[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Hi, my name is Kathy Kreatz. I live at 391 Fulton Street, Medford. Sorry, I can't be there tonight. I had something going on here at the house. Yep, so I just wanted to, you know, kind to set something clear is, you know, the first time as a school committee member that I heard about this raise was by reading it on the city council agenda. This was not something that the school committee discussed or even received any communications from the city council on. We were, you know, in my own personal opinion, We're not even thinking about a raise. This wasn't even something we were discussing. In eight years that I've been on school committee, at one point, there was a raise discussed years ago. This was before COVID. And we declined, voted it down, because we wanted to make sure that if there was any additional funds, it went to the school budget, to the teachers, to the students, and the needs of the schools. And if there's any additional money, which there isn't, it should go directly to the schools. It should go to the needs of the students and the teachers. You know, I've heard from, you know, a lot of the members that have spoken tonight and the community has come out. And, you know, I totally agree that if there's extra money, this extra money for salaries should go to the parents to raise their salaries, not the school committee members. Our job is a volunteer job, and I've been doing it for eight years, not expecting any pay. It requires dedication, love, commitment, just being there to hear and understand and listen to the needs of everybody in the community, the teachers, the students, the families, caregivers. It's not about the salary. I was confused about the resolution. Where did they come from? Who did they speak to? I was really confused. And I just want to set it clear that the school committee did not have any meetings. We were not talking about raising our salary. And I'm talking from my own personal opinion. Nobody's reached out to me. It was not a thought in my mind. I was surprised and confused and disheartened by the resolution. It was just something that we're not expecting. And I did hear, I got into the meeting late, but I did hear Rick Caraviello, Councilor Caraviello mentioned that a pay cut in their salaries to make the salaries equal. You know, I think that would be the best way to make the salaries equal across the two different, you know, boards between the school committee and the city council. If there's going to be any changes, then maybe a decrease in the salary to bring the councilor salary back down to the school committee salary. Okay, so I got my point across and I wasn't prepared and ready to speak, but I just hope that I made it clear that I object to this resolution and I hope and I pray that it does not pass tonight. And thank you for your time. Thank you, everybody.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi, can you hear me?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Wait, I have a glare in my background. Let me just try to shut a shade. It's like really it's like the light is coming towards me. Hold on. Let me go shut that. I'm in a different location. I don't have my usual spot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Sorry, I'm in another meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just, I have one. Yeah, no problem. Um, yeah. Thank you. Thank you for the presentation. Um, I just had a quick question, um, about tardiness, like, um, and. You know, if a bus is late, will the student be mock tardy? How could you explain that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Well, no, I mean, I- I'm kidding, you won't be here. No, we did have another year where we had two, where Aaron DiBenedetto and Michael Ruggiero were no longer, members and the mayor was new to the city and we did have a training with Dorothy presser. And I know it was in December, and it wasn't, I mean, I don't know if it was called a retreat, but it was about a three hour training seminar for the new school committee members. And it was actually informational and helpful even for myself, because it was a reminder of who to contact for questions, just different things like, you know, going into executive session that's private, public meetings, don't share emails, you know, things like that. You know, she covered a wide, broad of topics, and there were two new school committee members at that meeting. I don't, you know, I just, I know the two members that were leaving, and, you know, I just don't remember who was coming on, but, so we've done it before. Okay, Jenny and Paul, or Jen, oh, and Mel, okay, yeah. And the mayor was at that meeting as well. I mean, I just remember, because I had to get out of work early, it's one of those things that I just remember. It was before Christmas, actually, because I was still doing my Christmas shopping. So it was like, right, it was the last week. School was still in session, maybe. Yeah, it was. Because, yeah, it was school was, it was the last day of school. And it was a half a day, we started at noon. I remember Hays, then member McLaughlin.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes, I just wanted to thank the subcommittee for all the hard work on putting this together. I know how much time you spent on it, and I appreciate I had many text messages going back and forth to Sharon, because I was working with a different browser, so I understand, and I figured out a way to, like, cut, I guess, copy and paste my comments in and then print it. So I didn't, you know, I couldn't save it, but that I figured it out. It was like, okay, let me do that. And then I brought it in here. So I appreciate it. And I know she was there for me. I sent her many, many messages. Thank you, Sharon. And thank you all for all your hard work. I know how many meetings you had and appreciate it. I think this time around, it was much smoother and I think it went very well. And it was, we all got to participate and, you know, it was the instructions you did were excellent and easy to follow. Thank you all. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you very much for the report. And I thought it was great that you were substituting in the classrooms when you just mentioned that. That's wonderful. Yeah, so I thought it was interesting because going over the history of the high school and the vocational school, I've been on the robotics engineering advisory committee, and I've heard, and my son has told me, for many, many years, there's been discussions about the two schedules, how the five day and the six day, and it's such a challenge. And I've heard from students that were in my advisory committee that it's so frustrating. Some students couldn't take a foreign language. I know my son didn't take a foreign language because the schedules were too restricted. There wasn't enough room in their schedules. So it's interesting that you discovered this. You know, it is something that is contractual that, you know, we're working on or that's going to be worked on, you know, as another task coming up. I mean, it's going to be, you know, I think challenging, but I think at the end result, it will, you know, open up the schedule so that there'll be more opportunities for students. And I was just wondering if you had the opportunity to talk to any of the students, you know, did they share any of their experiences or, anything with you, if you could share some of that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great, thanks. And it's nice to see the enrollment numbers increase. I can just remember doing promoting and commercials for the vocational programs. And we have the excellent open houses. And it's really great when We do have the open houses and everybody can come out and see in going to the various shops and explore and it's a really nice event that we put on. that's that's all graded here too and and then I I know, Miss Graham had talked about the associate principal position and. I did receive some emails from parents, just mentioning that they felt as though we needed to have, there wasn't a particular name, but another assistant principal, because they felt as though there wasn't enough supports at the high school. And that was just something that was brought up recently. I had put it in, the budget survey. So I thought that was interesting that there was a position that was a recommendation for the associate principal in it would that be one position or would that be because it does say this, the associate principal role would be a full-time role. So it would be one new position.
[Kathy Kreatz]: with the other four assistant principals?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Perfect. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes, thank you very much and thank you to the students for all your help and it's it's really it's a it's dramatic improvement from the other website. So I downloaded the app last night and I'm very lazy. I don't like to turn my computer on. I always want to use an app. So I was really happy to see that. And I just had one question. Will we be able to see all the same information on the app? I know you're still in the process of building it and getting it ready. So at one point, will you have to, can you use the app for everything or will you have to still go on the website onto a computer? Will they have the same exact information, the app and the actual computer or desktop?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great, thank you. Member Kreatz, then Member Mustone. Hi. Yes. Um, so I, you know, I just jotted down a few goals and a lot of them are similar to what some of my colleagues have talked about. Um, one of the goals that I thought was important, which we are working on is, you know, improving the superintendent rating process. We just met about that. And I think that could be one of our goals. It's something that we could, accomplished like within the next six months. So I was thinking that might be, you know, one of the goals that we could do, cause we are working towards that. It is something that smart goal it's attainable. We could do it within the six months. Um, another, um, piece would be the communication, which is also being addressed. It's on everybody's minds and it's on everybody's goal list. Um, it's being addressed with the superintendent, you know, improving the communication as part of that, would be something that we did make a motion about. I don't know if it's something we could accomplish, would be looking into improving the internet service at Medford High School. We already have a motion in for this, but it's something that's important to all of us during the communication process. I don't know for sure if it's obtainable within six months, but it's something that, you know, we made a motion, we're looking into it. You know, there's no promises, but we are looking into it. Um, and then along with that would be like improving the climate at Medford high school, which is also being worked on. And it's just something that's on everybody's minds. But, um, at the same time, you know, considering all the schools, K to 12, not just Medford high school, but all the schools, Um, cause I know we, in some of the messages we got, um, you know, some questions were, Oh, is this going to be done for all the schools? So, you know, that's something that, you know, could be done maybe not within the six months, but you know, within the year. Um, and, and then my question would be for tonight is, you know, are we, are we making a decision on how many goals, like whether it's going to be one, two, three. I think if I was to look at the superintendent's goals, you know, she has the three, you know, high level goals and then the actions that fall underneath. So I was, you know, I just, I wasn't sure exactly what we were doing at tonight's meeting, but thank you. Thank you, members.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I had just chosen one, but I had chosen data-informed decision-making, but the instruction makes perfect sense.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I had A also. I had A and I also had, because I felt like we do the budget, I had fiscal systems develops a budget that supports the district's vision, but I don't know if that's gonna come in another section or if it's just not really part of the evaluation.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I definitely think managing conflict, definite on that. And it's tough with the A and the B, like, I think I would choose A over B. It's tough because then we're going to get into too many indicators. But they're both important. It's very, it's very tricky to narrow it down.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And what does the superintendent think so far of, um, of what we've, um, so far approved?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Second.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Motion to use those words, yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So, the words are exemplary for standard, sorry Democrats, we don't get to decide the words directly in the required just to clarify what they were I thought you wanted to know what they were as part of the motion.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just was clarifying what the motion was, sorry. I was gonna read it out in full if you want me to. No. Oh, okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. I agree. I just think that it's a complicated process. And having this special, or the subcommittee, I think would be necessary each year, unless it's determined it's not.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, Sharon.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you for the report. I just had a question because I know I've always been concerned with, you know, when your high school student got to take the exam, And if that percentage that student doesn't fall within the range, you know, that they need to be eligible to get the high school diploma. that can be very stressful. So I know it's really early on. So as part of the process, is there gonna be any planning to assist those students who didn't, are they gonna have to retake it? Will there be some assistance?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, yes, I want to thank you for the report. It was great. And last year I got to go to the live open house and see some of the updated programs. They look fantastic. So I just wanted to know if you would briefly be able to describe what the mass core framework is. I know I got it described in an email and I just thought it was very interesting. And if you were able to share it, if you could do that. So mass core? Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And do you know when the fall advisory meeting is going to be? Like, is there going to be, like, in the fall advisory meeting?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, thank you. And one last thing. When my son was at the vocational as a student, Um, there was some limitations with the scheduling, um, with extracurriculars in world language. And I was just wondering, um, if, if that's going to be something that might be worked on into the schedules where, um, those opportunities might be more available for the students, for the CTE students. If we can get a new master schedule, that's the goal. Right. And that's what I know. I had received some information in an email, but I just wanted to kind of just put that out there that that's something that I believe the district, the administration's working on to try and get the schedule and get that in there.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes. Thank you for the presentation. And I had a similar question that Ms. Graham had, was how do interested community members you know, find out about opportunities and you've already answered it. So I'm all set. It was easy. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to accept the revisions from Ms. McLaughlin for the superintendent's evaluation.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I was going to say the same thing that I didn't have any revisions to my end. Mr. Russo, before he went on vacation, he already updated my comments and the mayor's comments and shared it with everybody. Everything else was fine. I do think this year it was a little bit different. I know that we're not allowed to see each other's evaluations, but this time we weren't given the opportunity to even see our own evaluations. in the final version so I think you know maybe in the future if we can be shared okay this is what I have for your evaluation can you review it and let me know if it's okay whoever's doing it or everything could be sent in maybe to the superintendent secretary and she could review it you know everybody's individually so that we're not looking at them so that there's another set of eyes on them because I was reading some of the instructions and When you look at the instructions for one, two, three, and four, in order for somebody to get a one or a two or a three, something has to be, so to speak, like broken in the prior evaluation. So I was thinking there has to be a cross-examination between the prior evaluation and the current evaluation. for individual evaluations to ensure that the numbers are recorded correctly. It's very complicated. I find the whole process to be very complicated and confusing. I really do. And I really wish it was easier. I just, I don't like the current process. I know that Mr. Russo said some of us didn't follow the instructions. I tried my best. It's a confusing form, so I just did it myself on Excel and sent it in that way because I didn't like the Google Sheets, the way that I don't like how they're filled in. So I did it the alternative way and sent it in that way. but I'm just sharing my thoughts, but I don't have any changes. And I'm just, I thought the meeting was just to hear the, receive the updates. And then once Mr. Russo gets back, the averages can be redone and then it can be sent off.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I did.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to approve.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I motion with the reward, the way it was rewarded by the mayor.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I'll make a macro statement. I wanna thank Dr. Edward-Vincent for her leadership. She supports all students, teachers, reading her goals and evaluation that her pre-evaluation. She's been to school events, community events, many, many meetings. She's, you know, she provides the, you know, you know, the weekly bulletin update every week, sharing the news, and, you know, just piggyback on what the mayor said and what Melanie said. It's, you know, she spends all of her time dedicated to the Medford Public Schools, the needs of the students, the community, the families, And she's responsive to the school committee members and our requests and our needs and at all hours of the day and she just she works tirelessly and so I just wanted to, you know, share that and I've, you know, was on the. I was on the superintendent search as well, you know, as a school committee member, and we, you know, got to meet superintendent Dr. Robinson at that time and just got to know her very, very well. And it's like we're a close family, everybody, the committee, the administration, the superintendent. And I just want to thank her for her dedication and her leadership.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Maintaining a learning environment built upon the pillars of safety, equity, and consistency. The score was 3.77. There has been some progress and we have much work to do. Equity is perhaps our biggest need to address. Creating a strategic plan or goal around just this issue would be helpful. Defining equity would be a good start.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can take standard two.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Okay, so I'll start on standard two, management and operations. The score was 3.15. There is feedback under several of the sections under standard two. So I'll read the feedback for standard two, and then I'll, you know, continue on with the score for each other. subset and read the comments for that. So standard two management operations 3.15. The changes to the budget this year were effective and efficient. The committee was able to get a comprehensive view of the priorities and discuss in a positive and productive manner. The state of the district system is poor. By systems, I'm referring to processes, technology, and people that comprise the foundation and infrastructure on which the district runs. There needs to be people There needs to be. I'm sorry I'm just missing my spot. There needs to be considerable focus, moving forward and prioritize a well run set of administrative functions without improvements on the administrative side of the house, the districts continued improvement in curriculum, and instruction will be limited compliance with school committee policy is low. And in the case of out of out of school suspension policy inadequate. The committee proactively provided an extensive amount of planning time as the administration to come back to us with any changes that they felt would be needed to operate operationalize the policy. and to articulate what financial supports are needed. None of this occurred. Students appear to be regularly suspended this year, which is complete conflict with the policy set forward by the committee. As another example, the committee also adopted policy that outlines regular reports, and went throughout the school year, we expect to receive them. There has been no acknowledgement of or accounting for those reports this academic year. 2.1 environment the score was 2.97. We are beginning to evaluate operational systems in a district that has long been without. The next one was 2.2 2.2 human resources management and development score was 3.24 a standard report of other school committee committees receives is the personnel report continuing hires termination leaves of absence workers conversation and other positions. This report is invaluable for understanding the state of the organization. This report is received monthly, or more often other districts, while it is understood that due to disconnected software systems. This report cannot be generated without substantial work effort. And that's we have not pressed for this report. There does not seem to be a plan to replace this disconnect software system, so that the administration can begin providing this critical report. This report is more than nice to have. It is considered mandatory and members of other school committees are shocked we don't get this report. Identifying a path forward to replace the software systems or connect them or merely to fund some kind of a project to make these reports easily generated is something we would like to see. So this is critical report can be generated and supplied to the committee is something we hope we can start in the coming year or two. Then we have 2.3 scheduling and management information systems. The score was 2.84. There are still multiple calendars throughout the member public school system. These multiple calendaring systems, which do not speak to each other result in predictable failures, such as double booking of spaces. This issue has risen to the forefront numerous times. The committee has made clear our desire for a single calendaring system, or at least some of the operationalized method to ensure the problems of the multiple sources of truth is resolved and to improve transparency about who was using our space and for non-NPS affiliated groups, what they are paying for the space. And law ethics, 2.4, law ethics and policies, the score was 3.11. 2.5 fiscal systems, the score was 3.56. And the overall score overall was 3.15 for standard two management and operations.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have a quick question. Yes, member Kreatz. Yes. Would you be able to just give some examples of the one-time funding sources, what that would be like, and the revolving funding sources, just in case the public doesn't know?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can motion. I motion to look into the budget for the cost of the $720 for the school year coming up for the compost buckets. Second.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I had a similar question about category E, which you answered the questions regarding the personnel. I did have another question on, because I had written down, and you were going pretty quickly on this, so I had written down that Highest priority was category A. B was recommends ESSER. Maybe I wrote that down wrong. And then C was definitely ESSER. So I think I need some clarification on in regards to category B, where that is part of Mr. Russo's motion. So is category B, is that a recommended ESSER or that's not, I get a little confused between the highest priority ESSER, the high priority ESSER, like why is C nodding? Like why are we counting on ESSER for all of the C priority needs and not for the category B? I guess I'm just getting confused about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, that was helpful. And then I just wanted to also note last week I did reach out to state rep Donato and he did tell me that the House of Representatives did vote to approve $110 million in their budget for free lunch for all students. So it's gone over to the Senate and then in likelihood like the Senate and the governor will approve hopefully. So, you know, really hoping that happens but I do agree with the language and Mr. Russo's motion that we would then submit supplemental fund, you know, for a request for supplemental funds, if that wasn't to pass, but I'm, I'm really hopeful that that it will pass.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, I just wanted to comment also. Yes, I just wanted to say, I went to the open house and I Sharon was there as well and it was so wonderful to see all the programs and it's just, it was phenomenal and I got to see some of the new skills capital equipment, you know firsthand, and it's just really amazing and all the great things and. Um, the students were there and they were showing some projects and it's just so wonderful. And, um, I'm so happy to hear about the, you know, the increase in the enrollment. Um, it's just, it's wonderful and it's a great opportunity for everybody. And thank you for the presentation. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just wanted to thank you for your speech and for the presentation and also I wanted to mention and say thank you to all the teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. Thank you everybody.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Attorney.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kathy. Yes, yes. Yep. So I was just reading through some emails we got earlier this year about the absenteeism letters that go out. And, you know, I do agree with some of the concerns and the letters that were mailed out is that we do have the COVID protocols in place where if students are symptomatic, they're close contact, they should remain home and quarantine for the five days. So where the letters are sent out if the students are absent five days, that might be five COVID days. So COVID is new and we haven't updated these letters. So I do think we need to do some sort of an update or addendum to the required letters by law that we have to send out. I wanted to share that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm a member of Laughlin. I was like, who?
[Kathy Kreatz]: No, this has been all very, very interesting. I really appreciate all the information that we've received today. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I didn't see any hands raised but I remember yes, um, I wanted to make a motion for the superintendent to submit to the MSBA the statement statement of interest application form on behalf of our flagship school Mefford High School.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to adjourn. Second.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just wanted to say I'm really proud of our whole group for putting together the policy rules, and that was a big accomplishment for everybody. school committee members and the administrative staff. And I'm hoping that things will, you know, the meetings will be more efficient and run smoother. And I'm just, I'm grateful to everybody. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Democrats, yes, I had a similar question. So I just went to the website and where are those meetings on the website, I must have missed a communication in the there's a budget tab under the about button.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I was just curious, we are, like, I'm sorry, we are on the, like, so if I'm on the Medford Public Schools main page.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have one quick question. So are we voting to accept the whole rule policy or to vote on the motion? Yes, as amended with that one amendment to 88.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry. I'm going to say no, because I'm not happy with that amendment. So I guess I'm a no, because I'm voting on the whole policy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Krex? Yes, I just wanted to point out that the next meeting, I believe, would be starting at 6 p.m.? 6 p.m. Yeah, I just wanted to put you on the call. We just voted on the rules, thanks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, Mayor, I checked in with Mr. Russo the other week and we stopped at number 67. I need to go back because I think we moved too quickly in the first meeting. I just have to bring something up about number 51 that I didn't get a chance to mention. So I wanted to just kind of go back to just review number 51 again, because I had notes and I never got a chance. I noted that I didn't get a chance to mention anything on number 51.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I originally in the prior meeting, I had notes listed here that it says, you know, regular meetings will begin at 630. That's great. We made that adjustment in the last meeting to correct it from another time that it had said no meetings at school committee will go beyond. It says 11 p.m. I just have concerns about that for everybody who is in the school committee meetings. The administrators, the students, the teachers, just everybody, the public watching. I think 11 p.m. is just too late in the evening. We start at 6 30 p.m. I think it's more reasonable to have it go from like 6 30 to 9 30 and if there's a motion to recess Then we should take a roll call, you know, is there a motion to recess, you know, and put everything on the table that we haven't covered, and then it gets put on the next meeting. So I, I have a motion to amend the time change from 11pm to 930pm. And the chair will then ask you know as we're getting close to 930pm. If there is a motion to recess or continue the meeting until an extended period of time is stated. So for example, like the chair would say, is there a motion to recess the meeting if we're not done. If we're close to being done, then you could maybe say, is there a motion to recess the meeting until like 10 p.m., you know? And we might get done before 10 p.m. But I just think going from 6.30 to 11 p.m. with everybody's busy days and lives and having to be at school the next morning or work very early. I mean, I don't retain anything after 9 p.m. It's just gone.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, and I'm going to keep my motion on the floor. I happen to, you know, understand and agree with the superintendent, I have to get up at 445am, and I am just exhausted by 930, and it's the next day. It's like I was on a boat or a plane. I can't get up. I can't think. I drink coffee. It just doesn't matter. You can't focus. Even the next day, you're affected by the very, very, very long day. And you can't drink coffee before the school committee meeting, because then I'll be up all night. So it's just I'm going to keep my motion on the floor, and I can hear from both sides. And I just think that if we, you know, have this time frame and we know that we're going later and there's important agenda items or there are people from the public just as i mentioned in the part of the motion that a motion can be made to extend the meeting until xx time and i think that would be reasonable for the administrators the school committee the public and just the students just everybody i'm just trying to make it equitable for everybody, everybody has to get somewhere in the next morning, whether it's school, work, family, everybody's got to get up, you know, so I'm just trying to, you know, I've seen our meetings, they can carry on, we're doing much better. And sometimes there are items that take longer, but that's not typical. Typical, we do run to 930. And then there's always the occasional late meeting, which can happen with a controversial or very important topic. So we're not like, We're not blocking it down to just 6.30 to 9.30, that's it, the meeting's over. We're still giving, as part of my motion, I'm still giving the offer to extend the meeting if a motion is made. But I won't talk, I let other people talk. Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I don't wanna withdraw the motion, but I'm thinking, I heard from Ms. Graham and maybe we could make the alternative where we could start the meeting at six, we could end the meeting at 9.30. So that's the additional half hour so that we're not keeping the administrators past 9.30 unless there's an extension to do so. So I'm making a motion now to change the start time to 6 p.m. and the end time to 9.30 p.m.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Right, and I'm sorry, I meant to say the start time that she mentioned. So my motion, I'm going to change to, let me just get back. I just have to close the window to look at the words here, sorry. So I'm amending my original motion to read The regular school committee will begin at 6 p.m. No meeting of the school committee will go beyond 9.30 p.m. If the school committee is still meeting at 9.30 p.m., the chair will ask, is there a motion to recess the meeting until a certain time? Or is there a motion to extend the meeting beyond 9.30 in the evening and state the time so that everybody understands that there is an end time coming, whether it's going to be 10 or 10.30? Um, a motion to continue the meeting requires the two thirds vote. So the time changes would be 6.00 PM to 9.30 PM second member.
[Kathy Kreatz]: What about, I didn't withdraw my motion.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That was the motion that Ms. McLaughlin seconded me on. Gotcha.
[Kathy Kreatz]: What numbers are those?
[Kathy Kreatz]: What numbers are those? I'm sorry, Mayor, because I just have mine in a Google Drive, so I just have the numbers. I don't have pages. They're different pages.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, I'm just going through those numbers. Yes, so I do have some concerns about number 77. I actually even reached out to the city council. So it says all requests passed by the city council that pertain to member public schools will be sent to the school committee to be part of the next agenda in accordance with the school committee procedure and timing is found in addendum one, add item to agenda. The city clerk is authorized to add items to the school committee agenda, following our established procedure and add item to agenda. The school committee may refer such requests to the superintendent upon a majority vote. The superintendent is not authorized to respond to city council request to attend city council meetings or perform any actions requested by the city council without a majority vote. I was just reading this and, you know, it's just. You know, the city council is another body. And we have the add the item, add the agenda item instructions for us. So we're going to give our instructions to the city clerk to add items to the school committee agenda. I just think, I don't think that is a good idea. I'm not sure. whether I'm misunderstanding this, and then I wasn't sure, and it's not something that's currently being done. I did, you know, ask about that. And then where the superintendent is not authorized to respond or request to any email, you know, correspondence with city council, I feel it's too restrictive. And, you know, I'm just wondering if I could maybe hear from the superintendent on what her thoughts are on the way that this rule is written. I really just don't really follow it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I will wait to hear from Member Ruseau and Member McLaughlin before I go. I just want to hear what everybody's thinking, and then I'll go at the end.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I still have some concerns about both parts of the way that this is written. And let me just, I'm sorry because I when I do click off I have to get back to it one moment I'm going to get back to it. Okay, it's over here now one second. Okay. Um, okay, so. I've been listening to everybody, and I was thinking about the first part of it. And I, this is just what I'm thinking. Maybe we could change it to say something like this. All motions passed by member city council that pertain to the member public schools will be sent by the president of the council to the school committee chair to, to be reviewed as an agenda to review it as an agenda item seeking guidance from the committee in accordance with the school committee procedure and timing as found the addendum, you know, add item to agenda. And that's something that the superintendent would then make that determination. You know, the mayor would then maybe forward it on to the superintendent and she can make the determination on, okay, let's get this added on the agenda. I wanna seek the guidance from the school committee. You know, and that, you know, we would have some sort of a process where you're thinking about in the future we're going to have a lot of requests, maybe. So that could be part of it, you know, just a simpler plan for the rule. And then, you know, the second part. You know, I just, I don't understand why we have to include the majority vote of the school committee. So if the superintendent receives a simple email, you know, oh, I just wanted to know, just checking in, you know, the vocational program is having, you know, this particular new equipment, you know, oh, did that get purchased, you know, something like that, just something simple. I feel as though she gets the email, she should be able to email back the city council without putting that on the agenda, so that we can take a full boat at the next school committee. So I'm just thinking of it, just keeping it try to keep it a little simpler, where we just say, the superintendent is permitted to respond to, you know, reasonable, I'm sorry, to city council reasonable requests to attend city council meetings or perform actions requested by the city council, you know, within reason, you know, and it's, you know, it might need a school, but it depends on like what the request is. It might be something that has to go on the agenda that we all have to make a vote on. But, you know, I think that the way that it's written right now, it's just, It's just too restrictive. Even though I've heard from everybody and I still feel that it does insinuate that we are having problems with the city council and we are not. And I do think maybe in the future with a lot of things going on, with upgrades to the high school and body cameras on police officers, yes, we might have some requests but As the superintendent mentioned, it's very rare. And, you know, I just think getting it on the agenda, you know, would be the best way to do it if it comes through from the city council president. So I'm just trying to really just simplify this rule and just, you know, kind of just make it a little bit simpler and friendlier.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, and I'm trying to word it, I'm sorry. And I'm working on it right now, Ms. Graham, sorry. I'm trying to put it all together with what the mayor just mentioned. So let me just reflect on what the mayor just mentioned. She mentioned that the current process, and I'm just trying to go through what she just said. The current process is that she will, if something was voted on the floor, So let me just get this going. Sorry. So. All motions passed by Medford city council that pertain to Medford public schools will be sent by city council president or city clerk to the school committee chair to be put on the, the agenda. in accordance with the procedure that we have in place.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, yes, thank you and I can just re reword it because I'm just doing this just from all the conversation and I'm trying the best here so okay so let me just see if I have this right here. So, I would make a motion to change number 77 to say all motions passed by the member city council that pertain to me for public schools will be sent by city council president to the school committee chair to be reviewed whether or not it should be added as an agenda item. And I'm sorry, I'm just losing you because I wrote it down. So that's as far as I've retained. That's just my opinion, but I know. I agree. I think the way that it's working right now is working, but we don't have it documented. So I'm trying to get Number 77 recorded the way it's working now, exactly the way it's working now. That's what I'm trying to do.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's it. Yeah, just simple, you know, and, and then like all this, all these rules, if we're having issues with any one of them at any point in the future, as we said already, we can bring this up on a regular school committee. We'd like to change this. Something's not working, but we have to start with something. So let's start with what we're doing right now. And that's my motion. I hope everybody got that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: What did member Kreatz say? No. No, okay. Yeah, I just said no because I would just like to strike that whole section, that whole sentence. So I'm just not in agreement with that sentence. So that's why I'm no.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, motion on the floor to strike the sentence. The entire last sentence, the superintendent is not authorized to respond to city council requests, attend school committee meeting, city council meetings, or perform any actions requested by the city council without a majority vote at the school committee.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Yes. So I still have the motion on the floor for the beginning part of the The rule, the way that I had, you know, read that out. So I'm not sure. I don't remember. Did I have a second by anybody on the way that I had worded it?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep. Um, I'm just looking at it right now. I think I erased a word, but I was making changes. Sorry. Oh, shoot. I think I did. One second. Let me just grab this for a second. Because when I was typing, I actually think I erased some words. Oh, gosh. Let me see number 77. It's right in front of the paper. OK. Let's see. Okay, so this is what I had originally said. All requests passed by Medford City Council that pertain to Medford Public Schools will be sent to the school committee chair and will be reviewed with the superintendent to determine if it can be answered or needs to be added to the agenda. And yes. Can you put that in the chat for me? Yeah. Let me do that. Yeah. Cause I, let me get there. Sorry. I'm gonna do that right now. Just looking around. Oh, there it is. Okay. All right.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I think that sounds fine. I'm just going to go get the language again. Instead of typing, I'm going to try to copy and paste it. Let's see.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm just going to be typing. I'm sorry, guys. I actually did remove a sentence from the original document on my Google Drive. So I've got to retype it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And Ms. Graham, if you want to, I'm putting it in the chat now. Let me just get back to the chat. Getting a little twisted.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, I don't know if you can see it, because when I see it, I can see it. You can in normal, like it's not all crazy. Okay. The way it shows for me, it's giant. So, all right. So, if you want to copy and paste and then put the portion that you were talking about, Ms. Graham, where that would fit.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Last sentence, yes. And by the way, I just did my grammar check and I made some changes. Grammarly told me to make some changes. So I just repasted it with the grammar, correct grammar, sorry. So take a look at the new little post that I just did in the chat because I have my grammar check in another area.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So do I have a second on the motion, the way that it's prepared and checked?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, as amended by Ms. Graham.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm just gonna go into my notes again. I just closed everything down when I was around. Okay. Um, it's, it's not really a concern, but it was just maybe an add to number 82. It's currently 82 says the secretary will actively monitor remote participants. I'm just thinking it should say, um, the secretary and the mayor and the secretary will actively monitor, uh, remote participants to identify when there was a hand raise. So that way there, we have two eyes looking out the mayor and the secretary to just make sure everybody's heard.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, okay. All right. Then I guess, you know, then let me, just to have another person on that. So then my amendment would say the secretary and superintendent or another administrator, designated administrator will actively monitor remote participants to identify when there's a hand raised.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I think number 83 is redundant with 82. 83 says the secretary will ensure the chair is aware when remote participants wish to speak. that it's the same as number 82, I'm thinking. So I just think we should just strike number 83 because it's redundant.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, and I withdraw mine.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I wanted to mention on number 84. I think there just needs to be an exception to this rule. So I think it should say the superintendent will be present in person or via remote participation at all regular meetings of the school committee. With the exception of illness, bereavement, or emergency. You know, I would like to just hear from the superintendent about what her thoughts are on that because, you know, people are going to get sick, there are going to be family emergencies, you know, so that's what I was thinking.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I had a question about number 90 so I don't know if you want to finish the conversation that's currently ongoing, and then I can go after that, please.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just wanted to ask the superintendent about the rule number 90. I believe this is a new rule that's being put forth and this would be something that would be handled by her team. So I would just like to hear from Dr. Edward-Vinson on what her thoughts are on rule 90. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Yep. I wanted to thank you, Ms. Kahn, for the presentation. It was very informative in the frequently asked questions. And I think it's great. And my son was a student at the vocational school and he struggled with math. And I really wish they had this program when he was there, because he got into college, accepted for the engineering program, but he changed majors because he's the phobia of math. And he had great teachers at the vocational school, in fact, co-taught teachers. So will co-taught teaching be an option for the integrated math classes? Absolutely.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So yes, thanks. And so it says the student placement is based on the teacher recommendation and parent input. Is there going to be a you know, a decision date, like will the students and the families know where they're going to be going, whether they're going into integrated math, or are they just going to fill out a form that says, you know, I want to go traditional route, or I want to go integrated math.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And one last question, because we're approaching the budget season and this is going to be a new pilot. Will we be needing any additional math teachers? What if there's an increase in integrated math versus traditional pathways? I was just thinking ahead. That's a great question.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Good evening.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Can you turn on your microphone? I thought it was on, I'm sorry. So, you know, I think what the superintendent mentioned was that we're going to have a presentation, probably in April, where we'll hear, you know, what the work they've done so far on the website. Exactly. So I'm wondering, like, you know, I think maybe we have to wait to have that meeting, you know, if there's further questions, then we would have another subcommittee meeting. So I'm just wondering, you know, if we could hold off on this until we hear from the superintendent's presentation in April.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, the data will tell a lot. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, thank you. Thank you for the report, and I think it's great, the proposal that you have here. I just had a question, because you're going to preclude the four-day week option. Do we currently have families that are enrolled in that right now?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, I'm just curious like if we're gonna reach out to those families to just let them know that, you know, in advance, these are gonna be some changes and you can either drop down to three or increase to five. And then there's also the tuition, you know, application for a discount if needed. Yeah, yeah. All right, thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had one thing to mention. I just wanted to say I sent an email today to Susie with three small updates, just spelling of some names, you know, members names and missing one word in one of the motions. So, but a motion to second to accept with those amendments.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. What about if on the agenda, it was added, I know we have added sometimes old items, you know, unresolved. So I'm thinking, you know, if the motions were expressed and the date was listed, it could just be carried at the end of the agenda to be trapped, you know, for the outstanding motions. That might be a possibility. That's an option.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, thank you. Yep. So everything that Ms. McLaughlin said, and, um, yes, um, having the schedule, um, you know, what we've done in the past is we've all been made aware of the dates, you know, and the timeline so that we know what to expect. Um, and it's important that we get that information posted, you know, so that the community can also be made aware and, you know, when the dates are, so they're, you know, wondering what meetings they want to attend. if they'll be made available on Zoom. If the 10th is too soon, Mr. Murphy, if you think you need some more time, if 210 is a little bit too soon, could you let us know?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm amenable to that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm in favor of doing that way.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, so I was actually going to bring up number nine, because last year, Paulette and I we put forth a resolution to change the start times of the meetings to 630. And because we had received feedback from the public. last school year um that they preferred to start at 7 p.m and we had gotten we we had started at just different times like we were starting at 5 sometimes 6 sometimes 6 30 so we as a group um accepted the resolution and chose 6 30 you know as a happy medium for the public administrators etc um so i mean if You know, I guess like, how does everybody else feel about that start time? You know, could we try it at six and we might have to change this rule if it's not working out for the community, you know, to make it to the meetings.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, so I'm not ready to vote on this yet. I didn't get to speak on it yet. I did have concerns about the meeting in August. I'm not in favor of having a meeting in August. We haven't had meeting in August and I've been on school committee for six years. Last year and the year before during COVID, we got an email from the superintendent with an update. And that went very well. And so I would like to make a friendly amendment to have an email communication from the superintendent with an update. And if members have questions or concerns, they could speak directly with the superintendent during the summer over the phone if they have any questions or concerns. So I'm making a motion to amend this to, there will be, the superintendent will send out a broadcast communication to the committee members in August, maybe the first Monday. And I think what she was doing actually, I'm sorry, she was sending out updates every week. So let me just get back to what I was saying. So I'm making a motion to amend this to say the superintendent will send out a broadcast communication to all members, a brief broadcast memo to all members each week in August. It doesn't have to be on a Monday, maybe on the Friday at the end of the week.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Um, so I I'm, I'm not in favor of having a summer meeting. Um, you know, I still want to keep my motion on the floor to having, um, communication brought, you know, updates. You know, I think at any point, an emergency meeting can be called, you know, if we had to. So I'm still gonna keep my amendment as is. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I felt the same way, Mayor, and I actually had the same feedback written down that you just mentioned. So I wanted to hear from the rest of the committee.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I motion to change it to the following Monday.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, um, yeah, so I was, I just want to get back to a kind of loss. Okay, here it is. All right. Yep. So when I was reading this rule, I was just thinking back to earlier this month, the January 3 meeting was postponed until the 10th. And, you know, I just found out, you know, just by getting the, the change date, zoom, um, you know, meeting request. Um, so I I'm not familiar with the current process. Um, you know, how was it handled? So. You know, I don't think, you know, we've officially had a process to postpone it and it's been at the discretion of the superintendent. Um, And I'm wondering if somebody could just maybe help answer that question? Because we haven't had a process or a rule on canceling or postponing. It's typically been at the discretion of the superintendent or the mayor.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I was reading ahead and there's another number that connects with this number, I think, number 17. In the event of an emergency due to extraordinary circumstances, the requirement that notification of cancellation is provided in writing may be waived and members may notify the superintendent of their desire to cancel the meeting, email or in person, any verbal requests must be followed with a written request. The two rules are in two different sections. And I think it should just be consolidated into one rule, you know, that goes, you know, into both of these situations, because we're talking about canceling a meeting. And, you know, it should include in the event of an emergency, you know, in a situation like this, you know, It's at the discretion of the superintendent to cancel the meeting by telephone, email, or in person. Um, we did have, you know, if there is a snow storm the day of the meeting, you know, we would have to cancel the meeting. Um, something like that could happen, especially in the winter months.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I'm just trying to think of something I was gonna say. So, cause I know Mr. Russo wants the exact word. So I'm trying to think of it. So I'm making a motion to amend number 14 to say no meeting. Sorry, let me just catch my train of thought. The superintendent and or mayor have the discretion to cancel a meeting and notify all committee members via email as soon as possible.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Um, I had similar questions, because, you know, I think we first have to, you know, reach out to city council to ask if they are interested in having a joint meeting with us and work out the details. Uh, what, what is the meeting about? Like, uh, are we discussing goals? The pre budget goals. Are we discussing, you know, the, the budget information that we have? I was, I was just a little bit confused about this. Um, this rule, the way it's presented. I'm unclear about it myself.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Um, yes, I'm member Ruseau, would you be willing to amended to say something like the chair will schedule to optional annual joint meetings with the city council, a budget meeting will be held in the spring of the, you know, of each year. a general meeting. So I guess I'm confused about the general meeting in March on goals, because I'm thinking spring is typically March, April, so.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Um, I'm amenable to that. Um, I motion to change the word wording to say the chair will schedule one annual joint meeting with the city council and everything else that was previously stated will remain the same.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I was reading through, I'm just going all the way to 30, just let's see. Okay, so let me just get back up here. I'm just reading my notes that I wrote about one of these. I'm on number 21. Oh, in number 21, in number 22, I noticed something, but I wasn't sure why it wasn't in number 21. So in the rule 22, it states the meeting will not be broadcast or recorded. However, being a public meeting, the meeting will allow members of the public to attend. The public will not be offered an opportunity to speak. So that, You know, that was in rule 22, it wasn't in rule 21. So I wasn't sure, you know, the workshop. We're not gonna have the public come in. It's not gonna be broadcasted because we're getting training on something. And what is the difference between that and the retreat? I think I was getting the two, the workshop and the retreat. I was just thinking about when the MASC was here and I think we called it a retreat and Dorothy came in and we didn't invite members of the public to attend. And we had a discussion on our own, where we could talk and, you know, converse, ask questions. We didn't, it wasn't recorded. And we didn't invite members of the public. So I'm not sure if how everybody feels about that. If somebody members.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I motion to accept that friendly suggestion to strike 21 and change, well, combine it and just make it one, you know, one rule. Workshops and or retreats may be scheduled on an as-needed basis and everything else would be the same.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, on number 23, I'm just not really sure I follow this rule. It says the chair or vice chair of the school committee will, when needed, have a standing meeting with the superintendent prior to any scheduled meeting, workshop or hearing to collaborate on the agenda, setting and help focus on the agenda and superintendent on the goals of the school committee. So, You know, I, we, we haven't been doing something like that, um, where the vice chair has been collaborating. With the superintendent and the mayor about the agenda. So I, I was making a motion to, to, you know, to strike just the word, the vice chair, the chair, or. The chair of the school committee will, when needed, have a standing meeting with the superintendent prior to any scheduled meeting, workshop, or hearing to collaborate on the agenda, setting to help focus both the agenda of the school committee and the superintendent on goals of the school committee. Such standing meetings will be held with agreement between the superintendent and the chair. And the chair. It would also just be me.
[Kathy Kreatz]: How do you feel about the, the way it's proposed and superintendent, I would just like to hear from you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I have a motion on the floor. I'm going to amend it to say the chair of the school committee, and when unavailable, will delegate.
[Kathy Kreatz]: To the vice chair, when needed, have a standing meeting and continue, everything else is gonna be the same. And at the end, the last sentence will say, such standing meetings will be held by agreement between the superintendent and the chair or vice chair if delegated.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm going to get it ready right now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry, I was emailing Mr. Russo at the same time, and I missed what number we're talking about right now?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have a question about that. So are we gonna, does this mean the school committee we're going to evaluate each other's performance? May I know?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I actually had that written down. I was gonna make a motion that we, and I know Mr. Russo wants the exact wording, so I'm just gonna read what it says right here. Okay, so agenda for all regular meetings by the school committee will be available to the public and press copies of the agenda will be filed with the office and clerk and posted on the website of the school committee, no later than Thursday. Prior to the meeting. Prior to the scheduled meeting. copies of the agenda will be made available at the Medford Public Library. Is that something that we currently do? Copies at the Medford Public Library?
[Kathy Kreatz]: No. So I wanna strike that sentence. Okay, so copies made available. Okay, so let me just go back one. So I'm gonna delete that sentence. just as you just deleted copies of the agenda will be posted on line. Because that is what we do. We post the agenda online, and it's it's broadcasting of information.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, right, that was gonna get removed, yes, yep.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to change it to 630.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, I had a question on, sorry, I'm just trying to, it was an earlier number, I didn't get to ask the question. It was in the 40s, I'm getting there now. Yes, it was number 40. The agenda will include a listing of all recommendations being brought forward such as listing with a formatted format in accordance with the be dB agenda creation and format regular meetings the agenda will also include a listing of all motions reports and other communications and reports to the school committee. So that is currently what we're doing, but it doesn't right now. The agenda does not contain a listing of all the motions that we've taken at meetings. So I'm just motioning to remove that word because right now the agenda doesn't list all the motions.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh. Yeah, so motion to change the word to resolutions.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, okay, sorry, because when I minimize and maximize, I get back, sorry, I'm going there now. Okay, so number 52, I am not in favor of the way that this is, the way that the rule is written. The rule states public comment will be limited to three minutes per individual and will be limited to those matters on the agenda that I'm fine with. Members of the public wishing to speak must register their intent prior to the meeting on a form provided for said purpose by the superintendent. That I would like to remove that sentence. The chair may limit the comment to two minutes. I'm fine with that on the number of individuals signed up to speak, but okay. So the chair may limit the comments for public participation to two minutes as needed. And if it was a busy night, the chair will announce the time limit prior to public comment. Yes, at every regular meeting, the public will also be encouraged to submit their comments in writing via email or by emailing the superintendent that we're currently doing. Written comments will be forwarded to all members. That is what Mr. Russo is doing currently right now with the auto forward. And we had discussion about this at our last meeting, and we are going to, I think, be moving away from submitting the comments via email, or we're not going to be reading them all. So there's a lot here. I definitely want to remove The part where it says members of the public wishing to speak must register their intent prior to the meeting on a form. That is an inconvenience for the public to register and what their comments are going to be. So I'm not in favor of the way that this is currently written and I'm proposing to change it. removing that sentence.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, yeah, that's, I motion second that. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. What group of numbers are we going to talk about next? I want to just get through, look at my notes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I don't have any questions on any of those numbers.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can wait. I have a question on 77, so I can hold off for now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I was going to ask for some clarification. And so, so this rule essentially is giving us the permission to suspend the rules, to move an agenda item out of order. That's, that's what you're saying, Mr. Russo. Okay. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Um, I forgot to lower my hand.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. Um, yes. So, um, I have a question and you might've mentioned it and I just might've missed it. Um, you did say that students will need to opt in to get the rapid test. So I wanted to know, um, are these, are they, is there going to be a distribution of the test kits and you know, they're going to be sent home every week or every two weeks, or is this, they're still going to be doing the rapid tests in school. I just, I wasn't sure what that meant because I've been hearing some communications on the news where if schools opt in, they're going to be sending home the kits to the families. Is that what we're doing or we're not doing that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And is there a new consent form in the works right now?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. I just wanted to say, you know, this sounds so exciting and there's so many offerings and it's terrific. The staff that you mentioned, the 20 to 28 staff members who have already, you know, their willingness to participate in the program. It just sounds incredible and it's very exciting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to approve. Before we, I just have a question. Yes, so I was a little confused when I read this. Are you taking out, like this is, the way I read this is that you're removing residents may also submit their comments by writing the superintendent prior to the meeting or by emailing and provide the school, you know, school committee email prior to or during the, item on the agenda, written comments must be kept to a length, which will allow them to be read into the record for less than three minutes, so forth, that whole sentence. And then it picks up a welcome inclusive community, which it picks up down here. So it does, the way that the new section that you want us to add in, the way I read it, is that we're removing that you can email the school committee. That's how I read it too, and I'm not okay with that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Voted to use, to remove the school committee email?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I don't remember doing that at all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had a follow up question. So since the community can still write to that email address, you know, is there anywhere in this policy where we can state that you can continue to send your emails to this email, because like right now we're just removing that entire, you know, that piece about writing to the email and that the email will be received by all school committee members. You know, they will be copied on all, you know, all those emails. Is there any way we can incorporate that here, you know, just a statement, you know, for transparency reasons that, you know, you can still continue to write this email address? because I really honestly, you know, I just remembered us, the situation happening differently. I do remember that Mr. Russo wasn't going to read all the statements or make a determination on whether some could be read or some could not be read. But I do think that we should, you know, continue to keep the email address, you know, for transparency reasons.
[Kathy Kreatz]: In the policy, but not in this language that's going to go on the agenda.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I think even just a little asterisk with the footnote, I think would be helpful for the community. It's just gonna be one little, you know, italicized footnote.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, I would like to motion that we move this to a committee of the whole meeting so that all members can participate. I read through the rules. I want to first thank member Ruseau for putting this together in the time and effort that he must have spent putting this together. And as he mentioned in the email, he spent three years. So I don't think it's appropriate for us tonight to go through a document that he spent three years working on, and we're not gonna be able to provide our input. We need to be able to provide some input and feedback and possible amendments. And I think the only way we can do this is with a committee of the whole and going through line by line. Now, I don't think some of the numbers necessarily, I don't have an issue with all the numbers, but I do have many questions on many numbers. and I think we could go through it and go through like a set of 10. One to 10, approve, yes or no. Okay, what number do we wanna discuss? I don't think we have to go through every single solitary number, but we need to do this as a group and not through a rule subcommittee, then come back here, and then we have more questions, and then it's just gonna go on. So I think the only way we could do this is with the Committee of the Whole. And then we can have a motion.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Yes. That's a good idea. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, Mr. Russo. So I think I was confused about what this meant. So what you're saying is that you want to You understand, and I understand, that four members of the committee constitute a quorum, and that a smaller group, which would be three, mean they could meet and adjourn from day to day, but that could be a violation of the open meeting law. Is that correct? Because that's a subcommittee, and a subcommittee would have to be posted. I guess that, I was looking for clarification.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. So that's what this, okay. So I understand now this was just cleaning up the policy and you know, I, the way I read it, I thought you wanted to, you know, you know, appeal that members could meet and adjourn. And I said, I was confused and I started reading open meeting law. Okay. Thank you. So you didn't need that. Okay. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just wanted, I had a question and just maybe need some clarification. So is this flagship committee doing the research and making the recommendation whether it's going to be a new school, a refurbished high school, or is this committee deciding on the educational direction that we're taking? I just wasn't sure because of the MSBA information that was in there. a lot of the other goals. If somebody could clarify that, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. So the committee will receive like the MSBA statement of interest that was submitted. So they'll know what they're looking at and it's still going to take us probably another you know, till the end of the year for us to hear back on whether we're going to get the MSDA. Correct. Okay. Okay. So I thank you for the clarification.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, sorry. I have the same question that Ms. McLaughlin had. I did look at our upcoming agenda for this evening, and there's a resolution that Mr. Russo has put on with the list of functions and duties that he put together, a draft that he's proposing to us in a resolution. So I was wondering, and I know it would take time to probably have another committee of the whole to discuss the functions and duties that are proposed in that resolution. You know, so I was wondering, you know, like for now, maybe we could remove that and put it back in so that we can, you know, kind of move forward with this resolution so that, you know, we can begin, you know, following the procedures of referring things to the subcommittee and going through scheduling that way.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Um, yes, I wanted to talk about what, what, the way that I read it was, um, I, it seems like some of the subcommittees don't actually fit with the way the resolution's written because, you know, not every subcommittee is making policies. Like for example, the building and ground subcommittee meetings, we weren't meeting to set policy. We were meeting to talk about updates, like for the Mebita High School sign, hear information from the vocational principal about the great things students are doing, things like that. We were getting updates on the status of where things were with the generator or the boiler. We weren't making policy. And the same would be for the personnel subcommittee that I've been on. I mean, I think that, there's been a resolution on the agenda, you know, to have some descriptions of, you know, occupations, which, you know, could be some sort of a policy, but that's not everything that takes place in the personnel subcommittee. We've met to interview for new hires, things like that. So, you know, I think, you know, I can understand what the CPAC board is stating in their email because, you know, not every subcommittee is setting policies all the time. Yes, sometimes we will set a policy in the subcommittee, you know, occasionally for some, but not for all. It's not all about policymaking.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I just have a question and you know, you know, I understand like, you know, what you want us to do. Like, I understand that. Um, so like, let's use my example. Okay. I am the, um, building and grounds chairperson and, um, we're in this new policy just, you know, for the future, we were in this new policy and, you know, I got some emails from some members and, you know, we've been hearing for years that there should be a sign in Everett high school. All right. So, um, it's not a policy, but I could, and this is just, this is what, is this what I could do? Like I could then write a resolution that says I'm making a resolution that, um, I, schedule a building and ground subcommittee meeting so that we can discuss options for a sign from Everett High School and then it would go, I would do the add the agenda button or link and I would send it off and then it would go on the agenda at one meeting and then here we would make the full vote if the body wanted to. have that meeting, they would take that vote. If they didn't, it wouldn't pass. So, and I guess like going forward in the future, you know, some of these subcommittees are non, they're not always making policy, you know? So, I mean, I can understand Ms. McLaughlin's points. So I was thinking something, you know, over the past couple of weeks. I don't know if it would help in any way, but I think it might if there was, A lot of things I've been looking at have exceptions. There can be exceptions to the rule, and maybe there could be an exception that, and I don't have the exact, perfect wording, but in some subcommittees, they can have regular scheduled meetings per year, XX. Let's say I don't have the perfect number or anything either, but I know in my meetings, I've only had two or three the most. So like for some subcommittees, they should plan to meet four times per year or more. three times per year, you know, and it doesn't necessarily have to list the subcommittees because that can be part of the functions and duties once those are determined, but we're not there yet. So, so that was just something I was thinking about that, you know, we're, the rule is so specific for the policy making subcommittees, but it's just, you know, it's, it has to be a little bit broader to, you know, to go into more depth for the other subcommittees, cause it doesn't really work for all of them. That's what I think. You know, and I did, you know, reach out and talk to Ms. Van der Kloot and she did explain to me that this is how the policy was, you know, before I came on board as a school committee member. And then things kind of shifted away and we started doing things. the other way, which is the way we've been doing them. So she did explain it to me that this is how it was. And so, and I guess now I'm trying to figure out if this is how it was, and I never knew what it was like, you know, what do I do? And then I was talking to Ms. McLaughlin at one point, and it seemed like our subcommittees had just like defunct because we never had them. And then it just kind of set into me, I was a new subcommittee member, a new school committee member, And I didn't know that I was supposed to refer things to subcommittee. So I just, we didn't have them, honestly. And then we did every once in a while Mia would get a lot of emails and then we would get in touch with the mayor and then the mayor would then put it on the agenda. And then we would have the subcommittee. So then I thought it through and I'm like, oh my God, that's what we did do. But I didn't know because it was never written down. Like you said, we never had anything written down, none of us. you know so now we're we're trying to put something together um and i think we do need something but at the same time it's not going to work for every solid you know every subcommittee you know there can be exceptions um maybe i can just i i think it can work because number three it doesn't say policy on here it says um carry out business so for you it would be
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. So, um, I know I mentioned, you know, adding an exception, you know, to this, um, resolution, you know, that some subcommittees, you know, as needed may have, you know, three you know, scheduled subcommittee meetings, which would be like at the beginning of the year, the middle of the year and the end of the year, so that, you know, we could hear some feedback from, you know, like, for example, the CPAC meeting, which is, you know, I think that for that subcommittee, you know, it seems like You know, I remember when Erin had taken on that responsibility and she took it upon herself and she held those meetings and invited everybody to those meetings and it was very productive and the results were shared and it was a good working relationship. I mean, if three is too much, you could start with two and then add, like, that's why I was thinking of adding it as an exception. You know, I'm saying for my committee, I don't think I'm going to have a problem with my committees adding it as a resolution. But, you know, when I think about Ms. McLaughlin's committee, you know, you know, that that seems a little bit difficult because you know, we have been having them regularly scheduled just the past year, like, you know, on a regularly scheduled calendar event. So it just seems very abrupt. We're going to, you know, discontinue that. And I understand that, you know, it's involving a lot of personnel and their time. And I understand that, you know, that the time is associated with the monetary value, you know, because they're spending the time at those meetings. But, you know, if they're informational and we're sharing information and, you know, we're receiving information from the public, I think it's beneficial to continue with the meetings, you know, if, it was agreeable with all the individuals involved on the specific number of meetings per year. And that's why I say like to start, have two. I mean, I'm just thinking and I'm getting ahead of myself, but like reading the policies that were set forth by Mr. Russo. In his policy, one of the mentions having two annual meetings with, with, um, city council. Okay. So, so that's specific in his rules and functions. Why can't we have something specific in the rules and functions specifically pertaining to the CPAC, you know, um, and, and their disability, you know, committee, the behavioral health special education. You know, I mean, I know that I'm kind of getting ahead of myself because, you know, we are at the beginning stages of writing documents and, you know, it's the first time we're doing this. We've never done this. So we want to do it and we want to do it right, you know, to make it fit for everybody. And some of them is just not going to fit for everybody. And I think as needed, that's why if we put an exception and we don't list them, because there might be an exception and, you know, maybe those subcommittees just, you know, it's better for them to have the regular meetings, but not necessarily every month. That's just an idea.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I would like to make an amendment that we have an exception to the rule that allows for subcommittees as needed to have scheduled you know, let's just say for the purpose of the document to have two or three scheduled subcommittee meetings per year. And honestly, I don't think some of the committee members are going to do that, but I do think that some of the committees are going to need it. Like I can see right off the top, the personnel, we don't need something like that for the personnel. We, we hardly meet about that. So it just, it makes sense for some, I mean, the rules, it's always going to have policies. That's a policy making, subcommittee. you know, the engagement communication that had some policy in it, but then it also had discussion and it had topics about afterschool pay and things like that. So in the curriculum, that would be policy, you know, so like most of them are going to be, you know, it's going to be easy to follow the resolution to add them on the agenda, but then for the committees that don't, I think it's, you know, fair to, Let me look at the new subcommittees. Sorry, I was looking at last year's. Some of the newer ones, diversity and equity, I think for those to start with in the strategic planning, I think to start with, they would have to maybe have at least one or two meetings per year. They're newer committees.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Before we take the vote, could I just mention just on the amendment. have one meeting per year listening session and maybe and if needed, you know, to have an additional meeting if necessary, something like that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And it's not going to list the subcommittee, so it's not going to exclude any subcommittee. It may, if they want to.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It may or may not. Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, Jenny Graham.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, Paul Russo.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, I just wanted to say that for the good of the order. I thought that the orientation that the superintendent put on and I think it was Dorothy from the MSC she had come out. It was very informative and a refresher for all of us as we're, you know, getting back into a new term. you know, because sometimes we can, we know what we're doing, but sometimes we can forget and get away from what we should be doing. So I think it would be great and, you know, look forward to doing that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi. Hi. Yes, thank you. Miss Hines Mr. Murphy and everybody for the report, and, you know, all the nurses for everything you're doing. So I just wanted to know if. Currently on our website, we do have the Medford School COVID exposure guidance. So will that be updated for next week? Because it still has some of the information, you know, tested positive for COVID-19, must isolate for 10 days. I think that will have to be updated, you know, if we could, you know, in preparation for next week,
[Kathy Kreatz]: I spoke first, sorry, but I'll- It doesn't, you can go first, Ms. McLaughlin, that's fine.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, yep. So I thank you for bringing this to us, Ms. Graham. So I have, I was reading number three and I just need some clarification. So do you mean that like, so for example, you know, I've been the chair for the building and grounds subcommittee and I have, you know, kind of developed the agenda with the assistance of Mr. Murphy, the superintendent, the Director of Building and Grounds, and then community member input, what they're interested in hearing about. So for example, the Merritt High School sign was part of my agenda last year. This year, something that might be of interest would be bike racks for middle school and high school. I think I'm just confused. So are you saying that the chair would no longer create the agenda And I would have to, or the person who's the chair would have to wait for something to get referred to the committee and how will that happen? I guess, you know, I had a lot of questions about number three. I was confused about number three.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Just some clarification. I guess I'm not following what you're saying I'm not talking about spending money. I'm simply talking about, you know, when I've been the chair of the building and grounds. I've received updates with exciting news from the vocational school, you know, different things the students are doing. I'm not following what you're saying. I mean, I'm not talking about spending money. You know, sometimes the meetings would be informational where I would be receiving information about updates or where we are with statuses of, you know, like let's say the walkie talkies or, you know, where we are with like last year, for example, where we were with the sign. I'm not following and I'm sorry, maybe if there's somebody else that would be able to explain it to me a little bit easier. I'm just not following like, how would items get referred to like, for example, Are you saying that the only way to have something referred to the subcommittee is what, what you've been doing all along which is like putting your resolution on the agenda so like if I wanted to have something on the, on my like let's say I was the chair of the building and grounds and I wanted to have. a discussion on bike racks and what do we think we have? What do we think we need? We're not talking about money. We're just talking about having a community discussion, which I did get some emails on earlier in September. And we wanted to do something with that meeting, but we were held off because it was the election time. So we couldn't have subcommittee meetings. So at some point that might've been an agenda item. I guess that I'm talking about that. I'm still, I don't know what number three means in terms of how does an item get, if I'm the chair of a committee, how does the item get on that agenda for the committee? Cause I used to be, or the chair would be the person who would build that agenda. Does that help?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have another follow up. So for example, I'm just thinking back to other agendas I've had. So if I had four or five, six or seven things that I was going to put on the agenda, are you saying I would do seven resolutions or seven separate resolutions that I would be putting on the agenda? It's just something new and, you know, I'm just, I'm not sure where the mayor is going to be forming our subcommittees, you know, I don't know what. What, what is my responsibility? I'm just, you know, I've been doing it the other way, building the agenda with the superintendent. I've been working with the superintendent, the finance director, director of, you know, building and grounds and sometimes even city hall. So, you know, I, I haven't been, let's say bypassing the committee. We would only vote for things to move it out to the full committee. And then the full committee would take a vote. We never, voted on anything without the full support of the committee. The only thing that I'm seeing here differently is that in order for a chair to build their agenda, they first would have to add The agenda items to the regular school committee as a resolution, get approval before they, the person could go and then schedule their subcommittee meeting. Like I guess you know like I guess I was just looking for more instructions, you know, because if I take this vote tonight. I have to know what I'm doing as a chairperson. Do you see what I mean? With instructions, because I've been doing it one way the whole time, this is just a new way. I just have to know it all the way through. How am I going to do that? The way that I described it, how it's going to be so like if I have four items that I don't have any items right now in fact but if I had four items I would put four resolutions you know that I would like this to be resolved that it would go on the building ground subcommittee because we would have to take a vote on each separate resolution which would be separate agenda item
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. So the way I understand it is to add a resolution and then it would get voted on. And then if it was approved, then I could go ahead and build the agenda.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Consent agenda is approved. Number four, reports of subcommittees, special education subcommittee meeting minutes 12, 16, 2021. Member McLaughlin, motion to table.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, Dr. Edward-Vinson. Up next, we have a COVID-19 update. Mr. David Murphy, Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations. Just wait for Mr. McLaughlin to turn on your microphone. please.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And on the Roberts, the Connections Program, right? Yes. And so at either the Brooks or the McGlynn, if you're going to include programmatic elements, they should also be at the Brooks or the McGlynn, right? So there's access at the... Yes. Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And then any other programmatic elements that are broken out for the other schools, if you could just speak, if you wouldn't mind. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: With the 23 new students, they're calling different days throughout the last two months, and I'm assuming they all weren't in queue trying to be placed. About how long does it take to place a child in kindergarten once a parent calls and said they've moved here?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, Ms. Clusey. Thank you very much. We have special recognition of school committee member, Ms. Paulette van de Kloot, retiring after 32 years of service to the Medford Public Schools. I'd like to invite up Dr. Maurice-Edouard-Vincent to start us off.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, Paulette, for all of your service to our children in the community. It's been a pleasure being a colleague of yours and on both sides of this podium, learning from you, both as a parent and as a colleague. 32 years of service is remarkable, and I was just trying to do some of the math, and I know how long these meetings can be, so I'm sure I'm underestimating, but I'm ballparking somewhere over 800 hours of service and volunteer hours in meetings that you've committed over your 32 years to our students and our community.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just want to thank you for your 32 years of service and your friendship. Just like everybody said here tonight, it's just incredible. Your knowledge, your kindness, you know, we can call you, text you with any questions. You have a remarkable memory. you seem to remember everything. I don't know how you do it and I'm so glad you know my son got to know you with the volunteer program and you know you were a great mentor. He just loves volunteering and I'm so glad that he started with that program and it got him into a schedule and it just seems that everything you do it's just it's just wonderful and incredible and I'm so happy for you for your retirement to spend time with your grandchildren and your family and just to have more free time. You really deserve it, and I'm really happy for you. And I will miss you, and I'll probably reach out to you. So I have a citation, and I'll read it now. This is a certificate of special congressional recognition presented to Paulette Vanderkoot for her 32 years exemplary as member of Medford School Committee in recognition of outstanding and invaluable service to the community. Signed by Senator Ed Mackey.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm going to be brief as well but I just want to say I've always respected you as a Councilor when you were a school committee member but and I know you were thinking should you run the last time and I just want to from the bottom of my heart, thank you for doing so. These last two years have been extremely difficult for all of us. Myself never have served in the school committee, a couple others that were very recent and you helped lead the committee through the toughest two years that I've ever been in politics and probably in your 32 years as well. There were nights where we would have eight hour meetings and I'd say, I need to come in and sit in say something and say the right thing and you would swoop in and just calmly and rationally solve what we needed to be solved at that moment. Or I would be home racking my brain on something school related and I would look at my phone and you'd be calling. It's almost like you knew when you needed to reach out to brainstorm or review something so we could try to make it better. And it's really helped me the last two years. I look up to you as a friend, as a colleague, and I just thank you for all you have done for all of our kids. We really appreciate it. I wish you the best of luck in your retirement. Congratulations.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Be proud of all the work you've done, the person you are, and the difference you have made for the past 32 years. Thank you so much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I want to thank both students for coming out this evening and speaking. Thank you very much. And I just had a question because I've been seeing some chatter on Facebook about whether or not we still have a school resource officer. So I just wanted to maybe clear up some confusion on that. Would you be able to help answer that question?
[Kathy Kreatz]: because I went through my notes and I was surprised by the increase in the price and you answered that question also. So, I had in the notes from the building grounds meeting that it was possible that when we approve this in May that there might have been a possibility of getting a rebate.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So, I kinda, I was just curious about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just want to follow up on a member of McLaughlin. She was asking about the supports while the students are quarantining, because this had come up in a few emails that we got. So are those supports in place right now, like where students can get the Zoom instruction while they're home?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And I just have one other question. So I just wanted to ask, are the students in all grades getting the frequent mass breaks? And are they allowed to have water available to drink if they need to have some water? And this goes for all grades.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes. So I just had one question. So at the beginning, it does say like grades three to six, no calculators are allowed for either session. And then grades seven to eight, no calculators are allowed. And I have a question. So my son, he used to have an accommodation to have a calculator present. Is, is that something that if a student has an accommodation, you know, for their IEP, can they have the calculator? Yes, yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And just one more, and I know that my son also got like extra time to take the test, because he just required extra time. So if that was part of an accommodation, would that be allowed also?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And just one final one. So I know Mr. Russo was mentioning like the low lights. So I just had a question in the past, there was, you know, something that was like an MCAS, like Academy or extra support for students, you know, even it was, it was actually like a program. It was a grant that was written and was received. And if the students, you know, needed support or assistance, They could sign up for the program, which was highly encouraged to take the program and they would go in for a Saturday course it was something like eight to like 11. And it was you know it really helped with the skill taking you know just they did a lot of quizzing and just how to go through the questions and you know don't you know forget to. you know, to answer a question. Is there anything yet, you know, in the works for something like that coming up in, you know, in the, you know, early winter, spring?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm happy to expand upon that. Thank you. I've been waiting to, okay, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, thank you. Yep. So, at the last meeting. I had laryngitis, so I couldn't really get out what I was trying to say. And I sent an email off to Dave Murphy the next day. And I just wanted to thank Dave Murphy and Ms. Hines and whoever else helped with the website update to get the additional information and the links under one button so that it's easy and accessible. You just click on read more, and you can now click on the link to the test and consent form, staff COVID test and consent form, public schools positive case tracker a guide for understanding covert 19 covert exposure guidance never public schools kindergarten covert 19 prevention protocols and I'm hoping that you know once we have those vaccination status rates. We can also put that link directly under the scene. button and I already reached out to some families who asked me if I could, you know, put that on the agenda and I couldn't talk that night so it was funny. So they were really happy they tested it and they could open it and I can open it with my iPhone. It's a little bit different with my computer but I can I can open it with my iPhone I figured it out. Because I told Dave I couldn't do it and you just have to click on it in a certain way. And I think it's like one of my browsers works on my iPhone, but then it doesn't on the other one. But I got it working.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I haven't gotten this question yet, but would some of these documents be translated, or how would that work?
[Kathy Kreatz]: All right, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It's on. Oh, okay. It's difficult to find the consent form on the website. I know the superintendent includes it in her weekly letter. Is there any way to put Like a special button on the website with the link to all the corporate information. The consent form the Testing program frequently asked questions testing program schedule things like that short answer is yes, and it is located, but I think.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Point of information, I think.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, because I think we got, and I might just be misreading some emails, but I think we got an email from Suzy. She made some changes. Is that right? It was a change after that. I've already put that change in front of her. Okay, all right, so we'll see that the next time.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you. I just have one question. So it's in regards to the high school. So how many students are allowed like in the restrooms, the bathrooms at one time? Did the number increase? Is it one? Is it more than one?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So no more than two?
[Kathy Kreatz]: But some restrooms might be a little bit larger, so they- The larger ones, two are permitted.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just had another question. So if a student is going to school and they just forgot their mask, do they get asked before they go in the building or do they go through the building and somebody sees them and says, oh, do you need your mask? I'm just curious, is there any sort of protocol for that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. And there are definitely this ample supply of extra masks. We still have them. Okay, great.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can't make it either.
[Kathy Kreatz]: My husband's a lefty, so in his sister and, you know, his father. So I, you know, I have to deal with the obstacles with him and he struggled. And yes, I think I did, you know, have noted that I think it would be I talked to my sister-in-law, my husband to have like a universal desk, that would be, you know, that would be ideal, you know, if that's something we could do. And I was just curious, if we know, you know, not like the necessary the number, but do we have an idea of you know how common are the, like this, the left hand side desk like do we have them at every school or just remember, I mean Mr. Murphy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kathy, please. Yes. So I'm sorry. I'm just having some trouble locating the complete document. When I click on the link I got from Susie, it keeps on bringing me into just my evaluation. I can't see everybody else's. Before we began the process, I could see the prior. So it came today, Kathy?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah and I like I'm in the Google Sheets share drive and I open it up at 608 and it's just my, it's just my evaluation.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, OK, because I think the last time we did it, there was like a tab for all the individual scores, because that's what I saw before. But that's fine. I think it's just a little bit different. Or maybe I'm just not remembering, even though it was just a few months ago. But yes, no, I mean, I'm happy to see that the scores are very consistent with what I did for my evaluation. So I think we're all on the same page with, the remarkable job that the superintendent has done this school year during the pandemic, you know, transitioning from fully remote over to hybrid, then in-person, then the return to school, the staggered start, and just making sure all the classrooms were ready and safe for all the students and the teachers. You know, I think know, with all the different bulletins that Lisa Evangelista sends out, you know, there was just communications, pictures with you at every school, where you were, you know, helping out here, you know, giving out meals, computers, you know, not computers, but the Google Chromebooks, and You were there when all the students returned. You made sure you went to every classroom at all the different events. I'm just grateful for your leadership and what a great successful school year that we had despite the pandemic. And I look forward to another successful year of learning. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member McLaughlin.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes, thank you. And thank you for the presentation, Mr. Murphy. And I just wanted to say I did watch most of the city council meeting last night until I fell asleep in the middle of the meeting. But everybody did a great job. The questions were great. The answers were great. And so I'm getting to the email that you sent us this afternoon with the color-coded itemized budgetary The memo where you have everything shaded in light green or dark green, and then there's some light blue. So I just wanted to ask if you could touch on that memo that you sent us. And I noticed that there were some things here that are still listed as discretionary or necessary. Some items are funded. Would you be able to just give an overview of that memo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, thank you very much. Thank you for the clarification.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you so much for everything you've done. You've been so wonderful to all the students, the staff, the community. You're just a wonderful, amazing person. I wish you the very best in retiring. The very best. Thank you so much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Yes. I wanted to thank personally thank the advisory committee for all their hard work in volunteerism. You know, you spend, you know, hours just sorting through all the information and we really appreciate everything you did. I do have a question or just something I wanted to share. I was, over the weekend, somebody shared with me that one of the names is Mr. Duck, and I guess there's a proposed bill that is, you know, coming out where the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education is going to promulgate regulations to ensure that no public school uses athletic name, logo, or mascot, which names refer to or associated with Native Americans, including Native American cultures and specific Native American tribes. I'm not sure where this bill is right now, but I just wanted to mention it where if this is gonna be coming a regulation, that you know possibly in the near future if we were to choose a name like that we might have to have another renaming committee in the future. So I just wanted to share that. Thank you member Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, thank you. And I just want to thank everybody who came out tonight and spoke at the podium or on Zoom and the emails that were sent in. So I, you know, first off, all of the choices were excellent and deserving of being the name on a school building. I am in favor of Jean Barry Sutherland. She served as an educator over 30 years. I'm one of eight myself, and I had the privilege to have her as one of my teachers at the Waite School. It was a neighborhood school. She was a genuine, dedicated teacher, truly outstanding. My siblings and friends, we would go by to visit her after school. She lived in the neighborhood, and we always wanted to go see Ms. Barry, and she's you know, be planting outside or taking care of our grass. And we'd always say, hi, Miss Barry, and, you know, wave along. She would stay after school and help with anything that we were struggling with. I had difficulty with reading and she would stay after with me. And, you know, when she did pass away, I'm part of the Waite School Facebook group, and so many stories were shared about her. And it's just, you know, everything that was said tonight is all factual, historical, I still remember going to the Wade School, walking with the neighborhood friends. We just all walked together down the Wade School path to the school. You know, the Medford School is in a better place because of Ms. Barry. We have a unique opportunity to honor an educator and pay respect, especially to a person who walked and led in the school that we're renaming right now. She was a great leader, honoring Jean would also honor all the educators that rose to the many challenges of the unknown during the pandemic. And there's no one more deserving of renaming the school after. So that's my thought. And I just wanted to share that with everybody. Thank you. And I don't want to clap either. So thank you. So please, no claps or anything. Thank you. Thank you, Member Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Jean Barry Sutherland.
[Kathy Kreatz]: No.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I've had the light on. I just have questions about each of the policies. First, I'm going to start with the calendar policy. I did watch the meeting on YouTube. I watched it. you know, I tried to follow it the best I could. So I just have concerns about adding three additional no school days to the calendar. You know, last week we had, you know, the high heat temperature days and I was getting messages from parents saying that I'm not sending my child to school. It's too hot to be in the schools. And, you know, this is going to be, you know, happening if we're going to having the kids go to school to June 28 June 30th it they're going to be going in the hot hot temperatures adding three more no school days onto the calendar and with all the snow days I mean we don't know in New England it's unpredictable with what the snow days are going to be. I do recall one year that my son went to school until June 29th because there were so many snow days and It was really difficult for the students. And in fact, the students were done. They didn't wanna go and some families just went off on their vacations and didn't finish the school year. So I would like to have an opportunity to see what other school districts in the greater Boston area are doing or in our neighboring area to know what the implication is of adding the three additional no school days to the calendar. So I would like that information before I was going to make a vote on adding those calendar days. And that's what, you know, that's what I have for that. I don't know if you want me to go on with the public comment and then I have for the agenda, I have some questions or thoughts for the agenda. Do you have an answer to that question? I do actually.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'll think about that, thank you. And then in regards to the public comment, so- Mayor, excuse me, could we just discuss one policy at a time?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes I have my light on. Yep so I am you know I was just I guess I'm just having trouble like I feel like the public comment part and the agenda kind of go together and you know I'm just and I I tried watching the meeting I'm just I'm just a little bit confused because if I look at our current agenda we have On our current agenda, currently what we have in this part of the policy, we have community participation, where it does say any citizen may be given permission to speak at the school committee meetings on any agenda item up to three minutes. That's always been on our agenda. Then we have the public participation emails. So is this new policy public comment is that replacing community participation? You just changed the name of the word. Instead of saying community participation, it's now gonna be called public comment, but it's the same thing. That's where I'm just unsure about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It does, like it sounds like you're separating it out. And so I guess I just want some clarification. So can a resident, you know, come, you know, before the podium at any point and just speak about something that's not on the agenda or... That's against the law, no. No. So that... Because that... It doesn't... In the new policy, it doesn't state any item... Okay, it does state any item on the agenda. All right, the only other concern I had was... And I heard this before, a couple of meetings back, was that We asked for the full Medford Street address. And so the concern is that what if a community member is displaced for whatever reason, whether they're homeless or in foster care, and they don't have a Medford resident address, you know, we specifically, you know, states that it must be a Medford Street address. So that was something that was brought to my attention. you know, a while back and I know you were working on these policies.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, I would appreciate that, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I Ms. Van der Kloot and myself, we have a resolution. We haven't got to that point yet on the agenda to have the meeting start at a scheduled time. We heard from community members, all of us, that they would like a designated time to start. So I know that what I've heard from the discussion was that you, during your subcommittee meeting, You know, kind of talking about, you know, having the possibility of having a meeting start, you know, maybe five, six flexible with the superintendent, and I'm okay with that. However, what we've heard from the community is that, you know, I know that some of the reports that are presented, might be for us, but some of the community, you know, enjoys, you know, being part of that, you know, discussion and hearing it and, you know, has kind of asked us to have the meeting start. At seven, which, you know, I tried to kind of go somewhere in the middle between six and seven. And, you know, I just kind of came up with the middle time of 630. We've started a couple of our meetings at 630. You know, I do the goal of all of our meetings is to not have them go, you know, hours and hours, you know, that's definitely a goal and I know that that's what this plan is, you know, trying to do is trying to, you know, reduce the amount of time that our meetings are going by having a, you know, a consolidated agenda. So I'm just, you know, I'm just concerned where now, you know, we're going to have, which, and I'm totally in support of not having the presentations for the public until at, you know, after 7pm or after. I do agree with that so that people who are in work can go home, eat, you know, eat their dinner. And then if they want to either join on Zoom or they're going to come down to the chamber, they can do that. So that's where I am with that because where I didn't, you know, I heard about your, um, I read, I'm sorry, not read, watched on YouTube after I had already done my resolution. Okay. So it just was like, you know, the timing was like a coincidence, you know, I'm doing the resolution, Ms. Bandicoot, and then you were having a discussion, you know? So, um, so, you know, I'm just, you know, You know, I am definitely I start work very early. I know the administration does I know the teachers do and, you know, this is like my I don't know like 20th hour right now I'm losing my voice I can't think I'm, I have no voice you know it's just going. So, I. and definitely in support of having earlier meetings but at the same time you know it's our duty to serve the public and and that's what has been pointed out to me by you know some of the public that you know we used to do our meetings at seven we every meeting started at seven and then once we had the pandemic we did kind of cut the, I mean, we started our meetings earlier because we were meeting earlier, but we went just as late. Like we started, some of our meetings started last year at four, but we still met until 11 o'clock at night, you know, even though we, so we, we, we started to trend towards an earlier hour, you know, so I'm wondering if, you know, if maybe, like, if we could come up with a set time so that the community knows that we're going to be starting our meetings at a set time. I'm not gonna, you know, my resolution hasn't come up yet, so that's, you know, coming up in the future time, but we are talking about the gender at this time right now. So from reading this, I'm not sure, like, what time are the meetings gonna start? I'm just curious myself. Are they, you know, it doesn't seem like it's going to be set here for a specific time.
[Kathy Kreatz]: and try it and see how the public feels. I'm gonna have to abstain. I'm sorry, I'm just not ready to do the vote right now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Thank you, Dr. Edward-Vincent, for the updates. I make a motion to go ahead with signed option two for the front entrance of Medford High School to be put up for September 1st, 2021. This is the same sign option that was preferred choice at the subcommittee meeting that we had. It was just labeled number six during the subcommittee. We just had more choices, but that was the preferred choice.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to approve.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I would like to get the funding to find out what the cost would be before I make the vote. Can we table this resolution?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just wanted to say thank you, Superintendent Edwin Vincent, for your evaluation and all your goals that you sent to us. And I also want to mention that you do continue to exhibit exceptional instructional leadership. You motivate your team and the teachers and all the students. Everywhere you go, you walk around with a smile. You make the students happy. It's like they're your family. an extended family. You make everybody feel warm and comfortable and very personable. So I just wanted to say that those are just a brief summary of my feedback. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Hi everybody. We had a Building and Grounds Subcommittee on May 26. All the documents I shared with everybody with the Building and Grounds Subcommittee folder. I'm gonna just summarize the meeting minutes very briefly. And then at the end, I'm gonna read all the motions at once. So we can take one roll call, there were five motions at the meeting, and I'm going to include the minutes of the meeting when I do the motion so that I don't forget because I forgot the last time, unless anybody wants to sever one of the motions. So here's the summary. First we heard from Mr. Chad Fallon. Mr. Cormier, electrical teacher, they shared an incredible slide deck to show the projects going on with the cement project at the main entrance of the vocational school, the new graphic art space, the electrical project, an additional interior house built, and the bistro storage unit. Each of the projects was done by students with the CTE shop collaboration, construction, and craft labor. There are so many great things happening in the vocational programs. We revisited discussion about the signage for the front entrance of Medford High School. It's difficult to know where the front entrance is. We need an official sign. We did two polls at the meeting and we narrowed it down to a total of the top three signs, number six, seven, and two that were in the presentation for the poll slideshow. And we voted to ask Dr. Cushing to do a poll with the student body and share the results at the June 14th subcommittee meeting. Mr. McLaughlin and Ms. Agitudin, Tree Warden City of Medford, spoke about all the great projects going on with the Medford High School front entrance at the corner of Winthrop Street. The construction and craft labor students put down new mulch and low maintenance plants to beautify the front entrance corner of Winthrop Street. A broken fence section was replaced. Several dead trees were removed. A total of 18 trees were planted between last fall and Arbor Day. We received an update from Mister Murphy regarding the high school bathroom project, the RFPs will go out over the next couple of weeks. The work will start over the summer before the students return in September. Two solar speed signs were installed at Medford High School. Also, a solar speed sign was installed at the Andrews. I drove by it before the graduation. They're all set for 10 miles per hour. Mr. McLaughlin and Alicia Hunt, Director of Energy Environment, City of Medford, spoke about the hot water system at Medford High School that must be replaced. We need this working for mid-August. Mr. McLaughlin also discussed the Curtis Tufts High School boiler. He also purchased sectional replacements. We voted to go ahead with the labor cost to repair. The Medford High School generator is not operational. It must be replaced. We took a vote to replace the Medford High School generator. We also voted for Mr. McLaughlin to repair the Medford High School transformer. Mr. McLaughlin shared an informational update on the capital costs associated with the Mervitt High School pool replacement. This was just an informational report that he shared and information's in the building grounds folder shared with everybody. So now I'm gonna read the motions. I'm just gonna read through them all, and then we'll just do one vote. Motion one, motion for Dr. Cushing to do a poll with the student body, the top three sign ideas from Mervitt High School, front entrance, number six, number seven, number two. The results from the subcommittee and the student body poll will be shared at our upcoming meeting on June 14th. Motion number two, to proceed with the replacement of the Merritt High School hot water system. Motion three, motion to proceed with the labor expense cost to repair the Curtis Tufts High School boiler sectional replacements already purchased. Motion four, motion to replace the Merritt High School generator. Motion five, motion to give John McLaughlin the okay to repair the transformer. Motion six, motion to accept the subcommittee meeting minutes. Great, thank you, member Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, yes, I just want to also say thank you and it's just such a pleasure, you know, just seeing all the Facebook posts that we get shared on the blog and just reading the article in the paper on Sunday and my neighbors like look at this. I'm like I know I know it's just a great things going on my proposed schools. I know there's just so many great projects. It's just unbelievable every day. I'm just reading anyone. Thank you so much both of you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Member Kreatz? Yes, I wanted to say, first off, I wanted to say thank you very much for all the input and collaboration with the administrators and everybody involved with this together. We had a really good discussion at the subcommittee meeting, and I really enjoyed getting to participate in the poll and choosing the new design and the look of the new strategic plan. It looks excellent. And it's just, it's so user-friendly. You can click on the link, you just get right in. It's just, it's really great. And I too really liked the glossary. I think it's really helpful and I'm so glad that that's part of it also. And I just wanted to say thank you for all the time and efforts from everybody on this plan. It just came out really great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Member Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, may I just ask a point of information?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes, I just wanted to say I've been watching some of the meetings on YouTube, and they are working really hard on trying to get the slideshow ready. And I just think we need to give them the time. I mean, there's many slides that they were going through one by one, and they were making decisions on the slides and making the amendments similar to the process that we went through when we had to come up with the policy. I really would appreciate that we can give them the time that they're spending to put this presentation together. I don't wanna just cut them off in the middle of the work that they're doing. They're taking it very seriously. They're all very involved and they're taking votes. And I would really like to hear their presentation And given the time, they're spending a lot of time on the presentation. If we could, please give them the additional time. I do think that they're going to be ready if they pick the 14th. I don't wanna just jump the gun and cut them off in the middle of all the work they've done. They've spent so much time, hours and hours on getting the presentation ready. Member Tseng.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, could I just get some clarification? So next week, the advisory committee is going to present to us. Correct. And they're going to show us their slideshow. we're going to take the vote the same night, or are we going to add another meeting on, because I know that we do have to do one more meeting for the final budget, you know, to accept it. I guess I'm looking for some clarification on- That's what we're debating right now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. So my question might be similar to Ms. Graham's question. I had a very, I mean, I think it might be the same exact question. So I had a question. How will the costs associated with some of the repairs that we discussed in the building and ground subcommittee last Wednesday, you know, we talked about the generator at the high school, the hot water system. I see the transformer is listed in this budget and the Curtis Tufts hot water system or boiler. I think you mentioned at the beginning, I was just trying to type everything down really fast. How will those costs be paid?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And when do you think we'll get the appropriation from the municipal government? I guess in the past, And maybe I'm wrong, but I think in the past, we typically had the appropriation, like when we went into the final budget meeting, like we knew what we got for a number, but I could be just not remembering it correctly.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thanks. And I said one follow up. So do you think it would be two weeks, three weeks, like where, you know, I'm just curious, like, I mean, you know, we don't know. So I guess we'll just be waiting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. So I see. Okay, Paul. It's there. John. So it looks like I'm just waiting for Chad. But I think, Oh, I think I just saw him come in. Okay. So I think what I'll do is I'm just going to start reading the agenda so we can get started. Please be advised that on Wednesday, May 26 from 5pm to 7pm, there will be a buildings and grounds subcommittee meeting held through remote participation via Zoom. Pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, General Law, Chapter 30A, Section 18 in the Governor's May 15, 2020 order, imposing strict limitations on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting of the Medford School Committee will be held via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. Specific information and general guidelines for remote participation by members of the public and or parties with the right and or requirement to attend this meeting can be found on the City of Medford website at www.medfordma.org. For this meeting, members of the public who wish to listen to watch the meeting may do so accessing the meeting link contained herein. No in-person attendance of members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure the public can adequately access proceedings in real time via technological means. In the event that we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post on the City of Medford community media websites in audio or video recording transcript and or comprehensive record proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting. The meeting can be viewed through Medford Community Media, Comcast Channel 22, Verizon Channel 43 at 5 p.m. Since the meeting will be held remotely, participants can log or call in by using one of the following links. Medford Public Schools is inviting you to schedule a meeting. backslash J backslash 91360156778, enter media ID number 91360156778, or you can try calling, enter one of the numbers with your mobile phone or landline, 13126266799, that's one of the numbers. enter the meeting ID number 913-6015-6778. Additionally, questions and comments can be submitted during the meeting by emailing kcretz at medford.k12.me.us. And my last name is spelled K-R-E-A-T-Z. So K-K-R-E-A-T-Z at medford.k12.me.us. The email, you must contain your first and last name, your Medford street address, your questions or comments. And so we're ready to begin. I'm going to, you know, of course, start with welcoming everybody for making it today on this very wonderful, warm, hot day. It seems very summer-like today. And so we have a lot of agenda items. So I'm wondering if I could get maybe one of my subcommittee members could just keep an eye out on the timing to just kind of move this along so that we don't go over the time. So if, you know, Paulette or Paul, if you could just kind of keep an eye on it. Yeah. Are we on till 630 or till 7? Okay. 7 p.m. And that's what it's posted that way at City Hall and on the agenda. Yeah, so we got the updated invite last night on that. Okay, just wanted to make sure. Yeah, no problem.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Exactly. And that's why, you know, if we can keep an eye on the time and, you know, I'll do that. Thank you. And feel free to move it along. I don't mind at all. And so let's start with the roll call. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Just kidding. A little too soon. Yeah, no problem. Yep. So I can see that Mr. Russo is here. Mr. Russo? Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And Ms. Van der Kloot? Yes. And Ms. Gretz? I'm here. Okay. So there we go. Three present, none absent. Okay. So I'm ready to begin and I'm going to start. Chad Fallon, Mr. Fallon, he is up first. So I'm going to let you take it away, Mr. Fallon. Go ahead.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Wow, beautiful.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, Ms. Van de Koot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I definitely wanted to just say the presentation was phenomenal. And all the projects that are going on with all the different programs, the construction, craft, labor, and the carpentry students working together on the outside project with the cement, that is unbelievable. It looks beautiful. The landscaping, it looks wonderful and very exciting to hear about the electrical program expansion. and the collaboration with the students working on CAD and just that's so interesting that we're gonna be the first to actually be part of wiring and teaching the students how to fish the wires through and to be able to see it, that is so exciting and so unique. It's wonderful. Everything you just shared today is unbelievable with everything that's already completed at the vocational school. It's just, it's looking beautiful. Thank you. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, would you be able to share the presentation with us via email? Sure, I'll do that right now. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. And thank you both. Mr. Comeo, thank you so much for being here. Thank you, Mr. Fallon, for being here. And always enjoy hearing about all the projects going on. Thank you. Thanks. So next we have Mr. McLaughlin and it's, so agenda number five, Medford High School front entrance, letter, sign, and walkway. So at our last meeting, we discussed in great detail that, you know, it was recommended by the superintendent that it's very difficult to know where the front entrance of the school is. We need an official main entrance with a sign designating the front entrance. And I and I know, you know, there's been some talk that, well, we're going to have the visionary committee form. But even in the short time, it's very important that we have an official sign on Mefford High School, you know, to just note Mefford High School. So at our last meeting, we asked John if he can get us estimates and some sign pictures. So we got a collection of we got an estimate, which I will share that Right now, one moment, I'm just going to get that open. And I did share with everybody via the email. I'm just going to go to the area where I have to just quickly open up the estimate. Okay, while we're doing that, John, did you want to maybe just go over anything while I'm just locating that estimate?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just put the estimate up on the screen right now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So they're ranging, it looks like from 21,250 and, up to up to 26,850.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, and that's what I was, I was just waiting for just that conversation to finish up and I'm gonna share the next screen. One moment, let me just click on it. I just have to navigate, I just have a lot open, so I'm going to the area. Okay, I think it's right here. Okay, here it is. Okay, I just have to, I'm getting it ready here. I'm ready to do it right now. Okay, let's see. Okay, right here. Okay. Okay, so with the help of Dr. Cushing and Dr. Maurice and Ms. Susie Weiss today, they put together this slide presentation, which I'm gonna show you right now. And it has the pictures that John McLaughlin shared with all of us in the email. So as you can see right now, I'm showing you pictures one and two. Can you see that okay? Can everybody see that okay?
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, good. All right. And I don't want to move along too quickly. So I was just going to pause it right there for a moment. And now let me move on to the next slide. And I can make it a little bit bigger. Let me just see if it might be too small. Let's see. It can either be 100. Oh, zoom out. Zoom in. Zoom out. Oh, sorry. Wrong zoom. Yeah, sorry, I think I did the wrong one. Making it smaller zoom in. There we go. I'm getting right now. One more time just to make it a little bigger. OK, this is much bigger. OK, so as you can see. There. They look very similar, but I think it's just a different font. So here is number one. And then number two. And this is number three and four. So three and four look very similar. You know what the difference is? Is that the M is in the white on number three and the Medford, like the Mustang M is in the blue background on number four. And then five has the white background.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, okay, that's good. So as part of this, and I was going to ask, I don't know if Dr. Cushing was able to help, but what we were going to do was to do a poll, but I'm not sure if we're able to do something like that. I know it was very last minute, so I just wanted to ask Dr. Cushing if that was something that we would be able to do, but if not, it's not a problem. It was just something that I thought of very last minute, I was at a meeting yesterday and we did a poll and on the zoom call and it was, you know, it was interactive and I said, Oh, maybe we could do that for this meeting tonight. And there's number six. It's the blue, it looks, you know, with the Mustang traditional. Number seven, this is just the standard Mayford High School sign.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh wow, that's really neat.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And let's go to number eight. And this one looks very similar to number seven.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It is a little different, just slightly different.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can see the line goes all the way across on number eight and it stops a little bit on number seven. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I like the old logo. Yes, Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So Dr. Cushing has his hand raised, and I just wanted to mention that in this particular project, we're not renaming the high school. Medford High School doesn't have a sign on the front entrance. There's no way to find the front of the school because there isn't a sign. For some reason, when the school was built, they just never put a sign up. I had discussed this with John McLaughlin. So what we're doing today in the committee and what we spoke of in the last meeting was that we would like to have a sign to designate the front entrance of the Medford High School. So we asked John McLaughlin to get some estimates. So some of the pictures that I shared were a little bit more in detail but then we could just go with a simpler sign that just simply says Medford High School without a logo and just leave it like that and we could you know once you know the vision committee is formed in the future that sign can be taken off and then put in another place in the new high school or the new renovated high school at some time in the future, which might not be for 10 or many years later. So I just wanted to provide that clarification about what we're talking about on this meeting agenda item. But Dr. Cushing, go ahead and then Mr. McLaughlin after that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So as part of this demonstration, I asked Dr. Cushing if he could help me with just launching a poll so that we can just get some feedback of preference for a sign. So I was going to do that right now. I will click, launch the polling, and then I'm going to screen share again the signs so that everybody can see them again. So if you could just bear with me, I'm going to click on launch the polling. And this is just to get some feedback. Ultimately, we'll have to bring this to the whole committee to hear what their thoughts are, but this is just a starting point to get to the next step. So hold on a moment. I'm going to click launch polling. Okay. So now I'm going to then click screen share and go back to the pictures. So if you, everybody, can you see the poll that's in progress right now?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Perfect, thank you. Thank you, Dr. Cushing.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm sharing the pictures again. Can everybody see the pictures?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, perfect, okay. Mr. McLaughlin. I'm going through them pretty quickly, but I'm gonna go back up again so you can see them again. Just thinking about what I like my reference to.
[Kathy Kreatz]: This is number six.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I should tell you, this is number seven. This is number eight. This is number nine. Number 10. This is number 11.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, of course. Here is one and two. They are on the same slide. Show one. Very similar. I have a hard time figuring out which is, I think they're both in my, the way I look at it, I can see they look the same. And here is four, here is three.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Three is right here. Oops, sorry, I went too fast. I clicked off of it, sorry. Wait, here we go. Three has the white background for the logo M. and then four has the blue background, the logo, and five has the blue logo background with white from Everett High School.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Does anybody need me to show the pictures? Do you want me to stop the screen share and everybody can take the poll?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, you may. Yep, let me get up to one and two. Yep. Okay, so here is one on top, two on the bottom.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It looks like they are the same. Yeah, they look to be the same too. I'm looking for differences.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, exactly, I think, yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, the font, it must be the font. Yes, I do see it now. what it's like a little bit, you know, a milder font on number, it looks like on number two, a little bit more dramatic on number one. Excuse me. Sorry. And then here is three, four, and five. And this is number six. And then this is number seven, number eight, number nine, And number 10, and then, yep. And this is just, I think this was an extra one, number 11. So we just have the 10 of them on the poll.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I'm going to stop the screen share right now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, let me do it again.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Let me do this screen share again. One second. Oh, I'm disabled right now. I'm sorry. Dr. Cushing. Yeah, no problem.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, thanks. Okay, here we go. Oh, and what did you want to see again, Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Number six, okay. And here is number six.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, this is number seven.
[Kathy Kreatz]: You're welcome. Does anybody else want to see any I'm not hearing anybody. So I'm going to stop the screen share and then I'm going to take the poll myself. Okay. So did everybody get a chance to take the poll? Okay. Very good. All right. So, um, And Dr. Cushing, I'll need your help. I don't know how to see the results.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I'll bring up the screen share again.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Can you show us six and seven? And I'm going to do the screen share. Dr. Cushing, could I have permission to screen share again?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. OK, so we are just looking at, oops. Oops, OK. six and seven okay so let's take another closer look at number six spend a little time next i'm going to go over to seven so is seven another cut out one seven oh okay uh mr mclaughlin could you answer that question number seven
[Kathy Kreatz]: And here is number six again. Does anybody need more time on these pictures or do we want to just proceed with the poll? So I'm going to stop the screen share and if everybody wants to take the poll. And did everybody get a chance to take the poll? I think that's good. Dr. Cushing, go ahead.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, excellent. So, you know, the reason we did the poll was we wanted to kind of narrow down, you know, what type of sign would be preferable for Medford High School. As part of this evening's agenda item, you know, as Dr. Cushing said, is that we want to kind of narrow down a price. So we want to have something very similar to what's showing in number six or possibly seven if we were going to share six and seven with the full committee. So, you know, I'm thinking, you know, in terms of figures, you know, like, let's say you know, 15,000, like, I mean, I would like to hear some feedback from my committee members to put a sign on Medford High School that would be able to be transferable at some time in the future, you know, would that be something that I could, you know, we could possibly, you know, kind of decide on this evening or 15 to 20, you know,
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, yep. So I think what what I was trying to say and I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that I'm making the decision, I want to, I want to make a recommendation to the full committee. So, if we want to definitely move this project into the full committee for them to see both number six and seven. And, you know, I guess, you know, we can give the estimate that we currently have that Mr. McLaughlin has received from I believe it's from white. That was a picture from white lights. Is that correct, Mr. McLaughlin?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. Okay. So we have the estimate from white lights. I'm not sure exactly what you know, estimate goes with number six and white estimate goes with number seven. Would you be able to tell us, Mr. McLaughlin, or would you have to reach out to them and you could get that by the next year?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just kind of- I love that idea. You know? Yes, I think that's wonderful.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. So, so for, for this, then we, are we, is there like a recommendation to have Dr. Cushing do a poll with the student body with the three top signs and Um, Mr. McLaughlin, would you be able to, um, reach out to, um, you know, the carpentry construction craft labor, Mr. Fallon and, um, the, um, you know, graphic arts to see if it would be something that they would be able to do. And, you know, if it's definitely not, then we still have, you know, the sign estimate that we got. And then once we gather all that information, um, you know, we can then you know, have another, I guess, another meeting at another subcommittee meeting to talk about the feedback.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, so at this point, we're going to keep this in subcommittee. Is that what I'm hearing from my committee members? Say that again, Kathy? Are we going to keep this item in subcommittee at this time until we get the poll from the student body, and just clarification from construction and craft labor and graphic arts.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I think that's what I was hearing from some, I mean, some of my committee members. I was, you know, I was asking for, you know, a ballpark figure, but it seems as though, you know, from what I heard was that maybe, more exploration. I would be amenable to having it ready for the first day of school, if we can do that. And we can maybe get the polling information from the student body and have it ready for the June 14th meeting. And we could share out the results with the full committee. I would really like to really move forward with this project. you know, I would like to make a motion to do something like that. So motion to get the polling from the student body, Don McLaughlin reach out to just, you know, find out for sure, can construction craft labor do it? Yes or no, you know, with graphic arts, Mr. Fallon, he did speak already. And he mentioned that it was out of his realm with what they could do, but maybe there are some things that they can do that could cut some costs.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So Dr. Cushing, do you think it's possible to get the polling done before the June 14 meeting?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And then we can just, you know, I'd like to just motion that we, um, to, to show the committee members, um, the sign ideas that we've, you know, visited this evening and we can hear their thoughts and we can share the results from the student body poll. And we can talk about the pricing estimates that we received, which will, you know, um, and we can go from there and Mr. McLaughlin, anything that you can find out any additional information, you know, please, you know, let me know, reach out to me. Um, I appreciate it. So is there a second on that motion to share this with the full committee on our June 14th meeting?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And so I'm going to take the roll call. Mr. Russo? Yes. Ms. Van De Kloet?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And Ms. Kreatz? Yes. So we have three in the affirmative and zero in the negative. So the motion passes. Thank you. Okay, so we're going to move on to the next. And the next discussion was just john McLaughlin was just going to go over some of the work that they did on the front entrance to just, you know, kind of rejuvenate it. Mr. McLaughlin, if you could go over that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, thank you, Mr. McLaughlin. And Dr. Cushing, I do have the pictures that John shared with me. Would I be able to do the screen share again? Okay. Okay, and so these are the pictures that Mr. McLaughlin sent to me. I think there's just the one here that I brought up right now. That's one angle. Let me go here. It looks absolutely beautiful. I couldn't believe it. Oh, we're gonna get to that. Sorry, I'm ahead of myself. So that's one angle. There's three just different angles, but it looks so beautiful. I can't believe it. And let me just bring up another one. Hold on one moment here. Oh, here we go. Okay, so this is one of the picture here. This is all three of them together. Okay, very good. Okay, so what you can see is there was right here. I'm kind of like with my mouse showing you there was a broken fence and we reached out to the mayor's office and the city engineer's office and I believe the DPW was able to help assist with that and get that section of the fence broken. That was broken.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thanks, Maggie. Thank you, Aggie, I see you on the call here and I have to, I keep on doing this with the pictures. Wrong picture up again. And thank you, Aggie, for everything that you did to help with this project. I know we were emailing and Ms. Montello, I don't know if she's on the call, but she was extremely helpful and she brought this to my attention and she said, there's a very nice, easy, quick way that we can beautify the front entrance corner would be by fixing that broken, fence section and then just, you know, beautifying it a little bit with some, you know, like with the mulch or with some fresh plants. And it looks beautiful. I really think it looks absolutely beautiful. When I saw the pictures today, I couldn't believe it. I said, oh my gosh, it looks so nice. And then I was doing a little bit of Googling myself and, you know, because we have, you know, a lot of the same situations that we have at the high school at my house. We don't have much irrigation. So, You know, it looks nice and I think some low maintenance, natural looking flowers, you know, they look really nice and I'm hoping that we can keep it looking that nice where it's like the front entrance, everybody sees it and it's the first thing they see when they come to our school. So I'm so happy with all the work and all the help that we got on this. Thank you, Mr. McLaughlin and Ms. Agitudin, thank you so much. I really appreciate all your help.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Perfect.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Teamwork. Thank you. Thank you. Does anybody have any questions?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Cushing, I saw your hand. Go ahead, Mr. Cushing.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Are there any more questions? It's 6.17. Okay, thank you. Thank you so much, Ms. Tootie. I really appreciate you, I'm sorry, Aggie, for being on the call today. I really appreciate everything that you did. And Ms. McLaughlin, thank you so much. And so, yep, so we're gonna be moving on to agenda item number seven, Medford High School restrooms. So we spoke about this over several meetings and the mayor had made a, resolution on the February meeting that she would like to have the high school bathroom project started. So I wanted to know, where are we with this project? And did the bathrooms go out for RFP, the ones that we voted on to get rehabilitated go out for RFP?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Thank you. Because I do want to make sure that, you know, ideally it would be, ideal if we could have the work done over the summer while the students aren't in school. And I understand there's a lot going on and it's your first budget year and it's just, I can't believe how fast time's flying and it's already the end of the school year. So I really appreciate if we can get the RFP out as soon as possible so that we can get the work going over the summer months.
[Kathy Kreatz]: PB, Harmon Zuckerman.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Murphy. We're moving on to agenda number eight, the solar speed signs, and I think you already saw a sneak preview of this of the site, because I accidentally shared it, so I'll share it again. So hold on a minute. And so Mr. McLaughlin sent me the picture. And the speed sign, it's installed, and I'm sharing the picture now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, thank you very much. Does anybody have any questions?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Set for 10 miles, okay. Does anybody have any questions for Mr. McLaughlin? Thank you, Mr. McLaughlin, really appreciate the pictures. Okay, so we're moving on to agenda item number nine, the Medford High School hot water system. So this item, we haven't discussed this item yet. I did find it in the city of Medford's capital improvement plan on page 41. And, you know, I asked John McLaughlin if we could get some estimates, which he did get and he shared with us the estimate from Urban and Sons estimate for the hot water system is $171,644. And it's, you know, this is something that, you know, we will need to replace. There currently isn't any hot water in Medford High School. So we're gonna need to definitely replace this before the students return to the high school in September. So Mr. McLaughlin, I'll turn it over to you. If you could, you know, maybe just, you know, go over everything with us. I would appreciate that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you so much. And I agree, it's something that we have to act on and I'm ready to make a motion that we proceed with the replacement of the Medford High School hot water system. And we're gonna move this project over to our sub regular meeting for a full committee vote.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you so much. Do any of my committee members have any questions for Ms. Alicia Hunt or Mr. McLaughlin?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I made a motion that we proceed with the replacement of the hot water system. So what we do need to do is we need to vote on this in subcommittee so that the full committee can vote on it at our next regular meeting. Okay. So that they can, you know, so they need our full committee vote to go ahead with the marching orders to replace the hot water system. And it is, you know, as Miss Alicia said, it's an emergency. We have to have it replaced by August, mid-August. So we have to, you know. So I second your motion. Thank you. And so, yes, go ahead, Mr. Ruscio.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, and I think Mr. Murphy, I'm not sure if you're there, but I know that we don't need to vote to send it out for RFP. We don't need to do that. But I believe that we do need to vote to approve the spending of this repair, replacement. but I could be wrong. So, Mr. Murphy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so do we, okay, do we need the full committee vote to go ahead with the replacement of the hot water system or can we vote it tonight and then the work can begin before the June 7th meeting as soon as the specifications are available with Ms. Hunt's office?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Are there any more questions for Mr. Murphy? Okay, so we have the motion. We're just gonna share the vote at an upcoming meeting. We don't need their approval, so we have the first and second. I don't recall if we took the roll call vote on this, so please forgive me if I'm forgetting, but I know that I motioned it, Ms. Van der Kloot seconded. I'll just do the roll call vote. Ms. Van der Kloot?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Russo? Yes. And Ms. Kreatz, yes. Okay, so the vote passes three in the affirmative, zero in the negative. Okay, so next we are moving on to similar item, but the Curtis Tufts High School boiler. So Mr. McLaughlin, if you wanted to just touch on this and it's not a full repair, it's replacing sectional replacements. I think you explained it that It's not the full replacement, just sectional replacements. So I'll let you take it over.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. So for the, so, you know, I mean, I'm just gonna, process we've been following is like I motion to go ahead with the sectional replacements that you need to put in for the Curtis Tufts hot water heater.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Excellent. Okay, so this was more of informational and so yes, you get to go ahead to to go ahead with the labor. Obviously, we need to get that done. Do we, you know, a motion to go ahead with the labor? Is there a second?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, so we'll do the roll call vote. Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Van der Kloot?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And Ms. Kreatz? Yes. okay so the next item oh yes you're at 6 45 just for and we are mr mclaughlin already went over the high school roof which was informational information and we have just two items left i believe we're going to make it because We already had a preview from Mr. Murphy and Mr. McLaughlin that the RFPs are going out for the generator. I just wanted to just have the discussion with Mr. McLaughlin and the high school transformer, which he also, you know, gave us a preview at the pre-budget meeting. So we've heard about that. So Mr. McLaughlin, you know, at our last meeting and a couple meetings before that we've discussed the generator and that it's extremely important it's not operational we've got the estimates it has to be replaced if we lose power there would be no heat electricity etc etc so we all agree that you know we want to go ahead with this project and i don't think we need to have further discussion on this because we've already had discussions over the in this school year every subcommittee meeting I've been on with the building and ground. So at this time, I just motion that we proceed with replacing Medford High School emergency generator, which we know is already going off RFP at the end of this fiscal year, I think Mr. Murphy said. So is there a second? Second. Okay, roll call vote. We have Ms. Caruso. Yes. Ms. Vandekloot. Yes. And Ms. Critts, yes. So we have three in the affirmative, zero in the negative. And we have our final item, which is the Medford High School transformer, which we did hear a preview about this at the pre-budget meeting. And the estimate on, this is on a repair, is $19,027. And it's, the transformer is out and And John, could you just touch on that? I know that it's out and it needs to be repaired, but I don't quite really know what a transformer does. Could you just share that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. Are there any questions for Mr. McLaughlin on this?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I, you know, just following with the process I've been doing, I recommend and I motion that we go ahead with giving John McLaughlin, Mr. McLaughlin, the okay to repair the transformer.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, and I'm going to do roll call vote. Mr. Russo? Yes. Ms. Van der Kloot? Yes. And Ms. McLaughlin, I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, so three in the affirmative, zero in the negative, motion passes. I'm just gonna, I checked my emails. I don't have any emails from anybody. I did get the email from Mr. Fallon and shared the presentation with, I'll share with everybody. And just wanted to note that all the estimates, all the presentations are in the folder that Susie created. Thank you so much, Susie. You were extremely helpful. I had so many attachments and, And pictures and everything was included. And that's it. If there aren't any further questions, I motion to adjourn. Second. Roll call vote. Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Van der Kloot?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And Ms. Kreatz? Yes. Okay, the meeting has ended. Thank you
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hello, everyone.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can't make a selection either.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I wanted to, I don't have any questions. I wanted to say thank you to everybody for this extensive presentation. Thank all the administrators for their time and efforts preparing this draft. I really enjoyed it and I especially enjoyed the interactive piece taking the poll. I didn't know that was something that could be done. The presentation was incredible. Everybody spoke beautifully and just thank you all. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I support the extension also. I did get to watch the part of the meeting last week. I was in another meeting, but I got to watch some of it. And they're working very hard. And it seems like there might have been some technical difficulties with some of the information and some of the information wasn't available. So, you know, I do think that they, you know, could use the extension and I approve and I support the extension.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Yes, I reached out to Dr. Cushing and Molly Leighton, and everything that Dr. Edward Benson mentioned, that is the information that I received, that there's a restriction for safety and security for the students who are of age up through 13 and and under should not have access to email that's not monitored consistently um you know so and what molly had had mentioned in the email is that the k-8 issued email accounts are closed and that they should only be used to communicate within the medford um k12.ma.us domain the high school emails are open and can receive and send emails outside of the Medford Public Schools domain so that students are able to use their school email for related communications such as job applications, colleges, etc. So, you know, I agree with the superintendent's recommendation that we shouldn't open up the email for the K through 8. I think it should be kept closed down for security reasons. Similarly, at my work, you know, for some reason, you know, there was some, you know, technical problems going on, and we switched from one email mechanism to another. It was some people's emails were, so to speak, blacklisted. And it was quite extensive in getting that information repaired. And there was also, we could have been in potential danger from getting unnecessary emails that we shouldn't be getting. So we were taking precautions at that time. So I just wanted to mention that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, Ms. Van's good. Yeah, you know, just following the guidance from the governor and, you know, seeing that the city council is back in chambers and, you know, we do have the capability to have, you know, a hybrid model where we could have the Zoom on at the same time and have members in chambers. And of course, if members can't come to chambers, they could still join the meeting via zoom and that's what the city council was doing and um it worked you know very well i watched a couple of meetings and you know um you know the the screen was there you could hear the members who were calling from home and they were visible they were clear and um the audience could still be on zoom and participate um i think it's a good idea now that you know, with the reopening and with a lot of the restrictions being lifted, you know, we've been hearing from a lot of community members that they would like to see the school committee back in chambers. I'll turn it over to Ms. Van de Koop.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I wanted to know because I wasn't sure how it would be handled. So, um, you know, this was before the code. Um, you know, we had Mr. McLaughlin was was doing our meetings. So, you know, I think that, you know, we'll have to work out the technical piece of who is going to cover our meetings. you know, when we do go back to chambers and who's going to be covering the meeting and the Zoom. I know Mr. Dr. Cushing has been doing the Zoom. So, you know, I don't know the mechanics and working those details out. That was something that, you know, I wanted to bring up. I don't know what details, you know, are going to be covered by whom or whoever. and then also at the same time if any of the committee members have any like medical reasons why they wouldn't need to wear a mask or they wouldn't be able to wear a mask um would the medical like would that committee member be able to you know remove the mask in the chambers um in between the barricade because i know that they have the glass petitions and um you know, to keep the distance and the glass petitions so that if the committee member is like vaccinated and has difficulty breathing and has a medical note, can that person remove their mask with that or would that person have to go on the remote call?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And would that be the same for being in the committee of the whole, so the subcommittee, if they were in those separate rooms? Because I know that the governor did say that all of the restrictions would be over once June 15th, like the number of people attending meetings. So yeah, okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, I didn't take my hand down, sorry. Okay, thank you. Member Van der Kloot?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can hear, but when David was talking, it cut out for a little bit and then came back on.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can't hear Mr. McLaughlin.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kathy, can you hear him now? Yeah, I lost, I couldn't hear you either, John.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just wanted to thank. First off, I just have a question for the transportation but first off I just wanted to let everybody know that the presentations were excellent and Mr. McLaughlin you did a great job and will those agenda items are. going to be on the agenda for next week so we can have a discussion next week in the subcommittee meeting. So the question I have is also about transportation. A couple things on that because I pulled up the bulletin because I don't remember it being one mile radius. I so I pulled up the bulletin on transportation during Kobe 2021, and it says here that every public schools will not transport students on a yellow school, whoever this physical address within two miles of the school they attend. We understand that this change is a significant burdens in, and have always provided transportation that exceeds the regulation. So I'm not sure I have even the right information. Mr. Murphy, what he mentioned, I don't have that information either. I don't recall having a meeting about that. So I just wanted to mention that. I know Ms. Van der Kloot talked about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you. I just have one more question and it might just be some health information for the upcoming school year. And Mr. Murphy I'm not sure if you were on yet but it's Patterson was aware of it that. Because we, we go back to school before Labor Day, and with the MBTA, the days before Labor Day, the MBTA doesn't operate for the high school students, so there's always been concern For the first couple of days before Labor Day when the kids are back to school. I, you know, we used to get messages that you know students were waiting at the bus stop the bus wasn't there. They ended up walking were late for school. So, in preparation for the upcoming school year. there's been an added yellow school bus that kind of travels some of the most commonly frequent stops to kind of pick up the high school students for those first couple of days. So I can't quite remember all the details, but I just wanted to give you the heads up about that, that that has been an ongoing issue. each year because we start before Labor Day. And then right after Labor Day, the MBT buses will run on a regular school schedule.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, okay, there we go. Yes, so in regards to the motion that we made this evening, will that be for, Mr. Murphy's going to get us a report that will outline what the various costs would be, like whether or not we're gonna go with yellow buses for all the students in the district, or we're gonna consider purchasing MBTA bus passes for all the students? Is that the way, is this going to be a proposal that's gonna be ready for us to review at the time of the budget and we can see how it fits into the budget?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you. Member Van der Kloot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I just wanted to comment on everybody's views on the capital fund spending and next week I do have the building and ground subcommittee meeting and several of the capital items that are in the pre-budget this evening are on my agenda for discussion next week. And I have communicated with Mr. McLaughlin a few times about getting estimates and sharing this information with the committee next week. So, you know, I'm just letting everybody know if you're interested, the subcommittee meeting will be May 26 from five to seven. There are several different topics that are on the pre-budget agenda this evening that we'll be talking about. Just wanted to share that information.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Really low.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Yes, I wanted to thank Everybody for their presentations and I just wanted to express that I think it's fantastic with this week long for our each day math Academy at each grade level for six to 12 in August, I just I can't believe it that's just phenomenal and I wanted to know will this Academy be at each school. or is it going to be centrally located? I was just curious how that was going to work. And is there a particular week that's picked out or will it be, you're still working out the details?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And I just had a question or maybe a recommendation for the technology in terms of consulting the part-time web support and maintenance. I'm just thinking about our CTE students who are in the computer program. If there's opportunities for those students to maybe work part-time after school. I'm not sure if they could get there before school, but I mean, I think that's a great, you know, option. You know, some of those students are in there, you know, going into their senior year and they could apply what they've learned and helping out in the support, you know, maintenance.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. That's it for me. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, thank you. And I just had a question for Ms. Perry. Thank you for the presentation. And before COVID, I did get to tour the site that was going to be the yoga studio and the spin studio. And I can see in the narrative that that work was put on hold. And I know it's to be determined, but I'd be really excited to see if maybe we would be able to get that going. I have been receiving messages from parents who, you know, because of COVID, their students have not had, you know, enough, you know, exercise in their routine. It would be nice to have, you know, another available space with different types of exercise. Everybody adapts to different exercise, like some people like running, some people like yoga, and it would be really nice. So, you know, I hope that it is something that we could do, hopefully in the longterm.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And I just was happy to see that the athletic teacher, the adaptive PE teacher is in the critical budget. I know for two years, Ms. Perry, you've been trying to get that and I'm just really happy to see it and I hope it stays there.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I have the same thoughts as Mr. Russo. I think that that would be too much in one meeting and a lot to absorb in one meeting for everybody and then to have the public join in. So I do recommend that we make a separate date to have the public hearing so that the community can participate.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Member Ruseau.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I was just going to ask, and I know it's something that is additional budgetary priorities. And I was getting ready for my upcoming subcommittee meeting with buildings and grounds. So I just happened to notice under the Curtis Tufts, they have a capillary pier for the boiler. And it does say immediately, most immediately boiler repair. So I was just wondering if that is something that is on the radar, you know, other plans for an emergency repair. I think we heard about it at one point. And so I was just curious if maybe if Mr. Murphy has any information about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And I also happen to notice on the same line in the same box, and we talked about it with the elementary schools, was the refillable water stations. So I'm hoping that with the ESSER funds that we'll be able to maybe get those to the districts if the grants don't go through with the on-board.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, and thank you to everybody for all your presentations. They're excellent. Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I'll second that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you for the reports, and it's been a great presentation so far. So I was looking at the details that we got in the draft recommendations for the elementary schools. I'll just start with the elementary schools first. And something that caught my attention was under the additional budgetary priorities, it was listed, three of the elementary schools have listed a water filling station. and procurement of additional playground equipment to coincide with plans for additional organized play and social engagement. So my first question for the water filling station is I think that's a fantastic idea. I definitely think it's more sanitary to have water filling stations where they can't go to the bubbler and they need to fill their bottles. So is that something that we are going to get funding from COVID funds and we could wait and we you know to get that funding and then maybe possibly install additional water filling stations at each of the schools in the entire district?
[Kathy Kreatz]: It was in the same section. And I was just curious what the additional playground equipment was that coincides with the play and social engagement. So that's something that stuck out that, is that something that we need to do for the playgrounds that's related to COVID so that the children can play keeping socially distant. Yeah, I was just really curious about that where I have my upcoming school committee meeting. Is that something we should be discussing where, you know, we are in COVID, if everybody's going back to school, I'm just very curious what is the additional playground equipment that would be needed for the social engagement?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you very much, Ms. Kay. That was really helpful. And I hope that we can get some of these items so that the children, when they get back, you know, in the fall can, you know, participate in these different rotations. It sounds like a lot of fun and I love that they're arguing less and they're getting more exercise and probably just enjoying their time out and getting the fresh air. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I had a question and I know it's it's a personal priority. It's in regards to the vocational school. It was something that seemed concerning to me. It's it's noted here that the method vocational school is not currently part of the cleaning contract. with the school and they are requesting additional allocation of funds to ensure that all the CTE vocational shop spaces are included. So that seemed concerning to me. How are the other classrooms getting cleaned if they're not part of the cleaning contract?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. And I would like that too, Chad. Yeah. Thank you so much. And, um, you know, I really, you know, I hope that we can allocate some additional funding so that we can, we can take care of that. Um, it's very important that we do that, you know, especially during the COVID times, you know, we, we just need to make sure that, you know, the classrooms and the CT shops are getting just, you know, sanitized every day.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you both. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I just have a follow up question. So, you know, just looking at these numbers. So, if the motion that's put forth right now. we're going to account for like let's say the Brooks has $140,000 here and then I go to the um I'm just going to quickly go to the other page one second here 140,000 so are we is this vote to allocate the total of the funds in all the different categories right now this evening not knowing what the appropriation is for this upcoming school year i guess i'm a little confused or or we already know that the covid mitigation funds are going to come out of the essar and mr murphy is going to identify what's what we would be able to do so for example like support staff in transportation needs for the extended school day you know that's definitely something i want um i guess i'm a little confused about what we're voting on yeah i think i take the motion to mean that as we move toward may 19th the committee is endorsing the priorities that have been articulated to them this evening and so as we get to may 19th we have greater guidance with regard to the
[Kathy Kreatz]: Chris Oh, yes. Um I just wanted to say that, um. And sometimes I haven't been able to speak at some of the meetings because. Some other committee members have gone on to their questions, and I'm looking at the clock and I'm looking at the number of residents that want to speak, and I just you know, I just passed on my question. Um so I you know, it would be helpful if we all you Then before they got to ask their second question, it could go through maybe with some of the other members if they had a question. In the past, I have expressed that I'm not in favor of more frequent meetings. I know that it sounds like it would be helpful, but I found that some of the details in the meetings that we have, they're very comprehensive and meeting every week and doing the minutes and posting the meetings, it's going to ultimately take the same amount of time. And the administration is just gonna be getting ready for meetings every single week. So I'm not in favor of meeting more frequently and adding on more frequent, shorter meetings. I just wanted to say that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I had the same concerns about the date where, you know, going back to school, the first day of school starts, I believe I just saw on the calendar. I think it was like August 30th or it could be August 31st. I'm thinking that we're just getting the kids ready to get back in school. It's teacher induction week and it just seems the timing, the date, September 1st, seems a little bit too close to the start of school. I also wanted to ask the superintendent or the administration, if they felt that date was doable, you know, even just to get the comprehensive list, which will still maybe take some time where they're working throughout the summer, getting everything ready for back to school and getting the kids back to school, you know, for the beginning of the fall.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, yes. Did you want me to do the roll call?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to approve.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. So when I was the secretary, there wasn't really any direction about what to report to the secretary. And I was asked each meeting is a report from the secretary. And I just felt that I had to do a report. So I would, when I was doing the bills, I would just take a few select bills that were interesting, educational, supporting our students. And I would just share a brief synopsis of a couple of the bills that, you know, were interesting. Sometimes it was, you know, a piece of equipment that I wasn't familiar with. And I would find out the information about the equipment, but there was no instructions. I just, because I was asked at every meeting, I just felt that I had to, I had to report out something. But it was never done ever before. And, you know, I would, I would be okay with it being removed. from the agenda because, you know, it's just something that it hasn't been done. And I mean, it was really just picking and choosing some bills that were interesting to me and I would share it out with the committee.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I read the minutes, I read the abbreviated minutes at the last meeting, and for some reason, I forgot to motion to approve the minutes. We did take a vote on what we voted on during the meeting, and it just flipped my mind. So I'm making a motion to approve the minutes. Second.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, I don't know what you're talking about. Happy birthday.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes, so when we had our meeting for the building and ground subcommittee meeting, we had voted to to make sure that the generator in Mifflin High School was a priority item on the upcoming capital improvement plan. I don't see that here. And, you know, what I recall from our meeting was that during our discussion about the front entrance, that it was recommended by Mr. Chris Andreessen, who is an architect that currently, legally, we would either leave it as is or have to do the whole project. And we would need to hire, I guess, a structural engineer. I think that's what he said. So I was just curious about that. Did anything change? Did we get a new estimate on that work?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just have a follow-up. I have a different question, but then I'm going to just have another follow-up question regarding the front entrance. So while we were talking, I just went back into the notes and it did what Mr. Andreessen said was that in order for the front entrance, we would have to It would require a structural engineer to do the drawings and then we would get an idea of the scope of the project. So my question is, is that what we're planning to do according to this, this you know, this committee, it being on the agenda for the committee, you know, for the capital improvement plan, are we going to hire a structural engineer to do the drawing so that we can find out the scope of the project for the front entrance?
[Kathy Kreatz]: The other question is separate. So on the city's project list for the capital improvement plan, it lists the Curtis burner, you know, as needing to get replaced. So I didn't know if like that was something that that. is maybe should be on the capital improvement plan where it's on the project. It's listed with the amount of money that's, you know, the $816,000. Let me just, I'm just trying to find, I think it's on page 38 of the capital, the city's plan. Just getting there right now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, so when I looked at the city's project, it says for schools, the one item for 2021, it says 816,183. It has rehab, MHS bathrooms, replace boiler, ADA accessibility upgrades, security upgrades at Medford High School, repair, replace boiler at CTHS, which is Curtis Tufts High School.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And the community engagement. Community engagement.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I just wanted to share probably a few weeks back I talked to a parent about the after school program, and she has a good idea. And in order for like so it would be almost like a parent cooperative, where it's possible that you know if parents were on the waiting list because there wasn't enough staff. maybe we could try to, you know, ask some parents if they would be willing to, like, volunteer one day per week and they could work their schedule. I think something similar happens at, like, some of the, you know, the Catholic schools. I know my parents had a strict day where they had to be at the school to do volunteer work, and then it would you know, kind of offset with the tuition or just they would get volunteer hours and maybe they could put those in at their work. But it was a really, really good idea. And I mentioned to the parent, you know, that, you know, she should share that idea with Megan Fidler-Carey, because I think it's a great idea having like almost like a parent cooperative where, you know, those parents could volunteer their hours and then, you know, have their strict day. I mean, I think it would have to be a strict contract where they'd have to, you know, even though it's volunteer, they'd have to sign because they have to be, you know, responsible to be there that day. And I, my son volunteered at a similar program, you know, Winchester Hospital, they had a contract for volunteer services, and it was very strict. If you weren't going to be in, you had to find your own replacement. So, you know, it's a very good idea, and I just wanted to share that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes, I know in the past, you know, these particular meetings are very popular with the public and they, you know, they like to join the meetings, be on the live call, so I'm just recommending not as early as like four o'clock because I know when we had those meeting hours in the past that was very hard and difficult for families to you know to get on the zoom call and I know that the meetings are all recorded and they can watch it at another time but I was thinking more around the 5 30 or 6 o'clock time so that you know, that would be, you know, recommended just so that families could join if they're working that day, just an idea. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I did have one more, and this came up last year. So when we got the pre-budget materials, And it happened a lot last year. They came the same day as the meeting. And I, you know, unfortunately I work in the day and a few other committee members do and I didn't even get a chance to look at the materials before the meeting, and it was a little different because our meetings were at four. So, and they were on the same night as the school committee meeting so you know. If, if possible, can we get the materials for the pre budget materials, you know, in advance, you know, at least 24 hours in advance, and then after that meeting. at the end of that week, because I can see we have three meetings in one week. So at the end of that week, if we can get those materials sent to our homes so that we can have the hard copy, because it was very difficult to keep on going back and forth, back and forth, like, where was that email? Where did that go? It was very, it was very difficult to go back and just look at the information about the pre budget because when it when we got to the budget, you know, you had to like scramble, where did that go where was it put, you know, and, and also maybe have a folder on the shared drive. specifically to put the pre-budget materials in, you know, like call it, you know, pre-budget materials, and then they would be in there like labeled elementary education, secondary, and so on, so that some colleagues like to have the online version, and for something like this, I always like to have the printed version, and I don't have a printer that's really good at my house that I can print the materials, so it's challenging for me. And I'm not sure if everybody's in the same boat. I mean, some people don't want paper at all. even if we could reach out at our next meeting and just ask colleagues how they feel about do they want a printed copy, yes or no? And then maybe only those committee members who need a printed copy can get a printed copy after the meeting's presented at the end of the week so that they have it going into the budget meetings.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to thank Ms. Stone for sharing that history with us. And I concur with Ms. Vanderkoot. You know, I'm not ready to make a decision, and I do feel that this process should be a public process. You know, from many of the community members that I've heard, you know, since June of 2020, You know, we, we've been waiting for this meeting, so that we could have the public engage and, you know, ask questions and share their opinions, but I do think that that name is, you know, would be is a good suggestion. Um, once we come up with the plans for choosing the names process. Um, so I just wanted to share that information and I just want to ask the mayor a question. So mayor, I just had a question because I had a motion, you know, in regards to the two resolutions. Should I hold off and wait till we get to that part of the meeting?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I have a motion that is in regards to the entire timeline. So I'm wondering if I should just read that now and if it could be considered, you know, as a, you know, in a recommendation. It should probably take me about two minutes. So, in my opinion, the deadlines in the meeting dates that were outlined in both resolutions are too tight. The original resolution on June 15 stated specific dates. You know July 121 was when the school was going to be renamed, and then there was supposed to be a committee of the whole on September 1, and that's where we are right now we're, we're at the committee of the whole. And after that, October 1. the advisory committee was supposed to be formed, and then they would have been meeting October, November, December, January, and they would have submitted a new name to us by January 1st. Because we're in the global pandemic, three of the four deadlines were missed. So I think we should take a step back today. Today marks one year into the coronavirus pandemic. And the Commissioner of Education has stated that the schools must be open for full-time in-person learning on April 5, while middle school will be required to do so on April 28. Our paramount focus should be planning to get the children, teachers, and staff back to school safely to receive the best education, having a budget to accommodate those things. I think that this should be our priority right now. Also, due to the magnitude of the change, I have recommended a slightly different timeline because in the original resolution, it was stated that the advisory committee should have a term of six months. So if I go back to the original timeline, the dates were September 1st, October 1st, November, December, January, February. So that was the six months. So here we are today on April, I'm sorry, not April, March 10th, and we are meeting for the rescheduled September 1st meeting, which was the committee of the whole to plan the structure. And we're still in the global pandemic. So then the next meeting, which would be the advisory committee would have been formed would be in April this coming April, which was, you know, according to the original resolution was exactly one month after the committee of the whole meeting. So that would bring us to April 10th. But I happen to think that April 10th is a little too soon to form the advisory committee, so I was thinking like April 30th would be a good time to form the advisory committee. And then that would give the advisory committee April, then May, June, July and August are summer months, so we have to exclude those months, September, October happens to be Italian American Heritage Month, and we celebrate, you know, Columbus Day, which is a federal holiday, so I'm not sure if we want to include that month for the research or not. And then that would put our timeline up to November 2021, where the advisory committee would have the full six months, not including the summer months. It could be shorter if the committee wanted to meet during the summer months of July and August. It all depends on whether or not they would meet, which would mean the advisory committee would be coming to us either if we include the summer months they would be coming to us September to bring the new research name or November to bring the new research name and this would give ample time and you know for the advisory committee to have a thoughtful reflective discussions to thoroughly research a new name. So this is the motion that I'm making to extend the timeline that was detailed in the in the The plan that we're working on right now is still working off of the dates that were in the original resolution, but the three dates have already been missed. So that's my resolution. My motion is to extend the timeline detailed in forming the advisory committee and pushing out the dates a little further so that the advisory committee can have six months as detailed in the original resolution.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, I just wanted to... Mayor, I just heard from iPhone X, and I guess he was trying to unmute, but he couldn't unmute. Would you be able to try him again?
[Kathy Kreatz]: member Kreatz. Yes, thank you. Um, yep. So I wanted to amend that date because I know that the superintendent we are meeting tonight and the superintendent does her weekly updates every Friday. So and she's meeting this week in particular, um, with Jesse, you know, to gather the information, um, you know, and provide updates to the community on you know, what's going to be, you know, details for reopening schools and getting the children back into school safely. So I feel as though two days from now is a little too soon. So I wanted to amend that date to at the earliest if possible, like Monday or the following Friday, so that that's my amendment, either Monday the 15th, I believe, or Friday the 19th.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Can we just go back up a little bit? I can't see some of the screen.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, if you could maybe just try to increase it up to 125 maybe. Perfect, thank you. I'm just taking a few more moments to read it. Sorry, I'll be right there. Take your time, Member Kreatz. I do have a question. Mayor, I just have a question. Yes, Member Kreatz. Yes, I know I'm looking at Paulette's, you know, her, her resolution, and she does have the application form and suggestion will be posted and communicated out to usual mechanisms. including translations. Okay, that's number two. I'm sorry, I'm just reading the wrong paragraph. The application will clearly state that interpretation services will be available to any community member who so requests and technology, laptop, camera, microphone will also be provided. I'm not seeing that. Okay, so there, okay, there it is. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: respond. Member Kreatz? Yes, so I completely agree with Ms. Van der Kloot and I strongly believe that all the names must go to the advisory committee and that committee will thoroughly research those names. They're going to have to Google, maybe go to the library, break up into groups, That's what I believe the committee is being formed to do, to research all the names, to come up with the best name for our community, and it should be the community which is formed via the committee that's researching these names. So I motioned to accept the resolution the way it was put forth by Ms. Van der Kloot, where the advisory committee will be formed and will receive all the names. Yes, maybe we could get a copy of the names so that we can also just review them and be familiar with the names that were submitted as suggested names. But the process of researching and thoroughly you know, reflecting on these names and taking into consideration, you know, everything that's going on in our community, um, just from what we heard this evening, it's, it's very, very important that the community, which is comprised of the advisory committee is part of the process and doing the selection. You know, the entire, if we get 300 names, I believe, yes, they should get all of those names.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I did motion. I didn't hear a second. That was a second by member. Okay, thank you. Thank you. I didn't hear it either. Okay, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, I'm just hold on one minute.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi, can you hear me because it is work I can hear it on my test. We can hear you now. We're back. Okay, all right. So I had, when Paulette had shared her resolution, I reached out to Ms. Van der Kloot to just let her know that I felt the same way, that I don't think it should be exclusive to the CCSR. I think it should be open to high school students. And I felt the same way, and possibly maybe a backup student, whereas we do have two, high school students that serve on our committee and they take turns. So what if, because where it is high school and it's the end of the year and there's finals and things like that, it might be busy with the schedules that they might have. So I feel like it might, even if we picked two students, they might not be able to make all the meetings, but they might, you know, one of them might be able to make a meeting and they could, you know, kind of like go back and forth or come up with a schedule that works for both of them.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have a question. Yes. So, I, I actually think that, you know, we should really amend this to be more of like number two specifically, and we're at the end, you know, having a lottery selection. I feel that, you know, we shouldn't be involved in selecting the applicants. It should those applicants in that section there with the other section at the end should be done via the lottery system where when the applications are sent in there would be a box where somebody could check off the Racial Equity Task Force, South Medford Community, Medford Historian or Historical Society, CPAC, Italian Alliance, Italian American. So I feel like you know, the lottery is the most equitable process where it's not going to be a human, you know, looking at that application. There could be room for bias making those selections, you know, to that advisory committee. So I just, I felt as though there needs to be a larger number for the lottery selection and in order to do that we would you know have to remove the school committee making a selection for the applicants similar to what we do for the middle school lottery selection where um where the students are put into a lottery and it's it's selected you know via the lottery selection process i think that's worth um
[Kathy Kreatz]: I would just like to make a point of information. There is still potential room for some bias in the process. In order to make it equitable, I feel as though removing the school committee from the process is the most equitable way to ensure it's a diverse committee. So if it's not going to be done via the lottery, there has to be Somebody that's overseeing or ensuring that it's a diverse committee. I'll just give an example um, we just recently in september disbanded the vision committee because it wasn't a diverse committee, so That's something that could happen. We're all going to be going through these applications and We have all the same applications and you know you know, there's room for human error, making that selection, you know, there's room for emotion, making that selection, you know, choosing that candidate. I just think, you know, it should be, if it's not gonna be done via the lottery, then I agree with the mayor, it would be part of the administration team, you know, to review the applications.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I would be okay with that resolution, what's proposed by the mayor. I just really think that there is too much room for bias in the process. It would be okay if we went through and we gave our top 10 and then the final decision would come from the administration so that, you know, I didn't handpick, you know, X, Y, Z, you know, to fit my, you know, you know, what I wanted. I just, you know, I just really, and I want to have a diverse committee because we recently just disbanded the visionary committee and we haven't begun that process to start the application process for that committee. So I just feel it's really important that we get a diverse group of candidates, equitable.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Well, I wanted to get some clarification, because I thought Mr. Russo said that we couldn't do a lottery as per our policy. So I was going to ask, I thought we couldn't do a lottery, but then I'm seeing the lottery is still in the application process. Well, we can take it out.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I agree to the lottery. I think that maybe one member, one, the school committee would select one applicant each and then the additional applicants would then go into the lottery. So that might be maybe a total of six lottery and each school committee member picking an applicant.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I think it's going to be closer to 20 because we are giving them such a big task to do all the research. And based on the current timeline, I've already put my resolution out there for extending the timeline so that they can do the thoughtful discussions. The way that it's detailed now in such a short amount of time, I think that there would need to be additional members to do the additional research with, you know, to thoroughly, you know, pick those names.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor Kathy Kreatz is trying to remember. Yes, I just wanted to chime in. So I do like the idea of having even a survey for the community so that they can give us some feedback once we have the three final names. I think it's really important that we involve the community somehow in this process. So I think that's a great idea. I think I like the idea of the students at the same time, I just wanna make sure that we're involving the entire community, you know, and including the students in the community in the process. It's just something that it's just such a, you know, big responsibility. I'm just getting exhausted, sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I'm just really uncomfortable and I wouldn't be able to approve the date, the May 24th. I just feel that it's too rushed. You know, I mentioned that at the beginning of the meeting when I, you know, detailed the timeline, this advisory committee in the resolution that was originally stated was supposed to have a term of six months. So now we're condensing the six months into about eight weeks. And so I'm just, I mean, I would ask my committee members if they would consider changing that date
[Kathy Kreatz]: I still think it's too soon. You know, I mean, I read the original resolutions that were presented in June, and it clearly stated the advisory committee will have a six-month term so that, you know, in my opinion, that would be ample time for the committee to to have thoughtful, reflective discussions, get the survey results, read the survey results, thoroughly research for the new name. this is, you know, we're rushing to get the new name on May 24th. You know, we're not, in this particular meeting, we're not changing the vote. And I get that. I'm just, you know, I just think it's too short of a timeframe. That that's my opinion.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm not in favor of a temporary name. We're forming this advisory committee so that they can come up with a name. I just don't understand some of that. And that's not in the resolution that I went back to the original resolution and it didn't state that The name would have to take on a temporary name. If a name wasn't decided by July 1 in keeping in mind that this is a pandemic. And all the deadlines that occurred all year everywhere, everything changed and got slid and extended and delayed. So I'm just, you know, I wouldn't be happy with the way that the resolution in this section is written with the strict timeframe. And that's my opinion.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I agree with Ms. Van der Kloot. I've already stated that I think the timeline, you know, the date, all the other dates were missed. And they were missed because we're in a pandemic. In the original resolution, it does say that the advisory committee will have six months. So this time here, May 24th, that's not six months. So we're gonna keep to the July 1st deadline, but we're gonna just remove the six months that was originally in the resolution. And I know that was in the resolution and so was the July 1st date, but we're gonna skip the six months and we're just gonna keep the July 1st It's just not, I mean, it's just not right. It's not fair, it's not equitable, it's not reasonable. And that's how I feel like a strong no for me on May 24th. That's my strong no. And I've already provided my timeline and that wasn't second, so that's fine. I'm moving on from that. But I really think that You know, having this decision on July 1 is rushed. I even suggested in the timeline that I put forth at the beginning of the meeting that If we don't count the summer dates, and if the advisory committee were to meet in summer, brings us to September 1st, they would be coming to us with a recommended new name. Even if they have a couple, like have one meeting in July, one meeting in August, but they still have April, May, June, July, August, and they could come to us with a new name in September. The way that I read the resolution, it didn't make sense to me that the name had to, you know, transition over immediately on July 1st, where we didn't even follow all the other dates. We didn't, we missed all those other dates and that didn't matter to anybody. It didn't matter that we missed all those dates.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, sorry, I couldn't get to it, sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I'm also going to summarize my meeting minutes. So I've condensed them to just about two pages. I'll be brief, as can be. We had a building and grounds meeting on March 3rd. One of the topics we discussed was the high school generator. I shared the specs with everybody via email. We received the specs from Gone Green. The total estimate is 186,925. John McLaughlin informed the committee, it's very important to replace the generator. There were two generators at Medford High School, one in the front and one in the back of the building. The one on the vocational side is the one that failed. If we had a power event in the winter, we could have problems with the pipes freezing. We got an update from John McLaughlin after the meeting. He shared an email with us. He spoke to the contractor about the life expectancy of the spec that we got for the new generator. It's going to be 20 years with proper maintenance. Mr. Murphy informed us he met with procurement officials last week regarding the need to go through bidding process for the repairs. The generator is a capital expense and not an operating cost. Mr. Russo and Ms. Van der Kloot expressed, while we have to struggle with priorities, we don't want to be in a situation where the pipes could burst. We want to avoid the huge emergency costs. There was a vote taken on the floor. I motioned to consider the generator as a high priority item at the upcoming Committee of the Whole meeting on March 22nd. It was seconded by Paulette Van der Kloot. All in favor in the motion passed. Mayor, I just wanted to know, do we need to take that motion on the floor this evening or will that be okay for the Committee of the Whole meeting? You can take the vote on the floor, just to confirm. So I motion to consider the generator as a high priority item at the upcoming committee of the whole meeting on March 22nd. Second.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. After we revisited the discussion about the high school entrance there with three separate projects we talked about ramp at the front of the high school sign in beautification. We had a well thought discussion about the high school ramp. Everyone in attendance shared feedback. The project is a capital project and it will require structural engineer to do the drawings to get an idea of the scope of the project. to make the ramp ADA compliant is very expensive. Mr. Cles Andreessen, who is an architect and parent, let us know legally we either leave it as is or do the whole project. Mr. Murphy stated it would be best if we brought forth a suite of recommendations, including the front entrance, the generator, and more to the committee to discuss. Also, this may need authorization from the city on some improvements. Next, we discussed a sign for the Merritt High School entrance. Last year, Chris Donovan, parent, shared an idea of a picture idea we had for a sign of the 50th birthday celebration. I mentioned it would be a great idea if the vocational students could assist with the sign in either one of the shops, metal fabrication or robotic shop, with their laser plasma cutter. Mr. Cushing shared another idea. With Groton-Dunstable, they have a mesh banner that would be cost-effective for us. It would beautify the building in the short term and allow us to continue with the improvement of the front entrance. Dr. Edouard-Maurice remarked, with so much concrete, there are opportunities to add enhancements. She pointed out it's difficult to know where the front of the school is. Whatever the wording could be, we could work with the vocational students. The picture that was shared does show a true front entrance and official main entrance, even if it would be the short time, a new sign landscaping would be the superintendent's recommended priority. Dr. Edward Maurice did a check-in with Mr. Fallon while we were in the meeting, and the vocational student shops do have a machine that would make the sign doable. Mr. Fallon will figure out a cost and give us an estimate. There was another vote taken on the floor. Mr. Van der Kloot motioned to contact Mr. Fallon to get a price on these improvements. Also, she would like to get the cost estimate of the banner for the front. exploring the front entranceway banner. On the side building, it's behind the theater where that concrete section expands. At this time, I am making that motion on the floor this evening so that we can put those estimates forth. Can you please restate the motion? Yes. Okay. Yeah, no problem. Ms. Van der Kloot motioned to contact principal Chad Fallon to get a price estimate on the improvements for the lettering on the front of the front entrance of the school and also to get a cost estimate on the banner for the front of the school. And we're thinking, you know, the banner, if we could get an estimate on the banner for the cement and a banner for the front entrance, just so that we can do a cost comparison.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? Yes, some point of information. So I don't know if I read it clearly, but so the first part of the motion was to contact Principal Fallon to ask if he could get an estimate on the lettering that was in the picture that I shared. It wouldn't be like, we haven't decided on the lettering and what's gonna go on the lettering, whether it be Medford High School or Mustang Pride. That was just an idea that was shared with me because I'm the chairperson of the Building and Ground Subcommittee. That particular picture had lettering. It looked like it was made out of sheet metal and the equipment that the two shops that I had mentioned, which was the robotics and automation and the metal fabrication shops, They do have a laser and a plasma cutter. And so those two machines, I believe, it might be possible for the vocational shops and or teachers and students possibly to create that lettering sign which would go on the front of the front entrance high school where you go up on the ramp. And then the idea that Mr. Cushing was sharing with us had to do with the large concrete section that is behind the Caron Theater. So all that concrete to brighten up that area Mr. Cushing shared an idea of having a banner that might look nice, you know, to cover up the concrete and it might have, you know, we just talked about ideas like having Mustangs running or maybe Mustang Pride could go there with some Mustangs and then the lettering would be on the front of the school with maybe Medford High School so that there's a distinct front entrance and um I did I did ask about this um the lettering you know would be I believe would be able to take him down if we were to you know have either the vocational students do it or an outside company and that lettering could be then put on you know a renovation in another area, if at some time, maybe five to 10 years from now, there is a full renovation, but the structure of the building itself is sound, so they might keep the original structure. I do think that the estimates are for getting prices on those so that at our next meeting, we can talk about the next part of the plan,
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, did you hear me? Okay, I'll say it again. Thank you to all the students. All the poems were beautifully written and inspirational. You're all talented poets. Incredible job to everyone. Thank you all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry, my dog was barking, yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I was just trying to unmute. Yes, so, you know, I would like to ask my colleagues, you know, if they would consider, respectfully consider, you know, in advance of the meeting, reviewing the timeline that has been put forth in both resolutions and consider expanding the dates I mean, I just went back and I read the original resolution. So the, the, the original resolution states, be it resolved that the Christopher Columbus elementary school be renamed effective July one 2021 in advisory committee shall be created. with a term of six months. So the advisory committee was supposed to have six months beginning no later than October 1st and provide a recommendation to the committee no later than February 1st, 2021. So in that original resolution, it was given ample time to come up with a new name, have that committee formed, have a new name discussed, thoroughly vetted, and that the school committee would reconvene the Committee of the Whole before September 1st. Now, I'm just pointing out the dates. all of those dates have already been passed. We missed all those deadline dates and we missed all those deadline dates because we're in a pandemic. And as we've seen in the pandemic, all the dates had to slide for everything we were doing, everywhere. It's just all the dates had to slide. So, I am just respectfully asking if my colleagues could think, In preparation of Wednesday's meeting, you know if we can maybe try to come up with a different timeline, so that there can be a thoughtful respective. I'm sorry not respective reflective discussions. for that advisory committee once they're formed to thoroughly research a new name, have public meetings, listening sessions. You know, I feel like we're rushing this to make that deadline. and we're still in a pandemic. So I just feel that it's such an enormous, you know, task and it just, it requires time, thoughtful time consideration in hearing from all community members.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just had one more, because I've been hearing, you know, over the last couple of days, and I did not read it in the original resolution, but I've been hearing that if The deadline wasn't met by July 1 2021 that the Columbus school would would then be renamed the no name school, but I'm not seeing that in the original resolution so I'm just, you know, I'm just wondering, you know, is that something that I'm. missing or overlooking if um one of the committee members who wrote that resolution if you could let us know because I have been hearing a lot about that and I just want to you know kind of get an answer on that because I don't know and I didn't know anything about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, so that just might have been something that got kind of overheard somewhere. Somewhere, yeah. Okay, all right, I just wanted to confirm that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep. And it is five o'clock I have we have Paul. I think Paul's here. Yep, there he is. And I see Paulette and John's there. And I know David Murphy is going to be joining the call, but I think he's joining us a little later, Dr. Maurice.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, and his item is the last agenda item. So I think it's fine, we should begin. It's five o'clock. So what I'll do is I'm gonna start reading the agenda, the long agenda, the beginning. Okay, so please be advised that on Wednesday, March 3rd, from 5 p.m. to 6.30 p.m., there will be a building and ground subcommittee meeting held through remote participation via Zoom. Pursuant to Governor Baker's March 12, 2020 order suspending certain provisions of the Open Meeting Law, General Law 30A-18, and the Governor's March 15, 2020 order imposing strict limitations on the number of people that may gather in one place, this meeting of the Member School Committee will be conducted via remote participation to the greatest extent possible. Specific information in the general guideline for participation by members of the public and or parties with a right and a requirement to attend this meeting can be found on the City of Medford website at www.medfordma.org. For this meeting, members of the public who wish to listen or watch the meeting may do so accessing the link contained herein. No in-person attendance of the members of the public will be permitted, but every effort will be made to ensure that the public can adequately access the proceedings in real time via technological means. In the event that we are unable to do so, despite best efforts, we will post on the City of Medford Community Media website an audio or video recording, transcript, or other comprehensive record of proceedings as soon as possible after the meeting. The meeting can be viewed via Medford Community Media on Comcast Channel 22 and Verizon Channel 43 at 5 p.m. Since the meeting will be held remotely, participants can log or call in by using the following link or call-in number. You can join by typing in https://mps02155-org.zzoom.us, backslash j, backslash 93458270363. Or you can call this number 131-262-66799 and type in the meeting ID number 934-582-70363. Additionally, questions or comments can be submitted during the meeting by emailing kcretz at medford.k12.ma.us, and that's spelled K-R-E-A-T-Z. Those submitting must include the following information, your first name and last name, your Medford Street address, your question or comment. So we'll take the roll call. Paulette, you're no longer the treasurer, so I'll start with the roll call. I have, oh, sorry, I have my, oh, here it is. I was like looking for my attendance list. All right, Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, Ms. Van der Kloot?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And Ms. Kreatz here. So three present, zero absent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, that's great. Thank you. And before I do begin, would somebody want to just keep an eye on the time? Because I know a lot of people have been doing great with their meetings and their time, and I just lose track of time. So I've been going over. So let's keep an eye on the time. Anybody want to keep it, you know, just, you know, tune me in and just say, Kathy, we're getting a little into this topic. I don't mind. So, and I see Mr. Murphy, thank you, Mr. Murphy, I can see that you're, hi. All right, so the meeting objective is to update the community on projects at the Medford Public Schools. And so the first item on the agenda is the Merritt High School generator. And I did put together some notes. I'm just going to open them up right now. Um, and I went back to our last meeting because we did have so this this meeting is our we're revisiting some of the items that were on our last meeting and um, So we did talk about the generator and I was able to share the estimate and the specs with both committee members And john mclaughlin shared them with us. Um, i'm not sure if you want me to do a screen share Um, or did everybody get a chance to look at that? Did they did they get those the specs?
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, so the cost is, and I'm just going to shrink this down one second. I'm just going to shrink it. All right, so the cost, and just move this over. Oh, OK, it's moved on the wrong side. Second. The cost is, oh, OK, one moment. I think I have it, and I saved it here. $128,675. So the question I have, John, is, you know, I just have some general questions and I can be able to just answer them. So what I didn't know is, you know, I looked at the draft of the capital improvement plan and I noticed that the generator wasn't on it. So I wanted to know, you know, what you have for information, you know, maybe could you explain a little bit about, you know, how important replacing the generator is and what does the generator do?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, excellent. That's, that's excellent, because that's very important. And so what You know, okay, the other question I had was does that cost the 128 675 does that include the labor to install and remove the old generator or are we going to incur additional costs.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And would it be a problem to keep the old generator, you know, in the building, you know, is there any, you know, issues that might occur if, if it was left there.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep. And, um, and then, oh, my colleagues. Okay. Um, go ahead. Yep. I'll let, uh, Mr. Russo.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And Ms. Van de Kool, did you have any questions? I hope I didn't miss your hand. Let me see, are you muted? We can't hear you, Paulette. can you unmute?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. Almost 200K. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Griffey, go ahead.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Mr. Russo, I saw your hand. Go ahead.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Murphy, go ahead.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Um, so is you know, I I was thinking of making a motion to you know, have this you know added As for discussion as a high priority item at the upcoming capital improvement plan meeting To be shared with the other committee members so that you know when we're meeting we can You know because we're meeting to make the priorities. What are we going to use that capital money for? um You know is I think that's something that we should do at this point is to have it added as a high priority item at the upcoming meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Roll call vote.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Three in favor and zero opposed. The motion passes. Okay, let me just do this.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you very much mayor for attending. I really appreciate it. And I really appreciate everything. Thank you very much. And tell the other members of the other committee, good luck with your meeting. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you everybody. Okay, so we're moving on to the next agenda item, which is the Medford High School front entrance, which I kind of have it broken down into just different little sections. We are going to talk about the front entrance, the ramp, making that ADA compliant. We're also going to talk about the front entrance, the sign that we were just talking about, and beautification, some landscaping. So we'll start with Where we left off was we met about the front entrance in November, and at this meeting we are revisiting the front end discussion, and I know how very busy, Mr. McLaughlin was after our last subcommittee meeting, getting all the costumes ready to welcome all the students back in January. So I understand we didn't really get to do much between November and now so we're meeting again. And we're going to be talking about some of the same things as the mayor just mentioned she's very interested in fixing the ramp in the front end just a method high school. We understand that there's going to be a vision committee put in place. However, the ramp in the front high school is not ADA compliant, and it needs to be fixed and it's unsafe to wait, you know, the five or so many years until we get that renovation plan, we need to make those changes now. So currently it's utility ramp. And it's, it's, you know, listed in the capital improvement plan for the draft for the city. There's ADA accessibility upgrades that are part of that plan. So we can, you know, potentially use the free cash to fix that entrance and. We, and just to give a little background, we had Mr. Kless Anderson, who's also on the call today, and we had Ms. Carolyn Montello, and she's also on the call today, and both those parents were very, they were very involved in the process, providing feedback. Mr. Kless Anderson is an architect, and he provided us with a design plan and great ideas. Ms. Montello, she had wonderful ideas, and So we shared that at the last meeting. I can screen share, if anybody wants to see it, that design plan again. Just let me know. I have it saved on my computer, just if you want to get another look at it. I believe, did I email it to everybody? I can't remember if I did.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Not this time around. I know. Do you want me to do a quick screen share of just the front entrance? sure okay so let me open it up one moment i'll open it up first um sorry don't mind i'm just looking around i put it on my desktop to get there i have too many things open okay front entrance design okay hold on OK, now let me go back to the meeting. OK, let's see. Sorry, I'm not really good at the screen sharing. I have the screen, and now I'm trying to get back to Zoom. Ah, OK, one minute. It shrunk down, my Zoom. Oh, there we go. Maximize, OK. Yeah, OK, so now I have the Zoom back, screen share. OK, screen, let me see if that. OK, click on it. OK, can you see it?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, there. Okay. All right, I did it. That's like the first time I've done it. I'm serious. Okay, so there it is. And it's just an absolutely beautiful design. And, and I did, you know, get in touch with Mr. Andreessen, you know, when we spoke. And so I have him on the call today. I also have Mr. McLaughlin, you know, we communicated about this and I told him, you know, what the plans are is, you know, that, you know, we understand that there's gonna be a lot of different projects and we can't do everything at once. Like, so we have the ramp and then we have the brick work and then there's the renovation. So this is gonna be like a phase project where maybe the first phase will be the ramp, making it ADA compliant, getting a nice sign for the front of the school, and doing some landscaping at the front entrance, and then maybe at the bottom at the driveway area. So I'll let Mr. McLaughlin have a few words to say, and then Mr. Andreessen, if you would like to also say some things, please do. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I am going to do that right now. And you know what happened is I have a mini Zoom. I'm afraid I'm going to click out of it. I don't know how it happened, but I actually have a little panel of Zoom, but I don't have the, shoot, let me see here. Let me go here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I do have that question you got to see it too yes so that is a question that I did have you know and I that's one of my questions I had if we were to convert that ramp to an ADA compliant ramp would vehicles be able to drive on it I know that the um the ban uses that ramp and I think that ramp might be used for maybe things being delivered to the school in the front entrance that way. I'm not sure. And that would be a question maybe for Mr. McLaughlin. Do you know the interest of that? Like if we were to convert a utility ramp into an ADA ramp, would it be vehicle?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, you may. Go ahead, Ms. Van der Kloot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. McLaughlin, I think you froze. You froze for a little bit. We didn't hear what you said, sorry. And then Mr. Andreessen would like to maybe try to answer that question. Go ahead, Mr. Andreessen.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, we can. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's excellent, thank you. Any other questions on that? So the other question I had was, I know at our last meeting You know, we wanted to know if you'd be able to approach a site contractor or Mason. And I know that it was just very busy times. We're trying to get the schools open up to get the kids back in for the high school. So, you know, that we didn't get to do that. So, you know, as part of this process, we do need an estimate to go to the next step. which is to, you know, you know, cause as part of the capital improvement meeting that we have coming up on the 22nd, we'll need some sort of an estimate to bring forth to the other committee members so that they have the, you know, all the figures that, you know, we have to add up to, you know, that free cash amount of the $816,000, you know, or so. So I'm wondering, John, would it be possible, because I was thinking of making a motion to get an estimate for the front entrance to make that ramp ADA compliant to get that estimate on or before that capital improvement plan meeting on the 22nd?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, Mr. Andreessen, please.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kathy? Yes, okay, Mr. Russo, go ahead.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. So I'm still thinking on this. So if we had a goal and our goal was to make that front entrance ramp, an ADA compliance ramp, and we had to put together a plan in this committee, What would we need to decide like do we need to decide that one, we need that curb cut out so that you know coming from the parking lot over to the front entrance there's going to be the curb cut out so that the person can go straight across and go up, you know, up the front entrance up the ramp. In and I know that it would you know, it would require, you know costs and fees Is there any way to get an estimate on? something like that if we had a plan that you know, because definitely You know, it's one of the issue, you know, one of the things that we do want to get fixed is You know making that ramp ada compliant and You know, I think, you know, we had a discussion about it in November and we're discussing it again, but I kind of want to try to move it along to the next level, which is going to the next step. And I'm just trying to think the next step would be coming up with a plan. What do we actually want? So, you know, I think what I'm hearing is that we do actually want to have the whole, you know, the parking spaces, the curb cutout, You know, both coming from the parking lot and then over to the curbing, and then the handicap ramp, you know, getting that done. And, or am I just kind of going off too far. Anybody want to chime in any committee members or anybody.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I don't mind at all. I have four dogs.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Murphy, sorry, I'm actually, yeah, please feel free to do that anytime, because I'm typing a little new. It's okay, go ahead, Mr. Murphy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, Ms. Van De Koot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: No, so that photo that was the next as part of the front entrance. That was what I was going to talk about next was last year. During the beautification. Mr. Chris Christopher Donovan he's a parent community member and photographer. He had shared that picture with us the day after the beautification day. He's a photographer, so he did the Photoshop and he did the front entrance picture idea that he had for the front entrance that he shared with me. When we had originally seen it, it was discussed a while back before COVID shutdown that that would be a really nice idea. for the 50th birthday celebration for the high school to get a new sign. And actually, I had an idea, and I even talked to my son, because he was in robotics and automation engineering. And I showed it to him, and he said that it's very possible that it's something that could be done easily with a laser cutter or plasma cutter, possibly. Has everybody seen the photo? What I can do is I can screen share it right now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, definitely. Let me do that right now. And I'm going to just give everybody a friendly reminder. We're getting close on the time, and it's getting up there. So we have to quickly move through some other things. Let me get there. Let's go to my desktop. Oh, yep. One second. It's on my desktop. Okay, here it is. I'm going to open it up right now and go back to Zoom. Okay, let me do screen share. Okay. Okay, so can everybody see that? Yep. And so that is, like, this is just a very quick picture. I mean, it's just a, you know, I mean, this wouldn't be the final version, you know, if, you know, we were gonna choose something like that. But I did, you know, get in touch with Mr. Donovan and he's actually, he might be unavailable, you know, for this meeting, but, you know, he did do some estimates on his own. Um, you know, I'm just looking at it a thousand dollars and landscaping up front would be new cool. Um, it would be nice if the vocational students could do it. Um, we could maybe reach out to Mr. Fallon and ask him if he could inquire with the metal fab and the robotics and automation teachers. If it is something that could be done, you know, via the two programs, I know that I, right before the shutdown, I got to see the robotics automation engineering, and they just have, they have the laser cutter, the plasma cutter, everything. Go ahead, Mr. Cushing, go ahead. Yep, I can't hear you, I'm sorry. I'm gonna stop the screen share. Okay, let me see. Did you wanna go ahead, Mr. Cush? Oh, there you go.
[Kathy Kreatz]: No, thank you. I really appreciate that idea. And I liked that idea a lot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Well, I really liked that idea and what do my committee members think? Dr. Maurice, go ahead. Oh, Dr. Maurice and then Ms. Van der Kloot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I second that motion. Roll call vote. Mr. Russo? Yes. Ms. Van der Kloot?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? Yes. Three in favor. Motion passes. Um, okay. And so the next part of it is just very briefly is just doing some beautification in landscaping, Mr. McLaughlin I know it's going to be spring soon and you know hopefully we're going to see all the snows, starting to melt. you know, could you hire a landscaper to maybe help us, you know, get some nice shrubbery that doesn't require a lot of maintenance, that will look nice, that's, you know, not going to be blocking anything at the front front where you come up, you know, from from Winthrop Street, you know, right there in that little corner where the, you know, the monument is, and then right at the front entrance. And, you know, where it's like we're going into spring, this is something that we would be doing, you know, anyways. Um, so I, you know, I wanted to make a motion that we, um, do some landscaping and some, you know, shrubbery in, yes, Mr. McLaughlin.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Murphy. Yes, Mr. Murphy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Kathy, we need to move on. Yes, we do. Okay, so if you could take it under advisement.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, take it under advisement. I really appreciate it. And so John McLaughlin, you're up with the speed signs. It's very brief. Did they arrive? Can you tell us when they will be installed? And that's it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's what I remember is, do you remember Mr. Russo, Ms. Van de Koot? I believe it was just in between. Yep, to slow everybody down. Perfect.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. And we are moving on to the security camera updates. Mr. Murphy, thank you for waiting. Sorry. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Are there any more questions? Does anybody have any more questions for Mr. Murphy or Mr. McLaughlin? Okay, so just to, you know, I just wanna keep track of, so I think what I have here is that, you know, for the capital improvement meeting, maybe you'll put together some sort of a little package that you'll bring to go over the front entrance and the security updates and the emergency generator. and you'll take under consideration any extra funds, some landscaping. And then we do have, you know, Mr. Cushing's going to look into the banner and maybe Mr. McLaughlin and superintendent are gonna reach out to Mr. Fallon just to inquire if it's possible or not, if the vocational students could do something like that. And I think that's it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Excellent, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Well, that's excellent. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Fallon, if you're listening. Um, I think that covers everything and we are going to end on time, even though we were getting a little late, but we are going to end on time. So is there a motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn? Motion to adjourn. Second. Okay. Roll call. Mr. Russo? Yes. Ms Van der Kloot?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz, yes. So we have motion three in favor of adjourning. And we're adjourning. It is 6.20 PM. And I want everybody to have a great night. Thank you all for coming, Mr. Andreessen, Mr. Murphy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: All right, we should be good to go.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you for providing us with this nice plan. Yeah, I think this is, it looks good. The questions look good. So, and I do appreciate Ms. McLaughlin reaching out to the mayor. I think that would be helpful information. I did attend that meeting at the library and we were split up into groups and we did talk a little bit about, you know, strategic plan education. There was like a little bit of a mix so that I do remember that meeting. And so when we, When we begin the process to invite people to this the roundtable meetings. Will there be like a little, like a little background like with the current mission statement, what it is currently, you know what's the current vision statement. you know, and maybe a little background with the meeting that was at the library, just a brief, you know, summary so that when it's shared, people know, you know, well, this is what this meeting is about. Oh, we're going to be reviewing the mission statement. So maybe they can come to the meeting ready with, you know, ideas and questions, you know, or suggestions or feedback. Just wondering. Yeah, I think that's a great idea.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hey, Kathy. Yes. I just had a question. So if we were going to have the round table meetings, would we, instead of having the communication stakeholder engagement subcommittee meeting, could that be that meeting time, you know, change for one of the round table meetings? I just, I just had that thought.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kathy? What about not being too late, but maybe 6 to 7.30, so it's not 7 to 8.30, because then we're getting late. I know 5 to 6.30, that's kind of the late hour, but then people want to eat and everything. Yeah. So it gets tricky when it starts at seven, because then we're definitely going into the later hour, but I'm not sure. What does everybody else think?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I don't have anything on those days, so yeah. I mean, I just had the communication one, but it's fine. Whatever one you choose and just let me know.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mayor, could I go after member Rousseau?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, hi. First, I just want to thank my fellow committee members, Ms. McLaughlin and Mr. Russo for all their hard work collecting and compiling the ratings and feedback. And I just, I won't go on because she has all the feedback, but I just want to reiterate what's in my feedback is that Dr. Edward Benson, you have done a remarkable job as superintendent. You got us through the pandemic. We're still transitioning. and we're, you know, we're doing very well compared to some of our other fellow, you know, communities. I couldn't be prouder to have you as our superintendent. And I thank you for your leadership, your friendship, and I look forward to another successful year.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Can you hear me?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Yep. So I actually have a building and ground subcommittee meeting scheduled for next week. And we were going to have this on the agenda. And then I saw it as a resolution on tonight's meeting. So before tonight's meeting, John and I, he had sent me the specs and I believe everything is ready to go over to or for us to take a vote to send it over to procurement so they can send it to the specs to go out for bid so that you know, we can get the cost and then we'll know more about how many bathrooms we would be able to do. So I'm not sure, you know, I was thinking that maybe this evening, we would take a vote to send the RFP, like the specs out to go out for RFP this evening.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I have the specs that John forwarded to me. I can share them with Susie and she can send them to everybody. That'd be great.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, member credits. I just wanted to share that what I've noticed over the last several subcommittee meetings is keeping to the timeframe that's on the agenda. And I just want to applaud school committee members, fellow school committee members for adhering to their schedule. And I want to try to make my meeting on time. I know I went like a couple of minutes over on my meeting. So it's something, cause we do value everybody's time. And I just wanted to congratulate all of you for doing a good job at that. Thank mayor. Mayor.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, no, no. Yep. All the meetings have been, you know, kept it like they haven't been going until the midnight hour. So I meant both. Sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm gonna knock on wood right now. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just want to say thank you to all the students for your presentation tonight. They were all incredible. And I just want to mention that each and every project is so extraordinary. All your projects are making a huge difference in so many people's lives. It's incredible. And just to hear how creative these projects are and The students are so excited about their projects and they're so involved in them. It's just, it's wonderful. And I just can't thank them enough. And I wanna thank Megan Olson, Michael Skorka, Rich Trotter and the foundation also for their support with the funding and just thank you. And I did get to jump on the call last week and I got to hear some of the presentations during the live call last week and it was incredible also. Thank you all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? for the presentation Mr. Murphy. So I have a question because I know in the past years we've had a schedule with a series of pre-budget meetings where the department heads and or principals present so that we we're all receiving a report with you know the different pre-budget information that we have in advance As we work towards that June date, it's usually broken down gradually over a series of like seven or eight meetings. I know the last two years it's been, they've been meetings, you know, committee of the whole meetings that were scheduled like the same day as a regular school committee meeting, and we would get one or two reports during that meeting. I know that the public also is not really sure and sometimes didn't know that we were doing that. Then we have another meeting in June where we're just going over the final details, but we've already met many hours and over several meetings to discuss the pre-budget and go over any questions that individuals would have.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And I didn't see the presentation in the shared folder. Would you be able to email it to me separately?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thanks, and then I guess as soon as you know the dates of those meetings, if you could send out a tentative date schedule, because that would be a lot of meetings that we have to include in our current calendars.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just had one follow up question. So, um, you know, I did. I heard from Miss Graham and, um, you know, I've been thinking about it and, you know, I do have some concerns myself about only having a pre budget meetings and subcommittee. Um, you know, I think that, you know, my fellow committee members who are not in the subcommittee won't be updated on the pre-budget materials. So I would just like to know a little bit more information about how that's going to work so that the other committee members who are not in the subcommittee are going to be voicing their questions and concerns with those pre-budget reports. Because what I can kind of, I'm just seeing in my head is that, we're gonna have the subcommittee meetings. We're gonna be talking about all those pre-budget reports. And then we're gonna be approving those to go to the regular meeting. And then that's when the other committee members are gonna get those reports to then ask questions. So I just, I think that's why in the past, we've always done it as a committee of the whole. so that everybody's included in the meeting at the same time while that administrator in principle is there doing that presentation. I don't know if there's been any discussion about that, Mr. Murphy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I just want to make sure because I know when this was on the agenda in last June, there wasn't a lot of notice. And I know that you're putting on the agenda to notify the public that there is a Committee of the Whole on March 10th. And I just wanted to know if Somebody would be able to invite a representative from the NAACP, the Italian American community, some South Medford residents, the diversity director of the city of Medford. of course, you know, the elementary school parents, caregivers, teachers, students, leaders, PTO, you know, just so that, you know, that was one of the major concerns was when we had the June meeting, people didn't know about it. And I know it's on our agenda tonight. But I, you know, like to know if it's going to be, you know, shared, you know, on social media to give people the opportunity to join in, or in be included with the discussions that are going to be taking place around the. then the renaming of the school um because we did receive a lot of emails and I was confused myself because you know we were getting messages and a lot of the community thought we were taking another vote this evening and you know and you know we're we're not doing that and I don't I don't think and I'm I'm not sure but we're not going to be doing that at the committee of the whole meeting so you know I guess the committee the whole meeting, I think, is going to be to. schedule like the planning committee, almost like what we did with the other committees, like forming a task force that's gonna be a very diverse group of community members, you know, from all different areas of Medford that are gonna be part of this committee with an application process and how many members will be on the committee. Is that what is being discussed in the March 10th Committee of the Whole meeting?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so I had a question, I did read through the report and so from what we've all read is that DESE doesn't currently have plans to offer the remote testing option. So all the schools must plan to offer the testing in school. So I had a question, will there be enough space in each classroom at each school to accommodate all the students in the cohorts taking the MCAS test while maintaining the six foot distancing?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I was curious what it was going to look like and I know in the report that you gave us, there was a link to the test nav tutorial so that you could get a look at it. And I was wondering if this if that link was going to be shared like in a memo, so that community could then you know take a look at what the test now tutorial looks like. and get a feel for it. You know, there's tools such as like a ruler, calculator, magnifying tool, a lot of different features, and you can go through it and just see what it looks like and get a feel for it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Oh, hey, Kathy. Hi. Yeah, I don't know why, but it keeps on putting a hand up, but I was going to chime in anyways. Do you see the hand showing up, or is it just on my side? No, it's so weird. There's a hand on my side. It's so weird.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, that's right. And it's a little hand, and I can move it around the screen. I don't know. It's never done it before. But I want to chime in and just say, you know, I remember when you presented the strategic plan last year, and I remember how much time and effort all the administrative team, everybody worked collaboratively on this. And I do think it's a great document. I like the color coding. You know, I was thinking as everybody was talking about how could we easily, you know, get feedback from the community without creating another task force, because that's what we don't want. It just seems like everything we're doing now we're creating another task force to get feedback. Is there any way that we could, you know, maybe If we have our initial strategic plan, we could share it and then do a brief survey to ask for some feedback and just have it broken down by section. I'm not sure, but I just think what I see us doing all the time is we're creating another task force and then forming another group and having another committee forum to have You know, several different communities because we want to make sure that we engage everybody in a very diverse group, you know, to hear everybody's feedback. So I just don't quite know how to go about getting the feedback, but I think that the hyperlinks are great and very easy to access and just clicking on the links and easy like dr edward marie she was updating the document while we were working on it so it seems like it's very user-friendly we could add information and edit it you know easily i just wanted to yeah yeah and i i mean i i think one of the things about being a more engaging school district is inherently that
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, I just wanted to just say that I have attended prior to the coven all the middle school open houses at both schools. And, you know, prior to coven. It was a great experience and, you know, they improved the experience just the year before the COVID where the middle school open house was open and they had the student ambassadors and they also had parents, teachers, you know, give a little, you know, discussion. Students come up on this, you know, on the you know, on the stage to give a discussion and then split up into groups and everybody got to walk around and go into the classrooms. And they were doing, you know, a little mini science lesson. It was just a wonderful experience. And it's just it's too bad that we had COVID and, you know, the students didn't get to actually have that in the school experience. And I know they did the the videos that were done. I watched them and, you know, they were shared on Facebook and social media. And, you know, I think that's, you know, a great thing that we did, you know, for our students this year. Unfortunately, they didn't get to go into the in-school experience. And it was just, it was really a really nice, really nice job what they had done. And, you know, I really enjoyed it. And, you know, I went to both, you know, for the last, you know, four years I've been going, up until last year.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to approve.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to ditto on what Ms. Van der Kloot said, and I just want to thank the superintendent and her administrative team for all their hard work all year. And I will say, if my colleagues want to hold off on approving this until next week, I support giving it the extra week so that they can have some more time to review this.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I just wanted to say thank you for the resolution, Mr. Russo. And I just wanted to just express my thoughts that I'm not in favor of prohibiting perfect attendance. I'll vote to move it forward to the rules and equity subcommittee for a future discussion. And I hope that during the discussion that the subcommittee can determine some way to recognize students who have worked to obtain that perfect attendance. I know that, you know, you've mentioned that students are coming to school sick and that might not be all students and or all staff. So I just, you know, I hope that during the meeting, the subcommittee meeting, there can be a discussion about, you know, recognizing students in another way. Maybe if there was excused absences, they wouldn't be counted against the student and it might not be a certificate, but just some way to recognize students. I know that this carries forward to the career and college world. I know at my work, we have a perfect attendance award. I take it seriously. If I'm sick, I'm not going to go in just because I want to get the perfect attendance award. So I don't think it's necessarily every student is going in and infecting other students, but I hope it's a good discussion at the subcommittee meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Um, yeah, so I'm opposed to prohibiting perfect attendance. You know, so if that is the, the resolution to send it to the rules and policy subcommittee so that it can be worked out to remove perfect attendance from the policies in attendance, then, you know, I won't be able to support the resolution as it is written.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep. So I just wanted to know and just to clarify. So this resolution is to send it to the rules and equity policy subcommittee to work out the details about the reports, because I'm just thinking that is this going to take. a lot of, you know, extra work on the administrative side, getting those reports ready, or are those reports going to be easily, you know, kind of, you know, extracted via a data, you know, extract, or I'm just not sure how this, because it seems like every field trip to get all that data in all those reports, you know.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi, hi, thank you. I don't have any questions. I just wanted to say thank you to Dr. Edouard-Vincent for a very detailed self-evaluation. And I couldn't be prouder to have her as our superintendent. And I just wanted to let everybody know that. And I didn't know, the question I do have actually is are we going to be doing our evaluation tonight. I didn't know I have something ready, but I didn't know if we were doing that tonight or if that's going to be another meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know what we did in the past was each of us prepared. I got a Word document ready with the same standards that you prepared and did a little write-up and then did a final comment in any final evaluation. Are we going to just send those to you? Or are we going to kind of go around the Zoom and ask, you know, what each of our, you know, like, let's say, grade was? I know the last time we had it was in person, and we kind of went around the table, and everybody just, you know, we went through the standard, and everybody just, you know, kind of gave their evaluation grade. I just didn't know how we were doing it this evening. Like I said, I do have my evaluation ready. I just didn't know how we're sharing it with everybody during this particular Zoom call.
[Kathy Kreatz]: All right. So, I mean, at this point, should I just give, like, I did an overall comment in my probation, you know, grading. Should I do that at this time, or are we holding off till the end? I just wasn't sure. If I should go ahead and do that, and then have another committee member go ahead with their questions or comments. Mayor, point of information, please.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Mayor, I move to nominate Paulette Vandeclude as vice chair.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Paulette Van der Kloot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, and I just wanted to say thank you to Ms. Baptiste and the students. It was a beautiful performance. I really enjoyed it. I know my fellow committee members, we've sat through many live orchestra performances the winter season, and this has just been amazing and wonderful, and it sounded absolutely beautiful and flawless. I loved it. Thank you very much. Happy holidays.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Merry Christmas. Happy New Year. Happy New Year.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, it was Mr. Brown. It was actually his idea, and he proposed and shared some ideas. He reached out to me this week to see if I had a copy of his proposal, which I don't have it, but it was all great information. And he actually has over, it looks like over, he has 35 years in the construction industry, seven years at Medford Vocational Technical High School. He also has eight years in, manufacturing and design. So, you know, he actually came up with the idea and shared some, you know, some like a brief presentation at that building and grounds meeting. And I have a copy of the minutes, but it doesn't have a copy of the proposal. Like I actually pulled out the minutes. I saved them, but I don't have a copy of his proposal, but I think it was more along, you know, What were we gonna go, you know, were we gonna do renovations or was it going to be a new school? But I think like with everything going on right now, all the updates that are going on, including the HVAC and the boiler and all the vocational updates, you know, I think it might be best to go forward with this committee, you know, for a renovation for the high school, you know, almost like a refurbish the high school. And I think also the trouble that we had earlier was that, you know, we didn't have a diverse group. So that's why it was disbanded. And we need to just, I guess, the mayor and the committee, we just need to, I think, come up with an application process and maybe a lottery process to choose the very select, you know, diverse group. And that's what, you know, that's what I remember so far. Thank you, Member Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. Thank you very much for the update, Ms. Ray. I just had a quick question. It was follow up to the response that you gave to Mr. Russo. When you do the contact tracing, does it also, you mentioned the bus, the lunch, cafeteria, does it include, when they're out at recess, does that incorporate the contact tracing as well?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know I got just a couple of, you know, just brief messages, just asking once again, and I looked it up, and could you define what a close contact is? Maybe if you could, you know, define what a close contact is again this evening, just as a refresher? Would you mind doing that? Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had one more follow-up question. So if a person, you know, kind of thinks that they were a close contact, but they weren't contacted, what should that person do? Should they get in touch with Ms. Ray or Marian O'Connor or the principal? How would that, how would something like that happen, work out?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just want to thank the team for all your hard work and efforts. It's a very comprehensive report, just like everybody said. And I don't want to repeat some of the things that were said. And my colleagues had very good questions. And I just, when reading through it, I was thinking the same thing. A summary, I came up with the checklist, but a summary is fine. So I was thinking the same thing, because it was such a very big report. When I was reading through it, I just have it here myself. One second. Oh, here we go. So I just wanted to, you know, just to clarify, and I think this is what it means, because we hear a lot about cyberbullying, and, you know, that's really common with the internet and the different social media tools that we have out there. So does on page 19, the definition of you know, regarding technological cyberbullying. So it does mention something that it would, something that does bullying that occurs on or off school, cyberbullying from a home computer or mobile device, if that bullying occurs in a hostile environment for the subject. So does that incorporate, you know, if somebody was, you know, getting bullied on social media sites, things like that? That's that's what I assume that but I just wanted to clarify that. Yes, that's what exactly what it means. Yep. Okay, thank you. And thank you. And I would be, I would be okay, I would be comfortable approving it tonight with the recommended changes that were mentioned. I just wanted to mention that to Ms. Van der Kloot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had a thought. I was just thinking about how we've had a late start, like a two-hour late start, where I know the storm didn't have measurable amount of snow on Saturday. It was still dangerous driving. There was whiteout conditions. So I was thinking, because I know that if we have a late start, And we're still getting the parking lots ready to open up. Would something like that still be possible? Even if, let's say, families are home and their students are remote, they still might need to get their cars cleared off in case of an emergency. just to get out of their house on a particular day. I was thinking it could still affect people who are remote and who are hybrid. I was just thinking about it overall because you just never know when you're going to have to rush out the door for something. I was just thinking about that as a late start. Does that affect the end of the year number of school days?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And I know how closely you monitor the forecast and work with the different administrators. So I really appreciate everything you've done. I was the vice chair last year and I got some calls from you. So I was actively involved with everything that you do to make that decision. So I appreciate what you do making that decision. It's a tough decision and you always make the right choice. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, yep, so over the weekend, I reviewed the MASC guide. It was sent to us, Mr. Russo, I don't know if you remember, but you sent it to us a while back, a few months back. And so, yes, so the very first step is having the superintendent do her self-assessment, submit that to the committee, and then it takes place, I guess the evaluation will take place over several meetings that I think would be committee of the whole meetings. And that would, you know, I think it's just, you know, not achievable at this time to have everything done by December 31st with only a couple weeks left with all the upcoming scheduled meetings already. So I, I agree with, you know, giving more time to, you know, to have the superintendent, you know, give us the assessment and then we'll have to meet once we get the assessment to, clarify and ask questions, and then we'll have to do an assessment. And I believe it also says that as a committee, we have to determine how we're going to go about doing the evaluation. Are we going to do individual self-evaluations? Are we going to do one big committee evaluation? So there's still a lot of different factors that we have to talk about even before we do the evaluation. But that's just what I wanted to mention.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, no problem. I can do that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: In the past years, we've done it as a committee of the whole because You know, every committee member wants to be involved in the process. I think what we found out with the pre-budget meetings was we wanted to have those pre-budget meetings go to the personnel subcommittee meetings, but the entire committee wanted to be a part of that process because it's one of the major responsibilities that we have, which is the same thing with the superintendent evaluation. outlined in the guidelines from MASC, you know, we have to decide how we're going to do it. Are we going to do it as a committee of the whole? Are we going to send it to the personnel subcommittee? Would the other committee members be okay with that? You know, if they sent in their, you know, their individual about like there's it's a it's a detailed guide, which I just reviewed over the weekend, which I'm going to send you. So right after I this um but so it is it's it's actually a big process you know so when i saw the resolution i said i when mr russo sent it earlier this year i looked at it over the summer and i started to go through it and it kept on saying the first step is that you must get the superintendent evaluation so i knew we couldn't do anything at that point until we have that so um yeah so i just revisited it again and um i will share that the document with you
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just I just sent the link and I just wanted to there is a section. It's on goals, and it says the evaluation model is goal focus is intended to foster growth on the part of the individual educator for the superintendent, and then it goes on to say that. in regulations for the evaluation superintendents are required to have one professional practice goal related to their individual professional growth and one student learning goal related to their impact on student achievement so I don't think it's it's Another typical I mean it's what's detailed here is just something different. I know it was it was updated in December, 2019. So I think that this is like the new guidelines for the for the superintendent evaluation. Yeah, we haven't done them yet. We haven't done the new evaluation process with the new goals yet. This will be the first time we're doing them, but it's just saying that there should be two goals, the student learning goal and the professional practice goal.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I agree with Ms. Van der Kloot. I think, you know, I've been on the committee and over the past several years, the schedule does come out typically in February and the meetings begin sometimes I think as early as April. And I know that You know, we are putting a lot on the administration, the superintendent with everything going on with the COVID and the opening of the schools. You know, I want to vote for a schedule, but I just think that we need some more time for the administration to get us the schedule. and if we could just, you know, maybe a friendly amendment to, you know, as Ms. Van De Koop mentioned, to the end of January, if, you know, they could get the schedule to us by then, and then we can have it all in our calendars. We'll have the committee of the wholes, we'll have the superintendent's evaluation, we'll have the pre-budget meetings, and we'll have a complete calendar by the end of January. I just think that, you know, We have the holidays coming up in December and some of these administrators and teachers and staff, you know, they haven't had some time off. So, you know, and we're still putting some things on them during the holidays, you know, by having them, you know, with the reopening of the schools, getting the students ready to get back into school. the beginning of January for some of the high school students that still have to get back and just everything else that's going to go on. As we enter, we just still have two more weeks left of actual school time and then it is holiday break and a lot of us just take some time off in the holidays. I'd like to vote for it, but with an amendment for some more time. That's all I wanted to say.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I was going to say the same thing as McLaughlin said is that. I don't think it's achievable right now. I do think it will be achievable and I thought I recall that this would be an ad hoc request like report where it's supposed to be sent to the superintendent not in the form of a resolution but as an ad hoc request report so that. She could then look at it and determine if it's feasible to be done and possibly how long it would take. That's how I read the resolution. I do think that at some point we're going to need that information as we go into the budget, but I don't think you know, immediately we need that information, you know, in January, you know, we're going to, you know, have the date set for the pre-budget. We're going to need some information about what's, you know, left over for the grants, but, you know, having that information right away in the middle of the global pandemic, directly after the holidays with the superintendent evaluation in the pre-budget schedule. I mean, I just think that I'm getting overwhelmed just thinking about it and I'm not the superintendent. That's all I wanted to say. It's just we're putting a lot on one person.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you. I just got my mic on. Okay. Yep. So, thank you very much for the presentation, Dr. Edward Bitson and your entire staff, and a special thanks to Toni Wray and Marian O'Connor for everything that they do. So I've been, you know, following the news and you know, listening to a lot of the emails and all the correspondence, you know, the public health experts, the desi commissioner, and the governor have expressed in light of the current COVID cases, students should be in school in person. And I trust the medical professionals, health experts, the Board of Health, and the State Board of Health and the CDC. And, you know, I just, I really trust the experts. You know, I know there's the COVID numbers are on the rise, but from everything that's been presented, the spread has been, you know, there has been very little spread in transmission in the schools. And the spread has been related to either, you know, community and or family or indoor outings, you know, and we have said many times that the schools are very safe. Um, you know what I what I'd like to do is I'd like to make a motion to accept the superintendent's recommendations continue with The to utilize parts one building classroom readiness and three district and school specific metrics from the original member public schools Reopening dashboard and then update part two member community health metrics Of the original member public schools covid reopening dashboard to include the department of public health's updated color-coded classification system. So I just want to, you know, I want to definitely make that motion because I think that, you know, from hearing from all the experts and, you know, I just have to put my trust in the experts, the Department of Health, the Board of Health, the State Department of Health, the CDC, the governor, all their guidance. And, you know, I think we should continue to monitor you know, the numbers and pay very close attention, like what we're doing. And I'm just making that motion now.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And that would be the broad statement with the name of the building? Correct. Do you want me to read the motion again, or do you want to take the hands raised?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so the original motion was a motion to accept the superintendent's recommendations continue to utilize parts one building classroom readiness and three district in school specific metrics from the original member public schools COVID-19 reopening dashboard update. reopening dashboard, update part two, Medford community health metrics of the original Medford public schools COVID-19 reopening dashboard to include department public health updated color coded classification system. And it was amended as noted per Melanie McLaughlin to include the disaggregated data of the students who were actually in-person or remote regardless of assigned cohort. and to include the amendment from Ms. Graham, adding an asterisk to note the name of the building affected in the color-coded chart, I believe. Is that right, Ms. Graham, in the color-coded chart?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have one question. I just want to ask Dr. Maurice if that was okay and doable with the administration on moving it up that many months. Is that something that they would be able to do? It's not for this year, it's just going to be for next year?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. So the building and grants subcommittee had a meeting via zoom on November 5th. Subcommittee members, Ms. Van der Kloot and Mr. Russo were present. Also in attendance were Mr. Cles Anderson, parent architect community board development member, Fiona Maxwell, procurement city of Medford, Alicia Hunt, parent and director of energy and environment, and Carolyn Montello Parent. Also present were Chad Fallon, Paul DeLeva, John McLaughlin, Peter Cushing, and Dr. Edouard Maurice. First we discuss the upcoming 2021 subcommittee dates. So our March 3rd, 2021, 5 to 6.30 and June 2nd, 2021 is not good because of graduation. So the new date is May 26th, 2021 at 5 to 6.30. After we discussed the career technical updates from Mr. Fallon, he mentioned that the only positive with the students not being in schools has been the ability to do updates at the Method Vocational Technical High School. Some of the completed projects are the robotics and engineering, classroom lab and engineering shop, paint and labor were provided by painters union DC35. LED lighting was installed in many areas, thanks to Alicia Hunt for her help with that process. Programming and web development moved into a new space with 25 workstations, new carpet squares, paint and new computers. Construction technology lab, desks were built by the students. The current projects are cosmetology. A private donor gave $100,000 to put toward this program, provided for painting, electrical sinks, marble install of workstations, replacement windows, chemical mixing room, eyewash stations, and more. And they're on track to finishing in the next couple of weeks. And it's going to have a really nice name. It's going to be named the Priscilla Hoff Salon. The automotive and technology resurface the paint shop floor at no cost. It was done by apprentices from painters union, the students assisted with the, with the design plans, and they designed a racing flag, like a racing flag design on the wall. The painting was an epoxy process. Sherman Williams and Union shared the cost of the paint. Originally, Mr. Fallon got a quote of $65,000 and $99,000, but it was provided free of charge. This was a once-in-a-lifetime project. I just want to extend my thanks, and we did at the meeting to Mr. Fallon, the students, vocational teachers, apprentices from the Painters Union, Sherman Williams, and the Hoff family for all the work that's being done to continue to improve the Medford Vocational Technical High School. Also, special thanks to Alicia Hunt for the support of her schools in finding ways to get energy efficient resources to all of our schools. We have so many great partnerships. I provided with the group with an update about the brick fundraiser. It's currently on hold. And we'll, you know, update the, you know, the committee with any updates that we have in the future. Then we moved on to the discussion about the member high school front entrance. and Mr. Cless Anderson, parent of high school and middle school students. He's an architect and community development board member, shared a design of Meveritt High School front entrance. Mr. Andreessen met at the site earlier this summer with my fellow subcommittee members and a couple of other people. After the BRIC fundraiser idea, he planned a design of what the front entrance would maybe visualize what it could look like. He volunteered to put together an architectural design. He went to the high school front entrance with five high school students who helped measure the design in the entrance and they counted the bricks. The current ramp doesn't seem compliant to the code. Kless offered a plan to integrate a design into the brick work. The first idea was a map of Medford in blue bricks with personal messages that can be stamped on the bricks. You could have special bricks with landmarks in the town. The second idea was to put the Medford logo into the bricks. We would need to think about whether it was recognizable by the eye. I'm sorry, eye level or like, you know, from a distance. The students offered an idea of a wave or scientific image. It showed a hue wave. Another idea of a simple repetitive pattern, smaller quantity specialized bricks. There were a lot of options on how we can deploy this. Mr. Russo and Ms. Van der Kloot expressed safety concerns with the current ramp. Also discussed there were concerns about the sustainability in the white bricks. Will they get dirty? Kless suggests using all new bricks. So we asked John, you know, if he could get back to us with the cost of what it would cost to replace all the bricks just to get an estimate on that. And then John also asked Mr. Klaus Anderson if he could do an RFP. And we'll consider, you know, the fundraiser after the project or maybe when we get the estimates and then maybe can meet again and talk about the project again. Also on the call was Fiona Maxwell from the Procurement Department in Medford City Hall. She was there to help answer questions and provide us with some information. She mentioned there were a lot of rules we need to follow. It sounds like we have a few different projects going on. Project A is a capital project with new ramp, walls, and bricks. Project B, whether the bricks can be taken out and also an ADA issue, an ADA ramp that needs to be redone. The design work is exempt from limits. If it's over a certain $1 amount, it would need to be sealed for a bid. For example, ramp and signage are compliant of 39M. Purchasing bricks and reselling them make a deliverable good. Architect services make for a bigger project. There were a lot of components under one umbrella that we were all talking about. And I really appreciated Fiona being on the call to know, to guide us and help answer some questions. And she's going to reach out to john, you know, over the next couple of weeks, regarding some of the things we asked for, you know, for him to look into. Miss Carolyn Montello, who's a parent, also volunteered at the site originally this summer. And she's shown a great interest into helping us with this brick project in the design of the front entrance. She noted the original intent was to sell the bricks for scholarships, not to cover the whole cost of the work. So she reminded us of that. And also like what we all talked about was that. I think people will get more excited when we maybe have some sort of a renovated design that we can show people and then maybe do the fundraising of the bricks once we have that design and it will be renovating the school and scholarship program. So what we all came to the conclusion is that the project has evolved into kind of a capital project now, a little bit more or a mix of a capital project and then the fundraiser. So, and Dr. Maurice also, she expressed that this may need to be done in phases staggered over time with the goal of getting the change of a front entrance. And that's what our goal will be is getting the change of the front entrance. And the first step is getting a cost estimate to determine how to move forward from there. So we did ask John to get some numbers on the different phases, especially those not ADA compliant or safe. and I just want to thank John McLaughlin, Klaus Andresen, Caroline Montello. I'm sorry, I put Bill McLaughlin in the minutes. It should be Bill Carr, sorry. Susie, would you be able to update that? I'm sorry, I just noticed it right now. I was getting names mixed up, should say Bill Carr. And the students for their volunteering and assisting with design. I mean, I thought that was so wonderful that the students went out and they enjoyed what Mr. Andres has said was they enjoyed coming up with designs and counting the bricks. And it was just a wonderful to hear that report. And we are very fortunate to have everybody helping us with these future plans and maybe future architects. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. Yeah, no problem. All right. Thank you. All right. Did you have more. Did you just had a couple more. There was. It was a really involved meeting, and I couldn't really cut out a lot. So I'll just run through. I just have them bulleted right now. So john McLaughlin provided updates with see building project. He's waiting for the bathrooms. He's waiting for tiles, samples. He's looking at colors to look the same as the science lab bathrooms. The treads on the stairs are done. I don't know if you remember that we went on that walkthrough and the treads are done. The emergency generator is going to cost over $200,000. There's only $160,000 left in free cash. Between the bathroom project and the generator, we are going to be running into money problems with both of those projects. The Andrews school roof finished this summer. The solar project will finish next summer. Speed signs are on order. The locations are not set in stone, but they're on order. Playground resurfacing, money from the grant CPA, the Columbus and the Brooks are resurfaced. All the broken equipment was replaced before resurfacing. John is going to get some pictures as soon as he can and share them at an upcoming meeting. The radio project system being updated district wide, we have provided new radios to the principal offices and all would be linked to the police in the fire. Dr. Cushing provided an update on the McGlynn complex. They have $40,000 for design at McGlynn. They were reaching out to the city side to make sure that we have procurement done for the soft surface of the playground. The McGlynn was more prone to flooding, and also they're looking for something for students of all abilities and paths in life to give a better access to the playground. And Alicia Height informed us that she is looking at the solar battery storage at the McGlynn School. The goal is to have the noisy work done over the spring break. Dr. Cushing asked if we could do this at the McGlynn. And Alicia Hunt replied, if we did the roof over first, we could do it. And then he asked if we could do a canopy instead. And Ms. Hunt replied that the upfront costs are higher for the canopy and the battery grant is a funded grant. and then the meeting adjourned and you know it was a really really great meeting and I really appreciate everybody and all the attendance and thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I don't believe john mclaughlin I reached out to john yesterday to ask if he was going to be on the call, he is not going to be on the call this evening. So if you want, I mean we could put some questions together in an email.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is Mr. Cushing on the call, Dr. Cushing? Because he might, he is. Yeah, he has his hand raised. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, great. Yes, do you know the answer to that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: we would have to go to city council. We'd have to maybe have John McLaughlin would meet with Mr. Murphy and, you know, discuss what the next steps would be if they're going over because they, you know, John's concerns were that it's going to be a problem to do the generator and the bathrooms. There isn't going to be enough. So, I mean, I would think that we would have to go to city council to ask for additional money.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Maybe we could have virtual tours if we're not having them in school. I know that a lot of those virtual tours come out really nice in a video. That might be a good idea.
[Kathy Kreatz]: A second.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Thank you very much for the report, Dr. Edouard-Vincent. I also want to just thank Dr. Peter Cushing. I know I reached out to him a couple weeks ago, because while I'm working remotely from home, I was on the phone with a teacher in another district, and we were just talking about, oh, you know, how are you reaching your families? She had mentioned that in her town, that that's exactly what they did. They had to, um, enter, you know, with the partnership of their police department, do wellness checks at their houses. And, uh, they were able to reach the families and identify and get the information out to everybody. So I think it's just great. And I want to thank the administration and the Medford police department for their partnership and his and their team. It's just, that's going to be terrific. And I can't wait to hear back on that. Um, I did want to ask about, so as part of the number of students not engaged in the Zoom meetings, I know I had brought this up in another meeting that I've heard from some parents that don't want their child, for whatever reason, to participate in the Zoom meeting. So, you know, I think that I think that, you know, some parents just don't want their children to be on the zoom meetings. So I just want to make sure that, you know, you know, once again like that, the students, it's not going to be held against them in terms of their grade is pass or fail. I just want to reconfirm that information, because it sounds like That information is being factored into whether or not the students are engaged or needing to be closely monitored. So if you could maybe explain that a little bit.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had a follow-up. So I just wanted to just get some clarification. I know when we first talked about the distant learning plan, it was mentioned and I recall Bernadette Riccidilli mentioning that Zoom wasn't required. So I just wanted to know, are we now requiring the Zoom communication or If the family or student are doing the other work, but they're just not wanting to participate in the Zoom classroom meeting on the phone, and they're doing everything else, would that pass fail be held against them?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, Kathy you all set or I just had a final, I just wanted to I did ask earlier, when Mr. deliver was speaking about his committee the whole report. Are there any families that are still waiting for a device, and will there be a third deployment I know right now, the schools are closed, but I was just, you know, didn't know if that was maybe if schools going to be out, possibly longer, and we have families that are waiting for a device, will there be another deployment.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for the updates and communication. And thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you very much for the report. And yes, I was thrilled, you know, to read the report that, you know, we're committed to having this graduation. You know, I couldn't, you know, even it's just so important to recognize all their achievements. And it's just such a big, you know, event for the seniors. I was just thinking of some things that maybe we could do in the city, you know, to just, you know, recognize the class of 2020. Maybe we could put like a message on the billboard on mystic out, you know, congratulations to the class of 2020. or even the large movable message boards that kind of pop up with information, either the square or the various squares like West Medford Haynes Square, Medford Square, and just simple things, because I think it's all students, elementary students moving on to middle school, middle school students moving on to high school, and high school students moving on to college or career. So, because we usually have the moving on ceremonies for each of the schools as well. So I was even thinking, you know, I know that Mayor Lungo-Koehn had, you know, a scavenger hunt where the students put pictures on their door and maybe everybody in the community could just, you know, put a message, you know, draw something and put it on their door and to just recognize the student, you know, all students who are graduating the class of 2020. And it would just be a simple, you know, you know, thing that they could do and just to show our support to the whole community. You know, I was just thinking about that just today. What could we do, something simple that doesn't cost a lot of money that we could all do to recognize everybody and just start spreading the cheer and, you know, the appreciation.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion for approval. The parent is just concerned that it's going to be counted as a not pass. I just want to get that on the record that it's not a requirement and if they don't want to go on the Zoom call, it's not going to hurt their grade for pass or fail. So could somebody please clarify that for me? Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Thank you. Um, and I just wanted to share, um, or, you know, my concern regarding, and I know you don't have the numbers just yet, but, um, in terms of how many families haven't been connected with, and, um, last week I had a conversation with, uh, Dr. Cushing, um, and I shared an idea that I had, um, that maybe, If we're still having trouble reaching out to these families, we could have the school resource officer, or maybe the police department, do a wellness check with these families. Because you know, how do we know they even have any of the communication that we're giving to everybody I guess. you know, I'm a little concerned and worried for those families because if we haven't heard from them, we don't know what they know and what they don't know regarding the distance learning and what we're doing regarding the pass or fail or just any of the communication. So, you know, I just wanted to just share my idea and, you know, just put it out there. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I want to say a couple of words. Ms. Patterson, I want to say thank you very much for your service over the last couple of years in such a short amount of time you have accomplished so much. You were a great help to me when I was signing the bills. In fact, you came down and met me at city hall and showed me what to do and answered any questions I had about the bills. You've just done an incredible job balancing the budget and beginning the process to change the scheduling of the budget, which we started last year, which was extremely efficient. And we were able to have the meetings more regularly to discuss them in smaller group sessions. And I just really appreciate everything you've done and I wish you well in your new endeavors. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: You got it, Kathy? Yes, I couldn't find these budget sheets either. I still can't find them. I don't know where they are. I have the shared documents with all the narratives, but I don't have the budget sheets for these committee meetings, for the committee of the whole this particular meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Perry? Member Van der Kloot? I had a question also to Mayor Longo-Curran after Ms. Nguyen. Member Van der Kloot, then Member Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Yes, thank you, Ms. Perry, for the report. And I do recall from last year's budget that you did put in for the same two requests for the full-time adaptive PE. Well, the middle school would be new, I think, this year. But I just want to express the need for the adaptive PE teachers for both special education and vocational students. I've heard, you know, many, many times, you know, at the beginning of the fall straight through from parents and students that there is no time in their schedule to take gym or PE. I'm happy to share an update from after, you know, the students have been out that I've heard from some of my son's friends who said that they're taking their PE online. where they're going to record like, you know, an exercise that they have to send in and, you know, it's I guess it's working out really well. So I just think that it's really important that, you know, if possible, we can get both of these positions added, so that there will be equity with the middle school and you know, also equity with the vocational school and the high school and special education needs. I just think it's a, you know, really important for, you know, for everybody. Um, so I'm really hoping that maybe there'll be extra money available for this, um, item. It has been requested. Um, this is the second year in a row. So I just wanted to, you know, express my concerns. Thank you. Thank you, mayor.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I had a question, too. May I? Lungo-Koehn?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Thank you for the report Molly really appreciate it. I, I had a question, follow up to Paulette's question, I wanted to know, were there any students that wanted a Chromebook, and they still are, you know, we're still trying to reach out to those families or do we know that information yet I'm just wondering if anybody knows that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, thank you. And I had one more question. And I just wanted, you know, I know it's detailed in the report, but I thought it was interesting. If you could describe the difference between the certified school librarian and the librarian paraprofessional.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Present.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, yes. I just had a question. If you're going to the grocery store, I've been hearing a lot of on the news. Is it necessary to wear the gloves in the mask when we're going to the grocery store or the pharmacy?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much for the update. I had the very same question that Melanie had, and I guess we'll find out next week. And it's great news to hear that the middle school students and their families, with that trip, it's going to work out for them. Thank you. It's a redundant question, so Melanie already asked the question. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much for your report, Dr. Riccardelli. And I wanted to just mention, I forgot to mention this earlier, I think I just got caught up, but I just wanted to thank everybody, Dr. Edouard-Vincent, Mayor Lungo-Koehn, all the administrators, the principals, the teachers, the parents, and the volunteers, just everybody for What an amazing job you're all doing to put all this together so quickly. We at my work, we're struggling with getting everybody remote access. And finally this week, everybody has remote access. So we're all learning to do things differently from home. It is challenging. And I'm just, everybody deserves a great thank you. You're all heroes. I just wanted to know, I received a question like, are we going to be providing distance learning for the career technical education students? Is that in the plans? I know it's the middle of the year and they would still have three more months left of instruction.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Good.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, no, okay. Member Kreatz. Oh, my, oh, off mute, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Texeria, for the report. I just had a question, because I know in your report, it mentioned that you haven't been able to get in touch with 30 of the 480 English learners, and you continue to do the outreach. And I think, did you do a mailing as well, Mr. Texeria? Like an actual mailing to the families, their address?
[Kathy Kreatz]: There you go. Okay. Yep. So I just wanted to, you know, I was speaking with Melanie and I really appreciate all the email communications and updates from the superintendent and the mayor. It's been phenomenal, the updates and the emails. I do and did feel a little bit like, in the dark a little bit because we weren't actually meeting the same way that you were meeting with the administrators, let's say, and having like those Zoom calls. So, you know, I do support having, you know, a meeting before the, you know, before we're supposed to go back to school, which is, you know, set to be May 4th, because with the coronavirus, you know, it's constantly changing. Even the president, he originally planned to want to have people to go back after Easter, but he made a decision after speaking with researchers that, you know, it wasn't in the best interest and for the safety of the Americans, citizens. And I feel like the the virus is changing every day. We just don't know what's going to happen. And that would be a long stretch if we didn't have a meeting before, at least like, I mean, even if it was a special meeting, it doesn't have to be scheduled for three hours, but just a special meeting to catch up and, um, you know, talk about where we are and where's the coronavirus, how is it infecting Medford, things like that. So that's my thinking. I do support having it the 20th if everybody else agrees with that. But I think that, you know, we have to continuously monitor what's happening with this virus. And because it spreads very, very rapidly, it's very contagious. And we just don't know.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I could go earlier if people could. Like, I am working remotely from home, but I'm home, so I get out at three. I could be in a meeting as early as like 3.30 just to, you know, get something to eat and, you know, be ready if that works for everybody else.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? First, I want to say thank you to the committee for putting these instructions together. I did have just a couple of really simple questions. So do we follow these same procedures to add subcommittee meeting minutes to the agenda? Because I know quite often we have to send a request to add our meeting minutes. Would we follow the same procedure, I'm assuming? Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Yes, I just had just a couple of quick questions. So, I just wanted to know, when we send it in the subject, should we put specifically, please add to agenda, you know, something that will stand out that will be unique for people adding to the agenda so that the superintendent and the mayor know that, oh, this is an item for the agenda. I should make that a priority over some other emails. I just don't know. That was just my thought at my work. We have certain subject procedures when emailing, but that was just a thought. And also, I wanted to know, who is the designee while we wait for a replacement for the executive assistant, which is just recently developed? And then I think Ms. McLaughlin has mentioned this a couple of times with some other procedures. Are we going to put these procedures on the websites once they're approved so that we can easily access them for reference? You know, because like, I mean, I think we come across one of the documents which is functions of the school committee and I had the final version, but you know how like there's multiple versions everywhere? Where is the final one? You know, so I was just wondering where will this be? Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I guess I did want to know, you know, who, like, who should we be, like, just to, you know, to start the process, like, Going forward, we have to schedule some meetings. So am I going to send it to the mayor, the superintendent, and who else while we wait for a replacement? Is it going to go to Pete?
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, so the mayor and superintendent. Mayor and superintendent, chair and superintendent, yes. Thank you. OK. And it doesn't matter, just put anything in the subject. Agenda item. OK, agenda item. Member McLaughlin.
[Kathy Kreatz]: To extend it to three days.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz? I just wanted to say thank you for your years of service, Ms. Caldwell. It's very much appreciated and congratulations. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I wanted to say thank you Ms. Ray and Dr. Sabe for being here and thank you for the frequently asked questions to the mayor's office and last Friday's bulletin. It was excellent and I found it so useful and some of my questions were answered and I really appreciate it and I know there's a lot of people out there that are, you know, just you know, concerned, anxious, worried. Can they get it? And, you know, it's just there's a lot to think about every day. We're getting the reports and just it's updating all day long. It's all we hear about. So it can be a little nerve wracking. And I really appreciate everything that everybody's doing to keep us updated. Also something that we want to think about is the methods of communicating if we have to cancel And if schools have to dismiss, I did hear of some schools that had to dismiss at the last minute because a parent had come into the school and was tested positive and they had to get in touch with everybody to send the students home. So I don't think we've ever had to do that either. So there's a lot to think about and consider in the planning stages. And I appreciate everything that everybody's doing. It's really a tremendous amount of work everybody's doing. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: last couple of years we've been going back to school three days in August and this year we're not and I was just wondering if that's going to be the start of a new trend if we're gonna you know kind of we're not going to go back in August anymore or did that just happen with the calendar this year I wasn't sure so it's just I just happen to notice so I just thought I would ask.
[Kathy Kreatz]: to all the students. I mean especially like 36 seniors and you know it's senior year and it's just so unfortunate with the coronavirus. And I understand it's very disappointing. And at the same time, I'm torn because I just want to make sure that the students, their safety and well-being. And it's a really tough situation. And I really feel for you and all the students. And I hope that there's something that maybe another way or an event that we can do here to celebrate maybe not going to France, but just doing a nice cultural event here. I mean, it wouldn't really make it better, but just something that we could do here. And I just wanted to express how this is very sad. And I did hear from some parents, it's very disappointing. But they understand. And they understand that it's a risk. And they don't want to kind of put their student, their child in that situation. It's a really tough. And I'm sorry that we have to do this.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member van de Kloot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Member Kreatz. Thank you very much for the report, Mrs. Seery. I just had a question about one of the wish list items. Yes. And it was, there was zero costs associated with it. The high school engineering course.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I was wondering if you could go over that a little bit.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I think it sounds fantastic. I've seen the new space and it's beautiful. It's really big. There's so much to learn and I'm sure Mr. Chrissy would love to have the students in his classroom and he loves teaching everybody. So is this definitely going to happen as an elective?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Member Kreatz. Oh, yes. Thank you very much for the reports. And I just want to say, I did notice that you're going to the Intrepid Sea, Air, Space Museum. I googled it and it looks really exciting. There's so much for the students, so much information to be gained. It sounds like a great stop. It has a really high rating, and it looks really fun. So I wanted to know if there was any difference between where we did have the middle school lottery. Was there a difference in the numbers from last year to this year with the McGlynn and the Andrews? Or did the numbers kind of stay the same with the number of students going? Was there any noticeable difference?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And let's see, I just want to see if we have one more. Oh, I just, I also wanted to know, is there any communication, like I know that the students, they, you know, they're not allowed to make phone calls home or like, or tweet or anything like that, or is there a way where parents can follow or pictures are seen like on Twitter. Does any of that happen while they're on the trip, whether teachers might post it or the field trip advisor?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I hope you enjoy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Thank you for the report, Mr. Lowy. I just had a question on the bus transportation. The fees were pretty consistent for the different sports. For the cross-country middle school, the bus transportation was a little bit more. It was $2,640. And I wasn't sure why that was, or is that the combined number for both schools? I wasn't sure whether it was different.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Thank you. I just wanted to say thank you all very much for this really comprehensive report. And the first thing that I thought of when I read it was, you know, how proactively Medford jumped right in and immediately began working on this after the bill's inception. I mean, all the outlines that we see here just shows how busy you've been. Every month you've either been training, attending, professional development, screening. It just shows how much work you've been doing. And I just want to say thank you all very much. Thank you all. Member Graham.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Member Kreatz. Thank you, Ms. Lazzaro, for the report. I just wanted to know, because I know part of the policy is to have the PTOs contacted so they can come and do a presentation. I know we had the first presentation was last year. And it was in April. So I was wondering if, you know, since we have the email addresses, if you could email and see if any of the PTO was interested in coming. I know it was organized last year and several PTO members came out and they did a presentation. They took turns presenting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Excellent. Great. And of course, if they can't attend, it's fine. They can send in a written report. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, yes. I just have a question, and I'm familiar with the report and the reimbursement process. I just wanted to explain to the new committee members, and maybe, Christine, if you could explain, Ms. Patterson, how a teacher or administrator submits a reimbursement, like what's required in order for them to get reimbursed, and do they get full reimbursement?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: First, I have to disclose that my sister works as an assistant group leader in the after school program and I already completed a disclosure of appearance of conflict of interest form and I submitted it with the city clerk's office last Thursday so I could speak this evening. After learning, immediately after the school committee meeting in November, I heard from some students and they had told me that they were still making the minimum wage, which was the $11 an hour. So I was a little confused because I thought that everybody was making above that, which was between the 12 and then going up to the 13. So I had sent a message off to the assistant superintendent's office, and she was, sorry, assistant superintendent of finance, and she was going to look into, let's see, look into an option and explore a way that we can increase it in the budget level. And I just want to say that I really appreciate everything that you do in the after school program. I volunteered at the Brooks, the Roberts, and I've been to the McGlynn after school programs. And I've observed and participated and helped out in the program. And it's very well structured. There's a curriculum. It starts off with physical education, either inside or outside, then everybody goes back indoors and they're doing either story time in the younger groups, arts and crafts activities, then there's homework time, and then there's some free time, and I've spent the afternoon until it's pickup time with the classrooms that I've been in. And it's just been a wonderful experience for me. And I've seen and see exactly what you do on the floor and in the schools working with the students and how they look up to you as role models and how they really appreciate everything that you're doing and just that you're a student working with another student. It's just wonderful seeing everything that you're doing in the program. So I just wanted to say thank you and I am very proud of everything that you do in the program and for coming out here tonight and advocating for the after school program. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Roll call vote. Member Kreatz. Yes, I just wanted to report out an update about the community fund grant checks. This morning I received an email from Aleesha Nunley, Finance Director Auditor, and the Chief of Staff in the Mayor's Office, Dave Rodriguez, is working on a communications to update everybody about the grant checks. Under the guidance of the Department of Revenue, they're working on a mechanism to fund the awards from the casino to the individual recipients. Since the casino just opened last summer, this is the first time the city has made awards based on the surrounding community agreement. And we want to do this in a legal and in transparent way. So if everybody, we really appreciate your patience. your continued patience and hopefully we'll see an update either on the website or maybe by email sometime this week. Just wanted to share that update.
[Kathy Kreatz]: You're welcome.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just wanted to say, you know, thank you for bringing this report and thank you for coming out and explaining that. I did, and the superintendent answered already, I did have a question like who was going to be competing and she explained it was like the various different programs, the automotive and the, I forget where my list went, but so that answered my other question and I just want to wish the students good luck and I hope to hear and hear back from you after the competition. Thank you. I know. I'll be going. I've never been.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Yes. So I just wanted to know, so the state-of-the-art fire alarm control panel, so does that, like, are the students going to be learning, like, you know, where they can detect where a fire might be or, yeah, that's what I thought. So, like, it will, like, identify, like, where, like, the location of the fire and then pin it off to the fire department?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, and that's just, it's amazing. And thank you very much to the Nadon electrical support and for their support. And it's just, it is incredible. And I just thought it was incredible myself. And what does the data rack do? Like, is that like a, like I'm not sure what that is either.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It's very interesting. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, I just I really didn't know and I didn't Google because I thought I would ask and find out from the experts Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had a quick question. I just wanted to know now, can this award be used for anything? Are there any plans for the award, what they're going to use it for? I did look through it, and I wasn't sure. It says something in math and science for higher education. So I wasn't sure if it was going to a certain department, or was it?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Yes, I just had a quick question because I know this question comes up a lot. What is the difference between a long-term substitute a daily sub and a per diem sub. And I'm just curious, even at my own work where I work at MTRS, it comes up a lot. And each school district has a different definition for what it is in their school district. Some require DESE certification for long-term subs, some don't. The same for per diem and daily subs. So I was just wondering what Medford's definition was. Sure.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And then I just had one question, because some of the locations were listed as male, like for example, like M-A-I-L for the location. And I was just wondering, what does that mean? It was really just miscellaneous throughout the spreadsheet.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Member Kreatz. Hi. Thank you, Dr. Vicazelli. You're welcome. I just wanted to say, you know, I noticed last year the feedback we got was we didn't communicate, you know, timely, early, and I'm happy to see that we're getting this information out, all the dates out. so early. It's only beginning. It's February. And I just wanted to check. I have just a couple of questions. Two are really simple. Are the open houses going to have the student-led tours? I know they had them last year where the students also participated in the tours along with the teachers and staff. And that was something that I think a lot of the students really appreciated seeing and meeting other students that are in the middle schools.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great, thank you. And then these are kind of fun questions. And I just wanted to know, last year we had the middle school barbecue in the summer and it was a great, I thought it was a great success. I went, I helped serve, and Peter, he did a lot of burgers. So I just wanted to know if that was maybe in the plans. I know it's early, but if we were planning to do something like that again this summer.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great, great. And keep us up to date, because I know a lot of us want to help out and volunteer.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Are you all set, Kathy? I just had one other question. So I just wanted to know if the auditing company was going to be doing anything differently to ensure the equitable number of students from each elementary school assigned to the two middle schools? I've heard that one school didn't have a lot of students in that middle school. And that was still a little bit fuzzy last year. So I was just wondering if there was any plan to do anything a little bit differently to balance it out a little bit better or... So the plan is to do the process similar to what we did last year.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I noticed it's the Falcos live at 123 Fulton Spring Road. So it's just missing spring. It's on page two, community participation.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have a question. There was just a couple of items that were unclassified. Let's see. It was on page two. Equipment, other, BMCA 2006-25. I can recognize that. Yes, good evening.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. And then on page four, Bill and Associates had four items that were just on other supplies. That's for the pool, pool supplies. OK, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: School committee woman, Kreatz. Yes. I wanted to know, because we had talked about it, Erin DiBenedetto, she was a former school committee member, she had motioned last year at the end of the presentations that we were going to record the pre-budget meetings, because there were so many people that didn't know we even had the meetings. So I wanted to make a motion to record the pre-budget meetings that we're going to have in room 207. Of course, making sure and ensuring that the recording equipment is turned off at the end of our Committee of the Whole meeting. I know that Vice Chair Russo sent us a message last week sharing some details about another community that had their recording equipment kept on during their executive session. And I'm not sure how we go about doing that. I don't know who controls turning it on, but I did talk to City Councilor Riccariello yesterday, and all of their pre-budget meetings are recorded in room 207 when they have their pre-budget meetings. So I just wanted to reiterate that and for transparency so that everybody's welcome to attend. Even if they can't get there, they could watch from home or at their convenience. Is that something that we're going to definitely do?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great. And I just had one other minor request, if possible. Once we have the final approved dates, can we put the dates, I don't know if it's possible, on the website underneath our regular school committee dates, so that if people forgot what dates they are, they'll be somewhere where people can just easily go and look at them and maybe we could share it with the press release if we could ask Lisa Evangelista if she could put together a press release once the dates are finalized if these are the tentative dates and we could just share it via social media to engage the public a little bit more because last year people didn't know about them so I'm trying to get the word out there this year. Is that a motion? Yeah that'll be I guess a second motion a second motion to put together a press release to share the dates so people can share them on social media. And if possible, I don't know if there's room on the website to fit the dates underneath our regular school committee meetings. I don't know the structure of the website. So that's why I'm not sure about that, but if you could check into that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: School Committeewoman Kreatz. Hi. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Rae, for the report. It was very interesting reading about all the different techniques. I was just curious about the high school. What were the most common reasons why the students were requesting Tylenol? Was it stomachache, headache? A wide range of things.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I did read that I guess a handout was developed for the students with the education like to help them Is that something that you would be able to share with us like to just see it would be you know, interesting to read about sure Thank you Thank you, thank you and miss stone
[Kathy Kreatz]: School Committeewoman Kreatz. And like my colleagues, Mr. Russo and Ms. McLaughlin, I had a note too, congratulations on having the DESI maybe interested in coming out to see our program and I look forward to hearing more. I did, I was just curious, how long does it take the students who are taking the online test to take their test? Is it all day? Do they get breaks or is it just spread out over the various days?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Great. Thank you. School Committee Woman, Graham.
[Kathy Kreatz]: School committee woman Kreatz hi, thank you very much for the report, and I definitely look forward to the fair again this year, and I would love to volunteer, so you can put me down. Absolutely. And it's great to hear that the bank was out to speak to the students. I think I was talking about that over the last couple of years. Some students, and even my own son had come to me when he got out of high school, and he didn't know how to write a check or what to do with his bank account. So I was wondering if that's something that we could do for the high school seniors, just adding a presentation to invite maybe one of the local banks to come out and just do a brief demo on banking. I know I attended at the vocational program, I think one of the students had come back and talked to some of the students but I'm not sure like what bank it was but it was something like I've been you know kind of asking about for a while just you know writing a check you know what's involved with going to the bank and what type of identification you need and protecting your PIN and things like that. And just kind of throwing it out there if it's something that, not like right away, but like something that could be for maybe next year or something like that, just another seminar. It wouldn't be the same day, obviously. But no, thank you very much, and definitely, I'm sincere, and I just, definitely put me down for volunteer, for sure.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you Ms. Calzo for the report. I did serve on the committee and it was all the applications, they were just so interesting and I wanted to give everybody something. It was very difficult to make your decision and it was for the first time grant, we were able to give out 27 applicants and we had 37. So I just wanna say, encourage anybody who is a nonprofit to apply next year, put it on your calendar. You can get anywhere between $1,000 to $10,000. And the application should come out annually around, annually a little bit either on September 30th or a little bit after into October. And just thank everybody for all their hard work in filling out the applications. meeting the deadlines and they were all very interesting and everybody, you know, I wish I could give everybody something and, you know, I encourage you to apply again next year. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Devaney she did the press release and it was on the website as soon as we had the it was a first-time application so we had to design it so as soon as the application was ready we put the press release out there and it was shared you know on Facebook all the social media and it was it was on the website that's how it was done thank you yep and then that then when we got the deadline date ready we posted that as well and And, you know, I was really overwhelmed and surprised with how many applicants we got. We didn't know how many we were going to get. And it was really nice. It was a nice turnout. You know, everybody did a great job.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Any questions about one of the reports that was provided? I think it was one of the old reports that was on the, I guess it was on the list of the back of the requested reports. It was the report on mathematics middle school supplies. So I just wanted to, while we're entering into the pre-budget season, this year I think we all heard from teachers who had to buy supplies for manipulatives. I'm sorry, it's hard to say that word for me. Manipulatives such as dice, beads, blocks, measuring cups. So I just want to make sure that going into the pre-budget season that we consider these items in the mathematics supplies department because teachers shouldn't have to go out and buy the supplies so that their students can do some of the experiments that they you know, have to do as part of the curriculum. I did hear that some of the students were asked to bring in drink mixes so that they could measure the water in drink cups, and it would be able to see the different levels with different colors. So I mean, they aren't very expensive things, but if we can just find a way to kind of maybe even ask for donations from people if they want to donate certain supplies, if there isn't enough money in the budget for the additional supplies, but we should really try to build something in the budget so that there's enough for the supplies. I just wanted to add that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, just as we enter into the new upcoming pre-budget season.
[Kathy Kreatz]: This evening, the school committee had the organizational caucus, which we have each year to nominate a vice chair and a secretary for the committee. All were in attendance. There was a nomination put in for Mr. Russo to be vice chair for the year. It was nominated by Mia Mastone, seconded by Ms. Kreatz. And all were in favor. We'd like to take the roll call vote, please.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And the second nomination was for Secretary of the School Committee. Motion by Ms. Kreatz and seconded by Ms. Mustone. Roll call vote please.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, motion to.
[Kathy Kreatz]: School Committeewoman Kreatz. Hi. OK. Thank you very much for the report, Mr. McLaughlin. I just had a question, because I know Mr. Falco mentioned that he noticed some black mold. So I was just concerned. I didn't hear that, and I didn't read that in the report that was presented. Did you, when you were doing the deep cleaning, was there any sign of any black mold?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And then were the soap dispensers, were they cleaned out? Or were they, do you think maybe it was like particles in the soap dispenser? Or was it, you know, maybe just a change of soap?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Would it be helpful if the students let us know exactly what location the bathroom is, like C building. Absolutely.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. I just had a suggestion. Would we be able to put just a little note on the website, the Medford High School Medford Vocational website, just with the brief note that, you know, to inform students and parents if there's an issue to please contact and then provide like the names, you know, if there's an issue in the bathroom. if that's something that would be helpful.
[Kathy Kreatz]: school committeewoman Kreatz. Yes, Mayor Lungo-Koehn, I just wanted to know if, and I don't know what the timeline would be to find out the status of the app, because I know I submitted an application. I know several other people that submitted an application to the vision committee. Is there anybody reviewing those applications? Like, do we know where those applications are? Oh, okay. If we could Oh, OK. So I'm wondering. Superintendent's office has them. OK.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I want to thank you, Dr. Kieser, for your report. And I want to give a sincere thanks to you and Mike Durham and everybody that participated in the program. I did have an opportunity to go to one of the classrooms and listen in with one of the veterans that was talking to the students. And it's just really great that the students have so many great questions and it's just wonderful to hear them, you know, hearing about the real life service, the military service. Um, I also got to stop by and visit my son's display. Um, my son Noah and his, um, one of the other students, Ian Agudelo, They had the display and it was just wonderful and it's just great to see, you know, Medford students volunteering their time to help the veterans. What I found out from my son was there were eight students, a combination of Medford High School and vocational students that volunteer on the Veterans Preservation Project and they're gaining more students like all the time. And it's just incredible. They just, it's a passion and they enjoy educating and, you know, teaching everybody in preserving history. And I really, it's just one of my favorite exhibits to go to and thank you and thank to everybody who was involved in organizing it. I know it's a lot of work to get everybody there and It's a, you know, it's a great program. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I also wanted to thank you for your friendship and your leadership. What I learned working alongside both of you is your passion for high quality education. It's been a pleasure working with both of you. You've been great friends, colleagues. I wish you both success and happiness in your future ventures. Mayor Burke, it's been a pleasure and privilege to have worked alongside you. I've seen your passion and dedication to the city of Medford and the Medford Public Schools shine through. As a mayor, there's been numerous achievements that you've fulfilled. I appreciate all the remarkable accomplishments that you've done for the Medford Public Schools and the city. Thank you for your leadership and your friendship. I wish you the best, great success, happiness in your future. I really do. And both to everybody. And we'll see each other.
[Kathy Kreatz]: The rules subcommittee had a meeting this evening at 6.30 p.m. and we met to vote and vote on the member public schools attendance policy. What I can give everybody in their packets, everybody received over the weekend, Some documents, three documents. The first document was the Medford Public Schools attendance policy that is currently on the MAS website. The second document is the attendance policy that we received from the MASC, which is their updated policy dated February 2019. We use this policy as a guideline when updating the Medford Public Schools attendance policy. The MASE attendance policy is adopted by neighboring districts such as Seminole, Winchester, and several other districts. The third document in your packet is the proposed updated member public schools policy. I'm just going to summarize some of the updates that are in the policy that's the last, the third document in your packet. So the school committee had, I'm sorry, not the school committee, the subcommittee had a meeting earlier in, at the end of October, and we went with all the administrators, and we, after that meeting, Paul Russo got in touch with Jim Hardy at the MASC, and he asked the MASC if they could share their attendance policy with us. So Paul got that document from Jim Hardy. We made just a few changes. We added the word caregivers to all the paragraphs throughout the document wherever you see parents, guardians, wherever that's referenced you'll see caregivers as well. We separated the section unexcused absence so it stands out. Additionally the language was updated to show the new verbiage discussed in the subcommittee meeting on 10.1. stating the consequences for unexcused absences are limited to the same day restrictions on participation in extracurricular activities. Lastly, a policy information section was added at the bottom left-hand corner of the document. so we can track the version, date, and approved policy. Going forward, this is something that will appear on all newly updated policies. The document was reviewed by each principal at each school, as well as the superintendent, Dr. Edouard-Vincent, associate superintendent Peter Cushing, Associate Superintendent Diane Caldwell, Headmaster DeLeva. We shared this document with everybody, including all the original attendees at the October 1st meeting. So they all received and reviewed the document electronically via Google Docs, and they made suggestions, comments, or updates as needed. So what you're looking at is the proposed updated Medford Public Schools attendance policy. At our subcommittee meeting this evening, there was just one minor update. So if you pull out the, I guess I numbered the pages, so it's the fourth page, I think, in your document. So the last paragraph on the fourth page That last paragraph where it says each principal or designee will notify a student's parent, guardian, caregiver within three, we added the word school during our subcommittee meeting, school days of the student's absence in the event the parent, caregiver has not informed the school's absence. So that was the one minor update. And the attendance policy was I motion to accept to move over to the regular committee tonight. And Mr. Russo seconded. At this time, I'd like to make a motion to approve this document so that we can get this posted on the Medford Public Schools website and then share with the MASC as our new updated policy. so they can put the updated policy on their website.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, yes, there was, yes. And I'm sorry, I didn't say that, yes. That's okay. So there was a vote, and there was none in the affirmative, I'm sorry, two in the affirmative, zero negative, and there was one absent. So it was the motion passed.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Nice job. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Welcome. Come on over.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, hi. Thank you very much for the presentation. It's one of my favorite presentations, and the annual report is beautiful. I just want to thank the students for the great job and the great work they did. The pictures are beautiful, the articles, just perfect. All the projects presented tonight were fantastic, and I did what Paulette says, I look forward to all the upcoming events and just going to all the presentations and it's just so wonderful and the kids are so excited and it's so exciting that they're starting in elementary and then going to middle. I can't imagine the upcoming years what we're going to see in the upper grades because these children are starting younger now and it's their idea, their vision. their voice, and you know, I just heard so many students at the presentations last year, they speak so well, and their leadership skills, and they're great speakers, public speakers, better than me sometimes, so I'm really impressed with the students and all the presentations, and thank you all so much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I just had one question. Oh, Molly, I was just, I was curious about, so the stipend student, like the student stipend, what would the students be doing? Like, I was just curious about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, okay, great, that's great, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz. Thank you, Mr. Cushing, and thank Christine Patterson and Mr. McLaughlin. This is great news. I just wanted to know, it says on the back, please note your official start date will be the date that your return contract is signed and dated and will terminate on December 31st. Does that mean, like, do all the funds have to be spent by December 31st? Or is it, you know, I guess you have to accept, sign the contract by, that was like on, I guess on the letter.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi. Thank you very much for the report. And I had an opportunity to go to the Brooks Elementary and volunteer at the after school program a couple weeks ago. And I had a great time. And I was really impressed with how well the program, it's so well structured. organized and very safe. There was a teacher aide, has a walkie talkie. The teacher has a walkie talkie. Everybody's communicating via walkie. It was so, it was like really incredible to participate in. And I got to go to the outside activity time, homework time, story time, we did some arts and crafts. It was just a wonderful, you know, I had a wonderful experience. The only concern I had is, you know, I know there's a wait list, and the concern I have is, you know, if we were to fill those spots, like let's say overnight we filled, we got five new teachers, where would those students go? That's something that I observed was that there's a lack of space. for the after school program. So like they don't have access to the whole school. So there's limited classrooms that they can go to. So I'm looking at the wait list and I don't know where those students would go. Like if we could put them in tomorrow, I don't know where those books, you know, where the 35 students would go. I mean if we got five teachers and, you know, everybody's going to be in a classroom. Where would they go? I'm just thinking, is there a plan to increase the space? Even one of the teachers I was talking to said, maybe a mobile classroom. I mean, I don't know if that's an idea because it would be a little bit chaotic in the gym with everybody in the gym. And there was just those little setups. I know I've seen them sometimes in CCD class where they can have the dividers, but I'm just curious, is anybody looking into a plan for spacing, because the numbers are growing dramatically, for the Brooks especially. Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just, I know there's a lot of high school students that, you know, that would be interested. And I just happen to know that the pay that they're, you know, that they're paid is lower than the minimum wage. And, you know, I think that maybe if we, we could attract more high school students. Oh, okay, so maybe it is minimum wage. No, I thought, I was told that it was 11.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Or maybe, maybe, was it higher than, like was it maybe more than minimum wage and maybe did the rate go down?
[Kathy Kreatz]: By January. So even these high school students will be going up. So that might just be some confusion. But there was another concern that was brought up that the high school students can only work until 530 instead of the 6 o'clock hour. And I just didn't know if there was a reason why, like a rule that we have to follow.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. OK. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, hi. Thank you very much for your report. I just have one question, and I think Paulette maybe touched on some of it. And so I just wanted to know, so can the LexiaCore be used for the upper grades if somebody's struggling or develops dyslexia in middle school or high school? And will they get the intervention that they need? Just checking on that. So LexiaCore 5 does go beyond second grade. So yes. OK, great. Because I know that a parent, I received a message who mentioned we think that the Dibles 8 did cover the upper grades, Lexia Core will cover those students as well?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Before I read it, I just want to thank all the administrators for taking time out of their busy schedules to attend the meeting. Thank you, Ms. Toni Wray. Ms. Diane Garino, Ms. Lisa Kingsley, Mr. DeLeva, Mr. Tucci, Mr. Cushing, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Downs, Dr. Maurice, Ms. Evangelista, Ms. Emily Lazzaro, Ms. Maureen Lavin, Ms. Joan Bowen, Paulette Van der Kloot attended as well, Mr. Texeria, Diane Caldwell, I want to just thank everybody once again. I know how very difficult it is to schedule something like that and I really appreciate you all coming out to attend the meeting. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the attendance policy that's on the MASC website. So we had a great discussion and the members of the subcommittee got to listen to all the concerns that the administration team shared with us. So what we decided was the rules subcommittee members are going to adopt a district-wide policy that's going to be very broad, and we're going to post it on the MASC website, similar to the attendance policy, or we're going to choose one that's similar to either Winchester, Somerville, Concord-Carlisle. And my colleague Paul Russo, thank you, Paul, he volunteered to get in touch with the MASC and ask them for their official document. Thank you once again, Paul, for doing this. I really appreciate it. So after we receive the document, the members of the subcommittee, what we can do is we can work together online with Google Docs and just edit the document to make it fit Medford Public Schools. Then once we have the document ready the way that, you know, we think it looks presentable, we're going to share it with the administrative team. Everybody except for Paulette that attended the meeting because that would be, you know, That would, you would be, you know, we couldn't do that. Sorry. So we're going to, yeah. So we're not, we're going to share with everybody else except for Paulette. And then I'll call another meeting to schedule another rule subcommittee, and we just have to meet briefly to vote to move it over to the regular subcommittee, regular committee meeting, and everybody can read at that time. Oh, and there was one further item that we did decide unanimously during our meeting. There's one sentence that's in the school, not the policies, but procedures. There's a sentence that mentions absent on a Friday, the student may not attend or participate in school functions on that Saturday or Sunday. So at our meeting, we all decided unanimously to redact that sentence from the school district procedures for all schools. And it will be the discretion of the coach to allow a player to participate in a weekend game if the student was absent on a Friday. So that was something that I just wanted to share with everybody. And that's about it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's not our policy. And we did talk about that. The differences between the policy is very broad. It's one that can fit all schools. But the procedures are individual procedures for each school district. And the four elementary schools have one unique procedure. The two middle schools are working towards having one. But that's all with the school district and administrators. And we don't set those procedures, no.
[Kathy Kreatz]: You're welcome.
[Kathy Kreatz]: The superintendent's going to get copies for all the members of the subcommittee so you can start working. The meeting in June and we met several times and we updated several chapters of policies. It's very time consuming, and we met in over many hours in June, and then it was summer break, and then we came back, and we've been meeting, not like in the policy meetings, but then this was set forth to come to the subcommittee, so we have to get back to where we were. We've already begun working on updating the policies, You know, it's really time consuming, so we've done, I think we've done like chapters one to... Yeah, hold on one second. If I could just look at my notes. That's OK. Yeah, I know. It's a work in progress. Yeah, it is. It's just it's quite time consuming.
[Kathy Kreatz]: The ones that we already approved in June, we haven't. This one, we haven't approved the policy yet. That's why the meeting we just had, you were in this meeting. We did not approve the policy. Paul is going to obtain.
[Kathy Kreatz]: But then once we have it and we have it customized, I'm going to bring it forth to the regular meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz. Yes, I want to thank you for this report, and I think it's a great partnership. It sounds so exciting. So I wanted to know, is there still going to be, I know they used to have the day of graduation for the students, and the parents were invited and very excited to attend and watch the ceremony, and is that still going to happen, something like that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, yes. So I was thinking, I heard from Mr. Russo and Ms. Van der Kloot, and so I was wondering, I was thinking that in the future, if we knew early enough, could we plan like a civic field trip where maybe one of the teachers could go along with the students and go into town with parent permission to go into the strike or, you know, the protest with adult supervision and as long as they had their parental permissions.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And do you know how many students do we know if any students attended the strike that day? Another parent had asked me, she said, do you know how many students? Or we don't know.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And do you know if during the day were there discussions maybe at, you know, at civic class or history class to just talk about the climate strike with the students? I was just, I also received that question from parents, like did they actually engage in discussion?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just had one more, because I know, I think it was last year, where there was a walk-in, where the students didn't actually walk out, but they were allowed to walk into the gymnasium or the cafeteria for about 10 to 15 minutes. It was like a safe walk, where they could do that. That was another idea that we could do if the students still wanted to have a strike, they could do it within the school at a certain time. But that was just a suggestion. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I would be happy to chair the subcommittee.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. So yes, I did talk with Mayor about that. And even Mr. Brown, he is interested on serving as a volunteer on the committee. And he can bring his expertise to the table. We also want to have some ideas, just brainstorming. doing some tours, walking around the school, and just putting together a plan. We know that we're waiting for the MSBA interest statement. We're hoping to get that, but I think what a lot of people want to do is just have a discussion, start talking about things, and putting together a plan, and then prioritizing it. So I do know that currently some of the CTE programs are currently reconfiguring to their new spaces. And it would be nice to even, you know, share some of those stories and we can bring it back to the regular committee and just tell everybody what's going on in those, you know, those areas that are reconfiguring and what the status is in progress and maybe something like that. And we could have like a Google document where we could, you know, have a timetable. This is where we are. You know, this is where we want to be. This is when we get the MSBA statement. Here's the five-year capital plan. It's like a lot of planning involved, so it would be a lot of like mini-meetings to just track the progress. But yeah, so that's about it. Yeah, no problem.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kritz. So the questions I had, you had already answered. It was the copy paper and the textbooks and the supplies I had all the same questions. I did have one more, and I know we talked about this last year, and I know it's really early on, but I think, Michael, you might have mentioned this, that we wanted to go for an observation day, and maybe sit, I know it's very early on, it's just they're still getting set up and established, but I would really love to go and be invited to the class, and just for the day, without interrupting the instruction, but just, participate with the students, if that's something that would be possible.
[Kathy Kreatz]: No, I wanted to say it was great news. I got to meet him at one of the science fairs and it's just so amazing and it's incredible. What a great story.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I've been to the fall fells with my dog last year. And we had a blast. And he just loved, enjoyed just walking around in the falls. And it sounds like it's going to be a great success. And I'm all for it. I make a motion to accept.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much for the very comprehensive report and thanks for getting back to me during the summer with different text messages that I sent you with pictures. You did a great job and everything looks really great and I also want to thank the DPW because I actually sent Steve Tenaglia a couple of messages and he took care of things immediately and it was really, really appreciated. I just had a question because I was comparing this report to the to the year one from the capital improvement plan and Everything was going along and I was checking everything off and so there was a couple of items one of them was the Curtis Tufts the front steel well replacement and
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is there anything dangerous, like where somebody could trip on the snow? No, no, no.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. No safety. Okay, great. Thanks. And, oh, and then I did, you know, just recently I was asking about the, also was the, repair the fire alarm system. That was originally in our year one. And I know, I don't know if Christine Patterson wanted to come up and just explain that, that it was, so this is our plan, but it wasn't, all of this wasn't approved in the free cash. Is that right? Cause like, I, I guess I forgot that, you know, that part of it, that it's just a plan, but we're not guaranteed to get those fundings.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Thank you. I'm all set. Thank you. Thank you, John.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It was about the crosswalks. I did talk to Steve Tenaglia today at the crosswalk, and he said that. He was going to do the other crosswalks as soon as they could, if not, like maybe tonight or tomorrow night. It depends on how many cars are in the parking lot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And he also, there's two crosswalks. not crosswalks, I'm sorry, stop signs that are in their parking lot that are all faded out. He said he has two and he can swap them out. Perfect.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I just had a question. I know I've heard that. there is an increased class size in the vocational numbers. And it's hard to tell because we're only seeing the total number here, the 322, which is the combined number. So I'm wondering, I mean, if we could just get a breakdown of, you know, the number of students enrolled in the program, maybe at, you know, just an updated report.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Wow, 207 in CTE. Thank you. Ms.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you for that point of information.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: you know, a nice story. And I think we all got an email message from a former MedBit resident. And so I ended up calling her because I wanted to, you know, try to just talk to her. So she had some questions about the original numbers that were at both middle schools and she was concerned, you know, what are we doing about it? And I said, wow, the timing of this email is just bizarre because we just got an update in our packet this weekend. So I shared the results with her and she was just completely impressed and She asked for me to mail a copy to her where she lives in New York. So I'm going to do that and mail her a copy. And it was just really noticeable. It was really dramatic. And I didn't think it would really move that quickly. I really didn't think. And it was just incredible. And then I just had one other question. A parent had asked me, so her student was in the Her student was or wasn't in the lottery, I'm not really sure, but her student is in the language-based program, but I guess that group of students wasn't put into the lottery, and she was just wondering why they weren't put into the lottery, where there is a language-based program at both schools. If you would maybe know the answer to that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, so we have up next is approval of minutes June 3rd.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, excellent. All those in favor?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, yes, Mr. Benedetto.
[Kathy Kreatz]: This is the minutes of June 3rd. Oh, okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep. Did you get that? Yeah. And you pack it. All right. And so up next is approval of bills, transfer of funds, approval of payrolls. Motion to approve.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is there a second? A question? Okay, Mr. Benedetto.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hall in whose second? Okay, is there a second? Second. Mr. Benedetto. Okay, great. And we do the roll call vote. Roll call vote, please.
[Kathy Kreatz]: next up is report of secretaries and I do have a okay so we're going to move on to report of committees so we had a committee of the whole and we just evaluated the superintendent and
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, that's right. OK, great. So we're going to hold off on that one. Next is Special Education Subcommittee. Erin DiBenedetto.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to accept.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, and so I have a report from the Rules Subcommittee. We had two meetings. One was on June 13th and the other one was on June 19th. The purpose of our meetings was to update the rules and regulations of the Medford School Committee. Everyone has in their packets a copy of the old document It was either from 2004 or older. We're really not sure about the historical date. And you have a copy of the updated 2019 document. And we went through and we updated chapters 1 through 10. So we broke it up into two separate meetings. On the June 13th, we discussed chapters 1 to 6. In June 19, we discussed chapters 7 to 10, and we made a motion to accept the changes that were put ahead in the documents. You'll see throughout the entire document, we removed words such as chairman, replaced it with chairperson, and words him, his, or her were replaced with gender-free words. Also, you will see a new section at the bottom of the documents, and thank you to Mr. Russo for coming up with this great idea. It is the policy information, such as first adopted date, last amended date, last renewed date, renewed frequency, next renewal, and version number, so that we can easily identify what the age of the document and determine like when is it going to need to be updated the next date. And I want to just thank all the committee members for coming to the meetings. We did spend several hours in the meetings going through the very old language and updating it to you know, 2019 language. Some of it was very old. And we also reached out to several different administrators. Diane Caldwell assisted. Christine Patterson assisted. Let's see, Headmaster DeLever, Principal Fallon, Supervisor of Nurses Toni Wray, and, you know, emailing, just going back and forth. Thank you to Dr. Edouard-Vincent. She was a great asset to the meeting as well. And my colleagues, thank you as well. Thank you all for your hard work and efforts. And I hope everybody had a chance to review the documents. And Erin, did you have a question?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So is there a motion to accept the report?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is there a second?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Ochoa. Okay, thank you. All in favor? Aye. And is there anybody here for community participation? No? Okay. Okay, so report from superintendent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: We had a Rules Subcommittee meeting last Thursday, and the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the Medford Schools Meals Charge Policy, just minor modifications. The language in the policy was changed consistently throughout the document, so now in the document you will see food services everywhere throughout the document. There's also one other minor change. The last sentence on the original policy under paragraph three was removed because it conflicts with one of the sentences in paragraph one. So it was just simply removed. And if everybody agrees and doesn't have any questions, we can, motion, okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm Tanya Sullivan, and I'm from Brackett Street in Medford.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Ms. Kreatz. Yes. Thank you very much for the report, and thank you for the wonderful presentation. I just have a question. Do you know, like, is there, like, currently, you know, professional training for the afterschool teachers at the different schools? Like, is that already in place right now this year?
[Kathy Kreatz]: It is. Yeah. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Krux. Yes. I also want to say thank you. I attended, along with most of my colleagues, most of the spring concerts and the winter concerts, and they're just all, like, phenomenal. Everything is just perfect. I brought my mother to one concert. She loves coming. She loves to hear the violins. And thank you, Mrs. Zigney. Thank you, Ms. Chain, and the entire finance department for everything. Thank you all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz. Oh yes, most of the questions were answered about the professional development. I was curious as to why it was turned down when teachers had submitted for it. So is there any type of grants that can be written to get additional funding for professional development that maybe that money could be pooled and accessed by the teachers for special conferences that they might want to go to single-day events or evening events, or is that something that's already being done?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz. Yes. I just want to thank everybody. the PTO, the PTG, the teachers, the administrators, for all the great fundraising and efforts and enrichment that you do for all of our schools. The presentation was incredible. I think all of us have been to many of the events at each and every one of the schools, and they're all just incredible, amazing, and you do so many great things, and thank you. I can't thank you enough, and I enjoy going to each and every one of the events, and I know everybody here does. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Ms. Kurtz. Yes, I wanted to just share that I really agree with all of my colleagues that nutrition for breakfast is so important, And also, I feel like we do need a little bit more information. So, are we going to have more information by the June 17th regarding the fees? Yes. Oh, we are. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And what about capturing all the free and reduced applications? Because I think I heard that we have to have that. for the first year, we want to get all that information for the first year, so that... Sarah, is that this first year being September of 19?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz, you're all set. I guess I wanted to know, would the motion have to be reworded? where it might adopt a different model for each elementary school.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz up next. Oh, yes. And I think you might have answered my question. So I wanted to know, will participation in the study, like student participation, encourage students to use marijuana, maybe to get gift cards or have you experienced any of that? Absolutely not.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Ms. Kreatz. Yes. Hi. Hi, Plaza. Thank you very much for the report and actually for responding to my email inquiries so, you know, very quick. Thank you. So I guess one of, you know, the concerns that I had was about printing the papers and when the materials if somebody doesn't have a computer at home or a printer. And I understand what you explained was that the teachers are currently printing the curriculum right now and handing it out. But I think my concern would be, and I think we received an email from one of the teachers. Oh, okay. She's here. Yes, okay. And it's not having the book, the actual hard copy book for some students to take home. Yes. very difficult for a lot of students. Sure. Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Can we order books for the EL students?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, yes, so I guess what my my question was Is the district planning to purchase the the consumable textbooks for you know Somebody that might need them for their classroom, you know because it does seem like there are going to be some students that are going to need to take them home and And we just don't know who those students are and how many there are going to be. That's the only concern that I have. You know, because I know, you know, I know not everybody has a computer at home. It might not be working. Or they might have a Google pad. It might not be the computer based. I know I don't have a laptop, but I have a computer. Right, exactly. That's my only concern, you know. So, but I do want to have, like, I definitely want to have one math program and I want it to be instructional math. I do. And I really trust your judgment and expertise. And I went in and I did go online myself and, you know, it was great. And then, you know, I tried to print from my I have a black and white printer. I mean, I just have in front of me here today is just what I got from the teacher, but it didn't quite come out. It's just all pieces of the picture. So it wasn't something that I would be able to work with. But I know I talked to me and she said, if you print it right out from the program, it would come out okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It's impossible. That's why I think we could order 100 textbooks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi. Ms. Kreatz. Thank you, Dr. Gobb. Sure. The presentation was excellent. It answered a lot of questions that I had about what the common signs are and symptoms. I was curious, like, is dyslexia something that is curable? Like, could somebody with early intervention outgrow dyslexia in their middle school and high school years?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Excellent. Is that new research?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Okay, so we are moving on to item number six, recommendation to approve donation to Andrews Middle School Drama Club. Ms. Caldwell.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So roll call vote, Madam Secretary. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, great. Moving on to number seven, follow-up report on fundraising organizations and student activity accounts. Emily Lazzaro and Mary Jo Petrone.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is there a second?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Russo, and then Ms.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Ms. Russell, is that okay?
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. And also, Mr. DeVito gets a motion to approve. OK. Ms. Vandeclute, are you all set? Yes. OK. Mr. Ruggiero.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to read here, we have a nice thank you note from the Ethics Board. It says, dear members of the school committee, thank you so much for all your support in helping us attend the National High School Ethics Bowl. We worked very hard to earn this opportunity, and we could not have done it without your help. Sincerely, the Ethics Bowl. And it's signed by the team. It's very nice. It's in our packets. And we do have some letters that are going to be going out to thank some individuals for some generous donations, they're in our packet, and that brings us to the resolutions. So we have our resolutions. May it be resolved that the Medford School Committee express sincere condolences to the family of Ellen Gay. Ms. Gay was the mother-in-law of John McLaughlin, Director of Building and Grounds for Medford Public Schools. School Committee Resolution. May it be resolved that the Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of John Boyniak. Mr. Boyniak was the father of Toni Wray, supervisor of nurses for Medford Public Schools. School Committee Resolution. May it be resolved that the Medford School Committee expresses sincere condolences to the family of Anne Maloney. Ms. Maloney was mother of Karen Roberto, a nurse at the Columbus Elementary School and grandmother of Amanda Powers, a teacher at the Columbus Elementary School. If everyone could please rise and we'll have a prayer. Okay, here it is. So that concludes the meeting, and we can adjourn for executive session.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Are we coming back? No. Okay, we're not. Yeah. Okay, so we're going to finish up in executive session and then go to regular session, but we won't be coming back in here. Okay. Okay. Thank you everybody.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Grutz. Thank you, Bobbie. I just had a question. I know in the report we got, it says here like poor. It says maintenance is required. Items should be replaced before the start of the next competitive season. So that seems like we would have to have this done before the next competitive season, which might start up in August.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I do see the concerns that Paul has had adding it to the budget. I think that is something that we should really think about, because we do have to have it replaced before the next competitive season, which would mean it would have to fall in either year one or year two in the capital plan.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz. I want to thank you, Dr. Maurice, for this lovely report. It's fantastic. And I don't want to repeat what Aaron said, but what I really loved was all the activities, all the events that you went to, and the pictures. And I don't know how you had time to do the report, because you're doing so much. It's incredible. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, it's really great.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, thank you. Thank you. Ms. Grutz. I just wanted to also mention, I read in here, and I'm trying to find what page, but there's a website. And you can log on with your phone or with your tablet or on the computer. Do you want to mention what the website is? And maybe people could tune in, and they could see a little bit about what we're seeing here in this book. because you can look at all the projects, and you can click and go into more and more projects. Do you know what the website is?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, and I know it's in here. Jasper knows, right? Jasper knows. Yeah, excellent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. And then maybe people could tune in.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? Yes, I wanted to say thank you very much for the report, Mr. Fallon. I know I asked you for some information and a lot of people were curious and wanted to know this information, so I'm really happy that you shared it tonight. It was an excellent presentation. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very exciting. Thank you. Jasper?
[Kathy Kreatz]: On Monday, February 11th, we had a meeting to discuss the final changes for the functions of the school committee. We made a couple of slight changes. One change was made to the first paragraph, another change was made to the last, I'm sorry, yeah, change was made to the first paragraph, and a change was made to the last sentence, number five. We finally came to an agreement, and we have the final version, which I have here tonight, and I'll circulate it to get signed. I will read the final draft, the function of the Medford School Committee. We, the members of the Medford School Committee, are committed to working together to provide the best opportunity for our children, their families, and the residents of Medford. To this end, we aim to meet the needs of all of our students and to nurture their achievement. While we understand that consensus can be elusive as we work together, we affirm the following principles. Deliberations of our committee are conducted in accordance with the open meeting law. When directed, one member may publicly report, but no one member of the school committee acts alone on our behalf. Committee members may issue public reports when appropriate based upon their role in the subcommittee. Our superintendent is responsible for operating our schools and for the daily implementation of our policies. Communication is facilitated and managed by our superintendent. As elected members of the school committee, we should always engage in civil discourse. We aspire to make our meetings informative and productive. We agree to discuss the issues on the agenda in accordance with the open meeting law. All members will honor the consensus of the committee. And this is it. We're done.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, second.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, so we had another Rules Subcommittee on February 25th. The purpose of our meeting was to discuss the Medford Public Schools Responsible Use Policy. So what we did was we discussed what items in the policy that maybe needed additional professional development, and we also asked Molly Ladin, who is the director of technology, if the rules that are posted on the website are officially updated and they are up to date. We did ask to switch out, there's a URL and the URL says acceptable use policy. However, the document says responsible use. So we've asked for that update. We did, Mr. Russo asked if A blacklist could be imposed to block out social media networks. Superintendent Edouard-Vincent cautioned that social media sites like YouTube can be educational. The district uses social media, so it's difficult to prohibit. And we also do a lot of updates to notify our community about what's happening in the community. So we just need to use guidance versus restriction. Also, we just wanted to reiterate that Instagram is an account that should not be open for under, I'm sorry, I'm just tired, for account for 13 years under 13 years old. I'm sorry, I'm getting tired. And so, Ms. Ladin, she mentioned that each year the responsible use policy is discussed with the new staff at the beginning of school. The Children's Internet Protection Act says that social media is not banned. Ms. Ladin notes that there are no protections out there. We just need to educate and make whatever you're posting as private as you can. If you're under 13 years old, the students should not be using social media. One of the parents that attended, Ms. Todfeld, brought up some concerns about using Instagram for submitting homework assignments in middle school. This isn't safe because there is an explore button that cannot be turned off. Mr. Russo noted that Instagram can be accessed via the website or the app. It's open to the worldwide web, and that's why it's a little dangerous for that, you know, that group of students. Ms. Latin said that there must be an educational reason for, you know, teachers in classrooms to get the technology tool. All software must be approved by the technology department. Google Classrooms is a safe product. It's closed, and external emails are not allowed K to 8. Superintendent Dr. Vincent noted that technology and education go hand in hand. We need to remind the middle school's administration and teachers social media sites like Instagram are not legal for students under 13. Also, we must consider students' access. Some don't have computers or devices, so they can't access the material to submit their homework. Ms. Taubville would like to see more education for teachers and administrators. Social media is addictive by nature. We want to be smart, savvy, and wait a little longer to introduce students to social media. Ms. Caldwell noted that it's top priority to discuss with teachers and administrators at the upcoming meetings and provide additional professional development. Ms. Ladin informed us that everything in the building is monitored and archived. All emails can be recovered, Student logins begin at 6th grade. Mr. Russo asked if there's filtering to block sites, and there is. Yes, Ms. Lund responded yes. The meeting ended with just adding a responsible use of, oh, with adding the date, left that word out. Also, there's just going to be a review every two years and currently is up to date, so there's no updates that are necessary. And our meeting adjourned.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I also have a conflict with April 4th and I'm out of town on March 21st and one of the other dates is a school committee meeting night May 6 so if the meeting was 6 to 7 30 we would probably have to move the time up or have it at the at City Hall and have it earlier and finish directly before the school committee meeting, that could work. We could keep it that night. I'm not sure, but I'm happy to go to the meetings, and that's why I wanted to see if we can change the two dates and swap it out with another date.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, okay. Cause I thought we were, cause I, it said that we were, approval of the schedules recommended to plan the meetings.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I like the idea of this process tremendously.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had a suggestion. I know the dates when we have the committee of holes on Monday before the school committee meetings, we're all attending the school committee meeting, and we can usually all make those meetings. If we had it, it would just probably be from 6 to 7.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I would like to. I'm going to second because I have it written down here that we've always had school choice. And I'm a little surprised that there's not going to be a selection form. And that's something that I think like the elementary students have always looked forward to getting ready to fill out that middle school selection form. And you know, talking with their friends and picking their schools. And so we have students right now that are in fifth grade that might have been looking forward to doing that and they're not gonna get that opportunity. I feel like this is, I mean, I think it's a great way to, you know, to keep everything unbiased and keep everybody in the different schools and meeting everybody. But at the same time, it's a very difficult time, you know, moving from elementary school to middle school. And we didn't have any prior information about this, so I wasn't expecting it. I thought maybe we were going to be doing something like we did last year where the school would, you know, the students would fill out their forms, and if there wasn't enough enrollment, then we would do the lottery, the partial lottery. And, because we did talk about last year that the McGlynn students mostly wanted, is selected, the McGlynn elementary schools because they felt comfortable there. But I do understand it's tough because I understand that you want to split them up to meet other students and they're going to meet them in high school. It's a little, you know, I'm a little, you know, concerned myself and just a little bit unsure, you know, what's the process and how is the public going to take this. And, you know, I'm just thinking about that we have school choice and now we're not going to give them that school choice.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I left out the names. So I just want to go through the names again. I want to thank the City Hall, the Finance and Auditing Department. I also want to thank the Griffin High School, Accounts and Payroll and Valuation Department, and the JoJo Department. And I want to give a special thanks to Kelly Cavanaugh, Cynthia Byrne, Juwanda McGraw, Michelle Kagan,
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I just wanted to, you know, just... Oops, sorry. I just knocked that off. I'll put that back in a minute. Mention that when the payroll is sent into the Mass Teachers Retirement System, the total checks and everybody on that file, it's an electronic file, has to match up. And it's audited at the Mass Teachers Retirement System. well, the reporting system that we have, has checks and balances in place to pick up on, for example, if somebody went on a leave of absence, or if somebody maybe got an extra check, and something like that might kick out, and that gets audited by the employer services area, and then questions are sent down to the school, and either it's explained, or maybe somebody got an extra check because they were working in one department, they earned the stipend, and the other person didn't get turned off, so there might be an adjustment on one person, and then a correction made. Things like that happen very often. But I know that our payroll software, when it comes through, picks up deductions omitted if somebody is missing and their deductions weren't turned on, which means they might be getting paid, but no deductions were taken. But this is just generic. I'm just talking about I have a lot of districts, and we do... a very detailed audit and audit every single report in all the, you know, all the public schools. And then we are audited by, you know, PARAC and KPMG, you know what I mean? So the reports are going through those audits and so is Medford Public Schools or they randomly pick school districts to audit. KPMG does, you know, and they audit the reports that are sent in and they do an audit with you. We don't know what questions they're asking. and they do not with us, and you don't know what questions that they're asking us. And then both of us have to give back up to the auditors.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And it has to match up.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I want to congratulate Ms. Stone on her nomination. I just wanted to wish you the best. And I can always help out and train. I know if you need me, just text me. I want to extend my thanks to all the girls at City Hall and the Finance Auditing Department for being so accommodating, sharing their office space and treats. They have a lot of good candies in there. I really enjoyed seeing them every week. And I owe the girls a bag of candy. I'll probably bring one in sometime. Also, thank you to all the girls in the finance and accounts payable offices at Medford High School for organizing the batches and ensuring all the backup is provided. Lastly, I want to thank the custodial department for delivering the package to City Hall in a timely manner every week. Thank you, Cynthia Burke, Tawana Dubrow, Michelle Kingdon, Fiona Maxwell, Shab Khan, Aleesha Nunley, Joanne Mortel, Erin Carson, Christine Patterson, and John Howard. Thank you all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I'll be reporting on that. The Rules Subcommittee had a meeting on December 17. The purpose of our subcommittee meeting was to take a roll call vote on the final draft copy of the functions of the school committee and move the draft over to the regular meeting on December 17. I explained to the subcommittee that the week before, I had met with City Solicitor Mark Rumley on December 10th. He reviewed the draft and he helped make corrections so we would not be in violation with the law or the First Amendment. A motion was made at the regular meeting to move the draft to the Committee of the Whole so that we can discuss it with the entire committee. This weekend, Superintendent Dr. Maurice, she sent out a doodle email note to everyone. So I think sometime over the next couple of days, we'll find out what date the Committee of the Whole meeting will be. That's it. Very good.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry. Yep. So I actually got to attend the distracted driving seminar last week. It's something that I like to go to because it reminds me that I don't want to drive distracted. And I've spoken with Emily before. And I just really, I go to support. And it's just really, it's a very good, moving, interactive presentation that they do. And just walking right up to kids to ask them, if your friend was drinking, would you let them get in the car? No. If your friend is texting, would you let them drive? And they did a lot of little skits with some of the kids. And they do a great, great job. And it's really very moving. And I had a tear in my eye, because it's just so sad. And your life can be taken away in seconds. And they were just both unfortunate, distracted driving accidents. It's very sad, very moving. But all the trial attorneys just do great job explaining the distracted driving presentations. Just it's incredible.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. It's makeup. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And GPS and yes. GPS. Checking mail.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Like physical opening letters and yeah. It's go into your pocketbook and it's everything. So.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz. Yes. I just had a question. Is the webinar going to be recorded so that members could watch it at their convenience at another time if they're unavailable at 10.30 a.m.? ?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz? I wanted to know, because I read the report. So it mentions in the report that We got the chart with what the minimum heat guidelines are for offices. And I wanted to know, are there any classrooms or buildings that are so cold that the students and teachers have to wear their coats? Because I've heard that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sorry. Oh, OK. I wanted to say Happy New Year, and I put a copy of the report in everybody's packets. and there was a couple of invoices that I signed for that were related to heating, so I wanted to share that information with you because our last meeting, we had some concerns and we had somebody from community here speaking about the heating, and so I guess there's still some ongoing invoices that haven't been signed for yet that will be coming up over the next several weeks. One of them was signed for this particular session was Gone Green Electric, and the work was done at Medford High School, There was an issue with the air handling unit in the gym, and it had to be repaired. The technician troubleshooted the air handler, rewired the motor, and it confirmed with John McLaughlin that he is now working in the gym. There were two invoices for E&E Systems. The technician found that there was some issues with the hot water coil. It was bypassed. you know, it was just interfering with the heating, pretty much, it's really technical. So Annie actually did the work and it was, this is going to service the B building, second floor, and the air handler operates along with the pneumonic controller heat exchanger to provide air and airflow to the B building, second floor. And I just want to thank John McLaughlin, I reached out to him to ask him some questions about these invoices. And that's about it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: We just want to take something out of order, Mayor Burke.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. We would like to move the resolution that's at the very end, and it's the resolution for the MassDOT Safe Routes to School application for the Roberts Elementary School.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DiBenedetto. Mrs. Kreatz, yes. Mrs. Mustone. Yes. Mr. Ruggiero. Yes. Mr. Russo. Yes. Mrs. Van de Koop. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hey. I ran out of scripts again.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Mrs. Van De Koop? Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have a simple question. I think Ms. Ray, she shared an article with us over the December break, and Mr. DeLaver did as well. And it does say that the Juul has as much nicotine as 20 cigarettes, like a pack of. And then also, I read that what is in a vape, which is really, really, it sounds horrible, is it exposes your lungs to acriline, which is mostly used in acrylic acid, which is something that is a nail polish remover, that we would take our nail polish off with. And that's what's in the vape, one of the most common ingredients, you know. It's just something that is very toxic and irritating, causes upper respiratory tract, and it's just not good, you know. So, I mean, I did read that there are some schools that have, you know, the FDA has posters And they're putting them in the bathrooms. And I mean, I don't know if we have any of these posters in our bathrooms. Or do we have any reports or numbers of what is happening in our school? Because it also has a little bit information about the vaping devices. And a lot of schools are rolling those out. And do they work? do they really detect if the kids are going into the bathroom? Do these vaping devices detect the students using the vapes?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. But we'll talk about things after Dr. Schuster. There was just one other thing I thought was really frightening is that it says that currently right now they are developing hands-free vaping hoodies and backpacks with integrated vaping delivery systems so that they could be vaping in classroom hands-free. And we don't know. And it's all built into their hoodie or their backpack. And they're odorless. I mean, I don't know how we can tell who's in a classroom who's walking down a hallway here or anywhere. It's just scary.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Kreatz? Here. Mrs. Stone? Here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz, did you want to say a few words? Yes, I want to say thank you very much. You sounded beautiful. I know you were here very early setting up and practicing, and I could hear you the whole time. It just sounds amazing. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, so last week I signed off on an invoice for, it sounds like a very exciting program that took place over the summer. Miranda Wilson from the Miffitt Transcript, she taught the students, the CCSR students, she led a journalism workshop for students at Miffitt High School in August, and the students completed the project of writing and publishing a newspaper article. I thought it was so interesting and I thought it was great, something that they were doing in the summer that was educational I just wanted to share with everybody.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And we discussed the final draft copy function of the school committee. We were struggling with one of the functions, number five. So between our last meeting and this meeting, I went in and I met with city solicitor Mark Rumley, to get some help with him on the wording of what the possible consequences could be for a school committee member who was in violation of one of the policies. So we reviewed the draft together and I came up with the new number five, which I put a copy in front of each of your tables this evening due to the last minute meeting that we had. We also had another meeting this evening from 6 to 618 p.m. so that we could vote on the new final draft, including the updates to number five, and also including some different wording because we want to make sure that we weren't in violation with the law or the First Amendment. So what you have in front of you right now is what was looked at by City Solicitor Mark Rumley, and he said that the way it reads right now, we are in violation with the law in the First Amendment. So if everybody was in agreement with it, what we could do is we could, you know, ask maybe if we could put it on school letterhead, and then we could sign it at one of the future meetings, if there's something that you want to see in it differently, or if you have an idea that you wanted to see in it, You know, we'd be happy to hear from you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Actually, if we talked about it this evening, and we feel like it's ready to go to the floor, if everybody's okay with the way, it's supposed to be the key functions of the school committee, not the policies. So it's not a listing of everything that we do on school committee. It's the key components. So I'm not sure if you want to have a committee of the whole, that is something that we could do and we could talk about it some time in January or February. If, you know, if this evening, if everybody's reviewed it over the last couple, I think you've got to draft another time. We did take out some language that wasn't legal or was in, it was in violation with the First Amendment. So that's why, you know, if we were going to add anything else, we'd want to have either cities or both city solicitor Mark Marmoley and Howard Greenspan review it just to make sure we are, you know, legally incompliant before we put anything on our website and sign it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. DeMantek. Yes. Ms. Kreatz, yes. Ms. Mustone.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Turgell. Yes. Mr. Mustone. Yes. Ms. McNeil. Yes. Ma'am Rowe.
[Kathy Kreatz]: and the vendor, Melissa and Doug, they put together a short list. Magnetic hide and seek board, wooden block set, nesting and sorting barn animals, alphabet nesting and stacking blocks, lacing beads, a vehicle chunky puzzle, big button number fun, wooden bear family dress-up puzzle, match and roll shape sorter, stacking blocks. These are just wonderful, great educational toys. Thank you. November 6, the purpose of our meeting was to discuss some homework we received at the MASC Retreat Session No. Our job was to develop some key functions that would fit well with our school committee. Each of you received a draft copy in your committee packets. This evening, we had another follow-up meeting at 6.30 p.m. in the Executive Session Room No. 207. And so currently, right now, we have made a motion to have a final draft ready for you at the next meeting on December 17th. So please disregard the draft that you have right now, and we're going to get you an updated draft by the next meeting. Is there a motion on the floor to receive the supports listed on the file?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I wanted to say congratulations to the entire band and you. And it's just incredible. It's truly an honor. And like Erin said and Paul said, I would like to go too. There's like a long list of people that want to go.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz. Yes, I just wanted to thank you for the report. And I was there that night, too, with Paulette. And I joined a tour, and I really liked the student-guided tours and reading the survey. I think a lot of people did, and they liked seeing all the students in the classrooms. And so I was wondering, you know, some of the comments mentioned that maybe if the tours were a little bit shorter, like maybe like two minutes or three minutes instead of five minutes, and maybe could they cover, couple of different programs like side-by-side on one floor because I noticed that some of the tours went right by some of the programs that the kids were waiting outside and they just kind of walked right by those programs and you know I kind of felt bad and they said oh where are they going are they coming back and you know and and I know that they had to stick to their tour groups but and I know you were just trying it out for the first time this year but I did I really liked the tours because having somebody walk you around it was more organized. But I know to get through all those programs, it would take hours.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And there was one comment that I really liked, and it talked about the cleanliness of the school. I was, you know, really impressed because that's something that we don't hear a lot about. So that was something that I was excited about. I'm just going to try to find it here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I was, wow, that was amazing, you know.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I just wanted to, you know, I mean, I really appreciate the survey results and, you know, thank you very much, both of you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Krutz? Yes, so I have a question. Did we conduct any surveys with the community, like an online survey asking them, you know, would they come to a school committee meeting on a Saturday? We already have the calendar set for the year already, for the whole school year. And then contractually with the administrators that come and present, you know, can we, can they come and mandate, like we would actually have to, you know, mandate them to, you know, they work Monday through Friday, you know, late into the evening. They're away from their families all week, all night. And now we're going to have them, I'm sorry, you've got to be away from your family one more time. because we need you to come in on a Saturday. I mean, I'm just... Has anybody asked the administration, like, what are their thoughts or views, you know? Before we just jump right in and making a decision that we're going to have meetings on Saturdays, I was just curious what was done behind the scenes, because I haven't received any inquiries from parents asking to have a Saturday meeting either. So it came to me as, what is this all about? I didn't know. I was confused because it was almost the message we got was mentioning that there was a lot of communication between school committee members. And I was just wondering who, because I haven't been communicating on it or receiving messages myself. And I just, it brought up more questions, for example, sports and church, you know, athlete dancing and band. And those are going to be other reasons why parents can't come to the Saturday school committee meeting. Weddings, communions, birthdays, like it just goes on and on. Like there's more events on the weekends, Saturdays especially, doctor's appointments, dentist appointments. I know I tend to put my dentist appointments on Saturdays, you know, and a lot of families might. I mean, there's like, there's equally amount of reasons to have it on a Saturday, not have it on a Saturday. You know, it's just, I'm thinking maybe we should do a survey before we jump into making any decisions, and that's what I'm thinking.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, yeah. Mrs. Fenton.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have a very brief report. The other week, I signed an invoice to pay Irvine and Sons $36,650. Kathy, can you please speak into it? Oh, I'm not speaking into it. I'm sorry. Yep, sorry. The other week, I signed an invoice to pay Irvine and Sons $36,650 for Lock and Var vertical round replacement glass lined storage tank, which is a hot water tank. at Medford High School. I thought it was very interesting. I didn't know what it was, so I wanted to share this with you. I have a very brief update about the tunnel slide piece that was delivered to the Columbus Elementary School. Currently, right now, the section of the slide is being stored at Hormel Stadium so that it will be safe and off the playground. And Travis Arms, who is with Game Time, he'll be coming out sometime this week on Friday to inspect it to find out if maybe they might have ordered the wrong part and they have to maybe resend it and get a new part. So I'll let everybody know when there's another update. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I second it. Yep. All right. Erin DiBenedetto. Hold on, Kathy.
[Kathy Kreatz]: My vote, yes. OK. First on the list. Erin DiBenedetto? Kathy Kreatz? Yes. Ms. Simpstone? Yes. Mr. Ruggiero? Yes. Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Van der Kloot? Yes. Mayor Burke? Absent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. I just wanted to say thank you for bringing this to us tonight. And I really like some of the highlights on the itinerary are What I really liked was they're going to visit the local high school in La Jaws. I hope I said it right. And they're going to volunteer at Centro San Francisco School. And they're also going to be working in the community with Hurricane Relief. So it just sounds incredible. And I want you to have a great time and take lots of pictures. And I can't wait to look forward to seeing them.
[Kathy Kreatz]: All right. Here we go. Roll call vote it is. Mrs. de Benedetto? Yes. Mrs. Kretsch? Yes. Mrs. Mustone? Yes. Mr. Ruggiero? Yes. Mr. Russo?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Van der Kloot? Yes. Mayor Burke?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DiBenedetto. Present. Mrs. Kreatz. Here. Mrs. McDone. Here. Mrs. Van de Koop. Present. Mr. Russo. Present. Mayor Burke.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Present.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm sorry, I have an update, because I'd rather not be the general public. The slide that's on this is one soldier. I was going to mention the treasurer's report in one week. That should be coming up very shortly. But right now, game time, who's going to do the installation? They're not doing the insulation, but the Parks Department's doing the insulation. And currently there is some trouble with the screws. It's just not lining up with the other piece of the slide. So John McLaughlin put a call in to Travis Barnes, who works at Game Time, and he's been out of town since September 17th. And so we're waiting for him to come back to town so we can come and take a look at the piece that was ordered to find out why it's not fitting up with the original piece that was there. OK.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm going to hand it out to everybody, and I'm just going to have to read somebody's original report. My report ties into the report that Jonathan read from first reading, so I'm going to read that one. So over the summer, I had made a promise last whole year, at the end of the year, to go out to every elementary school in the Valley of Indianapolis diagram and do a full report. And that's exactly what I did over the summer. I walked around the playgrounds and we put all this together about what we need to be done with the playgrounds. What everybody mentioned, and I mentioned that to the parents is that playground service is definitely part of the capital repair. But it's just something that I wanted to mention here that we need to think about for future budgets for the other elementary schools, except for the public schools. So, on July 2nd, I met with the principal, and at their school, the next year he founds a very good, the landscaper's on contract, so the slugs in the community are very well-fed. On July 5th, I met with someone who treated two parents of all their slugs in the shelter system. Some of the things we talked about are replacing the broken section of the tube slide, feeding the puff squash, more squids, freeing both worms, adding mulch, etc. the other piece that was delivered, which was talked about on the slide. It was delivered on September 11th. It's currently sitting in the playground outlet of Columbus Elementary. However, there is a problem with it connecting to the other original piece. So John will often text me, contact me back and forth and relay more information to the audience that we're still reading. Once we have enough data, I'll update everybody. On July 9th, we had the P.T. Parrot Show at Rodriguez. We had a similar discussion about I want to give a shout out to Mr. Potters, the music teacher. He volunteers his time and takes care of the garden, the flowers, the flowers, the bushes. It just looks beautiful. And it's so very pretty in the summer. You can imagine in July. On July 16th, I met with the two parents and a friend named Karen Turney. Some of the things they discussed was a gorgeous live session in one of their pre-K playground area, adding sand blocks, freshly cut signs, and landscaping and mulching. What I do is I run some pictures in a few clubs. I look at before and afters. They're very nice to look at and see the dramatic differences. I want to make John Gawthorne, I want to make Deanna Depney, Christine Patterson, Angel Guino, Juan Russo, Michelle Sesol, Michelle Rodriguez, Jenna Graham, Kara Church, Dr. Edouard-Vincent, Iria Burke, Leo Walter, Another thing I wanted to do was, I wanted to just kind of build a kind of follow-up. I've been giving this stuff to the principals and I just wanted to go in and volunteer and be a vote to the volunteer partners. So I began doing that and I kind of made it up to the schools and then continued to schedule some of the kids. Also, I wanted to just mention that I was at the American High School of Higher Information last week. It was a great turnout. While I was there, I stopped in to see my recent teachers of the high school in the location design. I wanted to share a very nice project that the students are working on in plasmatology. One of the teachers was there, and she, Lauren Skierada, and she showed me one of the projects they're working on. It's called the Airbook project. The students can pick any of them, choose a picture to recreate the style of the past on the practice desk. And it just came out wonderful, and it's something that the students really like doing, and it's just a lot of fun. And another thing I wanted to mention was if you're ever interested in having your hair or nails done, please, you know, feel free to contact Mr. Graves for an appointment. They can get you to an appointment at 781-393-2139 at any time. The kids really like working on customers. So if you ever, you know, want to get your hair done, you know, feel free to reach out. And I have my team from the VTO teaching organization online forum. We've been emailing Molly Lattin, Allison Roseberry, Jenny Graham, Paul Roseau, and Dr. Maurice. So right now, what we know, the forum can be added to the website very easily. Currently, you still need to transfer the membership from Jenny Graham to a point person at public schools. So we're still working on that. I think Karen mentioned that last week. And still no new update yet, but we're still working on it. So as soon as we have another update, I'll let you know. And last week, I did hand out an ALF scholarship application for the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. I handed out a form to all schools, but one is left to be deteriorated to one of the schools. And I did have a question being, do we need to approve that at the school committee? Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I wanted to just inform everybody during the summer, I was receiving feedback from both with the yearbook advisor, David Ambrosie. And there was a couple of students that were working with him. to implement a supplement package. I'm not sure if some of you are aware, but when the yearbook came out, there were some students that were omitted, and there were some pages that were sections of the yearbook that weren't really advertised a lot. For example, the Mustang Mall and some of the vocational programs. So over the summer, Dave Ambrosie and a couple of students, which I'll name, worked together to help put the supplement together. And last Friday, or last Thursday and last Friday, the supplement was mailed to all of the 2018 class of 2018 seniors. And I brought it in, you know, I can share it and everybody can take a look at it. And I want to give a heartfelt thank you because what David did was he actually hand delivered the yearbook to some families and actually brought it to their house to make sure they got it. And he's just really, he did a great job We stayed in contact. He shared some of the proofs with me, and I got to see them before they went to print. And so I want to thank Dave Ambrosie, some of the students, Mia McGillicuddy, Avro Sequeria, I hope I pronounced it correctly, Carla DeStefano. And I just wanted to say thank you very much. And one minor update, I know I told everybody in the email communication the slide was The slide arrived for the Columbus School. Right now, the Parks Department is working with Game Time because they're trying to fit it into the old slide. So they have been going back and forth with Game Time to find a solution for the slide. And one last update, and I plan to put this on the agenda coming up for the next meeting. Over the summer, I mentioned to everybody in another email that the Elks, Medford Malden Elks had reached out to me I'm an ALCS member, and they wanted to let us know that they have a program, it's a scholarship program that's gonna be available for fifth, sixth graders, and seventh and eighth graders, where they can write an essay, and it will be a monetary, you know, kind of scholarship, monetary gift that they're gonna be awarded. So I have the packages that I can, you know, maybe give to Superintendent and, you know, Diane Caldwell, but I do think it's a new, you know, essay scholarship program. So I think it would have to go on the agenda maybe for the next meeting, but I'm not too sure. Yeah. So I can, I can, you know, what I'll do is I'll send an email and maybe hand the packet off tonight. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It came out wonderful.
[Kathy Kreatz]: This summer, I went in and I signed the bills at City Hall, the same schedule as usual on Wednesdays, and I communicated to all the colleagues with an email message. provided some highlights, you know, from the weekly reports that I got. And everything went smooth. And I want to thank my colleague, Paulette Van de Koot. She covered for me while I was on vacation for two weeks. And everything went smooth those two weeks as well. And it was great. It was a very, you know, everything went very smooth. And I just want to thank everybody, you know, who helped and participated. It was a great, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Good question, I just wanted to say I ended up taking a ride over to each school this summer. And, you know, I just want to say they all look great. Like the paint, the playground paint, the mulch, everything was trimmed. It's all cleaned up. It just looks so nice. It looked really pretty, you know, and I just want to thank everybody who helped because it was every school and I, you know, I was, you know, communicating with John a lot over the summer and, you know, he worked really hard. Everybody worked really hard and it was a hot summer. and everything looks great, and that's it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, no, I have a question about the motion. So Paula, is this going to be like a committee of the whole, because we would all want to attend?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Is there a motion to accept this resolution on time? There is. I had a question. I just wanted to know if, and it might come in the future, on one of the future reports. So under the vocational school, I wanted to know if we could get the breakdown of the number of students that are attending, the total number of students attending Minuteman, and the total number of students attending Essex Aggie, or any other vocational school. I was just really curious. We can get that for you, Ms. Kreatz. Oh, okay, it's coming, okay, great.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Three Minuteman, two Essex. And do we have any students currently enrolled from Everett Public Schools at the vocational school? I know we had some enrollment in the past couple of years, and I was just curious if we have that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, I just wanted to say, you know, thank you very much for putting the information in the paper as well, the bus schedule and the blog and, you know, sharing everything on the MPS Advantage. And it was just great. And, you know, I only got one inquiry, and it was a bus was late going to the Roberts, and I heard back from Christine right away. And that was it. I didn't get any calls about the high school bus. I was waiting all day, but I, you know, it was in the paper and I took the paper with me to work.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I wanted to just bring up something that I found out from a parent in, I knew we were struggling to get an HVAC teacher and I got the most recent update I got is that unfortunately they haven't received any applicants. So they do not have an HVAC teacher right now at the vocational school. And a letter was sent home to all of the students that were enrolled in HVAC asking them to choose a different shop. program and you know I was I was you know I was kind of upset but I mean I guess the industry right now is I guess struggling with you know I heard back from Chad with a bunch of different vocational schools that are experiencing similar problems right now you know if the senior you know wants to pursue a co-op they can work with the co-op you know director to help find a job, because they'll still be able to go for the co-op opportunity. But anybody who wanted to choose HVAC, freshman, sophomore, junior, they're not going to have that choice this year. So I was concerned and thinking about, are we going to maybe be sending our kids off to Minuteman if those students really want to enroll in HVAC, because that might be what they want to pursue, which is what we kind of do for Essex Aggie or another program that we're not offering. So it's just something that we're going to have to start thinking about.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And it's such a popular field and it's not going to go away. We need to have these young students learn and move on. But I know how hard, you know, it's still posted, the position is still posted.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have a report. I want to thank the finance department, and I want to thank Christine Patterson, and I also want to thank City Hall, the finance department, for, you know, all their cooperation all year. What they do is they put together the packets and they, you know, they actually put them together and they have every single invoice in the correct order. And so it makes it really easy for me to go through and verify those numbers and the addresses and the names all match up. And they've just been extremely helpful. And I actually go into the City Hall office, the finance department, and I sit in one of the vacant desks or in another office with somebody at one of the tables. And they've just been so accommodating with my schedule. And everybody's just been fantastic. If I have questions, I send an email. I get answers right away. Everybody involved has been fantastic. So I just wanted to say thank you for a great first year doing the bills. Thank you, Ms. Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Critz. Yes, I was gonna mention kind of similar things that Erin mentioned, so I'm not gonna repeat that. So I think, I just wanna make sure, I realize that we're gonna recapture some money due to some resignations at the vocational faculty. I really wanna make sure that I know that we're gonna be looking for new teachers, so we need to keep, I just wanna make sure that the money that is put on the budget book, it might change because the person will be entering the salary would be a little bit different, but I don't want the money that's here listed for these teachers given to another area because the teachers are required to have so many students per ratio, teacher to student ratio, and then with the new freshmen coming in, they're gonna be rotating through the classes, so it's important that we're not gonna cut a teacher because each of the programs here need two teachers in each of those programs. I know we're struggling. And I know Mr. Fallon is trying to find people to fill these positions, but I don't want that money to be used somewhere else. I guess that's what I'm trying to say, because we need that money there, so when we get those teachers, they're gonna be there. And while they're not there, we need somebody in there teaching with the students, because that is a major concern, because that's gonna be, I mean, it could be up to 40 children in one classroom, rotating through. It's making me a little nervous with that many teachers gone. And I also wanted to know if there's like an exit interview just to ask these teachers maybe, you know, why they left. You know, with the human resources, you don't have to tell us, but I'm just curious. That's a lot of teachers in less than six months and, you know, I'm just concerned. Is it something that's going on with the scheduling and, you know, because I've heard rumors that, you know, We need to have a meeting and sit down and talk about the scheduling. I'm not trying to break up the merger. I'm not trying to do that, but I think that the scheduling is getting a little tricky with the vocational programs and what they have to take to learn their skills. And I hope it's not some of the reasons why some of these teachers are leaving, or I don't know. I mean, I really don't know. I've heard a lot of rumors. I want to have a meeting. You might be able to. I think the superintendent wants to.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Do you know what the plan is for September if we don't have these teacher positions filled? Because we have a teacher missing in cosmetology, construction, there's a CCL teacher, well he's there, I'm sorry, he's there, I'm sorry, HVAC, there's a teacher, they're down, and then I know robotics and engineering will be down one teacher. And I know just from experience with my son in that classroom, it's very busy and I know the teacher that left was the teacher who did most of the machinery and CNC and like that is in a different room. So it's very dangerous. Like you can't have kids in that room operating on their own. Um, and then they're not going to learn the trade.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So that was for the vocational, and so I wanted to bring up, there's been a lot of confusion, and I've been getting tagged on Facebook because I went out to the Brooks School, and when I went out to the Brooks School, I was invited, or we all were invited by the Brooks BTO, so I happened to have that day off, so I went to the Brooks School to just walk around, and we kind of put a list together and I just wrote it up on paper. It was just a to-do list, a wish list, almost like what the teachers submitted, the principals submitted for their school improvement plan. It is a wish list. Some of the items on the list can be done, things like cutting the bushes, cleaning up the trash, cutting the grass. Those things can be done, and John McLaughlin has confirmed that things like that can be done. So the rumors on Facebook are that I've promised that the dirt field is going to be replaced with a turf field. And I never made that promise to anybody. So there's some confusion and there's some rumors flying around out there. people are upset with me and they're calling me and emailing me and I don't know what, I really honestly was just going out to put the to-do list together and we as a committee haven't approved anything. It was we can all go out and meet with the PTOs and that is one of my plans to do, but I just did that last week and then a lot of things have developed since then, so my plan is over the summer and a couple of us maybe can go out and make a to-do list at each school and meet with the PTOs. I still want to do that, but the timing of my visit to the Brooks and today's meeting, there hasn't been a lot of days in between that it gave me time to go out to the other schools. And that's a lot of schools to go out and visit and do a to-do list. But I'm definitely going to go out to all of the schools. And I just want to clear up that confusion. And I'm not going to go back and forth with people on Facebook, so I'm just addressing it right now. And as I think the Mayor said, and Superintendent Baleson said, is that most of this is going to be coming from the capital funding. So it's a good idea that we put a list together, so we know, okay, so we have this big list, and it's broken down by different schools. And then we have to look at it and say, well, who's going to get funding and what and where? But everybody will get funding, I'm sure. And I wasn't picking one school and only going to help that school. I'm going to help all schools. I just want to make that clear, because I've really been getting a lot of messages and just not so nice. So I just want to please, that was a misunderstanding. I don't know where some of that information came from. Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Don't take it. Yeah, so I know, and I plan to go out to the others. You know, it takes time. Yes. Yeah, it takes time. Thank you, Ms. Krutz. Yep, and I just had one more, and I just have an update for another parent that was concerned about some folding chairs at the Roberts, and I will get in touch with that parent, but they do have chairs for all the students, and there's only like one student that requires a folding chair. So everybody is all set and all the rugs have been replaced. So I think that some of the information might just be a little outdated with some of the supplies that are at the school. One thing that she did want me to mention is that the Roberts is actually short and they haven't been able to get money for easel paper over the past two years, and the PTO has been buying the easel paper. So if there's any extra funding, you know, just a wish list, I wanted to just add that special note for them on behalf of the parent. So I just wanted to add that, and that's it for me.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Jones. Yes. Mr. Rousseau. Yes. Mrs. Van der Kloot. Yes. May I vote?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to say thank you also. It was a great event. I attended last year. It was so much fun. And I'm happy to also read that the students at the vocational school created the t-shirts and the high school, the video department made a great video. So that's fantastic. And I think I saw it already posted on like Facebook with the blog and I continue to share it once it gets closer.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, of course, happy to. Ms. Kreatz. I just wanted to thank you for the presentation. It was excellent. And the brochure with the pictures, I can see the vision. It looks so beautiful with the plants and the trees and the blueberries. Thank you, Michael, for your donations. And I just had a question about the deer population that is in the fells. Do you think that we're going to attract deers and maybe coming close to the school.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So if a person was to walk towards the electric fence, would they get shocked? Oh, yeah. Because I'm just one of the people with that night.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Hi. Hi. I wanted to thank you for the report. It was excellent. And, you know, I really like the way that you prepared it with all the feedback and the different ideas for the future. And I do like the idea of like the smaller focus groups and then sending out maybe a letter home to parents, detailing everything in the different time frames. And I think at the high school, when they had a grant for the MCAS tutoring, they did something similar like that, where a letter went home to the families, and it was structured. It had all the details in it. And you had to sign that your child would make that attendance. Maybe that would help cut down, of course, the attendance the next time the programs rolled out. I also loved reading about all the positives where some of the students the next day were saying, you know, we did this in tutoring, and they were just more, they felt successful and more confident in the classroom. So I liked reading that. That sounded, you know, that makes me feel very happy for the students that they felt that now they can, you know, maybe accomplish a little bit more with math. And I wanna thank the National Honor Society students for all their help. It was just, that's unbelievable, and thank them. Thank you all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: All set?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz? Yep, I just want to thank Ms. DeCarlo for her years of service and congratulate her on her retirement. Oh, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: We did that first. Can't help but trust you. Chris. Hi. So I just have a couple of questions, because I've been just looking at this all weekend and just reaching out to some people. And so I just, is it fair to do a partial lottery? Can we do something like that? Because it just seemed very unfair, where we're just going to pull the names, How are we gonna do that? I guess I'm confused about that. Having a partial lottery, we're gonna put all the names into a lottery system and it's gonna kick out, so every student that applied to the Andrews, it's going to kick out a report and put them in one school or the other? Has this ever been done before?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had one more question. So is the sibling rule, will that be affected? So if somebody had a sibling or has a sibling, at one of the schools, will those people be put into the partial lottery? And is there like a time period? So if somebody had a sibling two to three years ago, but that sibling moved up to high school, is that still considered a sibling that went to the handouts? No. No. No.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's stretching it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: On Mr. Russo's? In regards to the fairness in the way that you were talking about doing the lottery, so I kind of don't agree with, you know, doing the lottery with just the Brooke School. It just seems so unfair. I know they didn't make that selection, but we do have school choice in Medford. So the families from that school sent in their selection form because we had the school choice. And when we were talking about doing the lottery, we never really talked about that maybe one school would have a lottery. Like the way that I read this packet, was it says here, all the students who have selected the Andrews, all of them, will be randomly selected to move to the McGlynn, you know, based on class size. They'll be put into the partial lottery. So I just, I don't really like the idea of doing a lottery for just one school. Like that just, it sounds horrible. Like I just think it just sounds horrible. But I know they didn't make the choice and it didn't, I know, I get it, it's just something that I'm just having a hard time with. Point of information, Mr. Russo.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know, I know, because I see the numbers.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Ms. Kreatz? Yes. I did want to mention that I did like when Dr. Vincent mentioned a long-term plan. you know, having grades five to six at one middle school and seven to eight at another middle school. Is that something that, you know, we could talk about for the future? I know it's not something because I was, I was even thinking it was something that was more doable, but then I said, Oh, great five. No, no, they're in elementary right now. But I think that's something that maybe we could talk about for next year. And you know, in that would be, we wouldn't have to do a lottery.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Van der Kloot. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to say thank you also. It was a great event. I attended last year. It was so much fun. And I'm happy to also read that the students at the vocational school created the T-shirts, and the high school, the video department, made a great video. So that's fantastic. And I think I saw it already posted on Facebook with the blog, and I continue to share it once it gets closer.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Hi. I just want to thank you for the presentation. It was excellent. And the brochure with the pictures, I can see the vision. It would look so beautiful with the plants and the trees and the blueberries. Thank you, Michael, for your donations. And I just had a question about Like the deer population that is in the fells like do you think that we're going to attract deers and maybe coming?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So if a person was to walk towards the electric fence, would they get shocked? Oh, yeah. Because I just want to get people with me at night.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Hi. Hi. I wanted to thank you for the report. It was excellent. And, you know, I really liked the way that you prepared it with all the feedback and the different ideas for the future. And I do like the idea of like the smaller focus groups And then sending out maybe a letter home to parents, detailing everything in the different time frames. And I think at the high school, when they had a grant for the MCAS tutoring, they did something similar like that, where a letter went home to the families. And it was structured. It had all the details in it. And you had to sign that your child would make that attendance. maybe that would help cut down, of course, the attendance like the next time the programs rolled out. And I also loved reading about all the positives where some of the students the next day were saying, you know, we did this in tutoring, and they were just more, they felt successful and more confident in the classroom. So I liked reading that. That sounded, you know, that makes me feel very happy for the students that they felt that now they can, you know, maybe accomplish a little bit more with math. And I want to thank the National Honor Society students for all their help. It was just, that's unbelievable. We can thank them. Thank you all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: All set?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? Yep, I just want to thank Ms. DeCarlo for her years of service and congratulate her on her retirement. Oh, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can't help but try. Ms. Kress. Hi. So I just have a couple of questions because I've been just looking at this all weekend and just reaching out to some people. And so I just, you know, is it fair to do like a partial lottery? Can we do something like that? Because it just seemed very unfair where we're just going to pull the names, you know, How are we going to do that? Like, I guess I'm confused about that. Like having a partial lottery, we're going to put all the names into like a lottery system and it's going to kick out. So every student that applied to the Andrews, it's going to kick out like a report and put them in one school or the other. Has this ever been done before?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had one more question. So is the sibling rule, will that be affected? So if somebody had a sibling or has a sibling at one of the schools, will those people be put into the partial lottery? And is there like a time period? somebody had a sibling two to three years ago, but that sibling moved up to high school, is that still considered a sibling that went to the Andrews?
[Kathy Kreatz]: In regards to the fairness in the way that you were talking about doing the lottery, so I kind of don't agree with doing the lottery with just the Brooke School. It just seems so unfair. I know they didn't make that selection, but we do have school choice in Medford. So the families from that school sent in their selection form because we had the school choice. And when we were talking about doing the lottery, we never really talked about that maybe one school would have a lottery. So the way that I read this packet was it says here, all the students who have selected the Andrews, all of them, will be randomly selected to move to the McGlynn based on class size. They'll be put into the partial lottery. I just, I don't really like the idea of doing a lottery for just one school. Like, that just, it sounds horrible. Like, I just think it just sounds horrible. But I know they didn't make the choice, and it didn't, I know, I get it, it's just something that I'm just having a hard time with. Point of information, Mr. Russo.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz? Yes. I did want to mention that I did like when Dr. Vincent mentioned a long-term plan of having grades five to six at one middle school and seven to eight at another middle school, is that something that we could talk about for the future? I know it's not something, because I was even thinking it was something that was more doable, but then I said, oh, grade five, no, no, they're in elementary right now. But I think that's something that maybe we could talk about for next year in that. would be, we wouldn't have to do a lottery.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Yes. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Yes, so I, too, that night, I knew we were having a meeting, and we hadn't been able to talk about who would be the interim superintendent, so we got to talk that night, and I thought maybe somebody would be stepping up into that place, but we did have to make a decision in the best interest of everybody, like the students and the staffing while we waited to hire our new superintendent. So, you know, I stand by my decision, and it was more of in the best interest of the schools and the students to keeping, you know, so we would have the training until the end of the school year. Because I have been getting a lot of questions from parents, who's gonna be the superintendent? And there's also been confusion. Some people thought we already hired a superintendent. So it's just been a little bit of confusion all around. But so, I stand by the decision that I made that night as well.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. I just wanted to make sure that Ms. Simenon has received this report. She'll get it. She did? Okay, and I want to- She will get it. Okay, she will get it, okay. She did?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, all right. I just wanted to make sure, and I just wanted to also thank her very much for her diligence and you know, communicating all this information to us. It's been a long time and, you know, I'm happy to hear and receive this report tonight.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DiBenedetto? Present. Mrs. Kierkegaard? Mrs. Stone? Absent. Mr. Ricciaro? Absent. Mr. Russo? Present. Mrs. Van der Kloot? Present. Mayor Burke? Present.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I think it's something that was mentioned earlier, It's just the communication. A lot of parents often say they want to hear a lot of communication and what's happening in the schools. Very good response between the superintendent and I guess community involvement. So those are some things that are important for the superintendent as well.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Ms. Kreatz. Attendance. OK. Mrs. DiVentado. Present. Mrs. Kreatz, here. Mrs. Mustone. Here. Mr. Ruggiero.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Van de Koot.
[Kathy Kreatz]: We'll call the vote. Mrs. DiBenedetto? Yes. Mrs. Kreatz? Yes. Mrs. Mustone? Yes. Mr. Ruggiero?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Russo? Yes. Mrs. Vanderkoop? Yes. Mayor Burke? Absent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DiBenedetto. Yes. Mrs. Kreatz. Yes. Mrs. Mastone. Yes. Mr. Ruggiero. Yes. Mr. Russo. Yes. Mrs. Van der Kloot. Yes. Mayor Burke. Absent. Absent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Next is the report of the secretary. Ms. Pretz? Yes. So I have two reports this week. The first report is regarding the Medford Malden Lodge of Elks scholarships. On Sunday, March 18, the Medford Malden Lodge of Elks held its 34th annual 2018-19 scholarship award ceremony. A total of 15 high school seniors from various local high schools including Medford High School and Medford Vocational Technical High School, Andover High School, Malden High School, Matanon, and Arlington Catholic were awarded a $500 scholarship. The students who received these awards were honored for their exceptional academic achievement and their commitment to community support. The ceremony began with a breakfast for all invited guests, their families, and friends. The award ceremony included a brief summary of each recipient's essay and a mention from their guidance Councilors, recommendation letter. Each recipient received a framed certificate proudly presented by Medford Malden Elks, BPOE number 1915. Many thanks to the Lodge Scholarship Committee for their 34 years of continued commitment to students at Medford High School in various local high schools within the area. The Lodge Committee Elks members present were Warren Costa, Lawrence Murphy, Paul Herbert, and Mary Fitzgerald. It was a wonderful event that I was invited to, and I was very happy to share this information, and I actually contacted the paper, and they put the picture of the students in the paper, and this award ceremony, we'll get to hear the names of the students who were awarded their certificates. So I currently don't have their names, but they will be released once the awards come out in May. Thank you. Thank you very much. The Mifflin Baldwin Lodge of Elks. Really appreciate it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. So I have a report to share with the committee regarding the, um, probably like the expenditures for the month of March. I signed up on the typical invoices related to heating, electricity, and pupil transportation. Also, there were some miscellaneous invoices, including violin repairs, interpreter invoices, and an invoice from the MASC for the Summit of Poverty, which Mr. Russo attended. Also highlights from the March 23rd bill. So what I like to do is I like to kind of find something that might be interesting and I kind of pick it out of the invoices and do a little write up on it. So I signed up on a payment to Essex North Shore Agricultural Technical High School in the amount of $35,295. Currently, there are four students enrolled in Essex Aggie. Two students are enrolled in horticulture, and they are in grades 10 and 12. One student is enrolled in environmental science and technology, grade 11. And one student is enrolled in animal science, grade 11. Then the week of March 30th, I signed off on four invoices, totaling $15,646. for Ronald C. Boyer, who was electrical fire alarms. And what they did was they worked on Bistro 489 to download new fire alarm system software to eliminate invalid reports. The invoice was $3,050. There was also work done to connect a new sprinkler system in the cafe to the fire alarm system for $2,806. There was also work at the Bistro to relocate the fire alarm pull stations in Horn Strobe for new floor plans. The invoice was $550. And then there was a third final payment from an invoice of $28,000. Work performed to install the new fire alarm circuit and replace existing devices in the new vocational bistro. And that was dated March 5. And so the final payment for that was the $9,240. So that was just a summary of some highlights from the month of March. Thank you, Ms. Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Seconded. Mrs. DiBenedettino? Yes. Mrs. Kreatz? Yes. Mrs. Stone? Yes. Mr. Ruggiero? Yes. Mr. Russo? Yes. Mrs. Van De Koop? Yes. Mayor Burke? Absent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, mr. Okay Yep, so something that wasn't in the report and it was just brought to my attention over like the last couple of days so the The Medford Vocational Principle was not included in this meeting and what I found out was and what I know is that the Medford Vocational door has a buzzer and they have a raptor system and currently the vocational door is locked which is really a disadvantage for our customers because Now our customers go to the front door and they have to walk all the way over to the cosmetology and automotive and services like that where they have in their office, they have the Raptor system, they have a buzzer on the door, they have cameras. So I wanna make sure and update this report, the vocational school, their door should be operational and the buzzer should, they should have somebody, a security monitor, because we have these vocational services and programs for our customers in the community to come and use, including the new Bistro that's going to be coming. So we need to have a security monitor on that side. On the vocational door, there should be a security monitor. That's completely opposite. So let me answer that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'll second it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Can I just? We had the vocational side had a security monitor. up until the point where the security.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So now what are they asking the customers to do? They have to go to the front door of Medford High School, and some of these are elderly people, and they have to go up the stairs, walk through the hallways. They don't know where they're going. It's quite a distance, and I just think that it's a disadvantage to our community if we're not going to have security, where we're going to have the bistro open to customers, but we're not going to have any security.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm actually asking maybe for another person like a security monitor. They used to have a security monitor who would let, who would be in the hallways and, you know, they would get buzzed in and they would go through, I think, you know, she might have run them through the Raptor system, I'm not quite sure. But they have the Raptor system. They have the monitors, but there's nobody there. And they have a sign on the door that says that you must go. So somebody will park.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Roll call vote. OK. Mrs. DiVentino? Yes. Mrs. Kreatz? Yes. Mrs. Stone? Yes. Mr. Ruggiero? Yes. Mr. Russo? Yes. Mrs. Van De Koop? Yes. Mayor Burke? Absent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DeBette. Yes. Mrs. Kreatz. Yes. Mrs. Stone.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Ruggiero. Yes. Mr. Russo. Yes. Mrs. Van de Koot. Yes. Mayor Burke.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Ruggiero? Yes. Mr. Russo? Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know where I work, and I deal with a lot of different districts, they have hotlines where if I call the main number for my district, the line will pick up, if you're calling to report bullying, please dial number two. and you can call directly, and you can leave a voicemail anonymously to report the bullying, and it gets documented. And if the person doesn't feel comfortable, it could be the parent, it could be a friend, and it can be checked out. So I think that's a good suggestion, having a separate line to our Medford Public Schools number. And it would just be recorded maybe by the secretaries you know, hopefully there wouldn't be a lot of incidents, you know, but.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DiBenedetto.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Kreatz, here. Mrs. Mistone.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Ruggiero. Present. Mr. Russo. Present. Mrs. Van der Kloot. Present. Mayor Burke.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. You're welcome. Thank you. Ms. Kress. Hello. Hi, Dr. Vincent. Hi. OK. So I have this one question has three parts, if you want to write it down. Yes. I know the other night it was a long question, so they wrote it down. So I'll read it slowly. So as you know, Medford Public Schools has 18 approved vocational CTE programs. How would you enhance the programs already in place? What is needed to remain on the cutting edge of technology? Where do you see the programs in three to five years?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hello. Hi, Doctor. So as you know, this is another vocational question. So how would you work with the school administration to continue to promote the career technical education in Medford, increase the enrollment, and keeping the kids coming to Medford vocational schools.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hello, hi Tom. So as you know, Medford Public Schools has 18 approved vocational CTE programs. How would you enhance the programs already in place? What is needed to remain on the cutting edge of technology? Where do you see the programs in three to five years? And I can repeat that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, already in place. And then secondly, what is needed to remain on the cutting edge of technology.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. That answers the question. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi. How you doing? OK. How would you work with the school administration to continue to promote career and technical education, increase the enrollment numbers, and keep the students here at Medford High School participating in career and technical education?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Stone, here. Mr. Ruggiero, here. Mr. Russo, here. Mrs. Van de Koot, here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Right there. I knew it was right there in the middle.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hello. Hi. Nice to meet you, Dr. Strait. Thank you. You too. Hi. So, as you know, we have 18 approved vocational programs. Yes. How would you enhance the programs already in place? What is needed to remain on the cutting edge of technology? And where do you see the programs in three to five years? OK.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I can repeat that. Please do.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. So the first part is, how would you enhance the programs already in place? What is needed to remain on the cutting edge of technology? OK. And where do you see the programs in three to five years?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. That answers the question. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, we'll go around again. OK. Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Trevena.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I have kind of part two on my vocational question. How would you work with the school administration to continue to promote career and technical education in Medford? And that's all. There wasn't any other questions to that. All right.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. You're welcome.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'll have to find you to get more.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Good evening.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi, Kathy. Hi, Dr. Perla. Okay, so I have a question, some vocational questions. So as you know, Medford Public Schools has 18 approved vocational programs. How would you enhance the programs already in place? What is needed to remain on the cutting edge of technology? Where do you see the programs in three to five years?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Benedetto.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi. So I have another question regarding the vocational. How would you work with the current administration to continue to promote career in technical education in Medford?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just have one follow-up. How would you allocate money to support the programs? I know a lot of the programs, some of them have a higher number of enrollment versus others. And what would you do? Do you have any experience writing grants to request money to support some of the programs?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DeMettis. Here. Present. Mr. Machero. Here. Mr. Rousseau. Here. Mrs. VanCook. Here. You may have her.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. McDone. Yes. Mr. Leggero. Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So far this month, I signed up on typical invoices related to heating, electricity, pupil transportation. Also, there was an invoice for an elevator repair. Also in the first week of March, I signed an invoice for prospect building services. The total combined of all the mini vouchers was $35,704.48. And what Prospect did was they performed a disinfecting mist spray at all of the schools in February. The cleaning also included the high school pool was cleaned, the culinary arts department machines were degreased and scrubbed, and the cosmetology was mopped, washed, buffed, and stripped, and refinished the tile floor. I thought it was interesting, so I wanted to share with everybody.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Yes. So I have a report and so I'm the chairperson on the rules subcommittee. And we met on February 26 in the superintendent's conference room at Medford High School. The purpose of the meeting was to review the revised proposed reporting requirements for PTO, PTG, Friends of organizations. Ms. Jenny Graham, who's here tonight, was instrumental in helping the committee create a softer online version of the oversight guidelines for PTO, PTG, and other internal 501c3 organizations, other organizations that support our public schools. In your packets, please be advised that this evening, everybody got revised copies of the guidelines and they were left on your desk this evening. So if you could just be mindful of that. There was a couple of typographical errors. There was multiple versions of the copies and accidentally, I think, you know, the wrong one got printed in the packet. So just, you know, be on the lookout for that. And what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna read briefly the objective The document is rather long, but it's very detailed. It's excellent. If anybody has any questions afterwards, I'll be happy to go over any questions. So I'm going to read the objectives, and then I'm going to invite Ms. Graham up to show everybody a demonstration of the online form. OK, so the objective of the PTO-PTG guidelines is the school committee recognizes that there are a significant number of organizations that operate within Medford to augment and supplement the educational and extracurricular experiences of our students. These PTO, PTG, other 501C3 organizations will be referred to as organizations throughout the document. The committee appreciates the hard work and the dedication of the organization of volunteers and wishes to foster an environment of collaboration and shared vision. To do that, it's important that the committee understands the number of organizations in the goals of each operating to the benefit of the Medford Public Schools. It's not the goal of the committee to centralize, stifle the efforts of the independent entities, many of which are 501c3 registered entities, but rather support their efforts through transparency and collaboration. And you'll notice that there's a section on organization identification, which includes the online form. There's a section on the bylaws, which has some best practice information in it, and it's detailed. There's information about fundraising and expenditures. Training is offered and available. It's not gonna be required, but it will be offered and strongly recommended when needed. There's also going to be an annual update, and there's compliance with the policy. So at this time, I'd like to invite Ms. Jenny Graham up. And she's been extremely instrumental. And she's just been a great help and amazing. And she's going to demonstrate the online form. And you'll get to see how easy and user-friendly it is. Thank you, Jenny.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It's not going to be this April 1st. So what we're doing is tonight, we are reviewing the guidelines. That's what we're making a decision on tonight. We're going to review the guidelines. You're going to see the online form. And then I'm going to hopefully make a motion to accept the guidelines, the online form, so that we can roll it out. We're going to have it put on the website. I already got in touch with Superintendent Belson. So once we approve this, he's going to get in touch with the people who can put it on the website so that we can start collecting the information so that we'll have all the registered groups by October 1, 2018. Because they're going to have from now until October to get registered, because this is a new process.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very smart.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Excellent. It's great. It's really, it's so easy to use.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It just seems like a lot of work for someone else to take on. It is.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz, you wanted to make a motion? Very good. There's a motion on the floor to accept this policy, seconded by Ms. Van der Kloot. Roll call vote.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I wanted to say, I was at the open house, and it was great. It was just fantastic. And I loved how it was so personable with the parents and the teachers speaking and the students. And I actually learned a lot about Mr. Tucci, that he was a baseball player, and he was on the San Diego Padres. I was so impressed. I found that out at the open house. And the students did a great, great job taking people around. The groups were filled. Going up to the classrooms, the classrooms were filled. The teachers did a great job with the setup of the projects that were out, and just going over everything, asking questions. It was just a really, it was a very fun evening. I had a really fun time. And I wish the McGlynn the best, you know, and all the luck.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Krex. Yes. Thank you for the report. I just want to know how the transition is going with the vocational students over centralized in the 1C building. I've just heard from some students and parents, the students who are in the vocational school getting over to the guidance council office, it's just a little farther of a distance. And where some of the students are on co-op, they're only in school like every other week, so I wanted to know if, and I don't know for sure, but if there's afternoon hours for the guidance, so that the students who are in the vocational side, where they have like the one week of academics, they really can't be kind of pulled from their classes to go down to the guidance, but they do want to participate in the scholarship programs, and they're getting ready for colleges and applications, and it does take some time, so I didn't know if there was any assistance or aids that help out with that process.
[Kathy Kreatz]: What about getting copies of the printed transcripts Because I know if you're going to be filling out a college application or scholarship, you have to get the official transcript. And I was just thinking it might be helpful if somebody else in the office, besides the guidance Councilor or assigned Councilor, could print them out for the students. But it would be an authorized person. Or Secretary Andre. Andre?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And then I just wanted to know, because I was reading in the report and I did get to talk to some of the guidance Councilors at the high school and I think there is actual like more like social emotional. And so I was thinking in terms of the budget that, you know, do we have enough Councilors at the high school? You know, I'm just, I was really, you know, thinking that myself and I had it highlighted in the report because, you know, I've heard that there's more social emotional is taking a lot of the time to spend with the students. And that was just my thought in thinking, do we have enough Councilors to assist all of the students?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, miss Kreatz. I'm confused because I signed the bills every week and I see every single invoice and I not pay payroll.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Correct. So, I wanted to ask Christine a question. So, Christine, I work at the Massachusetts Retirement System, and I know that the deduction reports get transmitted monthly. Correct. So, what happens is, each month, and I don't work on every public school, by the way, because it would be a conflict, but I know I work with other districts, and they report to us monthly. So, for example, February is due in on March 10th. Okay, so what happens is the district has until March 10th to give us their electronic file. And when they import that file, the file can be exported to Excel and sorted alphabetically. But that's the month after the payroll's due. And that would be like the soonest, and that would be the most, the easiest way to do it because in myTRS you can generate that report really quickly and just cut out the social security numbers and that could be emailed to somebody, which wouldn't take time. It's already built into the payroll software from ITRS, the reporting software, but it wouldn't be something that could be done biweekly. I know what's involved because I work with multiple school districts. That's what I do all day. Mr. Ruggiero?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, yes, I have. with the committee regarding the expenditure report. When you see the vendor name, WB Mason, the line item description only references telephones. However, the function code represents other expense. A review of all account structures and descriptors will take place over the summer with the finance director and city auditor to update as needed. Going forward, this won't be an issue for WB Mason when you see telephones, which you might see it Right now on the report on page five of nine, you'll see telephones going forward. It will show up as telephone other expenditures, but this is just one of the items that is, you know, um, one of the fixes that they're going to be doing with the descriptor updates over the summer. Um, and currently the auditor and the finance director actually corrected that one. Um, so I just wanted to point that out. And, um, during the month of February I signed batches for invoices related to heating, electricity, pupil transportation, educational supplies, piano tuning and repairs. That was something that caught my eye, Paulette and Paul, because we were at the concert and we kind of heard that the tune, the piano needed a tune up, so I wanted to mention that. I saw the invoice and I signed it. So, yep, and many more, many, many more, so just wanted to share that. Okay, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'd like to suspend the rules to have Anthony get the first paper on the new business.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hello, Anthony. Hi. Thank you for coming this evening. I sent a special message to Mayor Park because I received a message from a parent who was very gracious for everything that you did last week. And I'll just read the email that I got. Good evening, Mrs. Kreatz. I wanted to send you something positive from all this mess that's since been unfolding. As you know, the high school was the home of February Camp and also was swept yesterday as it was filled with the campers. I would really like to give a huge shout out to Anthony Petrellis. My son is working as a Councilor this week with Anthony. He's a 10th grader at the high school. Anthony was informed shortly before the sweep was happening and he quickly got a plan together and met with Councilors to have a game plan. They kept these kids extra busy and occupied them in multiple activities during the process. Her son, not going to mention names, said most of the kids had no idea what was going on because of the plan Anthony came up with. He said the few that did know were minimally scared or nervous. Just wanted Anthony to get some credit for what could have been a huge disaster. I feel because explaining to younger children what the difference between precautions is and when they see dogs and multiple cops, in cop cars, well, you get what I'm saying. So Anthony, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for doing such a great job at the camp with all the kids and keeping everything under control. And I know my son has worked with you over the summer. And you're just an incredible Councilor. And the way that you handle kids is incredible. And it's a very difficult job. And you do it extremely well. And I want to thank you very, very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And thank you, everybody else who helped out. We really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, I just wanted to, um, to give a big thank you to, um, everybody who sent us the reports last week. We were getting them and I got a lot of positive feedback from the community, um, regarding the robocalls and the information that was sent out. And it was, it was very quickly and, um, it was very, you know, very useful and very informative. I just wanted to say thank you before we did the roll call.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I have a question. I mean, I know a lot of people are talking about going electronic and I think it's fantastic. Is there going to be a plan for the school committee members to get like tablets or iPads, you know, I mean, I have my phone, but you know, um, so that we have it to view electronically.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So in the interim, until we have those devices, are the people who don't have the laptops going to get their paper copy?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Right.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'm fine with that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. DiBenedetto? No. Mrs. Kreatz, yes. Mrs. Mestone? Yes. Mr. Ruggiero? No.
[Kathy Kreatz]: No. Mr. Russo? Yes. Mrs. Van der Kloot? Yes. Mayor Burke?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Benedetto.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Kretsch. Yes. Mrs. Mustone. Yes. Mr. Ruggiero. Yes. Mr. Russo. Yes. Mrs. Van de Koop. Yes. Mayor Burke.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I just wanted to say that this has been the most difficult, like, two weeks. And I've been struggling every day. I've been heartbroken, upset, angry. You know, it was a bad decision. Superintendent has taken ownership of it. It's just unfortunate that it happened at this particular time. I'm glad that nobody was hurt. And, you know, Superintendent Belson has 50 years of service, 23 years as a superintendent. It's just incredible everything that he's done for our schools. And we have to remember that. We have to remember all the good things that were done here. There was the one poor judgment, but there's been so many great things. So it's time for us to get back to work, get back to school, implement the safety procedures and practices, and we need the community's help. We still need your help. We want to protect our children, and whatever cost it takes, we're going to make sure that we do that. So I appreciate all your messages. It will take us some time to get back to all of you. So please be patient, but we will. And I just want to thank everybody for your patience, and the police department for doing all the searches, and everybody just stepping up and getting out there and, you know, just giving a good word or some feedback. It's just been helpful. And I just want to thank, you know, my colleagues tonight for this session. And it was very difficult, and I know in my heart that I made the right decision. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Kreatz. Yep. Thank you. Yep, it was a great presentation, and I learned a lot. I thought it was so interesting when Mr. Toomey was giving his presentation He was actually holding a device, a vaping device, and you couldn't tell. They're so discreet, so they come in just different shapes and sizes, and it looks like a pen, and it was really incredible. And I think it was Maureen who described what the vape was like. So when you're cooking a chicken and there's residue that goes all over your stove, how it's like that slimy film, that's what it's doing to the insides of your lungs. So that's what, I just couldn't get that out of my head, that film that goes on your stove and just breathing that vape in and it's just going inside your lungs. And then going into the room, the bedroom, in plain sight, some of the places that you could hide the vape and the juice and all the components were in plain sight. It was like a Pringles jar that opened from the bottom. You know, it was very, it was, it was really, I learned a lot. It was really, it was a great presentation and thank you everyone. It was a great job by all. Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. Take care of it. Then I'll post it tomorrow to the website, right?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Members, what my weekly responsibilities are as secretary. Since January 10, 2018, I've been going into the finance department at city hall every Wednesday afternoon to review and sign approximately 15 to 20 batches Each batch consists of a cover letter, which contains vendor numbers, names, addresses, and amounts. There are receipts and invoice backup attached to each batch packet. I go through each vendor line to ensure all the receipts, invoices are provided. I audit the names, addresses, and amounts for accuracy. The process typically takes between 2 to 3 hours each week. If questions arise while auditing, I email the Director of Finance, Christine Patterson, to ask for clarification. Once the batch is finally approved, I sign off for the school committee on the cover letter and the warrant runs the same week on Friday so that each vendor will receive a check for their services. At the bottom of this report is a chart of the first three billing codes so that my colleagues can reference while reviewing the payroll and transfers of the spreadsheet. You'll notice that 010 is budget major, 890 is student activities, 112 is state grants, 113 is federal grants, 114 is revolving accounts, 115 is trust. So please note, if you have any questions about specific vendor items, I would be happy to address. However, I'd most likely need to email the finance department, you know, once we hear the inquiry, so that we can pull the paperwork at City Hall to, you know, to clarify your questions, because I can't bring the batches out of City Hall. And, you know, I've gone through them, but I don't, you know, kind of remember exactly week to week what items specifically, but I have an idea, and I've approved everything. So I hope you find this report helpful. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kritz, Madam Secretary.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Always thinking.
[Kathy Kreatz]: You could highlight the report.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, so the Medford School Committee Subcommittee on the Rules was called to order by Chairperson Kathy Kreatz at 715 in the Superintendent's Conference Room at Medford High School. Members Michael Ruggiero, Paul Russo were in attendance. Attendees included Superintendent Roy Belson, Deputy Superintendent Beverly Nelson. Others included Bob Russo, Ingrid Moncadia, Christina McGourty, Melissa Melwatt, Jenny Graham, Jane Wright, Gail Trainor, Tony Vento, Patricia Haas, Robin Irving, Claire Flaherty, Michelle Cicillo, Gareth McFarley, and Melanie McLaughlin. We all rose to salute the flag. Chairperson stated the purpose of the meeting was twofold, review failed trip policy, review oversight guidelines for PTO, PTG, and 5013 organizations that support our public schools. Superintendent Balson explained that the subcommittee's work resulted from discussions and questions raised at our regular school committee meeting on January 22nd He then asked Deputy Superintendent Beverly Nelson to lead a discussion of the field trip policy and forms. Copies of the relevant forms were distributed. Deputy Superintendent Nelson explained the need for revised policy and forms emanated from multiple discussions at the school committee meetings around key issues such as insurance, medical coverage, inclusivity, and curriculum alignment. The goal was to produce clear and consistent policy with streamlined forms. The policy was developed with substantial input. Key revisions were included. Change in the order of sign-off. Sequence of approval. Nurse to be notified when student listing is ascertained. Cost to be estimated until full student participation is determined. Teachers Robin Irving and Patty Haas spoke about their confusion as it related to the new forms. They stressed their commitment to inclusivity. They were concerned about the curriculum director sign off. The superintendent exclaimed that it was new and the department director was unsure of the approval requirement in the sequence. He explained that the curriculum director needed to ensure an alignment with curriculum. A field trip is an alternative classroom and it must be of value. It must be a substitute for a day of classroom instruction. After alignment is determined, then participation listing must be checked out for appropriate supports, accommodations, consistent with student needs. It's a two-step process. Health Supervisor Tony Vento exclaimed that Massachusetts is not a compact state and our nurses cannot supervise out-of-state trips. Also, the administration of medications by persons needs physician's approval. It was explained that if there were specialized costs, it might be necessary to revise the per-pupil assessment Also, if a trip was canceled for appropriate reasons, then insurance refunds should be incorporated into the planning. Melanie McLaughlin, parent of CPAC chairperson, raised various ADA issues and possible need for SPED sign-off. She was concerned if students were eliminated for academic reasons, also for disciplinary reasons. It was explained that special ed students were in attendance, then special ed teachers and staff would be on the trip. Also, the school had the right to exclude participation for valid academic and disciplinary reasons, as long as they were legitimate, non-discriminating reasons. Student participation was shared, responsibility between home and school. Member Ruggiero suggested that the ADA comment be added to the form. As a result of the discussions, will be made to the forms in the following, ADA reference checklist, change in the order of the sign-off, nurse notification rather than approval, estimated costs rather than actual process will be better explained. The subcommittee then began the discussion of oversight regulations proposal by the superintendent. Member Ruseau felt that October 1 would be better than September 1st for submission of the materials. There were pros and cons to the date changes, but it was not decided. The discussion centered primarily on the tone of the regulations. Most were concerned that they sounded too negative and heavy. Also, there was a good give and take on why they were needed. The superintendent felt that greater coordination would not impinge on the autonomy of various groups, but could lead to greater resources and better coordination with the school budget. There was concern about economic equality among the schools. Jen Graham volunteered to rework the regulations into a more friendly listing. The subcommittee agreed to hold any vote in absence until the new language could be reviewed. On the motion, Mr. Russo seconded by Mr. Ruggiero, the meeting was adjourned at 9.30. So I will follow up with Superintendent Belson, and when we have the revisions, I could call another subcommittee meeting as a follow-up.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's my feeling. I think that would be my understanding. So if you look at the back of our packets, Erin, there is a, at the very back, there's a recommendation to the approval of the field trip policy and there's a checklist. So what the, you know, what the teachers will do is they'll follow the checklist and they'll have their forms. and they can bring them, you know, working with the checklist to the appropriate person. And so at the bottom, it's, there's been a revision where the signature will be, the order of the signature is the principal or assistant principal in the curricular curriculum and the notification to the nurse. So there's not, at the very bottom, there's only approval for you know, the principal and the curriculum director, and then notification going to the nurse. You know, there is different forms for the day trip and for the overnight trip, yeah. Okay, Beverly, yeah. Nelson?
[Kathy Kreatz]: They work hard.
[Kathy Kreatz]: This is the first year. I'd like to say Judy, first year, but not our last.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz. I just want to make sure, you know, seeing the numbers, and they're very impressive, the breakdown of the new freshman class, you know, going into the program. So I wanted to make sure that We budget for the increase in the enrollment for all the new programs to make sure that we have enough books, tools, supplies, and seating for all the students. I did hear that there's a lot of students that might not have some things that they need. So I just wanted to put it out there for the budget time that we might need to increase the budget.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I should attend the training. I think you can attend the training. The training would be wise. And then going forward, you wouldn't. But at least you're trained. Just the training on Wednesday. All right.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Russo. Present. Mrs. Vindman. Present. Mayor Clark.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I can answer that one.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz sees that with the bill signing. Yeah, so when you get the bill, it's this big batch. And every single receipt is behind. So the total amount will be $11,904. And then there'll be line items and receipts to match every single item. And I'd be happy to show you if you want to come down one day on Wednesday, then you can sit next to me. It takes about three hours, and we can go do it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And then it would be nice to have another person trained, because it is something you have to do every week in case I couldn't make it for some reason. It does have to be done by Wednesday, because then they have to run the warrants, and then they call Joe and invite him. So yeah, so anytime, just text me and you can come and see. It's really interesting because even glue that's 98 cents, there'll be a receipt for it. Honestly, 25 cents, I've seen receipts. Yeah, it's been very, very interesting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. Mrs. DeVetta. Yes. Mrs. Stone. Yes. Mr. Ruggiero. Yes. Mr. Russo. Yes. Mrs. Van de Kloop. Yes. May I have a vote?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? I had a question. I did receive several calls from parents who mentioned that the day that school was open, because it was very, very cold, that there was a lot of teachers absent. And most of the kids were sent to lecture halls that were not heated, and they were freezing. The children were just freezing. This is at the high school. And for example, one student, one of his teachers was in, and all the other classes, he went to freezing cold lecture halls that were not heated. And it was just really, really, really, really cold. And students were wearing gloves, and they had the, you know, the little, I forget what they're called, the heat warmers. Right, they had, you know, hand warmers, passing them around, and a lot of kids got sick. And I got a lot of calls about that, and I'm not sure if, you know, I tried to identify, like, what area, you know, and, you know, I just don't know, but it was mainly that it was really, really cold in the high school.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, that was my suggestion. If the lecture halls were not heated, maybe have them go to the cafeteria.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, seven in the affirmative, zero in the negative.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I'm in the affirmative.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to know, in regards to the field trip policy, if the teachers and all the other administrators are aware of the school policies, what they need to follow before they make their field trip. Ms. Nelson, could you help answer that question? I just had a couple of questions from a teacher, and I just wasn't sure if everybody's aware to follow these policies.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, thank you. Thank you. And I just had one more. I just wanted to know from Superintendent Belson if there was an update on the ongoing investigation with the concussion that was on the soccer field on October 11th, 2017. Did you hear anything from the superintendent in Beverly? Is there an update?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. And I can now second the motion to approve.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I had a question also. So I wanted to know, because I think some of the public community was asking me, why are there only two school committee members allowed for the external search? And I couldn't quite remember the answer. And I wanted to know if there was any opportunity for there to be an alternate where two committee members could serve for five meetings, and then another two committee members could serve for another five meetings. so that everybody would have an exposure if we get to that level.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kathy? Yep. I just want to say thank you very much. And I saw the story shared on Facebook, and I couldn't believe it. And now you're here. It's so wonderful. Thank you so much for doing that. It's incredible.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz, she's been waiting patiently. Thank you for the updated report, Dr. Brewer. I also spoke to a couple of parents and they mentioned to me that you know, that over the last week or so, it's been, there's been a lot of pushing and shoving every day. And, you know, I'm just not sure. Did you, um, interview any of the students to find out why that's happening? Is it because like, it just seems like it's because it's overcrowded, but I know that particular day it wasn't. And some of the parents I spoke to said that one parent said that their student was waiting in line, but it was so crowded that their student like went off to call for a ride from a parent. So, Like it seems like maybe it starts out crowded and maybe it doesn't end as crowded. But I think what I've heard is that students are sitting on the ground in the bus. That's what I've heard. And I've also heard that the bus passes aren't being checked for ridership. And that there's just, for some reason, recently, pushing and shoving going on. So I don't know why, if it's not overcrowded, why are shooting, you know, pushing and shoving to get on the bus?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Are you all set? Yep, I think so. I just wanted to make sure, so are the student IDs going to be monitored to make sure that the students that are going on the bus are the students that are eligible to go on the Fulton Heights bus? I'm not sure, like it does say that there will be administrators out there reviewing student usage of the bus. Are they going to be checking them as they go on?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And there was just one other concern was what I also heard was that the students were walking in the street along with the bus. So is there anybody going to be right out there making sure that students aren't doing that for any of the buses? Right.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. So Dr. Perrella, over the weekend, between Friday and Sunday, the Medford High School Medford Vocational Facebook page, parents were writing just nonstop about the vaping. And they want to know who's monitoring the hallways and outside the bathrooms. And I guess, like you said, it's in plain sight. a student could walk by you, and then they're vaping just as they walk by you. And I've been told that this is happening, and that people, you know, students are doing, you know, vaping in the bathroom, in the classroom, like Aaron described once before, where they're puffing it right into their sweatshirt, and it's, they're just, it's done in plain sight, almost like right in the classroom, and it's really concerning to a lot of parents, but it just seems like, because they're such small devices, very hard to detect, and it's odorless. I mentioned to the parents that we had the discussion with Team Medford, and that Penny was here, and I added the YouTube video and told them exactly what sections that were discussed, and I encouraged them to go to the seminar. And they'd also like to know, when is the student assembly? That was their big question. What did they hear from their children about the student assembly? I don't think it happened yet, or did it happen?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I do have a question. Is it a particular bathroom or area? And could we have Officer Riccardi monitor that area? If there's a certain bathroom that this is really happening in? I also read a comment that one parent said that their child was offered to purchase marijuana outside the bathroom or in the hallway. So I just don't know if we need to have maybe Officer Riccardi kind of rotate around. I don't know. I just wanted to bring it to your attention.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, I'll start with Bob. Bob, I want to thank you very much for your years of dedication. I see your eyes light up when you go to a classroom. I went to a kindergarten classroom with you to pilot at the Roberts Elementary. And we had a blast together. Noah absolutely loves you. And he has the same passion for history that you have. I know that I'm going to see you when I stop by my parents' house and we go for a walk with my little nephew dog, Monty. And we'll see you around the neighborhood. And I just want to thank you so much for taking time to be a great mentor. You know, when I first started, you helped me a lot. And I just thank you so much for that. It was greatly appreciated. And thank you so much for your years of service. You've just been fantastic in the community. You've just been everywhere, and you just know everything, and yeah, everybody says it. You'll be missed, but I know I'll see you around my parents' house. Anne-Marie, I want to thank you for your years of service, and I think Anne-Marie was one of the first people, when we first, when I first started on school committee, she invited me over to her house, and I got to meet her whole family, and she had coffee and snacks, She was so welcoming. She immediately started telling me, OK, well, there's the MASC, and you need to go to one of the meetings, the general meeting, to find out what the committee does. And Mia, Aaron, and I went to the meeting, and we learned a lot of information. You've been at all the events. You know, I've seen you at all of the sporting events, the band, you know, the Italian club and all that you do for that. And it's just been, you know, a pleasure to work with you. And, you know, you'll be missed and I know I'm going to see you around town. And I really appreciate everything that you've done to help myself and to, you know, teach me. And you've just been a great mentor and friend. You both be missed and I wish you both the very best.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to know, in regards to the field trip policy, if the teachers and all the other administrators are aware of the school policies, what they need to follow before they make their field trip. Ms. Nelson, could you help answer that question? I just had a couple of questions from a teacher, and I just wasn't sure if everybody's aware to follow these policies.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. And I just had one more. I just wanted to know from Superintendent Belson if there was an update on the ongoing investigation with the concussion that was on the soccer field on October 11, 2017. Did you hear anything from the superintendent in Barreley? Is there an update?
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK. Thank you. Ms. Kreatz, you all set? Yes. And I can now second the motion to approve. OK.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just, I had a question also. So I wanted to know, because I think some of the public community was asking me, you know, why are there only two school committee members allowed for the external search? And I couldn't quite remember the answer. And I wanted to know if if there was any opportunity for there to be an alternate where two committee members could serve for five meetings, and then another two committee members could serve for another five meetings, so that everybody would have an exposure if we get to that level.
[Kathy Kreatz]: OK, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep, I just want to say thank you very much. And I saw the story shared on Facebook, and I couldn't believe it. And now you're here. It's so wonderful. Thank you so much for doing that. It's incredible.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz, waiting patiently. Thank you for the updated report, Dr. Brower. I also spoke to a couple of parents, and they mentioned to me that over the last week or so, there's been a lot of pushing and shoving every day. And I'm just not sure, did you interview any of the students to find out why that's happening? Is it because? It just seems like it's because it's overcrowded. But I know that particular day, it wasn't. And some of the parents I spoke to said that one parent said that their student was waiting in line, but it was so crowded that their student went off to call for a ride from a parent. It seems like maybe it starts out crowded and maybe it doesn't end as crowded. But I think what I've heard is that students are sitting on the ground in the bus. That's what I've heard. And I've also heard that the bus passes aren't being checked for ridership. And that there's just, for some reason, recently, pushing and shoving going on. So I don't know why, if it's not overcrowded, why are shooting, you know, pushing and shoving to get on the bus?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Are you all set? Yep, I think so. I just wanted to make sure, so are the student IDs going to be monitored to make sure that the students that are going on the bus are the students that are eligible to go on the Fulton Heights bus? I'm not sure, like it does say that there will be administrators out there reviewing student usage of the bus. Are they going to be checking them as they go on?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And there was just one other concern was what I also heard was that the students were walking in the street along with the bus. So is there anybody going to be right out there making sure that students aren't doing that for any of the buses?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So Dr. Perrella, over the weekend between Friday and Sunday, the Medford High School Medford Vocational Facebook page, parents were writing just nonstop about the vaping. And they want to know who's monitoring the hallways and outside the bathrooms. And I guess, like you said, it's in plain sight. So a student could walk by you, and then they're vaping just as they walk by you. And I've been told that this is happening, and that people, you know, students are doing, you know, vaping in the bathroom, in the classroom, like Aaron described once before, where they're puffing it right into their sweatshirt, and it's, they're just, it's done in plain sight, almost like right in the classroom, and it's really concerning to a lot of parents. It just seems like, because they're such small devices, very hard to detect, and it's odorless. I mentioned to the parents that we had the discussion with Team Medford, and that Penny was here. And I added the YouTube video and told them exactly what sections that were discussed. And I encouraged them to go to the seminar. And they'd also like to know, when is the student assembly? That was their big question. What did they hear from their children about the student assembly? But I don't think it happened yet. Or did it happen?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I do have a question, like, is it a particular bathroom or area, and could we have, like, Officer Riccardi, you know, monitor that area? You know, if there's, like, a certain bathroom that, you know, this is really happening in. You know, I also read a comment that, you know, that, you know, one parent said that their child was offered, you know, to purchase marijuana. outside the bathroom or in the hallway. So I just don't know if we need to have maybe Officer Riccardi kind of rotate around. I don't know. I just wanted to bring it to your attention.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Very nice. OK, I'll start with Bob. Bob, I want to thank you very much for your years of dedication. I see your eyes light up when you go to a classroom. I went to a kindergarten classroom with you to pilot at the Roberts Elementary. and we had a blast together. Noah absolutely loves you and he has the same passion for history that you have. I know that I'm going to see you when I stop by my parents house and we go for a walk with my little nephew dog Monty and we you know we'll see you around around the neighborhood and I just want to thank you so much for you know taking time to you know to be a great mentor And when I first started, you helped me a lot. And I just thank you so much for that. It was greatly appreciated. And thank you so much for your years of service. You've just been fantastic in the community. You've just been everywhere. And you just know everything. And yeah, everybody says it. You'll be missed, but I know I'll see you around my parents' house. Anne-Marie, I want to thank you for your years of service and I think Anne-Marie was one of the first people when we first when I first started on school committee she invited me over to her house and I got to meet her whole family and she had coffee and snacks and she was so welcoming. She immediately started telling me okay well there's the MASC and you need to go to one of the meetings to you know the general meeting to find out what the committee does. And Mia, Aaron, and I went to the meeting and we learned a lot of information. You've been at all the events. I've seen you at all of the sporting events, the band, the Italian club, and all that you do for that. And it's just been a pleasure to work with you. You'll be missed, and I know I'm going to see you around town. And I really appreciate everything that you've done to help myself and to teach me. And you've just been a great mentor and friend. You'll both be missed, and I wish you both the very best. Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have one question. Could we, I just wasn't sure, are we meeting this Wednesday with the McGlynn teachers? No. No, okay, that's what I want to know. Okay, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good, thank you, Ms. Vandekloot. Ms. Kreatz. Yes, Superintendent Belson, I just wanted to follow up with you. I was in touch with Ms. Simonettis and I just wanted to know if something was filed with the MIAA regarding the incident, if you've had a chance to file that yet.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Did you communicate that information to the parent? Not yet.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So you got the name and the person is not certified? They are.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz? Hi, thank you, Christine. Thank you for the reports, excellent. I just have one question. It does mention, I was gonna ask about the cameras. So it mentions that a large investment was made to replace and repair security cameras. And I know a lot of us were getting emails throughout the fall where a lot of parents are very concerned because a lot of cameras were out. and they weren't operating. So are there any cameras that are still in need of repair or were all the cameras that were malfunctioning and not operating? Were they all repaired?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Motion to approve.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had one note too.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Oh, I had a similar question about the forms. I just wanted to know, are the forms gonna be available to the teachers with the Google Doc documents, where they can go in and add their information directly onto it and then move it along? Because I think that was discussed at the last meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have one. One very quick announcement. Yeah, I just want to make one quick announcement. There are several Mefford High School students who created a new educational series. The name of the series is The Chronicles of Modern Military History. The the shows are being created right here. at the Medford Community Media Station. And the replay of the first episode will be taking place this Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 8 p.m. December 9th at 7 p.m. on Channel 47 Verizon and Channel 3 Comcast. Next week on December 14th will be episode number two. All of the students that are involved in this program are writing, editing, they're doing the music, the narrating, and they're coming in after school hours and just working on this on their own. It's been a wonderful episode. We've been sharing it on Facebook. I'm going to get a message over to Lisa Evangelista to ask her to share the link on the blog. If anybody gets a chance to tune in, it's just a great new show that's been created by several students, a combination of high school and vocational students. I just wanted to give a couple of mentions. There's been Flood, Matt Adaletto, Justin Garland, Angel Barroso, Ian Agudo, Gavin Bibbins, and Trip Hill, and narrated by Noah Kreatz. So if everybody gets a chance, if they want to tune into the station, it's just a great educational episode.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Chris. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have one question. Hi, Ms. Price. I just wasn't sure. Are we meeting this Wednesday with the McGlynn teachers? No. No, OK. That's what I want to know. OK, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Thank you, Ms. Van der Kloot. Ms. Kreatz. Yes. Superintendent Belson, I just wanted to follow up with you. I was in touch with Ms. Simonides, and I just wanted to know if something was filed with the MIAA regarding the incident, if you had a chance to file that yet.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Did you communicate that information to the parent?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So you got the name, and the person is not certified? They are.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you for the reports. Excellent. I just have one question. It does mention, I was going to ask about the cameras. So it mentions that a large investment was made to replace and repair security cameras. And I know a lot of us were getting emails throughout the fall where a lot of parents were very concerned because a lot of cameras were out and they weren't operating. So are there any cameras that are still in need of repair, or were all the cameras that were malfunctioning and not operating, were they all repaired?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Well, I had a question.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? Oh, I had a similar question about the forms. I just wanted to know, are the forms going to be available to the teachers with the Google Doc documents, where they can go in and add their information directly on Google and then move it along? Because I think that was discussed at the last meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Does the motion that this meeting be adjourned? I have one very quick announcement. I just want to make one quick announcement. There are several Medford High School students who created a new educational series. The name of the series is The Chronicles of Modern Military History. The shows are being created right here at the Medford Community Media Station. And the replay of the first episode will be taking place this Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Saturday, December 9th at 7 p.m. on Channel 47 Verizon and Channel 3 Comcast. Next week on December 14th will be episode number two. All of the students that are involved in this program are writing, editing, they're doing the music, the narrating, and they're coming in after school hours and just working on this on their own. It's been a wonderful episode. We've been sharing it on Facebook. I'm gonna get a message over to Lisa Evangelista to ask her to share the link on the blog if anybody gets a chance to tune in and it's just a great new show that's been created by several students, a combination of high school and vocational students. I just wanted to give a couple of mentions. There's been Flood, Matt Adaletto, Justin Garland, Angel Barozo, Ian Agudo, Gavin Bibbins, and Trip Hill, and narrated by Noah Kreatz. So if everybody gets a chance, if they want to tune into the station, it's just a great educational episode. Thank you very much. Motion to adjourn.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Fritz. Yes. I stopped by the library a couple weeks ago, and I have some cool news. So I'm not sure if everybody's seen it, but at the library, there's a new electronic sign-in iPad. And so far, what the students do is they can sign in, and they can track how many students are in the library throughout the day. And it electronically goes into a data, like a Google spreadsheet, And they can quickly run reports and send it to the headmaster, principals, and they can give the total number of students that are in the library at any point in time. And it's just a great resource. And I just wanted to share that news with everybody. Thank you very much, Ms. Gretz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thanks. I just wanted to say thank you also. I want to say thank you to all the veterans for coming out to discuss their experiences with the students. And I want to give a very special thanks to Ernst Lindsey, Bernadette Riccadeli for organizing the program. And I just wanted to share a mention from Noah. And he said he really, really enjoys doing this program. And it's a pleasure going to all the veterans programs. He also went to the VFW program, and he showed his collection with the Cub Scouts, Webelos, and the veterans that attended that program. So it's just something, his passion, that he really likes to do, and he wished he could be here tonight, but he has work. So I just wanted to share that with everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you, Ms.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Ms. Kurtz. Okay, Superintendent Bellson, I want to thank you for 50 years of service. I'm so glad that you stayed on because you... Oh, I'm sorry. It's not... Oh, sorry. I'm so glad that you were on for our first term and you made our transition very smooth. You're a great leader. You've always been there for questions, like everybody said, via email, phone call, late nights, late Sundays, for little things that come up. And you've helped assist with, you know, parent inquiries. It's just everything. And, you know, I'm just – I'm really grateful and I'm very fortunate that I got to work with you. And, you know, it's bittersweet news. And, you know, I wish you the best. And I'm, you know, happy to continue working with you for the next six months. Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I actually spoke to Jill Sawyer about the robotics engineering program. And so if they go to the schedule, which is three periods per day, the company who's actually doing the co-op with the students would be willing to accept the students in the afternoon. and they could work maybe a 12 to 5 schedule. So it would still be a cooperative program, but it would have a different schedule so that the students could continue on with the calculus and the foreign language, which is something that some of the students that are juniors and seniors haven't taken. So I think that would be satisfactory. When I was speaking to my son, who's out on co-op, because it's a lot to juggle getting all the classes in and then going to the co-op. But it's definitely something, you know, if superintendent wants to have a meeting and we can talk about all the programs and, you know, just making sure that the programs who should be on co-ops are on co-ops on the A week and the B week. We did get a report in this package with who is going out on co-ops. So I think that'll come up later in the program. I just wanted to share that point of information.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Kreatz. I just wanted to say congratulations. Thank you very much. And I noticed that it said that, you know, the students have increased GPAs and post-secondary plans. And, you know, I just wanted to bring attention to that and increase graduation rates. That's fantastic, and it sounds like you're going in the right direction, and you're involving both the vocational students and high school students. It just sounds terrific. So how do the students get in touch with you? Should they email you, or do they go through their guidance Councilor? Which students? If students were interested and kind of spending some time with you to find out what their interests are, should they go through their guidance Councilor? they're put in touch with you, or?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? Yes. When we do get the next report, could we get a breakdown of how many students are in the co-op at each program? Sure. I was just curious about that also. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Krutz. Hi. Thank you, Ms. Nelson. I just have a question. So if we have good participation rates, and we're above 90%, and we have good graduation rates, and if our students are in partially meeting expectations, would that affect us and put us into a different level, or is it going to be strictly by participation rates and graduation rates. I was a little, I just didn't really know what. It is very different.
[Kathy Kreatz]: about the robotics engineering program and so if they go to the schedule which is three periods per day the company who's actually doing the co-op with the students would be willing to accept the students in the afternoon and they could work maybe a 12 to 5 schedule so it would still be a cooperative program but it would have a different schedule so that the students could continue on with their like with the calculus and and the foreign language, which is something that some of the students that are juniors and seniors haven't taken. So I think that would be satisfactory. When I was speaking to my son, who's out on co-op, because it's a lot to juggle. getting all the classes in, and then going to the co-op. But it's definitely something, you know, if superintendent wants to have a meeting and we can talk about all the programs and, you know, just making sure that the programs who should be on co-ops are on co-ops on the A week and the B week. We did get a report in this package with who is going out on co-op. So I think that'll come up later in the program. I just wanted to share that point of information.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Kreatz. I just want to say congratulations. Thank you very much. And I noticed that it said that, you know, the students have increased GPAs and post-secondary plans. I just wanted to bring attention to that and increase graduation rate. That's fantastic. It sounds like you're going in the right direction and you're involving both the vocational students and high school students. It just sounds terrific. get in touch with you, should they email you or do they go through their guidance Councilor? Which students? If students were, you know, interested and, you know, kind of spending some time with you to find out what their interests are, should they go through their guidance Councilor and then they're put in touch with you or? Yeah, I mean, I have
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Yes, when we do get the next report, could we get a breakdown of how many students are in the co-op at each program? Sure. I was just curious about that also, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi. Thank you, Ms. Nelson. I just have a question. So if we have good participation rates and we're above 90% and we have good graduation rates, And if our students are in partially meeting expectations, would that affect us and put us into a different level? Or is it going to be strictly by participation rates and graduation rates? I was a little, I just didn't really know. It is very different.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi, everybody. My name is Kathy Miles-Kreatz, and I'm running for re-election for Medford School Committee. I just want to simply say thank you to Henley Miller and the Democratic Ward Committee for having this candidate night. So I'm running for re-election for Medford School Committee, and I'm a Medford High School graduate. I grew up in Medford. My parents moved here when I was four months old. I went to the Waite School, which was the neighborhood school. I went to the Hobbs Junior High. I went to Medford High School and I graduated class of 1990. My husband graduated Medford Vocational one year before me and my son, like his dad, is enrolled in the Medford Vocational High School and he's enrolled in the robotics engineering program. Immediately after graduating high school, I went to college and I went to Suffolk University. I commuted and I worked two jobs while going to college so that I could maintain work and school and paying some of my education. After I graduated college, I immediately began working at State Street. I worked there for 13 years, and then shortly after my son, who I adopted, came over here from Korea, I wanted to work from home, so I established my own licensed family daycare business, so I could stay home and take care of him. When he went to kindergarten, I started working at Mass Teachers Retirement System. So shortly after my son moved on from middle school to high school, I missed the interactions at the elementary school and the middle school levels, and I was interested in running for school committee. So I ran the first time, and here I am running again. And some of the accomplishments that I have to talk about while I was on school committee in my first term were, I set out that for my plan was that I was going to go out to each and every school, meet with the principals, do a site tour, and do classroom observations. And I did that. I accomplished that. and I have some great stories to share about going to the classroom observations. I went out to each elementary school, and I went to the Roberts Elementary, and I sat through a little observation in the kindergarten where the students were doing K-Focus, and the little group I was put with was doing acting out dramatic play, The Three Little Pigs, and they were cutting out with construction paper, and they were kind of acting out The Three Little Pigs. It was just amazing. I've been to the Columbus Elementary School. The children were writing out commercials. Later that year, I was invited back to go see the commercials acted out, and they walked down the red carpet. I've been to the Brooks Elementary, where the students were dressed up to portray somebody in history, and they recited who they were representing. I've been to the McGlynn Elementary to see their hydroponics project, and the day I went, the lettuce that they were growing was ready to be cut, So we had a taste testing, and the students brought in some of their salad dressings. So one of my things that I've been doing is just going out to the schools and being there and seeing what the students are doing, working with the teachers and the administrators. And I want to continue doing that. I've been on field trips with the middle school. We went to the Museum of Science. I've been on a field trip with the high school. We went to the Day at the Hill. I want to continue to do that. I've been a very big advocate for the Medford Vocational Schools. We have 20 programs. We've reduced our students going to Minuteman, so we're saving money. We have a partnership with Everett, and we have tuition coming in from Everett. Students are taking courses at the Medford Vocational School. I'm on the Robotics Engineering Advisory Committee, and I'm just so very proud of all of the equipment that we have in our robotics shop. We started out with just 3D printers. We have a CNC, we have a mill, a lathe, we have a water jet, we have equipment that's industry ready that compares to some of our local colleges that I've seen when I've gone on college tours. It's just incredible what our students know and what they're learning right now, hands on. They're going on co-ops. at companies and they're earning above $6 above minimum wage right now while they're in high school seniors. It's incredible. I am so proud of our Medford Vocational and Medford High School and I'm happy to say that right now all of our students graduate from Medford High School, Medford Folk are now under one. And they can now access post-secondary education. They can go to college. They can go to career. They can go in the union. That option is there for all of our students. And we made that possible with the merger that just happened. There's still a lot to be done. and I look forward to the next couple of years, so I appreciate your vote for another term on the Medford School Committee. Thank you very much. Remember to vote November 7th. Kathy Kreatz, re-elect Medford School Committee. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have some questions. We'd like it read, please. Ms. Pretz has some questions. Superintendent I I was a little confused about the motion so I had sent some inquiries over to Dr. Perala and the director of guidance Because what I thought was we wanted to have the individual breakdown on the transcript directly additional students class ranking But what I found out through email communication, but that's something that's not possible. You know, currently there isn't a way in Naviance to add a notation on the transcript or add an additional document or attach a separate page. So, what they can do is the guidance Councilor can write a letter of recommendation on behalf of the student, providing like the information about the class rank, what the student was prior to the merger, and the student can complete a brag sheet, and that can help the guidance Councilor write the personal, you know, accomplishments about the student. But, you know, this is all through communications, so I was wondering if, you know, we can, I'd like to make a motion, you know, to invite the headmaster and the vocational director back, so we can get like the final details about the class ranking. Because this was just me going back and forth, because I was a little confused. I thought it was going to be something different than what we motioned for.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'll second it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know it's not an emergency matter, but I just thought it would be a nice report if we could get a report on the breakdown of how many students are in each co-op shop and where they're working. It was just something really interesting, but it's not an emergency report. So I'd like to make a motion for that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just had one more. I wanted to inquire about one shop in particular. It was the robotics engineering. Originally, the robotics engineering has been the traditional vocational program, and it's going to be switching over with the graduating class of 2018. And just recently, there's been a development where there is there is a co-op opportunity for the robotics engineering students, so I just wanted to bring that up, and if it could be revisited for the future students, if they were interested in the co-op plan, you know, it would be ideal, and I was out this weekend I'm going out doing the college tours and what we saw was at Wentworth, they had the same equipment that we have in our robotics engineering shop. And my son, he's been involved in the program, he knew all the names of the machines. And in fact, we have newer machines than they have. You know, they have like a five access and we have a three access, but he knew all the machines and they had the sheet metal shop. And it was just really fascinating to see that our Medford vocational school has that equipment that's college ready. And when they shared some information about their co-ops, their students are college students going out and getting co-ops and they're starting out at $15 an hour. And that's what our vocational students are doing. in that particular field. So I really think it's an important, you know, to have another look at the robotics engineering program because there might be an opportunity for it to remain as, you know, the A-Week, B-Week program. And this was a new development that just came about, you know, recently for an opportunity for students. I'd like to make a motion to have that revisited.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I want to thank you all for coming out tonight and it was just such great spirit. It was great hearing from all of you. It was just wonderful and you know what great work you're doing at the school and you know it's coming from my other colleagues is that we were just you know talking about the different the clubs and the students want to go to one school and You know, we're trying to find an equal balance, but we are very grateful to all the hard work that you do every day at the school. I've been out to the McGlynn when I went first term and I had the best experience in the fourth grade class going to see the hydroponics project. I helped organize a field trip between the McGlynn and the vocational school, and it was just fantastic. I had the most fun and been to the concerts and everything. I just love it there, and it's just a great school. And thank you all for what you do every day. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I love it. They're going to get to purchase items, housing, transportation. It's just amazing.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Katz. Hi, Dr. Riddell. I just wanted to say I really love this idea. I think it's absolutely fantastic. And it's just going to teach the students a very valuable life lesson. I was just so interested. And I really love Monopoly. And it reminds me of the real life Monopoly game.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It just sounds like so much fun. And some of the articles online that the students were faced with unexpected circumstances where their car breaks down and they have to make a decision on what are they going to do, or their vet has to go to the hospital. I'm sorry, their pet has to go to the vet. But it just sounds like so much fun. It really does. And it's just going to be a valuable life lesson to learn how to balance a budget. And I know a lot of students, my son's just learning how to do a checkbook. And it's just so important to learn how to spend your money and manage it and pay bills and know what you have to take priority. But it's wonderful. Thank you. Oh, great.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know it's good seeing you and I'm running into you everywhere with the signature board. Yes, I'm so happy. So I was, you know, kind of brainstorming and I had some ideas and I just, I'm going to share them, but I was thinking, you know, for beautifying some of the schools, maybe planting some perennials, like the plants that are low maintenance will come back every year. and basically when you kind of go up to the community school entrance, there's like this cement block and it's like maybe weeds now, but like if we could put some perennials there and maybe dress up some of the greens and just because that's like such an open space and everybody's going in there to access the pool and the gym and the summer camps and beautify it. And then another idea was between the library in the, I guess it's A building, there's some outside space and there was some talk at one point that. doing space, turning it into an outside, peaceful place for the seniors to go at lunch. And kind of just dressing it up a little bit with some benches, and it would be like senior privilege where they could go out to that open space. And it would look really pretty when you're walking through to go into the other building, and I had that idea. And then the parks, I had the parks right away. I was like, oh, the parks? We could take care of the parks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have training at my work, and then I'm on the advisory committee. So I can't go that week either.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have some questions. We'd like it read, please. Ms. Fritz has some questions. Superintendent, I was a little confused about the motion, so I had sent some inquiries over to Dr. Perala and the director of guidance. But what I found out through email communication was that's something that's not possible. You know, currently there isn't a way in Naviance to add a notation on the transcript or add an additional document, or attach a separate page. So what they can do is the guidance Councilor can write a letter of recommendation on behalf of the student, providing the information about the class rank, what the student was prior to the merger, and the student can complete a brag sheet, and that can help the guidance Councilor write the personal accomplishments about the student. but you know this is all through communications so I was wondering if you know we can I'd like to make a motion you know to invite the headmaster and the vocational director back so we can get like the final details about the class ranking because this was just me going back and forth because I was a little confused. I thought it was gonna be something different than what we motioned for.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know it's not an emergency matter, but I just thought it would be a nice report if we could get a report on the breakdown of how many students are in each co-op shop and where they're working. It was just something really interesting, but it's not an emergency report. So I'd like to make a motion for that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just had one more. I wanted to inquire about one shop in particular. It was the robotics engineering. Originally, the robotics engineering has been the traditional vocational program, and it's going to be switching over with the graduating class of 2018. And just recently, there's been a development where there is there is a co-op opportunity for the robotics engineering students so I just wanted to bring that up and if it could be revisited for the future students if they were interested in the co-op plan it would be ideal and I was out this weekend going out doing the college tours and what we saw was at Wentworth they had the same equipment that we have in our robotics engineering shop and my son, he's been involved in the program, he knew all the names of the machines and in fact we have newer machines than they have You know, they have like a five-axis and we have a three-axis, but he knew all the machines and they had the sheet metal shop, and it was just really fascinating to see that our Medford Vocational School has that equipment that's college-ready, and when they shared some information about their co-ops, their students are college students going out and getting co-ops, and they're starting out at $15 an hour, and that's what our vocational students are doing, in that particular field, so I really think it's important to have another look at the robotics engineering program because there might be an opportunity for it to remain as the A week B week program and this was a new development that came about recently for an opportunity for students. I would like to make a motion to have that revisited.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I want to thank you all for coming out tonight, and it was just such great spirit It was great hearing from all of you. It was just wonderful, and you know what great work You're doing at the school, and you know it's coming from my other colleagues is that we were just you know talking about the different the clubs and the students want to go to one school and and You know, we're trying to find an equal balance, but we are very grateful to all the hard work that you do every day at the school. I've been out to the McGlynn when I went first term, and I had the best experience in the fourth grade class going to see the hydroponics project. I helped organize a field trip between the McGlynn and the vocational school and it was just fantastic. I had the most fun and been to the concerts and everything. I just love it there and it's just a great school and thank you all for what you do every day. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Katz. Hi, Dr. Riddell. I just wanted to say I really love this idea. I think it's absolutely fantastic, and it's just gonna teach the students a very valuable life lesson. I was just so interested, and I really love Monopoly, and it reminds me of the real life Monopoly game, and I just love it. It just sounds like so much fun, and some of the articles online that the students were faced with unexpected circumstances where their car breaks down and they have to make a decision on what are they gonna do or their pet has to go to the hospital. I'm sorry, their pet has to go to the vet. But it just sounds like so much fun. It really does and it's gonna be a valuable life lesson to learn how to balance a budget and I know a lot of students, my son's just learning how to do a checkbook and it's just so important to learn how to spend your money and manage it and pay bills and know what you have to take priority. But it's wonderful, thank you. Great, you're welcome.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I know it's good seeing you and I'm running into you everywhere with the signature board. Yes, I'm so happy. So I was, you know, kind of brainstorming and I had some ideas and I just, I'm going to share them, but I was thinking, you know, for beautifying some of the schools, maybe planting some perennials, like the plants that are low maintenance will come back every year. And, you know, basically when you kind of go up to the community school entrance, there's like this cement block. And it's like maybe weeds now, but like if we could put some perennials there and maybe dress up some of the greens. And just because that's like such an open space and everybody's going in there to access the pool. Um, and then talk at one point that, you know, doing space, turning it into an outside. you know, peaceful place, you know, for the seniors to go at lunch and, you know, kind of just dressing it up a little bit with some benches and, you know, it would be like senior privilege where they could go out to that open space and, you know, it'd look really pretty when you're walking through to go into the other building and I had that idea. And then the parks, I had the parks right away. I was like, oh, the parks? We could take care of the parks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have training at my work, and then I'm on the advisory committee, so I can't go that week either.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is there a motion approval? I have a question, Mayor Byron. Ms. Kritz. I wanted to know, I recall at the last meeting, the budget meeting, the library was going to have extended hours at the high school. I didn't know if they had an update on what time the library was going to open and the time it was going to close this fall season. Superintendent? Update on library hours.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, great. And I had one other item from, it would be considered, I think, old business. And, you know, I just wanted to bring this up as a matter of concern related to the old business regarding the merger of the high school and the vocational technical high school. It's concerning to me, some of the students and the parents. I recall from the past discussion in the committee packets that it was very clearly expressed that the vocational high school was going to maintain its own identity. However, it doesn't seem like that's happening. Over the first few weeks of school, I've seen some of the recent changes implemented, and they don't identify the vocational high school from the high school counterparts. The two high schools were merged together, and they're no longer unique. The vocational programs are made to distinguish the vocational from the high school. I realize the merger was beneficial to our school system for the financial reasons, However, the vocational school has lost their identity. I've heard from discouraged students, parents, you know, they're asking me why the vocational school has been written off, so to speak. You know, I'm upset, my family is upset. For example, here's some examples that recently, you know, I found out, you know, currently, and we found out during the parent evening session that there is no longer a vocational assistant principal. It's all through the high school, which is a big adjustment for the students. The guidance council was moved over to the high school office, which is also really difficult for the students to get to and to access their guidance Councilor. You know, my son himself has been going back and forth, back and forth, multiple trips, trying to see if the guidance Councilor is in the office. It's about a five minute walk to and from to get back to class. That's just an inconvenience, and I understand that. And maybe the students need to make appointments. However, the students are confused. I'm confused. Parents are confused. Some of the students don't realize that even though it was explained in the student assembly, their assistant principal is at the high school, they don't really think so. They don't believe it. They want to be part of the vocational school. And then some other things that developed that I found out over the last couple of days is that The vocational school won't have a class president or vice president. This is very upsetting. They will only have a med vocational representative. It's just very upsetting. There was a vice president last year. There was assistant president. There was a valedictorian. That's all been taken away. Who will represent the ideas and the needs of the vocational students? It's difficult for one vocational student to relate all the students' needs and concerns to the high school representative. I realize it's going to be one school. but the programs operate very differently, and there needs to be representation from the vocational shop students. A high school student's perspective cannot reflect the vocational student's needs. They're really different. Their days are structured differently. Like my son has one week of shop, one week of academics. During his week of academics, he has double blocks of academics, two blocks of math, two blocks of English. He's behind on the testing schedule. Their timelines are very different. Another thing I learned today while I was reaching out to get a copy of my son's transcript, and I received a letter along with a copy of my transcript that explained to me that from this point on, they are now under the high school number. Last year, he had his own number, and it's on the enrollment package in this year's enrollment. There was 56 students in the class. However, For the transcript, it's now going to be grouped together, which changes the class ranking, and it's really upsetting to the students. They didn't know this was happening. I didn't know this was happening. I found this out today. I was upset. I know it doesn't matter to me what your class ranking is. I say do the best you can. You've got good grades. I'm not all about that, but it was so upsetting that we didn't know this. I went to the parent evening night last week. This wasn't brought up. None of these issues were brought up. All of this information is getting trickled down, and the students are finding it out, and they're telling me. And then here's another issue, is that the SkillsUSA program, that's exclusively for vocational students. are we going to dissolve the SkillsUSA? Because that's for the shop students. So what I wanted to do was make a motion or a resolution to request a full report for our next meeting so we can discuss the updates and ask what the community thinks about all these updates. And maybe invite some of the vocational students and maybe some representatives from the site council of the high school and some of the administrators from the site council to come. and talk about these updates because I think when we moved to make it one school, I clearly remember in every discussion it was told that the vocational school will have its own identity. I mean, I remember it. So well, I just that's all I remember I say that we sure are you sure and that's what my concern was Because I represent the vocational students. I'm there. I popped in, you know, just last week to check with everybody Everything's going well with the new vice-principal. I think it's the students are confused This is a really big adjustment and it's just when we went from last year June and You're a vocational student. This year, my son is going to graduate with a high school degree. He loves and he's proud to be a vocational student. He's shocked. He is just shocked and upset. And I wanted him to come tonight, but he didn't want to. He's actually really busy, and he didn't want to come forward. But I'm just speaking on his behalf for his friends, and it's upsetting. I don't want to go on and on much more, but I just had to. I've been frustrated, and I've been emailing people. I just had to mention my concerns.
[Kathy Kreatz]: We found out a letter was mailed home to the families. And even when I got the letter and it said that there's going to be a parent evening night for the high school and vocational families, I didn't know that letter meant that my son now has a different assistant. I had no idea. In fact, I called my colleague Paulette to say, Paulette, did you know about this? because I was so baffled. My sister was confused. I was getting calls from parents. What does this mean? What happened to the vocational school? I said, I don't know anything about this.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So what I was confused about, because all the discussion I was hearing that the two schools were getting combined, and I wasn't sure why the numbers were separated for the high school and the vocational for grades 11 and 12, but not the freshman and sophomore classes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have one question. I got to stop by the Bistro last week. and it's coming along. It looks really great. The furniture was delivered. It's all, it was all packaged, so they hadn't opened it yet. And I got to talk to some of the students and they're all, they're so very proud that they're helping, you know, build the bistro. And, um, I just wanted to know, um, was there like a plan for an opening date or, um, what's the timeline for completion? It looked really close to almost being done.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I saw her, she was here last week.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I had some questions in notes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, hi. Thank you, Christine and Superintendent Belzin for getting back to me with all my questions that I had about the bus the first week of school. I was really happy to read in this report that next year a yellow bus will be provided Information will be communicated for the first week for all of the people traveling to the high school There was a lot of parents that were concerned and there was a lot of information on Facebook You know what's going on with the bus and a lot of things going back and forth. Thank you for all the communication and putting together the part of the robocall. I did hear from some people after the robocall with some concerns because Part of the message that we relayed in an email communication wasn't included in the robocall, which caused a little confusion. So some people didn't realize there was going to be a yellow bus traveling down Salem Street. I think I communicated, Christine, and you mentioned that when the bus did arrive at the high school, it was nearly full. And I wanted to share that information with the public because I was going back with a lot of parents because they wanted to know where I got that information. You know, where was that coming from? So there was a lot of confusion that first week. I'm glad it's all rectified and thank you for handling it so well. I did want to know something that came out from the discussions was you know, why did we pick that particular route for the yellow bus? Like, why wasn't it other communities like South Medford, West Medford, East Medford? You know, I didn't have an answer for that. So, you know, I just, I was kind of waiting for a report on the yellow bus itself. I know that's something new that hasn't been done before. Do you know why that particular route was used?
[Kathy Kreatz]: That was related to the yellow bus, you know, why the route was utilized on that particular day, you know, to just travel through, like, Salem Street and then go, you know, through, you know, Winthrop and then up to the high school. Sure.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had just a couple of follow-up questions. So if a parent didn't get the robocall, who can they contact to get added to the call list? Because that was also another concern that a lot of people said, I didn't get the robocall. So I videoed the robocall and I put it on YouTube and then uploaded it to share it on Facebook so that they could hear it. But I don't know why they didn't get it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, is it the student's homeroom teacher? What form would it be? Who would they actually reach out to?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And this is unrelated to the yellow bus, So I also had some inquiries from students and parents who ride the Fulton Heights bus. And in the morning, there's been a lot of overcrowding. And I know I was told that last year there were two morning buses. There was an early morning bus at like 6.50, and then there was a later morning bus, not too sure what the time was. But I looked in the information you provided, and it looks like there are two buses. But it looks like they're both at the same time. So I don't know if maybe is that, I did note in here that there were two buses, Fulton Heights buses.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So they do like, so one would come and another one comes right along and both kind of departed at 6 50. Okay. And one last suggestion I heard was, can we put the MBTA bus stops on our website, almost similar to what we have here, but the actual MBTA bus stops. So everything's centrally located on the one page or the one website. It was a suggestion that came to me.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That would be nice. If there was a direct link, they could click on the link, and then they could navigate around from there, if that's possible. I mean, you probably have to check on that. All right. Thank you. Ms.
[Kathy Kreatz]: You have the idea to go into school brains now? Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is that the initial question? Because I would assume that you had numbers in the system. I can't hear. Dr. Perlow, I didn't even hear what you said. I'm sure it's very weird. Someone didn't get a robocall.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, I have access to School Brains. I got the robocall, but I went into School Brains last night just to navigate around again in preparation for this meeting. I don't recall there's an area in School Brains that I can add my contact information. I'm given a username and password.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great, thank you. I have a question. Hi, Curtis. I have a question, and this happened a few times last year, where what we experienced was a couple of different times, like each progress report and each report card, it wasn't the grade point average. It was the grade that was completely wrong, and it was completely wrong on school brains. And I'm not sure if it was because maybe somebody wasn't entering the grade or they needed some more training on how to use the school brains tool. But when this occurred last year, it caused great stress and anxiety on the student, the family, and going back and forth between the administration and the teacher. The student would get the report card or the progress report and the teacher was already gone for the day. And the actual grade on the report card and progress report was wrong. And it even had wrong comments. So this happened to my own son. and some friends of his. And it was really concerning. And it was just really, really upsetting. And it caused great stress and anxiety on the students. I mean, these students were B plus students. And their grade showed as a failing grade on school brains and progress report because the grades were not entered. So I just want to make sure that there's precautions in place for this first term because It didn't happen consistently with one particular class. It was just, you know, randomly this one, another one, and, you know, it was, you know, it wasn't reliable. So, you know, you never knew if it was going to be accurate, and we had to back up our grades on paper and notebooks, and that was more reliable than the school brains. We kept track of every single grade and it was just a lot of record keeping that you have to do on your own. So I didn't know if you have any plans in place for this first quarter coming up.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I know when it did happen, you were extremely helpful, and so was the assistant principal in issuing revised progress reports and report cards. In fact, within the next day. So I really appreciate that. I just wanted to make sure it was on the radar.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Because it's on my radar.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have one more. And Curtis, I wanted to know if you could put something on the website or in the instruction booklet, because what I ran into last year was that there were block out dates where you can't access your grades. And, and I had asked you, you know, why can't we see the grades? And you can't quite remember. I think it had something to do with contractual. Yeah. But I'm, don't recall.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Krebs. Thank you. Thank you for the report. I just wanted to mention we were at the West Medford Community Center the other day, and they're having a summer camp as well. It's ten weeks, June 26th to September 1st. 8 AM to 6 PM, middle school, 6 to 8, and it's $1.75 a week. And you only pay for the weeks you need. So I just wanted to mention it. And if anybody's interested, there's still spaces limited, but there's still space available.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kripps. Thank you. Thank you for the report. I just wanted to mention we were at the West Medford Community Center the other day. And they're having a summer camp as well. It's 10 weeks, June 26 to September 1, 8 AM to 6 PM. middle school, six to eight, and it's $175 a week. And you only pay for the weeks you need. So I just wanted to mention it, and if anybody's interested, there's still, space is limited, but there's still space available.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Excellent. Amazing. Ms. Kurtz. Oh, hi. Thank you, Ms. Jensen. This is a great report. I don't want to duplicate what Erin said, but I was going to say that I thought it was a really fair grade point average, where it ranged from 2.3 to higher levels, which is good for some students who might not be at the same grade level as others. And it's just a wonderful, generous opportunity for our students. Thank you very much for the report. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Ms. Kreatz? I wanted to mention that I went to the forum, you know, with Paulette Nye, and it was just amazing. And she was a great, great speaker. And everybody was so engaged. It was wonderful. This is a great grant. It's just terrific. And I love how there's going to be more parent forums and more facility training, increased community awareness. And I just wanted to make sure, because I know when the original grant was written, the expenses added up to $20,000. So I wanted to make sure that there was going to be enough funding available, or if you had to add something to the budget this year, so that you could, you know, continue with the new teacher training and prevention, the presentations. I wasn't sure if, you know, was this like kind of a little bit of an estimate, or do you think you'll find out?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Amazing. Miss Kurtz. Oh, hi. Thank you, Miss Jensen. This is a great report. I don't want to duplicate what Aaron said, but I was going to say that, you know, I thought it was a really fair grade point average where it ranged from two point three to higher levels, which is good for some students who might not be at the same grade level as others. And it's just a wonderful, generous opportunity. for our students. Thank you very much for the report. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Ms. Kreatz. I wanted to mention that I went to the forum, you know, with Paula and I, and it was just amazing. And she was a great, great speaker. And everybody was so engaged. It was wonderful. This is a great grant. It's just terrific. And I love how there's going to be more parent forums and more facility training, increased community awareness. And I just wanted to make sure, because I know when the original grant was written, the expenses added up to $20,000. So I wanted to make sure that there was going to be enough funding available, or if you had to add something to the budget this year, so that you could continue with the new teacher training and prevention, the presentations. I wasn't sure if, you know, was this like kind of a little bit of an estimate, or do you think you'll find out?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Hi. Hi, Ms. Pinto. Thank you for the report. I wanted to know, because I was at the DARE program at the elementary school last week, and it just got me thinking, after reading this report, I wanted to know if maybe with the cooperation with the team Medford, if we could do maybe a similar presentation, maybe in the Cameron Theater, for maybe the incoming freshmen, in the outgoing seniors to educate them again at the high school level on drinking and driving. I know there's the seminar for driving distracted, but that covers texting, being distracted. I noticed in this report that the most frequently reported risky behavior was ridden in a car with someone who was drinking or using drugs. And I know with the new, how the marijuana is now legal, I wasn't sure if maybe we needed to do like an upgraded training program to educate the students on, you know, the dangers of, you know, smoking marijuana, drinking and driving. So I, you know, I was just, I was really thinking about that and brainstorming and wanted to ask you about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just want to thank you for the report and it was very detailed and a great job to is in to surround. Thank you very much. I just want to mention the point of information for Aaron. So the crossing light at the corner of the Fulton Street in Bell's way. The timing crossing was adjusted in that was done, you know, a while ago. Yeah. Yeah. So that that was the only update. Yeah. But so that's working and I've crossed myself and it gives you plenty of time to get all the way across.
[Kathy Kreatz]: You're welcome. Ms. Kreatz. Yes. Um, there was something and I, I had some notes at home before the meeting and I forgot to bring them. So I had been out to see the book school and, um, when I was there for the visit, cause I was doing this for the capital plan visit, I, um, spoke with the assistant principal and we looked at the, um, outside upper play structure. There's a fence side, like a gate that's missing. So the children, like the ball will go outside the gate. So there's no, like one half, like where you can close the gate. One half is just gone. And that was in like October. So I don't know if anybody's been out there to repair it, but that really needs to get done. And they also needed some signage, you know, because I think some, during school hours, you know, community, you know, people are just going to use the park, but during school hours that are operational, So they were just looking for some signage that they could put up. And the intercom system wasn't working properly in their walkie talkies.
[Kathy Kreatz]: The intercom in the school wasn't working properly.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah. So I don't know if I, this was during my own visit when I conducted in like October. So I wanted to mention that. did receive some calls from parents. They were very curious and interested in finding out about the discussion we had. Some of them couldn't make the committee of the whole meeting. So I sent Mr. Belson a note in asking if we could put something together on blog similar to what Lisa Evangelista posted for the grant publications. If we could put together just a brief description of the capital improvements that have been done, very similar to what we got in the breakdown Um, even with the timelines going back to 2002 so we can have that nice breakdown that we can share with the community, including some of the new, you know, proposed capital budget, um, plans. Um, and, and a lot of the community was very interested and, you know, happy to read all the, um, the posts that we shared this weekend about the grants.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz. Oh, I wanted to thank Beverly. I ran into her at the school and we started to get inquiries already asking when we were going back to school. And some parents really didn't know that, in fact, I didn't really know that it was part of the contract that the teachers had to start school early. I misunderstood, I thought it was administration also, so I'm glad you explained that. Would there be any way to maybe just put something under the bottom explaining that as per collective bargaining agreement, the start of school would be before Labor Day? There was a lot of communication about that. A lot of people weren't happy about going back to school before Labor Day, you know, I was getting inquiries myself, you know, why are we going back before Labor Day? I don't like that, you know, but yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Kreatz. I wanted to just mention, I got to attend part of the session on the November professional development day and the presenters were excellent. I watched a very moving video and I sat in a group with some other teachers. We discussed strategies, techniques, and we broke up into groups and then everybody got to share their ideas. It was really educational and it was a good day. I had a great day. I wish you guys the best of luck on Monday.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Oh, hi. Thank you, Ms. Jensen. The report was great. I wanted to mention one of the goals for this upcoming year, which is the online program to assist students' graduation rate, offering enrichment courses and the alternate programs. I wanted to know, now, the information, I think it might be out now, is it online? Like, do the students, was a message sent out so the students know and they can take advantage of it? Or is it more of the guidance department might approach a student or parent and let them know they think they might be a good fit for something like that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is there a cost associated with it?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And how long is the course? Is it a six-week course? Is it a three-week course? I was just a little curious.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you. Sounds exciting. Thanks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had a question. Um, do the schools, um, conduct like practice drills to prepare for an emergency? Um, so they can time themselves because it does, I guess the device has to be applied within four minutes. of the cardiac arrest, so I was just curious, like, if you're in the high school and it's in the front lobby and somebody's way down and they have to, you know, walkie-talkie that person, come down here, we have an emergency, they have to go get the defibrillator and then get to the person, you know, I was just curious, like, how that was going to work.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Kreatz. I just wanted to share some helpful tips. I think it's a good idea for all of us to make sure we keep our kids safe at home by monitoring their sites and limiting the time they spend on their devices, even when they're at home. Kind of implement something similar to this in your own household. I think it's a good idea.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. Mr. Skerry. So I had been out to see the Brooks School, and when I was there for the visit, because I was doing this for the capital plan visit, I spoke with the assistant principal, and we looked at the outside upper play structure. There's a fence side, like a gate that's missing, so the children, like the ball will go outside the gate, so there's no, like one half where you can close the gate. One half is just gone. And that was in like October. So I don't know if anybody's been out there to repair it, but that really needs to get done. And they also needed some signage, you know, because I think some during school hours, you know, community, you know, people are just going to use the park, but during school hours that are operational. So they were just looking for some signage that they could put up. The intercom system wasn't working properly in their walkie-talkies. And I had done that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: The intercom and the school wasn't working properly.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, so I don't know if I, this was during my own visit when I conducted in like October. So I wanted to mention that. And I did receive some calls from parents, they were very, curious and interested in finding out about the discussion we had. Some of them couldn't make the committee of the whole meeting. So I sent Mr. Belson a note in asking if we could put something together on blog similar to what Lisa Evangelista posted for the grant publications. If we could put together just a brief description of the capital improvements that have been done, very similar to what we got in the breakdown Um, even with the timelines going back to 2002 so we can have that nice breakdown that we can share with the community, including some of the new, you know, proposed capital budget, um, plans. Um, and, and a lot of the community was very interested and, you know, happy to read all the, um, the posts that we shared this weekend about the grants. Very good.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kritz. Oh, I wanted to thank Beverly. I ran into her at the school and we started to get inquiries already asking when we were going back to school and some parents really didn't know that, in fact, I didn't really know that it was part of the contract that the teachers had to start school early. I misunderstood, I thought it was administration also, so I'm glad you explained that. Would there be any way to maybe just put something under the bottom explaining that as per collective bargaining agreement, the start of school would be before Labor Day? There was a lot of communication about that. A lot of people weren't happy about going back to school before Labor Day, you know, I was getting inquiries myself, you know, why are we going back before Labor Day? I don't like that, you know, but yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Kreatz. I wanted to just mention, I got to attend part of the session on the November 8th professional development day, and the presenters were excellent. I watched a very moving video. And I sat in a group with some other teachers. We discussed strategies, techniques. And we broke up into groups, and then everybody got to share their ideas. And it was really educational, and it was a good day. I had a great day. I wish you guys the best of luck on Monday.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Ms. Kreatz. Oh, hi. Thank you, Ms. Jensen. The poll was great. I wanted to mention one of the goals for this upcoming year, which is the online program to assist students' graduation rate, offering enrichment courses and the alternate programs. I wanted to know now, the information, I think it might be out now, is it online? Do the students, was a message sent out so the students know? they can take advantage of it, or is it more of the guidance department might approach a student or parent and let them know they think they might be a good fit for something like that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is there a cost associated with it?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And how long is the course? Is it a six-week course? Is it a three-week course? I was just a little curious.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. Thank you. Sounds exciting. Thanks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just had a question. Um, do the schools, um, conduct like practice drills to prepare for an emergency? Um, so they can time themselves because it does, I guess, the device has to be applied within four minutes of the cardiac arrest. So I was just curious, like, if you're in the high school and it's in the front lobby and somebody's way down and they have to, you know, walkie-talkie that person, come down here, we have an emergency, they have to go get the defibrillator and then get to the person. You know, I was just curious, like, how that was going to work.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Very good. Ms. Kreatz. I just wanted to share some helpful tips. I think it's a good idea for all of us to make sure we keep our kids safe at home by monitoring their sites and limiting the time they spend on their devices, even when they're at home. Kind of implement something similar to this in your own household. I think it's a good idea.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So Jody, you can stand here again.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Preston. I have just a couple of questions. Christine, I just wanted to thank you for getting back to me about the bus and the overcrowding. Can you let me know, is it still, is there still a lot of overcrowding on bus 14 departing to high school in the afternoon?
[Kathy Kreatz]: All right. Thanks. And also, we were looking, me and I were looking at this report, and on page 3, could you let us know what is the after school pupil transportation encumbrance, the 26,040? What does that relate to? We were just curious. I don't know if you know what that is.
[Kathy Kreatz]: The after school. But then why is it not budgeted?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And then as you build, you take away from the encumbrance.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I had a question. I did receive several calls from parents who mentioned that the day that school was open because it was very, very cold, that there was a lot of teachers absent. And most of the kids were sent to lecture halls that were not heated, and they were freezing. The children were just freezing. This is at the high school. For example, one student, one of his teachers was in, in all the other classes he went to freezing cold lecture halls that were not heated. And it was just really, really, really, really cold. students were wearing gloves and they had the little, what they're called, the heat warmers, right, they had hand warmers, passing them around, and a lot of kids got sick. And I got a lot of calls about that, and I'm not sure if, I tried to identify what area, and I just don't know, but it was mainly that it was really, really cold in high school. Yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That was my suggestion. If the lecture halls were not heated, maybe have them go to the cafeteria.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Negative motion passes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mrs. Tavetano?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Iawn, gobeithio hynny.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, iawn. Helo, Heidi. Rwy'n mynd i ddiolch i chi am y adroddiad. Roedd e'n wirioneddol. Iawn, rwy'n mynd i ddiolch i chi am y adroddiad. Rwy'n mynd i ddiolch i chi am y adroddiad. Rwy'n mynd i ddiolch i chi am y adroddiad. Rwy'n mynd i ddiolch i chi am y adroddiad. Rwy'n mynd i diolch i chi am y adroddiad. Rwy'n mynd i diolch i chi am y adroddiad. Rwy'n mynd i diolch i chi am y adroddiad. R metabolic disorders. Yeah, we have a lot of allergies in the band. Yeah, so I just thought that was really nicely done. And also there was a nice write-up about the rules and the guidelines for the curfew and no tolerance in the rooms and going to bed at night. So that was really detailed. Ac rwy'n siŵr y byddwch chi'n mynd ymlaen gyda'r roiantau ar y cyfarfodydd ddiwethaf.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Unwaith eto, diolch yn fawr iawn i chi am eich gwybodaeth. Ms. Kreatz. Oh, hei. Dw i am ddweud ddiolch, ac rwy'n gwybod pa mor an Roeddwn i'n gofyn un cwestiwn. A oedd y sgiliau'n newydd i'r ysgol? A oedd y sgiliau'n newid y sgiliau? A oedd e'n rhywbeth arall? A oedd y sgiliau'n dal i fod yn gwahodd, fel ysgolau ysgol gynhadleddol yng Nghymru, ysgolau ysgol technol yng Nghymru? A oedd y sgiliau'n newid y sgiliau? Roeddwn i'n ddiddorol.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oes unrhyw gwestiynau?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hwyl fawr. Hwyl fawr.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hwyl fawr. Hwyl fawr.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgyrchu. Mae'r pethau yma'n ymgy felly i unrhyw un sy'n ddiddorol i'w ysgrifennu, rwy'n cael y fideosau YouTube, ac maen nhw'n ddiddorol iawn. Dw i'n cael gweld pob peth. Dw i'n cael gweld Mr. de Lever, ac roedden nhw'n gwneud y geometraeth. Iawn, pob peth. Mae pob peth ar gael yma heddiw. Roedd hynny'n dweud nad ydych chi'n teimlo teimladau. Roedd ganddyn nhw'r fideo o'r can, ac roedd pob peth, y carolinau Christmas. Roedd hynny'n dda iawn, felly mae fideoau sydd ar gael ar hyn o bryd y gallwch eu gwylio, yn ogystal â'r ffotograffau a'r blogaethau a'r gysylltiadau.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Yes. Okay. Um, yep. So I got another update this, this actually this morning, late this morning, um, regarding the crossing light at Fulton street and the Fellsway. And, um, I have the update. I'm going to read it to you right now. So the Fulton street crossing time has been changed. It's been changed for about two weeks now. So the walk sign will go for up to 24 seconds. Then it will flash walk for 13 seconds, and it will count down, and you have exactly 13 seconds to finish walking across. With the three second do not walk, so that the lights will then signal to change, and then the cars will begin going. The traffic engineer department is also looking into adding a second crossing in the intersection on the other side would likely make the intersection safer and work more smoothly as it would require less pushing of the pedestrian walk buttons to get from one side of the Fulton to the diagonal side across. However, it's likely that this will need to be reexamined in the spring due to the weather conditions that are coming with the winter coming. And it's difficult to paint lines and do any repaving in the winter. So it's something that they're going to revisit again in the February. I did test out the crossing light today with Noah three times, and you have 36 seconds, and you can get across all lanes, and you don't have to run. You can simply walk across all lanes. The traffic is stopped everywhere. It's great. It's amazing. It was really impressive, so I wanted to share that update with everybody. Very good, Ms. Kreatz. Thank you. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Hi. I just want to thank you very much for this very generous donation. Thank you so much. The students will really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Thank you. I want to say, you know, thank you very much to the Bloomberg Philanthropies, and I might be saying that wrong. But it was a great day, and it was so enjoyable for the students, the administrators, the teachers, everybody there. We were all involved in the exhibits, having fun, and it was so organized. It was hard to believe there was over 1,000 students there. It was so organized. It was a great day. Thank you. It was a pleasure going. Great. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Great. Thank you. I think it sounds like a great trip. I wanted to know, I was looking on the website and some of the questions it said, you know, were to make sure you know where the embassy is. where the hospital is. So do you know, are you close to these facilities?
[Kathy Kreatz]: There was one other item I read. And I don't know if this is true, but it said that if somebody was going to be hospitalized, the hospital would only take cash and it might cost up to $100,000. And I know that the insurance that you're getting is only up to $35,000. So I wasn't sure. And I don't know, like I said, this is the internet. I was just googling information on how safe is traveling to the Dominican Republic. just different types of things you could click on. I wasn't sure if there was any factual information about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Thank you. Thank you everybody for the program. It was a great program. I enjoyed it and Noah just wanted to say he really enjoyed it. looks forward to doing next year's program.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. We want him back, so.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you for the report. I just want to know about the MCAS. Was there any discussions about rolling it out to the schools? Any plans on how they're going to handle it where it's really not determined? Are there any workshop sessions for students to get them acclimated? You know, it just seems like, you know, we don't know what it's going to be like, you know.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Do you also think that, because I know sometimes parents will ask or they wonder if more time is spent doing MCAS than on regular education and curriculum. Do you think, you know, with the testing that's going to go on like mostly in April and May, you know, will it be more extensive and will there be, will it be, you know, stressful for the students with the regular coursework and the MCAS and the I'm just curious, you know.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. Oh, I just want to share a point of information I've been on. And you can see the full calendar, absence days, assignments. There's a link directly to the teacher, the grades. They matched up to the report cards that we just got at the high school. I needed to have another person added to my profile, sent an email. The profile got updated. It's really been really smooth. I can't even access it from my phone.
[Kathy Kreatz]: A similar update. I heard from Matt Hartman in State Senator Jalen's office, and with some good news that they are going to add some additional time on to the crossing light, where you cross over at the corner of Fulton Street and Fellsway. I would still recommend that you cross over to the next island, press the next button, and then cross over rather than trying to make it all the way across five lanes. You know, just for safety, it's just a good idea. I didn't get a date on when that's going to happen, but he's going to be calling back, so we'll get the word out here.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay. That's okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: That's okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. This cuts. Hi. OK. I think it sounds like a great trip. I wanted to know I was looking on the website and some of the questions it said, you know, were to make sure, you know, where the embassy is, where the hospital is. So do you know and are you close to these?
[Kathy Kreatz]: There was one other item I read, and I don't know if this is true, but it said that if somebody was going to be hospitalized, The hospital would only take cash and it might cost up to $100,000. And I know that the insurance that you're getting is only up to $35,000. So I wasn't sure. And I don't know, like I said, this is the internet. I was just Googling information on how safe is traveling to the Dominican Republic and just different types of things you could click on. You know, I wasn't sure if there was any factual information about that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, and I didn't know if, like, the hospitals only accepted cash and, you know, there wasn't that available.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Miss Kreatz. Oh, thank you. Um, thank you everybody for the program. It was, it was a great program. I enjoyed it. And, um, Noah just wanted to say he really enjoyed it and looks forward to doing next year's program.
[Kathy Kreatz]: We want him back.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, I'm sorry, just... Oh, those are... Oh, thank you, probably. Hi. Oh, I just want to know about the MCAS. Was there any discussions about rolling it out to the schools? Like, any plans on how they're going to handle it where it's really not determined? Like, are there any workshop sessions for students and to get them acclimated?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Do you also think that, because I know sometimes parents will ask or they wonder if more time is spent doing MCAS than on regular education and curriculum. Do you think, you know, with the testing that's going to go on, like mostly in April and May, you know, will it be more extensive and will there be, will it be, you know, stressful for the students with the regular coursework and the MCAS and the the prep work, and I'm just curious.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, I just want to share a point of information I've been on. And you can see the full calendar, absence days, assignments. There's a link directly to the teacher, the grades. They matched up to the report cards that we just got at the high school. I needed to have another person added to my profile, sent an email. The profile got updated. It's really been really smooth. And I can't even access it from my phone. Yeah, it's mm-hmm
[Kathy Kreatz]: A similar update. I heard from Matt Hartman in State Senator Jalen's office, and she, you know, with some good news that they are going to add some additional time on to the crossing light, where you cross over at the corner of Fulton Street and Fellsway. They're adding on an additional seven seconds to give people more time to get across. I would still recommend that you cross over to the next island, press the next button, and then cross over, rather than trying to make it all the way across five lanes. You know, just for safety, it's just a good idea. I didn't get a date on when that's going to happen, but he's going to be calling back. So we'll get the word out.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yr aelodau sy'n ymdrech.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yr aelodau sy'n ymdrech. Yr aelodau sy'n y Mae'r ffyrdd yn ffyrdd y byd, felly mae'n rhaid i ni gysylltu â'r byd a'r swyddi DCR. Yr hyn rwyf wedi'i wneud ers ein cyfarfodydd diwethaf yw rwyf wedi ymgysylltu â'r ymgeisydd gwleidyddol y polisi yn fy ymgeisydd, ynglyn â Mir a John Falco, ac llawer o'r cymuned arall, ac unrhyw un o'r bobl sy'n ymwneud â Sheryl Rodriguez, ac mae'r cymuned, fyfyrwyr, polisi a myfyrwyr yn ymdrechu'r angen ar gyfer ymgyrch. Felly rwyf wedi'i gysylltu â'r Pat Jalen's office and spoke to Matt Hartman, and he let me know that the DCR is going to send out some rangers this week to monitor the crosswalks at Park Street and Fellsway, I'm sorry, yeah, Park Street and Fellsway and Fulton Street and Fellsway to determine if they can put crossing guards there. Matt will stay in touch with the DCR on the progress and the findings. roedden nhw'n gofyn gyda Deyrnas Unedig y Deyrnas Unedig i gofyn iddyn nhw os ydynt yn gallu newid y cyflawniad ar y croeso pedestrian. Nid ydyn nhw'n gwybod'r effaith o'r gofyn hwn, ond byddent yn dal i ddod â'r Deyrnas Unedig i weld a oes unrhyw beth y gallan nhw ei wneud i wella'r croeso Felswyth ac i wneud yn ddiogel ar gyfer yr holl bywydau yn y dyfodol. Yn ogystal â hyn, roeddwn i'n cael gofyn o swyddog Rwy'n gwybod bod eich bobl hefyd wedi bod ym mhobl gyda'r DCR a'r swyddog ym Mhrifysgol, Jalen. Maen nhw'n ymddangos, maen nhw wedi bod ym mhobl ym mhobl ym mhobl ym mhobl ym mhobl ym mhobl ym mhobl ym mhobl ym mhobl y mhobl ym mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y mhobl y m Roeddwn i'n gysylltu â nhw ac roeddwn i'n gwybod y byddent yn gallu gwneud ymdrechion arall y flwyddyn nesaf. Roedd y cyhoeddiad hwnnw'n cael ei roi. Nid ydyn ni'n siŵr y byddai hynny'n rhywbeth y gallent ei wneud, ond roeddem yn gofyn os y gallent ddangos y ffyrdd arall y flwyddyn nesaf a gwneud ymdrechion arall o'r secsiwn hwnnw. Felly dyna oedd y newidiad. Byddwn i'n ymwneud ymlaen at hyn gyda'r swyddfeydd iawn ac yn darparu unrhyw newidiadau newydd yr oeddwn i'n cael. Cheryl,
[Kathy Kreatz]: Crutts. Rwy'n mwynhau'r topïau rydych chi wedi'u dewis. Maen nhw'n ddweud, rwy'n mwynhau eu clywed amdanyn nhw. Mae'n ddiddorol iawn, pob peth, gan gynnwys y myfyrwyr sy'n gweithio gyda'r brifysgol, ymddygiad, ymddygiad, leihau'r amgylcheddau, ymddygiadau positif. Dyma'n ymddygiad gyda'r hyn rydyn ni'n cael yn y gwaith rwy'n ei wneud, pan ddechreuwyd y Deyrnas Unedig i siarad am leiaf, maes, cerddoriaethau leiaf. Mae'n ddiddorol iawn. Mae'n ddiddorol iawn i'r peth rwyf wedi'i wneud yn ddiweddarach. Mae'n ddiddorol iawn. Diolch. Roeddech chi'n ddiolch i ddod ymlaen. Dwi'n gwybod, mae'n ddiddorol iawn.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yr un peth yr oedd Pauline wedi'i ddweud oedd, roedd y myfyrwyr yn gwneud gwaith gwych, roedd hi'n ddiddorol, roedd hi'n gwych, roedd hi'n gwych. Roedd yn byw byw, roedd yn ddiddorol iawn. Dwi'n ddiolch iawn na fyddai'n gallu ei wneud.
[Kathy Kreatz]: No, she's good. Now you're better.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I was blocking it. Yeah, so I'm going to provide an update on the crossing guide on the corner of Fulton Street and Fellsway and Park and the Fellsway. The road is a state road, so we have to contact the state and the DCR office. What I've done since our last meeting is I've attended the police neighborhood meeting in my neighborhood, along with Mayor and John Falco, and a lot of the other community. And another person there was Sheriff Rodriguez. And the community, parents, police, and students expressed the need for a crossing guide. So I reached out to state, Pat Jalen's office and spoke to Matt Hartman, and he let me know that the DCR was in touch. The DCR is going to send out some Rangers this week to monitor the crosswalks at Park Street and Fellsway. I'm sorry, yeah, Park Street and Fellsway and Fulton Street and Fellsway to determine if they can put crossing guards there. Matt will stay in touch with the DCR on the progress and the findings. Additionally, they made a request with the engineering department at the DCR to ask them if they can change the timing on the pedestrian crosswalk. They don't know the outcome of this request, but they will continue to stay in touch with the DCR to see if there's anything they can do to improve the Fellsway crossing and make it safer for all residents in the neighborhood. Additionally, I received a call from State Rep. Paul Donato's office And he let me know that his folks have also been in touch with the DCR and State Senator Jalen's office. And they're both on target. They've both been in touch. And we're just waiting. I guess the funds are limited. And they're going to do an evaluation. Another concern that Ms. Rodriguez brought up was the timing of the evaluation that they're doing is this week. And there are two days with no school. I did reach back to them and let them know that, you know, would they possibly be able to do another evaluation next week. That request was put in. We're not too sure if that's something that they can do, but we did ask if they can send the ranges out there next week and do another evaluation of that section. So, that was the update. I'll continue to monitor this with both offices and provide any new updates that I get. And, Cheryl, did you want to say anything?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Kreatz. I'm very interested in the topics that you selected. I'm very interested in hearing about it. It just sounds wonderful. Everything, including working with at-risk students, identification intervention, safer spaces, positive attitudes. This is similar to what we had in my work, where the police department came in to just talk about safe space, walking in safe areas, just very interesting. It's very similar to something I recently went to myself. It sounds great. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to say it was a great job at the debate. And it was really fun. The same thing that Paulette said was the students did a great job. It was entertaining. It was informative. It was real life. It was really fun. I'm so glad it could be a game.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just I had some of the same questions that Emory had in Tony. You answered them. Thank you very much. And I also wanted to thank Superintendent Belsen for personally calling some parents back on It was really a great, a lot of help from everybody, and a lot of the answers were handled very well, and I appreciate it, I really do. Thank you very much. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, Ms. Kritz. I want to mention, I did follow up with Mr. Johnson regarding the Fulton Street and the Fellsway stop. and they no longer use that as a bus stop, so they don't cross the students, because I had contacted him and he spoke back, got back to me. It used to be a popular crossing area when St. Francis was open for parochial school. They don't use that any longer, and they discourage students from crossing. In fact, they re-roaded the buses to have them stop on the appropriate sides of the Fells Way, to get to their homes. I did clarify that with Mr. Johnson after our last meeting. And I also spoke to him and he said that they're doing great with their crossing guard at the Roberts. However, it's very busy and it's very congested. And in fact, they might need two crossing guards because of the narrow streets and making sure that students cross safely, and having somebody direct the traffic. It's just very busy in that area, as well as the Brooks, which we're all aware of. So I wanted to definitely mention that, because he mentioned that to me, that if there was any way to get another crossing guard, that would be helpful. So maybe that's something that we would have to look at. Thank you, Ms. Kreatz.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Roeddwn i wedi ysgrifennu'r un cwestiwn ar y ffordd y byddwn i'n golygu, oherwydd roedd hynny'n bet Mae'n brosiect gwych ac rwy'n ddiolch iawn bod gennym y cyllideb hwnnw. Mae'n ddiddorol iawn gyda'r holl ymdrechion, mae'n ddangos iawn. Rwy am gwybod, Stephanie, a ydych chi'n gwybod, mewn y sgwrs hefyd, y byddwch chi'n ymdrech drwy ble mae Colin Briggum?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye. Could I just ask one question? I'm sorry. I almost missed it. Sorry. Oh, Pat, I wanted to thank you for the report. And I just wanted to ask just a couple questions for the upcoming school year, you know, in terms of the transportation. Um, I know last year, um, there was a plan failed trip between, um, the elementary school and the high school. And, um, I almost missed the opportunity to ask for the funding. Um, so I wanted to mention it now. I don't know if it's a good time, but I wanted to mention that, um, I did talk to Ms. Lasky, and she was interested in doing another field trip between the elementary school and the vocational school, like the biotech. She's going to be having another aquaponics. And I wanted to mention, I don't know if it's something that I should put on the agenda, because it would be something that we would be doing in the spring, you know, once they're all set with their program.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. So I'll wait. Okay. That's what I'll probably do. We'll just accept 2016.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So I also wanted to mention that, I wanted to make sure that it was extended to all the elementary schools who were, you know, wanted to plan a field trip. Um, the ideal grade, you know, seemed to be like the fourth grade or fifth grade level because they could understand and they were, you know, doing the science program very similar to the vocational biotech and biotech and, um, engineering. And they also went for a walk in the fells. So they were old enough to understand in the same type of science program. So I just wanted to make that mention. I haven't heard from other elementary schools, but I think it was a great, great day, and it was just wonderful. I loved it, and I don't wanna forget and miss the opportunity, so I wanted to mention it. And, yep.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Um, motion approved. Thanks. I have one more question that's different. Um, it, it has to do with the, And I know, Pat, you helped answer the question. It has to do with the MBTA, the S-pass. And I didn't know if there was, you know, if, you know, do we previously, you know, provide the middle schools with the S-pass, like the MBTA S-pass for students at the discounted rate? I know I reached out to my niece who was, you know, when she was at Arlington in her middle school, she got the discounted student pass. So I didn't know if it was something that we did or we didn't do. And maybe some people are using it in addition to the high school. Because I know we had the parent who was asking if we did provide those passes. And I just didn't know where that stood and if it was something that we were going to explore getting those S passes for the students. I did check around with the META. And it is something that would have to go through the school system. not necessarily the MBTA, but it would be something that would be managed between the school system, you know, to, you know, to get those passes. So I didn't know if it was something that we were going to pursue or maybe do like a survey to find out how many middle school parents would be interested in getting the pass, you know, to see if it was worthwhile to put forward for the next school year.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, could I just ask a question before we do that? I had a question I was waiting to ask. So I wanted to know, because I know the results are coming out this week, And so the parents or the students who are 10th graders, who are now juniors, they're going to get their results. And they need to know if they have to take the retest as soon as possible. How quickly is that information going to be made available to those parents and the students? Because I know that there was prep work that was done, MCAS prep that's done. what are the plans for that, and are those students, if they have to take the retest, where the MCAS 2.0 isn't gonna be out till next spring, the students have to take the retest coming up this November, because that's, I don't know the exact date, but it's November, so what are the plans? My son's a junior, and this is the big grade we're waiting for, and I know there's a lot of other parents out there So it's, you know, a lot of anxiety around that, you know, scoring and, you know, and where is the new test, you know? Right.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And that's a concern because that was a great program. It was like a six week program, you know, for the students who needed help with either math or the English. And, you know, you know, is I'd like to I don't know if I could make a motion that we can make some budget money available for those students, you know, to get the prep and the assistance they need. you know, to help them so they can graduate, because this is a big deal and, you know, students need the assistance. You know, some of them struggle with testing. A lot of the strategies I know, you know, that the students learned was, you know, helpful, and the repetition, you know, and where there was a break over the summer and, you know, things are, you know, getting back into the swing of things, you know, I think it's definitely something that we need to make a priority for the students.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Roeddwn i wedi ysgrifennu'r un cwestiwn ar hyn o bryd am The Fellsway, oherwydd roedd hynny'n beth rydyn ni'n siarad am yn ysgol y flwyddyn ddiwethaf. Iawn. Felly, rwy'n gobeithio bod pawb sydd wedi ysgrifennu yr un peth yr oeddwn i wedi ysgrifennu, ac mae hwn yn rhaglenni gwych, ac rwy'n hapus iawn bod gennym hynny'r cyflawni. Mae'n ddiddorol gyda'r holl ymdrechion. Mae'n ddangos iawn. Rwy'n eisiau gwybod, Stephanie, ydych chi'n gwybod, fel I know that's a really high traffic area also. My mother actually got hit in that crosswalk a few years ago. And I think there's a lot of traffic, you know, with people crossing over to go to Colleen's and over to the other side. And it just seems like a really congested area. So I wanted to just mention, I know it's not really part of the school zone, but where the money was going to be funded.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It could be anywhere.
[Kathy Kreatz]: yn ymdrechu i wneud hynny hefyd. A ydych chi'n gwybod a yw'r traffig wedi'i wella ym Mhrifysgol Broke? Rwy'n gwybod ei bod nhw eisiau cael ymddiriedolaeth polisi yno, pan fydd rhywbeth mewn lle, ac rydw i wedi siarad gyda'r argyfwng, sy'n gwneud hynny, a dweud, mae'n edrych yn anodd iawn, ac nid yw'r bobl yn stopio, neu mae'n stopio, ond yna maen nhw'n mynd. ac yna maen nhw'n stopio. Dydyn ni ddim, dwi ddim yn gwybod pam, oherwydd mae'n sefydliad bwysig. Dw i'n gwybod, pan fyddwn i'n mynd yno ac rydw i'n defnyddio'r croesawd, mae'r carau bob amser yn stopio.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yna oes cwestiwn. Roeddwn i'n ystafell y cwricwlwm yn yr wythnos diwethaf, ac roedd Dr. Riccio a Dr. Parlow yn ymwneud ag eich bod nhw'n mynd i roi iddyn nhw i'r athrawon dwi'n gobeithio sylfaenwyr, yr un siarad yw'r ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael, ac mae llawer o'r rhanwyr, y siarad yw'r siarad yw'r siarad ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn yr ysgol ar gael yn
[Kathy Kreatz]: Iawn, diolch. Dydw i ddim yn gwybod a oedd ganddyn nhw lawer o amser i bawb... Dydw i ddim yn gwybod. Dydw i ddim yn gwybod am y cyfnod, mewn gwirionedd. Iawn, byddwn ni'n edrych ymlaen, diolch.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r adroddiad wedi'i leihau'n ffyrdd, Mae'r ad i gofyn am y cyllideb, felly roeddwn i eisiau ei gysylltu ar hyn o bryd. Nid wyf yn gwybod a oedd hynny'n amser da, ond roeddwn i eisiau gysylltu ar hyn o bryd. Roeddwn i'n siarad gyda Ffrain Lasky ac roedd hi'n mwynhau gwneud ymdrechion ffyrdd arall rhwng Ysgol Ysgolaethol a'r Ysgol Gwybodaethol fel y Biotech. Bydd hi'n mynd i gael un o'r aquaponics arall. I wanted to mention, I don't know if it's something that I should put on the agenda, because it would be something that we would be doing in the spring, you know, once they're all set with their program.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Felly, dyna'r hyn rydw i'n ei ddysgu. Felly, byddwn i'n ymwneud â'r 2016. Iawn, yn siŵr.
[Kathy Kreatz]: roedd y gradd ideol yn edrych fel y gradd ffwrdd neu'r gradd ffwrdd, oherwydd roeddent yn gallu deall, ac roeddent yn gwneud y rhaglen gwyddonol yn unigol iawn i'r biotech a'r ingeniadau, ac roeddent hefyd wedi mynd i ffwrdd yn y felgell, felly roeddent yn ddigon oedol i ddeall mewn y math o rhaglen gwyddonol unigol. Felly roeddwn i eisiau gwneud hynny'n ymwybodol. Dydw i ddim wedi clywed o'r ysgolion ysgolion eraill, ond rwy'n credu ei fod yn ac roedd hynny'n ddiddorol iawn. Roeddwn i'n hoffi hynny, ac rydw i ddim eisiau ei gobeithio, ac roeddwn i'n eisiau y cyfle, felly roeddwn i'n eisiau ei gysylltu.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mae'n ymwneud â'r—ac rwy'n gwybod bod Pat wedi'i helpu i gysylltu â'r cwestiwn—mae'n ymwneud â'r MBTA, y SPAS, ac dydw i ddim yn gwybod a oedd A ydych chi'n gwybod, ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi'n gwybod, a ydych chi yn gofyn os ydyn ni'n darparu'r ysgrifennydau hynny, ac nid oeddwn i'n gwybod pan oedd hynny'n dod, ac os oedd hynny'n rhywbeth rydyn ni'n mynd i'w ysgrifennu, gael yr ysgrifennydau hynny ar gyfer y myfyrwyr. Roeddwn i'n edrych ymlaen gyda'r MBTA, ac mae'n rhywbeth a byddai'n rhaid mynd drwy'r system ysgol, nid yn unig yn y MBTA, ond byddai'n rhywbeth a byddai'n cael ei gyrraedd rhwng y system ysgol. i ddod â'r cyfrifiadau hynny, felly dydw i ddim yn gwybod a oedd hynny'n rhywbeth rydyn ni'n mynd i'w ymdrechu, neu efallai i wneud cyfrifiad i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i ddod o hyd i
[Kathy Kreatz]: Roeddwn i eisiau gwybod, oherwydd rwy'n gwybod bod y canlyniadau'n dod allan y dydd. Felly, mae'r roeddwyr, neu'r myfyrwyr sy'n ymgynghoriwyr, sy'n nawr ymgynghorwyr, ac rydyn nhw'n mynd i gael eu canlyniadau. maen nhw'n rhaid gwybod os ydyn nhw'n rhaid cymryd y retest yn ystod y gofyn. Pa mor cyflymder y byddai'r wybodaeth hwnnw'n cael ei wneud ar gael i'r rhanfyrwyr a'r myfyrwyr, oherwydd rwy'n gwybod bod yna gwaith ymarferol sy'n cael ei wneud, ymgyrch MCAS sy'n cael ei wneud, a beth yw'r cynllunau ar hynny? A yw'r myfyrwyr, os ydyn nhw'n rhaid cymryd y retest, lle nid yw'r MCAS 2.0 yn mynd i mewn i'r blwyddyn nesaf, Mae'r myfyrwyr yn rhaid cymryd y retest yn dod i mewn ystod Ysgol, oherwydd dydw i ddim yn gwybod'r dyfodol, ond mae'n Ysgol. Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, rwy'n gobeithio yw'r cynllunau. Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? Felly, beth yw'r cynllunau? F
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mae hynny'n broblem, oherwydd roedd hynny'n rhaglenni gwych. Roedd hwnnw fel rhaglenni gweithredol, i'r myfyrwyr sydd angen help gyda math neu Inglis. Nid ydw i'n gwybod a ydw i'n gallu gwneud ymdrech y gallwn wneud llawer o arian cyllid ar gael i'r myfyrwyr hynny i gael y prep a'r help y maen nhw'n ei angen i'w helpu fel y gallan nhw graddio, oherwydd mae hynny'n beth fawr. Mae'r myfyrwyr angen y help. mae rhai ohonyn nhw'n ymwneud ag ysgrifennu. Rwy'n gwybod bod y strategaethau y mae'r myfyrwyr wedi'u ddysgu yn ddefnyddiol, ac mae'r argyfwng, pan oedd cymorth dros y blwyddyn, ac mae'r pethau yn mynd yn ôl i'r sgwrs o bethau, rwy'n credu bod hynny'n rhywbeth y mae'n rhaid i ni wneud yn gyntaf ar gyfer y myfyrwyr. Byddwn i gyda'r cyhoeddiadau. Yn ystod ein bod ni'n cael y sgwrs, byddwn ni'n gweld lle rydyn ni'n
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, hi. I just wanted to mention I was looking at the numbers. I have the numbers from last year on my phone. The Columbus did have the average class size for kindergarten was 17. So that is a jump for the Columbus School in the kindergarten. You know, that would be four students, you know, average per kindergarten class. That is a jump. You know, that was the significant jump in all of the different elementary schools. The other schools stayed the same. It seems like the population is growing in the Columbus area, you know, for kindergarten. So I agree with Paulette that I think we need to kind of take a look at it and make sure that the teachers are okay. And if they need any aids, because that would be a four students in kindergarten. That's a lot. Yeah. Um, but the, I did look at the other numbers in the middle school, um, was comparably very much the same as last year. So, I mean, it was like significant jump, but not a lot. Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thanks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much for the opportunity, and thank you for the vote.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I have one question. I wanted to know, I got some calls from some parents with the election on September 8th, where it's the first, you know, full week of school. There are some concerned parents that, you know, there could be some security issues with the people coming in to vote. at the different elementary schools. Some of them are concerned enough that they don't want to send their children to school on that day. And they recall that, you know, usually schools close on election day. So what type of security and, you know, what will be done at the schools, Superintendent, just so that we can make the public aware?
[Kathy Kreatz]: So there'll be a different entrance?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And the police will be on?
[Kathy Kreatz]: On all day?
[Kathy Kreatz]: There'll be coverage even during the day?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Full coverage? Okay, full coverage.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Do you think we could have a robocall where just the night before a call could go out to all of the community letting them know that there will be police and there'll be separate entrances just so their parents are comfortable that their children will be safe in school that day?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yep. And could we also ask if Lisa would be able to do the MS blog?
[Kathy Kreatz]: A little note on that and then we can share that with the public.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: So is that in the plans?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Cassie Gretsch. Hi, Ms. Patterson. Very nice to meet you. Thank you for your service. And your resume was really excellent. I really enjoyed reading it. So I read in the resume that at the South Middlesex Vocational Technical, you had the in-house payroll. So I just wanted to know what your thoughts were about getting used to a different payroll system, the conference payroll, and what you would do to get accustomed to it. to get familiar with it or are you familiar with it and maybe you could share that.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh great. And I did have another question. It might be similar to some of the other questions. I had a lot of the same questions. So I'm really kind of going through my notes here. So have you ever had to attend a school committee meeting, speak before the school committee. If not, it's fine. I was just curious if you've ever been to a meeting.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just have one question. It's in regards to the bus schedule. What if a parent called you up or even a neighbor that was near a bus stop that the person was very unhappy with the bus stop. This happens and they want the bus stop moved as soon as possible. That is an ongoing concern that comes up every year where people who don't have children going to school live near a bus stop and they're just not happy with the bus being in their vicinity. So what would you do about something like that? How would you approach that person?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. So I wanted to know, have you ever had to submit reports to the superintendent or the school committee at a priority request where maybe we might ask for the breakdown of expenses? Have you ever had to do anything like that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you. And I just have another question. Have you ever had to submit or run the payroll for the teachers or submit monthly reports to the retirement board or anything like that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: He's getting tired. We should read name tags. Well, you know, I'm older.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi, very nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Hi. So Pat, actually she oversees the payroll and we have Hopper's payroll. How do you feel about getting accustomed to a new payroll system, leaving Munis and transitioning over to Hopper's?
[Kathy Kreatz]: And so another part of Pat's responsibility with the bus schedule is the the coordination of the homeless student transportation. Have you ever been involved with anything like that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, Jamila, I'm sorry. Ms. Crutch has a question. It's more of like an informational question. Just wanted to know about the new system. Do you know, Pat, if the new system allows parents to like, I don't know, like create it, download an app or anything like that, or where they can create a username and password, and if they had an account, they would get a message, like a text message or an email, if it was changed, you know, and then they could check before they go to the game, like make sure I don't get an email or a text message before we head off.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Over the weekend while I was away, Lisa Evangelista, the PR person, She shared an article that was in the Boston Globe when the Salamanders were released that made it to the Globe. So I was away, out of town, and I was notified in an email. It was just wonderful. I was so happy. I was like, oh my gosh, this article in the paper is about the Salamanders. It was just wonderful. So I mean, I think, I mean, when I first ran for office, I wanted to do my own PR. I wanted to capture every story. I wanted to get every picture. I wanted to get it out there. And I created a website. And I couldn't do my job at work and then on the school committee and keep up with the pictures and the articles and the stories, but I wanted to. But I couldn't. I tried. So I feel like, I think I almost tried to mimic what Lisa was doing for the whole community. It's like a job on its own. You know, when I would go home at night, and I would try to do my pictures, and do my posts, and do the article, and write it in such a way, and then it was so late, and I was making mistakes, you know, because I was trying to squeeze it in, to get the information out there on Facebook. to share with the community, this is what our schools are doing. So it's actually, I mean, I really enjoy it because, you know, while we're at work and while we're going about our business, even on the weekend, you know, she's still working or getting those posts out there that can be shared with everybody. I mean, I just really like it, you know, and I tell her all the time, and Allison, I just really like hearing what's going on and reading about the students and everything that's going on. It just kind of makes my weekend, you know. But I just wanted to share it. I'm sorry. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: It's my it's my first, you know, meeting being on the school committee listening to the budget. I sat in last year. I'm just really confused why why it wasn't agreed by my two colleagues. I guess I'd like to hear more on why they disagree with the budget, because I I mean, I felt the revisions were everything that was asked for. you know, I'm confused why, I guess I'm just confused why it wasn't approved now, you know, because that's what we agreed on and then the add-ins were added. So I guess I would like to know a little bit more as to why there's a, they're not approving it. I guess that's my question.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you, Pat, for your report. I always enjoy them. I like reading them because they're easy to read instead of the numbers. I just have a question, because I know you're working with Transfinder, and I wanted to just check in with you. There was an open issue with a person that called last year, and he's called again this year, and he wanted to have his bus stop moved from Waddell and Park. So I'm wondering if there's any way to check in with the Transfinder and see if there's another route that might be possible. even a little ways down the street, there was another corner that I had met with this resident once before, but on Park Ave, the next street over, that was almost a better location, and it's still gonna come up the same route, it's gonna come up Highland, the kids aren't gonna get out on the Highland Ave, and the bus would take the right onto Park Ave, and just go right by Waddell to the very next corner, which is almost like the size of the bus. And the bus could stop nicely right there, and then cars couldn't get around. I know it's ideal with the four-corner stop, but what the resident told me was that what he saw was cars were going around the bus, even when the lights were on. And he said it was more of a safety issue, because even though the lights would be on, the cars would just, you know, going around it, you know, even though it's against the law. they were, you know, and so, you know, that was just an idea. You know what I mean? If we had to just move it just a nudge over to the next street, which is really just like 50 feet.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay, great. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. I also just want to thank David and Ian, and I wanted to share an experience. I went to Ms. Lasky's class and I got to see the, by hydroponics, yep, the hydroponics, and I got to taste the lettuce. They cut it and the students brought in the dressing and It was a great experience. And I've also seen the aquaponics at the high school, Mr. Russo's class. And it's just a wonderful experience for the kids. And it was just so fun. And the kids were so happy. And thank you so much.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Krutz. Oh, hi, Angela. Thank you for coming out tonight. And, um, I, I did respond to your email and I let you know that, you know, I'm new. There's a couple of other new people here. And that night, typically we get an agenda and it tells us what's going to be on the agenda that night. And we get the information that we can read through. So the night that you were here, you weren't on the agenda. I really haven't experienced a lot of people coming that aren't on the agenda. So I didn't have any information to even speak on. the evaluation of the superintendent. I know from my work experience where I work, I work at Mass Teachers Retirement System, and I work with over 40 school districts, and I hear from my payroll people all the time how upsetting it is when they see a superintendent go, because they get a superintendent when somebody retires, and the superintendents are coming and going all the time. And when they come and go, they also come in and they reorganize. and they get their staff in there or their administration in there, and they set new rules. So then it sends a lot of teachers off going and a lot of people moving out of the community. So I agree with my colleagues that we need to take a lot of time doing the search, because we don't want to get somebody from Chicago, which I've just heard from one of my school districts, because they lost their superintendent. They got a new superintendent for two years after training the new superintendent, and now they have somebody from Chicago coming. who doesn't know anything about their district. So I think that it's going to take time. I don't know how much time, but we do have coming up the 23rd, I thought it was, is the evening with the superintendent. That's for the public, where everybody can go. And we're invited to go as well. And I'm going to take notes, because what I heard was that we could take notes at the meeting. And all of the meetings in all the past have been public meetings. So all the minutes are available. which is transparent. Honestly, I didn't have time to go and look for all those meeting minutes, but it's all available at any time for anybody to get. It's just a matter of, I know where I work. We have to go into the archive bulletins. It might be something like that because we have so much data to go into the websites. It might be in a different area that we might have to reach somebody in the IT or the technical office to find out exactly where they are. Honestly, I don't know, but no, I think You know, it's definitely something we have to consider and take a lot of time to do the search to actually get another superstar like Roy, because he's been doing a terrific job. You know, students rave about what he's doing, parents rave about what he's doing. You know, we have a lot of good, positive feedback, and I do appreciate everything you've said, and I hope you got my email when I responded. I did, thank you. Okay, thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: And I just went to a training along with a couple of my colleagues, and we went to the training. It's for new school committee members. So I received the certification probably, I think, two weeks ago. I don't remember the exact date. Yeah, it was actually the day before Mother's Day. So it was not this week, it was the week before. and we got a booklet and we, you know, there's a lot of information that we have available, including help from the MASC to conduct a superintendent search. They assist with the superintendent search and they gave us a little, you know, a little handout. So they also can help us conduct the search. And with any questions that we have as a committee, you know, to help us with the search. Now I'm not experienced with this. I've never done it. And I don't know if any of the colleagues here have done it because Mr. Belson has been the superintendent. So I think it's going to be new for all of us. You know, at the same time, it's going to be a work in process where you know, I think we're all going to learn from this experience and like we've been doing with all the other procedures, we've been documenting and we've been writing instructions and new procedures and we've been reviewing the procedures as a group before we make a motion to put it on the table before we publish it. And we've been, you know, doing that, you know, as we, I mean, during committee of the whole meetings. Um, so I think it's, It is, you know, definitely in the works. I think, you know, where it's so close to the superintendent night and so close to his evaluation, I, you know, I wish the timing was different and we had some more answers for you tonight, but I'm very glad that you've come out, you know, to talk to us. Thank you. Thanks.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Is that what you agreed to?
[Kathy Kreatz]: These are just like some minor updates on page two. It's just missing a word, like right here under the bullet one, two, three. Third bullet down, renters must, it's just missing the word E, 21. And then down below, a little bit further, I thought it was going to be new individuals will be admitted to the school building before or after an adult supervisor who must be at least 21 years of age. I thought it was gonna be 21 years of age, but it says 18 years in one section, but 21 in another. Yeah, I think it just needs to be changed on the bullet on the bullet. Yeah. Two of the bullets. Second one from the bottom.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to say congratulations, Heidi, on qualifying to the next level. I know what a big deal it is. Thank you. Congratulations.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just wanted to know, because I know that the enrollment's going to go up a little bit in the vocational school. There's a few more students joining the vocational school. Do you think that one guidance Councilor would be enough, or there might be a need for an add to staff, or maybe 1.5? I was just noticing that the numbers were like the Anderson Middle School was two, McGlynn was two, the vocational school was one, and the high school was five. So I was just kind of looking at the numbers that way.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. I just had one more question. Um, Oh, I just wanted to know, um, who is, what is the name of the new community partnership Councilor?
[Kathy Kreatz]: Okay. I knew I met him, but I just couldn't remember his name. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz. I just wanted to say I enjoyed all the bands, concerts, everything. It's always just perfect, beautiful, amazing job. Thank you both. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Crutt. Yes. I wanted to say congratulations. And it's just, it's amazing. And I know you waited a long time to finally, you know, publish and your dream come true. And thank you, Mr. Sloan. And I'm really excited to read this and I'm really happy for the Brooks School that they're going to pilot the book. So exciting. Congratulations. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you very much. The message we got today from the Roberts and that was an example of a job well done with the nurse that administered the EpiPen and the way the 911 response and the principal going in the ambulance. It was just wonderful. It was a very smooth event. Extremely smooth. It was handled very well. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kurtz. What about a backup generator in case of a power outage? Would they be required to have that?
[Kathy Kreatz]: We are, if possible, you are getting the supplies. I reached out to a couple of artists, my niece is an artist, and I spoke with somebody that also, I believe, works with the Art Council, and she mentioned there's a company, Blick, and they have high-quality art supplies, very high quality, used by a lot of artists, and they also have like what's called an art room aid where you can select items and almost like a wish list where you can select the items that you want to choose for the supplies. And I don't know if this would be a recommendation, but it was mentioned that when you do this art room aid, You can actually request donations with this company. And I think, and I'm not sure, but I think the Andrews Middle School, they did something like that. But I'm not really too sure what it was when they were doing their, you know, the most recent art mural. But I didn't really have time to reach out to them. you know, the Anderson Middle School without having this any sooner, you know what I mean, than just receiving it over the weekend. So I wasn't sure if that was something that you were thinking about or, you know, I wasn't sure.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, yeah. Do you know if the Andrews Middle School has any supplies left over from their art mural, even if it was paintbrushes that could be shared between the schools? And I'm not sure if that's something that's possible, but I was thinking of recycling some of the supplies.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, I just wanted to say that I did speak with a couple of parents, including my son. And some of his friends said that the message was very calm, and that all the students were very calm. And it was a very well-recorded message. A lot of people were really impressed with the very calmness in your tone. And it was a really good message. And the students were very, I guess because of the training, They weren't nervous, because I had asked my son, were kids nervous? And he said, no. Everybody was very calm. Everything was very, you know, they were notified. So I just wanted to share that I received some positive feedback on the message.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Sam, I want to thank you for coming out tonight. And I'm really excited about the library card plan. And we talked about it a couple of weeks ago. And I just love the idea of promoting the literacy and the community participation at the library. And there was some ideas that we talked about possibly for having maybe, and I don't know if something like this would be possible to have, maybe like an orientation night at the McGlynn School where Sam could go there and do a presentation for the middle schools one night or for the elementary schools so that the parents could take their children and maybe possibly watch the orientation. or have something at the high school, at the Karen Theater, after hours, something in the evening for parents and students to go. Even if they didn't get their application at registration time, they could get one at that time, pick it up. but I definitely think it should be part of the new, um, or this year's orientation folder. And if possible, I agree with Bob scary that we should try to implement it as soon as possible. And you know, once again, thank you. And I'm just really excited. Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I wanted to mention that I talked to my aunt. She's a flight attendant and she travels to Italy a lot. She said that this is an amazing trip and that it's something that if I could go, I should go. So I wanted to say that I would love to go if you need a school committee member. And she said for the students, and I agree that it's a trip of a lifetime for them before they go on their educational journey. or career journey after high school. I know it's expensive, but it is a trip of a lifetime. She said that the rates were actually reasonable with where they're going in the 10 days. Considering that it covers everything. It's a lot, but that's what you would pay.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Oh, I was just kind of on what Paulette was saying, where it is approaching the prom season. Is there any special meeting that they have with the juniors and seniors to prepare them for the prom and to talk to them about being safe and not drinking? Just to kind of drill it in. their heads, that it's very dangerous, and what are the consequences if they're caught at the prom. I know that when my niece went a couple years ago, there was an all-night after party at Tufts University that was excellent. Is that still planned for this prom season? Oh, excellent.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Thank you.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Krentz? I have a point of information that I know at the vocational school, they have some of the power dryers now in some of the bathrooms. So that might be a nice thing, a nice change for the future, instead of the because they were having problems with paper towels. So yeah.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? Yes, I'd like to put a motion. I'd like to table the agenda item and move it to the committee of the whole meeting on Wednesday so that we can all be there to answer questions.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Aye.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Well, I would like to table it. So yes. So I can have more time. That would be a yes. Because I haven't been informed. That would be a yes.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, I'm sorry.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Mestone, how are the parents identified?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I actually went online to, there was a video that you could watch online and it was really, it was a great video and it showed, you know, one of the representatives going into a home and teaching the parent how to read to their student. and going back again and putting a puzzle together. And it was really sweet. And I'm really proud that Nedra is part of this program. And if there's any way that, because I know they're very low-income families, with their incomes are so low, like $20,000, some are $10,000. If there's any way that we could donate you know, jackets or hats or clothing. You know, I'd be interested in that, you know, just from things that I have left over from my son and even some toys, you know, because, you know, it was, you know, I was really surprised at how low the incomes were, you know. So if you could let us know, you know, even like adult clothing, you know, for the parents.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yeah, I got a call, Erin, before I left the house, and my parents- Point of information, Ms.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes, point of information.
[Kathy Kreatz]: I just want to say, Mr. Trotted, this is terrific. And I love all the little programs that are mentioned here. It's terrific. I love it. Just wanted to tell you that it's, I just loved it all.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Mr. Feldman, he was terrific. And I really feel for his loss. And he's been around the United States. And he wears wristbands on both sides of all the families and their favorite colors of the wristband from all the children that have lost and that he's met and encountered. It really was heartbreaking. You know, he's so brave. He can go around the country and share his story and try to help others. It's incredible. And Emily, who's from Medford, was there. She's terrific also, and her little daughter. It was really incredible. It brought tears to my eyes. I realized that I drive distracted just with the navigation system and changing the channel or driving with the coffee. It just really set in and it makes you think that you don't realize what distractions are until it was brought to our attention. I thought it was only texting until I went to the presentation. It was really powerful.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Ms. Kreatz? Yes, I wanted to say I was really, I enjoyed reading it, and I especially liked the year-long implementation of the community animal habitats, construction in our It was amazing. It sounds very exciting. And I'd be interested in observing one of the classes. So I'll definitely get in touch with you. I really like it.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Yes. Um, I just wanted to say, um, in regards to like the halftime position, Heidi, did you ever, um, cause I think if you can send in a critical waiver, like a shortage with the DSE, um, if you can't find anybody to fill like a certified position, you might be able to, get a critical shortage waiver if he was going to go to full-time status without the license?
[Kathy Kreatz]: I'd like to say thank you also and congratulations to Katie, Adriana, and Lolanda. Thank you.