[0:05] I'd like to call to order the Winrip
[0:07] School Committee meeting of Monday,
[0:09] August 10th, 2026 at 6 p.m. This meeting
[0:11] is being held in the Harvey hearing room
[0:13] at town hall 1 square and it is being
[0:15] televised live. May I have a roll call,
[0:18] please? Mury,
[0:21] Miss Cubic, here
[0:24] >> present.
[0:27] Please rise for the Mr. Julian
[0:32] to the flag of the United States of
[0:34] America and to the republic for which it
[0:37] stands. One nation under God,
[0:39] indivisible, [clears throat]
[0:40] with liberty and justice for all.
[0:43] >> Thank you. Like to open the floor for
[0:45] public comment. [snorts]
[0:49] » Kids only. Do we have the kids only?
[0:51] >> Do we have any written? We
[0:53] >> do not.
[0:55] >> Uh thank you. We have no delegates or
[0:57] voting. Motion to approve the minutes of
[0:59] July 13th, 206
[1:02] by second by Miss. Any discussion?
[1:07] All those in favor?
[1:09] >> Any close or extension?
[1:12] I have a motion to approve the minutes
[1:13] of July 27th, 2026. Motion second.
[1:16] Motion by Mr. Second by Miss Cubic. Any
[1:18] discussion? All those in favor? I
[1:22] >> abstension.
[1:26] And I have a motion to approve warrant
[1:27] SBW27-2
[1:29] in the amount of 395,421.79 [cough]
[1:31] [clears throat]
[1:35] by Mr. Marti. Second by Mr. Carington.
[1:37] Any discussion? I have a roll call,
[1:39] please. Sparrows.
[1:41] >> Yes.
[1:42] >> Cubic.
[1:42] >> Yes.
[1:44] >> Mr. Carson,
[1:45] >> yes. Mr.
[1:46] >> Yes.
[1:48] >> Says thank you. I have a motion to
[1:50] approve pay payroll warrant SPW27-2
[1:54] in the amount of $260,1940.
[1:58] » Motion
[1:58] >> second. Motion to hear. Second by Miss
[2:00] Cubic. Any discussion? Can I have a roll
[2:03] call, please? Miss Barrow.
[2:05] >> Yes. Miss Cubic.
[2:06] >> Yes.
[2:08] >> Mr. Much Petri.
[2:10] >> Yes. Um we have seven several buildings
[2:13] and grounds requests. We have a request
[2:15] from the Winthre High School class of
[2:17] 2028. They would like to use the ATC
[2:20] driveway on 8:15 for a car wash from 10
[2:23] to 1. May I have a motion to approve?
[2:26] >> Second. Motion by Mr. Purton, second by
[2:28] Miss Burrows. Any discussion?
[2:30] >> All those in favor?
[2:32] >> Any opposed or abstension?
[2:36] >> We have a request from Winre Gymnastics
[2:38] Academy to use the Winthre High School
[2:39] Gymnasium on 312 and the gymnasium and
[2:42] auditorium on March 13th and 14th. Um
[2:45] the 12th is evening and the 13th and
[2:47] 14th are full day for the St. Patrick's
[2:49] Day invitational. May I have a motion to
[2:51] approve? Motion second. Motion by Miss
[2:54] Cub second by Miss Burrows. Any
[2:55] discussion? All those in favor?
[2:58] >> Any oppose or abstension?
[3:00] Thank you. And we have a request for
[3:03] four kids only for a future rental
[3:04] agreement, but I don't have um dates or
[3:07] details. Would you like to provide us
[3:09] with information?
[3:11] Hi everyone. I'm Brianna Flannry. For
[3:15] those of you who don't know me, I am the
[3:17] new executive director for Kids Only
[3:18] After School. Uh Debbie, who you all
[3:20] know, um who has founded and has
[3:22] provided uh been our executive director
[3:24] for the past 40 plus years, has recently
[3:26] transitioned into a part-time role um in
[3:28] her retirement. So, we're really excited
[3:30] for her. Uh first, just wanted to say
[3:32] thank you so much for our partnership
[3:34] over the years and for always sharing,
[3:36] you know, space with us um through
[3:38] agreements over the years. We currently
[3:40] are at the Gorman Fort Banks School. We
[3:42] also have our facility here across the
[3:43] street at 233. Um, and we've been
[3:46] operating at the Gorman Fort Banks with
[3:48] an enrollment of between 55 and 60
[3:51] children a day. Uh, what we're finding
[3:53] now is that the need in this community
[3:55] uh is much greater than before.
[3:57] Families, I think, are getting going
[3:59] back to work and and more families are
[4:01] in need of care. So, looking at the
[4:03] school year ahead, we have more families
[4:04] in need of programming. Um and in such
[4:07] I've been talking with Miss Reynolds and
[4:09] um with Miss Howard about the potential
[4:11] of um utilizing some more space in the
[4:13] school. So just trying to see what that
[4:15] could look like in order to serve more
[4:16] families, make sure that all families in
[4:18] this community in need of out of
[4:20] schooltime care have access to it. Um
[4:22] we're already maxing out our facility
[4:23] across the street. So it's not like we
[4:25] can serve more kids there. Um and I
[4:28] think families want to stay inside the
[4:29] school that the kids love and um not get
[4:32] on a school bus and have to leave. So
[4:34] just looking to, you know, have
[4:35] conversation about opportunities in in
[4:37] that school building um and most
[4:39] importantly to be able to continue
[4:41] partnering in whatever way we can to
[4:42] expand learning and support families
[4:44] here in the town. So just thank you very
[4:46] much.
[4:46] >> Thank you, Briana. Um so we talk all the
[4:48] time, [laughter] you know, every year.
[4:51] Um, so we've operated um, you know, when
[4:54] I first came back to 10 years ago now.
[4:57] Um, and then COVID hit and we weren't
[4:59] doing uh, any afterchool programs for a
[5:01] little while and prior to that we were
[5:03] operating on a rental agreement. I
[5:05] believe John Mero um, had designed that
[5:08] rental agreement, most recent one um,
[5:11] prior to me coming on. So, we've been
[5:13] operating um off of that, making some
[5:15] adjustments uh as we've gone on in terms
[5:18] of the number one thing, which is the
[5:20] cost of the custodial overtime because
[5:22] of the custodial agreement when there's
[5:24] rentals in the building. a specific
[5:25] language in their um in their contract.
[5:28] And because the building is open until
[5:30] 6:00 uh every day during the school year
[5:33] and then uh during the summer, there are
[5:36] students in the building all summer long
[5:37] with the exception of the couple of
[5:39] weeks and we work very closely with the
[5:40] custodial staff um to make sure that
[5:42] they have ample time to clean. Um so as
[5:46] you know as we've moved forward and now
[5:49] where there may be some additional
[5:50] rental use and um if you recall there
[5:53] have been discussions uh before at the
[5:56] school committee level in terms of what
[5:58] are we charging, how are we figuring
[6:00] that out. Um so at this point in time it
[6:04] would be my suggestion that um you know
[6:07] buildings and grounds take a look at the
[6:09] current agreement um get some gather
[6:12] some information from me and the
[6:13] custodial staff around um building use
[6:16] be able to explain um what they're
[6:19] looking for as well as be able to
[6:21] explain from the school district side
[6:24] the limitations we have and why we have
[6:26] limitations of certain space within our
[6:27] buildings. So, if you think about all
[6:29] the buildings, high school is used until
[6:32] 9:00 at night many nights um with uh
[6:35] athletics and after school co-curricular
[6:37] activities. The coming school um
[6:40] operates with the Spark program over
[6:42] there until 6:00 p.m. Um so, we don't
[6:44] have a lot of extra space in our
[6:47] buildings for some of the carryover. So,
[6:49] we've used the Gorman for Banks gym uh
[6:52] carryover for um cheerleading, some
[6:55] cheerleading. We've also had to um have
[6:58] worked and and happy to work with parks
[7:00] and wreck when they had some overflow.
[7:03] We have parks and w al also using the
[7:05] gym here. We've had a really strong
[7:07] wrestling program that the community has
[7:09] bought into um that has uh been
[7:12] utilizing our buildings and we also have
[7:14] Winarch that utilizes the Fort Bank
[7:17] school. So, we work closely with FKO to
[7:19] sort of um share that space on those
[7:22] dates, especially for um some of our
[7:25] athletic programs when we needed our
[7:27] co-curricular programs. So, Kristen and
[7:29] I are um Kristen is the building based
[7:31] manager of that building. She does have
[7:34] opinions and thoughts. Um for years,
[7:36] we've talked about the use of classroom
[7:38] space. That's always a slippery slope
[7:40] with our teachers. um you know because
[7:43] of the amount of time they stay after
[7:45] school and what do they do after school
[7:46] in preparation of their classroom for
[7:48] the next day. Um oftentimes there's
[7:50] materials and supplies that are put out
[7:52] for the next day as the teachers
[7:53] preparing. So then if other people are
[7:55] utilizing those class those individual
[7:57] classrooms um usually it's an issue
[8:00] whether it's is an issue or it's not an
[8:02] issue it's an issue. Um so Kristen and I
[8:05] have been having those conversations. Um
[8:08] and then there's always the custodial
[8:11] cleaning schedules. Um Gman Banks is not
[8:14] in a building as you know. We've had
[8:16] quite a bit of uh you know building
[8:19] level issues that we've been adhering to
[8:21] and keeping up with. Um so they also
[8:24] have some input into it. Um they're also
[8:26] the people that do the uh extra work. So
[8:29] they enjoy the overtime component that
[8:31] comes with it because they do get an
[8:33] overtime. they get a building uh rate uh
[8:37] to do that over time. So, it certainly
[8:39] is beneficial to them and they do enjoy
[8:41] that. So, I do think um gather putting
[8:43] that information before the buildings
[8:45] and grounds committee so that you all
[8:47] can make a decision on how you would
[8:49] like it to look and that the rental
[8:50] agreement obviously we're the property
[8:53] owners for lack of better terms so that uh rental agreement would be an
[8:58] updated um and more inclusive of the
[9:01] school committee's thoughts and
[9:02] opinions. And so Brianna and I talked
[9:04] today and I said we have public comment.
[9:07] That's the only time you're allowed to
[9:08] speak but it's on the agenda. They might
[9:10] ask you if you want to speak. Um so uh
[9:13] that is why she came tonight along with Chris Crombie who is also a
[9:20] >> director of operations.
[9:20] Correct. I can't
[9:23] say enough about the flexibility. We
[9:24] have conversations all the time.
[9:26] Sometimes we agree, sometimes we agree
[9:27] to disagree. Sometimes we feel bad and
[9:29] we're sad about the decisions that we
[9:31] make. Um but it it is you know it's not
[9:34] a winter public schools program. So
[9:36] those programs always you know do come
[9:38] first in terms of the decision-m tree.
[9:41] So um those thoughts that I had a
[9:44] question.
[9:45] >> Sure.
[9:45] >> Um so you said there's 50 to 60 kids in
[9:48] there at the at the GF location. Is that
[9:51] for the expansion? Is it because there's
[9:53] a long wait list that of of kids and
[9:55] families that need it or
[9:57] >> Yeah. So we currently have a license uh
[9:59] we're licensed through the department of
[10:00] early education care and we hold a
[10:02] license to serve 65 children. Uh right
[10:04] now we have a weight list of over 40
[10:06] kids beyond that 65 number who want to
[10:08] stay with us after school at the gor
[10:10] banks. So in order to serve more
[10:13] children, we need to expand our capacity
[10:15] with our lensure which they will come
[10:18] out want to see what spaces we're using,
[10:20] make sure it's safe for the children,
[10:21] that we have enough space to operate a
[10:23] 4-hour program for kids to do a variety
[10:25] of activities and not be in large groups
[10:28] um all day long. So yeah, we'd love to
[10:31] be able to serve.
[10:32] >> There's a square footage component that
[10:34] they in terms of lensure. Let's resume
[10:36] the conversation through the buildings
[10:37] and grounds subcommittee and we'll put
[10:39] this back on the agenda once we have
[10:40] more information and the billings and
[10:42] grounds committee is able to work with
[10:43] the
[10:47] » um do we have a subcommittee report for
[10:48] short collaborative
[10:50] >> uh it's it was good year they are
[10:53] they're at their highest enrollment
[10:56] agree reached agreement with all the
[10:58] unions and
[11:01] the board is on summer break.
[11:04] >> Great.
[11:06] We have a superintendent report.
[11:07] >> We do. Um I provided you at your
[11:10] tabletop today just with an overview of
[11:13] um what I know for grants and airmark.
[11:16] So um you know you can certainly look
[11:19] through that. I'll give you sort of a an
[11:20] overview of it. We did receive two air
[11:23] marks this year which is different than
[11:24] the past. In the past we've received one
[11:26] and that airmark that we received in the
[11:28] past um was through the good work of of
[11:32] Senator Lydia Edwards. Um last year it
[11:34] was used for technology. It was $200,000
[11:37] that enabled us to improve our
[11:39] technology and access to um translation
[11:43] services for our ML students. This year
[11:46] um Lydia informed me that the airmark
[11:48] that I guess they get told what aspect
[11:51] of an air mark they can ask for. Um and
[11:54] this year it had to do with capital
[11:55] improvements. So, um, at the sort of the
[11:58] 11th hour, I gave the capital list, um,
[12:02] which is pretty lengthy. We discussed
[12:04] some of the things that I felt were
[12:06] super important to the school. Um, and
[12:08] those are the three on the bottom, which
[12:11] is, um, uh, the Jet door controllers and
[12:14] server cameras and serve update at the
[12:17] high school. You would think we wouldn't
[12:18] need to do that yet. Um, but that
[12:20] building um is again not brand new and
[12:23] those things have a lifespan and a
[12:25] warranty span. We we received quotes
[12:28] with the help of Wayne Carter and our
[12:29] collab collaboration with the police
[12:31] department um for some of that work. Uh
[12:34] some of these uh items overlap with some
[12:37] of the approved capital improvements by
[12:40] the town manager. So he and I will
[12:42] discuss how we'll sort of work those out. Um, the second one from her
[12:47] was $10,000 uh for roof repair, stair
[12:50] tread placement, and the replacement of
[12:53] expired sprinkling gauges. Those those
[12:56] sprinkler gauges were on the capital
[12:58] improvement plan last year. We've had
[13:00] difficulty uh getting all of them done
[13:02] at once. So, this is this amount of
[13:05] money will not cover all of that, but it
[13:06] will add to the cost of repairing all of
[13:09] those things. We stay up with our stair
[13:11] tread replacements, but we could always
[13:13] use more. And I can tell you that we
[13:15] could spend more than $20,000.
[13:17] And then the third one uh that Senator
[13:20] Edwards was able to secure was $17,000
[13:24] um to remove and replace an outdoor
[13:26] basketball hoop structure which I think
[13:28] we've already done um prior to in the
[13:31] meantime while this was being approved
[13:33] by Senate. So we'll talk about how we
[13:35] may move that money to something
[13:37] similar. Um and then uh some gym floor
[13:41] improvements as well. We are having Jim
[13:44] Clo work done at Winthrop High School.
[13:46] The uh Gorman Port Banks is in some
[13:48] desperate uh need that's been on Kristen
[13:50] Reynolds um radar for a while. That was
[13:54] also something I submitted to the town
[13:56] of Capital. The top one which is the
[13:59] Arthur T. Cummings School. It says not
[14:01] less than $100,000 shall be expended to
[14:03] support the 21st century after school
[14:06] and summer program at the Art T.
[14:08] Cummings elementary school in the city
[14:10] known as Winter. This is exactly how
[14:11] they came to us. Um it is no longer the
[14:14] 21st century program. It's the spark
[14:16] program. Um spark was funded by the
[14:19] grant we received for uh the exemplary
[14:22] work of 21st century that we were um not
[14:25] able to apply for this year. So that
[14:28] money will certainly support us continue
[14:30] the continuation of that one that's not
[14:33] on here that's not an airmark. Um and I
[14:37] want to thank Jeff Turo for that work.
[14:39] So, um, Jet worked pretty closely with
[14:41] me and with some other folks to really
[14:44] push for that as an airmark for this
[14:46] town. Um, and we're very, very grateful
[14:50] for that. Um, I also worked with, uh,
[14:53] Jeff and Anita Prebble on the, um, early
[14:57] childhood parent network uh, grant. So,
[15:00] we've had the parent network grant for
[15:02] about 15 or 18 years. I can't recall
[15:04] what it is. Anita Prebble was the uh
[15:07] person who originally wrote that with
[15:09] some support from from some other staff.
[15:12] And that's a program that enables people
[15:15] who have students that are under five
[15:16] years old, not eligible for
[15:18] kindergarten, so between three and five
[15:19] years old, to access supports by coming
[15:22] in and meeting with um staff that we
[15:26] used to work here that are retired that
[15:28] come in and run um probably I I believe
[15:31] it's weekly that they have sitdowns with
[15:33] parents and they do reading programs and
[15:36] language programs and a lot of times
[15:38] there's grandparents and other folks
[15:41] that are bringing these children to us
[15:43] that just really need that support. It's
[15:45] a great community um input program as
[15:49] well. So, people get to meet other
[15:50] people that are raising grandchildren or have foster care children or parents
[15:55] that have first-time parents or or other
[15:57] parents that just want to be part of uh
[15:59] a group. So, uh we were unable to apply
[16:02] for that grant as well this year. So,
[16:05] um, we worked with with Jeff to see how
[16:08] we could continue to keep the program
[16:10] running, hopefully keep our own staff,
[16:13] so the people that have created this
[16:14] program and have worked at it for so
[16:16] long, um, without that money or by
[16:20] partnering with somebody who could get
[16:21] that money um, and just allow the
[16:24] program to continue. So, we worked with
[16:26] um, EEC, which is the Early Childhood
[16:28] Education Center, and Head Start as part
[16:32] of that program. So the program has been
[16:34] running at the EB Newton in a classroom
[16:36] there. Um so Head Start was given the
[16:39] grant this year. Um and Anita today met
[16:43] with the folks from Head Start, which
[16:45] Head Start is no longer at the EB
[16:46] Newton. Just so people know it's been
[16:48] moved to Reier, but the Winter Parent
[16:50] Network program will continue at the EB
[16:52] Newton. They will continue to have our
[16:56] staff that has been doing this for a
[16:58] while and knows all what to do and we
[17:00] have all the materials and the supplies.
[17:02] We'll keep all of that in that spot and
[17:04] we'll continue to run it with the
[17:06] oversight being done uh by EEC. Anita
[17:09] told me that um she was the only part of
[17:11] the mix that wasn't going to continue.
[17:13] So, she and I will have further
[17:14] conversation on that and that's a
[17:16] funding issue. Um because I believe all
[17:19] the the data analysis, the paperwork,
[17:22] everything that needs to be submitted to
[17:23] the department for that funding is a lot
[17:25] of the work that Anita did on a
[17:27] day-to-day basis aside from creating the
[17:29] program. So super thankful to her as
[17:32] well as uh Jeff Tero and all the other
[17:34] folks that were part of that and um and
[17:38] uh Head Start for being willing to
[17:41] continue to partner. It is my hope that
[17:43] both the 21st century grant parent
[17:47] network grant when it's posted next year
[17:50] that we'll be eligible to apply for
[17:52] those. Then as you know Rabbit Hole Girl
[17:55] decided she was going to tell you about
[17:57] all the grants that we currently have.
[17:59] um that have been posted. So um this is
[18:02] the time of the year that those grant
[18:04] amounts get posted and then what we do
[18:06] is a number of us myself, Susan Gibbons,
[18:08] Kathy Delo, we once those grants are
[18:11] posted, we go in and write the
[18:13] parameters of the grant to get the
[18:14] grants accepted so the funds can be
[18:16] given to the school. So the 240 grant uh
[18:20] which is the IDA individual with
[18:22] disabilities grant $652,184.
[18:26] It's a a tiny bit.
[18:30] I have a side by side guide that show
[18:32] you. It's a little bit more than it was
[18:34] last year, but not by much. The 262
[18:37] early childhood special ed grant, that's
[18:39] also a federal entitlement grant based
[18:41] on again the numbers of special need
[18:43] students that you have. Uh that grant is
[18:46] 25,362.
[18:48] It's a little bit less than what we
[18:49] received last year. I go into a blurb to
[18:51] tell you what those grants are utilized
[18:53] for that you can uh read when you have
[18:56] time and you're not driving heavy
[18:58] machinery. Um and then the title grants
[19:01] title one two three uh and four which
[19:04] are sort of our ride or die. um in the
[19:08] special education grants there are
[19:09] salaries that are in those grants um for
[19:13] uh ESPs and without that grant we would
[19:17] not be able to support that with our
[19:18] current budget. Title grant is similar.
[19:21] In the title one grant, it's $359,085.
[19:26] Um I would be venturing to guess when
[19:28] I'm finished writing it along with Kathy
[19:30] who actually does the writing. About
[19:32] 300,000 of that will be um reading
[19:36] teachers salaries. And then there's the
[19:38] title two um part A grant and that's the
[19:42] section we get 5352.
[19:44] You can read what that supports as well.
[19:47] The title three is the English language
[19:49] acu uh acquisition and academic
[19:52] achievement. So here is where we u work
[19:55] with our e students and provide
[19:57] additional support services for them.
[20:00] Translation materials are put in will be
[20:02] put in here now because we don't have
[20:03] that earmark anymore. Uh and some
[20:06] instructional supplies. And then title
[20:08] four uh student support and academic
[20:10] achievement $26,342.
[20:14] Um and that is we put a lot of
[20:16] professional development and stipens for
[20:19] teachers uh for for [snorts] growth and
[20:22] um and the like as well as our mentor
[20:25] teachers are included in that. The title
[20:27] one grants one two three and four. Some
[20:30] were a few dollars less, some are a few
[20:32] dollars more. It's pretty much a wash,
[20:35] but those are our entitlement grants
[20:37] that um the word speaks for itself, but
[20:40] we're entitled to apply for um and then
[20:44] we can start using the money as we draw
[20:46] those out. They also roll over um all
[20:50] four of those grants roll over. So, if
[20:52] you don't fully expend the funds in one
[20:55] year, you can roll them over into the
[20:57] next. And because they don't come to us
[20:59] typically after because you know they
[21:01] just post them now and it's not a
[21:03] two-minute essay. You have to do a lot
[21:05] of work goes into those. Um by the time
[21:08] we actually get them approved and
[21:09] receive the funding is typically around
[21:11] October. So rolling that money over
[21:13] because most of it supports salaries
[21:15] allows us to pay teachers throughout the
[21:17] month of September. Um there are
[21:19] additional grants that are being posted.
[21:23] Um, I will continue along with Kathy,
[21:26] Brian, and some other folks that we put
[21:29] that on them to keep watching those
[21:31] grants to see which grants are available
[21:34] for us to apply for. Um there were two
[21:37] that we couldn't apply for which was the
[21:39] 21st century actually three the 21st
[21:41] century um and the parent network one as
[21:46] well as which hasn't been posted yet but
[21:49] I'm assuming it's going to be the same
[21:51] which is the mental health grant that we
[21:52] had last year that was about I want to
[21:55] say
[21:57] >> it's close to 70
[21:58] >> yeah close to 70,000 um that was a
[22:01] two-year continuation grant we would be
[22:03] in year two this year um so we're not
[22:05] able to apply for that. However, um we are able to continue to do what we
[22:12] were doing with it based on how we spent
[22:15] the first aotment of money.
[22:18] Um so that's it on grants. Any questions
[22:20] about those? And just a couple of more
[22:23] quick ones. Um we move from Outlook,
[22:25] Microsoft Outlook for email systems to
[22:29] um Gmail. um my confusion and my like
[22:33] dislike of the platform, what it looks
[22:34] like and the change in color and layout.
[22:37] Um that's to be expected because I'd
[22:39] like things to be the same all the time.
[22:41] We didn't notify our staff. I do know
[22:43] there's an issue with the school
[22:45] committee's email. Um Connor is working
[22:48] on that. For our teachers, it should be
[22:50] seamless because the only the only
[22:52] difference they have to do, we migrated
[22:54] everything over. We made sure we
[22:56] notified that we were doing it, when we
[22:58] were doing it to watch their Outlook
[23:00] email for the date of the
[23:01] [clears throat] change. And the
[23:02] difference for them is they just sign
[23:04] into their email through Google as
[23:06] opposed to hitting Outlook. Um, we were
[23:09] very cautious to make sure that we could
[23:12] maintain all of the emails for prior
[23:14] years for public record requests and
[23:16] which is on the rise. Public record
[23:18] requests must be like I don't know, it's
[23:20] been the 50s. I don't know. But we
[23:22] received like eight this month already.
[23:25] um not about emails but about other
[23:27] stuff. Um so we continue to work on
[23:30] that. Um Connor has been great uh in
[23:32] fielding questions from people. The
[23:35] difference is we had to pay for Outlook
[23:36] all of last year because they changed it
[23:39] being a free service um to not being a
[23:42] free service. Making a change like that
[23:45] in like November in the middle of a
[23:46] school year um was kind of detrimental
[23:48] to the mental health of most people. Um,
[23:51] so we decided to hold off and make sure
[23:54] we did it and we did it correctly. The
[23:58] new teacher orientation is August 27th
[24:00] from 8 to 3:00. That'll be run by our
[24:03] mentor uh staff members. We're excited.
[24:06] I will have at the next meeting all the
[24:08] new staff members. We have gone through
[24:11] um some changes in onboarding and
[24:13] professional development for those
[24:15] people as they enter our school
[24:17] district. So, more to come on that at
[24:19] the next meeting. Uh, summer programs
[24:21] are winding down. Uh, they've gone well
[24:23] this year. I'd like to give a shout out
[24:25] to Susan Gibbons who redesigned the
[24:27] entire summer program. It was a
[24:29] specialty of hers in Somerville. Um, I'm
[24:32] expecting a fair amount of cost savings.
[24:36] Um, and it it comes down to staffing um,
[24:38] and sort of the pregame before the
[24:40] summer comes. Um, so happy to report
[24:43] that that has been going smoothly. Um,
[24:47] compost project. So, we're working with
[24:50] Emma Sabella. She's the senior waste
[24:52] reduction consultant from Mass Recycling
[24:54] Works, which is a mass department of
[24:57] environmental protection fund funded
[25:00] waste production program. So, here's the
[25:03] goal of it because it's a lot. The goal
[25:06] is to improve recycling and implement a
[25:08] food rescue and food diversion program.
[25:11] we agreed to pilot a program that
[25:13] includes um involving green earth and
[25:17] there's a cost associated with that. So
[25:20] I've been working with uh Wendy from the
[25:22] town as well as Emma. It's a sort of an
[25:25] educational program. I've learned a lot
[25:27] about bins and having two bins on a
[25:31] pallet instead of one. Um, I think the
[25:33] kids will have zero problem, you know,
[25:36] throwing their milk in one thing and
[25:39] liquid waste in another and food waste
[25:41] in another and then just the recycling
[25:42] things in the recycling bin. I needed to
[25:45] be educated on the cost of it and that
[25:49] we did not budget for this. Um, it is
[25:52] mandatory and a law that it has to be
[25:54] put in place and Gus and Lane
[25:56] participated in in the conversation. So,
[25:58] it's something we're going to have to
[26:00] do. Um, so we wanted to roll it out um
[26:02] in a manner that wasn't going to
[26:04] increase the workload on our staff.
[26:07] There'll be a little bit of an increased
[26:08] workload, but I I look at it more as a
[26:10] shift of the type of work. Um, I think
[26:13] what's important to note is that if we
[26:16] do this, it will decrease our trash
[26:20] amount, the amount of trash we throw out
[26:22] from the schools, which is quite a bit.
[26:24] increasing decreasing that should
[26:26] decrease the cost of the trash pickup
[26:29] which should be a wash for the cost of
[26:31] the compost and in the end better for
[26:34] everybody. Um so there's going to be a
[26:37] lot more to come on that. Um there's
[26:39] always resistance in anything that you
[26:41] do that's new and different
[26:44] resistance band at the winter public
[26:45] schools right here sometimes and um you
[26:49] know I think education is the key to it
[26:50] and being able to understand the why.
[26:53] are we doing this? We've been really
[26:55] focused on that the last several years
[26:57] that if we are going to do something
[26:59] different that there's a reason that
[27:01] it's communicated and that it's
[27:03] understood so that people can buy into
[27:05] it versus resisting it. Um that's that's
[27:09] a sport in and of itself. Um so I want
[27:12] thank the town for doing that. I'll
[27:13] continue to have conversation with Tony
[27:16] um around that as well as Wendy.
[27:19] And just make sure I'm not jumping off
[27:22] the agenda
[27:23] with business and we'll talk about that.
[27:29] Oh, teacher lounge is the GFB. So, I
[27:33] took my granddaughter to the GFB because
[27:35] I guess when you're superintendent, you
[27:37] flex a little bit. You take your
[27:38] grandchild over there to get her used to the four banks and what it looks
[27:42] like, what the bathrooms look like. Took
[27:44] pictures of toilets and sinks and
[27:46] classrooms and I need a book.
[27:48] Um, but when I was there, I had the
[27:51] opportunity to take a look at um,
[27:54] something that the PTO has done for the
[27:56] teachers and welld deserved. And I've
[27:58] been hearing about it. We've been
[27:59] talking about it. I've been looking at
[28:00] how we can do this. Do we need DFPS? Do
[28:02] we need, you know, quotes? What do we
[28:04] need? And Dylan has been a big part of
[28:06] that as well. And, um, the PTO has
[28:09] donated um, this project to the school
[28:13] to redesign and update the teacher
[28:16] lounge. And you say teacher lounge, it's
[28:19] like a quarter of the size of a
[28:20] classroom. And it's where teachers go to
[28:23] have lunch or, you know, to sit and talk
[28:25] to somebody. So they've changed it from
[28:27] an environment that kind of looks like a
[28:29] closet with a lot of stuff in it and
[28:31] barrels and, you know, nothing really
[28:34] cool on the walls to this beautiful room
[28:37] with a faux hardwood floor that really
[28:39] does look real. Um, all time and uh
[28:43] donated by folks in the community. money
[28:47] donated to the PTO by, you know, many of
[28:50] our usuals and many new people. Um, but
[28:53] the difference it will make for teachers
[28:55] is what it's really about. Um, you know,
[28:57] have I always say, Gus has heard me say
[28:59] it, you could be the worst little league
[29:01] team in town, but if you have the nicest
[29:03] uniform, feel pretty good about yourself
[29:05] and it can be pretty intimidating and it
[29:07] just gives you the power to feel a
[29:10] little bit better. So, I do think that is going to be what this does. So,
[29:14] heartfelt thanks to
[29:16] uh Leslie and the whole crew that's
[29:19] involved in uh the PTO over there. It
[29:22] wasn't something that they just said,
[29:24] "Oh, we're going to do this." It was a
[29:25] lot of time, a lot of work, a lot of
[29:27] collaboration, organization. Um so I the
[29:31] whole point about me taking my
[29:32] granddaughter there was I pretended I
[29:33] was there to see that and I got to see
[29:35] it. Um and it was great. Um and she was
[29:38] told she does not eat lunch there. And I
[29:40] took her into the cafeteria where the
[29:42] FDA stuff is everywhere. doesn't look
[29:44] like a cafeteria. And I said, "This is
[29:46] where you're going to eat." And she
[29:48] said, "Wow, it's a mess."
[29:50] >> Oh god.
[29:50] >> And it's not a mess. It's just that we
[29:52] have a lot of stuff in there. Kids only
[29:54] preparing for their kids coming in and
[29:56] there's stations and it doesn't look
[29:58] like a place that you sit down to eat.
[29:59] So, it was pretty cool. Uh, and that is
[30:02] the end of my report.
[30:03] >> Thank you.
[30:05] >> We have any homeschool applications?
[30:08] >> We do not, but we will at the next
[30:10] meeting. Um, Mr. Mr. Curley has taken
[30:13] that back from I think Kristen Reynolds
[30:15] was doing it while Larry was away. So
[30:17] Mr. Curley has taken that back. Um Mr.
[30:20] Curley is is a form fanatic and he
[30:23] redesigned the forms. They're more user
[30:24] friendly. They're interactive. Um and so
[30:27] I think that process is going to go a
[30:28] little bit quicker. Um so we should have
[30:31] a handful of those for the next meeting.
[30:33] >> Great. Thank you.
[30:35] >> Um personnel updates, please.
[30:37] >> Personnel updates. We have um no
[30:39] appointments. We have new hires, but I'm
[30:41] going to bring those to you in the
[30:42] group. Um, we have resignations that
[30:46] have came in before after the last
[30:49] meeting. Adrien Diagustinino is a world
[30:52] language teacher at the high school. Um,
[30:54] and then Aacia Lynch, who is an ESP um
[30:58] at the
[31:00] GP.
[31:02] They have both um resigned from their
[31:04] positions and they we have posted those.
[31:07] And retirements, we have none. postings
[31:10] for NPS um Pman Corp Banks. They've
[31:13] always had a part-time office aid. The
[31:15] budget item for that is about $8,000.
[31:17] So, we're not exactly attracting um
[31:20] large amounts of applicants. However, um
[31:23] sometimes we split that position with
[31:25] parents that want to come in and do it
[31:27] for a few hours a day. the literacy lead
[31:30] teacher uh has been posted and um we
[31:34] have posted grade three to five uh
[31:36] elementary classroom teachers
[31:38] anticipated because this is the time of
[31:40] the year where people um feel like the
[31:43] courage have the courage to come and
[31:44] tell us that they're moving or they're
[31:46] getting married and they've taken
[31:47] another job. So we try to prepare for
[31:49] that every year. Um, and we've done well
[31:53] so far in terms of being able to open
[31:55] pretty much with full staff in terms of
[31:57] classroom teachers every year. So, that
[31:59] plan has worked well. Um, and that is
[32:01] all I have for that.
[32:02] >> Great. Thank you.
[32:05] >> Um, under new business,
[32:07] uh, we have a note about removal of
[32:09] discussion of school records at EB.
[32:11] >> Yes. So, I was going to give you what I
[32:13] know about that so far and I will follow
[32:15] up at the next meeting with more detail.
[32:17] So, that I talked to the town manager. I
[32:19] haven't been in the EB Newton probably
[32:20] since I don't know maybe I was in
[32:22] kindergarten but um there used to be a
[32:25] superintendent's office in there. I was
[32:27] not called there often so I don't go
[32:29] there often. And then then they moved
[32:31] when they uh redo the buildings. So that
[32:36] office has had a ton of stuff in it.
[32:39] When I say stuff I mean staff records, I
[32:41] mean purchase orders, business records.
[32:44] Um all the [snorts] things that schools
[32:46] have. If you came up in my office, you'd
[32:48] see lots of file cabinets. Um, that
[32:52] stuff had been moved into, I believe,
[32:53] the basement. I couldn't really figure
[32:55] it basement. Yeah. So, um, there is a a
[32:59] basement room at the EB Newton that is
[33:01] sort of floor to ceiling of stuff in
[33:04] boxes.
[33:05] >> The um
[33:07] the paper for the copier boxes that have
[33:09] writing, some which is faded, so you
[33:11] have no idea what's in the box. There's
[33:13] I believe there's a toilet seat on top
[33:15] of one of the boxes. So, it's just like
[33:17] been a room that the things have gone
[33:19] into. Um so, the town needs that space
[33:22] cleaned out, which is I I get it. I
[33:25] understand that. Um but there's a
[33:27] process that has to be undertaken for
[33:29] that. So, I'm going to tell you that
[33:31] just doing my just quick deep dive into
[33:34] it. Um we're going to need approval from
[33:36] the Records Con conservation board. Uh,
[33:39] we're also going to need to do um in
[33:43] order to get those records out and
[33:44] decide what we're keeping and what we
[33:46] not what we're not, there's going to
[33:47] have to be some type of an inventory
[33:49] discovery done where somebody goes in
[33:52] and and looks inside every one of those
[33:54] boxes and identifies what they are and
[33:56] sort of separates things. Then there's
[33:58] going to uh need to be some type of of
[34:00] mapping in which we label things remain
[34:03] active, archived or eligible for
[34:06] destruction. And there's going to have
[34:08] to be some type of a shredding party or
[34:11] big vehicle that comes and shreds those
[34:12] things. So, it's not sort of like when
[34:15] your mother tells you to clean your room
[34:16] upstairs, you clean your room, you come
[34:18] downstairs, now you can go out. It it's
[34:19] not going to work that way because it's
[34:21] a big project. I have no idea what the
[34:23] cost of it is going to be. Um, I
[34:25] couldn't even guess because that's not
[34:26] what I do for a living. So, um, I did
[34:30] identify a couple of companies through
[34:31] the state's website to see how we would
[34:34] go about it, which is where I gained
[34:35] that information. Um, so I want to go
[34:37] back to the town manager and just talk
[34:39] to him about that so we can talk about
[34:41] sort of a reasonable timeline. Um, I
[34:43] would need to talk to the school
[34:44] committee and and potentially the town
[34:47] too about because I have no idea what
[34:48] the cost is. Be $5,000 be $100,000. I
[34:51] have no idea. Uh, I just wanted to put
[34:53] it on your radar so that you're aware if
[34:55] you hear rumblings about it. Um, I
[34:58] expect to talk to the town manager, you
[35:00] know, within the next few days to get a
[35:02] sense of how we did that. There's not
[35:04] like a particular place that we can
[35:06] store things anymore. So, the attic here
[35:08] is filled. Hopefully, somebody else that
[35:11] will be somebody else's issue in the
[35:12] next coming 10 years. And there's a a
[35:14] container behind for kids only um that
[35:18] I've never gone into. I think you've
[35:20] gone into it once.
[35:20] >> I haven't gone into it, but I I think
[35:23] that's about the
[35:24] >> Yeah, I've been I've been in the there
[35:26] are certain items that you have to keep
[35:28] forever. I don't know what forever is,
[35:29] but it will exceed me. But what you
[35:34] can't do is you can't destroy things
[35:36] that you can't destroy. Um, I think it
[35:39] was this week I got an email from
[35:40] somebody who needed something about
[35:43] their parent to they had to do a leave
[35:46] immigration and their parent went to
[35:48] school there for like six months or
[35:50] something and they needed a record of
[35:52] that. It could be in the attic, it could
[35:54] be in the container, it might be in the
[35:55] bathroom, it could be. Um, so there's a
[35:58] way to to scan those things and to put
[36:00] them electronically somewhere so that
[36:03] they can then be removed. To scan the
[36:05] attic, the container in the bathroom, I
[36:07] think would be costly. But right now,
[36:10] the town's need is to free that space
[36:12] up. So, we'd like to honor that, but we
[36:14] need to know what we're honoring before
[36:16] we do it as well.
[36:18] >> I don't know if you had any more on
[36:19] that. No, I agree.
[36:31] [clears throat]
[36:31] >> Particularly see myself doing that, but
[36:34] I throw things out there with the be.
[36:39] So that's on that. And then the next
[36:42] item was the nurse substitute. So um we
[36:46] had a nurse uh retire this year. We've
[36:49] onboarded new nurses. Um we have one
[36:53] nurse per school building uh that are
[36:56] assigned to the you know 500 plus kids
[36:59] in that building. That ratio is pretty big. Uh we have a onetoone nurse
[37:04] who was at the four banks with a student
[37:06] who's going to the coming school because
[37:08] that student is going to grade three.
[37:10] And then we have a nurse leader and
[37:12] about probably about eight years ago
[37:14] that's Tara Buouie. Um and she does a
[37:17] lot of the oversight of nursing, a lot
[37:19] of the policy um every time something
[37:22] changes. She was amazing during co um
[37:25] but the other thing she does and the
[37:27] reason we uh kept her out of being an
[37:30] inschool nurse, which she used to be for
[37:32] years, um had to do with substituting.
[37:35] [snorts] So on top of doing policy
[37:37] creation, overseeing the nurses, if a
[37:40] nurse is out, Tara would step in for
[37:42] them. So that has saved us um some
[37:45] money. Um but there are times where we
[37:47] have two nurses out. We've had you know
[37:49] times where people have been out on
[37:51] family medical illness. Um and we bring
[37:54] in nurses who have either retired or
[37:56] other members of the community. Um 100 I
[37:59] think we went up to $150 an a day like
[38:03] two or three years ago. Um as the mother
[38:06] of a nurse I don't think there's enough
[38:08] money you could pay them to show up at
[38:10] all. I mean it's just what they do.
[38:12] Nursing is very different in schools and
[38:13] levels. It's not band-aids and walls of
[38:17] playground. It's just a lot more. We
[38:19] want complex needs, kids with diabetes,
[38:21] kids with G tubes, kids with traits. Um,
[38:24] so there's a lot that goes on. Um, I am
[38:27] suggesting that at some point, uh, we
[38:29] talk about increasing that and I can
[38:31] bring that as a full recommendation to
[38:33] the next meeting. I did a survey of um
[38:36] other public schools on the
[38:37] superintendent listerve and the average
[38:40] daily sub for a nurse on the north shore
[38:42] is between $250 and $275 a day or a
[38:46] predium rate based on the salary scale
[38:49] where they would fit. Um so if you would
[38:53] uh like I can bring a recommendation to
[38:55] the full committee at the next meeting
[38:57] um where you would be able to I just
[38:59] wanted to give you background first so
[39:01] it's not not a surprise. I do support
[39:03] it. Um, not having a nurse in a
[39:05] building, we would have to call an
[39:07] agency. We've done that two or three
[39:08] times. Um, they don't know our kids.
[39:13] We're very talented, but they don't know
[39:14] our kids. Um, so most of these nurses
[39:17] that are subbing from the community do
[39:18] know our kids well because they've been
[39:20] either here [snorts] before or they're
[39:22] just a member of the community and it's
[39:23] a very smooth transition.
[39:26] So, I'll bring more on that if that's
[39:27] what you would like. When you bring it,
[39:29] can you also provide information on how
[39:32] often we're either calling agency nurses
[39:35] or going without one in the building?
[39:36] >> For sure. Yep. Thank you.
[39:38] >> We never go without one in the building.
[39:39] Um we [clears throat] may do is have to
[39:42] rotate people where they miss a lunch
[39:45] and get a differential. Um they don't
[39:47] get prep periods. Um but they'll miss a
[39:50] portion of their day. Um, so far I don't
[39:53] think we've gone any days during the
[39:54] school year. We've only [clears throat]
[39:56] the last year, but I'll bring that data.
[39:58] >> Thank you.
[40:00] >> We have no unfinished business. Do we
[40:02] have any publications?
[40:08] May I have a motion to go into executive
[40:10] session, please?
[40:12] >> Second
[40:14] by Mr. Any discussion?
[40:17] >> Is it the exe would the executive
[40:19] session be the
[40:21] teachers on the phone
[40:26] has to do with the teachers collective.
[40:37] » Okay.
[40:39] >> You have something else.
[40:40] >> So, it was uh I just have to fill you in
[40:43] on an update and guiding.
[40:45] >> When we do executive session, we'll
[40:46] adjourn after. If from executive
[40:48] session, we have to adjust to the
[40:49] teacher subcommittee. You do that.
[40:52] Um discussion. Any [snorts] discussion?
[40:57] I have a roll call, please. Murrows.
[40:59] >> Yes.
[40:59] >> M. Cubic.
[41:00] >> Yes.
[41:01] >> Military.
[41:01] >> Yes.
[41:02] >> Mr. Pton.
[41:02] >> Yes.
[41:03] >> Mr. Muchi. Yes.
[41:05] >> Yes. Thank you.