[0:00] call to order the Frontier Regional

[0:02] School District School Committee meeting

[0:04] at 6:02. Um, I will just be upright that

[0:09] I'm uh upfront that I'm making sure that

[0:12] folks who are joining remotely from the

[0:15] school committee have the links and so

[0:17] if I'm if I'm doing that, that is

[0:19] exactly uh what I'm checking in on. I

[0:22] think we have one member check in. Um,

[0:25] and I just got an update that Celia will

[0:27] be here shortly.

[0:32] I'm going to start with the operational

[0:35] goals, which is especially important

[0:38] today as we talk about budget. Um, the

[0:41] school committee's primary

[0:42] responsibility is to establish those

[0:44] purposes, programs, and procedures that

[0:46] will best produce the educational

[0:48] achievement needed by our students. The

[0:50] committee's charge accomplishing this

[0:52] while also being responsible for wise

[0:54] management of resources available to the

[0:56] school district. The committee must

[0:58] fulfill these responsibilities by

[1:00] functioning primarily as a legislative

[1:02] body to formulate and adopt policy, by

[1:04] selecting an executive officer to

[1:06] implement policy, and by evaluating the

[1:08] results. It must carry out its functions

[1:10] openly while seeking the comments of the

[1:13] public, students, and staff in its

[1:14] decision-making process.

[1:17] The first order uh of business today is

[1:20] the public hearing uh on the proposed

[1:24] fiscal budget for uh 2027.

[1:29] This has been a a tough year if you've

[1:31] been to any of the previous meetings.

[1:33] So, just want to commend Shelley for

[1:37] helping to guide us and making uh

[1:40] striking a balance between making the

[1:42] right decisions about

[1:45] helping to keep the school financially

[1:47] viable and having the least impact on

[1:51] staff and services and students. So,

[1:54] thank you for all the work on that. I

[1:55] know none of this is easy.

[1:58] We have some folks in I don't know did

[2:00] that was that able to get circulated

[2:02] around if have a list.

[2:04] >> Yeah, I'd like to just try to keep

[2:06] track. Uh I think we have a lot of folks

[2:09] online and some folks here in the

[2:12] audience and I just want to keep track

[2:14] and remind folks that we are going to

[2:16] try to keep the time limit to we all

[2:19] made it in here. I'm not sure.

[2:22] Uh thank you for braving the weather

[2:25] and I just want to keep time to a

[2:27] reasonable limit. So 3 minutes per

[2:30] speaker

[2:31] and if do you have a

[2:34] >> So we're gonna we were going to open up

[2:35] with a presentation and then after the

[2:37] presentation open comment on the agenda.

[2:39] >> Do you want to if people want to talk to

[2:41] have them comment in the

[2:44] >> So we'll do that at that point.

[2:45] >> That's fine.

[2:46] >> So when we get to that I'll

[2:47] >> that's fine. I just want to keep track

[2:48] of things for this and Shelley is gonna

[2:51] start with the presentation and then the

[2:53] comments in this public hearing are

[2:54] going to be solely focused on the

[2:56] budget.

[3:00] » All right.

[3:05] So the uh budget that we're discussing

[3:08] at the moment is the budget that was

[3:10] presented at the January school

[3:12] committee meeting. Um, we had made a a

[3:15] move to move forward with a 3.94%

[3:18] increase, but I'm actually going to take

[3:20] us back a little bit um, and talk about

[3:22] what the process is in the budget

[3:24] building uh, timeline as well as what

[3:26] goes into the budget and the different

[3:28] iterations. I'm going to move through

[3:29] some of it pretty quickly because we did

[3:31] do a very lengthy meeting in January.

[3:34] Um, if you want, you can in February,

[3:38] you're right, in February. We did in

[3:40] January as well. We did a very lengthy I

[3:42] think we've done this twice.

[3:43] >> Um, which can also be found on our

[3:45] website. So, if you wanted to go back

[3:47] and watch any of that and get the

[3:48] greater detail on on chapter 70 funding

[3:50] and those pieces, there is additional

[3:52] information online. Um, but for today,

[3:55] I'm going to get us started talking

[3:56] about how the budget is developed. Um,

[3:59] so we start the budget process off. I

[4:02] recognize that this is really small on

[4:04] the screen. This was part of the I think

[4:07] this is gonna

[4:12] um this was part of the packet that went

[4:14] out to school committee tonight and will

[4:16] get uploaded to our website tomorrow. So

[4:18] you can access the slideshow on our

[4:20] website. We start off the process in

[4:22] November, late November, early December.

[4:25] The administration takes a pass at the

[4:26] first draft. So I start us off by

[4:28] looking at level services and then we

[4:31] take feedback from the principal on what

[4:33] might the new needs be in the building.

[4:35] Uh we come forward in January and

[4:37] present the first draft to the

[4:40] subcommittee. Uh and then school

[4:42] committee typically does not review that

[4:44] first draft in January because usually

[4:46] it is before the governor has released

[4:49] um the state budget and we don't

[4:52] necessarily have all of our information

[4:54] on our expenditures such as Franklin

[4:55] Regional Retirement Assessment. However,

[4:58] this year we did have our preliminary

[5:00] conversation in January pretty in depth

[5:02] um more than we would in other years

[5:04] knowing what was coming down the

[5:05] pipeline particularly with the health

[5:07] insurance changes. February school

[5:09] committee continues the deliberation.

[5:12] Here we are today in March at our public

[5:14] hearing. Uh Thursday there is a vote

[5:17] there's another meeting to vote to adopt

[5:18] the budget and then our towns meet

[5:20] between the months of April and June for

[5:23] their annual town meetings to finish up

[5:25] the process. We take into consideration

[5:28] uh a needsbased and student centered

[5:30] budget while balancing fiscal

[5:31] responsibility. We start by looking at

[5:33] level services and also cons consider

[5:36] new needs and initiatives and then look

[5:38] at um our supplemental funds. So that

[5:40] includes grant or revolving funds.

[5:45] It's good to have an understanding of

[5:46] the different budget types. Um I

[5:49] mentioned level services a couple of

[5:50] times on the previous slide. So with a

[5:53] level service budget, you're copying

[5:55] over your programs and your services,

[5:57] which includes all of your staffing that

[5:59] exists in the current year budget.

[6:01] You're modeling that over in the new

[6:03] year. Your services stay the same.

[6:05] You're not looking for any growth at

[6:07] that level service budget, but there is

[6:09] always budget increase which is

[6:11] primarily uh connected to contractual

[6:13] wage obligations for any union contracts

[6:16] you have and then wage obligations for

[6:18] non-UN staff as well. A level funded

[6:21] budget is very different than level

[6:23] service. It's good to understand that

[6:25] distinction. In a level funded budget,

[6:28] the dollar amount stays the same as the

[6:30] prior year, which means that you are

[6:32] seeing some service reduction because

[6:34] you're always having growth for what

[6:36] you're paying um primarily for wages

[6:39] out. But in order to keep that budget

[6:42] number the same, you have to make some

[6:44] cuts along the way. A reduced budget is

[6:47] similar. Um although the budget doesn't

[6:49] stay the same, the budget actually

[6:51] decreases because you're cutting um

[6:53] services or programming more

[6:55] significantly. We're going to talk about

[6:57] that later because that is what we're

[6:59] presenting here today is a good use

[7:00] budget. And then the other um option for

[7:03] a budget is have an increase. Typically,

[7:05] we do have some type of requests here

[7:08] from the principal's office as he talks

[7:10] to other folks on the ground in the

[7:12] building. Um however, this year there is

[7:14] no request for an increased budget.

[7:16] there was no new needs at the school

[7:17] level.

[7:20] I'm not going to go over the details on

[7:22] this slide, but each of the categories

[7:24] that is included in our budget stems

[7:27] from Desi's chart of accounts. So the

[7:28] state sets the categories in which our

[7:31] expenditures are reported to them. Um

[7:34] there's breakdown of district

[7:35] administration, instruction, pupil

[7:38] services, uh physical plant and

[7:40] operations and maintenance, benefits and

[7:42] fixed charges, and then other um out of

[7:44] district programs where we send students

[7:46] out of district.

[7:51] This is a really minimal breakdown of

[7:53] how the budget is funded. Last month, we

[7:54] got into this at greater detail. Please

[7:57] watch that reporting from last month if this is of interest for you. But

[8:01] there are um these five sort of

[8:04] different pots of money that come in to

[8:05] fund Frontier's budget. The first being

[8:07] chapter 70 aid which uh is the funding

[8:10] from the state but also sets the minimum

[8:13] required contribution for our member

[8:14] towns. So that is what the state says

[8:17] that our member towns can afford to pay

[8:18] towards our budget. Typically there is

[8:21] an additional assessment to fully fund

[8:23] our budget that our member towns are

[8:25] paying. We use excess and deficiency as

[8:28] well to decrease our assessments. uh

[8:30] excess and deficiency is similar to free

[8:33] cash in a municipality. We apply state

[8:36] transportation reimbursement and then we

[8:38] consider other special revenues such as

[8:40] revolving funds or grants.

[8:43] The next slide shows you what that

[8:44] breakdown is by by percentage point and

[8:47] I think that this is important for

[8:49] people to recognize how much of our

[8:51] budget is funded by our member towns

[8:53] between the combination of the state

[8:55] required contribution and then the

[8:57] additional to fully fund. You can see

[8:59] that's in the red and the yellow here,

[9:00] the 36 plus the 26%. The other

[9:04] percentage of the pie uh is primarily

[9:06] funded from chapter 70 and then a

[9:09] significant portion from our special

[9:11] revenues revolving funds and grants.

[9:15] All right, so let's get to the meat of

[9:16] it and talk about fiscal year 27 now

[9:18] that you know some information about how

[9:20] the budget is drafted, the different

[9:22] budget types and the types of revenues.

[9:26] So, at first pass in January, we

[9:29] presented a level service budget of

[9:31] 6.95%

[9:32] which was slightly over $900,000 over

[9:35] fiscal year 26. There's two pieces of

[9:38] this that we looked at in that January

[9:40] conversation. We looked at wage growth

[9:42] and then non-wage growth. Wage growth

[9:44] stems from our contract. So, anyone

[9:46] that's on the teacher contract or the

[9:48] instructional assistant contract, we

[9:49] take into consideration there what the

[9:52] step changes are. And then we also look

[9:55] at anyone else who's building based. So,

[9:57] principal's office, secretary,

[9:58] custodial, as well as central office

[10:00] staff. Take into consideration what all

[10:02] of those changes are. This is not wage

[10:04] growth for adding any new staff. This is

[10:07] strictly level services, taking every

[10:09] employee who's currently employed here

[10:11] and rolling it over into the new year.

[10:14] If all we were looking at was a $300,000

[10:16] increase, we'd be in a really positive

[10:18] position. We wouldn't have needed any

[10:20] further discussions. $300,000 is roughly

[10:23] where we land every year. It's about a

[10:24] 3%age point increase on our budget over

[10:28] the prior year. However, we did have

[10:30] some significant changes in the level

[10:33] service budget in regards to health

[10:34] insurance costs. And then we had uh some

[10:37] adjustments for revolving funds and

[10:40] grants that we were making. The health

[10:42] insurance alone of that 620,000 was

[10:45] around $500,000 growth over the prior

[10:48] year. That's a significant number when

[10:50] you're talking about budget growth of

[10:52] $900,000.

[10:56] That budget um based on the assessments

[10:59] that we discussed in the February

[11:01] meeting did not feel like it would pass

[11:03] at our member uh town annual town

[11:06] meetings felt like we needed to do some

[11:08] work behind the scenes to bring our

[11:09] budget down. So, we did present um a

[11:12] reduced budget option. However, we did

[11:14] not get into the specifics of that in

[11:16] January February. of saying that um we

[11:20] did not get into the specifics in

[11:21] February. We were not prepared yet fully

[11:23] administratively to get into what the

[11:25] nitty-gritty of those discussions will

[11:27] be. Um however, we did recommend that we

[11:31] would make reductions with as minimal

[11:33] impact as possible to student learning

[11:36] and our staff members. So, we're trying

[11:38] to balance with our budget reductions

[11:41] fiscal responsibility with educational

[11:43] excellence. It was really important to

[11:45] the administration and the school

[11:47] committee to make sure that we were not

[11:49] sacrificing um essential programs and

[11:52] essential learning for our students. So,

[11:55] what that looked like uh in the February

[11:57] meeting, we talked about

[12:02] a $400,000 reduction um which would come

[12:06] from uh application of rural aid funds,

[12:08] which is a grant of $100,000 and then

[12:12] reduction of positions of up to four or

[12:14] $300,000 for a total budget reduction of

[12:18] 400,000. This would bring our budget

[12:21] around um 3.94%

[12:24] uh instead of the 6.95% for fiscal year

[12:28] 26.

[12:30] The next slide outlines what those

[12:32] position reduction recommendations are

[12:35] based on the administration's

[12:36] recommendations over the last month of

[12:38] work that we've been doing. Um so we are

[12:41] recommending that we move from a

[12:43] librarian position to a library aid. Uh

[12:47] we are recommending that we reduce a

[12:49] building monitor as well as three

[12:52] instructional assistants. Uh we have a

[12:54] part-time school adjustment counselor

[12:57] and then a special education teacher

[12:58] that we're making a recommendation on.

[13:00] I'm going to talk about a couple of

[13:02] these because there's some financial

[13:03] things and then I'm going to turn it

[13:04] over um to Darius and George to talk

[13:06] about the other positions if if needed

[13:09] at this point. So, what I want to

[13:11] mention with the part-time school

[13:12] adjustment counselor is this is

[13:14] currently a grant-f funed position. Um,

[13:17] and what we are talking about, it was

[13:19] just brought on two years ago, George,

[13:21] is that correct? Um, for part-time

[13:24] additional support based on student

[13:26] needs in the building, we are talking

[13:28] about reallocating an existing staff

[13:30] member to that grant. So, it brings

[13:33] relief to the budget. um that part-time

[13:35] position is also filled by someone who

[13:38] is retired from the public school system

[13:41] and she came back into Frontier in this

[13:43] part-time capacity. Um with the special

[13:46] education teacher, this is actually a

[13:48] position that we currently have a

[13:49] long-term sub in. Um the teacher that

[13:52] was in that role uh left the district

[13:55] last year. It's been filled in the

[13:56] current year with a long-term sub. So,

[13:59] um that position could potentially roll

[14:01] back into

[14:03] um an instructional assistant position

[14:05] because someone was promoted within the

[14:07] building to cover those needs. Um so

[14:09] that's not necessarily someone actually

[14:11] losing their job because we do recognize

[14:13] that with position cuts sometimes there

[14:15] is attrition which makes the reductions

[14:17] easier but we are also talking about

[14:19] people's lives and and losing their uh

[14:22] livelihood. So the special education

[14:24] teacher hopefully can roll back into an

[14:26] IIA position. the part-time school

[14:28] adjustment counselor is a a former

[14:30] retiree. Um, and then the three

[14:32] instructional assistants, I believe

[14:34] George also has notice already of uh

[14:37] resignations for next school year from

[14:39] three instructional assistants. So,

[14:41] those would happen naturally through

[14:42] attrition without having to let go of

[14:45] any positions within the building.

[14:47] >> Did I miss anything, George or Darius,

[14:49] there as far as financial move?

[14:51] >> Right now, there are two resations for

[14:53] IAS. The expectation is that there will

[14:55] be I've heard that there will be a

[14:58] third. So once again those positions

[14:59] will be reduced due to attrition.

[15:02] >> Any other comment on any of the

[15:04] positions before we can go?

[15:10] » Okay. So the 400,000 reduction to our

[15:13] budget presents a uh 13.8 8 million

[15:16] total budget or an increase of 523,000

[15:20] which is 3.94% over the prior fiscal

[15:23] year.

[15:26] Let's next talk about what that means

[15:28] for our assessments. So I'm going to

[15:30] give a little bit of information about

[15:31] how the assessments are comprised and

[15:33] then we'll look at the actual numbers.

[15:35] So there's four components of our

[15:36] assessment based on our regional

[15:38] agreement. The first piece is the state

[15:40] required contribution that comes out of

[15:42] the chapter 70 formula based somewhat

[15:44] the state says that our our member towns

[15:46] can afford to fund our budget. Then we

[15:49] have that additional assessment to cover

[15:50] the gap between our revenues the state

[15:53] chapter 70 number and then to fully fund

[15:55] our budget plus a capital component and

[15:58] debt service. I'm not going to talk

[15:59] about debt service again because

[16:01] Frontier does not currently have any

[16:02] loans. If we did have money um out in

[16:05] any bond anticipation notes or any other

[16:07] kind of loans, our towns would pay a

[16:09] portion of that debt service. That's not

[16:11] on the table tonight. So, we're just

[16:13] going to talk about the first three

[16:14] components.

[16:16] So, the state required contribution is

[16:18] uh just shy of $5.8 million. This is

[16:21] strictly based on the chapter 7 formula.

[16:23] We have zero control over what this

[16:26] looks like other than to check the

[16:27] numbers and make sure that our member

[16:29] towns are being um accounted for

[16:33] properly in the formula. But according

[16:34] to the state, uh there is growth in our

[16:37] member town required contribution of

[16:39] $183,000.

[16:41] You can see that change all the way in

[16:43] the far right column um of this slide

[16:45] here that I just highlighted on the

[16:47] bottom. Sunderland uh is taking the

[16:50] brunt of that with a $126,000

[16:53] rough increase there, which can be

[16:55] partially attributed to their growth in

[16:58] enrollment. So you can see that there's

[16:59] a positive change here of eight students

[17:02] based on the foundation enrollment in

[17:04] the chapter 70 calculation.

[17:06] This is also all relative though, right?

[17:09] So when one town goes down and another

[17:11] town goes up, it's all relative as to

[17:12] how much they're paying. But according

[17:14] to the state, our member towns can

[17:16] afford to fund roughly $5.8 million. So

[17:19] that's the first component of the

[17:20] assessment. The second component is that

[17:23] additional assessment to fully fund our

[17:25] budget, which is coming in at about 4.8

[17:27] million. You can see the breakdown

[17:30] there. This is based on a cost sharing

[17:32] percentage per our regional agreement.

[17:35] So in the regional agreement, there's a

[17:36] five-year rolling enrollment that we

[17:38] take into consideration for each of the

[17:40] towns. And then that's broken down by

[17:42] cost share and percentage. Um, in this

[17:45] year we dropped off 2021 and we added

[17:48] 2026 numbers because it's always from

[17:50] October of the school year that you're

[17:52] in that we're considering for cost

[17:53] sharing. There was a decrease of 49

[17:56] resident students in the drop off of 21

[17:59] and the addition of 26. Um, Sunderland

[18:02] is the only one seeing a positive

[18:04] enrollment growth. Uh so their cost

[18:07] sharing percentage is going up pretty

[18:09] significantly compared to the other

[18:11] schools. And then you have the totals

[18:14] there. This is the um 4.8 billion. You

[18:17] can see the breakdown up above in each

[18:19] of these grows as to how that breaks

[18:22] down by each town.

[18:25] Third component is the capital

[18:26] assessment. So, at the February meeting,

[18:28] we did talk about assessing our member

[18:30] towns $110,000, which is 10% estimated

[18:34] of the opinion of probable cost of our

[18:37] parking lot renovation project. This is

[18:39] broke down in the same way as the

[18:41] additional to fund our budget based on

[18:42] that cost sharing agreement. So, those

[18:45] percentages on the last slide here where

[18:47] Conway is 15.97, so on and so forth down

[18:51] until you hit Wakeley at 11.2, that

[18:53] 110,000 is broken down in the same way

[18:56] here. This is what the capital

[18:58] contribution would be for our member

[19:00] towns based on the February

[19:02] presentation.

[19:04] So what does that mean? Towns as a whole

[19:08] having slid.

[19:11] So looking at our reduced budget of

[19:13] 3.94% or 523,000 over fiscal year 26.

[19:18] You could see in this first column here

[19:20] the state required contribution, the

[19:22] additional assessment to fully fund the

[19:24] budget and the capital assessment. Um,

[19:27] and then the last column here shows the

[19:29] assessment growth over the prior year.

[19:32] So our total assessment including

[19:34] capital is growing $530,100

[19:37] over the prior fiscal year.

[19:40] And I believe that that concludes the

[19:44] public hearing conversation around the

[19:48] budget.

[19:53] » Um can we just go back? I just

[19:58] get my

[20:01] uh reductions. Yep.

[20:04] >> Um

[20:05] are there actual

[20:07] are there you just kind of go through

[20:10] that again. Are there actual positions

[20:12] people losing their jobs?

[20:14] >> Yes.

[20:15] >> So of the outline here we expect um

[20:20] that there would be three people out of

[20:24] what we out outlined here. The rest

[20:27] would be done through attrition. So, no.

[20:29] >> And so, and with what George said, the

[20:32] AIS IAS,

[20:35] AIS,

[20:37] it's not the IAS, they're voluntarily,

[20:42] so they're not.

[20:43] >> So, we have to be careful on that

[20:44] because I haven't gotten letters of

[20:45] resignation yet, but it is understanding

[20:48] that we have a level of attrition each

[20:50] year where we do have people coming and

[20:52] going at the especially in the AI

[20:53] positions as it's

[20:56] >> Thank you.

[20:57] got me right. So, um, so we don't

[21:00] actually have it, right? But, uh, it it

[21:01] does look as though, um, two, if not

[21:04] three are that we already know of this

[21:06] growing year, we can lose up to three in

[21:09] a single year or up to five for that

[21:10] matter. Um, so it is possible that, um,

[21:14] someone will not be unemployed. But I

[21:15] think for

[21:18] I think this committee could look at it

[21:20] as, you know, you are reducing

[21:21] positions. So, so there may be loss of

[21:23] employment there. We don't expect it to

[21:25] be all three. It could be one. Yeah. It

[21:28] could be none. It could be we're hiring

[21:30] five next year. You know what I mean?

[21:31] So, we do have that kind of up and down.

[21:34] >> The uh adjustment counselor say

[21:37] mentioned that again. You said it's a a

[21:40] retired person that came back.

[21:42] >> So, they're not retired from this

[21:44] district.

[21:44] >> They're parttime. Yeah, they're retired

[21:46] from this district. They work part time.

[21:48] They work two days a week.

[21:52] And then right but all of that list

[21:56] you're anticipating it's I know it's all

[21:58] the positions but it's actual three by

[22:01] >> right the librarian is a reduction in

[22:04] employment and the um the special

[22:08] education position right now is

[22:11] >> so basically right now special education

[22:13] position we have right now uh filled by

[22:16] long-term sub the long-term sub which is

[22:19] they took a

[22:20] their position as an IA, they would

[22:23] return to their position as an IA and we

[22:25] would just keep that position.

[22:27] Okay.

[22:28] >> Thanks.

[22:29] >> So, if I can say one more thing, Missy,

[22:31] before we go to other questions, I just

[22:33] want to switch back to this slide

[22:34] quickly. Um,

[22:36] >> so the idea of reducing our budget is

[22:39] never a positive thing, right? We we

[22:41] don't want to take away services or

[22:43] programs from our students. We also have

[22:45] to balance that fiscal responsibility.

[22:47] And part of the reason this came up at

[22:49] the February meeting and even in this

[22:52] slide, you can see the significance

[22:54] here. So the budget as presented at a

[22:57] $900,000 growth was so dramatically

[23:00] going to increase what our towns had to

[23:02] pay just for Frontier that it actually

[23:05] would not pass likely at town meeting

[23:07] without several of our towns having to

[23:10] do overrides. This slide here even

[23:12] demonstrates how dramatic this is for

[23:15] example for Sunderland. So our

[23:17] assessment growth is $530,000

[23:20] and Sunderland is covering almost half

[23:22] of that just because of the way the

[23:24] state required contribution worked out

[23:27] and the cost sharing because they're

[23:28] seeing growth in resident students

[23:30] attending Frontier.

[23:32] Between this and the elementary school

[23:35] portion, school budgets already cover

[23:38] close to 70% of the town's budgets as a

[23:41] whole. these numbers were insurmountable

[23:44] and not going to pass at at the town

[23:47] level. So I just want to have that

[23:49] context. I don't think I mentioned that

[23:51] and it was an important part of the

[23:53] February discussion.

[23:54] >> Great.

[23:57] Further context

[23:59] um with two and a half% growth

[24:03] um Sunland's

[24:06] um new growth is about $250,000 total.

[24:10] That's so that's the amount that they

[24:12] can. So this eats up the entire budget

[24:14] for something. Police, fire, DPW,

[24:18] library, senior center, elementary

[24:20] school, all would have to cut just to

[24:22] cover that.

[24:24] >> And also, and we talked about this at

[24:27] Frontier, you know, as we talked about

[24:29] the impact of insurance, all the

[24:31] elementary school insuranceances um have

[24:34] gone up as well. And so the towns are struggling to make the ends meet in

[24:39] the elementary school and the elementary

[24:41] school budgets are all up um due to both

[24:44] cola and other you know cost issues um

[24:47] that are facing in schools. So it's a

[24:50] bad budget year you know and um don't

[24:54] take any cuts lightly. We've also been

[24:57] fortunate to be in this district where

[24:59] we've haven't had to do cuts since my

[25:02] first year as principal 18 years ago

[25:04] where we had to we've done reductions.

[25:06] We haven't had to specifically cut

[25:08] someone off due, you know, loss of

[25:10] employment due to finances. So, um it is

[25:14] a very bad year and so just I put it

[25:18] there's a perfect storm on multiple

[25:19] fronts. And I was just going to echo

[25:21] that that while this is our situation,

[25:24] this isn't the isolated piece that the

[25:26] towns have to deal with, this is our

[25:29] situation at Frontier, but we also have

[25:31] each of the elementary schools that the

[25:32] towns have to deal with and the impact

[25:35] of insurance that is hitting them just

[25:38] as hard as it hits us.

[25:40] >> I just gonna make one further comment

[25:42] really more to the select board and the

[25:45] audience

[25:46] at least for the airfield. Um, you know,

[25:49] I think it's good it's a good thing that deer that Frontier is doing its

[25:54] part to try to make the necessary cuts.

[25:57] It's always, you know, unfortunate. Um,

[26:01] but at least it's it's responsible of us

[26:04] to try to, you know, bringing in things

[26:06] that we need to. But also, I look at

[26:09] just from a Deerfield resident, I've

[26:12] lived here for 17 years, and I have

[26:14] never once

[26:17] uh I don't even think it's ever been

[26:19] discussed of a Proposition 2 and a half

[26:21] override. And I think there are times

[26:24] when it is necessary

[26:26] to make the adjustments

[26:30] uh so that we don't have to cut so much

[26:35] and I guess I want the select board and

[26:38] the finance department

[26:40] to hear that because I think sometime it

[26:43] is necessary.

[26:46] >> You want to comment about Sunderland?

[26:49] >> Uh yeah. So Sunland is going to be going

[26:52] I think it's the fourth proposition when

[26:54] we have to override my 12 years on um

[26:58] school committee um the elementary

[27:01] school.

[27:03] So Frontier does not have to develop its

[27:05] budget with an eye towards the

[27:06] elementary school but it's really I

[27:08] think beneficial that that we do at

[27:10] least take that into consideration.

[27:13] Southern Elementary's um

[27:15] uh budget has came in at like 18% for

[27:18] level services and they've already cut

[27:19] down to 10%. Uh and then we're going to

[27:22] have to go to Proposition 2 and a half

[27:24] override and we're already going to be

[27:25] asking every town department to match

[27:28] the cuts at the elementary school. So it

[27:31] it's going to be extremely difficult

[27:33] budget here for us.

[27:46] Do we want to um do any other school

[27:48] committee members have questions

[27:51] before open?

[27:56] » I'm driving.

[27:58] >> Um

[28:00] are there any other folks who have

[28:04] >> I know that there's a few folks

[28:06] online. I can't tell. So I guess so if

[28:10] you're if you are on so we have here in

[28:13] the room uh three six nine 10

[28:18] um 10 people signed up for public

[28:19] comment. Um if you are online and you

[28:22] wish to do public comment could you

[28:23] please put your name in the chat and

[28:25] I'll add you to the list. Um I'll add your list so that we will

[28:30] get to you as we go through the list.

[28:32] All right.

[28:32] >> Yeah. Just kind of wanted to get a sense

[28:34] of what's actually happening.

[28:36] >> Oh, okay.

[28:37] >> Before we still

[28:39] >> just want to try to keep pace so that

[28:41] everybody has an opportunity to at least

[28:43] have some

[28:44] >> Andrea. Yes, you are on our list.

[28:46] >> Ah, okay. I knew I didn't count.

[28:50] >> Yeah, there's I know there's a few names

[28:51] here that I imagine everybody in green

[28:53] is also I can recognize your names

[28:54] online. So, um Levi, I have you're on

[28:57] list. You on the list. Melissa, I have

[28:59] you on the list. Megan, I have you on

[29:00] the list. Um they saw here

[29:04] like Trevor those guys. So

[29:08] okay so we have Tim Hilch

[29:15] Johnson.

[29:24] Any others?

[29:27] Okay.

[29:29] Sorry to you.

[29:31] >> Thank you.

[29:34] Saw that number going up. I was worried

[29:36] we might be good to

[29:37] >> All right.

[29:39] So Trevor, I see you and I know that you

[29:42] have a vest of interest in this from a

[29:43] few different spots. So go ahead. I'm

[29:46] gonna

[29:46] >> Yeah. Thank Thank you for allowing this

[29:48] to speak to here and I appreciate all

[29:50] your work on the budget. It is a it is

[29:52] very difficult year and here for Sun as

[29:55] well. It's really tough because I know

[29:57] you have tried the prop two and a half

[29:59] overrides and sometimes they'll pass and

[30:02] it's it's a struggle. Um it's been very

[30:05] hard. I think you know I've been talking

[30:07] about a prop two and a half override for

[30:08] a variety of reasons. um not just

[30:11] education but um health insurance, our

[30:14] EMS. Um just you know in my time 10

[30:17] years on on the board we have um we cut

[30:19] budget every year and a lot of times

[30:22] it's education that that eats all of the

[30:24] growth that we have. Um and so it it it

[30:28] is hard to run the rest of the town uh

[30:30] as well. Um, but I appreciate you taking

[30:34] a look at the cuts you're doing that are

[30:35] never fun. But if you look at, you know,

[30:38] we're about 100 students down in the

[30:40] last 10 years or so. Um, and the staff

[30:43] is kind of the same, but you know,

[30:44] that's hard to kind of quantify because

[30:47] you there are other staff needs. You

[30:49] know, there's a lot more needs of

[30:50] students, especially after COVID. So, a

[30:52] lot more, you know, support services. So

[30:54] it's not a onetoone kind of thing where

[30:56] you drop students so you must drop staff

[30:58] but we're at that place where we kind of

[31:00] need to do some of that and um so I

[31:03] appreciate taking a hard look at that.

[31:05] We still

[31:07] do need to have capital investment in

[31:09] parking lots that kind of thing to keep

[31:11] our schools up so people are are are you

[31:14] know interested in coming here living

[31:16] here paying taxes here and helping

[31:18] support the the community. So I just

[31:20] really want to thank you for your hard

[31:21] work. not easy trying to cut a budget

[31:24] and um I agree we do need a two and a

[31:27] half override. I've said it a lot. Um

[31:30] but trying to get the rest of it down

[31:32] along with it is kind of hard. You know,

[31:34] everybody's taxes go up every year, but

[31:36] it's not because of we're raising taxes.

[31:38] It's just your values have gone up. My

[31:40] house, you know, everybody's houses have

[31:43] increased dramatically. So that just

[31:45] kind of drives that budget, but um in

[31:48] person property taxes. So just thanks

[31:50] for the hard work. really appreciate it.

[31:52] It's It's tough.

[31:56] >> Thanks, Trevor.

[31:59] » I'm gonna go back in order. So, who's

[32:02] Leech?

[32:05] » So, uh CW Leachch, uh Buckland,

[32:08] Massachusetts, but uh I teach eighth

[32:10] grade English here at Frontier. And as a

[32:12] middle school English teacher, one of

[32:14] our primary goals is to foster a

[32:16] lifetime love of reading. First 10

[32:19] minutes of every class are dedicated to

[32:20] independent reading.

[32:22] >> Choose their own book.

[32:25] >> You come like just stand just so that

[32:26] folks there's 44 people online. So I

[32:28] want to make sure they can hear you and

[32:30] see you. So if you stand there that way

[32:32] the mic should pick you up.

[32:34] >> So that way you're heard.

[32:35] >> Thanks. U so the first 10 minutes of

[32:37] every class are dedicated to independent

[32:40] reading. Students choose their own book

[32:42] building both engagement and ownership

[32:43] of their learning. When they finish a

[32:45] book, uh, they visit the library not

[32:47] just to check out another title, but to

[32:49] speak with someone who knows them as

[32:50] readers. Our librarian provides

[32:52] individualized recommendations from

[32:54] current, diverse, and constantly

[32:56] evolving collection. That personal

[32:58] guidance is what helps many students

[33:01] might never find on their own. Uh, in

[33:04] the middle school, we often talk with

[33:05] students about optics, uh, how the

[33:07] message we intend can be overshadowed by

[33:10] what people perceive. Our website states

[33:12] that our library media center is meant

[33:14] to be a center of collaborative

[33:15] learning, creativity, critical thinking,

[33:18] and expanded representation of world

[33:20] communities. As we make it difficult as

[33:23] we make difficult budget decisions, I

[33:24] hope we consider what message our

[33:26] choices send. Investing in a librarian

[33:28] is an investment in our students growth

[33:30] as readers, thinkers, and members of a

[33:32] broader world. My hope is that we

[33:34] continue to align our decisions with the

[33:36] values we so clearly express in our

[33:38] libraries mission statement.

[33:40] Thank you.

[33:41] >> Thank you.

[33:45] Lori,

[33:52] » I am Lori Prim Compton. I live in

[33:54] Deerfield and um again I want to echo,

[33:58] you know, how hard this is. This

[34:00] budgeting stuff is absolutely brutal and

[34:03] you can go to a meeting about education,

[34:05] healthcare or transportation, anything

[34:06] else and have the same brutal

[34:08] conversations. Um, Shelley, I thank you.

[34:11] It's an awesome presentation. It's so

[34:13] clear and I'm not here to argue any of

[34:16] the numbers. It is what it is and we

[34:17] have to work within that. Um, and I

[34:19] really appreciate everybody in this room

[34:21] being on the same team and trying to

[34:22] make those hard decisions. Um,

[34:25] that said, I am urging um us to figure

[34:30] out a way to keep a school librarian. I

[34:32] am a licensed school adjustment

[34:34] counselor and I've been an IIA in this

[34:37] district. So, you know, I have skin in

[34:40] the game for various positions and I

[34:42] understand the value of each and every

[34:44] one of those. And yet, I like it felt

[34:47] like a gut punch when I heard that there

[34:49] was a library position, librarian

[34:50] position or media specialist, whatever

[34:52] you want to call it, on the chopping

[34:54] block. To me, the library is the

[34:56] absolute heart and soul of a school of

[35:00] education. And I literally cannot

[35:03] imagine getting rid of that position. A

[35:05] library aid is great. Love to have

[35:08] plenty of them. But that cannot replace

[35:10] the skill set of a librarian and

[35:13] everything that that person brings in to

[35:15] our students on a daily basis, whether

[35:17] it's in English classes or anything

[35:19] else. Um, research online things that

[35:22] kids are doing to further their

[35:23] education after high school. You know,

[35:25] this is just a foundation. And you know,

[35:28] we talk about equity all the time. And

[35:31] really, what could possibly be more

[35:33] equitable than our school library? It's

[35:35] like literally the place that has

[35:37] something for everyone, every student,

[35:39] every subject. I mean, I just I we just

[35:42] have to find a different way to to make

[35:46] these cuts. Um,

[35:48] the other thing, you know, I I think

[35:50] about is how many private schools that

[35:52] we have in this area, right? and all the

[35:55] resources there and then our public

[35:57] school is not going to have a librarian

[36:01] and I just can't accept that like that

[36:04] is just going to lead to further decline

[36:06] in enrollment and this this creates a

[36:10] two-tiered educational system. I mean,

[36:12] we are so far down that path anyway, and

[36:14] I won't go off on that tangent, but when

[36:17] you're cutting like the heart and soul

[36:19] of, you know, the person who

[36:22] brings books and educational resources,

[36:24] the most foundational elements of

[36:26] education, and we're doing away with

[36:29] that. I just feel like we got to find a

[36:32] different way. Um, I think too that, you

[36:34] know, we have to think about the message

[36:36] that this gives our students. again the

[36:39] heart and soul of place and something

[36:41] for everyone and a librarian who you

[36:44] know is somebody that all students look

[36:48] to as like this fountain of knowledge

[36:51] and if you don't have the knowledge you

[36:52] can get the knowledge by going to this

[36:54] person and what message are we sending

[36:56] by doing away with that entire position

[37:01] again I'm not arguing the numbers this

[37:03] is unbearable to think about all of

[37:05] these cuts I mean even a retired person

[37:08] not coming back. Three IAS, you know,

[37:10] the employment aspect is horrible, but

[37:12] the bottom line is what are we doing for

[37:14] our students and what message is it to

[37:16] not have a librarian in this most

[37:19] essential place? So, please, we need to

[37:21] reconsider what we can possibly shuffle

[37:24] because losing a librarian to me is just

[37:26] unacceptable and sad. Thank you.

[37:32] Megan,

[37:34] thanks for accommodating all the folks

[37:36] who are remote by coming up. I

[37:40] appreciate it.

[37:41] >> So, I just wanted to say kind of the

[37:43] same things that everyone has been

[37:44] saying about um the importance of a

[37:46] librarian. I have an eighth grade um my

[37:48] name is Megan Tug. I'm from Southfield.

[37:50] I have an eighth grade student and a

[37:52] 10th grade student. Um and they use the

[37:55] library all the time. Um, I have a

[37:58] daughter who is an AP student. Um, they

[38:00] use it for research. You can't do that

[38:02] with an a library aid. Um, you need a

[38:05] librarian to be able to to find out

[38:08] where to do the research. Um, and that's

[38:11] the way of the world now. You you can't use AI because your papers are

[38:16] going to have to go through an AI

[38:17] detector and you have to have less than

[38:19] 5% or something like that depending on

[38:21] your teacher. So you need to be able to

[38:23] go to a professional to be able to ask

[38:25] where to find the informations to to to

[38:29] do your own research. Um so I really

[38:31] think the librarian is a much needed

[38:34] position. Um and it's my understanding

[38:37] that she is also um a library media

[38:40] specialist um and some of our state

[38:43] funding is tied to that position. Um so

[38:47] we might have to pay more money um to

[38:49] keep up some of the databases. So, I

[38:51] think that's something that we should

[38:52] also look into. Um, this is a brand new

[38:55] space. We've renovated it. Um, not to be

[38:58] able to use it to its full potential,

[39:00] it's really disheartening. Um, and I

[39:03] just was the nurse on the eighth grade

[39:05] field trip and I met Zoe and she is

[39:07] amazing with the kids and I can't

[39:09] imagine losing that service in the

[39:11] school. And I did see there was another

[39:14] um that's another human being that's

[39:16] losing their job. Um, you know, I know

[39:18] the other positions, it sounds like it's

[39:20] not going to be um

[39:23] a person that's going to be losing their

[39:25] job. It's just going to be a position.

[39:26] But I think we really need to look at

[39:27] that and see if there's anything else we

[39:29] can do. I'd rather have a dirt parking

[39:30] lot than than lose a human. Um, so

[39:32] that's just it.

[39:45] Hi, I'm the new guy, Blake Gilmore, on

[39:48] the Deerfield board of select group. I'm

[39:51] been learning through our finance

[39:53] committee and in attending these

[39:55] meetings here the difficulty it is of

[39:57] trying to balance a budget and the

[39:59] things that you have to do in order to

[40:01] make them happen. Um, my question was on

[40:04] the librarian. I didn't even think about

[40:06] this until I came into I was that is the

[40:09] librarian just a the sole position of

[40:12] the librarian or is there something that

[40:14] you can do that would add to her duties

[40:17] that would help to keep her here or

[40:19] whatever. I don't I don't know. That was

[40:20] just something I was thinking about. And

[40:22] it's not like I said I just I I realized

[40:25] that when you talked about getting rid

[40:27] of the librarian for the library, I

[40:29] said, "God, that's a tough tough tough

[40:30] call for you guys."

[40:32] I know that you have to make those

[40:33] calls. I I understand that. As far as

[40:36] the two and a half override, I'm getting

[40:38] nothing but push back. So, I know it's

[40:40] basically,

[40:42] >> you know, so that's the other side of

[40:44] the of the stick here. It's just

[40:45] basically it's very very difficult to uh

[40:49] try to figure out and come up with the

[40:50] right formula here. But you guys, I

[40:52] really appreciate what you've done. It's

[40:54] been educational for me and uh I hope

[40:58] that you can make this work. Thank you.

[41:04] Uh

[41:07] is Levi.

[41:11] » Okay,

[41:12] >> perfect.

[41:14] Levi.

[41:17] >> Hello. Can you hear me?

[41:20] >> Yes.

[41:20] >> Okay. Um uh thank you. Um my name is

[41:24] Levi Owens. I live in Conway, Mass. Uh

[41:27] Conway. I also work in the building. Um,

[41:29] and um, I I also want to thank everyone

[41:34] here for um, doing this incredibly hard

[41:36] work. Um, it I I very much appreciate

[41:39] all of the work that you're doing to

[41:40] keep our uh, school running and um,

[41:45] trying to provide the best services for

[41:47] our students. Um to that end um I also

[41:52] really appreciate the effort that you

[41:53] have given in um having the least impact

[41:56] on people's lives and uh highlighting

[42:00] that there are positions that are able

[42:02] to be cut uh due to attrition. Um and

[42:05] I'm hoping that you have also taken into

[42:08] account uh another retirement that was

[42:11] announced uh this year of the curriculum

[42:13] director. I she has other um

[42:17] uh capacities in the school as well. Um

[42:20] it's another job that is less student

[42:22] facing that has less immediate act uh

[42:24] impact on the um the the everyday uh

[42:31] lives of our of our students and the

[42:33] their their immediate uh education. Um

[42:40] so I um I'm just hoping that all all

[42:43] possible uh options are are being looked

[42:46] at for for for all places where

[42:49] attrition is happening kind of

[42:50] naturally. Um and uh yeah, thank you for

[42:54] letting me speak.

[42:58] >> Thank you.

[43:02] » And is Andrea also

[43:06] >> Yes, I'm here. Okay, thanks. Sorry I

[43:08] can't see everyone.

[43:11] >> My name is Andrea KS. I live in Vernon,

[43:13] Vermont, and I work at Frontier Regional

[43:15] School as a transition specialist in the

[43:16] special education department. I support

[43:19] students ages 18 to 22 with

[43:20] disabilities. I also have a seventh

[43:23] grade student that is currently

[43:24] utilizing school choice to attend

[43:25] Frontier Regional School. This community

[43:27] means a lot to me and I invest in it

[43:29] every day. I want to speak briefly about

[43:32] preserving key roles that directly

[43:33] impact our students. Our library is not

[43:36] just an academic space like others are

[43:38] have already talked about and will be

[43:40] talking about this evening, but it is

[43:42] also a vocational training site. Each

[43:44] year, students in our transition program

[43:46] gain real transferable job skills there

[43:48] under the guidance of our certified

[43:49] library media specialists. That work

[43:52] builds independence and prepares

[43:53] students for adult life. The expertise

[43:55] needed for this position is simply

[43:57] something that cannot be replaced by an

[43:58] aid as they will not have the same level

[44:00] and training that Zoe Keenan currently

[44:02] has. Instructional assistants and

[44:04] special education teachers are essential

[44:06] to delivering legally required IEP

[44:08] services. Whether positions are lost

[44:10] through attrition or reassignment, the

[44:12] impact is the same. Fewer professionals

[44:14] supporting students who rely on

[44:16] consistent specialized instruction. This

[44:18] work does not disappear. It shifts to an

[44:20] already stretched department directly

[44:22] affecting service delivery and student

[44:24] outcomes. Losing a part-time school

[44:26] adjustment counselor increases the

[44:28] burden on remaining mental health staff

[44:30] who are already seeing record numbers of

[44:31] students struggling each day. Although

[44:34] the school the counselor is retired, she

[44:36] returns specifically because of the

[44:38] overwhelming mental health needs in our

[44:40] community. Reducing support at a time of

[44:42] heightened demand is deeply concerning.

[44:45] Education is a public trust and reducing

[44:47] the staff who directly serve students

[44:49] with disabilities and mental health

[44:50] issues undermines that trust. I

[44:52] understand that difficult financial

[44:54] decisions must be made, but if we choose

[44:56] to repave a parking lot at the cost of a

[44:58] librarian and other professionals, we

[45:00] send a clear message about what we truly

[45:02] value. I urge you to prioritize

[45:04] preserving critical student-f facing

[45:06] roles and explore alternatives that do

[45:08] not come at the expense of our students.

[45:09] Thank you.

[45:16] » Melissa.

[45:20] » Hi. Um, my name is Melissa Steli and I

[45:23] teach high school English language arts.

[45:26] Um, and I want to thank everyone here

[45:28] for all of their hard work under these,

[45:30] you know, extremely challenging

[45:32] budgeting circumstances.

[45:34] Um, the Frontier LMC promotes learning

[45:37] for all students by providing equitable

[45:39] access to information, broadening

[45:42] students information literacy skills and

[45:44] encouraging lifelong love of reading and

[45:47] learning. This is a quote from the

[45:49] mission statement of our district's only

[45:51] certified librarian. And if we eliminate

[45:53] her, all of this equal access to

[45:56] information and literacy will be

[45:59] eliminated along with her. Anyone who

[46:01] values literacy, critical thinking, and

[46:04] democracy knows the value of a school

[46:06] librarian. It should be no surprise to

[46:09] anyone here that the library is the

[46:11] heart of Frontier. Not because of its

[46:14] physical space, but because of the

[46:16] librarian, Miss Keenan, a position and

[46:19] skill set no library aid could replace.

[46:22] It is not unusual for a student to come

[46:24] into the library asking about new books

[46:26] that came in and then light up when they

[46:28] see that Miss Keenan ordered something

[46:30] of interest for them. That's um it's not

[46:35] unusual also to have a student come in

[46:37] and say, "I can't find a good book." Um

[46:40] but who then comes in asking for the

[46:42] sequel after they got an outstanding

[46:44] recommendation from Miss Kanan. Literacy

[46:47] skills are declining in schools across

[46:49] the country, but fostering a love of

[46:51] reading is something that Miss Keenan

[46:53] specializes in. And because of that, our

[46:55] students are at an advantage. However,

[46:58] what would happen if a student stopped

[46:59] getting new books at the library or

[47:01] didn't have a trusted librarian to help

[47:03] them find something of interest? Well,

[47:06] we know what happens. They stop reading

[47:08] or the barrier becomes too large that

[47:10] they don't develop the same passion or

[47:12] interest. Not only that, but without a

[47:15] certified librarian, all teachers and

[47:17] students will lose access to over 40

[47:19] databases. Schools cannot gain access to

[47:22] these databases for free without a

[47:25] certified librarian and would instead

[47:28] have to pay over $40,000 to gain access

[47:31] to these databases. Our high school

[47:34] students use these databases in their

[47:37] high school humanities classes,

[47:38] including AP courses, because they

[47:41] provide peer-reviewed studies that are

[47:42] credible and reliable sources for their

[47:45] research, something that is harder to

[47:47] find these days. You might be told that

[47:49] some schools do without these databases,

[47:52] which is true. Unfortunately, if they

[47:54] had these databases, they could have

[47:56] read a 2023 study by Lois G. line that

[47:59] found that quote students who attended

[48:02] schools with full-time certified

[48:04] librarians score significantly higher on

[48:06] math and reading tests than do matched

[48:09] schools who attend sorry than do match

[48:12] students who attend schools without a

[48:14] full-time school librarian. I simply

[48:17] don't know why Frontier would choose to

[48:19] do something that we know would lower

[48:20] math and reading test scores.

[48:23] Furthermore, Miss Keenan is the reason

[48:24] our library is a safe and inclusive

[48:27] space.

[48:28] um that where as our library website

[48:31] states students can develop their

[48:33] critical thinking skills, appreciation

[48:35] for literature and develop their

[48:37] curiosity. She is beloved by the

[48:39] students with the recent class of 2024

[48:42] choosing to dedicate their yearbook to

[48:44] her. Without a school librarian, without

[48:47] Miss Keenan, the library would cease its

[48:50] function and purpose. You were told at

[48:52] the last school committee meeting that

[48:54] these faculty and staff cuts would not

[48:56] change quote the offerings to students

[48:59] and to have the least impact as possible

[49:02] and not hurt the appeal to school choice

[49:04] students. This could not be further from

[49:07] the truth. Removing the only certified

[49:10] librarian and replacing her with a

[49:12] library aid will remove essential

[49:14] library services, remove access to new

[49:17] books and recommendations, remove

[49:19] essential database access, remove the

[49:22] reason why so many students want to go

[49:25] to the library and read books. It would

[49:27] upend the part of the day many students

[49:30] look forward to and would lower math and

[49:32] reading test scores. I urge you to

[49:35] prioritize keeping the heart of Frontier

[49:37] Regional School, our essential

[49:39] librarian, Miss Keenan. Thank you.

[49:46] » Megan.

[49:53] » Hi. Hi. Sorry. My name is Megan Lena. I

[49:55] live in Bernardston and I'm a special

[49:58] education teacher here and my work takes

[50:00] me into almost every corner of our

[50:02] building and I think that gives me a

[50:05] unique and firsthand look at the

[50:07] critical gaps that will be created if

[50:09] you move forward with these proposed

[50:10] staff reductions. First off, our

[50:13] instructional assistants are not a

[50:14] luxury. They're a necessity. They're

[50:16] frontline staff ensuring that every

[50:18] child's legal right to an education is

[50:20] met daily, regardless of who resigns

[50:23] this year. Eliminating these positions

[50:25] will create an instructional vacuum that

[50:27] will force special education teachers

[50:29] into reactive triage mode. This along

[50:32] with one less special ed teacher teacher

[50:34] will make it impossible to meet the

[50:36] requirements of IEPs and it compromises

[50:38] the education for everybody, the quality

[50:41] of education for everyone. Eliminating

[50:43] our part-time adjustment counselor role

[50:45] and the building monitor will stretch

[50:47] our current adjustment counselor and

[50:49] school psychologist even more. Between

[50:51] dealing with daily crises and providing

[50:54] regularly scheduled check-ins with

[50:55] students who are entitled to support in

[50:57] their IEP service delivery grid grids, I

[51:00] can guarantee that many students are not

[51:02] going to get the mental health support

[51:03] that they are entitled to.

[51:06] As everybody else has said here, our

[51:08] library is the heart of our school. It drives our most innovative teaching

[51:12] and our librarian is a vital

[51:14] collaborator who elevates our entire

[51:17] curriculum. What she contributes simply

[51:19] cannot be done by a library aid and

[51:21] cutting this position dismantles the

[51:23] support for research and critical

[51:25] thinking. It directly threatens our

[51:27] ability to offer certain AP classes and

[51:30] it removes essential accessibility tools

[51:32] like Sora that students with

[51:34] disabilities rely on. We can't claim to

[51:36] offer a competitive education while

[51:38] cutting the person who provides the

[51:40] tools for those programs and supports

[51:42] teachers in using these tools

[51:43] effectively.

[51:46] Lastly, we have to recognize that our

[51:47] school's stability depends on us being a

[51:49] destination. We rely on out of district students choicing in. But

[51:54] families are not going to choose a

[51:55] district that's cutting out its

[51:57] backbone. They won't choose a school

[51:59] that lacks a functional library. They

[52:01] won't choose a school that has

[52:02] unmanageable class sizes or programs

[52:04] like innovation pathways that prepare

[52:06] students for careers in healthcare and

[52:08] trade or that has a gutted special ed

[52:10] department. We will not recruit school

[52:13] choice students with a sparkly new

[52:14] driveway. We recruit them with a strong,

[52:17] supportive academic program and a

[52:20] commitment to every student's progress.

[52:22] I'm begging you, do not take away our

[52:24] vital colleagues who make our students

[52:25] success and our school's reputation

[52:28] possible. Thanks.

[52:39] Hi, I'm Merlin. I am a former student at

[52:43] Frontier. I graduated in 2019 and I went

[52:48] on to uh study creative writing at

[52:50] Emersonville College and now I'm back in

[52:53] Deerfield and I work as a library

[52:56] assistant in the Turus Falls Public

[52:59] Library and I'm the teen librarian at

[53:02] the Tilton Dial Public Library. Um, as

[53:07] in both of these positions, I know that

[53:10] you cannot replace the duty of an actual

[53:14] librarian. You cannot do the same duties

[53:17] as a library aid or a circulation

[53:20] assistant that you can as librarian.

[53:22] There are skills in education that you

[53:25] need to have to be able to make uh uh

[53:29] develop the collection, to keep

[53:31] databases, to uphold this entire space.

[53:34] that can't be done with the job of a

[53:36] library aid. And so I strongly oppose

[53:40] this decision to remove the librarian.

[53:43] And I know that Zoe Keenan has the the

[53:47] skills and the education to do this job

[53:50] well. And not only that, but make it a

[53:53] safe space for all of these students. I

[53:56] know when I was a student, I wanted to

[53:58] come here all the time. I went to Tilton

[54:01] almost every day. I came here almost

[54:03] every day. I have been raised on

[54:06] libraries since I was 11 or 12 years old

[54:09] and it's just not a job that you can

[54:12] replace. Um there are so many libraries

[54:17] around the country that are being

[54:19] compromised and literacy is going down

[54:22] and education is going down and we're in

[54:25] Massachusetts and as a public school

[54:28] there's no reason to be cutting this

[54:30] position. We have the top liter literacy

[54:33] rates and the top education rates and we

[54:36] as a public as a public school should be

[54:39] supporting that. There is not only

[54:41] fiction books here, but there's

[54:43] non-fiction. There's all the resources

[54:46] and there's the opportunity for students

[54:48] to come here and ask for books and

[54:51] resources that they don't even know

[54:55] exist yet without the help of somebody

[54:57] who has the specialty to look those up

[55:00] and find them and collect them for the

[55:03] school. And that benefits everybody. So,

[55:06] I really urge everybody to reconsider

[55:10] this move to to take away the librarian

[55:12] position because it is going to

[55:17] strongly affect how the school looks and

[55:19] how the school acts. I know that as for

[55:23] people who don't work in libraries, it's

[55:25] hard to understand what the librarian

[55:27] does and the difference between a

[55:29] librarian and a librarian assistant, but

[55:32] it is massive. And an aid cannot do that

[55:35] job. They can assist, they can look over

[55:38] the space, they can take care of the

[55:40] children or the students and make sure

[55:42] that they're looked after, but they

[55:44] cannot maintain an actual library. And I

[55:46] think that's really important to keep in

[55:48] mind.

[55:50] And like other people have said, I have

[55:52] not once ever gone to a school and gone,

[55:54] "Wow, they have a really nice parking

[55:56] lot. I want to go here." I'm considering

[55:59] what what programs these places have.

[56:02] You know, what they offer the libraries.

[56:04] It's a huge thing. But students spend

[56:07] five minutes in the parking lot. You

[56:09] know, that's like it's this is something

[56:12] that should not even be considered if

[56:14] there are other budget cuts. Um so again

[56:16] I strongly encourage you to reconsider

[56:19] the cut to the librarian and other

[56:21] seriously necessary positions in the

[56:23] school to maintain

[56:26] the the support of the students. Thanks.

[56:37] » Phil has a request.

[56:46] » Yeah.

[56:48] >> Can can I um do you mind? Let's finish

[56:53] up the rest of the public because this

[56:56] is the space for the public to have

[56:58] their comments and then we'll have a a

[57:00] space for thank you for the committee to

[57:02] have their comments uh as part of the

[57:04] meeting. Thank you Tim.

[57:13] » Good evening. Um Tim Hilchie from the

[57:15] Deerfield Select Board. Sorry you're

[57:17] hearing from all the Deerfield Select

[57:18] Board members. Um, we

[57:21] >> we appreciate that involving

[57:23] >> we share your concern about school

[57:26] budgets and the need to invest in

[57:27] students and um I just want to thank

[57:31] everyone for your thoughtful approach to

[57:34] these issues. Um, I don't know what the

[57:37] savings is related to a librarian versus

[57:40] a library aid, but um, I will say that I

[57:43] have a soft spot in my heart for

[57:45] libraries um, and librarians because

[57:49] they make a difference in my life.

[57:54] The love of reading was something that I

[57:56] learned in the library. So, um, it's the

[57:59] key to self-education.

[58:02] somebody who can read well can go a long

[58:05] way to help themselves just by um the

[58:09] skills that they learn in a library. So

[58:12] um I want to also thank um Jessica

[58:15] Corwin and Darius Matisto. We are

[58:19] looking to uh a week of action for

[58:22] trying to get the state to give more

[58:24] money to rural and declining enrollment

[58:27] schools. Um, so if you haven't um heard

[58:30] about this,

[58:32] you should talk to Jessica and uh get

[58:36] involved. You know, we need to deliver a

[58:38] strong message to Governor Healey in the

[58:41] legislature uh to get rural school aid

[58:44] funded at $60 million. That's not a

[58:46] beall and endall, but it would move move

[58:49] the needle enough so that some of the

[58:51] things we're discussing tonight wouldn't

[58:52] be necessary.

[58:54] And um finally, I also want to remember

[58:58] uh remind everyone that um if you

[59:02] haven't seen the Franklin Technical

[59:04] School presentation,

[59:06] one of the things that we have to keep

[59:08] in the back of our minds as um stewards

[59:11] of the finances of the towns we work in

[59:13] is that um Deerfield itself is looking

[59:17] at a 700,000

[59:20] a year increase if that school is

[59:23] approved. approved. And that's not to

[59:25] say that I have an opinion about whether

[59:27] technical schools or academic schools

[59:30] are the way to go. It's just a reality

[59:32] that we're talking about tonight um some

[59:37] adjustments that have been made in this

[59:38] budget. And hopefully I think you will

[59:41] maybe reconsider based on all the

[59:44] conversations we've had about the

[59:46] importance of librarians this particular

[59:48] position.

[59:50] But two or three or four years from now,

[59:53] we're basically

[59:55] uh you know looking at a situation where

[59:57] every one of our towns is going to have an override.

[1:00:01] And um so I just want I think that's

[1:00:06] some of the context that you know Darius

[1:00:09] and Shelley have been uh thinking about

[1:00:12] and the the principles etc. So, uh,

[1:00:16] again, I just want to thank everyone for

[1:00:17] your thoughtfulness and hopefully we can

[1:00:20] come to some solution to this librarian

[1:00:23] issue because I do feel strongly about

[1:00:25] that. Thank you.

[1:00:27] >> Thank you,

[1:00:30] >> Holly.

[1:00:33] » Hello. I'm Holly Johnson uh from

[1:00:35] Wheatley. Um, I have a a child at

[1:00:38] Frontier, someone who graduated a little

[1:00:40] while ago, and I'm going to echo what so

[1:00:43] many people have already said, the

[1:00:45] importance of having a librarian in the

[1:00:48] school. I myself am a librarian at the

[1:00:49] Tilton Library, and um there's it's just

[1:00:53] the the rule from the Massachusetts

[1:00:55] library system that if we don't have a

[1:00:57] certified full-time librarian, we don't

[1:00:59] have access. That's to all those

[1:01:00] databases like Melissa said, and a lot

[1:01:02] of other things. And I understand, you

[1:01:05] know, a lot of hard work went into the

[1:01:07] budget and I appreciate it. And as a as

[1:01:09] a taxpayer, you know, I don't want to

[1:01:10] have an override, but I think this is

[1:01:12] really important. It's the it's such the

[1:01:15] heart of Frontier. Zoe, I've heard so

[1:01:18] many good things over the years from

[1:01:20] multiple students about Zoe, the safe

[1:01:22] space the that the library is. And in a

[1:01:25] time when when so many kids are

[1:01:27] struggling with mental health, to take

[1:01:29] away

[1:01:31] a safe space like that, um it's so much

[1:01:34] more than just what she does as a

[1:01:36] librarian that only a librarian can do.

[1:01:39] Um and I've heard, you know, that we're

[1:01:43] the parking lot, which I, you know, the

[1:01:45] parking lot's awful. I hate it, but I'd

[1:01:48] much rather have a librarian than a

[1:01:49] pretty parking lot. Um, I appreciate all

[1:01:51] the time and effort you put in and and

[1:01:54] thank you for letting me speak.

[1:01:57] >> Thank you,

[1:01:59] >> Ashley.

[1:02:04] » Hi. Thank you very much. Um, my name is

[1:02:07] Ashley Dennis. I live in Greenfield and

[1:02:10] I work at Frontier as one of the school

[1:02:11] nurses. Um, thank you all for the hard

[1:02:14] work you're doing. This is incredibly

[1:02:16] difficult that I I imagine. I mean, but

[1:02:18] for everybody being involved in this and

[1:02:20] thinking about it, it's just so hard to

[1:02:23] imagine that we're in this place. Um, I

[1:02:27] want to first speak about the importance

[1:02:29] of our librarian. The work that is done

[1:02:33] in our library to support all of our

[1:02:36] students by our librarian

[1:02:39] can cannot be understated. It is so

[1:02:42] impactful to each and every student. I

[1:02:45] have a my own I have a child who

[1:02:47] graduated a year ago. Um he was able to

[1:02:52] participate in so many AP courses and um

[1:02:57] online courses in the library with the

[1:02:59] support of the librarian such that he

[1:03:02] has managed to have an entire year of

[1:03:05] college course credits

[1:03:07] already under his belt. So I mean the progression that he was able to

[1:03:11] achieve and the success and the love of

[1:03:13] learning it cannot be underscored. And

[1:03:16] my younger child who also was at

[1:03:18] Frontier had basically his first work

[1:03:21] experience in the library with Miss

[1:03:23] Keenan. But even more importantly, the database re resources and learning

[1:03:28] how to research and learning that all

[1:03:31] that information is out there reliably,

[1:03:33] not just through Google, but through all

[1:03:35] these amazing ways to learn and dig

[1:03:38] deeper for information, real information

[1:03:40] is so important. Um, and the the the

[1:03:44] recommendations for books, the passion

[1:03:46] for learning, for reading, for finding

[1:03:48] information cannot be undersold. And as

[1:03:52] Megan uh or excuse me, Merlin was

[1:03:55] speaking of the difference between an

[1:03:58] aid and a

[1:04:00] certified librarian and media

[1:04:02] specialist.

[1:04:04] It's something that I think we're not

[1:04:05] commonly aware of the the vast

[1:04:08] difference, but if we liken it to

[1:04:11] nursing, we all know that like a nurse's

[1:04:13] aid, like a CNA and a RN have vastly

[1:04:16] different roles. And I think that

[1:04:19] applies as an analogy. And I urge us, I

[1:04:24] urge you all to really please

[1:04:27] reconsider cutting a librarian position

[1:04:29] because I can't imagine our school

[1:04:33] without a librarian. I can't imagine our

[1:04:36] school as the same draw um for school

[1:04:39] choice and for supporting our students

[1:04:43] at the beginning of the presentation

[1:04:45] um that Shelley gave. And thank you. It

[1:04:48] was very thorough and clear. One of the

[1:04:50] first things said was that we want that you all want to make decisions um

[1:04:55] difficult decisions that impact student

[1:04:57] education in the most minimal way

[1:04:59] possible. And I do not feel that cutting

[1:05:02] a librarian position

[1:05:04] achieves that.

[1:05:06] Um, and I also want to speak to um,

[1:05:11] eliminating the part-time

[1:05:14] um, adjustment counselor because as one

[1:05:17] of the school nurses, we are often who

[1:05:22] catches, you know, we are those who

[1:05:23] catch the overflow from the students who

[1:05:27] are needing support. And the need at

[1:05:30] present is so great. And even with our

[1:05:33] part-time adjustment counselor, there is

[1:05:35] not enough time in a day or week from

[1:05:40] our mental health professionals in the

[1:05:42] building to support all of the students.

[1:05:45] And so reducing that time available is

[1:05:50] going to negatively impact those

[1:05:51] students which then negatively impacts

[1:05:54] their ability to

[1:05:57] um

[1:06:00] be present for their learning to be open

[1:06:02] to their learning time to achieve their

[1:06:04] educational time. Um

[1:06:09] and I could go on and on but I will

[1:06:11] limit my time so others can speak. and

[1:06:12] thank you so much for the opportunity.

[1:06:16] >> Thank you.

[1:06:19] Anything else?

[1:06:24] » At this point, we'll close.

[1:06:26] >> Yeah, I did.

[1:06:28] >> That was gonna

[1:06:32] go back.

[1:06:33] >> Yeah, I can I could just go really

[1:06:36] quickly. I I just want to echo what uh

[1:06:38] Andrea, Melissa, Merlin, others have

[1:06:40] said. Um, and you know, I teach eighth

[1:06:42] grade science and I'm the department

[1:06:44] chair for science. Um, but one of the

[1:06:48] things that that I just, you know, being

[1:06:50] in the building, being with kids that I

[1:06:54] want to emphasize is that, you know, I

[1:06:56] know we've said that the library is the

[1:06:57] heart of our school. Um, it's also one

[1:07:00] of only safe spaces for some of our most

[1:07:03] atrisisk students. Um,

[1:07:07] you know, that's where they go. that's

[1:07:10] their safe space and having a

[1:07:12] professional who is certified and

[1:07:14] trained

[1:07:16] >> and can support them and that space.

[1:07:21] I just think that the risk to those

[1:07:23] students just greatly outweighs the

[1:07:24] dangers of a beat up parking lot. Um,

[1:07:27] and I just want you to keep those

[1:07:29] individuals in mind because there is a

[1:07:32] subset of students that and it's not a

[1:07:35] it's not, you know, it is a significant

[1:07:38] amount. I mean one is a significant

[1:07:39] amount but it isn't it is more um and

[1:07:43] that space and having a professional um

[1:07:46] is just really critical and you know I

[1:07:49] would say the same for adjustment

[1:07:51] counselors like I just they're so

[1:07:53] critically important for students and

[1:07:56] also for helping teachers to do the job

[1:07:59] that we do um so that you know we can

[1:08:03] have people kids can come to us and we

[1:08:06] can send them to someone who is a

[1:08:08] professional who can support them uh in

[1:08:11] the way that they need. And um you know,

[1:08:14] the library is one of those avenues

[1:08:15] where kids trust Zoey and then Zoe can

[1:08:18] connect them to adjustment counselors.

[1:08:20] Um so both of those spaces are really

[1:08:25] spaces that I see as critical. Um, as

[1:08:28] much as a new parking lot um will

[1:08:32] eventually one day be needed, I it just

[1:08:34] doesn't feel like the cracks in the

[1:08:37] concrete aren't as dire as

[1:08:40] the world that we're kind of in right

[1:08:41] now and the supports that kids really

[1:08:43] need. So, thank you so much. And I know

[1:08:46] uh this is a hard hard decision. So, I

[1:08:48] appreciate you letting me speak.

[1:08:52] >> Thank you.

[1:08:58] I think we're good right

[1:09:01] now. Uh we'll close the public hearing

[1:09:04] and resume the school committee meeting

[1:09:07] and we have a few things to go through

[1:09:10] on our agenda, but we'll come circle

[1:09:12] back around to to the budget in a

[1:09:16] relatively short order.

[1:09:17] >> Yeah. Right. So just kind of

[1:09:19] explanations a lot of people on

[1:09:20] watching. So the the way it works you

[1:09:22] have you have a public hearing which

[1:09:23] allows public to com do give a

[1:09:25] presentation the budget the public to

[1:09:27] comment and then we go into a regular

[1:09:29] school committee meeting um in which the

[1:09:32] budget is on the agenda at which that

[1:09:34] time that the school committee discusses

[1:09:36] whether or not there'll be changes um

[1:09:38] recommendations and just debate um and

[1:09:42] then um and what are they going to put

[1:09:44] forward to the final for the final uh

[1:09:47] budget number for later in the week. So

[1:09:49] that's kind of the process. So when we

[1:09:52] say we're closing the hearing, I just I

[1:09:54] was kind of saying just

[1:09:55] >> you haven't been through it a lot. Um so

[1:09:58] um anyway, so we're going to go through

[1:09:59] some of the regular business kind of

[1:10:00] things that are on the agenda and we'll

[1:10:02] come back to the budget

[1:10:04] >> pretty quick.

[1:10:06] Uh the first item on the school

[1:10:09] committee uh meeting agenda is for

[1:10:11] reviewing through the minutes of

[1:10:13] February 10th. I I'll just kind of

[1:10:16] clarify that because we have members

[1:10:18] both here and remote. I'm going to go

[1:10:21] through with a roll call for everybody.

[1:10:22] We'll call I'm sure Jessica uh with

[1:10:26] minutes as well.

[1:10:28] >> Move to approve.

[1:10:30] >> Thank you,

[1:10:32] Jess. That's a motion from Bill and a

[1:10:36] second on from Olivia.

[1:10:43] Everybody moved on the screen. Um,

[1:10:46] I'm gonna go around the table first and

[1:10:48] then we'll go to the remote folks.

[1:10:50] Olivia,

[1:10:50] >> yes.

[1:10:52] >> Mary,

[1:10:52] >> yes.

[1:10:53] >> Bill,

[1:10:55] >> yes.

[1:10:58] >> All right. Now, we've got Jessica.

[1:11:01] >> Yes.

[1:11:04] >> Back up the screen, which will help. Uh,

[1:11:07] Bill.

[1:11:08] >> Yes.

[1:11:10] >> And Celia.

[1:11:12] Yes. Uh, can you hear me? Yes,

[1:11:15] >> you

[1:11:15] >> can. Yes. Thank you. And Diane?

[1:11:18] >> Yes.

[1:11:20] >> Right. I think I've got everybody.

[1:11:25] » We've got the financial statement and

[1:11:27] warrants.

[1:11:29] >> The only thing that I have for you is to

[1:11:31] state the warrants for the record. So,

[1:11:33] there were 26 warrants um totaling

[1:11:36] 2,38,979.56.

[1:11:41] I did send you out the express reports.

[1:11:44] There's no new changes since we last

[1:11:46] met, but I'm happy to take questions if

[1:11:47] you have them.

[1:11:57] I don't see any questions about the

[1:11:59] financial reports. I'm told that the

[1:12:02] student council uh member has been

[1:12:06] uh

[1:12:06] >> we sent a message that was a long

[1:12:07] meeting and they would not want to sit

[1:12:09] through the whole public hearing part.

[1:12:10] So,

[1:12:10] >> okay. if they're on. I didn't see them

[1:12:12] come on.

[1:12:13] >> Great. And if they had anything to they

[1:12:14] wanted to share with them, they asked

[1:12:16] them to send it along.

[1:12:22] » Do you want to do that?

[1:12:23] >> I can. And I just a few quick updates

[1:12:25] and I do want to just highlight the fact

[1:12:26] that our student council there so we

[1:12:28] have a number of um student council

[1:12:30] members going to uh uh conference uh

[1:12:33] tomorrow for three days uh in Delape.

[1:12:37] Um, so they're going to be uh attending

[1:12:39] uh keynote speaker sessions, learning

[1:12:41] about leadership, networking with other

[1:12:42] student councils. So this is our second

[1:12:44] year uh that we're doing that. So I want

[1:12:47] to give a a public uh thank you to

[1:12:49] Melissa Stroky and to Kate Blair, our student adviserss for we're doing

[1:12:54] that. We're really excited that our our

[1:12:56] students are able to take advantage of

[1:12:57] that. Uh today we did have a wellness

[1:12:59] day for our high school students. Um and

[1:13:02] basically so uh a lot of our high school

[1:13:04] students were able to participate in a

[1:13:05] lot of activities. Uh we did

[1:13:07] cross-country skiing out back, had

[1:13:09] Pilates, uh kids, some students went off

[1:13:11] site and did snowshoeing, some students

[1:13:13] hiked up Sugarloaf Mountain. Um and then

[1:13:15] it culminated with a pep rally organized

[1:13:17] by our student council. So thank you to

[1:13:19] our student council for that. Um I just

[1:13:21] want to let folks know that early

[1:13:22] release days are starting again on March

[1:13:24] 6, which is this Friday. Uh this spring

[1:13:27] we'll be going over, we've got uh such

[1:13:28] topics uh coming up as anti-bullies, uh

[1:13:31] we'll be doing servant practice again,

[1:13:33] uh PLC's and curriculum development. Uh

[1:13:35] and then once again, a reality fair

[1:13:37] career fair is happening on March 25th.

[1:13:39] Uh big shout outs for Steam Blue for her

[1:13:42] organization this event. Uh and our

[1:13:44] musical is coming up uh not this weekend

[1:13:46] but next weekend which is going to be

[1:13:47] Mary Poppins. So if you're if you're

[1:13:50] around and you want to see a great

[1:13:51] musical, big thank you to John Donna,

[1:13:55] Max, Cheryl, uh and Janet Riley for for

[1:14:00] working on that. So we're excited for

[1:14:01] that. So that's what I've got. Thank

[1:14:05] you.

[1:14:08] » At this point, we have another section

[1:14:10] for public comment. I will just make

[1:14:12] clear that this is only for public

[1:14:15] comment, not related to budget related

[1:14:18] issues. So, if there's any public

[1:14:19] comment on something not budget related,

[1:14:22] this is your time.

[1:14:27] I don't see any things or hands in the

[1:14:30] air. So, I'm going to move on from

[1:14:33] public comment unless you tell me that

[1:14:34] you got up.

[1:14:35] >> Okay.

[1:14:37] >> All right.

[1:14:39] Shel, are you ready to be on again?

[1:14:50] Yeah, I'm a little bit un normally I

[1:14:52] would just say there's nothing more to

[1:14:54] talk about because our budget goes goes

[1:14:57] through, but I'm not sure if we want to

[1:14:59] talk additional school committee

[1:15:00] comments before I get into the next part

[1:15:03] of the presentation or if you want me to

[1:15:05] present. It's probably important for the

[1:15:08] next part to be explained because it

[1:15:09] would be a repetitive of so we don't go

[1:15:12] down and also if you share different

[1:15:21] » oh

[1:15:29] the cage

[1:15:45] and

[1:15:48] it goes back and forth. There's one one

[1:15:50] page too.

[1:15:52] >> Oh, because I'm not in slideshow, but I

[1:15:55] can

[1:15:57] >> I can go into

[1:16:02] » Oh, if you go into that, it just will

[1:16:04] fill up the whole screen. You don't have

[1:16:05] to leave that. I didn't want to

[1:16:07] interrupt us.

[1:16:10] >> I share from the PDF and not

[1:16:15] » Yeah. I feel like it's helpful to have

[1:16:17] this piece before we discuss.

[1:16:21] >> Yes.

[1:16:46] Okay. So, we do have some additional

[1:16:48] information since the last meeting um to

[1:16:51] discuss that has budgetary impact. Um,

[1:16:55] you all knew that health insurance rates

[1:16:56] had not been set yet when we had the

[1:16:58] last uh budget discussion. We had a

[1:17:01] placeholder in the budget of 20%

[1:17:04] increase for next year and we're going

[1:17:06] to talk about where that landed with

[1:17:07] health Hampshire County Group Insurance

[1:17:09] Trust and what the um budgetary impact

[1:17:13] is with that change. So,

[1:17:34] All right. So, Hampshire County Group

[1:17:36] Insurance Trust had their meeting uh

[1:17:39] last week and had two options on the

[1:17:43] table from their consultant who they're

[1:17:45] working with to come up with the best

[1:17:47] plans for all of the covered lives,

[1:17:50] which is about 12,000 covered lives that

[1:17:51] are insured with Hampton County

[1:17:53] Insurance Trust. Uh the proposed options

[1:17:56] included a 16% rate increase without

[1:18:00] plan design changes, meaning the

[1:18:02] existing plan that we would have um

[1:18:05] moving forward would mimic what we have

[1:18:07] now. So no deductibles, no changes in

[1:18:09] co-pays. It would just be the change of

[1:18:11] the 16% insurance rate increase or

[1:18:13] premium rate increase. The alternative

[1:18:16] option presented to the insurance

[1:18:18] advisory committee of the trust was a

[1:18:20] 12.48% 48% increase with plan design

[1:18:23] changes. We had in our budget as a

[1:18:26] placeholder a 20% increase. The trust

[1:18:30] did go ahead and present what those plan

[1:18:32] design changes would look like.

[1:18:36] You can see on the screen here there is

[1:18:38] a uh HMO plan and a PO plan. Um HMO

[1:18:43] allows you to be in network and only see

[1:18:46] specialists with a referral from your

[1:18:47] primary care physician. The PO allows

[1:18:50] you to choose in network or out of

[1:18:52] network doctors and you don't need that

[1:18:53] referral. Um you can see the lighter

[1:18:56] blue here in the second part of the or

[1:18:59] the second column

[1:19:03] learn something. Um so where it says

[1:19:06] current those are our current plans and

[1:19:09] the proposed are the new plans. So you

[1:19:11] can see under the AMO and the PO the

[1:19:14] proposal at the 12.48% 48% rate increase

[1:19:18] did include adding a duct deductible of

[1:19:21] $250 per individual or 500 per family as

[1:19:25] well as some changes to office

[1:19:27] co-ayments. So not to see your primary

[1:19:29] care. Your primary care you can see here

[1:19:31] is remaining the same. But then as you

[1:19:34] go to specialist urgent care um those

[1:19:37] payments were increasing as well as

[1:19:40] changes to lab services, inpatient care

[1:19:43] and outpatient surgical after

[1:19:45] deductibles are met on the HML plan. The

[1:19:49] PO would require that um people enrolled

[1:19:52] in this plan do have to pay uh a

[1:19:55] deductible for primary care visits

[1:19:57] first. So you'd have to meet that $250

[1:20:00] deductible per person or 500 per family.

[1:20:03] Then your co-pays would kick in. That's

[1:20:05] for all services for regular primary

[1:20:08] care as well as uh specialists and

[1:20:11] urgent care uh emergency room lab and

[1:20:15] then inpatient care and outpatient care.

[1:20:17] So these were the proposed changes.

[1:20:19] These changes are still less than the um

[1:20:24] GIC. So the state's group insurance

[1:20:26] commission, we've talked about this at

[1:20:29] several meetings of whether or not we

[1:20:30] wanted to move that route. The plan

[1:20:32] presented with the GIC,

[1:20:35] it does have higher deductibles and

[1:20:37] higher co-pays than what was proposed to

[1:20:39] the trust here. The trust made a

[1:20:42] commitment to make as minimal changes as

[1:20:44] possible while keeping the rate increase

[1:20:46] as relatively reasonable as it could,

[1:20:49] which is where the $250 and $500

[1:20:52] deductible and then the minimal plan

[1:20:54] changes for probates came into play.

[1:20:58] The trust did pass the 12.48%

[1:21:02] rate increase with plan design changes.

[1:21:04] It passed 55 to 27 of the um voting

[1:21:08] members that were present. Um so from

[1:21:10] here the plan will be changing in the

[1:21:13] new year. Before we talk about the

[1:21:15] budget changes of the 20% um placeholder

[1:21:19] that we had in compared to the 12.48%

[1:21:22] I want to give you some information

[1:21:23] about what that means for us moving

[1:21:25] forward because if you listen to any of

[1:21:27] our meetings or attended any of our

[1:21:29] meetings there is some negotiations that

[1:21:31] has to take place with our unions um in

[1:21:35] regards to impact bargaining.

[1:21:40] So when we talk about negotiations,

[1:21:43] uh, Frontier Regional School Committee

[1:21:45] as well as we believe the other member

[1:21:48] towns that are part of the trust, which

[1:21:49] is Conway, um, Wheatley and Deerfield,

[1:21:52] all adopted chapter 32B, sections 21 to

[1:21:55] 23 some years ago. Um, I can't remember

[1:21:58] if it was 2017 or 18. Um, but what

[1:22:02] chapter 32B sections 21-23 allows is a

[1:22:06] municipality or regional school district

[1:22:09] can make changes to the health insurance

[1:22:11] plan up to the GIC. Which is why I was

[1:22:14] mentioning that the plan changes that

[1:22:16] were approved by the trust or less than

[1:22:18] the GIC. You can make those plan changes

[1:22:21] without having to bargain what those

[1:22:23] plan changes look like. So if the GIC

[1:22:26] deductible is $500 per person, as long

[1:22:29] as the trust deductible is less than

[1:22:31] that, we can go ahead and make those

[1:22:33] changes as long as we've adopted this

[1:22:35] part of MGL, which we have. What has to

[1:22:38] be bargained is the cost savings. The

[1:22:42] proposals presented a 16% rate increase

[1:22:45] and a 12.5% rate increase. So the

[1:22:48] difference in those um calculations for

[1:22:51] what we would pay on premiums is what

[1:22:54] has to go back to our employees capped

[1:22:56] at 25% of what that difference is. So

[1:22:59] this is the piece that has to be

[1:23:01] negotiated. This is a much larger

[1:23:03] conversation but I did want to make you

[1:23:05] aware that the changes are coming into

[1:23:07] place because there will be some steps

[1:23:09] that school committee has to be involved

[1:23:10] in as we go through that process.

[1:23:14] I also want to make you aware of it

[1:23:16] because it does impact what the net

[1:23:20] savings is to the budget based on

[1:23:23] mitigation. So you do have to give that

[1:23:25] money back not only to your insured

[1:23:27] union employees but any insured employee

[1:23:30] throughout the district that capped at

[1:23:32] 25% savings and that is based on the

[1:23:35] statute. So all of this is coming from

[1:23:37] Mass General Law. Um we have been in

[1:23:39] contact with labor council. Um, we're

[1:23:41] also communicating with the towns to

[1:23:43] support union 38 as well with their

[1:23:45] negotiations and there will be some work

[1:23:48] that this committee has to do as we go

[1:23:50] through that process.

[1:23:53] So, let's talk about what the actual

[1:23:55] impact of the budget is. And the the

[1:23:57] impact on the budget is we have a 20%

[1:23:59] placeholder in for a rate increase and

[1:24:02] the rate is increase is only 12.48%.

[1:24:06] The savings being generated from that

[1:24:08] change in the rate increase in premiums

[1:24:10] is roughly $150,000.

[1:24:13] So our budget as it stands right now at

[1:24:16] the 3.94%

[1:24:18] increase um is overstated by $150,000

[1:24:23] because we can recoup some savings from

[1:24:25] the premium rate reduction. Does that

[1:24:28] make sense?

[1:24:30] Yes. Okay. I just want that to be clear

[1:24:32] for school committee before I keep

[1:24:34] talking. So,

[1:24:37] we've done some behind the-scenes

[1:24:38] calculations of what those mitigation

[1:24:40] costs are going to be. However, there

[1:24:42] are some statutory requirements as far

[1:24:45] as communicating with the union. So,

[1:24:47] we're not able to talk about that number

[1:24:50] publicly yet of what that mitigation

[1:24:52] expense is going to be. But what I

[1:24:54] wanted to point out on this slide is

[1:24:56] twofold. So, the budget savings of

[1:25:00] 150,000 is the gross amount. there will

[1:25:03] be a mitigation expense. So say that

[1:25:05] expense was $50,000 and I'm just

[1:25:07] throwing it out for easy math. The net

[1:25:10] savings would be $150,000. That would be

[1:25:13] what we could reduce our budget by

[1:25:15] >> 100

[1:25:16] >> I mean 100 yes sorry

[1:25:19] >> I was trying to make it simple and

[1:25:21] didn't make it simple enough for myself.

[1:25:22] So a 100,000 would be our net savings if

[1:25:25] we had 50,000 of the mitigation expense.

[1:25:28] I think it's just important to point

[1:25:29] that out as part of what this process

[1:25:31] looks like. Frontier is fortunate in

[1:25:34] that it have school choice funds or we

[1:25:37] could use Oh, Celia, let me stop before

[1:25:39] I keep drawing.

[1:25:41] >> Oh, okay. Um I just Is the the

[1:25:44] mitigation expense is that the that's

[1:25:46] the 25% of the difference between the

[1:25:48] 12.48 and the 16%.

[1:25:50] >> You got it. Exactly.

[1:25:52] >> Okay. Thank you. I just wanted to double

[1:25:53] check.

[1:25:54] >> Great question.

[1:25:57] Okay.

[1:25:59] So, we are fortunate that we have school

[1:26:02] choice funds available which we've

[1:26:03] talked about sort of operates in a way

[1:26:06] similar to our free cash because it is a

[1:26:07] revolving fund. I could have also thrown

[1:26:10] on this slide to use excess and

[1:26:11] deficiency. The difference in END and

[1:26:14] school choice is that END all of our

[1:26:16] member towns have to approve the use of

[1:26:18] that whereas school choice school

[1:26:20] committee can access those funds. So

[1:26:22] because we have those funds, I am

[1:26:24] recommending that the mitigation expense

[1:26:26] that is a one-time expense because it's

[1:26:28] only based on the calculation of the

[1:26:31] difference between the 16% and the 12.48

[1:26:34] capped the 25% in the first year. So

[1:26:38] it's a one-time expenditure. Rather than

[1:26:41] inflating our budget by if it was

[1:26:43] $50,000,

[1:26:44] let's use an alternative funding source

[1:26:46] to cover the mitigation expense and

[1:26:49] fully recoup the budget savings into our

[1:26:52] budget.

[1:26:53] >> Does that make sense? Did I explain

[1:26:54] that? I think I people could that number

[1:26:57] while it's it's um it still has to be

[1:27:00] determined and worked out, you know, I

[1:27:02] think using the $50,000 is the would be

[1:27:05] the very high end of that number. They

[1:27:08] probably even more highly than that. But

[1:27:10] so we're not talking about um you know

[1:27:12] 25% being $100,000 for those you are not

[1:27:15] quick enough to do able to do the math

[1:27:17] on that. But it's so it's you know it'

[1:27:19] be under $50,000 but it is um I just

[1:27:23] kind of want to throw that number out

[1:27:24] because we do have to keep it general.

[1:27:26] But I just want to have like a general

[1:27:27] like ballpark idea what that

[1:27:30] >> Yeah. It's not hundreds of thousands of

[1:27:32] dollars. That 25% savings in the

[1:27:35] difference of the two rates is not

[1:27:37] astronomical.

[1:27:38] >> If we were holding money aside, we would

[1:27:40] hold that we pulled $50,000 aside

[1:27:43] less.

[1:27:44] >> Yeah, exactly. Okay. Any other questions

[1:27:48] on those components before I keep going?

[1:27:52] All right, hearing.

[1:27:54] So, let's talk about recommendations.

[1:27:56] So, um, the administration behind the

[1:27:58] scenes, as we do with all of our budget

[1:28:00] process, is to make recommendations to

[1:28:02] school committee based on what we feel,

[1:28:04] um, balances that fiscal responsibility

[1:28:07] and meeting the needs of our students

[1:28:09] and staff in the building. So, we're

[1:28:10] presenting you with two options here.

[1:28:13] There are probably a million other

[1:28:15] options. Um, but so as not to go down a

[1:28:17] crazy rabbit hole, we're really

[1:28:19] presenting you with what we think are

[1:28:20] the best two options to move us forward.

[1:28:23] So, uh, what we are recommending under

[1:28:26] option A, and this will come back to

[1:28:28] deliberation for school committee to

[1:28:29] continue to have conversation, is that

[1:28:31] we apply the $150,000

[1:28:34] to reduce the budget. We also at the

[1:28:37] same time maintain the position

[1:28:39] reductions outlined previously, which

[1:28:41] was a total of $300,000,

[1:28:44] and then those positions that we showed

[1:28:45] you in the first presentation for the

[1:28:47] public hearing. We're also recommending

[1:28:49] that we reallocate RO aid funds. At the

[1:28:52] last meeting, we agreed to use $100,000

[1:28:55] or $110,000 of rural aid to offset the

[1:28:58] budget. We're recommending that we

[1:29:00] reallocate that to the parking lot. Um

[1:29:03] the purpose behind that would mean that

[1:29:05] the capital expense gets offset to our

[1:29:07] member towns, reducing their total

[1:29:09] assessment. So, while the budget isn't

[1:29:12] really coming down a ton, um we are

[1:29:16] looking at not having a capital. So the

[1:29:19] original reduction was a $400,000

[1:29:22] reduction in the public hearing budget.

[1:29:23] We used 100,000 of rural aid and 300,000

[1:29:26] in positions. Option A recommendation

[1:29:29] applies an additional $40,000,

[1:29:32] excuse me, from the health insurance

[1:29:34] savings, making our total reductions to

[1:29:36] the budget 440,000

[1:29:39] and removing the capital assessment by

[1:29:41] applying rural aid. Does that make

[1:29:43] sense? So ultimately we're reducing our

[1:29:46] expenditures

[1:29:48] um to our towns by 550,000.

[1:29:52] Um really they'll see the most recoup in

[1:29:55] that capital assessment. I'm going to

[1:29:56] give you more information on what that

[1:29:58] looks like moving forward um as we go

[1:30:00] through. Let me get into um option B

[1:30:03] quickly. So, an alternative

[1:30:05] consideration would be to keep up to

[1:30:09] $150,000 in positions based on the

[1:30:12] administrative recommendation. So, some

[1:30:15] portion of those um positions that we

[1:30:18] recommended being reduced would be saved

[1:30:21] for lack of a better word, not all of

[1:30:23] them, but up to 150,000.

[1:30:26] We would maintain rural aid on the

[1:30:28] budget as an offset and maintain the

[1:30:31] capital assessment. So with this option,

[1:30:33] it basically means there's no reduction

[1:30:35] to our budget and there's no change in

[1:30:37] our assessments. So our budget would

[1:30:39] come in at the same level, 3.94%.

[1:30:42] We would still assess our towns for

[1:30:44] their portion of the capital assessment.

[1:30:46] Um and the budget would be it was like

[1:30:48] $13.8 million for the general fund. Um

[1:30:52] this results again just to repeat here,

[1:30:54] make sure everyone understands the

[1:30:55] differences in option A and option B.

[1:30:57] Option A actually has an additional

[1:31:00] reduction to the budget and a reduction

[1:31:02] to our member town assessments. Option B

[1:31:05] maintains status quo as presented in the

[1:31:07] public hearing.

[1:31:10] >> To comment on option A since it's it is

[1:31:13] our recommendation. It I think where

[1:31:15] it's keeping um consistent with is that

[1:31:18] we do need our population has gone down

[1:31:21] and we do need to shrink the budget. Um

[1:31:23] we we don't need to it's our

[1:31:26] recommendation that we that we shrink

[1:31:27] the budget. Um and I think you know they

[1:31:30] opened up this conversation. I know that

[1:31:32] the dollar amount has changed but the

[1:31:35] demand from the towns has has not

[1:31:37] changed and it is very high looking

[1:31:39] going across each of the towns. Each of

[1:31:42] the elementary schools budgets are

[1:31:43] higher than than what is normally

[1:31:45] considered an acceptable range. There's

[1:31:47] a they still have to take on the

[1:31:49] insurance costs. Um, and you got one

[1:31:52] town that's going to be dependent on an

[1:31:53] override to pass the budget. Um, and so

[1:31:56] I I I that's the one of the reasons

[1:31:58] going through and I've heard, you know,

[1:31:59] I listen to all the the, you know, the

[1:32:01] commentary that, you know, was given to

[1:32:03] us um, and ideas and thoughts from, you

[1:32:05] know, from our teachers and and parents

[1:32:07] and such. Um, and cuts are hard and

[1:32:11] there's no there's no steering away from

[1:32:13] that. Um and there are reductions in

[1:32:15] services and we heard from different

[1:32:17] members about each and every cut having

[1:32:20] a different impact on this building. Um

[1:32:23] and we did not take that lightly

[1:32:24] bringing those cuts forward. Um I don't

[1:32:27] want to get into

[1:32:29] debate of you know what our

[1:32:31] recommendations are. Um I I think that

[1:32:34] would be unhealthy to you know devalue

[1:32:36] positions or to counterpoint

[1:32:39] um you know

[1:32:41] usage of you know we'll say library or

[1:32:44] um you know special education needs or

[1:32:47] you know we are charged as

[1:32:49] administration to advise based on what

[1:32:52] we in the building and we see is going

[1:32:54] to have the um

[1:32:57] the the best the best impact in a

[1:33:00] negative situation. And so, or that's

[1:33:02] probably a terrible way of saying that,

[1:33:04] but um the least amount of impact, but

[1:33:06] it's going to have an impact. Anytime we

[1:33:08] reduce services, we're going to have to

[1:33:10] adjust. We're going to have to um you

[1:33:13] know, move things around within the

[1:33:14] building to do so. And so looking at the

[1:33:17] reason why again Shel and I are looking

[1:33:18] at um Shelley I and administration

[1:33:21] looking at a as the um recommendation is

[1:33:25] that if we pay for if we use that school

[1:33:27] choice money as part not school choice

[1:33:30] excuse me rural aid money to offset the

[1:33:32] budget we start in deficit next year

[1:33:35] unless we get full funding of ro a and

[1:33:36] it was inconsistent this year where it

[1:33:38] went down by 25% and so we will be just

[1:33:41] kicking it down the road once instead of

[1:33:44] rescaping stabilizing our budget by

[1:33:46] shrinking it slightly. Um and and and I

[1:33:49] kind of also wanted to, you know, I'll

[1:33:51] hold on the parking lot because I'm

[1:33:52] going over the park. So anyway, those

[1:33:54] are the thoughts, our thoughts on the

[1:33:56] EA. Um I'm sure there'll be a lot of

[1:33:59] conversation. Well, yeah.

[1:34:01] >> Um I just want to show you two more

[1:34:03] slides. Um,

[1:34:06] and I I'll make another comment back on

[1:34:08] Darius is, you know, as your CFO, it is

[1:34:11] my job to make decisions or

[1:34:14] recommendations for you to you that are

[1:34:16] most fiscally responsible while

[1:34:18] balancing the needs of our students. And

[1:34:22] as Sar said, with enrollment changing

[1:34:24] and what you're going to see on the next

[1:34:26] couple slides about the savings and

[1:34:28] maybe hear some more about the impact to

[1:34:29] our towns, um sometimes really hard

[1:34:32] decisions have to be made that are that

[1:34:34] are really based on finances.

[1:34:38] Okay, so let's look at the assessment

[1:34:40] change with option A. Um since that is

[1:34:42] the administrative recommendation. Um so

[1:34:45] this shows you what the reduction in the

[1:34:47] town assessment would be with option A.

[1:34:49] Some of these numbers seem minimal when

[1:34:51] you look at, you know, think about the

[1:34:53] grand scheme of things of the town's

[1:34:54] overall budget. But when we break it

[1:34:56] down by percentage points, Conway would

[1:34:58] be seeing a reduction of 24,000,

[1:35:01] Deerfield 70,000, Sunderland 39,000, and

[1:35:05] Weightley um 16,000. I'm going to stick

[1:35:08] with Sunderland since Keith brought up

[1:35:10] their percentage point and already um

[1:35:12] talking about an override. a $39,000

[1:35:15] savings for Sunderland um equates to at

[1:35:18] the elementary school um o over one full

[1:35:22] position and over one full percentage

[1:35:24] point which when you're talking about

[1:35:26] reductions of 8 n 10% that is has a

[1:35:30] significant impact. Um and Keith also

[1:35:33] said this too it's I think you said this

[1:35:34] it's not Frontier's responsibility to

[1:35:37] carry the weight of the elementary

[1:35:38] school's budgets or of the town's

[1:35:40] budgets. Um, however, we all have a

[1:35:43] responsibility. We're in this together

[1:35:44] and we do have to make decisions um that

[1:35:47] are most fiscally responsible and that

[1:35:49] are going to move our budgets through

[1:35:50] the budget process. Um, so overall what

[1:35:54] that looks like in assessment wise,

[1:35:55] there's a lot of numbers on the screen,

[1:35:57] but you can see here for demonstration

[1:35:58] purposes, the capital assessment is

[1:36:01] zeroed out. Our assessment growth

[1:36:03] changes from that 530,000 to 379,000

[1:36:07] and you can see the breakdown

[1:36:09] accordingly. Um so to easily look at uh

[1:36:12] Sutherland and keep with that same theme

[1:36:15] in the first iteration of the budget

[1:36:17] their overall assessment growth was

[1:36:19] $250,000

[1:36:20] and at this um iteration for option A it

[1:36:23] is only $211,000.

[1:36:25] Again doesn't seem like a lot of money

[1:36:27] when you're talking about the grand

[1:36:29] scheme of a $2.8 million assessment, but

[1:36:32] every dollar counts towards balancing

[1:36:34] our member town budgets overall. and

[1:36:37] Keith mentioned they're they've got

[1:36:39] fire, they've got police, they have um

[1:36:41] all of the other town departments to

[1:36:43] manage and it is part of our

[1:36:45] conversation as being a rural district

[1:36:47] of how we balance all of the needs and

[1:36:49] all of the different pieces of the

[1:36:51] budgets.

[1:36:53] >> I think

[1:37:01] the option is just

[1:37:02] >> I didn't it doesn't change the

[1:37:04] assessment. So the option B is not

[1:37:06] demonstrated.

[1:37:08] The only difference with option A and

[1:37:10] option B is how the $150,000 is applied.

[1:37:13] So let's just go back to those slides.

[1:37:15] So option A, the $150,000 is applied to

[1:37:20] actually reduce the budget and we

[1:37:21] maintain all the position reductions.

[1:37:24] Option B um puts that $150,000 back into

[1:37:29] positions and does not change the budget

[1:37:32] as it stands as far as um general fund

[1:37:35] or capital assessments.

[1:37:40] So both options

[1:37:42] um you're assessing the town for part of

[1:37:47] it.

[1:37:48] >> Option A there would be no capital

[1:37:50] assessment.

[1:37:51] >> Option B there.

[1:37:53] >> Correct.

[1:37:54] >> I think it's also it's important for

[1:37:56] folks understand how when our budget

[1:37:59] does go to the town the town figures out

[1:38:01] how to fund that budget. So, they're

[1:38:03] going to look at their increasement,

[1:38:04] their increase in um their increases,

[1:38:08] uh, you know, from taxes and so on and

[1:38:09] so forth, their growth, and then they're

[1:38:12] going to look at their free cash and

[1:38:13] they're going to take you're going to

[1:38:14] usually, unless they're going to go over

[1:38:16] and stuff, they're going to take with

[1:38:17] their free cash to pay that portion

[1:38:21] when we when we assess them there. So,

[1:38:23] it really is just freeing up that money

[1:38:25] for them to apply either for the

[1:38:27] elementary school or for other services

[1:38:30] in Yeah. So one, you know, so it's like

[1:38:32] it's important that it brings it down,

[1:38:34] but

[1:38:35] >> they're it's taking it's saving for

[1:38:37] their pool of money. Does that make does

[1:38:40] that make sense? Like could they explain

[1:38:41] that?

[1:38:42] >> Yeah,

[1:38:44] >> I know that Phil asked a while ago. Do

[1:38:47] you mind if I just check in and see if

[1:38:48] Phil wants to hop in before I do

[1:38:52] that in person? No, no, that's all

[1:38:53] right.

[1:38:55] >> Are you

[1:38:57] >> Yeah, sure. Um so you know first of all

[1:39:00] I I was just uh interested in since so

[1:39:04] many of the public comments um sort of

[1:39:07] made uh the inference that we were

[1:39:11] pursuing a parking lot renovation at the

[1:39:14] expense of people's jobs. Um whether

[1:39:18] Darius you whether you could

[1:39:21] uh discuss the rel the budgetary

[1:39:23] relationship between capital projects

[1:39:26] and uh you know the instructional budget

[1:39:30] and how that looks at town meeting and

[1:39:31] what that relationship is just so that

[1:39:34] we could sort of dispel that inference.

[1:39:36] Um, and then the second thing is that um

[1:39:40] just with regard to uh uh Shel's

[1:39:45] um

[1:39:47] I guess I guess you would say that's

[1:39:48] good health insurance news. Um less

[1:39:51] horrible health insurance news is a

[1:39:53] better way of putting it I guess. Um

[1:39:56] yeah, that there's an option A and an

[1:39:59] option B. Is there some

[1:40:02] have have you contemplated sort of

[1:40:04] something in the middle like an option C

[1:40:07] where some or one position is retained

[1:40:11] and the assessment for uh uh the parking

[1:40:16] lot is lowered but not eliminated

[1:40:23] you know

[1:40:24] >> so all right so you asked a lot of

[1:40:25] questions there um

[1:40:26] >> yeah sorry

[1:40:27] >> to go in reverse order. We kept it very

[1:40:31] straightforward without creating um a

[1:40:34] menu of things to choose from. Um you

[1:40:38] know, in the sense of especially since

[1:40:39] the fact that we our recommendation is A

[1:40:43] and as Shelley said, this is A and B.

[1:40:45] There could be a 100,000 different

[1:40:48] versions coming off of that. And so it's

[1:40:51] hard for us to then, you know, provide a

[1:40:53] menu of options of things we don't want

[1:40:55] to serve. So to kind of put that there,

[1:40:59] but to go back to your your first So I

[1:41:02] don't want to talk about that because

[1:41:03] you had two completely different

[1:41:06] >> Yeah,

[1:41:06] >> I kind I don't want to just kind of roll

[1:41:08] over the first part where you talked

[1:41:09] about the parking lot because I do want

[1:41:10] to comment on that.

[1:41:12] Um

[1:41:13] >> um well I mean sure the

[1:41:17] agreed that there could be many

[1:41:19] permutations, many different options but

[1:41:22] um you know I I I go back to what we

[1:41:26] always talked about as being the uh the

[1:41:31] threshold for job elimination and it's

[1:41:34] basically whether we really have to and

[1:41:38] um make

[1:41:41] Um

[1:41:43] the the the

[1:41:47] appearance of

[1:41:49] you know uh additional funds to the in

[1:41:52] the budget makes me wonder whether we

[1:41:56] really have to eliminate

[1:42:00] the librarian eliminate the you know

[1:42:02] what the you know etc. Um it's you know

[1:42:06] one thing one thing the the attrition

[1:42:08] positions are one thing the actual jobs

[1:42:12] being lost or to me always are in a

[1:42:15] different category and what's the

[1:42:17] budgetary impact of saving those

[1:42:21] positions

[1:42:22] and it seems like there'd still be some

[1:42:26] reduction in the capital expenditure

[1:42:30] um or the capital request to the towns.

[1:42:33] Yeah, you're right, Bill. There could be

[1:42:35] there there was a there was four

[1:42:37] iterations that Darius and I talked

[1:42:39] through um after talking with George

[1:42:41] about uh priorities and how to navigate

[1:42:44] all the pieces. One of them was put

[1:42:46] $75,000 back in salaries, put $75,000

[1:42:50] either back in budget or towards capital

[1:42:52] because six and one does mean another.

[1:42:54] Um so we did throw that out there as

[1:42:56] well, I think.

[1:43:02] Um,

[1:43:05] I don't want this to come across as the

[1:43:07] wrong way because I'm speaking strictly

[1:43:10] from a financial brain.

[1:43:11] >> Yeah.

[1:43:13] >> Our budget is growing faster than our

[1:43:15] towns can afford.

[1:43:17] >> Yep.

[1:43:18] >> That is the bottom line. And we're

[1:43:20] having an opportunity right now where we

[1:43:22] can because the health insurance is

[1:43:25] coupled with that and it's growing our

[1:43:26] budget. we have an opportunity where we

[1:43:29] can take care of reducing some positions

[1:43:31] based on attrition which do not impact

[1:43:34] people's lives and make some other

[1:43:37] changes based on enrollment and I think

[1:43:39] we have to capitalize on that and do

[1:43:42] what is most fiscally responsible

[1:43:45] um I hear the library conversation I'm

[1:43:48] not really involved in how that gets

[1:43:50] organized I'm just coming from a um

[1:43:53] fiscal perspective that it there is

[1:43:56] going to be there does need to be some

[1:43:58] change in the level of staffing that we

[1:44:00] have um carried in our budget and what

[1:44:04] that looks like, you know, comes from

[1:44:06] the administrative recommendation first

[1:44:08] and then comes back here. But I do think

[1:44:10] we're at a point where we have to make

[1:44:12] some changes. Our towns cannot continue

[1:44:15] between the growth of Frontier and the

[1:44:17] growth of our elementary schools. We're

[1:44:19] growing faster just based on cola than

[1:44:22] our towns can afford.

[1:44:25] I hope no one will take that personally.

[1:44:28] I love all the new teachers. You educate

[1:44:30] my children and and all of you are

[1:44:33] important. But there are some tough

[1:44:35] fiscal conversations and decisions that

[1:44:38] we haven't.

[1:44:46] » Well, I was just going to speak for the

[1:44:47] parking lot. U just want to point out

[1:44:50] that the parking lot and and position

[1:44:52] are not one to one changes. that they're

[1:44:55] completely different revenue streams and

[1:44:57] then even if we were to blow up the

[1:45:00] budget and say we'll just take whatever

[1:45:03] has been put into the parking lot over

[1:45:05] years of planned and fund positions that

[1:45:08] money disappears next year those

[1:45:09] positions won't be funded the year after

[1:45:10] that and the parking lot

[1:45:14] it's not a one to one at all

[1:45:17] >> yeah that's what I was asking Darius to

[1:45:18] get that you know and it's a separate

[1:45:20] vote at town meeting it's it's not you

[1:45:24] know the the the parking lot is a

[1:45:25] separate warrant article. People can

[1:45:28] vote against the town the school budget

[1:45:31] and for the parking lot and vice versa.

[1:45:34] Uh it it it does not we are not robbing

[1:45:37] Peter to pay Paul and uh I don't think

[1:45:41] there would be approval on the school

[1:45:44] committee at all to fund a parking lot

[1:45:47] and fire instructional facing people

[1:45:52] like it just wouldn't it it doesn't work

[1:45:54] that way. of that.

[1:45:57] >> Yeah, I I didn't respond because I was

[1:45:59] kind of waiting. I was waiting that

[1:46:00] first talk group. So, I guess you had a

[1:46:03] compound kind of question there.

[1:46:05] >> Um, we also, you know, and I know you're

[1:46:08] right. Someone made a comment like we

[1:46:10] have a gravel parking lot and and you

[1:46:12] know, if we could save positions, but

[1:46:14] that it's not a recur. We are already

[1:46:17] using school choice money in the budget.

[1:46:20] It's not this would be an addition to

[1:46:22] that and and the the cost of those the

[1:46:25] cap you know this building is an asset

[1:46:27] that we have to maintain and then when

[1:46:30] you put off projects it gets more

[1:46:32] expenses it also when we start creating

[1:46:34] liability issues with the level of

[1:46:35] damage our parking lot is when we start

[1:46:37] having potholes that are over you know

[1:46:39] three inches deep it's liability issue

[1:46:41] we spend $20,000 or $24,000 on the

[1:46:44] repair let alone that's already falling

[1:46:46] apart out there last year so we're

[1:46:48] throwing you know good money to bad as

[1:46:50] So, I understand that the parking lot is

[1:46:53] the is an ugly kind of it's an ugly

[1:46:56] project. It's, as I said the previous

[1:46:58] meeting, it's not sexy. You know, you

[1:47:00] wish you could do without it. Um, we

[1:47:02] also have other projects that are lined

[1:47:03] up behind this one, including another

[1:47:05] roof section, which again, if you start

[1:47:07] having leaking roof, then you have you

[1:47:09] start you're destroying your asset

[1:47:11] underneath it, including insulation,

[1:47:12] then you have mold issues, and then you

[1:47:14] you're increasing cost. So like we have

[1:47:16] a plan and that's why we do a different

[1:47:18] silo of it because if every year we had

[1:47:22] deferred maintenance, it was deferred

[1:47:24] maintenance, it we just build a problem

[1:47:26] for the next um the next group down the

[1:47:29] road even a couple years off. And if

[1:47:31] there was a, you know, a single bailout

[1:47:33] need that's different. But it really is

[1:47:36] um and that's why towns do it as well. a

[1:47:39] separate capital committee that meets

[1:47:40] and discusses um you know the the the

[1:47:43] improvements of their town outside of

[1:47:45] their general budget because if you mix

[1:47:47] the two together, the general budget

[1:47:50] always kind of wins and then you're

[1:47:52] stuck with more expensive projects and

[1:47:53] liabilities and and you know um issues

[1:47:56] with your your facilities and such. So

[1:47:58] that's why it's kind of broken out and

[1:48:00] this project's been we put it on hold

[1:48:03] last year. Um, and so

[1:48:06] it to do with the fire alarm system and

[1:48:08] we kind of it's been it's been in the

[1:48:10] works since 2018. Um, and I think, you

[1:48:13] know, we've reached the end of the

[1:48:14] patching life. So, um, anyway, that's

[1:48:17] kind of the reasoning behind what you

[1:48:19] were guaranteeing. I understand the

[1:48:21] optics, but in operations, we do keep it

[1:48:23] too separate.

[1:48:25] >> Yeah. and and and as far as far as the what to do with the savings um from

[1:48:33] the health insurance, I I personally

[1:48:35] would be interesting would be interested

[1:48:37] in uh you know looking further at split

[1:48:42] splitting this doing some sort of split

[1:48:45] 7575 or something similar to that and

[1:48:49] see what that looks like and what that

[1:48:51] would accomplish.

[1:48:55] Um,

[1:48:57] >> and this whole conversation gets a

[1:48:59] little cucked. Everybody keeps talking

[1:49:00] about the savings. There isn't any

[1:49:02] savings.

[1:49:03] >> We're going to spend less. We're not

[1:49:05] going to save a damn thing.

[1:49:08] >> So, please stop calling it savings

[1:49:11] because there isn't any.

[1:49:12] >> You're right.

[1:49:14] >> I label it savings. Sorry, Bill.

[1:49:18] » Go ahead, Diane.

[1:49:21] >> Yeah. I want to go back to something you

[1:49:22] said, Shelley, um about, you know, we're

[1:49:26] the our population is going down. We

[1:49:27] need to cut something at our school. And

[1:49:31] I guess I really want to understand

[1:49:32] better the uh the the thinking about

[1:49:37] making one of those the librarian in

[1:49:40] particular which does seem as many of

[1:49:43] the public comments said so core to the

[1:49:46] school that it doesn't seem like a a

[1:49:48] population decline sort of issue like we

[1:49:51] need fewer teachers maybe because

[1:49:52] there's fewer students but again a core

[1:49:56] service at the school. So maybe I would

[1:49:58] really appreciate some kind of

[1:49:59] explanation about how that decision came

[1:50:01] about.

[1:50:03] >> It's not really a it's not really a

[1:50:05] Shelly issue if you don't mind if I take

[1:50:06] that D. It's Shelly. It's so you know um

[1:50:11] I think you know we're looking at the

[1:50:12] librarian and we're talking about the

[1:50:14] librarian and there's other you know

[1:50:15] there's another faculty member you know

[1:50:17] although it's not being um lost a job

[1:50:20] position which is special education as

[1:50:21] well. And so I don't want to get lost

[1:50:23] that both of those are extremely I mean

[1:50:25] they're all valuable positions but those

[1:50:26] are the probably the highest um the

[1:50:29] highest number of savings in the

[1:50:31] reduction. There's there's an alignment.

[1:50:34] So again, I guess I'm going to justify

[1:50:36] what the reasoning is, not debate. I

[1:50:39] don't want to debate um the reasoning.

[1:50:43] Um it's we're looking at the allocation

[1:50:45] of resources and the amount that the

[1:50:49] library is used in comparison to what it

[1:50:52] was years ago. Um research base is not

[1:50:55] um booking is not um hardcovered books

[1:50:58] as it once was. We've made an effort to

[1:51:00] be one-on-one with Chromebooks where it

[1:51:03] no longer was the, you know, the library

[1:51:05] used to be a hub of for um computer use

[1:51:09] and research. You'd go to the library to

[1:51:11] use the computer to do research. That's very minimally happening in in

[1:51:16] comparison to where it was years ago. Um

[1:51:18] and so when I look at that and it's when

[1:51:21] I look at those kind of things and we as

[1:51:23] administrative team look at that, we

[1:51:25] look at impact on student learning. But

[1:51:28] while many of the statements that people

[1:51:30] made are true that those things will be

[1:51:32] lost. Um what do you want us to trade

[1:51:35] out instead? Do we want to have larger

[1:51:38] class sizes or of direct instruction? Do

[1:51:41] we want you know that is the next level?

[1:51:44] And so that is where the priorities were

[1:51:47] within the the making of this this and

[1:51:49] again this is our recommendation. this

[1:51:52] is your budget um and the values of the

[1:51:54] school committee and such um you know

[1:51:56] apply you know make those decisions when

[1:51:59] it comes to budget. So um

[1:52:02] I so I I guess I kind of I'm looking

[1:52:05] through my notes just make sure I kind

[1:52:07] of hit on things. Um you there's less

[1:52:09] scheduled classes being done in the

[1:52:11] library. Um there's less uh research

[1:52:15] that's using the library instead of

[1:52:16] online materials.

[1:52:18] the access of libraries online um and

[1:52:22] it's being done by our a lot of our um

[1:52:24] AP level classes are doing are going

[1:52:26] that route and so the the the

[1:52:28] utilization has gone down so it's we do

[1:52:31] need to redefine what does a library

[1:52:34] space look like um and how do we utilize

[1:52:38] you know a you know that resource which

[1:52:42] is a expensive resource and so and so we

[1:52:46] have to make sure that if if we're not

[1:52:48] using it to

[1:52:49] That's what brought it to um the table

[1:52:51] of reduction.

[1:52:54] » So if I can ask a followup to that, if

[1:52:57] we did plan B,

[1:53:00] which of those what did those position

[1:53:03] cuts look like? How would you prioritize

[1:53:05] the um the changes in the position cuts

[1:53:08] that you would make

[1:53:12] » through our discussion? We we would

[1:53:14] prioritize the special ed position,

[1:53:15] special education position first. Um and

[1:53:19] then um

[1:53:21] following that I would probably

[1:53:24] depending on you know you're looking at

[1:53:25] the so it's I guess you know I guess I'm

[1:53:28] trying to work through like I don't want

[1:53:30] to value positions but I guess I have to

[1:53:33] give thinking this out loud in my head.

[1:53:35] Um I have to give where the values that

[1:53:37] the administration applied to these

[1:53:39] cuts. um mental health, you know, we'd

[1:53:42] have to have another conversation with

[1:53:43] our mental health um providers in the

[1:53:46] building about whether or not that that

[1:53:48] two-day position is going to have that

[1:53:50] drastic effect and balancing that out

[1:53:52] with the library position.

[1:53:55] So, that would be, you know, there's

[1:53:57] probably a tie for second place within

[1:53:59] that. They're very different in costs um

[1:54:02] within within that number. So, um but

[1:54:05] you know, we'd have to kind of go back

[1:54:06] to drawing board. These cuts were

[1:54:08] brought as a package, not in a ranking

[1:54:12] order. Um, because we tried to pick from

[1:54:14] different, as you can see, didn't all

[1:54:16] hit one area of the building. We kind of

[1:54:18] tried to do it to have the least amount

[1:54:20] of impact on delivery of services and

[1:54:24] looking at what, you know, what members

[1:54:26] of our staff were um were leaving. So

[1:54:29] that, you know, that was kind of worked

[1:54:30] in there as well. So

[1:54:33] >> no, I I definitely respect that and I

[1:54:35] know this has been a hard, you know,

[1:54:37] discussions to kind of come up with

[1:54:39] these packages. It's just that you're

[1:54:41] asking us to choose between two options.

[1:54:43] One of which involves fewer position

[1:54:45] cuts and so it's not a package all of a

[1:54:48] sudden and you know we need to take that

[1:54:50] into consideration as well. And

[1:54:53] >> so um could I so you you know you you asked what what else what in what

[1:54:59] other location what other place could

[1:55:01] cuts be made and um the one person there

[1:55:04] was one suggestion of of all the public

[1:55:06] comments um to take a look at the

[1:55:09] curriculum position the curriculum

[1:55:11] director position the um you know the

[1:55:14] secondary curricular uh position and you

[1:55:18] know and in in all my years of school

[1:55:21] committee whatever it's in 15 or 18 or

[1:55:23] whatever. Um the in all the discussions

[1:55:26] with school committee members from other

[1:55:28] districts, um I always got comments like

[1:55:33] you're so lucky to have

[1:55:36] um a separate curriculum directors for

[1:55:39] elementary ed and secondary ed. Um

[1:55:43] uh and and I you know but but I and I

[1:55:48] don't know statewide what the statistics

[1:55:49] are but I was sort of led to believe

[1:55:51] that we were outside of the norm in that if that I know that there's

[1:55:56] districts that function without a

[1:55:57] curriculum director at all and there

[1:55:59] seems to be a lot more that just have a

[1:56:01] single K through 12. Um and so and I you

[1:56:05] know and I wondered what what your

[1:56:06] thoughts are about that and whether it's

[1:56:09] you know if we could address that one

[1:56:11] suggestion um uh you know and is is

[1:56:16] there something to be said for a

[1:56:18] part-time curriculum director or so I I

[1:56:20] don't know but um it seemed like a it's

[1:56:25] an idea that I I hadn't I hadn't thought

[1:56:27] of that idea till it was brought up. I'm

[1:56:30] sure you have, but I just wonder what

[1:56:32] your thoughts are,

[1:56:34] >> Darius.

[1:56:35] >> Sure.

[1:56:37] >> I don't think it's a wise decision. I

[1:56:39] think the um director of education um

[1:56:43] does something has a skill set and does

[1:56:45] something that um moves, you know, all

[1:56:49] of our teaching forward. And the fact

[1:56:51] that we put a lot of emphasis on that is

[1:56:54] what keeps us um in my opinion ahead of

[1:56:57] a lot of other districts that we uh put

[1:57:00] a lot of time and effort into designing

[1:57:02] you know professional development. We

[1:57:04] don't we dedicate a lot of time with all

[1:57:06] those early release days. The calendar

[1:57:07] is on their schedule you know a little

[1:57:09] bit later the first you know rendition

[1:57:11] of it and you can see we see that we

[1:57:13] spend a lot of time trying to do

[1:57:14] professional development for our teams.

[1:57:16] Um and we recognize that as an

[1:57:18] importance without a director to oversee

[1:57:21] that um or in a part-time basis or

[1:57:26] having other administrators take that on

[1:57:28] is going to um I think um very much um

[1:57:32] diminish the the value of those um

[1:57:36] trainings because it is a lot of work to

[1:57:39] them. Um, and I think when you look at

[1:57:43] while we have two, um, I look at other

[1:57:46] districts out east, I know we can't

[1:57:48] compare out east, but out east, they

[1:57:50] have multiple assistant superintendent.

[1:57:51] We don't have any assistant

[1:57:52] superintendent, right? So, we have a

[1:57:53] cheaper model of a curriculum

[1:57:55] coordinator is nowhere near the

[1:57:58] assistant superintendent level, but in

[1:58:00] very much acts like an assistant

[1:58:02] superintendent um, in curriculum. Um,

[1:58:06] when you look at the elementary schools,

[1:58:08] that's the the fact that we have the

[1:58:10] split position is the penalty we have

[1:58:13] for the way our system is set up because

[1:58:17] Laura doesn't care that position is has

[1:58:19] to run all around town to coordinate the

[1:58:22] multiple buildings, different districts,

[1:58:24] different, you know, you know, we do

[1:58:26] presentations, all the other kind of

[1:58:28] thing. It is, it really is the part of

[1:58:30] our inefficiency. Um, but

[1:58:35] I would say there would be a greater

[1:58:36] value loss on student and instruction.

[1:58:39] The impact, you wouldn't see it in the

[1:58:41] first year, but you would see it the

[1:58:42] years after. Who's supporting new

[1:58:44] teachers? Who's, you know, moving all

[1:58:46] the different initiatives along um you

[1:58:48] the launching of our integrated pathways

[1:58:50] was completely um built out of that

[1:58:53] office. Um not completely in working

[1:58:55] with you, but you know, it was the the

[1:58:57] hard work and such. So, um I disagree.

[1:59:00] So, and um I'm shocked that a

[1:59:03] neighboring district decided to do that

[1:59:04] route. Um I think they're they're going

[1:59:06] to have um long-term it's not what I

[1:59:09] would do if I was in that leadership

[1:59:10] position.

[1:59:11] >> I was just going to say just for a

[1:59:13] clarifying thing for people who might

[1:59:14] not know what you were saying about our

[1:59:16] penalty is because we're not truly

[1:59:17] regionalized is why we need to have

[1:59:20] those two. But just in case people

[1:59:21] aren't aware about if they don't live

[1:59:23] here know that um that we're a

[1:59:26] superintendency not regional and the

[1:59:29] four elementary schools operate on their

[1:59:31] own which is why Laura has to run around

[1:59:33] like a mad one and we she can't do these

[1:59:35] jobs.

[1:59:38] » Um when Sarah interest me when Sarah

[1:59:41] announced her retirement that was

[1:59:42] something that had crossed my mind and I

[1:59:44] think it's a worthy conversation but the

[1:59:47] that work does need to be done. there

[1:59:49] was a valuable work there and most

[1:59:50] likely would fall on the department

[1:59:51] heads and would have to ask them if

[1:59:54] they'd be willing to take that work on

[1:59:56] and then that would be a change in job

[1:59:57] description as well and it probably have

[1:59:59] to be negotiated and come at additional

[2:00:01] costs.

[2:00:03] So it's it's I thought it was a worthy

[2:00:04] conversation but that work would fall on

[2:00:06] other people

[2:00:08] and it's a lot of work. But and again,

[2:00:10] we we circle it back around to the the

[2:00:13] many financial penalties we suffer from

[2:00:16] not being fully regionalized. And and I

[2:00:19] know it's a discussion for another day,

[2:00:21] but um I I don't I don't think the

[2:00:24] select board and finance committee

[2:00:25] members are aware of just how many

[2:00:28] hundreds of thousands of dollars of

[2:00:29] state aid and state funding we do not

[2:00:33] get because we are not fully

[2:00:35] regionalized.

[2:00:42] I'm wondering if you can speak a little

[2:00:44] bit to some concern that was raised

[2:00:46] about grants that are tied to the

[2:00:48] library position.

[2:00:50] >> I'm not aware of any grants that we

[2:00:52] received based on library position. We

[2:00:54] make a note to look into it.

[2:00:57] I'm not aware of any specific grant

[2:00:59] state funded or otherwise connected.

[2:01:03] And are either of you guys aware how

[2:01:06] lots of resources for students to access

[2:01:15] » right without a a certified librarian we

[2:01:17] wouldn't have um um the term

[2:01:23] would lose access to MLS

[2:01:25] >> we wouldn't have access to MLS um inter

[2:01:27] library loans um require a certified

[2:01:31] full-time library

[2:01:36] Um,

[2:01:38] I don't know if the positions are

[2:01:41] interrelated or not or one's, you know,

[2:01:44] one's school and one's like a separate

[2:01:48] type of librarian. I I forgive me if

[2:01:51] they're different. Um, we have a brand

[2:01:54] new library that's like a two-minute

[2:01:57] walk right down the street. And I don't

[2:01:59] know what type of resources they have

[2:02:02] and if there's any

[2:02:04] uh

[2:02:06] day if there's any time in a day that

[2:02:08] can be worked into kids schedules and if

[2:02:11] they do still need to seek out

[2:02:12] resources,

[2:02:14] if there's an opportunity to get those

[2:02:16] resources at the town library, that is a

[2:02:19] huge new building. Yeah, I think you

[2:02:22] talk about MLS and if students wanted to

[2:02:25] get certain books for research um you

[2:02:28] know majority of research projects now

[2:02:29] are are are not are not book based. You

[2:02:32] know to sign up for a book to be

[2:02:35] delivered a couple days later um just

[2:02:36] not how the speed of um things are

[2:02:38] working. But you're absolutely correct.

[2:02:40] You know that is a loss. Um but the

[2:02:43] other side is they could walk down the

[2:02:44] street use the librarian and do their

[2:02:45] office. you know, it's, you know, it is

[2:02:48] again paid by our budgets um down um and

[2:02:52] so forth. And it's just another another

[2:02:54] avenue, but it's not convenient. It's

[2:02:56] not it's a loss. It's not what they have

[2:02:58] now.

[2:03:03] » Did you have your hand up? Yes, I I just

[2:03:05] I went back down, but I wanted to check

[2:03:07] in with you.

[2:03:08] >> Yeah. Just I wanted to reiterate my

[2:03:10] position as a member of the budget

[2:03:12] subcommittee and it you guys have heard

[2:03:13] this before but you guys haven't

[2:03:15] stopped.

[2:03:17] Bear with me for a minute.

[2:03:22] We just kind of when we looked at all of

[2:03:24] this, we just kind of thought as a

[2:03:26] budget sub subcommittee have to look at

[2:03:29] it all that it was kind of front of each

[2:03:30] turn to step up because we have had

[2:03:34] charter made the point we have 100 100

[2:03:36] less kids run around than we had prior

[2:03:39] to co we haven't had a budget year

[2:03:42] that's been zero only in the cos never

[2:03:45] had a budget decrease but we've had an

[2:03:47] enrollment increase decrease.

[2:03:50] over and over and over and it is it's

[2:03:54] our time it's Frontier's turn to help

[2:03:58] dear son because they have big problems that we we've said it in

[2:04:04] here and the educational component in a

[2:04:07] town budget is enormous.

[2:04:11] These guys at that end of the table and

[2:04:13] this end of the table they're

[2:04:15] professionals. when they come to me with

[2:04:17] advice and tell me this is what we can

[2:04:19] do and not hurt the program,

[2:04:23] I have to I have to take that on faith

[2:04:26] because that's what I pay them to tell

[2:04:27] me that we can do this and they've said

[2:04:30] it. We can pull this up. No, it's not

[2:04:32] nice. Nobody wants to do it. Everybody

[2:04:35] wants to be able to have everything they

[2:04:37] can that they want in a school. Towns

[2:04:40] can't afford it. I've been here a long

[2:04:43] time. Some a lot of people probably

[2:04:44] saying too long, but I can tell you for

[2:04:47] sure that the towns cannot afford it. If

[2:04:49] we stick with if we stuck with the

[2:04:51] original budget, it would have failed.

[2:04:53] And that's a scrum that you do not want

[2:04:55] to be part of because I've I've been

[2:04:57] part of that. And this we thought this

[2:05:00] was a good compromise.

[2:05:02] Not everybody's going to be happy. A lot

[2:05:04] of people are going to be very unhappy.

[2:05:06] But you're going to be more unhappy if

[2:05:08] this whole thing crashes. And I just I

[2:05:11] have to trust the people that I hire to

[2:05:14] make these decisions for me. And as a

[2:05:16] budget subcommittee member, that's why

[2:05:18] we made the recommendation that we made.

[2:05:20] This is the way we think that the

[2:05:21] committee ought to go.

[2:05:27] Celia, did you have

[2:05:31] » um

[2:05:34] Yeah, I So, um this is my first time

[2:05:37] going through this budget process and um

[2:05:40] I feel like this is a little bit of a

[2:05:41] trial by fire year. Um

[2:05:45] uh because this is this is hard. Um and

[2:05:50] um but I I guess it just so I I am um I

[2:05:56] hear the point about how kids could use

[2:05:59] resources that are at um that are at the new Tilton, which is um so such a

[2:06:04] beautiful new building. Um but I also

[2:06:07] feel like there's um there's like Okay,

[2:06:11] I think there's two pieces that I want

[2:06:12] to say about like I think what a

[2:06:14] librarian does has shifted. And so when you're saying that like the sort of

[2:06:18] like numbers are down or sort of you

[2:06:20] know like sort of access is down, I

[2:06:22] think that like some of the metrics that

[2:06:24] we use to think about

[2:06:28] what a library serves as have shifted a

[2:06:31] little bit. And like you're I don't

[2:06:33] think anybody would argue that book

[2:06:34] circulation is down. Um, I just but I I

[2:06:39] think that what a librarian does has

[2:06:42] also has like kept pace um and has

[2:06:45] shifted from helping kids check out

[2:06:48] books and um you know injure library

[2:06:51] books to get them to arrive in time to

[2:06:53] do research before a paper like that era I think is kind of mostly gone

[2:06:57] by. Not entirely but mostly. And um but

[2:07:02] that like the the sort of the like

[2:07:05] Anyways, I just I sort of feel like

[2:07:08] that's there's like looking at the

[2:07:10] numbers on book circulation is like not

[2:07:12] quite the right way to capture what a

[2:07:14] library does. Um, and also I I also

[2:07:18] think that um,

[2:07:22] okay, I I need like a little bit of

[2:07:24] permission to um, speak in first draft

[2:07:26] on this one, but I feel like there's

[2:07:27] sort of like we're in this AI bubble

[2:07:29] right now where um, there's there's a really powerful search engine.

[2:07:38] Is my audio still coming through?

[2:07:40] >> Yes.

[2:07:40] >> Okay. Um, I there's a really powerful

[2:07:44] search tool that's available in AI. Um,

[2:07:47] and

[2:07:50] but I think that in the pretty near

[2:07:54] future, um, a lot of what's available

[2:07:57] and what's currently available, helping

[2:08:00] kids search the internet more

[2:08:01] effectively in free AI is going to

[2:08:03] disappear. and that having the hard

[2:08:06] skills that a librarian has to help kids

[2:08:10] like that's all going to be monetized

[2:08:12] and and whether the school has access to

[2:08:14] that or not is like I I just don't know

[2:08:16] what's going to come for that. But I

[2:08:19] think having some of those skills about

[2:08:21] how to access things is going to be

[2:08:23] incredibly important when that shifts. I

[2:08:26] don't know when that's going to shift.

[2:08:27] That could be, you know, like I don't

[2:08:29] know. I'm not paying enough attention to

[2:08:31] AI to know when that shift is happening,

[2:08:32] but I think it's going to happen. And I

[2:08:34] think everybody's saying it's going to

[2:08:35] happen. And I think that when that

[2:08:37] happens that kids are going to lose some

[2:08:39] of the and I don't mean using AI to

[2:08:41] write papers. I'm not talking about

[2:08:42] generative AI. I'm talking about using

[2:08:44] AI to do more effective searches because

[2:08:46] I think that's a really powerful tool

[2:08:48] right now. Um so um anyways that's just

[2:08:52] like another concern that I have that

[2:08:53] feels a little bit um

[2:08:56] uh

[2:09:00] anyways that those are a couple of

[2:09:02] thoughts that I had

[2:09:08] » Jessica.

[2:09:10] >> Yeah. Um so

[2:09:13] I'm also speaking in first draft. Thank

[2:09:15] you for that phrase. Um, Celia, uh, this question about the librarian and

[2:09:21] the other positions, um, is really

[2:09:24] heartbreaking. I listened to every

[2:09:26] public comment. I'm taking minutes.

[2:09:28] Every single public comment has been,

[2:09:31] um, documented for the record. Um, and I

[2:09:34] need to speak very directly to my school

[2:09:37] committee colleagues that, um, Frontier,

[2:09:41] you all know, does not exist in a

[2:09:43] vacuum. Um, these are heartbreaking cuts

[2:09:46] that we are considering. Um, and

[2:09:50] Sunderland Elementary is looking at much

[2:09:52] more severe cuts than a librarian. Um,

[2:09:56] last night Keith and I attended a joint

[2:09:58] meeting of the Sunderland Select Board

[2:10:00] and Finance Committee. Um, the

[2:10:03] Sunderland Elementary budget

[2:10:06] is um, our needs-based budget is an

[2:10:09] 18.31%

[2:10:11] increase. 18% which is absolutely

[2:10:14] unheard of. We've had um a wonderful

[2:10:18] influx of New Town residents with high

[2:10:20] special education needs. And because we

[2:10:22] are a small town, we can't just absorb

[2:10:23] it. Um the conclusion of last night's

[2:10:27] meeting was that um Sunderland

[2:10:30] Elementary is being asked to target a

[2:10:33] budget of a 10% increase. So we are

[2:10:35] looking at cutting 8%.

[2:10:38] We don't know yet. We don't yet know

[2:10:40] what we are how that will happen, but

[2:10:44] there's no way to cut 8%

[2:10:48] um without reducing far more positions

[2:10:51] than we're talking about for Frontier.

[2:10:54] Um Sunderland enrollment is a quarter

[2:10:57] the size of Frontiers.

[2:11:00] Um we

[2:11:02] so aiming for that 8% reduction from our

[2:11:05] needs-based budget. uh it still requires

[2:11:08] an override. We are trying to aim for an

[2:11:11] override level that has a chance of

[2:11:13] passing and if it doesn't pass I don't

[2:11:15] know how we will provide

[2:11:18] an acceptable education to central

[2:11:21] elementary children

[2:11:23] um who are future frontier students. So,

[2:11:27] I apologize to everybody whose hearts

[2:11:28] are very, very much with the librarian

[2:11:31] and the special education. Um, and

[2:11:35] Sunderland needs every possible

[2:11:37] reduction made so we can still have a

[2:11:39] functional elementary school. Thanks.

[2:11:45] » Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.

[2:11:48] Don't know how slippery it is.

[2:11:57] Can I bring focus in uh pass forward

[2:12:02] here that uh

[2:12:05] what we decide on to move forward to

[2:12:08] Thursday's budget. I'm just going to

[2:12:10] kind of lay out a few paths and you can

[2:12:14] tell me

[2:12:15] uh what this looks like that we could

[2:12:19] decide to move forward with the budget

[2:12:22] as stated with option A, recommendation

[2:12:25] A. We could which is recommended by the

[2:12:31] finance committee.

[2:12:34] Uh, we could also move forward with

[2:12:37] option B or what would something look

[2:12:41] like if we put forward

[2:12:43] some other recommendation? I'm just

[2:12:45] saying that because we've had other

[2:12:47] thoughts out here and I think it's

[2:12:48] important for everybody to see what what

[2:12:50] each of these things would look like

[2:12:54] because if we put forward something

[2:12:56] else.

[2:12:57] >> I mean, you've heard the you have the

[2:12:59] general gist of numbers, right? I mean

[2:13:02] um

[2:13:07] I mean you can ask questions on that

[2:13:09] rather than ask if you have questions

[2:13:11] about so you know what kind of

[2:13:16] we need to go so let's go backwards we

[2:13:18] need to go into next meeting with a

[2:13:20] budget number to vote on

[2:13:23] um and so that's kind of where we and I

[2:13:25] don't know if you do

[2:13:28] I don't know you know everybody's kind

[2:13:29] of processing so I don't know where

[2:13:30] people sitting right now, you know, be

[2:13:32] good. I fear about spending 10 minutes

[2:13:35] talking about an adaption to where

[2:13:36] people are kind of like we're kind of

[2:13:38] leaning, you know, toward a or maybe we

[2:13:42] should be talking about, you know,

[2:13:43] adaption. Maybe we should start there

[2:13:44] and so we have an idea of where people

[2:13:46] are at before we spend 20 minutes and

[2:13:48] then like why, you know, you you get a

[2:13:50] straw vote of like where people are

[2:13:52] feeling.

[2:13:52] >> Yeah. Go ahead.

[2:13:53] >> You want straw vote because that was

[2:13:56] >> I was just gonna to move forward as

[2:13:58] heartbreaking as all this is and it's it's hard, but the numbers are the

[2:14:02] numbers. So, I'm just making a motion

[2:14:05] for the proposed budget, the

[2:14:08] administration's recommendation of

[2:14:09] option A.

[2:14:11] >> Second,

[2:14:13] >> Jessica, we have a a motion from

[2:14:18] Damian and a second from Bill.

[2:14:22] I'm going to go around the table unless there's any

[2:14:28] other discussion. And this is to put

[2:14:30] forward option A for Thursday night as

[2:14:33] well.

[2:14:33] >> Option A for Thursday night's vote.

[2:14:35] >> And just for clarity, if it doesn't pass

[2:14:37] that you have to go back to discussion,

[2:14:39] come up with what the number is going.

[2:14:41] >> This is the path that I just wanted to

[2:14:42] make sure.

[2:14:42] >> So no, it's not a versus it's a versus

[2:14:46] going back and having a discussion,

[2:14:48] >> right? We're just going to put something

[2:14:49] forward and then we go

[2:14:52] back

[2:14:54] >> and you can still have discussion.

[2:14:56] >> Yeah. Right.

[2:14:59] Can I ask a point of process? I'm just

[2:15:02] confused about this. So, we wouldn't be

[2:15:04] voting on A. We would be voting to put A

[2:15:07] forward to Thursday to then vote whether

[2:15:11] to approve A.

[2:15:12] >> That is correct.

[2:15:15] >> And can we put more than one thing

[2:15:19] forward?

[2:15:20] >> Yes.

[2:15:21] >> To Thursday.

[2:15:23] >> Okay.

[2:15:28] So, let me just clarify because we vote

[2:15:31] on this motion as stated, but if Diane

[2:15:36] wanted to put forward another motion

[2:15:38] with another option that could also

[2:15:42] >> because

[2:15:44] so you're voting on Yeah. You need to

[2:15:47] give Shelly directions. They say she

[2:15:50] like to do all the work on it and get to

[2:15:52] fine-tune all the numbers so that when

[2:15:55] you do a budget vote on Thursday, it's

[2:15:57] correct.

[2:15:57] >> That's why motion though that I just

[2:15:59] presented.

[2:16:00] >> Right. So, right. So, that's right. So,

[2:16:03] you could ask Shel to put together

[2:16:06] multiple

[2:16:09] use the word multiple, but um other

[2:16:10] options as well that you want to have

[2:16:12] both options in front of you to discuss

[2:16:14] on fair. So, you're absolutely correct

[2:16:16] that you don't have to do the final vote

[2:16:18] tonight.

[2:16:19] moving it forward. D was a good catch

[2:16:21] because it feels like it that was doing

[2:16:22] that. Um it's just that we need

[2:16:25] direction to what we we need direction

[2:16:28] from you. There's no way you're getting

[2:16:29] out of it without voting to to I would

[2:16:31] say a measure give us 10 different

[2:16:32] votes.

[2:16:33] >> But you do have a motion and a second.

[2:16:34] So

[2:16:35] >> So we have a motion and a second and we

[2:16:37] can discuss the motion before the vote.

[2:16:40] One of the things that um I would just

[2:16:43] put forward there for you Diane is that

[2:16:47] you could uh you could put forth a

[2:16:51] request for an amendment to the motion.

[2:16:55] You would then have discussion and vote

[2:16:57] on an amendment to the motion if you

[2:16:59] wanted to clarify other pieces of the

[2:17:02] puzzle that you'd like to ask. Shelley

[2:17:03] bring forward

[2:17:08] » then. I think yes. I would like to move

[2:17:10] to amend that to put both of those

[2:17:12] options forward with some detail for

[2:17:15] Thursday because I well that's my

[2:17:18] motion. I don't need to say the because

[2:17:21] >> so I'll I'll second that and and I'll

[2:17:24] also make a further motion for another

[2:17:26] amendment

[2:17:27] >> which hang on just got to pause because

[2:17:30] we're gonna get too far down the rabbit

[2:17:32] hole with this. Um I'm already keeping

[2:17:34] track of where we are with motions and amendments. So, we're going to stick

[2:17:38] with the first motion. And I'd like to

[2:17:41] clarify this both for Jessica and the

[2:17:43] committee that Diane, what you're asking

[2:17:46] is for

[2:17:48] the motion that Damian put forward to

[2:17:53] include both the recommendation on

[2:17:57] option A and B for what that looks like.

[2:18:01] >> Yes.

[2:18:03] >> Point of order. I I made a motion to

[2:18:06] move forward with the budget as

[2:18:08] presented with option A.

[2:18:10] >> Does he have to accept the amendment?

[2:18:13] >> His motion.

[2:18:16] >> He doesn't have to accept the amendment,

[2:18:18] but that would be a friendly motion, but

[2:18:21] we do have to have discussion on an

[2:18:23] amendment that has been seconded.

[2:18:25] >> You want to amend it? Then you vote

[2:18:27] Damian's motion now. Then you amend it.

[2:18:34] you can

[2:18:35] >> for discussion. I would

[2:18:38] not support this amendment going

[2:18:40] through. I would prefer that if there's

[2:18:42] a I would rather vote on this option A

[2:18:46] and if there is

[2:18:49] motion within the committee to explore

[2:18:51] other options to put forward an

[2:18:54] additional uh motion with clear

[2:18:57] direction to Shelley about what that

[2:18:58] should be and vote on that in a separate

[2:19:01] motion.

[2:19:02] >> Call a question madam chair.

[2:19:03] >> Yeah

[2:19:06] the amendment. So the first thing that

[2:19:08] we we're calling to question the

[2:19:10] amendment.

[2:19:12] >> No, you call I made a motion to call the

[2:19:14] question. He has the question. You got

[2:19:17] to vote now on whether we're going to

[2:19:18] call the question and debate is over and

[2:19:20] we vote on the question.

[2:19:22] >> That's where the words

[2:19:24] >> Bill's right.

[2:19:26] >> The amendment.

[2:19:28] >> No question.

[2:19:31] >> Vote the question first and then the

[2:19:32] amendment.

[2:19:35] All

[2:19:36] right, we're going to go around the

[2:19:37] table.

[2:19:38] >> Olivia,

[2:19:39] >> yes.

[2:19:43] » Mary,

[2:19:45] >> this is to put option A for

[2:19:47] >> Can you please clarify? I'm sorry. I

[2:19:49] don't know what I'm what we're voting

[2:19:50] on.

[2:19:52] >> So, Bill called a question without

[2:19:55] further discussion on the amendment that

[2:19:57] we call a question Damian's

[2:20:01] motion for option A.

[2:20:06] Yes.

[2:20:09] >> No.

[2:20:10] >> Yes.

[2:20:14] » Diane.

[2:20:16] >> Yes.

[2:20:19] >> Celia.

[2:20:22] >> Okay. I just want to clarify. This is

[2:20:24] just voting to move option A forward as

[2:20:28] a consideration for Thursday.

[2:20:30] >> Correct.

[2:20:32] >> Yes.

[2:20:35] Jessica,

[2:20:37] >> this is not an amended motion. I'm

[2:20:39] sorry. I that was not clear to me at

[2:20:40] all.

[2:20:42] >> It is not a

[2:20:43] >> not amended.

[2:20:44] >> Just to move option A forward to

[2:20:46] Thursday.

[2:20:47] >> Option A forward.

[2:20:49] >> I'll vote yes.

[2:20:52] >> Bill,

[2:20:54] >> yes.

[2:21:05] It feels that there's feels like there's

[2:21:08] unresolved

[2:21:09] um questions that folks may like Shel to

[2:21:16] work on, but I'm not sure

[2:21:19] are in this.

[2:21:20] >> Then you got to get a motion to pass

[2:21:22] direct Shel to do that. And if you don't

[2:21:24] get it to pass, well, go home.

[2:21:27] Go ahead, Sage.

[2:21:29] >> Okay. So, do um I would I would like to

[2:21:32] request and maybe I need to make a

[2:21:34] motion. Um do Yes.

[2:21:36] >> I would like to request a version of the

[2:21:39] budget that involves keeping a

[2:21:42] librarian.

[2:21:44] That's the option C that I was talking

[2:21:46] about.

[2:21:48] >> There is no option.

[2:21:50] Well, that that was that that had been

[2:21:53] cont that Shel had said that they

[2:21:54] contemplated the 7575 split that and

[2:21:57] that would be what an option C would

[2:21:59] look like.

[2:22:00] >> Um

[2:22:02] clarify if I can

[2:22:06] >> Oh, sorry. Sorry.

[2:22:07] >> That's okay. The alternative option

[2:22:12] >> wasn't necessarily specific to a

[2:22:14] position. It was still being

[2:22:16] >> right the administration's discretion

[2:22:19] because I believe when that was brought

[2:22:22] >> us

[2:22:30] » we we can't hear all the side

[2:22:31] discussions that are going on in the

[2:22:33] room. All we can hear is like the person

[2:22:34] speaking. So I

[2:22:36] >> I just would there was no option C

[2:22:38] presented. So I would rather that

[2:22:40] someone would be clear in their in their

[2:22:44] um in a motion to what they want us to

[2:22:47] do because obviously wasn't brought

[2:22:49] forward. We did discuss that we looked

[2:22:51] at other options and didn't bring them

[2:22:53] forward. So if you want option C,

[2:22:56] propose what it is so that we have a

[2:22:57] clear understanding what is not what you

[2:22:59] think we may have talked about.

[2:23:02] You understand what I'm saying? Like it

[2:23:03] just can get too messy.

[2:23:07] So I would like to move forward because

[2:23:10] I thought we were going to vote then on

[2:23:12] the amendment once the motion for the

[2:23:14] other motion passed but I guess I was

[2:23:16] incorrect there. So I would like to move

[2:23:18] that we move that Shel also prepare

[2:23:20] option B before we talk about any C or

[2:23:23] anything like that but the one that was

[2:23:25] already the secondary the one that was

[2:23:27] already approved um for Thursday as

[2:23:29] well.

[2:23:31] second.

[2:23:35] » You get to discuss this before.

[2:23:39] >> I feel like in the slideshow, option B

[2:23:41] is already all laid out. We already have

[2:23:43] all those numbers because nothing

[2:23:44] changes in the allocations.

[2:23:46] >> Correct.

[2:23:46] >> But it keeps $150,000 worth of

[2:23:49] positions, which I really think is the

[2:23:50] crux of the conversation.

[2:23:52] >> Okay. Okay.

[2:23:53] >> Right.

[2:23:56] But to clarify that option B, there is

[2:23:58] no designated what that position is and

[2:24:01] it's still up to administration where to

[2:24:04] use that 150,000.

[2:24:07] That question was asked of you earlier

[2:24:12] and you were reluctant to put priority

[2:24:14] on positions but you were leaning or you

[2:24:18] maybe indicated that the uh adjustment

[2:24:22] counselor

[2:24:23] was

[2:24:26] special education was over priority

[2:24:28] librarian. So then if option B was

[2:24:31] asked, it would still come down to

[2:24:34] what you deem is what you feel you want

[2:24:38] to make where you make the cut. So it

[2:24:40] doesn't necessarily save librarians

[2:24:42] position.

[2:24:44] >> But what it does though is it it would

[2:24:50] require the administration to hire and

[2:24:52] replace positions that are being lost by

[2:24:55] attrition, which I don't

[2:25:00] You know, I don't I don't support that.

[2:25:01] I mean, I don't

[2:25:06] » Did I miss something? Did we just not

[2:25:08] vote like 10 minutes ago 9 to1 to bring

[2:25:12] forward option A for Thursday night

[2:25:15] >> and then someone made a motion and

[2:25:17] seconded it to bring forward motion B.

[2:25:19] So, I think whether we'd like it or not,

[2:25:21] we have. That's what I was trying to

[2:25:23] clarify that I don't know that I'm I'm

[2:25:31] » sorry option one to one choice of the

[2:25:35] committee to bring

[2:25:36] >> let's bring option

[2:25:39] >> but that's misstating what

[2:25:42] >> just because I voted to bring forward A

[2:25:44] doesn't mean I don't also want B I want

[2:25:47] two days to think about this

[2:25:49] >> and for the committee to think about it

[2:25:50] this is a very big decision

[2:25:52] I'm learning all this stuff on the, you

[2:25:54] know, today when I read the slides. I

[2:25:57] certainly want some more time to make

[2:25:59] this very important decision. So, I

[2:26:01] personally would like both of these to

[2:26:03] come forward fleshed out details. I

[2:26:06] understand that it's not going to

[2:26:07] include a decision as between the

[2:26:09] librarian options or the special

[2:26:10] educators.

[2:26:12] I think those are really hard decisions

[2:26:14] that should be probably will be and

[2:26:16] should be made in house. But which

[2:26:19] direction to go with that 150k seems

[2:26:21] pretty important to me that we bring

[2:26:23] that forward.

[2:26:26] » I'm just going to clarify that we can

[2:26:29] bring forward more than one number

[2:26:32] >> for uh more than one plan for our

[2:26:36] discussion and vote on Thursday. So

[2:26:38] right. So what we did in the

[2:26:40] organization of this is that years ago

[2:26:44] they would have the public hearing and

[2:26:46] they would vote it that night and and

[2:26:48] they would just that would be the end of

[2:26:50] it and people felt that um you know

[2:26:53] there should be a process time and so

[2:26:56] you said okay we will in two days later

[2:26:58] do a virtual meeting um and because

[2:27:03] everybody else again another night

[2:27:04] second night of the week do a virtual

[2:27:05] meeting for the vote. So you do whatever

[2:27:08] you want in that virtual meeting. You

[2:27:10] can have five different options. You can

[2:27:12] have you know you know the assumption of

[2:27:15] the of one vote and that's what we've

[2:27:16] done the last few years is it got

[2:27:18] through you know public hearing. There

[2:27:20] wasn't a whole lot of you know it wasn't

[2:27:22] contested of any sort and it was kind of

[2:27:24] a let's just make sure we get a quarant.

[2:27:27] So this time you know you're you're

[2:27:28] bringing forward two. That's fine.

[2:27:31] >> I just want to pass that and and so

[2:27:33] forth.

[2:27:34] >> Yeah. So, I just want to clarify that

[2:27:36] this that this would be continuing that

[2:27:38] discussion into Thursday to bring

[2:27:40] forward option B. If there's any other

[2:27:45] discussion on whether or not to bring

[2:27:46] forward option B, uh

[2:27:50] >> well, there's a motion and a second.

[2:27:51] It's

[2:27:52] >> there is a motion and a second. So

[2:27:55] >> we'll move to to a vote on whether bring

[2:27:59] forward option B

[2:28:02] or vote the the budget with the

[2:28:04] recommendation B. Olivia,

[2:28:09] that's it. Yes, Mary.

[2:28:13] » Is option B going to look different than

[2:28:15] it looked on that slide?

[2:28:17] >> That's option B up on the screen.

[2:28:23] No.

[2:28:23] >> No.

[2:28:25] >> Yes.

[2:28:28] » Diane.

[2:28:30] >> Yes.

[2:28:36] >> Jessica.

[2:28:38] >> No.

[2:28:40] >> Bill.

[2:28:41] >> No.

[2:28:43] >> We have to wait.

[2:28:45] >> I know. I was just trying to do the

[2:28:46] math.

[2:28:47] >> May. May I recap that? I got all those

[2:28:50] votes right for the roll call for the

[2:28:51] minutes. It was Missy, yes. Olivia, yes.

[2:28:53] Bill, no. Mary, no. Keith, yes.

[2:28:57] >> Jessica, yes. Keith was a no.

[2:29:00] >> Jessica, yes. Diane, yes. Cecilia, yes.

[2:29:03] Damian, yes. Phil, no.

[2:29:07] » I voted. Thank you. I'm trying to

[2:29:09] multitask here.

[2:29:10] >> Okay.

[2:29:10] >> So, that is five to five.

[2:29:13] >> And Damian was No,

[2:29:15] >> Damian. Okay. Six to four. Uh, four to

[2:29:17] six. It the motion failed.

[2:29:20] So, and and I'd like to make a motion

[2:29:23] for an option C to be considered, which

[2:29:27] would simply and to carve out from there

[2:29:30] the cost of the librarian

[2:29:34] and uh with the balance being reducing

[2:29:39] the assessments

[2:29:41] uh you know u as set forth in option A.

[2:29:46] uh

[2:29:51] » the balance of the 150.

[2:29:57] » Do you have that clarified for a motion?

[2:30:00] Jessica.

[2:30:02] >> Say it again.

[2:30:03] >> I think close enough.

[2:30:06] >> Okay, let's restate it so that we know

[2:30:08] what it is we're talking about and

[2:30:10] voting on. So,

[2:30:11] >> yeah, be my guest.

[2:30:13] It it sounds to me and Jessie you can

[2:30:16] tell me if this uh doesn't sound like

[2:30:19] this is what was said or Billy you can

[2:30:21] tell me what this doesn't sound like it

[2:30:23] was said but the motion would be to put

[2:30:26] forward the budget as stated with a

[2:30:29] third option uh for

[2:30:33] uh saving the budget of the librarian

[2:30:36] and that would be specifically stated

[2:30:38] that that would be for the librarian's

[2:30:40] salary.

[2:30:43] And

[2:30:44] >> yeah,

[2:30:44] >> I mean that would be the the question.

[2:30:46] Do you want that stated in there?

[2:30:52] » The uh that would be the intent of the

[2:30:56] motion whether or not the the

[2:30:58] administration feels that that's the

[2:31:00] best way to phrase that. um or whether

[2:31:03] that whether the amount um uh uh you

[2:31:07] know I'll leave that to others, but the intent of the motion would be to of the balance of the $150,000

[2:31:17] um to use part of that for the librarian

[2:31:20] position and the balance of it to go to

[2:31:23] reduce the assessments.

[2:31:30] And so that's the motion. We would need

[2:31:32] a second.

[2:31:42] I'll second that.

[2:31:50] Any discussion?

[2:31:55] So, the problem I have with that is when

[2:32:00] honestly to administration who I think

[2:32:02] probably has been over every scenario

[2:32:05] there is if it's the only way to get to

[2:32:08] a budget that we can work with is

[2:32:11] personnel. It has to happen.

[2:32:14] That's my opinion anyway. And um so if

[2:32:17] it's not the librarian

[2:32:19] school, is it a science teacher, a math

[2:32:21] teacher, is it the school nurse, is it

[2:32:23] one of, you know, is it the school desk

[2:32:25] counselor? It has to be somebody. And so

[2:32:28] I'm just knowing the time that they have

[2:32:31] put into this budget season. I know they

[2:32:33] have looked at many many scenarios,

[2:32:36] curriculum, coordinator, all of it. And

[2:32:38] I have to trust that they have come up

[2:32:40] with the best.

[2:32:43] So

[2:32:45] I understand your option seems to know,

[2:32:48] but I designating a librarian and

[2:32:51] splitting things up I think is confusing

[2:32:54] and hard

[2:32:57] >> and you know I I I I

[2:33:00] you know I I I agree with everything

[2:33:03] that you're saying. I the the to me the

[2:33:06] circumstances have changed slightly in

[2:33:09] that um there is uh we're spending less

[2:33:13] on health insurance than what we thought

[2:33:16] and um so

[2:33:18] there just seems to be considerable

[2:33:20] public sentiment um there seem to be

[2:33:23] considerable sentiment on this board um

[2:33:26] to save that position and I think that

[2:33:29] it's worth talking about further and

[2:33:31] seeing what the numbers look like um and

[2:33:33] you know see seeing what the numbers

[2:33:35] look like seems like a worthy endeavor.

[2:33:37] I'm not saying everybody support you

[2:33:40] know or change their mind from A but

[2:33:42] just to see what the numbers look like.

[2:33:48] » Yeah. As as much as I wanted the B

[2:33:52] option, I I don't want this because I do

[2:33:54] want to leave it to the administration

[2:33:57] to decide is between these two very

[2:33:59] vital sets of of services of special ed

[2:34:02] or librarian. Um, and I would find that

[2:34:05] very hard to evaluate that because I'm

[2:34:08] not there on the ground. Um, and so that

[2:34:12] that's why I'm I'm not actually in favor

[2:34:14] of option C.

[2:34:19] It's just it's just a bad idea for the

[2:34:22] 11 of us to say cherry picking line

[2:34:25] items in the budget after these guys

[2:34:27] even prepared the budget. It's just a

[2:34:28] bad idea. They've given you the best

[2:34:32] advice that that you could that you

[2:34:34] could ask for. And for us to be cherry picking line items, let's put

[2:34:37] this one back. Let's take that one out.

[2:34:40] That's bad.

[2:34:42] >> I'm just saying I want to see the

[2:34:44] numbers.

[2:34:45] Um,

[2:34:47] see see what that decision looks like.

[2:34:55] » Go for it. Olivia. No.

[2:34:59] >> No.

[2:35:00] >> Bill.

[2:35:01] >> Yes.

[2:35:03] >> No.

[2:35:04] >> I'm sorry. Missy, can I do the roll

[2:35:06] call? I think that for the minutes.

[2:35:08] Thank you, Missy.

[2:35:09] >> Yes. Yes.

[2:35:10] >> Missy is a yes. Olivia,

[2:35:12] >> no.

[2:35:13] >> Bill.

[2:35:14] No

[2:35:15] >> Mary.

[2:35:16] >> No

[2:35:17] >> Keith.

[2:35:18] >> No

[2:35:19] >> Jessica. No Diane.

[2:35:22] >> No

[2:35:23] >> Celia.

[2:35:24] >> No

[2:35:25] >> Damian.

[2:35:27] >> No

[2:35:28] >> Phil.

[2:35:30] >> I I I like going along with the crowd,

[2:35:33] but I made the motion. I feel like I'm

[2:35:35] constrained to say yes. But

[2:35:39] » thank you.

[2:35:46] Unless there's an option D floating out

[2:35:48] there, please let's not add that in.

[2:35:51] >> Uh we'll move to the capital

[2:35:53] recommendation from uh the capital

[2:35:55] supplement.

[2:35:59] » This is on a parking lot,

[2:36:01] >> right? So the um

[2:36:04] there's the change in that is to move

[2:36:06] forward um

[2:36:09] you know basically a motion of you will

[2:36:11] we move forward with the doing the the

[2:36:13] parking lot

[2:36:14] >> tabled that best.

[2:36:15] >> Yep.

[2:36:15] >> Yeah. Um and to basically not approving

[2:36:20] amount but you know the motion that we

[2:36:22] kind of constructed would be to move

[2:36:23] that the school committee authorize the

[2:36:25] superintendent proceed with the bidding

[2:36:26] proc for the parking lot for the parking

[2:36:29] lot renovation project and upon review

[2:36:31] of the acceptance of bids fund the

[2:36:32] project using school choice funds and

[2:36:35] amounts to determined based on the final

[2:36:37] bid award.

[2:36:39] >> I think we need to move to put it back

[2:36:41] on the table.

[2:36:42] >> We do what we do with it.

[2:36:45] That's true.

[2:36:48] Move

[2:36:49] >> to put it back on the table for

[2:36:51] discussion.

[2:36:53] >> Second.

[2:36:57] » So, Jessica, what happened was because

[2:36:59] it was it was put it was tabled. You

[2:37:01] have to vote to take it off the table.

[2:37:04] So, this is a vote to take it off the

[2:37:06] table and put it forward for discussion.

[2:37:07] >> Put it on the table.

[2:37:09] >> Yes.

[2:37:11] >> Great time.

[2:37:12] >> Thank you. Who motioned and seconded?

[2:37:15] >> Bill motioned. Mary second.

[2:37:19] Would you like to roll call?

[2:37:24] » Yes, please give me 10 seconds.

[2:37:26] >> Think about it being difficult for you

[2:37:28] to keep track.

[2:37:30] I I don't know how much this is being

[2:37:31] made harder by me being remote and it's

[2:37:34] two and a half hours of looking at my

[2:37:35] screen and sorry

[2:37:38] >> to unt. Is that the verb?

[2:37:42] >> That'll work.

[2:37:43] >> To put it on the table. What? What?

[2:37:46] >> It's to take it off the table.

[2:37:50] >> We tabled it.

[2:37:52] >> Okay.

[2:37:59] roll call vote. Missy,

[2:38:03] >> yes.

[2:38:04] >> Olivia,

[2:38:05] >> yes.

[2:38:06] >> Bill,

[2:38:07] >> yes.

[2:38:08] >> Mary,

[2:38:09] >> yes.

[2:38:09] >> Keith,

[2:38:10] >> yes.

[2:38:11] >> Jessica, yes. Diane,

[2:38:13] >> yes.

[2:38:14] >> Cecilia,

[2:38:15] >> yes.

[2:38:16] >> Damian,

[2:38:17] >> yes.

[2:38:18] >> Bill,

[2:38:19] >> yes.

[2:38:20] >> Thank you.

[2:38:30] All right. Is now off the table.

[2:38:36] We need to discuss

[2:38:40] the parking lot.

[2:38:43] >> So the question is um basically the next

[2:38:46] step is to um you know approve the

[2:38:50] funding source with the school choice.

[2:38:52] um we can work out that last detail of

[2:38:55] whether or not depending on how the next

[2:38:57] vote goes, whether or not we will apply

[2:39:00] rural aid to it or not. We have school

[2:39:01] choice that could that could cover the

[2:39:04] whole thing. So I think we can make that

[2:39:06] amended later on but to proceed the

[2:39:09] bidding process. So we would put that

[2:39:11] out to bid as you know as we had put

[2:39:14] together that bid would then come back

[2:39:16] to school committee to approve. So, we

[2:39:18] can't move forward with the project

[2:39:20] without your approval, but it would be

[2:39:22] that we uh put funding sources aside,

[2:39:25] which is the school's choice money and

[2:39:27] move forward with the bidding process. I

[2:39:30] would I don't want to hold this off

[2:39:31] another month because we want to get

[2:39:34] this process going as um contractors are

[2:39:37] it's a summer job and um they're

[2:39:39] starting to fill up their schedule for

[2:39:41] summer.

[2:39:44] » I'll make that motion. M I'll second

[2:39:47] that.

[2:39:48] Did you catch Bill and Olivia?

[2:39:50] >> Okay.

[2:39:53] >> Jessica, we'll send you the the wording

[2:39:55] I read.

[2:39:58] » Uh the full thing I I have Mr. Smith

[2:40:01] moved, seconded by Ms. Leone to approve

[2:40:03] the school choice funding source and

[2:40:05] instruct administration to move forward

[2:40:06] with the bidding process for the parking

[2:40:07] lot project. Is that adequate? Sounds

[2:40:10] great.

[2:40:10] >> Okay.

[2:40:15] » Whenever you're ready.

[2:40:21] Okay. Missy,

[2:40:23] >> yes.

[2:40:24] >> Olivia,

[2:40:25] >> yes.

[2:40:26] >> Bill,

[2:40:28] >> Mary,

[2:40:30] >> yes.

[2:40:30] >> Keith,

[2:40:31] >> yes.

[2:40:32] >> Jessica, yes. Diane,

[2:40:34] >> yes.

[2:40:35] >> Celia,

[2:40:36] >> yes.

[2:40:37] >> Damian,

[2:40:38] >> yes.

[2:40:39] >> And Phil,

[2:40:40] >> yes.

[2:40:41] >> Thank you.

[2:40:49] have reading on that second.

[2:40:51] >> So we are on the second reading of the

[2:40:53] parent observation um policy KIB. Um the

[2:40:58] two there was a couple changes that were

[2:41:00] submitted. One was um uh to have

[2:41:04] stronger language on that parents would

[2:41:06] sign a confidential confidentiality

[2:41:09] prior to visit. You're required to sign.

[2:41:12] I think before it said May sign. Um and

[2:41:15] um the teachers association asked if I

[2:41:18] would include that um we would not do

[2:41:22] observations the week prior to a

[2:41:24] vacation.

[2:41:26] So um there's if you can imagine that um

[2:41:31] so um we added that under scheduling

[2:41:34] considerations it says under ordinary circumstances um class

[2:41:39] visits will be strongly discouraged

[2:41:40] during the first week of school and week

[2:41:42] prior vacation. So it could technically

[2:41:44] happen in our booing agreement but uh

[2:41:46] you know that we would be

[2:41:48] strongly discouraging. So looking to

[2:41:51] vote to move this policy forward.

[2:41:58] Olivia made a motion. Bill made a

[2:42:01] second. I totally uh

[2:42:03] >> Sorry. Phil or Bill?

[2:42:05] >> Uh, thank you. Bill seconded.

[2:42:09] >> Tell me last name, please.

[2:42:12] >> Mr. Smith.

[2:42:13] >> Thank you. That's how unclear the sound

[2:42:16] is.

[2:42:17] Are we ready to vote?

[2:42:19] >> Sorry.

[2:42:20] >> Yes. Go ahead.

[2:42:21] >> Okay, Missy.

[2:42:23] Yes,

[2:42:24] >> Olivia.

[2:42:25] >> Yes,

[2:42:26] >> Bill.

[2:42:27] >> Yes,

[2:42:27] >> Mary.

[2:42:28] >> Yes,

[2:42:29] >> Keith.

[2:42:30] >> Yes,

[2:42:31] >> Jessica. Yes, Diane.

[2:42:33] >> Yes, Damian.

[2:42:37] >> Yes,

[2:42:37] >> Phil.

[2:42:38] >> Yes.

[2:42:39] >> Thank you.

[2:42:45] » Yes, that's

[2:42:47] not not big deal. Two seconds.

[2:42:51] We have this calendar to school. Yeah.

[2:42:53] Jump right into it. School

[2:42:55] calendar. So, um you know that was sent

[2:42:57] out as part of the packet right now. Um

[2:43:00] as you know the contract says that if we

[2:43:02] were to start before the last Wednesday

[2:43:04] in August that we need to um get

[2:43:07] agreement from the associations. Um we

[2:43:09] did get an agreement to start the new

[2:43:12] teacher orientation be the Tuesday the

[2:43:13] 25th with the first day of school um

[2:43:18] the 26th. Okay. Um again, the the

[2:43:21] teachers association in conversation

[2:43:24] with them said they um

[2:43:27] they could trade that day to have um

[2:43:30] Friday the 4th off for a long Labor Day

[2:43:33] weekend.

[2:43:35] The thought behind that to again um like

[2:43:38] why are we just trading those days off?

[2:43:41] I believe it's important in talking with

[2:43:43] educators especially in the younger

[2:43:45] grades a five day week right out of the

[2:43:48] gate. um for you know first, second,

[2:43:51] third graders is a lot. There's a lot of

[2:43:53] energy that goes into the excitement of

[2:43:54] the first day of school. And um they

[2:43:57] were saying that even a 4 day week after

[2:43:59] a three-day week um would give some kind

[2:44:02] of um

[2:44:05] it helps um at at the at the lower at

[2:44:08] the lower grade levels. It also we're

[2:44:10] also starting early enough um at the

[2:44:12] secondary level which folks oversee you

[2:44:15] know athletics start the week before on

[2:44:17] the 17th. So you know kids are for the

[2:44:19] most part with the um are already

[2:44:22] invested in coming back to school. So

[2:44:24] starting in August that early um date

[2:44:27] doesn't have um huge effect. The the

[2:44:30] early release days are you know

[2:44:32] scattered throughout professional

[2:44:34] development day happening on election

[2:44:36] day um as we have done in the past and I

[2:44:40] think everything else is kind of falls

[2:44:43] with the last day of school um being

[2:44:45] June 9th.

[2:44:47] snow days,

[2:44:49] >> right? I mean, you get if you had two

[2:44:51] snow days, you're now the 14th. So, it

[2:44:53] just kind of jumps quickly when you

[2:44:54] throw the weekends in there. So,

[2:44:56] >> um, just going back to the first day of

[2:44:58] school, you know, the weekends. In past

[2:45:01] years, maybe that's what you were

[2:45:03] talking about, I can't remember.

[2:45:04] >> It's the Labor Day weekend, the

[2:45:05] following because Liberty is so,

[2:45:07] >> right, but instead of having Friday the

[2:45:09] 4th off, was it discussed to have Monday

[2:45:14] the 31st off? So, it's it's three days

[2:45:17] of school, a three-day weekend.

[2:45:20] It would still only

[2:45:22] >> Yeah, it was the long it was a long

[2:45:23] Labor Day weekend.

[2:45:25] >> People they would like to continue that

[2:45:27] tradition.

[2:45:27] >> Yeah.

[2:45:28] >> I mean, I suggest it's not all that I

[2:45:30] suggested it, but um you know it is

[2:45:34] >> and that's really that's a community

[2:45:36] decision, right? You guys just decide

[2:45:37] that you know is that a value

[2:45:39] >> whatever the consensus is.

[2:45:42] >> So, again, you can talk to people. This

[2:45:44] is the first reading.

[2:45:49] Okay. Any question? It's just for

[2:45:51] questions, you know, doing a voting and

[2:45:52] such. And then the school committee

[2:45:54] count is in there. Again, we moved away

[2:45:56] from the pairings that we tried this

[2:45:58] year and went to backtoback meetings um

[2:46:01] outside of the budget season. Um

[2:46:05] that's kind of the major change. Um

[2:46:09] well, you know, we have, you know,

[2:46:11] again, it's a tentative schedule, so

[2:46:13] people can get on the calendar. I think

[2:46:15] many of us have had to move around due

[2:46:17] to um unforeseen scheduling issues and

[2:46:20] that kind of stuff. Uh especially at the

[2:46:22] elementary level, Frontier usually seems

[2:46:25] consistent, but the elementary does move

[2:46:27] stuff around.

[2:46:31] » I just feed back on the two of you since

[2:46:33] this was how we uh organized it. I mean,

[2:46:36] I presume that you're in support of this

[2:46:37] with

[2:46:39] what you put. This is going to put you

[2:46:41] guys back in a space where you're in a

[2:46:43] rough spot.

[2:46:44] >> Well, the split meetings, I think the

[2:46:46] backto back versus split. Um, I think I

[2:46:49] agree. While I thought the split was

[2:46:51] going to have a little bit more magic to

[2:46:52] it in the sense of having two groups of

[2:46:54] committees together that were similar in

[2:46:55] size to be able to kind of share. Um, I

[2:46:58] think people felt like they just really

[2:46:59] couldn't get a voice and couldn't really

[2:47:00] dive into their committee work. So, um,

[2:47:03] and I kind of felt that, um, as well.

[2:47:07] So,

[2:47:09] yeah,

[2:47:11] >> that's fine. I'm just conscious of

[2:47:14] trying to make sure that we're

[2:47:16] continuing to figure out a way to make

[2:47:18] this a viable path forward for you guys.

[2:47:21] Follow your footsteps.

[2:47:22] >> Appreciate that. Yeah.

[2:47:27] » Do we have uh

[2:47:30] do we have to do anything different with

[2:47:31] this uh retainer?

[2:47:34] >> So um I do the um frontier oversees the

[2:47:41] central office and central office as a

[2:47:43] committee. This doesn't go to all the

[2:47:44] committees. You guys are in charge of

[2:47:46] that. Um the Dupra law offices have

[2:47:49] increased their rates been bas based on

[2:47:52] use and I guess market. So and if you could I sent the uh the change on to

[2:47:59] you. Um you do need to vote to um accept

[2:48:03] the new contract and that direct chair

[2:48:06] to sign. Um it is with you not with me

[2:48:09] as your attorney. And

[2:48:12] so I just was looking to update the

[2:48:14] retainer. Um

[2:48:18] the small

[2:48:36] » Yeah. I just had a question about why

[2:48:38] the retainer doesn't cover special ed.

[2:48:42] We use a uh we use a different attorney

[2:48:45] for special education.

[2:48:46] >> Okay.

[2:48:47] >> His office does do special ed. Um we

[2:48:50] have kept the two separate um kind of on

[2:48:54] preference. I guess special education

[2:48:56] has a lot more um

[2:48:59] has a lot of contact points that are

[2:49:03] we use him for labor for the most part.

[2:49:06] Um labor HR that kind of thing. special

[2:49:09] education is a you know his firm does it

[2:49:11] his brother kind of takes the lead on

[2:49:12] that but we use testing

[2:49:20] yeah um for for that so

[2:49:24] >> great thanks

[2:49:26] >> um his emails that we're based on the

[2:49:28] review of our workflow district we're

[2:49:29] requesting a $100 per month increase

[2:49:31] from 88 850 to 950 the actual amount

[2:49:34] should be around

[2:49:36] 175 per month but I know you're facing

[2:49:38] financial difficulties here, please let

[2:49:40] me know it's not is acceptable. I added

[2:49:42] language about the special municipal

[2:49:44] employee status and clarification

[2:49:46] um and court exclusion language.

[2:49:51] So

[2:49:52] >> So we do need a vote on this.

[2:49:57] >> Yes, we do need a vote to direct the

[2:49:59] chair to sign on the agreement.

[2:50:03] We need a motion

[2:50:06] second.

[2:50:07] >> Jessica, in case you aren't able to

[2:50:10] hear, this is Olivia and uh again, Mr.

[2:50:12] Smith

[2:50:20] ready to vote. Any discussion?

[2:50:23] >> Okay. Missy,

[2:50:25] >> yes.

[2:50:25] >> Olivia,

[2:50:27] >> yes.

[2:50:27] >> Bill,

[2:50:29] >> yes.

[2:50:30] >> Mary,

[2:50:31] >> yes. Keith,

[2:50:32] >> yes.

[2:50:33] >> Jessica, yes. Diane,

[2:50:35] >> yes.

[2:50:36] >> Celia,

[2:50:37] >> yes.

[2:50:37] >> Damian,

[2:50:39] >> yes.

[2:50:39] >> And Phil,

[2:50:40] >> yes.

[2:50:41] >> Thank you.

[2:50:46] » I'm stretch, folks.

[2:50:49] >> Don't distract me.

[2:50:51] >> Let's get them out of here.

[2:50:54] >> All right. Uh, any committee reports?

[2:51:00] Go ahead, Jessica. You want to talk

[2:51:02] about the week of action

[2:51:04] >> a little bit about rural aid? Yeah,

[2:51:05] we've been fighting for years um to get

[2:51:08] rural aid fully funded to the level that

[2:51:10] was recommended by the legislaturator's

[2:51:11] own um commission on the fiscal health

[2:51:13] of rural schools. Um there's finally a

[2:51:16] little bit of movement in the right

[2:51:17] direction and we are trying to

[2:51:20] capitalize on that. We are organizing um

[2:51:22] a rural schools week of action which is

[2:51:24] March March 9th through 13th. Um, the

[2:51:26] idea behind this is that we have been

[2:51:28] peti petitioning the legislature for

[2:51:30] years with letter campaigns, email

[2:51:32] campaigns, phone call campaigns. We have

[2:51:34] testified. We have passed resolutions.

[2:51:36] We have done all of the very polite and

[2:51:38] contained things that we're told to do

[2:51:40] in order to influence the legislators.

[2:51:42] And those who do not represent rural

[2:51:44] districts find us very easy to ignore.

[2:51:46] So, we are transitioning to try to

[2:51:49] harness the power of visual imagery. And

[2:51:51] uh we have something like 30 districts

[2:51:54] across the state uh rural school

[2:51:56] districts who are um going to contribute

[2:51:58] to this holding events. Frontier is

[2:52:00] going to hold an event on March 12th um

[2:52:03] to uh create photos and videos. Um there

[2:52:08] will be stories, there will be data. Um

[2:52:10] and we're getting local coverage of all

[2:52:12] the local events. And then we're going

[2:52:14] to repackage all of the media that these

[2:52:15] produce to deliver to the governor, the

[2:52:18] lieutenant governor and legislative

[2:52:19] leadership. Um the Boston Globe did a

[2:52:22] major article on rural aid and the

[2:52:23] plight of rural schools um just last

[2:52:26] week I think. Um so we've got some

[2:52:28] momentum um and our district is very

[2:52:31] actively participating. I am meeting

[2:52:33] tomorrow with the um executive team of

[2:52:36] the union 38 the teachers union um

[2:52:39] because they're going to do their own

[2:52:40] event in addition to Frontier with the

[2:52:42] students doing one. So, um, fingers

[2:52:46] crossed. We're trying to get more money

[2:52:48] so that we won't end up in this budget

[2:52:49] position again in the future. That's my

[2:52:52] update.

[2:52:54] >> Thank you so much for all of that work.

[2:52:56] Always.

[2:52:58] >> Yeah. I want No, really. 100%.

[2:53:00] Seriously. Seriously.

[2:53:03] >> You're not going to make fun of me for

[2:53:04] thinking it might work.

[2:53:05] >> No, I mean, I think it's it's that much

[2:53:08] more difficult by the sudden and

[2:53:09] surprised resignation of our House rep.

[2:53:12] Um,

[2:53:12] >> oh, a year with no representation in the

[2:53:14] state house. Yeah, we got to do

[2:53:15] something.

[2:53:16] >> Yeah.

[2:53:18] I'm also presenting at the MASC

[2:53:21] day on the Hill. They're giving us 20

[2:53:22] minutes to talk about rural schools. Um,

[2:53:24] and the the message we are trying to

[2:53:26] deliver is that if MASC wants to retain

[2:53:28] its credibility on equity issues, rural

[2:53:31] schools have been on fire for years,

[2:53:32] they need to put us out front. So,

[2:53:36] pulling out everything we can.

[2:53:38] >> Thank you.

[2:53:40] Anyone

[2:53:43] want to know about the collaborative?

[2:53:45] >> There's a meeting tonight.

[2:53:46] >> Oh, you're right.

[2:53:48] >> Keep going.

[2:53:59] that they're probably still there.

[2:54:03] » I'll hop on.

[2:54:06] >> All right. Well, someone

[2:54:09] >> I'm I'm sorry. It's me. I just Okay. I'm

[2:54:12] sorry. This is my my first time through

[2:54:14] the rodeo. I'm really sorry. Um but I

[2:54:17] just I want to make sure I'm

[2:54:18] understanding. So, we have we have just

[2:54:20] moved forward one budget proposal and

[2:54:23] that's proposal A and that's the only

[2:54:25] one that we're going to vote on on

[2:54:27] Thursday.

[2:54:28] >> That is correct. Yep.

[2:54:30] >> Okay. That's hard. This is hard.

[2:54:34] >> Then you vote against it.

[2:54:35] >> Yes, it is.

[2:54:38] >> Would you also like to make a motion to

[2:54:40] adjurnn?

[2:54:43] » Sure. I make a motion to adjurnn.

[2:54:51] » All right. No, the dog can't second. Are

[2:54:54] you

[2:54:54] >> I'll second it. Second, Jessica.

[2:55:03] Technically, we need a roll call. This

[2:55:05] is silly.

[2:55:06] >> Yeah. Missy,

[2:55:08] >> yes.

[2:55:08] >> Olivia,

[2:55:10] >> yes.

[2:55:10] >> Bill,

[2:55:11] >> no. I'm staying.

[2:55:13] >> Congratulations. Mary,

[2:55:15] >> yes.

[2:55:16] >> Keith,

[2:55:19] >> Jessica, yes. Diane,

[2:55:21] >> yes. And get home safe, everyone.

[2:55:24] >> Thank you.

[2:55:25] >> Yes. Damian,

[2:55:26] >> yes. Phil.

[2:55:28] >> Yes.

[2:55:29] >> Phil, how would you like to be recorded

[2:55:30] in the minutes?

[2:55:33] >> Are you yes or no for adjournment?

[2:55:36] >> Yes.

[2:55:38] >> I'm very literal sometimes.

[2:55:43] » Thanks everybody. My husband better be

[2:55:46] careful.

[2:55:48] Praise the Lord with him.

Frontier School Committee Mtg Public Hearing - March 3, 2026

Transcript