All right, everybody. We're going to get our meeting underway. Um, we're going to call the meeting to order at 6 o'clock Wednesday, April 15th. If we could stand for the pledge of allegiance. >> To the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it
stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Um, just so everybody is aware, this meeting is being recorded by Norton Media. If anybody else wishes
to record, please just let us know. Um, we have the first item is our public comment period. Uh, all speakers are encouraged to present their remarks in a respectful manner and consider the privacy of others. Speakers must begin their remarks by stating their name, address, and/or affiliation. All remarks
will be addressed through the chair. Public comment shall only concern items with are within the scope of the school committee's authority. Speakers will be allowed 3 minutes to present their material. And in general, no extensions will be permitted and speakers may not
assign their time to anybody else. Does anybody wish to come up and address the meeting? Don't all rush at once. Nope. Okay. We will move on to vote to approve the minutes of the April 1st open meeting session. Have members had a
chance to read those? >> Yes. >> Any questions, comments, edits, concerns? >> No. No. >> Okay. Entertain a motion to approve the minutes as presented. >> So moved. Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> All right. Next is warrants. Justine.
>> Um I have reviewed the following school expense and payroll warrants. School expense warrant April 1st 2026 496,928.61 and school payroll warrant April 2nd 2026 1,156,41920 I have reviewed and approved and wish to
enter into public record. >> Thank you. Um next is our student reps or one of the two. Thank you. How's it going? >> So only have two schools today so it's going to be pretty quick. I know we're all excited to hear what all these guys have to say. So, from the high school, things are in gear here at Norton High
School. This week, we are having 20 students participating in a week-long pre-apprenticeship program. This afternoon, we had approximately 30 students who headed off on a school trip to Scotland and Ireland. At the end of April, vacation week and into the following week, we will have about 20 DECA students who will be attending ICDC
competition in Atlanta. This is the largest number of students to ever qualify for nationals. Last Friday, we had the nightclub event, which was sponsored by the music and theater parents, where we had numerous students showcase their musical talents. The art show was coming up on April 28th in the cafeteria from 5:30 to 7:30. And our
senior events are coming up in the notsodistant future. Then from the Yell to help get ready for Math MCAST. This week is our semifinals of our 2026 St Math April, oh my gosh, this is a long name. April Arithmetic Absurdity Tournament where all 15 home rooms are
matched up against one another in a bracket style tournament competition. We are looking for each students to do their 60 required puzzles per week with the classes with the better percentage moving up onto the next round. The first class will get a field trip to Honeydew across the street for donuts and hot
cocoa. Second place will get a doughnut breakfast in their classroom and third place, which everyone will still be running for, will get honeydew drops brought to their classroom. There have been intense battles so far and we will be crowning our champion one week after the vacation as the final bracket is
completed. A couple of weeks ago, our students did a fantastic job on their ELA MCCAST, putting in excellent effort, taking their time and making sure they answered all questions and all parts of open responses. During the MCAST days, our students started the morning with a recess, then had a snack in the cafeteria with all their friends. Then
we moved, excuse me, then we moved them to a special in the afternoon so that the day is pretty enjoyable for all of our students and they deserve it after the effort we put in. They put in. We are so proud of them. Once we have finished the MCCAST, we will focus on the LLT which has been more for math
preparation as our students have structured on reviewing and discussing math strategy. And that is all for me today. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you. >> All right. Next we have Miss Sarah Lions. And I think she brought some friends with her.
>> So come on up. >> Yeah. And I think Okay. Um, so maybe I Can you hear me? >> Yes. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> Now I'm too tall. >> Yeah. Stop. Stop standing on the stool, Mrs. Lions. Mr. Higgins, what do you do? What do you do?
Look at Mr. Higgins. Um, so we're here. Thank you so so much for inviting us in, um, to share Reading Buddies, our program. Um, it's a partnership between some LGN first graders and some members of the senior
center in town. Um, and I wrote down a few things so I didn't forget to tell you all the awesome things about it. Um, we call it reading buddies. Um, but sometimes we very affectionately call them the grandmas and the grandpas and we love them. So they'll say the grandma and
grandpa's coming today. Um, cuz it really it's such a love. It's such a love. Um, and it started before co so lifetime ago. um seemingly when I was
talking to my mom and she was talking about her now grown grandkids that she just loved sitting with them and reading and fostering that love for reading. And I said to her, "My kids loved it, too.
Like, it's so mutually beneficial." And I thought, "How do I bring this in to my classroom?" Um, so I reached out to Beth Rossy at the senior center and she put an ad in the newsletter and Grandpa Jim was one
of the very first ones to respond and um, he became my point person whether he likes it or not. And >> coordinator. >> Yep. Yep. That's it. Um, and just a little something about um, what we do.
We meet weekly for the most part. Sometimes half days and vacations get in the way, but um and we meet for about an hour. We just met today, so we meet on Wednesdays. Um we partner read, we read poetry in the garden when it gets nice
out. Um we read non-fiction, we read fiction, we read their stories that they create that they're so proud of. Um, and one of the fun things that we did this year is we were learning how to write
how to pieces and we wrote how to make lemonade. And so then when the reading buddies came in, they read their how to make lemonade and the reading buddies had to we had all the ingredients and they had to follow the directions to see if the if they wrote all of the all of
the steps, right? Um, and let me So, these are some of the sweet pictures. >> There's so many sweet moments. Um, we play a lot of games. You can see um one of the favorites is headbands where we
put I think it's we put um like you put a sentence on your head so you can't see it, the other person has to read the sentence and then you have to write the sentence. Um, so that's a hoot to walk into with
everybody with headbands on. Um, but this is last June when Grandpa Jim turned 80 and so we all had to do the birthday boogie with him and that was so we celebrate everything. Um, and that's really what I want to leave you with.
This is such a win-win for everybody. Um, it's just such a wonderful program. It's only an hour a week. We wish we could have more. Um, and just beautiful relationships are built and we're really actually sad when it's over. Um, but
then we get to start again in the fall and do it all over again. Um, so we have um a couple more people that wanted to just kind of give their perspective on it and then we have four four special friends that want to um share something one of their favorite things.
>> The floor is yours. >> Yeah. All right. So, do you guys want to go next? >> I'm Grandpa Jim. >> Grandpa Jim. >> And uh I started with this with Sarah 5 years ago and
Beth had got hold of me to see what I could do to get volunteers. Well, I needed six volunteers. I ended up with 25. >> Wow. So I had to do some picking and choosing and time scheduling and everything. And then couple years later
after co we had two sessions. We had third grade and first grade. But really what I want to say today is how impressed I am with Sarah Lions. She gets this thing so organized. I don't know where she gets the time to
get it organized, but when we come in that classroom at 10:15, we're working. When we leave at 11:15, it's like, you got two minutes to clean up, get out ready because the kids are going to go to lunch and they're marching out the door at 11:15. I don't
know how she does it, but she does it. And for me, it's the best hour of the week. I just love being with these children. They're so positive. They're so joyful. And these kids have got great
parents because it reflects in them. So for all that, I just thank you for letting us do it. Uh I don't know how it all started, but I'm glad and I hope it comes on for a few more years. I'm 81
now. How many more years can I do it? I don't know, but it's going to be a few. Thank you. Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Okay. I'm Paul Ruazi. I've been in Norton now for 9 years. I want to thank Jim for uh making me part of this uh
group. Um you know, as we get to be our age, and I won't tell you what mine is now. It's kind of scary. Uh we're looking for things to do and be productive. And I'll tell you one thing, when you're with children, they test your metal. They understand a lot more
than you do. And I've learned a lot. And every day I come, uh, I just enjoy being around them. They're wonderful kids, great manners. Follow Mrs. Lions to the tea. And, you know, in the end, um, you
know, reading develops power uh, for a kid as they grow up. I noticed that my own grandchildren, I've got eight, and uh the ones that read, the ones that kind of a little lazy about it, but the ones that read are really becoming really good writers and understand how
to put sentences together and do those things. So, in the end, um this has been great for me. It's added some, but most importantly, it's great for the kids. These guys are all um they have something to offer. I'm looking forward to maybe catching up with them uh in
about what few more years because boy time flies as you know. >> So thank you for allowing me to do this. Thank you Mrs. Lions, Jim Conway, and would you build a larger um entryway of the school for this guy who principal?
Naturally, my I said I said, "Are you the principal or you're a basketball player?" But anyways, thank you. This is a great program. Continue to support it and uh it really works. Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> Hi, good evening. I'm Ann Coulter, otherwise known as Miss Annie. Mhm. Um, this is my favorite hour of the week. I get to know the kids and they so look forward to seeing us. It's it's a wonderful boost. Um, I think what I'm
hoping that it impresses on them is that these adults come in and give us an hour once a week to spend on reading. And because reading is so important, I hope they get that impression that, wow,
reading is so is that important. They read to us, we read to them, they write their own stories that they're very proud of. I'm amazed. When I was in first grade, >> we never learned. Today, we learned metamorphosis.
>> Okay, >> I couldn't even say that word when I was in the first grade. So, it's fun. It's rewarding. and it's very worthwhile. I'm thrilled to be able to do it. So, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you.
>> All right. >> We have some some firsty friends. Sharon, >> we need a stool. My favorite day so far is when we read non-fiction about snow and then we got to make snowflakes together.
M my favorite part my favorite day of reading buds was on April Fool's Day when we made jokes together. We made brown ease.
I love reading buddies so much because they are kind, funny, generous, and joyful. They help us when we get stuck on words. They make me laugh and feel happy.
I LIKE THE READING BOYS because some kids don't usually go to their grandma's and grandma's grandpa's house. So then they can see the reading boys here. >> Thank you so much for having us. This was this was a treat.
>> This was a treat. So, thanks for sharing and I love this program. >> So, thank you everybody for coming. Um, you know, the this is why, you know, when when Jen and I had a discussion a couple years ago to bring something else to our meetings, this is what it is.
This is what we're looking for because we can sit up here as a committee and go through the budget and go through the policies and it's very, you know, it's it's the same thing. So, we wanted to bring something like this, and this is what we're looking for, where, you know,
we're peeling back what we see in our schools to something that, you know, it's a generational connection, um, you know, for kids and and their grandparents. Uh, and these are the things we love to see as a committee, mostly me personally. I won't speak for them, but I'm sure they'll agree with
me. Um, you know, this is the good things we show that we want our schools to do. Um, you know, so this is the epitome of why we have our student spotlights. Um, thank you Mrs. Lions and friends and grandparents for coming and sharing your
stories with us. Um, I'm I Oh, hi. Hi. I like to talk. Can I talk? Hi. Um, I I have I have a question and a comment. So, I'll go with the comment first. I love this. This is wonderful. Um, at my school district, we
used to do something on this line with the second graders and they would one class at a time would take a field trip over to the Council on Aging directly and we would partner them up and they would read and do a craft and kind of spend the morning with them and do their activities like chair exercises and all of that and then, you know, they'd have
a snack and we'd go back to school. Um, and the kids just loved it and it it's always such a nice partnership. So, I love that we're doing something like that here in Norton. Um, you have some very smart cookies there. I mean, listen to some of those words that we were
talking about, huh? Feeling joyful. That was great. It was nice meeting all of you, too. Um, so I guess my question is especially what struck me was uh Miss Annie when she was talking. Uh, oh no, it wasn't Miss Annie, it was But you
were great, too. Um, uh, our second gentleman was talking about how, you know, he's hoping that maybe he can catch up with them in a few years. So, you said that this program's been going on for a bit. Um, has there ever been like a repairing of, you know, where are the kids now or, you know,
just wonder if, um, which I know that that's kind of a carryover maybe to the Yell, but I just wonder if there would be some way of doing like a a reunion or something. I think that that could be really sweet or fun. >> Yes, I totally agree. Um it would it
would entail sort of digging through old emails cuz you know people have kind of come and gone through the program. Um but for sure we could do it and I love that idea. >> Um >> yeah, almost like >> some some sort of Yeah, I just think
that would be so fun. I think cuz like I said, we started before co >> so and then we took you know we got cut short and then we took the next year off just to >> be safe. Um >> yeah so they're probably middle school age now.
>> So seven years ago it would have been Yeah. 2019. >> Yeah. >> So eighth graders. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> I just think that would be fun, you know. something certainly for like the senior walk
when they walk through the schools. >> Yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah. Like invite um if you invited them to come for the senior walk day that would be great. >> So great. Yeah. But we >> we need a reunion. >> Sounds like you have some homework.
>> I think so. April vacation homework. >> There you go. >> But I I love this. So thank you so much for sharing that. >> We love it too. Don't we love this? It's oh when it's a reading buddies day it's like when they come in and they see it on the schedule they're like yes the grandpas are coming
>> that's great and there's so so many layers of just you know connections and all of the all of the benefits there's so many benefits to it for for both parties involved >> it's just like my favorite is just because I also I get it justice um I
also have the benefit of being able to walk around and witness it all >> because they all partner partner up. Um, so I get to see those beautiful moments and those funny little interactions and I get to see it all. Um, and that is
exactly why I wanted to do this is just that like Miss Annie said, you know, for them to love reading, but just another positive experience >> with reading >> and um, just coming from another source too, you know.
>> Um, yeah. So that's >> this is this is incredible. Thank you for putting all of this together on it. This definitely is a lot of work I would think to set it all up. And thank you to the grandparents and for being part of all of this. Um and to the families for,
you know, allowing all of this to go on. This is this is absolutely wonderful. Um Mrs. Cohen used to be the one to shed a lot of tears, but you did make me get a little teary eyed tonight. It just warms
the heart. This is just so wonderful. So, thank you. This is great. Thank you. >> I'll have to let Sher know she's >> or she has a a partner in them. >> Yes. Yes. Exactly. >> I'd also just love to put it out there. I wish this had been some kind of
program like this when I was in these little grades because this sounds so I'm so grateful that you guys are doing this. It seems like really amazing and obviously they're all so excited about it. So it seems really awesome. I think it's awesome what you guys are doing. So good job. >> Thanks. >> Well, before you all leave, we have to
take a picture. But before we do that, I just want to thank Mrs. Lions for her work. Um, I've had the opportunity to come over once or twice when our buddy readers are there as well or greet greeted them in the way in. And it's just it's such a great way for our
students to get to know others in our community, but also for our community to get to know what's going on in our schools. And we're so grateful to all of you who have given your time to come and join us um, you know, each week and to to share your love of learning with our
students. So, thank you all. Um, and perhaps we could get Mrs. lions and our firsties and our um grandma and grandpa readers together and we could take a big picture. >> Yeah. >> And then that way we can share that with the broader Norton community as well.
>> Mr. Higgins, you want to get in and I'll take it. >> No. >> Okay. >> I don't think you guys >> Oh, yes. I Yes. >> want to say My name is Ken.
>> My name is Kayla. >> My name is James. >> My name is Grace. >> GOOD JOB. PUT YOU GUYS IN THE FRONT. >> We know you're in the back, Mr. Higgins.
>> He should lay across the front. >> He could be in his still. Hey everybody, good job. Thank you all so much for coming out. I'll share these photos with you so you can share. >> Thanks for coming. Great job, guys.
What are you? >> You got to be on the TV. >> Oh my god. >> Oh, he's adorable. >> Thank you. You are all um >> welcome to leave. There's no reason. >> Yeah, the fun. That's the fun stuff.
>> You're also welcome to stay, but you know. All right. So, next we're going to move on to the fun stuff. No, I'm just kidding. Sorry. >> What a nice way to start the evening. >> Yeah, we should end it. >> All right. Next, we have our first
reading for gifts and solicitations by staff policy revision. Dr. O'Neal. >> All right. As you said, this is the fun stuff. So, um, recently Massachusetts changed some of the laws and regulations around school fundraising. So, I have
three policies here for us tonight um that ultimately we're kind of adding the same components to each of these three policies. So, this first policy is GBBC gifts to and solicitations by staff. Um
and the the big change here talks about raffles in games of chance and um the fact that employees are not allowed to participate in such activities. um if it's like by a booster organization or a fundraising group. Um
so that is new Massachusetts regulations. And then we also added um that all gifts and donations must be accepted by a vote of the school committee which is something that we do anyway. Um and it's present in some of our other policies but it was just missing in this particular one here.
>> So um are there any questions? And again tonight is just the first reading on this. So just for clarity on this first one. >> So can our raising organiz like whatever organization is raising funds can they have something like like say I'm I'm
assuming this would be like a scratch ticket raffle is considered a game of chance. So does that mean staff can't buy a chance in that or I'm just looking for clarity. >> Yes. So um >> the PTO's could still hold that type of fundraiser. >> Yes. We'll get to that in um in a in a
future policy. Um but ultimately staff is really not able to participate. >> Okay. >> What if they're the parent of a kid in district? You still can't. >> So if you are So if you are a member of
the sponsoring organization. So if you are both a staff member and a member of the sponsoring organization. So I'm a parent but I'm also part of the boosters club. Yeah. >> Then I could participate as a parent. >> Okay. Okay. >> But I could not participate as a staff member. >> Gotcha.
>> And it's it's not Aaron and I or Christine and I being picky about this. It's just unfortunately >> you know >> I figured that's why these were here. >> Yeah. >> Something old chatau.
>> So correct. Again, again, just looking for that clarity. So, >> clear as mud, right? >> Yeah, clear as mud. So, like say um you know, NE is doing a raffle at Goat City. If you're a teacher, can you not buy a raffle ticket because that money is
going to the schools? >> Clear as mud. >> So, we as a entity cannot organize a raffle or game of chance. So, Norton as a district could not do that. >> Yep. That makes sense. >> And employees. So
>> I am just an employee. I'm not anybody else. I would not be able to participate >> in the activity personally. I would not be able to buy a a raffle because I work for the town. >> You could as a non-emp employee, but like you know,
>> but Mrs. Lions can't buy a raffle ticket at the Goat City for the need raffle. >> That's what I wanted to confirm. Thank you. What about auctions? >> Um,
I would say so raffles and games of chance are not an auction. Correct. Because as my husband likes to remind me, just because you pay more than anybody else, it doesn't mean you won something. I got IT RIGHT. I GOT the price. I win. >> He's like, you pay more than anyone else on eBay. That's not a living. this
moment in time, auctions are exempt from this because they are not considered a raffle or a game of chance. I would not go so far to say they are exempt. I would just say they do not they're not included. They are not under the purview of the they are not considered a raffle or game of chance.
>> But in theory, if an auction item is a gift packet of scratch tickets, then yes, >> they should not be bidding on the package. >> Okay. >> Awesome. >> Okay. Okay. Got it. All right. Next.
>> Okay. Next, moving on in the agenda. Um, this is policy JJ, student fundraising activities. So, this is where a lot of things have changed. Um, so
ultimately the new state regulations focus simply around um support organizations. So thinking about boosters, parent groups, places like need um and how
we as a district are meant to oversee these organizational groups. So um ultimately any student recognized or unrecognized support organization wishing to fund raise including crowdfunding must first
gain prior approval from the superintendent or designate. So for um most of the sporting groups um boosters that designate would be Mr. Sumner who is our athletic director. Um and then I think need's a great example. Typically I get emails and saying hey
we're going to do this. Are you okay with that? um just something as simple as that. And then I believe the parent boards really work with um the school principles in order to organize um fundraising activities. So basically when you are fundraising on behalf of
Norton Public Schools, you are using the name Norton Public Schools um most of the time or you're saying Norton basketball, Norton, you know, JCS, SPO. Um we are responsible for ensuring that the activity has been approved. Um it's
not excessive. um it's appropriate and kind of conforms with our with our values and that um we are making sure that students are safe in that process of fundraising. Um so for example like this talks about door-to-door fundraising is sign is strongly
encouraged. Um the importance of adult supervision within fundraising. Um participation in fundraising activity shall be strictly voluntary. Uh, no student shall be required to engage in fundraising as a participation as a condition of participation in any sport or other fundrais or any other school
activity. Um, students are permitted are prohibited from participating in a sale or raffle of alcohol. Um, so again, this goes back to if you're doing a raffle and it's a basket of scratch tickets, you also can't do an alcohol um basket.
um and that um students and student groups are not able to organize raffles or games of chance in in terms of purchasing tickets for those such games.
So ultimately it's the raffles and games of chance that are changing all of these all of these things here. Um, state law does not allow
students or student groups to do raffles or games of chance. So, >> okay, >> the student council, Norton High School student council could not do a raffle for
prom tickets. They could not do a raffle for um >> what about like super super bowl squares? Would that fall under? >> That's a game of chance. >> Game of chance. So So however a parent
group, >> they have different regulations. So it really ends up being like students under the when you really think because they're they're minors >> and so they shouldn't they can't be participating >> um >> right >> and and then so it talks about student
support organizations in this same um policy here basically um parent group support organizations boosters they are allowed to pursue their fundraising activities as long as it is approved by the superintendent or
designate as we have shared earlier. Um and that we also said that you know these parent organizations need to be recognized as an official parent organization within Norton public schools um under our student fundraising and and booster policy. Um, so if I
decide tomorrow that I'm going to be a a parent group for X, Y, and Z club at Norton Middle School and it has not been recognized by the district, we are not they would not be able to fund raise. Um, and so
we will share all of these things with each of the groups annually. We're going to have we'll probably have to um have a group um a a meeting this spring or before people start with next year's fundraising to kind of share the the
changes with them. So that would be parent groups, booster organizations, need and then club adviserss. So thinking about our our class adviserss or club adviserss at both middle school and high school, those student groups have more restrictions than parent
groups do. And again, not us trying to be difficult, but um new Massachusetts regulations. >> Okay, >> questions on that one. >> No. Well, I mean that's the purpose of the first read is so members can take a look
and everything else, >> but and there are definitions here. So it talks about the difference between a support organization. So that's a group that exists for the benefit of students but operate outside of our direct control versus a student group that
they're organizations that are sponsored by Norton public schools. So inter murals, athletics, drama, chorus, student council. So that's the difference. So the adults have a little bit more leeway where students and minors do not. >> Mhm.
team puts it chocolate funraiser >> and that's okay because it's not a game of chance. All right, last one. >> Uh, yep. KBE. >> All right, so this is relations with parent booster groups um and
organizations. So again, um this just kind of adds in those components around who needs to be approving these um fundraising processes. Um it used to say that organizations would be recognized
by the school committee, but that is not something that we do. And so really um as I mentioned earlier, groups are organized recognized by myself, by Mr. sum as the athletic director or really by the building principal. Um, and that it adds
the components of parents or boosters that want to conduct raffles or games of chance, they must comply with all of the new federal, state, and local laws. Um, making sure they're getting their permits, they're filing the um the reports as scheduled, and that um they
must comply with all of the fundraising policies that we just referred to in JGE. >> Okay. Any questions on that? >> Lots of fun. >> Um, not this one, but back to the previous uh JJ. Um, and I don't know if
it's this is me getting nitpicking, but if you are a parent organization group, say at the high school level, um, you know, so you have kind of high school kids helping along with that, even though maybe it's the parents that are technically running or in charge.
Like if there's a raffle being sold, should it be parents only selling at that table? Like students should not sit there to sell. Correct. >> Correct. >> Okay. So, we just want to make sure that that is very explicitly clear. Yes. >> Okay. Thank you.
>> And ultimately for our boosters, they do not >> kind of fall under our umbrella. The majority of the boosters have their their own treasury and they are wonderful and super supportive of us. Um, but they're kind of run without
outside of our jurisdiction. So that's okay. But students should not be selling. >> Right. So, but I just don't know if, like you said, because they're outside of that, they think that that's okay. So, I just don't know if that needs to be >> Aaron and I and probably Christine will meet with them. Okay. Before the end of
the year. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Of course. >> All right. Any other questions, comments? >> No. >> All right. If we have any for the next meeting, that would be when we would want to take a look at it. So, >> thank you. Should we if anything else comes up, just like email them over and
then >> Yeah, send them right over to me directly and we can chat. >> Yeah. >> As I said, clear as mud. >> Yeah. >> Yep. >> Nope. >> All right. Next, we have the vote to award the vendor of the food services proposal, uh, Mrs. Hatfield.
All right, great. Thanks, Pam. Um, so this is just a brief overview that we did some slides um just to give you a little background because the request for proposal process is um very cumbersome and it took several months.
Um so before we went on to the award vote, we just wanted to give you a little history. So um the national school lunch program is um administer administrated by the um department of agriculture which is the federal level and DESIE is on um representing the
state level. So the reason we're bringing this up is because 4 years ago um the USDA required DESIE to create a statewide template um for the RFP um which it has been challenging um because
not every district in Massachusetts fits the same mold I guess to put nicely. Um, so in doing so, everything that you do has to be completed in a template that's online on the DESI portal and then DESI
reviews it then you then it gets released once they approve it and then you can um send it out for the RFP. Thanks. So in the process you um for the non-pric proposals we needed um an evaluation committee. Um typically it's
around three to five members. We're on the smaller district side. So um we had three evaluators. Um we had Brian here. Um we had uh Marty Gagan, the Yell principal, and Dan, the school committee chair, and I was the CPO, which is the
procurement officer um for the school district and the facilitator um that ran the RFP. So um for the non-pric um portion of the proposal, DESIE has nine comparative criteria that the evaluators had to go
through. Um this is the list here. It's general experience, reference satisfaction, operations, um experience of the food service director, the proposed menus, marketing and merchandising, financial stability, employee training and student participation.
Um, and this is just the process to award the food service management company. Um, so you start with the RFP submission um, which went out on February 17th. And, um, they are to
submit a non-pric and a price proposal in two separate envelopes. And the non-pric proposal is what the evaluation committee reviewed. And they rank each category that I just listed before under um four different rankings which is highly advantageous, advantageous, and not advantageous and unacceptable. And
each one of those categories is ranked by a point value. Um and then it goes to an overall ranking which um any in Desie's template cuz it's not always like this when you do the RFPs. anybody
that hits the certain point value range um ends up in a the highly contagious category. So um here if they got between 31 and 36 points overall they moved automatically to the price proposal. Um
if you were below that um at which would rank to advantageous or not advantageous you wouldn't move on to the next round of opening the price proposal. So if you got to the price proposal then it would be the guaranteed return. So who it's the reverse of the bidding
process versus the lowest it would be the highest return that we would receive and um also administrative management fee if that was were to be a tie. >> We're following along. Everyone get that. >> This is a process. >> It is. Yeah. It's a incredible amount of
work for Christine and I think we need to recognize like how much work she's been doing on this and it's um >> she's done an incredible job. >> So um Norton Public Schools had seven vendors attend the pre-proposal
conference um which is part of the first uh Don Price proposal section. You every single vendor had to come and do a facilities tour of all five schools. Um we were kind of lucky that it fell during the snowstorm so there weren't
students in the building which is very helpful when giving the tours. Um so seven um total vendors showed up for the pre-proposal conference and in the end five vendors submitted their proposals which were due on March 20th at 10 um 10:00 a.m. and those were Aramark
Chartwell School Dining uh Jon Foods and Witson's um in Ordo but they were unfortunately disqualified because of the late submission. Um so here were the results after our evaluation committee um went through all
of them which I want to thank them so very much because there were very large binders that they had to go through and it took um a lot of time. So I just wanted to thank them for that. Um so Chartwells um ended up ranking highly advantageous Aramark um Witson's and
Genuine Foods that's um they ranked advantageous. So charts would move on to the price proposal um where we reviewed the I reviewed the guaranteed financial return, the administrative fee and the management fee.
Um so because Chartwells was the only one to make it to the highly advantageous I mean yeah highly advantageous frown um their guaranteed return 5827 is $214,659. Um, so what happens next is um we are
recommending you to obviously award the um one-year contract to Chartwells and it comes with four one-year renewal and extensions. Um that has to get approved by Jesse every single spring. Um and um but before we do that, pending the
approval tonight, our next step would be finalizing contract with Chartwells and then we would have to submit it again to Desi to approve it and then we could execute the contract. >> So I guess my first actually really my only question is why wouldn't we just do
like a 3 plus 5? Is it is that in the regulations to only do one year at a time with extensions? >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> Yep. >> Okay. Um, I also want to thank, you know, uh, Brian, Christine, and and Marty for their time on this. Um, I've
experienced these a few times in my time here, and this one was by far the, um, most complex I think I've seen. Um, I was shocked when I when I came home and there was a goodiz box on my front deck. Uh, to the point where nobody in my
house wanted to bring it inside. Um, so that only shows, you know, the amount of work and effort that that not only these vendors put into this, but you know, our team puts into getting us all the correct information. Um, you know, everything you sent us was was pretty easy to work with. Um, and you know, if
I had questions, you you know, you got back to me, uh, in a ready manner. Um, so, you know, thank you to the work that everybody did on this. Um, any questions from the members? >> We currently have chart walls, right? Correct. Yeah. Yep.
>> Okay. No other questions. All right. Uh, entertain a motion to award the vendor selection as presented. >> So moved. >> Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> All right. Uh, next we have our school
attendance trends with Dr. Arian. >> Hi everybody. >> Hello. >> Thanks for coming tonight. >> Yeah. So, I wanted to um prepare this because I think it's really important to see
attendance over time in Norton um not only for the whole population but also for particular subgroups. So, I'm just going to try and walk us through. There's a fair amount of detail here. So, um stop me if you have any questions. So, we're really talking
about 2018 to 2026. uh 2018 to 2025. We have the full data that's pulled from DESIE and the 202526 data is current from October 1st to March 1st. So I would put the 2526 data
in pencil to hopefully put in pen at the end of June. Um the data from CO 19 the two years uh is included there because I wanted for the committee to have a longitudinal path but uh please understand even on
the DESIE website uh that they say this is to be care uh carefully considered with what they would call extreme caution. So, one thing that's really important to understand with school attendance is to think of it as a traffic light. The goal
is always 100% attendance for every student, but that's almost always not possible. So, from an educational standpoint, a student or a group of students at or above 95% that's green. Learning is expected, relationships are
expected. That's where we want all kids. If you fall between 91 and 94%, there might be a little flicker of pause. Perhaps there could be a slight decrease in learning. Um, but I would look at it more as a warning as opposed to a red
flag. When you get down to 90% attendance or below, that's really where the evidence starts to show learning loss, connections loss, and the need for intervention. So Brian, can I stop you there real fast?
>> Sure. >> Um, one of the things just kind of popping out is is this dealing with excused versus unexcused absences or is this just all the data? >> It's everybody. >> Okay. >> It's everybody. Desi really doesn't delineate between excused and unexcused
just because the effect on learning is ultimately the same. But that that's a really good question, Dan. Thank you. Well, cuz I I mean I'm thinking like, you know, my daughter had a concussion freshman year and missed like six days of school. Made up all the work, but I mean that technically if it had if she's
sick seven other days then. >> Absolutely. And that's where you'll see in the context of of of the data, the real metric that we look at is what we call chronic absenteeism. And that's when students miss 10% of school days.
So it's 18 days or more during the course of the year. And surprisingly uh over time um there are there have been a fair number of kids that have have missed that amount. Um so it's just important for the for the public to to
understand that and the impact on learning. So particularly in those younger grades because of literacy um at those early grades when you're just learning to read. uh if you get to third grade and aren't proficient in reading,
it becomes a more difficult struggle going forward, particularly in the elementary grades because math is they call it the chain effect. It's often hierarchical. So if you're not able to master those basic skills at a really young grade, it makes it harder to catch
up. And then a large body of knowledge really shows the more frequently a student or group of students is chronically absent, the less likely they are to graduate from high school. >> Currently, you know, in context as well,
um, another negative factor isolation and social skills, soft skills, building connections. And to me, the thing that stood out the most was the mental health loop because sometimes people see um
absenteeism as a sign of depression, but actually being absent also can cause depression or isolation because it creates a fear of being behind. So it kind of goes at both ends. So I think
it's important to understand that that is an effect. And then research shows that you're much more likely to drop out, much less likely to have college earnings, and there's a higher rate of involvement with the criminal justice system and
health outcomes as an adult. So, what seemingly is insignificant can actually have some big effect sizes. So this first graph and I know there's a lot of color on there. I just would like to draw your attention to the to the uh
vertical axis. That is our daily attendance rate through all the schools between 2018 and 2026. You notice that all of our schools even through the worst of co stayed above
that 90% threshold. But we also had some pockets and periods where we were between 91 and about 94%. >> And also please notice that when you look at that 24 25 line to the 25 26
line that's going up in most cases. So that's really a good sign. >> Nice recovery on the high school from >> um last year to this year. >> It's like a >> it's been example.
>> So, speaking of the like the high school, like I know what's the time like if they come in after is it like 8:00 it's considered an absence even though they might still be present or >> that would be tardy. >> Okay. >> Yeah, they're absent if they miss more than half 50% of the school day.
>> Okay. So then for the next several slides, I'm going to start with the district. So that top purple line which hovers in the high 90s, mid to high 90s, that is our daily attendance rate and I think that is solid and we'll see as we go on
there's room for a little more growth. But underneath that we have some pockets of students and student cohorts that are disproportionately impacted by chronic absenteeism. And so when you look at students with high needs, high needs students are
considered either limited English proficient, socioeconomically disadvantaged and or having special education services. Then other distinct cohorts are limited English proficient students with disabilities. And so you notice that
some of those numbers particularly during the post pandemic years of 2122 and 22 23 had um some spikes. But again I think the
the the thing to celebrate is those 24 to 25 to 25 to 26 numbers are coming down which is good. And then again on the on the high school, I know that uh Jen and Dan made the comment. I mean look at that drop in
and even across all the cohort groups from 24 to 25 to 25 to 26. So we are making some progress >> when you're breaking out the categories at the bottom there. >> Yes. >> Um a student can't be in two, right? Or
could they? Like could they be an IEP student and 10 plus total days missed? >> Yes. >> Yes. >> Okay. >> Yes. >> And the reason that 10 plus total days missed is included is those students are not considered
chronically absent. However, when a student misses more than 10 of the school days, that's above a 5% threshold. >> Yeah. >> There is a chance you start to see some impact of learning loss. So those uh
that data set I think is just important to to consider. >> Mhm. I I think this one's interesting to me, Brian, because um you see in 2018 2019, so this is pre- pandemic the in the yellow the number of high need students that were considered
chronically absent was over 50%. >> That's wild to me. That is so so high. Um, and you can see that, you know, we're down, I mean, I don't exactly know what those little lines are over there, but, um, I mean, maybe in the 15 to 12%.
>> Yes. >> You know, to me, that's that's great. And I think maybe that shows >> we talk about attendance a lot, but >> that's pretty significant. >> No, we we we do. And I think in in a couple slides to follow, >> we do we talk about attendance a lot.
you know, some of the kind of the specific things that have gone on and and some things to celebrate. I'd like to be able to just bring bring forward for the committee. And so to then look at the middle school again like look, you know, look at those numbers. We we
are seeing generally again it's that downward trend. We had those spikes in the, you know, the two years postco uh two years postco with a drop over time. at the yell as well. Again, like look at
what pops out. Almost half the kids were missing 10 or more days in 2122, but that number's gone down significantly. And again, th those those improvements from 24 25 to 25 26 I think are are are
significant. And I I think like just kind of watching this chart along is you know those kiddos that were you know missing when they were at the at the hay are now potentially middle school maybe even high school and it's getting better
on that trend as well. So like clearly they're you know they're understanding that education you know as you get older is more complex but they're getting to school and getting to class. >> Mhm. and then at JCS as well. Um, you know,
again, that 10 plus total days miss category was a real bugaboo for us and it's still something we have to address and you know understand like Dan to your point if you're going on a college vision if you have a sports injury those are unavoidable but there are folks who
sometimes decide to now with the GCS would that include like the little answers as well or is that >> yes okay old And then the last is is LG. And again, those 24 to 25, 25 to 26
have really made some some nice positive steps forward. >> Wow. Now, regarding the middle and high school, of course, I don't want to steal your thunder, but I think we ended up doing that. Do we think that the um policy changes that we had put in the student handbooks are making a difference?
>> Huge. So, we we actually had this conversation the other day um because the the waiting around student in good standing and participation and enforcement mechanisms have really made a big difference. >> Yeah, that's what I figured. That's good. I I think you know and just also
to publicly acknowledge the work that TJ has done and Jesse has done and you know the the guidance department one of some of the work and I'll highlight it more in the future that we had was we really did focus on a team
effort to combat chronic absenteeism and I think by bringing that team together through the desi grant to kind of build that capacity and understanding empowered leaders at all levels to be part of a a larger framework to address the issue.
And so that thank you Laura. That's exactly the next slide. And I apologize that the print is a little bit small on that. Um but I think it really did take us maybe a year or so to kind of get the ball rolling and start to see an effect from the interventions. But, uh, I know,
um, you know, in speaking with folks at the high school, folks at LG, um, you know, uh, Marty and I have had a few conversations at the Yell. In fact, we had, uh, put out a bunch of signs at businesses two years ago, and
Marty at the Yell used to hold up the sign to one of his kids who gave him a problem, and the student was responsive to it. So these things can matter. And so kind of to to wrap this up, if
you look at our daily district daily attendance rate, um we're almost at that 95% threshold. We're so close and we've seen nearly a full percentage point growth over last
year. And again, this just just kind of reiterates, we're we're so close to that target. Um, if we can get to 95 and above, have kind of that final push. I think we'll I think we'll all feel feel really good about that. Something else
to really celebrate here, if you look at students with disabilities and that precoid benchmark of 17 to 18, but then a real spike during CO and then after, but this year down significantly. So, I think
that's a a nice win for for for our district. Similarly, with English language learners, we had some astoundingly high numbers uh pandemic and post, but knock on wood at this point, we are we're moving very strongly in the right
direction. And similarly with high need students, we're back to pre pandemic baselines, which is fantastic news. And then we're even now under that 52% be from 2122.
Um, but we're back to below where we were pre- pandemic, which is which is great. And again, a tribute to all the folks at all the levels that have really done a lot of great work on this. So, thank you for your time.
>> Okay, any questions on that for Brian? No, >> it's good. Thank you. Thank you very much, Brian. >> Yeah. No, Brian, thank you so much for doing this. I had, you know, asked him >> because, as I said, we talk about attendance all the time and so to be
able to see some of those numbers out there um was great. So, thank you very much. Welcome. >> Okay. All right. Next, we have a vote to appoint superintendent to the board of directors for by county collaborative.
Oh boy, I got to read. Um, all right. Pursuant to chapter 40, section 4E as amended by chapter 43 of the acts of 2012, members of the board of directors at by county collaborative are to be appointed annually. Dr.
Jennifer O'Neal is appointed to serve as the Norton public schools representative on the board of directors of by county collaborative in accordance with Mass General Law Chapter 40 section 4E as amended by chapter 43 of the acts of 2012 for the 2627 school year.
Entertain a motion to approve Dr. O'Neal as representative for the BICO board. >> So moved. Second. >> All those in favor? >> I >> I Okay, that is yes. Next we have vote to point superintendent board of directors
for >> this is for >> reads yeah it was incorrect on here >> um so the title is correct incorrect on number 12 >> um as required reads board members need to be appointed and so this is to
appoint Dr. O'Neal to the board of directors for the Reeds collaborative. >> Correct. >> Okay. Um once again, pursuant to chapter 40 section 4E as amended by chapter 43 of the acts of 2012, members of the board of directors at Reeds Collaborative are to be appointed
annually. Dr. Dr. Jennifer O'Neal is appointed to serve as the Norton public schools representative on the board of directives for Reeds Collaborative in accordance with Mass General Law chapter 40 section 4E as amended by chapter 43 of the acts of 2012 for the 2026 27
school year. Motion to appoint Dr. O'Neal as a representative to the Reeds collaborative. >> So moved. Second. >> All those in favor? >> I. >> Okay. Uh next we have the vote to approve the
superintendent's FY26 evaluation. Um we had gone over this at the previous meeting. Um unfortunately we missed the part where we had to vote on it. Uh so we're not going to read it in. It is a matter of public record and is available on the website for review. Will be
>> it's included in the school committee packets. Yes. >> Um so this will be up on the website for anybody that wants to read it. is a standard form that um the Department of Education puts out. Um it is what it is. Um but Dr. O'Neal um does rank uh
significantly in just about every category um collectively. You know, the thing with these evaluations is that you're not going to learn much on them. And we have great communication with Dr. O'Neal that um if we have something that needs to be addressed, we can reach out
to her. Um so at this point we will just vote to approve the evaluation as presented. >> So moved. Second. >> All those in favor? >> I >> I Okay. Uh any other business not anticipated?
Laura, >> anything? >> Um so one thing that I think is probably worth mentioning was um so um I am in the process right now. Now, I know that there had been some talk uh about some
kuruffleles regarding um you know, we have a school committee position that's going to need to be appointed um and just some concerns regarding um who can hold votes in certain areas. Um so, I'm in the process of talking with legal uh to see actually
what my legal rights are in terms of being able to have votes when it comes to NEA matters. um and it seems like it points into the direction that I actually can have um votes in those areas. So, uh I feel that that's probably worth noting and mentioning um as we look forward to um appointing
somebody for that year position. Um I'll be in the process over vacation week next week of just um adding that disclosure as well to uh the town clerk's office um that I am a part of the MTA. However, I do not um hold any financial gain or lack thereof. Um, so
therefore I can have those votes. So I don't think we would necessarily need to worry about that going forward. >> Yeah. I mean, I think it's just a case where, you know, you would just publicly note that. I mean, we've had instances like that in the past, even with Dr. O'Neal has had some disclosure.
>> I would have voted yes on the contract anyway. So, but just putting that out there. >> Okay. Um, Justine, did you have anything? >> Nope. >> Um, I would just like to welcome Justine back for another three years. Congratulations on her election. Um,
thank you to all who came out to vote. Um, >> so Dr. O'Neal, did you have anything else? >> Um, I was just going to mention that we do have a vacancy on the school committee and that um, res residents of Norton who are interested in serving on the school committee are invited to submit a letter of interest. letter
should include a brief statement of qualification and interest in the position. Um, and should be submitted to our town manager, Mark Gold, no later than April 24th at 5:00 p.m. Um, and that is a joint appointment between the school committee and the select board.
And then, um, I believe, um, Leah mentioned it earlier, but our art show is on April 28th, which is always a great event. So hopefully people will be able to join us then. >> Is the need auction? It's in May, though. Yeah, me neat auction is coming up May 1st uh through the 15th. Um so
keep your eyes peeled for that. Um yeah, I was going to probably mention that about May 5th, but that we were in it. But yeah, it's coming. So 2 weeks. Keep your eyes peeled. >> All right. Um that is all. We'll entertain a motion to adjourn. >> So moved. Second.
>> All those in favor. >> I >> have a great night. Thank you. >> Thank you. 706 and chapter