[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: The meeting will be in order. Please rise and join us in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Secretary will call the roll.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Benedetto?
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Present.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Falco? Present. Mr. Schiaparelli? Present. Mr. Skerry? Present. Mr. Van der Kloot?
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mayor McGlynn? Present. Five present, two are absent, but both calls said that we get very sharp. We can proceed with business. Item number one, approval of the minutes of November 16th, 2015. On the motion approved by Mr. Skerry. All those in favor say aye. Aye. The ayes have it. The minutes are approved. Approval of the bills and the transfer of the funds. Move approval. On the motion approved by Mr. Skerry. The secretary will call the roll. Mrs. Cuno.
[Robert Skerry]: Mrs. DiBenedetto. Yes. Mr. Falco. Yes. Mr. Scarpelli. Yes. Mr. Skerry, yes. Mrs. Vandenbroek.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Ma'am McGlynn. Yes, by a vote of five in the affirmative, two absent, the bills are approved. Approval of the payrolls. On the motion of approval by Mr. DiBenedetto, Secretary will call the roll. Mr. DiBenedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Yes.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mr. Falco.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Yes.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mr. Scarpelli. Yes. Mr. Scarri. Yes. Mrs. Van de Kloop. Ma'am McGlynn. Yes, by a vote of five in the affirmative, two absent, the payrolls are approved. Report of the secretary. There is none. There's no report of committees, community participation. Seven report of the superintendent recommendation to approve MHS and VTHS graduation date, June 8th, 2016 approval.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, this is really a double report. First one talks about the date on January and June 8th. And the reason we do that, in case a snow day comes, and that's why we do it this early. In case a snow day comes, we're already set and we don't have to rearrange our calendar and people can get adequate notice for those people coming from out of town. So I recommend that you approve the date of June 8th, 2016.
[George Scarpelli]: On the motion to approve, Mr. Schiappelli. I'd be remiss to say, Maria, that I just would, in honor of Mr. Brady. How about Homel? Okay, approved. That's the second item.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On that motion, let the record reflect that Mrs. Van der Kloot is here. She's present. On that recommendation, all in favor say aye, opposed, no. The ayes have it. Recommendation is approved.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Superintendent. So the second piece is the issue of Gantr. And we've had good success there. We recommend that we continue with Gantr.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Motion of approval.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion of approval by Mrs. Van der Kloot, I wish you all a very good time there. On that motion, all in favor say aye, opposed, no. The ayes have it. The recommendation is approved. Recommendation to approve Oral Hygiene Dental Health Program, Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor, members of the committee, I think we all recognize that oral hygiene and dental health is important to the general health of an individual. Our supervisor of health services, Tony Vento, is here to talk about the program. We think it's important that we incorporate it into our schools and we partner with local dental associates and that we can move this forward for our young people. So Tony, come on up and why don't you explain it.
[SPEAKER_11]: We're the hijackers and the dentists that come to do oral health education. So we thought that was a worthwhile program to provide for all of our children up to grade one.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mr. Mayor.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I think this is great. I love partnerships within the community and some kids probably need a new toothbrush and don't even realize they do. So this is great. Thank you for doing this. Did they approach you or did we approach them?
[SPEAKER_11]: And this year, we just put it all on one umbrella. So I'm scheduling it and making sure we have the same information about it at home to all parents and that all classrooms of those ages would be able to use that.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: That's great. Thank you for doing this. It's really a great motion to approve. Thank you.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On that motion, all in favor say aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The motion is approved. On the motion, Mr. Skerry, that the rules be suspended and I take a number of papers out of order. On that motion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. On a motion of Mr. Skerry, that number 10, negotiations and legal matters be moved to the end of the calendar. On that motion, all in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. Under all business communications and new business, there is none. On a motion, Mr. Skerry?
[Robert Skerry]: Concerning today. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, I'd like to ask your indulgences for a moment of silence in honor of Dave Infamy. This is the 74th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, and serving at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attacks were two outstanding Medford residents. Jim Barry was, for many years, a member of the National Guard. After he came out of the Army, he retired at the rank of Sergeant Major. He was also the cemetery foreman at Oak Grove. Also, Joseph Robinson, Joseph Reynolds, excuse me, from Wellington, for many years was a Medford police officer here in Medford. And he, too, served with honor and was at Pearl Harbor during that inferno. Could I ask that you please rise?
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Give us a moment of silence.
[Roy Belson]: Report on the Impact Ability Program, Mr. Superintendent. Mr. Chair and members of the committee, the Impact Ability Program teaches personal safety and assertive communication skills to individuals with a wide range of disabilities. The program is a very research-based program. It's designed to help those students with disabilities recognize abusive and unsafe conditions, as well as to protect and advocate for themselves. You may not know this, but people with disabilities are three times as likely to experience violent crime as those without disabilities. And women with disabilities in Massachusetts experience more than twice the rate of sexual assault as those without disabilities. ImpactAbility is part of the Triangle Disability Service and Advocacy Organization, founded by parents and business leaders in Medford, Malden, and Everett. For over 40 years, Triangle has worked to integrate adults and teens with disabilities into their local communities through employment and residential supports. The program started in 2011, ImpactAbility, with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. some attached information as an evaluation of the initial program. By the Institute of Community Health, a grant from the Cummings Foundation has enabled the program to collaborate with Medford's Special Education Department this school year. Dr. Jan Hollenbeck of our SPED Department is coordinating the implementation in Medford. And on Tuesday, tomorrow, December 8th, there will be a program celebration from 10 to 11.30 a.m. at Medford High School. Triangle Board Member and State Representative Paul Donato will be the keynote speaker. As we prepare our students with disabilities to make a successful transition to adulthood, it's essential that we take a comprehensive approach. And impactability adds an important dimension to their preparedness. I expect there to be some program representatives, but I don't see any here this evening at this point in time. But it's a terrific program. We had at least six graduates this year. We expect to expand it even more next year as we go beyond the trial phase. It's the kind of thing that we need to do to ensure that youngsters who have deep impairments have the ability to function in adult society and not with fear and not with the inability to defend themselves should something show up.
[Robert Skerry]: Just for your information, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Superintendent, uh, what will the, where will the site of the graduation be? It's at the high school library.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: It's the last page on the motion.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: I'll just say, I suppose now the ICF recommendation is approved.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Mr. Mayor, I just wanted to say, I think this is a terrific thing for us to be doing.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Recommendation to approve Girls Hockey Merge-Up. Move approval, Mr. Chairman. On the motion of approval.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Mayor.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mr. DiBenedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I'll let the superintendent introduce it and talk about it and then I have a few questions.
[Roy Belson]: Sure. Essentially, girls hockey programs are not always fully occupied by any one community. In fact, more and more communities are merging themselves to have two or three communities merge together. And in fact, in Malden, the boys hockey program is in a merger as well. So in Medford, our boys hockey program is strong, but our girls program comes and goes depending on interest. Secondly, for a number of years now, they've played or got special permission to get under high school age students to participate in order to have a full roster on the team. We think this is a way to preserve the program. and to ensure that our young people get that chance to play while at the same time making sure that we have enough players to field a competitive team and to ensure that no student is on the ice more than they should be during a regular game.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Mr. Mayor.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Benedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Okay, first I have a comment. I see that this application was dated November 25th. Yeah, well, it's stated here, it was created November 25th. And I see the application and I really, moving forward, I would love to see this come before us before an application is put forth. Okay.
[Roy Belson]: I only saw it at the time that I've got, I've seen it this week. So it's coming to you as soon as I saw it. I think they were exploring it as a possibility rather than remember this whole thing is still subject to your approval. So it doesn't go forward unless you approve it.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: But on the other hand, it's just a comment that I'd like to see it happen in an appropriate fashion and appropriate timeline to come to us before they start an application unless it was something that they were going to miss out on. But if that's the exception, that's fine. But it can't be the rule. OK? So that was my first thing. What is the cost of this program? How will Marlden pay for their pod? How will they pay for the insurance and the transportation fees? How many Medford High School students out of the 14 that tried out are high school students? How many of them are junior high? I just want some information about what's going on with the program.
[Roy Belson]: There are 14 Medford High School students, there are three students from Malden. Malden students will pay the user fee that Medford students typically pay at this point in time. As far as charging Malden, we haven't worked out those details at this point in time because it was something they didn't anticipate, but we will sit with them and talk with them because we do a lot of things. between districts that eventually work themselves out financially. Going forward, obviously, we would work out a more definitive share of the cost. But at this particular point in time, our concern is that the program go forward. Now, as far as underage students go, I believe there are at least three or four of them. who are not of high school age, or eighth graders who require MIA waiver approval.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: What's the amount of students that are usually on this team?
[Roy Belson]: Well, typically to support a team of this type, we really kind of need over 20 youngsters. At this point in time, with only 14, you really don't have enough if there's an injury or youngsters can't make it. You can't have enough people on the ice. Remember, hockey is not a sport where you skate the whole game. You have to come off, another line goes on, another defense goes on, a goalie gets hurt, you have to have someone in that role. So, 14 isn't really a good enough number to field a team for a whole season.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And my question is, how much does this program cost on an annual basis?
[Roy Belson]: Depends on their full schedule and their thing, but it's well over $35,000 a year, possibly close to $40,000 a year.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So, and what about our liability, having Malden students, I mean, is our insurance gonna cover them when we're transporting them? Is it gonna cover them when they're on the, I just wanna make sure we make informed decisions. I mean, I love, I grew up as a hockey family, and so I love it, and I'm more than happy to provide this program to the girls. Maybe we need to do more outreach or something, but I just wanna make sure the school system's liability.
[Roy Belson]: Well, Malden students will have their own insurance coverage, just like Mayfair students do in general. And then we are covered as a program. If we voted as a joint program, then we're covered. So liability only comes from gross negligence. If we were to do something that was inappropriate, put somebody on the ice who shouldn't be on the ice, and they had a concussion and we continue to play them, there might be a situation that we could be liable for, but under normal circumstances, we're no more liable for them. And we are for any of our own players.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I make a motion to approve. I don't know if someone already did that. Okay.
[John Falco]: Mr. Falco. One quick question. Do we have, so we approve this, do we have an option to opt out in a few years? Just say, all of a sudden we have 25 kids from effort that want to play.
[Roy Belson]: Yes, this is a one year thing and we'll look at it going forward. Thank you.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yeah, I kind of think it's sort of neat in a way just because it brings the two communities together as our, you know, arch rival on the football field at Thanksgiving. But I do have the concerns of making sure and I'm glad it's going to be revisited yearly to see whether it works.
[Roy Belson]: By the way, I'm telling everybody we won the second half of the game.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: We did.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: We did. We did.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: That's accurate information, Mr. Bell.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On that motion, all in favor say aye. Opposed, no. The ayes have it. The recommendation is approved. Report on the status of the federal ESEA renewal.
[Roy Belson]: So on Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015, the Federal House of Representatives passed the Every Student Succeeds Act by an overwhelming majority of 359 in favor and 64 against. We expect the Senate to act on it if they haven't already acted on it today, sometime this week at the beginning of the week. This new act will replace the very flawed and very unpopular No Child Left Behind legislation. This new version of the ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act has been years in the making. NCLB was passed 14 years ago. The original ESEA was crafted in the early 1980s. You can see how this process takes place. Essentially, the new legislation scales back the federal role and returns substantial authority to the states on the key issues of accountability, teacher evaluation, and school improvement. It maintains annual testing in reading, ELA, and mathematics in grades three to eight and once in high school. The act will still require that we disaggregate student subgroups and their performance. but there's greater flexibility in how we determine progress and appropriate intervention. It encourages states to incorporate more than test data into the accountability system. There's an awful lot of detail in this act that will be needed to be worked out in the implementation phase. It remains to be seen how Massachusetts will use this new flexibility. Obviously, we will all be seeking input on how Massachusetts moves forward. It's our hope that the evaluation of students, teachers, and schools will be more progressive and encompassing of the total school mission. Attached to this report is a detailed explanation of the many facets of the new act. I've asked you to read through the materials, and we'll schedule sessions going forward to talk about the various topics and also to reflect on information we received from DESE about how they intend to proceed under this new act. Overall, it's a significant improvement over NCLB, but like everything else, the devil will be in the actual implementation. And we'll be active in our voice at the state level. And therefore, we have to prepare well so we have an informed opinion when we're involved. So there's a lot of aspects to this. It wasn't my intent to discuss it all this evening, but to give you a chance to read it. If you happen to answer any specific questions you may have, should you have them this evening.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Chairman.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Scali.
[Robert Skerry]: There are a few things that caught my eye, Roy, and I was hoping that you might shed some light on them, maybe help us out. Have we been able to receive any support, financial support for student support and academic grants, preschool, impact aid, homeless children, and construction, especially facilities management, where we have these new schools that are starting to come into their own, and they've been with us for a while, and there are certain things that have to be done.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. So as you know, the McKinley-Vento Act, and many of you will report in the near future, I'm glad it's the latest, McKinley-Vento is the Homeless Education Act. That money has come through the state, even though it's federal legislation. This act portends some larger role for the feds in providing money to the state. We don't know that yet because it's all subject to appropriation. If they don't appropriate it, it's only a possibility that they'll actually do it. When we talk about issues such as impact aid, impact aid typically comes when you have a federal facility on your local property. We don't have much of that. So we typically don't get much of that impact aid in our facility. We're doing an army base or some other kind of military facility on your thing you might get more impact aid. Construction aid, probably go to the poorer communities, not to us. But we'll probably see some things as consolidations in Title I, consolidations in bilingual, ELL, some additional thinking about special education, how that's funded, possibly some funding in areas of innovative curriculum and technology. It's all subject to appropriation. And until they really start appropriating money and start assigning it across the states, it's kind of hard to know whether we're going to see more than we're currently seeing or less than we're currently seeing.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Thank you. On the motion. All those in favor say aye. Aye. The ayes have it. The report is accepted and placed on file. I mean, excuse me, is accepted. Mr. Superintendent. Report on desi board assessment decision and recommendation for spring 2016 Medford Public Schools test selection.
[Roy Belson]: So I'm going to call upon our Deputy Superintendent to make this report to discuss with you the choice that the Medford School Committee needs to make by December 18th, by the way. We just got this from the state.
[Beverly Nelson]: Good evening. Uh, the purpose of this report is to update you on the current status of student assessment from Massachusetts and to recommend your approval for the district's assessment system. This coming spring, 2016, uh, as you know, for the past few years, it's been a lot of discussion about transitioning from the MCAS exam, which has been around since 1998 to a new test called park, uh, which is a test of the common core. In the spring of 2013, all students in school districts took MCAS, but also targeted districts took a park tryout, and that went on for two years. MedFed participated in the tryout when that happened. Last year, it was a different scenario. We were asked to choose between taking the new test park, which had not yet been voted on, for staying with MCAS. And with the committee's endorsement, we stayed with MCAS even though the state promised to hold districts harmless for their accountability levels if they took our But we figured that we didn't want to go into a new test unless we knew it was a definite thing. So we stayed with PARC, I'm sorry, stayed with MCAS. And as you know, the districts in the Commonwealth were split. Pretty much about half of them took PARC and half took MCAS. MCAS still remained statewide the test for grade 10 and also the test for science, okay, grades five, eight, and 10. For this particular year, We're being asked to decide again. Things have changed. As you know, on November 17th, the Board of Education made an important decision that affects the future of state testing. And the key points of that decision are as follows. Despite the public negativity, and there's a lot of it about too much testing and too much high-stakes testing, the state is going to adhere to a mandated testing system for students. Massachusetts will not adopt PARC. Okay, so that was part of the important vote. But they're going to actually develop a new version of MCAS, MCAS 2.0, which is more PARC-like. So they're going to actually develop this new test. It's going to be developed throughout the following year, operational in 2017, and the questions will be very different than what the questions are on the MCAS as it currently exists. And Dr. Cadelli is here tonight, as I finish up my portion of the report, to share with you some of the questions that are the old MCAS questions, the PARQ questions, and what the difference is between the two groups. All right, so again, this year we have a choice. We can either stay with the old MCAS or go with PARCC. And again, we feel the board's decision, it's really a compromise between basically going with PARCC, which had a lot of criticism against it, and yet developing a new test which is more resembling what students are being asked to do in the new frameworks. Okay. So again, we have a decision to make as a superintendent said, uh, by just another week or so. And again, we need to choose between administering the old MCAS or administering the park. And again, the MCAS tests will remain 2016. The traditional MCAS test will not be the new version because that is currently being developed. So over the past few weeks, since we heard the board's decision, we've been in discussions with our administrative staff, And based on our discussions, we feel that Medford should administer the park in the spring. to students in grades three through eight in English Language Arts and Mathematics. And our selection, our recommendation, is based on the fact that even though PARC will not be used in Massachusetts, the new questions in MCAS 2.0 will be PARC-like questions. And so we want to get our students used to it, because the following year, the new MCAS 2.0 test will be operational. We feel if we administer PARCC this year, we'll help our teachers get used to the types of questions, the students to get used to the types of questions that they will eventually be asked to answer on MCASP 2.0. And please note that the regular MCASP still remains a test for grade 10, and there's no choice there, and also for the science exam, which is administered grades 5, 8, and then the different high school subject tests. December 1st, Commissioner Chester issued a memorandum. I've quoted part of what he said and he kind of re-endorsed rather what we were thinking about the rationale for going to PARCC this year, that it gets the students used to taking the test. The questions will be questions that they will be eventually asked on the new MCAS test. So again, we feel that we would use the paper pencil version of PARCC. Because again, we realize that a lot of the districts that took PARCC last year, they did have some glitches in their technology. We want to make sure it's all worked out. One of the things that happened as I talked to communities that did PARCC is that the younger kids didn't really have the technological skills. They didn't know that boxes would expand, and they thought that their answers had to be contained to a small box. So in talking with Mr. Trotta, we're going to revise the instructional technology curriculum at that level. to emphasize some of those skills that kids need to know. Some of the kids didn't know how to click different boxes and things like that. So a lot of the problems that those districts had were kind of technical things with the younger kids. So we want to work out those bugs before we go to an electronic version because we thought it was could be very frustrating to, to young children particularly. Um, again, uh, Dr. Riccadeli is here. She has some questions to share with you. that will show you the difference in the types of questions between traditional old MCAS, the park, which will be the new MCAS 2.0. We really feel that park will now evolve as a consulting group to Massachusetts, that the questions they have in their test bank will be imported by Massachusetts for our MCAS 2.0. I also feel one of the other advantages of having our own 2.0 MCAS is that one of the concerns I had is if we had gone with PARC or the board had gone with PARC, only the common core portion of the frameworks would have been tested. With our new version of MCASP 2.0, as you know, the Massachusetts Frameworks contains more than the Common Core. So we'll be testing our own additional content that we put back into the frameworks. So again, Dr. Riccadeli will present it, and then we ask you to recommend. that you help us make that decision, endorse the decision to go with Park so we can move forward with our teachers, giving them sample questions to use with the kids over the next few months, getting them ready for the test. So Bernadette, I'll turn it over to you.
[Robert Skerry]: Just a point of information, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Scali. Mr. Nelson, do we have in place any type of prep program to work with kids that might show early on that they might be having a problem with this and how we can overcome their fears and get everybody on the same playing field?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: So what I can say is that the department directors have been sharing park-like questions with teachers over the course of the past year. So where this is, it's something new. It's not completely new. We have been working on it. working on the strategy.
[Robert Skerry]: So, you know, the hope is that when students see these questions, it's not completely fresh, but we think that moving forward, having- Yeah, I was just concerned because if the state doesn't endorse it and we're going forward with something new, I want to make sure that we have all our ducks lined up and we have the proper tools that the children can get whatever help they need before taking the exam.
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: Yes, and as you know, we do have MCAS preparation programs that will occur this winter and early spring. So the teachers will be incorporating the strategies that they need to incorporate to prepare the students for the park, if indeed that's what this body decides to move forward with. So thank you, Beverly, for distributing the sample questions from park. There's a lot of information available on PARCC, and in fact, if you, I know not everyone has their sheet yet, so I won't go too far into this, but at the bottom of the sheet, there is a web address, the URL for PARCC, and if you go onto that website, you can pull up many different tests. I've pulled them all up. I've gone through almost all of them for each one of the grade levels. So you really can get a good sense of the questions, and our teachers have been encouraged to go through these different tests and look at different test items. So for our purposes here tonight, this is just a short snapshot that you have an idea of the difference between the two tests. So we have a sample from grade four mathematics, and then on the flip side, we have a sample from grade seven English language arts literacy. So we'll start with grade four mathematics. In the left-hand column of that page, we have an example of an old test item. So this we can equate to a very common MCAS test item. And you can see the test item there is asking the students, after they've looked at this picture that has stars and hearts and ladybugs on it, what fraction of Justine's stickers are hearts? Which of the number in your fraction represents the whole set of stickers? The second question, using that visual, is draw and label a number line and mark an X on the number line to show the location of the fraction of Justine's stickers that are ladybugs. So as you look at this question, you can see that the focus is on the procedure, and it's counting in this case. And you can also see that the students are not really engaging with the material, but they're answering the question. As we look to the right-hand column, we're going to look at a PARC test item. And it's very usual in a PARC test item to see multiple parts. And in this case, we have three parts, parts A, B, and C. You can see that there's a number line. So in part A, there is a question. Actually, the preface to the question is, Ava and Mia are comparing fractions 3 over 2 and 5 over 6. In part A, Ava created this number line to graph 3, 3 halves, 3 over 2. The student is asked to select the correct point on the number line to represent 3 over 2. This requires the students to convert it in order to put it on the number line. MIA created this number line to graph 5 over 6. So again, they need to be able to understand what 5 6th represents on this number line. So they need to understand prior to doing that to convert 5 6th to 12th. In part B, they're asking, the question is asking, is 3 halves greater or less than 5 sixths? And the student is being asked to explain how they know. So reasoning is important. Part C, the student is asked to write a fraction that is in between 3 halves and 5 sixths. And again, they're being expected to be able to explain what they're doing. So not only do they need to understand procedure, not only do they need to understand how to derive a correct answer, but rather, in addition, they're expected to understand how to reason through the problem and how to engage with it. So again, that's a sample of a typical test item in a math section of the mathematics test. In this case, it's grade four. Again, it is just a sample, but I think it's representative of what we see in many of the tests. If you turn to the other side of the page, we have an example of grade 7 English language Again, grade seven. So I would say that the biggest difference in MCAS and PARCC is that PARCC really does focus on nonfiction. That's not to say that there is no nonfiction in MCAS, there is, but certainly to a much greater degree in PARCC. And also in the PARCC test items, students again are required to engage with the material. They're reading, they're writing, and they're providing evidence. So if you look at the old test item, you can equate this to MCAS. So a typical writing prompt for a grade seven response could be the following. Going to the movies is a major source of entertainment for many students. Imagine the only discount movie theater in your area is closing. The students are being asked here to write a persuasive essay in support of keeping the discount movie theater open. So they're not given a lot of information. They're given this prompt. The expectation is that they've probably been to the movies. They're probably going to use rationale to answer this question, but the evidence is limited. If we were to compare that to the PAR question, the writing prompt is the following. You have read a website entry and an article and viewed a video describing Amelia Earhart. All three include information that supports the claim that Earhart was a brave, courageous person. The three titles are the following. A biography of Amelia Earhart, Earhart's final resting place, believe found. and Amelia Earhart's life and disappearance, which in this case is a video. And I will tell you, when it's a computer-based test, there is a possibility that some of the sources may be video sources. We're asking to go with a paper test. We wouldn't have a video. Students here are being asked to consider the argument each author uses to demonstrate Earhart's bravery. They're being asked to write an essay that analyzes the strength of the arguments related to Erhard's bravery in at least two of the three supporting materials. Remember to use textual evidence to support your ideas. So again, it's not solely based on opinion, as we could see with the AMCAS question in this example. They are expected to use specific evidence from two of three of those samples, the one video and the two written samples. So again, just to highlight, just to give you a sample, certainly there are more resources out there. We didn't think that going beyond this would be a great idea tonight. Certainly would be happy to try to answer any questions that you may have.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Thank you, and thank you for all the information that you brought this evening. A couple of things. First of all, when you're saying that we're going to be doing it in paper and pencil, and if we go with PARC, how are we going to compare? Are there going to be any comparisons of scores? because I know that last year when we did the parks, there was park testing and there was park scores, but we really couldn't evaluate both because some people were on MCAS, some people were on park. So if we go to park, do our kids get the grades and the scaling and all that? Are we going to be exempt from whatever comes out on our stats, if that even makes sense?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: So I will answer that question. Actually, I may have to defer to Beverly on this. The individual score, well, first of all, the district will be held harmless. So in terms of our overall scores and our accountability, we are held harmless. So in terms of a district moving forward, there's a little risk. We think there's a lot more to learn. As far as individual student scores, Beverly, I'm not sure on that one.
[Beverly Nelson]: There's not a great answer we've been given. Um, we know that, and we saw this when they came out with the MCAS scores. When you have people doing two different things and you try to compare it, it's apples and oranges in my book, to be perfectly honest, they claim they can do it. They will do it. They'll give us some numbers, how much credibility you can put to those numbers. I don't know. I just feel that they really should have a period of time that everyone, the accountability, the student growth is held stable until you really get into a test, a definite test, which is MCAS 2.0. But they're doing all kinds of interesting things with numbers. I know the superintendent has been looking at it too, and he had an answer today about Some of the districts that took PARCC and the MCAS, the districts that took MCAS were definitely rated at a disadvantage than those that took PARCC in the rating system they used. So, will they do it? Yes. Is it fair? Is it credible?
[Ann Marie Cugno]: No.
[Beverly Nelson]: Not in my way of thinking.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: You know, I said it many years ago when we started this. I've said it at MCAS, I've said it at the Massachusetts Association, and I've actually said it holding my seat at the Department of Education. And that is, I knew this was going to happen. I mean, they said you could have MCAS, they said you could have PARCC, now they turned around, oh no, PARCC's not going to work, so we'll make up another name, but we're really taking the PARCC test. And I don't know if they think we're really that foolish. or what they're thinking. But the fact remains is that we all are going to be taking a park test, we're just calling it a different name. That's basically the bottom line. And they had parents going to meetings, and I am, I'm very upset with the Department of Education, because I feel at this point, they've taken like, they think they've taken everybody for fools, but they haven't. asking parents what their opinions are, asking administrators what their opinions are, myself going around the state trying to figure out who wants to take PARCC and who doesn't want to take PARCC. And now it seems like, oh, well, we listened to you. We're not going to do the PARCC anymore, but we won't do the MCAS. We'll just call it something else. But now we're sitting here, and we're actually looking at examples of a PARCC test. We're not looking at examples of an MCAS test. And that, for me, is like a slap in the face from the Department of Education to everyone who's put extremely hard work into this. And now, you know, we have to go forward. We have no choice. And we all know that. I just want to make it very clear that I know that we're not all fools. And my concern is taking this test, is they're going to be playing with all these numbers like they did the last time around, because all of a sudden the numbers of MCAS weren't up to par as the PARC grading was. And my concern now is where do we stand? Because I don't want to sit here and all of a sudden hear next year that because we took PARC and the other districts are going to be forced to do the same thing, is that all of a sudden our students now have gone So I guess that's really the bottom line, is my concern of the kids aren't going to be performing worse.
[Beverly Nelson]: It's the Department of Education that's playing with our numbers that are going to make us look worse. The only difference between I can project between last year and this year is that I think you're going to see most districts taking part. Last year was based on what the commission has come out with and what people see is happening down the road. And you're right. It is, you know, I think we're going to have more. I doubt there'll be many districts taking MCAS this year because they'll say that we're going to the new test anyways. I mean, that's our purpose. We don't like all this score stuff. We don't think it's fair. But you know what? You owe it to the kids to get them ready for the types of questions. And quite honestly, the types of questions Park has performed, or MCAS 2.0 also, has these performance-based, we all know performance-based assessment, really gives a kid a fair shot at demonstrating what he or she truly knows. MCAS sometimes was a guessing game, the way the test was constructed. And I've worked with these tests, MCAS, since it started. And, you know, we know that, so for example, as Bernadette pointed out, some of the open-ended questions, I remember there was one writing prompt one year that asked students to, what would you do on a snow day? What's your favorite thing to do on a snow day? And they were students who came from other countries who had never seen snow. And, of course, they didn't perform very well on that prompt because they had no idea. So I think PARCC takes that element away, that subjectivity. I think it's a stronger basis for assessment, but the way they're going about it you know, half can do this and half can do that, and we're going to measure apples and oranges is the wrong way to go about it.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Well, that's, I guess the frustration part for me is that part, that part of, okay, there are going to be a lot more, and I totally agree with that. I know that there's going to be a lot more districts taking the path. My concern is, are they going to keep us level for at least a year? to make sure that the test has been implemented the proper way, that everyone gets the fair and right opportunity to take this, and then assess this the following year, rather than throwing out these numbers next year. Because my concern is that if we're sitting here, and somehow they're going to try to figure out, you know, we have to compare it to something. Well, last year we took MCAS. If we take the PARCC this year, and they try to compare those two scores, as you said, they're going to be apples and oranges, but I don't want to sit here and feel that our kids have really come a long way and they've reached goals and in, you know, their own individual scores and their individual goals. And then all of a sudden, like Parky that comes out that we look like we haven't done anything and these kids have failed. So I guess to the superintendent, let me just put it this way.
[Roy Belson]: Okay. You've had several reports on this. And we told you what was going to happen several months ago. We told you that the new test was going to be Park and MCAS closed. They were going to find a compromise. And they went ahead and did it. Now, the political winds of war were such that there were people that were against MCAS. There were people against Park. The new chairman of the board, the governor, wanted to go back to MCAS, but the business community wanted them to go to PARC. The Pioneer Institute wanted to go back to the old frameworks, but the business community and others wanted to go, and the college and university group wanted to go to PARC. So this was a way, and they also didn't want to give up their control to any other state. So you know what PARC has morphed in? PARC is now a consulting company. They're no longer just producing the test. They're now selling test items, okay? and Massachusetts is going to adopt park items and move them into MCAS 2.0. Our responsibility right now is to ensure that our students get every opportunity to learn what types of questions they're going to see going forward. And our teachers get as much practice as they can get. Accountability will be held harmless. That's the draw. So, you know, the the races slowed down. The issue for us now is giving our people the experience with the types of questions they are going to be asked to take in the future. Now, there's a long way to go with regard to whether mandated testing or too much testing is still going to be argued across the state. And we know, and I can tell you this now, we know that Park scores were much lower than Epcot scores in this round. And we know that they were given a boost on what the department calls equity percentile, to give the Park scores an advantage. So, for our purposes, we need to do what prepares our students for the future. The political discussion about testing in Massachusetts, I just told you about the ESEA, which is going to leave a lot of responsibility to the states. to make up their own mind. All that stuff is going to be worked out. But in the short term, our students deserve and our teachers deserve an opportunity to learn as much as they can about the types of questions that are going to be asked going forward. And then the political discussion about too much testing, no testing, mandated testing, how tests are used, is going to be front and center in the commonwealth.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Well, I didn't really, I wasn't me getting into the political thing. I was more concerned with the fact of how they are going to grade our kids, and how the accountability is going to be there. I just don't want to get penalized.
[Roy Belson]: We're held harmless. We're held harmless.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Okay, so, all right, that's all I need. I just want to make sure that the kids do not get, and the schools, and the district does not get penalized because they've decided to change it.
[Roy Belson]: I actually think that if we would stay with MCAS, we would get penalized. That's what I actually believe, because I believe the push is to get us together. This is Debetta Detto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. First of all, I want to express that I, too, like my colleague, agree that they did what they wanted to do, Ann Marie. And they took all of those questions, and they just put it under a new title. But the only difference is that we did get the Massachusetts framework questions also included in there. So that helps the students in Massachusetts. So that's the only piece different. than just doing the park that I can see. And after speaking to all my colleagues, you know, that I work in a different school district, and we all feel the same way. It's just their way of getting park in place in all of our schools. But we did win a little victory by getting our frameworks also included and not just the Common Core, which I think is a win for Massachusetts. So that's the first thing. And as far as accountability goes, we're not accountable this year, which is good. And that's also the carrot dangling in front of us. Hey, if you do what we want you to do, which is take back, we won't hold you accountable. So they've given us a free ride. And I didn't like it when they did it last year, and I spoke about it then. And I actually said, unless people stand up against them, they're going to keep doing that. So I don't like that bribery piece, and that's how I look at it. I don't think there's any other way to describe it. I just call it the way it is. Is there any cost difference by doing this to the district? I know that the state of Massachusetts pays, what, $37 million on testing on an annual basis? Boy, what could we do with that money to educate the children in this commonwealth? if we weren't spending $37 million every year just to test these students. Boy, we would have nice books. We'd have foreign language in our middle schools full time. I could think of 100 things off the top of my head that we as a school district could do if we could get our hands on that money. $37 million. I'll never forget it. It's in my brain forever. $37 million, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, pays each year just to give a test to our students. It's amazing how we spend money and how it doesn't get to the children's education, it goes to their evaluation. And kids that miss it by two points don't get a high school diploma. It kills me. It bothers me. It's not the right way to judge children. And that's just, I'm sorry, I get off on a soapbox. So if there's no cost difference, and there's no accountability, and we're going to park anyway, I vote to give the children, and I hate saying this, the park tests and I motion to approve and would go with the superintendent's recommendation, even though I was huge, huge opponent of it last year, Mr. Superintendent on that motion.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: So, I liken this to a shell game, and I agree with my colleagues, because, you see, I think Mr. Chester must be laughing all the way, oh, we don't want, they don't want the park, okay, so we'll call it MCAS 2.0, and, you know, The big question is, what money were they getting before, was PARC getting before, and what money are they getting now? I sort of figure that it's probably they're doing just as well. I hate tricky questions. I think the math question, when you look at the math question, that's a tricky question, because obviously if a student looks at it, they're going to see two different lengths and lines, so you can fall for it. So what we're going to be educating our children is not to fall for a tricky question. So which goes beyond just understanding the math. It goes beyond that. It means don't fall for a tricky question. And so we'll spend a lot of time now teaching them how to answer these questions rather than, I think, doing what our real mission in education should be, is educating a child. about and fostering a level of learning and not just simply preparing them for a test. It is not to say that, of course, these are things that students need to know. They need to know fractions. They need to know how to compare fractions, et cetera, et cetera. But there's a way to do that with out, making it a tricky question. We have, I think, no choice, because, by the way, if I want to make a prediction, I'm going to predict that the school districts who did park last year are going to magically do better the second time around than the school districts who are doing them for the first time. Mark my words, guys, that's the way it's going to be. We have no choice. We need to do this.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Chairman. Mr. Scali. Just a point of information through you to Ms. Riccardelli and Mrs. Nelson. What are the classroom teachers saying about this mix? Have they voiced concerns? Are they for or against it? Do they have concerns that we should really look into to try to incorporate into the testing methods?
[Bernadette Ricciardelli]: Well, I mean, as I said at my opening, the directors have been working with the teachers on the test items, just in the event that something like this happened. The teachers don't know that it's happening, definitely. I mean, they'll know after your vote. They knew that it was a possibility. just anecdotal feedback. Many of them, you know, feel like you do, that, you know, we were, you know, we are pawns in a game and they feel duped. That's what I have heard, but I think they understand the reality of we need to move forward, we need to do what's best for our students and what is best for the district. So, it's mixed.
[Robert Skerry]: After this conflagration takes place, if you could get some comments, both positive and negative on how this might change, how we might force upon our legislatures to talk to the Department of Education, try to put everybody in the same playing field. Could you come back after the tests and give us some type of reaction?
[Beverly Nelson]: I think, too, I think the main thing with teachers, as we agree, is that there's too much testing. Every time you take away time for testing, you're taking away time from instruction. And that's a very common feeling. So whether it's Park or MCAS or whatever it is, it's the time piece that I think teaches really a concern and rightfully so.
[Robert Skerry]: We're here in unison to work with the directors and the teachers to develop a program that's, you know, suitable to our kids and, you know, it takes a little bit of stress off them at the test times. I'd appreciate any feedback in the spring that you may provide us.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Belkin, I think another factor, if you read the ESEA material that I gave you a little bit earlier, you'll find that the feds are now saying that the state should take into account other factors than tests. It's starting to trickle down from the top. And I think that's really what we've all been talking about. It's not that this testing, testing has its role. I mean, you know, we've all taken tests in our life. It's the amount. It's the intensity that they've put on it. And it's the way they've used test results to judge students and schools. If you look at the distribution of who does well and who doesn't well, you could look at a socioeconomic map of Massachusetts and of the country. It's just that simple. And it's not quite one-to-one, but it's very close. So you can use testing to give you an indicator of what a youngster is doing and how schools are doing. But it's not the only indicator. I've used this example before with you, but I'll try it again. John Goodlatte, who was perhaps one of the most interesting and most outstanding scholars of education in the 1980s and 90s, wrote a book called Place Called School. And when he was talking about the SAT, the over-dependence on the SAT at the time, he said, a single test score tells you as much about a student's knowledge as a temperature or a thermometer tells you about a person's health. You get an indication, but you don't get the whole picture. And I think that's what we've got to understand. Different youngsters come to school with a lot less cultural enrichment, a lot less language than other youngsters. A lot less stimulation. And other youngsters come with a lot of it. And that is very predictive of what takes place. It's not the only predictive factor. Certainly instruction is important. Certainly the quality of what we do is important. But there's a tremendous disadvantage to some communities who work with youngsters who come and don't speak English, who have a lot of cognitive disabilities, or come from homes which don't have the enrichment. And it's how we use it. It's how we work with testing that makes the difference, and whether we overuse it as a way to make judgments about whether schools or individuals are ready for the future. That's really the issue. But we've got to prepare our kids. If this is the regimen that we're going to face, and we're teachers, then we have to work on it. We anticipated this, by the way. We very much knew that this was going to happen, and we've done it. Heard that, I believe Diane and all the department heads. However, now we've got to actually take the action step to send the message, this is where we're going.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Opposed, no. Recommendation is approved.
[Roy Belson]: Financial report, Mr. Superintendent. Mr. Members of the committee, I call upon our Director of Finance and Administration, Pat. to give us our financial report. This evening, I've also passed out some additional information to enhance what you know about that. And Pat will take you through it.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: Good evening. Attached, please find the summary financial report as of December 2nd. As of the writing of this report, the general fund budget is 32.11% expended. Ten-month biweekly employees have received seven checks since September 2nd, while our 12-month employees have received 11 paychecks since July 1. Currently, six teachers are on maternity leave, with two others pending. We currently have a few replacement paraprofessional positions still in the process of hiring. professional development. November 3rd was a professional development day for the district for teachers, paraprofessionals, and kindergarten aides. MPS also provided a half day for professional development for the district secretaries and administrative assistants. The agenda included a WB Mason presentation, purchase order overview by Louise Miller, city procurement, Google and Gmail overview presented by Cassandra Trotta, Microsoft Mail Merge, email protocol, changes in payroll, student activity, lost textbooks, and attendance processes. Revolving funds. Attached please find a report listing all NPS revolving funds and a short synopsis of what the fund is for. In your original packet, you had the information and there is a short synopsis on the front explaining the revolving funds to you. In addition, tonight, you've been given 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and the supporting transactions. So I ask that you look at those for your transactions, but look at the synopsis for the review of the funds. And I'll take questions in a few minutes from you. The first is for accounts that are related to direct school operations. The second listing reflects community-based facilities that are managed by the school. It is MPS's intent to renew the rental contract with the Japanese Language School for a three-year period at $100,000 per year, effective FY16, which is a $10,000 increase annually. Supporting the NOPCs is a beginning and ending balance for each fund with a breakdown of deposits, revenue, and expenditures. MPS's revolving funds are considered generated revenue and reflected in the FY16 budget plan. Security, MPS is benefiting from Aventasia's American alarm pricing and replacing eight key cameras. We were thinking that it would only be three with a couple of cameras, but the bidding process has worked in our favor. Resumes are under consideration for the MHS MVTH building monitor positions. Pricing has been secured for identifiable jackets, polo shirts, and hats for the building monitor positions. The Raptor Technologies Identification System purchase order has been sent to the vendor and we are awaiting a delivery date. Today we heard from the vendor and they are ready to begin the process of implementation. Telephones. The high school telephone conversion has begun. The list of current telephones has been forwarded to the DSCI Contel. The company is working with individuals at the high school, school departments, to configure and install the new telephone system. Initial expectations were to be up and running by the end of December. However, the MHS building will probably take until the middle of January to fully complete due to the complexity and the age of the building. Transportation, current routes are posted on the NPS webpage. Routes are running on time and we are ready for winter. NPS has 230 bus stops that have been reported to the city of Medford DPW for winter plowing. Discussion is still ongoing with the DCR regarding the reinstatement of the Foulsway Crossing Guard. Last communication was December 2nd. The DCR has requested more information regarding numbers of crossing at the Foulsway and Myrtle, which is our choice for the crossing guard location. We decide on that with Eastern. Updates will be provided when new information is available. Pricing and details are in process for the addition of a Wednesday middle school late bus run, thus providing late runs Tuesday through Thursday after the winter break. Additional safety training has been initiated by Eastern Bus Company and will continue for all drivers over and above their mandatory monthly meetings. Unemployment, FY15 expense for July 2014 through October 31, 2014 was $40,700. And for the same time period, FY16, NPS expense has been $28,790 roughly. We have spent 29% less this time of year as compared to last year. The majority of our unemployment expense generally occurs in the first quarter of each year attributable to summer unemployment claims. The total expended in FY 15 for unemployment was $77,660. MPS has budgeted $75,000 for FY 16 expenses. Utilities. Electricity costs for the period of July through October are $355,489. Last year's expenditures for July through October were $275,806, resulting in increased spending of $76,683. or 22% increase for the same time period. There has been no change in the cost of kilowatt hours as NPS is under contract through November 2016. The electricity cost increase can be attributed to the warmer summer and fall, which resulted in prolonged use of air conditioning and the operation of the pool that was opened July through October this year. Last year, the pool began operations in September. Heating expenses are down due to the unseasonably warm fall. Natural gas costs for the period of July through October were $8,574. Last year's expenditures for July through October were $39,212, resulting in 78% decreased spending. It is too early in the heating season to qualify this heating trend, and the city and MPS does not have a natural gas contract in place, as prices are low and trends do not reflect a high rate of added users, thus keeping the rates low. Rates are monitored by the school and city departments. All buildings will be monitored closely for usage as NPS begins a process to conserve electricity and natural gas by identifying possible areas for potential savings. In closing, each year involves new financial challenges, but FY16 is progressing as planned. I'll take questions.
[John Falco]: Mr. Belco. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. In fact, thank you for your report. A couple of quick questions. With regard to the transportation segment, you had mentioned about the crossing guard that hopefully will be provided by the DCR. I know we've gone back and forth on this a number of times, but the stop that we're listing here is Myrtle and the Fellsway, which from our talks early on, it's St. Francis and the Fellsway is the issue, Fulton Street, which is really not close to Myrtle. And I believe I thought at one point there was already a crossing guard down in that location. But I mean, so I guess my question to this, do we have any cross crossing guards on the Fellsway? And I guess, where are we with regard to this crossing guard at St. Francis and Fulton Street, the Fellsway, that area there?
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: Well, what happened initially is that's where the bulk of the students were crossing because St. Francis was open. So that's where the guard was. After the school closed, the children kind of dispersed along Fells Way. So we've been doing studies to see where the children are getting on in the most used stops. And Myrtle is a very busy stop. Currently, is there a crossing guard down through that section? There is not. And the DCR is very understaffed at this point because of the retirements. And so it's a long process to get any responses. So we have taken a survey of all the stops on the Fellsway and we've sent them back that information. Can you say that last part again? We sent them back the information from the survey.
[John Falco]: So we need to hear from them. So as far as the stops go then, how many kids are getting off at that stop at Myrtle and the Fells White? Do we know?
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: We have 14 middle schoolers and high schoolers using that stop, which is the greatest use. But our expectation is that once a crossing guard is reinstated, we think that we will see more children go to where the crossing guard is. So we're trying to pick the spot that seemed to be the best and the most used right now.
[John Falco]: But what about, so if you go from Salem Street to the Fellows Way, Salem Street to Fulton Street, which is a pretty significant stretch, I mean, I would imagine you have an abundance of kids there that get off, that live anywhere up in the Fulton Heights area and down towards the Salem Street area. I mean, is there any consideration that's being made for those children? I mean, especially, I mean, I would think, I mean, it can be tough for anyone to cross. I mean, I cross there every day and I'm 45 years old and it can be an issue on some days. But I'm looking at kids that are in elementary school. I mean, that's a major concern. I mean, I've got a call from a few parents that You know, really, I mean, there's some concerns there that, I mean, crossing there is a major issue and, you know, it'd be nice to have some sort of coverage between that Salem Street and Fulton Street, you know, stretch.
[SPEAKER_04]: And right now there's nothing. Right. And what we did for the elementary kids this year is we rooted the buses such that they only get on and off the right side.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: So that's how we kind of kept that onto a safe pattern. But the middle school and high schoolers are crossing the road.
[John Falco]: So the elementary schools are, when they get off the bus, they're staying on the side that they get off the bus.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: They strictly stay on the side. And the way that the routes are established, I'm trying to think of the one. I'm not real familiar. I think it's Fellsway and Irving.
[John Falco]: Fellsway and Irving is in Westminster.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, Irving and Westminster. Maybe it's placed at Irving, I'm thinking of. I don't know. But what we did was we moved the stops a little bit further apart. But then we put all the kids on the one side and the other children on the other side purposely so there was no crossing.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Point of information, Mr. Mayor. There is a crosswalk. Which one is it? Fellsway and Fourth Street.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: And is it DCR or City? I'm sorry? DCR or City?
[Ann Marie Cugno]: that I don't. Fourth? Fourth and Felsworth. All right.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: I'll look into it.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: She's been there for a very long time and we definitely need her there, but.
[John Falco]: Which is close to Myrtle.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Right. And that's the one closer to Myrtle. It's, it's about a, it's about a block and a half. Well, no, Myrtle's over the hill actually, but Myrtle is closer to that than it is to the St. Francis one that they were talking about.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: I'll look into it. First thing I'll have to figure out is whether or not it's a city crossing guard or if it's a DCR crossing guard. But I will look into it.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: This is Jim Benedetto.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I'm Matt. Sorry, Pat. You do great work trying to get this together. And I know the bureaucracy with DCR and trying to get a whole room right now. It's really difficult. Appreciate all the work. But if we can't get a Fellsway, I mean a DCR crossing guide, can we put a MAPFIC crossing guide there? Can we do that?
[Roy Belson]: It's not their jurisdiction.
[Robert Skerry]: It's a state road. We have to move over the state road. We have to walk back from the intersection to the Fellsway. Mr. Schiappelli.
[George Scarpelli]: I know it's been difficult. I know the director of the commissioner of DCR just resigned, I believe, a few weeks ago. So I know your job must be very difficult right now. So is there a liaison that they have right now working with that our legislators can maybe push that along? I know it's daunting, believe me. I'm dealing with it right now.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, all of the departments have been hit hard by the retirements. So she is responsive, it just takes her a little while. Her name is Christine, I can send you her information.
[George Scarpelli]: Okay, if you can, then maybe that'll help. But I know that we were trying to deal with the commissioner and she decided it was way too tough for her, so.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: I was in there today. I mean, through that early incentive retirement program. They get killed. And they're not allowed to put anyone back. So it's not only with the crossing guards, but it's in a number of different areas. It's difficult. And now there's rumblings talking about maybe doing another incentive because they didn't get enough the last time, which will only make the situation worse.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Mr. Mayor? I had a question about utilities. So on this, my question was that it seems like there's quite an increase, and you mentioned that it's partly because of the warmer weather, but also that the pool was open two additional months. How much of the increase does that, if it was a 76.6 thousand increase, how much does the pool account for?
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: We unfortunately did not meter the pool separately from the rest of the building. So it's very difficult to discern that. The superintendent asked me the same question.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yeah. I mean, just because it is, you know, 76,000 is significant. Now I see that it's offset a little bit by the savings so far. Um, but you know, it definitely is a concern given that there was no price increase.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Scali. While we're on the subject of utilities, would it be possible to conduct an energy review with the three middle schools, especially the cafeteriums and gyms? See if we could change the lighting to possibly save some monies there.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: We actually, Alicia Hunt was just through the building and met with John McLaughlin. And we have an opportunity that we're contemplating. We haven't put all the information together yet to bring it to you, and we want to bring it to the superintendent first. And it regards energy conservation.
[Robert Skerry]: Is it possible to seek a grant, or would we have to initially lay out the capital to get the lights changed? recover monies over the next two or three years.
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: Alicia Hunt is looking into that opportunity for us and we work very closely with her.
[George Scarpelli]: I don't know if we looked into this because I know we're doing it now with our parks and rink especially. We're losing so much. It's so expensive now for what the energy is asking it. at the rinks and lighting facilities. Have we looked into, I know that with the incentives with solar power, we've talked about they have solar farms, but what we're having in our department, a group come in and discuss putting the way the parking lot is in a rink. There'll be, there'll be bays and above the bays, there'll be bars with solar powered units that would help feed the rink. Has anyone discussed?
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: We're presently working with a company by the name of blue wave. We are coming in to do an evaluation. signed an agreement, I'm going to say two or three weeks ago. An evaluation on everything they can provide, what the cost will be. I don't think we'll have that firm until sometime after the first of the year. And then they actually, they will fund it. They'll put the capital up. We'll buy the electricity back from them at a cheaper rate. They'll make money themselves. Thank you. That's great. But it's a few steps away. We're going to have all the players together to work it to make sure that we're going.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I had a few questions. Back to transportation. Are we adding a bus at the middle school? I'm sorry? Are we adding a bus additional day at the middle school?
[5T-XCQueORE_SPEAKER_06]: We are going to add a Wednesday late run. And we just got the pricing for that. It's not in here because it came after this. It will be $130, three buses times $130. It'll be roughly $7,800 for the rest of the year.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: And I'm assuming we have enough need for after school homework help and time with teachers to warrant that additional bus. And I'm really glad that that's taking place. Thank you for doing that. Yep. Thank you for doing that. That's the first one. Um, the increase in the cost of the rent for the Japanese school is an increase of a flat $10,000. Did someone, I'm sure, but could you make sure that we charging them enough for the increase in the utilities that they're utilizing? Do they, do they use the pool? No. Okay, and the cost of the electricity was very high, so are we increasing it enough to warrant the usage of all those rooms? Is it an appropriate amount of an increase, or is it just a $10,000?
[Roy Belson]: It's actually a very good increase for the amount that they use. And the profitability of that particular situation is very good.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Okay. I just want to make sure what maintenance and custodial staff and utilities that, you know, the costs that it costs us, we're still, we're still making the same profit margin.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: There's discussions that come up periodically about rentals. We should rent, we shouldn't rent the schools. I think the superintendent's done a great job in the agreements that he has with people, but you can't place the burden of our increases all on, But when you have a number of them, as we do, then if it gets to accumulate, it can offset a lot of those costs.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Are we negotiating rentals throughout the district? And what are we renting our buildings for? What are our gymnasiums getting? That's the kind of information I'd really like to see some kind of breakdown about.
[Roy Belson]: Our goal will be right after the first of the year to sit down and have a larger discussion on that. I know that topic has come up and it's very complicated because there are a lot of different situations. So for example, we serve a lot of community activities. We certainly value those activities for the services they provide to our young people and to our families. They may be in some instances lost leaders while others provide us revenue that offsets them. So it's a balancing act to make sure that we don't deprive our young people of the programs and activities that they want since some of these programs and activities can't generate enough funds. But we try and balance it against other programs that can provide the funds so that in the aggregate we make up.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: So I just want to make sure that we're consistent and fair throughout the community on every area of the community. Like one area doesn't pay more for one gym than another area might pay. I would like to see a breakdown of who's renting it on a regular basis, what their fees are, whether it's, you know what I mean? We have asked for that.
[Roy Belson]: We've actually begun working on that. It's much more complicated because there are so many different activities. Some of them are done by the buildings themselves.
[Unidentified]: Right.
[Roy Belson]: Because of the PTOs and other things they run. Some of them are done by us. And we're trying to get a handle on, you know, the differences that exist. But overall, overall, with the major renters, we make up.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: I understand that, but I'd like to know what's happening in each building, how they're utilizing it, who's there at extra time, what they're being charged. I want to know, I want to have that picture. I know it's a lot, and I'm not asking for it for today or even close to today. But before the end of March, I think, is a significant amount of time to gather that information from each school, get a list of what every activity is at that building, because we're liable for any of those activities happening in our buildings. And I think as a committee member, it's important for me to know what's going on. So I'm requesting that again. And if Paulette wants to add to that, that's great. Before I go on with my next question.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: I'm just saying that I just want to remind you that it's already been requested to Erin, because earlier this fall, I very specifically went and spoke and asked for the same information. And I think the superintendent is saying that he would get to us at the beginning of next year. I certainly don't want it to wait until March. I know, but I want to have a meeting regarding it and know everything.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Yeah, we asked for that.
[Roy Belson]: We'll schedule it early.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Great. That would be terrific. Thank you so much. That's it for now. Thank you, Pat. Also, I appreciate this extra data. I'm sure you're going to go over that next. I was going to let you ask questions. Thank you. I'll let you go over it and then I'll ask you. So I did.
[Roy Belson]: Yeah.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: You have questions? This is a lot of information.
[Roy Belson]: It is. We can read it. Let everybody read it, Pat, and we'll come back if anyone has questions.
[Robert Skerry]: Motion to accept the financial report and place it on file, Mr. Chairman.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: On the motion, Mr. Skerry. All in favor say aye. Opposed no. The ayes have it. Mr. Chairman, before we go to the last item. Before we go to the last item, are we going to suspension of the rules?
[Robert Skerry]: Okay, through you to the superintendent. Superintendent, when are we going to set up a meeting on safety and protocol? Just to follow up to the last meeting, we didn't want that to die in committee.
[Roy Belson]: Right after the first of the year, we'll have the police chief and all of us get together in the hall, and then we'll carry that forward into a larger meeting.
[Robert Skerry]: Do you have a date in mind?
[Roy Belson]: I don't, but we've talked to the police department, and we've gone over a whole series of things with other activities. And I think we'll be ready right after the first year to talk about it.
[Robert Skerry]: Before January 30th? Sure. Okay, great, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: 9, report on the snow and climate weather emergency school cancellation protocol. Mr. Superintendent.
[Roy Belson]: Mr. Mayor and members of the committee, I think we know that sometimes it snows in Massachusetts, and last year was probably a very, very bad year, one of the worst years we've had. Although some years we've had no snow at all. But it's important to go over this, and hopefully there's some people listening to us this evening, and if not, we're putting it out there to them, because there's a lot of variables in this. And it's important that people understand why we do what we do and how it works. So as we head into the winter season, we have a comprehensive notification system to parents, students, and community should conditions require the closing of schools. Experience tells us the number of school closing can vary from year to year. Last year, we closed schools seven times, but there have been years when no days were canceled for inclement weather. The decision to close schools results from a process that evaluates multiple factors. The paramount consideration is student faculty and staff safety. We must consider not only the storm conditions, but also our ability to clean school areas, streets, sidewalks. We also have to consult the weather service, our DPW, and public safety officials. We also have to determine whether or not on that particular day we're going to have sufficient faculty who no longer all live in Medford or one community away. These people come from distances now. So if the teachers aren't there and can't make it in, it's a wasted day. So we speak with colleagues in neighboring school districts, and we talk to our transportation providers as well. And as you know, we have to conduct 180 days of school to meet DESE requirements. And waivers are not frequently given by the state. In fact, they are very rarely given. This year, our calendar gives us 11 days to work with, much more than the past, as compared to normal eight days. By contrast with the MTA, by contracts with the MTA, we must complete the school year by June 30th. We're mindful that when school is canceled, that it can be a hardship for working parents. Therefore, it is very, very important, I have to stress this, I'm going to keep banging this out, that parents and guardians begin planning for coverage now in anticipation of closings. Don't wait for the day that it snows to decide who's going to cover my kid. Start thinking about how you can work with your neighbors, with other people, with grandparents, to cover those situations, or to talk to your employers about accommodations that can be made when those things happen. We're also aware that a significant number of students that schools provide safety, warmth, and nutrition. There are a lot of latch kids out there, latchkey kids out there, in communities across the state whose parents have to go to work and the kid's home. That's dangerous. Sometimes we don't like to call a school unless we absolutely have to. We don't want kids in that situation. We always try to provide the earliest possible notification to families and staff as possible. However, many times storms intensify and conditions are unpredictable and change throughout the night and early morning. Our preference is to let people know the night before, but in any case, no later than 6 a.m. We do not favor delayed openings. People ask me about that all the time. As they impact bus schedules and generally result in less productive days. You can only imagine when kids come in at 9, 30, 10 o'clock and everyone's talking about the weather. It isn't really a day at school. It's pretty hard to get people back and focused. So why risk the safety factor just to get people in and mess up things and bus routes get all goofed up. We don't think it's a great way to go. We do make provisions for unpenalized student arrivals, late student arrivals. So if a student does get in a little bit late, and we know that it's a situation, we work with them. When school is canceled, families will be informed through multiple media. Notifications will be posted on both television listings and websites of channels 4, 5, 7, Fox, and NASA. Closings will also appear on the school website. And robocalls will go out to homes, either from the principal or the central office. We'll be busy disseminating this information this month, hopefully so that people understand why we do what we do, where they can find out the information. And hopefully they'll begin to make plans, should they need, to close school and still go to work or do something else. One other pitch that I want to make, it's very important. We've talked to our bus companies, talked to the DBW about clearing areas around bus stops. But it's very important that residents do everything they can to shovel sidewalks and to make things passable so that youngsters are not walking in the street. It's tough in some roads. If we get major accumulations, the banks get high. For little kids this high off the ground, it's hard to see. So another thing we ask people to do is buddy up, do things that, you know, have an older child walk with a younger child, or have parents accompany people to bus stops, and do the kinds of things that take the extra amount of precaution necessary to avoid an unfortunate situation. which may be beyond anyone's control except the individuals who are involved. So that's our information on snow closings or climate weather closings. Happy to take any questions or any suggestions anyone has of anything else we can do to make it more effective going forward.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Chairman, move the paper, place on file.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: I appreciate the superintendent's comments and hopefully we can do a better job of educating our parents to stop all of this. I want to just give you one update because obviously I'm down to less than a month, but I'm still working hard to get everything done that is an issue or has been an issue in the area. So as you go around the city, you'll see at the Brooks School, if they have not already gone in, they'd be flashing lights with radars. Are they in?
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: I haven't seen them yet.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Okay. And also on Elm Street by Wright's Pawn, because where the entrance of Wright's is very dangerous as people come. around the corner, so we're trying to alert drivers in both of those areas that have been an issue for a while. The second speed bump, first one went down in Central Ave, second one should be on Harvard Street sometime either this week or next week. Crosswalks, which are a big concern. There's a A group of residents that have put together a list of, I think it is 70, 80, 90 crosswalks. We've got all the signage that will point to the crosswalk and advise people that there is a crosswalk coming. Where's the speed bumps? And justice today, a welcome to Medford signs. Something I've been trying to do for about 15 years, but we finally got a grant from Tufts. Four of them went up today near the borders of the community, and another four are going up. That's why I was in DCR today, trying to get permission to put signs on their property. If they don't allow it, then we'll have to find other locations to do it, just so people know it's a very welcoming community. And we enjoy their business here, and we enjoy them visiting here. It's just a little update.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: That's great.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: And it came from money from Tufts, money from Chapter 90, money from another sources that we're able to. I put it all together. On the motion, Mr. Scarpelli, we go to executive session. Yeah, we'll probably return after the executive session for the updates and reports, recommendations for collective bargaining units with all units updates, reports and recommendations on non-union personnel and their negotiations too. On that motion, the secretary will call the roll. The first item before us is to negotiate a salary with John McLaughlin, the director of the buildings named Brown. Move approval, Mr. Chairman. Second.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Cugno.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Benedetto. Yes. Mr. Falco. Yes. Mr. Scarpelli. Yes. Mr. Scari. Yes. Mrs. Vanden Heuvel.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes. No. Mr. Mayor.
[Robert Skerry]: I'm waiting for you. I said you. I said yes also.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: He didn't say you.
[George Scarpelli]: He didn't say you.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: The second item is the non-human management team. Pat Vealey, Beverly Nelson, Diane Caldwell, Kathy Bedelio, and the principals.
[Robert Skerry]: Move approval, Mr. Chairman. And add to that parity for the middle schools. Parity for middle schools. School principals. Yes.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Second. Principal. Only one. Got it. OK.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Mrs. Cugno.
[Robert Skerry]: Mrs. Cugno.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Benedetto. Mr. Falco. Yes. Mr. Scarpelli. Yes. Mr. Scarey. Yes. Mrs. Vander Kloof.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mayor McGlynn.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes. Negotiate a settlement with the lunch attendants on the motion of approval.
[Robert Skerry]: More approval, Mr. Chairman.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Second by Mr. Skerry.
[Robert Skerry]: Mrs. Cugno.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Benedetto.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Falco.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Scarpelli. Yes. Mr. Skerry. Yes. Mrs. Van der Kloot.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mayor McGlynn.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes. I vote in favor of the affirmative and on the negative, the act is approved. on the new position of public information officer.
[Robert Skerry]: Move approval, Mr. Chairman.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Move approval of Mr. Skerry. Second. Second by Mr. Scarpelli. Secretary will call the roll.
[Robert Skerry]: Mrs. Cuno.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Benedetto.
[Ann Marie Cugno]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mr. Falco. Yes. Mr. Scarpelli. Yes. Mr. Skerry. Yes. Mrs. Vander Kloof.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes.
[Robert Skerry]: Mayor McGlynn.
[TM-L7tQLt0w_SPEAKER_09]: Yes. By vote of seven in the affirmative and on the negative, the recommendation of the superintendent that the position is approved. All in motion, Mr. President, I'll have the meeting now be adjourned. All in favor say aye.
[Paulette Van der Kloot]: Aye.
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