the meeting of the Bridgewater Rainom Regional School Committee on Wednesday, May 20th at 7:30 p.m. Uh members in attendance tonight to my left is Mr. Fitz Gibbons, Mr. Guthro, Mr. Selenus, Miss Hoy Thomas, and the superintendent
to my right is Mr. Dupont, Miss King, and Miss Conrad Labberto. Uh please note this meeting is being uh livereamed and recorded. We will now stand to say the pledge of >> allegiance
to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> All right, we will now move on to public
comment. Um, Mr. Lo. >> Yes. >> Uh, I believe there's a person who read the um website and went to the Rainham Middle School by mistake would like to do public comment. Could we take that out of order and move
to the next thing and move then come back to public comment? >> Certainly. You want to make a motion to >> I'll make that movement. >> Seconded. >> All right. All in favor? I >> all any opposed? All right, we will move on to number
four. Uh correspondence and recognition. Uh the school uh community received an email from parent regarding parking during Rainwater Musical. Uh we also we had the honor society night. Uh Mr. Powers, can would you please uh update us on the events of the evening?
>> Sure, I'd be happy to. Obviously, it's a very busy time of year for the district and for the high school specifically. Uh so we did start uh kind of the end of the year activities with national honor society ceremony obviously recognizing our current members and then obviously
inducting any new members. Uh for this year for the class of 2026 we had 85 members and for the class of 2027 we inducted 83 new members and that's very impressive. Obviously they do an amazing job. uh Miss Jerome, the adviser, the
others that uh help her as well, and certainly Miss Watson and her team. So, was it was a great event, very well attended, the students, you know, very excited to see themselves up on the big screen as they walked across the stage talking about where they're going. And, you know, I shared this with some of
you, and I I shared this with, you know, the students that uh we happened to meet with not too long ago, just how impressed we were about where they're our seniors, where they're off to. Um, and I I think when you look at where our students are attending for higher education, it's very similar to, you
know, any other public high school, private high school, you know, I think Miss Red Fern said the other day, uh, this is the most Ivy League students we've had, uh, and, you know, her her time. So that, you know, it's significant. I think our top few, we have a couple Browns from Cornell. So,
you know, very very impressive. And then obviously you know our our state universities and colleges our local private universities and colleges you know our students are going on to do amazing things. So just you know congratulations to them hats off to them. Uh we had uh last night athletic
and or academic and athletic awards as well. Uh and we had um 85 students receive academic awards and we had 62 students receive athletic awards. So again, another evening to showcase and highlight all of their accomplishments, all their hard work. Uh it was really
nice to be able to to recognize those students. Uh next week is scholarship night. Uh Wednesday, I believe. So again, any student that has applied for and will be receiving a scholarship uh moving on will be recognized next week. So looking forward to that. And we also
had recently our kindergarten Palooa uh kindergarten welcome night. Uh thank you to me and her team for organizing that event every year. Uh we had approximately 225 students and families attend that. Uh we roughly have 329
students that have started the registration process. Um you know obviously most of those are complete but still some are pending. Uh pretty consistent with our enrollment that we have now. Um, so you know, hopefully through the the next few months, I know Miss Con and her team and the building
principles will start reaching out to those families, are you going to complete your registration? But again, what a what a great way to welcome our students in. Meg, it's class of 20 >> 39. >> 2039. Okay. So, it certainly uh makes us all feel old and beat us, but uh yeah,
we're pretty excited and I know the kids had a great time. So, you know, two big few big events uh for us and obviously graduation coming up next week. We're really looking forward to that as well. >> Thank you, Superintendent Powers. And I also had the opportunity to attend the kindergarten night with my daughter who was an incoming kindergartener. Uh she
said Miss Barry's station was undoubtedly her favorite. Um and she was extremely upset when she had to leave. But all right, let's move on to the consent agenda. Uh do I have a motion to approve the consent agenda? >> So move. >> Second. >> All in favor?
>> Mr. Chairman, if I might, uh, as this is my first meeting, I want to make sure I break as many rules as I want. So, you've got a little longer to forgive me. Uh, I I just wanted to make a comment for the for the minutes that, uh, this is the first annual health report that I've read as a school
committee member, but I've read many of them in the past some years ago. And I just want to make special note of the I was absolutely stunned and and positively so and impressed with the scope and scale of the duties as they
are being executed by our health services director CLA and the the holistic approach of dealing with students beyond classroom issues, reading, writing, arithmetic and everything was
followed up on everything was fail safe. There were things that were that it didn't if this didn't something else would. And I was just so impressed that they were clearly taking as a whole issues that would never show up on a
report card, would never show up on an on an MCCAST or an SAT, that are vital vital to enabling and ensuring each of our students success and progress on the day-to-day things which aren't necessarily anything that you would ever
teach from a curriculum. because that is so critical and uh to see it being addressed in such a systematic holistic manner uh I I the benchmarks that there were 2,793 students with quote special healthc care
needs but I said these aren't just numbers these are real people and it's been said many times in other contexts that a student sitting in a public classroom was very much like the NASA space shutt last month that they're both riding something built by the low
bidder. And now that was funny until the space shuttle challenger disaster. But the point is that these are people. These are real life people who are depending on the staff and the faculty and the people at this table to give them the opportunity to become who they
want to be and who they should be. So I have no doubt and I'm extremely confident that the team at BR Works X sees the whole of each student. It's comforting and reassuring that these medical and personal health conditions are recognized by BR. It's the staff and
the faculty and they're not only identified and diagnosed but then they are active dealt with as an essential integral component of their educational experience at BR. So I want to congratulate Claire on that report and the good work that they're doing there on behalf of our students.
Thank you, Mr. Dupont. All right. Now, moving on to educational reports with the student advisory council uh with Mrs. King. >> Thank you. Um I would like to welcome co-chair Sophia King to the podium to give her report.
Hello. Sorry I'm a little bit late. I did not mean to be. Um, good evening madam chair. >> Mr. Chairperson, sorry. Um, Mr. Chairperson, school committee and superintendent powers. Today I'll be speaking to you about TJ Squared
Robotics and BR Senior Prom. TJ Square Robotics has qualified had qualified for the first robotics championships in the World Championships in Houston after their astounding performance at the New England District Championships and were placed on the Newton Field.
After a long, very, very long day of travel to get there, we had a fabulous time spending the week in Houston. While we didn't do as well as we would have hoped, we still had an incredible time and we're very proud of our team and the robot. We had time to do lots of fun things like going to the mall and
hanging out at the pool where we had cupcakes because it was one of our students birthday. So, she turned 16. It's very fun. And then this upcoming Friday, VR has its senior classes prom. I am particularly excited about this. It's sure to be a fun and enjoyable
night. There'll be lots of good food, dancing, and hanging out with friends. We'll be reminiscing about our memories and looking forward to making new ones at college or wherever else our plans take us. Thank you for your time and I now welcome Kayla Tan Suz to the podium. Good evening everyone. Tonight I will be
speaking on the National Honor Society induction and field day. On Tuesday, May 12th, the National Honor Society held their 56th induction. Over the course of the school year, we had 90 active and provisional members and when the night was over, we inducted 83 new members. The chapter officers each letter candled
representing scholarship, service, leadership, and character. And we highlighted the events that we accomplished over the duration of the year. Chapter members received graduation cords and newly inducted chapter members received certificates and pins. Congratulations to the inductees, and I would like to
especially thank Mr. Jome for helping us put this night together. The next day, on Wednesday, May 13th, both the newly inducted juniors and seniors of the National Honor Society held field day along with the Odonahue and Raina Middle School chapters of the National Junior Honor Society. We
decorated shirts, had some snacks, played some made some new friends, and made our way into the gym to play team and station games. A few of the favorite games amongst the group were the tugofwar, halfcourt shots, and the pallet carry. Thank you to Mrs. Bramley, Mrs. Caprini and the Bridgewwater and
Raina Middle Schoolers for a fun afternoon. And I also wrote something on the side since this my this is my last report. As I stand before you tonight, it is so hard to believe that two years have gone by since I stood here giving my first report as a member of the school
committee advisory board. It is bittersweet and I'm so thankful that it has given me the ability to become a more confident and comfortable public speaker. It has also given me a community of people who share the same interests and I could not be more grateful to the people that I share time with on this
board. Being a member of this board has given me great insight into the importance of school committees across the state and why students, teachers, staff, and community members must work together for the greater good in the future of our education. Thank you all for giving me a voice and I would like
to especially thank Mrs. King and Mr. Hoy for their kindness in helping us understand the processes and duties of the school committee. I truly appreciate your kindness and support toward us and I wish Sydney, Marissa, and Jackson the best of luck as they continue their journey through high school and Sophia
as we both turn a new page and head to college. Thank you for this amazing opportunity I was able to participate in and to be able to use my voice for positive change, engage with my community, and become a leader with integrity. Thank you. And I would like to welcome Sydney Smexen to the stand.
Good evening everyone. Tonight I'll be reporting on the outcome of junior prom as well as the student school committee advisers's teacher appreciation week project. On Friday, May 15th, the class of 2027 head to the Kilburn Mill in New Bedford, a historic mill turned venue with a beautiful waterfront view to
celebrate the class's first official prom. There was a great turnout with many people taking advantage of being able to order Shirley Temples, have fun with friends in the dance floor, use the photo booth, and pick their dinner from a buffet of Italian food offered, such as bread, salad, pizza, and pasta. The
student council is happy that all our hard work has paid off and that the night went well with minimal issues. Thank you to the teacher chaperrons that volunteered including Mrs. Bjaka, Mrs. Seavoy, and Miss McCord for using their time off to help us out along with our class adviserss, Mrs. Bogue, and Murka.
A gratitude goes out to the parents who helped decorate the venue with a custom 70 style banner, balloons, and centerpieces for the tables. We also like to thank all the vice principles and principal Watson for their help and dedication for making junior prom such a fun but safe night for our class. Another note, teacher appreciation week
ran the week of May 3rd. In honor of this, the advisory board did our annual project to honor the high school's teachers. In their English classes, seniors were asked to fill out a form to a high school teacher that made their experience at VR unforgettable to both show their appreciation and to say goodbye before their graduation later
this month. Even though it took a lot of sorting, we were able to place the hundreds of forms in their designated teachers mailbox so they could be surprised with their students gratitude. The advisory board extends our thanks to all our teachers, administrators, custodians, lunch ladies, and anyone else who works tirelessly to keep this
district working for our students. We hope you had your time to shine during teacher appreciation week. Thank you for your time, and I welcome Ball to the podium. Good evening. Tonight I'll be reporting on the events the music department has been participating in this spring. Last Thursday we had our final concert for
the year with performances from the chorus, symphonic band, jazz band, wind ensemble, ac cappella, and winter percussion. The groups all did amazing and were able to raise money for the music boosters in the process. Seniors Sophie Senna, Kevin Posup, Lily Echo Smith, and Sole Graham all received awards for their talents and dedication
to the music department. The Triumph Music Honor Society also held their induction this past Monday where seniors received their chords for graduation and inductees performed a song or ra gave a speech relating to music. The honor society will also be uh going on a field trip tomorrow to see the Lion King in Providence. And I'll also be reading
Jackson's support as well as he couldn't be here tonight with us. On April 30th through May 2nd, the Rainwater Players performed their rendition of the musical Mean Girls, the high school version. The musical portrays the clicks and social hierarchies within an American high school and the top toxic behaviors found
within them. The rendition starred Hannah Mcelman as Katie Herren, Julia Alm as Regina George, Isabella Maya as Karen Smith, Gabriella Dy as Gretchen Weiner, Kai Raffling as Janice, and Luke Smith as Damian. them along with all the other talented cast, crew, and musicians
successfully displayed their talents and skills in front of a packed auditorium for three performances. Students, staff, and families all enjoyed the entertaining production. We very proud of the performance and are excited to see what they do next. Thank you. And this concludes the Student School Committee advisory board's monthly report.
>> Mr. Chair, can we go back to public comment at this point? >> Sure. >> Oh, yeah. After Miss K. Good evening. Um, since it's the Student Advisory Council's last report of the year, um, I just want to take this moment, um, to tell them how proud I am
for their reports and their, um, public speaking and how well they've done this year. Um, I just want to thank, um, our five students. They've made great strides with public speaking, writing their monthly reports and activities happening at the high school, as well as advocating for the district by emailing
representatives and senators, speaking with administration, teachers, and students on the state of our budget, and meeting with our representative and senators at the state house as well. We're bidding farewell to our two seniors graduating, Sophia King and Kayla Tan Cece. Um, and then at our next
meeting in June, I will announce next year's student advisory committee and our new co-chairs um, for next year. I would now like to celebrate our two seniors who are graduating and heading off to college. Sophia King has been on the student advisory council for the
past three years and is co-chair this year. She is an active member of the VR high school community as in multiple clubs. Miss King has been a five-year member of the varsity swim and dive team joining as an eighth grader. She has been the football team photographer and spring track manager. Miss King has been
a member of the TJ Squared robotics team for all four years, traveling to multiple in-state and out of state competitions. She is in the MOU Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, National Honor Society, a student leader, and her class treasure. Miss King has been a lifeguard and swim instructor the past several
years, as well as the nursery teacher at the First Congregational Church of Rainham. She has also been a Girl Scout for the past 13 years and recently celebrated bridging to adults with her troop of seven girls through Rave Girl Scouts and the high school. Miss King has volunteered extensively throughout
the community. Miss King has committed to UMass Amherst with a major in mechanical engineering. Congrats Sophia. Kayla Tjan Cis has been on student advisory council for the past two years and is co-chair this year as well. She is the co-president and founder of the
HOSA club here at the high school and a Harvard Crimson EMS AHA CPR cohort leader and ambassador. Miss Tjan Cece is the indoor and outdoor track and field captain and national honor society historian. She is a gymnastics instructor and welcome center
representative at Old Colony YMCA as well as a volunteer ambassador for Boston Medical Health System. Miss Tjan Cece is also a multimedia ministry intern and Sunday school leader at Morning Star Baptist Church. Miss Tjan Cece has committed to Northeastern
University and will be majoring in nursing. Congratulations, Kayla. Um, in addition to them giving their report every month, as I said, they were very integral this year in meeting with asking questions about the budget, whether it be Superintendent Powers,
Miss Watson, Senator Juner. Um, I am so proud of the strides that they made this year and how confident they were with their public speaking over the course of the year. So, I just want to um say how proud I am to them and all the support
that they get at home and with their teachers and mentors as well. Um, Mr. Koy could not be here this evening, but I also want to thank him. Um, he has given so much time meeting with them in the morning, encouraging them, um, talking about their reports, setting up meetings for them. So, I really want to
thank him for um doing that with us this year as a group um and making it such a wonderful place for them to be and to grow. Um so, thank you to Mr. Hoy. Um and thank you to the school committee for allowing them to do this. So, good luck. Thank you.
Thank you, Miss King. And thank you to the members of the student advisory council. Miss King and Miss Tjan T say undoubtedly both have very bright futures ahead of you and we're super proud to be having you represent BR in your postsecary pursuits. >> All right, Mr. Fitzgibbiens, would you like to make a motion?
>> Uh, yeah. Look, uh, can we, uh, reopen public comments? It was go back to public comment. However, we want the motion to be >> second. >> All in favor? >> So move. All right. Uh, public comment. The school committee welcomes
information, concerns, and opinions from those attending the the meeting. To give those wishing uh to comment a fair opportunity to speak, ensure compliance with the open meeting law and other legal obligations and avoiding disrupting the meeting. The committee will not engage with a speaker or with
another in deliberation on comments as they are presented during uh comment period. At its discretion, the committee may uh schedule issues raised by the speaker for deliberation at a future meeting. Uh please note all comments will be limited to three minutes. Um and
now we will open up public comment. Good evening, sir. If you'll state your name and address for the record. >> Good evening. My name is Sean George and I live on Jillian's Way in Bridgewater. I've lived in Bridgewater for over 30 years, starting as an undergraduate at Bridgewwater State College. Yes, it was
a college back then and then moving to Bridgewwater with my wife to start a family. I am a proud parent of two BR alums and our family are products of a public education in both primary and secondary education. We know firsthand
what a solid public education does to lead people to success. Also during those years, I've witnessed the challenges the district has faced from building a new high school, changes enrollment, keeping up with technology, etc. But the biggest challenge over the
years has been funding. Having to do more with less seems to be a recurring theme in public education. When I first came to Bridgewater, I noticed something that was very unique in regards to the district. It seemed like there was a history of one town
gifting funds specifically for their schools. Didn't make a lot of sense for a partnership to work that way. That practice continued until Dr. Forbes became superintendent and stopped that practice. I remember her saying, "We are one district and no town should have
more than the other due to financial means or any other means." Superintendent Swinson continued that policy. Fast forward to last Tuesday where I learned that our district partner Ray had approved a town meeting attended by 107 residents and without a single
question being asked a gift of 625,564 restricted to random schools. To say I'm disappointed that we are seeing gifting again is an understatement. During the end of COVID, Bridgewwater was able to fund a higher percentage of of the district asked than our partners
in Rainom due to the financial challenges of COVID that reom was still going through. It was probably the only time in Bridgewater's history that we were better off with a 87% residential makeup than we had commercial. Bridgewwater's approach to not gift to
the district but to help Bridge for Bridgewater schools are directed towards other departments but dedicated to fund capital expenses. Bridgewwater agreed to it as it was the right thing to do. I do believe that has been the practice until recently. I've
also been told that members of our district our district partners are back to accusing Bridgewwater of underfunding education. I've heard this numerous times over the decades, but I would like to take a minute to look at some telling numbers. I was sitting through an FY22 district budget presentation and looked
at the town assessment page. The presentation had the assessments broken down by enrollment percentages. I did some quick math as a spend per pupil and the numbers didn't come out to be the same for Bridgewwater and Reum. Bridgewwater is paying $297 more per
pupil than Reum. That equated to a $999,790 more payment by Bridgewater than RAM in FY20. >> Thank you, Mr. George. You're at your three-minute time limit. If your comments are written, you may submit them to Miss McDougall for the record. >> Do we have anyone else for public
comment? Good evening. Please state your name and address for the record. >> Good evening. My name is Heather Rogers and I'm a junior at BR. I live at 23 Teddy Road in Rainham. >> My name is Karly Thompson and I'm also a junior at BR. I live at 35 C Street in Rain.
My name is Kiara Ryan and I'm a junior at BR. I live at 26 Adam Lane in Rainham. For our civics project, we are here today to propose a new policy that would allow high school students at Bridgewater Rainham Regional High School
to take two excused mental health days per school year. We are currently facing a national mental health crisis, putting the well-being of our youth at risk. Mental health days would provide students with opportunities for
self-care, allowing them to prioritize their emotional wellness and get a muchneeded retreat from the stressors of everyday life. With our current system at BR, students only get excused absences for physical illnesses. Why should crippling anxiety,
depression, or any other mental health condition be treated any differently? Our proposed process for mental health days will be simple and streamlined, ensuring satisfaction from all key stakeholders, including students, parents, and staff. Mental health days
aren't just a short-term health benefit. They are an investment into the future of positive well-being. Words can only go so far. Here are the facts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly one in five youth have a mental health condition. To put this in perspective,
an average classroom size of 20 students has at least four students with mental illness. Based on data from a survey we distributed with over 200 responses from students, staff, and community members in our VR district, 72% of respondents said we should have mental health days
for students and 74% of respondents indicated that an excused mental health day would be greatly beneficial to them. >> As a wellrespected state and school district, we are falling behind. Others have already taken action and reap the benefits. 12 states in the United States allow excused mental health days for
students. Improved focus, greater academic performance, and more memorable, more favorable mental health outcomes are only a few of the many benefits of this policy. As a community, we need to recognize that the youth are the future. Therefore, their mental well-being should be our number one priority. With this, we strongly urge
you to consider a change to be our policy regarding excused mental health days. Thank you. We also have brief handouts for you all to recap this information. Thank you. >> Thank you. Do we have anyone else for public comment?
>> Seeing none, we will have another public comment section at the end of the meeting. And now we will move on to our regularly scheduled agenda back to educational reports. And first up will be uh the superintendent. And if the committee
would take a seat out in the audience so he can present I'm sure this one. Good evening. Uh thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh members of the school committee, members of the audience. I am here tonight to review the superintendent's evaluation presentation of final
evidence. I know Mr. Lo uh at the conclusion of this will give the committee uh some further guidance on the process. Uh but I did prepare a few slides for you just so you have an understanding of uh you know what brings us here tonight. Uh so the educator evaluation system for the state of
Massachusetts for any educator uh is very similar whether you're a classroom teacher um school psychologist principal assistant principal or even a superintendent. Uh and so you can see it's really a five-step process. It's a cycle of continuous improvement start
with a self assessment developing goals um implementing a plan obviously formative assessment and then a summit of assessment. And the summit of assessment is what I'm here tonight to present to you. So the standards of effective
administrative leadership um they're very similar to the educators. There's educator standards as well, but obviously uh these are specific to educational leadership, instructional leadership, management and operations, family and community engagement, and professional culture. So this is how the
evaluation process is really broken up into these four major standards. And then obviously under each of those standards there are indicators and you can see indicators for both teachers and administrators establish a statewide understanding about what effective teaching and administrative practice
looks like. Uh so this is not unique just to the superintendent of Bridgewwater Rainham. It is the same for all superintendents across the Commonwealth. uh the standards and indicators are translated into rubrics which I I know again you have all seen uh and obviously describe in practice
what effective leadership uh for the superintendent looks like and this is just a snapshot of uh one standard and one indicator uh but you can see it's broken up to uh four different ratings proficient is the goal uh that is
established statewide uh that is what the department of elementary and secondary education expects for all educators whether they be teachers, administrators, is that proficient is the goal. However, obviously we always strive to you know be better than the goal. Uh and so there may be some that
uh are rated exemplary certainly if you know up to par uh could certainly be needs improvement or unsatisfactory. Uh so this is just again a snapshot of what the rubric will look like. uh as such
the u ratings uh on the rubric again I know this is familiar to most of you but just to give a quick review um we talked about exemplary proficient needs improvement unsatisfactory each one has a specific meaning I I
won't you know read those to you I I know you can read those and obviously you have this information as well uh and again you know I highlighted proficient because that is the standard that is the goal. This is you know I want to point out this is the rigorous expected level
of performance uh demanding but attainable. So that is the goal for all educators including administrators across the state. Uh end of the cycle uh so obviously uh every educator is placed on a different uh cycle length. Uh currently I'm on a
one-year cycle. I know there's been some discussion about extending that out. uh teachers uh move through uh different lengths of cycles depending on uh you know their their tenure. Uh so a brand new teacher uh typically is on you know a one year uh and then teachers with
professional teaching status and those with experience typically on multi well or two-year plans and then this would be similar for building administrators as well. Um so again there's two things that uh I'll be rated on and that is
progress towards goals and I'll obviously review those and go over those but those ratings would be did not meet goal some progress towards the goal significant progress uh towards the goal met the goal or exceeded. Uh for superintendent there is a professional
practice goal a student learning goal and then there are two district improvement goals. In terms of the standards again uh as I just explained to you it's unsatisfactory needs improvement proficient and exemplary and those are the four areas that uh I shared instructional leadership management and operations family and
community engagement and professional culture. This is what the the rating sheet again I I know it's small because it's a snapshot but you can see um here the goal ratings it's you know again did not meet some progress significant progress
met exceeded and then here is the overall rating on standard one instructional leadership and the four ratings on satisfactory needs improvement proficient being the goal that's why it's shaded on the state form and then obviously exemplary management and operations family and community engagement and professional culture and
so for each one of my goals s uh they are tied to those four standards and the indicators underneath. Uh and so although the ratings are independent, they are certainly linked. But again, you you have this information. I know Mr. Roach will cover this as well. Um what I did provide for you uh is the
evidence just so you're not inundated with multiple uh sheets of evidence. I did link the evidence into the presentation. So these are all um interactive links that you will be able to go through. Uh but just to kind of review and again I know this is somewhat redundant. The student learning goal um
is um to partner uh with the director of student services uh I will lead the efforts to close the achievement gap in ELA and math as measured by MCCAST for students with disabilities by 10% over the next three years. So, as I, you know, presented to the long range committee and the school committee back
in the, uh, summer, this was a multiple year goal, although it didn't necessarily align to my uh, cycle. Uh, it does obviously occur over multiple years. Um, I did uh, give myself a self-rating. Uh, again, just uh, you know, I wanted to share where my
thoughts on on my progress. Uh, and I did rate myself uh, making some progress. Um, I know I'd spoken to long range. This was something that uh you know I I wish we had done more in this particular area but just given the uh push and pull on the student services
department this year uh focus uh was really placed on uh completing our tiered focus monitoring uh and working through that process developing our corrective action plan. So much of the work with Mr. Angelo this year and with Mrs. Barry was really focused on our tiered focus monitoring. So did take us
away somewhat from our goal. Um I did rate some progress because even um you know through just new leadership in the department and some new structures our students are making progress. Uh what you'll see there for evidence the first link takes you to the statewide
attendance data. Obviously we want to make sure our students are in school because if they're not here uh they're not available to learn. Uh the next one is the statewide assessment data. So looking at MCCAST I did try to pull that data out into a Google sheet for you. So you'll see some baseline data summary
there. uh that was updated as of May 26. Again, includes information on attendance and achievement. Um so certainly take a look at that. It kind of summarizes so you're not scouring through the desi website the information there, but I did include those links just so you could refer back. Um obviously uh I Ready, you're very
familiar with I Ready. There is data there. Now I will say this, it's only uh data from the fall to the winter. We're obviously going through our spring benchmarks now. Uh so you really won't see the full measure of growth uh in in those reports uh only because the spring
assessment hasn't been given just yet. Uh but there you know again in some areas we are making growth. The gap is uh smaller u but obviously we still have some work to do and we're you know interested in seeing what these spring results look like. And then the next uh Google doc the next link there is the
professional development that we offer to our special educators. uh that really two main areas but again you'll be able to see that what the topics were and then some of the feedback from the educators that they provided. Uh the professional practice goal was to continue to strengthen
stakeholder engagement students staff caregivers during the 2526 school year and to best understand the impacts of the failed override on our stakeholders. Uh therefore I would look to create a superintendent's advisory council that would meet with students, staff and caregivers at least once per quarter to
ensure voices are heard and could uh contribute to district decisions. I shared this with uh Mr. Lo and in long range uh you know I altered that goal uh not to be quarterly but really to uh shoot for three times per year uh and and I feel again uh making significant
progress on that goal. Uh and much like I did on the other uh student learning goal, I have linked evidence for you. Uh if you remember back in the uh fall early winter, I did provide you with a summary presentation of stakeholder feedback from our first round of
presentations and also the survey data that we collected. Uh what I've done from there is I've listed out the student meeting dates that we've had as well as the staff meeting dates and then the parent meeting dates. uh the Google link here for the student meetings. You'll notice there's tabs over on the lefth hand side. Those contain all of
the notes and feedback from those meetings. I will share with you that uh the most recent ones uh need to be uploaded and linked in there. So when you go into the tab, you will see a tab labeled um you know 521 uh for obviously we haven't had that meeting yet, so the
notes aren't in there. So I will uh update those as we go. And we just uh got the notes from the uh last two meetings. Uh same thing with the staff meetings. Uh you'll notice that the 519 ones are not in there. Uh that just occurred. So we need to upload those as well. Uh the parent meetings uh again we
had two uh we looking to schedule a third before the end of the year just to talk about the impacts of the budget. Uh you know the the feedback and the notes from the parents are really uh included in the stakeholder summary presentation. Uh there wasn't a separate uh you know taking notes at those meetings. So we
don't necessarily have uh similar no process for uh parents but we did have two meetings and and again looking to schedule a third uh and that's uh you know significant progress was my self-rating uh district improvement goal number one
uh and again uh you you know this goal is familiar to you it's been a goal that uh I really have worked on although it's uh taken on slight ver uh slight variations it is always centered around the budget and so again really looking to strengthen the collaboration with both town governments and district staff
to ensure our budget process is aligned to best practices, is efficient, and continues to be transparent and maintains alignment with our student success plan and the district's mission, excellence and education for all. Um, I did uh give myself a self-rating exceeded that goal. I feel as though
that the uh collaboration and the efforts by the district staff this year uh not only met that goal but also exceeded that goal. Uh again, here's the evidence to support that. Uh the process and timeline, what you're familiar with. Um you know, obviously going back to last year all the way through the budget
budget process. I I think what you'll notice here through the evidence of collaboration with the towns, the frequency of meetings uh that we had with both Bridgewwater and Rainham and the various uh town groups as well to discuss the budget, I think far exceeds what we've done historically. um the
FY27 budget presentation which you're familiar with is there and then obviously you know I think one of our proudest accomplishments is the FY27 budget book uh that was developed in collaboration with the Collins Center out of UMass. So again something we're very proud of uh it is linked there for
your review and then evidence of stakeholder outreach and engagement. again. So whether we uh sent something out through the VR Buzz about the budget, whether we sent a separate communication about the budget, if you recall, uh we've recorded um several videos uh moments with Mary podcast, uh
Rainham cable show talking about the budget. Uh we uh obviously partnered with the Taton Gazette to run several articles. So all of that is linked there. You can see uh all of that information and really all that information comes from our budget website. And not that we didn't have information available, but an effort
we've really made over the last couple years is to warehouse all of our budget documents and any information, any newsletter, any presentation uh there in the website and make it easily easily accessible uh to the community. So again, uh that is the
district improvement goal number two. Uh that was number one. This is number two. uh and you know obviously focusing heavily this year on our staff knowing that uh given the impacts of the failed override not only were going to negative impact our students but also negatively impact our staff and so we wanted to
partner with Miss Healey our human resources director to make sure that our our staff members felt supported throughout the school year and that we look to expand uh the wellness offerings. Uh Miss Healey has really made this uh a mission of hers since day one and I you know commend and applaud
her efforts and certainly uh enjoy working with her on this. Uh so there's some link data here again pre-ervey that was sent out to staff. What would they be willing to participate in? Would they actually be willing to lead anything? Uh Miss Healey does a great job of you know trying to bring outside vendors in but
we really wanted this to kind of be homegrown. Um we don't have a post survey um just yet obviously because it's not the end of the year and we're not done with our wellness activities but uh we will be sending out one. Uh so you can see what the pre-ervey looks like and then obviously the pre-ervey
results are linked there. Um and then this link is for the calendar and listing of staff wellness events throughout the year. Again, I I think it's, you know, pretty impressive the amount of information that is shared and resources that is shared with staff uh coming directly from the human resources department and whether it be passing
along something from our employee assistance program or actually uh some type of um activity that the staff can take part in. There are video resources for them where they can watch a webinar, a video and then actually, you know, provide some feedback to Miss Healey and
try to win a prize for participating. Um, and you know, Miss Healey, uh, has really worked hard on that with her staff. Uh, and so we also wanted to provide some, uh, numbers there. And, you know, we certainly hope to grow this. I think I've shared with you in the past about our wellness fair and how
it really has expanded since year one. Uh, it has grown every year. Uh, it's always been offered to all of our staff, but the number of staff members that took advantage of it year one, grew to year two, and then now obviously grew even more year three. And, you know, we've had staff say, "Oh, you know, I've stayed in my classroom to try to get
ahead. I'm so glad I came this year. I'll never miss it again. So, I I I do think it's again a you know, a testament to Miss Healey and the efforts that that she puts forward there. Uh but it does share some numbers of of the participants and also the ones that are engaging in those monthly wellness
activities. Uh we didn't uh start tracking that until the uh uh winter. So, you'll see it doesn't start until February how many people are taking advantage of those monthly activities. Uh and then you'll notice obviously in there that May and uh June are pending because we don't uh they haven't all submitted and all participated in those.
Uh but all the information and evidence that I have uh to date uh is shared and linked here um for you to again evaluate me on. Uh and I did uh give myself a self-rating of exceeded
goal for um I'm sorry for uh meeting goal for district improvement goal number two. This is just a quick snapshot of our kindergarten staff at the wellness fair. Uh it was uh we had a kind of a a painting activity wellness painting
activity that they could participate in. So this is just a snapshot of some of the uh art that they produced. But I'm happy to answer any questions about the evaluation process or about any of my evidence. All right, we will now open it up for
questions for the committee regarding the superintendent's presentation on his goals. Any questions? Oh, thank you super excuse me superintendent Powers for the presentation. uh you know we have discussed a lot of these over this time. I'm going to talk about a little bit of
my report as well. Uh but I think we you know definitely have seen some good progress throughout this year and look forward to really culminating the evaluation. >> Thank you. >> Moving on next to the long uh rage planning subcommittee. The long-term planning subcommittee met on Monday,
April 27th, 2026. Uh the superintendent will present progress on his goals at the May uh school committee meeting. He gave a brief overview during the meeting and noted the lack of progress on his goal related to special education achievement due to having a new special education director who had many
priorities to address upon entry. Other goals he has been able to make uh consistent progress including meeting with stakeholders regarding the impact of the budget and the towns to assess the impact the budget and development for this FY27 years budget. The district has been able to facilitate multiple
wellness activities to support our staff during this challenging school year. There will be an endofear uh feedback survey to assess what to assess what has been received well. Committee members will then fill out evaluation rubrics for the superintendent's progress on his
goals and overall performance. Completed rubrics will then be given to myself and I will be composing the final evaluation to be presented at the June meeting. Um also to talk a little bit just uh more about uh the student learning goal as well which we discussed at length at that meeting. Um, it's really just that
our special education director has had multiple priorities and working on a lot of different infrastructure aspects besides the TFM. We know we've re uh revised the 504 manuals as well as special education procedures. Um, and those are definitely lengthy activities
to to take on within your first year within a district. So, uh, any questions regarding long-term planning? >> Chairman L. Um, when do you need those evaluations? >> That is an excellent question. We'll
probably aim for a week before our next meeting. >> Yep. >> So, >> thank God I got good experience. >> So, what is the date? So the week before the June 10th meeting
>> and the Saturday >> and I would just say Mr. Lo is um I can't remember who's the chair for this year. Is it yourself? >> Uh I was the chair. Mr. Guthro will be taking the reigns of that for this following year. Um but I am finishing out this process. I would just recommend
the committee think about I know we've always done annual goals but especially that education goal that it's was over three years I think um to think about is it an annual goal or is it a you know what that looks like
>> and thank you for that feedback um I think kind of looking at this year's goals we also probably should have pointed out that we do have a new student services director and it may not may be challenging item for them to kind of take on initially Uh but I also think
moving forward I you know pending the results of this evaluation cycle uh we are considering a two-year plan for the superintendent which will be much easier to align goals moving forward especially in terms of student learning. Any other questions?
All right we will move on to the budget subcommittee report by Mrs. King. >> Thank you. Um, on Monday, April 27th, 2026, the budget subcommittee met at 5:00 PM in the superintendent's conference room. In attendance were Mr. Lo, Mr. Fitz
Gibbons, Miss Hoy Thomas, Superintendent Powers, Miss Babalola, director of business services, assistant superintendent Barry, Miss Healey, HR director, Miss Watson, BRRS principal, Mrs. McDougall, our recording secretary, and myself. At that time we
approved the subcommittee minutes of April 6th, 2026. Um we also at that time um at that meeting had an I Ready contract discussion in light of recent articles and litigation surrounding Ire budget sub discussed our I Ready contract and
how we are using the I Ready data and its security surrounding personal information of students. Um, Superintendent Power states that we do f use that program to fulfill DESIE requirements surrounding early literacy and as a diagnostic tool to assess K
through8 right now. Um, it is a year-to-year contract. Um, Superintendent Powers felt comfortable with the security of the program with our data and that changing programs right now would be not be costeffective. Um, since we do have a requirement with DESIE, so we did not take any action at
that time, but we will continue to review that as necessary. Um, since it is a year-to-year contract, we're not locked into that. Um, we also continued our fiscal 27 budget discussion at that subcommittee meeting um, regarding the budget that we
had approved and sent to the towns to vote upon. We discussed the implications of the towns rejecting our approved budget and what that timeline um looked like and we adjourned that meeting at 5:36. Um following that we attended the town of Rainham finance committee meeting on
April 28th, 2026. Um Superintendent Powers and I were in at that finance committee meeting. At that time Reham fin discussed the operational budget for the time uh for the town regarding the school district. Superintendent Powers updated Rainham Fincom on our
discussions with Bridgewater and the 3.616% that Bridgewwater had indicated they were able to approve due to their budget deficit at that time. This worked out to a 2.2% correlated increase for Rainham because of the regional agreement. The
difference in what had been requested from Rainham was about $625,000. The group at that time discussed support for a separate warn article for Rainhamtown Meeting gifting that additional 625,000 and what that could be spent on and how
the group felt regarding that. Um, we also indicated where we had some savings regarding health insurance and if we expected any additional chapter 7 funding. Um, following that, we also had a budget subcommittee meeting on May 4th, 2026.
Um at that time, Bridgewwater Town Manager, Mr. Kasanova Davis also attended that meeting. Um we discussed with Mr. Kasanova Davis the fiscal 2027 budget and he gave us an update. Um he was estimating at that time in his
operational budget he was going to be presenting a 3.616 u% increase to allocate to the school district. He outlined the closures and cuts he would be making to close that deficit gap. Um, regarding m most employees of the town
of Bridgewwater taking a cut of five hours per week, potentially closing the senior center one day per week and the library an additional day as well as the academy building one day or potentially Fridays. Um, no cuts were planned at that time for police or fire. Um, any
public safety. Um, we also discussed the financial impact of the BP and BA lottery system. now um but we do not know at that time um we have lists from them of how many were accepted to each school um but not all the students who
have committed yet. Um so we did discuss um following up on that to see if there will be a financial impact once all students have committed to their school in the fall. Um and then we did also further discuss the projections um regarding the future at Bridgewater,
especially with their infrastructure issues and what their plan was going forward. >> Um after Mr. Kasanova Davis left, I'll pause. No, it's fine. After he left, um we did continue our discussion on fiscal 27 um regarding the budget cycles of
Bridgewwater and Rainham and the potential gift that Rainham had discussed at that time. Um Rainham had budgeted in their operational budget a conservative estimate of 5% um and were open to gifting the funds um based on
what they had within their budget and due to the RMS class sizes at that time. Um the high school was discussed but as it was a regional school the gift could not necessarily be used there. Um so other funding was discussed such as um
excess state funds that we may receive and looking into dual enrollment plans with BSU, Massoya and BCC and expanding that. Um and I can pause there if people have questions on any of that that we've discussed.
This is um I just the I know you all are going to go back and visit the BP lottery piece, but I'm just curious as as of right now in the initial numbers that we have. Are those numbers higher
than lower than last year? Are they what are those for each town? >> Um slightly higher uh but not significantly where uh you know we saw a large number of students now get accepted through the lottery system. Um I think when we looked maybe 10 to 15
more I think give or take. Uh again not all at the time had accepted so we're still waiting for that final approval but um there were definitely more students accepted but not a significant number where we'd be losing another 100 200 300 students.
Yeah, it is some something that we're going to continue to look at to see u what the numbers look like at the vocational schools as well as all the private schools that we know people have been attend. I feel like especially as an eighth grade mom, I know there's in a
very high percentage of students that have applied to multiple private vocational etc. So, we'll have to look at what the numbers come out to probably late summer and see where we are. if I could, Mr. Chairman. >> Yep.
>> Through you to the superintendent. Uh Mr. Superintendent, uh recently I've been asked a lot about one of the reports that came out of how many eighth grade students uh finishing 8th grade in Rain Bridgewater, but then not opting to
continue on to secondary level education at BR Regional High School. Has there been any analysis of those numbers? And I think that that Rachel is has basically said something that one of the things I believe is a driving factor and perhaps you can tell me if this is
substantive or not is that the opportunities outside of Bridgewater Rainham or BP or Bristol there are many more opportunities for eighth graders to pursue secondary education chart schools brochio schools uh trade technical
schools that are private could the superintendent talk about that just for a minute as far as those numbers R we looked at what's driving that there any data on it or any discussion? >> So, we we certainly do a yearto-year analysis of how many students are actually moving up from eighth grade. It's something that Miss Watson has to do every year because of scheduling
purposes to know how many students. So, working closely with uh you know, the eighth grade team to know exactly how many students are uh anticipated to come. Uh you know, when we look at where the students are going, uh we certainly, you know, do lose a number of students to our vocational technical schools. Um I think we can understand uh that
because we it's not those are not programs we're currently offering. And so if there's a student that wants to go into um you know a CTE program that we're not offering, they obviously look at attending first of Plymouth or something regional or or potentially one
of the agricultural schools. Um and you know we have a number of students that go go there uh excel there because it's you know something that they're you know very interested and it provides an an opportunity to our students. We do then look at you know how many students are
we losing to our you know the proial schools and again we try to look at okay why is it um you know a a family tie to those schools uh you know if we look back and there's been older siblings and they all tend to
go to this one you know one school and we find out mom and dad went there well then you know we say okay well we can understand the draw. um you know we start to get concerned when we can't necessarily put an explanation you know why are um students leaving to go to charter schools why are they leaving on
school choice um and you know we start to look at okay where are they going what opportunities are there that we don't offer um we look at their class size you know for a while westwater was ahead of us in terms of our onetoone computer program so a lot of students uh that left us that was one of the
reported factors well you know they're one to one and smaller class sizes that's not something we you know continue to hear because obviously we we have that and then you know some students uh leave you know for other reasons. It could be you know athletics they go to other schools for other
athletic opportunities. There could be a sport that we don't offer or they feel as though that you know they may have a better chance uh to compete at one of these other schools. Um you know maybe it's a smaller school could be a bigger school. Uh so that is definitely something that we look at all the time
because we you know we we want if you know if there's a a deciding factor such as a vocational technical education program or you know there's a family draw to a private school okay but for those other students that are leaving us why are they leaving us and is there
something that we're not offering that that we should be looking at because at the end of the day we want Bridgewwater Rainham students to come to Bridgewater Rain. >> Well and if I could Mr. chairman, just to the superintendent for discussion at a per future time. I was at a a school committee meeting in another town
recently and uh there they were they were doing a department of reports and it seems this particular town had tasked an administrator to assist in transitioning from the middle school to the to the high school. and they talked
about different exercises and things that were built right into the curriculum that they were doing in the eighth grade that would then carry over to the high school. And I'm not saying that they were selling it, but they were aware of the transition between middle to secondary is as simple as okay, finish eighth grade, start ninth, but
perhaps Mr. Superintendent and I could have a further discussion on that another time. I think of course. >> Yeah. And I mean, just to further that point, I've been a pretty big advocate these past several years with Miss Watson of trying to promote the high
school more. Um, I know that gap from 8th grade to 9th grade, we lose about 25% consistently to different schools. Um, there has been a big spike the past couple years, I think, because of class size, etc. But I feel like we could do more to kind of bridge that 8th grade to
9th grade gap, whether it's open houses, um, etc. I know my own eighth grader did the National Junior Honor Society program that Miss Tjan Cece talked about earlier. Um, and that was actually a big thing, which I didn't think anything of it, but my daughter came home with
Bridgewater friends that she made during that day, which I think helps promote those kids that they'll know people when they get here. So, more maybe events like that where we bring the two towns together would be helpful as well. So, just
>> and Mr. I I will say um Mr. Dupont, this is something four or five years ago when I came in that I was very concerned about. And at that point for a couple years, we actually tried to survey parents that left the district of why they left the district. Um we can probably go back and look at some of
that data, but it I I don't think it's probably changed much other than in the last couple years there are more families leaving the district um because of budget cuts and some of what is happening. You think that's noticeable or >> Oh, 100%. Again, I two kids at the high school. I talked to a lot of parents. I
think all of us again the budget cuts that affected the high school are very noticeable. Um I think people are concerned about it. And so I think again the lottery and what's happening at BP is made things a little bit more up in the air when I talk to parents. Um, but
definitely people are concerned of the loss of electives, businesses, classes, AP classes, all of that stuff at the high school 100% and the class size and our again my concern, my big concern being a proponent of public education is
the halves and the halves. Are you going to see a huge difference in the halves are going to pay for private education? And we're going to, you know, and I think it's a huge issue that what is happening. >> I I think Mr. Chairman just excuse me
Annie, but to the superintendent I I I just think behoove us as as a district to perhaps get beyond anecdotal reports of things and see if there's some way to I don't want to say quantify it, but get something that's maybe somewhat reliable. And I'm not sure how you'd go
about that, Ryan, but you know, you're the guy. It seems though if we had something more substantive to work on, it might even assist you as the administration in terms of addressing whatever issues there are in transitioning from 8th to 9th grade and whether it is some perceived shortcoming
of of the high school on the part of parents of eighth graders. But I think right now we don't really have anything substantive to put our arms around. Well, he sort of the same thing and I think every one of us had various comments, but it's anecdotal, but it isn't anything that's really based on anything reliable. I thank the
superintendent for looking into that. >> Sure. >> Um yeah, I just wanted to comment as um you're mentioning so I was the leazison for music boosters this year. The department head for um the music
department at the high school sent out a survey to the middle schools, Ringham and Bridgewwater. 70% of the music kids have applied at a district. What does that do for the music department at the high school? That's no band, no ch like
you can't you can't sustain that. So, we're at the point where it's we don't have the offerings to keep these people. And like Laura said, it's just lack of funding. Like everything comes back to we can't we can't provide. So, that's what we're facing. And I know that's
maybe not the total data that we want to see. just one department, but it's truly reflective of every department. Everyone's feeling it. The pressure is on. So, >> thank you. Sorry, Thomas. >> Thank you. Um, following that on Monday,
May 4th, 2026, Superintendent Powers, Vice Chair Lo, and myself attended the town of Bridgewater Finance Committee meeting via Zoom. At that time, Dana Sullivan was nominated and voted in as the new chair of the Bridgewater Finance Committee. They reviewed their annual town budget. Um they requested that
Superintendent Powers discuss how he anticipated closing the gap left between what the town of Bridgewater was proposing for a budget at 3.616 and what our approved budget was. Um Superintendent Powers discussed his potential plan of not restoring the proposed 10 positions, leaving three
open admin positions, replacing retirees with staff at a lower salary. Um savings in health insurance that came in less than estimated. um a 15% versus the 7.4% uh reduction in OT contracts, increased revenue that came in higher than
anticipated um protect the potential of reducing one or more buses due to lower enrollment. Um moving staff to grants were applicable, reallocating unemployment amounts carried over, school choice funds, and more. Um he went into further details regarding the
health insurance savings and those cost avoidance measures we took this year to bring that down. Um after discussion on our portion of the budget and the overall budget it was recommended by their fincom to bring that forward to town council.
Um, following that on Tuesday, May 5th, 2026 at 6 PM, Superintendent Powers and myself attended the Bridgewater the Town of Bridgewwater finance committee and budget and finance committee meeting at the academy building. I know Miss Hoy Thomas was also in attendance at that time. Um, at that time the committees
discussed the operational budget and the school budget, noting that the expense increases were not sustainable, nor were they proposed cuts that within the Bridgewater budget for that year were sustainable as they were cutting employee hours and closing town
services. Um, Chair Sullivan confirmed that they do need to have revenue and expense projections going forward and stressed the need for ongoing collaboration with the school district. Um it was approved to recommend uh to the town council um the operational
budget. Um we went right from there to the 7:00 Rainham select board meeting. Uh Superintendent Powers and myself. Um the select board discussed the Rainham Town meeting warrant and specifically the article 6 relative to the gift of the
school district the $625,000. Um Superintendent Powers and myself did discuss the need for the gift. what that would be specifically used for and the reasoning u for our support i.e. class size. Um I will pause there and talk about that. Rainham Town Meeting as Mr.
George stated um approved that on Monday May 18th. Um article six of the Warren article um approved the $625,564 as a gift as well as our operational budget for a 2.2% increase. Um Mr. Mr.
Powers and myself did attend a pre-town meeting and we attend um the select board meeting to discuss that warrant article. Um and I did have time to speak with um select board members regarding this. Um in the past, yes, we have not been favor of this. I specifically have
not been favor of a gift. Um our job as a school committee member is to represent all students, not just represent one town. We're kind of that in between regional. Um however for this year specifically Rainham schools and
RMS in particular um some of the class sizes are going on 40 students right now especially in fifth and sixth grade. We are not in a position if Rainham has the money to specifically help that problem to turn down money. Um I would not under
normal circumstances if things were not as bad as they are be a proponent for that. But if they do have the money within their operational budget and it can help student learning, I was in favor of that and I indicated that at that um select board meeting um and that
was the reasoning for that and it did approve at town meeting. Um I know last year people were very upset with the budget process and back and forth. I know as Mr. powers discussed earlier with his goals. He and the school committee I feel like has made huge
strides with the towns being transparent going to all of these meetings talking to people the community um working together with all three entities. Um and we need to show the communities that yes
we're taking this money to address a problem but it is not have pinning one town against the other. And Mr. Casanova Davis was well aware of this the Bridgewater town meeting town manager and he was in favor of this if they had the funds available they would do more
and they're doing as much as they can this year. So it is not a hard feelings of one town against the other. So I just wanted to address that and what our reasoning was um going forward for that. >> Does anyone have discussion on that point?
>> Thank you Miss King. Um, you know, I would also say I'm in favor of this gift. Um, I think, you know, as as one is is noted is dedicated towards addressing the schools of reum, but I think if we look at the bigger picture, it also gives us greater flexibility within the budget itself. Having classrooms of the size of 40 really
creates an unsafe environment for both students and staff that is not maintainable throughout a school year. Um, and you know, being someone who who has been in education for a long time now, I think that is something would have to be undoubtedly addressed at some point. Anyway, um, I also think it would
create greater staffing challenges and stress for our staff moving forward, looking at having to maintain that level of size of a classroom. I mean, I think in the bottom line, it's really just going to give us more capacity as a district, and that's we could take all we can get at this point. One point of clarification I just want to make for
you. Uh on one of the reports, Rachel, was the reduction in OT contracts is not a reduction in services. Sorry. >> It is uh really looking at converting positions that are currently contracted outside with an outside provider to internal positions. Um and looking at
cost savings that way. Uh but there will be no no impact on services. >> Sorry, thank you for clarifying that. That that is what I meant. >> I would Mrs. King, Mr. I would just add for the rain of town meeting is um or that gift is, you know, I'm in support
of this. I think if the tables were turned and it was Bridgewwater giving this money to address um classroom sizes on Bridgewwater and Rainom, I'd be supportive of that, too. even though I don't live in Bridgewater, I think anything we can do to address the class size and you know and and maybe there's
some cost savings somewhere or there's extra money the state gives us and then that can go address address some of the issues on the Bridgewater side and and and at the high school honestly the biggest issues at the high school um per my own personal opinion um and so I think as Mr. says it gives us some
flexibility with the the budget, the operating budget to address some of those um ongoing challenges. >> Thank you. Um so >> if I could, Mr. Chairman, and through you to Mrs. King and and the rest of the committee.
In my previous tenure on Bridgewater Rainham School Committee, every single year the town of Bridgewater rejected the assessment calculated by the BR regional school district. Every single year.
Number one. Number two, I wrote the regional agreement amendment that created the prek through 12 district that we're now sitting on the committee for. And one of the things that that did was it confined
capital costs to each town where the capital improvement would then occur. Which I think is un which is ironically and sad that Rainham may have created infrastructure to to meet its needs in the K through a
grades but that Bridgewater is unable to keep up with financially. This is part one of the weaknesses of a regional school district. The towns don't grow at the same rate. Each town has a different policy and approach to planning, zoning,
building business and you know town of Bridgewwater had a chance to have what became the Galleria model sited in town and they rejected it. Now here we are without it and they are without that revenue and I'm talking about you know a
separate but equal but not equal system for K through eight. Mr. Fitz Given in a previous meeting, I remember specifically stated Pine Street, there's kids going to Rainham Public Schools on one side of it, there's kids on the Bridgewater side going to the other one,
and they're not getting the same education. And I know we're a long way off from it. And I'm pleased to hear that this budget uh uh process now is something that is ongoing instead of just like let's meet with them in March and April and see what we got and see what we can work out the numbers. But I
I just think Mr. Chairman uh I I want to just lay my cards on the table. I'm I'm against any further deference to one town or another because of their finances. Our obligation is to the students in this district and we are to and I I'm hoping that in the coming
year, Mr. the superintendent, I have absolute faith and confidence in him, not just as an administrator, but as an educator, that we propose and and enact a budget that results in an assessment that meets the needs of the students in both towns. And all I'm going to say
right now is deals a deal. You join the regional steel school district. Here's the assessment. You'll have to do what you need to do to make that work for you. We are not here to make excuses for one town or another. We're here to see if these students get the education. We
we've made some compromises here and I commend the superintendent who was looking at the the evaluation. He was the one who facilitated that whole process. He and Mrs. King here in particular worked with the local people so that we we went to town meeting with an agreement. And if you were there
Monday night, I just want to say this for the record. I've been to town meeting since 1971. And I've never heard a louder yes vote in my life than I heard Monday night. And I went into that town meeting and I saw a lot of people in their 30s and 40s. And I realized
they came down there to vote that they have children. And and I I thank them for doing that because we do owe those children an education. But I think there's something here we really need to, as Glover Durks would say, search our hearts for where we're going to end up next year on the assessments of both
member towns. Mr. Chairman, thank you. >> Thank you. Um, so lastly, the budget subcommittee met did meet again last night, May 19th, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. in the library of the high school. Um, at that time, the budget subcommittee
minutes of April 27th and May 4th, 2026 were approved. Um we had a final discussion regarding the fiscal 2027 budget um reconsideration and regarding END. Um as I stated earlier in my report, Bridgewater approved their
budget on May 5th, 2026 with a reduced assessment for the school district in the amount of 3.616 increase and Rainham approved their budget on May 18th, 2026 with a correlating assessment for the school district in the amount of an increase of
2.2%. Also to supplement this budget, as stated, Rainham did approve at their town meeting a gift in the amount of 625,000 for classroom teachers at the K through eight level. On the Rainham side, um it was the recommendation of Superintendent Powers and the budget sub
that the fiscal 2027 budget be reconsidered and amended to be reduced to match the approved assessments of both member towns. This would prevent further staffing reductions and begin the fiscal year with an approved budget and not a 112th budget. Um, in addition to this, Superintendent Powers also
recommended to budget sub the allocation of an additional $800,000 and EMD funds for the fiscal 2027 budget to supplement that budget for a total END funds to be used in the amount of $2,800,000. Conservative spending and staffing
during fiscal year 2026 have enabled us to an additional projected $800,000 to use. Budget sub had a lengthy discussion on this and brought this um Andy specifically to the full committee to to discuss. Um so I will go through this.
We do need a motion on the floor first to reconsider the fiscal 2027 budget and then we will need to vote separately on any potential changes to END if any. um the bottom line of the operational budget um the overall I'm sorry the overall operational budget debt which
would not change and finally to accept the gift from Rainham as well >> order Rachel chairman I'm not sure that you know Mike but the past practice I was aware of when when this occurred we just amended the previous uh assessment
and voted as amended rather than resending one and replacing the new it's procedural Mike whatever Whatever you want to do is fine with me. However you want to handle it, >> we're going to proceed with what Miss King is proposing. >> It's technically you take a motion to reconsider or amend the budget
>> and then you have to vote each part of it separately. >> Okay. Thank you very much. I would so move, Mr. Chairman, we reconsider the the assessment previously drawn by the regional schools committee. >> Second. >> This will uh be a roll call vote, but we will first open it up for discussion.
discussion on the reconsideration. >> So just to clarify, it's just to open it up for reconsideration. We would need to vote first on END because that changes the bottom line and then on the specific amount. >> I think on discussion, Mr. Chairman, that reconsideration is already given
the votes of the town meeting and the town council which have changed the numbers that we would need to approve to be in sync with that request. Any additional comments or discussion? >> Okay. Roll call vote will be uh Mr. Dupont. >> Yes.
>> Mr. Selenus, >> yes. >> Mr. Fitz Gibbons, >> yes. >> Miss King, >> yes. >> Miss Conra Labberto, >> yes. >> Miss Hoy Thomas, >> yes. >> And the chair votes yes. >> I vote yes as well. >> Oh, I'm sorry. Sorry, Mr. I apologize. >> It's okay, Mr. Chair.
>> Thank you. Sorry. I'm new at this ro meeting. Come on. >> Just making sure I'm still locked in right now. >> You are. You are. Tim, we count on you to get somebody to vote down there. Don't let us out of that, please. >> Sorry. Um All right. >> Motion now each one of the floor one.
>> So, first I'm going to discuss END. Um I Yes, I would put the motion on the floor and then we can discuss it. Um, let me I would like to put it forth a motion to increase um the $2 million from the
district's END fund approved on March 25th, 2026 to 2.8 million to support the fiscal year 2027 budget. So move >> second. >> Motion by Miss King, second by Miss Kra Larento. >> So I'm just putting that 2,800,000
on the floor. Um, as you know, well, let me just read all of my figures. Superintendent Powers has recommended utilizing an additional 800,000 from END to supplement the fiscal 27 budget. We currently have $1.4 million in the END
account and expect to certify an additional $2.8 million at the end of this fiscal year 2026. That will give us a total of $4.2 million going into fiscal 27. We have already approved $2 million which would then leave 2 million
2.2 million in the account. If we approve the additional $800,000, this leaves us with the same starting balance that we have right now, which will be 1.4 million um going into next year. Um he has pro he has provoke pro proposed
this additional 800,000 um specifically to address some of the classroom needs that we have. Um as M Labberto stated specifically with we did talk about addressing needs at the high school. Um and I know Chair Lo had discussed um some other opportunities regarding dual
enrollment and having someone at the high school to help work on that as well. Thinking out of the box staffing and gaining more opportunities. Um so this would be districtwide um where needs were and also focusing specifically hopefully at the high school.
Um, >> Mr. Chairman, through the superintendent, Mr. Superintendent, regional schools, uh, I believe were capped at 20% of the previous year's operating budget for excess and deficiencies. Is that still the case? >> Uh, say that one more time, Mr. Dupont, I didn't hear.
>> Regional school districts, unlike towns, are capped in how much they can carry over each year on excess and deficiency. >> Yes, correct. And I believe it's 20% of your preceding year's operating budget. >> I believe uh >> uh we can't have any more than 5% of
>> five is five. Thank you. Thank you very much. And are uh this coming out of it, do you know what percentage that would leave us at? >> If you don't >> I don't but I can get I certainly can get that just forformational purposes. Thank you.
>> So I think we can have about 5 million in there >> approximately. Um, so we're we've always been under that. We try and so I've been on almost nine years. We try and carry about two to 2.5 for anything that might
happen. A roof collapse for instance. Um, knock on wood that something like that will never happen again. Um, but again, so I'm always trying to be conservative about using END funds. I know some of my colleagues are as well. Um, specifically this year though,
again, as we've stated, um, we've consistently been conservative and been able to roll that amount over. Um, and I feel like we do need to address some other needs within the district, specifically at the high school. If we lose more and more students to vocational and private schools,
especially at the high school, because of lack of classes, etc., that's more funding that we're losing. whether they're going school choice, private, vocational, we're losing that money and sometimes if school choice, we're paying that money out. So, we really need to address that.
>> So, it's a it's a financial impact. >> Thank you, Miss King. Superintendent Power. >> Sure. If I if I may, I just wanted to share, you know, this is something that obviously Miss Babalor Babalo and I have discussed uh in length um and we both feel very confident um given our conservative approach this year.
Obviously, as I shared, we did leave several positions open, several administrative positions open that came with, you know, larger um salaries than than say our our teaching staff. Um we had some teaching positions that we just weren't able to fill throughout the year. So, we had a variety of either
substitute positions or um ESPs providing uh you know, filling in for those positions, which obviously was a cost savings. Uh so we really, you know, we we feel very strongly about the district's ability to contribute this extra funds. Um you know, and again, we
still have a ways to go. I shouldn't say a ways to go, but um we still have some time to go before the end of the year. So this is what we're confident to say right now. It certainly could even be, you know, slightly higher. Obviously, there's a chance of getting slightly lower, but I think looking at what we've
spent thus far and what we have left for expenses we are we do feel very strongly that this should be considered by the by the school. >> Thank you, Superintendent Powers. Um, >> Mr. Chair, >> Mr. if it's given. Um last night we
discussed this uh pretty lengthfully at our um budget committee meeting and uh you'll notice it didn't come with a recommendation from the budget committee because we wanted to hear as collectively as a
group uh the other four members of this committee's opinions on the wisdom of using another 800,000 from END in this year's
operating budget. So, if I might just ask yourself and my other colleagues, I believe Mr. Dupont has already spoken a bit on it, but Miss Conrad Labberto and Mr. Selenus, um, just to weigh in so I'm able to
think about what I want to do because I'm of two minds at the moment. >> Thank you, Mr. Fitzgiven. um more than happy to weigh in on this. Uh one, I support uh this measure to go towards the budget. We do need to really be looking at uh our areas of need on the Bridgewater side of schools. We know we
have position uh some spots in K to8 that definitely need reduction. Uh in addition, our high school is in dire need. We need to be able to provide more capacity uh and classes for our students to access to hopefully bring down some of the very high numbers we have up there. In addition, we really also need
to start to explore avenues to create uh draws for students to come back into the district or stay with the district. Uh one of the things we have done a lot of discussion about is early college or dual enrollment. Uh and we're gonna that is a hefty job for for someone to take
on but it also is going to have benefits to us that it provide more opportunities for our students even potentially some at some point our students may be able to leave here with an associates degree and also will reduce class size in the upper grades as well if we have students who are accessing courses outside of the
district. Uh so I am fully in favor of this um and we'll be supporting it. >> Mr. I can say from my perspective I'm fully in support of this. I mean, last year, I think I was the one that voted or recommended that we put additional END funds in the budget. Um, I mean, it's
great that we did not spend all the money that we had allocated for this year. Um, but I think actually we should try to spend as much as we can and put that into teacher salaries or staff salaries to bring down our class sizes to address um also at the high school
all the needs at the high school. Um, you know, this is I say, um, we want to call it rainy day funds. This is the time to be using these rainy day dollars. We we have a need and we should be using them to address what um you and the folks and parents and towns have asked us to address and that is class
sizes. >> Thank you, Miss Carlo. Uh, one other piece my apologies for, uh, leaving out on this also was I do agree with Mr. Dupont's comments from earlier that, you know, moving forward and looking next year, this isn't something we should look to do repetitively on a year-to-year basis.
Uh, next year, you know, moving forward, I think we're going to hit a a crisis or a tipping point in which we will need to move forward and really be asking for the assessments that the district deserves. >> Mr. Solution. Um, so, you know, this has been a whirlwind experience, um, being
on the school committee in this type of budget environment. And so I think to serve the greater good of the students that is needed. I I definitely get the concern of you know having that
money not there if there is some type of you know extenduating circumstance. Um but I do think to help in particular a high school where you know class sizes are high and having to bring in more pro you know more innovative programs that
you know schools across the state are have implemented for many years um that we're kind of behind with that I think will be important to keep all students because there is a CTE component of it where there can be HVAC training there
can be um diesel mechanic training done in SOA for free. Um and then also, you know, students that go more traditional on the college route can have an associates degree or maybe a little bit less than that depending on what their track would be. But I think
to help our students be prepared for careers and for higher ed is very important because I do think you know based on the last um school committee meeting where um the director of facilities and maintenance was you know talking about the vaping and uh not and
um Dave from the union was talking about you know that boredom you know and really how we can get more programs in to serve all of our students um I think is needed. So I think you know shifting that money over for this year as Mr. Lewis just said as well I think you know
it is really scary because what's going to change for next year um with our town budget. So that's something that you know I think we all need to look at and you know really advocate for at the state level as to you know how our funding is. But I fully support it right now.
>> I I Mr. I just like to thank my colleagues for weighing in uh with their with their ideas and uh and giving me some um clarity and understanding and an ability to vote where I wanted to vote, but I I
just just wanted to hear if there was something I was missing. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mimi. >> Any other comments? >> Do you want to move that for a vote, Mr. Uh, we'll move forward with a roll call vote. Uh, Mr. Guthro,
>> yes. >> Mr. Selenus, >> yes. >> Mr. Dupont, >> yes. >> Miss King, >> yes. >> Miss Conrad Labberto, >> yes. >> Miss Hoy Thomas, >> yes. >> And the chair votes yes. >> I'm voting yes, too. >> I'll get this at some point.
>> You don't You don't have a left wing over here. >> At some point, I'll remember everything. I promise. >> Lose, you lose, Kim. >> All right. Um thank you. Um okay, going forward for my next motion,
as we know, um we now need to reconsider the budget as our budget um did not get approved in March by the towns pursuant to C603 CMR 41.05 section 3A within 30 days or by June 4th, the school
committee needs to reconsider, amend, and or adopt a revised budget. Um so with the increase of END um the motion will be as follows. Um that changed the bottom line but not the assessment that the towns have approved. Um, so
regarding this, I would put forward a motion to reconsider the fiscal year 2027 budget of 103 million791,890 approved on March 25th, 2026 and propose the following fiscal year 27 budget based on the 3.616 616 budget percentage
from Bridgewater and Rainham's 2.19 budget percentage for total fiscal year 27 budget of 100,585,484 and further recommend that subject to review and verification by the district's treasurer, the school committee vote to approve the final
budget for fiscal year 2627 excluding debt and capital costs in the amount of 100,585,4 484. The final budget figure of 100,585,484 to be reduced by anticipated revenue
totaling 38,199,810 and an END appropriation of $2.8 million, leaving the amount of $59,585,674 to be paid by the member towns as follows. Rainham's aortionment of said cost is to be the state's required
minimum contribution of 21,887,279 plus the non-discretionary charges of $937,44 a total due from Rainham in the amount of 22,824,683. Bridgewwater's aortionment Minnesota said cost is to be the state's required
minimum contribution of 35,743,832 plus the non-discretionary charges of 1,17,159 for a total due from Bridgewwater in the amount of $36,760,91. The aortionment and non-discretionary charges are based on the enrollments in the Bridgewater Rainham Regional School
District as of October 1st, 2025. >> Motion for discussion, Mr. >> Motion made by Mr. Dupont. >> So, I made the motion and >> second motion by Miss King, second by Mr. Dupont, and we'll open it up for discussion. >> Uh just for the record, uh through you,
Mr. Chairman, to Mrs. This this agrees with the the figures as voted by the respective town meeting of Rainham and the town council of the town of Bridgewater. >> Yes, these are the figures to meet their approved budgets. Um and then adding in
the $800,000 to our bottom line. It does not change their assessments that they approved at their own meetings. >> Thanks very much. >> Yes, >> Mr. Fitzgiven. >> Just a procedural question. Um, is this a motion to reconsider or in through
reconsidering actually adopt the vote as Miss King read it? I believe >> it's to reconsider and approve >> and approve. So, it's both at the same time. >> Sorry if I stated my very long motion. >> If you could just fix that, Judy, if I
misspoke. >> Any other discussion? Once again, this will be roll call vote. Mr. Dupont, >> yes. >> Mr. Selenus, >> yes. >> Mr. Fitzgibivens, >> yes. >> Mr. Guthro, >> yes. >> Miss Hoy Thomas, >> yes. >> Miss Conrad Labberto,
>> yes. >> Miss King, >> yes. >> And the chair votes yes. >> Thank you. Um, next we have to approve the debt. Um, this has not changed at all, though. Um, I would put forth a motion to recommend that subject to the
review and verification by the district treasurer, the school committee vote the following the final budget for fiscal year 2027 debt costs as follows. Ringham's cost with bond interest and principal of $489,217.86 86 to be reduced by state reimbursement
and grant distributions in the amount of $0 for a total due from Rainham of $489,21786. Bridgewwater's cost with bond interest and principal of 3,449,11964 to be reduced by state reimbursement and grant dispersements in the amount of $0
for a total due from Bridgewater with bond interest and principal of 3,449,11964. So move chairman motion by Miss King and a second by Mr. Dupont. Do we have discussion? Can I I did not turn for a total debt again just to restate it 3,938,337.50.
>> Sorry. >> Thank you, Miss King for clarifying. >> Second. >> Any discussion? >> All right, we'll move forward again with roll call vote. Mr. Fitzgibbons, >> yes. >> Mr. Guthril, >> yes. >> Miss Dusselinus, >> yes. >> Miss Hoy Thomas,
>> yes. Miss Conrad Lamarto, >> yes. >> Miss King, >> yes. >> Mr. Dupont, >> yes. >> And the chair votes yes. Motion passes 8 to zero. >> Thank you. And then the last um motion that I have, uh Chair Lo, um again on May 18th, 2026, Rainham approved at
their town meeting a gift in the amount of $625,564 for classroom teachers at the K through8 level on the Rainham side. We do need a vote of the school committee to accept this amount which will go into a separate revolving account for the specified um uses listed in the warrant.
Um, so bearing that, I will put forth a motion to accept Rainham's gift as proposed on article 6 and approved at Rainham's May 18th, 2026 town meeting of 625,564 in accordance with the Massachusetts
General Laws, Chapter 71, Section 37A, for the purpose of adding classroom teachers with the intent of reducing classroom size by hiring one kindergarten, one fourth grade, two fifth grade, one sixth grade, and one seventh grade and one or more undesated teachers. Staffing may change based on
enrollment changes for the town of Rainham school buildings, grades K through 8. >> Second. >> Motion by Miss King, second by Mr. Dupont. We open up for discussion. Mr. Fitzgiven. >> Uh, are these
staffing positions um required or recommended? That is if we have if we don't have enough money in the gift to hire all of them, do we have to do something else to
adjust the budget to hire those positions? >> Uh yes, Mr. Fitzgiven. So these are uh projected positions uh working closely with FINCOM in the select board and they asked very similar questions. uh we did not when we budgeted for the positions
that are outlined there actually spend the full amount because we wanted to make sure we know some teachers are hired you know at different rates and so we did leave some funds undesated at this time just to see what these initial positions would come in at. It may allow
us to hire additional staff or you know in the event that we uh start to you know come close to exceeding this we won't see stop hiring. >> Thank you. Any other discussion? >> Mr. Mr. Morento.
>> Um, Mr. Powers, again, this is onetime gift money. So, can you confirm that these would be one-year contracts? >> So, that is our in intention right now. Um, is to make it known. Um, the town of Ringham, when I say the town of Ringham,
uh, you know, town leadership, Mr. town administrator in speaking with him because this uh gift was really generated through their operating budget in theory that money should be there year over year and so
this is you know how Rainham continues to plan to give us this aotment if if they so choose which hopefully they do I can't say for sure I can't speak for them but yes this this money should be there year-over-year however We know
obviously things could change and the notion of a gift um you know does take me to you know hit pause for a minute and so we would be looking to add any positions u you know with with the one-year contract >> and that would be you know similar for
you know the any positions hired with the additional money or hopefully it'll be there again next year we we certainly don't want to you know promise anything to staff that may not be here >> Mr. Chairman, >> just by way of uh for information to the committee, as I looked into this, as I
understood the financial considerations of the gift, that amount was uh included in the amount of money total that the town of Rainham was authorized to spend under the terms and conditions of proposition 2 and a half without an
override. Hence that same amount will be included in the base which will then be allowed to increase by two and a half% next year. So arguably yes things can change and they can change their mind about it but that the town of Rainham would be
starting off next fiscal year following the the one we're entering into with that amount as part of their base. So they would also they would then not need an override to come up with those funds in any future fiscal year. >> Correct. That is how is it? Yes, that's
how it was explained to me too, Mr. Dupine. Yes. >> Any other comments? >> I have one question. Um, I guess with a gift, right, whether it's a a gift like this or in personal life, I think we've all been in situations where maybe uh
something was gifted and maybe the the gift that was received was not used in the way that it was intended, right? And I was just wondering, right, I think maybe the uncomfortable question to ask here and there are teachers that are outlined on here and it's it's a very generous, you know, gift offered by the the RAM select board and and the um the
the residents of Rainham who attended town meeting. It was a very boisterous and loud yes vote. Um, you know, I I just want to make sure that we spend this money in a way that uh is going to meet the expectations of those who gifted it to us.
>> So, I guess I guess >> happy yes, >> right? We talked a little bit about this at budget sub. So, I guess I would just like if you could just elaborate and expound on that. So, we know all know sort of exactly what the expectation is, right? Impacts kind of on the broader budget, right? And really really what the expectation is of of how this money will be spent and how it will be divvied
up. Because I guess what I would hate to get into a situation of is they give that this money, we make budget decisions, and they go that wasn't really the intention. We're not going to give it to you next year if we can have it, right? And now we've made a short-term decision that could potentially have long-term impacts on on children. >> Well, that that that's a great point.
Happy to speak on that. Yes. Uh when obviously they asked me, you know, how I would plan to uh spend this money, uh there were discussions about the you know sustainability of these funds. Should I plan to spend them all? Uh they were very clear that yes, they wanted uh
you know this amount to be spent on goods services personnel and it was made clear no personnel. And so you know they asked me to look at where we would potentially hire staff. Uh obviously it's based on enrollment projections for next year. Hence why we listed out these
positions. But we were, you know, clear that this could change and that's why it was included in the in the motion for the for tonight and also for the town meeting article is that, you know, if if we do have a significant fluctuation in enrollment over the summer. Uh it's not
that we won't spend the money, but we may not, you know, maybe need two fifth grade teachers. We might have one fifth grade teacher, but add an eighth grade teacher. Um so we, you know, we were very clear that this is really based on enrollment. It could change, but to your point, Mr. cut through. Yes, the these
funds will be spent on uh staff for the Rian Schools K. Thank you, >> Mr. Chairman. Just through the superintendent for clarifications, I understand Mr. Superintendent from previous discussion that the money will be paid into a revolving fund and they clearly tracked that whatever comes out
is specifically for the purposes authorized by the article and the gift. Is that correct? >> That is correct. Yes, it will be taken. Yeah. Any other discussion? >> Okay, we will move forward again on a roll call vote.
>> Uh, Mr. Fitzgiven, >> yes. >> Mr. Guthro, >> yes. >> Mr. Selenus, >> yes. >> Miss Hoy Thomas, >> yes. >> Miss Comrade Laborto, >> yes. >> Miss King, >> yes. >> Mr. Dupont, >> yes. >> And the chair votes yes. Motion passes 8 to zero. >> Mr. Wilshshire, if I may, I just wanted
to thank the committee for their support of this. Obviously, I know it's not an easy decision. uh when faced with making decisions about students, something obviously I I'm challenged with every day. Uh we obviously want to do and I know you do as well, what's what's best for students. We certainly never wanted
to define ourselves in the position that we're in. Uh this budget here, even though it's reconsidered, does provide uh some stabilization. Uh we, you know, this will not uh continue the downward slide that we found the last couple years. uh and we'll start to make
incremental small progress uh and and positive progress. I know it's not the budget that school committee originally approved or or that I uh presented as my preliminary budget, but it does again it provides uh you know a stop measure. Uh so we are not continuing to go backwards
and allows us to start making incremental progress. So I just wanted to say thank you on behalf of you know the the 5,000 plus students and 600 plus staff members on their behalf. Thank you. Thank you, Superintendent Powers. >> Um, thank you. And I just have a couple
of more no action items. Um, following that, we also had a discussion at that budget sub regarding the athletic fees for fiscal year 2027. Um, Superintendent Powers did discuss and recommend reducing the fiscal 27 fees uh for
athletics for both high school and middle school. Um he did recommend to reduce it from $600 um per athlete per sport with no family cap to $325 per athlete per sport with no family cap. Um the total possible per student
athlete per year would then be $975 if they were a three sport athlete versus right now it would be $1,800. Um it was um a fairly lengthy discussion regarding this. Um also if the fee for middle school should be even further reduced
and it is not equitable to the high school sports um budget sub requested further financial reports to review and analyze before they decided on that for next year. So this will be continued to the June um budget sub meeting can I just make a comment on this? I
just know because I have a child that impacts um >> Exactly. Um well no I'm just saying is if we can have some decision on this in June at the June meeting chair tryyous are next week um they're the first board I think to go um and so families have to
make decisions um again financial decisions all of that and registration is already open because of fall sports open last week I think because actually cheer starts next week or try out. So I think if we can um make a decision on this so people can know as
soon as possible. Yes, I know we're meet I our plan is to meet June 1st for budget sub so it will be brought to the June 10th meeting. >> Thank you Mr. Mr. Chairman, Miss >> Question through to the superintendent. Just with the reduction, I believe the
um athletics program is not self- sustaining. >> Correct. >> So with the reduction, what are we cutting to fund this? >> Um well, this was always designed to offset um athletics has never been um self- sustaining. Uh any fee generated
from athletics was always used to offset the cost of it. But when we were developing our budget, uh both for middle school and high school athletics, we do budget for the full cost. Uh be it, you know, supplies, materials, uh coaching stipens, transportation obviously is one
of the biggest costs. So we do obviously budget for those costs. Um any fee that's brought in is just designed to to offset those costs. Um again, I think you know, and Mr. Mr. Fitz Gibbons talked about this last year when we were even considering going higher, making themselves sustainable. The potential of
us pricing ourselves out and not having any students actually participate. We we saw you know a reduction of 200 plus students uh participating uh this year versus last year. Um and you know obviously that that's a significant number and when we have spoken with
students throughout the year that is something that they have shared with with uh with me with Miss Watson and and our teams um that they just our three sport athletes are not three sport athletes anymore. They've had to make difficult decisions and I I think this
would provide some relief and maybe invite some of those students back to participate. Yeah. So, we'll bring more information to the next meeting. It is a tricky thing because it is something that costs us. So, we do
want to review the financial impact that this could have if we reduce the fee. But at the same time, we're having many less athletes. And if we're talking about retaining and attracting students to our high school, that is a big draw and something that's a lot of students
look at. And I know a lot of students that even left as seniors this year and went to other schools so they can play sports at a reduced or free fee. So that is something that we don't want to lose students as well because that's a budget impact. So
>> Mr. It'd be interesting to know or what we think the projection of the trending up if we lower the fee. I mean I firsthand know parents that they're told their kid they can't do three sports because >> Yeah. >> Hello. um because it's just too costly and so with potentially lowering the fee back
down would we increase the number of students thus incre again what would that break be and it would be if again I don't know if we can trend any of that or not to think about that um but I yeah know many families that just said they could not stomach $1,800 a year
kid >> Mr. Dupont >> thank you Mr. Jar, I I just want to uh state something for the record. I think that charging students for athletics is absolutely unconscionable. It is a part of their education.
If we're going to charge them for athletics, we should charge them for English and history and math. Public education is supposed to be the equalizer. That every student who shows up at a public school in this commonwealth gets
the same equal opportunity of education regardless of how much money their parents can afford. I am absolutely intraably opposed to any charge for extracurricular activities and athletics. We are not here
on a pay as you go basis for your education. I know that this is a little bit beyond the scope of the report and I'm not asking for any vote on it, but I just have absolutely appalled we've been having this discussion. Thank you.
>> All right, more to come on that. Um, we did have the Skoolie Mitchell telecommunications on that will be continued to next meeting. We did not get to that um as we had to go to academic and athletic awards and the LED lighting project as well was continued to the next meeting. Um as I stated, we
do have June 1st, 2026 at 5:30 will be the next budget sub meeting. Um Mrs. McDougall will send that invite out to budget sub. Um and again, as Chair Lo stated, um I just want to thank uh or rather Mr. Superintendent Powers, I just
want to thank the budget sub, Chair Lo, our both towns. This was a lot of meetings this year. I know my budget reports are very lengthy, but I just want everyone to know all of the meetings we have been to, everything that has been going on. Um, all of the
meetings and discussions that we've had with everyone involved. Um, we've been trying to work really hard at building the school committee's reputation of being transparent, being open, um, getting a positive, um, feedback from
the community. If we do go forward and get funding, great. If we need to go forward and get an override, I want the school committee to be in a good place. I want people to say, "Yes, we're going to fund you and back you because we see the work that you've been doing." So, I just want to thank the budget sub,
superintendent powers, the towns, and all of us here because I know especially a couple members that are new. This was a lot. There was no ramp up. It was immediately um overrides and a lot of budgets. So, I just want to thank everyone for bearing with us. So, thank you. And that concludes my budget
report. >> Miss King, sorry. May I just I don't want to go backwards, but I kind of bit my tongue and and then listen to you. I I I regret it. I I just have to go on record since there's a lot of going on record tonight. I I understand the emotions around athletic fees. At least we have athletics to offer. There's no
fifth grade music program in Rainham this year. There will not be a fifth grade music program in Rainham next year. There's no option to pay for fifth grade music in Rainham next year. So, I understand the emotional reaction to athletics. I understand they're a core part of our community, but so are the
arts. And as we think about what makes a well-rounded community, we had parents speak a couple of meetings ago about the importance of arts and the impact on arts. and as a father of an art student, um, you know, we just can't lose sight of that. So, unfortunately, hard decisions have to be made. Uh, I look
forward to continuing to study the decision but uh I wish we could be having a discussion right now about families being able to pay for fifth grade music in Raino, but we can't even have that discussion because of the staffing. So, um, thank you.
>> Thank you, Mr. together. And thank you, Miss King, for for your efforts as uh not only the chair, but also the budget subcommittee chair at the same time. That really was a significant undertaking. Um, and I think we all really do appreciate the level of detail in your reports as they are very comprehensive as we go through a
challenging budget times. Um, so thank you for your efforts on that. And yes, uh, it was a lot of meetings and hours, but I think we've come to a a a good outcome through those meetings and our efforts, uh, to really collaborate with both communities. Um, with that, we're going to move on to new business, and
I'm going to pass it over to Vice Chair, uh, Conrad Lamarto. >> Oh, sorry. I didn't know that. Um, at this time, I will entertain a motion to approve the general ledger warrant dated April 16th, 2026, April 30th, 2026, and May 14th, 2026.
>> So, moved. Seconded. >> Um, motion been made by Mr. Fitzgiven, and second by Mrs. King. All those in favor? >> I What was it? I'm I'm sorry I forgot the answer. >> Oh, I think we both >> Oh, okay. Sorry. >> My voice just carries a long one.
>> Thank you, Judy. All those in favor? >> I opposed. >> Motion passes. >> What am I doing? >> I don't know if that's a good thing. >> Other business. Is there any other business at this time?
Madam Chair, just very briefly by way of report to the committee, I attended the Division 3 MASC legislative update dinner last week and uh met a number of school committee members that I I know don't know how to term it, but some of
them had been around as long as me. Uh however, there were two legislators there that were present and I didn't get what I would call a warm feeling about the future of chapter 70 or chapter 71. uh they seem to think that all we got to
do is cut spending and they don't. I know that may be a political statement, Mr. chairman, but I just wanted it for the record that I don't think that there was our own representative Dennis Gallagher has told me that the house version the first time that 71 I think
Ryan's 98% is that the house version came out of senators debating that so that we could be looking at for maybe for the first time we in all my years we never got more than 75 or 6%. To see 71 at at 98 was quite good. And they're
also working on the circuit breaker and they they did change the per pupil on I think 70 from uh $75$165. Ryan. >> Yes. Correct. >> Yeah. So there's some increases there, but it's still uh it's nowhere near the
100% that they've never given. And I've been tracking this since 1973, but I wanted to just make that note. I I know some of you may not have been around, but a man named Paul Gordon who was executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees from
1977 to 1996 passed away about three weeks ago. Paul Gordon is a friend of mine. He was a school committee member from the town of Ware for many many years and stayed active after that. And Masc I went to the training session they had for new members uh Saturday and I
got to say it's a wellrun and it was a great benefit to me. I don't flatter myself that because I served on this committee before that I know how it works and and I think MASC is a good organization and we're lucky to have some of the leadership there. Uh and I
want to thank the committee also for allowing me to go to dinner. Thank you. >> Thank you Mr. Dupont. Uh for a quick explanation for our viewers and and home, I step out during general ledger warrants basically because my organization is listed on
those warrants in which I don't sign nor vote on to keep uh in ethics uh with the ethics law. Uh moving on to our next session of public comment. We will open it up again for 12 minutes limiting comments to three minutes total. Do we
have anyone for public comment? Thank you, Mr. George. If you'll just state your name and address for the record once again. >> John George Jillian's Way Bridgewater Mouse. To continue what I was saying earlier, in fiscal 2024, Bridgewater paid a,27,260
per pupil more than Reum. 2025,593,531. These calculations do not include capital of debt service. The reason for these calculations is not by the re by a regional agreement. It is by the educational reform act of 1993
with a particular focus on the foundation budget process. As was stated earlier, town assessments are dictated by the state, not by a regional agreement. In that calculation, which I could stand up here for hours, it is
very complex, but my understanding is that calculation has never been reviewed since 1993. kind of goes along with the regional agreement that hasn't been reviewed since 2011. Listening to these numbers and having
things said, I would like to put to the committee that maybe it is time both to look at the regional agreement, but also approach the state because things have changed and there are districts where the smaller of the two towns pays a
higher assessment because they have more financial means. It seems like now that has changed since 1993 in our district. So I think it's time to take a look at that instead of having things thrown out there putting all of this on one town.
Thank you very much for your time. >> Thank you, Mr. George. Anyone else for public comment? All right, moving forward. Uh we have announcements. Uh our next school committee meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 10th in the lecture hall of the high school. Our therapeutic day
program uh graduation will be held uh at noon on May 28th in the superintendent's conference room. The Excel program graduation will be held in the auditorium of the Bridgewater Regional High School on May 28th at at 5:00 p.m. and the high school
graduation will be held on May 29th at 6:00 p.m. on the athletic field. In addition, uh we also h we also have a few uh subcommittee changes to announce. Uh Miss Hoy Thomas will serve as the chair of the transportation subcommittee
and as the sick bank liaison. Mr. Guthro will serve as the public uh relations liaison. Miss Hoy Thomas will replace Mr. Fitz Gibbons as the one of the signers of warrants. And Mr. Dupont will replace Mrs. King on the negotiations
committee. With that, do I have a do I have a motion to adjurnn? So >> move second. >> Motion by Mr. Fitzgiven, second by Miss Hoy Thomas. All in favor? I >> I'm a motion.