AI-generated transcript of 12.15.2025 MSC Regular Meeting (In Person)

[SPEAKER_10]: Nutcrackers.

[Sophia Chang]: It is very rewarding to work with our young people. They are wonderful. They have a lot of potential. They bring so much joy to my life. I'd like to invite some of our senior and one junior students to share their experience in the music program. Sam Keith.

[SPEAKER_21]: Hi, my name is Sam. I started violin when I was really young, a little bit before I actually ended up going to Medford Public Schools, which was kindergarten. I consistently worked with a private teacher over my entire elementary school career. I got invited in fifth grade to join Miss Chang with the string ensemble. And most of my violin work before then had mostly been like, you know, just solo rap, go up with a pianist, play a piece, very cool, everybody claps, have fun. When I joined the string ensemble with Miss Chang, I really learned what it meant to play as a group as well and how fun that could be. And so, like, you know, for the past eight years, I guess, no, I don't even know, I've been with Miss Chang working with, between the middle school orchestras and the high school orchestras. And I've also carried the stuff that I've learned about working with people in groups beyond just those groups, with the Tufts Youth Philharmonic and Boston Youth Symphony, and nowadays violins, a massive part of my life, and no doubt, a lot of that's thanks to Miss Chang. Thank you.

[Jayden Vil]: Hi, my name is Jayden Ville. I started playing the violin in fourth grade, but when I met Ms. Chang in sixth grade and joined the string ensemble, I think that's when I really started, became in love with the violin. There are two main things I took from the string program. One is, of course, the friends we made along the way. A lot of the people you see around me here are some of my closest friends. You know each other since sixth grade, and since then in our journey through MICA, through the pandemic and learning violin during COVID, or even during the competition that we went through, or this green corn test we formed, or the chamber music that we've played together. It's really been an eye-opening experience. And the second thing I took from it is what it really means to be good at something. You know, Ms. Chang loves to push us hard and help us reach a higher level of playing. But it's not just focusing on the notes, it's thinking about, it's more than that. It's thinking, how can we really transmit our emotions through music? How can we go further than just the notes but go deeper into the expression? And being good at something isn't just trying to play as great as Hilary Hahn at the first start. To be good at that level, you have to start at the basics first. Just playing the simple A string, just playing open strings, then leveling up, adding the notes, then the rhythms, then adding it together as the orchestra. All that together is what really makes music special. And those two lessons, I think I'll take with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, Ms. Chen.

[SPEAKER_25]: All righty. Good morning, everyone. My name is Jaden Wu. I'm a junior at Medford High School. And originally, I started playing the viola in fourth grade. And then I switched over to cello in fifth grade. And honestly, ever since then, I've stuck with that. It's been a really fun journey. I'd honestly say, I don't want to sound corny, but orchestra has definitely done some things in a good way to benefit my life. I've made some awesome friends that I'll probably forever be friends with. And it's just been an awesome time being able to play with such talented people and going through music festivals. And yeah, honestly, it's just been amazing. Thank you.

[Sophia Chang]: And the last piece they'd like to play for you is Forever Joyful. Thank you and thank you to my dear students. We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Thank you.

[Jenny Graham]: Thank you to the Medford High School Orchestra. If you all could hang on for just a quick minute so we can take a photo with you, but I just need to officially open the meeting before we do that. So give me like two minutes and then we'll ask you all to come up for a photo op. How's that sound? Good? Is everyone okay to hang in for a couple minutes? Okay, great. Welcome everybody. I got carried away just listening to the music and forgot to open the meeting, so I'll do that now. This is the 19th regular meeting of the Medford School Committee. Please be advised that there will be a regular meeting of the Medford School Committee at Howard Alden Memorial Chambers, Medford City Hall, and via remote participation at 6 p.m. on Monday, December 15th. This meeting is being recorded. The meeting can be viewed on Medford Public Schools' YouTube channel, through Medford Community Media on your local cable channel, which is Comcast 9, 8, or 22, and Verizon Channel 43, 45, or 47. If you're joining us on Zoom, the meeting ID is 999-2459-4834. Member Ruseau, would you please call the roll?

[Paul Ruseau]: Member Branley.

[Jenny Graham]: Present.

[Paul Ruseau]: Member Graham.

[Jenny Graham]: Yes, here.

[Paul Ruseau]: Member Atapa.

[Jenny Graham]: Here.

[Paul Ruseau]: Member Olapade. Present. Member Reinfeld. Present. Member Ruseau. Present. Mayor Lungo-Koehn is presently absent.

[Jenny Graham]: So six present, one absent. I'll please rise to salute the flag. 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. And I believe we also have a student rep here with us tonight. Is that correct? Jaden, are you our student rep tonight? Are you? Oh, oh, hi, Christine. Thank you for coming. Oh, and Jayden. Jayden, Jayden and Christine are our student reps and they're all joining us tonight. So welcome. Okay. Is there a motion to suspend the rules and take the report of the superintendent out of order? by member Olapade. Is there a second? Second. By member Intapa. All those in favor? All those opposed? Okay, motion passes. So we're going to move on to the report of the superintendent, which begins with our Mustang moment. You've already been enjoying the Mustang moment with all of the beautiful music from our orchestra. But I would like to welcome you all to come join us so that we can take a photo with all of you. And what's that? Oh, yeah, we can do that. That would be fine. So we will be like on a little field trip here for a few minutes to take a picture with all the fun instruments. And I just wanted to say thank you. When you join us, our meetings are so much more fun. So maybe like twice a month on Mondays, you could think about coming. That'd be great. But we're gonna take a picture and then we will be on to recognizing our fall athletes. So stay with us. Okay, thank you everyone. We are on to our second Mustang moment of the night, which is recognition of our fall athletic achievements, and I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Galussi.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you very much. I do want to just say, just to echo the words of Vice Chairmember Graham at how wonderful it is to start our meeting off with students as part of the Mustang moment and setting the tone for the meeting with our orchestra. It's just like being at the Pops. It's a nice, warm, inviting way to start the meeting. And just wanted to make sure that we appreciate it. And I said thank you to the high school orchestra. So now we're moving on to our fall sports and athletic director Robert O'Leary unfortunately was double booked this evening and is not able to join us in person but he is here to kick us off. We are here to recognize GBL champs as well as all-stars within the GBL and he is going to kick us off virtually to get the the show on the road. So I'm going to just pause for a moment as Mr. Pippicelli starts us off.

[Rob O'Leary]: Good evening. For those of you that do not know me, my name is Rob O'Leary. I am the Community Schools Athletic Director for the Medford Public Schools. I want to take a moment to say thank you to the school committee for inviting all of our student-athletes here this evening to honor their successes this past fall for their GBL championships and their GBL All-Stars. My apologies that I could not be here in person as I had a prior family commitment. I also want to say thank you to all of the families in the Medford Public Schools, athletic, trainer, coaches, support staff, athletes, for welcoming me here in Medford with open arms. Our first team to be honored this evening will be our GBL champions, girls soccer and head coach Rocco Sieri. Go Mustangs!

[Rocco Cieri]: Good evening, everyone. Thanks for having us. It's a very exciting year. The girls soccer team had another banner year, qualified for the postseason. Their overall record, including the postseason, was 13 wins, five losses, and a tie. The girls were undefeated in the GBL. They scored 55 goals, allowed 19 in all competitions. Ninth grader Parker Prisner scored 13 of those and had an assist. And 10th grader Sienna Fossey was tied with that in points with eight goals and six assists. Many of these girls that you see behind me, as well as the ones that weren't able to make it because they were at other sports, or had other commitments, were able to contribute offensively with assistant goals, but also made defensive contributions to the team's 10 shutouts during the season. Our GBL All-Stars this year were Caitlin Ows, who is at a, hockey game tonight, Sienna Fossey, who is at a basketball game tonight, and CeCe Colombo, who is right to my right. We also had two Eastern Mass All-Stars named. That goes into a general pool of other coaches, and then they vote. CeCe Colombo received that honor, and Sienna Fossey received that honor. Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So just as a measure of procedure, I think we're going to have everyone speak this evening, and then we'll take a little brief pause to do pictures with the champs and the all-stars, just so people at home know we can keep going for right now. If that's okay?

[Rocco Cieri]: Okay.

[Suzanne Galusi]: All right, you kicking it to the next team or... Yes, I can.

[Rocco Cieri]: Okay. I'd like to introduce the GBL champs golf team under Rich Citrano.

[SPEAKER_20]: Good evening. I would also like to thank you guys for inviting us. It's a privilege to be here. It was an exciting year. A lot of the teams were gunning for us because we were the GBL defending champions. And we did happen to repeat, which is quite a feat. We did have 10 wins and zero losses in league play. We also had Emmett Chasteen voted by the coaches as the two-time league MVP along with Jonathan Wright who was also a GBL All-Star. All of the players behind me had won more matches than they had lost during the season. I'm not sure if you're familiar with how it works with golf but there are eight matches that go on at a meet. And unfortunately, we can't have everybody play in, but we do rotate. And like I mentioned earlier, everybody had a winning racket, which was pretty impressive. So that's the season. I'd like to. Excuse me, I did forget to mention two more things. At the end of the year, we select three players to participate in the GBL shootout, and Medford did win the GBL shootout this year. And we also qualified for the Division II Northern States, which we sent six players, and we did better than we did the previous year. So that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to improve each year, and so far we have. I would like to introduce now the boys' soccer coach, John Preston Giovanni.

[SPEAKER_23]: Good evening, everybody. On behalf of the boys soccer family at Medford High School, we want to congratulate all of the fall all-star athletes, all the seniors, all the coaches. Congratulations on a great season. From our soccer family, from our coaches, from our players, from our families, we want to thank everyone within the walls of Medford High School for your support this season, and in our Medford community. We've reached a lot of support throughout the season, and we can't thank you guys enough, so thank you. We also want to congratulate my man here, Fortson. He's our senior. He was selected as our GBL All-Star this season, and also our Eastern Mass All-Star. So Fortson, congratulations. Thank you very much for allowing us to be here tonight. Next, we'd like to bring on our crew team. Thank you.

[SPEAKER_04]: So before I make the brief remarks, one thing that I'm especially proud of is the intersection of arts and athletics. Four members of the ensemble are also on the rowing team that you heard from, and that's pretty terrific. And I should thank Miss Chang for allowing that, because you can imagine rowing can really do some damage to your hands, right? All right, so we had a terrific fall season. 44 student-athletes competed in five regattas. We took home, or they took home, sorry, 12 medals including a gold and two silvers from the state championships. The gold was for the men's quad and the silvers were for the women's double and men's double. We also got a bronze at state championships in the men's double, right? You too, good, excellent. Also this fall, we received a record three invitations to the Head of the Charles. For those of you who know, Head of the Charles is a pretty amazing event. You gotta get squeezed in here. As a high school student to be able to participate, and some of our student athletes will get to participate and compete in Head of the Charles. almost three, if not all, four years, which is pretty amazing and an amazing honor. I didn't get to row in the head of the Charlesville High School student. I had to wait until college, so it's pretty amazing. We're looking forward to a spring that will include the reintroduction of the Mayor's Cup, so we'll expect a mayor to be there for that and also other school committee members. We won't put you in a boat unless you want to be put in a boat. Let's do it. All right. As far as GBL All-Stars, the team wants to recognize Gianna Purr for it. Right here, Gianna. I don't know how much you know about rowing. There are two types of rowing. There's sweep rowing, where you have one oar, and there's sculling, where you have two oars. Gianna switched from one side, sweep rowing, to the other this season and stroked the women's four, which is not an easy task. She took over from an injured rower, so thank you very much, and she did so with great enthusiasm and fortuitousness, right? So thank you, Gianna. The other two GBL All-Stars, sort of similar to other student-athletes, are in other commitments tonight. Matt Stricker and James Klugisch are on the swim team, and they're at an important pre-meet dinner tonight. So that happens, right? So thank you very much. We're looking forward to a spring of great sprint racing. Do you guys have anything you want to say? And we're really excited to be building our novice program. We have two members of the novice team here, and two members of the novice team are among the ensemble. So we're pretty excited. Thank you. Thanks.

[Suzanne Galusi]: At this time, I'd like to bring up Medford Cheer.

[SPEAKER_00]: Hi, everybody. Sorry for my voice, first grade teacher problems. So my name is Kristin Galeona. It's my first season up at Medford Eye as a cheer coach. And my assistant is not here tonight. Nicole Guarino, she's at practice. Our goals this year or this season have been really three. We wanted to bring back some polish, pride to our sidelines, safety, and our future goal will be to build a competitive program. This couldn't have happened without everybody sort of putting their trust in us and the help of outgoing athletic director Bob Maloney, Rachel Perry, Rob O'Leary, Principal Cabral, Dr. Galussi, and Mayor Lungo-Koehn, who all invested in us and our new uniforms. For cheerleading, that's your equipment. It's a uniform and maybe some mats, if you're lucky. And that's what's really helped us. I think that, the discipline, consistency, and commitment of our team and of our seniors like Marcella next to me. She's our all-star. She got hurt at home, not with us, but right at the beginning of the season. And that didn't stop her from coming to every practice, every game, and showing the team through her leadership what it means to have commitment. Her nickname is Mama because she takes care of everybody on the team. We tried to get her to cheer for winter, but she's busy with her future professional goals and working at Winchester Hospital. So she's our GBL All-Star, Marcella Lucas. Up next is cross country.

[SPEAKER_03]: Hello, thank you for having us here tonight. I'm Eileen O'Hara, and I coach the girls and boys cross-country teams, and I'm joined by two of our all-star athletes this evening. Both cross-country teams, the boys and girls, had great seasons this fall, and both teams actually had the same record, with six wins and one loss in the regular season, and both teams also took second place at our end-of-season GBL championship race. Our seniors and captains were excellent role models who showed our younger athletes what it takes to find success in cross-country, and as a result, we saw athletes across both teams see significant improvements in their times throughout the season. We had three athletes qualify for the Massachusetts All-State Meet, and we had five GBL All-Stars, two of which are here tonight, and I'll now recognize them. On the girls team, our GBL All-Stars were Olivia O'Brien, who couldn't be here tonight, Isabelle D'Souza Vieira, who is here. And Emma Beardsley, who was also not able to attend. On the boys team, our GBL All-Stars are Aaron Greenberg, who is here tonight. And Adam Lewis, who was also the league champion and the league MVP. Next I'd like to introduce Coach Curley to present for the football team.

[John Curley]: Good evening. How we doing? I first want to thank everyone in this room right now to give these student athletes an opportunity to show their skill and their craft and it really does mean a lot to me that everyone in this room can get recognized because they have to be a student first and then play a sport after. It's really hard to do any day in society. Congratulations to everyone in this room for winning these awards. Congratulations to the GBL champions. It's awesome to see Medford keep on going on a high note and trying to get to the high bar. It's awesome that we have coaches pushing these athletes to go further and further, to go further and further for Medford. I want to thank Mr. O'Leary, Mrs. Perry, to give me the chance and opportunity to coach this team. I've been a coach for the last seven years. It's been a great opportunity. Season really wasn't the greatest for the start. We were 0-4 and then we went on a five game winning streak and it really shows if you keep on trying and buying into what you see as going forward, you'll actually What I'm trying to say is, if you keep on trying, good things will happen. I feel like the kid to my left and the kid to my right is a really good thing, is a really big thing of what happened this year. I got to know Key Martins when he was in fifth grade. I got to know Demi Georges when he was in ninth grade. And I felt like I knew them since they were like probably about five years old because they were really bought into what I was doing and what the program needed to do. So I'm very happy that they both got to be GBL All-Stars this year because they tried all four years. The first year was rocky, but they're ending on a high note. They won 17 games in a three-year span, and that's the first time, I think, since in the 80s in this city. So very good job by these two captains being leaders, but also showing up and buying into me and buying into the city. So thank you very much.

[Suzanne Galusi]: and like to welcome Volleyball to round us out.

[SPEAKER_12]: Good evening, everybody. Thanks for having us. I just want to first off thank Robert O'Leary and Rachel Perry, the AD and assistant AD, for all their support this season and also all the parents. The Medford High girls volleyball team wrapped up a competitive and exciting fall season with a 6-12 record. The Mustangs played exceptional teamwork, skill, and determination, proving every single game they played. They fought all the way until the end, no matter the outcome of each match, and their commitment, hard work, and passion were evident both on and off the court. Although the Mustangs fell short of qualifying for the state tournament, they concluded their season on a high note with an outstanding senior night victory on their home court. We graduated 10 seniors, and we thank them for their commitment to the Medford Volleyball Program over the last four years. My all-star is not here, but I'd like to recognize Emma Moellerba. She's a junior setter and she's playing basketball tonight, so that's why she's not here. She always leads by example, showing up prepared, focused, and ready to give her best effort every day. Emma had an outstanding season and has consistently demonstrated outstanding dedication and commitment to the Medford Volleyball Program. Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you so much. This is just a wonderful way to demonstrate all of the great things that are happening in Medford athletics. Thank you all for coming. We are gonna take a few pictures. I'm trying to think of the best way to do it because there's so many of you. Maybe we just start with like the teams that are here. So we can go from girls soccer to golf, and then we'll make sure we get in the other teams and the all-stars. Alright, so girls soccer, come on up please.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thanks everybody. Okay, good evening. Can you hear me? I'm going to just turn it over to Dr. Galussi, who wants to make a comment about metapathletics.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Thank you. I just want to make sure for the people that are here and listening that we also have two sports teams that are year long, and we will be acknowledging them in the spring. So we have the eSports team. that I know competed over the weekend. I'm still waiting to hear how they did. And we also have our unified sports team. They had their basketball season, and then they're moving on to their spring season. So both of those teams will be acknowledged when we acknowledge the teams in the spring. Just want to make sure I made note of that and all their hard work.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Great, thank you very much, Dr. Glusi. Are we still taken out of order? Number two, special recognition? Okay. Special recognition of school committee members. I'll turn it over back to you, superintendent. We're going to honor member Nicole Brandly and member John Tapa.

[Suzanne Galusi]: Yes, thank you. So, just a few words on behalf of the Medford School Committee. I just want to spend a few minutes talking about member Brandly. I know over the monitor and member in Tapa. So first and foremost, I want to extend my gratitude for member Branley for your dedicated service to the school committee. Your commitment to our students and families was seen and we're deeply appreciative of the time and the care and the passion that you brought to the work. Your advocacy for safety, supportive learning environments has been unwavering, and you are constantly centering the students' well-being in your discussions and ensuring that safety remains a foundational priority for the schools. Before joining the committee, Member Branley worked in our kindergarten classrooms and where I got to know her well, helping teachers create safe and warm and welcoming environments and you brought that passion with you to the school committee, as well as your passion for career and technical education, which has been a tremendous asset to the committee. You've been a strong champion for CTE learning and opportunities and what it creates for our students, opening doors to both college and career pathways and ensuring that every learner can see a future that they can achieve. So I wanna thank you for your dedication, your commitment, and the heart that you brought to your work on the committee, and you've left a meaningful impact. Member Intoppa, I got to know you through this role, which has been a privilege, and also want to thank you for your tireless effort and commitment. As someone who was a proud product of Medford Public Schools, you brought both a personal history and a deep commitment. to the work, it was very clear that that was your driving goal and that you wanted to leave the district stronger and more responsive and more equitable than you found it. You were a constant presence at a lot of school events. You were at performances, games, celebrations, and community events. And that didn't go unnoticed. Your visibility was symbolic, and it reflected how much you really care about the students and the school district and the community. Throughout the time on the committee, you encouraged us to strengthen our communication and our equity around decision making. So your advocacy helped us around important conversations throughout the district. And I thank you very much. It's been a pleasure getting to know you. And we're very grateful to your service on the Medford School Committee. I don't know if other people want to say a few words. We do have something small to offer you. Sure, sure.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Do you want to, well, I just, from the chair, if I may, I'll be brief. I think, Dr. Glusi, those are great remarks and you've summed up some of what Member Intopper and Member Brinley have done and added to this committee. I think there's a much longer list because it's been two busy years and you both are extremely sincere in wanting to do what is best for the teachers and the students of the Medford Public Schools. It shows in every comment you make. event you go to, every post you write, we're going to sorely miss you. Your perspectives were wonderful to have on this committee, and I hope you don't go away for good. I hope you come and add. what you can to meetings when you have available time and help guide us in the work we are gonna continue to do over the next two years. Best of luck in everything you choose to do further and thank you for everything you've done for the school committee and the school district and the students of our community. Member Branley.

[Nicole Branley]: Well, mine's not short. but I don't think you'd expect anything different. So, step up or step down. Three years ago this week, my then 16-year-old daughter spoke those words on her birthday right there at that podium. It feels like a lifetime has passed, yet some days it feels like yesterday. I promised I wouldn't cry. I guess you could say her words spoke to me, and I did just that. I stepped up and I ran for office. I won't rehash the weeks that led up to those words at the podium, but I will say it changed our lives forever. And for those of you that were here by our side then, I hope it's something you'll never forget either. I'm still that mama bear who left no stone unturned in ensuring safety for my child and in turn becoming a mama bear for all of Medford Public Schools. I still said I wouldn't cry. I care, and that doesn't get taken away as I move out of this seat. I have given all of me to the city in the last three years, and especially as a school committee member the last two years. I have listened, I have trusted, been trusted, and I have spoken up, and I have shown up for all of Medford. I am proud of my term in office, and I have brought a perspective no one else has from the point of view as a para, as an administrative assistant, as a mom, as a former student, and as a diehard, true to the core, lifelong Medford Mustang. I think I have finally convinced my kids I truly do bleed the blue and white. You can take the girl out of Medford, but you can never take Medford out of the girl. I love you Medford, more than what is healthy at times. Because I think at this point we all know that this is not the Medford that we grew up in. There is a plus and a minus to that. We need to grow and evolve with the times, yet many of us Mustangs aren't really loving the changes that have been made. We need to meet in the middle. We need to make progress without being so progressive. We need to be kind and we need to listen. Three years ago today, today at the same podium my daughter spoke at, I spoke out at a city council meeting. And in my closing remarks, I said that communication in this city is key and it's something the city still struggles with and we need to work on. I have never aspired to be a politician. And I've been grateful for the two years that I've kept true to my values. I am beyond grateful for the discussions I've had with our school staff, families, and students off the record, that I've been trusted with your concerns, as I truly hope I have served you well. I was never here for me, but for each and every one of you. and I'm empathetic to a fault, and I've put myself in your shoes during every executive session, every motion on the floor, every vote, every budget meeting, every email I have responded to, and every single event I have walked into. To our incredible staff, each and every one of you, know that I have seen your hard work, I have seen your exhaustion, your struggle to feel valued, and I hope you know I have seen each and every one of you give incredible contributions to this district. So if no one told you today, please listen up. Thank you. You are difference makers. You are supporting our children, and there is no, nothing more important than that. A special thank you to our CTE staff that took Jacqueline, myself, and now Dominic in their protective wings and supported us so incredibly deeply. You are incredible human beings and your dedication to our students and to your crafts are the crown jewel of Method Public Schools. I am so grateful to forever be part of the Volk family. To my fellow school committee members, thank you all for your hard work. I have publicly said that our job is not just two meetings a month and we collect a paycheck. It is 24-7. It's hundreds of emails. It's invitations. It's donation requests. It's events during our full-time workday that need our attention. It's subcommittee meetings. It's Zoom meetings. It's negotiations. It's spreadsheets. It's contracts. It's bills. It's payroll. A multitude of emergencies, et cetera, et cetera. To the mayor, to the superintendent, thank you both for being always open to candid discussion with me. I may have also given you no choice and I appreciate you both always for listening. You can change your telephone numbers now or you can choose to still have me chirp in your ears. As a woman, I applaud you both for your strength as our school leader and as our city leader. Young girls are watching you. Please never forget where you came from and that Mustang pride I carry in me is in both of you. So please let it guide you to do what is right for all of Medford. Dr. Galusi, as you said, we have come full circle, girl. You hired me as a para when you were principal Galusi at the Brooks. I believe your words were, you've already volunteered so much, you might as well just work here. You started my career in public education, so thank you. Once a B, always a B. I wish you luck as you finish your term as interim superintendent and your future with Medford Public Schools. The Mustang moment should never go away. And I thank you for bringing the students and their successes to us each meeting this year. To our city council, I beg of you to support our school's needs in full. I will advocate for a new Medford High School, whether it's a rebuild or a remodel. We need to pass a debt exclusion for the future of Medford Public Schools. And I thank those that have worked tirelessly on this multi-layered, multi-year project. Member Intoppa, I want to publicly thank you for your friendship the last two years. We did not lose this election, Medford did. There is a huge chunk of this city not being represented now, and for that my heart truly breaks. I have been incredibly proud to serve with you. We have gone to so many events together. Our event selfies became a joke amongst your siblings. Then I made them take a selfie with me, so they'd stop being so clearly jealous and just shut them up once and for all. Your parents have raised an amazing young man in you, and I know them both, so it's kind of questionable that you guys are so well, but it's really great, so thank you. I do have to say that your perspective has been key in moving policies forward, and I thank you for that. Your random rambles have also left me wondering what the motion even was, but just as I would question it in my own head, it would seem to dawn on you that you were also rambling, and you'd wrap up just as quick. I officially named us Brantapa at one point, and I can show you that will never change. Lastly, to my village of personal supporters, You've carried me through this life, and for every one of you, I thank you. It will never be enough. I always say that two things in my life have never let me down. It's my faith and my children. And I want to thank both Jacqueline, who I know is watching online, and Dominic, who's here, for their support. I know you've made the ultimate sacrifices for me. They truly have had to share me. The last two years with this city, And I thank you both so deeply for joining me at so many events and allowing me the time to go. You both have always come first, and I hope I have set a good example to you both. You truly can do anything you put your mind to. I've had multiple lives as your mom, but you both have been my constant. I love you both. I want to thank you all for listening. And as this chapter closes for me, it's on to the next chapter, because my story does not end here. Thank you.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, Member Branley. That was beautiful. Member Intoppa. He's so good off the cuff. He's so good off the cuff, so we'll see.

[John Intoppa]: Didn't prepare a thing. Didn't prepare a thing, as I usually don't, as member Branley said with the rambles. I'll try not to. I timed it on my way leaving work today, and it's not that long. It's actually, I forget everything I said, because now the camera's here. I don't know how to top that. Oh, God. This time has been hectic, as it's been for a lot of us. But I'd like to say that, first of all, this is also the moral status award show. We get a little trophy, and then we say remarks, and then now we have to cry about it. It's fine. I have little trophies here. Thanks, Ma. Leo 3D modeled this. Anyways, rambling. I'm wiping my tears with a Dunkin' napkin from five years ago. I'm sorry. This has just been an amazing experience. Ever since when I decided to run at 18, we joked about it. It was a fight at the dinner table. I was mad about something, God knows what, and I said, I'm going to run for this. And my mom said, run for school committee first. And I said, how old do you have to be? And my mom texted the mayor. And the mayor was like, 18. I was like, I'm pulling papers tomorrow. And we all thought it was funny. And then on Facebook, there was a photo of me with the packet in cargo shorts and Timberland boots for some reason. And I started my journey there. And it's just been an amazing journey of advocacy and work. And I can't thank my support systems enough, my family, for being. I looked at them. I shouldn't have done that. God, my family for just being there always. I sound like Kermit. For whatever it is, for every sacrifice they made on knocking on doors and putting up signs and figuring out strategically how we can how we can run it, for my grandmother for being my biggest cheerleader. She has like three jackets now that just say John on top of school committee, which has been great to see. My girlfriend Sophia for dealing with it all and seeing how this has affected me. But I really could not have asked, I'll say it again, for an amazing year and a half, I think it's been, because I came in in March. And I've been on borrowed time, and I know I've been on borrowed time, but I've treated every single meeting and every single invite like it's been the last. And I think what saddens me is now that I don't have the choice for that. It is the last. And I've always wanted to do what I can, and understanding that I won't understand everything. And it's sort of a spin-on of a quote from NYC Mayor-elect Zohra Mamdani, you know, What I've lacked in experience, I've always tried to make up for in integrity and to make sure that I'm always hearing things from every angle and trying to fight for the progression of the Medford Public Schools and trying to be there representing the little me's, especially, you know, the little anxiety ridden balls of anxiety that were elementary schoolers touching handrails and worrying they were going to go into anaphylactic shock and talking about how to advocate for allergy awareness and how to advocate for the arts to make sure we stay a strong district culturally, because that is where the sense of belonging falls in the extracurriculars, and the way that that's what got me through the Medford Public Schools, that's what got my sister Lacey through the Medford Public Schools, and it's getting my little brother Leo through the Medford Public Schools, is involvement in all three, the athletics, the arts, and academics, and how those three A's intersect into forming a more perfect, you know, student. There is no such thing as a perfect student, but we heard it from our orchestra earlier today about how, you know, those The tangible things they learn in the arts helps them be better students. And former director of fine arts, Mr. Zigney, used to always champion for the orchestra to be first period, because he said it unlocked more potential in us as students, and lost his mind when they moved it to second period for one year. And then the next year, it was the first period. So he must have lost it enough that it came back. but just everything, the experience that this has been. I also wanna thank my employer, MassArt, for teaching me all these things. When I lost at 18, I decided to join the board of trustees and I was a full-fledged member of the board of trustees at 18 and working on college policy and getting us through the pandemic. And the college really invested me as a student leader. And now I get to do the same thing every day working in the student engagement office. I have eight amazing students that I, oversee and work with and try to, you know, meet them where they're at and try to make just this, make them the student leaders and adults in the world that we need and to be better people and to work together and form that teamwork like our students in the orchestra said, because we're all in this together. And I think I used to use this quote a lot. As a former rower, if the eight knuckleheads in the boat can't get their stuff together, you're not moving anywhere. You'll move backwards sometimes. Remember, Olapade knows what I'm talking about. You will, in fact, move backwards, because that's physics. Apparently. I don't know that. My sister's in STEM. I'm just an art major. Design, whatever. They really need it. I need a time clock. I really need a time clock. But you know what? This is the last time I'm sitting here and saying what I want, so it's fine. But I wish for the best. I'm optimistic about the future. And I just want to, you know, I'm sad that I can't continue this work with you all, to the new members, to the current members. as much as I pull my hair out sometimes, and it's coming out, I do love this work. And I love working with our students. I love working with our faculty and our staff. Because when we talk about sense of belonging, we're not just talking about the students. We are talking about the staff and faculty. And when we talk about building a new high school and working towards, you know, one of the questions I got was, can you have the fanciest facilities But that doesn't always mean that you're going to have better outputs and that we need to make sure that they meet the needs of our faculty and staff to do their jobs, to make sure that they can help. Once you have that sense of belonging with them, then you can unlock that sense of belonging with our students. This has been a childhood dream of mine. This is how you know I'm wrapping it up, because I have a post-it note about that. This has been an absolute childhood dream of mine, to be here, to sit here. A lot of the people that have sat in these seats have been hugely influential. That's why we joke that I'm the only one out of my siblings with an accent sometimes, because I hung around them too long. because they mentored me through my first run, whether it was Councilor Falco, former member Kreatz, former member Van der Kloot, member Ruseau, Mayor Lungo-Koehn, Councilor Scarpelli, all invested in me at 18, and I just want to pay that back. And so I'm hopeful, and I'm looking forward to continue my work in the Med for Public Schools as much as I can. I've already told the arts and the nurses, you have me, because I truly believe that I want to continue this work and to continue being the advocate that I can. to member Branley, as you mentioned, because you called me out, I'm calling you out now specifically. Thank you for always being sort of my, many may not believe this, but member Branley is actually my anger translator. If you've ever seen the key and peels, but sometimes I lose my mind and then that helps me be a little more. focused in person. But remember, Emily and I, we've shared a lot of times being at events and sharing a lot of laughs and running the track at the Gancher Center, by the way, which was crazy to have like a student with like a piece of paper flame walk through in the act all serious and be like, this is cool. Cause it was really cool. It was raining. I was soaking wet. It was awful, but it was a really good time. But thank you for always being there, being one of the first people to call me like what's going on. And, you know, Maryland current, thank you for, figuring out so many logistics, because I think I'm safe to say this is one of the first times this has happened in this plan of government. My story of coming in in the middle of it and what do we do about that? And thank you to the charter committee for figuring that out as well and putting that in the new charter. Thank you, because hopefully this won't happen again, but I'm thankful for that. And also to Mayor McLaughlin for reaching out and helping coach me through that as well. But I leave you all with a quote. And I said this quote, at my high school graduation, but it's applied. And it's if you ever stopped doing what you loved, and this is speaking to everyone in the district and everyone here. If you ever stopped doing what you loved because you thought quitting was your only choice at the time, I've got news for you. You can begin again. Follow your dreams. And that's from Steve Katsos, who ran a public television out of Arlington for the longest time, and he had me on as a guest and really invested in me and my future as a young magician. And my amendment to this quote is that when you achieve your dream, do it twice as good. Because prove to the people that doubted you that you could do it, and then some. So thank you. Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: So we have a little recognition gift for the, I wish, I'm sorry, I think it's, I think it's a symbolic gesture of your service on the school committee. It is the, the quintessential bell. just for you to remember fondly all of the hard work and the dedication and the impact that you made to Medford Public Schools. So I'd like to give you this on behalf of Medford Public Schools.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I think we have a member Rousseau, then member Graham, then member Olapade. Member Graham.

[Jenny Graham]: Thank you. I just wanted to say a quick thank you to John and Nicole for being my sidemates here. I don't know what you call this, but we've had some fun over here with broken chairs. So thank you for the never-ending entertainment on this side of the chambers. But Nicole, I just wanted to say thank you demanding that Medford change in some ways that Medford sorely needed to change for a really long time. Your advocacy made a difference and it still does. And John, thank you for being ready to step in when we needed you because that is a tall ask and I'm sure you were going about your day in the spring and we were like, hey, how's it going? Can you join us? And please be in time for like the worst budget in history. So thank you. Thank you for all of that. You both are very much entitled to a nap. But once you're done with that, I would love for you to join us in a variety of capacities with the high school building team. Member Branley is joining us on an advisory committee this week. But there's going to be just so much work to do in the next six months. So I appreciate any help that you can provide. And I think Future Medford also appreciates what you can bring to the table, not only on that, but on the middle school task force. And there's any number of other places where your inside knowledge will be super helpful. So please join us as you can. I think that's really important. This job has such a steep learning curve. It is really impactful when people who have that sort of inside track and they know how things work can continue to show up And my other request is call me anytime that you have priorities that you want to see us address, and we'll work together. Thank you.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, Member Graham. Member Ruseau, then Member Olapade.

[Paul Ruseau]: Thank you. I don't want to repeat everything, but I really appreciated the perspectives that you brought and that you challenged, not just me, all of us, whether it was an executive session or on the floor. I think it's really important that we are all not just like kumbaya and singing around a a fire pit together, that if everything's wonderful and there's absolutely nothing that could be better in the public schools, then maybe that's a future we could get to, but I don't imagine that's a reality in a human endeavor. So I appreciate very much that you have priorities and perspectives and that you made them a priority for the committee, whether it was, and remember when Tapa did something that I still am very jealous about is that he has, I don't wanna say convinced, because it's true, but there's like the nurses think he's their guy. Like I'm nobody's guy in any of the types of, groups of people that we serve. And I'm a little jealous of that. So maybe you can give me some pointers on how to do that in the future or not. So I appreciate your time. I know that this is, It's not an easy job, and you both just came right at it. So thank you so much for your service. It was nice having you as colleagues, and as Member Graham said, you still have my phone number, so thank you.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you, Member Ruseau. Member Olapade. Yes. Member Olapade.

[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. I think it's a simple thank you to you both as individuals and as a collective in this body. The work that we've been able to accomplish in just two years has been enormous in my early experience. We came in as a quad, four new members with two standing members is a big shift. And I think we've all really approached this work as intentional as possible. I think member Branley mentioned that a lot of the work that we do isn't always seen or known. It's a lot of conversations with constituents and families and students trying to understand better how we can be a better system. And that takes a lot of commitment outside and inside the workday. And so I really am appreciative of you both for doing that work and sticking with it with us. I think it was also mentioned that there's a population in the city that feel like they're losing some really strong voices on the committee, and I want to acknowledge that. You are touch points for a lot of people in the community, and I want you to remain those touch points. People are going to continue to lean on you to understand your perspective from what you've learned here thus far. And I want us to be able to lean on you to continuing on from this point because you understand something that we may not all the time. Your lived experience, your relationships, the bonds you formed as committee members and as members of the general public is invaluable to us. So please, please, please continue to stay involved and engage as much as you can. I understand that it's going to be challenging because you are going to step into the next endeavors of your life. But we, I think, are very appreciative of what you've done for us, and I hope to be able to give you both phone calls and texts as I continue to grow in my position, understand where you're coming from so I can be better informed on the committee. So thank you.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Member Reinfeld.

[Erika Reinfeld]: Thank you. So a lot of what I wanted to say has been said already. But as you know, that doesn't stop me from talking anyway. Thank you both. I have learned so much working alongside you. And one of the things that I really appreciate is that it is so clear that the work that you have done and are going to continue to do has been grounded in love for Medford, for Medford students, staff, teachers, everyone in Medford. In respect, we haven't always agreed, but it is so refreshing, particularly in this day and age, to be able to disagree respectfully. And I just, I very much appreciate it. Member Branley, I always know where you stand. Your conviction and your passion are, they are out there for everyone to see, and I have learned a lot from that, and I've really appreciated having those voices side by side. When we went out for coffee, as soon as we knew we were going to be serving together, The conversations, I think, have really informed the little jokes we've made and the deeper conversations that we've had. I'm going to carry that with me, and I appreciate it. Member Intoppa, I know you and I are going to be continuing to work together, particularly on arts things. You and I, we actually went to a brewery, and we didn't grab a beer. We sat there and we talked about learning and what students are, and I really see you. You're being the school committee member that your student self wanted, needed, and I think that's true for both of you. And I'm going to see that no matter who's sitting in those chairs. I'm going to look out and I'm going to see that, and I know You both did so much in Medford before you joined the school committee, and I know you're going to keep doing it. And as others have said, I hope that you will continue to be a resource. I have really, really enjoyed and appreciated learning from you, and I hope it doesn't end today. So thank you for everything, and let's keep working together. It's really been a pleasure to be in an elected body where we can have good conversations, deep conversations, agree, disagree, and really put this community first. So thank you for being part of this community and keeping me and us in your community.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Thank you, Member Rytel. Thank you again, Member Topper and Member Branley. While we're out of order, we do have several people here for the HVAC roof project, if we could take that. Okay, thank you. McGlynn and Andrews HVAC roof project update, Kenneth Lord, Chief Operations Officer, and Tom Ellis, Sr., Vice President, New England Project Management Team at Jones, Lang, and LaSalle. We also have Brenda Pike from Office of Planning, Development, and Sustainability with us. Thank you.

[SPEAKER_06]: Hi. I'm Tom Ellis. I think I was here last year at the same time, because I recall the musical performances, which was kind of nice. So anyway. Welcome back. Well, thank you. Thank you. Hopefully, I'll be here in December of next year, closing out this job. Great.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Under budget. Way under.

[SPEAKER_06]: So anyway, we put together a quick update of where the project is. And maybe we can just run through the screen. I think I had just kind of put together an overview of the project, many of the things you're well aware of. But the main thing was to electrify the building and replace the major heating, ventilation, air conditioning systems components in the two schools which have failed or at the extended end of their life and are not performing effectively. So when the project's done, there'll still be some items that are not totally replaced. This is not a total. renovation of all the HVAC systems, the electrification, got most of the major systems in good, will be, when they're done, will be in good shape. And then there will be work that will remain after that for maintenance and whatnot, but we'll be working together with Ken and his team to outline how to deal with that. We're going to be commissioning the the building and looking how these two, the old systems and new systems will talk together which is going to be a challenge but that's part of the process of doing that. The other component that has impacted us is the MAAB and ADA requirements that at the time we were here a year ago were unknown, just kind of discovered that we had triggered a full ADA upgrade of the building and so we've, navigated through that, through the process. And so when we're done, most of the ADA items that were identified will be completed. The items that will remain will have a three-year period that the school department can complete them. They're things like moving toilet or toilet paper dispensers up or down a little bit. Instead of having the construction manager do that, the school department felt that that was something that they could do over a period of time with their own staff. So we've kind of parsed out some of the scope of work. But when the project's done, the two schools will be fully ADA accessible when we're done. So next slide. Okay, so the project, so both schools have remained occupied throughout the entire construction and so that's been the main driver of everything we've been doing with the schedule. So the goal was to get going as quickly as possible. And when we started in January with the initial appropriation, we did a fair amount of early procurement of HVAC equipment to move forward with as aggressive a schedule as we could possibly get. And everything would have had to work exactly on schedule to achieve that. And we have had some issues related to the procurement but also to the, just the procurement process and the environment, the bidding environment. We didn't get as good a response from the subcontractor market and so that's affected us a little bit. We had to go out and re-bid a few things. So and the main thing we've had to do is work together and this is one of the good advantages of the construction management or risk delivery method is that you can work together as a team. We have a really good, CM team, they've been very responsive to the school department and working together so that the principals, they participate in our weekly meetings and understand what the issues are so they're well-versed ahead of time on activities. We've been doing a lot of work after hours, after school or on the weekend. to keep the disturbance of the schools to the minimum. Again, we realize the whole purpose is there to keep educating students and do the least disruption to students and staff. So we had to pivot a little bit on the schedule as we got into the spring. It looked like we weren't quite sure we were going to have all the equipment available to start demolition in a in-kind replacement process, which means replacing exactly the same equipment you have now with new equipment. And we, together with both the consigli, the construction manager, and BGQ, the design team, were able to pivot a little bit and change it so that we would do a lot of rooftop equipment that would allow us to move forward on that. And then due to the time frame we actually were able to squeeze a little bit of, with a little bit of extra effort, the last life out of the air handling equipment for both schools to be able to open school in the fall without the full project being complete. And so we kind of changed the pace from what was an extremely compressed schedule to one that is a little bit more lengthy but it allows us a little bit more thoughtfulness. But we're still able to work within the guaranteed maximum price contract with the CM company as we move forward because we had a fair amount of allowances and contingencies in our budget to anticipate, you know, what we might have. I think one of the major items we talked about, was the potential impact of tariffs. And we've been very lucky that a lot of the equipment that we purchased early was either in the country, so it was not impacted. So as of January 20th, we've had zero additional cost for tariffs, which has been great. So we're holding that contingency or the allowance within the GMP in its entirety. So it will never be used unless we do get some type of tariff impact, but we, since the project is pretty much, I think we're like 98% bought out, we're not anticipating having any additional impact on tariffs. So those allowances, again, we're managing them well with the construction manager and the design team to, again, if that allowance is not used, it gets returned back to the city. At the end of the day, we do it with accounting. So what's in the guaranteed maximum price, there's the tariff allowance. There was premium time, which to do extra work over time in the evenings, weekends, in that summer, and it was anticipated to be a lot of work. Since we stretch out the schedule, we'll still be able to extend the schedule and still stay within that time, premium time allowance for the extended general conditions for the contractor to be on board a little bit more and to deal with extra weekend work like this last weekend. They brought a crane in and flew a bunch of HVAC equipment onto the roof the weekend. So that allows us to work within the construction management risk delivery process. here that two of the major areas that people can see that have been modified is the entry plaza for both schools. Those are part of the ADA components that allowed for accessible access from parking lot all the way into the face of the building. So I think we talked about the project challenges. the timing of the project, so we changed it from a replacing kind approach to a different type of system that was designed for rooftop units. And so I think we reviewed most of these items here in terms of the bidding requirements. So I think the project team has worked very well together. We got a really good team, really good design team that is very knowledgeable on the energy efficiency components and being able to work with both the construction manager and the trade contractors. So we feel we've got the right team in place and we're working very well and I think that's generally So here you can see a couple of pictures of them flying some of the rooftop units on top of the roof for one of the schools there. So I think we talked about the minimum disruption to the school that remained in session. We re-sequenced the schedule, so we're still tracking. We're about 50% done on the guaranteed maximum price contract with the contractor. So we'll hopefully be able to have all the new components in place and operational late spring next year. We had a couple of issues relative to some of the bidding. The McLean roof alternate was a liquid applied roof coating. It came in substantially like four times over our estimate of what they thought it would be. And so we've pulled that back and we're going to re-bid that separately through the school department. Money is still in the budget to do that but we made a decision with the CM as well as that it just didn't seem to match up well with what we think the cost of the work is. there should be because we actually only had one roof bidder and we believe that affected the pricing that came in for the alternate so we declined to take that. So I think at the end of the day we're, the Guarantee Maximum Price Contract which is what the construction manager is working underneath is, was executed in June for $22.8 million. We're approximately 45% complete. And within that number, we're managing these allowances and contingencies. Within that, and also outside of that number, we have the owner contingencies as well, which we're managing. So we are targeting well underneath the total appropriation, but also our approved budget is well underneath the appropriation as well. So we're targeting, trending very well right now. So I think hopefully we'll have the right outcome I know the mayor was looking for in terms of where our original appropriation was. And so I think that's the overview at this point. So I don't know if you can. And if you have any questions we still. I'll just remind everyone that we have anticipated mass save incentives of about 2.2 million that will come in to the project after the project's over. That's in addition to the ARPA funds that were already included into the project. So there's about 3.8 million in incentives and funding that is helping to support the overall project as well.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Thank you very much. Member Ruseau.

[Paul Ruseau]: Thank you so much. I do love hearing it coming in under us. A lot of communities have experienced things coming in way over for new buildings. Somebody should screenshot that for those poor folks. The did we get an estimate on a total new roof. I know we didn't do it but I don't remember it being four times as much. But I could be wrong.

[SPEAKER_06]: No I think the ridge we went with the liquid applied roof for McLean because it was I think approximately half the cost of a total re roof. So you know in terms of getting a 20 plus year warranty on the coating. So I think the. Four times cost of the liquidified roofing was more of a market condition kind of anomaly. So, I mean, you know, that could always be done, but right now I think the strategy is the budget was like a million, $1.5 million for that, and we thought that that was a good number, and it came in substantially higher. Our anticipation is when we re-bid that in a good environment, Like, we're hoping to start the rebid in January for late summer, early fall when the CM's done with their work to have this contractor come in separately. That'll give them enough time to do that and get good bids and good competition. That's really what drives cost down is when you have good competition.

[Paul Ruseau]: Okay, thank you.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Member Graham?

[Jenny Graham]: Thank you. Two questions. The first is when we think about the McGlynn roof needing to go on and then the solar projects at both schools. Can you give us a rough timeline of when we would expect to see the solar on the roofs.

[Brenda Pike]: Yes. So depending how quickly we can get the roof project started I would anticipate the solar being installed on the roof starting sometime in the fall of next year.

[Jenny Graham]: And is there a commissioning process to turn the panels on that is lengthy? Or should we be expecting the panels to be live by the end of 2026?

[Brenda Pike]: There is an interconnection process with National Grid that can be hard to anticipate how long that will take. So ideally, by the end of 2026, but that can't be promised yet.

[Jenny Graham]: And does that include expansion of the electrical service to those schools for equipment that runs in it or is that not part of the scope of what we're doing there? So we're limits. We have reached limits where we cannot install certain pieces of equipment in the schools because the grid cannot handle that. And I was just curious whether that process of like creating more capacity electrical capacity for the buildings was part of the scope of this electrification.

[Brenda Pike]: So my understanding is that we did not have to increase the electrical capacity at the schools in order to be able to do this project. But we do have our engineers here who can confirm if that is the case. Appreciate it. Yes. We didn't have to make any changes to that.

[Jenny Graham]: OK. And then my other question, we are in the same meeting a little bit later. I'm going to talk about the other components of our capital plan. And there's some question about what the network closet mini splits at the McGlynn and the Andrews. So I think across the district we are needing replacement of the mini splits in our network closets. It sounds like there's some question about the inclusion of that work in the scope, and it was always my impression that when we're doing this work at McGlynn and Andrews that the network closets would be part of the scope. Is that correct, or is that not correct?

[Kenneth Lord]: It's not part of the scope. The question is whether the funding was within the budget or not.

[SPEAKER_06]: All five schools were in the budget. The question is the amount that was budgeted there, I think it was like $180,000 for all five schools. And we pulled out the three elementary schools initially because the Inspector General's office was not keen on us. Having five schools when in fact it was advertised kind of it's two schools. So we kind of pull that apart from that For that purpose and then we're we've got the button there's money in the budget to do that As we go forward so it depends on what makes the most sense for the school if the school department wants to do them through a certain procurement process we can or we could we could do that through the through the contract the CM for just the two schools and

[Jenny Graham]: So, and I think just, I know Ken is like new to this process, sort of in the middle of all of this, but I think when we talked about network mini splits for the outside schools, the non-middle schools, those were seen as things that had to be done outside of the scope of the work that you all are doing, but that the work to do those mini splits for McGlynn and Andrews would be accomplished before we like close out this project. So I think really my question is like, if there is money and it's just a matter of like making sure formally it's on the radar as part of the scope, that's like one question. If there is no money, that's a different question and it has to be reflected in our capital plan. So that's what the clarity I'm trying to get to.

[SPEAKER_06]: Currently there is fund, there are funds in there for the mini splits at both schools.

[Unidentified]: Okay, great.

[SPEAKER_06]: Thank you. And we do have owner's contingency that is being managed well. So I think there should be enough money within the budget to take care of those two schools. depending on whether you want to do it under the CM with their markup or be able to do it as part of a five school project and pay for those two out of this budget.

[Jenny Graham]: Got it. Thank you.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Member Reinfeld.

[Erika Reinfeld]: Unless somebody needed to answer. Member Grims. Okay, so I just wanted to push back a tiny bit on the minimum disruption. It's great that school has been able to be in session and we're not sending anyone into trailers, but my understanding is that at least in one of the buildings there has been kind of a disproportionate noise level that might be interfering with some of the teaching on the third floor, particularly the odd-numbered rooms at the McGlynn, and so I just want to make sure, particularly as we're talking about doing solar installation in the fall, that's a lot of I think the system.

[SPEAKER_06]: Yeah, there have been a couple instances where there have been some noise impact noise of again working on the roof and whatnot, right? So it's not not perfect by a long shot.

[Erika Reinfeld]: I mean, in the community has been very understanding. They understand this is urgent work and they need the roof needs this so that water is not disrupting their classroom. That would be worse, but I just want to make sure that we are working with the principals to end the. school community so there's the expectation of how to manage this and when if we can optimize the timing of the work so it's not disrupting particularly the same classrooms over and over.

[Kenneth Lord]: So the both principals have direct access to the construction managers if there's an issue they contact them directly and then they adjust the work schedule they move things around.

[Erika Reinfeld]: My understanding is some of the some of our teachers are willing to call that in and some aren't. So just making sure that we've built that awareness.

[Kenneth Lord]: So they once they notify once they notify the contractor they jump right on it they adjust the scope of work they move things around. So for instance over the winter break they're doing the really loud stuff so they can limit it you know limit the impact. But it is construction. There is

[Erika Reinfeld]: Right. And I just want to make sure that the community knows what to expect in the fall if we're looking at a second year of this.

[SPEAKER_06]: I think basically by the time we get through next summer we should be in pretty good shape. I mean the goal is to have most of the work. done and complete before school starts next year with only you know in the fall of 2006 so that it's commissioning it's troubleshooting it's coordinating with you know the old systems talking to the new systems working with the commissioning agent. So that's that's the goal is to have the new AC system up and running in May which hopefully hopefully that gets ahead of the late May heat.

[Erika Reinfeld]: So I'm excited about that.

[SPEAKER_06]: That's that's the goal. The goal is to try to move forward. We squeezed every bit of life out of the existing systems that were there with some minor changes and repairs. Right now everything's on target to meet that goal. Great.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. Much appreciated. Motion to revert back to regular order of business by member Rousseau? Oh, member Graham, seconded by member Intoppa. All those in favor? I was opposed. Motion to revert has been approved. We have our consent agenda, approval of bills and payrolls, approval of capital purchases, approval of donations, approval of grants, approval of field trips, Dartmouth Model UN Conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and we have approval of the meeting minutes from the strategic and capital planning subcommittee meeting on November 20th, 2025. strategic and capital planning subcommittee meeting on December 8th, 2025, and our regular meeting December 1st, 2025. Is there a motion for approval? By member Graham, seconded by? Member Branley. All those in favor? All those opposed? Consent agenda has been approved. There are no reports of subcommittees nor presentations of our Student Advisory Council or presentations of the public. We do not have continued business, but we do have new business. First up is offered by Member Graham 2025-38, recommendation from the strategic and capital planning subcommittee, review and approve the capital plan developed by the subcommittee through a series of meetings held on October 14th, 2025, and November 20th, 2025, and December 8th, 2025. I'll pass it over to you, Member, Vice Chair Graham and Ken Lord, our Chief Operations Officer.

[Jenny Graham]: Thank you. So you all received some documents from us earlier today. Apologies for the late submission. But the strategic and capital planning subcommittee has met multiple times. In addition to the work that Ken has been doing to solicit input from building leaders and the maintenance team and from his trial by fire entry into the district to really sort of evolve our capital plan. So we've done just that. So I think what you'll see are a couple of things that were provided to you. One is a readout of the things that are complete or in progress. I'll talk a little bit about that. Then you'll see a document about our prioritized capital plan that we are recommending for approval. There's some supporting information that comes from our facilities condition assessment. So we heard a report about that a couple of meetings ago. And obviously at that time we heard that there's 85 million dollars worth of work to do in Medford public schools in the next five years which is incredibly daunting and what we have but what it has allowed us to do is be really focused about what goes on our capital plan and our request. And then you also have a memo that assuming that we approve it tonight will go to the mayor who obviously is here and the council by way of like sort of encapsulating what our capital request is to continue to make forward progress. So just a couple of notable things on the complete and in progress projects. I'm happy to report that while we are still in the middle of our HVAC project, we have fixed the flashing that causes it to rain inside the kindergarten classroom at the McGlynn. And I'm so happy to say that because I hope we don't have to hear about rain inside that on account of failed flashing again ever. So that's exciting. We also are in the middle of a whole slew of things made possible by some of the free cash allocations that were provided last year, including district-wide security updates. Our freight elevator motor is just about done and is waiting for inspection. The ADA Plaza compliance that Tom talked about just a few minutes ago. The HVAC replacement, the solar roof, the network mini-splits, all of those things are in progress. And then I think one of the things that is the most exciting announcement of the in-progress stuff is that we were notified by the MSBA at the end of October that they accepted all three of our statements of interest, which means that they will participate in the replacement of our roofs and HVACs at Missituk. Roberts and Brooks and with a roughly 52 percent reimbursement rate. So while we're shouldering the full cost of the McGlynn Andrews project we will not have to do that with our other buildings that are just as old actually as our middle schools. So that's super exciting. There is a process that I have been working on with the mayor and The council to make sure that we have earmarked the funds required under MSBA for the feasibility study. So that process works completely differently than our high school process. We will be assigned an OPM. There's no like bidding process that goes through all of that. They have sequenced out the Roberts being the priority school, which we agree with, followed by Missituk and then Brooks. And so over the next couple of years, there'll be feasibility study and schematic design done on all of them and then moving on to like the replacement of those projects. I think in the shuffle of everything in the last couple of months I don't think we actually announced that here and I'm super excited about it because it's millions and millions of dollars of savings and work that we would inevitably need to do. The next document that you have is a prioritized list of our what we see as our near I'll call it our near range capital plan and as you can see for For FY 27, we have about $2 million in projects that we are recommending to move forward with. These are all informed by the work that we did to do the facility's condition assessment, and it has helped us prioritize what comes first, and that includes fire alarm studies and estimates for full replacement in all of our aging buildings, intercom upgrades, completing the network refresh, and then some smaller things like replacement of cafeteria tables at the McGlynn. a paving study to understand the full scope and impact of the paving that needs to happen across the district in parking lots, et cetera. And then we have doors and windows. We have railing, adding railings to the Caron Theater for the rest of its useful life. And then some seating repair at the auditoriums at McGlynn where they, because those seats are so old, You can't just buy new seats. You have to buy different new seats and then you can use the old parts to like replace broken parts of the seats. So we have that on the list. We have the turf repair and drainage at the Brooks field which harkens back to the work that we did when my kids were at the Brooks. So I'm excited to see that on the list as well as some remediation of our bathroom stalls in various buildings. We've got some issues with shades and window screens etc. So There's a whole slew of things here, and what that means, I think, in total is that the ask for FY27 is a capital request of about $2 million. There were two small things on the list that were duplicated that Ken pointed out. And I just lost my note about what it was. There was a duplication of a $50,000 item that's been obviously removed. And then there was a duplication of something that was not yet quoted. But like a duplicate anyway. So the other thing that we are. suggesting that this committee approves tonight is directive to the district to apply to the CPC for bike rack modernization at the Brooks, the Roberts, and the Missituk, and a historic assessment of the front stairwell at the Curtis Tufts, which I believe we approved last year and did not materialize. And then finally, a playground feasibility study that would impact the Missittuck, Roberts and Brooks playgrounds to understand the scope and scale of what is possible and needed in those 3 places with the idea that at the Roberts at least we're also including the substantial space constraints that exist there. So the vision is that we would submit 3 feasibility studies to the CPC wanting them to sort of green light them all so we could do a project that sort of lays out what is possible there. And then the memo that you have is just a summary so that if you don't want to read the like hundreds of pages of facilities conditions assessments that you can understand what we're asking for. And obviously we'll fill in some of the X's once this body takes a vote. But really to try to help Prioritize that over the last couple of years there have been substantial improvements made to our buildings. There's been major projects underway to start to remediate some of the things that have been deferred for too long. and that the facilities condition assessment was like part of that process to really get our arms around that and that it did indeed identify $84 million in need. And then to say that our capital request, while we don't take it lightly, that it is $2 million, that that's over and above what our ordinary repair and maintenance lines can support in our school budget and they are in fact one-time costs. And that we have made a commitment to maintaining our buildings in a more proactive fashion. So we have this like bubble of work that we have to get through in order to get to a place where we actually are in maintenance mode instead of like capital repair mode. So that's the summary of the work that we have been doing on the capital planning subcommittee. Thank you member Rousseau member Reinfeld. and Ken for all his work. This was a big task and an evolution of the capital planning process that we have been doing here for the last couple of years. So I just want to thank everybody who assisted with that. And then also to note that in addition to a formal ask for this capital, I am speaking with the city's I'm happy to take any questions people have. I think just a motion to approve the capital request as outlined and to send this memo in its final form to the mayor and the council.

[Paul Ruseau]: I make that motion.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: And if there's no further comment, I'll just speak from the chair. This is great work. And I think that it's perfect timing because the city is undergoing a capital improvement plan. So we have asked our 26 departments to provide a list just like this to us. Some departments have much less than others. A department like the fire department has six buildings. So their list is very extensive like this as well. And then on the city side, with our consultant from the Massachusetts Collins Center we then go and work and sometimes have to spread it out depending on the need and depending on the funding. So I'll probably abstain. But obviously you know all of our buildings school and city city side our priorities. I've been big on the maintenance side and of course capital improvements need to come first but we are getting there as a whole. So me abstaining is some of these things may have to spread a little bit but we will make sure we are fair across the board to all 26 departments and Of course, you've outlined which are priorities, so we'll make sure those are moved up in queue. But as far as getting approval for X million dollars tomorrow or the next day, it is a process. It will probably take the next couple weeks. I think our consultant's on through February, and then the full capital plan for the next six years will be out, and we'll be able to better identify what will be done which year and with You've it's good you've identified some CPA projects. There's also we did receive a grant from M.O.D. So hopefully there'll be more funding on the A.D.A. accessibility side that we can apply for some of these funds and there's C.D.B.G. So I want to make sure all our funding sources are included and we take them into account so we can provide as much capital improvements to each department as we can. Thank you.

[Jenny Graham]: Thank you. And Mayor just one more note. I think the. The ask from this body, just so that we're clear, is that the $2 million be allocated so that the work can begin on or before July 1, 2026. I keep saying 27, but it's FY27, which starts on July 1, 2026. And I think one of the things that becomes clear when you do dig in, at least on this side, with $85 million of need in the next five years, that those delays are are an issue for us. And I know there's a lot of competing priorities. So the ask is like wherever the money comes from that two million dollars be made available so that these priority projects can go forward in our schools for next year. And I would expect that the year after that like the ask is going to be just as big whether that's free cash or it's grants or like wherever the funding comes from I think is immaterial. to us but I think you know having safe buildings means fire alarms and intercoms and all those things that are on the list and at end of life. So but appreciate the appreciate the needs across the city and hopeful that we will raise revenue to meet all of the needs ASAP.

[Erika Reinfeld]: I was going to say something similar just to note that one of the things we've done is project ahead what the asks are likely to be in fiscal year 28 29 and 30. Well 30. Yeah. Yeah. But just to keep that in mind that if we don't have that allocation to start this work. In the next fiscal year, it's going to compound both with things getting more expensive and knowing that we have all of these projects. I love that we have this facilities condition assessment because we know what's coming. And we, and that didn't include what's happening at the high school either. So I just want to emphasize the importance of this, this money for this fiscal year to get these projects started. Do we need a second? I can second. Motion on the floor.

[John Curley]: Second.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Roll call.

[Paul Ruseau]: Somebody's getting very fast back there. Member Branley. Yes. Member Graham.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Yes.

[Paul Ruseau]: Member Intoppa. Yes. Member Olapade. Yes. Member Reinfeld.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Yes.

[Paul Ruseau]: Member Rossell. Yes. Mayor Lungo-Koehn.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: I'll abstain. Six in the affirmative, one abstention. Thank you for the work. We have also offered by Member Graham 2025-39, whereas Tracy Keene has served with dedication and distinction as a member of the Medford Community High School Building Committee, contributing his time, expertise, and commitment to advancing the goals of the committee. And whereas Tracy Keene has submitted his resignation, and whereas the Medford School Committee wishes to express its sincere appreciation for Tracy Keene's service and leadership during his tenure, now therefore be it resolved that the Medford School Committee formally acknowledges and accepts the resignation of Tracy Keene. from the MCHSBC with gratitude for his contributions and be it further resolved that the Medford School Committee hereby appoints Paul Malone as a voting member of the Medford Community High School Building Committee effective immediately. Biography of Mr. Malone is as follows. He's worked in performing arts management and administration and production for 25 years. He has experience in finance, HR, logistics, operations, and enjoys helping artists with ambitious projects. He has helped plan small events and 50... seat black boxes up to multi-city tours and 3,000 seat venues. Paul is the general manager and production manager of Speak Easy Stage Company for 21 years, where he managed over 120 live theatrical events. He managed production and tourism for Christmas Celtics for WGBH and freelancers as a management consultant for the Boston Arts Academy, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, among other organizations. He is currently the business manager for the Boston Music Project, an arts education nonprofit that serves over 2,000 students with instruction in music and social emotional learning in and around the Boston area. As the president of NEET, a trade group of mid-sized non-profit theater organizations. He worked with artist unions to develop safe return to work rules during the COVID-19 shutdown. Paul received a BFA degree from Boston University School of Theater and also stage directs plays and musicals. He has twice received the Elliot Norton award for outstanding direction. Originally from Rhode Island, Paul now lives with his family just outside Boston, a house with his wife, three pets, two children, and six musical instruments. For now, when not at work, he can be found driving kids to rehearsals. Member Graham?

[Jenny Graham]: Tracy let me know that he needed to step down. I was really sad. And my first thought was, who is going to replace Tracy and all of his experience in managing stage construction and operation. And so I took a deep dive back into the original applications that we got from the hundred plus people willing to throw their hat in at the beginning as we formed the building committee. And I really wasn't that hopeful about it, but I thought I just had to kind of give it a shot to see if there was somebody else in there and pause. application jumped out at me and I was like, oh, this is amazing news. There actually was somebody else in this pile that I had since forgotten about that is equally qualified to understand what the performing arts needs out of new spaces and has considerable experience in the management and directing of the performing arts. I think that will serve the committee well and I think Paul will be a great asset to the committee and somebody actually able to fill Tracy's shoes, which I think Tracy will be pleased with. So I just wanted to say thank you to Tracy and to Paul for being willing to step up. And I hope that the work we do in the next six months on the feasibility study will really bring a new day for the arts. And motion to approve.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Motion for approval by Member Graham, seconded by? Second. Member Olapade, all those in favor? Aye. All those opposed? Motion passes. 2025-40 offered by Member Graham and Member Olapade, whereas the Medford School Committee has established a timeline for the completion of the superintendent's evaluation to ensure completion in January 2026 as a critical input for the upcoming decision to appoint a permanent superintendent on July 1, 2026. And whereas the contributions of all current members, including those whose terms are concluding, are essential to ensure a comprehensive and accurate evaluation process. And whereas outgoing members, Nicole Branley and John Intoppa, possess valuable insights from the past year that should be reflected in the final evaluation. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the Medford School Committee respectfully requests that outgoing members, Nicole Branley and John Intoppa, complete their input to the superintendent's evaluation by December 31st, 2025. Be it further resolved that the committee request the chair of the superintendent evaluation subcommittee to promptly share the evaluation template with all members to facilitate timely completion. Be it therefore resolved that the committee express its appreciation for their service and contributions to the evaluation process and to the Medford Public Schools. Member Graham, or is there a motion for approval? Member Intoppa and then Member Olapade.

[John Intoppa]: Sure. Thank you, Mayor. So, quick question. So, can I ask the significance of the deadline in terms of the deadline date? I only ask this because it is a very busy season in higher ed right now, not just in higher ed but specifically with my position currently. So, I want to give you know, a proper evaluation, and I don't want to rush it. And so with only, what, two weeks out, it's a little rushed. So I'm just curious about the timeline is all.

[Jenny Graham]: Sure. Thank you. I agree. And I think there's plenty of flexibility which I will defer to Member Olapade about. I think our hard deadline is that we are able to have a meeting by the end of January where we are sharing a consolidated evaluation of Dr. Galussi in her first year. If we, I think that's going to be really, really important as we consider what those next steps are between the end of January and July 1. So I put December 31st because that's the end of the calendar year, but it's not meant to necessarily be a hard deadline. I think the bigger thing will be that it aligns with what member Lopate needs so that he can do the compilation work. So I'll defer to him.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Member Ruseau? Oh, I'm so sorry. Member Olapade, then Member Ruseau.

[Aaron Olapade]: I'll defer to Member Ruseau for the moment.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Member Ruseau.

[Paul Ruseau]: Thank you. This is a technical question about when outgoing members' accounts are suspended because these forms are done in Google in your school account. And I mean, if there's flexibility to leave them active, then that's fine. But if they're not, you can't be using your own personal account because then those become public records and nobody really wants that. So if there is flexibility, and I don't know the off-voting process, but if there is flexibility, then that is fine. But if there is not, then I think that date is there for a reason.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you. Member Opare.

[Aaron Olapade]: Thank you. Yes. So from my understanding, the date can be flexible as needed. I do want to err on the side of prioritizing the evaluation because I do think that trying to have a succinct evaluation that's public before the end of January is preferential just to the timeline we're following. I worked with member Rousseau to understand what the previous template looked like because he was on the former superintendent evaluation. search and things like that. So he had an intimate knowledge of what that looks like. So I've been able to go through and look at what DESE requires of us. And so what will happen is that each member will put together their understanding about each individual criteria that we discussed previously. And then my responsibility is to then compile all those thoughts in a concise way. So it's more a matter of making sure that you have the time that we're requesting of you to put forth to the evaluation, but also giving me enough time to properly dictate those into a cohesive message to the community and to our interim superintendent. So I'll communicate with you both. If you're willing to take on this responsibility, I'll communicate with you both outside of the meeting to communicate what's best for your schedules, but would prefer to stay on somewhat of a quick timeline. But I agree, the higher ed urgency is definitely evident as well.

[Unidentified]: Oh, lucky you. I'm talking right now.

[John Intoppa]: We're down a director. It's kind of, it stinks. No, thank you both for the insight. I'd imagine we'd be able to hopefully leave the accounts open. I'm assuming we would just have to. make sure we get off some of the mass email chain so that way we are not privy to information we should not be privy to. I was just more curious. I was like, what are they going to do, fire us if we don't do it in time? Sorry if that's too soon, but like what are we going to do? But we do want to make sure that we push the district forward and make sure that we give the time allotted obviously. So that way when, you know, you all gear up for a search or start to look at the logistics of that, we have timely insight.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: Thank you.

[Suzanne Galusi]: And we can definitely we can definitely extend that off boarding process to keep your e-mails active. That's not a problem at all.

[Breanna Lungo-Koehn]: If a motion is needed a motion to approve by member Rousseau seconded by. Member Branley, all those in favor? Aye. Motion passes and I believe the motion said... gave you the option, so I think that's fine. No reports requested. We do have a condolence. The members of the Medford School Committee expressed their sincerest condolences to the family of Francis R. Frank Cangiano of Arlington, formerly of Medford, who was a dedicated and respected science teacher for Medford Public Schools for 40 years. We also had the passing of a parent, a young parent that I found out about today, Julie McDonald-Matterese. So I'd like to just add that to our list of consultances for a moment of silence. She was a wonderful woman with two children in the Medford Public Schools. If we may all rise for a moment of silence, please. Thank you. Our regular meeting, next regular meeting will be January 5th, 2026 in the Alden Memorial Chambers, Medford City Hall, in addition to Zoom. Have a wonderful, I know we have a, do we have one more meeting with the School Building Committee? on Monday, the 22nd, that's at 6.30 p.m. virtual only. Otherwise, have a wonderful holiday, depending, no matter what you celebrate, and a happy new year. Thank you, everybody. And I don't know, do we want to take a picture, you said? Yeah. With member Branley and member Intoppa, I'd love to highlight you. So motion to adjourn. Seconded by member Intoppa.

Jenny Graham total time: 23.29 minutes total words: 1221	Paul Ruseau total time: 2.96 minutes total words: 306	Breanna Lungo-Koehn total time: 12.99 minutes total words: 1109	Nicole Branley total time: 9.54 minutes total words: 123
John Intoppa total time: 10.47 minutes total words: 308	Aaron Olapade total time: 3.19 minutes total words: 378	Erika Reinfeld total time: 4.71 minutes total words: 325