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[Jessica Parks]: So that is important for this project, short money to design a system of this size.
[Jessica Parks]: Oh, not all. Yeah, not all of them.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Matt. Give him one second.
[Jessica Parks]: First off, thank you for all of the hard work. I know and all of your voices have been incredibly valuable as part of this process. I have just a few questions, I guess. Can we have a matter of the cost bringing this to code? Because I guess my point is, I get it. This number can be scary to a lot of people who aren't in this field. And when we think about this number, we're thinking about the 699. And then once we have the cost to bring a code, it's what are we companion to? And what are we going to do for it? And what do we estimate we might be reimbursed? I know we don't have an actual number. We won't have an actual number until next year, but could we estimate 200 million or more or less? I mean, is it something of that? And then also thinking about, I've heard a lot of people say, we don't know what the number is yet. Projects I've seen get to the stage and increase directly.
[Jessica Parks]: But my point is like the more we're able to finalize things now, the easier it is to understand what a network cost is.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes. That's more where I'm getting at is we have a number for what it would take to get to more we can finalize now. We will be able to understand what an actual number is and then work from there. And I think it's this nebulous, it's 99 here, but I think there's a concern from residents. What if it isn't? And I think that's where everyone needs. All of the things that keep happening are what keep us from getting to that concept. And I think that's where we just have to really hone in on exactly what the scope is forward. And that's kind of where I just want to encourage this group. Thank you. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay. So thanks. As member Graham said, while we did get a lot of feedback, there were 234 responses to this survey. And we did have, I think it was six strategic planning sessions where we invited caregivers to attend. two were on Zoom or were in person. And we did have some caregivers attend those events and talk with us about, did a lot of talking about mostly the kind of, oh God, I'm having a break. Our mission statement, thank you. I could not think of that word, mission statement. Our mission statement, a lot of the results of the survey I'm going to talk about more are kind of what opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses that I saw emerge from the survey. And so 234 responses to the strategic plan survey, and I just want to talk to you, you know, the survey does tell us a lot, but it doesn't truly tell us, I think, what our caregivers think from a, it's not representative of what our district is, you know, and that's kind of the caution I want to say. Our respondents were 86% white compared to 55% of our students. We heard from one caregiver of an English learner. So that's, I think, 0.4% in a district where 17% of students are Hispanic or Latino. Three quarters of respondents were women, two thirds hold a master's degree or higher. And the median household income reported was in the bracket of $150,000 to $200,000. So actually that was surprisingly the only area that represented Medford because our annual median income for families with children is currently listed according to the census as $179,000. But for overall median income, it's at $129,000. median income was probably the only kind of representative that we had shown. The, sorry, I apologize, I misplaced my sheet. When it came to, sorry, I'm skipping around. So, but when it came to kind of between the questions. We had questions that you had to pick from checkboxes and questions where you put in comments. And those didn't fully align. When we asked people to pick from a list, people chose academic excellence and quality of staff. as kind of most important to them. But when they wrote in their own words, kind of four different things dominated. And that was the high school building, after school, and pre-K capacity, and as well as special education, and then recess and lunchtime. So before and after school care, though, was only selected by 19% on the checkbox question. So that kind of differed when digging deeper. But it was one of the most frequent written complaints on the survey. So it's kind of understanding why those two things differ. Special education was one of the most emotionally charged topics in the survey, I would say. And it had a lot of, it had, Especially in the open ended questions, but it falls towards the bottom in the checkboxes, because it was bundled in with into school programming with English learners and special education and it only showed up in 23% of our responses. But it rose to the top when it was in the open-ended questions and it was mentioned more than any other words under areas for improvement. And second highest for top priorities for the district should focus on in the next five years. And it was only mentioned six times under what is working well. It shows up in comments from both caregivers and educators, which we didn't always have that kind of consistency between our caregivers and educators. So I would say that kind of is a big area of focus that emerges. Most praise is about people. Teachers received 93 mentions. and criticism is about the systems, our facilities, the special education processes I talked about, inter-school equity, which I'll talk about in a little bit, and then also communication. Communication is the only topic that ranks in the top four in both working well and needs improvement. So that's an interesting one to dig deeper, but it is, continuously praised in a lot of the comments. So I think, you know, we can dig into a few areas where people are struggling with it as an area to grow. And I know that is part of the plan that the superintendent went over. So we were looking at that. rigor versus support. Under priorities, the topic of academic rigor and challenging advanced learners was mentioned by 57 respondents and special education was mentioned by 40 responses. So many people are, many of the same respondents are saying that public schools works well for students in the middle and is failing both of our extremes. And that's kind of a theme that was seen through the same respondents. Again, we're talking about 57 and 40 people in a district of 4,000. So we have to take that with a grain of salt, but it is showing up and emerging to the top of the respondents we do have. There are two views of technology. There are many calls from caregivers, 22 for less screens, Chromebooks and AI. But there is a desire, and this is mostly from the educators, of which I apologize, I did not say. 78% of our respondents were educators from MPS, and that's 33% of our respondents. And so our educators are saying that our tech is outdated. They want smart boards, Wi-Fi, and new Chromebooks. So a little discrepancy there, but Let me back up because I apologize. I realized I didn't do the breakdown. Our main respondent role categories. Caregivers of a child currently attending MPS, there were 145 respondents, which is 62%. Educators, 78 for 33% and our MPS students, only 11 for 5%. So I would say we want to kind of increase all of that representation and possibly give the survey to all of our students to see what they think, because I think they have a valuable voice. And then equity issues are mostly across the schools. 34 of the 59 equity mentions are about disparities between our buildings, such as Roberts overcrowding, Robert's lack of community, EL concentration at McGlynn, Brooks versus Mississippi resources, Andrew cleanliness and discipline. Those were kind of the comments. And they talked about pitting one school against another school, which was interesting, and did not talk about equity due to demographics in our student populations, which was a very interesting way to see equity described. And when it came to leadership, it's mentioned both as an asset and a gap. There are 33 positive mentions. Interim superintendent, the new principal, McGlynn principal, central office visibility, 34 critical ones, principal, and AP accountability, elementary leadership, admin turnover, and initiatives that come and go. So that's kind of a high level of things that were pulled out. I think there's a lot more that could be teased out of the data. And there's a lot of information. I have a ton of things that were teased out, looked at both by the individual group types and kind of what bubble to the top. So you're welcome to look at that. But those are kind of the big things that I pulled out. I think the bottom line is that, you know, don't build just on the survey alone. Pair it with a data-driven, experience-based approach that kind of draws on, you know, You know the collective knowledge of our our staff our educators our administration. And under the guidance of district leadership to develop a strategic plan you know be given these small data set we have and then bring it back to our community and get more feedback and try and figure out ways to get a much better representation of our district when we do really try and come up with creative ways to get that representation, because it's not here. And another thing is really just increase the response rate, period. So that's that. Are there any questions?
[Jessica Parks]: Some of the things, yeah, that is actually. Yeah.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah. And so comments about after school may change.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, my question was sort of, or two questions was sort of to build off of what Member Graham was saying about the dates, is instead of having such a wide span, is it possible to have kind of a latest date, which would slightly disincentivize people and weed out who truly was looking for this, but also to say, you know, how are we doing it though? Is it on like a first come first, do we put it in here? I didn't think I saw it on a first come first serve basis. I mean, what if there were eight people who had siblings in the connections program or something and they all, they all had siblings and they all wanted to be at Roberts. Like how does that work? And how is it first come first serve for that year and then we let them know, so should it be like, here's the period where you can submit them, it's first come, first serve when they come in from this date, and then, you know, we'll let you know by, say, you know, August 20th or whatever is relevant, like seems appropriate to let them know by, pick a latest date, and people just have to know that we don't have numbers, and this is our kind of date, rather than a span. would be one thought for that and just kind of how those applications are looked at.
[Jessica Parks]: And I think I've lost my, oh, and is it possible to really evaluate once we see what the increase in afterschool does to these requests since it seems like a lot of it has been caregiver afterschool driven?
[Jessica Parks]: It's a lot. But I do want to say that. A lot.
[Jessica Parks]: I didn't imagine that many. Yeah.
[Jessica Parks]: Can we just say by August 25th, it may come. I mean, if it comes in early, yay. But if you can't guarantee it by the 25th.
[Jessica Parks]: And just to jump in, the goal is strive to achieve net zero, but it's also focusing on the, with a focus on the long-term operating costs of the building. And so that's that part and being PV ready doesn't help us focus on that as well.
[Jessica Parks]: Uh, the other part of the goal is, um. Strive to achieve net 0, but with a focus on long term operating costs. and minimizing those costs from basically day one. PV ready doesn't necessarily do that. It just allows us to, at some point, as Paul said, reduce our operating costs in the future when we can get the money to do so. an eligible cost, where does it fall in terms of reimbursement? I know that it's not necessarily what's going to get us an added percentage because the specialized stretch code basically says that we just have to be PV ready. But can it be?
[Jessica Parks]: Right.
[Jessica Parks]: It does have to be owned. It does have to be owned to meet specialized stretch code. But I think that question, which is one that was brought up at the last meeting, is whether or not the pool being gas basically negates us meeting this. in a sense, requires us to then go do a few.
[Jessica Parks]: So. Well, it seems like PB2 is. The direction we're going, we just need to confirm the. Either a, we say that we are not going with gas for the pool or we need to confirm that we can go with gas. or the pool and still do a PPA per the specialized stretch code, because my interpretation of it is that we cannot. So I just want to make sure that we have that understanding. And then, you know, just looking at it from a maintenance perspective, I think, you know, One less thing to maintain over time also speaks to me as a benefit from PV2. Obviously, there are pluses and minuses, but there is a definite benefit to not having to maintain the panels and everything else that goes along with it.
[Jessica Parks]: Can I amend that and say motion to approve as long as the kitchen stove does go somewhere and be used if we are approving it as gas? Can we put that caveat in there?
[Jessica Parks]: Hi, Jessica Parks. I am a school committee member and member of the Medford Energy and Environment Committee and I have a background in sustainable design and project management. And a parent.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes. Yes. And just so as long as we are, because I was just also thinking about from the, you know, if for some reason we were to lose, you know, one incentive point, you know, 1% of say, you know, just know throwing this in the air I know we don't know what we're getting but like even you know 200 million or 100 million whatever the reimbursement rate we're going to get from the MSBA is one percent of that it would be worth looking at against you know the cost of an electric boiler and then the maintenance and everything like that if if it was going to be factored into that. So that's kind of where that question was coming from. Are we looking at it that way? But if it's not going to be impacting that, then.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, no.
[Jessica Parks]: Sorry. Yes, Jessica. No, I won't be. Most of my thoughts are in line with what Alicia said, actually. So I don't need much time. My only question was in terms of just the canopies for PV and is there any effect on performance? And I know you talked briefly about it with Austin going for the higher canopies versus the lower. But is there any? kind of effect on performance or access for replacement or maintenance or anything like that, even using the higher canopies? And that would be my main question. Otherwise, I'm kind of in line with Alicia at this point.
[Jessica Parks]: And Matt, when would you look to drill test wells?
[Jessica Parks]: You're working with Healy and Aldrich, right?
[Jessica Parks]: And isn't it, I mean, I think we've talked about the case that it may not be only one system. There is a possibility that it may be geothermal plus air to water. Yeah, that's one of the options. It could be two of the options together, which would be a cost savings from all geothermal, but still capitalizing on some of the significant energy savings of geothermal and kind of finding that happy balance between the different systems. So you're basically finding the, you're optimizing the point both efficiency and cost.
[Jessica Parks]: I will second that one. I keep saying, but what about the PV over the cars when people keep talking about the field there? And I'm like, but car PV, car PV, I like that option. So yeah, I agree. I am 100% in favor of the PV over the cars. And that would be instead, we would not do multi-layer parking if we had the PV over cars or would we still have some, a parking garage below there? How does that work?
[Jessica Parks]: So one goal I would love to see, and I know that, I know the super stretch is, I mean, for uh, landscaping and all kind of exterior. I'd love to see the elimination of potable water, um, and just kind of native landscaping and the use of weather, um, um, stormwater retention and utilizing that, um, other methods of water other than um, potable water for our landscaping. Um, I know that is, um, I know that in saying that I've gotten pushed back, um, from. I've heard pushback from people in the community about not wanting an ugly landscaping and dead landscaping around the school. But I also know it's possible. I've seen it done. I know you don't need to use a hose to have nice looking landscaping. That would be my main goal. I know that The sustainability goals are already pushing the limits for interior water, almost. I mean, they could go a little bit further, but I understand that by having gender neutral bathrooms, that also increases some of the water use and things like that. from reducing some of the percentages, but I'd like to focus on exterior water as much as possible.
[Jessica Parks]: say I think was already said so I'm just going to say that I want to thank everyone who is in here and everyone who is not in here because this is a monumental amount of work and as you can hear it was done incredibly smoothly. So thank you very much. I also want to say I love these posters. I still love these posters. So we'll get that thing.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you for all of this work and the detail. Great, and there's a lot here. I have kind of two overarching questions. The first is quick. Is all of this work able to be done within the current budget that we have for 26, 27? Yes. Awesome. And then the second one is kind of thinking about what does success look like for each of these, and how do you track them kind of throughout the course of the year? And this is not necessarily. in common to these it is in common to these specific goals but more thinking about as you check in along the way how are we going to check in and kind of track progress towards these or how will you be looking at progress towards these. Is there benchmarks along the way towards this 80 percent or is it just you know we look at the dibbles mid-year. Are we at 80 percent. Yes or no. Or is there a way to track the progress towards 80 percent. If we're looking at the subpopulations for, you know, the 11th and 12th graders, is there a certain percentage we're trying to increase to or is it just, you know, we're just trying to increase it? What do current numbers look like? Is it just enrollment? Is it performance as well? How are we looking at that? Things like that and kind of. baseline and then what are we trying to get to and how we will look at that and kind of timetable. If that makes sense.
[Jessica Parks]: I think I'm just more thinking about even if there are report outs in the future, just kind of, you know, midyear, just what does it look like, you know, to date we've seen X, you know. Absolutely. That would really be great. Just so we know that there is progress towards these goals. Yeah. If that's possible.
[Jessica Parks]: I think I have one adjustment to the minutes, I don't. Yes, Member Parks. For item... For the item D1, I think it is, review sustainability goals for the MHS project. My memory was that item two on the list of the things we were trying to achieve was that prioritize lead healthy materials points to obtain the additional 1% MSBA reimbursement was added to the text that we were going to specify red list free healthy materials for all materials except MEP and fire protection. and prioritize lead healthy materials, credits necessary to obtain the maximum IAQ MSBA reimbursement to ensure superior indoor air quality for students and staff. Sorry, that was a mouthful. I can type it into the notes if you want.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes, I will.
[Jessica Parks]: Thanks. So Joan, I know I've known you probably the shortest in this group, but I just want to say that even though I'm new to this and I did come right at you from the start with the Special Ed Reserve Fund, I just want to thank you so much for all of your support and everything that you do for Medford. Just my brief interactions with you for that. You were so generous with your time and your expertise, and just really always focused on getting everything right, explaining everything to me over and over, and making sure the numbers were right, the explanations were right, and just trying, it was apparent to me that, you know, you wanted to get everything right for the kids and you've devoted basically, you know, a massive amount of your life doing it for Medford's kids. And it really, I'm in awe of it. So I just want to say Medford is stronger because of it and I appreciate it. And I just wish you nothing but the best in your next adventure.
[Jessica Parks]: You should be able to, Alex. Yeah.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Ruseau.
[Jessica Parks]: Great.
[Jessica Parks]: Just two quick things. I think for the second bullet down, we may be re-looking at that because it may have been misheard at last night's meeting. I think it was adding that but still keeping on the red list in healthy materials for all materials except for MEP and fire protection. Um, just kind of expanding upon it to make sure we capture the reimbursement. But, um, really focusing in on the overarching. Healthy materials. Right. Throughout, so I just wanted to make that 1 point, we're going to revisit it at the next month's meeting just to make sure we have it captured correctly.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes. And then also, is it possible the slides that Sunny was talking about, you know, that have things broken out into stretch code requirements also then kind of building on that and doing, you know, city of Medford requirements slash SBC, just to kind of see it all laid out, like turn it into one comprehensive slide. Yep. And then I think that was all. And I just want to make one point because I know we talked about commissioning and I don't, I'm not fully clear. We talked about it some yesterday and I know I talked about its importance to me. But, and we talked about kind of the stages that it is not part of when we don't do lead V5, but I'd like to hear maybe from Ken as well, because I think I kind of said his name last night. Let me clarify. I want to make sure that commissioning is central to this project throughout, because I do think it's critical to making sure this building operates properly. And that's part of the whole operating and maintaining a cost-effective building.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you for that point of clarification. Ken, do you have any thoughts on that? I mean, is that something?
[Jessica Parks]: On the commissioning and SD versus DD.
[Jessica Parks]: No, no, no, I know all of that, but I'm talking about, did you have any strong feelings about SD versus DD? I know DD has been traditional. But I also know a lot of projects and my former boss would tell you that you bring them on before SD. But that's because he runs commissioning.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay.
[Jessica Parks]: OK, so we can do the OPR from kind of start building the OPR out in SD and also. So the MSBA won't even reimburse at all for commissioning during SD. OK, just checking, thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: I am not. And he, well, he ran the commissioning program for MIT. So it's my current It's my current employer, but he no longer works at MIT. And we no longer have a commissioning program at MIT. So there's that.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: I think now everything that I was going to say is covered. So I think I am good for now. Thank you. Okay.
[Jessica Parks]: So just not having been part of those conversations, having just been part of this, I do think one interim step we are also requesting, and correct me if I'm wrong, Erica, or member grant or member Reinfeld or Dr. Galussi, sorry, staring at a different box, is that we are asking for a additional update in December of kind of the direction we are thinking or January timeframe, December, January timeframe. Once we have had time to regroup after the summer with our findings and then determine what everything means to kind of bring our findings together and then have a chance to kind of have the two groups come together again, bringing both sides together and then have that kind of January, December based on your kind of timeline, Dr. Galusi, is that correct? And I think that is also a point where we would be able to have the additional conversation just as a
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, I agree with that. And I and I want to say that I think we could. Have the analysis done to say this is the direction we're going in. by December, January, because we would have to be able to start implementation and having those discussions. I don't think we would be able to be ready to rock and roll by the beginning of next school year is my concern and have everyone be on board and ready to go, especially if we do stick with the plan that is in place right now, it would require potential erection of walls or whatever might be for separating spaces, as was identified in just the initial walkthrough. So that would need to be discussed. And doing construction in that quick of a time frame I don't think is feasible.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Reinfeld was first, so it's fine.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. I can echo member Reinfeld's sentiments. Quick point of clarification, Dr. Glusi, did you say that the 142,000 a year, that is just, covering their rent and then they pay additional for any security or anything else they use? Or is that inclusive of security as well?
[Jessica Parks]: OK. And then my second question would be, how does this annual fee potentially compare, and you may not have this now, so this may be a question for future, and I apologize, compare to some of our other agreements on whether it be an hourly basis, have we looked at that? And I apologize, I did not ask this prior to the meeting, so that may be something that needs to be looked into, but is it,
[Jessica Parks]: Okay, but that's good to know that it's closer to the park and knowing that the lease is every three years. So it may not be kind of comparable depending on when things were updated.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay, thank you for that. Okay, thank you. I appreciate those clarifications.
[Jessica Parks]: I guess it may have answered my question, which was going to be of this, the square footage listed here, how much of it is actually full? And is that all of it? Um.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes, I mean, is there really 750. Uh, 750, uh. That, uh. is filled with stuff from our rental partners, plus another 300, give or take? Yeah. OK. Yes. And so having that removed and making sure that it does not reenter our buildings is what we're talking about. So we're not talking about literally just A, you know, cabinet in a hallway. No, I just wanted to clarify that this space was actually filled to the brim and not that, like, we're talking about this space exists, but they're just sitting in cabinets. Um, and. These users I'm going to ask the same question. I mean, we're getting the same are we getting an equivalent. Um. The same question I asked for the Japanese school, are we getting the market rate? No, okay.
[Jessica Parks]: And then what they're paying though for renting the spaces they are using minus storage space. Are they at least current in whatever the most recent community. Nope. Okay. We're getting we're getting we're getting there. Got it. That's fine. Um, I know that it was completely revamped this year and sat down and looked at everything. So um, God, um, and Is there an opportunity to include all storage space? And I still find providing this much storage, I don't agree with it. I feel like they should be figuring out other places to keep things that are not our school buildings. I also, I won't even touch the McGlynn because we're tabling that for now. But I think that if they want any, use of even the cabinet, they should be paying for it. Um, but I do not think that these numbers should be allowed in our buildings as excess when we are going to have teachers who are struggling with storage and having to get used to operating under new ways of working in their day to day. And then our renters will have all the space they want. I just, I don't see how that is even remotely a message we want to be sending. So that's where I stand on this one. Have they indicated that if they don't have this storage, they are going to leave our schools and we will not receive that rental income?
[Jessica Parks]: Okay, well I mean I guess if renting a U-Haul may suddenly prove cheaper than renting storage space, then it may have to be that way. I don't know. That's kind of where my thought process is, but
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. And thank you, Matt and Martine. So I know that this high school is going to stand for a really long time. And I know that we've talked about these items a lot. I'm part of the MEP and sustainability subcommittee. We've had a bunch of these discussions and I think, you know, the choices we make now are going to shape our operating costs, our kind of impact staff and student health, and just pretty much our climate impact for decades to come. And so given that Medford's been an early leader in the fight against climate change and to align this project with Medford's carbon neutrality commitments, since I think it was in 2021, Medford committed to the global race to zero, which is basically pledging to cut up, for those who don't know, It's a pledge to cut greenhouse gases half by 2030 and to become carbon neutral by 2050. So that is something that the city of Medford has committed to. I think that to align with that and to deliver long-term financial savings, as well as a healthier learning environment, I have a motion I put together that I'd like to propose if that's okay. It's kind of lengthy, I can read it. I can also pop it up on the screen if that's allowed, I don't know. But it basically says the comprehensive Medford High School project shall achieve the minimum of LEED V4 silver certification to meet the MSBA requirements. However, the project shall prioritize building performance, occupant health and life cycle costs over point accumulation. To that end, the project shall one, strive to achieve net zero energy as technically feasible through integrated passive design strategies, all electric high efficiency systems and onsite renewable energy generation. Specify red list free healthy materials. for all materials except MEP and fire protection to ensure indoor air quality for students and staff, prioritize water efficiency and stewardship, reducing indoor potable water consumption by a minimum of 35%, which I think you had identified as a yes on our LEADV4 scorecard. Correct me if I'm wrong, though. I don't want For water efficiency, I know that one is always a tricky one. So I don't want to commit us past what you did show as a yes on our scorecard.
[Jessica Parks]: I'm really sad to say that phrase, but yes.
[Jessica Parks]: And we can talk about that maybe in the subcommittee. I would want to try and push us towards limiting uh, potable water for irrigation use, if at all possible. Um, I know that we will have fields which will have turf, so that may be possible, um, given that we will not have to water them. I don't know, but it's something to look into. Um, and then I, um, as number four, minimize the total cost of ownership, um, by, um, designing operational systems controls and monitoring to substantially reduce energy, water and maintenance costs over the life of the building. Bottom line is I want the long-term cost of operating and maintaining the building to remain at the forefront of every design decision though. This building is a large building. It has the potential to be expensive to operate. And I think with creative, sustainable solutions, we can make it so it is not expensive to operate. If it is commissioned well from the start, the systems can operate well. I know that Hopefully Ken will be happy if it's commissioned well from the start. And that would be my proposal. I can pop this language into the chat maybe. But that's what I would, that would be my motion.
[Jessica Parks]: And GBCI, just to clarify, is the overarching organization that is USGBC, basically, like their parent organization, just as a clarification.
[Jessica Parks]: And we could, I mean, I'd be amenable to saying while striving to eliminate potable water, Paul, if you want.
[Jessica Parks]: And focusing on drought-tolerant species. Right, right. Thank you. Motion on the floor. Quick question. We talked about mass timber and I, you know, So I only know a small amount about it, but the things I've heard talk about kind of efficiencies and construction timeline. I've never been on a project that has worked with it really, but I've heard about efficiencies and timelines and kind of better site conditions with less dust and debris, just in kind of the papers that I've read about it. Is that actually true and is that, in a sense benefit given our site constraints? And would it be that much of a savings in timeline that it would have a monetary flip in terms of duration of project and having kids on a site? Like, would it be that beneficial?
[Jessica Parks]: Yes, I don't think the extra costs associated with v5 nor do. I think that we need to be a guinea pig for V5. I always hate being a guinea pig for the lead process, so let someone else figure out how to do it first, to be quite honest, and pay the price.
[Jessica Parks]: Exactly. Let someone else figure out all the nuances and pay the extra costs associated with that. I mean, the bottom line is, I think it's the performance and what you're actually putting into the project. It's not the points, but that's my own personal feeling. Others may disagree.
[Jessica Parks]: So I put it as a minimum of silver. My belief is we will actually fall solidly in gold. But I did not want to sacrifice. I would rather pay to have the PV canopies than run around chasing another point for something that wasn't as important to us getting to net zero. Say running around and getting a point to put in place monitoring a point in the system that we didn't actually care about. Like a point monitoring a BMS point or something that we didn't care about. blanking right now, but there are a lot of credits that may or may not be 100% important to our goals. And I think the biggest, from my vantage point, and again, this is just my vantage point, for me, getting to net zero was the most important goal. And so I would rather take The money that we have input it towards that, because I think that also generates the biggest bang for your buck from long term operational savings. And so what about reimbursability? Reimbursability, the 2 things are indoor air quality and energy and indoor air quality is covered with basically the red list. And so that is my other big one, which is the red list free, which should be, I think, covered for that additional reimbursement.
[Jessica Parks]: So would then, so I think, I mean, Red list free is from a health perspective, I think, where we would wanna be. Getting those would get us the credits, I think, necessary to get us that point. But if I'm wrong, Martine, then let me know, because then we should add on any additional credits we may not have kind of captured.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay. I thought I had gone through and saw that they did. Okay. Then we, then we can thank you. Remember, we should then capture that. That's a very good catch.
[Jessica Parks]: Um, here, um, under item two teams, you think you could, um, what should it.
[Jessica Parks]: You catch that, Paul?
[Jessica Parks]: You get whatever level you achieve, basically.
[Jessica Parks]: I see a hand up. I have one question. Did we need to make a motion for a facilities subcommittee to talk about the sprawl of stuff at the McGlynn? I thought I heard someone say that. Maybe I didn't say it.
[Jessica Parks]: You just call a meeting. If we move done, then that's cool.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Welcome. Thanks. So thank you. So this came about from attending the Massachusetts Association of School Committee Members training for new school committee members. And I learned it was probably one of the most impactful financial tools for addressing special education And it kind of immediately struck me as something Medford needed to explore, and it became kind of my mission to bring it back to Medford. As a district, our special education services are a legal and moral obligation, but the costs can be highly unpredictable. A sudden need for an out-of-district placement or specialized transportation can emerge mid-year as students move in and out of the district, creating immediate financial strain. and we are already seeing instability in federal funding, such as the recent 8% reduction in our IDEA grants, which only underscores this vulnerability. So establishing this reserve fund will provide us with a dedicated financial safety net, and it allows us to capture unspent funds and save them in an interest-bearing account. for these unanticipated costs. It protects our general operating budget and ensures we don't have to scramble or make painful cuts elsewhere to provide required services. And I really just want to thank our finance team, our special education leadership, and the superintendent's office, because without them, all of the information to put this together would not have been made possible. We recognize that we're establishing this with a $0 balance, but we want to have it in place should we be able to have funds to put in it at any time.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. Thank you very much.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you for the presentation. And yes, I mean, you made a great case for option one, just a few questions. And I had a lot more, I will keep them brief. In terms of how you modeled the The different options I see that kind of your fossil fuel heating kind of looks the same across the board for the three options. How does that work if the geothermal doesn't actually have a backup heating source? Because I think you modeled using the gas boiler backup.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay, so you modeled using electric as your backup?
[Jessica Parks]: Okay, perfect. And then, so that was factored into the pricing for these, is buying a new electric boiler, not reusing the old gas boiler, as it said in, I think it said in one of the slides or something.
[Jessica Parks]: OK, perfect. That was one of my questions. The other one is in terms, you noted that you're installing empty conduits for the PV. Have you considered installing the footings for the PV at all? I've worked on projects where there's been issues with warranties and membranes. Dealing with that, have you ever considered installing the footings for the panels?
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. And then my last question, just as a last ditch effort for the geothermal. Did you consider locating it offsite, potentially at Hickey Park, which is, a wide open area and could potentially lead to maybe many, many years down the road to a community geothermal option as well. But for now, just for the school, does MSBA reimburse for offsite infrastructure?
[Jessica Parks]: across all of the different groups, committees, groups, bodies that are involved in this project, whether it be the city of Medford, the school committee, the public school district, the comprehensive high school building committee, and all of them and how they work together.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Parks. Is it possible? I know some of our schools have assigned seats and some don't. Is it possible? Is that something that might be in one of these policies? Or is that not something that would be?
[Jessica Parks]: Okay so this resolution is to establish a special ed reserve fund for Medford which I learned about when I was attending the charting the course training when I first started this role and basically it allows us to put aside up to 2% of our total annual expenditures into an interest-bearing fund that can be used for unanticipated or unbudgeted costs of special ed services and programming out of district tuition for students. special education transportation services, and recovery high school program tuition. And given that we have consistently seen fluctuating costs year over year, and students move in mid-year requiring these services, And that has not been budgeted for at the beginning of the year. This fund would be able to help offset those costs as it grows. And so this resolution is to help with that. Motion to approve.
[Jessica Parks]: Oh, wait, there is one correction, though, actually, in it.
[Jessica Parks]: Is that what you mean? So it's not for year-over-year costs is what you're saying, basically.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes, it's not an ongoing operating cost that we continue to take from. Correct.
[Jessica Parks]: No, that is the intent of it, and that was also sort of the intent of putting in, maintaining a minimum balance in this fund so that A, there would be something that continuously collects interest in the account, but also to prevent it from drawing it down completely. once we get it to that minimum place.
[Jessica Parks]: There is one correction though. It's I'm going to City Council on June 23rd and not June 9th.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Parks. Is it possible? I know some of our schools have assigned seats and some don't. Is it possible? Is that something that might be in one of these policies or is that not something that would be?
[Jessica Parks]: Okay. So this resolution is to establish a special ed reserve fund for Medford, which I learned about when I was attending the charting the course training when I first started this role and basically it allows us to put aside up to 2% of our total annual expenditures into a reserve fund, an interest bearing fund that can be used for unanticipated or unbudgeted costs of special ed services and programming out of district tuition for students. special education transportation services and recovery high school program tuition. And given that we have consistently seen fluctuating costs year over year and students move in mid year requiring these services. And that has not been budgeted for at the beginning of the year. This fund would be able to help offset those costs as it grows. And so this resolution is to help with that.
[Jessica Parks]: Oh, wait, there is one correction, though, actually, in it.
[Jessica Parks]: So it's not for year over year cost is what you're saying.
[Jessica Parks]: That is an operating budget. Yes, it's not an ongoing operating cost that we continue to take from.
[Jessica Parks]: No, that is the intent of it. And that was also sort of the intent of putting in, maintaining a minimum balance in this fund so that A, there would be something that continuously collects interest in the account, but also to prevent it from drawing it down completely. once we get it to that minimum place.
[Jessica Parks]: There is one correction, though. It's I'm going to city council on June 23rd and not June 9th, as it says.
[Jessica Parks]: Jessica Parks, 38 Cory Street. Thank you very much for the presentation, and I just want to follow up. You know, we've heard about all of the costs and expenses the city is facing, and it is a lot, and I get that. But one of the things I haven't heard, but I think I've heard asked a few times is about revenue. And, you know, we saw a list of the cost for the next few years, but do we have a list of the projects coming online in the next few years and the associated revenue that are associated with those projects that might kind of offset some of the expenses we're going to be facing? Does that exist and is that possible to see in kind of relation to what we are going to be owing for many of these projects? That's all. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Parks. Thank you. I have just two questions about the new policy. One can you clarify and I know this is part of the law. What. How do you get. parental consent for seclusion. If it cannot be included in the IEP and you need parental consent through a signature of a parent. What is that process?
[Jessica Parks]: Perfect. So then, what have you been using currently at the Mississippi?
[Jessica Parks]: OK, thank you. And then my last question is, in terms of documenting timeout, I know it's not a requirement by the state to notify parents, similar to how it is a requirement for seclusion. I know it also says it's optional but recommended in our policy. Is there a way that we can kind of make that more of a norm or actually required practice?
[Jessica Parks]: Great. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Parks. That actually was a little bit of my question. Would we be able to see those questions and responses and you had mentioned Salem and looking at those. Is the project team also said that these are you know in line with comments that they receive. in terms of just asking for these clarifications and kind of basically dotting your I's, crossing your T's, and really reinforcing what is said in kind of a, yes, this is what we mean kind of manner, if that's what I heard correctly, as you were saying.
[Jessica Parks]: Great. Thank you. And then my second one with you all here on this, if you could confirm what my thinking would be in terms of the CM. This is kind of to respond to you, Member Ruseau's. The Article 97 and the CM at risk model would kind of be completely at odds with each other because the CM at risk model coming in when there's so much unknown would really lead to a wildly out of touch costing from a CM at risk. Would that be kind of your thought process or could they kind of help with that process in any way, shape or form if they came in earlier?
[Jessica Parks]: She's joining. We'll give her just a second.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Parks, did you have? I was just going to say, but it would be in that context. It would be like we're gathering additional because we found X, Y, or Z, and we need to kind of dig deeper. So I think that it would be kind of within that context. We wouldn't necessarily have a framework laid out, per se, for them to respond to, but it would be kind of in the context of we've honed in on this, and we need to now dig deeper, I think. in that situation, which I think people get that.
[Jessica Parks]: for a little early. I mean, I think it, I mean, it depends on the team, but I think it could be barring anything that comes up. I mean, there are some big decisions, I think, that could change that. And some of it truly is what comes out of, you know, a big question is what does fifth grade look like? And what does fifth grade look like creates two different space needs, I think. And that's been flagged. And so it's going down kind of two separate paths in a sense until that determination is made.
[Jessica Parks]: And maybe I'm thinking of this wrong, but wouldn't these higher level elements of the strategic plan help inform should we be doing it at all once we kind of figure out what it is? Because it's identifying if it's possible, if it's possible, we identify, okay. how to go about it, and then once we figure that out, it's should we do it, but that should we do it then ties back to kind of the higher up, the mission, vision. Yeah, does this support our district goals? Does this support our higher level part of the strategic plan? So we would need that in place to be able to say, should we, right? Or am I thinking about that wrong?
[Jessica Parks]: We did say June for the current survey results, right?
[Jessica Parks]: OK.
[Jessica Parks]: No, I was trying to remember if I had access to the spreadsheet. I couldn't remember if it was before January or after January, but I think I do.
[Jessica Parks]: Very good at a spreadsheet.
[Jessica Parks]: Second.
[Jessica Parks]: There we go. Sorry. So I just want to say something and then I have a couple of questions. As someone who's been involved kind of from the beginning, I'm really pleased the direction this has gone. And as one of the few on the task force who always had a kid in the after school program, I, you know, my main concerns from the start were scaling up in meaningful ways while keeping the existing programs kind of spark with it and also not having a huge impact on the cost. And I think that you know I'm really thrilled about the concrete improvements. You know we've increased spots at all four elementary schools. We've talked about bringing back the vouchers which I used previously and I didn't like seeing go away. We're making the site coordinator positions full time. so we can retain excellent staff. I personally know that we were about to lose some really great staff members because those were not full-time positions. We're adding specialists for the enhanced programming, and so none of this wouldn't have been possible without, I think, a few steps along the way that I want people to acknowledge. Dr. Galussi's leadership, she, when we came to her, she understood the urgency. of this issue and moved it forward. She was open to all of our early discussions and ideas. And honestly, without her championing this, it would have kind of stalled from the start. So thank you. And then the principals, the site coordinators, the caregivers on the task force, thank you for working together to make this real and holding us accountable to a program that works for Medford, while also at the same time being open to all of the new changes. And then also basic, your support, your expertise, and your willingness to engage in a truly collaborative partnership, which is very different from your standard model, I know. So this was a big kind of risk and a big kind of leap of faith, I think. So that flexibility really made a lot of difference. I have seen their spreadsheet and their financial model. And it's amazing how you can plug it in and play with it. So kudos to them for that. Now moving back, I know we still have a lot of work. And I know the proof is in the pudding. So we are going to hopefully see the results of all of this. A few questions, though. Sibling discount. I could not tell if that was factored in.
[Jessica Parks]: It is currently 5 percent. And do you envision that moving forward or do you not envision that or is that up to the district.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay. And then you were saying that the sliding scale, that falls into basically what we were seeing as surplus.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay.
[Jessica Parks]: OK. And then my last one, STEM. Just because there is not a STEM specialist called out for the Missituk and the McGlynn, that does not mean that there is not structured STEM at those two schools.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Parks. I just wanted to make a quick point to you, Member Ruseau. The vouchers, having used them, they were not difficult to get through. They took extensive period to get off of them. And then I remember finally getting off of them and then getting the phone call that Medford was no longer using them, which was the most disappointing phone call ever. But they were, it was not, it was just a lengthy process. It was not a difficult process at the time. So, and that was post COVID, so.
[Jessica Parks]: Member Parks. And maybe to that point I mean I know that the five days a week it went up $50 a month just under 10 percent for the annual. I know that other programs that students in the district are going to actually went up as much as 40 percent for their annual rate this past year and that Maybe it's a communication. If you are a non-renewing family, if it is because of the increase in cost, please come talk to us. Like just a simple statement like that. And just leave it as that and we can talk to you.
[Jessica Parks]: No, I just heard. My fellow members to pass this as you all were also contacted by teachers and educators about this. The bill that is sitting with the Senate now. I researched it looked into it and it really truly is a win win for the district both fiscally for the district as a whole and also in fairness for these teachers who would otherwise have to be working three to five more years to achieve the same benefits that someone who was automatically enrolled just due to when they were hired into this pension plan.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. I just want to, everything that Member Graham said are things that I have heard and I really appreciate hearing. I think one of the things that also should be focused on are kind of those protocols because another thing I heard is about the kind of the sudden decisions that were happening in real time. But my main question is in an effort to kind of, you know, leave the memogram talked a lot about things that were raised leave the kind of troubleshooting to moving forward is what is our timeline that we're talking about. And also how do you want to receive feedback. Do you want emails. Are you going to send out a survey. How are we collecting. Are you going to have forums. How are we going to do this?
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. Just for clarification, the page 5, the I mean, or six, but really I was just more looking at the addition of eight paraprofessionals, the special education, transportation, but it could apply to any of these. These are actual costs that were unanticipated this past year that arose that are going to be carried forward in next year's budget. But we're not accounting for potential new costs that could arise or doing some percentage allocation. into the requested budget, is that correct? And I'll finish my question after that. That is correct.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: I know you said that there's other high schools doing this program currently. Do they have any data on kind of how many students are coming to school at halfway through the day, to member Rousseau's point.
[Jessica Parks]: Just a quick question. The yellow school bus late arrival, is that something that is feasible? Has that been explored? And then go ahead.
[Jessica Parks]: Perfect. And I just want to say this was laid out so clearly and easy to understand. And as a nervous test taker, it's an awesome proposal. So thanks. Appreciate that. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: I have one question. It might just be clarification. The facilities and operations requirements line item for 600,000 I think is that different from what Mr. Lord came and presented two weeks to meetings ago. I think it was because I think he presented for fiscal year 27 was up to a million dollars worth of work. And is that not getting done?
[Jessica Parks]: I would just want to advocate for kind of a standardized across rooms. And Audrey, I hear what you're saying, control for each room. I think that control is great for rooms, but a standardized, you know, whatever four degree band of whatever it is. We do that across the campus I work at. Every single building has the same temperature standards and every room has two degrees plus or minus a set temperature. And it's kind of control within a bracket. Um, and it's understanding, um, that this building, the envelope will be so much better than, um, the envelope you have now. Anything will be better than the envelope you have now. Um, and understanding that a lot of times, if you don't have that kind of bracket, your building will start to fight against each other. And you'll have one room next to another room, and those two rooms will be fighting against each other. So I just want to caution against the desire to have whatever temperature you want and just kind of put that out there. So that's all.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. So as someone who was not part of the discussions or decisions a year ago, I kind of did the approach that I typically take, which is I dove into research and reached out to many different districts and the MASC, which is the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, to find out. what this process is about and I learned a lot. I mean I've learned from the community as well and I heard all of the different amazing things that everyone had to say about Superintendent Galussi. I mean I also have strong feelings about how successful she has been in just the work I've done on the after school subcommittee as well. But we have had many you know of the people that have reached out 83 percent. think that she should be appointed immediately. So without a search, and that says a lot. And of those that think there should be a search, as Jenny said, it should be noted that it's not because they don't believe in her, it's just because they believe in a process. So I looked into the process, and things that I learned about the process are that About one-third of MASC member districts actually promote from within or hire their internal superintendents. The reason many don't would be because they just don't have a viable internal candidate. In terms of a search timeline, a rigorous transparent search would require us to post in August. That would be either last August or this coming August because the reality is starting now when most districts have either already made their offers or are finalizing interviews means we'd be competing for an already limited pool of candidates. So we'd already be kind of behind the ball or we'd be putting Superintendent Galussi through another year of uncertainty, which I don't personally feel is a fair way of having someone sit in a position. On search challenges, many districts have experienced significant difficulties with external searches. Between 5 to 10% fail and must restart entirely. Others have had applicants withdraw due to public pressure or better offers from other districts because that pool is small. Multiple people are applying for multiple positions. Still, others have had to rescind offers because of issues discovered through, frankly, a simple Google search. And additionally, as we've seen in Cambridge, I learned when an intern superintendent has been in place for too long with strong evaluations, as committee member Graham talked about, the search posting doesn't attract serious candidates because it begins to feel like a formality. On cost and continuity, a search costs anywhere from $10,000 to $25,000 or more, with no guarantee of a better outcome. Beyond the direct costs, we would lose the investment we've already made in Dr. Galicia's professional development throughout her career with the district, and we would lose critical institutional knowledge at a time when we're managing multiple major initiatives. Dr. Galusi brings institutional knowledge, proven leadership, and a demonstrated commitment to Medford. I've read time and time again in all of the emails that were provided. It is very clear that people have a very high regard for Dr. Galusi and she cares about our community. She's earned the confidence of our community and our staff. Her evaluation last week was stellar and I believe it was a fair representation because it was Both current and former school committee members completed it and their evaluations were consistent with one another. So as a district, as a steward of our district's resources, I must weigh the certainty of a qualified, experienced leadership against the costs and risks of an uncertain external search. And so this is why I would vote in support of moving forward with appointing Dr. Galusi.
[Jessica Parks]: But I think it's also looking at the life cycle costs, because it's also projecting into the future, because it's not just what we're building today. I mean, we can put all these elements in, and it's not what is, you know, yeah, the certifications are nice, but it's what do we put in today when we have costs that are being partially paid for today, and we're getting help being paid for, but we're not going to have help with the operating costs down the line. And I think that's critical to think about, too, is how do we operate this building in the future and what's going to pay for it in the future to operate.
[Jessica Parks]: I abstain.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. A lot has been done and I will be looking closely at everything some more. I'm learning a lot more about it. One of my questions though is how do you collect feedback. I know a lot has been mentioned about. You know, things like going well and some things don't go as well, maybe the schedule or even how do you collect feedback on open architects or some of the other PD programs and know that they're working or people are embracing them or whether it be students or teachers or anyone really.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay, thank you. Yep.
[Jessica Parks]: Hi, I'm Jessica Parks. I'm a parent to a fifth grader, and I've worked in sustainable design consulting in my previous positions. And currently, I am a project manager for energy efficiency projects at MIT.
[Jessica Parks]: I mean, I think everyone has said a lot of really great things. Energy, incentives, embodied carbon are all really important to me. Another one is thinking about siting, thinking about some of our more passive approaches to energy and sustainability as well for a building, not relying fully on the systems to do the work, but the building as well. But really, of kind of what I see day to day is more how the occupants interact with the building. And, you know, you can build the most sustainable building in the world, but if the occupants don't understand how it operates, if the facilities team doesn't understand how it operates, it's all for naught. And so it's really understanding what that building is supposed to do, how it should operate, and, you know, put a sweater on, you know, change set points, things like that. Just all of the education that goes around once it's built, you know, signage, occupant engagement strategies, you know, both what Austin talked about learning and kind of using it as, you know, building as a classroom, but also just kind of more passive occupant engagement strategies as well. And then on top of commissioning, retro-commissioning, re-commissioning, but also fault detection systems can be really, really useful in a building to help flag issues on a regular basis and make sure that your building systems are staying in line. So that's kind of my focus.
[Jessica Parks]: Hello, my name is Jessica Parks. I'm excited to run for the Medford School Committee to rethink our approach to budgeting, improve communication, and most importantly, build systems that support educators and meet the needs of all learners, ensuring everyone is engaged, valued, and heard. A year and a half ago, I never imagined myself here. That changed the night my nine-year-old son, Simon, unexpectedly spoke at a school committee meeting to oppose cuts to teacher positions. Watching him speak, so proud and unafraid, reminded me of why I bring him to these meetings. To demonstrate that we show up for our community, and we speak up for what we believe in, even when it's difficult. That small reminder turned into a petition to save our teachers at Missittuck, and it led to volunteering with the Invest in Medford Override campaign. I drafted FAQs, created graphs, and Simon and I knocked on doors every weekend. We listened to your stories about our schools, and with each new story, I found myself becoming increasingly invested in the future of Medford schools. And from this, my campaign emerged, rooted in the power of community action. As a planner and project manager, I bring real experience to conversations about the high school. I also have a track record of strengthening thinking strategically, solving problems creatively, and leading inclusively by inviting diverse voices to help create better outcomes. As a parent, I understand the desire to want the best for your child and the challenges of getting there. During the override campaign, many parents shared frustrations about the lack of after-school programs. Although my family moved off the wait list, I remember the stress it created, so I teamed up with other parents to find solutions. To align everyone around the table, I focused the group on case studies of neighboring districts. These case studies helped ship the discussions with administration making them more receptive to our proposals for expanding the program over the next two years. They also supported keeping the program and revenue in-house while exploring new partnerships and expanding the task force to include administrators, parents, principals, and program coordinators. Although the work has just begun, after-school spots have increased, and I'm committed to seeing this through. I will bring a strategic approach to budgeting, starting with a shared vision of the schools we want, identifying the full cost of that vision, and then prioritizing wisely with input from all stakeholders. Even if we can't fund everything immediately, understanding our shortfall is essential to exploring alternative funding sources and partnerships until there is a permanent revenue stream. However, the real heart of my campaign is meeting the needs of all learners. I struggled as a student and was diagnosed with learning disabilities in high school. I've seen how confusing the IEP process can be through our former foster child, and I have a kiddo who quickly finishes classwork to go on his Chromebook. I know I'm not alone in these experiences. Every student, whether they struggle to access the curriculum, need alternative learning methods, or seek more challenges, deserve support and opportunities to stay engaged in Medford's public schools instead of having to look elsewhere. To achieve this, we must support our educators by providing essential classroom resources and ongoing professional development tailored to diverse learning needs. Standardizing our procedures and finding ways to measure their success will be critical. We also need to equip families and caregivers with the tools to advocate effectively for their children, because no child should fall through the cracks due to language barriers, financial limitations, or lack of information. Yet none of this can happen without open, honest, and consistent communication, because everyone deserves the chance to make well-informed decisions. This is where my experience for communicating for complex projects will be a valuable asset. But communication isn't only about sharing updates. It's also about listening, building trust, and addressing issues before they escalate. I will work to expand opportunities for open, honest dialogue through community office hours, regular coffee hours at the schools for educators, staff, and students, and one-on-one conversations. This is the kind of collaboration and action I will bring to the school committee by listening to needs, looking at data, bringing the right people together, and turning ideas into real results. I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and work towards creating schools where everyone is engaged, supported, and heard. Thank you, and I appreciate your support on November 4th.
[Jessica Parks]: Jessica Parks. Thank you so much for having us here. My name is Jessica Parks, and I'm excited to be running for school committee. I'm committed to rethinking our approach to budgeting, expanding opportunities for open and honest dialogue, and most importantly, building systems that support educators and meet the needs of all learners, ensuring everyone is engaged, valued, and heard. A year and a half ago, I I did not think I would be here. I watched my nine-year-old son, Simon, unexpectedly speak at a school committee meeting in opposition to proposed teacher cuts. Seeing him speak so proudly and unafraid reminded me of why I bring him to these meetings and how powerful community engagement is when we show up, speak out for what we believe in, and do the work even when it's difficult. That reminder was the catalyst for creating a petition signed by over 500 residents on behalf of our Mississippi teachers, which then became volunteering with the Invest in Medford override campaign, where Simon and I knocked on doors every weekend listening to your stories about our schools. Some of these stories highlighted frustration with the lack of an after-school program, Although we made it off the wait list four years ago, I was driven to find solutions through the creation of an afterschool task force. As a planner and project manager, I have a track record of strategic thinking and creative problem solving. As such, I focused our task force on case studies and data from five neighboring districts and 64 afterschool programs. This work helped move the discussion forward, allowing us to focus on the potential of our district program. Although we just started we've already seen a 21 percent increase in spots. We expanded the task force to include representation from each school and brought in an external consultant to develop strategies for scaling up. This is the kind of collaboration and action I will bring to the school committee by listening to needs assembling the right team analyzing data and turning ideas into real measurable results to be tracked over time. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: So I believe that communication needs to be more consistent transparent and easily accessible. I think that families and caregivers often send multiple e-mails on the same topic to school officials because they believe information isn't shared properly or clearly and I Educators and staff I speak with feel they lack a voice outside of bargaining periods. So we really need to kind of work on providing clear and consistent information about what's happening across the district both externally and internally. And ways to do that in order to kind of, because when staff and school committee members are receiving multiple emails on the same topic, it takes away from their day-to-day. It takes away from the teaching. It takes away from the leading. It takes away from everything if they have to answer individual emails. parents need to feel that they're being heard. And so I think that, you know, websites that are easy to navigate, I think if there are topics that are hot button topics, you know those ahead of time. You know that after school is going to be a hot button topic. You know that A change in curriculum is going to be a hot-button topic. You know that bus schedules are going to be a hot-button topic, and if bus timing is changing, you need to be able to communicate that clearly. So doing the communication up front and making sure that it's happening regularly through different methods of communication, not just a website, but it's the website, it's the email, It's the talking points, because not everyone understands things the same way. People are visual. People like to hear things. People like to read things at their own time. And making sure you're tapping all of those different outlets, I think that could help a lot and go a long way. As a project manager, I work with buildings that are occupied, and I carry out projects in them. I did recently did a project in a lab building and they were carrying out research while I was going in and doing HVAC work and we have to communicate with those buildings. So.
[Jessica Parks]: Can you repeat that question?
[Jessica Parks]: My approach to issues with book challenges would, I think, be communication with whoever is challenging them. It would reflect back to currently I think there is the Massachusetts state law and then also in action in Medford public schools. There's the ability for a parent to request that their child is exempt from certain area from a piece of curriculum due to religious exemption and so that they could sit out from that curriculum. And so but I think that court to that is just having a conversation and understanding truly what is at the core of that challenge and you know, conversations. I think conversations really help get at the essence of what is the challenge, what is, what a possible solution is, and, you know, is there a possible solution? Is there a way around this? Because I do think that when there are challenges to materials that are taught in schools or children are, kept from learning certain aspects of our curriculum, that not only does that child lose out, but the rest of the class loses out as well when the child does come back into the school. The other part of the question was LGBTQ. I think there was recently a policy passed, which I am in favor of, but I also think that we need to help change language surrounding our papers that go home. You know, instead of saying daughter and son or he, she on permission slips, we need to start saying they, them and child. And I think my time is up. Jenny Graham.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you. The core of my campaign is truly meeting the needs of all learners. I struggled as a student and was diagnosed with learning disabilities in high school. I've seen how confusing the IEP process can be through our former foster child and I have a kiddo who quickly finishes classwork to go on his Chromebook. I've heard from so many of you that I'm not alone in these experiences. Every student, whether they struggle to access the curriculum, need alternative learning methods, or seek more challenges, deserves appropriate supports and opportunities to stay engaged in Medford's public schools. instead of having to look elsewhere. To make this happen, we must empower our educators, provide families with tools to advocate effectively and standardize procedures while measuring their success, because no child should fall through the cracks due to language barriers, financial limitations, or lack of information. Every student deserves an IEP, not just as a label of remediation, but as a roadmap for growth. Open, honest, consistent communication is essential to make well-informed decisions, but communication isn't only about sharing updates. It's also about listening, building trust, and addressing issues before they escalate. My experience communicating complex projects will be an asset here, and I will work to expand opportunities through office hours, regular coffee hours at the schools for educators, staff, and students, and one-on-one conversations. In closing, and full disclosure, public speaking is not in my comfort zone. But it's about doing the work, even when it's difficult. And with me, you're voting for someone who will listen, and someone who will work to turn your issues into concrete plans and follow through, whether that is helping one student or the whole district. And as you've heard, Medford needs a permanent superintendent and to create an updated strategic plan. Who better to be on the team than a project manager with a track record of strategic solutions and bringing diverse voices to the table? When you vote for me, you're choosing someone who will build systems that support educators and meet the needs of all learners, ensuring everyone is engaged, supported, and heard. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Thanks, Danielle. Jessica Parks, she, her, I am. Running for school committee currently. I am a mom to a new fifth grader. I lived in Medford for almost 14 years now. I'm a project manager for energy efficiency projects at MIT and have a background in urban planning. Thank you. Thanks for having me.
[Jessica Parks]: Well, I think there are a bunch of things. I like to eat around Medford. Definitely the fried chicken sandwich at Deep Cuts and currently the seafood pie at Mrs. Murphy's. But my all time favorite place is always Colleen's and it's the peppermint stick ice cream with chocolate sprinkles in a sugar cone. I pretty much get that every single time we're there. And sometimes I had a sandwich, but it's pretty, you know, If you're sad, you go to Colleen's for ice cream. If you're happy, you go to celebrate at Colleen's for ice cream. And so that would be my favorite. And it doesn't hurt that you get to play games while you're there.
[Jessica Parks]: The gumball machine is a definite draw there.
[Jessica Parks]: That's awesome. I didn't realize that they didn't have that option as someone who has a family that eats way too many hot dogs.
[Jessica Parks]: I'd say if you asked me about a year ago, if I would have run, I probably would have thought you were crazy. But as someone who is very much scared of the spotlight or anything to do with public speaking, but having worked on the override, the Invest in Medford campaign, And really, with my background, I have a master's in urban planning, and I haven't really truly, you know, used my master's degree as much as I would like to lately. And the urban planning community development aspect of it, I have been missing a lot lately. And so I think that the Invest in Medford campaign definitely tapped into it. And then the canvassing really further drew me in. Getting out there and talking to so many different residents and hearing everyone's thoughts on the schools about what could be better, what we're doing good. It was truly eye-opening to me, a lot of things. I mean, I definitely had a lot of views of my own about how the schools were doing, but hearing some of those views substantiated, but also so many other things from the residents throughout the city. It really drew me in and made me start to dig in more and more. And then that coupled with work on an afterschool task force, it kind of just led to this moment where I said, well, it's either I stop here or I jump all the way in and just see what happens. And I decided to jump all the way in. I just, I felt compelled that I had more to do and more to give to the city.
[Jessica Parks]: I think some of the top things, so one of the top things I heard about during canvassing, which was not an issue that I faced. And I almost felt like it was a dirty word. And I hated to admit it was the afterschool program problem in the city. It's a massive problem. And we managed to get off the wait list after when my son was in first grade. But It's a massive problem. We don't have enough after school and there are other programs, but they're not quite fitting the need. Some end earlier than parents need them to. Some aren't 5 days a week. And so it's just a problem. And so I think that that that's 1 area. And. I can kind of talk more about work that's been done on that in a little bit. I think another area that I really want to focus on is something that is really what's near and dear to my heart is making sure that all of our students get what they need and basically meeting students where they are. And that's thinking about, you know, our students who are operating below grade level at grade level and above grade level. I think we're losing a lot of students out of the district who are struggling to access the curriculum and. and on all ends of the spectrum. And that is because, I mean, it's a resource issue, obviously funding is necessary, but I think it's also a professional development issue and just identifying needs of different students. and making sure we understand what each student needs to be able to make that student successful. So I think there's a lot of pieces that we need to figure out how to put them all together in order to make sure that all of our students are thriving. Because no matter what, you will always have different students in the classroom. All of them will have individual needs, but And teachers know how to work with that for the most part. But I think that there are certain students who just need a little bit more. Whether it's the child who's operating above grade level finishes their work quickly and is now sitting on a Chromebook for a good portion of the class goofing around. Or it's the child who can't access the curriculum because they still can't read. and keep falling behind and falling behind despite interventions. And we're still not quite figuring out how to work with them. And I think that we need to really focus in on building up our ability to work with each child. I know our IEP program is convoluted at best. We went through the IEP process and it's convoluted. It's based on kind of a numbers game. And even if you see your child struggling and yet they don't fall within a number, they don't qualify. So it's a really hard problem to solve. don't pretend that I have an answer at this time, but I do think it's something worth exploring and looking at what other locations are doing and how are other people and other school districts dealing with this issue? And are they being more successful than we are? And can we learn from them? And that's kind of how I approach all issues is what can we take from other places? Not to say that we're doing it poorly, but just to say, can we learn something new?
[Jessica Parks]: I mean, I'd say that's probably one of my highest priorities, which has its own tangled web, obviously working through the afterschool one. And that's something that I've worked to start currently, and I'm working as part of. And that's where we kind of look to other communities already. When I worked with a few other amazing Parents to start the after school task force, we kind of came to it from this approach called. You know, lots of people had said, oh. You know, some reveal a Cambridge or this other location. They're not dealing with the same after school problem. They everybody can get after school there. I've heard. And so, you know, I thought about it and I said, is that actually true or is this like Facebook myth, you know, urban legend? And so one of the things I pushed for is let's do case studies of these locations. Let's find out A, how many people do have afterschool that need it? And then B, how are they providing it? What are they doing differently that's allowing this to happen? Because obviously they can't, you know, are they doing something so drastically different that's allowing them to provide this much more? And what we did learn is no, not every child in these, you know, we looked at five different locations and not every child has afterschool in them. They're not meeting 100% of the needs, but they are meeting substantially more of the needs than we are in Medford currently. Um, and they're doing it in 2 different ways. Some are privatizing. They're after school and some are doing it in house through the district. But what they are doing is kind of. Looking at creative ways to pay staff, they're looking at creative use of. Spaces there, you know. increasing their numbers. So there are different kind of models that they're using. And we put together a massive spreadsheet and brought it before the district and said, here, here's a ton of information. We've kind of boiled it down to just the core elements that we're not doing in Medford that we think could help increase numbers. And these are kind of our recommendations. And that's the biggest way that I approach issues is, you know, give me a problem and instead of just kind of sitting and talking about it, I'll just explore all of the possibilities and boil it down and say, okay, let's now look at what's in front of us. What is the best approach? And bring in voices who are gonna be impacted by it rather than pretend I know what's best for anyone. I'm not, you know, I'm an urban planner with a specialty in environmental studies. And so I don't, and even then I wouldn't pretend to know what's best about urban planning. Urban planners are generalists who know how to look at information and bring in community members. And so I think that one of my strengths is just approaching things strategically and bringing in the right people to make decisions. And I think that when it comes to issues, I think that, you know, there are lots of issues that the school is facing. At any one time, there's probably 100 fires that need to be put out. But identifying those fires That is coming from the community. That's coming from the mom I talked to the other day that may need to send their child to the Carroll School because they are struggling with reading. That comes from the other father who can't get off of the waitlist for afterschool and they have yet to get into any of the other external programs and are literally on a waitlist for every single afterschool program in the city. That comes from, you know, the parents of someone who you know, are trying to figure out how to get their child safely from their house over to the middle school. Because while we have the new Clippership Connector, there are still multiple points where their child has to cross the street that aren't necessarily the safest crossing points. And so that's where I feel like the biggest discussion, you know, the biggest issues are raised are by talking to people in the community and then trying to figure out solutions.
[Jessica Parks]: There has been some small progress. I think 55, maybe a few more spaces have been opened up. The afterschool program has started offering a early pickup because what they realized is there are a number of students that only need afterschool for a small portion of time. Maybe they have parents that are teachers who just need that, you know, an hour extra to get to their child. Like they're finishing up their school day and then they need to get over to pick up their child at school. And so, and there's also a group of staff that are willing to, you know, a certain amount of time longer, but not until 6 p.m. because staffing after school is also problematic. So it's easier to say, hey, can you staff until maybe 430 rather than six. So you pick up those extra staff and you kind of carve out those students who don't need coverage till six. And so that they were able to connect and create more spaces. So that's been great. And they're bringing in a private program that actually operates in Belmont to serve as a consultant, to help kind of basically analyze our program and see where we can make changes. And how do we create a after-school program that serves all Medford students? And when I say all Medford students, I don't necessarily mean open up a spot for every single student, because that's not necessarily possible. But I mean all of our students from a kind of equity and accessibility standpoint, but also that serves all Medford students and does so in a way that we are getting the most spaces in each of our schools. So we're not kind of leaving spaces on the table that could be out there. and helping us look at ways that we can increase staffing and attract more staff and things like that.
[Jessica Parks]: And I think also that will come with working with the principals and the teachers. And I don't want to forget them in this process. I talked a lot about talking to the residents, but I do think we also need to make sure when we're figuring out issues with the school or what's working in the schools, we need to be talking with the teachers. We need to be talking with the principals, the staff, everyone in the schools. You know, one of the things I think You know, if I'm elected, I would wanna be doing regular coffee hours and getting to each school and finding out what's working in the schools. And so setting that up for the teachers to be able to like meet them on their terms and say, hey, tell me, you know, what's working, what's not working, what do you need? You know, in an ideal world, what would you have? You know, I know there's lots of things that they would have in an ideal world, Or, you know, in a resources constricted ideal world, what would help you, you know, and things like that, like tiers of.
[Jessica Parks]: Exactly. And you see it all the time is how teachers are making it work right now. You know, limited resources and they're making things work. And it's commendable, but it's not sustainable. Yeah, true.
[Jessica Parks]: I mean, I think it's been a common thread, but I think communication is also important to me. I think that making sure that we are communicating throughout, whether it's administration to parents, parents to administration, that, you know, you hear all the time about 500 emails going to administration on the same topic because something happens. you know, whether it's a change of a teacher or something isn't communicated well, and then parents are sending emails to administration, those 500 emails are emails that need to then be read and responded to, which take time. And that shouldn't have to happen. And, you know, that's someone's, that's time away from someone's actual job. And I feel that if we can be communicating proactively, and we can be having conversations regularly, and we can basically be doing everything possible. I mean, it's not always possible. I'm a realist. I recognize it's not always possible. But if we can be doing as much as we can and having regular check-ins or regular updates about things that we know would potentially cause those 500 emails to come flying, then we can allow conversations to happen before they become issues. And I think that's a critical thing, is allow the dialogue to happen before it becomes an issue. An issue, because once it becomes an issue, the dialogue is no longer able to happen in any sort of constructive manner. And I think that's what's needed is whether it's websites that are routinely being updated that provide more detailed information or emails that are going out more regularly, things like that.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, it is. And there's disjointed ways to get information. I think if it's, you know, you need to kind of establish baselines. And then from there, you kind of establish expectations, like these types of items will be communicated, whether it's via a newsletter that comes out weekly, whether it's, you know, an email that goes out, you know, every other week and a weekly newsletter, you know, and he's kind of give tears and this is how it's communicated. So it's just establishing expectations and making sure that everyone's on board with them.
[Jessica Parks]: Email me. Email me, I will also, which I think I'm gonna provide you my email address. My website, I will be at Colleen's for a meet and greet on the, well, September 3rd. I also have another meet and greet on September 4th, which will also, all of these are on my website. And then I will be on October 3rd at the Great American Beer Hall as well for a meet and greet. And I will be canvassing every weekend from now until election. So hopefully I will knock on your door and be able to chat with you then as well. That is probably my favorite way to talk to you.
[Jessica Parks]: No, I mean, I think the one, maybe One thing that, you know, I'm always happy to meet with anyone. This one-on-one is probably what I enjoy the best. But I also think, you know, one of the other things that really spurred me to get involved is truly my kiddo. you know, and I do this for him as well as, you know, many other kiddos in this city. And that's truly what is driving me for, you know, right now and through this election. And so that's kind of where I'm coming from and truly making it that much more personal to me, so.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, as he sits behind me.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah. And in this climate as well, I think it's important to show them that it's, it's important to stand up for what you believe in, you know, no matter how hard it is, no matter what it takes, you know, it just, it's important. Well, thank you. Yeah.
[Jessica Parks]: Thank you so much. I really appreciate the opportunity, Dania. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Jessica Parks, 38 Corey Street, and I just want to reiterate what they've said, and thank you for coming in and. know, immediately jumping in in your first few months on the job and taking this on with the urgency that it needs. But also, one of the things I learned looking at other districts is needing to look at it creatively, and thinking that outside of the box to figure out how to get more children into our schools and aftercare. So I appreciate how you've kind of strategically looked at it. And I just want to thank you. And I also want to reiterate the need for kind of clear communication as we move forward on a maybe more regular basis, just so families know what to expect and when to expect. That's what I want to say. But I really do want to say thank you, because I think that it was, as you've heard, it's a really big concern in this community. And I just really appreciate it. So thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Jessica Parks, 38 Corey Street. I just want to thank you all for doing this and for also working so hard to take into consideration all of the feedback you've received to date. During the override campaign, there was a recognition from both proponents and opponents of the override that the override was a stopgap for immediate needs, but the city ultimately needed to focus on new growth to thrive. The citywide zoning plan is a critical first step in doing this to bring in higher density and mixed use development that in a way that is responsible and not done in a haphazard or ad hoc way. And I think that just the back and forth that has occurred to date really shows that we need to the city is taking this seriously and trying to listen to the concerns of residents. Obviously not everyone is going to be 100% happy, but I think that in order for us to bring in the much needed development for a stronger financial base for the city, we do need to bring in development and make it easier for developers to do such. Thank you.
[Jessica Parks]: Abstain.
[Jessica Parks]: Accept.
[Jessica Parks]: Jessica, she, her. Currently, I'm a project manager for pretty much any energy project on a university campus, but my background is in urban planning and sustainable design and My main kind of passion or focus is allowing kind of more, I don't know, complex concepts become more easily understandable for anybody, residents, kids, you name it. I really want people to be able to understand all sorts of different concepts that we talk about. And I've been on the committee for almost four years, I think.
[Jessica Parks]: I have to abstain.
[Jessica Parks]: I know. I'm sorry. No, that's okay. Sorry. There is someone who I know. Who I met on the. Recently, who works for FEMA who. is interested in joining as well. She was gonna fill out the form online and she was going to try and come to today's meeting. I actually just sent her a message to see if she was gonna sit in as well, but she has expressed interest in this group. That would be interesting. Although right now she's slightly worried about her. The future of FEMA, but, you know, that's 11.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, the flow is definitely different because of the way it was set up. So it didn't seem as crowded or everything was all in one place. But when I was standing at the front, there was a constant stream of people moving past me. So I mean, it seemed like it was well-intended.
[Jessica Parks]: I was just going to say, I mean, I think it's similar, like, the MFN does their toy swap in their children's clothing swap and those are other things that are diverted from. You know, waste streams and that's a huge area that. Swaps are done and then I know there's been a bunch of the. What are they? Drew, everything is free Medford, which I don't know if Melrose has an equivalent one, but I know that there's definitely a lot of things saved from. Maybe we could just kind of build off of that as well. Because I know that we have a very robust free. You know, things as everything down to, you know, half a half eaten birthday cake is saved from the waste, which I've always been super impressed with. I know that, you know, not all communities have as robust a kind of free site, but maybe it's a matter of having more of these swap events that are like more targeted. I think that could be cool because the LFN swap days are loved in the community. And to be able to swap other things as well, other than just kids clothing is I think could be really good.
[Jessica Parks]: Hi, I'm Jessica Parks. I am also a volunteer with the Invest in Medford campaign and a mom and longtime resident in Medford.
[Jessica Parks]: Nice. And I'm going to go with peppermint stick ice cream from Colleen's.
[Jessica Parks]: Another thing that I heard in those comments, which is tied into the inequity piece, I think somewhat, but just the reality of what happens if they don't pass is, I think one of the people said that they could potentially leave Medford if they don't pass. And that's troublesome. We've been here for, 13 years, we're not going anywhere. The cost of houses in this area are ridiculous. So we're not moving anywhere. We're not in a position to move anywhere else. And if it doesn't pass, then is it that people who can move elsewhere to other districts where they're investing in their children, then those children have the opportunities. Or people who can't afford to have their children go to private schools, their children get those opportunities. And then the children left in the Medford schools are left with what the Medford schools end up becoming. And so that worries me personally for my own kid and all the other kids who will be left in the Medford school district if it doesn't pass.
[Jessica Parks]: Here.
[Jessica Parks]: As someone who's still trying to find time to fit it in, yes.
[Jessica Parks]: I'm going to abstain for lack of information on my part.
[Jessica Parks]: Abstaining.
[Jessica Parks]: But I also think there are very strong, I mean, I know Instagram is very big with students, and there's a definite population that is using Instagram, but Medford has some very, very strong Facebook pages that are big. incredibly strong and incredibly active currently, that we just also want to make sure we're not forgetting, because that's where a lot of Medford's information is passed.
[Jessica Parks]: Right. No, I definitely know that. And I definitely know that you post on one. It shows up on the other and things like that. I just want to want to point out that there are definitely community pages on Facebook that are incredibly active and where people are going to get information. So I just want to point out that those specific pages exist.
[Jessica Parks]: And then we've got to schedule in advance. And figure out the right webs or whatever it is. Sure, sure.
[Jessica Parks]: And there's also a pollinator garden at the Mississauga as well.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Well, in terms of the increasing engagement, I mean, that's something I'm very interested in. I've actually been working with some people at the Missittuck, which is the school my son's at. So slightly self-serving, but I mean, one of the biggest issues with school engagement is the need for a teacher to be willing to support it. We do have, at least at the Mississippi, two teachers who have expressed interest in supporting a green club and continuing it. The PTO did have a green club offered. So we do have a bunch of students that are part of a green club. That stopped briefly and may be able to continue, but it's been a bunch of conversations. Which have been led by a few people. And kind of has been tag teaming with other conversations about bringing recycling. to the Mesituc, which Brenda has been, I think, involved in some of those discussions as well, because it turns out that does not exist. And we're struggling, again, there have been some issues. So Brenda, that may be another conversation, because there's some question as to the curbside pickup or the now suddenly magical dumpsters have appeared that are, potentially dedicated for it, so that's a whole other issue.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay, because we were working so. I've been working with some of the parents who were involved with the PTO group that kind of sort of started doing it. And they did, they were working with that group. They did get the bins into the school. It's just, it's been a matter of coordination with a lot of moving parts. but then separately in terms of student interest. There's no lack of student interest, it's just trying to then figure out what they want to do, kind of figuring out a priority, helping them move that priority forward, and then also getting a teacher who's willing to also sign with them. There may be one at the Mississauga, but again, it's how do you roll it out to other schools and convince teachers to spend time doing that? Because right now, spending extra time is a hard ask. So I don't know how we want to move that sort of forward, but we do kind of have some momentum, at least moving at the Mississauga right now, and two potential teachers willing to sign on to it. I'm sorry, what's the Miss Attack Camp? What is that? What school? Oh, the former Columbus, if that's what you know it as. It's the elementary school in the South Medford Elementary School.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: And then I mean, I think. You say the Medford Mass Facebook, Medford MA Facebook group, that's just the one Facebook group, right? I mean, there are a bunch that I think trickle throughout. There's Medford Mass Politics, there's Medford Moms, Dads, Caregivers. So like there's a whole list that we can easily infiltrate. There's also one that's slightly broader audience, but obviously has a lot of Medford people who are, only interested in house-related information. It's Moms of Camberville House Talk. And it's basically where people go for information on their houses and what to do if they're looking to do upgrades or things like that, which is also another place to infiltrate. That's great. I hadn't heard of that. There's a bunch.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, Alicia, I was gonna ask, do we have, I was going to say, does everyone automatically get? Water bills anymore. I don't.
[Jessica Parks]: I was just going to say, because a friend of mine just said to me, hey, Jessica, did you know I have lead in my water? I'm like, no, you don't actually have lead in your water. It's just an insert in your bill. It's just, no, you don't. We can talk about it.
[Jessica Parks]: Or even, you know, one of the things that I've seen a lot in actually a bunch of groups that I've part of is the conversation right now about how well things work in low temperatures and people deciding whether or not to keep a backup source. in their house, can I rip out my boiler or should I actually keep my boiler? I've seen a lot of those discussions back and forth and people are like, you can take that out, they're rated to negative 15, it's totally fine. The newer systems are so much better and then other people are like, no, you can't, my system's not performing. Then it's like, well, have you cleaned your filter? You have to clean the filters every four months and all this back and forth. I think stuff like that is really useful, especially in an environment like New England, where people get concerned about the winter months, I think, is kind of one of the biggest things I hear, at least.
[Jessica Parks]: Yes.
[Jessica Parks]: Is there any way that we can reduce the amount of stuff that people walk away with? The giant bag of, pardon my language, stuff that my son came home with from each of the tables. I kind of, he walked, granted he walked in, he was incredibly excited of all the exciting things that he brought home from each table. And I kind of looked at him and I was like, wait, this is kind of the opposite of what I think we're trying to stand for. As he's like unpacking stickers and papers and this, and I understand that it's marketing and it's tools for education and things like that, but some of it, I don't know if there's a way to work with vendors and tables and things like that in the future, but I have now a giant bag from the festival full of stuff. And I'm sure many people do too, that, you know, maybe one item per vendor table.
[Jessica Parks]: Oh, I'm sure he had so much candy in him. He was there for the long haul. So, I mean, it was like, you know, an eight year old's dream. A bag of like five million stickers and pencils and balls and Lord knows what else, but.
[Jessica Parks]: And I mean, I get the need for, I 100% understand the need for the marketing. And I know that people go to these events with the hopes of marketing and the hopes that someone brings home something that has their name on it. But like, I think, you know, waste management sent him home with like 10 different items. Yeah, he has pencils from them. He has a Frisbee from them. He has a ball from them. I mean, wow.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, I know that that's the higher name about that one. But so it's like maybe trying to say, hey, can you bring one marketing thing to your table?
[Jessica Parks]: And I completely, I get it that, you know, that people love collecting things, my son included, but you know, just a thought at an event like that, maybe we could try and curb it a little bit.
[Jessica Parks]: That would be something. That'd be a start.
[Jessica Parks]: I got the MEEC one.
[Jessica Parks]: So it's $20 for a car and then $20 for each monitor. So if you have two monitors, it's $60.
[Jessica Parks]: Do we know, I mean, is it something that we've seen in the past has been a popular Do people really want to bring their monitors and things? Okay.
[Jessica Parks]: I'm happy to volunteer to be that person to collect money. I mean, I have no problem doing that. I just didn't know if there's a need or if there's that much of a demand, I guess would be my question. And I apologize for the cartoons in the background. Is that Jessica?
[Jessica Parks]: I know I have cartoons going in the background.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, we could figure that out. I mean, I would think after a while, we could ultimately get there, I would guess, right? I mean, just tell people to bring fives. I mean, because not many people carry cash around, I'd say. And so if they're being told to bring cash, they're going to go and take some out, would be my assumption.
[Jessica Parks]: So yeah, a bunch of people who are really interested in the answer from the question on the Medford recommendations page.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, that would be, I mean, if we're charging limit.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, I think like 12 TVs is easier to handle than I would think, I mean, I don't know. Is there, maybe that's a question for the people who are taking this stuff. Like, is there a limit to what they're capable of taking?
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, that was going to be my next question is until basically until we can't take them anymore might be better because we don't want to, we don't want to say like five per people and five per person. And then, you know, only a few people show up with a couple or something, you know?
[Jessica Parks]: Okay. And is this, and I'm sorry, I may have missed this, is this $15 for all monitors regardless of size or is this like $15 for a larger size monitor or TV?
[Jessica Parks]: So basically it's $15 cash or a check made out to the city.
[Jessica Parks]: So what, you can't just do a global city of Medford Venmo account? It doesn't work that way? No, you would think. I have one more question. Do they take batteries? Because that's what I keep getting asked.
[Jessica Parks]: Let me know morning of or if possible, of course, so we can promote it.
[Jessica Parks]: Do we know, I mean, is it something that we've seen in the past has been a popular thing? Do people really want to bring their monitors and things? Okay.
[Jessica Parks]: I'm happy to volunteer to be that person to collect money. I mean, I have no problem doing that. I just didn't know if there's a need or if there's that much of a demand, I guess would be my question. And I apologize for the cartoons in the background. Is that Jessica?
[Jessica Parks]: I know I have cartoons going in the background.
[Jessica Parks]: I mean, so I mean, I would think after a while, we could ultimately get there, I would guess, right? I mean, Just tell people to bring fives. I mean, not many people carry cash around, I'd say. And so if they're being told to bring cash, they're going to go and take some out, would be my assumption.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, and there were a bunch of people who were really interested in the answer from the question on the Medford recommendations page.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, that would be. I mean, I would say the limit.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah, I think like 12 TVs is easier to handle than I would think. I mean, I don't, I don't know, is there? Maybe that's a question for the people who are taking this stuff? Like, is there a limit to what they're capable of taking?
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah. That was going to be my next question is until basically until we can't take them anymore might be. better, because we don't want to, we don't want to say like, five per people and five per person. And then you know, only a few people show up with a couple or something, you know.
[Jessica Parks]: Okay. And is this, and I'm sorry, I may have missed this, is this $15 for all monitors regardless of size, or is this like $15 for a larger size monitor or TV?
[Jessica Parks]: Right. Right.
[Jessica Parks]: So basically it's $15 cash or a check made out to the city.
[Jessica Parks]: But you can't just do a global City of Medford Venmo account? It doesn't work that way? No, you would think. So I have one more question. Do they take batteries? Cause that's when I keep getting asked.
[Jessica Parks]: Let me know morning of, or if possible, so we can promote it.
[Jessica Parks]: So you can go in. The school bins go to the PTOs.
[Jessica Parks]: I have a question, is there anything that shows that having the sticker on the bin has a higher success rate at the bin that you deposited in? Because I think my thought process is, you know, even in, you know, working at a university, it's where they put the actual
[Jessica Parks]: It's not because, I mean, we fill our recycling bin and take the whole bin out and just dump it into the larger bin. That's not when I'm sorting it. I'm sorting it in my house. We do the same thing.
[Jessica Parks]: I mean, I keep ours on our fridge, which is with.
[Jessica Parks]: I mean, it could be a thing that we get in the mail with the management.
[Jessica Parks]: I know. So Alicia, does that mean that we're going to think about a Beardo or a Budo for Medford?
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah.
[Jessica Parks]: There's some, it's not as prominent, I think, as it could be. There's definitely the opportunity for it to be one of those, like click and find out information about the building type things, but, um, there's some information.
[Jessica Parks]: Yeah. Let me. Okay.
[Jessica Parks]: I abstain. I wasn't there last month.
[Jessica Parks]: I have one question. You talked about in the looking at bus routes, you know, it's always, we talk about East, West, and also South. Do they ever look at going north? I say this mainly because I tried to take my son to a, he had a, a scout meeting at the high school. And I suddenly realized that I could not take a bus up to the high school. So I had to get a ride with someone else because my husband had our car. And I suddenly realized that there are no bus routes that go up towards the high school. And I feel like there are so many people who go to a fence up, basically going up on the Northern route in Medford. And it totally occurred to me that there's nothing there. for people who probably would rely a lot on buses.
[Jessica Parks]: I'm fine.