##VIDEO ID:https://vimeo.com/1051736061## She was doing well. Where does he have to go? No, he said, um, he had a basketball game just getting back immediately located at White Oak School. Oh my God. There You go. You got it. Who Else did Cooking with gas? Look at you. Go X Is that on the, is that on the Shared drive? No, because that would've been smart. I could have done that. I didn't do that. You Want me to do that? I can do it. I got it right here. Okay. Thank you very much. Alright. It's much color on the slides. Good evening everybody. It's six o'clock. And welcome to the special committee or yeah, the special committee. That's fine. Special meeting of the Westfield Public School Committee. Mme. Sullivan. Um, Jeffrey Gunther. Here. Kathleen Hillman. Here. Rose Sullivan. Here. Heather Sullivan Here in Lake Rell. Absent he, um, to o here. Chairman McKay here. I all rise for P To the flag of the United States of America and Republic, which stands under justice. I'd like to open up the, uh, the floor for public participation. Uh, we'll extend it out about 15 minutes. Each person has the opportunity to address the school committee on a, on a topic of their choosing, um, for a duration of no longer than three minutes. If there's anybody who would like to address the school committee, step forward. Well, that seemed pretty easy. Uh, moving on to item two on the ora. It's actually item two on the agenda. Cut. Like to make a motion for the approval of a Westfield Technical Academy trip to Lincoln Tech in East Windsor, Connecticut on January 31st, 2025. Second. Second. Motion's been made. Further discussion. Same. None. All is in favor. Aye. Aye. Opposed? Motion passes. Mr. Raki, would you like to address this on, uh, matters of the school? Yes. Thank you. Um, so I want to thank you for the opportunity to be able to present on this and, um, again, high school project discussion. I think that's where we are. Uh, so just a quick, uh, agenda, you know, where this started, uh, or introduction. There was the, alright, I'm gonna do a quick introduction. Just talk about the M-S-B-A-S-O-I. So if I say SOI, it's statement of interest. So, you know, uh, talk about a little about West High School, Westfield Tech. Is there an opportunity for consolidation? And then where do we go from here? So first, you know, this discussion began obviously with, um, feeling out in the community. We need a new high school that's come up, um, several times. The high school is 51 years old. Uh, and I think as you walk through WTA, you also see that WTA is in need of replacement. So, uh, we have estimated the cost at 300 plus million for this particular project, and that would be subsidized to buy an MSBA grant. And I know the mayor's gonna talk a little bit more about that in a, in a bit. So, uh, I should have deleted that. All right. So, um, if we were to submit a statement of interest, it is due April 11th. Um, I have taken the liberty to start writing a little bit of it just to, I really, I wanted to get in the system and kind of poke around on page eight, if you're wondering. But, uh, and there's more to come, uh, with that, with that. But, um, we also would need a school committee and city council vote to approve the project before the SOI is submitted. So that, so when we have that vote of both bodies, I have to download the, vote the paper into their system so that they have it on file. And then once selected, and if you're remembering from the last school project, we will need funding for the feasibility study, which is where they determine, um, you know, the best, the best place, whether it has to look like and so on. So, um, the feasibility study for Westfield River was just under a million dollars. And then, um, after you're selected, um, Mike, uh, sorry, uh, school committee member Mike trial and I were on MSBA call last week, and they did indicate you have to, um, the project for the funding. You have about 90 days once you're selected for the project to determine your funding source. And then the question begins, do we do a statement of interest for Westfield Technical Academy? A statement of interest for Westfield High School, or one consolidated high school for the city? Mr. O'Connor? Mr. Mayor? Oh, I can't call on you, Mr. Mayor. Yeah, go ahead. So, the statement of work, when, when we submit that, you know, I, I think we all understand what part, at least what part of it is, is in there. But when we submit it, what are we representing to the MSBA at that point? That we are, because we have a vote of the school committee and the city council that we are, we are willing to pre prepared to move forward with a, with the project. Now, I don't know about what our chances of getting selected are. What I will say is that we still have an MSBA project that the River School project is not complete. It is still, they're still tearing down the old school. So we are still in, in a project mode, uh, phase two, they're calling it with the MSBA. So we do have a current project with them Since we're doing the questions in that first part, just for, uh, clarity, the funding of the feasibility study. And we'll compare it to the one we just did since that's the easiest one that everybody can know. That was actually approved by the city council. Correct. Was where did that money come from? Was that out of free cash? Was that out of, I wanna say it was free cash. The, the city budget wasn't out of the school department budget per se. It was out of the bigger budget citywide. Right. At least. Okay. That's what I want to know. So, Stephen, again, on, on the, the SOI we're, we're representing, we want, we want a new building. We we're not saying we want a new technical academy. We're not saying we want a new high school. We're not saying we want a comprehensive high school. We're saying we want a new high school though, Right? Well, no, you have to apply for a school. And then there are further questions that go down and say, is this an opportunity for consolidation? And when, when do those, do those questions come out regardless of whether or not you got any chance to be selected? Or are they coming out? They're coming out automatically because you've, you've submitted an SOI, Right? Once you submit the SOI it is a public document, if that's what you mean coming out. I go, Well, if you're saying then there's follow up questions, are they sending the follow up questions? No, No, no. They're asking if it's a consolidation, you would put yes or no. And if yes, then you have to describe the consolidation and what the desired outcome Is. So that comes after the SOI is in, we're, we're not saying, Uh, it's all part of the SOI. Oh, it's all one application that does asks all those questions. So, so when we submit the SOI, we're telling them that if, if we believe it, that there's an opportunity for consolidation, we're telling them that there may be an opportunity for, in this case, a comprehensive high school. Well, And I wanna clarify that term a little bit later in the PowerPoint, but yes, I mean, a high school, a one high school, a consolidated high school, I think you're using the term consolidated is a little confusing to people on one school. So is consolidated to you comprehensive or is consolidated to you moving two pieces of the same school together into one mainframe School Consolidation. So a traditional comprehensive model is a half day of shop and a half day of academics for every, every day. I mean, I have that slide coming up if you want me to get there. No, Well, yeah, I don't wanna lose a statement of interest. 'cause I I wanna make sure we, okay. So your statement of interest you put in for a school. So when we put in for, for Franklin Avenue. Okay. When we put in for that, our desire at that time was to combine Abner and Franklin. But our SOI was for Franklin Avenue, hence when, and people were questioning this, right? It was the Franklin Ave School project. Correct. That is why, because that's what we put in. But in our, um, consolidation, we talked about Abner Gibbs. So when they came to visit, this is part of the feasibility study, they came to visit, they looked at Abner, they looked at Franklin and said, yes. Um, both of these schools need to be, need to be replaced. And then they, through the feasibility study, they granted us the, i I mean, in terms of funding, not in permission. Okay. Um, the money to build one school replacing two. Right. Ms. Sullivan. So I just for clarification, question, are you thinking the statement of interest, depending on how you fill it out, it filters you into a different line of questioning? Is That, so if I say this was not an opportunity for consolidation, those questions would go away And, and then a a different set would come Up up and it would, you'd be answering? Well, I think it just, I, I mean, the consolidation itself is a whole separate topic. If you're not consolidating, then I think it just asks more questions about the one school. So what I've done so far is talked about, um, the deficiencies of the tech school in my, in what I've written so far, and what the potential consolidation could be and why. But I, again, not, I'm just practicing Right. Without putting, I'm, I gotta, I made it into a Word doc so I can play around it. Right. Just for my own, uh, purposes, because I've never done it before. Mr. O'Connor. So I, I just want to figure out, when we app, when we submit an SOI, are we applying for a tech academy high school? Or are we applying for a public high school? So the, when you submit for one school, in other words, um, they ask you to submit for one school and then they ask you to ol if you wanna consolidate. So when they come out and do the feasibility study, they would determine if that consolidation is, um, I'm, I'm feasible, for lack of a better term. I get the Consolidation Part. Okay. What are we applying for? That's, that's, well, that's, I can't answer that. I don't know that yet. So that's what I wanna go through the slides. Yeah. But because we haven't told him that, so he can't do that yet. Dr. Gun? I, I'm good. Thank you. Mr. S Nope, that's, That was the question is what are we, yeah, I haven't applied for anything. I'm just, and this absolutely, I kind of wanna walk through that. Right. Um, so, okay, next slide. So the reason why, um, you know, Westfield High School, this slide talks about some of the, the work that we have done at Westfield High School in the last several years. So there's been upgrades to the main and gymnasium entrances, you know, the vestibule now when you go in on one side, you redid the floor finally on the gymnasium side. Uh, all the exterior doors have been replaced, which is an expense. Uh, the, and I know the, the pool was outrageously priced, but that was just the filter. So for anyone who, who thinks we got a brand new pool, we did not. We got the filter fixed, but we still have the same pool and Kathy Shaker because Yes. And I have got pictures of it too, just so you can see that. So, um, uh, we've had the tennis courts project, of course, uh, the science classroom lab upgrades, those are about complete. So, uh, that's almost done. Uh, the o the office, the guidance suite, chorus room and band room, they've all been upgraded with new carpeting and such. Um, the auditorium carpet and the new sound system in the, in the auditorium, it does need lighting and other things too. We did the driveway paving project. Uh, we did, we had, we replaced when I first was superintendent, we replaced the gym and locker, uh, room roof over, over that. But the rest of the roof still needs to be replaced. And then we put in new telephone, new intercom systems. And currently there are greenhouse repairs. The upgrade to the greenhouse is happening, uh, $83,000 worth of, of repairs. And then the art classroom upgrades, we're using some of that grant money, uh, that we received the gift to upgrade the art classrooms at Westfield High School. But again, Westfield High School built in 73, certainly dated in comparison to surrounding communities with new high schools. And I know that that's what people are not that all communities around us have new high schools, but quite a few do. Um, there is shrinking enrollment at Westfield High School. We know that, uh, we absolutely need locker replacement. There are constant roof leaks in the areas where that aren't replaced. And MSBA keeps bumping up the, the year of the roof so that if you apply for accelerator repair, uh, the interior hallway doors are worn. Obviously air conditioning was very desirable. Uh, the heat blowers need replacement. We have m ones in for that. The pool area itself needs to be refurbished. Yes, the filters are wonderful and terrific, but the rest of the pool area, it needs some help. Uh, the bleachers in the gym need to be replaced. We had them repaired last year. Their recommendation was to replace them as soon as possible. Uh, library carpet needs to be replaced and it all has the original windows as well. So here is just some quick pictures. Like, I mean, those are the lockers that you're all familiar with. They're probably the same from when you attended. You still know the combination. Some people still do. That's really amazing to me. They remember their combination from high school. Uh, I mean, you can see the doors that are worn, the bleachers, they look okay, but again, they got stuck. Last year. We had to pay 10 grand to repair them. And I think that they just need to be replaced. They're the original. So, and they, again, the roof leaks. This is what you see happening. That was just fixed last year, but now conditioner is back, so we have to repair that. The blowers, I mean, they don't look that great either, but they're also not functioning as well as they need to. So we need to get that repaired. So there is the pool, that's the roof of the pool, uh, that needs to be replaced. And then next to it is just some of the installation that has to be replaced. Then we go to the tech academy. So we have the upper campus paving project that we did. The weight room was upgraded last year. Student service offices updates. Uh, the school has received several capital skills grants, which for building and equipment, but for the building, like we were able to redo the manufacturing area for those who may have toured that. You got to see the new space. Uh, and also, um, we have, uh, like the paint booth is gonna be replaced. So that's a major construction project, but it really doesn't affect the, uh, aesthetics of the building, but obviously makes that shop more functional and so on. So those kinds of things, the aviation area, we, in the last 10 years have, have, uh, made that, uh, done some construction there to, to make that feasible for that program. They also have a new telephone and intercom system, which wasn't working yesterday, but the vendor came out today. Uh, the front entrance concrete project, and I only bring that up, that's a partnership with the DOT. But the entrance was all slate and it was all cracking. And so the DOT is doing phases with our kids and helping to repave it so that it's cement, so it won't crack anymore. But, um, and they also, in 2012, there were new exterior doors and windows. And then in upper campus, I didn't put this down, there was no airflow unless you opened a window. So now there's an airflow system. So when you go and you see all the duct work, that's what that is. That was also added in 2012. And all the roof, uh, controls have been replaced at both schools to Siemens. So the upper campus right, was built in 1931. And I, listen, I was the principal there, so I have my, it's upper lower connector, but that's, that's how we just call it. But uh, the lower campus was built in 1962 and then in 1994, that connector building to put both places together. So that is the newest aspect of that building. Student enrollment is at or near maximum capacity. And there's a waiting list of about 40 to 60 students to get into Westfield Tech annually. Um, cracked and worn out flooring at upper campus and lower campus, really, uh, consistent roof leaks. We had a new roof put on it. Still leaks in upper campus. I mean, I can tell you where the buckets are to this day, where we, when we have a big rainstorm, uh, and what it does to the ceilings afterwards with the corrosion. Uh, and then the staff and student bathrooms need help. I think that's almost self-explanatory. Uh, lower campus HVAC repairs are needed. The areas that are air conditioned are not working at the moment. And um, even when it was working, we get this new system put in in 2012 and for some reason it's not doing something with the humidity. So if you go to the IT shop now, we have removed the shelving that was in there, but it was so humid in there that you could, the, uh, pieces were starting to rust. And so we took, we took those pieces out. But that can't be good for computer technologies. The other thing I'm thinking, uh, there's no ability to add new programs because of a lack of space. Now there is a lot of square footage in that building, but there's not a lot of usable space. Uh, it's just the way it was designed back in 1931 when none of us were around. That was six Two. Okay. Alright. Um, and then there's just not even enough room in the cafeteria for lunches. So, um, I mean, the way the schedule works, you have shop lunch and you have academic lunch, but we've had to open up the gymnasium for people to have luncheon because the we're over capacity in the cafeteria and you can't break the fire code. Uh, and of course air conditioning needed in places where they don't have it, particularly with all the sensitive equipment that is, that is contained in there in some of the photos from the tech academy. That's some of the ceilings and the walls from the roof leaks in upper campus, that's the floor and another wall in upper campus. And so the flooring, um, is the original flooring from 1931. And so you see those things. We've patched the holes, but there's also some concern about tearing up that floor. That's pesti. I didn't say it. Well, it's come in one way or the other. Yes, it's, yes, it is. Um, again, some more floor. That's a picture of the science room that's three 10 and then some more ceiling stuff that's happening. And then the, the traver, whatever the floor is made of in the main caliber, that's also cracking. There's like a 40 foot crack in the electric wiring two now that used to be the gym of the original Westfield High School. Now it's electrical wiring. And that's what the side of the wall looks like in electrical. Yeah. So there is, there are plumbing issues in both lower and upper campus. And the desire to dig into that is not very high because we're gonna find a lot more than we bargained for, I believe Uhhuh bathroom, uh, ceiling tiles, uh, in the, um, that is actually in the room bow that we were in, uh, Forney's room. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so their lockers are pretty bad as well. I wonder. I think they might be the originals from 1931. And then those pillars, we've gotten quotes to get those fixed. Um, I know they were put in to try to mirror the upper campus when the school was built, but the quality was very, I dunno that you're putting sheet rock outside. I dunno that you're doing that. I wouldn't do that. Imagine there's a wait list to come to this highly Beautiful. So, and that's where we took out all the stuff outta rusting in it. We were there. This one On the right is a picture of just the electrical thing. We cannot add another thing to construction technology, right? Because remember we added the CNC machine and stuff without replacing or upgrading the entire electrical system. So there's that, that capacity too. So opportunity for consolidation. So, you know, um, for me, this idea came up because what we really need are two new high schools. The probability of that is pretty low. In fact, maybe negative. Alright, low. So we do have shrinking enrollment at Westfield High School. It is leveling off now though. And that was projected through MSBA and all the other studies that we've had done. The increased enrollment at WTA was not projected, but that is has happened. Um, in a, if we consolidate there are opportunities for increased academic and career, uh, choices for our kids, uh, there we would eliminate the WTA waiting list. And one of the big pushes on the state now is to, you've probably heard about the lottery. You've heard different things because all across the state, there is not enough access to CTE seats. So this would, uh, allow for more seating, uh, more seats and in and out of district. Do we eliminate, but we eliminate the WTA waiting list that we, we don't have to have a consolidation for that. Well, if you build a WTA, you would have, I would hope we'd build it bigger to get more kids. Yes, that could go either way. Yes. Under either model we would eliminate the list. If you build a WTA or if you do a consolidation, we would eliminate the wait list. That's right. But I think it's important to eliminate that wait list. Um, I do across the state, actually, not just here. Um, but there could be a pot, you know, financial savings from operating one school instead of two. Uh, we could add more CTE programs or innovation pathways. So at the high school, we have innovation pathways except for, uh, criminal justice, which is a CTE program. And we added that at Westfield High School because there was interest, but also because there was no room to add it at WTA, um, combined athletic and extra extracurricular teams if there was a consolidation. And we're getting to some of those things now, like our hockey, uh, team has seven kids from WTA on it, the high school hockey team, because the numbers in the, uh, of, uh, the enrollment has gone down at Westfield High School. Some of our, our wrestling teams are combined. Our swim team is combined. Um, so we're getting there slowly. But the one that everybody keeps asking me about, as you know, is football at the tech academy where we did have it once. There are kids who choose to go to Westfield High School as opposed to Westfield Tech, even though they want to go to the tech because they can't play football. So that is a problem we could eliminate. Um, and then, but the, the possibility for increased student engagement, and I put that because there's more hands-on, potential hands-on learning and then what white school look like. So I feel like, you know, we, we've been throwing around the term comprehensive, again, a comprehensive model is half day, all four years. Um, I've worked in a comprehensive high school and I've also worked at the tech academy and the tech academy. A model for me is the one you go with. Um, because our, our businesses want it. However, um, what some, uh, what we talked about when I first became principal 10 years ago was what we're calling front loading academics, which is doing a half day for freshmen and sophomores at the tech academy because they're inherently getting 25% less academic time than their peers at Westfield High School. So if you did that, and then, uh, by ninth and then 10th grade, they're getting this, everybody's getting the same amount of academics, there's a reason to believe it would improve test scores at the tech academy because they'd have more time in academics. So, uh, you know, if you have, uh, 75% of the instruction that your peers are having compared to what they're getting, your scores are gonna be lower inherently because of, of the time. But, uh, this could fix that. And then that's why I don't say this is a comprehensive school, because then when they're junior and senior year, we'd go to the traditional a BA week, B week. And, um, that would, uh, allow for co-ops that would allow for the time that is necessary. The academics, hence, aren't necessarily what's most important. If you're in a shop. Now, the, the focus goes more toward the shops. But everybody in our state because of of the DESI is responsible for academic achievement. So by not, you know, when, when, um, both schools were around in the eighties, you had like four days of shop, one day of academics. That's how it went. I mean, and then when mcass came around, that's when it changed to a different schedule. So because you had to get more academic time in, uh, and the, the schedule for our students that would be in the academics would just have the same schedule they typically would have. Uh, but there's also an expansion of student opportunities for cooperative education, job shadows and career internships. And we're doing that now. Kevin Daly and Patty Healey work really well together. And they're sharing resources. They're, um, you know, and, and we have kids now going to Holyoke Medical Center. We have kids going, uh, from the high school and the tech and kids going to even Montgomery Animal Hospital are from both schools. So we're, I mean, we're starting to do that. And the kids are starting to be able to, in their senior year, explore careers that they think that they want to do at Westfield High School, whether as an intern in some cases they even get paid to work there. Um, we could ob we could expand early college and dual enrollment. And there I have just an associate's degree. My dream has always been, and particularly with, because there are other districts that can do it, but they, but they start early college and sophomore year is to get our kids enough, they could almost graduate with an associate's degree. And I think that's a phenomenal model. And I think with the cost of college today, minus community college, I get that. Um, but that probably isn't gonna be free forever. And I feel like, um, kids graduating from us with 30, 60 credits, um, is such a leg up for them and financially and academically. And then, um, expansion of AP course access and offerings too. I don't think that, you know, there used to be a feeling, oh, a a tech kid would want to take ap, that's untrue. And, and, but right now they don't have access to it. So we don't know. But I remember at the Comp Ransom High School, I would have kids from like the collision or Auto Tech in my fifth period, us ap US history class. So it was, it was nice. And they, you know, I mean, just because you like cars doesn't mean you don't like history guys just saying like, you have other interests. And we wanna obviously maximize that for our kids. Um, and again, a lot of this could happen if we just built the tech academy, but I showed you the condition of the high school too. It is better and we put some money into it, but it also still needs a lot of work. And the portion of the roof we did several years ago, which was just the, um, the gym and the locker room was 500,000 back then pre covid. So what are some other considerations? Well, and I'm aware of this, right? And the alumni, how will they feel about this? Westfield High School has been around with us since 1855. Westfield Tech, back then, it was a Westfield Boys Trade School in 1911. And the school has grown and changed names several times. Um, right. Where were the location of this consolidated high school be or where would the location be of a new tech academy? And we would obviously wanna collaborate with our business and our academic partners on either model that we do and choose, because we have such great relationships with these folks. We had a YouTube a meeting this morning. It was great. A lot of businesses packed. Um, it was good. And then, you know, I also have to think about then if, let's say we were to build that consolidated high school or even the New Tech, what happens to the old buildings, right? Because I believe upper campus, 1931 must have some historical significance. It also has the largest gathering space in the city of Westfield indoors, which is the auditorium, which if that were ever refurbished would be absolutely beautiful. Um, like I'm thinking like the Academy of Music type stuff, you know, I mean, it's that it is, it is, it is a nice, uh, space and could lower campus and the connector become aviation high school. And I, I just think be out outside. Sometimes I dream big. I know that. But you know, we have such interest in aviation that I think we would be the only one in New England. And I think we'd be getting people coming in from all around, plus our own kids. And we also have a waiting list, 10 kids for aviation every year. So that's just a, a thought in my, my wishing big. And could upper campus become city hall annex school department office? I have no idea. But I don't see tearing down these buildings and, and we would need money to refurbish them or tear them down. Either way, it's still gonna cost money. So where do we go from here? And that's Up to you. So I think the, uh, the purpose for this special meeting was to kind of collect our thoughts over the past two weeks and try to figure out what direction we might like to take as a school committee. Whether or not we want to go to, um, a mixed model school use, or if we wanted to go with one school, or we wanted to go with the other school and try to figure out whether or not there was an appetite to, um, Look at Those three different things. Um, so at this point, you make a compelling argument or, you know, some of the, most of this stuff I think some of us have seen before. But, um, what's, so you, what are your thoughts? I mean, I'll, I'll start off. I think I did last time. I'm fully on board with the idea of a comprehensive high school, or I, I'm hybrid. I'm, I'm going to keep hybrid. Hybrid. Hybrid. Sorry. It's gonna take a couple times school within the school to get out it. Yes. I mean, I think that the, like the opportunity for students to be able to cross pollinate across the programs to be more adaptive when changes it, you know, obviously well ebb and flow interest may ebb and flow between these things over the next 50 to 60 years. Right. Being able to have that flexibility, the operational impacts in terms of having one building, being able to, you know, being able to transport to one building over the course of the time. I think there's just, there's some real savings there for the district. I think we operate really inefficiently in some ways because we have too. So both programmatically and financially, I'm, I'm all for it. And I think we need to go now. I, I don't, I understand there are a lot of barriers ahead. It's possible city council want, wanna go forward. It's possible. Voters won't want to go forward. But I, I think if our interest is in what's best for the school and for the kids, I, it's clear to me that we need to go forward. Gentleman, Mr. Sullivan, Can I go back? I, I ask a, a couple specific things about the statement and, and I'll start, I'll go backwards. We both had a conversation the night of the dual meeting with the, uh, with the tech academy. Right? Um, there was concern out there and you, you mentioned it. Yeah. But there's a concern out there from the business community that a hybrid, is that what we're going with? Hybrid? Well, so hybrid model, I think when you say comprehensive, yeah. Okay. It is strictly half day. Half day, right? Correct. And so with the hybrid model school within a school, which was my intention to present all along, right? It's a hybrid of that while also front-loading academics, right. Which gives us the opportunity to improve academic achievement, which is a goal. So, So I, how do we get there? My question is, in that conversation that we were having, do you think you convinced him that the hybrid model of a comprehensive high school is feasible for him, for his business? 'cause he takes, he's got co-op kids, uh, from the tech academy. Now, was he comfortable Explanation? We determined that we were gonna have a more, Because the, the reason I ask this is you're gonna be talking about that subject with the business community. Yeah. Your tuba group Yeah. That you had this morning. They're all gonna ask that question. Yeah. Are these kids, they, they like the model that it is now because these kids are highly qualified kids that they can hire. They're worried about that taking a step back. So, so when you have week on, week off, you're, and you do half day, half day, in theory, time on learning is the same, right? So, um, and actually, you know, part of the detriment of ninth and 10th grade with scores, and I lived this 'cause we were level three and we worked to get us to level one by integrating the academics into the shops. That's how we did it. When you have, when you think about it, you have academics. You leave on a Friday, it's nine days to have academics again. Right. That's not, that's not cohesive learning. It's not. And a lot of teachers have reported back. So on top of the less learning time, a lot of teachers reported, we have to go back and spend some time reviewing what we did two weeks ago, because it's been a whole week. It's like, it's like February vacation every summer. Huh? Summer learning loss. It's in a weekly, on a weekly basis. So, so I think the ninth and 10th grade years, particularly, I know MCA now is not counting, but there is talk of something coming. So, uh, whatever that is, I think you've gotta get the academic piece down for the kids. And again, they're not losing time in shop. And then by the time they get to their junior and senior year, they're still gonna take academics, don't get me wrong. But then they're going back to a traditional vocational school model, which is the week. So they will be available for co-op, they'll be able to have their related coursework during academic week. So it's just, I mean, we could do ninth grade front loading academics, but that's something we talked about 10 years ago because of where our scores were. But we were setting the schedule that we have in terms of academics doesn't set the kids up for success. I mean, they, there are, they're successful. Get me wrong. But I'm saying the model itself is a potential downfall in terms of the learning loss plus the re reduction of academic seat time. Does anybody else in the state do that? Do they have a school with that model? No, not that I'm aware of. So it, again, besides explaining it, because it's so new to everybody, and this is strictly a guess, I guess on your part, would that be acceptable to MSBA Desi, everybody else who would've To be involved? I, I do think so. I mean, I, I, I may have run this by the commissioner at one point when he was in town and thinking what he may have thought. And, um, I mean, he thinks very highly of our district, so he thinks that we're doing things right and this maximizes really the academic piece for our kids, but also respects the vocational piece. And I'm a huge supporter of that. I think you all know that. And, and I think, um, I would never wanna do anything that would hurt the businesses to take away from them, uh, by any means. Right? And that's not my interest. My interest is I walk into both high schools regularly and, um, I just think we could do better for our kids particularly. But WTA folks, I mean, you, we just went through it last week. If you did the upper campus tour, you saw a lot of the pictures I just showed you. Mm-hmm. So I'm just going to, you know, I understand where the business community might have that because they have their own school and they have their own, you know, they want to protect that. But I think at the end of the day, when you look at the big picture, they're getting a whole student, you're getting more of the education piece and not just their piece. And I think that's important as a community, a business and, and education that you want that well-rounded person. So that little bit more of front loading and maybe not having them exactly where you want them, um, the way you're used to. Um, it might be something that's a little unsettling for them. But I think that with the amount of progress that school has made and the amount of, you know, or aviation programs and the other things that we've got gotten put forward and thinking outside the box, I think a little bit of trust should be, um, handed out there. And for those students who don't stay in, you know, uh, their discipline, uh, wouldn't it be nice for them to have that little bit of extra? And we had an example of one of the students that I knew who no longer is in that discipline, and I was a little, had she had a school within a school, she might be doing something different than what she's doing today. With that said, I do think we should move forward with this. It's, um, whether or not we're worried about the city, not, I, I think please take these pictures and plant them everywhere that this is where their kids are going to school. I mean, that's horrifying that you're, I would never go into that bathroom and we're telling our kids to, I can't imagine learning when I think, I think jail cells look more comfortable than that. So to me, it's a campaign that you really have to put out there for our students. And learning is about, you know, how we, what we wear, where we sit, how where we're, we're, we're being presented. Well, Your perfect example is, you know, we had, um, our most needy kids at Abner and Franklin in the two worst, well, I think the tech might not be, the tech might be worst, but, uh, two subpar facilities, we'll put it that way. And now we're putting them in a brand new facility, right? And so, and I really think when you walk into Westfield River and then you walk into Westfield Tech, you get a wow. Um, and, and I mean the walls and upper campus, I don't know what they're made of, it's sheet rock ish or whatever, but they're really crumbling and, and, and, and the building's a hundred years old. And, and so it's more than done its time. It's been Westfield High School. It's been North Middle School for some time. I think it was Smith Bath Elementary School for a bit. And then it went to, uh, Westfield Vocational Technical 90. Can I just wanna say one thing in closing, if we think education is this important, we need to make it look like it is. And that doesn't look like it is. So that's my feeling on that. Well, the other OP option, right? So you build a new technical high school, and then you look at Westfield High School and try to get as much from MSBA in terms of roof and window replacement, uh, which is accelerated rate repair. That's an every other year application. Now they just change that and try to fix it that way. And, you know, so those are the options for me. I just want our kids in a better, in the best facility they can be. And I have no, uh, particular favorite here. I just try to think about if we only financially could afford one, one high school, how could we make it work and satisfy both, both sides of the house, if you will, which is academics and, and careers. We're embarrassed when they come and play a sport in our city. It's, it's, okay. So imagine that everybody plays a sport, but they all go to school. That's all I'm saying. Well, and even when Tiger's pride is open and they have to use those restrooms right outside there, it's certainly, we hear about that too. Or if people come to a sporting a basketball game with a tech, they're using those two bathrooms. So we did price out refurbishing four bathrooms last year. Um, it was almost $300,000, 2 80, 2 87 or something just to refurbish. Not even, I don't even Need to know that. I just think we should just move forward. I, I mean to refurbish a bathroom and then you can walk out and the ceiling can fall on you. So, I mean, it doesn't matter to me, But I am, thank you. I am concerned about the plumbing. I do. I do. We don't, we don't want to dig there. Quite honestly, I'm afraid of what we're gonna find. So What, what's our goal tonight? What, what's our end goal of this meeting? I think our end goal was to give direction to the superintendent on how he was gonna file with the MSBA or if, Or if, If That's, are we ready? And that's the other thing, have we had enough community conversation? Have we done enough to flush out what we want? Like, so the answer to your earlier question, I didn't mean to not answer you. We decided that we're gonna continue talking about it over lunch coming up. But I guess it's, it goes back to the what are we applying for? Because I think we should apply for a high school, new high school period if it says is there an opportunity for consolidation? Yes. That's what I had put so far. Yeah. But we don't have to get so far, I guess, into, um, here's the, here's what I mean. They're, are they asking us to de to decide again, in the statement of interest, are they asking us that level of detail of, uh, how far we need to drill down to give them a, a response that is sufficient for what they're looking For? Well, so if I put in just for the WTA and I didn't put our, is there and I didn't fill out an opportunity for consolidation, then they would only consider Westco Technical Academy. If I fill out the, is this an opportunity for consolidation part? And that's their language, not mine. That's what the form says. So that's why I'm saying that. But, uh, if they, they say that, and then I express that, that doesn't mean they're gonna listen to our, our, our, uh, point for consolidation. It means they're gonna want to do, if they pick us, they're gonna wanna do a feasibility study like they did with the other school and determine what we can or cannot do. And They're certainly not going to, like, what's your program delivery model in the tech, in the new hybrid high school, right? Correct. So in in theory, our, our CJ class, at our coursework at the high school is half day. Half day. So they're already, that's a comprehensive model. Uh, criminal justices working in a regular high school, Mr. Sullivan. So a actually, I, I want to clarify what Mr. O'Connor said, applying for a high school. Now, in my mind, that would be Westfield High School and not Westfield Technical Academy. Okay. I respectfully disagree with that. Well, I'm not saying that's what I'm saying, Right? Oh, no, I, I think if, if he's doing it, I think I would apply for the Tech Academy chance for consolidation. And hopefully when they come out to do the feasibility study, they do the same thing they did with the elementary school and they combine 'em in it's one school. So when, when, um, when I went to the MSVA with, uh, former Mayor Sullivan and, uh, Sue Phillips and Tammy and Cindy Sullivan at the time, they, so we got selected for a project, which is why they invite you. So if they invite you for a meeting, that's a good sign. They showed us the pictures of the other schools that didn't get selected. Mm-hmm. And they had a lot. So I, to me, I feel like if I'm gonna send pictures of Westfield High School or Westfield Tech to them to be replaced, to your earlier point about Westfield High School, I don't think Westfield High School would be selected as quickly as Westfield Tech would be, because the pictures are compelling at tech. I mean, you just walk through the building, it's pretty compelling. Go ahead. I know we're here and education is it, but, but let's face reality. It's a technical school, technical high school. Um, the state has already said they're looking for more seats in technical high schools. It's gonna move that application up quicker. And you're, you're right. And we're going through it right now. Let, let's throw it all out on the table with a budget process. Yeah. A technical high school with kids coming in from out of district and whatever that cost from that district to pay the city of Westfield. I feel like you're Teeing me up, Mr. Sullivan. You, me, up, I'm teeing you up. I'm teeing you up. I know you've got a whole presentation, but, but that's gotta be talked about. Well, What I, I think, right? We would attract more kids into our district from out district with a state-of-the-art school. The fact that we attract what we do with the facility that we have is really quite amazing to me. Um, and then, you know, just to go back to the aviation piece, right now we're doing am we're doing aviation maintenance, right? We're fixing engines, we're doing the exterior of that. But if we ever got to the point where we could refurbish the lower campus to an aviation high school, you could do pilots, air traffic controllers, the whole thing. This could be an aviation district. We have an airport we're so fortunate to have in town. Um, we have tremendous interest in aviation from our kids, whether they're in the right fright program, right. Flight Pro, you know what I was trying to say? Program. Uh, and you know, Mike Gutkowski was at our meeting this morning. Yeah. I mean, he's, he's doing an aviation club at Westfield High School now because there's so much interest. So flying is cool and kids like it. I mean, that's the reality there. That is. And and we could actually, let's say we had a hundred of our own kids, but 200 from out district at 20,000 a year for four years, that would be, it would almost be self-sufficient. Yeah. Um, Mr. O'Connor, So I, I guess I, I'm just trying to get to the, the statement of interest. I know we keep talking about it, but if we apply for a, a tech academy run through this scenario with an opportunity for consolidation, um, is that any different of just applying for the tech academy if we don't apply for consolidation? If they come out to feasibility study, they go, there might be an opportunity for consolidation. They might tell us that. But if we go into it, so first of all, the other thing that the MSBA and the state is looking at is consolidations. At one point they were trying to get like smaller districts to regionalize, right? So, uh, they might look at, at the consolidation piece, and that might bump us up as opposed to, but I think there's, what Bo said is also true is that there are, I mean, they're talking about lotteries because people aren't getting in because of seats. So, you know, the, the, the CTE community is going pushing back on the state and saying, no, we, we don't need a lottery. We need to increase seats. Because your, your a lottery solution is not the answer. There are still kids not getting shot. That's what's happening. And, and the goal would be for everyone to get it that wants it. Do we have any insight about what track would be better for us? We do when they get it. We do. We do. I'll let share it. I think So. Um, are you up, I, me bring No one Can read that. So Well, you, you can, if you scroll it, I guess it's up on the board. But the good news is Mrs. Ucci has been able to share it to the, uh, to the school drive. So you guys all have access to it on your, um, on your computers in front of you. Um, what it purports to show is the schools that have been built in the last 10 years by MSBA and it's, uh, color coded that I can't see. So I can't tell you the very top color, but that's kind of the outlier. That's the, um, the blue, that's an art school. The blue, is that Boston? No, the very top one. Yeah. Whatever color that is. So Boston, uh, Boston Arts Academy. Then the blue, pardon me. Mint. We'll call Mint. We'll go mint. Sure. And then we'll go. The next one is, is, uh, blue. That's Pittsfield. And, um, that's a, uh, school that's built in 2016, but then the rest of them I think is green. I'm gonna go green. All, all that is green. Um, those are all high schools. Wow. But the real piece you wanna see is what's down there in yellow. So the yellow colors are all technical academies that have been built over the past 10 years. You'll see Lexington, Harwich Wakefield, Bristol, Plymouth, Oak Tech, uh, greater Fall River, Oak Tech, Franklin and Westfield. And the real interesting piece down there is Franklin. Franklin is the closest I could possibly approximate to our technical academy. Although our numbers for a technical academy are statistically well below most of those others that you see in yellow. So I tried to approximate the square feet and I came up with a number of 245,000 square feet. I know not all is used, but that's just technical academy numbers. If you had to add it up to something, um, I also ballpark it at a thousand dollars per square foot, because that seems to be where new building construction is right now. That's where it is with the police department. And if you look at those numbers and the grade out area, you'll see that they're fairly near to, um, uh, a thousand dollars depending on which offsets started to occur in those next numbers that start to scroll off to your right. Mayor, can I just add one thing? Sure. Uh, on, on Monday night's agenda, we did send it out to you, there are two resolutions. One of them is to increase funding beyond what it's funding. MSBA funds now for a, uh, career technical school, be realizing that it costs more to build. So they're asking for more reimbursement. Now, I'm not sure where that's gonna go, but I'm just saying that that is out there because, uh, the state realizes it's more money to build a tech school. There's no question. So the reason why I chose the technical academy is because I sat with, I sat at the state of the state with many other legislators and the governor and, um, Lieutenant Governor. And the conversations amongst the other folks that were in attendance there, um, was clearly surrounding what's the best model to get MSBA to give you money. That's, that's, that's where we are. That's, that's the nature of these meetings. And, um, the focus, if you look at, um, chapter 70 specifically, um, seems to be that the MSBA is much more inclined to fund a tech school on its outset with a, i I just use your term, a a hybrid model moving forward. Um, so those are just kind of raw numbers. I put 'em together so that we would have something at least to look at as a baseline. Uh, you'll notice if you look all the way over to the right, it says these numbers are hypothetical. Um, but now we need to get into the other part of the conversation, which would be, if we looked at the 245 million based on the thousand per square foot model, it would give the City of Westfield about somewhere in the ballpark of 182 million and then offset down to $103 million in terms of what we would have to raise. Unfortunately, that model is based on a 56% reimbursement rate, which is problematic for us. 'cause we don't ever get 52% currently right now, if you go to the next picture, There you go. Now nobody can see that. Right? Is that fair that nobody can Absolutely nobody can see it. So I'm gonna give you the numbers. Um, if we look to go to a comprehensive school model that's about $400 million, then a comprehensive school model for me is a hybrid model. So just know that that's, that's really what I'm trying to get at. It's just, it Rattles the business community. That's why I wanna get here from using That. Totally understand it. Um, the MSB share is actually somewhere closer to 42%. So 42% of that number leaves us with a city share debt of 232 thou 2 230 $2 million over 30 years at 5%. That's broken down into an average increase to the taxpayer's residential tax of somewhere in the ballpark of $930 per year for the next 30 years. It is different than a, an override. Um, a debt exclusion is capped at 30 years and override keeps going in perpetuity. And the thoughts about override why they keep going in perpetuity is because allegedly those monies could then be used to offset any repairs that need to be done ongoing to that individualized product. If you just got a tech school, the number, um, is about 275 million that you see up there. Um, the MSB share at 42% is 115, leaving us with a balance of 159 5 million, 159 million, 500,000, um, which means the annual debt service is about 10 million or $640 to the taxpayer. Um, so those are kind of quick and dirty numbers. Um, and at this time, that's why I see counselors being, um, Figgy and Matthews Kane in the room. These are things that really are gonna need to have to be discussed with the city council to see whether or not there's an appetite to move forward. Now, I shared to you these are not set in stone. These are numbers that are, you know, kind of hypothetical numbers based on, uh, square footage that, that we know of. Can I just add something too, so, sure. So, you know, when, when MSBA when we built the Westfield River School, MSBA, like, oh, you're getting a 71% reimbursement. Right? That's what they will tell you. But the reality was they were ba reimbursing 71% based on $356 or something, a square foot, but the actual cost was over $500 a square foot. So that's how the percentages changed. In case you were wondering, Uh, can you say a little bit more about the 400 million assumption? So like, as I Well, I'll let, well, I'll answer my question and then I'll, You, um, you came up with a different set of figures only because you have a different set of starting numbers. So if you look at starting numbers per square foot, when I used the tech academy, I didn't have the square footage for the high school. Right. So I couldn't extrapolate them. Yeah. If I had had those, I probably would've extrapolated 'em and come up to a different number. What I'm comparing to just to, we obviously have no idea who's right until we get further into a feasibility study. That's what the feasibility, that's what the feasibility study's for. But just to like give a bound or, or like a range that we could be talking about. As I look at on your sheet, um, Northeast Metro was a 1600 ec, Bristol Plymouth was a 1400 vo-tech. Dim and regional was a 1500 vo-tech. And they were, um, and they were 3 17, 3 0 5, 2 93. And so in my head I'm thinking less about like, what does a, how do you skip, like put the two together and more. Can you, can you switch Back on what would it cost to have a, I've got to imagine that building a 1600 person EC is about the cost that we're gonna incur. Building a hybrid model school that is partially serving vo-tech per partially serving, that's like a school in a school model. So what you do have to pay attention to a little bit In That chart, is that sorted by, By year, By school. Yeah. Right. It's not sorted by year If you, so those are 20 threes and those are primarily 2023. Right. So they, They, so if you sort them by year, I think you'll see the metrics just goes smaller to larger in the square foot category. And obviously we are going to be in the larger added 2025 than we were in 2015 or 16. Yeah. So, I mean, agree. I would agree with you that the, the numbers can fluctuate, but I think if we use a good ballpark number of somewhere in the ballpark of, for just one school, it's about $700 to the taxpayer. And for a blended school or hybrid school, look at me, I got a whole new word in here. Blended, a blended school, um, a blended or hybrid school, we're probably somewhere near a thousand dollars per taxpayer for their share of the next 30 years. That is not to say that I'm not in favor of this, that is to say that these are the numbers that we're gonna have to be contemplative of moving forward. Yeah. 9 36. Yes. So I'm just reading those 'cause others can't see it. If I understand. So I'm gonna add my 2 cents to this mix. If I understand correctly. If you apply for a technical academy, and I was, I'm sorry, I met, forgot to mention I was with the MMA all week and I was at the MSBA part of their demonstration at the MM, the Mass Municipal Association Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Um, their clear inclination is to fund technical schools. Good. So if we believe that we're going to either put up a high school or a technical school and we want one or the other to have a better shot or a shot, it's the tech school. It's the tech school all day. And to Mr. O'Connor's question, which is a very, very valid question, but what we really want somehow is a hybrid model school that would share responsibilities for both of these things. I really think that the best vehicle to get there is to go with the tech academy as our lead in to our hybrid academy based on a fill on a feasibility study. Yep. And I think that's really where we have to trend to if, and again, this is just me speaking for myself. I have toured the tech. I am with Mrs. Sullivan. Um, there are some interesting spots there. Now, we may be the victims of our own, um, really good public press, public media. We keep touting the technical academy skills and abilities as being above and beyond. It's the same argument that I have had with Fort Meadow for four years now. This is not about the people, it's about the failing infrastructure that surrounds our people. And I think we have a responsibility to give our students the best opportunity they can to thrive. So I would be in favor of moving forward with the tech academy, and hopefully that turns into the model that we're looking for, which is a hybrid model. Mr. Sullivan, can I Ask a question? Feasibility study, do they, they obviously would make the ultimate decision about the hybrid model. They, well, I say yes. How do they make that decision? Right. Because of the funding. So that's right. Right. They're gonna, this, this is what we're gonna fund. We can't do it on our own. That's how they make the decision. They we're talking square footage, a hundred and or 245,000. They tell us that size. Yeah. So like when we, it all comes out in the feasibility study. And, and that was, you know, building the elementary school was a great learning process for this and being involved in that process. So Right. They came back and said, well, this is what we think we can do for you. And they actually said we would build a school for 395 kids. That was their, that's what they said it was support. So, um, we have 4 0 4 today, but, uh, you know, I, I wish they had bumped it up a little bit, but, but that's what they were reimbursing for. So that's what we have. The other thing we're seeing is that because you have a brand new school, we're starting to see people that want to, uh, in a district or school choice there. Right. Because it's a brand new building, which is only natural and logical. Right. I mean, that's gonna happen. Right. Uh, they also, the same thing would happen if we had a new high school. They also pick where, And just so that, you know, it's not just the adults in the room that recognize this problem. So I went back to the youth commission minutes of April 26th, 2023. I won't read the names, so I'll kind of didact the names as I go. X noted that there were structural problems at the Westfield Academy building. This includes hole in the flooring pipes leaking students throw items into the hole. He confirmed another party's question, being able to see the second floor from the floor below. He also noted the parking lot has numerous potholes and makes it unsafe. We fixed that to walk. I, I this is 2023. Okay. You noted the gym equipment in the middle school is all volleyball nets. Like they get the fact that the, the human beings in the school is what's driving the image. But the school itself is a facility is well beyond its years. It's 1931. It's coming up on its centennial. Yes, it is. I was not there, Stefan. I Was, I clarified that earlier. I wasn't gonna take a shot. There You go. But did you graduate from the old Westfield High School or the new one? I'm just, I went to the old Westfield High School when it was North Middle School. So you Weren't I Was there. Has it changed much? Not at all. In fact, I had a little culture shock. I walked in a room 2 0 9 last year and exactly the same paint that was on the wall in two do in whatever year. Uh, and 76 was still there. So yeah. Any other questions that we have from Stefan? Just a comment. Sure. I totally support, uh, going forward with the tech school. Um, I, when I first came on board, I thought it was the high school that really needed it, but after going to the tech school, I was like blown away that we allow students even in there. Ouch. So you have enough time to put the s So I together that's appropriate to submit. Yeah. I mean that's why I, and and again, if you hadn't, if you're not making that, whatever decision you make, I started it already for two reasons. One, I figured eventually we'd get there. And then two, I wanted to play around with the system, give every, so I've given permission for once I start typing it into the template that they give you for Shannon Barry and Chris Rogers also to enter. So I, we did all of that. By the way, signing your signature with a mouse is very difficult. Yes. Mm-hmm. Uh, that's the hardest thing I think ever. Uh, it's not legible, but, um, so I, I think now, yeah, we're in January. I've already started, I've given the questions to the maintenance department that they already need. So I do think, but I just wanna point this out. So I have no issue putting this together at all. I'm, I, I wanna do it right. What I just, the timing is the only question that I have in terms of we could, we still have an MSBA project that we are in the middle of. It won't be complete until summer. So I don't know if that hurts our chances later. I dunno if they said that. My question for you is, um, when do you have to know about financing and when and how soon can the city council be brought on board to weigh in on what they believe? Because if they believe that there's gonna be no debt exclusion and the appetite isn't for this amongst the taxpayer, we're done. Yeah. So the, with respect to the counselors that are in the room, I just wanna be on record that I know, I'm aware. I get it. I understand the conundrum that you may or may not be in. When do you need to finalize your paperwork? Well, it has to be submitted by the 11th. So we would have to have the votes in probably that March or the, I mean, I don't wanna put it to the, there's a, the first Thursday, I dunno what the first Thursday in April is, but it's before the 11th. So that would be the absolute latest. The council could vote on it. I would think that it would be, um, uh, you know, it would be a good move on our end to not wait till that day. I think that the conversation with the city council has to happen sooner than later. And, and, and quite honestly, if, if the city council does not want us to move forward, um, I wouldn't finish the application. And that's, it's a lot of valuable time. I'm just throwing that out there. But I, again, I I my guess, weekends, sometime it doesn't matter. I'll do it on the weekend, but like that, I just need more. It is a lot of work to put that together. And if so, there's no appetite. And I'm sure you all feel similar. You wouldn't wanna put that much effort into something that's not gonna go anywhere. So, Mr. Sullivan. Oh, I don't want to take your No, no. I, I, this is strictly procedural and I think the guys in the room can answer it too. The next step and, and I'm going off the history of the elementary school still. So next step would be a joint meeting, or do they just have, we just put this on their agenda and they go from there? So, so That, because the school project started back in 2007, our previous project, when it comes to that part was a little different. Okay. Um, but I would think a joint meeting would make sense because there could be discussion. Exactly. Well, I mean, it was already, the project was already approved. Right. Okay. So This project has not been approved. And at this meeting, it, we will go with the joint meeting. I don't, the logistics, I don't know if that has to happen or not. Is this, is this just them approving the statement of interest? I I, or do they need to go? They would've to meet again, to approve the actual state of interest. Right. The statement of interest. But with those numbers that the mayor has up there, I think the council needs to be aware of those numbers. And I think they need to, to decide if that's a road we want to go down. That's That, that's not where I'm going though. Okay. So my question is, do they have to approve just the statement of interest? Or do they have to approve the funding for the feasibility study? If that statement of interest gets accepted, They have to fund the, That meeting. I mean, this meeting, no, No, not this meeting. Because if we don't get selected, there's no purpose to do that. And Okay. There's no reason to do it. Once you get selected, then you go to the council and ask for the feasibility study funding and This. So How far down the road is that process? Uh, so hopefully next year would be good. Well, I mean, so you submit in April, they try to let you know, uh, in the fall, you, you could, we could know in the fall. And then it's a 270 day Period. That's the feasibility study period. And you go through the modules. There's module, the first Module, the eligibility period is 270 days. Okay. And then the feasibility. And then the feasibility period. Thank you. Yes. So after notification, you have 270 days to go through and adopt all the, get all the things in order that you need to move on to the feasibility study. Thank you for that. I forgot about the eligibility Period. And then the statement of interest is just a majority, if I'm correct. 'cause there's no money involved with it. That's why I'm asking the money question. Majority. Okay. I didn't hear him. A majority of the council, A majority of council, because there's no money in home that Two third or just the majority of, So just for the folks at home, it's print beans being recognized by the chair. Go ahead. So Can you come to the bike? Thank you. I mean, that's, that, that was one of the concerns. Like that's why we sh we need to be in here early to discuss this stuff. Right. So I still, I think we're playing a little catch up on our end. And I, I think even though like something gets submitted from you guys as a statement of interest, I would hate to just vote it down and be done. It'd be interesting to say, okay, we'll leave it, let's rework something and maybe we can come to a consensus on things. But if we wait till the last minute, then there's not gonna be a consensus and we're done. Right. So I, you know, I think we should get this joint meeting sooner rather than later. And then, because I'm not gonna speak for the council, you know what I mean? I can speak opinions. Yeah. You know what I mean? Um, I think I got a flavor on what's going on, but I I, I'm not gonna make that public without really knowing. So if we could do that sooner rather than later February. Yeah. I mean I, you know, and then it would go into finance, which is, you know, the way we handle it. Maybe we do a meeting as a whole to discuss. It probably makes more sense. But then, you know, I just don't want to drop dead date and not really discuss it and, and massage it a little bit. Sure. Because There's a lot of great ideas. So I have to, we have the, we have to have the, the firm understanding though that these numbers aren't solid. Right? Yeah. Where they're kinda That's, that's me math right there. Right, right. Okay. I just, Yeah. Okay. Thank you Mr. Figgy. Come on. Thank you. I'm a, I'm a little confused. Why would we need a joint meeting? Because that joint meeting, if it's just to present the whole plan, it should be a motion on the agenda, refer to finance, and then you come into finance and then we bring it out. So this takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. And that's why I asked The questions. That's a, that's a two meeting correct. Deal. Okay. No, that's, that's why I asked the question if we, if we, if we did it the last time, or if we need to even do it this time, if we don't and it's just a, an object or, or an item on your agenda that's, that's the way to go. I agree with you. Put it in your committee and then we come to your committee and then you go from there. That's fine. You could also come, Come to the meeting when it comes out. Right. To support public speak. So, yeah. Uh, I just think that if we had a joint meeting, it might set up some thoughts on expectations. Mm-hmm. Because it still has to go through the process February it is. Right? Yeah. So can I ask one more question? Um, both. I, I know that I have two finance people. Um, does it make sense to get it before you within the next couple of days? 'cause obviously it has to be submitted from, uh, in order to get onto your agenda, um, by this Friday, um, for the meeting on the sixth, will it go through finance counsel sometime between the sixth and the 20th and then be reported out on the 20th if my dates are correct? Well, You go in on the sixth. Yep. We, we could come out on the 20th, but realize that school vacation, we don't always have good attendance at that February meeting. That's, that's your meeting. I mean, That, that's just it. But I wouldn't let that stop. You just realize you need seven votes. Once there's only nine people there, you only can lose two. So I mean that 13, so seven or 13. It's not majority world seven or 13. No, it's always seven. Seven or nine. Make sure. All right. So yeah, if it comes in on the sixth, if already have a heavy, heavy finance committee meeting on the 12th. Well, it's gonna get heavier as it goes through into March though, right? It, we can't wait till lunch. Could be, but just, no, the 12th is all loaded agenda already. So, but that would be the way to do it. Send it on the 12th. Thank you, Mr. Fi. Ms. Hillman, Uh, could you have a special meeting? Like we're having a special meeting now? Can you have a special meeting just for this item? Uh, yeah, the president would have to call the special meeting. Okay. That's, that's his role. Um, we've done it in the past. We have had scheduled committee of the holes for the budget. That's another possibility. It'd be something that I definitely would discuss with President Beltran and the mayor. Perfect. So we can come to some kind of game plan, Mr. O'Connor. So Mr. Fiy goes into the city council finance subcommittee because there's going to be a recommendation coming out of that subcommittee that says what, That's why it goes into committee, is to determine what that Recommendation is and what would be options coming out. Because you're not talking about the cost of how they're gonna raise money to build a school. This is just to support a feasibility study. No, this is to support the statement of interest. You're not even too feasibility yet. So why does it go into finance subcommittee? 'cause that's usually where it goes. Because what? Because that's part of the finance. That's their job. Just looking back historically, that's where it's gone. A bond would go either to finance or Illinois. I understand. Yeah. I just don't know when we're talking about money. 'cause if, if feasibility study's gonna be we a million dollars, right? I mean, it sounds like it's gonna be quite expensive. So I I I mean I don't know the, you know, uh, what committee it should be in or not being, but if it's in the finance committee, I'm assuming you're talking about finance, not just a statement of interest. Statement of interest is Go yes or No. Yeah. Going forward with Yes, it needs to go to a committee. And what we could possibly do with the president or the mayor is figure out which committee that is. Mr. Mekel has gone to finance. Yeah, I just, yeah. Okay. I was just trying to, so I mean, it's not locked in stone. It can be changed just trying to get clarifi. But once it goes into the committee, there's several different possibilities. It could come out with a positive recommendation, could come out with a negative recommendation. It could come out with a leaving committee for further study. It could be any number of other little things. I I'm with you on all of those, but for me, I'm still concerned about the funding and we have not talked about that at all. Right. So when it was going into finance, I thought it was going in there. I was questioning why, because there isn't gonna be a discussion about finance at that point, correct? No, There should not be. I got it. So if You'll allow me, I will Get together with, uh, I'm with you. Um, I will get together with, uh, president Beltran and figure out what the best next steps are for its entree into the, into the city council. My question was just about whether, like, my sense is that you all want to be brought in right away and also that we're gonna get, it's gonna be further along before it's gonna be a bit before we have a complete SOI. And so I just wanna make sure that we don't end up in a situation where We, If there's a shorter, like a smaller conversation that needs to happen in a longer conversation that needs to happen. I think we're assuming that the longer one is first. And if that's positive that the SOI conversation will be shorter. I want to make sure that that's mm-hmm. That that's right. That makes sense. And if I may, they're just kind of interrelated too, because if there's no funding, then why s then don't, you don't need an SOI, right? I mean, Listen, if we think the SOI isn't gonna be discussed when it comes to finances too. We're, we're being Right. We really Are. I mean, the first questions gonna be what's this stuff gonna cost? And we're gonna have those kind of numbers and that's fine. But that's why we put the numbers always come up. Even if feasibility is gonna million dollar cost. I just think pre-meeting is smart just to get a flavor of where everybody sits, just like you guys did at straw. Yeah, I think it's smart. Do that's kind of Okay. Okay. I, one more quick one. Sure. Do you need a full completed SOI Or just the plan In finance? When you guys go to finance with this, do you need all his work done? The final product Yes. Would need to be Done. Well now now you're, now you're up against it. Yeah. There's no way he's gonna have this done by the dates you were talking about, But to talk about what we just talked about today as A group. Yeah, I Think it's Without, so the, I mean, well, I, I think we know I, there hasn't been a vote, so I don't want to overspeak, but I think people have shared what they want the SOI to look like. Right? Right. Is that enough to start with the council saying that this is what we'd be going for. We can use the mayor's math of some other math, whatever you guys want to use in terms of numbers and um, that's a good term. I like that, by the way. I'm gonna use that one. Uh, so I think, um, you know, I, do they need to see the actual form completed. 'cause the things that now where I'm at is the super technical stuff, not the, necessarily the philosophical stuff. Right. So I'm at the very technical stuff. They want the age of certain items. Well, I, I, I, I gotta do some digging to find out when the last time our electrical, uh, panels were upgraded. Which my guess is never, but it has to be. 'cause they're not fuses. They're at least circuit breakers. So, so it had to happen sometime. I don't know where I'm gonna find that. And the one guy who knew who retired last year, so maybe I might give him a call. Uh, he knew that school inside out. But I, that's where I'm at, is the technical stuff about like, when was the roof last? Uh, who, you know, how much was that and this stuff. So it's the, you know, the, the philosophical and the plan part are kind of done. It's the, the nitty gritty. Yeah. I would think the council would be reluctant to approve a document. Didn't see. Yeah. Okay. So we might be pretty mature, obviously on the February 6th date. But having said that, the deadline date is the 11th. So as long as April, right. April 11th, that's the day I have to submit by. And when do you think you can have it done by yourself? So let me keep, I mean, I think, um, so to, and for being truthful, we're also in the middle of the budget preparation process. Really? Yeah. Okay. Had noticed. So that is taking up, um, most of my days right now and will for a little bit. Um, and I said, I don't mind doing this on the weekend. That's what I started already. And I will chip away. I mean, I think February break is gonna be a great time for progress. Okay. Alright. So we'll hold off on trying to figure out what we're going to get it to. Um, That'll be my deputy. I'll Do that. I guess my question is, is there, is there a like conversation to be had on the sixth without a full SOI? Yes, I think you Should. Yes. That then. Yes. I think if you don't, it's Gonna Cause he just shook his head. No, that's what I was just gonna ask. Why are you shaking your head no, You do Think we should do this? Is that then we're gonna, we should have an initial convers reason, like the level that we got today. Yeah. And then be able to bring a full SOI Yep. At the end of February, early March. Send it into committee. So, but how, what would, my only question is what would that look like? So am I gonna write a letter to city council to have a conversation about the possibility of, um, a blended school application? Several Mechanisms we could do, I I just think a informal conversation. Yeah. A caucus of sorts to discuss these kind of things that we just talked, that we just saw today. I 'cause that you will then understand the flavor coming from the other, you know, 12 people, you know. So, um, you know, and just dropping it on him, you know, a couple weeks in and you're gonna say yes or no to something. Yeah. About two weeks ago. Yeah. That's Tough. So what The statement Again, I just so that I, I'm just trying to get this in my head. What stops the, and I know you don't speak, you guys are not speaking for counsel. I understand. I'm just trying to, I'm not speaking for, I'm just trying to theoretically get this done. It goes in on the sixth, it goes in on February the sixth. It moves to whatever committee President Beltran says it should go to. Nobody cares. Nothing stops that committee from not reporting out on it on the 20th, right? Correct. You can have independent conversations anywhere along those lines. Don't scare me. And then report out it on, you know, sometime in March or, or towards the end of March. Is that what you view to be the best process? 'cause if that's what you guys think is the best process, I'm certainly more than happy to do it that way. What I was thinking is what if we put this on the agenda as a report from, um, there's, there's a Well, but there's a, there's a, we do have an item report from city officers. Mm-hmm. So we could put this presentation right there that doesn't have to go to a committee. Um, or it could go to a committee afterwards. But you would do what council being suggesting? Get the topic out there, get it discussed, get information provided. Uh, so that would be, I think, most expedient way information out. That way it doesn't have to go into a committee to get the information for the committee to bring it back up. So the theory would be that you would have a, a broad discussion on the 6th of February at the city council meeting with representatives from the school committee, specifically Superintendent Roski. And then after that discussion, it would be moved into a committee. I think that's a question for the P treaty, but that's the way I see it. That's a possibility. Everybody good with that? Yep. And then we get input to inform the SOI And We'll talk after. Tell, tell me what I got. Do we need, do we need a motion to have him go forward with the SOI As and Ann saying which one to apply for? How do we, how Do we apply? Um, I, I will make the motion. And I think I'm, I'm doing this on a feeling that I'm getting from everybody. Um, I'm gonna wait one second On your Thing. I'm gonna make it right. I'm gonna make it as to apply for the tech academy with the, with the hope or option or of the consolidation into one hybrid school, correct? Mm-hmm. Do you, so the motion is to authorize the superintendent to file a Right. So I'd like to make a motion to authorize the superintendent to complete the, uh, statement of interest applying for a technical academy with the, uh, option of consolidation of building one high school to take place of, to take, to Replace both high schools in town. Motion been made. Is there a second? Second. There's second by Dr. Gunther. Is there further discussion on that, Mr. Sullivan? Is that too, is that the right way to say it? Are you comfortable with the way that's motioned? Yeah. Okay. That's all right. I just wanna make sure fully understanding though, too. So when they get the OI, they may say, no, we're just gonna do a tech school. They could say that as well. They can vote anyway from here. Yes. Right. And something is always gonna be better than nothing in this Case. Mr. O'Connor? That's Fine. That answered my question. I'm, I'm gonna support The vote, but I'm not sure I'm fully, Um, vetted. I'm fully, uh, Invested in the comprehensive high school Hybrid support, the School Hybrid. Hybrid, whatever you wanna call Blended. Just messing around. Okay. Um, I would like a roll call. Vote for this. Yeah. Uh, Kathleen Hillman? Yes. Bo Sullivan. Yes. Heather Sullivan. Yes. Mike Terrell. Sorry. Uh, Jeffrey Gunther. Yes. Tim O'Connor? Yes. And Chairman McCabe? Yes. Is there another motion? Motion of adjourn. Second. Motion been made. And second. And any further discussion? Meeting is adjourned at 7:22 PM All In favor? Aye. Sorry about that. Motion passes.