All right, folks. I have six o'clock. We're going to get started. Start with the pledge of allegiance. The flag is behind me on the other side of the road to the flag of the United States of America. One nation, indivisible.
All right, just so everyone is aware, this meeting is being recorded. Please let us know if you are recording it as well. start with our public comment period. Anyone looking to address the meeting, please do so with your name, address,
and so if anybody wants to come up and address the meeting. Seeing none, we will go to vote to approve the minutes of the September 10th open session and executive session meetings. No one had a chance to read
those. Nope. Any questions, comments, edits? Hearing none, entertain motion to approve the open session meeting minutes from September 10th. Second. All those in favor? I. Next, we will uh entertain a motion to
approve executive session meeting minutes from September 10th as well. So moved. Second. Second. All those in favor? I I Next is warrants. Um I have reviewed the following school
expense and payroll warrants. The school expense warrant September 10th 2025 22,18642 cents and the split payroll warrant September 4th 2025 1,117,62753 cents. I wish to enter those into
public. Thank you. Next we have our wonderful student representatives if they are ready for their update. Hello everyone. Um, the middle school sports teams are off to a strong start with each team already earning wins in the season. Tomorrow will be a busy day
as we host both the boys and girls soccer teams as well as volleyball. In addition, our back to school meet the teachers night will take place tomorrow as well. Um, we continue to take pride in our middle school classrooms and learning spaces. Just this past week, Norton resident and business owner um Jason Massie, I believe, of J. Massiey's
sign install generously donated his time and talent to install a large Norton Rancer logo on our gym wall. The logo itself was provided by our parent board and we are deeply grateful for their partnership and support. Um looking ahead, the majority of our clubs will be up and running next week. Middle school remains a busy, vibrant community where
students are active and engaged both inside and outside the classroom. And from the yell, a tremendous start to the school year as Mr. Gagan had presented at the last meeting. The Hey Nation is in full swing. Excuse me. The hashtag Hey Nation is in full swing. Um the fourth graders transition to the school
has been super smooth and successful, especially as we have maneuvered from relationship building and getting STEM activities to more academic learning. Our fifth graders have been taking the mantle of role models seriously as they are showing the way to be the older ones in school. Um this past Monday, Dr. Dr. O'Neal spent the day at the Yale for her
residency, was in and out of the classrooms, talking with teachers and students, seeing all the excellent learning going on, and even did a couple of good news calls of the day. Um, it was an unbelievable honor and treat it was for some of our students to have the superintendent of schools take a picture with them. Thank you, Dr. O'Neal. On
that note, Mr. Balawa and Mr. Gagan have already completed 34 good news calls in the past 16 days. This just shows how amazing our students are, how incredible our staff is noticing is for noticing our students and overall what a great community Hey nation is. And that's all
from any questions for Doug. Okay, move along to opening of school remarks with principal TJ Flanigan. Let's do that one again. We didn't even let him go last,
you know, like I said, you know, usually the new guy, we let him that person go last. I appreciate you guys very much. Um, so first of all, TJ Flanigan, uh, new Norton High School principal. I just want to say before I start the presentation, um, I started here in July
and the moment I stepped on foot on this campus in the school, I felt nothing but welcome. Um, it has been a true privilege being the principal of this high school. Um the kids that I've met, you know, staff, um parents, community members have been just uh just so
welcoming and uh accepting, willing to help. Uh I will say this, you know, I've been to many high schools and you know, I I stand out with Mr. Shaughnessy, I know Mr. Mr. Cersei's on the other entrance in the morning and they say, "Good morning to the kids. How are you?" Right? They don't have to reciprocate.
they don't have to say respond, but all of them do and they do it um in a way that just it's genuine. And so I just I'm so proud of to be here. I'm so proud of our kids. Um and like I said, it's just a privilege to be here. So now we have our first weeks of uh celebration.
Um first off, this wouldn't happen without these individuals. So I actually want to publicly acknowledge um the individuals that made the opening school happen. First off is our administrative assistants Justina Casa, uh Judy Allen and Daniel Marshian. Um people don't
know the behind thescenes stuff that they do to make sure that school operates. You know, whether it's scheduling, whether it's answering, you know, phone calls, whether it's, you know, answering questions from parents that come in. Um they have no idea all the behind the scenes stuff. They are the brains behind the school. All right?
So, I just want to give them a huge shout out. Our custodial team, I'm going to tell you, I've been in many high schools. Like I said before, I've never seen this the the floor. so shiny, right? And in July, I went up the second floor and it was oppressive. It was hot, humid, and those individuals, Chris,
Mark, Greg, Cheryl, they they it was like service with a smile. They never complained. They worked really hard. And so I want to publicly commend them too for all their work. uh our technology department, we had the privilege of uh having Prometheium boards and you know
there was a little delay and I will tell you our our our technology department led by Karen Winsper just really you know they were able to pivot and they did what they had to do. I mean I've never seen more responsive in uh you know in regards to you know to Nick and
Paul and the staff and Karen in regards to you know I I had a question or people they they come right there. It's I mean we're talking Nick today. I call I call Nick. I call Nick Macgyver, right? He is he is unbelievable. If there's like a an issue, he troubleshoots. He's there. Um
so they they deserve a huge shout guidance department. I'll give a shout out to to Mr. Cersei, Vinnie Cersei and his team. Um scheduling is tough, right? and and to be able to and you're not going to appease everybody, but to be able to accommodate as many kids as we can with regards to their electives, you
know, they worked really really really hard to do that and it was seamless. Um, our school counseling and special ed departments, you know, they once again um just to collaborate with them in terms of the scheduling piece of it, making sure our kids who are on a 504 IEP have those services in place. Um,
they work behind the scenes to make sure that all happens. our AC's, our academic coordinators and teachers. We did some hiring this summer. Um, and it was uh it was one of those things where I anytime I reached out to an AC and the teachers, there was no, even though they're on summer vacation, there was no hesitancy.
They came in, they were part of that interview committee and I, you know, I, like I said, being the new person here to have their support was truly, uh, I truly appreciate that. And our athletic department, Aaron Ser is a oneperson show. Um, that guy is unbelievable. He
will go and he'll line the fields. He'll do everything. He will, you know, make sure he, you know, that one of the buses is operating. Like we had a coolant leak. He was there to help and support that. People have no idea. And so he uh deserves a huge shout out in regards to what he does for our kids to uh
providing that athletic atmosphere. New policies are in place. All right. So, I actually walked in with some new policies and I will tell you right now, our cell phone policy, I feel like, is really going is off to a good start. And that's partly because a hugely proud of our staff making sure they implement it
fully, right? And our our students have, you know, I know at first it was a little bit of a, you know, but I got to tell you like 99.5% of them are on board with this. And I'll tell you right now, just going in classrooms and and talking with staff members and even talking with students who were a little reluctant at
first, they're engaged. They're there. There's no distraction, right? And so obviously our we're charged as a staff to make sure that we continue that implementation and we execute throughout the whole year and beyond. Student good standing rubric. It's great. We have kids talking to like Mr. Shaughnessy,
our assistant principal, where am I? How am I in terms of my tardies? Am I okay? They're really they're they're being held accountable which is great but they're also very um responsive in terms of things like I had a kid for example who you he was on a sports team and last
year he had some issues with Titans. We had a lot of talk about it and now he's coming in. He's coming in every day. We fistbump each other and he is here because he wants to be a part of this community and he wants to you know turn a new page in terms of what happened last year happened last year. This year is a new start. So I gave him a lot of
credit. So that good saying rubric is is definitely in full effect and we're seeing some huge benefits to that. Our tenants policy um like I said there was some you know policies there in regards to truency. Um we are re rein reinforcing some uh pre-existing policies that you know are you know
making sure that um you know that it's student first in regards to the importance of being in school for the entire day uh in order to participate in extra extracurricular activities. That's something that we are really, you know, it's it should be student first and that's something that we are enforcing and uh you know we're we're already
seeing attendance improvements from last year to this year. Lancer Limelight. So big believer in you know the the students that hold these positions, officer positions, captains, what have you. Um they deserve all the accolades. Absolutely. But there are
kids that may not have those positions that may not be acknowledged. And I know that in talking with our staff and myself included, it's the little things that matter the most. And there are kids that just come in here and they do the right thing every day. And sometimes it
gets acknowledged and sometimes it doesn't. Well, this is a way for us to acknowledge that, right? I'll give a quick example. We had our Friday night football game. Okay? We had two students on their own free will decide to there was trash left in the bleachers right and the place was packed on their own
free will decided to then clean up the trash no one asked right that is what we're talking about in terms of lancer lang you know doing something when no one else is asking you and doing the right thing when no one else is looking right and so we we started that and we're going to be acknowledging our
first students coming up uh the first Friday in October Mr. Sean is really kind of spearheading this and we're really excited about that. It's going to be one of those things where um we have students and we have staff that will nominate these individuals, right? And then we will bring these individuals down and we will tell them why they were
nominated, right? So they know that they've been seen in terms of doing the right thing and doing and being kind to people. And then the best part about it is then calling their parent or guardian, right? And letting them know this is why they're nominated and you got a great kid and keep up the good work, right? And then they'll be they'll
be they'll be spotlighted in our my uh my monthly parents newsletter and then also with Mr. Shaughnessy students newsletter as well. Welcoming new students. So grade nine our student council did a wonderful job with our uh our August 27th orientation. It's funny when you when you I was there
when you go in and you see like the the deer in the headlights and really nervous, you know, grade nine students and they're walking around. They don't know where they are. They're they gravitate to each other. They're they're trying to, you know, navigate around the building. These orientation leaders did a tremendous job led by Liza Graasso and
Melissa Beck who are our adviserss to just kind of like ease their worries, right? And I will tell you what the coolest thing was is after it was all over, they were still in the cafeteria that we had to like kick them out, right? Because they were just talking to each other, sharing schedules, all that stuff. And it was awesome. And so that
bees right there that they feel comfortable. They're walking in. So big big huge shout out to that. Meet the teacher night was this past Thursday. Um I want to commend um Miss Haskell and also our student council um students who who actually came forward and helped our
parents guardians navigate around the building. They were funny. They were wearing signs. We know what no one told them to do this like get directions here. They're walking around the hallways, right? And and they were awesome and they were there the whole entire night helping parents and guardians sort of navigate the building and that was on their own time. So I
want to huge special thank you to that. um our guidance events that are coming up. We had a very successful um senior college night, you know, to go back to Mr. Cersei and his team. They have worked really hard to provide opportunities to sort of help the, you
know, parents and guardians and kids go through the process of like what is next after high school, right? And so they have a a just a menu of events. And we had our first one which um was on September 17th. And you know, I was talking to Mr. Cersei was the the biggest one that he's had in terms of
turnout wise, which is great. And that's kudos to, you know, us trying to help, you know, parents navigate this with the kids, too, as well. Um, and then this is my newsletter that I do. It's Nancy Loud and proud. This is as creative as I get, right? Um, but this is a a monthly
newsletter that I send out and it's more or less, you know, just trying to celebrate. Like we talked about, and I'll talk about this a little bit later, you know, when I first started this job, I heard, you know, there's so many good things at Hope that happen at Norton High School and it's so true. And so I'm just trying to with other people trying to find avenues on how to really
showcase that, right? And so this is one of the things that I'm doing and also obviously keeping the parents and guardians informed of like the everyday doings of of uh you know of Norton High School as I said before. So uh before I was on
um Twitter, I'm no longer um or X. So what we've done is in terms of these avenues that I've actually started a uh a Nordon High School Lancers Instagram page and that and really the sole purpose of that is to showcase kids you know when they are competing when they
are in the arts whatever they're doing like you know we had our unified basketball game the other day like just really showcasing all the great things that we've have um and so that's been a that's been great sort of uh I want to say bragging right about our kids and all the good things that are happening.
pregnant. Celebrating inclusion. I'm going to tell you right now, the highlight for me was this. Right. When I first started this position, all I heard about was how huge this Best Buddies program was, how inclusive this community is, right? And
to get that, so I had it framed. It's on the front counter. To get that is a testament not to me, it's to the kids, it's to the staff that this is a priority, right? and to feel included. I was at a Best Buddies, this is the Best
Buddies, our our inaugural uh Best Buddies event. All right. And you know, Mr. Portway, Mr. Jingris, they they advise this, right? And I always say it comes from the top down. They have graded officers, too, right? 170 quarter of Mr. 175 kids signed up for Best
Buddies. 175. Largest I've ever heard, right? And these kids all play kickball, right? And it was great. I had a chance to kick the ball. It was horrible. Kid threw a curveball at me. So, yeah, it kind of caught me off. Right. But that right here is the highlight right now
for me getting that certificate. Um, I made a promise to be visible, right? And and that's something that I hold true, right? It's important. Best part of my job is seeing kids do what they love, right? But what I will say is
this. This class of 2026, they're special to me because I I started with them. But I've had conversations with the members of class of 2026 and I will say this, they set the tone for the building, right? If it's a positive,
inclusive class, everything else trickles down, right? And I will tell you, I am so proud of this class. Benson, you're a huge part of this, okay? And your officers, right? Ryan's here. I know too, right? And you know,
you guys are what sets the stage for a successful school year. So, we had an awesome senior sunrise. Here's what I'll tell you. I live in East. It was pouring. 5:00 in the morning, pouring. I got an email from Mr. Portway saying, "It's still on. It's still on." Right? I
go over the Norton line and the skies cleared up. I'm like, "This is special." Right? So, I get there and it is dry as can be. And what do you have? Hundreds of kids, like your entire class there. That is huge. They could have been like, "I'm sleeping in. It's raining." Nope.
They were there and they had a ball. Right. This was the start of it. Right now, we get to the senior sunset cruise. Another beautiful day. Every kid that what was like intermingling with each other. That's what it's all about. It wasn't just factions of kids. They're
all intermingling each other. This group right right here, like I said, class of 2026, I'm excited. We're only in September, right? We still got many more months ahead. So, just I challenge them to continue being unified, continue being inclusive, and making sure that,
you know, you set that example for everybody else. Ball sports. Um, we've have we have the girls soccer team, volleyball team, we have the the cross country team, we have the golf. By the way, the golf was great. I'm a golfer, so I picked up a
couple tips here. That was great. Um, we have football, boys soccer, we have cheerleading. They take pride in what they do, right? And I will tell you, I'm very proud of our kids and I'm and I'm encouraging them more and more, right? To not just go to particular sporting
events, to go to other events. And we've talked about this in our student assemblies, okay? And I'm not just talking about athletics. I'm talking about arts, music, when all those events come up, right? And that's where I'm going to rely on the senior class to really set that tone, right? Because they will follow. All right?
Um, staff loud and proud. I'm going to tell you right now, I have such a good time with this staff, right? Teaching is hard work, but you got to be able to have fun at the same time, right? And they are so dedicated and I'm
privileged to be their principal. We had these were the chaperones on our senior cruise. And then this was nice that the football team honored these staff members during halftime of last Friday's football game. and I wanted to find a funny little thing. So, looking forward to an awesome
school year. Um, thank you for your time. It's been a really good start and I look forward to the rest of this school year. Thank you, Principal Flag. Anybody have any questions or anything? Oh, I stay here right. So, as a parent of a high school
student, um I have to say I'm beyond thrilled. Um I came to the open house. You gave us an axe. That was amazing. I was like, "Hey, I actually can find where I'm going." Um and the whole thing, like everything that you just presented is rings true. Uh my daughter
has done Unified since she was in fifth grade. Uh so she's really excited about the Best Buddies program. She already signed up for DECA. She has gone in all in and she is very excited about high school. She is having a great time. She settled very quickly. Um as a child that
has anxiety like she's really thriving. Um and she had a tough choice to make between whether she was going to go to South Eastern or stay here in Norton. She chose Norton and she hasn't looked back and she's very excited. And so that's really a testament to the climate
of the school. Um, so I thank everybody that, you know, encounters my daughter and you're all doing a fabulous job and you are very present. Um, which is so refreshing. So, thank you so much.
Um, as a parent of a senior, um, it it's funny cuz she came home last week and she's like, "Yeah, I saw the saw the new principal outside. He was talking to somebody and then she's like he dead stopped his conversation to like greet a group of kids." She's like, "I've never seen that in my four years that someone
like genuinely stops a conversation to like to introduce themselves to kids." And you know, and a side note is, you know, I've heard from multiple different staff members um through through you know, different sources that that you are doing well and you were very well received. So, uh and it's nice to see
you got your purple swag. But, you know, I we've heard a lot of good things. So I I think you were the right person for for the job and you know we we look forward to seeing more good things from you as the year goes on. Anything else? I think just echoing Dan's words, you
know, one of the big things from the entire interview process was changing the culture, you know, and uh I think we kind of hit a uh hit a jackpot here with TJ. Um, you know, I think exactly what he just presented, you know, coming from the student mindset first is is critical
to what we're trying to do in our flagship school, you know. So, I think uh kudos to you. You know, I've heard from multiple parents, multiple staff members, you know, around town of how much different the feel is in this in this building in the first three weeks of school. So, uh, like I said, I think
you're doing a great job so far and keep it up and I look forward to kind of keeping this rolling. Okay, thanks. Thank you. Uh, next we have our student spotlight, the Newton High
School staff of Thank you. Um, so tonight it is my honor and privilege to introduce uh two very special people. Uh, the first one is Jamie Maul who is our um, step out
teacher here at Norton High School and the other is Ryan Darzic. Ryan is a student in our step out program here at Norton High. So, come on up. I'm the teacher on high school.
Um, so I made a quick video as a description and explanation of our step program. Um, so here it is. The stepout program is a post-graduation transition program for students aged 18
through 22. The mission of the stepout program is to provide quality educational and transitional support for students who are eligible to receive continued vocational and life skills instruction after completion of 12th grade. The stepout program focuses primarily on life skills necessary for
students to transition to adult living including functional academics, self- advocacy skills, independent living skills, vocational skills, and social skills. I think the biggest areas of growth for the students are to empower the students to achieve independence and more
self-confidence in what they do on a daily basis. While learning typically takes place in a classroom, for the students in the stepout program, learning can take place anywhere. Students may volunteer at places like Mansville Treading or Mansville Bar Pizza. Students learn on
the job skills as well as soft skills such as communication, time management, and teamwork. Students enjoy bowling, shopping, getting coffee, and walking at local paths to explore their community. These are fun activities, but they provide students with the opportunity to
learn social skills, budgeting, planning, and reading maps. What are some things that you've learned while being in the stepout class? I like to help in the community. I help at the pizza restaurant,
at shredding, and at BSU. I learn a lot from Jamie and Debbie. Students also participate in programs with Attalboroough Enterprises and Bridgewater State University with other districts post-graduation programs such as Mansfield, North Attleboroough,
Canton, and others. The goal of these programs are to develop social independence and self- advocacy skills which assist students in growing into adulthood. One of our students is uh that we work with is deaf. So what we try to do is
empower her with self advocacy skills so that she can communicate her wants and needs. In this way, she'll be able to navigate her world with independence in any environment socially as well as emotionally.
In addition, we have students who are part of the Excel program at Bridgewwater State University. Students in the Excel program take one class per semester, get an internship on or near campus, get a peer mentor, and have weekly meetings with Excel staff to work on career and personal goals while they
are in college. Students are fully immersed as college students and are able to access everything on campus from the gym to library to dining halls. Students have an ed coach from Norton who accompanies them and helps the students to build their skills and goals as they move towards adulthood. Why did
you want to go to Bridgewater State? Well, because class and friends, what skills have you learned since being in the step out of class? What has Bridgewwater done to help you
reach your goals? It helped me to learn how to spend money. So my role as a bed coach and self out whatever it is to help the students in any way that I noticed that as an end coach um
professors and peers who build the opportunity first before talking with the students that I've worked with my purpose is to help them advocate for themselves and it's hard to do that when the professors and peers want me to
speak through them. I feel like my goal is to better understand and how to communicate with our students first and then use community um to help better understand what might be going on and
the purpose of the excel program is to give them as much independents turn 22 some may choose to work while some go to adult programs with community-based day supports. At the end of the day, the goal of the Stepout program is to provide students with
independence, self- advocacy, and self-awareness, and any other skills that they will be using in their adult life. What do you like about being in the Stepout program? I like I like music therapy. What else do you like?
I like shredding. Working in the Stepout program has taught me more than I could have imagined. I have learned the importance of your words and responses, different ways and tools to encourage student engagement and self- advocacy, better communication skills, and how to grow
deeper connections with students in the program. The beauty of working with students with disabilities is learning to expect the unexpected. You'll be put in social situations and interactions you simply never expected. So, it forces you to look inside to question, am I
just reacting or am I truly responding with what is best for the student? I have learned that the best way I can support students is if I've done the work myself. This program has taught me to grow, to keep showing up, even when I'm frustrated or it doesn't make sense.
Trust the process because even though it's mostly in the long game you see wins, you are making a difference. This program has been a true blessing. Not only in the amazing opportunity it presents to the students for growth and success, but the gift in life it has
given me to be able to say, "I get to do this. I get to be part of of their story." We all have a purpose in this world, and this program has given me the desire to lean in closely to the students and help foster their skills, gifts, and the places in which
they can thrive in our community. my jack and I'm have any questions or for me or for Ryan if we'll be in the program or Yes, I was a former member of the step program under root from 2001 2005
And it was a good experience and I learned a lot and now look at me 20 years later I'm driving and being a happy person thanks to the step program. That's awesome. I don't know how this was. The video is
so amazing because I think it's it's so challenging to really explain how much the STEP program does and and the students that are in our program and all the things that they have available to them. And I think um Ryan and all of
his peers in the SEO program did a really great job conveying what they like about the program, the things that they've learned, the benefits. Um it was like I'm a little bit speechless because it was just really really powerful. So thank you Jamie. Thank you
Ryan. Ryan, you played a g great game this week. I saw that next week's game too. Yeah. Anything else, guys?
Thank you for your time. Thank you. Next, we have 2026 National Merit Scholarship Commened Students. So, this is this is the fun part. Um, I'd like to uh have come for Ryan Brat
and Ben Yesi Kevich, please. So, I want to give you a little background here before I award their certificate and it's something that um they were the only two out of Norton High School that achieved this. So, this is quite an accomplishment. Okay. I'll read a little bit of the background so how everyone has some context. Um,
students entered the National Merit Scholarship Program in Nationwide Competition for recognition and awards conducted by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation by taking the 2024 preliminary SATs National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test Last October. In April, they were identified
as the top 50,000 highest scorers nationwide. That is huge. And I just want to, you know, uh, we at as Norton High School, I know you're I can probably speak for your parents and guardians too as well, are so proud of you. Um, I had the
privilege of of calling your parents and inviting them and they were like over the moon, excited about it. And so, um, we want to publicly acknowledge and congratulate you for being a commended student for the, uh, a letter of commendation, I'm sorry, for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
So, Ryan, there you go. Congratulations. Keep going. Um, congratulations. Great job, guys. Uh, all right. Next, we have DECA field
trips from the 2025 26 school year. and gets to come back. Good evening everybody. I think I know most of you. Uh my name is Rachel P. I'm the A for business and technology and we are here tonight, Mr. Fortway and myself and a couple of our DA officers to seek
approval for the various trips that we have coming up this year. We have power trip in Washington DC area. Then we have our district conference, the overnight conference down in Hyannis. Then we have our state conference up in the seapport district in Boston. The sports and
entertainment conference in Orlando, Florida, and hopefully some competitors for Atlanta, the national ICDC in Atlanta. So we have some of our officers here to give you a few details on the program.
All right. My name is Benjamin Kevich. I'm the executive president of Norca. This year I am very gracious to be able to talk a little bit about our success from last year as well as our vision for this year. So last year our students were prepared for their competitions through practice role plays with our
officer team where they got one-on-one feedback on how to improve their role plays and they gradually improved. We saw everyone do better over the course of this. Uh and the students would come down and take their own time uh to come down during our home run as well as uh our officers coming down to judge them
every single day. uh which is just incredible for both our students and officers. We also had officers creating 100 question practice tests to simulate the real exam that students were required to take as a part of their score for the competition and all of these students completed their exams and we saw scores gradually rise as well. Uh
and a lot of these tests were kind of make or break for how students performed at the competitions and a lot of it was success because of how they did on the test. We also had students writing 10 to 20 page papers um for projects that they created and it's a lot to write 10 to 20
pages especially the high schooler and also meeting deadlines but these students managed to make these deadlines and we had a couple projects even qualify uh really far because of how much effort the student put into their projects. Uh so our officer team and students obviously everyone put in a lot of work and it couldn't have been done
uh without any of these people stepping up. uh but it doesn't actually mean anything unless we had success. Uh but we had 75 members if nor last year 58 qualified to the state competition in some capacity which is a very big amount especially compared to years past and
then 19 of those students qualified for the international competition and we've had maybe five and one in years past but uh this was a huge number and a big accomplishment for us as a chapter and just a testament to our preparation uh and how much work we put in to help these students succeed. Um and then we
ultimately sent 15 students, nine competed and did very well um at the international competition. Um I'm Talia Griggs. I'm vice president of DECA. Um and basically like going off of what Betty was saying, our success was like evident in the past year and
want to like just continue that. And our officers have already started in their summer. We got an email from um Mr. support way saying on August 1st let's get started on this plan because what we were doing is working and let's like start earlier so we can have more success and honestly that's already
started working because last year we had 75 members our goal was to increase by 30 but we now have 110 members this year and so with that opportunity we want to like we want to bring those members to like the higher levels um and bring
hopefully we had what 19 last year qualified for nationals. We want to you know make that number jump even more. Um and that starts with like very beginning of the year. Um reeling in the new members was very it was our first goal
and we accomplished that and that was very exciting to see and that was through our hard work again. Um, and our next goal is to like really explain to our new underassmen what DECA is, which we've always struggled with in the past because like the concept of DECA is like, okay, I get that it's a business
club, but what do you do? Um, and so we're starting with that, which um just like introducing the underassman and new members. We actually have a meeting tomorrow. Um, it's going to be like a really fun cool way to like bring the members in and like show them what deck
is all about. Um, and for this coming year, we have a new training program that like our training VP um has worked really hard on um and can only be accomplished through a big leadership team which we have grown this year to
include underassmen so that when they're um juniors and seniors, they can understand like what okay, what is a leadership role? And so we're like kind of taking them under our wing. I've been personally working with our um underassman program and like really
trying to like bring them into DECA and leadership and like empowering them to like DECA and hopefully outside the business. Um to sum up all that, I going off Mr. Flanigan's point from earlier, the class
of 2026 has been pivotal in like every extracurricular that we've had here. Um, but especially in DECA, like since they were freshman, like they hit the ground running and they've really built so much of our framework and our program throughout the years. Um, and so we're really looking forward to this year together. I ran some numbers. Um, so you
know, there's a narrative that that goes like, oh, you go on these trips, that's really fun. You get out of school for a couple days, right? But as they talked about, like the amount of work that these students do to be prepared to do well is insane. So in the next 7 months, our officer team um along with our
members will conduct 1500 role plays and those role plays are like case studies. So they get 10 minutes, they get a scenario, like a real business scenario, they have to solve it and they have to present it to a judge. So they're going to be running 1500 of them um and giving feedback on the spot and doing that for the next three months. We'll have over
80,000 exam questions that will be answered and sent out to our students over that time um that they'll get feedback on as well. Um, and in addition students writing 10 to 20 page papers and putting together these really professional presentations. And so this program is extraordinary. Like I can't
think of a better opportunity for our high school students than to learn how to tie a tie and then go sit in front of a judge who's a business professional and actually present to them a complete stranger what they've been working on for months. Um, and we're super grateful to our leaders who are really making this happen and stepping it up every single year. So we ask for your approval
for our trips this year so we can go and compete and have another record-breaking year. And I I talked to some parents the other night at meet the teachers night who were really excited about their kids joining DECA just for some of the reasons that these you know that Benny and Ty and you know Mr. Po have talked
about just that it helps with job interview skills and it helps with you know just kids not being you know shy about talking to adults and you know even just going as far as to you know a good handshake and some eye contact and body language and you know all those things. So these are really all
fundamental things that DECA teaches and yeah a lot of academic skills embedded in there as well. So very worthy. Um I mean going back so many years that I've been here Mr. was one of our dec
I've actually known Mr. Forway since preschool. So, not showing either one of our agents, by the way. Um, you know, the one thing I've always liked about DECA is, you know, there's no one student that fits the DECA mold. Like, cuz it doesn't
have your typical, it's not always a business student. It's not always, you know, a straight A student or a C or D student. It's, you know, it's a kind of a hodgepodge of of students from various different backgrounds. Um, I was talking to a friend of mine whose daughter
started and um, you know, very kind of quiet kid. I've known her her whole life, but it again doesn't fit any mold because there isn't one. And you know, kudos to you guys as the leaders that and and you guys for for your executive
positions that you're constantly training that new generation, that next group, the juniors, the sophomores. So, and that's the one thing I like about DECA is the, you know, the top student seniors are training those next students because that's how the program keeps
growing. Uh, and the success is has been been evident for years. Um, so for me, this is always a no-brainer because this is our students doing something outside of their school time that, as you mentioned, it's it takes a lot. Um and
and I'm always surprised at when we look at the numbers how those look for the like you go to school for 5 days a week, you got homework and it's like, "Oh, by the way, let me do on my own time, you know, a bunch of hours and help my help my classmates prepare for their um their
presentation." So, um for me, this is always a no-brainer, but um I don't if there's any other comments or questions. I just um wanted to say so when I started on school committee I was I will be very honest I did not understand what deco was um and then when having like
having you guys come and ask and and voting on these and like this sounds wonderful and then over the years I've really started to understand and the life skills that you are able to teach these kids and help them practice and that like it's it really is um something that you can take from here and and use
in the real world and um Benny you mentioned that a 10 to 20 page paper is a lot for a high school student. I will say being slightly older than a high school student, a 10 to 20 page paper is a lot for anybody. So that is a true testament to very hard work that you guys putting into this. And um again, I
would have to echo a no-brainer for anything else. I would just say same as a business owner, DEA kids are amazing because they actually will make eye contact with you. They can answer the phone, which is a huge scary thing for people. Um but I I
love this program. Um, I'm very excited that my daughter has joined uh, DECA. My husband and I were talking last night because we're both full school teachers and we're like, we don't know anything about anything other than this. And so, um, we're really excited that this is kind of offering up an experience for her
outside of this small world of teaching, which is the only thing that we know. So, um, so she's going to open up, you know, more avenues for her to figure out what she kind of, you know, maybe what she wants to do with her, you know, life when she grows up. So, um, I mean, she's
already kind of gross, but, um, so I'm just really excited. Uh, so yeah, no brainer. With that, I would entertain a motion to approve the Deca trips as presented. So moved. Second. All those in favor. Good luck. Congratulations.
All right, next we have first meeting. I'm back. So, I'm actually have Dr. and Mr. So if you join me as well because they worked with me and along with guidance from Dr. O'Neal during most of the uh compy
determination policy. So um we're going to split up the the presentation but I want to thank all of them for their hard work too as well. And we had some really great conversations as to kind of what that looks like for here from you know Norton High School uh in considering obviously students and uh regards to you
know the uh we'll say the uh the role that MCAST potentially plays. Um so just a little overview um in November of 2024 the mass was approved question two which was uh prohibit the use of MCCast to earn a competency determination to obtain a
high school diploma. All right and so in May of 2025 uh Jesse provides some guidance and regulations on what school districts must require for students to earn their comy determination. So really in essence there's two buckets. I'm trying to use an analogy. All right. So we have the compy determination bucket
that's through you know that we as northern public schools have to come up with and then we also have our local requirements right and so for in order for a student to earn their high school diploma they have to fill both buckets right and so we're going to talk about the first bucket which is the compy
determination and then at the very end of the presentation we're going to ask uh or we're going to show you our our our recommendation as to an adjustment to the local requirement too that's currently Okay. So first off uh we are actually um in
terms of the desi guidance we are aligning our compy determination to what their suggestions are um which is a successful completion of two years of a certified English course with full credit you know obtain full credit minimum passing grade successful completion of two years of a certified
math course uh full credit minimum passing grade and then also a successful uh completion of at least one year five credits of a certified science course and I don't know why this is in black But anyway, um, in 2027, uh, there is going to be a a history
component to this. So, it's going to, uh, we're going to require at least one year of a certified history course for full credit, minimum passing grade. So, that's aligning the guidance. Quick question. Sure. Have these have these gone down because I thought, wasn't it four years of English? That's the difference.
So this is exactly so this is just the um the comp determination and then the local requirement stays the same with four years of math four years English the only adjustment will be as in regards to MCCAST and the role that has in terms of uh graduation welcome. So the certified courses that
we have identified are our English one and two courses uh algebra 1 and geometry courses bi either biology introductory physics uh physics and chemistry courses and then like I said for the US history course too as well. This is all aligning with the DESI regulations and their recommendations.
Um it says in order to maintain that student must demonstrate mastery which Dr. Aman is going to talk a little bit about uh in the next couple slides. skills, competencies, and knowledge contained in the state academic standards and curriculum frameworks. So the competency determination if is
demonstrating mastery is is really talking about the how. So what are students going to be asked to do in their coursework? So for ELA, it's similar to what we've done. students are going to complete comprehensive assessments, including like a midyear, a
final, or a project-based learning activity. So, one of our overarching goals for all of our ELA programs is to make sure that our students can read effectively. So, by we're going to summarize, predict, recall, synthesize,
and apply information. Also, making sure that proper vocabulary is embedded. All of our ELA students will be able to write and communicate effectively using proper structure, grammar, organization, mechanics, and critical thinking. Making sure that our students also have the
skills of identifying and working collectively to solve problems. And then obviously a transferable long-term skill is to make sure that we gather and evaluate uh sources and resources to make sure that we meet our high school
rubric for academic expectations. For math we want to make sure again similar we keep the requirement about exams and then for mathematics also making sure that we understand and apply the linear and exponential relationships
in real world contexts. So whether it's algebra or geometry is a course these are mastery uh expectations that we have for all kids to make sure that we can analyze and solve algebraic equation
algebraic functions and data modeling demonstrate spatial visualization and geometric relationship skills. Of course, a primary purpose of math is to use deductive problem solving methods across a range of mathematical concepts
and make sure that all of our students meet uh the high school's academic expectations through mathematical reasoning. For science, again, first requirement is the same. It's about assessments, midy years, and finals. Again, across
concrete, making sure that our students can apply essential scientific concepts through hands-on experimental work and data analysis to identify and solve scientific problems. Working collaboratively and independently in a
laboratory and research setting, gather and evaluate scientific information from multiple sources to support conclusions. And again, the common thread that we make sure that our students meet the high school uh expectations on
scientific inquiry in our rubrics. And then finally for history, making sure that we understand all of the historical concepts from the Revolutionary War through the industrial revolution. Ensuring our students can analyze American democracy, governmental
systems, westward expansion, and political party development. making sure our students can examine economics and social change, sectional conflict, civil war and reconstruction. Key indicator or key competency for US
history is reading and writing effectively about numerous historical topics. Ensuring that students are able to use the proper structures and critical thinking and analyzing historical documents to support arguments and conclusion. And lastly,
it's to ensure that our students can work collaboratively and independently to evaluate information from multiple sources. So, um, when we have our own students coming in, that's that's easy for us to do, right? Because they're following our process. They're going to be we're going
to be checking to make sure they're meeting our local requirements. So, what this is talking about is when students essentially move in, especially if they move in later in their academic careers. Um this is very similar to fian honest what myself and the uh guidance department do anyways we have a move in
student right we're checking to see what courses have they taken how does it align with our our uh graduation requirements have they've passed certain courses maybe there's a prerequisite that you know they need to take to get to the next step so forth and so on. So we review transcripts all the time
typically if they're moving in state that's simple. It gets a little bit more complicated sometimes when it's out of state, but um you know, we we either work with the department heads, the academic coordinators kind of figure that out. Um there may be times when we are looking at in the placement exams or
trying to figure it out that way. Uh often times, you know, I'll reach out to to the schools themselves, ask about their curriculum, get some more information. Usually give that duck acur um and not my not my threat. Um and then
we we go from there and it does have to you know again align to the state standards um and then you know there will still be state testing whether it's here or someplace else. So sometimes we can use that as well. So we take all of that to make sure that it meets our standards meets the state standards uh for this competency. So again very
similar to what we've always been doing and then um as part of the uh desi guidance right so there are students who in 23 the class 23 24 um they were able to reach out to us and say okay you know I didn't pass MCCAPS but I think I met
the competency termination so based on that we are able to um provide them you know I do again kind of review the transcript make sure that it meets all the things they're supposed to do is that process to do that within 10 days. That's easy. Um we have that information. It doesn't take that long.
Um and then I notify uh the principal and the superintendent and say, "Yep, she or he has met all of the requirements and um you get them a final transcript. We changed the year of graduation." Um and give them their diploma. So that's
I had to say that because that's what they told me. So there we are. I guess my my one question is if we look back say historically I put you on the spot but like would we have but if we say had eliminated MCCAST like
10 years ago would we still have students that could be on the bubble and not graduate just from their academics alone taking out MCAST not graduate? Yeah. Like not grad like Yeah. I mean there's there's always a couple there's always I would say a lot of them
may have credit all of them not all there would been some might have been better off without an so we have kids every year that struggle with MCAST so this could put them in a better they have met those basic competencies yes and gone beyond that
so um they kind of walked you through the the recommendations that we have and then in your packet we I have two um policies for for you as a first reader. The first is IKF which is the competency
determination. This is a brand new policy for Norton public schools. We do not have one that currently exists. Um so it's a little bit lengthy. Um it is based off of the model um policy that was developed by MASC. So the beginning is is very simple. It explains why we
have it. Um it talks about the um coursework requirements from the state. Um and then it goes through the aligned courses that we have here in Norin. Um please note that where it says English language arts, I neglected to update it to English one and English two even
though we had this conversation yesterday. So I have to make that change there. Um and then for all of them it talks about the fact that um it talks about successful completion uh and then the minimum passing grade. Um it also
notes that for math um math is the only area where you don't necessarily have to be in high school to take some of that coursework because we do have some eighth graders that are currently taking algebra 1. So, they take that course at Norton Middle School and still qualifies towards that
competency determination. Um, but we we mark that there. Um, it also talks about our um additional considerations for students with disabilities or English language learners. Um, and it also walks through the appeal process.
So, this is correct. It's 2003 to 2004 or is it 2023? No, it's from 2003, which was the very first year that they had the graduation requirement that um touched upon MCAST. Yes, I know it looks weird.
You're like, why would why would we be going that far back in time? Um but part of the um regulation changes allows people that may not have graduated at that time because of the MCCAST qualifications to go back and request
that their high school um audit audit their transcript. Um, so that is correct. So, um, that will be what we would do if anyone were to come forward and I believe we've had one or two people so far come forward and ask and that person was able to get a trade school who wasn't going to be able to
announce it. Yep. Which is awesome. Worked out greatly. Um, and then the second um, policy we have for you tonight, again, this is a first read. Um, this is uh, it's IKF graduation requirements. This is the one we actually updated last spring when we
had to do this under um a quick time constraint. Um and we talked about the competent discern competency determinations there. Um so we took out any information that had to do with competency requirements because we now have a whole a whole beautiful policy all to itself. Um and the one the other
thing that we added was that um in order to graduate from Norton High School, a student must have earned at least 95 credits. That's our current policy. and it used to say and complied with all state accountability requirements. Now that those are no longer state requirements, we are saying that in
order to graduate from Norton High School, you must participate in state required assessments. Um we're not saying they have to pass. We're not saying they have to get any sort of qualifying score. We're just saying they need to sit down and take the test. And ultimately, um, that's for us as a
school district because, um, we are held accountable to number one, the scores that we get as a district, but also to the number of students that we have that actually participate. And what we saw, and we'll share with you um once our MCCAST data is unimargoed next week,
what we saw was a a huge decline in the amount number of students that participated last year. Um, and that is is really challenging for us because for um years when we do not have the minimum participation rate of 95%. Um, if you
have that for more than a couple years in a row, that can impact our our our grants. It can impact um our ability to make decisions about what we teach here in Norton. Um, and it could potentially um put us in a position where the state
is coming in and giving us more guidance than what we would like. So, um, we felt that this was something, um, that was important to us as a school community. So, any questions that you have about, um, anything that, um, the team here presented tonight or the two policies
themselves? So, I mean, not wanting to to look too far ahead, but, has there been any any rumors or anything that says they're coming out with another type of assessment to replace MCCast? Are we going to go through all this again and there's going to be a new test or like
have they even I would say never say never. I mean um I think I so based on federal guidelines current federal guidelines we have to assess every student at least in you know at
least three times throughout their their career. Um that was we used to do fourth, seventh and 10th. Um that is still a federal guideline. We still have to give some sort of common assessment. Um, I think that the state of Massachusetts and the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education have to really look at the way that they're evaluating schools. Now, um, our accountability ratings are handinand with MCCAST. Um, and as I mentioned to you, the um, participation rate is a challenge for us, but um,
having all of those things that were high stakes previously um, tied to funding for schools and and what we're doing, it's just it's not it's not fair, honestly. And I know I sound like a child. It's not fair. Um but ultimately
what I um Casey and Brian were in the same room with me last year at a conference and I raised my hand and I said you know what is the department considering when it comes to um re-evaluating accountability ratings because you know I'm concerned that now that it's no longer required except X Y
and Z and they said oh we don't believe it will have anything to do with participation rates. So, um, conversations with my Yeah, the optimal laugh didn't Oh, yes. Conversations with my colleagues across the district, um, across the state have been, um, very
similar whether you are in a place like Norton or in a place like Weston. Um, everyone saw a sharp decline in participation and achievement as well. So, it'll be interesting to see what what comes forward. So, I would say yeah, maybe
the states answer. Yeah. You know, just to add on to what Jen said, we had had this speculative conversation that they're looking for us to do the work. So, they're going to get 351 of these applications,
but they all have to be submitted by December 31st. Then they will, in our opinion, pick the most cumbersome, burdensome, make a little boring one, and then send it back to us. But that's
speculation on our part. I think you know little experience. So when you're talking about the 95% is that for the entire district or just the sophomore class? Um it's 95% per for each school.
Okay. So northern middle school has to get their 95%. It's for every grade in every school. So I'm only asking because so this graduation requirement are we tracking the students from elementary up? So like if Oh, I'm sorry. That's why I'm asking about like what what we're they would sit for tests in high school.
High school, right? That's what that's what I was checking because again like oh gosh the way things are going right now going with that. So it has to be the sophomores that have to do the Yep. So when you're in high school you have to sit for every assessment. That's what I was questioning. What's our
be a tough one but what's our plan to have kids sit down and test and actually care? Oh, well it doesn't say no car. I don't want to offer any panaceas because we know that it's it's difficult. But to piggyback on what Jen
said earlier, there are working groups among like district level cohorts of people. I'm trying to currently organize one with the assistant superintendence group to sit collectively and strategize and problem solve around motivation
around energy around ways to engage kids positively to take the test. Like we we really want to as a as a collective say to the kids, it's just important you do your best. That's it. Not nothing else. So we can just as Jen alluded to
earlier, make sure that we can stay above those participation thresholds because of all the other consequences that could potentially come by not being there year-over-year is just to just piggyback on that there's also scholarships that are still there,
right? So Abigail Adams and Pop. So there's stuff you know that they there in incentive to do the best you can on these exams as well. I think the the carrot dangling still there is you do really well in your state schools that is all still in
it's all still in play but yes guess what the ones that are getting that the ones that are driven to do the ball well on the test because it's their own like bribe to begin with yes but you know so they regard irregardless they're going to do that anyway I think the other thing too is that we are constantly having conversations with
students about the importance of things that we do here So, all of our students take STAR assessments beginning in kindergarten all the way now through grade 10. And the better we are with that data, the more valuable students will see it. So, like, hey, you did
really well on this or we're using that to drive instruction and say to kids, hey, we noticed that you guys already have mastered this, so this year our math class is going to start here instead of there. or you know, we've noticed that this, you know, this group
really could use more support with why and we're going to provide you with that. So, I think the more students see the connection between what the assessment they're doing and how it impacts what they're getting in the classroom, the hard part about MCCAST is that you don't get any of that
information until the summertime, right? So, those students have already moved on. Yeah. Um and so I think that the department needs to do a better job of getting information back to schools and to students so we can share that with families. Um I've also shared
there's a new MCCAST um parent portal coming out. they will be um we will get letters probably next week um if not the week after um to share with families about their with how their child did but then families will also um beginning in
October have their own um login and see their child's historical data as well. I also think there's that idea of a sense of belonging and sense of pride in the high school, right? Feeling that they're connected and it means something. I think that has an imp.
But if you can raise that bar by saying, "Hey, this is something you know that reflects on your high school and it reflects on how colleges will look at your high school down the road." Those are the kind of things, but you can't do that unless you have that sense of
belonging and pride. So, I think the things we've been talking about are planning was talking about a report. Circling back again to that 95% question that I had. So we're we're talking about the high school with this graduation. That's one school of five. So again, we
get that required participation for the high school. There's nothing really of an incentive for middle school and below at this moment in time. So like what happens if the other four schools are not meeting that participation requirement? Is that still
having an effect and an impact upon our or do they really only care mostly about the high school level? Oh no, Jesse cares. Right. So this so what I'm asking is is that we we're putting this in and we're dangling this carrot on the high school students. How is that being an incentive for the rest of our district?
So this I mean this is a policy on graduation requirements. So I think it's a probably a bigger conversation about what our expectations are. The department of education will tell you that they do not have an opt out policy for MCAST.
And I said, "Great. Can you So what do I tell families that are now opting their they they don't allow it, but there's no teeth is really what it comes down to." So it's myself and the building principal chasing these families and saying you need to sit down and and then
I also um can we create the opt out policy is now different in terms of curriculum, right? which we discussed at our last meeting. So, um I I think you know I I know that
building principles are already having these conversations with their teachers about like the message that we need to send as educators that this is important. It's, you know, while you may not see the value in value and benefit for your child as an individual, it's
really important for us as a district that we are able to, you know, get this data and um, you know, take with terms of what we were able to. So, um, I don't know. I mean, there are
there's really not much that we can like create with teeth, but we can see what other districts are doing because this is not just a Norton issue. A lot of people already know. Our numbers are typically high for our younger school, younger kids
taking these tests. Yeah. And there is really no teeth we've ever had. Well, and so I think our issue would probably be more administrative. this is the requirement for high school where it's you know the bigger one if you will. So I mean we also might be okay to
hit that 95% of thresholds. And so what I would say is data is still embargoed so I really can't talk about it publicly at this moment. Um but I think that um we're having conversations about places
where we might be on the cus um and places where we have concerns. And so, um, you know, it goes along with the conversations that we're having about attendance and the importance of being in school and learning. So, starting to
see a common theme. So, this is just tonight. There are no um votes that need to happen. Um, but if there's anything that you have questions about or would like us to see us update, um, please let me know. Can I ask a overarching question with the mastery
list of what we kind of just saw on the presentation like who kind of came up with those bulleted points? So the guidance itself like some of the metrics are from Desi. So they gave us like a bucket of indicators. Okay.
But the rest of it kind of comes from like our our local context practices that we've already had. So if we have schoolwide rubrics based upon academic competencies, they're perfectly uh eligible to go in. Did look like was say not a committee,
but was it like a committee to kind of decide these? Was it admin driven? Was it teacher driven? Was it I think these these have kind of been a longstanding practices. Okay. you know, in in terms of like dispositions about reading and writing and assimilating knowledge and spreading knowledge across
different content. It really dubtales with what's been happening at at the high school. I think my last piece because I know we talked about graduation requirements in the spring and I think I said it then as well but like I really truly believe we should be adding some type of financial
literacy course at the high school that is a graduation requirement to take whether it's your third or fourth year at the school I think would be a great thing to look at. I also think having some type of senior project where these kids almost in a deca world type idea
and and put it to the northern community doing a project that they can work at an LLB together exactly what that looks like. I have no idea but I feel like that would be a step above that would separate Norton and and it would give our kids a huge leg up because we know
how DECA does great things for college applications. Having something that's Norton that's driven from that way would also be a huge uh huge application boost for our students and not even throw the college aspect of it a huge learning boost in terms of getting out being able to answer a phone talk to adults all
that fun stuff I think would be a great thing to start looking at it I think and you might doesn't the civics classes do some of those type because I know I've seen yeah some of those kiddos doing yeah the civics um it's part of civics and I
that's a state that every student participate in a civics project during high school. Yeah. Um and this this policy allows for that flexibility, Nick. Um it does allow us to um add in any a particular program or credits that are maybe needed in certain
areas. Um so this is not our exhaustive list of graduation requirements. This is more of the general um like our students take 125 credits. We're saying they have to have at least 95. that gives us a little bit of flexibility in in in certain situations.
Um and then we added the state required assessment. But um I think you know that's something that we kind of talked about when I when we met yesterday too um that can look at other things. And I think the um financial literacy
component has a has a budgetary aspect to it because you're going to need to say okay if we need to get 175 kids through this class in x amount of time what is that going to look like? Um so things for us to consider as we're looking at our budgets moving forward and um what courses we're offering to
students as well. Anything else? Thank you. Thank you all. Right. Next we have a second reading both on JC the school attendance and J. So we looked at these for the first time
at our meeting on the 10th. Um JEC there was one change made to this um where right underneath where it says excused absences on page one. Um we moved uh the is students responsibility to obtain any makeup work from the teachers. Um that
was at the bottom of the policy and we moved it up to the top so that way people wouldn't visit. Um so that is one. So quick question. Yes please. This is just a couple years off but teachers are required to provide
that right after they engage student. No, they they provide the the work and the majority of it it's actually um of our teachers have everything through um Google Classroom. So it's uh takes a little bit of that away. Yes. Excused.
Yes. Unexcused? Not no. And not necessar not at this time either. So the days of you saying I'm going to Disney and my kid needs all this water. So we've had this problem obviously hopefully with school time change eventually here we'll get through it.
But a middle school kid who's playing some type of sport leaves misses science class. Is that an excused absence? It's unfortunately yes. It's an excused it's it's an excused class absence.
Right. Um, I actually sat down, this is super off topic, but I actually sat down recently with um, Vinnie Hayward and Aaron and we were looking at um, the bus times and the league times and how late can they leave in order to not in order to make it to where they need to go by X
time. Um, so that's something that we're looking at and again hopefully the time changes will help us in that regard. So should we add an excused absence is athletics? Um so we took out field trips
and we because we consider all of those things to be um you're here and in school and you're present. Um so I would say that fall to me that falls kind of in that same realm of you're technically in school, you're not
necessarily absent. Um, but they still the student still needs to is still responsible for getting the work from that teacher and and I don't know the schedules anymore, but they're not constantly missing. No, it's probably maybe once a week for
weeks if that. Yes. And two games a week. And again, the way the both at the middle school and the high school the schedules rotate. So if you have science first today, you might have Spanish first tomorrow, which means you're different, you're missing a different
course in the afternoons as well. So depending on the sport itself, you know, some like when you get to baseball and softball season, they have multiple games per week versus football, it's just Friday nights. So
any other questions on JC? You got to vote. You have to vote them separately. Yes, please. First a motion to approve policy as written. J second. Next we have JH.
Okay. JH. Um there are no updates um from the last time here. This is just looking at um our student abs absence notification program drop off prevention question this one
a motion to approve J. All those in favor thank you J. Next we have All right. Uh so tonight I am here to share uh my goals for the 2025 2026
school year. Um and this does require a vote. So uh there are three goals here. Uh the first is under the district improvement category. strengthen instructional practice across the district by establishing clear feedback loops from the superintendent to principles and from principles to teachers. Focus on learning targets and
effective teaching strategies. Um, and so I'm not going to read all this to you. You guys are fully capable of doing that. So focusing on strengthening principal leadership in instruction, modeling instructional focus through classroom visits, ensuring timely and
effective feedback to teachers, and then creating a feedback loop for continuous improvement. Um, and the benchmarks will be 100% of principles will receive monthly instructional leadership feedbacks. A minimum of four joint visits with each principal um throughout the year. Uh, and then we'll what we'll
do is we'll share those trends with the leadership team quarterly. And then uh my part of the goal is making sure that principles are meeting timelines and providing documented feedback to teachers within five school days um of visits in at least 90% of the cases. Um this is required by our contract. So
should 95% of the cases should be a low target. Let's let's see. Um second goal is around student learning. um enhancing district systems to ensure equitable access to high quality learning opportunities um by implementing year one of the strategic
plan. This is our particular focus on building those effective data systems. So um we have already um started the building high impact teaching teams. Uh this summer all of our principles and central office administrators are all taking this course together with our
teacher leaders um in kindergarten through grade 12. Um it's been a great learning experience together. Um also looking at using data to to drive uh continuous improvement. Um benchmarks 100% of the year one action items from
our strategic plan will all be initiated by June of 26. Um and I will offer public updates at least twice during the course of the year. Um 100% of the principles will participate in at least two data focused professional learning sessions. We've already met that goal,
which is really exciting. Um, and then by spring of 26, implementing a district-wide dashboard tracking at least three consistent academic indicators. So, this is going to part of our big focus that we've been working on with the um RBT course and our teachers
is that um developing developing consistent structures and protocols. So, we all worked together that first day. Everybody was all in the same room. It was right after our welcome back day and our PD day. Now we have an elementary cohort and a secondary cohort. And we've done one full day session since school
began. We have another one at the end of this month, beginning of October. Um, and we know that this is going to look different at the elementary level than it does in at the middle school and high school. So doing those divisions of cohorts and having them plan together has been really valuable so far. And then finally, the third goal is
around improving visibility and strengthening connections between the superintendent's office and students, staff, families, and the community by clearly communicating how district initiatives support improve student learning. Um, so strengthening communication on our learning initiatives, really talking about the
how and why, uh, building family and community partnerships, and closing the feedback loop. um really sharing back how the imp the input from our staff, students, and community are shaping what we're doing. Um and I kind of modeled this for our staff on the first day of
school and said, "Hey, last year, last year you guys all provided me with feedback on, you know, how I was doing. This is what I've taken from that and this is how I developed my goals for this year." Um, so publishing at least one district communication per month that's focused on our instructional
priorities and student learning, holding at least three family and community engagement sessions throughout the course of the year. Um, and then highlighting at least two examples during the year where stakeholder input directly influenced our decisions or initiatives. So I'm happy to answer any questions. Uh, and this does require a
vote from the committee as well. Questions? I think I think first off since I've been on school committee this is the most inclusive goal setting I've seen from any superintendent. Uh one you can clearly
see throughout it is all student focused one that's always good but two it took in a lot of what we talked about as the strategic planning meetings and put it actual goals on paper that make sense for what we were trying to do as a community. Um, it has measurable goals.
The benchmarks are great. This was I feel like this was like the best thing I've I've read um since being on school committee. So, Jen, that's a huge huge review there. Um, one comment
is on benchmarks says 100% of sorry, goal one, uh, 100% of principles receive monthly instructional feedback. Is that written? Is that verbal? I mean, I can give someone feedback in a in a hallway like how do we I guess kind of what is your thinking just there? Well, this is going to be new for us
this year. So, it might start with um collaborative conversations when we're doing these um these walks and these visits and sharing with them, hey, I noticed that or I really like the way that you um and then I think it will probably become a little bit more formalized as the year as the year
progresses. um especially when we take a look at those joint visits and the way that we're visiting classrooms together and we're sharing what we see and sharing um what we like and what we're what what concerns we have. I think that would probably um be a little bit more
formalized in in terms of you know we met earlier this week. These are the things that we talked about. This is what we're going to be looking for the next time. Um that's how I see it going and and to be honest, Nick, um it's going to be new for us. So, we'll see what works and what doesn't. I
I would just say, you know, you know, we we have a saying at work, especially from the safety department, if you don't write it down, it didn't matter. So, I mean, so I would because I'm so and I think, you know, to me,
and not that our principles would do this stuff, but I just don't want it to be a situation, yeah, we never talk. So that way at least and it doesn't have to be anything formal or go into their file and just say hey you know even just like a little review of what you did when you met with them just a little one page to me I just I come from the documentation
world so I would say probably formalize it but it's again it's up to you any other questions comments I just agree with like the strike one Thank you again. All right. With that, I will entertain a
motion to approve the superintendent polls as presented. So moved. Second. All. All right. Next, we have the Morton Middle School Youth Project. All right. Everyone's here tonight. Um, all right. Bring our our presenters
over. Um, we have a couple different things for you. Um, number one, Christine is going to share the slides that they are going to share with you tonight. Um, and I apologize, we had them for you earlier, but then we had a couple tweaks that we made this afternoon. So, this is
the updated um, and I also shared with you um, a couple um, things that we pulled together in the last few hours um, in terms of a timeline. And then I also included a memo um from
2006 that I thought valuable for you as Mhm. So, I just want to introduce um James who is our OPM and
Jay from Thai and Bond. Um so, I will really turn it over to them. Uh they know that we have a lot of questions for them tonight. Um and we're hoping for some clarity. So, um, thank you guys so much for coming out. We greatly appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you guys for having us,
you know, given the time and, uh, we we'll try to make it brief. Um, we actually, you know, we have a slide deck. You guys see it there. Um, it answers we we try to anticipate, but it's mostly a hopefully backup trying to think like, you know, got town meeting
coming out on October 20. you know, whatever questions, whatever answers we're trying to provide you for that time so that so we can you can confidently you got to confidently um advocate for the project or or or not. So, um that's what we're here for tonight.
Yeah. And I think the presentation we put together, it's not that many slides, but it kind of talks to like the condition of the roof, kind of how the process we go through, you know, and what the restoration process looks like and the investigative process they go through. And then the last slide is all
the dollars and cents. So we can if you want to go through all the slides, we can step through them and give you that information. We can go to the slide at the end and start talking about the dollars and cents and double back on the other slides. We're open to however before you want to proceed. I think for
me personally, and I think we discussed this a little bit last week, and you know, we're talking about a to me it's a significant, but I guess I haven't gone through all the way, but what does a replacement
versus a restoration look like costwise? because my concern is, you know, this building is 25 some odd years old, 27 years old, and you know, she seems to have issues for 27 years, you know. So, I I guess
like I just don't want to go, you know, half in because we're trying to save a little money versus go full in maybe for a little bit more. So, do we have those numbers what that looks like? Yeah. Look in restoration versus replacement. Yeah. And and again, we're at the schematic design phase, so we're really
early in the process with numbers, editing, but using numbers from another school that we're working on right now in the city of Gardner that's kind of a comparable school that's doing a full replacement and taking the cost estimate information that we had and kind of taking out the restoration costs and
plugging in full replacement costs for the portion of the roof that would get changed to full restoration is about 2.1 million added to go to full restoration. or full replacement instead of restoration. Can you just so everyone can understand
exactly what we're talking about? What does a restoration mean and what does a replacement mean in terms of two two separate things? Yeah. One, what does it actually two what does it look like from a construction standpoint of how long what is this going to take?
Are we going to be coming from the front and being like, oh, we don't have a roof on the road. Sorry. Yeah. I to answer that last question. That's one of the benefits you going on resolution versus replacement because the process is faster, you know, so you can shorten your construction schedule. There's a better chance that come, you
know, mid August, you're in a good spot versus being pushing into September. Do you want to back up a couple slides slide that talks about going right this one right here? So the the big difference on the restoration is the first thing they do
and we did this already. So a consulting company comes in and they do a vivid infrared scan of the whole roof to look for areas. They do it at night to look for areas of wet insulation. I should go back one more slide cuz I got a smear right there. So all the red areas are the places where they found wet insulation. So those areas all have to
be completely removed, cut out, completely removed down to the decking. Check the decking. The decking is bad. You have to replace the decking. And then they put, you know, a full new EPM roof back up to the surface in those spots. And those account for about 10%, right?
9.4% of the roof area. The rest of the roof area, that's EPM. Now, remember the these areas here, metal, all this front is all metal. That's full replacement. That's not restoration. So, we're just talking about the EPBM portions, the remainder of the roof. for the
restoration. They come in, they pressure wash it, they check all of the the leaks and things, they patch all the visible holes that they they can see in the EPDM, and then flip one more slide. They come in with it's a threepart process.
They put down a base layer, like a fluid base layer. There's like a geoexile scrim that goes in there, and then they put another top coat over the top of that. And that is goes all over the roof. if you're not changing slopes or anything. Um, up the curbs. The HVAC
equipment is removed. The the restoration goes up the curbs. Um, and then that's your final roof surface. But the existing EPDM remains and they put this threepart, you know, coating system over the top of it. So, that's the the
process. It's a 20 20 They offer 20-year warranty. Claim it's good for 25 years. They come out and inspect it at no cost yearly, you know, to check with any if there's any issues. I think I said metal roof areas are all
full replacement with brand new metal roof. So, so a replace uh replacement at that little graph in the bottom corner, you're telling me that last 20 years. 20 years. Yep. Well, they they give you a 20-year
warrant up to a 20-year warranty on it. That's right. day that it that it lasts. They claim a minimum of 25. Okay. So, in 25 years, we're going to be sitting here in that time probably asking for 25 million from the taxpayers.
Not sure how how you get 25. Well, I mean 12 million to make. So, but now it's costing us 10 roof. The warranty is 20. They cla they claim it lasts at least 25, right? I don't at the end of 25 years. just completely
failed. Probably not. I don't see. So residential and I know residential roof is very different, but you're getting at least 30 to 35 guaranteed warranty on those. Who did that? Yep. But you're also not replacing it at year 36 potentially. You're getting 50 60
take care of a full full replacement. And we would have to if we went full replacement, you have in the in the documents you're you can either get a 20 25 or 30 year warranty. Obviously, it's more expensive. So, they're only offering a you can get up to a 30-year warranty on a on a full
replacement. I guess my my concern here is we've had an issue with this type of roof for 27 years. Why are we going to put the exact same damn thing down on the same roof that we've had the same issues with? Well, I don't I guess I wouldn't say
it's the exact same thing. I think the restoration is a different material, but even if we go with replacement, you'd probably still be looking at an EPDM. you could potentially go with like a PVC or a TPO, but I think you, you know, you'd probably still lean EPDM even if we go
to a full replacement. If you I don't think it's so much the the EPDM material that is giving the problems. You know, maybe it was workmanship when it went in originally, maintenance, you know, the whole host of different reasons. There's a ton of equipment up there that's been
worked on and replaced over the years that could, you know, caused problems and leaks. And I don't think it's it's an EPM material because that's used, you know, worldwide for sol. So I guess, you know, one of the questions kind of piggybacked on Nick, like even a full replacement for, you
know, $2 million more, we still have all the weird angles and all that we'd have to contend with to replace. Like we can't completely just take the roof off of this building, redesign the whole thing. No. Okay. No. And that's part of There's 21 different what people have been up there. There's 21 different roof
sections and there's so many ladders up and down all over the place. So, that's a factor that makes it a little more expensive roof to replace just giving the geometry of it. Part of that 2 million also is when when when we're replacing this
when we're only putting the restoration, we can leave it as it is at its current height. And all we're doing is we're adding an inch layer on top of it. That's what this layer is doing. If we went full replacement, we're now having to meet today's code. And so now we're
going to have to have a little bit higher insulation, a little higher stuff, which means now you're protecting all of the edges. Um, you have on the interior of the building on the inside. Um, let's say this is the roof and then this is like where a window is right
now. Well, we need to raise the roof up. we're losing, you know, more and more that we can we may even have to if we do roof replacement, we may even have to raise the window well in that case. Um, so there's it's it's so that's part of the two part of the $2
million add. Yes. Is when you do a full replacement, right, you've got to meet the new stretch energy go increasing insulation, which is push pushing your your roof closer to your flashing and you want to maintain a minimum of 8 in. you'd really like to have 12 in from your like all
your through wall flashing. So now to move your through wall flashing up, you have to start taking out brick masonry because all that flashing is through wall and brick masonry on the building and potentially think around the ratunda area there were some really low windows that exactly that's so so that all added
insulation the added demolition cost because you know you're removing 90% of another 90% of the roof area. So, you've got to remove and dispose of all the insulation and existing materials and just things like and let's just say part of that 2.1 billion
uh it was Garland that that looked at it. Garland. Yeah. The restoration Garland the roof manufacturer looked at it and you know they're they're the ones who have to warranty this thing. So, they're the one came out and said, "Okay, is this roof a good candidate? Is this something that we can warranty for
the next 20 30 years?" and they their report is in the in the submission. But um you know so it is a good candidate for this so that we don't have to do it the other way which we already know the known issues you know having to raise up windows and and do all this
brick through wall flashing and raise up the edges of the and and creasing the trim on the on the edge flashings you know. Yeah. So, so is this a restoration of just those areas in red that we saw, but it's the
whole time? Yeah. When insulation typically loses its property to insulate. So, that's why we that's why we always the the the um standard practice is to remove that down to deck and put new insulation in it. We cover it over the EPDM and then put down this whole By the way, this is a
monolithic coating now. This is versus EPDM. It's um heat welded. So there, you know, sections that are heat welded and well, how well does the guy heat weld that? This is literally one monolithic pore. It's a liquid pore that's getting put on and then um curing.
Yeah. Seems Yeah. All the red areas would come out and and I think they cut it back a minimum of 12 in beyond, you know, where they find insulation. And then they check the roof deck and if the roof deck is rotted because it's been wet, that gets replaced before they've come through. So what about you know
obviously you know one of the things we're struggling with is the high cost but what type of a lack of a better term guarantee that this doesn't skyrocket if they find rotted decking or anything like that like is that all all those contingencies built into this?
Yeah that would be taken care of as part of the contingencies that's good segue to go to the to the end here. What we tried to do here is is recent I'll say recent as people know the accelerated repair program went on pause for a few years. So the top two schools um are two
of the latest schools that we did you know the Herbert Clark school and loc and then um John had the wear on school. So we tried to show here is there's the year this is the size of the schools. This is what the schematic design
construction cost was which would correlate with the 8.6 6 million we have for this. So, we're talking apples to apples. This is what the actual construction cost bids came in at. And I did, we had another school that we did back in 2021. And when I looked at
the three of them, when we looked at schematic design cost versus actual cost, when we the final construction documents, the big costs were about 70% of a schematic design cost because you got to remember we're schematic design now carrying design contingency, all
kinds of contingency because we've only done schematic design, conceptual design. There's still, you know, we're 20% of the way there. We need to do another 80% of design to get to construction document. So as you go to 60% your design contingency and the other contingencies will come down. Um
so we would expect you know we would expect to see big cost hopefully you know we 70% of where we are with schematic design costs right now. So that's a good segue of why we're showing 70%. Uh this is an MSBA process. This is a project and this is not public
procurement certainly not uh private residential. Um we got a prevailing wage here too. Um but the MSBA they we follow their process in order to get it's the MSBA is a reimbursement program for lack of better words. You know you're um
Norton has a 55% reimbursement rate. So um we expect to get you know the the 55% of whatever numbers we're showing um before contingency. Contingency is a separate animal. Um, so but the way the process works is they ask for this
number and this scope to uh be presented to them at the schematic design level, not at 100% CDs like we're probably used to. So we still have three and a half months of design to and and contingencies to boot to cover those.
benefit is also well we have the MSBA locked in and agreeing to this this number at this time. So when the costs come in low, we're as they historically have, you know, we're guaranteed. What we're doing is we're also we're trying
to fend off against if the number is higher. If we go in with a lower number, well, anything over the number that the MS you agreed with the MSBA, that's 100% on you guys. So if the bid comes in over 200,000 more that's 200,000 you don't get the 55% back on that. So
so if you try to cut it too close and you do run in a situation where you're finding anywhere you slice it every project has some change on it when you find those things if it pushes you what you agreed to at the beginning with MSBA they don't reimburse you on that cost. So the trick
is to be high enough when you're setting your, you know, initial budget that you don't get caught on on the backside. And budget is the key word here. This is this 9.9, this 8.6 is not your final cost. This is your budget. This is what
you're bringing. This is primary purpose right now is to greet with the MSBA. This is what they're they're start our starting point that they're um that they're they're going to honor and meet us with. You know, costs up to that point. um we have now like I said 60% uh you there will be an estimate at the 60%
CDs there'll be a month and a half from now we're going to estimate the project again and we're going to you know presumably it will drop and then we have another two months of design and so in midFebruary is when we're going to go out hit the street and get real bids public bids you know low bidder there's
nothing there's nothing that's m the way Massachusetts works it's low bid you don't get the job unless you're low bid so um so do we So, I know we have this number for the MSBA and so on and so forth. Is there any way the two of you could
project and project is a nice one for guests. Um, what do you think in your professional opinions this final bid might look like? I know it's the whole, you know, the lowest bid, but like what do you think? Like we're at nine some
odd million. Do you think it's like seven million might be the final cost? Is there any way to even think about that? I think I'd take that 8.6 and I take 70% of it. But then you'd have to add that's just construction cost. Then you'd have to add in like the design the soft costs,
but it's only 10% of the cost. So 90% is still unknown of this, you know. So ask if you did the math at 97. Yeah. So I could give you that kind of estimate of it, but you wouldn't want to, you know, sign on the dotted line.
Exactly. No, no. Because you don't know what change material cost, labor shortage. It was it was a few years ago with the whole you couldn't get insulation for any roofs. Yeah. You know, material shortage, all the boats were stuck out. All kinds of
things can pop up. They can affect screw up the project. Will MSBA cover a restoration and a or a replacement that we we can pick and they'll do 55%. I don't know if we can pick but it would be I would say yes.
Okay, you can pick. Yes, you had that option but again now we're talking you want to pay. We're push for time right now. That's what we're getting at. We've already submitted recommendation is the restoration. We haven't said we want we won't do the
restoration. I I think No, I think we have to the MSBA told them we want to do the restoration. Well, I mean, because it's 2.1 cheaper and it meets all of the goals of the of the of the roof, you know, but I wonder like
I think the the answer to the question is they'll fund either one of That's right. Right. If you Yeah. So, I think if you were to say, you know what, we don't want to do the restoration, we want to do the full we want to move forward with the full replacement, it may get into some of the things we were talking about
this afternoon, who would be a like a delay or or a waiver for because we would have to go back and revise the documents to show full replacement versus I mean I think just to be completely honest with you I don't I think a delay is inevitable like I don't think this
project going through anytime soon for to get this thing done for next summer like I just feel like that's kind of where we're at. However, you never know with the people voting. But to me, it's almost worth exploring the idea if you're telling me that number could come in and what the
numbers up top of those three other schools came in at. I mean, 7.5 million to 4 million. That's a significant amount of difference that yes, it's adding 2.1 million. However, if we get some experts to know, hey, this would
actually be the way to go and replace this whole thing, rip everything out rather than just going over it, you might get a little bit more buying to be like, hey, this is going to get done and done right. We're not just, I hate to say this, putting a band-aid on something that we know is already at a problem.
Were those replacement areas, the examples you have above? Yeah. Were those full roof replacements? Correct. They Okay. They weren't restorations. They were and to be you know the MSBA only recently they did not allow restorations before this. The MSBA did not it was not
an option. They finally woke up and said hey this is a good thing and we'll be backing. Yeah this is the first year that we've been involved with the program. MSBA said as part of the schematic design you have to consider restoration and full
replacement. And to be clear no this is not the first year that it hasn't been done that it's been done. No, restoration's been done for 15, 20 years, just not on an MSBA project. That wasn't part of their program. So, you obviously seem very familiar with MSBA. Yes.
Is there a potential that MSBA can do this waves or not? Like would the hypothetically, let's just say we did this in over three phases, over three years. Not that I want to go down that road, but again, thinking of options here of what could happen. Could we do next summer? It's
going to cost us 2 million to get on the major red areas where we have internal leaking into cafeterias into gymnasiums. That's phase one. Phase two would be summer of 27 again hypothetically here we hit the next secondary problems. Phase three this one.
Y will MSBA like bill break those costs up over a three-year contract? So we asked that question today. Okay. Um and so yes, but um so what what what we would need to do is we would need to go back to the MSBA
and change the scope of our project. So we would say we're only going to do the metal roof component now. We would need to get a we would need to change that with them, make sure that we were all set and move forward. Then you would need to reapply through the process. um the next opportunity for you to reapply
would be 2027 because they're only going to do the um accelerated repair for windows, doors, and roofs every other year. So then we would go out and say, "Okay, now we want to do the EDM EPDM, whatever."
Um and so that you would do that part separately. I don't and again not a roofer and I'll defer to the gentleman here but I would imagine that if it's the monolithic pore you probably would not be able to pour certain areas like
you you pro I mean as again there's 21 different sections of roof so you might say hey we're going to do these 15 this year we're going to do these you know whatever um but it would involve you would need to be accepted into the program multiple times in order to get them to
do the reimburse percentage rate could potentially change each time. Correct. Will it ever go up? Like hypothetically if we were like, "Hey, this is a real emergency problem here with with these big leagues that we do have." Yeah. Would they come back and say, "Hey,
we'll give you 80% for that problem." No, it's not that big. It's a set rate for everyone involved in the program in each year. So, every single school that's involved in this 2024 class is the 55.6. Oh, so they don't they don't triage. No, no, no. They don't triage and it's
really based on your community and town's economic they have all these factors. So, um, basically between 30 and 80%. So, if you're I don't want to name names. If you're Newton or something like that, you're 30%. If you're somewhere, Ho, Lawrence, Fall River, you New
Bedford, they're 80%. You guys are right in the middle. So, you know, they they have it where it's pretty much equality or whatever. So, so I wouldn't and I wouldn't think or would change that community wouldn't change that much to affect.
So, I guess you know the if we do the multiple year that would also if it's every other year so you're talking you know this could be potentially a five-year project you'd have to redo this schematic design every time
which would be an added cost every time. Yeah. after that tier go up. Well, that's exactly it's Yes, we're using a 5%. Oh, sorry. And we're chancing even though I'm accepting. So, great. And I was on that call. I didn't get the warm and fuzzies
from them about like, oh yeah, which is not a problem. We can do that. Like it did not seem like they were very open to that. Yeah. Well, yes, right. We have partial roof replacement projects for
under the accelerated repair, but it started that way. Like the SOI that went in the school said, "Hey, we've we redid this part of the roof 5 years ago. Now we want to do this 50,000 square foot piece, you know, when it start." So, I think that's the process you would be starting to just if it's a new project.
If you can imagine, you know, you're having a contractor come in and, you know, um, mobilize and demobilize and mobilize and demo. There's costs associated with that. This project the warehouse I noticed there's this is this was done over two summers. This was this
had the unfortunate um you know they submitted and said the roof was 20 years old and and then when they went when they went and checked the documents like well only a only um twothirds of it was 20 years old and the the other third was like 18 or whatever it just didn't fit.
And so the MSBA said well we'll reimburse you on the 2/3 but not the one third. Guess which side leaked the one/3. And so the town well they had to get that done but and they had this large number. They had you know this large number. It was like 8.6 total project budget and they were concerned
and so you know in presenting that and so they did split it up but it was now they had you know it was over two summers and so while yes it's cheaper here they were still spending more cuz you know they had them come in do one/3 fun summer. He had the OPM and
the designer there for one summer. They had him there another year, us being there for another year. That's additional cost. And then he had the, you know, the contractor coming back. Thank goodness we had the same contractor. He won the low bid twice. You know, he he that was we got lucky there. I still don't know how you got that big price.
Yeah, I know. Yeah. But in in terms of that big price, someone pointed to that as a one thing to note where didn't have metal. The thing here that we got we got a metal full replacement on a metal roof which is metal roof didn't have as many sections didn't have the rotunda you know
what is the um warranty cost on the replacement warranty timeline for the metal itself because we're saying 20 year for a restoration I would say on the yeah I don't know the exact answer it's at least 25 years it could be higher
it's usually longer than than roof than rubber so we have two warranties on just the different sections. Yeah, you probably I was going to say and the metal is our biggest problem, right? And that was the thing that they solved. I mean, I think you guys looked at this
Matt did um just the way those the way it was installed the joints, you know, while they've come up with better systems now, like a triple joining or something. I I can't describe it fully, but what you're getting put back is not the same metal roof. It's how you attach the snow guards and things like that penetration. particular
system. Can we go to the moisture survey? Okay, guys. As we go back to that short, you know, if we think about splitting this project up like which I mean, it sounds like
that's probably not the most feasible option, but spread it out. But looking at this, like we don't really have like an extensive problem. It looks like there's multip like if we do section one it only helps a little bit like it doesn't have like a larger section.
You got problems all over. Yes. And this doesn't include like the most survey wasn't done on the role. Obviously it was just on the EPDM areas. So that you know so it doesn't show the leaks in the so that's why you're not seeing leaks in the cafeteria that exist.
Cuz I'm like why? Yeah. Yeah. Real quick if we can explain it. It really is. They call it infrared, but um it's the the heat the heat off. And so you can see those bright red spots. They they come in right at night. So with the temperature changes
different, you can't get that with the metal. So the so the gray is the metal roof. Correct. All this in the white is all I was wondering why we were not seeing the leak. So and Jen, to your point, the metal roof is giving us more problems. Yeah.
Yeah. place. What's the What's the go? They were around the building was 1998. 98. Yeah. And it's been recommended that they removed. Correct. Correct. Thank you. So I guess you know another kind of
major question here when talking we learned this last week the company that did this roof is no longer and was no longer in business shortly after they did this roof. Are these companies or these materials like they've been around they're hopefully
going to be around like not a danger again that you know company is going out of business after they do this. Yeah, that's a great question. And the way the mark the way the industry works is that you have um a roofing manufacturer, the Garland, the
TMCO, a Carile, uh John's Mansville, they're the ones who are actually warrant warrantying it for the long haul. They're warrantying their materials and the and the craftsmanship. the installer guy who went out of business. Um he has usually we typically
require a two-year workmanship warranty um that we that he's on the hook for. But that's kind of like um in addition to the within those two years if you find these are like flashing, right? They have to come back. So you are covered for those 30 years by the manufacturer by in this case it
would be Garmin. Yeah. Um and they'll call you call them up. They'll call up whoever is there or it could be your because this would be That's true. and three options. Good. Thank you. Hi. Okay. So, I got this packet from our
last meeting. I don't know if you have this because I have several questions off this. She created it. This is the from August 28, 2025. Yeah, that's our schematic designat. We can speak to it. Yeah.
Okay. So um my first question is um so again I'm specific to certain pages. So uh 1.7 at the beginning um is the HVAC assessment of the equipment summary. Y um and you had listed here what was considered poor, fair, good. Um and then
on uh and then later on it was discussed about replacing um five of them. It was suggested of of the ones that were listed here. So but it didn't Yeah. Okay. Um 1-17. It says install five new exhaust fans and equipment curves. So
which five? The ones that were rated as poor. The oldest ones, which which five were you looking at? I'd have to I'd have to look at it and and look at the plans to check the numbers. But in general, I would say the ones that have either failed and weren't working or poor condition.
Okay. So not based off of age. So probably I wouldn't say based off of age. I think it was ones that weren't working or were in poor condition. for so because the ones that were mostly rated as poor, they're dated 2022. So now that means that we're sitting on
these 1997 ones that No, that's that's not accurate because Wade and I had this conversation as well. Um and I don't want to give exact. So I said the same thing to Wade. I'm like if they we just replace these in 2022, why in the world are they being rated poor? Yes.
Um and my understanding and wait, please jump in if I'm wrong. the something itself was replaced but there is still a component of it or it was um do you remember what I'm talking about? I see shaking.
Yeah. Um because it was it was HVAC something from 1997 and I was like okay well if that one's fine but the 2022 one is not. I had significant concerns about that train correct exhaust. I don't think they that doesn't
So I think that's maybe what the conversation was. The unit itself was replaced but the exhaust fan connected to it was still from 1997. Does that correct? We've upgraded our controls over there on all the units but train
not exhaust. Okay. So the exhaust are considered still 97. Yeah. So that 2022 is not accurate. Okay. And I could I could get, you know, as part of this process, our mechanical engineers come out and visit the site and go through the evaluation of all that. So I can get you further
information on that too if you have questions that I can't answer. Yeah, great. Thank you. Um, so then my next question was um there was testing done um regarding the air flow and the air quality. So but then it states 1-7 rebalancing system to match pre-existing
air flows. But um if the air flow was rated and considered as poor, why would we want to restore them? We want to balance. I think they would they you go you check the units, they check the air flow, they check what the
original air flow is supposed to be like based on the design of the unit. Yeah. That gets recorded. The units get taken off. When all the units go back on as part of a project, the mechanical contractor has to go back and balance. Okay. the balance will occur. Just be
you're going to go back to the poor quality that was No, that's the intent is that when they go back up the whole system is rebalanced. Okay. Um and then page three of appendix A um 1.1 the assumptions. Um we have a
confirmation on those assumptions. So the report was prepared under the following assumptions. So if any of these assumptions are inaccurate, JSCE should be notified so that the report can be updated to reflect actual conditions. So is that confirmation? Which part of the JSC? Which part of the
is that still the mechanical? So it's this is part of the code report. Mhm. Uh outstanding code violations on file with the city of Norton inspectional services. Um, accessibility complaints,
construction costs not exceed. I can say that one is correct. Okay. Um, so I can verify looking at them. I would say that that those assumptions are still correct, but I could verify. Yeah, you could verify those. Yep.
And I would like to maybe reiterate, especially with something like that, that is a schematic design. Again, we're not 100% CD. these things would be um fleshed out as we continue on. So and then it is expected you know to be at this
level those level of assumptions and then on H5 appendix A says level one alterations required to maintain the level of safety provided by the existing conditions. Will this if we decided to go with the overlay restoration? Yep.
Is it does it fall under that level one? Um yes, level one restoration. Yep. Okay. Um also on five under 5.1, re- roofing the insulation of a new roof covering over an existing roof covering is permitted when occur.
So yeah, we anticipate Okay, I I I think I that portion I was going to say I actually read that section for sorry. Yeah, that's been answered there and looked at those and thought, yeah, we need all those for the for the re- roofing if we want to do the restoration.
Um, do we have a concern in terms of current air quality and safety in the building regarding any mold that could potentially be in there due to all of this leakage and retention of this water in the insulation?
Don't know if I can answer that question. It's outside the purview. That's outside. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Thanks. We have no current issues over there at the moment. Um, a pretty good job taking care of what we meet there. I did order some air quality mode
tests that that be done over there this week. I share results back on those next week. Great. I usually rotate and try to get a school every year. Five, six locations. Um, just just Okay. So, those were done last week.
Great. Thank you so much. Um, and then I I think my last thing was just which this is very up in the air because we're talking about potential different projects and and ideas. It's it's you know the we know how these projects go.
Um once we finally have settled on something and we are given a timeline, what kind of guarantee do you offer regarding staying within within that timeline or deviating off of that timeline? Especially because it's a functioning school and a working you know
environment like so if you're saying yes we will have part A of this project done by um because in here the timeline the the the timeline in here which I know is just um theoretical said that you know you have X Y and Z done by 8:31 like you
guaranteeing that is that maybe like how solid are your timelines when you do create them? I would say like on the design side of things, what we control, those are are pretty solid. You know, we usually have enough time in the in the schedule to hit our design, you know, and when we want to get out to bid and
get contractor bids and things, barring any crazy situation. In terms of the actual construction, you know, the there's a schedule that's given to the contractor that the contractor bids on that he has to meet and the contract will include liquidated damages. Yeah. you know, if they don't meet that
schedule, I'd be lying if I stood here and said like every single project we've done, these these summer slammers are perfect on August 31st. There have been some where find like an unforeseen condition or something changes and it delays the the project
and so there is no liquidated damages built into there is liquidated damages. You know, it's as the OPM, it's it's typically my job to manage the schedule and I've been doing 30 of these accelerated repairs. I'm very familiar as you've been doing probably as many. Yeah.
These we we know the summer, you know, it's 44 working days. So, we're we're very Yeah. We're on top of it. And uh the trick is staying on it because on a lot of schools I've worked on the contractor ends up having to work at night and double shifts and work weekends to try to
We pull all the levers. Yeah. Exactly. We we know that school is not moving. It's it's September. It's the day after Labor Day and teachers come back the week before and so um you know this is a roof. I guess that's the other question I was
kind of thinking about is as we as these timelines are in place like we know like teachers are here a week before not necessarily students but is this work like are we at a point in the work schedule like you know August 31st where
we could still have the building occupied and they could still be working like it's not like a safety issue or anything like that yes there's usually an overlap with the with Exactly especially with the the MSB program if you Remember, it's it's not just roofs. It's also doors and windows. There used to be people. We had one of those few years back.
Exactly. So, you know, certainly you can imagine windows would be far more invasive if teachers trying to set up a classroom and working in the windows. Yeah. That just doesn't doesn't fly. Being on the roof, you know, that's that's quite separated, you know, and considering that this is a roof
restoration, you're not dealing with what we call rip and replace, that you're not going all the way down to the deck, getting up all that insulation, um, and and putting it back down. So, um, it should be far less, you know, noise the the a lot less lifting materials on and off
the roof. I think where we where they where some of them have run over for whatever reason, you know, thankfully a lot of times the main roofing is done and they're just working on like edge metal and edge trim and things and you can kind of move them around to different areas to stay out of people's way. Another thing to to think about is, you
know, this, like I said, this was 1998. That was 27 years ago. 28 years ago. 27 years ago. Thank you. Um whereas we normally deal with schools built in the 70s, built in the 50s. So
you know, so insulation from 30 years ago on this roof is really not that bad. And it should be meeting the stand the energy code standards far closer than a school from the 70s. So that's why we're that's another factor why we're leaning towards restoration being a good option
because insulation up there. I mean, yes, the wet stuff is, but you know, 10%. While you saw a lot of red, it really was only 10%. Why would you if you're doing resment, you're pulling up all of that insulation, you know, putting it all
that that takes time on my 44 days that I only got. Um, so anyway, you actually got to my next question. So, we have 7,132 ft, which is 9.4% of the roof areas were identified to have wet insulation present. Next bullet point industry
standard is maximum 25 when to qualify for restoration. So why I mean that's that's almost you know call it 15%. I know we have problems here but like why why are we qualifying for restoration? I think the way that read is 25 maximum.
So we're under that threshold. Like if you had a school that was 30% wet that would not it wouldn't be worth it at that point. They say take the whole thing off. Take the whole thing off. And that also doesn't is that percentage that doesn't include the metal, right? Or does not include the
right. So it could like is that does that metal get put into the assessment once it starts start pulling up? No, because we're considering we're the metal is going to be full replacement. Okay. This is just for the because the restoration can only happen on um and then the the one other little
piece was and I again I think Christine confirmed this for me but I just wanted to put out there anyway the contingency in here is awfully close based on the percentage of cost of the building to the cost of the replacement minus not including the asbestous assessment which
obviously that that that 200,000 should get rolled into with that 500. Correct. Yes. Okay. So, it's a it's a slightly higher contingency. It's it's a little bit better than what the original schematic says. Great. All right. That was it. I'm done. Thank you. Any other questions, comments?
Oh, I saw you still. I just didn't want to cut you off before you got I just we thought this was telling. I mean, you know, we've all had well had the pleasure of having our rules done in Massachusetts. Prevailing wage is it's the requirement. They they we have to meet the union standards. That's
basically what it comes to. And uh and so that's that's the follows. And that's that's a high cost. So just try not to if you're talking to your neighbors, you know, I just got my roof done for X. Well, it's not a public job that's getting
done. Um and I think one final thing here since we're since we're here except for the MSP process. So here was that 9.4 again this is I'm exclude I already told you a little bit about excluding contingency. This is basically what they're agreeing to in
terms of cost. I sort of try to say this is now we're getting into the MSB and what they're willing to reimburse. Um this is almost I don't want to say guaranteed but almost guaranteed. And so they're saying estimated max 5.2 is what their area is.
So their town share you subtract the two. That's what it would be. Um then they have this whole block down here because they treat the contingency use separate. Why? Because you can have you can have an owner that goes spend heavy. Hey, let me let me let me fix the building while we're here and and owner
changes and and the MSB won't participate because that's beyond the scope that they agreed to way back in September. um you know and so but if there wasn't if there was an unforeseen condition they would participate in that. So I just I leave this I advise my clients you know don't look at this you know it's a little bit of a higher
number but don't expect it and again these numbers these are maximums we you know this is as if you spend out every dollar on the project we magically you know all of our contracts equal 9.4 they would share 5.2 too. So at seven, this
is going to drop too, but so is also your town share as well. Any questions on that? We'll caveat that with unless the owner decides they want to add a whole bunch of things because we've had that where it's like,
hey, you know what? Look at these bathrooms. Yeah. And that's So in your expert opinion, if you say it's 70% that town share
is probably more around 3 million than it is 4.2 million. I can't do the math, but you're saying if Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Well, I can't guarantee that. We can't. You know what I mean? That's where a
schematic based on experience with previous projects that I looked at. And based on experience, we've never been Yeah. Yeah. that high of this number. This number is again, it's not the construction cost. It's it's the budget number. We're agreeing with the
MSBA on. And then we're and then then it goes to the market. Then it goes to Capeway, whoever, you know, the roofers. Now, do you see like obviously, you know, it's just about the end of September. This goes out to bid probably February. Do you anticipate
marketable changing costs for those four months? Not not not that we That's a great question. Um had you guys know of co we were different answer. I was calling up the installation manufacturer myself and just can you guarantee us we're going to get this
this summer? Um but no we haven't had that in a while. We're pretty stable in terms of materials unless something goes completely sideways. Exactly. The administration or something. Um all these tariffs I don't think I don't think we've seen it have a dramatic effect on it on on our costs.
If they are that they're built into the cost estimate, you know, our cost estimators on top of that stuff. So um but uh you had another question. Um I think tariffs are built into it just to make sure you know. No, no, no. I think there's a caveat at the end says it doesn't or one of the first sheets it
says it doesn't include impact payers because they can't because they can't. No, that's what I'm saying. I'm built into I would the painters cost. Yeah, but I would say it's built into the contingency that they've cared, right? You know what I mean? Even though
they're saying that it's not in lost my train of thoughts. Sorry. Anything else? Thank you for your time. If you have any other questions, I think uh you can reach out to John.
Like I said, you'll get that. I will look at yeah assumptions. Thank you. Um, no, I think I mean maybe the other thing that was important with the MSBA calls today, we talked about the solar
component. Um, so MSBA requires all projects that come through now to have a solar ready component of of the area. So, um, the gym roof is already solar ready. So, what we did is we
confirm with them that as long it is we update anything that's there. If you had to like make sure like replace a switch or you know cap things off that would still be considered solar ready and it would be a minimal cost to us over and above anything that we might need to do
versus needing to create a new solar ready space. um we do not have to do that which is actually a huge win for us. It was a great win. It was a great win for us. So we were a little bit even if the solar system doesn't work. It's no
we're removing the the panels. Yes. But just means the thing is 10 15, you know, 25 years from now, if somebody else decides they want to put um solar panels on the on the middle school roof because they haven't heard from us what a bad idea it was initially, then they could potentially
do that. And I'll be counting on those of you who are still around to remind them. Thanks for thinking your cat. I mean the the car canopies both at the high school and at the middle school the the solar canopies. I mean you're not against
solar just uh you know roof. Exactly. Where they leak and it's not just you. I'm sorry. It was like in the space of you know like like a week after these conversations I had another district asking me that we put a we built a brand new elementary school in 2015. It had
code requires it to be solar ready for new construction. So now they're forcing it. the the MSBA is asking um these renovation projects to have it. All right. But yeah, and so they installed like two years later the the panels and and so and that was 2016 and 20 2025
they're calling me like hey you happen to have the warranty or you know or the and so because they're leaking out the solar panels that they installed. So it's not just you. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you guys. Thank you. Appreciate it.
So we have a faithful warrant um or town meeting on 20th um which includes you know the 9.9 which was the really top um budget. Um and so what would need to
happen is honestly my recommendation would be that we make a little bit more of a presentation to the community. um talk through the issues that we have at Norton Middle School, talk through the costs, we can run through um while yes, we're showing you this 9.9 number, this
is what the town share would be on that number and again have not gone on to bid, hopefully it would be lower. Um and then we would move forward from there. If the committee feels like we aren't ready to do that in October, then we
would have a conversation about it. we would go to the MSBA and ask for an extension. Um the other thing I shared with you guys tonight is a little bit more of a detailed timeline. Um we found this week um two massive massive boxes
in a closet um that were just titled Norton Middle School roof leaks um and spent some time going through those and and trying to put together damaged. They were actually only one box was a little bit water damaged. Um and so we try spent a lot of time going
through those and trying to put together a little bit more of a comprehensive timeline for you. So, um, school opened door its doors on, uh, September 9th of 1998, and by January, we already had, um, consistent communication between
Norton Public Schools, the GC, and the roofing company. um they began an an investigation in uh February of 99 as to why the leaks were taking place. Um and then in the spring of 99 um there was a
meeting to discuss discuss corrective work. And what was um what was found was that um the flashing that was installed um and that the the masonry work around
the the um key entry points was not done to code spec not done to specifications set out in the design plan. And so that began in April of 1989.
So yeah, sorry. 99. Thank you. 1999. Um and so while um you know the building had not even been open really for for 6 months when we were already having these issues. So, I I think going
through all of this work and Wayade and Christine and I sat and we looked at a lot of documents. Um the sheer amount of communication between the schools um the you know the general contractor, the um
Firestone who was the um manufacturer of of the roof, the roofer themselves. um the amount of lawsuits and legal um cases that were um also a
part of it. Um there was, you know, between the general contractor and the roofers, between the general contractor um and the uh masons. It was it was really um very weedy and trying to kind
of get um a good understanding of exactly what happened. Um, so this is gives you a little bit more information. Um, February of 21, basically Firestone communicate communicated to to Norton that the warranty would not be in place
until they got their remaining payment from the general contractor. General contractor was holding back funds because of the leaks. Um, and then right underneath that says 2011, but that should say um 21 um
2001. Um there was at that point work had been done but it still wasn't done correctly and so um you know all of these things that were really really challenging. Um, in October of 2006,
there was um, a consultant came out and take a look at all the repairs that were done. And there was a recommendation to put forward a warrant in the town meeting to um, get design services to study and prep a
bid for repairs. Um, we went through the RFP process in January of 27. I found um Oldtown meeting warrant from uh February of 2007 with that um allocated $24,000 for engineering and design of Norton
Middle School roof. I can't find any documentation as to what actually occurred with that. Um it does look like there was some water um waterproofing that was done um by
Chapman waterproofing in the spring of ' 07. Um, and then literally from 2001 to 2013, there are probably anywhere between 8 to 12
um maybe 6 to 12 communications between Norton Public Schools and Firestone, the brand manufacturer, every single year looking to use the warranty that we had to come out for roof repair.
So, it has been one giant mess from day one. Um, I also noted, you know, just money that we've put towards roofing repairs just in these last couple years. Um, 2017 we did a big um, you know,
patch to the metal portion of the cafeteria roof so that way um, we could stop those leaks. It did work for a few years and now we're we're it's starting to um, to fail again. So, um, I think you have all heard me say this
before. We are paying the price of those who came before us. Um and and I have to say there is a huge amount of documentation from you know all the way back to Dr. Demora was many superintendents ago before me. Um really trying to get people hold people
accountable to the work that was not done properly and and here we are all these years later. Um, was MSBA involved in the building of the middle school? Not at the time. However, they did give
grants to districts that were still paying down their debt from building projects. So, we actually have um a letter that I found from I believe it was 2011 where we received about $9 million to
help us pay off the middle school for sum. So, that was something I I pulled up and was able and I found in our files um which I was surprised that I didn't recollect and again I wasn't here in
1998 when that project was happening. Um but yeah um I ask is and are they are they made were they made aware of the history of so because the project didn't go through them initially it was like our own
project so we can't really no and and it's um we held a lot of money back from the from like our retainage so we held money back and then the general contractor held money back from the subcontractors
um and it ended up in a lawsuit. We as a town ended up paying out $60,000 in April of 2003 um to pay for the remaining work that was done through a settlements agreement. Um and so
um it's not a full picture, but I think it's definitely more of a picture than I think what we've seen in the past. Um, we can't find any documentation on um the holes that were drilled into the metal roof. We can't find a work order for that. We can't we can't find
anything that surrounds that or any information about that metal roof, the warranty um being voided at that time. Um, but we just found those boxes. So, it makes you wonder if there are other boxes out there that potentially may
have um more information for us. It's definitely a good advertisement as to why going digital is is the way to go in the future. Plus old news that I found is when Norton hired a consultant inspector school that was July 16th, 1998, 27
years ago. All right. So, we've been having this conversation for a long time. So, I guess my kind of overarching question is if we go to town meeting and before we
decide that we can get an extension for the spring. That obviously pushes back the timeline till next summer. I'm sure they can't get it done. We would be looking at summer of 27 versus summer of 26. So how does that
affect the the MSBA or any of the other is it just more will the MSBA think they would grant an extension if we say that we need to wait till now we need to wait till spring strength meeting or so the guidelines around securing funding is that you are supposed to have
your funding set within 90 days of it being approved at their board. So, we are currently scheduled to be on their board approval for October 28th, which if we were to do the October town meeting, then that's we're good, right?
Um, what we could do is we could ask for an extension. There's no guarantee they would grant it. Um, and see if they would allow us to go to May. Um, I think it might be worthwhile to perhaps see if
maybe one or two people from the committee is willing to sit down with Christine and Wade and I and figure out what questions do we still have, what concerns are still out there and you know decide are we going to present if we are going to present how
can we do it in a way where I'm presenting perhaps somebody from school committee is standing up there with me and saying these are the things that need to happen. Um this is a lot of I think I mean obviously not doing the roof isn't an option.
I mean the the second you know letting it leak is not is not the backup choice here. Um so we need to figure out exactly what can we do as a school community. I know there was talk about um us going out to bid on our own. I
think the important thing for us to know is that we would need to engage another contractor, go through a schematic design, have that person write up a bid for us because we couldn't use the work that was just done through the AG like Christine called the
AG to figure out like could we take what has already been done? We paid for it like don't we own it? No, because it's goes through because it's there. Exactly. So those are some things for us to to talk about. Um we can do that here as a
full group or we could you know think about it and get our thoughts together and um it's it's really up to committee. Um has there been an assessment done of the structural integrity of the roof with all of the water damage and the
leaking? Like if we got in theory a very heavy snowy winter like are we going to have a situation like that happened that's I forget where the school was where the whole thing just went from I think well there was the bridge water that happened like 10 years ago but like there was some one recently this past
winter where like the whole thing collapsed like there was a picture that just flipped into the classroom. I'll defer to wait on that. But the winter rehab was 2015. 2015. Yeah. Like 10 years ago, the Bridgewater. Yeah,
that was Yeah. Yeah. My friend school at work. Obviously, there's no structural damage over there. They don't again. It's not all the way. Right. That's why I'm asking because again that was 10 years ago. So now this
roof is 10 years older and if we got a winter like 2015 again like are we is that you know it's it's one of those things where I feel like people are going to ask like how pressing you know because we are talking about a high monetary number here and basically
like I feel as if it's like unless the roof's going to fall on them we're not going to pay. So I'm just I'm just theorizing and being realistic. Yeah, I I think um I think structurally we're we're in a good
place. I think um this slide here was interesting to me when we were talking through it with them earlier this afternoon. Um because I said, "Okay, like this Wayland school is half the size of us, the 44,000 square feet. I
think we're like 78 or something like that on on this rubber EDM roof. Sorry. I'm sorry. I have such a mental pause at that. Um, and you look, that's 2 million. That's a huge difference between 2 million and 9 million.
Mhm. It's 5 years ago. And I think that's the other concern that I have. It It's It's just like paving that um exit out in front of the middle school. You know, what started at, you know, $40,000 is now up to $77,000
in a short period of time. Yes. The market rises and falls. We know we we are all paying more for things right now. I I don't know what it's going to look like in two or three or four years and I there's no guarantee that it's going to be less money and
there and there's no guarantee that it's going to be more. That's the thing that's I mean guarantee it's right. I mean it's definitely going to be more and and that's I mean it's such a Norton thing to do is to say hey we can't afford it right now and then we come back later and it's even more money than
it was initially. The issue is is town meeting is only going to be able to give whatever we have. We don't have that money at town. Yeah. So the issue is is okay if we go forward with the project. Someone says all right I'm going to make a motion to give $4.2
million school to fix their roof. Where is the $4 million coming from? So but we can vote to borrow at town meeting. Okay. Correct. Not necessarily. I'm not talking about like a debt exclusion, but we could vote
to borrow, which I think is what I think what James Yeah. Right. I mean, they would have to decide if we're going to borrow, but and like that's my thing. So, I I I don't know. I don't The problem is I
feel like no one really knows what can I think everyone agrees that we can't just let the roof keep leaking. That's not agrees. that absolute like that is ultimately what we don't want to do. But the same point is is the town I don't think has 4.2 million laying around that
they can give to this project at the current moment. So therefore in order to get any money it's either borrowing it or through a debt exclusion. I can't put a debt exclusion in at town meeting in October. So I don't know what October is looking like. I just feel like
it's I can't see I don't know. I just I just don't see it any scenario in October that the town's gonna say, "Oh, okay." So, with sorry, with the MSBA extension, are we anticipating it would everything would stay the same, 55% all that?
Yes. Okay. That would all stay the same as long as we got it voted in like this fiscal year. I don't I don't see, and again, you could be wrong. I just don't see the MSBA saying no to a roof that isn't
leaking. No, I'm not saying they're going to say no. I'm just saying I already said he already said yes. So, if we say, "Hey, this is what our plan's going to be." I don't see them being like, "Well, hold on. We going to give you that money, but you guys take your stuff together." No, we're
Maybe I'm wrong. I just unless they, you know, Well, we have six other projects coming up now. Sorry. you've had your chance. So, um, but Justin was there as well. They were not in favor of that. So, I agree. I don't think that they were
going to. Um, she was like, "You could." I mean, they're very lenient where they've helped us out with paperwork that we were trying to work through. They're like, "Oh, it said it's due January 31st." They're like, "It's okay. Just get it to us by the following." So, I do think there would be leniency
there. I think us talking to her about the whole hesitation of the town funding the project in general is why they seem not warm and fuzzy, right? Because what's going to stop them five six months from now, right? What's going to change the bond,
right? And then when it comes to their with town borrowing, um, as James has said to at FINCOM, they it would be how much we would have to pay on interest with the Excel. Typically with the MSBA projects, you're not just you're not going to borrow like even with the train
then just borrow the 12 million. They borrowed at the stages. Um because it's accelerated, it's a little more difficult because he would have to borrow most of it up front. So most of the money that's been burst would have to be the $4 million, but we'd only have to initially pay on the interest which is where he's coming up with that
$400,000 that you're right would be taken out of. Correct. The other thing is that I am presenting this to finance committee on Monday night the 29th. This has been presented. So we may have a better understanding of
where they're at and what their thought process is after Monday night which would give us a little bit more guidance if yes, we want to continue to go through with this or we want to hold and um do it in the spring. And then I think my last and final question,
this all went wrong. We know that right was no one no one on here say it's not going to go wrong next. No one on here is a roofing expert. I don't expect our administrations who are trying to or administrators who are trying to teach children to be experts in putting in roofs.
When this when this goes to bid, we have a company that come out and says we can do it for $4 million. who in this town is going to say this looks good and we're not dealing with this exact same problem that you guys that's why you have the OPM right with the exception of the fact you
have the MSBA involved think that adds a little bit more clout to it that's why I ask but how did this all happen because you didn't have the because it wasn't MSBA it was it was independently and it was no one oversaw the project so we the town at that time hired a clerk of the works
who was sorry I sounds the clicker. So it was basically like an it it's it's very typical. It's basically like you're hiring your own owner's project manager. 1998 it was called clerk of the works and that person sick oversaw all aspects
of this project and so I mean we found Wade please as well as your local inspectors. So to Nick's point our local inspectors were on on this job as well and they they oversee that project as well. our local build inspector signed off on a middle school one or another. But to your
point, he's not a roofing engineer. He's not a roofing expert. So that's why you hire a clerical work or your old will hire his own site every day taking pictures. When we did this project as well as the JCS roof, um they're there every day, all day long while the work's
being done, taking pictures, reporting back to the owner what they're seeing, what's going on, reporting back to the town, what's happening, what's going on. So inspectors do get all there. Yeah, they're kind of up to speed on things. So um if I can just say one thing about
a manufacturer, they they they stood by their warranty. We had them over 25 times that they they warrant that roof was warranted for 15 years. They stood by that. The roof that was not warranted is
metal roof. That's because of the work that was done before any of us got here and that's what the metal roof work. But the rubber roof itself has had plenty of work done on it and Firestone is just a manufacturer they recommend. We have
Skywood Gateway out there. We had Marshalls out there. We had Ruben out there. We had plenty of work done on that center for the years. So fire system did step up. So don't feel like we got shafted when it came to the warranty.
Our roof was taken care of the metal. But the the rubber roof was taken care of but still leaking. So to his point today, so our rubber roof, if any of you have been on one, it's through the years every time you walk on that roof and we have to walk up this roof to change filters. We have to
work work on this roof and we change motors. You you have you have people on there all day long walking over there and there's rivets that eventually pop through. There's like food and blow off that that rip the roof that you have to go back. When you have a flat roof like this, you have so much equipment behind
your roof, you have to get up there to service those equipment. Every time you go out there and every time you stop we have engineers we had up there on the roof. So it's flat reach are not they're not they're not great but they
serve a purpose. Fortunately, we got I don't think we're lucky to get as many years out of school because we we've done a really good job and and since since 2015, since I've been here, we've done a really good job in making sure that people stay off the roof that
are that don't need to be on the roof. We're only up there when we need to be up there. and and I think uh the middle school to your call when we remove the rubs that was one of the biggest things was creating a lot of
those that certainly building a lot too. So it's just on falls on my desk again the winter that's the decision makes the water
safe and you guys just make sure and then we will not um just sorry just another mention. So the second page of the information I shared with you tonight this is from our
report in February 1999 and it talks about like the the primary reasons that we were having the leaks that we were and it's the things that we're always talking about. It's, you know, the the metal gable roofs. It's the sloping of some areas of of the roof itself, the
elevation changes. There's so many different levels of roofing over there. Um, and then the last page in there, this is the report um from 2006 with the consultant came out and gave it to the superintendent at that time. um also
talks about you know some of the reason the flashing that wasn't installed properly the waterproofing that was not installed continuously or properly. Um so theoretically, you know, getting getting this roof done, we'll be able to fix
those issues at the same time. We're be able again not a roofing expert, but um I just can't understand how they weren't held accountable for this and how this was okay. Well, and boxes and boxes and boxes of documentation of the back and forth and the saying we're not going to pay for this and we're holding this
money and what what's the first point of the war? And it's so I think the primary issue that we discovered when we were kind of going through the documents, it wasn't necessarily the roof itself that was fault. It was the workmanship
that was it was improperly installed. So why that wasn't why there was an accountability there? I just don't understand. Um any other business or issues any other
plan? I think you really have to see what recommend it's going to come down and we don't control the money. you know, there has to be solutions in place with the other boards that say if it's
this, then we do this. And maybe some sort of community forum presentation for this is is in order. And personally, I think that we can have them come back out on Monday night and walk through the roof, but I quite honestly feel like it's going to
be better coming from us than saying like because I think we know the people at finance committee. I think finance committee knows us and and trusts us perhaps a little bit more than somebody coming in from the outside. Um I'm sorry. Right. That's
Yeah. So I'm not Yeah. No. So I'll put some slides together and I'll share it with all of you and we can talk about what else we want to include and and we'll see what they say and then we'll make our decision at that point. When when's that finish time meeting? Monday.
Monday 7 o'clock. Thank you. town hall. Indeed. Well, we can only have two members. Well, you can't all debate. We just can't talk, right? Yeah. It's a res. Yeah. Back in July 198.
Back in July 19 before the middle school was open, it was still leaking and leaping and leaping and leaking and 27 years later, it's still welcome to my life, Peter. Mayor, man, you got to figure this out. Any other business to present?
Uh, I just have um it's been a little chatter I've noticed recently about um negotiations. So, I just wanted to make a little blanket statement. Um the Norton School Committee understands that our community has questions about the ongoing contract negotiations. We encourage everyone to
ask questions and seek clear and accurate information regarding current negotiation sessions. The committee will always and continues to bargain in good faith with a goal of reaching a fair agreement. While differences remain, I want to assure everyone that the school committee will continue to focus on
student learning and hope to have negotiations completed soon. The school committee values the commitment of our teachers and the trust of our families and we remain dedicated to working toward a resolution. Thank you. Yeah.
Anything else? entertaining a motion from here. Some in favor. Thank you. Have a great night.