Good afternoon. This is a subcommittee meeting of the Ways and Means Committee. Um I would like to start by saluting the flag of the United States and to the republic for its one nation under God. indivisible with justice for all.
Um, in attendance today is myself, John Kingston. I'm the subcommittee chair. Stacy Bronson Rizzo was a member and also uh Anthony Kajiano. Also present is I'm just going to go in order of the room if that's okay. Um, Mr. Fred Sawa, Mayor Pat, Aisha Noialis, Dr. Kelly M
Cruz, and Daniel Maui. I'd like to start the meeting. I looked long and hard at the cuts that were presented at the last meeting. Um I would really like to see the health text put back into the budget. Um I think they I think they perform um an important function. I believe that
finding nurses is a very difficult thing. Um I had a parent say, "Well, they're not really nurses." And I said, "Yeah, they are." And I was really taken back by that. And I thought it was kind of insulting. Um but I think they need that support. Um, and like I said, we're having trouble finding nurses as it is
to make the job even harder. I just don't agree. Um, so I would like to put those positions back in the budget. And um, I had some questions about the junior ROTC. Um, I know uh, there was an opening there. Someone was um, I guess leaving or whatever. So, we were going
from three to two, but I was wondering what the impact on that program would be. I was never in the service. It's something that maybe it was a shock company on my part. Maybe I should have joined. Um, but I don't I think it's a great program. I think it's one of the best things we've ever had. I've often said to Dr. Garcia, it's one of the nicest programs I think we have at the
high school. I know it was started when he was um principal here and I'd hate to see that program impacted in any way. I think they do an awful lot of good in the community. Um I think they look favorably in the community and I would hate to cut that. Um I just think and
I'll tell a small story. They were they were doing their snow angel thing in my neighborhood and there was a bunch of kids and I was outside shoveling. They didn't help me and that's fine. Uh I said I reached in my wallet and I was going to give them money to get pizza and soda and they said we can't take it. And I said of course you can you guys are working hard. I know you're doing a
good job. Please take the pizza and the soda. And they said we can't. Major Bo would kill us. So I saw the sergeant major about I don't know maybe a week 10 days later in the event. And I said I tried to give your kids money. And she said did they take it? Did they take it? And I said no they refused and they said they couldn't. You'd killed them. And
she said that's right. So um I don't think I get that much respect from my own kids. I'm sure if someone gave my son money to go buy pizza even today, he'd be like, "I'll sign me up for pizza." So, I don't think cutting that program. The other question I ask for Dr. Kelly is how's that funded? Like,
um, do we pay for it? Does the army pay for some of it? I don't know how that works. So, the the salaries of the JOTC instructors are split between the municipality and the army. Um, so we each pay 50% of the cost. And that's one
of the adjustments that you'll see in the budget when we were trying to really get down to exact numbers between version one and version three. Um we had appropriated or we had listed for appropriation the full salary for Bulker and 70,000. Yeah, that's what I Yeah.
And so um we actually cut that number in half so that it would represent only the portion of the budget of their salary that we have to pay and the rest of their salary will come from the grants from the army. Um the number of instructors required is based on the
enrollment and we've we've had some decline in enrollment in JOTC over the last number of years and we've been talking to Major Baler who of course is in charge of the program um about that over the last few years and she
understands that um our necessity right now is to have two instructors and we can still serve um the kids that want to be enrolled in JOT. DC. It is my hope, like you, John, that we can garner more engagement and support um in that
program and hopefully come to a place where we are required to have a third instructor. Um but but right now we are we're not there. Um and so it makes sense to where um I'm going to forget his rank where Burke has decided to move on um where
Burke has decided of his own valition to move on to not fill that position at this time, especially given the budget that we're I just think to pay 35,000 or so for an adult uh is not a lot of money today. So I I don't think I mean I'm just speaking for myself
obviously but I think I think the 70 might be the half that we pay not the whole salary. I think that if you look at version three Oh, hold on. Yeah, I don't have I haven't Yeah, I looked at it, but I didn't look at that particular. Is that would that include benefits that probably? Yes. It could
that could be the total package that correct? Yeah. Could you show us something with the declined enrollment or something over the last two, three years? I mean, not right now, none of us. I'm just saying. Yeah. Because there's people that have inquired about it. Okay.
Who's inquiring about it? I had a parent reach out to me. Okay. Well, a parent a former parent actually. She just thought we were hurting the program and she said, "Do you realize what you're doing?" And I said, "Well, I I said I said I'll be honest with you." It was it was televised. It wasn't a secret, but someone was leaving. So, we were trying
to not not staff positions that when someone was leaving. But she said, "You're really hurting the it was apparent." She she said, "Well, you're really hurting the program." So, I was like, "Okay." I said, "I wasn't aware of that. So, we're having a meeting. We'll talk I'll talk about it because I didn't know I don't know that much all about it. I will say
I know of five students that left between the beginning of this year and last year and I was very disappointed because I thought it was something that they really would have gained a lot um out of maturing. Um, so I mean I'm sure
there's good and bad on both sides, but if the numbers the same, we're declining them. Yeah, I'd like I agree with and I don't see how it can hurt the how it could ruin the program because the two that are on it still do an amazing job,
right? But isn't that something and we initially had to that's how we started but I thought the program grew and that's why we had my passion. Well, we had one, right? My qu Yeah, I was going to ask the same question. When did we switch to um I would have to look at it. Do you
recall off hand? I want to say maybe five years ago, six years ago. We've had three for quite a while. I mean, just from I don't know much about them. I just sporting events. Yeah. You go to a football or basketball game and they're doing the thing and you see that, you know, see the three. No, they do a wonderful job. There's no doubt. I I'll
just say this and this I think this is probably the narrative for the entire budget and I I'm not gonna speak to you, Dr. Kelly, but you know, we have the city side is, you know, it's tough decision to make when you're eliminating position, but it's certainly a lot easier when the position's vacant rather than pulling someone that's actually
here. And I know that there might be some choices that um the school has to make. Uh and the city has a little bit of that as well. Obviously, we both started just so everyone's aware, you know, uh state funding was a lot different this year than it was in the past years for the local city side and
the school side. Um, so it it makes you take a hard look, but the big budget busters really was were health insurance. Health insurance rose 17%. That that's unsustainable, you know, and you do double digit increases year-over-year, it's it's it's to it's totally unsustainable. And then you
throw in the transportation um hit, you know, between the city and and the school, it's it's a lot. So, it's always what string are you going to pull? Because you're pulling it and it's just picking from something else. So if you if you fund the position and I'm not saying you know we fund the position ROC
whatever position that that we've been presenting like it's just going to what position do you the the deal is what position do you want to cut because you have to cut something when you have a 7 million potentially a $7 million deficit I think you started with started with so something has to give and it's I just
say that it's it's a lot easier to pull a position that's not uh is vacant right now than to actually look someone in the eye and say, you know, you have to go and that may have to happen in some cases as well, but I I think it's justified. I'm just going to say I think it's justified and that's where I think
you've done a pretty good job of taking away all of the open positions. I'm not saying we're h I don't think anyone's happy there, right? I think that we all have to take it off hard and maybe there's other recommendation. So, I don't know if you have a recommendation. I have a recommendation to keep it. I I
guess recommendations on cuts might find $7 million. uh we we we have district reserves to use and if it's again I don't know what the numbers I don't think that person's making hold on I don't think that person's making 140 grand I would be shocked so half of that would be 70 I
don't I guess I don't know what page it's on the budget maybe you can find it quicker than me but page I saw the 70 and the I went through the what I did is I took the list of cuts that you gave us the last meeting and I looked at each one and then a parent
reached out to me about the junior and you at the bottom of page 57. Thank you. You'll see those two positions. So, they're each around $64,000 is our half for two, including benefits, right?
Uh they the calculation here is provided to us by the army. So, I don't know everything that goes into their cost for the staff. I just know that we the reimbursement comes in at 50%. Before
going further, I asked Diane and Matt to put something together on our our budget per se. So, our initial working deficit. So, these are the exact numbers that we have we're dealing with. And you'll see at the bottom where it says deficit burden. That's what we have
to uh give it to our district reserve. So, the initial working deficit is 12.3 million minus the 5 million on carryover is 7.3. a budget reduction is 4.1 and change. So the bottom line deficit uh
version is 3.4 million. So that's the number we're really working with that we have to use unless you make any more cuts that will be taken from our district reserves. So can I just make a suggestion? I know there's a lot that
we'd like to look into. Um you had brought up health technicians. you have brought up June OTC if we could at least have columns of what we definitely agree with and what we're questioning if we have to come down to the hard facts.
I was um for for me I was fine with the rest of them. It was just those two that were that were a problem for me the rest of the night. But what about anything else in the budget? Did are you just going by? I was using the superintendent's recommendation except for those two areas which I didn't agree
with because I felt again the health tech provided a service to the nurses which we struggle with and also the junior RCC I think they do a tremendous job in the city and I don't think that's something that I would like to see cut. I do think everyone does a tremendous job in the city. I mean and I agree with
that too of health techs. There's not going to be anyone in this room that's closer to the health techs and the nurses no matter what you say. Um, and health checks are not nurses. Um, because you had said it earlier. So,
I just wanted to clarify that. What did I say? You said they're nurses. No, someone said that the school nurse isn't really a nurse. And I didn't think that was right. I didn't say the text were nurses. No. If I did, I misspoke. Yeah. I'm sorry. Unfortunately, some people don't look at school nurses with the
same math and buying glasses. They look at um other people in the district. But I do know we have seven left. I do know we're not in CO anymore, but we're talking $20 an hour position, which is
really and a lot of them aren't taking benefits. So, I think this it's small money. I'd like to see this on like the back burner or if it's not a full-time position, they might not want to even keep it. I think they should be anything should be
part-time. You you mean someone might want to go to part-time? Is that what you're saying? Well, the health techs if you want to keep a health tech position because we a lot of times we don't have coverage when nurses are out, but if we have part-time health texts like we did in the past,
they can cover while a nurse is at a different school. Well, so we actually have not had a problem with coverage this year. We've since we had the two float nurses um we've been virtually covered everywhere. Uh very rarely have
we been uncovered. There have been occasions when for instance um the nurse at Garfield Middle School covered for the nurse at Garfield Elementary while she had to leave for an hour and a half at the end of the day. And there were
vice versa. There have been times when the nurse at Garfield Elementary covered for the nurse at Garfield Middle while she went to the wellness meetings um for a couple of hours a couple times um uh over the course of the year. But uh
overall our we've got is it 14 nurses Matt? I remember off hands the exact number we're going to have 14 with the one coming from Oh right it's going to be 15 right. No, it'll be 14. If we were 14 and a half, it's going to be 15.
Um, for not replaceing chicken at all. She's going to become a full-time position and be moving between the pick and coverage. There will be, let me phrase that differently, there will be a full-time position that moves between the PIT and coverage for nurses.
[Music] Um, so, um, I believe the recommended ratio is one nurse per 750 kids, which would mean that in order for us to be sufficiently staffed according
to the state guidelines, we would need to have nine nurses. We have 15. And then when you add um the health tax to that. Oh, it's not in here either. I was looking for how
much we um spent for the health the health aid last it was 360 the last one, but that was the seven and I think there's only six now. 360,000, right? Yeah, it was on the I'm going off that. I didn't that was on the sheet. I'm sorry. I was running late. I
was working. I had to get there by 4:30. So, but I looked at the sheet. Yeah. And I don't do now if we can look at it as one of those if we have to we have to I mean like an A B and C column.
Yes. Um can I just make I just want to make a a blanketed statement. [Music] Um most of you probably won't agree with this but these are just my thoughts in thinking about this project. Um there's no doubt that uh Dr. Keller
put significant work into these recommendations and and I agree with the strategy on this and we need a lot of the new um open positions that are not filled yet. I guess my only my only issue is this is that we have over three million in deficit. I I don't like the
thought of going into our reserves because I'm just thinking down the road like this has given me anxiety just thinking about what we're in for. My only and I know you're going to hate to hear this. This is my only suggestion is that the first to go
and it's not particular to any person. It has to it has more so to do with we have to make certain cuts would be non-facing positions in particular for me the districtwide coaches excluding ELA and
excluding them. I know it's a hard thing to say and maybe nobody wants to articulate those words but cuts have to be made and we just have to take another look to I think to make more cuts because this is the time to do it right. You can't do it next year. You can't do
it the year after. This is the time to do it to set us up for the future. And I just think we probably need to be a little bit more conservative for what it's worth. And if I could just add to and I'm not specific to positions. I'll just say that if we
just if we think that two years from now a position isn't necessary, the position should be determined today. Well, not today, but this year rather than bleed it out slowly. It's more of a make the decision now. And I'll just say I'm going to use this. This is why I'm making this is why I'm presenting a
choice on the transportation. You know, we we are be putting ourselves into an unsustainable position with transportation. So rather than bleed it out and make the decision in two years, make the decision today rather than I would just say waste that money over the next two years when we know that it likely has to go away. It's
unsustainable and it's not and it's not require it's to the requirement level. And I'll just say we always want to do what we're required to do. When we can do go above and beyond, we certainly should. But if we're deficient spending, when we we don't have to, we can't. Like, it's just a responsible thing to
do. It's not what we want to do. We all want to hug them all and give them everything and give and provide. But when we can't, we can't. So, don't prolong it and and and take $2 million of reserve to prolong an inevitable. And that's where I'm coming out with the transportation. Tough decision, maybe
not popular, but it's the right thing to do. And I know that it's difficult, but it is the right thing to do and it's it's probably going to save us in the long run. And you know, I'll just say I drove by I drove by the Paul school today. There were seven transportation vehicles in front of Paul school today.
Seven at 8:05. I couldn't believe it. I could not believe it. Was the entire school in a bus today? I don't think so. So I wonder Oak Island. I understand. I understand. But I think that I think that we if we look at efficiencies, then we look at actually how it's built built
up. probably we'll probably find redundancies in our transportation. It's also a full inclusion school which includes a lot of our special needs kids at that grade level and some of them need you need and we are absolutely required to fund our special needs transportation and we have we have funding sources for that. It's the it's the ancillaries that we just that we
have to make a tough decision. just make making that as a statement and Aisha brought up when it came to make the decision now and and we we deal with it all at once and then we then we move on so we don't have to spend a little now that we know we're going to cut next year. If we're going to make a cut next
year, cut today, do it today. We'll save twice as much. So I think if I can just respond to that that um we have to think a little bit differently about education because it's it's services that are being provided to kids and as long as we can and are able to serve them we should
be serving them. Um, and so what that means is I I get what you're saying, Aisha, about the the poaching positions and maybe I I don't disagree that it might be time to look at all of those positions and see which ones are serving us well and which ones might be time to
sunset. They might be serving us. I mean, and I'm sure that No, I take that back. I believe that they served a purpose. I believe that they were great. I'm just looking at as like a luxury, if you will. Well, so Right. And so it's considered a luxury, right? But when you have new novice teachers in the
classroom who don't necessarily have a clear understanding of student management or maybe they do understand management but they don't understand how to work with the EL students or maybe they understand how to work with EL students but they're not very good at differentiation for the special needs kids. That's where the coaches come in
and having one coach who can serve um especially for our traditional coaching positions 50 or 60 teachers has a huge impact on student achievement. And it's one of the reasons that I think that the Riviera public schools is one of the highest rated urban districts in the
state. It's because we have that job embedded professional development that ensures that all of our teachers have a really high quality experience and can teach at a level that we need them all to teach at. You get rid of all of those coaches, all of you novice teachers are
going to feel less supported. they're gonna struggle to thrive as they're understanding how to do a really complex, complicated job. Um, and you're going to see the impact of that on on student results. So, when I think about it from an educational
perspective, what do I think is more necessary? Uh, coaches or the health aids that we introduced to help combat COVID? I feel like there's two different decisions to be made there. And even even if there is a decision that we need to have fewer coaches, I would say that
those those health aids as helpful as they are, that's three teaching positions. I agree. It's two different I'm not I'm not my suggestion and my statement was not in response to the health aids. It was just like overall um thoughts that I was having with
respect to this budget. [Music] M Dr. Kelly I noticed that we have mentors too. So I'm wondering I just want to know what the difference is between and believe me
I have two personal um members in the coaching position. They don't lose a job. They have a job somewhere. So it's not I'm not doing this personally but I would like to know the difference between what a mentor is going to offer with the stipen that
they're getting and what the coaches would be doing. Yeah. So, the mentors um typically give guidance to new employees on what the evaluation protocol looks like. Um what resources we have here in the district so that they know how to get additional assistance for their
students or for whatever they may need. Simple things like where do I make photo copies at the beginning of the year. All of that stuff going on and on and on throughout the year. A mentor is a teacher who's teaching all day. Um they have an opportunity to meet with their mentee. what they're charged with doing
for their it's about $2,500 a year that they get is meeting with their mentee for one hour a week um to go in and observe a lesson, give feedback on the lesson or um coach the mentee through doing their self assessment for the
evaluation, things of that nature, helping them prepare for what they should expect at their evaluation meeting. A coach on the other hand is has the whole day to do that kind of work and can come in and observe multiple classes with one teacher and give feedback to the teacher on how
things are different for different groups of kids. I'm thinking more at the secondary level where the kids where the teachers have different groups of kids every period um and can do more of that content level work especially around um ELA or literacy and math. It's much more
intensive and um content specific than what the mentor is doing. We do try to align mentors by grade level or subject area, but that doesn't always happen. Sometimes there's a history teacher whose mentor is a math teacher and that math teacher is not going to help that
history teacher understand how to deliver instruction, but they are going to help them understand a lot of other stuff that they need to know as we're also required by state law to have mentors. So, we do make sure that we do that. Yeah, I the stipul is low so I knew they couldn't have a lot the same level of
intensity. Yeah. And they're gone and they're done at the end of the year. That person moves on. Correct. Yeah. The support kind of I mean they might reach out to to a personal thing but as far as you know they get a fresh batch of teachers coming in. So they drop I can I can share if it's helpful. I I
was speaking to one of the um the deeper learning uh coach uh earlier this week and asked her to send me if she had anything and she had a couple of surveys that she was working on with students and teachers and I can send those to the committee if you think that'll be helpful to see what data she collected
and and the impacts that that had on the classroom for the particular teachers that she was working with. Yes, if I may through the superintendent, um you keep referring to cuts. The last thing and the only
thing I saw was 22 teachers filling vacancies. Is there anything else that's been come up since that publication? No, it's all been it's all been vacancies that we were looking to reduce or if not a vacancy, a place
where a teacher might be replaced. for example, and I did give the same example last time at the beach where we have um 40 kids slated to go into three fifth grades. No, I I I understand that, but I I hear conversation that transportation this
cut that cut. Um I don't hear any input from members of the committee as to what could be or should be. I can only speak for myself when you created the three new positions as I don't even know if they're assistant principles or
whatever. That's a half a million dollars right there. They've been in the system eight months, seven months. I mean, if you're looking for a big cut without cutting lesser people, I
mean, you you can only sh up what you have to a point. to me personally and you I'm sure you can defend it. If they were not to come back in September, the system would still
function. So I think I'm we're moving 20,000 in paper supplies. We're moving something from here to there. That's nickel and dime. Yeah. And to answer your question, Fred, the only other thing that has changed since that last time we met was that um
with with the mayor's office introduced um that 258,000 additional dollars through schedule 19, which adds to our deficit and brings it to the 3469 number that's on the bottom of the
page that Anthony gave out. That's that's been the the only other thing. But all of the things that we're talking about like if we do reinstate the health tax that that's going to make that number go to 3.8 8 something because that's text you're talking Rossy you're
talking that are definitely addressing needs of the students we're in as three positions I mean one assistant two assistants three assistants to me is overkill
top heavy I'm sorry okay um this is how I feel and you please tell me if I'm right or wrong do we have more middle school what's the Because based on my experience of 25 years of going to new teacher orientation, the most number of teachers we've hired are always middle school
lately. Y and my thought was when those positions were created and I'll explain what my logic was because I voted for it. I felt that that that having that extra admin. So when a teacher is in I won't say crisis, but a teacher's having an issue with the student, it gives them another body to contact because that
operation person is taking care of something that one of those other assistants would and then they're able to deal with it and they're able to be in the hallways a little more and be around students. So um that's why that's what kind of sold me on that from my experience and I could be wrong. Dr. Kelly can tell me if I am. We have more
middle school turnover of teachers than we have anything else. Elementary, in my opinion, is fairly stable. Maybe a pregnancy or something like that, but for the most part, elementary is fairly stable. The high school is what it is, but middle schools where we have all the we have all the turnover or the bulk of the turnover. And I think that's true.
Yeah. And I think Danielle but I think I think it's the reason I wanted to add that position after you did not mine, but I supported it because I know that that's where we have a lot of teachers leaving. And I think I'll be honest, I think a lot of them leave because of the behavior of the kids. I'm not blaming the kids. That's a tough
age. Middle school like my own kids at that. They middle and they didn't like you. No offense. They didn't like me either. No, they didn't like me either. Middle school's a tough time. I read in it was in the Globe the other day, puberty is coming. Actually, they're finding that puberty is coming even at a younger age. So, we might have problems, you know, in elementary going forward.
But to me, having an extra having an extra body um so that the other three can kind of do their thing and get away from their desk because that's basically what it is. an operations person's sitting behind the desk a little more. It's enabling the other three to get on the classroom and get in the classrooms and help help the staff. So, I don't
think I don't have a problem adding I'll be honest with you. I don't have a problem adding and maybe someone does. It's just my opinion. If I added 400,000 to the deficit and I have to look at that again next year, I will. But no one's got a crystal ball is going to tell me what the what happen for numbers next year. You're not, right? Because we don't know what the state's going to do.
You don't know what the federal government's going to do. So, yeah, we add 400,000 to the deficit. We take it out of I'm going to call it the pie. We take it out of the pie for this year and we look at it again next year. That's what I were going to vote for. I don't have any problems too much. I understand about the coaches. Um I think after this
year we'll have a little more maybe I don't want to say stable workforce but um we're going to shrink a little bit I would say. So there'll be less new teachers I would say because we're not going to be we're gonna have to bring in the field. Well we're gonna Yeah. But I mean if you need a math teacher you're gonna have to hire it. Correct. But in
my opinion, the workforce, I don't want to say stable, but the workforce will be less transient. Yeah. Well, you know, the people that were here hopefully were staying a second year and they, you know, hopefully they'll be, you know, another year under their belt. So, I'm I I understand what you're saying, but I
don't think we're that topheavy, especially middle school's middle school's I mean, middle school's tough and if you teach middle school today, I I give you a lot of credit because it's it's difficult. The kids are going through an awful lot. Um, and they always did. So that's where the turnover is. And if I can support those people,
that was my thought when you again when you brought it up because at first I felt the same way you did, but it was explained very well to me. I thought you did a very good job on that and that's why I supported it and I think they need it. So and I'll just pass that credit on to the middle school principles who were the ones that were saying you can't function like this anymore. We need
help. So yes, so again I'm I'm going to agree with Fred if we're going to be talking cuts. Um they're not losing their jobs. They're going to go back into whatever role they might have before. Um I do feel that is a
luxury. Um we talked about it because of the attendance but then we talk about the attendance rise and we talk about the family lay layers. I can't even say the words they skip it. They help with the attendance. So in I know at one of the schools the
operational director is um introduced as the assistant principal which is really not the case but you know what it's only a title it's still the same amount of money whatever title you give. Um I do have to agree if we have to look at cuts
and look at it you know a larger portion I do agree there. I do agree with the mayor as far as transportation. A lot of these um families are getting it's a luxury ride. It's so for someone to get
um something from Oak Island and they're not within the two miles, you might be taking something away from another student that might want it to be in Junior ROC. So, I look at I I I would like if we're
going to make cuts, let's start there and try to train the families. I mean, they took it hard the last time. I I didn't want to be you. I didn't want to be Denise or anyone because it was high, but I think
that's you can't do it next year. You can't do it the year. You got to just do it. This is budget cuts. We're trying to save people's positions. Um, and I also agree with Aisha as far as the reserves. I don't want to go into the reserves.
Um, and then also your comment about I wouldn't compare a health aid to a coach. It it it's totally two opposite amounts of money, two um, career paths. Totally. Yeah. No, I agree with that. But I'm But but I my point in making
that, Stacey, was um, when we hired the the health aids, it was to help us with co Mhm. The whole the whole purpose for having them has has thankfully gone away. But there's a lot we hired because of co and some money. I mean, our psychologist, our social workers, we
hired a lot, but we're going to hit the $20 an hour person. Um, you know, and I'm not saying we need all of them, and I I some of them do get benefits, some don't take benefits. I
just think um it's a smaller piece of the puzzle. There's so many other bigger ones that we can manage more money for the budget. I'm not comfortable with having a six-year-old walk from Long Island to the correct. But they won't be if the
parent did that. Well, what if the parent has to work? I'm sorry. Your your priority is to your child first and we're going to do and I don't think that's fair of either. I don't want an email from Dr. Valuchi that a six-year-old got hit by a car
going to school because we didn't provide transportation. Sorry. I I I six-year-old walking from Oak Island or walking from Rivera Beach or walking from Lincoln Street. I mean, they're all all I listen, no six-year-old should be walking from Oak Island. I don't think
anyone disagrees with that, but we have busy streets all across our community. You can't just distinguish. Well, I'm using that because I'm using that because I understand it's a busy highway, but so so is a lot of our think walking from Denise Market to go
to but you know and I'm not we're not the city of Boston by any stretch of the imagination but you know this is our our transportation budget has has blown and it's unsustain it's just the truth. It's unsustainable. We we're not in the transportation business. We struggle.
There's a monopoly out there. I'll say it right there. The transportation companies are completely abusing the system. And that's just simple as that. Anyone has a problem with that, they can call me. Uh I've even reached out to, you know, people to look into it. And but we can't keep funding a bad
operation. And it's just so you know, the choice is if the school has that decision, you get you a pot of money to work with, you're going to work with it. the city can't fund any more of the like you can't ask the taxpayers the 60 something,000 taxpayers in the city to keep funding this operation and then on
top of it fund $160 million school. It's just not it's not not fair and then on top of it in three years pay for a Brandon high school. It's not it's not okay and and so that doesn't mean we want to see kids walking to Oak Island, but you know those might be case by case basis. Another another um symptom of
this whole problem is the lottery. The lottery is antiquated. It doesn't work anymore. It's causing us to have to bust people from one side of the city to the other. I've never gotten a call and I've been elected for 10 years. I've been in the city for 21 years. I've never received a call from one person to say,
"Thank you for that lottery." Never once did I get 400 calls a year saying, "Get rid of the lottery." So, are you going to have are we going to have the the the discipline to say, "Let's let's it's time to separate ourselves from the lottery that costs an additional million half2 million dollars a year in street transportation.
and then the kid from the bus all together. It's all it's all there. There's a string to everything. Do you want the kid from Oak Island to get the bus or do you want the kid that lives across the street from the Susan B. Anthony school to get it to go? I didn't say anything about the lawyer. I'm just saying but that those are the
tough decisions that unfortunately when times are good, we're all great. This is where it comes down to. When times are good, the job is easy. when times are a little bit tougher, we have to make tough decisions. If I may, I mean, we should be talking about this tomorrow. I mean, sure, it doesn't affect our budget right now. I mean, that's not part of
our budget. And I'm sure I'm sure I understand. And with all due respect, I understand that, too. I just don't want to bring up his topic of a child getting hit by a a walking to school because it makes it's like a scare tactic. So, that we should bust
everyone to school and then a kid gets run over by a bus in Boston. I mean, you know, which a 5-year-old is a matter of fact. You know, it it's just it's a really scary subject to bring up and then to say that if we decide to not bust every student in the city that
someone could get hit. Someone get hit walking around the house tomorrow. Someone could fall down a flight of stairs. We can't wrap kids up in bubble wrap either. So, just as an FYI to everybody, Matt and I did meet with um Jay Sullivan and a couple of the other people from the
Department of Education um this afternoon and um one thing they clarified for us is that the state law actually says you only need to transport kids in kindergarten through grade six. Yes, correct.
So, you I think Anony's right that we should hold this conversation about transportation for tomorrow. Um, but there there is I think some information that the committee and the mayor will need to work through around uh what they want to
provide for services and how much that's going to cost. Um, they've also agreed to do to schedule a meeting with us so we can talk more in depth about all of this stuff. Uh, I'm going to get in touch with Linda tomorrow. We can schedule that for last week in June. And again, I'm not trying to be too
problematic on this. I'm just trying to be real. I grew up in a in an urban community and I walked to school and when I wasn't able to walk to school because of the weather, I either had I joined with a friend or I got or I took the MBTA bus. I know times have always changed and I think we all feel the same way, but no other community surrounding
us spends their money in transportation like we do. None. Zero, not Everett, not Malden, not Chelsea, not Win, not Sus. We're the only community that spends this much money of straight taxpayer money, not school money, on transportation. It's not it's not sustainable. I'm just trying to be
honest with them not in other community. One thing I will say I do agree with you. I mean being on the other regional location I mean the schools and stuff there are budget cuts and I can I agree with you 100%. But I just look at you know when
u cuts you know the stone cut I just think we a little bit different. We have rotaries and everything. So everybody has their own personal you know to say about it. I know that was brought up the last time too, but like did anyone worry about all the streets off of Shirley?
Yeah. They had to go across Bell Circle just to get to school. Well, we all worry about it, but we didn't get them a bus to get there or we didn't get them across. They don't have a bus. You know how many times cars don't stop at those kids? I'm like going to be
worse. Kids reach parkway walk and us every kids know better than anyone. Your parents didn't even drive you. Well, in my day, parents didn't drive you. You walked in the winter. You walked. I mean, yeah, you walked.
I don't know. I guess does this commit does the committee have any recommendations or any might be recommendations of what I started the meeting with? I'd like to return the health money back in making a cut. I wanted to bring up a position and I
don't want to be the bad person but or if we can get more information on the communication coordinator um I just I'm really not sure and I haven't seen and I advocated for this
for at least over a year but I don't see what we're getting out of it. Um, so are you following on the social media? Yeah, but I can do that. It's still We still don't have a Facebook page. We do. No, we don't. 1,000%. And the link was sent
to you months ago, ages ago. I think things just get maybe lost in the way it's sent out. It's sent out in like there's no Facebook page but and no Instagram. And don't get me wrong, only us older people kind of use it, but
that's your parents, your families. She said we have I mean I get I get moltons all the time. Are you subscribed to them? I don't I don't honestly know how all the social media stuff works. No, I know. I But
even if it's that there must be more to the position if we could get Well, he does story. He does stories all the time. And there's also the newsletter. Do you read the newsletter? All the time. Oh, okay. So, what's is there something else? No, that's why I I felt horrible
bringing this up when he was here, but I'm I'm saying it the way I feel. What else do you need him to do that he's not doing? I didn't want to bring up one person. I just brought up the position itself. Well, I mean, every time you read a letter in the journal that says um
special to the journal, that's from him. those articles about the schools. So where it says special to the journal, those are all articles that he's putting in the journal about the schools. I read that before our just take another look. I
know you guys have been going through just take another look at and see if there's anywhere else we can make cuts. We can we can definitely do that. And one other thing that I wanted to talk about that we haven't discussed is part of the intention in focusing on
positions that folks are vacating um is because it means that you don't have to pay unemployment. If we start looking at positions that people occupy um and we start doing reduction force or uh telling people that they're no longer
invited to work here uh without giving them a different position, then it we go into a position where it's actually costing the district more money. You would have to let go of three people for every two positions you want to recover from in order to um make the same budget adjustment. Um,
so that's why we have leaned heavily toward positions that we that are either vacant or that we know we can move the individual who might be in that job to something else. Um, so like a communications person that would be a layoff
um of a job or a discontinuation of a job. Um, but what I was asking was is there a job description? Yeah. Yeah, I can send that to you. Yeah. Yeah. So that I'm not just looking at a
newsletter assuming that's his job or Yep. Um I heard All right. So I just want to make sure that I heard um everything. I I don't know if do do you all have to like vote on the like John
had mentioned the health text JOTC? Um, I was going to take a vote for a recommendation from the ways and means a little that because are we ready? We're not ready to go approve the budget. Wasn't approving the budget. I was improving putting those things back in.
So, the the other thing I I should have said too is we're already looking at losing 3.5 million of the district reserve. I'm warning you that you're going to be in dire rates two years from now. Right. Um like you have to look
back. This committee has to look over this budget and there's any suggested I'm not comfortable changes. You guys need to propose them. Just I don't think we're going to be in trouble any It's not what we personally think it's
looking at the budget as a whole numbers that we have um somebody mentioned that we have slashed all of the non-s salary accounts. We can't slash them any further. No, I didn't see that being there. We've gota um we've got to talk about positions. We do have um
additional positions. What we the ones that the 20 or so that we talked about um already um would not have an impact on class size. We're trying to avoid impact on class size in any way. Um I should say they wouldn't have a a an academically significant impact on class
size. Like obviously those two rooms at the beach are now going to have 20 kids instead of 13. So that you would say is an impact but um I feel very confident that fifth grades can operate well with a class size of 20. Yes. Um but we can
we can take another look and see if we can find um a few more positions outside of the classroom. The only other positions we cut were the health aids and one maintenance position which again was vacated by a retirement.
um and spoke to Carl. Um that was a tradesman, correct? Yep. Um and it was a tradesman who's been on a long-term absence and we've been managing without anyway and Carl said that we continue to manage uh until we find sunnier budget
days. Um and I think um Dr. Kelly and John, I think they I think we all agree that we want to maintain that the student facing positions and those are most important. Absolutely. And where where the open positions are andor um
non- studentent facing the one that should be taking look at first if if we have to I don't know if anyone I mean listen I know that you and I think John I I totally agree you know these some of these positions are you said there's six health left
seven do you remember? We pulled it we pulled the budget names in February. So there may have been someone that's fall off since they are active right now. And our intention with them was to hopefully move them. A lot of what they're doing right now, I know they're health aids,
but a lot of what they're doing is helping around the front office, welcoming people, doing that kind of stuff. And what we were hoping to do with them is move them into some of the security positions that we have open. That's what I wanted to ask too. We you say a lot of them are full. Well,
they're all full-time, but they don't all have benefits. If they don't want a part-time position, are they laid off? So, the security positions are full-time. We were hoping to find enough full-time positions that they would transition into a different spot. Um,
and that some of them would say, "No, thank you. I'm good. See you later." Um, and that with with those two things that we would be able to place the six people. I mean, I prefer where they are, but I when we're talking about not losing
people, that's small money. I want something there for any of them. And just from an equity standpoint, I'll just just, you know, from the uh alpha funed position at the city side, we're down uh we're going
lower lower and we've we've incentivized. We we've kind of said, "Hey, listen. You're in an opera fun position and the position opens up. Apply for it because the opera we we made a very clear hard game opera is done after this budget." So, we went
from, you know, when I came in 35 or 40 opera fun positions now down to seven and a half and by the end of this budget cycle, we'll probably be down to five. So, it's more about just general normal attrition rather than having to have that tough top conversation, but telling
them to apply for the open positions. that may come up and they do they come up not not hundreds of them but a couple of them and so we don't you know we don't have to tell people they they're not welcome here because they're all los but again it's this was it was good while Apple
money and money was good while it last but it is pretty much done I think it would be helpful um to us if the subcommittee or the whole committee I don't know how you're going to do
but would agree on what you need us to get that bottom line number to the number that right now is 3.469 which means more than what you have offered. Correct. Yeah. But we need a goal and
then we can we can go look at where we think that we can uh why just because I have prior engagement. Uh can you uh next time just uh when I said you address you know the decline of your roll in on the TC? Yes I
made a note of it. Okay. Yes I did. Yeah I I think transportation is one big thing that we need to really look at the numbers. Um yeah but that's this number right here. With all due respect, no realize with all respect.
No, no, you're 100% right, though. And that's I mean, it's scary. I guess I guess I I am worried about the little kid from Oak Island. I know. I'm not trying to scare him. I No. No. I I didn't say you weren't, but I middle school. I I don't know. I you know, I'm not a big fan of the lottery. We can
talk about that tomorrow. So, that's not a problem. But we have the lottery. No matter what, we have it. And those children aren't asking to be transferred from North Via to Garfield. They were told they had to go there if they didn't have their first or second pick. So how
can you say no start walking when it comes to the middle school when we really only have to do up until sixth grade? We don't have to do high school. We don't know. We don't do high school. No, we do. We do. We do. Over two miles.
Yeah. Under two. But if we if we go the other way, we again go back to my analogy, the kid from Oak Island's walking to school. If we go to two miles, Oak Island's about a mile and I did it on my did it on Google Maps. It's it's less than two. It's not over two
miles. So if that my problem is if that point of pine's bus became full and couldn't stop and pick up the kids at O'land, those kids are walking. Can we not necessarily There's a bus line right there. I'm sorry. get back to this number.
Yeah, I don't have one, so I don't want to give you one that I don't I would say try to reduce it by half. I know that's that sounds insane, but since no one else is coming up with a Oh, cut that one. It's a goal. It's a goal. Okay. I
think that that's I think I think under two would be would make me feel more comfortable, but you're definitely laying people off. It definitely let off. Just so you know that. Yeah. Yeah. No, I'm making sure everyone understands. John, that's what budget cuts up. Like you're gonna next
year you're gonna Would you want to be in this position two years from now when you're going to have to lay people off because that's exactly what we're going to have to do. If you don't look at these, you have to look at these numbers. Have a suggestion on a cut because we This is your committee. Let's see what you guys are tasked with. I
understand. But we but we also from now we're g it's we're gonna be the bad guys. We might as well be them now when we're the bad guys all around rather than two years from now when we're we're and it was so easy in the past years that we wanted to keep adding on and add them on. And I kept saying we're going
to have fiscal cliff. We can't keep adding. And now we're getting to that point and it's not right. We knew this was coming. It came earlier than we thought it was. Thank god we saved. Well, we and we are we're lucky with
Yeah. And we're lucky with the reserve. No, we did the reserves this year. It's only so much less that we're going to have to it's a less of a burden for the following. Not even burden. I don't Thanks, Anthony. I mean, Matt, am I
overreacting? Please tell me if so because I'll chill out. Uh, no. So, keep it in the keep. I know we've gotten into the weeds, which is totally appropriate and necessary in this conversation, but um keep in mind that
we built up a reserve wisely over the last three fiscal years the best that we could that sits at a certain figure. What's what's the certain figure? Yes. Um it is meant to carry
us not just through the immediate loss of esser funds but so we just had the phone call today and it was ominous that when S SOA seventh year of S SOA is exhausted districts like river are going to feel
that and other communities are jealous of the benefits we've gotten we would say appropriately from So, but in other words, it is a possibility, no one has a crystal ball, that the 8.7 that we saw this
year might be three or four when SOA doesn't exist depending on a hundred other contextual factors or or it could be something else. It's not going to be better. I can promise you that. Well, I I've been in every metro mayors or every
large group regional meeting I've been in, every community is screaming about their funding and the SOA communities are like this stand. You know what? I was signed the S SOA when he signed that bill. I was there and I being on the
state school committee I can tell you two months ago when people have been working on their budget they'll say Stacy are you still happy that you were there for the signing thinking that we were going to be in dire straits right now and I was like I think we saved our money really
well not me personally but everyone else um so we did good no there's no doubt there's no doubt and I don't think I don't think it's going to it's this is This is where I get nervous is that $10 million. If we're dipping into a third of it this year, when SOA runs out, it's going to be really bad. I'd rather keep
as much of it so that that that actual cliff, the real cliff. This is the real we're talking two years. The real cliff comes. We need to have that reserve built up so that it's not um bad that bad. FY27 is going to be the
last installation of S SOA money. Yep. Um and if you go back and look at our school committee meetings, um when we started S SOA, it actually was not even related to SR. Um but when we started the the S SOA planning, we
came up with this plan to try to save up $10 million. It was our goal. We achieved it. Kudos to us. But the plan was to have that to get through fiscal 28 and fiscal 29. And so that the district would have a three-year
offramp to the dire rates. But it's starting now. But it's starting now, which is unfortunate. And I do hope that whatever calculus was done in the next school spending for this year is different next year and that next year we won't. That's my point. That's what I'm trying to say. Yeah. I understand what you're saying, but in all due
respect, this municipal side's different than the school side. Yeah. And every politician talks about schools. They do. Everyone does. No, I just think I mean like that millionaire tax, a lot of it's going to the tea this year, but a lot of that's supposed to go to education, too. So,
I'm sure if S SOA ended, when it does end, that might get flipped. Who knows? My issue is this. What I the reason I want to stay kind of pat and excuse me, I want to stay here was I my hope is every year I ask teachers every year, are the kids better? Are the kids getting better and getting past COVID?
Are the kids getting more regulated? Are the kids, you know, are they are they accepting school a little more? because they were home for a year and every year I asked them the kids getting any better and I think for the most part they're for the most part they say years. Yeah, they've gotten better. So yeah, I I don't want to cut all these supports
this year. Do we have to cut them next year? Possibly. But that's one more year that this group of kids will be a little more supported. That's all I'm trying to say. I understand what everyone's saying, but if you cut a million seven, you're talking probably a hundred jobs depending on who's Well, depends. while
17 17 20 but then you got to look at the unemployment and then they might not be the right jobs because you're going to have to hire some back. I mean you have to have so many math teachers, so many English teachers, so many special needs teachers. You're kind of stuck in sometimes in a way, you know, you can't just, you know, unless you want to have
30, 40 kids in a class. So you're kind of stuck. So I'm hoping that and I'm not a rosy picture. I try to be realistic, but I I'm trying to get through this year and yeah, if next year be worse, fine. But I I mean, if you lay off 17 20
people, you're laying off 30 and 30 hurts. We I know we just have to look at it. But one other point I want to make um before we leave because I think it's really important is that the student opportunity act was passed because of the inequitable funding that was
happening in urban districts like Gree. Um, and a lot of people look at that and say, "Well, look how much money the school has. Look how much money the schools have. We should take some of that money." We're finally just getting rightsized with our budgets. And we have scripted and saved and and and moved
along. I mean, there were years that Matt and I managed a $2 million increase, which didn't even cover the teacher salary increases, uh, and figured out how to get through that. And we have been incredibly blessed by the Student Opportunity Act these last five years um that it that it has been
implemented. But that's still money that is deserving that our kids these kids deserve to have. We're still about $4,000 less than the state average on per people spending the city of Riviera is even with that student opportunity
act money. So, I don't I just I want to make sure that we're clear about that because a lot of people do think it's like, oh, they have all that extra money. No, we have the money that we should have had all along. No one in this room was expected to see
this large sevendigit red figure. That's why we've led the budget presentations with the eight punches that have come successfully that are causing causing this. If even four of those weren't on
here, we might have been done with this meeting in 20 minutes and said at the most we're gonna tap 10% of our reserve. But it's not reality because of those things that we have faced and it's a very hard thing for the committee to
think in terms of a multi-year strategy. But uh it's more likely that we're not seeing even some of the increases that we've seen this year and discipline here will enable you to handle those further and there's
trade-offs as we go. So strategically there's been no mistakes. It's just a tough reality to face. I mean we're already talking 22 teacher positions already that we're not going to fill. But we're still going to have to hire some people. Well, I'll say that
till No, no, I'm just saying. So, there's already 22 affected there. Um, to get down to a million7, I mean, I don't know, 30, 40 people. We'll have to take a look at it and think about it. And we'll think about not just teaching positions. We'll think across the district.
That's what I that's what I would hope. Well, that's why I asked coaches. My my suggestion is in no way like the teachers shouldn't shouldn't be a thought at this point which you know for me it would be um a wide angle lens wide
angle everybody you know and not even like people's actual positions although you already cut supplies and stuff. Yeah, we did the very best we could. You could draconian cuts to the non salary
side of things. So, it's going to have to come from salary, but we can be contemplative about where also strategically right now we have 5 million estimated to be unspent funds from this year that must be spent in a
subsequent year. But that's my best guess in the month of uh May as every week passes now as we hit the you know that number comes tighter and tighter. So we may also be able to mine and play that and say okay we have confidence
that that number is going to be 5.4. Okay. So then every dollar that we don't spend now Yeah. Exactly. goes towards the number. Exactly. You just don't want to be blindly saying, "Oh, I guess." Have you Have you initiated a freeze on the
spend, so there's no Christmas in July? I mean, it'll be more like June or May. April 27th, we stopped. Yeah. Yeah. And and but but then also you can look at obviously what we're doing in city side. If there's expenses that will carry us into the new fiscal year, we're approving. If there's expenses because
someone wants to stockpile or have celebratory items, we might be able. Yeah. Except for new tuition placements, new transportation placements or plant and maintenance emergencies. No one's allowed to spend anything like that. Well, that's that's relating to hear that you're going to have to carry
forward to contribute in pension, right? I felt very confident about the five, but we'll do work over the next two or three weeks to charge. But I'm saying it would help if the city took the half million dollars in extra
costly charges to see on schedule 19. I said it would help if the city took the half million dollars in extra charges on schedule 19 back. Yeah. What I'm saying is we'll be doing all we'll be doing all they want to control it. We'll be doing all of that work
if the carry forward can contribute to some of that with confidence. What we don't want to do is just you know naively say well just make that number that because it makes it work. That's why I can't give you a number. I can't know a good face to that because you cut 30 positions. I don't know what that
looks like. The other thing that uh we learned from Desi today is that the school committee can vote a budget using um the allocated amount from the city as a placeholder and we can still uh negotiate schedule
19 beyond July 1. So that that made me feel a little bit better because I was thinking that we had to try to figure this out before the school committee could vote on the budget in June. Um, so I feel better knowing that that doesn't have to happen. Is there a drop dead date for the
budget? So the schedule the city council um the city council our budget goes to the city council and gets voted together that they don't vote on budget. They no appropriation. That's the appropriation. Yes, but they vote. We need to finish our budget by a certain time to hand it
to them. We do. Well, they'll assign an appropriation. I wonder what the drop dead date was. Yeah. And then they know that's what you will be appropriating. Yeah. But so we can do it safely at the June meeting. Correct. And then John, we've done this in the past too. Like if they call us up for
call me up for the budget hearing before you voted. I just presented as please note this budget has not yet been voted by trying to get in my head. I know. Well, um semantics. Yeah. But so we can we can vote a budget. the school committee can vote a
budget uh based on the appropriation number um given by the city even though there's not a schedule 19 agreement uh MOA and then we'll work the state's going to work with us I think I said this already the last week in June um to
try to negotiate uh an agreement that's fair to everybody can I ask um only because it's been on social media a little bit too much that some people have been told that they are being let go because of bad budget. That's not
true. People have been told they're being let go because they don't have a license. So they've been told to be for PF evaluations or their evaluations. Yeah. No one has I just want to make you know sometimes people say things like that because they don't want to acknowledge
that they don't have a license or um they didn't finish what they were supposed to finish in order to get licensed. So they might try to use a different reason but no one has been um let go because of budget. That one hasn't even I know I know but
they you know they saying they were threatened. I heard the same. What I heard the same. If you tell me who they are, I can look into it. But I I I'd have to go on social media and get names. Um but but how they were told they were
leaving. Oh, they're gone. They were due to budget cuts through the budget cuts, not due to performance, which is which you can't even do because you orally can't do that. I can't if you're label I'm thinking about would be evaluation. Okay. So that would be my but I'm not
there. So I wouldn't know. That's why I wanted you to put it out there. I can tell you affirmatively that no one has been told that they're being let go because of budget cuts. Well, you guys know that uh Dr. Kelly will present some more
budget cuts and we'll look at we'll try to just for for a number I guess 1.7 just to see what it looks like. It's not hard and fast. Try to get there. try to get there and see what that looks like. Um, if you could possibly maybe without going crazy, maybe some class sizes as far as that goes. Um, because it I I
mean, you can say cut this, cut that, but there isn't that much there. And unfortunately, the teachers make up the bulk of that unit. So, that's what you're basically looking at. Uh, just to be clear, so the mandate for work from from our side is that the 3.4 deficit
we're looking at, is there a way to chip that down to show 1.7? But some of that could come from additional anticipated carry forward funds. Oh, that would be better than cuts. I mean, yeah, I don't in the in the backyard next to my time capsule
from freshman year to go for it. It's funny that you say that. So, we had a meeting about the McKinley school. Yeah. Um, and there's a big rumor out there that there's a time capsule buried under the flag pole. Yeah. Yeah, there's one right here.
Oh, really? So, we're going to So, we're going to look open before we put two. One's at the new school, too. One's at the one's at the hill. Oh, that would be fun. That would be so much fun. I mean, the hill and the
McKinley. a lovely picture of me at 300. All right. Anything else? Thank you and God speed. Thanks. Um I won't do it today, but based on your schedules, when we schedule another meeting in a week or two, I guess.
Y schedules. Thank you for coming. Motion to adjourn. I have to second that. Maybe I will. No one will see us.