[0:00] Good evening. I'd like to call this um

[0:02] school committee meeting on May 12th,

[0:05] 2026 to order. If you could stand for

[0:08] the pledge.

[0:10] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:12] United States of America and to the

[0:14] republic for which it stands, one nation

[0:17] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[0:20] justice for all.

[0:25] » Okay. So the first item on the agenda is

[0:29] I make a motion to move into executive

[0:32] session to discuss strategy with respect

[0:35] to to a complaint against public

[0:37] officers,

[0:38] specifically two open meeting law

[0:41] complaints. Purpose one, MGL C3A

[0:46] 21 A1 and purpose 7 MGL C3A.

[0:51] section 21A7

[0:53] to comply with or act under the

[0:55] authority of any general law or special

[0:58] law or federal grant and aid

[1:00] requirements specifically in accordance

[1:03] with the open meeting law mass general

[1:05] law C3A sections 22F and 22G for the

[1:10] purpose of conducting a review of the

[1:11] following executive session minutes

[1:14] January 29th 2026 February 10th 2026 and

[1:19] March 5th 2026 Having any discussions in

[1:22] open session may have a detrimental

[1:24] effect on the litigating position. It is

[1:27] anticipated that the board will return

[1:29] to open session.

[1:30] >> I'm going to second that.

[1:31] >> Okay. So, a roll call Chris

[1:34] >> Yes.

[1:34] >> August. Yes.

[1:36] >> Let's keep Yes.

[1:38] >> And Maduras. Yes. Okay. So

[1:46] » I'd like to reconvene the school

[1:48] committee meeting of May 10th or May

[1:50] 12th, 2026.

[1:52] Coming back from executive session.

[1:55] Okay. So the first um I would like to

[1:59] read the recording statement. Then this

[2:01] meeting of the family school committee

[2:03] is being recorded in accordance with

[2:04] Massachusetts open meeting law. Anyone

[2:07] who wishes to make an audio or video

[2:08] recording of this meeting must first

[2:10] notify the chair. Please raise your hand

[2:12] and make the presence known if you

[2:14] intend to record the meeting. Okay. This

[2:17] does not include parents whose kids

[2:19] might be doing something tonight. You

[2:20] can walk right up here and record away.

[2:23] So, okay, please. All right. Um

[2:28] so

[2:30] we will begin with um a presentation of

[2:34] the Mullen Hall highlights which always

[2:37] make us happy to hear from the kids.

[2:44] » Hello everybody.

[2:46] >> How are you?

[2:46] >> Good morning.

[2:48] >> Hey I'm so I'm we are very happy that

[2:50] you're all here at Ma High School. I'm

[2:52] Shannon Carlson, the proud principal of

[2:54] this amazing place, and we are very

[2:57] excited today to share with you some

[2:59] cutouts from our Clippers. Now, I'm

[3:02] going to share my screen, so just a

[3:03] moment, please.

[3:22] All right, here are our highlights that

[3:24] we would like to share with you at our

[3:26] school committee meeting this evening.

[3:28] To begin with, I wanted to tell you our

[3:32] theme for this evening and it is focused

[3:35] on the E in clipper. The E in clipper

[3:39] stands for effective communication. So

[3:41] if you read it right there, I can speak

[3:44] and or write easily understood language

[3:48] that is both direct and clear. Well,

[3:51] this evening we're going to be sharing

[3:52] from our studentdriven written language,

[3:57] our teacherdriven or connected directly

[3:59] to our curriculum as well as our whole

[4:02] schoolwide writing from our students as

[4:04] well. And I'm going to share with you

[4:07] right now an example of our

[4:09] studentdriven communication. Now, Miss

[4:12] Katuska is a first grade teacher and in

[4:15] her reading group, we had three students

[4:18] who were reading a book about a little

[4:20] library. And they decided to write me a

[4:24] persuasive letter explaining why we

[4:26] should have a little library return to

[4:29] our outdoor learning space. So, if you

[4:32] wouldn't mind directing your attention

[4:33] to the screen, I'd like to share with

[4:36] you what they had to say.

[4:51] Dear Miss Carlson, may we have our

[4:55] little library bag? They are cool. Thank

[5:00] you so much Zoe, Nina, and Josiah.

[5:22] » Dear Miss Carlson,

[5:25] >> it was this note is I

[5:29] No,

[5:30] >> the third month which is March the

[5:33] fourth day and this 26th year which is

[5:37] 2026

[5:38] today.

[5:40] >> We think little flowers will help our

[5:47] » others would want to read and learn. You

[5:52] do not need a library card to get books.

[5:57] Everyone can get book. It will make the

[6:02] community happier

[6:05] and shock. We can share books that we

[6:11] sart

[6:15] heart.

[6:18] » Thank you, Nina.

[6:22] Heat.

[7:22] Can I have a round of applause?

[7:31] So we truly want to make sure that when

[7:33] our students use their voice and they

[7:36] share their reasoning and be effective

[7:38] communication communicators that that

[7:41] communication is honored and that there

[7:43] is a product and reward at the end. And

[7:45] so we will be celebrating that new

[7:47] little library at a ribbon cutting

[7:49] ceremony a little bit later on before

[7:50] the end of the school year.

[7:52] Now, our next um highlight today is

[7:57] about teacherdriven communication um

[8:00] connected directly to our ELA

[8:03] curriculum. Um I am very proud to

[8:06] introduce Lisa the Rockets, our uh one

[8:09] of our fourth grade teachers. Um and the

[8:12] fourth grade team did an incredible job

[8:14] implementing a unit of study all about

[8:17] poetry. Please,

[8:19] >> thanks for having us here in our young

[8:21] poets. And um our first module in our

[8:24] ELA curriculum this year in grade four

[8:27] was on poets and their inspiration.

[8:30] And students learned about different

[8:32] famous poets and what inspired them. And

[8:36] then they took that knowledge,

[8:37] synthesized it to write their own

[8:39] original poetry. um in which they really

[8:42] had to think about a topic that was

[8:44] meaningful to them and they practiced a

[8:48] speech where they had to effectively

[8:50] communicate what their inspiration was

[8:53] and how it was evident in their home.

[8:56] And then they also created images to

[8:59] showcase their inspiration, one digital

[9:01] and one with watercolor.

[9:03] Um, and they needed to effectively

[9:06] communicate how does this how do these

[9:08] images portray their inspiration. Um,

[9:12] and I think when you look through the

[9:13] pictures you you can see on their faces

[9:15] they were so proud of their work. Um,

[9:19] that uh our class particularly hosted a

[9:23] poetry party so that they could showcase

[9:25] their work in an authentic and

[9:27] meaningful way to reach a wider

[9:29] audience. Um, and we invited some

[9:32] administrators and some staff and it was

[9:34] really lovely to be able to share this

[9:37] with a broader audience. So, we have

[9:39] some wonderful poetry poets that are

[9:42] here tonight to share their poetry with

[9:44] you. Um, would you like to turn back?

[9:47] Yes. Okay. I'm going to stop sharing my

[9:50] screen for a moment so that we can share

[9:52] our students who have joined us this

[9:54] evening.

[10:02] All right.

[10:05] Okay. Clippers, come on up with your

[10:06] follow.

[10:20] » You're first.

[10:23] >> Come on up here. You can stand right

[10:25] here and you can talk just as if you

[10:27] were talking to Dr. Dor. Okay, go away.

[10:31] >> Wonder by Cecilia W. Very fluttering elf

[10:36] skirt. We never know if they could be

[10:40] real. No, we'll never know. They may be

[10:42] hiding underneath the tough grassy

[10:45] patched ground where we don't see. We'll

[10:48] never know because they keep their

[10:50] secret high up up up where humans can't

[10:54] reach. We'll never know until maybe one

[10:56] day it will drop down down.

[11:10] I'll invite parents again because their

[11:13] backs are to you please and come closer.

[11:15] We

[11:23] Outside by Liam Hendel Spitzer. Fresh

[11:26] air, the breeze, the tree. I can lean on

[11:29] the bright morning sun in the woods

[11:31] upon. I see all that and wants all of

[11:34] that. But I want one more thing. I'm

[11:37] nature. I run with my dog blue as the

[11:39] bright colors and his energetic eyes are

[11:41] illuminate. Cotto walks around. He

[11:44] notices the pond. Let's swim.

[11:47] Um, one stone later. I lay on the grass

[11:51] as two wonderful dogs. My house is

[11:54] waiting, saying, "Let's turn inside.

[11:56] Walk through my door. What should I do?

[11:57] Stay outside the afternoon sun."

[12:09] » Lifeless by Clara.

[12:12] I see the lifeless tree on the gray

[12:15] hill. I see the branches flowing like a

[12:19] river, begging for light. The wolf

[12:22] howls, the mouse squeaks as the earth

[12:25] goes to sleep.

[12:35] Dog versus cat by Henry Davidson.

[12:40] A dog sits clawed with ideas. A cats on

[12:44] a mountain. And when they meet crash,

[12:48] the dog barks as loud as a sun and cats

[12:52] as tall as a mountain. But Royale has

[12:55] begun. Class clash splash class.

[13:13] Trees. Trees. They're homes for bees.

[13:15] Yes, they're homes for bees. They can

[13:17] stand in the rain and they don't

[13:18] complain. They can grow so high that

[13:20] they touch the sky. They're as hard as a

[13:22] rock, so you can't knock them down. They

[13:24] come in so many colors like rain and

[13:26] brown. Trees, trees, their homes for

[13:38] by Camila. A stuffy is always there for

[13:41] you when waiting and usually you go to

[13:42] bed. Then it comforts you and helps you

[13:44] fall asleep. When you're scared or alone

[13:46] or sad, just give it a little squeeze.

[13:49] They're as soft as a blanket and as

[13:50] squishy as a marshmallow or a pillow.

[13:53] So, if you're embarrassed and you still

[13:54] see the stuffies, just know you're

[13:55] definitely not alone. And you definitely

[13:56] hopefully not throw them.

[14:08] I want to thank all of our poets for

[14:10] joining us this evening, but I also want

[14:12] to not only highlight our amazing staff

[14:14] at Mll who are teaching them every day,

[14:17] but their families too who came here

[14:19] this evening um and their support and

[14:22] their partnership. So, please round of

[14:24] applause.

[14:32] Wish me luck. I'm sharing my screen

[14:33] again.

[14:48] All right. Our last section of this

[14:51] evening's presentation highlighting

[14:53] Yelen Hall as effective communicators um

[14:56] is schoolwide. Now, our equity team as

[15:00] well with uh Miss Joe, our librarian,

[15:02] and Miss Bazadi, our teacher of DLCS, um

[15:06] who are very supportive in regards to

[15:08] this schoolwide writing invitation.

[15:14] Every student wrote me a letter sharing

[15:18] why they belong, but also talking about

[15:21] what they would like to do to make

[15:23] Mullen Hall even better. So, as you can

[15:27] see at my little pie chart here, we

[15:29] highlighted different themes that we saw

[15:32] that we noticed from these conversations

[15:34] and in these in these letters. There

[15:37] were some highlights in terms of our

[15:39] school plan, our schoolwide

[15:40] expectations. They were very interested

[15:42] in the playground. They were interested

[15:44] in cafeteria ideas, uh, sports teams,

[15:48] welcome ideas, animals were a hot topic,

[15:51] and as well as some personal thoughts

[15:54] and reflections. So, I wanted to share

[15:56] with you just a few for a taste of what

[15:59] the students had to share and say.

[16:10] I'm not entirely sure why it's not

[16:12] advancing. Give me a moment, please.

[16:16] Here we are.

[16:19] » Miss Carlson, I'm writing to you because

[16:22] I wanted to change something and now is

[16:24] my chance. I think that we should have

[16:27] greeting signs at the door for when

[16:29] students walk in so the students feel

[16:31] welcomed at school. For instance, one of

[16:34] the signs could say, "Your smile makes

[16:36] me smile." Or, "You are welcome." If

[16:39] this could happen, then that would be

[16:40] great. Sincerely, Olivia.

[16:47] » Here's Pedro. He's talking about

[16:50] possible basketball team.

[16:51] >> Yeah. Mr. question. What

[16:55] a basketball team

[17:02] and you you

[17:11] » Alisia really likes our artwork.

[17:15] >> Dear Mrs. Pson, I like the artwork here.

[17:25] We should get more.

[17:31] » I love how

[17:36] » Here's Everest. He's going to talk about

[17:38] classrooms.

[17:40] >> Here, Mr. Carlson.

[17:42] Everest. I think we should do more

[17:46] classrooms because we can learn more

[17:48] about what other classes do.

[17:54] Jane has some really good ideas about

[17:57] hallway reminders.

[17:58] >> Dear Miss Carlson, I would add more

[18:01] hallway and stairway plan reminders like

[18:03] signs or something because some students

[18:06] are forgetting. Thank you, Jake.

[18:11] » No, me too. Owen has an idea for a

[18:14] compliment box.

[18:17] >> Deal.

[18:20] I would make a compliment,

[18:23] but if you make five compliments, you

[18:26] get a reward by it.

[18:34] » Here's Maggie. She's thinking about a

[18:37] welcome sign.

[18:37] >> Janice Carson, I think that should have

[18:40] a post that says everyone is along here

[18:45] from Maggie Clower.

[18:49] And finally, Maddie has some thoughts

[18:52] about a welcome program for new

[18:53] students, as well as an idea for a

[18:56] mascot.

[18:58] Dear mascara

[19:05] on Tuesdays, I can only hang out with my

[19:07] friends for an hour. But if there were

[19:09] different days, we could hang out for

[19:12] longer. And I feel like

[19:16] that could make the school a little

[19:19] better. Another idea I have is for a

[19:22] welcome program for the new students

[19:24] that come in in the middle of the year.

[19:27] We find a nice kid in the class, they're

[19:30] elegant and they have a buddy to hang

[19:32] out with so they don't feel lonely or

[19:35] like they don't belong or

[19:38] for new kids that haven't been to the

[19:42] school before. Another idea I have is

[19:46] for a mascot to come on half days and um

[19:50] at community meetings so we know that we

[19:53] have a mascot and it could interact with

[19:56] the students. If you could please make

[19:59] this happen, I would be very thankful

[20:02] from Maddie.

[20:07] » Thank you very much for sharing.

[20:11] AGAIN,

[20:17] I really want this evening to highlight

[20:19] our staff. Thank you for joining us this

[20:22] evening. Thank you all of our students

[20:24] and our families as well as all of you

[20:26] for sharing in our highlights from all

[20:27] at home.

[20:37] » The kids are always the best

[20:39] presentation. Even if they mess up,

[20:40] they're great.

[20:43] Okay. Um, next on the agenda is our

[20:45] student advisory, but Bella, um, is at

[20:49] playing an away game, so she couldn't

[20:51] make it tonight. She gave that as soon

[20:53] as I

[20:55] >> Okay. Um, the next item on the agenda

[20:57] will be public comment.

[20:59] will be limited to 20

[21:01] minutes. Members of the public are

[21:03] welcome to speak during public comment.

[21:05] Comments will be limited to two minutes

[21:07] in length. Due to the open meeting law,

[21:09] the committee cannot respond to or act

[21:11] on public comment. Additional comments

[21:14] and feedback can be submitted by email

[21:16] to school committee at found.k12.mma.

[21:20] us.

[21:21] Okay. So, um on the list we have Megan

[21:25] Zati, please.

[21:36] Hello, Megan Zabby with carriage shop

[21:39] road. I want to express my

[21:42] disappointment with the process

[21:43] surrounding the proposed grade

[21:45] reconfiguration.

[21:47] From the community's perspective, this

[21:49] feels rushed and lacking meaningful

[21:51] engagement.

[21:53] Only two of the three promised public

[21:55] forums were held and many parents and

[21:58] community me community members feel

[22:00] their emails, questions and concerns

[22:03] have been disregarded rather than

[22:05] genuinely genuinely considered. In

[22:08] addition, no community survey has been

[22:10] conducted to formally gather input from

[22:12] families and residents about a decision

[22:14] that will significantly impact students

[22:16] and schools.

[22:18] Most concerning is that the voices of

[22:21] families with children entering

[22:22] kindergarten, the students will be most

[22:24] directly affected by this

[22:26] reconfiguration do not appear to have

[22:29] been adequately included in this

[22:30] decision-making process. A change of

[22:33] this magnitude should reflect

[22:35] collaboration, transparency, and trust

[22:37] between the district and the community.

[22:40] Right now, many families feel unheard

[22:42] and I urge the committee to slow the

[22:44] process down

[22:47] to fully ensure that any decision made

[22:49] is truly in the best interest of the

[22:51] students, the families, and the broader

[22:53] community. Thank you.

[22:56] >> Okay. Thank you, Mayor.

[22:59] >> Okay. Next item on the agenda will be an

[23:01] update by the superintendent.

[23:04] >> All right. Thank you. Um so my uh year

[23:08] of the clipper um announcements today.

[23:11] The first one is fantastic news. We have

[23:13] two students who participated in the

[23:15] national council teachers of English

[23:19] promising young writer contest uh

[23:21] recognized uh with the highest honors.

[23:24] I'm proud to announce Grace Bennett and

[23:27] Tess Ledwell earned the highest

[23:29] distinguished first class uh in this

[23:32] year's contest. The purpose of this

[23:34] contest is to stimulate and recognize

[23:36] the writing talents of eighth grade

[23:38] students and to emphasize the importance

[23:41] of writing skills. This year, schools

[23:44] nominated 200 students to participate

[23:46] from 30 different states, Puerto Rico,

[23:49] South Africa, and uh South Korea. So,

[23:53] congratulations uh to Grace. It's a test

[23:55] um and to our English teachers. Uh it is

[23:58] quite an honor that um two of the

[24:00] students selected um with high honors uh

[24:03] came from Famouth public schools.

[24:06] Um many of you know I began the uh

[24:08] certified medical assisting program a

[24:10] year ago. Uh senior Victoria Vajo was

[24:14] part of the first cohort and as a senior

[24:17] this year has completed the program

[24:20] including her internship in the next

[24:22] couple weeks. um and she is being hired

[24:25] as a uh a a medical assisting uh

[24:29] physician with the Cape Cod uh community

[24:32] health center. Many of you will remember

[24:34] that that's where we started uh when we

[24:36] started the medical assisting program.

[24:38] We uh partnered with um the Cape Cod uh

[24:41] community health center. Um, and then

[24:44] just today I got additional information

[24:46] that a second student, Kendra Nan, has

[24:49] passed her exam and will complete her

[24:52] internship in a couple uh weeks and has

[24:54] also been offered a position with the

[24:56] Cape Cod Community Health Center. This

[24:59] is extremely exciting news. This is

[25:01] exactly what we were hoping for when we

[25:03] started the program and we now have two

[25:05] students um offering position uh

[25:07] positions um after going through the the

[25:10] program. Um there is another student

[25:11] that's passed the medical assisting uh

[25:14] program and a couple more that will be

[25:15] taking their exam I believe on Friday.

[25:18] So we're very hopeful. This is all about

[25:20] interest and success. It's a powerful

[25:22] combination um for our flippers

[25:26] and taking and and talking about quick

[25:28] success. Um our robotics

[25:31] uh team joined first uh recognition uh

[25:35] first is for inspiration and recognition

[25:37] of science and technology. So they

[25:38] joined first um as competitors just one

[25:43] year ago and then they uh you approved

[25:45] their trip um to uh Texas for the worlds

[25:49] and finished 14th uh in the worlds uh in

[25:52] just two years. That is absolutely uh

[25:54] amazing amazing skill and amazing

[25:56] teamwork. Um so just three examples I'm

[25:59] sharing this time about the Clipper

[26:00] experience um opportunity and excellence

[26:03] in FA public schools. Um, we also live

[26:06] in an amazing community, uh, and that

[26:09] supports our schools. And I just want to

[26:11] give a shout out for, um, the, uh,

[26:14] Ticket Playground Committee that will be

[26:16] up, uh, next. Um, so looking forward to

[26:19] hearing their presentation.

[26:24] » Thank you for the update. Kids are

[26:26] always the best thing to hear about.

[26:28] Always, always. Thank you, Ry. Um the

[26:32] next item on the agenda will be a

[26:33] presentation from the T ticket

[26:35] playground committee and I just wanted

[26:37] to say it's the work they did but um

[26:42] it's in our community that I mean I

[26:45] think back years ago when the Mullen

[26:47] Hall playground was put together by the

[26:49] community and we have um FEF, we have

[26:52] BIPS, we have the Famouth road race. I

[26:55] don't really like to name names in case

[26:56] I miss anybody, but our community is

[26:58] just bursting with people who help the

[27:01] kids. And under the leadership of this

[27:04] committee, which we're going to hear

[27:05] from, we'll see what's going on now.

[27:06] Okay. Thank you.

[27:12] » Mr. Kapula, do you have a um thing to

[27:15] queue up?

[27:15] >> I do. Yes.

[27:23] » Sure.

[27:24] Well, thank you for having us. I'd be

[27:27] remiss to say uh tonight and last thank

[27:32] you and um special thanks to my former

[27:34] French teacher even though she's can't

[27:37] believe she was you know my teacher

[27:41] and um I thank you for all your service.

[27:43] I appreciate you guys supporting this

[27:45] project especially as well. So I wanted

[27:47] to thank you

[27:48] >> say that prior.

[27:49] >> I'm still not going to change your grade

[27:51] though.

[27:53] I took French one for three years.

[27:57] I'm going to share my screen.

[28:13] Well, while he's doing that, everybody,

[28:15] you should have a picture in front of

[28:16] you. This is what the final proposal

[28:18] that we chose um to a tune of $398,000.

[28:23] Uh we added this seating area with the

[28:26] canopy which is nice. We spoke to a lot

[28:29] of parents, talked to other people on

[28:31] all the playgrounds and that was one

[28:32] thing parents said. The benches are

[28:33] great, but we really like a table or a

[28:35] coffee or homework or McDonald's

[28:38] whatever it might be. So the large

[28:40] version is on Dom's hand. So

[28:43] >> um Wow. Well, we'll have everything up

[28:45] on the

[28:46] >> Sorry about that. I'm just here for you,

[28:47] but I don't I know you guys are pressed

[28:48] for time, so I'm going to just start if

[28:50] that's okay. Um, on our first slide,

[28:52] which I'm sure will get up quick. Just

[28:54] so you know, a little bit of history, we

[28:56] were the first ADA playground on the

[28:58] Cape. Um, we were built, the original

[29:01] playground was built 2021 with the help

[29:04] of George Febey and back then it was

[29:06] called the Handicap Commission. They

[29:07] don't call it that now. Um, basically

[29:10] the town had already gotten a CPC grant

[29:12] and then the town kicked in $90,000 and

[29:14] originally the site was going to be

[29:16] Mullen Hall, but at the time there were

[29:18] other things going on and the principal

[29:19] said, you know, I'm not sure that we can

[29:20] take this project on because the kicker

[29:23] was you had to get your own volunteers.

[29:25] So it took three weekends and 150

[29:28] volunteers. And at the time Michael Arf

[29:30] was our principal and he said, "What do

[29:32] you think?" And we all the staff said

[29:33] that we're in. So we spent three

[29:35] weekends putting the playground

[29:36] together. Back in those days, you could

[29:38] volunteer and put it together without

[29:39] warranty issues, liability. As you know,

[29:42] you can't do that anymore.

[29:43] >> What year was it?

[29:44] >> That was 2020. 20 year. I'm sorry. 20

[29:48] >> 20 Oh, 2000

[29:51] >> 2000. It was a 2000 year 2001. We

[29:55] installed it in October. September,

[29:57] October was installed. It was completed

[29:58] in 2000. Um, it served it us well. 25

[30:02] years. We had rubber tiles which were

[30:05] great. Um but we've got better products

[30:07] now which is even better. So we have um

[30:10] unfortunately we had to deem it unsafe.

[30:12] The DPW came in with an inspector. Um we

[30:15] closed it immediately. The DPW was so

[30:17] helpful they came in removed it because

[30:19] even though we had fencing people would

[30:21] still get on the playground um on the

[30:23] weekends etc. Um so at that point we had

[30:26] missed the CPC funding and decided you

[30:28] know we can't go another year. This

[30:29] isn't going to work. Um it was very hard

[30:31] on the staff as well as the kids this

[30:33] year. So, um, we started fundraising.

[30:36] Um, I think that'll go on the next

[30:37] slide.

[30:40] Go ahead.

[30:40] >> Yeah, I'll take over. Sorry. Uh,

[30:42] >> yeah. So, I mean, the mission of this,

[30:44] you know, this project and, you know,

[30:46] starting this committee was really to

[30:48] get this project done as fast as

[30:50] possible so the kids have a a space to

[30:52] play. And so, you know, October

[30:55] playground is deemed unsafe. And then

[30:57] December, end of December, that's when

[31:00] uh the 501c was created. And then

[31:03] January 14th was the day that letters

[31:06] were sent out. Uh and you know today

[31:10] we're 118 days in uh you know uh

[31:13] Dominique's been a huge help with uh the

[31:16] Facebook the social media page really

[31:17] getting the word out about this project.

[31:20] And then uh we all said uh Julie Dany

[31:22] created the website uh you know for for

[31:25] the playground. super helpful uh just to

[31:28] have so many uh community members be,

[31:31] you know, and you know, staff coming

[31:34] together for this project to really uh

[31:36] get this going, get get it off the

[31:38] ground and get to where we are today.

[31:42] >> And I'm sorry, this is Jeff Rose, former

[31:44] teaching graduate, owned his own

[31:46] business, and was our first big donor.

[31:53] So you can follow along the slide with

[31:56] you won't be if you're looking at we

[31:57] understand that

[32:00] >> all right so please

[32:06] » I'll introduce you we know that again so

[32:10] I'm the treasurer Carrie Shanahan who is

[32:13] the secretary Jeff Rose who is our um

[32:17] >> member of member at large, Steven

[32:19] Kapoka, our president. We also have

[32:22] Julie Duffany, um, member at large,

[32:25] Stacy Budro, member at large, and Aaron

[32:28] Ko, member at large.

[32:31] All right, so how we got here today, day

[32:34] 118, we decided that we were going to

[32:37] apply for any grant that could be

[32:40] applicable to us at any given time. It

[32:42] didn't matter. $400,000 is a really big

[32:45] number to swallow when you're sitting at

[32:46] zero. So when we said 400,000, we knew

[32:49] that it wasn't going to be the stop and

[32:50] shop donation that was going to give us

[32:52] $20 or it wasn't going to be, you know,

[32:54] $250. We needed to go for the bigger

[32:56] picture and the small stuff. We weren't

[32:58] saying no to anything. Um, we hosted a

[33:00] lot of community events. So if there was

[33:02] a place that would have us, then we were

[33:04] going to go. So we did car washes, gym

[33:06] games, bingo, restaurant nights,

[33:08] raffles. Again, if somebody said that

[33:10] they would have us, we were going to be

[33:12] there. We had a lot of businesses step

[33:14] up. You guys can actually see your

[33:15] coasters. This is um one of our

[33:18] favorites. I think we're in 27 different

[33:20] restaurants here in town. Um so all the

[33:23] businesses, tough winter, cold winter's

[33:25] just a tough time in general. We said,

[33:27] "How can we get there and how can you

[33:28] guys all be meeting as a committee and

[33:30] look at your coaster and say, "Oh, the

[33:32] playground." We knew that the playground

[33:33] needed to be at every single person like

[33:35] on the top of their brain. If it wasn't,

[33:36] then we weren't going to keep the money

[33:38] flowing in. So we had to do it. Um we

[33:41] had a lot of alumni support. So people

[33:43] are really proud to run the halls of

[33:45] Ticket and it goes as much as certain

[33:47] foundation people were coming in and

[33:48] they're raising their hands at anything

[33:50] that we would and be like I used to run

[33:51] the halls of Ticket. So it was really

[33:53] nice to see that especially I'm not from

[33:55] Felman so I don't know all of those

[33:56] things but people coming out of the

[33:58] woodwork to share their experiences and

[33:59] talk about Ticket was really magical.

[34:02] And then volunteers okay there was so

[34:04] much heart and soul that was poured

[34:05] behind this project so far. And I'm also

[34:07] talking like it's done. It's not done

[34:08] but there we've made a good portion good

[34:12] headway. Um, but so many people came out

[34:14] and they just helped and they were like,

[34:15] "You need something here. I have an

[34:17] idea." Like we just we would take it.

[34:19] Um, so I think the number one thing that

[34:21] got us to where we are is that we said

[34:23] yes to absolutely every single thing and

[34:25] immediately implemented the next day.

[34:27] There were sometimes that we were

[34:29] texting at 6:00 a.m. There were

[34:30] sometimes that we were up until midnight

[34:32] doing whatever we needed to do to get it

[34:33] done. And no idea was too wild because

[34:37] we wanted a playground as fast as

[34:39] humanly possible. So, we did multiple

[34:41] radio ads. Turns out we can do that sort

[34:43] of stuff. Um, we went on presentations

[34:46] like this. We did a TV segment and we've

[34:48] had multiple newspaper articles. Again,

[34:50] if they'll have us, well, we'll be

[34:52] there.

[34:55] >> So, how much have we raised? Well, we

[34:57] are at $354,695.54

[35:02] and we're

[35:03] >> um sorry, there is an additional 4,000.

[35:05] Again, it climbs every day. So,

[35:08] >> perfect.

[35:10] Yes. So, we're still, you know, we're

[35:12] still looking to, you know, raise more

[35:13] money. We have 306 individual donors.

[35:16] We've gotten three grants.

[35:24] » Sorry.

[35:25] >> We got three grants accepted so far.

[35:28] We've done four

[35:30] >> four in memory uh for loved ones. Uh you

[35:35] know, people you know, raising money for

[35:37] you know, a loved one. Uh we've hosted

[35:39] 11 events and 189 Facebook posts. Like I

[35:43] said before, the social media aspect of

[35:46] things has been a huge uh you know just

[35:48] getting the word out. Uh power you know

[35:50] powerful tool social media can be. Um,

[35:53] and you know, at the end of the day,

[35:54] we've done this in 118 days. And when I

[35:57] joined on the committee early on and

[35:59] donated, it was uh a very far, you know,

[36:04] $400,000 is a lot of money. And, you

[36:06] know, to start there and be here 100

[36:08] almost, you know, 4 months later, uh, is

[36:11] just really incredible. And it's really

[36:13] a testament of, you know, our community

[36:14] as a whole. Um, you know, super proud to

[36:17] be a part of this community and be a

[36:18] part of this project. um as a community

[36:21] member. Uh and it's really just uh a

[36:24] full circle moment for for me uh you

[36:26] know being at Ticket many moons ago and

[36:30] here here I am being able to give back

[36:32] to the community um that's given so much

[36:35] to me. So

[36:36] >> well and mind you when Jeffrey made his

[36:38] large donation we didn't have anything

[36:40] at that time. So it was a belief in what

[36:42] this project meant. So, the first few

[36:45] people that kind of went out there and

[36:46] put their name on the line, that was

[36:48] huge for us because again, you stand

[36:50] anywhere and you're like, I'm raising

[36:51] $400,000. They're like, "Okay, little

[36:53] girl, go." Like, you're not going to do

[36:55] that. I was like, "Oh, don't tell me."

[36:56] No.

[36:56] >> But he was in the snow making a video.

[36:58] We were all standing out in the snow in

[37:00] the rain making videos. And um I mean,

[37:03] there's a lot more donors that you don't

[37:04] see because we had a raffle. We raised

[37:06] $12,000 in a raffle. Many of you were at

[37:08] that event and bought raffle tickets. So

[37:11] we can't even count the number of people

[37:13] that have donated in that way too.

[37:15] >> Mhm.

[37:15] >> So definitely over 500 I would say at

[37:18] this point.

[37:19] >> Yeah.

[37:19] >> And this behind seeing see this is an

[37:22] interesting slide. I don't know if you

[37:23] can see it but um there's different

[37:25] levels.

[37:26] >> Yeah. So the tiger friend um that's

[37:28] everybody who donated $250. The Marav

[37:31] Vista friend was $500. The anchor friend

[37:35] was $1,000. The compass friend was two

[37:39] uh 2500. Clipper friend 5,000 T ticket

[37:43] friend 10,000 and legacy builder is

[37:47] 25,000 and up. So a lot of people really

[37:51] came together and these are just like

[37:53] you know the bigger ones but there were

[37:55] days that we would run well March 17th

[37:58] we just asked everybody to donate $17.

[38:00] We had well over 100 people who gave

[38:02] multiple times but just donated $17.

[38:05] Again like when we say that there was no

[38:06] donation too small. Somebody once threw

[38:08] 27 cents at me and we put that in our bank account.

[38:14] >> Okay. So, on on slide six, um this talks

[38:17] a little bit about the new playground,

[38:18] which you have a picture in front of

[38:19] you. Um so, the committee and actually,

[38:22] just so you know, the students were part

[38:24] of this. So, when we first started the

[38:25] process, we had to have some kind of

[38:28] design to just share with people so we

[38:30] could explain what we were trying to

[38:31] raise money for. It wasn't a sandbox

[38:33] that it was a big deal. So, um, we asked

[38:36] the kids and we asked the staff, "What

[38:37] what are you missing the most?" Monkey

[38:39] bars. We want monkey slides. We want a

[38:41] tall slide. Um, and then we had a couple

[38:43] of different ideas and when we shared

[38:44] them with the kids, they all love the

[38:46] ship. And so, obviously, the Clipper

[38:49] ship was the way we went. Um, we made

[38:52] some changes to the original design, but

[38:54] we wanted to make sure we had the same,

[38:56] if not better than what we had in the

[38:58] past. So, there are three slides on

[39:00] here, several sets of monkey bars. Um,

[39:03] as you know, we hold we have um 29 ASD

[39:07] children in our building. So, we want to

[39:09] make sure that we can accommodate all of

[39:11] those children as well as all the kids

[39:13] in the community. So, there are ramps

[39:15] here so you can get onto the ship. We

[39:17] have 25 different panels. A panel might

[39:19] be a brail panel. It might be a sensory

[39:21] panel, which is um a musical instrument,

[39:24] chimes, drums. We wanted uh things that

[39:26] will spin and turn. There's a bridge on

[39:29] here that the wheelchair can go up to.

[39:30] And then there's parallel play. So a

[39:32] child can be in a chair and and a peer

[39:34] can be next to that child. Both playing

[39:36] on that same piece of equipment. That

[39:38] was important to us. Um and as you know,

[39:41] our numbers are in increasing. All

[39:43] everybody's numbers are increasing in

[39:45] the special ed population and we need to

[39:47] be able to service all the kids in this

[39:48] town. So that was part of the design for

[39:52] ship.

[39:53] >> Gary, could you explain that tier thing

[39:55] again? where

[39:57] >> the two kits can be together.

[39:59] >> Yes. So there's actually I can uh share

[40:01] the share a picture of it.

[40:05] >> Yeah. So that's a separate bridge and

[40:06] there's two there's a steering wheel and

[40:08] another piece of equipment here. So a

[40:10] wheelchair can come all the way up here

[40:12] and the kids can play together.

[40:14] >> There are around 52 pieces of equipment

[40:16] that are on the ground. So if a child

[40:19] didn't want to climb or go up that area,

[40:22] they can stay on that that ground

[40:24] surface and still have play. Um and the

[40:27] rubber surface is huge. So our we had

[40:29] rubber tiles which were recycled um

[40:31] airplanes and tires, right? And we had

[40:33] bees that got underneath them. So there

[40:34] were a lot of problems with that and

[40:36] glue and we it was Yeah. So anyway, this

[40:38] is a new pour in place product. So what

[40:40] will happen is um we're going to pour

[40:42] slap. It's going to be installed on the

[40:45] slack and then they will pour the rubber

[40:47] on top which will be safer and easier

[40:51] and it won't crack. You'll have a better

[40:52] warranty. But we picked um blue for the

[40:55] ocean and sand obviously sand color for

[40:58] the ships. So that was part of the theme

[40:59] as well and that was originally we had

[41:01] orange color and the kids said why are

[41:03] we doing sand and ocean? So great

[41:04] whatever you guys maroon for

[41:06] >> and we changed the colors to maroon. So

[41:08] originally the design looked a little

[41:09] bit like this. It was green

[41:12] But we made some changes with the kids

[41:15] help and um the staff because Stacy's

[41:17] out there for recess duty every day. She

[41:19] knows what they're missing and and and

[41:22] it causes problems when there's nothing

[41:23] to play.

[41:29] » All right. So, one thing about this is

[41:31] if you notice in our name, we're not

[41:33] just the Ticket Playground. We're the TT

[41:35] community playground. And the reason

[41:36] being is because especially if you've

[41:38] had young children and you're bored, you

[41:40] go to multiple different playgrounds.

[41:42] you don't just go to one or just don't

[41:43] go to the one that your kids play on

[41:44] every single day at recess. So, we know

[41:46] that there are right now four elementary

[41:48] schools in our district. There's

[41:49] preschoolers, all the things those are

[41:51] all the young ones that are going to be

[41:52] coming and using this. Um, like Carrie

[41:55] said, special education near and dear to

[41:57] my heart, but it's on the rise. And I

[41:59] actually went back and watched your

[42:00] video to see the real numbers. And in

[42:02] 2022, we were at 20.1%

[42:05] special education and now we're at 20 in

[42:08] 2026, we're at 24.9. We know that's not

[42:11] just us, but that means that our

[42:13] surrounding communities as well can use

[42:15] different aspects of this. Um, something

[42:17] that we have at TIG and the playground

[42:20] was designed for is children with

[42:22] autism, um, developmental delays,

[42:24] sensory hearing, sensory vision,

[42:26] neurological, emotional, uh, specific

[42:28] learning disabilities and different

[42:30] health issues. So, that's the ones that

[42:32] we house here right at Ticket, but we

[42:34] also know that that goes broader to

[42:36] other things. So, especially children

[42:38] with autism, they use a lot of sensory

[42:41] for regulating their body, regulating

[42:42] their nervous system. Something that I

[42:44] do truly believe that they miss every

[42:46] single day because a playground is the

[42:47] extension of a classroom. It's easy for

[42:50] them to go and look for those sensory

[42:51] issues from jumping, from crashing into

[42:54] things, the musical elements, just

[42:56] touching different things, um, running,

[42:58] you know, like all of those things are

[43:00] really important and we wanted to make

[43:02] sure that we could deliver that at all

[43:04] times, not just during school hours. So,

[43:06] something that we thought of and it was

[43:08] one of the things that we went back to

[43:10] the design people, we really wanted to

[43:12] have that outdoor seating because the

[43:14] community can use this now as free

[43:15] birthday parties. I don't know about

[43:16] you, but cost living is not that fun

[43:18] around here. So, who can spend $500 on,

[43:20] you know, something that kids can just

[43:22] go outside and go play and have a

[43:23] playground, especially a brand new one.

[43:24] Um, so we really looked at this project

[43:26] and just said, well, life gave us

[43:27] lemons. We should just make lemonade.

[43:29] So, we tried our absolute hardest to

[43:30] make it as like the best that we

[43:32] absolutely could for every student, not

[43:35] just for circumstance.

[43:39] I think that's it

[43:41] questions.

[43:50] » Anybody have any? Yes, Katrina.

[43:52] >> So, you have how much left? Just about

[43:54] 30,000. Are you doing more of that?

[43:56] >> Yes. Apple. Sorry, I forgot to mention

[43:58] that one. Yes, we are. Actually, if you

[44:00] guys are free and you want to come and

[44:01] hang out um this Saturday at the Daily

[44:03] Brew from 6:00 to 9:00, we will have a

[44:06] playground jam session. So, there's a

[44:08] bunch of different artists that have

[44:09] volunteered their time. The tickets are

[44:11] $25, but 100% of the proceeds for ticket

[44:14] sales go to us. So, if you can come and

[44:16] make it, it'll be a lot of fun. And then

[44:18] I don't know exactly what's left.

[44:21] >> We do have some grants that we're

[44:22] waiting to hear back from and we're

[44:24] hopeful on some of that information.

[44:28] Great Margaret.

[44:31] >> Thank you.

[44:34] >> A financial question. Good job all of

[44:36] you. But this is more towards Paul if I

[44:38] could. What happens to a CPC grant that

[44:42] we discussed for this project?

[44:44] >> The uh application opened up in April.

[44:47] >> Yeah.

[44:47] >> And uh their decision is in August and

[44:51] then it gets voted on in November. So

[44:55] it's still there. Uh and if we going to

[44:59] proceed forward given that there are

[45:02] really right at that edge. So we'll

[45:04] proceed forward and and then we'll uh

[45:08] take you know cancel the application at

[45:10] some point.

[45:12] >> Are you

[45:14] whose idea is this?

[45:15] >> It's brilliant.

[45:16] >> Well, I guess the firework committee

[45:18] wants to do it now.

[45:22] egg.

[45:23] >> I just Well, it was my idea. Julie

[45:25] definitely created it.

[45:26] >> Okay.

[45:26] >> But they're big in Florida.

[45:28] >> Really?

[45:29] >> They're big other places.

[45:31] >> In Germany, they call these beer decals.

[45:34] >> Yeah, that's Yeah,

[45:38] » in some people's houses, they have

[45:40] stacks like this. You don't collect in

[45:42] those. Okay.

[45:42] >> I'm sorry. I wasn't supposed to comment

[45:44] yet. Why am I turn? Go ahead.

[45:45] >> No, you don't.

[45:46] >> Yeah. Um, wow. I uh have dabbled in

[45:51] grant writing and especially in this

[45:53] climate I know that a $10,000 gift is

[45:56] huge. It's more along the lines of 2500

[46:00] to 5,000. So the fact that you got these

[46:02] monstrous grants one thanks to you guys

[46:05] because it was the Felmouth road race to

[46:07] 50,000. So that really was helpful.

[46:10] >> So actually those are two questions if I

[46:12] can ask through you to for Paul. Um, so

[46:15] you had the Falmouth road race on your

[46:18] list as far as a donor that was what'

[46:21] you say 20 50 or

[46:24] >> it was 25,000 and up just the legacy

[46:26] builder is the highest. So both of those

[46:28] donors gave more than half.

[46:30] >> So are we uh so

[46:33] through the schools from the thalmouth

[46:35] road race are we gifting $50,000 is that

[46:39] for the project or

[46:41] >> so um the road race um

[46:45] each year um will give a certain amount

[46:48] to the school system and so uh we put uh

[46:51] different projects forward to the Fmouth

[46:53] road race. this year. The only one I put

[46:55] forward was the Ticket um playground. Um

[46:58] they've committed 50,000. Um and there

[47:02] could possibly be some potential more.

[47:05] Um so they they've been watching things

[47:07] and and whatever. But so that's that's

[47:10] usually how each each year. It used to

[47:12] be twice a year. Um now they they accept

[47:15] it once a year. This is actually out of

[47:17] cycle. Um but they were so excited about

[47:20] um wanting to be a part of this that um

[47:23] out of cycle they've um committed the

[47:25] 50,000.

[47:26] >> Yes. Great.

[47:27] >> That goes to the August.

[47:28] >> They did come and paint the thermometer.

[47:30] So we have a thermometer on the street.

[47:31] So if you drive by anybody who did a

[47:33] thousand or more they're on the

[47:34] thermometer.

[47:35] >> We thought of it like NASCAR. So you

[47:37] know how like NASCAR if you're driving

[47:38] around looking at the cars they have all

[47:40] their sponsors on it. So we said well we

[47:42] should do that instead of like lawn

[47:44] signs that cost money or different

[47:45] things. So instead, if you drive by and

[47:46] you see it, everybody who gave $1,000 or

[47:49] more, their business, their name, in

[47:51] memory of whatever, however they did

[47:54] their donation, it's up there.

[47:56] >> That's amazing. Just one other quick

[47:58] question. I think at I don't know if it

[48:01] was the last school committee meeting or

[48:02] the before that there was an

[48:04] announcement about um Representative

[48:06] Vieiraa um earmarking some money for for

[48:10] the project. Is that is that still in

[48:12] the works? Uh so the um House did vote

[48:16] uh money but now it has to go through

[48:17] the Senate um and then it has to go

[48:20] through so there's a there's a process

[48:21] when you earmark the money. So yes, uh

[48:24] 50,000 was earmarked through u that

[48:26] process. Um the Senate has to vote on it

[48:29] and I believe their budget week is um

[48:34] this week or next week and then it then

[48:36] it has to, you know, the final um

[48:38] whatever works out then Governor Healey

[48:40] would sign off on. We usually don't know

[48:42] that until July. Um but I think if it

[48:46] passes the House and the Senate, it's

[48:49] likely that it's going to go all the way

[48:50] through. So, so we're watching that as

[48:52] well.

[48:53] >> Thank you,

[48:54] >> Susan.

[48:55] >> So, if that were to happen, you can get

[48:57] started this summer, right? What's the

[48:59] lead time for construction?

[49:02] >> ASAP.

[49:04] >> We hope to have it finished by August

[49:06] 14th. Yeah,

[49:07] >> we we're confident that um that we're

[49:10] going to get there and that's what Paul

[49:11] was kind of indicating. We're we're

[49:12] moving forward as um though we have the

[49:15] funds because we're we're fairly

[49:17] confident it's not going to come in.

[49:18] >> Nice job, everyone. That's amazing.

[49:20] >> It really is.

[49:21] >> We'll be inviting you to the dedication

[49:23] the first week of school.

[49:24] >> Awesome.

[49:24] >> It'll be a dedication.

[49:26] >> Yeah.

[49:27] >> No, just just great job. It's great to see community members kind of

[49:31] step up and and take charge.

[49:34] >> It's amazing. Absolutely amazing.

[49:37] >> Yeah.

[49:39] >> I just love to add your next Sorry.

[49:42] >> No, no, I'm I'm good. I made a fool of

[49:44] myself with a beer.

[49:47] >> We have extras here.

[49:50] I just want to say that it's a really a

[49:52] testament to the people seated to my

[49:54] left and behind me and the people that

[49:56] aren't here on this committee that

[49:58] organized and got this going and it's

[50:00] really as you mentioned community and

[50:03] the enormity of it. You know, um the the

[50:06] connections that this school has had

[50:08] with people and the people the

[50:10] individuals of our staff that have made

[50:12] these connections is really what is the

[50:14] catalyst for all this. And it goes right

[50:16] up until the the$127 cents donation

[50:19] right up until um the our biggest

[50:22] donation which I remiss not to mention

[50:24] that the Lindon Collar Russo Tribal

[50:26] Foundation granted us $150,000

[50:29] and that is a direct connection to

[50:31] Ticket because two of the two of the

[50:34] trustees of the organization went to

[50:36] Ticket. They're like the you know one of

[50:38] the other trustees Mr. Louis's grandkids

[50:40] went to Dickett. Um, and it's really a

[50:42] testament to the hard work and

[50:44] connection that they have made over the

[50:45] years. Um, you know, as a community

[50:48] school and a community, it's amazing. I

[50:50] mean, you know, many of this, I mean,

[50:51] fact that I signed the 501c3 letter in

[50:55] December 31st, 2025, and we're sitting

[50:57] here, you know, just shy of $30,000. Um,

[51:02] it's amazing. And it's all these guys.

[51:06] We thank you for your support and I

[51:08] won't see you tonight.

[51:09] >> Yeah. No, thank you because you guys

[51:11] have been supportive and it does mean a

[51:12] lot to us because without your support,

[51:15] we can't really build on property.

[51:19] >> So, maybe I'll see you on Saturday

[51:21] night.

[51:21] >> Yeah. Thank you so much.

[51:30] » Nothing can follow that after.

[51:33] Okay. Um the next item on the agenda is

[51:36] to discuss and possibly act on the

[51:39] Lawrence school grade configuration.

[51:41] Um well we have gotten communication

[51:44] from the MSBA that um a decision

[51:48] deadline they would have liked to have

[51:50] had a miss decision deadline that we

[51:53] didn't because we didn't have enough

[51:54] input at the time. So now we will work

[51:59] with them um during we're still in the

[52:04] um eligibility period um after a few

[52:07] months and we'll be in the feasibility

[52:09] period and um MSBA offers data. They

[52:14] help you collect data. They do not um

[52:17] advise you how to vote the

[52:18] configuration, but um to me it's a great

[52:22] opportunity because we get we don't we

[52:25] were thinking about feasibility studies

[52:27] for a lot of different things that we

[52:28] do. We don't have to pay for this. We

[52:31] get unbiased

[52:33] um information um handed to us working

[52:36] in along with them. So, um, we could

[52:40] vote tonight. Um, and but we might have

[52:44] to vote again and change it if they come

[52:47] up with some data that we hadn't thought

[52:50] of. I mean, it's their expertise and

[52:52] they um love love love they said it so

[52:56] many times to work in collaboration with

[52:58] towns. So, they they are welcoming the

[53:01] opportunity for this. So, um, we could,

[53:06] somebody couldn't make a motion for a

[53:08] certain configuration. Um, I can give my

[53:11] opinion cuz I'm leaving and I don't care

[53:13] what you do. Sue me, but I'll be gone.

[53:15] Um, that why not take this opportunity

[53:18] to work with them. Um, and not do Eddie

[53:21] vote tonight. Okay. But, um, so

[53:27] I don't know if I would make a motion

[53:28] yet because No. Okay.

[53:30] um would start um with comments on this

[53:34] side.

[53:35] >> Um I I I follow your lead, Terry, on it.

[53:39] I I don't think that we I don't want to

[53:42] get ahead of MSBA.

[53:44] And I even more than that don't want to

[53:48] make a decision and then have our

[53:50] community hear it and then get new

[53:52] information and then might need to make

[53:54] a different decision because that's a

[53:56] terrible place for families to be in

[53:58] where they think that they know what's

[53:59] going to happen and then we pull the

[54:01] carpet out. So, um I'm inclined to not

[54:05] make any motions.

[54:07] Um yes, I I would definitely be in favor

[54:09] of deferring a vote until um feasibility

[54:12] study is done and more information is

[54:14] gathered.

[54:16] >> Again, when the feasibility study, give

[54:18] us more information.

[54:21] >> Um I agree and as we heard from our

[54:23] public comment, um we still need to do a

[54:27] survey which we had tabled, but we still

[54:30] need to do that of the parents. Um, so,

[54:33] uh, yes, we still need to gather more

[54:35] information before we make a final

[54:36] decision.

[54:39] >> Melissa,

[54:40] >> um, I absolutely asked for a survey for

[54:42] the families, uh, a while back and, uh,

[54:45] I

[54:48] couldn't agree more that waiting for the

[54:50] feasibility study. It would, uh, provide

[54:52] us with much needed time to make sure

[54:54] that we hear from everybody and that we

[54:56] get our surveys back. And I just want to

[54:59] make an informed decision. I think I've

[55:00] said it from the beginning and I

[55:01] continue to stand by that statement. So,

[55:04] I would like to uh hold off on that.

[55:08] Mike, yeah, I have a real issue with how

[55:11] this thing went down because there were

[55:14] members of this committee who asked for

[55:16] a feasibility study before we gave up

[55:17] Morris Pond. And at that time, it was

[55:20] not necessary. We had no information.

[55:24] scale Morse pond with one data point.

[55:27] In the summer and the fall for four

[55:29] consecutive meetings, we were told we

[55:32] have to vote great configuration before

[55:35] MSBA.

[55:36] At every single meeting,

[55:39] finance director would say it would make

[55:41] us in a stronger position.

[55:45] November, December, we started getting

[55:46] emails from parents. 95% or more

[55:51] showed interest in one grade

[55:53] configuration which was the opposite of

[55:55] administration.

[55:56] About twothirds of the teachers surveyed

[55:59] say the same grade configuration

[56:02] the opposite administration. I had asked

[56:04] this to be on the agenda since January.

[56:08] Every agenda I asked every agenda I was

[56:11] denied.

[56:13] March 13th, I made a motion at the end

[56:16] of the meeting and it passed

[56:19] to be discussed at the April 28th

[56:21] meeting.

[56:23] Early in April, early in April, the

[56:25] superintendent called people up, said

[56:27] she spoke to the MSBA. None of us have

[56:29] ever spoken to the MSBA.

[56:32] So, calling up members saying we

[56:34] couldn't do it and then I said I still

[56:36] want to do it and then canceling the

[56:37] April 28th meeting.

[56:40] this entire process.

[56:43] If we wanted a feasibility study, why

[56:45] did everyone fight against it for most?

[56:48] Because that was offered meeting after

[56:50] meeting. And why was there a big push in

[56:53] the summer and fall?

[56:56] I think, and I might be wrong, but I

[56:58] think this is just a delay tactic until

[57:00] we get new members on the board who will

[57:02] rubber stamp ideas. And that's wrong.

[57:06] Every single time that Shawn guy comes

[57:08] for mask, he asks each and every one of

[57:11] us, who are you here for? Why did you

[57:13] run for school committee? And everyone

[57:14] says the children over 95% of parents

[57:18] want one thing. Twothirds of teachers

[57:20] want one thing. It is the opposite what

[57:23] the administration has presented. So the

[57:25] question is, who are we really here for?

[57:28] And obviously we're not going to discuss

[57:30] any further, but that's my only question

[57:31] to everyone here.

[57:35] Margaret,

[57:38] >> you know, I really do believe that every

[57:40] person on this committee really cares

[57:42] about students, really has uh believes

[57:45] that they have the students best

[57:46] interest at heart. Um, however,

[57:50] different people have different points

[57:52] of view and that makes it difficult. um

[57:57] a feasibility study now has been

[58:00] authorized and would pay for and it

[58:02] would not have been paid for in the very

[58:05] beginning of this process. And so I do

[58:08] think that um we need to wait. I think

[58:11] what Kelly said about we do not want to

[58:14] make a decision and then tell the

[58:16] parents this is what's going to happen

[58:17] and it changes. We need all the

[58:20] information we can get to make a good

[58:22] decision and I think we need to wait for

[58:25] a little study and to work with you.

[58:31] » Um I because I had not seen anything

[58:34] about this in writing from the MSBA. I

[58:36] actually called them spoke to someone

[58:38] named Katherine um I'm forgetting her

[58:41] last name. It was an Italian last name

[58:42] and she gave me the email. she was very

[58:44] helpful and um said why don't you reach

[58:47] out to Claire Learner who's the senior

[58:48] project coordinator and Claire was very

[58:51] helpful and wrote back to me. So the the

[58:52] description she gave is um I can confirm

[58:56] that the MSBA has no issue with the

[58:58] district's decision to vote on the

[58:59] proposed grade configuration for the

[59:01] project. As a reminder, regardless of

[59:03] the results of the vote, the district

[59:06] will be required to study the options

[59:08] outlined in the eligibility period board

[59:10] action letter, which we got back in um

[59:12] December um as part of the MSBA process.

[59:15] So, what I got from both of them was we

[59:19] can vote now, we can vote later. It

[59:21] really doesn't matter to them. We still

[59:22] have to study the options, but there's

[59:24] no reason why March 1st changed

[59:26] anything. So, that was I think the

[59:28] confusion for me. Um did we miss a

[59:30] deadline and now we can't vote? No, we

[59:32] could if we wanted to. Um nothing

[59:34] changed once we entered the eligibility

[59:36] phase is what they're saying. It's just

[59:39] um now that we're in the eligibility

[59:41] phase, we will go through the

[59:42] feasibility study and have to study the

[59:45] options. So um I agree that it makes

[59:47] sense and I am um willing to delay

[59:51] because I want to get our survey from

[59:53] families. Um and I will trust that we're

[59:57] going to actually untable. It wasn't

[59:59] tabled. It was just delayed. whatever

[1:00:01] you did to the agenda item to have a

[1:00:03] survey um that that will come back

[1:00:07] before us very soon because I think my

[1:00:10] concern is that if we say we're not

[1:00:13] going to vote now and we're going to

[1:00:14] wait for the feasibility study, we don't

[1:00:16] really know exactly when that phase is

[1:00:19] going to be wrapping up and we don't

[1:00:20] always understand when we're going to

[1:00:22] have to take an action on something

[1:00:23] before we get there. And if we don't do

[1:00:25] the surveying in time, we might reach a

[1:00:27] crunch deadline where we have to vote on

[1:00:30] the U grade configuration. And I'm just

[1:00:32] saying this from my experience being on

[1:00:34] this committee that I don't want to get

[1:00:36] have a a moment down the line where

[1:00:39] we're told that we don't have time to

[1:00:40] survey people. So if we can do that

[1:00:42] survey ASAP and then if we want to do

[1:00:45] another one um in September, we can do

[1:00:48] another one closer to the time and see

[1:00:49] if the public viewpoint has changed.

[1:00:52] More data is better. you see it now, you

[1:00:55] can see it again later and get those two

[1:00:57] data points to compare. So, as long as

[1:00:59] we are all on board with doing the

[1:01:02] survey, then I'm okay with um delaying

[1:01:04] because according to the MAC, it does

[1:01:06] not really matter to them when we do it.

[1:01:09] >> Okay.

[1:01:11] >> Yes.

[1:01:12] >> I have a followup for whoever the chair

[1:01:13] might be in the future.

[1:01:16] >> Why haven't we had the MSBA person at

[1:01:18] any meeting? Why can't we talk to them?

[1:01:21] Why is the information that my colleague

[1:01:23] Miss Neban giving the exact opposite

[1:01:25] information that we got on those phone

[1:01:27] calls of April 1st and 2nd?

[1:01:30] There is a real issue where in the

[1:01:32] summer and the fall we were pushing

[1:01:33] this. People in their evaluation said

[1:01:36] that we need to make a decision and

[1:01:38] anything

[1:01:40] that's lacking because of our lack of

[1:01:42] decision is not our administration. And

[1:01:44] then those same people come here at this

[1:01:47] meeting and say we should wait.

[1:01:50] There's there was we could have had the

[1:01:52] survey in this discussion on April 28th.

[1:01:54] There was no reason to cancel that

[1:01:56] meeting.

[1:01:58] I'd asked for MSBA to come and speak to

[1:02:00] us. No one has done that. So, I

[1:02:03] apologize, but I don't trust anything's

[1:02:05] going to happen ever again because Miss

[1:02:07] Nevin asked for that survey on March

[1:02:09] 13th. We don't even have a draft of the

[1:02:12] survey. We have nothing.

[1:02:15] So, I feel this is a delay tactic until

[1:02:17] they get a more favorable board who will

[1:02:20] just stamp everything the administration

[1:02:22] wants to do. That's all I'll say. Thank

[1:02:25] you, Terry.

[1:02:27] >> Okay. Um

[1:02:29] All right. So, I guess what we are doing

[1:02:32] is nothing, right? Cuz it says in here

[1:02:34] possibly act. So, we're just going to do

[1:02:36] nothing for next.

[1:02:38] >> Okay. All right. So moving on to the

[1:02:40] next item would be to act on surplus

[1:02:43] world language materials.

[1:02:47] >> In your packet you have um a memo from

[1:02:50] uh Dr. Teller about uh the uh materials

[1:02:55] u listed that are surplus and we're

[1:02:58] asking um that you act on the surplus.

[1:03:04] >> Is there a motion to act on the surplus?

[1:03:06] >> I'll make a motion to act on the

[1:03:08] surplus. Second.

[1:03:09] >> Is there any discussion?

[1:03:12] >> Um,

[1:03:13] >> so we start in the middle with voting.

[1:03:15] Um,

[1:03:16] >> I just have a question.

[1:03:18] >> These folks haven't been hanging around

[1:03:20] since 1972, right?

[1:03:23] >> 1949.

[1:03:28] Yeah,

[1:03:28] >> there are a handful of uh copies that we

[1:03:31] have found as we had gone into a couple

[1:03:33] of different storage areas and they were

[1:03:35] saved because there were some passages

[1:03:38] or references that were being used that

[1:03:40] we can also access digitally should we

[1:03:42] choose to continue using interest.

[1:03:47] » Okay. Um so any other question? Just

[1:03:52] amazing to me that there's enough

[1:03:53] storage closets that every year we have

[1:03:56] >> the walls of that building are storage.

[1:03:58] You don't you don't realize it. You

[1:04:00] think it's a wall, but all

[1:04:01] >> the roofs from 1965 holding up the

[1:04:04] building.

[1:04:04] >> Yeah.

[1:04:06] >> I guess they're like insulation.

[1:04:09] >> You want your 1895

[1:04:12] >> part of the renovation.

[1:04:13] >> Yeah.

[1:04:14] >> That's an antique.

[1:04:15] >> Yes.

[1:04:16] What's going to happen to

[1:04:20] >> you language doesn't exactly change

[1:04:22] right still French

[1:04:26] » that might

[1:04:28] in 1985

[1:04:30] >> so we're going to vote

[1:04:33] >> yes

[1:04:33] >> thank you

[1:04:35] >> lumpy yes

[1:04:36] >> yesina

[1:04:39] yes

[1:04:40] >> yes

[1:04:41] >> and the deer yes so thank you

[1:04:44] >> all right Um the next item on the agenda

[1:04:46] is to act on FEF funding for the 2627

[1:04:50] school year.

[1:04:52] >> Uh years ago uh we worked with FF to uh

[1:04:55] streamline this process. Uh they are

[1:04:58] actually in their meeting uh tonight as

[1:05:00] well. Um this happens um every now and

[1:05:03] then. So they are uh the board that is

[1:05:06] voting at the same time you are um to

[1:05:09] accept these projects uh and um to

[1:05:13] accept the overall um uh donation of the

[1:05:18] uh projects or I shouldn't say donate

[1:05:20] it's a grant of 125,930.

[1:05:24] You can read the thumbnail description

[1:05:27] of each green.

[1:05:30] >> Okay. Is there a motion to

[1:05:33] >> I make a motion.

[1:05:34] >> Second.

[1:05:37] >> Okay. Um,

[1:05:40] comments or questions? Starting with

[1:05:42] Katrina this time.

[1:05:43] >> Oh, I love reading through the

[1:05:45] descriptions of these. Um, they're all

[1:05:47] so exciting. I wish I was a student

[1:05:49] right now studying our railroads through

[1:05:51] an engineering field. They're really

[1:05:53] cool. Our local railroads. Um, I'm

[1:05:56] really happy that the Bold program is

[1:05:58] getting more funding. That's a great

[1:05:59] one. I hear so many good things about

[1:06:01] that program and um I was also excited

[1:06:04] about school farm that you met at

[1:06:05] school. That sounds really cool.

[1:06:08] >> Margaret,

[1:06:09] >> well, first of all, I'm just grateful

[1:06:10] for E FS

[1:06:13] for their contribution to us. I'm also

[1:06:15] very grateful for the ingenuity of the

[1:06:17] teachers and the projects that they are

[1:06:19] developing uh that really help our

[1:06:22] students to move forward not just in

[1:06:24] breath but in depth.

[1:06:28] I just have one question. Who How are

[1:06:31] the grants decided?

[1:06:34] >> Carol teacher Franklin.

[1:06:39] » Any questions?

[1:06:40] >> Uh just a comment as somebody who's been

[1:06:42] uh I have um chaperowned a lot of these

[1:06:45] trips and I can't say enough about it

[1:06:48] and it really feel makes me feel good

[1:06:49] about um you know donating to VIPS,

[1:06:52] donating my time, donating um across all

[1:06:56] the things. So, um I encourage and

[1:07:00] support all the educators that have

[1:07:03] written grants for themselves, for the

[1:07:06] students. I can't say enough about it.

[1:07:08] We live in a very uh special place that

[1:07:11] we have this opportunity.

[1:07:14] » Um I second Miss Souza's comments. This

[1:07:17] these are amazingly innovative teacher

[1:07:20] grants and uh the FEF is so generous.

[1:07:25] It's it's incredible. So, um

[1:07:28] wonderful work.

[1:07:30] >> So, thank you to FEF. Um

[1:07:34] it's been so many years of granting

[1:07:38] these different projects and uh they are

[1:07:41] truly helpful to our system.

[1:07:45] >> Chris,

[1:07:46] >> um no, just essentially seconding every

[1:07:48] everyone's comments. Um we're very lucky

[1:07:50] to be blessed uh to live in this

[1:07:52] community where we have such such

[1:07:54] tremendous support from grassroots

[1:07:57] organization. So agree

[1:07:58] >> definitely a day a lot of generosity.

[1:08:01] >> Right.

[1:08:03] Okay. So um there was a motion. Okay. So

[1:08:07] we'll vote. I guess we start with Kelly

[1:08:10] this time.

[1:08:10] >> Well just yes

[1:08:12] >> yes.

[1:08:14] >> Wilk yes

[1:08:16] >> yes. Yes.

[1:08:17] >> Yes.

[1:08:18] >> Madirus. Yes. So that's unanimous.

[1:08:22] Okay. So, the next item on the agenda,

[1:08:27] um I would like to say this before um

[1:08:30] this item um I'd like to voice that um

[1:08:34] due to a discrepancy in the

[1:08:36] interpretation of the Massachusetts

[1:08:40] um dees evaluation process, I motion to

[1:08:44] send the evaluation back to the

[1:08:47] evaluation subcommittee to confer with

[1:08:50] council and then to bring it back.

[1:08:54] Okay. So, that's my my motion. Is there

[1:08:57] a second to that?

[1:08:58] >> A second.

[1:08:59] >> Okay. Um, so

[1:09:01] >> we can discuss this, correct?

[1:09:03] >> No.

[1:09:06] we can't discuss it.

[1:09:07] >> Well, I I spoke to Desessie today and

[1:09:10] what we're doing is wrong.

[1:09:12] >> You can't So, no. I have a real problem

[1:09:14] with this. It needs improvement on

[1:09:16] standard one.

[1:09:17] >> Excuse me, Mike. Please be quiet. Okay.

[1:09:20] Be quiet.

[1:09:22] Okay. It is not up for discussion. It's

[1:09:25] going to be reviewed by legal counsel.

[1:09:26] Okay. So, we had a motion and a second.

[1:09:29] Um, there's no discussion.

[1:09:32] We start voting in the middle. Right.

[1:09:34] >> Cohen, no. Augusta, yes.

[1:09:54] lumping

[1:09:57] >> Terry's thinking.

[1:09:58] >> Yes.

[1:09:58] >> Terry, is there anything else you can

[1:10:00] say about what?

[1:10:01] >> No, we are not discussing it. Katrina,

[1:10:03] >> I just don't understand it.

[1:10:05] >> Um, I don't understand either, but I'm

[1:10:07] just going to put um my confidence in

[1:10:09] the chair that there's something I don't

[1:10:11] know and I'll just trust the process.

[1:10:13] So, Welch, yes, Katrina.

[1:10:17] So, are we tableabling it or what is

[1:10:19] >> Yes, we're tableabling it. We need

[1:10:21] >> Well, you're sending it back to

[1:10:22] committee, right? Correct.

[1:10:23] >> That's different than tableabling that.

[1:10:25] >> Yes.

[1:10:25] >> So, I'm just one I'm confused about the

[1:10:28] motion cuz we're not tableabling. We are

[1:10:30] referring it.

[1:10:31] >> I have my little card and I'm trying to

[1:10:33] figure out what we're doing because

[1:10:35] >> refer to committee is subsiding.

[1:10:37] >> Okay, guys. And we do we really need to

[1:10:40] hassle through the legal name.

[1:10:42] >> No, I just wanted to make sure we're

[1:10:44] doing it the right way. She didn't use

[1:10:45] the word um The description of it is we

[1:10:48] need more information. Whether it should

[1:10:51] be tabled to get more information,

[1:10:53] whether we should use the term referred

[1:10:55] to get more information.

[1:10:56] >> Well, there just different like you

[1:10:57] might you have a majority but um refer

[1:10:59] to committee and for tableabling.

[1:11:03] >> I don't know how to work here.

[1:11:05] >> Simple majority, right? Okay. So, as

[1:11:06] long as it's a majority for both, I just

[1:11:08] wanted to make sure

[1:11:09] >> point of information. Did we discuss a

[1:11:11] referral on your little Robin's rules

[1:11:13] charts at Patuna? I don't know

[1:11:15] >> because if it was referral that means

[1:11:17] I'm open for discussion not just a vote

[1:11:19] according to Robert's rules.

[1:11:21] >> So I think that we should follow

[1:11:24] >> we are I am not going to allow

[1:11:26] discussion. I think I can do that. I'm

[1:11:29] there's a reason for the no discussion.

[1:11:32] So

[1:11:34] >> um

[1:11:37] can I ask a point of clarity? We've all

[1:11:40] submitted our evaluations. Legal counsel

[1:11:43] can't change anybody's evaluation.

[1:11:45] Right.

[1:11:46] >> We are, excuse me, we are not looking to

[1:11:48] change anything. We are looking for a

[1:11:51] legal interpretation which we don't have

[1:11:55] ourselves. Okay.

[1:11:57] >> Okay. We cannot change anything that was

[1:12:00] submitted by May 1st.

[1:12:02] >> Okay. Nothing's going to be chang

[1:12:05] you understand. We want to make sure

[1:12:06] that we score them correctly.

[1:12:08] >> Okay.

[1:12:08] >> All right.

[1:12:10] just for the public and I'm sorry I'm

[1:12:11] losing it but um scoring the documents

[1:12:15] is really difficult in that some of the

[1:12:18] definitions such as prepundonderance

[1:12:22] are hard to get around. So we want to be

[1:12:24] sure that we're doing it clearly

[1:12:26] legally. Okay. So

[1:12:28] >> um and just we're going to be voting on

[1:12:30] this with new members.

[1:12:32] >> Yeah.

[1:12:32] >> How's that?

[1:12:33] >> Okay. Um

[1:12:34] >> unless we're having another meeting

[1:12:35] before the election. Either way, it will

[1:12:37] work because there will be a um either

[1:12:40] six or seven people, which is a majority

[1:12:42] of the committee that's here now. It can

[1:12:46] either be done by another meeting or

[1:12:48] after the elections. It doesn't matter.

[1:12:50] >> Okay. All right. Thank you for all that

[1:12:51] clarification before.

[1:12:52] >> All right. Um All right. Nothing. Yes.

[1:12:55] >> Okay.

[1:12:58] >> Um Hen commented. I just want to make

[1:13:01] sure that what I have here the

[1:13:03] preponderance is not going to change the

[1:13:05] overall needs improvement provision

[1:13:07] because I spoke to Desessie today.

[1:13:09] >> Mike, please.

[1:13:11] >> No, it's a big no. Mrs. Wrong.

[1:13:13] >> Okay. Melissa.

[1:13:15] >> U Melissa keeps yes because I'm trusting

[1:13:17] the process because there's more to this

[1:13:19] that I don't know and I'm trusting.

[1:13:21] >> Okay. Um and Madiraas says yes. So did

[1:13:25] somebody count those?

[1:13:26] >> I did. So we have um

[1:13:29] >> seven yes and two,

[1:13:30] >> one two no and seven yes. Okay.

[1:13:32] >> Can I can I ask a clarifying question?

[1:13:35] If we have our meeting after the

[1:13:38] election, how will the people who are on

[1:13:42] the committee now who who evaluated

[1:13:47] have the opportunity to discuss their

[1:13:50] evaluations in an open meeting which we

[1:13:54] are required to do. So, so we'd have to

[1:13:57] have another meeting before the

[1:13:59] election.

[1:14:02] » Can I respond to that?

[1:14:04] >> Okay. You

[1:14:05] >> can I just

[1:14:06] >> We don't know for sure. So, we'll get a

[1:14:09] legal answer about that. Linda,

[1:14:11] >> okay.

[1:14:11] None of us are attorneys, so we

[1:14:14] will get a answer for that. Okay. Can I

[1:14:17] just say that my first year on the

[1:14:19] committee the election the evaluation

[1:14:22] was not done when I was new on the

[1:14:24] committee we voted for

[1:14:29] >> I kind of think that we have done that

[1:14:31] in the past we have not always had

[1:14:34] evaluations before elections but I'm

[1:14:36] going to check into that okay

[1:14:40] >> okay so with that done um

[1:14:45] routine business. That would be the

[1:14:47] minutes.

[1:14:50] » Anybody make a motion on your minutes?

[1:14:53] >> I'll make a motion to um approve the

[1:14:56] minutes of April 14th, 2026.

[1:15:01] >> Is there a second?

[1:15:03] >> Okay. Any edits?

[1:15:05] >> Just a quick

[1:15:09] Yeah. Okay. Um, right before routine

[1:15:12] business, the discussion of

[1:15:14] superintendent is just a type of spell.

[1:15:18] Okay.

[1:15:20] No other edits. Okay. Is there a motion

[1:15:22] to approve them?

[1:15:23] >> I'll make a motion to approve.

[1:15:30] » Anybody second it?

[1:15:31] >> Second.

[1:15:32] >> Okay. I forget where we are to Oh, is it

[1:15:35] back over this side? Okay. Katrina. Yes.

[1:15:38] >> Yes.

[1:15:43] Okay. Madiraas. Yes. Okay. Um,

[1:15:47] committee reports.

[1:15:50] Mike,

[1:15:51] >> I um had a table at the multicultural

[1:15:53] fair this past weekend. Henry was there

[1:15:57] representing. It was a good time. It was

[1:15:58] at the East Found School. Um

[1:16:03] there was some some discussion from some

[1:16:06] uh Wampaog folks and there was dancing

[1:16:08] and uh the gentleman next to me from

[1:16:10] Venezuela, this is the best part. He had

[1:16:13] come over and told me how the Irish had

[1:16:15] gave Venezuela their independence in the

[1:16:17] 1840s and I never knew that. Very

[1:16:19] interesting. And they have a whole place

[1:16:22] uh in Karacas of General Olirri. So, I

[1:16:25] was talking to Henry earlier and it was

[1:16:27] a great event and I think I would like

[1:16:29] to see it grow more and I would like to

[1:16:30] thank Christine Christina and Amy

[1:16:34] >> and Bethany

[1:16:35] >> Bethany Jay Christina Amy

[1:16:38] >> and they got all

[1:16:39] >> forget all the names. Sorry.

[1:16:41] >> That's it. Thank you.

[1:16:43] >> Okay. Any other committee reports? So,

[1:16:46] um I attended the district health and

[1:16:48] safety meeting yesterday afternoon where

[1:16:51] we were briefed on the Alice drills, uh

[1:16:53] the fire alarm drills,

[1:16:56] uh and updated new safety measures in

[1:16:59] the central command room for cameras,

[1:17:00] interlocking doors, and camera

[1:17:02] replacement uh as well as there was

[1:17:05] there were reports from each of the

[1:17:07] schools. So, if anyone has any

[1:17:09] questions, either see me or see Dr. D.

[1:17:16] Okay. Um, right now,

[1:17:18] >> wait, Kevin.

[1:17:20] >> Oh, I I'm sorry. This

[1:17:23] um we were invited um once again to have

[1:17:26] um information for voter registration at

[1:17:29] graduation rehearsal. Um which I've done

[1:17:33] I don't know how many years now. Um we

[1:17:35] host the bre the breakfast for the

[1:17:37] seniors that are graduating when they

[1:17:39] come in for rehearsal and just make sure

[1:17:41] that they understand how to register.

[1:17:43] Um, and it is Thursday the 4th of June.

[1:17:48] I think at 8:00 a.m. in my calendar, but

[1:17:50] I have a feeling that's not exactly

[1:17:51] right. So, if anybody wants to join,

[1:17:53] just let me know.

[1:17:56] >> I had joined last year.

[1:17:58] >> Great. Thanks. Um, so I had my first and

[1:18:01] only sadly meeting with CPAC. Uh, the

[1:18:03] emails were going to the wrong email

[1:18:05] address all year. So, I did finally have

[1:18:07] a Zoom. Um and I'm forgetting the

[1:18:10] presenter's name of our organization on

[1:18:13] that was who was supposed to be right.

[1:18:17] >> Right. So there was there were no

[1:18:19] attendees sadly but I did learn a great

[1:18:21] deal about CPAC. Um and um as a followup

[1:18:24] I have talked to parents that I know who

[1:18:26] have students with 504s and IEPs and

[1:18:29] they didn't seem to be getting the CPAC

[1:18:32] email. So I should have just told you

[1:18:33] that but I would have had to do an email

[1:18:35] thing. So maybe an issue, I don't know.

[1:18:38] Um and then my other committee report is

[1:18:41] um that uh the student advisory, which

[1:18:44] was great. It was I love those kids so

[1:18:46] much. It's really nice. So I brought in

[1:18:47] some things that were in um

[1:18:49] superintendent um Der's um evidence for

[1:18:53] the year talking about um legislation

[1:18:55] and I wanted to hear their thoughts on

[1:18:56] it and see if they had anything to

[1:18:58] share. So, we talked about the cell

[1:18:59] phone ban that has been put in place in

[1:19:01] other places like Rhode Island and is

[1:19:03] currently in the um uh Senate, I

[1:19:05] believe, right now. Um screen time

[1:19:07] limits, which is another piece of

[1:19:08] legislation that's passing through the

[1:19:10] state. Um and financial literacy um

[1:19:14] mandates, which is a third piece of

[1:19:15] legislation with the state house. Um and

[1:19:18] we had a really robust interesting

[1:19:20] conversation. They felt for for cell

[1:19:22] phone games, they were very much

[1:19:24] concerned about negotiating after school

[1:19:26] um changes of plans and whether not

[1:19:29] being able to keep a breast of stuff

[1:19:31] with their parents during the school day

[1:19:33] would impact their sports and after

[1:19:35] school extracurriculars. Um they had a

[1:19:37] lot of really good points. They were

[1:19:38] also wondering how things would be

[1:19:39] enforced. And so I was talking about

[1:19:42] there's a state level and then each

[1:19:43] district has its own way of enforcing

[1:19:45] that and um implementing it. Um screen

[1:19:48] time limits. They also did not feel that

[1:19:50] they it was not a popular idea to limit

[1:19:52] screen time. Um they worried about

[1:19:54] enforcement.

[1:19:56] Um and then the financial literacy

[1:19:57] piece. Some of the kids had taken those

[1:19:59] courses explicitly as part of the CTE

[1:20:01] pathways or business and um some there

[1:20:04] was a freshman in the group who was

[1:20:06] worried that she had missed something.

[1:20:07] Um and then Dr. Der came back to the

[1:20:09] meeting just at the right moment to

[1:20:11] explain that those are incorporated into

[1:20:13] their classes. but having it mandated

[1:20:15] might impact AP students being able to

[1:20:18] take um math classes. Um so anyway, it

[1:20:21] was a great conversation and their

[1:20:23] thoughts are recorded if anybody wants

[1:20:25] to hear more about teenagers views on

[1:20:28] screen time and cell phones.

[1:20:31] Thank you. Okay. So, um the VIPs

[1:20:36] committee is um this week in reading

[1:20:39] scholarship applications. Um

[1:20:43] it's so much it's great the or how much

[1:20:46] they do with students. Um anyway, so

[1:20:49] that's what's going on. BIPS. Um next

[1:20:52] month will be the um end of the year

[1:20:55] volunteer recognition u recognition. Um,

[1:20:58] and I hope some of you um have they

[1:21:01] they've been asking for input from from

[1:21:03] teachers too and things. I I know if

[1:21:06] you've heard any gotten anything from

[1:21:07] them some of the Yeah. Some of the

[1:21:09] teachers out there. Okay. On the other

[1:21:12] committee is the um is the Cape Cod

[1:21:16] collaborative. Now, when I'm when you

[1:21:20] are uh appointed to some of the

[1:21:23] committees such as VIPS or the

[1:21:25] collaborative, it's a year-long

[1:21:27] commitment. Even though your term is up

[1:21:30] in May, the commitment ends in June. So,

[1:21:33] I just want to make sure everybody is

[1:21:35] okay that I fulfill that. Okay?

[1:21:37] Especially since, well, I'm the chairman

[1:21:39] of the collaborative board, too. So,

[1:21:41] they have to elect a new chairman and

[1:21:43] stuff like that. So, just to finish up

[1:21:45] that business. Okay. Just to make that

[1:21:47] known. Okay. All right. Any other

[1:21:50] committee reports? Then I'll take a

[1:21:52] motion.

[1:21:55] >> Hold that thought.

[1:21:56] >> No, no, no.

[1:21:58] >> No. I want

[1:21:59] >> Hold that thought. Terry,

[1:22:02] >> I have my gavvel. I can over you all.

[1:22:06] >> Terry, I can talk for a while while

[1:22:07] they're getting their thing if you'd

[1:22:08] like me to.

[1:22:09] >> Terry, you can hit this with your gavvel

[1:22:11] to close our meeting. Yeah. Yeah.

[1:22:13] >> What did you call it again?

[1:22:14] >> Beer.

[1:22:15] >> I was I was surprised you didn't know

[1:22:16] that. Beer deco.

[1:22:18] >> Beer deco.

[1:22:19] >> Beer means beer, obviously.

[1:22:21] >> And you know in Germany how they bill

[1:22:22] you for your beers. They make X's on

[1:22:24] those little things.

[1:22:26] >> And if you get a, you know, a full round

[1:22:28] of X's, that's how much money you have.

[1:22:31] >> So

[1:22:33] Harry, this is your last meeting.

[1:22:36] >> Yeah.

[1:22:37] And I don't even know how I had a whole

[1:22:41] I was going to reach out to Sharon and

[1:22:43] ask her when you got on the committee,

[1:22:44] but then I was like, but your time in

[1:22:47] this seat really goes before then. And

[1:22:49] then I thought, well, I could probably,

[1:22:52] you know, ask you or Timmy when you

[1:22:54] started at working at Founder Public

[1:22:58] Schools, but then I thought, no, you've

[1:23:00] been a Clipper since forever. and from

[1:23:03] one to another.

[1:23:04] >> 1977 is when I started. There's your

[1:23:07] answer.

[1:23:08] >> But then she went to Lawrence High

[1:23:10] School,

[1:23:10] >> right? You graduated

[1:23:13] from Florence. So I I thought to myself,

[1:23:15] you know, you're just a clipper through

[1:23:17] and through. And as somebody who takes

[1:23:20] such pride in our community, I have

[1:23:24] learned so much from you, Terry. You

[1:23:27] have impacted

[1:23:28] >> going to make me cry. this committee,

[1:23:31] all the committees that you have um sat

[1:23:34] with at this table, you have impacted

[1:23:37] students, as we heard from Mr. Kapula

[1:23:39] earlier, you've impacted students that

[1:23:42] weren't even your students. That's me.

[1:23:46] You know, previously, I know that it's

[1:23:48] been a bit of a grind this year.

[1:23:51] However,

[1:23:52] >> you don't say.

[1:23:54] >> However, the good still weighs off the

[1:23:56] bat. And it's not that it was bad. It's

[1:23:58] just that, you know, it adds and flows.

[1:24:00] So, we to say thank you seems so minimal

[1:24:04] and it's not enough. But, um, if you

[1:24:08] could accept the flowers on all of our

[1:24:10] behalf, thank you for your time.

[1:24:28] You have to read it out.

[1:24:30] >> Committed survivor

[1:24:33] >> and to you as well.

[1:24:42] » So, it's not just flowers for now. It's

[1:24:44] also flowers for later. We also got you

[1:24:46] maroon and white tulips for your new

[1:24:47] place. but not until the dust settles

[1:24:51] and you plant them in the fall when you

[1:24:53] get your berries. And also from um

[1:24:56] Sharon Ryan um our administrative team u

[1:24:59] thank you for all the years you put into

[1:25:01] this and uh so you started the year the

[1:25:04] clipper and so there is a clipper gift

[1:25:07] in there for you. So um from one of our

[1:25:09] students so

[1:25:10] >> Oh thank you.

[1:25:11] >> Yes. Thank you.

[1:25:12] >> Say something.

[1:25:13] You know what I really I

[1:25:16] loved it and Henry St. Julian is one of

[1:25:19] the reasons has one of my best memories

[1:25:22] is that I got to go to Kate Birdie Arm

[1:25:27] and the reason was it what is for

[1:25:29] students. it was to make connections,

[1:25:33] you know, and so we our Margaret and I

[1:25:36] and there some evaluators and Sonia

[1:25:39] right um tked over there to try to make

[1:25:42] these connections with the students and

[1:25:45] that's one of the highlights of my time

[1:25:47] on this committee. The other one was um

[1:25:50] David Vieiraa um asked me to be a

[1:25:54] representative um for the collaboratives

[1:25:58] actually because I was on the

[1:25:59] collaborative. I've been on the

[1:25:59] collaborative for a long time and I got

[1:26:01] to go to the state house in Boston every

[1:26:03] month for an entire year.

[1:26:05] >> Um and I walked in and got into the room

[1:26:09] and I you know and was with the the

[1:26:11] leading um representatives and um

[1:26:14] senators in the education in the state.

[1:26:16] So it was very interesting. And so um

[1:26:18] those are the things I'm remembering not

[1:26:20] Mike's comments for example but those

[1:26:24] >> you got to remember my comments.

[1:26:28] Thank you very much.

5/12/26 Falmouth School Committee Meeting

Transcript