[0:33] Okay. You can have
[2:48] dinner on a small train
[2:50] . Okay.
[2:52] Good evening, everyone. This is the
[2:55] Woodbridge School Board meeting dated September 22, 2026
[3:00] . The meeting will begin at 7:03 PM
[3:02] . Roll call of committee members. Deputy
[3:07] Chairperson Lynn Piagick.
[3:09] yes.
[3:10] Well, Secretary Sarah Beth del
[3:11] Prete is absent tonight
[3:13] . Well, Jackie
[3:15] Capiero is also absent tonight.
[3:16] Megan Canantzer.
[3:18] yes.
[3:19] Jeff Hughes. yes.
[3:20] Michael Strambler.
[3:22] yes.
[3:22] Sarah Obvirkar.
[3:24] yes.
[3:25] Aaron Williamson.
[3:26] yes.
[3:26] And I am the chairman,
[3:27] Stephen Lawrence
[3:29] . Well, tonight we also have in
[3:44] attendance Superintendent Christopher Montini, Director of Programs Donna Canin, Director of Special Services Carrie Bolsharding, Principal Anna Lisa Sherman, Vice Principal Cheryl Touffer, and Secretary Marsha Di Genero
[3:45] . Now, let us recite the oath of loyalty
[3:49] . I
[3:57] pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And I pledge my allegiance to the Republic,
[4:00] symbolized by our flag,
[4:02] one nation under God, indivisible
[4:04] , a Republic where liberty and justice are for all
[4:07] . Now, any
[4:16] letters or emails received by the Board of Directors by 4 PM today have been
[4:18] posted online on BoardBook
[4:20] .
[4:22] Now, let's move on to comments from the general public
[4:25] . Since we have
[4:29] n't found any members of the public wishing to express their opinions
[4:31] , we would like to reiterate that the
[4:33] Board
[4:35] welcomes public participation and appreciates feedback from the
[4:37] community, whether through letters or comments expressed at meetings
[4:42] . No one will be expressing their opinions at tonight's meeting
[4:48] , but please note that the Board of Directors will not respond to any
[4:49] opinions submitted during the opinion-expression time
[4:52] unless necessary to clarify the issue
[4:54] . We will
[4:56] take your opinions into consideration and the
[4:59] school district management department will contact you at an appropriate time
[5:00] .
[5:04] Now, let's move on to the positive topics of the meeting
[5:06] . Here is the latest information from the PTA
[5:08] . Aaron
[5:11] Murphy will explain
[5:12] .
[5:18] yes. Hello everyone. I'm
[5:20] Aaron Murphy, Vice President of the PTA
[5:22] . I'm here in Monica's
[5:24] place. She is
[5:25] currently overseas. Now, let me give you a brief update on what we've been up to
[5:30] . Please keep the
[5:33] following dates in mind
[5:34] . The ice cream
[5:36] party has already taken place
[5:38] . It was very well received. I'm sure some of you participated, but it was a
[5:41] wonderful
[5:42] event. The day for the photo shoot is
[5:44] approaching.
[5:47] Then, we
[5:49] distributed QR codes to everyone at the open house
[5:51] . This is the
[5:56] best way to see all the events we're hosting this year. As you can
[5:58] see, it's a very busy
[6:00] year. We are constantly
[6:01] adding new events.
[6:03] So, let's
[6:05] see what happens this year. Well, as I
[6:07] mentioned earlier, we've
[6:09] already had an ice cream party, and we also had a
[6:11] welcome back lunch
[6:12] . I think it was well-received
[6:14] . Everyone seems
[6:15] happy when we welcome them
[6:17] . Well, we celebrated about 150
[6:19] staff and teachers
[6:21] . The Colony Pizza Truck was also there
[6:24] , and everyone seemed to like it
[6:26] . I think that's good
[6:28] . I'll come again, but I asked how many pizzas they had
[6:29] . There were 104
[6:31] sheets. And so, everyone was happy
[6:34] . There were lots of hugs to welcome everyone back
[6:38] . At the ice cream
[6:39] party, we served approximately 1,200
[6:41] ice creams
[6:43] . This is
[6:45] after I placed an order and returned part of it. In other words, I
[6:47] ordered too much, but there were 1,200
[6:49] ice creams
[6:50] . There's a wonderful principal there
[6:54] . Well, I'm doing a few new things this year
[6:58] . We are testing a new payment
[6:59] platform
[7:01] . It's called Zeffy. The
[7:03] system works by processing all
[7:05] payments through it
[7:06] . Up until now, I've been
[7:08] trying it out with Beecher apparel. You can place an order by
[7:10] clicking on a QR code
[7:12] or
[7:14] by simply tapping your smartphone. There are no fees whatsoever
[7:17] . There are
[7:22] no credit card fees or platform fees. However, you will be
[7:24] asked for a tip, which will be given
[7:26] to Zeffy. It's not for us
[7:28] . Therefore,
[7:30] if you are asked for this tip and
[7:32] choose to pay it
[7:33] , you need to clearly state in your message that it is to
[7:35] help with platform payments and will
[7:36] not put you into the PTA
[7:39] . However,
[7:44] since you're paying a significant amount in credit card fees, this can help you drastically reduce your costs
[7:46] . So
[7:48] , this year I'm trying out a new photographer
[7:50] . I haven't been here since COVID,
[7:53] but I've had the
[7:55] same company take photos of me outdoors
[7:57] . It became clear that the
[7:59] communication with that company was not
[8:00] very good
[8:01] . The photo shoot
[8:03] took a long time, and we received several complaints about that
[8:05] . Therefore
[8:06] , we decided to commission this reliable photographer
[8:08] . It
[8:09] 's a local company. I've heard good things about it
[8:11] . Mrs. Finelli had
[8:12] worked with them before and I
[8:15] believe she had good things to say about them
[8:16] . So far, customer
[8:17] service and
[8:18] communication have
[8:19] improved. I also like that it's a local company
[8:21] .
[8:22] Well, that's next week. Let's see
[8:24] what happens. If all goes well
[8:26] , it will be a
[8:27] big victory for us
[8:29] . Well, the new
[8:30] thing is that this year we have a new fundraising
[8:32] committee chair who has some
[8:34] great ideas for new fundraising activities
[8:36] .
[8:39] So please listen carefully
[8:41] . We will not be making any announcements yet
[8:43] . We are exploring several ideas
[8:45] , and if all goes well
[8:46] , they could lead to a new and
[8:48] exciting fundraising campaign for us
[8:49] . There's a slight
[8:50] gap in the budget. I'll
[8:52] show you the budget, and I
[8:55] hope this will cover the costs.
[8:57] Hopefully, it will
[9:03] help preserve tradition and welcome more community partnerships. Well,
[9:06] another recent change is
[9:08] ScholasticNews. Therefore,
[9:10] we partnered with Scholastic to host a book fair
[9:13] . You can
[9:15] receive a portion of the funds from Scholastic Dollars and
[9:17] use a portion of those funds for your budget
[9:19] .
[9:23] With those Scholastic dollars, you can get Scholastic magazines delivered to your school
[9:25] and Scholastic news that teachers
[9:27] use in their curriculum
[9:31] . What we did this year showed us that we could do
[9:33] this, but we weren't
[9:34] really
[9:36] sure. We worked
[9:38] with Professor Sherman to see if
[9:39] this was feasible, and we conducted a
[9:41] survey of teachers. We
[9:43] realized this was possible a
[9:44] little late, so we
[9:46] conducted a survey of teachers to find out who was actually
[9:47] using them and how much we should
[9:50] actually spend rather than buying them for everyone
[9:51] .
[9:53] In that case, it probably won't be used
[9:54] . Therefore
[9:56] , we conducted a survey to find out
[9:57] approximately how many teachers, classrooms, and
[9:59] grade levels were using them
[10:00] . I placed an order accordingly, but as I
[10:04] mentioned earlier, it was a little late, so I
[10:13] hope to try this again next year before actually placing an order, and hopefully understand it better so that the amount I spend will be appropriate
[10:14] . Um, here is our
[10:17] budget proposal. This is
[10:21] something we've been working on all summer.
[10:22] We will vote on this
[10:24] . We will hold a vote on the budget on September 30th
[10:26] . Well, as you can see
[10:29] , this is
[10:30] typical for us, with
[10:32] 42% going back to schools and improving academic performance
[10:34] . This includes things like school
[10:36] events, teacher grants, and contributions back
[10:38] to the school
[10:41] . Well, 24% will be
[10:43] allocated to community events.
[10:46] These include ice cream
[10:47] social events and international
[10:48] festivals.
[10:50] Well, there was another big
[10:52] event, but I can't
[10:54] remember what it was right now. A
[10:55] night of mathematics. A night of science. Yes, that's
[10:59] right. All of
[11:01] these activities that bring a community together are not
[11:03] fundraising activities, but they are of
[11:05] that kind
[11:06] . Furthermore,
[11:08] activities that express our gratitude to our staff are among the
[11:12] top three things we spend the most money on. These include the New
[11:13] Semester Welcome Lunch,
[11:14] Valentine's Day Lunch, and Teacher
[11:16] Appreciation Week. Therefore,
[11:18] much of it goes back to the schools
[11:19] . Security costs are
[11:21] high, so we are trying to reduce them and
[11:23] monitor the situation carefully.
[11:25] Ensuring the safety of an event requires
[11:26] significant security
[11:28] costs. So, the
[11:32] income we expect is being
[11:34] earned in pretty much the same way as before
[11:36] . Our fundraising campaign is
[11:38] clearly the largest fundraising campaign we've ever undertaken
[11:40] . I expect to earn $24,000 this year
[11:42] . There were also many direct donations
[11:45] , totaling $18,000. This represents a
[11:49] significant portion of the direct donations we receive from individuals
[11:51] . And then there's the
[11:53] reading marathon, which we'll be holding again this year. Last year, I
[11:54] believe we made around $15,000 in profits
[11:56] , so I'm
[11:58] hoping for a bit more this year.
[11:59] Kwassi is a long-standing tradition
[12:01] . We generate revenue from the book fair
[12:03] , and we also generate revenue from the photo shoot
[12:05] . So, we're expecting revenue of approximately
[12:09] $78,000. We have
[12:12] sufficient reserve funds, although they are slightly lower than the budgeted amount
[12:14] . We currently
[12:17] have approximately $113,000 in funds
[12:19] . In other words, they have sufficient reserves
[12:21] , which act as a kind of buffer
[12:23] . Also, we have a
[12:25] new fundraising event coming up,
[12:26] so this year we'll try to see if we can
[12:27] balance everything well
[12:29] . These are our
[12:31] executives. I'm sure you've all seen us around,
[12:35] so I won't introduce everyone
[12:36] , but we do have a new member
[12:38] . We have a new chairperson for fundraising
[12:39] . We have a
[12:41] new accounting staff, but
[12:43] they are very knowledgeable about finance
[12:44] , so we are
[12:46] truly fortunate to have them on our team. Yes, that's right
[12:48] . Next, we'll show you some photos of us
[12:50] , what we do
[12:52] , what we bring to the community
[12:54] , and the
[12:56] last slide is about our upcoming PTO
[12:58] meeting. Everyone is
[13:00] welcome, anytime. It will be
[13:03] held in the cafeteria on September 30th. There
[13:07] is also a QR code to the website. Do you have any questions
[13:10] ?
[13:12] This is wonderful. I
[13:20] appreciate not only what you all do, but also your continued innovation, genuine exploration, and your attitude of questioning things instead of taking them for granted. This is a wonderful example for our
[13:22] community and our children
[13:24] . thank you. Do you
[13:26] have any questions? Do you
[13:28] have any comments? As always, it's
[13:29] wonderful
[13:31] .
[13:31] Yes, that's right. thank you
[13:33] . Now, let's
[13:36] move on to the motions for approval. The
[13:40] minutes of the regular board meeting on August 17th, along with the budget
[13:42] explanation, budget overview, and
[13:44] detailed budget report, are
[13:46] included in tonight's agenda items for approval
[13:49] . Is there anyone on the board who would like to extract something from tonight's
[13:51] agenda items for discussion
[13:52] ? It appears no
[13:54] one is present, so could you please submit a
[13:57] motion to accept the resolution
[13:58] ? Lynn
[14:00] Piajic. I
[14:03] move to approve the proposed consent.
[14:04] Um, secondly, Aaron
[14:06] Williamson.
[14:08] unfortunately. no.
[14:11] Those who agree? thank you
[14:13] . It was a unanimous decision.
[14:16] Okay. Now, let's move on to the report
[14:18] . First, we'll
[14:20] hear from Superintendent Monty. I was trying to say Monti,
[14:22] Martini
[14:24] . Montini. This is my
[14:25] first time. This isn't my first time
[14:27] .
[14:28] Thank you, Chairman
[14:29] . Well, members of the board, the new
[14:31] semester has gotten off to a great start
[14:33] . I would like to express my gratitude to the faculty, staff, board of
[14:35] directors, parents, students, and
[14:37] of course, everyone who contributed to a smooth start to the new school term
[14:44] . As you saw earlier
[14:46] , the PTO did a fantastic job welcoming students, faculty, and
[14:47] staff, and organizing
[14:49] community events to kick off the new school year
[14:54] . This will help
[14:56] build a strong school community
[14:58] and inevitably lead to a fantastic
[15:00] grade level.
[15:03] As you know, and as all of you attending are
[15:04] aware, we have
[15:05] completed three open houses
[15:07] . They were very successful, and
[15:09] many people participated. The
[15:11] parents were able to find the classroom and
[15:13] meet the teacher. It was
[15:20] wonderful to see so many members of the board of directors and the construction committee
[15:22] . There will be some overlap between what I'm about to say
[15:26] and what Mr. Sherman will say
[15:29] . Therefore, we will omit the ice cream
[15:30] party and the farmer meet-and-greet
[15:32] . That was your
[15:33] report that was on the waiting list
[15:34] . Now,
[15:37] regarding the staffing report
[15:39] , the staffing is very good
[15:40] .
[15:42] All staff members are present, except for those with specific qualifications. We are
[15:44] currently looking for a long-term substitute teacher
[15:46] . Then there's
[15:49] one para educator and two cafe staff
[15:51] . There might be three people in total
[15:52] , but we hired one person today
[15:53] . I'm not sure if there were two people or not
[15:54] . It's very
[15:56] good. I'm getting a thumbs-up from people who truly know the situation
[15:58] . So
[16:00] , we are in really good shape and are
[16:03] working hard to fill the remaining seats. A year
[16:05] ago, we only had five or six paramedics
[16:07] , so we asked a temporary staffing agency for help
[16:10] . Therefore, things are
[16:12] much better now.
[16:17] Then, immediately after the last board meeting
[16:19] , on the first day with the teachers, a new
[16:21] teacher
[16:23] joined the staff. Rachel
[16:26] Paul is a
[16:28] first-
[16:30] grade teacher who joined the school just in time for the start of the new school year. Rachel
[16:32] comes from Foot School and
[16:38] has previous teaching experience at both California and Calvin Hill Daycare Center. Therefore, we
[16:40] welcomed her during a break in the board meeting
[16:42] . And,
[16:46] following the relatively new tradition I have learned here, I would like to
[16:52] honor the teachers who have earned, or will soon earn, tenure. In
[16:55] Connecticut, after completing a 40-month
[16:57] teaching term, teachers are expected to
[16:59] obtain tenure and return to their roles
[17:01] . If you previously taught in a previous school district, the term will be
[17:07] slightly shorter.
[17:09] Now, let us commend the
[17:11] following staff and teachers who have reached this milestone
[17:13] . I will
[17:15] briefly read out their names. It's only a
[17:16] handful.
[17:18] Tiffany Bucco,
[17:19] James Mace,
[17:20] Catherine Matos Romero
[17:21] , Emily Miriam,
[17:23] Paola Ortiz, Robin Rogerson, and
[17:25] Jacqueline Taylor.
[17:29] Congratulations, everyone! That's
[17:30] truly wonderful.
[17:33] I'm sure she'll
[17:41] build a long and fulfilling career supporting Beecher's wonderful children
[17:42] . Recently, I've started calling it an award
[17:45] , but in reality, it's a
[17:47] tribute from the Yukon.
[17:53] Our wellness team—and by "
[17:55] wellness team," I don't mean
[18:01] service providers like psychologists or social workers—but rather a
[18:08] committee of teachers and staff who work together to advise and guide schools on healthy habits and activities for teachers, students, and faculty
[18:10] . Beecher was
[18:20] recognized by the Food Policy and Health Division of the Rad Center at the University of Connecticut.
[18:22] Well, it was reported that we were recognized as one of the most powerful wellness committees in the state
[18:27] . Much of this is based on
[18:29] information provided in triennial assessments
[18:31] and WellSAT scores
[18:33] . UConn was asked by the State Department of Education to compile
[18:38] professional training for other school districts
[18:40] , and they
[18:48] contacted us to learn from our experience and use it to help develop their own professional skills. That's a
[18:51] truly wonderful compliment.
[18:56] Well, I hear a lot about the
[18:58] table and
[18:59] cafeteria choices using our local ingredients,
[19:02] but we also pay attention to the staff's well-being, and I ca
[19:06] n't find the right words to describe it, but in the mornings, we
[19:08] listen to music in the art room,
[19:10] drink coffee and paint
[19:11] , or take walks around the school
[19:13] . I also participated
[19:17] . I was drinking coffee and watching other people
[19:18] paint
[19:20] , and it was cathartic for me
[19:21] .
[19:23] Well, I think they're taking the overall experience very
[19:25] seriously
[19:27] . I think this applies to all children,
[19:29] and also to teachers and staff
[19:31] . And I think it's wonderful that the committee, which
[19:33] generously provides its time, has been
[19:34] recognized by the Yukon
[19:36] . So, that meeting may not have
[19:38] taken place yet
[19:39] , but I
[19:41] think it will be held soon. It was at the end of
[19:42] September, right?
[19:44] Oh, the
[19:45] 28th. It's the end of September. Great job, everyone on the team!
[19:49] Finally, I'd like to talk about the enrollment situation
[19:52] . Let's
[19:54] begin as usual. There were 853 new students at the start of the new school term
[19:56] . This is
[19:59] 5 fewer than predicted and
[20:01] 3 fewer than when school started.
[20:04] Therefore, it's almost the same as last year
[20:05] . The number of kindergarten students was slightly lower than predicted
[20:09] , but the number of students in other grades
[20:11] increased slightly, so it's roughly the same as predicted
[20:13] . As of June last year, the
[20:17] number of enrolled members was 875.
[20:20] In other words, the number
[20:22] of students increased by 19 throughout the academic year, but this is
[20:24] actually
[20:27] slightly less than the net migration of 29 students over the past 10 years
[20:29] . Over the past 10 years, there have been
[20:34] 34 cases, or perhaps I should say over the past 5 years
[20:36] ... Did I say 10 years
[20:38] ? We have had 34 students in the past five years
[20:40] . Therefore
[20:43] , the average class size is
[20:46] very good, ranging from 15 to 21 students, and the
[20:49] class size
[20:51] situation is excellent. Mr. Speaker, that concludes my remarks
[20:55] . Do you
[20:56] have any questions or comments
[20:58] ? got it. Just one
[21:00] simple question. Are the transfers
[21:03] distributed across the entire grade level
[21:06] , or are they
[21:08] concentrated in specific grade levels
[21:10] ?
[21:10] Yes, first-year students make up the largest group, followed by
[21:13] second-year students, and the number
[21:16] decreases as the age increases.
[21:17] yes. I will share those statistics
[21:22] . It might be listed here as well
[21:25] , but there are 19 first-year students. This is the
[21:27] number of students transferring in. I was not given the
[21:31] net number of transfers per grade level
[21:32] . got it
[21:34] .
[21:35] This is
[21:39] something we've started calculating and tracking ourselves, and we can also
[21:41] obtain that local data
[21:43] . yes. Now, let's talk
[21:48] about updating the strategic plan
[21:50] . Principal Sherman returns to the right side
[21:55] .
[21:59] Good evening, everyone.
[22:01] Good evening. We are very pleased to be able to
[22:06] share the latest information on our strategic plans
[22:10] . This is a brief reminder of what the strategic plan
[22:12] was
[22:14] and a reflection on the work we have done regarding the strategic plan
[22:17] . For those of you who were still with us at the time
[22:25] , this was
[22:27] started in the 2021-2022 academic year. We
[22:29] have a core team of stakeholders, and I actually just
[22:31] found this and
[22:33] counted them, and it's
[22:35] over 20 people from the entire community who gathered to
[22:40] discuss our goals and vision—what Beecher School should be. The
[22:45] core team of stakeholders then identified three areas of focus
[22:47] . One is the
[22:49] modern learner; another is
[22:51] building diverse and healthy collaborations; and the
[22:53] third is an academic framework
[22:55] . Subsequently, the core
[22:57] group disbanded, and its members
[22:59] joined other teachers to
[23:03] develop initiatives to address these goals
[23:05] . The goals of modern learners were
[23:10] centered around project-based learning. I'll
[23:11] show it above.
[23:13] And on the right, you can see some initiatives that educators have
[23:15] discussed and considered
[23:18] . They wanted to achieve that goal
[23:21] . In short,
[23:24] this was centered around PBL (Project-Based Learning)
[23:26] , and even more importantly
[23:28] , it involved considering the individualization of student learning and
[23:36] increasing opportunities to enhance student autonomy throughout the curriculum through collaboration across departments and grade levels
[23:38] . So, that was
[23:41] precisely the goal
[23:43] . What we actually accomplished in achieving this goal is something we,
[23:48] as a school community, are truly proud of
[23:49] . First, I started by getting in touch with Ross Cooper, the author of the
[23:51] book "
[23:52] Project-Based Learning" shown above
[23:55] . And then we
[23:57] got an opportunity. First, we
[23:58] purchased the book for all staff members
[24:00] and held a book club meeting about it
[24:02] . Additionally, Mr. Ross had the
[24:05] opportunity to visit Beecher Road Primary School. He
[24:07] actually came twice
[24:08] . The third time was probably the most
[24:10] worthwhile
[24:12] . Because we had
[24:14] dispersed our efforts with him
[24:15] . And by the
[24:17] time he came for the third time, we were
[24:20] fully engaged in learning by reading books together and discussing them
[24:22] . We
[24:24] reviewed our learning units and
[24:27] identified areas where we wanted to introduce project-based learning
[24:29] . Furthermore, we introduced at
[24:31] least one
[24:32] project-based learning
[24:33] unit in almost every grade level.
[24:35] And Mr. Ross came back again, so
[24:37] we were able to look back on all of that
[24:38] with him, grade by grade
[24:40] .
[24:42] And I was able to ask him specific questions that were tailored to each grade level
[24:45] . And
[24:47] those conversations were very productive
[24:49] ; Ross is
[24:50] incredibly knowledgeable and
[24:54] really helped each team grow in the areas where they needed to improve
[24:56] . Therefore,
[24:57] that day I spent with Ross was
[24:59] truly a wonderful learning experience
[25:00] . Furthermore,
[25:04] as we continued to engage in project-based learning, the
[25:06] unit grew and
[25:08] began to expand beyond departments.
[25:10] In other words, we started from the question, "What is this
[25:12] ? What is it like?
[25:13] How do we integrate these
[25:14] ?"
[25:16] Furthermore, much of this
[25:17] project-based learning took place at the
[25:20] same time as our HMHIntoReading learning
[25:22] . And
[25:25] these two implementations are undoubtedly
[25:27] very different.
[25:29] Therefore, our teachers were really struggling with how to get these
[25:31] two important tasks done with the students
[25:34] .
[25:36] And now we are in a
[25:38] stage where many integrations are taking place
[25:40] . The sample here is from the
[25:41] second year students, and you can see it spread out in the hallway
[25:45] . They were creating a massive mural of the sea
[25:48] , which was just one part
[25:50] of a unit inspired by Project-Based Learning (PBL)
[25:52] . Therefore,
[25:55] all the students were able to create this mural together
[25:57] , and
[25:58] they also researched animals
[26:00] . This is a photo visible in the bottom corner
[26:02] . They then
[26:07] considered various ways to present their research on animals.
[26:09] The photo you see is from a
[26:11] short story written by a student that
[26:13] includes information about animals,
[26:15] but when you
[26:17] walked around the cafeteria on presentation day, there
[26:24] were posters, skits, technology integrations, PSAs to save various animals, and public service advertisements
[26:27] . This was a truly empowering experience
[26:30] for our little second-grade friends
[26:31] , and
[26:33] this is just one example of our PBL unit
[26:35] . The next goal
[26:39] was an academic framework, and this
[26:41] goal was actually related
[26:43] to our curriculum
[26:45] . Many of these goals
[26:55] focused on designing a vertically aligned curriculum and ensuring that it was integrated into the curriculum work, and ensuring that
[27:01] conversations about inquiry, differentiation, and student autonomy took place in all of all students' Level 1 learning
[27:03] . As you know
[27:08] , we have completed the revision and creation of the ELA (English Language Assistant) curriculum for grades K through 6
[27:13] . The
[27:15] majority of these changes are due to our HMH (Home
[27:16] Medical Health)
[27:17] initiatives, but we also made
[27:19] some revisions to the curriculum for grades 4 through 6
[27:21] . The math curriculum for grades K through 6 is now
[27:23] complete
[27:25] . The science curriculum for grades K through 6 is almost
[27:29] complete, and the
[27:31] library technology curriculum for preschool education is also nearing completion. We
[27:37] plan to submit it to the curriculum committee and upload it to the website this year.
[27:42] This summer, we also had the opportunity to conduct a collaborative project for 5th and 6th graders in social studies
[27:47] , and we
[27:49] plan to publish this on our website later this year
[27:51] . Next, we plan to work on social
[27:54] studies, music, physical education, health, and art for grades K through 4
[27:57] . And perhaps even more
[28:00] importantly, we need to
[28:03] review the curriculum revision cycle and
[28:05] continuously
[28:07] review and update all curriculum documents to ensure that none of them become
[28:08] outdated or incomplete
[28:12] . The
[28:17] teachers at Beecher School worked on this project during the summer break in the middle of the school term
[28:20] . I spent time on this task after school
[28:22] , and also during summer vacation
[28:24] . In particular
[28:27] , literacy and mathematics experts and
[28:29] STEAM teachers spent an
[28:34] enormous amount of time creating these documents and checking every single comma
[28:36] . At some point,
[28:39] I looked at a literacy expert and
[28:44] said, "Don't worry about it anymore. It's okay if you miss a comma."
[28:46] Therefore, their attention to detail and their
[28:50] dedication and passion for this work were
[28:52] very evident in their efforts to achieve this goal
[28:54] . And the final goal was to
[28:58] build a healthy alliance
[28:59] . This was about
[29:03] diversity,
[29:05] equity, and inclusivity at Beecher Road School,
[29:07] what those things mean,
[29:08] and
[29:10] how the community can collaborate,
[29:11] engage in the community experience
[29:13] , and develop a common language and norms
[29:17] . We also make an effort to talk a lot
[29:19] about being aware of and supporting differences
[29:21] , and
[29:24] about respecting each other
[29:25] . Therefore
[29:28] , while this initiative is, of course,
[29:30] always ongoing in all schools
[29:32] ,
[29:34] CARES meetings have become particularly frequent in Beecher
[29:36] .
[29:38] And during that CARES meeting
[29:40] , we also started some really fun activities for the whole school
[29:44] . Therefore, there is one photo of the CARES meeting in the corner
[29:47] . An activity
[29:51] related to this gathering was for
[29:52] all the students to
[29:56] write about how they show respect, creating a
[29:58] giant chain of paper that stretched throughout the entire building
[30:00] . We also did
[30:07] some really fun activities during these gatherings. There was an activity where we had to pass a
[30:10] ball to people around us using only our elbows
[30:13] . It was a little comical, but the children did a
[30:15] really great job
[30:17] . Furthermore, all gatherings
[30:27] adopted a model of shared conversation and definitions, supporting activities, and school-wide experiences to effectively convey the message
[30:29] . The
[30:31] members of our wellness team worked
[30:33] incredibly hard on these CARES meetings
[30:34] . When I say "
[30:36] members of the wellness team" here
[30:37] , I mean the school
[30:38] counselor and social
[30:39] worker. They also
[30:44] worked hard on developing these lessons and providing support in the classroom.
[30:48] Furthermore, there is a lot of evidence throughout the school
[30:51] . As you know
[30:54] , I think you've heard me talk about our annual monthly
[30:56] celebrations
[30:59] . It's Hispanic
[31:01] Heritage Month right now. We've already kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month with a Spanish quote shared by sixth graders and their
[31:04] foreign language teacher
[31:09] . Additionally, the
[31:12] entire school is organizing
[31:14] many shared stories and activities to celebrate these different months
[31:18] . And it is clear that this
[31:20] extends to the entire curriculum
[31:22] . There's a
[31:24] painting by the art teacher there
[31:25] . Then there's the
[31:27] Hispanic Cultural
[31:29] Heritage Month bulletin board that I highlighted
[31:31] . This is just one example of the activities we do at Beecher School to
[31:34] celebrate diversity and foster true respect
[31:38] . Furthermore, the
[31:42] collaboration with the PTA remains strong
[31:44] , with the PTA bringing International Night to Beecher School
[31:48] , and teachers actively
[31:50] participating in it.
[31:53] Many students from various grade levels are actively participating in and supporting International Night by
[31:55] making decorations and coloring national flags
[32:01] . Now,
[32:06] this strategic development plan is nearing its end
[32:08] . As
[32:12] Mr. Mancini
[32:14] told the staff when he participated,
[32:15] even with a new superintendent in place,
[32:17] much of this work is so
[32:19] wonderful, powerful, and
[32:21] beneficial to all students that it will
[32:24] continue no matter what happens in the future.
[32:26] Project-based learning is
[32:30] firmly integrated into our learning units at present and will
[32:32] undoubtedly continue in the future
[32:33] . We have begun to delve deeper into collaboration across grade levels and departments
[32:37] , and
[32:39] this will definitely continue
[32:40] . This year, we're working on shifting our care model
[32:42] a bit more towards an advisory approach
[32:45] , and we're
[32:47] very excited to see what that will entail
[32:48] . We are
[32:51] discussing further what that will bring. And, as I
[32:53] mentioned earlier, we
[33:00] want to successfully manage the curriculum revision cycle and develop a new strategic plan to move us forward in the coming years. We
[33:04] talked a lot, didn't we? Do you
[33:05] have any questions?
[33:07] wonderful. Yes, no, I
[33:13] had a presentation on project-based learning a few months ago
[33:15] , so seeing and understanding how strategic plans are actually put into action is something
[33:19] many people do
[33:21] , but they don't always
[33:22] go that far
[33:24] . I really think this is a
[33:27] powerful approach in terms of priorities
[33:29] . I
[33:32] commend you for narrowing down your priorities to just three. This is because doing so can sometimes cause
[33:36] delays in the work
[33:37] .
[33:38] yes.
[33:38] Well, in terms of promoting that
[33:39] , just seeing this come to fruition is a
[33:42] huge benefit for learners
[33:43] .
[33:43] thank you. Any
[33:45] further comments?
[33:46] Any questions? Parents
[33:47] ?
[33:48] First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the multiple superintendents who have worked to make
[33:50] this a reality
[33:53] .
[33:54] Mr. Montini was, well,
[33:56] talking about that
[33:57] , but I said, wait a minute
[33:58] , I'm the only administrator left
[34:01] . So, yes, I will give that
[34:02] presentation
[34:04] .
[34:04] wonderful. congratulations
[34:05] . Thank you for actually implementing
[34:07] and completing the plan
[34:08] . I
[34:10] have a question. It's
[34:11] not after the next slide
[34:13] , but
[34:15] under the updated academic framework, it states that it has been revised and
[34:17] published, and includes ELA, mathematics,
[34:19] and foreign languages
[34:21] . I'm curious about the situation with Spanish
[34:25] . It was the
[34:26] only subject that wasn't mentioned in the presentation
[34:28] . But it looks like it's over from here on out
[34:30] . World
[34:32] languages. it's over.
[34:34] I'm sorry, I skipped over it
[34:36] . I'm truly sorry.
[34:38] please. It was
[34:39] completed last summer. What we were
[34:41] working on wasn't a
[34:42] year ago, but last
[34:44] summer. But I'll
[34:46] check to see if it's listed there. I
[34:48] thought it might not be listed. In other words, I haven't
[34:50] seen it yet. Yes, it
[34:51] probably hasn't been published yet
[34:53] . I apologize for skipping that part
[34:55] .
[34:56] However, I was working on world languages ​​during the summer
[34:58] .
[34:59] As per previous practice, we intend to share this information with the school board's
[35:01] curriculum committee
[35:03] and post it on the district's website
[35:06] . Furthermore, while doing this
[35:07] , I discovered that the math
[35:09] pace guide was apparently wrong
[35:10] , but the curriculum documents were
[35:12] wrong
[35:13] . Therefore, I've corrected that as well
[35:15] . Actually, I was
[35:17] exchanging emails with Professor Prawlic, and he asked me, "
[35:18] Wait a minute, why is
[35:19] n't this included?"
[35:20] Therefore, we will also make sure that the mathematics is
[35:21] officially released as soon as possible
[35:23] . Currently, there are
[35:24] pace guides, but
[35:25] no curriculum guides
[35:26] . Therefore, it will be made public
[35:28] .
[35:28] Regarding mathematics, we
[35:32] worked very hard with the middle school teachers to ensure that everything was clear when we got to it.
[35:34] Yeah.
[35:34] Well, I'm in fifth grade, so I just
[35:38] received a letter about things to consider before starting school
[35:39] . There have
[35:42] been some changes to the curriculum at the junior high school, so I'm
[35:45] curious about what happened with the Spanish language program.
[35:49] Yes, that's a good question. So
[35:51] , well, we have to give Amity some praise
[35:53] . The
[35:55] new Deputy Director of Education there,
[35:56] Dr. Shannon Carlson—though I don't think she's new—has been
[36:05] fantastic at organizing vertical collaboration meetings with us. She's started with core
[36:06] content areas, language arts and
[36:08] mathematics, and is expanding into MLL and libraries
[36:10] . Well, I
[36:14] think her intention is to further expand the world language program
[36:16] , and she also wants to continue the social studies class that started last year
[36:18] .
[36:21] So, we don't know yet whether they have casual,
[36:25] frequent conversations with their middle school colleagues, but we don't
[36:38] know if they have had purposeful discussions about the curriculum, curriculum design, and what it will look like in the transition from 6th to 7th grade
[36:40] . However, that is our goal for this year
[36:41] , and it will undoubtedly influence our
[36:43] curriculum design and what it will be like
[36:47] . Another administrative
[36:50] point we discussed was that, in
[36:52] the past, we had
[36:53] oral and written exams for sixth graders, but
[36:57] these have been discontinued due to the impact of COVID-19
[37:00] . And we were
[37:03] discussing whether it should be revived or not
[37:04] . This is because it gave us
[37:07] very valuable insights into what and how we teach
[37:09] . Furthermore, this information was also conveyed to the junior high school
[37:10] , allowing them to understand the academic
[37:11] level of our students
[37:12] entering the school
[37:13] . Therefore, my
[37:15] answer is that there will likely be further developments in the future
[37:16] .
[37:17] They no longer categorize languages ​​by level
[37:18] .
[37:19] Yes, I know about world languages
[37:21] .
[37:21] So part of my question is
[37:23] , if they stop dividing students into levels
[37:25] , and all students start at the same level
[37:26] , and some
[37:27] primary schools like ours focus on language while others don't
[37:30] ,
[37:32] ultimately everyone will be at the same level
[37:34] . I
[37:39] believe that the school district should discuss this matter at some point. While our
[37:42] students spend a lot of time in Spanish
[37:44] ,
[37:48] considering decisions beyond our control, we at Amity
[37:58] believe we need to consider whether to add culture when learning a world language, or whether to expand to other cultures. I don't know what the possibilities are
[38:01] .
[38:02] However, we acknowledge that we did not resume that conversation after they made that decision
[38:08] . I
[38:08] agree. This year will
[38:10] undoubtedly be a year in which we focus our efforts
[38:11] . thank you
[38:13] .
[38:13] Yes,
[38:14] thank you.
[38:16] Any other comments?
[38:22] How does this content align with the level-based classifications for middle school mathematics? What are we doing
[38:24] ?
[38:25] Yeah. As I mentioned earlier
[38:27] , we are having a cross-sectional conversation
[38:29] . There are opportunities to have those kinds of conversations
[38:32] . Well, we've actually talked a lot about the
[38:36] algebra preparatory classes we offer, what they will mean
[38:38] for the children in the future
[38:40] ,
[38:42] and the work we're doing to
[38:44] adjust and change the way levels are assigned and determined in middle school
[38:50] . So
[38:52] , I've heard that some of that information has recently been
[38:53] changed in Amity
[38:55] . It
[38:56] arrived at our place about a week ago
[38:58] . Yes, it was a week ago
[39:00] . So, well, we're having a
[39:01] discussion about it at our school
[39:03] . In fact, a meeting is scheduled for this week or next week
[39:05] .
[39:06] Poor Maureen, I'm
[39:07] always causing her trouble
[39:09] . A meeting has been scheduled for the 6th grade math teacher to
[39:12] discuss the matter with Mr. Krawieck and Mr. Etchberg
[39:13] . Furthermore, as I
[39:15] mentioned earlier, there is a
[39:17] cross-cutting liaison meeting of the boards of education in order to continue these discussions
[39:18] .
[39:20] Furthermore, it should be mentioned that all teachers attend the liaison meetings with the Board of Education
[39:25] . Teachers and administrators
[39:28] attend, but separately
[39:30] , there is also a curriculum meeting with the Board of Education
[39:31] , which
[39:33] I usually attend as well.
[39:36] And it's just administrators, no teachers
[39:38] . So,
[39:39] it's usually an opportunity to talk to Chris and say, "This
[39:41] meeting is taking place, and
[39:42] this is what we're talking about."
[39:45] And of course, he has the
[39:47] Superintendents of Education conference.
[39:48] Therefore, many discussions are taking place to ensure that we are aligning, to the best of our ability, the values ​​that we cherish as a school community
[39:52] , while upholding them
[39:59] . Therefore, we are
[40:03] constantly continuing that effort
[40:04] . got it.
[40:06] thank you. got it
[40:07] . What do you think of the social-emotion
[40:09] curriculum? Is it
[40:11] posted,
[40:13] or what are you using
[40:14] ? That's a good question. Yes, there is
[40:19] currently no formal social-emotion
[40:21] curriculum.
[40:24] Well, I
[40:32] know that the wellness team and Carrie and Cheryl have been discussing and considering it, but there isn't a
[40:34] formal curriculum at the moment
[40:35] . Furthermore, the school
[40:39] uses responsive classrooms
[40:40] . Of course, CARES is
[40:42] run as a school,
[40:43] but there is currently
[40:44] no formal curriculum. This doesn't
[40:46] mean it won't change in the future
[40:47] . That's the
[40:49] situation right now. got it.
[40:55] Now, let's
[40:57] move on to the BRS update.
[40:58] Oh, I'm here. You don't have to
[41:00] go anywhere
[41:01] .
[41:01] That's me. Um,
[41:04] hello everyone.
[41:05] thank you.
[41:06] Well, interestingly, even though it hasn't actually
[41:08] been that long
[41:10] , it
[41:12] feels like I've been at school for a very long time
[41:13] . But looking back at what I said at this conference last year
[41:17] , I realized that what I was really talking about was the
[41:19] start of the new school term
[41:20] . And then I
[41:22] thought, "I want to do that
[41:23] ." It certainly feels like I've been at
[41:25] school for a while now
[41:26] . So, I was thinking about it
[41:27] , and it's
[41:29] always the best day of the year. As
[41:31] Ms. Montini recently said
[41:32] , it's truly wonderful when all the
[41:33] children come in through the door
[41:34] , the hallway is
[41:36] filled with them again, and there's
[41:37] laughter and chatter, hugs and hand-holding
[41:38] , friendship, and all the
[41:41] learning and team-building that's already underway
[41:43] . As you know, the building is
[41:46] empty,
[41:50] filled with lots of boxes and busyness, without the
[41:53] little children to breathe life into it
[41:55] , and then it
[41:57] becomes full again. That's
[41:58] probably my
[42:00] favorite day of the year. So I'm
[42:03] really grateful that everyone has come back. As
[42:05] Professor Montini
[42:06] mentioned, it was truly
[42:13] wonderful to welcome all the families back on the evening of the open house, and to have so many families participate in such an informative evening
[42:14] . Also, as has already been mentioned
[42:16] , the PTA's ice
[42:18] cream social event was a great success
[42:19] . We also received a very special gift from local farmers who kindly
[42:22] cooperated with us
[42:25] . Is it okay to say that
[42:26] ? Yes, of course
[42:28] . I received a special gift
[42:29] . This
[42:31] is a special tote bag. Well, the
[42:34] local farmers who usually supply ingredients to the cafeteria
[42:37] joined us for an ice cream party
[42:38] . And they shared food and
[42:41] information with us
[42:43] , which was really fun
[42:45] . I
[42:48] learned a lot about hydroponically grown lettuce and found it
[42:49] very interesting. I
[42:51] spoke with that farmer for a long time
[42:53] . Well, I'm
[42:55] really grateful to Jessica Hill
[42:56] . She is a wonderful person who brings
[42:58] not only food, but
[43:00] also knowledge and information to the school community
[43:02] .
[43:05] Well, I'd like to talk about something a little unusual
[43:08] . At Beecher, there is an
[43:12] activity called Beecher Bike. There is a
[43:15] wonderful group of parents
[43:17] , and the school is student-led, and
[43:18] of course, environmentally conscious
[43:20] . They
[43:22] gather in the cornfield in the morning and then cycle
[43:24] to Beecher
[43:26] . This started last year
[43:28] . As I mentioned earlier
[43:29] , with parental support, she
[43:32] spoke extensively about this issue within her community to encourage
[43:34] more people to participate
[43:35] . Now, for
[43:37] the first time this year, officers from Woodbridge Police
[43:38] Station will
[43:40] join the students on their own bicycles whenever possible
[43:42] , actually riding them to school
[43:44] , and picking them up and
[43:47] dropping them off again at the end of the day, if possible
[43:49] . So, having police officers riding
[43:50] bikes to
[43:51] school with the children in this
[43:53] community is a
[43:54] truly
[43:55] wonderful partnership
[43:57] . Well, last week we probably had the
[44:02] highest number of bikers ever to come in by bicycle from the cornfields, with Sergeant Bloom leading the way
[44:05] . Sergeant Bloom also happens to be a
[44:07] police officer that year
[44:09] . It was wonderful that the police officer
[44:12] led the students to Beecher on their bicycles
[44:15] . Well, this is
[44:17] unusual, but I wanted to share it with you all
[44:19] . I
[44:22] mentioned Hispanic Heritage Month. It
[44:24] starts on October 15th and will continue until October 15th
[44:26] . As I mentioned earlier
[44:28] , the sixth graders are
[44:29] sharing some wonderful Spanish quotes
[44:31] . I would like to thank
[44:34] Professor Goldberg and Professor Kearney for leading this initiative
[44:35] . And
[44:37] to celebrate this special month, there will also be
[44:41] stories and activities to share with the entire school over the next few weeks
[44:43] . Also, there are many firsts I'd like to
[44:44] share with you all
[44:46] . I've already experienced so many firsts
[44:48] this school year
[44:49] . Our
[44:50] first field trip was a success
[44:52] . The Mac Community
[44:55] visited the Institute of Native Americans. We had our
[44:56] first ever evacuation drill involving the entire building
[44:58] . We had our first ever school-wide walking
[45:00] event
[45:01] , which is one of
[45:02] my favorite things that came about because of the pandemic
[45:03] . Furthermore
[45:05] , Woodbridge Police Station
[45:10] always supports this by blocking the entrance to prevent anyone from coming in while the children are walking by
[45:12] . The first story we shared with the entire student body was
[45:15] titled "Let's be bold."
[45:17] And some students even started the
[45:20] school year by having me read that story to them
[45:21] . Then, some students
[45:25] saw it on display in the library, and several
[45:26] young students came up to me and
[45:29] said, "We saw that book in the library
[45:31] ." Then I told them they could borrow the book,
[45:34] but they were
[45:38] surprised that they could borrow a book I had read to them, and they just stared at me
[45:39] . Also, we
[45:42] used a special milk machine for the first time
[45:44] . It feels a bit like I'm back in university
[45:46] . When you
[45:48] press the button, milk comes out, not a carton
[45:50] . Well
[45:52] , the chocolate milk is very
[45:53] popular. It's fat-free, yet it
[45:56] tastes like a chocolate milkshake
[45:58] . Well, we also made good use of the
[46:00] milk machine on Ernie's pizza day
[46:01] . This was also
[46:03] something we did for the first time
[46:04] . As you can see, I've had
[46:06] many wonderful first experiences, and there will be many more to come
[46:07] .
[46:08] And none of this would have been possible without our amazing
[46:10] staff, every single one of them
[46:11] . The 2026-2027
[46:13] academic year has truly gotten off to a
[46:15] fantastic start
[46:16] . Finally, the learning enrichment and
[46:19] achievement program, LEAP (formerly TAG
[46:21] ), will begin in October. Talented and
[46:24] outstanding fourth through sixth
[46:26] graders have received information to
[46:27] sign up for their preferred themes this year, and
[46:30] Ms. Buck is contacting them to inform the teams in each grade about their
[46:32] group assignments
[46:33] . The conference will be
[46:38] held once per cycle, from 8:30 to 9:00, and will conclude with another large-scale LEAPiganeerExpo in May
[46:43] . This is my latest update
[46:45] .
[46:46] wonderful. I'm very excited!
[46:48] yes. Do you
[46:49] have any questions? Do you
[46:50] have any comments? yes?
[46:52] Milk is very
[46:53] popular. Milk is very popular
[46:55] . I heard about it. Yeah. I've heard about the
[46:57] milk.
[47:00] Yeah. At first, there were a
[47:02] few issues because it was a new product, and some
[47:04] children were probably
[47:06] drinking more milk than necessary, but things have
[47:08] settled down a bit, and now no one is getting
[47:10] sick. It only
[47:12] happened once. Yes, and the
[47:14] kids really
[47:15] love milk. So, a child
[47:17] drinking lots of milk is
[47:18] n't the worst thing in the world, right
[47:19] ? Therefore, I
[47:20] accept it.
[47:21] Yeah. It's incredibly fresh and
[47:23] truly delicious.
[47:24] Yeah. And I
[47:38] want to applaud Jessica for everything she did to attract the kids in the cafeteria and make them excited about going there, and maybe even buying lunch or milk.
[47:41] Yeah. So
[47:42] , um, um, on
[47:48] behalf of all of us, I would like to express our gratitude for the work she did in the cafeteria
[47:50] . It's truly
[47:52] wonderful. The same goes for
[47:53] adults. Every time I
[47:55] do a tour... today, um
[47:56] , I was giving a tour to a new staff member
[47:57] , and I was
[48:00] talking about the fresh, farm-fresh ingredients we source, and I
[48:03] said, "If you'd like, please come and buy a salad
[48:05] ." The lettuce and other vegetables are grown on farms
[48:06] , so, you see
[48:08] , adults are also benefiting from them
[48:09] . That's why we're all having
[48:11] fun. That's
[48:12] wonderful.
[48:15] Thank you so much
[48:16] .
[48:16] thank you.
[48:18] Now, let's move on to the VRS Construction Committee's report
[48:21] . Lin.
[48:25] Steven, you can join us too
[48:27] . Among the audience is Mr.
[48:32] Madnick, who is a member without voting rights
[48:34] . And then there's
[48:37] Donna, Chris, Lisa,
[48:38] and everyone else who's been involved in this project
[48:41] . We made an update last month, so I would like to
[48:47] update you on the situation from the last board meeting to the present
[48:49] . You have now
[48:54] seen the preview of our second newsletter
[48:55] . This was mailed to arrive in your mailbox during the week of August 21st
[49:02] . We also
[49:09] distributed them at open houses and ice cream parties
[49:11] . Marty
[49:15] Halpern was a wonderful person
[49:16] , and he said, "Did it arrive in your mailbox
[49:18] ? If not, here's a
[49:20] copy
[49:21] ." In this way, we are trying to
[49:26] inform as many people as possible about what is happening
[49:27] . The
[49:30] last piece of mail the committee will be sending out is this postcard, which probably
[49:33] arrived in your mailbox yesterday or today, or at
[49:35] least we hope it did
[49:38] . Well, that will be the
[49:43] final official communication from the Construction Committee
[49:46] . Many members of the committee
[49:52] and the board of education
[49:56] attended all three open houses
[49:58] ,
[50:00] answering questions and
[50:02] distributing materials to parents who came.
[50:07] Steven and I explained the
[50:10] project and its financial implications at all three open houses
[50:12] . I think it was well-received
[50:17] , and we were able to
[50:22] share information with people who hadn't heard about the process or its financial impact before
[50:24] . On September 10th,
[50:29] Marty, Stephen, and I
[50:34] set up an informational table at the ice cream party,
[50:36] inviting anyone who wanted to talk to us
[50:38] . We
[50:46] recognized that the ice cream party was a very important event for the community, so we did
[50:51] n't try to actively approach people; anyone who wanted to talk was welcome to come
[50:54] . And I was
[50:57] able to talk to many people
[50:58] . Maria Madanick and
[51:04] Marty Halperin have been
[51:14] extremely busy over the past month, attending numerous town committee and council meetings to share project outlines and information with committee and council members
[51:16] . We
[51:23] held two community forums. The first one was held on
[51:25] Saturday, August 29th, at the town hall, or rather
[51:28] , the town library
[51:30] . About 20 or 25 people attended
[51:40] ,
[51:42] sitting in a circle with the committee members. Participants
[51:44] asked questions, and
[51:46] many of the committee members were able to answer from their respective perspectives
[51:48] .
[51:55] In other words, the participants included teachers answering questions,
[51:57] committee members, and members of the construction committee
[52:01] . The second forum was
[52:04] held on Tuesday, September 15th
[52:05] . It was
[52:07] held at Beecher Road Elementary School. I
[52:13] believe Vito and Lisa visited the site before the official meeting. I
[52:20] think there were about 30 people who toured the building that evening
[52:22] . After that, Maria
[52:25] gave a presentation,
[52:30] followed by a question-and-answer session
[52:32] . On September 8th, the
[52:37] Urban Planning and Land Readjustment Committee
[52:43] voted to decide whether this project conforms to the town's conservation and development plan
[52:45] . This is part of the grant application process
[52:48] . On September 17th, Chris,
[52:54] Marty, Maria, and I
[52:57] attended the Finance Committee meeting and gave a briefing
[53:04] . Also in attendance was Jim Giuliano, the consultant who helped us with our grant
[53:06] application
[53:11] . I
[53:14] answered as many questions as I could at that meeting.
[53:16] And I believe the Finance Committee
[53:18] met tonight. Right
[53:23] ?
[53:23] yes. The
[53:27] Finance Committee needed to vote to recommend
[53:29] approving, rejecting, or amending the bond resolution
[53:34] , and to
[53:36] request the town council to hold a special townspeople's meeting
[53:39] . The meeting was
[53:43] held tonight, so Maria might be able to
[53:46] tell you whether it took place or not
[53:47] .
[53:48] Oh, there was a meeting. A
[53:49] motion was submitted and passed by a vote of 4 to 2
[53:51] . Well, the
[53:53] selection committee will meet tomorrow to consider a
[53:56] motion calling for a special townspeople's assembly and a referendum
[54:00] .
[54:02] wonderful. And, well
[54:06] , after that meeting, a period of quiet
[54:08] begins, and restrictions are placed on advocacy activities
[54:11] . In other words, the
[54:15] committee remains silent at that point. Is there anything you'd
[54:17] like to add?
[54:19] Well,
[54:21] this was a
[54:23] fantastic collaborative process across the entire community
[54:25] . Well, I think this was a
[54:34] real opportunity for community members to connect with and collaborate with people they haven't necessarily worked with before
[54:35] . Regardless of the outcome of this
[54:39] referendum, I believe this points to a
[54:42] wonderful direction for the community going forward
[54:44] . Well, I
[54:55] think this was a very important learning experience for all of us in terms of understanding what kinds of questions community members are asking. In other words, the
[54:56] interesting thing is that there are people who are wondering how to
[54:58] pay for this
[55:01] . Will the construction work cause any inconvenience to children
[55:06] ?
[55:08] Therefore, I am truly grateful for the breadth of this community and the
[55:10] depth of the serious questions
[55:12] .
[55:14] And I think we've all become better able to communicate the importance of this potential
[55:16] project
[55:17] and
[55:18] what it means for our community
[55:24] .
[55:26] Therefore, that's wonderful
[55:27] . Also, in that context
[55:29] , I would like to remind you that one or two of the newly adopted
[55:31] Board goals for 2026-2027 is to
[55:38] develop and adopt a long-term plan to ensure that BRS buildings meet the needs of all students
[55:43] . And that is
[55:46] precisely why we are here
[55:47] , and what we believe this
[55:48] project can
[55:49] bring to our community
[55:52] . Do you have any questions
[55:55] ?
[55:57] Now, let's move on. got it
[56:01] . Let's
[56:02] move on to the latest information from the Facilities Committee
[56:03] . This is a
[56:05] good sign. The
[56:07] facilities committee held a
[56:10] meeting on September 3rd, following the schedule posted by Masha
[56:11] . 7:30 AM.
[56:16] Thank you, Marsha. It's
[56:18] not 7 o'clock. Yes, it was a
[56:21] very busy summer for Vito and his team.
[56:23] Yes, there was a lot of really good
[56:24] work. The
[56:26] school
[56:27] looked wonderful when you all returned. As always, it's
[56:28] wonderful
[56:29] . Yes, the team's efforts deserve
[56:31] praise. What they're accomplishing in such a short
[56:33] time and with minimal resources is
[56:34] truly
[56:35] unbelievable. This is
[56:37] wonderful. Yes,
[56:38] Vito said that the usual small
[56:40] roof leak was repaired and inspected during the summer
[56:43] . Yes, I believe 120 repair
[56:45] tickets have been closed
[56:46] . This is wonderful
[56:48] . It's an enormous amount.
[56:50] Yes, one of the great things about this summer is that
[56:51] summer is the time for testing
[56:53] . The
[56:54] sprinkler system,
[56:56] kitchen hood, emergency lights,
[56:57] play area, and fire alarms
[56:58] were inspected. Yes,
[57:00] everything was fine
[57:01] . Yes, all the detailed paperwork has been
[57:02] processed. Well, once again
[57:04] , I'd like to offer a lot of praise to his team
[57:05] .
[57:06] They are doing a good job
[57:08] . Please keep up the good work
[57:09] .
[57:09] Yes, they are doing a great job
[57:11] . got it
[57:13] . Now, let's move on to the Finance Committee's
[57:15] report.
[57:18] In the weekly reports that she compiles, Donna
[57:22] kindly pointed out that the progress rate for the new fiscal year was 16.6%
[57:24] . This is
[57:26] equivalent to two months' worth.
[57:28] Furthermore, the
[57:30] total projected cost across all categories is
[57:32] currently estimated to exceed the budget by approximately $10,000
[57:34] . It's just a
[57:36] small step, but of course, this is in the
[57:37] very early stages.
[57:39] And, as you know, there have been some
[57:40] major changes
[57:42] . Therefore, when you look at the list
[57:44] , it's something worth paying attention to
[57:45] . For now,
[57:47] that's the only part we're seeing
[57:48] . So, let's start with the
[57:50] lower expense side of the ledger, the 100 series
[57:52] salaries. It is currently
[57:56] estimated that the company has a profit of approximately $52,000. Just
[57:59] before the start of the school year, we added an extra first-grade class to bring the class size
[58:01] within the board's guidelines,
[58:05] but
[58:07] the cost of this additional class was offset by savings from the retirement of two teachers
[58:08] and the opening of a vacant half-day teaching position
[58:12] . Therefore, these
[58:14] savings combined were sufficient to cover the
[58:16] costs of the new certified teacher positions
[58:18] . Additionally, in the
[58:20] section on salaries for uncertified staff
[58:22] ,
[58:25] there was a saving in the uncertified staff salary because one of the para staff was hired through a staffing agency,
[58:27] but this resulted in an
[58:29] increase in the cost of other purchased services
[58:31] . I will
[58:33] explain this later. The 200
[58:34] Series employee benefits are estimated to be
[58:36] approximately $18,000 under budget this month
[58:39] . This
[58:41] amount will definitely change based on the selection of new staff members who joined the insurance program on September 1st
[58:47] . Furthermore, for staff hired through temporary staffing agencies
[58:52] , this is not considered new employment, and it also
[58:54] represents a reduction in payroll taxes and wages
[58:56] . Furthermore,
[58:58] other purchase services for the 500 series,
[59:00] such as student transportation, tuition, and
[59:01] internships, are currently
[59:03] estimated to be approximately $16,000 under budget
[59:05] . This
[59:14] reflects a combination of lower-than-expected workers' compensation insurance costs and finding a cheaper transportation provider through one of our job placement assistance programs. At this point, the option that is
[59:17] roughly in line with or
[59:19] close to our budget is the
[59:21] specialized purchase service for the 300 series.
[59:23] This includes legal audits and
[59:25] other fees, 600 Series
[59:27] materials and supplies, 700 Series
[59:29] furniture and equipment, 800 Series membership
[59:30] fees and charges, and miscellaneous expenses,
[59:33] including Ezra Academy nurses
[59:34] . Next, on the
[59:37] high expenditure side of the ledger, there is only the 400
[59:39] Series Purchase Real Estate
[59:41] Services, which is
[59:43] currently estimated to be approximately $91,000 over budget
[59:46] .
[59:49] Most of this overpayment
[59:55] reflects the unexpected $55,000 repair cost to the chiller, which was discussed at the last board meeting. Also
[59:58] , the temporary workers I mentioned earlier are
[1:00:00] included here.
[1:00:03] Of course, we don't know what will happen to utility costs, especially electricity
[1:00:07] bills, but on the
[1:00:09] positive side,
[1:00:11] unlike many of us,
[1:00:13] fuel prices are fixed this year
[1:00:15] , which is a big advantage
[1:00:17] . I would like to add that this was decided after negotiations with the town
[1:00:21] . So,
[1:00:24] regarding that point, we'll leave it
[1:00:27] until we finalize the budget,
[1:00:28] until we finalize next year's budget
[1:00:30] . Don, is there anything else you'd like to
[1:00:31] add
[1:00:33] ? Well,
[1:00:35] yes, within employee benefits expenses
[1:00:39] , health insurance is probably the
[1:00:41] largest item, and the new
[1:00:43] staff elections won't
[1:00:45] come up in the invoice until September
[1:00:47] . Therefore, you will be able to
[1:00:49] better understand that section from next month onwards
[1:00:51] .
[1:00:53] So, it shows an excess of $10,000
[1:00:55] , but we won't
[1:00:57] allow it. As the years go by
[1:01:00] , you find ways to save money
[1:01:02] . got it
[1:01:04] . thank you
[1:01:05] . Do you have any questions or comments
[1:01:08] ? Okay,
[1:01:11] now let's
[1:01:13] move on to the cable liaison's report.
[1:01:15] Unfortunately, the cable company representative is
[1:01:17] unavailable tonight. I don't know if you have any
[1:01:19] questions
[1:01:21] , but I
[1:01:29] think you've probably received the proposed resolution for 2027 from CABE in your email. Sarabeth will represent us at the representatives' meeting on
[1:01:34] November 19th as the CABE liaison
[1:01:41] . So, if you'd
[1:01:47] like, please read this
[1:01:49] . If there is anything you would like Sarabeth to discuss at the representatives' meeting
[1:01:56] , please pass that information on
[1:01:58] to her.
[1:02:01] She will take it to the representatives' meeting
[1:02:03] . Also, the CABE conference will be held on the 20th and 21st
[1:02:12] . Some of you may have already registered, but you may have
[1:02:24] received an email saying that you can still register
[1:02:25] . It's
[1:02:28] perfect. Thank you, Rin
[1:02:30] . you're welcome
[1:02:31] . This
[1:02:32] is a presentation for the upcoming meeting.
[1:02:34] Well, in October, there will be presentations on the SBA test
[1:02:38] results
[1:02:39] and
[1:02:43] discussions about electives for the 2027-2028 academic year,
[1:02:46] followed by a vote at the meeting in November
[1:02:48] . Monthly announcements for upcoming meetings
[1:02:52] . Okay, let's say the
[1:02:54] curriculum committee will have a
[1:02:56] meeting on Wednesday.
[1:02:58] no. The Curriculum Committee will
[1:03:02] hold a meeting next month, similar to the Finance Committee. Well,
[1:03:05] yes, those will be done.
[1:03:07] And the
[1:03:07] policy committee
[1:03:09] may also hold a meeting someday. The
[1:03:10] policy committee as well. Wait, oh
[1:03:12] , how did I overlook the policy committee
[1:03:13] ? It might be next
[1:03:14] week. But that's not the case
[1:03:16] .
[1:03:17] Oh, yes. Oh yes,
[1:03:18] because that's it
[1:03:19] . No, but you don't have
[1:03:20] until September 28th
[1:03:22] . Well, yes, that's right
[1:03:23] . sorry.
[1:03:24] Excuse me, it's this month.
[1:03:26] You are absolutely right
[1:03:27] . There will be another confirmation on September 28th
[1:03:29] . Now, the absolute thing we all need to
[1:03:32] know is that the
[1:03:34] BRS Building referendum will take place
[1:03:45] on Tuesday, October 13th, if the selection committee decides to hold the referendum tomorrow (which we are confident it will)
[1:03:47] . Therefore, we need to
[1:03:50] contact our entire network before that day to ensure people are
[1:03:52] aware and go vote
[1:03:53] . That's all we can
[1:03:55] say. No matter
[1:03:57] how you choose to vote
[1:03:58] , be sure to go and vote so that your
[1:03:59] voice is heard
[1:04:01] .
[1:04:01] And there is no early voting
[1:04:02] .
[1:04:04] For informational purposes, there will be
[1:04:06] no early voting for the referendum
[1:04:08] , but absentee voting will be available. That
[1:04:10] 's an excellent point. There is
[1:04:12] no early voting, but absentee
[1:04:13] voting is available. And I'm
[1:04:15] really glad you said that. Because
[1:04:17] someone asked me
[1:04:18] . "I want to vote, but I can't go
[1:04:19] here. What
[1:04:20] should I do?"
[1:04:22] Voting will take place over the course of a full day. that's right
[1:04:23] . that's right
[1:04:24] . Everything is as usual. It's
[1:04:26] regular.
[1:04:27] yes.
[1:04:27] And finally, the date we can confirm is that the
[1:04:29] October
[1:04:31] monthly meeting of the Board of Education will be held
[1:04:34] here in Town Hall on Monday, October 19th at 7 p.m.
[1:04:38] Now, let's move on to the new topic
[1:04:41] . New agenda items
[1:04:48] include a community letter regarding the construction project and appropriate measures. I hope you all had the
[1:04:50] opportunity to verify this
[1:04:52] . Basically
[1:04:54] , it
[1:04:58] 's an informational letter about a project that reflects what we've learned.
[1:05:03] Mike, thanks for the suggestion to make the minor adjustment of moving the text from PS to the main body of the letter
[1:05:07] . The
[1:05:15] fact that the referendum complies with state law indicates that the creators have approved the selection committee to
[1:05:19] proceed with the project with the full $118.5 million
[1:05:23] . This is a requirement. This
[1:05:30] project will only proceed with the
[1:05:31] reimbursement we have secured from the state
[1:05:33] .
[1:05:35] This covers more than half of the costs
[1:05:37] . And that
[1:05:40] refund is clearly stipulated in the law
[1:05:42] . In other words, the
[1:05:46] final piece of our application is the
[1:05:48] approval of a referendum. If that happens
[1:05:52] , you will be guaranteed to receive that repayment rate
[1:05:57] . Of course, in order to construct a building
[1:05:59] and receive full repayment,
[1:06:01] all parameters must be
[1:06:03] met
[1:06:05] . However, to the question of whether we would promise
[1:06:07] $118.5 million even without receiving repayment from the state, the answer is
[1:06:12] absolutely no
[1:06:14] . That will not happen
[1:06:16] . We will only move forward if full reimbursement from the state is
[1:06:18] promised
[1:06:20] . This is clearly stated in the law
[1:06:23] . That said
[1:06:25] , there are two ways to
[1:06:26] do this. It can be
[1:06:29] done by agreement, or by proposing a motion
[1:06:31] and discussing it as part of that motion
[1:06:33] . Ideally
[1:06:35] , we would like to share this letter with the community tomorrow before the period of quiet begins, and the
[1:06:43] goal is to include the names of all board members. However, I would like to
[1:06:45] start it. Would it be
[1:06:47] better to do this as a motion
[1:06:48] ? Would it be
[1:06:50] better to do so by mutual agreement?
[1:06:51] May I ask a question to confirm something
[1:06:52] ? Of course
[1:06:53] .
[1:06:54] Well, we have a written commitment from the state
[1:06:56] . Is it 53%
[1:06:58] ? that's right. The
[1:07:00] actual figure is 54%. There were special requirements
[1:07:03] , and I think they were special
[1:07:05] , but Maria has already left. Was it
[1:07:08] special education? I'm trying to
[1:07:10] remember it accurately
[1:07:12] . There were specific matters that needed to be written into the law
[1:07:15] .
[1:07:16] Regarding preschool education. I got it
[1:07:18] .
[1:07:18] Regarding the expansion of preschool education.
[1:07:20] Yeah. Yes, and 5% for housing
[1:07:22] . It might have been part of the residential area
[1:07:23] . that's right.
[1:07:24] However, this is a statement of the fact that 53% are secured in writing
[1:07:28] .
[1:07:29] In other words, it is included in state law
[1:07:30] , but our application will not be
[1:07:34] submitted until it is approved by a referendum.
[1:07:35] Yeah.
[1:07:35] Or, it means that part must be completed, and yes, that's correct
[1:07:38] . Therefore
[1:07:40] , there is no question as to whether you are eligible for that level of refund
[1:07:43] . got it
[1:07:46] . However, it's a
[1:07:48] matter of qualifications. Because it states that the
[1:07:49] community's burden will be $55 million
[1:07:51] . As far as I understand,
[1:07:52] the amount is still unknown
[1:07:54] .
[1:07:54] Yes, that's what Tony calculated on
[1:07:56] $118.5 million using that payout rate
[1:07:58] , and it's how much the payout would be
[1:08:02] . In reality, the actual
[1:08:04] refund rate was 54%, so he
[1:08:06] deducted 1 percent
[1:08:08] . However, regarding the contingency fund
[1:08:11] , he calculates it at 53%
[1:08:14] . In other words, that's the
[1:08:19] amount of money Woodbridge needs to issue in bonds
[1:08:21] . got it.
[1:08:27] Well, if I were to state my point
[1:08:29] , I think the board
[1:08:33] needs to stick to the facts about what our needs are
[1:08:35] . Because, as far as I
[1:08:36] understand, there's
[1:08:38] still a gray area regarding refunds
[1:08:39] . So, can we honestly say that if this
[1:08:41] project is approved
[1:08:42] , the community will have to bear up to $55.5 million of the costs
[1:08:45] ?
[1:08:46] This is a fact. that's right.
[1:08:48] In other words, this is to ensure that the budget does not exceed $118.5 million
[1:08:55] . The
[1:09:00] overall project budget
[1:09:08] includes everything from new desks to the demolition of old existing buildings and the installation of new playgrounds and recreational facilities
[1:09:10] . that's right. In other words,
[1:09:14] this is the number. Frankly
[1:09:17] speaking, I'll just say that the editorial team has no choice but to
[1:09:18] stick to these numbers
[1:09:21] . In other words, this
[1:09:23] project cannot
[1:09:25] cost a single cent more than $118.5 million
[1:09:27] , and that amount is
[1:09:29] $55.5 million, which the town will have to
[1:09:31] bear. And
[1:09:34] this is to ensure that everything in the design
[1:09:36] meets state standards so that you can
[1:09:38] receive a full refund
[1:09:42] . For example,
[1:09:46] even if you build a huge auditorium, you
[1:09:49] won't get a full refund from the state
[1:09:50] . Because it does not meet state
[1:09:52] standards or building guidelines
[1:09:54] . I see.
[1:09:57] Therefore, if you don't mind
[1:09:59] , I tend to get too fixated on numbers
[1:10:02] . Because I'm not 100% certain yet
[1:10:04] . I believe the school district
[1:10:06] should explain the facts about the school
[1:10:08] . These include space limitations and
[1:10:10] issues related to ADA (Advanced Health Insurance). I
[1:10:12] believe that's our area of ​​responsibility
[1:10:14] . Signing these numbers makes me feel like I'm
[1:10:18] stepping into some uncharted territory
[1:10:20] . Am I wrong in my thinking
[1:10:22] ? In other words, I
[1:10:33] think people need to understand what costs mean to the town.
[1:10:37] In other words, in a sense, if
[1:10:39] we can, we should be able to
[1:10:43] carry out the project for less than $118.5 million, and
[1:10:45] personally,
[1:10:47] assuming the referendum passes, I think we need to work on
[1:10:53] this process with the minimum amount necessary to get exactly what the schools of the future will need
[1:10:57] . In other words, it's potentially
[1:11:00] possible to do it for a much lower price
[1:11:02] . However, what I find
[1:11:04] important is that,
[1:11:12] regarding this project,
[1:11:13] some in the community are using it
[1:11:17] as a blackmail tactic, saying that they must bear the cost of $118.5 million
[1:11:18] . We
[1:11:28] believe it is our responsibility to provide concrete figures so that the community understands that this is still a huge amount of money
[1:11:29] . In other words, our
[1:11:31] community has never worked on a project of
[1:11:33] this scale before
[1:11:35] . Therefore
[1:11:39] , it is extremely important that we do not exceed that amount in what we are doing
[1:11:41] and what we ultimately hope the
[1:11:42] community will invest in this new building
[1:11:48] .
[1:11:51] I agree, but in this
[1:11:53] part of the conversation, realistically,
[1:11:55] they could find relief measures or other options that would
[1:11:57] exceed that
[1:11:59] .
[1:12:01] As a member of the education committee, I believe that delving into the financial details is
[1:12:05] beyond our role
[1:12:07] .
[1:12:08] However, these
[1:12:10] figures were provided by the town's finance director
[1:12:12] . Therefore, we are
[1:12:22] incorporating information provided by the town, as well as information provided by experts hired by the town to assist us through this process for the past three years or more
[1:12:24] . In other words, I agree that the Board of Education is
[1:12:30] not responsible for creating that estimate, but
[1:12:32] it basically
[1:12:38] reflects the best information we get from local experts and experts we invite. Are you
[1:12:54] concerned that we don't know our place, or that we won't get the 55 guarantee? I
[1:12:56] think it's a combination of both
[1:12:57] . There are strong expressions here
[1:12:59] . Rest assured that reimbursements
[1:13:00] from 53 states for the project have
[1:13:01] already been secured
[1:13:02] .
[1:13:05] Furthermore, it's not that we don't know our place
[1:13:08] . I have no hesitation in saying, "There are space issues
[1:13:10] . We've only replaced a quarter of the roof
[1:13:11] . We'll
[1:13:13] need a new elevator.
[1:13:14] " For
[1:13:15] me,
[1:13:17] that's a fact of the school district. When it comes to the financial aspects of
[1:13:19] selling, I
[1:13:23] think we're not in a position to do so. Okay, so,
[1:13:26] as the first question,
[1:13:30] regarding our level of confidence in winning $55 million, what would you say
[1:13:32] our level of confidence is
[1:13:34] ?
[1:13:36] If you can't make $50 million
[1:13:37] , what will you need?
[1:13:39] If the $55 million target doesn't materialize
[1:13:40] , what would have to happen
[1:13:41] ?
[1:13:42] In reality, more than $60 million is
[1:13:44] expected to be refunded. 53%
[1:13:47] .
[1:13:47] Yes, sorry, it
[1:13:49] 's $50 million. 53%. In other words, it
[1:13:51] 's 53%. Yes, that's right. got it
[1:13:53] .
[1:13:55] We
[1:13:57] checked with the state legislator who wrote the necessary special legislation, and
[1:14:01] confirmed that she has it.
[1:14:05] yes. Have you confirmed this in writing
[1:14:07] ?
[1:14:07] Yes, it's the law.
[1:14:09] In other words, it was passed.
[1:14:10] But no, only up to the
[1:14:12] amount we can earn.
[1:14:13] Yes, that means the percentage of us that are
[1:14:15] eligible for a refund of 40-54%
[1:14:16] . They are
[1:14:18] clinging to outdated legislation here
[1:14:19] . If you looked at your neighbor's
[1:14:20] face and were suddenly told you had to pay $70 million
[1:14:23] , even if you insisted it was only $55 million
[1:14:24] , you probably would
[1:14:26] n't feel very good about it. I
[1:14:29] think we've gone too far here.
[1:14:30] Therefore, I think this is a
[1:14:31] problem with the project design
[1:14:32] . Refunds are
[1:14:35] determined by the project's design. For example
[1:14:37] , regarding the expansion of preschool education
[1:14:39] , if
[1:14:41] preschool education is abolished under the project, you wo
[1:14:43] n't receive a refund, right?
[1:14:45] However, the
[1:14:48] project cannot proceed if there is no one to receive a refund. I
[1:14:50] understand.
[1:14:50] This is a good example.
[1:14:53] Simply expanding preschool education would
[1:14:56] ensure that preschool education reimbursements are received
[1:14:58] . The
[1:15:00] same applies to the reimbursement coefficient for special needs education
[1:15:03] . This also
[1:15:07] provides a guarantee that the funds will be secured. In other words, it's
[1:15:12] not about whether funding can be secured, but about the space being
[1:15:14] designed exactly as described, and actually being
[1:15:16] designed that way
[1:15:18] .
[1:15:21] Otherwise, the
[1:15:22] entire project will not progress
[1:15:23] . You must follow the description format submitted to the state
[1:15:28] , and
[1:15:30] once the project is approved
[1:15:32] , there
[1:15:34] are very strict rules regarding what can be changed. Therefore, while we can
[1:15:38] create design elements
[1:15:40] , the project is built upon a comprehensive understanding of all the documentation
[1:15:42] regarding the space's needs and specifications
[1:15:47] .
[1:15:51] In other words, it's not about whether or not a grant is granted
[1:15:53] , but about
[1:15:57] funding projects as they were designed.
[1:16:00] Therefore, unlike grants
[1:16:02] , it's not what some people think
[1:16:05] . This
[1:16:07] project was
[1:16:09] designed to provide refunds
[1:16:10] . If that's the case, then it makes
[1:16:14] sense. that's right
[1:16:16] . The state isn't going to say, "Oh, you're going to
[1:16:19] get that $63 million anyway
[1:16:20] ." It's like going back and
[1:16:29] saying, "Look, we did exactly what you requested in order to get this level of refund." got it
[1:16:30] .
[1:16:33] To clarify this, let's say,
[1:16:35] for example, that they
[1:16:37] have four items they expect, and each
[1:16:39] item has a corresponding refund number associated with it
[1:16:42] .
[1:16:44] Yeah.
[1:16:47] As long as the design includes those four items, the relevant
[1:16:48] refund amount is guaranteed. that's right
[1:16:51] .
[1:16:52] And if I understand correctly
[1:16:54] ,
[1:16:55] that has already been approved, right
[1:16:57] ?
[1:16:57] Concept design.
[1:17:00] yes.
[1:17:05] If this is passed and put to a vote, I believe those
[1:17:07] plans will be submitted and
[1:17:09] scrutinized at the initial stage
[1:17:11] . Once those
[1:17:15] requirements are met, the relevant
[1:17:17] funds will be allocated to the project
[1:17:18] . In other words, you'll know whether or not you'll
[1:17:24] receive that amount at the start of the project
[1:17:26] . Is that
[1:17:27] alright? SEO
[1:17:32] reflects in the design that the design meets those standards.
[1:17:33] And my interpretation of this approach is that if
[1:17:38] none of those expectations are
[1:17:40] met at the start of the project, you will
[1:17:43] not receive a full refund. In other words
[1:17:45] , it happens at the start of the project
[1:17:46] ,
[1:17:48] not after the project has already begun.
[1:17:50] yes. As long as you
[1:17:51] promise to achieve the four items
[1:17:53] .
[1:17:53] However, this letter is scheduled to be
[1:17:55] sent tomorrow before it reaches that stage
[1:17:56] . In other words, we are
[1:18:02] saying, "Please rest assured that this is the amount that was proposed to me."
[1:18:03] Yeah.
[1:18:04] Yes, yes, please delete "Don't worry." What if we
[1:18:07] kept the first sentence of the last paragraph
[1:18:09] , deleted the second sentence, and rewrote the third
[1:18:18] sentence to "However, construction of the new building will not proceed unless the 53% reimbursement from the state is secured"?
[1:18:24] Is this a factual description? Does this mean that if we only achieve 52%, the
[1:18:27] project won't move forward
[1:18:28] ?
[1:18:29] This is a fact.
[1:18:30] So, it's either 53% or nothing at all
[1:18:32] ?
[1:18:33] Yes, actually, it's 54. So, it's
[1:18:36] 54.
[1:18:37] No, that's not correct
[1:18:38] . If we don't get that, the
[1:18:39] project can't move forward.
[1:18:41] Because that's not possible
[1:18:42] . In other words, the first step is to get
[1:18:44] it through
[1:18:46] , and then to verify that the requirements are met
[1:18:48] and that the 54%
[1:18:50] refund is guaranteed
[1:18:52] . If
[1:18:54] it's not necessary, then I do
[1:18:57] n't think the project will proceed at that point.
[1:18:59] Therefore, expressing it that way might
[1:19:02] resolve the guaranteed aspects.
[1:19:04] Furthermore, based on what we've learned in this process
[1:19:06] , it's important to note that a referendum
[1:19:08] itself isn't a vote by the town to "do this," but rather a vote to "
[1:19:14] approve the town council of proceeding with this
[1:19:18] ." After the referendum is approved, the
[1:19:25] refunds will ultimately be
[1:19:27] paid to the Board of Education. The school
[1:19:32] board must vote to accept the reimbursement from the state
[1:19:35] . In other words
[1:19:37] , there is a safety mechanism in place
[1:19:39] . Therefore, as
[1:19:40] you pointed out, if the approval rating is
[1:19:42] 45%, we will not
[1:19:44] proceed with it. However, if the
[1:19:46] approval rate is only around 30%,
[1:19:48] which means we haven't
[1:19:50] voted on it
[1:19:51] , we don't know what will happen
[1:19:52] . I will not
[1:19:53] vote until the referendum is held
[1:19:54] . Because while refunds are
[1:19:58] mandated by law
[1:20:00] ,
[1:20:02] our application is not complete until the town passes the referendum
[1:20:04] . In other words, the
[1:20:10] referendum
[1:20:12] must be approved in order to complete the refund application. And, as
[1:20:14] they say, we're
[1:20:15] already on the list
[1:20:16] . It's a list, right? That's what they called it
[1:20:18] .
[1:20:19] Priority list. Thank
[1:20:20] you for the list
[1:20:22] . We are already on your priority
[1:20:23] list. It's
[1:20:25] listed there. In order to make the refunds
[1:20:27] happen, the
[1:20:29] community needs to
[1:20:30] pass a referendum.
[1:20:32] However, in a sense, that
[1:20:34] process has stages
[1:20:36] . As you know, the refund rate will not change
[1:20:38] between now and that time, as it is clearly stipulated in the law
[1:20:42] . If the
[1:20:45] referendum is not passed this year and is
[1:20:47] attempted again next year or the year after
[1:20:49] , the only difference is that the
[1:20:51] same level of payout rate will not be
[1:20:53] guaranteed.
[1:20:55] So, what are our basic rates
[1:20:56] ? twenty four%? For
[1:21:00] newly built homes that have been renovated, the price is 32, and for
[1:21:03] newly built homes that are more affordable, it's 27
[1:21:05] . In other words, the additional
[1:21:09] allocation here is 15% for preschool education,
[1:21:12] 5% for housing,
[1:21:14] 15% for special education space only, and then
[1:21:17] 1% for optional spending after that. While elective courses are limited
[1:21:20] to a maximum of 10%, our
[1:21:21] student population is not high enough to reach that percentage
[1:21:23] . I'm thinking in the range of 1%
[1:21:25] .
[1:21:26] Yeah. Yes, I think so too
[1:21:29] . In short, I
[1:21:31] definitely like your editing. I
[1:21:35] think that makes sense. Well, I don't think this was meant to be a
[1:21:41] sales pitch
[1:21:43] . I think this reflects what
[1:21:44] we learned through this process
[1:21:48] . Unforgettable things I've learned over the past three and a half years or more
[1:21:50] .
[1:21:53] That means we'll have to invest tens of millions of dollars in existing buildings over the
[1:21:55] next 20 years just to keep the door open
[1:22:01] . That means it will
[1:22:03] cost that much
[1:22:05] . Moreover, much of this is due
[1:22:07] to rising prices. If we were to
[1:22:09] do everything tomorrow, it might come
[1:22:11] to $25 million
[1:22:13] , but this will be spread out over time
[1:22:14] , so construction costs have increased by 4.5%
[1:22:16] . You are all better aware of how much construction costs have
[1:22:18] risen
[1:22:20] . This means that we are spending this much money to continue reinforcing a building that is 90 years old and
[1:22:22] no longer meets our needs
[1:22:26] , and
[1:22:28] yet we still need a new building
[1:22:30] . On the other hand, there
[1:22:38] are also options available to the community.
[1:22:42] In other words, it's an option to boldly
[1:22:44] invest in a new building and start from scratch
[1:22:45] , rather than repeatedly making repairs
[1:22:49] , allowing you to provide educational space and
[1:22:54] other things that have been needed for many years
[1:22:58] . I think what this letter is trying to convey is that,
[1:23:02] ultimately
[1:23:04] , you're going to spend the money anyway
[1:23:07] . The question isn't whether or not to spend money
[1:23:09] , but how to spend it
[1:23:11] . Therefore
[1:23:13] , people will have to make their own choices
[1:23:15] . I do
[1:23:26] n't think anyone who reads this would say, "I still like that building. My kids went there, and I'm attached to it. I don't think there's a problem. Let's proceed as planned." While the
[1:23:27] final decision rests with the
[1:23:29] community
[1:23:30] , as a board member, a
[1:23:34] member of this community, and a
[1:23:35] representative of the students, we believe we have an obligation to provide the
[1:23:39] most accurate information possible to address the important questions raised throughout this process
[1:23:42] . And
[1:23:44] obviously, the biggest problem is funding
[1:23:46] . It is completely dishonest to see signs throughout the city saying, "Vote against $118.5 million.
[1:23:48] "
[1:23:52] Because
[1:23:55] it suggests that we, as a community, must
[1:23:56] bear the cost
[1:23:59] . This is not true
[1:24:02] . That's why we
[1:24:11] believe it's essential to provide this level of detail so that community members can make decisions based on the best possible information
[1:24:13] . Do you know the exact details
[1:24:15] ? I don't know the exact details
[1:24:18] , but to be honest
[1:24:20] , I can't say for sure
[1:24:22] . Even if I were to vote in favor in this referendum
[1:24:24] , if I were to
[1:24:27] vote in favor without feeling a commitment to concrete figures, and if I were in a
[1:24:33] situation where I didn't know how much it would cost, or if it could potentially cost an unlimited amount, then
[1:24:35] I would not vote in favor.
[1:24:39] I won't vote for anything unless I have a clear understanding of how much it will cost
[1:24:41] . Therefore, I don't know.
[1:24:43] So, is this actually useful
[1:24:45] ? In other words, in terms of
[1:24:46] thinking about this
[1:24:47] , we're still in a situation where we're saying, "
[1:24:48] If this happens, then this will happen
[1:24:49] ." I do
[1:24:52] n't think we've reached those exact figures yet. It's difficult to
[1:24:56] tell the community that our burden will be $55 million. I'll
[1:24:57] add that too. It's
[1:24:59] done.
[1:25:01] The estimate prepared for the town agrees to include the phrase,
[1:25:03] "What is our community's
[1:25:05] share?" at the beginning of the statement
[1:25:06] . The
[1:25:15] paragraph then begins by stating that the estimates currently prepared for the town indicate that the building's operation will be sustained
[1:25:17] . At least one is between $45 million
[1:25:19] and $60 million, which I think is a sufficient range
[1:25:21] . On the other hand, the other
[1:25:24] proposal states the exact amount
[1:25:25] . Therefore, I
[1:25:29] think it should be stated that, at least according to the estimates made for the town. I'm
[1:25:33] hoping Jeff will handle it
[1:25:34] . It may not be processed completely
[1:25:36] , but I understand
[1:25:37] . I
[1:25:39] understand what you're saying.
[1:25:40] And this is what I think
[1:25:41] .
[1:25:42] Yes, I understand. It is
[1:25:46] your desire to accept that unexpected things happen in life. Therefore
[1:25:48] , I hope you will point out that it is coming from outside the WBOE
[1:25:52] . Please keep that in
[1:25:54] mind. that's right
[1:25:55] . We
[1:25:56] rely on these numbers, but we did
[1:25:59] n't generate them ourselves. Even if
[1:26:01] this passes the committee
[1:26:03] , it will likely reiterate that the project will not move forward
[1:26:06] until the level of repayment that was made at the start of the project is guaranteed
[1:26:10] .
[1:26:11] That's an estimate, or rather, a change
[1:26:13] , the first change made. that's right
[1:26:14] . So, at the beginning of the paragraph about constructing the new
[1:26:16] Beach Road School building
[1:26:19] , you're suggesting that the community's share of the burden should be
[1:26:20] emphasized
[1:26:22] . According to the
[1:26:24] estimate prepared for the town, the total cost
[1:26:26] is $55.5 million, and our community's share of the cost will be
[1:26:29] $55.5 million.
[1:26:31] And two
[1:26:33] paragraphs after that estimate, will we
[1:26:36] start by continuing to operate the current building
[1:26:38] ? got it. I
[1:26:41] think that covers a fairly wide area. In other words, you can say it twice
[1:26:43] . I think I'll
[1:26:44] say it twice.
[1:26:45] Because they are the same, and they are
[1:26:48] estimates created for the town. Those are
[1:26:50] all estimates.
[1:26:51] And the reason for this, simply
[1:26:53] put, is that the range of $45 million to
[1:26:55] $60 million is because this is an
[1:26:57] estimated 20-year period, and we do
[1:27:00] n't know exactly when it will happen.
[1:27:02] Therefore, if the roof replacement is postponed for 17 years
[1:27:04] , the
[1:27:06] construction costs will increase significantly during that time
[1:27:08] , putting it on the much higher side of the spectrum
[1:27:10] . Excuse me, what is it
[1:27:13] ? It is
[1:27:18] estimated that it will be costly to keep the current building operational for the next 20 years.
[1:27:22] Taxpayer or estimated cost. I
[1:27:26] think estimation is better. Okay
[1:27:28] ,
[1:27:29] so what is the estimated cost for continuing to operate the building for the next 20 years
[1:27:35] ?
[1:27:36] No, I'll remove the "created
[1:27:38] estimate" and start with the estimated cost to Woodridge taxpayers to keep the current
[1:27:41] building operational for the next 20 years, which is between
[1:27:45] $45 million and $60 million
[1:27:49] . The
[1:27:54] estimated cost is...
[1:27:56] this should be fine.
[1:27:58] Understood, and in the final paragraph,
[1:28:05] please note that the wording of the referendum will specify the full $118.5 million, as required by state law
[1:28:07] . This also reflects
[1:28:09] many of the questions we were asked
[1:28:11] .
[1:28:12] However, delete the sentence that begins with "
[1:28:15] However, construction of the new building will not proceed unless a minimum of 53%
[1:28:18] state reimbursement is secured
[1:28:22] ."
[1:28:26] Construction of the building will not proceed unless a minimum of 53% is secured
[1:28:28] .
[1:28:37] Your handwriting is much neater than mine
[1:28:38] . This is the
[1:28:41] handwriting of a first-grade elementary school student.
[1:28:45] Yes, really. I should have become a doctor
[1:28:47] . I agree. You will receive a
[1:28:53] refund of at least 53%.
[1:28:58] Yeah. That's
[1:28:58] great. However,
[1:29:11] those who wish to have their names listed in this matter can
[1:29:13] rest assured.
[1:29:15] If you are worried, we will
[1:29:17] respect that concern as well. In other words, we are
[1:29:20] all
[1:29:22] approaching this issue from our own unique perspectives. It's not that we don't
[1:29:26] understand the building's needs and other related matters
[1:29:28] . So my question
[1:29:32] is, who do you think should sign this proposal?
[1:29:39] Aaron
[1:29:40] ?
[1:29:41] yes. Shall we have the two board members who aren't here
[1:29:42] review the text
[1:29:43] ?
[1:29:44] yes. I will send you the revised version tonight
[1:29:46] . yes. Ah, 100%. We will not
[1:29:49] publish names without the person's consent.
[1:29:52] If everyone has the right to say whether they agree or disagree, they should be treated equally
[1:29:53] . 100%.
[1:29:55] Megan?
[1:29:56] yes.
[1:29:57] Lin?
[1:29:58] yes.
[1:30:00] Sarabeth?
[1:30:01] yes.
[1:30:01] microphone?
[1:30:02] yes.
[1:30:02] Jeff?
[1:30:03] I appreciate the editing, but I'm still
[1:30:05] not satisfied. I
[1:30:06] think we've gone beyond the limits. So, I'll
[1:30:08] completely respect that. Yeah.
[1:30:10] Okay, I'll
[1:30:11] follow up with Jackie and Sarabeth
[1:30:12] . Okay. That was a great
[1:30:14] discussion. Okay. Therefore, I
[1:30:25] believe there is no need for public attendance, public expression of opinion, or a closed-door meeting tonight. So, will there be a
[1:30:29] motion to close the session at 8:30 p.m.?
[1:30:33] Aaron Williamson is in
[1:30:35] favor, and Megan
[1:30:36] Knauscher is also in favor. Those who agree?
[1:30:38] Dennis, I'm talking to you. The meeting is
[1:30:40] adjourned. Understood. I
[1:30:41] can agree with that.
[1:31:34] Yeah.