In accordance with accordance with the requirements of the open meeting law. Sorry. In accordance to the open meeting law. Uh please be advised the meeting is being broadcast at a later date over the Lunberg public access channel. Uh
there's a Zoom link and the Zoom link is included in the agenda as well as the meeting ID information. This meeting will be broadcast at a later date through the local uh cable access channel and on public access Facebook page and will be found on the Lunberg uh
access YouTube channel within 24 hours of meeting. The agenda lists all the topics which may be discussed at the meeting and are those reasonably anticipated by the chair. Votes may be taken as a result of these discussions. Not all items listed may in fact be discussed and other items not listed may
also be brought up for discussion to the extent permitted by the open meeting law. So I think the next thing we got to do is pledge of allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for it stands one nation
indivisible indivisible with liberty and justice for all. All right. Um, so the first thing on the agenda after that is public comment on prior issues. So stuff from the last meeting. Anybody here for public comment? Anybody on Facebook for public
or on uh Zoom for public comment? I have public comment and you let me know. You like to identify yourself? Yes, Brian Leighton, 88 Beach View Road. I just wanted to congratulate Dr. Burnham
uh on her retirement and uh thank her for all the work that she's done throughout the for the community uh throughout her time as she worked with uh many stakeholders. Um her work with the students, the teachers, the staff, the unions, uh the administration. Um
it's uh probably one of the most challenging periods in education and she was very successful. Um, and I just wanted to thank her and uh and wish her luck in retirement. Yeah, Susan. Go ahead. Thank you.
Again, please identify yourself. Good evening. Peter Beardmore, 282 Pleasant Street. It's awesome that my first public comment is not to tell you all what you're doing wrong quite yet. Dr. Burnham is known for her admiration
of turtles. Each graduate from LHS over the past seven years has received a gift from Dr. Burnham in the form of a turtle charm and a commencement talk drawing inspiration from the positive attributes of the turtle. Three of my wife's and my
four children have Dr. Burnham turtles and the fourth who will not graduate for two more years is feeling a little cheated. Even the school committee members recently received a gift from Dr. Burnham a glass turtle to commemorate our time together.
A bit more history. For many years there was a tradition now lapsed in Lunenburgg. Departing school committee members as a parting gift received a bird carving made by a relatively famous Lunberg artist, a
gentleman named Russ Colburn. Mr. Coburn passed away a few years ago. But when I was a first grader at the old Lunberg Primary School, Mr. Coburn came and visited our class one day and treated us to a live demonstration of
his work. And today there are many Lunberg families who treasure their heirloom collections of Russ Colburn birds including beard moores. I recently came across a bit aged and
worn Russ Colburn carving of a black capped chickity. And I couldn't resist the opportunity to buy it and present it to Dr. Burnham this evening because not only was this bird made in Lunberg like the educations
of 2500 or so students that were here during her tenure, but the black cap chickity is also the state bird of Massachusetts. This unassuming song bird is a yearround resident enduring the harshest winters
with grace. Despite its size, the chickity demonstrates extraordinary resilience. It can lower its body temperature during cold nights to conserve energy, a testament to its adaptability and strength in the face of
advers adver adversity. Much like the chickity, Dr. Burnham has faced challenges head on, always finding a way to persevere. Whether tackling complex projects or navigating unforeseen obstacles, COVID
and impossible budget scenarios come to mind. She has shown unwavering persistence, determination, and grace. The chickity also possesses remarkable intelligence. It caches food in numerous locations, relying on its exceptional
memory to retrieve its reserves later on. This foresight and planning mirror Dr. Bernham's intellect, strategic thinking, wisdom, and accomplishments throughout her career. And perhaps most notably, the chickity
is thick skinned, not in the literal sense, but in its ability to endure and thrive despite its small size. Similarly, Dr. Burnham has demonstrated a resilient spirit, handling pressure with poise and
maintaining a positive outlook even in the most challenging of times. Dr. Bernham and I have not always agreed, but she nearly always sought amendable solutions and compromise and always reminded me that we agree that what we agreed on was much greater than
what we disagreed and that we were more alike than we are different. It's been an honor to serve with her, to collaborate with her, and to learn from her both before and during my time on the school committee, and I hope we maintain a friendship for years to come.
The black cap chickity, carved by Lunberg's Russ Coburn, is a symbol of the enduring qualities that Kate Burnham has brought to our team. May it serve as a reminder to her, perhaps displayed amongst her turtles, of our appreciation
of her intellect, resilience, persistence, strength, and leadership. Congratulations. And thank you. Thank you. One of my favorite ways to relax on my deck. So, thank you very much. The
chick happens to be one of my very favorites. We wanted to speak uh as a team, Dr. Bookas, um Juliana Hansum, and myself. And we want to say Dr. Burnham, we've enjoyed working for you and with you and
I remember you once saying that since you assumed the superintendency, you've not slept a full night ever and I totally understand that and that is because you always put students first in your decision making and that's been
very clear in everything that you worked hard to build up in this district. And if you look at test data for a second um the before you got here the test data since that for MCCAST that we were partially implementing our targets and
now we are substantially every single year we've been in the substantially implementing all targets for all subgroups of all our students and so that is a measurable data point and I hate to use measurable data points but
that's a fact. Um so we thank you and one of the things that we did as a team was we sought out um citations from the Senate and the House of Representatives. And so um you want to would you like to read this one? Oh sure. Okay.
So the state senate official citation be it known that the Massachusetts Senate hereby extends its congratulations to Dr. Kate Bernham in recognition of seven years of extraordinary leadership and service to the Lunberg community as school superintendent. And be it further
known that the Massachusetts Senate extends its best wishes for continued success that this citation be duly signed by the President of the Senate and attested to and a copy thereof of transmitted by the clerk of the Senate. Congratulations.
And the House of Representatives be it hereby known in all that the Massachusetts House of Representatives offers its sincerest congratulations to Dr. Kate Burnham in recognition of seven years of extraordinary leadership and service to the Lunberg community as
superintendent exclamation point. The entire membership extends its very best wishes and expresses the hope for future good fortune and continued success in all endeavors. Thank you. Congratulations
and may you sleep every night. Please identify yourself first. No. Hi, I'm Mary Foil, 985 Flat Hill Road. Uh, but I'm really here as the LEA president. Um, so when Dr. Burnham came into the district, I was what I thought
was on my way out um of being union president. And so I was like, "Oh, I'll transition in the new superintendent." Little did I know that as Dr. Burnham was transitioning out, she'd be transitioning me back into the role. Um as Mr. Mr. Beardmore said, um we've had
a lot of disagreements. We've had a lot of agreements. Uh we are probably more alike than maybe either of us openly admit to, too. So on behalf of the LEA, I have a gift to present you. It's different than what we expected. So make use of it as you can. I hope we have a
little something for you. [Applause] It's really different than we expected. Hopefully. Hopefully. You literally have a peace offering. We have any more public comments? Mr. Scriny, I have a public comment on
behalf of Mrs. Leblanc who couldn't be here tonight as well. So, would you like me to do that now or? Yes. So, Mrs. Lisa Leblanc was the LEA president for a while in between Mary's stints and so she couldn't be here tonight. So, she sent me something she wanted me to read for you. She said, "I'm truly sorry to
miss tonight's meeting, but I wanted to share a few words as Dr. Burnham prepares for her retirement. There are probably lots of people in our school district who are reflecting on all the many meetings they've shared together with Kate, but I'd like to think I may be at the top tier of meeting hours
shared together. Dr. Bernham and I spent just about six months working together as superintendent and teachers union president before COVID hit. The phone call I received on March 13, 2020 started what I refer to as the dark times.
For the next two and a half years, I can honestly say I probably talked or zoomed with Kate more than any other person I know. I was actually thinking about joining Zoom for this, but that seemed too soon. Despite the dark times we all remember during COVID and how
unbelievably stressful that time was for everyone, I'm not sure many people understand the insurmountable pressure Dr. Burnham was under. There certainly were times we saw things differently or wanted different results when making decisions, but there was not one second
when her goal was not the education of the students of Lunenburgg and the safety of the students and staff. when I got overwhelmed with it all, she would help me take time to reset the priorities and continue on with the work in front of us. Nothing was perfect, as
we all know. But where other districts significantly struggled during these years, we were able to secure support for the students, staff, and families in Lunenburgg because of the continued commitment she made to put education and safety on the forefront. Dr. Burnham, I know that seven years is the official
length of your tenure here in Lunenburgg as superintendent. However, I've always counted those coven years as double. So, congratulations on your decade of service. Um, she also, Lisa also said, "I'm so excited to hear about how your first restful full night of sleep goes."
So, that's where Mrs. Blank. It may be a while. I'll tell you that. Do you have any more public comments? You can do one or Sure. Yeah. Um, I wasn't always a fan of Dr. Burnhams.
Uh, especially before coming on the school committee, there were decisions I disagreed with and things I didn't understand. But when I came on the school committee and began to understand just how much goes into educating 1500 students every day, I was amazed at two big things.
Number one, her ability to hold the entire contraption together. And two, her overwhelming care and love for our kids. The first thing, sometimes it helps to imagine the school department as a giant group of Goldberg machine with gears and balls and tubes and things worring in
every direction. People are responsible for their little bit of the machine and the balls pass from one section to another. But Dr. Burnham has the entire blueprint in her mind and she holds it all in her mind at all times, even in the middle of the night. She knows how it works. She knows how to keep it
running. She knows how to tinker with it and make it better, take it apart, put it back together. It is always there in her mind. Even now approaching the end of her tenure, she has not stopped. She is still looking to the future. This ability to hold everything together is a rare and
special skill and I am so grateful for it. My second point to Dr. Burnham, this isn't a machine and the balls are not balls. Not to Dr. Burnham. She sees them as students. She sees them as kids. She sees young adults and she cares deeply
about their well-being. One of our first meetings really cemented my respect for her when she said that the one thing that really matters to her is that the kids get home safe to their parents at the end of the day. And that stuck with me, her deep care for the well-being of
our kids. Because I use the ball contraption metaphor here, but it's never been that to her. She has always maintained a vision that focused on the students. I am a parent. My oldest and youngest are seven school years apart. Uh my oldest started in Lunberg schools
before Dr. Burnham's tenure. So I've seen the changes and the differences as a parent that Dr. Bernham has made. I've seen the solidification of a unified curriculum. I've seen cultural change. I've seen leaders emerge under mentorship. I've seen the differences as a school committee member. I've seen the
diagnostics. I've seen the data. And I've seen the numbers and I've seen the trends. You made a difference. a good difference. And all of this was achieved with a superintendent who was in her role all of a year before COVID hit and education
was upended and suddenly in uncharted waters. She led us through all that. She led us through an override fight and tough budget season without a finance director, through an entire rainbow of budgets, but we never got to purple. And even now, she is still thinking to the future. So, thank you, Dr. Burnham.
Thank you for taking on this sometimes very thankless job where some days there isn't a single direction you can go in without complaint or dissent. Thank you for your leadership and your advice. Thank you for the times you stood tough and unyielding because it was the right thing to do. Thank you for the times you
compromised. And most importantly, thank you for caring about our kids and putting their needs first always. I'm going to miss you. This is from the school committee. Thank you [Music]
for Does anybody else have the public comment? All right. Uh we'll move on to the chair's report. Um so we were notified, Dr. Burnham, correct me if I'm wrong. We were notified last week that there will
be um more funds allocated to the school district. Is it is it certain or is it likely? It's likely. Okay. And that the funds will be in roughly the amount of $50,000.
Um, if that does happen, um, because you are all the things that everybody just said, we have a plan for how that we're going to generate a plan for how the money would be. We'll we'll speak to that a little bit later. Okay. All right. Perfect. Um, the other thing that I wanted to do in chair's report is I
wanted to say thank you myself. So, I know you don't like this, but don't CS Lewis once said that integrity is when you do the right thing even if no one is watching. And that phrase is Dr. Kate Bernham. Over the past seven years, she
has worked tirelessly with innovation and courage for our children. The test of every action she has taken in that time is simple. Will it make it better for the students? Her focus on students is relentless. And
I learned this when last year after a policy subcommittee meeting, you told me that the thing that you were going to do to get into the Christmas spirit was to go down to the public or the primary school and watch dismissal. It was a source of joy and happiness for her
because as always, she is focused on the students. Being a superintendent can be a thankless job. Good results are barely acceptable and bad results, even when for reasons beyond your control, are unquestionably your fault.
Through COVID, through learning loss like this country has never seen, through inflation, through budget uncertainty, through a political climate dominated by extremists and classic small town politics. Dr. Bham, you have led with integrity. We are lucky to have had you at the helm. And I know that my
children and that other children in Lunberg are better for you being here. As you end your education career, it is hard to imagine all of the lives that you have made better. The butterfly effect is the idea that small changes can have profound effects in the future.
And in reality, that's not some highbrow science fiction concept. It is what educators do every day. It is what you have done for your students, for your staff, for your teachers, for all of us. In the years that I have been on school
committee, I have often been one of your students. You have taught me a lot about education and you've taught me a lot about how to be a leader. I have learned a great deal about this complex endeavor of public education that Justice Brier calls the cradle of democracy. And so,
thank you, Kate. and I hope you have a welldeserved and enjoyable retirement. That's the only time I've gone to K. I know. I was just going to say that is probably one of the most meaningful because you've called me Kate. Uh all
right. Um review the move on to the next thing. Review and approve minutes from the regular sessions on 521 and 64. I believe everybody was here for these, right? Yeah. Um, okay. So, other than the part that I was not here for, so I
will abstain for part of 6425. Uh, do I have a motion to accept the minutes as uh documented? Motion to accept the minutes of 625. Oh, sorry. Of I don't see 521. 521 and 64. Do I have a second?
Second. Yes. All in favor? I That's it. Next thing, uh, review and approve line item transfers, warrants, and donations. And we have we have one more. Is that
correct? One, $350,385.98. Is that the correct amount for the warrant? Mhm. Okay. Um, and we also have many line item transfers as we're closing out the year. Um, you have all of them. uh to review. However, Dr.
Gillson is here and can answer any questions you might have relative to um any transfers. One of the um one of the items connected to the transfer um and asked Dr. Gillson to
come up to the table. We had indicated to you at the last meeting that we would have another round of transfers for this meeting in addition to making a request um for your approval to um continue to
move any remaining monies as we close out um open POS and there's money remaining in any of the lines um for where we would request that those monies could be moved between now and close out at the end of the year. So, I'll let Dr.
Gillson um explain that piece. What we have always found is that the budget by the time the budget settles um July functions as an opener to the next budget, but it also f uh centers as a closure um to this past fiscal year. We
recognize that uh we are not um we have not received all our invoices yet. We have not paid out amounts. We've balanced the budget um with the line item transfers we're giving you today, but we need to continue to zero out
things. We have selected a couple lines. We'd like to have a uh blanket authorization with purpose so that the next superintendent that comes in that starts in July can work to put any
remaining funds into the line items that are specified um such as collaborative tuition, superintendent office supplies, computers purchase and lease unemployment compensation because our bills have been paid to unemployment
through April. We still have May and June bills to receive. Um and then um we are working to resolve and we'd like to bring the athletic revolving account back into zero balance to start with the
next superintendent which we will be able to do. Yes, I have a question. Yes. How did that happen? Skillful budgeting. Yes. So, we were like, my understanding was we were at one point 142,000
in the red. Um, it was not that far. No. Well, it was about 140,000 in the negative. I think we were at 120 at one point. Yeah. Initially, we were at 40 at the beginning of the year. But
the bottom line is over the last several line item transfers that we've made at school committee meetings, yeah, we have moved money to athletic lines so that we could work with town hall to do what they call reclassification of the
charges. So bills that might have originally been processed and paid against the revolving account through journal entries were now recorded as being charged against budget lines once we moved money into those budget lines
which then essentially restores or takes it out of deficit in the revolving account. So did those reclassifications come to us as a line item transfer? Nope. just so the line basically we went through a process. We transferred um
money into specific athletic lines like um in the local budget if you remember um some went into the local budget for transportation but we didn't have nearly enough in the local budget for transportation and so they work in tandem. Um, so there were specific lines
that I have been putting money um into um the athletic transportation, the dues and fees lines, coaching stipens. There was no money in the local budget for coaching stipens. Um, and that was a big problem. So, um, I've been transferring
money per for each sports season. And then there's another line called special detail and athletic events. And so those are the four lines that I've been working with. Um then I do what you call a recclass to say, okay, we're adding
more money to the lines and then they're being reclassed to bring the uh deficits back into um a positive uh actually it's not positive quite yet because we just had the spring sports season. Um and so
um it's I think but we've anticipated that that would be part of some of the line item and transfers this evening. But as bills continue to clear through the athletic department. Yeah. Um we just want to make sure that if needed we
can move additional monies as we close out budget lines into those lines to to cover any late coming bills. Yeah. None of this. So like it sounds like to me and correct if you have this high level view is wrong. It sounds like you're
changing how the chart of accounts works at the same time as you're taking funds that were unused in other line items and moving them over. You're doing those two things. Is that correct? Not exactly. Not. Yeah. It's almost like going to the bank and saying, "I charged it in this
account, but there's money over here. Now, I would like you to record it and charge it over here. And now it comes out of here and goes back into here. Okay. Mhm. All right. So, the bills are the bills. They've been paid. It's just where in the final reporting are they
recorded as charged? Things that had been charged in a revolving account will in the final reflection and and accounting be actually reported and and accounted as charged against local budget lines.
The last question I have is, is the the process that we're undergoing a one-time solution or is this something that the next athletic director will be able to do? What I would strongly recommend is that we um establish um specific things
and um that can be uh drawn from the revolving account and it's almost like setting up a budget within the revolving account. That would be a great idea, right? The difficulty about that is you're setting up a budget against what we don't know is the revenue. And so
therefore, that's why it's a revolving account, right? Therefore, what I would strongly recommend is that on a yearly basis that you have a very clear presentation um that um defines what the user feeds
are actually bringing in. Because if you remember the if if you look at the data from like 10 past 10 years our low income enrollment is increasing and our revenue in going into our revolving
accounts has been decreasing. So we weren't taking in enough money um to defay the cost of what we were buying out of the revolving and there was no established budget. Then the problem is even if you establish a budget and there
is a budget for the athletic director beginning in August, if we have less revenue coming in than what we anticipate, let's say we anticipate maintaining the same sort of fee coming in as this past year, but if
we see an increase in eligibility for waiver for fee then less money is going to come in than projected. So even having a budget is not going to solve that problem. But you're going to have to monitor. So you will have to monitor and you'll have to
keep doing what we have been doing here, which is when you see that um that the uh the revolving account uh may not be able to sustain and you're starting to dip into a deficit. You can wait and see if the revenues for next season coming
in kind of lift you out. But likely by the end of the year, you're going to have to go back and potentially try to reclass some of these against local lines, but you're going to have to move money into those local lines in order to do it. This is not an easy straightforward.
Here's a solution that is ironclad. It's it's very fluid. Um and it's just going to require um close monitoring on the part of the AD and the um athletic secretary as well
as the finance person at central office. Um, but this kind of activity at the end of any given year, if there's a little bit of money left at the end of a year in our local budget, oftent times allowable charges that have been charged
to, let's say, the facil's revolving account. Um, okay. Well, we have some money left in our facility lines. So, we will reclass that charge and put the money back into the revolving account because that carries over into next
year. Whereas our budget lines do not. So, if we have money left in the budget, okay, let's charge the, you know, $8,000 for the landscaper against the local budget. And we would work with town hall to reclass that that
charge so it goes in the books as being charged against the budget line. and that money would go back into revolving. So, since we're going to have a lot of transition, when do you recommend that the school board have a presentation from the athletic director about this?
Like at the end of every season? I don't even know that it's the athletic director who would be responsible for giving you the presentation as much as the finance uh director or business official in conjunction with I will say
it really is the athletic director and the finance person that should be working together because basically you need to know um you know after say the fall sports season um you know what what
revenue was coming in from the user fees that were charged um and what is the state of the um the revolving account like you know because that'll be the first tell right if your numbers of
fee paying athletes drops in the fall against what we projected then you you know that we've got to hyper scrutinize all of that to make sure that we can cover things in the local budget, even if that means line item transfers to
cover. Purposely, the move from this past year's reality of the athletics um really resulted in us putting more um increasing the amount in the individual lines. Um like the the
transport, athletic transportation, we had to increase a lot. um you know and uh coaching stipens were at zero. We didn't we weren't funding that at all in the local budget. So now we have a um
considerable amount in the coaching stipen line. Um but the um So when should we do the check-ins? I would check in um about a week after each sport season. Um, is a week enough time
for Well, I I'd say probably mid-season you could get a report on where evolving is. Actually, probably with the quarterly budget reports is a good time because Miss Peterson, can you add that to our future agenda for, you know, each
of the three quarters? I actually believe that I put in our um planning document that it should include the quarterly budget and the revolving accounting plan update. What are we going to do without ignored what just said it's already done
apparently? Yeah, I I I I would very much like to continue checking in on the athletic revolving fund, which I understand it's a difficult thing to check in on. Yeah, because it's a revolving fund. It's meant to things go in, things go out. It's a revolver. And the challenge too
that everybody needs to understand is that all of the things u monies that are deposited to that account um and things that are paid out of that account, all of that has to be posted to munice our
our finance platform at town hall. So, and there are a lot of variables, right? So it is not always current as if oh this deposit of all of these uh fees
is is being made today well it may be 6 weeks 8 weeks before it shows up in munice as that money is in that account um that's been one of our challenges and I I just before I leave the district I
need to be very clear because I've had people make comment that it was the athletic director over spent their their money. No, no, no. The year that I created the Rainbow Budgets, I I need to remind everyone, not only did we not have a finance
director, there was no finance director for the town, nor was there an assistant finance person for the town. And those positions, the assistant position at town had been vacant since
the February before the June 30th that the finance director for town retired after 39 years. So we were already backlogged because the assistant position had been vacant for four
months. And then both positions were vacant until I think maybe Amy came in in late December or January. So the assistant position got filled in December, early January. And then the town finance
director started in February. So from July until February, the retired finance director for town was working very very part-time to kind of keep things afloat. So things were
extraordinarily backlogged because there was not there were no people to be inputting. So please understand that as I was building nine versions of the budget, I did not have an accurate view
as to what the revolving account actually had for revenue. It was more than 6 months outdated. I want to say it it was probably more like eight or nine months outdated. Had I had a real-time view of that, there would have been more
money put in the 25 budget because I would have known that our revolving account could not sustain as much as it had the prior year. So there were a lot of factors at play there.
Um but largely beyond our control. Um and that's why this year with the budget for 26, we have a full understanding of the revenue in is declining and therefore made the shifts with the budget lines in 26 to be sure that we
have enough money in the budget to navigate most of the operational costs. some of the operational costs for athletics will still be supported with the revolving account, but more realistically based on what we know of
our recent numbers for revenues into that account look like. So on their evolving account front, is that something where we talk about the next athletic director or having revenue come in? Is that where that would go? So, if
there's revenue coming in from things like advertising, sponsorships, and all of that, that's that's the account that that would would go into, assuming that those people want to be advertising around the athletic part of the campus. I mean, we don't have to talk about all that today,
but I think that's something moving forward. But that's where those revenues would go. So, what do you what are you looking for us to authorize you to do in terms of an action item? Well, we're looking for you to authorize the next superintendent to be able to transfer
anything that is remaining in the FY25 budget um and and uh basically transfer to the following lines because realistically we may not know until the end of the well probably the second week
of July exactly where everything is closing out as we continue to close out open POS. and say, "Okay, now we have $12.13 left in this line. I'm not going to be here." And I don't think you want to
have special meeting calls to do those line item transfers. We're talking largely small FY25 budget authorization 618. But essentially, you're telling your next superintendent any monies that are remaining in lines, you have
permission to move them into these specific locations. And largely the purpose for any extra monies going there. As an example, I think one of the top priorities would be to move any remaining monies from any
line over to um the computer purchasing lease because we can purchase devices with remaining money in this budget which takes a little bit of the burden off of the FY26 budget line, right? Um
and the other the purpose as an example for the superintendent's office supplies we could order paper through WBM Mason and distribute it to the schools and get a jump on that. So that's the that's the intent behind okay you granting approval
but we're looking to get a jump on easing things up for for the 26 budget. Okay. So, do we have a motion? Motion to authorize uh the incoming superintendent or outgoing superintendent to transfer the remaining funds in the FY25 budget
as outlined in the memo. And we'll just have to sign off and approve the line item transfers that are already outlined. I second that. All in favor? Oh, and so motion to approve the line item transfers that were also outlined.
Any any second? Second. All right. All in favor? I transfers. We'll need your signature. [Applause] This is everybody's signature. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Gelson. Uh,
superintendent report. You want to give your last superintendent report? Was there a bear on campus? No, not this week. Was there a bus accident? Thankfully, no. Was there a height accident? Was there anything? No.
Good grief. If only those were just When you started here, did you think the bears on campus would be such an issue? Have you ever heard of a kite accident? No, but I That was a bad day. That was on school
committee day. That was a bad day. Yeah. Not as bad as the bus accident, but okay. Um I'll go through this quickly as quickly as I can. Give us a um transportation. Just a
reminder to any families um that if they have made a request through the transportation form for bus service for next year um they also need to make the bus fee payment um anyone whose bus fee has not yet been
paid is not being passed on to the bus company for assignment to a bus route until the payment has been made. For any parents or or guardians who are wondering uh whether or not um they're eligible for a waved fee, there are
forms that are posted on our website. Um and we would continue to encourage folks to fill those out to see if they are qualifying for a waved or reduced fee. Any questions, call the superintendent's office. Can I pause right there? So, one
of the things that I've noticed about the requests that are coming in is that people are asking for a waiver of the fee when they qualify for no fee at all. So, they're not actually getting a waiver. So, there's really two things that are going on. Number one, do you
qualify for no or reduced fee? And if the answer to that first step is no, you do not, you can then ask for a waiver for special circumstances. Correct? But the first thing that people should do is check to see if they qualify for no or
reduced cost uh busing. I mean that was the only Laura made it clear that was the only way we would ever pass that. So we have it built into the system. If you don't qualify under those two things then and only then do you go to step two to ask for special circumstances. That's
correct. And we've had a significant volume of requests but almost all were explaining their financial circumstances and based on the things that they were conveying, it was clear that they were going to qualify and we just kept encouraging them to fill out
the form. This is super super important. You can't just fill out the form and qualify. There's an additional form that you have to fill out and authorize for sharing of that information. If you don't authorize the sharing of that
information, then we in the superintendent's office don't know that you qualify for no bus fee. How do you get to the second form there? There form is posted as well and we've been back and forth with lots of folks um who
email them directly. Yep. Sorry. So, thank you for your work on that. It's we're hoping that with time this won't be so labor intensive in communication with individuals on this because it will kind of become oh yeah I had to do that last year and it will become more
routine but the hope is we will not do this on a perfect basis. That is the big hope. Yes. Right. That I was like yes okay one time thing. We're going to talk about this every year. Um how many people how many forms do we still need? I don't have an exact number, but um uh
Mrs. Peterson told me earlier this evening that that number has come down quite a bit. As I reported last time, there were 484 students, I believe, um for whom we weren't sure uh you know what the status was with that payment.
Um but again, we continue to work with families. Are they eligible for the waiver? So on and so forth. Um and that number is coming down. We're doing better. Okay. at your bus less than 200 now. That's still a lot. Okay. Yep.
Um just a quick update on the cops grant that was part of um a memo from a previous uh school committee meeting. The first phase of that grant application was submitted and the final phase will be submitted next week in time for the deadline. Um and we're hoping to um to receive that grant
because we would like to uh have the funding to complete the Turkey Hill uh exterior door replacement and vestibule build project. Uh an update relative to our move from TCP to Turkey Hill. Uh
we've been packing up the spaces used by ACE and extended day as well as all of our administration offices in the recent weeks. Our maintenance team has been moving small files and other smaller items from TCP over to Turkey Hill over the last few weeks. Um we in part of
this process have identified items to be discarded and these will be discussed later um in the agenda as we declare them surplus. Uh the movers uh will move the heavy items such as desks, file cabinets, and conference table on uh June 26th. That's
next Thursday. Phones will also be changed over uh ultimately on the 26th. and the administration offices should be operating from Turkey Hill on Monday, June 30th, although the unpacking and settling in will have to occur over
several weeks through the through the summer. Um, just as we've taken several weeks to get ready to make the big move. Um, again, before I leave the district, I want to make sure that I provide some clarification regarding the school
department's move out of TCP. I want to be very clear. The town did not force us to move out of TCP. In the early fall of 2024, the school committee asked me to include in the strategy for continuous improvement a plan with options for
moving out of TCP based on the deterioration of the building. the interim town manager um in the late fall, early winter was looking for the school department to make a five-year commitment to staying at TCP and to pay
rent for the office spaces in addition to the rent that we were already paying for the extended day program and um the school community linked uh program for our birth to to 8-year-olds. Um when I presented that information along with
the other options that we explored, the school committee agreed that the the move should be to Turkey Hill Elementary. Um obviously we were planning for this to be a temporary move until the Ritter Town Hall building was
ready. Um obviously pending what happens with the future of that plan, the school department may need to revisit um if a different plan, a more permanent plan is needed. Um quick update on the school business administrator position. We have
reposted the position after losing two finalists due to the salary. Um at this moment we have not been receiving additional applicants. I have consulted with Dr. Fortuna and we agree that contracting support as an interimm
measure is advisable. This will allow us to refresh the posting after the Fourth of July holiday and hopefully see some applications coming in. The contracted service will allow us to get the end of year report done and completed on time.
And again, this is not a permanent measure. It's not a measure for the entire uh fiscal year ahead. It's a temporary interim stop gap um so that Dr. Futuna has some support in the finance office um as she enters
into the district and we don't fall too far behind and it's not too much on her plate to handle all that's going on in the finance office. Do we know who's going to provide that support? Um we have a proposal. Is it the same person? It will not be the same person. Okay. Okay. Same firm firm but not the same
person. I have had a conversation with the owner of the company relative to concerns that we had uh with our experience last time. Um and I was assured that there are other options for people to be assigned to us. Um and I
asked for somebody with depth of experience in finance and finance only. Thank you. Not finance and as a retired superintendent. Um finance only. Um, and I was assured
that that was um, an option that was available to us. And again, like I said, I had a conversation with Dr. Fortuna, and she would appreciate having some help as she transitions. As long as there are no objections, we'll do this as a temporary solution. And you'll get
that set up before? Yes. You know, the week before Yep. Because I already got the proposal and the cost estimate on that and then we'll be we'll be good to go. Good. Um, okay. Just u calendar reminder, uh, school offices are closed
tomorrow, uh, for the Junth holiday. And just a note for everyone, we will we move to summer hours now that school is out. Um, offices are open Monday through Thursday with remote work on Fridays. Um
and all and the hours are going to be posted on all of the school websites so that folks who are looking to come in and conduct business at all in any of the schools will will see those available hours. Our phone your phone number is not going to change. Correct.
When with the move to our phone number is not going to change. Excellent. All right. So um I have a statement. I can do it now or I can do it at public comment at the end of You can do it now. You need to do what you want today. Okay. I should have brought a TR or
something for you. So, as I um prepare to leave the district, um I just want to let everyone know that I began my career in education 38 years ago. I've enjoyed a long career which has provided something new to learn,
some new experience, or some way to be challenged almost every day. Truthfully, it's difficult to imagine that part of my life coming to an end. From my days as a kindergarten student, I knew I would be a teacher.
By the seventh grade, I knew I had to be a high school science teacher. Science was so excited, and I wanted to spark that excitement for others. I absolutely loved the years I spent in the classroom. Every one of my students became one of my kids. I enjoyed watching them learn and grow
in the classroom, on the playing fields, or in other performance arenas. I was excited to see each one of my kids cross the stage on graduation day. It's still true today at our senior scholarship night and at graduation when our students
cross the stage to accept their awards and diplomas. It's still a great source of happiness for me. Early in my career, I was encouraged by supervisors to pursue administration. And in each leadership role since leaving the classroom, I found the same joy working
with faculty and staff. I never imagined that I would be a superintendent. It was not a career goal or objective. I simply remained open to the journey and it brought me here to Lunberg. I'm humbled and beyond grateful to have spent the final seven years of my 30
plus year career serving as the education leader in this very special community in Lunberg. I've had the good fortune to have worked with a dedicated and student centered team of leaders, faculty and staff. Together with the support of the
school committee and the community, we have made many changes that have put us on a solid path to increased opportunity and success for all students. In addition to being blessed with the opportunity to serve this community, I have also been blessed with a large
close-knit family that includes three wonderful children and now four amazing grandchildren. My responsibility to my students has been paramount which oftentimes means that I cannot be available to my family.
My family has always been very supportive and understanding of the responsibilities and demands of my job. And now after more than 30 years, I'm planning to retire from a career that has brought me great joy and fulfillment to start a new chapter in my life filled
with joy and fulfillment that will come with more time spent with my children and grandchildren. As much as I'm looking forward to that, it will be very difficult for me to leave everyone in Lunberg. But I know that I'm leaving the district
in very capable hands. I have a very talented team of dedicated leaders, faculty and staff. To bring this full circle, in my entry plan report of findings in the fall of 2019, I said that the faculty and staff
were the reason the district was doing as well as it was given that so much in terms of infrastructure and resources were missing. This remains true. The district would not have weathered the pandemic as well as we did. It would not
have made the progress we have without the dedication and commitment and hard work of all the faculty and staff. It has truly been an honor to work alongside each and every one of them
these last seven years. I wish Dr. Fortuna great success in leading the district. I hope she's afforded the same level of support for from the community that I have experienced. I know she has a strong district leadership team and a phenomenal central office staff to lean
on. In particular, I'm going to say it again. Liz Peterson is the single greatest asset this district has and Dr. Fortuna will no doubt see that immediately.
I want to thank my leadership team, faculty and staff, families, community, school committee, and most of all the students, for the tremendous opportunity to know and serve you all.
Thank you for the ways in which you have enriched my life and career. I will be taking many fond memories with me and I wish nothing but the best for all of you. Thank you. All right. Uh on to new business. Uh the
DESIT TFM audit with preschool proposal. I think this is Juliana. Great. What a great activ. Yeah, I know. Yeah. Good luck. You also have two acronyms. [Laughter] If anything, everyone in the public and
the the new members of the school committee, we are required to fit the agenda on one side of a page. It cannot be two pages. It cannot be double-sided. So, sometimes acronyms are going to be needed. And if you look at the memo,
they are spelled out. Okay? They are spelled out. So, we've got DESIE, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and TFM stands for tiered focus monitoring. So, we went through, and I think we've talked about this before, we went through the audit last year. Um, we're in the final stages. We were um tagged in two
specific areas that I've already talked about, and I had to come up with a corrective action plan, also called a CAP, another acronym that I had to upload to the WBMS. You got me on that one, but um system
online. Um so we I am awaiting the final approval of the corrective action plan but um but it has been preliminarily approved by DESIE um for us to move forward. And so the two areas again are the timelines the IEP timelines which
we're going to um look to um firm up that with training. Um also going over our um process on how we get IEPs out to parents in a more timely manner. Um, again, this past year has been fraught
with a new IEP as well as a change over to power school. So, it's been a big learning curve for teachers. Um, so I think that the majority of that is done and behind us and we can move forward next year to meet those timelines. Um and then the preschool instructional
groupings that has been um that has been a challenge because we haven't always had the peer models to be able to put into those classes to make the balance of the um of the class sizes to be at least 50% or more um with peer models in
them. So when we looked at what's been currently right now we offer only two and four day slots for peer models in our in our preschool classrooms. What we are looking to ask you all is for you all to approve for us to start um
offering a 3-day and a five-day program for parents in the hopes that we will be able to increase peer models so that we can then come in compliance with the instructional grouping sizes. Um, and I you can see in the memo that we did have
a three-day option. Um, up to 2020 we had a three-day option and we had a five-day option back in up to 2018 was the last time we had a 5-day option. Um, I've asked Carla um Squire and she's
worked with um her office staff to get some preliminary um tuition amounts, but I think we need to to continue to work on that. So, I don't have those numbers for you per se on what that would be. Um, but but I would like to move forward with the three and five day options.
That being said, I've talked to Patty McCarthy Gillette and she had said that, you know, in a lot of cases, it's already too late for this year. Parents have already made decisions for the fall for their for their three and four year olds. But we have to start somewhere.
So, we may be able to pick up some people who have who don't have options as of yet or who have who their plans may have fallen through. And the hope is is that the following year we'll be able to have more of those peer models um come into place. So,
Juliana, can you explain the value of peer model? So, the value of the peer models, what we have found is we used to have um some subsparate programs um with just special education students in them. And what we've found over the last couple of years with us being moving
towards a fully integrated program is we've seen gains, more gains have been made with our special education students, especially in the areas of communication where they have peer models around to model that speech and
that language um for them as well as behaviors too, right? Um I mean granted three and four year olds, even the peer models then Our teachers get kudos every day. And I will say that for our preschool and our kindergarten teachers, like I could not go back in those
classrooms full-time anymore and teach those students. They they do they do yman's work um with the little ones. But but kids look at their peers and and they gain experiences from them that are just there's not a price tag that you
can put on that. Um and so we really believe in that um in in in trying to foster that that peer modeling um and having those peers in and you know in and in in defense too sometimes we have peer models that come in that apply for our programs and then we find out later on that you know what they do need
speech services so then they become special education students in that in those ratios and then we have to deal with so there's a lot of navigating throughout the year to try to keep those ratios um in line with what the state has in the asked to the state used to or
the state used to offer a waiver for us to be able to apply for a waiver. They no longer have a waiver. So, we don't have that option anymore to apply for a waiver. So, we're we're in a little flux right now where we're really trying to increase those peer models so we can meet meet the needs. Can go ahead. Can I
just ask so the peer models is that because we don't have people who apply to be in the preschool program? So we we have some and we had a lottery and then we get down the list of of people and they've either gone somewhere else or they no longer need us and or or they've
they come on board and then we don't have anyone else on the list to go towards. So it's really trying to develop a list so that we have we have more peer models than what we have slots. Why would they go somewhere else? Like why would they go somewhere else? Are we not doing it at the right time of
year? Are we doing it too? I I think it I think right now, like I said, we have two and four day options. And we had in the past um we had our three-year-olds, I believe, mostly in the morning and our four-year-olds in the afternoon. Um what we're looking at next year is combining
our three and four-year-old classes so that we have peer model slots now for four-year-olds in the morning and and vice versa. So, a little more we're trying to be as flexible as possible with the families to meet the family's needs. um and and offer this. And this
is only our first step. I I don't necessarily think that this is going to be the end- all beall. I think we're going to have to see how this plays out. And I may be coming back and asking for different options. And I just I just ask for you to have that flexibility with me for for us trying this out, seeing how
it works, getting the data, and then moving forward with other options. Why did the 3-day and 5day option go away in 2019, 2020, and 2018? I don't know that it necessarily went away. I can tell you that I know that in in some cases um I
want to say well you look at the COVID right co area so the 2020 when the three went away when the 3-day went away um I I I believe some of it may have had to have done with we had an influx and we continue to have an influx of the number
of special education students that we have to serve in the district and so we had to go for some sub-searate programs there for a few years where it was just sub- separate programming because of the sheer number of students we had. So that might have been the way that might have been the reason why for for that shift
in having to go just for the special education classes, the subsparate programming, but we we've really tried to work at that the last few years, I would say since 2023 on moving forward to to really looking at that integrated model and bringing that back. Can I just
say for someone who used to I I don't have a 5day a week job away from home anymore, but for someone who did for a long time, um you know, I'm sure I would have loved to send my child to a public preschool, but obviously there's child care issues there. So, I have found the school district pretty obtuse when it
comes to the idea that there's two parents that work full-time. So, as we and that's just a general comment. Um, and so I think maybe going forward hopefully we can come up with a way to ask parents what they want, you know, depending on what time drop offs are or pickups. I know we can't make it work
for everyone, but I think maybe a little feedback even in the years since my children were two and three. I mean, I have a seven and 10-year-old now. Um, the world has changed even more about child care, how expensive it is. So, it just feels like there has to be people out there who need this care. Um, that's also including preschool obviously, you
know, but I went to my kids went to private preschool because that's that's what worked for us and and I think some parents need full day options. Absolutely. Full day. But yeah, I do I do think we could be a little more open to the idea that there are, you know, other Yep. And with this model, we would then be able to offer two, three, four,
and five day options. So, I did not know what any of this meant and so I did a little research. When you say a peer model, you mean that you're going to have an inclusion classroom that has special ed kids and
non-special ed kids together? Yes. And the peer-reviewed, empirically validated research shows that the special ed kids benefit and the typical peers significant as well. Yeah. It is also something that is mandated by state
regulation. Mhm. Okay. Is that is that all correct? Right. I mean it inclusion is the way to go. We know that even for for our older students, right, inclusion is is where they they would like us to do to go because of the benefits on both sides. It also saves us money.
If we can educate a kid in in the district, absolutely. It will save us money as opposed to kids going out of the district. So, it is a win-win for everybody. It is a win-win for everybody. I'm excited about the I think the three and five day options are going to make a difference. I hope I I remember when my
own child was we signed up uh and I was disappointed the lack three-day options because I had been looking for three days a week. Um so I think this flexibility I think this will help. Yeah, I hope so. And I appreciate your flexibility in finding solutions.
Do you need a motion on this? I have one. Oh, sorry. Um how is there a timeline as to where you need to reach that ultimate percentage? Um, Desi would like us to have everything. They would like the
corrective action plan completed by April 1st, 2026 is what I put the date in. But people have already started. So, so, so I I was able to choose the date as to they want it within a year of when they cited us. And honestly, I picked
April 1st for obvious. Yeah, kids are already parents have already made their decisions for preschool for next year. So, what happens when we don't meet this goal? So, that's where um we have progress reports along the way that we have to give. And so, if we're not in
compliance, then we have to say how we're going to go into go into and so that's where I would be coming back to you with, hey, we have some other options. Okay. If we made our lottery the first in the region, would we benefit from that? I mean, I worked when I came out of law school, I worked for a
place that had no money. It was the public defender. And the way that they got a jump on everybody is that they gave out uh hiring letters in November. So, you know, it was before the season had even started for law firms. If we did ours early, would that help? If you
do it too early, I'm not sure parents are thinking when do we do it now? I'm not sure when we do like that that's a Carl that's a Carl Chuire question because of the kindergarten registration the preschool registration um I mean we tend to do things earlier in Lunenburgg
anyways we have openings now can we advertise them we can we we have openings we have openings now yes and and and and I know that Chrissy has reached out to parents who were on the list prior and has reached out to them as well can we
put it on the Facebook page page and a newsletter. Can we kind of I can talk I can talk to Carlos Squire about that and see what what makes sense. X number of slots that we need to fill and here's the price. I can't imagine. It's it's it's preschool is hard to find right now. It's less I'm sure it's less money
than what people pay to go to. It's to do and No, I can definitely talk to um Carlos. And it's great putting your kids in the preschool at the primary. Yeah, cuz then they know where they're going. Kindergarten is so much less scary cuz I have one that went through the primary. Kindergarten is so much less scary
because they walk into that building and they know they're already there. They know it. Yeah. So, okay. Sorry, Tony. We got to keep moving. Okay. Do you want a motion? Do you need a motion? I don't know what the I believe we do, but um I would just um move that you accept this
update. Okay. Move to accept the update uh from Juliana on the Desi tier focused monitoring audit. I second. All in favor? I. All right. Uh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. FY25 budget
carryover open POS. Is this what we like the same species of what we talked about with the warrants, Dr. Gilson? So, this is something that we need to do um at this time of year every year. This is a list of all of the uh purchase orders
that are still open because largely we're awaiting final invoices to be able to pay the bill and close them out. Um but because these won't be closed out by June 30th guaranteed. Um the process here in Lunenburgg is that um town just
wants uh the school committee to be aware of what the current status is and just vote to approve to um hold these as open so that they can be and they're listed in the materials you sent us. Correct. Yes. Yeah. There's a spreadsheet. Which one is the Oh, end of
year income. Yeah, the end of year incumbences. So, um, have we had a chance to, has everybody had a chance to review the, uh, the spreadsheet? I mean, these are these are things that are almost always it's not the same thing every year. The same kind of the same
process every year. It's like, I mean, obviously bills could come in tomorrow. We could process, pay, close out, right? So, we've got, you know, a week and a half left uh before the fiscal year closes out. So this will
continue as a process and this list will whittle down between now and June 30th. So there will be ultimately far fewer of these on the list after June 30th. Um but some of these um these bills just
they're um they're routinely a month lag behind. So we get a June bill in July. Okay. So we just have to some of these just have to stay open because if they don't stay open when the bill comes in we have no mechanism to pay them. So you need a motion to pay them no we need a
motion to carry these as open. I just want to note that they're uh and this is ahead of our tri board meetings. Um some of these are related to increased costs for things that we could not have predicted at the beginning of the year.
And so I don't you know like a lot of these are just like the normal things but quite a few of them in this batch were for new costs that we recently incurred that we could not related but all these also could have been things
that were actually on the budget just we haven't paid them yet. Yes. No. Well some of them are on the budget. So at least one of the items is something that we could not budget. Okay that's fine. I what are you thinking for that? The transportation cost, the special transportation cost for increase in out
of district placements. Correct. However, the bills is still pending. Correct. Keeping the these carried in the system until the bill comes so that we can pay them. But there's a special ed transportation cost for 58 pay that says
the bill was just linked. Correct. It that was actually budgeted for. Yes. But then there's one below that for 28 that's new. But the vast majority of them, if you look at the justification, we're waiting for the invoice. Waiting for the invoice. Waiting for the invoice. All right. Um, does anybody
want to make a motion regarding this item? Motion to carry over. Is that the correct motion to carry over the FY25 year ending coverances into FY2? I'll second that. Pay our bills. All in favor? I. I need signatures. Okay.
Nancy, I got to start bringing a pen. She got one. Oh, she got one. All right. Next thing on the agenda is signature Jeffrey R. Lucier scholarship dire.
Okay. Um I want to acknowledge Jeff Lucier's sister who uh has made this possible. Um and in fact if you want to come up stand for a minute. Did you bring pictures of his art? Did you guys Google
him? He's incredible. He's Oh, I didn't even notice. So, yes. But anyway, um she and I have been communicating for months and we have found that transferring assets from
Fidelity to check form um have had a couple of um stock uh blocks obstacles more than a couple more than a couple. So this this very generous um person um
you know his her her brother left 68 68,000 $327.73 in his assets. He sincerely loved being a student at Lunenberg High School and um left this in his will. So, it's a
testament to Lunenburgg education and just quality. I don't know if you want to say a word or two or you um I don't know if you read the little bio, but you know um writing was very important to him and he was a real film buff and um a
terrifying o older brother because he loved uh sci-fi and horror and I was a little kid and he used to make these models and have them up in the bedroom and I had to go to bed early and I'd go up the stairs and be terrified to go to bed because I knew
Frankenstein was in the next room and you know Dracula and various things but anyway um and he never lost that fascination with that genre. Um but he was um very interested in many things as you can see from what I wrote. Um but he
um has given this sc uh scholarship actually for the last well it didn't happen this year but the prior three years I think to 12 students um in the amounts of anywhere from a th000 to $3,000 per student um and wanted to see
that continue and Jeff passed away in November of uh 2024 um and so my job was to follow his wishes that were in his Well, and I wanted to say thanks so much for Susie Gilson because it's been a long long
haul. And um also to Mile Mari and the treasurer and um my classmate Gail Okamin. Um who class of 73 in case you want to know how old we are. Um and uh Gail um was helpful especially this last week which is probably the worst week in
the world to have contacted her um trying to see what types of things we should be thinking of in terms of the scholarship. So um I'm glad that we can do this and in in Jeff's honor. That's fantastic. Thank you so much. Thank you.
My dad Jeff Johnson, class of 74, so probably know. Yeah, I'll tell him. That's great. So, thank you. I'm very glad to see this come to fruition. I was curious. So, I I had looked up his name and some of his models pictures of
it are online. So, he must have been a terrifying Yeah. Some of the horror movie model sets and it just he was he seems very creative. And he had his first uh his first story published in a national magazine. 16 and
it was a horror science fiction and and um I he had all these things that he had that published that I never even knew until we cleaned out his house. Um so that was kind of interesting to find out that so thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you
this. Yes. And I don't know who to give this to. Oh uh probably I'll take it. Yeah. I'll attach it to the paper. Fine. Okay, that that sounds good. I'm always reminded of
the end of Ratatouille where he asks or he says that, you know, not everyone can cook, but a good cook can come from anywhere. And your brother is a testament that brilliant artists can come from everywhere. Yeah. So, even a town of 11,000 people in central
Massachusetts can foster and, you know, enliven an imagination like his. I mean, the stuff I I also It's incredible. I mean, it's It's really incredible. I'm a huge sci-fi fan. Some of the stuff I didn't even know was his is his. So,
it's amazing that he came from this this school district. And yes, we're very grateful. And it was um I was he had over 150 uh um diaramas, some with lights and sound.
Yeah. And and um I found I was very fortunate. My my biggest worry was that I was going to have to throw a bunch of them in the dumpster and that's his life's work. And we were able to find homes for every single one with people who are completely excited about it. Oh
yes. So it that was just great. Fantastic about that. Someone needs to witness this. So who can I can see you. Go ahead. Okay.
Thank you. Okay. And we'll be in touch. Okay. All right. And I'll have a copy of that. Thank you. Thank you. Motion to accept and then I need um the school committee to sign off paperwork for town hall so that they can
make sure. Does anyone want to make a motion to accept? Yes, I'll make a motion to accept the donation. Second with gratitude with gratitude. Deep gratitude. Second. So much. All in favor? I enthusiastically.
Okay. I just need to Oh, that that goes out. All right. Um, we went from perhaps the most inspiring thing on the agenda to what do we do with trash? Uh, declare surplus equipment. Have you read the list? It's
ridiculous. The 1960s vacuum and the broken toilet are my favorite. Um, as I said, cleaning things to pack up and move out of TCP and to clear out space over at Turkey Hills. Some things
have been moved out um of Turkey Hill, etc. um as well as from other buildings um as we've shuffled to make space even at the primary school. Um so you have a list of items that have been deemed no longer
useful um largely very worn and broken um and um many things already replaced. Um but we need to have the school committee declare these items as surplus before we can um look to remove them.
What happens to them? Secret of curiosity. Um a lot of this uh quite frankly is not useful at all at this point. Um and it will be um discarded. Uh likely we are looking at maybe
getting a dumpster to put all this stuff into um because Uh it's just not going to fit in the regular dumpsters out in outside the building. Um so but we cannot do that until it's declared
surplus. All right. I has everyone had a chance to look through the TCP surplus items. Uh, just in case you're wondering, we're going to miss out on such fine things as 24 expired boxes of hand sanitizer, one 1960s broken vacuum,
and six broken AC units. Uh, anybody want to make a motion to declare these surplus? Motion to declare the listed items at TCP as surplus. I'll second. All in favor? I. All right.
Can we please have more uploading stuff encouraging old things is I got a lot Marie Condo would be so pleased with us. I love that list throwing things out. Sorry. All right. Uh next item is field trip guidelines. This is a little bit longer.
So um but this is moreformational than anything I think. Um earlier this year um with Dr. Book is joining the team and knowing that we've had some challenges with a variety of field trip uh
categories uh whether they be day trips, overnight trips, um travel abroad, etc., etc. We don't have a whole lot of guidelines for teachers to look to as they sort of make their selections about different um trips. But
we also we need to be a little bit tighter about who actually can run a trip overseas for our students? Like it's not spelled out anywhere that it must be a staff member
who would run a school trip abroad. Um so I asked her to start looking into developing some guidelines. There were conversations um with staff. There have been conversations um we've had a lot of conversations in
the last year around the DC trip and the challenges with the DC trip. Um so we also had conversations with our um nursing coordinator because there are complications even for field trips with the nurses going. As an example, our
nurses are licensed to practice in this state. So even having one of them go on the DC trip, they are not in this state where they are licensed, certainly not licensed to go to some place like Costa Rica and administer
medications to students. So there's been an awful lot of conversation and thought around what guidelines need to be put in place to govern all kinds of field trips. we are going to have to make some changes probably to to school committee
policy around field trips. So you've got some notes, you've got some thoughts. I don't know if anybody has any questions that they want to ask right now, Dr. Bookis is here. However, I would suggest that any thoughts that anybody has
uh relative to what policy may need to be addressed, I would urge you by perhaps a month out from now, mid July, if you have had time to review, if you have any thoughts or input as to policy changes, please email them to Dr.
Fortuna, Liz and Cece, Dr. to book us. Um that way that information can be compiled so that when the policy subcommittee convenes they have some input so that when they come back in the fall with a first read draft
it's more likely to move to a second read draft and not go back to a first read draft because we'll be soliciting some input ahead of time. So one of the things just to give people a little bit of history is that there has been a couple of issues that have perennially stumped the school
committee. One of them is how to get payment for everyone. So we don't want to have these field trips that are like essential class trips that like build the identity of each grade or each class and then make them so expensive that
only certain people can participate. So, that's one issue. Another issue that's come up, and I I think this has only ever come up once, but there was an issue about uh a teacher, was it a teacher? Somebody was running a field trip and then they left the
district and still wanted to run the field trip. And so, obviously, that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Um, we've also had concerns about equity in terms of some of the field trips are like spectacular. Like the what's the
one that they go to they go on like a cruise of the Mediterranean. They start in Greece and then they ride a boat over to Italy and you know that one is really lavish. And then other ones are like you know the fourth grade went to South Zoo. And so those are the issues that I think
we've can you think of anything else that has come up when we talked about them. The escalating costs, yeah, I think were the big one. Yeah, transportation. I have a few thoughts I'd like to This is something actually that's very important to me personally is I feel that kids should experience things
outside of their hometown and I think it's vital that we offer field trips regardless of what they are once a year to do something interesting and different. I personally am very committed to the DC trip and to Nature's Classroom. As a former member of the
PTO, I would love to start a fund where we just ask people to donate money in town and the school helps us get the word out and just say I think the DC trip alone, I think we could get I think there are people in this community who would donate money to help kids go to Washington DC. I just think in this day
and age, people should every child should go to Washington DC. My neighbor went, she came home and was just absolutely thrilled with the trip. But I know a lot of kids don't go. Um, I talked to a teacher who works in another district. They do all fundraising. I know that takes, you know, is a big
burden. But this district, it is $150 per child to go. They have almost 100% participation. So, we I you know, I know that I've been told kids don't go to DC because of a lot of things besides money, which I believe is true, but I also believe if we could fix the money problem, we'd get more people to come.
and that it was less of an issue. So, the other thing I would like to suggest, actually Laura brought this up to me at Parker, um on all field trip forms, they have a box that checks that you say, "I'll pay for another child to go on a field trip." And so, a parent like me or anyone at this table or any parent in
the district could just check the box and send in money for another child um to attend. I think that's something I know everyone doesn't have the funds to do these things, so I don't I do not want to come across as um obtuse to that. I completely understand that. But I do think there are people in this
community, especially for a $20 field trip, you know, something that it is small. Parents might um you know, and I know that will include some finance issues that we need to to talk about and what you know, what kind of commitment, you know, when you're checking that box where that money actually goes and those
kind of things. But I would like us to think about some of those things because I I had a Latin teacher who taught here for a long time, Mrs. Mcwigan. We used to do things on nights and weekends sometimes with Latin club like go to plays and stuff and you know there are a lot of kids who never would have gone to Boston to see a play if not for Mrs.
McGan's work and so I just this is just really very important to me. So one thing I want to put out there I think that like I like all the field trips. I think they're all great. Um if I were to quote George Orwell
they're all great but some are more great than others. I think that the DC field trip, not just because of when it occurs, but what it is doing and the fact that you get civic engagement, the thing that sets America apart from other countries is the fact
that we share in the authorship of the American story. And so if kids are unaware of what it is like to go to the seat of power and see that the seat of power is not just for rich people or powerful people, but it's for all the people. I really want to try to figure
out a way to make sure that every single kid who wants to go to DC can always go to DC. We live in an era in which civic engagement and civic education is absolutely paramount. And I feel like if politicians can raise a ton of money to
run more ads to annoy me, they should also be able to raise some money or the towns that they live in should be able to raise some money to show kids that like this is not a place for faroff rich people. This is a place where you can go and you can make a difference. So, I really I really want to try to figure
out a way to cover the DC trip forever. Yeah. I I the DC trip is uh something you'll never forget. And um All right. Yeah, I'm with you on that one. Okay. Say if you want to have a Mediterranean cruise, well, the parents can pay for it
if they can't. To be clear, the parents do pay for that one. It's just I feel like not all parents can. Yes. Yeah. I mean, but you know, I mean, that happens. Yeah. Yeah. The DC trip, I feel like we got to make a concerted effort. Yeah. Agree. Laura, I love the fact that
the proposed the the draft of this and I think our usual one has um under purpose of field trip C or uh B field trips that build group identity. I think it's really important that we pointed that out. Uh because the um what is the
nature's classroom trip and the DC trip, these things happen when kids are a certain age and when they're forced to do these things together. I think it it really helps cement the relationships who live in a small town. The people that our kids are going to
school with, they are stuck with for the long haul and many of them are going to end up back here. Uh so building these relationships through the forced fun uh and through the bonding of doing things like nature's classroom and and the eighth grade trip that the trips that we
want everyone to go on. I think those are really important. So I'm happy that those got called out here as building group identity and cementing the relationship. I feel like um there's plenty of fundraisers that the kids can do, you know, uh selling candy bars. Uh,
I mean, I remember magazine drives. Of course, that's kind of a dead thing, but we we used to do all that stuff and and um have um uh a lot of success in school. I grew up in Littleton and that's how we raised
money to go on those things. And that that was, you know, here you guys have to pay this, but the rest is going to be funded by this. and everybody took part in it and they uh and and you're raising the money to go like you're doing the
work to go I think that's huge portion so you can you pay it but there's a portion where you can fund raise for yourself or for your childies as well the larger trips like DC or even the trips abroad um they
have fundraising opportunities that that they provide. So, I feel like we could do a nice fundraiser off threatening to make kids sell candy. And it's like, if we don't get this many in donations, we're sending candy bars home with your kids. We do what we did when I was in
Catholic school, which is the kids worked at a casino. Wow. I sold scratchoff tickets. My dad was the guy that took in the money and I just sold off the scratchoff tickets and it made a ton of money. We did bingo, poker. I have so many. And we did
scratch off tickets like in an actual Monte Carlo or you open like you at a casino. No, no, they put up a tent. We had a casino for like 4 days and then we did it every month. We did it every month. Massachusetts has some Welcome to
Catholic school. You get wine in second grade and you're working at a casino. So, I don't know. We're making some money that way. Yeah. Casino night. Yeah. I love it. All right. But but there's there is a lot of the kids there's a lot of stuff kids can do to
raise that money and they do it all the time that they're cheering and they want to go to something they got to stand at the dump themselves chocolate. But that's how you that's the way to do it. I mean um let them work for it. But um I agree it's got to happen one way or the
other. I mean, I wonder if there So, this is just I'm spitballing, but like we talk about stipended positions that the teachers have cuz like to get someone to do, you know, obviously that's outside of a a teacher's job, you know, a day job to, you know, help run
fundraisers and that kind of stuff, but I wonder if we want to think about something. Well, there is a stipend for the person who has to coordinate the whole trip, coordinate. There is not a stipend for the teachers who go away for 5 days. 5 days, right? I'm more thinking
like actually like running some real events. So, you know, as you might know, we have a small but mighty PTO here in Luna. So, it's not that we are really going to be in charge of something new, right? So, you do have to have the bodies to do that, but
okay. Okay. So, you're just asking for our feedback. These are just things for the Yeah, Dr. Brookus, thanks for putting this together. Uh, and uh, as the father of somebody who went on the DC trip, I think the people that made sure my son
didn't leave his jacket at every place in Washington. Wait, really? Same. Oh my lord. How did you lose this? Like 100 times came home with a debit card. See, that person needs a second. I don't know who it was, but then he was he left it
at the elephant in the Smithsonian. He left it on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. That's amazing. Uh, all right. Um, the next thing on the agenda. So, we don't need anything on that one. I would just accept this. Yeah. Progress. Make a motion to accept
the the uh So, moved. Second. Okay. All in favor? All right. Uh next thing we go to is uh forecast budgets for FY2728. So at this committee's very first
meeting together in May, um there was a request for some projections for FY27 and 28 which are going to be all the more critical um with any work of a tri board moving forward. Um so Dr. Gilson
uh for the last month has been uh working at this uh trying to come up with some uh projections for uh the FY27 budget and the FY28 budget. And there are still an awful lot of
unknowns, but there are quite a few known that have been factored in. Um I think um if you just we don't want to dwell
here for very long. Um the current uh school department budget for FY26. This does not include the free cash amount of money. uh 25,787,474. The projection
if you take what is in that budget and keep what's in that budget, next year's budget, and roll it forward, FY27 would be 27,925,81. And if you roll it further out one more
year to FY28, it's 29,530,732. So if you look at what the the budget is for 26 to 27, that's a $2.1 million gap. Um, if you were to assume that the
town would be able to give the same amount of new revenue monies to the 27 budget, uh, for the past couple year, I mean, we're talking about in the ballpark of about 900,000, give or take. Um, even with that new revenue
as an increase over 26, you're still looking at potentially in the ballpark of a million.2 2 in cuts on top of the cuts that we already did to get to 26. And then if you look at the increase
from the projected 27 to the projected 28, that's another 1.6 million. Um Dr. Gillson has outlined all of the assumptions that are in these numbers as
well as you know some notes as to um Can I ask you a question Dr. Mur? Yes. So if we wanted a level services budget, we would need $2.8 million over the next two years. If you wanted a level
services budget, you need 2.1 just for next year. Okay. 2.1. that does not factor in money from the hometown revenue. It's a but also if you assume that money is coming from and that is an assumption,
right? It doesn't because it doesn't have to um if you assume that money then yeah you're looking at like a $28 million 2.1 and then what else?
So I also want to say one major thing. Okay. And and um like I think you need to know that you know expenses the personnel are typically like the fixed costs that I
was able to account for because contracts have been settled and a number of them settled this year. All right. Um the bus contract is also settled so fixed cost but the expenses in the expense lines we went bare bones and we
cut an awful lot this year. Okay. And um what my estimate is includes is a 5% increase for supplies but I fund I levelfunded special education technology and
facilities lines. Okay. because those are possible like you can't right now project adequately or accurately um the cost of utilities because that's a changing dynamic. You can't adequately
project the cost of special education tuitions and how much their increases will be. So by by saying um same is true for the electronics. Yes. you know talking about a tariffs and 500% or
right so there will be a lot of economic changes that influence so this is really like I would say it's a bare bones um
minimum 5% increase on supplies um and I would recommend strongly that that's why budget is so dynamic and changes Um and that is why I didn't release like full line items in which I calculated um
because it can change um and change dramatically and I have really outlined the assumptions the grants that we receive. Um there was a recent um Desi meeting um that basically advised that President Trump is considering um
restructuring the federal grants which would take effect in FY27. And that would mean that some of the grants where we've t typically counted on for our mentoring program um title two and the title three grant which we
haven't gotten before um but our L population continues to rise. So um so those may be reduced by 70% and and or bundled into one package. So there are a number of different factors
that can change and what I provided is basically a a targeted projection that is to be considered a starting place for your tri board meetings. But clearly um
you know when when projections the basically be informed about what the projections do encomp encompass um and and they really are it's a barebones number if not if if you know if special
education changes um and the outofd district tuitions have increased substantially over the last three years like as much as 20%. % after COVID um it was like you know 14% and 3% after so I
I think it is good um it's not good in terms of the outlook um and I think these are things that need to be considered and talked about but it's a starting place and I would strongly recommend
um that um the all the stakeholders within the school department be consulted, you know, like like um this is what what we did typically this year. We asked people what they needed and they were very honest with what we what
they needed for their department. So it's, you know, it's it's a needs-based budgeting practice. Um and you have to be able to respond to the changing um swings that either um find you know
government um things follow government regulations or policies or new political climates bring forward and and the population it's based on the student population that we know we have right now. So that too can change. Yeah. And and one of the like I I just quickly
cited the trends. Um yeah, it is interesting um in terms of low income and how much that has risen um in terms of the e the L student population and how much more frequently we're getting L
students that um for the benefit of the public that students are the English language learners. So so two questions. The first question is, if you're saying that this is bare bones and it's 3.7 million, I would feel
more comfortable going to the tri board meeting with something that says, you know, like $4 million, but I don't want to, you know, like I will be candid. I know that there are people that are going to go to these meetings that are reticent about an override. And what I want to try to do
is be open to the possibility that we could use some other method. I don't know what it is and having looked through it with the budget task force I don't think it's possible but if somebody has a brilliant idea out there that we haven't thought of on fin or select board it says here's how we could
generate this revenue what would you say is a comfortable number setting aside the mechanism to get it so not committing to the override or the CPA or anything just what's the number and then the next
question after that would How would you think it would be best for the school to get that like CPA override something else? And I would just offer just a little bit of insight um from
conversations relative to the tri board and how things are going to map out over the next six plus months. It sounds uh like the school department will have to present a budget to the tribe board
in October and that would be a level of service. But there's also a possibility that we would also have to present a level funded, which means our FY27 budget number would be exactly the same
bottom line number as we have in FY26, which means cuts, lots of cuts, lots of cuts. So, so we're looking at your school department, your finance and your your superintendent having and I'm not sure
if all of these will have to be presented mid October, but a level service keeping what we've got, a level funded, keeping exactly the same dollar value rolling forward a year, which definitely
means cuts, an override budget. Should the override budget be different from your level service budget, which we just said was $2.1 million over FY26? And then ultimately, when you get to
January and the town manager knows what the revenues are and can tell you what monies may be available as an increase to your budget, you're talking about a town manager's budget. So, you're talking about having to produce four
different budgets. again next year, possibly as many as three by early October. You know, I think that like one of the mistakes that we made when we were doing this two years ago was we made too many budgets. So I think that
like if we just said here is level funding, here is level service, here is target budget, and then let whoever else wants to make another budget have access to whatever we're
using to generate the data and say, you know, like here's our Excel spreadsheet of all of our line items. Do whatever you want. But I think that if we get into this thing where we're making like we had eight when we did the rainbow budget, we had eight or nine. It w it was so hard to keep everything and Dr.
Gilson, you you fixed a lot of that, but like it was miserable and it didn't produce any helpful information. So, I would I would strongly suggest we have as few budgets as possible. The like this is terrible. Mhm. This is what we
need. And this is what we aspire to, right? And I would say that the only reason that you might want to consider a separate override budget is do you want to restore any of the cuts that you made to get to the 26 budget? Well, I think we at least want to include the 500,000
that's on the free cash that we So that's I think that those are some things that this committee is going to have to probably get clear on in early September. How many budgets are we looking to build and pretty much that's it, right? and is
it level funded level service? Is there an override budget that restores some of your cuts? So, and and then ultimately you'll have to do the the balanced budget which is based on the town manager's number that she can provide.
What I also want to say is if you think wisely about this, we raised all of the fees in the revolving accounts. There is a choice account which brings in money
um per student wound because you just heard from Leanza uh Leanne Lambza um the value that you know it gave to her family and her brother donated an amount. The small size of Lunenburgg is
very attractive to families with kids. And um I think you need to revisit how the revolving accounts can continue to generate money because the revolving accounts can be used to offset your
local budget. And one of the challenges that we had was our revolving accounts plummeted um because we weren't bringing in enough money to make ends meet. So we have not been able choice in the past
was used like a credit card. Um you know and you don't want to go there. You need to make sure that um you know that all that your revolving accounts and whoever is monitoring those revolving accounts
can make some presentations on how the fee raising um is influencing what is coming into those accounts. Then you will have more secure monies to offset
um the the local fund. So I think um when you're looking for a number I understand your want to have a number. Um I have put in all the fixed costs that we have. I have looked at that over
time. Um but one of the things that I can't predict are special education moveins. I can't predict the um the amount of or the percentage that will be um increasing technology costs. based on
tariffs or any other political or economic situations. I can't predict um the economy, right? Um and um if grants are um shrinking, we get entitlement grants and then we get competitive
grants. And the entitlement grants um you know um are what are what we um we we can write a narrative. will get them automatically and they're allocated based on our student population. Um but if the entitlement grants are cut
right federal law, we have nothing we can do about that. That's right. You know, so um I think Dr. Bookas has Yeah, just for clarification on the entitlement grants and just into the conference. So title one looks like it's going to be intact. It's title 2 A and
title 4 A that might be combined into entitlement process and that's where um the anticipation it'll be cut by 70%. And then title three will take it completely. So to
the so I still want to know the answer. What is the number that you think we should take to the tri board meetings? Well, I think you need to be straightforward with them and take in and let them know that you know the first the first the first number that I
projected for FY27 that basically is a level fund with only a 5% increase on services and um and I think you need you know um we've allocated all of the amounts um that are fixed like bus transportation
all contractual obligations. Um I will tell you that the custodial um contract um is going to be up this year and will need settling um next year or at the end of FY26.
I think they open negotiations at some point next year. Yeah. Yeah. So, so this is just so you know, so I don't necessarily feel comfortable in giving you a specific number to go into the tri board with
other than these. Okay. Okay. And and I but I do think you need to make clear with the let's just say I don't think that then the actual number in the end is going to be any less. Right. That's exactly right. No less than. Right. No less than. And it's, you know, because
costs are going to go up and that's unknown at the moment. So, it's much more likely that this number goes up than it goes down. That's right. Isn't restoring the cuts that we have had. I think that if we have a if we shipping away, if we're going to do this, we need to have like a coherent message and a
coherent brand. We need to one thing I talked to the town manager. She will never take the healthcare cost back. So, we should break that out as a separate item. Okay. every budget just for branding purposes so that everybody knows this ain't us. The other thing is
I think that if we have it so that it says level funding level service and then the override one restored service budget. So we have three budgets and they can pick which one they want to look at but
explain to the public what is actually going on. level level funding is a a drastic cut. Level service is we are maintaining what we have at austerity levels and then restored service budget is when we would try to go back and
capture some of the things that Dr. Bernham instituted when we had the ESER funds that gave us this huge boost in the testing outcomes across the district. So have the budgets branded that way so that people know what they're actually getting. Right. I think
that one of the problems that we had with the the rainbow budgets and this is not your fault. Well, I think you were the chef and giving crappy ingredient but I think it was a different time and we kept getting updates on well I can give you another $112,000. Okay. What
does that do to our budget? I do not think we're going to have that same thing this year. Correct. but more forthcoming. You think that's going to happen this year or not? No, I do not think she's going to nickel and dime. So, one thing and I think, you know, obviously we'll have to talk to the new superintendent about this, but I
do think regard Yes, the finance committee needs the line items. They're going to want to look deeply, but I do think we need to come up with a standard one or two pager. Yes. Or one or two slides, like literally one or two slides about each budget. So that way when the public is looking at budgets they say
this budget is level ser level funded these are the cuts y and this is the impact and this is the impact right and then you know this is a level services which includes the cuts from the last two years but does you know blah blah blah and then this restores key
positions but I think it needs to be so clear um and I I would offer this advice I don't think that you have to have full budget sheets for every single version. I think if you put out the level service detailed budget lines
then everything is compared to that compared to that we would have to make cuts to this many staff right and it's this much reduced in personnel this much reduced in expense lines for our override or our restored service budget
we would be looking to restore these things which is going to add x amount to personnel x amount to expenses And then I think obviously when the time comes and you get a real number from the town manager, you're going to have to have a detailed budget line by line for
for that budget at that time. So, but for the purpose of having conversations assuming that you're going to be putting these budgets out in October, right? It is just way too early and people will get confused and there'll be too many versions of budget sheets and so we have
one budget and then on the restored uh services it's plus+ plus and then on the level funding minus minus minus minus and I like that and one thing I did talk I talked to the town manager the other day and you know I had been the one at the last meeting pushing for a fall
override and she did tell me that any special town meeting the override would have to pass by 2/3. So she set her any special town meeting. So even in the fall or you know if we call because you can call a town meeting. We are not going to win at 2/3. No. So I I think we need to wait till
unfortunately till next May. And it's very clear in the bylaws. But I mean I asked I mean don't worry I know. it was just um which is frustrating but I I do think it's so hard to think about putting our staff I know good people and I would say that that is
the the most significant downside to starting to talk about what level funded budget looks like and what those cuts would be right in October right right like that starts everybody
right back to the I don't know if I'm going to have a job next year And right and that's a long time to be sitting in limbo with I'm not sure. I'm not sure. And when you don't find out until annual town election day in May whether
or not we've got an override. Do I have a job? Don't I have a job? That's a long time for staff to hang in there and maybe I'll have a job. I really want to stay in Lunberg. Yeah. They're not going. They have to protect their livelihood. They have to protect their
family. they have to start looking for jobs and we lose good people that we might not otherwise end up having to lose because we put them through months and months and months on end of not knowing. So that is a true
true negative impact to the operation and the morale in the district and this would be a third consecutive year that they would be going through this same ordeal, right? But what's the alternative? Notre I mean not to be
correct, right? And so I I feel strongly we have to start earlier because if we don't start earlier and this might lead into the statement I put together but you know one of the things I want to be very clear with the other boards is we are 100% I I personally think we should
say we are 100% committed to this process. We want it to be an open and transparent process with the three boards. But in the end we reserve the right if you guys don't you know it come along right we are committed to understanding our budget and like
critical need to have contingency strategies and that could be us pursuing an override on our own that could be you know something of that sort that we are 100% in and I I do think you know I talked to the town manager and I think I think everybody's learned not to get in
your way. Yeah. Don't put don't put that on me. good at one. So connected to strategy. Yes. Right. And the conversation about the supplemental budget and what would we do with that and additional monies that are looking like they're coming. I don't have a
number I can provide for the FY26 state budget in chapter 70 money. Yeah. I I did outline a few thoughts for you because I did have a meeting with the leadership team and knowing because we've been running these numbers for 27
and 28 the thinking of the team and the best recommendation to bring forward for all of you to think about we thought was the following. There are a couple of positions that
they felt strongly that um if enough money were to come that they would like to see restored and that's the assistant principal position at the high school and the secretary over at the middle high school. I think that given
the demand for budget. I do think that it's a worthwhile conversation depending on how much money does come for FY26 in the state budget and assuming that we get that through
special town meeting in November. I do think it's a worthwhile thing to consider adding an accountant so that you have a team of two people in finance on the school side to be running four plus versions of a budget. Can you can you say those again? The assistant principal at the high school. What was
the other one? Secretary at the Mill High School. Okay. And I think you should think about expanding your finance office to include an additional position because I can tell you that the demand for
well now it'll be honestly starting in like August in earnest August all the way through May with every iteration of everything that comes and the ask for additional information throughout the process.
Yeah. To be frank, I worked every single weekend of the whole year. I didn't take any sick days until recently. And the day vacation days that I took, I was interviewing. Yeah. Like, and I'm not
I'm being really frank, you know, um because it's inc it's I didn't mind at all doing that. Um because I it's not sustainable. No. And we're being asked to do things with an office of 1.5
people. Yeah, we are being asked to do things and the.5 is competitive. There was specifically a report brought up from Hudson saying, "Why aren't you guys presenting information this way?" Because the town you're showing has six people in their
finance department because their town adequately funds the schools and has not cut for years and years made us get by so leanly. You can't do it. Dr. Gillson's position is not strictly I'm just developing the budget for next year. She does a whole lot more
dayto-day than than that. So it's not like it's a dedicated position just to develop next year's budget. If only that would be lovely if we had a whole person but it's not sustainable right the demand has increased significantly
in terms of the expectation of output of various budgets compared to when I first started. I just want to be clear this is not a burden that is placed upon us by changes in revenue streams or money or state law or federal law. This is an
increase in information demanded by the town or people in the town and as a result we are engaging in classic small town politics face shooting where we are making it worse for ourselves for no reason. Now, maybe there is something
that comes of this and that's fine. But like before we get into the position of like saying we need to hire other people, I'd like to see if there was some way to say let's constrain information to certain avenues, right? Like if Fincom wants money information
on money, that's why they exist. We need to cooperate with them. If we are like and I know this happened because when we did budget we had like 75 emails about random line items in the budget and it's like that's fine but one of the things that we should try to do and I think we
got to do this sooner rather than later is put out a user manipulable budget to the extent that we can by law that is not going to be helpful in the end. And what I would say is when I go there, my early years here, there was a presentation in January of a proposed
budget and then there was a presentation in March of the actual budget hitting the town manager's number. Two versions of a budget and now we're already talking
about creating four. And the way you get to the numbers, you actually have to flush out a whole lot of the line by line by line. Okay? So that's inhouse working on four versions of a budget by potentially
well most of them may be as early as October. One person between now and early October cranking out one, two, three versions of a budget. one person and that's during
opening up the school year and and also part of the big deal um in finances they have to do the we have to do the end of year report which is due the end of September and there's a deadline on that so that's not something we can say we'll
get to that in April so how do we sorry to interrupt how do we put our best foot forward as a committee right to present to the town what we need. Right? I think I think that's where I want to leave this meeting
particularly if we're not particularly if we're not going to meet in July, right? And we're going to go to a tri board meeting. That's why I want to talk about a statement. But like I think we need to be extremely clear from this group what we're doing because the town
has a lot of questions and they are going to continue. So one thing I've been thinking about is you know there's no standard right of like so I personally when people are asking questions about the way the schools are run I don't feel like I have enough
expertise right to know certain you know like certain staffing levels and all those kind of things. I think those are some of the things we're going to get into with this group unfortunately or unfortunately I guess. So I I think we want to make sure that we as a school
committee are prepared to answer those questions as much as we see fit. Yes. Right. Because some of it is I believe our prerogative. Most of it is our prerogative. There is these these budget decisions not the finance committee's choice. They don't get to make these
decisions. The select board does not get to make these decisions. There are decisions. So Right. But if well right but this is the thing. If we are committing to trying to make it work through a tri board process, you know, I think we have to be
committed and try, which is, you know, try. But do we get to ask if police departments need less police officers? because I this I mean I think this is where we need to really and I know you know we were supposed to end hours ago but I you know I I think
as I've told all of you the number one reason I am here is to get more money for our schools and like I do not want to go in blind next month like I think we really need a plan um you know because because it may fall apart right I I mean it may fall apart I don't want
to say that because I want to feel I want these people to feel committed and respectfully for the people in the room who aren't going to be here next year. That's one of the things I expressed to the town manager. Let's start fresh. We're going to have a lot of new faces, including me, you know, new superintendent, you know, uh, new town
manager, you know, we're going to have a lot of new people. And so, I think we I personally feel like we owe it to that group to take the new people as a let's try to make this work, right? Um, but we also have to be clear about what we can
do, right? and and what we want. I mean, so here's I had a conversation with the town manager about this very thing and the basic idea that I first of all, she had committed to the notion that like one board can't tell another board what to do if it's within the purview of that
board. So like just look at the charter and see who is responsible for that. Yeah. So that that I think is the fairest and best way to do it. The one thing that I think that we should take this as a chance to do is I think that we should take this tri board process as
a chance to look at all of our assumptions and givens and have people that are not in the school system or having been educated as one of your last students on how school districts work uh and say like you know here's how this
works. They'll ask us questions and we'll be able to say, "Okay, here's why, you know, like we need X number of paraprofessionals or here's why the transportation budget for athletics was so high and here's what we can do to mitigate that." I'm taking this as an
opportunity for each of the three boards to ask the other boards questions about their area of specialization in a way that either allows them to find new revenue because they've questioned their operating assumptions or if there is no new revenue to be found to get a
commitment from those other boards that like we've tried and this is as good as it's going to get. Right? So, like either they find money for us or we find money for them or there's no money to be found and they're like, "Okay, I agree with you. We can move on." And I think that if we go into it with that mindset,
that will work. You know, like one of the things that Mr. Manardi talked to me about was trying to find a way to help stabilize for these big OOD hits. And I think that one of the things Okay. Sorry. Hey, Mr.
Breaking. regular rule. So like one of the things that he had talked about was setting up some kind of reserve account so that we would have stabilization. Yeah. Like a stabilization fund and that that is the exact kind of out of the box thinking that you can get when you have
the finance people look at a school district problem. That was my suggestion. I it was also your like November. Yeah. But I think that that's something fun. for example, it only works if our out of district costs are they have low years. Sure. Where we can
shore it up. If we just keep increasing the costs because of circumstances outside of our control, right? But it it's better than Oh, no. I want to do that. We have like the current plan is like grit your teeth and white knuckle through it. I cannot do that. But I I
think we need to stand firm in what the things that we have control over. Yeah. And fall under our purview by Massachusetts state law. Can I just we have transitioned into the statement. Okay. So just one last thing just for
the benefit of the the public. Yeah. Um, I think that you could consider allocating some additional FY26 state revenues when when if and when it comes. You could consider restoring or partially restoring budget lines that
were zeroed out like the PE and music supplies. But the strategy that the leadership team discussed is maybe not doing so much about restoring things that were cut as
much as taking monies and putting it into um FY26 budget lines like computer purchase and lease. And if it's there, then in early June, you can place an order for the ninth grade replacement
Chromebooks. Yeah. And you can cut the cost of the ninth grade replacement Chromebooks that would go in FY27's budget. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Because we're buying it in June of 26, then you can save that money and keep a
staff position. This is like when Southwest Airlines bought all that gasoline. See? Yeah. Yeah. Right. So things like that, if you put it into some key budget lines in 26 with the with the intent that yep, we will make
27's purchases in June so that we can reduce the 27 budget lines in expenses so that we have that money moved over to the personnel to keep people. So, it's just it's a strategy that we we talked about knowing that we had these numbers
and we were running these numbers and they said, "Yeah, we we agreed that we should probably buy in the late late part of the fiscal year, things that would normally be purchased in July 2017." Okay. Thank
you. So, I I really really appreciate you doing all this work because I this is a much better starting point than anywhere we've started. I mean it's bad news but I mean it's bad news but I honestly expected bad news so I am just happy to have it in writing and like in a actual format that feels instead of
just guessing instead of just guessing I think where we were the last year or two it was guessing because teachers contract is the hugest part of the budget that wasn't settled paras is the second biggest for salaries that wasn't settled our transportation uh contract
was expiring that was an unknown so we've got a lot big things that are now known. So, we're in a much better position even though there's so many things that you can't really accurately understand. The big stuff we we know and we have a handle on. I I really
appreciate that. Thank you so much. Whoever is going to do this next, please, please, please break out the health care costs. It is not our cost. We have no control over it. It was a devil's bargain. And just like FA got
screwed, we got screwed or other departments start carrying their healthare cost. Whatever it is, we got to make sure that when we cuz like part of the job of presenting the budget is not just informing the school board of the numbers, but selling the need to the
public. And if the public thinks that we have this one thing in the school budget that's 15% more than last year for no reason, they're going to look at us and say, "How can you guys engage in such mismanagement?" And if we say to them, it's actually something that we have no
control over. It's this thing. Even if it's still part of our budget, I want the message to be clear. It would be interesting to know of the 2.2 million. Oh, it's in there. If you look, it's in there. The number they the 15% increase number is it's projected at 15% each
time, right? But how much is that? Oh, I mean you can 15% 15%. I have that in Look, I have that in the exact line. No, no, I get that. No, I don't think you should be giving us all the line items, but like so say it's 2.2
million, right? But is 400,000 of it increased health insurance cost at 15%. Is $12,000 of it? I have no idea. Well, I have no idea what our what the X is, right? Like X time 15% equals Y, but I don't even know what the X is. So, it's
a it I think it you had it in here when I looked at it earlier today. It was 3.2 million and a 15% increase on 3.2 million is $480,000. Okay. So, that I mean that that's good to know. So, million dollar in two years, right? Exactly. So, of the 2.2 of next year,
let's say 500,000 of that is health insurance. Correct. And that's another line that is extremely variable during the year because people change plans because of uh Yeah. events that make them eligible to change plans and costs
go up, sometimes costs go down, but costs for us this year were good. Went up and and even like if you notice on the line item transfer, we were a thous um $107,000
short um with our health insurance line. So I had to turn it's not an exact science and it's Yeah. Just like budgeting is an exact science cuz things are always like but we we got to break it out. We do but we can't part of the
message we got to break it. Yep. Okay. Uh so we have sort of slowly and we do you need any action item from us? I think just accept it. Motion to accept the uh proposed proposed budget numbers for FY27 and 28. Second. All in favor?
I. All right. Uh let's move on to the next item, which is the uh statement for the tri board meeting. Uh before we get there, I just want to thank Mandy for taking the time to put this together. You're welcome. So, uh I want to get us
started by saying one thing, and it is I've already warned you that this is going to make you mad. So, uh, I do not I didn't know this was the part that was going to be. I did not. It says, "We strongly believe that an override is necessary to achieve this goal."
I will tell you this. I in going through the budget task force process, I agree that an override is a way to achieve this. I think there is another way that requires the adoption of the Community Preservation Act and a reallocation of
funds through the town. But if we're going to buy, if we're going to do the following two things, if we are going to rebuild and renovate the Ritter building and or three things, rebuild and renovate the Ritter building, redo the park, Marshall Park, and then the next
big item for the town is a renovation of Turkey Hill. All three of those projects are going to cost more than $7 million. And all three of those projects would c qualify for CPA funds. If we can get the offset of those three projects through
CPA funds and then take the difference and bring it over to the school, that is going to be maybe not the full what is it 3.7, but it will get us close. And oops, let me finish. Sorry. The CPA
allows us to fine-tune tax burdens across different groups in a way that an override wouldn't. What kind of different groups? So, so like for example, you can you can do a CPA offset or exemption for people based on age or based on income. And you cannot do that
in an override. Doesn't the CPA trust fund though require the state to put money in? How do we know the state is going to actually the funding for the CPA comes through the uh fees generated by the registry of deeds. But isn't there been problems about that number going up and down depending on how many
houses are sold? So, they won't actually have the money always to reimburse to these towns. First of all, that is true. The number has gone up pretty consistently as the housing market has been good. Um, but the other thing that's important to remember is that the
in addition to the fund being uh variable, the number of people that participate in CPA and the rate at which they participate makes a difference in how much the state sends you. So, for example, Planeville, the home of the Wimpy Kid, they have
always maxed out their money. They have always maxed out their CPA contributions and they have always gotten the and they have always been, at least as long as I could go back in the data, they've always been in that top tier of awarded money from the state. Now, the guy, but
how did they max it out? They maxed it out by doing all of the things that the CPA requires. So they had a 3.5% rate and then they hit all of their buckets, all three buckets every year. So So I'm not I'm not against talking about the CPA. I think I need to like I
need to know more. I need to learn more about the CPA. I don't know enough about it. All I know about it is from when I worked in the legislature 15 years ago when everyone complained there wasn't enough money. So why join the CPA because there wasn't enough money to go around. The second thing is the town would have to be committed to actually trying to meet those benchmarks. and it
doesn't seem like we have much of an economic development plan, those kind of things right now. So, the CPA actually doesn't really it cares about low-income housing, restoring historical buildings, and parks and recreation. The three projects that we have next on the
capital plan all qualify for CPA funds. So, I think I I'm fine talking about the CPA. I also don't and I mean I'm saying this in a public meeting so I guess it's hard to negotiate when you're talking in a public meeting but like I think we shouldn't be cutting ourselves off at
the knees. I agree like to begin with right like I think we need money and we have taken cuts over the last few years and I'm all in on being a team player and talking about this as a group. I really liked that the town manager said at the first meeting she would like to
discuss some of the things that everyone throws out there always like we should you know we should negotiate we should um do I can't speak regional like you know do all of our yard work all of the you know the town share services I can't think of
anything right now but you know we should do that she wants us to talk about some of those things like as a group so then it doesn't come around in January and everyone's like well did you look at X like I I agree. So, I just don't want to I'm fine saying other
revenue sources, but it can't just be on the school committee to talk about other revenue sources. I feel like we've done a ton of work to try to get more money from the state, which has worked. It has worked. Peter's not here, but like that was and actually and I shouldn't say it's just us because
Caesar uh the select board chairman has been very engaged on that and I I really really appreciate his work on that. Um, so what does everybody else think? I mean, I don't Sorry, it doesn't have to be just me and Tony. The CPA like is when would you apply for something like that and then do you have to wait until
all those projects are completed before you would get the money? So the the mechanism that how it works based on my understanding is that the town would have to vote to approve the CPA. So once the the town votes to approve the the
use of the CPA, then there would have to be an in like while that's going on, there's going to be a discussion about where the exemptions are and what the rate is because you can apply for it at at different steps at uh half a percent intervals. So basically what you're
doing is you're saying I want to tax an increase of a half percent of 1% of 1.5% all the way up to 3.5%. And then after that, the funds would come in and you'd have to allocate them according to the the CPA formula in the three buckets,
which is preservation of historical buildings, parks and recreation, and then uh low-income housing. None of those are cost of those things. No, no, but what I'm saying is if we could Sorry, go ahead. That's what I was just going to say. What if the cost of those things exceeded what we thought and then
there wouldn't be would there still be leftover funds? So what it what it would do is it would just provide us matching funds, right? Like it would say, you know, whatever the amount is, if you spend X, then we'll give you Y. And it depends on the formula. Like Mandy was saying, there's like a complex formula,
but the issue that I'm pointing out is we are we are as a town, we are committed to spending money on these projects already. Well, we aren't. No. Well, I mean, we just voted no. Right. But if you look at the capital capital uh the list of capital
budget priorities, it's going to keep coming back. Those I mean we're going to it's going to happen, right? Expansion, the playground, those aren't CPA projects. Right. Right. But what I'm saying is we we've got to one thing I think that this trio board process has
made me think more about is like we are all on the same boat. Some people are at the mizen mast and some people are at that thing in the front. Whatever you want to call it. But if we keep thinking of it as like we're individual entities, I just feel like we're losing the chance
to capture some revenue because the idea would be if we could get the CPA to get money, that would be less money that the town has to spend on these projects and they could allocate more money to us and this is a way we sell more. But but
those things are capital projects. So it's different than everyone kept telling me that you know that the capital projects was different money than the operating projects. When did we decide to renovate Turkey? But if the town doesn't have to spend it, they could ship this school, right? But we would have to vote on those things. Oh,
I I'm not saying that we the town decided. I'm just saying like for us that's something that we have got to be like doing that. I would have to renovating. Yeah. We need to find have a discussion about it ways because override
could happen but it it may not. Yeah. I mean you you you you get the sense when you're when you go around town and you talk to people they're done. They're they're done. They're up to here. And I'm not trying to be I'm not trying to be a
naysayer but people are up to here. You know the state has got to do their part too. you know, they're finding money for stuff that they want to have pet projects with. Send it down to education. We got um some towns in this state spend $40,000 per student. Some
towns spend 11. You know what I mean? But you got we're in the middle. We're in the middle of the road. We need more, right? Like the money's out there. People have paid their taxes. We we got to find ways to find it. And some of the stuff like Tony's talking about is a
good avenue to go to. to to to not have to go back to taxpayers and keep asking them to pay when they've already paid. But this is still going. This is still an increase. It's a 3% increase. I I I understand it's it's still going. It's more of an
increase. Yeah. And it's not something we can we can't fight for both at the same time. We could. I mean, would if we did if we tried the CPA route, when would we would we know in time if that was something we could follow? The
problem is we're not needed to even know. All we're doing is bandating up and we would have to spend. If you think you're going to win an override every single year, you're out of your mind. Well, no. So, I I personally think we should be asking for a twoear sort of
try to do a two-year override. We wouldn't take all the money originally. We would, you know, like you could basically you can vote for an override that's like, let's just say 5 million, which is a lot, but let's say you can you can vote for a $5 million override, but then the town only appropriates 3
million of it, right? And then the next year you don't have you you can vote for the five and then you can, you know, but your taxes won't go up five. Three the first year and then two the second year. The town has the option to exercise that taxes. There have been years the town
hasn't even gone up%. I think to for the purpose of this discussion I am happy to add the CPA or anything to this. I mean the CPA if that's not something that has to pass by 2/3 or at a special town meeting maybe that's what we go for in the fall. I don't know. I mean, so like
here's here's the idea that the that the budget task force ended landed on, which was you're the only person I've ever talked to who thinks the CPA is going to bring in a lot of money here. I I don't think it'll bring in a lot of money. So, how
much is how bring in the 1.5 mil 2.4 mil that we're going to need to not have to make? Okay, but like we've got to think of it like this. The the town is going to give us some money. Will it make up the difference between what the town gives us and what we need under Dr.
Gillson's projections? I don't know the answer. It's not just us. There's other town departments, too. Sure. Like, is it going to bring in 5 million a year? So, like here's this is what I was going to say in response to Manny's comment. It answers your question as well. When we looked at the budget task force, the
idea that we ended up landing on was there was a bunch of things the town could do to spend money to save money in the future. There's things that could be cut, but ultimately we need to do two things. It's a two-step dance. We need to have a townwide override and then we
need to adopt the CPA because I think that fundamentally what George is saying is right like we cannot have an override every year. Oh yeah, 100%. I mean, but like the CPA is something that you can adjust from year to year in a way that gives you more control. And so we could
have a plan where we have one town override to set everything at a level back to where it should be. Back to where it should be and then we could adopt the CPA to have another revenue stream to keep us from going out of whack because of inflation or other
things in the future, right? It's not that we I guess what I'm trying to say is I don't know if we need to like put all all our eggs in one basket. if there's money out there like I think I'm willing to do like a car wash. Well, I know this is an issue though because
like it feels like we would have found it already, but I you know I'm happy to go along with what you're saying. I'm I mean I'm happy to talk about the CPA. Uh so can I say we strongly believe that uh additional ways to raise revenue or
something like that is can I edit access? Can I um we strongly believe that other revenue streams are necessary to achieve Yeah. like you know we we doesn't doesn't have to be an override but I want to be clear with the other boards that we are not coming to the
table here and you're just going to ask us to cut things like I don't think we want to participate in a sixmonth process and make our staff go through you know all this work if they're just going to make us if they're just going to say in the end we don't believe
that you need more revenue and we aren't going to support it and maybe they will see that say that in the end but at least we will have said at the beginning I don't I think you should take the do you know what I mean? Like the document we will say at the beginning we are coming to you to work together but we are not coming to you for you to tell us
we need to cut more things I strongly is that is that no I I understand I don't think we should take out of this I think you could just add override I like that I like or other revenue because the town did talk about doing a
townwide override so it's not going to be you never promised that there would be a town wide override and that's what this discussion is. So I is that work for you? And then maybe we can have some information. I also think the CPA has a longer term Oh yeah. discussion. It's
not going to and we need something for next year. But maybe we ask excuse me the town manager to talk to us at one of these triboard meetings to actually I don't want like a an hour presentation but like can you give us 10 minutes on like or 15 minutes what do you think the CPA would do? What bring in if you think
this is like a you know Renee also knows a ton about the CPA. Yeah. I mean, I'll go home and I probably won't. There's an amazing There's an amazing website that's set up that like walks you through all the steps. Of course, it's the people who support. We need answers for next year. And I don't think the CPA is going to help us for next year. And I
agree with Mandy that if we're going into these meetings and we're going to be spending all this time, I don't want to come out of it being told you guys need to cut. Yeah. That's not a good use of my time. It's it's not or staff's time. I mean that that's it's not going to do anything if it's just going to Why
are you making that face at us? You need I'm That's my thinking faith. I think I'm changing my mind. Okay. Like I think that like sometimes you were looking at me like you didn't believe me. No, no, no. And we're we're told there's going to be a townwide override. That's what that's what we're discussing. So I think
we need to clearly state it. The CPA is a longer term thing and I do think it's going to take a little while to convince people. Okay. I don't think it should be off the table though. All right. I'm kind of I Okay. So, I'm saying we strongly believe that an override and or other revenue sources are necessary to
achieve our goals. Yes. I have been persuaded and I can count to uh I can figure out what the majority is in five. Look at the best part is that you're a lawyer and you're being, you know, convinced by us over here. He's really convincing what he wants to do. I know he is like really good at it.
professional if it's but but I also can see that like even if even if I wasn't convinced I would lose so yeah but this is the kind of thing we should be but you know I want but I want people to agree with this I don't want
this like I said I have been feel like we are we did a good jobing exactly what needs to be said so this was fantastic um I mean chat GPT helped a little bit But I did re-edit it three times. Um,
okay. I would like to point out so yeah, you have proactive planning for contractual increases. We are next year there will be who's coming up? No one we'll be entering into um negotiations with the um custodians
and custodians. Cafeteria. Yep. So there are we're not done. This is a rotating three-year cycle where we go through this every year, right? Um and teachers will be up after the budget forecast. Yeah. And and
this is one of the areas I think with all the discussions over the last few years and the public I think we need to be clear that we are never going to be able to plan for 5 to 10 years in advance. It's just not going to happen because of the way the state funding cycle works from everything. We can do
better than we have done. Absolutely. Right. Do I mean do you I mean like I I'll just be honest. Yeah. We had so much unexpected special ed costs creep in this year. We couldn't even accurately nail down the current year that we're wrapping up because
there are unforeseen things that we are legally obligated to have to execute on. So I wonder if there's and again if for respect for time I'm happy if people have no other edits on
this. I also wonder if there's a few other things that we want to be clear with with the tri with the other boards like when we budget these are some things assumptions you have to know about. I I just feel like we need to start from the same page with them. C can I make one like thematic thing?
Yeah, sure. So like the the details I I agree with and I I I've been convinced. I think that one of the things that we've got to make other people in town understand is that while regionalization has a lot of benefits. It does widgetize
education in a way that we as a town did not want. And so we need to understand that there are advantages to having a small school district. Yeah. like our thing that we have always thought of when we're doing finances as a weakness. The fact that we didn't regionalize is
actually a strength. The fact that you know Dr. Burnham had a regular visitor that would come and talk to her about senior about the school district or the the fact that uh like you have had some
of the teachers that are still here. All of those things are really an advantage and it may not be something that shows up on a spreadsheet, but we've got to stress to the finance committee and to the select board that small is powerful. I agree with that. And I also think that
regional schools are suffering even more than we are. So I'm not saying that like I think if people say back to us we should have regionalized, we should point to North Middle Sex and some of the other schools that are suffering even worse than we are. I mean that's a true statement. I mean, North Sex had to
close Ashby Elementary School. There's not even a school in Asheville. There's no local elementary school. There's no local elementary school for them anymore. Um, so I don't know if up here, one of the things I tried to do with the second paragraph is I wanted to talk about this is important to me that diverse opportunities for our kids
include the core subjects, but also art, music, drama, after school, out of school, you know, and and do you want to say something in that like about our having a a small community, you know, a tight-knit I don't know something like it's like
it's a strength Lunberg had Lunenberg the size of the Lunenburgg school district we want to recognize we want to recognize this the that the small size of the Lunberg school district is a strength a strength for our students an asset to the community I mean there's no Saturday evening post
cover about regionalized school districts right oh yeah I get it now to yeah [Music] like the field trips like all these kids who live in the same town all go on these field trips together and they know each other. We want to recognize the
small size of the Lunberg School District. What did you say? Is an asset as an asset to the school as an asset to the school and the community to students to students and families and the community.
Also, I just think this is also something that we want to maintain local control. I've been thinking about that. We wouldn't be doing this if we were a regional. If this was a regional school committee, the larger regionals, depending on the balance of things, they just dictate to the town what the town
gets to pay and the town pays it and they don't have to go through or the other. Well, the other way around, the towns then vote them down and then Well, yeah, it depends on the balance. But if we regionalize with a bunch of richer schools there who are okay with voting for tax increases, it's you pay this, it's going to come out of somewhere
else. So I think part of the problem is we're not attached to any richer school. Yeah. I want us to have this to come back to too and including me like when we're in need to end and we're talking about what we want with the boards especially like number four. Yeah. The
strategic consolidation for service enhancement. Yeah. I think that's important. I don't know that the superintendent has said that as well as actually the town manager has said that to me is that it doesn't always save money to consolidate services. She has not found and she said this publicly in her small towns that consolidating
services does not save money. It sometimes leads to better efficiency. I mean better services. She said like you know maybe being able to do things but she hasn't found a lot of cost savings and those kind of things. So I think we want to be clear about that. All right. Is there anything else you need for
guidance from us? No, I'm good. Do we need to vote? So do we want to vote on this and then I think we should vote. Do you want do you want to send it off to the other chairs of the committees and the town manager? Sure, I'm happy to do that. Okay. I I do motion to approve
Mandy's letter with the slate changes as our uh tri board meeting statement and our guiding principles in our discussions. All in favor? I I for someone who hates process, who knew I could write this? This was good. Thank you. I like that it
very clearly laid out and I I think I personally was like I will refer back to this when Yeah. I just think it's important for all of us as a team. So, uh, all right. Next thing on the agenda is curriculum end of year report and update. Actually, we have the community
eligibility provision. Okay. Can you explain this one? This is the same thing that we talked about a year ago and then when the numbers came in, oh, they shifted and we were no longer eligible. Are we good now? Our director of food
services, Naen Loren, is on the call. Naen, I'm so sorry. Hello. Sorry I had to sit through that. Thank you. Here we are. Actually, we've been approved. I need to submit paperwork by June uh June 30th. I am here just to um
let you know that Desi would like us to uh they strongly suggest that we move forward with community eligibility provision. Excellent. Can I one thing that leapt out at me is um we schools
that provide discounts for school related activities using free and reduced price meal eligib eligibility may want to develop their own application for families to apply for these benefits. While the sharing of information form can be used in conjunction with a direct certification notification, school food service
resources cannot be used to process meal benefit applications for students attending C schools. Does that mean now like the bus fee forms after June 30th will have to be processed by our secretaries instead of
the way it had been? Right. So that's that is exactly what that means. it. I have a template. I can help you prepare that. And yeah, it will have to be processed by someone else. It's an lowinccome form. The
sharing information form will continue to be processed by me. Okay. Along with the applications from the other schools. Yeah. Keep in mind this applies only right now to students at the Turkey Hill. Oh, this is only Turkey. It's not
a districtwide. the numbers okay in other schools have not so crept to that level nine will keep processing the applications at okay all right I was worried about a little tricky as we move forward with it um in the first year
because we will still be processing applications for the primary school and uh Lunberg for the middle high school okay um so that's something we'll have to work through in the first year or So, how much at this time, how much of your
time does processing those applications take up? All of them. I'm not going to ask you to break it down by school. Uh, not much time actually. So, I think it's probably increased since we implemented the bus fee. We've had more
correct more forms submitted. Is that part of why we're falling? I mean, that's good. More more forms mean more waiverss. I mean it's harder for us to carry the burden but it also means so I would say that she has reimbursement a fair amount more time since the fee for
the bus has been implemented but right so for the food service program not much time at all when other programs want to piggy back on to that application then I I spend a lot of time with application
cost normally for food service I have about 40% when you piggy back another program or another uh pro another resource onto it um I could end up with 100 to 200 applications and that's a that's a large
amount of time okay all right thank you and congratulations yeah it's um it's a great source of income for the program awesome excellent thank you do we need to motion to accept the approve. Yep.
Okay. Motion to approve the community eligibility provisions application or just the C approval. I'll second. All in favor? I. Thank you, Nine. Thank you. Thank you so much. Sorry you waited
for all. Um All right. Uh curriculum end of the year report and update. Yep. So you have a report that um sort of goes over some key things particularly um gains that we have seen um with our I
Ready results um and a few other related updates. So um unless anybody has questions, Dr. Bookas is here. If you do have a question, can you just tell me what what it's labeled? Yeah, I can
look like a memo. Okay. Um to Dr. Von. Well, it would be tagged as um NB action I Mr. report. Wait, are these Jeez. Oh,
the good news is I just figured out how you labeling this. Me too. Has it always been like that? I've spent 2 years sorting by new. Oh my god. Amazing.
Yeah, we've been doing this for Oh my god. At least I'm new. Somebody's been doing the templates for a while. I have been sorting them by new. So, all in all, we're happy. Is that I mean, is that like the
I'm sorry. I don't need like I don't need like a huge It looks good. People are getting better. Kids are improving. Is there area we're not improving? Yeah, there um overall um we've made some nice increases over the last couple of years.
Um there are a couple of places um where um you know if you look in the report um you know we're there's the aggregate report and so for the aggregate numbers absolutely there's some some really especially around growth there's some
really tremendous growth that's happened um the district goal for us for closing our gaps um for students who have IEPs um we have made some gains we need to continue that work. That's where we really need to focus in on. And I will
say as I continue to look at the data, um because our numbers of students who are economically disadvantaged, that number is growing and we see gaps there as well. In fact, that gap has grown actually larger than our students with IEP gap. So, I do think it's important that we continue to look at that. Okay.
One of um you know from my perspective on the concerns for next year is that we have substantially reduced the amount of um intervention services and coaching that really supports the kind of work that we need to do. And so that is a
concern going forward. Um writing the S SOA grant um keeping our fingers crossed that we might be able to restore some of that but that would only be for a year. So okay we'll see how that goes. Dr. Bus, um, the things that you just said
require some unpacking for me. So, I like took notes and I I'll do the research, but would you be willing to attend one of the I I don't want to impose upon you outside of the school calendar, but would you be willing to attend the relevant trio meeting if it
is held during the summer? It would depend when on the summer. I'm going are they going to be talking? going to be abroad for quite a chunk of time in July. I don't think it'll be July. No, it's not going to be that one. I'm not even sure it would be until the fall. Okay. I
get your talk about why these sectors require more education and because one of the one of the things we get is you're educating less students. Why are costs going up? And it's because
the needs of students are changing. Um, so I'd be happy to whatever it is that you need and just let me know and I have enough time to there might be a war thing to try to find um a date that you could add a meeting just for the school committee if you wanted to dig a little
bit on that on the data. Yeah, it might be interesting. Might be like a workshop meeting. Yeah, I'm concerned about the the numbers for the economically disadvantaged kids. That that is not the trend that everybody else has been going in since since Dr. B. There was also
zero growth for the kids K to8 well 8% of students with disabilities made zero growth. Yeah. And so really dig down 22%. Yeah, it was down quite a bit but there's still some stories there that need to be unpacked. Can you define what disability is? Is it all students on an
IEP or every student has an we just No, we just looked at students who have an IEP and so it could be for any reason. Okay. It could be after their learning. Six in kindergarten. That's it. Uh six and so where are you pointing from? The I already grow by percentage for students with disabilities for K the
total number of students assessed in the spring for kindergarten was six. Is that do we normally have less kids in kindergarten because because children will get an IEP later. We're waiting to see uh some of the instruction to make
sure that it's not a lack of instruction that it is truly disability. So often times it grows as time. Yeah. Okay. I just thought is this a new trend where we're trending now maybe. But that's you never know any group of students. Um okay. We got to give kids what they need, right? Yep.
Thank you so much. Yeah. Yeah, thank you for the narrative, too, explaining this. That was fantastic. Numbers plus story. Yeah, thank you. No problem. No power. Let's keep going. I noticed that she This is great. All right. Motion to
accept the end of the year assessment report. Second. All in favor? I. All right. Let's keep moving. I think you might be a little over time. Yes. All right. Do we want to do we want to table the old
business just a little bit? Uh, it depends what it is. And I would ask Dr. Burnham because it might be this is stuff that can move really quickly. All right, let's go. Cuz some of it is stuff she might want to see out. Is there anything you want to tell us? I'm getting ready to turn into a
pumpkin. God, I have to clean up and alarm the building. Um, you just want to hang out with us longer until you, you know, so um, the PAR contract is here. Um, I'll hit this highlight really quickly. I told you the
rounding. Exactly. In our in our work with payroll at town hall, discrepancy between carrying it out to two decimal places in the salary versus four decimal places in the salary for
munice purposes so on so forth. It's a rounding issue but we in order to satisfy issues for payroll with munis etc. We have made these grounding adjustments.
Do the Paris need to sign this? The Paris are well aware and at this point all we really need to do is we'll just outline this in anou and the leadership of the union will sign off will sign off on your behalf. This does not have to reopen anything. We just wanted to make
you aware and understand that this really was driven by the need of payroll at town hall and that's um yeah it was just a sense FY25
quarterly budget. You have the quarterly budget report. Wait, do do we have to vote on this negotiation? probably take one motion at the end to accept all of the reports, all the old business. Um I think because technically changing
will be signed in in a minor way, but you're going to vote and approve this. We'll approve it. Okay. Um you've got the quarterly budget report. The details were much more in the land transfer needs, etc., etc. So,
you just have the updated quarterly at this point. and then the quarterly personnel report. You have that available um and the Keystone report. So, all you really need to do is vote to um accept the changes that are um needed
for the PAR contract and then accept uh the quarterly budget report, personnel report, and keystone report. Motion. Oh god, I forgot already. It's late. uh motion to uh accept the PAR contract
memo and make the appropriate very small changes and to accept all of the other those reports, the um quarterly budget report, quarterly personnel report, and the Keystone quarterly update. I'll second. All in favor? I I All right. Thank you.
Thank you. All right. Uh let's table the subcommittee reports for tonight, unless there's an objection. I don't think anybody met. Oh, we haven't. No, no one met. All right, good. Uh, and then public comment. Is there a public comment?
We were trying. I wanted to get all this here. Good. I know what to tell you. Um, so Laura Parisian, 389 Mus Road. Um, I wanted um so um mother of an incoming sophomore, mother of a special needs senior, and president of Music Gators.
Um, so I want to say Dr. B. Thank you very much. I think my first meeting I was remembering I so I was driving in and listening to seeing all of this and as I was heading here my first interaction with you you were um chairing a the first one of the first
Zoom calls for co and I just sat there and went how is this woman maintaining her sanity. I really just said I don't know how she does it cuz I would have lost it like 15 minutes ago. The question was, so do they have to breathe while they're wearing a mask or do they breathe after
wearing a mask? Like there were some questions I had to tell you. I was in my living room and pacing in my kitchen and I don't know how you did that repeatedly. So, thank you for that. Um, I just wanted to say I've learned a ton tonight and I appreciate um all the
work that you guys are doing and I'm I'm nervous about the budget process starting, but I was also at town meetings saying you've got to start the bud budget process earlier. Um, I think the biggest thing that I'm hearing talking to parents and talking to some of the teachers are those that are
little cuts here and there. It's that we're death by a thousand cuts. So, you take a full-time person, you just shave a little bit off. Well, that's a part-time person now. Their lifestyle was ba based on full-time. Like it seems like a little thing. So, if there's anything, and I appreciate you're
saying, you know, you can buy computers now instead of later and you save a position later, but we're going to lose someone now. If there are any ways to do some of the restorations, I really encourage you from a parent standpoint, from being on the field trips as well. some of those, you know, we took over
100 kids to Trolls and Thrills this this year, had over 100 kids on the stand here. I was at awards night. Like to see the kids like the thrill that they get from some of the participation things that they have. I think this that our town is special that way. Um, and then I
was also at Turkey Hill for their fifth grade music concert. It was fantastic. The kids did great, but I'm glad they're hopefully not listening. And it was only like a 25m minute thing. No, I got to tell you, it's the perfect length. And what's the best part? They don't do it
because they're only starting. They don't do it in the winter. So, you don't have to listen to kids who've only been playing for a few months. Poor Mr. Ballister. He doesn't just once, but he had 90% of the kids that started music in the fall finished in the spring.
Excellent. And 30% of the fifth grade was in the band. And I've got to say that is those are the numbers we're going to see come back. So I appreciate you taking another look at restoring some of the cuts that happened in the music department specifically. Um really
putting those back because and our our kids love Miss McGar, they love Mr. Sheldon. They just absolutely are so committed to the program and those you know small that those 13 kids held it together last year in marching band and they're excited about band camp this year and what they're doing. So I really
does appreciate your efforts there. So So you support the restored services? Please. Yes. Yes. And I think and if I had one thing I would say if I was sitting on that side of the table, I would say you go into your tri board meeting with one budget and it's an
override budget. Say that's where you're at. So thank you. Thank you. So, just one little piece of information relative to restoring um when we assuming that the money comes from the state and then assuming that it is
appropriate over to the school department at special time meeting in November, you're halfway through the school year to restore at the high school level means you need to reschedu the entire building.
Got to put it in. So it's that that it makes it really difficult, right? So that that's the one challenge with restoring. Yeah, we just don't have the money now. That's the problem. What about the fifth grade band? The 15 is it 15? The fifth
grade band. Um, we can absolutely, as we had recommended a year ago, do that as a before or after school club activity. Yeah. Where the kiddos would pay a small fee that would contribute to a stipend to cover the music teacher. If we were to do it during the day, could we we
can't restore that halfway? We would have to put that money back in. I mean because it takes place during intervention block and I do think it is powerful when it takes place during the day because the kids it's part of the day. It's part of the curriculum. It's
part of what you [Music] just talked about how we're going to be looking at another $1.2 million worth of cuts. You put these things back in midyear and you're cutting them again in June. I know sucks. It's just yeah it's
unless there's a longer a bigger fix right like and the hope I think is that the state will come up with a I mean imagine funding formula that will be a more permanent longer term uh positive impact for us and I think an override
would be a shorter term positive impact for us but given the conditions that we're looking at it's just it it's a real challenge I mean, we'd put something back and then we'd be taking it back out again. Was once something's cut, it's gone forever.
Yeah. And that's not acceptable as a parent, right? Which is why reducing it a little bit to satisfy the numbers that we do have is better than just cutting it all together because it's it's a little easier to grow it back up. Yeah.
Um than to reimplement a whole program. So, we're getting the look. Yep. All right. Congratulations. Let me know if somebody had the code cuz like we're leaving. Do you guys Does somebody here know how to set the code? I'll set it. Thank you. All right. Congratulations and thank you
for this meeting and thank you. Happy retirement. Thank you very much. Any topics for future discussion given that we don't meet for two months and wait when is the first tri board meeting? June 7. July 8th. July 8th. July 8th. Okay. And so
anyone who can go Do we have Do we have a time? Uh, I believe they're starting at 7. Yes, I think that's right. Uh, we should probably talk about the Turkey Hill. We should put that later, but we're going to have to make decisions about what we the direction we want to
go for. She's and I I am still, by the way, working on the state of the district mega report. Um, I will email it to all of you as one of my final um things on June 30th. Oh, I'm still working on it. Motion to adjurnn.
Anybody? Motion to adjurnn. All in favor? I. So, we'll work towards our goal of an hour and a half, right?