[0:00] Educating, informing, serving. FACT TV, keeping government

[0:04] honest.

[0:06] You are watching a FACT TV presentation of the Westminster Center

[0:09] School board meeting.

[0:14] A special meeting of the Westminster School Board.

[0:16] It's special because tonight is family night at the Westminster

[0:20] Center School, and that's the reason we're starting a little after 6:30.

[0:24] A great night here. So nice to see so many families and teachers and

[0:28] others.

[0:29] So we'll call the meeting to order officially at 6:36,

[0:34] and do a quick round of introductions.

[0:36] We'll start with the superintendent.

[0:38] Andy Haas, superintendent.

[0:40] Cheryl Terrell, chair of the Westminster board.

[0:43] Margie Perry, Westminster board. Tee Mielze, Westminster board.

[0:47] And we know that Brian Bosma will be here in a moment.

[0:51] He's been out doing storytelling for family night here at the school.

[0:55] And Karen Blanchard is traveling, but maybe she'll try to stay longer to see if

[0:59] she's able to.

[1:01] Any adjustments to the agenda?

[1:03] I do not.

[1:05] All right. Great. Any communications that have been mailed out?

[1:09] Hearing none, we'll go right ahead.

[1:10] And the next order of business is to review and approve the minutes from May

[1:14] 7th. Need a motion.

[1:16] I'll make motion to approve the minutes from May 7th.

[1:21] Oh, great. Any additions, corrections?

[1:25] I have none myself.

[1:29] So all those in favor, signify by saying "aye."

[1:32] Aye. Aye.

[1:32] Any opposed?

[1:33] Okay, we have a quorum, so we're able to do this.

[1:37] But we're continuing.

[1:40] And reports, finance report was sent to

[1:44] us, and it doesn't look

[1:48] like it's going to be online. I've got a question.

[1:51] Yep. And, he gave me some

[1:54] information, so I-

[1:56] Why don't you start with that?

[1:57] Yeah. So, I can put it up there if that's easier.

[2:01] To kind of... So let me...

[2:05] Of course,

[2:06] me trying to play it might actually raise more questions.

[2:09] I do apologize for that in advance.

[2:17] I'm not sure that you need to share it, because we only looked at it.

[2:20] Okay.

[2:21] If you can just offer what he provided-

[2:23] Yep

[2:23] ... I think we might have some vital out of it.

[2:25] I think we might just give that back after these last slides.

[2:28] Sure.

[2:31] Do whatever you think.

[2:32] So, on the statement that he

[2:36] provided, the first one, which is the

[2:41] financial summary report.

[2:43] Yep.

[2:44] You'll see there's, I highlighted

[2:47] 262,278 in

[2:51] change in the revenue

[2:53] line.

[2:55] You see that from future tax reserves.

[2:58] Right.

[2:59] That money is what you all

[3:03] had on a warrant article,

[3:06] and that correlates to your beginning balance of

[3:09] 264,588. And the slight

[3:13] difference is that after

[3:16] the auditors, they went through, there's an adjustment of about $2,000-

[3:20] Okay

[3:20] ... in change, and that $2,000 will get adjusted

[3:25] at the end of the year a little bit. So that's that little bit of difference.

[3:28] And so

[3:30] as you carry over that first line in the general fund,

[3:34] you'll see the current balance of 796,000.

[3:38] That is if we were to close the books to yesterday,

[3:43] that's what your fund balance would be.

[3:46] And so if we closed the books yesterday.

[3:51] The 246,356, so the next

[3:54] line down,

[3:56] that would be if we hypothetically

[4:00] continued out through the end of the year with encumbrances.

[4:05] So the first line would be like if we closed the books

[4:08] yesterday.

[4:09] Mm-hmm.

[4:10] And then the next line down would be if we were to include all

[4:14] the encumbrances and go through the end of the school year, right?

[4:17] Right.

[4:17] So that's why you see that $500,000 difference

[4:21] in those two lines.

[4:23] And so,

[4:26] he just wanted me to point out those few differences, and that is

[4:29] for you all.

[4:32] And then-

[4:34] So just to clarify, you're basically saying that one is as is

[4:38] today, and one is if replicated that?

[4:41] Right.

[4:41] Uh-huh. And I'm still not quite sure which

[4:45] one you're talking about, the fund balance,

[4:50] the function summary, or the fun- not the function summary.

[4:55] The function summary-

[4:56] The balance is one.

[4:58] I'm talking about three different sheets, that's what I meant.

[5:02] Yeah. So which one are you talking about?

[5:04] The first one I'm looking at is if you're looking at your reports-

[5:08] Yeah

[5:08] ... it's the

[5:09] FY27 Westminster

[5:12] financial. So it's the very first one

[5:15] on your reports.

[5:18] The function?

[5:18] And it says it, it's... At the top it says Westminster School District

[5:22] Fund Balance.

[5:22] There's three sheets on it.

[5:24] He sent us three sheets. I was just wondering which sheet you're

[5:27] referring to.

[5:32] The fund.

[5:32] The summary or the balance?

[5:39] I'm looking at on Diligent.

[5:42] So-

[5:44] The summary page?

[5:46] Okay.

[5:46] The full summary?

[5:48] Summary.

[5:49] I may be looking at something different.

[5:50] I'm looking at a PDF, so I'm not looking at-

[5:53] Yeah

[5:53] ... the spreadsheet that you're looking at.

[5:55] Okay.

[5:55] So I apologize.

[5:56] It's the fund balance. You said that.

[5:58] Yeah, this.

[6:00] Yeah.

[6:00] So it's the fund balance.

[6:02] That's what I thought, yeah.

[6:03] Okay.

[6:04] All rightI see.

[6:07] So it's got a fund number of

[6:10] 1011001100110051006.

[6:15] Yeah.

[6:16] Okay.

[6:17] Yeah. Okay.

[6:19] So those are your fund balances.

[6:21] Right.

[6:25] And which

[6:26] column was the one that's extrapolated?

[6:29] So, it's the-

[6:32] Not the current balance

[6:33] ... the row. The second row that is highlighted-

[6:36] Yeah

[6:36] ... that's general fund.

[6:38] Oh, I see. Future year. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

[6:42] Yeah.

[6:46] Again, I apologize, I'm not looking at the spreadsheet, so it-

[6:49] Right

[6:50] ... looks slightly different. So,

[6:53] if I pull that up.

[6:54] And these two both say general fund.

[7:01] Then we can see the other special reserve funds that we have set

[7:04] aside.

[7:05] Right.

[7:08] Yeah. I wonder, oh, it includes . Okay. Okay.

[7:12] Yes.

[7:12] I... Okay. The first one's where we are actually,

[7:16] the second line-

[7:16] Yes

[7:17] ... is.

[7:18] And we don't usually have the capital projects and the outdoor learning on a

[7:22] sheet, do they?

[7:23] No.

[7:23] We do have them? Okay. And it gives us the, the-

[7:27] So-

[7:27] ... most of the balances

[7:27] ... yeah, so these are each one of your fund balances as-

[7:30] Mm-hmm

[7:30] ... they existed.

[7:34] So that's pretty good, 246 to the good.

[7:38] Correct.

[7:38] If we-

[7:38] Now, that's going to fluctuate.

[7:40] Right.

[7:40] So we haven't finished the year yet.

[7:43] Right.

[7:43] You know, um-

[7:43] But that's

[7:45] best guess-

[7:46] Best guess, right

[7:47] ... for now.

[7:47] Correct.

[7:47] Then that's good. Okay.

[7:49] Yes.

[7:54] Um,

[7:56] so if you go to the function summary-

[7:59] Yeah

[7:59] ... so I'm now on the spreadsheet.

[8:02] Yeah.

[8:02] So on the tab that says function summary.

[8:05] You're going to see that 262,298. It's highlighted-

[8:09] Yeah

[8:09] ... as a fund transfer.

[8:11] Yeah.

[8:11] Okay. And when that's put in, you're going to see that

[8:15] you're looking at a negative because he has to

[8:19] show it in this current fiscal year.

[8:22] Yes. Mm-hmm.

[8:22] And that's why. If you were to take that

[8:26] 262 out,

[8:28] you would then see that positive 264 that you see

[8:32] on that other page,

[8:34] yeah, as a starting fund balance.

[8:39] Does that make sense?

[8:40] Yeah.

[8:41] So we're subtracting it this year, then put it into next

[8:45] year, hoping no-

[8:47] No. You're subtracting it from this year because

[8:51] you asked the voters to use the money

[8:55] from--

[8:56] Because it came into this year, remember, 125.

[8:59] Mm-hmm. As a reserve.

[9:01] As a reserve fund, and then you asked the voters to apply it.

[9:04] So therefore, the dollars have to be accounted for

[9:08] in this current year. So the money came into the general fund-

[9:12] Mm-hmm

[9:12] ... this year. And that's that 264

[9:16] that's on that fund balance page.

[9:18] Mm-hmm.

[9:18] And that's that 264,588,

[9:21] and then it has to be shown that it goes somewhere.

[9:25] And so, that's that money coming down.

[9:28] So on that function summary page, it has to be

[9:32] transferred somewhere, so that money is shown as

[9:37] being transferred out, and that's why you see it as a

[9:41] negative. But you still do have that fund

[9:45] balance of 246 at the end of the day.

[9:51] So we're fine.

[9:52] Yeah, so you're still

[9:55] showing a positive at the end of the day.

[9:57] It just, we have to show the recording for the accountant.

[10:03] And-

[10:03] It was never part of our budgeting.

[10:05] Right.

[10:06] And the accountants... And I asked Ed, like, "How come we

[10:10] can't show it sooner?"

[10:12] Because as it's showing, like, you look at your month to month to month, and you're

[10:16] just like-

[10:16] Mm-hmm

[10:16] ... getting big numbers. This is why we like to show the quarter leads.

[10:19] And he says the accountants don't like we show

[10:23] it until the fourth quarter, because that's when they

[10:27] know it has to happen, even though

[10:30] in March is when the voters vote for it.

[10:33] But at the end of the year is when it actually doesn't happen.

[10:36] So that's the reason. So-

[10:38] I think that was the major category of questions that I had.

[10:41] I don't know if anybody else has any more.

[10:43] And then we'll know a whole lot more when everything actually goes to

[10:46] June 10th, June 30th. One thing, though, it is a fiscal year

[10:50] 27. The top is 26.

[10:54] That is correct, and I will have it corrected then.

[10:56] Exactly. Yeah. I do have one, someone-- Sorry, for the

[11:00] further question on

[11:03] the function

[11:05] summary. We're quite a bit off on health

[11:08] insurance.

[11:12] We were like $15,000 off.

[11:14] Yeah. Tell me what line.

[11:16] It's line, it would be

[11:19] 29 on the,

[11:23] yeah, on the function short.

[11:26] A function short.

[11:27] Thank you. Absolutely.

[11:32] So

[11:34] that can be for-- When we do health insurance, we're taking our best

[11:37] guess and-

[11:39] Because you don't know what people are going to-

[11:40] Well-

[11:41] ... choose, what plans

[11:42] ... what happens is, midyear is when we do open enrollment.

[11:46] Yeah.

[11:46] We'll start there.

[11:47] That, yeah.

[11:48] That calendar-

[11:48] The date has changed

[11:49] ... that change is mid-year.

[11:50] Yeah.

[11:50] But the other piece is, when we do budgeting at the beginning of the year,

[11:55] we have teachers who will move, right?

[11:57] We have some teachers who leave us-

[11:59] Mm-hmm

[11:59] ... and then we have teachers who join us, and they can

[12:02] change their plans.

[12:04] Mm-hmm.

[12:05] So they're like-Their life events may change.

[12:08] They can get married, they can

[12:10] add people to their

[12:14] plans, people can come off.

[12:17] So there are things changing in

[12:19] their family structures.

[12:24] We could maybe plan for a teacher to take,

[12:28] a teacher that we had on our

[12:31] books was taking a silver plan.

[12:34] That teacher left us, and a teacher came on and took a gold plan.

[12:38] So that's a

[12:39] gold family plan. So that's a more costly

[12:43] plan for us. So that could be the reason for

[12:47] those changes,

[12:49] frankly.

[12:51] This and that budget is

[12:56] piece. But

[12:58] without going in and looking at breaking that line out, but that could be

[13:02] $15,000 over

[13:07] three, four, or five teachers

[13:09] or employees. I mean, teachers.

[13:12] I think there's the substitute salaries was also over, but that

[13:16] makes sense

[13:17] given what we had this year. And tuition reimbursement.

[13:21] Huh, yeah, I guess we must have had somebody move in.

[13:25] So that one you would think that would be pretty close.

[13:28] I think sometimes we get there, but wasn't there, like, a case of there were

[13:32] some kids we didn't know about?

[13:33] Yeah.

[13:34] So we're going here and then-

[13:35] Yeah

[13:35] ... going to church.

[13:36] It's pretty close. I feel like I could have been better. How do you guys feel?

[13:40] Well, we're going to

[13:42] discuss it in detail in August. We have a little meeting in July, and we'll

[13:46] have final numbers then.

[13:47] Yeah.

[13:48] So-

[13:48] But it's just pretty good-

[13:49] We're doing that

[13:50] ... right now. That feels great.

[13:52] So no action, just discussion. And thank you for that.

[13:56] The next report is from the principal.

[13:59] I don't know if everybody had a chance to read that.

[14:01] No.

[14:01] She's still out at family night. She'll join us as soon as she

[14:05] can. But, I have no questions. Things

[14:09] were looking good.

[14:13] All right.

[14:14] If I can just point out one of the things, just because we've been noticing this as

[14:17] we're looking at data across the SU.

[14:21] Mm-hmm.

[14:21] One of the things we are noticing is,

[14:25] our spring, our math data,

[14:28] especially in mathematics, we're noticing,

[14:33] it's not, I'm not going to say any enormous jump,

[14:37] but we're starting to see a trend in the upward

[14:41] trajectory.

[14:43] And we're hypothesizing

[14:46] that

[14:48] has a lot to do with

[14:51] the math coaching that's going on, where we're able to

[14:55] have an in-house math coach that's being able to spend a lot of

[14:58] time

[15:00] with our teachers,

[15:02] working on instructional practices,

[15:05] along with the Illustrative Math program that

[15:09] was really... And we're

[15:12] seeing the same numbers across the SU.

[15:16] So it's just something-

[15:18] Improvements across the SU

[15:19] ... yeah. So the same kind of trend line.

[15:22] And so,

[15:25] it's just something that

[15:26] we've been trying to

[15:30] just note just because we are seeing it, so.

[15:32] It is, like, the only school I've seen where the math

[15:36] scores are higher than the literacy scores. That almost never happens.

[15:40] Right.

[15:40] It's kind of why we're calling it out to you.

[15:41] Yeah

[15:42] Because we were kind of-

[15:43] Yeah

[15:43] ... a little shocked ourselves.

[15:45] Yeah.

[15:45] And so that's, we're trying to say, like, why?

[15:49] Lily is pretty great.

[15:51] Do you have math instruction at all the schools or just-

[15:54] So, we have a district

[15:57] level math coach.

[15:59] And this is her first year.

[16:00] And this is her first year.

[16:02] We did contract with a company, and

[16:06] that person did work for the company.

[16:08] Mm-hmm.

[16:09] And we utilized her, and then we

[16:14] retained her services in-house.

[16:16] Okay.

[16:17] And,

[16:18] so we have her all the time, and we're

[16:22] again seeing this jump. And so

[16:26] we're, again, theorizing that that impact

[16:30] was had just having that person full time

[16:34] is having a...

[16:36] Because we're not just seeing, like I said, at one school, we are seeing it

[16:42] and we're seeing it at the middle school-

[16:44] Yeah

[16:44] ... and we're seeing it-

[16:44] Huh

[16:45] ... yeah. So we're seeing it in all of our buildings.

[16:48] So, and that's in all the building section four.

[16:51] So,

[16:55] yeah.

[16:55] The other thing that looks really good on here too around that, like the

[16:58] engagement, I know the engagement is really one of the things that we are focusing

[17:02] on. So, like, sense of belonging and engagement because they really have,

[17:06] like, a huge

[17:07] gain. It's like,

[17:11] yeah, student engagement went from, like,

[17:15] maybe 30% to over 75.

[17:18] 70 something.

[17:19] Yeah.

[17:20] Yeah.

[17:20] And that's sixth graders.

[17:21] Yeah.

[17:22] That's pretty crazy, so.

[17:25] Right. Exactly, yeah.

[17:27] And they're third graders.

[17:28] Yeah. That's really good. Oh, I wish Alyssa was here to talk

[17:32] about this.

[17:32] Mm-hmm.

[17:33] It was a little bit different. Yeah.

[17:35] She'd focus in a little bit here, because I think that, right.

[17:38] But one of the things that also shows up here is the decline from

[17:42] spring testing-

[17:43] Yes

[17:44] ... fall testing, which is the typical summer losing a

[17:47] little vantage.

[17:49] We've planned for another coach in the summer,

[17:53] that special program that was put together to assist some

[17:57] of the students with the assignments so that

[18:00] may help too.

[18:01] Yeah, it does look like there is a little bit of a drop after the...

[18:06] Right?

[18:07] Not now, I'm not seeing it. Never mind.

[18:10] Maybe I need

[18:11] better...Oh,

[18:16] I guess I was just noticing a little bit of a drop-off after Hoquiam.

[18:20] The Latino.

[18:21] What is that? How do you think about that?

[18:24] 765 versus 680.

[18:25] It's not really-

[18:26] Yeah

[18:26] ... same statistically.

[18:28] No.

[18:28] It's a small sample.

[18:29] Yeah, I see.

[18:30] Yeah.

[18:31] Thank you.

[18:33] All right. And we can ask her questions if she does get in, otherwise we'll pick

[18:37] it up.

[18:39] Any business for discussion

[18:43] and action. At a prior meeting, we

[18:46] regretfully accepted the resignation of

[18:50] Paula Borchoff.

[18:52] But we just want to say this for the record, let me just read it in

[18:56] for the record, that we've written a letter to

[19:00] Ms. Borchoff, and we're saying, "On behalf of generations of the town

[19:04] of Westminster's Elementary School students and their families," we're

[19:08] saying to Paula, "Please accept our gratitude for your many years of dedicated

[19:12] service. We know that you have said that your choice to retire is

[19:16] bittersweet. Please know that we share your feelings of both sadness

[19:19] and gratitude. Throughout your 25 years as a teacher

[19:23] at the Westminster Center School, you've been an inspiring, grounded,

[19:27] professional, and highly competent teacher for the children in your care.

[19:31] You've touched and changed the lives of students in positive ways

[19:35] throughout your career. You've also been a true mentor and

[19:38] inspiration to the other teachers, paraprofessionals, principals, and

[19:42] staff in the Westminster school community.

[19:45] While we're sad to see you leave your teaching role, we're immensely grateful for

[19:49] the gifts you leave behind. We wish you much joy and good

[19:53] health in this next phase as you enjoy family and friends, travel, and

[19:57] time outdoors. We look forward to any time you come back

[20:01] to visit the Westminster Center School.

[20:04] You'll always be a cherished member of this community.

[20:06] Best wishes." More best wishes, "From the Westminster Town School

[20:10] Board." So just putting that into the record, and we'll share that letter

[20:15] with Paula.

[20:17] We'll move into old and unfinished business, and the first

[20:21] item there is the Town School Community Alliance

[20:25] update, and I think everyone has seen that

[20:29] both the House and the Senate

[20:32] really almost unanimously passed

[20:35] H955. In the end, there's no forced

[20:39] mergers. A vote of the people if and

[20:43] when schools are to merge.

[20:46] We have a lot of concerns. The West School Community Alliance issued a

[20:50] press release. While we're very supportive, we praise the

[20:53] bipartisan

[20:57] support that led to the approval. The concerns have to do

[21:00] with what's now being called a merger committee-

[21:04] Yeah

[21:04] ... that we're all required to be a part of, that starts

[21:08] simultaneously with the Cooperative Educational Service

[21:12] Areas in the state. We in New England Northeast are

[21:16] particularly anxious because we're already in what is the

[21:19] oldest CESA in the state. So we don't have

[21:23] as many of the challenges as other districts will, too.

[21:26] So I have a feeling it's set up the service agency and

[21:31] set up their study committee. Just trying to stick with this mask.

[21:35] Sorry.

[21:36] Good to see you, and congratulations on-

[21:39] You too

[21:39] ... your family. Nice. Yeah. Thanks.

[21:42] Oh, yeah.

[21:42] We'll-

[21:42] Is that all good? Yeah. Sorry I was late.

[21:45] I got wrapped up with a former student for a moment.

[21:48] We also said that you were out there telling stories and-

[21:51] Oh, yeah. It's all good.

[21:52] Yeah. Absolutely.

[21:53] Thanks.

[21:53] That's great. But so anyway, with the update, we're going to need

[21:57] to appoint a member of our board to

[22:01] the merger committee.

[22:04] We'll need to do that by file. The final, final bill hasn't come

[22:07] out so that we can read it word for word, but we know the

[22:12] big picture of it.

[22:16] So I'll keep everybody posted on that.

[22:20] So at the study committee that we have been assigned to

[22:24] start, Andy, I have that list that I looked at earlier, but

[22:28] didn't bring it with me. But surprisingly,

[22:32] it includes a number of non-operating

[22:35] districts. I mean, Windham is in there, Marlboro is in there with us,

[22:40] then it's-

[22:40] Yeah, she switched all of a sudden

[22:42] ... it got switched around,

[22:44] and Gilbert-

[22:46] Yeah

[22:46] ... and Warfsboro, and Newfane, and...

[22:50] So it's a group, and you know the law wants us to look

[22:54] about creating unified union school districts of

[22:58] 2,000. Well, that study committee doesn't come up

[23:02] total 2,000. Not that we were going to do that anyway, but

[23:06] the measures, the criteria that include whether it's

[23:09] practical.

[23:10] Huh.

[23:10] What I will say is that we-- And the law says,

[23:14] honestly, it says that we-- It doesn't just say operate in good faith.

[23:18] It says you may not operate in bad faith.

[23:21] How's that for-

[23:22] Oh, good.

[23:24] And so we'll do it. We'll participate in that, and we'll do everything that

[23:28] we need to, but it's just an odd grouping that we were ultimately-

[23:32] Have you seen the maps where you can click on the buttons to change the

[23:35] things?

[23:36] Yeah, but we have to go through the facilitator to do that in the laws.

[23:40] Right. No, but I was going to have them to

[23:44] send out with my SU so everyone will have access.

[23:47] Oh, that will be-

[23:48] Oh, good

[23:48] ... great. It's more fun to do.

[23:49] Yeah.

[23:50] Click on the map and you can see.

[23:52] But I got-

[23:52] But so Springfield was somebody else that-

[23:55] Yeah, I just got those today. I was a little shocked because originally we were

[23:58] with Springfield and Two Rivers-

[24:00] Yeah

[24:00] ... and then Windham was thrown in as like a-

[24:02] Right

[24:03] ... "Here's some extras."

[24:04] That's right.

[24:05] And then all of a sudden those-- And we were told

[24:09] that it might change, and wow, it changed.

[24:13] And all of a sudden, yeah, we're with

[24:16] basically Windham Central.

[24:17] That's correct.

[24:19] Which was an early, early map.

[24:20] That's correct.

[24:21] Yeah.

[24:21] So we'll see. We can request to explore with others.

[24:25] I'm pretty sure that Laurelville will be asking to go with Lend Up Southeast.

[24:29] Yeah.

[24:29] They've already begun discussions there.

[24:32] Okay.

[24:33] So we'll see. But anyway, all of that is to say that

[24:37] it's wonderful that the

[24:41] senators and the representatives and the governor listen to the

[24:45] people and did decide that bridges would not be

[24:48] forced.

[24:49] Right.

[24:50] And,

[24:51] the people get to vote, so.

[24:54] And there's time.

[24:55] Yes.

[24:57] On the solar rebate, I just wanted to let you know we are still waiting

[25:01] for the 137,000 from the federal government to come in.

[25:05] Ah.

[25:05] And what I did recently was reach out to

[25:09] Senator Sanders. I asked the senator's office

[25:13] to check into that for us and filled out some paperwork so that they

[25:17] could do that. And so that's just one more avenue to try.

[25:21] I copied Andy and copied Ed and Pat Stump on that, but

[25:25] I just want to make sure that the district gets that

[25:28] money.

[25:29] Yeah. And so, the

[25:31] lawyer that we hired up sent everything in, it was just waiting game.

[25:35] That's correct, yeah. Mm-hmm.

[25:37] That he was asleep to them.

[25:38] Correct. Mm-hmm.

[25:40] And then I just thought we could briefly...

[25:44] Well, we could take no action at our May 14th board review

[25:48] and planning session, but I was just thinking about a new follow-up of that.

[25:53] I

[25:55] think one of those, Andy, is the SU is working on a master

[25:59] calendar that will tie into a plan.

[26:02] And I think we want to see what the SU does at its next meeting.

[26:06] We have them-

[26:06] Tami Jerusa

[26:08] ... and, yeah. Right. You and Jerusa are working on that.

[26:10] But I think we want to see a comprehensive calendar that

[26:14] includes everything, and then we want to add our own Westminster

[26:17] specific things to it. I think that was really the most

[26:21] tangible thing. And then

[26:23] maybe at the meeting in August, our next normal regular meeting, so not meeting

[26:27] in July,

[26:29] we can look at our goal, vision, mission and all that stuff again

[26:33] and take a vote to reaffirm it or make any changes.

[26:36] Okay.

[26:38] So

[26:39] any other comments about the

[26:43] planning session?

[26:46] No?

[26:47] That's fine. Okay. I think for the public, I would just say

[26:51] that we

[26:52] all have this shared commitment to the students succeeding

[26:56] and the faculty succeeding, and this being a healthy climate, and so

[27:00] we talked about that. At least we can continue to reinforce that and make

[27:04] sure that all kids are served, that they're being served.

[27:08] Andy joined us, so that was great. Liz

[27:12] will go back to the principal's report.

[27:15] Uh-huh.

[27:15] Just a few... We talked about it when you looked at the S scores.

[27:19] Mm-hmm.

[27:19] And we made some comments about that.

[27:21] I just wondered if you wanted to make any-

[27:23] Yeah

[27:24] ... highlight comments.

[27:25] Great. They're impressed by the

[27:28] improvements in Panorama scores.

[27:31] Yeah. Well-

[27:31] I agree

[27:32] ... we also explained a little bit more.

[27:35] The way Panorama works, there's a...

[27:37] It's the good when we explain-

[27:38] Yeah

[27:39] ... how to answer it. There is an in

[27:42] question, or there's a way to answer that says somewhat well, and that

[27:46] is actually, per Panorama, is not a

[27:50] favorable thought.

[27:51] Mm-hmm.

[27:52] And so that, kids were answering that because they're like, "Somewhat?" You know,

[27:55] like, "How clean is your school?" "Somewhat clean." But it actually

[27:59] means mostly not, but-

[28:01] Right

[28:02] ... so we explained that, and we were like, "If that's what you mean, then that's

[28:05] what you would answer."

[28:06] Oh.

[28:06] If you want it to be like, "Oh, it's somewhat, but not really." But if you

[28:10] wanted it to be kind of, the kids were calling it the medium, the,

[28:16] I'm kind of in between, but I don't want to...

[28:18] It's not a negative comment, just a general positive

[28:21] medium comment. Like, not super. We showed them that, like the need want, like this

[28:25] one. So we kind of out-detailed that, which was interesting, because then the

[28:29] scores really increased because it's like, "Oh,

[28:33] yeah." And that's when we were able to see what kids were really

[28:37] meaning by their answers.

[28:38] Right. Because there's one too that's like, "Kids in my school are nice, or mostly

[28:42] nice to each other." And they're like, "Yeah, sometimes."

[28:45] Yeah.

[28:45] Because kids aren't nice all the time, and you're like, that's actually a very

[28:48] unfavorable response.

[28:50] Yes.

[28:50] Which is hard for them to understand.

[28:51] Yeah.

[28:52] Yeah.

[28:53] Yeah.

[28:55] Right. So we were excited especially, I think we've been doing this for

[28:59] so long, and sixth grade has always been lower.

[29:03] Right.

[29:03] And we were kind of laughing and then asking a

[29:07] sixth grade to rate their engagement.

[29:08] They're kind of like age appropriately, like, "I don't engage." But

[29:12] they were, and it was really exciting to see when kids were really

[29:16] thinking about how they were responding.

[29:18] And when I explained, I said, "I read all these comments.

[29:22] I don't know who is answering these, but I do read them.

[29:25] So if there is something you want to write in there." There's a lot of short

[29:28] answers this year, which was different than years past, when kids were writing in

[29:31] stuff. So it's always, always good to hear

[29:35] feedback on what they're thinking and their experience at

[29:39] Westminster. Yeah. The math growth wasn't

[29:43] ton

[29:44] this spring, which was interesting.

[29:46] We saw movement within the

[29:50] above, like meeting the benchmark and well above.

[29:53] We saw some movement in there, which was good, but it's not reflected on this

[29:56] graph. And we saw some movement between the well below and

[30:01] below benchmark, like the well below being less.

[30:04] So kids are moving, but they're not quite meeting the benchmark.

[30:08] Yeah. They're the hardest way to move.

[30:10] Yes.

[30:11] One thing.

[30:11] Yeah. So that was encouraging, but again, it doesn't boost our

[30:15] proficiency scores-

[30:17] Mm-hmm

[30:17] ... or math. But, the DIBELS scores, the trends are really,

[30:22] to me, that was encouraging. We started the year around

[30:25] 39% proficient, and we ended the year at 57%

[30:29] proficient for DIBELS, and that is an assessment that's done

[30:32] one-on-one

[30:35] And it's more detailed. We know exactly what questions they're

[30:40] getting hung up on. Where the MAP, we don't really know what questions

[30:44] they didn't get right.

[30:45] Mm-hmm.

[30:46] But the DIBELS we do. What types of questions?

[30:48] Is it nonsense word reading or fluency or accuracy?

[30:51] We can target those skills more. When we have our MTSS meetings, we

[30:55] talk about intervention. That is a

[30:59] data point that we really look into. So helpful.

[31:03] That's really going to hurt.

[31:06] Yeah. And if you just look at the three years, right?

[31:09] It's going up and up.

[31:10] Yeah, we're starting higher-

[31:12] Yeah

[31:12] ... than we have before.

[31:13] Yeah. For sure.

[31:14] And our summer program will be run through the Boys & Girls Club, but we're also

[31:18] offering the tutoring again this year.

[31:20] Mm-hmm.

[31:21] So I met with Kelly and Stacy just this week

[31:25] for the DIBEL and looked at which students we were going to invite to that

[31:29] based off of their scores. And so,

[31:31] Stacy and Kelly will be reaching out to

[31:35] families.

[31:36] Beautiful. Is that good?

[31:36] I know. They're a duo, for sure.

[31:39] Yeah. That's awesome. A question about the summer program-

[31:42] Mm-hmm

[31:42] ... the kind of camp.

[31:44] Yeah.

[31:45] And Kim is listed as the coordinator. Can you explain?

[31:48] And then she made a comment that it's opened up to beyond

[31:51] Westminster, so help us understand what's new.

[31:53] Yeah. So it's run through the Boys & Girls Club of Bradenton.

[31:56] And so she's hired by the Boys & Girls Club of Bradenton to be the coordinator

[32:00] of this site.

[32:01] Right.

[32:01] And so we have maybe 50 slots, I believe, 50

[32:05] or 60 slots, that we can take up to that many.

[32:08] We didn't have that many, we didn't have 50 or 60 kids from

[32:11] Westminster sign up, so then we were able to open it up to the

[32:15] SU of anybody around. It's tricky because

[32:20] they accept subsidy. Most families,

[32:24] well, about 99.9% of families are going to qualify for that.

[32:27] So it's a little bit of... I think it shocks people because the

[32:31] amount is high, but

[32:34] most families are going to receive a subsidy.

[32:37] Mm-hmm.

[32:37] So they're going to be paying-

[32:40] A fraction

[32:41] ... yes, a very small fraction. I think she, the coordinator of Boys

[32:45] & Girls Club, gave the analogy of if your

[32:48] family was making $240,000 a

[32:52] year, you would pay a fraction of the cost.

[32:56] Wow.

[32:57] So just to put that in perspective.

[33:00] So Kim was here tonight to answer questions because it is new with COVID.

[33:04] Pre-COVID, families did pay for summer programming and after school

[33:08] programming.

[33:09] Correct.

[33:09] And then with COVID, they didn't. So now we're leaning back into that.

[33:12] So that takes just some educating of families of how it

[33:16] operates and what that would look like.

[33:20] I had a question that's not on the agenda, but it has to do with we

[33:23] used to pay for stuff, then we didn't, now.

[33:26] Is next year the year that we go back to not having

[33:30] universal meals anymore? I don't know. No. We still have them next year?

[33:34] Yeah.

[33:34] Yeah, for what?

[33:35] This has been a while. Yeah.

[33:36] Since when?

[33:36] It's been a while.

[33:38] Federally, it's been.

[33:40] No, but I think that was one of the things staff voted on or

[33:44] wanted. That was just-

[33:45] If you want it

[33:45] ... the original package.

[33:46] If you want it, you can get it.

[33:49] That's right.

[33:49] Universal meals is-

[33:51] Yeah.

[33:51] As far as I know, continuing.

[33:54] Yeah.

[33:54] Michelle's on that.

[33:56] Because that was on the chopping block for a little while.

[33:59] They wrestled.

[34:00] Right.

[34:00] Yeah.

[34:01] If you ask- ... and there were-

[34:03] Yeah

[34:03] ... songs in Florida that want legislation.

[34:06] And Republicans, too.

[34:07] Yeah.

[34:07] It was interesting because that sparked them to break ranks with the governor.

[34:10] Mm-hmm.

[34:10] The people on the food committee had really

[34:14] compelling stories, and all the Republicans even talked about supporting them,

[34:18] but-

[34:18] Yeah. It's the only

[34:21] intervention that's proven to raise

[34:24] proficiency involved in that department of every

[34:28] subgroup.

[34:30] Every group there is, from low income to high income, to it

[34:34] doesn't matter who they are.

[34:35] The amount of dollars-

[34:36] Yeah

[34:36] ... involved, the

[34:38] whole amount of the ed fund, it's a very small percentage-

[34:42] Yeah

[34:42] ... of the ed fund.

[34:43] Yes.

[34:43] And has some of the biggest

[34:47] results-

[34:48] Yeah

[34:48] ... that it's done. Or is having.

[34:52] So we've actually covered the agenda that we want.

[34:55] And to your point earlier, yes. And so let's have

[34:58] director's comments, and we will soon adjourn

[35:02] until our next meeting, which will be in August, unless there's some reason

[35:06] for a special meeting in the summer.

[35:09] But we don't anticipate that right now.

[35:11] If I can just...

[35:13] Hires? Are we-

[35:15] No, I don't have any hires at this point.

[35:17] So

[35:19] the percent that the board approved to cover the librarian position

[35:23] has backed out of that position and never signed a contract.

[35:26] And she withdrew.

[35:27] For the librarian position. So one way we

[35:30] were going to make the position a little bit more enticing is to

[35:33] combine the .4 librarian, because

[35:38] with the budget, we have the .8 position that was

[35:41] art. So I was hoping to combine that as an academic

[35:45] interventionist to offer enrichment opportunities, because that is a role that

[35:49] Mandy did offer our students,

[35:53] is to use a .6 of that .8 and then a .4

[35:56] librarian to offer a full-time position.

[36:00] So that'll be

[36:02] posted on SchoolSpring today, and we're hoping that-

[36:06] To fill that

[36:07] So that might be an ask for a special meeting.

[36:10] Hopefully there'll be an ask for a special meeting.

[36:11] Right.

[36:12] Yeah.

[36:12] No, that's why I was asking.

[36:13] Yeah. Thank you.

[36:14] So I didn't know. My ask was, "Are you fully hired?" And-

[36:18] No, I was

[36:19] ... yeah, no. We were a month ago.

[36:21] Okay. Yeah. Okay.

[36:23] All the way for CT or great e-coms or something like that.

[36:27] Yeah.

[36:28] And it just shows the national hiring.

[36:30] Yeah.

[36:30] Yes. All right. Who wants to start with director's comment?

[36:34] We'll go around the table

[36:36] Yeah, sorry, I missed the beginning.

[36:38] I'm

[36:39] really happy with what we're doing.

[36:41] I do want to bat around that five-minute video clip that you sent out about

[36:45] the phone number. That's super intriguing, and I should just share that.

[36:49] I shared that with the principal at my school

[36:52] with a little bit of... Are you familiar with the thing that Cheryl had sent?

[36:55] No.

[36:55] It's a five-minute, it's a testimony on Capitol Hill-

[36:58] Oh

[36:58] ... regarding the overuse of screens and-

[37:01] Oh

[37:01] ... how damaging that is.

[37:03] Mm-hmm.

[37:03] And I'm selling the fire on that. So I gave it to my

[37:06] principal, whom I adore, and I'm like, "We're going to the parents," so she's not

[37:10] going to fire me over this.

[37:11] What she sent me back

[37:14] was the picture of the... She's got a PhD in pseudo,

[37:18] and the title of her dissertation was "The Problems with Overuse of

[37:22] Screen and Pushing Literacy Skills Down Too Far Too

[37:26] Fast."

[37:26] Mm-hmm.

[37:27] And so I said, "Send me the link so I can read it." So.

[37:30] Yeah. If you could share that with us, that would be great.

[37:32] Yeah. I will. I'll get that. I haven't read it yet, but

[37:36] I would love to

[37:39] see us engage where we can with that.

[37:42] Because she said she shared it with her superintendent and

[37:46] it directly

[37:47] Mm-hmm

[37:47] ... pretty well.

[37:47] Mm-hmm.

[37:48] So, yeah.

[37:49] Okay. Team? I just know this is a

[37:53] very hectic and busy time of year, so I'm thankful for the teachers who are working

[37:56] hard. They've got a week left.

[37:58] Yeah.

[37:58] We can do it. It's going to be great.

[38:00] So yeah, I appreciate all the energy and enthusiasm, and I know it's a push,

[38:04] so thank you.

[38:05] Yeah. June last day is next week, right?

[38:08] Thursday, last-

[38:08] Yeah

[38:08] ... student day. Yeah.

[38:10] So we don't follow any.

[38:14] It's been a really wonderful year.

[38:15] Yeah.

[38:16] All the work.

[38:17] It does.

[38:18] It really has been very good.

[38:20] Yeah.

[38:20] Appreciate you.

[38:22] Thank you.

[38:23] Well, I'll add to that. First of all, this family night is

[38:27] wonderful.

[38:28] Yeah.

[38:28] And so was the one in winter. So I like this.

[38:32] I like this a lot. And so it's a yes, and.

[38:35] If we get back to concerts or things like that, that's great too, but I think

[38:38] these informal, diverse activities and a little

[38:42] food. Again, thanks to Troy Wunderlee for coming

[38:47] tonight.

[38:47] Yeah.

[38:47] That the weather cooperated.

[38:49] Yeah.

[38:50] All that.

[38:50] All of that. But I started to say that there were just several people that came up

[38:54] to me and just said, "My child," or, "My

[38:58] grandchild is doing so well here. They've had

[39:02] such a good year."

[39:04] And that's wonderful. And you don't look exhausted, you look radiant.

[39:08] No, exactly. Great. It's a great night.

[39:10] And, yeah, I feel that with you. It's just

[39:14] really heartwarming because our families just want to be together.

[39:17] Yeah.

[39:17] That's all they want is opportunities to be together and, I stress

[39:21] over nights like this really heavily.

[39:24] Like, "Where are we going to put the grill?

[39:26] What if somebody wants..." We're running through every scenario and

[39:29] it's always fine. And the skate night was so

[39:33] great.

[39:34] That was cool.

[39:34] And in the family survey, that was

[39:37] brought up a lot in the panorama family version, like more skate

[39:40] nights or- ... you know. And, yeah, so moving into next

[39:44] year, just thinking about these informal...

[39:47] Yeah.

[39:47] They're fun and really easy lifts, obviously.

[39:50] Yeah.

[39:51] Yeah.

[39:51] Yeah, a very happy grandparent out here.

[39:53] He's a neighbor down the road, and he said some wonderful things about-

[39:56] Great

[39:57] ... his grandkids were in concert.

[39:59] Oh,

[40:00] okay.

[40:02] Yeah.

[40:02] Great.

[40:02] He's very happy.

[40:03] Well, everyone have a wonderful summer, extend our gratitude to

[40:07] everyone in the building and all the staff.

[40:10] Yeah.

[40:12] And when we make it, thank them for a great year, and we'll

[40:15] see everybody in late summer. So we'll adjourn at

[40:19] 7:15 on the 17th.

[40:23] So this is the first Thursday in August also?

[40:25] Mm-hmm.

[40:26] Another day.

[40:27] Thank you for watching this FACT TV presentation.

[40:30] If you would like a digital or DVD copy of the meeting, please

[40:34] contact us by phone or email. Our phone number is

[40:37] 802-463-1613, or

[40:41] email us at fact810@gmail.com. Falls Area

[40:45] Community Television, keeping government honest.

Westminster School Board Meeting: June 4th, 2026

Transcript