposed? All the motion passes.
[1:59:05] 7.7 annual designation of true officers
[1:59:09] and HHB report recipients.
[1:59:13] This is an annual requirement
[1:59:15] to update the superintendent's
[1:59:16] recommendations of assignments.
[1:59:19] We have our state statute
[1:59:20] and the packet explaining the true officers
[1:59:23] and the HHB report recipients is located on the last page
[1:59:26] of policy C 10.
[1:59:29] Is there a motion to accept the superintendent's
[1:59:31] recommendations of assignment for truant officers
[1:59:34] and HHB report recipients?
[1:59:37] So, so moved by Juliano second. No, I have a question. Okay.
[1:59:41] I'll second. Seconded by Jackie.
[1:59:44] Discussion Lindsay, just
[1:59:48] 'cause I'm not, who, what does the policy say?
[1:59:52] It's in here. Oh, which,
[1:59:56] which addendum?
[2:00:00] I didn't see it in the addendum. Sorry.
[2:00:01] It's in the regular package. The regular package.
[2:00:05] It's on the very end. Okay.
[2:00:09] It's under section 7.7.
[2:00:11] It's our policy on the prevention
[2:00:12] of harassment, hazing and bullying.
[2:00:14] So it's the links also.
[2:00:18] I thought I opened the link and there
[2:00:21] was there other questions?
[2:00:22] I had a question while you're looking for that, Lindsay,
[2:00:24] for superintendent canning?
[2:00:26] Yes. Are these designees like pretty standard?
[2:00:29] Like is that like the building principal
[2:00:31] or the building assistant principal?
[2:00:33] Is that pretty standard? So like the next superintendent's
[2:00:35] not gonna be like, why didn't you choose the counselor?
[2:00:37] Why didn't you choose the No, it it,
[2:00:40] it is typically an assistant principal role.
[2:00:42] Okay. And then in the 2K eight schools
[2:00:45] there have been two additional individuals
[2:00:48] who have been trained to do this work.
[2:00:50] Gotcha. And I noticed
[2:00:53] that my email address is Liz did under Emily's name.
[2:00:56] I'll have that changed the other discussion from the board.
[2:01:05] All right. Moving to public comment.
[2:01:13] All right, I'm gonna go to a vote. Oh,
[2:01:15] Can I, oh, can I say something?
[2:01:17] I'm sorry. Oh yeah.
[2:01:19] Hi, I'm, I'm, yeah,
[2:01:22] our HHB coordinator has improved
[2:01:27] my classroom learning.
[2:01:31] I just wanted to say that. Yeah. Thank you.
[2:01:35] Thank you. That's good to know. Yeah,
[2:01:37] Very thankful for that.
[2:01:39] That thanks.
[2:01:41] Awesome. Alright, I'm gonna move to a vote now.
[2:01:45] Lin Lindsay. So you said the last page, I'm sorry,
[2:01:50] but it's Appendix A, no la So it, on
[2:01:56] here it said about the last page,
[2:01:59] HAB report recipients is located on the last page
[2:02:04] of policy C 10, continuing obligation
[2:02:08] to investigate, disseminating, disseminating information,
[2:02:12] training and data reporting, student training,
[2:02:16] staff training, legal references.
[2:02:22] I just don't like, I don't see
[2:02:23] where the de current officer information's on the
[2:02:27] last page of CT a.
[2:02:32] It is, I'm sure it's in there.
[2:02:35] I know it's one of the policies and we do it annually.
[2:02:37] There. It's, thank you Sam.
[2:02:40] Just the link.
[2:02:48] No, so, so on the addendum
[2:02:53] page 23, the last agenda item, it says
[2:02:58] HHB report
[2:03:01] recipients is located on the last page of policy C 10.
[2:03:05] Yep. So it went to policy C 10.
[2:03:09] Yeah, but not the truancy. The HHB. Oh this is C 10.
[2:03:14] Yeah, but it's, it's just the HHB report is located.
[2:03:18] Does it say truant officers has looked that,
[2:03:21] but it does on the 7.7.
[2:03:23] Yeah. Yeah.
[2:03:29] But in the description of, sorry. No.
[2:03:33] So this is the policy C 10 I opened up from the website
[2:03:36] and I just don't see
[2:03:39] what it is saying in our addendum on the last page.
[2:03:42] Okay. So what the addendum says is
[2:03:44] that HHB report recipients is located on the last
[2:03:47] page of policy C 10.
[2:03:48] Above that it says state statute in the packet.
[2:03:51] It doesn't say the true officers,
[2:03:55] but I don't see that it says anything.
[2:03:57] Are you looking at the website? The the C 10? Yes.
[2:04:01] It needs to be updated. Okay.
[2:04:06] All right. I'm gonna go to a vote.
[2:04:08] All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes.
[2:04:16] Alright, if this is ct, our
[2:04:21] next meeting date so far no meeting in July,
[2:04:24] but to be determined.
[2:04:27] Oh right. So our next
[2:04:30] collective individual committee meetings are June 15th
[2:04:34] where we'll meet at Spalding High School.
[2:04:36] But, but I do have a request from the facilities committee
[2:04:40] and that is, we have not acted on the request
[2:04:44] to use the capital reserve funds
[2:04:46] to replace boilers at the high school.
[2:04:49] And so I'm wondering if people will be, would be available
[2:04:52] to meet 15 minutes
[2:04:54] before your committee meetings on that evening.
[2:04:57] 5 45. So the board can take action based on the facilities
[2:05:01] committee recommendation
[2:05:03] and the capital reserve fund that work for everyone.
[2:05:07] Yes. Yeah. Okay. Work for every, that would be perfect.
[2:05:09] It'll be a special meeting and thank you very much. Great.
[2:05:12] Thank you. Sorry. Next we'll have a special meeting
[2:05:15] on Monday, June 15th at 5:45 PM in Spalding High School
[2:05:19] Library, followed by our
[2:05:22] committees, which will be their own.
[2:05:26] Alright. Now can I phone in
[2:05:30] is, what's that?
[2:05:33] Can I phone in? My daughter has pt? Sure. Yeah, of course.
[2:05:40] All right, we will now we're now at executive session.
[2:05:45] Hold on. One,
[2:05:49] is there a motion to make a specific finding
[2:05:54] that premature general public knowledge would clearly place
[2:05:57] the public body or a person involved at a
[2:06:00] substantial So moved.
[2:06:04] Moved by Jackie, who's, sorry. Seconded by Ian. Discussion.
[2:06:11] All those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed?
[2:06:15] Is there a motion to enter executive session
[2:06:20] under Vermont BSA three three?
[2:06:24] Oh boy. A one A regarding contracts
[2:06:27] and inviting the superintendent Joanne can to join us.
[2:06:32] So moved. Moved by Sam. Okay. Seconded by Jackie.
[2:06:35] Discussion? All those in favor say aye. Aye.
[2:06:40] Opposed? We are now in executive session.
[2:06:44] Well, we need to go to the other
[2:06:45] room 'cause Rob's gonna be here.
[2:06:46] Okay, Lindsay, all those in favor say aye. Aye.
[2:06:51] Opposed? We are adjourned at 8 29. Thanks everyone. Thanks.