[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.

Winthrop School Committee Meeting of August 10, 2026

Transcript