[Nicole Branley]: just to follow up on member Rousseau's comment for the special ed piece I know that I code all the kids in a couple of different aspects of where they're moving to and why when they unenroll so if they don't come to school for so many days obviously the school will flag us and let us know and then we have to put that code in And there are times that I'm sure it happens with the Yale students, because that's not my department, but with the specialist students, I'm like, well, where did this kid go? You have to show that data. And then so when we're placing students, which happens to me every day in my role during the day, but all those specialist students come through my office. How long does it take us to in Medford to place a special ed student?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay.
[Nicole Branley]: I'll put three days-ish.
[Nicole Branley]: This project now. Which one? Well yeah I know. So I would say specifically the HVAC project.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, perfect.
[Nicole Branley]: And they have the equipment to do what they need for now. And then obviously everything will be updated when the time comes. Yes. Okay, perfect. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley. I noticed the salary here. Was that similar to the salary that it was before?
[Nicole Branley]: It's the same one. OK. I just want to make sure. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley? So who holds on to this $35,000?
[Nicole Branley]: We're holding off on accepting the money. We've already accepted the money. We're just holding off on the letter.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley. So yeah, so my question was surrounding that academic honesty panel too, like who determines it at what grade level and all of that stuff. Is there answer to that based on what you just said, or is that something?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, good.
[Nicole Branley]: Sorry.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley. In my head. I think that this is gonna get really tricky as time goes on because I think maybe a discussion with the principal in one building with a parent is gonna be different maybe than a principal in another building with a parent just based on what the parent's needs are. And I just, I feel this tornado happening of social media. Well, this is what happened here and this was our situation here and every case is gonna be case by case. So I just feel like this is going to really open up a door to a lot of stormy waters. I think everybody has the right to obviously be able to make the decision for their child. But I think even as she said, moving forward as your older children, how do we protect a student? from being, you know, chastised or, you know, like, I mean, where are we drawing the line here? Like, this is really opening up a broad, a broad purview that we're really can't control. I mean, this is like, the more I'm hearing about this, I'm like, oh gee, this is gonna be tricky. This is gonna be tricky. I don't think it's as easy as just saying like, okay, you don't sit in math during this lesson and you can go for a walk. I would say for appropriate, like, I mean, like you said, sorry, not to trip you, but like, even like kindergarten, we won't let you go in the hall. Oh, well, we'll be like, what is, what is going to be the plan? Like, this is such a broad. Wow. Really broad.
[Nicole Branley]: I just want to make sure that our principals and our staff, along with Dr. Talbot, are really being supported in all of this. Because at the end of the day, as I always say, it's about the kids at the end of the day and supporting their families. So it's really going to have to be individual and discussion-based.
[Nicole Branley]: No.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes. Member.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: I just looked at the website knowing that I'm on that superintendent evaluation member Olapati as the chair, but it says his name twice on our website instead of a third member. So who, I'm assuming it's either.
[Nicole Branley]: Intoppa, okay, perfect.
[Nicole Branley]: And then I had just asked Will if he could update the webpage. Yes. with that.
[Nicole Branley]: We had that talk earlier. I was like, I can send you an email. I know it. And then we could just, since I'm on this and I had already asked him if we could just update the voting and non-voting members on the MSBA process. Those aren't updated also. So if we could just add that to the website. Thank you. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Well, what am I all about? Well, I'm a current school committee member here in Medford. I'm just finishing up my first term, running for my second term for re-election. I'm a mom. I have two children. One graduated from Medford High this year. And then I have a rising 10th grader. You're a very, very busy person. Yeah. And I grew up in Medford. I went to Medford High. I've worked for Medford Public Schools in the past as a paraprofessional. And I work for a neighboring district. I'm the administrative assistant for the director and assistant director of special ed.
[Nicole Branley]: I am.
[Nicole Branley]: OK, let's do it.
[Nicole Branley]: Well, there's more work to do. There's more work to do. And I love my job. I love working for the school committee. I love representing this city. I don't represent one group or one person. I don't go to City Hall for myself. So I represent every citizen, and that makes me really proud. And to think that I can be the voice of our students and our staff, that means everything to me. I trust them with my children, and I'm happy that they trust me.
[Nicole Branley]: I don't take that for granted at all.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Sure.
[Nicole Branley]: Well, school committee never sleeps, I can tell you that. We are on 24-7. It's not just, you know, showing up for a couple of meetings a month. You are really on all the time. I think the thing that I'm probably most proud of is that I won. I'm a grassroots single person, you know, running for office. I'm not affiliated with any groups. you know I run everything on my own my social media I have a treasurer but besides that I don't have a campaign manager and you know I'm my own manager I guess basically a one-woman show that's it I'm grateful for everybody that helps me. I feel like I have an amazing village in Medford, and I'm grateful for every single person. Working on the school committee, you know, obviously budget season is very difficult. You know, last year especially, it was very difficult. This year was definitely easier with the override. You know, grateful to keep those jobs. Leading up to my run for election, I worked very closely with the school committee before even running for office. I helped them revise the building and intervention policy, and I was really, really proud of that. And I was involved in hiring our new principal, which is Monta Cabral, so I was on that search committee, too, and I'm proud of that.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you. I appreciate it. It was for every child.
[Nicole Branley]: Anything going on?
[Nicole Branley]: Actions that we took, all right. Well, I think budget, money is probably the most important thing, right? I mean, the override was huge. We want to make sure that we're going to use that money wisely. I think that was the most important thing to me in talking about the budget and the override. I just wanted to make sure the money that we do have we were using properly. And I'm happy to see that the money is going where it said it's going. And that makes me happy. I think transitioning to a new superintendent after Dr. Evey left and now transitioning to our interim superintendent. Dr. Galussi. Next year we'll, you know, search for a new one or keep Dr. Galussi, however that turns out. And I think obviously a new Medford High building.
[Nicole Branley]: There's a lot going on and I'd like to stay apart and see everything through.
[Nicole Branley]: No, no, it's a continuation. It's always a continuation.
[Nicole Branley]: well i mean next election yeah so i would i would definitely say you know transitioning to a new superintendent or you know or or sticking with dr galusi who's been doing a great job proud of her um i really would love to Showcase our you know our highlights here at method high. I think the method vocational technical high school is really the CTE program is a crown jewel here It really really is I'm lucky enough that both of my kids are Voki's Jacqueline was in the culinary program when she was here and Dominic is accepted to the electrical program, and I'm really proud of that and I think that it's important to note that you can be a vocational student and still go to college. I think that that's really a myth that needs to be busted. You know, it really does. It really does. You know, and my daughter's heading off to college and she was in culinary, you know, um, and I also think that I would really love to see a lot more Mustang pride come back. I think old school, you know, you've, you've lived in Medford, you went to Medford high, you have that Mustang pride in you. You remember the song as everybody came in on, Thanksgiving morning or the pep rally and I think that we've lost some of that You know, I would love to see us have more pride, you know in our sports, you know in the athletic department We have a new athletic director coming in which is great And I definitely think Obviously academics is has to be a top priority and I think you know a new building whether you know we revamp the whole place or, you know, whatever, but that's to be seen. But I think that we need to have pride here. Be proud of where you come from.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes, both my, yes, yes. I was at a bunch of those GBL games. Absolutely. I went to every home football game I was at. My daughter played for the softball team. She was on varsity. My son was junior varsity and called up for varsity and he was at, you know, that GBL winning games. And it's so great to watch the energy. And I love that people that, you know, from the city or other parents come to watch the games of other students that are just excited. And I think that we really need to get back into that. I think that that's huge.
[Nicole Branley]: What happens in school is citywide. It's not just for people who have kids at school.
[Nicole Branley]: Absolutely.
[Nicole Branley]: Well, I really feel like no one should come to City Hall for themselves. I feel like we work for the citizens. You don't work for the five or 7,000 people that vote for you. You work for all citizens. So, you know, 50, 60,000 citizens here in Medford. I feel like I want to represent them all, you know, I really do. And if it means, you know, stopping and talking everywhere I am, which happens everywhere you go, you know, you know, it's funny, you know, I'll go out with girlfriends and people will be like, oh, there she goes. But it's true, it's true. People want your attention and I think people want to be heard. And if I can be that listening ear for someone to say, this happened to me or I'm really excited about this, I'm all for it. So I think that that's really important. Of course, working with our fellow members, the mayor, the superintendent, our assistant superintendents. All the department heads the directors it is important. It is important that the staff is heard The teachers are heard the students the families, you know I'm I I think really you don't walk into City Hall for yourself and if you walk into City Hall as an elected official and you are there for yourself then You're not there for the right reasons You know
[Nicole Branley]: I'm not a politician. Just with that answer alone. I'm not a politician. I'm a mom that wanted to see change.
[Nicole Branley]: I want to hear everybody's opinions. No matter what side of the aisle you're on, I think that we need to really meet in the middle. And that's what brings community.
[Nicole Branley]: I love to wow you, John.
[Nicole Branley]: That's my truth.
[Nicole Branley]: I wish I had more of it. I wish the city had more of it.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah. What are we doing with it? It's not in my bank account. We're not, we're not out to dinner with it. That's for sure. Um, no. So, um, well obviously, uh, I think that we've really needed to work harder on maintenance, especially of our buildings. That has definitely lacked. And I'd like to think things are getting fixed. That's very important. The mayor has been great in helping us out, obviously, with funds. We are the biggest part of the city budget. And that's a big deal. So override, we just passed the teacher's contract. I was not on the negotiating team, but the teacher's contract was finalized. I believe they said in three months, which is unheard of. They did a great job. They really did. Obviously a lot of work goes into that. And I'm grateful for the negotiating team in that aspect. Our schedule will be changing and our day will be longer. And that all went into that. Yes, so we have to revamp everything. Yes, so the high school have yeah I want to say it's a little bit over an hour maybe an hour and a quarter a week Yeah, yeah of you know school time right so learning time and that's important you know academics at the end of the day is why we're here yeah so so yeah so I'm really proud of that um you know like I said I definitely want money to go where it's supposed to go and what better to invest in than our children right and the staff that's here you know we want to keep the best of the best here. And I really do believe we have it. I'm really proud of everybody. Yeah.
[Nicole Branley]: Nice to know. Yeah, it's nice to know. The money did not go towards our new high school. I had heard that many times. Like, oh, we need to do that because we have a new high school. I'm like, that's not why we're doing the override.
[Nicole Branley]: No, no, yeah, no, my bills changed, you know, my tax bill changed too, you know, so.
[Nicole Branley]: I am a sports mom, right? My kids play sports. I go to these other complexes and I'm like, why don't we have this? I wish we had this. So do we need a new high school? Yes, you know what I mean? The old Mefford High burned down. My mom was at Mefford High. I went to this school. It hasn't changed, right? I've graduated 30 years ago, 30 plus. And so, yeah, I mean, we need, who wants to come to work every day? in you know, in not the best environment, right? You know, everybody deserves heat and air conditioning and windows and whatnot. So the MSBA process is a long process, five to seven years. I am not on the committee, but we are updated on it. So yes, we are moving, I believe we're in the third phase, if I'm correct. Yeah, and you know, the team is working really diligently at getting everything passed in ahead of schedule, which is great. There's a lot of parts of it. And I'm really proud that so many people in the community wanted to jump in with their expertise. I love that. That's community to me. You know, I think you want to come into a building every day that makes you feel good. Right, you know, in my office, everybody says, I love your area, it feels like home. And I'm like, you know what, I want people to feel comfy when they come into my area, you know, we're here a lot of hours, you know, and our staff works hard and our kids work hard. So you want it to be, you know, a welcoming environment, foster learning.
[Nicole Branley]: Oh, there's a lot going on there.
[Nicole Branley]: The wheels are definitely turning. Absolutely. And at the end of the day, the MSBA is who tells us what will happen. So yes, we can have grand ideas. And I think they'll scale it back for us, if I'm correct. But absolutely, yeah. So I think, yeah, we have to be realistic. There are great parts of this campus and there are parts that really need to be revamped, you know, and there's no doubt about that. So, yeah, and so I think, you know, obviously this high school was built for, you know, 5,000 kids, I think, at the beginning, right? Back in the, you know, at the time.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, you know, exactly. And I think mine was 300. I don't even know how many was in my daughter's. But, you know, overall, enrollment has declined. People's families have shrunk, right? People don't have six kids anymore. It's too expensive. So obviously, enrollment goes down over time. So, you know, we'd have to tailor it to what the enrollment projections are. So yeah, all of that goes into it.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Absolutely.
[Nicole Branley]: Absolutely. Yeah. And it's not necessarily a whole brand new building. I mean, we have a building, B building, both. You know what I mean? Like, this is a lot. This is a big campus and we don't, you know. Like I said, the enrollment is down over the last 50 years, right? You know, 60 years, whatever it's been. So, you know, tailor it to what we need and what our, you know, our hopes are of what Mefford High will be, would be great.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, tailoring it.
[Nicole Branley]: Tailoring, tailoring it, you know, and projections.
[Nicole Branley]: It's a great show. I'm a huge Vogue fan. I did not go to the Vogue. I didn't know. But my kids, yes. You get a tour of the vocational school.
[Nicole Branley]: The bistro, I have to rave about the bistro. I go once a week for lunch and I try to, you know, promote it on social media as much as much as possible because, you know, the food is actually really, really good. The price is more than right, right, you know, and this is real life experience for these kids, like that's such hand on experience, like, where do you get that at school? And, you know, I think busy hands, you know, are, you know, yeah, you know, busy hands keeps them busy, you know, so stay focused, stay focused.
[Nicole Branley]: I love it. I love it. I mean, you want to graduate and go into the workforce. That's great. You want to graduate and continue that the path that you've been on in high school to college or, you know, fostering greatness.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, there is still a waiting list. It's still a waiting list. Can you imagine?
[Nicole Branley]: It's great. It's great, yeah. I mean, years ago, they used to offer up some of the programs to other areas because we couldn't fill the programs and they needed the space. And that is not the case anymore. And we did hire, I want to say it was another culinary teacher. There were a couple of new hires because the programs are thriving. They're exploding. We're thriving, and that's great. That makes me happy.
[Nicole Branley]: I learned a lot Yeah, that tour is the best When I went to school, it was like whoa, well, you know when I went to school too You couldn't cross that line either a Medford high student or you were a Vogue student and you did not cross the line There were different start times different end times You knew you know, and I think that it was really looked down upon which is so sad because it has it really was and it is so different now, and you know, I'm really proud of that. Really proud.
[Nicole Branley]: All good stuff. I like the good stuff. Makes me happy. We all love the good stuff. Right?
[Nicole Branley]: Absolutely.
[Nicole Branley]: All right, go for it.
[Nicole Branley]: I'm around. I'm in Medford.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, so I would say my least favorite thing to do in Medford is drive. Right? The traffic, you know, I work in Somerville. It takes me sometimes 45 minutes to get to Somerville from Medford. I think days I could walk quicker. Right. You know, everybody has different modes of transportation, which is great, but it's a lot, you know, so it's a lot. So, yeah, I think probably driving is probably my least favorite. I think you have to give a lot more time when you're even just, you know, Just going local. Just going local. You have to give yourself a little bit extra time. So probably driving is my least favorite.
[Nicole Branley]: It's incredible, and just so you know, there's still traffic on Winthrop Street, even when school is out, because I sit in that some days, too. And I don't know what's going on with Tuesdays, but Tuesdays is not a good traffic day ever.
[Nicole Branley]: That might be a top one.
[Nicole Branley]: My favorite thing. My favorite thing to do in Medford is to go for a walk in the cemetery. I find a lot of peace there. I walk through the woods. I walk up on the stairs. I sit, I think. The wildlife in the cemetery is amazing. a lot of pictures on my own personal social media about that. The sunset. I think the deers come out to me. But I've seen coyote and fox and deer and the bucks are out now with their full rack. And it's just really amazing to me. There was a hawk the other day that, you know, was chewing on some prey. And I was like, this is happening right here in my backyard. It's just a beautiful, peaceful place. It really is a peaceful place. So it brings me a lot of peace in there.
[Nicole Branley]: I try to go every day. I really do. I find a lot of peace there.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, it's a great place to walk. Yeah, it's a great place to walk.
[Nicole Branley]: There's no doubt about it.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you. I had a lot of fun. Thank you. I've known your family for a long time.
[Nicole Branley]: South Medford. Yeah, South Medford. I grew up in South Medford.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. Well, I'm kind of everywhere. So I definitely show up So anytime you want to talk I'm always available. I plan to have a campaign kickoff party in September. I It's my birthday, so I like that whole campaign kickoff birthday thing. I have an email address for my campaign. It's branley02155 at gmail.com. I obviously have my school committee email for family and students. That's Nicole Branley at medford.k12.ma.us. I'm on Facebook, and that is Nicole Branley from Medford School Committee. And then on Instagram, I believe let me just make sure so I don't get it wrong. It's Nicole Branley the number for Medford School Committee Yeah, Medford SC. Sorry. So you're everywhere.
[Nicole Branley]: and you scare me.
[Nicole Branley]: Sure. Do we know how many people, how many students it is or adults at this point, I should say?
[Nicole Branley]: Do we have to put a motion on the floor to have some sort of little soiree, or are we good? We can just have that in our own little fun time. Yes. Okay, I like that. Yeah, if they want one.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, yeah, so my sister is literacy coach here in the district. My mother is a lunch monitor, so that covers me.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, I logged on from the school website.
[Nicole Branley]: See the agenda there.
[Nicole Branley]: I was going to say, I thought I saw the agenda too, because that's where you get the link, because it's all on there.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes, it's here.
[Nicole Branley]: Present.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley? So I have a question. So do we already have the facilities director, the position filled? Can you hear me or can I just not hear Peter? We can hear you and the answer is yes.
[Nicole Branley]: All right, that's what I thought. And then I'm like, no, he's building in grounds. And I'm like, is that the same thing? Because I didn't know if we were trying to approve two positions. So I just wanted to make sure for clarity that I was on the same... Yep, you are.
[Nicole Branley]: Perfect. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Can I just ask a question? Do we not have a meeting March 10th?
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Hello, Nicole Bramley, 54 North Circle in Medford, member of the Medford School Committee currently. I did not submit any comments on any of the topic. I did read over Member Graham's. I read over Member Ntoppe's. I did read some of Member Ruseau's. It was 12 pages long, so bear with me. But yeah, so for Mayor being our chair, I see it as two ways here. One, no matter who the mayor is, I'm going to just say she because she's currently our mayor. I do like it for the sense that she is involved with knowing what's going on at the school at all times. Obviously that is my hugest priority to make sure our schools are safe and well-maintained and taken care of. So I do like that aspect of it. But then there's the other aspect of it that I feel like it should be a seven-member body just like the council. So I really don't have a preference. I want to thank the I know some of those members are here tonight and on Zoom for all the work that they did on the chatter review. It was a huge undertaking. So thank you for that. I really don't have much to comment about for once, for once, but I wanted to be here just to hear what was going on. So thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Hi, Nicole Bramley, 54 Norwich Circle. My comments are actually from member Intoppa whose Zoom is not working. So he's asked me to speak for him if that's okay. So John Intoppa, 12 Murray Hill Road. It says, my apologies to the committee as Zoom is not working in my favor this evening. After hearing my comments read aloud, thank you, Chair Tseng, it is not clear to It is not clear that my opinion leans more towards the opposition for majority word based representation. This is despite my comments of appeal towards it. Thank you. And that was it. Oh, and he thinks the valiant work of the chapter study committee. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: So this year I understand the situation with the class of 2025 and then MCAS participation student participation is required so every student in the district is taking the test. That hasn't changed. Participation is required. The reason that I say that is because I think you see that a lot on social media circulating that MCATs are not required. Oh, just write a letter. They don't have to take it. And I don't think that that's fair to the district. I mean, you know, I also understand the need of a child. So like, how do we- That's the clarifier.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah. And I think that there's maybe this, you know, notion that, It's not a requirement. It is a requirement for every student. So I just think that that should be known to the public that it's a requirement for the student, but the student won't be held back from graduation or some of the things that are necessary. for the student, but also it's necessary for the district. And I think maybe if people feel like they don't have to put so much pressure on their child or their child doesn't have to feel so much pressure, I think that's just good to get out there because, you know, it's more our rating versus a student's rating overall. So I just want to make sure that that's true. That part is true. Okay. Thank you. Yeah.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: I think that that was just clarified my question. So there's someone coming from the EL program to help Mr. Petralas every afternoon with these 40 extra children. Yes. Do we think that's enough people?
[Nicole Branley]: So are they in charge of, Mr. Petrellis just mentioned, you know, tutoring and all of this stuff. Is that something that they're responsible for? It seems like he's taking care of that part.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes, Title III.
[Nicole Branley]: All right. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley, what was our rate for non-residents? from last time? We had it at $300. It says your non-resident rate is open for discussion, but we recommend $300 at this point.
[Nicole Branley]: So is that where we've been? No.
[Nicole Branley]: It's been the same.
[Nicole Branley]: Present.
[Nicole Branley]: Hiya. So yes, I was going to say the same as I think that Dr. Glucy said. It's different when you're a voting member, which is why I do have to step away from the table. I did talk to ethics the other day again, and the factor is the voting member. So I will step away from the table just like the mayor's doing. And then obviously when budget season comes, I can vote, but we just have to remove that section like we did last time to elementary. And so I just wanna let you know my update and then say the same thing about having the difference being the voting member. So that was my two cents.
[Nicole Branley]: With this increase, I'm just curious, does the increase in tuition increase the director or the assistant director of pay?
[Nicole Branley]: Wow. So my question, does the increase in tuition, would the money come out of that?
[Nicole Branley]: Do we usually make a profit?
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you. Um, do we ensure that Medford public school students are accepted first? I know there's only 10 per se. I just want to make sure that, that we're,
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, no, that's fine. And then how much of the profit goes back into the program? I mean, I know you said he starts with zero, but like, does some of that profit go back to him to say, okay, you have a like a budget? Do you have a budget?
[Nicole Branley]: And then just for Mr. Petrales, do you feel like you are staffed properly with 120 kids?
[Nicole Branley]: Does do the people that we're hiring does that um does that expense come out of the profit?
[Nicole Branley]: I'm just wondering, I was lucky enough not to have to do summer camps for my kids when they were little. It was more fun versus necessity because I was home. But do most summer programs have a sliding scale or is it just a set tuition? Anybody know that? I really don't know the answer, so I'm really asking.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, okay. And then just for Mr. Petrales, how old do you need to be a Councilor?
[Nicole Branley]: I mean, I understand for afterschool, that's a way bigger system, so someone is working on that, but who's deciding the sliding scale here? Who's putting the work in to do that? You? Mayor, you raised your hand, that's why I said you, in case someone didn't see that.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, so wouldn't it just be easier to have this one price increase instead of trying to go low, trying to go high? Yes. We need a profit. We've made it clear. Mr. Petrellis is clearly working his heart and soul out here, definitely needs an increase in pay. So set it at one amount, we're already economical.
[Nicole Branley]: didn't they already do that when they put this together? Dr. Galussi.
[Nicole Branley]: So this is the first reading, so does the policy go into effect as soon as we vote? How quick, how quick? Oh, she's laughing, uh oh.
[Nicole Branley]: Perfect. Just want to make sure. Yes. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Present.
[Nicole Branley]: I think it was slide four, question seven, slide four. Let's see. Can you just say again what you said about the nurse floater? You said there's two full time and one part time right now?
[Nicole Branley]: At the McGlynn. And then it would be beneficial if we had another part timer as a two day floater, correct? That what you just said, make sure I made my notes correctly.
[Nicole Branley]: So at McGlynn, two days and then three days.
[Nicole Branley]: Where needed.
[Nicole Branley]: Is the nurse at the McGlynn shared between both McGlynn Elementary and Middle School?
[Nicole Branley]: Laurie? She's shared.
[Nicole Branley]: Did I say McGlynn and McGlynn or did I say Andrews? I could have very well said the wrong thing.
[Nicole Branley]: Right. Okay. So McGlynn all shared.
[Nicole Branley]: I think that was it. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: So I just wanted to say you had made a comment. You said our community, but I want you to know you're part of our community that we are all one community. And that includes you. That includes every child in this district and every single parent. I work in special ed in Somerville. I've never made that a secret. I love working for special ed because I say this all the time. And I think that sometimes there's this, you know, differential. I don't like it. I don't like it. It's not fair. And I feel like everybody in special ed, every student, every adult, everybody that works in special ed, every student in the district, every student outside of special ed, we're all a piece to a puzzle here in this room and everywhere else. And at the end of the day, the pieces of that puzzle get put together and it's your child's name, you know, and that matters. And I take it really personal because I think that, You are part of this community. So I just never want anybody to ever forget that. So thank you for coming and advocating for your child. I've stood there and advocated for my own child. I know how difficult that is. So thank you. Thank you all for being here. And I will be at city council tomorrow to support you. So thank you very much.
[Nicole Branley]: So it says, Maurice Edouard Vincent, Superintendent of Schools, presented with gratitude for seven years of dedication, service to the staff and students of Medford.
[Nicole Branley]: Here.
[Nicole Branley]: I'll second.
[Nicole Branley]: Teixeira. Again.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Olapade.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Reinfeld.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Ruseau, Suzanne Galusi. Mayor Lungo-Koehn.
[Nicole Branley]: I'm fine with leaving it as is. That's fine.
[Nicole Branley]: I can motion to go into executive session.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Reinfeld.
[Nicole Branley]: Present.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, well, first, I'd like to thank you for all your hard work on this. I appreciate it very much. Also, I'd like to thank the custodians who are cleaning the bathrooms. They're definitely unsung heroes on the day-to-day basis. Question, when that plumbing emergency happens, where does that come out of, money-wise?
[Nicole Branley]: Facility repairs. And so, obviously, that's a huge dollar amount that we're not budgeting for. I'm assuming, correct? I mean, I don't, as much as I budget at home, you know, I had a sink that was clogged for three weeks and it was, you know, impossible and it costs a lot of money. So I can only imagine the depth of that. So that is really disappointing to hear. And I'm really curious why boys more than girls, like a girl's throwing this in the trash and boys are just flushing it because it's, I don't know.
[Nicole Branley]: Hey, yeah, that's very interesting to me. Yeah, I think it's imperative that we have the bathroom staffed so we can open as many safely as possible. So definitely two staff members looks like it would be helpful. So thank you for this. And just really a big thank you to everybody who's cleaning the bathrooms. I hate cleaning my own bathroom. So I can't imagine a bunch of teenage boys. I have one, that's enough. So thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Just one question on the angle. Some areas need more video monitors and then others just need the angle changed?
[Nicole Branley]: OK, so that seems is that I feel like that's an easy fix, but. I'm also five feet tall, a little less now, but I can't reach them, but like, how does that happen? Like, how can we get, can that part be something that's fixed that might not even cost money?
[Nicole Branley]: So I have a whole bunch of notes because I'm a big fan. So I am honored enough to be on the advisory board for the vocational school through the culinary program through my daughter. And we had a meeting last week, the first one of this school year. I believe there was 120 in attendance. There wasn't a seat at the bistro to be had. We were looking for seats for which were together were parents, business owners in the community, staff members and students. And to look around that room and to see how much like really love was in the room was really overwhelming to me. For the culinary program, there was the executive chef for Earl's Kitchen, the owner of Goldilocks Bagels. There was an owner of, I can't remember all the things this gentleman did, but he was a friend of Chef C and he owned food trucks. But these people came out to, you know, listen to The students talk and show around the bistro and it was very impressive. You also gave out an award, and I believe it was the first award so I just want to know if you could tell everybody about that because I thought that was really cool.
[Nicole Branley]: I agree. And I think it's amazing how many business owners were at that meeting that, that night and whether they're in the community or, you know, in the area and it, that group, got up and I believe there was one already graduate from Medford High and one student from Medford High that was working with them. And I just think it's really nice to recognize them to say like, you are taking this risk and we appreciate you. And there were just so many business owners there and so many people that you recognize from in the community that you're like, oh, she's a hairdresser. Oh, I know her from the elementary school or the local daycare. And it was just really, I think it's really a nice night. And I think more people need to know about it. Because if you aren't a vocational parent, you wouldn't know that that's on the schedule. Just a few things that I think about in my spare time. I think there's still a myth about the vocational school that I graduated Medford High 30 years ago. I'm going to my reunion at the end of the month. And you really went to the Vogue if there wasn't a great path for you academically. And I think there is this myth that parents still say, Oh no, I want my daughter to go to college. So she's not, she's not going to go to the Vogue. And I think maybe that's what member Graham was sort of mentioning. Like there are so many paths that include, you know, academics that I think that that is lost on some of, I don't know, I don't want to say the world, but definitely not just metric specific that You can go to the Vogue, and you are going to college. It's not just, you know, some of the programs are certainly more towards getting into a union or whatever, but I think that so many of them are also geared towards going to college. And so I think bridging that gap between the high school and the Vogue is so imperative because We do need kids to take language still. We still need kids to explore other options. And so obviously that's not just on you, of course, but just something that I think that we need to be aware of, that we need to get the word out. And I also am wondering, you do have to keep up your academics, correct, to stay in your shop.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah. And so I think that people just feel like if you're there, it's because you are not excelling in academics, but it's actually the opposite. You need to keep up your academics.
[Nicole Branley]: So yeah. Do you know if students' attendance on a day-to-day basis is higher if you're in the vocational program?
[Nicole Branley]: Just curious about that. And I'm always impressed that the academic teachers, and I noticed it a lot this year at curriculum night, how supportive the staff is to the vocational students, and I think it's really nice. They know that obviously the academics are priority, but they're talking about these students that are, they know that they're out at work, that they're doing co-op, that they're trying to tailor their teaching style to really incorporate what these kids love. And I think that that was so great to see in science and math and English, you know, these different academics that they want these kids to excel and still really be, you know, workers in the community. And I think that that was like a nice thing that I hear every year that the staff says, you know, like how important they know the voc is to these kids. Someone also mentioned to me how they feel like the behaviors of the vocationals school students is better because they're busy. Their hands are busy. Their minds are busy. And I even know in my house that there's never a question about wanting to go to school. You know, there's never a question about that. Like, I can't, I can't miss it. You know, I can't miss it. No, it's this day. It's, you know, my daughter chopped 30 pounds of onions today in goggles. She's never done. Yeah. Where do you see the picture? I won't show it publicly, but it was, it's awesome that, you know, there was no complaint. You know, she came home and she's like, I gotta get my shower smell like onions. I'm like, okay. But, but I think that they do things that are so out of the element, but because they love their shop, they want to, they want to do it. And I think that that's such a great incentive to come to school every day. And, you know, never wanting to be late. I think that that is Not that I would think going to school to chop onions is more exciting than going to school to do math. But on the day-to-day basis, I think these kids are coming to school because they love what they're doing. And I think that that is great. And so I just want to compliment you on that and the staff at the Vogue, obviously. Let me think. What else? I want to congratulate you, too, because you mentioned in the meeting the other day that not only are you the director and obviously the principal of a vocational school, but you're also managing 15 Am I correct? Yes. Businesses.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Thanks. I'm just trying to manage my house and it's a lot some days, right? And so I know Memogram mentioned it, but what is your ultimate vision for a new Medford High School, Medford Vocational Technical High School?
[Nicole Branley]: Can you send it to us, please?
[Nicole Branley]: And I think that your staff is so engaged and I love how they collaborate with each other. That makes me so happy. I mean, I remember coming to look at the book last year and going into biotech and feeling like I was in a different world. They were amazing. They were amazing in biotech. And I loved how last year they, I hope I say this right, biotech was taking the oil from culinary and changing it into glycerin and then also taking some to make the gasoline or the diesel for the, right? Am I right? Am I on track there? And then there was something to do with, yeah, with the welding shop. And I'm like, this is so cool that they're all working together.
[Nicole Branley]: We need a shop to take care of that part. It's awesome. I'm doing all I can to promote the culinary program. I think everybody sees all my delicious food that gets taken back to some of the public schools, or that I'm having for lunch or taking home for dinner. But it's great. And it's so affordable. And I think that people don't realize how affordable I mean, I walk out of there with $40 worth of food, but I'm feeding the Somerville special ed office, I'm having lunch for the rest of the week.
[Nicole Branley]: I don't believe they do. We get a lot of emails. Mr. Pantidose is the CTE director over there. Their menu looks great too, but a little partial over here. But no, it's awesome, so thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: I love it. I love it. I love it.
[Nicole Branley]: Nicole Bramley, 54 North Circle. I am a current member of the Medford School Committee. And when I saw this, I was a little surprised. So I'm happy that it's been revised. Thank you. I think it going to committee to be talked about further is a good idea. But I would just like to have some of these things kept in mind. I did ask Mr. South if he wanted me to go first, maybe I should have went first. I just wanted to remind everybody that as I took office in January, our salary was $12,000. We received a $5,000 raise come July 1st, and we'll receive another $5,000 raise next July 1st. So our salary will go from 12,000 to 22,000. that is our part-time position. It is not lost on me as an elected official here in this city that we are considered part-time employees. right, but we are, you know, asked to be at everybody's beck and call 24-7. And that's not lost on me, especially being on this side of the podium. I've stood here for years talking, but you do have a different perspective when you cross the rail. People reach out to you on a Sunday, like many of you may be talking about this, motion, this resolution, like Councilor Scarpelli, I too have received a lot of calls and people inquiring about this, this resolution and, you know, people expect you to be there when when they send the email they expect you to be there on a Sunday if if they don't like what they see when they when they read the, you know, the paperwork for the meetings so that's not lost on me that we are part time employees, but You know, people do want you to show up all the time and I and I can respect that because I expected it when I was here, demanding change. So, I think, going into committee, I don't know if I'm at three minutes but I'm being really nice so just keep that in mind. So just want to also remind people that There are a lot of unions in the city, as Councilor Scarpelli said, that don't have raises, that are fighting, I think, close to three years for the police department. The fire department went three years. Other unions in the city that don't have raises. I sit in those executive sessions where we talk about contracts regularly. It is not fun. Budget season is horrible. It's really horrible. I lost a lot of sleep and I don't feel comfortable that we would get any more raises or anything else put forward for us. So just to keep in mind that, you know, if the line of COLA or anything else that gets put forward for an elected official matches, no more then. what other unions in the city would get. I don't think that we need anything more, but I think that if unions are getting 2% or 1%, that we should not get anything more than that either. So I just wanna make sure that that is brought up and talked about and kept in mind for your future meetings.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you guys.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: I'll second it.
[Nicole Branley]: Hi, so I agree that the bathroom situation is not ideal. I don't believe that it is as horrible as it is portrayed by some. This is the schedule that was taken off of, hold on, where am I? Off the door today. This is the schedule. And if the staff that are actually on the ground at the high school could, Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is on the doors at the high school on the bathrooms. So you have availability of all of these bathrooms all day long. Is it great? No, it's not great. We also have, I think, too many bathrooms. And I think in a new high school, we wouldn't have as many bathrooms also. I know that that's not the situation now. I reached out to nursing staff at Medford High, security at Medford High, custodians at Medford High, teachers at the high school and at the Volk. And I also reached out to staff over at Somerville High School. And these are the things that I heard. More bathrooms equal more hangout spots, not supervised at all times because there's just not enough people. Bathrooms that are open aren't enough, but who's going to man them? We're already spread thin. All bathrooms during lunch are locked, besides the calf bathrooms, but it's only a 30-second walk, I was told. Bathroom schedule is always posted. B and A buildings probably have the biggest inconvenience during lunchtime, not any other time. Bathrooms are in better shape overall this year. Kids do clog the toilets, can't have them open all the time, everywhere, because there's just not enough staff to secure them. Graffiti this year has been minimal. Vape detectors were pulled down, the majority of them, within the first couple of days. I don't know if they've been fixed. Main office for students, the bathroom is always available. general gender neutral bathrooms, third floor C building, always open, open all day based on this schedule and based on what I was told. Third floor and lunch ones need monitoring. Everybody's doing the best that they can. And these are quotes from staff that are there every single day. Nurse bathroom is for emergencies. It is available, but obviously students with 504 plans and medical plans access, they are the priority. Four sets of bathrooms open, ABC, Vogue. That was a suggestion by someone. Four full-time monitors, sign kids in. That's not realistic, really. Ideal? Yes. In an ideal world, that's great. But that's probably not realistic. The current situation does need improvement, but opening every bathroom would never work. So I just wanted to give my feedback of everybody that I spoke to, like I said, nursing staff, security staff, custodians, teachers at both the high school and the voc. And I spoke to some of the high school today, here we are, a high school right that went through what we hope to go through an old high school that had too many spots to a new high school that has little bit more tailored to the needs. Um, and there's a lot of single stall bathrooms at the new Somerville high school. Um, there's still monitors in those bathrooms. Um, so yes, things need to get better, but in asking students, even that I know, I'm like, do you know what bathroom to go to? They're like, Oh yeah, it's posted. Okay. And could even name them to me off the top of their head. So, um, Do we need to do better? Yes, I would never say that we're at 100%, but I definitely think that for safety concerns, top of the priority, the bathrooms that are open are what we can manage. And still, it's not 100%. So if we have six sets of bathrooms open, or three sets of bathrooms open, or 12 sets of bathrooms open, does it really allow that many more students to use the toilet or does it allow that many more students to hang out? This is my concern also. So that's my two cents. I look forward to the report. I'm happy to know that there is some money, hopefully somewhere that we can help do some renovations. I know that there was some renovations done to bathrooms and that the conditions in the bathrooms themselves are a little better, but it is not lost on me that I'm going to my reunion this year of 30 years in those of the bathrooms that used. So that's not lost on me. It's gross. But some of that is going to have to be what we look forward to for a new Medford High, what we're envisioning. So what we're doing now, I think we're doing the best of our ability. And I just want to thank everybody who takes the time during the day to check those bathrooms. to send kids back to their classrooms, the custodians who are cleaning up the bathrooms, the security monitors who are sending kids back to class, the nursing staff who is trying to accommodate everybody on 504 plans, and anybody else that needs the bathroom. So a big shout out to everybody that's doing the work on the ground there. So thanks.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley. Yeah, so just to piggyback with member Graham just said, I think that I did hear you say compensation at one point. So I'm just curious how that would work between, you know, our school budget and the city budget. I have to give three shouts out to Frances because I think she's one of the most loveliest human beings ever. I can't help but hug her every time I see her. She makes me really, really happy. I love her energy, her messaging, the way she brings our community together. I think she is a star. But I do worry that we're going to blur that line. And then if we blur the line, you know, are we school? Are we are we city? It just makes me a little nervous. I do love the sentiment. Like member Graham said, I do think there are some things here that our staff definitely should be able to handle. You know, I would love to clone Francis, just for my own personal life, to be honest. But but yeah, I think I think we just have to really walk the line here. So I just I think that that just has to really be on the forefront. So thanks.
[Nicole Branley]: I just have one question. When is that DEI subcommittee meeting? We have to schedule it.
[Nicole Branley]: I'm a yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: On section three, number seven, just need a capital on that.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: So I'm just wondering if we can have a copy of that slideshow sent to us. Each of us can have that slideshow. Before this testing was done, was the city testing the water? I know the city tests the water every week. Are the schools part of that testing regularly?
[Nicole Branley]: Do the testing that came from this go to the water department? What is the follow through in collaboration with the city?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, so the Department of Public Health. The plan moving forward. Can we be notified what the plan is going to be moving forward? Okay. Um, I think that might be it. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you. Thank you, Megan. Member Branley. So just a couple of points. Jessica, yes, I was gonna just say thank you for all that you do. In Somerville, I work side by side with the Somerville Special Education Transportation Department, and the transportation calls never end. And it's all year round. I mean, we have extended school year. That's another whole project in itself. field trips, day-to-day, it never ends, detours, road closures, unexpected things, a car accident, changes a whole route for a bus. So I just want you to know that I do appreciate everything that you do. I obviously don't work hand-in-hand with you here at Medford. But just another point, with the kids getting on the buses, I worked in the kindergarten classroom for six years at the Brooks. Dismissal is chaos. especially in the kindergarten. Five-year-olds don't always know where they're going. They don't know what day it is all the time. It's great to say, give the bus driver a note. That's great. But on the day-to-day in the classroom, I just can see how that could just be nearly impossible at times. A child goes up to the bus at one time, one week with two aides and maybe a teacher. they get up to the gym and then it's you're off to your bus line. Those people change constantly. Different staff covered different weeks. So I don't know how to really make it as smooth as I would love to see it, or as you would love to see it, or the bus driver would love to see it. I give all the kudos to the bus drivers because I've been on plenty of field trips for my own children. I wouldn't be a bus driver. So I big huge kudos to the bus drivers also because they are really the ones on the ground doing all the work, you know, day in and day out with. I think we all you know anybody that has children know the chaos of having your own children in the car asking for something when you have one or two children that are asking a question, let alone 60 or 70 kids that is beyond imagination to me. But I really think it's great that everybody has their tags. I was the one that put the tags on the kids in the kindergarten. It's a great system, but those tags fall off. You forget your backpack one day. A million things can happen. So I don't know how we really make this like the smoothest process. But obviously, I know our staff would do anything, you know what I mean? Obviously to ensure that the kids are getting in the right place and so are you. So a big, huge kudos to everybody that's working this constantly. So thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Bramley? So acts of words of aggression if device is tampered with, have we seen that devices have been tampered with?
[Nicole Branley]: And then with the acts of words or aggression, how are we following up with that?
[Nicole Branley]: So just a follow-up question on that. With the amount that the device is going off, say 104 times for the second floor boys bathroom, is that bathroom being monitored? I mean, I'm assuming no one's running to the bathroom 104 times during a day to see the device went off, so what's happening?
[Nicole Branley]: Hello? Testing.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley? I just want to piggyback what Member Ruseau said about making sure that we have guidelines. I believe my favorite word here is being proactive. So we can just be proactive to protect you guys, to protect us, obviously, as a district. And then I'm just also curious with the paying, Obviously, if you're not paying, you can still park at school. You're not parking at school at all if you don't pay. Correct, okay, so that's obviously gonna be told to everybody that's parking is gonna understand that if you don't pay the $75, you can't park at school.
[Nicole Branley]: And so then just my other question is, would this be something that's done after school? When would we be painting if that was the case? Do you have any ideas, Mr. Casey?
[Nicole Branley]: And obviously the school is being used during that time too, for activities. Okay, so. Do we have to motion on the floor to make this two separate votes, 175 for the spot and then 175 for the painting? If somebody wants to sever, otherwise we can move approval of the whole thing. I'd like to sever it so that we can have motion to sever the $75 for the spot and then $75 for the painting, if that's possible.
[Nicole Branley]: So I just have a question on number two. If we eliminate the MCAS as the standard, then what are we using as a requirement for competency to graduate? So it moves to the district to define student competencies.
[Nicole Branley]: Mayor? Member Branley? My child is a student in this program, so I don't know if I should abstain from the vote. I'm all for it, but I don't know if it's a conflict, so. Not a conflict. Anybody? Is she attending? She's attending. Still not a conflict. Yeah, it's fine. They're telling me it's good. Yes, I'll second then.
[Nicole Branley]: I mean, I want to go. I want to come eat.
[Nicole Branley]: Can I, can I ask a question on that? Just being a newbie, if the field trip is within the first couple of weeks.
[Nicole Branley]: Mayor? Yes, Member Brindley. Sorry. Can we get a regular update on enrollment? Monthly, quarterly? somewhere just to see how our numbers are staying. Yes. You mean this report? Yeah. Sure. Just a little bit regularly. Just so, you know, even if it was like January 1st or come the spring, just to see where we stand. I'm just, I don't know if there's a time for that, but just curious with, you know, cuts that we made and budget issues, you know, are we being supported properly? You know, nurse guidance, all the things that we worried about back in May and June, some of those things haven't changed. So, concerns me with some of the numbers so i just want to make sure that we're where we're supposed to be thank you no problem member graham
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley? Can we just have a copy of that? That's not in our packet. Absolutely. Those two pages with the personnel. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you, Member Bramley. I just want to agree with Member Graham. The proactive word was used, and I feel like we are a district that is constantly reactive. And it's aggravating. It's aggravating to see that I feel like in so many different aspects, we react to things that happen instead of being proactive. And I would love to hop on board to anybody that wants to be proactive because I'll come to every meeting. But let's be proactive. We know school's going to start. We know it's going to be warm. We know that, you know, it's going to get cold. Like, we know these things are going to happen, yet we're always shocked. And it blows my mind. And yet I don't know why I'm surprised. So I think if we could be proactive, that would be great. we know kids are gonna take the bus. I was a parent that always filled out that, oh yeah, we live here and we're gonna take the bus to the Brooks. I don't know why we always end up in a predicament like this and it's for more than one subject. And it's just like member Graham said, being proactive, we know school's gonna start next year, we know we need the buses. And obviously there's some stuff that we can't control in many different aspects, but. this seems something that we can control. So I know that you said that you had a meeting coming up. I would love to join you because I think that this is imperative that, you know, two weeks into school that we're telling parents, well, now we can't take your kid. Well, you know, and you said, well, we're not going to leave your child out, you know, if it's unsafe. Who's going to make that judgment? You? I'm not saying that you can't, but is the parent going to make that judgment? Well, I don't think my child can cross Mystic Ave. Oh, well, it's only a mile, so they can. don't think that's fair who's who's to say whose child is more responsible to to cross high street or you know i know that my son has said to me before when he was at the at the middle school i'm going to ride my bike there what from west medford that makes no sense to me it's too far you know what i mean it's too it's it's rush hour traffic there's so many you know obviously the bus to me would be the safest route for you to get your kid to school and There is the convenience of it. People have to get to work. This is a district that the majority of parents are two working parents. And, you know, they have to get to school. And to think the kids are going to walk. I mean, I know when I go for a walk, it takes me 15 to 20 minutes to walk a mile. So what time are kids getting up? What time are we sending them out the door? Is it dark? Because I think this all has to factor into it. And I just think it's such a, you know, broad aspect of saying like you know we're going to make sure the kids are safe but who's who's going to be the final say and what's safe for each individual kid so i just think that we just have to throw that out there and like i said i'd be more than happy to hop on board with any transportation meetings coming up so if you can let me know i'd be more than happy to do that so thank you thank you um
[Nicole Branley]: Hi, Mr. Velez. It's Member Branley. I just want to welcome you to MPS and know that anything I say on the floor is not personal.
[Nicole Branley]: So, welcome aboard. Thanks so much for all you're going to do. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Second. I'll second.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes, congratulations.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Hello, can you hear me now? So I think just to go along with the mayor on that, I agree. I think I mean, I think. Supplying something for a year. It's great. But then what happens after that? And then. I understand what you're saying, Super, but. You know, I think we needed more. Info background info for this, because I have to agree with member on top of that. And then to add this, I don't know, I kind of feel guilty and I think it's a great program. So Ms. Roberts, thank you for your time. And I love that member Olapade could elaborate on this from a firsthand experience because it is a great program. And I think this is something that, you know, here's a moment where, here's a great program that I would love to say, this is awesome, let's do it. They're gonna be here for more than a year, you know, supporting our afterschool and our before school program. But because we've dug ourselves this hole now, it, you know, it puts us in a different kind of position. So, and just one other thing Memogram had mentioned about the curriculum with the staff, even as paraprofessionals, we don't get any training on curriculum, we go in day in and day out, without any training. We're, you know, the back and call sort of of our of our classroom teacher to say, Oh, this is what we're doing today. Okay, I'm going to follow along. Um and so I think even that part. You know, even a staff. Sometimes we're not trained in the things that we're doing day to day. Um and so it's great that they can pitch in, you know, but it almost is equivalent to the parent in that point. So I just wanted to let That
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, so thank you. I also make a motion.
[Nicole Branley]: You tell me when.
[Nicole Branley]: correct. So I need to make a motion to amend. I need to sever the teacher salary line item as my sister is also a teacher here in the district, but I can abstain from that part of the vote, but I can vote on the total budget. Okay, perfect.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Motion to waive the second reading.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Nurse Silva. I just wanted to thank you for all that you do. And I want to especially thank you for advocating for nurses these last few meetings. You've been very heartfelt and I just appreciate everything you do from a personal perspective. You started getting choked up and I said, I will never cry here. So don't start that, cut it out, but great job. So thank you so much. Good luck.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley, do we have a special department head at every school?
[Nicole Branley]: Oversee two schools.
[Nicole Branley]: So I'm just curious, like who checks those packets at the end, like some of these are just, you know, pages in the IP in this that like we have a checklist and some of all that we go through every single thing, which is my job. So I go through that checklist every single day, you know, so I'm just curious, like when I don't see that autism checklist, I reach back out to the team lead or to the department and said, hey, you know, there's just a page missing. I'm going to hold this aside. So who's doing that double check?
[Nicole Branley]: Present.
[Nicole Branley]: I don't see any. I have a quick question. So just, it's Nicole Branley. I know if you can see me, I'm sure you know this voice. My question, I guess, this just makes me think as I'm seeing, you know, some of these names and some of these positions, how do we go about these strategies if some of these positions are cut? Who does this fall on?
[Nicole Branley]: I will not forget my question, Mrs. Galusi. Don't worry. Thank you. I welcome that. Thank you. I know you always do. I appreciate it. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: I took my notes. You guys are rock stars.
[Nicole Branley]: Present.
[Nicole Branley]: Here.
[Nicole Branley]: a huge, a huge undertaking. And I think it's a huge, amazing, it's really amazing that this was happening in our city. I love that Jonas said that this is making him be, you know, a better person. He's not walking by something and what more do we want in our community than someone to say, hey, this needs to be fixed or this isn't right. I think that it's one of the most important things that you can do. It is so hard to get up to that podium and speak. Jonah you did it without any writing. I stood at that podium many times I couldn't do without writing something ahead of time. You're very well spoken, I've watched you grow at the Brooks, and I'm so grateful that you're here so thank you so much. Savannah. I'm a huge fan of your mama but you might have moved ahead. in the McLaughlin chain for me tonight. That was awesome. You and Adam are amazing. I've loved watching all these Brooks bees come up here, especially once a bee, always a bee, right? So my heart is always there. So thank you guys so much for making a difference. And thanks for switching on the taser and the pepper spray. Good job.
[Nicole Branley]: I'll second that.
[Nicole Branley]: I think I may be one of your biggest fans. I've said from day one that I thought you were unicorn, I was on the committee to hire you. Remember Graham was there also there was there was maybe 10 to 15 of us that were in that room when you came into interview, and you walked out and there was this silence. And I remember just saying, if all of you don't wanna give her a hug right now, I'm moving. And luckily you are still the unicorn and I just can, I don't wanna become emotional. I promise I would never cry here. And every time, every week I say, I'm not gonna cry. But these are happy, happy, this makes me very, very happy. I have really, really pushed for accountability in this district. I have really begged for safety, accountability, yes, more than anything. I'm proud of you, I thank you so much, I really do. You and Chad are rock stars in my book, so thank you very much. I'm still not gonna cry. But I think that there's always still work to be done. The amount of emails that we get about day-to-day basis things that are happening in the building still concern me. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer by any means because I am really Medford's cheerleader here. But I just wanna make sure that we don't lose sight of the day-to-day things that are going on. The Welch page was not in our packet. Can we have a copy?
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah. Awesome.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you. Thank you. Keep up the great work.
[Nicole Branley]: My voice is so loud. Can we specify the elementary positions by building that are being cut? Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: I think seeing five at the Missittuck is devastating. And as someone who has worked at the Brooks, I know that the staff is short, but can I ask why there are no staff at the Brooks being cut? Not that I want to see anybody cut, I'm just curious where the discrepancies are.
[Nicole Branley]: Other question.
[Nicole Branley]: I have it too. Okay. I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page. With the reduction of the administrative assistance, are we still suggesting six are being cut even though three are taking the early retirement?
[Nicole Branley]: So there's only three?
[Nicole Branley]: So only three administrative assistance will be cut? Not six?
[Nicole Branley]: I don't like that word, Jerry. We talked about that last week because three positions are three people at the end of the day. Yeah.
[Nicole Branley]: So is the elementary position at the McGlynn being cut? Yes. I don't understand how a building secretary is cut if she was six miles away, would she be cut, I don't, I don't understand how that is equivalent is an equivalent, I really, this one I cannot wrap my brain around. I really cannot wrap my brain around this. How can you go a whole school without the school secretary. I don't understand how this is going to be possible. If, if, if someone else is going to do her job so does that mean we're paying the other person double, where are we, where are we saving. because someone else is gonna have to do her whole job. It's not, well, someone will pick up the slack. This is a whole position. Has anybody shadowed a school secretary? Superintendent, have you shadowed a school secretary?
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, that would be great.
[Nicole Branley]: So if she's there every day, how are we saving money? Does she get paid less? Is she not in the union? What happens? I don't understand. I really do not understand.
[Nicole Branley]: So if we have a floater who needs to be in a building all the time... Yes, but they can have... Saving money.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, so if you need a floater when someone's absent for one day, why wouldn't we need the position filled for the 180 days? I'm sorry, it just that that just seems like such a disservice to the McGlynn elementary community. I just, I think that we're really want to see our district thrive, and I feel like we survive every day because I know everybody here is working their butt off. And I'm listening, you know, I watched a mom nurse her baby out here who's been at school all day, you know, and, and another one that has her toddler on the floor is the people who are doing other people's jobs all the time is when you work in a school you're pitching in. It's not as easy just to close the door and walk away. It's not how it works. When you walk in that building you are 100 people to 100 different different avenues. And I really, I think that we're, we're, we're giving the McGlynn elementary, such a huge disservice. Great we have a floater, but if Mrs. Hardy is absent at the Brooks and she's at the Brooks. Then now the McGlynn doesn't have a secretary. And why is Mrs. Hardy's position, no offense, Mrs. Hardy, but why is her position for one day so important that she gets covered, but the 180 days of the McGlynn doesn't get covered?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, well I guess we remain to be seen. Under nursing, four nurses still being cut?
[Nicole Branley]: You know, as a parent whose child needed emergency services at our school, this is such a disservice to every single child. And it's such a disservice to these nurses who are working overtime. Some in my own family, you know, some from my own family, they helped save my daughter's life one day. So to think that we could go four less or we could go one less assistant, it's such a disservice to our school. We are barely surviving. And this is really devastating, in my opinion, that this is going to happen, that we've got to this point. I'm concerned about the Brooks, the staffing there. You said, you know, you're concerned about the Brooks with the health services.
[Nicole Branley]: So we are going to be hiring an incoming director. Someone's going to take every Heinz place.
[Nicole Branley]: So that position is going to be filled. That's already been posted for how long now?
[Nicole Branley]: How many are assigned to the high school now? Three. So that won't change? That will not change. Okay. For guidance, I believe last week we discussed, or two weeks ago, we discussed that they also teach a class. So if we're cutting them by half, who's teaching the class?
[Nicole Branley]: Do you want me to repeat that? So the guidance Councilors at the middle school, I believe last week we talked about, or two weeks ago, I'm sorry, that we talked about that they also teach classes. So I'm curious, who's gonna teach those classes now that there's one less person? How are we managing them to teach the class plus service the students?
[Nicole Branley]: So one Councilor, and how many students are at the middle schools?
[Nicole Branley]: they are gonna service 440 students plus teach classes. And then at the Andrews, one person is gonna take care of 442 students plus teach classes to 442 students? I'm just trying to figure out the math. I'm not too good at division in my head.
[Nicole Branley]: I'm afraid it's not gonna happen, and this is what scares me. This is what scares me. Superintendent.
[Nicole Branley]: Do adjustment Councilors teach classes? No, right? Okay, and then do you need to have an IEP to see an adjustment Councilor?
[Nicole Branley]: What about a school psychologist? Okay, I'm just asking.
[Nicole Branley]: For staffing adjustment councils, you said it was reasonable. That's a scary word to me that we're just reasonable. I think that's it for me. Thank you, Jerry. I appreciate your help. I appreciate these numbers. I don't like them. I can't help but be cranky about it because it's devastating. Like I said before, there's nothing more I want than to see us thrive, not to survive. My children are in this district, you know, This is our family. To me, this is what community is all about. We need to fight for these students. We need to fight for these teachers. We need to fight for these administrators that are in the building that are on the ground every single day, program directors. I mean, the whole marching band is here. It's not just cutting a position. It's cutting the heart of a program. I can't agree with that. I haven't slept in two weeks.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Brandling, so just to follow up, Jerry, you had mentioned that when things are cut, we would then talk to the directors about how that would happen, but didn't we cut the directors? It says six, right? Departments affected, administrators, is that the same thing?
[Nicole Branley]: So if the contract ends June 30th and we get the numbers on June 30th, and you mentioned that date, how do we ask somebody who's no longer in the position? I think the hope is that we would have those numbers long before June 30th. Well, I have a lot of hopes tonight. And I'm not sure that they're all gonna happen. So we can hope that that's the case. But is that really the reality if we've got those positions?
[Nicole Branley]: Yes. But why would I want someone in a different department to answer the question about a different department? Am I missing something? The superintendent can answer if she'd like.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, so I know that they've been informed in Jerry said that he doesn't have the final answers that he would consult with the directors and they would they would, you know, figure things out then but if we've cut the directors, how do we ask them.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. On the payroll positions. It says that there are times people are waiting weeks or months, and that it would be nice. that we could if we could get some of these reports that we've been asking for that some some of the things we asked for is a system issue, but some is a person issue. So if it's a system issue, and we hire two people, we still have the system that we have to deal with that we're not getting a new one. So if we have two people that still can't get those numbers out of the system, is it really worth hiring the two people?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. And then for the retirement, does retirement not go through City Hall?
[Nicole Branley]: So do we know if the if the hold up is city side or school side.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. And then just in the sake of education, I just want to get the definition of grandstanding. It's a noun and it's derogatory. And it says, it's the action of behaving in a showy manner in an attempt to attract favorable attention from spectators or the media. So I in no way ever want to be grandstanding. If I seem grandstanding to you, this is just who I am. And I show my heart on my sleeve and I have passion for things that I care about. And this is what I care about. This is why I'm in this seat.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Well, I'd ask if I'm making faces, but I already know I am. So I'm trying to, center myself because this is obviously horrifying. And as somebody who has worked in an elementary school in this district, I don't see how any of this could even be possible. I'm not gonna take it out on you, Jerry, because I know you're doing a job and I thank you for it. So it's not personal, of course, but I have- I don't take it personally. A lot of questions. So you keep saying we. We came to this decision. Who's the we?
[Nicole Branley]: We, okay, thank you. Let's see, I'm just gonna go page by page. The ESSER funding, those positions on this page here, Brooke, let's see, I'm on 11. Are any of those gonna be added to the general fund?
[Nicole Branley]: They're all added, okay, I just wanna make sure before I go kooky.
[Nicole Branley]: And I have to agree with our student rep here, the two full-time employees with payroll and HR that are being suggested. You said the words, it's hard for them to keep up. So I think it's gonna be hard for teachers to keep up. I think it's gonna be hard for nurses to keep up. I think it's going to be hard for secretaries to keep up at this rate. We're burning people out as it is. And this is going to just increase that. Yes, it would be hard to work without two more full-time people, but it'll also be hard to work with only one nurse. It will also be hard to work with only one administrative assistant at the McGlynn. It is two separate schools. It is two separate schools. I know they're housed in that same office, but that doesn't make any one more valuable or less valuable than the other. They're two separate schools. It doesn't mean that one can absorb the work of the other. And as an administrative assistant myself, I don't see the people that are above me that I'm an administrative assistant to do more work on their own. I see that we're leaned upon more and more every day from something as simple as the coffee machine being jammed. Sometimes I pretend I don't hear them saying to me, Nicole, Nicole, I need your help. I'm like, it's a piece of paper. You can do this. Let me show you. I think it's almost offensive to think that you know, their need is less because it truly is more. And especially at an elementary school level where children are coming into you, parents are coming into you, the phone never stops. That alone, I don't know how one administrative assistant is gonna just handle the phone alone, let alone all the chaos around them. So how do you choose that elementary school over a different elementary school, because there's not anybody else there. But that doesn't mean that the administrative assistant for the middle school can handle what is going to be put on her from the elementary side. It's almost unfathomable to me to think that that is a position that could at all be cut. So that's one thing. Okay, kindergarten teachers added in FY 24 will not be continued in FY 25, but did we not see that the enrollment is increasing in lower grades?
[Nicole Branley]: None will be saved, correct?
[Nicole Branley]: Has anybody shadowed anybody in the kindergarten? Just curious. Yeah. Anybody shadowed the nurses? Has anybody shadowed any of these directors that are being cut to see what's actually happening on a day-to-day basis? Because I can tell you... We have been doing a really good job, I think, trying to get job descriptions. But what's written on a piece of paper, what your job is, when you walk into that building, you are a hundred things to hundreds of little humans that can't wait. They can't wait. They're throwing up, they're pooping, they're doing it all. And I don't care what grade they're in, they're all doing it. So I think to, you know, cut jobs without literally knowing hands-on, on the ground, what exactly is happening. I don't know how much more existing staff, if these are all cut, can handle. How can you handle it? How can you be there from eight to three, which I know is not what a teacher's job is not eight to three, believe me, I know that. So it's 24 hours a day. But how do you... How does anybody absorb even more? What is the toll we're going to take on everybody? And if we take the toll on our teachers, guess who it's falling down onto? The kids. These are our babies. We want enrollment to go up. It's never going to go up like this. Never. Never. People are going to run away. OK, I'll keep going. strain on staff, yes, clearly. I can't imagine being in any class with 22 kindergarten children or 22.2. I don't know where the .2 comes from because guidance Councilors. I know, I hate averages. So proposed saving initiatives. Do guidance Councilors teach guidance classes? Yes, correct. Okay, so if we cut them, who's doing that and still guiding?
[Nicole Branley]: The principals?
[Nicole Branley]: So maybe they rely on the administrative assistants a little bit more. And I know these are the numbers, I get it. I get that this is real dollars and there's $5 million or $7 million, the number just seems to keep adding up here. So I'm also curious, if we eliminate directors, do directors walk out the door or do they then absorb a teaching job? How does that work?
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, so I know you said it's a position. Not a person, but at the end of the day, it is a person. It is at the end of the day. It is at the end of the day, because if you're bumping someone, someone else is out.
[Nicole Branley]: And that's less, and I know you realize that.
[Nicole Branley]: And I can't imagine any of these schools working with one body less at this point. I really, it's gonna be detrimental, it really is. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, McGlynn principal office consolidated from two to one. That's outrageous. Reduce nursing staff. And I'm sure the nurses that are here can help us understand that. Can someone tell me how many students are at each elementary school just to start there?
[Nicole Branley]: So maybe the nurses can answer my question a little bit better. working at the Brooks. I used to say to Nurse Allison all the time, I feel like we should have one of those little deli ticket things here. Because not only are there emergencies all day, I mean, I can tell you what happens in the kindergarten playground pretty clearly. What happens if that nurse needs to, they leave the room, now the nurse's office is closed, and there's another emergency? Field trips, how do we manage field trips with less nurses? Things like this that keep popping into my head. I don't know how these things are gonna get done with less bodies. It's not gonna get done? Let's... That's really sad. It's not okay. And then if a nurse is absent, what happens? Everybody hold on.
[Nicole Branley]: So we'll have a director for the nurses. Yes?
[Nicole Branley]: So the director for the nurses will figure that out, right? Okay, great.
[Nicole Branley]: Let's see, what else?
[Nicole Branley]: There's a lot of jobs posted. a lot not filled, and that's what scares me. Because if it's not filled, then what? We need to know the then what's here when we do something like this, because this is real day-to-day challenges. And I know, even for myself, I've needed the school nurse at times. I got COVID when I worked at the Brooks. How many times I was checked for lice? Luckily, never got it. I don't know how. But do you know how many times my head was checked for lice? Do you know how many times I had to go to the nurse's office for something? A student injured me. That happens. This is real, live stuff that's happening every single day. And we're, I don't want to use the word failing, but I'm failing, happening. Identifying other resources. You said we'll need to revisit this in 2026. Will there be funds? So we're cutting, but then we're gonna have to revisit again for even more cuts. Great. Okay. All right, let's see. This page. You said we haven't looked at paras, custodians, Great. Let's see, my next page. So I talked about foreshadowing the people whose jobs were cutting.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. Individuals that are being cut as in directors, how do we know if they're cut, someone's not necessarily replacing them, correct?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. So how do we know that the people are gonna step in and do their job are qualified to do it? because it's gonna be someone under where the director was originally. So how do we know that they're qualified to make the decisions?
[Nicole Branley]: So basically, if you're the senior in that group, you're most likely going to absorb some of the work.
[Nicole Branley]: Well, that stinks. Let's see, what else?
[Nicole Branley]: It really does. Yes, I can totally agree with you on that. Let's see. The director, we talked about that. We talked about that. Consultants, how many consultants do we have working for us?
[Nicole Branley]: Or anybody else?
[Nicole Branley]: Get a list, if we can have a list of who is a consultant.
[Nicole Branley]: Are there any cuts in assistant principals?
[Nicole Branley]: So no assistant principals will be cut?
[Nicole Branley]: Across the board?
[Nicole Branley]: Jerry.
[Nicole Branley]: You're messing with me now, come on.
[Nicole Branley]: I mean, I can't, I mean, I'll just use Mr. Tucci as an example, because I always say I've been Tucci-fied, because I'm at my sixth year at the McGlynn Elementary School. I'm gonna miss it terribly next year. I don't think the man takes a day off. I think he's- Yeah, he's very good. He's exemplary, as are all of our principals. But I can't imagine not having an assistant principal.
[Nicole Branley]: And especially at the high school, Have we decided on any cuts in the central administration office?
[Nicole Branley]: None?
[Nicole Branley]: Not one.
[Nicole Branley]: I'm sorry?
[Nicole Branley]: I think all our staffing is lean.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, I'm gonna stop. So I just have one other question. The raise that we received as school committee members, where did that, what was that funding from again?
[Nicole Branley]: Our raise?
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, there's no more money in there?
[Nicole Branley]: Is there no more money in there that we could use any of that for this? Because it seemed really easy for us to get our raises.
[Nicole Branley]: Lucky for you, I'm all done. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: And I'm not trying to be cranky, but obviously this hurts. My children are in this district. My family's in this district. This, this is our family. Yeah, this is our community these the people that go home into our neighborhoods. These are the kids that stand in front of my house and for the best every single morning. These are the people that pay taxes. And so it's, it's just so frustrating to me because I think when you work in a school. you have such a different perspective of what's happening day to day. And I'm no expert, I'm no expert at all, but I think it definitely gives you a bird's eye view of really what is happening on the ground. And I think, you know, I'm sure we have plenty of people here that would like to speak and I really encourage everybody to speak and to write emails and to send letters because this is a priority. So thank you very much.
[Nicole Branley]: Nurse Jen, can I just ask you a question? How many nurses do we have in the district right now? I might have that number here, but the numbers are- That's okay.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. And what number day are we on in school? I know, I know everybody here definitely knows that 29 days left. Okay. Nobody's counting. I get it.
[Nicole Branley]: Oh, there we go. So I can understand everybody's point here. but I feel like if we're gonna draw the line, can we just wait for the presentation and then we can draw the line? I don't see why, I feel like it's a little disrespectful to the team. Yes, motion to table, please. I mean, yeah, can we just, can we table until they speak? Is that possible? Yes, so let's just table the vote until we can listen to them speak.
[Nicole Branley]: Well, I have to say nothing makes me happier than to see this because I feel like there's actually accountability happening and nothing makes me happier than that. So I appreciate the report. I'm happy that we're still using out of school suspension and I'm happy that it's a last result. I think that it's important that it's not off the table. I think overall, I think it's a staggering number of referrals. And that makes me feel sad. 2599 just at the high school alone, that is a significant amount of work for staff, especially teachers. And so I just want to applaud them for, for their due diligence all the time. It's I'm always amazed by it. And then just the follow up between the houses and everybody working collaboratively to make sure that this work is getting done, I think is something that has been needed. And I'm happy that it's coming to fruition here. So thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: So as someone who works in special ed in Somerville, I had spoken to our department head over at our alternative school in Somerville. He was nice enough to join us tonight. So I don't know if it would be, I know it would be beneficial to hear from him. So I don't know also if it would be good for him to come to some of those other meetings, Medford resident, and I don't know how much he wants to disclose of him. So I'll let him disclose what he'd like to about himself, but I respect his opinion and his work ethic. So I just wanted to throw that out there.
[Nicole Branley]: Sorry.
[Nicole Branley]: We all want to second this. Let's go.
[Nicole Branley]: I would just like you to know that Jack is that calm all the time. He calls with chaos and I'm freaking out. He's like, so I'm like, okay, check. So yeah, he seems he's amazing.
[Nicole Branley]: Present.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: So can I ask a question? Do I need to abstain because my daughter's in culinary or can I say yes?
[Nicole Branley]: Just want to make sure that you can hear me. Yes. Okay, so just a few questions. Let's see here. Do we have data on how often we're pulling reading specialists, EL teachers, specialists, you know, music, PE?
[Nicole Branley]: Perfect. I appreciate it. If you could share that with us, that would be great. And then my question, what is the difference between a teacher coverage and a loss of prep? I know when I was at the Brooks, a loss of prep was, okay, you know, Mr. Sacco's absent. There's no one to cover loss of prep.
[Nicole Branley]: Go ahead.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, and then loss of prep and teacher coverage paid at different rates.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, so teacher coverage and loss of prep is both $40 an hour now.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Would it be helpful if people, you know, the participants on the meeting know who's on what committee?
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Um, I am wondering how much the feasibility study is.
[Nicole Branley]: So the feasibility study alone is two to two and a half million dollars.
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah. And you said reimbursement would be 100%. That's if we get- Reimbursement will definitely not be 100%.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. So we are going to be asking the city council for this money. Where does that money come from? Um, that is all work for the mayor and the council to do and good time. Yeah. Okay, and then just one other question. Non-voting member addition is member Rousseau. Why was that decided?
[Nicole Branley]: I'd be more than happy to offer anything that anybody needs. If I needed to be another non-voting member, I'd be more than happy to volunteer for that, just to throw that out there. If we wanna take the non-voting member addition off altogether, I'm comfortable with that too. But just to offer that I'd be more than happy to do that also.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: So can we just be clear that we're adding the two additional members, correct, from the pool? That's correct.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you. Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Friendly. I just have a quick question. Why do we have a different handbook for every school? Why do we not have a handbook for elementary one for middle and one for high school?
[Nicole Branley]: Like, okay. I figured that that was a case that we all needed. They all needed to have their own handbook. I just figured one could say the Brooks with the principals and, you know, whatever staff that needs to be on there, but all the meat is the same because to me, if I'm a student at the Brooks and I go over to the McGlynn, the rule should be the same. If I'm at the high school and I walk over to the Volk or I'm at the, at the Curtis, those rules should be the same, same at the McGlynn and the Andrews. So I'm just, I just want to make sure that, like you said, 90 something percent or whatever, it is the same.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, I just, when I got the binder, I'm like, I can't go for four elementary schools and see if page one was the same as page one. the way wrong. So I just wanted to make sure that was clarified. Thank you. Welcome.
[Nicole Branley]: Good job. Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Hello, Nicole Branley, 54 Norwich Circle. I was just wondering if I could request that the school committee be invited on that tour. I think for 14 elected officials in this city that we can all work together to support our first responders. That's possible.
[Nicole Branley]: I mean, they don't have to come, but if they could be invited, we could be invited, that would be great.
[Nicole Branley]: Good.
[Nicole Branley]: Motion to approve.
[Nicole Branley]: Second.
[Nicole Branley]: So, yes, a lot of thanks to Jerry. Obviously, I was thrilled to hear that there was, you know, less of a deficit here than what we're looking at the day before, or the week before, the meeting before. So I just have a quick question. The error that occurred, the error was identified in the projection model, which was causing the deficit. Are we sure that that's correct, Val?
[Nicole Branley]: Perfect. So will we get an update if anything changed?
[Nicole Branley]: And then just one other question. It says, we identified spending that could be postponed to FY25. Does that make things look worse for us, for FY25? I mean, we can push them off now and balance, but now, does that mean in FY25 we're causing a bigger problem?
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, so could we get a dollar amount on that? Can we request that?
[Nicole Branley]: Even though it says spending.
[Nicole Branley]: It says we identified spending that could be postponed.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you for being here. So I just wanted to compliment the STEPS program. My family has benefited from that and it was a huge plus trying to get back to school, you know, when obviously you're going through something to make sure that that gets done. And the rotation is awesome with academics because the teachers are coming in there, they're helping when need be, and it's really a safe space. Does Ms. Cunningham still?
[Nicole Branley]: She's amazing. So I just want to give her a shout out for that. I'm very grateful to her. And then just one other question, the high school counseling, so that's nexus for high school, correct? Yes. And that's done by the Councilors? No, it's academic teachers. Academic teachers, so like health teachers?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay. So it's a co-taught classroom. Co-taught classroom, okay. How does it not fall under health? Like under health, I guess. How does English and science teach the nexus portion of that?
[Nicole Branley]: Member Burnley? I'm up. Well, thank you for this. This is very interesting. One question. I'm looking at the numbers here. It looks like my glasses broke as I walked in. So forgive me. But it looks like our numbers have doubled from our 350 back in 2015 and 16 to 631 as of March 1st. So I'm curious how our staff has risen with that.
[Nicole Branley]: And I've been in some of those classrooms at the Brooks, and it is amazing to me, the teachers that teach these classes, not that they're not using their words, but it is such a diverse group. I think I remember Allie, and I can't even think of her last name right now, but her saying to me that, you know, 10 languages in her class, I remember saying, how do you do this? I mean, we're speaking English in the kindergarten downstairs and I feel like half the kids aren't listening. I feel like they're not hearing us. So how are you doing this? And it just amazed me how creative they are so that everybody is getting the same curriculum at the same time. It really is astounding. So huge shout out to them. And then my other question, I want to thank Mr. Fallon for buying 15 of these little things. He's a rock star too. And then on one of these pages here, you have the schools. I don't see the Andrews. So I'm just curious. I know the programs are housed at the McGlynn Middle School, but how does that change their enrollment all year long? I mean, it must be constantly changing.
[Nicole Branley]: That was just my question. Cause I'm figuring if all of these kids are influxing to just the McGlynn, how are we balancing that off? Cause it seems. like that would happen a lot more than someone that would move in still, right? So if we could just get those numbers, I would love to see that if that's possible. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
[Nicole Branley]: I can second.
[Nicole Branley]: Remember finally. Sorry So I was also in attendance. I was here actually during all of this the other night at the City Council, and it didn't seem like the voters were very happy about that. It seemed like there was a lot of uproar How are we going to manage this, this fund? I mean, I know it says here emergencies, but then we also said the stability. So can we use that for anything?
[Nicole Branley]: So, this obviously hits very close to home for me I know that we spoke. privately over email, but I just want to thank you for being brave enough to come up here, because I know personally how hard that is. I promised myself that I would never cry at a school community meeting. I'm not going to start now. It's still too early in my term, but there's still time. But thank you. Thank you very much for sharing your story with us, because I know what that feels like. I know how all of this feels. And I know that when I did return my email to you, that I said it actually took me courage to even respond to you. So thank you for standing there and know that this could be the result of you standing there one time. You just never know where the road is going to lead you. So always speak up. And I say that to anybody that's out there in the public, like you never know where the road will lead you or sometimes, you know, what you think or what is your some of your darkest days turns into something completely different. So thank you for being brave enough to come here and tell your story.
[Nicole Branley]: Hello, Nicole Branley, 54 North Circle in Medford. And just for the record, I am a Medford School Committee member.
[Nicole Branley]: I don't believe it is the first time speaking as a school committee member. I don't know. I'm up here so often, I've lost track of the dates.
[Nicole Branley]: This side or that side. So I just wanted to ask if the superintendent was going to be here tonight. I know that she is on the docket.
[Nicole Branley]: Correct. So I just wanted to confirm that in the Medford school committee meeting, I don't think it was this one or maybe the last one. Gerry McCue did come to the podium and did discuss that we did have a 2.5 million deficit that is not a secret. He stood here, I actually confirm that because I thought maybe. I was incorrect but I was correct he did stand here he did discuss the 2.5 million deficit in the school budget. We did pass a motion and I'd like to thank Mrs. O'Leary for bringing up the fact that we did pass a motion that we will not run out of paper. So this is what we've come to in this city that we're passing motions that we don't run out of paper in our school. That breaks my heart. We do have a budget freeze. And of course, if I'm incorrect in any of this, someone can correct me. But we have stopped purchasing water for our teachers, just simple bubbler water for our teachers in their in their lunchroom, which I know they have a faucet, I know that they can bring their Stanley cup also. But I think that we've really gone over the line here of what of what's happening so I know people are very upset. I just want to encourage people to always come to meetings, where we're here I'm here just like you guys at a meeting regularly so I know you're upset now but there's stuff that happens in this chamber. multiple times a week. So be present, you know, know what's going on. So yes, that's happening in our school. And I just want to thank Councilor Scarpelli and all of you for your hard work. But know that that is a true number. We are $2.5 million in the whole for the school budget. And that is devastating as someone who's worked in the Medford public school system and who has children in the Medford public school system. And as a school committee member, here we are. So I think we really need to hold ourselves accountable because this is this is who voted us in. This is who voted us in and we need to listen to that. So thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: I do this every time. Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley? So I'm just curious. Well, one, I'd like to thank you because I was a member of the school program when I worked at the Brooks and I loved it. And actually as a parent at the time, I was making a lot less than what the parents do now, which is good. I've never paid enough, of course, but the pay was why I did it. And the pay has come up significantly since then. So that's great to see because there is that definitely divided group at morning program that some just need a hug and to sit and chill and others are, ready to bounce the ball off the wall. So for each other. But no, I think I think this is great. I know how hard you work. So my only question is, on the re registration for current students, how long does that last? And when does that what are the dates? Oh, great question.
[Nicole Branley]: It says new registration April 1st remains open until April 13th, but just curious about their re-registration.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, and then does that stay open, like if they, do they have a deadline that they have to meet that by if they're re-registering?
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you so much for all you do. Thank you. Member Olapade.
[Nicole Branley]: Member Branley, I'm just curious on timeline overall, if I'm going to be very positive that all this goes as well as we would like it to. What is the timeline that we're looking for? Ballpark, obviously, not, you know, are we looking at five years, 10 years? Is this maybe my grandkids?
[Nicole Branley]: Sorry. So obviously my mind is a little blown by all of this. This is ridiculously overwhelming, but obviously much needed and willing to do the work. So just on member McLaughlin's point about the surrounding cities, I mean, I do think that's a great point. I mean, they're right there. I mean, I work in one of those neighboring districts, I worked at one of those brand new high schools this summer. So, I mean, could we pick someone's brain? Am I thinking too small? Like, member Branley goes there and says, Hey, can someone give me like 10 points of, am I being too narrow minded to think that that, you know, like could go somewhere and say, you know, hey, like I just remember in the building that I was working in over the summer, there was a comment, I think at some point, and maybe like too much glass, you know, that it was, you know, an issue, you know, heating, cooling, safety, just little things that had popped up that we could say, yeah, we might not wanna do that in the foyer of the brand new Medford High School. So is, Am I being too narrow-minded to think that I could be a point person for a neighboring district and maybe, you know, if someone else volunteered or something to say, can you, can I just pick your brain so that we're not in a 400 person Zoom call that, cause that doesn't seem like much gets done in a 400 person Zoom call. To think that you could just go in and say, you know, maybe just maybe from like a safety aspect or a, logistics of, you know, the driveway, you know, whatever, those little things. Is that, is that a possibility?
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: So thank you so much for being here. I just have a question on, you said there are eight referrals from the high school that we placed in the spring or next fall. So that means eight more students coming in addition to your 12. Am I right when I hear that?
[Nicole Branley]: Staffing.
[Nicole Branley]: Is the average usually 12 students?
[Nicole Branley]: Just want to make sure you're supported.
[Nicole Branley]: OK, thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: So I think mine pretty much piggybacks off of what Member Graham had to say. On the first page, I'm just curious, these $102,005 This is outside, correct? Yes. So my concern with that being our level spot there, are we checking what's inside? Because I'm guessing the temperature inside is going to be much hotter. temperature outside.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes, because that makes me nervous, especially up at the high school. And then is there a way to link that MIA heat protocol with our protocol when the time comes so that somebody can just click on it and then we're there? And then Thank you. And then, yes. So my most questions were on the equipment needs, like when, how we paying for it. Rentals great. Is it going to be across the district if we have a rental for a misting who's who's walking through the Mr. Is it like a vegetable mister? Like this is what I kept picturing. I'm like, are we just gonna walk through with our clothes on? Like, what is this? Is it outside?
[Nicole Branley]: I see that. I get it. I'm with you. Okay.
[Nicole Branley]: And then at the high school, obviously, I'm guessing one of the larger concerns overall for all the schools. I don't know exactly how many schools have air conditioning and who doesn't. I don't know, are we supposed to talk about that? I mean, I'm assuming that that can be public knowledge, right? I mean, I'm assuming they all have it, but is it all functioning?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, right because I feel like that's, that's a good question.
[Nicole Branley]: Middle schools and high school.
[Nicole Branley]: I just, I was here during that meeting as an audience member. I remember the conversation about the compressors and how depressed I was on the other side of the rail to hear some of the answers, sadly. So, yeah, I was just curious, you know, if we're doing an assessment at the high school or at the middle school, fans, air conditioning, you know, standalone units, whatever, is that going to be at least those things in place before the heat comes and we're not saying, oh, it's a hot day, like we didn't expect it to be hot in June? I just want us to be proactive.
[Nicole Branley]: All right. Got it. So you put me in a tricky position. I'm Nicole Brandly. I'm at 54 Norwich Circle. And as a newly elected school committee member, I questioned if I should speak tonight. I feel like I'm torn between everybody, right? So as always, I also know I couldn't stay quiet. So I look over the agendas for both our city council and our school committee as they become available. And when I read the city council agenda last week, I was shocked at the pay increase. There's been a lot of accusation on social media that newly elected members are somehow pushing for this. I had no idea. I actually had to read the proposal twice. And then I asked someone else to read it for me. I did not run for the school committee seat for the salary. Although I do appreciate the salary. But if you've seen me up at this podium over the last year, you know my motivation and surely where my heart is. I'm the only person in this city, and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, I'm sure they will somewhere. I'm the only person in this city who can say that I've been elected to a school committee seat, but have also worked at the city of Medford as a kindergarten aide. So I held that beloved position for six years, and according to my W-2s, because I'm a good record keeper, in 2020, for my 180-day full-time position, I earned $17,642.93. I left that position. because it is a not fair living wage, and it's still not. And like too many unions in this city, we also had no contract at the time. I've sat at most of these meetings, whether it's for good reason or bad, and George's, Mr. Scarpelli's right, we have to come all the time. I've sat here and watched all of these unions sit here in solidarity with each other, asking for contracts, asking for a fair living wage, for their rightfully earned COVID pay, There are still unions in this city negotiating their contracts, most namely the police. As a newly elected official, I believe the $17,359.80 pay increase for us on this school committee is fiscally irresponsible.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, our start our current stipend is fair. And although not equivalent to you on the city council, I'm not sure it really should be. I don't think anyone would begrudge the school committee a fair living wage increase like other unions in the city have agreed on. But this proposed increase is exorbitant. It's not in line with the increases anybody else has gotten in the city. And I have sat right here in this room listening to the budget hearings and never once have I heard that we have any extra money, especially in our school budget. I also think this proposal itself causes even more animosity between elected officials, like all of us, and the same people that voted us in to do the right thing. So let's do the right thing.
[Nicole Branley]: Nicole Bramley, my address is on record. So I think Councilor Scarpelli has given enough of his son through the years. just as I've given enough of my daughter, okay? So I also have been frustrated that there was no joint meeting. President Morell can confirm that I have emailed her repeatedly regarding the meeting. So I did speak to you, I think it was last week and still really didn't get an answer of when it would happen. So I emailed the mayor myself And I did get a response. So I'm hoping that it's okay that I share this. And it was from her public account. So I'm assuming it's okay. Please do, because I did not get it. Yeah. So, you know, not to ever go over anybody's head, but when I don't get an answer, I think that you know that I'm pretty persistent and look for the answers myself. So it says, Nicole, I am discussing the draft outline guidelines, which I actually thought was already done. So it says, which I'm not saying it's a lie. I'm just saying, I thought that that was already done. It says, I am discussing the draft outlined guidelines with the members and then hope to send around a doodle poll on dates people are free after that. Okay. So just FYI.
[Nicole Branley]: Correct.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Any time you want.
[Nicole Branley]: Can you hear me?
[Nicole Branley]: I do. Can you hear me?
[Nicole Branley]: Can she hear me?
[Nicole Branley]: Oh, here I am. Okay, so my question, hello. So my question was, I was just wondering if I can have a copy of the superintendent's report, if that's possible for the public and not just for the committee.
[Nicole Branley]: Oh, thank you. And then my other question is for, The numbers for the reports and the bullying, I'm just curious, how do we know, I guess we don't know, but I just wanted to make this, just put this out there that, you know, in a lot of cases, I don't think the bullying reporting was happening. So I think the numbers look good, but was all the bullying reporting actually happening? So I think that that's something just to think about that the numbers don't look bad, but was it actually accurate? So I know in our situation, we did not have a bullying report until after an injury. And I know in another case, a bullying report was handed to a parent and said, here, read this and fill this out. But I'm not really sure who's responsible in filling that paperwork out. I know the nurse did it for us. But, um, in her case, it was handed to the parent and said, fill this out. So I'm not sure, uh, how that bullying report is supposed to really be reported and by who, um, and if that those steps have really been taken in the past. So I just wanted to, um, throw that out there.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Because I didn't think I was going to be able to do it.
[Nicole Branley]: Usually it's very good, especially late at night when it's like, come on, there's only one more thing to go. Let's do this. I'm not going to talk long, I promise. So Nicole Branley. So I'm just curious, how are the student reps brought here when they're here? Are they on a certain?
[Nicole Branley]: Yeah, I'm just curious how they're requested to be here. Sometimes they're here, sometimes they're not. Are they?
[Nicole Branley]: Sorry, just trying to remember what their- Yes, thank you for all your hard work trying to- Yeah. I was just curious how they ended up here sometimes and like not, which makes sense, of course, because obviously everybody has other things to do too. So then my only other question is, obviously, in the public participation part can, I mean, I've seen the minors come up before. Students could always present too. So could maybe that part of the agenda be just changed, adjusted to say public, you know, obviously they're part of the public, but so then you don't need a whole other space for them? That makes so much sense. We could do that. It's up to member Hays. I think that's the first time anybody said I've made sense of it.
[Nicole Branley]: Hello. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: There I am. Hi, Nicole Branley. I'm just wondering if on the flowchart, if there could be timeframes, is that something that's possible? If your child is experiencing bullying and they do report it and it's, you know, not considered a conflict, but it is, you know, filed into bullying. you know, is that day one? How long is the process going to take? Is, you know, is it start the first day that it's reported? Is it after three reports? Just if there's some sort of timeframe that you can expect answers.
[Nicole Branley]: I'm done, sorry, I'm done. Well, I mean, I'm not really ever done, am I? But I'm done at the moment, yes.
[Nicole Branley]: Hi, Nicole Bramley. I need to admit my address. I think these are really good points. Even the last point, obviously. I just don't know how a whole system is going to say, yes, it should go to this family, but no, we need to worry about this family, especially if it's an email. That seems like a monster. you know, size situation that seems impossible, right? I mean, but I do think in elementary, there are, you know, forms that are used that are age appropriate, you know, consequences that are age appropriate, discussions, you know, all of that stuff. I think Mrs. Glizny had a great point. I think Memogram had a great point too, saying that it's great that we're, rolling things out, but if we're rolling so many things out that are especially falling on teachers' shoulders, that really concerns me because I feel like how much more can they do? And I had asked Ms. Bowen too, is the incident report, this draft, replacing the current incident report? Because there are incident reports. So the incident report, if you come to your assistant principal, and say there's a problem, would that be the new draft form of it?
[Nicole Branley]: So I think that that sort of falls to Jenny's point too. So if we have an incident report that we're using, who's deciphering what incident report we're using at what point? If the incident report that I got said, you know, there was this incident and explains it, why that form and not this form, just out of curiosity.
[Nicole Branley]: Can the students see the same things that the parents see? I know when I look on, I can see their pictures, their grades. absences. They're seeing the same thing. I never looked on it with them. I've only looked on it as a parent. So I'm just curious. So they can see the referrals too. When did that referral go on?
[Nicole Branley]: I go on School Brains pretty regularly. I actually have a reminder on my phone to check it pretty regularly just to see missing assignments, anything that maybe I didn't know about. And I did not notice the referral. So I only look on my phone, but I just noticed it's way at the bottom. So I don't know if it's something that.
[Nicole Branley]: So, Miss Bowen just showed me that on the laptop but on the phone it looks completely different. So I don't, I just saying that when I look on my phone which is the only place I access school brains. It's done at the bottom. I've probably looked at school brains three times this week, just knowing report cards were coming out. And I didn't even know that that was there or notice it in my scrolling. So just to make a point of that. And then I think when it comes down to really the bottom line, and I think Jenny or Melanie might've said it, it's really just the communication at the end of the day. So the incident report that we got was great if we were told about it too. So we had had some incidents that happened that we were just not even told about at the end of the day, that even had our child's signature on them, which I found very concerning that no email or phone call had happened. So I think you can have a new form, an old form, but at the end of the day, if no one reaches out to you, even though our child made us aware of it, she didn't come home with the form either. So I just think at the end of the day, however we're communicating, as long as the communication is a real time, I think that that probably helps. I think someone mentioned the word trust. And I think that that would have been helpful even in some of the situations that I've heard of, that it does make you feel very insecure. So I just wanted to throw that out there.
[Nicole Branley]: Hello, Nicole Branley. So I just have a couple of questions. I did reach out to the committee, thanking them for putting this all together because I do think pointing out the positives. is as important as pointing out things that would need to be worked on. So I do appreciate all of this. Assigning the school resource officer in the mayor's communication on December 23rd, you had mentioned that there would be two officers, a female officer and an officer of color. So I'm just curious if there's gonna be a third officer or what happened with that?
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you. And then for the implementing clear consistent protocols for student identification, check in and hallway presence. What happens when they don't? Like, what are some of the consequences?
[Nicole Branley]: So if they don't have their identification, once identifications are passed out, what if they don't have it? Is there a consequence to that?
[Nicole Branley]: I mean, it's gonna be.
[Nicole Branley]: Absolutely. And then you had touched upon just the cutting of the classes. So teachers are going to be using the talking point app if a student. What was the procedure before.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes.
[Nicole Branley]: For a period.
[Nicole Branley]: And then so what is the follow up to that? Is it still four offenses? That it's followed up by the AP?
[Nicole Branley]: So is the talking point just going to the parent, right?
[Nicole Branley]: I have it, yep, yep, yep. And then, so is that also going to the AP too? Is it happening simultaneously? No, the talking points message to my knowledge- What I'm saying is the AP being told that today, when you said Johnny, so Johnny didn't show up, his mom was notified, but was the assistant principal notified so that those four are still being counted towards the discipline
[Nicole Branley]: Correct. The answer is yes. Okay, mom, you know this now.
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, just want to make sure that so the teacher is responsible to make sure both parties know now.
[Nicole Branley]: And I think that maybe parents feeling even a little disconnected from that, because I know that when my child goes to school and I'm sure many parents feel the same way. Well, I'm expecting them to be in English right now. You know, and then, you know, obviously when an emergency is happening at the school and you know that emergency response teams are there, you're thinking, okay, my child must be in math right now, not in a bathroom hanging out or in a hallway that no one's, you know, might be looking at regularly. So I think that it's important that parents know where your child is during the day. And I've said this, I think I've reached out to many of you saying that, you know, if there was just even a natural disaster, if you don't know where these students are, if they're supposed to be 30, you know, 30 kids in a class, and eight have walking around, three didn't show up. That's a lot of responsibility for the teacher to say, I don't know where 11 kids are. So I think that that's great. So I just have one more question. And I think it was from member Hays. I'm curious when you did this new walkthrough, did you see a difference? Have you walked through prior?
[Nicole Branley]: Okay, so just in our situation alone, I just wanted to- I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. No, I said you cut the line. Oh, that I know. I think I created the line. No, I'm just kidding. So just FYI for a member who's still at home. So our daughter had filled out what is called Medford High School, Medford Vocation Technical High School Incident Report Forms. So in her situation, a threat, you know, whatever was going on at the time. Went to her as a principal, an incident report was written with the assistant principal. It is called the Method High Incident Report. There is some for students. There are some for faculty and staff. There's an incident report form for administrative response. And obviously, if there's anything that you think is different, you know what I mean? Like, tell me if you think that there's something different that I'm not saying, to correct me. You know what, that's all I'm saying. just to correct me, so there is incident report form, the administrative response, there's the incident report form for faculty and staff statements, there is the incident report for students, and also Joanne might also know the stat on this, and I believe if I'm correct that if there are three incident reports, then you can file a police report. That's a no harassment order, three incidents of harassment. Right, but then you can also file a police report too. So there's different reports at the high school. One, Officer Conway takes care of, which would be the police report. And then there's also reports that the high school fills out when your child comes to the school with a complaint or worry or a threat or whatever else is going on. But there are some that students fill out. There's some for the staff. And then there's some that I have here that say administrative response, but they are also redacted. So if you request them, they, they are redacted. Cause obviously if a student is talking about another student, they're going to say, you know, me and Melanie or whatever. Um, so they do need to be redacted before they're getting to anybody else.
[Nicole Branley]: Right.
[Nicole Branley]: Yes. And we've noticed that too, not always notified. So I think that that definitely has to be part of it. And I think to a student signing something with their signature, definitely is important that a parent gets told about that right away. Absolutely. So that was not always, at least in a situation that I'm very familiar with, that did not happen. So just FYI. All right, thank you. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Every time I come to these meetings, I say, I'm not gonna speak. And then I listen to what everybody has to say. And I take a lot of notes and everybody here makes it pretty easy for me to end up being the, maybe the calm voice. Maybe that everybody needs to hear. Maybe it's the parents and the kids at home that need to hear my voice. Maybe it's you. I hope I'm not just hearing myself at this point. but a lot of things have been said. I heard the superintendent say that all hands were on deck. We need that every day. We need all hands on deck every single day for these children.
[Nicole Branley]: or step down. But there was something else that our daughter said yesterday that impressed me. And this morning I sent an email to her teachers and she said, if it weren't for my amazing teachers and my amazing vocational program, I would transfer, I would leave. I think that says a lot. about our staff, about our teachers, about her friends who are dealing with this at her age, right along with her, with their families who have stood by our side. It's very impressive to me that the teachers were the ones that were with our kids today. They were the ones that were with our children during that lockdown yesterday. As upset as my daughter was, her teacher took care of her yesterday. Her teacher saved her life on October 17th.
[Nicole Branley]: I know four by name, there were others in the incident report that I did not know of, but they saved her life. We're asking a lot of our teachers or asking too much, but yet they're rising to the occasion every single time. And so are these kids. These kids are kids. We have to be the adults that lead here. We have to be the adults that lead here. So when it comes down to money, there's no dollar amount that should be set on any child. And I know that in the big picture, we have limits. I get that. but our teachers, our staff, our students, families, this is what's the most important thing. I heard many people say that there's been years of bullying.
[Nicole Branley]: I have one, two, three, four police reports since September. for our situation of bullying. And yet the bullying plan that we have was not initiated until the nurse saw my daughter on October 17th.
[Nicole Branley]: No one filled out that bullying incident report until October 17th when she was on the ground. And the nurse asked me, is this something that's been going on? I said, yes, we've been dealing with this since June. And she said, I need to write the bullying incident report. I didn't receive it until December 9th. I asked for it. You all know I asked for it.
[Nicole Branley]: And that bullying plan that I sat on a subcommittee meeting Right? Subcommittee meeting, school committee meeting on December 6th. And I said, I've never gotten these papers. I don't, I asked if the bullying plan that we were going over was actually something currently that we were using because it was foreign to me in the sense that none of it was executed. So what we have in place needs to be followed. We have a whole bunch of stuff that we need to do. Don't get me wrong. We have a whole bunch of stuff that we need to do. We really need to step it up. But what we have in place could work if we followed it also. That has to be done. So I know Councilor Knight, you said maybe cancel school for the rest of the week because no learning will be done. But maybe something just as valuable as learning can be done because I noticed today that for our daughter, it was a bit therapeutic. to be with her friends, to be with other students. I understand why parents or guardians felt that they didn't feel comfortable sending their kids or that kids didn't feel comfortable being at school today. I understand that. But today was probably the safest day to be at school. It certainly wasn't yesterday.
[Nicole Branley]: I can vouch for that. So we have all these good faith discussions. I heard the words. mentioned sustainable solutions. We need to put our politics aside. We really need to put our politics aside. We need to all stop arguing. I know that I was very emotional last night. This whole situation is making me lose my voice. But the division is what our kids are seeing. That's not okay. It's not okay. They need to see us all united. And I think that I've been very vocal to everybody that I am willing to help. I have an army of people behind me. I really do. It is amazing to me, the outpouring of people. And I thank every single last one of them because it has helped give me the strength and helped give my daughter the strength. Our family, my husband and my son give us the strength to keep moving forward because there's no doubt if I went away, If I went away October 17th, if I pulled her from Mefford High, we'd be here right now, but it wouldn't be about her. It would just be another situation and maybe the urgency wouldn't be there. I don't know why this has all happened to us. I really don't, but we can't stop. And I just, I beg every single parent to come to every single school committee meeting to join me. I've sat here the first night, an abundance of people, but I've sat here every single meeting. You all have seen me. I've spoken at your meetings. I think this is number three here at the city council. We need to hear your voice. We need to hear voices, parents, because I've heard you all. I'm relaying the messages, but I'm just one woman repeating myself. We need all of your voices. So I also wanted to mention too, My full police reports are all about bullying. But I met this other mom yesterday outside of Medford High, someone I've never met before in my life. I don't know her.
[Nicole Branley]: I feel like I've known her for a very long time, even though we've just met yesterday outside of Medford High School. This is not a bond moms should have while their daughters are in high school. This is not the bond that we should be making. And I'm grateful for it. But this is a sad time. It really is a sad time. We need to step up. We need to work together, please. I've asked, and I almost messaged the school committee today and said, let me help. let me help. I'll come to I've been at every meeting. I've been here. I'll do it all. I'll do it all. Just tell me. I think you all know how persistent I am at this point. I'm not going away. I love this city. I love I believe the blue and white too. I believe it too. And I and I want to be proud and I always have been I'm so proud that the football team was here tonight. I we need to we need to recognize all the good that's happening here starting with the teachers, the sports the culinary program, the vocational school, all of it. It needs to be celebrated, but we can't let this other stuff go be swept under the rug anymore. So thank you again for your time. Okay.
[Nicole Branley]: Sorry, just to add one thing, and I don't know if I had mentioned it to you, I think. I can't keep track. I can look at all my notes. But the resolution had talked about incidents that Officer Conway could put together. I believe it was 30 days. And will that include incident reports within the school? Not just the police reports, but student on student violence in the schools that's handled within an assistant principal, a principal. Okay. I just want to make sure that that was all included, not just from the SRO because he would only have access.
[Nicole Branley]: Cause cause, okay. Because, um, he can only produce the stuff from the police department. So, all right. Awesome. Thank you so much.
[Nicole Branley]: Nicole Branley. Every time I come to these meetings, I say, I'm not gonna speak. And then I listened to what everybody has to say. And I take a lot of notes and everybody here makes it pretty easy for me to end up being the, maybe the calm voice. Maybe that everybody needs to hear. Maybe it's the parents and the kids at home that need to hear my voice. Maybe it's you. I hope I'm not just hearing myself at this point. But a lot of things have been said. I heard the superintendent say that all hands were on deck. We need that every day. We need all hands on deck every single day for these children. Councilor Scarpelli quoted our daughter and our community really has seemed to rally around: Step up or step down. But there was something else that our daughter said yesterday that impressed me. And this morning I sent an email to her teachers and she said, if it weren't for my amazing teachers and my amazing vocational program, I would transfer, I would leave. I think that says a lot. about our staff, about our teachers, about her friends who are dealing with this at her age, right along with her, with their families who have stood by our side. It's very impressive to me that the teachers were the ones that were with our kids today. They were the ones that were with our children during that lockdown yesterday. As upset as my daughter was, her teacher took care of her yesterday. Her teacher saved her life on October 17th. Her teachers saved her life. I know four by name, there were others in the incident report that I did not know of, but they saved her life. We're asking a lot of our teachers or asking too much, but yet they're rising to the occasion every single time. And so are these kids. These kids are kids. We have to be the adults that lead here. We have to be the adults that lead here. So when it comes down to money, there's no dollar amount that should be set on any child. And I know that in the big picture, we have limits. I get that. but our teachers, our staff, our students, families, this is what's the most important thing. I heard many people say that there's been years of bullying, years of bullying. The bullying in our situation started in June, continued in September. I have one, two, three, four, police reports since September for our situation of bullying. And yet the bullying plan that we have was not initiated until the nurse saw my daughter on October 17th. I want you to hear that. No one filled out that bullying incident report until October 17th when she was on the ground and the nurse asked me, Is this something that's been going on? I said, yes, we've been dealing with this since June. And she said, I need to write the bullying incident report. I didn't receive it until December 9th. I asked for it. You all know I asked for it. I asked all of you to help me get that paperwork. So years of bullying have been happening. And that bullying plan, that I sat on a subcommittee meeting, right? Subcommittee meeting, school committee meeting on December 6th. And I said, I've never gotten these papers. I asked if the bullying plan that we were going over was actually something currently that we were using because it was foreign to me in the sense that none of it was executed. So what we have in place needs to be followed We have a whole bunch of stuff that we need to do. Don't get me wrong. We have a whole bunch of stuff that we need to do. We really need to step it up. But what we have in place could work if we followed it also. That has to be done. So I know Councilor Knight, you said maybe cancel school for the rest of the week because no learning will be done, but maybe something just as valuable as learning can be done because I noticed today that for our daughter, it was a bit therapeutic to be with her friends, to be with other students. I understand why parents or guardians felt that they didn't feel comfortable sending their kids or that kids didn't feel comfortable being at school today. I understand that. But today was probably the safest day to be at school. It certainly wasn't yesterday. And it certainly wasn't October 17th. I can vouch for that. So we have all these good faith discussions. I heard the words mentioned sustainable solutions. We need to put our politics aside. We really need to put our politics aside. We need to all stop arguing. I know that I was very emotional last night. This whole situation is making me lose my voice. But the division is is what our kids are seeing. That's not okay. It's not okay. They need to see us all united. And I think that I've been very vocal to everybody that I am willing to help. I have an army of people behind me. I really do. It is amazing to me, the outpouring of people. And I thank every single last one of them because it has helped give me the strength and helped give my daughter the strength, our family, My husband and my son give us the strength to keep moving forward because there's no doubt if I went away, if I went away October 17th, if I pulled her from Mefford High, we'd be here right now, but it wouldn't be about her. It would just be another situation and maybe the urgency wouldn't be there. I don't know why this has all happened to us. I really don't. We can't stop. And I just, I beg every single parent to come to every single school committee meeting to join me. I've sat here the first night, an abundance of people, but I've sat here every single meeting. You all have seen me. I've spoken at your meetings. I think this is number three here at the city council. We need to hear your voice. We need to hear voices, parents, because I've heard you all. I'm relaying the messages, but I'm just one woman repeating myself. We need all of your voices. So I also wanted to mention too, my four police reports are all about bullying, but I met this other mom yesterday outside of Medford High, someone I've never met before in my life. I don't know her. Between us, we have seven police reports from this school year. Her story is so similar to mine. I feel like I've known her for a very long time, even though we've just met yesterday outside of Medford High School. This is not a bond moms should have while their daughters are in high school. This is not the bond that we should be making. And I'm grateful for it. But this is a sad time. It really is a sad time. We need to step up. We need to work together, please. I've asked, and I almost messaged the school committee today and said, let me help. Let me help. I've been at every meeting. I've been here. I'll do it all. I'll do it all. Just tell me. I think you all know how persistent I am at this point. I am not going away. I love this city. I love, I believe the blue and white too. I believe it too. And I wanna be proud, and I always have been. I'm so proud that the football team was here tonight. We need to recognize all the good that's happening here, starting with the teachers, the sports, the culinary program, the vocational school, all of it. It needs to be celebrated, but we can't let this other stuff be swept under the rug anymore. So thank you again for your time. Let me stand here with you.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: This is the bag I carry around. This is my whole life right now.
[Nicole Branley]: One. Two. Three. And of course my OCD, everything's color coded. Four.
[Nicole Branley]: You know what? Because they're not bad. They have unexpected behavior and adults aren't doing their job. That's why adults aren't doing their job. So all their unexpected behavior continues. continues.
[Nicole Branley]: Sorry, just to add one thing. And I don't know if I had mentioned it to you, I think. I can't keep track. I can look at all my notes, but the resolution had talked about incidents that Officer Conway could put together. I believe it was 30 days. And will that include incident reports within the school, not just the police reports, but on student violence in the schools that's handled within an assistant principal, a principal. Okay. I just want to make sure that that was all included, not just from the SRO because he would only have access.
[Nicole Branley]: Cause cause, okay. Because, um, he can only produce the stuff from the police department. So, all right. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: You know, these kids have to know that everybody is following the rules so that they follow the rules. There has to be consequences for actions.
[Nicole Branley]: So again, my name is Nicole Branley. and I can't give you my address. I've tried to really keep our daughter out of the spotlight as much as I've been vocal for our safety concerns. But I want you all to know here tonight that today is her 16th birthday. Today is her birthday. And as we sat at dinner, she said, mom, I can't sit here. We need to go there. They need to hear my voice. For anybody that's spoken about what happened to the other student, here we are. This is us. This is our face. This is my baby. And this is her high school experience. This is how she spent her birthday, texting me repeatedly, saying, Mom, you need to pick me up. You need to pick me up. I have been standing in front of every single one of you for two months saying, I'm sounding the alarm. Every parent that's here tonight, you need to come every single meeting. If you're on this meeting and you hear my voice, you need to be here. This is for your child. Mayor, I was on zoom. Did you say that we have to school resource officers to who said that we have to because because officer Conway has been a godsend to our family. And you should thank him every day. You should all thank him every day because he's been a godsend to our school to our family. He has supported us more than anyone. But I've only known about officer Conway. So who's, who's the second officer officers the overall, he is at the middle schools and also will go up to the high school so we do have a lot more for the district, that makes a lot more sense because I would love to meet him and chat with him too. Melanie, did I just hear you say that you didn't know much about the previous incident? Is this meaning what happened today or what happened with my situation? I just wanted to make it clear.
[Nicole Branley]: Swear to God. Okay, can I just say something? And I think that this has really been important for me. People have asked, who stabbed today? Who hurt your daughter? I want their name. Guess what? It doesn't make a difference who, when it comes down to it, because they're juveniles who need to be led by adults. and our adults are failing our students. That goes, parents need to step up. Superintendent, there's blood on your hands today, my friend, I'm sorry. But I told you, I told you. Kiana, Kiana, I told you. I understand, but I've told you all. I've talked to each and every one of you. I've met with you privately. I've met with you privately.
[Nicole Branley]: Devastated.
[Nicole Branley]: It's a piece of paper when it comes down to it, I would like. She would like to speak, and if she can speak I would really be grateful. Yeah, this, this is not how any child should have to spend their birthday. Correct. This is such a shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame.
[Nicole Branley]: You don't need to know their names. You just need, you need to be. Yes. Yes, she is.
[Nicole Branley]: How do I turn this on?
[Nicole Branley]: Oh, so Nicole Branley. I need to omit my address for safety concerns. I don't actually have any specific words written for tonight. 51 days ago was my daughter's attack.
[Nicole Branley]: It's still horrifying. On November 7th, I spoke at the school committee meeting. We spoke about that earlier on the phone. I'm wondering if you went and actually looked at the meeting. not since our conversation, okay. On November 29th, I believe it was brought up at the City Council meeting by you and by Member Knight and Member Caraviello about what happened to our daughter. I spoke December 2nd at the City Council meeting, and here I am again today. I think the city has a lot of work to do.
[Nicole Branley]: And as I said before, I believe there's 14 elected officials. Everybody has to do their part. Every parent, every elected official, Every person, what happened to my daughter was inhumane. It was inhumane. And it hasn't gotten better. Some of the words that we've talked about here tonight that I've heard many of you say is communication, teachers, uncomfortable. This is uncomfortable for me.
[Nicole Branley]: Uncomfortable is watching your daughter walk into school every day and know that she she's sad because she got hurt and she's scared Uncomfortable is how she must have felt that day on the floor This doesn't get easier 51 days later this is something that I I said to someone earlier I will never get over that over this and all the days of the rest of my life because this is my child This is my child So this is uncomfortable. It might be uncomfortable for you to vote on this or make your peace, but this is uncomfortable and it's not getting any easier. I need everybody's help. I need everybody's support. Someone also said to me, you have hundreds, if not thousands of people standing behind you, but what elected official is going to take the lead and stand in front of you? Wow, I thought, wow, you're right. I can lead everybody behind me, but who's gonna step up? I need everybody to step up for the safety of our kids, not just for mine, not just for mine, for every child, for every child. So there has been one consistent, I mean, there's been many consistent people who have supported us and one has been the teachers. her teachers have been amazing, amazing, and they have validated every single one of our concerns. They've listened to me, they've communicated tirelessly to make sure that she's okay and that I know she's okay every single day, that we're getting through it all together. So I guess my question is after 51 days, why, yesterday was the first time that I heard from you. Why was today... I just mean, today it was 3.30 we were on the phone. This meeting was at seven o'clock. And I asked you one thing. I said, could you just look at that video of what I said at the school committee meeting? Because I'm not sure you know what happened. And I hung up with you and three seconds later, I got a voicemail from you. I haven't heard one thing from any of you. And I'm not trying to point you out and say you were wrong or whatnot, but it's not right. And what I need everybody to do right now is the right thing for my family, for our city, for our school. We only get one shot here with our kids. I only have one shot right now. This is my one shot. And people keep saying how strong I am or how brave I am. This is really uncomfortable. I've had to put myself out everywhere to protect my child.
[Nicole Branley]: Going to parent-teacher conference the other night, we walked through the overpass that we walked through 30 years ago. And I said, wow, it's still just as cold here. in this overpass.
[Nicole Branley]: That video of my daughter being attacked was sent to me before I even started my car to get to Medford High School.
[Nicole Branley]: We need to do better, not just for me, not just for me. I can lead everybody. I can say a million great things. That's great. But if nothing changes, then what does this show? What does this show the kids who have the unexpected behavior? What does it show them? And my God, what does it show the kids that are doing the right thing and having this done to them?
[Nicole Branley]: If you don't like this policy, then what's your proposal? What's your proposal? What's your proposal? You can say no to this all day, but then what's your proposal? Can you write a proposal? Can the three of you get together and maybe make a plan? Because these three got together and made a plan. They wrote something. It says right here, Councilor Knight, Councilor Scarpell, thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: And I think just to add, and I said it to you, We can't be reactive anymore. Even about the paving. Now we're gonna ask questions. Why? Why are we always so reactive? Why can't we be proactive? Put something in place that's proactive. Don't let this happen to another family. Because what if the family isn't as strong as ours? What happens to them? What if a child can't go home and talk to their parents? I am so blessed that we have the relationship that we do with our daughter, that she was open with us. I wish you that for your baby. I really do. I really, I wish that for every child. I wish that for every parent that they had that open conversation, but I'm really worried about the people that don't know how this is supposed to work. I've done a lot of research. I've worked in the school system. I'm versed in the lingo that's in the school system versus the lingo out of the school system. I'm blessed in that way, but not everybody is. We can't help what happened to my daughter. I'm not sure something else is going to happen either. So I need to be proactive. I need you all to be proactive. So if it needs to go to the committee of the whole, if there's something that I can do to help, I'll do it. I'll support all of you. If you support my family, the teachers, and I don't mean just contract, I mean like teachers that are on the ground that have their opinion that can't go up and speak just, hi, I'm a teacher that I wanted to say that this is, you know, a problem in our school, I had to apply, you know, I felt like I needed to apply to speak at the school committee meeting. I needed to send to the school committee and to the superintendent who I've been in meetings with, who I didn't feel like I had the full support of, the superintendent, read my words before anybody could say to me, sure, yeah, you can come in. It's, that was a horrible feeling. It was a horrible feeling that I felt like it had to be studied first and okayed. I poured my heart out into that. Like I poured out my heart every single time that I've spoken. I'm not saying, you know, I feel like what I'm asking should not be a lot. I need people to be proactive to protect our children. to protect the safety of all at school every single day. It should be just common sense at this point. So listen to the teachers, find out what they need on the ground there. Because there's a lot of things happening at the school that I'm hearing about that you, everybody in the city should know about as elected officials. It shouldn't be dangerous to send your child to high school. and certainly should not land them in the emergency room. So I thank you for your time. Like I've said, I am willing to help in any single way. I was on the subcommittee meeting for the school committee earlier about bullying prevention. I'll do whatever it takes. Ask me. I think by now the city knows I'm persistent. So I will continue to be persistent. I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stand up for every child, my child, every single time. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Hi, it's Nicole Branley. I can't give my address. And it's saying I can't start my video because the host has disabled it. So just so you know.
[Nicole Branley]: Thank you for that. Sorry, is it too bright, too dark? I couldn't get on the laptop. So we're trying everything here. It's fine. So I just wanted to say that I've read this multiple times and I think the thing that really took my breath away about it is that it wasn't followed in my case for my daughter. I have never seen this bullying incident report form. And I think when I saw this, it kind of caught me off guard that I didn't even know that this existed. I mean, I don't think there's anybody on here that doesn't know our story at this point. So I think that that was, you know, it took my breath away. And I know from the documentation that I have from the communications from the superintendent and from the principal that a bully investigation was never done. So I think everything that I've read in the actual plan is great, but we can have all the plans and all the rules and all the policies. And I think I've said this 8 million times, we can have all of these things, but if we're not following through, it all means nothing. And so, you know, I've highlighted some things in here. I don't want to be the only one that talks the only time because, you know, you all deserve a voice, but we have fallen under many of the categories here that are the definition of bullying.
[Nicole Branley]: We have incident reports, but that is being reactive in our situation. And maybe if some of this paperwork was done initially with some of our complaints, that maybe we wouldn't be on our fourth police report at this time.
[Nicole Branley]: So I think, in my case, and I think that I've probably been the most vocal person about everything that's happened to our child. But there are other people out there that I'm sure have had terrible things happen. And where do they end up too? So it's not just about me. It's not just about my daughter. This is a big picture. So I just wanted to make sure that that was stated. And obviously, like always, I am more than willing to help. and do anything I can for the future of our city, for my daughter's future, for, you know, Medford means a lot to me. Medford High means a lot to me. My daughter means the most. So, you know, I think it was just sad to see this form and know that it was never a plan. You know, there was never an investigation. There was never a bullying form filled out until the day my daughter was attacked. the nurse wrote something out. By then, we were already at the emergency room. So I just want to make sure that that is stated. And I'm sorry, my dog keeps barking, of course. But I just want to make sure that that's noted.
[Nicole Branley]: One, um, I worked in a responsive classroom for six years. Um, I think it's definitely imperative that we have responsive classroom. I've sat in close to 180 nexus classes. Um, it's important. I do think that it's great for the kids that are in elementary school now. But I do feel that as we get to the high school, that there is a little bit more of a disconnect. Some of the wording, I don't think many kids in high school are gonna go to, let's just say Mr. DeLaver and say, I'm feeling like I'm in the red zone right now. Or I feel like I'm having rock brain. Those are some of the terms that we use in elementary school, which are great. But I don't feel like as we get a little bit older and we're feeling a little bit more, maybe confident. Um, you know, I think kids think they know everything. Um, but I think some of that is not going to be used as they grow up. Um, I think from what I've seen at the middle school, um, I can't agree with Mr. Tucci enough that he is so proactive. Um, and I think that, um, that really needs to be carried out through all of the school years. We need to be proactive. I think the wording, you know, and even Mr. Rossell, you just said, I feel sorrow for those needing to know all 38 pages. I read all 38 pages. I read it more. I did exactly what you did before going to bed. I highlighted every single thing in here. And I feel like when you're a leader at our school, it is your job to study these things. So is there sorrow that there has to be 38 pages of this? Sure. Does some have to be included law-wise, policy-wise, plan-wise? but I don't know what parts we cut out besides duplicate, because there's a lot of duplicate information there, because I did turn back and say, oh my God, am I reading the same thing twice or am I going there? I was late. But I feel like if we don't cover every base, it could be the one wording or one sentence that could matter in someone's life. So I just want to make sure that that is out there. Like I said, elementary school responsive classroom. I worked in a responsive classroom. This is amazing. I don't ever, there there's no bad children. There's a lot of unexpected behavior. Um, so that's part of the wording, right? Expected. Oh, that was very unexpected. This is very expected. Um, I think that we need to see a lot more expected behavior. Um, but I think it needs to be pushed up to, um, the upper levels where kids think that they're going to rule and they don't. So I just wanted to make sure that that was out there. And as always, whatever you need for me to help move forward with policies or plans or anything in between, I'm more than happy to work with anybody and everybody. So thank you very much.
[Nicole Branley]: Good evening. My name is Nicole Branley. I need to omit my address to share that for you privately if needed. Yep. I want to thank you all for joining tonight. And if anybody else is upset about fiber optics, I apologize. So good evening, first of all, to everybody. Thank you very much for this time. I'm here to speak tonight regarding an incident that happened at Medford High School with my daughter. In June, my daughter began to be harassed, bullied, and threatened by a female student. come September, the bully's sister also became an aggressor. After multiple school incident reports, the behavior became so disturbing that a police report needed to be written.
[Nicole Branley]: Sorry, I'm pretty much the loudest person I know, so- I know that.
[Nicole Branley]: Can you hear me better now? Awesome. Please continue, yeah. So on October 17th at Medford High School, our daughter was, our daughter was beaten so badly that she suffered a concussion among other injuries. She underwent seven hours of observation at the hospital and tests. We have since needed to obtain a harassment prevention order. We've pressed charges of assault and battery on both of my daughter's attackers. On Tuesday night at Fenway Park, where we had hoped to enjoy a fun family night with our beloved community, the attackers violated the harassment prevention order. It took six Boston police officers to hold these students back from our daughter. Six police officers and their parents had to hold these two teenage sisters back so they wouldn't hurt our daughter. Who will be able to hold these students back if they return to Medford High School? No one. And no one will be safe, not one teacher, not one student, and certainly not our daughter. to say this has been a nightmare of epic proportions for our family. I come here tonight to ask each and every one of you for your help. I'm a mom who can leave no stone unturned in protecting my child. Being here tonight, I can now say Every elected official in this city has heard our story from me. I've spoken publicly at the school committee meeting. I've spoken to our mayor. I've communicated with our state representatives. I've communicated to the news, to DCF, to DESE. I have had our story shared hundreds of times on social media. And I have spent countless hours trying to communicate with Mefford High School. What happened to our daughter opened my eyes to a much larger problem at Mefford High School, one of rules not being followed, and I'm seeing that starting with our administration. Multiple times, my daughter's attackers were wandering the halls, searching her out to threaten her life in a class that she belonged to, not them. Not one school administrator called us when this all began. Incident reports were written, and I never got a phone call. I never got an email. At one point, I had to go to the school where I came to learn the administration was unable to locate these bullies who had tried to enter yet another one of my daughter's classes. They could not find these girls on the Medford High School campus. And they asked me to dismiss my daughter for her safety. I wonder all the time what would happen if she wasn't as communicative to me. What if she didn't text me during those times? What would have happened? I've learned from many sources that cutting classes and hiding in bathrooms is a regular occurrence at Medford High for students. It's not always followed up by our administration for consequences. No doubt they are overwhelmed, but I refuse to make excuses for the adults who have a job to do to ensure all of our children's safety. We all own a part in this, each of you, our city officials, school staff, and parents. We need to show our students that there are consequences for their actions. There's nothing more I want than to work with the superintendent and her administration to ensure our daughter's safety. Although we have had some communication in one meeting, unfortunately, I have had multiple emails not returned. I requested paperwork that had a 10-day deadline, not by me, but by law, and it was not received. I've been given dates by Medford High School admin of when the paperwork would be ready, and yet these dates have also passed. I've been told one of my daughter's attackers was removed from a class when she was not. I have been told that they were suspended indefinitely at one point. They were not. I was assured they never crossed paths. They did. I was assured they never entered CAF II, which is exactly where they entered the day that they attacked my daughter. No school administration even thought to reach out to the other family. knowing that their child was on the football team on Tuesday night. And there, yet again, they tried to attack my daughter. It's negligent. Disregarding the rules is starting at the top of our school chain, so no wonder some students are not following the rules. School administration must be the leader. They must set a better example. I hope the example that I'm setting for my daughter is a good one, to always stand up for what is right. And I also hope you will stand with me. I'm willing to help in any way, any solution that I can. I'm open to every suggestion on how to help. I wanna work with our city officials, the school, our teachers, they are so talented. They are beloved, and they deserve to have every child be able to thrive in front of them. What is allowed in our schools sets the standard in our community. And I appreciate you listening to me. I thank you for your time. And I would appreciate any solutions that you may have for me going forward. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: Nicole Branley, our address is on file, but needs to be omitted publicly due to our safety concerns. This is my first time speaking at a meeting, and I want to thank you all for this time. I have heard from the mayor personally, and I appreciate your story and your time, each and every one of you. Mr. Russo, you must have lost my email address because I have not heard from you. My husband and I have been lifelong Medford residents and have always been proud to be raising our family here. We both attended Method Public Schools and graduated Medford High School. There was never a second guess in sending our children to public school here in Medford. Sadly, my daughter encountered some very alarming and repetitive acts of harassment. Bullying and threats at the high school, which led to a vicious physical assault that sent her to the hospital on October 17th. I'm not here to speak specifically about her situation, but more of the broader scope of what my eyes have been open to. Safety in our schools is imperative. News reports of mass shootings that have inflicted on our most vulnerable, our innocent children are everywhere. But not until my own daughter's horror story began in June, did I ever really consider that the child sitting next to her would be such a one-on-one threat. But that is exactly what happened when she was attacked two-on-one. So many people reached out to us when news got around what happened. Sadly, many shared their own bullying stories with me. I'm sorry that they had to go through that, but I know that the apology does not have to come from me, but it should come from their bully, from their attacker, and from our school district. I have heard from countless Method public school victims of bullying in the last week. Every story has been more horrifying than the next. This is not a new issue. As a mom, I know how these mothers feel. Helpless, angry, heartbroken, and terrified to send their child back to school. I worry too about the students who don't feel comfortable going to the administration. or even to their parents or guardians to say what is happening. What about them? I was the ultra proactive mom in our situation and this violence still occurred. What is the breaking point here? What about the long-term effects of this on our victims? My daughter. At one point, at one point during the last few weeks, I realized something even more horrifying, that our daughter will carry this story with her through her whole life. One friend told me about her bully in a Method elementary school. Sorry. back when she was 11. She is now 53 years old. She asked me not to share her specific story publicly, but fear that her bully still lives in Medford. 42 years have gone by for her. 42, and she still is in fear. Our school system let her down. They let our family down and countless others. I have heard so many stories this week that bullies or aggressors that are in a fight have actually returned to school from their punishments before the victim could heal from the injuries in return. That is backwards and it needs to change.
[Nicole Branley]: Not all the stories I have heard have been under your administration. Or during the time of your elected positions, but our story is and so are countless others. Although you cannot change the past. You certainly need to step up now. Medford can be the example of the school district that set the bar. Our school should be on the news for positive stories, not ones of violence. I am hoping moving forward, we could work together to actually make sure the policies we have in place are sufficient. And if so, that they are being implemented. I think it's long overdue that children see consequences for their bullying, harassing and fighting. Maybe if students know they will be held accountable and consequences are imminent, that they will think twice. Even more importantly, that no one else has to be a victim of such a crime and that students who choose to use their fists and hateful words to solve problems actually see consequences. If zero tolerance is stated as part of our Mustang way, then follow through has to be too. Actions speak louder than words and the students know it. They know it's only lip service from you right now. It is our job as the adults to set the standards for what we are willing to accept. What is allowed in our school defines the morals of the city and our community. I've done a lot of reading in the last few weeks. And in our own handbook, it says following policies, are consistent with the mission statement to set expectations for students and to offer them considerable motivation and support as a way to help them become responsible citizens. The time is now. I make a vow in front of all of you. I will help be a part of the change. Tell me what you need. Tell me what I can do. Tell me where I can sign up. Do you need more funding? Tell me who I need to contact, because I will do it. Do we need another assistant principal? The relationships we have built with the school resource officer has been a great one. Could we have maybe one more to help him try to cover multiple buildings? Help him cover multiple buildings and over 1,200 students. Can you type up a clear policy that every child actually has to read and sign every year? There's gotta be options. Can we make clear that prom, sports, homecoming, that those are privileges and they could lose them. Students need routine, they need encouragement, they need love, they need discipline, and they need a hard line. So draw the line. What are you specifically going to do? starting now. Maybe our school committee members should start walking the halls of Medford High School. Maybe you can spend some time in the cafeteria at lunch or check in on a bathroom. I wholeheartedly agree that every child has a right to a public education We have exemplary teachers in our district implementing amazing curriculum while nurturing our students to be the best they can be. If no expulsions are set forth, then we need to be able to find solutions and education plans for aggressors in an alternative school setting, especially away from the victims to ensure safety for all the students. Introducing violent bullies back into the corridors with their victim is assaulting them again. Only this time, you will be the bully. Thank you.
[Nicole Branley]: So just to go on with Jenny had just said, it really does come down to accountability. If the superintendent is accountable for our schools, then why has it not been done? Please do your job. Mayor. And I need the school committee to make her accountable for her job, because here are the voters and we're gonna make you accountable for your job. Mayor, what will be the new deadline for this climate and culture report? Is there a new deadline? Was there a deadline originally?