[1:30] Cool.
[1:34] » All right. Uh good good evening
[1:36] everyone. Like to welcome everyone to
[1:38] the uh September 28th, 2026 meeting of
[1:41] the Plymouth School Committee. I will
[1:43] call the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Uh
[1:46] if you everyone please join me in the
[1:47] pledge of allegiance.
[1:51] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[1:53] United States of America and to the
[1:56] republic for which it stands, one nation
[1:59] [clears throat] under God, indivisible,
[2:01] with liberty and justice for all.
[2:05] >> Thank you for that. Next, I'll read our
[2:06] land acknowledgement. We acknowledge
[2:08] that we are meeting on the unseated
[2:10] ancestral homeland of indigenous people
[2:12] whose enduring presence we humbly
[2:14] recognize. We honor the Wampaoic people
[2:17] as the original stewards in the Herring
[2:18] Pond Wampaoic as a surviving tribe
[2:20] indigenous to these lands. In our
[2:22] commitment to lifelong learning, we
[2:23] acknowledge historical injustices to the
[2:25] native people of this land and vow to
[2:27] educate ourselves, our community, and
[2:29] our students on the first peoples and
[2:31] the hardships they endured. We offer
[2:33] this as a small but essential step
[2:34] towards building a culture of respect,
[2:36] truth, and accountability.
[2:39] Uh next up, like to hear from uh the
[2:43] public. So, we have a few people signed
[2:44] up to speak tonight. Uh, first up, we
[2:46] have Miss Kathy Babidi.
[2:54] [clears throat] Thank you. On behalf of
[2:56] the Plymouth Education Foundation, we'd
[2:57] first like to thank you and recognize
[3:00] the Plymouth Public Schools for their
[3:01] wonderful u campaign for gold goal for
[3:04] hope. We have decided we're tomorrow we
[3:07] will be sending um a check for $1,000 to
[3:10] the Southshore um hope um I'm sorry the
[3:13] Cellshore Action for Hope um and ask
[3:15] that that donation be included with the
[3:17] school's donation because as they say it
[3:19] takes all of us. So we're hoping that our donation along with yours will
[3:23] really make a difference. The only other
[3:25] thing while I'm here is we're I just
[3:27] want to flag we are having a support our
[3:29] schools trivia night in November.
[3:31] 5th is going to be the American
[3:32] Legion. We'll be sending that out this
[3:34] week. Everything's all set to go and we
[3:36] hope we can only accommodate 15 teams,
[3:38] so we're hoping to have a great night
[3:40] and and raise some funds. Thank you.
[3:43] >> Thank you.
[3:45] >> All right. Next up, we have uh Dale
[3:48] Weber and Carrie Cooper Magcguire from
[3:50] Cobra.
[3:59] [snorts]
[4:01] Thank you, Mr. Chairman. For the record,
[4:03] I'm Dale Weber, president of the
[4:05] Collective Bargaining Relief Association
[4:08] with the acronym of COBRA. Tonight, I'm
[4:10] here representing the 78 Plymouth First
[4:13] Student School bus drivers of COBRA.
[4:17] As you are aware, First Student is one
[4:18] of your contractors, and we understand
[4:20] that dynamic perfectly. We also know
[4:23] that a solid working model built on
[4:26] mutual respect with all parties to that
[4:28] service benefits everyone when a
[4:31] peaceful and harmonious relationship
[4:33] exists. It is in that vein that we
[4:36] appear before you tonight to deliver a
[4:38] courtesy communication that we are
[4:40] approaching a somewhat strained
[4:42] relationship due to the collective
[4:44] bargaining with first student and their
[4:47] strong desire to implement a software
[4:49] update to their school bus camera
[4:51] monitoring system.
[4:54] We are nearing [clears throat] the
[4:55] finish line on our new 5-year contract,
[4:58] but are stalled out over this matter.
[5:01] perhaps you could assist us in getting
[5:04] us to the finish line. We currently have
[5:07] seven cameras installed in each school
[5:09] bus that delivers the precious cargo
[5:12] that we transport to and from school
[5:14] each day. Your students,
[5:17] we are okay with that system. We are not
[5:20] long haul cross-country truck drivers
[5:23] hauling heavy cargo 12 hours a day. We
[5:26] are a group of parents, grandparents,
[5:28] and neighbors who adore their cargo,
[5:31] your students.
[5:33] We see them first thing in the morning
[5:35] and last thing after the dismissal bell
[5:37] sounds. But we are troubled by this new
[5:40] system of school bus monitoring called
[5:42] samsara,
[5:45] which by the way,
[5:47] the definition of samsara is the cycles
[5:50] of birth, misery, and death caused by
[5:52] karma.
[5:54] We want to focus tonight solely on the
[5:56] misery this is causing our drivers.
[5:59] It is an AI based camera recording
[6:02] software system that stores its data in
[6:04] the cloud which is more easily
[6:07] accessible than the se seven camera
[6:09] system we are familiar with and have
[6:11] accepted for years. But now an eighth
[6:15] camera will be installed and mounted
[6:17] directly in front of us, capturing the
[6:20] driver's face and sends alerts if the
[6:24] system detects anything even remotely
[6:27] related to a distracted driving
[6:31] impression.
[6:32] Have any of you ever driven a school bus
[6:35] full of students? There are and have
[6:37] been for [clears throat] years, excuse
[6:40] me, distractions all around our drivers,
[6:44] let alone the traffic hazards they
[6:45] encounter. But through all that, our
[6:48] Plymouth drivers have an excellent
[6:49] safety record. Samsara also loops in the
[6:53] other existing cameras
[6:55] of all the students on the bus and again
[6:58] stores it in the cloud-based data that
[7:01] is more easily accessible than the
[7:03] system we currently are familiar with.
[7:06] We look at this as an overreach and an
[7:08] invasion of privacy and are sharing this
[7:11] information so that you are aware of the
[7:13] implications this intrusion may have on
[7:15] you and the extended population that you
[7:19] serve. I could go on, but I want to
[7:21] introduce to you to Carrie Cooper
[7:23] Maguire, a Cobra Stewart and school bus
[7:26] driver, who can tell you more about the
[7:28] boots on the ground impacts this system
[7:30] is distracting our drivers about. Thank
[7:33] you.
[7:35] Carrie,
[7:36] >> thank you, Dale. Thank you.
[7:41] Good evening, members of the school
[7:42] committee. My name is Carrie Cooper
[7:44] Magcguire, and I'm the proud union
[7:46] stewart representing our 78 first
[7:48] student school bus drivers in Plymouth.
[7:51] Thank you for the opportunity to speak
[7:53] about the proposed use of SIMSAR and AI
[7:56] technology on our buses. Our objection
[7:59] to adding AI monitoring alerts inside
[8:02] the cab without a clear safety benefit
[8:05] that outweighs the distraction and loss
[8:07] of privacy. Our drivers share one
[8:11] priority, getting children to and from
[8:13] school safely. We take the
[8:14] responsibility seriously every day,
[8:17] which is why I'm asking you to listen to
[8:19] the drivers before First Student adds
[8:21] this system to our buses. Our buses
[8:24] already have GPS monitoring, seven
[8:27] cameras, and a five-star system that
[8:29] tracks our speed, hard braking, rapid
[8:32] acceleration, and idling. Drivers work
[8:35] hard for their five stars, and we take
[8:37] pride in them. We already have extensive
[8:40] training and tools to promote and
[8:42] measure safe driving. The overwhelming
[8:44] message that I have heard from drivers
[8:47] on AI monitoring feels that it is
[8:50] intrusive. Every driver that has spoken
[8:53] to me is concerned about the facial
[8:57] scanning and having ordinary movements
[9:01] such as taking a drink of water, rubbing
[9:04] your eye, or yawning, all of which will
[9:07] alert the AI system and alert our
[9:10] manager considering the demands of the
[9:13] job. A driver is operating a large bus
[9:15] full of children, watching the road and
[9:18] mirrors, listening to dispatch, and
[9:20] responding to what's happening behind
[9:22] them. In addition, an alert inside the
[9:24] cab would distract us from the road and
[9:26] the children. We [snorts] recognize the
[9:28] value of a forward-facing camera in the
[9:32] road ahead.
[9:34] We ask the committee to support Cobra
[9:36] drivers asking to implement only a
[9:38] forwardfacing camera without the
[9:40] driver's face, facial scanning or inc
[9:43] alerts. Our existing cameras and
[9:45] monitoring system already provide
[9:47] accountability inside the bus and on the
[9:49] road. The seven cameras currently on
[9:51] each bus would feed through the Samsara
[9:55] program, meaning that student footage
[9:56] would be stored on [snorts] an AI
[9:59] system. It would change from a physical
[10:03] tape being removed from the bus to a
[10:06] storage on a national database.
[10:09] Please consider the people behind the
[10:11] wheel and support our request for
[10:12] forward- facing cameras only. We
[10:15] [snorts] are proud of the trust families
[10:16] place in us. Let's keep the focus where
[10:19] it belongs on the road and the children
[10:21] in our care.
[10:23] >> Thank you both.
[10:24] >> Thank you. [clears throat]
[10:31] All right, next up we have uh Collins
[10:33] Fay Martin.
[10:39] » Hi Collins Fay Martin, Gunner's Exchange
[10:42] Road, Plymouth. I wasn't actually going
[10:44] to talk about Sincara, but since I just
[10:46] educated myself on it, um I'm a, as I
[10:49] mentioned last meeting, I'm a special
[10:52] education attorney um who resides here
[10:54] in Plymouth. Uh I think we all most of
[10:58] us share the concerns about the flock
[11:01] cameras that have gone viral and raise
[11:04] um privacy concerns. That said, as a
[11:07] special education attorney in my wealth
[11:09] of experience, I can tell you having a
[11:12] camera doesn't need to be AI, but at
[11:14] least having a camera recording the
[11:16] driver's face and frankly what's going
[11:19] on behind the driver is very important.
[11:22] Keep in mind, most of these don't
[11:23] include audio recording. It's typically
[11:26] just video, but I ran into an incident,
[11:28] not in this district, in another
[11:29] district where on a van there's only an
[11:33] outward- facing camera, but my my
[11:36] client's coming home telling his parent
[11:38] that the driver is getting into um
[11:41] verbal altercations with pedestrians.
[11:43] It's not cap it's not captured on a
[11:46] forward- facing camera. it would have
[11:48] been captured. At least the the
[11:49] aggressive facial expressions, the hand
[11:51] gestures would have been captured on an
[11:54] internally facing camera. We also have
[11:56] some shady things that go on on school
[11:58] buses. So having a an inward facing
[12:01] camera, even if it's not AI, is wise. Um
[12:05] that said, what I did come to tell you
[12:08] about
[12:10] this this week in special education in
[12:12] Plymouth is the observation law. So,
[12:15] what I have run into um is Stacy Rogers
[12:20] specifically has been obstructing
[12:23] parents right to observations consistent
[12:26] with the observation law. Um [snorts] to
[12:29] which I reminded her, this goes to all
[12:33] kids, not just special ed kids. I
[12:36] reminded her that the DESIE advisory on
[12:38] this very topic specifically states that
[12:42] school districts and parents have
[12:43] reported that typically observations are
[12:45] between 1 and four hours. While useful
[12:47] as a general rule, the department
[12:48] recommends that district policies and
[12:50] practices specify that the duration and
[12:52] extent of observations will be
[12:54] determined on an individual basis.
[12:57] Districts should avoid rigid adherence
[13:00] to defined time limits regardless of the
[13:02] students needs and settings to be
[13:04] observed. the complexity of the child's
[13:06] needs as well as the program and
[13:07] programs to be observed should determine
[13:10] what the observation will entail and
[13:11] what amount of time is needed to
[13:13] complete it. So the response from Stacy
[13:18] Rogers is that the district's position
[13:20] remains the same. It is arbitrarily
[13:22] limiting parents to two hours um
[13:26] regardless of what the individual
[13:27] student needs are. I have advocated I'm
[13:31] not particularly concerned about the one
[13:33] student. I'm concerned about how this
[13:34] impacts all students. The fact that
[13:36] we're making arbitrary decisions just
[13:39] because Stacy Rogers can is not
[13:41] appropriate. It's not collaborative.
[13:43] It's not individualized for sure. So, I would ask that the district take a
[13:49] longer look at what its own internal
[13:51] observation policies state. And I would
[13:54] also ask that the district take another
[13:56] look at its observation requirements
[13:58] because they have there is a a a
[14:01] document floating around that's not
[14:03] consistent with the observation law and
[14:05] the fact that I had to come here today
[14:07] to inform you guys. This is stuff you
[14:09] should be hearing from Stacy Rogers
[14:11] herself. It should not be somebody from
[14:13] the public having to come and out this
[14:15] situation. And I could come back here
[14:16] every single month with another topic or
[14:19] 12. Honestly, I could. I just I prefer
[14:21] not to. I would just really like
[14:23] collaboration from the district and it's
[14:25] such a small sideshow of an issue. Um I do encourage the school committee to
[14:31] encourage Stacy Rogers to be more
[14:33] collaborative with families. Thank you.
[14:35] >> Thank you.
[14:38] I don't think we have any anyone else
[14:39] wishing to speak tonight. Think we're
[14:41] good. All right. [clears throat]
[14:43] All right. Next up, we'll move on to our
[14:45] uh high school representatives. We have
[14:47] two uh two young ladies joining us for
[14:49] the their first uh meeting. Welcome both
[14:52] uh Noro O'Neal from Plymouth North and
[14:55] Maline Cox from uh South. Um I'll let uh
[14:58] Maline if you want to go first.
[15:00] >> Yes. Good evening. Um this last week we
[15:03] hosted a club fair for all grade nine
[15:05] students on September 21st. Upperassmen
[15:07] encouraged our grade nine students to
[15:08] get involved in many clubs and
[15:10] organizations at PSHS.
[15:12] As well as we have unified basketball
[15:14] kicks off tomorrow at 3:30 with a game
[15:16] against Marshfield and other and all
[15:18] other fall sports are well underway.
[15:20] It's hard to believe midway point of the
[15:22] first quarter was Friday.
[15:24] Congratulations to Camden Lan who was
[15:26] named condemned student in the 2027
[15:29] National Merit Scholarship Program.
[15:31] National Merit condemned students placed
[15:33] among the top 50,000 students in the
[15:35] country who entered the 2027 competition
[15:37] by achieving high scores in the 2027
[15:40] preliminary SAT. Through this award, it
[15:42] is more than evident that Cam will
[15:44] continue to have incredible academic
[15:46] success in the years ahead. We had a
[15:48] tremendous going and gold week last week
[15:50] at PSHs hosting an openhouse picture
[15:53] day. Due to the creativity for our
[15:55] events and the generosity of our
[15:56] community, PSHS was able to raise over
[15:59] $3,600 for this incredible cause,
[16:01] surpassing last year's totals. Um, last
[16:04] week was a was scheduled to be our
[16:06] homecoming dance, but due to mother
[16:07] nature, we decided to move all
[16:09] festivities to the weekend of October
[16:10] 16th.
[16:12] Um the basketball team of no the
[16:14] baseball team is hosting Scarefest
[16:16] Saturday, October 24th from 6:00 to 8 at
[16:19] the PSHs. The proceeds will benefit the
[16:22] trip to Dodgertown in April. A great
[16:24] deal of local businesses are supporting
[16:26] the event through the trunk or treat.
[16:27] Swing by to support. This year's college
[16:30] fair is October 15th at Plymouth North.
[16:32] We encourage students and staff to wear
[16:34] college gear on the 15th. BSAT for
[16:36] juniors is also on the 15th. The white
[16:38] coat collaboration for juniors in the
[16:40] biomedical program during klock on the
[16:43] 21st of October. All fall sports
[16:45] captain's lunch is October 7th at South.
[16:50] » Thank you for that. All right, next up,
[16:52] Nora.
[16:53] >> Good evening. Last week at Plymouth
[16:56] North was the Go Gold fundraiser. Go
[16:58] Gold is an initiative that raises funds
[17:00] for children fighting cancer. We raised
[17:03] $1,340.
[17:05] Plymouth North will be hosting college
[17:07] visits during all four lunches as well
[17:09] as KB blocks. These visits allow
[17:11] students to speak with a representative
[17:13] of the college or university and get
[17:15] insight about what each school has to
[17:17] offer. A full list of the visiting
[17:19] colleges, university, and armed services
[17:22] can be found on the Plymouth North
[17:23] website.
[17:25] On October 8th, the Plymouth North
[17:27] Student Council will be sending students
[17:29] to Seamask, the Southeastern
[17:31] Massachusetts Association of Student
[17:33] Councils. At Seamask, students will
[17:36] build leadership, communication, and
[17:37] teamwork skills. The Plymouth North High
[17:40] School varsity homecoming game will be
[17:42] held on Thursday, October 8th. The
[17:44] Eagles will face off against the Whitman
[17:46] Hansen Panthers at 7:00 p.m. The
[17:49] homecoming dance is Friday, October 9th
[17:51] from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Early bird
[17:54] tickets are now available on Goofan for
[17:56] $15 until October 2nd. Parents and
[17:59] students can see Mrs. Walcott in room
[18:01] 331 with any questions. Parents and
[18:04] members of the class of 2027 can visit
[18:06] the Plymouth North website or view the
[18:08] PNHS daily bulletin for important
[18:11] up-to-date yearbook deadlines and
[18:13] information.
[18:15] A parent page is offered by Principal
[18:17] Parcelin. This page provides information
[18:19] on anything happening at North. This
[18:22] page may also be found on the PNHS
[18:24] Facebook page as well as the website and
[18:26] is a great way to stay informed on all
[18:28] things PNHS. Thank you.
[18:30] >> All right. Thank you. Thank you both. if
[18:32] you have any questions for our rep
[18:33] representatives.
[18:36] All right, thanks again. Like I said,
[18:37] you guys are welcome to stay as long as
[18:38] you want or leave as early as you need
[18:41] to.
[18:43] All righty. Uh next up, our uh first
[18:47] thing on our main agenda tonight is an
[18:49] update from our special education uh
[18:51] parent advisory council. So, come on up.
[18:57] » Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
[19:11] clicker [clears throat] will should work
[19:13] if you hit the right button.
[19:14] >> This one
[19:15] >> that'll be you.
[19:15] >> Oh, [laughter]
[19:17] >> good evening. Uh,
[19:20] thank you for inviting us tonight and
[19:22] letting us present. My name is Holly
[19:23] Gay. I serve as the chair on the
[19:25] Plymouth CP pack. Um, I'm Shandandy
[19:27] Cardier and I I'm the community
[19:29] development officer on the board.
[19:32] >> I am Stephanie Howie and I am the
[19:35] treasurer.
[19:37] >> And not with us tonight, we have five
[19:38] board members. Uh, we have April Burr
[19:40] who's a vice chair and also acts as our
[19:43] secretary. And we also have Nikki Felton
[19:47] uh new to the board this year and she
[19:48] serves as our CPAC uh district liaison.
[19:52] She's going to have a big focus on
[19:53] collaborating with the school's uh PTAs
[19:55] this year. So, we're real excited.
[20:00] So, uh, Plymouth CPAC, acronym for
[20:03] special education, parent advisory
[20:05] council.
[20:07] Like to emphasize the special education.
[20:10] A lot of times people hear the acronym
[20:12] and think the letter C, PAC, and
[20:14] sometimes when they're looking up CPAC,
[20:17] they might miss us. So, it's special
[20:19] education parent advisory council.
[20:23] Um, our mission is through our advisory
[20:26] and participatory role, the Plymouth
[20:28] CPAC provides a bridge between families,
[20:31] uh, the Plymouth Public School District
[20:33] to collaborate for safe, inclusive,
[20:36] equitable education for all students
[20:38] with disabilities.
[20:41] We empower families, foster
[20:43] collaboration, and promote a culture of
[20:45] respect, understanding, and high
[20:48] expectations for all learners.
[20:54] What is CPAC?
[20:56] Well, we are a parentled council that
[20:58] serves both as an advisory and
[21:00] participatory role in special education
[21:03] to the district and the school
[21:04] committee. Advising on the special
[21:07] education programming and safety of
[21:09] students receiving special education,
[21:12] bringing families together to engage in
[21:14] meaningful conversations
[21:16] to gather feedback, concerns, and input.
[21:21] So basically um the vehicle the way we
[21:25] do that is we have monthly meetings. We
[21:27] have public meetings um usually hosted
[21:29] here in the Mayflower room. This year
[21:31] they're scheduled to be the fourth
[21:33] Wednesday of every month depending on
[21:36] holidays. Um we have that information
[21:40] posted on social media on our CPAC
[21:43] website and you can also find it on the
[21:45] Plymouth Public Schools special
[21:47] education page.
[21:49] In addition to our public meetings, we
[21:52] also meet with our liaison, uh, Stacy
[21:56] Rogers, which is special education
[21:58] director. And this year we'll be meeting
[22:01] with Ashley Shaw and Megan Parker as our
[22:03] school committee liaison. Last year we
[22:05] had Katherine J Jackson who was
[22:07] fabulous. Um, so basically what we do at
[22:11] those smaller meetings outside of our
[22:13] public meetings is we're bringing the
[22:15] input, the voice from the parents back
[22:17] to directly to the school committee and fulfilling our advisory role.
[22:25] Um,
[22:29] CPAC is comprised of board members
[22:31] there. There's five of us currently on
[22:33] the board. Uh, voting members and
[22:36] general members. Uh voting members is
[22:39] basically if you've uh attended two of
[22:42] our public meetings within the last 12
[22:44] months excluding uh elections, you'd be
[22:47] a voting member. And a general members
[22:50] uh anyone that comes to one of our
[22:52] public meetings in the last 12 months,
[22:57] how to become involved?
[23:00] Um, you can attend our our monthly
[23:02] public meetings
[23:04] and again that will lend your voice to
[23:06] our district leadership meetings.
[23:09] Follow us on social media and on our
[23:11] website for information and resources.
[23:14] Uh we're very fortunate the district um
[23:17] coll has collaborated with us and we are
[23:19] part of masspack and so being part of
[23:21] masspack we have um the opportunity for
[23:25] the all access workshops which are
[23:28] available monthly now that calendar goes
[23:30] up every month and they have great
[23:32] workshops such as understanding the IEP
[23:36] um topics on bullying
[23:39] all different types of topics that you
[23:41] can look on the calendar register
[23:44] watch when is convenient with you and,
[23:46] you know, become more educated so you
[23:48] can better advocate for your child and
[23:50] understand special education.
[23:52] Uh, if you can't make it to our
[23:54] meetings, you can always email us,
[23:56] message, uh, provide us with any input,
[23:59] feedback, feedback, um, questions,
[24:01] concerns.
[24:03] You could join one of our, uh, CPAC
[24:05] spin-off caregiver gettogethers. Um, we
[24:09] kind of have those sporadically. Maybe
[24:11] it's a get together for coffee. We've
[24:13] had our sensory swim social. That was kind
[24:17] of a fun thing to do.
[24:20] H [clears throat]
[24:21] so looking ahead uh we have a continued
[24:24] focus on engaging parents in special
[24:26] education discussions and building
[24:28] strong working partnerships
[24:31] working towards goals that are specific
[24:33] to our district
[24:36] uh that are recognized and developed
[24:37] through our continuum of discussions and
[24:41] through our partnerships.
[24:45] And this is a a phrase that really I
[24:47] think resonates with us is that when
[24:49] parents and school districts collaborate
[24:51] um student outcomes significantly
[24:54] improve
[24:55] and at the heart of our mission is the
[24:57] individual students. So really at the
[24:59] heart of our work is trying to engage
[25:02] parents, give them the tools they need,
[25:05] [clears throat]
[25:05] understand the complexities of special
[25:07] education, but have those conversations,
[25:11] you know, with the district with our
[25:13] teachers so that we're becoming a
[25:17] unified team and and trying to, you
[25:20] know, get ahead of issues and and really
[25:22] create the best education plan that the
[25:25] individual child needs.
[25:28] Um, and like somebody already mentioned
[25:30] earlier, it takes all of us. If that if
[25:32] that line isn't true for special
[25:33] education, uh, [laughter]
[25:36] then I don't know what is. So, um,
[25:42] I'd say thank you and
[25:46] come to one of our meetings or find some
[25:49] of our resources.
[25:50] >> Yes.
[25:52] >> Questions,
[25:53] >> provide input. [laughter]
[25:55] >> All right. Okay. Yeah. Thank you.
[25:57] >> Yeah. Now it's our turn. All right.
[25:58] Questions or feedback from the
[25:59] committee.
[26:00] >> Um
[26:02] >> I would love for at least one of you to
[26:06] talk for a minute about how being
[26:07] involved in the group has really helped
[26:10] you. um if you don't mind sharing
[26:12] something cuz I think like being a
[26:14] liazison for the school committee I've
[26:17] seen like the the impact of the
[26:21] programming that you have in educating
[26:23] and uniting families who might otherwise
[26:26] feel alone or overwhelmed by navigating
[26:30] the system on their own. Um, and without
[26:33] having to share too much, you know,
[26:35] maybe you could speak to the impact that
[26:39] the group has had, whatever you feel
[26:41] comfortable with because I've seen it
[26:43] myself.
[26:44] >> You guys know I like to talk.
[26:46] >> Just kidding. Um, [clears throat]
[26:48] >> oh you can say [laughter]
[26:50] well personally um coming into the group
[26:54] I was able to understand more um special
[26:58] education
[27:00] it is very individualized but there's so
[27:02] many different experiences that everyone
[27:05] has and when we are in a room together
[27:07] and talking you can kind of figure out
[27:09] that there's a lot of commonality or
[27:11] needs that are shared across families
[27:14] that when we do get together and we're
[27:16] able to bring that to the district. It
[27:19] is more not more important, but it
[27:21] allows us to communicate that better and
[27:23] clearer. So, that's something that was
[27:25] important that I found of coming to the
[27:28] meetings and being able to just talk
[27:30] with families and caregivers. Um,
[27:34] so that's been huge. And personally,
[27:37] within the last year, um, I have seen a
[27:40] lot of collaboration that's occurred.
[27:42] And so it's been nice to see changes
[27:45] being made from things that we have
[27:46] talked about at our meetings, at our
[27:48] public meetings, and then bringing them
[27:50] to our district um monthly meetings,
[27:52] too. Not to say that there aren't, you
[27:54] know, more things to work on or things
[27:56] to go over, but it's been um really nice
[27:59] in that way. But it's opened my eyes to
[28:02] not just my own individual experience,
[28:04] but
[28:05] >> we have three completely different
[28:08] experiences right here at this table.
[28:10] And it's beautiful that we're able to
[28:12] all like come together and be there for
[28:15] one another, but then also try to be
[28:17] there for whoever else wants to come and
[28:19] talk to us too. And we are very
[28:22] welcoming I feel. [laughter]
[28:24] So please come to the meetings.
[28:26] >> I mean absolutely. And just on top of
[28:30] that is I'm a big believer in knowledge
[28:33] is power and the more you know on both
[28:36] ends um the better outcome that you're
[28:41] going to get. Like before I was a
[28:42] special education mom. I had no idea
[28:45] about any of it. [snorts] Um I also
[28:47] didn't know much about how the schools
[28:49] ran. So, it's like my individual kid, I
[28:52] bring that info up and that can help
[28:56] others who may not be going through the
[28:58] same thing. But my biggest thing that
[29:00] I've noticed is as well is people don't
[29:03] know what your specific child needs
[29:07] unless you bring it to the table and
[29:09] you're, you know, educating everybody on
[29:12] both ends what that looks like and what
[29:14] that child needs. So,
[29:17] I have I'm a huge advocate outside of
[29:20] just the school. So just coming in and
[29:22] being able to, you know, talk to parents
[29:25] that need that information or feel
[29:28] alone, like there may already be things
[29:31] that have happened at one school and a
[29:33] parent's already like conquered that,
[29:35] you know, all that input could be talked
[29:37] about and discussed and, you know,
[29:39] spread throughout the district or even
[29:41] like helping these families feel less
[29:44] alone is huge.
[29:48] >> And I'm sorry, one more thing. And
[29:51] coming into things, you always feel like
[29:53] you're going to have a fight, especially
[29:54] from like a [clears throat] medical
[29:55] complex child parenting. And it was
[30:00] really refreshing this past year, like
[30:02] having so many ears like listening to us
[30:05] and what we need and then seeing actual
[30:08] changes has been huge. So, thank you for
[30:11] that.
[30:12] >> Uh that that's great. Um
[30:13] >> I was just going to say thank you for
[30:15] sharing. I appreciate it. I've seen the camaraderie and the growth and the
[30:20] warmth and acceptance and I think it
[30:22] would help a lot of families to be a
[30:23] part of.
[30:25] >> Yeah, I was and thank you all for you
[30:27] know you and the rest of the board
[30:28] members for stepping up and doing that.
[30:30] I know you get something out of it but
[30:31] you know it it it it is important and
[30:34] helps a uh a lot of people. I know Holly
[30:35] you've been on it for years since I was
[30:37] the leazison on
[30:39] years ago. So it's good that we're
[30:41] getting more people actively involved
[30:43] and yes I definitely encourage the the
[30:45] public. I think the majority of the
[30:46] school committee has or has had kids on
[30:50] IEPs or other things. So, I think we're
[30:52] all very uh appreciative and you know
[30:55] recognize the importance of what you
[30:56] guys you know do. The the one question I
[30:59] would have and you your comments kind of
[31:00] both answered I think yes, but I'll put
[31:03] you on the spot of is what we're doing
[31:07] working are you guys getting the support
[31:08] you need? you have the engagement you
[31:10] need from you whether it's a school
[31:12] committee or administration you know for
[31:14] you guys to you know further your your
[31:16] objectives
[31:19] >> I think um Stacy uh Rogers acting as our
[31:23] liaison she's very responsive
[31:26] um attends all of our meetings if we
[31:30] have a question or an idea she's right
[31:33] on top of it uh Katherine Jackson was
[31:36] our le liaison last not only attended
[31:38] our leaders leadership meetings but made
[31:40] it to a lot of our public meetings. And
[31:41] so we're very excited to um have Ashley
[31:44] and Megan this year as our liaison. So
[31:48] that respect um you know we've we've had
[31:52] meeting spaces and our flyers printed
[31:55] and our information shared and questions
[31:58] answered and out of the box thinking and
[32:03] yeah so we're um I think we did a lot of
[32:08] organization last year and we're kind of
[32:10] over that hump now. And so, um,
[32:14] [snorts] as we stated, we're kind of
[32:16] focused on just furthering our our
[32:18] partnerships and more growth and
[32:21] bringing more parent voice and really
[32:23] getting the message out that that's the
[32:25] heart of the CPAC is the parents voice
[32:28] and everybody has a different
[32:30] experience. We don't even we don't
[32:32] always agree. So, it's really important
[32:34] for parents to come and share ideas um
[32:37] so we can get the results individualized
[32:40] for the kiddos. Thank you. All right.
[32:42] Yeah. Yeah. Forever obviously work
[32:45] through your leaison if there's anything
[32:47] that you know the committee can do more
[32:48] to support you. But appreciate it.
[32:50] >> One question.
[32:51] >> Yeah. Mr. Smartos.
[32:53] >> So what percentage of um families are
[32:55] part of uh CPAC? Like when do you have
[32:59] that data like how many families could
[33:02] join? I mean we're not going to get 100%
[33:03] but where are you guys as far as
[33:06] percentage of families? Um it it kind of
[33:09] fluctuates and I think it depends on
[33:12] you know we the topic or the workshop we
[33:15] might run and if it's convenient you
[33:17] know for parents to come on we have both
[33:20] in person and virtual
[33:22] um I think all CPACs not specific to
[33:26] Plymouth struggle in that in that area
[33:28] and you will see that fluctuation but
[33:31] even people that might not come to the
[33:32] meetings regularly we find that they
[33:35] know where to find us they can check in
[33:36] with email and all of that,
[33:38] >> right?
[33:39] >> Different avenues.
[33:40] >> Yeah. So, someone might not be coming
[33:41] regularly, but they know that this is
[33:44] available.
[33:45] >> I mean, you think there's enough? Yeah.
[33:47] Anything we can do for awareness, Chris?
[33:49] >> Through the chair, if I may.
[33:51] >> Yeah.
[33:51] >> So, to that, a few things. Thank you for your leadership in in your advisory
[33:56] because it's [clears throat] a great
[33:58] partnership and I really appreciate uh
[34:01] this board and everything that you do.
[34:03] Um, regarding outreach, um, we at the
[34:07] meeting in the spring, we talked about
[34:08] doing a promotional video. I have a
[34:10] meeting set this Wednesday with EdTV,
[34:12] the folks that are running this meeting
[34:13] tonight, to do a promotional video to,
[34:16] um, hopefully get some of you on camera,
[34:18] too, to help with that and kind of
[34:20] >> promote CPAC, you know, the benefits to
[34:23] the community, to our families, you
[34:24] know, what it is and, um, you know, what
[34:26] you can get for it as an individual and
[34:28] how you can contribute to that process.
[34:30] So, look forward to doing that with you.
[34:32] And I also appreciate that CPAC will be
[34:35] um a representative on our strategic
[34:37] planning committee as well. So um again
[34:40] making sure that uh no voice is is left
[34:43] out during that process. So really
[34:45] excited about that.
[34:46] >> Yeah, we're excited about that.
[34:47] >> Yeah,
[34:47] >> I think those are two great things.
[34:49] That's I mean to get awareness. So but
[34:51] thank you for all the work you guys do.
[34:53] And I would just note that you know when
[34:58] thinking of data I think while data is
[35:01] important we'd have it at you know the
[35:03] administrative level what's hard is
[35:07] parents based on where they are in their
[35:09] journey right so as we heard from your
[35:12] individual stories based on where you
[35:15] were in your journey is when you decided
[35:17] to seek out the the group. So, it's
[35:20] great that you have that lived
[35:21] experience for families to lean in on
[35:24] and utilizing
[35:26] um opportunities like the video and the
[35:30] promotional materials you have will be
[35:33] definitely beneficial. But whatever you
[35:35] do, don't get discouraged because even
[35:37] if it's just one other family that
[35:39] you're helping, it's it's super
[35:42] important. So, thank you.
[35:44] >> Absolutely.
[35:44] >> Yeah.
[35:45] I feel like a lot of times it's if
[35:48] you come up and you're having a struggle
[35:50] specifically, that's when they'll reach
[35:51] out and but that's what [clears throat]
[35:53] we're here for as well. And
[35:55] >> to have all the stories from other
[35:57] families, we know how to help with that.
[36:01] >> Awesome, Michelle. Um, I think that, um,
[36:04] I'm happy to hear that there will be a
[36:06] representative on strategic planning
[36:08] because I think I've realized more and
[36:09] more that like you don't you don't know
[36:12] until you know and then you don't think
[36:14] of it until you know. So it's like even
[36:17] just to have that
[36:21] voice to say, "Hey, you know, let's
[36:24] think about this population when we're
[36:27] specifically and putting the spotlight
[36:29] on that when we're talking about ways to
[36:31] improve the schools and ways to build
[36:33] community and ways to um build lifelong
[36:37] learners and make sure we're including
[36:39] all populations in that um and making
[36:42] things more accessible to everyone and it's just I people don't mean to
[36:47] forget because they feel guilty when you
[36:51] point it out, but it needs to be pointed
[36:54] out and and it's and everybody needs to
[36:56] understand that you really you don't
[36:58] know until you know. So,
[36:59] >> it's good that you're here and it's good
[37:01] that you're going to be there. So, I'm
[37:03] happy to work with you this year.
[37:05] [clears throat]
[37:05] >> Yeah, good point.
[37:07] >> All right. Any parting thoughts? Very
[37:09] good.
[37:10] >> Takes all of us. [laughter]
[37:12] >> Thank you. Thank you all.
[37:14] >> Thank you.
[37:19] » [clears throat]
[37:22] » All right. Next up, we have the the uh
[37:26] first installment in our budget
[37:28] education uh series. This one is about
[37:31] understanding school district revenue,
[37:33] grant limitations, cost containment
[37:35] measures, and future fiscal planning.
[37:37] So, Dr. Campbell and Dr. Blazil,
[37:41] >> thank you very much. get my glasses
[37:43] situated so I can actually
[37:47] see what I'm doing. So, good evening
[37:49] everyone. So, you know, as you just
[37:51] said, tonight marks sort of the launch
[37:53] of the educational budget series. So, uh
[37:56] the goal of our five-part series is is
[37:58] pretty simple. It's really to provide as
[38:01] much transparency
[38:03] uh to our fiscal conditions, to the
[38:06] fiscal process as possible. So before we
[38:08] enter the FY28 budget cycle, we want
[38:12] everyone in PL to clearly understand how
[38:14] school funding works in Massachusetts,
[38:16] where our revenue comes from, how costs
[38:19] grow, and what proactive steps we've
[38:21] taken and and will continue to take um
[38:25] you know, as we stretch every dollar
[38:27] that we have available to us. So
[38:28] tonight, we'll kind of lay the
[38:30] foundation of our financial framework
[38:32] and historical efficiency.
[38:35] Um so you know as we you know our
[38:39] discussion tonight is kind of broken up
[38:40] into three main sections. First how
[38:42] we're funded. So we'll sort of explain
[38:46] how chapter 70 chapter 70 state aid
[38:49] local tax appropriations special
[38:52] education circuit breaker and why
[38:54] operational costs naturally grow faster
[38:56] than revenue. Um we'll get into
[38:59] additional funding realities. uh clarify
[39:01] some common misconceptions grounded
[39:03] around grants and revolving accounts.
[39:06] More specifically, why grant funding
[39:08] cannot legally or practically solve
[39:10] certain operational deficits. And then
[39:12] we'll get into some past efficiencies
[39:14] and uh fiscal outlooks. will review
[39:17] concrete cost containment measures we've
[39:19] taken and implemented from solar energy
[39:22] to in-house transportation to
[39:24] specialized indisted
[39:27] programs and discuss why you know pure
[39:30] efficiencies have kind of hit their
[39:32] limit as we enter FY28.
[39:37] So to kind of understand our budget
[39:39] we'll first look at where our money
[39:42] comes from. So these are really the the
[39:45] primary revenue streams. So the the
[39:47] largest two being municipal
[39:48] appropriation or a local tax levy. Um
[39:51] this is our largest funding source which
[39:53] is derived from Plymouth town property
[39:55] taxes uh which is governed by
[39:57] proposition 2 and a half. So, you know,
[39:59] we can only ex exceed um last year's
[40:02] taxing uh by a certain percentage. And
[40:05] then chapter 70, which is state aid, and
[40:08] that's calculated by Desi by enrollment,
[40:11] student demographics, and the town's
[40:14] local effort capability. There are
[40:17] secondary uh and specialized funding
[40:19] streams that are part of our budget
[40:20] including special education circuit
[40:22] breaker which I'll get into in a little
[40:24] bit uh which is state reimbursement
[40:26] program for extraordinary high-cost
[40:28] special education services. There are
[40:31] federal and state grants uh restricted
[40:33] grants like title one and IDA tied
[40:36] specifically to fally manded programs as
[40:39] well as chapter 74 funding uh for CCT.
[40:43] And then we have revolving funds and
[40:45] fees uh which are user supported
[40:47] accounts like our prek tuitions tech
[40:51] revolving accounts, athletics, building
[40:53] rentals and food services. And then also
[40:56] which is very uh supportive of us is
[40:59] donations from local nonprofits are our
[41:01] PTAs and other groups that are providing
[41:03] resources
[41:05] uh that support the programs in our
[41:08] schools.
[41:12] So we want to directly dive into chapter
[41:15] 70 state aid. So how it's performed over
[41:17] the last eight years and what that means
[41:19] for Plymouth taxpayers.
[41:21] So if you look at this graph and I I
[41:23] have a table after this as well. Sorry
[41:26] it's clicking. There we go. If you look
[41:28] at this graph in in FY20 chapter 78
[41:31] state aid funded 26.31%
[41:34] of our total operating budget. Um, fast
[41:38] forward to FY27, present day, and state
[41:41] aid covers just 23.53%.
[41:45] That's a net drop of 2.78%.
[41:48] Um, in the state's relative
[41:50] contribution. So, while the state a
[41:52] dollar amounts have grown modestly, they
[41:54] failed to keep pace with the total
[41:57] district operational costs, which is
[41:59] important to to highlight.
[42:08] Can you Thank you. Um, here's the exact
[42:11] numeric breakdown. So, in FY20, you can
[42:13] see our total operational budget was
[42:15] 100.2 million and chapter 78 aid was
[42:18] 26.37
[42:20] million. By FY27, our total budget
[42:24] reached 133 million while state aid rose
[42:28] um to 31.32 million. So, you notice that
[42:32] while our total um operational needs
[42:35] grew by over 32 million, state aid only
[42:38] increased by less than 5 million over
[42:40] that entire 8-year period.
[42:47] So,
[42:50] this sidebyside comparison kind of
[42:52] reveals the core that core structural uh
[42:55] challenge that we're facing in Plymouth.
[42:56] So, our total municipal school budget
[42:59] again expanded by almost 33% or 32.8%
[43:04] or $33 million over that 8-year period,
[43:07] while chapter 70 grew by 18.8%
[43:11] or just under 5 million. Um, so this
[43:13] divergence creates that winding
[43:16] financial gap that local property tax
[43:19] must bridge um otherwise.
[43:23] So to kind of summarize, so far our
[43:25] budget base has expanded um to meet the
[43:28] inflationary
[43:30] realities in student needs um over that
[43:32] period of time from 100 to 133 million.
[43:35] State aid has grown at a moderate base,
[43:38] excuse me, at a moderate pace at best um
[43:41] adding just under $5 million. So
[43:43] consequently, the state funding ratio
[43:45] has declined, meaning that Plymouth
[43:46] taxpayers are being asked to contribute
[43:49] a larger percentage of public education
[43:51] costs every year.
[43:54] So looking ahead, oh that's my slide.
[43:58] All right. So looking ahead, while we
[43:59] must be realistic in our revenue
[44:02] projections, we, you know, we can't
[44:04] assume a sudden windfall in state aid
[44:06] unless the Commonwealth alters its
[44:08] statutory uh funding formula, and that's
[44:10] being looked at under committee, but
[44:12] that's going to take some time. So, you
[44:14] know, we can anticipate um I think a
[44:16] good prediction would be that to
[44:18] anticipate state aid stabilizing year 23
[44:21] to 24% of our overall budget, we've
[44:23] typically go with level state aid from
[44:26] year to year. Um meaning that local
[44:29] revenue is the primary vehicle that's
[44:31] going to support essential school
[44:33] operations.
[44:34] So, um
[44:36] you know, that's that. Um so you know
[44:39] why you know just for the public to
[44:41] understand like why do school districts
[44:43] AC you know not just Plymouth but across
[44:45] Massachusetts face these recurring
[44:47] structural deficit it really comes down
[44:49] to again fixed costs and we'll get into
[44:52] that at the next meeting even greater
[44:54] what those are but fixed costs outpacing
[44:57] capped revenues. So, our primary costs
[44:59] such as our contractual cost of living
[45:01] adjustments, step increases, state
[45:04] mandates for services, health care,
[45:07] utility inflation, and you know, they're
[45:10] naturally growing 4 and a half to 6% a
[45:13] year. Um, even to maintain level
[45:16] services, and we've seen that in our
[45:17] budgets, right? Um uh and then with a
[45:20] revenue cap, you know, municipal revenue
[45:22] being constrained by Proposition 2 and a
[45:24] half, uh new growth being capped, uh the
[45:27] state aid is is capped by that formula
[45:30] limit. So when you have expenditures
[45:32] that are growing at 5% and revenues
[45:34] growing at three, that structural gap is
[45:36] going to open every single year,
[45:39] compounding over time. And that's where
[45:40] we see ourselves getting um you know,
[45:43] it's [clears throat] getting even
[45:44] greater as we move forward.
[45:47] I mentioned circuit breaker
[45:49] reimbursement be one of the larger uh
[45:51] sort of funding uh you know formulas
[45:54] that support us in special education. So
[45:56] I want to examine that a little bit
[45:58] because this is a critical state
[45:59] reimbursement for us for extraordinary
[46:01] high cost to student services.
[46:04] So um
[46:08] my clicker's on a delay. There we go. So
[46:12] state circuit breaker program reimbures
[46:14] districts for highcost special education
[46:16] services that exceed what's called a
[46:19] statutory threshold. So as you can see
[46:22] here in FY20 if you look at the um the
[46:25] bottom row our total eligible high-cost
[46:29] special education expenses were just
[46:31] under 7 million. It was at 6.84 million
[46:35] uh which generated 8 excuse me 2.85
[46:38] million in state reimbursement. So
[46:40] 41.76%
[46:42] of that by FY26 those eligible costs
[46:46] have reached over 10 million 10.43
[46:50] generating 4.7 million in reimbursement
[46:53] or 45.1%.
[46:56] So you know being that's pretty
[46:57] consistent in terms of the percentage.
[46:59] So even with state reimbursement
[47:00] Plymouth Public Schools is still
[47:02] responsible for you know 55 to 61% of
[47:05] these high-cost expenditures.
[47:08] um you know just over 6 million or 6.38
[47:11] million in in FY26.
[47:15] Just another way of looking at it. So a
[47:17] visual highlighting those two trends.
[47:19] First, our total eligible special
[47:21] education costs crossed the $10 million
[47:23] threshold for the first time in FY26.
[47:26] Um second um you know while
[47:28] reimbursement dollars have increased the
[47:30] gap um between the total cost and the
[47:34] net district responsibility you know
[47:36] that continues to expand for us as well.
[47:43] Um so just to kind of break that up a
[47:45] little bit more um in terms of how
[47:49] circuit breaker is calculated. I know
[47:51] this is hard to see on the screen in
[47:53] here and hopefully the slides are um are
[47:55] in electronic school board too but um
[47:58] the states again sets a a claim
[48:01] threshold. So only costs above this per
[48:04] pupil threshold are eligible for
[48:06] reimbursement
[48:07] um add up to about 75%. So notice how
[48:11] this threshold has increase. So if you
[48:12] look at FY20
[48:14] on the bottom row,
[48:17] um it was $48,352
[48:20] per student. So once you reach that
[48:23] expenditure for expenses for a
[48:25] particular student, you could put a
[48:27] claim in. Okay. Um by FY27,
[48:32] that cost that that threshold rose to
[48:34] 54,906.
[48:37] So there's been a 13.5% increase to that
[48:40] threshold over time. So a claim is no
[48:42] longer eligible unless it exceeds 54,906
[48:46] and then it's based on a you know the
[48:48] difference of that and a percentage of
[48:50] the total expense. So on a positive note
[48:53] the state law did expand circuit breaker
[48:55] to cover out of district transportation
[48:58] uh moving from zero and 20 to you know
[49:01] 68 to 75% present day. So that provides
[49:04] some key support for specialized
[49:07] transportation. So that is a good thing.
[49:08] But um again it's a it's an expense in
[49:11] the and that threshold has risen
[49:13] [clears throat] over time as well.
[49:18] So this kind slide kind of synthesizes
[49:20] that entire funding story kind of into
[49:24] one. Uh so between FY20 and FY27 our
[49:27] budget again has grown by almost 33
[49:30] million. State aid has only grown by
[49:32] under 5 million. uh which means that
[49:35] state aid covered just 15.1% of our
[49:39] growth or a dollar out of every $6.60 in
[49:43] new operational costs. So Plymouth
[49:46] Municipal Property Taxes have to
[49:48] shoulder the remaining 84.9%
[49:52] or $5.60
[49:54] out of every $660
[49:58] again. So it's just fall it's falling on
[50:01] the local taxpayers.
[50:03] So, you know, a question we frequently
[50:06] hear is, you know, why can't we use
[50:08] federal state grants to kind of sort of
[50:10] fix some of our budget shortfall? So,
[50:13] there's really, you know, a few reasons,
[50:15] you know, important reasons and fiscal
[50:17] reasons for that. So, first is
[50:19] restricted versus unrestricted. So,
[50:21] grants like IDEIDA, special education
[50:24] grant, and title one, which is for uh
[50:26] low income, uh are legally restricted to
[50:29] specific student support programs. uh
[50:32] they can't pay for standard classroom
[50:34] teacher salaries or building you know
[50:36] utilities and heating obviously so
[50:38] there's limitations there and
[50:40] restrictions. There's also federal
[50:42] non-supplanting rules uh particularly
[50:45] with title one for example. So federal
[50:47] law would forbid using grant dollars to
[50:49] replace existing local funds. So doing
[50:52] so u would be a violation and result in severe penalties of course. And then
[50:57] there's that one-time grant clip. So,
[51:00] you know, grants you depending on the
[51:01] grant, it could be a one-year grant, it
[51:03] could be a multi-year grant. Uh, we do
[51:05] have some grants that are three years.
[51:07] Um, but funding permanent staff with
[51:11] temporary grants is very risky, but also
[51:14] creates a se severe fiscal cliff when
[51:17] those grants end and it's something that
[51:19] you have to be very careful about. So,
[51:20] that's just to kind of let the public
[51:22] know.
[51:24] Similarly, you know, we have revolving
[51:26] accounts and Dr. Stella has reported on
[51:28] these quite a bit but you know our
[51:30] revolving funds like athletics building
[51:33] rentals our prek tuitions and the
[51:36] circuit breaker carryover which we use
[51:37] as a carryover those are dedicated
[51:40] reserves so they provide you know
[51:42] short-term cash flow buffers and and Dr.
[51:44] Blazelle spoke to how like an example of
[51:47] transportation we've used that buffer
[51:50] quite you know significantly this year
[51:52] to to to address the the contract. So
[51:55] again, it provides a short-term cash
[51:57] flow buffer, but um so buffering an
[52:00] unexpected, you know, enrollment spike
[52:02] in a certain program, you know, may be
[52:04] the case or transportation. But, you
[52:06] know, relying on one-time reserve
[52:09] balances uh to fund baseline operations
[52:12] only makes a structural deficit and and
[52:14] guarantees a state a steeper cliff once
[52:17] those reserves are depleted because you
[52:19] need to account for those the following
[52:21] year. So, it's very risky uh to do that
[52:24] and and should only be done in desperate times.
[52:30] Um I think it's important to kind of
[52:32] highlight some of the proactive steps
[52:34] that we've taken um for at least a
[52:37] decade now. Uh Plymouth Public Schools
[52:39] hasn't just asked for more funding. Uh
[52:41] we've aggressively audited our
[52:43] operations to generate internal savings,
[52:46] you know. So, some of the key
[52:48] initiatives that we've done really um
[52:50] harnessing rooftop solar um as well as
[52:53] solar leasing uh the solar fields to
[52:55] dramatically cut utility costs. Um,
[52:58] we've recently signed a Amoresco
[53:00] performance contract. Um, you know,
[53:03] helping to self-fund like building HVAC,
[53:05] LED lighting upgrades through energy
[53:08] savings and kind of putting those
[53:10] investments. I mean, putting those
[53:12] savings back in and investing them into
[53:14] our buildings, further, you know,
[53:16] reducing our energy uh, needs and costs.
[53:21] transportation route op optimizations.
[53:23] We've had multiple assessments of that
[53:26] um in the last few years and really
[53:28] looking at um our tiered busing to
[53:31] consolidate and and be as efficient as
[53:33] we can without um you know jeopardizing
[53:36] the quality um of services of course and
[53:40] then Medicaid um you know really getting
[53:42] our staff to maximize um you know what
[53:46] they're doing on their part to do the
[53:48] medic the Medicaid claims our nurses our
[53:50] special education staff who do all of
[53:53] these services, the health services and
[53:55] related services uh to get those claims
[53:58] because it's money that comes back to
[54:00] the town. And we're very fortunate to
[54:02] receive some of those funds that
[54:04] supports
[54:05] uh the really important programming that
[54:07] we're doing for our kids both in special
[54:09] education and in our health offices.
[54:13] Um so just kind of highlight one of
[54:15] those and I'll highlight the solar and
[54:17] we've done this in the past. So this is
[54:19] kind of proof of that you know
[54:21] stewardship over the last decade. So for
[54:23] the past 10 years from 2016 to 2026 you
[54:28] know without our solar power purchase
[54:30] agreements um our estimated electric
[54:33] costs would have exceeded $21.1 million.
[54:36] So through those solar fields and the
[54:39] net metering credits that we've received
[54:40] our uh net payments were only 11.4
[54:44] million. So we've generated almost 8.5
[54:47] million in net cost avoidance over a
[54:49] decade. So imagine what you know what
[54:52] we'd be going without or asking for uh
[54:55] from the town if we needed an additional
[54:58] 8.5 million to to cover our electric
[55:00] bills. Um so you know in 2026 alone
[55:04] solar saved the district you know 1.51
[55:07] million. So I think it's a great
[55:09] example. Um, transportation is another
[55:13] area that we continue to be very
[55:15] transparent and look at um our
[55:19] efficiencies and how we can sort of
[55:21] maximize our um our our pool of uh vans
[55:25] and really looking at um I know we did
[55:27] the study for our our bus study, but
[55:31] also looking at our our vans and how we
[55:33] can maximize opportunities to do some of
[55:36] that um internally. I don't know if you
[55:38] want to speak to this one more
[55:40] specifically. Sure,
[55:41] >> Dr. Blaze.
[55:42] >> Um, one of the things that you've
[55:43] noticed over the past couple years is we
[55:44] have bought some some vans um to provide
[55:47] our own uh specialized transportation.
[55:50] Um we did that with Esser funds. Um and
[55:53] we've been trying to continue to buy one
[55:55] van per year um with capital. So what I've been doing is really looking
[56:01] at if we were to take over more van
[56:03] routes, what would that look like? What
[56:05] would that cost us? Um, so if we did
[56:08] internally, if we were looking at this
[56:10] year, um, if it's if a driver took
[56:14] insurance, it would cost us about $338
[56:17] per day. If the driver didn't take
[56:19] insurance, it would cost us just under
[56:21] $200 per day to run a van. Um, whereas
[56:25] if we are looking at van poolool, we're
[56:26] currently paying them $338,
[56:29] just over $338 a day. Um, oh, actually,
[56:33] no, I think that's a little higher.
[56:35] Sorry. Um it is next page $343
[56:40] per right now for Vampoo. Um so we would
[56:43] actually start s we're really just
[56:45] starting to save money if a driver took
[56:47] insurance. Um next year is where we
[56:49] start to see a little bit of a
[56:50] difference. Um it next year we would pay
[56:53] someone three we would pay $343
[56:56] versus 204 depending on if the driver
[56:58] took insurance or not. My glasses are
[57:01] not large enough so I'm actually messing
[57:02] up the vanool numbers. There we go. Um,
[57:06] so basically if we look at Vanpool, um,
[57:09] we're actually paying 359. Um, first
[57:11] student next year we paying 436. So we
[57:14] would be starting to save a larger
[57:16] amount of money when we if we start
[57:17] taking it over next year. Um, and that's
[57:19] by leasing a van. That's not by
[57:21] purchasing a van. So that actually
[57:22] includes the lease cost as well.
[57:26] >> Thank you.
[57:28] >> Stell spends a lot of time on
[57:29] transportation.
[57:31] Um I think uh perhaps one of the most
[57:34] impactful efficiencies which is also
[57:36] good for kids and families is the is the
[57:39] um the building of our specialized in
[57:41] district program. So um you know when
[57:44] our high need students are placed out of
[57:46] district and you know primarily
[57:48] collaboratives in many cases you know
[57:50] those tuition average almost $79,000
[57:54] per student plus you're looking at you
[57:56] know $30,000 sometimes in specialized
[57:58] van transportation. Uh, Nathaniel Morton
[58:01] is our newest and I just want to
[58:02] highlight that. Um, and it's gone off to
[58:04] a great start and been in there recently
[58:07] myself. So, at Nathaniel Morton, we've
[58:08] created an additional Strive program to
[58:10] educate students right here in our home
[58:12] community. It's just an a new addition.
[58:15] Um, so when you look at purely
[58:18] financial, I'm just talking about the
[58:20] finances right now. If you look at the the finances of the Stride program,
[58:24] so sending
[58:26] 12 students uh to an out of district
[58:29] collaborative would cost almost
[58:30] $950,000,
[58:32] right? And after circuit breaker
[58:33] reimbursement, which I talked about
[58:35] previously for um the threshold cost,
[58:38] the net cost to Plymouth would be
[58:40] $730,854.
[58:42] Right? So instead by, you know, when we
[58:46] have an opportunity to to to educate our
[58:48] kids here in Plymouth, to staff it
[58:52] properly and keep kids um in their
[58:55] community, um funding a a program with
[58:58] 12 with two dedicated teachers, five
[59:00] dedicated par profofessionals, a speech
[59:02] language pathologist, plus the
[59:04] availability of all the other resources
[59:06] that already exist in the school. that
[59:09] cost us $373,615
[59:13] you know so over the last 12 years or so
[59:16] and I've been here for this is my 19th
[59:18] started my 19th year um you know due to
[59:21] decline we had almost 9,000 students
[59:23] when I started here we're you know we're south of 7,000 now but in that
[59:29] time you know we don't have a lot of
[59:31] space in our buildings as you all know
[59:33] and people like how is that possible but
[59:35] in that time since Dr. Rogers has been
[59:38] here particularly our department, you
[59:40] know, under her direction has been able
[59:42] to develop a continuum of services and
[59:45] programs from preK through age 22 for
[59:48] our students requiring more specialized
[59:50] support, which is a wonderful thing. Um,
[59:53] so this has helped keep students in our
[59:55] community that otherwise would have had
[59:57] to look elsewhere. Um, but additionally,
[1:00:00] it has helped to cost avoid well over $8
[1:00:03] million.
[1:00:05] um probably more than that but just you
[1:00:07] know conservatively. So you this is one
[1:00:09] example we have 280 students that are
[1:00:11] take that are benefiting from our
[1:00:13] programs. So the math is good the
[1:00:17] quality of programming is good. Uh it's
[1:00:20] and it's good for Plymouth. So again
[1:00:22] another way we're investing and also
[1:00:24] trying to be good stewards of our
[1:00:26] taxpayer dollars. So, you know, now
[1:00:29] we're we're talking about like sort of
[1:00:31] def moving forward and kind of
[1:00:33] distinguishing our choices as we move
[1:00:35] forward. And we're going to get into
[1:00:37] greater details in in a lot of things,
[1:00:39] but you know, as we begin preparing for
[1:00:42] FY28 budget, you know, it's really
[1:00:44] crucial that we kind of use, I think,
[1:00:47] precise language when we're discussing
[1:00:49] our financial decisions. So there's
[1:00:51] operational efficiencies which we've
[1:00:53] been talking about this evening. You
[1:00:54] know, cutting costs without impacting
[1:00:57] student services, solar leasing, bus
[1:01:00] route optimizations, bulk purchasing,
[1:01:03] collaborative purchasing. Um those are
[1:01:06] great examples. Service reduction, you
[1:01:08] know, that's where cuts that directly
[1:01:09] impact programs and classrooms. So,
[1:01:11] increased class sizes, elective
[1:01:14] reductions,
[1:01:15] um staff eliminations, those are things
[1:01:18] that fortunately we have yet to have to
[1:01:20] deal with. Our class sizes have gone up
[1:01:22] in some cases, but it's typically
[1:01:23] because the enrollment has gone down.
[1:01:26] We've always maintained a cap of 22 preK
[1:01:29] to two and 25 uh beyond that. That's
[1:01:32] sort of the soft cap that we've we've
[1:01:34] used and we've talked about that
[1:01:36] publicly and and here um as a group. And
[1:01:40] then, you know, beyond that, you're
[1:01:42] looking at structural changes and
[1:01:43] certainly not a proponent of any of
[1:01:46] this. And you see, we've seen this in
[1:01:47] other communities. You know, fundamental
[1:01:48] redesigns of how things operate. School
[1:01:51] building consolidations, grade
[1:01:52] configurations, schedule overhauls.
[1:01:55] These are things that other communities
[1:01:56] have had to deal with. Um, these are
[1:01:58] really sort of the three buckets of
[1:02:00] decisions you're making. Um, when you
[1:02:03] look at this is a slide that I presented
[1:02:05] last year in our budget. This table I
[1:02:09] really feel is demonstrates our
[1:02:10] commitment to our staff and ultimately
[1:02:13] our students um over everything else. So
[1:02:16] uh you may recall this from last year
[1:02:18] table shows the shift from 26 to 27 this
[1:02:22] year. So note that our total salary
[1:02:24] increase was 4.14%.
[1:02:27] That added, you know, just over $4
[1:02:29] million to our overall budget. This
[1:02:31] shows our commitment to honoring the
[1:02:33] collective bargain agreements um and our
[1:02:35] the staffing of of our of our our
[1:02:38] buildings. Uh to balance that
[1:02:42] um with our strict town allocation, we
[1:02:45] pull back non salary items. So notice
[1:02:48] that supplies and materials are a
[1:02:51] negative growth of you know 1.77%.
[1:02:54] We squeeze squeeze materials out so that
[1:02:56] we wouldn't have to squeeze out
[1:02:57] personnel. We had to make significant
[1:02:59] reductions in non-personal lines. So our
[1:03:02] overall non-personal
[1:03:04] non-s salary lines went up less than
[1:03:06] 1%.84%.
[1:03:08] That includes contracts, contracted
[1:03:11] services. So we have you know we have
[1:03:13] squeezed blood out of a stone to get the
[1:03:16] number to that. Um so just again for the
[1:03:19] public to keep in mind these are lines
[1:03:21] that include all of our contracts
[1:03:22] including transportation, special
[1:03:24] education placements and other
[1:03:25] contracted services. um which as we know
[1:03:28] have increased considerably. So I think
[1:03:31] this confirms that you know
[1:03:32] non-personnel line items have been
[1:03:35] squeezed um as tight as as possible. So
[1:03:39] I think
[1:03:44] there we go. Sort of a takeaway for this
[1:03:48] evening. Uh I think a decade of
[1:03:50] aggressive cost containment on our part.
[1:03:53] solar, you know, amaresco contracts, our
[1:03:55] buses, our in district investments means
[1:03:59] that, you know, we virtually zeroed
[1:04:01] non-personnel efficiency dollars left to
[1:04:03] squeeze out. And as we head into FY28,
[1:04:07] level service costs will likely exceed
[1:04:10] that baseline revenue growth. We we can
[1:04:12] anticipate that for sure. So balancing
[1:04:15] our future budgets is really going to
[1:04:17] require a conscious community decision
[1:04:19] regarding local municipal tax
[1:04:21] investment, service reductions or you
[1:04:24] know other other decisions you know. Um
[1:04:27] so um that's where we are tonight in
[1:04:30] terms of kind of give laying the
[1:04:32] groundwork and as a reminder we you know
[1:04:35] um we will continue to do this next next
[1:04:37] meeting. We're going to get into budget
[1:04:39] constraints. We're going to dive into a
[1:04:41] lot of those um the operate large
[1:04:44] operational costs and mandates and
[1:04:46] non-negotiables.
[1:04:47] Uh meaning thereafter we'll get into um
[1:04:50] a lot of the major cost drivers,
[1:04:51] personnel, employee benefits, kind of
[1:04:54] the structure behind our buildings and
[1:04:57] the details behind that. Um we'll we'll
[1:05:01] spend time looking at special education
[1:05:03] expenses and transportation across the
[1:05:05] district. and then hopefully by meeting
[1:05:07] five having conversations about, you
[1:05:10] know, kind of pulling that all together
[1:05:11] and and and hopefully having a a better
[1:05:14] direction as community as to uh where
[1:05:16] we're going as we design FY or proposed
[1:05:19] FY28's budget. So, happy to um answer
[1:05:24] any questions, but for the public, this
[1:05:26] will go on our website. Um we'll put all
[1:05:28] of our budget presentations on the
[1:05:30] website. This is Dr. Bldale's finance
[1:05:32] page, our contact information. Um,
[1:05:36] again, budget constraints, mandates, and
[1:05:38] non non-negotiables will be the October
[1:05:41] 19th discussion. Um, happy to answer any
[1:05:45] questions.
[1:05:46] >> All right. Yeah. Thank Thank you, Dr.
[1:05:47] Thank you so much for doing this. I
[1:05:48] think it definitely helps the public and
[1:05:50] I think it probably helps. I'm sure each
[1:05:52] of the committee members get something
[1:05:53] out of it as well. Start with Miss
[1:05:55] Jackson and Miss Bryant. [clears throat]
[1:05:57] >> Thank you for your presentation. I feel
[1:05:59] like it really did a good job in
[1:06:01] highlighting
[1:06:03] um like what overall goes into the
[1:06:05] budget and I think going into like the
[1:06:07] mandates especially the unfunded
[1:06:09] mandates will paint an even broader
[1:06:11] picture of what we're obligated to um
[1:06:15] impact and you also did a great job in
[1:06:18] pointing out how this will impact the
[1:06:20] students. Um I would love to talk about
[1:06:26] why this matters to the people who don't
[1:06:28] have children in our d in our district
[1:06:31] but also are still paying for these you
[1:06:34] know as people face rising costs who
[1:06:37] might be on fixed incomes
[1:06:40] um I think it's important to also talk
[1:06:43] about how having a good school district
[1:06:46] impacts them and um why it matters to
[1:06:49] them. Yeah, I can think of a whole host
[1:06:52] of reasons, right? One, we're we're we are um investing in our future um consumers in this
[1:07:03] community, the future contributors to
[1:07:05] this community. I think um strong
[1:07:09] communities that support education have
[1:07:12] lots of strong outcomes as a community.
[1:07:15] Um when when you see that decline and
[1:07:20] resources suffer and schools suffer,
[1:07:23] ultimately um your um property taxes
[1:07:28] suffer, which is a a just a perpetual
[1:07:33] issue, which [snorts] further reduces
[1:07:35] your revenue, which further reduces the
[1:07:38] available resources for a community,
[1:07:40] which affects all sectors of our town
[1:07:43] municipal budget. So, um it's really
[1:07:47] important to invest in education
[1:07:48] regardless. Um and I think we are very
[1:07:51] mindful of um the tax burden on people
[1:07:56] and do everything we can to not ask for
[1:07:59] anything that we don't think is
[1:08:01] important. Um but I can tell you when I
[1:08:04] first started here
[1:08:06] 18 years ago, we had we didn't have the
[1:08:09] programs that we have now. We had very
[1:08:12] few kids that took world language. We
[1:08:14] had a a very um very very minimal visual
[1:08:19] and performing arts program. We had
[1:08:21] students that weren't fully scheduled at
[1:08:24] the high schools. I don't know why, but
[1:08:27] they weren't. Um so the resources
[1:08:29] weren't going in the right place. we
[1:08:32] through the support of this town and
[1:08:34] this community um and the and the
[1:08:36] collective work and and the credib
[1:08:38] building the credibility I think with
[1:08:40] the schools uh we were we've been
[1:08:43] supported generously
[1:08:46] um and have built something I think in
[1:08:48] the last dozen or so years that is we
[1:08:50] we're really proud of and and the
[1:08:52] community should be really proud of and
[1:08:54] it's good for kids. Um, I worry about
[1:08:59] what happens if we can't continue that
[1:09:01] and what that would do to the next
[1:09:02] generation of kids that go through PLT.
[1:09:08] I think that's a great point Miss
[1:09:11] Jackson brings up and I think it's would
[1:09:14] be beneficial to add that that lens of
[1:09:20] those who don't have someone in the
[1:09:23] district to possibly meeting five. I
[1:09:26] have to say this presentation,
[1:09:29] my time here has been honestly the most
[1:09:33] helpful in regards to peeling back the
[1:09:36] layers of what goes into the budget. you
[1:09:40] I think that it's difficult when you
[1:09:43] appear at town meeting or you appear at
[1:09:46] the select board and have to discuss a
[1:09:50] fragment of the overall budget that
[1:09:54] appears so large and people not
[1:09:56] understanding which parts of the budget
[1:09:59] is a must. Which part of the budget that
[1:10:03] the administration fights for? which
[1:10:07] part of the budget that you have grant
[1:10:10] writers and programs that seek out
[1:10:13] additional dollars will be very helpful
[1:10:16] in people understanding what type of
[1:10:18] impact that that this makes. So, I'm I'm
[1:10:22] honestly looking forward to the other
[1:10:25] four meetings in the series. I think
[1:10:27] it's just important to remind the public
[1:10:30] where I'm just coming off of my last
[1:10:32] campaign that districts across
[1:10:35] Massachusetts are fa facing all of the
[1:10:38] same problems, right? So inflation,
[1:10:41] rising gas prices, that attributes
[1:10:43] directly back to busing and
[1:10:45] transportation and increased cost of
[1:10:48] outsourced special education, increases
[1:10:50] in healthcare. all of those things that
[1:10:53] just in this presentation alone you've
[1:10:55] addressed to a point. Um I would say
[1:11:00] um what I think I would find beneficial
[1:11:03] if on slide three as well as you know
[1:11:07] the upcoming slides if you could be
[1:11:10] specific about which of those funding
[1:11:12] and and I mean when I say specific I'm
[1:11:15] talking about me as a non-math girly
[1:11:18] like I I hate the numbers but I was very
[1:11:23] interested in how this was all broken
[1:11:25] down if in Slide three, you can
[1:11:29] highlight what are those pockets of of
[1:11:31] dollars that are stable that are like
[1:11:35] those guarantees that we expect every
[1:11:37] year because it's part of our makeup.
[1:11:40] And then which are those that we're
[1:11:42] moving and we're fighting for. So you
[1:11:44] made a point to talk about the grants
[1:11:47] where we would not want to um hire
[1:11:51] someone based on a grant because then
[1:11:53] the the dollars aren't as stabled. And
[1:11:56] then I think slide 14, anytime I bring
[1:11:59] um we talk about transportation, I think
[1:12:03] it's important to note that over the
[1:12:05] past 10 years, specifically within, you
[1:12:08] know, Quinsey, Bronx, Wemouth, and
[1:12:10] Plymouth, we've seen 160% jump in the
[1:12:14] rate of homelessness. And I bring that
[1:12:17] up specifically because women and
[1:12:19] children are the most
[1:12:21] underrepresentative
[1:12:22] and underounted
[1:12:24] um number in regards to homeless. And
[1:12:28] based on Mckitti Bento, it goes directly
[1:12:31] back into the funding sources and having
[1:12:34] to budge children into their home
[1:12:36] schools or to have to um get additional
[1:12:41] dollars in funding for children to
[1:12:43] maintain the programs or the needs
[1:12:45] within our district. And I just say that
[1:12:48] because again, it's one of those musts.
[1:12:51] It's not a choice. it's a must that that
[1:12:55] we have to do as a a state and you know
[1:12:58] just good humans. So, um I think this
[1:13:01] series will be very helpful and help
[1:13:04] inform people
[1:13:07] who live in Plymouth, contribute to to
[1:13:10] um the
[1:13:13] funding of of our schools to understand
[1:13:16] what it is that we're dealing with, why
[1:13:18] we asked for what we asked for and what
[1:13:22] on the administration side, as well as
[1:13:24] the decisions we hope to support and
[1:13:27] inform um are up against. So, just
[1:13:30] wanted to share that. And this this was
[1:13:32] great.
[1:13:36] » Yeah, I think this was uh very
[1:13:38] informative. So, thank you. Um and I
[1:13:41] think a further step would be for, you
[1:13:44] know, for the residents who elect us to
[1:13:46] that to view a presentation
[1:13:48] um to go a little deeper if you can to
[1:13:51] see how, you know, this happened, right?
[1:13:55] Prop two and a half has been around
[1:13:56] since 1982. And the equation did predict
[1:14:02] uh what your property taxes would be,
[1:14:04] but it also didn't allow towns to move
[1:14:07] the lever in good times and bad without
[1:14:10] politicizing the issue and voting for an
[1:14:12] override where, you know, I know we're
[1:14:15] in uh you know, the public sector, but
[1:14:18] if you had your own private business,
[1:14:20] you could spend when you needed and not
[1:14:22] defer. So you'd have to spend triple and
[1:14:24] you wouldn't have to sure you'd have a
[1:14:27] management discussion, but they made it
[1:14:29] so volatile with Prop 2 and a half
[1:14:31] because I believed in the fiscal
[1:14:33] oversight of it even though I was 12
[1:14:35] years old when they passed it. But
[1:14:36] [laughter] I it just it didn't move with
[1:14:39] rising costs, right? So when we go to
[1:14:43] look at a budgetary shortfall and we're
[1:14:46] faced with which door do you take,
[1:14:48] right? If all those doors are locked,
[1:14:50] it's because they were locked from the
[1:14:51] inside. I mean, chapter 70,
[1:14:55] the the cost per pupil might look great,
[1:14:57] right? Because of the volume of money
[1:14:59] going through the system, but
[1:15:01] Massachusetts is like 8 to 10% behind in
[1:15:05] state aid than other states. They put a
[1:15:07] lot of pressure on local municipalities,
[1:15:10] >> and then that pressure comes home to
[1:15:12] roost when every other cost is going up.
[1:15:15] >> And you can't tax your way out of it. I
[1:15:18] mean, there's a threshold for
[1:15:19] everything. So, I I think it's important
[1:15:21] when you're showing like you're
[1:15:24] literally dealt this hand because you're
[1:15:27] not going to turn your back on the
[1:15:28] services of educating the children of a
[1:15:31] community. I don't care if you're an
[1:15:32] empty neester. No one in their right
[1:15:34] mind would would agree with that. But I
[1:15:37] think we are going to be at a point
[1:15:38] where, you know, something has to give.
[1:15:41] And maybe it's on a state level. I mean,
[1:15:43] I talked in another meeting about, you
[1:15:46] know, ways that we funded the school
[1:15:48] building program, right? We need some
[1:15:50] more innovative talk on a state level
[1:15:53] that can offset that sort of it's it's a
[1:15:57] ticking time bomb for local
[1:15:59] municipalities. We're not going to just
[1:16:00] think our way out of this. So, I I think
[1:16:02] when when you make these presentations,
[1:16:04] it's great, but I think people have to
[1:16:07] go deeper to understand that um you
[1:16:11] know, there's ways we got here and we
[1:16:13] can't just repeal Prop 2 and a half and
[1:16:15] then what? You're just going to that's
[1:16:16] basically an override for everyone in
[1:16:17] the state. You can't do that. But
[1:16:20] there's going to be some um different
[1:16:22] approaches to how we create revenue
[1:16:24] streams
[1:16:26] for local municipalities that aren't
[1:16:28] always based on a volatile override
[1:16:31] discussion.
[1:16:32] >> Um and I I don't have that answer. I
[1:16:35] mean, we'll we'll work at it all of us,
[1:16:36] but it's uh this is the way to start
[1:16:40] talking about it. So, thank you.
[1:16:43] >> Awesome. All right. Anybody else? All
[1:16:46] right. Thanks again, Dr. Kemp.
[1:16:48] >> Thank you.
[1:16:49] All right, next up we've got the
[1:16:51] superintendent report. So back to you
[1:16:52] again.
[1:16:52] >> Oh, there you go.
[1:16:55] >> Uh [clears throat] brief one this
[1:16:56] evening. So strategic planning
[1:16:58] committee, our uh strate strategic
[1:17:00] planning committee has been established.
[1:17:02] Uh sent an initial welcome letter out um
[1:17:05] I believe yesterday uh or Saturday, I
[1:17:08] can't remember. I'm losing track. Uh we
[1:17:10] have a very diverse representation, 27
[1:17:12] in total, students, parents, teachers,
[1:17:14] school committee, administration, and
[1:17:17] our CPAC support for this process. Uh
[1:17:19] our initial meeting will be next
[1:17:21] Wednesday, October 7th. Uh so really
[1:17:24] excited to kick kick that off. Uh FY28
[1:17:28] budget and capital planning. So we have
[1:17:29] a meeting tomorrow afternoon with um
[1:17:31] town leadership. So, we hope to get a
[1:17:34] greater sense of uh where we are in
[1:17:36] terms of um FY28. Um
[1:17:40] we'll see what we learn. So, look
[1:17:42] forward to to that meeting tomorrow
[1:17:45] afternoon.
[1:17:46] Um [clears throat]
[1:17:47] and I'm going to end with a video, but
[1:17:50] just as a reminder, we also have our
[1:17:51] school committee retreat this Saturday,
[1:17:54] uh 8:30 start. Um so um and so we should
[1:18:00] be done by I would think no later than
[1:18:02] noon based on that. Um and then lastly
[1:18:05] and and Seth's going to cue this up for
[1:18:08] us I believe. Um very pleased that our VIPs program volunteers in Plymouth
[1:18:13] Public Schools um you know years past we
[1:18:16] spent a couple of years working learning
[1:18:19] from uh Felmouth which is in their 40
[1:18:21] maybe their 40 43rd year at this point.
[1:18:24] who started with eight volunteers and
[1:18:25] grown to over a thousand. Um had an
[1:18:28] opportunity to have a grant with Mass
[1:18:30] Partners uh MA um Mass Service Alliance
[1:18:33] working with Felmouth. Um and and we
[1:18:37] have a a a good starting point. Um we
[1:18:40] had a great up celebration last spring.
[1:18:43] So our EdTV staff put together this
[1:18:46] great video which we're going to be
[1:18:47] using to kind of highlight this and to
[1:18:49] promote participation. Plymouth
[1:18:50] Independent is also working on a piece
[1:18:53] uh which should be published uh very
[1:18:55] soon. So I just wanted to end with this
[1:18:57] short video so you can see uh in the
[1:18:59] public can see what VIPS is all about.
[1:19:06] I truly enjoy volunteerism. I really
[1:19:09] have I tell people my whole life I've
[1:19:11] had two jobs. One that paid me, one that
[1:19:12] [music] didn't.
[1:19:13] >> I'm retired. I have time. I enjoy
[1:19:16] children. And I [music] thought, I ought
[1:19:17] to do something helpful and useful. And
[1:19:20] so this fit the bill exactly. It's as
[1:19:23] little or as big of a commitment [music]
[1:19:25] as you want. There are endless
[1:19:27] opportunities ahead, which is really
[1:19:29] fun.
[1:19:32] [music]
[1:19:34] For many years, we have talked about
[1:19:37] trying to create something [music] that
[1:19:39] would be like a lasting relationship and
[1:19:41] a bridge between our residents and and
[1:19:44] public education. So [music] we started
[1:19:46] this program called BIPS volunteers in
[1:19:48] Plymouth public schools.
[1:19:49] >> We have such a rich town [music]
[1:19:52] community and we all have so much to
[1:19:54] offer each other. We have a growing
[1:19:56] senior population but we also have a
[1:19:58] growing population of young families in
[1:19:59] Plymouth and it just bridges both of
[1:20:01] those communities together. There are
[1:20:03] many members in our community that
[1:20:05] [music] have passions whether it's
[1:20:07] sewing or playing cribage or ma jang or
[1:20:11] former teachers [music] that have all
[1:20:12] this knowledge and they are looking to
[1:20:15] share it with our staff [music] and our
[1:20:17] students. I've been retired for 12
[1:20:19] years. I was a military clothing
[1:20:22] designer. Someone [music] contacted me,
[1:20:24] I think it was Angela, and said Indian
[1:20:27] Brook is having a show um at the end of
[1:20:30] the year, Willy Wonka. would you be
[1:20:32] willing in helping with costumes?
[1:20:33] [music]
[1:20:34] I did a couple of prototypes. We went to
[1:20:36] the school. They loved what I did. They
[1:20:38] took kids out of class to try on the
[1:20:40] costumes and they were [music] so
[1:20:42] excited and giggly and it just fulfilled
[1:20:46] as a grandmother like, "Oh, wow. This is
[1:20:48] what I want to do for my own
[1:20:49] grandchildren." [music]
[1:20:50] >> That was super helpful and important.
[1:20:52] and the kids got to learn different
[1:20:54] skills from her. For some of the kiddos
[1:20:56] that might not [music] get to do
[1:20:59] individualized things or or special
[1:21:01] things to be able to feel like they're
[1:21:03] [music] special cuz they're working with
[1:21:04] this important person who's coming into
[1:21:07] the building.
[1:21:07] >> Some of our students learning might not
[1:21:09] be their favorite thing or it might be a
[1:21:11] little bit more challenging. So [music]
[1:21:12] finding that hook and finding that
[1:21:14] little niche that maybe they didn't know
[1:21:16] that they liked sewing or knitting, the
[1:21:18] kids look forward to seeing their, you
[1:21:19] [music] know, senior partner and it can
[1:21:21] really excite kids about school. The
[1:21:23] value it brings to the volunteers is it
[1:21:25] gives them a sense of being [music] part
[1:21:27] of something larger and I think it also
[1:21:29] gives them an understanding of what is
[1:21:31] happening within our schools. I went to
[1:21:34] Manet Elementary School to work in the
[1:21:36] kindergarten classrooms. A lot of
[1:21:39] children need a little bit more one-
[1:21:41] on-one. [music] Just another person
[1:21:43] there to talk to them and ask them
[1:21:45] interesting questions about their lives.
[1:21:47] They ask very interesting [music]
[1:21:48] questions about my life. The enthusiasm
[1:21:51] and just the innocence of all the kids
[1:21:53] is just great.
[1:21:54] >> It is extremely extremely rewarding. I
[1:21:57] enjoy learning [music] from them what
[1:21:59] they're going through, some of the
[1:22:01] issues that they uh think about or worry
[1:22:03] about, and it gives me a better
[1:22:04] perspective. I'd say there really is no
[1:22:06] limit [music] to why you can't belong to
[1:22:08] this program, especially if you have
[1:22:10] some time. The scope of the program is
[1:22:12] such that you [music] can start with
[1:22:13] kindergarteners and go up to high school
[1:22:15] students and you can find your niche
[1:22:16] with any of those age groups [music]
[1:22:18] doing what you like, but something that
[1:22:20] they'll probably appreciate as well. I
[1:22:22] volunteer for about an hour and a half,
[1:22:24] so total, you know, with driving it was
[1:22:27] [music] maybe 3 hours altogether. The
[1:22:29] benefit to those 3 hours was far greater
[1:22:32] than the time. It's not a [music] huge
[1:22:33] time commitment. You may want to come in
[1:22:35] once a week, once a month. You may want
[1:22:37] to work directly with students or not.
[1:22:39] Just because you're a part of the VIP
[1:22:41] program doesn't mean you need to commit
[1:22:42] [music] to something that is 5 days a
[1:22:44] week, 180 days. We're looking for people
[1:22:46] to find something that they're
[1:22:47] interested in, something that they're
[1:22:48] passionate about, and try to make that
[1:22:50] [music] connection in our schools and match them the best we can.
[1:22:53] >> We are looking to expand this program
[1:22:55] for the upcoming [music] school year.
[1:22:56] And if you are interested in joining, we
[1:22:59] would love to have you come on board.
[1:23:01] Please visit the Plymouth Public Schools
[1:23:02] [music] website for more information.
[1:23:12] » So, I just want to thank Seth and Ed TV
[1:23:15] for putting that together. I think it's
[1:23:16] a great promotional video, but again, it
[1:23:18] just and those that's a small example of
[1:23:22] the many volunteers and and sort of the
[1:23:24] impact it's had on them. Um, they've had
[1:23:26] a greater impact on us. But getting back
[1:23:29] to like also your conver your question
[1:23:32] Kathy about like the importance of you
[1:23:34] know getting our community in our
[1:23:36] schools to really have a great
[1:23:38] appreciation for the kids and the staff
[1:23:41] and what's going on. So um opening the doors not just the the
[1:23:46] window but opening the doors to our
[1:23:48] school. So it's been a I'm just so
[1:23:50] excited that it's it's you know we got
[1:23:51] the ground get it got off the ground
[1:23:53] last year and look forward to how it
[1:23:56] expands this year.
[1:23:57] >> Yeah. No, great great program. Great video. I love that.
[1:24:02] >> Very cool.
[1:24:03] >> Thank you.
[1:24:04] >> All right, let's keep rolling here. Uh,
[1:24:06] next up we have retirement
[1:24:08] announcements. Dr. Blazel,
[1:24:09] >> we have one retirement this evening. Deb
[1:24:11] Travers retired from Plymouth North from
[1:24:14] Project Growth on September 23rd.
[1:24:17] >> All right, Miss Jackson.
[1:24:18] >> Thank you to Miss Travers for her 19
[1:24:21] years of service to the district and we
[1:24:22] wish her good luck on her next chapter.
[1:24:27] Thank you. [clears throat] All right.
[1:24:29] Next up, we have uh just our uh report
[1:24:32] out. So, uh any committee member uh
[1:24:34] updates.
[1:24:36] >> I have packed this week.
[1:24:38] >> Oh, upcoming. All right. Thanks.
[1:24:41] >> I um attended safety committee. Um
[1:24:44] although I won't report out on
[1:24:46] everything that we talked about, I just
[1:24:48] want to say that I'm always impressed by
[1:24:50] the collaboration that we have across
[1:24:53] agencies with the police, the fire, the
[1:24:56] administration, the tech support teams
[1:24:58] that we have here
[1:25:01] um and the schools and how everybody
[1:25:04] works together to ensure the safety of
[1:25:06] our students.
[1:25:08] >> All right. Thank you, M. Jackson.
[1:25:10] Anything from Michelle or Mr. Schmz?
[1:25:14] this week.
[1:25:15] >> All right. Thanks. Um, I've got a
[1:25:17] building committee uh report. Um, I see
[1:25:22] highlights of last uh excuse two weeks
[1:25:25] ago meeting was uh the they are
[1:25:28] evaluating designer bids for uh uh the
[1:25:32] updating the visitor center. Um there is
[1:25:35] uh oh for the uh new DPW administration
[1:25:38] building, they're evaluating design and
[1:25:40] cost options. that phase of the project
[1:25:42] you go through the end of the year and
[1:25:43] then they'll start fig figure out what
[1:25:44] they want to actually design and go out
[1:25:47] for funding for and most relevant for us
[1:25:50] um for the uh elementary school project
[1:25:54] um AI3 has been uh selected as the
[1:25:56] architect and they're going in the in
[1:25:58] the contracting process now so I think
[1:26:01] anyone will know what the when that's
[1:26:04] finalized I know it's in AA3's hands at
[1:26:06] this point
[1:26:06] >> right they were still waiting on a few
[1:26:09] contractors to get back to them,
[1:26:11] subcontractors to get back to them. Um,
[1:26:13] so hopefully we'll hear something this
[1:26:15] week. I'm hopeful, but I know we have a meeting with them and CHA on October
[1:26:21] 5th.
[1:26:21] >> Yeah. Perfect. All right. So, yeah, we
[1:26:23] should have an update by the next
[1:26:24] meeting. And lastly, the next building
[1:26:28] committee meeting is actually scheduled
[1:26:30] for to actually at Nathaniel uh Morton.
[1:26:33] the committee is actually wanting to
[1:26:34] take a look at that you know all the
[1:26:36] improvements that have happened to that
[1:26:37] building the last um uh you know over
[1:26:39] the last uh year or so especially even
[1:26:42] over the summer. So it's kind of given
[1:26:44] that you know rather than setting up a
[1:26:46] separate tour made the decision why
[1:26:48] don't we just actually meet there and
[1:26:49] we'll kind of let the committee you know
[1:26:51] see the building kind of showcase it and
[1:26:53] then we'll actually have our our next
[1:26:55] meeting there. So kind of excited about
[1:26:56] that one.
[1:26:59] >> That's all I got. Uh next up back to you
[1:27:02] Dr. Dr. Bzel for uh personnel reports.
[1:27:05] >> So we have uh [clears throat] two
[1:27:07] certificated appointments during the
[1:27:09] month of September, four classified
[1:27:11] appointments during the month of
[1:27:13] September, and we have three
[1:27:15] resignations um between September and
[1:27:17] the beginning of October.
[1:27:19] >> All right, thank you for that.
[1:27:22] [clears throat] All right, uh we're
[1:27:23] cruising right along here. We are at our
[1:27:25] actually un uh unfinished and new
[1:27:27] business. any unfinished business or new
[1:27:29] business any uh members would like to
[1:27:30] bring up for uh this meeting or future
[1:27:33] meetings.
[1:27:35] All right, and we brings to our consent
[1:27:38] agenda. Pretty uh routine agenda here.
[1:27:40] We've got some uh minutes, some bills to
[1:27:43] pay and some homeschooling plans and
[1:27:46] some disposal of some old books.
[1:27:50] Any uh anything needs to be pulled or
[1:27:53] any questions or concerns on the consent
[1:27:55] agenda?
[1:27:57] If not, I will entertain a motion.
[1:28:00] >> A motion that the Plymouth School
[1:28:02] Committee approve the consent agenda as
[1:28:05] presented.
[1:28:06] >> All right, we have a second.
[1:28:08] >> Second. All right, Michelle seconds. We
[1:28:11] can vote.
[1:28:16] [cough]
[1:28:22] » Was it not letting me vote?
[1:28:25] >> Dr. Camp was an initiative.
[1:28:27] >> Sorry, I thought I clicked it. No,
[1:28:28] [laughter]
[1:28:30] >> we've taken so many votes.
[1:28:32] >> I know there. Why isn't it doing
[1:28:34] anything?
[1:28:36] All right, where am I?
[1:28:43] No, I'm still not getting it. Who else?
[1:28:46] Hold on.
[1:28:49] All right,
[1:28:50] log it back in.
[1:29:03] Now we got it.
[1:29:06] All right, that passes unanimously.
[1:29:10] Um, with that, we are at the end of our
[1:29:13] uh agenda. So, we were a little behind
[1:29:15] schedule and now we're ahead of
[1:29:16] schedule. All right, so I will call the
[1:29:18] meeting to a close at 8:27 p.m. Thank
[1:29:21] you everyone.