public schools YouTube channel through Memphis Community Media on your local cable channel, Comcast channel 9, 8 or 22, and Verizon channel 43,45 or 47. Participants can log or call in by using the following link and then the meeting ID is 952
9573488. I will call the role as we wait for member Russo. Member, >> member Reinfeld, >> member Master Bony, >> member Graham, >> member parks,
>> and myself, Mayor Brianna present, and we'll mark Paul present when he's here. Thank you to our student rep for being here. Um, and if we all could please rise to salute the flag. I allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic
for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Does anybody have anything um under section three good of the order? [snorts] Hearing and seeing none, um we'll go to
section four, which is our consent agenda. Approval of bills and payrolls. Approval of capital purchases. Approval of donations. $1,000 donation from the Smith family to the orchestra program. Approval of grants. Approval of field
trips. Approval of meeting minutes um from the regular meeting January 26, 2026. Is there a motion for approval? >> By member Olade, seconded by member Master Bony. All those in favor?
>> All those opposed? Paper passes. No reports of subcommittees. Um and we do have two reports under um reports of superintendent. So I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Galooi to present the Mustang moment. And member Russo, if you could um mark yourself present.
Just kidding. Why? Okay. Well, good evening. Thank you very much everyone for joining us. So, last week our meeting was virtual due to the snow day and so the way we normally start our school committee meetings is
with Mustang moment and it is a chance to elevate the student voice within Medford public schools. So tonight we have a really wonderful pleasure of having two Mustang moments. And so the first one this evening is going to be the high school, Medford High School's
Best Buddy program. So I'm going to ask one of the adviserss, Mr. Scary, to come up with three of his representatives. He's going to provide a brief overview and then we're going to hear from students around the Best Buddies program. >> Good evening. Thank you for having us.
Uh my name is John Scary. I'm one of the two uh co-f faculty adviserss for the Mefford High Best Buddies program along with Miss Goldberg, Miss Casey Goldberg. Unfortunately, she couldn't be here tonight. Um Best Buddies is we're almost our one year as a matter of in March is our one-y year anniversary. We'd like to
invite all of you folks to come out to our one-year anniversary party. Um, we are a club that is about inclusion and friendship and building meaningful connections through inclusion and friendship uh for our students with and without intellectual and developmental
uh disabilities. Um, things are going great and we truly appreciate uh the hard work of Dr. Galooi, the mayor and the school committee, particularly the CPAC co-chairs, Tanya Sullivan, Alex Loric, uh, Miss Joan Bowen, Miss Cabrell, Kim Clinton, and all the
faculty and staff. Um, I don't want to say too much because really the stars are the ones standing behind me. Um, so we did share some some slides with with you folks if you wanted to take a look at them. Otherwise, we've got three of our officers here be beside you. Um, I can give you one little piece of
information about us and then turn it over to the to our our officers. So, we meet twice a month. Um, and what we the first part of the the school year, last year was kind of like a soft launch in March. Um, but now we're we're sort of we're off and running and we have
developed in in addition to the group meetings, we have developed onetoone friendships, onetoone pairings. So, you know, my my buddy per se is, you know, one student from GenEd and one student from the uh intellectual developmental disabilities population. And so, they're certainly going to do things at the
meetings, but also outside of the meetings because a lot of students in that portion of the population don't have a lot of friends outside of school. So, our goal is to build lasting and meaningful connections, not just in, you know, in and certainly in and during the school year, but then hopefully long
ways afterwards. So, I'm here for any questions, but other than that, I'd like to turn it over to our three officers who they can tell you about their experiences, their names, and just everything about >> Thank you, Mrs. Scary. Welcome.
Help. >> One more slide. [snorts] >> Hi, I'm Savannah. I'm the Best Buddies um director. Um I'm a sophomore at um Medford High School. Um,
[snorts] I like The Outsiders, Karate Kid, and Supernatural. I'm in early childhood at the vocational shop. And I went and I want to be a preschool teacher. I'm also on the unified basketball team and the unified track team. My favorite activity is when we done so far in Best Buddies was baking
cookies. And this year for Best Buddies, I wanted to make h um hand turkeys near Thanksgiving and make the hol and make holiday cards. Wonderful. Thank you. Do you want to introduce yourselves? Everybody else. Yeah.
>> Um, hi, I'm Nora. I'm a junior at Medford High School. Um, I run track and that's pretty much and I play volleyball and I'm part of Best Buddies. I'm the vice president. Um, I joined Best Buddies just to like be part of a very accepting community. I think it's hard
for everyone in high school to feel accepted, but Best Buddies is a place where we just like all are very talkative and accepting of each other. And it's a really great club to be a part of. And it helps me honestly with my leadership skills because I just feel
so like included to like be myself and able to speak up and have a leadership role. So yeah. >> All right. Hi, my name is Katherine Began and I'm a sophomore at MHS. I'm a very outgoing
and friendly person, always looking to make new friends and I'm lucky enough to be given a space by Best Buddies to do so. I'm currently the communications coordinator, which means I run the Instagram. So, go follow beedford.buddies on Instagram, everyone. Um, Best Buddies
is a club with the idea of building new friendships and pro promoting inclusion. However, Best Buddies is no long is no longer just a club for friendships. It has been a source of happiness and laughter for mil for tons of kids at Medford High.
Um, whether it's meeting new friends at club run activities or simple hello in the hallway, the Best Buddies community offers support and appreciation for all. And throughout my experience and hopefully everyone else's at in Best Buddies, we've been able to connect with friends and build friendships that will last a lifetime. And it is safe to say
that the Best Buddies chapter at MHS has definitely changed all of our lives. >> Any questions? [applause] >> And just uh we are hope hoping that we can be agents of of furthering the Best Buddies programs and communities in Medford. We'd love to be involved in getting Best Buddies into the middle
schools uh and then getting, you know, so starting that those connections and getting them up into the high school. Um we don't want to take up any any more of your time, but if you've got any questions, uh if not, we'll we'd love to see you at our birthday party next month. >> No, thank you for maybe highlight Oh, is it? Oh, yeah. Could you maybe just
highlight two of the activities or initiatives that you've done this year? >> You can pick any any slide you want and we'll we'll be happy to talk about You want to do one, Savannah? Which one you want to do? Um, >> yeah. >> What I say about it? >> So, I had fun with this activity. Not
going to lie to you. It was >> It was very like fun. And like I think we should do this more often because like it's something that we get to do and like we get to like experience like like the cookies that we make and then
like we can share them with like our families and stuff like that. I just enjoy the club itself. >> So Savannah was just an activity where you all worked together to bake cookies and had fun. That's wonderful.
>> Great. All right. So, another I'm not sure if it's on the slides because I think it happened after we made the slideshow, but we did a wonderful activity where we did trick-or-treating in the halls. >> Oh, it is. Oh, perfect. >> Okay. Yes. Okay. So, trick-or-treating
to the halls. So, we asked a bunch of teachers who to stay after school and give candy out um to our club and they graciously did so. Um the superintendent was there. Thank you. And we So, we all dressed up in costumes as you can see.
And it was a great bonding activity because it at although Best Buddies does focus on one-on-one friendships, we also are all a Best Buddies family. So, it was definitely an activity we got to do as our one community, which I think was really fun and really great to just have that connection.
>> Um, and just shout out all the teachers that gave out candy. Um, Mr. Scary, Miss Coin, um, Mr. Maldonado, Miss Casey, everyone. Thank you. >> Oh, yeah. And we would love to highlight
Jack in his pickle costume. [laughter] >> Well, thank you. That that was wonderful. I think you're right. I think you've made friendships for life and as you see your friends throughout the community, you'll remember each other and be able to um enjoy each other's company. So, I wish they had this when I
was growing up, but I have a lot of friends that had um disabilities and my kids will say, "How do you know so and so?" I'm like, "I just was kind. I was kind when I was in high school." And >> you know, a lot of kids, I think, want to be involved more than when we were younger. Unfortunately, it was longer longer ago that I was younger than you
guys were. But kids want to help now. And this this gives them, you know, something but some structure to do it. But then they take it on their own. And I got to tell you, our students are they're captains of teams. They're National Honor Society. They're wellrounded individuals. So, we've got a really good group and the buyin from the
community at large, the Meford High community at large, teachers staying after school to give out candy, stuff like that. Like, there's been great buying from everybody. So, thank you to everyone who's helping us make this happen. >> Wonderful. Great job. Keep it up. Good job. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. [applause] >> And next up, we have a recommendation to
>> No, one more one more one more Mustang moment. Oh, wonderful. [laughter] This is the one that was regularly scheduled for this evening's meeting. So, uh, at the podium, we have principal Mr. Tucci from the McGlin Middle School. We have Principal Jennifer Scain um with us virtually. Principal from the
Andrews. She's a little under the weather today, but she is online virtually. Mr. Chuchi is going to explain um the two representatives that Medford has for Project 351. >> Thank you very much. What a tough act to follow. It's not a surprise though because we have so many great Mustangs
walking the halls and I'm here to introduce two fantastic Mustangs at the middle school level. On Saturday, January 17th, eighth graders add Ali Marazzo and Joy Lefur of the Andrews Middle School had the opportunity to attend Project 351's annual launch day
and they were honored by Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll as Medford's ambassadors to this annual launch and service day in Boston. Ally and Joy in the class of 2026 were honored for inspiring ethic of service and values of kindness, compassion, humility, and
gratitude. And if you think about Ally or Joby, they certainly embody every characteristic there. Project 30 351 is a nonprofit organization that empowers a youthled movement for change powered by eighth grade students representing every single city and town and municipality in
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Uh Ally and Joy participated and honored Dr. Martin Luther King's uh life and celebrated what's quote a revolution of love. Alli and Joy united with more than 450 ambassadors and alumni mentors representing the Commonwealth's 351
cities and towns to kick off a year of leadership developments, unifying service, and enrichment. And since 2011, 5,930 ambassadors have united across all facets of difference to impact 1.5
million neighbors through service. So here to speak more about their experience in project 351's launch day and also their ensuing leadership within the Medford community are both Ally and Joy. So I'm going to turn it over to Ally first to explain a little bit about
our experience at the launch day. Um, Project 351, an organization that values kindness, gratitude, and compassion, leads eighth graders from all over Massachusetts to make a difference in our community. I am so grateful to have been chosen as a student ambassador for Project 351 and
for the opportunity that it gave me to help so many underprivileged people. As a result of the experience, I was inspired by kind leaders in our community. At launch day on January 17th, eighth graders from all 351 towns in Massachusetts got together to do
volunteer service for various nonprofit organizations including cradle cradles to crayons, your hometown food pantry and home base. My group was assigned to Cradles to Crayons. So, we went to their factory and worked and sorted through donated clothes. With this in mind, I
look forward to helping many others this year and continuing to be a leader for the rest of my life. At the beginning of the day, all of the ambassadors from 351 towns in Massachusetts gathered in Faniel Hall. This hall was where many revolution revolutionary meetings took place with historical figures like Paul
Rivere, John Adams, and John Hancock. Knowing all the hall's history is why it was so empowering to be in the same room where people revolutionized the country hundreds of years ago and now eighth graders were the ones creating a revolution of love. The theme of 351 is a revolution of love. This means that we
are creating loving community by replacing negativity with kindness. While we were at the historical hall, we got to know our service hero teams and listen to the founders of the organization and other inspiring leaders discuss how important it is to be a kind leader. Being around 350 other amazing
students and countless leaders for just one day made me feel inspired to do more to help my community. The adults Oh, wait. The adults helped us ambassadors realize that even though we are young, we can still make a difference in thousands of people's lives. From Faniel
Hall, my group took a bus to Cradles to Crayons in Newton. During the time we spent there, we sorted donated clothes into numerous piles, making sure that they were high quality. To end our day, we traveled to the JFK library and learned that we changed 2,33 lives at
Cradles of Crayons in just one day. The thought that a group of young teens could change that many lives in just a few hours put into perspective of how easy it is to help our community. As my next step as my next step in helping our community, I will run a clothing drive for two weeks at my school with the help
of friends and family. We do this as a spring service at Project 351. Because in Massachusetts, one in three children are at risk for clothing insecurity. Because of this, all donations that we collect in Medford will go to the nonprofit organization Cradles to Crayons. Because of Project 351, 230,000
children have been served at Cradles to Crayons. And I hope that I can contribute to changing more lives this spring. When I first learned about my selection in November, I had no clue what I was getting myself into. Hearing words like leader and representative, I was unsure how well I'd be fit for the role of an
ambassador for Project 351. However, over the past few months, I've been able to learn more about what the organization actually is and the part that ambassadors will play in as we embark on a year of service. Though I had doubts about my capabilities, being able to actually meet the other ambassadors, people my age with the same
motives as me, made me feel so much better, and I'm extremely honored to be part of something so big. Getting on the bus on launch day, I didn't know what was going to happen. I wasn't very nervous, mostly excited for whatever activities we partake in throughout the day. From the moment I stepped in Faniel Hall, I was filled with the thrill that
stayed with me for the rest of the day. Being able to meet the ambassadors on my service hero team, listen to influential figures, and connect with such an empowering community was amazing. When my team went to into Chelsea to serve at La Collaborate, we were able to experience a lot of great things. From
making Valentine, scarves, and bookmarks to being able to hand out food to the community. After such a great day with such incredible opportunities, we all came together at JFK library to rec recap the impact we made, to have fun, and to relax until it was time to go home. The next step in our service
journey is spring service. Over the next few months, ambassadors will go through the service leadership academy. In preparation for April's spring service in support of Cradles to Crayons, ambassadors will will be able to lead a product drive in their hometown. Spring service, the largest youthled service in Massachusetts history, will allow
ambassadors to apply leadership skills, strengthen kindness, and build generosity. Round of applause for Ally and Joey. [applause] >> Any questions? I'll take a picture of both Best Buddies and Project 351. Sure.
>> Any questions? >> We're proud of you. Great job. Yes. Okay. If you want to come around, we'll But you're Thanks again. Um, and next up we have a recommendation to approve the proposed educational plan for the Meford High School building project. Dr. Suzanne
Galooi, interim superintendent, and Dr. Kimberly Talbet, assistant superintendent of academics and instructions. We did Thank you. So last meeting we present Dr. Talbot and I presented on the educational plan as part of the MSBA
project. Um just as a quick refresher this is as we refer to it kind of the north star uh the guiding document for the high school project. So we put it out for some edits or some feedback, but
the document on whole remains as it was last week. So there are no updates or feedback to present at this meeting. And so after a vote, Dr. Talbot and I are here and happy to take any feedback or answer any
questions. Any questions or feedback? Um, member Rinfeld and member Graham. >> Member Graham. Anything before we move approval? >> Yes. If we could just um maybe amend the approval to give the superintendent
permission to make non-substantive like changes in the leadup to the deliverable at the end of the month that will inevitably be needed to like tie everything together for MSBA. >> I I accept the amendment. Motion to approve by member Rinfeld as amended by
member Graham. Is there a second? >> Second >> by member Graham. All those in favor? >> I will take a roll call. >> Roll call. Has been requested. Please. [clears throat] >> Member Graham. >> Yes. >> Member Master Bonnie. >> Yes. >> Member. >> Yes. >> Member Parks.
>> Member Ryanfeld. >> Yes. >> Member. Mayor Langok. >> Yes. Seven in the affirmative. Zero in the negative paper passes as amended. >> Can I just say one thing? >> Member um Dr. Goi. Uh before we move on, I just wanted to acknowledge and say thank you that we do have our
representatives from Left Field and SMMA on the call virtually with us. Um I do see Jen Carlson uh from Left Field, Matt Rice from SMMA as well as Rosemary Park. Um just want to say their instrument their guidance throughout this process
was also instrumental. So want to make sure I acknowledge that they are here at this meeting. Thank you for being here. Now you can log off. It's been approved. Lucky. Um no presentations um of the
public and student advisory council. So I'm going to go on to continued business which um is 2026-05 offered by member Graham. Whereas the Medford School Committee recognizes the importance of establishing a thoughtful process for deciding how to appoint a
permanent superintendent on July 1st, 2026. And whereas the school committee wishes to ensure opportunities for public input and engagement as part of this process. Now therefore be it resolved the member school committee will determine its approach to appointing a permanent superintendent at
its public meeting today, February 2nd, 2026. And be it further resolved that the school committee invites feedback from the public during this meeting. And be it further resolved that the members of the school committee, the school committee will review um emails from the
community who are not able to attend but want to provide input um by submitting feedback via email to the email address med.k12.mma. us. Member Graham, do you want to start us off or
>> Thank you. Um, so I think you know as we have been um really for an entire year now sitting with an interim superintendent um we it's time for us to make decisions about how we're going to move forward. And um I thought it was important that
before we made those decisions given that we had a year and a half that we do a couple of things. one was to stabilize the district um in a what was an unexpected transition from our prior superintendent who um left uh before her
contract was over. So that was like the sort of the first order of business. The second order of business in my mind was to make sure that we um were not compromising the strategic work that we had ahead um by trying to insert and
infuse like another process into the mix. um all while trying to navigate through onboarding our team for the MSBA MHS high school project um and um to negotiate what what is like one of the
most pivotal teacher contracts um that Medford has seen in a really long time made possible by the override but also to like do the budget and do all the things. So that was sort of the secondary thing was to was in my mind to say we have some really big important
things to do and we can't we can't do those things effectively if our leadership is um unclear about the role that they're going to play. Um and then you know as we continued forward the work um the work doesn't really stop. So, we've we've been sort of we
continued into the fall where um it seemed like the right time for us to talk start talking about strategic planning and to solicit input and feedback from the community about the things that they want to see us do and undertake. Um and to ask questions much
like we did when we did our superintendent search all those years ago about the kinds of qualities and preferences people have in it for a superintendent. Um so, we did that. um that launched um at the beginning of January actually. Um we made a strategic decision not to launch that in December
um because no one wants to be filling out surveys in December. They want to be eating cookies and working on reasons to have a New Year's resolution in January. So um that um that sort of kicked off in January. We're in the middle or we'll
close out six um public input sessions of that strategic plan later this week. Um, and then sort of like next thing you know, we're here [laughter] and the superintendent has been with us for a year, which is a typical timeline where you would evaluate a superintendent. Um,
so I think, you know, th this process and what we do next has been on my mind since the day that we appointed Dr. Galooi, but I really felt like given all that was going on, it was really important for us to fairly evaluate her um because she had been here for an
entire year. So, she was sort of moving past sitting in the chair and holding down the fort. Um, and she has taken the reigns as our superintendent. So, um, we did that last week. Um, yes, just last week, the week before. Okay. I I'm
mixing up the the dates and times. And one of the things that um was really fascinating in the course of that um process to collect feed feedback and input from six people who don't seven people who don't always agree on
everything um and who have different experiences with with um various members of the district. Um to see the consistency with which we evaluated the superintendent I thought was remarkable. Um, I don't ever remember having a uh
superintendent evaluation with the con the level of consistency that we saw and accepted um last week. So, I think that is a really important note. And I would also say that the scores that we um
collectively came to through an averaging of everybody's um scores and interests are that of a superintendent that no district would um be looking to move on from. So um that's sort of from me from my perspective the process that
has led us here and I do think it's important for clarity for everybody involved for the committee for the the interim superintendent for the people watching for the parents for the community for the kids for all of those people. Um it's important for us to decide I think it's important for us to decide tonight what our path will be.
Um, when I think about my preferences about that path, like I've been listening and hearing from lots and lots and lots of folks who are super supportive of Dr. Galooi and the work that she's doing. Um, I have heard from, you know, we I think we all have heard
from a handful of people who um believe that a search is necessary um not because they think Dr. Gluci is not the right person, but because they think that um and respect that process. um in a an important way and I don't want to
diminish um the need for good processes. Um but for me um for right now I look at this and say um from where where I'm coming from is that we have sort of two choices given where we are in the in this in this trajectory in this timeline
having um had Dr. served for us on behalf of us for a year. We can treat her like an interim superintendent um in which case a search makes lots of sense. Um interims are meant to sit in the chair and hold down the fort. Um or we can treat her like a sitting
superintendent who had a stellar evaluation um and move to enter into contract negotiations and that would be my preference. But I would like to hear from my colleagues. Thank you. membuso button on first. I'm looking around. So, um I'm not good at keeping my
thoughts organized, so I wrote it down. Um so, over the past year, Dr. Glucy has been leading this district, not in theory, but in practice. We have had the rare opportunity to observe her leadership in real time, how she communicates, how she makes decisions,
and how she responds when challenges arise. That level of clarity is not hypothetical. It is earned and it is invaluable. Our students, educators, and families deserve stability. They deserve continuity. They deserve a leader who already understands both the complexity
of the work and the relationships that make that work possible. Dr. Lucy has built those relationships deliberately and authentically. And I know that not only through my own experience, but through the many emails I have received from staff and
caregivers expressing trust in her leadership. Every email, regardless of whether someone wanted a search or not, included a lot of praise for Dr. Galuci which I think definitely seems unlikely
to be a normal common experience for people when it comes to this type of setting this situation. She has demonstrated consistency, transparency and a deep commitment to the values of our district. We are not question we are not guessing how she will lead. We know
there is also a clear alignment between Dr. Glucy's priorities and the goals we have uh we as a community have set whether it is advancing equity supporting educators or strengthening communication she has already been moving this work forward there is no
learning curve here no pause no reset and no loss of momentum equally important is the working relationship between Dr. Lucy and the school committee. It has been a collaborative, open and productive relationship. Exactly what effective
governance requires. That partnership matters. It ensures accountability, transparency, and that the will of the community expressed through our electoral process is meaningfully represented. I'm almost done. I want to acknowledge that some members of our community and
this committee sincerely believe that conducting a search, a superintendent search is the right course. I respect that perspective and I recognize the values behind it. Transparency, inclusivity, and diligence. Those values matter and they
matter to me as well. However, for me, this decision is not about comparing candidates or speculating about the strength of a potential applicant pool. It is about recognizing the strong, steady, and proven leadership we already have. I want to be clear about why I do not support conducting a superintendent
search at this time. A search is not a neutral act. It's signific it requires significant time, attention, and energy from staff, from this committee, and from the superintendent herself. Given where we are as a district, particularly with the intensity, and pace of our new
high school project, something would eventually have to give. There are only so many hours in a day and I do not believe we can sustain our current momentum while simultaneously pausing the to conduct a full search to perform a full search process. Dr. Glooi has
overseen the MSBA process from the beginning. She has attended every meeting. She has presented every community forum held by this committee. She has built relationships with current and former school committee members. And through those relationships, she has
earned my unqualified trust. I've also seen how she responds when students reach out, especially when the school committee is copied. Those moments reveal character. They reveal judgment, and they remind me that some people are truly called to this work. I can say
without reservation that this is her calling. For all these reason reasons, stability, continuity, proven leadership, and the needs of this moment, I believe appointing Dr. Gluci as a permanent superintendent without conducting a search is the right decision for our
students, our staff, and our community. This is not a decision to settle. It is a decision to lead with confidence in what we already know works. Thank you. >> Thank you, member Russo. >> I'll just can piggy back on that. Oh,
member parks. Oh, I didn't know if anybody else was going to speak. I didn't prepare a speech, but great job, member Russo. I ju I just want to piggyback a little bit on the amount of work that's going on among subcommittees, this committee. Um, and
of course, Dr. Gusi is at every meeting, like member Russo said, um, the time and effort it's taken to get ready for a new high school. Um, our middle school consolidation, we cannot slow down on that project. the
afterchool programming issues and building a task force like Dr. Galooi has and already expanding after school care for is so desperately needed needed. I know many of our in our community consider it a crisis. Um that is being resolved and and handled in in
such an efficient manner. I'm so so pleasantly surprised and happy and I I'm just wanted to point that out. the strategic plan. I think there's been six meetings over the last month. That's on top of every other meeting that has has gone on. I know I'm on top of trying to
create a security task force, which Dr. Gulusi is buying into and has that as one of her priorities, the capital improvement plan, IT upgrades, academics of course, which I I'm not the one to speak on that, but enhancing sports, and so much more. I feel like we are all
doing the work, but it's on Dr. shoulder as the leader of the school committee in in the school system and the work is getting done. So, I definitely want to hear from the community. I too received um plenty of emails about how wonderful you are, Dr. Gluci. I did also receive four or five
emails from residents and parents who are interested in a full search. Um but I just know the work can't slow down. So adding on top of everybody else's plate a search when we have somebody fully qualified, capable, and willing. Um I I don't know if it needs to be done.
So I'll leave it at that and pass it over to you, member Barks. >> Thank you. So as someone who was not part of the discussions or decisions u a year ago um I kind of did the approach that I typically take which is I dove
into research and reached out to many different districts and the MASC which is the Massachusetts Association of School Committees to find out what this process is about. And I learned a lot. I mean, I'd learned from the community as
well, and I heard all of the different amazing things that everyone had to say about Superintendent Galooi. I mean, I also have strong feelings about how um successful she has been in just the work I've done on the afterchool subcommittee
as well. But um we have had many um you know of the people that have reached out 83% think that she should be um appointed immediately. So um without a search and
I that's says a lot and of those that think there should be a search as Jenny said it should be noted that it's not because they don't believe in her it's just because they believe in a process. Um so I looked into the process and
things that I learned about the process are that um about onethird of um MASC member districts actually um promote from within or hire their internal superintendent. Um the reason many don't
would be because they just don't have a viable internal candidate. Um, in terms of a search timeline, a rigorous, transparent search would require us to post in August. Um, that would be either last August or this coming August.
Because the reality is starting now when most districts have either already made their offers or are finalizing interviews means we'd be competing for an already limited pool of candidates. Um, so we'd already be kind of behind
the ball or we'd be putting um, Superintendent Gali through another year of uncertainty, which I don't personally feel is a fair way of having someone sit in a position on search challenges. Many
districts have experienced significant difficulties with external searches. Between 5 to 10% fail and must restart entirely. Others have had applicants withdraw due to public pressure or better offers from other districts because that pool is small. Multiple
people are applying for multiple positions. Still others have had to resend offers because of issues discovered through frankly a simple Google search. And additionally, as we've seen in Cambridge, I learned when um an intern superintendent has been in
place for too long with strong evaluations, as as um committee member Graham talked about, um the search posting doesn't attract serious candidates um because it begins to feel like a formality.
Um on cost and continuity, a search costs anywhere from 10,000 to 25,000 or more uh with no guarantee of a better outcome. Beyond the direct costs, we would lose the investment we've already made in Dr. Galissi's professional development throughout her career with the district and we would lose critical
institutional knowledge at a time when we're managing multiple major initiatives. Dr. Dr. Gali brings institutional knowledge, proven leadership, and a demonstrated commitment to Medford. I've read time and time again in all of the
emails that were provided. It is very clear clear that people have a very high regard for Dr. Galooi and she cares about our community. She's earned the confidence of our community and our staff. Her evaluation last week was stellar and I believe it was a fair
representation because it was balanced. Both current and former school committee members completed it and their evaluations were consistent with one another. So, as a district as a steward of our district's resources, I must weigh the certainty of a qualified
experienced leadership against the costs and risks of an uncertain external search. And so this is why I would vote in support of um moving forward with appointing Dr. Gali.
>> Thank you, Member Parks. >> Member Olady. >> Thank you. So I'm going to cover this my perspective on two two accounts. The first account is going to be the um school committee combined data that we put together last week in our meeting um
that I compiled information from separate school committee members. Um, as member Graham mentioned, we had seven separate data points to use as referenced when we discussed the interim superintendent's um, tenure thus far. Across those data points, we saw
consistency that at no point in any of the um, nearly 25 um, thresholds of success or performance did the interim superintendent fall below uh, satisfactory. Um, and it was pointed out by member um, Reinfeld during that
meeting that more often than not, MASC recommends that you do not use exemplary or highly proficient unless absolutely necessary because there's always room for growth. Um, at no point really is everyone in the district going to be completely satisfied with the central
administration, the school committee, um, because there's always room to improve and there's always more work to be done for our students. And when I look at the data points that our seven members, you know, came together to put came together to sign off on their their John Hancock, at no point did anyone
indicate to me that there was major concerns or really relatively small concerns with the interim superintendent's capacity for this work or her commitment to our district. Um, in some ways more of them were closer to exemplary than not. Um, and the um, feedback reflects that. So I think
that's really important to consider when we talk about considering a search. I also appreciate and understand why some members of the community say that at the very least we as a district are deserving to consider other candidates because there always could be someone who is more qualified than what we're
used to and I understand that there's that belief as a possibility but um there's no guarantee that that exists. Um, from what I've seen as a as a as a committee member, our interim superintendent has been more committed, more willing to learn, more adaptable
um, in her role thus far, and I see no reason to believe that that will change going forward. Um, in some ways, she has been on a year-long job interview. Um, we have been asking her to rise to the occasion time and time again, and she has done that, at least by my
understanding, and by the seven members who conducted this feedback. Um, as I get as I said, no one indicated to me that there was any major concerns about her capacity or her willingness to grow if there was a shortcoming or some um skill that she was um quote unquote
deficient in, which again never came along. Um, so that's kind of the data that I'm looking at to consider my point. From a more personal perspective, an analogy that I'm considering is if I'm looking for, let's say, a job that
exists um in a in let's say in Chicago for the conversation, but I know I want to live my life and and and continue to grow in my career here in Massachusetts. If I consider an opportunity in Chicago, but I don't know the people in the city, I don't know what the work will look like. I don't know if I'll even enjoy
the city. I know nothing other than the prospect of it. On paper, there is an opportunity there. But I know what I have here, and it's and it's phenomenal here in the city of of Medford and Boston, Massachusetts. And what we know is that our interim superintendent has
been phenomenal by all accounts thus far. As I said, there's always room to grow. And of course, there's always the question of what could there be out? Is there more? Is the quoteunquote grass greener? But that more often than not is something considered as a fantasy.
There's always opportunity there. But who's to say if we find a candidate that we're excited about, a candidate that speaks to us as a district, someone who's willing to move here or come here, whatever that may look like, and will rise to the occasion that our superintendent has thus far. And I'm not
convinced that that's a guarantee. and the thought of losing our interim superintendent or to to continue to have a another year-long job interview um when one doesn't feel to be needed um I think is a is a is a missed opportunity to continue the momentum that we've been
growing the last couple of years and will continue to grow I think under our interim superintendent. So I'm not in favor of an outward search. Um, I haven't been given a reason from members of the committee or from my own research that suggests that we should have one
other than there could be somebody else or we should do it to cross our eyes and our tees and such, which again, I totally can understand that immediate consideration. Um, but nothing substantiates that other than it's what other people have been doing. Um, our
superintendent has been committed, has been consistent, um, has risen, as I've mentioned multiple times, and I believe that, um, she's due. She's she's she deserves to continue her her work here in the district because nothing suggests otherwise. Thank you.
>> Thank you, Member. Member Reinfeld. >> Thank you. I also didn't prepare a speech. I wanted to hear what my colleagues would say and then fill in some of the things that I maybe didn't hear. Um, so one point that
Yeah. Um, so I'm going to note that we would be having a very different conversation if this has this if this were a year ago. Um, as people have said, we've had we have a year of evidence in front of us about what's happening um about where the room to
grow is. And part of the reason I really push to incorporate the hopes and dreams for district leadership within the strategic planning survey is to do that matchmaking service of what people need and want and what we
have and to be able to look at that um really authentically. Uh when we first appointed made the interim appointment I immediately reached out to mask. I was really concerned about how little community input we had the opportunity to collect given the time frame of that.
Um, and one of the things that they said to me is think is absolutely look at your community values and and think about it over the course of the interim appointment. Um, also think about the message that you're sending to people with um, a high performance review and
to other potential candidates about how you treat people. Um, I very much hear the challenge of navigating the process versus the person. And I think it's been very clear that
while nobody is perfect, there is incredibly strong feedback on the person and the process. I I've I've heard and read and seen and had the conversations with people about running a search on principle. One thing that I was really struck by in a lot of the
communications that we received is the people who explicitly said do not run a search. Um that was in pra those reasons were cited as being in practice that we have this moment. We have this momentum. We do not have time to
break in somebody new to stop the work we're doing. Um there has been a lot of change in this district over the last few years and more change is coming. We have brought in pretty much an entirely
new leadership team most of whom you all are fantastic. You did not come from the Medford system. We have a lot of outside perspectives that are in the room right now. And I heard in the emails, the communications, the strategic survey,
and the conversations, there was a strong theme of the deep knowledge of Medford, the consistency uh and having that perspective to balance rather than having a whole new leadership uh situation. We've um the
mayor mentioned a lot of the work that's been underway. Um, one thing that I've been really concerned about is as um, federal policy has changed, there has been increasing tension between what the state requirements are and what the
federal government is mandating. And every time I have reached out to the leadership team to say, "Hey, this new thing happened. What are we doing?" We've been on top of it. It's we're already thinking about it. Meetings are already set up. Um and that need to
clarify and to understand what has been happening, why decisions were made and to keep making them um is really really important to me. Um, so
I had a hard I see all sides of this, but ultimately I think what I heard particularly looking at the strategic survey, every single Medford educator who responded and asked for an appointment um mentioned that stability
and consistency and I see that as a really important part of actually I appreciate what you said, member parks, of stewarding the resources. Um, so I am also coming down on the side
of let's keep this work going. Let's remain open to the feedback and understanding where we still have room to grow and doing that together as a community. >> Thank you, Member Rinfeld. Member Master
Bony. >> Thank you. U I'll be I'll be brief. Thank you for your comments. Um, everyone knows, you know, a couple of us are new here. So, um, you know, I rely on what I heard from residents, what I heard from the evaluation that you all did, um, and that the two former members
did. I think that was really the the key, that's really the key for me. Um, I heard really strongly from residents. Again, I'm not going to belver this, but in support of hiring Dr. Galuci as a permanent superintendent. Um like you all, I also um discuss with folks um what it would look like to to run a
process. Um for my from my perspective, and this is hard to say. I'm a process guy. I do this for a living. Um process is not important than results. Um and I think you know like my colleague like um uh member
um I think we've actually gotten more than a process over the last year. We've gotten a try out. Um I think that goes well beyond what a superintendent search would tell us about um the person sitting in the chair um right now. So um again I'm I'm basing my decision to
support um entering into negotiations um immediately based on your all work the comprehensive review that we discussed last meeting. Um but also with my own experience over the last few months um I mean Dr. everywhere I go. Um, you're
there ahead of me, even if I think I'm early. Um, even if I think I'm going to the most obscure meeting, you're always there. Um, I think that to talk about a try out, I I feel like, you know, we all have room to grow and I think everybody here recognizes that, but I think you've aced
the try out. I think, um, I'm, you know, feeling really great. All things considered, um, so so, so to wrap up, all things considered, um, I think the choice to pair immediately best matches the moment that we're in right now. Um, I'm prepared to endorse the
superintendent uh and and especially the team that that she's put together. I think that's what really um I can't stop can't stop talking about. Um I'm here for consistency. I'm here for perspective of that team. I'm here for your focus on staff up and down the organization. What I heard from
residents and you guys all read the same emails. What I heard from staff was how much you support the the folks up and down the organization. I want to keep saying that. Um, and I think all those things together means tells me that we're on the right track. Um, I'm prepared to support this team.
>> Thank you. You know, we have some emails from people in the audience. Um, but if anybody else wants to comment or you want to say more, please >> on Zoom or anybody in the room who would like to speak?
>> No, nobody with Zoom. Yeah. No, nobody on Zoom. Um, >> okay. Then I would like to make an a motion to um appoint Dr. Galooi to be Medford's next superintendent pending successful contract negotiations.
>> Um motion on the floor by member Graham. Is there a second >> by member? Roll call, please. >> Typing. Give me a sec. all this AI and I can't just hear you and type it on my screen. [snorts] Um, member Graham, >> yes. >> Member Master Pony,
>> yes. >> Member Olat, >> yes. >> Member Parks, >> yes. >> Member Rinfeld, >> yes. >> Member Russo, yes. Mayor Langokarn, >> yes. Seven the affirmative, zero in the negative. Congratulations, Dr. [applause] >> [applause] >> Dr. Lucy,
this is not going to be the most eloquent thing I've ever said. Um, I do want to say I'm very humbled. Um, I did not necessarily think I would be sitting here um, a year ago. But when put in the
position to be interim, I was fully committed. I have always said how dedicated I am to Medford. It holds a very special place in my heart. It's where I grew up. It's also where I grew into this profession. And I feel very
honored and very humbled to be leading um, formally in this position. I know in in positions like this, there is not going to be 100% um approval. Let's just say I am
somebody that really values collaboration and community. It's why I try to show up as much as I can and I really that the point of that is because I want to hear voices in the community and I want there to be a partnership and
so I really would welcome people um to reach out if there are things that they haven't seen that they would like to see or for people to just share their opinions. Um, one of my goals is definitely to be working on communication, making sure I'm a little
bit more um, responsive in that way is mentioned in the um, in my evaluation, but I just want to make sure that everyone knows we've done a lot of work in this past year.
A lot of that work is making sure that we have coherence and that we have consistency in our academics, in our operations, in our community engagement. And so continuing that work that we've started is really critical and necessary. And so I'm very excited for
the work ahead. We are not standing still by any stretch of the imagination. There's still a lot a lot of work to do. And I feel very grateful and I appreciate your trust in me and I promise that to you to this
body as well as to the community of Medford that I will continue to work as hard as I have been with an open heart and open mind and open ears. So I thank you very much. >> Wonderful. Thank you to our next
superintendent. [applause] >> [applause] >> 7 o'clock. I mean, but because we we have no new business, we I think we expected to be here for quite some time, but I think people chose to to email um as their main point of um communicating
with us. So again, congratulations and no new business, no reports requested, no condolences. Our re next regular meeting is next Monday February 9th 2026 at the al here in the alden chambers in addition to zoom. Is there a motion to adjurnn
by member? Seconded by >> member Graham. All those in favor. >> All those opposed. Meetings adjourned. Thank you everybody.