this government meeting is brought to you by Eastworks and our local cable subscribers Okay All right Uh we will go ahead and call to order It is 6:04 p.m I forget that I don't have to take notes Um so I will stop that That's it Yeah Um
so we will roll call in Eric Ayat here Uh let's see Let's go down the line Sam Hunter here Linda Marque here Mayor Lashappelle You can yell from over there It's fine Here Unicorn And Megan Harvey here Uh
I'm acting chair tonight Unfortunately Laura Scott is out sick We shall miss her dearly Okay So we are going to start with correspondence and that is me and I don't have any correspondence to report um that is unrelated to the
playground ad hoc committee Um and I think that I will give you an update on that in a little bit I don't think it's really correspondence I think it's well I guess I'll just give it now just in case Um I have uh some correspondence
from um a few members of the ad hoc committee um Jackie Janulitz and um trying to see if there were other members of the comm I guess that was the only member of the IPO committee who wrote with some information um that she
has been working on as we are progressing forward in our playground um efforts And I also have an update um an email I received from Sandra Alton um just sort of expressing thanks for this process
happening um and providing some input on um the playground progress thus far I also have a great email from June Stackhouse who is one of the um students um in the school I believe a fifth
grader who is working along with the her peers on um the script and sort of the outline of a video that they're going to create about the need for and their efforts in Yes And so I I have a first draft of their video script that they
sent Isn't that wonderful thank you Yeah So thank you to June Uh that's all I have for correspondence I don't have any gifts to report Do I no Okay great I'm confirming that I don't have any gifts to report Uh do we have any of our either of our
students here we don't have um Asa because she said that we the people the people and they just arrived Did I hear you say they arrived Washington DC this afternoon 150 said they were 10 minutes from the archives at 1:50 I got
mean but We'll take it Uh that's great So we're very excited for we people they compete their first hearing tomorrow Okay We wait with crossed Um and I don't see Kenzie um who is our every other meeting So no no Kenzie
today So that moves us right on to uh public comment and I will open the floor for public comment Um as a reminder we ask you to give us your name Um and keep your comments to three minutes We are not able to respond
back I'm just talking to Phil about a minute to let anyone in the room or online decide that they would like to offer their comments I give ample opportunity
Seeing none I will close public comment and turn it over to our interim superintendent Benenda for Okay great Well today we're um excited to say we're now on fourth fourth quarter right so we're coming down the home stretch So
there's going to be you know lots of information coming to you from the principles about different activities because you know the end of the year is always a very busy time where we do all kinds of shows and celebrations and want to end the year on a high point So uh please make sure you're reading your
newsletters and we'll also be putting some information on on the website So one of those things that you do at the end of the year uh every year is that you you have to update your um high school program of studies So uh tonight um Mr Evans uh is with us on Zoom and
he'd like to present uh to all of us now the um EHS program of study changes Hi good evening everyone You can hear me We Oh that thing is muted over there Sorry Hang on Oh do you
have a remote yes but that doesn't do anything Do you want to see if there's a way to unmute up there to to try to speed up see it looks like there's a mute button in the corner You what i could hear him really low
Yeah it's just I think it's just on from this Okay See the like bottom left corner right here well I just mean the symbol on the the TV I don't actually know how to make it go away by the left like left corner Bottom
corner Oh left by by the microphone to the mayor's corner like all the way to the mayor as far as you can go to the corner down below I don't know if there's anything to I don't think you can actually push there Yeah just me saying I think the whole TV screen is muted Yeah
Is it a touch screen oh it's not a touch screen Oh would you mind trying again sorry Bill Sure Did that work nope We can hear about We can hear Can we put the volume up maybe that's what I was trying to see if it was the volume on
the screen is up Try the volume on the tablet on this thingy here Yeah All the way up Go to the speakers here Oh yeah Speaker Which one sorry Mobile
hotspot accessibility That do display Try display Check Check Can you try how's that is that better try try
You try again Uh hello There you go Sam did it All right Well done Sam Thank you Sorry about that Thank you At this point I I think it would be um jinxing us to ask if I could share the screen So I'm just going to ask you can you can the screen share should be easy Yes All
right So home screen We need to make him um um closed Okay All the things now Uh what is it oh there's two of them
Success Yes Yes sir All right All right So I um I apologize This document is 10 pages long and there's like 16 items but I do think we can go through it relatively quickly I'm not going to read everything I'd like to summarize each of the changes and
obviously entertain any questions at any point I won't be able to see you if you raise your hand So if you just you know give a shout if you have a question along the way Okay Yes Sounds good Right Um so this year we were able to uh
really take a look at you know with any document that is um been around for a long time there are some places where language becomes arcane and we have an opportunity to go in and do some changes those changes as you all know have to be
updated frequently So or often you have to go back and find more things So a lot of this is um stuff that maybe should have happened in the past but um we were able to find it and make some corrections this year So item one on page nine the graduation requirements
This language that's being added um was in response to students um choosing on their own to take enrichment classes either online or during the summer at colleges or that kind of thing Sort of like um you know
pre high preol high school courses that different places offer and then wondering if they could place those items on their transcript and have it affect their GPA And the answer to that is no because we um we have our own set of courses and we don't just take other
courses um and add them to the transcript of the GPA So what this language does and you'll see this repeats in a couple other places It says you can take that class you can enjoy the enrichment of it We can even put it on the transcript but it won't
contribute to your credits toward graduation and it won't contribute toward your GPA unless we've had a conversation and we've decided that this class is something that you need and it's been approved by your school counselor and the school counselor Um so obviously there are some exceptions
where we want students to take classes outside of the school day but uh if a student just says you know what I'm going to go take this pre-chemistry class uh at uh at UMass in the summer that's being offered high school students Can I put it on my GPA the answer is going to be no So that's
one Also um on page nine the graduation requirements This is again language that will be repeated later We'll see that here in the uh the performing arts and technology department We had a line for computer credits and really like there
is no like difference between computer and technology at this point So what we've done is update this so that um students still need to earn 12 credits but they're now going to get four in the fine and performing arts four in technology and then a choice of
additional four credits in either art or technology And we've done away with this computer language which just confused people Anyway cool Um item three on page 10 the competency determination standards This is language that you
already approved um a few months ago when we had to um submit CD language uh in place of ECAST So this is the exact same language and uh you've already seen it and approved it We're obviously adding it to the course of studies program of
studies Item four on page 10 the course level and expectations Um so what we're what we're adding here is just really um a language that says that if the student wants to take a higher level course an honors or advanced placement course it
used to be that there was a teacher recommendation and that was sort of the end of the process Um what we're doing now is sort of putting in a more robust process where there's a meeting and a contract agreement and some considerations so that there can be a more meaningful conversation If the
teacher is saying "I'm concerned about you entering an honors class." Um but a student still wants to do that We're not denying them that opportunity but we want to have a conversation to make sure the student is fully prepared and understands what the expectations will be So that's what that particular
language is there for Item five this is enrichment classes outside of the school day Again there's some redundancy there from the um from what we just talked about It's just a separate uh pardon me while I plug in
here Just a separate portion of the correct of the program studies where the language really needed to be uh repeated So again it indicates um that a course an enrichment course can appear on the transcript forformational purposes but
not be factored into the student's GPA nor will their credits be counted toward graduation Uh item six on page 15 we're we used to have in the old language here a 5-day ad drop period at the beginning of the school year that counted for both
semesters We're adding a 2day uh ad drop period at the beginning of the spring semester uh to account for students who had you know changes happened during the first semester and they want to change something up in the second semester Really just makes sense
to do that So um this early graduation is a separate part of the program of studies on page 15 and we just added the new competency determination language to that English 12 honors Um for the last
several years we've only had students uh take English 12 academic level and English 12 at the AP level Um so there was a students who and there was interest in in adding an honors level at the English
12 So this is old language that has been out of the program studies for a little while We're adding it back in and a number of students have signed up for it uh this change in the item nine on page 40 the math course descriptions uh this change is a little bit of a more
substantial change So um we have been using a model for students that were behind grade level as they come in in nth grade uh called extended algebra A and extended algebra B which was two different classes one in the fall
semester and one in the spring semester and students would basically instead of taking algebra in a semester long course they would take it over the full year Um the math department felt like there was a better way to do that so that those students could
uh get that foundational uh information and build their skills but then join the rest of their peers in the algebra class in the spring So instead of having students go from extended algebra A to extended algebra B the idea with this
realignment is to have them take foundations of algebra in the fall and then join an existing algebra 1 class in the spring so that it's more integrated with the rest of the of their grade level Um so that's the course description there I think this is a
really good idea it's it's more inclusive and it doesn't leave those students sort of isolated from their peers as they as they move through the math curriculum Another change this was simply an oversight We should have done this the year before Um AP statistics is
a two semester class So we've changed the discourse description from one um one narrative to two narratives to describe the two different semesters AP stats A
and then AP stats B more in line with what we actually do Number 11 on page 45 the science department makeup policy So each department is working to have a consistent makeup policy within their department The science department
submitted this um and it basically goes through uh different levels of courses how students can make up missed tests or quizzes or homework assignments how much time they have and how it impacts their grades So again uh feel free to peruse that I don't think it would be helpful
to read it all through Um but we do consider makeup to be an important part of of what we do at the high school We understand that uh holding all students to the same time constraints at all times is not
necessarily equitable So uh there is a a makeup policy all the way through uh on page 12 um excuse me item 12 on page 46 the science department has
um submitted this as a new graphic for their pathways And what they are trying to emphasize here it really the the the meat of it is right in this sentence right here Collegebound students are
recommended to take four four science classes So uh science is a three-year requirement for graduation The first two years are um locked in earth science in the environment for 9th grade and then either biology or physics in 10th grade
Um these applied scientists which appear on the right side of this chart students can access some of these in nth grade some of these in 10th grade and then in 11th and 12th grade they have the all of these choices that they can make And what they're saying what the science department wants to emphasize with
students is if they intend to go to a four-year college they should take four classes from this side of the of the chart Uh that's not a mandate it's a recommendation And of course um school counselors work with students to make sure that they are that their transcript
is going to reflect what they need to enter the college of their choice Item 13 and and our special education department Um we've separated our study skills class into two distinct classes This was the description the old description study and transition skills
for grades 9 through 12 The new language has a study skills class for grades 9 and 10 and study and transition skills for grades 11 and 12 And the goal here is to really focus on executive functioning skills here in 9th and 10th grade and 11th to 12 continue that work
as well as start doing more transition work with students as they prepare for whatever comes postsecary Item 14 on page 61 just updating the description of the PACE program This is a special education um self-contained classroom uh to work
with students that have uh complex learning needs And so having uh had the program paused it and have it back we felt like uh an updated description was was in order So that's what that is Be
more reflective of what we actually do there Item 15 Uh now we're in the technology and visual and performing arts department So the graduation requirements that I talked about earlier up at the top are reflected here as well So you have four credits for fine
performing arts four technology and then another four from either one or the other And that's it Questions Any questions yes there Go ahead Um thank you That was great Um I
appreciate the the graphics Um so when I'm looking at graduation requirements and how there are some where in you can take them in different grades Um is there anything in writing about a
student's progress towards the diploma like in just the you know I check the box like your student has taken you know biology or not taking biology which they have to Mhm Yeah So what the student
what the uh school counselors do with students they have a what they call a credit audit sheet and so they meet with students periodically and when we do the um when we do course selection uh at the
which we just got done doing with the students the first thing they do is a credit audit So they they're given a sheet saying these are all the graduation requirements Here's what they are um subject by subject and here's your transcript So now you can check off
what you've done and know what you still need to do I assume that that was your question Yeah And and I I guess I I am asking about the in writing So you know you live you live with teenagers professionally
Um so they're you know they come home and and are asked "Hey how are you doing what happened in school did you see what you need for um to you know for a diploma?" And they'll say "Yeah." And then go about their day or evening And
I'm just you know how can parents if you're under 18 how do parents get this information in writing um sure So they know where their student is So um not to get too deep into the weeds of the process that the school
counselors go through um because I don't sit in on all those meetings but I would um I would say quite confidently that parents are very much included in the process of course selection and making sure students are on track Um and that
um the the transcript audit their full transcript Yeah Everything's on P school So they can access that and they can always call the school counselor if they need confirmation The student comes and comes home and says "Yeah it's all good
and doesn't show them anything they're going to have to give us a call because we might be sending it home and they may not be getting it." So uh but it is available definitely For sure I I'm you know worst you
know yeah worst case scenario or and maybe I'm overthinking it with the criteria for high school diploma just the framework changing without MCAP or or whatnot I'm I'm worried that a parent
would come in and think there's more negotiation or assumption that requirements have been met be because of where the MCCAST now you know honestly now falls um under regulation but also
how it's been reported in the news you know in that confusion of oh no MCAST so you know everything should be fine So you know kind of thinking ahead well this this could be a year where there's just misunderstanding on the process
Yeah I think that's a fair point Um I we've uh we've addressed some confusion um and talked about the new CD that um that you all approved a couple months ago Um which you know some people will have absorbed and some won't Um so we
you know understand the ne the necessity for repetition I would just say in terms of no student will enter senior year um needing something that they can't get without there being a serious
conversation between the school counselor and the parent and student So the counselors track this stuff very carefully Um but in just in terms of like the switch over from MCCAST to the CD requirements the course requirement
passing I think we can do some more clarification on that More more information can go out about that So that's a fair point Great Um moving on to number 13 special programs Um sure What's the criteria to to access this
like special programs or or the classes listed underneath sure Um just scroll down So for so these are all uh rooted in a student's IEP Okay Um so if the U special education
team for a student um feels that a study skills class would be beneficial or necessary in order for them to make adequate progress then that gets built into their IEP and then they're assigned that class Only students who have study
skills in their IEP take that class Um the same would be true for the PACE program um or any other specialized special education program Um it would have to go through the IEP team and there have to be a determination that um
that is the least restrictive environment in which the student can be successful at this time with the goal obviously is moving them to the most least restrictive environment that they can be successful in So most least did I just say that yeah
Okay We know what does PACE stand for i'm sorry I just typed for that Yeah it stands for P A C It's it's what the uh middle school uses and we we stopped trying to like
redefine every program and just decided to adopt the same language that um this students were experiencing at at Mountain View Um so I think they invented it so you should ask them I mean that right every good
administrator putting you know deflect and uh we generally just refer to them by the teacher's name There you go Okay Um and uh okay so that um indicate by IP So if
a student had a 504 plan could they access these programs because it might be in the 504 or is it limited to IEP um the programs that are listed here the um study skills and pay actually 504s do not qualify for special education
services They're it's a completely different uh pathway So um no no 504 student would be if they really needed a study skills class or PACE program then they should be evaluated for an IEP Great Okay Um
the social ed um can a student on an IEP like if the study skills or study and transition skills could you have that in like the course selection related to the
IEP that was specific and then also take an appropriate math class or yeah so study skills is does not substitute for any of the graduation
requirements There is room in our schedule uh for students to fulfill all of their subject level requirements and also take study skills Um so it doesn't replace math classes Most of the
students that take study skills are inclusion um and inclusion classes in their academics Does that answer your question yeah that that um um
and and and so the PACE program is substantially separate Um yeah Um and so if a pay student for and I don't you know for for whatever reason can they
access a less restrictive educational study with the support of PACE yeah So uh there's there's a couple different pathways for that Um one the IP team might determine that PACE is an appropriate place for
part of the debt Right Okay um to um the PACE teacher a full-time special education teacher um in our four period schedule will need one period as a prep and therefore we'll teach three classes
and a fully integrated pay student will have will be in that program for three periods and then push out to an elective class of some sort that would be supported either by a parah that's part of pace or some other pair or depending
on what the team determines the level of support they need and find I mean the same is also going to be true of our life skill students the same is true of any all whatever special program that we would put in there would be at least one class that was not in that program that
would be an inclusion class but we would obviously choose carefully to ensure that it met their needs and was not going to overwhelm them or and that it was fully supported great So is it a possibility depending on the makeup of the PACE any given PACE cohort in one of
those periods that uh a regular education teacher would come in and co-e with the special education teacher we've done that Um it's um that we've done that when we had the
ability the flexibility in the um regular ed teacher schedule to do that and it's been successful Done that math we've done it in science we've done it in English at various times in similar programs Um we don't always have that
flexibility Um and we haven't mapped out this year's schedule hasn't been built yet Um but it is a good model that I really um appreciate Um the pace teacher um you know when you get into high
school level classes may not have um the expertise to teach all of it So we do have to do a fair amount of sharing of the content and to have a teacher push into the class and co-e it with the pace teacher is really a great model we just don't always have the luxury of being
able to do that scheduling wise and and it it's a possibility that the cohort of the PACE uh any PACE class just it might not be appropriate for the best educational intervention or whatnot as
well Correct Yeah And and they might be um yeah their needs are not going to align perfectly That's for sure And so is there a path or what the path would be for a pace student to get a diploma given the requirements that
we've gone over before absolutely So um a student Yeah All I would say that to this point pay students are all on a diploma track Um students that are not on a diploma track again that is a
determination made by the IEP team Y um and that determination is made you know relatively early in their high school career so that we can shape their their classes to meet what their potential
needs are going to be I would say that really it's that's more restricted to our life skills program And and when we're talking about like the life skill program like early on those program those students are likely to have a very robust transition
plan to absolutely to post high school of of where best they could go Yep And they're likely you know some of them will will stay with us until their 22 years their 22nd birthday Some will be will transition to a uh work training
environment you know obviously it's it's very individualized if if there's co-eing So I guess then my which I you know think maybe um is a future year budget request but
if you could well okay so you have a teacher pushing in for English into a PACE um program will that semester could those students um would that count as a graduation
requirement if it was just a a semester yeah absolutely Um and if the group of students if it was appropriate there could be a model Here comes the budget request Drum roll Um yeah I'm looking at
our business manager right now We could hire or set up that model for it to be more consistent Yeah Instead of based Yeah I'm not promising anything I'm just asking Um so that would be a more
consistent model that rather than let's see where kids are or or resources available Yeah I I my my first wish mayor is that you stick around long enough for us to be able to make that happen Um because you're suggesting it because I think
it's a it's an excellent way to approach this The thing that I would just caution all of us is that what we have discovered is the pace program changes pretty dramatically year to year depending on the needs of the students that that answer it So you know what we've done in the past doesn't always
apply to what we're about to do Yeah Coming up Understood I I think it would be an interesting option within that program for high school students especially when maybe there's a student
out there that needs the PACE program but student and family are very interesting interested to to work towards a diploma um that might not be ava available somewhere else
Yeah So and just to be clear PACE the PACE program really is um modeled for students who are struggling social emotionally Yep Um and relationship wise Um there are different programs that that are modeled for students who have
more intellectual needs Um so I think I I hear everything that you're saying I think I would apply a lot of it to different programs than 2K but I understand exactly what you mean And I would say that again the only place where we have non high school track it's very rare
that we have students that go through um that are not on a high school track but they're usually coming out of life skills or another special ed program that is already existing and has been for a while Um everyone that's been through the PACE program has been on a
graduation track Great Um last question So if a student from whatever program or indicated by IEP is not going to make graduation requirements do do districts still do
like certificate of completion like will they get to walk over the stage or on the stage yeah So we had we've had students in the past who did not make the CD because of MCCAST when that was the issue
Um if it's credit if it's a credit issue no you have to complete the credits in order to participate But if it's strictly a um competency determination yes you issue a
um certificate of completion and that has happened in the past and students have been able to move on and be successful Um okay So I maybe fibbed in the last one So if it is because of credits and and this not might this may not be true in every
situation Can a student still make up credits like during a summer program or school vacation to end up with a diploma but not walk with their class um yes So if you get So let let me make
a a brief example of this So the new competency determination requires that a student pass either biology or physics y at some point during their four years in order to qualify under the CD Right So but the graduation requirement for
science is three years 12 12 credits So if they pass earth science then pass chemistry and then pass anatomy and physiology they'll have their 12 credits but they won't have passed the CD Mhm So we could still say that they've earned
enough credits to um have to for a certificate of completion but not earn the diploma because they missed the CD Does that make sense so far yep So but if they're are credit deficient
um and they get to the end of their senior year and they're credit deficient they do not participate in graduation but they absolutely have the opportunity to attend summer school come back the next year do whatever is necessary to
get them to be uh to earn their diploma and then we issue their diploma when they're when they're done Got it that Okay I I'm I'm following that Um I thought of one more question I
forgot it But you said that was the last one I I two two questions ago I mean who would believe an elected official right i mean you believe the school committee but yeah Um I don't know how many questions we have Yeah So that's um
Thank you Thank you mayor Appreciate it Anyone else i just have a question about algebra Um sure So I I like this Um it's further ahead than I thought it was Foundations of algebra Yes I really like
this I know last year we were talking um at the beginning of well kind of at the end of last school year beginning of this school year just about how um a lot of our students seem to be starting 9th grade needing more support around math and algebra Um and so I think this is a
great idea I I really um I like the way that this is written Um I'm just kind of wondering like what we're if we're anticipating this to be like a course that like many of our students are going to need Is this going to be like a smaller group like what what are your
thoughts so those are going to be determined by the eighth grade team Um and so um you know we I don't uh I have the numbers I could look up the numbers but
it would it would require me doing a lot of this while it doesn't really change that I think we have we have enough to to run I think a couple of sections of students are being recommended for its and we those
will are going to be smaller classes anyway Yeah Um so you know hopefully um there'll be a point where that course is no longer necessary but we are where we are right now Yeah No I think that's great I think it's very like um I like
how responsive it is to the needs of the community right now and like the needs of where our students are right now So um I appreciate I appreciate rethinking that Um I remember um so the what we're looking at now does
it change just cuz I don't every school seems to do it different Does it change um uh the formula or the method or class rank cuz I used to be like co some colleges really wanted that and we have
we don't do class Okay Oh all right Thanks Okay We we assign a validictorian and a saludiatoran Mostly those are for scholarship purposes but um but beyond that we don't do ranking And and the valid Victorian saludiatoran is that within their student fi I mean I know
kids keep count but like is that within their student file to give it to the colleges or you know um because that's a that's a often times there's money associated with those titles so you
don't want to deny those things but um yeah I believe that balance out I mean I don't know if it appears officially on a transcript I' I'd have to ask Okay No I just I I you know there have been in other schools you you know you read
about like the valid Victorian and Saludiatoran and they get to do a speech and they get to do all these things has been very contentious given that so many even though not everyone has the the standard
of what um a saludiatoran and valictorian have You know there's so many ways to measure uh strengths in a student that I know it's been a conflict in in others You know it could have been a conflict here and that shows how much you pay
attention Um but I I've just heard some really awkward situations where um there have been a lot of deserving uh students and the criteria of those two um are
being like uh archaic Not that I agree or disagree but you're just putting it out there Yeah Not everybody does it anymore Um and certainly welcome the conversation if if if uh the community wants to engage in that I'm not um I'm not opposed to that
conversation Yeah Just again I know it's very important to get into schools and you know totally get that Um but just bringing it up as a conversation point Thank you very much for that explanation
I am now truly done Sam did you have other questions um Okay Laura I see you We're going to see if Sam has a question How about How about Laura goes okay Laura you want to go ahead with your question i pro I promised myself I wasn't going to
antagonize everybody I have a really kind of tangential question for you Bill that it's sort of on topic and sort of not but it's been a point of curiosity Can you tell me regarding the health and wellness curriculum at the high school are CPR and first aid a part of that curriculum at all no
Okay But I can say they are in the middle school I know um Miss Tally got uh what is the name of that mannequin that can mannequin yeah the CPR mannequin that uh is gender neutral or
both option I I don't know But anyway yes we have in the middle school Yeah we should maybe look into see if we could incorporate that Wonder if maybe we could even partner with the fire department or just something I was thinking about It's a useful skill for citizens It is a useful skill and I I do
appreciate that um the fire department has offered to partner with us to do it for our staff I think students are welcome to join those because they're typically those sessions are after school Um but working them into the health curriculum um would be tricky
just because of time We don't have a lot of time in that in that curriculum Um it's a quarter long course and there's a lot to cover Yeah understood All right Thank you Yep Any other questions did you have any
no I not about the document Um Mayor I I would just and maybe it's to the the chair um more than principal Evans but with like CPR and first aid my concern
with that being about part of the curriculum and I know time is tight in every school day um you get certified and you technically could get certified in your freshman year not keep it up and by your senior year the c the
certificate would not be valid and the curriculum for those and it changes a lot Um uh could be no longer valid It's not like taking an English class in freshman year and then I don't know that I could be I'm
not going to um it doesn't the the value of that is it doesn't go away like English lit is English lit is English lit um and for those who are applying to vocational certificate programs and
college programs very good extracurricular uh to have on your um on your uh whatever you do application And there are really flexible first aid first you
know gimping lifeguard um that are amazingly um effective but also geared to uh different types of learners language you know So yeah that's a good point And Laura I see that you just put your hand
back up I would just add to that a cool thing and this is all now we're just sort of spitballing about like extracurricular ideas and I appreciate that you are tolerating this uh Mr Evans Um but CPR and a stop the bleed I don't know if we've ever done a stop the bleed um trainings or offer that to high
school students for as like an extracurricular but that would be really interesting to I guess that's just a comment Laura did you have a followup yeah I was just saying that maybe this we shouldn't put this on to the high school administration Maybe this is a central office issue where we just make it a
priority to work with the fire department to offer these on a regular basis like once a semester make it open to the public after school or evenings or something and just advertise just so it's a revolving um opportunity for students and community members You know I haven't been certified in God knows
how long so I think a lot of them get out of it I think a lot of students would want to take advantage of it Yeah And there's distinctions between whether you're hands only CPR certified versus fully CPR There's so there's a lot to and we appreciate that you let us talk about this Mr Robins do you have any
other It was a pleasure to spend time with you Okay Well I have a just like a I think my colleagues have asked everything I had questions about except for um just this one I think about the um it was page 10 uh number four page 10
course levels and expectations So students can sort of lobby with their parents to get into an AP class even if they're not or an honors class if they're not um recommended for it I'm just curious if that if they do successfully lobby in the class and then they find they're over their heads is
there an option for them to then switch back out of it or do we do that um so there's there's a two different scenarios there as well one is you're in a exclusively honors or AP class in which case you really have the fiveday
window for drop out Um sometimes exceptions get made but um the concern is you can't always transition into a another class that might not work in your schedule and you might be switching out of something and
going into a completely different class that has been that you've missed two or three weeks of So that is more challenging Um the other scenario is a class that is um combination of academic and honors levels where there's two
different sets of expectations there but they're all in the same room Um and in that class there's typically in the syllabus um if a student wants to make a switch either up or down they have to do it by a certain point So you can't say
you know um a quarter halfway through the class I'm going to switch now to academic Um you have to make that determination within a certain amount of time And I can't tell you specifically in those situations I think it's probably like more like 10 days But cuz
you're not actually changing your schedule you're just changing the level of expectation with those Yeah Yeah I think that makes sense I just was curious how you handled it with that Okay The last question I have is about the makeup policy Um so there's a science one that was included here Does that vary by department like is there a
science one and then there's a different English one or or is it Yeah So my hope is that by next year you'll you'll be seeing one of those for each one of the departments But it does vary from department to department because for for a couple reasons One is different departments have been doing different
things for a long time Um and they have found ways to make it work within their department And there's a question um contentwise about relevance when you're you want to accept work up to a certain point um but there's a point where
handing in something becomes no longer useful or relevant to what's going on So um what I often refer to as drop dead date for an assignment Um it might be the day of the test It might be the end of the quarter It might be the end of
the semester in some places So uh rather than dictate to all of the departments exactly what the makeup policy should be what we've said is everybody needs to have one please craft one that works for your department So students will have to
adapt to different ones from different departments but I think they do that already and rather successful Yeah that makes sense to me Oh we do have another question Let's have a question for a comment Um I had in the uh section two where the language was changed between
with the performing arts computer technology I just wanted to make note as someone who was a fine arts um major and person This really opens up a pathway here because before a student needed to take four credits in f in performing
arts and then they needed to take 12 uh eight more in computer technology this way If a student uh they have to have a taste of both they have to have performing arts they have to have a taste of technology and then
they're allowed to kind of make a decision of which way they want to supplement that which opens up a pathway in fine arts there or in arts for students And I just wanted to make note of that and appreciative of that Yep Thank you I'll share that with the staff
It was their idea Yeah agreed Yeah Go ahead Um how Bill how does principal how does all the this CD connect into dual enrollment like so can a student take a science
class that's not offered in a particular semester to meet that science requirement or anything in dual enrollment is just a plus of of credits right so we have dual enrollment um classes with Mount with Holio Community
College with UMass and there's opportunities through GCC as well I believe Um so if a student in their junior or senior year wishes to take a dual enrollment class that class is counted on their transcript It counts
towards our graduation requirements for credits and it is incorporated into their GP into the GPA and it's um counted I believe as an AP class Great Thank you Principal Evans Thank you I This was a
really great discussion I'm I'm sure this is more than you bargain for but also maybe you're used to us at this point So uh it just is I I appreciate the level of detail you were able to get into with us and our discussion around this Any No it's comprehensive as can be
Okay So we have to go ahead and approve it So I will entertain a motion to approve How do we want to say this the EHS program of study studies changes and updates Oh good You go I saw the Do you
have a second second Any discussion all right Do we need to roll call no we don't need to roll call Okay Uh all in favor say I I All opposed Uh any abstensions motion passes Great Thank
you all Thank you so much Thank you Have a good night You too Okay Uh did you have anything else for superintendent update okay Great So we will move along to our business update Thank you so much
Good evening Uh in your packet uh is the uh business manager report Um as of the date I put together this report which was on the 3rd uh 67.77% of our uh appropriation has been
spent or encumbered Um that number will fluctuate as we use the offsets that were built into the budget using circuit breaker funds using school choice things like that Um we'll keep you posted We will talk much more about the status of the budget at our next meeting Uh one thing I did want to let you know about
is uh the district has been awarded um the OSE Mass Community Grant Um it's a $37,500 grant to support middle school science curriculum which I know is something that a lot of people have been excited about So um it allows us to purchase a
really highly rated high quality um science curriculum um that they will start piloting next year In fact um teachers this year will be able to take some professional development have some model lessons get their hands on the curriculum materials and the goal of this grant is that it is available for
the next three years to roll out implementation of that new science curriculum at the middle school Great Um we did have auditors in the district here last week completing the uh end of year report audit and the starting the work on the um single audit required for
federal grants Um the end ofear report audit is essentially complete I'm waiting on her um final report which will be shared with the school committee Uh there was one amendment that they wanted us to make Um that was just an an issue of where we put a number but there weren't any other major issues but if
there are any findings I will obviously share them with the committee and how we plan to address them And in your packet also is the personnel report for March Uh the two items that uh we need to discuss are um two of the large contracts that we have with our vendors
Uh the first is our regular school trans uh regular school transportation contract Uh the current contract has a three-year term We are currently in year three The contract allows us or gives us the flexibility to enact optional um
renewals for the next two years should we choose Uh the current renewal term if we choose to exercise it would be a 3% increase in transportation Um my recommendation to the committee is that we take advantage of that option to renew Um given conversations that I've
had with other business managers transportation increases this year have been 6 7 8 10 12% ranges So uh I I think going out to bid right now is not the move for us and we should um exercise our renewal options So the school
committee does need to vote to exercise that renewal option All right Um do I have any discussion or questions about that before I or I guess I'll take first a motion uh to approve the contract renewal with Durham School
Services wait do we want to do we want to discuss Are we doing separately okay Do it separately Yeah So we'll do the we'll just knock the first one out Um um I move to um to accept the contract renewal for uh Durham School Services
Beautiful Do I have a second or any discussion or any discuss well yeah either of those things First was do I have a second second Second from Eric Any discussion questions we've looked at this just for um the public record We've talked about
this in finance committee This is not like we're just looking at them and being like "Okay fine No And 3% I've I've been looking at what other districts have been contending with And 3% is very reasonable This has is one that's coming up for a vote but we have discussed at length Um all right All in
favor i I I don't know if I question you can't Okay I should have seconded Um so should be roll call if we're going to have um nope Okay So all in favor of the eyes's I uh all opposed and any
abstensions abstain Motion passes Okay I turn back to you Contract is for our food service management um company uh under Mass Regulations under Desi uh
we have a one-year contract that we are allowed to extend up to four times So it's a five potentially for a 5-year contract Um we are currently in year three four of that We can extend it one
more time I guess 25 26 and 26 27 So we have two options to renew Um the renewal terms have been uh have worked well for us Right The management fee that they charge us is in line with what I'm seeing from other districts Um the the
revolving fund balances are healthy Um I think we're hearing positive things about what they're providing to our students and how families are responding to the meal options Um so again based on our relationship with the vendor and with sort of the financial aspect of it and what the costs are to the district
right uh my recommendation is that we renew the contract with um chars Question Question Um not specifically to the extension the and the school lunch account is in a
good place um depending on what happens with the USDA um that healthy place um and cost in this contract I guess one can the cost in this contract change if we don't get
funding for what we expect from the USDA so the contract has built into it a like maximum cost to the district right so essentially chartwells is also gambling on situations that they will be able to either through
leveraging you know purchasing because we're not the only district that they serve right so they may reach out to vendors and you know buy in bulk and do things like that if they're not getting either commodities through the USDA or if they're not able to um if the reimbursement rates change right so they're also in sort of a similar
position but they're they're the contract locks in sort of a maximum impact to the district If if there was a gap Charle that's the answer I wanted to take That's good fun too Yeah well played
with the Mhm Thank you Anyone have any questions on that one yeah the contractor just to put out the contract terms are really well regulated by Desi right in terms of reimbursement rate what goes to it what they can charge for
meals what they can charge for their administrative fee what they can charge for overhead So in fact like we're voting to renew this contract You can't actually sign the renewal until I send the renewal document to Desi and Desi approves it Got right So they they approve all the terms and conditions of
the renewal documents So there there is another layer of making sure that everything about this is on the up and up Great Yeah If there are no questions I will entertain a motion to approve the um fiscal year 26 contract renewal for
Chartwells So moved Eric should second Second Okay Um any questions or discussion all those in favor i All those opposed any abstensions
uh motion passes Thank you Thank you so much I have a question for you Was that the last thing you had for us yes Okay I wanted to ask you uh this is really cool that we got a grant for a science curriculum I guess that's a comment Yay Um three years of funding that we have
for this particular Okay And then if we like it we would have to incorporate that curriculum versus like the current science curriculum that we have So the the way my understanding is that um there's sort of model units each use each year and they build up more and
more of the curriculum over time right so the amount of money that we get we get a big chunk of it this year even though we won't be implementing the curriculum until next school year to buy initial materials do professional development teachers um because they're part of a cohort So there's some statewide trainings right they're in
person um virtual digital all that stuff And then over the course of three those three years it includes buying the additional materials for the new units that go out Um there will be some consumable costs because some of it that's hands-on right so they need whether it's you know baking soda or
balloons or yellow like those kinds of things that go along with it But my understanding is that um and the teachers I think also have some opportunity to pick and choose which of the curriculum units they think um will be most engaging to the students as and roll that program out over the next
three years Yeah How can I say yeah absolutely So I I just really want to thank that 1A foundation again and one of the reasons why we're considered for this is because of the excellent work that's been done at STMath So the connection is you know start with STM math if you remember in the fall
mentioning this that this is a foundation that um really is in the leading edge of anything any any type of curriculum that is working that's been evidence-based research based across the country and so um to have earned their
trust from the ST math and how how that how that was implemented and how well it's done um actually did help us in getting Th this um science grant was highly competitive There were many districts that wanted it and uh we we
really wanted it because it's going to be amazing uh science for our middle school students and the um testing results that come from this program are really amazing And so I just want to you know say that we're very very thankful
that uh Joanne Jacobson who is the person that does uh she's in charge you know she owns the 18 Foundation um put her trust again uh in East Hampton that we're going to take on this program and uh really be a model for the state for
it Nice Wonderful That reminds me of a couple of other questions I have in my list here which is does it um K through eight is it middle school only is it middle school middle school Middle school So five no six seven eight Yeah 678
Um and then speaking of the STMath model of things do we know is it going to be a curriculum that happens during the science block or is it another one where we fit in separate from the science block and find extra time for it so I don't know if this has been scheduled yet I think they're working on how
they're going to schedule that but um obviously it's not going to be interfering with the the odds So it's a so it's a enrichment program to like supplement the No I believe it's replacing the science That's great because that's one of the things that I know we've heard over and over and
especially that you know consumable costs Great We want that more science So that's really exciting Yeah that's great Thank you so much Yeah did our science teachers have a hand in helping write the So they uh really Julie and Lean did um most of the work with that and work
with Meredith and there were science teachers that were involved in the conversation too Cool So thank you to all who applied and worked on it and anyone else have any questions for our directors and services Okay thank you so much Appreciate it
Thank you Okay Um we are moving on to our school committee discussion and first on the list here is policy subcommittee All right So I flubbed it last time but this time I am ready Um we we had a
meeting uh in March to discuss the um the school choice guidelines and in particular the timeline of um how um how families from other districts can participate in our school of choice program Um so this is a program whereby
if you don't live in East Hampton um you can uh basically um fill out an application and say you would like your child to attend school in East Hampton There's a lottery um and then uh it's kind of it's administered randomly So we really encourage anybody who's interested in coming to school here from
other districts to apply um including families of of kids with disabilities or kids with um ELLL needs Um so the uh the timeline previously was that you know we would have the number of school choice slots would be announced applications
would be due and then the drawing for the lottery would occur one time over the summer And the problem that we were having is that this was our drawing was later than other districts And so families were sometimes given a choice like you know between East Hampton and another district but they wouldn't find out about East Hampton until after they
had had to say whether or not they were going to participate in the other district Um and then additionally we we didn't have any any kind of other time to do that So we've um the the proposal which came from um was Julie it was Julianne right it came from Julian Leven
um was to um in on May 1st make the number of available school choice slots announced on the um East Hampton Public Schools website which is very transparent Families can go look at it and see how many choice slots there are Um on June 1st applications are due so you can fill out the application between
May 1st and June 1st Um the first drawing will be held at the district office um or on that day or the first business day after June 1st And then if there's any more additional seats that are available there will be a second drawing held on July 1st So there's another chance and that's from that
initial pool of applicants Um and then there's a a third and final drawing on um September 1st or after or the next business day because we never really know what our enrollment is going to look like until it happens So you might get to September 1st and realize that
you did actually have more slots than you realized and um it just gives folks more uh flexibility um to participate in that So what so what I've attached here is the actual policy update Um well actually let me Did you have it am I
missing it you know what I I sent it Okay I sent it to I originally I wasn't going to be here and Laura was and I had sent it to Laura to present Um but we have it we have it available here Um okay Um yeah So so what we would just be
doing is just voting to um to update that Um and also if we could wave the two reading requirement for this just because we don't have another meeting until after May 1st So we want to make sure that we can and I believe we can just wave that by moving to wave that
until So we move to wave vote approve that vote and then we can vote on Yes Okay The one reading Are there any questions or discussion about that before um I guess the first let's entertain a
motion on waving the need for two Okay And then we'll talk about the actual change I entertain a motion for waving the two reads Okay Uh I move to wave the uh necessity of two readings for this policy um and changing it to one reading
for just this policy For just this policy Is that phrase correct okay Great Do I have a second i sec Okay just a second Okay Um I just want to make sure superintendent if there's anything that we're we're policy committee members like is there anything we should be
thinking about with not having two readings no I don't think so Like why do we have two readings usually why do we have two readings usually because we like to give the public a chance to hear about what um what changes are being made give input and feedback Um and I
would say the reason why I would like to have this waved is because first of all I messed it up last time We should have had our first reading last time Um but also this is a really minor change that's going to make this this more available for more people and it's also
not going to have any impact on any families that are already in district So there's no there's no change to anything other than the the timeline and the drawings Those are great points of clarification Thank you Laura Yeah just to piggyback on Sam if you
want to be real technical we had a discussion about this with all of the relevant points We just didn't have the precise language for Sam to perform the reading So the opportunity for public feedback has occurred the way it would typically with a first and then second reading That's all I just wanted to make sure we weren't Yeah we were covering No
I take that pretty seriously Yeah Yeah Yes I know you do That's perfect Okay so we have a motion and a second All those Any more discussion or question all those in favor say I I All those opposed Any
abstensions motion passes Okay And now I will entertain a motion for I'm going to um How do we want to phrase this so what I would like to do is I'd like to update or I would like to um move to update our existing school choice policy to the new school choice policy
Um this is that the right way to say that yep We have that Okay Yes Sounds good So I have a second It's JFPB by the way JF BB PB EB Okay I What is it it's JF It's um
letters J F B as in boy B as in boy Oh I didn't get that So I'm glad you did that But did I would not have guessed those letters Uh do I have a second second Second from Eric Okay Um and I know you just went over this with us just so I can clarify we had one school choice
drawing date and we are moving to a policy where there are three different there are three different dates one in June one in July and one in September which allows for more the first one's earlier So it doesn't get people to say right it's too late I already decided So exactly And then also we've added just to clarify too that the that the number
of um slots available will go out on May 1st on our website So we'll do a better job announcing it or be more clear with our announcement and then we'll have three drawings at more appropriate times that Okay Yeah So it expands our eligibility or our eligibility better It will make this program easier to administer fairly which is great which
is something that we've been Yeah trying to do Yeah Yeah And help families have options sooner Yep Yeah And we have a great school and I think that there are people who uh would like to choice Yeah Laura is that your old hand up prior
hand up not your old hand Okay great That was unnecessary Any discussion questions all right All those in favor i I All those opposed any abstensions
motion passes Anything else from the policy subcommittee not at this time I do have a brief CES update which is not on there It is on there right after the finance committee So I will bump back right over to you Sorry We do not have um So I'll
go to Oh yeah And then the transition policy Thank you Sue Okay Um so that's the second reading um for this one In here I can go back and get it if it doesn't need So this was our our policy that we
um wrote um just addressing transition services and um how they will be offered This is for students um with disabilities who uh in order to receive a free and appropriate public education um require uh transition services after
grade 12 Um and so we talked about how these uh services are individualized They may occur outside of school property Um they should happen in the community whenever possible Um and so I'd like to do a second reading of
that I don't know Do you want me to read the whole thing i think you should And I'm looking to see if I have it to post Um I don't have to but that's a nice little bonus Yeah Um I don't know that I have it That's all right I can get it
See if it's in the Sorry I'm doing doing the thing that the mayor was talking about earlier where I'm like going off of one thing and into the phone and it's all right but I have it on here It's okay We have the patience for it
When did we do the first read we did it at our last meeting There you go 3:25 or Yeah it was 3:25 when we did it but I don't have it attached on here like I thought I did Well see if I I get it on my email
Okay I think I have it here too Is this the one that's right here all right It's up on the screen We just confirmed that that's the one Yes that is the one This is it This is it right here Yeah You want to see it do you want me to Do you want me to read it out loud or I think so Yeah Okay cool So um yeah
I can see him Uh so students with IEPs are entitled to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment Many students with IEPs work on goals unrelated to graduation requirements as a part of their free and appropriate public education Students who are not able to meet graduation requirements as a result
of their disability are entitled by law to special education services which includes secondary transition services that meet the requirement for a free and appropriate public education until age 22 Um the goal is to help a student move purposefully towards completion of their
high school program and be prepared for planned post high school opportunities In the final year of high school if the student has earned the competency determination is on track to complete all local graduation requirements and the school has provided the students IEP services including secondary transition
services that meet the requirements of a free and appropriate public education The district will plan to issue a regular high school diploma consistent with the projected graduation date included in the current IEP This projected date may be the same as the student's age peers or it may be a later date consistent with the student's IEP
In some circumstances the IEP team may determine that the provision of a free and appropriate public education requires that the student continue to receive additional transition services and or other special education services even though the student has earned the competency determination and completed
all local graduation requirements The team will then specify on the IEP the needed services and revise the date for the student's graduation with a high school diploma Part of the transition process may include a chapter 688 referral which would refer a student to the appropriate adult services providers
such as Mass Rehabil Mass Rehabilitation Commission Department of Mental Health or the Department of Developmental Services to assist in the transition to adulthood Postgrade 12 transition programs shall be community- based and highly individualized to the transition needs of the student with a disability
The decision regarding the need for transition services the type of transition services needed then the duration of transition services is one that should take place during a student's IEP meeting beginning no earlier than age 14 and no later than age 17 and shall be revisited every year
at the student's IEP meeting until the student completes their schooling Under the law transition services must be a coordinated set of activities designed designated to be a resultsoriented process that is focused on improving the academic and functional achievement of the child with the disability to
facilitate a child's movement from school to postchool activities Transition services are based upon the students needs strengths preferences and interests and include instruction related services community experiences the development of employment or other postschool adult living objectives and
if appropriate acquisition of daily living skills and the provision of a fun functional vocational evaluation So that is a lovely way Yeah Okay Um and this is I I will say too I'm I'm glad that we're like putting this on the
books because most districts don't have something like this in writing So I I think that's great I I'd like to follow up on that because I was listening to my colleague Sam read this I recently just happened to be able to have conversations with a few individuals who
have benefited from this and um the positivity how um they feel about themselves how they have been able to find meaningful uh work and focus and
contribution in this community is so important and I am so proud to be sitting here with listening to this and knowing that this is part of what this school and our educational system have put our values at I I really do not want
this to go under and to see how important this is I I it they just it just happened It happened in my life and they came up and they said "I've done this and I've done this." And I and they told me that they were benefits and one of them said that they were so excited
they were going to have the life skills at the high school and wanted to know if they could come in and to be a speaker That's super cool That's awesome Yeah I love that And to speak to the students about their experiences Nice Yeah I love that That's awesome And that's exactly
it like and I think that one one of the things that's really important to me and I know is important to everybody else uh here is like all of our graduates feel like they are ready for adulthood when they're when they graduate And so that um so I like I like being able to put that into into words Thank you for
writing it What do we need to vote on do we need to vote to accept the policy it's a Yeah it's the second reading So vote to accept the policy Um I will entertain a motion to accept the policy Uh so moved Okay Seconded Do we need to
name the policy or um Eric seconded okay Any further discussion or questions uh all those in favor say I I I All those opposed any abstensions motion passes Okay Um I will take the floor for
a moment from you to give a finance subcommittee update which is that I don't have one I did make a Yeah we'll we'll go back We're going to follow the agenda just you know I have the um actual chair watching me so I want to make sure I do it
Just kidding All right Um but I do want to ask the director of our business services Do I need to schedule a f You don't have to get up Do I need to schedule a finance meeting we probably do Okay So um my finance subcommittee update is that watch for a meeting to
hit the books sometime soon That's it Okay Uh CES update So actually this is a good segue for the CES update because one of the things um that I think I'm going to need to do is get some feedback from the finance subcommittee Um so maybe I can join you in that we can put
it on the agenda Um that's fine So you know I went to the I I So just for those of you who are tuning in for the first time somehow um I uh serve as our district's representative to the collaborative for educational services which is an education collaborative in Northampton that provides some of our um
special education services and other like other services in the district that we uh that we contract with them um on And the purpose of collaboratives in our state is you know the idea is that we have all these small school districts and maybe we can't meet all of the needs uh in a way that makes sense financially
the needs of all of our students particularly students with disabilities So the idea is that we work together and establish these collaborives and through the collaborative we're able to meet more of our students needs um at a um in a more affordable way and also like in a really community- based way It's a it's
a really good idea Um the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton um has uh recently and I'm and I'm I'm sure we all saw the news um had to lay off a number of their employees due to some uh financial problems um kind of in
an unexpected way And um the dire the executive director Todd Gazda you know said that he was um surprised by this um and that it kind of um was not something that they were anticipating needing to do And it was right around the holidays as well Um I'm you know we we had a um
our last meeting in March Um at that meeting you know the uh executive director kind of laid out a plan for uh financial stability Um which I I thought was a good start I'm not I'm not super satisfied with it Um one of the things
that he has offered to do is to is to um be a little bit more transparent about kind of the inner workings of the of the organization Um and so I noticed today that he actually like put out one of one of the things he was going to do was like make some videos um to try to help staff kind of understand what was going
on And um so he did actually one of them came out today I just haven't had a chance to read it or to watch it rather Um but I I think you know one of the ways that the collaborative is dealing with the rising um costs and kind of the financial challenges that they're having
is they're raising the cost for services um including like all the services that we contract uh with them for Now one of the things is as members um our rates are only going up a little bit whereas the um non-member districts who use their services the rates are going up by
about 25% You mean like our membership rate sorry no the tuition So most collaboratives like the way that most collaborives work is they're essentially special education schools Um and the collaborative in Northampton is a little bit different They have two special education well
they have one special education program and then another um another school Um they have the Mount Tom Academy and they have uh the HEC Academy We have one student at each of those schools The we have an 11th grader at each one Um so no graduate No neither of them are graduating this year I found out at the
last meeting just to check Um but so you know we we have two students um initially before before the rates went up which you know we all voted on at the collaborative I had thought I don't I don't necessarily know you know we should look and see kind of what we're
getting for our membership and if it's you know I would like to look at Lower Pioneer Valley Education Collaborative as well where I know we have a number of students who attend school there I'd like to kind of look at the financials and just sort of make sure that we're
that it makes sense for us to continue to be a member of CES or maybe it would make more sense for us to focus more of our energy on lower Pioneer Valley instead Um but also you know I just I have some kind of serious concerns about sort of the direction um and the kind of
financial stability of that agency um that I and I did not I asked some questions at the last meeting Um I didn't really find the answers to be super reassuring So um I think I I think I would appreciate um some guidance from
the committee generally but I think it would make sense to start with finance because I would like to have a better understanding of what our um relationship to the collaborative is currently Um so you know it's um it's it's tricky I really like the collaborative like and it's it's it's a
great organization in a lot of ways but in terms of like what what is best for our district right now and like what East Hampton needs right now I just want to make sure that we're making we're getting what we need out of that partnership Can I ask a clarifying question so for that I know that there's
sort of a bunch of things that CES does Yeah So this does not um would not impact like our contract with them for um what is it called joy and justice Joy Yeah Joy and justice Joy and justice Like would that be the same if this well
this is what I need more information on Like I don't So the collaborative does a lot of like they have a lot of programs that we benefit from that aren't necessarily the the programs that we would normally get from a collaborative you know So I I'd be interested in
finding out more about that in particular to like because I don't know if there's a member rate like it's not something that really gets um we don't really discuss that specific uh contract at these meetings So I want to just kind of see what our relationship is um now because the other thing I'd like to work on and I talked to a couple other of the
CES members about this is like we are all facing actual issues with like fin like education finance right now like you know McKini Vento transportation special education transportation special education out of district placements in general um residential placements when
they come up you know are um are huge like these are things that we might be able to use the collaborative to help us with a little bit and and yet it's like very little of what the collaborative actually does for our district Um so I would like to kind of talk with my
colleagues on the collaborative board as well about like are there ways that we can actually like partner with other districts in Hampshire County for instance around special education transportation Like are there ways that we can maybe like locate some programs at each of our districts that are like
more specialized and we use collaborative you know collaborative support for that Like I I just want to um I I feel like a lot of the general rules um don't apply right now Like I I feel like you know in the last couple of months in particular in regards to um
kind of funding federal funding that we used to think was fairly stable suddenly isn't Um you know I I kind of feel like the rule of gravity has changed and I just don't really know what to expect which to me means like we need to be thinking like kind of creatively around problem solving and like maybe trying
some things that have been tried before and didn't work then or trying some things that are um a little bit different or kind of out of the box Um so you know I've talked with a couple of board members like kind of one-on-one just to kind of gauge kind of where they're at and and I think um it it
feels to me like there's definitely like an appetite for a bigger conversation but but I want to just like make sure that my facts are right like that I'm correct about what I'm saying and like if I'm speaking for East Hampton on this board I want to make sure that I'm representing us accurately So when you
say you spoke with members of the board you're saying the CES board the CES board Yeah Yeah another clarifying question for you or not question but a thought that as you were saying on that what's the urgency do you suspect around this like this sounds like a great conversation that um our incoming
superintendent might want right so this is it something that we like think about I would like to do some work on it um later this spring and over the summer in particular I know things are really busy right now I don't think it's like such an urgent thing that we need to have an answer ready to go by our next
collaborative meeting in May um But I you know it it would be good for me to get kind of a um just a a better under maybe like what would be helpful for me before our next meeting our next collaborative meeting is um at the end of May I think it would be really good
to know to have a better understanding just of like East Hampton by then and then kind of the bigger picture stuff around like what do we really want from the collaborative or like what what are we you know what are kind of our our biggest unmet needs right now that a um that we you know that the sort of things
that like the collaborives were designed for you know um we could we could talk more about that kind of over the summer and next fall Um I don't necessar like I don't I don't want to cause any panic Like I don't think we're about to like I don't think you know anything huge is going to happen um in regards to the
collaborative before then but I just like I would just like to make sure that we're getting what we need you know and that this is kind of the best place for us to put our our resources and our um you know and our energy Yeah Yeah And I'd like to look at the um lower Pioneer Valley too and kind of what we're putting into Lower Pioneer Valley cuz it
if it ends up that like we could save a lot of money by becoming members of Lower Pioneer Valley you know like that's like that's a good thing to know you know like if that's meeting our needs more than CES is now for some things and not others Like I just want to make sure that we know what's what's available what's out there Sounds like
we're in information gathering And then I don't know if this is what would be appropriate I've been thinking like superintendent director of business services and maybe our CES rep would meet and I don't know if that's the Yeah I think that would be good Yeah Um get some full
picture of all that and then go from there Yeah Could add Julie into it too because she was involved with the Absolutely the joy and justice Yeah And the equity Yep Yes Yeah And just to be very clear like we've been very happy with our services from the collaborative Like that's and that has been consistent
the whole time that I've been involved in any capacity in East Hampton We've always been very happy with the collaborative So I don't I don't want anybody to think that we're not happy with their services I just want to make sure that um that you know we're making like a informed decision You know that's good to clarify It's just our due
diligence as elected officials that Exactly Like I just want to make sure that to the district wisely Appreciate it Thank you Sam Yeah Um any other questions for Sam so okay Well we I'm gonna try to send you guys those I'm gonna reme try to remember to send you
those director's reports kind of when when we get them and stuff because I just want to make sure that you guys have you guys are kind of informed about what's going on there as well Those need to go I guess you will figure that out I was going to say those go to Sukby and then they go into our packet Um I just
forwarded the last one Forward Okay Yeah You know it's all public information It's not Okay Yeah it's it's the sort of thing that you know everybody has access to So okay I have a shrug on that one So we'll Okay great We'll we'll figure it out We'll take the shrug for now and we
will learn more Yeah Any other questions or thoughts on CS update okay Um I'm adding a D onto here playground update Um because it's now one of our um school committee discussion points as it's an ad hoc
official ad hoc committee Um we've had two meetings I think we've had one since the last time the school committee met though so I don't not two new ones Um but work is underway We have great community volunteers student volunteers who are taking um the lead on different
aspects of this We have community members who have so much knowledge about rules around it like the letter of the law around accessibility but then also regardless of what the law is like how what does accessibility actually mean like what can kids actually use and
things like how does shade qualify like in that kind of um stuff So work is ongoing We have a meeting scheduled for um let me confirm before I say it out loud April 28th It's April 28th Okay perfect April 28th at 5:30 here I'm
working on getting a remote um access for that because it just seems important to have remote options for a meeting about an accessible playground So we're we're working on that Um we are happy to have everyone anyone join us Kids are
always welcome They don't have to sit quietly in meeting you know bring your kids if you want Yeah I I'm just wonder is it really be or Ben it's B It is B It is B A fifth grader Yeah that's
a great question I had that initial thought When I when I wrote the minutes I did wonder if I should write Beatric which she announced herself as B Okay So I put B Correct It's a fifth grader Um along with Yes that's actually a really good question Um and that's from the
minutes Okay School update All set Don't have anything no Okay So we'll move on to action items Okay I I don't um I just Uh the my budget I was going to bring it
to city council on April 16th and I want to reook at revenue So I'm not this is not a change or asking for a change in expense budget which you guys have submitted and have voted on um just for
your knowledge the public knowledge So I um I want to check and double check the revenue before I submit it to city council and uh my thanks to city council president and finance chair Um instead
it will drop on May 7th because there is no April 30th city council meeting What this may do is change the department subcommittee hearing with the subcommittee finance subcommittee Um
we're figuring that out and we'll give suggested uh dates but looking at when these next meetings are will certainly accommodate So just wanted to put that out um to the public kind of school related Yeah Um this Sunday one I need
to 1 to 4 at City Space um uh we uh NEPM New England Public Media um has declared uh 413 day right April 13th because Austin has two of their own
holidays It's uh 1 to 4 Sunday at CD space And the reason why I mention it one it's gonna be fun Uh but two uh the host of the Tumble Science podcast for kids will be there to do activities as
well as the word nerd and uh Mr Universe like I know Yep I see that Yep Welldeserved Wow Our kids listen to the same podcast Yeah it's amazing podcast It's really cool to my kids over 30 Um
as well as um Professor Power Green from Clark University who does a a history as well So there'll be music and all of that but I thought it was just very interesting and I'm kind of fan girl on the whole science podcast Um so it's
free Everybody's welcome Um and it is the 413's first celebration of our own holiday That's cool I like that Yeah It took me forever to figure out 413 was April 13th Yeah that makes sense
Yeah it's going to be perfect Uh Laura did you have a question about four and three day no but that sounds amazing I just wanted to make sure we're shouting out and sending all of our positive vibes to our we the people team who made their
travels today to DC their sightseeing today they start testimony tomorrow in the nationals competition Incredible Yes And they've been really good about updating on Facebook I don't know if there's anywhere else where it's getting where updates are coming through but um
check Facebook for more my phone We want to make sure we want to make sure we shout out uh the child of one of our or the grandchild of one of our own who will be testifying and who's who just looks fantastic I saw her at the crack of John this morning and she looked beautiful and we're just going to
shout her out not by name to we don't want to embarrass her but we're sending her good vibes Well right back to the chair The chair's son is the mentor to the grandchild of Yeah it's not at all obvious now which people we're talking about
Yes we are very excited for our we the people students and mentors and teachers who are there They're an amazing bunch So we wait eagerly to see what happens Um I feel like that all reminded
me if there was something else but I guess do we have anything else for school updates can I do a brief school update Um I I spoke to my colleague Sam Hunter on the way home from our last meeting and we have decided that we would like
to sell out the musical performance in May It's Little Shop of Horrors And at the risk of it sounding like I'm saying something cursal but we there will be a performance by the There was last
Saturday a performance of the cast did little selections at a flower shop here in town And there will be another one in the first Saturday of May during art walk and where you can buy your tickets
and see the cast It's amazing We have a great performing arts uh at the high school high school and I just think the community we should fill those seats for those kids Yeah it's a great day Sell it out Very exciting
Yeah there's no camera Okay Can I say one thing too absolutely U so today we um brought in Helen Frost Um she's a noted um author She lives in Indiana Um
during uh read across America day uh I read a second grade and a third grade class and I brought her book and the students were shocked that I knew a real author and uh they are also being authors They're they're each writing
stories and poems and they were so interested I instantly became very famous because I knew an author right and they're like wow you know an author So and we zoomed the author in today so right into the classroom So they were
able uh to speak to the author about writing and uh they had great questions Uh they asked um for for a third grader to say "How has writing become your passion?" Oh that's amazing That was an amazing question And then another
question was um how did you uh choose writing as your career pathway that's a third grader asking questions like that Uh and then of course we had great questions like um do you have any pets right because uh the book the book was
actually about birds right and it was a partnering of an author with photographer and so they're beautiful bird pictures and so each of the students are getting a book and each of the students are getting a signed bookmark So it was a really it was you know really nice conversation for them
to meet a real author talk about writing read some of their writing to the author and then at the end of it when everything was over they went out to recess I was waiting while they were going past me in line and they're like we are going to be an author one day So
it was such you know it was just a little inspirational opportunity for them to meet somebody that was real right that hopefully um they want to continue to be readers and writers because that's important for all kids to be readers and writers That's awesome That's amazing Yeah Which grade was it
second and third Second and third That's great Any other school updates things okay Um we'll move on to action items And I think do I need to have Sam read the action
items or should I read them to myself and then take I can read them Okay Sam will read them in my in mystead Uh motion to approve the minutes of the March 31st 2025 uh Mountain View School playground ad
hoc committee meeting Uh do I have a second second Eric And all those in favor say I I opposed Any extensions motion passes Uh I move to approve the minutes of the March 4th 2025 finance
subcommittee meeting Second Second Okay There's a second Um all those in favor say I I All those opposed Any obstensions do I abstain from even meeting notes that's a great question Why not justain notes sure Yeah
just just point out It will pass anyway Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Okay Motion passes I move to approve the minutes of the March 17th 2025 Mountain View School playground ad hoc meeting Do I have a second all right Thank you Second
Okay that one was Eric Um all those in favor say I I All those opposed any abstensions motion passes Um I move to approve the minutes of the March 19th uh March 19th 2025 regular
session meeting Do I have a second sorry Can I make a comment absolutely Um uh so 19th Yes um the um a couple of days after um this
particular meeting uh specifically uh concerning the lawsuit that we were the second plaintiff Um and I I will uh preface this um by reminding folks that um the statement I'm about to read is
not political or partisan It is just the plain fact that we are plaintiffs and the defendant happens to be the executive branch of our government Um and okay here we go Um okay Uh mayor I am so glad to see
Hampton taking the Department of Education fight right to the Trump administration I am a former special ed teacher and I know how high the stakes are for our kids Thank you for standing up for all of our family Our senator
Elizabeth Warren and thanks us directly So yes cheers So yeah I would just say I'm even more proud that we took the vote we did um in fighting for So thank you Laura and Sam for uh leading the the
charge and um thank you Sorry Um thank you for reading us that email Thank you That's um very meaningful to know the support of Senator Warner Can I just say that absolutely I think
we've gotten probably 20 similar uh emails really from this community uh saying the same thing that is there anything that um they can do to help us just email them um they think it's important and the other thing I I just
wanted to add is that because um Sville and East Hampton did did sign on as plaintiffs Uh I think that had an influence on Worcester also signing on right as as also doing witnesses or
declaration So uh I we haven't heard anything uh yet on what's happening with that but uh we did um sign all the documents and corrected them and uh Julia myself and Julianne spent
substantial time making sure that all the information was correct and so that has been uh all passed in and I guess now we're just waiting to hear what are the results of that Appreciate it We'll definitely update the community as we get updates Thank you for all the time
that you've put into it and folks in the administrative central office and in the schools and Sam to you as well bring it forward to us and advocating and um helping us understand and and also to you Laura who has spent I don't know do
you want to estimate maybe like 200 hours on Zoom calls Um so we uh Moren is the MVP Moren and her team um were the ones who know all of the intricate data and we promised them we would do all that heavy lifting that this was a
decision made by the committee and not by the administration and yet they when you know when that responsibility shifted inevitably to them they just took it up without complaint and did really excellent work and we're just deeply appreciative Yeah Thank you And what a great way to make the national
news Well said I for you That was for me Oh my gosh Thank you for reading that Um I believe we had the original motion Do we have a
second for that one second Second from Eric Okay we did We already had it We had it from Linda I'm not doing double second it I got Okay All those in favor say I I All those opposed Any abstensions
motion passes proudly Okay The next one on the list is the uh minutes from the 3:25 regular session public hearing and those were a long set of minutes and I'm going to claim I don't know what happened I broke the minutes and I just stopped apparently before the action
items So that was my fault I had to amend those minutes We are tableling a vote on them Okay Oopsies We'll worry about that one Can we just um verify that we're we okay the calendar though because there are so many We okayed the calendar The calendar
can go out We approved all the action items at that uh meeting and I do have the notes so I can you know I'm going to go back and I'm going to update and indicate where I'm updating and unfortunately for Sus will help me with all of that So my apologies I just it
was like page four and I don't know I lost track of what was happening It's all good Um so we are tableabling those but yes we have voted on the school calendar and that can go that can go out Sounds good Okay Uh so that brings us up to F right yes Okay
So um I move to approve the minutes of the February 5th 2025 regular meeting Do I have a second second Eric All those in favor i All those opposed any abstensions motion passes
And then we have a out ofstate field trip request I move to approve the out ofstate field trip request from East Hampton High School to New York City Do I have a second second This is for um the uh
uh this is for a Broadway show which sounds awesome Which again I just like to comment on that the these opportunities that we're able to provide for the children in this school district are these these types of experiences are life changers for students Mhm One day
one experience can really change the momentum of their life how they feel about themselves even just the life them So I'm just again pleased that we can offer these opportunities Absolutely Can I just absolutely jump off what Lyn is
saying is that some of the students that are in Washington DC come home Saturday and then they're going to Panama right um next week though that how many students really get to go and explore the world like this district offers So
they're going to be in Washington DC and then Panama Panama Canal So that those are some examples of really great opportunities and I just want to say thanks to the music boosters who are funding this So yeah this is a really
reasonable cost very much The music boosters are uh we can also we can also point out East Hampton Music Boosters are always accepting donations Yes Great points Um Fukin as your role is a former booster right
uh and this is not overnight just one day right they go there and back That's one day Yeah it looks like tonight Yeah Cool Any other discussion or question about the Iowa State field trip all right All those in favor say I I All
those opposed That was an I All those opposed Any abstensions motion passes it Have a great time Do you know what they're going to see i didn't even ask Doesn't say It doesn't say Okay Well someone let us know at some point It's
going to be a surprise The kids don't even know Whoa That's kind of a fun surprise Okay So when they get back can one of them come tell us about it yeah If they want will you have them do that raise your hand Great Yeah we'll do
You just raise your hand for that I appreciate that Okay Um Okay So we have our next meeting dates are listed What about this understanding It's not It's not in the agenda though Is it during executive session i believe it's executive session
Executive session gets away Oh it's executive Never mind Okay Uh so before we move to executive session um future upcoming meeting dates are listed on the agenda um 513 527 610
722 and then I'll stop reading them because sometimes we do make some changes over the summer but they are all listed and scheduled um up through the end of the year And at this point um we are going to uh move into executive session pursuant to
MGLC 30AS21A2 to conduct collective bargaining sessions with the EA teachers association and we will adjourn directly from executive session Um and I believe we roll call into executive session All
right Yes we do Do we roll call do we roll call out we just we roll in in there So we're just done here Okay Thank you all so much Laura we miss you Wait We won't return We won't return We won't
return We will adjourn directly from executive session Um and so that concludes the public Yeah the public portion Thank you all so much Mostly you Laura looking at us Okay
Bye How long is this