e e Mr wood here well please join us for the Pledge of Allegiance Pledge of alance to the flag uned States ofice first item on the agenda is going to be public comment written public comments can also be submitted to the chair
through the superintendent's office and will be read by the chair at the meetings written comments must be submitted by noon time on the day of the school committee meeting I do have written comments that I will read at the conclusion of those that are here in person for public comment first person
uh on the list for inperson public comment would be Morgan Kelly we ask each person for public comment try to stick to 3 minutes if possible Morgan Kelly hi everyone I'm Morgan Kelly a student who's in The Early Education and
Care shop here at Whittier Tech when I learned about the school wanting to close down my shop and masonary DBC construction crash labor and engineering and Technology I knew I had to do something so I started by making a post on what was going on then I decided to
create a petition his petition now has 600 signatures and many comments on people's stories and opinions on why this shouldn't be happening these comments share the opinions of people who have gone to the school gone to this school and believed from the opportunities given to them I personally
came to Whiter because I knew I needed to become an early education teacher if I came to Whittier and there wasn't the opportunity to take Early Education and Care I would have switched schools because my passion for teaching is something I've had since I was little this is because of how many of my
teachers helped me at such a young age and I knew that without them I wouldn't be here my teachers helped me learn and grow and find my purpose like how Wittier help students find their purpose and prepare for the future how can students have a future that involves
something they love if you get rid of the shops that guide them along the way thank you thank [Applause] you uh next krie Kelly krie Kelly okay okay sorry about that it's on
the list but Cassidy J good evening I am a 2012 alumni of woodier tech and I was in The Early childood Education and Care shop without that shop I wouldn't have been able to have the opportunities that I was blessed with with graduating here with
my certification to be a teacher and then going forward furthering my career in education and having my Master's and my teaching license to teach in a public school from a young age I always wanted to be a teacher and I Whittier was the school that was going to give me the opportunity to to make my career
successful that's why I chose coming here and hearing about um the closure of this shop is Abol just breaks my heart and this this world needs more teachers and if it's closed then a lot of people who want to be Educators aren't going to have that opportunity to get their foot
in the door of Education thank [Applause] you Katie ston good evening school committee and superintendent Lynch my name is Katie
Stanton I am a current English teacher I've been at whiter Tech since 2017 I am also the wrea president um I was informed of this decision last Wednesday and one of the things that I have noticed while being in the role as Union
president is that there is a lack of clear um transparency and in a lot of decisions that are made at the school level the teacher perspective is not considered and it's kind of lost as a whole um so with that being said I would like to just move to read the um demand
to bargain letter that I had sent on behalf of the W to um chairperson wood earlier today it has come to the Union's attention that the Whittier region school committee is considering a recommendation from superintendent Marin Lynch to close five vocational shops at
Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School this decision impacts one or more mandatory subjects of bargaining and therefore must be negotiated with the w before implementation accordingly we demand to bargain over this proposed
change and ask that you offer us dates and times to negotiate as soon as possible we expect that you will not Implement these changes until we have completed these negotiations as we negotiate over these changes the W is reserving all of our rights under the
contract in law additionally pursuant to our responsibilities under mgl chapter 150e the union requests the following information which is relevant and necessary to perform our duties as the exclusive representative all internal
and external Communications among and between school committee members and members of the administration regarding the recommendation to close any vocational shops at wer Tech including but not limited to Early Education and uh care DVC engineering CCL and masonry
a copy of the intent to close letters submitted to desie including any drafts and or Preparatory documents created by the district Andor Administration while contemplating this recommendation if not yet submitted the union requests that
you provide us with a draft to review prior to submitting to desie a copy of the technical program closure plans submitted to desie including any drafts and or Preparatory documents uh created by the district Andor Administration
while com uh contemplating this recommendation if not yet submitted the union requests that you provide us with the draft to review prior to submitting to desie the district's rationale for the decision to close each of the shops identified in item number one above and
any others the district May seek to close including any and all supporting evidence for each school year beginning with the school year 2017 to 2018 the student enrollment numbers for each of the shops identified in item number one
above and any others which the district intends to close and a detailed description of all efforts by the school committee and the administration including not limited to those by superintendent Marin Lynch to communicate with and solicit feedback
from the impacted students of wer Tech their care caregivers and or Educators prior to making the recommendation to close any vocational shops at the February 12th 2025 school committee meeting please provide the requested information as electronic files with the
information requested within two weeks of this request if you are if you are unable to provide the requested information within that time frame please send send an explanation with the expected time frame for a response and please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments thank you for your
prompt attention to this matter thank you [Applause] all uh Brian goulette hello school committee my name is Brian goule I represent myself as a former alumni and owner of diamond Ridge
Construction LLC I am here to express my deep concern and strong belief in vital importance of keeping shops at wior Tech open and thriving as a member of this community I have witnessed firsthand the lasting impact these programs on students our local economy and future
skill trades and today's is rapidly evolving economy technical education and the trades are more important than ever we are facing growth shortages of skilled workers and blue collar trades such as the ones that are you guys are looking the
close I don't want to just make it just a blue collar thing it's all the shops that you guys are looking the clothes within here is uh kind of where I'm aiming at but they all play an essential role in addressing this Gap these industries not only provide good paying jobs but they also are the backbone and infrastructure manufacturing and overall
economic Vitality for many students in Hands-On learning provided in these shops is a pathway to successful career it offers practical skills a sense of accomplishment and opportunity
to build a future based on their talents closing or reducing these programs would not only deprive students in these invaluable opportunities but it would also signal that these careers are less valuable than others and that's something that I don't believe is the
truth skilled workers are in high demand and these trades are both stability and growth potential moreover the value of these programs extend beyond the students the community as a whole benefits from these expertise and talents that graduates bring to local
businesses and industries like myself supporting Blue Collar education Fosters self-sufficiency ensures that local businesses have access to Skilled workers and help sustain a regional economy I strongly urge the committee to recognize the long-term benefits of
keeping these shops open in fully support these programs are more than an educational offering they are vital to the success and sustainability of our Workforce and Community thank you for considering my thoughts and allowing me to speak on behalf of many successful
students who once walked these hallways and graduated from these very programs that I potentially could be closed thank you Katie smik hello and good evening my name is Katie smaz and I am the engineering technology instructor here um I'm not
going to take my time up here talking about my program I inherited three years ago where I inherited a sophomore class of one student end during my tenure in the last two years that has grown to 10 to 15 students um instead I'm going to
read a letter from um one of my co-workers who is unable to be here tonight who is discussing the closure of the early Ed program there are many sentiments in this letter that are echoed in all of our programs including my own dear school committee members I'm
writing to express my deep concern regarding the clo the proposed closure of the early Ed and CARE program at whiter Vocational Technical High School as a mother an educator and a Community member and a former student graduate of the eec program I strongly urge you to reconsider this decision it would have a
profound and negative impact on our students families and the future Workforce of Massachusetts Early Child Care is an essential field currently facing a Workforce shortage not only is there a shortage in this field there's also a pattern of study growth the marac
valley will always need teachers and this early Ed program at whiter has been a fundamental source of compet of competent Educators their program is a crucial component of Career and Technical education throughout our state it provides students with invaluable hands-on experience professional certifications and direct career
Pathways in all education by eliminating this program we not only strip students of career opportunities but also weaken the quality of Education in our own communities instead of closing an essential program I encourage the committee to explore alternative Solutions if you look at how the budget
is distributed in early Ed there may be solutions to savings if early Ed was to open a child care facility it would bring in money the benefits of this program outweigh the cost of its closure and I urge you to prioritize the needs of our students families and Community if the reason to close early Ed is
caused by the lack of interest in students then we should be asking the students why please consider the voices of students parents and Educators who have seen firsthand the value of this program I thank you for your commitment to our students in the future of our school I hope to see your support in preserving early Ed in Early Education
and Care as this is a critical career and educational pathway sincerely Amanda hch as I mentioned many of these sentiments are echoed in other programs that are being considered forclosure including engineering where students are given the opportunity to learn and
discover a stem pathway that they might not have considered for themselves thank you for your time Leni Rodriguez hi every are hello my name is lisand Rodriguez I
graduated from design and Visual Communications in 2012 I've come here as so many others to learn what has happened to make such an important shop like design and Visual Communications to be put on the chopping block I know things change and generations change but
there's always going to be a need for a place for Creative Kids to express themselves whether it's through illustration animation photography videography designing the shop that you choose ends up being like a chosen family in a way design and Visual Communications has always been a safe
space for those kids who may have felt a little different and could express themselves through so many different mediums and learn skill sets that set them up for Success so many of my fellow alumni have started their own businesses because of DVC I've had my own
photography business since sophomore year of high school I've also used those skill sets to come back and teach photography at Whittier night school classes design IND Visual Communications also taught us the importance of deadlines each week we had an assignment which we had to then present the
finished product in front of the rest of the shop and my instructor Mr trainer this kind of experience of not only finishing your assignment before the deadline but then presenting and explaining why you made all your choices was invaluable experience for college and the rest of the real world while I'm
not sure what challenge design and Visual Communications is facing today I implore you to reconsider don't give up on this program don't deny future generations of lessons and skill sets design and Visual Communications teach us I've always had the Mantra is of if
you build it they will come and I'm sure that if you give design and Visual Communications a chance to get its bearings again those numbers will go up and those Super Creative Kids won't be displaced thank you so much for allowing me to say my peace I want to thank my instructor Mr Brian trainer for all that
he instilled in me that I still use 13 years later thank you to miss Kate Fullerton and rest in peace Mr richio thank you [Applause] Elizabeth dainy good evening school committee and
superintendent Lynch my name is Elizabeth D vinni um I am an educator here at the in the Whittier Tech English Department I've been here for 18 years years and I'm a resident of Newbury port I'm here to read a letter on behalf of a former student who couldn't be here tonight um but she wanted to express
some of her thoughts dear superintendent Lynch and school committee my name is Lena Lena acendo and I have the privilege of serving as the secretary for Whittier Tex class of 2024 I'm writing to express my deep concern and disappointment regarding the removal of five trade areas a decision
that I believe will have a detrimental impact on both the school and the Community it serves I am absolutely appalled by the news of these shop areas being eliminated these programs are not just electives they are essential to the success of both the students who rely on them for career preparation and the
broader community that benefits from the skills skills developed within them as a proud graduate of the design and Visual Communications program which I was a part of for all four years I can personally attest the importance of these trade areas the removal of DVC and
other programs will have a last ing negative effects and I feel compelled to speak out DVC in particular has fostered a sense of community and belonging for many students especially those who identify within the lgbtqia plus
Community within the walls of our classro our instructors created a safe welcoming environment where students felt free to express their creativity and be their authentic selves for many this was the only place in the school where they felt truly comfortable the
removal of DVC and the other trade areas will strip these students of that Refuge leaving them without that supportive like-minded community that has been vital to their growth beyond the emotional and social impact eliminating DVC will also cause
significant logistical and operational issues for the school the program provides essential services that Whittier has long benefited from including poster design yearbook production photography magazine creation and other design related projects with
without DBC the school will be forced to Outsource these tasks which will not only be costly but also remove valuable Real World Learning experiences for students I cannot express enough How Deeply passionate I am about this issue the removal of these trade areas is a short-sighted decision that will have
long lasting consequences for students instructors and the Wittier Community as a whole these programs are more than just classes they shape Futures build confidence and provide critical skills that extend far beyond the classroom I I urge you to reconsider this decision and recognize the profound impact it will
have on both current and future students sincerely Lena aqu quendo witi your class of 2024 thank you Samuel CA hi I'm Samuel CA and I apologize for my ill-prepared speech I was only made aware of this meeting about two hours
ago now I am here to defend our shops DVC is a shop that I did not attend but my loving boyfriend of five years attended that shop provided him so many opportunities in life and he would not be where he is today without that shop his teacher Brian trainer helped him
prepare his portfolio which got him into his dream College it was also a safe space for him as a trans man the world was the world was against him he you know DVC was his only safe space home was not a safe place for him Brian
trainer made sure he always had a home in his class as for early Ed we need more Educators I was I graduated in 2022 uh my shop was electrical we did not have a related teacher for months my related teacher quit and the school
could not find a replacement for him we need more Educators why are we going to close a shop that provides our community with Educators if we don't have enough Educators as for masonry and uh what's the other one construction
Labor uh I work in the industry we don't have enough good help the the kids coming in nowadays don't know anything no one's taught them they have no experience because they couldn't get into a tech school their tech school or their tech school failed them honestly a
lot of the uh a lot of the kids that I I work with from this school could have used a better education so why are we going to strip even more kids of their education thank you thank [Applause]
you that's it for the inperson list I do have to read into the record some emails that were received uh the first one it says uh I'm cassander Gove mayor of the city of amsbury and chair of the Asbury school committee I understand you're faced with
the difficult decision to vote on the suspension of the five CTE programs tonight the suspension of programs and offering is never an easy decision it's a position the Asbury school committee has been faced with year over-year I often remind myself that as a public servant it's my responsibility to act
courageously and represent all voices from the community as appointed representatives from the 11 cities and towns that comprise the woodier school district I encourage you to be reminded of the feedback you have heard over the last 13 months from all voices I commend superintendent Lynch for responding to
the feedback and making difficult decisions to control the witty of budget she's made this recommendation Based on data and facts the district communities are working collaboratively to make informed decisions about the future of the school to ensure strong healthy and safe options are available to Wild Cats
of today and tomorrow I ask you to vote in favor of closing these programs tonight to keep us focused on moving forward together sincerely mayor Cassandra Gove next one Dear Mr wood we are writing as the parents of current woodier Tech freshman who is very
passionate about getting the opportunity to select design and Visual Communications as her first choice shop we are asking the school committee to please reconsider any plans to close the DVC program or any other programs for currently enrolled students doing so would be blatantly unjust to the
students who are presently pursuing these programs our students have been subjected to enough fluctuations in the wake of covid-19 pandemic and these proposed significant changes to the wotch Career and Technical education program have the potential to significantly impact students mental
health as well as their future Career Success countless Studies have demonstrated that stem education is essential for our students providing them with critical thinking problems problem solving and Innovation skills that are fundamental for navigating are increasingly compl world to see that two
of the five proposed programs to be closed are STEM related is incredibly disheartening as parents we chose to send our child to Woody attch because of the school's capacity to provide a competitive Career Technical and academic education and because of its reputation as an environment where students Thrive and are supported in
their chosen career pathway students in this year's freshman clap have spent the last two terms exploring all of wood a tech shops programs including the five proposed to be closed Closing one or more of these programs now when the Freshman Class classes being asked to choose their top three choices to pursue
for the rest of their time at woodier Tech would be unfair to these students our daughter entered woodier Tech in the fall with the intention of pursuing DVC as her chosen shop program after careful consideration of the other program options DVC remains her Top Choice she will be devastated if
she can no longer pursue DVC at woodier Tech I urge you superintendent Lynch and the other members of the school committee to consider the concerns and needs of our students before coming to a decision regarding the closure of shop sincerely James and Marissa [Applause]
trillo next one says my daughter a third generation DVC student graduates this year carrying on a family tradition of benefiting from this vital program DVC provides crucial training in communication marketing and design skills essential in today's Tech driven
economy in 2025 it is no surprise that Tech forward careers are the future for our country DVC is very much a part of the tech industry boom stripping the school of this closes the outlet to incoming students with artistic abilities to be able to Showcase their talents from the DVC program students
can find work in fields like photography web design advertising creative directors working in the film industry Etc the list goes on many schools have removed art programs for their curriculum due to budget constraints once again failing the students who need
it most wood you needs to have this outlet for incoming kids and they need a staff who are willing willing to show them what the shop is all about not boast about their impending retirement please reconsider not only keeping this shot shop open but investing in this shop and helping it flourish let's focus
on ensuring dbc's future success and its ability to students for year to come Katie Bowman unfortunately I am unable to attend the meeting tomorrow but as a parent of a sophomore at wood votch and a strong support of vocational training I would like to register my opposition at the proposed closing of the following
vocational programs engineering construction labor is masonary Early Education in child care and design and Visual Communications effort should be made to broaden access to training in these fields rather than remove them from your school thank you Susan Mart dear superintendent I'm absolutely
shocked at hearing rumors of the closing of Early Childhood masonary DVC Engineering in CAD as a 2021 alumni and former vice president it baffles me that such a decision could be made I have recommended the school for its diverse selection of Trades but hearing this is
outrageous I hope this is not true and if it is I'm ashamed in Wood of votch Antonio [Applause] Infante I hope this email finds you well I'm emailing to express my concern for the closing of multiple shops at Woody of votch I graduated from woodier and in
2019 from design and Visual Communications I gained so much skill knowledge and experience being in the shop and got to really take the skills I learned out to the real world it's unfortunate that the shops are closing as I know many people who benefited them I hope something can be done to
influence the decision noell [Applause] Elise this is Paul gy from the crass of 1996 I was in graphic arts that I know Mr Rio but since he's gone in 2022 rest
in peace to him anyways shops are cool it's awesome trained students from 9 to 12 grade thanks Paul from class of 96 dear superintendent Lynch as a former wot Tech student I'm deeply disappointed to hear about the plan to shut down several vocational shops these programs
aren't just classes their life-changing opportunities that give students real skills in career pass during my time at Woody of the hands are learning these shops provided me made a huge difference in my education and future many of us have built successful careers because of them closing these programs would take away opportunities from students who
need them and hurt industries that rely on skilled workers I urge you to reconsider this decision these shops are core part of what makes Woody Tech so valuable to the students in community please keep them open Pedro Rosario class of 2017 I hope this email finds you well
I'm writing spread exess my disheartenment upon learning that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and secondary education has decided to close a number of vital programs at Woody of vot tech as a former student at Woody of tech I have seen firsthand the incredible impact these programs have on
students families and the communities as a whole these technical shops are not just educational opportunities they provide Real World skills and open doors for those who may not have access to the career pass elsewhere the students benefit immensely gaining hands-on experience and preparing for careers in fields that are crucial to to our
economy the broader Community too reaps the rewards of having a skilled and trained work first eliminating these programs would be a disservice to our community and would undermine the core mission of woodier tech to prepare students for careers in a lifelong learning through both academic and Technical education is impossible to
fulfill this missions if we take away opportunities for students to gain the kind of practical Hands-On training that these shops provide I urge you to reconsider this decision and to keep these programs in place they're essential to the continued success and growth of the students in the community at large I appreciate your time and
consideration I hope a resolution can be released that enables wood tech to continue providing these essential opportunities for future Generations sincerely Olivia Elliott a former student of Woody of [Applause]
votch to whom it may concern I'm a graduate of the class of 2014 and while at at my time at wot Tech I studied with Mrs Cashman and Miss Fullerton Miss Cashman Mr trainer and Mr Rio were a key PE piece of people's lives their development as
humans and for some of us a big jump start in our careers there was deadlines that we needed to meet processes that we ran in so many different programs that we use that to this day that I use in my current career it breaks my heart to see wood you will be stripping some of these shops from the trade programs where current incoming students will no longer
have the ability I know plenty of other former students who are so wildly disappointed in Wy of votek about the closure of not just DVC but other trades that are disappearing along with it such as Early Education and child care a trade where I am sure that many Educators wish they could have had access to as young at at a young age to
jolt them into their future career there are many many now teachers that are so proud that they found their passion for teaching so early in life please reconsider your decision on getting Road of these shops Emily quinland hilner class of 2014
[Applause] my name is Sandra mixing and I'm writing in regards to the recent newes of eliminating some of the programs at Whittier my daughter class of 2008 Clash Treasurer captain of the varsity cheerleading squad successfully completed design and visual communication to hear this program would
be potentially taken away from current and future students is heartbreaking my son class of 11 captain of the soccer team successfully completed masonary to hear that this program would be taken away is also heartbroken all of these programs currently provided through Woody are crucial work skills needed
uh for your for your SL our students future I am sure that you have read a lot of emails and I apologize for taking your time I wanted you to hear from a parent of two that graduated from your school Sandra [Applause] Mixon we are residents of marac mass and
grandparents of a Wittier student we urge the school committee to vote against the proposal to close several school programs over the years we've been impressed with the number of people provided people provide varied services to us including construction who receive their training at woodier we believe
these programs benefit the community as well as provide good jobs for our students and should be considered sincerely David and Loretta [Applause] Mart I am disheartened to hear the school committee is considering the elimination of several vocational areas
I urge everyone to consider that all shops would he has to offer is the main attraction of what makes the school excellent options a varying interest of all kids all five shop areas that are up for debate are important areas of occupation Early Education and Care is essential
for shaping our next Generation masonary and construction build the infrastructure of where we live learn and work and also consist of Aging workforces that require a younger generation to replace its skill set perhaps the most upsetting to hear about is losing design and visual Communication in engineering and
Technology to feels that are directly related to Modern advances with rapidly evolving technology AI is currently changing what we do and how we do it daily so the need for a Workforce with understanding of these topics is crucial I no longer live in the state or I would attend this meeting myself for the vote
My Hope Is that these points are considered Heavenly in your decision thank you rean milmore class of [Applause] 2012 my name is Tamisha Malone I'm a board certified psychotherapist published author inter International
public educator Capital lobbyist alongside other several esteemed accomplishments within my field most importantly however I'm a proud graduate of Woody of votch class of 2013 I'm writing to you today to express my deep concerns regarding the expected anticipated closure of several prominent
trade options one of which laid the foundation that prompted autonomy allowing me to thrive in my career a bit about me I am the daughter and granddaughter of a well-established local Carpenters I pride myself on having the passion to ensure self-sufficiency no matter which direction my life takes me the develop
enhancement fundamental trade skills I received throughout my time in the coent tree program at wooder allowed me to take risks continue to pursue my passions and reach for the stars I knew my trade would always be a Haven for my life's successes without the core education I received at woodier
I would not have been able to work throughout College provide for my family or be a mother who was able to fix projects without relying on others I write to you with tremendous empathy during your decision process it is understandable that change is needed to promote growth and as a consumer these
fundamental trades matter to the routine livelihood of human function as a proud alumni I ask you to please reconsider when identifying growth areas of need fundamental trade trade skills are essential no matter where life may lead
future alumni sincerely Tamisha [Applause] Malone as a 20-year veteran teacher with eight of those years here in the district I've seen firsthand the transformative power of Hands-On learning I'm writing you today
to be a champion to Champion our Vital vocational and Technical educational programs specifically engineering construction labors and masonary early Early Education in child care and design and visual communication shops these aren't just shops they're the Gateway
for our kids offering Real World skills and preparing them for Meaningful koreas and New England look I get it budgets are tight but we can't afford to Short change these program they're vital now more than ever because the job market is changing fast and while some folks worry about robots taking over the truth is
the jobs of the future even in the trades will require people who who can work with technology including AI That's why we need to modernize these programs integrate AI literacy and relevant tools into the curriculum it's not about turning everyone into programmers it's
about giving them the edge they need to thrive in a tech driven world let's take a look closer look at each program the engineering program needs to be a pipeline for the next generation of Engineers but not just the the theoret trical kind we need to teach them how AI
is changing the field from Aid driven robotics to AI powered modeling think robotics software engineering all areas where AI is becoming essential create high-paying jobs right here in our region we're facing a real shortage of skilled to trades people in the construction and Mason area these
programs offer a direct path to good paying jobs right here at home but even in these fields AI is making a difference think AI based project management AI power diagnostic for technicians and even AI assisted design for Masons we need to prepare our students for this reality Early
Education and child care is crucial not just for kids but for the whole Community it's about nurturing young minds and while I strongly believe the importance of early childhood education I also know that many of these students will go on to work in elementary schools that's why this program needs to prioritize the foundational skills
Reading Writing and math that are essential for sucess in those settings we need to equip these students to support early literacy in numerous development in today's Digital World these skills are in high demand from social media marketing to graphic design
web design the these are jobs that are booming and AI is changing the game here too with AI powered design tools and analytics design and Visual Communications has the potential to become a leading program in the region if properly supported we need to make sure our students are ready to leverage these Technologies I've been in the
classroom long enough to know what works we need targeted recruitment to get more kids into these programs we need to update our curriculum to reflect current industry standards and integrate AI literacy we need to partner with local businesses to provide Real World experience and mentorship finally we
need to actively seek grant funding to support these efforts I urge the committee to consider these recommendations and prioritize the funding and support necessary to ensure the continued success in modernization of these programs I'm confident that by working together we can equip our students with the skills they need to
thrive in the 21st century sincerely Sarah [Applause] Anderson this is just absurd all of this going on right now honestly I mean this is what the school was known for and
this is why people wanted to go there and build careers and make something out of themselves follow their dreams how dare anyone even consider shutting them down who even has to who even has the say to do this and is able to is messed up Laura
[Applause] dent I am a junior and Early Education and Care I came to Woody looking to take Child Care before I even went on my eighth grade tour right as I saw the shop I knew what I wanted to take it I could never imagine the one shop I
couldn't wait to join no longer being available this is completely unfair to all freshmen and incoming wyier Tech students none of these shops should be on the shopping block masonary helps the community by using the experience they learned through throughout their years in the program eec goes out to daycare
centers starting sophomore year and have helped staff daycare centers in the community Little Sprouts and Asbury Mass being one DVC does all the yearbooks all the Flyers and whatever the school needs engineering is a shop that is going to be gaining interest because of the peak and
stem CCL is a new shop that has started last year and hasn't even gotten a fair chance to thrive it made no sense that the fact that this would have been swept under the rug till last minute is off as a school you need to realize that they're that what you are doing is so wrong all these teachers work so hard to
make sure their students Thrive but you want to take away from them everyone should have a fair shot to follow their dreams but no you want to take their dreams away the administration needs to realize that they are in the wrong and a petition has been set up to show how many people disagree with this decision this isn't something that can be hidden
and as a student our voices have been heard by the community and you need to listen to our voices shape Lord [Applause] Dear Miss Lynch my son Israel Griffin is
a freshman at woodier this year and he recently shared his concern about potentially not being able to choose his preferred shop I also read that the school is considering closing Five existing programs to make room for Plumbing in HVAC his Top Choice is engineering and he was hoping to build a strong foundation in the field to give
him a Competitive Edge when applying to College engineering program the issue I take take with these program Cuts is the timing of their implementation freshmen have already spent weeks exploring different shops taking valuable time away from their core education only to find out just a week before selection
that some of these options are no longer available I ask that you consider integrating the effective programs into related ones such as combining CAD with engineering if these programs must be cut I strongly urge you to allow the current fman class to select from all
the existing shops before implementing these changes for future classes I truly appreciate the time and thought that goes into making these important decisions and I hope you will consider this perspective Lindsay [Applause]
Griffin that is it for public comment before I close it out is there anyone else here for public comment good evening everybody my name is there we go all right good evening everybody my name is Remy Collins and I am a former alumni of woodier tech class
of 2012 a lot of us actually showed up from 2012 so that's pretty exciting um I'm a student that I chose Graphics right from the beginning of my freshman year and I later changed into Health occupations and later on in life that is
a big regret that I have um currently I am an owner of a tie-dye company and my business wouldn't be where it is today if it wasn't for graphics um I do graphics for web design I also do social media for different businesses um
locally and also um Nationwide and I've also sold shirts all over the world um my business again wouldn't be where it's at today if it wasn't for my background of Graphics so I just really really really hope that Graphics isn't closed
um another thing too is I am about to be a mother of two and I don't think education is going anywhere obviously you guys all need jobs so I think it would be kind of a silly decision to be closing Child Care thank you so much for your time
[Applause] good evening my name is Katherine Cashman I am one of the design and Visual Communications teachers I hadn't planned to speak so I don't have anything written down but I just want to say that I'm very moved by all the
positive things that all the people that reached out and said some wonderful things in support of our shops a lot of students will be missing out on opportunities if we close down every one of the five shops that are on slated for
being closed closed up um as as an educator I don't do this just for money I don't do this just as a job I do this for the kids and if you ask every single one of the teachers in this building they'll tell you the same thing
we are very passionate about what we do we care about our students I want my students to have a future I want our future students to have a future and I thank you for your time [Applause]
good evening my name is Sabrina Duckworth and I am the Early Learning director at the YMCA Children's Learning Center in downtown havil I'm also a proud alumni of Whittier tax's class of 2011 Early Education and Care Program and serve on the shops Advisory
Board my 18-year career in early Ed began the moment I stepped into the Child Care Program during freshman exploratory this experience was pivotal in discovering my passion and shaping my career path without it I would not have found this field or achieved my current position the
hands-on experience I gained here allowed me to graduate with both a diploma and a teaching certificate this enabled me to immediately start teaching and work my way up to my director role where I can support families and children in our community wher Tech's early Ed and Care Program graduates can
become lead teachers by the age 21 offering them competitive salaries and the opportunity to make make a significant Community impact 50% of my current Staffing came from the early Ed program here at woodier Tech the potential loss of this influx of new
Educators into the field will severely strain my Staffing for local Child Care programs including those in whittier's own Community this will negatively impact residents and child care centers in surrounding areas who require daily
Child Care consistent quality child care thank you for your time and [Applause] consideration anyone else here for public comment anyone
else all right seeing none hello I'm Kate ly I'm a junior at wer Tech and I'm speaking in support of the masonry program and on behalf of the 2026 class in M I have nothing but positive things to say about my shop the program guides students to become hard
workers by using their creativity and Hands-On work many of the students in my shop have Bright Futures with job opportunities in the masonry field my shop has strongly willed students who aspire to stay in the field and we tend to attract students with passion
maseri also has loyal and dedicated teachers with several years of experience in the trades theyve built a supportive and welcoming Community for our shop I saw a new news article today stating that W your Tech is considering closing shops with declining interest in
Spring of 2024 we had 20 freshmen enter my shop which are high numbers for the program I've also heard of several freshmen considering choosing masing as their vocation and it is upsetting to see them have to pick something they don't truly
Pursuit it devastating to hear about the shop closures and I hope you can all consider my opinion I would also like to give a special thanks to Paul bashet and Matthew Palmer for making my vocational education experience the best it could be thank you for your time thank
[Applause] you anyone else for public comment see none without uh objection we're going to move up item under the S the CTE program closures uh for discussion now Madame superintendent I'd
ask that um we take indiv each individual program um separately with the numbers of explaining the rationale for those um programs to be closed um and I did have a conversation with you earlier today
and I would also ask um in light of the numbers in one of those programs being um the masonary program I'd ask that you withraw that from your proposal uh Mr chairman uh I recommend uh withdrawing masonry from the closure
program we'll remove masonary from the um the list of proposed program closures we'll take up first Early Education and Care so I have a PowerPoint can we just follow the PowerPoint sure
absolutely so the program closures are construction craft labors design and Visual Communications Early Education care and Engineering gosh so we ask our ninth graders after exploring um all uh 24 trade areas to
choose which trade area that they think they will be pursuing for the the remainder of their time here at Whittier um so this is all all 24 trade areas and this is where students really um showed their interest as you can see um
electrical had 63 students that were interested in that program uh obviously we cannot fit 62 students into our our electrical program so those students are going to have to go with their second choice um but you know we this is how we
we started to make decisions based on on enrollment and and desire of the students you know we say the resources follow the kids um and to hold have programs that um there's not many kids in um takes away from some of the other programs where we need to add more
resources to that to those programs so this is the historical enrollment of all of them um construction craft labors was a new program to us this year um we did have students explore through it um the anticipated amount of students that were
interested in pursuing that after um the exploratory program was only two um design and Visual Communications um the students went through that program as well um and the the amount of students was four out of 340 or so students Early Education and
Care um they had uh four students as well that were interested in pursuing that program engineering had six so construction craft labor I I think I'm just going to skip this one um we it was never a program that we actually had
students enrolled in at this point um and they only had two students that were interested in pursuing that design and visual communication um we have a total of 26 students uh right now from grades 10 to 12 um and only four students chose
that for grade nine we are graduating 14 students um from that program so out of those seniors in that program when we look at Co-op uh only one of the 14 seniors is working in in a co-op position right
now Early Education and Care uh so only four students Four Freshman students chose that program for this year uh last year only one did uh and so and so we have six seniors that
will be graduating we have four Juniors one one 10th grader and now Four Freshmen that are interested in pursuing that program engineering uh we had six freshmen that are interested in pursuing that program
there are two seniors that are graduating so a grade 10 there's 10 students grade 11 15 uh and then for the ninth grade it would be six uh Mason re-enrollment I don't know if you want me to go through that um I don't think you have to we're going to
withraw okay um design and visual when we look at Co-op numbers again only one out of those 14 seniors is actually working in the trade area during Co-op Early Education care five out of six are engineering two out of two and then
Mason only three out of eight so reasons for the closure um each Pro each program was selected for closure based on the current and historical enrollment it's not because we don't think that they're worthy programs or programs that add uh value
to Whittier Tech um it really is looking at the Historical moment despite all grade nine students exploring all 24 programs less than six students per program selected one of these programs as their first choice at a midyear
survey we have at least two programs right now that will require an additional instructor for the 2526 school year due to increased enrollment and all students currently enrolled in the impacted programs will be able to complete the program and graduate with their trade certificate in
that program closure dates um because we didn't enroll current nine current grade nine students um those students are not currently enrolled in the in the program so um incoming incoming grade eight students will not explore the impacted
programs for the 2526 year at the conclusion of the 25 26 year uh construction craft lab will close DBC will be reduced to one instructor at the end at the conclusion of the 2027 school year design and visual closes early
Education and Care closes engineering closes as well and that is all I have for my presentation this evening okay so just to kind of streamline that why don't we take the questions that we have on each
program specifically we'll just go down the line the first one is Early Education and Care um so any comments or questions for the superintendent under the Early Education and career program can we go back to the enrollment
side sure can you go back to the enrollment side angel no for Early Education and K that one y up the enrollment the uh one more the historic the the the the one of the the first slides you have that has
all of the anticipated grade n selection by that one right no next one yep that one yeah all the historical yeah okay so I guess on on Early Education rough numbers right it dropped
about 25% then 30% and then more than 50% year over year do we based on the uping of support for that do we see any Trend as to why the numbers of enrollment have
dropped um to such a significant number based on the demand that's out there I I I'd be guessing I mean really it's a student interest about whether they want to pursue those those trade areas um and you know the students just
didn't seem to you know want to pursue that area um there is a a significant you know need for Education uh teachers and early education teachers and there's no denying that part but the the issue
really is is having um you know less than 10 students run uh in a in a trade area when I have other trade areas that really need that those resources and just to be clear I think you said that the people that are currently the kids that are currently enrolled will
graduate in that yes anyone else Mr early a lot of moving Parts here I heard class of 12 speak and I heard a lot of the letters over there there's a big gap
from class of 12 to only four people on it next year is there any data on this or for a reason again I can guess about the reason I I don't necessarily know the Why students
are not choosing those trade areas how many are in the uh right now 24 2510 for which area for um early we're on early end um so there's only one in grade 10 four in grade 11 and six will
be graduating in grade 12 not a lot thank you this L you know I think there there's no doubt that there's a very high demand all the students who are seniors are working there's a very high demand in
that area um but it doesn't it's not as competitive for a um when you maybe are 15 16 years old and looking around at the other vocational areas in the building for a competitive wage in that area as well so I I think
that has definite I believe that and I'm just speaking from my own perspective I'm I'm also on the Y board and I'm well aware of the the incredible program the Y offers and for child care in this in
this area and the several students that work there as um the director explained um but it's obviously been an area that has shown a dramatic Decline and
um I it's hard to justify a full classroom and a teacher when you have these other areas that have the demand and you know we've always said is when I was working here and working now on this board we want to make sure the the
dollars follow the children and um making sure we're meeting as much need as as we can for the community and unfortunately um in this area uh we're not putting out these students that the
demand is there for you know it'll it'll have to rely on the high schools and the colleges to put out that you know for students to pursue those areas but I think I'm going to take a just conjecture that a 15 or 16 year old
who's walking around this building and seeing these areas is that that maybe the other areas are just pulling more demand and unless a student is really coming in committed to those areas to to Early Education and Care they're not choosing it when they have when they're
considering other options versus the other vocational areas so it's difficult to see it go because I know the why really relies on Wittier Tech to provide that Workforce but if we're only looking putting a couple of students a year
that's not going to meet their needs either Mr early now some of the teachers whether it's in early Ed or design can they go into teaching in other subjects if they're licensed if they're licensed thank
you Mr col um I had a couple questions um one of them is I was curious why masonry has been removed from the 5 CTE list and the other concern that I have is there was obviously a need at some
point in time to start these these these CTE um and if we shut them down like I I guess what what was measured to know that we needed them and
that if we shut them down how are we going to know need to bring the back those are great questions I mean really it's it's the blueprint the the Northeast blueprint that you look at when you're trying to plan programs when you open up a program like construction craft labor there's a need for that
program there there is definitely a need and I would say there's a need in Early Education and Care um the the issue really is the enrollment that we have here the economics of what we have going on here in our building um we have opened up programs in D
in health assisting and Marine technology um over the last few years so you know Whittier is going to continue to you know have have some programs lose some programs grow have other programs it we just can't stay the same that's
not what the workforce in our our region needs so um and also why was masonry taking off the docket enrollment when we really looked at the enrollment and if we can combine construction craft labors and and um masonry we we think we can give that at
least another year to see if we can continue to let it grow so is construction now coming off of the list if it's going to be combined with masonry well yes for the day school what I'd like to do and that's a whole other story what I'd like to do is see if I can have it as an after dark program or
a night school program you know that was a lot of work to open up that program and to get the the the certification to be a construction craft laborers uh school um so I'd like to figure out a way that I can do it um either after
dark or at night so when you say after doer at night we're not talking about the adult ed we're talking about you know after the kids are done with their home high schools they come here and that's after dark at night it's CTI our our CTI program that's the adult um
program they could use that if you have the S would that be an option for um the Early Education as well no no further discussion on Early
Education Mr Li just curious about I mean first of all I totally understand um the decision has to be made I think our districts to Mayor Go's Point are going through the exact same conversations about having to make some really difficult decisions
uh which programs to keep and which programs not to keep so I appreciate this is a really really difficult decision U before us um in terms of as I think about some of these programs early Ed programs I know uh at least certainly when I was um working in Salem that they
Salem High School offered An Early Education CARE program I think has a chapter 74 program curious do you know if any of the other districts think hav specifically has or has plans to uh have an early chapter 74 program or is anything like
that generally if your Regional Vocational Technical School has a chapter 74 program you can't open that up so if we don't have that then Heil really does have the opportunity to open that up and then I think I just wanted to
confirm there was one student in early uh Early Education and Care that was in 10th Grade that student programs closing at the end of 26 that student will still be allowed to right so we're going to do work based learning we'll work with that
student okay thank you any further discussion on Early Education and Care questions anyone else um one thing I would suggest if if Early Education uh in care passes is
um uh following up on what Miss delai said when I was serving on the a school committee we were having discussions about establishing um a program like this but obviously whiter had it um you know I would reach out to to hail and um have some discussions with them um if we
do have to to see if they still have some interest in in establishing that and anything we can do to work together with havil in order to successfully um establish that program I think would be helpful 100% happy to do that any further discussion on Early
Education and Care is there a motion um One Way or Another relative to Early Education and Care uh you are you looking for a motion to basically support the recommendation of the superintendent to close the early yeah we're going to do it one by one so
that we I think it's just I will offer that motion for consideration motion made um I miss Deli to accept the superintendent's recommendation um for the closure of the early educ ation and CARE program is there a second second seconded is there any further discussion
on the motion on the table all right hav I said that call the roll on the motion to accept the superintendent's recommendation on the closure of Early Education and Care Mr early I have a quick question on that people that are in there now will
graduate yes yes thank you Mr early to close it yes accepting the superintendent's recommendation for the phase out closure of Early Education and Care Miss Sullivan yes Mr roosy yes Mr Li yes Mr Fitzgerald yes Mr
Irving where he he TV's off Mr Murphy yes Miss L yes Mr Okana yes Miss OK yes Mr sloski yes is Mr Irving back the TV is not on can't see him or hear him so he's not allowed
to vote passes okay um if you want Mr Irvin's discussion would somebody's gonna have to turn that TV back on or he can't participate in the discussion do you have a preference go
okay so we're going to move on to the next one um on the list here is uh DVC design and Visual Communications there questions from the committee relative to the design and
Visual Communications program I do but it's it's kind of an open question for the remaining vocational areas um did you look at the second choices for those students who chose those and uh did they have any pattern
toward related areas we we kind of we did and there really wasn't a pattern you know um because I know those areas all have related areas in this you know so for example DBC and uh I remember long ago when we
closed data processing and marketing add and business technology were their their own shops but they were right together um there are other areas in the building that you I just called them dual shops they had two chapter 74 programs
operating in the same four walls right um with different with overlapping curricula and um DVC certainly falls into that marketing area so I feel like those students who really are interested in that marketing uh
visual design field we still are offering them something that they could be interested in maybe they won't maybe they don't want that and they would choose something else like you said if they have that their second and third choices weren't even related right um
but there's certainly crossover in business marketing and design and visual yeah um you know and in many of our programs there is crossover as well um but you know that's what I do think of when I think of design and visual the marketing and you know I'll just say it
now so I don't say it repeat it I feel the same way around engineering you know the advanced manufacturing umbrella of the cad Electronics robotics engineering we and and the uh machine technology program we put they all have overlapping
curricula and we have uh vocational areas that can meet those interest levels for those students it's it's one and done thing the way I feel like it with early Ed it is a little it's much more isolated but these other areas have crossovers so um so specifically
for design and visual for the low enrollment numbers looking moving forward I do feel that we still have those opportun interest areas for those students if I agree that was their second or third choice
questions on design and visual Mr Rossy can you review the numbers again how many kids are you to a grade level sure um so it's up there as well but for grade nine there's nine grade 11 three and grade 12
14 uh for freshman um it was four students enrolled um and I the thing I keep going back to is is Co-op you know when we talk about kids going out into the workforce um only one of the 14 seniors is not working it's it's really
difficult to find Co-op opportunities for for design and visual students okay and if the uh for DVC it'll be reduced down to one instructor this year uh for next year yes okay so is there opportunity if
those if the interest level comes back to maintain that program like it's it's more in like a soft closure if you will we see what goes on there no because the students wouldn't be doing an exploratory they wouldn't be allowed to go through the exploratory
program okay because it's one teacher so no just because that way was Clos it's closing Mr I guess I would ask a similar question for this and I guess it comes up for me with design and visual communication as well as engineering
technology and that is the potential role of our Comprehensive High Schools uh to perhaps offer these program if we don't offer these programs these seem like areas where they may be able to choose Innovative Pathways to be able to
offer programs um D Mr Irving if you can mute we can hear you um yes and and I think this is an opportunity um to expand CTE which is a huge thing in our state is to expand
more CTE opportunities and again if we we have the programs here they can't do it at the comprehensive schools um so again this is an opportunity for Hail or Asbury to uh certainly open up a a chapter 74 design and visual
program hello hello can you hear me now we can hear you um I was gonna ask a question the last one is there any chance of for a couple of years merging a couple of these so you could run see what happens
the next year or two as far as noas if they reestablished I mean this partic this particular uh CTE along with the education one possibly burn for a couple of years as the construction and masonry could work I'm just wondering if the
possibility of of putting in sort of uh in a special room for a couple of years and then and check what the enrollment will be then and whether erected if necessary or then uh drop it I remember a few years back we dropped
diesel uh and then we merged that with I think U Auto Tech or something I'm not sure no I'm just wondering if if a couple of these could be I mean teachers need to have visual communication as well as um oral communication I'm just wondering if you could possibly merge
those two uh for a couple of years see what happens with numbers and then make a decision at that time I I think that would be difficult um you know we have marketing and business uh we have two teachers down
there um you know students would be allowed to um you know obviously take that if if we ended up needing a third teacher in marketing um we could certainly do that but um it's it's really hard to to merge two different
programs like that some some similarities of would believe for sure is pres the last question for DBC that um you know it's more of a creative I guess type
shop are there what other avenues are there in some of the other shops that are you know adjacent if you look right well we do have an art an art program here um students are allowed to take that as an elective um you know design and ual and then you
know marketing um those would be the programs really if you want to every one of our programs can be creative right understand I'm not trying to apply trust me yeah that's not what I'm trying to do but but I think you know again based on what we heard today the
um people a lot more inclined to go into you know a creative Type Thing versus a more Hands-On or engineering aspect you know we're limiting that but the numbers also show again I think it's 30% year-over-year and then 80% drop from last year
so not sure how you you know it's tough to tell if these are blips but you know these aren't trending as blips I would say when we get into engineering I have questions on that but okay Mr Jo the numbers you said for
DVC was 14 seniors three Juniors nine sophomores yes before incoming yes so we saw a dip in it before so this just another dip and it's going to curve back up I mean I don't think we can base it all off Co-op and what possible jobs are
out there you heard a lot of people I feel today say that they're in that field and they are out there working so I think there might still be a need there especially where it's not clear just significant drop year after year I think there's a dip before maybe it's
another dip it's my thoughts Mr Earley how many are on co-op on this design visual one miss Patty I have to lean on you a little because you were here for a long
time not to put you on the spot but these are big gaps to go from 42 to 30 and there's only five that want to sign up now I don't understand
it I yeah I I don't know I mean especially I think also from my experience from the long time I was here um between Graphics and Design and visual we had multiple areas and then we
we concentrated them because enrollment was going down and um and it in my view it continued to decline so I can see that those numbers I agree there's a it does look
it's a little bit like this but if you look at it long term it's a it's a more steady decline um I do feel in this area design and visual one I do know and Mary mentioned it as well I know that there our area
schools are looking to try to address this need in their own in our local communities and they haven't been able to because we have the program and yet and we also have marketing and we also have business technology and we
also have we also and we also and so I can see that in the scheme of things that this is an area that are we really meeting the needs of our community in addressing keeping this
program versus some of the other programs when we have to make these tough decisions about how is how our dollars being best spent here on the students education and the needs and the uh employment needs of the
community um so these are tough numbers to me are really tough numbers tough numbers thank you I had a question it's kind of a sensitive subject but I heard it more than once tonight um it seems
like the LGBT community seems to be comfortable and accepted into the DBC program and I know that the school is all about inclusion and just to hear that and hear it more than once is concerning to
me um I know it's part of the Arts and I understand that but why you know like I don't know if anybody has any answers but that just doesn't S with can you explain more like
what I just hear that it seems like a lot of that population is comfortable in DVC how come they're not comfortable in carpentry or Plumbing or Automotive I haven't heard that there not um you know I'm hearing that they
they do feel comfortable in in design and visual I I hope our kids feel comfortable in any of the trade areas like that that's our goal that no matter where they go that they feel safe and supported okay I would hope so too yeah yeah and I would I would only add from
my experience in my community I sat through an ASB school committee meeting where they were looking at cutting art and music and it was very difficult and I heard very very much similar um
experiences of this is where I feel like the and you know feel accepted and that sort of thing I don't I don't think it's Unique to asur to uh Whittier because I heard very similar um sentiments in another school
committee meeting from you know CH students and parents and um it was difficult and you know the Asbury school committee had to make their decisions and you know unfortunately we have we're we're in the similar
position was student surveyed at any point in time as to why they all are going to is you know you know certain areas over others we've definitely seen
a trend of students going to carpentry Plumbing uh HB um electrical how could I forget electrical um over the last few years we've definitely seeing that that Trend um you know I think there's a lot of
work out there for students if they become come Journeymen um and electricians and plumbers um we do right and we do do an exploratory where they they're supposed to do a reflection about why they chose why they what they liked about the shop what they didn't like about the shop you
know do they see themselves you know pursuing that career has anybody taken a hard look at that that question there well we don't because it's every student has like 24 of them so that that's kind of the parents supposed to go through the exploratory and see what students
are and um make decisions as families as to what potential trade area they should be going into Mr um I too so Conor heard the same thing and it certainly tugged at my
heartstrings this one is one I I have a much harder time with because I'd love to say can we just defer this for a year but I understand that decision has to be made about exploratory not letting students in I think the thing that I sadly find most compelling as I look at
the data kind of a data person is you know you've gone from you've dropped 17 students from uh 22 23 23 24 and then down 12 and now down 14 there's a clear Trend it's a double digit decrease over
four years it's not just a blip and as much as it pains me I feel like the trend seems to be supporting that perhaps not a program that is a best investment of our funding any further discussion for me this is one that um I
have a a few concern the one that probably makes the least amount of sense to me because it did have strong numbers a couple of years ago and it's drastically dropped over the the last two years um are there any more
historical numbers on that program going back a few other years to has this happened before where the numbers were high they dropped down a little bit lower they came back up is there any more historical numbers with this program I'm sure there are um of course
but we had Katie wants to say something just yeah there was a third instructor in there two two years ago it's just one of the the ones on the sheet that there's kind of the other ones you can see this one's more of a a
drastic drop off in the program um that's kind of unexplained on why there's such a drastic drop off obviously well and then you look at only four students are choosing to take it for next year that's what I was kind of meaning if you look at it from a couple years ago there was a total enrollment
of around 60 kids to now only four kids you know if that Trend was you know do the math that's a drastic drastic change over the course of a couple of years um Mr ear how many teachers are in here
right now in that program two two they don't have an assistant two full-time teachers two full-time teachers thank you any further discussion on the DVC program I just the only other thing I would add is you know because I'm
racking my brain too of like why what's going on and I like all I can think it's like what are the related areas that maybe we don't really know that students are choosing because like are they choosing marketing
because it's close you know there's some overlapping curriculum they and they're just saying I wanted I want more of a business side of it and the creative side of it so so Mar marketing had 14 this year which is high for them that's a high number for them so I I think it
could just be the demographics of and the job market out there that kids and parents are talking about and saying you know what go into marketing education instead of design and visual because you're still going to be able
to do that same kind of work um and have that creativity but and maybe come out with a different skill set that is better set for your future you know I'm trying to put myself at the dining room table with
the 15y old how those conversations might go Mr ear I do have one more question can this work with one teacher and an assistant teacher or a par this program I I can
make anything work I can make anything work but I mean if if it's going down with two teachers I think it would really be difficult with one teacher thank you I can't velop a curriculum on the
Fly here but are there opportunities to take some of the benefits and some of those creative pieces that the students that we heard today really enjoy and move it into something like marketing because I think about you know sales and marketing often go hand inand right and and marketing here I think is more sales
Centric um whereas you know the other sign of visual is more again artc I would say right right so just just food for thought there to be able to create some of the opportunity of the things that kids are learning in there that they can use and and pursue in a a more
entric career and in the long run the the uh material the programming and the um equipment that they use currently in design and visual isn't going anywhere we're not selling that off anybody no so we would still have the photography
equipment and those computers which I know they have some nice ones down there yeah we would definitely find ways to um consolidate and work together and you know I mean we want to meet the needs of the kids in their interest you know and
that's the one thing here that not every trade school is like um but kids we we allow kids for the most part except for electrical um to have their first First Choice many schools go down to choice three and four um so you know that's
hard to have a student in a in a trade area that was their third or fourth choice um um you're looking for you know unhappy kids and probably very unhappy teachers with unhappy kids the discussion and the one last thing when I even when I was working
here when I would see low numbers I always worried about those students going into those vocational areas because students do change and um I I recall once that it
was that you know it was only a handful of students two or three students in a vocational area going into a year that um you just worry about them because they don't have the the peer group that the electrical kids have with 20 other
you know 20 to 30 classmates um it can be isolating so um it's it's not always the best situation for students either to be in really low enrollment programs discussion so the four DBC
freshman chose that um your 14 going to the marketing if we were to close that is there room for them to go in the mark that's what they wanted to do have that space a follow up to that is there someone
that would would counsel those kids on moving into a different program that would be similar right so the students haven't chosen their official trade area yeah if there were kids that said they were really interested in design and visual that obviously work with the Freshman guidance counselor and kind of
you know work through whatever you know what their interests are you know we always say if a student uh wants to sit they proba maybe cat's the place for them right because you're sitting at a computer it um if you want to be up and moving around electrical or Plumbing you know so you try to find areas where it
meets you know what the kids are are interested in as well as you know what they feel like they want to do every day but so overall these these kids that are coming that're AR going to get their their choice they'll be counseled
into what alternatives put best if they choose yes a lot just um I think I understand your plan is to drop down to one instructor next year is that correct for
DBC yes as you phase it out and we phased out in the following year yes so those uh nine 10th graders will be in the same sort of situation as that one eec so the 12th grade uh this year next
year the students would finish the program okay yeah with the with with 10 students or nine students they would finish with a teacher you're trying to do math on me I use my fingers wor Sor further
discussion is there a motion any or another I'll make a motion make a motion to accept the superintendent's recommendation on the dvz program is there a second to that motion second second by Mr Murphy any
discussion on the motion on the table seeing none please call Mr early yes Miss Sullivan yes Mr Rossy yes Miss Del yes Mr F Fitzgerald
no Mr Irving Mr Murphy yes Miss LOL yes Mr Okana yes Miss Okana yes Mr sloski no it pass passes next one up is going to be
engineering questions on the engineering program so were the other two there was gradual and then pretty significant drop off I see um increase and then a drop off so that looks more like a blip to me than a trend so curious why we're taking one
year's worth of um enrollment to make a decision to kill a program so engineering is one of those programs where um there's CAD drafting there's Advanced manufacturing there's electronics robotics um if we're
looking at consolidating programs those are programs that the students could consolidate into that would still meet their interest in their needs still doesn't answer the question though sorry this is a blip not a trend to me okay so I just feel like we're making a
decision based on one year of analysis or data when the trend is actually has has historically been going up except for this one year okay so then very good thank you and what is the um employment for co-op
in that field so there are are two seniors and both of those students are in Co-op two out of two so most of the students that are in it are sophomores and juniors yes right now yeah and six six freshmen have it as
their first choice and the did you probably don't have the numbers in front of you but those two seniors I doubt they did they start out just as two freshmen three years ago I would have no idea I mean and if you look back
at the 202 20 there was only one student so if you look at kind of taking it diagonally maybe oh yeah yeah so there were probably only a couple of them that so it started out very low and it's been steady for three
years and then another low and there's teacher for all those students I have a couple questions um when you people talk about Co-op like if you just have one student in a grade level that's in Co-op is that
because you had 10 students and 10 jobs and just one student decided to go out or was it you had 10 students in one job so only one child was was selected I think that varies you know some students that don't have you know their driver's license they can't drive to work there's
some students that may not want to go out on Co-op I mean there's there's varying reasons for why a student doesn't pursue Co-op but it is an indicator it's something that we really feel that is really important for our kids that they get the real world experience while they're here at woodier
so they have the support um you know in Co-op and it's our mission to put them out I agree with that I just you know if someone doesn't have a driver's license they might really really want to go on Cort but you know they don't have their license yet there's always you know
there are reasons but I mean so it's hard for me to put that number in and think well there's only you know one need out there because there isn't just one need out there there's probably a lot of needs but somebody just doesn't have the transportation to get there I I think students in engineering um for the
most part are students that are going on to at least a two or foure college um I think that that um engineering for for CTE um you know there's not many students that can graduate that can get great paying working jobs until they
they further their education and really you know our Charter is to do that that students can walk out the door and get a good paying job um and the other question I have about engineering is if um it kind of gets rolled up into electronic robotics
when it comes to the curriculum maybe there isn't even an answer yet but how much of that school year is going to be you know engineering and how much of it's going to be electronic robotics is it going to be 5050 or the students that are in this
program right now would stay in engineering they wouldn't be moving into Electronics robotics they would we would finish the the the students would sunset with their teacher okay yeah F discussion this one the numbers are
unique just numbers have been going up every couple of years and it's I'm not sure that they're going down like if you take six and times it by four just say six kids in the next couple years your enrollment is closer to that 23 24
number that uh of 24 students um than where it started so this one's a little more unique with the enrollment numbers like you know know DVC the the enrollment numbers were drastically um decreasing over the
course as well as Early Education and Care um they were drastically decreasing this is one of the programs where kind of they're there really there's not a real drastic decrease in this program it it's it's been fairly consistent I guess
for that three-year period ticking up last year and then slightly ticking back down to the 23 24 levels if if you assume that the next couple years would have the same amount of of freshman um interest in it it doesn't go back down
to the numbers you know assuming the numbers stay the same you're still above your your 22 23 numbers so just looking at at at the data on this one this one's a little more for me a little
more um tougher to swallow because I'm not sure that the enrollment is is that there there really is a a decrease in the enrollment here I think this is about consolidating
resources and and looking at what we have and then what others are looking to have um as far as uh expanding CT CTE programs um you know with electronics robotics with CAD with Advanced
manufacturing we kind of have that whole circle um of programs here at wer just a lot um yeah this one I I think too is you know because the trend is not as clear as the others but I respect and understand the point about consolidation
I guess my question is is there a sense that if we similar to some of these other programs if we didn't offer this program that it would be um there would be sort of significant lack of a bed firm startup cost uh for
um say a comprehensive District to offer a program that would result in the same sort of you know competencies that what that engineering technology so the question is is a significant cost to a comprehensive School you talked about the fact that
they're doing a little bit of advanced manufacturing a little bit of CAD so if I'm a havil high school and I want to offer this or Newberry Port High School and I want to offer this is it going to be the same experience because you nport doesn't have a cad lab yeah no it wouldn't be the same experience I me obviously we we have lots more resources
because we do have all those those sister programs um that students are able to to use so essentially instead of asking them to be part of a very broad general program you're going to direct them to
get more specific a pathway that kind of falls under that engineering technology yes thank you question only one instructor engineering right now yes think yeah and I'm just I'm looking at
the numbers and thinking that electrical those kids are going there's going to be a certain number of them that have to look to go someplace else there's when we talk about these related areas in addition to engineering their numbers
are all okay they all can take kids from electrical and that when I do the math around there's teacher they have one room they have all this access to other equipment they've got healthy numbers and there's a trend
of healthy numbers I the math on it makes sense to me to keep the program I I'm like as Scott said having a little bit hard harder time justifying why financially and educationally we
would need to remove that program at this time Mr earlyy how many are around co-op in engineering right now two out of two two two out of two
okay how long has Marine been around oh I think we're in our fourth or fifth year the year I left so Marine doesn't have that many3 Marine doesn't have a lot going in either I have a hard of time on this one um
but they are run Co-op two of them two out of two yep thank you do you know what the cad numbers have been over the past couple years uh I don't have their total numbers I can tell you I think they got 14 as well for freshman um but they generally have a
pretty they good 11 11 close I mean I know yeah CU engineering's going up as CAD staying the same as it going up as a decrease that I think it's been pretty steady if if I was to guess I without the you know actual data in front of me
I think it's pretty steady and there's two instructors in CAD one in electronics or two two this is one I'm just just trying to figure out you know kind of your thought process I guess around this one is it that it was part
of a an overall consolidation because the numbers are obviously consistent engineering engineering is a sorry engineering is a field that's in demand
um and um you know a well paying a well-paying job that people need to enter that field there certainly a shortage in the workplace of people entering that field so I'm trying to get figure out what your thought process was around that knowing that the numbers
have been fairly consistent there's not a drastic drop off like the others it is something where the workforce is looking for people to to go in that field what was kind of your your whole thought process with including this as part of
the so a couple of things the students that generally leave this engineering program don't go into the workforce they're they're going into college right so it's a college prep program um the students because we have some of those sister programs Electronics prodcts which works pretty closely with
engineering and then CAD um again it's just looking at consolidating those programs and and and using those resources in a in a better way okay and and I'm not saying to put anything else out but like for instance
this engineering program has more than say you know significantly more than like Marine technology and things like that so what was the thought process of putting this one on the Block where because numbers were so high so Marine technology is not like any other kind of
a program and again I go back to engineering is electronic robotics it's CAD it's Advanced manufacturing it has sister programs that if students are truly interested in engineering they will get those needs met okay do you know roughly how many of the
kids that take engineering do go to college I I don't you're not going to get a job in engineering right Tech but you can get right
living it's just one other question which probably applies all of them though so with the programs that are phasing down with one teacher in some cases concerns about Flight Risk on that and you know the ability to have those kids actually get to graduation in their
shop what do you as far as if I'm the engineering teacher and I know I might not have a job two years from now I might leave so do we have contingency plans on any of that yet well I mean I I can't force people to stay um and that
could happen at any in any trade area um you know we just hope that you know at the end of the day we'd also like to try to help too if if they if they get a secondary license then they you know they would probably I'd have to read the contract but I think they would have bumping rights to be able to um stay
within the stay within the building so I guess that would be what I would recommend people to do is to to get a secondary license okay Mr in the last two or three months I've had two lettuce I'm in the construction business the ones that don't know I've
had two letters sent to me one from a student here at Woody of votch asking if I let them come this summer and I got a letter from a student at Central Catholic so there is there is interest out there that they they they
do want to get into some kind of engineering and not just coming from here going directly into college I don't buy that thank you any further discussion on this one is there a motion one way or another
on this one make motion the motion was there a second second seconded by Mr Rossi any further discussion the okay Mr early no
minut Miss Sullivan yes Mr Rossy yes Miss Del no uh Mr Fitzgerald no Mr Irving obain
okay Mr Murphy no Miss LOL no Mr Okana yes yes Miss OKO no Miss Mr slavoski
no motion [Applause] fails CCL so that program never started um I just have a question on the FY 2026 budget presentation we showed 20
students for 24 25 in construction craft labor right so we split up between masonry and construction craft labor so now you see 39 in masonry it's because they were never able to choose construction craft labor
okay so um construction craft labor we spent a lot lot of time um trying to get this program up and going um and Mr mosovich spent a lot of time with advisory boards and um this is hard
because when we only got an enrollment of two um and I think there only two sophomores when you talk about that that other group out of 20 I think only two of those students were interested in pursuing construction craft labers so um
that's four students um for that program can we find a way to merge this program into the benefits of masonary program some way I think that's what we're going to try to do yes that's why we put the 39 kids into um masonry so we can we can work through with masonry
okay yeah Mr Murphy um I really thought this program would take off and I'm I'm surprised it didn't um and I I fully support not not having it anymore but uh we do have some
equipment involved with it that I think can go to masonary and the other the other areas without problem right would like to work with desie um and see if we can do an after do program where the other schools come to our school for an
after do program and keep it for CTI so um so much work was put into having this program would like to be able to to figure way to um hold on to it maybe not for Day Day School students but for other students yeah I that was my concern as
you know it it definitely showed the demand Mr M you know did all that work to put the program together get it accepted and um I think for our entire District population
adults could definitely benefit from it and I don't think we should completely get rid of it as one of our programs for the adult community yeah yeah so I'll try to work with desie on that discussion Mr this is one of those
ones that just seems like a failure to launch and it's super super sad I just did a quick look to see what other uh districts Regional vchs or or High School have this program and as a in terms of regional Workforce and serving
the needs of the region and it's Essex Tech and Medford I think are the only some food programs so you do worry about you know the pipeline but with only four students um you know I think it doesn't seem like it's a viable program and I
think when you eliminate it I'm going to assume that it's going to push uh those students to essentially specialize right construction craft labor sort of a general thing this is going to C them to specialize in a way that not to say they weren't going to get hired after um high
school with the c um certification but they will still in some of these other trades be very employable and and still hopefully go into the laborers union if they want if they choose to and technically it's one that they
could go into from here a student could graduate from masonry and then if we have construction craft labor as an adult program they could continue in that this is uh this one really kind of
baffles me that it never took off um I was doing some reading on it there's about in the United States about a half a million shortage a year of people that they need in this field that aren't going into this field every year um the demand is there in the marac valley and
throughout the United States but obviously it didn't it didn't take off for for whatever reason I I don't want to you know guess what those reason are um but I would like to like I said i' like the Cs try to incorporate as much as we could into the masonary program
and then CTI in our after dark program because I I do think that if it's an F or a CTI that maybe that's where we'll find some demand um for this program because there's certainly jobs available in this field um and employers looking
to hire in this field um I I just the numbers are baffling to me that there almost nobody was interested in this program and I just I I don't know if that was a lack of did did we not Market it appropriately did we not sell it
appropriately you know I I think of those things what could we have done a better job of getting more kids um to to get into this program because clearly there's a need um but I don't really answer those questions but I I want to see us be able to provide it in in another way if it if it's not this way
because the demand in the workforce I think is clearly there I agree with you Mr early this another one that baffles me we've been in business early family's been in business 60 plus years long time never to this day we're still in
business did we ever have a problem with help whether it be an operator or a laborer to try to teach a labor how to work you either have a good work ethic or you don't and I don't know
how this didn't take off so for that reason I will not be voting for it I'm voting at close sorry any other discussion is there a motion but we are going to keep it as a
I'm going to try try to yeah if deathy will allow me to so we'll try to keep it as an after do CTI type program and try to merge it as much as possible it will take a while to open up an after dark program it's it's not something but that's something I want to work with Des
on because a lot of work was put into um you know getting the credential in that program and we can look at the potential of the masonary program having the proper certifications potentially to bring some of this in yes okay all right is there a motion um I'll offer the
motion to accept the superintendent's recommendation to uh close the CCL program is there a second second second by Miss L any further discussion see none please call the Mr early yes Miss
Sullivan yes Mr Rossi yes Miss delai yes Mr Fitzgerald yes Mr Irving yes Mr Murphy yes Miss L yes Mr Okana yes Miss Okana yes Mr sloski yes
passes that we are done on that we'll take a five minute recess committee will be in a recess for five minutes I e e e e
e e e e e e e e e e
e e e e e e e e e back in session approval of minutes J January 8
2025 minutes of the regular school committee meeting is there a motion to approve so moved second motion by Mr Del seconded by Mr Conor any discussion please call the RO Mr ear mran yes Mr Rosy yes Mr Li yes Mr
Fitzgerald yes Mr Irving hi Mr Murphy yes Miss L yes Mr Okana yes Miss Okana yes Mr sloski yes passes payments of bills financial report Treasures report Kevin Mahoney is
there a motion to approve so moved second by Miss OK seconded by Miss Fitzgerald any discussion seeing none please call the RO Miss salivan yes Mr Rossi yes Mr yes Mr Fitzgerald Mr Irving
I Mr Murphy yes Miss L yes Mr Okana yes Miss Okana yes Mr sloski yes passes Communications do look like is the student here no student okay principal assistant superintendent Mr legan School
happenings all right a light of talk here so good evening uh Mr chairman Madam superintendent Lynch and rest of the school committee members uh some of the school happenings uh wi your uh Sports
uh the wrestling team hosted the Travis yel this past Saturday tournament on February 8th nine schools were here hosted all day and represented turned out to be another successful day for woodi wrestling team as well uh sha
Sheen I believe beat D for the title but uh came I know superintendent Lynch attemped that so thank you for attending that uh and the two wrestling coaches or the co the three coaches uh you know shout out goes to them and their continued success with the young team uh
February 1 started our celebration of Black History Month uh wiia continues to highlight contributions of African-American Americans and create lessons and discussions to educate students at all aspects of diversity uh Callister green
bird uh if you don't know her will'll be visiting us again on Tuesday February 25th during periods 1 and two little bio on her after growing up in the South during segregation overcoming several hardships Miss greenbird received two
masters degrees and has worked in education she is a mother of eight and has 21 grandchildren 27 Grand great grandchildren and four great great grandchildren she's 91 by the way in shopas ATT attack she walked with uh Dr
King while uh she was he was visiting hail and has lived here in hail her whole life and c and does educational causes for children in Massachusetts as well most recently she was honored by mural in downtown havil uh commemorating
her life of service and advocacy so she's going to we're going to host her again and like I said uh just an amazing woman uh and just very sharp at at 91 still drives so it's awesome can't wait for the day uh all students have completed midterm assessments we're well
on our way through quarter three our our new last day lands on Tuesday June 17th for the kids today is our and I have my staff station back here Katrina 102nd day I believe 102 102 today so we're
we're cruising along if you can believe it we're going to be in the warm weather hopefully soon congratulations goes out to the wio guidance team uh for the great work they uh that they do every day uh for our students and Beyond uh we've been celebrating and honoring them
during last week's counselors uh week that was last week we had it the billboard out in front the Jumbotron it's would to to take the time to recognize these professionals uh and and the compassion and their tireless work on a daily basis I'm always in contact
uh superintendent Lynch is always in contact uh with the guidance councils on a daily basis taking care of our kids it's just an amazing job they do uh just a shout out goes out to Deb Costello Andy Elsa Michelle Katina Joe qu krawitz
Andy basio uh Heather Sweeney Rachel Rossy Lillian LC and Dr Ian Whitney and Lee gway so thank you very much uh if you're listening to us tonight I just got this
in from um the the coaching staff that coach Bradley just won his 400th 400th gamees um yeah just amazing Milestone uh coach uh is is continued to
win these games and what he's done uh for kids and and again talking tyus efforts and all about the kids it's it's coach Bradley our athletic director um I believe he's already miss Lynch you can correct me if I'm wrong I think he's already in three hall of fames from his
colleges to the high schools and and with these type of stats he's he's soon to be a Hall of Famer again probably in Massachusetts somewhere so congrats Mr Bradley if you're out there coach Bradley uh you know to your 400th win tonight what a milestone during our went
to vacation uh Monday um it start Monday we have the day off and then 17th or 21st is our week off we're offering boot camp for academics and attendance makeup for the four days on vacation and we're offering
it from 8 to two uh starting on that Tuesday uh so that you know so we can help our kids out uh with their attendance as well as the academics uh the guidance team I just mentioned them they're at the Middle Schools they're during the interview news and also our
winter sports banquet will be held on Thursday the 13th at 6: p.m. the booster club is also you know they're they're selling the merchandise uh and snacks and again shout out to goes to Janice mcnalty who I beg every years I think
now her daughter's been out of school now for three or four three or four years um and she's still with us and still recruiting booster club members so I thank her as well for being there for us um and lastly this year's High School
play uh is Disney's The Little Mermaid the dates if you want to pencil it in Friday the 14th uh March 14th Saturday um March 15th at 7 o'clock and then on Sunday like we have at 2 o'clock on the
16th so that's all I have for you thank you thank you business manager Miss cosman's variance analysis thank you Mr chairman superintendent Lynch members of the committee I will be brief it's been a long night I know you're tired the
superintendent still has other things um you have in front of you the variance analysis it's from July through December usually I have that for you in January but we did it was such an early meeting last month we did not have time to get the the books closed um there were no quarterly transfers made this quarter
the accounts will be balanced at the end of the year we have Frozen the budgets um as many departments appear to have sufficient inventory at this time however exceptions will be allowed with justification for enrollment and for health and safety reasons and another
reason that we freeze the budget is the FY 26 proposed budget um and you'll hear more from um Miss Lynch about that we were able to keep it at a very reasonable number and and it's based on the fact that some of the supply requests that they asked for are being purchased at the end of this school year
so that will ensure that there are funds available at year end to make the purchases that they need we're very much on track that's all I have any questions told you it would be
quick uh leaz in 40 attch Northern essic Community College Mr Reagan Northern essic uh proposed building project happening for informational purposes good evening School commity members superintendent Lynch It's pleasure to be with you again tonight to update you all on our progress on the
proposed shared campus building project with Northern S6 Community College as you recall when last we spoke we were just a few days from the first meeting of the Whittier Tech at NECC Municipal working group meet um to begin discussions with Mayors Town managers and other Representatives our 11 member
communities nine of our 11 member communities attended the kickoff meeting and we subsequently were contacted by officials from one of the towns who didn't make it to let us know unforeseen circumstances kept them from attending they asked and received an update and told us there would be a future meetings
so we had nine at the first meeting and we expect to have you know all or mostly all at the next one overall in my view the meeting uh was very productive and just about everyone there expressed interest and optimism in the proposed sh had campus partnership with Dennis
daglio a former methu mayor and former maram Valley Planning Commission director who was hired by superintendent Lynch and the northern Nexus Community College president Lane Glenn did a great job facilitating the discussion Dennis has been a great help moving things along the group reviewed
the shared campus PowerPoint we previously showed this committee outlin superintendent Lynch's draft Capital Improvement plan including the critical need to extensively repair or place wot Tech's 50-year-old and failing wastewater treatment plant and provided
those in attendance with the draft at the UMass donu Institute study of the shared campus model the Donahue study includes an examination of potential new funding streams project cost-saving ideas and potential ideas and models for
what a joint with ear Tech and ECC High school might look like and how it might be governed uh we're expecting the final report and recommendations very soon um hopefully by the end of the month and as soon as we have it we'll make sure the uh this committee and the public get a copy the next working group meeting was
just recently scheduled for Tuesday February 25th right here at wiot Tech to give you an idea of where we are right now and where we're headed I wanted to give you a snapshot of the next meeting agenda still a draft but what we're planning to um uh some of the things on there once again we're going to review
review The donu Institute preliminary report discuss planning towards a new Regional agreement with the state and NECC as partners NECC as partners review highlights from a new architectural space utilization study of the full NECC
campus discuss prospective land uses at the NECC campus and we'll we'll wrap it up with an open discussion and feedback from everyone at the meeting as to what they would like to see relative to our next steps we also expect to provide the group at the next meeting with an outline of some
of the anticipated outcomes things are working towards along with a proposed timeline for those important decisions that we're also working on after we determine the location of the new school which would be on the NECC campus under the shared campus model we need to First
determine the model for the new school which at one end of the spectrum would be two separate entities sharing a campus and at the other end of the spectrum would be a single integrated School most likely we are looking at something in the middle two schools with
a common identity and shared spaces and services but at this early stage everything is still on the table we're going to start this process look by looking at the Don H Institute study recommendations identifying academic and career training programs we want to keep
our ad determine our early college model decide on our expanded vocational programs capacity identify shared space opportuni between the two schools work with the state that's dcam and legislators to develop a land use
Arrangement and agreement should we go forward at the NECC site and lastly review the NECC Jones architectural study of the NECC campus to wrap up as a reminder wood Tech High School was invited into the Massachusetts school building authority
eligibility phase on December 13th by the msba executive board her invitation and to mba's eligibility period is not yet an invitation to the feasibility study phase invitation to that stage will require another vote this coming summer of the msba executive board the
district's El ability period is scheduled to begin August 1st of this coming summer and conclude April 28th the following year 2026 in order for wood tech to proceed into the eligibility phase next summer the districts must provide a letter
signed by the local chief executive each member of the wiot tech member communities that each Community is prepared to do three things first amend if necessary the existing vocational Regional School agreement support the district during the feedability study
phase to examine both the existing site of the wotch high school and the possible relocation of wotch high school to the NECC hail campus as described in woodor tech building proposal statement of interest to the msba then the last one number three
proceed with the understanding that the cost of the feasibility study the new one is to be FID for by the wood tech district and we expect that to range anywhere from two to three million so that's my uh that's my uh summary right now and um happy to try to answer any questions along with the superintendent
that um you guys might have if you have any Mr um I'm just a little I'm curious are is there just one committee that's working on this is the working group that right so um president Glenn uh set
up this working group with the local uh Town managers or administrators and Mayors along with either a select board member and a city counselor um and we're just kind of working through kind of the beginning stages once we can we once we are started into eligibility part of our
job will be to set up a um building committee um and that building committee will they're asking that that building committee that the cities and towns sign off on who is a member of our building committee but this is just you know this is very preliminary to kind of get us
started to thinking about what this might look like and what group is tasked with working towards the um getting local Chief Executives to sign off that's kind of what we're trying to do is that what you're doing there's a
there's a sense of urgency on my behalf because you know we need to to have um but you know the meetings that I've had individually and the phone calls that I've had uh individually have been very positive so I'm very hopeful Mr R the um this is a public
meeting correct like anyone can attend asked that I mean nobody's attending it's it's not like it's a posted meeting or anything like that it's not like there are votes that are official so but if an interested party wanted to you could come okay and then are there
minutes of this meeting that could be sent to us after meting uh I'll check I know I'm not writing them so yeah yeah thank um can you explain who the Donahue group is and what their role is in this sure uh the um da Institute is a uh a
public policy um you know group that U works with UMass and they experts in you know um public policy education um Workforce Development those type of issues and um you know they're they're doing a study um which um do have we um um Madam superintendent
have we had any draft copies that we' be able to provide to schol or anybody yet so uh you met donah who Institute um is a research um group um they've done a lot of work with um Workforce Development so you know the regional blueprint the Northeast blueprint was
done by the um donu Institute um so they were able to use a lot of that work it they um met with large groups small groups talking about this building project um and they're going to give recommendations about what our best way to move forward but once we get that I've been
hearing about it but I never really knew what they what they did or who they were we're supposed to be getting the final report in the next week or so and then once we get that I'll be happy to share that with everyone thank you and they're looking at things like what kind of you know alternative funding might be out there since we're you know going to be
combining with you know with uh Community College um you know what kind of you know what what you know people uh institions have done this elsewhere you know similar things what they look like and just given us options on you know how it could work what we could do you know things like that it's a pretty you
know it's it's a pretty comprehensive study and like the superintendent said um you know we expect to have a final report recommendations you know very soon thank you and also um whether um minutes are available or not I can um after the meet you know next meeting and subsequent
meetings I can you know do up a summary and send it to you know the school committee members just to give you guys idea you know prior you know before I come to the meeting to give you an update so you have something to see you know I don't know if their minutes we'll find out but if they're not I'll send something along thank you that' be great anything
else thank you all right thank you reports and recommendations of the superintendent Madam superintendent um just calendar of events uh I'll try to read it really quickly um I was attended the mar Mac Valley Chamber of Commerce Mayors and managers meeting um this is a great opportunity for the town managers
and Mayors to give kind of a a brief a summary of what's going on in their Community the mayor of Newbury port Asbury and hail were there so it was nice to hear what they had to say um on January 14th I attended the marac Valley Chamber executive committee in Lawrence
um once a month I am on Wi on the radio on um wav was it you miss o Conor that was listening to W yes it was yeah so in the mornings on Wednesdays uh once a month I'm I'm on the radio um it's a great way to be able to share with going
on here at whiter Tech um on Tuesday uh 21st I met with Dennis dolio who's working um with with Northern essic and and us uh facilitating these working group meetings on January 21st I attended a remote meeting with John
miton regarding integrated career connected learning for students um Council miton has a real passion and continues to want to ensure there's a pipeline for training um for the workforce in the city of hail um on January 22nd to 23rd I attended the mass
executive committee meeting and midwinter meeting in malbar this was an opportunity for us to discuss legislative opportunities um as we move forward this year um I attended the NorthShore superintendent's Roundtable meeting at danamas attorney Paul Tucker talked
about ess6 County and how to support our our students through the justice system um on Monday January 27th I attended the first working group at Neco i h um and Johan Reagan just gave you an update at this meeting um this was really a special couple of
days on January 28th through 29th I attended the leading now conference in Nashville this is a National Organization for superintendence this was the best professional development I have had in a very long time um it was a two-day conference that had you really think strategically as a superintendent
um and as a result there's lots of webinars and I have a coach and it's it's really um and it's free it's paid for um on January 31st I met with Tracy Fuller of the ha YMCA we discussed ways we could continue to partner with each
other um on February 5ifth I met with Ana my leading now coach as a result of the intense training I have the a year of um coaching um to discuss problem of practice I wonder what I'm talking about no just kidding uh on Thursday February 6th I attended a remote Early College
meeting I was asked to speak at this meeting uh about the value of Early College programming for students uh on Thursday February 6th we had the commissioner call he gave quite a few updates on compet competency determination and Law changes um and on
February 10th I attended the desie CTE remote meeting um and desie provided updates on teacher lure and programming and now um all of you have have seen this probably about a month ago but I I wanted to um take the time to really go
through it and um I know every we've been here a while while but certainly you know I'll go through this and if you have questions ask as we go through so Priority One is obviously the wastewater treatment plant um we're in the process of requiring an OPM to oversee rebuilding or replacing our grade for
wastewater treatment plant um this is obviously been ongoing um the we had the OPM interviews I think last week we're looking to have a uh contract with our our new OPM um in the next couple of weeks um so the estimated cost for this
replacement is $1 million we are really hoping that they say we can fix this for two um but we won't know that until we get the OPM on board and um really go through what's what's going on with our waste weaer treatment plant so there's more pictures uh priority to the
building of electrical distribution panels um all these panels some of them are um from the one the building was built obviously electricity and the needs of electricity is much different since then um and they lack existing parts and ability to expand um so these
this will take a while for us to upgrade um them but obviously we're not going to do all of them but we' like to do as many of them as we can so that again we can keep this building um up and going the estimate replacement was received at uh $112,000 and there's an estimated 150
to 160 firm number distribution panels within the facility so um and that's work that really has to be done after after school and in the summertime so we'll be working on that priority again priority two with the electrical panels I said that that had to be done
on the weekend priority three the univent heaters and exterior classrooms um these are original to the school I think anyone that was in a school back in the 1960s has these univent heaters um and the plate the parts are pretty difficult to replace um in fact Bob goes
to some classrooms and turns it on every couple of hours and shuts it off every couple of hours um one classroom we had to put an air conditioner in because we couldn't shut off the heat so that is interesting um but there are approximately 55 units within the school
um and we're waiting to um get final quotes on that um so um you know we've looked at again these univan heaters we're also looking at split uh what is it duck splits um as well that might be a possibility um what
there's a couple of exterior classrooms um by the flag hole um those are the rooms that we're most concerned about with heat but luckily they're right underneath the cafeteria so they get some natural heat from that uh priority
four um the gymnasium resner is that spelled correctly that spelled correctly yes uh with natural gas um the ex isting rooftop unit is a flame driven and obsolete with parts lacking availability um the unit ignition coil failed
recently and parts were replaced um Northeast mechanical was unable to locate the replacement parts we're looking to hopefully have that done over the summer this year uh the estimated cost to replace that unit is 92,000 um and again we're looking to
have that done in the spring or summer this year um and then priority 5 the stair brick facing window door replacement at the poet's in um this is something that uh has been deteriorating and we also need the doors so that we could open up
those um those I don't know if they're called French doors but those doors that there that we cannot open or shut at this point um so we need to fix that and make sure that that's um taken care of as well that's something uh it's funny Mr early asked
me the same thing I don't think it is I think it's more structural we want to make sure that you um we take care of that and that uh priority six is the feasibilities um funding um which I estimate to be about2 to $2.5 million um
for that so um that's something that we will be having to T next year um with our communities so that is it very quickly any questions just a good question those are all capital expenses right yes so
they all have to be approved by the um by the town so how we will do it is we have it as part of our budget um and so we have our budget and along with that will be the capital assessment so once they approve that yes yeah but will we
anticipate push back based on the way the capital expenses are allocated I have not heard that um especially in these meetings we're having a lot more conversations they know we we need to do some work they know we're trying to do work and and not again be good stewards
of the taxpayers not do work that um we don't need especially wondering about how we're we're going to move forward with a building project but we want to stay open you know theoretically right they one town could not vote for these and we wouldn't be able to do them right no we would we would need to three um
eight out of eight would have to be yes out of the 11 if we were borrowing it's different but we're not borrowing thank you yeah but all of these are not going to be this year's Capital some of them yeah yes some of them not all of yeah well
the $12 million of the new Wastewater no the 11 million yeah yeah any other questions you need a motion to approve this uh Capital player so moved
second motion by Mr Li seconded by Mr Murphy any other discussion seeing none call the roll how many pens have you gone through tonight none of them Miss Sullivan yes Mr Rossy yes Mr
yes Mr Fitzgerald yes Mr Irving Mr Murphy yes Miss L yes Mr Okana yes Miss Okana yes Mr SL yes passes old business no old business posted new business no new business
posted reports of the special committee executive there the minutes from January 8th 2025 can someone make that as a motion to approve those minutes so mov second motion by Mr Murphy seconded by Mr Fitzgerald any discussion on the minutes all in favor of the minutes I
anybody opposed passes instructional Personnel M TR is not here is there a motion to pass the minutes from January 15th motion motion by Miss L seconded by Mr Irvin any discussion seeing none all in favor
anybody opposed passes plan operations Mr Murphy uh plan operations did have a meeting uh February 4th meetings for that meeting uh will be available next month all right salary and negotiations
do we have any uh do we have a meeting another meeting scheduled okay Mr early is not here policy Mr Irvin uh we have not met we probably will need a meeting sometime this spring
actually if we could do something in February February 26 before our next meeting because we need to set up the competency determination for graduation and then also graduation requirements while we're looking at that Finance course as a graduation requirement and we need to get that on the books okay so
when is it the 26th yeah February 26th at 5:30 all right we have a budget Workshop that night to at 6:30 don't follow the budet workshop probably before okay all
right question July um any progress on the creation of the admissions policy advisory committee I'm not sure what we're calling it the adhoc committee yeah it's on my poster note from Lisa um I I guess I'd wait and we could do it
at the February meeting because I think there's going to be some determination about what we're going to need to move forward so I'd rather wait to hear what desie is going to do and then move forward after that to the March meeting well hopefully it will be known febrary yeah okay thank you is there a motion to
adjourn so mve second move by everybody second and by everybody else all in favor say I I anybody opposed oppos we're adjourned