actively utilize physical spaces, provide transportation, and offer specialized services to students. And whereas the city of Medford is undergoing re-evaluation of zoning and residential areas, be it resolved that the district administration shall undertake a review of potential solutions to alleviate issues of
overcrowding and associated inequities. Um, so I am going to turn it over to Dr. Glucy um to do um a run through of the report that responds to this resolution. Um and then uh a little bit later in the
agenda, there'll be some time for um members of the committee to ask questions as well as I see there's a bunch of people who have joined us. Um so uh we do have some dedicated time for all of you as well and um then we'll wrap up. So Dr. Blucy, why don't you
take it away? All right. Thank you very much. Good evening everybody. Um so as member Graham mentioned the following presentation is in response to the resolution um to take a closer look a little bit at enrollment across the
elementary schools and areas in which there are definitely some you know overcrowding areas of constraint. Um and so we kind of chunked a little bit of this presentation by data sets. So you
may see this slide again when we're breaking up how the data is going to be presented. Um this first piece is going to show you some data around enrollment in general education as well as specialized
programs over the last three years, average class sizes and projected student population um in some of the outy years. So this first one um you can see that this is enrollment in general education
as well as specialized programs, special education and English learner programming. It's important to note that what you are viewing here is data that was reflective of the October 1 SIMS data that we have to report to the department of education each year.
Um that being said, there are definitely some fluctuations in all of this data probably as students are um identified in need of special education throughout the year and enrollment fluctuates both in coming into the district and leaving
the district district throughout the year. Um but this was data that is reflective of the reporting that we do. So it's standard across all of our reporting areas. Um, it's important to also note that the
the first column gives the total enrollment for the past three years in all four elementary schools. It shows you what the general education population is and the special education includes all students on IEPs. So, this
is student which is an individual individualized education program for students. So this is reflective of students that are both in receiving special education services in general ed as well as students that are in our
subsparate programming. That is the same for the information here for English learner. So the numbers here are reflective of all students receiving EEL services both in general education as well as in the newcomer programs which
are present at the McGllin Elementary and the Misatuck Elementary. Um, I think just some key pieces here are just if we're focusing on this school year, we do see some wide variation between uh the spectrum of the
Roberts, which is at 586 as of October 1. I do know that we're closer to the 610 um number right about now, and the missuck at 418. Those are really like the two ends of the spectrum in terms of
uh total enrollment for the district. I think we can also see that um though there's a newcomer program at the Misatuck there and at the McGllin there's about a 100 student difference in e numbers from the McGlin to the Misatuck. Uh the next slide just gets
into a little bit more detail for special education services and it just presents the data in a different way. So you can also see the overall population of special education and English learners in the total enrollment of all
four elementary schools. Um some of the things for us that we are digging deeper. So I think it's important to note that uh this resolution was very important. It was conversations that were that not
only I heard in the listening sessions uh that I did at all four elementary schools for caregivers but it was also conversation that I heard in the listening sessions that I had with staff and it's also conversations that we're having as an administrative team
um internally. And so we worked hard to get this data, but we also are having ongoing conversations to dig deeper with this data. The conversations are just beginning, I feel like. So I just wanted to put that out there. But some of the
things that we are looking into is just making sure that we're responding to um some of the numbers and digging deeper a little bit so that we can see I guess if I go back to we can see
that like the data looks to be somewhat historical. There's nothing that's earthshattering that we are seeing that we say whoa this is an anomaly in the data that we have to dig deeper. I think we can kind of see the trends that are are happening in our enrollment. Um, but
one of the things we might want to look into is our special education and making sure what is happening in terms of how we're identifying students. Um, because there may be some shifts in the numbers. I think one of the things
that's, you know, the Roberts has the highest enrollment but yet the lowest percentage of students on an IEP, whereas the missuck has uh the lowest enrollment but the highest percentage of students on an IEP. So there are ways in which we need to do a little bit further
digging um as to what these numbers um are really reflecting and how we're getting there. This um graph just shows the average just an average for elementary class size um throughout the district
for the past three years. And I think again the Roberts has the highest enrollment, but our class average sizes are pretty similar across the district and for the most part have been. Um I
think we can in and for me that would be that we are meeting the need in terms of the enrollment by adding additional sections. Um we did collapse some sections at the missuck and I think
that's also reflected in the average class size for this school year as opposed to what it was last school year. Um and in school year fiscal year 23 this just has some data based on
projected student population. So for the bulk of our data we it is reflective of October one reporting again for the department of ed we are looking at birth data. We are looking at at consensus
data that we get through the city. Um, but it is important to note and it is on our radar that we know of, you know, at least three projected housing developments in the city of Medford um that will contribute. We have some of
that information where we know um how many units and what the projections may be to affect Medford public schools, but we don't have some of that drilled down data at least for what is somewhat projected for the Salem
Street. There are no concrete plans, so it's hard to determine what impact that may have on the Roberts right now at this specific time. Whereas some of the other developments, we know a little bit about um the number of affordable housing units. We know a little bit information
about what those units look like in terms of how many bedrooms. So, we can make some assumptions about what that would mean to the schools and the type of people that would be moving into those areas. Um but we still don't have a lot of data on the Salem Street one.
Um Dr. Glucy, can I just clarify real quick before you move on? Please. Yes. Do you want me to go back? Yeah, if you No, I don't think it ma I don't think that matters tremendously. But the difference the difference between what is the what Salem Street and some of the
other developments is that Salem Street is not actually a project. Salem Street is a zoning effort to allow projects in the future. So there is no project that I'm aware of that is like
in the same kind of development phase that like projects in Medford Square are um with the new announcement of um the project there. That's a project. It has a number of units. Um Salem Street is
not that. Salem Street is zoning that allows private owners of property to do things to their property. That that is the only thing that's happening. That zoning effort is happening across the entire city actually. It is not just
Salem Street. Um there is there are reszoning efforts happening citywide in and they are being looked at neighborhood to neighborhood. But none of those efforts equals a project in the same way that like the project on the Felsway is a project with like a number
of units etc. So right not to say that that can't come but that is that is one of the key differences um in my mind and I think that can get sort of muddled in the conversation. So I just wanted to clarify that before we moved on. No I
appreciate that u I appreciate that clarification and I'm sure people listening will appreciate that clarification. Um I'm kind of grateful to hear that right now. Yeah. And I think the other thing that um we may want to share eventually is
some of the rationale around the enrollment study that we just finished for Medford High. Um and there was a lot of discussion there about what housing development really does to student enrollment. and the data
does not show that it changes student enrollment in any drastic way with a few exceptions in terms of the types of housing. Um, and so we can make that available um as well in a little bit more of a connected way. Um because that
that enrollment study I thought was like enlightening and interesting in terms of like what we were how they looked at our enrollment and how we had to do some d some digging in in a couple of places where we felt like specific planned developments were going to do something
different to our enrollment than we were than the sort of normal numbers would bare metal. Yeah, thank you for that. Okay, so this the next slide is going to talk about space and staffing
um across the four elementary schools. And so it is important to note that a lot of this uh information that is presented here came about from ongoing conversations that we've been having um and specifically with me and
the principles. And so I think what was important to really just get a handle on is that space is very different across the elementary schools. And so I would say that while the MC after the Roberts,
the Brook School has the highest enrollment, but the McGlin does experience a lot of space constraints. And I think just on the face the McGlin elementary school has only three floors where the other four elementary schools have four floors. So it does reduce and
the you know it it it reduces the amount of classrooms and some of the spaces that quite honestly the newcomer classrooms are in are not full classrooms because some of the
spaces are were originally built to be more of support spaces and smaller group spaces. So the McGlin though their enrollment might not be at full capacity there are some space constraints for them. Um they
um at present do not house any MEEP classrooms but for next year well the specializ the special education subsparate program that the McGlin houses is the access program. uh that program is growing and so next year they're are going to need an additional
classroom um for the access program. Thankfully we could condense one of the double sections of the newcomer classrooms and so we we're able to kind of figure that out for next year. Um but I just think that's import that's just
an important piece for people to be aware of for the McGlin the McGllin enrollment because they are not um at the level of capacity that the Brooks and the Roberts are run each year with a fluctuation of either three or four sections per grade level whereas the
Brooks and the Roberts are running on average four to five sections each year per grade level based on enrollment. The Robert's school ha houses houses houses the special education sub separate program for connections and they have
five classrooms currently with two MEEP which is preschool programs. Um so that's a total of five classrooms. Uh as opposed to the McGlin they have newcomer so that is uh five classrooms plus
access is six. The Brooks School houses the languagebased program as well as the learning group program for their special education subsparate programmings each for two classrooms um as well as two preschool classrooms
for a total of six additional classrooms. The missuck does not have space constraints at this time. Um they run based on enrollment an average of three sections per grade level.
Um some there was one year where they needed four sections um of kindergarten but this year they they needed two sections for second grade. So um enrollment does fluctuate there as well. They house the newcomer. So that
is for grades one through five. Um just as the McGlin that's five classrooms and they house the therapeutic learning program for their special education subseppparate program. Um they have three classrooms in use for that and
they house three MEEP classrooms. It's also important to note that the missuck is the only elementary school that is able to provide a dedicated classroom space for the afterchool program. So some staffing constraints
really are it's tied to enrollment but it is also tied to the specialized programming that's in the buildings. So I think part of I hate to use the word constraint but part of the word cons part part of the constraint at the Roberts and the Brooks
is that currently their special education subsparate programming is the largest in terms of enrollment. Um the access programming at the McGlin and the therapeutic learning program at the MSAT
have the lower enrollment. there's only one to three classrooms whereas the Roberts and the Brooks have um six plus um and that's that's that's part of it. And with the need for
those classrooms, there's also the need for additional staff. So, a lot of additional related services um need to be given to the Brooks and the Roberts in order to meet the needs of the students within the within the building. So, some of that additional
staffing constraint is really to just ensure that the needs are met for the students and the growing enrollment. And each year so far since I left school leadership and have been up here um since the pandemic, the Roberts has
needed a an additional fifth kindergarten every year. Um we can't say that for the other buildings. The Brooks is right behind. It's most of the years, maybe not all, but the Roberts it's been every single year.
Uh, I would also say just as a side note that um the Roberts because of the increased enrollment and because of their programming could use some additional support, some additional behavioral support, whether that's through a BCBA
board certified behavior analyst um or a behaviorist um they're in need of some additional support in that area. So the next section of the resolution talks about the average number of intradist approvals and the impact that
sibling preference may have on that. So before I advance the slide to show to show the data, I do want to just frame what that means. So, intradistrict approvals are situations in which students have been given permission to
attend a school outside of their residential zoned school. Now, students that are in need of services, so students that may need newcomer, um they are going to receive transportation to attend the McGlin or
the Misatuck. and students that through their through the team decision and the needs of their IEP, if they need a special education subsparate program, then they're going to receive transportation to go there. There has
been a um there has been a long-standing practice um at one of the schools that there is sibling preference to allow students that attend either the learning group or the language-based programming
um at the Brooks that they their siblings can go to the Brooks as well. I think if we just go to that far column, um we don't see that level of sibling preference at really um at the other
three schools. For this current school year, there are nine students at the Brooks that do not live in the Brooks area, but their sibling is part of the language-based or the learning group, and so their siblings um have attended.
that is not something that I am necessarily managing or approving. Whereas if we look to the first two columns um since I came up here in
2020 and to get a little well let me back up. I apologize. Um, prior to to 2020, there were, as we can see, um, 22 students attending the Brooks that did not live in the Brooks area, four
students attending the McGlin that did not live in the McGlin area, two at the Missituck, four at the Roberts. In order to get a better handle on this, I started working with um the superintendent at the time, Dr. Maurice
Edward Vincent as well as Megan Fidlerary um our director for family and community engagement that also has a role in the registration office to try and start tracking this data. at the time um for
interd district approvals prior to 2020, we actually were providing transportation to families uh in other parts of the city to bring them to the Brooks and that stopped uh around
2021 and we began really looking at the needs for interdist approvals and I think which dovtales to our convers conversation at last night's school committee meeting in an effort to where
we there was some afterchool need and we weren't really able to meet all famil family's needs to provide after school care. We developed uh an internal intradistrict approval process and that
process was having conversations with families around their hardship and their request to attend a school outside of their residential area. Those conversations really the approvals were given just for the hardship of
afterchool care or family situations that were um delicate and they had care or transportation that otherwise needed to be handled in a in a
different zoned area. And so those approvals were given. Those approvals did not include transportation. They did not include um any sort of enrollment on the weight list of afterchool programming. Um and you can see since
2020 really 2022 2023 these numbers that are highlighted in yellow reflect the approvals that I have approved. um trying to also balance some of the
enrollment and the needs of the families. I don't know if you want me to pause here on this slide or just keep going. Question. Yes. Um these are the where they're they're transferring in
um in most where they're going in most where they're going. Yes. These are students that upon um let's say upon enrollment they are zoned for
um the Brooks but they have a caretaker in the McGlin area and for various hardship reasons um I approve the the the student to attend the McGlin outside of their zoned
area for the Brooks. There are situations in here which may involve other delicate situations such as um where the department of children and families are involved DCF or situations
of um bullying or uh discord things of that nature. So it's not all strictly uh enrollment but I can only speak to what's in yellow. the numbers that are in
brown. Um, I can't I I don't have data on how that came to be. Thank you. Okay. To proceed. Yes. Okay. This last piece is on
transportation and um this just so that we're aware I already spoke about how we were providing transfer transportation um which did result in an additional two to three buses that no longer happens
um and these are the ration here on the left um which I already spoke about I do think it's important just in one year to see the difference in transportation costs Um, when we look at what the yellow bus is at the top, you almost feel like
we're getting a deal that it only went up by $15. Um, but the daily rate for one bus this year is $475. We currently have 16 buses running. Um, so we will maintain that.
We are in the middle of updating the contract for our yellow bus. I don't have the exact cost of what fiscal year 26 will look like, but I think it's very reasonable to assume that it's going to be a little bit north of
$475. I think the most um drastic change here is in specialized transportation, which is our vans. There are several reasons why we need van transportation. Um, you can see that we have it here for
MEEP. We have it for special education needs. We run it in the summer for extended school year for special education. We also have some vans that run for um our EL students and for our
homeless students under Mckin Vinto. So, we right now you can see the difference. Um, last year it was about $25ish a day and now it's $75 a day. The vans run and Miss Bowen could probably
speak to this a little bit more articulately than I because she um this is part of her daily existence, but they're they're based on seats. Correct. It's the number of seats on a
bus or on a van. Um, a lot of our vans only hold eight students, but if there are car seats or a monitor on it, then that will um reduce the number of students that we can have on a van. So, typically there's six to eight students.
Um, and it depends on with MEEP we have morning and afternoon sessions. So, we run we have two separate runs going at that time. Um but yeah, so we need to make sure that the students are safe on the vans that they if they have a
harness or a buddy buckle as well as car seats for our younger students. So did you have a question? Do I see your hand up? You did. Um is there any um I mean I don't see a total here, but that's fine. That not not required, but
um is there a point where we just don't just buy our own vans? Um, I know, sure. We've just reordered a bunch of vans. Um, and I I mean, I don't know the cost analysis on that, but I suppose somebody has to drive them is the other catch.
Yes. Um, at Shore, I believe the staff drive the vans, so it's going to be very different. But just something to think about. I mean, um, but those numbers per day probably don't come up. I mean, it it isn't to
say that we can't have staff drive the vans either, by the way. I mean, it happens at shore. We'd obviously have to negotiate that with our bargaining partners, but I guess there are plenty of people who would be capable of it and who would be open to the additional
compensation. So, just something to think about. Um, because these numbers, like all transportation costs, are going just up and up and up and up. Um so just a thought they are. Thank you.
Okay. So the last piece is just a little bit of a summary and some of the things that we've talked about internally. So I think very you know first and foremost there were some major takeaways in running all of this data and that we
just want to make sure that we you know punctuate right here. So there's definite variation in enrollment across the district. Um after Medford High School, the Roberts School has the highest enrollment in the city which is primarily due to its location. I do think that is the piece a little bit
about the data seemed to be mostly historical. The Roberts is situated in a part of the city that has a lot of multif family homes and I don't think we've seen a lot of like family turnover in South Medford
where the Misatuck is situated as much as we have at the Roberts. Space constraints are felt at three of the four elementary schools um which I've already kind of talked about. The missuck is able to provide dedicated space for the afterchool
program in ways that the other three schools are unable to do at this time. Um the special education subsparate programming space also varies as we said in this presentation due to the enrollment and the individual student needs of the programs which definitely
guides um and impacts the level of staffing required. We do feel that in additional conversation is needed to review the interd district protocol. It is not a policy at this time. I would welcome further conversation about that at the
rules and policy subcommittee. And just as we talked about, there's definitely an increase in transportation costs overall that are um a big impact. So, some of the some of the things we
engaged in conversation about, which is not what we're necessarily bringing forward tonight, but I do want it to be known that we really had a lot of conversation. You know, one of the conversations was reassigning incoming
incoming Robert's enrollment at kindergarten. And once they hit the capacity per the teacher contract saying in essence the Roberts is closed and anyone else that enrolls in the Roberts kindergarten
would have to be transported to let's say the missuck. Um I'll just kind of go through them and then tell you why we we really didn't settle on these. Uh, another solution we talked about was taking all kindergarten enrollment and bringing it to a weighted
lottery system so that we're we would in essence be maybe moving away uh from community- based schools. But the weighted part would of course be that families that have siblings already in the school would would have a higher
weight or maybe need um would have a higher weight. But that was one thing we did talk about. We also did talk about conducting a feasibility study on the use of the misatuck because there is there's
great difference in the enrollment of the Roberts versus the enrollment of the missuck. As I said, those are the two ends of the spectrum. And so are there different ways that we could actually just leverage or use the missuck? Part of that conversation led to this next bullet which would be like a
restructuring of all grade spans potentially. Um meaning that one way is we could look at the elementary and have the elementarymentaries all service prek to grade four. We could have a middle school take grades 56 and another middle
school take grades 78. We could also use the Misatuck as an early learning center and house all of prek through and kindergarten and grade 1 at the Matuck and then look at our other elementary schools to service different grade spans
maybe grades 2 through 4 or 2 through five. We also discussed reviewing the placement of our elementary subsparate programs um that we have housed throughout the
district because the highest enrollment of those programs is at the Brooks and the Missituck. And we also talked about engaging in discussions in partnership with school committee for the process of
redistricting. So, all of these things were discussed. Um, some of them are are much longerterm projects, but I think it doesn't feel good to say that we are going to stop
families from enrolling if they live in that neighborhood. It also would create uh a hardship financially possibly to be trans to be adding additional transportation mechanisms in order to educate students. and we see the price
of transportation increasing. It also doesn't feel great to say that families wouldn't know entering kindergarten um which school their child was going to and what that um what other additional hardships that may cause um or
how we would kind of have conversations around uh after school. So, all that being said, there are some short-term solutions that we have been much more um
I guess I could say kind of like uh serious about. One would be the to relocate the preschool MEEP programs from the Roberts to the Misatuck for next school year. We are still looking into what that might look like. It may
be a small uptick in transportation costs, but we don't 100% know those that that number yet, which is why we're still kind of looking into that analysis. But that would free up uh classroom space at the Roberts. Um, and
we are looking, the Roberts is feeling some additional constraints in just their how their schedule runs in the school. And so one of those areas is their specialist schedule. And Principal
Croll is an amazing um leader that is focused on equity and inclusion for all of her students. And so every student at the Roberts School participates in specials. And so for the connections students, some of those
students are able to really engage in the opportunity of going to specialist classes in the gened setting in a true inclusive manner. And some students based on their
um based on their need and based on their disability that is something that they struggle with. And so Miss Kroll has been able to provide a more sheltered specialist uh experience for her students. And we
don't want to see that stop. But one of the ways we could alleviate for next year the pressure of that is to say that we are providing additional staffing to the Roberts so that the specialist schedule isn't so constrained and that
we can really actually provide um all of her students with the the specialist experiences that they deserve. Um and then the other thing is that we are we are going to do a space
utilization study of all four elementary schools and the two middle schools this summer. It's going to start July 1. We uh have contracted with HMFH architects. They are going to do the study. They're
really going to be able to go into all of those all six of those schools and give us the information about how we're using our space, how space was intended upon when the buildings
were first opened, and give us a little bit deeper of an understanding about how we can leverage our spaces better and and what we're able to do. I think this information would also inform if we are entertaining reorganizing our
structure at all. This kind of study is going to be needed to engage in those conversations about restructuring. And member Russo, did you have a question?
Yes. Um Oh, you want to say thank you? Um, could you go back to slide 21? Yes, let me try to do that. Oh, see, it's just going to advance me. Hold on one minute. Don't mind my templates here. Um, for some reason, I'm currently
Is there not a There's an arrow right next to the 24 to the left of it. I know, but for some reason I have a Something's in the way. Yes. Yes. I love that. Um, anyways, what what's on there? Arrow. Do it. Oh, yeah. Try the
keyboard. Try the keyboard. One more. Uh, yep. Okay. Hold on one second. Whoops. Look up. There it is. So, um, N other direction. Oh, this is it, right? Sorry,
the number went away. So, I stopped paying attention. Um, so, you know, the redistricting is always a challenge in every district that's ever existed. Um, and I'm not afraid of a challenge. I'm
not afraid of the political fallout that will occur. 100% will occur. I bought a house right next to the school and now you're telling me my kid has to go to school all the way across the city. Um, and I feel for folks in that situation. I mean, how
would you know that we're having this meeting right now? Your f you're you haven't even had a kid yet or you have your first child. You're not paying attention to this meeting. Um, so that's all manageable. It's also a a in my mind a a a neverending cycle. like
if we just redistrict then it's just a temporary band-aid because um you know I live practically as far away from the Matuk which is where my kids went. I I mean I could walk to the Brooks in a blink of an eye. Um but you know the Misok had to
be stretched all over the place. Um and I mean I didn't know what school my kids were going to go to so I didn't care. But um but my point is just like if you told me that if I moved two houses over it would have been the Brooks and I just glanced at those
stupid school rating websites not knowing that they're garbage. Um I've been like, "Oh, I guess I'll buy the house two doors down." And um that will just I mean folks will continue to do that. Um,
and not to generalize about who lives in Medford, but you know, the folks that are buying single family homes that are in predominantly West Medford and our Brooks zoned, like they're doing the research for that. So, it's going to be, and I'm not saying others
aren't, but um, it's just going to be a problem that we just have to keep revisiting. Now granted, we're 25 years now since we've been in the new school, the new schools, the old new schools. And um there has been a couple
of at least one redistricting which was sort of just school committee wasn't involved. It's just like the superintendent took the map out and moved the streets around. Um is my understanding. Um, so I'm I'm not a fan of redistricting and
um not when I see all these other options. If these other options were totally like ridiculous and just could not work for gazillions of reasons, um, then redistricting it is like that would be the the the the tool in our toolbox. But
you know this um you know the I know those are two options. Uh you know the prek to four and then the two middle schools is one I know I've talked about with some of you all before. The the prek to one
and then I mean I hadn't thought of that one and I I I think that's very interesting. Um so you know there's a lot of talk about continuity in a school. Um I think that
the middle school um lottery process to me has shown me that people really want continuity with their student cohort. Mhm. Like it's rare to get the same teacher one year after the next unless there's a reorg
and you get really lucky. Um and so yeah, you'll have different specialists, you'll have different food service workers and the different secretary if you're in a different school, but you want to be with your classmates. And so,
um, both of those options listed there very much interest me much, much much more than redistricting because, um, I just feel like we're just kicking the can down the road now. And you know like it the prek to one
like some years that'll be a lot more prek to one some years it'll be a lot less or not a lot but the fluctuation that occurs will not be impacting other schools. It it'll be centralized. It'll be in my mind easier to manage. And um
so I will the the space study they're going to see all these options or are they going to just provide data and then we're going to think about them? I did have a question. The latter. Okay. Okay. Um All right. Well, if they're not going
to have to do the thinking on this, then all that talking I just did was for nothing. Uh the weighted system by the way um you know I'm actually a fan of the weighted system for a few reasons that unlike I
don't think families are a fan of such a system to be clear. Um, but you know, the mixing of our students across the city, like we're we're we're one city. And this isn't when I grew up, well, I didn't grow up around here, but I grew
up in a place where there were no neighbors. Um, but you know, the the neighborhoods that people many of the people who live in Medford still remember were, you know, they were all the kids on the street and we all knew each other and we walked to school and all and um I really wish we could go
back to that, but I know most kids are not roaming the streets at all. Like it's just shocking how few kids you ever see um on the streets. And so, um, this notion that your friends that you go to school with have to be the
friends that live next door, um, isn't one that I I like it, but it's I think that's the thing that's gone that is never coming back unless we can literally stop having cell phones and game systems. Um, so I would love I
would too, but I think we all have to continue to mourn it and move on. But um so you know mixing kids across neighborhoods and frankly socioeconomics and and all the other things I think is
a great idea. Um however if there is one system on this list that will cause an endless political firestorm, it is the weighted system. The kid who the family who buys a house next to pick your school and then is told they're going to the school
on the other side of the city. Um, every one of those people will be screaming at us a school committee and then if we don't have enough time for that, they'll go to city council. Um, and you know, yeah, and I do have to say the one thing that I appreciate so
much that's so wonderful about the Missatuck is it's also the only elementary school that truly represents the population of Medford in one elementary school. And
yeah, I mean I I loved the school and I I I um you know I I don't my kids didn't go to the other schools so I can't comment on those schools but the the uh cultural aspects the you know there was a um at least before the pandemic ruined
everything. Um, we had the uh the uh sort of it wasn't Thanksgiving, but it was like a a big thing with lots of food and all the different um backgrounds of folks in the community that sent their kids there came and it was there was
clearly a fire code violation. There was so many people every single year. Um it was wonderful. So, um I do agree with that, but I just think um the weighted system is like a a
pretty nasty surprise for families. Um I think that once we get full, you're going to have to do that for now. Um but I would be a big fan of what what is it going to take? What's it going to cost to do one of those restructurings? Um,
and I mean for 2027 like at the school year 2020 fall of 2026 or something like there may end up you know looking at these numbers. I know that there's um you know if we move like
a bunch of kindergarteners or preschool kids into the middle schools and we into Andrews then we would run into like the bathrooms are wrong and all this other stuff that's very expensive. Um so I I'm just
sorry. Sorry. Um, I do think that's important to note too is that in order to do the work for this resolution and and to get the data and have some initial conversations, this process to lead us
to this subcommittee meeting has been pretty insular. Um, I have not engaged in conversation around solutions with um staff members or with caregivers. I think that is one of the things that I'm
happy that we're here at this subcommittee meeting um to also just extend the conversation. This was our list of solutions based on the data as a
preliminary attempt. Um I think you know as I've been looking at this list as well like the other thing that sort of strikes me that is a conundrum is when you look at the placement of missuck
um relative to the placement of all the other schools geographically it does create a challenge because it's in the corner of the city. So there's there's not a 360 degree realm around the missuck. There's
just like, you know, sort of half of that, right? There's 180 degrees of houses available. And I'm not a space planning expert, nor am I a redistricting expert, but I've looked at the maps several times and just sort of
gotten to the conclusion that like we would have to pick kids up next to the McGlin and send them to the Mistatuck or we'd have to pick them up next door to the Brooks and send them to the Mistatuck because there's no other way you could like scoop up another 150 kids
because of the placement of that school. And it does make me wonder whether the placement of that school does mean it shouldn't be used quite the same way as the other schools that have like an
actual radius around them in terms of like pulling students into a place that's not too too far away. Um, so that we can have more walkers to school and all of that. Um, which I think is valuable for all kinds of reasons. So, I've often thought about like what could
the Mississippi be actually like the the early ed didn't sort of come to my mind, but I was, you know, really thinking like we've invested all this money in the McGlin playground. Could the McGlin become a much bigger elementary school and the missuck take
on something else like a 56 or something like that? Um, so I do think this like study would be a really important place to sort of get some additional data about where we go from here. Um, the
other concern that I have though is like what do we need to do for August um to alleviate what's happening at the Roberts? like do we need to ask incoming kindergarten parents if
there are volunteers to be redistricted over to Miss Tuck? Like how do we like it just seems like there is 610 students is too many students for that building. So what what do we need to do in the short term? I think is my
question that could alleviate the right now. I think for me and I, you know, I do open up that question to beyond myself. I know we have Michelle Croll on the call. Um, Joan Bowen, there's
caregivers. Um, there's other admin on the call. I think the only thing that I would say and again this is something that we've only been talking about since January and so there hasn't been a lot
of time to message to kind of have a little bit more intent on that and I don't want to overburden the Roberts but I think this is why we are tracking the kindergarten
enrollment oment. Every week I share with school leaders where we are and what that looks like. And at the very least, I think relocating the two preschool programs
will free up some space from his croll. Hiring an additional teacher will free up the pressure in that's currently in the specialist schedule. And those are band-aids. Mhm. Or 25
26. Um I am completely open to to your point about reaching out to incoming kindergarten families and seeing what is there. Anytime someone reaches out with interd district approval for the Roberts, I pretty much have been
approving it. Um but it's not much. So I am definitely open to to those questions. And do you have a sense for like and maybe this is a next step like if we relocated the MEAP
programs, how big could the kindergarten class get before like we have to ring the bell again? Like could could you take if you relocated those two classrooms, could you take a fifth class at the births next year?
Michelle can speak to like the specifics of this. I think it's not she she's been living with five kindergarten classrooms, so it's not the the matter of like do we have a fifth kindergarten classroom? It's it's that additional section. Correct. No, I think that's what I mean. Like if you if you don't
have those two meep classes, could you add a section knowing like how the rest of your sections in the other grades are going to fall out? Um, I don't think there's been a year where we've needed six, right?
No. Okay. So, right now, like Dr. Glucy just said, I currently have 5Ks, so that would be fine. And I think that my worry is right now um I do have to add a section of fourth grade
and I also if approved um I do I'm going to have to add another section of grade two because I currently have grade I have five first grades with I have 90 kiddos that will be moving on to grade
two which would require five Um, that's where it gets tricky for me because I don't now have another classroom. So, if I opened if the two meeps left and went to the missuck, I would be able to make a couple shifts um
cuz those two MEEP classrooms are downstairs on first floor. I could relocate um my connections classrooms that are upstairs on third floor to come down, which would give me the classroom space for the other grade levels. So it
would actually it would open up a lot of doors for me at the Roberts if that were to occur. So if we move those two me classes, you can have the right number of classrooms
one to five and you could again support five kindergartens if necessary. Correct. Okay. that I think that with the additional with the additional right so
my next question is whether the additional staff that the Roberts needs are in the budget yet or if we need to you know add them they're not yet okay so we have to find a way to
support two additional two two I believe the additional fourth is in the budget. The additional second is not and the specialist teacher is not. That's correct. So it would be two two more
FTEEs. And does the budget include five kindergarten or four? Five. Okay. Got it. So there's So it's net two extra that we need to find a home for in the budget. Correct.
Um the so the space study my other question um is whether the space the space study only basically is going to give us the data of like here's what you could consider doing with this space like they're not going to engage in like
the public conversation that's for the district. It is got it member Rinfeld. Thank you. Yeah. So, thank you for all this. I know that pulling it together was was a lot and thanks to everyone
who's on this call. Um, so I think I'm going back a little bit to some of the questions about the previous slide, but um I'm really intrigued by the early childhood. Um, as as member Russo said,
I've heard the 5678 floated. I hadn't seen anything around the restructuring at the elementary level. Would that open up more prek programming to families in Medford? I think, you know, it's not as
cutthroat as some of the afterchool lottery, but I do hear people fe feeling really really lucky to have a preschool's place in the public schools. So, does does it affect that at all?
I think it could. Joan um director Joan Bowen's on the call, but I I would say yes, but go ahead, Joan. I I agree. I think it could definitely open up more classrooms. Um I think like we're talking here tonight, space is an issue.
Um, we do have um pretty good enrollment in our prek programs and I I would like to expand it and that's something we talked about to um with the new high school having an an early childhood an early education center that sort of thing. So I I think this could
definitely open um more opportunities. Yeah. And I was going to ask how it interfaces with the MSBA proposal to bring early more early childhood into the high school. I don't know if there's more to say there. If not, I can I can
give a brief update. I mean, what because we because we currently have some early childhood programming in the high school and because previously it was all there um there there is a willingness on the part of the MSBA to allow that to be in scope. So, it is in
scope to explore um a universalish prek model um that could be housed in the new building, whatever that new building looks like. Um the the
reimbursement structure is a little bit different on the prek side than it is on the typical uh like 9 to2 side. But there is reimbursement there particularly I think will and it will change of course as the state assuming the state continues to push on the idea
of universal prek and prioritize and spend accordingly. So, um I think of this effort as something that we have to do to like create some like slack in the system to like get us to that place and
then potentially be able to like extract from this bigger picture the prek and put it at the high school. So, we should sort of be thinking about that when we're thinking about solutions so that we're we're not like
yo-yoing, so to speak, back and forth. Um, but I think until we have the data about what's possible, you know, that that will be tough. Like again in my mind like I would I I sort of feel like
put 56 at the Msatuck and let the the fact that it is that it doesn't have a radius around it and it's in the corner of the city not matter because everyone's going to go there. Um versus like trying to maintain it as the same
as the other elementary schools. Um you know who knows if that's actually possible or feasible. So I look forward to um the study results so that we then can say okay with all of this like what really do we have to do and when and how
does and and frankly how does it line up with what will happen at the high school and particularly um as the feasibility study there advances and we the prek piece comes into focus. Okay, that's that's helpful because then
I was thinking, well, if you've got prek at the high school, are we considering a K2 model in K2 schools and 35 schools? So, there's there are a lot of possibilities and I agree we have to understand what is possible and I know there are some
challenges around retrofitting what is what was built for middle school students for elementary. Um, but I also think we have some inequities at the middle school level in terms of service provided and students in both schools needing things and either having to double staff particular services or
concentrating certain student populations in a single school. So, I'm really interested in the restructuring for that. I know this conversation is really around elementary school, but to the point to the sense that some of this can solve some of the challenges we're
seeing at other grades, I think is really important. Um, the weighted lottery system, I think the potential and the critiques are all really valid and I appreciate your explaining what that meant because I read this and I went, "Oh, weighted. So if you are within a certain geographic radius, you
go there and that gets into the 360, 180, whatever it is. Cuz I, you know, I have a personal interest in reducing in increasing alternative transportation around walking and biking. And I think if you're not busing
around a certain radius, anyone who's living within that radius, and then I think there are certain areas of the city that are going to need busing or vehicle transportation either way. And so, and I I don't know if that's a that's weighted enrollment or if it's
actually a redistricting because you kind of say, all right, if people are all the way up in the heights, they're going to be bust no matter what. So, does it make sense? Are there certain Can they do they have to be bus to the Roberts? I know traffic in the city 93.
I know it's awful. I live I live in one of those places where if I walk 5 minutes, I could go to it. My kids would go to any of the four elementary schools, so I see the traffic. So, but that's what I was wondering. Um, around the m around weighted lottery to do a
geographic radius and if there are neighborhoods that need busing either way. Well, I think that would be busing to the school that is closest to them or are there more opportunities to rethink where folks are going? I I I think more
opportunities. I think the weighted does not have to be one criteria. I think um their geographical location as well as maybe siblings that are already in the school. I think there are
um there are several ways to construct a weighted lottery that we would have to have lots of conversation if that was one of the ways that we were thinking of going that we would have to craft that as a community.
And I think that could be true for redistricting as well. I know there are much more formal processes that apparently Medford hasn't engaged in before, but there is some common sense logic that is not always applied to the mapping of things, namely the this is my
backyard and I could walk here. And I think it's also fair to, you know, I know I've said it before, but um in terms of like the restructuring conversation, uh I have not brought teachers into that conversation either.
And that's a very big conversation. Yeah, that was and that was the last thing I was going to mention. So I will step back and let other people add add thoughts to the conversation.
Um, thank you, member Reinfeld. I have some thoughts about next steps, but before we do that, um, I did want to find out if there was anybody who has joined us who had, um, a question or a comment for us. And you can just use the
raise hand feature, and we will be able to unmute you. Just wanted to say thank you to Miss Croll and Mr. D. Clemente for being here um as well. I know it's a a full day and
all that good stuff. So, thank you for being here. And I see Miss Deos as well. I was just gonna say that I see you as well. And I see caregivers as well. We we see you everybody. It's a big conversation.
Um I do see a lot of parents who I know have lots of things to say generally speaking. So, are you sure there's nothing you want to add to the conversation? It was a lot to take in, but really interested in thoughts and questions and given that this is kind of the first
public conversation we're having about this. We have a hand. Um, Christina McGordy, I am going to mute you, I think. Hi. I think that worked. Yep. And can
you guys your name and address for the record? Yeah. Christina McGordy um 24 North Street Medford. Um I I had a lot of thoughts, but a lot of this is so theoretical that
like I will save that. Um I'm glad that this conversation is happening though and thanks for all the people that are here. Um I guess just because I think like Jenny was saying the focus um like right now is more on like what happens
for this August, right? Because there's a lot of like research and planning to like think about the the good long-term solution. Um, so I just want just because there was so much info, I just wanted to um go over the So if the two it's two meep classes that are proposed
to like maybe move to missuck. That's correct. Is that correct? Yes. And I think I I know we have what I can think of is three empty classrooms. Um so I'm I'm just like envisioning how if
this could impact other things. So, um I'm envisioning like the after school and this other room would probably be taken from meep and then we're supposed to get back um a second grade um that we really need. So, that's the city year
room this year. Um and then I'm just wondering like I know the kindergarten piece was sort of like um unknown yet, but it sounded like potentially there could be like kindergarteners sent to Mr. tuck if the Roberts needs more space and I'm just
wondering about the numbers and like um how we'll like keep an eye on because I I don't I don't know that there's another room so if they had to open a fourth kindergarten um like that might not be able to h to
work um out. So, I just was curious about like if we'll just, you know, keep an eye on that and what those K numbers look like just to make sure that those don't get too big. I know you just redid the numbers too with like the new
contract and I think they are all a little bit more close to realistic. Um, so I just wanted to ask about that and um, thank you for that question. I think what I heard and maybe Dr. Lucy can confirm is that if we moved into
MEEP classes then we would we would not have a need to also relocate kindergarteners this year. Is that right? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I was trying to follow and it I know it sounded like they had to add some other classes and I I didn't
um follow exactly where it landed. So it it would sound it sounds like you wouldn't need to. Okay, that was my one like concern question for um for this year. And also the other concern I had is about space. But it sounds like
you're doing a space study because part of me wonders like if all this like this what the actual size is and then number of classrooms are at each school and if like they each could really hold like you know more students or whatever. So,
I'm glad that space study is happening. Thank you, Christina. I do think that's important. That's the the key piece of the the space utilization study. Um, Miss Mrs. Sherman Hudson would be involved clearly in assigning all of this. But I do know
myself that there are some spaces in the missuck that could be used in a different way um if needed. It's just that they've um had the fortunate ability to use space a
little bit more creatively. So, I don't worry so much about the space um because I do think that Mr. Chairman Hudson will be able to account for that. Um thank you for that. Uh I see Rebecca
Gutlin with a hand. Do you Rebecca, can you unmute or do you need me to do it? There we go. I think we got it. Okay. Um, yeah, I'm really glad this conversation is finally happening. Um, give me your name and address for ahead.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This is, uh, the Rebecca Gutwin and 47 Morrison Street in Medford. Thank you. Uh, yeah. I'm glad this conversation is finally happening. I know at the Roberts we've seen it coming for like five years so it was a little surprising to find out that there
were like no plans in motion because we were really yeah bursting at the seams. Um uh the the the thing that I see in some of these plans and I know like we're talking about the meep classrooms leaving the Roberts and I think that's probably the
best plan right now. Um like I completely trust Miss Kroll's guidance on that. um is like losing some of that community. Like if all of a sudden you don't have your pres you like your preschooler can't go to school with their older siblings and things like that, you do start to lose community.
And we would only lose that at one school going, you know, like we don't want to we don't want to continue down that path too far. Um I I think it would just uh be a loss for our community in a whole to not be able to offer that. But
um but beyond that um uh I I love the idea of uh the 56 78. I think that that could lead to some like really developmentally appropriate places for teens and tween as they make those transitions. I think that would be
awesome. Um take a lot of the anxiety out like this time of year. Uh I see a lot of anxiety. Like I'm talking, you know, parents down from the ledge about kids who aren't going to middle school with their friends. Like we would lose we wouldn't have to have that. We wouldn't have to have those panicking
moments. That would be awesome. But um I really dislike the K12 uh early learning center, especially if we're looking at the missuck. Um uh I like those first days of people trying to send their kids on buses. um especially when they're
kindergarten and first graders are also super anxiety producing days and um you're going to end up with like just like logistically the traffic of dropping off at the matuck from all over the city because you don't want to put your kindergartner on a bus without
their older siblings like it I I think that there are some real like like community-based hurdles that would need to be overcome with that system. um the idea of needing to go to, you know, like three STEM nights because you have a
first grader and a fourth grader and a seventh grader is like we have a we already have a, you know, it's it's so difficult already to make sure that we're not like elementaryaries aren't, you know, double scheduling with what's happening at middle schools and things like that. Um, uh, I think adding to
that complexity would be really challenging. So, while I think splitting some things would be awesome, splitting it too far starts to like create other hurdles that I don't know if we can completely predict or at least we need
to look deeply into. So, um yeah, I think that was my initial reaction because there's just there's a lot there's a lot of moving pieces. So, thank you. Thanks, Rebecca. Um, anybody else?
want to add some members. So, yes, thank you, Rebecca. I actually really appreciated that. Um, you know, the scenario of not two schools but three schools, um, plus the high school. I mean, you could have kids all over the place. Um, I think is a real concern. I
think when I hear your concerns, which you know when my kids were little, I they were two years apart. So would have been plenty of opportunity for two schools. Um I think our challenge I mean we the
challenge has been explained I think pretty succinctly. Um you know none of us here would build the miss where it is. That sounds like the answer. Um but um yeah, I mean we can't make those other schools any bigger and I
think that uh there's no ideal solution because I mean frankly because of where that building is. Um there were plenty of other elementary schools when we built those schools that we could have used, but um I wasn't around for that.
Um, so I do think we're going to end up whatever solution we come up with is going to be constrained. I I think that's a word that's okay to use, even if superintendent doesn't like it. We're going to be constrain We're going to be constrained by, you know, like the laws
of physics on like how many people we can put in a building. And I I know that you understand that, Rebecca. I'm not suggesting you don't, but um and you know, we may end up with with uh I mean, I think about there are plenty of other school districts that
even in Somerville that have um I've always thought it was odd that we had such a consistent set of I mean, great. I didn't think it was odd in a bad I thought it was great cuz then you hear out these other school districts, Somerville, obviously Boston, you know, there's there's K1, there's 2, three,
four, there's, you know, but then there's also like one through fives. They're like all these different kinds of configurations, which to me sounds sounded like a nightmare. Um, but I sort of feel like I'm understanding why that
is. It's not that it's not a nightmare, it's that it's the only dream we're going to be able to have. Um, so yeah, I mean, I think transportation costs are definitely going to be a major issue because any of these other options will
require significantly more transportation. Um, and you know, I did the math on the current number. It's $1.4 million for 180 days of school. Um, and that's only transporting the kids we do transport. So, um, are we looking at
doubling that? It's entire. I mean, we'll know more once we have the space study and we have ideas. Um, we can probably play that out to say what will it actually cost? Um, because maybe it will double the transportation cost. But
an additional $1.4 $4 million a year is nothing compared to adding some stories to a building or all the other, you know, physical structure options that frankly are outside the realm of
possible at this time. So, I appreciate putting the lens on those scenarios, which um we did hear plenty when we did we had the middle school when we went to the middle school lottery, but this is obviously a lot more complicated because the middle schools are beside each
other. So, it's a little bit like yeah, you can drive the extra 12 feet or whatever. Um but driving across the entire city is a much bigger ask. else other questions, comments,
Christina, sorry, I had another question because I was thinking about the meat. Um, and is it I know like when we had MEEP come before and we had an extra kindergarten so the kindergarten moved
um so that the meep could have a bathroom. So like do the meeps are they required to have like their own bathroom and like changing table? I'm just like thinking so it would be like they probably probably have kindergarten
rooms. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know if Joan if you were chiming in. So, oh, I think those are all conversations that we would have to have. I do think that if we are um prioritizing I would say
that the MEEP classrooms need bathrooms more than K classrooms do. Right now when we have to add that fifth section of kindergarten um mostly at the the Brooks and the Roberts but it has happened at the McGlin as well. There aren't that fifth
section does not have a bathroom in that kindergarten classroom. Uh yeah the need right the need is is different. So, I would say that that's the prioritization for sure. Yeah. Sorry, I was just I'm trying to stay concrete on the things we know versus like all the theoreticals.
So, thank you. I appreciate it. Thank you. Yeah. And obviously, uh, Miss Sherman Hudson will be involved in all of those conversations in terms of what happens in her building. So, um, but I think, you know, I do think it's very
interesting like to just point out that what people think of as like a thing that happens in their school, um, and how it would be different or a change, like chances are that change is happening like every single day
somewhere else. Like, you know, Rebecca said, "Oh, well, I could go to two STEM nights." And I was like, "We didn't have STEM night." So there there's just all kinds of differences across the schools that get operationalized in really really different ways. So the good news is we're not
creating new things that we haven't done before. It's just that we have to look in buildings different than perhaps we're used to like solving like building based problems in. So I think that's good because we have done this in kindergarten in many places for years
now. And I will say I get a lot of emails about a lot of things and the lack of a bathroom in a kindergarten is one I have not received. So, um I'll take that as a win. But I think it's good that we have a lot of options across um you know
across the the district to learn from. Um so that's great. Christina, is your hand up on purpose? as sorry I just wanted to say I w I wasn't saying I wasn't um I didn't ask that because of the K not having a
bathroom I was just trying to map out the changes in my brain yeah I we had we've had K without bathroom before because they move I didn't let Nancy handle that yeah I just didn't want people to think I was
complaining about that because that's no it's just all of these things are different right it's all change and you have to sort of work your way through that however you know in whatever way it it is needed. So I it's okay. Um I just
I'm I'm glad that the principles are not like also having to be space planners in their spare time like they can talk to each other and hear about how they how these things have been operationalized in real time which is great. Um I have a few thoughts in terms of
like next steps um around what we might report out to um the school committee and um just so that they have a sense of what we talked about here. So there may need to be like a brief presentation
um at our next school committee meeting. And I was thinking that we might want to report out this committee recommending that those me classes move. Um recommending that the budget um addition of two FTEEs occur. Um and then
potentially um the formation of some sort of um caregiver team um that uh will work with us on the space the I don't know if you call I don't know what to call it the strategic space planning team or something like
that. um namely um a maybe a small group of people who can help support um community engagement um which will have to start to happen in the fall once that that initial study is done. So, those were
the three things I was thinking about um in terms of like what comes next and um I don't know um if my colleagues agree with that and want to make motions so that we can vote those out um or have other thoughts.
So, moved if you're writing it down. I just would want to add I would just want to would like to add staff to the space utilization team. Yep. Um okay. So the first motion is to move
two meat classrooms from the Roberts to the missuck starting in August of 2025 by member Russo seconded by I can second but I did have a question for Miss Kroll to Rebecca's point. Are we do we know how many
families are are going to be affected in terms of I guess we don't know who the incoming preschoolers are unless we happen to know a parent. Correct. I don't have incoming meet numbers right now. I only just have my what I have so far for my incoming kindergarten.
I don't Oh, sorry. Oh, go ahead. Go ahead. We're working on collecting those numbers and I think we'll do a deeper dive on um if they're in the Roberts community. We do have some students that are outside of the Roberts community
based on um the specific MEEP program that they require if it's a half day, full day, that sort of thing. Um but we do provide transportation to MEEP students. So that would also be uh provided to parents but we'll take a
deeper dive actually to where their address is and how that will impact them um attending the missuck school. Yeah. I mean and particular but to to Rebecca's point around whether they're being separated from
their their siblings. Um, yeah, I was because I was going to ask if there's any way to have one made classroom so we can prioritize people who are whose families are already in the system, but it sounds like we need both those classrooms. So, I would need both
classrooms. Yeah, I just Yeah, I would want I think we can also find the data. I mean, the MGIN does not have a preschool program right now. There is no MEEP at the McGllin. And a lot of the way that the MEEP is
structured is it's there's not always the luxury of like it's it's not always a community-based program. I mean, I know I know a family who has students at Robert's Brooks. Correct. Correct. Like
Correct. I know this happens. I'm not minimizing anything. I'm just saying that um it's presently not at the McGlin. we do have the the future goal of cohabitating all of the preschool programs together. Um, and we can find
that data exactly about the makeup in terms of neighborhood families. And I think I think that might be worth including in messaging around the shifts. obviously that the priority is
freeing up the space for our for the Roberts now, but also to remind people that this is part of the long-term thinking that it's being considered both in these space utilization studies, but also in the the new high school because
we have the rare opportunity unlike other cities to colllocate that kind of programming in a high school. Yeah. Thank you for that. Um, okay. So, we have a motion to
uh recommend that these two meep classrooms uh move from the Roberts to the Mistatuku starting in August 2025 by member Rouso, seconded by uh member Reinfeld. So, I'll call the role. Member
Rouso. Uh, member Reinfeld. Yes. Sorry. Yes. Member Graham. S30 motion passes. Um the second motion um by member Russo was to um request the addition of two FTEEs to the Roberts school budget um
beginning in August of 2025. Um is there a second? Second. Um so uh the motion is by member Rouso, seconded by uh member Reinfeld. So I'll call the role. Member Rouso. Yes. Member
Reinfeld. Yes, member Graham. Uh motion passes three to zero. And the third motion um as as amended would be to create a strategic space planning task force of
staff and caregivers um to discuss and prepare for community engagement uh once the space needs study is complete. So moved or seconded, whichever you need me to do. U by member Rouso was seconded by member Reinfeld. So I'll call the role.
Member Rouso. Yes. Member Reinfeld. Yes. And member Graham. So that is motion passes. 30. Um do we need to do we need to authorize the space study or that's already engaged and ready to go? Already
engaged and ready to go. Yeah. Um and along with FYI 26 budget. No, I don't believe so. No. 25. I can double check. I can double check, but I'm That's separate from the
recommissioning that. Correct. Great. Um, and I think as part of the the moving once I think once school once the full committee is able to provide it approves
I suppose it's possible that they won't but the the relocation of the meep classrooms. I think communication needs to go out as soon as possible. I know we've we've had challenges in the past um by last what appears to be a last
minute change and an inability to plan for an upcoming school year. So yes, um we don't have the authority anyways here. This is a CYA uh vote. Um, so I I mean I I think the
superintendent should begin the planning efforts regardless of I mean if the school committee voted no, that would be unfortunate, but you know, well then I I I don't know. I think the sooner we can communicate with
families, the better is my point. We agree. Great. There any other questions from the committee, comments, motions to adjurnn? Just just wanted to say thank you for doing this. I know I was kind of
beating down your door even as you were in the process of transitioning. So, I appreciate the turnaround on this. No, it's important work that has to I I know it feels, as somebody said, five years too late, but but I'm glad it's
I'm glad it's happening. I'm glad it's moving. And thank you to all the um staff and caregivers who signed on to learn more and raise issues. Thank you.
Motion to adjurnn. Motion to Reinfeld. Second. Seconded by member Russo. I'll call the role. Member Russo. Yes. Member Reinfeld. Yes. Member Graham, yes.