Good evening. Good morning, good evening. How are you? I only use those. Good evening. How is everybody? Welcome to the Westfield School Committee meeting of Cinco de Mayo. Oh, that's right, it's seven o'clock. Heather Sullivan. Jeffrey Gunther. Here. Kathleen Hillman. Here. Bo Sullivan. Here. Heather Sullivan. Here. Mike Here. Uh, Tim O'Connor here. And Gerald Kay. Here. Rise for the P United States of America Republic for Against
nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Okay, Couple of housekeeping issues. Um, first of all, we'd like to pay our respects and condolences to the John Cain family, John Ka, who was a business manager for the city of Westfield Public Schools for years and years and years. Uh, our how hearts and thoughts go out to, uh, John's family. Um, it's another item I see a whole bunch of people. It looks to me maybe from Highland Elementary School. So I would entertain a motion to move Highland Elementary School up on the agenda
to precede public participation. So moved. Second. All is in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries Highland Elementary. Have at it. Good evening. It's my pleasure. Pleasure to introduce a very special part of tonight's meeting. We're joined by one of our outstanding fourth grade teachers, Ms. Jordan Eker, and our amazing STEM coach, Lindsay Ayre, and a few bright and enthusiastic students. They'll be sharing a Project Lead the Way project that showcases the kind of hands-on inquiry based learning. We're so proud to offer in our schools.
Mrs. Maselli, can I hold up one more second? If any of the parents wanna grab photographs of their child or just the proceeding in general, you could fill in around the back of us if you want. Or maybe even in the front shore. Some of you can even have the seat. I It's okay by me. Don't want Jen. You want my chair? I'll give it. Yeah. Come on. Sorry. Thank you. Good evening. I first wanna say that I would not be up here without the help, support, and encouragement from our STEM curriculum. Coach Lindsay Ayers. She has been a fundamental part of my ability to implement Project Lead the Way with Fidelity
and giving my students the opportunity to learn and grow in their STEM abilities. It is now my pleasure to introduce you. My fourth grade students who have been working so diligently on their Project Lead The Way Projects. Here with me tonight is Adam, Daniella and Leighton. So for each project Lead the Way module, it starts with an introduction story that presents students with an open-ended real world problem, which they solve at the end of the unit. First, students build background knowledge and skills needed to create a successful solution. In Project Lead the Way we call this the A PB approach,
A project learning model. Wait, nice and close. Our Project Lead the Way module was called Energy Explorations. We had to solve an energy related problem for a business that involved energy conversion. Some of us built a prototype to keep, to help keep food warm for customers for a food truck. And some of us built a sign for a business to attract new customers Before we could successfully solve the problem. We learned all about energy through hands or through activities that were really fun
and hands on in Activity one, we explored how energy is all around us through centers which helped us understand how energy is used in real life. In Activity two, we explored how energy moves throughout a system helping us understand the concept of energy transfer. We made potato batteries and used solar panels to power lights in activity three, we worked in groups using vex kits to build windmills,
helping us see how wind energy converts to electricity, while also practicing important skills such as cooperation and communication. So then the project, the students design and complete an investigation building on their knowledge and conceptual understandings as they prepare for the application of learning in the problem. In the project, we followed the scientific inquiry process to create our own investigation with, with marbles on a track. Our conclusions helped us understand
how energy changes in object's motion. And then here's the fun part. So students use the design process to brainstorm a solution to the problem. They utilize the design matrix to make an action plan agreed upon by each member of the group. Finally, they build, test, evaluate, and reflect on their prototype solution. Find each group chooses a business to help solve an energy related problem. These three groups submitted their first prototype to a program called Student Industry Connects, where industry professionals, including an engineer from Microsoft
and a brain researcher from Harvard University, reviewed these students' projects and provided feedback. Students took the feedback to redesign their improved projects, which we have here tonight. And for the applied learning student showcase in Boston, where they're going to be presenting their improved prototype to more industry professionals. On Friday, We solved a problem for Laconte. We already, which was to design the design prototype that converts energy to attract new clients. Energy is transferred in our prototype from the Hand Creek generator to create energy to power LED lights.
This makes the white flash to make the sign light up. The feedback from industry professionals is that we used in our new prototype is to make the sign a round shape and utilize the wheel of a heaviest support base. Here is our roof prototypes. So, so their original design, original prototype is on the screen and this is prototype number two. Awesome. There you go. And This is another part of the project we made for Boston on Friday, just explaining the whole process that we brought that to. We solved a problem for Laconte reality, which was
to design a sign prototype that converts energy to attract new clients. Our first prototype attracted customers because it is colorful big and lights up energy transfers from the hand cranked generator through the cables and to the lights to power them on. The feedback that we used from the industry professionals to redesign was to use colored lights a frame, and to make it taller and bigger and to make it balance better. Here is our improved prototype.
Cool. Look. In my room, My group and I solved a problem for the penne food truck business, Which was keeping food warm without electricity. We used energy transfer from the hand warmers heating up the tin foil, so the tin foil. So the heat from the tin foil goes to the food and warm warms it up above the tin foil. The heat transferred to the food so that it was warm enough to serve. The feedback we use from the in industry professionals was to redesign our prototype
utilizing metal instead of cardboard so it wouldn't burn and would be stronger. And to use more hand warmers to retain more heat. Here is our improved project. Cool. You should have brought dinner for everybody. So this past group was actually the group that one, um, they, Um, they actually won, they were selected by the student industry Connects, um, as a winner across the state. They only pick one in this past group one. Um, so they were recognized through the whole project Lead the Way, um, for being innovative, using collaboration
and using their critical thinking skills to problem solve. Um, we're really proud of what they did in accomplished. So all three of these groups will be presenting in Boston on Friday. Um, lastly, I just wanna thank you so much to our awesome fourth grade engineers Project Lead The Way is an incredible hands-on curriculum that truly involves engages the students and the material that they are learning. We're so glad to be teaching Project Lead the Way here at Highland. I just wanna thank you for your time tonight and does anybody have any questions for them? Thank you very much. We appreciate It. Thank you. At this time I think I'd like to call for a brief recess
so that if parents and students wanna leave and not sit through the business of the day, they certainly can. Is there a motion? Sure. Second. Great. All those in favor a trooper Right Through like One oh are Welcome back everybody. Um, it's time for public participation. Uh, we'll leave public participation open for 30 minutes. You're more than welcome to address the school committee on a topic of your choosing. Uh, you have up to three minutes per, per person I would ask. So I see a lot of familiar faces. So what I mean by that is that I know that there are several people who have spoken to the school committee before.
Uh, again, on the topic of your choosing. Um, so when you, when I call for public participation, if you haven't spoken, can we give a chance to people who haven't spoken yet to us, uh, the first opportunity and then we'll go back to you guys who have had an opportunity, uh, previously. How does that sound? Um, it's nine 50. It's seven 15. Who's first? Come on up. Lily. You ready? Now? Can you do me once more? No, you're good. You're good. You can line up and queue. Just say your name and your address. That's all we do. Okay.
Hi, I'm Addison Raul and I'm oh, 26 Rachel Terrace. Westfield, mass. Okay. My name's Addison Raul and I'm a senior at Westfield High School. I'm here today to talk about why this preschool is so important and why we need to continue to keep this program open. This preschool isn't just a place for kids to play. It's a place where not only the children's futures are shaped, but also us as student teachers. Student teaching here opened my eyes to a career path I never considered the energy, the curiosity and watching these children grow inspired me
to pursue a career in early childhood education. Before the preschool, I had planned on becoming a radiologist for many years, but once I started the preschool, I knew that that was what I truly wanted to pursue. And that is why I feel it is so important to keep this program open so students like me can discover a future career. My favorite part about the program is that the student teachers are able to put all their hard work from child development one and two to life working hands-on and creating your own lesson plans that will be taught to the students. So many things are happening behind the scenes that people miss, whether it be typing lesson plans,
writing case studies, doing self evaluations, writing student observations, creating your own bulletin boards, and so much more. This class is definitely one of my busiest and hardest classes I've taken at the high school, but it's also in the most rewarding class I've ever taken. Seeing all the children understand a new concept, overcome a fear, or simply offer just a hug makes all the hard work worth it. So this preschool builds our community, not just for the children, but for those of us who want to discover our true passions within the classroom. So let's work together to keep the preschool running. And thank you for your time. Thank you, Ashley.
Hi, my name is Morgan Gagnan and I live at 14 Cleveland Ave. Good evening. My name is Morgan Gagnan. I'm a senior at Westfield High School and currently a student leader at the Children's Corner Preschool. Before I joined the preschool program at our high school, I was going through the motions. I didn't know what I wanted to do after graduation and I didn't have a clear direction. I felt stuck between, between choosing something just because it was a job and not knowing what would excite me to learn and grow. As soon as I taught my first lesson in preschool, I knew this was a career for me. Watching the kids learn and overcome challenges for the first time was the best feeling. There's a certain magic in seeing a child's eyes light up
when they finally grasp something that once seemed impossible to them. I get to be a front row witness to their growth from watching a child learn how to write a letter to memorizing their full name. This program is rewarding in so many ways. We are set up to be ready for college level work in our field. We write lesson plans that meet Massachusetts state standards, make observations, reflect on our work, and even write a case study. Seeing the smiles on the children's faces every day makes all the hard work I put into the class. So worth it. Not many high schoolers actually like going to school, but because of this program, school takes me every day.
Whether I'm excited about teaching a lesson or knowing the kids are going to greet me with a hug. This program has taught me many life lessons in the four years I have participated. I know that if it gets cut, it will break so many hearts, including mine. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Hello, I'm Caitlin Aru and I live at 55 Sabrina Brook Lane. Hello, committee members, thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak tonight. My name is Caitlin Aru and I'm a junior at Westfield High School. I'm currently participating in my first year of the preschool. I just wanna start by by explaining how excited I was to choose this course as an,
as an option before high school. Once I saw it as an option on my course selection sheet, it was the first box I checked off. And I know many other students feel the same way as well. I as well as many other fellow amazing student leaders have worked so hard to get where we are now. Taking two years of prep in the child development course to finally be allowed in the preschool. I wouldn't change these past two years for anything, although I would be devastated if I cannot finish the program my my senior year. I mean, the program has allowed me to become a leader, educator, and positive influence in these kids' lives.
I have been able to express my creativity and passion towards working with children throughout the many lessons I've created. This program has also given me a tremendous experience working with children as I plan to continue doing in the future in the pediatrics field. But most of all, the most important part is I get to make a kid smile. I can't imagine not having this program next year. Thank you for your time. Thank You. Kay. Uh, my name is Lily Goff and I live at 35 Flynn Meadow Road. Good evening. My name is Lily Goff and I'm a junior at Westfield High School. And I'm here to talk today about something incredibly
important to our community, the future of our Children's Corner preschool at the Westfield High School. We recently learned about potential budget cuts that could force us to close our doors, and I'm here to explain why that would be a devastating loss. Our preschool is more than just a place for children to play. It's a vital foundation for their future education. Here our kids develop essential social skills, learn how to share, and begin to understand the basics of learning. These early experiences are proven to have a lasting impact, setting them up for success in kindergarten and beyond. I also came to this from a personal view. I recently achieved the rank of an Eagle Scout back in December. One of my many reasons why I earned this
was because of the preschool. My project consisted of revamping the playground to make it safer and nicer for the preschoolers, as well as adding garden boxes to aid and plant science lessons. I want my project not to go to waste and be enjoyed to by many years to come. Closing the preschool would hurt not only the children, but also the families who rely on us. We provide a safe nurturing environment to our community knowing that children are in good hands. The cost of closing us down isn't just financial. It's the cost of lost opportunities for our children and the strain on working families, our children. I urge you to consider the long-term benefits of investing in early childhood education
and help us keep our pro preschool open for many years to come. Thank you. Thank you, Lily. Good evening, everybody. My name is Chris Topa and I live at one 15 Hawk Circle in Westfield. Um, I've been a leader in Westfield Public Schools for over a quarter of a century, and my job as Title one supervisor has been eliminated in this current budget. But I'm not here to speak about the importance of that position. I'm here to give a voice to the elementary school students and the elementary coaching positions that have been eliminated. These positions provide support for foundational skills in reading,
writing, math, and science. Without a solid foundation in these fundamental skills, all other learning in later years become nearly impossible. In Westfield, we have often made budget cuts to those personnel who quote, are not indirectly in front of the children. While I am all in favor of preserving teaching positions and lowering class sizes, I do believe that there are some positions that are not in the public eye that are vital to maintain the integrity of our instructional practices. That is why we are here. Most people do not understand the impact
that good coaching has on teachers, nor do they understand the scope and magnitude of support these positions provide to classroom teachers, principals, and ultimately our 1500 elementary students. I do, I'd like to use an analogy that may be better, bring to light our coach's role and impact. Imagine the 2004 season of the Boston Red Sox. Our elementary teachers are our players, and we have some great ones that match the talent of verite and big poppy, they're in this room. Our superintendent is the general manager.
And like Theo, sorry. I know Yankees fans seeks assistance from his administration. He oversees teams construction and strategy, and sets educational goals and allocates resources in order to meet those goals. Our curriculum director parallels Terry Fona. She leads instruction with strategic decisions and leadership and guides our staff through learning. And like Terry, she cannot expect to be expertly skilled in every position, every skill, skillset, and every program that our elementary teachers must
execute each and every day. She, like Franka relies on her assistant coaches to improve the practice of our teachers and hone specific skills and concepts so our educators can play their ultimate best. Our elementary teachers are not specialized in just one subject area. They must play several key positions. They are math teachers executing i-Ready and new this year. ST. Math. They're reading teachers using inter reading and Haggerty while learning or relearning how to teach reading through structured literacy. Along with this, they have, uh, oversight of Ignite a powerful tutor tutoring tool
for our most struggling readers. They are science teachers, as you've seen, utilizing mystery science and Project Lead the Way, a different and exciting hands-on approach to teaching our science standards. They are social studies teachers who are currently using iCivics. And soon again, we'll be expanding to other programs. They are social emotional learning teachers following the Choose Love curriculum and supporting PBIS in the classroom. Our coaches help us administer assessments so we can make informed decisions. They interpret the data in order for principals and teachers to better understand the effectiveness. Go ahead. Just three
Minutes, just get second motion. Second. All In favor, aye. Aye. Thank you very much. Um, the effectiveness in the delivery of these programs, they crunch the numbers so those students, students who are neediest are getting the services they deserve. Our coaches are trained in a multitude of programs so that they can in turn train teachers in-house. They provide guidance, resources and strategies to help educators improve their practice and ultimately student outcomes. They ensure that the hundreds of thousands of dollars that we have spent on programs and materials are implemented
and executed with proficiency and effectiveness. They are often unseen in the public, but they are crucial to our team's success. Imagine if Terry Frank Kona did not have his coaches to rely upon pitching Coach Dave Wallace, first base coach Bill Hasselman, bullpen Coach Al Nipper and seven other men to round out his coaching staff for 25 players. Just imagine those 25 talented Red Sox players. Without their 10 coaches, they definitely would not have won the World Series. Pedro Ramirez, Lowe and Shilling may have been front and center to win 2004,
but without the support of their coaches to give them direction, ensure that they were all focused in one direction and provide the expertise they needed to improve Red Sox Nation would've been let down for an 87th straight year. Our curriculum director realized on two coaches to assist her with nearly 100 teachers who teach a minimum of 425 classes per day and serve 1500 students in grades K through four. And now our curriculum director, who, as you know, wears not only that hat, but many, many more will not have the expertise
to rely on any longer. You, our Westfield public school committee and even our city council are the John Henry, the Tom Warner, and the Larry Lucchino of the Red Sox. You are the owners of our Westfield Public Schools. You support a vision and approve the financial support necessary for our team success. However, no matter how loud you cheer, no matter how many words of praise you provide, and no matter how much you believe, our one curriculum director and our five principals cannot provide the support and expertise needed to ensure a winning team
for the children they directly serve. And as a parting analogy, I would like to remind us, many of you remember this of what Desi told us many years ago. Our elementary schools were ships sailing in one ocean, but in many different directions. For the past several years, we have righted these ships and are certainly sailing in one direction with high quality instructional materials and what we have brought into our district. But I can assure you, without the expertise and boots of our coaches on the ground and behind the scenes, we will soon be off course.
Once again, I urge you to reconsider these cuts to these two positions. Thank you, Ms. Is that it, Ms. Toman? Did you have more? Just trying, I'm just trying to be funny. You know, that 2004 is a sore subject. I'm well aware. Thank you very much. Uh, we're gonna close public participation at this point, and I know that we have some folks from Westville High School that would like to come up and address us. You're almost set. Perfect. I'm so proud of you guys that you figured that out. It took us a second. Um, we didn't go to school today.
It was senior skip day. I am gonna admit it to you guys. Um, so our brains, our brains are a little bit foggy right now, but it's okay. We're locking in. All right. So we're not gonna rob it back with you. That's No, we're done there. All right. Hello everybody. I'm Emery Smith. I'm on the Executive Board of Student Council. Uh, I'm Sydney Duggan and I'm the executive board president. I'm Colin White and I'm the on the executive board of Student Council. Colin is here to observe our speech to you all as, um, he'll be taking over next month. All right. So starting with our drama department,
Westfield High School Drama Club is performing their spring musical this week, all shook up. They're directed by Owen Snyder and choreographed by Hannah Bruno. It'll be an amazing performance and we hope to see you all there. All righty. And we wanna send out a huge congratulations to, um, Mrs. Healy for receiving the Western Massachusetts recipient of the General Colin l Powell Service Award. She's an amazing addition to our staff at the high school and was so very deserving of this award. On May 1st, our seniors celebrated college reveal Day, wearing their apparel from their chosen schools. We took pictures and celebrated their decisions.
Um, shout out to our guidance counselors for helping make a regular school day and something that brought the senior class together for a day of celebration of their future commitments and plans. All righty. And moving on to our senior activities that are going on around the high school right now. Um, we have a lot of events that are coming up and seniors including their awards for ceremonies, banquets and graduation. Coming up, we have our senior sunset, our picnic, and our senior prank day. This past Friday, we also had our prom at the Lag Cabin, which was a huge success. We had a lot of dancing, a lot of good food, and a lot of good memories to come outta that.
Alright. And on March 10th, we cut the ribbon for our brand new engineering lab. Within this newly renovated lab, we have access to new learning materials and equipment. It was a great space for our students to learn and work hands on. Currently, our capstone engineering students are us utilizing the space to work and build their projects that will be presented to industry professionals in Boston on May 9th. Alongside our elementary school students And our upperclassmen students have been working very hard in our AP classes, getting ready for the exams that started today, I believe it was AP Bio,
and are going to be continuing throughout the next two weeks. This week is also teacher Appreciation Week, so starting soon there will be a table set up at lunch allowing students to draw or write letters to their favorite teachers and placed in their mailbox at the end of the week. We'll also be starting to read letters of appreciation over the morning announcements every morning so the students can start their day with notes of encouragement. And we do have some concerts coming up. If you guys are into music, you should definitely stop by Westfield High. Um, along with showcasing our drama department this month, we're also showcasing our music department. Our spring concerts for both band
and choir will be held this month in the auditorium in order to showcase our performances. They've been working hard all year round to show their talents, and we have no doubt their hard work will be beautiful. Our music department at Westfield High School is definitely something that we are proud of and is an honor to have at Westfield. A lot of other schools and surrounding towns do look up to us for our music department, and that's definitely something we are proud to have on our side. Alrighty. Alright, so that concludes our little news broadcast of the month. Thank you for your time. College, You learn anything A lot. All go. Thank you guys.
Thank you. Next up, uh, is item five, the Youth Naloxone. Hi, good evening. Um, apologize. Please bear with me. This is set up a little bit different than what I was planning on, but, um, I, uh, just wanted to start off by saying, um, good evening. My name's Kim Slate. I'm the substance use Outreach Coordinator for the Westfield Health Department. And, um, I do recognize that you guys have a very full agenda tonight. So I am probably gonna skip over some of the slides on here and just give you as much of a brief overview as I can on this project. Um, my contact information will be on the last slide.
I am always open to any questions or comments that you may have, so please feel free to reach out to me at any time. So, just a a quick little overview. Um, we, we do have some local community data, and I'm probably not gonna spend a lot of time on that because most of you are familiar with those numbers. Um, recognizing and responding to an overdose proposed legislation. And then what's really the most important and kind of meat of all of this is some of the frequently asked questions around Youth Naloxone administration programs. Kim, feel free to, we're here. You, you do whatever you gotta do. Yeah. But you have a busy night. Um, so the opioid epidemic, um,
unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in the United States for anyone under the age of 44. Unintentional injuries include opioid overdoses or unintentional poisonings, motor vehicle crashes, and unintended falls specifically for Westfield. Um, the data for the from the next couple of sets do come from the Bureau of Substance Addiction or BS a S for short, um, substance use dashboard. It's an amazing source of information on opioid overdose data. If you're interested, I highly recommend you check it out. Um, it is kind of clunky and slow at times, but it is a wealth of information. So, for the timeframe of 2016 to 2023, we can confirm
that there were 112 opioid related overdose deaths of Westfield residents. That's not in Westfield, that's of Westfield residents. Regardless of where the deaths may have occurred from 2019 to 20 23, 3 of those deaths were from Westfield Youth and young adults under the age of 20 and eight were between the ages of 20 and 29. So important to note on this slide is that these are the opioid related ER visits, again, for Westfield residents, it is not necessarily anyone who just went, who went to Noble or when an overdose or er, uh, related visit occurred.
Here in Westfield is specifically for Westfield residents, but approximately 31% of the households in Westfield have a youth under the age of 18 living with them at just one school. In the Westfield Public School District, there were 10 youth who had experienced the death of a loved one due to an opioid overdose. So one way to prevent opioid overdose death is by expanding the availability of Naloxone or brand name Narcan, which we, we will use probably interchangeably. Um, BS a S has set a benchmark of 40 naloxone kits per overdose death. And thanks to the efforts of Tapestry Dart and the Noble Opioid Task Force as well
as others within the community, access to Naloxone has increased in the last couple of years. Now surpassing 80 kits per overdose death, but there's still a lot of work to be done. There are free programs like the Community Naloxone program through BS a s that allow organizations to acquire doses to distribute throughout the community. And with that, we have a responsibility to teach people how to use Narcan. Um, the Westfield Board of Health was approached by a Harvard undergrad student who wanted to bring Youth Naloxone training to our community. The Board of Health invited the student to present the training and voted
to support the implementation of the training. Should the school district be interested? The following slides were redu were reviewed by the Board of Health in full. They only take about 10 minutes or so to go through, and the focus of the impacts of opioids and the focus is the impacts of opioids, as well as identifying an overdose and how to administer Naloxone. There are other curricula available for youth, and our department is always here to provide support and resources in identifying the best fit for our community. This curriculum was developed in collaboration with Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Stepping Strong Center
for Trauma Innovation, and the National Organization, the Naloxone Project. The curriculum has also been endorsed by multiple state and national health education and harm reduction organizations. Yeah, it's not working. There we go. All right. So these first couple of slides, um, focus on defining opioids and the difference in prescription opioids versus illicit opioids. And then focusing on how people obtain opioids. So often, opioids, specifically fentanyl, can be found laced in other drugs such as cocaine or meth. And this means that people that are taking other drugs may not even know that they're consuming opioids, which is extremely dangerous.
Um, even more so when we're starting to see more opioids or more fentanyl in these pressed pills like this. And with stimulant youth use on the rise in youth, counterfeit pills have become more of a concern for this age group. So the curriculum also reviews how opioids work on the body through the decreased movement and drowsiness. Tiny pupils decreased breathing or slowed breathing and digestion slows down. And then when opioid use is driven by the release of, of dopamine in the brain, it's similar
to, say, eating ice cream. When you eat ice cream, it tastes good. Your brain releases that dopamine and you want more in a similar way. When someone uses opioids, it releases that dopamine in their brain, makes them feel good and wants people to, to keep trying to use it. Eventually people reach a point where they feel miserable without using it, which prompts them to keep using in order to get rid of those negative feelings, even when use becomes problematic. So what causes someone to die from an overdose? Simply put, they stop breathing. Um, when opioids, um, are taken, they stimulate,
they excessively stimulate the part of your brain that regulates your breathing. Your breathing slows down and eventually stops, which is why we have products such as Narcan, which are so powerful and so needed in our communities for, for reversing overdoses. And this statistic here really kind of stood out to me. It's a little hard to read on the screen there, but the CDC found that 67% of overdose deaths in teenagers from 2019 to 2021 had a bystander present, yet no one administered Narcan. So if more people knew how to administer Naloxone
or Narcan, including our youth and young adults, more lives could be saved. How does Naloxone work? Naloxone binds to the opioid receptors in the brain, displacing the opioids that are bound to them. This prevents opioids from exerting their effects and therefore reverses the overdose. You can see in this image here that the Naloxone replaces the opioids on the receptors because it attaches a little bit more tightly than the opioids do. And then part of the, uh, curriculum also goes through how to identify an opioid overdose, someone not responding to noise, not responding to gentle shaking, decreased
or absent breathing and pinpoint or small pupils. And how to respond to an opioid overdose. The first step is always to call 9 1 1 for help. That is everyone's first step, but especially for our youth who may be responding to an overdose. Um, checking for a suspected overdose administering naloxone, starting rescue breathing, if you feel comfortable with that. And if needed, administering a second dose of Naloxone, um, after the, after two or three minutes has response, has, has lapsed with no response. My apologies. So the big part of the training that was,
that was developed through this, um, student was on learning how to use Naloxone, which is actually relatively straightforward and simple. Um, the biggest thing to remember is not to use it as a test dose. You're not spraying any ahead of time. Each dose is only a single dose. If a person requires more than one dose, then you are gonna need a second pack of, of Narcan with you. Um, a big part of the curriculum is also training our youth on how to, how to respond. Once you have used or administered Narcan to another individual. When the person comes to, they're most likely going
to be groggy, disoriented, not know where they are, and they're also going to be going through immediate withdrawal. And so a part of the training is really helping youth identify different ways to, um, to kind of help reorient a person, um, if they are alone with them, um, after they've administered Narcan. So where can I find Naloxone in our community? Every community's a little bit different. Um, everyone can get free Narcan at UCAN info, um, specifically store.you can info. I highly recommend everybody go to that website. Um, you can request one free kit per year.
They send it in this nice little neoprene baggie with instructions on how to use it, as well as two doses of Narcan for you to use. Um, you can also find it, um, at pharmacies. It's over the counter. Uh, most doctors' offices can provide it. And then also a lot of community organizations do provide Narcan as well, including, um, our own Tapestry health here in Westfield. Um, also one other thing, uh, about where to find Narcan. In Westfield, we do have community in the locks boxes. Uh, Baystate Noble has been fantastic about working with Dart and Tapestry to get into lock boxes up around the community. I believe we're up to nine now, and I'm currently working on creating a, uh, Google map
that has all of those pinpointed that's gonna be uploaded to our website so that anyone that needs to find Narcan can locate it easily, um, through their phone or the city website. Now, some people who maybe with someone who is using or using themselves may worry that they're gonna get in trouble, um, if they're remaining on scene or calling for help due to an overdose. Um, it's important for everyone to understand the protections that are afforded under the Massachusetts Good Sam Law and the the Good Sam Law protects you from, or anyone who calls 9 1 1 or seeks medical assistance for themselves or others experiencing a drug related overdose.
And the important thing here is not to leave, be there for that person, be there. Um, when I was on the Cape doing this work, um, that was the biggest thing that we heard from so many of the families impacted, was that their, their child, whether it was an adult child, a teenager, or even an adult, died alone because people left them there with no assistance because they were worried about what would happen if they called law enforcement or, um, first responders to come and help. So it's really important that everyone really does understand that you are protected under the Good Sam Law
and do not hesitate to call for help. So in 2023, Maine Pass legislation that required all school districts to provide the opportunity for youth to be trained in the administration of Naloxone. Um, Massachusetts has proposed similar legislation, and I I feel like it, it is a, a wonderful, um, opportunity. Um, where we are now here in Westfield, starting this process now, is gonna give us an opportunity to review different curricula if need be, to look at different programs that are available to work with some of our different community organizations in an effort to provide a robust training that looks, feels
and tastes like Westfield. And that's gonna benefit our youth the most. And with support from the Westfield Health Department and all of these local organizations, we can ensure that our youth are appropriately educated in this lifesaving measure in a way that limits or decreases exposures to trauma while providing the needed resources for follow up in the event that a youth does find themselves in the situation where they need to provide naloxone. So some of the questions, um, that a lot of of of schools will hear, um, or from parents that are concerned about their youth being trained in
administering Narcan is why should youth have access to Naloxone training? Um, simply put, the high levels of Fentanyl contamination in the illicit drug supply for even youth who don't regularly use creates a, a really big risk, um, of, of overdose. In addition, an estimated 11% of all US children under the age of 14 live with at least one family member who was or is substance dependent. And while exposure to addiction naturally creates trauma, it also exposes our youth to the risk of losing a family member to an overdose. So in the same way that our schools have AEDs to respond
to cardiac emergencies, they can now have Naloxone to respond to overdose emergencies. Teaching our youth to administer Naloxone could be lifesaving for many, including parents, siblings, or friends who misuse opioids or even elderly, uh, community members who may be confused or suffering dementia. And that's something that we have seen an increase in, is some of our older adults that are not remembering they took a med and taking additional med and then overdosing. It can also prove useful for youth in the workplace. Um, I was gonna put, uh, phrase this as kind of a, a hypothetical, but, um, the reality is it was my own daughter.
Um, when she was 16, I was doing this work on the Cape and she took one of the trainings for Narcan administration that I was offering through a community group. And she worked at a bowling alley. She was at work one evening and someone overdosed in the bathroom. Um, she was able to get into the bathroom. She knew how to respond, and she was able to save that person's life at 16 years old. And I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it because it just, it really touched me in such a way to see how empowered she felt by knowing that she had done everything that she could to save someone's life,
and that she felt that she had the, she had the confidence and the skills, um, and the knowledge to be able to do so. Um, is there a minimum or is Naloxone safe? Is it safe for young people? 100%. Um, it's safe. Unless someone is experiencing an opioid overdose, administering Naloxone has zero effect. Um, Naloxone is safe for people of all ages, and that includes infants. Um, is there a minimum age to carry Naloxone? No, there is no minimum age for anyone, for air, for anyone to carry nasal naloxone. But it's important that the individuals understand what's
happening during an overdose, how to use the medication and steps to ensure that individual receives further medical attention. It's not necessary for a team to always have a kit on them, but it's a great idea to make sure that teams know what naloxone is, how it works, especially if they have a friend or a loved one that uses substances or is prescribed opioids for chronic pain. And do I need parent or guardian consent to administer Naloxone in Massachusetts, there's no statute that requires parent or guardian permission for a minor to receive or administer Narcan. So what about parents who know
their teenager would never do drugs? Why would they get trained? Why should they get trained in Naloxone administration? Simply because any of you that are parents know, your kids are not always a hundred percent honest with you. We all think they're angels and minor in their twenties now, thankfully. Um, but we know that they, they, they do keep things from us. And this is something that is just so important. Whether it pertains to them directly to one of their friends or even to a family member that may be struggling, it is so important that they understand how and why and when they should be administering Narcan.
Does teaching youth and young adults how to administer Naloxone increase their risk of using or misusing o opioids? No. There have been multiple studies that have shown that expanding access to Naloxone and providing training to administer Naloxone is not associated with any increase in opioid use among teens. And then the big question that, um, we hear, we, we do hear quite a bit is what about the trauma? Um, is teaching our youth to administer Narcan going to create unnecessary trauma? And the fact is that administering Naloxone and is potentially saving the life of a family member
or friend is considerably less traumatic even for young children than being unable to do anything. Most training programs focus on teaching our youth to find an adult first, call 9 1 1 and administer Naloxone themselves if there is no adult available. This method works to remove the responsibility of being forced into care while empowering our youth to possibly save a loved one's life. Administering Naloxone does not remove all possible forms of trauma, but the trauma of a family member or friend suffering from an overdose is
present in either case. So my contact information is here. I know I went through that very quickly. Um, I absolutely love talking about this subject and I welcome any and all questions that you guys may have. Um, you have been absolutely wonderful to work with. You were so open to listening and, and hearing, um, what the student had brought to us, and I really do appreciate all of the support that you've given and the open-mindedness that you've had. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Is there any questions for Kim? Any questions for Kim at all? I got one. Yeah. Mr. Sullivan,
Is there a certain age, is there an age minimum to take the course to be trained to do it So that that is age? So there, there is not anything that has been, um, con, concretely planned out yet as far as, um, a curriculum goes. Um, we are open to working with the schools, uh, to figure out like what age bracket would be the best fit for Westfield. Um, and, you know, we can do that using data. We can do that using, um, you know, speaking to to, to counselors and just finding out where the greatest need is. But ultimately, um, anyone who has the mental fortitude
and ability to understand when and where Narcan is, um, appropriate to be administered has the ability to do so. Follow Up is, yeah, well, kind of different subject. Um, is there someone in the schools that is a mandatory person that be, that Does, um, that may be a question. I Mean, I, I'm assuming first responders and everybody, but is there actually somebody in the schools that is mandatory to know how to Are mandatory to administer Narcan? Yeah. Or to train to administer Narcan because there is a difference in the two. Well, Let's, let's go both.
My question was to administer, but now that you bring up training, what is there? Is there somebody in the schools, each school that has to be The nurses? Right? Our nurses is just the nurses. I, I do believe school nurses are, I just wanted you to, to be Yeah, it's, nurses confirm that. Um, and we have had some of our community organizations come into the school in the past and provide Narcan trainings, um, for parents and youth, both, um, that's been several years now. And this is just a way to kind of embed it into the curriculum with CPR, with some of the first aid classes with, you know, wherever that may fit best. Um, as far as having someone within the schools at this point in time who has trained to be a trainer, um,
there is not that I'm aware of. However, we can provide the resources and connections to the organizations that can ensure that someone within the schools is either trained to be a trainer or can go into the schools and provide the training themselves. Okay. Thank you Mr. Raz. So Just our next step would be to sit down with Kim, talk about where would we want to imp where this might fit. Uh, and then come back to you for an approval to implement. You might have a, uh, duty to impact as well. Yeah, just throw that over to that side. Ms. Hillman.
Hi. Thank you for reminding me about this training. Um, I have two in my car right now, Narcan, um, and I asked today, yesterday, or Saturday if the Amelia Park had a kit. Mm-hmm. And they said, no, No, they do not. So they asked me to talk to Bill Parks over there, uh, or Billy to maybe get a, a kit. The women's club has one. Just They do. They do. They're on my list for the, uh, for the, for the,
the, uh, map that I'm creating. Yep. And that's because of me. Thank you. Wonderful. I really, I really appreciate that some of our community organizations did such an amazing job even prior to me coming on board with making sure that NALs boxes were up and around the community. We have nine at this point in time, I believe. And, um, if, if you're ever open to the conversation, I'd be happy to help expand that even further. That would be wonderful. Um, I just, I really appreciate you being here. I did have a student who overdosed and as you were talking it back, brought back all those memories. So I think it's really important
that we have education here in Westfield. Kim, I don't wanna run into an agenda violation, but I'm gonna call myself on it. Did, um, did you have the opportunity to, uh, go to a ribbon cutting in which you were instrumental recently? So, yes. Um, So the reason why I'm bringing this up is because information that's not shared is useless information, right? So Absolutely. That is, um, Kim was part of the team that opened up something. You wanna touch on that for a second or two? Absolutely. So, uh, the city of Westfield over the next, um, 13 or so years is gonna be receiving a total of $2.4 million from opioid settlement funds.
Um, I was brought on board and tasked with helping the city identify how best to utilize those funds in an effective way that's gonna impact our city most positively. Um, I did some community engagement and, uh, that included in person in, uh, with focus groups, with people who use drugs as well as a community survey and recovery supports was at the top of the list. So just last week we did open up our Westfield Peer Recovery Center, um, over on Broad Street, and we are just so excited to have that, that resource available to the community. Um, we are gonna be using opioid settlement funds to, uh,
fund the operational costs for the first two years, and then Gandara will be looking for additional funding for sustainability moving forward. Nice. Thank you very much for your a my pleasure. Uh, so I'm, I'm not gonna call Evaluat from you. I'm gonna stem that right into the Naloxone thing. Next up. Thank you, Kim. Um, approval submitted, no, I'm sorry, athletic use. I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the increase in student athletic fees. Second motion I made. And second, is there any further discussion? Mr. Ro?
Good evening. Good evening. My name is Greg Ros. I'm the supervisor of athletics for Westfield Public Schools. Thank you for having me here tonight. Um, yes, we are proposing a slight increase, um, for athletic participation fees. From the information I've gathered, there hasn't been an increase in over 20 years, and this increase would help offset rising costs, including the categories of transportation, um, and the cost of our, uh, to maintain the pool at Westfield High School, which also has increased.
Um, the, the cost of increase there too. There's other areas as well. But, um, those are a couple of the main ones at the top of the list. Ms. Helman, Um, are there gonna be any reductions for low income families? Great question. We do currently have a, um, athletics participation fee waiver that families can fill out, students can fill out. It's a very straightforward form, which is actually easier on my end, um, to fill out, which we share with the coaches and we share with all the students and families when they sign up.
It's part of the registration process and it completely waives the fee. Okay. Thank you Mr. Terrell. Um, do we have a projection, like based on current player enrollment, what the offset would be to the, to the additional funds? We Do. We had just over a thousand, uh, partici participants this year, and that counts, if you played three sports, you counted three times. Um, so if we did have a fee from everybody, we'd be over, just over $30,000 increase. Um, the transportation costs have gone up
by about $20,000, um, the last three or four years, and we anticipate the same increase in the transportation column, um, this year as well. Thank you, Mr. Oconnor. Um, so most for, for people in the audience, most of the increases are about a $25 increase is what's being proposed, but two are a little bit more than that. Um, football and hockey, can you talk a little bit about, about that increase of a, about a hundred dollars each? Right. Yeah, great question. Um, hockey has to do
with the, um, a lot to do with the rental fee of Amelia Park. Um, which, you know, is not a slight to them. Their, their fees are in tune and actually probably lower than some of the other options to maintain a hockey program. They do a great job of giving us an ideal time slot for practice after school and, and all the game s slots that we want. Um, so that, that's on the hockey and increased equipment costs there. It's, it's mostly a rink fee, um, increase there. Football, um, is mainly a, an equipment, uh, based raise.
Um, the reconditioning of football equipment each year costs several thousand dollars, and that cost has, has gone up tremendously the last, um, eight or nine years. Um, and I've seen it increase in my short time here as well. Um, and to see our, um, participation numbers in football stay pretty high, um, that actually increases the cost of the equipment that we need to have reconditioned each season. Thank you. Anybody else? You just have a comment? I don't think, I mean, I think this is a minimal amount
to ask, um, considering we haven't done this in 20 years. I mean, I, I I I'm surprised it's as low as, as 25 when we've gone over 20 years of not increasing that. I mean, that's, I think we've been very lucky. And I think anybody, I I I, I can't understand why anybody would have a problem even thinking about paying for this or, you know, we have it covered. If you can't afford it, we have it covered. But, um, everybody has increased their prices on every single thing and we haven't. So, um, I, I'm, I'm glad you're doing the effort.
We can't sustain it. Thank You. Yeah. Hold Mr. Terrell. Uh, yeah, just to, just to follow on, uh, with what Mrs. Sullivan said. So, um, yeah, so our, our increase to the FY 26 budget was around $61,000 for athletics. So this cuts into about half of that. So we're still not, you know, we're not fully funding that increase, I guess is my point. It's a, it's a, uh, a relatively low increase and brings us essentially based on the comps that you
Provided in line with area towns. Yeah, we did a lot of research into what the other, um, surrounding towns and school districts charge for athletics. And I think, you know, the point about, um, the fact that we do offer the fee waiver, um, is crucial to this. And we make sure that that, um, part of the process is explained at the beginning of our registration each season. Mr. Sullivan, And just for the record, um, every sport is on this list. Every sport is on the list. Correct. Thank you. Any further discussion?
Hold on. Good evening. Shannon Barry, director of finance. Tim, I just wanted to clarify your question. When you talked about the two sports that are increasing more than the $25, there's two additional sports that are increasing more than 25. Just so Yeah, those were, those were just, okay. I just wanted to make sure we realize there was two other ones. I appreciate that. Okay. So I think, I mean, with the data that's been provided by, um, the school department and you look at across the spectrum of where other PBI, uh, communities are, not only does it look like it merits the increase, it actually looks like it merits the increase, but just brings it to the bottom line of the threshold
of the rest of the community. So, um, hopefully this passes. I'm a Yes, Mrs. Sullivan. Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Bo Sullivan. Yes. Heather Sullivan. Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Tim O'Connor? Yes. Chairman McCabe? Yes. Thank you very much, Mr. Bush. Thank you everybody. Item seven. Anybody I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the school committee meeting minutes, uh, a special meeting on April 7th, 2025. Second Motion been made.
And second, is there any further discussion saying none all is in favor. A opposed? Motion carried. I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the school committee meeting minutes for the regular meeting on April 7th, 2025. Second, Motion been made. And second, is there any further discussion saying none all is in favor. A Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Item eight, I'd like to make a motion for the approval of the Westfield Public School's fiscal 20 25, 20 26 budget at $75,566,339.
Second Motion been made. And second, is there any further discussion? I I'll go first. Um, my ultimate goal tonight is to not vote on this. And I know you're all gonna sit there and say, now what are you doing? And I get it. I had a conversation this morning, uh, a phone conversation with Senator Veli. Senator Veli this morning in the State House. They're putting together on the Senate side, a supplemental budget. He has added $250,000. And the line on that says, Westfield Public Schools. That's all it says. Okay.
Now nobody makes guarantees. Um, and I'm certainly not going to make a guarantee. And he didn't make the guarantee to me on the phone, but he came close And he said, you can certainly talk about it. The final vote for that supplemental budget is Thursday. Okay. So we got a couple more days, and I know everybody hates kicking things down the road, kicking cans down the road. But in this case, personally, and it's up to the committee vote personally, at the end of discussion, I'm not doing it now,
because if you do it, it stops discussion. And I don't want to do that. At the end of discussion, I am going to make a motion to table this vote to the next meeting, which is two weeks from tonight, the 19th right here. Same time. Okay. So that's my plan. I would like to see if the Senate votes the appropriation, it becomes part of the budget. We are then guaranteed the money. I would like to see where the recommendations are to spend that money in this budget. Okay. And I think
waiting the two weeks gives the superintendent and the finance director a chance to sit and actually go through every number again to find out where we are. I am going to ask for a dollar amount on each of the positions that have been reduced or cut phases one and two is what is what we were talking about, uh, with both the superintendent and the finance director. So I would like to be able to do that research, knowing or not knowing, but knowing
that there's gonna be an extra $250,000. Okay. So everybody's gonna have their say here tonight, but at the end of it, I'm gonna ask that we do not vote on this, and we do it in two weeks, just so you all know. Okay. Thank you. Come on. So, um, I'm gonna make some comments, is that, um, I guess it's a question for Mr. Sullivan, that money is not earmarked money. If you want to get into the nitty gritty on how it, I, can I answer that? I'm sorry. Yeah, I, I was gonna actually take the broader picture, but go ahead. Okay. Um, it is earmarked money to answer your question.
And the way it works is that it's earmarked for capital. Okay? So what happens is the state money comes into the account that we were gonna fund for capital projects, Chromebooks. A couple other things. What we can do in the meantime is take the money that was in this budget for those projects, move it up. This is my hope. Again, it needs to be voted on, but this is what I hope happens. Take the money that's in these capital projects that will be identified by the superintendent of finance director, move that money into the, into personnel,
and then the 250,000 from the state goes back into the capital expenditures in this budget. Okay? So it's, it's, it's kind of a shell game. I get it. But ultimately, and what, what I'm hoping happens is that there's $250,000 more in the personnel side of this budget than there is right now. Makes sense. Is there any further questions before I address this topic, Mike? Um, not so much a question, but, um, just a couple of comments, um, coming here tonight,
assuming we would take a vote on this. Um, I just wanna say a couple things about, uh, without getting specific about positions, um, you know, generally speaking, uh, having worked in technology for a while, unfortunately, technology usually takes a vaccine when funds are short. Um, maybe you use that laptop for four years instead of two, and and maybe you don't hire that extra position on the technology end of things. And, um, and, and, and I understand that, um, that sometimes technology doesn't move forward, uh,
but generally speaking, you should never be moving backwards. And, um, with some of the technology cuts that are in here, uh, that were baked in, I know there's, there's changes and there's pending money and everything. Um, and, you know, if, if we're lucky enough to get that earmark and we're lucky enough to be able to restore some positions, um, I'd like to be able to use the next couple of weeks to really take a look at, um, technology, stem, um, math sciences, that, those, those types of things to, uh, to be able to bring those things back. Some of those things back, obviously
not gonna be able to do all of them. Uh, I, I also understand that every position in here, I mean, it's, it's an overwhelming list of positions that are being cut. Uh, every of those, every one of those positions is very impactful. I, I, I understand you could make an argument for every position that that is being cut as part of, uh, as part of these cuts and part of this budget for this year. Um, but I feel very strongly about those technology positions. The other thing, um, one of the other things, uh, that I'm concerned about is, is from a virtual school standpoint
and from a special ed standpoint, um, and the risk of us incurring additional out of district costs by cutting, uh, staff in that program, going to a hybrid model and running into a situation where students who are special ed students who either are borderline on needing an out of district placement or have come from an out of district placement, would then have either have to go or, or go back to, uh, one of, one of those placements and end up incurring us more, uh, more cost, uh,
on the, uh, on the other side of things. Um, and the other thing that I would, you know, I spoke last time a little bit on at the last meeting about trying to get creative, about coming up with ways to mitigate, um, some of the, the biggest risks that are, that are within our budget. Um, and out of state tuition or out of out of district tuition, uh, special ed tuition is one of, is one of those things. Um, so, you know, I, I would hate to, I would hate to cut things now that, you know, have a potential value to,
uh, if we, if we are able to expand those things, um, in the future, uh, that would have, that would have maybe help us in those efforts to start being more sustainable and more self-sufficient when it comes to, uh, some of those programs. Um, so anyway, tho those are my, uh, those are my sort of main, main thoughts at this point. I look forward to hopefully, uh, hearing some good news, uh, later this week regarding this earmark and maybe be able to sit down and start revisiting, uh, a couple of these, a couple of these positions.
Dr. Yeah, just also wanna offer a, a few thoughts before that, um, before that news, like, as we talked about last time, I do the, the sustainability issue, particularly with tech, continues to be a concern. I am worried about the cutting of pre-K seats, as we heard a lot of people talk about. Um, I continue to be concerned about our special education investment, and I'm hopeful that the new special education director will get his arms around that. But I do worry about the, the teacher ratio there. Um, but a, a couple of the ones that I'm really paying attention to are the,
um, the coaching roles. As Ms. Topa mentioned, particularly the elementary STEM role, given that we know that many people don't join elementary classrooms, don't become elementary teachers, um, you know, often they're not coming with a, a science as their predominant subject matter expert expertise. Um, I continue to be worried about the dean roles impacting behavior. The hybrid is on my list as well. 'cause I worry about that with all the focus on, um, on, uh, student, uh, collaboration and, uh, coordination within the classroom.
Um, but I also, prior to this conversation was ready to vote yes on this, because I don't know that I would make fundamentally different decisions. And so I do want to take a moment to thank the COAT team for all of the hard trade-offs here that you've been dealing with. Um, you know, if the trade-offs are fewer interventionists, larger class sizes, cuts to arts and music, I, I don't know that I can recommend those. So, I'm, I'm hopeful that what Mr. Sullivan offered comes to fruition. Um, I also, uh, you know, in reflecting from last week, um,
appreciate all the time the mayor spent on going through all of the challenges long term and don't wanna lose sight as we exit this budgeting season of the fact that this is, this is a longer term, a longer term challenge. Um, I know Mr. Mayor, that this is not a, a budget that's making anybody particularly happy. And so I do want to thank you for the efforts to raise the city budget, um, here to try and avoid the worst of the situation. Um, and just continue to encourage city council and our state reps to continue to do the hard things this year
and in the coming years, so that we can get back to the point that we're funding the school similar to where they were pre covid, um, and more comparable to where we are in, um, to surrounding districts. Just, I know that we're not going, I know we're gonna be back here again next year without something, without continued effort, continued hard choices on both the city council side and their state rep side. So, very hopeful, um, about what you offered. And I hope Senator Vilis is able to come through. And I also know that $250,000 this year will be very welcome and is just the start of, of the challenges we're gonna have this year
and in the next couple years. So, a question for the superintendent and, and maybe the director of finance, but let's say this money comes in and it's, it's earmarked for the school department and it gets all the way to the school department or other monies somehow come in. Can you just go through the process that, um, having any influx of any type of source of, of revenue between now and kind of kicking off the budget next year?
The process that you would go through To look at when the first process or concern, or what I, what we would need to know is when that money, uh, which fiscal year that money is coming to. And so without knowing that, um, it, it, uh, it's hard for me to answer that question. The second part of that is that, um, you know, a couple years ago we received an earmark from Senator Vela similar, uh, which was for the science lab work at the high school, which has been completed and referenced earlier tonight, uh, with the ribbon cutting. Um, that funding was awarded for one year,
but it didn't arrive until December. And we found ourselves in a predicament, um, where, uh, we had to spend a chunk of money in a very small period of time. So I think, uh, I need more information. Uh, but let's say that we were getting that, you know, um, uh, funding, and it was gonna come this year for July one, which, because the other thing about the, um, earmarks like that is you can't backdate it. So you can't go back and pay for something previously. It has to be everything moving forward. So that's what I know so far about that. Yes. Right.
I got that. Okay. I got that. Right. So, um, you know, we would look at, uh, you know, I've already mentioned this to our director of finance today about, you know, what we could do to, uh, what, what, what capital means and what areas we could look at to, uh, transfer some stuff over. But again, let's say one of those things was maintenance. Well, if that funding doesn't come until December, we can't not have maintenance until December. So that's the complicating factor. Um, so I, I guess I need more information. Uh, but we would go and, and visit, you know, um, you know, our, our, our thought,
you know, what's going to impact our kids. So that's, that's what we would have to take a look at. And, uh, we would do that work as soon as we have the answer soon as I get it Thursday, Friday ish. Something to that, to That. So somebody gets It. So somebody gets it. But there, so there's still a lot of questions. I feel like I'm gonna get it right now, Right between the eyes. I have one more question. Sure. Uh, that I missed. And again, it's for the superintendent, and it was regarding the, um, the pre-K program at the high school. We talked last time about potentially, uh, making that Yeah. Applying to have that turned into become
a Chapter 74 program, Right? Uh, it looks to me like that's about a one year process. You deadlines start in October and they award things in June or something like that. Is that, is that an accurate statement? Uh, it can be, Uh, as assuming that's the case. Does, does the program have to be in place and running in order to apply or, Yes, It does have to be running. So if we wanted to make that a Chapter 74 program, excuse Me, Mr. Terrell. Yes. You're gonna hate me here doing this, but could you speak Into the mic? Sorry.
Uh, so the, my line of questioning was around, I don't know, I don't know where I left off. It's like my cell phone went out and nobody knew. Um, uh, but, uh, my questioning was around chapter 74 for pre-K, and do we need to have a running program in order to, in order to make that application? The answer, the answer was yes. So if, if we, if we do close that program, uh, I think we've closed the door at least temporarily on, on making it chapter 74. So the program, in order to make it a Chapter 74 program, is gonna have additional requirements as well.
And so, the last time when Mrs. Gy approached, uh, in that there, there were capital skill grants available at that time, and that, that was our intention. I'm not aware of any capital skills grants coming forward right now either. So, um, that was how we were gonna get the funding to get it to go. Um, I have not been made aware of any capital skills grants coming up. I don't think there are any, I don't know if the governor's planning on putting more out, but that is the funding stream that I would use to start that program whenever that comes around. Again, at the time there was something available. Okay, thank you.
So I'm gonna try to answer at least, or get a little bit more information or context to the $250,000. $250,000 is usually given as a one-time expense to offset some type of capital, which means something not easily consumable. It's never given to prop up a specific position or positions within a budget. So the challenge then becomes, if you have $1,113,000 in increases given to you from the state in chapter 70, chapter 74 funding, and then you have another $2 million given to the city,
given from the city side of the budget, it means you took $2 million out of the city side of the budget for the city side of service, and you put it into the school side. So now, if there's a windfall of money, and I can tell you that I promise you that, you know, I, I've read all of your emails, I've tried to send back to you. Hey, I read it. Um, I might have been short, but that I read it. Um, I have been in constant contact with both, um, representative Pease, representative Finn and Senator Ellis' office to see where we are with the funding.
Now, if the funding comes in, in chapter 70, 70, and 74, and it increases the amount of the, uh, school allotment size, if you will, then is it reasonable for me to decrease the amount of money that was paid for the city side? Now, I can see you guys looking at me like I'm crazy, but in order to make this increase from the city side, it means that there's going to be a fairly significant tax increase in order to stabilize this particular budget. So, I don't wanna sound like I'm not hopeful. I am hopeful.
I mean, I'm looking around the room and I see people that I've known since they were young girls that are looking at whether or not they're going to have physicians here. Um, I will do what I can and I will do whatever I think is, is reasonable. Um, I had a meeting today, um, am I allowed to say this? Probably right. Um, I had a meeting today with the finance chairman, uh, Ralph Figgy, who's in the room, uh, the president of city council and the city auditor today specifically on this topic. And what will we do in order to try to address this issue? The real problem with our city budget really doesn't have
anything with schools or cityside. It's all driven by the $4.6 million in healthcare increase. Now, for those people who don't know, for some of the younger students, and all the teachers know, I can tell you that, right? Um, what that means is healthcare increases are paid, uh, by employees of the city at a certain percentage, and then the city picks up the other percentage. So the employee picks up a 2020 3% share, A employer picks up a 77% share. So it's a 77% share.
That's really adversely hurting our budget. If I didn't have that $4.6 million going against this budget, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. 'cause we would be able to fully fund the budget and we would be able to really kind of keep taxes down to where there they should be. So, um, I would actually be in favor of holding off this vote for one more, um, one more meeting, because I really am curious as to see where the state comes back on chapter 70 and chapter 74 funding, which is germane to you guys in the room.
Um, and I'm also quite honestly, hopeful that I get to see some more in Chapter 90 funding. If this kind of all goes our way, then we're gonna be in a better place. Um, and there's one last piece of funding that you should be aware of. It's called AGA funding, which is, um, general government use funding, um, which was cut in the house. I hope it gets revisited in the Senate. Um, and we're talking significant numbers. The circuit breaker number, for those of you who know that circuit breaker is, is about a $1.5 million gap between what they're supposed to be funding
and what they are funding. So if Senator Veli and his folk and Karen Spilker and her folk, which are the same focus is Senator Avila's folk, uh, get together and they can figure out a way to fix this gap, then I think we're all gonna be at a better place. We will probably not know that though until the end of May, which is problematic for a timeframe, because there'll be a, definitely a special meeting here. There'll be no question about that, that we'll have to do a special meeting. And then I'll probably have to ask City Council to hold a special meeting ahead of their normally scheduled meeting
because they shouldn't be given a budget and just flung at 'em of $164 million and say, here, take a look at it, see what you could do, uh, and then call it a day. So, uh, if you'd just be patient with us, I, I can't promise you anything. Um, this could be as bleak as it gets. I'm just being honest with you. But if there's some relief in sight, um, I would continue to keep contacting every single senator that you know, because it really is in their court. I would caution you though, do not
use individual positions as your argument. I know all the names of everybody that's, that's in a precarious situation. I can guarantee you that only talk about positions and programs. Don't specifically talk about any individualized person because then it becomes a little sticky wicket for somebody trying to move forward. So if you're gonna talk about a program, talk about, um, childhood program. If you're gonna talk about a program, talk about the virtual program. If you're gonna talk about something, talk about it in its programmatic effect
and what impact it has on, on your lives and, and our kids' lives. So with that, I think I'd entertain a motion to postpone this vote. I'd like to make a motion to table the vote on item number eight on the agenda. Second. Second. Motion's been made and seconded. Is there any further discussion, Mr. O'Connor? I, I guess it's just I if, and I'm not sure which way to, I forgot. Yeah. We're, I, um, motion, motion been made to the table. Call the roll.
Heather Sullivan? Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Bo Sullivan. Yes. Tim O'Connor? Yes. Chairman McKay? Yes. Wish us luck. We wish you luck. Next item. You guys wanna, you guys wanna stay for the rest? You wanna go? Uh, take a brief couple minutes. Where's everybody going? No one wants to hear our opinion on homeschool application. We just don't lose this. That's and 23rd of 2025. Second made. And second, is there any further discussion? Do we have, uh, like in itinerary?
Do we know what we're doing? This science center? We Okay, nevermind. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. I'd I to make a motion for the approval of field trip for Westfield High School to South Windsor High School, south Windsor, Connecticut. May 15th, 2025. That motion been made. And second, is there any further Discussion? This is for a girls lacrosse game. Thank you. Any further discussion? Seeing none. All those favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion. Judge, I'd like to make a motion for the approval of a field trip of Westfield Technical Academy to Johnson
and Wales University, Providence, Rhode Island, June 3rd, 2025. Second Motion been made and seconded by Mr. O'Connor. Is there any further discussion saying none. All those in favor? A Aye. I'd like to make a motion for the approval of homeschool applications number 188 to number 194 for the 2024 2025 school year. Second Motion has been made. And second. Second. Okay. There's a discussion. Hi there again. Good evening. Good evening here to see if there's any questions. We did provide some additional information, um,
after the last meeting, So I don't know if you saw I'll, I'll offer Yeah, if I can. The, like I did, I did find the historical trends here really helpful. I think it's, it's helpful to contextualize and, um, I also think the new, I know that last time there were some, there was some like data errors in the, the spreadsheet. So I don't have any questions about that. I appreciate the, the historical data and think, not that we need to see this necessarily every month, but it would be great to just kind of keep that historical reporting going if we see anything anomalous
interesting to hear how we're fitting in with the state trend. Great. I mean, I think that's what we found when we kind of looked into it, that there is a trend that we are following in terms of a slight uptick. So yeah, it answered that question. Um, we also wanted to gather little information from people homeschooling. So we did initiate a survey. Um, we have about 12 responses right now. So when we have a little more, you know, we can share some of our results about why people are homeschooling what they get out of it. Um, so We can share that. I mean, we have the general reasons, but we wanna get specific ducks right. A little more. So we'll,
We'll share that when we have it. Thanks. Any further questions Mr. O On the, um, on the reasons cited for homeschooling, and you might have just said something there. Um, yep. The, how they were provided. Are those, are, is that list in any type of order in terms of percentage of students being homeschooled for certain reasons? No. And these were actually, um, that came from the report from the state level. Okay. And I use some of these too, to, I mean, there are also reasons we've heard from some
of our families, and it's something that we put on the list that we're asking families, like, why are they homeschooling? So, but they're not in any order in terms of number or priorities. Just that the new school, the new homeschool numbers, if you look at going back three or four years, they're not, they're not significantly jumping around. Right. Those, those are have been pretty constant, Pretty much. I mean, they jumped up over the pandemic. Right. And then rocked and have gone up a little bit.
Like they, around the pandemic, they were over 200 and they dropped to more in the seventies, high seventies, and now we're in the low nineties. Got it. Anybody else? No further discussion. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carried. Thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Kathy Hillman? Yep. Um, I'd like the subcommittee, uh, policy subcommittee on April 7th. Um, this has been a shooting target because this, these three that we're going
to be voting on were new from the federal government. So we adopted them in the fall. And then there was a court case that ruled against all these policies on sexual based harassment. Um, so now we're rescinding these and we will bring forward the old policies that we had before we adopted the new ones. Um, so it's like crazy. Um, so I would just like to make a motion to resent, resend
the following policy, ACA AR dash r non-discrimination on the basis of sex under Title ix, including sex based harassment. Motion made. Second. Second. Any further discussion? Just A clarifying question. So are we, are we reverting back to existing policy or are we going to not have a policy around Title IX or around non-discrimination on the basis of sex there until we restore policy that we had had in place previously?
These were new policies that we adopted, so they weren't even on the books. I see these three. That's why we're basing them as this. And, um, MASC recommended the other policies that were gonna be talking about. All they did was put a little form little statement at the bottom of their policies stating that they were reverting. But as a subcommittee, we decided that we were gonna do a first reading of the old policy and then we're gonna resend the ones that weren't new.
These are just the new ones. Okay. So we have ones that are new that we are rever that did not exist previously, that were rescinding. We have ones that are updated policies that we are going to reread the old versions and then Paul pass those. Exactly. Correct. Understanding. You did a good job of that. Okay. Okay. It was confusing. Thank you. Uh, so motion have been made and seconded to rescind ACA dash R non-discrimination and base sex sub title nine, including sex based harassment. Any further discussion? Same. None. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.
Okay. The next one that Bo and I sat with and it was a two to zero vote to resend a CGA Civil rights grievance procedure Took Motion been made. And second. And to rescind a CGA Civil Rights grievance procedure. Any further discussion? And again, same thing. Same thing. Right? Nothing before it came new. Nothing's gonna take its place. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Item C, The next one is the same thing. I would like a motion to resend the school policy.
A CGB, title IX Sexual discrimination grievance procedure. Second. Second. Uh, like a motion. So we need the motion then a second, right? Right. Yeah. Motion made and second. Okay, got it. It's been Second. All those in favor? Opposed? Motion carries. So crazy. I'd like to make a motion to create a new gift account to be called the Westfield Public School's General Gift Account. Second. Motion made and seconded by Mr. Sullivan.
Further discussion? I I can, um, yeah, I'll probably take part of this one. Um, 'cause it's my fault mostly, but, uh, Uh, It's an opportunity for me to thank this committee and thank the administration and, um, you know, thank the kindness and thoughtfulness of everyone who's been providing, um, support. Um, and, um, just, just through some, some nice words and other other means. On the loss of my mother, I had, our family had recommended that we, um, in lieu of flowers
or of anything else, other donations to be made to the Westwood Public School system. I put together that sentence. It was a just general account, which didn't exist. So I think that's part of the reason why, uh, we have to, we have to put It forward tonight. You you're a special guy. Well, and, and we, and we have a donation and we had nowhere to put it, But really, and, and Heather, the kind words that Heather said during the last meeting and, and, um, everybody, uh, appreciate it on behalf of my entire family. Super. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries.
I'd like to make a motion, uh, to create a new gift account to be called the Munger Hill Playground Gift account. What's that for? No, I'm just kidding. Second motion been made and seconded. Any further discussion? We'll assume that so we can accept donations from Bunker Hill Playground. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. I'd like to make a motion for the acceptance of the special revenue account summary, including gifts, accounts, and revolving accounts as presented. Second, Motion be made. And second, is there any further discussion? Mr. Barr? Good evening. Shannon Barry, director of Finance. Um, I just wanted to point out school choice again.
Um, I know I reviewed it at the last budget meeting. Um, so as of this morning, um, another payroll has hit, so we're at $2,630,769. Um, we have another $304,000 worth of, um, payroll that'll be hitting there through June 30th. Um, so that'll put us down to $2,326,755. We have about another $312,000 worth of revenue that's scheduled to come in. Just a reminder that that is not guaranteed as I am doing the claiming process
for school of choice right now. So that money fluctuates based on the spring claiming process, but I mean, there's never been a huge shift. So it should be somewhere around that 300,000. So, as I had said at the budget meeting, we'll be about 2.6 million at the end of the fiscal year. We plan to use right now to offset the budget next year, 2 million. So we'll have $600,000 left plus any revenue we take in in FY 26. And then the other item I just wanted to point out is the children's corner. So that is actually the preschool at the high school. That is tuition revenue that's come in there. Um, the plan would be if the budget moves forward
as presented and that program closes that I would use that to help with the deficit on the personnel side and offset, um, one of the teachers or the teaching assistant salary, um, to move, move an expense there to close out that account. Any questions? Yeah, Mr. Sal. So at the end of this year mm-hmm. Including the $2 million payment for next year's budget out of school choice, you're saying there'll be $600,000 before we collect any money for next year, I get, is that
Correct? And this is still with the caveat that we end up okay. In FY 25. Right? Right. So that actually could go down. It could, I'm feeling better about where we are based on some things that have happened in the transportation department in the past couple of weeks. Um, we're, the expense side is gonna be fine. I'm concerned about the personnel side, but I, I'm more confident we're not gonna have to tap into school choice. My, my question is, have you ever seen that number that low before? No. Can you take a second to, before you give that answer? Wow.
I just wanna clarify there though. But the, my understanding that I just want to make sure I'm, I'm understanding correctly, is that we won't get a balance that low because the expenses will be spread out through the year next year in the same way that the revenue, Right? Like at the beginning of the year, the 2 million won't just come up. Won't Right. It'll be up throughout the year, correct? Yes. Somebody on on, sorry. On this side. Mike, you're good. Good. Anybody else? I have a couple. Can uh, can somebody donate $9 and 40 cents? Please? Just, just kick it up. I'm good for you. Actually have to pay to have some business card done or something. 'cause it's a revolving account, not a gift account. My goodness. Go ahead, Ms. Summer.
Um, I have a couple of questions. Is that okay if I ask all of them? Um, this school year, um, the balance, the gift for the arts, a hundred thousand dollars, we spent 87,000. And are they expecting to spend that this year? The 12,000 that's left over? So I'm gonna ask Susan GY to answer that 'cause she has been working with a committee that has been authorizing the purchases from this money. You want? Sure. Good. We get to see Susan. Here's Susan. Um, yes. The remaining funds will be used for the
grants that are going to be given to teachers to incorporate the arts into their curriculum. Uh, note we are still working on the process. Um, the rubric. We have the rubric that we're going to use and the application for the teachers. So that will end up maybe rolling out in the fall. Okay. That teachers can apply. Okie dokie. And I think that'll give teachers a little more time to be thoughtful about what in their planning instead
of in the last weeks Of school. Thank you. I have a couple more, if you don't mind. Yep. Um, lemme just ask him this. Um, project Astra mm-hmm. Does Jesse know about that money that's there? And will we ever use it? So it's problematic because it was for a specific purpose that no longer exists. And it's been saying it, it's an account that I need to look into what the best way to close it out and make it usable for another purpose would be Perfect. Okay. I just want, because it's been on there for a while, I know there's, there's a quite a few on here that have been on here for quite a while. Untouched.
Okay. Um, uh, PA system in Boland. Are we gonna ever use that money? Is there still anything a need there? So Bolens is not a school district property, it's a city property, so we wouldn't use it for Bullens. Um, so again, it's another account that we'd have to look into closing out and seeing what we do with the funds. Perfect. Um, lemme just look. Um, parking fees. Yes. Those are what at the high School? They are? Yes. And what is that money usually used for? So the last time we used it was maybe, when did we pa the parking lot?
Two or three years ago? What was that? The, The, when we pa the high school parking lot, it was, it was probably two or three springs ago that we pave the parking lot. And at that time, the line painting, we took that from the parking fees again. Right. The lines Were painted from that. Yeah. So It gets used for upkeep for the parking lot. I just wanna make sure that we're, we are using it if the kids are paying. So Definitely it's only going the Parking for the parking lot. Use some help. That's one pothole by the way. 3,600. And I know the only other thing I've seen them use it for is obviously to make like the parking process. Have you seen the, and school choice we talked about.
Um, so is for the children's coroner, is that receipt 12,000 for the tuition that the students' parents paid? Yes. So that's all we've received this fiscal year. Okay. And how did they spend 49,000? Well, they've been accruing in a balance for a long time. We don't u when we had the Fort Meadow account, we would use it to offset salaries. We're not doing that in the same scope with Children's Corner. So the tuition has just accrued over the years. They, they buy some supplies out of it, but they're, I mean, they can spend, it was their money to spend as they saw it. So they spent 49,000 on stuff. We,
Well, so in FY 25 we did offset part of a salary. I think it was the teaching assistant salary. So that's why it's higher this year, but yes. Okay. That's good to know. Then. I didn't know if they were putting money into the program and now we're going to dissolve it, so. Right. I was very curious as to what they were doing with that. Yep. Thank you. Mm-hmm. I'm good. She done? She's done. Yeah. Mr. Sullivan. Yeah. Um, actually, um, sticking with the Children's court, are you planning on closing that account? So what I would do is if the budget is approved as is and the children's coordinator closes,
I would do an expended transfer to move more of the salaries that have hit the FY 25 budget, move them to that account, which would zero out that account and close it. Okay. And it'll help with the personnel deficit if I'm able to do that. Right. I just have So it's never coming back. That's if you're gonna close the account, I mean, it's probably not coming back. I just, I mean, we can always reopen accounts if something were to happen in the future. It's Okay. Um, Mrs. Hillman brought up the parking fees. Are we charging for parking fees? We are. There's no receipts. That's why I'm wondering.
I mean, we're in May. There's nothing been collected for the year. That's a very good point. I will look into that. Okay. And I got one other one. The student connectivity one. Um, yes. We started that in Covid. Yes. Because of Hotspots. Correct. Is it written? We can only spend that money on hotspots. It's not, so what I've been doing though is we don't budget for hotspots in the budget and there's still a pretty significant need for hotspots. So I've just been kind of using, it's revolving money so we can use it year to year. So that's kind of where I've been setting aside the money to use for hotspots.
At some point we could use it. I mean, obviously for technology, 'cause it was also for technology. It's just such a small amount of money. Um, you know, in the next year we might need to use it with only $50,000, but, you know, we're not gonna be able to buy a lot of Chromebooks with No, But if we could get a couple, um, I I was just wondering if there's a way to Use it Not just for Hot Spots. Chromebooks, it's on Hotspots. Yeah. I, I don't wanna use it, I wouldn't wanna use it all because I wanna make sure we could still provide the hotspots. But Yes. A portion of it, correct. Correct. But if there's something that happened, I, I didn't know if it was written when we adopted it back. We, it was, it was either technology
or the hotspots so it would be appropriate to buy it. Okay. Alright. Thanks. Yeah. I'm trying to formulate my own question, Ms. Hillman. 'cause I'll wait, I don't know really when it's appropriate to ask the question. Um, so go ahead. Oh, I could go. Mm-hmm. Okay. Um, the, um, W2, a house building, I see that there's still a balance of $2,000. Um, is that finalized? Is the bill, is that house building finished or?
So that's, that's the construction technologies revolving account. So as they do work, it, it's not the, when they go and build a house, but that's just a regular revolving account like every other program at WGA. Oh, okay. I was just, I thought it was just that house on Mill Street. No, no, no, no. That's separate. Okay. Thank you. Ask question. Any further questions for Ms. Barr? Mr. Sullivan. Bo Sullivan? Yes. Heather Sullivan. Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Tim O'Connor. Yes. Chairman McCabe? Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So I'm just gonna give you the report
or the weekly reports warrants, uh, April 4th, 2025. 25 batches totaling $265,653 and 41 cents. April 11th, 2025 19 Batches totaling $582,177 and 58 cents. April 18th, 32 batches totaling $2,000,015 973 and 16 cents. And lastly, April 25th, 2025 12 badges totaling $391,936 and 40 cents.
And again, uh, shout out thank you to Bo Sullivan for helping with another month of me not being able to get there every day. It was an hour After that budget meeting. Uh, 32 signature. Yeah. Thank you Mr. Sullivan. Thank you for Your help. You're very welcome. Like to make a motion to accept the following gifts, donations donated to Munger Hill Elementary from Grin and Barrett Enterprises in the amount of $500 views in the educational purpose Gift account donated to Westfield High School from Kristen Zo in the amount of $30 for the Best Buddies program
donated Westfield High School from Rally for the Westfield Sports. Uh, $1,500 to be used in the Unified Sports Program donated to Westfield High School from the Westfield Qantas Club. The amount of $1,200 to, for the community closet at the high school donated Westfield Technical Academy from New England Helicopter Council, east Falmouth, mass $8,333 and 33 cents. Using the educational purposes, aviation Technology Department, uh, donated Westfield Tech Academy from Tracy Mcic in the amount from Westfield in the amount of a hundred dollars be used for the skills.
USA Club during the Westfield Tech Academy from the Westfield Qantas Club in the amount of a thousand dollars he used for the skills. USA club Following donations were made, uh, to Westfield Tech Academy in memory of Michael Morrissey. From Dominic Elli from Chicopee, uh, in the amount of $200. Uh, and these will all be used for the Westfield Tech Academy. Well, that one's for the Westfield Tech Academy Electric Wiring Department, uh, donated, uh, from Kathleen, uh, McKenney from Westfield. The amount of $25 donated from John
and Linda Berry from Beckett amount of $25 donated from Dotie and Craig O'Neill in the amount of $50 donated from Dennis Gerard. From Westfield in the amount of a hundred dollars. Also donated the Westfield Tech Academy from Holy Trinity Church clothing, food, personal hygiene products to the value of $300 to be for student use. And donated to the grade three students at the Westfield Public Schools from the Qantas Club in partnership with Friends of the Columbia, uh, Greenway and New Horizon Bikes 340 helmets. Helmets, uh, at $16 each for the amount
of $5,440 to be used for the student use. Grade three Second has been made in second. Any further discussion? Just, um, another example of a, a lot of generous people in and outside of Westfield, um, making donations to Westfield Public Schools. Yeah, I'd like to thank the Kiwanis Club for Stepping UPIs Club. Oh, good for them. Thank you. Anybody else? Um, I would please make note of the New Horizons, uh, bike company. Um, they had bought these at cost, so it wasn't
that expensive for the Kiwanis and the Friends of the Columbia Greenway to supply every third grade student a helmet. It's gonna be starting, um, this week, the ninth. And it's gonna be, the Kiwanis is going and they're gonna actually fit the kids with these helmets and they provide training with them. So this is a great program that the Kiwanis and the Friends of the Columbia Greenway and New Horizons provides for students. They've been doing it wild. Yeah. That's cool. Maybe they can go on the Mayor's bike ride. You never know.
Oh, yes. Right. Have like, tell us when that is, please. I, I'll get to that. We good? Sullivan? No. Oh yeah. Yes. That's you. There's, well, 'cause I thought you meant, do you have a question? I did. Heather Sullivan? Yes. Mike Terrell. Yes. Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Kathleen Hillman. Yes. Rose Sullivan. Yes. Tim O'Connor. Yes. Chairman McCabe. Yes. Mayor's report. Well, let's go to the superintendent first. He's always in front. Oh, superintendent Mr. Ro Chair. So just a quick reminder, uh, starting tomorrow
through Friday and Saturday, but it hasn't lasted through Saturday in years. Uh, Westfield Technical Academy will have their annual plant sale, um, Tuesday, which I was able to preview. And they're absolutely beautiful. So they open at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning, get there early. Uh, usually Tuesday morning, there's literally a line down the street and in Greylock. So, um, I also, there's an opportunity for anybody who likes, uh, phlebotomy to, uh, come to Westfield High School this Wednesday from five 30 to seven 30 in two, uh, room 2 0 1. Uh, it is, uh, if you're up
for letting yourself be practiced on by our future phlebotomists, it is Safe and sanitary. Mayor McCabe, I'm looking for Doing this. You looked away on that one. Alright, so I do wanna shout out, uh, Scott Hathaway from the city. He recommended Professor Pickle for Prickle Thorn to come do some presentations at our schools. And I was able to check that out at Highland Elementary School last week. It was very entertaining. So again, thank you to Scott. Um, I also wanna mention that our, uh, student Opportunity Act plan has been approved by Desi.
And I know it was discussed at a curriculum meeting earlier. So, uh, Christine's gonna send that to Cindy so that you can get the final, but, uh, it was approved by Desi with no edits, which is what we love. Um, and then, uh, yeah, happy Teacher Appreciation Week. I mean that. And I want to thank our teachers and our staff. They really are the heartbeat of our schools and it is, uh, our pleasure to appreciate and honor them this week. And that's all I have for tonight, I think. Thank You very much. Now the mayor's Report. Now we'll go to the mayor's report, The new chair. We've got the Grinspoon tomorrow, right? Or tomorrow?
No, Wednesday night. Wednesday, Wednesday night. So congratulations to our gins, boon winners and very exciting news on May the 14th is the Mayor's bike ride. Just kidding you. Um, that's about all the excitement I have for today. Um, I have been working, um, it's pretty much everybody knows this is, uh, it has been pretty difficult in terms of how we're gonna get this done. Uh, I want commend, uh, Councillor Figy, who's in the room. Um, we're trying something a little different this year in terms of the budget. Um, Councillor Figy represents this, the school committee to the city council, and he also, rep rep
represents the finance committee as the Chairman Finance Committee on City Council. And I thought it would be a good idea this time to try it all together. I don't know if we're gonna get there all at the same time, but that we tried this whole thing together. And, um, you know, I'm really kind of, I don't know if I just messed up the city council timing with holding off on the budget, but I'm sure that you're gonna let me know, Ralph at some point, whether or not, uh, uh, we're gonna need to have a special committee of this, of the school committee to vote. And just to make sure the timing's right for you guys. They're supposed to have 45 days. Um, as a, uh, a former mayor used to tell me all the time,
he never gave one in until Tech Graduation Day, which is, uh, a Thursday of the first week of June. So I might try to schedule it around then. I know there's some vacations, so I won't say which Mayor Sullivan that was, I'm just throwing it out there. 50 shot. So that's, uh, that's where we are with that. I don't have anything further. School committee update. I attended the Business Alliance meeting and it was exciting because I was able to actually hear all the things that the groups are doing. It was just wonderful chaired by our superintendent. It was awesome.
Thank you For that. Yes. Yeah, so I, I know it was mentioned earlier, briefly, but, um, Patty Healy had received the, uh, Colin Powell, uh, distinguished award for, um, her, her role as school counselor. And, and that's only given out to two people in the state each year. And it, it seems like it's an incredibly deserving, uh, award for her. And, you know, it, it's an example of the good things that are going on in the Westfield Public School system.
And I think when we get to this time of year when we're talking about the, the challenges with budgets, the frustrations that we have with, with, with not being able to support all the programs and positions, um, we, we still have to make sure we don't lose sight of all of the good things that are going on. And, um, we see it all the time. We see it every meeting with presentations and other things. But it's just a reminder, hopefully for this group that, um, still got to be positive. Uh, you know, let me circle back to, uh, one of the, to the mayor's report or just a question for the committee.
Um, we're gonna get into some pretty heavy committee meetings. Can, would it be okay to ask maybe at some point that we suspend some of the, um, presentation pieces, um, coming up to the next meeting specifically? I realize that we wanna have school presentations at the meetings, but, um, I also wanna be respectful of the people that are here to try to do, you know, to get themselves hurt on the budget side and stuff. And while the school presentations are important, I think it's also important to recognize that these folks are here till nine, 10 o'clock at night.
Their mornings, their day started at seven in the morning. So, um, just something to consider, um, for the next couple of meetings. And maybe we'll double 'em up in the, in the, in the fall session or something. I'm not trying to be disrespectful to anybody, but anyway, Mr. Sullivan, Uh, Mr. O'Connor reminded me, I just want to do a, a congratulations to, uh, a former Westville High School baseball coach, actually, baseball, football, softball. I think that's it. Uh, Tom Croy is going into the Western Mass Baseball Hall of Fame. Uh, he was a coach, uh, just after the mayor graduated.
I believe he started in 1983 with a baseball. He's already in the State State Baseball Hall of Fame, and he's going into the Western Mass Baseball Hall of Fame, which is, I believe the first Thursday of June, which unfortunately we'll be able to attend. Um, but I just want to congratulations to, to Mr. Croy. Coach Croy, uh, coached a lot of people, uh, through Westville High, uh, starting with football and all the way up through the, when he retired, I was a teacher for ever. I, I don't, uh, 30, more than 30 years when Mrs.
Minci and I, Adam, uh, so congratulations to Tom Croy. Congratulations Mr. Croy. Um, but also congratulations to, in no particular order, Gail Britton class of, I won't say it, but she'll kill you. Not doing it. We've known each other a long time. I'll just say that. Um, Jordan Eker, who is here today? Victoria Albert, Laura Miller, Christina Smith and Kaitlyn Nugent. This is a little weird. Like they're my students now. They're, they're teachers and they're being honored. So those are your grin Spoon winners.
That'll be awarded on the seventh. Thank you for the I got it. Anything else? Uh, 19th sub committee reports. Okay. Um, I'd like to make a motion to accept the minutes of the Human Resources and Policy Subcommittee dated April 7th, 2025. Second Motion be made. And second, is there any further discussion? See, none opposed in favor? Aye. Opposed? Motion carries. Anything else? That's it. Is that it? I think we got it all. How about the next regularly school, uh,
scheduled school committee meeting is, oh boy. The 35th anniversary of Jennifer and I. May 19th, 2025 invite her? That's correct. Bring her. I might miss that. Bring date night. Bring her. Oh, that'd be great. Date night. Yeah, we can have cake. I don't know how I'm gonna pull that up. Well, is there a motion to adjourn? Second Motion been made by Mrs. Sullivan to Mr. Sullivan Is a second to adjourn a favor. Aye. Motion carries. Thank you.