e e e e e e e e good evening today to is Tuesday March 11th 2025 we are at the mro public school
committee meeting and we will start the meeting at 7:30 I would like to remind everyone that we are taped live at wmctv and we are broadcast and streamed as well so we'll call the meeting to order so let's start with the project of Allegiance if everyone can please
arise I Allegiance United State United States of America to The Republic which is stand one nation under God indivisible liy and justice for all thank you everyone jumping down to item number six
which is the superintendent report oh sorry than thank you I always forget this if people would show up to meetings and not do remote we have two members uh that are remote so we will have to do a roll call vote for each vote tonight so
thank you for joining us ladies and uh we'll head on down to the superintendent report thank you mayor Christian this yeah okay um this will be uh the first of a series of reports on
this topic which is Maro Public Schools walking zones um the bus contract for the fall so starting in FY 26 um will reduce our student transportation by approximately 25
% that means that approximately 25 of% of students that are currently taking a school bus to and from school this year will be what we call walkers in the fall I think uh Mr Wells is saying no bus
zones right instead of that was the yeah comment we we heard this earlier today earlier this school year marbor Department of Public Works created neighborhood maps for the school in throughout the district over the last
month each school has been identifying proposed walking zones these walking zones will be based on the safest routes to schools not distance I I think we looked at official policy and regulations and it is a TW mile walk
zone for elementary students um but we're not saying it's going to be a half mile or a mile or um elementary students shouldn't be coming close close to the 2 Mile um but it will be based on what routs are safe to walk and which routes
are not those would be where we identifi the bus routes um on March 5th Judy Crocker from safe roots to school was in maror auditing perspective student routs as well as Park and walk locations which
was a phrase that was new to us and we're really interested to meet with her and talk to to her about what different locations she has identified which might help people talk to certain locations and walk to school since more people
will be walking safe Roots will to school will create a student root map that should be complete in about two weeks we will compare these maps with the school-based drafts and then present to the committee prior to scheduling public information sessions in the next
couple of months um earlier today I also uh sent the mayor uh an email because we're also starting to identify um mayor Christian had reached out to me about scheduling a meeting with DPW and the police chief um one of the topics we had
today were possible areas of focus for school crossing guards and additional uh crosswalks AC in certain neighborhoods and signs so that work has begun uh Public Schools elementary to I
just want to um to of each of the four elementary schools were held last week and we continue throughout the month I would like to remind the committee and any city council members that may be watching this meeting that if you plan on attending one of these tours please
let Patty sailo know she's tracking attendance and we post the tour if enough members are attending and we will have um need to publicly post and finally the updated strategies
for improvement um as we prepared for the budget book that should be going out in the next couple of days we updated the strategies for improvement goal 2.1 was updated to reflect the district
instruct instructional priority and the academic achievement curriculum and instruction goal from the district and school Improvement plans as a reminder that goal is for us to increase teacher capacity for stronger tier one instruction which includes in
incorporating the six identified District El strategies resulting in at least 60% of our students in each grade level K to 10 meeting are exceeding their projected growth as measured by the 2025 spring NWA Assessments in both
math and reading so that is a consistent goal that we've been working on it is included in our road map and we thought that it should also be embedded in our strategies for improvement document that's all for tonight unless there's any
questions thank you I appreciate the um update about the um walking zones and I'm really pleased to hear that you all have um started to have the communication about setting up a meeting because that was actually on my list of
um you know can can that get going so I appreciate that um is it something that once you get these Maps we can share and have some of those discussions um just trying to think about how to
approach it because there's some neighborhoods that may lend them themselves which I think are probably what she's going to come back and say that are lending themselves a little bit better towards um walking and um any thoughts that we've heard from the
community at least to to start the discussion I I think so what we did today one of the many things we did today um was that Mr Wells started with a um the district
redistricting map and then um I think Mrs O'Brien was coloring coding it so that we could see it more clearly um Mr Wells made arrangements so so that um each building could have a larger copy
of that for their buildings as well um I that was a starting point um the DPW had provided each Elementary School with a map that showed where their half mile quarter mile half mile mile was and
that's as far out as it went was the one mile and they've been drawing lines on that as well um yesterday uh the three of us went out with principal mcaren and we drove um the good now area to look to see where
um there were sidewalks where children could cross safely or where we would be concerned about crosses um there's a couple of weird four stop areas um that we've looked at three or four times and
how we're going to stay away from them um those types of issues and then today um Dr scer and principal Richards did something similar and um Jour our meeting because we needed more information
uh we went on the west side of the city simarano drive and Forest to see what could be some reasonable walking zones coming from that side of Richard the for kick side uh down sandini drive it's that one way that has the buses can enter but no one else can so we kind of
mapped out a radius of might what might be a reasonable walking zone for elementary richer students to navigate That Sidewalk crossover to sandini we would need AC cross walk there and then they're in that neighborhood that richer neighborhood it's pretty safe traversing
from there and and some of the other like we have fundamental rules no one's Crossing Route 20 right staying away from 495 um but um looking at some of the major roads and seeing where you can
people can safely cross and where they cannot and where side streets come out so with that thank you I'm just curious how we should start to move forward from a budgeting standpoint you mentioned crossing guards um because will we be
seeing some of that within our budget book will that be something that we're going to need to have more discussions with the city Side about whether that would be something that would need to be on the police side I'm just curious because we've got to factor it in somewhere and I'd like to anticipate in
the right way we would love to continue and be in the same room and have a discussion because we feel pretty strongly that we support student safety but we cannot be in charge of student safety in throughout the streets um our
Systems Support structure and safety but we really don't know the amount of Crossing like we know where we want crossing guards right now but we couldn't train them um we wouldn't know those job responsib right so I guess I
just say that out loud for all of us to find a home where that's going to fit appropriately I just don't want to lose sight that that's going to be some kind of a budget number whether it would hit with us or on the city's side to make sure that we um figure that in for next
year uh yeah I just got cross today yesterday so we're looking into evaluating that so um the police sheep is well aware that this conversation is happening so he's on board and that money comes from it's to
be detered we are actively working on it just too soon just yep of course great thank you and I think one of the things that we'll be looking for feedback on too when we have public sessions is that there are number of places that the
question was we believe that a a light that could stop traffic and a crosswalk might be what's needed in this place but is there feedback on that and we don't know how expensive that is and long term is it cheaper because that's it like
it's an alternative that to having a guard in some places thank [Music] you any other questions nothing he Christian I have a question okay excuse me um Mrs Murphy in the
strategies for improvement I'm just curious if and when we can maybe get an update on how things are progressing in the action steps for fy2 I have questions about it but if you're planning to present you know in
the next month or two then I can hold off yeah we will come back towards the end of the year because we also have the integrated uh District Improvement plan and looking to see what doc what document meets what purpose in the
district is would be part of the discussion and presentation as well okay fair enough thank you anything else seeing none okay we move on the assistant superintendent of student
services and Equity Miss O'Brien uh thank you mayor Christian as part of the district Improvement plan under the student safety and discipline goal action step 4.5 States MPS will pilot and then Implement a pre- to 12al
screener and data collection system including progress monitoring with the three steps being research and identifier screener and data collection tool and F FY 24 pilot the identified screener and uh data collection tool in
fy2 and for FY 26 is to implement the screener in data collection tool Lindsay Castro is here tonight uh the supervisor of social emotional learning and she'll be presenting on the implementation of a universal Universal screener tool in the results of this
pilot Miss Castro thank you I think this is on um so hi thank you um so we rolled out the universal mental health screener um this is our second year of kind of moving forward with it and having it expand through Malboro Public Schools um
we use two different screeners at the elementary level we use the Penn State worry questionnaire um and at the middle school and high school level we use the generalized anxiety disorder they are relatively the same they are just normed separately for different age groups of
kids um and they are both self-administered so the kids answer the questions independent ly we P we push out the questionnaires to either Panther advisory Home Room teachers and then the kids take the questionnaire and then um after that um we move forward this year
we screened the third Sixth and ninth graders um as our group that we picked um prior to screening anybody we send out an opt out questionnaire for the parents so parents have the option of opting their students out of this um if they are not interested in it um the
students fill out the rating scales the scales go back to the school adjustment counselors who then score the rating scales and based upon the scores they determine level of intervention that kids need um from there um we when students score with elevated rates we
offer a variety of different things so one of the things is a tier 2 intervention group we use the trails to Wellness curriculum for that um we often times for kids with really high elevated scores we've been referring out um so we've been using a lot of our cartwheel cares referrals for that for the teleah
health services we offer check-ins to students and we offer resources to parents and families and students um if they are interested in hearing more about anxiety and worries and things of that nature um the trails to Wellness curriculum
it's a cognitive behavior therapy model that includes mindfulness um and it's we it's a we use around six sessions for the kids so they get pulled out of classes for six session to be part of this tier 2 group um and it and it
offers support for kids in an early meaningful way and then we do follow up um with them afterwards after the trails to Wellness Group we've seen around a two to three point decrease in kids scores um when they are for their exit tickets on how they're feeling around
their anxiety or worries um one of the other offers that we have is the partnership we have with cartwheel cares um it's a comprehensive mental health services through teleah Health they can do individual counseling Psychiatry and medication management parent guidance and family therapy um is something else
that we can offer to families and students and this year um we were able to identify 75 previously unidentified students um and they were able to receive varying levels of intervention and I say unidentified students because
these are students that were not aware that were not aware to the school adjustment counselors um of kids that were struggling with some worries or anxieties so they were not already on our radar um any questions m Michelle please thank you hi Lindsay thank you
for your presentation um two questions one did you have a lot of families that opted out of the screening no we didn't um I think this year we had nine families that opted out between all three grade levels okay great
and um do you have enough resources to do what you need to do currently yes we do um I think if we expanded it to be every grade level continuously we'd have to look at a different curriculum that we would offer um outside of trails but
I think it works for piloting one grade level um and doing it throughout their time um and developmental levels so with that in mind the CH the students that you know are these identified grades when they get to the next grade
are they then still going to get Services if they still need them or do they have to wait three years no so once they're identified we continue to do follow-up check-ins with them so they don't get the full like pullout session groups but they do get follow-up check-ins um with the school adjustment
counselors as a regular intervention Okay so I'll be interested next year in hearing how those kids are doing and whether or not there will be enough services for them when they get
to the next grade sounds good excellent thank you Denise I just I just wanted to ask about the cartwheel um because I know it's kind of something new we're using in the district is it just done remotely like is it through like an app or and
what's the feedback been like in terms of availability and do the is it working successfully yes um so it's all remote so it's a tella Health um therapy session for all of that so it's just like via Zoom you don't need to download an app or anything for that um the
turnaround weight we've seen for that has been wonderful for families there's not a long weit list at all they are available to do it in all languages that we currently have enrolled in Malboro public schools which has been great too um and the feedback rating has been
wonderful um around engagement and availability and some of the kids were able to say like you know if you can't make it after school we can find a time during the school day for you to access your counselor and same um with after school hours so they've been really flexible and being able to meet our
needs oh that's great thank you for the information scine um thank you so um thank you for the update love it absolutely love it and um I guess I understand about the 3 six and nine um
yes I would be um kidding myself if I didn't say I wish it was more but I understand from a budget standpoint there's only so much that we can do um a question I would have is with so many new students coming in at all different
grade levels is there the potential that we could look at um trying to reach those students when they are new coming into the district so we get a better idea about that entry I just don't
know how feasible that would be I I would like to clarify this year it was a um as part of the strategies it's this year was a pilot so we're only doing three grades that's not to say moving forward that those would be the only grades that we would do the screener so now that we have the pilot be having
conversations about uh extending that to include additional GRS okay thank you that that would be great because I'm thinking about um our s student especially or something that popped in my head i' love to understand that you know where they
are and that we're meeting their needs and having of support so great we're interested in doing it twice a year too and as we continue to grow doing it in the fall and then again in the spring so we can Target more kids that's awesome because it gives you more data points of understanding what you're meeting and
and where we can fill the void so awesome thank Youk anyone else no thank you Lindsay okay moving on there no minutes to accept so we'll move on to public comment is there any public
comment seeing none public comment second time seeing none lastly any public comment and see none so we'll close public comment thank you everyone moving
on to action items and reports so we will amend the collect bargaining agreement between the malor school committee and the malor school administrators Association Miss Heidi would you like to comment on this or
no sure sure thank you sorry um we there was a previous uh CBA collective bargaining agreement with um the administrators that uh missed a couple of items that had been agreed upon but was not Incorporated and
um and you received it in your packet tonight and um I would like to make a motion to accept the amended CBA thank you the motion is on table and seconded questions comments concerns
regarding the amended collective bargaining agreement seeing none correct all right we will do a roll call so I will call you by name Miss Matthews yes Miss
Michelle yes Mr Earl yes yes Miss Denise yes Mr Dan yes yes it motion carries thank you everyone moving on
school committee vote on superintendent I know I'll jump at this one so I'm going to turn it over to miss Hennessy thank you so much I appreciate it so um
I think I can speak for everyone on the committee that um this task is not an easy task at all so uh I did prepare something just because I needed to otherwise I would
wander a lot so uh tonight we find ourselves at a critical juncture faced with a challenging decision regarding the future leadership of our beloved District uh this is not an enviable position but it is one we must approach
with the utmost responsibility and care for the well-being of our students staff and Community before we move into the discussion at hand I'd like to take a moment to express my sincere gratitude to those who have supported the process
thus far uh first and foremost uh I want to thank Patty Brown our Human Resources Director whose dedication and Leadership Have Been instrumental in guiding us through this process Patty I your
commitment has not gone unnoticed and we are truly grateful for your unwavering support of the district and this committee um I also want to acknowledge the initial search committee uh those individuals who took time out of their busy schedules to review candidates
conduct interviews and ultimately bring forward qualified individuals for consideration uh this group has met their charge with diligence and care and their work has been invaluable in this process we must also recognize the staff
students and community members who engaged in this process offering their thoughts feedback and vision for the future of the marbar public schools your input has been critical in shaping our understanding of what qualities you needed in our next superintendent
and we are grateful for your participation finally I want to thank Dr David Thompson and Mr David Lumberg for their willingness to put themselves forward as candidates for this important role their commitment to the maror
public schools has been evident in the time they've dedicated to interviews and public meetings and the courage it takes to undergo this level of scrutiny cannot be understated both candidates have shown a deep p passion for the districts and we the district and we owe them our
respect and gratitude as we begin our discussion tonight let us do so with a sense of purpose and respect this decision not is not only about finding the right individual for the role it is about ensuring the continued success and
growth of marau public schools and the future of our students and our community this is a significant moment and one that requires our full attention and thoughtful consideration as we review the capable candidates before us it is abundantly
clear that each of them brings a wealth of talent experience and potential to the table they are individuals with commendable qualities qualities that are essential for leadership however in my honest
assessment there are a few key ingredients missing that are necess are necessary to truly fit with the maror public schools and particularly as we navigate the dynamic needs of our community marba Public Schools is a
district of 4,729 students give or take and each with their own unique story and potential our student body is diverse
33% is are English language Learners 57% are of Hispanic or Latino origin and 58% come from lowincome families we have a multi-fabric district in front of
us we also face a high concentration of students with diverse and significant needs with 73.8% of our students considered high needs at the same time we offer over 21 advanced advanced placement
courses uh at the high school challenging our high achieving students and we partner with quinnat college to offer college level courses that provide valuable opportunities for students who are college-bound these rigorous programs
are offered in a free and supportive High School atmosphere reflecting our commitment to meeting the needs of every learner the whole child that's what we've always aimed to do and we continue to do that day in and day out we are a city but one that often
feels like a close-knit town despite our smaller more intimate Community Vibe we have seen significant growth particularly in the diversity of our student population our district is changing and with that change comes an evolving set of needs
that require Visionary leadership leadership that is not only aware of these challenges but is deeply committed to addressing them head-on as we move forward in this process process we must keep in mind the
unique makeup of our district uh our next superint superintendent must not only be a capable leader uh but also someone who has the flexibility cultural competency and the vision to respond to our growing and changing needs uh this is not a one-size fits-all position it
requires someone that can connect with our community understand our challenges and meet our students students where they are while pushing them towards Excellence after careful consideration many sleepless nights and countless discussions with a wide wide range of
stakeholders our community members staff students previous superintendant and educational leaders across the Commonwealth I've come to a very difficult conclusion and it is with great respect for the candidates that I must express my belief that at this time
neither candidate is the right fit to move forward for a vote tonight this decision has not been easy and it comes after deep reflection on what is truly best for our district and for our
students I believe we need to start a new search for a superintendent who more closely embodies the qualities that are critical to marbor specifically we need a leader with more experience working with a diverse
population and in an urban District setting our district is growing and evolving and it is imperative that our next superintendent has the necessary expertise and vision to meet the unique needs of our community someone who not only understands the challenges but has
a proven track record of addressing them effectively it's not a decision that I take lightly and I know it will come as a disappointment to some however the future of the marbor public schools and the success of our students demand that we remain steadfast in our Pursuit Of
The Right leader one who can guide us through the complexities of a rapidly changing educational landscape and I am confident that by reopening the search we will find the right fit someone who can truly help our
district thrive in the years to come so with that decision um from me I feel that it may be our need to proceed with a new search to find a Right leader who can
truly serve our community and the students in the long term and I'm I feel that that is the best move forward at this point my perspective and I'm sure we're going to have more
discussion but I could not move forward on a vote without speaking my mind to the group and letting you all know where my head is so thank you very much thank you anyone else would like to share their
sentiments gu Miss Michelle Excuse Me Miss Heidi um thank you and and Mrs Hennessy thank you very much for um your message crafting it and and um I I first would
like to thank you and the members of the search committee who um I I truly believe you did your job properly and you brought the two best candidates forward
um I met with the candidates during the day that they were here I had the opportunity to attend the um forum as well as obviously the interviews and
um I have to say with great disappointment also that I struggled with making a decision for either and left me more with the decision of
neither um I just I to your points of the type of District that Marboro is um the size of the bu budget the student demographics um we have always spoken about Maro being a unicorn and unfortunately that may make it harder to
find the right fit in a person um I I think both candidates have amazing skills and will bring um their expertise to the right
districts but I struggle with some of the things that I found were not representative of marbro and didn't feel that they addressed them in any of the opportunities that we um were
given to hear them speak now I will say Obviously my my experience um with the candidates themselves was much less limited than the committee and I know you diligently went through your choices and
even reinterviewed the people um but and and we and and I thank everybody who's given us an opinion and I appreciate that it's it's um honestly I really feel we've heard from the most people that we've ever heard in any of
our searches and I appreciate their input and and it's all over the place which unfortunately again makes me um question either candidate there's no
um consensus of a community and that's disappointing to me because um my my hopes would be that whoever is chosen at any point would
um be very supported by all and so I I too agree that um I'd like to see a new search um and how we do that that's another conversation if that's what's decided by
the committee but um I I unfortunately don't feel that either candidate is a fit for Marboro so thank you thank you anyone else like to have yes Miss Michelle uh at risk of sounding like a
broken record I um have to Echo what uh my two colleagues have said in terms of the um outpouring of support um for the process that we have gotten from the
school community and um parents and you know other people that have been really tuned in for the first time uh more than any other search I've been involved in which unfortunately has been many um um
I I unfortunately have been um out of state on family related business so didn't have the opportunity to meet the candidates in person but um I did participate in the interviews and spent
a great deal of time um speaking with people around the state that know and have worked with the candidates um to do the best job of that that I could um remotely um and
as both Katherine and Heidi have come to their conclusions I too feel that for the consistent um level of
um work that our district has been doing for the last number of years years moving in a a a Direction together um to improve student achievement and meet the needs of our
always changing um and um very diverse population of students that um neither of the candidates bring to malor the skill set that we need to keep us going in the
right direction I I think both of the candidates are um accomplished superintendents that showed incredible uh leadership qualities and um I
appreciated that having not been on the on the search committee um because I don't think malbro is the kind of District where someone can learn to be a superintendent there's so much work to be done on day one
that um I was pleased to see two strong superintendent candidates um come to us but as the process unfolded it became clear to me that um in order for us to
keep moving in the direction we're moving um to meet the needs of our staff our families our students um we need to look for someone else that brings with
us that level of experience both in the size of the district the demographics of um the students we serve um and um you know overall a skill set
different from these two candidates so I would support the idea of O reopening the search at this point thank you that's Ryan um thank you ladies for your
comments um I think this is a decision that nobody takes lightly and and the three of you have gone through this more than I think the remaining of us have um my 12 years on the committee the three superintendents that I've been involved in hiring have all been internal candidates so this is the first time
we've had or I think Earl myself and Mr and Dan have had the chance to be part of having an external camp Cate and I reviewed all the the the exit um all the all the information that we've gotten from the people who have
participated in the forums the emails we've received and it does seem pretty divided um I wished it was leaning it's slightly leaning more one way but not a lot um I did come here tonight planning to support one of the
candidates um so I don't know where we go from here um you know I don't I I mean I still open to more conversation I don't know what if anybody else has any other thoughts
Mr I think we've all had the conundrum for the last three or four days since we've last left met um I also had a lot of the same reservations I also come in tonight willing ready to support a candidate willing maybe the maybe a different story um because we are
looking for the person perfect person we're all looking for the perfect person I think every school uh system thinks it has a unicorn that's just the way it is um ours is no different I think ours is a unicorn believe me I believe that I just don't know where
we when we do the another search we're going to have to refine our search criteria I think a little bit more we have to be more specific about what we're looking for and not even probably interview people who may be qualified as uh Educators qualified as superintendent
but if we're specifically looking for certain types of uh of um criteria then we should have that as part of our specific criteria we want someone that's had so many has had such a a certain size school system has that c serve with a certain population we should be that
specific what we're looking for um again what we're also uh subject to is who is out there when we look and who sends their rumes to us um so we may be looking at making a more um again we'll discuss this I'm sure if
we decide to go on another search a more uh intensive search that may require a more intensive process than we had put into it not that I think we did not do our due diligent I think we did our work I did the same thing I was talking to Mrs Ryan I said think we I'm not a math
person you have keep saying that music person and I spent more time today taking all the numbers from the uh exit tickets and adding them up and dividing them and nothing came out with anything one or the other it just did not it was not a it was not something that was going to put us me over the edge for
anything during the course of the process from the beginning to the end because I was there from the beginning to the end I have to say that my opinion and my uh where my where my sympathies were going had changed through the process we went
through but was not changing to the point where I was jumping on a bandwagon as we band people like to say and so I just think with we really behoove us if we're going to do this because we know we're going into a tough time we have no idea what's going to happen at the
national level with education we cannot afford to have a big space between whoever we have and I'm I really wish Mrs Murphy would consider one more year just one more year or three more to get rid of I mean to get through what we have to go through the next three years
but we need to be careful that we don't leave our system with with nothing in a blank and then have something come up that we have we have to deal with in a way that we're not prepared to deal with so I I could go I said I came tonight willing to support one of the candidates
but I understand the the need for looking for a different person we are special we have our own special needs and I think we need to look at candidates from that lens from this point on and really refine who we interview and who we want to come and
see us so we can be more prepared the next time to select a candidate that does fit our needs and then we're looking at different types of qualifications that are more along the lines what I'm used to looking at for in candidates that I because I did this as
you know many years ago the first time I've ever done this it was an internal candidate back then as well um so I've done this but I have never dealt with it from this standpoint and it is been an eyeopener and I wish there was a way to say that something clicked in me that said this is the perfect thing to do and
it hasn't I'm just concerned of what's going to happen in the mean in the meantime if we have something happen drastically that affects us if we are going to be prepared to deal with it so that's my only concern with waiting it's other than that committee will do what it's going
to do and I'm I'll be happy to do that apologize for my voice by the way thank you um I just wanted to to to chime in as well I I I I I share a lot of the sentiments that uh people have said uh
throughout this process my opinion did you know the needle did move a bit during the whole process um I did come prepared to perhaps support one candidate but really what it comes down
to is I want to be excited about who we choose for a superintendent I want to look forward to them taking over and unfortunately for me neither one of the candidates uh inspired that of me so uh I do feel we probably need to do a
new search we do have time it's not it's not too late it's getting there but it's not too late so my thoughts um talking with other Mayors it's extremely difficult and it's
going to be a challenging road to recruit someone um having said that I respect the process I'm glad that we did not vote on it uh last week um so we could take this time so I appreciate all of you tabling that um as mentioned this
was a lot of information and we need to do this right and we need to do this correctly um as mentioned I think we're rolling the die either way we go whether that's a new search or with a candidate um I was prepared to vote on a candidate
um I think with the right coaching and the right investment in that candidate um I think that could happen but again that's a long road ahead of us as well so um if the committee decides to start the search I will support that um I just
hope that um we do find someone sooner than later only because it's going to be a difficult Road and we need to fulfill this role I know that trying to recruit on the city side has been challenging with critical roles um and I hope that
we can find the right candidate that does understand malbro um the two candidates were extremely valuable um I my concern was that um just from the budget process and the smaller town
atmosphere I think um that gave me some concerns but um being a new mayor um jumping into a big role I can only talk about my own personal experience and how difficult it was to navigate that but that's when you rely on department heads we have a strong leadership team that
would support that candidate um so if you were to hire me with my credentials I wouldn't be qualified for a mayor so to speak um because this is a $200 million budget of a CEO of a large
corporation so when you think of that um here I am trying to make it work every day and making important decisions it's something that I love to do but I can't do this alone you know I have to do it with the people that support and who take pride in malro I saw that with some
with one candidate who was open to that um and that's why I was ready to support that candidate but again we all have to work together and I don't want a candidate that we're not excited about as as um Mr has said so um if that if
that's the choice then um we'll need a motion and then we can get back to work because uh this needs to start probably tomorrow so if this happens Mr Brown I'm sorry now you have to get back to work and and uh and uh find us a candidate
but I would hope that all of you would be invested in finding a solution to this problem um once we move forward because again it does take a team effort so we can all rise above and we owe it to the students each and every
day yes Miss um since I kind of threw out the idea which was not what maybe were on some people's minds can I at least provide a little bit of insight before we would vote about some information
that I tried to pull to as I was trying to prepare my head because I would rather make sure we all kind of have that information in front of us because I think it is part of a a critical role
of moving forward if we needed to do a new search right um because some of us as you just mentioned some of us have have been a part of searches where we needed to like go out and about to um go through that and
there are a lot of different ways of of handling that and while Patty Brown was very helpful on trying to move us forward on this search um I would be remiss if I didn't say I think it was awfully taxing on her and
trying to do you know her her other job for the district and also doing a search is a lot so I did look at other um options that we might want to consider
which are um search firms that help um masc which we know is um our parent Organization for school committees is a group that they do offer um support
services around doing searches um nesda which is a company that is located here in Marboro and they support in many different ways whether it be searches around um school um
excuse me superintendents or whether it's from municipalities and such they do handle that type of material and searches and um as well there's another group called The Collin Center and um that is
a group that's associated with UMass Boston I believe um Boston sorry put it backwards but um they do handle um doing superintendent searches and educational consults and things like that um
essentially they all handle it in different Realms so we could be very specific about what our needs and expectations are on a large Sense on a smaller sense and that would
then put more of a price tag to it but I think it is fair to understand that we are would probably be looking at something in A1 to1 15,000 range if in fact we were to go that
route give or take okay but I just feel like you all needed to have that awareness about those options because I think that that would play a role potentially if we were to go down that path the other thing which some of you
all may remember from the past when um we did have an interim who was a retired superintendent that had stepped in years ago um Steve delot who is um a person that you may or
may not remember but um Steve had stepped in on our behalf as an interterm superintendent and he had retired uh with doing that uh we needed
to apply for a critical shortage waiver which is something that we would have to fill out a form that then goes to desie for approve approval by the um commissioner and it's not a grant it's
not a given that that happens but that may be something that might help us to work through this process um one thing that is changed about the critical shortage waiver that was different than
during Steve D lot's time frame um the critical shortage waiver at that time frame had been for an approval of a year um currently as it stands uh the critical shortage waivers are for 6 months and you can apply then for a
second 6 months should you need but again I you know it it's not a guarantee so I think we need to know about that as well um because that may
be another portion of the puzzle so I I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same informational page because it's a lot to have thrown at you and because of the nature that we need to have this
discussion in an open Forum I would want to make sure that you guys have all of these pieces to the puzzle for consideration okay so um with that I would like to make a
motion that we um do not move forward on uh voting to hire a new superintendent tonight and that we would move forward on a new search motion is on the table is there a
second can I ask possibly uh recess I think they're frozen oh yes they are yeah thank you well yes yes we will have a two-minute recess to hopefully figure
out they did look they did look they looked very St but just so wrapped up in what you were saying usually it's okay do we need to do a roll call with those of us here it looks like got kicked out but
we're back in but we're not so maybe we have to reset here so Scott is reaching up um talking to Scott e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e all righty welcome back sorry about the technical difficulties we will going back to the school committee vote on the
superintendent so we all kind of chimed in and then miss Hennessy was discussing what the possibility of what we can do moving forward or at least different ideas and cont so if you'd like to bring us back so unfortunately with the
technical difficulties I'm not sure that you um Heidi and Michelle heard some of the options that I had tried to look into to make sure that um in a session like this for the open meeting law that
we'd at least have the same awareness so quickly I looked into a number of different options that we could consider to support um doing searches like a search firm um masc which is a group
that we all know because they support the school committees masc does run superintendent searches and they do in different differing levels so we would need to kind of clarify exactly what our
specifics and needs would be um and uh nezda is another company that is located here in Marboro they do searches um and executive um supports municipality searches things like that
um and as well another group called The Colin Center and all three of these options have varying price tags but I think it would be fair to say that we may need to earmark if you were will um
give or take 10 to 15,000 is if we were going to go that route and potentially hiring a search firm to support us and the reason that I was throwing out about a search firm is
because we have certainly put a lot onto Patty Brown in trying to assist in doing this yet she has certainly plenty of responsibility for the district already going on and I can't even Envision
trying to ask her hi one more time can you give it another shot so that's really one of the reasons why I had looked down the path of potentially a search firm that might be able to help us if in fact that we went down that route and then the other thing that I
was able to find out um if you remember from a while ago we had uh an interim superintendent that assisted us who was a retired Ed superintendent um Steve delot and in doing that when you have a retired
superintendent that can help districts in an interterm role you need to as a district file what's called a critical shortage waiver and hopefully get that approved by um the commissioner at desie
uh the difference that I found out uh in talking with uh superintendent that is one of the past directors at Mass which is the superintendent support um State group um he had advised and then I
looked it up to confirm the critical short shortage waivers are now only on a six-month basis as opposed to previously when we had had um Mr doot here um that was a oneyear critical shortage waiver
so that that is just another element to this puzzle that you know not saying that that's the option but I just feel like you all need to know that information uh and you can apply for a second six Monon interm waiver but again
it's like none of it is guaranteed and so I just feel like we need to kind of have that information just in our you know in our realm um the information that I had secured around that on having a
discussion with um Folks at Mass another part is is that based upon where we are in the year we're in early to mid-march and so the the gut instinct I guess would be
like um trying to go ask for a critical shortage waiver right now probably would not find ourselves in a position where the commissioner would say yes to it because there is still time to
potentially fi find a superintendent that would fit our needs and so the suggestion was it is probably in our best interest if we feel the need that we need to go ahead and go out for
a search or we need something different that it is probably better for us to go ahead and do another SE chch hoping that we're going to obviously fill that need um be because a critical waiver at this point was probably not going to find an
approval and again it's rolling the dice have no idea but that's the information I was able to Garner in my discussions and and preparation for this meeting my question would be would the search committee be taking on the next
steps I would assume or at least discuss com up with an idea or move forward with the next steps as opposed to prev se correct the previous search committee um our charge is done okay so that committee no longer
exists in my opinion I I feel like if we're going to do it again well it sounds like we could have the option of going with a firm otherwise I think you need to develop then a new committee if you want to do another internal committee okay
Mr chair yes m Michelle regardless of whether or not we use a search firm we still need an internal search committee correct so we would have to sit a new search committee that could be comprised
of the same people should they agree to serve again but a new their charge is dismissed at the end of of the process so we'd have to do that
again okay the other the the other two cents I have is um using a search firm um may enable us to um
identify people to speak to about coming here that may not necessarily have been looking to apply at the outset um you know it might take a little bit
more of a head hunter kind of approach to identify somebody that would meet our requirements and using a firm could allow us to do that any other comments Sorry Miss Mr
my only concern with head hunting is if someone can be head hunted for us that person could be head hunted probably easily to go somewhere else that's the only concern I have that anybody that's willing to be head hunted terrible term would be willing to head be head hunted in later on somewhere else I'm just
concerned with that the way the way superintendent's careers are go go these days that that person would be you know willing they'll leave us to go somewhere else later on we're looking for someone who wants to stay here here and help us you know fulfill our destiny I guess the
word so that's my only concern with Head Hunters okay I believe there was a motion on the table and there was no second as of yet second it sorry I'll second
it Mr chair I could not hear what you just said so there's a there was a motion on the table and I asked if there was a second I don't think they were live when we made the motion so I I did not hear a motion okay the
technology was working um we had made a motion so or I had made a motion so my motion would be uh for us to not vote on a candidate for the superintendent role
tonight and to move forward on opening a new search for a superintendent for the marbor public schools there was a motion on the table and then it was just seconded by Earl is
there any further questions comments concerns Mr Dan I feel like we're jumping into a an empty pool now because I don't know what we're go what we're doing after this when we going to have that discussion we have to first vote on the
motion so that we can have that discussion but are we planning on doing that soon I guess is what my question is so my hope is that we would vote and we'd find out whether we are in support of that motion which would be basically
saying that we're going to do a search or we're not correct and then my hope would we would have a discussion about our next steps my only question is we we don't is the discussion going to take place as part
of this meeting no it's not on the agenda so we're moving that again further away that's my only concern so I I could do something but we have to actually vote on the motion before we
can do anything else and any further discussion is not on the agenda so we would just need to vote and that we can put on the agenda for the next school committee meeting or or I could ask for a suspension of the rules to have that discussion but we
need to actually vote on the motion so that's why I'm trying to have us have a vote on the motion at hand so that we might be able to entertain something further Miss
haidi um can I ask a clarifying point on the motion um I understand that the motion on the table is to re reopen the search but I guess should the first motion be the
acceptance or rejection of the two candidates that that that is clarified and you have kind of two things the motion the next steps I I think I think that they that part of the process has to be opened or closed so I'll accept
your amendment to that motion right and I will amend the motion to voting to not move forward on either candidate that have
been proposed second it I will second that any further comments questions concerns so we are voting to not move forward with the two candidates and to reopen the search just
believe the Hope was to only um just close just do the first portion of this which is only on um we can do it in two parts or one part so if you feel comfortable not moving forward with the two candidates okay so the motion is voting
to not move forward with either candidate that have been proposed and seconded questions comments concerns seeing none roll call Miss
Michelle yes Miss Heidi yes Mr Earl yes yes M Denise yes Mr Dan yes yes motion carries I would like to say thank you to
the two candidates um you have a long career ahead of you to the both of you um it's unfortunately it's not the right fit for Mar at this time but I know with your experience and Leadership qualities you will find a position that is the
right fit so best of luck to the two of you it was not an easy decision as you can tell so um thank you and best of luck moving on so may I ask for a suspension of the rules so that we can add an agenda item
for a discussion about our potential next steps based upon this vote a motion is on the table to suspend the rules and seconded questions comments concerns regarding Su just suspending the rules not the motion just suspend the
rules seeing none Mr Earl yes Catherine yes Miss Denise yes Mr Dan yes Miss haidi yes yes Miss Michelle yes and I vote Yes motion
carries thank you so then I would like to make a motion for us to um consider moving forward with a search fir uh how about a search
committee uh initially asking those that were already selected uh on the previous search committee to see if they would be able to be involved and if not then we
would need to obviously fill those roles do we want to repost the job or no stumped y all what's the process do we know what the proc what's the process for hiring um a search form do do like do we do that first and then post do
they post I don't know what the processes for that that is subject to chapter 30b if it's going to be 105,000 we have to procure that correct which opens up a lot more can of worms which is fine I just don't see the
harm of not I mean to post it and you know I I don't know I guess post it and and what is it just go wait and see or do we pro move forward with the RFP is it an RFP uh it would be a three quote
process so it's it's quicker than um than an ifb or an RFP so we could certainly move a little bit faster on it and probably have it you know within a week I would say so do we do both like do we repost and do that or do we wait till we do that like I don't just don't
understand the process so my my thought would be that I think to what Mr cruso was actually saying is that we actually need to put some priorities together about some of the the needs that have at
least Arisen in my in my mind as some priority needs that will help us to better tailor whatever we're going to do and that's I guess one of the reasons why I was feeling like an idea of having
at least you know a search Committee of some sort be able to quickly sit down with what the post had been and what were some of the the skills needs Etc that would meet from an
acquisition need so that that would be able to then be supplied to whomever the vendor might be um I feel like it's kind of hard to go out to the vendor if we don't have um some focus of about what
our hope is because you we can tailor a search in small needs or large needs when we had done a search a long time ago with Hazard young and natia right I'm sorry I'm trying to remember um that
search was rather large and extensive we actually had um a lot of community forums and needed to go through a process about what our needs were and it was very very very
extensive and me personally I don't think that we are probably at that point of needing to do multiple forums I think it's probably more of a refinement of what our needs are and then trying to
find the um search firm that might be able to help us and so it may not right R to the 10 grand but it may if that makes any sense Miss Hai um I I was just going to refer back
to that process we went through with um haard young matio whatever their name was and I apologize for butchering it um but I I think I understand what you're saying Katherine but I think we're approaching it the wrong way I think
if we could ask Miss Brown to contact the three companies that you have um suggested and through the RFP process they are leaders in surges that that is why you would hire
them they are also the ones as you said to help you craft what you are looking for we can all come up with the ideas of we've already come up with them because we know what didn't fit and what we are looking for I don't know
if it means spending 5,000 10,000 20,000 I would hope it's not that large but I also think if we value our system as much as we do and our children and what we
want they will make the suggestion of what is in that output for a job description yes we have a job description but what qualities we're looking for an in a person and they will also suggest how
we it may be the same three people who are on that search committee but I I don't know you know as you said it your charge was done and now we have to move forward um and we can start right away with saying things but that's still I
think they can help us craft that but um I I I I don't want to put the cart before the horse if we're going to decide to use an outside firm that's that's their specialty not ours and as you said charging Patty to do
more is not fair to her she did an amazing job and with what we've given her but I think we have if we've decided that from the pool of candidates that came before you that there wasn't a fit as Michelle
said earlier you know these companies can help you look at I remember it happened with us they can talk to people that would never have considered marbro but they know are a good fit or they know would be a good candidate for
whatever reasons and you know we've met people at the conferences that we've looked at and said o you know wow they're doing great things in their District wouldn't it be nice if they're here so we know they're out there it's just having the correct
people to have the conversation with them and I don't think any of us are are that person so that's that's my only suggestion any other further discussions Miss Michelle I think Shear I support what
Heidi just said I I I do too can you hear me yeah yeah now we can hello okay um I I agree with everything that Heidi said I mean that's this is what these search firms do we have worked with masc a number of times in
the past um when we did that search with Hazard young and AA we were in a very different position and you know they do an Intergalactic search and that is not what we need um I think one of the local
vendors that knows Massachusetts that knows our district um I think any of those three would probably be good fits for our needs um you I don't know if it's Patty that
reaches out or Matt or um you know whomever it is or or one of us um I don't know how how that actually happens but I would say reaching out to them and getting an idea
of what the costs might be is the first step if that's the that can happen tomorrow if that's the direction you want to go we just need a motion I would make a motion then that we make that first step that whomever I
I'm not sure who the right person is but that someone either in the administration or on the school committee reach out to masc NASDAQ and um I'm sorry Cather and who's the third firm colins
Center the Colin Center to um inquire about using those services so it's a request for service okay there's a motion on the table is there a second I'll second that and seconded any other further comments
questions concerns looks like you have a question yeah my only um question SLS suggestion is it seems like um Matt Wells might be the person to reach out on behalf of the school district and um to state that oh so
great thanks great minds think alike that is true thank you any other further questions comments concerns there is a motion on the table to have Mr Wells to reach out to start the request for services in a
second roll call vote if there's nothing further okay let's go Mr Dad yes Miss Michelle yes Miss Heidi yes Mr Earl yes Miss Katherine yes
Miss Denise yes and I am a yes motion carries you have a job Mr Wells bring us a superintendent no pressure don't have enough to this be fun all righty thank you
everyone for that and again apologies for the technical difficulties during such a critical time during our school committee meeting all right moving on acceptance of donations and gifts there is one St gobain for wicom school
and that is the amount for $1,280 and roll call vote Mr Dan yes Miss Michelle yes um we need a motion we need a motion yes motion to approve heid you're not here to
motion motions on the table thank you motion on the table and second I'm I missing a step here Mr Dan yes Melle yes Miss hii yes Mr Earl yes Miss
Denise yes Miss Catherine yes and I vote Yes motion carries moving on to reports of school committee subcommittees nothing no policy not right now have you been busy with
something I don't understand no no okay seeing no reports yes oh sorry thank you Miss Heidi um I just want to give a negotiations update that we are um currently in negotiations with both the
cafeteria and the custodians and things are progressing thank you okay anyone else no okay members
Forum M you all right I have a list onto the fun stuff I wanted to congratulate the production of Frozen Junior that happened this past weekend at the middle school um and then remind everybody that the High School Musical is coming up the
weekend of March 21st through the 23rd and it is Percy Jackson and then um oh nobody mentioned the J the Jazz award um hold on I was going to pull up that information is that what you going
to say so um just wanted to publicly congratulate the MHS Jazz Ensemble that earned a gold medal at the Massachusetts Association for jazz education District Festival last week uh March
4th um and uh the seniors Andy Zang on the piano Andrew name on drums n Nim on drums and Chris Mo on base were named outstanding musicians so they move on to
states on the 22nd of March and that is held at norward high school so anybody can attend sometimes as a fee um so yay for them I got two more things go all right heidy and I reviewed and signed the
warrant or I signed the warrant um and then I just wanted to mention anybody who might still be watching the malor junior Women's Club Metro West princess Boutique is this Saturday at the high school from 8: to 3: if you are a student or know a student in need they
can still register for an appointment but you do need to register for employment we don't really take walk-in so please register if you would like to attend oh and in case you don't know what it is I probably should State it's an event where um any student in need can come and get a prom dress and
accessories to help ease the financial burden of the prom we have currently 196 students registered excellent congratulations to the Jazz Ensemble yes oh next up so next up is just a
quick question um budget book will we be seeing a budget book shortly because times time's a ticken towards our meeting sorry we're making edits earlier and I think Mr Wells is waiting for my
message that I was doing tonight the last piece yeah was the the superintendent's message and then the books will start being put together this week um and we will have electronic copies as well okay okay I'm just asking do you feel like we have a chance of seeing that so we will have it for the
weekend only because it's a a lot to go through you'll do electronic and printed so electronic will come first yes that's awesome thank you I sorry for kind of jumping but I I know that um I want to
be able to have an effective meeting next Wednesday and uh not having it over the weekend would leave me with not getting to it and I think probably some others of us CU side job is you know
yeah no I agree okay thank you do do you know the date I believe there's a craft fair MRA High craft fair Sunday is the crafty Panther it's a craft fair to benefit the student council so that is this Sunday I forget the times but there
is no entrance fee but there's a lot of vendors so stop by and see that as well yeah anything else from Members Forum okay you know what I
need do it motion to adjourn please motion to adjourns on the table and seconded questions comments concerns about adjourning seeing n last roll call vote Miss Michelle she's Frozen of course she is we can adjourn
with with us Miss Heidi yes Mr Earl yes Miss Katherine thank you and night and yes thank you we need a yes thank you yes yes we adjourned at 9:06 thank you everyone for
your patience tonight have a great night