[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:02] Good evening, everyone. It is 6.03. I'll call the meeting to order. Sorry, we're three minutes late. First, I'll start with the roll call. Cody, could we start with you and just go down the line?
[0:14] Cody, here. Michelle, here. Bessie, here. Sorry, here. Nancy, here. And Chris is here. And could everyone please rise and join me in the pledge of legions?
[0:26] To
[0:32] the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, individual, obligatory, and so it's for all.
[0:46] Thank you. 2.1. Is there any new agenda items to add?
[0:54] No? Okay. 3.1. We want to move into recognitions and celebrations and appointments. So you can academy first day.
[1:19] Good evening, everyone. For nearly 25 years, Bacon Academy tradition and first day the
[1:24] Bacon Way has brought our school community together and helped us begin each school year
[1:28] with energy and excitement. The entire day is planned and run by incredible students
[1:33] of the first day committee. Our student leaders organized a school-wide
[1:36] pep rally, outdoor activities, and a variety of events designed to welcome our students
[1:41] and staff back to Bacon Academy and celebrate the start of a new school year.
[1:45] This year's theme was Make It Count.
[1:47] This theme is developed by the First Aid Committee.
[1:50] Part of that committee's summer work is actually
[1:52] working with their advisor to develop leadership skills
[1:55] and play out this entire day.
[1:58] What Make It Count means is they want to encourage their peers
[2:01] to make the most of their time at Bacon by getting involved
[2:03] academically and socially, showing school spirit
[2:06] and making each day count.
[2:08] I would like to take a moment to recognize
[2:09] the First Aid student leaders, Delaney Walsh,
[2:12] Maddie Ives, Evie Gustafavez, and Alexis Smith, these students work throughout the summer,
[2:17] including fundraising efforts to make this day possible for their entire school community.
[2:21] We're incredibly grateful for their leadership, dedication, and commitment to bake an academy.
[2:25] They are a wonderful example of pride and spirit that makes tradition so special.
[2:29] Thank you to our first committee and their advisor, Mrs. Handel, and it was a great successful first
[2:34] say. Thank you. Thank you.
[2:44] Next, we have up as a trip to Costa Rica.
[2:57] Good evening.
[2:57] I have Lynn Liska, we're a language teacher and Abigail Van Zyland, one of our state
[3:02] graders who are here to share information about their trip to Costa Rica that they took this past
[3:07] June.
[3:10] First of all, thank you guys for allowing this trip.
[3:13] 20 students took advantage of it.
[3:14] I know some families already had just planned or just didn't work out, but 20 students were able
[3:19] to go and I saw four of you at the middle school, so I didn't lose all that enthusiasm and
[3:24] experience to the high school. Did you want to pee through it or do you want to just say
[3:29] a few things?
[3:37] All right, we're going to go by the slide. It was a long trip, it was 18 hours
[3:44] board of door, but it's self-interpreting.
[3:52] We went to Estina Doka, it's a coffee plantation, it's
[3:57] very high up, some of the miles and we learned about how they grow the beans, how they harvest the beans.
[4:10] We also learned that most of the immigrants that come to do it are from Honduras,
[4:15] Nope, Nicaragua, and they earn about $40 per day for this by hand out in the sun work.
[4:23] They also count on the rainy season for the coffee and it did not rain the week we were there
[4:27] and it did not wait to be in the week before,
[4:29] because Mrs. Nadoo's daughter was there,
[4:31] but count on your topic.
[4:32] This is going up.
[4:33] So
[4:37] where are our guide Ed Gardo took us to a waterfall?
[4:43] It was very sweet, but very hot that day.
[4:46] And it's nice to see the waterfall,
[4:47] so it was very hot.
[4:55] This is like RNA, which is where we went the same day
[4:58] as the coffee plantation.
[5:00] And RNA is actually a volcano.
[5:02] Not active, they're fine.
[5:03] It's enjoyed the pool. There are incredible views. As you can see, it's a rainy season. Everything is lush and green.
[5:15] We went to our first community out of three community projects. We helped find home.
[5:24] We climbed up and kind of now finished home and helped play it out rapidly.
[5:37] I was thinking as I was driving here that this would also be a good field trip or science
[5:48] teacher to take because we saw so much flora, fauna, different ecosystems, cloud forest,
[5:54] rainforests, that was really amazing.
[6:00] We went kayaking in like R&R and then we went to hot springs, which were self-for-hot springs from the volcano.
[6:07] It was really cool because a few of us make it out that the hotel would make you.
[6:13] Oh, we could see our hotel from the lake view like I am.
[6:21] Afterwards, we is defined at 100 kmph.
[6:26] It was a nice view very high up.
[6:29] Oh, but it was like awesome to get the experience of this show.
[6:37] This is one of the reasons that international travel is so great.
[6:41] This is just one of those things that you stumble on too.
[6:43] We had a kind of a quiet night at the hotel, which would have led to mischievous children.
[6:49] But our guide went down and saw some people playing Ultimate for his Vanny.
[6:52] Ask them, hey, we've got some students up here.
[6:54] Can they play with you?
[6:55] So our students went and spoke in Spanish as this person's with people that just lived there.
[7:02] we played Ultimate Frisbee, some of the other kids played soccer, some of us
[7:07] showed that on the sidelines and you can't get that, like you just travel is
[7:11] great because all of a sudden you have these opportunities and it's real and
[7:14] it's authentic,
[7:18] really good, it's going to be incredible.
[7:24] Afterwards we traveled about a hundred and ten miles
[7:29] The view was very good and ready to
[7:41] run the bus, and so almost everyone took out their
[7:46] phone just to get what it was for.
[7:54] We also went to a butterfly enclosure, which was attached to a nearest one.
[8:04] Our second community based project was helping out our school to catch and helping in their school gardens so they could go there and fetch the bulls.
[8:17] It was really cool because my group saw two blackers on us, which are really rare.
[8:23] While we were picking up trash from the classroom.
[8:31] More of the wildlife we saw that is a blacked one there.
[8:35] The nose is different and they bite, as opposed to the grain of bones, which I'll get you
[8:38] with your tail.
[8:41] Some of the girls took a walk down to go into the Pacific Ocean and another example that
[8:46] I was hanging out by the pool.
[8:48] You just see there and see the wildlife.
[8:53] Afterwards, we went back to the taxi and, today, to go back to our original tail to the
[9:07] This on the left is an old mill for making wheels for the ox parts which is how they used to get the coffee to the coast and they actually turned on the old water wheel and we can see all the workings with the mill and that's just some examples of the fish.
[9:28] And it was really sweet, because all the kids were concerned about buying souvenirs for their parents and the things that they put on my hand.
[9:40] Afterwards, since our third-guided potato was buried on the lookout for animals, we were able to skate on how their monkeys, on our way to a place that you can get over.
[10:02] We got to see some folk art stands and we got to take part as well.
[10:16] Our last day, we participated in reforestation at our last community based project to where it was helped.
[10:45] So since I'm still a middle school teacher, I would love to travel again with middle school
[10:49] students, so I expect maybe in the spring I'll be talking to you about maybe going to
[10:53] Panama.
[10:54] It's almost as long as a trip to Spain, but there's no jet lag.
[10:57] And that's a real bonus for your faculty.
[11:01] Thank you so much.
[11:04] So thank you so much.
[11:06] Thank you.
[11:11] All right.
[11:12] I'll move on to 3.1 employment of a bacon academy assistant principal.
[11:18] I would like to welcome Christian and I've been pronouncing this all night.
[11:24] Marcynsic up to the podium where I can introduce her to the board of
[11:29] with my recommendation, and then you can have the opportunity to ask any questions that you might have.
[11:35] So welcome, Christian.
[11:37] It's with great confidence and enthusiasm that I recommend Christian to the Board of Education for appointment as assistant principal of Bacon Academy.
[11:47] Our interview committee and some of whom are here tonight.
[11:51] Look forward to welcoming Christian to Colchester Public Schools and to the Bacon Academy community.
[11:57] Christian is also an experienced instructional leader. Her work has included supporting curriculum
[12:04] implementation, leading professional learning, conducting classroom walkthroughs, analyzing
[12:10] student data, supervising and evaluating teachers, and working directly with teachers
[12:16] to strengthen instructional practices. Her director of teaching and learning specifically
[12:21] Highly highlighted Christian's ability to build teacher capacity and increase rigor through curriculum work as well as her skill in identifying and supporting effective classroom instruction.
[12:34] A particular significance is Christian's commitment to school climate, student belonging and restorative practices, which ties directly to our goal too.
[12:44] She has provided professional learning for staff, modeled restorative conversations, and
[12:50] helped develop systems designed to strengthen relationships and student accountability.
[12:55] Her leadership reflects an understanding that strong schools are built through positive
[13:01] relationships among students, staff, families, and administrators.
[13:07] Her references similarly described her work implementing restorative practices, recognizing
[13:12] positive student contributions, partnering with families, and creating a school
[13:18] environment in which students feel valued and connected.
[13:22] Christian brings meaningful high school experience and perspective. She began
[13:27] her career as a high school social studies teacher, and her current school, Captain
[13:32] Nathan Hale Middle School, operates on a connected campus with commentary
[13:37] High School, for schedules, transportation, staff, and resources are shared.
[13:43] Christians work there, therefore includes regular collaboration with high school administrators and faculty.
[13:51] Christian brings experience, professionalism, energy, student-centered leadership,
[13:57] that we believe will complement the administrative team at Bacon Academy.
[14:01] Most importantly, she demonstrates a genuine commitment to supporting students, staff and an understanding that effective school leadership requires both high expectations and strong relationships.
[14:16] And her official start date, if approved, would be October 13th.
[14:22] Does the board have any questions for Christian?
[14:25] Any questions?
[14:25] questions.
[14:27] Thank you.
[14:27] One comment.
[14:28] Question.
[14:29] Hello again.
[14:30] I was fortunate enough to be on the panel for the last interview and I just want to say thank
[14:38] you.
[14:39] Thank you for bringing your wealth of knowledge for your experience and your overall enthusiasm
[14:45] for what you do.
[14:46] Thank you for bringing that to our district.
[14:48] We are so happy to have you.
[14:50] I hope that you always know how happy we are to have you and that we're here to support
[14:54] you, and I think that you're going to be a fantastic bit with us, so welcome aboard.
[15:00] Thank you so much. I really appreciate this opportunity. I want to thank everybody on the interview committee from the parent on the committee that's in the audience today to all of you guys. I'm super excited to be a part of this town and community and you guys have such pride. I'm excited to be a part of that too. So thank you. The other questions or comments.
[15:22] I was also part of the final panel and it was easy choice to put it that way.
[15:30] I congratulate you and doing so well and I welcome you to our wonderful town.
[15:35] Thank you so much.
[15:37] I appreciate it.
[15:39] Anyone else?
[15:43] I'll take a moment and also just say I am really excited to have you here in Colchester.
[15:47] I think bacon best days are ahead of it.
[15:50] I know we've been through some interesting budget season this particular year.
[15:54] I am one thankful that we have a budget pass.
[15:57] We can move forward and also thankful that we have leadership coming into our town
[16:01] that can really move us to the focus that we all want to be on, which is how do we make our schools
[16:05] as best as possible for the next generation. I'm really excited to see what you could do at bacon
[16:09] economy. We have to make a motion. Is there a motion to appoint a new system principal?
[16:18] I'll make that motion. I'll second it. There's a motion. There's a second. Any discussion.
[16:26] All right. All those in favor? Say aye. Aye. Opposed? Opposentions?
[16:33] Cody, also vote aye. All right. Motion passes. Welcome the cold Chester.
[16:38] Thanks so much.
[16:52] Moving on to the consent agenda. There's only one item which is our meeting minutes from August 18th.
[16:56] Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?
[17:02] Make motion to approve the consent agenda.
[17:05] All right. Thanks, Custy. Is there a second?
[17:08] A second. Thank you. Any discussion?
[17:14] All right. All those in favor? Say aye.
[17:16] All right, opposed of staying motion passes.
[17:21] Now we'll move to public comment and we'll keep with the standards that we've been doing as
[17:25] a board of ed. We'll start in room and we'll go online. Three minutes code you will keep time
[17:29] and just remember to keep it civil. Could we always have family and children in the audience and listening?
[17:34] So with that being said, would anyone in the room like to make public comment?
[17:42] Not seeing any hands. Any hands raised online in
[17:50] the room?
[17:51] online?
[17:54] Okay, closing public comment. Now we'll go to report from student board members.
[18:02] Good evening members of the board. I am happy to announce that the beginning of the school year
[18:07] is going well. The first day of school held the bacon way ran wonderfully. There were watersides,
[18:12] food trucks, and many more outdoor activities. I as a senior am confident to say that all of us seniors
[18:18] engineers enjoy the special event that makes bacon special or makes bacon bacon.
[18:24] On the second day of school, students and teachers alike transitioned back into their
[18:27] normal class routines.
[18:29] Although it was a bit hard, you know, going back to school, this transition was fortunately
[18:34] successful, with many students feeling ready and prepared to tackle the upcoming year.
[18:40] Looking at more recent events, much has happened.
[18:42] Among them include the release of SBAC and NGSS exam scores to students, the former being
[18:48] the Smarter Balanced Assessment Corps in Hortissonium Exam, which tests English and math
[18:54] from 3rd to 8th grade, and the latter, the Next Generation Science Standards Exam,
[19:00] which tests science in the 5th, 8th, 8th, and 11th grade.
[19:05] Seniors have also taken their senior portraits, and students have already taken their pictures
[19:09] on picture day, which was last Thursday, September 3rd.
[19:13] Looking towards the future, we have many exciting events taking place.
[19:16] For example, next Thursday, September 17th, Bacon Academy will host its annual open house
[19:22] where parents and families of students can come and see what their classes are like,
[19:29] develop a sense of what activities are offered here at Bacon Academy, etc.
[19:33] They're also very excited to announce when the homecoming dance will take place,
[19:38] which for the very first time, at least for the time within which I have been at Bacon,
[19:42] will be on a Saturday. Specifically, Saturday, October 3rd. The day before, on Friday, October 2nd,
[19:50] will be the actual homecoming game against the Amistead wolves. All in all, vacant
[19:55] academy is transitioning well into the new school year, and the student body is looking forward
[20:00] to the future events that make vacant vacant. Thank you, members of the board.
[20:05] Thank you. Any questions?
[20:10] Nothing heard. Now move on to 6.1 report from school
[20:15] and town leazons. I want to have a report they want to like to make.
[20:19] I would just
[20:20] like to say, any of the school year, the open houses that have been at, back
[20:24] to back to R&S, BES were wonderful, the schools looked beautiful. It was just a
[20:30] very nice welcoming feeling in the buildings and I was there as a
[20:35] grand time, but also as a board member and I was really,
[20:40] people really worked hard to look at me.
[20:47] I also went to the open house here at a wonderful school.
[20:53] It was fantastic.
[20:55] Everyone was very welcoming.
[20:57] I got to feel, I guess it's because I taught middle school
[21:01] so long.
[21:02] The six graders came in, nervous, shaking,
[21:05] seeing parents sort of pushing them forward.
[21:08] The eighth graders came in all kinds of, you know, I am the head and you can see it was
[21:14] really cute.
[21:16] The thing that really I thought was adorable was the sixth graders trying to open their
[21:22] lockers.
[21:23] They were having all kinds of grief and of course they were told no parental help, nobody can
[21:29] help right?
[21:30] Why so that stuck along and helped?
[21:32] I said I'm not a parent, I'm not a grandparent, so it sort of works, but it was wonderful.
[21:39] It was a great open up. I want to thank them all for welcoming me.
[21:44] Thank you Nancy. Anyone else?
[21:48] As the bacon liaison, so I was not able to get to first day, unfortunately, that whole job thing gets in the way.
[21:56] But I did want to remind everyone that we have some really monumental events coming up at Beacon.
[22:04] We have our very first game on the brand new turf field at Beacon this Saturday at 11 a.m.
[22:11] We have a girl soccer match that I think the the schools the athletes just everyone is very excited for and we're really proud to show that off.
[22:23] so I'm very excited for that. And then shameless plug for the football team,
[22:29] since that's what my son plays on Friday night September 25th at 8 p.m. and I think it's
[22:35] the first time ever in Coldchester history that we're going to have Friday night lights for football.
[22:41] So I'm also really hoping to see a great turnout for that because you know we're we have one high
[22:47] school in this town. And everybody can root for the same high school. So, again, whether you're at soccer this Saturday at 11 a.m. for the first game or the first night game, which will be held the football game on 925.
[23:00] I hope to see a lot of folks out there yelling and cheering with us.
[23:06] Thank you.
[23:07] All right. Now move on to 7.1 old business budget update, which I think was not here.
[23:15] We have a budget that's the update. And yeah,
[23:23] I
[23:25] think it's worth just taking a moment
[23:28] and saying, thank you to everyone who participated in a rather long process this particular year
[23:34] and looking forward to really focusing on the operational side of it. But I don't want to overlook
[23:41] look, just how much work went into getting the budget, asset referendum, this go around
[23:47] by a ton of people all throughout town.
[23:49] For everyone who participated, regardless of which way you voted or anything like that,
[23:53] just thank you for everyone who participated.
[23:55] The town is better when people get to participate in the town government, so thank you.
[24:00] New business, capital plan and facilities, and I think we'll get to this update in a little
[24:07] bit but we sort of merged two of our committees into one so we now have a budget and facilities
[24:15] committee that's not the official name but basically that's what we did and the capital plan
[24:21] review was last kind of our agenda we did not get to it so we're going to throw it at the top of
[24:25] our agenda for next month so if all the other board members are okay with this I think we just
[24:29] keep this on the agenda for next month and we'll discuss it then that sounds good everyone
[24:32] one. All right. In that case, we'll go on to the superintendent update.
[24:43] For little people's play place to update. So last Thursday, September 3rd, I met with
[24:49] Jill Kelsey, who is the owner of Little People's to review the contract that I've worked closely
[24:55] with Shipman and our insurance agent to strengthen an update. So the focus of the agreement is
[25:01] to ensure the district is appropriately protected, the revised contract includes more specific
[25:08] language regarding responsibilities, requirements, and protections for the district.
[25:14] Mrs. Kelsey will now review the contract with her attorney and her insurance carrier and
[25:19] once that review is complete and any necessary revisions are addressed, I will bring the final
[25:25] contract forward to the board for review and consideration.
[25:32] questions on that.
[25:36] The next is district goal.
[26:36] We can move on. Okay.
[26:42] Perfect. You can't hear
[26:45] me. Is that better? I'll move this up more. I just feel like I'm so loud. All right,
[26:54] here
[26:55] we go. So tonight we want to provide an overview of our continued district goals for the 26,
[27:01] 26, 27th school year, share some of the work that's already underway across our four schools
[27:07] and explain how these goals connect to our district-wide and ask accreditation process.
[27:13] I'm also going to take and pass down this, take a booklet, everyone can have one.
[27:19] Our goals are intentionally consistent and focused.
[27:22] Rather than making changes at this time, we are concentrating our efforts around merging
[27:28] our goals with the self-assessment process of the Niasca accreditation process.
[27:39] Our first goal is centered on what is ultimately our core responsibility as a school district,
[27:44] increasing achievement for every student and ensuring that students demonstrate growth.
[27:48] One important part of this goal is that we're not defining success simply through one assessment.
[27:53] We look at multiple measures such as state district and classroom assessments focusing on individual
[27:58] student growth. That includes SAT, PSAT, NGSS, SBAC, Star Dibbles, I ready benchmark in
[28:06] other classroom data. Lots of acronyms as usual. But in all seriousness, these are just some
[28:13] examples of the assessments that we'll be talking about a little bit further on. And certainly
[28:17] as the year goes on, particularly in our snapshot in November when we look at district and state
[28:22] assessments. The work underneath the school is just as important as those assessments. We want
[28:27] rigorous and engaging learning experiences, strong multi-tiered systems of support, access
[28:33] to read-level curriculum for all students, and opportunities for students to make choices
[28:37] and explore their areas of interest.
[28:40] Major emphasis this year will be ensuring that intervention is still not a replacement
[28:44] for strong tier one or otherwise known as core instruction.
[28:48] Students need access to read-level learning, while also receiving all of the supports that
[28:52] they need.
[28:52] Our
[28:58] second goal recognizes that achievement does not happen in isolation.
[29:02] Students learn best when they feel connected and belong and our staff do their best work
[29:08] when they feel valued and connected to the organization.
[29:11] We want Colchester Public Schools to be a district that our students, employees, families
[29:17] and the community are proud to be a part of.
[29:20] We will look at participation in school and district events as well as stakeholder surveys
[29:26] feedback to help us measure progress.
[29:29] This includes prioritizing student and staff wellness,
[29:33] celebrating successes, creating more opportunities
[29:36] for our school to interact with one another,
[29:39] and finding additional ways to welcome our community
[29:42] into our schools.
[29:48] At CES, school one was connecting to strengthening
[29:51] the multi-tiered systems of support process.
[29:55] An important piece of that work was making sure
[29:58] that all students
[30:00] Including students with IEPs and 504 plans, had equitable access to grade level instruction. And we're intentionally part of all academic behavioral and social emotional conversations. They also continued building the building thinking classroom work and mathematics. Students increased their ability to explain their mathematical reasoning, made connections, collaborated, and developed conceptual understanding, rather than
[30:29] simply learning procedures. For goal two, CES benefited from the connections across
[30:36] our district. The Bacon Academy peer mentors were a great example as our youngest
[30:41] students looked forward to spending time with our high school students. Mystery
[30:46] readers, classroom volunteers, and a strong partnership with the PTO through events
[30:52] such as Science Night, Family Game Night, Cardinal Carnival, and Book Fairs were
[30:57] There are also examples of how CES created opportunities for families and the community
[31:03] members to feel connected to the school.
[31:10] At GGIS, the instructional focus was based on coherence and consistency.
[31:15] They collaborated to be sure that curriculum, pacing, vestments, student interventions,
[31:22] and instructional practices were all aligned.
[31:25] Their team put in significant work refining the MTSS, otherwise known as intervention process.
[31:30] by looking at how students are identified,
[31:33] how teams meet, and how the tiered interventions
[31:36] were being delivered both in and without the classrooms.
[31:40] Last year, one important shift was providing
[31:42] that tier two instruction using a push and model
[31:45] to further grant access to the core curriculum.
[31:49] Build connections, JJS created many opportunities
[31:52] to celebrate students and staff
[31:54] from lunch with the principals and rocks rallies
[31:57] to a talent show, fifth grade send-off,
[31:59] performances, and other teacher recognition.
[32:04] Because of this, attendance relationships between adults and students and students understanding
[32:10] of expectations were identified as strength.
[32:17] Here at the middle school, we had some very positive attendance data.
[32:21] With end of your attendance rates between 94% and 95.7 across grade 6 and 8, and if you were
[32:30] have worked in a middle school, you know that's incredible.
[32:32] The school continued its writing revolution work and utilized multi-tiered systems of
[32:39] support across tiers one, two, and three during what they call win, which is what I need
[32:45] now. They also refined the schedule for this year, specifically looking at instructional
[32:51] minutes, intervention opportunities, and student choice. That directly connects to our district
[32:58] goal of providing both appropriate support and greater opportunities for students to
[33:03] explore their interests.
[33:05] For goal two, Puma unplug days provided opportunities for SEL, social-motion learning,
[33:12] wellness, team-building, character development, and celebrations.
[33:18] The Puma Excellence Awards and Puma positives were additional ways the school recognized
[33:24] students.
[33:24] They also provided cross-district and community connections through the growing partnerships
[33:31] with our senior center and Bacon Academy peer mentors, supporting students with tutoring
[33:36] and homework.
[33:44] Last but not least, we certainly have accomplishments for celebrating at Bacon Academy as well.
[33:49] I'm in 2026 82% of students taking advanced placement exams earned a score of 3 or higher
[33:55] with 296 AP exams administered in total, that is incredible.
[34:01] We also had approximately 97% participation in the school day SAT
[34:05] and the next generation science assessment.
[34:09] Bowl 2 is equally as important at the high school level,
[34:11] as it is with the others.
[34:12] We continue to find many ways to reconnect the academy
[34:15] with the larger Colchester community.
[34:18] For example, the community wide open house, senior send-off,
[34:21] alumni hall of fame, youth programs
[34:24] participated at athletic events, the new memorial garden, the new athletic complex, they all
[34:31] help make it make bacon a place that belongs to the entire community.
[34:42] An update on our NASC process, the Commission on Public Schools officially accepted Colchester
[34:48] Public Schools as a candidate for the district accreditation process which will last through
[34:53] 2020-29. The candidacy includes Bacon Academy, William J, Jack Dr., C-E-S, and E-R-T-A.
[35:02] In its report, the Commission specifically commended our strong central office leadership
[35:08] and readiness for pre-K-12 strategic planning, our district leadership model, including
[35:15] district leadership team and administrative team, the readiness of our administration and steering
[35:21] committee for the accreditation process and the experience of our BAKIN Academy Steering
[35:27] Committee members who have served on the Niasque Visiting Committees.
[35:32] So this fall, we move into the self-reflection phase, which will be our primary focus for
[35:37] the 26th-27th school year.
[35:44] The next part of this presentation is important because our district goals do not stand alone.
[35:50] They connect very naturally to the work we are beginning through district-wide Niasque
[35:55] accreditation. This project is funded in part by CAHPS and NIAASC and is a three-year process.
[36:04] NIAASC framework looks at five broad areas, learning culture, student learning, professional
[36:11] practices, learning support, and learning resources. When you look at those standards and then look back
[36:19] at our two district goals, there is significant alignment. Achievement, belonging, multi-tiered systems
[36:26] of support, wellness, instructional practices, and resources are all part of this larger,
[36:33] continuous improvement framework.
[36:40] As we further our work for the district accreditation process,
[36:43] we think this graphic is especially important because accreditation should not be viewed as simply
[36:47] preparing for a visit for earning a designation. It's a continuous improvement process.
[36:52] As the graphic shows, the process emphasizes and validates growth over time, engages schools
[36:58] as partners in this improvement and allows schools to identify priority areas for growth.
[37:04] It's intended to be authentic and valuable at the same time.
[37:08] So, our goal is to not complete this work simply for NAS, but we want to use NAS to help us
[37:13] examine and further strengthen the work we are already doing.
[37:19] It's also a long-term process, so we're beginning, as Judy said, with that self-reflection in
[37:24] in this current school year, 26, 27,
[37:26] followed by a collaborative conference visit in 2027,
[37:30] that leads us to the development and implementation
[37:32] of a growth plan followed eventually
[37:34] by the accreditation visit itself.
[37:37] But we appreciate about this model
[37:39] that it's not a one-time evaluation.
[37:41] It's designed around reflection, planning,
[37:43] implementation, measuring our progress over time.
[37:47] We also work closely with the NES Commission
[37:49] and our steering committee to learn more
[37:51] and recognize multiple viewpoints during this process.
[37:57] This work could not belong to one person
[37:59] or just a central office.
[38:01] The NASC process specifically builds structures
[38:04] for shared leadership through a steering committee
[38:07] and self-reflection writers.
[38:10] The steering committee oversees the overall process
[38:13] and communicated progress
[38:15] while self-reflection writers collect and review evidence
[38:19] and help prepare the district's self-reflection.
[38:21] This gives our staff an authentic voice in examining what we are doing well and where
[38:27] we need to grow.
[38:33] As we begin the district accreditation process, four themes are emerging that will help
[38:37] organize our work, vision of the learner, culture of student learning, developing a growth
[38:43] mindset, and student health and well-being.
[38:45] These aren't separate from our district goals, they give us another framework through which
[38:49] to examine them.
[38:51] We want to be able to clearly articulate what we want a Colchester graduate to know, be able
[38:55] to do and demonstrate, and then make sure the experience from preschool through grade 12
[39:00] intentionally builds towards that vision.
[39:07] Finally, this slide gives the board a sense of where we are in the process.
[39:11] Nias conducted the candidacy visit last spring and the commission voted on candidacy in June.
[39:22] Later this year, we'll begin the district's self-reflection process.
[39:25] The most important takeaway tonight is that there are not, these are not separate initiatives.
[39:32] Our district goals, the work happening within each of our schools and the district,
[39:37] me ask accreditation process, all connect.
[39:40] What are we, we are focusing on two fundamental questions.
[39:45] Are our students learning and growing?
[39:47] And are we creating an environment where students and staff feel valued, accepted, connected and supported?
[39:55] it. Our goal is continuous improvement. We certainly want to celebrate what is
[40:00] working well here at Colchester Public Schools while also being willing to
[40:04] look closely at our practices. Listen to our students, staff, families, and
[40:09] community and continue to grow together.
[40:21] I know you have more things to get through
[40:22] on your update but I think that's a good spot to pause and ask questions. If anyone
[40:26] has any? Let's see. I have two. One, I could be wrong but I don't think that was, I don't think
[40:36] the presentation was attached to the agenda so we'd use the minutes or whatnot if we could just
[40:40] make sure there's an public who are interested in flipping through the slides and do that in some
[40:44] way, shape and form. The second thing and the more content focusing and I am getting a world-class
[40:51] education on sort of the current state of education across our country for my day job and I
[40:57] So as I was looking at our goals for this year, one thing I was reflecting on, and this
[41:01] is not really even looking for an answer right now, I'm just kind of hoping I could
[41:05] plant a seed and we can come back and revisit it down the road.
[41:09] But, you know, it's, I think, natural to want to set a goal, assess students along the way
[41:14] to see if they're reaching them or not, but I also feel like a lot of our assessments end
[41:18] up defaulting to this sort of like four-year college or bus mentality when you use an SAT,
[41:23] when you use a PSAT, when you use a bunch of these standardized tests as your core or
[41:27] cross-cutting assessment, framework or approach or whatnot, and I understand why we're doing,
[41:32] I'm not saying we shouldn't, I'm not saying we should get rid of it all, but when we use those
[41:36] assessments, you're kind of inherently telling everyone in the district that we won't need to be
[41:41] gearing students to a college expense, and yet the electric boat just got like a hundred billion
[41:47] dollar contract, they're going to have jobs that can pay a living wage right out the gate,
[41:50] We have a bunch of industries in our neck of the woods and I just wonder if in our current way we have the goals which are not back goals, but I wonder a little bit of worry a little bit that we're
[42:04] unintentionally sort of elbowing out things like durable skills or more project-based learning approaches that can
[42:09] take students and still get them to a good SAT preparation, but in a slightly different way that makes them a little bit more ready for the workforce if they want to go that route.
[42:17] So I just want to throw it out there.
[42:19] I don't have like a specific thing to change at this point,
[42:21] but especially as the state is looking at a career pathways commission
[42:25] that the governor launched and there will be a report coming out in November.
[42:28] And I think there's a lot of excitement at the state level.
[42:30] And I think cold trust should be in a really interesting position
[42:33] to be at the front of that wave and hopefully with some more state resources.
[42:38] And I think if we can just start doing some thinking
[42:41] throughout the district of how do we embed a career pathways mindset.
[42:45] So you can really set up students to be have options both on a career side and a college side because college is still a pathway to a good career and like not saying it's not, but you know the durable skills, a project based on getting exposure to a couple different industries in our neck of the woods more we can do that.
[43:00] I think the more we can do both in a really good way.
[43:05] I agree.
[43:09] Any other questions? Comments? Concerns? Nothing heard? In that case, let's go
[43:13] to the office per professional MOU update. Or we're good with the personnel report.
[43:21] Oh, sorry, personnel report.
[43:30] Okay, so the personnel report really just goes through
[43:34] resignations. They'd occurred from June 1 through September 1. I'm hoping this
[43:40] was attached to the packet. Okay good. Retirements. Some were later and then also
[43:49] new hires.
[43:54] Any questions, comments, concerns?
[43:59] All righty.
[44:07] The office
[44:08] professional MOU update. Nancy did you want to join in on this since we've been
[44:12] working together on it?
[44:15] We have been working with the OPs. I've started to learn all the
[44:23] different actions, and we began negotiations with them on the entire packet of most of
[44:31] the MOU, and we're trying to come up with, right now it's in the lawyer's hand, and the
[44:41] So we really don't have too much to be caught on at this point, except that they are working on trying to come up with how to do scheduling days that they would get vacation days, holidays, and so right now it's all in the press.
[45:03] All
[45:11] right, William J. Sports. I thank Matt Parsons for being here because he has a world of updates for us on this.
[45:26] Okay. Hi, Matt Parsons. So first.
[45:39] So a little update about WJ athletics as they stand right now. As you know, in the last referendum, it was removed from the budget. So since that time,
[45:52] I've been meeting with the leagues in town talking to parents and gathering various input
[46:03] from people.
[46:04] So I'm happy to report that right now, the paper that is in front of everyone right
[46:11] now, is an up to $12,000 donation from Colchester Youth Soccer to run just the soccer operations
[46:21] for this fall season. We did open up registration and right now just this afternoon we had over 50 athletes out there trying out for various teams.
[46:37] So that is the most athletes that I can think of and find record of in the last decade coming out for all soccer.
[46:48] This is the first time since COVID that we've been able to actually gather enough girls for our own girls WJ soccer team.
[46:58] And it's thanks to the donation from Colchester Soccer Club.
[47:03] Now, speaking to them and speaking with all the other leagues in town,
[47:09] and I can speak in general about some of the discussions that I've had with others,
[47:14] They do make it very clear in their donation that it is a one-time donation, and that this
[47:23] is not going to be a recurring donation every year, because they also have to run thoroughly.
[47:32] I also have been speaking with Colchester Youth Basketball, and Judy and Megan get my conversations
[47:42] at 9, 9, 30, 10 o'clock at night when I'm leaving these board meetings where they are actually
[47:51] donating up to $15,000 to run the WJ basketball so for the fall. So with that paired with the current
[48:04] rate of pay to play, we are going to still be charging our athletes the $135 to play
[48:13] And I've been, Sam's gone, and Melissa, they are the Presidents of the PTO.
[48:19] They are putting together their fundraising efforts through their donations on, I think
[48:28] their Venmo, remember Venmo or PayPal, remember which ones they are, Cheddar.
[48:33] They're going to do all of their fundraising and donate all those proceeds because I still
[48:39] I'm looking to offset the cost of basketball in general, because that is a lot of travel,
[48:48] busing and travels and officials are a major cost, and that's what we're trying to do.
[48:53] And the donation from basketball does not cover all of that stuff.
[48:57] So between pay-to-play, some more fundraising, I'm also talking to other youth leagues that
[49:01] are looking possibly at one-time donations, but with those one-time donations, they're looking
[49:08] for a commitment from the board to fund something or support a different program moving forward.
[49:17] I know coming into it last year as my first year as athletic director,
[49:24] there was a lot of interest in kind of expanding, especially in my part. There's a lot of
[49:30] interest in expanding the opportunities for students. And there's opportunities with other districts
[49:38] where we can get a baseball season going maybe that co-op volleyball where we could partner with some other places, give the middle schoolers some opportunities that aren't just in our youth leagues in town, but also bring back a school pride and build the kids up to then be ready for bacon academy.
[50:02] me, um, I know, you know, my son's trying out for WJ soccer, right? Um, and when I say
[50:09] tryout, it's the first time in five plus years that, uh, we're really debating. Do we really,
[50:18] can we support 30 boys on a team? Or do we need to actually make cuts, which is like very
[50:24] difficult, right? To the side. Um, we want to encourage, but also we're working off fundraising
[50:31] and trying to pay people, and right now we can only fund one coach, so how do we run that with that many kids effectively?
[50:41] So we do think that we will be able to run all of our programs right now through donations and some hard work.
[50:53] But there's a growing sense of that people want these sports and interest in the sports.
[51:03] So I just want to encourage as we go into, I know we just ended one budget season, but
[51:09] I know it never ends, it never really ends.
[51:14] To look at that because there's a growing interest in the WJ program.
[51:21] And then also, if people are looking to support athletics, I'm also working with sideline sports BSN, we use them up in high school too.
[51:32] So like this nice wj athletics shirt, I can now wear at work because sometimes you don't want to wear shirt and tie but you still want to have school pride and all that stuff even though I work at bacon.
[51:46] The portion of those proceeds will come back to the athletics department and also fund some equipment and that sort of thing. So I'm working on that whole fundraising opportunity too. So if you see those opportunities around and do wish to support these outside of the budget season.
[52:04] and please feel free to buy a whole lot of hoodie
[52:10] and then go down to the athletic complex
[52:12] and like watch some games.
[52:15] And the soccer team has their first home game
[52:19] right outside.
[52:21] So the girls and boys play at home at the same time
[52:24] and away at the same time.
[52:26] So our first home game right now is scheduled
[52:28] for next Monday at 3.30.
[52:31] So the boys will be playing right out here.
[52:33] of the girls to be on the back so you can sit in the middle and you can watch.
[52:39] Any questions?
[52:42] I would just like to say thank you to you, Matt. I always say it's like Superman. He's literally
[52:48] everywhere. I don't know how you do it all in a day, but for really thinking outside the box
[52:54] to and really going above and beyond for our kids and anyone who's seen Matt at games or coaching
[53:03] All of the things that he does, he does it out of the goodness of his heart and it's really incredible so thank you for that thank you for caring so much to really take so much of the little time you have left in a day to get all this done so thank you very much and our kids are really better off having you.
[53:23] And it really is about the kids, like it really is an opportunity, so.
[53:28] Matt, I just want to second that.
[53:30] I want to thank you so much for all your hard work and for making this happen.
[53:39] Anyone else?
[53:41] Thank you.
[53:43] Can you pass the folder back when you get a chance?
[53:48] A cafeteria update.
[53:49] Process-wise, for a donation like that, I think we have the board to have to review them, assuming
[53:54] that will be the next month, I'm sure it won't be much of a hiccup.
[54:00] But I've seen that something add just logistics on it like yeah, let's talk about that at some point right or as far as accepting the donation and all that stuff so yeah.
[54:13] I don't know if we have to do it tonight, but I think we have to make a motion right to accept that one that letter or that donation.
[54:22] We will at some point.
[54:23] Okay, not tonight.
[54:27] Well, we already went through the part of the agenda of adding new agenda items, so we
[54:31] do it next month without you too late.
[54:33] Does that miss you?
[54:34] No, so what I talked to Cole Chester soccer about, it's written in a very specific way, not
[54:42] knowing how, if we were going to be able to run a girl season or not, the amount of coaches,
[54:48] is that sort of thing, it's up to $12,000,
[54:53] which was the budget amount,
[54:54] the bare bones budget amount with no equipment
[54:56] and that sort of thing.
[54:58] Also, they donated some of the equipment,
[55:00] and these cones, soccer balls,
[55:03] like I'm getting some of my contacts into,
[55:07] like, get some of that stuff.
[55:08] So I was going to compile all the bills
[55:12] for the season into one invoice for them to write a check too.
[55:18] And then I probably think that's the right point for us to approve it like every other donation
[55:23] It's like hey, we're donating a piano and like or we're donating
[55:28] X amount of dollars and you know exactly what it is. I think from a process perspective all the other board members
[55:33] That once we know the exact dollar amount
[55:35] I think like that would be the right time for the board to officially
[55:38] Reveit but considering we all got this because I wouldn't think that's too much about it
[55:42] And then do we treat it like a grant where it's your mark where it's your mark that as well
[55:48] So, like it has a special line-eye to fit.
[55:53] I think we could add that to the homework list.
[55:56] Because I do take the budget and facilities committee
[56:01] ask the administration to do a lot of homework over this next month
[56:05] in different ways, and I think that should add to it.
[56:07] Because I do want to respect the, and it's clearly written in here.
[56:11] This is a one-time thing, and it's going to be used for this purpose.
[56:14] And so we'll have to ask our administrative team to do some homework
[56:17] of how do we track that and make sure that this money is being used for exactly this purpose,
[56:20] obviously, if we're going to get some invoices and exactly what it was used for, I think that's
[56:24] an easy way to get it all up. We're just outside the normal monthly budget tracking and we know
[56:30] exactly where every dollar went. I think it'd be fair to the people donating it, but they knew where
[56:34] every dollar went to.
[56:40] Thank you.
[56:43] Appateria update. Last month at our Board of Ed meeting, when we talked
[56:46] about free breakfast and we made the adjustment in pricing. We shared that you know that I would
[56:53] bring back some numbers. So just being six days in when I got these numbers across the district,
[56:59] we did look at there was a 94% increase in students getting breakfast. So because it is now
[57:08] free. So it's really a wonderful increase because making breakfast easily accessible helps ensure
[57:14] that students begin their day nourished and prepared and ready to learn.
[57:18] So it was great to see that people are taking advantage of that, the free breakfast.
[57:25] And my last is the FOI clerk justification.
[57:29] This is something that Elissa put together.
[57:32] It was actually requested at the July 10th special meeting that Elissa prepare an FOI analysis
[57:39] this report, focused on the volume of records associated with requests.
[57:44] You'll see that this one is a substantial request in particular.
[57:49] Her analysis is really just focused on that one.
[57:54] The district has a legal responsibility to respond to FOI requests, including this particularly
[58:00] large request.
[58:02] And to help with this, Alyssa has been devoting five hours just to this one.
[58:07] and we manage a very high volume of records while continuing to meet other operational
[58:14] responsibilities.
[58:16] So the scope of this particular request is extraordinary.
[58:20] There are currently approximately 225,000 documents remaining that require review.
[58:28] So at this current rate she is showing that it would take approximately to review approximately
[58:35] me 600 documents each week is what she would be able to do, spending the five hours per
[58:41] week. So we're sharing this with the boards. They understand the scope of the workload
[58:46] and the operational challenges that she faces. This five-hour assignment gives us some capacity
[58:53] to continue moving the request forward, but it does not resolve the underlying workload issue.
[59:00] Alyssa still works an additional five to 10 hours weekly on these requests so that we can keep
[59:06] the board of ed, you know, that was request moving forward as well and then we will continue
[59:13] to keep you apprised of this because that was what was requested to give you those hours devoted.
[59:19] So any requests on that?
[59:25] So multiple questions. Notice on the personnel file that there was a
[59:39] So that was my misunderstanding and we will not use that person, but when we met on July 10th and we looked at the first 1.5 proposed budget cuts, the 1.5 million, there was in the additions piece of that at the records and compliance clerk.
[59:59] You
[1:00:00] For the 10,000, which was a durational position, for FOIA requests, when this was approved and
[1:00:09] we discussed having Alyssa keep record of all of the time spent on FOIA, I understood that
[1:00:19] as moving forward. So, but it is a durational position, so if we do not want to use it, we
[1:00:25] won't use it. So we can stop that immediately. So with that, if this is one for your request that
[1:00:34] is in excess of 200,000 pages, we reached out to the FOIA Commission to see what their recommendations
[1:00:43] are as far as the scope of this request, if we can narrow it down. If we reached out to the
[1:00:50] personal, or to the requester, to see if they can narrow the scope, how much money has been
[1:00:56] accrued, is anything printed, is it electronically done? Could we have looked at creative solutions
[1:01:02] to provide overtime at a five hour rate for a week instead of hiring a person?
[1:01:09] Yes, we did reach out to Russell at the FOI commission. He said that we had to do it.
[1:01:18] But I don't want to get into some personal things around why we needed to do that for
[1:01:26] this person.
[1:01:28] But there were personal reasons that the person needed these things printed out.
[1:01:33] And we were told that we had to do it.
[1:01:36] So yeah, before you commission, I'll tell you you have to do these, but there's no time limit
[1:01:40] on it.
[1:01:40] And we can do it on it when we can possibly get it done.
[1:01:44] Exactly.
[1:01:44] So we could go to overtime.
[1:01:45] We're not saying that we're not going to do it.
[1:01:47] But the fact is that we hired someone to do this one job and they're at a rate of 120 documents per hour and we're saying that we're going to hire this person for the next 7.2 years.
[1:02:02] Even though it is durational, this one request, have we tried anything else, have we used our own resources within the OP network at all the schools?
[1:02:15] Is there a specific training that has to be done for these people that do a FOIA request?
[1:02:21] There is and the hard part is that would these requests, that the nature of a lot of times
[1:02:27] of what is being requested, is that whenever they're pulling the records and they're going
[1:02:35] through to strike, what shouldn't be provided, that's a lot of training, number one, but
[1:02:42] number two there has to be that confidentiality piece and so having too many
[1:02:48] hands into these types of requests so if Chris was a person that I was pulling
[1:02:56] his emails and then you know four or five people were going through them
[1:03:03] that is a lot of people to have looking through Chris's emails and possibly
[1:03:08] getting them out there. So it just opens it up to a lot of people having access.
[1:03:16] Where is that current policy required training evidence for a POC? Do we have that on file?
[1:03:24] Required training for FOIA?
[1:03:29] Well there's training that you can go to and there's training with the
[1:03:32] state. And we still can we pull up with that FOIA record is?
[1:03:39] FOIA it would be in our logs correct.
[1:03:41] How long ago was it?
[1:03:42] Oh, yes,
[1:03:46] what's POC?
[1:03:48] You said POC, what is that?
[1:03:49] Our point of contact.
[1:03:50] Well, thank you.
[1:03:51] Just making sure I don't get off track.
[1:03:53] Can I just, just, that was advocate
[1:03:56] while you guys are looking for that.
[1:03:58] If we, I'm not sure if I understand
[1:04:02] what would be the benefit of paying someone over time
[1:04:05] for the five hours, wouldn't that be a time and a half
[1:04:08] for a full time person?
[1:04:10] Well, is it time and a half over so many hours?
[1:04:12] It's town half over 40 hours a week typically and we have that is it in the is it in the collective bargaining for the OPs usually is it though.
[1:04:23] I don't know but I'm just wondering why we would want to I mean a directional person doesn't get benefits they don't we already pay someone $80,000 a year to do this.
[1:04:34] And now we're spending another $10,000 in it.
[1:04:37] Well, because we now have literally a quarter million documents that need to be done, is there a time limit on it like do we have to get it done in a certain period of time?
[1:04:48] I don't know. I don't know. I don't know.
[1:04:49] I'd be bucketized those personally.
[1:04:53] If we bucket the request into years, you know, and I say, hey, I need these people to look at this year to this year or anything that matches this criteria.
[1:05:02] and we've done that a multitude of people on this.
[1:05:08] I think we need to be very, very careful how we walk on this path because...
[1:05:13] I'm well aware how careful my personal information gets in there too.
[1:05:19] I've been foiled before. I'm well aware of how important this is.
[1:05:23] Okay.
[1:05:26] Well, so, go ahead.
[1:05:29] Pete, that's good.
[1:05:30] It's okay. I was waiting to see what was coming up on there.
[1:05:33] I
[1:05:36] think
[1:05:41] I asked a question, do they do background check on people who are doing this?
[1:05:50] This is not.
[1:05:51] They do have to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
[1:05:54] So anyone that's working on it has to sign that so that they cannot talk about what they're seeing.
[1:06:02] The conflict that I was worried about is if we have current employees who work with current employees,
[1:06:07] when this could possibly, you know,
[1:06:12] we need to be very careful what we're disclosing to people who maybe are working with other people who may be involved. That's what I was trying to say.
[1:06:20] So, if you don't have a dedicated person who maybe doesn't work in one of the schools or whatever the case is, like if you were talking about bringing an opian who works in a school, we have to be very careful about what information is being disclosed.
[1:06:35] when that person could be sitting at a desk right next to the other person.
[1:06:40] So that's the point I was trying to make.
[1:06:44] My question.
[1:06:45] Okay.
[1:06:45] My point was that, you know, I'm sure for 28 years, we have to have a background check
[1:06:51] on ourselves all the time.
[1:06:53] So here we are having that done for the people that are teaching, and my concern would be
[1:07:02] Sadly, not everyone is honest that they will keep their mouth shut and we've seen it in the news.
[1:07:10] You know, many towns are, you know, hurting because of leaked out for this leaked out.
[1:07:17] So, you know, I don't mean to be a naysayer.
[1:07:20] However, I think if you don't have a really bona fide contract with that person,
[1:07:25] and maybe it shouldn't be someone that is working in the school.
[1:07:29] So I think we have to be realistic and seek out people who would do the job, do the job well.
[1:07:38] Don't know everybody in those documents because, again, I worked in different school districts,
[1:07:45] but there's money for all of us to be aware of.
[1:07:50] So I just thought, if there is no background check, sometimes I know we look at,
[1:07:56] But even if they're in an office handling money, we look at what their credit rating is.
[1:08:01] Because are they desperate, you know, or possibly having a temptation?
[1:08:09] So I think that's fair.
[1:08:11] But this doesn't have money attached to it.
[1:08:15] So that might be something that we can just, I almost feel like maybe it's a discussion
[1:08:21] for the future, because if that's the amount of time that it would take, that's a lot of
[1:08:27] reading, a lot of discernment, and a lot of, you know, concealing things that you really
[1:08:35] can't share. And we're, you know, in my classroom confidentiality, if you talk about a child,
[1:08:41] to their parents who's in the building, you're done. And that's what teenagers,
[1:08:51] and I've
[1:08:51] So, you want that level of trust because anyone who is doing the FOIA deserves that as
[1:09:00] well as the people who are mentioned, note that, so that's just my experience.
[1:09:06] I think, as we're discussing this, like for me, in top of mind, and by the way, I kind
[1:09:11] of got sucked into FOIA task force when I was working in the federal government.
[1:09:15] And so it's sort of like getting that training last minute and then getting thrown into that
[1:09:18] is something I have very personal experience with and it is rough on everyone, but I do
[1:09:23] think in the sort of way we're discussing this, one, our board typically has an approach
[1:09:29] to try to look at all this stuff twice before it makes a final decision and I think this
[1:09:33] is one where I way to you up for like I kind of want to see this again with a bit more information
[1:09:38] and putting on like my army hat is this is one course of action to approach this. I do
[1:09:45] kind of wonder if there are other courses of actions of training up and offering
[1:09:48] to other employees. And like, what would that actually take and look like? We don't,
[1:09:53] I don't think that requires like a ton more work, but I would kind of want to know what the
[1:09:58] different options are because the other reality is for many different reasons. We have a town
[1:10:05] that really likes for a request. And there might be another, might be here again two years now.
[1:10:10] And I, as a board member, would much rather try to figure out what's the system to this that we can
[1:10:15] implement that would make sense and when I look at this I kind of say we have one big request or
[1:10:20] maybe a couple of requests that add up to one big request and like one course of action is you
[1:10:26] hire someone to do spend more time on it every week but it also doesn't really seem like the
[1:10:31] sustainable answer for the next five or ten years and so I would be interested in sort of hearing more
[1:10:37] courses of action that would allow us to ramp up and ramp down and I don't really know what the answer
[1:10:44] is I just kind of want to know what our options are and then also want to look through the budget
[1:10:49] side of it and it's right and then we need to clean up. So we do make pretty clear on what
[1:10:53] our employees need to be trained on and what not more of those best practices make sure we get those
[1:10:57] in place too. So I am as much as I get though because there's a particular FOIA thing and correct
[1:11:03] me from wrong here but if we don't do anything tonight it continues to check along it for five
[1:11:07] hours a week which is in five to ten which is in compliance. I kind of think it's worth taking
[1:11:12] another one. Getting a bit more information. Does that make sense?
[1:11:17] Yeah, it's just the decision was already made. Like that's what I'm trying to point out. We made the decision we didn't vote on the last time.
[1:11:25] There was no determination of like, you shall do this. We talked about budget reductions, not allocations of bodies.
[1:11:34] so this is two part one we need to one be clear on if we're going to have
[1:11:40] somebody do this we've already hired them on board now we're having to
[1:11:45] scrutinize this to make like what did we try every possible coa we didn't
[1:11:51] actually hire anybody to do this yet yes we did yes we did it was in the 1.5
[1:11:57] million dollar proposed budget. So it was in the cuts but it was in there and we discussed it on
[1:12:05] July 10. I didn't realize. I know we spoke about the position. I'm sorry, just give me a minute.
[1:12:10] I know we spoke about the position. I remember speaking about everything. I wasn't sure if we actually
[1:12:16] took a person and said this job is yours. And we said it was a durational position. So it's not
[1:12:25] union so at any point this person can we can say no thank you we're all done
[1:12:30] it's decretional so so it's it's something that easily can be stopped at any
[1:12:35] point okay all right thank you for clarifying that and just to be clear too it's
[1:12:40] not just one FOI request it's multiple that was fulfilled but now we need to
[1:12:46] print them out for the person right right and we I mean not including this
[1:12:53] This number just I really can't even get over this 222,928 documents in addition to that and there were other ones that were right so there were other ones sitting in the in the queue waiting to go and then we added.
[1:13:08] Well, and they keep a quarter million pieces of paper.
[1:13:12] I don't have a choice about not I don't even understand how we're how we're affording to print out 250,000 pieces of paper we can charge for no we can't we're told by if the person takes them and leaves the Board of Ed office we can if they just come to look at them at the Board of Ed office and then leave and leaves the paper we cannot.
[1:13:37] So why didn't we do we tell that to you the we commission to see if it's a vexatious we did we call I called him
[1:13:44] Then no, but what did our legal did we get legal on board with this did they say that he said it will it
[1:13:50] It's a huge he said you would have to have way more in order to to be able to say that was there options of was this
[1:13:57] Specifically you shall print and I shall review in your office
[1:14:01] or is it, I can come and look at a computer and a PDF
[1:14:05] and they can scroll through it like old days
[1:14:07] of newspaper reals.
[1:14:09] It had to be printed.
[1:14:10] It could not be on a computer screen.
[1:14:13] The requester can decide at that point.
[1:14:15] I'm just making sure I understand.
[1:14:16] If the requester wanted to print something,
[1:14:18] they would have to pay for it.
[1:14:20] But we have to have it printed and ready to go, correct?
[1:14:23] And then now a person can decide.
[1:14:26] He said no.
[1:14:27] I did call him.
[1:14:29] I mean, these laws are like really, we have to...
[1:14:33] Not indescribably to be a paraphrase.
[1:14:35] The other problem might see, this is one incident,
[1:14:39] and I know there's been others,
[1:14:40] because I've been in and out of the office,
[1:14:42] and they don't work, and they don't work,
[1:14:45] and I don't know, can you do something
[1:14:47] or I'd ask a question, and they're working on FOIA.
[1:14:50] I mean, it's not just one person's request, right?
[1:14:54] There's been many requests,
[1:14:56] And how are we going to handle this board?
[1:14:59] Be higher.
[1:15:00] I think it's a person to be, you know, to do a position, and they're supposed to be employee a person within that position. That shouldn't be the full time position. And now it's becoming more and more complicated. I think we really do seriously need to look at this whole picture. What are we going to do in the future? This is not probably going to go away. How are we going to handle this?
[1:15:27] I'm thinking about it now and I do recall that we spoke of the position and we okayed
[1:15:34] the position.
[1:15:34] I do remember that now.
[1:15:35] So, I apologize.
[1:15:36] I misspoke.
[1:15:37] I had to knock the dust off a little.
[1:15:40] However, to Nancy's point though, these numbers are new to us.
[1:15:46] These numbers are bigger than, I mean, we've had some big requests.
[1:15:50] This is, but it's multiple requests.
[1:15:52] Right, so and and I think like what she said is that they're not going to stop so we have got to find a sustainable smart way and yeah
[1:16:03] I don't want to vote on it tonight either because I want to I want to wrap my head around this a little bit more to, but
[1:16:10] I this may be a position and I'm just putting it out there in my knee jerk response this may end up having to be a position.
[1:16:19] and just through the volume.
[1:16:24] And I don't think it can be somebody who is interacting
[1:16:29] with people potentially, you know, conflict of interest
[1:16:33] and ethics should be very careful with that stuff.
[1:16:38] Just my two cents.
[1:16:40] Not only that, but we hire people to do a certain job
[1:16:43] with an OP in their office or someone in the central office.
[1:16:47] this is on a way beyond it.
[1:16:53] We need to have someone who is trained,
[1:16:55] who knows just what they're doing,
[1:16:57] who's meeting the rules and the laws.
[1:17:00] I don't want to be as a board of end member,
[1:17:02] find out six months down the line
[1:17:04] that we're not meeting the laws of this whole thing.
[1:17:08] I think we need to be thinking that district,
[1:17:10] right, I mean, we could put the district in jeopardy
[1:17:13] if something is not recognized as, you know,
[1:17:18] that has to be redacted or whatever the legal terminology is.
[1:17:23] So yeah, I agree with you.
[1:17:25] Like this is actually something that we have to be very careful
[1:17:30] because we could really put ourself in a bad spot.
[1:17:34] Overall, I think what I'm hearing from most of my fellow board members is,
[1:17:39] and by the way, this is just like one thing we need to see the whole site picture here,
[1:17:44] of, or is the entire amount of requests are coming in.
[1:17:49] I know we have the FOIA log online that we can look at,
[1:17:51] but, and we're all the forces of action
[1:17:55] for how do we approach this systemically
[1:17:57] and do it in a way that, all right.
[1:18:00] Fix this system that we can all wrap our head around
[1:18:02] and then like let's have that discussion.
[1:18:06] That sound reasonable sounds like there's more homework
[1:18:09] to be done here before we can really have that.
[1:18:13] Okay. All right.
[1:18:17] We're clear on the homework assignment. All right. Any homework left and right today
[1:18:26] with that. We're going to move on to committee reports and possible action. So the budget finance and facilities committee, which is a new incarnation that's we bind the budget finance committee and the facilities committee is honestly you need all the same people table for both and a couple of things I'll highlight here on the monthly budget reports.
[1:18:47] For right now, they're all going to still have this massive stamp on them that says subject
[1:18:51] to change.
[1:18:52] And the homework that we asked the team to do is now that we have a budget and like that's
[1:18:57] a part that's got to change when you look at these.
[1:19:00] It's sort of what the total budget line is, you know, last year's number.
[1:19:04] So now we have a budget.
[1:19:05] We have to go back and redo three or four months worth and that our next committee meeting.
[1:19:10] We will approve them all again with all of the, I'll call them forever numbers forever
[1:19:15] That will be that month's budget report and that won't change from there on out and we'll get rid of the stamps at that point
[1:19:19] Does that make sense for why the stamp is there for right now?
[1:19:23] Okay, with that. I don't think there's anything
[1:19:26] Too arduous to flag and guessing could you feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here
[1:19:31] One I want to spend a little time talking about are the transfers
[1:19:36] There's let's go under 5,000 first
[1:19:40] There is I think a $60 transfer that we approved as a committee
[1:19:43] I just wanted to make sure everyone's tracking that and aware of it and
[1:19:48] All staying with them bank and academy
[1:19:50] But then for the ones over $5,000 that committee is recommending the board to approve these and these are largely ones that were actually
[1:19:59] left over from
[1:20:00] Last month, so these are all last year's money by the way
[1:20:04] So end of year funds you can think of it that way, but this is
[1:20:09] Basically things have already happened that we're trying to make sure it's coming out of the
[1:20:12] to write line items and clearing up the book and get ready for the audit.
[1:20:16] We spent a decent amount of time talking about it and honestly trying to wrap her head
[1:20:19] around like what was the justification for each of these and this also generated more homework
[1:20:25] for the team to figure out how we're going to track this moving forward up until now.
[1:20:30] We've always, as a board, kind of tracked the object code level across the entire district.
[1:20:35] But then we were things happen with the same object code but across different schools and
[1:20:39] and particularly how we track transportation costs.
[1:20:42] They can account on the athletics versus academics
[1:20:44] or tracks in sort of two different silos
[1:20:46] and then special head has their own transportation.
[1:20:49] We asked the administrative team to really look at
[1:20:51] just how we're doing it and dive deep into it
[1:20:53] and see if there's a better way we could systemize it
[1:20:57] and standardize it so we can be able to wrap our head around it
[1:21:00] and provide better oversight across the board.
[1:21:02] But with that being said, for looking at last year's budget,
[1:21:05] that there is about $10,600 that was savings
[1:21:10] and tech transportation and paid a park
[1:21:13] and going towards travel for Bacon Academy Athletics
[1:21:16] and Special Education programs.
[1:21:18] That's transfer number one.
[1:21:20] Transfer number two is about $9,700,
[1:21:24] coming from classified salaries,
[1:21:27] going to classified salaries,
[1:21:28] but once it's bacon to Bacon Academy Special Education
[1:21:31] and then about $13,000 from Medicare
[1:21:34] We take care to the unemployment bill that we received.
[1:21:38] So that's what we're asking the board to approve.
[1:21:41] Any questions?
[1:21:43] Is there a motion to approve these budget transfers over $5,000?
[1:21:48] I'll make the motion to approve the budget transfers over $5,000.
[1:21:53] Thanks, Michelle.
[1:21:53] Is there a second?
[1:21:54] Seconded.
[1:21:55] Thank you, Nancy.
[1:21:56] There's a motion, there's a second.
[1:21:57] Any discussion?
[1:22:00] None heard, all in favor?
[1:22:01] Aye.
[1:22:02] Aye.
[1:22:03] We are opposed of sanctions, motion passes,
[1:22:09] and then like I said, we are also the facilities
[1:22:12] committee meeting, but honestly, we spent so much time talking about the budget transfers
[1:22:15] and stuff we didn't get to that part, so we'll frontload that next month's committee meeting,
[1:22:19] and so we'll have more updates for everyone.
[1:22:21] With that, we'd love to turn it over to the curriculum committee.
[1:22:28] Thank you, Guessie.
[1:22:29] Yes, we are going to have a great year reviewing and revising some of our curricular areas, and
[1:22:35] And we forecast again that our first meeting we focused on a beacon academy English.
[1:22:40] And now that our staff is back, we look forward to diving in so we can anticipate a calendar
[1:22:45] date likely for October.
[1:22:49] Thank you.
[1:22:49] Policy committee.
[1:22:51] Anyone?
[1:22:53] Yeah.
[1:22:53] We have not had a meeting yet.
[1:22:55] Okay.
[1:22:56] That's good.
[1:22:57] The one though I'll also bring back up, I'm back to the cool kit committee is we also talked
[1:23:02] a little bit about like really looking at all of our budget reports.
[1:23:05] It's all through the reports and everything else and not we have a budget really we ask for a lot of homework this month, honestly
[1:23:13] To really look at all this reports and like with a fresh set of eyes of how do we do this better
[1:23:17] So more conversation to come on that but if you start to see different formats of things we'll always explain where that stuff came from but
[1:23:24] I asked my fellow committee members and our administrative team and staff to just look at it all across the board and we'll be making adjustments to
[1:23:31] and take our lessons, learn to implement them.
[1:23:37] If that being said, move on to board announcements,
[1:23:39] information items, next regular board meeting
[1:23:41] is drum roll, please, tober 13.
[1:23:48] And then moving on to additional business,
[1:23:52] we have a proposed executive session
[1:23:54] to unlock a tri-pronounce at much more,
[1:23:58] and who are you inviting into that?
[1:24:00] All
[1:24:24] right. Is there a motion to move into executive session to discuss at Mato versus cold
[1:24:32] trust report of a case and inviting in our superintendent and the attorney Peter Murphy?
[1:24:39] Make a motion. Like you guys see is there a second?
[1:24:42] A second. All right. There's a motion. There's a second. Any discussion?
[1:24:46] None heard? All in favor? I pose of sanctions for going into executive session.
[1:39:25] 743, we're out of executive session. Is there a motion to approve this? I don't want to agree, but it has discussed. I approve. I second. There's a motion. There's a second. Any discussion? All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Any abstain? Motion passes? Is there a motion to adjourn? Don't vote. Is there a second? There's a motion. There's a second. All in favor? Aye. Opposed? Semptions? Is 743? We are adjourned.
[1:39:54] That was good.
[1:39:55] Thank you.
[1:39:56] We got that.