[2:59] Welcome to the February 25th uh school
committee meeting. I'd like to call this
[3:04] meeting to order. And would you all
please stand for the pledge of
[3:06] allegiance?
[3:10] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
United States of America and to the
[3:15] republic for which it stands. One nation
under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[3:21] justice for all.
[3:30] The mission of the Danas public schools
is creating a supportive environment
[3:36] where all learners thrive. This meeting
is being broadcast on Danis Community
[3:41] Access Television. Is anyone in the
audience um recording the proceedings?
[3:50] » And in anticipation that I will forget
later, our next meeting is March 9.
[3:58] Tonight's meeting is focused on our
budget. Um but outside of that, is there
[4:03] anyone in the audience that's looking
for public comment?
[4:22] Is this on? Yeah,
>> it is.
[4:24] » Hi everyone. Uh good evening. I'm I'm
happy that we're all back after extended
[4:29] holiday uh or extended vacation. Um and
I am just following up on the community
[4:35] letter that I just had a chance to send
you right before this meeting. So I
[4:38] understand if you haven't had a chance
to take a look at it. Um but encourage
[4:42] you to in the next few days to take a
look at um especially the comments that
[4:47] we got from parents on the impact that
special education has had for their
[4:53] families, for their child's education.
Um it was very uh moving to read
[4:59] comments about um special education
being one of the reasons that their
[5:04] child's attending college um or that
their child's now speaking words. um and
[5:10] you know how their child's now on track
to um higher education where they
[5:15] weren't before in part because of the
services they received. Um I always like
[5:20] to tell my own son's story. Um and that
he David's um autistic and dyslexic and
[5:27] we were we did get the option of going
out of district and looked out of
[5:31] district and did not want to go and just
waiting that year. That funding you all
[5:36] put in place, you were able to hire a
Wilson certified teacher at Thorp and he
[5:41] was able to stay and is just thriving.
And I think you know his comments always
[5:45] coming home, I'm dumb. I can't read. I
just look at the pictures. And in the
[5:51] first probably month of school this
year, he came home um and he was like,
[5:54] "Mom, do you know I can read and I'm
really good at it?" And he literally he
[5:58] reads out loud to us now. And it's that
shift, that shift in confidence. That's
[6:04] everything. It's not only a savings in,
you know, an out of district placement,
[6:09] but think of just the mental health
toll. We know students with dyslexia
[6:12] suffer from anxiety, depression at
higher rates than um students without
[6:17] learning disabilities. Having that
confidence is going to be everything for
[6:21] him going forward, allow him to stay in
the system. So, I mean, that staff
[6:26] member is a direct investment from um
those increased funds. So, we hope that
[6:30] you can take a look um at those
comments. They're really touching. Uh we
[6:34] also were able to collect 60 signatures
from the community in support of um you
[6:40] know, continued investments in special
education. I hope um the school
[6:44] committee and the town can figure out a
sustainable, intentional, strategic way
[6:49] um so that these programs are
institutionalized and the funding
[6:54] because we all know, you know, we're all
not going to be here someday, but other
[6:58] people's kids are. And so, you know, we
want to make sure that it's a long-term
[7:02] vision and a long-term funding plan as
well. Um, and I have
[7:09] if anybody needs handouts, I brought
them as well. I'm happy to provide them.
[7:13] » Thank you very much.
>> Do any other
[7:18] um information? Oh, I thought you going
to wait for the budget, but that's okay.
[7:23] Go, please, Mark.
[7:28] I should never assume.
[7:36] Thank you. Uh Mark Zubreck
and I'm a resident of Danvers and uh I
[7:44] do not have any children in the school
department, but I have grandchildren
[7:48] that I could think of.
The reason I stand today before you is
[7:54] because I was watching this meeting
because this is the only public hearing
[8:00] uh regarding the budget
and uh I was watching that since last
[8:06] week and has been delayed what three
times
[8:11] understandably
but I think what you see today is you
[8:16] don't see anybody here from the public
because they're worn out with the storm
[8:23] and I
I expected this meeting to be postponed
[8:29] till next week so it can actually be
discussed with the general public as
[8:35] well. So that's my whole point here. And
the other one is I know you're going to
[8:42] be going through the budget, but I like
I have not seen this before
[8:48] and I am ex I'm anticipating some good
explanation because I think that's what
[8:56] this needs for the general public.
Uh the last thing is that I was told
[9:03] before this meeting
uh began uh is that DAT or Comcast has
[9:11] issues with televising this program as
well. So I already inquired but I'm just
[9:19] looking at it from the standpoint of
general public participation.
[9:24] Thank you very much.
>> Thanks.
[9:30] any uh piece
information of interest for the
[9:34] superintendent.
All right, seeing none, let's move on to
[9:38] new business.
[9:43] » Thank you, chair.
Thank you for all the flexibility.
[9:47] Obviously, this was scheduled for the
first time on Monday and unfortunately
[9:52] with the weather, you know, we postponed
and were able to have it tonight. And
[9:56] fortunately it is being transmitted via
DAT successfully which is important. And
[10:00] just as a further note that we will post
all the documents on a web page as we
[10:05] always do after the year right because
the next step from tonight is to present
[10:09] there the school committee um makes a
decision and votes and then it moves
[10:13] forward to the select board which we
know is March 7th. So the presentation I
[10:18] have is really just kind of a summation
of the work we've been doing. there's
[10:21] been additional work and um first of all
before I begin though I want to
[10:25] recognize uh members of our team that
are here tonight Chris Anderson our
[10:30] assistant superintendent who spent lots
of time and crunching numbers and
[10:34] working with grants and coming up with
creative ideas to save and to be able to
[10:38] move programming forward Pamrum who
spent all last week she did not have a
[10:43] break because she was working uh
feverishly to make the adjustments as we
[10:47] have throughout to bring forth uh we
feel a respons responsible budget that
[10:52] meets the needs of our students.
Christina Ryan, our director of student
[10:55] services, who um has been working all
along, not only not only ensuring that
[11:01] our programming is moving forward, but
also coming up with creative solutions
[11:05] to ensure that our students and families
are all supported as well as our staff.
[11:09] And I also have to recognize our
administrative council who they're not
[11:13] here tonight. I asked them not to come
because they've been a number of
[11:15] meetings. uh but their input and work um
building this budget to where we're at
[11:19] tonight I think deserves recognition on
their part.
[11:23] So just to kind of go through the the
feedback um because this is a whole
[11:28] process right where we had our budget
workshop we had our subcommittee
[11:31] meetings um I think the bottom line is
being able to move forward with
[11:34] specialized programming and we heard
just through public comment and also
[11:39] we've received lots of information in
terms of the success of the programming
[11:43] for all students. uh think outside the
box in terms of when we're faced with
[11:47] the challenging financial situation
which all the units within the town and
[11:51] certainly within the Commonwealth are
prioritizing specialized programming
[11:55] phased in approach if needed. We know
that we have a lots of priorities but we
[11:58] know that we can't do everything at once
and we try to be uh look for priorities
[12:02] and do the best that we can at this time
but I think in red I put up there find
[12:06] non- studententf facing ways to save
money and help with budget offsets. So,
[12:11] what can we find that would be within
our budget that would be um non-facing
[12:16] such as budget lines, such as transport?
What are those areas that we could do to
[12:20] maximize that to keep as many people in
front of our students? And um that's why
[12:25] that's in red because that was a lot of
feedback from the last subcommittee
[12:28] meeting. Um our town goal uh has not
changed obviously is sustaining progress
[12:33] with special education and other
essential programs, but also advancing
[12:37] academic excellence and innovation,
right? and and all that we've discussed
[12:41] over the last few meetings. It's
happening in our schools. Um but we
[12:45] really feel that the specialized
programming is so important to talk
[12:49] about because it's not just special
education. It's not about innovative
[12:53] practices. It's all in one. We have
multiple groups of students and
[12:57] different backgrounds and different
ability levels, but it's really it's up
[13:01] to us to make sure that we meet the
needs of all of our students and support
[13:05] our staff to move that forward. Um so I
think that's important to note, too. So,
[13:09] in this budget, there's a lot of items
that are in the budget. Many of them
[13:13] will be on the asks, but some of these
are reallocations
[13:17] um that we've talked about, which I
think when you look at this list, it's a
[13:21] lot, which I think it is because our
administrative team has done an
[13:24] outstanding job in moving pieces that
fit the needs. For example, we know that
[13:29] the stride and embark programming, the
SOP and the IAS, we know that we've
[13:33] talked about that's the ask. But in
terms of the special educator in the
[13:36] sore programming, that's a reallocation
from one building to the next. Uh in
[13:40] terms of the rise programming, again,
that's a BCBA coming off of contracted
[13:44] services back into our line, which we've
had, and also the secondary teacher
[13:49] moving from one building and the IAS
that we need to staff the program
[13:53] appropriately. So personnel, uh reading
teacher is there, that's just moving off
[13:57] the grant into our budget, which we've
had. Our ELLL teacher, same thing. and
[14:01] the van driver from the savings in our
transportation will save further with
[14:05] auto district transportation. So these
are all things if you get into the
[14:08] administrative needs, the team chair at
the high school is in need. That's the
[14:12] ask. But department chairs, the director
of strategic initiatives, innovation,
[14:15] and pathway directors aren't costing
anything. That's moving pieces within
[14:19] our puzzle to make that happen. Um, and
the curriculum piece, I feel very good
[14:24] about this where our team has worked
very hard to increase or advance
[14:28] placement programming for students
excelling as well as curriculum across
[14:33] all levels. and um a lot of work has
been done to move that into our grant
[14:36] funds. So that's supported and then
being one of the first schools in the
[14:40] area to have an advanced placement
program and diploma uh at the end of
[14:43] next spring I think is impressive. So
we've done all these things and we have
[14:47] some of these are asked but a lot of
these are within our um reallocations.
[14:52] So Christine and team talked a lot about
successes of specialized programming.
[14:56] Um, basically the bottom line it comes
down to, you know, what's the return on
[15:01] investment? And I think it's hard to say
that when you're dealing with humans as
[15:04] we talked about, but ultimately when
you're talking about costs for students
[15:07] going out of district, what can we do to
create programs that keep them in
[15:10] district? Um, so the extended evaluation
referrals are huge because those are
[15:16] ones that the more that we can do in
district, that's money that's not going
[15:21] out of district. And we know when
students go up for the extended
[15:23] evaluations, they probably will go out
of district placement generally
[15:26] speaking. So those numbers are down. If
you look at our overall placement of
[15:30] students without district placements,
that's reduced. Although the tuition
[15:33] costs we know have gone up as everything
else. But at the end of the day, I think
[15:37] we can demonstrate even more detail the
success of our programming, which we're
[15:41] very proud of. Um, and I think that
hearing the anecdotal feedback from
[15:47] families just really makes us feel good
as a as a community for supporting all
[15:51] programming because this supports all of
our programming in our schools.
[15:55] Again, if you look at the actual
placements, the number has gone down.
[15:59] Um, and and that's no that's no small
feat. That's a lot of hard work right
[16:04] there.
When you look at the priorities, when we
[16:08] break it down in terms of our special
education, the specialized programming,
[16:12] we've already gone through this. And
this is also to show that we're using a
[16:15] phased in approach where we know that
many of these items in year two we're
[16:19] asking for. Some are reallocations. We
know there just some things we can't
[16:23] right now is just not the right time
that we know in a year based on our
[16:27] projections that, you know, through some
reallocations we can make that happen.
[16:32] So, I want the committee as well as the
public to know that we're very
[16:35] thoughtful in terms of, you know, there
are a lot of needs to build the
[16:38] programs, but we we've and I think we've
done this all along where we've used the
[16:42] phased in approach, which I think is
important because we are part of the um
[16:47] of of the town budget. We're a
substantial part, but we know that we
[16:51] have to work well for all services for
the betterment of our community.
[16:55] And if you look at our priorities at the
high school, we're trying to reimage
[16:58] this to push rigor and um and outcomes
in a different place and re reimage
[17:04] meaning providing opportunities for all
of our students with pathways so they
[17:09] get real world experience. Right? So we
need people to to do this. The director
[17:14] of strategic initiatives innovation and
pathways director again not asking for
[17:17] new that's reallocation. We need people
to drive this work. um EMT
[17:22] certification, which we're looking
forward for in a year, as well as the
[17:26] early childhood pathway. By the way, if
we receive chapter 74 funding for these
[17:31] specialized programmings, that's money
that we will receive from the state in
[17:34] addition. So, that will that will
actually help support the programming
[17:38] that's coming. Early college, you know,
the early college program is thriving
[17:42] and we're looking to create an
associates pathway um within a year. In
[17:47] terms of the curriculum, again, uh we
offer a lot of advanced placement
[17:51] offerings and we're pushing for more
participation amongst all students. Um
[17:55] and the professional development and
team department chairs that's going to
[17:58] be there. Um and again, a lot of that's
happening because of grant funding and
[18:02] Kristen's hard work to to move things
around and as well as Pam and
[18:06] Christina's work too and and really our
whole team. and the interventions to
[18:10] work to improve students that have need
that may um struggle in school such as
[18:16] an afterchool program that can provide
education but also provide work study
[18:20] opportunities uh as well as an ACE
program to or targeted and we're looking
[18:25] at those that that is actually a small
investment that we're not quite there
[18:28] yet and we're looking to defer that to
hopefully maybe by the end of the year
[18:32] with some uh increased revenue look to
improve that.
[18:36] So when we talk about revenue
possibilities, we know that we have
[18:39] choice and that program I believe has
been successful this year. We we have
[18:43] students in the district. We receive
tuition from other towns. Um and we have
[18:48] the capacity to do so. And honestly
going forward, you know, we know that we
[18:53] have um a meeting next month to talk
about choice again and looking at the
[18:57] amount of seats if we can tuition in
students into our specialized
[19:01] programmings. Again, not to not to
create a a situation where we overload
[19:09] our existing, you know, students and
stuff, but looking at way very sensible
[19:12] ways. All districts are, by the way, are
going this route because it's it's less
[19:17] expensive and oftentimes a better
program for students that might be
[19:20] placed out of district if we use in
district. We have opportunities possibly
[19:23] there by finishing our programs. Um,
user fee increase, we're looking at
[19:27] modest increases. we haven't increased
in over 12 years. So, we understand the
[19:32] the issue with, you know, it's it's a
tight budget for everybody, but we need
[19:36] to be realistic here. And then we're
looking at an early incentive uh
[19:39] retirement program for teachers. I know
that we're working on the final stages
[19:44] of that. And once that is actually going
to move forward, I'll come back with the
[19:48] committee for a final approval to move
forward to see if it's worth our while
[19:52] to offer the early retirement incentive.
That's deferred annuity over time. So we
[19:58] feel that that piece may save us by
those at the top step because we have a
[20:03] high number of teachers in our district
that are at the higher step. Although
[20:08] there's a riskreward with that you have
a lot of talented very experienced but
[20:12] at the other end you know if teachers
retire and they're very close bringing
[20:16] in a teacher the mid way can save money.
So, can we save these deferred funds at
[20:22] this mo at this number? That's possible.
But we have a plan moving forward that
[20:26] if everything falls into place, we would
be in a better place that might allow us
[20:30] to if we were to continue if we had the
funding. Again, not asking the town for
[20:34] more money, but looking for ways to add
that assistant principal team chair at
[20:38] the elementary, right? We've talked at
at great length for that. Um, if we're
[20:42] improve the programming work study and
the ACE program at the high school,
[20:45] right, then that's a small investment.
um the lunch recess monitors which would
[20:50] free up our IAS instructional assistants
that should be working directly with
[20:55] students. Um and again that that is a
way we might be able to fund that
[20:58] outside of our budget a math specialist
and a digital literacy specialist
[21:02] possibly grant funded. So these are
things that we are looking at this if
[21:07] possible without adding to the bottom
line of the town ask. So I think we're
[21:10] trying to be as creative as we can
without putting an additional burden on
[21:13] the town. Um, and we know off off in the
horizon, we know the need for assistant
[21:18] principles at the elementary are
important, but we're just not there yet.
[21:22] Um, so that doesn't mean that the need
isn't real and the priority is not
[21:25] there. It is. Uh, in terms of the school
psychologist, uh, we know that would
[21:29] help our programming, but we can wait
for a year for that at the high school.
[21:33] Um, actually the 0.5 Smith nurse is for
the specialized programming we have
[21:38] there with students with medical needs,
but we we have that, but we're using
[21:42] that right now with substitute money. uh
and digital digital literacy specialists
[21:46] as well as math specialist are things
that you know we'd like to be able to
[21:50] add that may be grant funding over time
but we're not quite there yet.
[21:55] All right. So I want to move into
basically what what are the nuts and
[21:58] bolts. So looking at the obligations,
these are basically the non-negotiables,
[22:04] the responsibilities that we have in
terms of salary, um contractual
[22:08] increases, steps and lanes, and we see
that's almost at 4%. Right? We have the
[22:13] non salary, student services, district
tuitions, transportation, contracted
[22:18] services. We anticipate an increase for
the uh consortium tuition. That's not
[22:24] finalized, but we're trying to prepare
for that. We we've we know that that's
[22:27] more likely going to happen. Um and then
the non- salary others such as
[22:31] curriculum adoptions, our bus contract
is up this year. The AED devices which
[22:36] are were up and expired, but we we need
to move forward and replace them. Vape
[22:41] detection the middle school. So that's
right at an 8.8%. Right? So that's a
[22:45] substantial amount that um we have to
fund these. We're obligated to do that.
[22:52] when you look at offsets now what are
ways that we're able to offset the
[22:57] actual uh obligations I think one of the
areas you know the non- salary reduction
[23:02] we do have an out of district placement
adjustment in our favor um we have a
[23:07] non- salary reduction other so the the
the reason those numbers are in red is
[23:12] because the committee asked us to go
back forth and look for ways we can
[23:16] reduce the budget with non- studententf
facing ways so for example we know that
[23:21] the lease at the middle school for the
one one will expire. We will not renew.
[23:25] We're looking for a way to reconfigure
that with existing devices.
[23:30] We know that the bus fee we're were
proposal at 50,000 over the course um
[23:36] one fewer bus. We're looking to reduce
one bus off there. So those are almost
[23:40] the equivalent of teacher salaries.
Excuse me. Kristen's done an outstanding
[23:46] job again moving the curriculum to title
one which allows that to come out of the
[23:50] operating budget. Um, we're going to
suspend the voluntary professional
[23:54] development that takes place at the end
of the school year and the beginning of
[23:57] the school year. It's very important
that we have this because it offers
[24:01] professional development opportunities
for teachers that are able to attend.
[24:04] But since it's voluntary and we know
that the cost is at least 75,000, we
[24:08] would rather best use that to reduce the
budget and we've already talked with the
[24:12] union and and again they're great in
understanding that. uh the operating
[24:16] line budget reductions. Again, looking
across the different budget lines and
[24:20] and what are areas that we can reduce
without really impacting operations, we
[24:25] were able to find about 100. It was
117,000. So, um, we wanted to show this
[24:31] because if you look at that number, you
know, 500,000, that's several teachers
[24:35] front facing that through our hard work
here, um, we're able to make these moves
[24:42] and certainly save staff, but also allow
us to improve specialized programming.
[24:47] Right. I think the next piece that's
important is that we do have staff
[24:51] reallocations. Um, we have retirements.
We have people that may have left the
[24:56] district that are not going to return.
Um, we have situations where we may have
[25:01] some non-professional staff that we may
need to make moves because of enrollment
[25:05] changes or reorganization. And right now
at this time, you know, we have 10.6
[25:09] FTEEs, unit A, which are teachers. And
that varies across the elementary,
[25:13] middle, and high school.
We have IAS and BTS that are nonprogram,
[25:18] non-specialized that will make
reductions. Um, and that's yet to be
[25:22] determined who these individuals are.
But these are areas that we need to
[25:26] reduce and central office will take a
substantial reduction as well. And
[25:30] that's that that's part of it because
we're all in this and we know that in
[25:34] order to make it work to keep moving our
programming forward, we need to make
[25:38] some some reductions. And we look at
reductions that will not impede the
[25:43] progress of our students and
programming. Right? very strategic, very
[25:46] calculated, never easy, but we need to
make these because we're at a position
[25:51] where um something has to give in in the
budget in order to make our programming
[25:55] and keep building, right? Sal salary
obligation. Uh there's an adjustment
[26:00] there. Um preschool tuition, some of the
increases for the two-year panin that uh
[26:06] came into play. uh stipens for the
middle school and high school curriculum
[26:10] leaders will fall off because we've
developed a department scheme team share
[26:15] model that will not require those
stipens. So you look at that number is
[26:19] pretty substantial in terms of that
reduction. Circuit breaker is another
[26:23] area that quite frankly we're going to
take take more out of that which is
[26:28] reimbursement from the state to offset
special education, tuition and
[26:32] transportation at a larger amount. And
we have to give the town a lot of credit
[26:36] for working with us to allow that number
to go up. And that is important because
[26:41] if that number, you know, you get to a
point where you do have to keep some
[26:45] cushion to make this move for unexpected
expenditures, but it's there to to keep
[26:50] us moving. Um, and when you take that
all together, that offsets our non-
[26:54] salary reductions, student service
obligations. Um, that's a pretty healthy
[26:58] total that we work really hard to offset
the obligations.
[27:02] The thing that we're very happy about is
that we are showing no changes from the
[27:06] budget workshop in terms of improving
our specialized programming by the
[27:11] instructional assistance that we already
have that we want to keep in the budget
[27:14] that were primarily funded through the
EA grant and other funding mechanisms as
[27:19] well as the speech language pathologist
and as well as the team chair at the
[27:22] high school. So that addition goes in.
And when you take a look at the
[27:26] breakdown,
quite frankly, the bottom line is you
[27:30] take the obligations, you subtract the
offsets, the specialized programming
[27:34] additions, and we get to the bottom line
of a 4.05 increase, which um I think
[27:39] through the uh reductions and and
continuing the programming. I'm very
[27:44] proud of the fact that we're at a
position where um we're able to continue
[27:48] improving our special education program
and specialized program and very proud
[27:52] of the fact that the investment that is
being made. We need to continue this.
[27:56] We're at a point where the returns are
showing and we need to fi finalize this
[28:01] to bring further returns not only to
help students and families but we need
[28:05] to look long range financially
because if if we do not continue funding
[28:10] this we can't go backwards because the
cost will continue to go up in tuitions.
[28:15] Even though we can demonstrate that
fewer students are going out and more
[28:18] extended valuations are in those costs
keep going up. So we need to look not
[28:22] just this year but these cost and
changes are are really
[28:27] steps were taken to protect future not
only the the schools but to help the
[28:32] town as well. So the recommended budget
um is a 4.05 increase um and it's 56
[28:40] million151,63.
[28:43] When you take a look at the pie chart
that we accompany, we know that
[28:47] primarily the salaries themselves are
the biggest portion of the school budget
[28:51] and generally most municipal budgets. Um
that is down a little bit. Um our
[28:56] special education and costs are up just
because the increased tuition and
[29:01] increased transportation. The
transportation to and from school we're
[29:04] able to shave off a little bit there,
but really 95
[29:08] 95.9% of our budget is fixed. Um and we
know that the smaller percentage of the
[29:13] 4.1 is curriculum material supplies and
equipment. Um we are a little bit below
[29:17] the per pupil expenditure from the
state. Those are the latest numbers. But
[29:23] when you look at the piece over time,
you know, we have a for I put the
[29:28] 14-year average in excuse me,
[29:33] you know, at a 3.865%
over 14 years. And when you put the
[29:38] 4.05, hopefully my math is correct. you
know, that brings us down to 3.7, which
[29:43] um you know, when you look at time and
all the things that we're doing, all the
[29:46] things that we're asking, again, we're
so appreciative of the town support.
[29:49] We're so appreciative of the effort of
our educators, our administrators, and
[29:53] their students, uh quite frankly. So,
bringing this forward, um I think it's
[29:59] important to note that, you know, the
steps that we're taking is we've done a
[30:02] lot of work on this, and I'm and I
wanted to say thank you to the school
[30:05] committee for the work and support
you're showing. the subcommittee
[30:09] meeting, the school committee meeting,
the workshop, the recommendations,
[30:14] uh the budget book, the hard work that's
been on that, um the budget hearing
[30:18] tonight. So, the the whole idea is the
time is is important because we have to
[30:24] present uh our budget to the select
board by March 1st in order for them to
[30:28] have an opportunity to review for the
March 7th uh budget meeting at the
[30:32] select board level. So that does
accelerate. You know, the meeting was
[30:36] supposed to take place on Monday.
Unfortunately, the weather um you know,
[30:40] played havoc with that, but we have to
have this meeting this week so we can
[30:44] stay on a timeline with the town. Um
which I think is fair. And then we know
[30:48] that once it leaves the select board,
depending on how that goes, then the
[30:51] fallout meeting is actually April 15th
with the fincom and then the town
[30:55] meeting is May. So if I go back um the
recommended budget um for school year 27
[31:03] um is the 4.05 increase 2,187,872.
[31:10] So I'll stop there. I think I probably
um I'm open for any questions. Um and
[31:15] our team is available for questions as
well.
[31:27] First of all, Dan, uh, thank you and the
team, the entire team for the work that
[31:31] was done on this budget. Um, so I think
when we had our very first meeting and
[31:37] the um the different schools presented,
different levels presented. I think that
[31:42] the the we knew it wasn't going to be
the ask, but I think it was like 8% or
[31:47] something that if you did everything we
wanted to do and but we knew that wasn't
[31:52] going to be it. And then the the
iteration that we saw I think initially
[31:56] a week or so ago was around
4 and a half% I think. And
[32:03] my suspicion is it's tougher to go from
four and a half to 4.05 5 than it was to
[32:08] go 8 to 4 because you sort of know what
you're looking at, know what is
[32:13] reasonable, but now um I think the real
work was in getting this budget down to
[32:19] where it is now and really making those
final um priority choices. So, I think
[32:25] you've laid out essentially some of the
uh the things that we are going to
[32:30] defer,
but I'm pleased to see that we're able
[32:33] to continue to move ahead on the special
education piece that we've been working
[32:37] on. Um I don't see any fat in this
budget as I look through it. It is what
[32:44] it is and it is what's needed and uh I
think we've worked closely with the town
[32:49] to arrive at a number that works for
everybody. um you know when it comes to
[32:55] uh I think all districts are um having
similar issues to us and I will say I
[33:01] think that we're in some ways in a
better position. We have ongoing
[33:05] contracts settled, so we're not going to
have to worry about that for a couple of
[33:09] years. Hence, um, we're fairly stable
here in terms of what we're doing. And,
[33:16] uh, it was funny, I read, I think there
was an article in the Globe today about
[33:19] special education, transportation, and,
um, you know, talking about people
[33:24] looking for changes to the formula for
reimbursement, which always is a year
[33:29] behind. So we get reimbursed in fiscal
27 based on what we spent in fiscal 26.
[33:35] Sometimes it just doesn't match up. Um
so but I get the sense um you know from
[33:41] looking at the lay of the land so to
speak that um a lot of districts are
[33:45] finding this a tight budget year. A lot
of municipalities are there have been
[33:49] changes in federal funding which impact
the ability of the state and grants and
[33:55] all sorts of things. So, I think to get
to where this budget is has taken a lot
[33:59] of work. Um, I'm pleased with it and I
think it does allow you to move forward
[34:04] with the things that you want to work on
next year. So, no objections from me.
[34:13] » Thank you. [clears throat]
>> Thank you, chair. Um, one I I just want
[34:19] to applaud like the work that you did
coming out of the uh budget
[34:24] subcommittee. Um, we we definitely had a
spirited conversation in regards to
[34:29] looking at the budget and you did
exactly what was asked. How can we
[34:34] create some offsets that did not have a
direct impact on students? Um, so very
[34:40] grateful for that. Really really
appreciate that. Um when I look back at
[34:44] the budget and I think about what was
passed I believe in 2025
[34:49] we made a big jump there over 6% to set
the stage to give us the ability to
[34:56] start right sizing where we were short.
Um
[35:00] I I think the impact on performance and
the improvement for all the students in
[35:06] Danver has been marked. Um and it just
it it will continue to get better. I
[35:12] mean, every year we we identify places
where we can do better. Um, I'm really
[35:19] excited about the team chairs coming on
board so we can specifically address our
[35:24] student needs on site. Um, disappointed
that we can't get the assistant
[35:30] principles, but that's, you know,
further downstream. But, I mean, to
[35:35] Eric's point, going from 4.5, which was
the expectation, and coming back and
[35:39] seeing 4.05 5 given the economics and
the challenges that we're seeing in the
[35:44] town, I think are incredible. Um,
specifically calling out
[35:50] the impact that the investment in
special education has made with the out
[35:54] of district tuition. You know, you keep
a student in Denver, you're also
[35:58] eliminating the cost for transportation,
but you're also keeping that student in
[36:03] the community with their friends, with
their family, and they get to
[36:06] participate.
you you you almost can't put a price on
[36:10] it, but we've been able to save money
and and put more investment where it
[36:15] needs to be. So, you know, being on this
committee for so many years and, you
[36:19] know, being here from day one and seeing
the work that you and your team are
[36:23] doing, I I I can't applaud it more. Um,
and that's it. I mean, I I I think it's
[36:30] incredible work, incredibly responsible
budget, a really great number. um to be
[36:36] able to continue to progress
and and make all the other changes. The
[36:43] retirement the early retirement offer,
you know, other communities are making
[36:47] some drastic cuts, working with our
union to make things like this work.
[36:52] Kudos. So, I I definitely want to
applaud everyone who's been involved in
[36:56] this. Um and I know we've had many
conversations about the budget and all
[37:01] that other stuff, but um it really makes
all the work worth it. So, thank you.
[37:07] That's all.
[37:11] » I think the gentlemen on either side of
me would have hit uh just about every
[37:17] point. But, uh one thing that I do want
to applaud is the fact that with
[37:22] bringing that uh number down that we saw
last month, we are not focusing on one
[37:28] set of students. We're focusing on every
level from top to bottom. So, every
[37:32] student, no matter who you are, there's
something still there for you and we're
[37:35] not backing off of anybody. We're still
pushing for the best of everybody we
[37:39] talk about. So I that's the one thing
aside from these guys I definitely
[37:44] noticed. So I appreciate that.
[37:51] » I I I wholeheartedly agree. working in
public education for as long as I I
[37:57] have, you hear a lot of different
stories of different problems. And right
[38:03] now, district districts uh all having
the same problem of deficits and and a
[38:10] lack of resources.
And it wasn't so long ago, and I told
[38:16] you we were in a meeting and I heard
somebody say something about the focus
[38:21] on one set of students. And I was
confused because
[38:26] I understand the programming that's in
place or that was in place for all
[38:31] students. And we do want to take care of
our high achievers and we want to take
[38:35] care of our most vulnerable and and meet
the needs of everyone else in between.
[38:40] That's what a good public uh school
district does. Not only do you do that
[38:46] here, but that program has been
expanded.
[38:51] We've we've stayed true and you've
stayed true to your commitment to
[38:55] special education that started over what
two years ago at least.
[39:01] That's now um you know paying dividends
and we're seeing a lot of positive uh
[39:08] responses from our families on that. But
we're also, you know, there there are
[39:12] other untold stories of kids having
difficulty with their education, getting
[39:17] in the buildings, staying in the
buildings, you know, reaching
[39:19] graduation. And there are programs now
in place to help those people realize
[39:24] their potential.
And with 26 APs,
[39:28] um, possibility of having an associates
degree when we come out of here, we're
[39:32] helping those families that maybe can't
afford four-year college education.
[39:38] there's not enough accolades to to
bestow upon all of you for the work that
[39:42] you've done to get to 4.05 for where we
were. Um,
[39:49] so as an educator,
I'm incredibly impressed as a member of
[39:54] this of this committee.
I am just grateful that I can be part of
[39:59] the work that we're all that we're all
doing. So, thank you very much.
[40:06] We good? Does anyone in the audience
since this is a public meeting, does
[40:10] anyone in the audience have any
questions about the budget or need
[40:14] clarification on anything that you've
seen tonight? Please mark.
[40:31] Thank you, [clears throat] Mark Zuber.
[40:36] Uh, I just took a few notes and I'm just
looking at I haven't looked at the
[40:43] numbers before intentionally.
However, I have some questions that
[40:52] this increase is from 56 million now. I
think it was 47 or 48 before.
[41:04] Okay, I'm going to look that up. But,
uh, last year's budget was also
[41:09] increased by 6.4% at that time.
So, I heard
[41:19] » that was actually two years ago, the 6
point.
[41:22] » Okay. Well, it was increased that that
time definitely
[41:27] » and then the following year was also
increased
[41:30] » and this year we're going for another
4.05%.
[41:36] Uh, one of the questions that I just
noted to myself just listening to your
[41:42] dissertation about the budget,
uh, state aid, has anybody looked at
[41:49] what the condition of state aid is going
to be this year?
[41:54] Uh, has it increased, decreased, or are
we going to be holding the bag again
[42:01] just like we did a few years back?
So, the thing is, you know, it's it may
[42:07] be a great thing. Could you put back the
previous one? That's the one I'm looking
[42:12] at.
That's okay. Um, state aid is still
[42:19] undefined.
And what we're going to do is the town
[42:24] is going to be subsidizing the school
department because state aid is going to
[42:31] decrease.
Um,
[42:34] I heard a references
I guess to my uh
[42:40] tiraate that I had three years ago in
regard to your special education
[42:48] uh priorities.
And my intent at that time was we cannot
[42:57] focus on special education only. We need
to focus on the general population
[43:04] because that's 95%
or even more of the students that we
[43:10] have in this uh community.
the number of students has that
[43:16] decreased I I didn't see what the number
is right now but uh what is the student
[43:23] count this year and how is it been
performing whether it's going down or
[43:29] it's going up and what is the
[43:36] inclusion of this
budget how is tech
[43:44] being accommodated because those are our
students as well.
[43:49] The thing is that we ignore that because
we anticipate the state is going to pick
[43:56] up some of that cost but the town is
going to pick up another four to5
[44:00] million.
So, but that's an unknown number yet.
[44:06] So, how does does this budget with an
increase of 4.05%
[44:14] 56 million,
how does that improve or ex
[44:22] improve our general population?
And I know that we have a priority about
[44:30] uh special education,
but that's an item that's been talked
[44:34] about right along. And I don't know,
maybe I'm reading wrong, but does that
[44:41] include more than 10 students
or less than 10 students?
[44:48] » Sorry, that's not clear.
>> I don't get the question. I was just
[44:53] looking at your uh
>> district placements for one year.
[44:57] Yes.
>> So I I don't understand that and I'm
[45:02] just wondering how has that been
incorporated into this budget because
[45:08] every year we're going for more and
more. Some of it is obligations.
[45:14] I understand that. But you have not
taken a a
[45:21] general review of the staffing because a
lot of communities in the Northshore are
[45:28] finding that they have overextended
themselves and they're reducing staff
[45:35] and I I don't know what what is is this
the offset that we're talking about?
[45:41] So we're eliminating what? Person
personnel circuit breaker and non-
[45:47] salary. Most of that $3.8 million is
from the circuit breaker that the town
[45:54] is is providing.
Isn't that true?
[45:59] So I I think you know we can't be doing
this uh you know um and I hate to use
[46:07] strange terms charades but I think we
need to clarify that because that
[46:15] » the town doesn't provide the circuit
breaker the state does and it's provided
[46:20] specific
>> no no circuit breaker comes from our
[46:24] investment of the town from the prior
years and it comes back to our budget,
[46:30] » but it's supposed to be for educational
purposes.
[46:34] » Yeah.
>> Okay.
[46:36] » Okay.
>> And it comes from the state. Um,
[46:38] » it does not come from the state. It's
all our money that was invested. Come
[46:43] on. Let's let's be serious. We need to
look at the
[46:49] taxability or taxing of our residents.
And, you know, it's just part of it.
[46:57] The thing is, how has this budget
improved
[47:02] other than special education for our
students? That's that's the question I'm
[47:08] asking.
Do we have an answer for that?
[47:11] » Yep, I certainly do. Um, and that's why
when you take a look at um under the
[47:18] high school, right, the advanced
placement program that we have at the
[47:22] high school, I don't think you'll find
another school in this area that has as
[47:26] many advanced placement courses that we
have. We're adding to that and adding an
[47:31] AP diploma this year is unbelievable in
terms of the pathways that we're looking
[47:35] to. We already have pathways. We have a
number of other science programs that we
[47:40] have that we're increasing. So the
curriculum changes for math is
[47:44] outstanding this year. So that will
impact all students. That's built in and
[47:48] that's no extra cost because Kristen's
work really hard in adding that to our
[47:53] grant um in terms of being able to
create um these early college
[47:58] opportunities. These these programs are
helping all students in terms and
[48:02] there's a lot of other curriculum
development that's not even in here that
[48:05] that's not even part of the budget
because it's been grant funded. So in
[48:08] terms of that piece, um I do question
the fact that and I understand that
[48:13] asking the question to me in terms of
where we are improvements, special
[48:17] education has been improving, but all
education's been improving here. We've
[48:21] been providing these programs. Our
enrollment is relatively stable, which
[48:25] is a good thing. The state aid, the the
chapter 70 funding has come in. We have
[48:29] those numbers. The town has those
numbers and they're working through
[48:31] that. So, um, in terms of that piece,
um, you know, I'm really proud of the
[48:36] work that that we're doing to look for
all students because that's been our
[48:39] focus. But we have to get special
education under under control as we said
[48:44] because of the fact the costs keep going
up and that will impact and I don't know
[48:48] if you saw the slide here, Mark, but in
terms of the like we are made there are
[48:52] some reductions here.
>> That's the one I was looking at that
[48:55] there's 10 students.
>> No, no, there's 11.
[48:59] » There's at least there's 10.6 six
teachers. There's nine F uh FDES for IAS
[49:04] and BTS being reduced. There's some
central office a significant central
[49:07] office position being removed. So that's
that's substantial and I know that's
[49:12] that's right there that's in the first
upper U where you might be facing at the
[49:16] right hand corner. So we are reducing
those pieces. So just for my own
[49:20] edification,
>> so we haven't just added positions and I
[49:24] know you didn't use the term willy-nilly
and I know you wouldn't say that, but I
[49:27] the insinuation is that we've been very
careful in calculating like I agree
[49:32] there has to be some positions that we
have to move and there are reductions
[49:36] here. So we're going through that
process.
[49:38] » That's I was very I was very happy to
hear that
[49:42] » and I think that's just being
responsible and as you said that many
[49:45] communities around us are in significant
reductions. Um, and I would also point
[49:50] out that, you know, in terms of the
enrollment and also the IEP, in terms of
[49:55] students and percentage, I think it's
about 22% in our district, right? Or so.
[50:00] But again, that doesn't matter to me.
What matters to me is all students get
[50:03] what they need. I think your point's
well taken. And that's why our focus has
[50:06] been not just in one area, but across
the board.
[50:09] » That's that's the whole point three
years ago. And I got very I rateated
[50:14] that time.
>> I know. and I did not come back until
[50:18] this year because I think we need to
have you have some time to make the
[50:24] adjustments and that's what I wanted to
hear and I didn't hear that at all. So
[50:30] that's something that you need to uh
present. Um, one of the things that I've
[50:37] noticed, and that was even three, four
years ago, is that we've had some
[50:43] federal funded teachers
uh through COVID and all that stuff. And
[50:50] then we have uh state funded positions
by grants. And then well
[50:59] at the end of the day we convert them
under our own budget because that budget
[51:05] runs out after two to three years and
all we're doing is multiplying the
[51:11] number of staff whether it's
administrative or teachers we had you
[51:18] know increase the number of staff and I
I didn't see what is the total number of
[51:24] staff from last year to this year. I'm
I'm going to study this a little bit
[51:30] more, but I I don't know if I can get an
answer out of you guys right now. Um
[51:38] the other item that I noted for myself
is will this early retirement incentive
[51:48] ultimately reduce the number of staff
that we have
[51:54] funded under this budget because usually
that's the intent of an early retirement
[52:02] uh function
And I didn't hear anything in regard to
[52:09] that. I mean, you know, why are we doing
early retirement if we're not going to
[52:13] reduce the staff?
The staff has been increasing every year
[52:18] because of these uh grant functions.
And it's great that you get the grants,
[52:25] but how are you going to be able to
support those under the budget? We we
[52:32] have constraints on the budget and
you've seen, you know, the new town
[52:36] manager squirming already in the papers
and the thing is I don't think she knows
[52:43] what what we're in for yet.
And you're just going along because
[52:51] you're allowed to do that and the town
has not put any pressure on the school
[52:57] and education budgets.
So will the early retirement
[53:05] um
evolve into a staff reduction in in the
[53:11] future.
>> The let me talk about that a little
[53:16] » the object of the earth.
>> Excuse me one second.
[53:20] » The one thing that I noticed sitting
back there is when you don't speak into
[53:26] the mic
>> I can't hear you. Maybe I'm going deaf.
[53:29] I don't know. But I have
>> Well, let me How's this?
[53:33] » I have selective hearing. You know that.
>> You always have. Um
[53:38] the question in in terms of early
retirement or whatever grant positions
[53:43] end up moving to the budget through the
years is always based on the number of
[53:49] persons that are necessary to provide
the programming that we think is
[53:54] important. Well, you can shake your
head. But I'm telling you that because
[53:57] we don't not every position, for
example, that is grant-f funded for two
[54:02] or three years ends up becoming a
permanent position. The ones that help
[54:08] the program, yeah, if we can fit them
into the budget, we certainly do that.
[54:13] The purpose of early retirement is not
to reduce the overall number of
[54:18] teachers. You know, we're not here to
try and increase class sizes. Um, but
[54:24] the early retirement benefit,
those teachers who are replaced, and it
[54:29] won't be all of them, but those teachers
who are replaced will be replaced with
[54:33] teachers who cost less. You're looking
at a budget this year, this pointed out,
[54:38] that has a reduction of the full-time
equivalent of about 10 teachers and
[54:43] about 10 aids. So, we're not just, you
know,
[54:47] » that's in somebody's [snorts]
perception. I I perception I don't know
[54:52] what the number is. I haven't seen it.
>> You saw it on the slide. A reduction of
[54:58] rough that FTE is full-time equivalent
position.
[55:01] » My question was will this early
retirement incentive in some way
[55:09] materialize in reduction in staff.
>> It'll it'll save money and it'll reduce
[55:15] staff if it's appropriate to do so. We
have we have people that are retiring
[55:20] this year.
>> Can you speak to the mic?
[55:22] » We have people retiring this year that
their positions will not be filled.
[55:27] » That's the way it should be offered
>> because it's not necessary to fill them.
[55:31] If it were necessary to fill them to
keep programming for our students and
[55:35] our families, it probably would be
replaced.
[55:40] There's been a very
direct and intentional
[55:45] um effort that has gone on to get to
4.05%.
[55:50] While maintaining the efforts that
started with the 6.41 because special ed
[55:56] needed that those things have been
continued over the last three years
[56:02] ultimately to save us money from
students going out of district.
[56:07] » I understand that.
Additionally, programming has been added
[56:12] for all students of all abilities in our
buildings
[56:17] because they all matter, not one group
over the other.
[56:20] » That's my whole point.
>> And in doing that, we've come in with a
[56:23] very lean budget of 4.05, which I think
is incredibly fair in this day and age.
[56:30] If the town has a problem with that, I'm
sure they're going to tell us that. But
[56:34] you have to understand at this point,
this team has been working
[56:38] collaboratively with the town
>> to get to this number.
[56:43] » And I understand that it's very
difficult to come up with a reasonable
[56:48] number. But I think what the school
committee and the superintendent need to
[56:54] realize that budgets are not infinite.
I mean, they are limited to how much
[57:03] money can be allocated because what we
see here, you're saying 56 million, but
[57:10] then you add all of the town
department allocations to the schools,
[57:19] to the buildings, to the fields, and you
get another 20 to30 million on top of
[57:26] that. So our budget right now for the
schools if it's done the same as in
[57:32] other communities
is probably in the 80 $85 million range.
[57:39] » You think guessing at that number is
fair right now? You actually believe
[57:42] that that's a fair statement to make.
>> You don't know what that number is?
[57:47] » Well, I've se I've watched it every
single year and last year
[57:51] » and you showed up without a number.
You're guessing at that number. I'm I'm
[57:54] telling you that
>> you don't even know what that number is
[57:58] yet. You're committing to that number to
this to this board.
[58:01] » It's in the town meeting warrant
articles and they have that in there. So
[58:07] every year that is a percentage that's
reflected for the commitment of
[58:14] » those I've seen those town warrant
articles because I'm a town meeting
[58:18] member. Those numbers don't ring a bell.
Well, then
[58:22] » so it's offensive that you come in here
and you and you throw these accusations
[58:27] out like you're doing. Asking questions
is not a problem. Getting clarification,
[58:33] not a problem. Are you coming in here
insinuating that things are not
[58:39] transparent, things are hidden, that
that that numbers are inflated, that we
[58:47] continually add staff in a needless
fashion? That's offensive.
[58:53] Well, then that's a position that you're
in. So, you might as well start getting
[58:59] used to it because the other item that I
have noted on here is staff
[59:06] reallocation.
This really came in at the same time as
[59:10] the retirement uh you know uh early
retirement uh criteria staff
[59:17] reallocation. That to me means that
you're shifting people from different
[59:23] positions which is very appropriate.
And the thing is that that does not
[59:31] reduce any budget.
It shuffles the deck to different uh
[59:39] departments or different uh functions.
So, one of the last things that I would
[59:46] like to discuss, and I don't want to
offend anybody.
[59:50] This is not
>> it's not a uh offensive uh posture here.
[59:56] This is questions and answers. That's
all I'm looking for. The
[1:00:02] Essex Tech has become a political
football basically last uh five, six
[1:00:10] years.
has the
[1:00:15] school department
because we went through some
[1:00:20] questionnaires and uh surveys and things
like that to find out why our students
[1:00:28] are going to SXT.
Has that materialized in any way?
[1:00:38] » Okay. So, what have we found out?
because that's going to be the next four
[1:00:43] or5 million budget item that's going to
be hitting us. So this slide right here
[1:00:48] Mark can demonstrate pathways when you
see EMT which we know that's mer medical
[1:00:54] technician pathway that's a very
specific technological way the pathways
[1:00:59] that we have in engineering medical
science
[1:01:02] I'm sorry is that better
>> well now I can hear you
[1:01:05] » okay the pathways are those pieces where
students we want to create relevant
[1:01:11] programming right that prepares our
workforce for the future or college
[1:01:15] readiness and And that's what the
pathways are. We've already had some
[1:01:18] pathways in our schools. We're looking
to enhance them further.
[1:01:22] » Do you know what pathways are, Mark? I
want to make sure that we're not
[1:01:25] throwing terms out that you don't get.
Do you know what pathways are?
[1:01:28] » Sure.
>> Okay.
[1:01:31] » But the thing is what I'm looking at is
>> so I just want to say something that we
[1:01:36] we work we work with Essex Tech. So we
understand the statement that you made
[1:01:41] earlier. I didn't point out, but the
fact of the matter is that all of our
[1:01:45] students in Danvers, you know, we we are
here to serve our students. If they
[1:01:48] proceed to Essex Tech, that's wonderful.
They have outstanding opportunities
[1:01:52] there, but we have opportunities at our
high school, too, that are outstanding
[1:01:55] that might meet a different niche of a
student. And it's our job. So your point
[1:02:00] about finding out what students need is
that we've been digging in and and I
[1:02:04] don't I you know I should have brought
over that open house sign to your house
[1:02:07] because I wish you would have attended
the open house to see the programs that
[1:02:10] we offer and what we're trying to do to
show our students and families that back
[1:02:15] in the day maybe the community high
school was the option. We know families
[1:02:19] have many different options. So it's up
incumbent on us to show like we have
[1:02:23] these opportunities where you can
graduate from Danver High School and
[1:02:26] become an engineer. You can graduate,
become a nurse. You can graduate and
[1:02:30] become a technician. You can do all
those things at our high school that you
[1:02:33] can do at Essex Tech. And we support and
we work with Essex Tech as well. So,
[1:02:37] it's not it's not a political football
for us. So, that's that's not true with
[1:02:42] us.
>> But the point was to find out why these
[1:02:48] students were leaving.
And I understand that they have a u um a
[1:02:56] lottery system for selecting students.
Now there's no um
[1:03:03] uh you know special uh selections.
However, did we ever find out why the
[1:03:12] students left? We had 260ome students
that went into the uh Essex Tech from
[1:03:21] Danvers and I don't think that number
has changed recently either.
[1:03:26] » There's been a reduction over the last
couple of years. It's come down
[1:03:29] slightly. Um
>> very little
[1:03:31] » but yes, I think there's a lot of not
enough information on our end where
[1:03:35] students can achieve what they're
looking for for terms of career
[1:03:38] readiness and opportunities. And that's
one thing that when we had the surveys,
[1:03:43] we've talked with families understanding
that we have opportunities here. Um, and
[1:03:47] the lottery system, as you know, was put
in by law, was passed. So that changed
[1:03:51] the whole admissions process to Essex
Tech into all technical schools across
[1:03:55] the Commonwealth. So with that being
said, that certainly we look for the the
[1:04:00] amount of applications actually have
gone down from Holton Richmond this past
[1:04:03] year. I'm not saying right or wrong
indifferent. I'm just saying that we
[1:04:07] have to do a better job of showing that
we have the programs here and also
[1:04:11] develop the programs. So at that point
is well taken. So
[1:04:14] » that was the whole point when I worked
with your u
[1:04:19] principal of the high school and he's no
longer here but uh he and I have had
[1:04:27] long discussions in regard to what kind
of a survey question can you put out?
[1:04:31] » I would invite you to come in to meet
our current principal. I think you'd be
[1:04:34] very impressed with what he's done this
whole DHS 2 2030. That's a lot of his
[1:04:40] hard work and sweat and I I would invite
you to come in. Please reach out and
[1:04:43] I'll set up a meeting with you to sit
down with our principal. I think you'd
[1:04:45] enjoy meeting with them.
>> Gladly anytime.
[1:04:49] Uh the final question
is how is the school department or the
[1:04:57] school committee
[1:05:01] responding
to the Essex Tech students?
[1:05:07] Are we making any
um
[1:05:15] conditions that will attract them back?
And how do we settle on the funding? I
[1:05:22] mean, that's that's the big deal. You
know, my position about the funding is
[1:05:26] that it should be reduced from the
Denver school department and put towards
[1:05:32] the SX Tech because that's where it
really belongs because those are our
[1:05:36] students.
and we need to service all of our
[1:05:41] students.
>> Okay, one more time.
[1:05:46] » We we've actually received a number of
students back from Essex Tech. In fact,
[1:05:50] three recently.
>> Um the only thing I'll say about the
[1:05:54] reasons why is I think it has to do with
our 26 advanced placement courses. I
[1:06:00] think they're looking they're looking
they were looking for more uh
[1:06:03] opportunity with advanced placement
which we had. Um and so they've come
[1:06:09] back to us.
Um other than that we had some earlier
[1:06:14] in the year as well. So maybe five to 10
students have come back this year.
[1:06:18] » So it's a revolving door between the two
schools.
[1:06:21] » Well, you know, you get over there and
you think you're going to get something.
[1:06:24] It's not really up to your expectations.
So you and we take obviously we have to
[1:06:28] take them back. we would happy to take
it.
[1:06:30] » And also, as you know, the town pays the
assessment to Essics Tech as well as all
[1:06:34] 17 member communities. So, if that that
number goes up, obviously that's less
[1:06:38] available for our schools, too. So,
that's the balancing act. So, the town
[1:06:42] does support that through the assessment
every year. So, even though our numbers
[1:06:46] may have gone down, the cost of doing
business has gone up. So, that would
[1:06:50] account for an increased assessment
>> and that is supported by both the town
[1:06:56] and the state.
And the problem is is that the state is
[1:07:01] not funding enough of it. For other
communities, it does, but for us, for
[1:07:07] some reason, can't get them to do it.
And we're the host community.
[1:07:13] So, I want to thank you for at least
listening. And don't get offensive or or
[1:07:21] offended.
You can get offensive, but that's okay.
[1:07:25] » You tell me what I can and can't do now.
Oh, no.
[1:07:29] [laughter]
No. You we can play this game for a long
[1:07:32] time. No, but I appreciate the time, but
uh the one thing that I'm really
[1:07:38] concerned and like I mentioned in the
beginning is that this meeting
[1:07:44] is to a audience of three or two three
people.
[1:07:49] Is that what I think, you know, our
school system deserves? I think it
[1:07:54] deserves a heck of a lot more.
So, I don't know. Maybe uh this
[1:08:00] I don't know. Maybe it'll raise a lot
more questions at the board of
[1:08:04] selectman. And uh uh well, finance
committee is going to do their own
[1:08:09] thing. All right. Thank you very much.
And uh
[1:08:14] no offense.
>> Thank you.
[1:08:18] » You're so sensitive. That's what my wife
tells me all the time.
[1:08:26] Please
[1:08:43] want to approach this, you know, part of
the conversation with a lot of
[1:08:48] compassion. Um, these are really complex
budget times and special education
[1:08:54] funding is really complex. Like, um, Dan
had said, we're dealing with human
[1:08:59] beings. It's it's not an easy thing. Um,
and it's not it's not easy either to get
[1:09:05] up and ask questions that might not be
popular, but it's a really important
[1:09:08] role. So, um, I thank you for coming
here and doing that. Um, I did just sort
[1:09:14] of write down some thoughts that for us
to think about. Um, and it's true,
[1:09:18] budgets aren't finite, are not infinite,
but neither is childhood. And we have to
[1:09:24] keep that in mind. And, and it's such a
hard job that you all have to balance
[1:09:28] that. Um, but it's the absolute truth
when we're talking about humans and
[1:09:33] trying to make up that time that's lost
and those skills when it when you're
[1:09:37] trying to recruit them so much harder.
We know that it's the proactive
[1:09:42] investments where we can intervene early
and get services that are going to help
[1:09:48] our students thrive um and ultimately
reach their full capacity. And which
[1:09:53] gets me to my my next sort of
observation is that the programs that
[1:09:59] we're talking about AP courses um early
college special education students are
[1:10:04] in those programs and doing so well.
They are very capable. they are high
[1:10:09] achievers and we cannot continue to
undercut that and pretend like they're
[1:10:16] not part of it. That's a bias. That is a
bias that is common. Um and that was
[1:10:23] part of what I have seen underlying some
of you know discussions and when I I
[1:10:29] think people don't um you know think
about disability in a new way that I
[1:10:35] often I'll get my son David people will
say he doesn't look autistic and it's
[1:10:39] not it's just a new concept. He is
though he doesn't look it but he is and
[1:10:45] there's disability everywhere that we
don't see. Anybody can come become
[1:10:49] disabled at any time. It's true. Go to
Spalding Rehab.
[1:10:55] So, I really commend this committee. I
think if we could get more consistent
[1:10:59] engagement from the public, um you've
discussed many of the issues that were
[1:11:04] brought up in length at these meetings.
Um and you know, that information is
[1:11:10] there. Um I think dialogue, you know,
act happening proactively can can really
[1:11:15] add a lot um instead of just at this
point right now. uh and that you know my
[1:11:21] worry for long-term special education is
that
[1:11:26] um not so much with this committee and
in in Danverse public schools but town
[1:11:33] my concern is that it's a very volatile
type of funding that we continue to
[1:11:38] reactively rely on what's like a longer
term plan. We know this is always going
[1:11:44] to be here. health care costs and
special education costs are always going
[1:11:49] to be part of this. And so we're in sort
of this predicament now because of the
[1:11:54] investments that weren't made 10, 20
years ago. And what that looked like is
[1:11:59] parents tell me now there was, you know,
the conditions that their kids were in
[1:12:04] were really this town would be if if
they could hear those parents and those
[1:12:09] students talk about that, they would be
very embarrassed and ashamed. That's not
[1:12:13] how people should be treated. Do we want
to go back? No, of course not. So, I
[1:12:18] think we really do need to start
planning more for a longer term future
[1:12:22] of what's this look like in five years.
We can't just continue to patch things.
[1:12:27] Um the the question I had was about that
PD funding, the $75,000 for optional. Um
[1:12:34] it seems like they I don't know if your
staff is able to, you know, opt into it
[1:12:38] for like two days or something and get a
stipend. Um
[1:12:42] uh I think you know one of the things we
hear from families is that more PD is
[1:12:46] needed. Um especially around some of the
concepts that I just you know talked
[1:12:51] about that would really benefit
everyone. Um so you know I hope that we
[1:12:55] can figure out a way to to get more
training into the hands of educators who
[1:12:59] I know really want it. Um and just thank
you all. I appreciate everybody's time.
[1:13:08] I'd entertain a motion to close public
comment.
[1:13:14] » Motion to close public comment.
>> Second.
[1:13:18] » Any discussion?
[1:13:22] Seeing none, all those in favor, please
say I.
[1:13:24] » I. Opposed.
>> And now I would entertain a motion in
[1:13:30] regards to either accepting or not
accepting the budget.
[1:13:34] I would move, Mr. Chair, that we approve
the uh proposed FY27 budget in the
[1:13:40] amount of 56 million $151,63
[1:13:46] to be passed on to the select and
finance committee for consideration.
[1:13:52] Second
any discussion, further discussion
[1:13:57] hearing none. All those in favor, please
say I. I. I.
[1:14:01] » All opposed. Congratul
[1:14:12] um at this time I would I just remember
our next meeting is March 9th. I'll say
[1:14:17] it one more time and I would entertain a
motion to adjourn.
[1:14:21] » Motion to adjurnn.
>> Second.
[1:14:23] » All those in favor please say I.
>> Thank you Damas. Good night.
[1:14:28] » Good night.