[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.

Danvers School Committee Meeting - 2/25/26

Transcript